Natural Sciences and Mathematics

Chemistry professor Ernie Nolen has spent his career building complex synthetic molecules. Now he is bringing his expertise to detecting and defeating diseases like cancer.

Colgate neuroscientist Wan-Chun Liu is using songbirds to understand better how the human brain learns to speak — and gain new insights into diseases such as autism disorder. Professor Wan-Chun Liu’s lab is filled with the mellifluous tweets and squeaks of zebra finches, a small songbird native to Australia. The birds are highly social animals […]

No one would expect a biostatistics course to draw a crowd of students. But when it’s taught by a dynamic professor with a gift for inspirational teaching, it can become a must-take class at Colgate. Frank Frey — the associate professor of biology behind Biostatistics as well as numerous courses on evolutionary ecology, community health, and environmental […]

Many Colgate students take a semester during their junior year to study in some of the world’s most remarkable places. However, few will study in a location as remote as the Sabrina Coast of Antarctica. That’s where Meghan Duffy ’18 spent the spring with geology professor Amy Leventer aboard the Australian ocean research vessel RV […]

Colgate students are getting a picture-perfect view of the Final Frontier. Star ’Gate, an astrophotography club founded this year, teaches astronomy and photography skills to its members. Alina Sabyr ’19 (Astana, Kazakhstan), president and co-founder of Star ’Gate, sparked the idea for the club and first became interested in astrophotography during the 2015–2016 school year, when […]

Physics professors Rebecca Metzler and Enrique Galvez are leading a team of Colgate researchers to find out more about nacre’s structure, which is known for its strength and luster.

Colgate University is proud to announce that its applied mathematics minor has graduated to become the university’s 55th major. The consistent popularity of the minor and continued interest from students led to the creation of the full major this year, according to Daniel Schult, Charles G. Hetherington Professor of mathematics. As the name implies, applied mathematics is the […]

Editor’s note: Wondering what’s happening in the classroom at Colgate? Here’s a real-time glimpse into academic life on campus — a syllabus from a course underway this semester. CORE 106 Saving the Appearances: Galileo, the Church, and the Scientific Endeavor Jeff Bary, Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy MW 2:45–4:00 p.m., Lawrence 20 Course description […]

Colgate University’s Off-Campus Study Committee and Dean’s Advisory Council have approved an extended study trip to Patagonia for January 2018.

“For most mammals,” writes Science Magazine’s Elizabeth Pennisi, “size matters: Large ones, such as elephants and whales, live far longer than small ones like rodents. But among dogs, that rule is reversed. Tiny Chihuahuas, for example, can live up to 15 years—8 years longer than their much larger cousins, Great Danes. Now, a team of […]