Hillsdale Blog

Completing the Puzzle

Professor of chemistry Dr. Lee Baron loves puzzles. “I’ve always liked to problem-solve. I just found chemistry the area where I was able to problem-solve most effectively.”

The Carus Coin Collection

The history of money is complicated due to the fact that anything two people consider valuable might be considered money. When a community deems something of value, it will be traded for goods and services needed or wanted by the members of that community.

Courtney Meyet

Hillsdale’s newest chemistry professor, Courtney Meyet, spent her early undergraduate years avoiding the very subject she now teaches. She even changed her major to avoid having to take organic chemistry. But thanks to enthusiastic professors who gave her unique research opportunities, she learned to love the subject while pursuing a second bachelor’s degree and went on to earn a Ph.D. in organic synthesis. In her first year of teaching at Hillsdale, she is eager to share her knowledge with science majors and non-science majors alike.

Finding Beauty in Quantum Thermodynamics

Some might be surprised to learn that Dr. David Gaebler pursued a degree in Biblical studies after graduating from engineering school. He explains, “I have always been interested in theology. In college, I had this desire to learn the original languages of Scripture, but never had time, so after I got my undergraduate degree in math and physics, I decided to spend some time at a seminary in California.”

From Mathematics to Mens Fashion

Looking back, Blake never imaged that he would eventually be running a men’s fashion startup. “In college, I was all over the place,” he laughs.

Original Ideas That Have Value

Many people think imagination is the tough part of this equation. I’ve generally found it quite easy to generate all sorts of ideas, but some people find this intimidating. Like any other skill, however, it can be developed. Spend a few minutes every day considering the essential imagination question: “What if?”

A New Approach to String Teaching

To explain the nature of her research to non-musicians, Dr. Melissa Knecht uses an analogy to natural language. “Try to spell the word ‘vernault.’ If you guessed, “V-e-r-n-a-u-l-t,” you’re right—but there’s a catch. ‘Vernault’ isn’t a real word. Most people can spell that word without seeing it or knowing what it means,” Dr. Knecht explains. “This test implies that people are good spellers, not because they’ve memorized every word in the English language, but because they’ve learned to recognize patterns and statistical probabilities in the language.”

Treating Staph Infections with Light

The desire to seek effective alternatives to antibiotics drew Wyatt McDonnell to study MRSA. During his research, he came across an interesting method of fighting bacterial infections called photodynamic therapy (PDT).

Faculty Spotlight: Jeffrey Lehman

Dr. Jeffrey Lehman identifies Augustine as one of his favorite authors because Augustine “focuses upon the most important things for our journey in this life—pursuing the truth and embracing love.” And Lehman believes that the liberal arts help students to approach those most important things.

$Math Chalkboard$

Do Quantum Systems Exist?

Dr. David Gaebler is an assistant professor of mathematics. His dissertation was on the “Unital Dilations of Completely Positive Semigroups.”

Scott Lantis, ’13

Of all Scott’s experiences so far, standing on the sidelines as the Broncos won the AFC Championship against the New England Patriots was the best.

Exploring The Central Science

If you ask the Hillsdale College chemistry faculty to describe their field, you might hear them call chemistry the “central” science. “Not necessarily the best science, mind you. It just connects everything. Besides, that title just makes chemistry sound cool,” jokes Dr. Matthew Young.