It was a summer of exploration for Swarthmore students, with more than 300 undertaking research projects or internships. The students — whose locations ranged from online to on campus to across the world — collaborated with Swarthmore faculty, alumni, and experts from outside institutions, or, in some cases, worked independently. In every case, the projects brimmed with hands-on learning.
Below, students from across the disciplines share highlights of their summer experiences.
Darby Creegan ’26, an Honors history major from South Lake Tahoe, Calif.
Focus: Researching San Francisco’s Presbyterian Mission Home, the Donaldina Cameron House, as a case study of how women's groups collaborated with state agencies during the Progressive Era
“Through my studies, I’m used to reading scholarship and tracing historiography of the past century, but not exploring primary material on research trips and hunting down information to support a main thesis. It was very exciting to see names and dates come alive as we received the boxes [from the archives]. I’ve enjoyed learning about the complicated history of the Golden State and its religious mission homes. This has empowered me to undertake an Honors senior thesis, where I will conduct original scholarship, perhaps continuing to study Western America.”
Malavika Eby ’25, a medical anthropology and psychology major from Cupertino, Calif.
Focus: Collaborating with researchers at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center to study the interactions of patients and physicians in the context of endometriosis
“I got to shadow and work on research with a brilliant endometriosis specialist and gynecologic surgeon. Though I only developed an interest in this fascinating illness less than a year ago, I'm amazed at how much time and [depth] I’ve been able to experience with it this summer, from seeing it physically every day in the operating room, to learning about its pathology from physicians who have spent decades excising and treating it. I'm thrilled about this research because it grounds my professional aspirations in my personal aspiration, which is to become a more caring person who treats others' suffering with the respect and attention it inherently deserves.”
Casey Ewing ’26, an Honors philosophy and comparative literature major from Jewell, Iowa
Focus: “Kant and Hegel: An Introduction to the German Philosophical Tradition”
“What excited me most was being able to explore an interest on my own terms, given the flexible nature of philosophy research. As a FLI [first-gen, low-income] student who had never considered research opportunities in high school, it was also satisfying to feel that I was finally getting a leg-up on my academic journey. This project was meant to give me a baseline for the trajectory of European philosophy in the 19th and 20th centuries. My time abroad in Germany next spring will now be much more streamlined, and I have attained a breadth of knowledge practical for graduate study in philosophy.”
Adrian Ferguson ’26, a Russian major from Waunekee, Wisc.
Focus: Studying Russian language and culture for eight weeks in Armenia
“I relished the chance to explore a country with a very rich history and explore important and fascinating locations, like the prison where the saint who eventually converted Armenia to Christianity was imprisoned for 13 years before he succeeded, according to the stories. One moment that stuck out to me relates to a tour guide who accompanied us on [two excursions a few weeks apart]. I could understand a significantly larger amount of what he said on our most recent trip as compared to our first. This experience has brought me significantly closer to being capable of taking content courses conducted in Russian this fall.”
Emma Garrett ’25, a psychology and computer science major from Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Focus: Interacting with a critically endangered language of North America that has no living first-language speakers
“My research this summer was dedicated to revitalizing this complex and cinematic language. We expanded on a years-long project that uses immersive virtual reality as an educational tool. I'm grateful for the chance to interact with the language and collaborate with [a linguist from the community]. It's exciting to interact with a language so unlike English in its conception of time. I'm also glad that what I've learned in the computer science department can be applied to such an important task.”
Liam Halstead ’25, a neuroscience major from Dorset, Vt.
Focus: Studying the endocrine consequences of mating behaviors and sexual communication with the Cope’s gray treefrog, with Associate Professor of Biology Alex Baugh and members of the University of Minnesota’s department of ecology, evolution, and behavior in St. Paul, Minn.
“I have valued the rare chance, this summer, to step back from translational research and direct medical experiences to instead focus on the most fundamental questions of endocrine and behavioral biology. That is what most excited me about this project. Thanks to my professor, the nature of the research [back in the Baugh Lab at Swarthmore], and the College’s support, I have had an unparalleled experience getting intimately involved with almost every aspect of the scientific process from start to an anticipated finish, all while having plenty of fun along the way.”
Spencer Kennedy ’27, of Gettysburg, Pa.
Focus: Composing and recording a series of more than eight pieces for various combinations of percussion instruments, mostly independently in the Lang Concert Hall
“What most excited me about this opportunity is that they gave me so much freedom to make music — whatever kind I wanted. One of the highlights was helping another student to record Balinese instruments for her audio engineering project (since I was given recording equipment). Interdisciplinary! The experience connects to my academic journey in that it cemented for me that music is something I want to do in my future.”
Hojune Kim ’25, a mathematics and engineering major from Korea
Focus: Building an algorithm to allows multiple cars or drones to maneuver to their individual goals without bumping into each other, without communicating with one another, at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU)
“The CMU Robotics Institute is an amazing community. There are field-leading professors on campus and many opportunities to interact with them. Multiple seminars happen every week, and everyone is welcome to join and exchange ideas. It’s fascinating to see renowned professors disagreeing with each other while being respectful, and it makes me think this is how we progress as a group. As much as I value liberal arts education, I believe being exposed to these cutting-edge research facilities gives us intuition about where academia is headed in the future.”
A highlight of Creegan’s summer research, conducted with Richter Professor Emerita of Political Science (left), was visiting the Yale Divinity School’s Special Collections to research the women from the Presbyterian Mission Home in San Francisco who worked to save Chinese girls and young women from slavery and prostitution.
“After we understand the material properties of different species of wood,” says Peters, “we can begin to consider how the duration of load throughout a building’s lifespan will impact these properties, and how we can then reuse the materials in future structures.”
“We conducted various night-time field experiments on hundreds of individual [frogs] from local ponds,” says Halstead. “A personal highlight was leading a team effort to pioneer and troubleshoot a brand new procedure to record a pair of calling males and draw their blood in the pond (standing in four feet of water!).
“Endometriosis is a menstrual health disorder that causes excruciating pain for almost 200 million people (largely women),” says Eby, “while remaining underfunded, misdiagnosed, and stigmatized by the medical system.”
A highlight of Creegan’s summer research, conducted with Richter Professor Emerita of Political Science (left), was visiting the Yale Divinity School’s Special Collections to research the women from the Presbyterian Mission Home in San Francisco who worked to save Chinese girls and young women from slavery and prostitution.
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Kiran Mahurkar ’27, of Washington, D.C.
Focus: Helping to develop an electricity-generating kite project
“I'm most excited to be learning all sorts of new skills — welding, using machine tools, tying knots, CAD, 3D printing, and so many more things that I'm sure I'll use for the rest of my life. The most memorable moment thus far was definitely our first flight test of our kite: The kite flew up in the air, started self-correcting, and then folded up and flew off course before crashing into the ground. It was both insightful, leading to a redesign of several key components, and also absolutely hilarious. I hadn't really been able to experience engineering research before, so that's the most valuable thing about this opportunity.”
Chait Motwane ’25, a mathematics and computer science major from Mumbai
Focus: Lens reconstruction of a gravitationally lensed, dusty star-forming galaxy
“In a radio astronomy lab, we studied these really distant galaxies called dusty star-forming galaxies (DSFG). The thing I appreciate the most about research in astronomy is that it is all about light. That's the only information we receive from astronomical objects, and is the only way to "communicate" with them. Whether or not we are able to infer some nice properties about J0116 (a particular DSFG), I will be left with a newfound appreciation for the physics of light, and a taste of what it is like to be a professional scientist.”
Murad Nashid ’25, an economics major from Alexandria, Va.
Focus: Researching labor market dynamics in South Africa and other economics issues with Gil and Frank Mustin Professor of Economics Stephen O’Connell
“Through my collaboration with Professor O’Connell, I have become more confident in my ability to ask research questions, code, and present my findings in an articulate manner. After I graduate, I plan on being a research assistant before I apply to graduate school to obtain a Ph.D. in economics. The work that I’ve done with Professor O’Connell [both this summer and two summers ago] has been absolutely vital in terms of helping me discover my passion for research in the field of economics, and the relationship that I’ve formed with him allows me have a mentor that I can count on to help me navigate my future.”
David Ornelas ’25, a music and psychology major from Albuquerque, N.M.
Focus: A music cognition project in preparation of his music and psychology theses
“For music I'm looking at meter construction in metal music, while for psychology I'm trying to understand timbre's role in beat/meter perception. Two separate but very intertwined projects, and much of the literature I've been exploring this summer extends to both of them. I also had the exciting opportunity to attend a research/summer school convention at the University of British Columbia, called TOSS (Timbre and Orchestration Summer School). It was a life-changing event. I not only discovered that there was a rich literature of work in a field I am passionate about, but that there are still many unexplored areas within the discipline.”
Abigail Peters ’26, an engineering major from Claymont, Del.
Focus: “Analysis of Material Heterogeneity of Mass Timber,” with Assistant Professor of Engineering Fiona O’Donnell
“For me, sustainability in structural engineering feels very exciting and important because of its large-scale consequences for society. I am driven by the hope that the work I do will positively impact other people’s lives, and this opportunity is allowing me to contribute to that goal every day. I love being able to share my research with others and hear different opinions that could change my outlook on my work. Some of my most memorable moments this summer have been during lunches with other research labs, where ideas and information flow and everyone leaves learning something new while still having fun!”
Lalith Suresh ’26, a cinematic arts and performance and computer science major from Lehi, Utah.
Focus: Developing drawing algorithms for the AlgoArt.org platform, a tool to help bridge the gap between artists and computer scientists by algorithmically generating visual artwork
“What excited me most about this opportunity was the chance to channel visual creativity with coding. As an individual who identifies more as an artist and creative, using computer science to create art has transformed my perspective on science as a whole. My most memorable moment was when my Spiral algorithm started to piece together after days of planning and coding it. I hope to pursue software development or UI/UX design; I believe that by being immersed in this interdisciplinary research opportunity, I’ll be able to move toward the future with a more enriched understanding of the connection between computer science and art.”
(Watch here for more on Suresh’s collaboration with Victor Sumano Arango ’25.)
Zak Vilanilam ’26, an Honors economics and mathematics major from Austin, Texas
Focus: Conducting research with Associate Professor of Economics Maria Olivero on potential ethnicity-based discrimination in the U.S. mortgage market
“Our work involved running statistical analyses on national-level data provided by the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). The experience helped me develop my programming skills in the statistical analysis software Stata, and helped me learn to write formal reports in LaTeX [a software system for typesetting documents]. These are both skills that will prove valuable in advanced economics classes at Swarthmore. This experience offered an excellent exposure to my prospective line of work after graduation: conducting economic policy research for the Federal Reserve, which is centered around statistical analyses of large datasets. “
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