Calvin Selects First Beckman Scholar

May 19, 2008 == MEDIA ADVISORY

Summary: Calvin College has selected Sarah Tasker, a Grand Rapids native, as
its first Beckman Scholar.

Full story see http://www.calvin.edu/news/2007-08/beckman-scholar-tasker/

A Calvin sophomore chemistry major is winding down a semester in Mexico and
getting ready to return to campus as the college's first Beckman Scholar.
 
Sarah Tasker, a graduate of Grand Rapids Christian High School, will begin an
intensive 15-month research experience this month thanks to the new Beckman
Scholars Program at Calvin, established through a $77,000 grant from the Arnold
and Mabel Beckman Foundation.

Calvin was among a mere 15 institutions that were chosen by the foundation to
establish a 2008 Beckman Scholars Program.

As the Beckman Scholar, Tasker is expected to take ownership of her research
project from start to finish, writing the proposal, working independently to
complete the project and, eventually, publishing the results in a peer-reviewed
journal. Tasker will also present her findings at a special summer gathering of
Beckman Scholars.

The distinctiveness of the Beckman program is the sustained, in-depth focus it
allows the scholar—one this year and three others over the next two
years—on one research project. It's a prospect Tasker finds challenging.

"Discovering how the reaction works is really interesting to me," she said.
"It's interesting because it's like solving a puzzle. You have all these ideas
of how it could work, and then what you do is devise experiments to knock
options out of the ring."

Tasker will be partnering with Calvin chemistry professor Carolyn Anderson on
a process for synthesizing N-alkyl pyridines. Anderson called the new program,
"a huge validation for the community of the work we do around here. To be part
of that is very exciting," she added.

Tasker, whose semester in Mexico is allowing her to fulfill what remains of
her Spanish minor, has long worked as a tutor of English as a second language;
it is work she hopes to continue with immigrants from Central and South America
alongside an academic or commercial research career.

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Received on Mon May 19 14:28:27 2008