Current News
Exploring science with Nobel laureates
Eben Cross ´03 gets up close and personal with a grasshopper in Chebogue Point, Nova Scotia where he studied the effects of air pollution.
June 20, 2006
Eben Cross ´03 admits that one of his goals in life is "to save the planet" - and he´s doing it one aerosol particle at a time. His research is opening new doors, as he will attend the 56th Lindau Meeting of Nobel Laureates and Students in Germany this June.
Cross, a Ph.D. candidate in physical chemistry at Boston College who studied environmental chemistry at CC, is an associate engineer for Aerodyne Research Inc. in Billerica, Mass. He studies atmospheric pollution and researches the influence of aerosol particles on the climate.
"My work is based on designing instruments that can measure the chemical composition and size of these particles in real time," he says.
The 56th Lindau Meeting of Nobel Laureates and Students in Lindau, Germany is a five-day event, an opportunity for students and young researchers from around the world to discuss the role of science in society with Nobel Laureates. This year´s event will focus on chemistry.
The topic is close to Cross´s heart.
"I think my work is the coolest stuff on the face of the planet," he says. "I like the application of science to the world immediately outside our windows."
David Lewis, Margaret W. Kelly Professor of Chemistry, encouraged Cross to take on a summer research internship under his direction at Aerodyne following graduation. Lewis isn´t surprised by his former student´s achievements.
"Eben´s success underscores the benefits of research internship opportunities for our students, and the opportunities faculty at a small liberal arts college have to recognize hidden potential in our students and point them in a productive direction," Lewis said.
As a CC student, Cross studied at the University of St. Andrews for a semester and was part of the SATA South Africa in 2002. He played club soccer, served as a house governor and was a student adviser. In 2003, he was the senior class speaker at his Commencement.
"Those experiences, especially South Africa, gave me an opportunity to experience things outside of the sometimes all-encompassing world of academic chemistry. Social, economic and educational issues all contribute to the influence we have on the environment," Cross says. "CC helped me begin to appreciate this fact."
For more information contact: Amy Sullivan (860) 439-2526; amy.sullivan@conncoll.edu