When she’s not cultivating squash and cabbage in her garden, Megan Gessel is tending to the next generation of scientists. As associate professor of chemistry, she recognizes the immense role that student researchers play at a small school like Puget Sound. Gessel not only aims to help students understand this important role they play, but also encourages them to pursue research by making chemistry more than a series of lectures and truly a journey of discovery.
With his legs pumping and lungs screaming, Doug Sackman was inspired. He was 19 years old and biking home to Sacramento, Calif., from Reed College in Portland, Ore., where he had just completed his sophomore year as a political science major. He followed the rainy and hilly Pacific Coast for more than 600 miles that trip and wrote a poem about the experience. Now, decades later, his research and teaching interests can be traced back to the main themes of that poem—how people live on the land and with each other in the West.
Gareth Barkin has dedicated his life to travel. But he doesn’t celebrate just checking the countries he’s visited off on a map. His joy comes from finding new ways to make travel more meaningful, especially to college students. For the past decade, Barkin has torn apart and rebuilt some of Puget Sound’s study abroad programs to focus on cultural exchange—ensuring students connect with those from different backgrounds than their own.
As a political scientist who studies war and international conflicts, Seth Weinberger often finds his research intersecting with current events. As the U.S. was deploying troops to the Middle East after 9/11, he was researching war powers and the constitutional balancing act between the executive branch and Congress. Now, the professor of politics and government is asking big questions about domestic extremism and how to define a shared national identity in the midst of deep political division.
Over the years, Lynnette Claire has observed a fundamental shift in the economy. Claire notes, “In business, we used to say, ‘Once an entrepreneur, always an entrepreneur.’ Now, we see people move in and out of entrepreneurship throughout their careers.” Now teaching courses in entrepreneurship, management, and strategic consulting as professor and director of Puget Sound’s School of Business and Leadership, Claire believes that anyone can benefit from learning to think like an entrepreneur.
