When Monmouth College’s planned science and business complex is built, it will be “cool” in more ways than one. Because the facility will be air-conditioned, members of the science faculty expect to see a large increase in the number of students who remain on campus after the spring semester to assist with or initiate various projects.

This summer, a few students have braved the heat in the Haldeman-Thiessen Science Center in order to conduct research. They include May graduates Matt Faron, who finished up a project with chemistry professor Brad Sturgeon, and Steve Distin, who is working with another member of the chemistry faculty, Audra Sostarecz. Faron researched the kinetics of peroxidase reactions, while Distin’s project involves modeling cell membranes using lipid monolayers, with the intent to learn more about the treatment of diabetes.

On a steamy July day with the heat index approaching 100 degrees, Distin had to take a break from his research on the third floor of Haldeman-Thiessen.

“It’s so hot, I couldn’t collect any data today,” he said. Pointing to a small air-conditioning unit in the window, he added, “Usually, it can keep things cool enough, but it couldn’t today.”

Om Kumar Shrestha (second from right) helps explain his group's research on peanut butter to MC chemistry professor Auda Sostarecz (right) during final exams week."

The current shortage of summer-friendly science facilities is one reason why about a dozen Monmouth students are scattered around the U.S. this summer doing their research off-campus, many through the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program. One of those students, junior Om Kumar Shrestha, has escaped to Wisconsin, where he has been joined by a third member of the chemistry faculty, Laura Moore.

“Om and I are in Madison for the summer working on a bioenergy project that involves converting cellulose to ethanol,” said Moore, who is working with the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) as a visiting faculty member.
She explained that the GLBRC is a relatively new center formed by “a huge grant from the Department of Energy. It is a consortium of schools, but UW-Madison is the lead. My former post-doctoral advisor is one of the faculty members involved, and she asked me if I would like to spend a couple of months in Madison this summer.

“Om and I are looking at how to make E. coli bacteria tolerant to both higher levels of ethanol and to toxins that form when the cellulose is processed into simpler sugars,” Moore continued. “The bacteria can then use those sugars to make compounds such as ethanol. We are specifically looking for genes – both within E.coli and from other micro-organisms – that will give the E.coli tolerance to these compounds.”

“Basically, I am helping scientists like (GLBRC’s) Syd Withers and Professor Moore by making a genomic library of E. coli,” said Shrestha, who is in Madison as a part of the Integrated Biological Summer Science Research Program (IBS-SRP). “Then we will move on toward growing those E. coli cells in different furfural concentrations to find some tolerant E. coli strains. The big picture of our research is to make biofuel using E. coli from the biomass in cheaper, faster and easier ways.”

Shrestha, who is also involved in another program at Madison related to undergraduate research, said the university “has been a place for me to develop leadership skills and to write a good scientific paper. It’s been a great place to get so many experiences in the scientific world.”

His other activities include field trips, discussions on ethics and evolution, workshops for the GRE and post-graduate degrees, a graduate school fair and a research conference, which will take him to another Big Ten school, Michigan State University. He will present his Madison research at a Committee on Institutional Cooperation Conference later this month.

When speaking about the potential benefits of the college’s planned science/business complex, Monmouth president Mauri Ditzler often talks about how the unique facility will prepare students to find answers to the global problems of the 21st century, including future sources of food and fuel. Shrestha and Moore are currently doing that work off campus, but Moore is planning on bringing work home with her.

“I am hoping to bring part of this project back to Monmouth so that my research students can work on it during the school year,” she said.

In the meantime, both are enjoying their time in Madison. Said Shrestha, “If anyone asks me where I would want to stay in my life later, I think the answer would be Madison.”

Besides his research experience, another positive factor in the city’s favor might be the Nepali restaurant where he recently dined. However, Shrestha also finds himself missing Monmouth, something he never envisioned when he was looking at colleges.

After failing to land a full-ride scholarship for a medical school in his native Nepal, Shrestha was given another college option by his father.

“One day, my dad came up with an idea, saying ‘Why don’t you study abroad?’ Before he finished saying ‘abroad,’ I just replied I am not going anywhere and leaving my home and my mom. But later I thought a lot about it, and I called my uncle.”

Shrestha’s uncle is doing postdoctoral work in biology at Texas A&M University, and Shrestha asked him about studying in the U.S. and what his career might be like after college.

“He gave me some good advice and diverted my mind,” said Shrestha. “He told me that the U.S. has a more practical style of education than Nepal, and that the education provides a good foundation for students. My dad also told me that the U.S. has the best universities and colleges in the world and that a U.S. degree is accepted all around the world.”

Shrestha was starting to come around to his father’s way of thinking, but he said he still felt “uncomfortable” about leaving home. He applied to several colleges in the Midwest and to Colorado State University, and he liked the scholarships that CSU and Monmouth provided.

His decision, he said, came down to “luck.”

“I was sure to get into Colorado State, but I did not get my I-20 on time from there and I was not able to apply for a visa. Since I already had an I-20 from Monmouth, that’s where I decided to go. I heard Monmouth is a small liberal arts college, and it was the kind of college I was looking for.”

Monmouth’s size made an impact for the family-oriented international student, who said, “Since I was leaving my family and going somewhere on the next side of the globe that was a completely new place for me, I thought a small college would help me to get rid of my homesickness.”

The college has delivered on his expectations.

“Now, I’ve come to realize that Monmouth is really my new home,” Shrestha said. “Now, (buildings like) HT and Graham Hall give me the feeling like I am at home. Every winter and summer when I leave Monmouth, I feel I am leaving my own home. I get the same emotions as I got when I was leaving Nepal. All of my classsmates are so friendly and have helped me to forget the pain of missing my friends from home. My professors have given me so much support, which gives the feeling like I am with my parents.”