As Cornell's New York State Agricultural Experiment Station (NYSAES) celebrates its 125th anniversary, it is entering into an academic agreement with Hobart and William Smith Colleges (HWS), a liberal arts college also located in Geneva, N.Y., that will allow HWS students to work and study with NYSAES scientists during the summer or pursue independent studies at the station during the school year. The arrangement formalizes an already existing relationship that has allowed HWS students to gain valuable exposure to applied research while making important contributions to experiment station projects.

"We have had a long and very productive informal relationship with HWS faculty and students," said NYSAES director Tom Burr. "Interactions with Hobart and William Smith greatly enhance the quality of education and research at the station and add an important community dimension. Formalizing this agreement is truly a positive development in the history of our relationship."

That relationship goes back 20 years when Tom Glover, professor of biology at HWS, approached NYSAES entomologists Charles Linn and Wendell Roelofs, the Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor of Insect Biochemistry, about a summer job for one of his students in their laboratory. Following the success of that exchange, Glover gradually sent more students to work at the experiment station, identifying students and programs that would fit well with each other.

"We have had a really good working relationship, and the faculty at the experiment station have done a fantastic job mentoring these kids and really investing them in their research," Glover said. "The students come back with their eyes open to real-world science, as opposed to classroom science."

As granting organizations like the National Science Foundation seek research projects that feature education as one of their stated goals, this agreement will benefit NYSAES scientists and formalize the understanding that HWS undergraduates will continue to participate in NYSAES research projects, Burr said.

Nate Abbott '06 is a former writer for the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva.