User:Macowell
From 2006.igem.org
Hi, I'm Mac Cowell. I'm a senior undergraduate studying Biology at Davidson College. I've worked with Dr. Campbell and Dr. Heyer over the past summer and current semester, but my involvement in iGEM and Synthetic Biology is only tangential. My research was devoted to developing [http://www.bio.davidson.edu/magic MagicTool], which is an open-source java program for analyzing microarray data built by Davidson students and used widely by members of the Genome Consortium of Active Teaching [http://www.bio.davidson.edu/GCAT GCAT].
Working in close proximity to the other members of the lab doing Synthetic Biology research really sparked my interest in the area, and I tried to be as involved as possible under the circumstances; I designed the Synthase team logo (with the help of Kristen, whom plated E. coli with EYFP into a heart shape), made minor design suggestions, and generally asked as many questions as possible without being too much of a nuisance (I hope). Although I had the opportunity to take the Synthetic Bio class this semester, Dr. Campbell convinced me to continue developing MagicTool instead. That I did, but we agreed I could stay informally involved, and I ultimately ended up attending the 2005 iGEM Jamboree with the team, something for which I am incredibly thankful; it was extremely exciting! My interactions with the other students attending, especially those from Berkeley, and Drew Endy's talk about the social issues surrounding synthetic biology really revitalized my interest in pursuing a research-oriented career, particularly one focused around synthetic biology. I would very much like to become more involved after I graduate from Davidson.
My current goal is to become a more active and productive member of this community. Drop me a line!
-Mac
macowell -at- davidson.edu
I am maintaining a collection of synthetic biology -related links on [http://del.icio.us/macowell/synthbio del.icio.us]. Click to check them out, and please do send me a note if you find something interesting to add.
