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Marquis Scholar Dan Swarr ’03 (Clifton Park, N.Y.) is researching nuclear magnetic resonance (NRM) because of its relevance to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a technique he may use one day as a practicing physician.
MRI, a technique used in medicine to produce images of the inside of the body, is very closely related to NMR, used by scientists to obtain information about molecules.
“My independent study will involve both theory and lab work,” explains Swarr, a double major in physics and mathematics. “I will study the basics of NMR, including the mathematics and classical and quantum physics behind the technique, and then I will be working with proteins in the laboratory.”
Swarr, who says a career in clinical academic medicine most appeals to him, hopes to gain an understanding of the basic theory underlying all magnetic resonance techniques and an appreciation for the specificity as well as versatility of NMR in particular.
In the lab, he will learn how to apply definite pulse sequences to elicit certain types of information from his protein samples, says Swarr’s adviser, Bradley Antanaitis, associate professor of physics. He will extract static structural information and also data about dynamic processes that occur within and between protein molecules.
According to the professor, Swarr will acquire a deeper understanding of protein structure and how that structure relates to its function.
“Among modern spectroscopic techniques, NMR is probably the most versatile and has the added virtue that one can study often temperamental biopolymers under physiological conditions,” says Antanaitis. “Furthermore, with the introduction of two-dimensional and even three-dimensional NMR in recent years, this already powerful probe has begun to yield structural information that rivals that of X-ray spectroscopy, but without the need to grow large, stable crystals of the material under study.”
While Swarr will focus most on NMR technique, he will characterize samples using other techniques as well, such as ultra-violet and visible spectroscopy. “It has not been lost on Dan that information gleaned from several techniques invariably tells a richer and more convincing story than that garnered by just one,” Antanaitis says.
Swarr enjoys the interdisciplinary nature of a field like protein biophysics, of which he says NMR spectroscopy is an extremely important technique.
“This independent study is really quite interesting because it combines elements of chemistry, mathematics, biochemistry, and lab techniques with the physics I have previously studied, including quantum mechanics from last semester,” Swarr says. “The course even has a writing component, so it is truly multidisciplinary!”
“Lafayette is a great place for an independent study because there are a number of research opportunities available without graduate students to fill up those slots,” Swarr notes. “Also, Lafayette has a lot of excellent professors who are really interested in working closely with students — Dr. Antanaitis is a perfect example. He is a great mentor who really takes an interest in his students and spends a notable amount of time mentoring them, helping them with extras like editing essays for applications or internships, and providing advice. I really have enjoyed working with Dr. Antanaitis and look forward to doing a thesis with him next year.”
Antanaitis also enjoys working closely with Swarr and says, “Dan is amazingly quick on his feet, perceptive, and well-balanced in his approach to life. His innate curiosity, excellent work ethic, and sharp mind make him very productive and stimulating in both the laboratory and classroom. He is also thoughtful, sensitive, and caring, qualities that will someday serve him and his patients well.”
“It is just plain refreshing to see a young lad with a real sense of purpose pursuing a noble goal with dedication and grace.”
A graduate of Shenendehowa High School, Swarr is a member of American Physical Society; Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest and most respected undergraduate honors organization in the United States; and Pi Mu Epsilon, the mathematics honorary society.
For the 2001-02 academic year, Swarr was awarded the Goldwater Scholarship, the premier undergraduate award of its type in the fields of mathematics, science, and engineering. The award is based on academic merit.
A member of the Physics Club, he is a physics tutor and a grading assistant for the physics department. He served as a research assistant at Wadsworth Laboratories, Albany, N.Y., for two summers, and has participated in EXCEL research projects in physics and chemistry.
Last semester, Swarr and his teammates placed second, in Lafayette’s Fall Barge Math Competition in which teams of three to five students worked on solutions for the eight weeks in which a weekly problem was posed for the math department contest. Swarr and his teammates shared a $450 prize. In the 2001-2002 spring semester, Swarr and two teammates won first place.
Last spring, Swarr teamed with Lazar Nikolic ’02 (Rosewell, Ga.) and Guangxi Wang ’03 (Shanghai, China) to place among the top 14 percent of participating teams – earning the second highest rating – in the 17th annual Mathematical Contest in Modeling, an international competition sponsored by the Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications.
Swarr is a rape crisis counselor at August Survivors Center, Easton, Pa., mentor to local students with Adopt-A-Class, and a volunteer for the Emergency Care Unit at Easton Hospital. Swarr is certified as an Emergency Medical Technician and member of Easton’s Emergency Squad. He also serves as vice president of a volunteer group whose members live on the same residence hall floor and conduct community service projects together.
During the 2000-01 academic year, Swarr was a member of the McKelvy House Scholars program. In this program, he lived with 18 other students of high academic achievement and promise in an historic off-campus house and participated in shared intellectual and social activities.
During the 2002 January interim session between semesters, Swarr participated in Lafayette’s Alumni Externship program, shadowing Robert D. Siegel, M.D. ’77, a hematology oncologist with Oncology Associates, Hartford, Conn.
In his sophomore year, Swarr traveled to Ireland to take a Lafayette course called The Land and Landscape in Ireland during the interim session.
Goldwater Scholarship. Daniel Swarr ’03 received a Goldwater Scholarship, the premier national undergraduate award of its type in math, science, and engineering. One of his research mentors is Bradley Antanaitis, associate professor of physics.