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College Spotlight:
Matt has blast at Mudd
By REBECCA WELLS
His senior year of college is upon
him, but this doesn't mean Matt
Hoss is almost done with school.
"I figure I've got another five years
until I get my PhD - six years," he
estimates.
For the time being, he's wrap-
ping up his undergraduate studies
in chemistry and biochemistry at
Harvey Mudd College in Los Ange-
les, California. "It's nice. It was a
tough school for the first few years,
but I'm really taking classes I enjoy
now and the research helps a lot,"
he says of the college.
While he knows he wants to do
graduate studies in biophysics, at
this point he's not sure if he wants
to go on tbr a post-doctorate degree
in an industrial field or academ-
ics, or perhaps pursue a career as
a physician.
"With some of the work I'm in, it
would really help to have a better
understanding of the human body,
of the human side," he explains. "I
know of great chemicals to put into
people."
But Matt realizes he still needs
to learn how these chemicals will
react with other components in the
human body.
WHATEVER HE winds up doing
professionally, Matt hopes it's both
cutting-edge and socially relevant.
But for now, not even he knows
what that may be. Honors chemis-
try under teacher Court Lance, as
well as the advanced-placement
biology program at Shelton High
School, inspired Matt to pursue his
current areas of study.
"It was just a really excellent in-
troduction to genetics and cells a[ad
some of the early experiments," he
recalls. "Once I got into chemistry
and organic chemistry, it really just
fell into place."
In the last few years of college,
Matt has been researching the ki-
netics, or repair, of deoxyribonucle-
ic acid, commonly known as DNA.
This, in turn, has fueled his inter-
est in learning about interactions
on a microscopic scale. He's cur-
rently examining a protein which
can repair DNA that has been dam-
aged from causes such as smoking.
It is also the case that mutations
in the same protein lead to cancer.
His studies include looking at what
happens with the DNA and how it
affects the body.
For the past two years, Matt has
been performing paid research on
campus under the same professor.
He works full time during the sum-
mer and 20 hours per week during
the school year. His work during
TESTING CHEMICALS in
a lab is Matt Hoss, who is
studying chemistry and bio-
chemistry at Harvey Mudd
College in California.
both semesters of" last year quali-
fied him fbr the dean's list at Har-
vey Mudd.
MATT'S RESEARCH was
funded by a Beckman Scholarship,
which is good ['or two summers and
one regular school year of work. The
stipend covers research, expenses,
supplies and travel, ttis travels
gave him the opportunity to pres-
ent posters describing his findings
IN THE COCKPIT of a small
plane is Matt Hoss, who is
working on earning his pi-
lot's license.
at the American Chemical Society
in Chicago, Illinois, and the Beck-
man Symposium in California.
As he begins work on his thesis,
Matt will be switching professors to
investigate the winding properties
of proteins. Specifically, he will be
looking at seven amino acids that
form one kind of helix in one sol-
vent and another kind in a differ-
ent solvent. These proteins can in-
corporate when modified and when
applied to plants the incorporated
proteins could prevent bacteria,
fungi and other organisms from
growing on plants. That means the
proteins could work as a pesticide
without harming the plants.
Harvey Mudd is an undergradu-
ate college and so Matt is consider-
ing graduate school at the Univer-
sity of' Washington, which he says
offers "excellent programs" in his
field. If he were to study biophysics,
he would be exploring interactions
between different proteins and be-
tween proteins and DNA.
An added benefit to studying at
UW would be the fact that his little
sister, Jennifer, is starting college
there this fhll and so they would
both be at the same school again.
"It'd be nice to be back home," he
says.
ONE OF THE PERKS that
come with getting an education in
science, he notes, is the fact that
graduate schools will pay a stu-
dent's tuition and provide a stipend
for research and teaching purposes.
In the meantime, Matt has been
launching his own educational proj-
ect at Shelton High School. For the
last year, he makes time during his
visits home to pay a visit to Emily
Garlich's advanced-placement biol-
ogy class, as well as his mother's
TOP SOIL LIQUIDATION!
Huge Inventory -- 40,000 Yards of Top Soil
Economy
Top Soil
$700per yard
Double
Screened
Top Soil
$995per yard
(Delivery available tor
extra charge -
.5 yard minimum)
Our Topsoil is:
* Composted
• Sludge-free
. Earth-friendly
seventh-grade science class at Pio-
neer School•
Matt is the son of Rick and Mar-
tha Hoss of Potlatch. His goal is to
eventually start a program where
undergraduate and graduate stu-
dents can visit local schools to dis-
cuss their career plans, studies and
college experiences. "I just remem-
ber when I was growing up I had a
lot of questions and a lot of things
that people had no idea about," he
explains. "All students know what
firefighters are and police officers
are, but no one can really tell you
what a researcher is, so I think
that's an important aspect that's
being left out."
Considering that Matt has al-
ways identified with the teacher's
role to some extent, coordinating
this classroom project would pro-
vide him with a good way to feel out
whether or not to go into the aca-
demic side of scientific research.
On top of his rigorous academic
demands, Matt also finds time to
have fun in college. Having been an
active soccer player in high school,
he still plays the sport as much as
he can in college and is even think-
ing about coaching. He also kicked
off a martial arts club on campus.
Armed with a black belt, Matt had
been teaching a martial arts class
at college, but has since passed the
class off to a friend, though he still
plans to give a hand.
"IT'S A GOOD way to keep
studying," he says.
Matt is a president of the Chem-
istry Club at Harvey Mudd and is
working on public outreach and or-
ganizing activities to draw interest
from underclassmen. One of his re-
cent undertakings has been to join
the Barnstormers, a flight club on
campus. Iris Cummings Critchell,
a former swimmer from the 1936
Olympic Games in Berlin, heads up
the club. A seasoned flight instruc-
tor with 50 years of experience un-
der her belt, Critchell amazes Matt
with her wide scope of knowledge
and insight.
"She's exceptionally talented in
flying," he says.
Critchell offers introductory les-
sons to anyone interested in flying
and helps run a flight program on
the side. Though she doesn't have
time to guide everyone in the club
through the process of becoming a
licensed pilot, she can direct them
to other available flight courses in
the area. "She would take us up on
a couple of flights, just to see what
it was like, and it was really fun! It
was a good time," Matt remembers.
Matt had never thought of be-
coming a pilot before college, but
now he's halfway to earning his li-
cense. He practices flying in a Cess-
na 152 aircraft. Previously, he felt
an exhilarating high from hiking
through the Olympic Mountains.
Now, flying has altered his point of
view.
"I really want to get into a plane
and fly over it and see some of it
that way," he says.
Bill McTurnal Enterorises
* Beauty Bark * Land Clearing * Excawlting ° Hauling
• Danger Tree Removal • Demolition, Drainage • Site Preparation
• Forestry Consultant • We Buy Timber
36o-432-0971 . . . 6o-866-4594 , .....
www.mcmrnalenlerprlses.com [}
Bill M[981BN
I I
Page 14 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, September 13, 2007
Friends plan ....
surprise 90th :
birthday for
Rayson
Vi Adams is hosting a
surprise 90th birthday
party for her brother-
in-law Dave Rayson at 1
p.m. today, September 13.
The party will take place
at Gib and Sharon John-
ston's home at 1005 Turn-
er Avenue in Shelton. All
neighbors and friends are
welcome.
Share club news events
To help members of local
clubs, organizations and non-
profit agencies spread the word
about their projects and work,
The Journal has an information
sheet called "Reporting Your
News."
It's available in the Jou
newsroom or business offi l
publicists and others who _W Io
help preparing press rele 1
The office located at Third h
Cota streets downtown is 0P i e]
from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekd Ul
e
*€
L
She's 25 with
25 years of
experiencel
Happy 50th
Birthday
Information Fair
| !
/ 10 a.m.-2 p.m. bu,
* Complimentary light lunch * r
dlpr{
Ill * Blood pressure checks l[{
r o Blood glucose checks • Health & safety tips
p and much, much more! . I:;'
I.. No charge for any services at the Health Fair |
• I
Vendors" Mason General Hospital, Medicine Shoppe, Preferred "
Medical & Oxygen Supply, Regence Blue Shield, Merrill Gardens I1
r Assisted Living, A Touch of Life Reflexology, Shelton Massag e- 1;,,
IL Therapy, Goji Juice, Assured Home Health, Home Instead SeniO (
lib Care, Bamford Long Term Care Financial Services, MasOn. h
L County Senior Activities Center, Garden Courte Memory Care an0 P.r
• Shelton Health & Rehab Center! ," ' a
5XxuB00 " oU [ o r 00qiki n g u s Sh e/to n
Espresso Stand!
STEPH'S ESPRESSO
2226 Olympic Hwy. No.
427-1290
We would like
to say
"THANK
to all our
customers and
all our
employees
present
and past.
Mon.-Fri. 4:00 a.m.-7:30 p.m.
Sat. 4:15 a.m.-7:00 p.m. • Sun. 4:30 a.m.-6:30.p.Oi.} ,
!
College Spotlight:
Matt has blast at Mudd
By REBECCA WELLS
His senior year of college is upon
him, but this doesn't mean Matt
Hoss is almost done with school.
"I figure I've got another five years
until I get my PhD - six years," he
estimates.
For the time being, he's wrap-
ping up his undergraduate studies
in chemistry and biochemistry at
Harvey Mudd College in Los Ange-
les, California. "It's nice. It was a
tough school for the first few years,
but I'm really taking classes I enjoy
now and the research helps a lot,"
he says of the college.
While he knows he wants to do
graduate studies in biophysics, at
this point he's not sure if he wants
to go on tbr a post-doctorate degree
in an industrial field or academ-
ics, or perhaps pursue a career as
a physician.
"With some of the work I'm in, it
would really help to have a better
understanding of the human body,
of the human side," he explains. "I
know of great chemicals to put into
people."
But Matt realizes he still needs
to learn how these chemicals will
react with other components in the
human body.
WHATEVER HE winds up doing
professionally, Matt hopes it's both
cutting-edge and socially relevant.
But for now, not even he knows
what that may be. Honors chemis-
try under teacher Court Lance, as
well as the advanced-placement
biology program at Shelton High
School, inspired Matt to pursue his
current areas of study.
"It was just a really excellent in-
troduction to genetics and cells a[ad
some of the early experiments," he
recalls. "Once I got into chemistry
and organic chemistry, it really just
fell into place."
In the last few years of college,
Matt has been researching the ki-
netics, or repair, of deoxyribonucle-
ic acid, commonly known as DNA.
This, in turn, has fueled his inter-
est in learning about interactions
on a microscopic scale. He's cur-
rently examining a protein which
can repair DNA that has been dam-
aged from causes such as smoking.
It is also the case that mutations
in the same protein lead to cancer.
His studies include looking at what
happens with the DNA and how it
affects the body.
For the past two years, Matt has
been performing paid research on
campus under the same professor.
He works full time during the sum-
mer and 20 hours per week during
the school year. His work during
TESTING CHEMICALS in
a lab is Matt Hoss, who is
studying chemistry and bio-
chemistry at Harvey Mudd
College in California.
both semesters of" last year quali-
fied him fbr the dean's list at Har-
vey Mudd.
MATT'S RESEARCH was
funded by a Beckman Scholarship,
which is good ['or two summers and
one regular school year of work. The
stipend covers research, expenses,
supplies and travel, ttis travels
gave him the opportunity to pres-
ent posters describing his findings
IN THE COCKPIT of a small
plane is Matt Hoss, who is
working on earning his pi-
lot's license.
at the American Chemical Society
in Chicago, Illinois, and the Beck-
man Symposium in California.
As he begins work on his thesis,
Matt will be switching professors to
investigate the winding properties
of proteins. Specifically, he will be
looking at seven amino acids that
form one kind of helix in one sol-
vent and another kind in a differ-
ent solvent. These proteins can in-
corporate when modified and when
applied to plants the incorporated
proteins could prevent bacteria,
fungi and other organisms from
growing on plants. That means the
proteins could work as a pesticide
without harming the plants.
Harvey Mudd is an undergradu-
ate college and so Matt is consider-
ing graduate school at the Univer-
sity of' Washington, which he says
offers "excellent programs" in his
field. If he were to study biophysics,
he would be exploring interactions
between different proteins and be-
tween proteins and DNA.
An added benefit to studying at
UW would be the fact that his little
sister, Jennifer, is starting college
there this fhll and so they would
both be at the same school again.
"It'd be nice to be back home," he
says.
ONE OF THE PERKS that
come with getting an education in
science, he notes, is the fact that
graduate schools will pay a stu-
dent's tuition and provide a stipend
for research and teaching purposes.
In the meantime, Matt has been
launching his own educational proj-
ect at Shelton High School. For the
last year, he makes time during his
visits home to pay a visit to Emily
Garlich's advanced-placement biol-
ogy class, as well as his mother's
TOP SOIL LIQUIDATION!
Huge Inventory -- 40,000 Yards of Top Soil
Economy
Top Soil
$700per yard
Double
Screened
Top Soil
$995per yard
(Delivery available tor
extra charge -
.5 yard minimum)
Our Topsoil is:
* Composted
• Sludge-free
. Earth-friendly
seventh-grade science class at Pio-
neer School•
Matt is the son of Rick and Mar-
tha Hoss of Potlatch. His goal is to
eventually start a program where
undergraduate and graduate stu-
dents can visit local schools to dis-
cuss their career plans, studies and
college experiences. "I just remem-
ber when I was growing up I had a
lot of questions and a lot of things
that people had no idea about," he
explains. "All students know what
firefighters are and police officers
are, but no one can really tell you
what a researcher is, so I think
that's an important aspect that's
being left out."
Considering that Matt has al-
ways identified with the teacher's
role to some extent, coordinating
this classroom project would pro-
vide him with a good way to feel out
whether or not to go into the aca-
demic side of scientific research.
On top of his rigorous academic
demands, Matt also finds time to
have fun in college. Having been an
active soccer player in high school,
he still plays the sport as much as
he can in college and is even think-
ing about coaching. He also kicked
off a martial arts club on campus.
Armed with a black belt, Matt had
been teaching a martial arts class
at college, but has since passed the
class off to a friend, though he still
plans to give a hand.
"IT'S A GOOD way to keep
studying," he says.
Matt is a president of the Chem-
istry Club at Harvey Mudd and is
working on public outreach and or-
ganizing activities to draw interest
from underclassmen. One of his re-
cent undertakings has been to join
the Barnstormers, a flight club on
campus. Iris Cummings Critchell,
a former swimmer from the 1936
Olympic Games in Berlin, heads up
the club. A seasoned flight instruc-
tor with 50 years of experience un-
der her belt, Critchell amazes Matt
with her wide scope of knowledge
and insight.
"She's exceptionally talented in
flying," he says.
Critchell offers introductory les-
sons to anyone interested in flying
and helps run a flight program on
the side. Though she doesn't have
time to guide everyone in the club
through the process of becoming a
licensed pilot, she can direct them
to other available flight courses in
the area. "She would take us up on
a couple of flights, just to see what
it was like, and it was really fun! It
was a good time," Matt remembers.
Matt had never thought of be-
coming a pilot before college, but
now he's halfway to earning his li-
cense. He practices flying in a Cess-
na 152 aircraft. Previously, he felt
an exhilarating high from hiking
through the Olympic Mountains.
Now, flying has altered his point of
view.
"I really want to get into a plane
and fly over it and see some of it
that way," he says.
Bill McTurnal Enterorises
* Beauty Bark * Land Clearing * Excawlting ° Hauling
• Danger Tree Removal • Demolition, Drainage • Site Preparation
• Forestry Consultant • We Buy Timber
36o-432-0971 . . . 6o-866-4594 , .....
www.mcmrnalenlerprlses.com [}
Bill M[981BN
I I
Page 14 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, September 13, 2007
Friends plan ....
surprise 90th :
birthday for
Rayson
Vi Adams is hosting a
surprise 90th birthday
party for her brother-
in-law Dave Rayson at 1
p.m. today, September 13.
The party will take place
at Gib and Sharon John-
ston's home at 1005 Turn-
er Avenue in Shelton. All
neighbors and friends are
welcome.
Share club news events
To help members of local
clubs, organizations and non-
profit agencies spread the word
about their projects and work,
The Journal has an information
sheet called "Reporting Your
News."
It's available in the Jou
newsroom or business offi l
publicists and others who _W Io
help preparing press rele 1
The office located at Third h
Cota streets downtown is 0P i e]
from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekd Ul
e
*€
L
She's 25 with
25 years of
experiencel
Happy 50th
Birthday
Information Fair
| !
/ 10 a.m.-2 p.m. bu,
* Complimentary light lunch * r
dlpr{
Ill * Blood pressure checks l[{
r o Blood glucose checks • Health & safety tips
p and much, much more! . I:;'
I.. No charge for any services at the Health Fair |
• I
Vendors" Mason General Hospital, Medicine Shoppe, Preferred "
Medical & Oxygen Supply, Regence Blue Shield, Merrill Gardens I1
r Assisted Living, A Touch of Life Reflexology, Shelton Massag e- 1;,,
IL Therapy, Goji Juice, Assured Home Health, Home Instead SeniO (
lib Care, Bamford Long Term Care Financial Services, MasOn. h
L County Senior Activities Center, Garden Courte Memory Care an0 P.r
• Shelton Health & Rehab Center! ," ' a
5XxuB00 " oU [ o r 00qiki n g u s Sh e/to n
Espresso Stand!
STEPH'S ESPRESSO
2226 Olympic Hwy. No.
427-1290
We would like
to say
"THANK
to all our
customers and
all our
employees
present
and past.
Mon.-Fri. 4:00 a.m.-7:30 p.m.
Sat. 4:15 a.m.-7:00 p.m. • Sun. 4:30 a.m.-6:30.p.Oi.} ,
!