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Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
September 13, 2007     Shelton Mason County Journal
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September 13, 2007
 
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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.} , !