Herpetology

Nat Clarke ’12

Two up-and-coming herpetologists presented their independent research at the Joint Meetings of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists in Minneapolis in July 2011.

Nat Clarke '11 and Jordan Benjamin '13 unveiled their research at Whitman's 13th Annual Undergraduate Conference on April 12 during the poster session. Clarke's project is a study of the physics underlying the evolution of tubular fangs in venomous snakes. He gave an oral presentation of his findings at the national meetings. Benjamin presented his poster designed to visually guide Kenyan hospitals in their treatments of snakebites.

Both students produced their projects under the guidance of renowned herpetologist and Whitman Assistant Professor of Biology Kate Jackson. She served as faculty adviser for both projects and helped the students secure this larger stage for their work.

Clarke also recently displayed his research at the West Coast Biological Undergraduate Research Conference. Out of more than 70 posters, Clarke's was chosen for the Distinguished Poster Prize for the Organismal/Evolutionary Biology category.