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Wally in the Lab

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The sixth annual Faculty, Staff, and Alumni Symposium - Wally in the Lab - was designed to develop and strengthen the relationship among faculty, staff, and alumni, their mutual ties to the College, and their love of the liberal arts.

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Michael Medler ’74, Director of the Indianapolis-Marion County Forensic Services Agency presented 'Forensic Science: the Truth that is Needed.' He describes forensic science as a 'victim of its own success' as his lab has more to do than they can ever get done. However, it is the duty to identify suspects AND exonerate the innocent that keeps him motivated. 'Wabash teaches you to ask question, to be unbiased, to collect information.'

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Medler sees forensic science as 'the application of science to the law. People in the laboratory advocate for the truth. Period.'

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In his talk, 'Who has more fun than chemists?' Principal Scientist at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Dr. Brad Maxwell ’83 described how his team utilizes radiochemistry in drug discovery and development.

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Recent alumni, more seasoned alumni, and every age in between gathered with faculty and staff from all across campus for a day of learning and networking at Wally in the Lab.

a man in a suit and tie giving a presentation

In the lab daily Maxwell works in very small quantities to answer questions regarding a potential drug's absorption, distribution throughout the body, metabolism of the drug once in the body, and its subsequent excretion. Maxwell exclaimed, 'Most of the projects I've worked on have failed.' However many others have led to medications on the market today including Eliquis, Onglyza, Farziga, Xigduo, Plavix, and Lyrica.

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Matt Brown ’95, Director of Software Engineering at salesforce.com began his presentation laughing that at one time his dad was really nervous about him getting a liberal arts degree. But Brown credits his Wabash education with teaching him how to solve problems, how to fail, and gave him a foundation to breakdown problems and communicate with people who don't see it the same way he does.

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Brown now works with data sets 'too large to fit on an Excel spreadsheet.' His team works to write programs that make the large amounts of data manageable. 'I have the knowledge that allows me to hear what the marketers are saying and turn that into discrete work for our engineers.' And, of the 1 billion emails that were sent by retailers on Black Friday last year, 'I was responsible for that.'

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Indianapolis lawyer and Wabash Fraternity Advisor Jon Pactor ’71 presented, 'Wabash Fraternities: Educational Laboratories for the Development of Men and Sometimes Mischief.'

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Born on campus before the Civil War, fraternities have long served as a laboratory where Wabash men have learned to be gentlemen and responsible citizens. Pactor quoted President Byron K. Trippet ’30 who said, 'The Wabash fraternities have grown up with the College. It is hard, if not impossible, to describe the character of Wabash without including a description of fraternity life.'

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Dr. Joe Trebley ’01 is the head of start-up support and promotion at the IU Research and Technology Corp. In his presentation he described the 'interface between science and business.' Trebley describes his role as two-fold: 1. cheerleader and 2. translator. 'Science is hard and getting products to market is even harder. I have the knowledge and ability to work between two different cultures (science and business).'

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The chemistry major went on to get his PhD in medicinal chemistry and molecular pharmacology.

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Both Matt Kriech ’00 and Damon Carl ’03 have their PhDs in chemistry. The two have recently teamed up to open Wabash Brewing in Indianapolis. In their presentation 'Wabash Brewing: Where Mad Science Meets Beer!' they described how the agility they gained as liberal arts graduates and the solid foundation in chemistry allowed them to successfully launch their business.

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'We spent 12 months brewing the same four beers every weekend until we were convinced we could make them the same each time.' 'Telling ourselves we weren't ready was hard.' 'You can make a beer good one time but can you make it good every time?' 'We were constantly engineering.'

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'Our goal was to be self-funded. That way we never had to compromise.' 'We built everything ourselves,' saving them money and now, in the long run, 'we know how everything works.'

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'Our liberal arts background has made us very diverse. We count on each other for different things. If he says I got this, I don't worry about it because I know he does.'

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Several members of the Class of 1969 and their families were present for the day's presentations at Wally in the Lab.

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Chemistry Professor Wally Novak, 'Wabash's real Wally in the Lab' served as the program's emcee.

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Dean of the College and Chemistry Professor Scott Feller offered a warm greeting to those who returned to campus on a cold day. 'Every year this symposium has brought together a fantastic group of people around a fantastic subject that we might informally share our lifelong love of learning that we instill in our graduates. To see them come back and see the ways they live that out is what gives all of us here at the College the energy and passion to continue our work day in and day out. So for all of you that have come back, thank you very much for the work that you do and for the pride that you allow those of us who work here to feel in our jobs and our institution.'

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Dr. Richard Gunderman ’83 keynote address after dinner. Gunderman is the Chancellor's Professor of Radiology, Pediatrics, Medical Education, Philosophy, Liberal Arts, Philanthropy, and Medical Humanities and Health Studies at Indiana University. In his presentation titled 'Transforming Minds and Hearts in the Laboratory of Life,' Gunderman shared, 'Laboratories are not only for people with MDs or PhDs but that life can be a laboratory for each and every one of us. You don’t have don’t have to discover a new cure to transform a life. I think if every one of us can keep our eyes and minds and hearts open we too can transform a life.'In some cases these transformations are triumph – the discovery of new ideas, new relationships – but in other cases these transformations involve set backs. And in some cases these transformations involve tragedy.'The laboratory of life is not always a safe place and sometimes we are tested. We are tested in ways we would never wish on anyone. And yet, it’s perhaps more in tragedy than in triumph that we enjoy the greatest opportunities for transformation.'

a man standing at a podium
Gunderman shared a story told to him by Emily, a former student of his at IU School of Medicine. The story was about her father, a physician like herself, and his suffering from Alzheimer's. She told of the care he received from two compassionate nurses. Day in and day out they gave him time and helped him retain his dignity - something he had done for so many throughout his career as a cardiologist.'I don’t know what that story means to you. That’s not the cure for Alzheimer’s. That’s not a treatment that can stop its relentless progression. It’s not the cure for cancer. It’s not the way to grow new neurons after a stroke. It’s not the elixir of life, the fountain of youth. It’s not an ocean of immortality. It’s just a story about somebody suffering from the irreversible, relentless progression of a terrible disease. What could we possibly learn from that?'In what sense is that a laboratory of life?'That’s the kind of question a Wabash education should prepare us to answer. Mortality is not a problem we’ll be licking any time soon. How do you care for those who are declining? How do you care for those who are suffering? How do you care for those who are dying?'

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Gunderman's concluding thoughts challenged everyone in the audience to expand their view of what laboratory means. 'One feature of a Wabash liberal arts education is the ability to distinguish between small-minded rules and big-hearted principles. 'And the part of this story that touches me most deeply is the story… we could have given up. We could have written him off. But good people kept looking for the Dr. Ed beneath all those psychiatric and neurologic disabilities.'They focused not just on what he couldn’t do but on what he might just be able to do if presented with the appropriate opportunity. I call that the best kind of experimentation in the laboratory of life – not to give up hope but to keep trying. To keep making invitations. To keep issuing the summons to another human being to let their better self shine forth.'I call that experimentation of the very best kind in the laboratory of life. And I believe that’s the kind of investigation, that’s the kind of cultivation of human potential that can really transform lives.' Click here to see more photos from Wally in the Lab.  

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