Nadine and Prof. Greg Kaster of the Gustavus History Department caught up over lunch in Minneapolis during one of her return trips to Minnesota.
Alum Nadine Lysiak ’03 double majored in Biology and History (with Honors) and, as a junior, won a highly competitive Goldwater Scholarship from the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation. From Gustavus, Nadine went on to earn her Ph.D. in marine biology from Boston University, which has led her to various teaching positions in the Boston area, including U Mass-Boston, and to the faculty of the Isles of Shoals marine biology summer programs. It led as well to her compiling an impressive and ongoing record of research on land and sea in “large whale foraging ecology, stress and reproductive physiology, and migration behavior, specifically retrospective chemical analysis of baleen.”
Over breakfast recently in Minneapolis with Prof. Greg Kaster of the Gustavus History Department, Nadine shared the exciting news that her research has recently been the subject of an article in the venerable and prestigious Atlantic magazine, in which she is quoted extensively (“A Forensic Trick to Find Out What’s Killing Whales”).
From the start Nadine has combined science and history in her research on whales as she uses science to uncover and study the historical record in whales’ baleen. She is an excellent example of how at Gustavus the lines between disciplines and bodies of knowledge are blurred, allowing students to experience an interdisciplinary liberal arts education that can continue to inform and enrich their lives and careers beyond The Hill and equip them to tackle the myriad challenges before us.
Congratulations, Nadine, on this special recognition of your research!
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Greg Kaster
Professor of History