Michael Danahy '00, a three-time All-American in indoor track, outdoor track and cross country, won the NESCAC 10,000-meter outdoor track title with a time of 30:46 on April 30. The win set the Tufts University track facility record and qualified Danahy for the NCAA championships meet at Illinois' North Central College, May 25–27.

At Bates, Danahy has found just as much success out of his racing spikes. With a grant from the Howard Hughes Foundation, Danahy presented his senior honors thesis research at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society held in San Francisco in late March. Danahy's honor thesis deals with making chemical catalysts that use active heme sites — the same kind of molecule found in hemoglobin — to insert an oxygen atom into carbon-based molecules. Unlike most catalysts used in plastic manufacture that create harmful chemical byproducts, Danahy's biologically inspired catalysts are environmentally safe.

Danahy, who will enter a graduate chemistry program at Princeton University next year, says his most rewarding experience at Bates has been working closely with Rachel Austin, his honors thesis advisor and an assistant professor of chemistry at Bates. "She encourages a lot of student involvement at an early stage in your academic career," he said. "After my sophomore year, I was working with her to develop new intro-level chemistry courses. That kind of involvement with faculty members is one of the best qualities of Bates."