By the end of last summer, Ben Shaw '00 knew more about the landmark tobacco settlement than nearly anyone in Maine.

As part of his Bates-sponsored intership at the world-renowned Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Shaw researched how other states used tobacco funds to support biomedical research.

"Little information about this settlement was available to us last summer," said Dr. Kenneth Paigen, director of The Jackson Laboratory. "Ben displayed ability to work with the highest level of state government. It was an exceptional performance."

Maine stands to receive upward of $60 million a year from the landmark, $206 billion national lawsuit against the tobacco industry.

Shaw's analysis spurred Jackson and other Maine biomedical research facilities to seek funds to research on tobacco-related diseases. The proposed legislation — crafted in part by Shaw — is scheduled to be debated by the Maine Legislature this winter.

The experience leaves Shaw, a Portland native, grateful to Bates, where "students receive independence to combine a traditional academic environment with service-learning experiences."

A dean's list student and coach of the Bates water polo club, Shaw is a resident counselor for the Frye Street Union dormitory, an admissions fellow for the college and a member of the Representative Assembly, the student government at Bates.