Welcome to Hillary's Webpage

My name is Hillary Swanson and I am a senior at Colorado College. My major field of study is physics and I have a zeal for tinkering with sciencey stuff that sprouted once upon an elementary school egg-drop, and continues to this very day. Having survived a swarm of math-saturated theory classes, today I sit and contemplate the blue of the Puget Sound from my post at the OVAL (ORCA VOCALIZATION AND LOCATION) project headquartersnorthwest of Friday Harbor, San Juan Island.

The project combines my enthusiasm for designing and building electronic and mechanical equiptment with my interest in Environmental Science and marine life. It is a unique experience for us undergrads because it is a lab class with a purpose and real discoveries! Not to mention it has expanded my repertoire of experiences - having grown up in Iowa, I had never before seen an Orca Whale in person or held an electric-orange Sea-Slug....

Our team consists of ten Colorado College students whose majors range from Physics to Biology to EV Sci. Under the guidence of our professor Val Veirs we are each working on different aspects of the OVAL project.

The OVAL Team

Mike Anderson Sarah Winn Peter Paul Molly Erika Matt

My Projects

Preparation Projects

Class Projects

Acknowledgements