Molly Redmond ’02, a postdoctoral researcher at the Marine Science Institute of the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), was the lead author on a paper published in October by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that identified the microbes responsible for consuming natural gas after the Deepwater Horizon BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010. Redmond showed how she and advisor and fellow geochemist David Valentine used DNA to identify the microbes and explained how the colder temperatures and extreme depth of the spill were key factors in the microbes’ ability to consume the natural gas after the spill. “Most bacteria grow more slowly at cooler temperatures—that’s why we keep our food in the refrigerator. But psychrophilic bacteria actually grow faster at cold temperatures than they would at room temperature,” Redmond told UCSB’s Daily Nexus. “The fact that natural gas was so rapidly consumed was not anticipated. It’s so different.”

The October 28 Entertainment Weekly could have been mistaken for an issue of DAM. Connie Britton ’89, formerly of Friday Night Lights, graced the cover with two of her co-stars from the new FX show American Horror Story; Mindy Kaling ’01, co-star and executive producer of NBC’s The Office, was featured in a Q&A for her new book Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?; and producer Chris Meledandri ’81, the CEO of Illumination Entertainment, said that in the upcoming film The Lorax, the mysterious Once-ler is “pure of heart when we meet him [and] has no nefarious agenda.” Finally, the series debut of A&E’s Monster In-Laws, which features relationship expert and former trial lawyer Mel Robbins ’90, was an EW “What to Watch” TV pick.

Hanover selectboard chair Brian Walsh ’65, Th’66, told the Valley News in late October that after 15 years of service he will step down from the board at the end of 2011 so he and his recently retired wife, Linda Patchett, can “take a big bite out of life.” Since moving to Hanover 36 years ago Walsh has served on more than 15 boards and committees for organizations throughout the Upper Valley.

In his first season with Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles Galaxy, former soccer All-America Daniel Keat ’10 made his professional debut in July against Real Madrid, one of the world’s top teams, and was assigned a locker next to superstar David Beckham—who’s “a very nice guy,” according to Keat. The New Zealander appeared in five games for the Galaxy before they stormed through the November playoffs for the league title. “It’s just a whole different level to anything that I’ve really played at before so it was a great experience,” Keat told stuff.co.nz. “I got on and I think I did all right, so it was good for me.”

After serving as CEO of Freddie Mac since 2009, Charles “Ed” Haldeman ’70 will step down in 2012 from his role with the mortgage company, which along with Fannie Mae owns or guarantees nearly half of all U.S. home mortgages. The Dartmouth trustee had been brought in to help stabilize the company after it was taken over by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) in 2008. “Ed Haldeman has brought strong leadership to Freddie Mac,” FHFA acting director Edward DeMarco told Politico in late October.

Dr. Tommy Clark ’92, one of the founders of Grassroot Soccer, was featured in the article “Sports Saves the World” in the September 26 edition of Sports Illustrated. The organization combines youth soccer with HIV education, and has nearly 500,000 participants in programs in South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Although SI acknowledged “there’s no way to tie the 50-percent drop in the HIV infection rate among South African teens from 2005 to 2008 directly to Grassroot Soccer,” it has clearly made an impact and celebrities such as Elton John and foundations such as the Clinton Global Initiative, which pledged $1 million to support a new program for girls, are supporting the program. “We’re trying to be both bold and humble,” says Clark.

Pam (Crandall) Aman ’88 set three school records as a member of the Dartmouth cross-country and track-and-field teams, earning All-America status. Now the former member of the 1989 U.S. national cross-country team, who is married to former Dartmouth track athlete Dave Aman ’89, is making her mark in swimming. At the 2-mile U.S. Masters Cable Swim at Lake Placid, New York, in August the 45-year-old Hanover resident earned fourth in her age group with a 52:14:18 time. “As you get older your body just can’t take so many miles [of running], and with swimming you can go all out for longer periods of time,” Aman told the Valley News in September.

Before coming to Dartmouth in 1939 George Shimizu ’43 lived in Japan with his family for four years. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, “I was stunned,” he told the Rossmoor News in Walnut Creek, California. After graduation he enlisted in the U.S. Army and worked in military intelligence, interviewing Japanese prisoners of war and translating documents. In November the 91-year-old and several other Japanese-Americans were given the Congressional Gold Medal for their service during World War II.

Kimberly Marable ’05, who usually plays one of the nuns in Sister Act, took over the lead role in the Broadway production over the weekend of October 28-30.

Last March Jason Gracilieri ’99 launched his fourth start-up, Turning Art, which the MetroWest (Massachusetts) Daily News described in August as having “a Netflix vibe to it.” The company lets you rent and rotate artwork for your home and office so that you can try it out in the space. With each rental, customers earn credits that may be used toward purchasing the originals. “It’s such a big hurdle to spend a lot of money to put something nice on the wall,” Gracilieri told the Daily News.