William Cole Cornell

PROFILE: When asked for an update on his academic career, William-Cole Cornell responded: “For the past eight months I have been probing the mechanics of multicellular transduction in Dictyostelium discoideum (a species of soil-living amoeba).” The young Seattle man with Kentucky roots has always had a love for science. His professors at Seattle Central Community College (SCCC) saw it and so did the National Science Foundation (NSF). It awarded Cole a major grant to perform the work he described. An incredibly bright and dedicated student, he is the first to volunteer to help others in the lab, and is also driven by a passion to succeed. This will to succeed is not just for Cole. It is also for the memory of Tevis Caleb Shaw, Cole’s best friend from Kentucky who died in a tragic accident before he could begin his college career. SCCC is the first step in Cole’s plan to make a difference in people’s lives through scientific discovery. He hopes someday to open his own proteomics lab to study the evolutionary history of proteins.

INSPIRATION: Shaw, Cole’s friend, is all the inspiration he needs to succeed in science and in life. “Tevis was brilliant and singularly responsible for some of my finer tastes and philosophies,” Cole said. “When he died, I felt responsible to share the taste, perspective, and brilliance he'd shared with me, and carry it throughout the world in his absence.”     

ASPIRATION: It is Cole’s dream to work in research for a university and perhaps open up his own proteomics lab.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Cole worked countless hours at his community college doing work just as critical and important as what’s being done at MIT or any of the Ivy League Schools. His research of single-celled amoebae is gaining recognition in science circles near and far. “This research stands as a monument to my ingenuity and determination, and foreshadows the imminence of my pending contributions,” he said.    

ACCOLADES: Besides the above-mentioned NSF ONSIGHT Grant, Cole also received a Foundation Scholarship from NASA’s Space Grant Consortium. Cole was named to USA Today’s All Washington Academic Team and SCCC awarded Cole the Phi Theta Kappa Service Hallmark Award.

INTERESTING FACT: It is said that as brilliant as he was, Einstein had trouble tying his shoes. While Cole can tell you all about the cellular differentiation, chemical metabolism, and gradient taxis of the obscure Dictyostelium discoideum, he can’t drive a car.  “I do not have the slightest clue how to drive!” He said. “I never learned.”