F&M Stories
Connecting Classroom Theory to Behavioral Reality in a Yale Laboratory
Varsity squash player. Founder and president of the student club Athletes in STEM. Executive board member of the Student-Athlete Leadership Council. Tutor at the Quantitative and Science Center Statistics Center. Harwood Leadership Scholar.
Noah Katzer ’26 exemplifies the Franklin & Marshall College tenets of exploration and discovery.
Now he can add a new skill and experience to that impressive list. Katzer spent part of his summer interning at the Emotion Health and Psychophysiology Lab at Yale University in New Haven, Conn.
“I've learned new research methods and gained insight into new subsections of psychology that have changed the way I think about achieving my goals and the type of research I want to conduct,” he says.
Noah Katzer ’26
Majors: Psychology and government
Summer Experience: Intern with the Emotion Health and Psychophysiology Lab at Yale University in New Haven, Conn.
Funding Support: Rackow-Kaminsky Endowed Fellowship for Pre-Health Students
Tell us about your summer experience. What is a typical day like?
On a typical day, I'll start by digitizing and scoring data from previous studies while I wait for the day's participants to arrive. We run two to three participants a day, and I either apply physiological sensors to them, monitor the live feedback, or lead the participant through the experiment.
How has your F&M journey prepared you for this experience?
My courses at F&M gave me a great foundation for understanding the biological and psychological mechanisms underlying the studies I'm conducting, and my research experience on campus helped me understand the research process and enter the internship with strong data-analysis skills.
What has been the most interesting or rewarding aspect of your experience so far?
It's been incredibly interesting using physiological measures in psychology research and learning how to infer mental states from physical responses. It's also been great getting to learn from the fantastic professors at Yale about their research and journeys.
How has this experience helped you along your chosen career path?
I came into this internship already knowing I wanted to pursue a career in psychology; however, I've learned new research methods and gained insight into new subsections of psychology that have changed the way I think about achieving my goals and the type of research I want to conduct.
Looking back on your college search, why did you choose F&M?
I chose F&M for its small class sizes, which would allow me to form the strong relationships that I now have with my professors, and for its great squash program for which I have loved playing.
“My courses at F&M gave me a great foundation for understanding the biological and
psychological mechanisms underlying the studies I'm conducting.”
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