Timothy Doane, who graduated May 25 with a bachelorŐs degree in chemistry, has conducted research in Brazil and published a book of poems. Adriana Rovers/University Photography
By Jill Goetz
Trying to get Timothy "Tad" Doane '97 to pin down his interests is almost as hard as getting him to admit his accomplishments. But this unassuming chemistry major from La Jolla, Calif., has a track record that speaks for itself.
Doane, who graduated May 25, discovered science at an early age and in a most unusual avocation: rabbitry. At age 14 he founded his own business, TAD Rabbitears (motto: "Lops Are Tops"), breeding English lop rabbits. He won statewide competitions for his rabbits and even published a booklet, English Lop Rabbit Color Genetics Made Simple.
Such entrepreneurship did not detract from his studies, however: Doane was a high school honors student and National Merit Scholar, among other honors.
At 17 Doane traveled to Paraguay as an American Foreign Exchange student and discovered a new love -- languages. While sharpening his Spanish skills, he quickly picked up Portuguese and Guaraní, the spoken language of Paraguay.
A tragedy during his senior year of high school inspired yet another pastime: writing poetry. After the death of his best friend in a car accident, Doane expressed his grief on paper; the result was in the cool evening breeze (Vantage Press, 1996), a collection of poems written entirely in Spanish and published under the pen name Tito. Doane has since translated the book into English, Portuguese and Guaraní. He won a trophy for one selection, "Day," at a poetry convention in Anaheim, Calif., and read several selections in Guaraní on a Paraguay radio station last summer.
At Cornell, Doane has focused his studies on soil science, soil and water conservation and international agriculture, and has worked on several research projects in the chemistry department, mastering such techniques as nuclear magnetic resonance, gas chromatography and mass spectrometry.
Authrine Whyte, a postdoctoral associate in the chemistry department, said, "I would rank [Doane] in the top 5 percent of the many chemistry undergraduates with whom I have been in contact over the years."
Doane has pursued his interest in Latin-American language and literature by taking courses in Spanish-American literature and Spanish linguistics for his concentration in Latin-American studies and by helping Senior Lecturer Luis Morat-Peña create a trilingual dictionary.
Beyond classrooms and labs, Doane has performed throughout his Cornell career with the Mexican Folkloric Ballet.
Last summer he had an internship at the University of São Paulo's ESALQ School of Agriculture's Department of Soil Science, where he conducted soil and fertilizer analysis, translated research reports and attended classes and conferences. This fall he will continue such work, beginning a master's program in agricultural and environmental chemistry at the University of California at Davis.
Tim, Tad, Tito ... chemist, poet, translator ... Doane is all of these and more, yet he shuns any attempt at categorization. "I don't want to limit myself to the physical sciences or to the social sciences," he said.
In his application to Cornell, Doane wrote, "I have never liked doing ordinary things. New, exciting and unusual things . . . give me the chance to be creative. Creativity is exciting because it is generally open-ended, [allowing] intellectual freedom and opportunities for discovery."
"I know I like chemistry and I know I like agriculture, and I hope to be able to combine both," Doane said recently of his career plans. Other than that, he said, his life is an open book.
In what language remains to be seen.