Summer Research 2007

Areas of Research

Anthropology

  • Carly Aimi
    Advisor: Karen Brison
    Funding: NSF
  • Sara Callahan - Tourism and culture change in the Napa Valley
    Advisor: George Gmelch
    Funding: Union College (half summer)
  • Rose Foley - Tour guides as mediators
    Advisor: Sharon Gmelch
    Funding: Scholars (half summer)
  • Sara Melton
    Advisor: Karen Brison
    Funding: NSF
  • Tamar Soroker - The Ethics of Food consumption
    Advisor: Kenji Tierney
    Funding: Union College

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Biology

  • Michelle Hao Wu - Isolation and Identification of an Anti-parasitic Compound: the Survival of the Allegheny Woodrat
    Advisor: Professor Kehlbeck and Professor LoGiudice
  • Kaitlin Arntzen - Variations in Grasshopper Jump Performance due to Female Reproductive State
    Advisor: Scott Kirkton
    Funding: Union College (half summer)
  • Kerry Bannon
    Advisor: Kathleen LoGiudice
    Funding: Grant to B. Chernoff, Wesleyan C.
  • Diane Crawford
    Advisor: Leo Fleishman
    Funding: HHMI
  • Michael Gallagher - Interactions between S. commune proteins frtlp and stslp by means of immneofluorcscence microscopy and co-immunprecipitation experiments.
    Advisor: John S. Horton
    Funding:Davenport
  • Elliot Imler
    Advisor: Robert Olberg
    Funding: Air Force Office of Scientific Researh
  • Jennifer Libous - Investigating human follicle stimulating hormone receptor interactions with Caveolin: Characterizing signal transduction
    Advisor:Brian Cohen
    Funding:Davenport
  • Jesse Mango
    Advisor: Steve Rice
    Funding: HHMI
  • Sade McKenzie - Live Cell Experiments on Molecular Transporters and Response to Fluid Flow
    Advisor:Barbara Danowski
    Funding: Kline Trust
  • Scott Morlando - The Economics of disease ecology: Lyme Disease, Habitat Management, and Social Benefit
    Advisor: Kathleen LoGiudice
    Funding: Surdna
  • Zach Portman
    Advisor: Robert Olberg
    Funding: (for credit)
  • Stephanie Seeman
    Advisor: Robert Olberg
    Funding: Air Force Office of Scientific Research
  • David Shulman
    Advisor: Robert Olberg
    Funding: Air Force Office of Scientific Research
  • Lea Vedder - Phagocyts function in homaostasis of an ancestral chordate
    Advisor: Robert Lauzon
    Funding: Ciaranello
  • Andrew Wilks - Palladin overexpression and actin cytoskeletal rearrangement in endothelial cells subjected to mechanical fluid sheer stress
    Advisor: Barbara Danowski
    Funding: Sciortino
  • Kenneth Williams
    Advisor: Steve Rice
    Funding: HHMI

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Chemistry

  • Valerie Angell - Direct Weinreb amide aldol reactions with aldehydes
    Advisor: James Adrian
    Funding: Union College (half summer)
  • Chris Backlund
    Advisor: Mary Carroll
    Funding: NSF
  • Shazia Baig
    Advisor: Mary Carroll
    Funding: ACS-PRF
  • Sadie Gorman - Bioaccumulation of UV filter chemicals in lumbriculus variegatus
    Advisor: Laura MacManus-Spencer
    Funding: Davenport
  • Devin Harrison
    Advisor: Joanne Kehlbeck
    Funding: Research Corp. and Chemistry Merck
  • William Hoek
    Advisor: Michael Hagerman
    Funding: Semiconductor Research Corp.
  • David Karlin - New sensitizer design for QD/Nanocomposite solar cells
    Advisor: Michael Hagerman
    Funding: Davenport
  • Latoya Roper
    Advisor: Joanne Kehlbeck
    Funding: Future Professors Program
  • Linah Rusere - Preparation, Characterization and use of new chiral catalysts
    Advisor: Laurie Tyler (G. Reid leaving)
    Funding: Laudise
  • Monica Tse - Photochemical degradation of ultraviolet filter chemicals in surface waters
    Advisor: Laura MacManus-Spencer
    Funding: Davenport
  • Michelle Hao Wu - Isolation and identification of anti-parasitic compunds in Paulownia tomentosa: The survival of the Allegheny Woodrat
    Advisor: Joanne Kehlbeck
    Funding: Davenport

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Computer Science

  • Susan Beckhardt
    Advisor: Chris Fernandes, Aaron Cass
    Funding: NSF CCLI
  • Jan Novak - GPU implementation of particle filter
    Advisor: Brendan Burns
    Funding: Davenport
  • Adam Sadilek - Computer model of human early cognitive development
    Advisor: Brendan Burns
    Funding: Davenport
  • Jan Vratislav - The clear way back
    Advisor: Chris Fernandes & Aaron Cass
    Funding: Davenport

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Economics

  • Walter Yund - Educational productivity: The Effects of slow budget growth
    Advisor: Stephen Schmidt
    Funding: Hopengarten (half-summer)

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Electrical and Computer Engineering

  • Jaromir Horejsi - Facial emotion recognition
    Advisor: Shane Cotter
    Funding: Converging Technologies (half summer)
  • Shi Guang Huang
    Advisor: Yu Chang
    Funding: Davenport
  • Long Nguyen - Component analysis of spectral data to explain color evolution in biological specimens
    Advisor: Shane Cotter
    Funding: Panoff (half summer)

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Engineering

  • Andrew Heiser - Development of environmentally friendly pervious concrete and modular blocks
    Advisor: Ashraf Ghaly
    Funding: Converging Technologies

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English

  • Rachael Federico - Female Responsibility, Accountability and Courage
    Advisor: Peter Heinegg
    Funding: Union College
  • Leonardo Villarroel - Writer's world: XIX Century American Authors
    Advisor: Brenda Wineapple
    Funding: Union College

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Geology

  • Samuel Basta - Exhumation History determined by Zircon Fission Track Dating of the Southern Swiss Alps
    Advisor:Jaclyn Cockburn
    Funding: Surdna
  • Rosalba Queirolo - Contemporary distribution and deposition processes of sediments in Skilak Lake, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
    Advisor: John Garver
    Funding: Keck
  • Erica Erlanger- Glacial Record of Glacial Bay, Alaska
    Advisor: John Garver
    Funding: Keck
  • Michael Gillin - Atmospheric modeling
    Advisor: George Shaw
    Funding: Davenport
  • Kara Gillivan - Hydroclimate controls on seasonal sediment delivery on the Kenai Peninsula, South Central Alaska
    Advisor: Jaclyn Cockburn
    Funding: Union College (half summer)

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History

  • Gregory Anastasio - Anti-Communism in American Higher Education 1938-1960
    Advisor: Andrew Feffer
    Funding: Union College
  • Stephanie Berlind - Fascism and the Italian Renaissance
    Advisor: David Baum
    Funding: Union College
  • Rebecca Broadwin - The works progress administration in Schenectady County
    Advisor: Andrew Morris
    Funding: Union College
  • Alex Handin - Entrepreneurship in medieval and early modern Britain
    Advisor: Steven Sargent
    Funding: Scholars

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Mathematics

  • Ronghua Dai
    Advisor: William Zwicker
    Funding: Union College (half summer)
  • Laura Hutchinson
    Advisor: Kelly Black
    Funding: HHMI

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Mechanical Engineering

  • Matthew Adams - Photogrammetry of bullfrog hearts
    Advisor: Ronald Bucinell
    Funding: Avon-Smith
  • Wendy Beatty - Development of an undergraduate engineering deskgn textbook
    Advisor: William Keat
    Funding: Davenport
  • Michael Bono - SEM imaging of silica aerogels
    Advisor: Ann Anderson
    Funding: Scholars
  • James Doane
    Advisor: Ronald Bucinell
    Funding: NYSTAR
  • John Dunham
    Advisor: Ronald Bucinell
    Funding: NYSTAR
  • Craig Ferguson
    Advisor: Bradford Bruno
    Funding: Faculty start-up
  • Emily Green - Modification of silllica aerogels to achieve hydrophobicity
    Advisor: Ann Anderson
    Funding: Davenport
  • Guo Hong Ho
    Advisor: Richard Wilk
    Funding: NYSERDA (Union match)
  • Joseph Martel - Microfluidics
    Advisor: Bradford Bruno
    Funding: McMath
  • Ondrej Nikel - Development of an optically accessible mold for monitoring the aerogel fabrication process
    Advisor: Ann Anderson
    Funding: NSF
  • Dean Pasquerella
    Advisor: Bill Keat, Andrew Rapoff
    Funding: HHMI & Faculty research
  • Michael Topka
    Advisor: Ronald Bucinell
    Funding: NYSTAR
  • Caleb Wattley
    Advisor: Ann Anderson
    Funding: NSF
  • Charles Wood
    Advisor: Ronald Bucinell
    Funding: NYSTAR
  • XiaoLe Xie - Development of solar thermal collector system
    Advisor: Richard Wilk
    Funding: Davenport

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Modern Languages & Literature

  • Andrew Barhite - The Gendering of Violence in Contemporary French and American Literature
    Advisor: Michelle Chilcoat
    Funding: Union College (half summer)
  • Benjamin Bauer - Mexican immigration to the United States: A Reassessment
    Advisor: Daniel Mosquera
    Funding: Union College
  • Gina Chiuminatto - Research and manuscript translation: West-African oral traditions
    Advisor: Cheikh Ndiaye
    Funding: Scholars
  • Linda Mölders - Sport as a phenomenon in the context of German culture
    Advisor: Michelle Ricci
    Funding: Union College (half summer)

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Philosophy

  • Andrew Laccetti - Research on the history of medical ethics
    Advisor: Robert Baker
    Funding: Union College (half summer)
  • Andrew Leifer
    Advisor: Robert Baker
    Funding: COHERD/NIH/Wellcome Trust
  • Jasmine Maldonado
    Advisor: Michael Mathias
    Funding:
  • Fariha Ramay - Research in the history of medical ethics
    Advisor: Robert Baker
    Funding: Union College (half summer)

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Physics and Astronomy

  • Paul Amy - Spectroscopic study of nearby galaxies using the Union College Observatory
    Advisor: Francis Wilkin
    Funding: Department of Physics and Astronomy
  • Brandon Bartell - Studying mercury in Adirondack predatory fish
    Advisor: Scott LaBrake
    Funding: Department of Physics and Astronomy
  • Justin Blau - Physical analysis of laser ablated over-paint of America using laser induced raman gas chromatography, and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry
    Advisor: Seyfollah Maleki
    Funding: Davenport
  • Peter Bonventre
    Advisor: Michael Vineyard
    Funding: DOE
  • Richard Boventre
    Advisor: Michael Vineyard
    Funding: DOE
  • Caleb Bower
    Advisor: Seyfollah Maleki
    Funding: Department of Physics and Astronomy
  • Anna Gaudette - Enthalpic relaxation of polymer nanocomposites
    Advisor: Samuel Amanuel
    Funding: Scholars
  • Otto Jakutowicz - In-Situ Temperature Dependent IR Measurements of PVAc Nanocomposites
    Advisor: Samuel Amanuel
    Funding: Department of Physics and Astronomy
  • Dana Lasher - Comparative Measurements of Melting and Freezing of Undecane and Undecanol in Nano Porous Silica
    Advisor: Samuel Amanuel
    Funding: Department of Physics and Astronomy
  • David Ludwig
    Advisor: Chad Orzel
    Funding: NSF
  • Bilal Mahmood - Dynamic light scattering of bovine insulin
    Advisor: Jay Newman
    Funding: Booth-Ferris
  • Benjamin Miles - Construction of a grataing-locked high-power diode laser system
    Advisor: Chad Orzel
    Funding: Scholars
  • Shivani Pathak - The study of insulin aggregation by laser light scattering
    Advisor: Jay Newman
    Funding: Department of Physics and Astronomy
  • Stephen Po-Chedley - Particle Induced X-Ray Emission for Environmental Analysis
    Advisor: Scott LaBrake
    Funding: Surdna
  • Isaac Rogers - Exploration of perimeters in percolation theory
    Advisor: Gary Reich
    Funding: Davenport
  • Christian Shultz
    Advisor: Michael Vineyard
    Funding: DOE
  • Crystal Smith
    Advisor: Rebecca Surman
    Funding: DOE
  • Adam Wolf
    Advisor: Chad Orzel
    Funding: Department of Physics and Astronomy

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Political Science

  • Whitney Ogás - Feminist Judgment
    Advisor: Lori Marso
    Funding: Union College
  • Carla Reeves
    Advisor: Terry Weiner
    Funding: Future Professors Program

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Psychology

  • Natalie Bernardi - Confronting racism: Effects on explicit behavior and implicit prejudice
    Advisor: Cheryl Dickter
    Funding: Union College
  • Alessandro Carini
    Advisor: Cay Anderson-Hanley
    Funding: Faculty start-up
  • Joseph Nimon
    Advisor: Cay Anderson-Hanley
    Funding: Faculty start-up
  • Jacqueline Raftery
    Advisor: George Bizer
    Funding: NSF
  • Sarah Westen - Neuropsychological Effects of Exercise for Aging Women: Role of Steroid Hormone Biomarkers
    Advisor: Cay Anderson-Hanley, Brian Cohen
    Funding: Union College

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Sociology

  • Felisa Williams - The Integration of complementary and alternative medicine into western medicine
    Advisor: Melinda Goldner
    Funding: Union College

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Theater and Dance

  • Joseph Hunziker - Explorations in theatre and dance disciplines
    Advisor: Patricia Culbert
    Funding: Union College

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Visual Arts

  • Kaitlin Capobianco - The Stories Behind the Faces: The Link between Union College Alumni Portraits and History
    Advisor: Lorraine Cox
    Funding: Scholars
  • Ondrej Vrzal - Matinal Noesis
    Advisor: Fernando Orellana
    Funding: Converging Technologies (full)
  • Nina Witschonke - Editions of four book projects
    Advisor: Martin Benjamin
    Funding: Union College

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Interdepartmental

  • Olga Davydenko - Quantum Dots as FRET Donors in Molecular Beacons
    Departments: Biology & Chemistry
    Advisor: Brian Cohen, Mike Hagerman
    Funding: Kline Trust
  • Yolaine Jean
    Departments: Anthropology & English
    Advisor: Linda Cool, Anu Jain
    Funding: Future Professors Program
  • Jakub Weiser - Computer modeling of drainage network development
    Departments: Geology & Computer Science
    Advisor: George Shaw, Linda Almstead
    Funding: Faculty funds

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Union College Students who Engaged in Research at Other Institutions

  • David Harwood
    Institution: Dept. Psychology, U. Pennsylvania
    Advisor: Prof. David Brainard
    Funding: HHMI
  • Daniel Martinelli
    Institution: Wadsworth Center
    Advisor: Dr. Nicholas Mantis
    Funding: HHMI
  • Jenna Monaster
    Instituion: Dept. Biomed. Eng., Syracuse U.
    Advisor: Prof. Dacheng Ren
    Funding: HHMI

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