2011 summer research projects

Publication Date

Anthropology
Aisling Kearns ‘13
Topic: The culture change among Irish travelers
Adviser: Sharon and George Gmelch

Biochemistry
Ajay Major ‘12
Topic: Expression and purification of putative metacaspase gene SCP1 from Schizophyllum commune
Adviser: Kristin Fox

Bioengineering
William-Barton Harris ‘13
Topic: Mechanical stimulation of a healing fracture callus in a mouse model
Adviser: Jennifer Currey

Biology
Tauseef Ahmed ‘13
Topic: Using Drosophila melanogaster larval neuromuscular junction dissections to investigate the role of Palmitoyl-Protein Thioesterase 1 in Infantile Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis
Adviser: Quynh Chu-LaGraff

Max Balter ‘12
Topic: Design and application of dragonfly prey simulator
Adviser: Robert Olberg

Mikaela Coburn ‘13
Topic: Functional trade-offs in peat moss
Adviser: Steven Rice

Chelsea Curtis ’12
Topic: Short and long term effects of Methyl-Beta-Cyclodextrin on human follicle stimulating hormone-induced activation of p44 map kinase pathways
Adviser: Brian Cohen

Aviva Dworkin ‘12
Topic: Investigation of Ppt2 during Embryonic neural development in Drosophila.
Adviser: Quynh Chu-LaGraff

Vasyl Hereha ‘12
Topic: Visual sensitivity and the evolution of signal diversity in Anoline lizards
Adviser: Leo Fleishman

Erika Hillenbrand ‘12
Topic: The effects of urbanization on the diversity and prevalence of intestinal parasites of Sciuridae
Adviser: Kathleen LoGiudice

Brittany Oakes ‘12
Topic: The ecosystem services that forests provide to human activities
Adviser: Jeffrey Corbin

Brianna Ogas ’12
Topic: Studying the relationships between signal color, habitat light and color vision in a diverse group of lizards of the genus Anolis
Adviser: Leo Fleishman

Mital Patel ‘12
Topic: The biological and economic components necessary to calculate the value of such non-market commodities as biodiversity, clean water, and wilderness
Adviser: Jeffrey Corbin

James Ross ‘12
Topic: The importance of carotenoids for photoprotection in sphagnum moss
Adviser: Steve Rice

Danielle Steinmetz ‘12
Topic: Mutagenesis of the human FSH receptor
Adviser: Brian Cohen

Robert Davis ‘12
Topic: Interactions between endo- and ectoparasites in sciurids
Adviser: Kathleen LoGiudice

David Foreman ’13
Topic: Interactions between endo- and ectoparasites in sciurids
Adviser: Kathleen LoGiudice

Chemistry
Courtney Elwell ‘14
Topic: Monitoring photophysical properties of CdSe quantum dots with variable coatings using UV/Vis spectroscopy
Adviser: Joanne Kehlbeck

Natalie Engel ‘12
Topic: Ligand dependent geometry: tetrahedral vs. octahedral coordination spheres for cobalt thiazole complexes
Adviser: Laurie Tyler

Stephen Juhl ‘12
Topic: Analysis of catalytic application of aerogels prepared by rapid supercritical extraction
Adviser: Mary Carroll

Danielle Kreig ‘12
Topic: Use of cell-permeable variants of trehalose for the cryopreservation of mammalian cells
Adviser: Margot Paulick

Brendan Lichtenthal ‘12
Topic: Developing an organocatalyzed multiple component Aza-Michael condensation process
Adviser: James Adrian

Ethan Loew ‘13
Topic: Purification and analysis of metacaspase from S. commune
Adviser: Kristin Fox

Leigh Manley ‘12
Topic: Organocatalyzed aldol dehydration mechanism: a kinetic study
Adviser: James Adrian

Megan O’Connor ‘12
Topic: Studying the binding of perfluoroalkyl acids to serum proteins using fluorescence and 19F nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy
Adviser: Laura A. MacManus-Spencer

Stephen Scoglio ‘12
Topic: The electrostatic and conformational dependence of hydrogen exchange kinetics on pseudomonas aeruginosa azurin
Adviser: Janet Anderson

Ramsey Steiner ‘12
Topic: Synthesis, characterization and anticancer activities of new Co(II), Cu(II), and Pt(II) complexes
Adviser: Laurie Tyler

Shivani Suhag ‘12
Topic: Occurrence, fate and toxicity of ultraviolet filter chemicals in the aquatic environment
Adviser: Laura MacManus-Spencer

Evan Vanable ’13
Topic: Efforts toward the full synthesis of Botryolide E
Adviser: Jesse Carrick

Matthew Wilk ‘12
Topic: Platinum, cobalt, and copper chemotherapy drugs
Adviser: Laurie Tyler

Andrew Carpenter ‘13
Topic: Exploring the Wolff-Kishner reduction of Limonene to Carvone using microwave
Adviser: Joanne Kehlbeck

Chemistry and Mechanical Engineering
Leah Smith ‘14
Topic: Formation and characterization of hydrophobic aerogels
Adviser: Mary Carroll and Ann Anderson

Classics
Christopher Choquette ‘12
Topic: The Assassination of Julius Caesar: Three Degrees of Motivation
Adviser: Hans-Friedrich Mueller

Joseph Dammann ‘12
Topic: TBA
Adviser: Tarik Wareh

Computer Engineering
Ben Humphreys ‘12
Topic: Locomotion in complex tensegrity structures
Adviser: John Rieffel

Computer Science
Christina Cervini ‘12
Topic: Can the emotiv EPOC reliability detect non-verbal signals relevant in dialog?
Adviser: Kristina Striegnitz and Andrea Tartaro

Tim Kuehn ‘12
Topic: Evolutionary fabrication: integrating evolutionary algorithms into 3D printers
Adviser: John Rieffel

Aviva Rutkin ‘12
Topic: ‘Push the Yellow Button’: Modeling Natural Language Generation
Adviser: Kristina Striegnitz

Economics
Sujana Adhikari ‘12
Topic: Do plan advisers take their own advice?
Adviser: Tomas Dvorak

Michael Casper ‘12
Topic: The financial feasibility of generating electric power in New York
Adviser: Stephen Schmidt

Destinee Laquer ‘13
Topic: The Midwest commuter crisis-revamping electric cars in a time of conservation
Adviser: Brad Lewis

Daniel Roginski ‘12
Topic: The effects of alternative energy projects in upstate New York on clustering and economic redevelopment
Adviser: Bradley Lewis

Electrical & Computer Engineering
Anas Alghbari ‘12
Topic: Face recognition application for a mobile platform
Adviser: Shane Cotter

Electrical Engineering
Nicholas Brenn ‘14
Topic: Fabrication and characterization of alumina pores for photovoltaic application and fundamental studies of physically confined materials
Adviser: Palmyra Catravas

Saem Hur ‘13
Topic: Acoustic study of medial stop consonants in American children
Adviser: Helen Hanson

Jacob LaRocca ‘12
Topic: Design and construction of novel electronic musical instruments
Adviser: Palmyra Catravas, James Hedrick

Amer Khraisat ‘13
Topic: Real-time face detection and recognition
Adviser: Shane Cotter

SreyNoch Chin ’12
Topic: Improving the Union College trolley tracker
Adviser: John Spinelli

English
Catherine Elliott ‘12
Topic: On Compilers, Contexts, and Audiences: Chaucer Texts in British Library Manuscript Harley 7333
Adviser: Kara Doyle

Victoria McIntyre ‘13
Topic: Increasing sustainability on campus by composting
Adviser: Hugh Jenkins

Geology
Gregory Brenn ‘14
Topic: The determination of clay minerals in weathered volcanic rocks
Adviser: Holli Frey

Curtis Breuer ‘14
Topic: Trace element thermometry using LA-ICPMS
Adviser: Matt Manon

Benjamin Carlson ‘12
Topic: Exhumation and thermal history of the Prince William composite terrain, Alaska
Adviser: John Garver

Grace Delgado ‘14
Topic: XRF calibration
Adviser: Holli Frey

Taylor LaBrecque ‘12
Topic: Analysis of glacial flour flux in the Peruvian Andes
Adviser: Donald Rodbell

Sasha Rothenberg ‘12
Topic: Isotopic analysis of Peruvian Andes lake sediment cores determining variation in climate and hydrology through the Holocene
Adviser: Donald Rodbell

History
Sergio Azcona ‘12
Topic: The early nineteenth century judiciary: legitimizing civil rights
Adviser: Kenneth Aslakson

Ceillie Clark-Keane ‘13
Topic: Writing the history of Mary Queen of Scots
Adviser: John Cramsie

Daniel Nault ‘12
Topic: Relief efforts following Hurrican Agnes (1972) in the Wyoming Valley of Pennsylvania
Adviser: Andrew Morris

Mathematics
Richard French ‘13
Topic: Artifact-free reconstruction of medical imaging information
Adviser: Jue Wang

Mechanical Engineering
Joshua Anderson ‘13
Topic: Obtaining a three-dimensional model of the embryonic heart during early S-looping
Adviser: Ashok Ramasubramanian

David Carabis ‘13
Topic: Catalytic aerogel research
Adviser: Ann Anderson

Kevin Chico ‘14
Topic: Early S-looping in the embryonic heart
Adviser: Ashok Ramasubramanian

Walter Chin ‘12
Topic: Thermal strains in RF micro-electromechanical microbridge structures
Adviser: Rebecca Cortez

Mcolisi Dlamini ‘12
Topic: Studying myocardial infarction and hypertension on bullfrog hearts in vivo and in vitro
Adviser: Ronald Bucinell

Jose Eduardo Madero Munoz ‘12
Topic: Catalytic aerogel materials for automotive exhaust pollution mitigation
Adviser: Brad Bruno

Christopher Pillsbury ‘12
Topic: International collaboration to study the self-healing properties of ionomers
Adviser: Stephen Kalista

Erin Villeneuve ‘12
Topic: Implementation of small scale vertical axis wind turbines to reduce carbon emissions and minimize land impact
Adviser: Richard Wilk

Michael Posilovic ‘12
Topic: Strength characteristics of aerogels and updating the mechanical engineering fluids lab
Adviser: Ann Anderson

Erik Skorina ‘12
Topic: Web application for heterogeneous cross sectional properties of bone
Adviser: Andy Rapoff

Benjamin Glaser-Nolan ‘13
Topic: Nanomaterials
Adviser: Rebecca Cortez

Chris Heske ‘11
Topic: TBA
Adviser: Brad Bruno

Music
Amanda Laven ‘13
Topic: From Japanese hands to Western ears: Transcribing Japanese rhythms into Western musical notation
Adviser: Jennifer Matsue

Derek Weinberg ‘13
Topic: The study and performance of Renaissance and Baroque music written for the classical guitar
Adviser: Dianne McMullen

Philosophy
Thanh-Mai Bui-Duy ‘12
Topic: Common ethics code for everyday problems
Adviser: Mark Wunderlich

Emily Lnenicka ‘12
Topic: Examining rights to maternal health care in Uganda
Adviser: Lisa Warenski

Ryan Semerad ‘13
Topic: Understanding the philosophy of contemporary moral dilemmas
Adviser: Mark Wunderlich

Physics
Pavel Aprelev ‘13
Topic: Detecting single Krypton atoms
Adviser: Chad Orzel

Maria Battaglia ‘12
Topic: Seasonal variation and trace elemental mapping of the composition and concentration of New York rainwater samples using the Union College pelletron particle accelerator and PIXE
Adviser: Scott LaBrake

Lada Ducheckova, International Exchange Student
Topic: Completion of JAVA package for teaching of radio astronomy fundamentals
Adviser: Jonathan Marr

Tokuei Higashino ‘13
Topic: Adaptive optics applied to extrasolar planet transits, and differential atmospheric corrections
Adviser: Francis Wilkin

Nathan Poulin ‘14
Topic: Effects of transition metal ions on the aggregation of insulin
Adviser: Jay Newman

Alexandrea Safiq ‘14
Topic: Effects of physical confinement to nano scale and the Gibbs-Thomson predictions
Adviser: Samuel Amanuel

Colin Turley ‘13
Topic: The project to design, build and test a new ion beam scattering chamber for the Union College particle accelerator
Adviser: Mike Vineyard

Physics & Astronomy
Halley Darling ‘13
Topic: H-alpha imaging of the NGC 5846 group of galaxies
Adviser: Rebecca Koopmann

Will Linthicum ‘14
Topic: Laser induced photochemistry studies of lead compounds for art restoration research
Adviser: Seyfollah Maleki

Mark Sullivan ‘13
Topic: Analysis of high density percolation
Adviser: Gary Reich

Chris Johnson ‘12
Topic: The development and commissioning of the new scattering chamber for the Union College Ion Beam Analysis Laboratory (UCIBAL)
Adviser: Mike Vineyard

Lucas Viani ‘14
Topic: Using H-alpha imaging to analyze star formation in the NGC 5846 group of galaxies
Adviser: Rebecca Koopmann

Hillary Bauer ’13
Topic: TBA
Adviser: Samuel Amanuel

Christine Wong ‘13
Topic: Insulin aggregation studies using dynamic light scattering
Adviser: Jay Newman

Adam Pere ‘13
Topic: Expanding fourier transform imaging package
Adviser: Jonathan Marr

Vaishali Parkash ‘14
Topic: Transits of extrasolar planets
Adviser: Francis Wilkin

Ana Paola Mikler Celis ‘12
Topic: Study of globular clusters in the Milky Way
Adviser: Rebecca Surman

Political Science
Aaron Glosser ‘12
Topic: The effects of the recently enacted Argentine law mandating primaries for presidential elections
Adviser: Guillermina Seri

Jessica Sherrod ‘12
Topic: China’s unique transformation in global commodities markets
Adviser: Mark Dallas

Ryan Vineyard ‘12
Topic: Rethinking the politics of international integration: transformations in global manufacturing and the case of China
Adviser: Mark Dallas

Calder Phillips-Grafflin ‘12
Topic: Natural language processing: text analysis of European Parliament debates
Adviser: Christina Xydias

Psychology
Sierra Fuller ‘12
Topic: Examining second language acquisition: how quickly do we learn to associate “book” with “buch”?
Adviser: Tina Sutton

Kathleen Jordan ‘12
Topic: Marketing negativity: negative framing and attitude strength
Adviser: George Bizer

Melanie Kramer ‘12
Topic: Memory: death and survival processing
Adviser: Daniel Burns

Anna Scribner ‘12
Topic: The effect of virtual reality-enhanced exercise on mood
Adviser: Cay Anderson-Hanley

Sociology
Benjamin Engle ‘12
Topic: Updating the Somers Encyclopedia of Union College history
Adviser: Stephen Ainlay

Aleena Paul ‘12
Topic: Gender role strains faced by professional black and Latina women
Adviser: Deidre Butler

Sonika Raj ‘13
Topic: The increasing impact of online health activities and disease advocacy on public awareness and healthcare policy
Adviser: Melina Goldner

Sociology/Africana Studies
Dana-kae Walsh ‘12
Topic: What is the definition of Afro-Brazilian and African-American?: Uprooting racial identities in Brazil and in America
Adviser: Deidre Butler

Visual Arts
Sheri Park ‘13
Topic: The art making process
Adviser: Fernando Orellana