Summer Research Participants 2017

Publication Date

Bioengineering:

Yesenia Castelan '18

Project: Clinical Immersion Developments with the Biomedical Acceleration and Commercialization Center

Adviser: Jennifer Currey

Matthew Drum '18

Project: AMC Clinical Immersion Program

Adviser: Sudhir Khetan

Sonja Hansson '18

Project: AMC Clinical Immersion Program

Adviser: Sudhir Khetan

Luke McCaffrey '18

Project: Bioengineering Clinical Immersion Program

Adviser: Jennifer Currey

Emma Will '18

Project: Biomechanical Comparison of Clavicle Fixation Constructs

Adviser: Jennifer Currey

Biology:

Jacob Alexander '18

Project: Gene Expression of Early Skate Embryo: Possible implications for observed morphological inconsistencies

Adviser: Nicole Theodosiou Napier

Claude-Luvier Bonnet '18

Project: Glucocorticoid Polymorphisms Relation to Obesity and Bariatric Patients

Adviser: Brian Cohen

Kiprian Gernat '18

Project: Establishing Stable Isotope Signatures for Tick Hosts

Adviser: Katheen LoGiudice

Jessica Gilbert '18

Project: The Effects on Seed Germination by Biological Soil Crusts in the Albany Pine Bush Preserve

Adviser: Jeffery Corbin

Claire Kelly '18

Project: Impact of Mineralocorticoid Receptor Polymorphism Cortisol Sensitivity on HPA Axis Functionality and Psychiatric Disorders

Adviser: Brian Cohen

Alyssa Klein '18

Project: The Evolutionary Changes and Development of the Spiral Intestine

Adviser: Nicole Theodosiou Napier

Caroline Roberto '18

Project: Identifying Backward Facing Cells in a Dragonfly

Adviser: Robert Olberg

Jacqueline Sharry '18

Project: Effects of Nitrogen Fixing Invasive Species on Soil Carbon in the Albany Pine Bush and Its Implications for Global Climate Change

Adviser: Jeffery Corbin

Megan Wells '18

Project: The Effects of Mutations in the Caveolin Interaction Motif on Glycosylation of the hFSHR

Adviser: Brian Cohen

Samantha Williams '18

Project: Analysis of Soil Composition at the Albany Pine Bush

Adviser: Jeffery Corbin

Nicholas Garcia '19

Project: Processing Data From Flight-Steering Neurons in Dragonflies

Adviser: Robert Olberg

Lisa Gu '19

Project: Synthesis and Characterization of Quantum Dot Molecular Beacon Probes

Adviser: Brian Cohen

David Love '19

Project: Speciation and Sexual Isolation in Drosophila

Adviser: Roman Yukilevich

Carly Burns '20

Project: Comparing Feeding Success of Larval Black-Legged Ticks on Different Host Species

Adviser: Kathleen LoGiudice

James (Thai) LaGraff '20

Project: Cuticular Hydrocarbons and Speciation in Drosophila

Adviser: Roman Yukilevich

Biology and Psychology:

Kathryn Wall '18

Project: Biomarkers and Neuropsychological Outcomes of the Interactive Physical and Cognitive Exercise System (iPaces™)

Adviser: Brian Cohen and Cay Anderson

Chemistry:

Sarah Connolly '18

Project: Union College Air Quality Project

Adviser: Andrew Huisman

Edward Gebara '18

Project: Using Cucurbituril as a Protecting Agent for Achieving Regioselectivity

Adviser: Vijayakumar Ramalingam

Gregory Hayner '18

Project: Analysis of Trehalose Analog Hydrolysis by PLE through LC-MS/MS

Adviser: Margo Paulick

Christopher Henry '18

Project: A Case Study: Perfluoroalkyl Acids and Their Implications

Adviser: Laura MacManus-Spencer

John Jonker '18

Project: Design, Fabrication and Characterization of High-Performance Supercapacitors Based on Ternary and Quaternary Hybrid Films Nanocomposites

Adviser: Michael Hagerman

Paige Kotowitz '18

Project: Activity Coefficients Measured Via Apparent Vapor Pressure

Adviser: Andy Huisman

Lakhena Leang '18

Project: Enzymatic Characterization and Optimization of Schizophyllum Commune Metacaspases 1-5

Adviser: Kristen Fox

Lauren O'Connor '18

Project: Photolysis of Organic Ultraviolet Filter Chemicals

Adviser: Laura MacManus-Spencer

Alexandra Pagano '18

Project: Investigation of a Modified Laponite Material for Filtration of PFAAs from Drinking Water

Adviser: Laura MacManus-Spencer

Rachel Riley '18

Project: Synthesis and Evaluation of Pro8Tre as a Mammalian Cellular Protectant

Adviser: Margot Paulick

John Shuler '18

Project: Drosophila Athabasca Cuticular Hydrocarbon Synthesis

Adviser: Joanne Kehlbeck

Zain Ansari '19

Project: Aerogel Lab

Adviser: Mary Carroll

Kayenat Bismillah '19

Project: 3D Printed Nanocomposite Matrix for Water Purification

Adviser: Michael Hagerman

Samantha Gavin '19

Project: Synthesis and Characterization of Isotopically Labelled Cobalt and Zinc Trans-Dicyano Complexes

Adviser: Laurie Tyler

Xiao Peng Li '19

Project: Catalytic Aerogel Summer Research Project

Adviser: Mary Carroll

Nar Lin '19

Project: Synthesis of Cuticular Hydrocarbons in Drosophila Athabasca

Adviser: Joanne Kehlbeck

Jacob Pessin '19

Project: Synthesis and Characterization of Polyaniline and Graphene Aerogel Nanocomposites

Adviser: Michael Hagerman

Thomas Andre '20

Project: Aerogels for Catalytic Applications

Adviser: Mary Carroll

Anna Mahony '20

Project: Environmental Analysis of Perfluoroalkyl Acids

Adviser: Laura MacManus-Spencer

Truc Pham '20

Project: Synthesis of Potential Small-Molecule Inhibitors for S.commune Metacaspase

Adviser: Joanne Kehlbeck

Classics:

Samantha Collins '18

Project: Bibliographic Research in Relation to the Archaeological Site at Vani

Adviser: Angela Commito

Patrice Richard '19

Project: Preliminary Study of Archaeobotanical Remains from the Vani Regional Survey

Adviser: Angela Commito

Computer Science:

Kentaro Barhydt '18

Project: Design and Production of a 15-Bar Tensegrity Robot with Modular Struts

Adviser: John Rieffel

Elizabeth Ricci '18

Project: Socially-Aware Robot Navigation

Adviser: Aaron Cass

Nam Bui '19

Project: Redesigning a Robot's Face to Enhance Human-Robot Interaction

Adviser: Kristina Striegnitz

Danielle Gregg '19

Project: Autonomous Navigation: Robotic Movement as a Social Enterprise

Adviser: Nicholas Webb

Zongliang (Jerry) Ji '19

Project: Exploring Fast Matrix Multiplication Algorithms

Adviser: Matthew Anderson

Jonathan Kimber '19

Project: The Effect of a Robot's Approach Angle on the Success of Social Interactions

Adviser: Aaron Cass

Anthony Yang Xu '19

Project: Matthew Anderson

Adviser: Exploring Efficient Matrix Multiplication Via SAT Solvers

William Christensen '20

Project: EvoFab

Adviser: John Rieffel

Bhuwan Gokhool '20

Project: Automatically Generating Captions and Annotations for Data Graphs

Adviser: Kristina Striegnitz

Brock Harris '20

Project: Implementation of Cascading Selective Undo in an Integrated Development Environment

Adviser: Aaron Cass

Economics:

Tung Nguyen '19

Project: Bubble Traces, Patterns and the Possibility of the Next Global Financial Crisis

Adviser: Stephen Schmidt

Electrical and Computer Engineering:

Lianna Gangi '18

Project: Clinical Immersion and Needs Finding Program

Adviser: Shane Cotter

Michael Geiger '18

Project: Projection Photolithography System for Fabricating Optical Microresonators

Adviser: Takashi Buma

Lam Ngo '18

Project: Software-Controlled Prototyping System

Adviser: James Hedrick

Nicholas Williams '18

Project: Clinical Immersion and Needs Finding Program

Adviser: Shane Cotter

Nicole Conley '19

Project: 3D Label-Free Imaging of Drosophila Larvae Using Photoacoustic Microscopy

Adviser: Takashi Buma

Lisa Hladik '19

Project: Forensic Analysis of Audio Recordings Using Digital Signal Processing

Adviser: Luke Dosiek

Sirus Negahban '19

Project: Low Level Signal Probing to Determine Dynamic Properties of a Drum Kit

Adviser: Luke Dosiek

Pranav Shrestha '19

Project: Development and Calibration of Open-Source PMU for Distribution-Level Frequency Sampling

Adviser: Luke Dosiek

Engineering:

Anouk Nouet '18

Project: The Impact of Permeable Concrete on Water Treatment and Filtration: Economic and Environmental Gain?

Adviser: Ashraf Ghaly

English

Ethan Watson '18

Project: Determining the Response to Chaucer's The House of Fame Through Manuscript Analysis

Adviser: Kara Doyle

Katie Casado '19

Project: Theorizing Martyrs and Masochism

Adviser: Jen Mitchell

Environmental Chemistry

Kaya Cooley '18

Project: Analysis of Perfluoroalkyl Acids in the Environment and Possible Sequestrian Methods with Modified Montmorillonite

Adviser: Laura MacManus-Spencer

Geology:

Hannah Barnes '18

Project: Reconstructing Climate Data Using a Speleothem from the Scoharie Valley, NY

Adviser: David Gillikin

Joshua Dunn '18

Project:Tracking Pollution in NY Streams Using Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotopes

Adviser: Anouk Verheyden-Gillikin

Andres Gallego '18

Project: Understanding the Formation of Metamorphosed Phyllies, Peloponnesus, Greece

Adviser: Matthew Manon

Jordan Herbert '18

Project: Climate Reconstruction of African River Systems Using Proxies in Freshwater Bivalve Shells

Adviser: David Gillikin

Brendan McClure '18

Project:

Adviser: Anouk Verheyden

Tshering Lama Sherpa '18

Project: Magnetic Provenance of Glacial Lacustrine Sediments Preserved in Lake Junin Drill Core

Adviser: Donald Rodbell

Katherine Treacy '18

Project:Tropical Dendrochronology

Adviser: Anouk Verheyden-Gillikin

Maria Van Nostrand '18

Project: Petrographic Analysis of the Blåhø Nappe of the Middle Allochthon, Scandinavian Caledonides in Norway

Adviser: Kurt Hollocher

Will Fisher '19

Project: Geology Department Water Project

Adviser: Holli Frey

Heidi O'Hora '19

Project: Impact of Climate on the Settlement of the Middle Senegal Valley by Iron-Using Peoples

Adviser: David Gillikin

Cameron Bechtold '20

Project: Investigating the Urban Stream Syndrome in the Mohawk Watershed

Adviser: Anouk Verheyden-Gillikin

History:

Andrew Cassarino '18

Project: The Duke of Richmond: The Military Career of Edward Hastings Ripley, 1862-1865

Adviser: Andrea Foroughi

Mathematics:

Casey Bruck '18

Project: A New Conjecture of Polignac

Adviser: Jeffery Hatley

Joshua Park '18

Project:

Adviser: Jue Wang

Zhengqi Yang '18

Project: Supervised Machine Learning for Classifying Cancer Characteristics

Adviser: Jue Wang

Mechanical Engineering:

Elizabeth Donlon '18

Project: Fabrication and Analysis of Silica Aerogels Containing Copper Nanoparticles for Catalysis

Adviser: Ann Anderson

Luke Eberth '18

Project: Design and Testing of an Autonomous Tick Collecting Robot

Adviser: William Keat

Sean Glennon '18

Project: Analysis of Rocket Guidance Systems and Structure

Adviser: Ronald Bucinell

Ronald Tocci '18

Project: Design, Construction and Testing of a Bi-Layer Mold for Aerogel Processing

Adviser: Ann Anderson

Lukas Valdman '18

Project: Mycelium-Based Material

Adviser: Ronald Bucinell

Zaid Al-Moghrabi '19

Project: Modification of a Solar Tracking System and Analysis of Economic Efficiency

Adviser: Richard Wilk

Allison King '19

Project: Automating the UCAT Testbed

Adviser: Ronald Bucinell

Jiasen Zheng '19

Project:The Analysis of Heat Transfer Materials in a Concentrated Solar Power System

Adviser: Hani Tiznobaik

Modern Language:

Gillian Singer '19

Project: New Feminist Materialism & Codes of Family Constellation Structures in Fairy Tales

Adviser: Erika Nelson Mukherjee

Physics and Astronomy

Skye Conlan '18

Project: Ion-Beam Analysis of Artificial Turf

Adviser: Scott LaBrake

Genesis Guerra '18

Project: Improved Spectroscopy at the Union College Observatory with Camera Upgrades

Adviser: Francis Wilkin

Mark Mininberg '18

Project: Generating and Detecting Entangled Photon Pairs from Type-II Spontaneous Parametric Down Conversion

Adviser: Chad Orzel

Benjamin Beckwith '19

Project: Type II Spontaneous Parametric Down Conversion and Single Photon Experiments

Adviser: Chad Orzel

Sajju Chalise '19

Project: Hells Gate Bridge, The Jewel of NYC?

Adviser: Michael Vineyard

Taylor Kurtz '19

Project: Photon Downconversion

Adviser: Chad Orzel

John Linarelli '19

Project: Lead Isotope Dating of Iron Meteorites

Adviser: Heather Watson

Aiyana Poulin '19

Project: Star Formation In Galaxy Groups

Adviser: Rebecca Koopmann

Kevin Trigo '19

Project: Mathematical Modeling of Binary Stellar Winds

Adviser: Francis Wilkin

Cameron Yang '19

Project: Analysis of Magnetic Spheres as Models for Liquids and Crystals

Adviser: Nelia Mann

Thomas Clement '20

Project: Diffusion of lead in Iron Sulfide: Implications for the age of the Solar System

Adviser: Heather Watson

Owen Corey '20

Project: Crystallization of Polymers and Polymer Blends

Adviser: Samuel Amanuel

Jack Edson '20

Project: Improving The Specific Heat of Thermal Fluids By Making Compositions With Nanoparticles

Adviser: Samuel Amanuel

Jaclyn Gehring '20

Project: Solid-State Diffusion in Metals and Sulfides: Applications to ron meteorites and the age of the solar system

Adviser: Heather Watson

Ziyi Hu '20

Project: Fitting Data to a Model for Proton-Proton Scattering

Adviser: Nelia Mann

Casey Lee '20

Project: Building An Optical Tweezers Set

Adviser: Chad Orzel

Ha An Nguyen '20

Project: Planetary and Mosaic Imaging Possibilities: Developing space imaging techniques at Union College Observatory

Adviser: Francis Wilkin

Hanna Nielson '20

Project: Star Formation in the NRGb 301 Group of Galaxies

Adviser: Rebecca Koopmann

Zachary Porat '20

Project: Search for Fluorotelomers in Consumer Products

Adviser: Scott LaBrake

John Scriven '20

Project: Phase Transition of Nanoconfined Systems

Adviser: Samuel Amanuel

Zihui Zeng '20

Project: Measuring the Mass of a Supercluster with the Arecibo Pisces-Perseus Supercluster Survey

Adviser: Rebecca Koopmann

Political Science:

Zaiying Li '18

Project: State-ownership, control and influence in China's investments in the United States

Adviser: Mark Dallas

Michael Stalteri '19

Project: Schoolchildren in the Age of Trump

Adviser: Zoe Oxley

Wenhao Yang '19

Project: State-ownership, control and influence in China's investments in the United States

Adviser: Mark Dallas

Tianhao Zhang '20

Project: Chinese Investments in the United States: The Problem of State-Ownership

Adviser: Mark Dallas

Gangliang Zhao '20

Project: Chinese FDI into the United States: The Problem of State-Ownership

Adviser: Mark Dallas

Psychology:

Sayyida Hasan '18

Project: Discussing Topics with Others

Adviser: Stephen Romero

Sydney Keane '18

Project: Community Action, Research, and Education (CARE) program

Adviser: Carol Weisse

Yizhi Lin '18

Project: Brain White Matter alterations Among Different Group of TN Patients Compared to Controls

Adviser: David Hayes

Matthew Liquori '18

Project: Community Action, Research, and Education (CARE) program

Adviser: Carol Weisse

Kristen St. Andrews '18

Project: Community Action, Research, and Education (CARE) program

Adviser: Carol Weisse

Alexa Rosen '19

Project: Level of Depression and its Association with Structural Brain Changes

Adviser: David Hayes

Meichai Chen '20

Project: Investigating Change in Anxiety During Exposure Meals Over Time as Predictors of Eating Disorder Recovery

Adviser: Catherine Walker

Sociology:

Maria Lovetere '19

Project: CAM and Integrative Medicine

Adviser: Melinda Goldner

Theater and Dance:

Aidan Murphy '18

Project: Cognito Cheat Sheet

Adviser: Robert Bovard

Visual Arts:

Mitchell Clifford '18

Project: Robotic Art: Narrative in Mechanisms

Adviser: Fernando Orellana