Summer Research Projects, Summer 2011

Anthropology/Sociology

Unraveling Compensatory Masculinity and its Costs and Consequences
Alice Coyne (Adviser: Dr. Melzer)

Disconnect in the New African Diaspora: Intergenerational Conflict and Associated Issues in African Immigrant Families
Johanna Dart (Adviser: Dr. Togunde)

Challenging Binaries: Understanding Intersexed Identities
Lauren Roberts (Adviser: Dr. Melzer)

Art and Art History

Artistic Misrepresentation of Biblical Texts
Vanessa Hartel (Adviser: Dr. Wickre)

Entrepreneurship & Art
Angelica Kern (Adviser: Dr. Chytilo)

The Ceramic Art Process and Symbology
Soe Yu Nwe (Adviser: Dr. Chytilo)

Stop Motion Animation Inspired by Jan Svankmajer
Maria Smith (Adviser: Dr. Barber)

"A Whisper Away"
Gabriella Vezzosi (Adviser: Dr. Wickre)

Biology

Proteasome and a-synuclein Interaction: A Model for Parkinson ’s disease in Drosophila melanogaster
Taylor Harding (Adviser: Dr. Saville)

Detection of E coli beta-glucuronidase gene from Environmental Samples using Combinations of Conventional and Real Time PCR Approaches
Jessica Koehler (Adviser: Dr. Olapade)

Behavioral Variation in Drosophila Due to Wolbachia Localization in Specific Adult Brain Regions
Rachel Leads (Adviser: Dr. Albertson)

Acoustical Characterization of Feeding Calls Given by Parent House Wrens (Troglodytes aedon) to Young Offspring
Kayla Mapes (Adviser: Dr. Kennedy)

A Survey of Parkage Trees in Selected Albion Neighborhoods
Heather Nobert (Adviser: Dr. Skean)

Analysis of Dominant Temperature Sensitive Mutations in drosophila melanogaster
Jonathan Rennhack (Adviser: Dr. Saville)

Chemistry

Measuring Changes in Volatile Components of Wine Upon Opening
Nicholas Long (Adviser: Dr. McCaffrey)

Microwave-Assisted Solid-Supported Duff Formylation of Substituted Phenols
Mitch Pender (Adviser: Dr. McCaffrey)

Palladium Nanoparticles on Porous Polycarbonate Membranes as a Catalyst for the Suzuki Coupling Reaction
Lyndsey Reynolds (Adviser: Dr. Metz)

Silylation Reactions of C-4 and Other High Order Sugars
Casey Waun (Adviser: Dr. McCaffrey)

Communication Studies

The Effects of Social Media: Studying the Transition of College-Age Students to Recent Graduates and Their Internet Uses
Laura Korson (Adviser: Dr. Boyan)

Breaking Bad News: Relationships between Cancer Patients and Caregivers
Karlee Siepierski (Adviser: Dr. Qian)

Education/Fritz Shurmur Institute

The Merits of Michigan ESL Education: History and Change in Policy and Pedagogy
Josiah Fallot (Adviser: Dr. Shanton)

English

Prose Poetry: Exploring the Liminal Space and Boundaries of Verse and Prose
Emily Hopkins (Adviser: Dr. Mesa)

Complex Motherhood: The Difficult Choices Faced by Mothers in Toni Morrison's Novels
Audrey Huggett (Adviser: Dr. Lockyer)

Geology

Eocene Turtles from Lake Margin Deposits of the Cathedral Bluff Tongue, Wasatch Formation, Bush Rim, Northern Red Desert, Wyoming
Thomas Fontana (Adviser: Dr. Bartels)

Studying the Effects of Hyporheic Exchange on the Kalamazoo River
Kenneth Gibbons (Adviser: Dr. Lincoln)

Quantifying P-T Paths in UHP Terranes: a 3-D Approach Using Thermobarometry and Field Relationships
Mary Helen Habicht (Adviser: Dr. Menold)

Relationship between Wetland-Groundwater and Stream Water Levels and Turbidity in the Upper Kalamazoo River
Aaron Hiday (Adviser: Dr. Wilch)

Transportation of Nitrate to the Kalamazoo River from Surface Drainage and Groundwater Seeps
Mark Hymes (Adviser: Dr. Lincoln)

Stratigraphy and Vertebrate Paleontology of the Upper Portion of the Bridger Formation, Continental Peak, Wyoming
John Jacisin (Adviser: Dr. Bartels)

Reconstruction of 200 Years of Anthropogenic Influences on the Upper Kalamazoo River
Alyssa Olson (Adviser: Dr. Wilch)

The Behavior of Phosphate in a Surface Water System
Kaitlyn Pospiech (Adviser: Dr. Lincoln)

Density Distributions and Interactions of Epibiote Bryozoans and Corals on the Brachial Valve of the Middle Devonian Mucrospirifer Thedfrordensis (Brachiopoda, Spiriferida)
Joshua Sams (Adviser: Dr. Bartels)

Using Ultrahigh Pressure Metamorphic Rocks to Reconstruct the Tectonic Evolution of the North Qaidam Mountains, Northern Tibet
Alexia Sarnowsky (Adviser: Dr. Menold)

Diel Turbidity Cycles in the North and South Branches of the Upper Kalamazoo River
Abigail Williams (Adviser: Dr. Wilch)

History

The Goths: A Case Study of Invasion/Migration in Late Antiquity
Justin DeHondt (Adviser: Dr. Hagerman)

International Studies

Embracing the Cherry Blossoms: China’s Wartime Memory and Its Contemporary Friendship with Japan
Bian Wang (Adviser: Dr. Yoshii)

Kinesiology

Progressive Resistance Training in Older Adults
Carl Wharam (Adviser: Mrs. Frandsen)

Math and Computer Science

Probability Analysis and Simulation of Altered Casino Games
Jacob Engel (Adviser: Prof. Bollman)

Music

Beyond the Baton: Advanced Orchestral Score Study and Symphonic Analysis
Lucas Florin (Adviser: Dr. Ball)

Creating a Unit Model for Performance-Based Music Classes
Abigail Jensen (Adviser: Dr. McIllhagga)

Modern Jazz: Composition, Arranging, and Improvisation
Daniel Willenberg (Adviser: Mr. Streng)

Philosophy

A Conceptual Analysis of Music
Chelsea Marsh (Adviser: Dr. Kirby)

Political Science/Ford Institute

Albion Community Gardening Network
Cody Yothers (Adviser: Dr. Pheley)

Psychology

The Effects of Court Decisions on Perceived Victim Credibility
Cari Drolet (Adviser: Mr. Hill)

Women and Gender Studies

Girls, Food and Power: Reclaiming the Earth
Rachel Keener (Adviser: Prof. Franzen)