Still highly controversial, China’s One-Child Policy has had many effects on the population. One of the least-known is what Olivia Lin ’12 calls “left-behind parents,” or parents who are left in China because their only child is studying in another country. Guided by Assistant Professor of East Asian Languages and Literatures Zhuoyi Wang, Lin is filming a documentary about left-behind parents through an Emerson grant. More ...

Madeleine Gunter ’11 has had a busy and unconventional summer. An archaeology and geosciences double major, Gunter returned from several weeks on an archaeological field project off Ireland’s western coast, only to begin a micropaleontology project that will become her thesis for geosciences. Gunter is working through the data she collected on the composition of Early Medieval Christian tombstones, and using diatoms to predict Antarctic paleoenvironments. More ...

In the warmer seasons in Central New York, rainstorms can be sudden, violent and torrential, soaking students to the skin as they walk across campus. But for Cassidy Jay ’11, rain this summer means more than damp jeans: it means changes in the chemistry of water samples she collects from the Oriskany Basin. She and Associate Professor of Geosciences Todd Rayne are comparing the chemical composition of stream water before and after a rainstorm in the Oriskany Basin. More ...

Over the past 30 years, writer and director Pedro Almodóvar has created some fascinating and controversial films, and he has received worldwide recognition for it. Almodóvar's work has a surprising number of similarities with Greek tragic playwright Euripides. With an Emerson grant and guidance from Margaret Bundy Scott Professor of Comparative Literature Nancy Sorkin Rabinowitz, Andres Matlock ’12 will analyze and compare the two. More ...

As recently as 50 years ago, the Conservative movement was completely different from its current incarnation. But Frank S. Meyer, one of the founding editors of the National Review, united conservatives and moved the party toward its current state. With a Levitt grant and guidance from Publius Virgilius Rogers Professor of American History Robert Paquette, Adam Minchew ’12 is investigating Meyer’s influence and legacy. More ...

Ethnically, religiously and linguistically distinct, the Uyghur people are very different from the rest of Chinese citizens. The Chinese government’s recent push to make Mandarin the only language spoken in China has raised questions in the community about Uyghur and Chinese citizenship. Yan Zhong Zhen ’13 is studying the definition of citizenship and the plight of the Uyghur people through an Emerson grant. More ...

To the naked eye, the simple glass beads all over the lab of Meghan Carter ’12 are not very exciting. However, under UV light, the beads glow different colors depending on their composition. Working under Associate Dean of Students for Academics and Professor of Chemistry Karen Brewer, Carter is trying to increase the fluorescence of these beads. More ...

In his neighborhood of Flushing, Queens, Xiang Wang ’12 watches as the lifeblood of the Chinese immigrant community is drained away. Some of these immigrants, out of a desire to “get rich quick,” have turned to gambling. Wang is working under an Emerson grant to further explore the causes and effects of this detrimental trend. More ...

Cynical, suspicious and propaganda-filled, France was not a pleasant place to be in the years between World War I and World War II. Despite having fought on the same side of the war, France and the United States reacted very differently to it, as is shown in their film and print media. Kelsey Brow ’12 received an Emerson Grant to dig deeper into these differences. More ...

Evan Taddeo ’11 is one of those people who isn’t too bothered by a parasite. Playing with them from their juvenile stage, he cares for the eggs, perpetuating a new generation of infective baby worms. Taddeo is beginning his thesis in the biology department over the summer, analyzing the life cycle of the mouse parasite Heligmosomoides bakeri (H. bakeri). More ...