2011 Summer Research Participants

More than 125 Hamilton students are spending part of their summer conducting research with faculty. From Clinton to Washington and Green Lakes to Greece, students are collaborating with Hamilton faculty on Levitt Center public affairs-related research, Emerson fellowships and science research.

Emerson recipients are exploring the China’s real estate market, handmade books, black youth and stereotypes, and Minoan Crete’s excavations. The housing bubble and the U.S. labor market, Bosnia’s government and challenges in climate finance are among topics being explored by Levitt Summer Fellows. Some of the 85 summer science researchers are investigating fragile self-esteem, music and neuroscience, and porous sol-gel materials

Africana Studies

Woodger Faugas '12 and Assistant Professor of Africana Studies Nigel Westmaas
The Concept of 'Development' and Its Use in Colonial Discourses: A Cross-Cultural Study of British and French Colonies in Africa

Anthropology

Anastassia Baldridge '12, Paige Cross '13 and Clayton Larsen '13 and Associate Professor of Anthropology Chaise LaDousa
New Literacies for an Old City

Archaeology

Susannah Wales '13 and Assistant Professor of Anthropology Nathan Goodale
Archaeology and the public(s): The relevance of the past to the present

Art History

Caroline Morgan '13 and John and Anne Fischer Professor in Fine Arts John McEnroe
Excavating Minoan Crete: Uncovering Gournias Architectural Past

Biology

Matthew Combs '13, Daniel Feinberg '12, Ana Fernandez-Menjivar '13, Dilyana Mihaylova '12, Bethany O'Meara '12, and Associate Professor of Biology William Pfitsch
Invasive plants in Hamilton College forests

Kristin Forgrave '12 Christopher Kline '12, Abigale Koppa '12, James Liebow '13, Jaclyn Specht '12 and Visiting Assistant Professor in Biology Ashleigh Smythe
Parasitic worms in natural habitats
Population structure and larval host usage of muskrat trematodes in central New York

Melanie Hundt '13, Nicole Nietlisbach ’13, Max Vaickus ’12 and Professor of Biology David Gapp
Model organisms’ biology

Shahinur Islam '12 and Assistant Professor of Biology Wei-Jen Chang

Agne Jakubauskaite ’13, Luis Santos ’14, Emily Tangren ’14, and Sarah Weatherall ’12 and Professor of Biology Herman Lehman
Unlocking the Puzzle of Neurological Disease

Abigale Koppa '12 and Ernest Williams, the Christian A. Johnson Excellence in Teaching Professor of Biology
Preservation of the Frosted Elfin Butterfly in Rome Sand Plains

Chun Yee Lau ’12 and Ravi Jariwala ’13 and Assistant Professor of Biology Wei-Jen Chang
Reproduction of parasite Ichthyopthirius (Ich)

Tani Leigh '12 and Assistant Professor of Biology Wei-Jen Chang
Creating a new version of the eukaryotic phylogenetic tree using ribosomal proteins

Matthew Seaman '12, Andrew Seraichick '13 and Professor of Biology Jinnie Garrett
The Microbial Diversity of Antarctic Soil Samples

Biology/Biochemistry

Joseph Lobel '13 and Assistant Professor of Biology Wei-Jen Chang

Chemistry

Shawon Akanda ’12, Barsha Baral ’13, Allison Boyaris ’12 and Hillary “Kip” Langat ’13 and Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry Timothy Chapp
Enantioselective Liquid-Liquid Extraction

Jeffrey Blackburn '13, Aaron Danilack '13 and Robin Kinnel, the Silas D. Childs Professor of Chemistry Emeritus
Laboratory Synthesis of Dichlorobouillonamide

Kevin Boettger '13, Christopher Richardson '14 and Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry Timothy Elgren
Encapsulation of Enzymes

Victoria Bogen ’14, Robert Hayden ’14, Akritee Shrestha ’13, Leah Cairns ’13 and Christopher Rider ’12 and Associate Professor of Chemistry Myriam Cotten
Solving peptide structure

Lennox Chitsike '13, Elizabeth Costello '13, Tenzing Lama '13, Deric Mei '13, Kristen Pallen '12, Joshua Snyder '13, Pauline Wafula '13 and Assistant Professor of Chemistry Camille Jones
Hydrates, up close and personal

Daniel Mermelstein '14, Carmen Montagnon ’13, Alvin Wu '13 and Assistant Professor of Chemistry Adam Van Wynsberghe
Development of a mixed MD/BD framework for the accurate evaluation of association rate constants
Investigation of oseltamivir binding kinetics to N1 influenza neuraminidase
Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Sialic Acid Association with N1 Influenza Neuraminidase

Amanda Ng ’14 and Claire Zurlo '14 and Professor of Chemistry Timothy Elgren
Detection of Bisphenol-A in Beer

Talia Steiman '12, Robert Woodworth '12 and Associate Professor of Chemistry Ian Rosenstein
Radical Cascade Reactions Involving an Endocyclic Ring Opening
Exploration of Chiral Auxiliaries for Controlling Stereochemistry in Cyclopropanation Reactions

Connor Brown '12, Megan Schlosser '13, Alexander Thompson '13 and Assistant Professor of Chemistry Nicole Snyder
The Total Synthesis of the Pentasaccharide Repeating Unit of Pneumococcal Serotype 31

Chemistry/Biochemistry

Jeremy Brendle '13 and Associate Professor of Chemistry Myriam Cotten

Cinema and New Media Study

Joe Harmon '12 and Professor of Cinema and New Media Studies Scott MacDonald
Filmic Interpretations of Boxing

Computer Science

Matthew Farrington '12, Diane Paverman '13, Spencer Gulbronson '12 and Stuart Hirshfield, the Stephen Harper Kirner Professor of Computer Science
An Integrated Data Analysis Suite for Human-Computer Interactions
Quantifying Trust in Human-Computer Interactions Using Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

Ru Jun Han '14 and Associate Professor of Computer Science Mark Bailey
Creating a user-friendly graphic interface tool for beginner computer science students

Richard Klockowski '12 and Associate Professor of Computer Science Alistair Campbell
Automatic information extraction from scientific texts

Leah Wolf '14 and Associate Professor of Computer Science Mark Bailey
Preparing course materials for the introductory class Secrets, Lies and Digital Threats

East Asian Languages and Literatures

Linda Yu '12 and Hong Gang Jin, the William R. Kenan Professor of East Asian Languages & Literature
Attention to What? An Investigation on the Linkage Between Attention and Input

Economics

Mao Ding '14 and Professor of Economics Erol Balkan
An Examination of China's Real Estate Market after Global Financial Crisis

Yinghan Ding '12 and Lecturer in Economics Margaret Morgan-Davie
Challenges in Climate Finance: How to Ensure a Measurable, Reportable, and Verifiable Support to Climate Action in Developing Countries

Mihai Dohotaru '13 and Professor of Economics Christophre Georges
The Housing Bubble and the US Labor Market after the ‘Great Recession'

Noah Ford '13 and Professor of Economics Paul Hagstrom
The Effects of Local Networks on First and Second Generation Immigrant Entrepreneurs in the United States

English and Creative Writing

Catherine Boyd '12 and Professor of English and Creative Writing Naomi Guttman
More Than Paper Pushing: The Handmade Book in the Information Age

Martin Cain '13 and Visiting Assistant Professor of English Jane Springer
Stan Brakhage: Poetic Cinema

Meghan Woolley '13 and Assistant Professor of English Katherine Terrell
Creating Camelot: Royal Appropriations of the Arthurian Myth in Medieval England

German and Russian Studies

Anne Hudson '12 and Visiting Instructor of German and Russian Studies Peggy Piesche
German Counter Cultures and Identities: Islam and Post-Feminism

Government

Henry Anreder '12 and Professor of Government Steve Orvis
Comparative Effectiveness of Governmental Agencies and Non-Governmental Organizations in the Assistance of African Refugees in Israel

Ryan Karerat '12 and Alan Cafruny, the Henry Platt Bristol Professor of International Affairs
Reacting to a Revolution: Tunisia, Egypt, and the New Middle East

Jasmina Hodzic '13 and Alan Cafruny, the Henry Platt Bristol Professor of International Affairs
Bosnia's Time to Govern: Overcoming International Supervision in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Austin Walker '12 and Professor of Government Steve Orvis
Development Perspectives: The Lost Voices of Kenyan Youth

History

Scott Blosser '12 and Professor of History Doug Ambrose
Federalism and the Problem of State Debt: The Debate over and Lessons of the Federal Assumption of State Debt

Thomas Cheeseman '12 and Professor of History Doug Ambrose
The Naked Public Square? The New Natural Law Movement's Impact on Public Morality

Music

Catherine Crone '13 and Professor of Music Lydia Hamessley
A Study of Banjo Instruction Manuals from the Nineteenth Century

Neuroscience

Alexandra Arenson '13, Charlotte Cosgrove '13 and Assistant Professor of Psychology Jeremy Skipper
The Phantom Text Effect

Jamie Azdair '13 and Assistant Professor of Psychology Jeremy Skipper

Anisha Bhanot '13, Bridget Fitzpatrick '13, Marla Marquez '14 and Douglas Weldon, the Stone Professor of Psychology and Director of Neuroscience
The role of serotonin 1A receptors in acoustic startle and sensorimotor gating in rats
The effects of serotonin receptor agonist administration on responses to omission of expected reward in rats

Samuel Briggs '12 and Assistant Professor of Psychology Jeremy Skipper
Re-singing

Sarah Cocuzzo '13, Megan Lander '13 and Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology Michael Frederick
Compulsive Bar Pressing: Contrafreeloading in quinpirole-treated rats

Robert Hawkins '13, Elin Lantz '13 and Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience Johnathan Vaughan
Hemispheric Control of Repeated Hand Movements

Sarah Kane '12, Amanda O’Brien ’13 and Assistant Professor of Psychology Jeremy Skipper
Many simultaneously active brain networks cooperate and compete to determine language comprehension in real-world contexts

Ramya Ramnath '13, Bret Turner '13 and Assistant Professor of Psychology Serena Butcher
Visual Field Advantages and Hemispheric Visual Processing

Philosophy

Wlajimir Alexis '13 and Rodric Waugh '13 and Associate Professor of Philosophy Todd Franklin
The Impact of Co-Curricular Field Trips on Middle Schoolers in the District of Columbia

Alex Host '13 and Truax Postdoctoral Fellow in Philosophy and Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy Martin Shuster
Salomon Maimon, Kant's Revolution in Philosophy, and the Possibility of Knowledge

Daniel Knishkowy '13 and Associate Professor of Philosophy Katheryn Doran
World Hunger: The Debate about Causes and the Scope of Our Ethical Responsibilities

Physics

Abrar Ahmed '13, Giulio Meille '12 and Associate Professor of Physics Seth Major
On possible observational consequences of quantum gravity

Patrick Barnes '11 and Assistant Professor of Physics Natalia Connolly

Erin Bessette-Kirton '12 and Professor of Physics Ann Silversmith
Terbium-terbium cross relaxation as a probe of rare earth distribution in crystalline and glassy host materials

Sarah Fobes '12 and Professor of Physics Ann Silversmith
Post annealing immersion study of porous sol-gel materials containing rare earth ion

Michael Howard '13, Professor of Physics Gordon Jones and Associate Professor of Physics Brian Collett
Upgrading Power Supplies for the aCORN Nuclear Decay Experiment

Tae Wook "Lucas" Kang '13, Professor of Physics Gordon Jones and Associate Professor of Physics Brian Collett
Building Electronics for 3He Polarimetry based on EPR

Robert Kosar '12, Professor of Physics Gordon Jones and Associate Professor of Physics Brian Collett
Data Analysis for the aCORN Nuclear Decay Experiment

Giulio Meille '12 and Associate Professor of Physics Seth Major
On possible observational consequences of quantum gravity

Teng Teng '12, Professor of Physics Gordon Jones and Associate Professor of Physics Brian Collett
Building Electronics for 3He Polarimetry based on EPR

Psychology

Arielle Berti '13, Ellen Doernberg '13, Ashley Sutton '13 and Associate Professor of Psychology Jennifer Borton
Fragile Self-Esteem and Attention to Self-Threatening Information
Fragile Self-Esteem and Risk-Taking

Religious Studies

Mariela Meza '13 and Assistant Professor of Religious Studies Erich Fox Tree
Using Art to Regain Rights for the Silent Indigenous

Danielle Mortorano '12 and Professor of Religious Studies Stephenson Humphries-Brooks
The Female Sex Object: The Relationship between Voyeurism and Male Dominance in Mainstream Films

Rebecca Ross '14 and Assistant Professor of Religious Studies Erich Fox Tree
Documenting the Denial of Linguistic and Human Rights in Guatemala

Sociology

Will Rusche '13 and Andrea Wrobel '13 and Associate Professor of Sociology Stephen Ellingson
The Making of Green Religion: Embeddedness, Strategic Choice and the Development of a New Social Movement Field

Marcus Sesin '13 and Visiting Assistant Professor of Sociology George Hobor
The Effect of Tenure on Classroom Instruction

Theatre

Kadahj Bennett '12 and Associate Professor of Theatre Mark Cryer
Reflections in the Dark: An Exploration of the Male Black Identity