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Members of the Class of 2017 and their senior thesis topics, alphabetically by department.

 

 

Africana Studies

  • Henry Johnstone, A Seat at the Table: The Role of Music in a Black Feminist Discourse
  • Terri Moise, To What Must We Be True?: The Black Writer’s Paradox
     

Archaeology

  • Anna Arnn, In Pursuit of Isotope Ecology: EA-IRMS of faunal remains at the Slocan Narrows Pithouse Village, Upper Columbia River area, Interior Pacific Northwest
  • Lindsay Buff, Sourcing Fine Grained Volcanic Artifacts Recovered From Housepit 54, Bridge River Housepit Village, British Columbia
  • Casey File, The Effect of Taphonomic Processes on Blunt Force Trauma: An Experimental Study on the Cranium of Sus scrofa domesticus
  • Lillia McEnaney, Assessing the validity of ceramic elemental data: a HHpXRF analysis of sherds from San Marcos Pueblo
  • Mariah Walzer, Prehistoric mobility patterns through debitage analysis at Slocan Narrows Pithouse Village in the Upper Columbia River area
     

Art

Class of 2017 Senior Art Thesis
  • Maraina Adams, Carol Chao, Merisa Dion, Max Freedman, Julie Lin, Araseli Mendez, Minh Nguyen, Ellison Sherrill, Katherine Wang
     

Art History

  • Caroline Corbin, The “Branded” Artist in the 20th & 21st Centuries and its Growing Influence on the Contemporary Art Market
  • Michelle Woodward, The Politics of Activist Art
     

Asian Studies

  • Codi Reynolds, Higuchi Ichiyo and Contradictions Between Money and Gender
     

Biochemistry/Molecular Biology

  • Taylor Arnoff, Determining the Site of p53 Ubiquitination by RNF43
  • Edom Bekele, Polymerizing Antimicrobial Peptides to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance
  • John Bianco, Studying the Role of Tyramine Beta-hydroxylase Related in Drosophila Melanogaster
  • Michael Carducci, Bacterial Entry of Polymerized Biomolecules via Enterobactin Analogues
  • Hawer Conteh, The Non-Innocence of Fluorophores in Cellular Uptake
  • Jennifer Crawford, Applying Biochemical Techniques to the Field of Ecoimmunology to Elucidate Mechanisms Governing Bighorn Sheep’s Varied Immune Responses to Pneumonia Due to Changes in Nutritional Condition
  • Bryan Ferguson, Investigating the Role of the Transcriptional Activation Domain of p53 in the Binding of RNF43
  • Hung Hoang, Expression of rnf43 in Early Embryonic Development of Zebrafish
  • Geum Mia Kang, Investigation of Different Binding Kinetics Among the Neuraminidase Inhibitors
  • Conor Powers, The Evolution and Expression of Bothrops pirajai acidic phospholipase PLA2-I in the Venom of Sea Urchins
  • Vishwa Rasania, Effects of Bifenthrin and Fipronil on PPARy in Zebrafish
  • Sharif Shrestha, Literature Review of the Bioactive Alkaloids in Swertia Chirayita
     

Biology

  • Megan Ahern, Recycling Psychology: Information, Perceived Social Observation, and Hamilton College Recycling Habits
  • Emma Anderson, Elucidation of the links between nutrition, the gut microbiota, and the immune system
  • Thomas Blanchard, Avian self-medication against ectoparasites through incorporation of cigarettes into nests
  • Olivia Box, Beech Bark Disease Fungus: Which Neonectria species are found at Hubbard Brook Forest and at Hamilton College?
  • Madeline Carras, Vitamin C and hypoxia: a concerted effect on growth
  • Connor Crutchfield, Toxicopathological effects of the organic UV filter, homosalate, on the neurodevelopment of embryonic zebrafish (Danio rerio)
  • Rachel Haskins, The Effect of Swim Training on the Maximum and Resting Metabolic Rates of Varsity and Novice Athletes
  • Alexandra Horn, Evolution and localized expression of the L-rhamnose-binding lectin CSL3
  • Henry Kang, Role of RNF43 in the regulation of p53
  • Truman Landowski, Identifying pathways and metabolic processes involved in life stage transitions of the fish parasite Ichthyophthirius multifiliis
  • Anne McGarvey, Using the North American Isoscape to Understand Crow Migration
  • Dan O’Shea, Chemical and Genetic Characterization of Sub-Chemocline Microbial Biofilms in Meromictic Green Lake
  • Angel Pichardo, A Genetic Analysis of Cryptocaryon irritans at different infectious states
  • Raymond Schulmeyer, The Effect of Energy Reserves on Mule Deer Immunity
  • Hannah Staab, Diet and health in urban birds: Do human food sources impact the American Crow?
  • Julian Ziaggi, RNF43 Protein Expression in Early Zebrafish Development and Stability of an RNF43 mutant
     

Chemistry

  • Marta Antoniv, Brush Polymers to Combat Antibiotic Resistance
  • Dan Cahill, Uniform, Nanostructured Copper Electrodes for CO2 Reduction
  • Jon Capelin, Toward the Synthesis of Peptidomimetics Related to AFP Useful Against Breast Cancer
  • Andrew Fletcher, Metal-Organic Framework Synthesis for TcO4- Extraction
  • Jeff Greenwald, Synthesis & Characterization of Y2O3:Tb3+ Core Shell Nanoparticles
  • Jake Hamill, Rare Earth Nanophosphor and Semiconductor Nanoparticle Sol-Gel Incorporation and Analysis
  • K.C. Kelly, The Investigation of Alkenes and Alkyl Halides in a Nickel-Catalyzed Suzuki Cross-Coupling Reaction
  • Chris Powell, Nickel Catalyzed Conjugate Additions of Boronic Acids to Alkenes
  • Aida Shadrav, Fabrication of Silver Dendrites for Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy
  • Jon Shapiro, Developing Methodology in Alkaloid Synthesis
  • Alec Talsania, Nanocrystalline Iron Oxide Electrodes for Water Oxidation
  • Rich Wenner, Examining the Binding Pathways of Peramivir to Wild-type Neuraminidase through MDS and MM/GBSA Analysis
  • Chris Williams, Transannular hydroamination towards izidine alkaloids and N-(1-alkoxy)vinyl pyridinium triflates Part III: EAS
     

Chinese

  • Maraina Adams, The Marriage Crisis of Modern China: Who are the leftovers?
  • Cole Bodak, The development of Korean Popular Culture in China and Taiwan
  • Matthew Burner, The 21st Century Economic Shift of the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone
  • Charlotte Chandler, China’s “One Belt One Road”: Negative Influence or Healthy Competition?
  • Cartland Harten, Chinese Sports Development and Athlete Training Methods
  • Michael Holliday, Analyzing Racial Discrimination in the United States and China by looking at China’s Extra Credit Policies and the United States’ Affirmative Action Policies.
  • Abigail Leitschuh, Chinese Migration Trends for Education
  • Sharon Liu, May Fourth Literature and Fifth-Generation Director’s Film, Analyzing Chinese Modernity
  • Oliver Magnusson, A Pivotal Moment in World Order: The 2016 Election and the Future of Sino-American Relations
  • Devin O’Sullivan, China’s Energy Crisis: Does it exist and is it fixable?
  • Sarah Sull, Why Chinese Students Study Abroad
  • Elijah Weisbrod, Violence, Power, and Righteousness: Remembering the Cultural Revolution through Farewell My Concubine (1993)

  • Alex Witonsky, Marketing Environmentalism to the Masses: Gauging Chinese Perceptions of Environmental and Ecological Ruin Through The Mermaid (2016)

  • Lisa Yang, The Present and Future of Chinese Luxury Good Consumption

  • Nicholas Zuroski, State-Run Media’s Influence on Chinese Understanding of the South China Sea Conflict
     

Cinema and Media Studies

Honors Theses 
  • Brian Burns, Magic Mike and the XXL American Dream
  • Kate Bushell, The Catholics Behind the Movies and The Church in Front of Them: The Creation of Pivotal Jesus Films and Their Institutional Response
  • Hoang Do, “LAST SPRING,” A HOANG DO FILM: An Artivist Response to Western Fashion Films’ Consumption of the Chinese Other
  • Mimi Do, ‘I Just Want All the White Boys to Love Me’ The New Fragrance: Disrupting the Racialized Representation of Asian Americans and East Asians in Visual Culture through Art and Digital Media
  • Robert Marston, On Camera in the Studio: Understanding the Music Recording Process Through Documentary Film
  • Elliot Nathan, Representing the Real: Issues of Spectatorship and Ethics in Immersive Virtual Environments
  • Jenna Wilson, Mel Brooks: Ditching the Comedy
     

Classics

  • Rebecca DeTurk, Motherhood and Martyrdom in the Passion of Perpetua: A Reconciliation of Nurture and Violence in the Early Church
  • Madsen (Brory) Harboe, Who Were the Carthaginians?: Fact versus Fiction
  • Dawit Kassa, Fake News and the Dangerous Legacy of a Martyrdom Complex: How Popular Misconceptions about Martyrdom in the Early Church Still Create Real Barriers to Compassion and Dialogue Today
  • Lyndsay LaBarge, Deconstructing the Gender Binary: Social Transgression in The Acts of Paul and Thecla
  • Rebecca Lunt, Martyrdom’s Evolution Through Classical Western Civilization
  • Elizabeth (Beth) Prescott, Making a Martyr: The Life and Afterlife of Thiemo of Salzburg
  • Maude Wilson, Gender in the Passio Sanctarum Perpetuae et Felicitatis: Implications of Masculinity and Femininity
     

Comparative Literature

  • Natalie Adams, Reading While Grieving: The Social Construction of Grief and Mourning in Literature
  • Madeline Carras, Believing, Then Seeing: Lilith and I Take a Look at “Alternative Truth”
  • Laura Chong, Feasts in Literature: The Famous and the Infamous
  • Ondine Jean-Baptiste, The Pursuit of (Feminist) Happiness
  • Liz Lvov, Rewriting the Romance: Crafting a Narrative of Queer Desire
  • Haley Lynch, The Real Life of Literature in Three Dimensions
  • Codi Reynolds, Metamorphosis and Mental Illness
  • Emma Reynolds, I Say X, You Think Y: Intimate Strangers in Gertrude Stein, Yoko Ono, and Harryette Mullen
  • Kelsie Sausville, Trained Readers and Tawdry Temptresses
  • Cedar Weyker, The White Other: Manifestations of Whiteness in Latin American Demonology
  • Kelt Wilska, Senior Closure: My Attempt to Achieve Campus Social Change Through Comics
     

Computer Science

Honors Presentations
  • Eric Collins, Explorations in Operating Systems or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Boot Loop
  • Jason Fortunato, Natural Language Processing with an Emphasis on Statistical Parsing Techniques
     

Creative Writing

  • Kianee Love De Jesus, Legs and Mouths Shut
  • Alexandra (Ali) E. Gay, Reckless
  • Liz Lvov, Peach Juice: A Queer Novella

  • Mackenzie Nguyen, Reflections

  • S. Fain Riopelle, The Road to the Citadel: The Bloodsalt Compendium, Book 1
  • Aaron Rogers, Pantheon
  • Nick Sobczyk, These Places Don’t Get Enough Poetry: Ruminations on a Lifetime
  • Mariah Walzer, Little Homes: Searching for Smultronställe
  • Eli Ward, Lady Woodward
  • Laura Young, Camilla: A Story of Superheroines

 

Economics

  • Ayo Adjibaba, A Macroeconomic View of the Effects of Civil War on Economic Growth
  • Elizabeth Barry, Flooding and Childhood Malnutrition: Long Term Health Outcomes in 21st Century Nepal.
  • Matt Burner, Impact of High Performance Work Practices on Job Satisfaction:  Evidence from British Establishments
  • Jonathan Carkeek, Deregulation, Number of Underwriters, and Quality of Certification
  • Jillian Donze, Identifying the Effects of the Minimum Wage Law on Crime Rates in the United States
  • Gregory Elliot, The Effect of Enterprise Risk Management on the Performance and Valuation of U.S. Insurance Companies
  • Jeff Greenwald, Modeling Lending Club Loan Defaults
  • Zachary Hardmeyer, Financial Inclusion and Financial Stability: Cross Country Evidence from Firm and Household Access to Finance
  • Lindsay Heyer, The Effect of Investment in the Health Care System on Maternal Health in Peru
  • James Hunter, Measuring the Affordability of Massachusetts Healthcare Reform
  • Wenyu Jin, Can Paid Paternity Leave Narrow the Gender Wage Gap?: Evidence from the United Kingdom.
  • Isaac Kirschner, Income Volatility, Poverty, and Mobile Phones
  • Neema Lema, Does Child Marriage Affect HIV Prevalence and Sexual Agency? An Empirical Study of Tanzanian Women
  • Brett Mele, Finding productive workers in the market for amateur baseball players: a zero-inflated negative binomial analysis
  • Hannah O’Leary, The Poor and The Easterlin Paradox: A Closer Look at the Poor’s Relationship between Income and Subjective Well-Being
  • Seamus O’Neill, A Study of Culture’s Effect on the Relationship between Economic Growth and Environmental Degradation
  • Kyle Pitman, Value at Risk and the Financial Crisis
  • Maggie Stoyantcheva, Violence and Early Childhood Investments in Colombia
  • Sarah Sull, Abortion Laws and Maternal Mortality in Mexico
  • Weilin Tang, Determinants of Quit Behavior in British Establishments
  • Jaemin Woo, Forecasting Private Consumption with Google Trends
  • Tianyu Yang, Exchange Rate Variability and Sovereign Risk
     

English

Honors Presentations
  • Mali Barker, Publishing as Determining Dickinson’s Poetry to Its Detriment
  • Adeline Black, Uncanny Resemblances: The Supernatural Portrait in Gogol, Poe, and Wilde
  • Margaret Boyd, Humanizing the Famine, Forgetting its Women
     

Environmental Studies

  • Jonah Boucher, Mapping geochemical gradients and microbial community composition at high spatial resolution in a meromictic lake
  • Meghan Brennan, Addressing erosion on New Jersey’s Long Beach Island
  • Jacqueline Guyol, How agricultural subsidies have impacted the environment in France
  • Sam Matlick, Business and regulatory solutions to the e-waste crisis
  • Liam McAuliff, How right-wing populist parties view the environment
  • Jack McCaffrey, Effects of State Characteristics on Renewable Energy Production
  • Anne McGarvey, Climate induced changes in the Adirondack maple-sugaring season over the past century
  • Ana M.C. Reynoso, The cooptation of indigenous struggles, labor and, language within MAS environmentalism in Bolivia
  • Mabel Sabina, Renewable energy policy in the United Kingdom and Denmark
  • Jessica Springer, Subsistence poaching and human/wildlife interactions in Tanzania
  • Katie Veasey, Microplastic pollution in New Jersey’s Sandy Hook Bay region
  • Perry Von Stade, Does the Environmental Kuznets Curve Exist for Renewable Energy?
  • Jessica Weston, Improving the relationship between Native Americans and the National Park Service through co-management
     

French

Honors Theses
  • Hazel Chan, Le musée national Gustave Moreau et le musée Rodin: Un voyage pour créer de l’héritage à travers le temps
  • Eli Spang, Représentation de l'identité algérienne dans le cinéma de propagande français. 1945-1962
     

Geosciences

  • Mary Margaret Allen, Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction of the Holocene Galana Boi Formation at Kabua Gorge, Turkana Basin, Kenya
  • Madison D. Atterbury, Broadening the Geoscience Perspective: Environmental Justice and Diversity in the Undergraduate Classroom
  • Samuel Bernstein, Development and implementation of a GIS-based method for predicting soil erosion on mountain bike trails at Hamilton College
  • Lindsay Buff, Petrographic and geochemical characterization of Eocene volcanic rocks, British Columbia, and their application to archaeological toolstone sourcing
  • Claire M. Forbes, Mazon Creek Paleobotany:  An Advanced Paleontology Laboratory Exercise
  • Tony Hernandez, Timing of Syncline Formation in the Drunka Formation of the Western Desert, Egypt: Constraints from Deposits of the Katkut Formation
  • Julianna S. Horgan, Coastal Erosion and Lighthouse Relocation on Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts
  • Mary Langworthy, Refined Stratigraphy and Paleoenvironmental Interpretations for the Lower Miocene Locherangan Locality in West Turkana, Kenya
  • Rachel Lannino, The impacts of septic systems on groundwater and lake water quality, Westernville, New York
  • Devin O’Sullivan, Major and trace element compositions of garnets from New York State kimberlites: a window into the lower crust and upper mantle
  • George Segee-Wright, Whole-rock geochemistry and U/Pb zircon age of a granitic pluton exposed on two small islands in Penobscot Bay, Maine
  • Margaret Smith, Historical Sedimentation in Adirondack Lakes: A Multi-Proxy Study
  • Stephanie Talaia-Murray, Determining lead content of soil along U.S. Highway 20 near Oriskany Falls, New York
     

Government

Honors Theses
  • Daphne Assimakopoulos, The Ballot is Not Secure: Partisan Attempts to Manipulate Voting Rights Since Shelby County v. Holder (2013)
  • Eliza Coffin, Voting Laws in the United States: Integrity versus Disenfranchisement
  • Ella Dean, Climate Refugees and Place-Based Identity: Understanding Displacement and Resettlement as Communities Vanish
  • Taylor Elicegui, Ice, Ice, Baby: Examining Polarization’s Impact on Senate Leadership and Legislative Productivity
  • Sarah Hogoboom, Mapping Trends: Private Education in Nigeria and Liberia
  • Isaac Kirschner, Developing Countries and Multilateral Trading Organizations: Lessons from China in the WTO era
  • Joshua Troop, Outsiders in Presidential Elections: Major Party Primary vs Third Party Strategies
  • Florence Turiaf, Small Islands and Brain Drain: A Case Study of Martinique
  • Samantha Weckenman, The Price of Justice: The Effect of State Government Funding on Indigent Defense
  • Jacob Weissman, Apple and the FBI, The Power of Jus Tertii, and the All Writs Act of 1789
  • Grant Whitney, Regional Exertion of Power: Iran and the Nuclear Deal
     

Hispanic Studies

Honors Theses
  • Sarah Gamblin, Cervantes, Ricote y la expulsión de los moriscos
  • Rachel Harshaw, Las gallinas y los zorros del patriarcado: el poder de la alianza femenina en La casa de los espíritus
  • Amanda Hernandez, Entre la guerra civil y la violencia urbana: dos filmes sobre El Salvador
  • Aida Shadrav, Transgredir las normas sociales restantes de la dictadura de Franco a través del cine de Pedro Almodóvar
  • Grace Ward, El catalizador del nacionalismo radical: la propaganda cinematográfica en las relaciones entre los Estados Unidos y Cuba
     

History

Honors Theses
  • William Artery, Abraham Lincoln's Rhetoric of Qualification
  • Michael Lubelczyk, Military Tribunals and the Hegemony of Liberal Internationalism
     

independent Study

Independent Study in Communication
  • Lauren Pyo, Real Beauty: Gender Norms, Women’s Empowerment, and Beauty Standards in ‘Natural’ Campaigns
     

Interdisciplinary Studies

Interdisciplinary Studies in Communication and Women’s Studies
  • Polly Bruce, #EverydaySexism, #ToTheGirls, and Feminist Social Media: Women Coping with Sexism and Supporting Each Other on Twitter
Interdisciplinary Studies in English, Education Studies and Psychology
  • Colleen O’Brien, (Re)Imagining Empathy: Exploring the Influence of Fictional Narratives on Empathic Tendencies
     

Linguistics

  • Michael Burchesky, Prosodic Disambiguation & Pitch Discrimination
  • Taylor LaSon, Metalinguistic Awareness in Multilingual Children
     

Literature

Honors Presentation
  • Hannah Mooney, Escaping the Inbent Spiral: Sincerity Through Fiction in David Foster Wallace’s “Good Old Neon”
     

Mathematics

Honors Presentations
  • Gordon Bogardus, Baseball, Percentages and Regression
  • Emily Hedison, Extensions of Rock-Paper-Scissors
  • Emmerson Zhaime, Using Cronbach’s Alpha to Assess the Reliability of Alcohol Survey Questions
     

Music

  • Eliza Burwell, piano
  • Adelaide Fuller, voice and choral conducting
     

Neuroscience

  • Alexander Baradari, The Effect of TBI Severity on Learning and Memory in Drosophila melanogaster.
  • Beatrice Blackwell, Effects of Yo-Yo Dieting on Immunocompetence.
  • Sarah Bowler, The Polygenic and Environmental Impact on Stress and Maladaptive Coping Strategies.
  • Martina Brave, The Role of the ACC and the Amygdala in Fear Memory Reconsolidation in an Animal Model of PTSD.
  • Carolin Chao, Sexual Arousal Influences the Neural Encoding of Facial Attractiveness.
  • Amelia Denney, Bind, Learn, Update, Retrieve: the Role of the Postrhinal Cortex in Contextual Memory.
  • Charles Feinberg, Too Afraid to Include: Fear Suppresses the Neural Encoding of Out-Group Members.
  • Ana Garces Torres, Variation in Bilingual Cognitive Performance Contingent on Age of Acquisition.
  • Hilary Giles, The Impact of Perceptual Noise and Emotional Expression on the Neural Encoding of Faces: An EEG Study.
  • Paul Green, Learning and Memory Deficits in a Drosophila TBI model.
  • Areej Haroon, The Impact of Vitamin D Deficiency on Tryptophan and Subsequently the Synthesis of Serotonin (5-HT) in the Brain: A Pathway to Depression.
  • Natalie Kuhn, In-group v. Out-group learning across the political spectrum: An EEG study.
  • Audrey Love, The Effects of Positive Stereotyping on Math Performance.
  • Minh Nguyen, The Influence of Golden Ratio on Visual Spatial Attention.
  • Marina Palumbo, Could a New Rat Model for Alzheimer’s Disease Pave the Way for Earlier Diagnoses?
  • Kevin Roback, Recovery of Learning and Memory Deficits in a Drosophila TBI model.
  • Samantha Rosen, Spatial Attention and Competing Representations in Working Memory.
  • Rebecca Ryan, Can Exercise Serum Improve Cognition in Diabetic Animals?
  • William Rybaltowski, Audiovisual Associative Learning of Tone-Color Pairs
  • Olivia Surgent, Altered Sensory Learning in a Potential Rat Model of Autism Spectrum Disorder.
  • Thomson Tai, Examining Learning in Action Video Game Players.
  • Ivanka Temnycky, Co-treatment of PTSD with Exercise and Propranolol.
  • Tanapat Treyanurak, How do Rats Remember Where They’ve Been? Studying the Role of the Rat Retrosplenial Cortex in First-Order Fear Conditioning.
     

Philosophy

  • Brett Bracco, Non-Therapeutic Infant Male Circumcision: The Ethical Issues
  • Ryan Cassidy, Atrocities on Camera: On The Moral Responsibility of Filmmakers Who Include Atrocities in their Work
  • Dan Farina, The Subject Side of Respect: Why and How to be a Respecter
  • Sophie Gaulkin, Sexual Healing: Does Language Preclude Authenticity?
  • Emily Magruder, Working Towards Happiness: An Exposition of Epicureanism and Guidelines to Happiness
  • Jake McDougall, Metaphysical Realism: The Door Not the Window
  • Gaby Pilson, Why climb mountains? An investigation into what mountain climbing can teach us about the self
  • Sara Purinton, Nietzschean Affirmation: A Joyous Challenge
  • Connor Sharkey, On the Rationality & Moral Permissibility of Physician-Assisted Suicide in Light of the Theoretical Nature of Suicide as an Action
  • Caleb Duane Williamson, The Emergence of the Twenty-First Century ‘New Negro’: An Analysis of the Emerging Social Consciousness of Contemporary Black America
     

Physics

  • Ian Brown, Calculating the Post-Newtonian Parameters for Conformally Equivalent Theories
  • Brady Bruno, Measuring the Neutron Spectrum: BL3’s Neutron Chopper
  • Kevin Carey, Automated Analysis For Atomic Positions in 2D Silicates
  • Maxwell Coleman, Underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle for Bacterial Research in Meromictic Lakes
  • Alec Cornwell, Measurement of the Neutron Lifetime: Neutron Chopper for BL3
  • Marcos Ferreccio, Continuing the Modification and Optimization of a Rubidium Magnetometer
  • Leo Kell, Acceleration Curves for Disk-Shaped Galaxies in Modified Newtonian Dynamics
  • Ash Khan, Neutron spin transport in the aCORN apparatus
  • Ashton Lowenstein, Quantum Parametric Radiation from Merging Black Holes
  • John Pikus, Statistical Mechanics of Black Holes
  • Ben Schafer, Construction of a Parallel Transport Machine for the Measurement of Topographic Properties
  • Tom Soldi, Optimization and Modification of a Rubidium Magnetometer
  • Eli Ward, Calculating the Leggett-Garg Inequality for Non-Hermitian Quantum Mechanics
  • Mengyi (Jessica) Zhu, Design and Building of Crow-bot

     

Psychology

  • Scott D. Becker, Framing Climate Change Messages with Positive and Negative Liberty

  • Devon Brown, Reducing Negative Behaviors in an Elementary Student: A Case Study

  • Becca Butler, Effect of Linguistically Cued Perspective-Taking on Empathy

  • Hazel Chan, Reducing Binge Drinking using Fear and Gain vs. Loss Framing Messages on Facebook

  • Jeremy Cottle, In- vs. Out-group Charitable Giving as a Function of Political Orientation

  • Finley Cruger, Effects of Role Play on Children’s Prosocial Behavior

  • Sarah Dimakis, Collaborative Inhibition in Autobiographical Memory

  • Emma H. Feitelson, Designing Recruitment Messages to Boost Volunteering in Hamilton Students

  • Peter Goldsmith, The Effects of Race of Speaker and Argument Quality on Persuasion

  • Hayley Goodrich, Overcome with Awe: Meaning-maintenance in the Face of a Profound Aesthetic Experience

  • Bennett Hambrook, Leadership Development in College Athletics: A Proposed Study

  • Charlotte Healey, Interventions for Selective Mutism in an Elementary Student: A Case Study

  • Benjamin Isenberg, Comorbid ADHD and Mood Dysregulation: Creating and Evaluating a School-based Intervention

  • Congcong (Cindy) Li, Emotions and False Memory: Moving Beyond Valence and Arousal

  • Nathalia Mahabir, Belongingness and Emotional Intelligence: An Examination of Reciprocal Relationships

  • Kelly Manhart, Early Predictors of Long-Term Relationship Success

  • Cole Mattran, Helping Students with ADHD Using Working Memory Training

  • Annie McArdle, The Influence of Children’s Pretend Play Identity on Persistence

  • Araseli Mendez, Source Monitoring as a Counter for the Misinformation Effect

  • Emily Morris, The Effect of Social Influence on Preschoolers’ Self-Control

  • Brendon W. Nylen, Gender Differences in the Relationship between Serotonin and Alcohol-Related Aggression

  • Hannah O’Grady, Does Ego Threat Moderate the Relationship Between Defensive Self-Esteem and Risk-Taking?

  • Helen Park, Comparing Brief Mindfulness Meditation and Relaxation on Attention and Anxiety

  • KaraLin Pintye-Everett, Look Again: Examining Responses to Facial Attractiveness Via Repetition and Social Influence

  • Leah Pranschke, The Effects of Primed Social Class Stigma on Self-Regulation, Self-Esteem, and Sense of Belonging

  • Elizabeth Prescott, Broad Autism Phenotype and Related Factors in College Students

  • Kaitlan Puglia, How Do People with Defensive Self-esteem Interpret Neutral Cues Following Ego Threat?

  • Emily Randrup, Implicit Learning in Children: An Investigation of Statistically Optimal Learning Through a Spatial Localization Task

  • Alex Regan, College Athletes’ Susceptibility to Eating Disorders: A Review of the Literature

  • Meg E. Riley, Feminist Backlash as a Function of Moral and Status Quo Threats

  • Lillie Simourian, College Students’ Perceptions of Classmates Who Treat ADHD with Stimulant Medication

  • Barbara Singhakiat, To Conform or Dissent: The Effect of Threatening Self-Concept Clarity

  • Corinne Smith, College Students' Narratives of Sex and Sexuality

  • Elizabeth P. Starr, Exploring the Relationship Between Self-Distancing and Trauma

  • Djinnie Timoleon, The Relationship between Stress Reactivity and 5-HTTLPR: The Moderating Roles of Self-Esteem and Need to Belong

  • Abigail H. Toribio, How Anticipating Moral Reproach Affects College Students’ Willingness to Self-Disclose

  • Becka L. Vacarelo, Does Instagram Harm Women’s Health? Dieting and Modern Media Exposure

  • Annali Vernon, Hiring Bias: Mechanisms and Tips for Prevention
     

Public Policy

  • Jean-David (JD) Brachman and James (Jimmy) Giattino, The New Era of the Sporting Mega Events: What is the New Mold for a Mega-Event Host?
  • Genevieve Caffrey, Defining Kinship Navigator Program Quality: How States Can Best Meet the Needs of Informal Caregivers and How Societal Values Affect These Efforts
  • Jonathan Cohen, The Chicken Tax: A Natural Experiment in Protectionist Policy in the Automobile Industry
  • Caroline Rose Corbin, Diversity and College Admissions: Understanding the Influences on Diversity in American Higher Education
  • Carter Dorsett, Common Language: Integrating Machine Language Translation into General Education Courses for Students with Limited English Proficiency
  • Jonathan Dugal and Alex (Zhixiong) Wang, The City of New Hartford?  Exploring the Procedure and Feasibility for the Town of New Hartford to Become a City
  • Nicholas Flora, Choice Schools and Survival of the Fittest: Do Charter Schools Get Better Over Time?
  • Tucker Hamlin, Paying to Play: The Determinants of Government Funding for Sports Stadiums
  • Conor Lamberti, Pretzel Logic: The Curious Psychological Principles Behind Extended Warranties
  • Abigail Leitschuh, Building the Glass Ceiling: The Surprising Effect of Education and Work Hours on Pay Equity for Women
  • Shirley Luo, High-Deductible Health Plans and Health Savings Accounts: The Future of Health Care in America
  • Robert McClure, Campaign and Box Office Success: What Movie Moguls Can Learn from Campaign Managers, and Vice Versa
  • Katie Parkman and Sara Taffe, Pay Now to Save $111 Billion Later: Undocumented Immigrant Health Care Reform
  • Taylor Ryan, The Cost-Benefit Analysis of P3 Investments vs. State Gas Tax Reconfigurations: A Proposal for Future U.S. Infrastructure Financial Needs

 

Religious Studies

Senior Theses
  • Michael Berrios, Using Institutional Reform and Early Intervention to Combat Genocide: An Examination of the 1994 Tutsi Genocide and the Holocaust
  • Sara Nolan, The Church of Freaks: The Socio-Religious Dimension of Music
Honors Projects
  • Michael Berrios, Wakeup: Millennials and Religion
  • Shannon Boley, Muslim Refugees and Christian Charities: A Case Study of Refugee Resettlement in Rome, Italy
  • Lillia McEnaney, Nampeyo and the Anthropologist: Restoring Artists’ Agency at Hopi Pueblo in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries
  • Lauren Scutt, On the Origins of Postmodern Spirituality
     

Russian Studies

  • Winston C. Schromm, Rebuild, Recreate, Dominate: An Investigation into Party Involvement in Soviet Physical Culture and Sport
  • Hunter Sobczak, Russia Between the East and West: A Study of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky's Writings in the 1870s
  • Claesen (Coo) Wyckoff, From Dikanka to Mirgorod: The Ways N.V. Gogol Represents Ukraine

 

Sociology

  • Charlotte Andrews, Can We Talk?: How Talking About Ourselves and Talking About Others Builds Group Solidarity
  • Molly April, Female Students “Doing Gender” at Hamilton College
  • Kateri Boucher, Complexifying Intra-Movement Interactions: Collaboration, Conflict, and Competition Between Two Environmental Justice Organizations
  • Madison Fredrick, “Hearts and Minds”: Commitment Culture at Silicon Valley Tech Organizations
  • Benjamin Goldman, How to Become a “Power Gay”: A Qualitative Study on Social Mobility, Privilege, and Opportunity in the New York City Gay Community
  • Katherine Hayse, Professional or Powerless: The Effect of the Common Core Standards on Teacher Morale
  • Yuwen Michelson, An Interpersonal Exploration of Zen Buddhism: A Case Study of Thi?n Vi?n Trúc Lâm in Da Lat, Vietnam
  • Meredyth Ohringer, The Best: How Certain Professors Come to Stand Above the Rest
  • Jeanette Parra, Sex Talk: Understanding sexualization through the female college student perspective
  • Caroline Reppert, Enabling Political Volunteerism: A Study of the Pieces of Political Participation in the United States
  • Jean Shim, Do the Clothes Make the Man? Male College Students and the Performance of Intersectional Identities Through Clothing
  • Hannah Strong, From Martin’s Way to Wall Street: A Study of “Career Funneling” at Hamilton College
  • Zain Ul-Arifeen, The Dating Choices of Young Adults – The Effect of Social Origins in Determining Who Dates Whom
     

Theatre

  • Eliza Burwell, Hamilton College Stage Management Handbook
  • Ryan Cassidy, directing, Mac Wellman’s The Self-Begotten
  • Catherine Daigle, directing, Medea Redux by Neil Labute
  • Collin Purcell and Matt Reinemann, performing and directing, In On It by Daniel MacIvor
     

Women’s and Gender Studies

  • Janika Beatty, Black Girl Magic: An Exploration of Black Selfie Feminism
  • Charlotte Bennett, Centering the Survivor Experience: Strengthening the Institutional Response to Sexual Violence
  • Rachel Eimas-Dietrich, Non-Gendered Fashion: Exploring the Interaction Between Clothing, Gender, and the Body
  • Rebecca Gorlin, Radical Transparency: Student Discourse of Trigger Warnings at Hamilton College
  • Ondine Jean-Baptiste, Seeing Red: Examining Period Stigma on a College Campus
  • Carolyn Kossow, Examining Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers in Texas and Michigan from an Intersectional Perspective
  • Alex Medellin, Teaching From the Margins: An In Depth Analysis of Underrepresented Faculty Retention at Hamilton College
  • Annel Monsalvo, ‘Free the Bra’: A Case Study on the Influence of Brassieres on Hamilton College Students’ Gender Identity, Body Image and Self-Esteem
  • Barbara Perego, “Let’s Talk About Sex:” An analysis about Sex and Sexuality at Hamilton College
  • Lauren Pyo, The Journey to Recovery: Analyzing Eating Disorder Self-Help Books

 

World politics

Honors Theses

  • Sarah Duncan, Ethics Quotas: Reconciliatory Legislation in Post-Conflict, Multiethnic Societies
  • Lily Frost, Natural Resources, Foreign Intervention, and Civil War: Going Deeper Than “Greed”
  • Hady Hewidy, Sacred Violence: The Wahhabi Influence on Al-Qaeda’s Interpretation of Jihad
  • Rebecca Mullaley, Geographic Variance in Voter Support for Right-Wing Populism in Germany
  • Evelyn Torsher, Understanding Extremist Mobilization: The  Relationship Between Objective and Violence
2017 Three-Minute Thesis Competition Winners

Three-Minute Thesis Competition

Hamilton is one of only a few undergraduate institutions in the U.S. that sponsors the competition. Participants demonstrate their ability to summarize their extensive research with clarity, enthusiasm and creativity.

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