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Skidmore College
Dean of the Faculty/Vice President for Academic Affairs

Faculty Student Summer Research Program
2016 Research Projects

For summer 2016, there are 99 students and 39 faculty members working on 57 different projects.

Projects

  • Assessment: Learning, Strengthening and Connecting OP Scholars:
    Strengthening
    Connections, Effective Networks Between Scholars
    Bernard Rios, anthropology, with Aldin Medunjanin '16, Royce Paris '17

  • Consumption Photographic Series
    Sarah Sweeney, art, with Paris Baillie ’17, Piers Boyce ’16, Erin Barry ’16, Matt Fenster ’16

  • Swans at the Lake: Updating a History of Buddhism in America
    Benjamin Bogin, Asian studies, with Emily Cheung ’17

  • Effect of Alcohol and Cannibinoids on Nervous System Development
    Jennifer Bonner, biology and neuroscience, with Aggie Brojakowska ’17, Sylvana
    Finn ’18, Timothy Lehmberg ’16

  • Characterization of the structural components of the cell wall and the
    polar
    expansion mechanisms of Penium margaritaceum: the role of cellulose
    David Domozych, biology, with Alan Xaio ’19, Kalika Likhi ’19, Wenhui
    Zhao ’18, Berke Tinaz ’16, Emily Singer ’16

  • Invasion of land: Using the model Charophyte Penium margaritaceum to
    elucidate
    subcellular responses to stress that were key in the evolution
    of land plants

    David Domozych, biology, with Kurt Hanebrink '18, Eleanore Ritter '18

  • Young Cell Biology Scholars Institute Camp Counselors
    David Domozych, biology, with Gabrielle Mascarin '18, Jonathan Stricker '17

  • Bacterial Copper and Silver Resistance
    Sylvia McDevitt, biology, with Cheyanne Slocum ’17, Lena Khudoynazarova ’17,
    Gabrielle Mascarin ’18, Bryan Zepeda-Carranza ’17

  • Simultaneous effects of lithium chloride and ethanol on fruit
    fly circadian rhythms:
    A model for drug interactions in the
    treatment of bipolar disorder

    Bernie Possidente, biology, with Lisa Leung ’17

  • Masking effects of light on circadian activity rhythms in a transgenic fruit
    fly model
    of Alzheimer’s Disease
    Bernie Possidente, biology, with Alexandra Fall ’18

  • Social Wasps as Biocontrol Agents
    Monica Raveret Richter, biology, with Bruce Martin ’18

  • Social Media, Local Engagement, and Personal Relationships: The Case of
    Large and Small Restaurants
    Ela Lepowska-White, management and business, with Sarah Rinaolo ’17

  • Developing Portable Testing Devices Using Open-Source Hardware
    Kim Frederick, chemistry, with Martin Bedulskij ’18

  • Development of a Plastic Microfluidic Device for Malaraia Diagnosis
    Kim Frederick, chemistry, with Emily O’Connor ’19 (Schupf Scholar)

  • Development of a Paper-Based Diagnostic for Malaraia
    Kim Frederick, chemistry, with Laura Swenson ’19 (Schupf Scholar)

  • TIMDA and [3+4] Allyl Cation
    Ray Giguere, chemistry, with Matthew Leuckheide ’17, Matthew Mailloux ’18, Killian
    Grider ’18

  • Statistical Analysis of Molecular Dynamics Simulations
    William Kennerly, chemistry, with Charles Clayton ’18

  • Quantam Mechanics of Tryptophan Fluorescence
    William Kennerly, chemistry, with Justin Gerard ’17, Alexandra Cassell ’19 (Schupf
    Scholar), Charles Clayton ’18

  • Practical Isotopic Labelling via H-D Exchange (PILE)
    Jessada Mahatthananchai, chemistry, with Robyn Stix ’18, Matthew Lueckheide ’17,
    Miary Rasoanaivo ’18

  • Cloning of the regulatory system pcoRS from Enterobacter cloacae ATCC13047
    Sylvia McDevitt, chemistry, with Sthorme Pyrame ’18

  • Study of the Oxidation of Chemisorbed Organic Compounds by Nonthermal Plasma
    Juan Navea, chemistry, with Claudia Bennett-Caso ‘19

  • Photochemistry of Semivolatile Organic Compounds Chemisorbed on Titanium Dioxide
    Juan Navea, chemistry, with Erin Mah ’19

  • Computational Methods in Heterogeneous Atmospheric Chemistry
    Juan Navea, chemistry, with Christopher Ostaszewski '18
  • Investigating Nanoparticles’ Surface Molecules during the Preparation of Colored Polymers
    Maryuri Roca, chemistry, with Hannah Skipper ’17

  • Dual Routes for Asparaginyl-tRNA Formation in Bacilli, and Genetic Code Expansion with
    Pyroglutamate
    Kelly Sheppard, chemistry, with Karli Rasmussen ’18, Caitlin Schroder ’18, David
    Sweezy ’17, Meggie Danielson ’17, Hannah Schapiro ’17, Emily Williams ’18, Lindsay Ophel ’17

  • Nanotechnology: Innovation and Industry Booms in Developing Countries
    Monica Das, economics, with Lucas Raynaud ’17

  • Strategizing Community Outreach in a Documentary Film: Memories of a Penitent Heart
    Cecilia Aldarondo, English, with Molly Fulton ‘17

  • Broad and Microscale Controls on Plant Litter Decomposition across Climatic and
    Plant
    Community Gradients
    Kurt Smemo, environmental studies, with Jen Christiano ’18, Daniel Casarella ’18

  • Flipping the COIN: Analysis of Human Rights Abuses by the Indian Armed Forces in Kashmir
    Yelena Biberman-Ocakli, political science, with Trevor Cloen ’18

  • Using Geospatial Information to Study Election Reforms
    Christopher Mann, political science, with Henry Jaffe ’18

  • Understanding the Effects of Election Official Discretion
    Christopher Mann, political science, with Chloe Singer ’18

  • Effects of a Combined Protein and Antioxidant Supplement (PRO+AO) on Muscle
    Recovery
    in College-Aged Males
    Stephen Ives, health and exercise sciences, with Alex Matias ’18, Noelle Morrow ’19, Samuel
    Bloom ’17

  • Elliptic Curves over Finite Fields
    Mark Huibregtse, mathematics, with Chen Lin ’18

  • Moneyball for Softball
    Michael Lopez, mathematics, with Jillian Strileckis ’18

  • S3M Sophomore Transitional Program
    Becky Trousil, mathematics, with Diana Alonzo '19, Tiffany Henao '19, Roxanna Martinez '19,
    Veronica Mierzejewski '19, Celeste Munoz Perez '19, Brittany Newsome '19

  • Remapping History in Bennington’s Park-McCullough Estate Using Locative Sound
    Design for
    Mobile Devices
    Adam Tinkle, media and film studies/MDOCS, with Emily Rizzo ’18

  • Analysis of Succinic Acid Treatment on Mice Models of Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 1
    Sara Lagalwar, neuroscience, with Donna Nguyen ’18, Eliza Burr ’17

  • Optogenetic Assessment of the Roles of Neuropeptide Neurons in Regulating Sleep
    Christopher Vecsey, neuroscience, with Brianne Cook ’18, Ben Juneau ’18

  • Changes in Sleep and Biological Rhythms in Fruit Flies Due to Exposure to Parasitic Wasps
    Christopher Vecsey, neuroscience, with Sara Fontana ’18

  • The Effect of Supplementary Aids on Solution Methods to Kinematics Problems
    Evan Halstead, physics, with Erin Maloney ’18 (Schupf Scholar)

  • Constraining Nonstandard Inflationary Models
    Evan Halstead, physics, with Akaylia Morgan ’18, Dante Tobar ’18

  • Cool Gas Accretion from the Cosmic Web
    Mary Crone Odekon, physics, with An Phi ’18, Erin Maloney ’18, Henry Thoreen ’18

  • Cold Gas Accretion from the Cosmic Web
    Mary Crone Odekon, physics, with Kelly Cantwell '18, Thomas Cane '19, Christian Todd Jensen '16

  • The Development of Parafoveal Processing in English Readers
    Rebecca Johnson, psychology, with Libby Oehrlein ’17

  • Developing a Method to Assess Sociosexual Motivation in Rodents
    Hassan Lopez, psychology, with Morgan Lavoie ’17

  • Evaluation of a Gratitude Group Intervention for College Students
    Mark Rye, psychology, Kristen Schiavo ’17

  • Assessing an Intervention Targeting Knowledge and Stigma about Social Anxiety Disorder
    Casey Schofield, psychology, with Gabby Ponzini ’18

  • Appearance and Function’s Role in Distinguishing Animate and Inanimate Objects
    Jessica Sullivan, psychology, with Julia Iannucci ’17

  • Early Pragmatic Inferences: Two- and Three-Year-Olds’ Ability to Make Pragmatic Inferences
    Jessica Sullivan, psychology, with Katherine Williams ’17

  • Restorative Justice in Universities: What Works
    David Karp, sociology, with Megan Schacter ’17

STUDENT RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS THROUGH THE NEW YORK 6 UPSTATE-GLOBAL COLLECTIVE PROGRAM

  • Indigenous Ethnic Group Identification and Cultural Beliefs about Land and Resources ("Indigeneity, Sustainability, and Human Rights" project)
    Brien Ashdown, Psychology Department, Hobart and William Smith College, with Genesis Moran Guerrero ’18

  • Non-Native Species Control in Upstate New York ("Indigeneity, Sustainability and Human Rights" project)
    Meghan Brown, Biology Department, Hobart and William Smith College, with Jamila Roth ’17

  • Riparian Invasions in the Context of Landscape Change ("Upstate and Global Impacts of Invasive Species" project)
    Joshua Ness, Environmental Studies and Sciences, Skidmore College, with Rafaela Iturralde ’18

  • 2016 Summer Research Fellow in Cay Anderson-Hanley's Healthy Aging & Neuropsychology Lab ("Care and Support in Aging Communities" project)
    Cay Anderson-Hanley, Psychology Department, Union, with Zachariah Arnold ’18

  • Mapping Delhi ("Marginalized Communities and Urban Centers" project)
    Vikash Yadav, Political Science Department, Hobart and William Smith College, with Yidi Wu ’17

  • Can Immigrants and Refugees Save Dying Cities? ("Marginalized Communities and Urban Centers" project)
    Navine Murshid, Political Science Department, Colgate University, Sarah Coker ’19  and Rula Issa ’17

  • Cities as Sites of Creative Protest ("Marginalized Communities and Urban Centers" project)
    Nimanthi Rajasingham, English Department, Colgate, with Andrea Sumrall ’19

We would like to thank the following donors and funding agencies for their support of our collaborative research efforts and the Faculty Student Summer Research Program:

Alumni, Family, and Friends

Harman Cain Family, Class of 2012

Samuel Croll '73

Marlene Oberkotter Fowler '61

Christiana Johnson '90, given in honor of Tom Lewis

Jim Lippman and Linda Friedman Lippman '82

Philip P. Markowitz '13

Richard A. Mellon '87

Rafael Nasser

Margaret Williams Page '43

Reiderer Family

Michael Rose '90

Shehan Dissanayake

Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Woodcock, Parents 1996

Axelrod-Porges Scholars
Established in 2006 by Felicia Axelrod '62 and Robert Porges to support faculty-student teams in the area of the sciences.

Schupf Scholars
Established in 2008 by Sara Lubin Schupf '62 to support summer faculty-student research with a preference given to students pursuing projects in the STEM disciplines.  Schupf Scholars are selected beginning the summer after their freshman or sophomore year.  Schupf Scholars may access additional funding for travel to meetings and conferences as well as for research supplies and expenses during their continuing research with faculty during their academic career at Skidmore.

Weg Scholars
Established in 2010 by Carol Little Weg '64 and Ken Weg and awarded with a preference for students pursuing projects in the sciences and social sciences.

Foundation/Grant

D & J Richards Fund

Higher Education Opportunities Program (HEOP)

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research: NSF

W.M. Keck Foundation

The National Science Foundation

Rathmann Family Foundation

S3M Transitional Program

New York State Energy Research and Development Authority

The Charles Slaughter Foundation