2006 Brackenridge Fellow Presentations
Unless Otherwise Noted, All Presentations Take Place in 343 Alumni Hall beginning at 12:00 pm
May 18, 2006
John Reagle
Rehabilitation Science
"The Proper Treatment of Lower Back Pain through Physical Therapeutic Intervention"
Faculty Sponsor: Anthony Delitto, Department of Physical Therapy, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Julie Sokolow
"Minor Neurons in Relation to Filmic Identification and Proneness to Action"
Faculty Sponsor: E. Bruce Goldstein, Department of Psychology, School of Arts and Sciences
Stanley Steers
"Does Hydraulic Jump Occur in 2D Soap Films?"
Faculty Sponsor: Walter Goldburg, Department of Physics and Astronomy, School of Arts and Sciences
May 25, 2006
Tim Adamo
Mathematics
"Richardson Reciprocity, Game Theory Conflict, and Mathematically Modeling Arms Races"
Faculty Sponsor: G. Bard Ermentrout, Department of Mathematics, School of Arts and Sciences; Jack Ochs, Department of Economics, School of Arts and Sciences
Greg Meloy
Athletic Training
"Analysis of the Relationship Between Sacrul Skin Blood Flow and Oxygenation"
Faculty Sponsor: David Brienza, Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Will Cowardin
Politics and Philosophy
"Interaction Between City Governments and Pro Sports Teams"
Faculty Sponsor: Morton Coleman, Social Work Academic Programs, School of Social Work
June 1, 2006
Willie Costello
Japanese and Mathematics
"Wittgenstein, Zen, and the Approach to Philosophical Problems"
Faculty Sponsor: Linda Penkower, Department of Religious Studies, School of Arts and Sciences
Cory Tamler
English Writing, History and Philosophy of Science, and Physics and Astronomy
"Ten Experiments: A Study in the Universality of Beauty"
Faculty Sponsor: Paolo Palmieri, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, School of Arts and Sciences
Jean FitzGibbons
"Social Epidemiology of Sickle Cell Anemia"
Faculty Sponsor: Salvatore Babones, Department of Sociology, School of Arts and Sciences
June 8, 2006
Lisa Morris
Urban Studies
"Abandoned Houses, Abandoned Cities"
Faculty Sponsor: Carolyn Carson, Urban Studies Program, School of Arts and Sciences
Cassidy Gruber
English Writing
"Sorrow & Words: An Exploration of Grief through Literature"
Faculty Sponsor: Arthur Erbe, Department of English, School of Arts and Sciences
Sarah Strano
Geology and Planetary Science and History
"Recent Environmental Change in Mongolia"
Faculty Sponsor: Michael Rosenmeier, Department of Geology and Planetary Science, School of Arts and Sciences
June 15, 2006
Natasha Sumetsky
Psychology and Slavic Languages and Literatures
"Conflicts of Identity in Russian-Americans"
Faculty Sponsor: Daniel Romesberg, Department of Sociology, School of Arts and Sciences
Lauren Shuck
Psychology
"Sharing & Self-Other Understanding in Toddlers"
Faculty Sponsor: Celia Brownell, Department of Psychology, School of Arts and Sciences
Liz Fidler
Chemistry and Geology and Planetary Science
"Determining Minerology of Areas Surrounding Abandoned Coal Mines"
Faculty Sponsor: Rosemary Capo, Department of Geology and Planetary Science, School of Arts and Sciences
June 22, 2006
Aaron Boalick
French & Italian Languages & Literatures and Hispanic Languages and Literatures
"Masculine Problems in the Work of Stendhal"
Faculty Sponsor: Todd Reeser, Department of French & Italian Languages & Literatures
David Hanna
Chemistry and Hispanic Languages and Literatures
"Hamlet vs. Don Quixote: A Psychological Look at Insanity"
Faculty Sponsor: Bob Chamberlain, Hispanic Languages and Literatures, School of Arts and Sciences
Sondra Petri
English Literature
"Writers in Exile"
Faculty Sponsor: Paul Bove, Department of English, School of Arts and Sciences
June 29, 2006
Rebecca Hess
Rehabilitation Science
"Clinical Correlates of Skill in Walking"
Faculty Sponsor: Jessie VanSwearingen, Department of Physical Therapy, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Amy Ewing
Biological Sciences
"Developing a Novel Screen for MT-Binding Inhibitors"
Faculty Sponsor: Susan Gilbert, Department of Biological Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences
Ben Rosko
Molecular Biology and Neuroscience
"SRGI Mediated Repression of SER3"
Faculty Sponsor: Jospeh Martens, Department of Biological Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences
July 6, 2006
Dorothy Yang
Communication Science and Disorders
"Agrammatism and the C-RTT"
Faculty Sponsor: Malcolm McNeil, Department of Communication Science and Disorders, School Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Tonya Groover
Computer Science and Sociology
"Factors that Influence Black Students to Pursue STEM Degrees"
Faculty Sponsor: Jerome Taylor, Department of Aficana Studies, School of Arts and Sciences
Laura Donati
Chemistry
"Determining Structure of Watersoluable Protein in Membrane"
Faculty Sponsor: Megan Spence, Department of Chemistry, School of Arts and Sciences
July 10, 2006 (at Johnstown Campus)
Rhajiv Ratnatunga
Politics and Philosophy
"Disaster Management in US and Sri Lanka"
Faculty Sponsor: Richard Cohen, University Center for International Studies
Zachary Pozun
Chemistry and Physics and Astronomy
"Electrochemistry and Novel Neurosensors for In Vivo Glutamate Detection"
Faculty Sponsor: Adrian Michael, Department of Chemistry, School of Arts and Sciences
Kelly Coleman
English Literature
"The Good, the Bad, and the Hocus Pocus of Magic"
Faculty Sponsor: Marianne Novy, Department of English, School of Arts and Sciences
July 11, 2006 (at Johnstown Campus)
Andrew Levin
Music and Neuroscience
"Neurodevelopmental Anatomical Changes in the PFC Implicated in Schizophrenia Resulting from Hypomorphic RGS4"
Faculty Sponsor: Susan Sesack, Department of Biological Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences
Matthew Shepherd
Linguistics and Music
"Complex Simplicity: Exploring Steve Reich's Compositional Techniques through Three Movements"
Faculty Sponsor: Amy Williams, Department of Music, School of Arts and Sciences
Jacqueline Doamekpor
English Literature and History and Philosophy of Science
"Avian Flu and Swine Flu"
Faculty Sponsor: Jonathon Erlen, Health Sciences Library System
Melissa Jones
Biological Sciences
"Mucolipin-3 and its Role in Familial Deafness"
Faculty Sponsor: Kirill Kiselyov, Department of Biological Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences
Tim Petro
History and Political Science
"Modern Japan and the LDP: A Democracy of One"
Faculty Sponsor: Richard Smethurst, Department of History, School of Arts and Sciences
Jesse DiLaura
History and Politcs and Philosophy
"Individualism in 19th Century Critiques of Capitalism"
Faculty Sponsor: Leslie Hammond, Department of History, School of Arts and Sciences
July 12, 2006 (at Johnstown Campus)
David Gross
Classics, Philosophy, and Religious Studies
"Flight of Athena: Homer's Use of Avian Imagery in the Odyssey"
Faculty Sponsor: Edwin Floyd, Department of Classics, School of Arts and Sciences
Tiffany Sinclair
Neuroscience and Psychology
"Project Vigilance: The Relationship Between Threatening Environmental Stimuli and Cardiovascular Reactivity"
Faculty Sponsor: Peter Gianaros, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine
Tom D'Arville
Biological Sciences and History of Art & Architecture
"Possible Monosynaptic Pathways Between MVN and Mo5 which Controls Motoneurons Innervating the Massetter"
Faculty Sponsor: Bill Yates, Department of Otolaryngology, School of Medicine
Rachael Weldon
Economics
"Mandarin Pedagogy: Educational Approaches to Language Acquisition"
Faculty Sponsor: Dayle Barnes, Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures
Jonathan Mitchell
Molecular Biology
"MCM7 Protien as a Potential Target of DNA Synthesis Regulation"
Faculty Sponsor: Anthony Schwacha, Department of Biological Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences
Alison Trude
Psychology and Hispanic Languages and Literatures
"Transfer Effects of Spanish and English on Portuguese Learning"
Faculty Sponsor: Natasha Tokowicz, Department of Psychology, School of Arts and Sciences
July 13, 2006 (at Johnstown Campus)
Alexandra Fuentes
"Comparative Study of Preschool Education"
Faculty Sponsor: Noreen Garman, Department of Administrative and Policy Studies, School of Education
Rose Gardner
English Writing and French & Italian Languages & Literatures
"Sexuality and Eroticism: Beauvoir"
Faculty Sponsor: Philip Watts, French & Italian Languages & Literatures, School of Arts and Sciences
Anna Greenstone
Anthropology
"Gender, Communication, and Kenyan Coastal Culture"
Faculty Sponsor: Macrina Lelei, University Center for International Studies
Avishy Moshenberg
Economics and Politics and Philosophy
"Deliberation, Is it Worth Talking About?"
Faculty Sponsor: Lance Hampton, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs
July 20, 2006
John Hay
English Literature and History and Philosophy of Science
"Intelligent Design and Science in the 21st Century"
Faculty Sponsor: Jeffrey Schwartz, Department of Anthropology, School of Arts and Sciences
Kinberly Waller
Political Science
"Cultures of Deaf Women and Communities"
Faculty Sponsor: Claude Mauk, Department of Linguistics, School of Arts and Sciences
Melissa Mistretta
History and Political Science
"The Third Wave of Populism in Latin America"
Faculty Sponsor: Anibal Perez-Linan, Department of Political Science, School of Arts and Sciences
July 27, 2006
Max Osipov
Department of Chemistry
"Molecular Recognition in Fluorous Media"
Faculty Sponsor: Stephen Weber, Department of Chemistry, School of Arts and Sciences
Eric High
Department of Chemistry
"Luminescent Lanthanide Doped Semi Conductor Nanoparticles"
Faculty Sponsor: Stephane Petoud, Department of Chemistry, School of Arts and Sciences
Andrew Petit
Department of Chemistry
"Theoretical Studies of Water Clusters"
Faculty Sponsor: Kenneth Jordan, Department of Chemistry, School of Arts and Sciences
August 3, 2006
Patrick Kirts
Classics and Philosophy
"Existence and the Conscious Body"
Faculty Sponsor: TBA
Nicholas Zaorsky
Neuroscience and Hispanic Languages and Literatures
"Ca++ Effect on Mg++ Inhibition of NMDA Receptors"
Faculty Sponsor: Jon Johnson, Department of Neuroscience, School of Arts and Sciences
Victoria Ries
Rehabilitation Science
"Post-Cardiac Transplant QOL"
Faculty Sponsor: Margo Holm, Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
August 10, 2006
Marion Sikora
Environmental Studies
"Isoteric Composition of Modern Horse Teeth from Mongolia"
Faculty Sponsor: Michael Rosenmeier, Department of Geology and Planetary Science, School of Arts and Sciences
Kristen DiLemmo
English Literature and Classics
"'The Spirit of Beauty': Classical Aestheticism in the Works of Oscar Wilde"
Faculty Sponsor: Philip Smith, Department of English, School of Arts and Sciences
Mike Sechler
Economics, History, Politics and Philosophy, and Psychology
"'That Fertile Mother of Actions': English Commercialization and the Rise of Trespass"
Faculty Sponsor: Daniel Berkowitz, Department of Economics, School of Arts and Sciences
August 17, 2006
Chris Berger
Interdisciplinary Studies
"The Integration of Traditional Medicine into Modern Medical Systems: A Comparative Analysis"
Faculty Sponsor: TBA
Victoria Prescott
Communication and Psychology
"Analyzing the Prevalence of Stalking Behaviors During Courtships"
Faculty Sponsor: Irene Frieze, Department of Psychology, School of Arts and Sciences
Elliott Porter
Marketing and Political Science
"Globalization and Centralization in Mongolia"
Faculty Sponsor: TBA
August 24 , 2006
Patrick Berger
Theatre Arts
"Theatre of the Imagination"
Faculty Sponsor: Melanie Dreyer-Lude, Department of Theatre Arts, School of Arts and Sciences
Will Uspal
Engineering Physics and Philosophy
"Control of Domain Formation and Budding in Amphiphilic Bi-Layer Membranes"
Faculty Sponsor: Anna Balazs, Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, School of Engineering