2008 Brackenridge Fellow Presentations
Unless otherwise noted, all presentations take place in 343 Alumni Hall beginning at 12:00 pm
May 22, 2008
Kelly Coburn
Communication Science and Disorders
"Instant Messenger Use by Individuals with Asperger's Syndrome"
Faculty Sponsor: James Coyle, Department of Communication Science and Disorders, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Cole Harvey
Politics and Philosophy
"The Double-Headed Eagle: Semi-Presidentialism and Democracy in France and Russia"
Faculty Sponsor: Jonathan Harris, Department of Political Science, School of Arts and Sciences
Kate MacCord
Anthropology
"The Effects of Disease and Malnutrition on Skeletal Growth"
Faculty Sponsor: Jeffrey Schwartz, Department of Anthropology, School of Arts and Sciences
May 29, 2008
Lindsay Blotzer
Environmental Studies
"Southern Yukon Territory Holocene Drought Reconstruction from Scout Lake"
Faculty Sponsor: Mark Abbott, Department of Geology and Planetary Science, School of Arts and Sciences
Josh Cannon
Anthropology
"Art and Iconography at Zincirli: A Means to Understanding Political Interactions and Influences"
Faculty Sponsor: Bryan Hanks, Department of Anthropology, School of Arts and Sciences
Yeohan Song
Neuroscience
"Computer Modeling of MRSA Transmission and Spread"
Faculty Sponsor: Bruce Lee, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine
June 5, 2008
Daniel Gore
Political Science and History
"Democracy, Dilemma, and Dissension: The 2008 Russian Presidential Election and Russia's Unique Democratic Structure"
Faculty Sponsor: Bill Chase, Department of History, School of Arts and Sciences
Jen Macasek
International and Area Studies, Anthropology, and English Literature
"The Representation of Cultural Tourism"
Faculty Sponsor: Gabriella Lukacs, Department of Anthropology, School of Arts and Sciences
Julie Sokolow
English Writing, Psychology, and Film Studies
"Reconstructing the Suburban Tragicomedy"
Faculty Sponsor: Peter Machamer, Department of History & Philosophy of Science, School of Arts and Sciences; David Dalessandro, Associate Vice Chancellor, University Development
June 12, 2008
Lynette Miller
French & Italian Languages and Literatures
"Muslim Immigrant Youth Identity: France and the US"
Faculty Sponsor: Mohammed Bamyeh, Department of Sociology, School of Arts and Sciences
Evan Murphy
Music and Computer Engineering
"Silent Film Music"
Faculty Sponsor: Roger Zahab, Department of Music, School of Arts and Sciences
Cory Rodgers
Chemistry and Biological Sciences
"Protein Interactions of DnaG as an Indicator of Evolutionary Divergence"
Faculty Sponsor: Michael Trakselis, Department of Chemistry, School of Arts and Sciences
June 23, 2008, afternoon session
(NOTE: Presentations are at the Johnstown Campus)
Aaron Arnold
Sociology
"What is the Impact of HIV/AIDS Education on Campaigns on GLBT Persons in Socially Conservative Countries?"
Faculty Sponsor: Daniel Romesberg, Department of Sociology, School of Arts and Sciences
Rheanna Macias
Medieval and Renaissance Studies
"Elizabeth I as Pretestant, Powerful, and Virgin: An Ill Fit?"
Faculty Sponsor: Jennifer Wladron, Department of English, School of Arts and Sciences
Ilana Stol
History
"Through the Lens of National Geographic: American Perspective on the Arab World"
Faculty Sponsor: Maurine Greenwald, Department of History, School of Arts and Sciences
June 24, 2008, morning session
(NOTE: Presentations are at the Johnstown Campus)
Sara Cole
English Literature and French & Italian Languages & Literatures
"Graphic Representations: A Comparative Look at Graphic Novel Translations of the Literary Canon"
Faculty Sponsor: Courtney Weikle Mills, Department of English, School of Arts and Sciences
Ravi Pandit
Economics
"Programmer Motivation and Incentives in Open Source Software Development"
Faculty Sponsor: Katherine Wolfe, Department of Economics, School of Arts and Sciences
Margaret Pusateri
Biological Sciences and Anthropology
"Cultural Barriers, Bedside Nurses, and the Medical Emergency Team (MET)"
Faculty Sponsor: Sharon Kiely, MD, MPM, West Penn Allegheny Health System
June 24, 2008, afternoon session
(NOTE: Presentations are at the Johnstown Campus)
Ian Alexander
English Literature and Philosophy
"The Spectacle of Reality Television"
Faculty Sponsor: Adam Johns, Department of English, School of Arts and Sciences
Richard Fiorella
Chemistry
"Proton Conductivity in Metal-Organic Frameworks"
Faculty Sponsor: Nathaniel Rosi, Department of Chemistry, School of Arts and Sciences
Eric Seeleman
Communication and History
"Speaking Historically: An Examination of Bush's Post 9/11 Rhetoric"
Faculty Sponsor: John Lyne, Department of Communication, School of Arts and Sciences
June 25, 2008, morning session
(NOTE: Presentations are at the Johnstown Campus)
Lauren Cashman
Physics & Astronomy
"Making Observations of Near-Earth Objects at the Allegheny Observatory"
Faculty Sponsor: Arthur Kosowsky, Department of Physics & Astronomy, School of Arts and Sciences
Janelle Greene
Classics, Germanic Languages & Literatures, and Anthropology
"Medea as Achilles, Medea as Zarathustra"
Faculty Sponsor: Andrew Miller, Department of Classics, School of Arts and Sciences
Bradley Morneweck
Bioengineering and Biological Sciences
"The Many Escapades of Caveolin-3 and the Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor"
Faculty Sponsor: Ferruccio Galbiati, Department of Pharmacology & Chemical Biology, School of Medicine
June 25, 2008, afternoon session
(NOTE: Presentations are at the Johnstown Campus)
Erik Hinton
Philosophy and Film Studies
"The Place of Self-Understanding in Biblical Text: A Phenomenological Reading of the Gospels"
Faculty Sponsor: Tony Edwards, Department of Religious Studies, School of Arts and Sciences
Ryan Rydzewski
English Writing and Political Science
"Oakland: A Peoples' History"
Faculty Sponsor: Faith Adiele, Department of English, School of Arts and Sciences
Kelly Thomas
English Writing
"Espana"
Faculty Sponsor: Leslie Rubinkowski, Department of English, School of Arts and Sciences
June 26, 2008, morning session
(NOTE: Presentations are at the Johnstown Campus)
Omar Ayyash
Biological Sciencs, Economics, and Neuroscience
"Paving a Trail Through the Mono-ubiquitin Pathway"
Faculty Sponsor: Lewis Jacobson, Department of Biological Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences
Mandy Collier
Psychology and Neuroscience
"Individual Response Curves as a Tool for Understanding Decision Making"
Faculty Sponsor: Mark Wheeler, Department of Psychology, School of Arts and Sciences
Eric Korman
Mathematics
"Clifford Algeras and Spinors"
Faculty Sponsor: George Sparling, Department of Mathematics, School of Arts and Sciences
July 3, 2008
Rachel Aliotta
Neuroscience and Hispanic Languages & Literatures
"Dendritic Trafficking from Sitesof ER Export to Synaptic Targets"
Faculty Sponsor: Kenneth Fish, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine
Brandon Mills
Chemistry and Ecology & Evolution
"Domain Coupling in Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Engineered Molecular Switches"
Faculty Sponsor: Lillian Chong, Department of Chemistry, School of Arts and Sciences
Yvonne Saadi
Germanic Languages & Literatures, Psychology, and Philosophy
"Policy and Prevention: An Analysis of the Effectiveness of Government Intervention on the Adoption of Cancer Screening Behavior"
Faculty Sponsor: William Klein, Department of Psychology, School of Arts and Sciences
July 10, 2008
Amelia Johnson
Environmental Studies
"Dendrochemistry: Study of Metal Concentrations in Annual Tree Rings in Relation to Historical and Environmental Context"
Faculty Sponsor: Dan Bain, Department of Geology and Planetary Science, School of Arts and Sciences
Andrew Ramey
History
"Chicken and the Chesapeake: The Environmental Struggles in the Chesapeake Bay"
Faculty Sponsor: Robert Doherty, Department of History, School of Arts and Sciences
Anna Siegel
Philosophy and Anthropology
"The Many Meanings of Waiting: An Anthropological and Philosophical Look at New Zealand Multi-Culturalism"
Faculty Sponsor: Richard Scaglion, Department of Anthropology, School of Arts and Sciences
July 17, 2008
Willie Costello
Philosophy and Linguistics
"Aporia and Imitation in Plato's Republic"
Faculty Sponsor: Jessica Moss, Department of Philosophy, School of Arts and Sciences
Erin Donnelly
Linguistics, Anthropology, and Hispanic Languages & Literatures
"The Presence of Implosives in Jamaican Creole"
Faculty Sponsor: Shelome Gooden, Department of Linguistics, School of Arts and Sciences
Jennifer Kirk
History
"Nixon's Library: Compass to the Future of Concealment of the Past?"
Faculty Sponsor: Lian Tsoukas, Department of History, School of Arts and Sciences
July 24, 2008
Andrew Abbott
Neuroscience and History
"Alterations in Transcript Expression of GABAA a-subunits in Schizophrenia and the Possibel Effect of the Anti-Psych Treatment"
Faculty Sponsor: Monica Beneyto, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine
Caitlin Cater
History and Philosophy
"In Search of America: Nature, Spirituality, and the Self in American Transcendentalism and the Beat Generation Literature"
Faculty Sponsor: Paul Kameen, Department of English, School of Arts and Sciences
John Tronsor
Studio Arts
"The (Im)possibility of the Object"
Faculty Sponsor: Delanie Jenkins, Department of Studio Arts, School of Arts and Sciences
July 31, 2008
Amy He
Neuroscience
"Use of Antioxidant Expressing Viral Vectors to Study Potential Mechanisms Involved in the Etiology of Parkinson's Disease"
Faculty Sponsor: James Goss, Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, School of Medicine
Mitra Saboury
Neuroscience
"Ondansetron's Effect on Conditioned Place Avoidance"
Faculty Sponsor: Linda Rinaman, Department of Neuroscience, School of Arts and Sciences
Kayla Yurco
Biological Sciences and English Literature
"Wildlife Conservation Across the World: Our Values and Our Challenges"
Faculty Sponsor: Rick Relyea, Department of Biological Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences
August 7, 2008
Amanda Chipman
Neuroscience
"Molecular Signaling in the Nucleus Accumbens During Associative Learning"
Faculty Sponsor: Edda Thiels, Department of Neurobiology, School of Medicine
Melissa Geiger
Politics and Philosophy
"The UN, NGOs, and Peacekeeping"
Faculty Sponsor: Donald Goldstein, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs
Karen Jakubowski
Psychology, History & Philosophy of Science, and Neuroscience
"Look at Mommy: Maternal Attention-Directing Behavior"
Faculty Sponsor: Jana Iverson, Department of Psychology, School of Arts and Sciences
August 14 , 2008
Kimberly Fetsick
History
"Relationship Between Medieval Popes and Kings"
Faculty Sponsor: Janelle Greenberg, Department of History, School of Arts and Sciences
Brenden Gallagher
English Writing, Film Studies, and Theatre Arts
"Drama in the YouTube Generation: A Comparative Analysis of Cinematic and Theatrical Directing"
Faculty Sponsor: Kathleen George, Department of Theatre Arts, School of Arts and Sciences
Brigid Jensen
Biological Sciences and Neuroscience
"Structural Determination of a Nucleotide-Bound Truncation Mutant of Yeast BiP, and ER Lumenal Hsp-70"
Faculty Sponsor: Jeffrey Brodsky, Department of Biological Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences