32 R-MC Students presented the results of their summer research projects during the Schapiro Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Conference Day on Thursday, August 7, 2008. The day began with oral presentations in Washington-Franklin Hall from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. After lunch, presentations resumed with a poster session in the McGraw-Page Library from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
The Schapiro Undergraduate Research Fellowship was first introduced in 1995 as an endowment to support scholarly undergraduate research by Randolph-Macon College students in all disciplines. The initial gift for this program was made by Benjamin Schapiro’64 and his wife Peggy whose continued generosity provides R-MC students with the opportunity to conduct original research, under the guidance of a faculty member, and be paid a stipend. Many students continue the projects beyond the summer and present their findings at academic and professional conferences both nationally and internationally. This level of in-depth research is usually reserved for graduate students at other colleges and universities. SURF projects have helped set R-MC students apart when applying for graduate school and finding work in a chosen career field.
A number of SURF students invited the public to follow their research this summer by writing blogs about their experiences. You can read these by clicking on the following link http://www.rmc.edu/current-students/summer-blogs.aspx.
Here is a list of some of the exciting 2008 SURF projects that were presented during conference day:
Sarah Allison/Lauren Bell
Is it Still “the economy, stupid?:” The Role of the Economy in Post-September 11th
Sam Cappellanti/Tom Badey
A Biological/chemical Terrorism Threat Assessment
Julia Childrey/Tom Badey
The Post-Colonial Crisis of Algeria: the Continuing Violence of the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) and its Future
Catherine Daw/Kristen Klaaren
They’re harmless, they’re in the military: Difference in public opinion toward the military, the police and civilians
Kimberly Dutton/Laurie Preston
One Ashland-Many Voices
Christine Ebert/Michael Fenster
A Study of the Habitat Parameters that Control the Distribution and Abundance of the Federally-Threatened Puritan Tiger Beetles (Cicindela puritana)
Madeleine Forrest/Mark Malvasi
1861: A Year in the Civil War
Leslie Hainley/Susan Parker
A Neuropsychological Assessment of Impulsivity in a Sample of Incarcerated Adolescents
Felicia Herzog/Evie Terrono
Modernism Comes to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
April Hines/Serge Schreiner
Investigation into the Formation of Platinum-Silylene Complexes
Molly Hyer/Kelly Lambert
The Neurotoxicity of the Passive Lifestyle: Effects of Decreased Effort-Based Rewards on the Emergence of Depressive Symptoms
Rebecca Johnsen/Joe Mattys
A Dramatic Production of Fay and Michael Kanin’s Rashomon
Sydney Jones/David Brat
The Mortgage Crisis and Credit Crunch: From Housing Losses to Balance Sheets to Economic Growth
Stephanie Karsner/Kelly Lambert
The Effects Paternal Experience on the Neuroplasticity of the California Mouse Brain
Nicole Klee/Serge Schreiner
Synthesis, Characterization and Reactivity of Novel Hydrophilic Platinum Complexes
Mandie Lever/April Marchetti
Detecting Adulteration in Honey Using SNIF NMR
Adam Maclauchlan/Rebecca Michelsen
Protonation of tert-butanol and 1-pentanol in cold sulfuric acid
Ioseb Mamukelashvili/David Brat
Economic Growth and Human Capital in Eastern Europe: The Transition of Georgia
Nicholas McBride/Traci Stevens
Relationship of Bcr-Abl and RhoGEF2 in cell migration
James Murray/Joe Mattys
Causality in Storytelling and Film
Katelyn Newton/April Marchetti
Determination of the sugar origin of alcohol samples via deuterium NMR analysis
Catherine Noyes/Ed Showalter
Ethics, Privacy, and the Genetic Age
Kevan Quinn/Serge Schreiner
Synthesis of Novel Transition Metal Catalysts for Olefin Polymerization
Lindsay Regali/Serge Schreiner
Synthesis and Reactivity of Novel Water-Soluble Ruthenium(II) Complexes
Leah Sayre/David Brat
Capitalism and the Mortgage Crisis: An Ethical Assessment of Stakeholders
Keith Searles/Rebecca Michelsen
Infared Spectroscopy of Ice Films and Solutions of HCI and H2O: Bulk and Surface Acidity
Krista Speicher/Gayla Mills
The Stylus: Literary Expression in a Historical Context at Randolph-Macon College
John Stone/George Spagna
Simultaneous Radio Observation of Solar Events
Eddie Tu/Kelly Lambert
The neurobiological effects of paternal experience: An Exploration of Novel Microscopy Techniques
Ray Varner/David Coppola
The Scientific Works of Johann Bernhard Aloys von Gudden: Translation and Interpretation
Shannon White/Charles Gowan
Transitive interference in stream trout foraging behavior
Sarah Witte/Mark Malin
Emilia Pardo Bazán: Master Narrator, Feminist, and Naturalist
Charles Tanzini/Chuck Leska
Enhancing Intrusion Detection System Effectiveness