Students Explore 91ֱ��’s Range of Research in This Year’s Lab Crawl</h1> <article> <h1>Students Explore 91ֱ��’s Range of Research in This Year’s Lab Crawl</h1> <p>ygay — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 15:33:23 +0000</p> <span>Students Explore 91ֱ��’s Range of Research in This Year’s Lab Crawl</span> <span><span>ygay</span></span> <span><time datetime="2021-11-17T10:33:23-05:00" title="Wednesday, November 17, 2021 - 10:33">Wed, 11/17/2021 - 10:33</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p> </p> <p>Since its inception in 2013, 91ֱ��’s <a href="/clear" target="_blank">Center for Learning, Education and Research in the Sciences</a> (CLEAR) has organized <a href="/clear/labcrawl" target="_blank">Lab Crawl</a> as a way to introduce students to research at 91ֱ�� College. The last time the event was held was in 2019, just before the pandemic, which made this year’s crawl a new experience for both first- and second-year students. </p> <p>“Many students new to 91ֱ�� or new to research are unfamiliar with the range of research happening on campus. Some may not feel that they belong in research. Lab Crawl directly addresses these concerns through a fun and low-stakes event,” explains Director of CLEAR Sabriya Rosemond. “Learning about labs they may not have considered before can also open up new possibilities for students as they make decisions about their academic career.” </p> <p>Similar to previous years, students were given the opportunity to visit and learn from peer Lab Crawl volunteers in several research fields, including anthropology, physics, astronomy, neuroscience, biochemistry and chemistry, and geology. </p> <p>Peer-to-peer learning plays a vital role in the crawl’s success. Around 95 volunteers assisted with set-up and welcomed students into labs this year.</p> <p>According to HHMI STEM Fellow Marcus Hill ’19, the peer-to-peer interactions during Lab Crawl echo the passion, enthusiasm, and excitement students have when they are learning in those spaces. </p> <p>“Research is more than just analyzing data and presenting at conferences, it’s about the relationships you build with the faculty and fellow research students,” Hill says. “Lab Crawl provides an opportunity for [students] who haven’t had the experience to hear directly from those who play key roles in labs. [It’s a learning experience] that you can’t get from reading a poster or watching a video.” </p> <p>A Lab Crawl tradition is the “participation passports” students are given and the stickers they receive to fill them. Stickers are provided at each lab they visit, and passports can be exchanged for pizza and a chance to win a T-shirt. </p> <p>This year, by the end of the two-hour event, 85 students had turned in their participation passports, with many more making quick stops at lab demonstrations and tables as their time allotted, says CLEAR Administrative Assistant Pat Sturges. Some labs reported having more than 50 visitors.</p> <p>By all accounts, [Lab Crawl] was a success, says Rosemond, whose staff have heard from several faculty members that students had already expressed interest in working in their labs. </p> <p>“In my own visit to some labs, I noticed that the conversations were not just limited to the research, but how students can participate in research, their experiences in a given department, or even suggestions of fun or exciting courses and opportunities,” says Rosemond. “These interactions are mutually beneficial. While attendees get to learn about the research, the student volunteers have the opportunity to practice communicating about their work to a broad audience which is an important skill for all researchers.” </p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">Campus News</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2021-11-17T12:00:00Z">Wed, 11/17/2021 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Yvonne Gay</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Lab Crawl was well attended this semester with many students making stops at demonstrations held in one or more of 22 labs across campus.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2764">Science Center</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2594">CLEAR</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2358">Undergraduate Research</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=4861">Neuroscience</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25251">Biology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25306">Chemistry</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25246">Biochemistry</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25366">Geosciences</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25411">Physics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=24656">Anthropology</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/neuroscience" hreflang="und">Neuroscience</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/biology" hreflang="und">Biology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/chemistry-biochemistry" hreflang="und">Chemistry and Biochemistry</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/anthropology" hreflang="und">Anthropology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/physics-and-astronomy" hreflang="und">Physics and Astronomy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/geosciences" hreflang="und">Geosciences</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Lab Crawl participants visit a lab and speak with student guides.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Jonathan Clark '25</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-flex-content field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden vertical-spacing--basic field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div id="obj-28826" class="paragraph paragraph--type--para-el-photo-gallery paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="section--photo-gallery o-flex--photo-gallery"> <p class="header-tag">Photo Gallery</p> <div class="o-flex--photo-gallery__grid"> <div class="o-flex--photo-gallery--overlay"> <div class="o-flex--photo-gallery--overlay__content"> <h2> Lab Crawl </h2> <button class="btn js-modal" data-modal-prefix-class="fullscreen" data-modal-content-id="28826" data-modal-background-click="disabled"> View photo gallery </button> </div> </div> <div class="o-flex--photo-gallery__grid__img-wrapper"> </div> <div class="o-flex--photo-gallery__grid__img-wrapper"> </div> <div class="o-flex--photo-gallery__grid__img-wrapper"> </div> <div class="o-flex--photo-gallery__grid__img-wrapper"> </div> </div> </div> <div id="28826" class="photo-gallery-wrapper"> <div class="photo-gallery"> <div class="photo-gallery__slides"> <div class="photo-gallery__slide__wrapper"> <figure class="photo-gallery__slide"> <div class="photo-gallery__slide__image"> </div> <figcaption> <span class="figure__credit">Photo credit: Jonathan Clark '25</span> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="photo-gallery__slide__wrapper"> <figure class="photo-gallery__slide"> <div class="photo-gallery__slide__image"> </div> <figcaption> <span class="figure__caption">Students look at a specimen shown on a computer monitor.</span> <span class="figure__credit">Photo credit: Jonathan Clark '25</span> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="photo-gallery__slide__wrapper"> <figure class="photo-gallery__slide"> <div class="photo-gallery__slide__image"> </div> <figcaption> <span class="figure__caption">A Lab Crawl volunteer shows a laser set-up in a laser lab.</span> <span class="figure__credit">Photo credit: Jonathan Clark '25</span> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="photo-gallery__slide__wrapper"> <figure class="photo-gallery__slide"> <div class="photo-gallery__slide__image"> </div> <figcaption> <span class="figure__caption">Students stop by a neuroscience lab.</span> <span class="figure__credit">Photo credit: Jonathan Clark '25</span> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="photo-gallery__slide__wrapper"> <figure class="photo-gallery__slide"> <div class="photo-gallery__slide__image"> </div> <figcaption> <span class="figure__credit">Photo credit: Jonathan Clark '25</span> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="photo-gallery__slide__wrapper"> <figure class="photo-gallery__slide"> <div class="photo-gallery__slide__image"> </div> <figcaption> <span class="figure__credit">Photo credit: Jonathan Clark '25</span> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="photo-gallery__slide__wrapper"> <figure class="photo-gallery__slide"> <div class="photo-gallery__slide__image"> </div> <figcaption> <span class="figure__credit">Photo credit: Jonathan Clark '25</span> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="photo-gallery__slide__wrapper"> <figure class="photo-gallery__slide"> <div class="photo-gallery__slide__image"> </div> <figcaption> <span class="figure__caption">Students exchange participation passports for pizza in the Science Center Commons.</span> <span class="figure__credit">Photo credit: Jonathan Clark '25</span> </figcaption> </figure> </div> </div> <div class="photo-gallery__navbar"> <figure class="photo-gallery__navbar__item"> </figure> <figure class="photo-gallery__navbar__item"> </figure> <figure class="photo-gallery__navbar__item"> </figure> <figure class="photo-gallery__navbar__item"> </figure> <figure class="photo-gallery__navbar__item"> </figure> <figure class="photo-gallery__navbar__item"> </figure> <figure class="photo-gallery__navbar__item"> </figure> <figure class="photo-gallery__navbar__item"> </figure> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>This Week in Photos: Alzheimer's Research</h1> <p>ygay — Thu, 05 Aug 2021 19:37:06 +0000</p> <span>This Week in Photos: Alzheimer's Research</span> <span><span>ygay</span></span> <span><time datetime="2021-08-05T15:37:06-04:00" title="Thursday, August 5, 2021 - 15:37">Thu, 08/05/2021 - 15:37</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>A picture of a student transferring an opaque substance into a gel box in a neuroscience lab serves as inspiration for this week’s photo series.</p> <p>Alzheimer’s disease research is being performed in <a href="/monica-mariani" target="_blank">Visiting Assistant Professor Monica Mariani</a>’s neuroscience lab. The goal is to gain a better understanding of the immune response to Alzheimer's in order to discover novel avenues of treatment to improve the disease’s pathology. On this particular day, neuroscience major Elly Ragone ’23 and neuroscience and engineering double-major Shawn Ho ’24 are performing PCR and DNA electrophoresis. </p> <p>After filling the wells of a gel box with DNA and gel red the rig is hooked up to a voltage system. The group watches for nearly thirty minutes as DNA particles pass through an electric field. Moments later, the rig is removed from its power source and the group takes a short walk down the hall to use a gel documentation system in <a href="/tracie-paine" target="_blank">Associate Professor of Neuroscience Tracie Paine</a>’s laboratory. Today’s experiment is deemed a success after it is determined which DNA samples had the genes for Alzheimer's disease and which did not. As research progresses, the the group determines if cannabidiol oil (CBD) can suppress immune cell inflammation in the brain and reduce Alzheimer's plaques.</p> <hr> <div class="obj-center"> <figure class="captioned-image"> <figcaption>Shawn Ho ’25 with Visiting Assistant Professor Monica Mariani. Photo credit: Yvonne Gay</figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="obj-center"> <figure class="captioned-image"> <figcaption>Elly Ragone ’24 uses a pipette to fill the wells of a gel box. Photo credit: Yvonne Gay</figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="obj-center"> <figure class="captioned-image"> <figcaption>Ho watches as DNA passes through an electric field. Photo credit: Yvonne Gay</figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="obj-center"> <figure class="captioned-image"> <figcaption>Mariani removes agarose gel with DNA and gel red from the gel box holder and places it on a petri dish. Photo credit: Yvonne Gay</figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="obj-center"> <figure class="captioned-image"> <figcaption>The experiment is placed in a gel documentation system. Photo credit: Yvonne Gay</figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="obj-center"> <figure class="captioned-image"> <figcaption>The group reacts to the experiment’s success. Photo credit: Yvonne Gay</figcaption> </figure> </div> <p> </p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">Campus News</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2021-08-05T12:00:00Z">Thu, 08/05/2021 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Yvonne Gay</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2764">Science Center</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2546">Photo Feature</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2358">Undergraduate Research</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=4861">Neuroscience</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=24611">Engineering, 3-2</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/monica-mariani" hreflang="und">Monica Olszens</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/tracie-paine" hreflang="und">Tracie Paine</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/neuroscience" hreflang="und">Neuroscience</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/engineering" hreflang="und">Engineering, 3-2</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Students at work in Monica Mariani’s neuroscience lab.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Yvonne Gay</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Undergraduate Research Symposium Showcases Student Research Virtually</h1> <p>hhempste — Fri, 24 Apr 2020 19:34:54 +0000</p> <span>Undergraduate Research Symposium Showcases Student Research Virtually</span> <span><span>hhempste</span></span> <span><time datetime="2020-04-24T15:34:54-04:00" title="Friday, April 24, 2020 - 15:34">Fri, 04/24/2020 - 15:34</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Despite restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 91ֱ�� College Undergraduate Research Symposium will continue—in an online format—to showcase collaborative work between 91ֱ�� students and faculty. </p> <p>Typically held as a one-day, in-person event, the Undergraduate Research Symposium is an annual conference that highlights 91ֱ�� students’ research, along with the academic and artistic work of each year's graduating class.</p> <p>This year’s online symposium spans six days. The new format makes all research broadly available through recorded video and poster presentations that may be viewed online by anyone. Research is accessible between April 27 and May 2 through the <a href="/undergraduate-research/symposia/virtual-presentations">Office of Undergraduate Research website</a> and can be viewed at any time. Authors, titles, abstracts, and Q&A information is also available on the page. </p> <p>Many student presenters will also hold live Q&A sessions on <a href="https://blackboard.oberlin.edu/">Blackboard</a>, which can be accessed by those in the 91ֱ�� community.</p> <p><a href="/leslie-kwakye">Leslie Kawakye</a>, associate professor of neuroscience and director of the Office of Undergraduate Research, says that it is vital to provide students a platform to share their projects. “By presenting their research, students can engage in the final step of the research process: sharing their newly created knowledge with the world. It's important to honor and acknowledge their hard work, their dedication, and the new knowledge that they are producing.”</p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-right"> <figcaption>Eder Aguilar will present research that analyzes experiences of Latinx students at 91ֱ��.<br> Photo credit: Courtesy of Eder Aguilar</figcaption> </figure> <p>For senior comparative American studies major Eder Aguilar, research with Professor of Comparative American Studies <a href="/gina-perez">Gina Pérez</a> on Lantinx students has taken place over two years. His presentation of “Am I Latinx Enough?” Latinx Ethnic Identity, Belonging, and Expression of Latinidad at 91ֱ�� College” analyzes experiences of Latinx students at 91ֱ�� “through a focus of their ethnic identity formation, their feelings of belonging, and their expression of their Latindad.” </p> <p>“This research has been two years in the making,” says Aguilar. “Though these circumstances have been incredibly strenuous, I am proud of the work I have done and I am incredibly grateful for the students who participated in my research.”</p> <p>Third-year economics major Sun Moon, whose research with Assistant Professor of Economics <a href="/martin-saavedra">Martin Saavedra</a> explores the impacts Japanese internment during World War II had on life spans, says the research experience has been valuable. </p> <p>“I didn’t realize how much I would learn from engaging in the research process. I’ve discovered so many different ways and methods to explore our research question. It was rewarding to apply the knowledge I gained in the classroom.”</p> <p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/oberlin/sets/72157714013515596/">In this gallery</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="fa fa-external-link"></span> , view some of the 2020 presenters working on research at 91ֱ�� (prior to the transition to remote classes) and at home.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">Campus News</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2020-04-24T12:00:00Z">Fri, 04/24/2020 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Hillary Hempstead</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The Office of Undergraduate Research invites everyone to an online symposium between April 27 and May 2, featuring research from 91ֱ�� of Music students.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2358">Undergraduate Research</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2410">Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2363">Academics & Research</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=4861">Neuroscience</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25311">Comparative American Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25341">Economics</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/leslie-kwakye" hreflang="und">Leslie Kwakye ’06</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/gina-perez" hreflang="und">Gina Pérez</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/neuroscience" hreflang="und">Neuroscience</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/comparative-american-studies" hreflang="und">Comparative American Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/economics" hreflang="und">Economics</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Charlotte Babarinsa '20 uses electroencephalography (EEG) in a study to understand the neural mechanisms that lead to decreased crossmodal temporal acuity. Study authors Babarinsa, Zoey Keeley, Kathryn Hirabayashi, Samantha Papadakis, Zoii Barnes-Scott, and Russell Jaffe will present their research in the 2020 Undergraduate Research Symposium.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Mike Crupi</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Undergraduate Researchers in Neuroscience Publish on Habit Formation</h1> <p>hhempste — Wed, 15 Jan 2020 22:45:17 +0000</p> <span>Undergraduate Researchers in Neuroscience Publish on Habit Formation</span> <span><span>hhempste</span></span> <span><time datetime="2020-01-15T17:45:17-05:00" title="Wednesday, January 15, 2020 - 17:45">Wed, 01/15/2020 - 17:45</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Habits can be explained as inflexible and automatic behaviors. Assistant Professor of Neuroscience <a href="/christopher-howard" target="_blank">Christopher Howard’s</a> lab investigated how the brain encodes habits and shared its findings in “<a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0224715" target="_blank">Lesion of striatal patches disrupts habitual behaviors and increases behavioral variability</a>” which was published in <em>PLOS ONE</em>. The article was written by Howard and students Jacob A. Nadel ’19, seniors Sean S. Pawelko and Della Copes-Finke, and sophomore Maya Neidhart.</p> <p>“Habits are efficient,” says Howard. “They allow an organism to think about other things while responding to the world. However, not much is known about how the brain does this.”</p> <p>What the group in Howard’s lab did know was that a deep brain region called the striatum is needed for normal habit formation.</p> <p>“Within the striatum are unique neurons called “patches” which were discovered 50 years ago and the function of which is unknown,” says Howard. We lesioned these neurons, essentially disrupting their activity, in a transgenic mouse model and tested them for habit formation.”</p> <p>The group found that mice with lesioned patches have impaired habitual behaviors and that their behavior becomes more unpredictable from day to day. They believe this suggests patches play a role in stabilizing behavioral patterns over time.</p> <p>The publication’s lead author, Jacob A. Nadel ’19, completed significant work on the project, developing and designing experiments in close collaboration with Howard.</p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-right"> <figcaption>Jacob A. Nadel ’19.<br> Photo credit: Courtsey Jacob Nadel</figcaption> </figure> <p>“I performed dozens of surgeries, ran mice on behavioral tasks nearly every day for months, and analyzed most of the data,” says Nadel. “I also coordinated with other students to ensure someone was running the experiment daily, and then took the lead on writing the manuscript and preparing figures.”</p> <p>Nadel currently works as a postbac fellow in the Intramural Research Training Award program at the National Institute of Health (NIH), and he says that this research in Howard’s lab had a major impact on his post-91ֱ�� career trajectory.</p> <p>“One of the major advantages of 91ֱ�� is there aren’t graduate students and postdocs. This means that undergraduate researchers are free to lead their own projects, gaining experience in operating independently and thinking critically about experimental design while working under faculty members. These skills undoubtedly helped my secure my path at the NIH.”</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">Campus News</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2020-01-15T12:00:00Z">Wed, 01/15/2020 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Hillary Hempstead</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>A manuscript from Assistant Professor of Neuroscience Christopher Howard’s lab was published in the journal <em>PLOS ONE</em>. </p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2358">Undergraduate Research</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2410">Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2367">Science & Math</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=4861">Neuroscience</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/neuroscience" hreflang="und">Neuroscience</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Pictured left to right: Maya Neidhart, Della Copes-Finke, Professor Christopher Howard, and Sean S. Pawelko, working in Howard's lab.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Mike Crupi</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Environmental Studies Students Present Research at Climate Change Conference</h1> <p>hhempste — Mon, 09 Dec 2019 19:57:05 +0000</p> <span>Environmental Studies Students Present Research at Climate Change Conference</span> <span><span>hhempste</span></span> <span><time datetime="2019-12-09T14:57:05-05:00" title="Monday, December 9, 2019 - 14:57">Mon, 12/09/2019 - 14:57</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Environmental studies students and faculty mentor Janet Fiskio, associate professor of environmental studies, attended the seventh annual <a href="http://www.dscej.org/our-work/hbcu-climate-change-consortium">HBCU Climate Change Conference</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="fa fa-external-link"></span> in New Orleans.</p> <p>The four-day conference in November, hosted by the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, offered students the opportunity to learn from the foremost figures in the environmental justice movement as well as from their peers. The students attended the conference, presented research in a plenary session, and exhibited the poster, "Environmental Justice and Local Knowledge in Africatown, Alabama.” Poster author and senior Eli Presberg was recognized with a third-place award, out of 51 submissions. </p> <p>Africatown, Alabama, is recognized as one of the first towns founded and led by African Americans in the United States, with some of its original residents who were among a group of <a href="https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/initiatives/africatown-alabama-usa">Africans forcibly transported</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="fa fa-external-link"></span> to the United States aboard an illegal slave ship. Today, Africatown is also known for its reports of industrial pollution and public health problems.</p> <p>For their research, the students collaborated with the Africatown, Alabama, community and participated as interviewers, videographers, transcribers, and web designers in the development of the Africatown Digital Archive.</p> <p>“The students are models of engaged researchers, with a nuanced understanding of the ethics of community-based partnerships,” says Janet Fisko. “This project values the knowledge that community historians hold and their role as mentors of students. This was evident at the conference, where Africatown community members and 91ֱ�� students attended and warmly supported each other's presentations.” </p> <p>Presberg appreciated having the opportunity to learn from those at the conference who are considered foundational figures in environmental justice.</p> <p>“As a student interested in environmental justice work, being able to learn from their wisdom, experience, and advice was excellent,” says Presberg. “Beyond this, being able to participate in the academic conference with our partners from Africatown, have them hear us present, support them in their presentation, and just learn alongside each other was an incredible and unique experience.”</p> <p>The group’s participation at the conference was supported by the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, the <a href="/node/25351">Environmental Studies Program</a>, the Blank fund, and a grant from the Consortium on High Achievement and Success.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">Campus News</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2019-12-09T12:00:00Z">Mon, 12/09/2019 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Communications Staff</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Environmental studies students presented research, received a third-place award, and met the “father of environmental justice.”</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2373">Awards and Honors</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2410">Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2358">Undergraduate Research</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3499">Climate Action</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25351">Environmental Studies and Sciences</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/jay-fiskio" hreflang="und">Jay Fiskio</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/environmental-studies" hreflang="und">Environmental Studies and Science</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">(From left) Robert Bullard, distinguished professor of urban planning and environmental policy at Texas Southern University, Santiago Roman, Eli Presberg, Beverly Wright, founder and executive director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, Imani Badillo, Zimmy Chu.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Courtesy of Janet Fiskio</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Q&A with Chris Marx: Great Lakes Mathematical Physics Meeting</h1> <p>hhempste — Fri, 12 Jul 2019 18:28:10 +0000</p> <span>Q&A with Chris Marx: Great Lakes Mathematical Physics Meeting</span> <span><span>hhempste</span></span> <span><time datetime="2019-07-12T14:28:10-04:00" title="Friday, July 12, 2019 - 14:28">Fri, 07/12/2019 - 14:28</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><strong>Q: The Great Lakes Mathematical Physics meeting is an annual meeting in mathematical physics in the greater Midwest. How did 91ֱ�� College come to host this meeting?</strong></p> <p>Since the first GLaMP meeting four years ago, the conference has been co-organized by Michigan State University (MSU), the University of Kentucky (UKY), and 91ֱ�� College. The first three meetings were held at MSU; starting with this year’s meeting the plan is to alternate the meeting between MSU, UKY, and 91ֱ��. I was excited to host this year’s meeting on our campus and, for the first time, open up participation to also include undergraduate students.</p> <p>Aside from logistics, my primary responsibility as a local organizer was to secure funding. This year, we were fortunate to receive support from four organizations, which awarded funding totaling $35,700: the National Science Foundation (NSF, DMS-1900167; $30,000), the Institute for Mathematics and its Applications (IMA), the American Institute of Physics (AIP), and the International Association of Mathematical Physics (IAMP). The meeting was also awarded “in cooperation status” by the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM).</p> <p><strong>Q: How would you describe "mathematical physics"? </strong></p> <p>Generally speaking, mathematical physicists aim to provide a mathematically rigorous foundation of physics. This means to develop a mathematically sound and consistent framework, which allows to prove theorems that capture the behavior of physical systems. In the United States, most mathematical physicists are employed in mathematics departments. Current research interests include statistical physics, quantum mechanics, many body and solid state physics, and general relativity. With our conference, we try to represent the field as broadly as possible.</p> <p><strong>Q: What was the overall goal of GLaMP, and how was it achieved?</strong></p> <p>The distinguishing feature of the GLaMP meeting has been its emphasis on young researchers in the field. With the majority of contributed talks given by early-career faculty, postdocs, and graduate students, we aim to provide a forum that showcases the work of young researchers, offers career development opportunities, and more generally, helps secure a flourishing future of mathematical physics in the United States.</p> <p><strong>Q: Part of GLaMP's special focus is the support of young researchers in the field. How was that group supported?</strong></p> <p>The GLaMP meeting offers career development opportunities, specifically through a three-hour mini course in a topic of current research interest by a world-class expert, four invited plenary talks from leading researchers in their respective fields, and a career round table, representing different career paths in mathematical physics, both in academia and in industry. This year’s mini course was on “disordered quantum spin chains” given by Günter Stolz of the University of Alabama, Birmingham. The career round table advises students and junior researchers on career issues in mathematical physics and related areas.</p> <p><strong>Q: Six 91ֱ�� students participated in the GLaMP—this was the first time undergraduate students were able to attend the meeting. How were these undergraduates involved? </strong></p> <p>One intention in opening the meeting to undergraduate students was to give them the opportunity to experience a research conference and see examples of the type of problems that people are currently interested in. In addition, participating undergraduate students also had a chance to interact with current graduate students, post-docs, and junior researchers, i.e. participants who are only one or two career steps removed from them. In conjunction with the career round table, we hoped this would give undergraduate students useful insights and examples which would help them in their own career planning.</p> <p>We were pleased that seven of the 43 registered participants of GLaMP 2019 were undergraduate students, six of whom were affiliated with 91ֱ��: Didi Banyeretse, Alexandra Du, Rainie Heck, Omar Hurtado, Claire Segura, and Hengrui Zhu.</p> <p><strong>Q: Is there anything else you'd like to share about the GLaMP?</strong></p> <p>The feedback we received by the participants was phenomenal. In this context, I am very grateful for the local support, in particular from 91ֱ��’s Conference Services and the staff of the Hotel at 91ֱ��, both of which made this meeting run as smoothly as it did. With this year’s successful meeting, I am already looking forward to GLaMP 2020 which, I am happy to report, will again take place at 91ֱ��.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">Campus News</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2019-07-12T12:00:00Z">Fri, 07/12/2019 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Communications Staff</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Assistant Professor of Mathematics <a href="/chris-marx">Chris Marx</a> served as the local organizer of the <a href="https://sites.google.com/msu.edu/glamp2019/home">Great Lakes Mathematical Physics</a> meeting (GLaMP) held June 28-30, 2019 at 91ֱ�� College. For the first time in the program’s history, undergraduate students, including six from 91ֱ��, were able to participate.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2367">Science & Math</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2358">Undergraduate Research</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2363">Academics & Research</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/chris-marx" hreflang="und">Chris Marx</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/mathematics" hreflang="und">Mathematics</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Great Lakes Mathematical Physics meeting attendees pose together on the 91ֱ�� College campus.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Sylvia Rios</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Senior Symposium 2019 Preview</h1> <p>hhempste — Fri, 26 Apr 2019 12:51:24 +0000</p> <span>Senior Symposium 2019 Preview</span> <span><span>hhempste</span></span> <span><time datetime="2019-04-26T08:51:24-04:00" title="Friday, April 26, 2019 - 08:51">Fri, 04/26/2019 - 08:51</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>More than 100 seniors and fifth-years on 27 panels will each give a brief presentation about work they performed for honors, capstones, or research they conducted individually or with a faculty mentor. The symposium will examine a broad range of topics such as “Love & Relationships in the Digital Era” and “Project Hózhó: Youth, Arts, and Environment in the Navajo Nation.”</p> <p>The symposium takes place in the King Building. Concurrent panels begin at 9:30 a.m. and continue through 8 p.m. Ti Ames ’19 and Professor of Theater and Africana Studies Caroline Jackson Smith will give the 11 a.m. keynote address in King 106, about black performing arts through a focus on a recent production of Tarell Alvin McCraney’s play <em>The Brothers Size</em>, which Ames directed. A reception will take place from 6:20 to 7:20 p.m. in the King Building’s second-floor lounge.</p> <p><a class="view-more" href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pfwpve9MN8hWL50v_MX_ZJkT2mqHw5YmYQMQvI0kJt4/edit?ts=5cc06ea8">See additional event details and access the full schedule of presentations</a></p> <hr> <h2>The following are a sampling of abstracts from the student presentations </h2> <p><strong>Presenter: Pang Fei Chiang<br> Scents and Sensibilities: Gay Identities in Malaysia</strong></p> <p>For a lot of Malaysians, the kitchen serves as a domestic space where interactions between a mother and a child take place. Many Malaysian students very commonly spend their afternoons studying at the dining table while their mothers cook and tutor them at the same time. It is a site of memory where familial identities and personal identities are constructed. As such, children are more connected to their stay-at-home mothers, who usually happen to be the first parent that queer Malaysians tend to come out to.</p> <p>Therefore, the kitchen is an intensely personal space where encounters with food play a huge role in mobilizing the sensory dimension of memory, through a concoction of taste, sound, and smell, which are deeply rooted in the tempo of everyday life. For other folks, the kitchen serves a space that transports one back to their childhood by means of a particular taste or smell, thereby reflecting past events and experiences, as well as memory of anticipated rituals and celebrations such as Christmas dinner or Ramadhan meals.</p> <p>Using audio recordings, spices, and portraits of the Malaysian gay community and their mothers, <em>Scents and Sensibilities</em> is a mixed-media installation that incites nostalgia of the kitchen as a private space of joyful childhood memories, but also of potential conflicts that reflect the realities of tension and discrimination against the gay community.</p> <p><strong>Presenter: Daniel Gonzales<br> Progression of State & Federal Education Policy, Funding, and Legislation in Public Schools Since 1983</strong></p> <p>The purpose of this work is to analyze:</p> <ol> <li>the ways in which the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) has funded music education in public schools since the 1980s.</li> <li>the kinds of musical opportunities that are available to students during the school day and the factors that affect access to those opportunities.</li> <li>why access to these opportunities is important.</li> </ol> <p>As a future music educator, these issues are extremely pertinent to the settings I will find myself in after 91ֱ��.</p> <p>My research consisted of delving into scholarly journals, books, an 91ֱ�� thesis from 1999, and self-conducted interviews of Clevelanders who grew up in or around the city. From my analysis, I assert that today, students in CMSD do not have adequate opportunities to learn music and that overarching racial dynamics tied to a deep history of segregation contribute significantly to this problem.</p> <p><strong>Presenters: Brian James, Kieran Minor, and Rashad Saleh<br> Project Hózhó: Youth, Arts, and Environment in the Navajo Nation</strong></p> <p>The goal of our project, Project Hózhó, is to create an enduring collaborative summer program for youth on the Navajo Nation that engages complex environmental, cultural, and political issues through photography and filmmaking. We collaborated with local organizations like the National Park Service, Indian Health Service, and the local school district to create curriculum for grades 7-12, executed over a four-week period at Canyon de Chelly National Monument in Chinle, Arizona.</p> <p>Through classroom workshops, field shoots, and a guest photography workshop with Will Wilson ’93, students created a portfolio of a dozen works ranging from documentary to sci-fi. Student work will be combined with hours of our own documentary footage and oral histories to create an interactive website about environmental change in the Chinle Valley. This project shows the value of interdisciplinary learning, collaboration, and entrepreneurship in crafting creative approaches to community-centered social and environmental justice.</p> <p><strong>Presenter: Alexandra Roman<br> Love & Relationships in the Digital Era</strong></p> <p>We live in a world dominated by technology. In this environment, how have relationships and love been affected? The purpose of this research is to examine the possibility of maintaining meaningful connections, and ultimately love, in a society saturated with dating applications and accessible pornography. The two themes driving this argument are the “emotional” and the “physical.”</p> <p>The former will be considered through an in-depth exploration of what constitutes an authentic relationship through the lens of Existentialist philosophy, further articulated by contemporary philosophers from A. Ben-Ze’ev to Alain de Botton to W. Helm. The latter is articulated through an analysis of Austin’s speech act framework of locutionary and illocutionary acts as applied to pornography. My findings ultimately sustain the claim that technology has affected the way we love and engage in relationships by promoting power imbalances and through a constant perpetuation of identity delusions.</p> <p><strong>Presenter: Hannah Tishkoff<br> Sensing the Visual: A Critical Disability Studies Approach to the Allen Memorial Art Museum </strong></p> <p>The exterior of 91ֱ�� College’s Allen Memorial Art Museum boldly states “The Cause of Art is the Cause of the People.” While this sentiment from marxist artist and author William Morris may be inspiring, the reality is that meaningful experiences with art in museums are often inaccessible to people with disabilities. Beginning with the dominance of the visual over all other senses, museum space produces a variety of physical and psychological barriers that prevent people with disabilities from entering or enjoying museums.</p> <p>This project examines the Allen’s commitment to accessibility for visitors of all abilities while taking into account its unique position as a campus art museum with a world-renown collection. I begin by comparing the Allen’s physical space with the guidelines put forth by the Americans with Disabilities act of 1990, as well as the Smithsonian Guidelines for Accessible Exhibition Design.</p> <p>Based on my research I have outlined suggestions for the Allen to better accommodate visitors of all abilities. These include a focus on multi-sensory exhibition design, which provides opportunities for engaging all five senses in the gallery, as well as increased collaboration with local schools and disability services at the college. I conclude by emphasizing that everyone learns and experiences the world differently; while instituting accommodations would undoubtedly increase the value of the museum experience for visitors with disabilities, everyone benefits from more inclusive practices.</p> <p><strong>Presenter: Sage Vousé<br> Towards More Complicated Human Security: Solving the Measurement Paradox</strong></p> <p>In the aftermath of the Cold War and in preparation for the 1995 World Summit on Social Development, Pakistani theorist Mahbub ul Haq argued that global security should include economic, food, health, environmental, personal, and community security. This idea of an expanded and human-focused threat model, referred to as human security, readily ballooned into multiyear discussion of the failings of national security, the benefits of rejecting nationally-based security models, and the nature of safety itself.</p> <p>Since the 1995 definition of human security, approximately seven different measurement methodologies have emerged. None of these methodologies encompass every part of the 1995 definition. A decade into human security discourse it was concluded that the potential to measure human security was bottlenecked by a paradox: the more a definition attempted to encompass of Mahbub ul Haq’s definition, the less tractable and feasible it became.</p> <p>This project demonstrates that an interdisciplinary, quantitative approach can potentially solve this paradox, directing the literature towards issues of data science and ethics which increasingly govern our age. To do so, it outlines a tractable means of quantifying, combining, and analyzing each subsection of the 1995 definition and, as a case study, shows how survey data collected in the Current Population Survey by the United States Census Bureau can be utilized to form a predictive model for food security.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">Campus News</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2019-04-25T12:00:00Z">Thu, 04/25/2019 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Communications Staff</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The Office of Undergraduate Research invites all members of the campus and community to celebrate the scholarly and artistic achievements of members of the Class of 2019, at the10th annual Senior Symposium on Saturday, April 27.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2992">Senior Symposium</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2363">Academics & Research</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2358">Undergraduate Research</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Senior Symposium 2018 Preview</h1> <p>hhempste — Wed, 25 Apr 2018 21:04:20 +0000</p> <span>Senior Symposium 2018 Preview</span> <span><span>hhempste</span></span> <span><time datetime="2018-04-25T17:04:20-04:00" title="Wednesday, April 25, 2018 - 17:04">Wed, 04/25/2018 - 17:04</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>More than 90 seniors and fifth-years on 22 panels will each give a brief presentation about work they performed for honors, capstones, or research they conducted individually or with a faculty mentor. The symposium will examine a broad range of topics such as “Surviving Death: The Possibility of an Afterlife” and “The Language of Sport: Understanding Chile through Marathon Races and Fútbol Games.”</p> <p>The symposium takes place in the King Building. Concurrent panels begin at 11:00 a.m., noon, 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, and 5:30 p.m. in various rooms. Assistant Professor of Computer Science Adam Eck and Yasmeen Musssard-Afcari ’18 will give a 4:30 p.m. keynote address on the topic of science and activism titled, “Creating Barriers to Determination of Structurally Cohesive Subgroups.” There will be a closing reception at 6:50 p.m. in the King Building second-floor lounge.</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Fj6mAa9HsIfBVnWnvipH-piv6LuzI0zOizDJ9Tr3zXY/edit">See additional event details and access the full schedule of presentations</a>.</li> </ul> <p>The following is a sampling of projects that will be presented on Friday.</p> <p><strong>Presenter: Naomi Roswell<br> “The Courage You're Looking For: Linking Academics to Community-Based Arts Programs in 91ֱ��”</strong><br> At 91ֱ��, I have participated in and directed three community arts-based programs: Writers in the Schools, Girls in Motion, and 91ֱ�� Drama at Grafton. Each program uses a unique and self-sustaining education model that produces creativity and knowledge and strengthens intra-community and community-college relationships. In this model, which I call a “cascade approach to learning,” an expert offers a workshop style course to students as an apprenticeship, who in turn develop and teach lesson plans for other students. Like water down a rocky slope, the knowledge and best practices passed down each step splashes back up in a new arrangement, invigorating the experts and providing immediate feedback and reflection. Through these programs, I am linked to dancers and writers in the middle school and actors in a men’s prison in a reciprocal learning-teaching dynamic. This talk will demonstrate how my classwork across the environmental studies, dance, creative writing, and education departments and my engagement in these three arts programs mutually ameliorated each other, while grounding my understanding of social justice and catapulting me into a life of community-based work.</p> <p><strong>Presenter: CJ Blair<br> “A Reconstruction of Emerald Ash Borer-induced Mortality in a Northeast Ohio Forest”</strong><br> The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) is an invasive beetle that has killed millions of American ash trees (Fraxinus spp.). Anecdotal evidence suggests that ash populations at Chance Creek Preserve in Lorain County died almost simultaneously following the rapid spread of beetles through this site. However, no research has determined a mortality date for these trees, and some trees show more advanced decay than others. Based on these observations, we hypothesize that differences in tree characteristics influence ash mortality, and we predicted that a chronology of ash growth would show variation in mortality dates. Between September 2017 and January 2018, we obtained cores from more than 200 dead ash trees throughout our 8-hectare study site. We measured the width of growth rings in all the cores to the nearest 0.001mm and developed a chronology of ash mortality dates using COFECHA software. We then obtained GPS coordinates for the ash trees and historic weather data for our site to explore correlates between ecological factors and ash mortality. Our results indicate that ash tree mortality spanned 1985 through 2012, with an exponential increase in mortality rate through the early 2000s. We also found that pre-2000 deaths coincided with increased temperature and major droughts, but mortality was not correlated with tree age or location. We therefore conclude that EAB reached Chance Creek Preserve between 2002 and 2003, and that prior deaths were climate-related, while subsequent deaths varied due to the growth of the EAB population over time.</p> <p><strong>Presenter: Anthony Dennis<br> “The Restricted Section: A Study of Chromatic Mediants and Their Effect on Film Music”</strong><br> The purpose of this capstone project is to determine how film music signifies action, affect, and essence through a focus on music theory, embodied cognition, and music production. I will include a focus on the chromatic mediant, which is an altered chord based on either the mediant (the third of eight scale degrees) or the submediant (the sixth of eight scale degrees). Most successful film music depends on the chromatic mediant, whether it acts as to signify a hero’s journey, to create the soundscape for a horror film, or to create continuity in the repetition of musical gestures. I will also examine embodied cognition, which is a theoretical framework that explains human cognitive response to real world experience, and how it applies to sonic impact. I will conduct analyses of several approaches to film scoring. One includes “traditional” scoring, an approach mastered by John Williams. Hans Zimmer solidified “modern” scoring, another one of the approaches. I will also analyze the music of films including the Batman saga from<em> Batman</em> (Danny Elfman, 1989) to <em>The Dark Knight Trilogy</em> (Zimmer, James Newton Howard, 2005- 2012), the <em>Harry Potter</em> series (Williams, Alexandre Desplat, 2001-2011), and <em>Inception</em> (Zimmer, 2010). Additionally, I will personally score a scene to demonstrate practically how these approaches work to aid the director’s intention of the film and its potential effect on the viewer.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">Campus News</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2018-04-25T12:00:00Z">Wed, 04/25/2018 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Communications Staff</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The Office of Undergraduate Research invites all members of the campus and community to celebrate the scholarly and artistic achievements of members of the Class of 2018, at the ninth annual Senior Symposium on Friday, April 27.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2358">Undergraduate Research</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2410">Students</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Senior Symposium 2017</h1> <p>hhempste — Tue, 06 Jun 2017 19:48:29 +0000</p> <span>Senior Symposium 2017</span> <span><span>hhempste</span></span> <span><time datetime="2017-06-06T15:48:29-04:00" title="Tuesday, June 6, 2017 - 15:48">Tue, 06/06/2017 - 15:48</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>More than 75 seniors and fifth-year students on 20 panels will each give a brief presentation about work they performed for honors, capstones, or research they conducted individually or with a faculty mentor. The afternoon symposium will examine a broad range of questions such as “Is the Music Industry Failing?” and “What's in a Neanderthal?”</p> <p>The symposium takes place in the King Building. <strong>Concurrent panels begin at 1:30, 3:00, and 4:30 p.m.</strong> in various rooms on the third floor. There will be a reception from 5:50 p.m. - 6:15 p.m. in the third floor lounge, followed by a closing keynote address, titled “Whipped Cream, Whiskey, and Weight Loss: Exploring the Versatility of E-cigarette Use in Adolescents and Adults,” at 6:15 p.m. by Professor Meghan Morean and Alexa L’Insalata ‘17 in King 306.</p> <ul style="margin-left: 40px;"> <li><a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/senior_symposium#.WQIQzjKZNTY">See additional event details and access the full schedule of presentations</a>.</li> </ul> <p>Get a quick sampling of just three of the projects from Friday's presenting seniors:<br> </p> <h4>Presenter: Grover Neville<br> The Sonification of Money: Applying Creative Innovation in the Music Industry</h4> <p>Is the music industry really failing? Mainstream and scholarly rhetoric is fierce on this topic, much of it centering around the Recording Industry Association of America’s annual music industry’s annual reports which show gross revenues halving every year since 1994. In this paper, I examine the current profitability and sustainability of the music industry and argue that there remains significant untapped commercial potential in the American music market. My analysis will use the IDEO design company and Creative Problem Solving Institute’s creative design process tools. With this framework of Human-centered design and creative problem solving, I identify and define the following goals of the music industry: distribution, artist sustainability, and audience relations. I also put each of these issues into context with case studies on RIAA economic figures, market constriction, and shifting technological mediums to propose three solutions to combat economic stagnation in these areas. These solutions, which include restructuring management models, leveraging podcasting, and matching media formats to markets, are inherently useful, but also serve as examples of creative problem-solving process applied to the music industry. My conclusion is that the industry requires a new approach to solving the economic struggles it is experiencing, and that creative design thinking can be a powerful tool in this process.<br> </p> <h4>Presenter: Kirk Pearson<br> Experimental Biomechanics on Trinucleid Fringe Pits (Trilobita)</h4> <p>The morphometric uniqueness of the trinucleid family of fossil arthropods, known as the trilobites, has led to a considerable amount of attention in paleontology literature. In particular, the distinctive hourglass-shaped pits that dot their anterior have been the subject of debate for over a century. Though anatomically well understood, their function remains unknown. Many proposals have been suggested, including its use as a sieve for filter feeding, a strong shield for defense, and a sensory mechanism. Despite the wide ranges of speculations, no study has attempted to model these hypotheses with experimental methods. This study in functional morphology attempts to shed light on the validity of the most contentious of these theories by 3D printing a trinucleid head and testing its abilities in a variety of situations. We found that the dominant theories for over a century, filter feeding and strengthening, are not well supported. Instead, our results suggest that the pits are an ontogenetic signature that allow the cephalon to grow larger, providing trinucleids with an excellent mechanism for plowing through fine-grained silts and clays.<br> </p> <h4>Presenter: Mattea Scheiber Koon (co-author, Olivia Hay)<br> Investigating Allomorphy in a Coordinating Conjunction: A Corpus Study of Hiaki (Yaqui) Into(k(o))</h4> <p>Hiaki (Yaqui) is an endangered Uto-Aztecan language spoken in Sonora, Mexico and Arizona, USA. In Hiaki, the coordinating conjunction ‘and’ appears in three iterations: into, intok, and intoko. The presence of such variation often suggests a form of allomorphy, with each morpheme appearing in a predictable environment as in the case of English ‘a’ and ‘an’ variation (the former consistently precedes consonant-initial words; the latter, vowel-initial words). A cursory look at into(k(o)) suggests that a similar process is at play here, with scholars offering a variety of interpretations for into(k(o)) variation. To determine the motivating factors underlying into(k(o)) distribution, we subjected a corpus of Hiaki data to a battery of tests. We examined phonological factors, syntactic constraints, and semantic patterns. Ultimately, this barrage of tests failed to yield a dependable motivation for into(k(o)) variation. This finding suggests thatinto(k(o)) is in free variation.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">Campus News</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2017-04-27T12:00:00Z">Thu, 04/27/2017 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Communications Staff</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The Office of Undergraduate Research invites all members of the campus and community to celebrate the scholarly and artistic endeavors of members of the Class of 2017 at the eighth annual Senior Symposium on Friday, April 28.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2358">Undergraduate Research</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2363">Academics & Research</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2992">Senior Symposium</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> </article> <article> <h1>Lab Crawl 2016</h1> <p>Anonymous — Sun, 12 Feb 2017 17:16:03 +0000</p> <span>Lab Crawl 2016</span> <span><span>Anonymous (not verified)</span></span> <span><time datetime="2017-02-12T12:16:03-05:00" title="Sunday, February 12, 2017 - 12:16">Sun, 02/12/2017 - 12:16</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The third annual <a href="http://new.oberlin.edu/office/clear/events/lab-crawl/">Lab Crawl</a> on November 18 featured the work of Associate Professor of Biology Roger Laushman and student collaborators. Laushman’s lab studies plant ecology, particularly forest changes resulting from the death of ash trees—a dominant canopy species—due to an invasive insect called the emerald ash borer. Laushman’s lab was among 30 spaces showcased during Lab Crawl, giving the campus community an opportunity to learn about the research conducted by faculty and students across a variety of disciplines.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">Campus News</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2016-11-29T12:00:00Z">Tue, 11/29/2016 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Communications Staff</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2358">Undergraduate Research</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2367">Science & Math</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2546">Photo Feature</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Invasive insect samples in the lab of Roger Laushman, associate professor of biology.<br> <br> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Alice Koeninger</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> </main></body></html>