Forty Lafayette students earned the distinction of being invited to make presentations on their scholarly research at the 20th annual National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) April 6-8.

Lafayette is a national leader in undergraduate research. The EXCEL Scholars program and departmental honors program are among several opportunities for students to do research jointly with a faculty member or on their own, with faculty guidance.

This was Lafayette’s 19th year of participation in NCUR. More than 500 students have been accepted to present their research, with an average of more than 30 students per year over the last decade. This year 33 students presented at the conference, which was hosted by University of North Carolina at Asheville (seven did not attend due to schedule conflicts).

The following list of invited students includes class year, major, hometown, research topic, and faculty research adviser.

Humanities and Social Sciences

Christopher Anderson ’08(English), West Chester, Pa.
“Western Audience, Japanese Spirit: Forms of Anime in the U.S. Market”
Yoshihiko Ariizumi, assistant professor of foreign languages and literatures

Lori Anderson ’06 (economics and business), Haworth, N.J.
“The Role of Economic Freedom in the Effectiveness of Aid Allocations”
Edward N. Gamber, professor of economics and business

Jenny Boyar ’08 (psychology), Hillsborough, N.J.
“An Analysis of Epilepsy in Literature”
Paul Cefalu, associate professor of English

Hurriya Burney ’06 (economics and business/English), Karachi, Pakistan
“Learning to Fly”
Lee Upton, professor of English and writer-in-residence

Alisandra Carnevale ’06 (history/anthropology and sociology), Princeton, N.J.
“Tales From the Prince’s Bedroom: Shaping History Through Folk Narrative, Pettoranello, Italy”
Susan Niles, professor of anthropology

Katherine Dranoff ’09 (foreign languages and literature), Bala Cynwyd, Pa.
“Determining Discrimination on College Campuses”
Yoshihiko Ariizumi, assistant professor of foreign languages and literature

Tiffany-Lee Dyer ’06 (psychology), Portland, Maine
“Does Culture In Anime Inspire Viewers to Become Intrinsically and Integratively Motivated Language Learners?”
Yoshihiko Ariizumi, assistant professor of foreign languages and literatures

Teruhisa Haruguchi ’07 (B.S. computer science/A.B. math), Saitamashi, Japan
“Improving Listening Comprehension by Focusing on the Sentence’s Semantic Unit”
Yoshihiko Ariizumi, assistant professor of foreign languages and literatures

Sara Jay ’06 (history/French), Oceanside, N.Y.
“The French Jewish Community in Dijon: History And Memory”
Robert Weiner, Jones Professor of History

Emily Katz ’06(history/French), Staten Island, N.Y.
“Anti- Americanism and the French Jewish Community”
Robert Weiner, Jones Professor of History

Hiroyuki Kiyono ’06 (international affairs) River Edge, N.J.
“Integration Through Intercultural Communication Platform”
Yoshihiko Ariizumi, assistant professor of foreign languages and literatures

Marianna Macri ’06 (English), Malvern, Pa.
“Nobody’s Child: Immigrant Identity and the Dynamic Youth in Contemporary American Literature”
Bryan Washington, associate professor of English

Kari Mirkin ’06 (history/German), Youngstown, Ohio
“Germany’s Look at Itself Sixty Years After The War”
Rado Pribic, Williams Professor of Languages and chair of international affairs

Briana Niblick ’06 (B.S. civil engineering/A.B. German), Hatboro, Pa.
“Zafer Senocak: Questions of Identity in German-Turkish Literature”
Margarete Lamb-Faffelberger, associate professor of foreign languages and literatures

Martha Osier ’06 (economics and business/international affairs), Nairobi, Kenya
“The Optimality of Debt Relief for Poverty Reduction in Nigeria”
David Stifel, assistant professor of economics and business

Kristin Rhebergen ’06 (international affairs/German), Hopewell, N.J.
“Pastor Martin Niemoeller: The Pacifist”
Rado Pribic, Williams Professor of Languages and chair of international affairs

Jesslyn Roebuck ’06 (English/international affairs), Montgomery, N.Y.
Two presentations: “Carol Ann Duffy and Disrupting The Gaze of Tradition” and “The Iceberg Underneath the Surface in Gertrude Stein’s ‘Sacred Emily’”
Lee Upton, professor of English and writer-in-residence

Nangula Shejavali ’06 (international affairs/Africana studies), Windhoek, Namibia
“Health Care Systems Surrounding HIV/Aids Orphans in Sub-Saharan Africa”
Rexford Ahene, professor of economics and business and co-chair of Africana studies

Daniela Simova ’06 (B.S. biology/A.B. economics and business), Sofia, Bulgaria
Two presentations: “Economic Determinants and Effects of Childhood Malnutrition in the United States” and “Effectiveness of AIDS Prevention Programs in Sub-Saharan Africa and Behavioral Change as the Channel for the Improvement”
David Stifel, assistant professor of economics and business

Mila Tzolova ’06 (international economics and commerce/history and government & law), Sofia, Bulgaria
“The Eastern Enlargement of the European Union: Costs And Benefits to the Old and New Member States”
Katalin Fabian, assistant professor of government and law

Sandamali Wijeratne ’06 (international affairs/English), Mount Lavinia, Sri Lanka
“Federalism as a Solution to Sri Lanka’s Ethnic Conflict: A Comparative Study”
Rado Pribic, Williams Professor of Languages and chair of international affairs

Scott Wisniewski ’06(government and law/philosophy), Olyphant, Pa.
“Imaginability and Laws of Nature”
Julie Yoo, assistant professor of philosophy

Natural Sciences and Engineering

Ibrahima Bah ’06 (B.S. physics/B.S. mathematics), Bronx, N.Y.
“Short Distance Expansion of Gravitational and Gauge Super-Fields from the Dual Representation of Virasoro and Kac-Moody Algebras”
Vincent G.J. Rodgers, professor of physics and astronomy, University of Iowa

Bryan Culbertson ’07 (computer science), Ormond Beach, Fla.
“An Improved Method for Varying Exploration and Convergence in Iterated Genetic Algorithms”
Chun Wai Liew, associate professor of computer science

Veronica Escobar ’08 (civil engineering), LaPaz, Bolivia
“Determining the Efficiency of Iron Enhanced Activated Alumina at Removing Arsenic from Water Under Both Anaerobic and Aerobic Conditions”
Arthur Kney, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering

Zane Ferguson ’06(psychology), Kempton, Pa.
“Operant and Pavlovian Effects of an Added Counter on Variable-Ratio Performance”
Robert Allan, associate professor of psychology

Laura Hagopian ’06 (chemistry), Chelmsford, Mass.
“DTBPF and DCPF: Electrochemistry And Complexation”
Chip Nataro, assistant professor of chemistry

Catherine Herchenroder ’06 (mechanical engineering), Breezy Point, N.Y.
“Design of Vaginal Speculum to Address the Needs of Obese and Multiparous Women”
Jenn Rossmann, assistant professor of mechanical engineering

Greg Lapp ’06(chemical engineering), Lancaster, Pa.
“One-Step Synthesis of Dimethoxymethane via Methanol”
Javad Tavakoli, associate professor of chemical engineering

Elizabeth Lilley ’06 (neuroscience), Westwood, N.J.
“Identity, Adjustment, and Psychological Well-Being in Adult Korean Adoptees”
Susan Basow, Dana Professor of Psychology

Lia Mandaglio ’08 (psychology), Annandale, N.J.
“Contextual Effects on Aversive Racism in Men and Women”
Ann McGillicuddy-DeLisi, Metzgar Professor of Psychology

Lindsay McCarthy ’06 (A.B. engineering), Peabody, Mass.
“The Environmental Sustainability of an Iron-Coated Activated Alumina Technology to Treat Arsenic-Contaminated Groundwater”
Sharon Jones, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering

Varun Mehta ’06 (mechanical engineering), New Delhi, India
“Modeling Conduction and Convection Due to Laser Eye Surgery”
Ira Katz, director of mechanical engineering laboratories

Jessica Memoli ’06 (psychology), Port Washington, N.Y.
“Competition and Social Dominance in College Drinking Games”
Alan Childs, professor of psychology

Evgenia Nikolova ’06(biochemistry), Arlington Heights, Ill.
“Role of the Large and Small Subunits of Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii Periplasmic Carbonic Anhydrase on the Catalytic Properties of the Enzyme”
David Husic, Larkin Professor of Chemistry

Jinjin Qian ’08 (economics and business), Shanghai, China
“Modeling Fish-Muscle Dynamics and Force Generation”
Robert Root, associate professor of mathematics

Jose Crisanto Tano ’06 (mathematics and economics), Easton, Pa.
“Predicting Sales of Hardcover Books: An Econometric Model of Fictional Works”
Thomas Bruggink, professor of economics and business

Kristen Tull ’06(A.B. engineering/international affairs), Sicklerville, N.J.
“Using an Environmental and Economic Analysis of Shipping Pallets to Guide Policy Recommendations in Open-Loop Systems”
Sharon Jones, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering

Brent Utter ’06 (mechanical engineering), Concord, N.H.
“Numerical Simulation of Aneurysm Hemodynamics”
Jenn Rossmann, assistant professor of mechanical engineering

JoAnna Vetreno ’06 (electrical and computer engineering), Oakland, N.J.
“Nonlinear Time Domain Model of a Phase-Locked Loop for Phase Noise Prediction”
Todd Wey, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering