27 Students Invited to Present Research at National Conference on Undergraduate Research

Students represent majors in all four of the College’s academic divisions

A total of 27 students have been invited to present their research at the 23rd National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) held April 16-18 at University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Lafayette is the only exclusively undergraduate private liberal arts and engineering college to have this many students invited this year.

NCUR is the largest conference of its kind in the country with approximately 2,200 undergraduates from more than 250 colleges and universities in attendance. This is Lafayette’s 22nd year of participation in NCUR. In that time, more than 600 Lafayette students have been accepted to present their research.

Students presenting at the conference represent majors in all four of the College’s academic divisions including 14 in the humanities and social sciences fields and 13 in the natural sciences and engineering areas.

All of the students have worked with a faculty member through the College’s honors thesis, independent study, or EXCEL Scholars programs. Lafayette’s focus on close student-faculty interaction has made it a national leader in undergraduate research. Many of the hundreds of students who participate in these programs each year publish their work in academic journals and present at regional and national conferences.

The following is the list of students invited to this year’s conference along with their project title and faculty research adviser.

Humanities and Social Sciences

• Cristina Callagy ’09 (Hawthorne, N.Y.), anthropology and sociology
  • “Women Are Not Property: The Function of Bride Price in Contemporary Urban Uganda”
  • Susan Niles, professor of anthropology

• Katherine Dranoff ’09 (Bala Cynwyd, Pa.), government and law
  • “The Role of Turkish Women Leadership in Dutch Society”
  • Asma Sayeed, assistant professor of religious studies,

• Jan Duchoslav ’09 (Dobrovskeho, Czech Republic), double major in economics & business and international affairs
  • “Characteristics of Delinquency-Prone Microfinance Clients: A Basis for Arrears Reduction Measures”
  • David Stifel, assistant professor of economics

• Felix Forster ’09 (Rostock, Germany), a B.S. in mathematics and an A.B. in economics and business
  • “Rural-Urban Migration in Madagascar – Modeling Migration Decisions by Means of a Peer-Group Earnings Differential”
  • David Stifel, assistant professor of economics

• Nicole Gramigna ’09 (White Plains, N.Y.), double major in anthropology & sociology and religious studies
  • “From Salem to Samantha: The Representation of the Witch in American Imagination”
  • Robin Rinehart, associate professor and head of religious studies

• Todd Herrick ’09 (Mount Airy, Md.), double major in government & law and religious studies
  • “Playing with Krishna: A Critical Study of One’s Relationship with the Divine”
  • Robin Rinehart, associate professor and head of religious studies

• Benjamin Hewes ’09 (Cumberland, Maine), double major in history and French
  • “French Relations with the Choctaw and the Question of Political Incorporation”
  • Deborah Rosen, professor and head of history

• Katie Milot ’09 (Basking Ridge, N.J.), international affairs
  • “Improving the Condition of the Roma in Romania and Slovakia: What Makes Government Policy Effective?”
  • Katalin Fabian, assistant professor of government & law

• Nganga Muchiri ’09 (Nairobi, Kenya), a B.S. in chemical engineering and an A.B. in English
  • “Contemporary African Fiction and Hybrid Politics”
  • Bryan Washington, associate professor of English

• Katherine Portnoy ’09 (Nazareth, Pa.), international affairs
  • “Energy Transmission Infrastructure: Precursor to a New Cold War?”
  • Jerome Heavey, professor of economics

• Julia Sorkin ’09 (Whippany, N.J.), double major in economics & business and psychology
  • “Cigarette Smoking and Alcohol Use and Abuse: Does Relationship Status Curb Risky Behavior”
  • Susan Averett, Dana Professor and head of economics

• Samantha Speer ’09 (Kempton, Pa.), economics and business
  • “A Random Walk in the Bric Countries”
  • Rose Marie Bukics, Jones Professor of Economics

• Anna Swanby ’09 (Oakdale, N.Y.), international affairs
  • “Patronage, Foreign Aid, and the Kenyan State”
  • David Stifel, assistant professor of economics

• Amanda Zungoli ’09 (Randolph, N.J.), double major in mathematics and economics & business
  • “A Contextual Fundamental Analysis of Eight Financial Institutions: Should We Have Seen the Collapse Coming and Is It Possible to Prevent Another?”
  • Rose Marie Bukics, Jones Professor of Economics

Natural Sciences and Engineering

• Karlyn Adams ’09 (Ford City, Pa.), psychology
  • “Gender and Age Differences in Task Engagement and Success as a Function of Achievement Goals and Intrinsic Motivation”
  • Ann McGillicuddy-DeLisi, Metzgar Professor of Psychology,

• Shrutarshi Basu ’11 (Kolkata, India), a B.S. in electrical and computer engineering and an A.B. in computer science
  • “Application of Formal Grammars to the Study of Complex Patterns and Evolving Systems”
  • Chun Wai Liew, associate professor and head of computer science,

• Jeff Beavan ’09 (Nazareth, Pa.), a B.S. in civil engineering and an A.B. in economics and business
  • “Is Green Design Really Worth It?”
  • David Veshosky, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, and Susan Averett, Dana Professor and head of economics

• Jessica Counihan ’10 (Colorado Springs, Colo.), double major in chemistry and a self designed interdisciplinary major in architecture
  • “Characterization and Quantification of the Neutral and Polar Lipids in the Lizard Uta Stansburiana Stansburiana by HPTLC-Densitometry”
  • Joseph Sherma, Larkin Professor Emeritus of Chemistry; Bernard Fried, Kreider Professor Emeritus of Biology; and Peter Zani, visiting assistant professor of biology

• Evan Lebovitz ’09 (Pittsburgh, Pa.), neuroscience
  • “The Placebo Effect: Relationship Between Anxiety and Pain as Influenced by Therapeutic Modality and the ‘White Coat Effect’ in the Cold Pressor Test”
  • Alan Childs, professor of psychology

• Molly Lieber ’09 (Scarsdale, N.Y.), double major in psychology and Spanish
  • “The Effects of Low Socioeconomic Status on Health”
  • Jamila Bookwala, associate professor of psychology

• Kira Moore ’09 (Lincoln Park, N.J.), neuroscience
  • “Memories of Lafayette-Lehigh 2008”
  • Jennifer Talarico, assistant professor of psychology

• Marcella Marie Nehrbass ’09 (Ringoes, N.J.), engineering studies
  • “Methods of Hydrogen Production and Its Modern Applications”
  • Javad Tavakoli, professor of chemical engineering
  • Marcella Marie Nehrbass ’09 Researches Hydrogen as a Fuel Source

• Matt Pagano ’09 (Branchburg, N.J.), psychology
  • “Chivalry or Sexism?: An Analysis of Gender and Door Holding”
  • Susan Basow, Dana Professor and head of psychology

• Meagan Regina ’10 (Manalapan, N.J.), psychology
  • “Differences in Academic Anxiety Between College Students from Divorced and Intact Families”
  • John Shaw, associate professor and acting head of psychology

• Jonathan Schimmel ’09 (New York, N.Y.), biology
  • “Investigation of a Putative Family 5 Endoglucanase in Phytophthora Infestans”
  • Manuel Ospina-Giraldo, assistant professor of biology

• Shailesh Shrestha ’11 (Pokhara, Nepal), a B.S. in electrical and computer engineering and an A.B. in computer science
  • “A First Step Toward Green Transportation: Low-Speed Recreational Vehicles”
  • William Hornfeck, professor of electrical and computer engineering

• Allison Summer ’09 (Katonah, N.Y.), psychology
  • “Stress, Weight, and Food Consumption Between Adolescents in the United States and Denmark”
  • Alan Childs, professor of psychology