NEWS

Local angles: See references in the story and a list of
students, hometowns and activities starting at the end of release.

By DEE REID
College of Arts and Sciences

CHAPEL HILL -- If you think research is only conducted by laboratory scientists, university professors or graduate students, take a look at what some Tar Heel undergraduates are doing this summer. As a leader in what has become a national trend to expand learning beyond the classroom, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is providing summer fellowships for 38 undergraduates to conduct a range of research projects in the United States and around the world.

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships, administered by the Office of Undergraduate Research in the College of Arts and Sciences, provide stipends of $3,000 per project.

Many of the summer projects -- which span the fine arts, humanities, sciences and social sciences -- will engage or affect the public in North Carolina and beyond.

Among the examples:

• Michelle Sullivan of Cumberland, R.I., will study treatment technologies for swine waste.
• Colin Sutker of Afton, Va., will explore the impact of trade liberalization on the textile industry.
• Christa Wheeler of Westlake, Ohio, and Sirin Yaemsiri of Raleigh will design toys for blind children.
• Douglas Paletta of Boone will study the philosophical basis of preventive detention.
• Sarah Taylor of Greensboro will explore the folk roots of country-rock music.
• Mary Keeley of Atlanta will research adolescent response to stress.
• Brenda White of Hickory will look at ways to meet the needs of people in at-risk communities.

Eight students will conduct research abroad with support from the University Center for International Studies:

• Lauren Burk of Greenville, S.C., will research architectural politics of the Paris Opera.
• Katherine Hughes of Raleigh will explore the composition of Creole French vocal music in Haiti.
• Charles Olbert of Asheville will research Ludwig Wittgenstein’s "Nachlass" in Vienna.
• Sarah Miller of Clemmons will study education of Roma children in Hungary.
• Pamela Ross of Virginia Beach, Va., will travel to Oslo to work with a scientist studying the modulation of DNA damage and repair by dietary fatty acids.
• Roger Gause of Supply will research photoionization in Chapel Hill and Budapest, Hungary.
• Pailin Wedel of Bangkok will conduct population studies of the Aquilaria trees in Thailand’s Khao Yai National Park.
• Guney Acipayamli of Wilmington will travel to Turkey to analyze the influence of satellite television on Kurdish perceptions of identity and political effectiveness.

About 25 percent of Carolina undergraduates receive academic credit for their research, and many other students volunteer as research assistants for the learning experience, said Dr. Patricia Pukkila, director of the Office of Undergraduate Research. Students have opportunities to publish their work in academic journals and present their findings at professional conferences and special symposia.

In April, students showcased their projects at undergraduate research symposia on campus and at the N.C. General Assembly in Raleigh. The opportunity for undergraduates to conduct their research with guidance from both graduate students and faculty mentors is a unique feature of Carolina’s program, which has attracted national recognition. Last fall, U.S. News & World Report magazine ranked UNC’s undergraduate research program fourth among U.S. public universities, tied with the University of California at Berkeley.

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program is supported by a combination of private and non-state funding from the Smallwood Foundation, College of Arts and Sciences, Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development, Graduate School, Office of Scholarships and Student Aid and individual departments.

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Note: Following is local-angle information and a full list of Summer Undergraduate Research Fellows. Pukila can be reached at (919) 843-7763.

College of Arts and Sciences contact: Dee Reid, (919) 843-6339

2003 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellows
By hometowns, name, major, project title:

• Charles Olbert, philosophy, "Research and Exegesis of Ludwig Wittgenstein’s Nachlass"
  Daniel McGlinn, biology, "The Effects of Nirogen on Southern Appalachian Spruce Fir Forests"

• Emily Glover, English, "Tennessee’s Women: Defining the Female in the Canon of Tennessee Williams"

• Erin Hopper, chemistry, "Design and Characterization of Trimethylmethoxysilane-modified Nitric Oxide Releasing Sol-Gels"

• Douglas Paletta, philosophy, "A Philosophical Investigation of Detention"

• Jennifer Woodard, biology, "Genes Responsible for Midline Development of Drosophia"

• Kathryn J. Walker, chemistry, "Evaluation of Sol-Gel Matrix Effects on Immobilized Glucose Oxidase"
• Jillian McFee, psychology, "Relational Aggression in Girls"
• Joseph Batchelor, chemistry, "Crowding and Confinement Studies of Cytochrome C in Sol-gels"
• Kathleen Delker, computer science, "BATS: The Blind Audio Tactile Mapping System"

• Sarah Johnson, communication studies, "The Effects of Surgery on Fricative Production in Patients with Facial Malocclusion"

• Sarah Miller, history, "Roma Education Practices and Programs: An Oral History Project"

• Rachel Cottone, geology, "Igneous Processes in the Deepest Parts of an Accretionary Wedge"

• Sarah L. Taylor, music, "Investigating the Folk Roots of Country-Rock and the Genre’s Present-Day Commercialization" 
• Matthew Bayliss, physics and astronomy, "Probing the Early Universe: The Search for Optical Transients"

• Sheena Waters, biology, "Inactivation of the Retinoblastoma Family Pathway in Neuroprogenitor Cells."

• Brenda White, anthropology, "Meeting the Needs of People in At-Risk Communities"

• Tia-Tanisha Willoughby, international studies, "Djembi and Francophone Identity in Los Angeles"

• Huoy Lim, biology, Androgen’s Role in Rb Mediated Prostate Tumor Suppression"

• Kevin Crotty, music, "Performance Preparation for Major Solo Trumpet Competitions"
• Katherine Hughes, music, " Haitian Creole French and the Effects of a Contact Language on the Vocal Repertoire Composed for It"
• Paul Swartzel, music, "Research for New Harmonic Systems and Forms in Music Composition"
• Adam Caputo, chemistry, "Interaction of Mitochondrial Ribosomes with the Inner Membrane"
• Sirin Yaemsiri, applied sciences, "Designing Toys for Children with Visual Impairment"
• Jasmine Hudepohl, psychology, "Predicting Depression in Distressed Couples Using Relationship Schematic Processing"
• Laura Koontz, biology, "A Model System to Study the Function of the Non-Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Abelson"

• Erin Heenan, chemistry, "Mechanism of Inhibition of Human Trypsin by BABIM and IRJL118: Role of Phenylalanine"

• Roger Gause, chemistry, "Photoionization Studies in Chapel Hill and Budapest, Hungary"

• Guney Acipayamli, journalism, "The Influences of Satellite Television on Kurdish Identity and Political Efficacy in Modern Turkey"

• Lauren Burk, art, "The Opera Garnier: The Second Empire’s Architectural Politics"

• Colin Sutker, public policy, "Justified Trade: North Carolina Textile Workers and the Impact of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Program"

• Pamela Ross, biology, "Modulation of DNA Damage and Repair by Dietary Fatty Acids"

• Greg Hogan, biology, "Probing Genome-wide Chromatin Structure with Small-molecule Crosslinkers and DNA Microarrays"

Atlanta, Ga.

• Mary Keeley, psychology, "Stress and Coping Mechanisms in Adolescents"

• Kristen Foster, psychology, "Observational Social Support in Adolescent Friendships"

• Christa Wheeler, applied sciences, "Designing Toys for Children with Visual Impairment"

• Michelle Sullivan, environmental science and engineering, "An Integrated Study of Emissions of Potentially Environmentally Superior Technology for Swine Waste Treatment"

• Pailin Wedel, biology, Population Studies of the Aquilaria Trees in Khao Yai National Park, Thailand"

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