News Release

Local angles: In N.C., Albemarle, Apex, Asheville, Blounts Creek, Burlington, Carrboro, Cary, Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Concord, Durham, Germanton, Greensboro, Greenville, Hendersonville, King, Marion, Mocksville, Mooresville, Murphy, Pfafftown, Raleigh, Supply, Wilmington and Winston-Salem. Out-of-state (alphabetical by state), Los Angeles; Stamford, Conn.; Holmes Beach, Fla.; Gainesville, Ga.; Lisle, Orland Park and Schaumburg, Ill.; East Point, Ky.; Mercerville, N.J.; Dublin and Shaker Heights, Ohio; Allendale, S.C.; North Logan, Utah; Madison, Wis.; Cross Lanes, W.Va.; and Calcutta, India.

Undergraduates are leading research projects
throughout world, with funding of fellowships

CHAPEL HILL -- Sixty University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill students are conducting research throughout the world this summer thanks to the support of Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships.

The fellowships provide stipends of $3,000 per project through UNC’s Office of Undergraduate Research. Students work one-on-one with faculty and graduate student mentors to conduct independent research projects in the arts, business, humanities, social sciences and natural and applied sciences.

Undergraduate research opportunities represent an important way UNC extends learning beyond the classroom, said Dr. Patricia Pukkila, director of UNC’s Office of Undergraduate Research.

"About 25 percent of Carolina undergraduates receive academic credit for research conducted throughout the year, and many others volunteer as research assistants just for the learning experience."

While most of this summer’s projects take place in the United States, more than one-third of the projects take students to overseas locations as diverse as Argentina, Australia, South Africa and Uzbekistan.

Many projects address health and social issues affecting citizens in North Carolina and beyond. Among the examples:

· Matthew Bolt, a computer science major from Greenville, will develop a digital audio recorder and game for children who are blind.

· Alexander McLin, a computer science major from Greensboro, will develop assistive technology for gesture recognition in deaf communication.

· Jacob McPherson of Raleigh and Jeffrey Whittaker of Charlotte, both applied sciences majors, will develop a "toy acquisition system" for children with severe and profound disabilities.

· Kate Wassum, a psychology major from Charlotte, will explore a potential treatment for drug abuse.

· Kevin Feltes, a public policy major from Lisle, Ill., will examine ethanol’s current and future role as a renewable transport fuel.

Twenty-two students will conduct research abroad. Among the examples:

· David Gray, a philosophy major from Charlotte, will examine restorative justice in Australia.

· Timur Hammond, an English major from Los Angeles, will study the role of poetry in society in Uzbekistan.

· Chelsea Lee, a communication studies major from Asheville, will research employment conditions for foreign domestic workers in Singapore.

· Ashley Baldwin, a romance languages major from King, will study globalization’s influence on the lives of female artisans in Taxco, Mexico.

· Cyrus Luhr, a business administration major from Cary, will travel to London, Paris, Cannes, Rome and Venice while creating a startup business plan for an independent film distribution company.

· Menaka Kalaskar, a political science major from North Logan, Utah, will study the effects of water privatization on women in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

· Courtney Garcia, a communication studies major from Hendersonville, will study the most effective communication strategies for HIV-AIDS education and prevention in South Africa.

· Joshua Collier, an international studies major from Marietta, Ga., will examine how Buddhist practices interact with prevention, spread and treatment of AIDS in Nepal.

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program is supported by a combination of private and non-state funding: the Smallwood Foundation; the Kauffman Foundation; the Parent’s Council; the Monty and Nancy White Undergraduate Research Fund; the Mildred Brown Mayo Fund; the College of Arts and Sciences; the Graduate School; the University Center for International Studies; the offices of the Vice Chancellor of Research and Economic Development, the Provost, Scholarships and Student Aid; and five academic departments and centers.

###

Following is a full list of 2004 fellows from North Carolina, with hometowns, academic majors and project titles.

Albemarle

· Robert Moorehead, psychology, "Experienced Emotion, Perception of Endogenous Affect and Perception of Exogenous Affect in Schizophrenia."

Apex

· Melissa Couchon, English, "A Reciprocal Influence: Hemingway, Williams and Zelda Fitzgerald."

· Jacob Medlin, music, "Trio Repertoire and Performance for Clarinet, French Horn and Piano" (in Morges, Switzerland).

Asheville

· Chelsea Lee, communication studies, "Dignity Overdue: Research on the Conditions of Foreign Domestic Workers in Singapore."

Blounts Creek

· Candice Creasman, psychology, "A Cross-Cultural Perspective on Treatment of Schizophrenia: Comparison of French and British Recovery Rates and Treatments Implemented" (in London and Paris).

Burlington

· Logan Garrison, English, "Learning and Growing in London’s West End Theatres: Evaluating the Communication Studies Department’s London Internship in Performance and Media Studies" (in London).

Carrboro

· James Mahaffey, biology, "Ena’s Role in the Regulation of the Cytoskeleton During Drosophila Oogenesis."

Cary

· Cyrus Lofti Luhr, business administration, "Birth of an Independent Film Distribution Company: The Creation of a Startup Business Plan" (in London, Paris, Cannes, Rome and Venice).

· Naman Shah, applied sciences, "Determining the Essential Nature of the Twin-Arginie Translocation (TAT) Protein Export Pathway in Mycobacterium Tuberculosis."

Chapel Hill

· Adam Brooks, physics and astronomy, "Photoionization Studies of Organometallic Complexes" (research in Budapest, Hungary).

· Bradley Horn, interdisciplinary studies, "An Awkward Intimacy: The Wildness of the Southern Sierras and Their Relationship with Heavily Developed Western Neighbors."

· Justin Low, physics and astronomy, "In Solico and In Vitro Design of Antibodies."

· Michael Stella, biology, "Study of Structural Arrangements of Tissues in the Arms of Octopus Bimaculoides and Octopus Briareus."

· Ryan Zimmerman, biology, "Analysis of Histone MRNA Stem-Loop Binding Protein (SLBP) Function During Drosophila Oogenesis."

Charlotte

· David Michael Gray, philosophy, "Restorative Justice in Australia: Exploration of a Nascent Criminal Justice Alternative."

· Jennifer Love, music, "Trio Repertoire and Performance for Clarinet, French Horn, and Piano" (research in Morges, Switzerland).

· Kate Wassum, psychology, "Exploration of a Potential Treatment for Drug Abuse: Effects of the Cannabinoid Antagonist SR 141716A on Drug-Induced Sub-Second Dopamine Transmission."

· Jeffrey Whittaker, applied sciences, "Assisted Toy Acquisition System for Children with Severe and Profound Disabilities."

· Thomas Whittington, dramatic art, "Seeking Truth through Improv Comedy."

Concord

· Michelle Mian, chemistry, "Assessing Protein Surface Area with Pressure Perturbation Calorimetry."

· Lindsay Waldrop, biology, "How Masking Level Difference (MLD) for Complex Sounds such as Speech Change as a Function of Degree or Reverberation and Quality."

Durham

· Olivia Swigart, public policy, "Listening to the Gatekeepers: Perceptions About Volunteer Doulas."

Germanton

· Sara Leeanne Snyder, music, "Artistry in Latin: Stan Kenton’s Contribution to Afro-Cuban Jazz."

Greensboro

· Alexander McLin, computer science, "Developing Assistive Technology for Gesture Recognition in Deaf Communication."

· Maria Theresa Thekkekandam, nutrition, "Summer Health Initiative and Irrigation Project in Bolivia."

Greenville

· Matthew Bolt, computer science, "Digital Audio Recorder and Game for Children Who Are Blind."

· Adwoa Sarkoa Ulzen, international studies, "The Black Dutchmen and the Elmina-Java Museum: A Philanthropic Project in Culturally Sustainable Tourism" (in Ghana).

Hendersonville

· Courtney Garcia, communication studies, "The Most Effective Communication Strategies for HIV-AIDS Education and Prevention in South Africa."

· Jason Scott Warner, international studies, "Compulsory Education in Non-Vernacular Languages: A Study of Literacy Rates in Three Senegalese Linguistic Regions" (in Senegal).

King

· Ashley Baldwin, romance languages, "How the Changing Role of Handicrafts, Due to Increasing Globalization, Has Affected the Lives of Native Women in Taxco, Mexico."

Marion

· Anh Quynh Ly, journalism and mass communication, "Mending Old Wounds Between People and Nations: An Investigation of the Tensions Between the Vietnamese Communist Government and Those Who Fled After the Fall of Saigon" (in Vietnam).

Mocksville

· Joshua Brown, geography, "Environmental and Anthropogenic Influences in a Cedar Forest" (in Cyprus, Turkey).

Mooresville

· Sarah Kay Wilda, psychology, "Father’s Anxiety and Depression as a Predictor of Father-Child Attachment Representation."

Murphy

· Veena Shiva Rao, biology, "Determination of Mechanisms of Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Colorectal Cancer Progression."

Pfafftown

· Taylor Steelman, international studies, "A Study of International Service-Learning and its Potential Employment at UNC" (in Montpelier, France).

Raleigh

· Justin Harrison Blank, philosophy, "A Non-Reductive Approach to the Problem of the Many."

· Jacob McPherson, applied sciences, "Assisted Toy Acquisition System for Children with Severe and Profound Disabilities."

· Dina Faddah, biology, "Detecting Gene Order Difference Between Two Divergent Yeast Strains."

· Andrew Fuller, physics and astronomy, "Temperature and Composition Dependent Magnetoptic Responses of Novel Silicon-Based Magnetic Thin Films."

Supply

· Sean Goforth, political science, "Weapons of the Weak: A Chronicle of Latin American Efforts to Use International Law as a Means of Constraining U.S. Hegemony."

Wilmington

· Isaac Solomon, chemistry, "Elucidating the Mechanism of Repression of Liver Receptor Homologue 1 by the Short Heterodimer Partner by Determining the X-Ray Crystal Structures of LRH-1 Bound to SHP Derived Peptides."

Winston-Salem

· Boriana Hristova Ditcheva, computer science, "Health Tracking Web Site for Individuals with Disabilities."

· Fay Marie McCunniff, exercise and sport science, "Scapular Kinematics in Athletes with Glenohumeral Internal Rotation Deficits."

Following is a full list of 2004 fellows from out of state, with hometowns, academic majors and project titles.

Los Angeles

· Timur Warner Hammond, English, "Literature and Identity: The Role of Poetry in Uzbek Society" (in Uzbekistan).

Stamford, Conn.

· Christine Bischoff, music, "The Morality of Female Characters in Verdi and Puccini Operas" (in Italy).

Holmes Beach, Fla.

· Cara Ann Perinetti, biology, "Genetic Basis of Development of Neurons and Neuronal Connections in the Central Nervous System of Drosophila Embryos."

Marietta, Ga.

· Joshua Collier, international studies, "The Ways in Which Buddhist Religious Practices and Beliefs Interact with Prevention, Spread and Treatment of AIDS in Nepal."

Gainesville, Ga.

· Katie Cunningham, dramatic art, "Developmental Stages: Conservatory Training for a Liberal Arts Actor."

Lisle, Ill.

· Kevin Feltes, public policy, "Investing in Ethanol Production: A Comparative Analysis of Ethanol’s Current and Future Role as a Renewable Transport Fuel in Brazil and the United States."

Orland Park, Ill.

· Alan Woodruff, biology, "A Survey of Disease Treatment-Intervention in Rural and Urban Tanzania in the Context of a Changing Health-Care Infrastructure."

Schaumburg, Ill.

· Anne Winslow, art, "Ancient Pictish Symbol Stones in a Modern Scottish Landscape" (in Scotland).

East Point, Ky.

· Lyda Kendrick, dramatic art, "The Art of Playing Together: Children, Improvisation and Theatre."

Mercerville, N.J.

· Nathan Poslusny, environmental science and environmental studies, "Trails as Corridors of Invasive Spread in Western North Carolina."

Dublin, Ohio

· Megan Davy, public policy, "Climate Change Policy Decision-Making Under Uncertainty."

Shaker Heights, Ohio

· Jeffrey Giertz, history, "End of the Road: Mining, Logging, Development and Decline of Ely, Minn., in the Late 19^th and Early 20^th Centuries."

Allendale, S.C.

· Shanna Jefferson, public policy, "Making Work Count."

North Logan, Utah

· Menaka Shashikant Kalaskar, political science, "The Effects of Water Privatization on Women: A Case Study of the Buenos Aires Water System" (in Argentina).

Madison, Wis.

· Theodore F. Wiesner, biology, "The Relationship Between Protein C Inhibitor and Cancer Cell Invasion."

Cross Lanes, W.Va.

· Janet Hager, chemistry, "Examination of Potential Phosphorylation Sites of the Human Nuclear Pregnane X-Receptor."

Calcutta, India

· Zafia Anklesaria, biology, Genetic Dissection of Signaling Hierarchy in Arabidopsis Disease Resistance."

- 30 -

Note: Contact Pukkila at (919) 843-7763.

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