ACRoSS 2015

2015-10-24 09.58.12

During the 8th summer of ACRoSS, 49 students from 19 different departments or programs (including Art, Biochemistry, Biology, Chemistry, Communication Arts, Computer Science, Education Studies, English, Environmental Studies, Global Health Studies, International Studies, Mathematics, Neuroscience, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, Religious Studies, and Spanish), presented their summer research projects to an audience of faculty, students, administrators, and campus visitors. The average audience size was 110 for the ten weeks of ACRoSS presentations. In addition, more than 30 students presented at the Summer Research Symposium poster session, sharing work conducted both on and off campus. Overall, approximately 110 students conducted research on campus during the summer of 2015.

ACRoSS 2015 Schedule


Tues, June 2, 2015


Nia Shuler (English ’18) and Professor Aline Lo (English) The Price of Freedom: Film Portrayals of the Refugee Experience in Retreat and Return


Benjamin Bloom (Chemistry ’18) and Professor Mark R. Ams (Chemistry)  Uncovering the Strengths of the Molecular Attractions that Govern Nature


Winona Vaitekunas (International Studies ’16) and Professor Younus Mirza (Philosophy and Religious Studies) There’s More to “Abrahamic” than Abraham: Bridging Religions through Scriptural Dissonance


Tues, June 9, 2015


Ryan Sayko (Physics ’16), Tim Daly (Biochemistry ’16),  and Professor Adele Poynor (Physics) Surface Plasmon Investigations of Self Assembled Monolayers


Kelly Frantz (International Studies, Spanish ’16) and Professor Rehenuma Asmi (Education and Religious Studies) The Struggle for Higher Education in Qatar: The Pendulum Swings from English to Arabic at Qatar University


Claire Porterfield (Biochemistry ’16), Nathan Allen (Biochemistry ’16), and Marty Serra (Chemistry and Biochemistry) RNA Structure and Stability


Tues, June 16, 2015


Darby Rupp (English ’18) and Professor Valerie Sweeney Prince (English)  Bridging the Gaps Between Fields: Metaphorical Thinking and Expression in Computer Science


Garrett Devenney (Biology/Global Health Studies ’16) and Professor Becky Dawson (Global Health Studies and Biology)  Knowledge and Perceptions of the 2014 Ebola Outbreak among Undergraduate Students


Molly Shelton (Physics ’16) and Professor Ian Carbone (Environmental Science) Flexible Materials for Light Concentration and Solar Power Production.


Tues, June 23, 2015


Sarah Shindler (Psychology ’16), Travis Banks (Neuroscience Major ’17), Sarah Eidbo (Neuroscience ’17), and Professor Rodney Clark (Psychology and Neuroscience) Classical Conditioning of the Immune System IV: Effects of Naltriben and SNC-80. 

Bryn Philibert (International Studies ’16), Heather Bosau (English ’17) and Professor Shanna Kirschner (Political Science and International Studies) Do Massacres Work? Understanding Strategic Violence in Civil War


Allie Condon (’16) and Professor Michael Mehler (Communication Arts) Community-Based Arts


Tues, June 30, 2015


Conner Bardine (Chemistry ’17), Yueting Xu (Biochemistry ’17), and Professor Ivy Garcia (Chemistry and Biochemistry)  What happens when you heat up the DEAD?


Belle Mazurik (English major ’16), Manuel Marquez (English and Math ’16), and Professor Soledad Caballero (English)  Imagining Revolutions: Routes of travel between South America and Britain 


Erin Yates (English ’16) and Professor Ben Slote (English) We Don’t Know Boo: Disability and Self-Congratulation in “To Kill a Mockingbird”


Tues, July 7, 2015


Kathryn Denning (Psychology ’16), Annie Utterback (Psychology ’16), and Professor Aimee Knupsky (Psychology)  Getting Inside Your Head: Cognitive Humanities at Work


Michael Camara (Computer Science ’17) and Professor Janyl Jumadinova (Computer Science) Insightful Combinations: An Intelligent System to Find, Analyze, and Correlate Data.


Will Taylor ’17, Andrea Brush ’16, Greg Singer ’15 and Professors Amara Geffen (Art) and Emily Yochim (Communication Arts)  Conneaut Lake: Fostering Livability through Art, Nature and Culture

Tues, July 14, 2015


Nathanael Downes (Chemistry ’17) and Professor Tim Chapp (Chemistry)  Towards Synthesis of Molecular Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen Production


Tori Rollin (Biology ’17), Kevin Simpson (Biochemistry ’17), and Professor Brad Hersh (Biology and Biochemistry)  Arrival of the Fittest: Finding the Genes Responsible for Evolution of Animal Shape


Madeleine Zimmermann (Environmental Science and Studio Art ’18) and Professor Richard Schindler (Art History)  Framing Anarchism: The Mutual Relationship between Artists and Anarchists


 Tues, July 21, 2015


Ian Dempsey (Biology’16), Noelle Lemons(Biochemistry ’17), and Professor Monali Chowdhury (Psychology)  The Next Chapter Book Club: A Community Project with Members with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities


Kristi Allen (Chemistry ’16), Natasha Brigham (Chemistry ’17), and Professor Ryan Van Horn (Chemistry) Biocompatible Block Copolymer Crystallization

Blake Johnson (Biology ’16), Michael Arcieri (Biology ’17), and Professor Kristen Webb (Biology)  DNA Tells The Story – Examples from Veterinary Forensics and The Roles of Pheromone Detection and Color Vision in Carnivores 


 Tues, July 28, 2015


Katherine Furl (Psychology ’16), Nadiya Wahl, (Psychology ’17), and Professor Lauren Paulson (Psychology)  Eating Disorders in Males


Logan Billet (Biology, ’17) and Professor Matt Venesky (Biology)  Spatiotemporal Distribution of the Amphibian Chytrid Fungus in Northwestern PA


Alexandra Hess (Biology, ’16) and Professor Matt Venesky (Biology)  Does the Hormone Leptin Mediate Sickness Behaviors in Amphibians Infected with the Pathogenic Chytrid Fungus?

Paige Hickman (’17), Erica Moretti (’17), and Professor Beth Choate (Environmental Science)  Native Pollinators and Landuse throughout Meadville, PA


 Tues, Aug 4, 2015


Yukihide Nakada (Mathematics ’16), Kelly Pohland (Mathematics ’16), and Professor Craig Dodge (Mathematics)  Simple Modules of Centralizer Algebras


Brigit Stack (Communication Arts ’17) and Professor Julie Wilson (Communication Arts) Unpacking Neoliberal Culture


Timothy Cornet (Environmental Science ’16) and Professor Ian Carbone (Environmental Science) Environmentally Friendly Greenhouse Design for Allegheny College Food Production.