Faculty Student Summer Research Program
2014 Research Projects
For summer 2014, there are 91 students and 46 faculty members working on 76 different projects.
![Biology major Robert Kahn '14 in the lab](/dof-vpaa/summer-research/collaborative-2013.jpg)
Projects
- THE GREAT WAR IMAGE ARCHIVE, FRANCE, 1914-1918
Luke Conley, 2015
John Anzalone, Professor, Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures - POST-CONFLICT RECONSTRUCTION: WOMEN AND DEVELOPMENT IN AFGHANISTAN
Nahid Paiman, 2015
Nurcan Atalan-Helicke, Assistant Professor, Environmental Studies Program - SEED EXCHANGE NETWORKS AND FOOD SYSTEM RESILIENCE IN THE UNITED STATES
Lauren Bosche, 2015; Helen Alemayehu Mebrate, 2016; Tsering Choden, 2017
Nurcan Atalan-Helicke, Assistant Professor, Environmental Studies Program - SYNTHETIC INVESTIGATION AND APPLICATION OF A SUBSTITUTED 4,6-DIMETHYL-3-CYCLOHEXNE
COMPOUND
William Miller, 2015
Kara Cetto Bales, Senior Teaching Associate, Department of Chemistry -
SYNTHETIC STRATEGIES AND THEIR APPLICATION IN THE ORGANIC CHEMISTRY LAB
Lauren Soong, 2016
Kara Cetto Bales, Senior Teaching Associate, Department of Chemistry -
THE ECONOMY OF DESIRE
Ryan Crotty, 2015
Erica Bastress-Dukehart, Associate Professor, Department of History -
IMAGINATION INFLATION AND LEI ONLINE ADMINISTRATION
Jennifer Wicks, 2014
Rebecca B. Bays, Professor, Department of Psychology -
THE GENERATIONAL CONSTITUTION: JEFFERSON, MADISON AND THE CALL FOR PERIODIC CONSTITUTIONAL RENEWAL
Ben Polsky, 2015
Beau Breslin, Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Professor, Department of Government -
SELECTIVELY DISTRUPTION OF THE CELL WALL OF CHAROPHYTE ALGA Penium margaritaceum
Berke Tinaz, 2016
David Domozych, Professor, Department of Biology -
MAPPING SARATOGA SPRINGS: AN EXHIBIT AT THE SARATOGA SPRINGS HISTORY MUSEUM
Deirdre Schiff, 2015
Allie Smith, 2015
Zach Mooring, 2015 (Duke University)
Jordana Dym, Professor, Department of History -
TOWARDS FACIAL RECOGNITION FOR SPEAKERS AT SKIDMORE FACULTY MEETINGS
Yang Yu, 2016
Michael Eckmann, Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science -
RACE AND UNEMPLOYMENT
Taylor Sczymecki, 2015
Rebecca Datus, 2015
Amon Emeka, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology -
A DISTANT READING OF EMPIRE
Mae Capozzi, 2015
Scott Enderle, Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of English -
CALIBRATING A NEW METHOD FOR MEASURING OCEAN CARBON FLUXES IN THE PRESENCE OF HIGH-SILICATE PHYTOPLANKTON BLOOMS
Melanie Feen, 2016
Meg Estapa, Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Geosciences -
THE EFFECTS OF MUSIC ON AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORY IN ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD) PATIENTS AND HEALTHY OLDER ADULTS‬‬
Renee Schapiro, 2015
Denise Evert, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Program -
LAB ON A CD PLAYER
Julie Bryant, 2016
Kimberley Frederick, Professor, Department of Chemistry -
STABLIZING ENZYMES FOR A MALARIA DIAGNOSTIC TEST
Meti Debela, 2016
Kimberly Frederick, Professor, Department of Chemistry -
MICROFLUDIC CHIP FOR PRE-CONCENTRATION AND ANALYSIS OF ORGANIC WATER CONTAMINANTS
Sarah Markiewicz, 2016
Justin O'Sullivan, 2017
Kimberley Frederick, Professor, Department of Chemistry -
DEVELOPMENT OF A MICROFLUIDIC ASSAY FOR ANALYSIS OF D-LACTATE IN URINE: A DIAGNOSTIC TEST FOR MALARIA
Sibin Wang, 2016
Kimberley Frederick, Professor, Department of Chemistry -
SYNTHETIC STUDIES ON NEW TANDEM INTRAMOLECULAR DIELS-ALDER REACTIONS
Hannah DeGraaf, 2015
Raymond J. Giguere, Professor, Department of Chemistry -
DOES GENTLY CLEARING THE NASAL CAVITY IMPACT ODOR IDENTIFICATION?
Mitchell Spring, 2015
Robert M. Hallock, Visiting Assistant Professor, Neuroscience Program -
ENGINEERING A COST-EFFECTIVE MICROMANIPULATOR FOR XENOPUS OOCYTE INJECTION
Heather A. Braun, 2015
Rebecca J. Howard, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry -
EXPLORING THE EVOLUTION OF ETHANOL: DEVELOPMENT OF TEACHING TOOLS AND NEW EXPERIMENTS ON ETHYL ALCOHOL
Glenna E. Joyce, 2016
Rebecca J. Howard, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry -
QUANTITATIVE MODELING OF ETHANOL BINDING IN LIGAND-GATED ION CHANNELS
Daniel E. Manson, 2015
Rebecca J. Howard, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry -
ROLE OF LOOP 2 IN ETHANOL MODULATION OF THE GABAAR
Alex Mola, 2016
Rebecca J. Howard, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry -
ROLE OF AN EXTRACELLULAR AMINO ACID RESIDUE IN ALCOHOL MODULATION OF LIGAND-GATED ION CHANNELS
Travers M.D. Ruel, 2016
Rebecca J. Howard, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry -
ROLE OF PORE-LINING RESIDUES IN DRUG MODULATION OF LIGAND-GATED ION CHANNELS
Thomas R. Schneider, 2015
Rebecca J. Howard, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry -
PHARMACOLOGY OF BACTERIAL MODELS OF THE HUMAN GABAA RECEPTOR
Thomas B. Voigt, 2015
Rebecca J. Howard, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry -
EXPLORATION OF ENVELOPES AS FOCAL SETS
Adam Winchell, 2016
Mark Huibregtse, Professor, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science -
EXAMINING STONE TOOL PRODUCTION AT WATER'S EDGE
Elizabeth Hopkins, 2015
Professor Heather Hurst, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology
Professor Matthew Kroot, Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology -
CHRONOLOGICAL AND SPATIAL DIMENSIONS OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK AT THE WATER'S EDGE SITE
Priscilla Montalto, 2015
Heather Hurst, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology
Matthew Kroot, Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology -
A CHRONOLOGY OF HABITATION AT WATER'S EDGE
Kim Snow, 2015
John Kolios, 2016
Heather Hurst, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology -
UNDERSTANDING THE INTEGRATION OF OXYGEN TRANSPORT AND UTILIZATION: A MITOCHONDRIAL PERSPECTIVE
Cheyanne Slocum, 2017
Stephen Ives, Assistant Professor, Department of Health and Exercise Sciences -
SERIAL PROCESSING OF LETTERS OR FIRST LETTER ADVANTAGE?
Haley Cirka, 2016
Rebecca Johnson, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology -
A NEW ECONOMY OF JOKES: HASHTAG SOCIAL MEDIA, HASHTAG COMEDY
Rebecca Baruc, 2015
Beck Krefting, Assistant Professor, Department of American Studies -
MITOCHONDRIA'S ROLE IN SCA1 DISEASE PROGRESSION
Austin Ferro, 2015
Jenny Zhang, 2016
Sarita Lagalwar, Assistant Professor, Neuroscience Program -
PROPAGATION AND DEGRADATION OF ATAXIN-1 PROTEIN IN AN SCA1 CELL CULTURE MODEL
Mayumi Kohiyama, 2015
Nicholas Toker, 2015
Sarita Lagalwar, Assistant Professor, Neuroscience Program -
THE OPPORTUNITY PROGRAM (OP) ALUMNI PROJECT: EXPLORING THE CAREER EXPERIENCES OF FIRST GENERATION STUDENTS AND STUDENTS OF COLOR AT A PREDOMINATELY AND HISTORICALLY WHITE LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGE
Amari Boyd, 2014
Aldin Medunjanin 2016
Sue Layden, Ph.D., Research Analyst on Enrollment, Retention, and Student Achievement, Office of Admissions & Financial Aid
Lei Ouyang Bryant, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Music
Michael Ennis-McMillan, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Anthropology
Bernardo Rios, Ph.D., Consortium for Faculty Diversity Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Anthropology -
MEANINGS OF FOOD: CONVERSATIONS OF AMERICAN WOMEN ON FOOD BLOGS
Emily Kortright, 2015
Ela Lepkowska-White, Associate Professor, Department of Management and Business -
COPPER-SILVER CROSS RESISTANCE – TESTING THE POTENTIAL OF HOMOLOG PROTEINS OF COPA FROM ESCHERICHIA COLI
Jody-Ann Facey, 2014
Sylvia Franke McDevitt, Assistant Professor, Department of Biology -
AMOEBA AS A MODEL SYSTEM TO STUDY METAL DEPENDENT BACTERIAL KILLING BY MACROPHAGES
Ketan Yerneni, 2017
Sylvia Franke McDevitt, Associate Professor, Department of Biology -
COPPER-SILVER CROSS RESISTANCE – TESTING THE POTENTIAL OF HOMOLOG PROTEINS OF COPA FROM ESCHERICHIA COLI
Bryan Zepeda-Carranza, 2017
Sylvia Franke McDevitt, Associate Professor, Department of Biology -
DIGIT RATIO: A METHODOLOGICAL REVIEW OF RESEARCH ARTICLES PUBLISHED FROM 2011 TO 2013
Kristina Francoeur, 2015
Anh Vu Nguyen, 2017
Denise Brooks McQuade, Senior Teaching Associate, Department of Biology -
INVESTIGATING THE INFLUENCE OF BEHAVORIAL ATTRIBUTIONS ON BACKLASH AGAINST MALE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL EDUCATORS
Elizabeth Johnson, 2015
Corinne Moss-Racusin, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology -
INNOVATION, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND MAKERS
Ramzy Kahhale, 2015
Scott Mulligan, Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Management & Business and International Affairs Program -
AROUND THE WORLD: IRON DISSOLUTION FROM GLOBAL FLY ASH AEROSOLS IN ACIDIC MEDIA
Jaya Borgatta, 2016
Amanda Paskavitz, 2017
Juan Navea, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry -
DIFFUSION OF GASES: DEVELOPMENT OF AN UNDERGRADUATE LABORATORY EXPERIMENT
Hannah DeGraaf, 2015
Juan Navea, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry
Judith Halstead, Professor, Department of Chemistry -
NITRATE ADSORPTION ONTO TIO2: A QUANTUM CHEMICAL COMPUTATIONAL STUDY
Matthew Lueckheide, 2017
Juan Navea, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry -
PHOTOCHEMISTRY OF NITRATE CHEMISORBED ON DIFFERENT COMPONENTS OF MINERAL AEROSOL
Daniel Lesko, 2017
Juan Navea, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry -
VACCINE COVERAGE AND INCOME INEQUALITY IN MIDDLE INCOME DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Rachel Spring 2015
Mehmet Odekon, Professor, Department of Economics -
A TOY MODEL FOR THE NONLINEAR OPTICAL RESPONSE OF MOLECULES WITH MODULATED CONJUGATION
Quanhang Chen, 2016
Javier Perez-Moreno, Assistant Professor, Department of Physics -
VISUAL DIFFERENTIATION OF OBJECTS: AN EYE TRACKING STUDY
W. Emerson O'Donnell, 2015
Flip Phillips, Professor, Department of Psychology, Neuroscience Program -
ARTIFICAL SWEETNER IN NEW "COKE LIFE" AFFECTS SLEEP CYCLES IN FRUIT FLIES
Agnieszka Brojakowska, 2017
Cemile Antal (Doan Stuart School)
Bernard Possidente, Professor, Department of Biology -
DO C(60) FULLERENE NANOPARTICLES ALTER SLEEP CYCLES IN FRUIT FLIES?
Matt Ciotti (Siena College)
Bernard Possidente, Professor, Department of Biology -
FRUIT FLY FLASH MOBS
Arianna Laszlo, 2015
Nicholas Friedman 2017
Bernard Possidente, Professor, Department of Biology -
SUCCINIC ACID TREATMENT DOES NOT IMPROVE INSULIN RESISTANCE OR ALTER ENERGY HOMEOSTASIS IN OBESE MICE
Daniela Escudero, 2016
Gabriella Vero T.H. Reynolds, Associate Professor, Department of Health and Exercise Sciences -
IDENTIFYING THE CELLULAR MECHANISM FOR THE MnTBAP-INDUCED REDUCTION IN BODY WEIGHT
Saada Legesse, 2015
Caitlin Sheridan, 2015
T.H. Reynolds, Associate Professor, Department of Health and Exercise Sciences -
VISUAL REPRESENTATION IN THE TRANSNATIONAL LIVES OF MEXICAN MIGRANTS
Bethany Hunt, 2017
Bernardo Ramirez Rios, Visiting Professor, Department of Anthropology -
EXPANDING THE GENETIC CODE WITH PYROGLUTAMATE
Miles Calzini, 2016
Stephanie Zhen, 2016 Kelly Sheppard, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry -
DISCRIMINATING NATURE OF THE B. ANTHRACIS ASPARTYL-tRNA SYNTHETASES
Julia Erskine, 2017
Kelly Sheppard, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry -
DISCRIMINATING NATURE OF THE ASPARTYL-tRNA SYNTHETASES FROM THREE HUMAN PATHOGENS
Mohammed Islam, 2015
Kelly Sheppard, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry -
DUAL ROUTES FOR B. HALODURANS ASPARAGINYL-tRNA FORMATION
Nilendra Nair, 2015
Kelly Sheppard, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry -
DUAL ROUTES FOR B. SUBTILIS ASPARAGINYL-tRNA FORMATION
Hannah Raff, 2015
Kelly Sheppard, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry -
TECHNOLOGY USE AND EMERGING ADULT COLLEGE STUDENTS
Erica Walker, 2016
Dr. Joan Ann Swanson, Assistant Professor, Department of Education Studies -
BUILDING BRIDGES ACROSS DISCIPLINARY BOUNDARIES
Lulu Li, 2016
Peter von Allmen, Professor, Department of Economics
We would like to thank the following donors and funding agencies for their support
of our collaborative research efforts and the Faculty Student Summer Research Program:
Alumni, Family, and Friends
Katherine Durham Brechner '76
Harman Cain Family, Class of 2012
Samuel Croll '73
Marlene Oberkotter Fowler '61
Rowena Chan Au '74, Martha Hsu Ho '75, Katherine Suk Ki Lu '74, Winnie H. Wan '74,
and Elise Huibonhoa Wen '77
Christiana Johnson '90, given in honor of Tom Lewis
Jim Lippman and Linda Friedman Lippman '82
Philip P. Markowitz '13
Richard A. Mellon '87
Margaret Williams Page '43
Michael Rose '90
Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Woodcock, Parents 1996
Axelrod-Porges Scholars
Established in 2006 by Felicia Axelrod '62 and Robert Porges to support faculty-student
teams in the area of the sciences.
Schupf Scholars
Established in 2008 by Sara Lubin Schupf '62 to support summer faculty-student research
with a preference given to students pursuing projects in the STEM disciplines. Schupf
Scholars are selected beginning the summer after their freshman or sophomore year.
Schupf Scholars may access additional funding for travel to meetings and conferences
as well as for research supplies and expenses during their continuing research with
faculty during their academic career at Skidmore.
Weg Scholars
Established in 2010 by Carol Little Weg '64 and Ken Weg and awarded with a preference
for students pursuing projects in the sciences and social sciences.
Foundation/Grant
Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research: NSF
W.M. Keck Foundation
The National Science Foundation
Rathmann Family Foundation
S3M Transitional Program
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
The Charles Slaughter Foundation