WRP 2002 Opportunities
Eating Torah: Meal Rituals and the Transmission of Torah in Rabbenu Bahya b. Asher
Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus (jkraus@wheatonma.edu), Religion
Student research assistant needed for library and computerized database searches, editing, and proofreading for my project: 'Eating Torah: Meal Rituals and the Transmission of Torah in Rabbenu Bahya b. Asher,' a book on the nature of ritual and food symbolism in classical Judaism. Qualifications: Advanced course work in religious and/or Judaic studies and experience writing a research paper. Reading knowledge of Hebrew a plus, but not required.
Genomics Research Group
Betsey Dyer (bdyer@wheatonma.edu), Biology, and Mark LeBlanc, Computer Science
The Genomics Research Group is involved with a long term project to analyze particular DNA sequences of entire genomes. Both computer programmers and biologists are needed to participate in building "modules" for our DNA lexicon. Programmers will write software for particular computations that are needed for our analysis. Biologists, especially those with some background in molecular biology or genetics, will help to design computational algorithms and evaluate data. See our web site http://genomics.wheatoncollege.edu
Poetry in Context Research Project
Paula Krebs (Paula_Krebs@wheatonma.edu)
This project addresses the place of poetry in the press, especially the daily newspapers, in late-Victorian Britain. I am interested in poetry in its publication context; that is, what appears on the same page as the poem when the poem appears in the newspaper, or what else appears in the collection that includes the poem. Examining the larger context for late-Victorian poetry lets us see how the poet intervenes in contemporary political and social issues. Why the difference, for example, between the version of 'The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim's Point' that Elizabeth Barrett Browning published in the abolitionist annual Liberty Bell in 1847 and the version she published in her Poems of 1850? What difference does it make that Kipling's 'The Islanders' appeared on the editorial page of the London Times at the height of the Boer War?
The student's role in this project would include reading the London Times and other British dailies from 1880 until the end of the Boer War in 1902, copying any pages of the newspaper on which poetry appears. The student would work with me in identifying the political, social, and literary contexts for the poetry she or he finds, and I would ask the student to trace the publication history of each poem: where did it appear after it was published, and what kind of material accompanied it?
Vernal Pool Research
Herb Ellison (Herb_Ellison@wheatonma.edu)
I would like to have a Wheaton Research Partnership student to help me with the analysis of soil samples from around vernal pools here in town and elsewhere. The work of Anissa Demers, '02, clearly showed that the proximity of a parking lot to the Wheaton vernal pool has an effect on the pool's water chemistry. Preliminary studies by me and a freshman this past semester appears to confirm this conclusion. We took soil samples between the pool and the parking lot and on the opposite side of the pool and found elevated amounts of cations and anions. Near the end of the semester I concluded that extracts from these soil samples were harming the ion exchange column we were using to measure amounts of various anions. My task now is to find a way to remove the organic components from the soil extracts so that I can use ion chromatography without destroying the costly columns. I believe learning more about the soils surrounding, and under, these vernal pools will help us in understanding the water chemistry of these pools.
Alternative Family project
Claire Buck (cbuck@wheatonma.edu), English
This project will result in an article for the interdisciplinary academic journal Feminist Studies, examining the contemporary construction of the gay/lesbian parent. A student research assistant would create an annotated bibliography of lesbian and gay parenting handbooks, popular nonfiction, magazines such as Alternative Families, and scholarly work such as Kath Weston's The Families We Choose. The student would search for relevant articles in the mainstream press as well as in the gay and lesbian press, the publications of education organizations such as the National Association for the Education of Young Children, specialist journals such as publications for health and social-services professionals, and many on-line publications and websites.
The student would be in close contact with me throughout the research, as we go over each source to evaluate its usefulness for the project. While I would love to work with a student who already had top-notch research skills, I anticipate that I will be doing a fair amount of training in that area, as the student develops graduate-level research, writing, and analytical skills through this project.
Health Psychology Research
Michael Berg
This project will examine students' attitudes towards smoking and smoking-related campus policies. Duties will include data collection and management. Other duties may include library searches, questionnaire development, and data analysis.
Human Rights in Cambodia
David E. Powell (dpowell@wheatonma.edu), Shelby Cullom Davis Professor of Russian Studies
The project involves human rights in Cambodia. With my student assistant, I will examine current conditions, how matters developed, and suggest ways to ease the situation -- focusing on the possible role of an international tribunal to judge accused war criminals.
Between 1975 and 1979, Khmer Rouge extremists murdered 1.7 million Cambodians. Last February, the UN abandoned efforts to establish an International Court to judge accused war criminals. In August, the Cambodian government decided to permit prosecution only under national, not international, law; the UN rejected the idea as "utterly lacking in legitimacy."
We will take the year to explore these issues and present our findings in newspaper articles, a joint research paper, campus talks, and an academic article.
Tolkien Bibliography project
Michael Drout (mdrout@wheatonma.edu), English
http://acunix.wheatonma.edu/mdrout
My Wheaton Research Partnership student for 2002-2003 will work with me on the Tolkien Bibliography project and will help to coordinate that project with my other Tolkien projects: the Text Encoding Initiative and the new journal Tolkien Studies.
The student will continue the effort that has already created the world's largest collection of articles and about J.R.R. Tolkien and his work. He or she will search out new bibliography, request Interlibrary Loan materials and library acquisitions, maintain the bibliographic database and read and summarize articles. The student will also help to create the web pages for Tolkien Studies, to manage submissions, revisions and reviews, and to coordinate the efforts of the other students in the J.R.R. Tolkien Research Group.
Anglo-Saxon Medicine project
Barbara Brennessel (bbrennes@wheatonma.edu), Chemistry
My Wheaton Research Partners student for 2002-2003 will continue work on the Anglo-Saxon Medicine project. This project, which began in the summer of 2000, seeks to determine the pharmacological efficacy of medical remedies from tenth-century England. The student will assemble the materials required by the different recipes, mix the recipes, and test the recipes' ability to inhibit bacterial growth using the Kirby-Bauer method. The student will learn how to grow bacteria to log phase in T-soy broth and then plate these bacteria onto T-soy and blood agar plates to creat bacterial lawns. The student will also help to search through the translation of the Anglo-Saxon "Leechbook" to find additional remedies worth testing.
Officers' Wives and the Rise of A Global U.S. Military, 1870-2000
Anni Baker (abaker@wheatonma.edu)
In this project, my research partner and I will collaborate on a history of Army and Navy officers' wives stationed outside the United States during the last 150 years. Using letters, diaries, memoirs, and other written and photographic sources, the study will analyze the role of these women, both socially privileged and held back because of their gender, in unfamiliar environments such as the West, the Philippines, Panama, Europe, and Northeast Asia. Most of the primary material has already been collected, so a research partner would be involved in organizing the material, assessing it and helping me interpret it. In addition, we will continue to search for fruitful sources of information on officers' wives, so the job will involve correspondence with archives and archival research. The student will be working with sources in feminist theory as well, to integrate the archival material with current scholarship. My research partner will have input into the organization and methodology of the book, as well as helping with the writing and editing.
Frances Hodgson Burnett Research
Beverly Clark (bclark@wheatonma.edu), English
I'd like to find a Wheaton Research Partner to build a bibliography and do archival research on Frances Hodgson Burnett. When Burnett started her career as a writer, her work was compared with that of Henry James. She was writing works that were taken seriously by adults. Later she focused on writing romances for women and literature for children, including _The Secret Garden_ and _A Little Princess_.
I'm seeking published reviews and essays on Burnett; at the very least Ihope to publish a bibliography. The first step will be to track down previous bibliographies of criticism of Burnett's work and to make copies of pieces that I don't already have. The next step will be to start searching for pieces that have not previously been indexed for Burnett, by scanning periodicals in Wheaton's print and microfilm collections. There's some possibility of work at Brown University libraries as well. What the Wheaton Research Partner would do is a kind of literary treasure hunt.
Wheaton Arboretum
Scott Shumway (sshumway@wheatonma.edu), Biology
Wheaton Arboretum - dependable student is needed to work with Professor Shumway to identify campus trees and mount display labels on trees.
Research Assistants (2) in Bio-Behavioral Measurement of Stress in Autism
Grace Baron (gbaron@wheatonma.edu), Psychology
Student research assistants will join me and my Groden Center research colleagues (including Matthew Goodwin, Wheaton Class of 1998) in pioneering research that examines physiological correlates of stress in the lives of persons with autism. Both heart rate measures, with a portable non-invasive heart rate monitor, and behavioral observations assist us to determine what is stressful for any individual, many of whom cannot use language to communicate. We also use these data to assess whether our interventions (e.g., relaxation training) are effective in providing alternatives to characteristic, maladaptive responses these individuals make to stressors in their lives.
Research assistants will learn the Observer software program (which allows coordinated analysis of video and heart rate data), tally behavioral data from video-tapes, assist in research sessions, conduct PsycInfo and Medline literature searches, prepare data summaries, and other research tasks.
Work will take place both at the Groden Center in Providence, RI, and on campus. This is a fine opportunity for a student with an interest in general research methods in psychology, biology and with an interest in autism or human physiology.
Planetary Mapping Lab
Geoffrey Collins (gcollins@wheatonma.edu), Geology
My Wheaton Research Partner will be working with me in the Planetary Mapping Lab on tasks related to the tectonics of Europa and Ganymede. There are two major tasks for this year: (1) the stratigraphic classification of grooves on Ganymede, to constrain models for the driving mechanism of Ganymedean tectonics, and (2) detailed mapping of regions of chaotic terrain on Europa, to constrain geophysical models for their formation and thus provide insight into Europa's ocean and ice shell. The student will be performing digital mapping and image analysis using data obtained by the Voyager and Galileo spacecraft, and will probably be presenting work at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference next March in Houston.
Angiogenesis
Edmund Tong (etong@wheatonma.edu), Biology
The growth of new blood vessels from established vessels is known as angiogenesis. Angiogenesis occurs both prenatally in the development of the embryonic vascular system as well as postnatal in the normal process of menstruation and wound healing. Angiogenesis is also associated with such pathogenic conditions as diabetes and arthritis and it is a well documented fact that tumor growth is angiogenically dependent.
Angiogenesis is dependent upon the activation of endothelial cells (EC). Upon their activation EC cells migrate toward the angiogenic stimulus where they begin to proliferate. This proliferation is ultimately responsible for the formation of a new capillary network which eventually culminates in the organization of larger micro vessels. The activation of normally quiescent EC is dependent on the release of many biological agents. These agents can have a stimulating or inhibiting effect. More specifically the signaling process of angiogenesis is a multi-step process where the ultimate triggering or suppression of angiogenesis is due to the complex interaction of different biological agents.
Linoleic acid is one of the most abundant fatty acids in the diet and it can be metabolized into 9 and 13-Hydroxyoctadecadienoic acid (9- and 13-HODE). Both 9-HODE and 13-HODE have been shown in our lab to be involved in the stimulation of bovine and human endothelial cell proliferation and migration, as well as blood vessel growth in the chick embryo. HODEs have also been established recently by numerous investigators to be a natural agent that stimulates fatty tissue development, lipid and glucose metabolism. We would like to continue our studies on HODEs in relationship to angiogenesis and other actions using both the in vivo and in vitro experiments.
Optical properties of laser crystals
Xuesheng Chen (xchen@wheatonma.edu), Physics
The student will participate in the research to investigate optical properties of some laser crystals and try to figure out the corresponding physical mechanisms. This research will provide valuable information on designing efficient solid-state lasers out of these materials. Most of the work in this research involves measurements of luminescence spectra and absorption spectra at different temperatures from liquid nitrogen to room temperature. Lasers and white light source are used to excite the crystals. Measurement equipment includes monochromators, spectrometers, light detectors, electronics, and computer date acquisition system.
Psychobiology Research Laboratory
Meg Blasberg (blasberg@cns.umass.edu)
The project is assisting in establishing a new psychobiology research laboratory in the psychology department. Research in the lab will focus on the interaction of hormones and the nervous system and the control of rodent sexual behavior. Specifically, upcoming experiments will examine the effects of several neurotransmitter systems on complex female rodent sexual behaviors, the role of sensory nerves on display of sexual behaviors and the cellular impact of sexual stimuli on neuronal activity in the brain.
A student research partner will be involved in the original set-up and organization of the lab space. This could involve help with product ordering, library research, and bookkeeping. Secondly, duties would include helping to establish protocols for surgery, histology, behavioral observation, and immunocytochemistry. Some knowledge of basic biology or chemistry would be helpful but by no means required.
Digital Imaging of Cell Behaviors
Robert L. Morris (rmorris@wheatonma.edu), Biology
Cells are beautiful and dynamic machines which can generate force along their own skeletons to move and to divide. We investigate cell division and differentiation by imaging embryos using cutting-edge light microscopic techniques at Wheaton and Woods Hole, and then visualize and study the molecules that drive cell movements using 2-D and 3-D movies.
Examples of our work are available at http://acunix.wheatonma.edu/~rmorris/. Members of my research lab meet together for weekly lab meetings to discuss their results and discuss published literature, and meet one-on-one with me to discuss details of individual research projects.
This year's WRP project will include use of the new NSF-sponsored digital Imaging Center and its new microscopes, digital cameras, and computers. We will generate and analyze images of a variety of cell movement processes, establish protocols for types of imaging not previously possible at Wheaton, and invent new methods of imaging not tried anywhere before. We will maintain our stocks of sea urchins and other marine animals to keep a supply of photogenic cells available, and we will continue to present our results at Academic Festival, at national meetings in Woods Hole and in San Francisco, and in leading scientific journals.
Examining the Separation of Binary Liquid Mixtures in Nanoconfinement
Laura Muller (lmuller@wheatonma.edu), Chemistry
While research exists on the properties of liquids in microscopic pores, very few studies are available which describe the behavior of confined liquid mixtures. The structure and dynamics of neat liquids confined in nanoscale containers differ greatly from bulk liquids in large containers. Yet, understanding of this confinement is key to understanding processes in porous materials such as filtration of groundwater from pollutants, recovery of fossil fuels, and technological control of chemical reactions.
In our laboratory, the nanocontainers in which binary liquid mixtures are confined for these experiments are the pores of silicate sol-gel glasses we make in. In examining the fluorescence behavior of mixtures of pyrene and ethanol confined within these porous sol-gels, we have observed that both the amount of pyrene excimer emission and the effective polarity of these confined ethanol solutions is pore-size dependent: higher excimer emission and lower solvent polarities are seen in solutions confined within smaller pores than from those confined in larger pores. This fall we will be examining the fluorescence behavior of confined mixtures of pyrene and viscous solvents such as octanol and tetradecane as we develop a detailed experimental picture of the separation of binary liquid mixtures such as organic pollutants and groundwater in soils using laser-induced fluorescence.
Asymmetric Catalysis-Stereoselective Synthesis of b-Amino Acids
Chris Kalberg (ckalberg@wheatonma.edu), Chemistry
Attention to stereochemistry has exploded over the last couple of decades as we have become keenly aware of the relationship of stereochemistry to biological activity. This relationship is particularly important in the realm of pharmaceuticals, and has been demonstrated over and over. One stark example is the thalidomide disaster of the 1950s and 1960s. Thalidomide was a drug given as a mixture of isomers to, among others, pregnant women suffering from morning sickness. Only one of the isomers had the desired sedative and anti-nausea effects, while the other isomer led to severe birth defects in babies born to women who had taken the drug. It was cases like thalidomide that led drug regulatory agencies, such as the FDA, to adopt strict guidelines for development of drug candidates as single isomers unless compelling evidence showed the drug could be safely administered as a mixture.
In my lab, we will be continuing to optimize the synthesis of single stereoisomers of b-amino acids. This set of compounds is closely related to the familiar a-amino acid constituents of peptides and proteins found in the human body. b-Amino acids are building blocks for many pharmaceuticals including taxol, a potent anticancer agent, and the b-lactam antibiotics which includes penicillin. The goal of this project is to optimize the synthesis of single stereoisomers of the b-amino acids via an asymmetric metal catalyzed hydrogenation reaction. Kelly Malony '02 did initial work on this project as part of her thesis research.
The WRP research partner duties are in the area of synthetic organic chemistry. This includes performing reactions, purification of reaction products as well as spectroscopic identification by IR, GC/MS and NMR. Thus, the student candidate for this position is limited to an individual who has completed or is enrolled in Organic Chemistry (Chem 253).
Art History Book Manuscript Research Project
Allison Levy (alevy@wheatoncollege.edu), Art History
Student research assistant will undertake library research as well as editorial and proofreading work for a new book project on Italian Renaissance art history. The manuscript, tentatively entitled Playing Dead, examines the ritual and representation of death and dying in Renaissance Florence. Students interested in gender studies and visual culture are encouraged to apply.
Research assistant will undertake the following work: 1) work with computerized database searches to help prepare a core bibliography; 2) organize the data using EndNote bibliography software; 3) obtain books from Wallace Library and order books through interlibrary loan; and 4) locate and write formal letters of request for copyright permissions and photographs of works of art from museums and art galleries worldwide.
Student will work both independently and with me as a team, depending upon the stage of the project. Seeking mature student to work in a professional yet creative and high-energy environment. Excellent organizational and communication skills a must.
Back-Stage: The German Theater of Dramaturgy in Germany
Eric Denton (edenton@wheatonma.edu), German
This project entails the collaborative research for a book on contemporary German theater. It goes back-stage in that it attempts to determine the effect of institutional structures on the very conception of drama. In particular, the backstage role of the dramaturge is the focus of this study. Often a playwright or apprentice playwright, the dramaturge is responsible for making conscious and visible the interaction between performance history, performance theory, and performance practice.
Student research work will be very much as a dramaturge for the book, and it has several very specific goals:
--the student(s) will help me survey the production history of new plays and plays by contemporary playwrights; we will be looking for aspects and trends that demonstrate the theatrical charge of those plays: that they are products of the workshop, the dramaturgical, and the institutional process. We will be working through interlibrary loan at Wheaton, at the Rockefeller Library at Brown, at the Boston Public Library, and at the Goethe Institute in Boston. There are two unique publications that will make this research immediately accessible and systematic: Theater Heute and Theater der Zeit, and we will get to know the last 20 archival years of these publications intimately.
--Under my supervision, the student(s) will also search the web for the presence of the most important of the 46 theaters in Germany, in order to evaluate the extent to which the web enables theater to document production process; to experiment with self-presentation and commercial promotion.
--We will also be developing an interview process, by which we intend to contact and discuss with dramaturges and playwrights one question in particular: their evaluation of the effect that working within this German institutional structure has on the inception and conception of their creative work.
The Architecture of Proteins
Elita Pastra-Landis (epastral@wheatonma.edu), Chemistry
Proteins from Extremophilic Bacteria: Heat and Pressure Resistance
We have been working with the proteins of unusual bacteria, called "extremophiles", ones that have been isolated from environments considered unfriendly to living systems, such as hot volcanic centers or deep sea vents (the latter at 2000 meters below the surface and at 300oC). The fact that life exists at all under these conditions is a fascinating question for evolutionists. Simultaneously, these bacteria present a challenge to biochemists. How do their proteins survive at 300oC and under high pressures? Answers to these questions have useful implications for the construction of sturdy pharmaceuticals.
I have become fascinated by the field of extremophiles, and my work deals with the protein aspartate transcarbamylase (ATCase) from two interesting bugs, belonging to the new kingdom, archaea. Their names tell about their origins: Pyrococcus abyssi, and Pyrococcus furiosus. They were discovered, respectively, in deep sea hydrothermal vents and in a hot spring of volcanic origin at normal sea level. The objective in studying them has been to compare the activities of their ATCase, and to determine whether the molecular strategies that make them thermostable, simultaneously make them barostable (pressure resistant.)
Open position: My recent work from this past summer has produced raw data on the activity of this enzyme from both archaea, but there is much left to be done with processing these data. Absorbance measurements must be converted to micromoles of product produced by the enzyme, and then to activity values, before meaningful comparisons can be made. A student partner is needed to help me enter the data into computer format and proceed with the data analysis. Familiarity with Kaleidograph would be appreciated, but is not necessary. Must be available to work on Friday afternoons and some Saturdays.
Mercury in Vernal Pools
Janina M. Benoit (jbenoit@wheatonma.edu), Chemistry
The focus of my work is on trace metal cycling in aquatic systems and the interactions between microbes and metals in the environment. In the summer of 2002, I initiated an investigation into mercury cycling in the Wheaton Woods Vernal Pool, and I'm interested in extending this work to other Vernal Pools in the area. I'm also planning on looking at mercury bioaccumulation in Vernal Pool food webs.
Position: I'm looking for a student who is interested in environmental chemistry and who would like to get involved in the ongoing Vernal Pool research at Wheaton. The student will be responsible for running mercury analyses on environmental materials such as pond water and sediment. Depending on the interests of the student, this work could also include measurement of mercury concentration in Vernal Pool invertebrates. Some previous experience with introductory courses in chemistry and biology is necessary.