Tyler Naman
My research examines a current, multinational advertising campaign, analyzing in detail the campaigns appropriation of inclusive political rhetoric used by president Barack Obama, and what this reveals about American nationalism and global identity. Using multimodal discourse analysis and other more specific visual semiotic frameworks for decoding print and billboard advertisements, I will be analyzing advertisements marketed in the United States and Europe as part of this campaign. Since this advertising campaign relies heavily on the rhetoric of unity, and is multinational in its scope, what can this tell us about […]
Delane Sims
My summer research will take place in Washington D.C. the hub of senior based organizations such as AARP and the Department of Health and Human Services. My research will consist of examining specific health disparities that exist among African American elders that can cause them to fall into social isolation. While in a socially isolated state, many of these seniors can succumb to depression and even suicide. As more research is conducted on ways to identify specific health conditions among African American elders that lead to isolation, preventive measures can […]
Seema Desai
My research focuses on peripheral nerve injury and treatment. Peripheral nerve injury requires medical attention when the severed ends of the nerve are further than a few millimeters apart. If the distance is small, the two nerve ends can regenerate and heal, but if the distance is greater (approximately a couple centimeters), then the two ends must be bridged by a nerve autograft or tubular conduit. My research specifically focuses on potential biomaterial fillers for tubular conduits, which can be modified to create an environment supportive of nerve regeneration. The […]
Dayoung Park
Degradation reactions of alkyl radicals are of interest in combustion chemistry, planetary atmospheres, and the interstellar medium. However, the nature of their reaction pathways is not easily understood as the intermediates are highly reactive. My project will investigate the dissociation dynamics of a simple primary alkyl radical, 1-propyl, upon excitation at 248 nm using a detection scheme known as photofragment translational spectroscopy. Four distinctive product channels are assessed at this wavelength. A preliminary experimental work seems to indicate that the C-C bond cleavage is energetically the most favorable product channel. […]
Robert Schaffer
How effective are the endangered species laws in the US compared with those of other countries? Throughout the social science literature, scholars have noted that US courts have much broader powers of review over agency decisions than judges in other English-speaking nations, encouraging American interest groups to challenge agency rulings through the legal system. As such, in my project, I extend this comparative observation to pose a specific question: does the court-centric approach to policymaking in the United States provide for a more effective system of endangered species protection than […]
Meriel Melendrez
Coast Redwoods can grow over three hundred and fifty feet tall—well overtopping Sather Tower’s three hundred and seven. An individual Redwood might live in multiple above-ground micro-climates that can be especially noticeable on a sunny day: from low, perhaps shady to dry, hot, dizzyingly high-up. Macro-morphological features of their leaves (e.g. surface area and connection to the stem) have been demonstrated to correlate with such great height, suggesting that variable leaf structures work together with towering stature. What the stomata, pores, are up to meanwhile has yet to be as […]
Justine Parkin
I am researching Gandhi’s nonviolent movement in India, particularly the importance that Gandhi subscribed to language and his belief that language too can be violent. If language does not merely describe the world as it is but is an active part of creating that very world and thus the possibilities for action, then how we choose and use our words is not trivial in the least but significantly influences the success of any political action. Moreover, as an extension upon language in general, I am exploring the narrative function in […]