A total of $59,000 in funding for faculty-student summer research projects has been awarded to 17 Bridgewater College students who will live and work at the college throughout the summer.
A total of $59,000 in funding for faculty-student summer research projects has been awarded to 17 Bridgewater College students who will live and work at the college throughout the summer.
Funding was provided by the Dr. John Martin Summer Science Research Institute and The Research Experience @ Bridgewater. The awards, plus free housing on campus for the summer, enable students to devote their summers to research and exploration on a wide variety of projects.
“Undergraduate research experience has become nearly essential for entering graduate school,” said Dr. James Josefson, director of the Wade Institute for Teaching and Learning. “When they present their own project at a professional conference, they learn that they can compete with the best students anywhere. Our students develop skills, knowledge, creativity and initiative that they can communicate to an employer or graduate program. It’s that ability to reflect upon and communicate about learning that has been the hallmark of a Bridgewater College education.”
The Dr. John Martin Summer Science Research Institute is named for one of Bridgewater’s most beloved professors, who taught in the chemistry department from 1961 until his retirement in 1985.
The Research Experience @ Bridgewater is a donor-funded initiative providing support for teams of Bridgewater faculty and undergraduate students to spend the summer in collaborative research and creative, scholarly work in any discipline.
The Dr. John W. Martin Summer Science Research Institute fully funded the following projects:
- Parker Cline, a junior applied physics major, from Gates, N.C. (with Dr. Deva O’Neil), “Simulating In-Fall Stages of Compact Object Mergers (i.e. Black Holes, Binary Neutron Stars).”
- Jeremy Gingrich, a senior physics and mathematics double major, from Front Royal, Va. (with Dr. Jason Ybarra), “The Probability of Jet-Protostar Collisions.”
- Laurel Glover, a senior biology major, from Ellicott City, Md. (with Dr. Tamara Johnstone-Yellin), “Effects of Landscape Heterogeneity and Forest Management on Digestibility of White-Tailed Deer Diets.”
- Sarah McIntyre, a sophomore biology major, from Nokesville, Va. (with Dr. Moshe Khurgel), “Proteomic Study of the Early Stages in Axolotl Limb Regeneration.”
Research Experience @ Bridgewater awards were made for the following projects:
- Juniors Joshua Carpenter, a political science and French double major, from West Lebanon, N.H., and Marc Lopez, a political science major, from Roseboro, N.C. (with Dr. Kevin Pallister), “Regime and Militarization: Does a State’s Regime Type Affect Its Level of Militarization?”
- Junior psychology majors, Samantha Good from McGaheysville, Va., and Kristen Lilly from Elkton, Va. (with Dr. Brian Kelley), “Comparison of Anxiety and Depression in Adolescent Mice Exposed to Hormonal Contraceptives.”
- Elizabeth Liebl, a junior English and French double major, from Front Royal, Va. (with Dr. Stan Galloway), “The Small Scale Publication Process: an Exploration of Manuscript Creation and Literary Anthology Publication.”
- Sydney McTigue, a senior environmental science major, from Roanoke, Va. (with Dr. Tim Kreps), “Addressing Food Insecurity in Rockingham County with an Organic Garden.”
- Briana Moore, a senior computer science major, from Waynesboro, Va. (with Dr. Chris James), “Mapping the Cathedral: Huysmans & Chartres.”
- Jazzmyn Proctor, a junior psychology and English double major, from Upper Marlboro, Md. (with Dr. Sam Hamilton), “Metacognition and First-Year Writing.”
- Simon P. Sawyer, a junior mathematics and computer science double major, from Timberville, Va. (with Dr. Verne Leininger), “Midy Sequences in Powers of Integers in Various Bases.”
- Tori Smith, a sophomore liberal studies major, from Mount Crawford, Va. (with Dr. Jennie Carr), “Student Perceptions and Preferences Related to Asynchronous Online Discussion Forums and Instructor Feedback.”
- Joshua Stein, a junior history major, from Louisburg, N.C. (with Dr. Martin Kalb), “A World at War: Through the Eyes of a Timberwolf.”
- Angela Tolomei, a junior theater major from Hampstead, Md. (with Dr. Scott Cole), “Mike Daisey’s ‘Great Men of Genius.’”
- Danielle Werner, a junior health and physical education major, from McGaheysville, Va. (with Dr. Jenny Martin), “Digital Internships: Engagement with Wester Expansion and 1920s Radio Broadcasts.”
