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Funded Projects for 2007/2008 Academic Year.....
The mentoring Task Force Resources Committee received a total of 11 requests for Mentoring Project Funds for the summer and fall of 2007. Ten of the 11 proposals were approved for funding by the Mentoring Task Force.
Proposals for Spring 2008 are due by October 1, 2007.
Proposals funded from this round of submissions include:
Department: Biology
Title: Making Sense of Antisense at Yale
Contact: Dr. William Terzaghi
Grant Award: $9485
Summary: Two Wilkes students will spend the summer at Yale University
working with Dr. Terzaghi in one of the world’s best plant labs,
here he will mentor them to a fruitful experience participating in the
rice genome project. One of the surprises of this project has been
that many rice genes are copied in both sense and antisense
directions. The sense copies encode proteins, but the function of the
antisense RNA is unknown. The students will test the hypothesis that
they help regulate the expression of the sense copies. To do so they
will study the structure and function of antisense copies of light-
regulated genes using cutting-edge techniques. This project will
allow the students to perform sophisticated research and to
participate in the plethora of cultural and scientific events that occur
at Yale. They will then present their results at international meetings,
and, with luck, in top-rated scientific journals. This experience will
enhance their research capabilities and their abilities to mentor other
students upon returning to Wilkes, where both will TA Bio 121 labs
and lead student research teams in the Terzaghi lab. In the long term,
a productive summer may lead to an enduring collaboration with the
Yale lab, which is keen on establishing relationships with
undergraduate institutions.
Department: Biology
Title: Research for Undergraduates: Animal-mediated Oak Dispersal
Contact: Dr. Michael Steele
Grant Award: $13, 704
Summary: Funds will support three student researchers in the laboratory of
Dr. Michael Steele. Objectives for the grant include: 1) intimately
involving students in all phases of the scientific process; 2) providing
students with valuable research skills related to the study of animal
behavior and ecology; and 3) having students participate in a research
training workshop at Purdue University.
Department: Biology
Title: Investigations into the regulation of settlement and metamorphosis
metatrochophore larvae of the marine polychaete annelid Capitella Contact: Dr. William Biggers
Grant Award: $5000
Summary: With the help of Wilkes University undergraduate students, I would
like to carry out more investigations into the biochemical regulation
of settlement and metamorphosis of the Capitella larvae over the
summer. The objectives I have for the summer are to: 1.) Determine
chemosensory receptor binding sites on the larvae using a naturally
fluorescent fatty acid which is parinaric acid. Larvae will be cultured with
this fatty acid, and then receptors will be visualized by fluorescence
microscopy. We will also try to determine when during development that
the larvae develop these receptors; 2.) Investigate the involvement of
protein kinase C in the regulation of spontaneous settlement and
metamorphosis of the larvae. I have previously found that chemically
induced settlement of these larvae can occur through activation of protein
kinase C (Biggers and Laufer, 1992, 1996, 1997). I have done one
experiment indicating that PKC activation may also be involved in
regulating spontaneous settlement and
Metamorphosis in the absence of a chemical cue. I would now like to do
more experiments to see if the PKC inhibitor, bisindolylmaleimide, can
inhibit spontaneous settlement and metamorphosis; 3.) Determine the
biochemical causes for inhibition of settlement and metamorphosis of
these larvae when cultured at higher larval densities. Our results over the
past year indicate that this inhibition is due to continued high nitric oxide
levels, since inhibitors of nitric oxide synthase are able to overcome
dependent inhibition (data unpublished). I would like to carry out more
experiments to directly examine levels of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in
these larvae cultured at high larval densities. The presence of nitric oxide
synthase, which makes nitric oxide, will be detected in
these larvae using immunofluorescence with a universal antibody to NOS,
and visualization by fluorescence microscopy. We will also assess the
affects of nitric oxide donors, such as s-n-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP), on
rates of spontaneous settlement and metamorphosis. We will also
if density dependent inhibition of settlement and metamorphosis is
reversible. 4.) Determine if the induction of settlement and metamorphosis
of the larvae by juvenile hormones involves activation of mitogen
determine if an inhibitor of MAP kinase, PD can inhibit settlement and
metamorphosis induced by the juvenile hormone
methyl farnesoate.
Department: Chemistry
Title: Summer Research Program in Chemistry
Contact: Dr. Terese Wignot
Grant Award: $23,000
Summary: The funds will be used for collaborative summer student research. The
participating chemistry and biochemistry majors will interact closely
with their faculty mentors on chemical research projects. The students
will also interact closely with each other in both research and social
settings. This interaction will expand their horizons by exposing them to
each other’s projects, and will foster a sense of identity among the
chemistry and biochemistry majors.
Department: Mathematics and Computer Science
Title: Mentoring at the Center for Computational Intelligence
Contact: Dr. Anthony Kapolka and Dr. Matthew Zukoski
Grant Award: $7200
Summary: The Center for Computational Intelligence, Intelligent Systems and
Applied Mathematics provides interdisciplinary support for
undergraduate education and research into those problem areas whose
solutions may be found in the construction of intelligent systems or
which utilize the techniques of computational intelligence. The Center
also cultivates cooperative relationships with external institutions and
agencies, and endeavors to create appropriate funding opportunities.
One of the primary goals of the Center for Computational Intelligence
is to mentor students in a way that affords novel research opportunities
to undergraduates and showcase a venue of interdisciplinary projects.
Department: Mathematics and Computer Science
Title: CS 115 Learning Community/ SI Pilot
Contact: Dr. Anthony Kapolka
Grant Award: $1260
Summary: Two peer-mentors will be hired to participate in an FYF 101/CS 115
learning community during the fall semester 2007. In addition to FYF-
style peer-mentoring, they will provide supplemental instruction for CS 115.
Department: Writing Center
Title: Writing Mentor Program
Contact: Dr. Chad Stanley
Grant Award: $17, 128
Summary: The purpose of this mentoring program is to continue and expand the
placement of Writing Mentors, experienced student writing
consultants, within sections of writing-based courses: as a priority,
English 101 courses: secondarily, ENG 120 courses; and also key
Political Science courses, such as PS 261 and possibly PS 260. For this
program’s second year of operation, our primary intent is to increase
the number of Writing Mentors providing academic support to students
in ENG 101 courses—increasing the number of participants in this
program through a comparatively minimal increase in financial input.
Additional goals regard the attainment of both process and product
objectives, and to further develop short, medium, and long term
professional outcomes for students.
Department: Business and Accounting
Title: Undergraduate Research in Finance
Contact: Dr. Nandita Das
Grant Award: $12,000
Summary: The project will help fill the gap for students interested in exploring
and learning special topics in the field of finance.
The two subtopics that will be explored by the students are: 1) Weather
Derivatives--This project asks an important question that has been
identified this year with the mild winter we have had. Can the weather
affect the profitability of certain businesses for better or for worse?
The students will learn the basics of derivative market and then
concentrate on one specific area: the weather derivatives. The project
will analyze the attendance data from different industries and compare
it to the Heating Degree Days (HDD) and Cooling Degree Days (CDD)
levels of that particular region. The goal is to see if there is any
correlation between the two data sets. The project aims to explore this
correlation and study the weather derivatives market to see if some of
the losses that occur can be partially offset by making investments in the
weather derivatives market; and 2). Mortgage Meltdown --Mortgage
Market Meltdown is the collapse of the mortgage market, that leads to
a rise in interest rates, millions of foreclosures, and possibly an
economic recession. The mortgage market would "meltdown" due to
many defaults on loans and mortgages. Mortgage brokers and lenders
where contently giving money to borrowers due to the high rate of
returns they were getting. This did not do much damage to the economy
in the last decade where housing prices were booming and defaults in
mortgage market were minimal. Now those sub-prime mortgage loans
make up close to 24% of the market rather than a decade ago which was
only a small niche of 5%. Moreover, housing prices have leveled off or
even tail spun in some areas. Due to the large hold of the market and the
unpredictability of home prices, the mortgage market and the economy
could suffer major damages on defaults. And it has begun, loans made to
people with weak credit or low incomes during the housing boom have
pushed more than 20 companies into bankruptcy.
Department: Pharmacy Practice and Communications
Title: An Interdisciplinary Oral History Project
Contact: Dr. James Culhane and Dr. Andrea Frantz
Grant Award: $8800
Summary: This grant application is for funding to complete phase III of a larger
and ongoing interdisciplinary oral history project initiated and carried
out by the Nesbitt School of Pharmacy and Communications
Department. Phase I and Phase II of the project, which have already
been completed, entailed recording and transcribing over 30 oral
histories of pharmacists from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area,
producing a Ken Burns style documentary in collaboration with the
Advanced Video students, and coding and organizing specific sections
of the transcription on the basis of specific themes (i.e. pharmacy
education, pharmacy practice during WWI, the Agnes Flood of 1972,
etc). Phase III of the project involves mentoring student research
associates in the research, development and writing of a text that details
the general history of pharmacy in the Wyoming Valley and includes
the oral histories of over 30 area pharmacists.
Department: Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences Department
Title: Broadening Mentorship Impact at Yellowstone National Park
Contact: Dr. Sid Halsor
Grant Award: $9650
Summary: This proposal seeks to expand student participation in an ongoing
educational and research project at Yellowstone National Park (YNP),
Wyoming. Since 1999, a faculty-student team from Wilkes University
has been invited to YNP to lead a GPS-based geological survey of the
Yellowstone caldera. Given that few Universities are permitted to
conduct geological research at YNP, our annual survey presents an
exceptional opportunity for Wilkes University and the YNP team
members: Sid Halsor, Bill Toothill and commonly two students. The
goal of this proposal is to broaden the impact of mentorship that occurs
at YNP by increasing student participation from two to six for the
2007 and 2008 surveys.
The success of our annual YNP survey is dependent on faculty-student
interactions that promote leadership, mutual respect and trust, all
essential elements for effective teamwork. Over 10 days at YNP,
students work closely with faculty while learning field geology,
standard procedures for set up and operation of high-precision GPS
measurement stations, and navigation and mountaineering skills,. They
then use their field skills to assist Wilkes faculty in supervising a survey
that includes over 20 undergraduate geology students from universities
across the nation. Our students effectively serve as co-leaders of the
survey, deploying student teams to measurement stations, supervising
proper set up and operation of instruments, and trouble-shooting
technical problems as they arise. Wilkes students consistently rise-up to
the challenges of a demanding survey and carryout their responsibilities
with enthusiastic fortitude. We believe our mentorship model enables
students to seek their potential as "learner leaders" and it is our desire to
apply the model to a larger number of students.
Funded Projects for Fall 2006.....
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