Christy Burns, English
clburn@wm.edu, 221-3168

U.S. novels by the Beats and early postmodernists
Description: Examining the treatment of sensory experience (as opposed to convention and rationalism) in U.S. novels from 1950s-1970s, focusing on avant-garde experimental fiction. The work will involve careful reading of novels and essays by Beats and postmodern novelists, typing up reading notes, an annotated bibliography, and meeting with advisor to discuss. My goal is to locate more novels related to my research and to help you expand your expertise in the Beats and postmodern U.S. fiction.

Qualifications:English major with a strong g.p.a. in the major. Preference given to students who have prior knowledge of the fields, but any smart reader may apply.

Randolph Chambers, Keck Lab
rmcham@wm.edu, 221-2331

Impact of nest predators and commercial crab traps on diamondback terrapins in Chesapeake Bay
Description: Nest predation and drowning in crab traps threaten diamondback terrapin populations in the Virginia portion of Chesapeake Bay, but these effects have not be quantified. My research will examine the impact of high rates of nest predation on the recruitment of young terrapins in the bay. Because many older turtles drown as by-catch in commercial traps for blue crabs, I will also quantify population-level impacts of adult mortality in crab traps. In addition to determining the status of terrapin populations in Virginia, this research will help steer policy decisions regarding management of the blue crab industry--the largest commercial operation in Chesapeake Bay.

Qulifications: Extensive field work required, variable hours. Biology major preferred.

Tun-jen Cheng, Government
tjchen@wm.edu, 221-3032

Political economy of water use in China; Information technology and political authoritarianism in China
Description: The first project examines politics of water sharing within China and between China and its neighbors. The otehr project is focused on the impacts of computer games on political culture.

Randolph Coleman, Chemistry
racole@wm.edu, 221-2679

Computational Studies of Neurodegenerative Diseases
Description: Our lab models the metabolism of neurodegenerative diseases in a mathematical environment in order to study the metabolic matrix of biochemical reactions in such cells. The model allows us to explore the relationships among the metabolites and the sensitivities to change that might be induced by drugs or other environmental effects.

Qualifications: One year of organic chemistry required. Biochemistry would be helpful, but not required. Students should have a passion for studying the recent research literature related to a disease of interest to them.

Eric Engstrom, Biology
emengs@wm.edu, 221-1994

Investigation of HAM gene functions in meristem indeterminacy maintenance in Flowering Plants and Lycophytes
Description: The Petunia HAIRY MERISTEM (HAM) gene, a member of the GRAS family of transcriptional
regulators, promotes mersitem indeterminacy by non cell-autonomous signaling mechanisms
that have yet to be determined. ham mutants exhibit arrest of lateral organ formation and
differentiation of the meristem as stem. No equivalent phenotypes are known in Arabidopsis and
no phenotypes resulting from loss-of-function alleles in Arabidopsis are reported, likely as a
result of functional redundancy among three Arabidopsis HAM orthologs (AtHAMs). AtHAMs
are targets of post-transcriptional regulation by microRNAs.

Comparative analysis of mechanisms regulating tissue indeterminacy among divergent land
plant lineages is of particular interest in understanding the evolution of land plant development,
as vascular plant body-plans are comprised of determinate and indeterminate organs, and the
evolution of leaves is believed to require a transition from indeterminate to determinate organ
fates. Direct determination of gene function in representative plants from many key lineages,
such as lycophytes and monilophytes, is constrained by the absence of methods for targeted
gene disruption and forward genetic analysis.

Specific aims of the proposed study are to:

1.) Determine the function of AtHAMs in Arabidopsis development.

2.) Determine the function of post-transcriptional regulation of AtHAMs by miR170/171 in
development and characterize the spatial domain of miR170/171 regulation.

3.) Develop robust methods for stable transformation and directed crossing of Selaginella species, with
the initial goal of targeted disruption of Selaginella HAM orthologs.

Catherin Forestell, Psychology
caforestell@wm.edu, 757-221-3892

Description: The goal of the research in my lab is to investigate the development of children's food preferences and eating habits. This summer I will be collecting data for an experiment designed to investigate the interaction between satiety and food palatability in the formation of infants' flavor preferences.

Qualifications: Highly motivated individuals who enjoy interacting with infants and children.

Charles Johnson, Mathematics
crjohnso@math.wm.edu, 221-2014

Topics in Matrix Analysis and Combinatorics
Description: A wide variety of topics involving matrices and possible combinatorial methods are offered.

Qualifications: At least math 211 is needed and some upper level courses in mathematics are desirable, but the main requirement is a bright and energetic person.

Kelly Joyce, Sociology
kajoyc@wm.edu, 757-221-3739

Understanding Autoimmune Diseases: The Sociology of Crohn's Disease
Description: The project will be a sociological analysis of the cultural, professional, and economic factors that contribute to the diagnosis and treatment of Crohns disease. I plan to study how pharmaceutical companies, medical beliefs about the body, and professional training contribute to perceptions of and treatments for the disease. Interviewing medical specialists (e.g., internists, gastroenterologists) and other health specialists (e.g. nutritionists, acupuncturists) to find out how they understand and treat the disease will be part of the project. People who have Crohn's disease will also be interviewed to better understand their perspectives on the disease.

Qualifications: excellent interpersonal skills; research skills--a willingness to search literatures, make phone calls, track down information

Chi-Kwong Li, Mathematics
ckli@math.wm.edu, 221-2042

Matrix theory and its applications
Description: Will study matrix problems arising in different branches of sciences including (not limited to), quantum computing, mathematical biology, optimization.

Qualifications: Math 211, 212, 214, 307, 311. Math 413 and experience in Matlab programming will be helpful.

Jack Martin, English
jbmart@wm.edu, 757-221-3906

Documenting Coushatta, an endangered Muskogean language of western Louisiana
Description: The Coushatta Tribe of Elton, Louisiana, has been working to document their language. They have received a National Science Foundation grant to record conversations by elders and to transcribe and translate these, but they need help with technology to create a web-based database of recordings and texts and to prepare practical materials for learning the language. Interested student(s) would travel to the Elton / Kinder area of western Louisiana, stay in a tribally-owned "chalet" (2-3 bedroom cottage with kitchen) for 1-2 months, and assist in all field work and preparation of materials.

Qualifications: Preference given to Linguistics majors; ability to edit sound files a plus; ability to live in a very rural community near a large casino is desirable; own vehicle is a necessity; must be adaptable, independent, and respectful toward elders.

Nicole McCormick, Art & Art History
njmcco@wm.edu, 221-2529

Contemporary portrayal of Pompeii's Villa of Mysteries
Description: This research project involves the visual retelling of Pompeiis infamous Dionysius fresco located in the Villa of Mysteries. This labor-intensive project will be executed through a sequential series of large-scale oil paintings and a smaller set of silkscreen prints. The work will use contemporary compositions in order to retell this ancient mysterious narrative. The project will encompass stretcher bar construction, traditional canvas preparation, oil paint preparation, and silkscreen printing techniques.

Qualifications: Qualified student will have interest in learning traditional canvas preparation techniques as well as silkscreen processes. Student should also have basic knowledge of power tools or willingness to learn. Student must have had a course in one or more of the following; Life Drawing, Printmaking, or Painting. An interest in figurative work and narrative themes encouraged.

Scott Nelson, History
srnels@wm.edu, 1-3761

The Panic of 1873 in world history
Description: How was the so-called "Great Depression" felt in Germany, France, England, Russia and the US? We'll be plowing through newspapers trying to understand how so many contemporaries saw this period as leading to the end of capitalism.

Qualifications: Solid reading knowledge in German, French or Russian.

Deidre Royster, Sociology and Black Studies
daroys@wm.edu, 1-2462

The Institutional and Social Experiences of Black Men: Toward an Understanding of Meaning and Marginality?
Description: This research project will explore how a set of Black men view their institutional and social experiences with an emphasis on how their experiences and those in their social networks have influenced their educational and occupational trajectories.

Qualifications: Student must be a junior or senior Sociology major with an ability to conduct face-to-face interviews with African American men in Richmond, Virginia.

Leah Shaw, Applied Science
lbshaw@wm.edu, 221-1278

Effects of seasonal migration on epidemic dynamics
Description: Disease of current interest such as avian influenza are spread by migratory animals. The bird population in a given location is not fixed; birds migrate every year in response to seasonal changes. We will develop a mathematical model for disease rates in a seasonally migrating population and study the effects of migration on the epidemic dynamics.

Qualifications: Students should have some course background in ordinary differential equations and a willingness to do computer modeling.

Robert St. Onge, [French] Modern Languages and Literatures
rrston@wm.edu, 221-3640

Francophone Heritage of the USA
Description: We are studying the various French-speaking communities in the United States (e.g. Cajuns, Acadians, Franco-Americans (French Canadians), Haitians, Vietnamese, Huguenots, etc.)focusing on their present status, then moving back to the places of origin, and finally to their involvement in the Francophone world.

Qualifications: Good knowledge of French. Ability to read French documents. Some familiarity with transcribing oral conversations in French (often dialectal) and especially ability to edit in digital formal raw recorded data.

Jeanine Stefanucci, Psychology
jkstef@wm.edu, 221-3898

The effects of age on the perception of heights
Description: Visual perception of the environment is influenced by the perceivers physiological state (for a review, see Proffitt, 2006). These studies show that people perceive the spatial layout of the environment relative to the energetic costs associated with performing intended actions in that environment. For example, hills appear steeper and distances greater when participants don a heavy backpack, which increases the energetic costs associated with walking (Bhalla & Proffitt, 1999; Proffitt, Stefanucci, Banton, & Epstein, 2003). Hills also appear steeper to older adults who have a reduced ability to ascend those hills (Bhalla & Proffitt, 1999). Perception provides information about the possibilities and costs of activity in two environments: the external environment of the world and the internal environment of the body. In support of this approach, manipulations of the energetic costs associated with actions have been shown to influence peoples perceptions of the relevant metric properties of spatial layout. The current project will extend this theoretical approach by looking at emotional influences on spatial perception, particularly in the elderly. Specifically, we expect that fear will influence perception of heights because it is relevant to ones ability to act within the environment, such that height will be overestimated when an individual feels fearful and considers it risky or costly to be in the environment (e.g., fears falling). Preliminary studies have already demonstrated a relationship between fear and apparent height in younger adults. Compared to younger adults, older adults may experience a more intense negative emotional experience about a height because of an increase in the risk of injury from a fall. Does this lead them to judge a height as higher? Moreover, older adults are known to be good at regulating their negative emotions, so can older adults regulate their fears and thereby reduce their overestimation of a height? These questions will be addressed by the studies in this project.

Ann Marie Stock, Hispanic Studies
amstoc@wm.edu, 221-3482

Preparing an Archive of Cuba Media
Description: In order to prepare for two Media Production Workshops to be offered during 2008-2009, supported by a QEP-Mellon grant, I will be cataloguing and digitizing my archive of Cuban films on video and DVD, interviews I've filmed with Cuba's audiovisual artists, and photographs, posters and other material.

Qualifications: The ideal student will be very adept at working with media technology, particularly transferring analog video to digital video and archiving to computer digital storage media and to DVD-compatible disks. Ability to design web sites and/or create a searchable data base a plus. Some knowledge of Spanish useful but not essential.

Robert Vinson, History
rtvins@wm.edu, 746-4099

The Americans are Coming! The Politics and Prophecies of African American Liberation in Segregationist South Africa
Description: This book project explores the political, socio-economic, religious and educational relationships between African Americans and black West Indians (known generically as American Negroes) with South Africans between 1890 and 1940. During this time, black South Africans viewed 'American Negroes' as models for their own advancement and as potential liberators from British rule. The links established between American Negroes and black South Africans became the basis for the successful anti-apartheid movement in South Africa. The book provides an international perspective to the histories of South Africa and the United States, while making important advances in the new field of African Diaspora studies.

Qualifications: The successful student should have a strong background and a sincere enthusiasm in African American and African history.

Haining Wang, Computer Science
hnw@cs.wm.edu, 221-3457

Improving Performance of Template-based Web Servers
Description: The most commonly used request processing model in multithreaded web servers is thread-per-request, in which an individual thread is bound to serve one web request. However, with the prevalence of using template techniques for generating dynamic contents in modern web sites, this conventional request processing model lags behind and cannot provide adequate support for template-based web applications. More precisely, although content code and presentation code of a template-based dynamic web page can be separated into different files, they are still processed by the same thread. Therefore, web server resources, especially database connection resources, cannot be efficiently shared and utilized. In this paper, we plan to develop a novel request scheduling method, in which a single web request is served by different threads in multiple thread pools for parsing request headers, performing database queries, and rendering templates.

Qualifications: Web and system programming

Patricia Wesp, Theatre, Speech, and Dance
pmwesp@wm.edu, 221-2663

The William and Mary Theatre: A Chronicle, 1976-2008
Description: To creat a digital archive of productions by the William and Mary Theatre from the 1970s through the present. Project will transfer images of programs and posters, production slides, and designer sketches to digital format. Documentation will include objects from archives as well as original art work, slides and photographs.

Qualifications: Proficiency in computer graphics, photography, Photoshop, graphic design software, etc. Familiarity with use of archival materials. Patience, precision, attention to detail important. A sense of humor desireable.