William & Mary's grad students get a chance to show their work at the eighth annual research symposium

Visiting scholar wins honorable mention Chan Yue of applied science gives a presentation on advanced techniques to combat internet "phishing."

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by Joseph McClain

Graduate students from the College of William and Mary were joined by students from several other advanced programs for the College's eight annual Graduate Research Symposium.

"William & Mary graduate students work creatively throughout the year to prepare this impressive symposium that shares graduate research accomplishments with the community," said S. Laurie Sanderson, dean of graduate studies and research. "Support from the A&S Graduate Studies Advisory Board has been instrumental in the extraordinary success of the symposium."

Dozens of graduate students presented their work in sessions chaired by nearly 30 faculty in Arts & Sciences departments. The symposium occupied most of the space of the Sadler Center and generated an 88-page program.

Friday's activities were highlighted by a pair of featured lectures. Scott Nelson, Legum Professor of History, spoke on "What Do Scholars Do All Day?," while Mark Forsyth, associate professor of biology, took as his topic "Perception of the Host Environment by Human Bacterial Pathogens." Dennis Manos, vice provost for research and graduate and professional studies, delivered welcoming remarks over lunch. A networking reception capped Friday's session.

Awards for Excellence in Scholarship

The symposium culminated with an awards luncheon and ceremony on Saturday, presided over by S. Laurie Sanderson, dean of graduate studies and research; P. Geoffrey Feiss, provost of the College; and Taylor Reveley, president of the College. A number of awards, including two corporate prizes, were presented to acknowledge excellence in research by graduate students both from William & Mary as well as representatives of other universities.

To be considered for an award, presenters had to submit a 10-12 page paper describing their research. The papers were judged blindly by an independent panel of William & Mary faculty and Graduate Studies Advisory Board members.

The various awards for 2009, and their recipients, were:

Market Access International, Inc. Award for Excellence in Scholarship in the Humanities and Social Sciences
Paul Musselwhite: The College of William and Mary, History. Advisor: James P. Whittenburg. "What Town's this, Boy?": Virginia's Town Troubles, English Politics, and Aphra Behn's "The Widdow Ranter"

Incogen, Inc. Award for Excellence in Scholarship in the Natural and Computational Sciences
Erik Spahr: The College of William and Mary, Physics. Advisor: Gunter Luepke. A New Look at Proton Conduction in Perovskite Oxides

William & Mary Award for Excellence in the Humanities and Social Sciences
Karl Mendoza, Biology. Advisor: John Griffin. Penny For Your Thoughts? How Neuroscience is Influencing Economic Thought: The Information Cascade Game Example

William & Mary Honorable Mentions

Derek R. Miller, Anthropology. Advisor: Frederick Smith. Breaking the Mold: Sugar Ceramics and the Political Economy of 18th-Century St. Eustatius

Frank Cha, American Studies. Advisor: Susan Donaldson. (Re)Visioning Home: Vietnamese Immigration and the Politics of Race/Place in the Global South

Visiting Scholars Award for Excellence in the Humanities and Social Sciences

Stephanie Crumbaugh, History, Johns Hopkins University. Advisor: Phil Morgan. American Indian Enslavement in Colonial New England

Visiting Scholar Honorable Mentions

Kevin Barry, History, University of Delaware. Advisor: John Montano. The Hebrew and Irish Gaelic Revival Movements: A Comparison

Keara Goin, Anthropology, University of South Carolina. Advisor: Kimberly Simmons.Megadiva: Sexualized Images of Women in the Dominican Republic

William & Mary Award for Excellence in the Natural and Computational Sciences

Chuan Yue, Computer Science. Advisor: Haining Wang. Anti-Phishing in Offense and Defense

Honorable Mentions

Ashley R. Decarme, Biology. Advisor: Eric Engstrom. Ethylene Production in Plants: Is the ACC Oxidase Enzyme at Work in Selaginella moellendorffii?

M. Louise Lammons, Biology. Advisors: S. Laurie Sanderson and Randy Chambers. Mud and Mucus: Feeding Selectivity in a Suspension-feeding Detritivorous Fish

Visiting Scholar Honorable Mention

Samy El-Tawab, Computer Science, Old Dominion University. Advisor: Stephan Olariu. Intelligent Road Detection