SMCM Announces 2018 Cohort of SURF Researchers

April 20, 2018

The 2018 cohort of SURF students with co-directors Dr. Rhoda (top left) and Dr. Emerson (top right)

As the Spring 2018 semester draws to a close, a group of students with diverse interests and backgrounds are preparing to take part in the St. Mary’s Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program this summer. The SURF program partners students from intentionally varied disciplines with faculty mentors to engage in directed research or creative work. While working full-time for eight weeks on their individual projects, students will also participate in workshops and group meetings to develop their professional skills. The SURF program will culminate in a symposium in July 2018, allowing each student to showcase their finished projects to the campus and local community.

Nine students were chosen during a competitive selection process to participate in the SURF program this summer:

Justyce Bennett, a junior DeSousa-Brent Scholar studying anthropology, is working on a project entitled “Visual and Material Cultures of Slavery: The View from Art History” under the guidance of Assistant Professor of Art History Emily Casey. Justyce will research the methodology of archaeologists and art historians to establish an interdisciplinary approach to the interpretation of artifacts found on sites that relate to slavery. The project’s purpose is to develop a critical method for approaching these artifacts that connects them to larger visual cultures and provides insight into the culture and lives of enslaved people, while also allowing room for personal agency and creativity.

A sophomore studying chemistry and applied math, Nick D’Antona is conducting the project “Printing Perovskite Solar Cells: A Low-cost Production Method for Renewable Energy”. Nick and Assistant Professor of Chemistry Troy Townsend hope to layer inks with an automated printing process so that they consistently produce stable and efficient solar cells. Nick hopes to earn his PhD in chemistry, but first wants to be a research chemist and explore the materials sciences. He hopes to gain better presentation skills and is thankful for the research experience available through the SURF program.

James Judlick is a junior studying psychology. His project “Queer Eye for the Employer: A Résumé Audit Study for LGBTQ Individuals” is a study of possible discrimination against LGBTQ men as they apply to administrative, clerical, and management positions. The project will be mentored by Dr. Ayse Ikizler, an Assistant Professor of Psychology with a background in the effects of oppression of marginalized groups and the intersectionality of identity. James is looking forward to the collaborative and interdisciplinary aspects of the SURF program, hoping to become a group therapist in the future.

Bethany Laffan is a sophomore English major who is working with Professor of English Jeffery Coleman on the project “Literary Rock Star: A Reception Study of Haruki Murakami’s Popularity in Japan and the United States”. Analyzing the novels Norwegian Wood and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle through various psychoanalytical theories, Bethany hopes her research will reveal intercultural connections between readers in Japan and the United States. She hopes to use SURF to gain more experience in research and analysis and later become an English professor or librarian.

Lily Pohlenz is working on a biology-focused project, “What’s the Buzz on Somatic Wolbachia Infection? Using Drosophila Melanogaster as a Model Organism to Understand the Control of Disease Transmission in Mosquitoes”. She will be conducting research under the guidance of Assistant Professor of Biology Kevin Emerson. Since somatic Wolbachia infection limits disease transmission among mosquitos, Lily and Dr. Emerson are attempting to learn its method of growth as a potential mechanism for preventing the spread of vector transmitted diseases. Lily is majoring in biology, with a minor in philosophy. She hopes to travel and help others during a future stint with the Peace Corps and later work as a physician’s assistant. Lily is looking forward to designing a project and conducting experimental research as part of her SURF experience.

Collaborating with Research & Instruction Librarian Amanda VerMeulen, Stephanie Schoch is working on the project “Visualizing Refugee Health Data: Impact of Domain-specific Knowledge on Comprehension”. Stephanie is a computer science and psychology double major graduating in May 2019. Her project will investigate the role of domain-specific knowledge in health data visualizations. This research specifically focuses on how healthcare domain knowledge affects comprehension of data visualizations with varying properties and attributes. She plans to apply for PhD programs in the fall, with current research interests including human-computer interaction, UX (user experience) design, and data visualization.

Kelly Healy will work with Assistant Professor of Biochemistry Shanen Sherrer on her project titled “Cutting a Pathway: Locating Binding Site of Environmental Contaminant Cadmium in Metal-binding Protein”. Kelly is a junior, double majoring in biology and biochemistry with a minor in music. She hopes that SURF will give her more research experience and prepare her for grad school.

With Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Barry Muchnick, Elizabeth (Izzy) Peterson is conducting the project “A Call to Animate: A Study and Subversion of Propaganda’s Power”. A studio arts major with a minor in film & media studies Izzy hopes to work in the film industry as a production designer. Her research is focused on analyzing propaganda films of the early 20th century, such as Disney war bond shorts, Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator, the films of Leni Riefenstahl, and more. She intends to uncover the techniques behind successful propaganda films and employ them in her own animated short film she hopes will serve as a “call to enlist” for women in the arts.

The SMCM community wishes this summer’s cohort of SURF students the best of luck and anticipates many exciting outcomes from their scholarship!

~St. Mary’s Undergraduate Research Fellowship~

SMCM Sophomore Accepted into National Institute of Standards and Technology Summer Research Program

March 27, 2018

SMCM Sophomore Peter Orban

Continuing the tradition of seeking summer research opportunities, another group of students have applied to the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for summer 2018. NIST is one of the nation’s premiere research institutions for the physical and engineering sciences. The first student to be selected is Peter Orban, a St. Mary’s College of Maryland (SMCM) sophomore, with a double major in mathematics and physics. Peter will work with the Physical Measurement Lab in Gaithersburg, MD, measuring radioactivity with ionization chambers. He enjoys the intersectionality between math, physics, and statistical processing, and hopes to gain experience in research and computer programming. A high-achieving student and Division III swimmer, Peter has made Dean’s List and earned the Capital Athletic Conference All-Academic Team Award, as well as the Capital Athletic Conference Men’s Swimming Weekly Honor Roll Award. He plans to pursue a Ph.D. in either math, physics, or engineering. Peter is one of the many SMCM students developing their research skills through summer research programs.

SMCM Wraps Up Spirit of Jazz and Democracy Program

March 27, 2018

Music has always been a means of salvation. This can be seen in a recently completed project, “From Slavery to Freedom in St. Mary’s City: Engaging History to Strengthen Democracy with Jazz”. Created by Professor of Philosophy Sybol Anderson and Professor of English Jeff Coleman, this project served to promote the intersectionality between democracy, creative expression, and slavery in southern Maryland. The project was supported by the Maryland Humanities Council, and engaged community members of all ages and backgrounds in historical, cultural, and philosophical reflection on the meaning of slavery in St. Mary’s City and beyond. Participants explored how African-Americans liberated themselves from oppression by “improvising” methods of “physical” escape from slavery and of spiritual escape in jazz; and how through engaging this history, one can liberate themselves for an inclusive democracy. The multi-disciplinary project intentionally varied both it’s engagement medium (symposiums, lectures, and workshops) and it’s content (archaeological finds, jazz concerts, and spoken-word performances).

Program events included a symposium held on September 23rd, 2017 at which St. Mary’s College of Maryland (SMCM) faculty, students, and visiting scholars shared with the general public information about the discovery of archaeological evidence that St. Mary’s Female Seminary owned slaves in the 19th century. Discussions highlighted narratives about those enslaved people and slavery in Maryland. For democracy to flourish, the truth about slavery in Maryland has to be uncovered and recognized, allowing for healing, inspiration, and understanding.

Workshops entitled “Improvisation, Self-Emancipation, and Democratic Participation,” were held in October and November 2017. Through historical study, philosophical reflection, and improvisational activities, participants explored the themes of improvisation, innovation, and freedom linking jazz and democracy. They learned how jazz stimulates free thought and expression and how to employ jazz concepts in daily life to nurture democratic listening and practice.

Along with the symposium and workshops was a lecture and performance titled “The Spirit of Jazz and Democracy.” The opening lecture was part of the aforementioned symposium that illuminated jazz as the embodiment of democracy and traced it from slavery to innovations by Maryland jazz artists such as Billie Holiday to its use by the US government to promote ideas of American democracy globally. The closing lecture and performance on December 8th, 2017, featured workshop participants’ reflections on the connections between jazz and democracy.

Exploring the local African-American narrative and its connection to liberation and democracy through jazz was a profound research approach. This project was able to unite scholars from varied disciplines, as well as students and local SMCM community members, thus succeeding in the goal of bring SMCM closer together, engaging with the past for a better, more democratic, future.

This project was made possible by a grant from Maryland Humanities, through support from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities or Maryland Humanities.

SMCM Students Present Research at Anthropology Conference

March 22, 2018

Anthropology is a very diverse discipline which can be applied to solve a variety of questions or problems. This could be seen at the recent University of Maryland Anthroplus Conference which brought students together to present on modern applications of anthropology. With support from the St. Mary’s College of Maryland (SMCM) Anthropology Department, three SMCM students were selected as the only undergraduates to present their research at this graduate student conference. The conference was separated into three thematic segments: How We Are Where We Are: Places, Spaces & Belonging, How We Are Known: Bodies, Minds, and Identities, and How We Do What We Do: Contemporary Archaeological Methods. Each SMCM student presented on one of the thematic approaches at this conference.

SMCM Senior Patrick Martin

The first student to present was Patrick Martin, a Senior, majoring in Anthropology with a focus in conflict studies. Under the thematic group Places, Spaces & Belonging, Patrick presented his Senior Tutorial research on conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). His project was titled Corruption, Conflict, and the Congolese: Proposing a New Model for Conflict Analysis in the DRC. Synthesizing past ethnographies, news reports, and statistical data on the occurrence of violence among individuals, he proposed a new model for socio-economic causes of continued conflict within the Congo. Citing the creation of informal economies due to lack of infrastructure, groups use ethnic identity and violence to regain agency and survive. Patrick hopes to continue his research and apply his model to other conflicts, as well as investigate ways to find peace.

SMCM Senior Rita Druffner

Next to present was Rita Druffner, a Senior, with a double major in Anthropology and Psychology. Under the theme Bodies, Minds, and Identities, Rita presented her current St. Mary’s Project on the Anthropology of Autism. With the increase of people diagnosed with autism, this project analyzed autistic identity, through societies lens, as well as the lens of diagnosed individuals. Rita interviewed individuals diagnosed with autism from the St. Mary’s community to collect ethnographic data and create a life history. She reviewed how autism is diagnosed by the Psychiatric community, as well as how autism is portrayed and viewed in society. She concludes that autism creates a unique identity for each individual, not defining them, but becoming one of the many aspects of who they are as a person.

SMCM Junior Matthew Borden

The final SMCM student to present was Matthew Borden, a Junior and Anthropology major. Presenting on Contemporary Archaeological Methods, Matthew showcased his investigation into the relevance of oyster shells found at Lower Brambly, a Native American archeological site in St. Mary’s County. First conducting an archeological dig in collaboration with SMCM Professor of Archaeology Julie King, Matthew focused on the size, placement, and quantity of oyster shells found in Lower Brambly. He hypothesized that the increased size of these shells meant a smaller Native American population, allowing oysters to grow larger. Matthew tested his hypothesis by measuring, classifying, and comparing, shells found through shovel test pits. He compared oyster shell size characteristics with documented local historical demographics and found that as population size grew, smaller and smaller oyster shells were present. Matthew also speculated that the largest oyster shells would be found at locations where higher status people lived . Much information can be gained through studying the distribution and characteristics of oyster shells and this knowledge can be applied to other archeological work in the region.

All three presenters offered their unique take on how anthropology can be applied in the twenty-first century. Representing SMCM as the only undergraduates students among graduate students from other colleges, these students took the opportunity to showcase their research to a wider community.

Two SMCM Students Conduct Research on Women of Color in STEM

March 6, 2018

Although a liberal arts college, St. Mary’s College of Maryland (SMCM) has a unique connection with STEM majors. Two SMCM students, Rose Young and Elizabeth Mulvey, are conducting research on women of color in STEM programs at academic institutions. There have been many inclusivity issues with regards to women in STEM fields, especially women of color. This research hopes to uncover factors that promote the success of these women in STEM programs. Under the guidance of Professor of Educational Studies Angela Johnson, these two high-achieving students are using the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) to compare the inclusivity and success of women of color across college campuses. IPEDS shows statistical data on student demographics across a number of different campuses. They will use this information, cross-referenced with other variables to see how factors including institution diversity, support networks, and teacher-to-student ratio affect women of color in STEM. This work is supported by the National Science Foundation, via a Eureka Scientific, Inc. subaward to Dr. Johnson.

Along with these demographic figures, Rose and Elizabeth are also collecting ethnographic data and conducting interviews among women of color in STEM. They have attended a number of STEM focused conferences and events to collect this interview data. Both hope to better the success rate of women in STEM and find steps that colleges can take to better the student experience. This research is also being conducted with a sister school in England.

Rose Young – SMCM Sophomore

Both students showcase the St. Mary’s Way in the research that they are conducting. Rose Young is a sophomore, studying Math and Physics. Rose believes that due to SMCM’s small size, teacher interaction, and accepting culture, women in STEM fields succeed here. Also, during her interviews she found that the presence of updated collaboration rooms and group-focused STEM clubs on academic institutions increase the likelihood of student success. While working on this project, Rose is gaining experience in data analytics and interview skills, as well as a new appreciation for math. Rose wants to continue developing her research skills and pursue a career in Nuclear Engineering.

Elizabeth Mulvey – SMCM Sophomore

Elizabeth Mulvey is also a sophomore studying Physics, with a double minor in Education and English. With a past internship at NASA, Elizabeth is glad to gain experience in data entry and conducting anthropological interviews. She also enjoys being able to travel to different academic events and meet other like-minded women in STEM programs. Elizabeth hopes to shed more light on race and diversity issues associated with women of color in STEM programs at different colleges. She sees the potential moral applications of STEM in education and how it’s taught to people of color and different genders.

Both students will continue this research project into the Fall 2018 semester, including traveling to the sister school in England to compare data. Rose and Elizabeth are two of many SMCM students that are building a better future through sponsored research.

Angela Johnson awarded grant to study women of color in STEM

February 23, 2018

Angela C Johnson, professor and department chair of Educational Studies, is interested in the challenges that women of color face in physics, math, computer science, and other similar fields. In preliminary research, Dr. Johnson has found that St. Mary’s College of Maryland (SMCM) may be on the right track in supporting these historically underrepresented students.

Johnson recently finalized a subaward agreement to serve as co-principal investigator on an NSF-funded project titled: Centering Women of Color in STEM: Identifying and Scaling Up What Helps Women of Color Thrive. Dr. Johnson is partnering with Dr. Apriel K Hodari of Eureka Scientific, Inc. on the project which will use data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) to compare the inclusivity and success of women of color across college campuses.

Johnson will co-lead the overall project, manage the quantitative data collection, and contribute to data collection, coding, and analysis, and report production. Two SMCM students, Rose Young and Elizabeth Mulvey, will assist with data collection, including conducting interviews with women of color in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. Ultimately, the researchers hope to provide information to help guide organizations committed to creating supportive environments for women of color to thrive in STEM fields. The two-year project is scheduled to run through the summer of 2019.

SMCM students attending the 2018 National Conference on Undergraduate Research

February 22, 2018

In April 2018, students, faculty, and academics alike will travel to the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, OK for a very special event. The National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR), annually invites accepted students to present their undergraduate research from a variety of disciplines. After a competitive review, three St. Mary’s College of Maryland (SMCM) students have been awarded the opportunity to share their research and academic achievements at NCUR 2018.

One of these successful students is Hannah Murphy, a graduating senior studying Spanish. She has been conducting research on increasing the retention of critical thinking skills in students that speak English as a second language. Using local middle school students as her focus, she hopes to develop critical thinking skills using articles in the students’ native language, and show that those skills transfer over when students use English. She will assess students critical thinking skills before and after relevant articles are read in the native language and will share her results at the NCUR conference. Hannah hopes to promote the importance of native languages and how they can be used to better the students educational experience, instead of hindering it.

Sidi Chleuh working on Fulbe linguistic research

Another notable student is Sidi Chleuh, a senior here at SMCM. He is studying International Languages and Cultures, with a double concentration in French and Spanish. He will be presenting his research on Fulbe oral literature at NCUR. The Fulbe are an ethno-linguistic group located in West Africa and have had their linguistic culture influenced by the spread of Islam and colonization. Sidi hopes to revive the importance of the Fulbe language and show how Fulbe proverbs impact culture throughout time. Sidi has conducted much of his fieldwork in the Republic of Guinea, collecting notes on the Fulbe language from the former colonial administration records, as well as past anthropological work. He will present his findings and showcase how Fulbe proverbs impact local identity, as well as influence values and knowledge. Sidi conducted much of this research in the summer of 2017, as part of the St. Mary’s Undergraduate Research Fellowship program. After graduation, Sidi hopes to continue travelling and to share his passion for languages as he contemplates future education.

Chikondi Kulemeka is researching female Muslim identity in France

Also going to NCUR is Chikondi Kulemeka, presenting ‘Beyond the Veil: Exploring the Many Layers of Muslim Women’s Identity in Nice, France’. Seeing the rising rate of Islamophobia in Europe, Chikondi has researched the daily life of Muslim women in France. She focuses her research on one woman particularly. This woman was born in Morocco, but grew up in France and is currently attending Nice University. Chikondi used this woman as a main focus of her interviews and research, helping to describe the bigger picture of the female Muslim experience in France as a whole. This research can show the opinions and experience of these individuals during their daily life. Through interviews and a detailed literature review, she hopes to shed light on the unique perspectives that these female Muslim individuals have as they navigate through their layered identities.

Past SMCM students presenting their work at NCUR have included Elizabeth Wenker ’17 and Brad Davidson’s ’17 research with white-crowned sparrows in Dr. Malisch’s lab (NCUR 2017) and Alex Schoen ’17 and Mary Korendyke’s mathematical modeling research with Dr. Socha (NCUR 2016).

First Annual SMCM Research Forum held Jan 12, 2018

February 21, 2018

Audience members including (left-to-right): SMCM faculty James Mantel, Torry Dennis, and Amanda VerMeulen

St. Mary’s College of Maryland held the first Annual Research Forum on January 12^th 2018 in the beautiful Blackistone Room in Anne Arundel Hall. The goals of the multi-disciplinary forum were to: offer both general advice for faculty and staff seeking external funding and specific feedback for those with developed project ideas, to provide a venue for intentional networking with external guests and among existing colleagues, and to celebrate active awards and recent efforts to secure external funding.

The day’s events included:

Panel Discussion: Writing More Competitive Grant Proposals: Tom Wenzel, professor of chemistry and grant writing consultant, and SMCM faculty-scholars (Drs. Bailey, Deane-Coe, Grossman, Neiles);
Lunch Buffet & Networking: Featuring external guests representing the Maryland State Arts Council, St. Mary’s County Arts Council, National Park Service and Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units Network, Conservation Branch of Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) at Patuxent River, Naval Air Warfare Center- Aircraft Division at Patuxent River, and Southern Maryland Higher Education Center;
Panel Discussion: Securing External Funding in the Humanities and Arts: Christine Kalke, NEH Senior Analyst and International Coordinator (retired), Amy Stolls NEA Director of Literature, and SMCM faculty-scholars (Drs. Başaran, Brodsky, Gabriel, King, Wooley);
Individual Consultation Sessions: Review and expert feedback on grant proposals with Dr. Tom Wenzel, Dr. Christine Kalke, and Amy Stolls;
Wine & Cheese Reception: Open to all faculty, in recognition and celebration of active awards and recent efforts to secure external funding, with remarks from Provost Wick; co-sponsored by the Offices of the Provost and Institutional Advancement.

The forum was well attended, with active discussions continuing throughout the day. The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs plans to hold annual research forums in support of faculty and staff scholarship. If you have ideas about future topics of interest, please contact Dr. Sabine Dillingham at x4192, sldillingham@smcm.edu.

Provost Wick delivers remarks during the forum reception

Marilyn Steyert and Max Madden awarded funding for SMP research

February 8, 2018

Two students conducting their St. Mary’s Project research with Dr. Aileen Bailey, professor of psychology and Aldom-Planseon Honors College Professor, have received grants to support their work. Marilyn Steyert was recently awarded a $918 grant through the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Honor Society to support her research and in recognition of her academic achievement. A graduating senior, Marilyn is majoring in Biology, with minors in Neuroscience and Music. She is continuing past research on the project entitled “Understanding the action of novel fast-acting antidepressant, L-655,708 in the brain” under the guidance of Dr. Bailey. Another student working on research in Dr. Bailey’s lab is graduating senior Max Madden, a double major in Biochemistry and Psychology. He has received $1,500 in funding through the Psi Chi Undergraduate Research Grant to support his St. Mary’s Project: “Examination of the Mechanism of the Fast Acting Antidepressant L-655,708.” Since July 2015, Dr. Bailey’s research lab has been primarily funded by the National Institutes of Health, via a subaward with University of Maryland, Baltimore.

Using rats as test subjects, Marilyn and Max are analyzing the effects of a specific drug on synapse strength within neurons in certain areas of the brain. The grant money received from Sigma Xi is being used to visualize and study certain proteins within cells. Changes in behavior and synaptic strength will be analyzed to see the effects of L-655,708 in the rats brain. Marilyn hopes to show the potential of this drug for future use in humans, due to its rapid neurological changes in rats. As with all research conducted on vertebrate animals at St. Mary’s College, Marilyn and Max’s work was approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.

Marilyn is the President of Tri Beta, the Biological Honor Society at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, and is also involved in BioPump, a program that supports Biology students’ academic success. After graduation, Marilyn hopes to continue her academic education and become a professor. Max was a member of the St. Mary’s men’s Swim Team and plans to continue his education in graduate school after leaving St. Mary’s College. Marilyn and Max are two of many talented students to receive a grant through an honor society here at St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

Katharina von Kellenbach to lead study of guilt as a culturally productive force

January 30, 2018

Katharina von Kellenbach, professor of religious studies and her colleague Matthias Buschmeier (German literature, University of Bielefeld) were awarded a prestigious grant for over €500,000 (about $600,000) by the Center for Interdisciplinary Research (ZIF) at the University of Bielefeld for the 2018-2019 academic year.

She and Dr. Buschmeier will lead 15 scholars from different continents representing the disciplines of anthropology, art, classics, law, medieval studies, philosophy, psychology, religious studies, and sociology to examine the idea of guilt as an enduring and generative force in the aftermath of violent conflicts.

Titled “Felix Culpa? Guilt as a Culturally Productive Force,” the research group will be in residence at the ZIF in Bielefeld to exchange theoretical perspectives on the notion of ‘productive guilt’ and to pursue individual projects examining a variety of topics ranging from white guilt in the United States to the Turkish denial of the Armenian genocide, from religious healing rituals in Mozambique to the reception of Syrian refugees in Germany as negotiation of different kinds of guilt.
The project closely examines the intersections of violence, shame, and guilt to ask how guilt consolidates social orders in the cultural production of jurisprudence, art, literature, and religion. Each scholar pursues their own research project while engaging in collaborative discussion across disciplines and different religious, cultural, and linguistic contexts to explore the wealth of symbolic representations and discourses of guilt.