By Teresa Keysor
Ohio University's Council on Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity awarded more than $45,000 this spring to 11 students engaged in research and creative activity. The works range from choreography influenced by African-American dance to research on how plants can be used to remove TNT from soil.
The council, made up of 15 University faculty from various disciplines, awarded grants through the Student Enhancement Award (SEA) program, which supports research, scholarship and creative activity by undergraduate and graduate students. This year the committee received a record high of 52 proposals. From this large pool, 11 students were funded. Because of mid-year budget cuts, less funding was available to students.
"The evaluation committees had a very difficult time selecting the top winners among so many excellent proposals," said Sergio Ulloa, chair of the Council on Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity and a professor of physics and astronomy. "The already difficult selection of the top proposals was made even harder, as the number of awards was reduced. But we were quite pleased to see the high quality of work on campus and encourage students to apply next year."
Information on the 2003 SEA recipients follows:
Undergraduate Students:
Morgan Flemming, a dance student in the College of Fine Arts, received $5,500 to attend the Trinity/La MaMa/New York City Performing Arts Program and use her new skills to choreograph a solo piece. The dance piece will integrate multimedia and will be performed during Winter Quarter 2004 at The University of Texas at Austin and at the Spring Senior Tour at Ohio University. Flemming's faculty mentor is Andre Gribou, associate professor of dance.
William Moravec, an electrical engineering student in the Russ College of Engineering and Technology, received $4,137 to study aspects of the vestibular system, which gives animals and humans their sense of balance. Moravec will use a special laser microscope to look at vestibular hair cells of turtles. This new way of looking at hair cells could help to differentiate between two types of hair cells, a difference that is not yet entirely understood. Moravec's faculty mentor is Ellengene Peterson, professor of biological sciences.
Jessica Burcham, a dance student in the College of Fine Arts, received $5,000 to attend an intensive dance program this summer at the Alvin Ailey School of Dance in New York. The school was founded by one of the most influential figures in African-American dance and focuses on the subject of black heritage. Burcham plans on using her new knowledge to choreograph works during fall and spring quarters of the upcoming school year. Her work will be presented on a tour that will travel through Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky. Burcham's faculty mentor is Maura Keefe, assistant professor of dance.
Justin Stevens, a chemistry and biochemistry student in the College of Arts and Sciences, received $4,600 to research a cellular motor protein called dynein that is crucial to several cell functions, such as cell division. Stevens will study and characterize the structure of this protein, looking at aspects of how they bind together. The research will give more information on how to stop cell division, which could aid in the treatment of cancer. By stopping cell division in cancer cells, tumors could be suppressed and cancer more easily controlled. Steven's faculty mentor is Elisar Barbar, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry.
Robert McDonie, an English student in the College of Arts and Sciences, received $2,000 to conduct research on the works of the late poet Geoffrey Chaucer. McDonnie will concentrate on the poem Troilus and Criseyde, which deals with same- and opposite-sex love. He will try to determine how same-sex intimacy was received by 16th century audiences by examining the way scribes edited such material. His studies will help open up studies of same- and opposite-sex intimacy in the Middle Ages and possibly the 21st century. McDonie's faculty mentor is Marsha Dutton, associate professor of English.
Graduate Students:
Jason Moretz, a doctoral student in biological sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences, received funding to study the relationship between size and aggression in male swordtail fish from the Pio Panuco basin in eastern Mexico. The research will increase the understanding of aggression as an adaptive trait through evolution. Moretz's faculty mentor is Molly Morris, assistant professor of biological sciences.
Denise McGill, a master's student in visual communication in the College of Communication, received $5,000 to continue documenting the culture of Somalis in Columbus, Ohio, and in Africa. McGill has completed six photojournalist assignments in Africa and will travel there again for two weeks in July. She will also spend time in Columbus, where some 20,000 Somali immigrants have arrived in the last decade. The project will be submitted for publication or exhibit in Columbus and will help long-term residents of Columbus have a better understanding of their Somali neighbors. McGill's faculty mentor is Terry Eiler, professor of visual communication.
Angela Warnock, a master's student in physical therapy in the College of Health and Human Services, received $5,000 to examine why some women soccer players are more prone than others to tearing a major knee ligament called the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) than others. Warnock will analyze how members of Ohio University women's intercollegiate and club soccer teams kick differently to see if motor coordination may play a role. The study could help in lowering the high incidence of ACL injury in women soccer players. Warnock's faculty mentor is James Thomas, assistant professor of physical therapy.
An Hu, a master's student in chemical engineering in the Russ College of Engineering and Technology, received $4,764 to investigate the possibility of electrolyzing ammonia to produce hydrogen as fuel for fuel cells. Fuel cells are devices that combine hydrogen with oxygen to generate electricity and can be used in almost any application requiring electrical power. The study could decrease pollution and energy costs. Hu's faculty mentor is Gerardine Botte, assistant professor of chemical engineering.
Stephanie King, a doctoral student in chemistry and biochemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences, received $3,994 to study the role of plants and bacteria in the removal of TNT from contaminated soil. This research could uncover a cost-effective and environmentally safe way to remove toxins that reportedly produce mutagenic and carcinogenic effects in mammals. King's faculty mentor is Guy Riefler, assistant professor of civil engineering.
James Waite, doctoral student in history in the College of Arts and Sciences, received $5,000 to conduct the first multinational study of the decision to divide Vietnam in 1954. Waite will research diplomatic archives in the United States, United Kingdom and London. His project will bring attention to the often-neglected contributions of the decision, such as domestic politics in France, Britain and the United States. Waite's faculty mentor is Chester Pach, associate professor of history.
In related news, last year's recipients of the SEA awards will be honored at the Research and Creative Activity Fair from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday, May 22, at the Baker University Center Ballroom. During the event, recipients of SEA and other student awards will present their projects. Recipients may choose to have their projects reviewed by a jury of faculty members. Awards of $400, $200 and $100 will be given to students of the top three projects to further research and creative activity. The event is open to the public.
Students interested in applying for the 2003-2004 Student Enhancement Awards must turn in proposals by Feb. 27, 2004. For more information go to www.ohiou.edu/research/seaguide.htm or contact Projects Coordinator Roxanne Male-Brune at (740) 597-1227 or male-bru@ohio.edu.
Teresa Keysor is a writing intern with Research Communications.
