Undergraduate Research
Daniela Filip ’15 Contributes to Two Films by Professor Nandini Sikand
By Michele Tallarita ’12 Working with an accomplished filmmaker this summer gave Daniela Filip ’15 a big boost in fulfilling her dream of becoming a filmmaker herself. A double major in film & media studies and international affairs, she edited video, collected research, acquired permissions for shooting footage, and performed other work as an EXCEL [...]
Andrei Koch ’13 Builds Quad Copter as He Explores Aerospace Engineering
Andrei Koch ’13 has designed, built, and tested a prototype for a quad copter unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) design. A mechanical engineering major, Koch completed this research in an independent study with Louis Hayden, visiting part-time instructor of mechanical engineering. His goal was to make an economically feasible proof of concept for miniature UAVs that could be [...]
Professor Gary Gordon and Dorde Rakic ’15 Explore How Social Media Affects People’s Choices
In the world of Facebook and Twitter, rumors fly quickly. Gary Gordon, professor and associate head of mathematics, and Dorde Rakic ’15 (Belgrade, Serbia) are delving into social media to learn how rumors affect people and influence their behavior. “Think of people on Facebook, with two people connected if they are friends. How quickly does [...]
Rijan Maharjan ’14 Works with Prof. Julia Nicodemus to Explore Solar Energy’s Role in Fuel Production
Ask Rijan Maharjan ’14 why he chose to major in mechanical engineering, and he will tell you, quite simply, “I like to do stuff. Real stuff.” Maharjan (Kathmandu, Nepal) is all about keeping it practical. This made him a good fit for his work this summer under the guidance of Julia Nicodemus, assistant professor of [...]
Prof. Chip Nataro Creates Meaningful Research Experiences for Students
Chip Nataro brings the idea of student-focused teaching and research to a whole new level. He often includes students in his organometallic chemistry research. In fact, he says his research is “entirely dependent” on student participation. Nataro’s deep commitment to mentorship is something he discovered within his first week at Iowa State University, where he [...]
Professor Deborah Byrd and Kristin Anderson ’14 Work to Design Housing Programs for Young Parents
“One of the things I’ve discovered in working with young moms and dads is that they are often in desperate need of safe, affordable housing, particularly after they graduate from high school,” says Deborah Byrd, professor of English. Since 2005, Byrd has been involved with the Family and Development Research Program (FDRP), which provides mentoring [...]
John Keller ’14 Presents Navigation Software at International Conference
In high school, John Keller ’14 (Orwigsburg, Pa.) taught himself how to program robots. His biggest achievement was tweaking a Roomba—a vacuum-cleaning robot—so that it could figure out where it was in a room and travel wherever it was told. A computer science major, Keller has since moved on to bigger tasks. This summer, he [...]
Jaclyn Avidon ’12 Presents Research at International Planetary Science Conference
By Michele Tallarita ’12 Jaclyn Avidon ’12 (New York, N.Y.) has interned with NASA, done EXCEL Scholars research on the surface temperature of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa, and now has presented work at the premiere conference for planetary scientists. Avidon, a physics major, presented her research at the 42nd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in [...]
Jacob Dein ’12 Designs Website to Predict Impacts of Shale Drilling in Delaware River Basin
By Michele Tallarita ’12 Jacob Dein ’12 is from Honesdale, Pa., where layers of gas-filled Marcellus shale lie untapped beneath the landscape. Just north of the Poconos, Honesdale awaits the finalization of regulations that will allow gas companies to enter the region and begin drilling. This means that soon, homeowners will have to make a [...]
Joel Lefever ’12 Researches Cutting-Edge Techniques to Treat Brain Disease
By Michele Tallarita ’12 Joel Lefever ’12 (Lancaster, Pa.) is spending his senior year tackling a topic that researchers have pursued for over 30 years. A mechanical engineering major, Lefever is creating a computerized model of a health condition called hydrocephalus as his honors thesis under the guidance of Joshua Smith, assistant professor of mechanical [...]
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