|
2004-05 Royce Fellows
Seventeen Brown students named to Royce Fellowships
Seventeen undergraduates at Brown University have been appointed to Royce Fellowships for the 2004-05 academic year. The award provides financial support for a project of the student’s choosing and lifetime membership in the Society of Royce Fellows.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Seventeen Brown University
students have been named Royce Fellows for the 2004-05 academic year.
The Royce Fellows Program, established at Brown in 1996 by
Charles Royce, a 1961 graduate and University trustee emeritus,
celebrates exceptional academic performance, creativity, leadership and
community service by Brown undergraduates. Recipients will receive financial
support to undertake a research, curricular or public service project of their
choosing, to be carried out over the summer or during the academic year. The
award includes a small stipend and additional support to meet such project
expenses as travel to conferences, purchase of books, and acquisition of
software or research equipment.
Recipients of the Royce Fellowship are also awarded lifetime
membership in the Society of Royce Fellows, which supports reflection and
inquiry by encouraging members to connect their scholarly work with that of
their peers and faculty sponsors. With the 17 newly announced fellows, the
Society’s membership now stands at more than 200.
This year’s Royce Fellows their proposed research projects
and faculty sponsors are:
- Dolaporn Novem Auyeung, a junior from Nonthaburi, Thailand
The Role of Seed Dormancy in the Invasiveness of the Genus Impatiens
This study will compare seed dormancy in various invasive plant species in the
genus Impatiens in order to determine their capacity to establish populations in
the northeastern United States. By learning about the species in their early
stages of invasion, there is a greater chance of preventing them from negatively
impacting native plant populations and ecosystems.
Sponsor: Johanna Schmitt
- Tiffany Wai Ying Beres, a junior from Hillsborough, Calif.
Uncovering the Hidden Process of Imperial Chinese Painting
The painting techniques of ancient China are not well known and are often
wrongly assumed to model later approaches. By examining Song Dynasty imperial
paintings first-hand, applying computer-aided pattern recognition, and receiving
training in ancient painting methods, Beres hopes to rewrite long-standing
beliefs about Chinese art history and artistic attribution.
Sponsor: Roberta Bickford
- Zoe Ruth Lewin Billinkoff, a junior from Ottsville,
Pa.
Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening in the Netherlands: A case study of
scientific evidence and socio-political values in the establishment of two sets
of age guidelines
Billinkoff will study the
socio-political aspects of the establishment of national age guidelines in
screening for breast and cervical cancer in the Netherlands by conducting
interviews with research scientists, advocacy groups, stakeholders and
healthcare providers. Her qualitative study will address effects of philosophy,
system reforms and history on screening policy and will contribute to what is so
far a primarily quantitative body of literature on cancer screening
policies.
Sponsor: William Rakowski
- Stephen Brown, a junior from Dearborn, Mich.
Civil Liberties in the Nineteenth-Century Atlantic: The Negro Seaman
Acts
To gain a better understanding of the historical development of international
civil liberties, Brown will examine the implications of the Negro Seaman Acts.
Southern legislatures passed these laws during the early 19th century intending
to protect slavery but instead fostered increased debate about the legitimacy of
that institution and the rights of human beings.
Sponsor: Michael Vorenberg
- Francisco Araujo Cabas, a junior from Pawtucket, R.I.
Social Portraiture: An Experimental Analysis of the Immigrant Paradox
Social Portraiture is a creative research project that seeks to analyze
cultural, social and ethnic patterns of interactions that affect educational
attainment among immigrant youth, especially among Hispanic populations living
in marginalized communities. Through his research, Cabas will develop an
ethnographic documentary based on his analysis of qualitative and quantitative
data.
Sponsor: Catherine Imbriglio
- Tei Carpenter, a junior from New York City
Responsive Architecture: An Analysis of Indigenous Structures in the
Melanesian Culture of New Caledonia and their Application Toward a Contemporary
Sustainable Architecture
Carpenter will examine traditional indigenous building methods in the Melanesian
culture through study of international museum collections, historic buildings,
and a site visit to New Caledonia. Carpenter will collaborate with climate
engineers in New York City to analyze the indigenous principles as they may be
applied to sustainable architecture today using current technology.
Sponsor: Dietrich Neumann
- Thilakshani Dias, a junior from Kalubowila, Sri Lanka
Breeding Violence? The Intersection of Buddhism and Politics in Sri
Lanka
Despite its deep communal ties to the nonviolent religion of Buddhism, Sri Lanka
has been embroiled in a violent ethnic conflict for over two decades. Dias will
explore the political influence of Buddhism in Sri Lanka’s ongoing ethnic
conflict and question the growing symbiosis between Sinhalese politics and
Buddhist activism.
Sponsor: Gregory Elliott
- Laura Green, a sophomore from Los Altos Hills, Calif.
An Experimental Performance on the Histories of Gender in Queer
Communities
Green will coordinate the work of a small ensemble that will research histories
of gender construction and performance in 20th-century queer women’s
communities. The ensemble will create an experimental research-based performance
piece that will honor queer history and push the audience to expand its view of
what gender is.
Sponsor: Rebecca Schneider
- Alexandra Hartman, a junior from New York City
Veiled Debates: European Union and French Anti-Discrimination Policy and the
Lyonnais North African Immigrant Community
Hartman will look at French and European Union integration and
anti-discrimination policies. She will examine how the Lyonnais North African
community perceives these policies and their position in French society. One
focus is the EU policy development; another the interaction between EU policy
and existing French anti-discrimination and integration laws.
Sponsor: Calvin Goldscheider
- Ryan Heath, a junior from Manchester, Mass.
Inter-alpha Inhibitor Proteins in Cancer Metastasis
Heath will research the potential of Inter-alpha Inhibitor Proteins (IaIp) to
inhibit cancer cell metastasis. Using a live mouse model, he will examine the
anti-metastatic abilities of these proteins in hopes that the research will lead
to a new therapeutic technique to stop cancer metastasis.
Sponsor: Yow-Pin Lim
- Jessica Kremen, a junior from New York City
First Encounters: Health Care Provision in British Charitable Maternity
Hospitals 1880-1904
Kremen’s research will focus on patient applications to three specific
maternity hospitals that operated in turn-of-the-century London to provide
insight into the way that first-time patients perceived themselves and their own
bodies. A study of these perceptions will identify considerations contemporary
healthcare providers must take into account when administering
obstetric/gynecological services to women who have not previously encountered
medical workers or procedures.
Sponsor: Deborah Cohen
- Walrati Limapichat, a junior from Bangkok, Thailand
Molecular Lego: Clicking Molecules to Gold Nanoparticles
Gold nanoparticles, tiny clusters of gold atoms, have various potential
applications in both scientific research and medicine. At present, utilization
of gold nanoparticles is limited by the small number of available procedures for
particle assembly. Limapichat proposes a new method for conveniently linking any
molecules to gold nanoparticles.
Sponsor: Amit Basu
- Ryan L. Roth, a junior from Whitehall, Pa.
Reconstructing Readers Through a Comparative Analysis of Euclid’s
1482 Elements of Geometry
The world of the reader is at once vast and private. Using analytic frameworks
from history, education, print culture, cognitive science, and mathematics, Roth
will explore this world through an inter-library analysis of marginal notations
in copies of the first printed edition of
Euclid’s Elements of Geometry.
Sponsor: Joan L. Richards
- Robert Sand, a junior from Decorah, Iowa
Farmer Views on Agricultural Pollution and Conservation in the Upper Iowa
River Watershed
The Upper Iowa River Watershed and its inhabitants, due to the area’s
karst topography, are acutely vulnerable to agricultural pollution. Sand will
conduct a survey of area farmers followed by a series of “farmer
forums” to ascertain their level of conservation knowledge and concern. As
the success of policy-makers and conservation groups in reducing pollution is
dependent on the cooperation of farmers, these groups can use the results to
formulate more effective conservation policy.
Sponsor: Jennifer Lawless
- Noah Weiss, a junior from Seattle, Wash.
Degradation of Commercial Polymers in Use for Water Storage and Transport and
Its Effects on the Migration of Organic Compounds into Drinking Water
Supplies
Weiss will study the effects that photo, chemical and thermal stresses have on
the degradation of various polymer types used for water storage and transport,
such as water bottles, water storage tanks and plumbing pipes. In particular, he
will observe how these stresses influence the migration rates of potentially
harmful organic compounds into drinking water supplies, with emphasis on
possible heath effects from ingestion.
Sponsor: Yongsong Huang
- Connie Wu, a junior from SanMarino, Calif.
Restricting the Dangerous Alien: Civil Liberties in International and
Transhistorical Contexts
Drawing from political science and history, Wu will research three historical
episodes of American state-building during which the federal government enacted
and enforced policies against purportedly threatening aliens during times of
global conflict. Specifically, the project examines the aftermath of the Alien
Act of 1798, the Smith Act of 1940, and the Patriot Act of 2001.
Sponsor: Michael Vorenberg
- Maggie Young, a junior fromIndianapolis, Ind.
Soldier-Scholars: The Experiences and Impact of the Men and Women of Brown
University’s Veterans’ College
After World War II, Brown University created the Veterans’ College to
provide an education to returning GIs, hoping to ease the transition home. Young
will collect and compile oral histories of these alumni in an effort to preserve
their experiences and examine the veterans’ role in Brown’s
development.
Sponsor: Howard Chudacoff
######
News Service Home | Top of File | e-Subscribe | Brown Home Page
| |
