Nine University of Scranton Students Receive Summer Research Awards

Aug 6, 2012
Jonathan Schall, left, works with George Gomez, Ph.D, associate professor of biology, on a research project in the Loyola Science Center. Schall is among the nine University of Scranton students who received 2012 President’s Fellowship for Summer Research Awards.
Jonathan Schall, left, works with George Gomez, Ph.D, associate professor of biology, on a research project in the Loyola Science Center. Schall is among the nine University of Scranton students who received 2012 President’s Fellowship for Summer Research Awards.

Nine University of Scranton students received 2012 President’s Fellowship for Summer Research Awards.

Rachel Salmon ’15 of Henryville is working with Jeremy Sepinsky, Ph.D, assistant professor of physics, on research about planets and their relationships with their parent stars, titled “Can Mass Loss be Responsible for the Creation of Hot Jupiters in Non-Circular Orbits?”

“The more we learn about solar systems besides our own, the more we can learn about how they form and possibly the potential for other life,” Salmon said.

Salmon will present her research in January at the 221st Meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Long Beach, Calif., billed as the largest meetings of astronomers.

Corinne Nulton ’13 of Archbald, another award recipient, is working with Hank Willenbrink, Ph.D, assistant professor of English and theatre, to create a full-length play on a heinous murder in British Columbia from 2010 titled “14 Symptoms: An Original Play Exploring the Reoccurrences of Evil in Human Nature.”

“I found an article that fascinated and also horrified me,” Nulton said, who learned about the crime in a Vanity Fair article. “This play is an exploration of the philosophy of evil behind this crime.”

Nulton, who plans to pursue a Master of Fine Arts, plans to have an informal reading of the play in September, followed by a staged reading either during the winter intersession or early in the spring semester.

Seven other students are also working on research projects. 

Brian Entler ’13 of Commack, N.Y., is working with Marc Seid, Ph.D, assistant professor of biology, on research titled “Morphine Addiction in Ants: Visualizing a neurochemical pathway of drug reward.” 

Erich Junge ’13 of Lebanon, N.J., is also working with Seid on research titled “The Effect of Group Size on Neural Circuitry in the Ant Species.”

Timothy McCormick ’13 of Scranton and his mentor Yamile Silva, Ph.D., assistant professor of world languages and cultures, are working on research titled “Spatial Practices in Women’s Letters from the Rio de la Plata during the 16th and 17th Centuries.”

Jonathan Schall ’13 of Wyoming is performing research with George Gomez, Ph.D, associate professor of biology, titled “Effects of Retinal Epithelium on Fatty Acid Protection against Retinal Degeneration.”

Cory Templeton ’14 of Trucksville and Paul Gillespie ’14 of Chalfont are working with Tim Foley, Ph.D., associate professor of biochemistry, on research titled “Binding of Organic Arsenicals to Protein Sulfur: Implications for Redox Biology and Chemical Strategies for Targeting Cancer Cells.” This project was supported by a contribution from alumna Kathleen Burkes ’00.

Jan Wessel ’13 of Drums is working with Susan Trussler, Ph.D, associate professor of economics/finance, on research titled “China’s Automobile Industry: Sustainability and End of Life Vehicles.”

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