University of Southern Maine

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USM Undergraduates Conduct Summer Research

July 23, 2008

University of Southern Maine offers the opportunity each summer for eight students to get paid for their academic pursuits rather than pay to take classes.  Undergraduates can apply to the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, or SURF program, to conduct research, scholarly or creative projects with a faculty mentor. Once selected, they receive a $2,600 fellowship, plus expenses, enabling them to take a more in-depth look at a subject that interests them.  The group meets regularly to share their progress and at the end of the eight-week fellowship they give formal presentations of their findings.  Each Fellow is required to make at least one presentation, on or off campus, during the following academic year.

This year, 23 students applied for the eight fellowships. The winning projects ranged from observing the Veritas asteroid family to studying prehistoric cod fishing in the Gulf of Maine.  Students from all academic disciplines and majors are eligible, and this year’s Fellows are not only physics and biology majors, but philosophy, history and media studies majors as well. 

Assistant Research Professor of Public Policy and Management Lisa Morris explains that these are motivated, intellectually-stimulated students who were ready to accept the challenge of delving more deeply into subjects they studied during the previous academic year rather than take a break from classes this summer.  Many are already planning to attend graduate school in the future.
           
The following 2008 SURF Fellows are listed by their hometowns:

Athens:
Nathaniel J. Frein is a biology major in his junior year from Athens, Maine.  He is a 1996 graduate of Madison High School. Working with mentor Associate Professor of Biological Sciences David Champlin, Frein seeks to characterize molecular mechanisms by which hormones regulate nutrient-dependent animal growth in the moth species Manduca sexta.

Blue Hill:
Erin Taylor is a graduate of Mount Blue High School now living in Portland. She is a senior majoring in geography-anthropology.  Working with mentor Associate Professor of Archaeology Nathan Hamilton, she analyzed the variation in size and seasonality of codfish remains from Maine’s archaeological sites.

Brunswick:
Rossella Maria Moyer of Brunswick is a senior political science major with a concentration in international studies.  Working with mentor Associate Professor of Political Science Lynn Kuzma, she examined the Bush Administration’s policy toward Cuba.  Her plan was to explore the influence on U.S. foreign policy exerted by Congress and special interest groups.

Gardiner:
Nigel Stevens of Gardiner, a 2004 graduate of Gardiner Area High School, is a philosophy major. He is working with Assistant Professor of Philosophy Jason Read on the philosophical debate between individualism and holism and a comprehensive study of transindividuality.

Gorham:
Adam Marquis is a 1996 graduate of Gorham High School majoring in environmental science.  He is working with mentor Assistant Research Faculty Karen Wilson in the Department of Environmental Science on the distribution and abundance of invasive crayfish in Maine and their relationship with water quality.

Old Orchard Beach:
Hilary Manuel is a senior majoring in media studies who graduated from Old Orchard Beach High School in 2005.  Working with mentor Associate Professor of Communication Rebecca Lockridge, Manuel is examining the gender roles performed by leading actresses and actors in Best Picture Academy Award winners from the 1950s to the present to see how winning films address feminist concerns in each decade.

Portland:
Matthew Walker, a 2002 graduate of Portland’s Deering High School, is majoring in physics. He is working with mentor Assistant Professor of Physics Julie Ziffer to characterize the surface composition of five members of the Veitas asteroid family.  Walker will be using NASA’s IRTF telescope in Mauna Kea, Hawaii, controlled through the remote observation laboratory at USM.

Erin Taylor, a graduate of Mount Blue High School now living in Portland. She is a senior majoring in geography-anthropology.  Working with mentor Associate Professor of Archaeology Nathan Hamilton, she analyzed the variation in size and seasonality of codfish remains from Maine’s archaeological sites.

Presque Isle:
Lucas Desmond is a senior majoring in history from Presque Isle.  A 1999 graduate of Presque Isle High School, Desmond is working with mentor Associate Professor of History David Carey Jr. to see how indigenous Maya, who were excluded by early twentieth-century Guatemalan politics, used the courts to assert their presence.

Photo Cap:
USM’s 2008 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellows meet to discuss their research with program coordinator Assistant Research Professor Lisa Morris.

Seated, L-R: Nathaniel Frein of Athens; Lucas Desmond of Presque Isle; Matthew Walker of Portland; Hilary Manuel of Old Orchard Beach.
Standing, L-R: Adam Marquis of Gorham; Nigel Stevens of Gardiner; Erin Taylor of Mt. Blue and Portland; Rossella Maria Moyer of Brunswick.

For the photo, go to:

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