FALL 2000 MAPS
ANTHROPOLOGY: "Experimental Archaeology and Ethnoarchaeology." Molly Davis, Cathy Dean, Joel Felkey, Michael Haak, Jennifer Haggar, Grant McCall, Jennifer Thornton [Professor Kathy Kamp]. Experiments with artifacts and observations of living peoples provide archaeologists with the basis for interpreting the remains of past cultures. This course examined the theoretical basis and practice of experimental archaeology and ethnoarchaeology. Each student gave a 15-minute PowerPoint presentation. Michael Haak and Cathy Dean presented at the Social Studies Symposium on campus, Feb. 2001.
ART: "Senior Thesis." Emily Stamey [Professor Susan Strauber]. Emily researched the artist Jolan Gross Bettelheim. She began with a Gross-Bettelheim print in the college collection, about which nothing was known (and it turned out very little was known [and is known] about the artist as well) and developed that into a research project and finished paper documenting Jolan Gross Bettelheim: bibliography; biography; essay situating JGB in her art historical context (American printmaking in the 30s and 40s). Emily then documented and interpreted the chronology, production, and subject matter and style of JGB's prints in the 30s and 40s and provided an analysis of content and meaning, focusing on architectural images and social-political images. The final product was a 30 page essay accompanied by 22 plates. Emily presented "Jolan Gross-Bettelheim: The American Prints" on campus, December 2000.
BIOLOGY: "The Lifecycle of the Morel Mushroom." Lucy Gutierrez [Professor Kathy Jacobson]. Revealing the nature of the morel mushroom lifecycle is critical to understanding the population genetics of this fungus. There is suggestive evidence that the morel fruiting body is not dikaryotic, but a functional haploid (formed from monokaryotic mycelium). In order to determine the ploidy of the morel fruiting body, we used randomly amplified polymorphic DNA markers to compare the tissue of the fruiting body to that of its single spore isolates. If the resulting "fingerprints" of the fruiting body tissue were identical to that of its spores, this would suggest a monokaryotic fruiting body. If, however, the spore fingerprint was a subset of the fingerprint obtained from the fruiting body tissue, this would suggest that the tissue is dikaryotic. These findings could have significant application to the study of the morel's ability to reproduce in new environments and in studying variation within and between morel populations.
BIOLOGY: "Genetic Fingerprinting of Tricholoma sp. and the Ectomycorrhizal Roots of Populus fremontii." Laurel Steinmetz [Professor K. Jacobson]. The riparian forests of this country's southwestern river basins, especially the Rio Grande River basin, contain some of the most endangered plant species in the nation. Efforts are currently being undertaken to conserve and restore this habitat. An essential player in the survival of these forests are the fungi and other microorganisms living in the soil. Tricholoma sp. grows in this area and has ectomycorrhizal relationships with the Populus fremontii, a poplar tree. I hope to generate a genetic fingerprint for Tricholoma using PCR and restriction digest, which will allow me to look at the species random fragment length polymorphisms. In addition, to providing an identification marker for the Tricholoma species, this fingerprint will be compared to the Populus fremontii roots' fingerprint, generated in a similar manner. This comparison will allow one to determine whether or not Tricholoma sp. is the only species which has established a mycorrhizal relationship with the Populus fremontii in this habitat. I also am performing a microscopic description of the ectomycorrhizal system found on the roots of the Populus fremontii. Research was presented at an Honors Biology Department seminar.
CHEMISTRY: " Mass Spectrometry of Proteins." Alison Nair [Professor Elaine Marzluff]. The aim of this project is to investigate the structure and folding dynamics of proteins. In proteins, hydrogen or deuterium that is in direct contact with the solvent will undergo hydrogen exchange at a faster rate than those blocked by structure and steric hindrance. This exchange over time can be monitored by a mass spectrometer or Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and the results can assist in the characterization of a protein's structure. Specifically, insulin, melittin, cytochrome c, thioredoxin, lysozyme and ubiquitin will be investigated. These proteins were picked because they are small and there is already a lot known about their properties. Characterization of protein structures is important for many reasons, the most obvious being its connection to living organisms, specifically the human body. Proteins are made from the instructions in DNA and form each organisms phenotype. Understanding protein structures can assist both in further characterizations of the interactions between protein and DNA as well as allow a better understanding of how and why certain phenotypic expressions occur. More practically this could improve medical treatment for people and contribute to other pharmacological pursuits. Alison continued her research in Spring 2001 and Spring 2002, and presented her results in a poster session at the Grinnell College Howard Hughes Medical Institute Symposium on Undergraduate Research in the Iowa Area, April 2002.
HISTORY: "British Political Attitudes Towards Homosexuality, 1951 to 1970." Dan Rothschild [Professor D.A. Smith]. Dan Rothschild '02 is working on a MAP entitled "British Political Attitudes Towards Homosexuality, 1951 to 1970," which seeks to examine the causes of the great change in elite British opinion during this time on the subject of male homosexuality. These attitudinal changes led to the Sexual Offences Act of 1967 which legalized adult male homosexuality after a ban of over 350 years. Rothschild researched in the Library of Congress in Washington, DC over the summer and is going to London from October 13 to October 24 as a Mohrman Fellow to research in the archives of the Homosexual Law Reform Society and the British Public Records Office, as well as to interview key players in homosexual law reform. He hopes to continue to refine his work after the end of the semester and present his findings on campus as well as at an appropriate conference.
HISTORY: "Annie Jump Cannon." Catherine Nisbett [Professor Sarah Purcell]. This MAP is a biographical treatment of a woman astrophysicist, Annie Jump Cannon, who worked at the Harvard College Observatory and developed the system of spectral classification that is used by astronomers today. I am focusing on the time between when Dr. Cannon first arrived at Harvard in 1896 until she published the first volume of the Henry Draper Catalogue in 1918. After 1918, she spent most of her time applying her system to classify more than 500,000 stars, but it was during this earlier period when she developed the classification. I will include a treatment of women's experiences in both professional life and in science, and I hope to explain how the new field of astrophysics opened doors to women like Dr. Cannon. I believe that Dr. Cannon experienced the ideal convergence of circumstances that allowed her to be a successful woman in astronomy. "How Women Succeed in Science: Annie Jump Cannon and the Stars Over Harvard" was presented on campus, April 18, 2001.
PHYSICS: "Sonoluminescence." David Bradley [Professor Paul Tjossem]. Sonoluminescence (SL) is the phenomenon of extremely brief flashes of light produced by the violent implosion of air bubbles caused by the oscillation of an acoustic field in water. In short, it is the conversion of sound into light. This independent project will involve research of the various scientific journal articles pertaining to SL. Upon completion of this background research the project will focus on an experimental study of the SL phenomenon. These experiments may include: spectrum analysis of the light emitted from the SL bubble, component gas alteration and its effect on SL, and the effect of magnetic fields on SL. The completion of this project will result in a paper and presentation.
POLITICAL SCIENCE: "Political Values in Russian." Andrew Civettini, Cara Kitagawa, Bradley Oremlend, Adam van Alstyne, Kasia Piekarz [Professor Robert D. Grey]. This group MAP project is phase two of a three-phase project. Phase one (spring 2000) consisted of the group acquiring necessary background on Soviet and post-Soviet political, social and economic history, and the more specialized area of Soviet/Russian public opinion. Phase two (summer 2000) the group used this background to generate interesting hypotheses about Russian public opinion. After learning to use SPSS and how to analyze surveys on Russian mass attitudes provided by research teams from the University of Glasgow, Harvard/Duke/Columbia and the University of Iowa, the group tested their hypotheses, and wrote first drafts of their MAP papers. Phase three, in fall 2000, involved revising those drafts for presentation at the Iowa Conference of Political Scientists in late October.
POLITICAL SCIENCE: "Russian Public Opinion." Adam van Alstyne [Professor Robert D. Grey]. This semester culminates my research on Russian public opinion. I began my research with a historical overview of Russia and public opinion polling during the Spring 2000 semester. The research continued with SPSS analysis of recent public opinion data sets from Russia. Currently, I am in the process of editing my paper on Russian Nationalism and the role language choice plays in its formation. At the end of October I will be presenting my paper to the Iowa Political Scientists Consortium. Following the presentation I will continue to edit my paper with assistance from Professor Grey in hopes of publishing it. I meet once a week with professor Grey to discuss revisions in my paper and in my SPSS data sets. Currently I have reconstructed my data so that it is now represented in a more cohesive nationalism index. This new index will now be tested against a series of independent variables- education, gender, support for communist ideals, personal security, and region of residence. These findings will be incorporated into my paper. The central argument of my paper is that language choice is more significant than ethnicity in the creation of nationalist values within post-Soviet Russia.
SOCIAL STUDIES: "Liberty, Democracy, and Revolution: Alexis de Tocqueville." Paul Bendich, Justin Hoest, Peter Lavelle, Christopher Neary, Kathryn Nonas, Philip Park, Maulik Patel, Marissa Payne, Jonn Seyler, Bryan Stewart, Isaac Wohl, Melissa Yates [Professor Don Smith]. An exploration from a variety of disciplinary perspectives of the nature of liberty, democracy, and revolution as they appeared to and were studied by Alexis de Tocqueville. The seminar considered influences upon Tocqueville's thinking and Tocqueville's influence on contemporaneous (e.g., J.S. Mill) and later (e.g. R. Putnam, M. Sandel) thinkers. Members of the faculty from a number of departments joined the instructor in leading the seminar from time to time, and students were encouraged to study aspects and applications of Tocqueville's thought in a variety of ways. The seminar concentrated upon a careful study of Democracy in America, The Old Regime and the French Revolution, and his Recollections.