Honors College Symposium 2005 - 2006
Fourteenth Annual
Honors College Symposium
May1 – May 4

Monday May 1st:
9:00 Diane Lu
Title: Regulation of MeCP2 in Mature Neurons
Sponsor: Gail Mandel
Department: Nuerobiology
9:20 Katherine (Wee-Tin) Kao
Title: Grace
Sponsor: Susan Scheckel
Department: English
9:40 Matthew Marge
Title: Experiments with the Stony Brook Rate-a-Course
System: Adaptation in Initiative and Word Choice
Sponsor: Amanda Stent
Department: Computer Science
Sponsor: Richard Gerrig
Department: Psychology
10:00 Yelena Bogdan
Title: The Agony & the Ecstasy: The Making of 'The
Worthwhile Bounty'
Sponsor: Richard Gerrig
Department: Psychology
10:20 Lu Chen
Title: Characterization of mouse DNA Polymerase / kappa /
Sponsor: Caroline Kisker
Department: Pharmacology
10:40 Joseph Marino
Title: Efficient Real-Time Rendering Utilizing Temporal
Consistency
Sponsor: Xianfeng David Gu
Department: Computer Science
11:00 Collen McCready
Title: NMD: The Nation's Umbrella
Sponsor: Lester Paldy
Department: Technology and Society
4:00 Christopher Paynter
Title: Testing Dual-Coding Theory Using Concrete and
Abstract Judgments About Pictures and Words
Sponsor: Nancy Squires
Department: Psychology
4:20 Mahsa Hoshmand
Title: Synthesis of a Phenanthroline, Phenylene Ethylene
Containing Molecular Triangle for Molecular Electronic Devices
Sponsor: Andreas Mayr
Department: Chemistry
4:40 Ayman Sawas
Title: Accessible Medication Dispensing Device
Sponsor: Raman P. Singh
Department: Mechanical Engineering
5:00 Jennifer Eng
Title: The Will to Live: A Survivor's Story
Sponsor: Christine Knights
Department: History
5:20 Matthew Jacovina
Title: A Novel Experience: Consciously Journeying Through
Confusion
Sponsor: Peter Khost
Department: Writing and Rhetoric
5:40 Jason Ng
Title: New Nickel and Iron Thiolate Tetrahedral Complexes
as Synthetic Analogs for Metal Centers Found in Metalloproteins
Sponsor: Michelle Millar
Department: Chemistry
Tuesday May 2nd:
9:00 Alexandra Smolyanskaya
Title: The Mono-Mac-6 cell line may be useful in studies
of C1q-mediated phagocytosis of apoptotic cells.
Sponsor: Berhane Ghebrehiwet
Department: Medicine
9:20 Caroline Park
Title: The role of T331 in Mek1 function in Saccarocmyces
cerevisiae
Sponsor: Nancy Hollingsworth
Department: Biochemistry
10:40 Claire Blechman
Title: There's something very familiar about all this...":
Time Travel, 1895 and 1985
Sponsor: Pat Belanoff
Department: English
11:00 Michael Prodromou
Title: Subunit-specific Contribution of NMDA Receptor
Subunits to Channel Structure and Gating
Sponsor: Lonnie Wolmuth
Department: Nuerobiology and Behavior
11:20 Andrew Casey
Title: Identification of polyethoxylated polymers in
environmental water samples .
Sponsor: Bruce Brownawell
Department: Marine Sciences
11:40 Ginger Policke
Title: Out of Sight, Out of Mind: A Historical View
of New York City 's Homeless
Sponsor: Wilbur Miller
Department: History
1:40 Surani Jayaratna
Title: A Beginning Investigation into the Role of Smurf1
in Zebrafish
(Danio rerio) Development
Sponsor: Howard Sirotkin
Department: Nuerobiology
2:20 Tejus Bale
Title: On The Examination- The Mutual Inspiration of
Cell Biology and Dance
Sponsor: Alice Sullivan
Department: Theatre
Sponsor: Harvey Lyman
Department: Biochemistry
3:00 Heather Kugelmass
Title: Hurricane Katrina Triggers Racial Differences
in Endorsement of the Protestant Work Ethic
Sponsor: Sheri Levy
Department: Social/Health Psychology
3:20 Jennifer Logan
Title: Sexual Selection in U.S. and Caribbean Populations
of the Fruit Fly Drosophila melanogaster
Sponsor: John True
Department: Ecology and Evolution
3:40 Sze Man (Cecilia) Mak
Title: Stop Frequency Effect on Response Control
Sponsor: Hoi-Chung Leung and Weidong Cai
Department: Psychology
4:00 Jonathan Simowitz
Title: Computer Vision and Digital Image Processing
Sponsor: Murali Subbarao
Department: Electrical and Computer Engineering
4:20 Julian Quiterio
Title: Isis in the Ancient World:
The Propagation and Transformation of a Cult
Sponsor: Daniel Davis
Department: Geology
5:20 Hua Cai
Title: Visual Search through Naturalistic Scenes with
Varying Luminance
Sponsor: Gregory Zelinsky
Department: Psychology
5:40 Alexander Kratchman
Title: Crossing Philosophy and Literature: Faust and
Plato, Nietzsche, Barthes
Sponsor: Hugh J. Silverman
Department: Philosophy
Wednesday May 3rd:
9:00 Caroline Lamanna
Title: Development of a Bioprinter for the Micropatterning
of Macromolecules
Sponsors: Dr. Strey and Emilia Entcheva
Department: Biomedical Engineering
9:20 Sza Wah (Teresa) Mak
Title: Development of a Bioprinter for the Micropatterning
of Macromolecules
Sponsor: Dr. Strey and Emilia Entcheva
Department: Biomedical Engineering
9:40 Lee Tantral
Title: The Process of B.cereus Spore Attachment Induces
Upregulation of Cell Surface gC1qR/p33
Sponsor: Berhane Ghebrehiwet
Department: Medicine
10:00 Michelle Wenderlich
Title: What the hell is Early Music? An introduction
to Historical Performance Practice
Sponsor: Joseph Carver
Department: Music
11:20 Thomas Nasti
Title: Portable Emergency Flight Instrumentation Panel
Sponsor: Kenneth Short
Department: Electrical and Computer Engineering
11:40 Kimberly Harris
Title: Isolation and Characterization of Chibby-Binding
Partners
Sponsor: Dr. Ken-Ichi Takemaru
Department: Pharmacology
12:00 Eric Rus
Title: Synthesis and Characterization of Ruthenium(II)
Cyanide Complexes
Sponsor: Stephen Koch
Department: Chemistry
12:20 Faria Mustafa
Title: Financial Efficiency of Retail Firms: Application
of Generalized DuPont Model
Sponsor: Thomas Sexton
Department: Business
Sponsor: Eva Carceles-Poveda
Department: Economics
12:40 Megan Tucker
Title: The Analysis of Conflict Strategies Used by Male
and Female Entrepreneurs
Sponsor: Gerrit Wolf
Department: Business
1:00 Sarah Park
Title: A "Double Hit" Model of Systemic Inflamation:
The Combination of Smoking and Periodontal Disease in Relation to Cardiovascular
Disease Risk
Sponsor: Maria Ryan
Department: Oral Biology and Pathology
1:20 Tal Meir
Title: Strategic Management and Financial Performance:
The Balanced Scorecard
Sponsor: Thomas Sexton
Department: Business
1:40 Felix Grucci
Title: Does Reading a Textbook Help?
Sponsor: Bill Bernhard and Neil Portnoy
Department: Mathematics
4:00 Jonathan Reinstein
Title: An Analysis of the Mediating Potential of the
Undergraduate College Format on the Out-of-Class Engagement and Leadership
Development of First Year Students
Sponsor: Manuel London
Department: Business
5:20 Christopher Taormina
Title: Generalized Dupont Model
Sponsor: Thomas Sexton
Department: Business
5:40 Oneico Poole
Title: The Mind of John Milton: A Battlefield of Faith
and Reason .
Sponsor: Benedict Robinson
Department: English
Thursday May 4th:
9:00 Jessica Gleason
Title: Investigating Mechanisms to Control Survival
and Differentiation in Oligodendrocytes
Sponsor: Holly Colognato
Department: Pharmacology
9:20 Faryal Siddiqui
Title: Sources of Toxicity in the New York-New Jersey
Harbor Complex Abstract
Sponsor: Bruce Brownawell
Department: Marine Sciences
10:20 Sara Kalkhoran
Title: Interactions of Host Cells with Francisella tularensis,
a Potential Agent of Bioterrorism
Sponsor: Martha Furie
Department: Pathology
10:40 Agnieszka Lesicka
Title: Effect of Vitamin E on Growth in the S100-ß Mouse
Model of Down Syndrome
Sponsor: Patricia Whitaker- Azmitia
Department: Psychology
11:00 Adi Shemesh
Title: The Guanosine Triphosphatases Rho and Rac Mediate
Agrin-Induced Acetylcholine Receptor Clustering in Neuromuscular Junctions
Sponsor: Joav Prives
Department: Pharmacology
11:20 Jasnit Makkar
Title: Exercise reduces susceptibility to excitotoxin-induced
seizures, but increases excitotoxin-induced hippocampal damage
Sponsor: Brenda Anderson
Department: Psychology
11:40 Biin Sung
Title: The Effect of Tempol on Renal Autoregulation
in Rats
Sponsor: Ki H. Chon
Department: Biomedical Engineering
12:00 Sadia Hussain
Title: A Call for High School Global Poverty Education
in the United States
Sponsor: Timothy Moran
Department: Sociology
1:00 Douglas Barnum
Title: Measuring host preference and consistency of
preference through time in two Leptinotarsa species (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)
Sponsor: Douglas Futuyma
Department: Ecology and Evolution
1:20 Jocelin Abraham
Title: Characterization of slp1 repression by the Drosophila
homeodomain trancription factor Even- skipped
Sponsor: J. Peter Gergen
Department: Biochemistry and Cell Biology
2:00 Vivian Ngawan Siu
Title: Estrogen and Androgen Activities in Sediment
Extracts Using YES Assays
Sponsor: Bruce Brownawell
Department: Biology
2:20 Alex Turner
Title: News Storm Detection and Clique Visualization
using TextMap
Sponsor: Steven Skiena
Department: Computer Science