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Grad students demonstrate success in research endeavors

May 7, 2008

KALAMAZOO--Some 200 faculty, staff and students attended Western Michigan University's second annual Research and Creative Activities Day held on campus April 11.

The event featured posters and displays by faculty and senior graduate students from across the University. Lectures by two WMU Emerging Faculty scholars capped off the day, which was sponsored by the Faculty Senate's Research Policies Council, the Office of the Vice President for Research, and the Graduate Student Advisory Committee.

During the gathering, 13 $200 awards were granted to 14 WMU graduate students for their scholarly endeavors.

Michele Ann Anderson of Kalamazoo and Barbara E. Howes of Three Rivers, Mich., received an award for their research on "Evaluation of a Family Drug Treatment Court--Cass County." Anderson and Howes both are working toward doctoral degrees in interdisciplinary health studies. Their faculty mentor for the project was Dr. Kieran Fogarty, WMU associate professor of community health services.

Richard H. Becker of Mattawan, Mich., is working toward a Ph.D. in geology and received an award for his research on "Land Subsidence in the Nile Delta: Inference from Radar Interferometry." Becker's faculty mentor for the project was Dr. Mohamed Sultan, chair of WMU's Department of Geosciences.

Xiaofan Cai of Alexandria, Va., is working toward a Ph.D. in educational leadership, research and technology, and received an award for her work on "Missing Data Treatment of a Level-2 Variable in a 3-Level Hierarchical Linear Model." Cai's WMU faculty mentors for the project were Dr. E. Brooks Applegate, professor of educational studies, and Dr. Paula D. Kohler, professor of special education and literacy studies.

Maria del Pilar Lopez-Castilla of Kalamazoo is working toward a Ph.D. in Spanish literature and received an award for her research on "Bringing the Writings of Early American Explorers to Life: The Case of Alvar Nunez Caebeza de Vaca in South America." Lopez-Castilla's faculty mentor for the project was Dr. Pablo Pastrana-Perez, WMU assistant professor of Spanish.

Anirban Dutta of Ann Arbor, Mich., is working toward a Ph.D. in mathematics and received an award for his research on "Implementing a Stable Pricing and Trading Method for Stock Index Options." Dutta's faculty mentor for the project was Dr. Quiji (Jim) Zhu, WMU professor of mathematics.

Veronica Garcia-Bayo of Kalamazoo is working toward a Ph.D. in biological sciences and received an award for her research on "Localization and Effect of YopE in Saccharomyces Cerevisiae." Garcia-Bayo's faculty mentor for the project was Dr. John Geiser, WMU associate professor of biological sciences.

Jonathan C. Lighthall of Willowbrook, Ill., is working toward a Ph.D. in experimental nuclear physics and received an award for his research on "HELIOS, a Novel Detector for Nuclear Reactions." Lighthall's faculty mentor for the project was Dr. Alan H. Wuosmaa, WMU professor of physics.

Sandra R. Madden of Scotts, Mich., is working toward a Ph.D. in mathematics education and received an award for her research on "High School Mathematics Teachers' Evolving Knowledge of 'Comparing Distributions.'" Madden's faculty mentor for the project was Dr. Christian R. Hirsch, WMU professor of mathematics.

Sandhya Nair of Kalamazoo is working toward a Ph.D. in biochemistry and received an award for her research on "Model of Insulin Resistance in Primary Rat Hepatocytes." Nair's faculty mentor for the project was Dr. Susan Stapleton, associate professor of chemistry and associate dean of the WMU College of Arts and Sciences.

John J. Panos of Kalamazoo is working toward a Ph.D. in behavioral pharmacology and received an award for his research on "The Modulatory Effects of Neonatal Cytokine Exposure on Central Nervous System Development." Panos' faculty mentor for the project was Dr. Lisa Baker, WMU professor of psychology.

Richard W. Seim of Kalamazoo is working toward a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and received an award for his research on "The Efficacy of Dosed Exposure Therapy for Animal Phobias." Seim's faculty mentor for the project was Dr. C. Richard Spates, WMU professor of psychology.

Elizabeth S. Semkiw of Kalamazoo is working toward a Ph.D. in chemistry and received an award for her research on "Dairy Whey as a PRB Carbon Substrate for Enhanced TCE Reductive Dechlorination." Semkiw's faculty mentor for the project was Dr. Michael J. Barcelona, WMU professor of chemistry.

Yang Yang of Kalamazoo is working toward a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and received an award for his research on "Atomistic-based Continuum Simulations of the Structural Dynamics of Carbon Nano Tubes." Yang's faculty mentor for the project was Dr. William W. Liou, WMU professor of mechanical and aeronautical engineering.

Media contact: Tonya Hernandez, (269) 387-8400, tonya.hernandez@wmich.edu

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