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���ϲ����� Odyssey Program

Project Funding

February 2013

 

This summer, Odyssey grants will take ���ϲ����� students and faculty around the globe.  The Committee on Engaged Learning (CEL) awarded $191,184.45  in Odyssey grants to 42 projects proposed by faculty and students in the February 2013 cycle. The grand total for funding since the Odyssey Program’s inception in 2005 is $2,347,307.28.

 

Students will explore their musical talents, serve others in distant lands, conduct innovative research, and work on archeological digs.

 

The grant recipients include:

 

Asli Ahmed

Assimilation of Somali Refugees and Immigrants in North America

Category: GA

Sponsor: Dr. Anne Goldberg

 

Since the 1920s, Somalis have been one of the fastest growing refugee communities in America; their largest population settling in Minnesota. Being part Somali, Asli Ahmed will study the way these refugees have integrated into the larger North American community. Ahmed notes that Somalis are very conservative, culturally distinct and understudied as a population group in the United States. She believes that this will help her learn more about her culture, while studying and teaching others about a Somali communities response to settling in a society with opposing views.

 

Drew Allen

Summer of Legislative Experience

Category: PL

Sponsor: Dr. Carmen Hardin

 

This summer, Drew Allen will work as an intern in the Washington, D.C., office of Senator Mark Pryor. He will see the implementation of legislation impacting small business owner and community developers while getting the inside view of the political process. “I plan a career in law and politics with a focus as a community developer and leader to assist the development of small business,” Allen said, noting that the internship will enhance his ultimate professional goals.

 

Leslie Allred and Kathryn Thompson

Water for All

Category: SP

Sponsor: Dr. Anne Goldberg

 

Leslie Allred and Kathryn Thompson will combine their interests in anthropology and biology respectively to help people in Bolivia. They will evaluate the impact of Engineers in Action (EIA) , a program that works to get clean water to indigenous communities, offer health clinics and teach sanitation practices. At two communities, they will see if how EIA has influenced the health and well-being of the residents along with testing water for harmful microorganisms. “Our results will help EIA make adjustments to improve their work with the Bolivians,” they said.

 

Alan Baltz

Catholic Campus Ministries Belize Mission

Category: SW

Sponsor: Dr. Gabe Ferrer

 

As part of an annual mission trip organized by the UCA/���ϲ����� Catholic Campus Ministries and St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Alan Baltz will travel to Belize. The focus of this mission trip is to develop community through manual labor, catechesis, service to the poor and sharing of faith. The group will deliver school supplies, do construction projects and teach religion classes at Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic School in Bullet Tree Falls. “This project will encourage students to learn from the unique cultural and social richness of the people of Belize while working and praying alongside them,” Baltz said.

 

Maya Bastille

Arche Warder: Providing a Future for Endangered Domestic Animals

Category: SP

Sponsor: Dr. Joe Lombardi

 

Arche Warder in Germany is Europe’s largest animal park for rare and endangered domestic animals. Modern farms rely on a few specialized breeds for the production of food, causing many traditional heritage breeds to become extinct. “With the support of Greenpeace, Arche Warder works against this devastation, striving to preserve as much of the original domestic animal variety as possible in order to retain important living genetic reserves for generations to come,” said Maya Bastille. This summer she will work with the park’s veterinarian to care for and treat the animals. She will also collect and add data to the studbooks that detail each animal’s genetic history for breeding.

 

Marc Brick

An Investigation of Milk Snakes, A Coral Snake Mimic

Category: UR

Sponsor: Dr. George Harper

 

“Although the idea of mimicry has puzzled scientists for quite some time, research has come from all over the world,” Mark Brick says. Mimicry increases survival chances in the wild if predators are fooled into thinking an animal is dangerous. Harmless milk snakes mimic the deadly coral snake in appearance, and are the subject of Brick’s research project this summer. He will measure 600 specimens from universities in Texas, Louisiana, and Missouri to investigate milk snake mimicry. The specimens he will study will represent the entire geographic distribution of the milk snake.

 

Annalisa Crosmer

Piano Performance Experience at a Summer Music Festival

Category: PL

Sponsor: Dr. Nancy Fleming

 

Annalisa Crosmer is pursuing a degree in music with a focus on piano performance. To increase her professional skills as a pianist, she will attend a summer music festival with an intensive program of study and performance. Crosmer will receive private music lessons, participate in master classes, perform chamber music and attend concerts. “I will have many opportunities to perform both solo and chamber music in recitals and concerts as well as be a spectator at many performances,” said Crosmer, who is anticipating gaining experience playing in many different settings and becoming more comfortable performing.

 

Kyle Dineen

Enkosini Eco Adventure

Category: GA

Sponsor: Dr. Matt Moran

 

Enkosini Eco Experience is a program that allows volunteers to experience true wildlife conservation at sanctuaries through Namibia and South Africa. Building on a lifelong love of exotic animals, Kyle Dineen hopes to spend two weeks at the Bambelela Wildlife Sanctuary in South Africa. “They are unique as the only sanctuary in South Africa creating successful releases of vervet monkey troops back into the wild,” Dineen said.

 

Nathanael Drahn

Music for the Mind

Category: SW

Sponsor: Dr. Eva Windsor

 

Residents at “The Aegis at Callahan House” in Seattle all suffer from some degree of dementia and can no longer live alone. Nathanael Drahn will volunteer his musical talents and play for the residents. “Music’s expansive stimulation of the brain will allow me to communicate and connect with residents who are often isolated by their dementia,” said Drahn. He will have a chance to explore the impact of music therapy and how to most effectively use the piano, guitar and violin to connect with the residents. He plans to research songs of eras familiar to the residents to have the most resonance when performing.

 

Mallory Glick

Exploring Sustainable Agriculture Techniques at Battle Rock Farm in Cortez, Colorado

Category: GA

Sponsor: Dr. James Dow

 

Mallory Glick will live at Battle Rock Farm in Cortez, Colorado, this summer to learn about sustainable agriculture techniques. The farm uses ecological principles to create a mutually beneficial relationship with the environment. “Through this experience I hope to broaden my moral sensibilities to the environment, deepen my understanding of environmental ethics and become more self-reliant by growing all the food I need for myself,” Glick said. She will learn a variety of farming techniques, use food preservation methods, and participate in a Farmer’s Market.

 

Sara Hales

Digging for Humanity: Classical Archaeology at Sanisera

Category: PL

Sponsor: Dr. Brett Hill

 

This summer, Sara Hales will expand on her interest in the Classics by participating in the Sanisera Roman City and Necropolis Dig, a fieldwork experience run by the Cape of Cavalleria Ecomusuem on Menorca, Spain. She will participate in excavations and laboratory work with professional archaeologists and physical anthropologists. “I will gain not only valuable information about Roman culture, but also a better understanding of how archaeology contributes to the collective body of Classical knowledge, as well as how the field of Classical archaeology operates in itself.,” Hales said

 

Reade Huddleston

Professional Field Experience with Peticolas Brewing Company

Category: PL

Sponsor: Dr. Rick Murray

 

Reade Huddleston would like to pursue a career as a professional microbrewer and open his own brewery. To learn the business, he will be an intern with the award-winning Peticolas Brewing Company, a microbrewery established in 2010 in Dallas, Texas. “Not only will it teach me some of the basics of how a modern day brewery operates, but it will also give me a chance to learn about the craft bar scene in my hometown,” Huddleston said. He will mill grain, clean kegs, give tours, delve in to the managerial decision-making process, and learn the legal issues involved with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.

 

Alyssa Jaksich and Dagen Hughes

Participation in the NOAA Southeast Nexus (SENEX) field campaign: Studying atmospheric chemistry at the nexus of air quality and climate change

Category: UR

Sponsor: Dr. Courtney Hatch

 

During this summer, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will conduct a $15 million field study named SENEX aimed at studying air quality in the southeast United States. Alyssa Jaksich and Dagen Hughes will have the rare opportunity of participating in the survey alongside 30-40 of the top atmospheric researchers in the country. “Institutionally, an opportunity such as this will not only offer a unique, scientific inquiry-based Odyssey experience to ���ϲ����� students, but it will also support science visibility at ���ϲ����� college,” they said.

 

Martha Kellems and Meredith Morrison

Understanding Health Care and Human Rights in the Developing World

Category: GA

Sponsor: Prof. Irmina Fabricio

 

Through the organization Experiential Learning Abroad Experiences (ELAP), Martha Kellems and Meredith Morrison will fine tune their educational passions while volunteering in Cusco, Peru. Kellems will shadow doctors at a medical clinic, while Morrison will work with a non-profit agency that defends and promotes human rights in Peru. “This program allows us to work separately in our areas of interest, but come together at the end of the day to a shared host family,” they said.

 

Gretchen McCarthy

Serving the Children of Senegal

Category: SW

Sponsor: Dr. Cathy Jellenik

 

Gretchen McCarthy would like to be an elementary French teacher, and she will experience working with young children in the francophone country of Senegal. Projects Abroad will either place her with a program working with street children or volunteering in a kindergarten for a month. “Through Projects Abroad I will serve children in need, further my knowledge of different cultures, enhance my ability to speech the French language, and become more independent,” McCarthy said. She will also do a home-stay with a native Sengalese family to gain more language and cultural exposure.

 

Meghan McFadden

The Effects of Anthropogenic Noise on Avian Communication

Category: UR

Sponsor: Dr. Maureen McClung

 

Meghan McFadden will conduct research on the impact of gas extraction noise on birds that breed in central Arkansas. If an area has chronic noise, it can render songs inaudible to other birds and reduce the ability to pair for breeding. McFadden will record and compare the recordings of male Ovenbirds at noisy compressor sites to those from quieter compressor pad areas. “This information will provide insight essential for making decisions in favor of the conservation of species affected by chronic noise,” McFadden said.

 

Emily Mente

Summer Stewardship at The Lama Foundation: A Creative Exploration of Service and Spirituality

Category: SP

Sponsor: Prof. Melissa Gill

 

The Lama Foundation is a spiritual retreat center on a mountain outside of San Cristobal, New Mexico, where the focus is on the awakening of consciousness, spiritual practices with respect for all traditions, service and stewardship of the land. Emily Mente will spend 6 weeks there as a steward this summer, serving the community while documenting her experience through many mediums in an artist’s book. “The Lama Foundations screen prints their own prayer flags, and as an art major with an emphasis in printmaking, I would be able to help in their production while gaining new information on techniques that are available for contemporary artists,” Mente said.

 

Duncan Moseley

An ATR-FTIR study of phytoplankton/mineral surface interactions

Category: UR

Sponsor: Dr. Courtney Hatch

 

Phytoplankton serves as the primary food source for marine life and is linked to the Earth’s climate through photosynthesis and removal of carbon dioxide. Phytoplankton must have the micronutrient iron to survive. “Mineral dust deposition to the ocean is an important food source for the phytoplankton,” Duncan Moseley said. He will use Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy to study the interactions between phytoplankton and iron-containing mineral surfaces on a molecular level.

 

William Nichol

Headfirst Baseball Honor Roll Camp: The Start of a Career

Category: PL

Sponsor: Neil Groat

 

On his journey to his dream career of being a General Manager for a Major League Baseball team, William Nichol will participate in the Headfirst Honor Roll college recruiting camps in Long Island, New York. “These camps are designed to showcase the most academically gifted high school student athletes in the country and bring in coaches and recruiters from only the most prestigious academic colleges and universities,” Nichol said. He will be a member of the Logistics Team that arranges transportation for the coaches, the players and their families, giving him insight into the business side of the sport.

 

Michael Ottenlips

From Amateur to Professional: Evolution of the ���ϲ����� Bike Revolution

Category: SP

Sponsor: Britt Murphy

 

The ���ϲ����� Bike Revolution is a campus club that services student bikes and maintains the fleet owned by ���ϲ�����. Michael Ottenlips has been a self-taught mechanic for the group. He will complete three certification programs at the United Bicycle Institute’s campus in Ashland, Oregon. One is Professional Repair and Shop Operation, and the other two focus on wheel building and suspension tuning. “My participation in these programs would lead to a more efficient ���ϲ����� bike shop that would rarely have to send students to outside sources to get their bicycles repaired,” Ottenlips said.

 

Collin Radack

Athletes in Action in Alaska

Category: SP

Sponsor: Neil Groat

 

Collin Radack will spend baseball season in Chugiak-Eagle River, Alaska, playing in the Alaska Summer Collegiate Baseball League for Athletes in Action, which is one of the largest sports ministries in the world. “Much of our time will be spent with team chaplains and doing service work when not on the baseball field,” Radack said. In addition to polishing his baseball skills, he will also get practice with public speaking as he shares his faith with others.

 

McKenna Raney

Archaeological Fieldwork in the Necropolis and Sanisera

Category: PL

Sponsor: Dr. Brett Hill

 

McKenna Raney will spend three weeks on the Spanish island of Menorca working at the archaeological dig of a Roman Necropolis and city of Sanisera. “I will work closely with professional archeologists and be able to participate in all parts of the archaeological process from excavation to lab work,” Raney said. She has a background in anthropology and is most interested in learning about Roman funerary inhumations and excavating human remains.

 

Amelia Robert

Health and Journalism: Summer Research for a Health Journalist

Category: PL

Sponsor: Dr. Victoria Evans

 

Amelia Robert will intern as a research assistant for Molly Kimball, a registered dietician in New Orleans who focuses on teaching the incorporation of healthy eating habits into everyday life. She communicates through journalistic enterprises ranging from television to newspapers, and Robert will help with pulling together facts for the stories. “My goal this summer is to learn how to distribute vital health information to entire communities in such a way that they can understand and apply it,” Robert said.

 

Leala Rosen

Public Health Education in Pokhara, Nepal

Category: SW

Sponsor: Dr. Sarah Lee

 

As a volunteer with World Endeavors, Leala Rosen will teach health education in Nepal. Many Nepalese lack appropriate access to medical care, and more than a third of adults in the country are illiterate. She will stay with a host family and learn more about their daily lives firsthand. “I will be better able to experience living in Nepal as well as more effectively educate the public about health, including nutrition, hygiene, and water sanitation, using methods and values that are culturally relevant to the Nepalese community,” Rosen said.

 

William Sebastian

A Japanese Journey: Retracing Basho's Narrow Road

Category: GA

Sponsor: Dr. Anne Goldberg

 

Seventeenth century Japanese poet Masuo Basho decided to renounce material possessions and take a lengthy pilgrimage across Japan with one of his students. He recorded his journey in prose and haiku, which became his magnum opus Oku no Hosomichi (The Narrow Road to the Interior). William Sebastian will retrace Basho’s path on a walking tour and undertake his own journey of self-discovery. “On this tour I will see many of the significant landmarks he wrote about on his journey, and I will keep my own journal and attempt to accompany it with my own poetry as well,” Sebastian said.

 

Maitri Shah

Internship in the Child Diagnostic Unit at UAMS

Category: PL

Sponsor: Dr. Leslie Zorwick

 

On the path to becoming a psychiatrist, Maitri Shah will be working with the Psychiatric Research Institute in the Child Diagnostic Unit of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. The experience will combine psychiatry, psychology, social work, nursing, occupational therapy, speech and language, and education. “Not only will I be able to explore my interests of psychology and medicine, but I will also be able to learn about other disciplines that I have not yet had the opportunity to have firsthand experience with,” Shah said.

 

Matthew Simmons

AIA-New York

Category: SP

Sponsor: Neil Groat

 

Matthew Simmons will travel to New York to play baseball with the Athletes in Action ministry. He will play a 40-game season and be involved in Bible study and community service projects with his teammates. “The opportunity to play baseball, grow in my faith, and help meet spiritual, physical, and social needs of others is an opportunity that I am very blessed to have received,” Simmons said. He is particularly looking forward to working with a program that encourages physically and mentally challenged youth to play baseball, using the sport as a medium to overcome difficulties.

 

Kate Skorija and Annie Slattery

The American Expatriate Experience: Bangkok

Category: GA

Sponsor: Dr. Anne Goldberg

 

Bangkok is one of the top emerging destinations for American expatriates. Kate Skorija and Annie Slattery will investigate this community of Americans living abroad to better understand what it means to be a citizen of the United States and learn about the evolving ways of thinking about home, belonging, identity, and social exclusion. “To explore the varying perspectives, intentions, experiences, and purposes of American expats making a home for themselves in Bangkok, we will conduct interviews and comprise the material into a short film,” they said.

 

Hannah Smashey

Ecology in Opera: Green Ethics in The Ring Cycle

Category: SP

Sponsor: Dr. John Krebs

 

Environmental ethics can appear in unusual places…such as opera. Hannah Smashey will investigate these themes in Wagner’s “Ring Cycle” as performed by the Seattle Opera Company. “This project will have a prominent research element where I will study the theme of ecology on four fronts: the characters, music libretto and production,” Smashey said. She will also read Wagner’s writings and the works of German philosophers of his time to see how their influence on an ecological level was interpreted in his composition.

 

Emily Smith and Stacey Svendsen

Environmental Education and Organic Agriculture: Picalqui

Category: SW

Sponsor: Prof. Maxine Payne

 

Through Brethren y Unida in Ecuador, Emily Smith and Stacey Svendsen will learn environmental conservation through an eco-development project and Hacienda Picalqui, an agro-ecological farm north of Quito. “The program at Hacienda Picalqui would teach us sustainable development and local organic practices, including agro-forestry, animal management, and the conservation of native forests,” they said. They will aid local communities about safe and sustainable farming practices.

 

Paige Spivey

Are Arkansas Queen Snakes a Distinct Species? A Comparative Study

Category: UR

Sponsor: Dr. George Harper

 

“I believe that research is a key component to a comprehensive scientific education,” said Paige Spivey, who will examine the nuclear genome of the Arkansas Ozark population of the queen snake. The goal is to clarify the genetic differences between two geographically separated populations, those in Arkansas and others located east of the Mississippi River.

 

Anne Vogt

Neonatology and Medical Ethics in New York City

Category: PL

Sponsor: Dr. Jane Harris

 

Anne Vogt will work in the Neonatology department at New York Presbyterian Hospital, where newborns are cared for. She will work with a neonatologist and a sociologist as she explores the field of medical ethics. “I strongly believe that religious faith plays a monumental role in medical ethics and decision-making on part of both physicians and their patients,” Vogt said, who is planning a career associated with medicine.

 

Dr. Chris Camfield and Dr. Gabe Ferrer

Collaborative Research Experiences in Mathematics and Computer Science

Category: UR

 

Mathematics faculty at ���ϲ�����, Rhodes, Sewanee and Birmingham-Southern are collaborating to create a multi-campus summer research program in mathematics and computer sciences. Projects and students will be shared with each other to provide new research opportunities for the students and create collaborative relationships for faculty at the partnering institutions.

 

Dr. Jennifer Dearolf

Effects of prenatal steroids on the fatigue properties of breathing muscles

Category: UR

 

Kristen O’Connell and Anvesh Kompelli will work with Dr. Jennifer Dearolf to assess the impact of prenatal steroids on breathing muscles. They are testing the hypothesis that multi-course exposures to prenatal steroids lead to changes in the oxidative capacities of two ventilatory muscles of the guinea pig.

 

Dr. Liz Gron

Ridin' Dirty with Science 2013

Category: SP/SW

 

Ridin’ Dirty with Science is a one week summer science camp to excite and educate children from the Boys and Girls Club of Faulkner County. ���ϲ����� students will lead the sessions, focusing on fun and interactive chemistry, biology, and physics experiments.

 

Dr. Daniel Henderson

Feedforward regulation of the exercise ventilatory response under conditions of normocapnia and hypocapnia

Category: UR

 

Becca Morgan, Bailey Ott and Van Phung will work with Dr. Daniel Henderson to research the effect of exercise on the level of carbon dioxide in the arteries. Subjects will perform mild exercise while non-invasive measurements are taken.

 

Dr. Brett Hill

Paleolithic Art and the Emergence of Humanity in Southern Europe

Category: GA

 

Dr. Brett Hill will lead a three-week trip to France, Italy and Spain, focusing on Paleolithic archeology and art. They will visit sites, museums, and active digs to explore the anthropological understanding of ancient monuments illuminates the process of cultural evolution and becoming a modern human.

 

Dr. Wenjia Liu

China Film Odyssey

Category: GA

 

Dr.  Wenjia Liu will take eight students on an exploration of the film industry in China, including studios and location settings. The group will also participate in the Shanghai International Film Festival and see important historic and cultural sites in the country.

 

Dr. Andrew Schurko

The Splice of Life: Examining Alternative Splicing of Fractured Genes in the Wasp

Category: UR

 

Lizzzie Goodwin-Horn, Sydney Haldeman and Nicholas Gill will conduct research with Dr. Andrew Schurko to explore the genes of the jewel wasp. It has two fractured genes that mix and match through alternative splicing, and the group will examine the significance of these genes to see if they are functional.

 

Dr. Todd Tinsley

Astrophysics Research Experience for International Students

Category: UR

 

Two international students will conduct independent research projects on theoretical physics this summer with Dr. Todd Tinsley. Both projects focus on stellar neutrinos, elementary particles produced at the cores of stars.

 

Dr. Ann Willyard

Developing molecular markers for the ponderosa pine puzzle

Category: UR

 

Dr. Ann Willyard and three students will conduct research on the ponderosa pine. Their projects will contribute to the understanding of how plant species evolve in response to changing climates.

 

Dr. Ann Wright

CASSY Robot

Category: UR

 

Aaron Rice and Anna Pittman will work with Dr. Ann Wright to create two identical robots. The robots will be designed to work independently and collaboratively in a border patrol scenario, sensing a border, each other and any obstacles in the area.

 

Additional funding

 

The Committee on Engaged Learning gratefully acknowledges the support of the Miller Center for Vocation, Ethics and Calling and Project Pericles for underwriting the following projects for this summer.

 

Miller Center:

Melissa Joens

Teaching English Literacy in Panama

Category: SW

Sponsor: Dr. Joyce Hardin

 

Melissa Joens will spend the summer teaching English as a second language to children and adults in the small mountain town of Boquete, Panama, through Global Volunteer Network.

 

Miller Center:

Elizabeth Krug

Engaging in Guatemalan Healthcare

Category: SW

Sponsor: J.J. Whitney

 

In Guatemala City, Guatemala, Elizabeth Krug will work with Cross Cultural Solutions to volunteer in the area’s healthcare facilities, helping care for children and the elderly and working alongside medical professionals.

 

Project Pericles:

Blake Tierney

ActiveMinds: Advocacy, Awareness, and Activity for Mental Health

Category: PL

Sponsor: Dr. Leslie Templeton

 

Blake Tierney will learn more about mental health advocacy and lobbying at the Mental Health America Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, this summer through activities, programs and training.