Spring 2014 Cottrell College Science Awards
In the last 15 years the CCSA program has supported the research of approximately 1,350 faculty in more than 400 primarily undergraduate institutions, and has generated research opportunities for thousands of undergraduates at both public and private institutions. These awards are meant to provide seed money to jump-start productive research careers.
The most recent awardees are:
Single-Investigator Cottrell College Science Awards
Adriana L. Banu, physics, James Madison University
Determination of Key Astrophysical Photonuclear Reaction Cross Section Towards Understanding the Origin of p-Nuclei
Fabiola Barrios-Landeros, chemistry, Yeshiva University
Copper- and Palladium-Promoted Aromatic Acyloxylation
Martha-Elizabeth Baylor, physics, Carleton College
Optimization of Index Contrast in Diffusive Photopolymers Able to Create Waveguides and Fluid Channels in Optofluidic Devices
Brycelyn M. Boardman, James Madison University
Synthesis of Functional Phosphine Chalcogenides for Polymerizable Cobalt Chalcogenide Clusters
Robert James Clark, physics, The Citadel
Ideal Multipole Ion Traps
Rebecca E. Connor, chemistry, Dickinson College
Investigation of the effects of parthenolide on the heat shock response system
Eric M. Cooper, biology, Hartwick College
Genetic and Biochemical Analysis of Enzyme Clustering in Yeast and its Application to Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome
Bart J. Dahl, chemistry, University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire
Smart Terphenyls: Synthesis and Study of Planar Conjugated Compounds Capable of Dual-Input Geometry Switching
Amy B. Dounay, chemistry, Colorado College
Design, Synthesis, and Evaluation of New Drugs for Human African Trypanosomiasis
Aimee L. Eggler, chemistry, Villanova University
Activation of the Nrf2 Pathway by Oxidizable Diphenol Compounds: Elucidating the Contributions of the Electrophilic Form and Reactive Oxygen Species
Marcello Forconi, chemistry, College of Charleston
Nucleophilic Aromatic Substitution in Proteins: An Old Reaction for New Functionalization Strategies
Jennifer L. Fox, chemistry, College of Charleston
Defining the Role of Accessory Protein Subunits in the Assembly Mechanism of Mitochondrial Complex I
Eilat Glikman, astronomy, Middlebury College
Quasar/Galaxy Co-Evolution Caught in the Act: Understanding the Physics of Feedback
Lelia N. Hawkins, chemistry, Harvey Mudd College
An Investigation of the Role of Fog in Forming and Transforming Brown Carbon in Urban Organic Aerosol
Lloyd Horne, chemistry, Murray State University
Synthesis and Electrochemistry of Pyridine- and Phosphine-Stabilized Iridium Oxide Nanoparticles in Solutions and Films
Christos Lampropoulos, chemistry, University of North Florida
Target Synthesis of Hybrid Nanomaterials from Single-Molecule Magnets
Elizabeth C. Landis, chemistry, College of the Holy Cross
Molecular Monolayers on Nanoporous Gold Electrodes
Cody C. Leary, physics, College of Wooster
Generation and Manipulation of Entangled Two-photon States with Tailored Transverse Spatial Modes via Hong-Ou-Mandel Interference
Aaron M. Leconte, chemistry, Claremont McKenna College
Biochemical Characterization and Engineering of Taq DNA Polymerase Mutants for the Synthesis of 2' Modified DNA
Karen T. Lewis, astronomy, College of Wooster
Probing the Accretion Flow in Active Galaxies with Double-Peaked Emission Lines
Sarah Luesse, chemistry, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville
Development of a Stereoselective Tandem Diels-Alder Ugi-Smiles Process for the Efficient Assembly of Isoindoline Derivatives
Robert Mosey, chemistry, Lake Superior State University
Multicyclic Heterocycle Syntheses via Tandem Amidation/Annulation Reactions of N-Containing Heterocycles and Carboxylic Acids
Emily Mundorff, chemistry, Hofstra University
Identification and Characterization of Putative Haloalkane Dehalogenase Enzymes
Amanda R. Murphy, chemistry, Western Washington University
Silk-based Biomaterials for Neural Stimulation and Repair
William G. Newton, physics, Texas A&M University, Commerce
The Impact of Short-range Correlations in Nuclear Matter on the Equation of State, Composition and Dynamics of Neutron Stars
Steven Olmschenk, physics, Denison University
Laser Cooling and Trapping of Atomic Ions with Telecom Light
Sara Olson, organic chemistry, Pomona College
Investigation of Ascaroside Biosynthesis in the Nematode C. elegans
Marcos E. Ortega, biology, Macalester College
Structural and Biochemical Studies of DNA Packaging in Double-Stranded DNA Viruses
Celeste N. Peterson, biology, Suffolk University
Regulation of ClpXP Degradation during Starvation
Christine M. Phillips-Piro, chemistry, Franklin and Marshall College
Sensing of Halogenated Pollutants by Dehalococcoides mccartyi
David Pooley, astronomy, Sam Houston State University
Multi-wavelength Research of Core-collapse Supernovae
Daniel F. Santavicca, physics, University of North Florida
Characterization of Inductive Superconducting Nanowires as a Building Block for Quantum Circuits
Tina T. Saxowsky, chemistry, Pacific Lutheran University
Retromutagenesis: A Novel Route to Adaptive Mutagenesis
Jason P. Schwans, chemistry, California State University, Long Beach
Unnatural Amino Acid Mutagenesis to Investigate Enzymatic General Base Catalysis
Mary J. Sever, chemistry, Barnard College
Iron and Copper Induced Alterations in MicroRNA Expression as a New Role for Metals in Neurodegenerative Disorders
Benjamin M. Swarts, chemistry, Central Michigan University
A Chemical Approach to Identifying and Profiling Proteins in the Mycobacterial Outer Membrane
Jessica Lynn Vey, chemistry, California State University, Northridge
Enabling Rational Design of Biodesulfurization: Biochemical and Structural Characterization of Dibenzothiophene Monooxygenase
Weining Wang, physics, Seton Hall University
Work Function Dependence of Barrier Height at CdTe/conducting Polymer Junction with Tunable Polymer Work Function
Lauren Waters, chemistry, University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh
Characterization of Two New Manganese Homeostasis Proteins in Escherichia Coli
Kurtis A. Williams, astronomy, Texas A&M University, Commerce
Trigonometric Parallax Determination of the Masses of the Mysterious Carbon-atmosphere of White Dwarfs
Nathan T. Wright, chemistry, James Madison University
Structure/Function Analysis of the Giant Muscle Protein Obscurin
Multi-Investigator Cottrell College Science Awards
Geoffrey Lovelace, astronomy, California State University, Fullerton
Jocelyn Read, physics, California State University, Fullerton
Developing a Numerical Injection Analysis Pipeline for Gravitational Waves from Merging Black Holes and Neutron Stars
Andrew K. Udit, chemistry, Occidental College
Michael G. Hill, chemistry, Occidental College
Wired P450 Electrodes for Bioelectrocatalysis
Kristin L. Wustholz, chemistry, College of William and Mary
William R. McNamara, chemistry, College of William and Mary
Developing Robust Systems for the Photogeneration of Hydrogen: A Combined Synthetic and Single-Molecule Spectroscopic Approach
