The five new Undergraduate Research Scholar Award winners for 2006-07 will present their proposed projects, and the six research scholars for 2005-06 will discuss the results of their work at the second annual Rider Celebration of Student Research and Creativity on Friday April 21st 3-6 p.m. in Sweigert Auditorium.

The Celebration will also include presentations on topics as diverse as Don Juan and the Pentagon, as well as music and film performances from departments across both Rider campuses. Students, faculty, staff and family members are welcome to attend the program.

The Committee on Undergraduate Research Scholarship Awards recently selected the 2006-07 URSA recipients. They and a summary of their projects follow.

Matthew Geigel, junior, biology major, “Identification and Characterization of Death Genes in Haloarchaea.” He will investigate the evolution of genes associated with programmed cell death using organisms from the domain of life called Archaea. Archaea represent an intermediate between two more familiar groups of organisms, simpler bacteria, and more complex, often multicellular organisms such as humans. The presence of these genes in this intermediate group provides a tantalizing opportunity to investigate the selective forces how they might have involved. Dr. Kelly Bidle, assistant professor of biology, is his advisor.

Kristin Harley, junior, psychology, “The Effectiveness of the PREP with Latino Couples and their Willingness to Forgive.” She will evaluate the effectiveness of the Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program with families in a Latino community in Trenton, testing the hypothesis that as a result of participation, high risk families will be better prepared to forgive when faced with circumstances under which condemnation would be the innate, cultural response. Her advisor is Dr. Anne Law, professor of psychology and department chair.

James Leone, junior, biology and English, “An Antisense Oligonucleotide Approach for Studying the Role of the Ret Tyrosine Kinase during Kidney Organogenesis in Axolotl Embryos.” He will investigate the genetic mechanisms underlying the development of kidney ducts in vertebrates using embryos of salamanders called axolotls. He will be testing the hypothesis that a protein called Ret is necessary to set up signaling pathways in the developing embryo for proper kidney development. His advisor is Dr. Julie Drawbridge, professor of biology and department chair.

Bethany Trainor, junior, music composition, history and theory, “Rachel Portman and Her Film Music.” She will investigate the career and work of Rachel Portman, one of the very few successful female film score composers today. By analyzing compositional style and techniques deployed by Ms. Portman in conjunction with film directors, Bethany expects to expand understanding of this unique film composer and the role of women in the film music industry overall. Dr. Sharon Mirchandani, associate professor of music composition, history and theory, is her advisor.

Elaine Lopes Vieites, junior, psychology and Spanish, “The Representation of Latin American Women Immigrants in Contemporary Spanish Cinema.” She will use Spanish films to investigate obstacles facing immigrant women in Spain. Increasing numbers of immigrants to Spain from Latin America and Morocco have led to the emergence of stereotyping film roles, especially for Cuban women. By focusing on the role of immigrant women in these films, this project will investigate a variety of cultural and economic reasons for this representation. Dr. Linda Materna, professor of Spanish and department chair.

The new Research Scholars and a summary of their research projects follow.

Mandy St. Pierre, music education, Westminster, “Barbershop (Quartets) from birth to today.”

Maria Fischer, philosophy/continuing studies, “Is the recent shift toward treating juvenile offenders as adults justified?”

Anastasia Glodmina and Daria Georgiyeva, both global and multinational studies major in political science, “Chechnya and Russia: Nationalism Revived.”

Kristy Kleinfelder, fine arts, “Studies of the Human Figure in Motion and at Rest," original oil paintings.

Chris Antanaitis, American studies, “The Heroine as History's Mirror: Hester Prynne's Significance in American Culture as seen in Films of The Scarlet Letter.”

Alison Golinski, marine science, "Sexual selection in the Oyster Toadfish, Opsanus tau."