Government
Professor Nicholas Buccola
My Brother’s Keeper is the proposed third volume in a trilogy in which I am considering the civil rights and conservative movements together. In the first volume, The Fire Is Upon Us, I considered the clashing ideas of James Baldwin and William F. Buckley Jr. – the leading writers associated with the respective movements. In the second volume, One Man’s Freedom, I considered the clashing ideas and actions of Martin Luther King Jr. and Barry Goldwater – the most prominent leaders of the respective movements. In My Brother’s Keeper, I focus leading grassroots activists associated with each movement and consider what motivated these activists and how their stories can help us make sense of our own lives as citizens. My hope is that the trilogy, taken together, will contribute to our understanding of American political history, the American present, and the possibilities for the future.
Professor Andrew Sinclair
Professor Sinclair is offering a project focused on interpreting election and survey data from US elections in 2021, 2022, and 2024. This will be a great project for anyone interested in American politics! The goal for the summer would be to develop the early stages of research paper and to write a memo outlining preliminary results. Successful projects may transition to coauthoring a paper.
Professor Calvin TerBeek
Narrowly focused on Democratic presidential and party politics, the standard story many scholars tell is this: since Reagan’s election in 1980, liberalism has been listless. Ruthlessly efficient Republicans and conservatives have predominated while liberals let politics “happen to them.” Building on my first manuscript (under contract at Princeton University Press), Progressively Polarized: The Liberal Establishment and the Democratic Party, From 1980 to Today aims to reorient this understanding of liberalism and Democratic politics. Progressively Polarized will show how the institutions of the “Liberal Establishment” have been overlooked and their successes have been both salutary and contributory to polarization.
This success is precisely why the current administration is intent on de- and reconstructing the Liberal Establishment. How easy it is to forget that disability rights were federally protected and then extended via administrative agencies and court rulings; that affirmative action remained widespread in employment (especially Fortune 500 firms), universities, non-profits, and more; or that gay rights were constitutionally recognized in the 1990s by state courts and a Republican supermajority Supreme Court in 1996. And this is to say nothing of same-sex marriage (2015) and workplace rights for trans persons (2020), all alongside the expansion of the EPA’s environmental mandate and making “acid rain” an anachronism. The list could be considerably lengthened.
With these justly celebrated successes, however, came a polarizing push from Establishment liberals and progressives. Many of these successes arose from minoritarian institutions—e.g., federal bureaucracy, the federal courts, higher education, the professions, and even elite corporations—or were implemented by them in ways majoritarian institutions (e.g., federal and state legislatures) did not anticipate. Leveraging this in-living-memory history with untapped archival materials, Progressively Polarized intends to show liberals, Democrats, and the center-right how to get out of the current polarization doom loop by reinvigorating our civil society.
History
Professor Dan Livesay
I invite applications from students who are interested in working on the history of enslaved resistance and revolution. This is part of a larger research project about the role of enslaved women in Caribbean revolutions, but students may choose to investigate other instances of enslaved uprisings, resistance, and revolutions across the Americas. Students will be trained in accessing digital archives, reading printed text and handwriting from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and developing bibliographies on the history of slavery. Ideally, students should have completed at least two humanities courses. As a group, we will meet on a weekly basis, and students will be expected to produce weekly writings on their research, along with a final report at the end of the summer. Students are highly encouraged to talk with me before applying to the project.
KDIS
Professor Najva Akbari
Olfactory learning in developing brains
Parent–infant bonding during early life profoundly shapes behavior and well-being across the lifespan, however, our knowledge of how bonding is encoded in the neonate brain is currently very limited. Our research combines optics and neuroscience, using ultrafast lasers to study how coordinated activity across brain regions leads to social behavior in developing vertebrates.
We leverage the rich social behaviors of poison frogs (not poisonous in the lab!) and the optical transparency of Xenopus tadpoles to address these questions. Using mimic poison frogs (Ranitomeya imitator), we study how developing tadpoles learn to recognize caregivers through smell and signal hunger through a distinctive wiggling behavior (much like babies crying for food). These frogs form monogamous pairs and cooperatively raise their young, providing a powerful model for uncovering general principles of neural circuits underlying social behavior. We also use transparent Xenopus tadpoles to image neuronal activity in real time and test how different social environments shape neural circuits and behavior.
Lab projects span a wide range of approaches. Students can join ongoing projects or develop their own within the lab’s scientific interests, including behavioral experiments (arena design, machine learning–based behavior analysis, and statistics) to understand how tadpoles form odor associations and perform in vivo imaging in response to social odors (two-photon microscopy, image processing, and analysis of time-trace responses).
Professor Rui Cheng
Environmental Sensing and Modeling
The ecosystem we live in and climate are tightly coupled through biogeochemical cycles, such as carbon, water, and energy fluxes between land and atmosphere. To better project climate change, monitoring these fluxes and understanding their changes across space and time are critical. This summer, we are going to benchmark satellite observations of land-atmosphere fluxes from the ground by deploying advanced spectrometers at the Bernard Field Station, collecting satellite images, analyzing atmospheric compositions, and detecting changes on the Earth surface. We look for applicants who are interested in field work, instrumentation, electronics, and computation.
Professor Zeynep Enkavi
In my lab we are interested in how people form value representations that guide their decisions and how these representations interact with other cognitive processes especially when people make bad decisions. To gain insight into these questions we use human functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data, which are whole brain recordings from alive humans while they make decisions in an MR scanner. We use these brain data to understand behavioral patterns using computational modeling and machine learning methods.
We will be working on multiple projects over the summer. Topics will range from generalization of value representations to novel stimuli, comparison of computational models of attention and an examination of the interactions between workflows and cognitive tasks on the statistical parameter maps from fMRI data.
Students interested in working in the lab should be comfortable writing code in at least one language (preferably Python), detail-oriented, and a good team player. At least one semester of statistics, psychology and/or economics preferred.
Professor Pranav Khandelwal
The Organismal Biomechanics and Bio-Inspired Engineering Lab at KDIS investigates the physics of how animals move in their natural environments. Our research combines field-collected video data with computational and robo-physical models to understand how morphology, behavior, and environmental context shape animal movement.
This summer, the lab is seeking students to work primarily on extracting 3D kinematic data from high-speed video footage of a variety of species, including flying lizards, flying squirrels, marine iguanas, and cicadas. Students will work with multi-view video data, perform motion tracking and 3D reconstruction, and help generate quantitative datasets that will be used to test hypotheses related to animal movement biomechanics.
This opportunity is well suited for students interested in biomechanics, physics, biology, engineering, computer vision, or data analysis, and provides hands-on experience working with real-world biological video datasets.
Professor Emily Kolenbrander Ho
Measuring cell signaling in vivo
In the developing embryo, cells must communicate with each other to coordinate decisions about cell fate. When these communications go wrong, developmental disorders and cancers occur. The Kolenbrander Ho lab studies how cells send, receive, and measure these signals, using the Drosophila melanogaster fruit fly embryo as a model system. We are particularly interested in how cells make quantitative measurements of signaling inputs and use this information to make decisions about gene expression. Summer projects will focus on our efforts to build and test new fluorescent biosensors for measuring natural and disease-state signaling in living embryos.
Professor Shaun Lee
My research group is interested in how bacteria interact with each other and with their host to determine both beneficial and pathogenic outcomes. One major research focus in our lab is to study virulence factors that govern the severity of disease in human bacterial pathogens. Our current project specifically focuses on two major determinants of bacterial virulence, a gene that controls DNA methylation in bacteria, and a secreted protease that influences how bacteria interact in their environment. We use genetic, molecular, and biochemical approaches, along with tissue culture, microbiology, and other techniques in our research. Students who have taken SCI10 or have experience with basic laboratory and microbiology techniques are qualified to apply for the research program.
Professor Avaneesh Narla
My research group looks at collective behavior in groups of living systems, ranging from bacteria to social insects, and how they come together to achieve a desired function. This summer, I can host 1-2 students on the following projects:
- Analysis of available video data on collective movement of social caterpillars
- Simulations of population dynamics of animals collectively foraging for food and evading predators
Please reach out if the general set of questions regarding collective behavior is of interest and we can explore potential projects based on the student's skills and interests.
Professor Paul Nerenberg
The Nerenberg Lab uses molecular simulation techniques as the primary means for doing research in biochemistry, biophysics, planetary science, and other fields. There are a variety of research projects available for students to engage in, ranging from molecular simulation methods and model development to applying molecular simulations to specific research questions in the life or physical sciences. In addition to learning a variety of molecular simulation techniques, students participating in this research will be trained in scientific computing practices and the use of high-performance computing clusters.
Students should have basic fluency with Python (SCI 10L or equivalent) and have taken at least one semester of chemistry (SCI 30LA or equivalent) and one semester of physics (SCI 30LB or equivalent).
Professor Colin Rathbun
(1) Orthogonal split luciferases for imaging multiplexed cellular behaviors
Disease progression is characterized by a complex interplay of a variety of cell types in living organisms. The ability to "see" these interactions is crucial for understanding the causes and potential treatments of illness. We are developing bioluminescent proteins that will illuminate multiple cell types at the same time in the body of a mouse to study such interactions.
(2) Discovering enzymatic pathways to break carbon fluorine bonds in perfluorinated carboxylic acids (PFAS)
Fluorinated organics, like perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs), are common industrial additives which persist in the environment and have limited, expensive, and energy-intensive destruction technologies. The Rathbun lab is developing a new approach to discover and improve enzymatic defluorination, positing that proper evolutionary incentive and high-throughput screening techniques can create and discover biocatalysts that degrade perfluorinated carbon chains. We will use a genetic circuit that links growth with defluorination and use this method to engineer known defluorinases to degrade new substrates. The successful completion of this project would establish new pathways for defluorination of perfluorinated carbon chains, opening the door for further enzymatic defluorination research and sustainable water treatment options.
Professor Eric Schuppe
Behavioral and Molecular Mechanisms of Interactive Social Communication
Many animals communicate using coordinated songs and movements that must be carefully timed and matched with a partner. These “song-and-dance” displays are impressive behaviors that play an important role in social interactions and mating, yet we still know surprisingly little about how the brain and genes work together to produce them—or why these behaviors differ between individuals and species.
In my lab, we study these questions using songbirds as a model system. Over the summer, students will have the opportunity to participate in hands-on research that combines behavioral observation, molecular biology, and computational analyses. On the behavioral side, students will use video and audio recordings to track animal movements and songs using machine learning tools. On the molecular side, students will prepare DNA and RNA samples to better understand the genetic basis of how individual- and species-differences in communication emerge. This project is well suited for students who are curious about animal behavior, neuroscience, genetics, or computer science. No prior research experience is required; however, students interested in software development for behavioral assays or bioinformatics should have prior coding experiences (preferably in R or python).
Professor Nia Walker
The Walker-RiSE (Resilience in Stressful Environments) Lab is focused on investigating coral stress resilience under various environmental conditions and the relationship between stress management and other integral life functions. We use genetics and genomics, physiological, and ecological techniques to assess organisms’ stress resilience capacity. We also conduct a range of observational and experimental studies that take place in the field and laboratory. Students interested in working in the lab should be independent, detail-oriented, have a strong background in molecular biology and ecology (through coursework and/or previous research lab experience), and have prior coding experience (e.g., R or python).
Professor Diana Williams
The Williams Neurobiology of Ingestive Behavior Lab investigates the diverse factors that control food intake and energy balance: how the gut communicates with the brain about nutrients coming into the gastrointestinal tract during meals, and how the brain integrates this information with the taste of food, motivation, cues in the environment, and learned habits. This work helps reveal the biological underpinnings of our everyday eating experiences and sheds light on pathological states including eating disorders. We use rats and mice, and examine behavior, hormones, and the brain using a variety of techniques. No prior experience is necessary, but some biology and/or neuroscience background is preferred, and students must be willing to work with lab animals and tissue samples.
Literature
Professor Yi Shun Lai
I’m seeking applications from students with backgrounds and interests in women’s studies or in fiction who are interested in contributing research to my current work of young adult historical fiction.
The project is about sex workers in the American Old West, pre-national women’s suffrage, late 1800s. Specifically, I’m looking for firsthand or secondhand accounts by and about sex workers in Nevada, California, Colorado, Idaho, or Washington states, for starters. I’ll also expect to see some contextual research around life for these workers, and life in general in the late 1800s in mining towns in the Western states.
Students will turn in three papers. One of these, depending on the student, may be a short story that leans on the research the student has conducted. We will work together to revise this short story with the aim of submitting it to an English-language literary magazine. Otherwise, papers will focus on summation of this research and collation and organization of this research for quick reference later on. Familiarity with some kind of knowledge-management tool (Google Drive, Evernote, Notion, or Obsidian, for instance) is a plus. Students will have access to research I’ve already conducted on the topic, and will be expected to work with this research as well.
Philosophy
Professor Rima Basu
I am happy to supervise any projects that fit into the following broad themes: (1) the moral challenges of assimilation and cultural conflict, (2) the moral and epistemic challenges of what we choose to remember and what we choose to forget, in particular, how this pertains to war photography and the documentation of horrific events without that documentation devolving into spectacle or voyeurism. Interested students should have some background in philosophy (minimally two courses) and will be expected to produce writing on a weekly basis (be it their own research or summaries of things they have read).
Professor Amy Kind
I invite applications from students with a background in philosophy (minimally two college-level courses) who are interested in working on a project on “Desire and Self-Identity.” As a general matter, there is a reciprocal relationship between desire and self-identity. A person’s desires shape their own conception of themself, and a person’s conception of themself in turn shapes their desires. But matters are complicated in cases where someone own’s desires are obscure to them. Sometimes we have trouble identifying our own desires. How does this impact our own self of sense and our ability to imagine and shape our own futures? I would benefit from the assistance of two or three students as I explore these questions. The student team will conduct background research, compile an annotated bibliography, and identify relevant case studies (drawn not only from empirical studies but also from fiction). In doing so, they will help to shape the future directions of this project. Each student will also be expected to write a short paper of their own, with a goal of producing papers that are suitable for submission to undergraduate conferences or journals. The research team will meet on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. Students interested in working with me on this project should make an appointment to come talk with me prior to submitting an application. I am also open to supervising other self-directed projects in philosophy of mind by students with a background in philosophy.
Professor Adrienne Martin
Ethics at the intersection of personal relationships and social roles
Many personal relationships involve social roles, and vice versa. This summer we will be reading, discussing, and writing about the obligations and responsibilities that arise in this context. Questions we might explore include: What, if anything, makes role obligations binding? Are obligations between associates reducible to more general obligations such as gratitude or fidelity? How might our interpersonal and role obligations serve larger social goals? In what ways do our social roles constrain our personal relationships? Student researchers will be responsible for full-time work reading assigned work in philosophy and other disciplines, writing abstracts, and creating annotated bibliographies. There will also be the opportunity to receive mentorship on an independent related project, working toward writing a paper.
Psychological Sciences
Professor Stacey Doan
Directed by Dr. Stacey Doan, the Applied Mind and Health Laboratory, the research arm of the Berger Institute, is seeking research assistants to work on multiple research projects funded by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, Spencer Foundation and the Ho Foundation. Research projects in our lab take an interdisciplinary approach to examining how biological, psychological, and social factors interact to predict health and well-being. Some topics we hope to pursue this summer include the role of relationships and belonging on health during adolescence, sleep in college students, understanding the transition from high school to college, and coordination of physiological systems and their relation to adversity. Research assistants are encouraged to take a team-based approach to develop and pursue their own research questions with our data. Research assistants will be trained in all aspects of social-behavioral research methodology, including hypothesis generation, data collection, data analysis, and manuscript preparation. The position is a particularly good fit for those interested in graduate school in psychology, neuroscience, or medicine.
Professor Steven Zhou
The STATS Lab at CMC, directed by Prof. Steven Zhou, explores and investigates how quantitative methods can help us understand real-world phenomena such as leadership, career development, and personality. Students learn to use methods ranging from psychometric modeling, to social network analysis, to applications of AI and LLMs. This summer, we will be focusing on three major projects:
- We are building an AI-integrated escape room on campus to collect and analyze data on leadership emergence and team dynamics. Students will learn to work with complex audio and visual data along with machine learning models to predict leadership and team phenomena, while having fun testing out a zombie-themed escape room!
- We are conducting a meta-analysis of job performance, organizational citizenship behaviors, and counterproductive work behaviors. In particular, we are looking to assess the change in the relationship between these three classic criterion variables over time.
- We will begin conducting a bibliometric review of the literature on vocational calling and career development. Students will learn to scrape large amounts of article metadata from online databases and apply social network analysis methods to explore patterns of co-citation, co-authorship, and content.
Additional smaller projects may also be available depending on student interest. All student applicants will need to have basic experience in R and have completed an introductory statistics course. Students will receive regular mentorship, training in advanced quantitative methods, and experience conducting literature reviews and publishing academic writing.
Professor Jennifer Feitosa
Research opportunities are available to study diverse teams in the workplace under the supervision of Prof. Jenn Feitosa at the METRICS Lab (Methodological Examination of Teams Research in Inter-Cultural Settings). Current summer projects focus on (1) coding and analyzing data from workplace belonging trainings, (2) developing and validating the psychometrics of a family-building-friendly climate scale, and (3) revising and evaluating virtual team trainings with accessibility and disability inclusion in mind. Research assistants will engage in various aspects of the research process, including literature search, data collection, data analysis, and/or manuscript preparation. These opportunities provide hands-on research experience for students considering graduate study or careers in organizational psychology, human resources, business, public policy, or related fields.
Professor Wendy de los Reyes
This summer, students in the AMPLIFY Lab will analyze qualitative and quantitative data from an ongoing multi-phase study examining how Latine youth take action on social issues and how their civic engagement is shaped by community contexts and relationships. They will also conduct literature reviews to contextualize their analyses within relevant theoretical frameworks. The AMPLIFY Lab—Advocacy, Mentorship, and Participatory research with Latine Immigrant Families and Youth—takes a strengths-based approach to adolescent development, centering young people's voices as they navigate and challenge structural inequities.
Religious Studies
Professor Gaston Espinosa
Happy to supervise student-led projects.