Student Opportunities for Academic Research

    SOAR (Student Opportunities for Academic Research) is a Moravian College program which provides stipends, travel allowances, and research expenses to support students, in any discipline, who are engaged in scholarly or creative activity with faculty members. Since scholarship takes different forms in different disciplines, SOAR is designed to be as general and inclusive as possible.  SOAR also serves the Moravian College community by keeping it in touch with organizations that develop and support undergraduate research.

    Major funding for SOAR is provided by the Ervin J. Rokke Endowment for Student-Faculty Research, established by a gift from Mrs. Priscilla Payne Hurd in honor of his service to Moravian College as President.  From 1997 to 2006 Dr. Rokke lead the College with distinction, and he and his wife Pam contributed to the life and spirit of the College in many ways. 
    Supplemental funding for SOAR comes from Moravian College.

    There are two types of proposals to the SOAR program: research proposals and travel proposals.

    Research proposals support the work of a student with a faculty mentor.  During the academic year, students may work with faculty for up to eight hours each week. Stipends during the academic year are limited to $850 per semester.  SOAR stipends are also available for full-time work during the summer.  Full-time summer stipends are limited to $3000.  Campus housing is provided to SOAR students during the summer.
     *****  Links to previously funded research proposals are located at the bottom of this page.
   
     Travel proposals are available to support students who travel to a state, regional, or national meeting to report on the results of their research or scholarly work.  Up to $300 may be requested by a student in one academic year.

    Students or faculty members interested in SOAR are encouraged to contact the SOAR Coordinator, Carl Salter, or send email to soar@cs.moravian.edu for more information.
    

            SOAR Documentation

SOAR COVER SHEET for submitting proposals

  • Program Description and Proposal Guidelines
  • Revised Proposal submitted to the Planning and Budget Committee (Spring 1998)

    •             Useful Undergraduate Research Links

    Moravian College Honors Program
    CUR  The Council on Undergraduate Research
    NCUR the National Conference for Undergraduate Research

    Calendar of SOAR actions
    poster template

                Funded SOAR Research Proposals

    Summer 2008 Rokke Research Scholars
                Jasmine DeFranco     (Prof. Art Lyons)
                    Developing a Holistic Model for Educational Evaluation

                    Stephanie Mount, Nicole Shamy (Prof. Angela Fraleigh)
                    After: A Series of Paintings Questioning Issues of Gender, Power, and Identity

                    Jason Cote (Prof. Paula Zerkle)
                    Editing the Orchestral Score of Amy Beach's Mass in E-flat Major

                    Marisa Vargo (Prof. Erica Yozell)
                    Contemporary Post-dictatorship Film in Argentina and Chile

                    Angela Geosits (Prof. Joel Wingard)
                    Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes and Intentional Learning in Writing-Across-the-Curriculum Courses

                    Emily Gibbons (Prof. Joel Nathan Rosen)
                    Contemporary Society and the Way We Teach

                    Carolyn Raufer, Meredith Kluk (Prof. Carol Moeller)
                    Minoritized Identities, Politics, and Knowledge

                    Stephanie Miller, Kayla Teeling (Prof. Joe Shosh)
                    Playing with Words: An Historical Examination of Language and Literature Exploration through Play in the Secondary School Classroom

                    Chris Leiby (Prof. James Paxton)
                    Canajoharie: An Eighteenth-Century Mohawk Village
                   
                    Adam Partington, Michael Padasak (Prof. Heikki Lempa)
                    Honor and Economics: The Ideologies of the Nazi-SS and Their Uses in Germany, 1926-1941

                    Jacqueline Baker (Prof. Michelle Schmidt)
                    Peer Relations and Froendship in Childhood

                    Xiuzhu Lin (Prof. Gary Kaskowitz)
                    Stories from Beijing: An Archetypal Analysis of Chinese Consumers

                    Debra Evans (Profs. Shari Dunhan and Stephen Dunham)
                    Isolation and Identification of DNA adducts formed by Rhodium Antitumor Agents

                    Sarabeth Brockley (Prof. Diane Husic)
                    Analysis of Succession, Biodiversity, and the Impact of Heavy Metal Contamination Surrounding Seeps and Springs within the Superfund Site at the                         Lehigh Gap (Pennsylvania)    

                    Natalie Zedalis (Prof. Carl Salter)
                    Synthesis of  Guaizuleneiminodiacetic Acid: A Possible Visual Metal-ion Indicator

                    Phillip Gaudreau (Prof. Nathan Shank)
                    Network Analysis

                    Steve Defazio, Erik Wicklund (Profs. Ben Coleman and Frank Kuserk)
                    Developing Stand-alone Software for Biological Models

                    Kanizeh Fatema Visram (Prof. Cecelia Fox)
                    The Effect of Long Term Selenium Exposure in the Striatal 6-Hydroxydopamine Model of Parkinson's Disease: A Cell Survival and Behavior Study

                    Vivian Clarke-Ruiz, Andrew Mashintonio (Prof. Frank Kuserk)
                    Remediation Effects on Forest Soil Microflora and Aquatic Biota Affected by Zinc Smelter Emissions near Palmerton, Pennsylvania
                   
    Fall 2007
                  Debra Young (Prof. Joel Nathan Rosen)
                  From New Lanark to Mound Bayou: Owenitism on the Mississippi Delta

                  Kelly Schmidt (Prof. Hilde Binford)
                  Cataloguing of the Music Collection at the Schwenkfelder Museum

                  Kristen Wiggins (Prof. Shari Dunham)
                  Characterization of DNA-adducts Formed by Antitumor-active Rhodium Compounds

                  Jamie Hirner, Teriane Johns, Shana Synder (Prof. Charlotte Zales)
                  Effective Teaching Behaviors: Documenting, Analyzing, and Demonstrating the Findings of Educational Research

    Summer 2007 Rokke Research Scholars
                   Clint Brody  (Prof. Dana Dunn)
                  Teaching about Disability as Diversity and Understanding the Good Life Following Acquired Disability

                  Christopher Schilling  (Prof. Sarah Johnson)
                   Backward Inhibition of Semantic Memories: Temporary Forgetting of General Knowledge

                   Rachel Fast  (Prof. Gary Kaskowitz)
                   Retail Loyalty: An Exploration of Archetypal Identification among Small Businesses and Their Customers

                   Andrea Millheim, Krystle Willing  (Profs. Joe Shosh and Charlote Zales)
                   A Qualitative Study of the Transformation from Teacher to Teacher Action Researcher to Teacher as Agent of Systemic Change

                   Zachary Perry  (Prof. Carol Moeller)
                   Ethics, Identities, and Realist Philosophies

                   Christina Townsend  (Prof. Curt Keim)
                   Mistaking Africa: American Popular Culture Myths

                   Danielle Corvacchioli  (Prof. Daniel Jasper)
                   The Rhetoric of Violence

                   Josh Beri  (Prof. Carl Salter)
                   The Heat of Reaction of Luminol: Energy Flow in a Chemiluminscent Reaction

                   Jennifer Novatnack  (Profs. Steve and Shari Dunham)
                   Determination of Selenium in Rat Tissue and Rat Diet Samples

                   Allen Wong  (Profs Steve and Shari Dunham)
                   DNA Interactions of Antitumor-Active Rhodium and Ruthenium Compounds

                   Allan Fatzinger, Benjamin Mizack (Prof. Nathan Shank)
                   Probabilistic Aspects of Networks

                   Kelly Latourette  (Prof. Michael Fraboni)
                   Unique Dominating Sets

                   Simon Tabchi, Nathaniel Tussey  (Prof. Christopher Jones)
                   Mapping Drosophila Bang-sensitive Mutations

                   Jamie Long, Tim Mills (Prof. Ben Coleman)
                   Enhancing Mathematics and Computer Science Education Using the Game SET®

                   Armando Villafane  (Prof. Frank Kuserk)
                   Remediation Effects on the Forest Soil microflora affected by Zinc-smelter Emissions near Palmerton, PA

                   Brian Birchak  (Prof. Frank Kuserk)
                   Remediation effects on Aquatic Macroinvertebrates affected by Zinc-smelter Emissions near Palmerton, PA

                   Casey Jackson  (Prof. Dan Libby)
                   Substrate Specificity in Model Reactions for Nicotinimide Mediated Reduction Reactions

                   Yi Li, Gregory Niehoff  (Prof. Diane Husic)
                   Analysis of the Uptake and Biochemical Impact of Heavy Metals (Zinc, Lead, and Cadmium) on Four Plant Species in the Lehigh Gap (Pennsylvania)

                   Todd Remalay  (Profs. Steve and Shari Dunham)
                   Isomer Separation and DNA Binding of a Dirhodium Compound

                   
    Spring 2007
                 Tiffany Jamann     (Prof. Heikki Lempa)
                  The Method of Healing: The Concept of Vital Force in Samuel Hahnemann's Organon (1810)

                 Emma Grigore (Prof. Josef Glowa)
                 Coping with the Past: The Legacy of Witch Hunts in German Culture Today

                 Wesley Moser (Prof. Ben Coleman)
                 Robotic Map Generation

                 Stefanie Risko and Lydia Zarrella (Prof. Michelle Schmidt)
                 Friendship, Popularity, and Victimization among School-aged Children

                 Rachael Beard, Jason Cote, Kelly Schmidt (Prof. Hilde Binford)
                 Inventory and Cataloguing of the Music Collection at the Schwenkfelder Museum
    Fall 2006
              Lauren Anderson     (Prof. Joanne McKeown)
                 Translation of Biographie d'Antoine Despine (1777-1852) - Part II

                 Laura Sahlender (Prof. Robert Brill)
                 Assessment of Best Practices in Teaching Applied Psychology at the Undergraduate Level

                 Stephanie Anderson, Lana Khoury, Krystle Willing (Profs. Joyce Hinnefeld, Joel Wingard, Dorothy Glew)
                 Linking Writing and Information Literacy: A Collaboration Whose Time Has Come

    Summer 2006  Rokke Research Scholars

                    Josh Beri (Prof. Carl Salter)
                 The Heat of Reaction of Luminol: Energy Flow in a Chemiluminescent Reaction

                 Peter Slivka (Prof. Carl Salter)
                 Synthesis and Reactions of 1-Aminoazulene: A Possible Visual Metal-Ion Indicator

                 Valerie Phillips and Debra Evans (Profs. Stephen and Shari Dunham)
                 Investigations of DNA Rhodium Binding Interactions

                 Lisa Morkowchuk (Prof. Shari Dunham)
                 Method Development for Determination of Selenium in Biological Samples

                 Tiffany Jamann  (Prof. Chris Jones)
                 Effects of Seizure on Drosophila melanogaster

                 Jennifer Gillard (Prof. Kevin Hartshorn)
                 The Cultural Roots of Mathematics

                 Rebecca Angstadt, Kelly Latourette, Jamie Long (Profs. Michael Fraboni and Alicia Sevilla)
                 Explorations of the 3x +1 Problems

                 Scott Weaver (Prof. Stephen Corbesero)
                 Music Recognition by Signal Analysis

                 Wesley Moser (Prof. Ben Coleman)
                 Robotic Path-Finding with Limited Information

                 Anastasia Yemelyanova  (Prof. Chris Jones)
                 Effects of Alzhiemer Mutations in Drosophila presenilin

                 Stephanie Miller (Prof. Mark Will-Weber)
                 Diamonds in the Rough: 100 Years of Racing in Berwick, Pennsylvania

                 Danielle Corvacchioli (Prof. Daniel Jasper)
                 The Cultural Sociology of Hip-Hop

                 Pamela Fitzgerald (Prof. Robert Brill)
                 Antecedent Factors Impacting Upon Nursing Retention and Horizontal Violence

                 Mike DiCindio (Prof. Gary Kaskowitz)
                 Bands as Brands: An Exploration of Archtypes and Brand Concepts Maps for Music

                 Jennifer Bajczyk (Profs. James Skalnik and Diane Radycki)
                 Albrecht Durer and the Influence of the Italian Renaissance on Northern Europe

                 Lydia Zarrella and Stefanie Risko (Prof. Michelle Schmidt)
                 Friendships and Peer Relations in Childhood: Leadership Curriculum Research

                 Kelly Steward (Prof. Joseph Shosh)
                 Closing the Achievement Gap in Urban English Language Arts Secondary School Classrooms: Summer School Students' Prespectives

    Spring 2006 Receipients

               Kimberly Mabry (Prof. Joanne McKeown)
               Translation of Biographie d'Antoine Despine (1777-1852)
                (proposal)

                Chris Morgan (Prof. Kelly Denton-Borhaug)
                Ethical Deliberation and War: An Anthology of Religious Responses
                (proposal)

                Brittany McVaugh (Prof. Michelle Schmidt)
                Social-Emotional Development in Middle Childhood
                (proposal)

                Sarah Kalish (Profs. Carmen Ferrero and Nilsa Lasso-von Lang)
                Comparative Study of ESL (English as a Second Language) Programs in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania
                (proposal)

    Fall 2005 Receipients

    Yi Li (Prof. Diane Husic)
    The Interplay between Oxygen and Photosynthetic Organisms: Photorespiration, Enzymes of Oxidation-Reduction Reactions, and Photo-oxidative Stress in Unicellular Green Algae.
    (proposal)

    Brittany McVaugh (Prof. Michelle Schmidt)
    Ethnicity, Friendship, and Victimization
    (proposal)

    Caitlin Benfield (Prof. Carl Salter)
    Synthesis and Reactions of 1-Aminoazulene: A Possible Visual Metal-ion Indicator
    (proposal)

    Peter Slivka (Prof. Dan Libby)
    Mechanistic Model for Nicotinamide Coenzyme Mediated Reduction Reactions
    (proposal)

    Summer 2005 Recipients

    Jeff Feist (Prof. Ben Coleman)
    A Moderate-Sized Chess Engine in an Online Chess Community
    (proposal)

    Neil Dobracki (Prof. Kelly Krieble)
    Computer Interfacing of a Granular Flow Experiment
    (proposal)

    Rachel Siegfried, Paras Varvarelis (Prof. Stacy Zaremba, Prof. Cecelia M. Fox)
    The Protective Effects of Long Term Selenium Treatment in Aged 6-OHDA Lesioned Animals
    (proposal)

    Jennifer Jacobi  (Prof. Michelle Schmidt)
    title
    (proposal)

    Fall 2004 Recipients

    Tyler Worman (Prof. Stephen Corbesero)
    Applying Software Engineering to Seismic Internet Monitoring
    (proposal)

    Summer 2004 Recipients

    Melissa Drost (Dr. Cecilia Fox)
    The Protective Effects of Selenium in the Rat Model of Parkinson’s Disease
    (proposal)

    Allison McBride (Dr. Carmen Ferrero-Pino, Dr. Nilsa Lasso-von Lang)
    Variedades Lingüísticas y Lenguas en contacto en el Mundo de habla Hispana
    (Linguistic Varieties and Languages in Contact in the Hispanic World)
    (proposal)

    Kara Mergl (Dr. Michelle Schmidt)
    Peer Relations, Friendship, and Victimization in the Schools
    (proposal)

    Umer Khan Baloch (Dr. George Brower) 
    Game Theory & the Airline Industry
    (proposal)

    Aditya Khanna (Dr. Gordon Williams)
    Exploring Petrie Schemes
    (proposal )

    Spring 2004 Recipients

                Jamie Marks (Dr. Michelle Schmidt)
                Two Longitudinal Examinations: Mentoring & Victimization
                (proposal)

                Alyssa DeSimone, Andrea Frankenfield, Brynn Saltzer (Dr. Joyce Hinnefeld)
                Navigating the Plagiarism Minefield: Peer Tutors as Instructors and Guides
                (proposal)

                Jennifer Kahl, Ruth Moyer, Laura Werner (Dr. Hilde Binford)
                The Haunts of Moravian College: A Photographic Essay of Attics & Catacombs Dating Back to the Revolutionary War
                (proposal)

    Fall 2003 Recipients

              Jana Havranova (Dr. Chris Jones)
               Isolation of Mutants in the Putative Thioredoxin Reductase Gene trxr-2 in Drosophila melanogaster
               (proposal)

    Summer 2003 Recipients

    Allison McBride (Dr. Kym Morrison)
    Race and Family Formation on the Eve of Cuban Slave Emancipation
    (proposal )

    Jaime Marks     (Dr. Michelle Schmidt)
    A Longitudinal Examination of Mentoring High Risk Children
    (proposal )

    Nicole Sabaliauskas     (Dr. Chris Jones)
    Exploration of Factors affecting Courtship in Drosophila melanogaster
    (proposal )

    Sarah Dougherty     (Dr. Dana Dunn)
    Social Psychological Processes and Adaptation to Rehabilitation
    (proposal )

    Laura Strattan     (Dr. Hilde Binford)
    Creating Editions and Teaching Materials from Moravian Manuscripts  
    (proposal )

    Summer 2002 Recipients

    Alyson  Dobracki (Dr. Frank Kuserk)
    Isolation and Enumeration of Chitinolytic Bacteria from Northern Pitcher Plant, Sarracenia purpurea
    (proposal )

    Aditya Khanna (Dr. Kelly Krieble)
    The Dynamics of a Sputtering (Under Powered) Laser
    (proposal)

    Fei Sun (Mr. Stephen Corbesero)
    Robotic Software Development
    (proposal )
    Spring 2002 Recipients
    Michelle Lewis (Dr. Carmen Ferrero)
    Contemporary Culture of Spain
    (proposal)

    Leigh Caruso (Dr. Heikki Lempa)
    Emotional Culture in Eighteenth Century Moravian Communities
    ()
    Summer 2001 Recipients
    Brian Carey (Dr. Frank Kuserk)
    Post-Restoration Habitat Analysis of the Monacacy Creek, Lower Nazareth Township, Northampton County
    (proposal )

    Michele Leiby (Dr. Mildred Rivera-Martinez)
    History and Traditions of Indigenous Mexican Laborers
    (proposal)
    Spring 2001 Recipients
    Kristen Holcomb (Mrs. Anne Dutlinger)
    Developing a Slide Collection for a Graphic Design History
    (proposal)

    Julie Jones (Dr. Carl Salter)
    Visual Basic Programs for Weighted Least Squares Analysis
    (proposal)

    Erica Miller (Dr. Paige Thompson)
    The Feasibility of Expressive Writing and Maintaining a Diary of Symptoms in Breast Cancer Patients
    (proposal)

    Summer 2000 Recipients

    Hilary Constable (Dr. Robert Brill)
    Work, Family, and Spirituality: Individual Needs, Business and Community Programs
    (proposal)

    Cory Lowe (Dr. Kelly Krieble)
    Investigation of Pattern Formation Phenomena in Fluid Dynamics - The Hydraulic Jump
    (proposal)

    Genevieve Williamson (Dr. Christopher Jones)
    Is the Arabidopsis presenilin gene really a presenilin gene?
    (proposal)

    Spring 2000 Recipients

    Marta Coppola (Dr. Theresa Dougal)
    Mary Wollstonecraft: The Life and Writing of an Eighteenth Century Feminist
    (proposal)

    Amy Kingdom and Rachel O'Donnell (Drs. Joyce Hinnefeld and Joel Wingard)
    Students as Leaders in Curricular Reform: The Role of the Writing Center in Writing-across-the-Curriculum Initiatives at Small Liberal Arts Colleges
    (proposal)

    Fall 1999 Recipients

    Julie Jones (Dr. Carl Salter)
    Excel Macro Programs for Least-Squares and Bootstrap Error Analysis
    (proposal)

    Tricia Salomonsen (Dr. Clif Kussmaul)
    Tools and Techniques for Digital Signal Processing
    (proposal)

    Summer 1999 Recipients

    Charles Gero (Dr. Joseph Gerencher)
    Network Distribution of Seismic Data and Event Registration
    (proposal)

    Jennifer Mietzler (Dr. Dan Libby)
    Development of Organic Laboratory Experiments Involving Nonlinear Optical Polymers
    (proposal)

    Marta Coppola (Dr. Theresa Dougal)
    Mary Wollstonecraft: The Life and Writings of an Eighteenth Century Feminist
    (proposal)

    Spring 1999 Recipients

    Natalie Giancamilli (Dr. Carmen Ferrero)
    Shannan Smith (Dr. Mildred Rivera-Martinez)
    Cultural Aspects and Traditions of the Spanish-speaking World
    (proposal)

    Kate Mackay  (Dr. Stacey Zaremba)
    The Relationship of Menstrual Attitudes and Knowledge to Feminist Identification Level in Women
    (proposal)

    Summer 1998 Recipients

    This Moravian organizational page is maintained by Carl Salter.
    Last updated August 2007.