11 Students Win Beyond the Book Summer Research Awards

Now in its fifth year, the Beyond the Book scholarship program continues to fund summer research activities for College of Arts and Sciences freshmen, sophomores, and juniors.

For summer 2011, eleven students out of 38 submitted proposals were selected for the scholarship, each receiving a $2500 stipend to fund research projects that send these UM students around the globe. For example, scholarship winners are conducting geology research in Newfoundland, Canada; digging at an archeological site in the ancient Roman city of Sanisera in Spain; examining the political system in Haiti; performing in a theatre festival in the Adirondacks; conducting oral interviews in Ghana; researching copper as an efficient source of world energy; working with faculty on a National Geographic-funded geography project in Johannesburg; and attending comedy immersion seminars at Second City in Chicago.

The Beyond the Book program supports students interested in pursuing special intensive learning beyond the traditional classroom experience. Opportunities include, but are not limited to, summer lab research, fieldwork, internships, and archival research.

THE 2011 BEYOND THE BOOK RECIPIENTS ARE:

• Nicholas Bill, ’12
  Major: Geological Sciences
  Project: Acquiring Professional Scientific Geologic Field Techniques and Answering Geologic Problems Through the Research of Phanerozoic Geologic Movements
• Spencer Carran, ’12
  Major: Biology/Applied Mathematics
  Project: Applications of Coupled Random Walks to Ecology, Finance, and Human Conflict
• Joseph Cavanaugh, ’12
  Major: History
  Project: Excavating an Ancient Roman City
• Daniela Gayol, ’14
  Major: Biochemistry
  Project: Expression of Klf-4 and Zfp-161 During Mouse Gonadal Differentiation
• Stephanie Horna, ’12
  Major: Political Science/Economics
  Project: What Constitutes a Failed State? The Case Study of Haiti
• John Mauldin, ’12
  Majors: Computer Science and Creative Writing
  Project: Entering into the Video Game Industry
• Elizabeth Nestlerode, ’12
  Major: Musical Theatre
  Project: They Are Enough
• Erin Nutsugah, ’12
  Major: English Literature/Studio Art
  Project: Cultural Exchange and its Effect on Ghanaian Perceptions of African-Americans
• Ryan Pekarek, ’12
  Major: Music/Biology
  Project: Can Cheap Copper Save the Planet?
• Ricardo Reboredo, ’12
  Major: Political Science/Geography
  Project: Spatialities of Survival: Zimbabwean Livelihood Strategies in Inner-City Johannesburg
• Kathryn Rosin, ’12
  Major: Musical Theatre
  Project: Comedy Writing and Improvisation Courses at Second City