Southwestern has awarded nearly $100,000 to support faculty-student research projects for the 2012-2013 academic year. The projects will enable students to work with faculty members in seven different departments on projects that range from apple snail research in South America to analyzing how Catch-22 has been taught in college classrooms over the past 50 years.

  • Romi Burks, associate professor of biology, received $6,422 to fund student research in Hawaii and South America. 
     
  • Reggie Byron, assistant professor of sociology, received $4,737 to fund a study of newspaper portrayals of home invasion robberies in 15 U.S. cities.

  • The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry received $45,725 that will enable six of its faculty members to work with student researchers over the summer.
  • Carina Evans, assistant professor of English, received $9,842 to do a collaborative research project analyzing how Joseph Heller’s classic novel Catch-22 has been taught in college classrooms over the past 50 years.

  • Alisa Gaunder, associate professor of political science, received $9,223 for a study comparing the economic rise of Japan and China.
  • Sandi Nenga, assistant professor of sociology, received $865 to continue her assessment of Southwestern’s Vicente Villa Summer Scholars Program.

  • Emily Niemeyer, professor of chemistry, received $2,860 to conduct research on the antioxidant properties of purple basil.

  • Brenda Sendejo, assistant professor of anthropology, received $5,573 to do an oral history project about women’s involvement in the Mexican-American civil rights movement.

  • Therese Shelton, associate professor of mathematics, received $11,471 to work with two students who are interested in applying mathematics to the issues of water scarcity and management.