Research
Success
Tohoro F. Akakpo - "Constructing a Cultural Competent Experience Using Reflection Model in the Classroom"
"The recipient of the above-mentioned award attended the five-day session of the 29th Annual Baccalaureate Social Work Program Conference held from March 14-18, 2012. The theme of this year's was 'Sustaining quality BSW education in difficult times'. As part of the theme, the recipient of GIAR award presented on "Constructing a cultural competent experience using reflection in the classroom" The workshop focused not only on cultural competence but also on critical thinking and reflective writing using Bloom's taxonomy. The participants provided overwhelmingly positive feedback on the acquisition of cultural competent skills, and stated that they will use the model in teaching on this subject. Also, the recipient attended other workshops on undergraduate social work and the new EPAS required curricular behavior indicators. These materials from these workshops will be shared with Social Work faculty during a-one day staff/faculty retreat in September, 2012 so that the information can be incorporated them into course assignments as desired."
Greg Aldrete
"The Research Council gave me two Grants for Integrating Research and Teaching used to purchase the basic supplies for the UWGB Linothorax Project. It has grown into a six year student/faculty collaborative research project involving dozens of students, a number of faculty, and members of the community. We have reconstructed 6 complete suits of ancient linen armor, conducted elaborate scientific testing with arrows, and built a database of 950 images of the armor in ancient art. Our research has resulted in a scholarly book (co-authored by a student), numerous presentations at national conferences by myself and students, an award winning poster at the largest international annual meeting of archaeologists, and considerable media attention, including articles in US News and World Report, Der Spiegel, and Military History as well as 3 documentaries shown on the Discovery Channel, Canadian History Channel, and prime time German television."
Heidi Sherman
"With funding from the Research Council, my colleague Alison Gates and I conducted an interdisciplinary project in which we, along with several students, reconstructed the process by which flax was grow, processed, and then worked into linen using pre-modern tools and techniques. Also, last summer I traveled to Russia to meet with folk-process flax growers and weavers, visited ethnographic museums, and consulted with archaeologists at the Novgorod excavations regarding the identification of several medieval flax processing tools. This year, Alison Gates, our student Alicia Engstrom, and I have presented our projects at several local, regional, and international conferences."
Scott Ashmann
"Without the course reassignment afforded by the Research Council's Research Scholar program, I would not have had time to develop the grant proposal funding the Einstein Science Institute for Elementary School Teachers (ESI4EST) Project. This Project has already provided science teaching preparation for almost 60 elementary school teachers from across Wisconsin, impacting the science education of approximately 1500 Kindergarten - Grade 8 students."
Christopher Martin
"The Research Council has given me a course reassignment to complete a manuscript on individuality and the metaphysics of power. With their support I will be able to dedicate a significant amount of time in the Spring and following summer to this project. I don't think I could take on such a task without their support."
Peter Breznay
"Realizing my dream of investigating the possibilities of actually embedding Artificial Intelligence abilities into robotic, microcontroller-based hardware was made possible by a Grant in Aid of Research I received from the Research Council in the Fall of 2010. Never before did I have the chance to experiment with hardware-optimized Artificial Intelligence as opposed to software-based simulators. Thank you, Research Council for all help with my research during the years!"
Mathew Dornbush
"I have been fortunate enough to receive several past Grants-In-Aid of Research, which have been used for work ranging from understanding the effects of charcoal additions to the soil microbial biomass and activity, to ongoing projects evaluating the causes of invasion by garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) in forest understories of NE Wisconsin. These funds fill critical gaps needed to bring projects to publication, or to complete the final, select analyses needed to elevate average projects to higher, levels."
J. Vincent Lowery
"As a junior faculty member, it is imperative that I make significant progress on my research. The funding for travel as well as the course released granted by the Research Scholar award I received made it possible for me to surpass my research and writing goals since I arrived at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. My scholarly output leading up to the tenure process is in no small part due to the assistance provided by the Research Council, and I am forever indebted for their aid."
Michael Draney
"The last GIAR grant I got was for my proposal entitled "Panama Expedition Four of Five: Implementing a Rapid Assessment Protocol (RAP) for spiders and millipedes in tropical rainforest." This really benefits my research and teaching by supporting my contributions to a course entitled Research Experience in Panama (Env Sci 499/699), in which a select group of students participates in actual research in tropical ecosystems at Smithsonian Tropical Research Institution field stations. My grant allowed me to upgrade my equipment and purchase flagging and tape measures to the precise specifications demanded by the protocol (and by airline travel regulations, which put real constraints on what we can do in Panama). This increased the efficiency of the fieldwork, making the Rapid Assessment Protocol more rapid, and thus increasing its utility. I was also able to purchase supplies to help process and curate samples collected in past Panama trips. This is very useful, because it is much more difficult to get funding to maintain specimens and to finish projects than it is to initiate new projects."
Minkyu Lee
"The funding from the Research Council greatly assisted developing new stoneware clay body for large scale ceramic sculpture."
William Lepley
"The Research Council provided travel support so that I could present a paper (Loan Delinquencies and Bank Stock Returns) at the 2010 meeting of the Academy of Finance, in Chicago."
Julie Wondergem
"Funding from the UWGB Research Council has allowed me to buy chemicals and glassware for 28 undergraduate students to learn to do research in organic chemistry and to earn 80 independent research credits."
David Voelker - "The Democratic Conundrum: Orestes Brownson and the Problem of individualism in Nineteenth Century America"
"The Grant in Aid of Research that I received in the fall of 2010 was very useful in helping me continue my historical research project on Orestes Brownson and the problem of individualism within America's democratic society. As I proposed, I used the GIAR funds to purchase a set of books to support my research. In addition to purchasing all 16 books on my list, I was able to purchase several additional books using the funds allotted, as I found used copies of some volumes in order to stretch my budget. Over the spring semester, I managed to read and take substantial notes on six of the books that I purchased with GIAR funds. Through this research, I enhanced my understanding of the political discourse regarding individualism and democracy not only from the early national period but also from more recent times. I plan to continue working on this project through the summer. By the fall, I hope to submit an article on this subject for publication. I'd like to thank the Research Council for its support of my work."
Sarah Meredith Livingston
"My Research Scholar project involves the research, musical preparation and presentation of a program with a pianist of Slovak/Czech art songs that would expose Midwestern audiences to repertoire that is little known in the United States. Composers included will be: Figus-Bystry, Schneider-Trnavsky, Dvorak, Cikker, Moyzes, Janacek and Suchon. I hope to perform these songs as a lecture-recital at several venues in Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin, including a faculty recital at University of Wisconsin-Green Bay during the spring and summer of 2013."
Alma Rodriguez-Estrada
"I am new faculty in the department of Natural and Applied Sciences at UWGB. The
Grant in Aid Of Research is helping me out to get started with my research work that focuses on studying the local diversity of fungi. I look forward to utilize this organisms in agriculture, bioremediation and as sources of natural products."
Kristin Vespia
"The Research Council has generously supported my research during my time at UW-Green Bay, and that support has helped ensure that I could regularly make scholarly presentations at the American Psychological Association (APA) convention. Those opportunities have enriched my thinking about my research and fostered many collaborations. Regular participation at this conference also helps me to incorporate cutting-edge research from the field in the classroom, and it has even facilitated national service opportunities, as I now serve as the APA Convention Program Chair for the Society for the Teaching of Psychology."
Alison Gates - "Effects of Global Warming on Material Culture"
"Funds provided to me from the Institute for Research Grants in Aid of Research program afforded me the opportunity to complete the first five installation artifacts addressing the effects of global warming on material culture. The cultural traditions of knitting from five different geographical locations were explored in the exhibit prepared for the show, "Oddly Wound Up" held in January at UWGB's Lawton Gallery."
Alison Stehlik - "Fatherland"
"I was very fortunate to have received a $600.00 grant from the Institute for Research in the form on a GIAR grant in the fall of 2009 for my research project titled 'Fatherland'. I used the money to purchase materials to create a series of 5-7 sculptural dolls in the image of my ancestors. I used the funds to purchase rubber and wax, to make molds and cast positives of the clay sculptures. I am currently in the process of making molds, and will soon begin casting wax positives of the sculptures. I have recently submitted an application to the John Michael Kohler Arts Industry Program for an opportunity to complete the sculptures as an artist in residence there. This preliminary step of molding and casting forms was essential to my application proposal. Without having completed this important step the scope of my project would not have been achievable given the short time span of the residency that I've applied for. This GIAR grant has allowed me to make a major step toward the completion of a major body of work, and in doing this I am now qualified to for the John Michael Kohler Residency Program."
Amanda Nelson - "Sectioning and Processing Neural Tissue Previously Stained Using a Modified Golgi-Cox Procedure"
"This letter serves as a follow-up report to the spring 2010 Grant in Aid of Research award I recently received, which provided financial support to investigate whether or not a dose-response relationship exists with exercise training and dendritic attenuation in the male Sprague-Dawley rat. Following an 8-week exercise training protocol, the entire brain was be removed from 24 male Sprague-Dawley rats (prolonged trained, N=8; moderately trained, N=8; untrained, N=8) and immersed in a modified Golgi-Cox impregnation solution. I am in the process of sectioning and mounting the nervous tissue on slides for analyses. Funds from this award were used to purchase expendable materials for this experiment, including gelatin subbed slides, Kodak Rapid Fixer solutions, Xylene, and Eukitt mounting medium. I have currently processed 11 brains and plan to process the remaining brains in August 2011. After all of the brains have been processed, a 1-2 year microscopic analyses of the specified areas of the brain (periaqueductal gray, posterior hypothalamus, nucleus tractus solitarius, and cuneiform nucleus) will be required before obtaining tangible results. I want to thank the Research Council for granting the financial support to allow me to grow as a scholar. The finances gained through this program have allowed me to offer valuable research experiences to human biology students pursuing careers in the health sciences."
Brian Merkel - "Superoxide Anion Production by HL-60 Cells and U937 Cells"
"The funds were used to evaluate the relative usefulness of HL60, a neutrophil cell line, and freshly isolated neutrophils in the superoxide anion assay. Three undergraduates participated in the project, which culminated in a poster presentation at the Academic Excellence Symposium this past spring. It takes a great deal of time and effort to learn the techniques. We are now ready to evaluate the impact of herbal supplements, including Echinacea, on superoxide production by neutrophils. The funds, in part, made this a reality."
Catherine Henze - "Workshop on Publishing at the Shakespeare Association Meeting"
"Thank you very much for awarding me $300 to attend the 2011 Shakespeare Association of America workshop, April, 2011. Prior to the workshop, I prepared and submitted to Jerry Singleton, the workshop leader, a prospectus for my in-progress book, "Shakespeare's Songs Restored: A Critical Edition of Original Songs in Shakespeare's Plays with an Interpretive Guide." I then attended the workshop "Getting Published," and met individually with Prof. Singleton to discuss my project. I also attended several other sessions at the conference, particularly ones dealing with Shakespeare's music. Specifically, I used the $300. to partially cover the hotel, conference registration, and airfare expenses associated with attending the 2011 Shakespeare Association Conference.The entire experience was extremely valuable for me; it was a watershed moment, and I am confident that it will enable me to find a publisher for my book, which is due to be completed by the end of this academic year. First of all, I learned from Prof. Singleton that there were many ways in which my prospectus could -- and should -- be improved. In fact, instead of passing out the prospectus to a possible publishing house (Ashgate), I decided to wait until it was in a more appropriate form. Then, I learned from musicologists at another session that my work would be a better fit with the music side of publishing houses than the literature side. I even got an introduction to the music editor at Indiana University Press.Overall, the trip that this Research Council GIAR made possible had a greater impact on my research agenda than I could have possibly imagined. Whereas I had been discouraged by a seeming reluctance of publishers to provide a contract, I realized that I had been targeting the wrong audience (literature editors, vs. music ones). (Oh, the joys of interdisciplinary work!) I cannot thank the Research Council enough for this opportunity."
Clifton Ganyard - "Japanese Language Study at Yamasa Institute"
"The GIAR I received for Fall 2010 was used to study the Japanese language at the Yamasa Institute in Okazaki City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan from October 4 through December 18. The grant was used to pay for textbooks and partially to pay for tuition."
Daniel Meinhardt - "The Roll of Estrogen in Amphibian Skeletal Development"
"The funding was used analyze the results of an experiment that served as the basis for Pao Vue's Masters Thesis, The effects of 17β estradiol on skeletal growth and metamorphosis of the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis). More details can be found in his thesis, but in summary, two significant results were obtained. In the modified treatment protocol funded by this GIAR, 17β estradiol increased the rate of ossification as it had in our preliminary experiment (Bauer-Dantoin and Meinhardt, 2010). However, while the preliminary results suggested that 17β estradiol treatment accelerated overall development, the results of the more recent study indicate that 17β estradiol treatment delays development, a result more consistent with other labs' work.References Bauer-Dantoin, A. and D.J. Meinhardt. 2010. 17β Estradiol Exposure Accelerates Skeletal Development in Xenopus laevis Tadpoles. Anatomical Record 293 (11): 1880-1886. Vue, Pao 2010. The effects of 17β estradiol on skeletal growth and metamorphosis of the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis). UW-Green Bay MS Thesis, 106 pp."
Gabriel Saxton-Ruiz - "Santiago Roncagliolo's Abril rojo and Political Violence in Peru"
"As a result of being awarded the GIAR grant, I was able to attend and present papers at two prestigious scholarly conferences during the fall semester of 2010. I used the funding for my hotel accommodations in Spain and St. Louis. Both of these presentations dealt with the second chapter of my manuscript (Contemporary Peruvian Narrative and Political Violence). The feedback I received on my papers has proven extremely valuable. Other positive outcomes from attending these conferences include an invitation to join the editorial board of the on-line journal Polifonía Revista académica de estudios hispánicos and an opportunity to interview Jorge Eduardo Benavides, a prominent Peruvian novelist that I discuss in my manuscript."
Gregory S. Aldrete - "The UWGB Linothorax Project: Reconstructing and Testing Ancient Linen Armor"
"The funds from my Fall 2009 Grant in Aid of Research were used exactly as described in the proposal in order to have a large (4 by 6 foot) color poster made for presentation at the largest major international combined conference for archaeologists, classicists, and ancient historians--the AIA/APA joint meeting which was held in January 2010 in Anaheim, California. This poster entitled "The UWGB Linothorax Project: Reconstructing and Testing Ancient LinenArmor" was coauthored by myself and UWGB graduate Scott Bartell, and described the current results of our collaborative faculty/student research project. Not only did the poster elicit considerable favorable attention at the meeting, but it was awarded the "Best Poster Award for the Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America," a coveted and significant national honor among archaeologists."
Hosung Song - "CSEDU 2010 - The 2nd International Conference on Computer Supported Education"
"I was able to successfully attend and present my paper at the 2nd International Conference on Computer Supported Education (CSEDU 2010, www.csedu.org) in Valencia, Spain, from April 7, 2010 to April 10, 2010, thanks partially to the Spring 2010 GIAR award ($600). The GIAR award was used for partially covering costs of conference registration ($790.57) and lodging (~$300). Tangible outcomes include my paper presented at the conference and published in the proceedings and the post-attendance report that is attached after this page. I'd like to express again my gratitude to Research Council for the generous support on this project."
Jaida Kim Samudra - "A Preliminary Study of Patients' Experiences of Energy Healing"
"I conducted a literature review on previous medical and anthropological research on energy medicine. I also conducted a content analysis of popular texts on both 'energy' and 'spiritual' or faith healing. From these I developed preliminary lists for future anthropological research involving the pile-sorting method. One list contains approximately 80 synonyms and metaphors for 'energy' (e.g., aura, breath, electricity, holy ghost, life force, power, vibration, etc.); the second list contains 50 terms describing distinct sensations experienced during energy healing (e.g., boiling, shock, dizziness, hollow, falling, magnetic repulsion, pulsing, etc.) At the American Anthropological Association meetings in New Orleans, November 2010, I chaired the Flexible Bodies and Medical Pluralism panel, wherein I presented the content analysis in a paper titled: "Flowing, Spinning, Tingling, Warming, Pressing, Stinging: Conceptualizing and Experiencing 'Energy' in Energy Healing." I suggested reasons why 'energy' healing has been neglected and discussed the need to develop a cross-culturally applicable taxonomy in the domain of energy medicine. Since presenting this paper, I have been establishing contact with energy healing practitioners and patients who will be willing to be observed and interviewed after I have cleared my research plan with UWGB's IRB."
James C. Marker - "Impact of Vitamin D Supplementation on Anaerobic Performance in College Athletes"
"The research funds provided to Dr. J. Marker (Human Biology) were used in to support a study on the effect of Vitamin D on exercise performance. This study, done with Dr. Debra Pearson and ~ 10 undergraduates, is expected to be published in the near future in a professional journal.The funding from the Research Council played an important part in doing an excellent study on a "shoe-string" budget!"
Jennifer Ham - "Untimely Lessons: Nietzsche as Educator"
"Below is the summary report you requested on how I used the grant funding for research ($265) you provided me. I used the money to offset the costs of airfare, needed to present the following research at a conference in Washington, D.C.:In October 2009, I presented a paper, "Untimely Lessons: Nietzsche as Educator," organized a panel, entitled "Pedagogical Narratives: The Body and Education around 1900," and was the invited moderator of another panel entitled "Richard Wagner: Self-Promotion and the Making of a Brand" at the German Studies Association (GSA) conference in Washington, D.C. The GSA conference is one of the two top conferences for research in the field of German Studies in the United States. Some of this work presented was the result of research I conducted on my sabbatical the prior academic year. An expanded version of my paper has since been accepted for publication as part of an edited interdisciplinary volume being put together in Canada on German educational theory and practice, which is currently being circulated for a publisher. Total expenses for my conference trip, which also included work at the Holocaust Museum in D.C., was, conservatively, $914.85. My unit, Humanistic Studies, partially reimbursed me $650 for these expenses and the funding I graciously received from the Research Council funded the remaining portion ($265). Thank you very much!"
Jennifer Mokren - "New Jewelry for Exhibition"
"I received $529 for the purchase of silver and vitreous enamels. I was not able to purchase as much silver I proposed in my original budget because the price per ounce has risen so much in the past six months, which changed what I was planning on doing with the metal somewhat. I did produce three brooches for the faculty exhibition in the Lawton Gallery, as well as three rings."
John Luczaj - "Travel to the Geological Society of America Conference in Minneapolis"
"The $400 I was awarded was used to help cover part of the travel costs to the Geological Society of America National Conference in Minneapolis, MN from October 9-12, 2011. My presentation entitled "Bedrock Geology of Brown County, Wisconsin" was given as part of Session 262 "Geologic Maps, Digital Geologic Maps, and Derivatives from Geologic and Geophysical Maps (Posters) on October 12, 2011". This presentation allowed me to interact with many geologists from throughout the region to share these results and gain valuable feedback that will help me prepare a more robust manuscript for written publication in the future. Thank you again very much for funding my proposal."
John M. Lyon - "Oxygen Activation for Water Purification"
"The project that was proposed in this grant application was to investigate the oxidation of dissolved organic material by oxygen in the presence of a reducing metal. Shortly after the proposal was made I became interested in the use of zinc oxide, a semiconductor material, instead of reducing metals as the activator for dissolved oxygen. The advantage of using zinc oxide over that of a reducing metal is that the system is potentially photocatalytic. Zinc oxide is a photoactive semiconductor that, in the presence of uv light and oxygen, is known to promote the formation of strongly oxidizing species that oxidized dissolved organic material. The work over the past two years has explored the relationship between the zinc oxide particle shape and the conditions of formation and the particle shape and catalytic activity. The zinc oxide solid was prepared by the hydrothermal method. Zinc nitrate was combined with sodium hydroxide in the presence of different anions and the milky solution maintained at 80°C for between 24 and 72 hours. Depending upon the anion present, the zinc oxide particle shape varied from simple rods and plates, to complex shapes like rosettes. The shapes and sizes were determined by scanning electron microscopy. Catalytic activity was measured using methylene blue as a surrogate for dissolved organic matter. The change in the concentration of methylene blue was measured spectrophotometrically under controlled conditions. Work is continuing on the project to refine our understanding of the relationship between particle shape and size and catalytic activity."
John Salerno - "Jazzphony with Zilina Orchestra in Slovakia"
"My GIAR award grant was used to help with costs associated with a jazz project in Slovakia. This was one of the best and rewarding gigs I ever played. I was a featured soloist s at the Bratislava Music Festival (November 24-December 4th). I performed with a group of Slovakian jazz musicians and the Slovak Sinfoniette in Zilina and Bratislava. The concert was recorded on Slovak Radio for transmission and the recording will be used as a promotional CD. I preformed two orchestral works by two Slovakian composers. One composition was written in a traditional jazz style, utilizing common harmonic progressions, rhythms and required traditional improvisational approaches. The other composition was aleatoric in sections and required an improvisational approach where listening and interacting with the orchestra was the modus operandi. This technique leads the soloist to more abstract territories of harmony and texture but also requires the soloist to look for inspiration from the other means than a harmonic foundation. As a result of my musical experiences in Slovakia, I programmed a jazz composition at our final UWGB Jazz Ensemble concert that made use of jazz improvisation styles similar to those I used in Slovakia. The composition entitled, "Ding, Dong, Ding", uses group improvisation, aleatoric concepts, and motivic improvisation within a traditional formal structure. The composition was well received and the students enjoyed working in a less traditional and freer framework."
Julie Wondergem - "Making a Cancer Medication"
"During the 2010-2011 academic year, five students and I continued working toward the synthesis of obolactone (1). Obolactone is a potential cancer medication. It is found in the bark and leaves of a tree that grows only in northern Vietnam. The goal of this project is to make synthetic obolactone that could serve as a valuable human pharmaceutical, without sacrificing the tree. This year, the students earned a combined total of 13 research credits. For every credit earned, they worked an average of 3 hours per week in lab. They learned to run reactions, how to purify the products using column chromatography, and to characterize the new compounds they created with spectroscopic instruments (including gas chromatography mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy). These are skills that simply cannot be taught in the undergraduate teaching laboratory, but are necessary for students entering graduate school or obtaining a chemistry job in industry. The funds awarded to this project were spent on buying new chemicals and replacing broken glassware."
Katia Levintova - "Preparing Loyal Political Elite: Curricular Changes at State-Supported Departments of Political Science and Journalism"
"I was awarded $600 in the Spring 2011 to conduct fieldwork for my research project on Preparing Loyal Political Elite: Curricular Changes at State-Supported Departments of Political Science and Journalism. All the funds were spent on the partial reimbursement of my travel expenses (airline ticket). In June-August 2010, I conducted interviews and survey curricular materials at four different departments of Moscow State. These findings served as an empirical foundation of two research presentations at international conferences. First, I presented paper on "Higher Education and Sovereign Democracy: Political Socialization and Elite Recruitment in Contemporary Russia" at the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies Annual Convention in Los Angeles on November 18, 2010 (with Jim Butterfield). Then, in the Spring 2011, I presented (together with Jim Butterfield) "Preparing Journalists and Political Scientists in the Context of Sovereign Democracy: The Case of Four Departments at the Moscow State University" at the International Studies Association Annual Convention in Montreal, Canada on March 19, 2011. Subsequently, my co-author and myself submitted the article to Journal of Communist and Post-Communist Studies (where it is currently under review). - Jim Butterfield and Ekaterina Levintova, "Academic Freedom and International Standards in Higher Education: Contestation in Journalism and Political Science at Moscow State University," submitted to Journal of Communist and Post-Communist Studies (under review)."
J. Vincent Lowery - "Designing the New South: Hugh MacRae's Immigrant Colonies, Race, Labor, and Desirability after the Wilmington Race Riot of 1898"
"These grants supplemented external funding for research trips to North and South Carolina and Washington, DC during the last two summers. These trips were a part of my ongoing work on a biography of North Carolina businessman Hugh MacRae. My visit to the South Caroliniana Library at the University of South Carolina proved to be far more productive than I ever could have imagined. There I examined the papers of David R. Coker, one of MacRae's closest collaborators. In this capacity, Coker was in a position to receive a variety of materials that crossed MacRae's desk. Because there is no official MacRae family collection of papers, I have been forced to chase his letters up and down the East Coast. Coker's personal papers represent the single largest collection of items connected to the work of Hugh MacRae. From these papers I was able to fill in a lot of blanks and chart the evolution of MacRae's own philosophy from someone who worked independently of any government agency to a reformer who advocated considerable government activity in economic and social affairs, often at odds with contemporary white southerners. In addition, I was able to identify those individuals with whom he was in agreement and those with whom he was in conflict and correspondence that reflected the contentious nature of agrarian reform in the first half of the twentieth century. My research trip to North Carolina, which included stops at the archives on the campuses of the University of North Carolina and Duke University and the state archives, offered further insight into MacRae's coalition of reformers and revealed his own involvement in statewide reform efforts that conferred to North Carolina the title "the Wisconsin of the South." The more recent trip to Washington, DC provided me with the opportunity to examine a variety of government documents related to MacRae's work on New Deal-era subsistence homestead Penderlea in North Carolina. My previous research provided me with a glimpse of MacRae's perspective, but I now have a clearer sense of federal officials' views of him and the failure of the project under his management. As a result of this funding, for which I am greatly appreciative, I was able to complete most of the remaining research for this project and develop a fuller perspective of MacRae's vision for the New South and rural life, allowing me to turn my attention to writing the book this summer ahead of the fall semester, when I will be the university's Research Scholar."
Kimberly Baker - “Assessing the Impact of Dietary Agents on Breast Cancer Cell Proliferation”
"We have been assessing the impact of daidzein (a phytoestrogen found in soy) and Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) alone and in combination on cell proliferation using the highly estrogen-sensitive human breast cancer cell line (MCF7-BOS). The results from our experiments indicate that PCBs and daidzein each individually enhance cell proliferation. Based on these results, we would like to examine Bcl-2 gene expression to determine if it is promoting cell survival. We will be continuing our work on this project, including examining Bcl-2 gene expression, during the spring semester. Use of Funds: The funds were used to purchase the following items: 1) Bcl-2 antibody (Cell Signaling Technology); 2) Anti-rabbit IgG HRP-linked antibody (Cell Signaling Technology); 3) Nitro-cellulose/Filter paper sandwiches (Bio-Rad); and 4) Lumiglo HRP chemiluminescent substrate (Fisher). I requested and received permission to purchase lab supplies different from those listed on my GIAR proposal. The reason for the request was due to the fact that I am collaborating with Dr. Angela Bauer-Dantoin and she had enough cell culture media and serum for us to initiate work on this project. Based on our experimental results we want to examine Bcl-2 expression to determine if it is mediating cell survival; thus I purchased antibodies, chemicals, and reagents for Western Blot analysis to allow us to continue moving forward on the same project in my proposal."
Kim Nielsen - “A Disability History of the United States”
"With the generosity of a Research Council Grants in Aid of Research Award, I received $300 to assist in preliminary research for my book A Disability History of the United States. Because of a family member’s major illness I was not able to attend the Organization of American Historians meeting in April and consult with archivists. Instead, I used the $300 to assist in attending the June 2010 meeting of the Society for Disability Studies and met with archivists from the Smithsonian, Gallaudet, and UC-Berkeley attending the conference. While on the East Coast I also traveled to Boston to meet with my editor, Johanna Green, of Beacon Press and spent research time in the Massachusetts Historical Society. This continued work on A Disability History of the United States was very helpful in pushing the project along. I was able to identify specific collections in the Smithsonian that would prove rich, and examined the finding guides closely. I established a relationship with the Gallaudet archivist that enabled me to receive materials via mail, rather than having to visit and spend time at Gallaudet in person (a much more expensive endeavor)."
Kristin Vespia - “Cultural competence in undergraduates”
"This report is intended as a summary of my work and expenditures related to a Spring 2010 Grant in Aid of Research (GIAR) for the project: Cultural competence in undergraduates. The $300 award was used to support the production of my research poster and travel to present it at the American Psychological Association (APA) convention in San Diego, CA. The conference and research presentation were successful experiences. My own research was well-received, and I was able to engage in very productive conversations with other scholars in the field. Although I cannot provide concrete evidence of a connection, I believe the networking possible at the conference likely contributed positively to a subsequent invitation to write a book chapter on the topic of experiential learning this year. Moreover, I am now serving my first year as Program Chair for the APA Convention (for Division 2 – the Society for the Teaching of Psychology). I coordinated the peer review process of submissions to the Division for the first time this winter (e.g., assigning reviewers, reading reviews and making final determinations about acceptances and rejections). The time spent with the previous Program Chair at the 2010 convention was invaluable as I have taken on this new role as a scholar. I am very grateful to the Research Council for their generous support. Please contact me if you need any additional information about this project."
Kristy Deetz - “Printing Digital Images of My Paintings on Fabric”
"I used the $600 from the Research Council to defray the cost of printing digital images on fabric; printing images of my Veiling Desire paintings series (painted on silk scarves) on 12 mm silk charmeuse scarves and digital patterns made from layered images from several of my Drapery paintings series (encaustic and oil on wood panels) on 45” wide silk charmeuse by the yard. Dpi Printing Co. (http://www.dpi-sf.com/index.php) completed the digital prints on fabric. I produced twelve different layered digital works from elements of my Drapery painting series. From these digital works I created six digital fabric patterns but envision many more. I also have twelve, 20”x20” mounted wood panels constructed and ready to be used as a substrate on which to attach the digitally printed fabric. I will use the printed fabric as a substrate to paint on, revealing and concealing the digitally printed images beneath. The twelve paintings, titled Dis-Illusion, will play with the pictorial technique of trompe l’oeil and associated meanings of the word: Dis-Illusion. The series will present a humorous dialogue of images of disillusionment from art history, popular culture, and personal experience. The image on the digitally printed silk scarf is a reproduction of an illusionistic acrylic painting of wrinkled fabric on a silk scarf (yes, this is meant to be funny!) alluding to a history of art making in my work and ideas in the history of painting. I’m still contemplating the next step in the evolution of the digitally printed silk scarves. The printed silk scarves could be mass-produced and sold at very low cost (low in comparison to a labor intensive painting). I could also post digital images of the digitally printed scarves next to the real scarves (represented via digital facsimile) on my website (http://www.uwgb.edu/deetzk/index.html). Could the digital images I generate be animated, projected, and/or become part of an installation? Could the digitally printed fabrics become wearable art or conceptual scarves or wraps? These ideas and a number of others could be investigated through another GAR project. Many thanks for your support on this one!!"
Le Zhu - “Effect of Baking on Iron bioavailability in Fortified Flour”
"The $600.00 research fund received was spent as described in the budget page in the original proposal. Specifically, four bread makers were purchased for $59.96 each, and reagents used in the iron bioavailability experiments were purchased from Fisher Scientific. Vanessa Thyne, an undergraduate student in Human Biology conducted a successful independent study (NUT SCI 495) in fall 2011 looking at quantitative assessment of iron compounds in bread samples using spectrophotometry. Her final report is available upon request. Based on Vanessa’s experimental finding and discussion, we hope to put in another GIAR proposal in the coming fall semester to further this important project. Thank you for funding this great research opportunity."
Melissa Schnurr - “Travel Support to Present at the Society for Research on Adolescence”
"I was granted $400 in the spring 2012 to support my travel to the Society for Research on Adolescence Biennial meeting. While at the conference in Vancouver, I presented a paper titled, “The impact of collective efficacy on risks for adolescents’ perpetration of dating violence” in a symposium with other researcher’s from around the US who examined longitudinal precursors and consequences of dating violence. This symposium spurred a special issue of the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, in which my paper will be published. I also presented a poster titled, “Technology as a form of dating violence among college students” that I co-authored with a UWGB undergraduate student, Mary (Maggie) DeLong. This poster will be turned into a paper and submitted for publication by the end of the year. Aside from publications, no other work will be completed related to these projects. The GIAR funds assisted me financially by paying for the cost of travel, hotel, and meals while I was at the conference."
Michael L. Draney - “Student-friendly statistical software for ecological research.”
"In Fall 2009, I received $539.00 for a grant (PRJ31WF) entitled, “Student-friendly statistical software for ecological research.” This software is proving to be very useful to my research and that of my students. To date, two student projects have benefitted from it’s use. I used it to analyze data for the Cofrin Research Project of my two Environmental Science and Policy graduate students, Emily Castellanos and Kelli Briski. Their project, which was presented at the symposium in March 2011, was entitled "Spiders of Lake Michigan coastal marshes--The Search for Clubiona pallidula in Coastal Populations of Phragmites". We also used the software to analyze data for Scott Komis' Research in Biology (Bio 495) poster entitled, "Effects of garlic mustard, white-tailed deer, and forest restoration on ground-dwelling invertebrates." This poster was displayed at the 2011 UW-Green Bay Academic Excellence Symposium. I'm also continuing to use the software in analyzing my own research data. The excess funds in this grant were applied to two student research purposes. In Fall 2010, I received a UW-Green Bay Grant In Aid of Research (PRJ31WF) in Fall 2011. The project was titled “Implementing a Rapid Assessment Protocol (RAP) for spiders and millipedes in a second tropical nation”, and I was awarded $600. The idea of the grant was to involve the students and faculty on this year’s (January 2011) Costa Rica travel course in conducting the Rapid Assessment Protocol I’ve been developing. I bought collecting devices called aspirators, one for each of the 20 participants (with a few extras). I also bought high efficiency filter devices to attach to each unit, to increase safety of the operation (which involves inhaling; the filters protect the lungs from inhaling fungal spores, etc. in tropical ecosystems). These aspirators cost $463.34. This purchase allowed me to guide 17 students and two additional faculty members in the Rapid Assessment Protocol on our Costa Rica Travel Course in January 2011. This added both a new site and a new country to my rapid assessment samples. It was a valuable sampling exercise for my research and apparently a memorable part of the course for the students. We used the remainder of the grant to purchase a student copy of another frequently used book for my laboratory, “Spiders of North America”, and to help pay for the aforementioned book “Spiders of Quebec”. Some of the money in this grant was intended to pay for collection and export permits from Costa Rica, but the government of Costa Rica never charged us for this."
Minkyu Lee - “Developing New Clay Body and Glazes for the Exhibition at the Lawton Gallery in September 2010”
"The award from the Research Council greatly assisted developing new stoneware clay body and new surface decoration technique for large scale ceramic sculpture. With the new clay recipe, I am creating large-scale ceramic pieces for both indoor and outdoor purpose. The award also assisted developing low-temperature luster technique, which expanded the color palette in ceramic work. Those techniques will be introduced in my curriculum for the upper-level ceramics classes in order to assist students' work."
Pao Lor - “Achievement Gap Conference”
"The Grant in Aid of Research award in the amount of $300.00 for fall 2010 was used for travel expenses to attend and present at the 15th Annual Hmong National Development Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota from April 21-24, 2011. The topic of the presentation was “What’s Next for 21st Hmong Leadership.” The presentation topic was accepted after going through a competitive selection process and was one of the feature presentations at the conference. There were over 900 attendees at the conference. Approximately 50 attended the presentation. The participants ranged from college students to community leaders and educators. The interactive presentation was engaging, and I involved attendees throughout the 90 minute session. In addition to covering and highlighting the historical development and transition of Hmong leadership, the participants and I engaged in dialogues and discussions about the current status of Hmong leadership and potential emerging leadership systems for many Hmong communities across America and around the world. Travel reimbursement had been made and approved. Currently, I’m working on turning the presentation into a written commentary piece that will be submitted to Hmong Studies Journal."
Peter T. Breznay - “Modeling and Simulation of Embedded Circuit Components in Robotic Intelligence”
"We investigate the proposition that every genuine scientific problem is, ultimately, a computational problem. Phenomena in the physical, biological and social spheres of existence, can, theoretically, be modeled and simulated in a computing device with arbitrary precision, given unlimited computational resources (which are not available in practice). In addition, every phenomenon can be interpreted as a computation (running of a program), performed by some sub-system of the physical universe. Starting from this computational perspective, we propose that the problem of consciousness can also be investigated as a computational problem, in carrying out a scientific program aimed at building artificial entities that show verifiable emergence of consciousness. Our hypothesis is that consciousness in an artificial device is unlikely to manifest itself originating in a detached computer, but rather in a humanoid robotic device that has full sensory capacities and is capable both of active interaction with its physical environment and of full sentence communication with humans. As a result, we propose that in an attempt to create artificial, man-made devices that are capable of acquiring true consciousness, we need to build a small society of fully sentient robots that are maximally inter-operational with their environment, with humans and with each other, that have the following features: 1. A learning-enabled, self-restructuring, artificial neural network-based central cognitive organ ("brain"). 2. A global communication subsystem of the brain that separates conscious sensation from unconscious by filtering out conflicting sensations, in order to form a coherent view of the robots' environment. 3. The ability of abstraction by generalization to allow memory forming, storage and retrieval. 4. The ability to recognize and synthesize human language, in form of full sentence communication. We present preliminary simulation results regarding the learning ability aspect of the proposed central neural organ. In the simulation we use a mirror neuron mechanism to reproduce rudimentary social learning, performed by a “child” neural network of a “parent” neural network and achieved by a form of imitation-based learning."
Sarah Meredith Livingston - “Invitation to Universidade de Sao Paulo, campus Ribeirao Preto, Brazil”
"Here is the write-up of my $600 grant from Research Council for Spring, 2011, funds that I requested for travel to U. of Sao Paulo-Ribeirao Preto, Brazil. I requested and received notice that I got the grant from Research Council before I learned at the end of May that my Fulbright Specialist award did come through. However, there were other expenses related to my travel that Fulbright did NOT cover that I used this $600 for travel costs."
Sara Rinfret - “A New Perspective: Regulatory Policy and Front-Line Regulators”
"Spring 2010 I attended the Midwest Political Science Conference in Chicago, IL. At this conference I presented “Frames of Influence: Interest Groups and Environmental Rules,” which was part of a regulatory policy panel. I received insurmountable feedback, which was incorporated into the paper. Additionally, this paper was recently accepted by Review of Policy Research journal for publication. Without the travel award from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay’s Institute for Research I would not have been able to cover expenses (registration/lodging) to attend this conference. I thank you for this award, which helped me to interact with colleagues within my field."
Tian-you Hu - “Frames and Orthonormal Bases in the L(2) space of some self-similar measures”
"Thank you very much for supporting me $500 to attend a Conference on Fractal Geometry and Dynamical Systems in Hunan Province, China, on May 28-31, 2011 and to do joint research in the mathematics department of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The money received has been used toward the purchase of a flight ticket to Hong Kong ($1,270). I expect in the conference to collect data and materials for further research, to learn some original ideas from other mathematicians on how to do research in mathematics and applications, and to bring back new small topics for the development of undergraduate research. For the joint research, I expect to work out some preliminary results on a paper regarding Frames and Orthonormal Bases in the L(2) space of some self-similar measures."
Warren Johnson - “Optimization of Electroporation”
"Thanks to the fall 2009 Grants in Aid of Research (GIAR) awards that I received three students were able to engage in four laboratory research projects under my direction. See student projects listed below. Two of these students presented their work at the 2010 UW-Green Bay Academic Excellence Symposium. See citations listed below. The funds from the GIAR award were used to purchase ipetting and buffer supplies. Student Project funded through this GIAR: Krol, Ashley, Analysis of Dilution Inactivation of β-galactosidase, Research in Chemistry, 2 credits, Spring 2010. Navratil, Aaron, A mini Colorimetric Assay based on Pierce 660® Reagent, Research in Chemistry, 1.5 credits, Spring 2010. Navratil, Aaron, Effect of Cations on the Stability of β-galactosidse from E. coli, Research in Chemistry, 1.5 credits, Spring 2010. Xiong, Chai, in vitro versus in vivo Comparison of the KM for β-galactosidase from E. coli, Wisconsin Alliance for Minority Participation (WiscAMP)-Academic Acceleration Program, 0 credits, Spring 2010. Although Chai completed lab work for his research project, he was not able to construct a poster presentation for personal reasons. Student Presentations: Navratil, A. R. and Johnson, W., A mini colorimetric protein assay based on Pierce 660® reagent, 9th Annual UW-Green Bay Academic Excellence Symposium, March 30, 2010. Krol, A. R. and Johnson, W., Analysis of dilution inactivation of β-galactosidase, 9th Annual UW-Green Bay Academic Excellence Symposium, March 30, 2010."
William Lepley - “Loan Delinquencies and Bank Stock Returns”
"In December of 2009, the Research Council provided me with a $300 grant, in support my research entitled “Loan Delinquencies and Bank Stock Returns.” The short-term importance of the grant was in providing partial funding for a trip to Chicago, to present a paper at a research conference. I presented my work at the annual meeting of the Academy of Finance, in March of 2010. Comments I received at that meeting were helpful in subsequent work on the project, and eventual revisions to my research paper. In 2010, I submitted a revised version of my paper to the Journal of the Academy of Finance. The paper went through the usual reviewing process. Ultimately, it was accepted for publication, and appeared in the Journal of the Academy of Finance, Volume 8, Issue 2, 2010—simply entitled “Loan Delinquencies and Bank Stock Returns.”"
Young Jin Lee - “Evaluating Strategies of Mobile Apps Market”
"On January 24, 2012, I purchased Mozenda.com’s Pro-Yearly plan at $799 (with 20% academic discount) and the license came with the allowance of scrapping (extracting) 100,000 pages per year online. From the target website to collect daily mobile app downloads ranks and information about individual mobile apps, I have already collected daily ranks of top 300 mobile apps in Apple’s AppStore in the entire year 2011 (collected 365 pages) and about 600 mobile app profiles (600 pages). Also, I set up a software agent of collecting automatically weekly mobile app ranks and profiles (600 pages per week) so that I can collect detail information about ranks and profiles of mobile apps for 3 months total. Finally, this collecting process will provide a good longitudinal-dataset to research the important aspects of current mobile app markets as I described in the research grant proposal."
Yunsun Huh - “The Cultural Effect of Home Country Characteristics on the Self-Selection of Immigrants in the U.S.”
"The Research Council Funds, which I received ($400) in spring 2012, was spent to pay some part of hotel fee ($575.45) for MEA (Midwest Economic Association) conference. I presented my ongoing research project, “The Cultural Effect of Home Country Characteristics on the Self-Selection of Immigrants in the U.S.” in the Economics and Migration session, and got valuable response from other scholars. I also discussed a paper titled “Economic Factors and Health Outcome” as a discussant and could exchange related ideas with many scholars in the field."
Alma Rodriguez Estrada - "Isolation and Identification of Microorganisms from Soil Samples"
"Edible mushrooms are cultivated on a vast variety of lignocellulosic substrates including straws, seed hulls, sugarcane bagasse, etc. Testing novel substrates for mushroom cultivation commonly implies the successful conversion of plant biomass to mushrooms evaluated through total yields, biological efficiency, mushrooms size, etc. However, testing for quality of the product and safety for human consumption is rarely considered. As part of the GIAR grant received, oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) grown on Phragmites australis biomass and deink sludge from paper recycling with and without anaerobically digested dairy solids supplementation were tested in regards of their safety for human consumption. Dried mushrooms were evaluated for concentrations of the following minerals and heavy metals: cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo), nickel (Ni), lead, (Pb), zinc (Zn), and lithium (Li). Samples were analyzed at the Wisconsin Soil and Plant Analysis Lab, University of Wisconsin - Madison. Minerals and heavy metals concentrations were compared to the reference dose for chronic oral exposure (RfD) listed by the U.S. EPA in the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). The RfD is an estimate of human population daily exposure likely to have unappreciable risk of deleterious effects over lifetime. There are not limits for all minerals and heavy metals listed above and some values are below detection levels through common analytical techniques. Results showed that manganese and nickel concentrations (8.6 mg/kg and 0.41 mg/kg, respectively) in mushrooms were much higher than the listed RfD values. However, the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) established by the Institute of Medicine for manganese is 1.9 - 2.3 mg/day and the upper limit intake is 6 - 11 mg/day (for a population of male and female adults). Therefore, a serving size of fresh mushrooms (85 g) will provide 0.73 mg/day. Upper limit intake for nickel is 79 to 105 μ/day and a serving size of mushrooms grown on the above mentioned substrate will provide 35 μg/day. Based on those results, it is concluded that manganese and nickel concentrations in mushrooms grown from a 50% / 50% Phragmites/deink sludge are within safety limits for human consumption."