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Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics Talent Expansion Program
The Next STEP
Research Projects Available for Summer 2008

Over forty research projects are available on the Truman campus for students to select from for summer 2008. The projects and faculty mentors are summarized in the table below in disciplinary and interdisciplinary categories. For detailed descriptions about the projects along with information about the mentor, please click on the project title or mentor name.

Agricultural Science

Title Mentor(s)
Utilization of crop biodiversity to alter structural and functional properties of maize starch Dr. Mark Campbell
The role of dark septate endophytes in water stress responses of the forage grass "Blue Grama" Dr.  John Ma, Dr. Jose Herrera
Comparison of visual methods of estrus detection in beef cattle Dr. Glenn Wehner

Biology

Title Mentor(s)
Characterization of dark septate endophytes along a latitudinal gradient Dr. Jose Herrera
Microfungal Web Imaging as a Tool for Developing Interest in Microfungi Among Educators and Students Around the World Dr. Jose Herrera
Predicting the Habitat Preference of a Rare Plant using Poisson Regression Analysis Dr. Hyun-Joo Kim
Identifying mice using statistics. Dr. Hyun-Joo Kim
Fecal contamination of local bodies of water Dr. Michael Lockhart
The role of dark septate endophytes in water stress responses of the forage grass "Blue Grama" Dr.  John Ma, Dr. Jose Herrera
Effect of Food Quality on the Digestion Efficiency of a Generalist Predator Dr. Chad Montgomery
Avian Nest Predation by a Semi-Arboreal Snake Predator, Elaphe obsoleta Dr. Chad Montgomery
The Maternal Effect in Population Dynamics  Peter Rolnick
Embryogenesis and cell migration in nematode worms Dr. Tim Walston

Chemistry

Title Mentor(s)
The Crystal and 3-Dimensional Molecular Structures of Compounds as Determined by X-Ray Diffraction Dr. Russell Baughman
Lead Distribution and Speciation in Plants Dr. Barbara Kramer, Dr. James McCormick
Thinking Small: Building Sensor Interfaces by Controlling Chemistry in Small Dimensions Dr. Brian Lamp
The role of dark septate endophytes in water stress responses of the forage grass "Blue Grama" Dr.  John Ma, Dr. Jose Herrera
Effect of Ligand Topology on the Structure of Lead Coordination Complexes Dr. James McCormick
The Reactivity of Transition Metal Complexes with Ozone Dr. James McCormick
Quantitative Determination of Chromium(VI) Using Sol-Gel Encapsulated Redox Chemistry Dr. David  McCurdy
Synthesis of Oxygen Carriers Dr. John O'Brien
Monte Carlo Simulation of the Critical Properties of a Mixture Ising-XY Model Dr. Eduardo Velasco

Computer Science

Title Mentor(s)
Microfungal Web Imaging as a Tool for Developing Interest in Microfungi Among Educators and Students Around the World Dr. Jose Herrera
Simulation study of statistical models Dr. Hyun-Joo Kim
Empirical Evaluation of Solutions to the Critical Section Problem Dr. Bob Matthews
Data Mining the Transcendentals Dr. Bob Matthews
Properties of Random Graphs Dr. Bob Matthews
The Busy Beaver Dr. Bob Matthews
The Maternal Effect in Population Dynamics  Peter Rolnick
Monte Carlo Simulation of the Critical Properties of a Mixture Ising-XY Model Dr. Eduardo Velasco

Mathematics

Title Mentor(s)
Simulation study of statistical models Dr. Hyun-Joo Kim
Predicting the Habitat Preference of a Rare Plant using Poisson Regression Analysis Dr. Hyun-Joo Kim
Identifying mice using statistics. Dr. Hyun-Joo Kim
The Maternal Effect in Population Dynamics  Peter Rolnick

Physics

Title Mentor(s)
Variable Star Spectroscopy Dr. Matthew Beaky
CCD Photometry of Variable Stars Dr. Matthew Beaky
TruDial: An Autonomous Camera at the Truman Observatory Dr. Matthew Beaky
Monte Carlo Simulation of the Critical Properties of a Mixture Ising-XY Model Dr. Eduardo Velasco

Interdisciplinary

Title Mentor(s)
The role of dark septate endophytes in water stress responses of the forage grass "Blue Grama" Dr.  John Ma, Dr. Jose Herrera
The Maternal Effect in Population Dynamics  Peter Rolnick





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