August 21, 2006
Anton and Steinbrecher Fellowships enable Ten Clark Students
to Conduct Creative Research
Worcester, Mass. - Harrison E. Mackler of Longmeadow, Mass., and nine other Clark University undergraduates have been pursuing independent scholarly and creative projects and will continue to do so during the upcoming academic year with support from the Anton and Steinbrecher Fellowship Program.
Mackler spent his summer at Clark conducting tissue engineering research. His project is aimed at evaluating the biocompatibility of a bone scaffold material that will support the transformation of stem cells into bone cells that can potentially be used as a replacement for traditional bone grafts. Harrison, a biology major and aspiring dentist, is excited about the possibility that his research could provide a new source of bone generation for people who lose bone from trauma or illnesses such as osteoporosis, arthritis and cancer. His Steinbrecher Fellowship provided funding for him to purchase cells and tissue culture reagents for use in the Clark Biology Lab. More information about Mackler's project, and his online diaries, are available at: Mackler Diary.
Anton Fellowships have been awarded to five Clark undergraduates:
Hilary May of Lakewood, Colorado, is conducting research on the lives and positions of women in Europe during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. She will use her research to create an audio tour for the Higgins Armory Museum in Worcester, which will provide visitors to the Museum with information about how women fit into the world illustrated by the artifacts in the museum and how the almost constant conflicts during the Medieval and Renaissance eras affected women's lives. Hilary also plans to use her research for her senior honors thesis in history.
Tara Goodhue, of Chelmsford, Mass., has conducted research this summer on Mozart's life and works and has performed some of his works in Mexico as part of an opera touring company headed by Maestro France Iglesias, the former voice teacher of Placido Domingo. She will prepare a program on Mozart and opera to present at high schools and community groups in and around Worcester when she returns to Clark this fall. The presentation will include Tara's performance of selections from Mozart's operas, such as the Marriage of Figaro. Her project is aimed at bringing an appreciation of opera, which she first encountered and came to love when she was in the sixth grade, to many more people.
Brooks Marmon of Arrington, Virginia, spent the summer in the Republic of Ghana working as a volunteer at the Buduburam Refugee Camp outside Accra, organizing and running education and recreation programs for youth aged 6-14, whose families fled civil wars and unrest in Liberia, Sierra Leone, the Ivory Coast and other countries. He conducted research on Pan-Africanism at the Du Bois Centre, the Padmore Library and the University of Ghana. Marmon will draw on this research for his Senior Honors thesis on Pan-Africanism and E. Franklin Frazier, the renowned black sociologist, who received a master's degree in sociology from Clark University in 1920.
Courtney J. Croteau of Lexington, Mass., spent her summer in San Francisco interning at Asian Neighborhood Design, a non-profit organization with programs in architecture, community planning, employment training, and family and youth resources. She has assisted with projects in community planning, including an Affordable Housing and Mapping Project, using geographic information system (GIS) technology to show where all of the affordable housing built in the city over the past 30 years is located. Courtney is also conducting independent research on issues concerning housing affordability in San Francisco.
Geoffrey Bonn, of Bolton, Conn., is conducting research on Buddhism in America. Between August and October, Bonn's focus will be on the Mahayana, Theravadin and Zen traditions, with an up-close look at the teachings of a contemporary Buddhist Master, Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, the principal teacher of the New Kadampa Tradition. Bonn will interview people who attend and teach Buddhist classes at various Buddhist Centers in the Northeast, including the Providence Zen Center and the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Mass. He will wind up his efforts at the International Fall Kadampa Festival in Glen Spey, New York.
Four other students have received Steinbrecher Fellowships:
Luke Pekrul of New Ulm, Minn., has been piloting English literacy classes for women in a small, rural community in Zambia this summer. He has worked with local community members and organizations to recruit and train teachers. His research will evaluate the effects of the pedagogy used. This pilot program could become the basis for establishing a permanent English literacy program in parts of Zambia in which, although English is the official language, nearly half of the female population and about one-third of the male population can't read or write in English.
Niluka Gunawardena of Colombo, Sri Lanka, has spent her summer doing "Malaria Risk Mapping in the Uva Province of Sri Lanka." Malaria has become a growing concern in Sri Lanka since the Tsunami devastated much of the region in 2004. Using geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing technology, Niluka's research will help identify the areas most vulnerable to the spread of malaria.
Huyen Nguyen, of Hanoi, Viet Nam, spent the summer examining the productivity of state-owned and private enterprises in Vietnam's textile industry. She is analyzing statistical data from the World Bank and IMF on industrial production to compare the state and private sectors and their contribution to Vietnam's GDP. She is also doing original case studies of a public and a private textile company in Ho Chi Minh City and in Hanoi, after conducting interviews with managers in both firms.
Nagraj Rao of New Delhi, India, is investigating the development of mathematics in ancient India. He is focusing on Vedic Mathematics, which was "rediscovered" in the early 20th century in the Sanskrit texts The Vedas and migrated to the West. He is conducting library research at Clark and interviews with prominent mathematicians in India. Rao is also exploring the possibility of applying Vedic Math techniques to areas such as algebra, trigonometry, calculus, and graph theory, and is interviewing students and teachers at schools where Vedic Mathematics is taught to learn more about how it might be used to strengthen mathematics education in the United States.
The Anton Fellowship Program was established six years ago by a gift from Clark alumni Barbara '56 and Thomas '56 Anton. The Steinbrecher Fellowship Program was created earlier this year by Phyllis and Stephen '55 Steinbrecher in memory of their son David C. Steinbrecher '81. Both Fellowships are designed to spark students' excitement about the pursuit of intellectual ideas and public service and to stimulate discussions within the Clark community. The Anton and Steinbrecher Fellowship Program is directed by Professor Sharon Krefetz, a faculty member in the Government Department and former Dean of the College at Clark.
"We at Clark are so fortunate to have alumni and friends of the University like the Antons and the Steinbrechers, who through their generous gifts make it possible for undergraduate students to pursue fascinating and important research and community service projects," said Krefetz."These students are using their Fellowships to do terrific projects that will truly make a difference in their lives and in the lives of many, many other people."