(For more detailed descriptions, see the Honors College Bulletin).
Introduction to Research in Magnetic Resonance and Medicine (UGS 200H-001)
Ronald Meyer, Departments of Radiology and Physiology, College of Human Medicine
Robert Wiseman, Departments of Radiology and Physiology
Kevin DeMarco, Department of Radiology
Mark DeLano, Department of Radiology
E. James Potchen, Department of Radiology
Students will be introduced to the concepts and applications of nuclear magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy in modern medical research and they will work on a research project, supervised by a team of MSU researchers, that focuses on optimization or cross-validation of imaging or spectroscopic methods in healthy human subjects.
Radiology 139, Wednesday, 4:10-5:00
Functional Anatomy of Reading Stories versus Solving Math Problems Using fMRI (UGS 200H-002)
Jie Huang, Department of Radiology, College of Human Medicine
Students will learn the fundamental principles involved in functional magnetic resonance imaging through a research project that will enable them to compare differences in brain activation between reading stories and solving math problems.
Radiology 139, Monday, 4:10-5:00
The State of Science: Sound Science and the Michigan Legislature (UGS 200H-003)
Mark Largent, STEPPS, James Madison College
Students will choose a science-related policy that they would like to see adopted and they will introduce it to Michigan state legislators through issue briefs. Topics could include any medical, economic, public health, environmental or technological issue students find interesting.
TBA Case Hall, Tuesday, 3:00-4:20
Behavioral Science and the Law: A Study of Juror/Jury Decision Making (UGS 200H-004)
Norbert L. Kerr, Department of Psychology, College of Social Science
Franklin Boster, Department of Communication, College of Communication Arts & Sciences
Craig Callen, MSU College of Law
Barbara O'Brien, MSU College of Law
This seminar will involve students in original empirical research at the law/behavioral sciences interface, including direct, hands-on experience with psycholegal research (e.g., conducting jury simulations to study the effects of various factors on juror and jury verdicts).
Eustace-Cole 207, Wednesday, 9:10-10:00
Resource Conservation at Michigan State University (UGS 200H-005)
Steven Safferman, Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, College of Engineering
Terry Link, Office of Campus Sustainability
Students will examine behavior, practices, and equipment that might reduce waste and save natural resources at Michigan State University. The seminar will include extensive background material presented by reviewing case studies and having discussions on teamwork, creativity, design, technology, policy, pollution control, ethics, marketing, and economics. Students will then conduct applied research revolving around a streamlined life cycle assessment (LCA) to gain a comprehensive understanding of resource conservation by the minimization of waste.
Farrall 102, Tuesday, 3:00-3:50
Experimental Mathematics (UGS 200H-006)
Robert W. Bell, Lyman Briggs School and Department of Mathematics, College of Natural Science
Aklilu Zeleke, Lyman Briggs School and Department of Statistics and Probability, College of Natural Science
This seminar introduces students to various mathematical concepts using computer experimentation. Students will use the computer to investigate mathematical structures, identify their fundamental properties and patterns, perform computations that are difficult to do by hand, make conjectures based on experimental results, and in some cases, formulate general theorems and prove their results.
LBS Quantitative Lab, Friday, 3:00-3:50
Exploring the Impact of Bullying in High School (UGS 200H-007)
Suzanne Cross, School of Social Work, College of Social Science
Glenn Stutzky, School of Social Work, College of Social Science
Angelique Day, School of Social Work, College of Social Science
In this seminar, students will research topics such as who bullies in high school and why, the types of bullying that occur, and how this behavior can be addressed by students, parents, school personnel and the community. Students will collect data by administering a research questionnaire to students in MSU classrooms, learn how to conduct data analysis, draw conclusions and share findings in writing and through the development of a professional poster presentation.
255 Baker Hall, Monday, 3:00-4:20
Solar-System Exploration: NASA's First 50 Years (UGS 200H-008)
Michael A. Velbel, Department of Geological Sciences, College of Natural Science
NASA research has revolutionized scientific and public understanding of the Earth and its Moon, other planets and their moons, asteroids, comets, meteorites, and the larger universe. NASA's missions and programs continue to be influenced by scientific questions. Students in this seminar will analyze data from selected current and past NASA solar-system exploration missions and solar-system research programs to investigate selected questions in the natural history of the solar system and to examine how the results of current and future solar-system exploration activities, missions and programs build upon the scientific background developed during NASA's first 50 years.
205 Natural Science, Friday, 9:10-10:00
Activist Movements for the Liberation of Nations (UGS 200H-009)
David Bailey, Department of History, College of Social Science
This research seminar will explore the various movements in the period after World War II for the liberation of nations throughout the world from totalitarian regimes. This is part of a larger project undertaken by a group of historians and related scholars to create a "Webseum" on the ways in which Americans organized resources to campaign against oppression overseas. Students will be trained in the best practices for digitizing historical material as well as recording all of the metadata associated with the primary documents.
Eustace Cole 207, Thursday, 4:10-5:00
Introduction to Materials Research Through Scanning Electron Microscopy (UGS 200H-010)
Carl Boehlert, Department of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science, College of Engineering
This seminar will allow students to learn about one of the most widely used tools in multidisciplinary materials-based research, a scanning electron microscope. Student projects will focus on SEM analysis of ceramics, composites, biomaterials, metallic alloys, etc. This Honors research seminar will also allow the students to use the knowledge they gained to teach local high school students about SEM.
1257 Anthony Hall, Thursday, 4:10-5:00
Impact of Equine Nutrition Practices on the Environment and Economics (UGS 200H-011)
Nathalie L. Trottier, Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Wendy Powers, Departments of Animal Science and Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering
Robert von Bernuth, School of Planning, Design and Construction
Christopher Wolf, Department of Agricultural Economic
The overall research goal of this seminar is to assess the impact of equine nutritional practices on air quality and environment. More specifically, students will determine the urinary and fecal nitrogen excretion profile from horses fed different levels of proteins and the resulting impact of nitrogen excretion on aerial ammonia emission. Students may also budget the economic implications of feeding diets that minimize nitrogen losses and ammonia emission into the environment while ensuring health of the horse. Students will be expected to actively work with horses.
1240 Anthony Hall, Wednesday, 4:10-5:00
Structural Collapse Caused by Fire: Statistical and Policy Analysis (UGS 200H-012)
Indrek S. Wichman, Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering
Venkatesh Kodur, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Craig Gunn, Department of Mechanical Engineering
This seminar will develop an extensive database of unwanted fires causing structural collapse. Structural collapse by fire is a challenging problem of societal, material and financial loss. The World Trade Center is the most severe recent example. Some issues examined in this seminar are: technical nature of the collapse, cost and duration of litigation following collapse, political and social implications and consequences to the downtown or locale of the structural fire. Students will be given an opportunity to synthesize the data into a form suitable for making both engineering and social inferences. Knowledge in use of statistics will be helpful.
Engineering Research Building, Room TBA, Tuesday, 8:30-9:50
International Affairs Knowledge and U.S. Foreign Policy Opinions (UGS 200H-013)
Professor Daniel Kramer, James Madison College
Professor Michael G. Schechter, James Madison College
While there is considerable information about the international affairs knowledge (or lack thereof) of U.S. citizens, and there are studies that correlate levels of education with foreign policy views, the research done in this seminar aims to fill a gap in the literature by connecting knowledge of international affairs with views on foreign policy. Students will (1) learn about public opinion as it relates to U.S. foreign policy; (2) become familiar with debates regarding democratic theory; and (3) construct, administer, and analyze a survey of MSU undergraduates to determine relationships between international affairs knowledge and views on U.S. foreign policy.
369L North Case, Monday, 9:10-10:00
Conducting Community Based Research for Medically Underserved Women (UGS 200H-014)
Karen Patricia Williams, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, College of Human Medicine
This research seminar introduces students to the basics of conducting community based research, which is applied research that combines the scholarship of inquiry and the relevance of practicality. The intended purpose is to solve an existing problem and to answer research questions with the input of the community. Students will have the opportunity to self select into one of three small research groups: (1) Design a web-based tutorial for community health workers; (2) Conduct quantitative data analysis of existing community health worker data; or (3) Conduct qualitative data analysis of community health worker focus group data.
D132 West Fee Hall, Tuesday, 3:30-4:30
The Impact of Emoticons in Internet Communications (UGS 200H-015)
Joseph B. Walther, Department of Communication and Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies & Media, College of Communication Arts & Sciences
This research seminar will involve 6 students in an original study exploring the impacts of emoticons (smileys, frownies, and even winkies) in email and Instant Messenger communication. Drawing on principles about human facial expressions and on emotions via the Internet, students will prepare and execute an experiment to test hypotheses about these familiar Internet symbols. Students will learn principles of experimental research, prepare stimulus materials for an online experiment, and analyze results.
25 Communication Arts Building, Tuesday, 8:30-9:50
Engaging the Global Knowledge Economy: Planning for Michigan's Intelligent Development (UGS 200H-016)
Kenneth E. Corey, Department of Geography and Urban & Regional Planning Program (URPP)
Diane M. Doberneck, Center for Community & Economic Development of University Outreach and Engagement and URPP
Rex L. LaMore, Center for Community & Economic Development of University Outreach and Engagement and URPP
John Melcher, Center for Community & Economic Development of University Outreach and Engagement and URPP
Faron Supanich-Goldner, Center for Community & Economic Development of University Outreach and Engagement and URPP
Mark I. Wilson, Urban & Regional Planning Program and Department of Geography
This seminar introduces students to the experience of Michigan cities seeking development opportunities from the global knowledge economy. As part of a nationally-recognized ongoing research project, students will engage both content and action. Content, in terms of learning about the forces of globalization and the relationship between local development experience and global trends, and Action, through applied research and analysis. The seminar will emphasize action research and include participation in the data collection and survey elements of the project.
120 Geography Building, Wednesday, 4:10-5:30
Usability of Websites, Mobile Devices, and Mobile Advertising (UGS 200H-017)
Constantinos K. Coursaris, Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies, & Media, College of Communication Arts and Sciences
The seminar will cover a broad range of usability topics, from the fundamentals of human-computer interaction to the research methods available for usability evaluation. This theoretical foundation will enable students to engage in usability-related research and evaluation, investigating such questions as whether or how various color schemes affect website usability and attractiveness, using both survey and experimental methods.
Room TBA, Wednesday, 3:00-3:50
Digital Literacy for Higher Education (UGS 200H-018)
Steven Weiland, Departments of Educational Administration, College of Education
Kris Renn, Department of Educational Administration
A newly popular way to describe Americans (and others) born after 1985 is as "digital natives," suggesting that they come to higher education with cognitive habits reflecting socialization in an Internet dominated world. This seminar is dedicated to exploring some consequences of this phenomenon. We want to learn how undergraduate students do their academic work in the context of the literacy being shaped by new information and communications technologies. The seminar will be organized for research on philosophical and practical questions associated with understanding and mastering "digital literacy."
224 Erickson, Monday, 3:00-3:50
Exile, Migration, Transnationalism: A Comparison of African and South Asian Area Studies Approaches (UGS 200H-019)
Kenneth Harrow, Department of English, College of Arts & Letters
Jyotsna G. Singh, Department of English
Conditions of exile, migration, and displacement are themes that go far back to religious and mythological texts. Figures of wandering nations, tribes, and individuals have haunted the human imagination in almost all societies—and certainly have been a staple of Western readings of human history. Students in this seminar will compare the ways in which African and South Asian literatures, cinemas, and arts have been produced, studied, and understood in the West in relation to current movements of post-colonialism and globalization, and they will develop a web page that will be a permanent resource for students of postcolonialism.
Eustace-Cole 207, Tuesday, 4:30-6:00
African American Music Capital of the Mid-West: Detroit Detroit (UGS 200H-020)
Jualynne E. Dodson, Department of Sociology, College of Social Science, and Director, African Atlantic Research Team
This seminar focuses on introducing students to qualitative scientific research. The fall semester will begin with a survey of socio-historical understandings that have contextualized the formation of "Gospel, Rhythm and Blues, and Jazz" as exemplary of African American music in the Mid-West. This will be followed by an introduction to qualitative field research by way of modified ethnography. Students will help to prepare data gathering instruments for their participant observations and directed interviews with expert persons associated with the three genres of music.
Eustace-Cole 207, Tuesday, 3:00-4:20
Exploring Geographic Racial Equality in the United States (UGS 200H-021)
Joe T. Darden, Department of Geography, College of Social Science
This research seminar will provide an opportunity for students to determine the extent to which the racial and ethnic diversity revealed by the 2000 United States Census contains patterns of geographic racial equality. This research seminar will teach students how to use the 2000 U.S. Census of Population and Housing to measure residential segregation and racial/ethnic equality. Students will extract the data, analyze it, interpret the results and write a paper on the findings.
Geography TBA, Tuesday, 3:00-4:20