Video and Photo Gallery
MUSE 2011 Photos
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Solid-state Chemistry
Benny Chan, asssistant professor of chemistry, collaborated with chemistry students Sergio Pulido ’09 and Sarah Wehrhan ’11 on a solid-state chemistry project involving chalcogenide materials, funded by National Starch and MUSE. The team studied the properties of frustrated materials with magnetic centers that, due to their structures, don’t align in the way they are predicted and could lead to a bettter understanding of superconducting materials. The also began a fundamental study of how to synthesize solid state chalcogenide materials to apply to thermoelectrics and an experiment in making nitride nanostructures for use in nanotechnology.
Kilimanjaro’s Glaciers
Matthew Bender, assistant professor of history, Tamra Wroblesky ’10 and Beatrice Kwok ’10 collaborated on a study of the local populations’ perspective on the melting Kilimanjaro’s Glaciers, where 800,000 Chagga people reside on the mountain’s slopes. The team travelled to Tanzania for 5 weeks to interview the locals about the meaning of the mountain, why the glaciers are melting, how it affects their lives and its connection to global warming. They are working on organizing their findings to share with the broader scholastic community. The project was funded by MUSE.
Public Art in Trenton, NJ
Sarah Cunningham, director of The College Art Gallery, and Michelle Nugent ’09 collaborated on a public art project as part of a Trenton-based summer research program at the College funded by the National Conferences on Undergraduate Research and the Alice and Leslie E. Lancy Foundation. Nugent designed a mural for the West Ward Center, a recreational center that provides a free after-school program to Trenton residents. She worked with children from Trenton-based summer camps to paint the mural as a colorful cityscape of Trenton. Nugent also designed a mosaic for Homan Park in the Hillcrest neighborhood of Trenton and volunteered at Trenton Art All Night.
The Ecology of Exotic Crayfish in New Jersey
Keith Pecor, assistant professor of biology,and Sarah Wolfson ’10 collaborated on a study of the distribution and ecology of several species of native and exotic crayfish in New Jersey, funded by the College’s Mentored Undergraduate Summer Experience (MUSE). Pecor and Wolfson spent part of the summer doing a field study on the distribution of crayfish in New Jersey-focusing on Hunterdon County-to update outdated research from the 1950s. They also collaborated on laboratory work to study the chemical ecology and behavioral interactions of New Jersey’s native and exotic crayfish. Pecor and Wolfson plan to continue their research in the fall semester.
Forensic Chemistry
John Allison, professor and director of forensic chemistry, collaborated with Shawn Donnelly ’09, Josette Marrero ’09, and Kevin Fowler ’09 on a questioned-document analysis project as part of the College’s Mentored Undergraduate Summer Experience (MUSE). Allison and his students investigated questioned documents that were created using an inkjet printer–a device many counterfeiters use to produce fake currency or false identification documents. The project was suggested by the US Secret Service, which is searching for new methods to analyze inks from the printers.
View these videos on the TCNJ Web site