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While studying abroad in Rajasthan, India, Anderson Tuggle ’14 assumed he would experience a new and unfamiliar culture. He was not aware that he would uncover a chapter of history that is largely forgotten. In his project funded by the Arthur Levitt Public Affairs Center, Tuggle is researching India’s political integration after achieving independence from Britain.

Because Bisphenol A, or BPA, has been identified as a factor in conditions including obesity, ADHD, reproductive complications and behavioral abnormalities, consumers and health officials have been alarmed at the presence of the chemical in food and drink products for years. In a summer research project,  Lisbeth DaBramo ’15 and Rachel Sobel ’15 are measuring BPA levels in bottles and cans to identify how this toxic compound is introduced into our systems.

This summer, Mackenzie Leavenworth ’15 is living the dream of any classics major. With funding from an Emerson Foundation grant, she is working on an excavation in Gournia, Greece. In addition to uncovering information about the ancient site, she has the opportunity to explore Greece, undoubtedly making her the envy of many of her classmates.

When Jessica Moulite ’14 was growing up, she didn’t watch cartoons. Instead, she was only allowed to watch the news. She credits this with giving her a lasting interest in journalism and broadcasting, one which she is exploring this summer through an internship with CBS. With funding from the George and Martha Darcy Internship Support Fund, managed by the Career Center,  she is working with the CBS Evening News and gaining experience toward a future career in broadcast media.

In a Levitt Center group research project this summer, Samantha Sherman ’15, Timothy Cowan ’15 and Kelly Osterling ’15 are searching for factors that drive success in small cities.  Unique policies are typically implemented in micropolitan areas (defined as containing an urban core of at least 10,000, but less than 50,000, population),  to better serve the local economies and populations.  The students are finding similarities between these successful or failing communities and will introduce constructive policy reforms.

William Marsden ’14 is helping Arkadium, a professional game development company, become more environmentally conscious this summer. Working as the business operations intern, Marsden is overseeing the company’s Go Green initiative to implement more sustainable practices.

Information, regardless of its accuracy, spreads rapidly through social media, reaching and influencing millions of readers.  In special instances, stories achieve viral status, where a large number of people receive the material within days, if not hours. Unfortunately, oftentimes information is incorrect, yet people accept it as true.

While planning her study abroad experience in France, Mary (Caroline) D’Ambro ’15 developed a deep interest in the political system of the country, particularly in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) that has affected the European Union (EU).  In her research sponsored by the Arthur Levitt Public Affairs Center, D’Ambro will study the past, present and future of this European agricultural policy.

Associate Professor of Biology Michael McCormick directed a group of four students on an adventure to Antarctica in 2012. They were part of a LARISSA expedition led by Principal Investigator Eugene Domack, the J. W. Johnson Family Professor of Environmental Studies.  Andrew Seraichick ’13 was one of the students who explored and sampled the ocean waters that are now accessible after the Larson A ice shelves disintegrated.

When Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code was released, it generated both curiosity and criticism for its portrayal of Christianity. For Ivy Akumu ’15, it sparked an interest in the history of Christianity and, by extension, of other religions. Her growing fascination led to an Emerson Foundation-funded research project this summer, titled “Demystifying African Religion.”  Through this project, she aims to deconstruct misconceptions about traditional African religions, partially through drawing parallels between them and Christianity.