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Available research positions will be posted throughout the semester, so be sure to check back frequently. We strongly suggest to contact the Professor directly, the semester prior or the first week of, the semester you wish to participate in the research. |
Current Research Listings
Communications
- Health Communication Project (FURI grant)
Psychology
- Origins of the American Deaf-World
Music
- Research/Production Assistant for New Musical Theater Work
Philosophy
- Social Capital and Ethics : for the People, of the People
Chemistry
- Computational Chemistry Studies of Protein Function
Music
- Indexing "Chanting the Hebrew Bible"
Biology
- Development of a Seaweed Bioremediation System for Removing Organic
Pollutants from the Ocean
Communications
- Crisis Communication and Strategic Ambiguity
Earth
and Environmental Sciences - Set-up Environmental
Water Chemistry Lab
Political
Science - Exploring the African Immigrant Community in Boston
Psychology
- Auditory Attention
Psychology
- Visual and Auditory Attention and Perception
Physics
- Three Different Projects: Quantum Chaos, Left-Handed Metamaterials,
and Nanoparticles in Biotechnology
Biology
- How Termites Deal with Disease and Infection Risks
Co-op
Research Positions
Community
Based Research Initiative (CBRI)
- Massachusetts Public Library System
African-American
Studies - Economic and Community
Development from 1980-1990
Chemistry
- The Role of Water in Nucleic Acid Structure and Function
Psychology
- The Formation of Deaf Society, Language, and Culture in 18th and 19th
Century New England
Psychology/Business - The Relationship of Personality
to Financial Decision-Making
Visual Arts - Scanning Negatives for Archiving
and Preparing Scans for Output
Visual Arts - A Type Specimen
English / Theatre - Development of New Plays
English - Cultural Logics of Insurance in the
Wake of Terrorism
Philosophy and Religion - (1) Environmental Virtue
(2) Environmental Justice and Environmentalism (3) Spinoza's Ethical
Thought
Earth and Environmental Sciences - Boston Harbor
Islands Shoreline Processes
English - "Olivier's HENRY V and the Massacre
at Oradour-Sur-Glane: Tracing Historical Memory in Film"
English - Editorial Assistance
with New Textbook "DIALOGUES"
Sociology
/ Anthropology - Neighborhood Racial Integration
in U.S. Metropolitan Areas, 1970-2000: Is it Stable or Just a Passing
Phase?
Chemistry - Development of Novel Chemical Probes
for the Estrogen Receptor
Communications - Investigating Word-of-Mouth and
Buzz Marketing Communication Practices
History - Holocaust in Rovno,
Ukraine: November 1941
Biology
- Characterization of the Microbial Community in Contaminated Groundwater
Undergoing Bioremediation
Visual and Auditory Attention and Perception
Top
Faculty Member: Adam Reeves
Title: Professor
Department: Psychology
Email: a.reeves@neu.edu
Phone: 617-373-4708
Campus Address: 239 Lake
Hall (entrance through Nightingale)
Project Description: Check eye movements during color perception task to see if what you attend to influences what (and how) you see.
Job Description: Main: ability
to concentrate on a visual task for 1 hour
at a time. Patience. Secondary: help with
data analysis (spread sheet) and statistics
are always welcome.
Position Type: Part Time
Minimum GPA: 2.0
Undergraduate Researchers Needed:
1
Compensation: Work-Study
(P/T only), Volunteer
May Freshman Apply? Yes
Top
Three Different Projects: Quantum Chaos, Left-Handed
Metamaterials, and Nanoparticles in Biotechnology
Faculty Member: Sri Sridhar
Title: Director, Eletronic
Materials Research Institute, and CAS Distinguished
Professor
Department: Physics
Email: s.sridhar@neu.edu
Phone: 617-373-2930
Campus Address: 111 Dana
Research Center
Position Type: Part Time
Minimum GPA: --
Undergraduate Researchers Needed:
1
Compensation: Academic Credit
and/or Work-Study (P/T only)
May Freshman Apply? Yes
Top
How Termites Deal with Disease and Infection
Risks
Faculty Member: Rebecca
Rosengaus
Title: Assistant Professor
Department: Biology
Email: r.rosengaus@neu.edu
Phone: 617-373-7032
Campus Address: 306A Mugar
Life Sciences Building
Project Description: I am a behavioral ecologist and sociobiologist studying social insects (ants and termites). The methodology we use is multidisciplinary, encompassing behavioral observations, microbiological techniques, confocal microscopy, immunity, and biochemistry.
Position Type: Part Time
Minimum GPA: --
Undergraduate Researchers Needed:
1
Compensation: Academic Credit,
or Work-Study (P/T only), or Grant Funded
Wage or Stipend
May Freshman Apply? Yes
Top
Community Based Research Initiative (CBRI
web: www.cbri.neu.edu/)
Faculty Name: David Rochefort
Title: Distinguished Professor
Department: Political Science
Email: D.Rochefort@neu.edu
Phone: x4399
Campus Address: 303 Meserve
Project Description: Applications are still being accepted for participation in a community-based research project to take place during the Spring 2004 semester. The focus of the research will be the status of the Massachusetts public library system, particularly in the aftermath of state funding cuts during the last fiscal year.
Job Description: Working in cooperation with the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, the research team will document the extent of recent cuts as well as the strategies used by local library administrators to maintain essential services. Students from all disciplines are encouraged to apply, but especially those with a background in the Social Sciences, English, Journalism, Education, or Communications. Participants are eligible for course credit and a stipend payable at the end of the semester.
Position Type: Part Time
Minimum GPA: 2.0
Undergrad Researchers needed:
5
Compensation: Academic Credit,
Grant Funded Wage or Stipend
May Freshman Apply? Yes
Top
Economic and Community Development from 1980-1990
Faculty Name: Joseph D Warren
Title: Professor
Department: African-American
Studies
Email: j.warren@neu.edu
Phone: x5010
Campus Address: 215 Lake/435
Columbus Place
Project Description: Review and validate work done by the Warren Commission and the Community Development Coordinating Committee(CDCC) to promote community participation, community development, and economic enrichment of the largely African American population in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, especially Greater Boston.
Job Description: Interview and photograph 40-50 political, community, and business leaders. The Snell Library Archives will serve as the major information source.
Two semester commitment preferred, with an average of 15-20 hours/week over those two semesters to be divided as needed by project demands and student schedule.
Position Type: Part Time
or Full Time
Minimum GPA: 2.0
Undergrad Researchers needed:
1
Compensation: Academic Credit,
Work-Study (P/T only), Co-op Work-Study (F/T
only)
May Freshman Apply? Yes
Top
The Role of Water in Nucleic Acid Structure
and Function
Faculty Name: Eriks Rozners
Title: Assistant Professor
Department: Chemisty
Email: e.rozners@neu.edu
Phone: x5826
Campus Address: 351 Egan
Center
Project Description: Studies on the structure, dynamics, and recognition of nucleic acids are important for the understanding of biological processes. Although the double helix conformation according to the Watson-Crick rules is well understood, the interplay of non-covalent interactions that determine exact conformation of the helix remains controversial. The long-term goal of this research is to study the effects of hydrogen bonding, heterocyclic base stacking, and hydration on the stucture of double helical DNA and RNA using novel modified nucleosides. We will use spectroscopic techniques to determine hydration of biologically relevant nucleic acid fragments.
Job Description: The student will be responsible for (1) preparing the research samples using liquid chromatography techniques (HPLC), (2) collecting the data of UV therman melting experiments on the samples prepared using chromatography, and (3) processing the meling data and calculating the hydration of DNA and RNA. The goals for the student are (1) to gain deeper research experience working with the state-of-art techniques and mehtods (both chemical and biophysical) used in modern chemistry and biology laboratories. The present project is expected to develop into a long-term collaboration between the student and the faculty.
The time commitment for this project ideally would be 10-12 hours per week. If necessary, a lighter schedule would be fine as well. Previous laboratory experience is useful but not required. All skills can be learned during the project. However, hard work, enthusiasm, commitment, and strong desire to learn will be crucial for a successful experience.
Position Type: Part Time
Minimum GPA: 2.0
Undergrad Researchers needed:
1
Compensation: Academic Credit,
Work-Study (P/T only), Grant Funded Wage or
Stipend
May Freshman Apply? Yes
Top
The Formation of Deaf Society, Language, and
Culture in 18th and 19th Century New England
Faculty Name: Harlan Lane
Title: Matthews University
Distinguished Professor
Department: Psychology
Email: lane@neu.edu
Phone: x3076
Fax: x3784
Campus Address: 125 Nightingale
Project Description: We have been investigating the formation of Deaf society, language, and culture in America as Deaf people immigrated into New England in the late 17 and early 1800s. Deaf people sought one another and gathered in clusters that allowed them to have help from Deaf neighbors, to attend interpreted services in church, to enjoy social life, and to marry other deaf persons and have deaf children.
We are currently focused on Maine; we have identified a very large proportion of all the Deaf people who lived there in early times and have entered them into our master genealogy of more the 1,000 names and several hundred Deaf marriages.
But the genealogy is incomplete. There are many Deaf families that we suspect had common ancestors, but we have yet to identify those ancestors. To do so, we need to consult rare genealogic documents at the Maine Historical Society.
Our earlier work has been published and we expect this work will also lead to publication.
Job Description: The student will search files at the Maine Historical Society for references to families that we identify as of interest. The student would then search the genealogy for relevant material and photocopy those pages or enter data directly into genealogy software. The student would regularly meet with me and my co-investigator, Dr. Richard Pillard, an expert in family studies, to discuss findings, trends, and hypotheses. He or she will assist in the write-up of findings. The student must have a car to get to/from Portland, ME and will be available at least one day a week to go to Maine. For this reason, a student residing on the North Shore or with family in NH or ME is preferred.
Position Type: Part Time
Minimum GPA: 2.0
Undergrad Researchers needed:
1
Compensation: Academic Credit,
Work-Study, Grant Funded Wage or Stipend
May Freshman Apply? Yes
Top
The Relationship of Personality to Financial
Decision-Making
Faculty Name: Rae Andre
Title: Professor, Organizational
Behavior and Theory
Department: HRM-CBA
Email: r.andre@neu.edu
Phone: 781 862 6237
Campus Address: 304 HA
Project Description: Following up on my book The T-Factor: Organizational Type, Personality Type and Your Career, I want to investigate the relationship of personality and personal financial decision-making. I need a very good literature review and a preliminary questionnaire study based on what we learn in the lit review.
Job Description: Research business and psychological articles. Write a literature review. Create, administer, and score a questionnaire. Write up the results. Must be a self-starter able to work independently.
Position Type: Part Time
Minimum GPA: 3.5 (firm)
Undergrad Researchers needed:
1
Compensation: Academic Credit
May Freshman Apply? No
Top
Scanning Negatives for Archiving and Preparing
Scans for Output
Faculty Name: Neal Rantoul
Title: Associate Professor,
Head, Photography Program
Department: Visual Arts
Email: n.rantoul@neu.edu
Phone: x2346
Fax: x8535
Campus Address: 239 Ryder
Hall
Project Description: Needed: Part time with experience in high-end scanning to work with valuable 8 x 10 inch and 120 mm negatives to archive and prepare for printed output. Will last late summer and through fall
Job Description: Several hours per week, most likely need to be a photo concentrstor in the middler and above class. Expereince with scanning necessary. All equipment will be provided.
Position Type: Part Time
Minimum GPA: 2.5
Undergrad Researchers needed: 1,
possbly two
Compensation: Academic Credit
or Work Study
May Freshman Apply? No
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A Type Specimen
Faculty Name: John Kane
Title: Lecturer
Department: Visual Arts
Email: jkane1@comcast.net
Phone: x4340
Fax: x8535
Campus Address: 239 Ryder
Project Description: An historic overview of the major categories of typographic development over the last 550 years, with detailed specimens of charcteristic typefaces from each period and brief biographies of significant typographers.
Job Description: Researching biographical data of major typographers, key dates in typeface development. Researching visual source material for each typeface. Researching source texts by or about significant typographers and printers.
Students should be able to work with diverse achivists, and should have a passing acquaintance with art history (type history a plus but not necessary). Meticulous file management crucial.
Position Type: Part Time
Minimum GPA: 3.3
Undergrad Researchers needed:
1
Compensation: Academic Credit
or Financial Compensation
May Freshman Apply? No
Top
Development of New Plays
Faculty Name: Sam Bernstein
Title: Professor
Department: English
Email: s.bernstein@neu.edu
Phone: x5764
Campus Address: 546 NI
Project Description: Prof. Bernstein is researching and writing a new play and revising several plays currently under review.
Job Description: The student will assist with research, typing, and filing, as well as interactions with agents, producers, and theatres to take the plays to production. Some knowledge of music and musicals helpful but not required.
Position Type: Part Time
Minimum GPA: 2.5
Undergrad Researchers needed:
1
Compensation: Grant Funded
Wage or Stipend
May Freshman Apply? No
Top
Cultural Logics of Insurance in the Wake of
Terrorism
Faculty Name: Elizabeth
Britt
Title: Associate Professor
Department: English
Email: e.britt@neu.edu
Phone: x5170
Campus Address: 433 Holmes
Project Description: I am conducting a rhetorical analysis of the debate leading up to the passage of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002. This federal legislation was enacted to protect insurance companies from the overwhelming claims caused by events such as the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. I am interested in how terrorism is defined by insurers (as well as how it is distinguished from other catastrophic events), how events are determined to be insurable, and how the relationship between the state and the private sector is understood.
Job Description: You will have two main roles: compiling a bibliography of the materials I have already collected, and finding new materials relevant to the project. You should be very comfortable doing web research and working independently.
By collaborating on this project, you will see how rhetorical critics begin new research, including how they identify texts as worthy of analysis, how they refine research questions as new texts are collected, and how they manage large amounts of textual data.
Students from any major are welcome.
Position Type: Part Time
Minimum GPA: 3.3
Undergrad Researchers needed:
1
Compensation: Grant Funded
Wage or Stipend
May Freshman Apply? No
Top
(1) Environmental Virtue (2) Environmental
Justice and Environmentalism (3) Spinoza's
Ethical Thought
Faculty Name: Ronald Sandler
Title: Assistant Professor
Department: Philosophy and
Religion
Email: r.sandler@neu.edu
Phone: 617.373.3619
Campus Address: 363 Holmes
Hall
Project Description: (1) Writing a monograph on the relationship between character and the environment. (2) Editing a collection on the relationship between the environmental justice movement and the environmentalism movement. (3) Revising a monograph on Spinoza's ethical theory.
Job Description: Research assistant--including library research, literature reviews, manuscript preparation, information management, and correspondance. Must have basic library and word processing skills.
Position Type: Part Time
Undergrad Researchers needed:
1 or 2
Compensation: Academic Credit,
or Work-Study (P/T only)
May Freshman Apply? Yes
Top
Boston Harbor Islands Shoreline Processes
Faculty Name: Peter S. Rosen
Title: Chair, DEES
Department: Earth and Environmental
Sciences
Email: p.rosen@neu.edu
Phone: 617 373-4380
Campus Address: 14 Holmes
Hall
Project Description: This ongoing project is identifying the factors leading to the formation of the Boston Harbor Island shorelines. We are presently looking at erosion processes, including impacts of waves on the beaches and retreat of the bluffs; and integrating these short-term processes with the long-term rise in sealevel.
Job Description: Assist in the collection and analysis of data; assist in the preparation for a professional field trip to the harbor; assist in the production of graphics, including slide and photo scanning from both historic photography of New England shorelines and scientific illustrations.
Position Type: Part Time
Minimum GPA: 2.5
Undergrad Researchers needed:
1
Compensation: Academic Credit,
Work-Study (P/T only), Grant Funded Wage or
Stipend
May Freshman Apply? Yes
Top
"Olivier's HENRY V and the Massacre at
Oradour-Sur-Glane: Tracing Historical Memory
in Film"
Faculty Name: Kathy Howlett
Title: Associate Professor
and Co-Director of Cinema Studies
Department: English
Email: k.howlett@neu.edu
Phone: 617/373-4554
Fax: 617/373-2509
Campus Address: 427 Holmes
Project Description: Many critics have deemed Olivier's cinematic adaptation of Shakespeare's HENRY V as a "retreat from history" and lament that the film reinforces their sense of historical distance from the subject portrayed. Yet Olivier's film is also marked by curious spatial and temporal transgressions in what seems to be the nostalgic teleology of the film's representations, most notably in the scenes representing the Battle of Agincourt. I propose to explore the link between Olivier's battle scenes and accounts of the Massacre at Oradour-sur-Glane on June 10, 1944 (four days after the allied invasion of Normandy), when SS troops encircled the town of Oradour and murdered 642 women, children, and men. In particular, I need to know more about the details of the war and of this massacre that were being communicated to the English during 1944 and 1945. Also, I need to see if Olivier himself communicated any knowledge of these events through correspondence, diairies, comversations, etc.
Job Description: Desired
skills include the following:
1) ability to research books and journal articles,
locate them, xerox them, or order them through
Interlibrary Loan.
2) compile an accurate and complete working
bibliography of historical and secondary sources.
3) review available WWII newsreel coverage
in NUlibrary's Media Center and elsewhere
in Boston libraries.
Position Type: Part Time
Minimum GPA: 3.0
Undergrad Researchers needed:
one
Compensation: Grant Funded
Wage or Stipend
May Freshman Apply? Yes
Top
Editorial Assistance with New Textbook "DIALOGUES"
Faculty Name: Gary Goshgarian
Title: Professor
Department: English
Email: g.goshgarian@neu.edu
Phone: 617-373-3965
Fax: 617-373-2509
Campus Address: 406m Holmes
Hall
Project Description: I need a student to help me with the 5th edition of my forthcoming writing textbook, DIALOGUES, to be published next Fall by Longman Publishers.
Specifically, I need help getting permissions for pieces to be used in the book. This involves writing letters to authors. It may also mean writing editorial apparatus--headnotes, study questions, etc.
Job Description: Ability to write clearly and to type.
Position Type: Part Time
Minimum GPA: 2.5
Undergrad Researchers needed:
one
Compensation: Work-Study
(P/T only)
May Freshman Apply? Yes
Top
Neighborhood Racial Integration in U.S. Metropolitan
Areas, 1970-2000: Is it Stable or Just a Passing
Phase?
Faculty Name: Samantha Friedman
Title: Assistant Professor
of Sociology
Department: Sociology and
Anthropology
Email: s.friedman@neu.edu
Phone: 617-373-3856
Campus Address: 535 Holmes
Hall
Project Description: The stability of racially integrated neighborhoods, particularly those containing just whites and blacks, is not well researched. The goal of this project is to fill this gap in the literature and document the extent to which racially integrated neighborhoods in 1970 and 1980 remain integrated in 1980, 1990, and 2000. Another major objective is to determine why some neighborhoods remain integrated while others shift to either being largely black or largely white.
Job Description: The student hired for this job will help conduct the statistical analysis of census data for this project. It is essential that the student have experience using SAS (or SPSS). Experience with ArcView GIS would be an asset. The student should be a self-starter and able to work independently.
This project is part of the Faculty Undergraduate Research Initiative Program (FURI). Therefore, the student will be paid a stipend for their work.
Position Type: Part Time
Minimum GPA: 3.3
Undergrad Researchers needed: 1
Compensation: Academic Credit, Grant Funded Wage or
Stipend
May Freshman Apply? Yes
Top
Development of Novel Chemical Probes for the Estrogen Receptor
Faculty Name: Robert N.
Hanson, Ph.D.
Title: Professor
Department: Department of
Chemistry and Chemical Biology
Email: r.hanson@neu.edu
Phone: 3313
Campus Address: 206 HT
Project Description: My research group is involved in the synthesis and evaluation of new analogs of estadiol that can interact with the estrogen receptor. These interactions can take a number of forms, depending upon the receptor subtype and structure of the analog. Understanding the relationship between the interactions and protein/small molecule structures will allow us to design new molecules with specific biological properties.
Job Description: Student participation will involve supporting the roles of the graduate students and research associates directly involved in the research. Such activities include purification and characterization of intermediates, maintenance of laboratory equipment, and assisting the research staff with specific operations.
Necessary experience includes completion of Organic Chemistry II, with particular emphasis on laboratory skills. Students should be able to do organic reactions, simple chromatography, melting points, recrystallizations, and extractions.
Position Type: Part Time
or Full Time
Minimum GPA: n/a
Undergrad Researchers needed:
2
Compensation: Academic Credit,
Work-Study (P/T only), Co-op Work-Study (F/T
only), Grant Funded Wage or Stipend (including
FURI Fellowships), or Volunteer
May Freshman Apply? No
Top
Investigating Word-of-Mouth and Buzz Marketing
Communication Practices
Faculty Name: Walter Carl
Title: Assistant Professor
Department: Communication
Studies
Email: w.carl@neu.edu
Phone: 617-373-4075
Campus Address: 101 Lake
Hall (119 Holmes Office)
Project Description: Although the influential role of word-of-mouth (WOM) communication – informal, evaluative communication (positive or negative) between consumers regarding an organization and/or its brands, products and services – has been known for decades, a more recent phenomenon is the emergence of the buzz marketing industry and explicit organizational efforts to stimulate “buzz” (contagious, positive talk about a brand, service, product, or idea). While existing research has focused on the social antecedents, consequences, and moderators of WOM, it has failed to investigate actual WOM interactions as they occur in conversations of acquaintances, friends, and family, or how the relationship history of the parties shapes the talk. Further, no research exists on the actual communication practices of buzz marketing agents as they engage in their marketing efforts, and the relational consequences of this form of social interaction. In partnership with a Boston-based buzz marketing firm, this project proposes to build and analyze a corpus of naturally-occurring (non-laboratory settings) WOM episodes, among everyday people and buzz agents, to better understand the WOM and buzz phenomena, as well as to determine the implications for communication training efforts of buzz marketing firms.
Job Description: Undergraduate research assistants would be involved with literature review work, coordinating data collection and analysis efforts, as well as transcribing (typing recorded conversations into text) work. They will gain significant experience in both quantitative and qualitative analysis, as well as specific content knowledge in the arenas of word-of-mouth communication, buzz marketing, interpersonal communication, and organizational communication.
- Library and online database research skills
- Transcription skills (prior experience preferred,
but not required)
- Course in research methods (quantitative
and/or qualitative) (preferred, but not required)
- Microsoft Office, esp. Word, PowerPoint,
and Excel
- Attention to detail
- Strong written and oral communication skills
- Motivated and curious
Position Type: Part Time
or Full Time
Minimum GPA: 3.0
Undergrad Researchers needed:
3
Compensation: Academic Credit,
Work-Study (P/T only), Co-op Work-Study (F/T
only), Grant Funded Wage or Stipend (including
FURI Fellowships), Volunteer
May Freshman Apply? No
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Holocaust in Rovno, Ukraine: November 1941
Faculty Name: Jeffrey Burds
Title: Associate Professor
of History
Department: History
Email: j.burds@neu.edu
Phone: 617-373-2079
Campus Address: 249 Meserve
Hall
Project Description: I am writing a history of the massacre of 17,500 Jewish men, women, and children in a German mass action at Sosenki Forest (near Rovno) on 7-9 November, 1941. I have drawn new material from more than fifty handwritten affidavits of eyewitnesses preserved in archives in Moscow, Jerusalem, Berlin, Rovno, and Washington, D.C. While I have drawn from Russian, German, Polish, and Ukrainian sources, I need a student assistant with fluent Hebrew who can work through a limited selection of Hebrew-language texts.
Job Description: I seek a student collaborator who is fluent in reading and translating materials from Hebrew to English. This student would read and summarize a limited number of published and unpublished Hebrew affidavits and eyewitness reports, providing oral and/or written translations of selected passages. As a FURI-funded position, this work offers $750 for 5 hours per week in the Fall term only, and requires the student to attend three FURI seminar meetings. I am also willing to offer a directed reading in History (HSTU924) for up to four semester credits during the Fall and/or Spring terms.
Position Type: Part Time
Minimum GPA: 3.0
Undergrad Researchers needed:
1
Compensation: Academic Credit,
Grant Funded Wage or Stipend (including
FURI Fellowships)
May Freshman Apply? Yes
Top
Characterization of the Microbial Community
in Contaminated Groundwater Undergoing Bioremediation
Faculty Name: Gail S. Begley,
Ph.D.
Title: Assistant Academic
Specialist
Department: Biology
Email: g.begley@neu.edu
Phone: 617 373-3491
Campus Address: 414 Mugar
Project Description: We are looking at growth and community composition in groundwater samples from a hazardous waste site in southeastern Massachusetts where naturally occurring microbes are being harnessed to clean up contaminants, a process known as bioremediation. Oxygen is being added to the groundwater at the site to stimulate the growth of microbes capable of degrading key contaminants in order to ensure drinking water quality. We are comparing the microbial communities in oxygen treated, untreated, and previously treated water samples to assess the effects of treatment.
Job Description: The undergraduate researcher will work independently, doing mostly microscopic work to analyze biofilm communities grown in groundwater samples from the site. The researcher may also help to design and deploy a system for sampling community growth in the field. Applicants must have successfully completed BioU301. Completion of a course in Microbiology and/or Ecology is preferred. Microscopy skills will be essential, but students without much previous microscopy work may still apply. The project will require organization, diligence, and great attention to detail.
Position Type: Part Time
Minimum GPA: 3.0
Undergrad Researchers needed: 1
Compensation: Grant Funded Wage or Stipend (including
FURI Fellowships)
May Freshman Apply? No
Top
Set-up Environmental Water Chemistry Lab
Faculty Name: Peter Rosen
Title: Chair
Department: Earth and Environmental Sciences
Email: p.rosen@neu.edu
Phone: 617 373-4380
Campus Address: 14 Holmes Hall
Project Description: Set-up water chemistry lab, including electrophoresis. Learn to use equipment and test water samples from test wells around the NU Campus.
Job Description: Science major (Environmental Geology, Biology, Chemistry), knowlege of hydrogeology, familiarity with analysitcal instrumentation
Position Type: Part Time
Minimum GPA: 3.0
Undergrad Researchers needed: 1
Compensation: Grant Funded Wage or Stipend (including
FURI Fellowships) May Freshman Apply? No
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Auditory Attention
Faculty Name: Adam Reeves
Title: Professor
Department: Psychology
Email: reeves@neu.edu
Phone: 617 373 4708
Campus Address: 125 NI
Project Description: Test human subjects' ability to hear weak tones in noise. Analyze resulting data to determine how and when auditory attention affects this ability.
Job Description: Course work: At least one Psychology course in perception, cognition, or neuropsychology. Also, Behavioral statistics. Skills: ability to work with numbers and organize data. Knowing a Spreadsheet program is a plus.
Position Type: Part Time
Minimum GPA: 3.1
Undergrad Researchers needed: 1
Compensation: Grant Funded Wage or Stipend (including
FURI Fellowships)
May Freshman Apply? No
Top
Exploring the African Immigrant Community in Boston
Faculty Name: William Miles
Title: Professor
Department: Political Science
Email: b.miles@neu.edu
Phone: 617 373 3950
Campus Address: 301 Meserve Hall
Project Description: This project aims to provide a comprehensive description and analysis picture of the African community in Boston and environs. Student/s will visit service providers in the Boston area catering to African immigrants (e.g., International Institute of Boston, South African Development Fund, and Travelers’ Aid Society) and gather information relating to their African clienteles and communities. In addition, student/s will meet with leaders, and create a database, of formal and informal associations of African immigrants.
Job Description: Students who are themselves immigrants, or the children of immigrants, from Africa will have easiest access to the focus population of this study. Good interpersonal skills, experience in interviewing, and a desire to travel around Boston are required.
Position Type: Full Time
Minimum GPA: 2.75
Undergrad Researchers needed: 2
Compensation: Grant Funded Wage or Stipend (including
FURI Fellowships)
May Freshman Apply? Yes
Top
Crisis Communication and Strategic Ambiguity
Faculty Name: Alan Zaremba
Title: Associate Professor
Department: Communication Studies
Email: a.zaremba@neu.edu
Phone: 4073
Campus Address: 123 Holmes
Project Description: I am involved with ongoing research related to crisis communication and a theory referred to as strategic ambiguity. In addition to organizing, compiling, and studying information on each of these subjects an objective of the research is an examination of the frequency, problems, and merits of employing strategic ambiguity during times of organizational crisis.
Job Description: Interest in academic research.
Interest in crisis communication and deceptive communication.
Position Type: Part Time
Minimum GPA: 3.3
Undergrad Researchers needed: 1
Compensation: Grant Funded Wage or Stipend (including
FURI Fellowships)
May Freshman Apply? No
Top
Development of a Seaweed Bioremediation System for Removing Organic
Pollutants from the Ocean
Faculty Name: Donald Cheney
Title: Associate Professor
Department: Biology
Email: d.cheney@neu.edu
Phone: 617, 373-2489
Campus Address: 442 Richards Hall
Project Description: According to a recent report by the EPA on the condition of our nation’s coastline, 27% of the Northeast’s estuaries have sediments contaminated with PCBs and PAHs at concentrations that can cause harmful ecological effects. Current methods for eliminating organic pollutants like PAHs, PCBs and TNT from contaminated waters and sediments require sediment dredging and disposal. We are interested in developing a new and safer approach for reducing organic pollutants from our bays and estuaries. This project will screen native seaweeds from both petroleum-polluted and unpolluted sites for their ability to take up, concentrate, and detoxify PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) from seawater.
Job Description: Must be able to organize lab culture experiments and run them independently. Must have some knowledge of chemical analytical techniqes.
Position Type: Part Time
Minimum GPA: 3.0
Undergrad Researchers needed: 1
Compensation: Academic Credit, Work-Study (P/T only)
May Freshman Apply? No
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Indexing "Chanting the Hebrew Bible"
Faculty Name: Joshua Jacobson
Title: Professor
Department: Music
Email: j.jacobson@neu.edu
Phone: x3635
Campus Address: Music 351 Ryder
Project Description: The student will create indices to my 1000-page tome, "Chanting the Hebrew Bible." Together with the instructor, the student will identify key words that would be significant for an index, as well as significant biblical passages, and then assemble the indices. The student's work, once completed, will be published by the Jewish Publication Society.
Job Description: familiarity with biblical Hebrew, music and cantillation theory.
Position Type: Part Time
Undergrad Researchers needed: 1
Compensation: Academic Credit, Work-Study (P/T only),
Co-op Work-Study (F/T only), Grant Funded Wage or Stipend (including
FURI Fellowships), or Volunteer
May Freshman Apply? Yes
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Computational Chemistry Studies of Protein Function
Faculty Name: Mary Jo Ondrechen
Title: Professor
Department: Chemistry and Chemical Biology
Email: M.Ondrechen@neu.edu
Phone: 2856
Campus Address: HT122
Project Description: Using computational chemistry techniques, our NSF-sponsored research explores protein function: How do enzymes affect catalysis, how do proteins recognize specific ligands, and, given a 3D protein structure of unknown function, what residues are important to its function? There are two applications of our electrostatics-based site-prediction methods that are particularly appropriate for undergraduate research projects. One of these involves allosteric enzymes for which structures of both active and inactive conformations are available. Students will compute electrostatic and chemical properties of the different conformations and compare with available experimental information in order to understand the factors that contribute to allosteric activation or inhibition. The other application is a study of the effects of pH-dependent conformational changes on the binding properties of antigen-presenting proteins. Students will study how pH affects hydrogen bonding and salt bridges and will use computed protonation states to interpret experimentally measured antigen binding affinities. Undergraduate researchers in the Ondrechen group learn computational techniques including macromolecular visualization, molecular modeling, protein electrostatics, and molecular dynamics. NSF-REU stipends may be available in the summer but we must apply in advance. Please contact me before February 1 if you are interested in an NSF-REU position so that I may apply for the funds in time. Please note that NSF-REU stipends require U.S. citizenship or permanent residency and a good academic record.
Job Description: Our work is interdisciplinary and we are happy to work with majors in the following areas: Chemistry, Biochemistry; Computer Science; Electrical/Computer Engineering; Mathematics; Physics. Students must have either knowledge of chemistry and/or strong computer/computational skills.
Position Type: Part Time or Full Time
Minimum GPA: 3.0
Undergrad Researchers needed: 2
Compensation: Academic Credit, Work-Study (P/T only),
Co-op Work-Study (F/T only), Grant Funded Wage or Stipend (including
FURI Fellowships), or Volunteer
May Freshman Apply? Yes
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Social Capital and Ethics : for the People, of the People
Faculty Name: Patricia Illingworth
Title: Associate Professor
Department: Philosophy
Email: p.illingworth@neu.edu
Phone: 4167
Campus Address: 361 Holmes Hall
Project Description: This project explores the idea that the concept of social capital is an ethical concept that deserves recognition by philosophers, legal scholars and policy makers. We will explore the implications of the concept for global justice, global health and the global pharmaceutical industry.
Job Description: Students will undertake interdisciplinary research on the concept of social capital, do critical review of the material, and help in manuscript preparation.
Position Type: Part Time or Full Time
Minimum GPA: 3.0
Undergrad Researchers needed: 1
Compensation: Work-Study (P/T only), Grant Funded Wage
or Stipend (including FURI Fellowships)
May Freshman Apply? Yes
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Research/Production Assistant for New Musical Theater Work
Faculty Name: Allen Feinstein
Title: Assistant Professor
Department: Music
Email: a.feinstein@neu.edu
Phone: 617-373-2442
Campus Address: 365 Ryder Hall
Project Description: In February, 2007, the NU Center for the Arts will stage a professional production of a new musical, At Swim Two Boys, composed by Prof. Allen Feinstein.During the fall additional songs for the musical will be composed, the music will be scored for pit orchestra, and the play will be refined in collaboration with the librettist, director, choreographer, music director, producer, and many other theater professionals. Extensive revisions of the work will take place en route to the production.
The musical is set in Ireland in 1915. During the fall Irish music of this period will be researched for insights into scoring the musical for the pit orchestra. Later in the fall, auditions will be held for the cast in Boston and New York, and a pit orchestra will be hired.
Job Description: This is an opportunity for a student to have input on the creation of a new musical, and to take on important responsibilities during the process of mounting the work. The student will go to the Irish Music Center at Boston College to assist with research on use of instruments during the time period in which the musical is set.
The student may assist in many aspects of editing and communicating the music to the production team. The student will be encouraged to provide feedback about the play and music. Depending on the student's skills, he or she may be involved in the creation of sheet music based on computer music files. Student may also assist in logistics of casting, rehearsals, recruiting musicians for the pit orchestra, marketing. Other research opportunities may arise based on student interest and needs of the production.
Preferred skills/experiences:
--Research skills
--Organizational skills, ideally in a theatrical context
--Experience in musical theater
--Facility with Finale music software
--Interest in dramaturgy
Position Type: Part Time
Undergrad Researchers needed: 1
Compensation: Grant Funded Wage or Stipend (including
FURI Fellowships)
May Freshman Apply? Yes
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Origins of the American Deaf-World
Faculty Name: Harlan Lane
Title: Matthews University Distinguished Professor
Department: Psychology
Email: h.lane@neu.edu
Phone: 617 859-8445
Campus Address: 125 NI
Project Description: We are continuing our investigation of how the Deaf-World in America was founded. In particular we focus on Maine, which received many Deaf settlers from, notably, the large Deaf community on Martha’s Vineyard; from Kent, in England, and from throughout New England. By identifying, as far as possible, all the Deaf individuals who were in Maine in the first half of the 19th century, using censuses, genealogies, town histories, and membership rolls, and by identifying their progenitors and descendants, we are increasingly able to describe how large Deaf clans developed through intermarriage, how Deaf people gathered in disproportionately large numbers in various towns, and how the development of a relatively homogenous Deaf language and culture was supported by intermarriage and travel among these geographic clusters. Furthermore, we can infer types of transmission of deafness from familial patterns of deafness. In our prior work, we have associated types of Deaf inheritance with types of Deaf social organization.
Job Description: In order to continue and extend our investigation, we seek a student assistant who can spend time at the New England Historical Genealogic Society in Boston identifying and photocopying the required genealogies of Deaf people. Preferred skills: enjoys attention to detail and historical sleuthwork; good academic record; some background in history or sociology preferred but not required.
Position Type: Part Time or Full Time
Minimum GPA: 3.0
Undergrad Researchers needed: 1
Compensation: Academic Credit, Work-Study (P/T only),
Co-op Work-Study (F/T only), Grant Funded Wage or Stipend (including
FURI Fellowships), or Volunteer
May Freshman Apply? No
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Health Communication Project (FURI grant)
Faculty Name: Carey Noland
Title: Professor
Department: Organizational Communication
Email: c.noland@neu.edu
Phone: 781 801 2881
Project Description: The Faculty Undergraduate Research Initiative (FURI) program, sponsored by the CEA, is designed to support undergraduate research through a variety of means, including assisting students in finding faculty to work with, providing some funding for undergraduate research, and tracking participation in undergraduate research throughout the college. The goal is to provide students with meaningful intellectual and practical research in their chosen academic disciplines while aiding faculty in their research and scholarship.
Job Description: Research assistant
Position Type: Part Time
Undergrad Researchers needed: 1
Compensation: Grant Funded Wage or Stipend (including
FURI Fellowships)
May Freshman Apply? Yes
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Thank you to all faculty
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