Nine Clark University undergraduates have been awarded Steinbrecher Fellowships to pursue creative research projects in the sciences and humanities. The projects will begin this summer and continue through the 2018-19 academic year.
The Steinbrecher Fellowship Program encourages and supports Clark undergraduates’ pursuit of original ideas, creative research, and community service projects.
This year’s Steinbrecher Fellows’ projects are:
- Toni Armstrong ’19, who will explore the choices that exhibition designers make when creating modern art galleries, and how these choices inform audience understanding. She will visit several art museums in Europe and blog about her impressions of the exhibits and their designers. Armstrong majors in art history and ancient civilizations; her faculty sponsor is Kristina Wilson, professor of art history in the Department of Visual and Performing Arts. (Read story about Toni Armstrong.)
- Cory Bisbee’ 19, who will create an electronic repository of information on South Korea’s elite political figures, offices, and state bodies, and build the information into a curated web platform. He will research, translate, and populate the website, and will work to make it a dynamic, searchable resource. Bisbee majors in political science and Asian studies; his faculty sponsor is Suzanne Scoggins, assistant professor in the Department of Political Science.
- Iolanthe Brooks ’19, who will explore the issue of mobility in contemporary punishment practices in New York City. Brooks will explore how prison transfers and the process of relocating a prisoner to an alternative community corrections facility affects the incarcerated person — specifically if transportation/relocation is used as an additional form of punishment. Brooks majors in sociology; her faculty sponsor is Patricia Ewick, professor in the Department of Sociology.
- Casey Bush ’18, who will investigate the topic of forgiveness among Holocaust survivors at the United States Holocaust Museum. She also will travel to the CANDLES (Children of Auschwitz Nazi Deadly Lab Experiments Survivors) Holocaust Museum to interview founder Eva Kor about her decision to forgive Nazi Dr. Josef Mengele, who performed experiments on Kor and her twin sister during World War II. Bush majors in history, with a concentration in Holocaust and genocide studies; her faculty sponsor is Thomas Kuehne, professor of history, the Strassler Chair in the Study of Holocaust History, and the director of the Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies. (Read story about Casey Bush.)
- Max DeFaria ’20, who will travel to Santiago, Chile, to examine the prevalence of food inaccessibility across regions and neighborhoods in the city. DeFaria will explore food safety policies and public awareness of nutritional quality and standards. DeFaria majors in geography and Spanish; his faculty sponsor is Rinku Roy Chowdhury, professor in the School of Geography.
- Linnea Menin ’19, who will use molecular and bioinformatic methods to understand the little known microbial communities in a dozen kettle ponds on Cape Cod and in Walden Pond. She will conduct nutrient analyses to determine how changes in nutrient levels impact microbial communities. Menin majors in biology; her faculty sponsor is Nathan Ahlgren, assistant professor in the Department of Biology.
- Sydney Pepper ’19, who will serve as an administration intern and fellow for the Etchings Festival in Auvillar, France. Pepper will learn about nonprofit art management and receive additional training in music composition and conducting. Pepper majors in music and English; her faculty sponsor is John Aylward, composer, associate professor of music composition and theory in the Department of Visual and Performing Arts, and founder of the Festival.
- Salma Shawa ’19, who will travel to South Africa over winter break to collect personal stories about how the former apartheid regime affected social relationships. Shawa’s honors thesis will compare the impact of South African policies during apartheid with policies implemented by Israel in Palestinian territories. Shawa majors in political science; her faculty sponsor is Michael Butler, associate professor in the Department of Political Science.
- Maggie Tarbox ’19, who will intern with Project Limestone, a nonprofit organization in Nassau, Bahamas, which helps children ages 8 to 18 improve their academic performance and provides them with team building and community engagement. Tarbox will develop writing workshops and hold tennis and basketball clinics for the children. Tarbox majors in history; her faculty sponsor is Melissa Butler, instructor in the Department of Sociology.
“I am very excited to be working with this year’s fellows,” said Deb Robertson, professor of biology and acting director of the Steinbrecher Fellows Program. “We had a stellar pool of applicants, and we are thrilled to be able to support the work of these talented and innovative students. I look forward to the fall and hearing about their summer experiences.”
The Steinbrecher Fellowship Program was established in 2006 to in memory of David C. Steinbrecher ’81, by his parents, Phyllis and Stephen Steinbrecher ’55, and is funded by generous gifts from the Steinbrecher family and friends of David.