Campus Events and Media Releases

UMF Undergraduate Research Council Announces Fall 2009 Michael D. Wilson Research Scholars and Fellows

FARMINGTON, ME (December 3, 2009)--The University of Maine at Farmington
Undergraduate Research Council has recently named 14 students as fall 2009
Michael D. Wilson Scholars and Fellows. This unique program recognizes some
of the highest academic scholarship at UMF. It awards funds that underwrite
research project expenses and helps promote purposeful scholarship,
leadership and student/faculty collaboration.

The Wilson awards are funded by a generous gift from Michael and Susan
Angelides, Stonington, Conn., in honor of their good friend and UMF alumnus
Michael D. Wilson, class of 1976, who died shortly after graduating.

"The Wilson Program is a real success story at UMF," said Theodora J.
Kalikow, UMF president. "It combines donor generosity with creative student
thinking and dedicated faculty guidance to inspire in-depth student
learning. That's a winning combination and what UMF is all about."

The annual Michael D. Wilson Research Scholar Program has been supporting
single-semester research, scholarship and creative projects at UMF since
the fall of 2006. The program was expanded in the fall of 2007 to include
two full-year Wilson Research Fellow awards to support even more
substantive research projects.

David Heroux, UMF assistant professor of chemistry and chair of the UMF
Undergraduate Research Council, reports the Wilson Program has supported
over 80 students' scholarly work since its inception. According to the 2009
report from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), sponsored by
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, significantly more
UMF students by their senior year have engaged in some form of internship,
field experience or undergraduate research than their counterparts at other
colleges and universities that participated in the study.

Student applicants are nominated by a UMF faculty sponsor and, after a
competitive selection process, are chosen by the UMF Undergraduate Research
Council.

The fall 2009 recipients include, Wilson Fellows: Joshua Case, New
Vineyard; D. Jamez Terry, Farmington. Wilson Scholars: Daniel Allen, West
Gardiner; Jamie Beaulieu, Farmington; Nancy Boucher, Easthampton, Mass.;
Lee Cart, Wellington; Megan Devine, Pembroke, Mass.; Lori Green, Saco;
Skylar Hopkins, Old Town; Sebastian Jackson, Bingham; Tyler Kirk, Hampden;
Casey Paige, Auburn; Abigail J. Parker, Newington, N.H.; and Nancy Varin,
Beddington.

Fall 2009 Michael D. Wilson Fellows:

Joshua Case -- New Vineyard
A senior with an individualized double major in music/mathematics and
mathematics, Case is researching ways to apply mathematical principles to
the understanding of music. His faculty sponsor is Lori Koban, UMF
assistant professor of mathematics.

D. Jamez Terry -- Farmington
A senior majoring in history with minors in English and religion, Terry is
finalizing his primary source research on the cultural constructions of
Charles Guiteau, assassin of President Garfield, at the Library of Congress
and the Chicago Historical Society. His faculty sponsor is Christopher
O'Brien, UMF assistant professor of history.

Fall 2009 Michael D. Wilson Scholars:

Daniel Allen -- West Gardiner
A senior majoring in mathematics, Allen is computing the
Bieri-Neumann-Strebel invariant of Lamplighter groups--a mathematical
structure that models computer algorithms. His faculty sponsor is Nicholas
Koban, UMF assistant professor of mathematics.

Jamie Beaulieu -- Farmington
A senior majoring in geology, Beaulieu is investigating the effect of the
retreat of the Laurentide ice sheet on local topography to better
understand the unpredictable nature of the disintegration of this
continental glacier. His faculty sponsors are Doug Reusch, UMF associate
professor of geology; and Daniel Jackson, UMF assistant professor of
mathematics.

Nancy Boucher -- Easthampton, Mass.
A senior majoring in philosophy/religion, Boucher is investigating the life
and work of Albert Einstein viewed through the philosophies of Hegel, Marx
and Sartre. Her faculty sponsor is Frank Underkuffler, UMF lecturer in
philosophy.

Lee Cart -- Wellington
A senior majoring in creative writing with a minor in Spanish, Cart is
writing a series of creative non-fiction essays to explore the concept of
home and the effect different cultures have on personal development. Her
faculty sponsor is Gretchen Legler, UMF professor of creative writing.

Megan Devine -- Pembroke, Mass.
A senior majoring in environmental science, Devine is using the ICP-OES
analysis of lichen to test for air quality in Jay versus New Portland,
Maine. Her faculty sponsor is David Heroux, UMF assistant professor of
chemistry.

Lori Green -- Saco
A senior majoring in history, Green is examining the influence of Jacob
Cochran on the Saco Valley as a man who challenged established religious
and marital beliefs at a time when religious piety and tradition dominated
life. Her faculty sponsor is Christopher O'Brien, UMF assistant professor
of history.

Skylar Hopkins -- Old Town
A junior with a double major in biology and geology, Hopkins is dissolving
local limestone in the hopes of recovering microfossil teeth through which
she'll be able to date the limestone. Her faculty sponsors are Doug Reusch,
UMF associate professor of geology; Mariella Passarelli, UMF associate
professor of chemistry; and Dan Buckley, UMF professor of biology.

Sebastian Jackson -- Bingham
A sophomore majoring in history, Jackson is examining the "Black Athena
Controversy" of the late 1980s and early 90s and its reflection on the
persistence of racism in American academia. His faculty sponsor is Daniel
Becker, UMF visiting instructor of history.

Tyler Kirk -- Hampden
A senior majoring in international studies, Kirk's research focuses on
Stalinism, collective memory and how it tells the Russian story. His
faculty sponsor is Louis Sell, UMF lecturer in Russian history.

Casey Paige -- Auburn
A senior majoring in international studies, Paige's research analyzes
Charles De Gaulle through French memoirs of the Algerian War. His faculty
sponsor is Daniel Becker, UMF visiting instructor of history.

Abigail J. Parker -- Newington, N.H.
A senior majoring in psychology, Parker is studying the link between
students' methods of funding their education and their academic
motivations. Her faculty sponsor is Alison Terry, UMF assistant professor
of psychology.

Nancy Varin -- Beddington
A junior majoring in political science, Varin is investigating the
interpretation and implementation of the Freedom of Information Act in
Maine politics. Her faculty sponsors are Linda Beck, UMF associate
professor of political science; and James Melcher, UMF associate professor
of political science.

# # #

For more information, please contact David Heroux, UMF assistant professor
of chemistry at 207-778-7368, or david.heroux@maine.edu.

EDITOR'S NOTE: You will find photo at
http://www.umf.maine.edu/campus/docs/RP090-022.jpg

Photo Credit: UMF Photo

Photo Caption: UMF Undergraduate Research Council announces fall 2009
Michael D. Wilson Scholars and Fellows, (left to right) first row: Nancy
Varin, Lori Green, Lee Cart. Second row: Megan Devine, Daniel Allen,
Abigail Parker, D. Jamez Terry. Third row: Tyler Kirk, Joshua Case,
Sebastian Jackson, Nancy Boucher.