Highlights from the 2004 Maple Scholars program:

Rosanna Nafziger studies complexities of origami

Since receiving an origami book for the first time on her eighth birthday, Goshen College senior Rosanna Nafziger has been fascinated with the intricate creases and delicate lines of the Japanese paper-folding art. She studied origami math in Professor of Mathematics David Housman’s Conjecture in Proof class, combining two of her favorite things. As a Maple Scholar at Goshen College this summer, the program has provided her with the opportunity to continue immersing herself in the subject. Read complete story.

Zebulon Holsopple explores the outdoors and models of conservation

Zebulon Holsopple spent his summer days in the sun – tracking animals, collecting plants and taking an occasional camping trip. He wasn’t on vacation between academic semesters – he was participating in the 2004 Goshen College Maple Scholars program, a summer research opportunity for students to work side-by-side with Goshen College professors. Consisting of eight weeks of research, the program culminates in a final symposium showcasing each student’s work. Read complete story.

Other Maple Scholar researchers

In another mathematical project, a group of students representing minorities worked with David Housman, professor of mathematics and computer science, to mathematically analyze different ways of fair division. They were supported by an external grant from the Mathematical Association of America. ĖThe goal of the grant is to attract more students from under represented groups into the mathematics profession,Ó said Housman. For the first time since the inception of the Maple Scholars program, positions were open to students outside of the Goshen College campus. Tabitha Robbins from Detroit, who will attend the University of Michigan in the fall, joined HousmanĮs research team. Other members of the group included Aeron Huang (Sr., Shanghai, China), Ulises Martinez (Sr., Goshen) and Jesse Johnson (So., Minneapolis, Minn.). Huang, Martinez and Johnson considered inheritance scenarios; specifically, how to divide an estate containing several objects among two or more persons. Robbins studied methods of fairly dividing the savings that result from cooperation among persons, businesses or governments.

Brett Buller (Sr., Bluffton, Ohio) and Michael Buckwalter (So., Goshen) worked with Professor of Biology James Miller on the red blood cell membrane transport rate. Their research consisted of using a spectrophotometer, solutions of different acidity and basicity and an inhibitory drug called phloretin in order to characterize the function of the protein transporters on the red blood cell membrane.

Dan Horst (Sr., Goshen), Danny King (Sr., Danville, Ill.) and Professor of Physics John Ross Buschert collaborated on a project titled Holographic Interferomoetry of Handbells. “Basically, we’ve looked at how sound is produced and radiates from a bell and what can be done to make a better handbell,” said King.

Andrew Weber (Jr., Reading, Pa.) also spent significant time outdoors at the Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center, where he focused on birds. “He has documented some birds on our property that are relatively rare and that we did not know we have here,” said David Miller, Merry Lea program director and Weber’s faculty adviser.

Matt Clemens’ (2004 grad, Harrisonburg, Va.) research took him back in history to the ancient Near East. Studying biblical curses, he worked on developing “a formula for what it looks like on a structural level to say certain things that effect a change of state, or constitute an action.” Clemens was advised by Paul Keim, associate professor of Bible and religion and philosophy.

Meryl Roth (Jr., Palmer Lake, Colo.), coordinated with faculty adviser Nancy Ryan Nussbaum, associate professor of communication and director of research for international education, on the first longitudinal survey of Study-Service Term (SST) between the years of 1968 and 1996. Collecting qualitative and quantitative data through surveys and personal interviews, they specifically looked at how SST has had an impact on participants’ vocational choices.

Ben Reed (2004 grad, Topeka, Ind.) spent his days in the art building, “gaining experience working with an artist, seeing how things work and learning about being an artist.” His working relationship with Associate Professor of Art John Mishler was similar to an apprenticeship common in the Middle Ages. Part of Reed’s project was to ready a metal foundry in the sculpture lab that will be used by students to learn about and perform castings in aluminum and bass.

The biophysics group, consisting of Becca Johnson (Jr., Archbold, Ohio), Jason Schmucker (Sr., Holland, Ohio) and Professor of Physics Carl Helrich, were interested in the decay of channels that form in lipid membranes after fusion with ergosterol carrying vesicles. It is known that different percentages of ergosterol attribute to different, often very distinctive, structures of the cell membrane. With this knowledge, they created a working model of the decay dynamics of the different structures. This summer's research included experimentation to obtain more data for interpretation, the building and assembly of a new apparatus for conducting experiments, and further development of the Goshen Model.

Valery Howard (Sr., Elkhart, Ind.) and Katie Beck (Sr., Archbold, Ohio) worked with faculty adviser and Professor of Biology Stan Grove to study genetics in mutant yeast. More specifically, they searched for a cellular transport gene that facilitates the movement of potassium in and out of the cell.