Students with a high academic record entering their senior year—above a 3.5 GPA—can pursue Honors by completing significant or original work in their major. These projects are some of the finest work Ursinus students have completed, often leading to work in graduate school or by future Ursinus students. Students who complete a project of remarkable discipline and originality can earn Distinguished Honors.
Theses/Dissertations from 2023
Temperature-Dependent Reproductive Enhancement of the Pea Aphid from Mutualistic Infection by the Symbiont Hamiltonella defensa, Ian T. Abrahams
Self-Interest or Altruism: Why do Some INGOs Engage in Conflict Settings While Others Leave?, Rachel Arthur
Balancing Interests in Forest Governance in Brazil and Indonesia, Annabel McCormick Baldy
Using Click Chemistry to Assemble DNA-Conjugated Dendrimersomes for Targeted Delivery Applications, Paige Bristow
Experimental Study of Neutron Shell Structure in Chromium-53 via Neutron Transfer to Chromium-52, Dylan Todd Brown-Simms
Fluorescently Visualizing the Interaction Between Ciprofloxacin and PEG Modified Carbon Nanotube Inside of an Escherichia Coli Cell, Cassandra Burke
Investigating Protein Interactions Important for Synapses in the Developing Nervous System, Melanie DeRosa
A Discrete Morse Approach for Computing Homotopy Types: An Exploration of the Morse, Generalized Morse, Matching, and Independence Complexes, Connor Donovan
Adapting the Classics: Making the Invisible Visible, Kate Isabel Foley
Combined Effects of High-Fat Diet and Pregnancy on Cardiac Function, Alex Goldsby
Phosphatase Activities and Metal Binding Equivalencies of the De Novo Due Ferri Single Chain Proteins, Avraham Goldschmidt
Family Matters: Educational Expectation and the PSID, Michael Green
Japan: Where Did All the People Go? An Empirical Study on Economic and Social Impacts on Low Fertility in Japan, Sasha Heasley
Are Economic Outcomes Depressed When the Economic Agent is Depressed?, Elizabeth Kandler
The Contributions of Ketogenic Diet to Behavioral Alterations and Brain Development in C57BL/6-NClr Mice, Mya Knappenberger
The Effect of Dietary Nutrition on the Regeneration of Ambystoma mexicanum, Samuel Krause
Synthesis and Analysis of Reaction Based Fluorogenic Probes for the Detection of Chlorite in Drinking Water, William Krueger
Qing Dynasty Religious Manipulation of Tibet, Hannah Nancy Lee
Developing a Yeast Model System to Study the Human Orthologs of the Ribosome-Associated Complex, Amanda Marley
Audience Driven Scientific Communication in Agricultural Research, Austin Mickles
Novel As-S-Se Compositions of Solution-Processed Chalcogenide Thin Films for Infrared Optics, Annabella Orsini
Estimating the Xi Effect: How Chinese Aid Affects Economic and Political Institutions, Mackenzie Owens
A Semi-Automated Data Pipeline for Predicting Lunar Impactor Diameters From Pre-Impact Topography and Ray Geometry, Liam Powers
Isolation of Primary Microglia From Adult Mice to Examine Neuroinflammatory Response in Neurodegenerative Disease Modelling, Carly Rodriguez
Associations Between Sex Hormones and SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies, Laura Rothschild
Characterizing Expression of a Neuron Specific Protein in the Regenerating Tails of Axolotls, Jordan Ulsh
The Artist's Arsenal: HIV+ Women Artists, the ‘War on AIDS’, and Reclaiming Illness Narratives, Mekha Varghese
The Weaponization of Rape: Conflict-Related Rape and The International Criminal Court, Claire Velte
Effects of Ketogenic Diet on Cardiac Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in Mice, Luca Walborn
The Role of the Frontal Lobe in Communication, Stephen Wilkins
Theses/Dissertations from 2022
Characterizing Plasmids in Ciprofloxacin Resistant Transconjugants (CRTs), Benjamin Antill
Urban Forests and Their Potential to Combat Food Insecurity: Analyzing Street Trees in Baltimore, MD for Their Edibility, Victoria Bearden
Pigeonholed: Autistic Representation in Drama, Sarah Buck
Classical Conditioning of Cognitive States, Arthur Burns
The Modulation of SARS-CoV-2 S1 Glycoprotein on the Cytokine Activity of Microglia Cells, Courtney Burns
Fighting Food Insecurity in New York City: What Role for Street Trees?, Kristen Cooney
Genetic Interactions of PAM-1 & MPF in Developing Oocytes, Quaran Davis
Dopaminergic Axon Development in Prenatal Alcohol Exposure, Kevyn Dewees
Digging Deeper: The Impact of Depth on Soil Organic Matter Stabilization Dynamics in a Forage System, Finnleigh Shane Doherty
There Is Sometimes A Buggy: Queering the Cowboy, Kelsey Gavin
Feed-in Tariffs and Sustainable Energy: Why Different OECD Governments Support Sustainable Energy at Different Rates Through Feed-in Tariffs, Joshua M. Grahame
DNA Cleavage Activity of de novo Designed Due Ferri Single Chain (DFsc) Proteins, Alana Huynh
Investigating Protein Interactions Important for Synapse Formation in the Developing Brain, Simbarashe Kanjanda
Investigating the Interaction Between PAM-1 and WEE-1.3 During Meiosis in C. elegans, Sophie Lear
Candidate Emergence Among Women: Responsibility to Run, Abigail Peabody
Gabriel(le) et Marcel(le): La Fluidité du Genre dans Gabriel (1839) de George Sand et Madame Adonis (1888) de Rachilde, Elisa Rodriguez
What Role Do Women in Politics Play for Democratic Erosion?, Emelyn Rodriguez
Identification of Sex and Aging Differences in C57BL/6-NClr Mice on the Ketogenic Diet, Ken Sprankle
Bi the Way, Don’t Pan-ic: An Interview-Based Study of the Coming Out Experiences of College-Aged Bisexuals and Pansexuals, Annie Stockmal
Miracles Happen: An Exploration of Girlhood and Celebrity, Sarah Thompson
Press Any Button to Get Started: Approaching Japanese Culture and Society Through Video Games, Amanda Weber
The Effect of DNA Sequence on Oligonucleotide-Stabilized Lipid Micelles, Zenya Yanoff
Theses/Dissertations from 2021
Investigating Interactions Between PAM-1 and the Maturation Promoting Factor in Cell Cycle Regulation in Caenorhabditis elegans, Nareen Babaian
COVID-19: The Impact of a Nation’s Political Economic Structure on its Labor Market Spending Policies, Mary Margaret Baldy
Meta-Analysis of Long Term Executive Functioning Deficits in Individuals with Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries, Dominique Ballinger
Characterizing lz6, a Suppressor of the pam-1 Mutation in C. elegans, AJ Belville
Movement of Neurotransmitter Ions Through Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes (SWNTs), Michael Bonfiglio
Sunk or Dunk?: An Empirical Analysis of the Effect of Sunk Cost Fallacy in Professional Basketball, Hailey DiCicco
Neuroliberalism and Beyond, Neve Durrwachter
Historiography of the Crusades in Timelines: Big Data, Textual Analysis, and Data Visualization, Matthew Furgele
Tools for Change: Theatre for Social Justice in Communities of Marginalized Youth, Myla Haan
Simulating Many Body Localization With Rydberg Atoms, Alicia Handian
Differences in Endurance Exercise Capacity and Metabolic Gene Expression in Male and Female Mice, Lola Holcomb
Estimating White-Tailed Deer Abundance in Urban Freshwater Tidal Marsh Habitat, Ian Johnson
Subspecies and Sequence of Exon 10 of the AHR Locus in Three Mid-Atlantic Populations of Fundulus heteroclitus, Matthew Kenwood
The Phenomenon of Sexual Violence During Armed Conflicts in the Twenty-First Century: Entering the Era of Survivors as Agents of Peace, Shayna Kushner
Phenotypic Observations of Cytoskeletal Genes in C. elegans Compared to pam-1 Mutants, Shira Levin
Cool Japan and the Hallyu Wave: The Effect of Popular Culture Exports on National Image and Soft Power, Gillianne Lux
Differences in Male and Female Ex Vivo Contractile Forces and Fatigue Post-Injury in Mus musculus, Emily Megill
The Combined Effects of Thermal and Salinity Stress on the Species of Coral, Astrangia poculata, Hannah Merges
Cultural Empowerment in the Classroom: What Role Does Private Culture Have in Public Education?, Autumn Murphy
Single-Neutron States in 51Ti via Neutron Transfer Reaction to 50Ti, Jessica Nebel-Crosson
The Effect of Exercise Training on Glucose Homeostasis and Insulin Signaling in Type 1 Diabetic Female Mice, Caitlin O'Neill
Skorupskian Allyship: Human Rights Reconstructed Through Efficacious Enforcement and Social Relativism, Chase Opperman
Measurement of Hydrolytic Activity of DFsc Proteins Using 4-Methylumbelliferyl Phosphate and Bis(4-nitrophenyl) Phosphate, Joseph Pantel
The Curriculum of Change: Aims and Methods of a Social Justice Education, Thea Pastras
Do Students Buy Attention-Grabbing Stocks? A Field Experiment, George Psaradakis
How True is Causal Closure?, Paul Ravelli
Analysis of Plasma Cholesterol Levels With a High Fat Diet Induced-Obesity Mouse Model, Vikki Rueda-Juarez
Tuning Photo-Sensitive Intramolecular Electron Transfers in Rhenium Coordination Compounds, Nicole Schmalbach
Intellectual Access and Spirituality: The Twin Urgencies of Responsible American Education, Matthew Schmitz
Investigating the Interaction Between PSD-95 and Synaptic Adhesion Protein Slitrk2, Aliyah Stephens
A World With no Porpoise: Why the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society May be the Last Hope for the Vaquita, Ellie Templeton
Development of a Single-walled Nanotube Drug Delivery System for Clarithromycin, Christina Wentz
Victimes ou Criminelles: A Historical and Comparative Analysis of Sex Work Policy in France, Carver Wolfe
Theses/Dissertations from 2020
To Whom Consent May Concern: Understanding Consent Legally, Institutionally, and Culturally, Kiley Addis
The Yellow Belly Anthology: Micro-Films About Humans at Their Least Impressive, Tommy Armstrong
Differences in Glucose Uptake by [psi-] and [PSI+] Cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Samantha Beck
The Belt and Road Initiative: China’s Rise, America’s Balance, and Latin America’s Struggle, Garrett Bullock
Redox Properties of the de Novo Designed Due Ferri Single-Chain (G4DFsc) Model Protein, Kailyn Cohen
Communal Reciprocity in the Andes: An Ethnohistorical Approach to the Relationship Between Ayni and Food Production, Catherine Curran
