Dear Student:
Below, you will find what we hope is a helpful resource for you in pursuing your research. We have compiled a list of professors, who have directly indicated to us that they are willing to work, in some capacity, with undergraduates on research. Next to each professor, we have included the personal blurb that they wrote to us, which will help you in determining which professor will best be able to help you. Please note that the extent to which each professor is willing to commit is different: whereas some would be willing to initiate or involve you in formal for-credit research partnerships and/or would be able to frequently meet with you, others would be only able to communicate with you by phone or email, either because they are away from the university or because of time commitments. We have provided the email address of each professor so that you may contact him or her to determine his or her availability.
By no means should this be the only resource you use in determining what professor would be best for you to work with on research. Although this listing has the unique benefit of containing only professors who have explicitly indicated a willingness to work with undergraduates, other resources that you may find helpful include the department websites themselves and the CURF database. Several professors have provided us with detailed descriptions of their research interests that are not available on the CURF database and department websites, but it is also possible that the CURF database and department websites contain information we do not have here. Therefore, ideally, all three should be used together in order to maximize your chances of finding the professor that would best help you.
Please note that at the end of this listing, we have provided you with information about research workshops offered by the library.
Anthropology
·
Dr. Gautam Ghosh: Cultural anthropology, migration and
diaspora, globalization and (trans)nationalism, anthropology and history,
time and space, religion, social thought and social theory, (post)colonialism,
cyberia, development, philosophical anthropology, music, South Asia,
Asian-American studies. Gautam Ghosh studied anthropology at the
Home page: http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~gghosh/
Contact information: gghosh@sas.upenn.edu
·
Dr. Janet Monge:
Here are the links to most of the projects I
am
involved in - I have many undergraduate students working on these projects with
me and would welcome the opportunity for students next academic year to join
us. The first project -NSF REU website -
appears to be only for visiting Native American students (looking at it now
makes me realize that I must change the intro part of the website) but it is
for Native American and Penn students.
http://www.museum.upenn.edu/new/NSF-REUsite/museum/index.shtml
http://grape.anthro.upenn.edu/%7Elab/pennct/
http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~jmonge/
Contact information: jmonge@sas.upenn.edu
·
Dr. Francis Johnston: I would be pleased
to work with undergraduates in their research. My
research interests are in the areas of nutrition, public health, and child
growth. Besides my work in West Philadelphia I have widespread experience in
malnutrition in the Third World, especially in Central America,
Contact information: fjohnsto@sas.upenn.edu
·
Dr. Marilyn Norcini: I'd be happy to be
a resource for undergraduate students who are exploring research opportunities
at
under the Indian Reorganization Act. As Research Coordinator, I am
planning and assisting with oral histories of the elders and tribal government
records research. In the future, we hope to co-publish our findings.
Please refer to the museum's website for more
information:
http://www.museum.upenn.edu/new/research/researchers/American.shtml
Contact information: mnorcini@sas.upenn.edu
·
Dr. Robert Preucel: I am the curator of North American
archaeology and anthropology at the
Contact information: rpreucel@sas.upenn.edu
Art
·
Sharka Hyland: Over
the past two years I have been doing research on the material aspect of book
culture. I am particularly interested in experimental one-of-a-kind forms
- both from a historical point of view, and as an art practice.
Contact information: sharka@design.upenn.edu
·
Edward Epstein: As an
artist, I am not involved in research per se, but I do have my own creative
work (drawing and painting), and I run a program called "
Contact information: epstein.edward@verizon.net
Art History
· Robert Maxwell: Medieval Manuscripts (illumination, scripts, codicology); Medieval history (chronicles, charters, annals)
Contact information: maxwellr@sas.upenn.edu
·
Larry Silver: I work on old master European art,
its historical content and context. I
have worked mainly on prints and paintings from
Contact information: lasilver@sas.upenn.edu
· David Brownlee: My research interests embrace all of European and American architecture and city planning from about 1670 to the present. My current project is a cultural and intellectual history of nineteenth-century architecture (a book to be called _Modern Means and Modern Meanings_), although I must confess that administrative work keeps me from writing and research during the school year.
Contact information: dbrownle@sas.upenn.edu
Michael Leja: My research and writing concentrate on the visual arts in
various media
(painting, sculpture, photography, film, prints, illustrations) in the 19th and
20th centuries, primarily in the
interpretive communities. My current
work focuses on the industrial mass production of pictures that begins in the
early-mid 19th century (illustrated press, prints, photographs, etc.). I am
tracing the implications of these developments for the fine arts as well as the
parts they played in relations among social groups.
Contact information: mleja@sas.upenn.edu
Biology
· Ted Abel: Synaptic plasticity, the change in the strength of neuronal connections in the brain, is thought to underlie memory storage and may play a crucial role in a variety of neurological and mental disorders, including mental retardation, Alzheimer’s disease and depression. The goal of our research is to use transgenic mice to explore the molecular basis of synaptic plasticity and memory storage. Transgenic techniques can be used to express gene products designed to inhibit or enhance the activity of endogenous signaling pathways with a high degree of molecular specificity. The transgenic approach is spatially and temporally more restricted than the conventional gene knockout approach, thereby allowing for a more direct correlation between a behavioral deficit and synaptic physiology in the adult brain. Recently, we have extended our studies of genetically modified mice to examine the role of specific signal transduction pathways in sleep/wake regulation to begin to explore the relationship between sleep and memory storage from a genetic perspective. http://www.bio.upenn.edu/faculty/abel
Contact information: abele@sas.upenn.edu
· Dejian Ren: Research activities in my lab are described in the following two links. In the past, we had been helping students by taking them into the lab as independent study students (BIO399), or by becoming advisors. My lab is currently short of space and will not be able to house any additional student. http://www.med.upenn.edu/camb/faculty/cbp/ren.html
http://www.bio.upenn.edu/faculty/ren/
Contact information: dren@sas.upenn.edu
· Junhyong Kim:
Contact information: junhyong@sas.upenn.edu
· Warren Ewens: My research interests are mathematical genetics, especially as applied to evolutionary theory.
Contact information: wewens@sas.upenn.edu
· Philip Rea: Our research activities center on the molecular biology, cellular biochemistry and proteomics of vacuolar function with special emphasis on membrane transport proteins and the enzymic machinery responsible for the detoxification of xenobiotics, including heavy metals. Long-term objectives are to identify the proteins concerned and elucidate their mechanisms of action and regulatory characteristics. Our approach is that of the 'basic biologist' - we are searching for general principles, not just principles applicable to plants. Not content with simply identifying things, our quest is for mechanistic insights regardless of the organism in which they are to be gained. Most of our studies therefore entail parallel molecular and biochemical manipulations of several model systems including the plant Arabidopsis thaliana, the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the worm Caenorhabditis elegans. It is through the application of this approach that we have been able to make fundamental contributions toward understanding a remarkably broad range of transport and related phenomena of general relevance.
Contact information: parea@sas.upenn.edu
· Fevzi Daldal: We are interested in understanding how cytochrome complexes are assembled and they function during photosynthesis and respiration. These proteins are vital components for cellular functions ranging from ATP synthesis to secretion, transport, motility and thermogenesis. Their dysfunction severely compromises cellular energy production, and leads to low crop yields in plants (photosynthesis) or neurological, aging and muscular diseases in humans (respiration). Our studies are focused on the structure, function, assembly and regulation of expression in response to environmental signals of cytochromes using the cytochrome bc1 complex and cytochrome cbb3 oxidase as model membrane proteins. We use multi-disciplinary approaches that combine molecular genetics, microbial genomics/proteomics and biochemistry/biophysics, use Rhodobacter capsulatus as a model system for mitochondria and chloroplasts. Current work is on the structure directed functional analysis of membrane protein complexes and their prosthetic groups and Biogenesis and maturation of cytochromes complexes.
http://www.med.upenn.edu/camb/faculty/mv/daldal.html
Contact information: fdaldal@sas.upenn.edu
Classical Studies
·
Jeremy McIerney: I can
say that my research interests currently involve the economics of Greek
sanctuaries with special reference to cattle breeding, and the fragmentary
historians and travel writers of the Hellenistic period. Feel free to
use this if you wish to find me a student who might be interested in
working in these areas. Let me add as an afterthought that you will generally
find that all the faculty in Classics do their research in Greek and Latin and
that any
undergraduate wishing to work with them in some collaborative way really
does need to have the ability to work in either one or both languages.
Contact information: jmcinern@sas.upenn.edu
·
James Ker: I sometimes
have opportunities for research for pay; I'm also willing to consider supervising
projects for credit.
Research topic: The literature and culture of ancient
interpretation in literature and the visual arts.
Contact information: jker@sas.upenn.edu
·
David Gilman Romano: I am a member of the
adjunct faculty in Classical Studies but nevertheless wanted to tell you, if
you are not aware, that for almost 20 years I have been giving research
opportunities to undergraduates by means of their work on the Corinth Computer
Project, http://corinth.sas.upenn.edu
and related archaeological and mapping projects for instance the Mt. Lykaion
Excavation and Survey Project, http://lykaionexcavation.org
that I direct here in the Mediterranean Section of the Museum. Some of these students come from the
Department of Classical Studies, with language skills, but many others come
from other departments of the
Contact information: davidgilmanromano@gmail.com
Communication (The
· Dr. Kathleen Hall Jamieson, Director: I meet with undergrads who have taken Comm 226 by appointment. Those who earn an A in the class are eligible to compete for spots on my research teams. I give preference to Annenberg majors.
Contact information: kjamieson@asc.upenn.edu
· Dr. J.N. Capella: Communicating genetic risk; communicating efficacy information effectively (narrative forms); group deliberations about health policy; group deliberations about ethical dilemmas concerning genetic testing; anti-tobacco advertising; tobacco advertising (adults and adolescents).
Contact information: jcappella@asc.upenn.edu
Creative Writing
·
Dr. Greg
Djanikian: The Center for Programs in
Contemporary Writing has the Apprenticeship Program, that allows students to
experience a one-on-one relationship with a faculty member, creative writing in
this case, who is engaged in research of one sort or another for a major
writing project. Students in the past have worked with faculty writers, helping
them with 1) historical research for their nonfiction or poetry books, 2)
retrieving uncollected stories that have appeared in journals over the past few
decades, 3) discussing ways in which the faculty writer's book may be improved
or enlarged, 4) editing typescript,
corresponding with historical figures included in the project, garnering
permissions, 5) cataloguing historical events in the Philadelphia area, 6)
helping faculty writers see their manuscripts through publication and helping
to arrange post-publication events. These are just some of the ways students
have helped with our projects. In short,
the Apprenticeship Program gives our students a very intimate look at the
writer's life, from the inside out, invaluable experience for those
undergraduates who wish to pursue a writing career themselves.
For a full description, please see:
http://writing.upenn.edu/apprenticeships.html
Contact information: djanikia@writing.upenn.edu
Economics
· Dr. Lawrence Klein:
In recent years, I have given tutorials to promising
undergraduates, by way of supervising their independent research activities.
At present I have been working with
Gavin Lazarus -- to prepare indexes by country and also time period for their standing in world
interdependence, using United Nations'
(UNCTAD) for their newly created index of trade and development. Giselle
Guzman (not an undergraduate, but a Wharton MBA) in using investor surveys,
futures market data, and general economic indicators to predict the S&P
index. One of my best successes occurred
in connection with a student in an honors section during my last term
teaching. I am willing to consider a
very promising candidate for 2006-07, say, on a weekly tutorial visit to my
office. During the year that is now ending, I supervised Kevin Chung, a
Korean student, and he made significant progress for the goal of post-graduate
studies. His research involved high frequency (monthly) modeling of Korea
(ROK) along the same lines that I and an associate model China (PRC) for
fortnightly forecasts of the economy of the PRC. He is getting
interesting and possibly usable results for ROK. He received a part-tuition grant for a
master's program at
statistics department. I will be looking for a comparable tutee -- quantitative
economics, computer capability, good academic record, and plans for higher
education.
Contact information: lrk@econ.upenn.edu
·
Dr. Robert Inman: I
would be happy to talk with any undergraduates with background in advanced
economics or finance about issues in financing government services.
Contact information: inman@wharton.upenn.edu
·
Dr. Frank Schorfheide:
I teach the Econ 300 honors thesis seminar, which is a thesis writing
course for econ majors who are in the honors program. This course essentially
enables students to conduct independent research on a topic of their choice and
has been taught by different faculty members of the economics department over
the years. You can find information about the course at:http://www.ssc.upenn.edu/~schorf/economics_300.htm
Contact information: schorf@ssc.upenn.edu
·
Dr. Rebecca Stein: My
research has mostly been in health economics. I am interested in issues related
to availability and take up of health insurance and have recently published a
couple of articles in this area showing that many uninsured are uninsured by
choice and that partial subsidizing of health insurance will have little effect
in decreasing the number of uninsured. I am currently reading up on malpractice
laws and their economic consequences. I am interested in thinking about whether
the results of malpractice laws are consistent with the goals of changing
physician incentives to encourage better care and to compensate those who
suffered an adverse event. My economics
hobby is reading about gender and family issues and thinking about policies
such as affirmative action, family friendly work environments, compensation for
stay at home mothers and more.
Contact information: rstein2@ssc.upenn.edu
English
·
Jim English:
I did my doctorate at Stanford, specializing
in modernist and
postmodernist British fiction. My first book, a study of literary humor called
Comic Transactions: Literature, Humor, and the Politics of Community in
Twentieth-Century Britain, was published by Cornell in 1994. My more recent
work focuses on the sociology of literature and especially on its institutional
and transnational dimensions. The
Economy of Prestige: Prizes, Awards, and the Circulation of Cultural Value
(Harvard UP) was named Best Academic Book of 2005 by New York Magazine.
Also published in 2005 was my Concise Companion to Contemporary British
Literature, from Blackwell. I am currently at
work on a study of the American importation and translation of contemporary
British culture, particularly as it relates to different constructions of race
in the two nations that dominate production of global English culture.
This work treats cinema, television, and
new media as well as literature.
Contact information: jenglish@english.upenn.edu
· Heather Love: My general research interests include late-nineteenth- and twentieth-century British and American literature; queer theory and gender studies; feminist theory; literary and cultural modernism; race and ethnicity; film; psychoanalysis; critical theory. Books: “Feeling Backward: Loss and the Politics of Queer History” (Forthcoming, Harvard University Press) This book rethinks the foundations of contemporary queer historiography by exploring dark or negative “structures of feeling” in several late-nineteenth and twentieth-century literary texts. Modern queer representation is characterized by a range of feelings such as regret, self-hatred, bitterness, and resistance to the future that are at odds with the protocols of contemporary criticism. In “Feeling Backward,” I argue that the dark, retrograde aspects of psychic life must be taken up and engaged by critics hoping to make social change. “Marked For Life: Modernity and Its Others” (in progress). This book offers a genealogy of the concept of social stigma since the mid-nineteenth century. Drawing on work on the relation between literature and sociology as well as critical writings in gender studies, critical race theory, and disability studies, I consider the production of social others through modern techniques of racialization, social hygiene, and statistical analysis. In addition to tracing an interdisciplinary history of the term, I read representations of otherness in literature, film, and popular culture in order to describe the strange "burden of representation" borne by visibly stigmatized social outsiders. Because their bodies are read as signs of abjection, alienation, inequality, or social disorder, these figures bear the marks of more general social losses on their overly particular bodies.
Contact information: loveh@english.upenn.edu
· Peter Conn: I am working on a survey of American literature in the 1930s decade. More broadly, I have done research on American literature of the 20th century, biography, and American painting.
Contact information: pconn@sas.upenn.edu
· Charles Bernstein: 20th century and contemporary poetry and poetics, with special emphasis on nontraditional and inventive works.
Contact information: charles.bernstein@english.upenn.edu
· Rebecca Bushnell: For my general research interests, they are: Early modern English literature, history, and culture; the genre of tragedy; the relationship between English and classical culture. Right now I am writing "A Short Introduction to Tragedy"
Contact information: bushnell@sas.upenn.edu
· David Kazanjian
Contact information: kazanjia@english.upenn.edu
French
·
Gerald Prince: I am
working on a guide to the French and Francophone novel (1951-2000). It is
organized by year and comments on ten or fifteen representative novels per
year. I am also pursuing my exploration of narrative and its possible forms.
Contact
information : gprince@babel.ling.upenn.edu
·
Agnes Peysson-Zeiss: My
area of interest is Francophone women filmmakers - particularly from North
Africa (Tunisia-Morocco and
Contact information: agnespz@sas.upenn.edu
·
Nicole Mills:
My general research interests are in second
language acquisition,
foreign language teacher self-beliefs (teacher efficacy), foreign language
student self-beliefs (anxiety, self-efficacy, self-concept, etc.), and study abroad,
identity, and cultural learning. I am currently working on two research projects,
"Global Simulation and Writing Self-Beliefs of Intermediate French students"
and "Teacher efficacy of native and non-native French teaching assistants."
The descriptions of each are below:
Global Simulation and Writing Self-Beliefs of
Intermediate French students
The intermediate French curriculum at the
curriculum, the students adopt a French or francophone identity and
"live" together in a building in
influence on the French writing self-efficacy beliefs , writing self-concept,
perceived value of French writing , French writing anxiety , and writing self-efficacy
for self-regulation of intermediate French language students. Approximately 125 students enrolled in seven
sections of Intermediate French I (French 130) at the
Teacher efficacy of native and non-native
French teaching assistants.
Teacher efficacy (TE) is described as “the extent to which the teacher believes
he or she has the capacity to affect student performance” (Berman, McLaughlin,
Bass, Pauly, & Zellman, 1977, p. 137). Tschannen-Moran, Hoy, and Hoy (1998)
recently introduced a new TE model that reconciled the conceptions of teaching
task and context with self-perceptions of teaching competence. The present study used Tschannen-Moran, Hoy,
and Hoy’s TE model (1998) to create a semi-structured interview in which 16
graduate teaching assistants in French were interviewed on their sources of
efficacy information (mastery experiences, physiological and emotional cues,
vicarious experiences, and verbal persuasion), their analysis of teaching tasks
and contexts (considerations of students’abilities and motivation,
instructional strategies, and technology), the assessment of their personal
teaching competence, and their goals, effort, and persistence as teachers. This
data was triangulated with a language teaching background questionnaire, the
teacher assistants’ teaching evaluations by the director of the French language
program, and the Tschannen-Moran and Hoy (2001).
Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale
Results of this study describe the relationship between sources of TE information and language teaching beliefs and practices in native and non-native French teacher assistants.
Contact information: nmills@sas.upenn.edu
Geology
·
Dr. Stanley Laskowski: I am a lecturer/advisor in the Master of
Environmental Studies [MES] program and a retired Senior Executive from the US
Environmental Protection Agency [EPA]. My current interests are environmental management/policy
and two areas in particular [1] global water issues and [2] innovative,
non-regulatory environmental management. I am also currently part of a research
team looking at water quality trading in the
Contact information: slaskows@sas.upenn.edu
·
Dr. Yvette Bordeaux: Our department has a great web page
http://www.sas.upenn.edu/earth/eesmajor/RESEARCH.htm
There are several pages on the website specifically for students interested
in doing research.
Contact information: bordeaux@sas.upenn.edu
Health and Societies Program
·
Dr. Fran Barg (Department of Family Medicine and Community
Health and Department of Anthropology): I would be happy to serve as a
resource for undergraduates interested in research. I am a medical
anthropologist and work generally in the areas of culture, cancer and mental
health. My research generally involves trying to understand aspects of cancer
or mental health from the patient's perspective and working to develop
interventions to enhance patient outcomes. The undergraduates with whom I have
worked had played a number of key roles including conducting patient
interviews, helping with data management and analysis, writing literature
reviews, and co-authoring manuscripts.
Contact information: Fran.barg@uphs.upenn.edu
·
Dr. Ruth Cowan (History and Sociology of Science):
I am an historian of science, technology and
medicine. Currently, I have two research projects ongoing simultaneously.
The first is a study of history and politics of various forms of
screening for genetic diseases (newborn, premarital, prenatal). The
second is a historical analysis of the careers of American women engineers.
My methods are historical and qualitative, which means that my assistants
and I spend most of our time reading what we call primary and secondary
sources. Each of these projects is large scale, but each can be broken
down into smaller units. Undergraduates who assist me in my research (and there
have been many) usually start by reading secondary works and summarizing their
conclusions for me. After this has been
done, a student can progress to reading primary materials and to writing
research papers which can stand alone as one person's work but can also be
incorporated into my own publications.
Contact information: rcowan@sas.upenn.edu
·
Dr. Nathan Ensmenger (History and Sociology of Science):
Professor Ensmenger's current research interests are aimed at reintegrating the
history of the "information revolution'' -- very broadly defined to
encompass a wide range of 19th and 20th century scientific, technological
and social developments -- into mainstream American social and cultural
history. In addition to his work on the social and cultural history of software
and software workers, he has studied the disciplinary history of artificial
intelligence and artificial life; the formation of a distinctive
computing subculture and programming "aesthetic;'' and the crucial
and often misunderstood role of women in computing. He has also developed
and taught courses on the computer and internet "revolutions,'' and on the
relationship between technological innovation and social change. A more complete list can be found at http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~nathanen/research.html
Contact information: nathanen@sas.upenn.edu
Hispanic Studies
·
Victoria Garcia-Serrano: My current research project is about the representation of mental
illnesses in contemporary Latin American women's fiction. What are the causes
of women’s mental illnesses according to Latin American authors? Have the
literary representations of "madwomen" changed over the years?
How and why?
Contact information: vgs@sas.upenn.edu
·
Juan Carlos Jimenez: I
am still working about the symbol of the sea in the last poems that Rafael
Alberti wrote after coming back to
Contact
information : jcjimenez93@yahoo.com
·
Claudia Mendez: My
area of interest is Literature in Spanish, in the
Contact information: mendezc@sas.upenn.edu
Italian Studies
· Helen McFie-Simone: I am exploring the use of movies as a tool to teach foreign languages.
Contact information: smcfie@sas.upenn.edu
Linguistics
·
Dr. Gerald Prince: I work on the form
and functioning of narrative: what all and only
narratives have in common, what allows them to be different from one another,
and how they "make" sense. I
am also exploring the 20th century French novel.
Contact information: gprince@babel.ling.upenn.edu
Philosophy
·
Cristina Bicchieri: I
do research on the following topics: 1) Lab experiments on pro-social
behavior (trust, fairness, etc.). Requirements: The student should have
some experience with behavioral psychology and be able do run statistical
programs. 2) Computer simulations of multi-agent systems. Requirements:
The student should be able to run simulations, program in Mathematica,
and have good mathematical skills.
Contact information: cb36@sas.upenn.edu
·
Scott Weinstein: My
current research focuses on logic and its applications. I do not have any
funded research opportunities at present, but I'm always happy to work with
interested students.
Contact information: weinstei@linc.cis.upenn.edu
Psychology
·
Dr. Jonathan Baron: http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~baron
Contact information: baron@psych.upenn.edu
·
Dr. David White: I am always interested in having good
undergrads work in my lab. A
brief description of my lab follows, though you can find more specific information
at: http://www.psych.upenn.edu/~whitedj/lab/index.htm. My students and I study social learning,
social development, and social evolution in birds. Facilities at my field site
are designed to study large flocks of freely associating cowbirds living
outdoors. We take a two faceted approach
to studying social behavior. First, we investigate the dynamics of social
patterns at the large scale, in groups where animals are allowed to determine
for themselves what social stimulation is important. Here insights can be
gained about patterns of information flow and cultural transmission. Second, we
explore in detail the rules of interaction observed at the large scale on an
individual level (the level at which selection is operating). Here we use
controlled lab experiments, computer modeling tools, and robotic animats. These
two approaches are integrated and reinforcing, with discoveries at one level
providing insights to behavior at another. The work always focuses on
functionally important behavior using development, perception, cognition, and
physiology to discover the properties of what it means to be social.
Contact information: whitedj@psych.upenn.edu
·
Dr. Robert
Kurzban: For the moment, I can say, yes,
I certainly am available to assist/advise undergraduates. I can't recall turning
many away or whose interests are not related to my own. So you can certainly
put me down as a source. In terms of the
content of my work, probably the best resource is here: http://www.psych.upenn.edu/PLEEP/research.html
and recent papers posted here: http://www.psych.upenn.edu/PLEEP/publications.html
More generally, my lab main page is here: http://www.psych.upenn.edu/PLEEP/index.html
Contact information: kurzban@psych.upenn.edu
·
Dr. Robert
DeRubeis: The best way for a student to
learn about my work is for him or her to
go to my lab website: http://www.psych.upenn.edu/~derubeis/. I've arranged the site so that one can have a
quick look, or one can learn more by following the content links. I've
edited the 'front page' of my site for the present purpose, if you think this
is the appropriate level of detail.
Research in my lab focuses on the nature of depression, the
effectiveness of treatments for it, and the reasons treatments are effective.
Our particular focus is on the role that conscious (or readily accessible) beliefs
play both in the maintenance of depression and in its reduction. Further, we
have conducted research concerning how people with depression can be helped to
gain control over their thinking using a treatment approach called cognitive
therapy. We conduct outcome research, in
which we test the benefits of a treatment, compared to alternatives. We also
conduct psychotherapy process research, with which we aim to characterize the
causes of symptom change that are observed in an effective therapy. See http://www.psych.upenn.edu/~derubeis/
if you would like to learn more.
Contact information: derubeis@psych.upenn.edu
·
Dr. David
Premack: I'm emeritus and live in CA, so
not an ideal advisor. There are,
however, certain problems dear to my heart--theory of mind issues, for
example--which
I'd be pleased to discuss.
Contact information: dpremack@aol.com
·
Dr. Paul Rozin: I study a number of things: lay
attitudes to food in relation to
pleasure and health, in
Contact information: rozin@psych.upenn.edu
Religious Studies
·
Talya Fishman:
Students wanting to assist in any of the three
projects in which I'm currently
involved would need to read Hebrew fluently -- and it would also help if
he/she had some familiarity with rabbinic literature: (a) The transformation of
rabbinic culture in Northern Europe in the Middle Ages. (This is a
book-in-progress.) (b)The Image in Traditional Jewish Culture. (I hope to
offer a graduate seminar on this topic in the Spring of 2007, and ultimately,
to write a book on the topic.) Themes include: visualization techniques and
their uses in ancient and medieval Jewish culture; kabbalistic diagrams of the
Divine/Cosmos -- when they emerged, how they were used; the language of
sexualized embodiment in Lurianic (16th c.) Kabbalah; "kabbalistic
writing/script" -- its functions and cultural coordinates, etc. All topics
are considered in relation to possible analogues in Christian/Muslim cultures.
(c) "Packaging Jewish Knowledge" -- about variables of
transmission identified within rabbinic Judaism, their emergence, function and
cultural meanings.
Contact information: tfishman@sas.upenn.edu
·
Nili Gold: Although I
am currently working on a book which is the outcome of years of research, I am
at a point beyond needing the assistance of college students.
After I complete this book, however, I will definitely become a part of this
wonderful initiative.
Contact information: niligold@sas.upenn.edu
·
Robert Kraft: My
current projects include: The papyri at the
Contact information: kraft@ccat.sas.upenn.edu
Sociology
·
Dr. Jason Schnittker: "Jason
Schnittker is a medical sociologist with primary interests in the social
determinants of health. He has explored topics as diverse as relative
deprivation, the long-term effects of incarceration on health, trends in
women's health, treatment disparities, and physician trust. He works with undergraduate students on a regular
basis, especially with students interested in survey data and quantitative
analysis."
Contact information: jschnitt@ssc.upenn.edu
·
Dr. Helen Sheehan: My
areas of research and interests are primarily in sociological and
anthropological perspectives on health and illness in South Asia (
Contact information: sheehanh@sas.upenn.edu
Theatre Arts:
·
Contact information: cmazer@english.upenn.edu
Urban Studies
· G.E. Thomas: We often have research topics that span boundaries between departments and would welcome undergrads.
Contact information: get@sas.upenn.edu
General Research Help from the Library:
·
Bruce Lenthall: Do you have a research project coming up?
Want some help getting it
started -- or finished? For a complete schedule and more information
see, http://thecommons.library.upenn.edu/managing0306.html.
Contact information: lenthall@sas.upenn.edu