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Wrapping up the semester

   From Rachael Martin on May 21st, 2013

So I fell really behind with my updates. April is always a really crazy month. And now somehow we are in May! On Thursday April 28th the graduate students presented their final projects in class. David set it up like a meeting, complete with delicious goat cheese, brie, and fruit. He also invited members of his lab to come. Presentations were about 15 minutes long with time for questions. The undergraduates presented the following Monday. That was good news for me since my analysis finished on Thursday mid-morning. On Friday morning Romina, Alexis, Alicia and I left for the Mid Atlantic States Mycology Conference. I was really terrified since I gave a talk , presenting the project I am working on (including work from this class). Romina and David told me the meeting was super small, but then I walked into a huge auditorium with a huge screen, podium and microphone. Even though the public speaking class  helped me improve, I still panicked and blanked on some things I wanted to say. At least my talk was early in the day so I was able to get over my poor performance and enjoy the rest  [ More ...]

Volunteer Training at WaterFire Providence

   From Andrew Doig on May 19th, 2013

Hello! My name is Andrew Doig, and I am a Videography and Media Intern at WaterFire Providence. WaterFire runs festivals throughout the year celebrating the city of Providence theough the alchemical mix of water and fire. You can find more about their events at  http://waterfire.org/, but a quick discription should include mention of their music, running along all three rivers in the heart of the financial district, the braziers of fire floating along the channels, and the many artisans and special booths set up for festival goers enjoyment. Yesterday was Mock Dock Day, the WaterFire training program for volunteers. It all began here, at the volunteer check in, where fellow Clark LEEP Pioneer Chelsea (not in this photo) checked in the new recruits:   From here we all went through a series of training lectures and introductions, prepping us in how to run the event and all of the many safety protocols to make sure we keep the 30,000+ attendants healthy: Next the fun parts! Although we were taught how to run many of the events that WaterFire puts on at every running, the biggest  [ More ...]

“What is that project thing you’re working on?” or, How To Make Elevator Pitches That Won’t Get You Hated Forever.

   From Rebecca Raphaelson on May 19th, 2013

“What is that project thing you’re working on?” It’s a question that I get asked constantly, and it’s the first big thing you have to tackle before you can talk about any project, THE DREADED ELEVATOR PITCH. An elevator pitch is essentially your idea or project in the shortest way you can possibly say it, and still have people have half a clue what you are talking about. The idea is that if you ever got into an elevator with someone important that could really help your project, you would be able to tell them in the proper amount of time before the doors open and you lose them forever. It is supposed to be short because most buildings are. Also, because even if your building is 27 stories tall, telling someone a long story about your project is only going to make them; A. Fall asleep standing, fall, and crack their face off  or, B.  Bored. Either way you run a high risk of C. Them hating you, forever. Just kidding. (Half.) That being said, I needed a good, short elevator pitch. This can be an issue because- How do you fit so much genius into such  [ More ...]

Hello, world!

   From Lauren on May 17th, 2013

Ladies, gentlemen, those in-between, and/or none of the above: welcome! I am proud to present my LEEP Pioneer blog. Over the course of the summer, this blog will chronicle the thrilling journey of my LEEP project from confused, blundering beginnings to slightly less confused, triumphant completion. And, hopefully, I’ll uncover some prize nuggets of knowledge along the way. First things first, let me introduce myself. My name is Lauren Koppel. I’m a rising senior here at Clark University, pursuing a double-major in Psychology and Biology. Psychology has been my passion ever since my very first term of freshman year, and my enthusiasm and fascination has only grown over time. While the human mind is too tremendously complex to ever understand completely, it’s my desire to one day understand it well enough that I can fulfill the capital ‘G’ Goals of psychology: “prediction and influence”. Whether it be through research, consultation, counseling, or any other field of work, I want to use my passion for psychology to improve the lives of others in whatever way I can. My love  [ More ...]

a post with one too many promises

   From Brenna Merrill on May 16th, 2013

Hi All!! I bet you’re all excited that summer is finally here – I know I am! I turned in my last assignment of the semester this afternoon, which is fitting with the beautiful weather that sprang upon Worcester today. Though, I can hardly believe that I am now finished with my junior year of college. Where did the time go? I couldn’t even tell you. Well, maybe I could. In short, I am a Political Science (American Politics & Public Policy) major with an Urban Development and Social Change concentration. Last fall I had the super amazing opportunity to study abroad in Australia. Now I am here in Worcester, blogging for all you internet readers, and completing an internship at Girls Inc (which I am SUPER excited for). I had my Very First Day on Tuesday, but I still don’t know everything I’ll be doing yet which is why I am holding off telling you about it (hopefully next week).  I think I did find my favourite view of Worcester though, on my walk back. Maybe I’ll bring a camera next time so I can show you. And yes I think it may rival the views you can get  [ More ...]

VNANE – GIS

   From Anastassios Dardas on May 10th, 2013

Hello all! For those of you that are interested in GIS and/or Healthcare, check what I will be doing as a LEEP Pioneer this summer! Brief Description VNANE or Visiting Nurse Association of New England provides health care services (i.e. skilled nursing, therapy, health aides) to homebound patients in order to prevent the high necessity of institutional services. Most patients preferred to be treated at their homes because it is the most comfortable environment. Unfortunately, home health care is under studied and difficult to understand than institutions. VNANE’s mission is to ensure and provide better care, better health, and lower costs to home health care patients. Project Goals And Expectations Overall, the primary objective is to map population factors and home health care provider costs, quality, and outcomes. Furthermore is to research and build appropriate population and home health care provider databases, create maps to inform state policy makers, facilitate new delivery systems understand the risk/needs of their patient populations, and to assess performances of  [ More ...]

A Summer with WaterFire

   From Chelsea Kryspin on May 9th, 2013

Hello everyone! This summer, I’m the Special Events and Operations intern with WaterFire, Providence. Has anyone ever been to a WaterFire event? To be honest, I had never really heard of WaterFire until I started my LEEP project. But, I’m so excited that I did! WaterFire is an art installation; hundreds of braziers of fire are lit in the river that cuts through Providence, lighting up the night and fostering community engagement and revitalization. WateFire is so much more than that though, there’re music and performers that go on throughout the night. In addition, there are often groups that partner with WaterFire to host their own event at a WaterFire lighting. That’s where I come in. In addition to running the routine WaterFire operations, I’ll be working with the Director of Special Events to coordinate the multiple events that happen simultaneously with WaterFire. I’m so excited for this opportunity, because this is an area of work that I’m looking into pursuing. I have always loved events management, and its a position I could definitely  [ More ...]

Constructing Criticism

   From Rachael Martin on March 26th, 2013

Last week David gave a lecture on a method called ancestral state reconstruction and Romina gave us a tutorial on how to perform this method, which many of us will use for our projects. The homework assignments for the class have been completed, and now the focus has shifted to discussion of papers. We are still learning new methods and now we are working on applying these methods to our projects which are due in a month! Yesterday we discussed a paper which used ancestral state reconstruction. As predicted in my last post, I was selected as discussion leader today. I remained calm and it seemed to go well. Alexis and I discuss the articles before each class and we usually manage to help each other better understand the research and come up with points for discussion. In phylogenetic studies incomplete taxon sampling is a constant problem. Spotting methodological problems can be more difficult. Yesterday was a little frustrating because we missed a few of the major problems David identified within the article. That is why discussing articles in class is so beneficial. I find that it is  [ More ...]

Good Reads for Tree Thinking

   From Rachael Martin on March 18th, 2013

Spring Break is long over. Of course I had plans to catch up on work, but that never happened.  Another week has flown by. Last week David gave a lecture on methods for dealing with large trees (with datasets much larger than the ones we are using for our projects). Romina explained how to partition and combine (concatenate) our data. On Thursday Romina gave us a tutorial on a program called SATé and then we discussed a paper comparing the program with other methods. It was our first paper discussion, so David brought out his basket filled with tubes containing our names. This method of sampling with replacement to pick the discussion leader filled me with dread last spring in the Biology of Symbiosis course I took with David, but a year later, I’m starting to feel more confident (watch me get picked next week!). I thought I would mention the textbooks we are using in case anyone is curious. Getting new textbooks is my favorite part of starting a new semester. I’ve always been a book nerd and this part of my life has been completely accepted at Clark. I’ve even convinced a few  [ More ...]

Creative Collaboration: Changing Academic Paradigms

   From Samantha Bishop on March 13th, 2013

This video, Changing Academic Paradigms, culminates many perceived problems within the education system in the United States, and is a call to action to collectively make changes to these outdated, stagnant methods of teaching and replace them with something more tailored to our intricate differences and similarities as human beings. Ken Robinson’s presentation on TEDTalks calls attention to the ADHD ‘epidemic,’ or over diagnosis, and the deeply-rooted problems within our schooling system—a system based in the Industrial Revolution which has undergone only minimal changes since then. Robinson highlights the immeasurable developments that have occurred in society over time, and questions how passing through a system set in a different time and place can be meant to prepare students for our modern world. Ken Robinson’s presentation calls for revolutionary changes in our education system, and these changes need to be foundational, and creative. Robinson sees the future of education to be in collaboration, not atomization. A fluidity in understanding between subjects and  [ More ...]

Featured Articles

LEEP Pioneers Authors

Cynthia Alonso '14

Cynthia Alonso

Major: Environmental Science with an Environmental Conservation and Biology Track

LEEP Project: Internship at Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust

Description: I am doing a summer internship along with Doug Rice ’14 at the Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust, one of the most active land protection NGO’s in the state of Massachusetts. Besides working on our two major projects involving water quality and macroinvertebrate sampling in the Otter River watershed and invasive plant surveys of Mt. Grace conservation lands, we will have the opportunity to gain experience in conservation restriction monitoring, habitat improvement efforts, and public outreach.



Taylor Bearden '14

Major: Geography

LEEP Project: Localizing empowerment, access, and possibility: Building a community development financial institution for Worcester’s Main South Neighborhood

Description: I am working with the Hopkinton Chamber of Commerce to advance the framework to support the development and sustainability of small business. This research will inform the development of a business model for a Community Development Financial Institution serving Worcester’s Main South district.



Sam Bishop '14

Sam Bishop

Major: Psychology

Description:I am a junior here at Clark majoring in psychology and philosophy, in the hopes of one day becoming a child psychologist. I believe in the healing powers of creativity, nature, and uninhibited expression and these trajectories have largely led me to being a part of planning the upcoming event on April 5th: REVERB. I have learned a lot about creativity in psychology and daily life throughout my time working in the classroom on my capstone seminar: Creativity, Collaboration and Human Development, from which REVERB was created. I am looking forward to sharing what I have learned in this class, updates on how the event is progressing, and our plans for REVERB’s future.

LEEP Course: Creativity, Collaboration, and Human Development

Professor: Seana Moran, Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology

Course Description: Creativity is central to what makes us human. This capstone seminar explores what creativity is, its collaborative nature, and what role it plays in individual, societal and cultural development over time. We will use a Vygotskian and dynamic systems perspective to contextualize the ways creativity has been studied and to explore how creativity stimulates the purposeful generation of ideas and products in the arts, sciences, technology, business, and social institutions. We will examine theory and research as well as case studies to discuss the individual and collaborative experiences, opportunities, challenges, contexts, and effects of creativity.



Alexis Carlson '13

Major: Biology

LEEP Project: Communicating the excitement of scientific discovery

Description: This summer I will be wrapping up my research on the NSF supported PolyPEET project under the direction of post-doctoral fellow Alfredo Justo. The project focuses on the taxonomy of a genus of mushroom forming fungi called Trametes. I will be using this research to explore the different ways that the excitement of scientific discovery can be communicated.



Anastassios Dardas '14

Anastassios Dardas

Major: Geography

LEEP Project: Mapping Population Factors and Home Health Care Provider Costs, Quality, and Outcomes

Description: Visiting Nurse Association of New England (VNANE) provides health care services to homebound patients which include acute care discharge and pre-acute chronic care conditions in order to prevent the high necessity of institutional services. By using GIS, VNANE’s mission is to ensure and provide better care, better health, and lower costs to home health care patients.



Kulani Panapitiya Dias '13

Major: Psychology and English

LEEP Project: Justifying Atrocities: Moral Disengagement, In-Group Glorification & Essentialism in Post-War Sri Lanka.

Description: I am currently conducting research into moral disengagement, in-group glorification and essentialism in post-war Sri Lanka for my double-honors thesis in Psychology & English. I interview and survey Sinhalese and Tamil individuals in this post-war setting and am interested in investigating the means by which ethnic/racial groups such as these justify the moral transgressions that their in-group may commit in times of conflict.



Andrew Doig '14

Andrew Doig

Major: English

LEEP Project: “WaterFire Videography and Media Internship”

Description: Working directly with the Associate Media Producer, this intership will involve assisting in video production, post-production and marketing projects for the 2013 WaterFire season. Projects and tasks might include capturing significant occurrences during WaterFire lightings, assisting in various marketing projects utilizing video captured during the season, editing and post-production work on material for both internal and external sources, working with and organizing the WaterFire Media Library, and assisting in the program and project development.



Rebecca Rood Goldman '14

Becca Goldman

Major: Biology

LEEP Project: The Art of Biology

Description: I am studying the evolution of terrestrial leeches under the guidance of Dr. Mark Siddall at the Richard Guilder Graduate School this summer. I plan to incorporate my research with my interest in art. Beginning this summer and throughout the next couple years I will put together a visual display of photographs that exhibit the beauty of biology in a way that appeals to both biologists and non-scientists.



Shaun Holt '13

Major: Communication and Culture

LEEP Project: Capturing Sustainability at EMS Corp.

Description: I will be interning in the media department at EMC Corp., learning new technologies and techniques and creating a video for EMC employees to educate them about sustainability issues.



Lauren Koppel '14

Lauren Koppel

Major: Psychology and Biology

LEEP Project: Annelid Neurobiology Research Lab

Description: Utilizing fluorescent labeling in combination with live imaging technology, I will be observing the development of the central nervous system in embryos of the annelid Capitella teleta with the aim of answering the question: Do annelids have neural stem cells?



Rachael Martin '13

Rachael Martin

Major: Biology

Description: I am an undergraduate biology major at Clark University (Class of 2013). Currently I am beginning research for my 5th year Master’s project, characterizing basidiomycete endophytes of Rubber trees (Hevea brasiliensis). During the winter of 2010 I worked on genome annotation of white rot Agaricomycetes as part of a group of undergraduates under the direction of Dimitris Floudas. This experience lead to other research opportunities in the Hibbett lab, including maintaining cultures for a bioremediation experiment, and learning molecular techniques by generating Boletaceae sequences with Mitchell Nuhn from the Chromapes group and Boletellus.

LEEP Course: Tree Thinking

Professor: David Hibbett, Warren Litsky ”45 Endowed Chair; Professor, Department of Biology

Course Description: This course is designed for students who are interested in either molecular or evolutionary biology. Topics to be discussed include evolution of genes and genomes, methods used to estimate evolutionary relationships using molecular data, and applications of molecular data to general problems in biology. The course will include lectures, student-led discussions, laboratory projects using computer-based applications and presentations of these projects.



Brenna Merrill '14

Brenna Merrill_am

Major: Political Science Major, and Urban Development and Social Change Concentration,

LEEP Project: Girls Inc Intern: A LEEP Project & Lois and Robert Green Internship Initiative

Description: I am working with a team of staff, volunteers, and interns in creating empowerment programs for girls throughout Worcester county. This involves aiding in summer camp activities, planning marketing initiatives, and undertaking steps for fund development.



Therese Smith '13

Major: Economics, Minor: Geography

LEEP Project: Valuing Green Open Spaces in Worcester

Description: Using hedonic price modeling, I’ll estimate a house sales price model for Worcester, MA. This model predicts how attributes like proximity to open green spaces like parks and nature reservations among other neighborhood and housing characteristics affect an individual house’s market sales price.



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