Grants-in-Aid Fund Travel and Research for 8 Faculty Members By Sue Kropp
			NOVEMBER 24, 2000--The College's Committee on Research and Development recently distributed $19,250 in grants-in-aid for six faculty projects. The awards fund travel for projects across America and in Europe and for research projects in Oberlin. Rian Brown-Orso, assistant professor of art, is working on a multimedia project, Traces and Lines: Western Avenue Project. The work will visually map Western Avenue, the longest street in the city of Los Angeles, which runs through some of the most impoverished--and some of the most prosperous--neighborhoods in the city, transecting multiple ethnic groups in an urban, anthropological line. Brown-Orso's project will culminate with a video and a web site. Robert Shannon, professor of piano; Haewon Song, associate professor of piano; and Gregory Fulkerson, professor of violin, are recording the works of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer George Crumb. The recording, issued by Bridge Records, will include Makrokosmos IV, Gnomic Variations, and Four Nocturnes. Wendell Logan, professor of African-American music, will use funding from the Grants-in-aid award to prepare performance materials for "Doxology," an opera in five scenes. "Doxology," with libretto by Paul Carter Harrison and music by Logan, is scheduled for performance at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago February 16-18, 2001. Yolanda Cruz, professor of biology, is studying the gene that encodes Early Pregnancy Factor (EPF) in pregnant animals. EPF is a protein that suppresses the immune system during pregnancy, allowing the fetus to survive until gestation is complete. By isolating the EPF gene in the laboratory opossum, Cruz hopes to identify the immunosuppresant and cytokine functions of EPF at a molecular level. Susan Kane, associate professor of art, will travel to Abruzzo, Italy, to continue work on the Sangro Valley Project. Kane will conduct a geophysical examination of the area that archeologists plan to excavate this summer. With the help of two scientists from the University of Georgia and their geoprospection equipment (which uses magnetic, electrical, and electromagnetic exploratory techniques), Kane will map out profitable excavation sites. In two papers, Steven Yamarik, visiting assistant professor of economics, will investigate the connection between female education and economic development. One paper will explore the cause underlying the negative link between female education and economic growth found by other investigators. The second paper will examine how gender differences in education determine certain social variables, including fertility, child mortality, and life expectancy. Yamarik will donate his research data to the Social Sciences Data Library, where they will provide a source of information for students and faculty in economics, politics, and sociology. "Clarifying the role of female versus male education will contribute to the debate on the link between human capital and economic growth," Yamarik says. Members of the Committee on Research and Development at the time of the awards were Leonard Smith, associate professor of history; Barbara Craig, professor of economics; David Love, associate vice president for research and development and director of the Office of Sponsored Programs; Laura Kuennen-Poper, associate dean and director of conservatory career development; David Breitman, assistant professor of historical performance; Catherine McCormick, professor of biology and neuroscience; Anu Needham, associate professor of English; Paula Richman, Irvin E. Houck Professor of Religion; Lynne Rogers, associate professor of music theory; and Dennison Smith, professor of neuroscience and psychology.
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