2002-2003 Recipients Back row, left to right: Gonzalo Xavier Alcalde, Till Florian A. Richter, Ryan Patrick Taylor, Laurel Ann Alexander, David Samuel Smith Middle row, left to right: Lauren Elise Apter, Jean Anne Lauer, Sarah Dodge Warren, Martin Thomas Woodlee Front row, left to right: Hanna Reid Fischer, Karen Christine Gonzalez, Laura Anne Feeney Back row, left to right: Eric Michael Katerman, Jocelyn Sunshine Duffy, Han-Joo Lee Middle row, left to right: Eric Alexander Archer, Hao Cen, Luling Zhang, Jennifer Lynn Winchel, Kristin Lindsay Savicki Front row, left to right: George Erin Teachman, Jodene Goldenring Fine, Yiquan Zou, Marian Susan Clarke, Daniel Jason Gilman Doctoral Fellows Gonzalo Xavier Alcalde Public Affairs from University of Kentucky UT Austin: LBJ School of Public Affairs   Gonzalo Alcalde explores the role and impact of international cooperation on social policy innovations in Peru and Latin America in the 1990s. Alcalde is interested in design and implementation of integrated poverty reduction strategies from the central government, as well as case studies in the evolution of Social Investment Funds as major institutions in Latin American social policy.   Lauren Elise Apter History from University of Chicago UT Austin: Department of History   Lauren Apter's research focuses on the British Empire and the Middle East, specifically focusing on the last decade of the British mandate in Palestine in the years leading up to the establishment of the state of Israel. Her research spans the experiences of the diverse inhabitants of Mandatory Palestine, as well as engagement and investment of Western powers in the region, in the years immediately following World War II.   Laura Ann Feeney Physics from Miami University UT Austin: Department of Physics   Laura Feeney's work concerns the search for an electron electric dipole moment. This is a fundamental property of the electron that has not yet been detected.   Jodene Goldenring Fine Educational Psychology from University of California - Berkeley UT Austin: Department of Educational Psychology   Jodene Fine's research examines the developmental brain morphology and functioning of children with learning disabilities using functional and structural MRI techniques. She is particularly interested in children's learning disorders that are a part of the ADHD and NLD spectrums.   Daniel Jason Gilman Folkloric Anthropology from Haverford College UT Austin: Department of Anthropology   Daniel Gilman studies folkloric anthropology. Specifically, Gilman is interested in studying folk music as a performed reality, not merely as a set of texts. He wants to also explore how popular compositions and well-known composers can creep into the folk domain.   Eric Michael Katerman Mathematics from Williams College UT Austin: Department of Mathematics   Eric Katerman’s research involves exploiting the speed and estimating the power of computers to solve interesting problems in mathematics. Specifically, his work centers on a proof that the figure-eight knot complement has minimal cusp volume for any orientable, non-compact, one-cusped hyperbolic 3-manifold.   Jean Anne Lauer Radio-Television-Film from Albion College UT Austin: Department of Radio-Television-Film   Jean Lauer explores Latin American and U.S. Southwest Chicano cultural production and reception. She is also interested in media distribution patterns across the U.S./Mexico border, gender and power dynamics within and across borders, and alternative media practices in communities.   Han-Joo Lee Psychology from Seoul National University UT Austin: Department of Psychology   Han-Joo Lee examines the process and content characteristics of dysfunctional cognitions and behaviors in anxiety disorders, as well as how “emotional processing” can be defined and how it can be facilitated or obstructed in treatment. Further, his work examines the nature of obsessions and their related cognitive processes.   Till Florian A. Richter Art and Art History from University of Paris, Sorbonne UT Austin: Department of Art and Art History   Till Richter’s research evaluates contemporary art using art historical/critical and market criteria. Most of his work is devoted to the questions "How do art historical appreciation and performance in the market interact?" and "Are there universal or objective criteria that allow assessing the quality of an artwork?"   Kristin Lindsay Savicki Educational Psychology from Swarthmore College UT Austin: Department of Educational Psychology   Kristin Savicki examines cognitive-behavioral and psychodynamic approaches to therapy. Her research interests focus on psychological variables and processes associated with academic achievement by Mexican-American adolescents - an important focus due to the high dropout rate among these youth.   David Samuel Smith Astronomy from Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and The University of Texas at Austin UT Austin: Department of Astronomy   David Smith’s primary interests are astrobiology and the astrophysical constraints on planetary habitability. His research examines the origins of life, the exposure of terrestrial-like planet surfaces to ionizing radiation and cosmic rays, the terrestrial indicators of the structure of the interstellar medium, and galactic habitability.   George Erin Teachman Germanic Studies from Case Western Reserve University UT Austin: Department of Germanic Studies   George Teachman’s research investigates the postmodern and romantic tradition in German literature, especially the way these traditions question the reality of what we see, and their refusal to accept tradition simply because it is tradition.   Jennifer Lynn Winchel Accounting from Northern Illinois University UT Austin: Department of Accounting   Jennifer Winchel examines behavioral research in the realm of financial accounting and reporting. She studies the needs and perceptions of financial statement users and analyzes the conditions under which investors use unique information, such as non-financial performance measures, in decision-making.   Martin Thomas Woodlee Neuroscience from Northwestern University UT Austin: Department of Neuroscience   Martin Woodlee’s research focuses on the development of appropriate animal models and behavioral testing methods for assessing functional outcome following various forms of brain injury or disease.   Luling Zhang Pharmacy from University of Mississippi UT Austin: School of Pharmacy   Luling Zhang’s research examines biopharmaceutics and pharmacokinetics. Particularly, Zhang studies the factors that influence the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion of drugs, and the quantitative relationship of the rates of these phases to drug therapy and toxicity.   Yiquan Zou Kinesiology from Beijing University of Physical Education UT Austin: Department of Kinesiology and Health Education   Yiquan Zou’s research examines exercise physiology, including the connection between exercise and metabolism and the connection between exercise and aging. Dissertation Fellows Eric Alexander Archer Chemistry From The University of Texas at Austin UT Austin: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry   Eric Archer examines a sub-discipline of chemistry termed molecular self-assembly, which refers to the art and science of designing molecules that spontaneously attract one another, folding or otherwise organizing in a predefined arrangement. Archer is also interested in covalent casting and other novel design strategies for self-assembling molecular strands of unlimited length.   Ryan Patrick Taylor Kinesiology From The University of Texas at Austin UT Austin: Department of Kinesiology and Health Education   Ryan Taylor’s research examines the mechanisms by which a single bout of exercise provides a similar degree of protection against cardiac ischemic injury (heart attacks) as multiple months of exercise.  The aim of this research is to lead to new protective therapies that may be used in the process of treating patients who suffer heart attacks and/or undergo bypass surgery. Master’s Fellows Laurel Ann Alexander Journalism from Washington University, St. Louis UT Austin: School of Journalism   Laurel Alexander’s research focuses on how newspapers link mental illness to violent crime. Because people have cited their primary source of information about mental illness from newspapers, Alexander explores people’s negative perceptions of mental illness as shaped through the media.   Hao Cen Curriculum and Instruction from East China Normal Institution UT Austin: Department of Curriculum and Instruction   Hao Cen’s research involves expanding human learning capabilities with cutting-edge technologies. His research spans computer modeling, visualization, and artificial intelligence in education innovation.   Marian Susann Clarke Radio Television Film from The University of Texas at Austin UT Austin: Department of Radio Television Film   Marian Clarke examines the wide-ranging subject of culture and power structures. Particularly, she studies social and political contests over terms of identity, such as race, class, gender, and sexual orientation, and who or what decides these terms.   Jocelyn Sunshine Duffy Library and Information Science from Rochester Institute of Technology UT Austin: School of Information   Jocelyn Duffy’s research focuses on all aspects of library and information science, but she has a particular interest in how people discover new information and the processes people use when searching for topics. She is also interested in copyright and public policy.   Hannah Reid Fischer Library and Information Science from Oberlin College UT Austin: School of Information   Hannah Fischer’s research focuses on the fault line between the physical evidence of the book or manuscript and the related theories of information organization and access. Fischer is particularly interested in issues of preservation, as well as privacy issues, such as how to limit the amount of personal information corporations can legally sell or trade.   Karen Christine Gonzalez American Studies from The University of Texas at Austin UT Austin: American Studies   Karen Gonzalez examines contemporary American art from the perspective of audience experience. Particularly, she focuses on the idea of sacred American spaces.   Sarah Dodge Warren Latin American Studies from University of Arizona, Tucson UT Austin: Department of Latin American Studies   Sarah Warren’s research focuses on a Mapuche indigenous organization in Neuquen, Argentina, that is struggling for educational and territorial rights and state recognition. She examines women’s participation in the organization as well as the identity formation process of an urban indigenous group.