HOLLAND -- For the fourth year in a row, Hope
holds five grants for summer student research from the
National Science Foundation's "Research Experiences for
Undergraduates" (NSF-REU) program.

Although complete national data for 2001 is not
yet available, last year Hope held more of the grants than
any other liberal arts college in the country and more than
all but about a dozen other institutions of any sort
nationwide, including major research universities.

Hope holds the awards in biology, chemistry,
computer science, mathematics, and physics and engineering.
It is the 10th consecutive year that at least four Hope
departments have had NSF-REU support.

Through Hope's grants, undergraduate students from
both Hope and elsewhere are conducting research full-time
with Hope faculty members for eight to 10 weeks this summer,
and are receiving stipends as well as support for housing,
travel and other expenses. They are working with students
whose summer research at Hope is supported in other ways.

The department of biology's grant is supporting 10
students working with nine faculty members for 10 weeks.
Some of the projects include the regulation of lipid
production in yeast, the effects of hormones on water
balance, regulation of uptake of neurotransmitters in the
brain, understanding evolutionary relationships of plants,
and the effect of hybridization on species definition in
plants. The three-year, $156,000 grant is being
administered by Dr. Virginia McDonough and Dr. Timothy
Evans, who are both assistant professors of biology.

The department of chemistry's grant is supporting
eight students working among 11 faculty for up to 10 weeks.
The research projects include PIXE (Particle-Induced X-ray
Emission) analysis of environmental samples, synthesis of
polymers and studies of atmospheric compounds. The three-
year, $139,119 grant is being administered by Dr. Joanne
Stewart, professor of chemistry.

The department of computer science's grant is
supporting eight students working with four faculty for 10
weeks. The projects include "Visualization of Program
Execution," "Algorithm Animations with Linked Lists," "User
Interface Design Tools," "Reference Material Library Support
on Handheld Computers," "A Parallel Processing Platform from
Networked Handheld Computers," "Handheld Interactive
Textbook" and "One-to-Many Cryptography." The three-year,
$143,213 grant is being administered by Dr. Herbert Dershem,
professor of computer science and chair of the department.

The department of mathematics's grant is
supporting nine students working with two faculty members
for eight weeks. The projects include "Mathematical
Modeling with Dynamical Systems" and "Non-Commutative Ring
Theory." The four-year, $120,000 grant is being
administered by Dr. Timothy Pennings, associate professor of
mathematics.

The department of physics and engineering's grant
is supporting eight students working with seven faculty for
10 weeks. The seven projects include "High Energy Phenomena
in Neutron Star Magnetospheres," "Linear and Non-linear
Control Algorithms," "Modeling of Carbon Nanotube
Composites," "Nuclear Reaction Studies with Radioactive
Particle Beams," "Development of Laboratory Projects for
Non-Engineers" and "Enhancing Commercial Aircraft
Survivability." The two-year, $90,251 grant is being
administered by Dr. John Krupczak Jr., who is an associate
professor of engineering.

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