2008 - present
The Honors Project is a research project for which eligible students apply during their junior year and complete in their senior year. A successfully completed thesis project leads to the awarding of the bachelor of arts degree with the notation "honors," "high honors" or "highest honors" in the student's major subject. Each student is asked to archive his or her project in Smith ScholarWorks for access and preservation.
- On Campus Access: limited to the Smith College community and researchers on campus
- Off Campus Access: limited to the Smith College community via Smith College log-in
Honors Projects and Theses from 2024
The Role of GPR37 in Glucose Metabolism, Mariam Ahmed
Characterizing the Trafficking of Fibronectin Type III Proteins Bound to 𝛂v𝞫3 Integrin Receptors Across the Blood Brain Barrier in vitro, Sheher-Bano Ahmed
Light Entrainment in Liver Clocks of SCN-Ablated Mice, Kuni Anderson
System Identification with Neural Networks in the Smith College Geothermal Project, Abigail Bowering
The Role of GPR37 in Late Stage Maturation of Granule Cell Neurons, Caroline Burke
Design of a Small-Scale Mechanical Recycling Shredder for a Textile Circular Economy, Bailey Butterworth
Murder at the American Dream: A Creative Exploration of Gendered Capitalism, AI, and the Cold War Nuclear Family, Isabel Cruz
Immunity Gene Knockout of Protein Inhibitor of Activated STAT (PIAS) in Aedes albopictus using CRISPR-Cas9, Jane Dawson
Modifying Hydrogel Platforms for Translational Medicine: Conjugation of Azlactone Hydrogels with Adhesive Peptides Using Amine Click Reactions, Sophia M. Dhanani
Effects of Ear Canal Geometry on Normative Adult Wideband Acoustic Immittance (WAI) Measurements, Jingxin Jessica Feng
Functionalized PPFPA Films for Tunable Surface Wettability, Nell Fisher
Self-Exploration in a Non-Dualistic Cosmology: The Roles of Mentors in Guunmong, Ruolin Demi Gong
Bridging the Gap Between in vivo and in vitro Modeling for Tissue Engineering: Conjugating Azlactone Hydrogels with Adhesive Peptides Using Photo-Click Reactions, Annabelle Elfi Hendrickson
A Stage of Their Own: Nandan Performers and the Reimagining of Gender, Sexuality, and Social Hierarchy in Republican China, Bailey Hightower
Linear Free Energy Relationships of the Iron- Catalyzed Oxidative α-Amination of Ketones, Nina Hollin
Can Miami Corals Beat the Heat? Insights into the Algal Symbiont Assemblages of Highly Resilient ‘Urban Corals’ in Southeast Florida, Lorelei X. Ing
Design of a Chan-Evans-Lam Reaction for Arene C-H Alkylation, Danielle Joubran
Characterizing the Glow of Calcium Flow: cacna1c in Bioelectric Patterning and Neurodevelopment, Mercer Kriese
“Mare Sentiw, Mete de pyew atè”: Contemporary Haitian Conceptualizations of Mothering, Autonomy, and Reproductive Decision-Making, Fhrynée Lambert
Combinatorial Synthesis of Protein-Polymer Conjugates and Protein-Drug Conjugates for Targeted Drug Delivery, Thatcher Lee
Adapting to Survive: The Influence of Environmental Conditions on Uropathogenic E. coli Biofilm Formation, Asmae Lichir
Conversion of Tea Leaf Waste Into Cellulose and Cellulose Acetate in Menstrual Hygiene Product, Ruoxi Li
Electroporation- and Lipofectamine-Mediated Transfection of L3 Brugia malayi Parasites, Shilei Li
Antarctica Foraminifera Biodiversity in an Evolving Climate, Alexi Malecki
NYC Community Schools and Student Crime Incidents, Parunjodhi Munisamy
Measuring and Modeling the Transport of Engineered Proteins for Targeted Cancer Therapy, Sicheng Pang
Identification of the Reactive Intermediates of the Iron-Catalyzed Oxidative α-Amination of Ketones, Gloria Parrales
Finding an Edge: Figure Skating as a Tool for Nationalism, Prestige, and Soft Power, Grace Rade
Understanding Plant Functioning During Drought for Individuals with Variable Carbon Stores, Skarlet Rubi
Investigating the Role of Meteorin in Early CNS Development of Zebrafish, Shariqa Tasnim Shaila
The Association Between Stress and Menstrual Cycle Status in Premenopausal Women, Tori Shamlian
Investigating the Roles of SCN Status and Physical Contact on Skin Circadian Rhythms: Why sit alone in the dark?, Jadsika Sivaranshan
Elucidating genome dynamics underlying complex life cycles in eukaryotes: an analysis of microscopy, transcriptomics, and the literature, Elinor Sterner
Mammalian-Yeast Dynein Chimeras: Design, Construction, and Analysis, Emily Swindell
Relationship Between Subclinical Cardiovascular Disease Risk, Hot Flash Experience, and Habitual Physical Activity in Healthy Perimenopausal People, Tint Tha Ra Wun
Carlos Martiel As/Against the Posthuman: Subaltern Corporeal Realities, Henne Van Campen
Development of DNA Origami Exoskeletons and Cationic Cores Toward Layer-by-Layer Assembly of Targeted Therapeutics, Justine Wagaman
The Role of Gpr37 in the Developing and Regenerating Retina, Yuqi K. Wang
MS-ESI Analysis of Glyoxal, Methyl Glyoxal, and Hydroxy Acetone - Salt Systems to Model Atmospheric Product Formation, Cecilia Wheeler
Towards an Enzyme Mimic through DNA-Palladium Conjugation, Emma Whittemore
Visualizing Fluorescent Fusion Protein Fate by Cell-Cycle Induced Recombination, Abigail Wilcox
Partners in Patterning? Characterizing the Relationship between Bioelectricity and Morphogen Signaling during Zebrafish Axis Formation, Claire Woppmann
Design Framework for Thermal Energy Storage Integrated with Geothermal and Energy Transfer, Zehui Yu
Calibrating Coronagraphic Spectroscopy on the HST Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, Jingyi Zhang
Probing Spatial Reasoning Ability of LLM with Python-Composed Dialogs by SHRDLU, Kexin Zoie Zhao
Fishing for Answers: Explaining Environmental Justice Disparities in Chesapeake Bay Recreational Angling, Isabelle Zheng
Honors Projects and Theses from 2023
Investigating Delays: What Temporal Variation in EPA Action under CERCLA Suggests About Equity, Jane Andrews
Aiding Users in Requirements Analysis Tasks Through Color and Filtering, Yesugen Baatartogtokh
The Role of Forced Migration in Non-Capitalist Accumulation Today, Hannah Beck
DNA-Palladium Conjugates for Targeted Drug Delivery in Biological Systems, Laura Birkart
Combinatorial Approaches for the Synthesis of Protein-Polymer Conjugates (PPC) for Drug Delivery, Ama Boamah
The Role of Cobalt-Complexed Alkynes in the Diels-Alder Reaction, Ashlyn Bohn
Cherry Pie: American Stories of Sexuality and Religion, Amelia Burton
Predictors of Domestic Sex Trafficking Susceptibility in a Nationwide Sample of Women, Betsy Ruth Button
An Innovative Alliance between Gays and Lesbians: Contract Marriage, Reproductive Intention, and Internalized Heteronormativity, Xi Cassie Cao
Making Space: Collective Histories in Contemporary Installation Art from the Algerian Diaspora, Alexandra Casais
Differentiation of Boron Reagents within Chan-Evans-Lam Oxygen Methylation, Angela Chavez
Characterizing the Role of GPR37 as a Novel Regulator of the Wnt Pathway, Iris Cheng
Effect of Sp Lesions on the Breathing Kinetics of 11-mer DNA Duplexes, Michelle Chen
In Vagueness We (Should) Trust: Defending the Virtues of a Linguistic 'Vice', Chloe Church
Resilience, Race, and Sexual Orientation as Predictors of Posttraumatic Growth in Smith College Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Kristin E. Cirulli
Freckled Whelp: Adaptations of Shakespeare, Kaitlyn Connors
Bacterial Microbiome Variation Across Symbiotic State and Clonal Lines in a Cnidarian Model, Ezra Curtis
Evaluating the Feasibility of a Multiplex qPCR Assay for Diagnosis of Schistosomiasis and Lymphatic Filariasis from Urine, Siobhan Dietz
"Supporting local agriculture and feeding people": Farmers’ Markets in Hampden County and Fresh Food for Low-Income Communities, R.C. Ettenger
Women’s Labor Force Participation Trends in the U.S.: An Intersectional Analysis, 1990-2019, Sarah Fleming
Analog Horror: Authenticity, Immersion, and Hyperdiegesis in Digital Horror, Stevie Gatto
Progress Toward Identifying Bioactive Sites of Neurolenin Compounds, Nina Glesby
Mathematics Underlying Cryptographic Protocols with Application to Blockchain, Lucy Groves
The Role of Cargo-Motor Connectivity in Transport by Ensembles of Dynein, Hana Hieshima
The Hairpin: A Novel Method to Correct for the Effects of Population Stratification on Polygenic Risk Scores, Shevaughn Holness
Differential Gene Expression of the Spinal Cord and Leg Muscle of the Foot-Flagging Frog, Staurois parvus, Mika Holtz
Base Excision Repair of Oxidative Guanine Lesions in Nucleosomes Initiated by Formamidopyrimidine DNA Glycosylase, Alina Jarrett
Characterizing Lineage-Specific Genes in Testate Lobose Amoebae (Arcellinida), Angela Kaijia Jiang
An Adaptive Grid to Compute Earth Mover’s Distances in Search of Quantum Chaos, Jessica Kaijia Jiang
Dead Clade Walking: Archaeocyaths in the Lower Cambrian Mule Spring Limestone, Nevada, Grace Karbowski
Faith-Based Credit Unions: Community, Values, and the Solidarity Economy, Zoe Kruse
Bridging the Gap: Developing Self-Rolling Azlactone Hydrogels for Nerve Injury Applications, Arshiyan Alam Laaj
Uncovering the Hidden Role of GPR37 in Müller Glia-Mediated Neuronal Regeneration, Zhixin Liao
Circadian Rhythms of Mammalian Skin with and without the Central Clock, Hongtong Lin
The Role of GPR37 in Adult Neurogenesis, Vivian Li
Them Quiet Suburbs, Those Picket Fences, The Separation: Reparations for Black America, Alexis Jean Luckett
Post-Polymerization Functional Patterning of Polymer Networks for the Development of Chemical Sensors, Anna Lynch
Precision Spectroscopy of Atomic Nitrogen-14 and Oxygen-16, Chitsoe Maruko
Public School Funding and Juvenile Crime: Evidence from New York City, Lia Mikhelashvili
Investigating Weyl Semimetal and Magnetized Phases in Quantum Materials Using Stochastic and Machine Learning Methods, Elizabeth Morningstar
Characterization of Amyloid Precursor Protein Regulation by Orphan G Protein-Coupled Receptors 3, 6 and 12, Sabra Mouhi
High-Caloric Food as Breakfast Speeds up Re-entrainment but Does not Resolve Internal Desynchrony, Zhen Nie