RELEASED: May 12, 2005

DANVILLE, KY—From Virginia Woolf to Thomas Jefferson, the Taiwan Straits to post-Civil War Kentucky, neuroscience to Irish traditional music to conservative Zionist discourse—the breadth of Centre College student learning was on display yesterday, as the seven J.C. Young Scholars for 2004-05 delivered the results of their research projects at a symposium in Young Hall.

For the students, all seniors selected in a competitive process, the symposium is the culmination of a full school year of intensive research on a project of their own choosing, done under the supervision of a faculty mentor. The students receive a budget to help with expenses with their research.

At the symposium, the 2005-06 Young Scholars were also announced.

"The John C. Young Scholars program represents some of the best of what Centre has to offer," says Mark Rasmussen, associate professor of English and chair of the Young Scholars program. "These are unusually bright, motivated and inquisitive students who've developed original projects and brought them to fruition, under the guidance of a faculty mentor. This kind of interaction between teacher and student is what liberal education is all about."

The 2004-05 Young Scholars and their projects:

• Jared A. Cutright, Lexington, Ky., international relations, "The Potential for Long-Term Peace and Stability in the Taiwan Strait" (faculty mentor: Professor Michael Hamm)
  
• Ashley Kingsolver, LaGrange, Ky., religion, "Thomas Jefferson: An American Heretic" (faculty mentor: Professor David Hall)
  
• Robert P. Murray, Midway, Ky., history, "Post-War Kentucky: Civil War and Vietnam" (faculty mentor: Professor Larry Matheny)
  
• Jamie Ray, Louisville, English, "Conservative Zionist Discursive Practices" (faculty mentor: Professor Nayef Samhat)
  
• Ryan Steed, Catlettsburg, Ky., biochemistry and molecular biology, "Changes in Neurotransmitter Expression During Rat Brain Development" (faculty mentor: Professor Stephen Asmus)
  
• Karen Wicke, Louisville, music, "Irish Traditional Music and Socio-Political Consciousness" (faculty mentor: Professor Larry Bitensky)
  
• Jenn Wolford, Louisville, English, "Virginia Woolf: A Shift from Androgyny to Anonymity in the Artist Figure" (faculty mentor: Professor Helen Emmitt)

The 2005-6 Young Scholars

• Mark Ball, Harlan, Ky., biochemistry and molecular biology, "Neurotransmitter Selection in the Rat Cerebral Cortex" (faculty mentor: Professor Stephen Asmus)
  
• Jeff Briggs, Strongsville, Ohio, mathematics and physics, "The Science and Economics of Nuclear Fusion," (faculty mentors: Professors Andre Wehner and David Anderson)
  
• Nathan French, Louisville, religion, "The Theology of Al-Qaeda's Jihad," (faculty mentor: David Hall)
  
• Kristie Kachler, Maysville, Ky., English, "Confronted by Beauty," (faculty mentor: Lisa Williams)
  
• Matthew Steinfeld, Hopkinsville, Ky., government, "Consumerism and the Soviet Union," (faculty mentor: Michael Hamm)
  
• Ellen Wisner, Hunstville, Ala., biology, "The Hybrid Zone between Two Crayfish Species," (faculty mentor: Robert Ziemba)
  

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

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