Gabriel Walton’s fascination with science and research began as an eighth-grader at Miami’s Allapattah Middle School. Given an assignment to produce a PowerPoint presentation on a topic of his choosing, he sifted through stacks of books, came across one on the human heart, and decided to do his presentation on the way blood flows through the human body.
Today Walton is still studying the human body, but on an infinitely more sophisticated level. A senior majoring in biology with minors in chemistry and computer science, Walton conducted research this past summer at Harvard University, comparing the DNA of patients with conditions such as mental retardation and microcephala with that of normal individuals in an effort to isolate certain genes that are more prevalent in people with brain impairments.
“With research, there are no clear-cut answers,” says Walton, who wants to go on to earn a Ph.D. in developmental genetics. “I like to look at things in different aspects and then maybe hit a dead end and realize that you have to redo or rethink something in another way. Someday, I’d love to be a part of an experiment that helps a broad range of people and saves lives.”
A 19th-century Costa Rican penal colony is yielding long-buried secrets to a team of UM anthropology students. At a prison cemetery on Isla San Lucas, site of the penal colony, the students last January began excavating gravesites and human remains that could reveal how many of the inmates there died.
“We’re doing historical archaeology, assisting the museum in Costa Rica to help them re-create certain events and fill in some of the holes in the information they have. And a cemetery is one of the best places to start,” says Monica Faraldo, the anthropology instructor who led the students on the archaeological excavation of the site as part of the UM Ibis Archaeological Field School for Isla San Lucas.
By conducting visual examinations and taking anthropometric measurements of skeletal remains, the students can answer a slew of questions about what took place at the penal colony, including how many inmates died and their approximate ages.
Faraldo and her students plan to return to the site in 2009.
How can retailers position their products to make them more appealing to consumers? How do different consumer goals lead to a specific price promotion? In a new laboratory at the School of Business Administration, students are conducting the kind of advanced marketing research that will help answer such questions and more.
The ’Canes Behavioral Laboratory is a place where “leading-edge research and innovation can thrive,” says Dean Barbara Kahn.
The new state-of-the-art lab houses 31 networked computer workstations outfitted with the latest software. With tools such as interactive surveys and virtual environments that simulate product features, student researchers can learn how people react in actual situations and make decisions on a wide range of products and services.
Teams of UM architecture
students have created a new vision for revitalizing Miami’s interface with Biscayne Bay. Dubbed the Waterfront Project, the semester-long, school-wide initiative focused on reinvigorating a seven-mile-long stretch of public waterfront. The students designed everything from infill buildings and water-taxi stations to restaurants, retail shops, and parks. Recent School of Architecture graduate Rachel Swartz, who was a senior at the time of the project, proposed an open-air marketplace near the mouth of the
Miami River.
In what specific way would your proposed design reinvigorate Miami’s waterfront?
A river-oriented, open-air marketplace enhanced by a pedestrian street, boardwalk, observation tower, and café can reinvent the city’s relationship to the Miami River by supporting the area’s trading history.
Does your design include any sustainable architectural features?
Along with plenty of shade, views of the outdoors, and most of the design being open-air, there is a green roof and storm-water control system. The green roof keeps the building cooler and assists with storm-water management while improving the water quality along the way.
What did you learn from this entire project?
There is so much thought that must go into designing a revitalized waterfront. The relationships between the boardwalk and the surrounding environment are crucial. If all of the relationships are not fully considered and designed for, then the program is not successful.
