“Machine Consciousness and the Advent of Narcissistic Computers”
Chris Walling (Mathematics and Computer Science, ’12) and Jesse Kawell (Computer Science, ’12) are working with Dr. Steve Donaldson to build a computer that is aware of itself. They will be delving into new areas in the growing field of artificial intelligence as they attempt to understand and duplicate the complex systems of self-awareness. Jesse and Chris are trying to build machines that can watch facial expressions displayed on a screen and see if the expressions are those that it is trying to make. This models the “mirror test” which is used to test animals’ self-awareness. As they research in psychology, cognitive science, programming and other fields, Jesse and Chris will have the chance to contribute to the latest work in artificial intelligence. They plan to present their work at the southeastern conference of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) this fall.
“The Languages of Jesus”
Larry McCutcheon (Classics and Religion, ’12) is researching the languages of Jesus with Dr. Randy Todd. In particular, they are researching whether or not Jesus spoke Greek. He will be looking at the words of Jesus in the original Greek and comparing them with words written in a vast number of other ancient texts. He will also be studying oral tradition as well in search of ways the words of Jesus were passed down. This project will also require an in depth study of Hellenistic society and its influences in the ancient east during the life and times of Jesus. Larry plans on presenting his project in the spring upon returning from London.
“Computational Studies of Potential Drugs to Treat Alzheimer’s Disease”
Walter Turner (Chemistry, ’12) and Dr. Morgan Ponder are using computational methods to support Dr. Andy Lampkins’ synthesis of drug molecules designed to combat Alzheimer’s disease and other central nervous system disorders. Walter will use computational methods to determine the lowest-energy conformation of each drug candidate in aqueous solution and dock these molecules into the β-secretase enzyme active site (the intended binding pocket of the drug). He will then analyze the specific chemical interactions between each drug candidate and the enzymatic pocket to determine the most promising leads for this drug discovery initiative. He plans to present his research at the 2010 Southeastern Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society.