2015 Senior Projects Fair

Alexander Aron
Game Design: Survivalist
Adviser: Mr. Melchinger; Rep: Mr. Melchinger
Course substitution: English
Survivalist is a 3D survival video game I created with the Unity 3D game engine and programmed in JavaScript and C#. The player starts out in a randomly generated terrain full of water, trees, rocks, and abandoned buildings. The goal of the game is to use the available resources in order to survive.

Anna Ayres-Brown
Transitional Songwriting
Adviser: Ms. Schroth; Rep: Mr. Ridky
Course substitution: English
What makes different musical genres sound distinct? In this project, I examined iconic songs from specific contemporary genres to get at the heart of this question. I then used what I learned from these in-depth technical analyses to write songs in varying genres.
Anna will perform her original songs in the Weissman Room from 4:10-4:30.

Nick Batista
Rocking Chair
Adviser: Mr. Mueller; Rep: Ms. Badus
Course substitution: Italian
For my project, I built a rocking chair with an emphasis on quality over quantity. This project has tested my woodworking skills and has allowed me to expand my knowledge and abilities in the field of furniture design, as well as having allowed me to investigate a completely foreign field, wood engraving.

Tova Benson-Tilsen & Sophie Liebergall
Senior Video
Adviser: Ms. Hartup; Reps: Ms. Barrows, Ms. Goldsmith
Course substitution: Mathematics
Our goal for this year’s Senior Video is to capture the spirit of the Class of 2015 on camera. We hope to follow their footsteps on campus as they finish up their final term on the hill, record their last pushes for their sports teams, and create a piece that they can look back on with fond memories. We hope that the video, sometimes nostalgic, sometimes humorous, will be another token to remember our time here on the hill as we embark on the next stages of our lives.

Samuel Berry
Finding My Jazz Voice Through Recording
Adviser: Mr Smith; Rep: Mr. Ridky
Course substitution: French AP
I developed my jazz voice through arranging recording four jazz standards for solo piano. I started by recording initial versions of the songs as I would play them before, and then listened to a number of versions of each song by various artists. Incorporating elements that I liked from each of these professional versions, I recorded my own versions and developed a more distinct way of approaching jazz piano.
Sam will perform on piano in the Weissman Room from 4:00-4:10.

Alexander Burdo
Next Stop: Philadelphia pensylvanica
Adviser: Dr.Cox; Rep: Mr. Johnson
Course substitution: English
My project was a study of the phylogenetic relationships in the avian family, Parulidae (the Wood-Warblers). I used recent research into this topic to create a picture of Parulidae’s current taxonomic status and then dug deeper by analyzing how and why these birds evolved to their current standing. Through the use of a holistic approach to Wood-Warbler classification, I was able to paint in some of the detail of this family’s evolutionary past, in order to bring sense to the chaos that is phylogeny.

Ryenne Carpenter
Crime and Punishment: Interview and Writing
Adviser: Ms. Fasano; Rep: Mr. Johnson?Course substitution: English
I wanted to combine my love for crime and punishment with creative writing while also having a personal aspect to it. I ended up choosing my boss at work, whose life revolved around crime and punishment, as a subject and told her story from beginning to present day. She was so open with me about her story because she wants to share this book with young girls who are in a hard spot so that they could learn from her mistakes.

Hayley Cashman & Bethany Hecht
I Am a Feminist: Using Woodhull and Sanger to Explore How to Inspire Members of the Hopkins Community to Discover Their Inner Feminist
Adviser: Ms. Ratcliffe; Rep: Ms. Barrows
Course substitutions: Math
The goal of our project was to shed some light on the accomplishments of two admirable women, Margaret Sanger and Victoria Woodhull, and educate the Hopkins community on what they did for women's rights during their lives. By making posters, dressing up as these women, and creating an informative music video, we explored how the community engaged with our teaching methods and how to best educate and inspire the students so that they’re interested in learning about women of the past even after our project was over. We wanted to engage and inform through our senior project, and to shed light on the issue that there’s a general lack of education when it comes to understanding our gender’s place in history.
"I Am A Feminist" music video

Tyler Clark
BMX Bikes and Interviews
Adviser: Mr. Saunders; Rep: Ms. Lane
Course substitution: English
I spent the second half of spring semester filming and editing a documentary called More than Just a Hobby about freestyle biking. Freestyle biking has been something I have been passionate about since I was about twelve. This senior project allowed me to combine my passion for biking with my passion for camera work. The documentary explores biking as a lifestyle through a series of interviews from different perspectives.
"More Than Just A Hobby" BMX Freestyle Teaser Trailer

cc Crews
My Life Sewn Together in Stanzas
Adviser: Mr. Werrell; Rep: Ms. Ratcliffe
Course substitution: AP Italian
My senior project, titled “My Life Sewn Together in Stanzas”, is an exploration of the evolution of the role that poetry has played in my life since before I could talk. It is broken into three sections, one for each stage of my literary development and loosely arranged chronologically. The goals of this project were to revisit poets from my childhood and examine/analyze them in a new light, reflect on the ways that my perspective has changed and how it can benefit from nostalgia, and apply these theories into my own work--writing about 12 original poems of my own on various themes.
CC will perform excerpts of her poetry in the Weissman Room, 3:50-4:00.

Raffaella Donatich
Directing Practicum: Scenework and Writing
Adviser: Ms. Hartful; Rep: Mr. Levy
Course substitution: Math 15
I am exploring the ins and outs of directing a play; focusing not on the production-value itself, but instead the textual analysis and the evolution of the characters and dialogue.
Raffi and her actors will present their scenework in Lovell Hall on Friday, May 22, from 7-9. If you are interested, you should
contact Raffi for an invitation to this closed rehearsal / showing.

Bridget Donovan
Turkish Delight
Adviser: Mr. Addison; Rep: Mr. Johnson
Course substitution: AP Calculus
Without previous experience in the language, I spent six weeks learning Turkish outside of a classroom environment. My two resources were Elementary Turkish- an almost impossibly dense, yet tiny book- and Duolingo- the free website and chosen language-learning tool of Bill Gates. Besides learning how to speak Turkish, studying the linguistic basis for a dialect more closely related to Azerbaijani and Qashqai than to its geographical neighbors Greek and Arabic, has proven to be simply fascinating.

Mira DuPlessis
Animating “Game Grumps” in Flash
Adviser: Ms. LaBelle-Young; Rep: Dr. Gries
Course substitution: English
My project involved taking audio samples from the famous YouTube show “Game Grumps” and animating them to produce visuals that matched what the two hosts were talking about. The program I used was Adobe Flash CS3 Pro and each animated clip was at fifteen frames per second with full color, shade, and visual effects.

Rose Etzel
Studies of Choral Conducting
Adviser: Ms. Schroth; Rep: Mr. Melchinger
Course substitution: English
My project is an endeavor to expand upon my knowledge of music by studying conducting, centered around the creation of music and the art of conducting as a means of uncovering and illuminating the music. I observed choir rehearsals at Yale, read a book on conducting, worked on developing my own style of conducting through practicing, writing, and using recording software, and worked on a song with the Concert Choir and conducted it the spring concert.

Marcie Gallagher
Documenting Genocide through Memoir
Adviser: Mr. DeNaples; Rep: Mr. Kaplan
Course substitution: Math 16
I conducted several interviews with my friend Alex Vickcheka, who is 58 years old and survived the Cambodian genocide 40 years ago. I tape-recorded our interviews, then later transcribed everything, word by word. I went over all of the stories, cutting, pasting, editing, and putting everything in chronological order- so the finished product is a comprehensible, linear memoir.

Noah Gelles
Humans of the U.N.
Adviser: Ms. Ratcliffe; Rep: Ms. Barrows
Course substitution: English
By working in association with the United Nations and the Temple of Understanding, I created an online publication with intentions of spreading awareness of the world’s gravest issues and problems. By using my website www.humansoftheUN.org, I conducted interviews and sat in on information sessions in order to present an opinionated view on the inner workings of the UN. Humans of the U.N.

Olivia Hodel
My Cycology
Adviser: Ms. Ratcliffe; Rep: Ms. Lane
Course substitution: AP Physics
Almost a year after completing a bike ride across the United States, I found myself writing about my experience for my senior project. What I have presented here are some of the many stories I have from the day I learned how to ride a bike to the day I arrived at the beach in San Diego last August. Through writing about my passion for cycling I was able to begin a journey of self discovery that has only just begun.

Joshua Kim
Physics Problems: Solving and Explaining
Adviser: Dr. Stewart; Rep: Ms. LaBelle-Young
Course substitution: English
I am presenting solutions to physics problems I have been working on over the past few months from the book “200 Puzzling Physics Problems”. My goal is to present difficult and unusual physics problems in such a way that everybody will be able to gain something from my presentation.

Brian Kitano
A Thorough Study of Origami
Adviser: Dr. Gries; Rep: Mr. Kaplan
Course substitution: AP Physics C
Origami adds a new dimension to the overlooked medium of paper. This project pushes the limits of paper, until it tears.

Allison Kubick
Practical Self-Defense and Survival
Adviser: Mr. Melchinger; Rep: Ms. Lane
Course substitution: AP Stats
Self defense isn't just fighting, it's learning how to not fight. Anyone can find themselves feeling vulnerable or uncomfortable in certain situations, but self-defense training gives you the confidence to combat that feeling and get home safe. For the last six weeks I've trained at the CT School of Survival in MMA, specializing in Jiu Jitsu. I will demonstrate self defense techniques as well as give brief but hopefully helpful advice to my audience at the project fair.
PLEASE NOTE: Allie’s presentation (Hopkins Quad, 3:30-3:50) contains strikes, chokes, joint-locks, and falls. The impacts are stylized for clarity to the audience, but could easily injure an untrained practitioner. Although the message of this project is intelligent anti-violence, people who are overly excited or upset by violent or painful images should stay clear.
Allie's Dojo: Connecticut School of Survival

Will Lowrie & Kamsi Nwangwu
Sports Collisions and Science
Adviser: Mr. Swan; Rep: Ms. Ratcliffe
Course substitutions: English
Using computer software PASCO Capstone’s video analysis, we examined eight collisions in the sports of Football and Wrestling at various levels. Using all the data gathered, we sought to isolate variables, uncover trends, and examine particular portions of each collision all in order to answer three questions:
1. How do pads and equipment mitigate the effect of collisions?
2. What is the relative difference in intensities across sports between their college levels and professional levels?
3. What in particular about collisions causes injury, and how can it be avoided?

Nick Marmor
Art Songs for Tenor Voice
Adviser: Ms.Schroth; Rep: Mr. Werrell
Course substitution: Islam
In my project, I learned and memorized eleven art songs to sing, with a pianist, and performed them in a downtown recital on May 10. In addition, I also wrote program notes for the recital and recorded the recital in order to display the video at the senior project fair.

Ariel Martinez
CosPlay: Frills and Kills
Adviser: Ms. Rowny; Rep: Ms. Goldsmith
Course substitution: none
My senior project is a full cosplay of the anime character Erza Scarlet. It is a set of armor with a giant pair of wings.... that's right.... wings. The set of accessories includes two large swords, arm guards, leg guards, a headpiece and red hair (an event in and of itself). I am still recovering emotionally from my senior project, but I'm proud of the results. This project has taught me a lot about ambition, perseverance, and the limits of gravity. All in all, it's been a whirlwind of a ride and I can't wait for people to be able to see the costume.

Michael McCarthy
Building a Pizza Oven
Adviser: Mr. Mueller; Rep: Ms. Goldsmith
Course substitution: AP Statistics
My project has been a gratifying challenge. I have learned how difficult it is to get arches to meet at the top, and how many bags of concrete my van can take before the rear axle breaks. I am anticipating the final days of the process when I can hopefully cook up some pizzas.

Victoria McCraven
Prehospital and Hospital Care
Adviser: Ms. Amore; Rep: Mr. Kaplan
Course substitution: AP Bio
Over the last few weeks I have been studying stroke and heart attack by spending time in the field. Once a week I spent time shadowing a physician in the Emergency Department at Midstate Medical Center, and once every other week I rode on ambulance runs with New Britain EMS. I kept a notebook that combined my research and observations.

Lexi Phelan
Be-United: West Shore
Adviser: Ms. Mastin; Rep: Mr. Werrell
Course substitution: AP Bio
This past December I spoke at West Shore Middle School in Milford to six hundred students and faculty members. After my speech, the students sent me letters about how they view bullying and their desire to put an end to it. For my senior project I pursued the next chapter: to go back and interview students at West Shore Middle School. I made a documentary sharing their words, which I will then show to them and continue the cycle of anti-bullying discussion.

Jacob Pierce
The Integrator’s Toolbox
Adviser: Mr. McCord; Rep: Dr. Gries
Course substitution: English
For the past few years, I have been obsessed with integrals, an important type of problem you learn about in calculus. For my project, I read a textbook and solved all the problems in order to master some of the most powerful techniques of integration, many of which aren't even mentioned in standard analysis courses. I also gave lectures on some of the techniques and held a competition which allowed students to discover the techniques independently.

Jacob & Jarett Poliner
Money-Balling the Game
Adviser: Mr. Hart; Rep: Mr. Pizarro
Course substitutions: Chinese 4
For our senior project we chose to analyze sports with statistical analysis. Athletes have always looked for an edge in sports, and we wanted to apply our shared interest in mathematics and to the real world. We collected a vast amount of data and footage to determine what optimizes high school athletes’ chances for success.

Kyra Post
Science Olympiad at Amistad Academy
Adviser: Mr. Taylor; Rep: Ms. Ratcliffe
Course substitution: English
I’ve always loved science, so for my project I set out to share that with students at Amistad Academy by starting a Science Olympiad team. My crew of eight enthusiastic eighth graders met three times weekly to explore a range of topics in science: identifying fossils, understanding the cardiovascular system, or building the strongest bridge. Though it is too late in the year to compete in the State competition, my team is preparing for 6 events, to compete with the Hopkins C team and alternates in our in-house tournament at the end of May.

Noah Ford Rennert
Political Engagement in Young People: At Hopkins & In America
Adviser: Ms Kellert; Rep: Ms. Badus
Course substitution: Spanish 4
I conducted a study of the Hopkins student body, investigating its level of political engagement and the reasons that our students feel the way that they do. I then compared the Hopkins student body’s level of political engagement with that of young people on a national scale, throughout history. Using the lens of voter turnout, I subsequently identified issues within today’s political landscape and outlined solutions to them, both on the national and school level. The project will educate people on the cross section of society that the Hopkins student body represents, shed light on some of the root causes of today's political gridlock, and present a clear path to improve the efficacy of America's Democracy.

Walker Schneider
The Battle of Ridgefield: A Game
Adviser: Mr. Casanova; Rep: Mr. Levy
Course substitution: AP Physics
The ultimate purpose of this project is to use historical war gaming to help educate the Hopkins community about the Battle of Ridgefield, Connecticut’s largest land battle during the American Revolution. While relatively obscure, the conflict represented the turning point in southwestern Connecticut loyalties, from a bastion of Tory sympathies to a hotbed of patriotic fervor. Thus, this project seeks to capture and present the crucial intangible ramifications of the battle through game play that combines both a battle simulation and an originally designed game engine.

Ben Sokol
Trebuchet
Adviser: Mr. Mueller; Rep: Ms. Badus
Course substitution: English
For my project, I built a six-foot tall trebuchet that can hold up to 85lbs and can throw projectiles upwards of 15lbs. Years ago, I was part of an engineering team that had designed a full size trebuchet, but was never able to see the project through. Using an online parts list and a computer animated design drawing, I was able to put my knowledge of physics and my construction skills to the test. Working on this project has been extremely enlightening to me and has allowed me to greatly expand upon my knowledge and understanding of woodworking. I cannot wait to fire my trebuchet downrange at the senior project fair.
Please Note: Ben’s trebuchet will fire on the Quad when outside. When not firing, it will be inside Heath Commons for you to investigate.

Sarah Srivichitranond
Prom Dress
Adviser: Ms. Rowny; Rep: Mr. Pizarro
Course substitution: English
My senior project has been to sew my own prom dress. I have combined and altered two Simplicity patterns to create the perfect dress for me in terms of style and fit. I began by making the entire dress out of muslin fabric to practice, then I proceeded to use satin for my real prom dress. In addition, I documented my process with a scrapbook filled with pictures, pieces of fabric, and short writing pieces describing each step.

Lia Stone
College Application Survival Guide
Adviser: Ms. Paton; Rep: Mr. Ridky
Course substitution: Math 15
My senior project is a booklet, a “survival guide,” that will be distributed to the rising seniors and added as a digital resource found on the Naviance document library. The booklet talks about my experience and the experiences of the students, teachers, Hopkins alumni in the generally enigmatic Hopkins college application process. It serves as advice, warning, and perspective from members of Hopkins on applying to college. I want the rising seniors to read this guide throughout their time applying to colleges and understand that the information within is tailored specifically to the Hopkins experience.

Matthijs VanMierlo
Music and Animation
Adviser: Mr. Melchinger; Rep: Dr. Gries
Course substitution: English
In my project, I synced my own animations with a classical music piece: Chopin’s Raindrop. Over the course of six weeks, I familiarized myself with Blender, a free and open-source 3D animation program, and started animating, rendering, tweaking, and adjusting my animations and keyframes. I began with a fairly elaborate and very obvious hard-syncing animation, or as animators like to call it, “mickey-mousing.” Moving through my animation, I veered away from hard-syncing, and attempted to make my animations subtle, yet still perfectly noticeable. For the last two weeks, I made Hopkins into a “rendering farm” to create the fully-rendered video I will present at the Fair.