Theories in Action 2025

[ April 29 & 30, 2025 ]

Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center, Petteruti Lounge (75 Waterman Street, Providence, RI)

Theories in Action (TiA) is an interdisciplinary conference that seeks to connect Independent Concentrators and other senior students across various departments and disciplines.

TiA is co-sponsored by the Curricular Resource Center and the College. Questions? Email theoriesinaction@brown.edu.

Presentations take place in the Petteruti Lounge (75 Waterman Street) and will be live-streamed and recorded:

Live stream Tuesday and Wednesday

2025 Symposium

April 29th, Tuesday

12:00 - 1:00 p.m.

Roundtable 1

Moderator: Dean Oludurotimi Adetunji, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Undergraduate Research and Inclusive Science, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Physics, Director, Undergraduate Teaching and Research Awards, Executive Producer, SciToons

Tara Hislip - Phonetic Frequencies in Tourette’s: The Linguistics of Involuntary Speech

I have Tourette’s, and after I began studying Linguistics, I noticed patterns within my own tics that stuck out to me as unlike natural/voluntary speech. Most of my own tics begin with "b," but in voluntary speech, "b" should only make up 4% of word-initial consonants. I was curious to see whether or not these patterns were found in other people with Tourette’s or if they were only my own experience. I felt that if I were able to examine some linguistic patterns within the spoken tics of individuals with tourettes, I might be able to shed some light on how our brains "select" the involuntary actions/speech sounds produced whether it relates to language acquisition or the motor task of sound production.

Fiona Liu - You've Got Mail: Confronting the Cognitive Load of the Inbox

Fiona is from East Brunswick, New Jersey and is studying Human-Computer Interaction & Design. Informed by foundations in computer science, cognitive science, STS studies, and visual art, her interests lie in the interface between the physical and digital world, where she designs humane technology situated in lived human experiences. Her capstone, "You've Got Mail: Confronting the Cognitive Load of the Inbox," explores the transformation of email as a sociotechnical system that reflects greater power relations in capitalism, and how design can work to give power back to its users.

1:15 - 2:15 p.m.

Lightning Talk 1

Ben Hokenson - Global Pathways: Connecting through International Enterprise

Ben (he/him), born in New Jersey and raised in Mexico and Philadelphia, studies International and Public Affairs and Entrepreneurship. Globally oriented, he’s been to 35 countries and five continents. Ben has experience building companies, including his own, in industries such as technology, social media, fashion entertainment, and education. He has performed internal risk management consulting for Goldman Sachs and marketing consulting for Soulsight. He continues working as a coach and consultant and has experience as a professional singer. An alumnus of the Harvard Business School’s Summer Venture in Management Program, Ben was a judge for Harvard Business School’s and Kennedy School’s 2025 Social Enterprise Conference pitch competition, a Latitude Fellow at D.E. Shaw & Co., an MLT Career Prep Fellow, a 2021 Hispanic Scholarship Fund Scholar, and a Bridging the Gap Inaugural 2023 Power Awardee. Ben studied at the University of Edinburgh while pursuing his undergraduate degree. His advisors are Sheila Haggerty, Associate Director, Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship and Tori Gilbert, Student Progam Manager, Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship.

Jared Ong - The Southeast Asian Studies Initiative - a Student-led Academic Advocacy Group's Journey

Jared (he/him) is concentrating in East Asian Studies and International and Public Affairs. At Brown, his core passion revolves around academic advocacy for Southeast Asian Studies. Jared will share some reflections from his experiences in coordinating the student movement to increase the representation of Southeast Asia and its diasporas in Brown's curriculum through the Southeast Asian Studies Initiative.

Si Shi - Performing Ethnicity at China’s Southwestern Frontier: A Field Note on Preserving Naxi Identity

Si (Ava), (she/they), is from Guangzhou, China concentrating in History with a focus on modern China. They are a curious oral historian, writer, as well as a pre-law student pursuing international law. Their memory project, “Performing Ethnicity at China’s Southwestern Frontier: A Field Note on Preserving Naxi Identity,” explores how Naxi ethnic identity is performed and reproduced in a way that refuses a straightforward postmodern commentary and demands a nuanced understanding of traditions and cultural preservation. Outside of their studies, Ava loves to talk about old urban spaces, subways, films, anime, and tea. Ava’s advisor is Professor Rebecca Nedostup

Kendall Williams - Meninadade: Social Conditioning and Identity Formation in Afro-Brazilian Literature

Kendall (she/her) concentrated in Portuguese and Brazilian studies. Her interests in Lusophone studies began in her first year of college after taking an introductory Portuguese course. During her undergraduate career she has studied abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. After becoming a Mellon Mays Fellow, during her sophomore summer, she began her research regarding identity formation in Afro-Brazilian literature. Kendall plans to pursue a PhD in Lusophone studies and become a professor. Kendall’s advisor is Professor Luiz F. Valente and her second reader is Professor Patricia Sobral.

2:30 - 3:30 p.m.

Roundtable 2 - Urban Ethnographies in Iowa and Providence: Understanding Cities from Lived Experience

Moderator: Dean Peggy Chang, CRC Director & Associate Dean for Curricular Engagement, Director of Undergraduate Studies, Independent Concentrations

Eliana C. Hornbuckle - Even when there is no reception, there is a Dollar General:” Dollar General's Impact on Food Access and Community Morale in Rural, Suburban and Urban Iowa Communities

Eliana (she/her/hers) is concentrating in urban studies and engineering. She conducts mixed-methods research on food, water, and waste systems with a particular interest in how the systems change from urban to rural environments. She is presenting work on her thesis for Urban Studies (advisor Professor Lauren Yapp, readers Professor Mindi Schneider and Professor Nicole Pangborn), which examines how Dollar General affects food access in her home state of Iowa. The thesis is an example of studying a phenomenon that exists across urban, suburban and rural spaces while showing that when it comes to food access, the rural is worthy of studying independent from its connection to the urban. Eliana plans to attend graduate school for rural sociology in the Midwest in the next few years. 

Gabriel Sender - Living in the Warming City: An Ethnographic Study of Climate Change Advocates in Providence

Gabriel is from New York City with an Independent Concentration in Urban Environmentality. This degree combines Urban Studies and Environmental Studies to focus on the lived experience of city residents and the ways they are understanding and responding to climate change in their cities. His thesis, “Living in the Warming City: An Ethnographic Study of Climate Change Advocates in Providence,” examines how Providence residents are responding to climate change in ways that challenge and expand traditional academic conceptions of urban climate change and its impacts. In the long term he hopes to bring academic and non-academic discourses around urban climate change together to reimagine the way it is discussed and challenged in cities around the world. His research has been greatly supported by Professor Samuel Zipp over the past four years.

4:30 - 5:30 p.m.

Poster Session

Rafael Davis - Development of a Mass Casualty Training Program for Prehospital and Emergency Providers in Kigali, Rwanda

Rafael Davis is in the Program in Liberal Medical Education studying neuroscience. Rafael has been working with Dr. Oriane Longerstaey and the Division of Global Emergency Medicine on the "Development of a Mass Casualty Training Program for Prehospital and Emergency Providers in Kigali, Rwanda." Their research developed and evaluated a two-part curriculum combining virtual modules and simulation-based training to improve preparedness for mass casualty incidents. The researchers found significant increases in both knowledge and confidence among participants, with sustained improvements over time. This work reflects Rafael’s broader commitment to global health equity, capacity-building, and sustainable medical education in low-resource settings.

Jeremy Fleming - The impact of connectivity estimation methods on graph theory measures in young and older adults

Jeremy Fleming (he/him) is Independent Concentrator studying Computational Neuroscience. His thesis examines a recently proposed method within fMRI research and how it affects conclusions drawn from fMRI studies. He conducted the thesis under the guidance of Dr. Hwamee Oh. In addition to Computational Neuroscience, Jeremy studies Music. 

Giselle Goldfischer - Mindfulness as a Moderator In the Relationships Among Negative Core Beliefs, Depression, and Anxiety

Giselle Goldfischer (she/her) is concentrating in Psychology. At Brown she has served as a student ambassador and tour guide for the Office of Admissions, been an active member of the Jewish community through Brown-RISD Hillel and Chabad, and worked as a teaching assistant for several CLPS courses. She is especially grateful for the transformative experiences she has had working in both research and clinical care roles in psychiatric hospitals. Her senior Honors Thesis in Psychology, “Mindfulness as a Moderator in the Relationships Among Negative Core Beliefs, Depression and Anxiety,” combines her passion for clinical psychology with her personal and academic interests in mindfulness meditation. Next, she will be embarking on a new adventure on the West Coast, where she will join the PAU-Stanford PsyD Consortium to pursue her doctorate in clinical psychology. Giselle’s advisor is Dr. Brandon Gaudiano.

Jay Gopal - ClickMe: Large-Scale Human-in-the-Loop Feature Importance Mapping to Train Brain-Aligned Deep Neural Networks

Jay is a student in Brown’s Program in Liberal Medical Education concentrating in Computational Neuroscience (an Independent Concentration). His research develops human‑in‑the‑loop computer vision methods to align deep learning models and human brains. He has published work in Nature Portfolio journals and collaborates with Stanford Health Care, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Energy. Jay’s industry experience spans nearly a decade working in medical AI, including multiple years at Kaiser Permanente and consulting for multiple startups and venture capital firms. Jay’s advisor is Professor Thomas Serre.

Arshiya Khosla - Exploring Sustainable Concrete Additives

Arshiya is studying Design Engineering & Entrepreneurship. She is exploring additives to make concrete more sustainable. Through the introduction of recycled plastic hollow balls, she is looking to create air pockets that act as an insulating barrier. This would improve the insulation of homes and reduce the use of HVAC units, making the built environment more sustainable.

Camryn Kimura - Designing Digital Health Interventions for Opioid Use Disorder: Attitudes toward iENDURE

Camryn (she/her/hers) is from San Diego, California and will graduate with an Independent Concentration in Digital Health, a curriculum aiming to explore how health technologies should be designed and implemented to improve accessibility in care. She is a member of the IMPACT Lab, where she studied participant experiences using a text-messaging program to augment care for opioid use disorder. Upon graduation, she will be continuing her education at Brown and attend the Warren Alpert Medical School. Her advisors are Professor Michael Donohue, Dr. Kirsten Langdon, Dr. Tyler Wray, Lauren Danzey.

Ellia Sweeney - A Cross-national Comparative Analysis of the Politics of Different Medical Education Systems and Their Implications; Understanding Decisional Capacity of Those Experiencing Substance Use Disorders & Considering Best Intervention Approaches: An Investigation of Advanced Directives and Informed Consent

Ellia Sweeney (she/her/hers) is concentrating in Political Science and Health and Human Biology, and she is incredibly passionate about the intersections between business, medicine, law, and policy. Her Political Science thesis examines differences in medical education systems across wealthy democracies and their implications for health policy, and her Health and Human Biology thesis analyzes how decisional capacity is impaired by substance use disorder and the potential of advance directives and other interventions to be used during substance use disorder treatment. Her thesis titles are: “Educating Doctors: A Comparative Analysis of Medical Education Systems in Five Nations and Their Implications for Health Outcomes,” and “Understanding Decisional Capacity of Those Experiencing Substance Use Disorders & Considering Best Intervention Approaches: An Investigation of Advance Directives and Informed Consent.” She is incredibly grateful to her advisors: Professor James Morone, Professor Eric Patashnik, Dr. Jacob Appel, and Dr. Deirdre Fearon.

Torsten Ullrich - Neural Representation of Timing in Essential Tremor

Torsten (he/him) is doing an Independent Concentration in Computational Neuroscience. He is interested in understanding the neural dynamics underlying human cognition. His thesis project focuses on understanding the perception of time. He studied timing behavior and the associated brain activity in patients with essential tremor. Torsten’s advisors and thesis committee are Professor Wael Asaad, Professor Shane Lee and Professor Stephanie Jones.

Alexia Valdez - Pulses (Beans and Lentils): A Nutritional Strategy to Combat Metabolic Dysfunction and Cognitive Decline

Alexia (she/her/hers) is from Portland, Oregon and is concentrating in Neuroscience and Hispanic Studies. At Brown, she is actively involved with Brown EMS, Best Buddies, Brown Latines in Pre-Med, and the NeuroDUG. Her research focuses on the relationship between nutrition, metabolic dysfunction and cognitive decline–particularly how nutrition may serve as a protective factor against cognitive impairment. Passionate about the interplay between culture and health, Alexia is committed to advancing culturally competent care. She aspires to become a physician and currently volunteers at the Rhode Island Free Clinic as a Medical Assistant and Spanish Interpreter, where she deepens her understanding of accessible, inclusive healthcare. Alexia’s advisor is Professor Suzanne M. De la Monte .

April 30th, Wednesday

12:00 - 1:00 p.m.

Roundtable 3

Moderator: Dean Kelly Watts, Assistant Dean of the College for Experiential Learning

Kenny Daici - From Crop to Community, a collection of photos and interviews of the people that go to the farmers markets run by Farm Fresh RI

Kenny Daici (he/him) is concentrating in Photojournalism, which is an Independent Concentration, as well as Health and Human Biology. He visited different farmers markets in urban areas across RI and photographed and interviewed customers, vendors, and Farm Fresh workers. He created a website that showcases photographs of these people and their interview transcripts, covering topics like the value of fresh produce, the role of food stamps at the farmers markets, and the way the markets factor into their regular lives. Kenny’s advisor is Professor Nell Lake.

Christina Malree Miles - From Site to Screen: Digitizing the Gilmore Cabin and Farm Exhibit at James Madison's Montpelier

Christina Malree Miles (they/them) is studying Anthropological Archaeology and an Independent Concentration entitled "Storytelling in the Museum." Their capstone, "From Site to Screen: Digitizing the Gilmore Cabin and Farm Exhibit at James Madison's Montpelier," advised by Dr. Renée Ater and Dr. Kenneth Sacks, combines oral histories from Gilmore descendants with archaeological data to narrate the journey of the Gilmore family from enslavement to freedom. Beyond museums, they are interested in the preservation of African American cemeteries, bioarchaeology, and the ethical treatment of human remains. 

Peter Robin - Album debut and marketing Roundtable discussion - brand identity, marketing

Peter Robin is a Providence native graduating from Brown this semester with a double concentration in Applied Digital Media (IC) and Music. A lover of all things hiphop, he has been rapping and producing for over a decade and released his debut album on April 18th. Peter plans on moving to New York upon graduation to pursue a career in the music industry.

Gabriel Steinbrenner - Translating Else Lasker-Schüler's IchundIch: A Play in Exile

Gabriel (they/them) is from Washington, interested in 19th century German critical thought, musicology, and the history of early Christianity, and is concentrating in Religious Studies and German Studies. Their thesis, a translation of and introduction to Else Lasker-Schüler's unfinished final play, IchundIch (I and I), explores the play's themes of self-division and the possibility of reconciliation with oneself and others in an apparently fallen world. In particular, it asks the questions: How does one translate incompleteness? How does one translate a work that treats language as play? How does one translate a work in exile from itself?  Gabrielle’s advisor is Professor Susan Bernstein.

2:00 - 3:00 p.m.

Roundtable 4

Moderator: Dean Joel Simundich, Assistant Dean of the College for Fellowships

Andrea Perez - Something Is Sinking

Andrea (she/her), from Medellín, Colombia, is concentrating in Literary Arts and Psychology. Her creative and academic work lies at the intersection of emotional vulnerability and literary experimentation, often exploring themes of mental illness, grief, memory, and personal transformation. Some of the poems in her Honors Thesis feature hidden lines that can only be uncovered through physical interaction—cutting stitches, peeling wax, or tearing paper—mirroring the emotional labor required to reach buried truths. As the collection progresses, the tone deepens and the structure unravels, reflecting the speaker’s gradual descent into and emergence from mental fragmentation. For Andrea, writing is not only a mode of storytelling but also a form of healing. Whether crafting poems in the quiet aftermath of a storm or chronicling the path to self-reclamation through metaphor and memory, she believes that writing has the capacity to bridge divides and foster empathy. Her goal is to create work that transcends the page—reaching readers who may feel alone in their suffering, reminding them that light can exist even in the darkest corners. Andrea’s advisors are Professor Peter Nelson and Professor John Cayley.

Myles Ringel - Quitting Empathy: Professionalism, Deservingness, and Time in the Attorney–Client Relationship

Myles (He/They) is on the pre-med track and concentrating in Empathy in Practice. His independent concentration explores how we experience empathy in our everyday lives and investigates the topic from its psychological underpinnings to its emergence as an intersubjective phenomenon. With his thesis now complete, Myles is excited to turn his attention to creative pursuits: his ceramic sculptures, opinion pieces, and other pre-graduation shenanigans. Professor Andrea Flores is Myles’ advisor.

3:15 - 4:00 P.M.

Lightning Talk 2

Cole Dorsey - Political Economy of Property Rights in China

Cole Dorsey is studying Politics, Philosophy, and Economics. Cole spent last summer living and working in Shanghai, where he practiced Mandarin and first encountered the legal and economic puzzle of China’s property rights system. That experience sparked his interest in how legal institutions—or their absence—shape economic development, especially in contexts that challenge conventional wisdom. Over the past two semesters, he’s had the chance to explore the intersection of law and economics with Professor Skarbek, and property rights philosophy with Professor Estlund—readings and conversations that shaped my research. Cole’s thesis investigates how informal institutions like guanxi, land finance, and fiscal federalism have substituted for formal legal protections in China, and what that means for growth, efficiency, and foreign investment.

Macilee MacKenzie - Enhancing the Giddings/Anderson Arctic Research Archive

Macilee MacKenzie (she/her) from Southern California is concentrating in computer science. Over the past year, she has been working at the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology as a student collections technician. There, Macilee has worked on preserving and enriching items within the Laboratory for Circumpolar Studies. This summer, she will be interning with Media Preservation Services at Harvard Library's Wiseman Preservation Center. Macilee’s advisors are Christina Hodge (Associate Director of Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology) and James Whitney (Circumpolar Laboratory Inventory Project Manager).

Caleb Stutman-Shaw - Times and Tides: Change on the Shores of Moussachuck Beach

Caleb (he/him) has completed this thesis as a part of his Independent Concentration in Science Communication, which he completed alongside a Biology Concentration. The practice of effective and accessible science communication is crucially important in a time of such rapid technological innovation and environmental degradation, and it seemed to him a worthwhile project to think through where contemporary practices might be lacking. Caleb argues that fostering a healthy, good-faith skepticism throughout the scientific community, focused on the subjectivity inherent in scientific research and communication, is an important step in building such a communication practice. One way to accomplish this is to share scientific knowledge through the art of storytelling, which itself can be responsive to subjectivity both in the mind of the reader and the communicator. Through a collection of essays about weekly trips to a beach, and a retrospective analysis of these essays, he attempts to put this theory into practice and work to build a science communication practice that is fit for the scientific world that he wants to build.

Organizers: Masha Trifonova '25 and Daniel Solomon '26