Vol. 2 No. 1 (2012)

Welcome to the second annual issue of The Owl, Florida State University’s premier undergraduate research journal! We are again honored to present you with a collection of diverse inquiries undertaken by members of our shared academic community.

Building upon the successes of last year’s inaugural issue of The Owl, we humbly embraced our missive and strove to publish a journal that reflects the strengths of our beloved university. With this issue we aim to reify Florida State’s dedication and commitment to a liberal studies education. By highlighting the heterogeneity of our emerging scholars-bright, motivated students who represent a wide variety of departments and disciplines-we hope to demonstrate the interdisciplinary exchange of ideas present on our campus.

Florida State has a long storied history as a top-tier research university, and we are thrilled to see this tradition continuously expanded to include undergraduates. This year we saw the Office of Undergraduate Research institute unprecedented programs, increasing the field and range of opportunity for students to engage in and explore the possibilities of undergraduate research. We aim to further these advances. From interior design renderings to an exposition on congressional court-curbing it is our hope that you will both learn from and be inspired by the research and creative projects contained within these pages.

In Vires, Artes, Mores,

Katie Rybakova
Haley Gentile 
Co-Editors-in-Chief

Brian Denny
Director of Undergraduate Research Ambassadors