This page features a selection of papers on various subjects that I wrote during my years as an undergraduate at the University of Chicago. They are all copyrighted with all rights reserved.
Evidence for Antarctic Alteration of Martian Meteorite ALH84001 (April 02002), my senior honors thesis, examines the possibility that the carbonate globule rims in ALH84001 and the potentially biogenic features they contain originated in Antarctica through the alteration of primary Martian carbonates. A variant of this paper, "An Antarctic origin for proposed signs of past Martian life?", won a Prize for Excellence in Science from the University of Chicago chapter of Sigma Xi.
Biomineralization in Magnetotactic Bacteria (November 02001) examines the form and function of magnetite and griegite magnetosomes in magnetotactic bacteria.
Loss of CO2 from the Martian atmosphere through sputtering (June 02001) is a review article examining developments in research into the sputtering loss of CO2 from the Martian atmosphere.
Geology of the Great Falls-Bethesda area, Maryland (Mar 02001) provides an overview of the geology of the area of Maryland along the banks of the Potomac from Great Falls to the D.C. border, the area in which I grew up.
Newton's Mathematical and Empiricial Demonstration of Universal Gravitation (Mar 02001) outlines Isaac Newton's proof in his Principia Mathematica of an universal inverse-square gravitational force between all objects.
The search for a purpose in Harvey and modern biology (Feb 02001) examines the use of teleological reasoning by William Harvey in De Motu Cordis and considers the relationship of Harvey's teleology to modern evolutionary biology.
Against the New World Order (Jan 02001) looks at Copernicus' On the revolutions of the heavenly spheres from the perspective of a contemporary natural philosopher.
The Old Atlantis (Mar 01999) discusses Francis Bacon's presentation of the scientific project in The Great Insaturation and Jonathan Swift's critique of that project in Gulliver's Travels.
From the Earth to the Moon (Jan 01999) discusses Galileo Galilei's use of analogies between Earth and celestrial objects in formulating the hypotheses he presents in The Starry Messenger.
Ambiguity and adaptation in the U.S. Constitution (Dec 02000) argues that the ambiguous language used in the U.S. Constitution has enabled that document to adapt to the very different situations the U.S. has faced throughout its history.
Chimpanzee communications and the evolution of human language (June 02000) examines the relationship between communications in chimpanzees and human language.
Virtuous Liberalism (Mar 02000) describes Lawrence Kohlberg's theory of liberalism and moral development and Alasdair MacIntyre's theory of virtue. It proposes a variant of liberalism in attempt to reconcile the two theories.
Attachment theory and the need for a Cultural Memome Project (Feb 02000) uses the example of attachment theory to discuss some inadequacies of the dominant paradigms of the social sciences and argues for a Cultural Memome Project analogous to the Human Genome Project.