Research at Boston University is published annually by the Office of the Provost to highlight research, scholarship, and creative activity in and across disciplines at Boston University, which received more than $356 million in sponsored program awards in FY2011. Opinions expressed do not represent the official view of Boston University. Use of trade names implies no endorsement by Boston University. For permission to reprint text from Research at Boston University, contact the Office of the Provost at 617-353-2230, research@bu.edu, or One Silber Way, Boston, Massachusetts 02215.

Member of the University Research Magazine Association (URMA).
Copyright © 2011 by the Trustees of Boston University.
All rights reserved.

Vice President and Associate Provost for Research
Andrei E. Ruckenstein

Assistant Vice President for Research Initiatives
Cara Ellis McCarthy

Editor
Katherine Calver Hawkins

Consulting Editor
Cassandra Nelson

Designed and produced by Boston University Creative Services.

Cover Illustration and Chapter Icons
Celia Johnson

Photography and Image Credits
Principal photography by Boston University Photography: Vernon Doucette, Cydney Scott, Kalman Zabarsky

Additional images:

Image of Second Life courtesy of Robin Heyden

Illustration of mammogram from Corbis Images

Photo of African demonstration licensed by Creative Commons

Photo of television viewer from iStockphoto

Illustration from iStockphoto

Photo of Parisian café from Corbis Images

Vintage Life magazine cover courtesy of Harvard College Library, Widener Library

Image of poster courtesy of Richard Doubleday

Photo of bar from Bigstock

Photo of ribbon from iStockphoto

Image of circuitry from iStockphoto

Photo of Holyoke, MA from iStockphoto

Illustration of shadow puppet licensed by Creative Commons

Photo of American migrant workers by Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration, licensed by Creative Commons

Photo of forest by John Morgan, licensed by Creative Commons

Photo of Nicaragua by Christopher Sayan, ©Nappyrootslistener at en.wikipedia, licensed by Creative Commons

Photo of Assadollah Tayefeh Mohajer courtesy of Sassan Tabatabai

Photo courtesy of Douglas Zook

Image of sheet music of Parsifal licensed by Creative Commons

Boston University’s policies provide for equal opportunity and affirmative action in employment and admission to all programs of the University.