2,893 Inspirational Passion Project Ideas

Turn inspirations into your passion project.

This collection of project ideas, shared by Polygence mentors, is meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

Check out some projects

Self-assembly of finite structures

Both proteins and nanoparticles often self-assemble to make multimers. (A multimer is a single object constructed from many individual monomers bound to one another). A major challenge is how to ensure these multimers don't grow too large. One option is to make the multimers curved, so that the multimer is a closed circle -- but that can often be quite limiting. In this project, you will explore another possibility: having the multimers themselves control the production of new monomers. Can this form of control be used to limit the size of self-assembled multimers? If so, how robust is this control? In this project, you will construct a model for a system of self-assembling proteins or nano-particles. You will then analyze the behavior of this model. Preferably, you will analyze this behavior numerically, with code you will write in Python or MatLab. If you'd like, there will also be opportunities for analytically addressing the system. The preferred outcome of this project will be a scientific research paper.

Biology, Physics, Engineering, Computer Science, Math

Ofer

Predicting structure from chaos in additive manufacturing

There is great interest in increasing the number of materials which can be used for additive manufacturing (AM). Unfortunately, it is difficult and expensive to develop and test new materials, especially without the proper equipment. This project aims to develop a simple approach to predict if a material will or will not work for AM. In this project, you will use simple machine learning algorithms to predict if a certain material will work in AM. The algorithms will be tested experimentally by the project mentor. This project will also introduce students to concepts of scale-invariance and fractal surfaces.

Physics

Doug

Withstanding a Perpendicular Launch from Mars

In this research project, the student calculates whether the space shuttles that we manufacture today would be able to withstand a perpendicular launch from Mars. In this research, the student considers the various forces being applied to the space shuttle and calculates the total force exerted on the spacecraft at the end of each launch stage.

Physics

Sara

Computation

As with many STEM fields today, astronomy is very computationally intense (for simulation, as well as data analysis). For a beginner, a good place to start might be the interface of observation and theory: fitting or very simply modeling data. This would also be a potential later stage of an observational project pending scope and interest. For those with more coding experience, a simple N-body simulation is a nice place to start astronomically. This could look like just integrating the orbit of the moon around the earth, or could be extended to more of the solar system.

Physics, Computer Science

Ava

Measuring impact of physician-scientists on innovation, research, and economy

Physician-Scientists (individuals trained both in medicine and in research) have long played an integral part of the biomedical workforce to drive and develop research from the bedside to the bench and back to the bedside. However, there is limited research available to objectively quantify the impact of this workforce over time, and what factors influence their training and careers. What are ways that we can use more publicly available information and databases to determine the impact of this particular portion of the biomedical research workforce on innovation by translating their research from ideation to IP generation to startup / commercialization? What are the types of information that is needed to not only determine their impact but also the return on the investments from the federal government and society on developing this particular workforce? The potential outcomes of this research can range from new programming tools for data collection and analysis, new web apps for visualizing the data, and/or research paper summarizing the current state of the field.

Physics, Engineering, Chemistry, Business, Medicine

Freddy

Investigating the Radii of Star Clusters

Most stars are born in star clusters, which are groups of hundreds to millions of stars. As part of my research, I measured the radii of 6000 clusters seen by the Hubble Space Telescope. This database of cluster radii is publicly available, with plenty of questions left to answer. In this project, you'll learn why star clusters are interesting, learn how to analyze data using Python, then combine the two to get new insights about star clusters. The final product of this project would likely be a scientific paper or essay, but there are a lot of ways to present this information.

Physics

Gillen

Development of Pharma Supply Chain through Data Analytics

Scope: The project aims to leverage data analytics techniques to enhance the efficiency, transparency, and reliability of the pharmaceutical supply chain. By applying data-driven approaches, the project seeks to optimize inventory management, improve demand forecasting, and mitigate supply chain risks in the pharmaceutical industry. The project can involve the following key components: Data Collection: Collecting relevant data from various sources in the pharmaceutical supply chain, including suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers. This data may include inventory levels, sales data, production data, delivery times, and other relevant metrics. Data Analysis and Visualization: Applying data analytics techniques, such as descriptive and predictive analytics, to analyze the collected data. This analysis can involve identifying patterns, trends, and anomalies in the supply chain, as well as creating meaningful visualizations to aid in decision-making. Demand Forecasting: Developing and implementing models that utilize historical data to forecast demand accurately. These models can employ statistical techniques, machine learning algorithms, or a combination of both to predict future demand patterns and improve inventory planning. Inventory Optimization: Using data analytics to optimize inventory management practices, ensuring the right levels of stock are maintained at different stages of the supply chain. This can involve implementing techniques like demand-driven replenishment, just-in-time inventory, and inventory visibility tools to reduce waste, minimize stock outs, and streamline operations. Supply Chain Risk Management: Identifying and assessing potential risks within the pharmaceutical supply chain, such as supply disruptions, regulatory changes, or quality issues. Applying data analytics to develop risk mitigation strategies and contingency plans, enhancing the resilience of the supply chain. Performance Evaluation: Conducting rigorous testing and evaluation of the developed data analytics solutions to assess their effectiveness in improving supply chain performance metrics, such as on-time deliveries, inventory turnover, and overall cost efficiency. By undertaking this project, students can gain a comprehensive understanding of the complexities of the pharmaceutical supply chain and explore the potential of data analytics in addressing industry-specific challenges. They will have the opportunity to apply statistical and machine learning techniques to real-world data, develop insights, and propose data-driven strategies to optimize the supply chain, ultimately contributing to the efficiency and reliability of the pharmaceutical industry.

Physics, Engineering, Computer Science, Chemistry, Business

Jayasri Venkata Raghavendra Akhil

Re-engineering Plastic to be biodegradable

Plastics are made from repeating chemical structures that give them elasticity and make them moldable. It is also the reason why they are very hard to break down in nature. To address the mounting problem of plastic pollution, there needs to be an awareness of the root cause of the problem - the basic chemical structure of plastics. How do we question the status quo and re-engineer plastic to become bio degradable and environmentally friendly? This project can either be a literary review of the current efforts being made in this direction or a brand new research idea to counter plastic pollution

Physics, Engineering

Silpa

Exploring Material Science and Condensed Matter

1. Study the behavior of common materials (metals, insulators, or semiconductors) as they transition from solid to liquid phases with changing temperatures. 2. Explore how temperature affects the electrical conductivity of various materials, such as using simple circuits and resistors. 3. Investigate the phenomenon of superconductivity and how certain materials can conduct electricity with zero resistance at low temperatures. 4. Examine the effects of temperature on the magnetic properties of materials, like ferromagnetic or paramagnetic substances. 5. Conduct experiments to measure the specific heat capacity of different solids, which is a fundamental property related to how materials store and release thermal energy. 6. Study the behavior of liquids and gases as they undergo phase transitions, like the critical point of a substance.

Physics, Engineering

Ashley

Evaluating the risk-to-reward relationship for implementation of Pb-based Perovskite Solar Cells

In recent years, there has been interest in alternative energy sources, as a result of the detrimental impacts that non-renewable energy sources, such as petroleum and coal, have on the environment (i.e. global warming). Photovoltaics has been the leading technology in the drive for sustainable energy sources. It has been predicted that by 2050, wind and solar harvesting technologies will make up close to 50% of the world energy electricity. Solar cells comprising perovskite active layers have been one of the most widely researched photovoltaic technologies in recent years, experiencing the fastest rise in power-conversion efficiency (PCE) of any emerging solar cell technology. Compared to traditional Silicon-based solar cells, perovskite-based solar cells have a smaller materials cost, are able to be processed at ambient temperatures and typically have low, direct and tunable bandgaps. Additionally, while perovskite-based cells have not been able to surpass Silicon-based ones in terms of PCE, tandem solar cells containing both Silicon and perovskite have continued to break records for PCE. The main drawback of perovskite solar cells is that the best forming perovskite chemistries are Lead (Pb)-based. While there are methods available to encapsulate solar cells, commercial implementation of this solar cell technology will come with an inherent risk due to the high toxicity of Pb0. The goal of this project is therefore to evaluate the risk-to-reward relationship for commercial implementation of Pb-based perovskite solar cells. The risk-to-reward relationship may look different for developed countries like the USA versus underdeveloped countries where cheaper solar cell technologies may be more beneficial and desirable.

Physics, Engineering, Chemistry

Yannick

Band Structure of Materials

A material's band structure tells us about its properties, for example whether it will be conducting or insulating. It is one of the most important pieces of information to a condensed matter physicist. In this project, you will develop a program to calculate the band structure of a material and derive information from it.

Physics

Ina

Mars Precise Entry Descent and Landing

In 7 minutes, spacecraft approaching Mars from Earth must decelerate from over Mach 40 (40 times the speed of sound) to zero, gently touching down on the surface of the Red Planet. These "7 minutes of terror" as is called is one of the greatest engineering challenges in the aerospace industry. Precise landing and guidance techniques are needed in order to land humans on Mars as they will need to touch down close to the pre-stagged habitat. Humans have never landed as large of a payload on any other planet. Therefore, there are many engineering questions that still need to be answered in order to ensure survival of the crew. Join me in tackling these challenges!

Physics, Engineering, Math

Humberto

Airport Infrastructure Requirements for Sustainable Aviation Fuels

Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAFs) are drop-in fuels produced from non-petroleum sources and are blended with petroleum-based fuels for use in airplanes. SAFs have the potential to significantly reduce emissions from air transportation which make up 12% of all transportation emissions but introduce new challenges and infrastructure requirements resulting from safety, storage, blending, and delivery to airports. There are many ideas to explore here but one could be a comparative study of existing and potential new delivery methods and their challenges from a safety perspective, land footprint, blending etc.

Physics, Engineering, Computer Science, Math

JOSE

A basic mobile robot

Using an Arduino based microcontroller we can design a simple robot to accomplish a simple task. Depending on the student's mathematical maturity and coding expertise we can develop a mobile robot that acts semi autonomously to follow a wall, line follow, or detect objects in its vicinity. Prerequisites or Learn quickly: Coding , Electronic Circuits Nice to Knows: PID control and Cad

Physics, Math

Shaun

Foundations

I can provide guidance to a student look to learn about the fundamentals of high energy physics. The student will read texts and papers related to important discoveries in particle physics, various kinds of experiments for particle detection, and the Standard Model. The student should convey their learning by giving talks (something we particle physicists in large experiments do quite a bit!) on various topics which they have learned.

Physics

Brent

Simulation of Gravitational Lensing

Modern physics research is very computationally heavy, from running simulations to analysis of big data. A great place to start is with some basic coding of physical phenomena, either to do a calculation or a simple simulation. This project would start with learning the basics of python and then applying that to an interesting physics problem. For example we could investigate how we can observe black holes with gravitational lensing. We could then calculate what telescopes would observe in different cases.

Physics, Computer Science, Math

Johanna

Interactions between ferromagnets and superconductivity

Superconductivity and ferromagnetism are antagonistic states of matter. Interactions between superconductors and magnets lead to many exotic phenomena that have fascinated scientists since the discovery of superconductivity, such as the Meissner effect and flux pinning that leads to so-called "quantum levitation." Some possible research questions include: What effects occur at the interface between a superconductor and a ferromagnet? How can these interactions be utilized in new technologies? Can superconductivity and ferromagnetism coexist in the same material? This project could be done as a research paper/podcast/blog, but could also have an experimental portion (provided a student has access to materials, liquid nitrogen, and appropriate safety equipment). Image credit: ScienceAlert

Physics

Jacob

Exploding Stars: Properties of supernovae and their causes.

When the center of a massive star runs out of its nuclear fuel, it collapses under its own gravity, resulting in powerful and bright explosion called a supernova. Supernovae are over a billion times brighter the Sun! The goal of this project will be to understand how properties of the star (like its size, mass, and chemical makeup) and explosion properties affect the light that is emitted during the supernovae (and the light that we see with our telescopes). The student will have an opportunity to develop an understanding of stellar physics and stellar explosions. Depending on the students background and interests, there is also an opportunity to develop coding skills by analyzing data from supernovae simulations provided by Ani and/or running simulations themselves. If there is interest, we can also study the objects that are left behind from a supernova explosion: neutron stars and black holes. This project can be easily adapted to different levels of expertise (beginner - advanced) and different interests.

Physics

Anirudh

Supernova Light Curve Simulator

Project Description: The aim of this project is to develop an interactive simulator where users can model and visualize the light curve of a supernova explosion. A supernova light curve represents the brightness of the explosion as a function of time. By utilizing coding, students can understand and visualize the physical processes and variables that affect the light curves of different types of supernovae. Research: Start with an introduction to supernovae: What are they? What causes them? What are the different types of supernovae? Deep dive into the concept of light curves: What are they, and why are they important in astrophysics? Coding: Use Python, particularly the libraries like Matplotlib for plotting, and Tkinter or PyQt for GUI development. Develop a basic GUI where users can: * Choose different types of supernovae. * Adjust key parameters like explosion energy, progenitor star mass, distance from Earth, etc. * Visualize the resulting light curve on a graph.

Physics, Computer Science, Math

Candice

History of the future

In this integrative project, we explore what (might) await us in the future. What predictions have previous authors made, and did they come true? What trends do you see? Where does it lead? Outcomes could include a chapter of a "history" book from the year 2100, an analysis of time travel movies, or a piece of art that expresses what effect these changes may have for life on Earth.

Neuroscience, Physics, Statistics

Chuck