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.
- AI/ML
- Animation
- Arts
- Biology
- Biotech
- Business
- Cancer
- Chemistry
- Cognitive
- Computer Science
- Creative Writing
- Dance
- Dentistry
- Economics
- Engineering
- Entomology
- Environmental Science
- Ethics
- Fashion
- Finance
- Game Design
- Healthcare
- History
- Illustration
- Languages
- Linguistics
- Literature
- Math
- Medicine
- Music
- Neuroscience
- Nutrition
- Organizational Leadership
- Philanthropy
- Philosophy
- Photography
- Physics
- Psychiatry
- Psychology
- Public Health
- Quantitative
- Social
- Social Science
- Sports Analytics
- Statistics
- Surgery
Learning a New Skill from the Scientific Literature
I'm happy to work with you to learn about anything you'd like in the realm of data science/computer science, engineering, health care, biology, or policy/politics - I would work with the student to identify a topic of interest and critically read the academic literature. The final product would likely be a literature review, or an explanatory product such as a podcast, tech talk, Youtube video etc. Here are a few examples to get you started - but I'm happy to work on anything you choose and help you refine the project! (1) Studying machine learning algorithms - We would read computer science journal articles together and implement the algorithms we're reading about. Then the student could prepare an article or video explaining their favorite algorithm. (2) Learning about biological research - We would identify a topic (epidemiology of coronaviruses, for example) and read journal articles together. Then the student could prepare a literature review on the studies we read, or a podcast educating the public on their findings.
Biology, Quantitative, AI/ML, Medicine
Do protected areas work? Exploring long term species abundence before and after the implementation of a protected area.
Using fish data from the Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment Program, calculate biodiversity in an area of the Caribbean where a marine protected area was established. Does biodiversity increase after the implementation of the protected area?
Quantitative, Environmental Science, Social Science
Number theory
How do we know that there are no nonzero integers x, y, and z such that x^4 + y^4 = z^4? How can you tell whether a number is prime? Given numbers n and m, how can you tell whether n differs from some square number by a multiple of m? Can complex numbers tell us anything about ordinary integers? How can you send messages that an eavesdropper won't be able to decipher? These are some of the questions that you'll be able to answer when you learn number theory.
Quantitative, Math
Develop MATLAB/Python code to visualize trajectories of satellites
Based on the equations of motion for objects in space, we can visualize the motion in MATLAB/Python. This requires knowledge of conic sections and the coding environment, however it gives deep insight into how forces work and their mathematical interpretation can lead to actual simulation.
Physics, Engineering, Quantitative, Math
Using biomedical sensing data to examine indicators of cognitive decline over time
Providing that there is accessible sensing data collected from Dementia and Alzheimer's patients, analysis can be performed on gait (walking speed), balance, and circadian rhythm changes over time. Perhaps the student can train a classifier to predict the likelihood that an undiagnosed elderly person has cognitive impairment given their health data over some extended period of time. This project could culminate in an interactive web app or a research paper / blog post.
Computer Science, Sports Analytics, Quantitative, AI/ML
Crystallographic Groups in Two Dimensions
In this project we will work through John Conway's colorful book The Symmetries of Things to uncover the underlying properties of wallpaper patterns in two dimensions. Although this project is light on symbolic math, we will use Conway's ingenuous and highly rigorous system to gain a deep, intuitive understanding of mathematical symmetries. We will prove a classification theorem, showing that there are exactly 17 two-dimensional crystallographic groups. We will also examine wallpaper patters on the sphere, and relate these to the classification of planar patterns through stereographic projection. Along the way we will gain familiarity with mathematical tools such as triangulation of surfaces, the Euler Characteristic, orbifolds, algebraic groups and their actions, and topological quotient spaces. This project is self contained and requires very little prior mathematical knowledge. Some familiarity with trigonometry, vectors and matrix multiplication is helpful, but is in no way required.
Quantitative, Math, Statistics
Green Building Retrofit Proposal
Advanced Research Paper What the Student Will Learn: - Principles of energy efficiency and sustainable building design. - Research and analysis skills for assessing the energy performance of existing buildings. - Project planning and budgeting for sustainable retrofits. - Presentation and communication skills for pitching sustainability proposals. Synopsis of the Process of Information Gathering: - Building Assessment: The student will select an existing building (e.g., a school, office, or community center) and conduct a thorough energy audit to assess its current energy performance. This includes evaluating insulation, lighting, HVAC systems, and other energy-consuming components. - Energy Data Collection: Gather historical energy consumption data for the selected building to understand its energy usage patterns and identify areas of improvement. - Sustainable Retrofit Options: Research and compile a list of sustainable retrofit options, such as upgrading lighting to LED, improving insulation, installing solar panels, or implementing smart building technologies. - Cost Analysis: Estimate the costs associated with each retrofit option, including materials, labor, and potential return on investment through energy savings. - Environmental Impact Assessment: Analyze the potential environmental benefits of the proposed retrofits, such as reduced carbon emissions and energy conservation. - Community Engagement: Engage with building occupants and relevant stakeholders to gather input and build support for the retrofit project. - Proposal Development: Create a comprehensive proposal for the green building retrofit, including a detailed plan, cost projections, and potential funding sources or incentives. Potential Student Outcomes: - A well-researched and documented green building retrofit proposal. - A persuasive presentation summarizing the proposal's key points. - Enhanced research and analytical skills in the context of energy efficiency and sustainability. - An understanding of the financial and environmental aspects of sustainable building retrofits. - Improved communication and presentation skills. This project allows students to explore energy efficiency and sustainable design principles in the context of existing buildings. They will learn how to assess energy performance, identify retrofit opportunities, and create a compelling proposal for making a building more environmentally friendly and energy-efficient. The outcome will be a detailed retrofit proposal that can serve as a blueprint for future sustainable building improvement projects.
Physics, Engineering, Quantitative, Business
Social support and its impacts on mental health among adolescents
Social support is fundamental to mental health. For adolescents in particular, having a strong support system among friends and family is key to practicing good mental health. Using publicly available data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, you will examine the relationship between social support and mental health. You will also explore whether this relationship varies by social factors, such as gender, sexual orientation, and race and ethnicity.
Quantitative, Social Science, Public Health
Changes in Well-being Awareness and Health Behaviors in the time of a Global Pandemic
This project seeks to explore how the widespread COVID-19 has changed people's perception of both physical and mental well-being, and whether such changes in attitude has led to changes in health-related behaviors in the daily life.
Quantitative
Real Effects of Environmental Disclosures
An important strain of accounting research examines whether accounting has "real effects". For example, researchers may investigate whether accounting regulations affect firms' investment decisions, employees' career decisions or consumers' purchasing decisions. Many accounting regulations require firms to disclose additional information about their operations in the financial statements. For this reason, accounting researchers are particularly interested in the real effects of disclosures. Recently, Google started disclosing the carbon dioxide emissions for flights in its search engine results, as well as whether those emissions are above or below average for a flight with that departure airport and destination. In this research project, I examine whether this environmental disclosure effects individual's flight choices.
Quantitative, Business, Organizational Leadership
Does pubertal stage relate to self concept clarity?
Adolescence and puberty are thought to trigger identity refinement, allowing individuals to understand more about themselves. This project would probe the question of whether or not we can associate where someone is at in the pubertal progression with how clear they are in their values and beliefs. Together, we can perform a review of relevant literature and conduct analyses to answer the above question. From this, we can work on crafting a manuscript (similar to an essay) or a presentation.
Neuroscience, Psychology, Quantitative
Can you always verify whether a Geometric Mean of a finite collection of numbers equals to one of them?
Constructive Real Numbers CRNs were introduced by the founder of Computer Science Alan Turing. Essentially a CRN is a computer generated sequence of rational numbers about which you know how fast it converges. Constructive Mathematics was developed in two schools founded by Bishop in the USA and by Markov and Shanin in Russia. You are give a finite set of numbers. The easy part of the project is to show that when the numbers are rational it is easy to create an algorithm that verifies if the geometric mean of these numbers equals to one of them. The challenging part is to show that such an algorithm does not exist in general when the numbers are CRNs.
Economics, Quantitative, Math
The Life and Death of the Special Attack
One common trend among light novels is the use of special attacks, as the main character progresses older techniques fall out of favor, especially in longer titles with hundreds of chapters. A simple project would be to process a light novel and count the frequency of a special attack. Then we can answer some simple questions: -What is their most-used attack? -What is the longest span of chapters a given technique is used for? -Do technique names become more extravagant as the story progresses? -Do any of the above change between different authors (or maybe the same author but different titles)?
Computer Science, Quantitative, Math
The Persuasive Potential of Message Framing, Temporal Orientation, and Self-Affirmation in Anti-Vaping Campaigns
This is a project I am currently working on that aims to better understand what aspects of anti-vaping messages are most persuasive. Additionally, the project looks to establish how successful certain messages might be in changing attitudes and behaviors among individuals who use e-cigarettes.
Social, Psychology, Quantitative, Social Science, Public Health
Bioinformatics Analysis
In this project, I would work with the student to craft their own bioinformatics analysis using biological data - for example, open-source genetic and physiological data, or data from their own wearable device (Fitbit, Apple Watch etc.). I would mentor the student in identifying a topic and hypothesis to research, reading relevant scientific literature, learning new techniques, implementing the analysis, and crafting a final paper. For students with more coding experience, this analysis could incorporate advanced machine learning and predictive modeling techniques, while students with less coding experience could focus on statistical comparisons and correlations. The final product would likely be a scientific report and/or documented software to be shared on GitHub. In addition to bioinformatics, this project would provide the opportunity to learn about preparing a formal scientific article and writing publishable code.
Biology, Quantitative, AI/ML, Medicine
Literature Review Paper
The goal of a literature review is to answer a couple specific research questions by summarizing what is currently known by experts on the topic. For example, what relationships exist between the roots of a polynomial and its coefficients? Is there structure among the roots if the coefficients are chosen at random? Through the process of investigating your question, you will learn how to read mathematical papers and where they can be found online. If you have access to a university library, you will certainly want to spend some time there as well. Upon completing this project, you will be in a great position to conduct undergraduate research alongside a university professor.
Quantitative, Math, Statistics
Data Science and Machine Learning
Why is data science important for business? Do machines really learn? Projects here are intended to have a hands-on approach to data cleaning, analysis, and visualization. Topics can range from business to health to the stock market.
Economics, Quantitative, Math, Business
Rent Control in Los Angeles: Past, Present, and Future
This projects explores the development of rent control policy in the City of Los Angeles and how it impacts housing stability and community integration. Students will research the historical root and current discourse on rent control, identify issues in the policy implementation process, and put forward recommendations on how to effectively address the housing needs for people at all income levels.
Quantitative, Social Science
Can you always verify whether the arithmetic mean of CRNs equals to one of the numbers?
Constructive Real Numbers CRNs were introduced by the founder of Computer Science Alan Turing. Essentially a CRN is a computer generated sequence of rational numbers about which you know how fast it converges. Constructive Mathematics was developed in two schools founded by Bishop in the USA and by Markov and Shanin in Russia. You are give a finite set of numbers. The easy part of the project is to show that when the numbers are rational it is easy to create an algorithm that verifies if the arithmetic mean of these numbers equals to one of them. The challenging part is to show that such an algorithm does not exist in general when the numbers are CRNs.
Economics, Quantitative, Math
NBA shot selection analysis using SportVU tracking data
The NBA releases an abundance of coordinate-based tracking data for each game. This project will make use of the 25 frames of data per second to not only identify when shots have been taken but also retrieve key information about the selection of shots by each team and player. The student will build an app to display shot charts and also potentially classify how smart a shot is based on metrics like score differential, shot distance, defender distance, shot clock usage, etc. This will help build a compelling analysis of what differentiates good shooters from smart shooters!
Computer Science, Sports Analytics, Quantitative, AI/ML