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

How do Supreme Court justices interpret the Constitution?

In this project, we take a look at several important decisions from the past century to learn about, and consider, what are the theories by which jurists make their decisions.

Philosophy, Creative Writing

Kevin

Genomic Analysis of Cancer

In this project, you will use transcriptomic and genomic datasets to analyze and classify cancers into biologically meaningful subgroups. Strong bioinformatic and coding background required, ideally with experience in R/Bioconductor.

Cancer, Ethics

Abrar

Trash to Treasure

Together we will capitalize on an opportunity of waste in your community. We can identify a source of waste or something that most people discard and find a way to upcycle or resell it bringing income for you and saving trash from the landfill.

Neuroscience

Rahee

Cancer Immunotherapy Literature Review

I have experience conducting cancer immunology research and working with leaders in the field. I would guide you in writing a thorough literature review surveying the relevant literature and key results about the history of cancer immunotherapy, current and future approaches, mechanisms of action, and socioeconomic challenges. You would gain an ample understanding of the field as well as learn how to synthesise current research into a comprehensive literature review.

Biology, Physics, Engineering, Math

Carolyn

Cooperation and conflict in the animal kingdom

Why do some animals sacrifice themselves for the benefit of the group? What drove the evolution of the complex societies of the eusocial insects, where sterile workers altruistically help their queen? How do parents manipulate their offspring into becoming workers? How might we compare the collective decision-making process of a honey bee colony to the ideal democracy? Finally, what happens when cooperation goes awry, and societies face internal conflict? In this project, you will learn about Hamilton's Rule, Kin Selection Theory, and the field of sociobiology to explore the inner workings of complex animal societies, from birds, to ants, to humans.

Entomology

Madeleine

Build a Piece of Healthcare Tech

As co-founder and CIO of Mazzy Health, a leading adolescent teletherapy company, I offer guidance and hands-on support as you (1) search for an idea, (2) focus your research, (3) apply for funding (optional), and (4) design and/or create a prototype using a relevant lab or makerspace.

Literature, Healthcare, Business

Luke

AI-Assisted Personalized Learning System (AIPLS) for Inclusive and Adaptive Education in Classrooms

Introducing the AI-Assisted Personalized Learning System (AIPLS), an innovative classroom solution designed to revolutionize the educational experience for both students and teachers. By seamlessly integrating with existing technologies and employing advanced AI algorithms, AIPLS crafts customized learning plans tailored to each student's unique needs, learning styles, and preferences. This cutting-edge tool promises to boost student engagement, comprehension, and retention while simultaneously reducing the workload for educators. Empower your students to reach their full potential and transform your classroom into a vibrant hub of individualized learning with AIPLS.

AI/ML

Baxter

Concerns about Water Website

As different issues surrounding water arise and approaches to resolve these issues are developed, it’s important to consider the opinions of people in the community. People may have extreme viewpoints on their water resources, and having insight into these viewpoints can greatly benefit researchers. For this project, you would interview community members in an area of interest about their concerns and viewpoints about their water resources, this could be compiled on a website that could be added to over time. If previously conducted interviews are accessible, perhaps also creating a map of different interview opinions would be interesting.

Biology, Engineering, Chemistry

Julia

Are Parenting and Attachment Styles Predictive of Mood Disorders?

In the field of psychology, there are four primary parenting styles and four attachment styles. Some possible research questions could include: Are children of authoritarian parents more likely to experience depression and anxiety compared to children of permissive parents? How do attachment styles influence our interpersonal relationship success? This project could take on a multitude of different forms or research questions.

Environmental Science

Kailie

How can machine learning leverage multiple views of the same scene, with noise and sensor failures?

Sometimes, we add additional sensors to systems to make our predictions more accurate (for example, multiple views of a driver, to estimate whether they are alert). But, sometimes these views become blocked, or sensors temporarily fail. How can we use machine learning to work around these issues in a way that allows for consistently-available predictions?

Music, AI/ML

Ross

Public Health Program Proposal

In this project, you will have the opportunity to choose a public health problem of interest to you (ex: homelessness crisis, postpartum depression among mothers, gun violence). The goal of this project is to create a public health program to address your topic of choice. Each session will focus on putting together pieces to create the final program proposal. Assignments include establishing a topic problem, goals/objectives, activities for your program, budget and drafting the final program proposal. Together, we can brainstorm ideas or narrow down your interests!

Environmental Science, Public Health

Jocelyn

Impacts of Conflict

In this project, we will analyze a region of conflict (i.e. - Balkans, Ukraine, Nigeria, etc.) and understand U.S. or international policy in that region. What are the root causes of the conflict? What are the drivers of instability? What are the impacts of the conflict? How should the U.S./international community address the conflict? The goal of this project is to produce a paper or presentation that provides an analysis of the conflict and provides lessons-learned or recommendations for U.S. Foreign Policy.

Social Science, Organizational Leadership

James

Business and Personal Finance

I would like to explore the relationship personal finance (financial literacy) and a person's desire to work in the business field, whether as an entrepreneur or business related career field. This could be a presentation/lecture on the importance of financial literacy or could be written as an essay.

Biology, Psychology, Healthcare, Business

Paul

Regenerating human limbs?

Humans can't grow arms or legs back at all, but why is it that other animals like salamanders and starfish can? This project will investigate why this ability is so limited in mammals and current methods and ideas to promote regeneration in humans.

Biology

Vivian

Basics of Experimental Design

So you've got a scientific question...how do you answer it? This project would be a tutorial on figuring out how to answer a scientific question using experimental approaches. This would involve a review of the literature to understand current and upcoming molecular biology techniques to assay the molecular mechanisms behind a specific question.

Biology, Cancer

Elizabeth

Social Media API Data Analysys

Leran how to collect social media data. Likes, tags, trending topics share and create high level analytical reports. This research effort can done be used as a basis for many practices included marketing, politics and social studies.

Physics, Engineering, Math, Creative Writing

Ibrahim

Transforming the Un-transformables

Electro-transformation is the process of introducing DNA into a bacterial cell by applying an electric field. This enables scientists to make recombinant strains, study gene function and build bacterial libraries. However, the majority of known microbes are un-transformable even with current electro-transformation technology. Here we will explore the electro-transformation parameters neccessary for successful transformation of Pseudomonas mendocina, a Gram-negative bacterium with potential for use in bioremediation. You will learn about the scientific process, how to design an experiment, and how to communicate your results in a formal presentation.

Biotech

Berenice

Hook, Line and Sinker: Exploring Shakespeare’s Plays

Many of the plots of Shakespeare used for his plays were already well known by audiences. Then what made them (and still makes them) so popular? There are some who find the dimensions of the characters while others feel it’s the language he chooses. Pick a play and let’s explore what you think!

Biology, Neuroscience, History

Madeleine

Soft Robotic Grasping Design Review

Soft robotics has become a very active research area in the last 10 years, primarily because of it's ability to interact with delicate objects, such as humans, animals and soft materials that are otherwise difficult to manipulate with classical rigid robots. In this project, you will explore the world of soft robotic graspers, how they work, and the different design principles at play. This will involve a thorough exploration of recent literature, culminating on writing a paper focusing on a specific type of grasping and its pros and cons. If students wish to, they may also fabricate their own gripper of a chosen type with improved design features.

Engineering, Computer Science, Quantitative

Gokul

High School Health Class Curriculum on Brain Health and Illness

In this project, a student would design a segment of a high school health class curriculum to educate students on brain health and illness. This would include teaching material, class activities, and assessment methods.

Neuroscience, Social

Liz