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 climate change can affect future distributions of rare species?

Climate change, such as global warming and longer drought, can threaten the existence of some of the rarest plants on earth. It is important to understand how future suitable habitats will change for these rare species so that we can target our conservation efforts in specific areas. In this project, you will identify a rare species that you like (it can be animals, plants, or fungi!), and gather the data online on its current occurrences. Then you will learn how to perform species distribution modeling to map its current and future suitable habitat areas. The changes in the amount or location of future suitable habitats can significantly affect the destiny of a rare species. By doing this project, you will not only learn skills in data analyses but also become the best ambassador for this rare species that you love. I hope that you can be vocal about species conservation by presenting your findings at society conferences, social media, etc.

Biology, Environmental Science

Yingtong

What makes a weed, a weed?

We've all seen weeds growing in the weirdest of places. How come it's so hard to take care of a house plant, but these pests can grow without any care in the world? In this project we look into what lessons we can learn from these sneaky hitchhikers, while trying to figure out how they're so good at what they do.

Biotech, Environmental Science

Dhruv

Learning Through Scientific Literature

There is a plethora of scientific literature out there on every topic under the sun. Focusing on a topic of interest to you, learn to search for relevant literature, analyze papers to extract information from them, and organize references. Final project could include a review of the topic of interest, or communication of that topic through an infographic, podcast, etc.

Environmental Science

Kelli

Are my streams healthy?

Streams are important habitats for insects, invertebrates, and fish. In this project, you can look at the physical, biological, and/or chemical characteristics of local streams to see if they are healthy or polluted.

Environmental Science

Jacqueline

An exploration of paleontology through paleoart

(Beginner project) Are you an artist who love dinosaurs or has an interest in the weirder creatures that evolution created in times long past? Try paleoart! Reconstruct ancient organisms and their interactions using the latest scientific evidence.

Biology, Creative Writing, Environmental Science

Margaret

Understanding how and why coral reefs have degraded over time

Research that will provide the audience with a more complete idea of specific reasoning behind coral reef's decline (giving more detail than just climate change) and describing what happens when corals die biologically and ecologically

Biotech, Environmental Science

Laura

Infographic

Create an aesthetically pleasing and informative infographic that will clearly and concisely display a subject matter of your choice.

Environmental Science, Public Health

John-Paul

History behind the Glass Case: The Curatorial Gaze

With great power comes great responsibility. Museum curators are blessed and challenged with the task of telling stories through artifacts, and this storytelling can be a daunting task. What story do you tell? Whose voices are highlighted and whose go neglected? How do you wrestle with the tensions of power and inequality often embodied in the museum? As an intern for the Museum of Discovery and Science and curator for the Lost in New Haven Museum, I have personally experienced many of these ethical dilemmas. In this project, we will curate an exhibit of your choice and learn how to tell stories in multi sensory, inclusive, and culturally sensitive ways.

Environmental Science

Rina

Common Garden Climate Change Experiment

I can help a student gain experience in experimental design by conducting a study that looks at the growth of different plant species under a present and current climate change scenario, using a common ecological study tool: The Common Garden Experiment. The experiment would involve planting a group of 3-6 plant species together outdoors and planting the same 3-6 spices together in a greenhouse where the environment can be controlled to simulate a future climate scenario. A variety of trait data could then be measured for each group for growth (plant biomass, growth rate, height), survival (total time survived, number of individuals, amount of herbivory), fecundity (seed count, pollinator interaction, length of flowering period), as well as a host of other physiological and environmental variables. After planting data on each individual of each species would be collected weekly or bi-weekly in a notebook and entered into a spreadsheet software. The data would then be analyzed in a statistical computation languages such as R or Python and written up into a scientific manuscript that could then be submitted for publication, or into a presentation (using Microsoft Power Point, Google Slides and InkScape Editor), if desired.

Biotech, Environmental Science

David

Literature Review

There is so much scientific literature out there ready to be synthesized! This is an excellent project option for students who are ready to pursue a (marine biology) research project of their own but do not live near the ocean. I am open to working with students who want to research any topic under the marine biology/ecology umbrella. Students might choose to learn about whale fall ecosystems, MPA regulation efficacy, aquaculture policies, larval dynamics, octopus camouflage, sharks' role in food webs, or something completely different! Students will write a scientific research paper detailing their findings, gaining critical professional scientific communication skills. They will also learn how to synthesize information from scientific articles while exploring a subject that interests them.

Biology, Environmental Science

Emma

Climate Adaptation Plan

Develop a plan for a city, county, state, or country to prepare for the changing climate and ensure strategies support equitable adaptation and resilience building.

Biology, Environmental Science, Social Science

Amanda

Critical Reflective Practice Self-Study

In this project, you will create your own plan of action to better understand your positionality in the world. How would you like to engage with media, recent scholarly literature, and relevant reading materials to critically reflect on the ways your perceptions have been shaped by your various identities? This is a crucial first step to understand and overcome bias in its many forms. You can use this new understanding to see the ways in which you can help your family and community, and contribute to a more equitable society.

Music, Environmental Science

Marisa

Data Visualization for Hurricane Trends

There is a lot of interest in estimating how hurricanes are going to change in the future, and what trends have been like in the past. This project would involve reading some of the current research on hurricane trends and creating simple, legible visuals or infographics to help make that information more accessible to the general public.

Environmental Science, Statistics

Sydney

Research Paper on Resilience to Climate Change

A review paper relating to organismal biology (e.g., on how different organisms are able to deal with increasing levels of stress in their surrounding environment).

Biology, Environmental Science

Emma

Science Communication and Outreach

For this project, the mentee would design a science communication initiative (a traveling exhibit, a picture book, a podcast, a website, etc.) to inform their target audience about science, an environmental issue, or an ecological or biological topic they are interested in.

Environmental Science

Ieva

Exploring the drivers of regional carbon fluxes in North American forests

Using a variety of model output and observations this project will aim to explore the main drivers of regional carbon exchange in North American forests.

Environmental Science, AI/ML

Yoichi

Learning to Write a Policy Memo

For this project, I will teach students how to write a policy memo arguing for or against a specific policy implementation. We will learn how to properly address and format a professional document that will be sent to lawmakers. In addition, we will do research on various Supreme Court cases to understand our nation's history. Students will learn how to properly write a professional memo.

Psychology, History, Literature, Environmental Science

Katie

Planarian panacea: Stem-cell movement during tissue regeneration.

In this project, you will investigate how Planaria (flatworms) regenerate full body segments after being dissected apart. Specifically, you will watch and characterize what kinds of planarian cells move to the recently cut, actively regenerating body segment. This project requires easily purchasable specimens and habitats, and would benefit from access to a relatively inexpensive microscope.

Environmental Science

Oscar

Explore your curiosity

I am happy to mentor students that are curious to learn more about specific biological concepts, that want to learn about experimental design, or that want to take an interdisciplinary approach to investigating a topic they are passionate about. I encourage all my students to think about the output or final project of their investigation. Examples of final projects my students have done include podcasts, Op-Eds, scientific articles, and infographics. Above are a couple ideas, which can also be used as a springboard for tailored ideas that students are particularly passionate or curious about.

Environmental Science

Lupita

Spatial Variation in Air Quality across the United States

It is well known that air quality is an important matter of public health. By using publicly available datasets, the student will examine how air quality differs across the United States. Potential questions to explore include: How does average rainfall impact airborne pollutants? Does elevation play a role in pollutant load? These questions present an excellent avenue to lean about simple modeling, basic statistics, introduction to data analysis in R, Excel, or a another software. A more advanced exploration could include kernel density creation or statistical advanced modeling techniques. Potential outcomes include a poster for a science competition, a simple research paper, or an essay.

Biology, Environmental Science, Entomology

Christian