University Honors Program

Research

Research Opportunities

• Freshman Honors Mentor Program
• Honors Projects
• Research in the Capitol
• ISU Undergraduate Research Symposium

Freshman Honors Mentor Program
The Freshman Honors Mentor Program pairs a student in the Freshman Honors Program with an experienced researcher in the Spring semester. Read more about the Freshman Mentor Program.

Honors Projects
A requirement to graduate with the Honors designation, the Honors Project gives students a chance to showcase not only what they've learned, but also how they've applied what they've learned. Read more about Honors Projects.

Research in the Capitol
Twenty Iowa State University undergraduate students are selected annually to present their research posters to lawmakers in a program called "Research in the Capitol" in the rotunda of the State Capitol building in Des Moines. The date for the Spring 2008 event will be Monday March 10. ISU undergraduates must submit the information requested in an abstract submission form.

ISU students, along with undergraduates from the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa, display posters and describe their research. At the event, several dignitaries including David Miles, President of the Iowa Board of Regents, and John Brighton, ISU's Vice President for Research and Economic Development, present comments on the importance of research to the undergraduate experience. A press release from ISU's College of Engineering quoted Brighton as stating: "These students are doing up-to-date, fundamental research, and it's exciting to watch. It's like being a pioneer--you're discovering new things no one has ever seen before."

The program is designed to highlight the importance of undergraduate research to legislators and other state officials. Interim ISU President Richard Seagrave said in a speech in 2000: “When properly balanced, research by a faculty member can enhance, expand and enrich the undergraduate education experience for students. Exposure to and involvement in the discovery of new knowledge makes learning more relevant, it makes it more fun". Research presented at this event has ranged from psychology, chemistry and agriculture to aerospace engineering and political science, and is presented by the undergraduates who conducted the research (see the list of presenters from 2006-2008 below). Students serve as ambassadors to convey to the legislators the depth and variety of research at Iowa State.

If you would like to present your research in the Research in the Capitol event on March 10, please provide the research and contact information requested on the online abstract submission form. If we obtain more than 20 submissions, we will select posters on the basis of representation across the state as well as topic and general interest to the legislature.

Participation is open to both Honors and non-Honors students, but students who are Iowa natives are especially encouraged to participate. Interested ISU students or their mentors should contact Dr. Laura Merrick at the University Honors Program for more information.

ISU Undergraduate Research Symposium
The second annual ISU Undergraduate Research Symposium will take place on April 15, 2008, providing undergraduate students (not just Honors students!) across the university and all disciplines an opportunity to showcase their mentored research through oral presentations in front of a campus-wide audience. More information about this celebration of undergraduate research can be found at
http://www.undergradresearch.iastate.edu.