Undergraduate Research Opportunities Database
Our database is a great resource in helping students find exciting undergraduate research opportunities at Penn State.
To get the best results, we recommend that you select all of the research areas that interest you. We also recommend that you conduct multiple searches.
Campus – Select the campus(es) where you would be interested in participating in research. Depending on the time of year when you are using the database, consider whether your location changes. For example, do you spend your summers closer to a different campus than where you regularly attend school?
Research Area – Select the area(s) of research that interest you most, keeping in mind that research is often interdisciplinary so it might be appropriate to select more than one area. For example, if you are interested in health you might want to search for opportunities in the physical sciences, life sciences, and nursing and health sciences, because these research areas could all be relevant to your interest in health.
Position Type – Select the position type(s) that are most appealing to you. If you prefer whether you earn credit versus being paid, be sure to narrow down the search results using this field.
Note: You may not receive academic credit and be paid for the same research experience in a given semester.
- “Work Study” is only available to students who have received a federal work-study (FWS) award. You can verify if you have an FWS award by visiting LionPATH and reviewing your "Financial Aid Summary.” If you do not have a federal work-study award, your mentor can also inquire with the Office of Student Aid - 814-865-6301 - to determine if you are eligible to be awarded one.
Mentors interested in creating an account or posting an opportunity should visit the Posting Undergraduate Research Opportunities section.
| Title | Description | Research Area(s) | Position Type(s) | Work Setting(s) | Updated Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solutions of Native Cellulose in Ionic Liquids |
Certain ionic liquids are good at breaking hydrogen bonds and can dissolve native cellulose and chitin, the two most abundant polymer natural resources on Earth. For many years humans have chemically modified cellulose to make it soluble for fiber spinning and coating. By dissolving native cellulose in ionic liquids, all the hydrogen bonding in wood allows higher modulus fibers and since the ionic liquids can be easily recovered, this new processing of native cellulose is very green and sustainable. Our group studies rheology (flow properties) of ionic liquid solutions of polysaccharides that currently include cellulose, chitin , pullulan and xanthan. |
Physical Sciences |
Volunteer |
On campus |
November 3, 2023 | |
| Computational Astrophysics |
I mainly study massive star winds that are driven by radiation. However, it involves significant amount of numerical computation, visualization and analysis of large data sets. However, I am seeking student involvements in a wide range of other topics that require numerical computations/computer modeling. For example, supernovae, accretion disks, solar winds, planetary magnetospheres (like Jupiter) etc. I have experience with a number of different astrophysical numerical codes such as Zeus-MP, FLASH, PLUTO, AMRVAC. Most of them use Fortran, but PLUTO uses C programming language. These codes are very versatile and I will be happy to guide any interested student in learning and applying these tools. An ideal student will be familiar with Unix/Linux type of computer operating system, know... |
Engineering, Mathematics, Physical Sciences |
Credit, Volunteer |
On campus, Remote |
November 3, 2023 | |
| The Child Health Study |
Study Purpose: The primary purpose of this study is to learn more about the different ways in which the environment and biology can affect a person's health over their lifetime. Children beginning at the age of 8 along with one of their caregivers spends a day visiting The Center for Healthy Children at Penn State to help us learn about their different life experiences and environments and how these shapes human development. The information we gather during these visits will help us achieve our long-range goal of understanding more about children, adolescents, and their families to improve health outcomes. Research Assistant Benefits:
|
Communications and Journalism, Life Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences |
Credit, Variable, Volunteer, Work Study |
On campus |
November 2, 2023 | |
| Artificial Intelligence, Multiagent Systems, and Algorithmic Fairness |
The research in the lab generally revolves around Artificial Intelligence and Economics, with particular focus on fairness, incentives, and social choice theory. Students in my group often study different aspects of self-interested players in multiagent systems, and develop algorithms and techniques to achieve certain computational and game-theoretical properties. Topics include but not limited to:
The application include: shift scheduling, course... |
Information Technology and Computer Science |
Credit, Paid, Variable, Volunteer |
On campus, Remote, Hybrid |
October 5, 2023 | |
| Bird Safe Penn State |
Evidence suggests that overall, bird populations have been steadily declining for the past half century, with nearly 1/3 of the total North American bird population being lost since the late 1960s. The causes of these billions of bird deaths and reproductive failures are mostly indirect, related to habitat loss and habitat change, but there are also direct causes of mortality that are close to home and solvable. Researchers agree that the two dominant causes of direct anthropogenic bird mortality are outdoor cats and window collisions. Both of these are issues on Penn State campus. Together with Krista Bailey, PSU's Sustainable Campus Strategist, and a past undergraduate student who is know a graduate student, Chyvonne Jessick, we started an OPP Living Labs... |
Any |
Credit |
Community-based, On campus, Remote, Hybrid |
October 5, 2023 | |
| PlantVillage Undergraduate Research Opportunity |
In 2021, 235 million people were marching to starvation, according to the United Nations, made worse by climate change & COVID-19. In 2022, the situation is continuing to deteriorate due to climate change. PlantVillage utilizes technology to help smallholder farmers grow more food in the face of climate change. With the United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization, we are working across 70 countries and 30 languages. We train AI systems that help farmers adapt. We are looking for students to help make these systems even more powerful. |
Any |
Credit, Volunteer |
On campus, Remote |
October 5, 2023 | |
| HTI Lab - Undergraduate research assistant in human-automation interaction |
The HTI Lab is seeking undergraduate research assistants to assist with studies related to understanding the interaction between human-system interactions in transportation and healthcare domains. Research topics include understanding the impact of automation technology on humans' decision-making, trust, situation awareness, and adaptive behaviors. We conduct research via behavioral studies with simulators, self-report questionnaires, and physiological measurements. Current projects are listed as follows.
|
Engineering, Information Technology and Computer Science, Nursing and Health Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences |
Credit, Paid, Variable, Volunteer, Work Study |
On campus, Remote |
October 5, 2023 |