Several students will participate in research focused on understanding and improving the human experience through education, history, psychology, and community engagement. Projects include archival investigations of male same-sex culture and sexuality in nineteenth-century America, qualitative studies examining instructional practices for multilingual learners, and virtual reality-based research exploring resilience, racial stress, and health outcomes among Black young adults. Other students will investigate issues of infrastructure equity in Dallas neighborhoods, examining how transportation systems, public spaces, and community resources shape residents' quality of life and opportunities.
A number of students will pursue research addressing pressing health and healthcare challenges. These projects include developing integrative healthcare frameworks for Native American and Hispanic children experiencing healthcare burdens, investigating molecular mechanisms underlying epilepsy through the study of JAK/STAT signaling pathways, and advancing nanopore technologies for single-molecule detection with potential applications in medical diagnostics and disease detection. Together, these studies seek to improve health outcomes, expand scientific understanding, and inform future interventions and treatments.
Students will also contribute to cutting-edge scientific and technological research. One project focuses on computational modeling in high-energy particle physics, evaluating the feasibility and scientific potential of future muon collider technologies that may help answer some of the most fundamental questions about the nature of the universe. Another project explores advances in nanopore fabrication and sensing technologies, bringing together principles from engineering, physics, chemistry, and biology to address complex scientific challenges.
Across these diverse settings, students will work in laboratories, archives, classrooms, community organizations, research centers, field sites, and high-performance computing environments. They will employ a wide variety of research methodologies, including qualitative interviews, ethnographic observation, archival analysis, computational modeling, geographic information systems (GIS), laboratory experimentation, molecular biology techniques, and advanced data analysis. These experiences provide students with opportunities to develop both technical expertise and a deeper understanding of the research process itself.
A common theme uniting these projects is a commitment to addressing real-world problems through rigorous inquiry. Whether investigating educational equity, healthcare access, community resilience, infrastructure improvement, scientific discovery, or historical understanding, students are engaging in research that has the potential to inform policy, improve professional practice, advance scientific knowledge, and strengthen communities.
Most importantly, these projects reflect the central goals of undergraduate research: fostering curiosity, developing scholarly skills, encouraging interdisciplinary thinking, and preparing students to become future researchers, professionals, and leaders. The summer 2026 cohort represents an outstanding example of how undergraduate research can simultaneously advance knowledge and create meaningful opportunities for student growth and development.
