Project Summary / General Information:

Most people don't realize that we have prickly pear cactus all over North America, including Mississippi and as far north as Nova Scotia. Even fewer know about the many species that feed on these plants despite their spiny exterior. One of the projects in my lab is to better understand the relationship between different species of cactus moth and the prickly pear species that serve as their hosts.

I am seeking students who are interested in everything from learning how to work with data and data sets to conducting field work. The needs are different at different times with field work largely (but not entirely) being restricted to long breaks (e.g., Spring Break) and summer.

I typically ask students to volunteer for a semester to evaluate their performance and offer course credit for independent projects for those who want to continue. See the Description of Responsibilities and Position Duties for details on our current needs.

College & Department:

College of Arts & Sciences...031100 - Biological Sciences

Description of Responsibilities and Position Duties:

The current needs for an undergraduate focus on data 'wrangling'. This is a key skill in any area of biological research.

I am seeking someone who is interested in learning the R programming language or who already has some experience in R and/or Python. They will be charged with the organization of datasets from past and current lab members into a comprehensive database. Some of the work is entering data from notebooks and some will be manipulating data structure for information already entered into a spreadsheet.

Desired Qualifications and Skills:

Interest in biological research and/or computer science.

Basic computer literacy required.

Experience in R or Python preferred.

How to Apply:

If interested (even if you're not sure you have the computer skills), please e-mail a letter of interest outlining why the position would be a good fit for you and your netID. My netID is cb617 - you can use that to send your e-mail.

Project Summary / General Information:

PI-Contact: Prof. Dr. Jeff Winger (jaw19@msstate.edu)
Co-Advisor-Contact: Dr. Prajwal Mohan Murthy (ptm39@msstate.edu)

Na22, with a half-life of 2.6018y undergoes an allowed beta+ decay 99.944% of the time to the 2(1+) state in Ne22 with a Q value of 1568.79 keV. This is one of the lowest Q(beta+) values known. We are looking into the feasibility for an experiment where the overarching goals in re-measuring the beta+ decay spectra of Na22 are twofold: (i) to remeasure the beta-decay Fierz interference term, b, to higher precision; and (ii) improve on one input for the test of CKM unitarity.
By examining the shape for the beta-decay spectra of Na22, the Fierz interference term was previously measured to be b=0.0008(28). The most recent measurement of the Fierz interference term was performed by the UCNA collaboration obtaining b=0.067(91) using free ultracold neutrons. The Fierz interference term measurement from the beta+ decay spectra of Na22 is almost 6 decades old, underestimates the uncertainties, and needs to be updated.
Lastly, the precise determination of the Na22 mass also contributes to understanding the 0+->0+ superallowed beta+ decay of Mg22, which is included in the determination of the CKM-matrix element Vud, that in turn is used to test CKM unitarity.
A novel technique for measuring the beta+ decay spectra of Na22 by embedding it in a semiconductor detector will be simulated, and corresponding technique demonstrated at the Texas A&M University's cyclotron facility.

A. Summers: Paid positions can be arranged through the URCD/HURP programs
B. Fall, Spring: 1-3h of PH 4000 can be arranged, could count towards degree

College & Department:

College of Arts & Sciences...038400 - Physics & Astronomy
393400 - Shackouls Honors College - Jointly in collaboration with Massachusetts Institute of Technology - MIT
Other - Jointly in collaboration with Massachusetts Institute of Technology - MIT

Description of Responsibilities and Position Duties:

*Initial calculations done!!
*Simulations using LISE++: lise.nscl.msu.edu
*Analyze data using Mathematica or your choice of software
*Write a report
*Present at an [expense paid] APS Conference (April, DNP, SESAPS)
*Publish in a open access journal (Eg.: IOP-New Journal of Physics, Elsevier-Results in Physics, AIP-Physics Advances)
*Possible topic for Senior Thesis: HON-4093 / PH-4000
*For additional info, refer to: meetings.aps.org/Meeting/APR22/Session/T11.4

Desired Qualifications and Skills:

Physics majors preferred. Other STEM majors are encouraged to apply.

Analysis toolkit: Mathematica

Coursework -
Pre-requisite: Calculus 1-2, Physics 1-2
Co-registration: Physics-3
Preferred: Calculus 3, Differential Equations 1, Modern Physics
Most aligned with: Nuclear and Particle Physics

How to Apply:

Write an email expressing your interest.
Submit a resume or CV (LinkedIn is acceptable) to both:
PI-Contact: Prof. Dr. Jeff Winger (jaw19@msstate.edu)
Co-Advisor-Contact: Dr. Prajwal Mohan Murthy (ptm39@msstate.edu)

Project Summary / General Information:

Dr. Danielle's Nadorff's Grandfamilies Lab is looking for one or two well-qualified students to work in the lab as research assistants. Students would receive up to three credits of PSY 4000 per semester for this experience, which can be used as one of the six required upper-level electives for a Psychology degree. Three hours of work within the lab are required per credit hour per week. The benefits of being a research assistant include class credit, opportunities to practice valuable research skills, possible presentation or publication opportunities, and reference letters for graduate school or future careers. Dr. Nadorff is especially interested in students who wish to pursue a degree in Clinical Psychology upon graduation, and/or students enrolled in the Shackhoul's Honor College.

"Grandfamilies" are households where the grandparents have a primary role in raising their grandchildren. There are approximately 100,000 grandchildren living with grandparent householders in the state of Mississippi, alone! Dr. Nadorff’s Grandfamilies Lab examines the social, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral outcomes for these “custodial grandchildren,” as well as examining how they compare to children raised in foster care. You may read more about the lab at http://www.grandfamilieslab.com.

College & Department:

College of Arts & Sciences...038804 - A & S/Gender Studies
College of Arts & Sciences...038813 - A&S - African American Studies
College of Arts & Sciences...031100 - Biological Sciences
College of Arts & Sciences...038800 - College of Arts & Sciences
College of Arts & Sciences...032700 - Communication
College of Arts & Sciences...035400 - Inst For The Humanities
College of Arts & Sciences...036900 - Mathematics & Statistics
College of Arts & Sciences...038802 - Pre-med Program
College of Arts & Sciences...038600 - Psychology
College of Arts & Sciences...038602 - Psychology Unfunded
College of Arts & Sciences...038901 - Social Work
College of Arts & Sciences...038900 - Sociology
College of Arts & Sciences...033904 - Writing Center
393400 - Shackouls Honors College -

Description of Responsibilities and Position Duties:

Lab responsibilities will vary, but may include data entry, literature reviews, recruitment and/or interviews of participants, study design, statistical analysis, and opportunities for presentations or manuscripts, both of which are highly recommended for graduate school. Thus, enrolling in a research lab is highly recommended for those who are planning on pursuing a Ph.D. in Psychology. Three hours of work within the lab each week per credit hour are required, in exchange for each credit of PSY 4000.

Desired Qualifications and Skills:

Lab responsibilities will vary, but may include data entry, literature reviews, recruitment and/or interviews of participants, study design, statistical analysis, and opportunities for presentations or manuscripts, both of which are highly recommended for graduate school. Thus, enrolling in a research lab is highly recommended for those who are planning on pursuing a Ph.D. in Psychology. Three hours of work within the lab each week per credit hour are required, in exchange for each credit of PSY 4000.

How to Apply:

Contact Dr. Nadorff at Danielle.Nadorff@msstate.edu or visit http://www.grandfamilieslab.com/application.html to receive an application for joining the lab.

Project Summary / General Information:

I have a couple of positions available for the Junior, Senior undergraduates, and Graduate students (ASE, ME, and CSE) who are willing to gain hands on experience on materials and structures research. This is an opportunity to apply your engineering education to real world challenges in space research.

College & Department:

College of Engineering...060100 - Aerospace Engineering
College of Engineering...062900 - Computer Science and Engineering
College of Engineering...061700 - Mechanical Engineering

Description of Responsibilities and Position Duties:

The duties and responsibilities include design and computational assessment of materials and structures with multifunctional properties such as strain-sensing and self-healing etc.

Desired Qualifications and Skills:

Junior, Senior Undergraduates, or Graduate students.

How to Apply:

Via email (vkhare@ae.msstate.edu)

Project Summary / General Information:

Opportunity for student researchers to design, develop, and analyze composites and shape memory effect based materials and structures customized for the space applications. Physics informed and ML based models and material design ideas will be developed and explored for various use cases in the ongoing space missions.

College & Department:

College of Engineering...060100 - Aerospace Engineering
College of Engineering...192600 - Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems
College of Engineering...062900 - Computer Science and Engineering
College of Engineering...061700 - Mechanical Engineering

Description of Responsibilities and Position Duties:

Physics informed and ML based models and material design ideas will be developed and explored for various use cases in the ongoing space missions.

Desired Qualifications and Skills:

Junior or Senior Undergraduate, Graduate Students in ASE, ME, CSE, CAVS

How to Apply:

Submit resume to my email.

Project Summary / General Information:

The Regulation & Resilience team conducts research on the cognitive and affective risk and protective factors involved in family violence, with the over-arching goal of preventing the costly consequences to children, families, and society. Research studies include the interplay among individual, family, and community variables that affect emotion regulation and dysregulation, as manifest in parenting, relationship conflict, and psychopathology (e.g., substance use, aggression, and self-harm). Partnering with child advocates and educators in Mississippi, we are developing training in trauma-informed evidence-based practice and evaluation for workforce development and community-prevention. Projects seek to understand more about the following topics:
· Prevention of child maltreatment
· Influence of trauma on relationships and parenting
· Influence of attachment on developing resilience and self-regulation
· Emotion regulation assessment and intervention

College & Department:

College of Ag & Life Sciences...012102 - Human Sciences- Head Start
College of Ag & Life Sciences...012100 - School of Human Sciences
College of Arts & Sciences...038800 - College of Arts & Sciences
College of Arts & Sciences...032700 - Communication
College of Arts & Sciences...038500 - Political Science and Public Adm
College of Arts & Sciences...038802 - Pre-med Program
College of Arts & Sciences...038600 - Psychology
College of Arts & Sciences...038602 - Psychology Unfunded
College of Arts & Sciences...038901 - Social Work
College of Arts & Sciences...038900 - Sociology
393400 - Shackouls Honors College -

Description of Responsibilities and Position Duties:

Research Assistants invest 8-10-hours per week and get course credit (PSY 4000) for their work in the lab. Qualified RAs have the opportunity to gain supervised experience in setting up studies, collecting data, writing literature reviews, and disseminating results to the community via conference/symposium presentations and manuscript submissions.

Desired Qualifications and Skills:

Voluntary research assistant for the first semester. Subsequent semesters in the lab include the option of registering in Directed Individual Study for credit.

How to Apply:

If you are a self-motivated individual seeking to gain research experience, learn about child advocacy, and contribute to psychology, please email Dr. Oliveros (a.oliveros@msstate.edu) for more information.

Project Summary / General Information:

This research lab involves all things related to parenting emerging adults, including parental psychopathology, parent-child relationships, discipline, maltreatment, and many other relevant factors. We focus on how aspects of parenting during emerging adulthood are associated with various psychological outcomes.

College & Department:

College of Arts & Sciences...038600 - Psychology

Description of Responsibilities and Position Duties:

Students typically participate through joining a directed individual study course (typically 3 credits) and attend weekly lab meetings to complete work. Participating students most often develop a research idea, learn how to complete moderation and mediation analyses, and submit their findings to conferences for presentation. Students gain valuable experience in a research lab, products to put on their resume, and access to a strong letter of recommendation if they perform well in the lab.

Desired Qualifications and Skills:

Course work in statistics, research design, and psychology are desired but not required.

How to Apply:

Students should contact Dr. Cliff McKinney at cm998@msstate.edu to express their interest. Send a brief statement expressing what interests you about the lab and your career goals along with your resume that shows your current overall GPA.

Project Summary / General Information:

Chemistry can be a difficult subject for many students and there have been many efforts to help make the chemistry curriculum more interesting and more effective. There is also a need to ensure that students are being adequately prepared to be competitive for modern careers. The integration of mass spectrometry into the curriculum could help to reach many of these goals simultaneously, if done effectively. The purpose of this project is to evaluate the state of the chemical education literature to understand (1) the extent to which mass spectrometry is being used to teach chemistry concepts, (2) the state of mass spectrometry training for undergraduate students, and (3) the utility of mass spectrometry understanding/training for employability. In addition to exploring the current state of the literature, we are also interested in understanding where there are gaps--when would including mass spectrometry actually help students learn concepts? what is the most effective way to implement these integrations? do students more effectively learn mass spectrometry topics when directly trained on mass spectrometry or when mass spectrometry is integrated throughout the curriculum?

College & Department:

College of Arts & Sciences...031900 - Chemistry

Description of Responsibilities and Position Duties:

The responsibilities associated with this project would include helping perform a literature review, which might include database searching, citation management, reading and summarizing scholarly articles, and categorizing articles based on theme.

Desired Qualifications and Skills:

Given the interdisciplinary nature of this project, the ideal student would have some background in science (e.g., introductory courses), but also have an interest in education, writing/communication, database searching/library, or other related fields.

Organization and communication skills. Ability to read scholarly literature and classify content based on topic and themes. Citation management and database searching skills or a desire to learn in those areas.

How to Apply:

Please send an email introducing yourself and expressing your interest to apatrick@chemistry.msstate.edu .

Project Summary / General Information:

My research lab (featuring 3 doctoral students) is conducting a large data collection effort to supply data for several individual projects. The effort will likely run in the fall and extend into the spring semesters. We are collecting data concerning sleep quality, executive functions, anxiety/depression, ADHD symptoms, and functional impairment. Existing project questions range from whether poor sleep undermines executive functions as measured in different ways, to the interaction effects of poor sleep, mood disturbances, and ADHD symptoms on overall impairment (especially of executive functions) as measured by a variety of self-report and laboratory measures. Much of the research will examine psychometric issues (e.g., Do self ratings accurately reflect cognitive abilities? How different are sleep estimates based on different sleep measures?) and explanatory construct systems (e.g., What undermines the protective role that executive functioning SHOULD play for people with anxiety/depression/ADHD symptoms?). Additional research questions are being examined and there is significant potential for RAs to generate their own research ideas from the data set.

College & Department:

College of Arts & Sciences...038802 - Pre-med Program
College of Arts & Sciences...038600 - Psychology
College of Arts & Sciences...038602 - Psychology Unfunded

Description of Responsibilities and Position Duties:

* 2-4 RAs will each be asked to run 2-4 data collection sessions a week. Each participant requires a single session that lasts 2-2.5 hours and that will happen in our lab in Rice Hall. The RAs will greet participants, confirm sleep data, and then monitor a computer-administered series of questionnaires and neuropsychological tests.

* We also will need one or more RAs to help prompt daily sleep log completion for the 7 days prior to each participant's scheduled testing session. (Every participant is asked to record sleep data for the 7 days before we collect cognitive/mood data. These data will help us assess the effects of bad/good sleep so it is vital they are collected prospectively and accurately...)

* Sessions are expected to be scheduled 8-10:30am, 10:30-1pm, 1-3:30pm, and 3:30-6pm for 5 days a week. We have 2 lab spaces available. We need RAs who can come for 2-4 testing sessions most every week. (You will help set your schedule so that we are offering times that you can commit to covering... You just need to know your schedule about 10-14 days in advance.)

Desired Qualifications and Skills:

* Availability for at least two (and up to four) 2.5 hour blocks each week as described above
* Attention to detail is necessary
* Ability and commitment to closely follow a fixed protocol for data collection
* An interest in medical school, applied psychology, human factors engineering, or some health profession for after MSU
* Enough people skills to greet participants, verify sleep data submission, and encourage high effort on the testing/questionnaires.
* Possessing or ability to quickly secure certificate of completion for basic training in ethical research issues (i.e., CITI human subjects research training linked at https://www.orc.msstate.edu/compliance/human-subjects/training ) - takes most people 2-3 hours. This is required for anyone interacting with research participants or their data.
* Preference given to soph/jr/senior students, but mature freshmen will be considered.
* The likelihood of securing authorship on a poster presentation out of this work is very high. There is also some potential to pursue publishing a research manuscript for exceptional RAs who can put in time above and beyond data collection. Honors thesis topics could be constructed from this kind of data set.
* Prior exposure to Qualtrics & the MSU SONA system is a plus, but not required.

How to Apply:

Interviews are expected to begin the week of 9/8/25 and will go until needed spots are filled for fall or until applicants interested in spring 2026 have been interviewed.

Please email Dr. Kevin Armstrong @ kevin.armstrong@msstate.edu and attach your CV. Indicate you are interested in the RA work for this project and identify the days/time slots of the week that you think you could run research sessions this fall. If you can't do fall but could do spring, let us know that.

Include a sentence or two about your career goals and how you think this research experience might help you. Include your cell number, please.

Indicate if you have already completed CITI training or if you could complete that soon, please. (Link above)

Either Dr. Armstrong or a doctoral student will reply and let you know the next steps. Select applicants will be interviewed before final RA appointments are assigned. Interviews are expected to begin the week of 9/8/25 and will go until needed spots are filled for fall or until applicants interested in spring 2026 have been interviewed.

Want research credit hours? It is possible RAs could likely be retroactively added to PSY 4000 Directed Individual Study credits (variable) for fall or added in advance for Spring 2026, should a student want research hours on their transcript. We can talk about what makes the most sense for you if you are interested.

Project Summary / General Information:

I am working on a book about the medieval origins of the university, the role of honors colleges in America, and about higher education reform. The book explores such topics as educational theory and pedagogy, college admissions practices, funding mechanisms for higher education, and the role of government (state and federal) in higher education. I will be conducting case studies of six colleges and universities in America that were founded in the liberal arts and how they have grown, confronted issues like racism and STEM research, and struggled to maintain a sense of community.

College & Department:

393400 - Shackouls Honors College -

Description of Responsibilities and Position Duties:

Interested students will be able to take on one of the following areas and conduct independent research, while also working as part of a research team:

1) history and philosophy of liberal arts education
2) types of colleges and universities in America
3) funding mechanisms (tuition, public funding, private gifts, etc.)
4) athletics and student activities
5) admissions practices and abuses
6) state and federal higher education policy

Academic credit available as well as funding for conference/research travel (Honors students only).

Desired Qualifications and Skills:

Ability to use MSU library resources as well as basic internet research, write short papers/reports, interest in conference travel/presentation/publication. Preference given to students in the Shackouls Honors College at the sophomore level or above.

How to Apply:

Submit statement of interest to csnyder@honors.msstate.edu.

Project Summary / General Information:

Join us in an exciting opportunity to shape our understanding of the global projection of military power with Dr. Benjamin Tkach at Mississippi State University and Dr. Vasabjit Banerjee at the University of Tennessee. This project explores the evolving role of the value arms ecosystems in shaping global outcomes. Value arms, a concept we invited and is now taught in courses at the Defense Security Cooperation University and identified as an area of interest by members of the National Security Council, encompasses military capabilities that are refurbished, reused, discounted or dated (R2D2). Yet, value arms can be militarily effective depending on the threat environment and are found in militaries across the globe. This project is a comprehensive approach to understanding the value arms ecosystem. We will evaluate individual military means (arms), analyze country-specific data, and complete expert-interviews.

College & Department:

College of Arts & Sciences...038813 - A&S - African American Studies
College of Arts & Sciences...030100 - Aerospace Studies (Air ROTC)
College of Arts & Sciences...030200 - Anthropology/Middle Eastern Culture
College of Arts & Sciences...038800 - College of Arts & Sciences
College of Arts & Sciences...032700 - Communication
College of Arts & Sciences...033900 - English
College of Arts & Sciences...035300 - History
College of Arts & Sciences...037300 - Military Science (Army ROTC)
College of Arts & Sciences...038100 - Philosophy & Religion
College of Arts & Sciences...038500 - Political Science and Public Adm
College of Arts & Sciences...038600 - Psychology
College of Arts & Sciences...038900 - Sociology
College of Arts & Sciences...038200 - Stennis Institute

Description of Responsibilities and Position Duties:

Analyze country specific military assets, policies, and threat environments

Code military means, defense industry characteristics, and related variables

Contribute to the first dataset on value arms for the Department of Defense

$15 per hour

Desired Qualifications and Skills:

Graduate or undergraduate student in good academic standing

Familiarity with Excel or similar spreadsheet applications

Attention to detail

How to Apply:

Email your resume and a short explanation of why you are interested in and qualified for a Research Assistant position to Dr. Benjamin Tkach, b.tkach@msstate.edu

Project Summary / General Information:

Join our dynamic research team in the Weed Science Innovators Undergraduate Research Program, where you'll engage in cutting-edge projects ranging from herbicide resistance to sustainable weed management. This opportunity allows you to delve into diverse areas such as abiotic and biotic stress tolerance, allelopathy, molecular techniques, plant microbiome interactions, and advanced analytical methods like HPLC and GC-MS. Gain hands-on experience, mentorship from graduate students, and contribute to significant research outcomes.

College & Department:

College of Ag & Life Sciences...010300 - Ag & Bio Engineering
College of Ag & Life Sciences...011900 - Agricultural Science & Plant Protec
College of Ag & Life Sciences...011500 - Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
College of Ag & Life Sciences...018800 - College of Ag & Life Sciences
College of Ag & Life Sciences...012500 - Horticulture
College of Ag & Life Sciences...012600 - Landscape Architecture
College of Ag & Life Sciences...011100 - Plant and Soil Sciences
College of Ag & Life Sciences...012900 - Plant Pathology & Weed Science
College of Arts & Sciences...038300 - Bio & Phys Sciences Rsch Inst
College of Arts & Sciences...031100 - Biological Sciences
College of Arts & Sciences...031900 - Chemistry
College of Arts & Sciences...038800 - College of Arts & Sciences
College of Arts & Sciences...038802 - Pre-med Program

Description of Responsibilities and Position Duties:

As a participant in our program, you will engage in a wide array of research projects, including herbicide resistance studies, stress tolerance in crops, molecular weed science, plant microbiome interactions, machine learning, plant imaging, and integrated weed management strategies. Your responsibilities will extend to assisting with data collection, analysis, and management. Additionally, you will operate and maintain laboratory and field research equipment. Collaboration is key, and you will work alongside a team of researchers, contributing to scientific discussions. You will also prepare findings for presentations at scientific meetings and contribute to writing peer-reviewed journal articles. This role provides a comprehensive experience in the field of weed science, offering both practical and theoretical insights.

Desired Qualifications and Skills:

Current enrollment in an undergraduate program with a focus in Biology, Agronomy, Plant Science, Chemistry, or a related field; Strong interest in plant science, weed science, or agricultural technology; Ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a team; Excellent written and verbal communication skills; Experience in laboratory or field research is preferred but not required
Curiosity and eagerness to learn and apply new skills.

How to Apply:

Please submit your resume and a list of relevant courses you have completed to tt1024@msstate.edu. Highlight any previous research experience or projects related to plant science or agriculture in your application. We welcome students from diverse academic backgrounds who are passionate about contributing to innovative research in weed science.

This broad, inviting description is designed to attract a wide range of interested students, encouraging those with varying skills and academic focuses to apply and join a leading team in advancing weed science research.