Mitchell Masterson '21 and his mentor, Maj. Jochen S. Arndt, travelled recently to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference for Undergraduate Scholarship, where Masterson presented his work on "Reporting on Civil War: How Newspapers Explained Township Violence in South Africa, 1990-1994."

Conducted by the VMI Center for Undergraduate Research, SURI (Summer Undergraduate Research Institute) is a program where the cadet, as the principal investigator, conducts research directly with a faculty mentor.

This summer, working under the auspices of the Summer Undergraduate Research Institute, Masterson completed an independent research project on media coverage of South Africa’s transition from apartheid to democratic rule, which took place between 1990 and 1994.

Maj. Molly Kent’s neuroscience lab is a busy place this summer, with multiple cadets working on multiple projects split over the two summer sessions. But despite their wide-ranging projects, the cadets share a common bond: a desire to learn lab skills and grow as scientists.

This summer, Alexandra “Allie” Sassaman ’22 is delving into research for her national security minor thesis, which will focus on the roles of women in terrorism and counter-terrorism and their reasons for involvement.

This summer, Thomas Muldowney ’21 is working on a research project that involves a lot of number crunching— finding out which policies benefit people.

“Memes are just an interesting concept.” That’s what Josie Freeman ’23 has to say about her Summer Undergraduate Research Institute project, “Motivation for Memes.”

Maddy Moger '20's summer research project has involved a deeper look at the "whys" of classic fairy tales, using a psychoanalytic approach.

An interdisciplinary project involving the biology and computer science departments could help a local soybean farmer produce higher yields.

Is the green roof on the Corps Physical Training Facility saving VMI money? A cadet investigates.