Honors student Naill Mangan
Honors graduate Niall Mangan '07 aspires to help society solve environmental problems by addressing challenges in biology and chemistry. She is particularly intrigued by nanotechnology and energy sources. 

Niall worked with Professor of Physics Daniel ben-Avraham on a research project that used probability theory to create equations that could potentially model random behaviors ranging from stock market fluctuations to the kinetics of chemical reactions. It is a project that earned her a prestigious 2006-07 Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship. “I hope to use modeling techniques like this in my future research on nanotechnology applications in environmental physics,” says Niall.

Honors Research

Unparalleled Opportunities and a Defining Requirement

As an Honors student, you can live on campus at our expense any summer and pursue your research. In fact, thanks to a special "pre-frosh" opportunity, you can work on a sophisticated project for five weeks even before you have begun your first semester classes.

Our hallmark summer program underscores the important role that research experience plays during all four undergraduate years of your intellectual and professional development. Mentored, collaborative research opportunities enable you to share in the exciting process of creating new knowledge. They also equip you with professionally valued problem-solving skills and techniques. In your senior year, you are required to demonstrate the capabilities you have mastered by designing and undertaking a research project of your own choosing - an experience that culminates with a thesis of publication quality.

For Clarkson's Honors graduates, the successful demonstration of professional-level analytical skills gained through research experiences has opened doors to prestigious fellowships, top graduate schools, and fast-track jobs.

Goldwater Scholarship Winners from the Honors Program and Where They Are Now

The prestigious Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship is the nation's premier undergraduate award for students pursuing careers in mathematics, the natural sciences, and engineering. About 300 are awarded annually by the federally endowed Goldwater Foundation.

2008
Ryan Watkins
— Aeronautical Engineering, Junior
Sayuri Yapa
— Mechanical Engineering, Junior

2007
Jeffrey Ward
— Math & Computer Science, Senior
 
2006
Samuel Gorton 
— Chemical Engineering, Master/Ph.D. student; Washington State University
Niall Mangan 
— Physics/ Mathematics, senior
Christy Petruczok 
— Chemical Engineering, senior

2005
Andrew Bingham
— Mechanical & Aeronautical Engineering, senior
Norman Marshall
— Chemistry, Ph.D. student; University of Chicago

2004
Keith Jackson
— Aeronautical Engineering, Ph.D. student; University of Illinois

2003
Nadeeka Yapa
— Electrical Engineering, Ph.D. student; University of Illinois
Ryan Turner
— Chemical Engineering, Ph.D. student; Cal Tech

2002
Thomas Hooper
— Mechanical Engineering, Knolls Atomic Power Labs, Nuclear Operations Program

2001
Kirsten Griffiths
— Chemistry, Ph.D. student; UCLA

2000
Michael Moravan
— Chemistry, MD/Ph.D. student; University of Rochester