Research

Research at ASMS: Teaching Students How to be Scholars

ASMS is taking student research to a new level with the introduction of our multi-course, interdisciplinary Research Fellows Program, designed to foster and facilitate the research process with our students. Giving ASMS students the opportunity to conduct research in high school will set them apart in the college application and admissions process.

An academic research project demonstrates awareness of existing research in the subject area, offers a unique contribution to the field of study, and adheres to the scholarly conventions of the discipline.

Research Fellows Program

The ASMS Research Fellows Program draws from the expertise of campus faculty and off-site scholars to guide ASMS students through an immersive research experience. The level of scholarship demonstrated by the student should at least be equivalent to that necessitated by a science fair exhibition or an academic conference presentation. A project may be completed by an individual student or by a team working together. While participation in the Research Fellows Program is not a requirement for graduation at ASMS, students who complete the program will demonstrate their academic tenacity, be awarded the title of Research Fellow, and graduate with a unique tassel as part of their regalia.

Recent Research Fellows Projects:

  • Space-Tether deployment mechanism using an Eddy Current Brake
  • Investigating the Use of Eco-Friendly Materials in Construction
  • Proposing and Simulating a Novel Solar Sail Deployment Mechanism for Nanosatellites
  • Experimental Fiction: The Landscape of the Novel in the mid-20th Century
  • Investigating the Aerodynamics of Proposed Airplane Wing Flaps on the F/A-18
  • Characteristics of Solar Wind with a Different Latitude and Heliocentric Distances
  • Connecting mitochondrial biogenesis to the salt stress response pathway in Saccharomyces cerevisiae​
  • Sustainable Mining Through Advanced Borehole Mining and Algal Carbon Sequestration
  • A Spectrum of Perception: Exploring Racial Representation and Codification in Disney's Animated Characters
  • Modeling climate change induced schizophrenia through heat exposure and gene expression in Drosophila melanogaster
  • The impact of altered magnetic field strength on adherence to pheromone trails in Pogonomyrmex occidentalis
  • A Deeper Look Into The Underwater Forest: A Scientific and Political Exploration
  • Equity Profile of Mobile County over the Last Decade
  • Using Artificial Intelligence for Mathematical Studies
  • A marine invertebrate assemblage from the Red Bluff Formation of Alabama, USA
  • A fossil cetacean from the Lower Oligocene of Alabama sheds new light on the evolution of modern whales
  • A leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelyidae) from the Lower Oligocene (Rupelian) Byram Formation of Alabama, USA
  • The impact of ocean acidification on Tetraselmis sp.
  • Effects of Increasing Humidity and Temperature on CO2 Production and Growth in Echinacea purpurea
  • Oakleigh’s City Hall: Callaghan's Community Culture
  • An evaluation of the effectiveness of Tagetes patula as a potential companion crop to inhibit growth of fungal disease Alternaria alternata: the role of allelopathy and secondary metabolites
  • Terrestrial Radiation along the Gulf Coast
  • Fast & Cheap Synthesis Method for YBCO & BSCCO Based Superconductors
  • The Evolution of the American War Novel: A Comparative Study of Realist and Modernist War Texts
  • Examining the plausibility of transgenerational epigenetic inheritance of altered stress response in Daphnia magna through HSP90 expression.
  • Games Studies: How Games Make Meaning

Research Fellows Program Student Stories:

Fellows Handbook
Project Prep. Worksheet
Spring Research Forum

Directed Research and Reading

ASMS Directed Research and Reading courses are typically intended for students who seek deeper knowledge of an academic subject. Courses involve intensive investigation of a topic or subject, taken under the direction of a faculty member who mentors a student’s research. This work customarily involves a variable number of contact hours and will often result in a major paper or article, detailing the results of the investigation that has been undertaken. With faculty approval, a student may receive transcript credit for these courses.

Directed Research and Reading courses offered in recent history include Biological Science Research, Crystallography, Pyrotechnics, Firewire (student newspaper), Problem Solving, Boolean Algebra, Topology, and Mathematical Origami.