HRAP

Honors Research Assistant Program

The Honors Research Assistant Program provides Honors students an opportunity to work with professors as paid research assistants. Specific projects and the type of work entailed varies with each participating professor. Twenty-five HRAP positions are funded each fall and spring semester.

HRAP Details

DEADLINES

Deadline for students to complete and email their application to faculty mentor: May 8, 2026

HRAP award announcement: May 15, 2026

Student Position Begins: August 24, 2026

Student Position Ends: October 30, 2026

Report due: November 30, 2026

Student Eligibility

Student must be an Honors College student in good standing, have at least 15 hours of college credit, and have at least a 3.40 GPA.
HRAP may not be combined with other Honors programs or requirements (such as Research 3980 or UROP).

Open HRAP positions will be listed below at the start of each fall and spring semester along with position dates. Positions are 10 hours per week for a period of 10 weeks, paid to the student at a rate of $13 per hour.

Review positions listed on this webpage and select one that interests you.
Download the Student Application for HRAP Position (PDF)
Complete the form and return to the faculty member hosting the position via email.
The professor will contact you regarding the position.
Positions will be open until filled.

HRAP Opportunities

Project Title	Faculty Name	Faculty Email	Department	Project Summary / Abstract	Student Responsibilities
3D Printing of Fiber Reinforced Composites	Arif Abdullah	arif1@ou.edu	Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering	Develops 3D printed fiber-reinforced composites using robotic direct ink writing, UV-curable resins, and process optimization.	Design fixtures, prepare materials, run printing experiments, analyze data, literature review.
Allergenic Potential and Food Safety Evaluation of North American Freshwater Panfish Species	Nagib Ahsan	nahsan@ou.edu	Chemistry and Biochemistry	Identifies and quantifies allergen proteins in panfish species such as bluegill and crappie.	Fish sample collection, lab prep, LC-MS/MS, ELISA assays.
AI and Machine Learning for Scientific Discovery in Advanced Materials Systems	Mike Banad	bana@ou.edu	School of Electrical and Computer Engineering	Uses AI/ML to accelerate discovery in advanced materials and engineering systems.	Develop models, analyze datasets, literature review, meetings, collaboration.
AI-Based Screening and Analysis of Superconducting Materials	Mike Banad	bana@ou.edu	School of Electrical and Computer Engineering	Applies AI to crystal structures and databases to identify promising superconductors.	Collect datasets, clean data, visualize trends, assist Python analysis.
Using AI and Machine Learning to Build Smarter Computer Processors	Ronald Barnes	ron@ou.edu	School of Electrical and Computer Engineering	Uses ML to improve processor branch prediction and chip performance.	Simulations, datasets, ML testing, reporting.
The Role of Disease Resistance and Functional Immunity in Range Expansion: Oklahoma Treefrogs	Anat Belasen	abelasen@ou.edu	School of Biological Sciences	Studies disease resistance and immunity in expanding Oklahoma treefrog populations.	Field sampling, sequencing, immunity assays, PCR, bioinformatics.
Human-in-the-Loop AI: Multimodal Annotation Platform for Video and Audio	Jie Cao	jie.cao@ou.edu	School of Computer Science	Builds AI-assisted annotation systems for video/audio datasets.	Implement AI tools, UI design, testing, usability evaluation.
Integrative Analysis of Spatial Transcriptomic Features in Pancreatic Cancer	Wei Chen	wei-r-chen@ou.edu	SBME	Analyzes pancreatic cancer using spatial transcriptomics and single-cell RNA data.	Data preprocessing, integration, immune cell analysis, manuscript prep.
Glioblastoma Immunotherapy Using Hydrogel Implants	John Clegg	clegg@ou.edu	Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering	Develops hydrogel drug delivery systems for glioblastoma treatment.	Cell culture, synthesis, histology, data analysis, poster prep.
Sub-typing Biomarkers for Depression Treatment Using EEG and MRI	Lei Ding	leiding@ou.edu	Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering	Uses EEG/MRI and ML to identify biomarkers for depression subtypes.	Signal processing, modeling, machine learning, interpretation.
Private Life and Public Feuds: Art, Lawsuits, and the Birth of Modern Privacy in France	Erin Duncan-O'Neill	erinduncanoneill@ou.edu	School of Visual Arts	Studies how art, lawsuits, and media shaped privacy rights in France, 1866–1900.	Search archives/newspapers, gather historical legal sources.
Operating Artificial Molecular Machines in Water	Yuanning Feng	yf@ou.edu	Chemistry and Biochemistry	Designs artificial molecular motors driven by redox and pH changes.	Literature review, organic synthesis, presentations, lab assistance.
The Economics of Teaching: An Interactive Dashboard of Teacher Pay and Benefits	Sarah Guthery	sarahguthery@ou.edu	Educational Leadership	Creates Oklahoma teacher compensation dashboard comparing pay and benefits.	Collect data, contact districts, build dashboard, verify accuracy.
Evaluation of Polymer-Based Roadway Reinforcement	Kianoosh Hatami	kianoosh@ou.edu	Civil Engineering and Environmental Science	Tests polymer systems to improve roadway durability and reduce cracking.	Lab setup, instrumentation, load testing.
Collaboration with Rural Educators to Enhance Advocacy, Training, and Engagement	Brittany Hott	bhott@ou.edu	Educational Psychology	Supports retention and growth of rural Oklahoma special education teachers.	Recruitment, surveys, focus groups, data analysis.
American Literature and Primary Sources	Julianna Kershen	jkershen@ou.edu	Instructional Leadership and Academic Curriculum	Curates historical sources related to A Raisin in the Sun and Beloved.	Archival research, source curation, metadata, annotations.
Adaptive Privacy Protection for Smart Home IoT	Qi Li	qili@ou.edu	ECE	Protects smart-home privacy through traffic obfuscation and adaptive learning.	Collect traffic data, build systems, evaluate privacy performance.
The History of Environmental Activism in Norman, Oklahoma	Dan Mains	dcmains@ou.edu	Anthropology / Honors	Studies Norman’s Sierra Club Red Earth Group and local environmental politics.	Archival research, oral history interviews.
Missing Data in Evolutionary Trees	Danielle Manapat	dmanapat@ou.edu	Psychology	Improves methods for handling missing data in decision tree models.	Literature review, simulations, manuscript support.
Smart Control of Dynamic Wireless EV Charging	Paul Moses	pmoses@ou.edu	School of Electrical and Computer Engineering	Develops grid-friendly dynamic EV charging systems.	Algorithms, simulations, optimization comparisons.
Symmetry-Broken Electro-Optics in Epitaxial Heterostructures	Hanjong Paik	paik@ou.edu	School of Electrical and Computer Engineering	Studies enhanced electro-optic effects in ferroelectric thin films on silicon.	Nanofabrication, optical testing, data analysis.
Active Learning-Guided Optimization of Epitaxial Oxide Thin Films	Hanjong Paik	paik@ou.edu	School of Electrical and Computer Engineering	Uses ML and PLD growth methods to optimize catalytic oxide thin films.	Synthesis, characterization, datasets, active learning.
Economics of Fire-based Land Treatments in the US	Jayash Paudel	jayash.paudel@ou.edu	Economics	Analyzes economic benefits/costs of prescribed fire and wildfire mitigation.	Literature review, summaries, optional data analysis.
The Listening Project	Andreana Prichard	aprichard@ou.edu	Honors	Oral history initiative preserving Oklahoma voices and experiences.	Background research, oral history interviews.
Editorial Cartoons and Environmental Issues	Darren Purcell	dpurcell@ou.edu	Geography and Environmental Sustainability	Studies how editorial cartoons frame environmental issues worldwide.	Collect cartoons, coding, experiments, publication support.
Did Switching to the SEC Mean More or Different Consumer Spending in Norman?	Cynthia Rogers	crogers@ou.edu	Economics	Studies how OU’s SEC move changed spending patterns in Norman.	Visualizations, regressions, literature review, presentations.
RNA in Plant Stress Responses and Nanopore Data Analysis	Susan Schroeder	susan.schroeder@ou.edu	Chemistry and Biochemistry	Uses nanopore sequencing and AI to study plant drought responses.	Python/OSCER data analysis, meetings, reports.
Neuromorphic Photonic Integrated Circuits for AI Hardware	Sarah Sharif	s.sh@ou.edu	ECE	Builds light-based AI hardware using photonic integrated circuits.	Simulation, device design, hardware characterization.
Genomics of Population Resilience in Oklahoma Treefrogs	Cameron Siler	camsiler@ou.edu	Oklahoma Biological Survey	Studies genomic adaptation and disease ecology in expanding treefrog populations.	Fieldwork, parasite screening, DNA extraction, PCR.
Modern Applications of Linear Algebra	Sepideh Stewart	sepidehstewart@@ou.edu	Mathematics	Transforms real-world problems into instructional linear algebra labs.	Modeling, MATLAB experiments, teaching materials, reports.
The House That Cane Built	Jermaine Thibodeaux	jthibodeaux@ou.edu	African and African American Studies	Examines Texas prison plantations, coerced labor, and racial capitalism.	Archival research, bibliography, permissions, proofreading.
AI in Mathematics: Theory, Computation, and Interpretation	Weinan Wang	ww@ou.edu	AI in Mathematics	Explores relationships between mathematics and AI models.	Read papers, simulations, coding, final report.
Electron Concentration Pinning in Interband Cascade Lasers	Rui Yang	rui.q.yang@ou.edu	Electrical and Computer Engineering	Studies semiconductor laser threshold behavior via electrical measurements.	Measurements, plots, analysis, reports.
Computational Functional Neuroimaging for Neural Biomarkers	Famaz Zamani Esfahlani	fzamani@ou.edu	Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering	Uses MRI and analytics to identify biomarkers for psychiatric disorders.	Neuroimaging analysis, predictive modeling, programming.