College Honors

Studying the situation of refugee women in Mexico and Denmark. Developing a stainless steel clamp to use in surgery. Taking on WYSIWYG to design a program that uses simple mark-up language. Writing, staging, and directing musical theater.

Imagine the possibilities.

Independent research, scholarship, and creative work are supported by our Honors Program, which may be undertaken as early as junior year, though most projects are conducted during the senior year. Candidates for Honors obtain the endorsement from their department and complete advanced study under the supervision and guidance of an interdisciplinary faculty committee.

At the end of their projects, our students defend their thesis or creative project or have it critiqued before a qualified outside examiner, modeling the dissertation defense of many grad programs. Often, the Honors experience can jump-start a meaningful career or admission into a top-notch graduate program.

2023-2024 Honors Projects 

• "Investigating the Function of Intrinsically Disordered Proteins in Stentor coeruleus," Sarah Evelyn Hoffmann-Weitsman, Biochemistry.
• "The Functions of miRNAs in Cnidarians," Nguyen Minh Thy Le, Biochemistry.
• "Effects of Bacopa monnieri Extract on Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Inflammatory Response in J774A.1 Macrophages," Ngoc Huynh Tam Nguyen, Biochemistry.
• "Synthesis of Low Symmetry Mixed Ligand Copper(II) Carboxylate Liquid Crystals," Sahana V. Giri, Chemistry.
• "Development of an Advanced Organic Synthesis Lab: Synthesis and Analysis of para-Disubstituted Stilbenes," Charlie J. Horvath, Chemistry.
• "The Forest Bleeds Girls: A Creative Deconstruction of Traditional Fairy Tales," Shannon Marie Hall, English.
• "The Politics and Problematics of Colorblind Casting," Archi Nokrek, English.
• "'A Fight for a Knife in the Mud': Prestige Television, Succession, and Capitalist Realism," Lola Joan Chamberlain, English Literature.
• "Gröbner Theory of D-Modules and Its Application to Differential Equations," Alexis Taylor Riggs, Mathematics.
• "All Is Moved By Love: A Song Cycle Written in Response to Student Poetry from the Knox College Archive 1857-Present," Casey Blu Foubert, Music.
• "Policy Recommendations for Mobile Health Use in Rural Illinois," Emma Elizabeth Curry, Political Science and Public Policy.
• "Analyzing the Effectiveness of Community-Based Programs in Reducing Recidivism Rates Among Ex-Offenders," Ashlynn Rayme Lenertz, Political Science and Public Policy.
• "Environmental Rights Provisions’ Questionable Connection to Environmental Policymaking," Kasey Elaine Snyder, Political Science and Public Policy.

2020 Honors Projects 

• "Synthesis and Characterization of Heteroleptic Copper Dimers Generated from Tetrakis(3-phenylpropionate) dicopper(II) Precursor," Adee Athiyaman, Chemistry.
• "Interrogating the Hermetic Tradition: Imperialism, Religion, and Power in Ancient Egypt," Jada Bishop, History.
• "Assessing the Relationship Between Horse Personality, Behavior, and Coloration," Talia Bossingham, Biology.
• "Schubert’s Piano Sonata Developments and Early Romantic Form," Zachary Cirone, Music.
• "Fiction Collection: 'Fragile Creatures'," Mia Coletto, Creative Writing and English.
• "The Effects of Race and Friendship Affiliation on Occupational Perceptions," Khanh-Linh Duong, Psychology.
• "Communist Legacies and Education: Gender Inequality in Education in Post-Communist Countries," Sydney Folger, International Relations.
• "Toward the Isolation of Reduced Iron Hydrosilylation Catalysts," Alexander Hegg, Chemistry.
• "'A Correct Animal': Interrogating Gendered Computation Through Digital Narrative," Franziska Hofhansel, Creative Writing and Computer Science.
• "Tripping on Positive Emotions: The Role of Awe and Self-Compassion in Psychedelic-assisted Psychotherapy," Jassmine Jassmine, Psychology.
• "Narrative Confusion and the Development of Student Agency," Aaron Kapinos, Composition and Rhetoric.
• "Algebraic Methods in Probability and Statistics," Jenna Milligan, Mathematics.
• "The Pleiades," John Muth, Creative Writing.
• "Lake Town: A Collection of Short Stories," Margaret Ruswick, Creative Writing.
• "Detection of Environmental CRISPRs by a PCR Assay that Targets Conserved Repeats," Aditya Siddharth, Biology.
• "Love, Rage, and No Going Back: Extinction Rebellion and Developing New Methodologies of Activism Within European Direct Action Environmental Movements," Soleil Smith, Environmental Studies.
• "Predicting College Success Through Machine Learning," Connor Weeks, Data Science.
• "Death of a Salesman: A Paper Analysis and Staging Project Framed by Post WWII Tropes of American Masculinity," Joel Willison, Theatre: Directing.
• "Investigating the Mechanism of Longevity for Age-2 Mutant Caenorhabditis elegans," Melissa Wood, Biology.