Honors Research in the News

The grandmother of Kanokpon “Gun” Mettasat ’27 clips a lock of his hair during the haircut ritual last June in Thailand. –Photo courtesy of Kanokpon “Gun” Mettasat ’27.

VMI Cadet Trains as Monk in Thai Temple

September 28, 2024

Kanokpon “Gun” Mettasat ’27 spent 15 days last June living as a monk at Wat Khlong Khru Buddhist temple in Tha Sai, not far from his home in Bangkok.

Jackson Miller '24 presents his senior thesis during VMI honors week.

Exploring Moral Dilemmas in Unique Thesis, Linking Dostoyevsky and Star Wars

May 30, 2024

Jackson Miller ’24 was drawn to a research topic as he approached his 1st Class year with strong philosophical and religious themes. He presented his research "Dostoyevsky and Star Wars: Understanding How Narratives Can Help Us Deepen Our Moral Awareness" during Honors Week in the spring semester.

Devin Thomas ’24 presented insights into his honors thesis, “War Onset Power Transition Theory.”

Honors Week: Unveiling Key Insights on War Timing in Power Transition Theory

May 28, 2024

The power transition theory appealed to Devin Thomas '24 due to its focus on power dynamics and systemic changes, which have significant implications for international relations at various levels.

Dylan Palmer '24 presented his VMI honors thesis, “Drone Countermeasures, Ethics, and Drones’ Effects on a Modern Battlefield.”

Palmer Debates the Ethics of Drones

April 9, 2024

According to Dylan Palmer '24, the nature of unmanned systems inherently reduces the risk to operators conducting missions during wartime. He presented his honors thesis, “Drone Countermeasures, Ethics, and Drones’ Effects on a Modern Battlefield" during VMI's Honors Week.

Abigail Basener presents her senior thesis during VMI's honors week on detecting AI-generated writing vs. student writing.

Basener Creates Model to Detect Computer Generated Writing

April 5, 2024

Abigail Basener '24 addressed plagiarizing and cheating concerns when it comes to the use of Artificial Intelligence during her thesis presentation, “Detecting AI-Generated Writing vs. Student Writing,” for VMI's Honor's Week.

Josh Cheung presents his senior thesis during VMI's honors week.

Honors Thesis Questions, 'Is God a Vegetarian?'

April 4, 2024

What does the Bible say about what we should eat? That is the question Josh Cheung ’24, a Virginia Military Institute cadet double majoring in English and biology, sought to answer in his honors thesis, “Is God a Vegetarian?”

Noland Griffith '24 presenting his senior thesis “An Exploratory Analysis of Crime From Randomly Selected Neighborhoods in Richmond, Virginia.”

Griffith Studies Crimes in Richmond Neighborhoods

April 3, 2024

Noland Griffith ’24, a Virginia Military Institute cadet majoring in economics and business, presented his honors thesis, “An Exploratory Analysis of Crime From Randomly Selected Neighborhoods in Richmond.” He said there are different aspects of crime that affect life in Richmond neighborhoods.

Adam Hoffman '24 presents his senior thesis on VMI recruitment during Honors Week.

Honors Week: A Look into VMI Recruiting Efforts

March 28, 2024

Adam Hoffman '24 presented his thesis “Virginia Military Institute Recruiting: How Cadets found their Way Here” during Honors Week. He saw that VMI had a hard recruiting season for the Class of 2026. His research was aimed to look at the effectiveness of past resources in recruiting.

Honors student Annie Townsend '24 presents her senior thesis on the security and history of barracks.

Honors Week: Barracks Security At VMI

March 25, 2024

Annie Townsend '24 blended her interest with history, architecture, and security to form her senior thesis, “A Security Analysis of the Virginia Military Institute’s Barracks through the Lens of Infrastructure," which she presented during Honors Week at Virginia Military Institute.

Honors student Gabriele Woodward ’24 stands at a laptop in front of a screen presenting her research at VMI, a military college in Virginia.

Woodward Examines Press Freedom and Terrorism

March 23, 2024

Freedom of the press in the United States is legally protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution. Media freedom is protected in most sovereign nations around the world, but is there a security price to pay for the liberties media enjoy?