Honors Research in the News

Jonah Jurack presents his thesis during VMI's Honors Week.

Honors Week: Cadet Explores Democracy in African Monarchies

April 24, 2025

Jonah Jurak's '25 firsthand experience observing public attitudes toward Morocco’s monarchy led him to explore how quasi-democratic systems function in autocratic regimes.

Brian Tavenner, an electrical and computer engineering major at Virginia Military Institute, researched the polarization and interstellar extinction around the star Gamma Cassiopeia for his honors thesis.

Honors Week: Tavenner Performs Stellar Research

April 21, 2025

Brian Tavenner '25, an electrical and computer engineering major, researched the polarization and interstellar extinction around the star Gamma Cassiopeia for his honors thesis.

Jude Roberts, a computer science major at Virginia Military Institute, analyzed the effectiveness of AI in resume selection for his honors thesis.

Honors Week: Cadet Researches AI as a Hiring Manager

April 17, 2025

Jude Roberts '25, a computer science, analyzed the effectiveness of AI in resume selection for his honors thesis. Using ChatGPT to evaluate 1,000 resumes across various job categories, he found that AI was less accurate and more vulnerable to bias and manipulation than human hiring managers.

highlighting how the process was far more complicated than often taught.

Honors Week: Exploring the Complexities of Desegregation

April 14, 2025

Patrick Kiernan '25 explored the complexities of school desegregation in his honors thesis, focusing on key Supreme Court cases from the 1960s and 1970s. His research examined the challenges of enforcing desegregation post-Brown v. Board of Education, highlighting how the process was complicated.

Brooks Freeman ’25, an English major at Virginia Military Institute, sought a common core between the philosophies of Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī, a 13th century Middle Eastern Sufi mystic and poet, and SØren Kierkegaard, a 19th century Danish philosopher, theologian, and poet, in his honors presentation.

Honors Week: Freeman Compares Philosophers

April 10, 2025

Brooks Freeman ’25, an English major at Virginia Military Institute, sought a common core between the philosophies of Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī, a 13th century Middle Eastern Sufi mystic and poet, and SØren Kierkegaard, a 19th century Danish philosopher, theologian, and poet, in his honors presentation.

Suzanne Leaptrot presents for VMI Honors Week.

Honors Week: Does Comedy and Political Rhetoric Mix?

April 4, 2025

Suzanne Leaptrot ’25 explored the intersection of comedy and political rhetoric in her honors thesis, examining whether comedians, like Colbert, engage in demagoguery by analyzing his monologues from the 2016, 2020, and 2024 conventions.

Simon Moore presenting his thesis during VMI Honors Week.

Honors Week: Why Live? Cadet Researches Philosopher’s Personal Resilience

April 3, 2025

Simon Moore ’25 was drawn to Arthur Schopenhauer’s pessimistic views and honesty about pain and suffering. He said it might be considered a taboo subject, but it intrigued him.

Harrison Williams ’25, a cadet at Virginia Military Institute majoring in economics and business, researched the wisdom of investing in the United States for his honors project, “Sustainable Debt Limit Estimates for the U.S. and 20 Other OECD Countries.”

Honors Week: Cadet Looks at U.S. Debt

March 28, 2025

Harrison Williams ’25, a cadet at Virginia Military Institute majoring in economics and business, researched the wisdom of investing in the United States for his honors project, “Sustainable Debt Limit Estimates for the U.S. and 20 Other OECD Countries.”

Delilah Martindale ’25 researched for her honors thesis, “Preventing Suicide: The Effect of Visibility on Mental Health Infrastructure.

Honors Week: Cadet Researches Suicide Prevention

March 27, 2025

Delilah Martindale ’25 researched for her honors thesis, “Preventing Suicide: The Effect of Visibility on Mental Health Infrastructure.” She chose the subject of suicide prevention in order to merge her major in international studies with her minor in psychology.

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.