On-Campus Research Opportunities
Applications open January 22 and close March 9th, 2026 unless indicated otherwise by an asterisk*.
Pursue research and creative work with Macalester Faculty
Many faculty at Macalester invite students into their research projects, giving students a first-hand opportunity to contribute to cutting-edge scholarly work. Faculty with positions potentially available for students next summer are listed below.
The faculty either already have funding or are awaiting news about whether they will receive funding to hire (a) student(s). Alternatively, students can also apply for a Fellowship to support a research project working with a Macalester faculty mentor.
Macalester Faculty Research Descriptions
Biology
Boyer-“Diversity and Evolution of Arachnids” Apply Here
Dosch/Anderson-“Ecology at Ordway: An Integrated Summer of Experiential Learning Research” Apply Here
Heskel-“Evolution of Meta-ecosystems in the Alaskan Arctic” Apply Here *Application due February 06, 2026
Rivera-“Optimizing protein precipitation methods in human nail analysis”
Curry Rogers– “The Paleobiology of Late Cretaceous Dinosaurs and Their Contemporaries”
Chemistry
Cao-“Organic Materials Synthesis” Apply Here
Kuwata-“Computational Modeling of Oxygenated Reactive Intermediates in Atmospheric Chemistry” Professor Kuwata is not hiring researchers for Summer 2026.
Splan-“Research in Bioinorganic Chemistry” Professor Splan is not hiring researchers for Summer 2026.
Varberg-“Research in Molecular Spectroscopy” Professor Varberg is not hiring student researchers for Summer 2026.
Witus-“Catalytic Peptides and Enzyme-polymer Conjugates for Biomedical Applications” Apply Here
Environmental Studies
Bradtmiller-“Paleoclimate and Oceanography Research Using Deep Sea Sediments” Apply Here
Bratt-“Effects of Redlining on Water Quality Across the Twin Cities Metro Area” Professor Bratt is not hiring student researchers for Summer 2026.
Phadke-“The Reimagining of the Upper Mississippi” Professor Phadke is not hiring student researchers for Summer 2026.
Geography
Haro-Carrión-“Land-use / land-cover change and their impacts on biodiversity in a highly human-modified landscapes in Ecuador”
Geology
Curry Rogers– “The Paleobiology of Late Cretaceous Dinosaurs and Their Contemporaries”
MacGregor-“Environmental Change in Glacier National Park, Montana” Professor MacGregor is not accepting student researchers for summer 2025.
Chapman– “Tectonics research.”
MSCS
Arehalli-“Predictive Processing in Language Production & Comprehension” Professor Arehalli is not accepting student researchers for summer 2026.
Diaz-“Rank Lists of Zig-Zag Matrices for Quiver Representations”
Fox-“Deep Learning for Robot Navigation” Apply Here
Jackson-“Drawing from Life in Extended Reality: Advancing Cross-Reality User Interfaces for Observational 3D Sketching” Apply Here
Johnson– “Trends in data science & statistics at small liberal arts colleges” Apply Here
Grinde-“Statistical genetics in populations with mixed ancestry” Professor Grinde is not accepting student researchers for summer 2026.
Mitchell-“Math Corps camp and/or Numerical Methods for Fluid Flows” Apply Here
Peña-“Design and Evaluation of Computing Workshops for Professional Non-programmers” Apply Here
Ziegelmeier-“Topological Data Analysis of Knowledge Networks”
Neuroscience/Psychology
Maddux-“Assessing the impact of reward change on Pavlovian conditioned approach behavior in rats.” Apply Here
Physics
Cannon-“Observational Astronomy”
Heyman-“Ultrafast Optical Spectroscopy of Novel Photoconductors” Apply Here
Williams-“Extragalactic Magnetic Fields”