The ϳԹ Office of Undergraduate Research (formerly called ϳԹ Discover) supports student participation in faculty-mentored research and professional-level activities. Programs available to ϳԹ students include the ϳԹ Museum of Art summer project program, the Distinguished Undergraduate Research Program, Explorers Program for Freshmen, the Gulf Scholars Program, the Special Collection Summer Project Program, Summer Programs and REUS at ϳԹ, and the President’s Future Leaders in Research.
Learn more about the many undergraduate research opportunities at ϳԹ!
Some Past College of Art & Design Participants
Kayla Dearman, BFA/Digital Art Class of 2024

Kayla Dearman, BFA 2024, has invented a new way to emulate water for stop motion animation using hydrogels. Photo courtesy of ϳԹ Discover Undergraduate Research program
Dearman is the first in her family to go to college and the first to come up with a new technique to emulate water for stop motion animation, using non-toxic and biodegradable hydrogels, with support from the ϳԹ McNair Research Scholars program and anfrom the ϳԹ Discover Undergraduate Research program..
Arden McMillin, BFA/Photography Class of 2019
Arden McMillin, BFA 2019, received an ϳԹ Discover undergraduate research grant for her photography project “Home and History: an investigation into the complexity of small southern towns that never left the Civil War.”Arden is from Natchez, Mississippi, a historic town known for the Spring Pilgrimage tableaux, and massive plantation homes. Her photography project explores her hometown’s complicated history. “As a visual artist and photographer, my research investigates the complexity of small southern towns that never left the Civil War,” she said. “I am exploring the idea that the antebellum townscape appears changeless—without history.”
Jessica Wasiloski, Architecture Class of 2013
Jessica graduated Summa Cum Laude in May 2013 from the College of Art & Design. Each semester, she was on the Dean’s List and Chancellor’s Honor Roll. While at ϳԹ, she completed a multi-semester research project. Her research was centered on designing temporary housing facilities for port workers in Port Fourchon, Louisiana, which has lost 87% of its habitable land in the last decade. Jessica recognized the need to create a building that represents the ever-changing environment of the area, selecting materials and designing the facility “to move, grow, and reflect change” over time. During her research, Jessica worked extensively with the staff of the ϳԹ Coastal Sustainability Studio as well as with the director of Port Fourchon. Her Honors thesis title references this experience: “Temporal Hotel: Architectural Response to a Fluid Landscape.”