Pre-proposed projects (2020-2021)

Below are some descriptions of projects that you could be a part of if you joined Project Ignite. We write out some directions the project could take, but ultimately it will be up to you and your teammates. If none of these interest you, consider proposing your own project!

If you’re thinking about proposing your own project but you’re not sure where to start, our advice is to start with your own life. What inconveniences do you face on a day-to-day basis? What solutions might exist to these problems? We're excited to see what you come up with. But remember, it has to be feasible remotely for the 2020-2021 semester.

You could also view archived projects from past years.

Politics in the Information Age

Description: With the polarization and divisive politics in our contemporary society, what can we do to make changes and help make this world a better place? Create a website, app, design workshops, or studies to make an impact on our community and help people engage in peace talks, local politics, and gain different perspectives.

Keywords: social study, peace study, political science

Video Game Trailer

Description: Creating a game requires an extraordinary amount of effort and even more time, but a trailer allows an audience to begin forming while game creation is still underway. What makes a good trailer? Let's come up with a video game and create some enticing music and visuals to put together an amazing trailer!

Keywords: video game design, filmmaking, graphics, music

Environmental Technology 

Description: Faced with a slough of environmental challenges, how could we use technology to create novel solutions? Creating an app to track people's footprint, building a prototype of some robotics devices, simulating a model with real-world data... Come up with your own idea, and we're here to help!

Keywords: environment, technology, hardware, software

Cookie Recipe Optimization

Description: Everyone likes cookies, and your grandparents may even have some secret recipe. But we as 21st-century cookie-lovers won't be satisfied with that -- we want the BEST cookie recipe! We're going to refine and optimize cookie recipes with machine learning. Warning: It is not just baking and tasting cookies, you're evaluating your algorithms!

Keywords: machine learning, food science, Bayesian optimization

Interstellar Exploration

Description: We've got a space probe with only a finite amount of fuel. How do we determine which planets to explore and in what order? What kind of visualizer and artistic styles should we use to represent this endeavor? Let's identify some stars of interests, and learn some cool algorithmic tips that help us solve the problem!

Keywords: astronomy, algorithm, traveling salesman problem

AI-m of the Game

Description: You may think you're a pro gamer, but you haven't yet faced your toughest opponent: Artificial Intelligence. See how well you can battle against our AI agents in Snake, chess, checkers, etc., then learn how to build one yourself!

Keywords: artificial intelligence, game, programming

Psychology of the Community

Description: Psychology research helps us examine some really important problems in humans and our community. For example, how has your community’s  mental and physical health been influenced by the pandemic? Let's design some behavioral experiments and learn about the psychology questions that you care about!

Keywords: psychology, experimental design, statistical survey, data analysis, cognitive task analysis