Research & Additional Opportunities
Spires, the Mercer University Undergraduate Research Journal
The Honors Program publishes Spires, Mercer's undergraduate research journal. Honors students serve as the editorial board for the publication, charged with producing a student research journal of the highest order. From the first "Call for Abstracts" to the final decision regarding which research will be published in the journal, Honors students are involved at each step.
Celebrating Achievement
The accomplishments of Mercer's Honors Program students are celebrated in a variety of ways. Some have their research selected for publication in Spires. Others participate in the annual spring Undergraduate Research Symposium. Seniors in the Honors Program are hosted each spring with a Senior Luncheon and hooding event where graduating seniors are awarded their baccalaureate hood. Honors Program graduates are the only Mercer graduates awarded a hood for wear at University Commencement.
Below is a listing of recent student projects.
| Name | Major | Title | Faculty Director(s) |
| Suzanne Bottorff | Political Science & Communications | "An American in Oxford: Applying French Continental Thought to Life Abroad" | Dr. Frank Macke |
| Andrew Boyd | International Affairs & Philosophy | "Stating Natures: Interpreting the Individual in Hobbes' Leviathan." | Dr. Eimad Houry & Dr. Charlotte Thomas |
| Kathryne Doornbos | Biology | "Prevalence and distribution of the causative agent of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in field-collected Dermacentor variabilis from the Great Smokey Mountain National Park, NC" | Dr. Alan Smith |
| Bailey Elliott | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | "Classic Mendelian Genetic Analyses of Drosophila Crosses" | Dr. Linda Hensel |
| Nathan Fowler | Business | "Skewed Politics: The Median Voter and the Left, Red, White, and Blue" | Dr. Scott Beaulier & Dr. Eimad Houry |
| Alan Franks | Economics and Entrepreneurial Management | "Free Market Principles in an Organizational Setting" | Dr. Scott Beaulier & Dr. Cheryl Tibus |
| Christiana Gorgans | History | "Fighting for the Rights of Georgia's Little Laborers: An Analysis of the Development of Child Labor Legislation in Bibb County, Georgia and the State of Georgia" | Dr. Sarah Gardner |
| Jennifer Flowers Lunday | English | "Louisa May Alcott's March Family Novels: Welcoming the New without Abandoning the True" | Dr. Anya Silver |
| Emilianne McCranie | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | "Synethic Efforts Toward the Development of Selective PPAR Ligands" | Dr. Kevin Bucholtz |
| Katie McQueen | Biochmeistry & Molecular Biology | "The Synthesis of Trilostane and its Derivations for the Inhibition of 3-Beta-Hydroxystroid Dehydrogenase Isomerase 1" | Dr. Kevin Bucholtz |
| Melissa Miller | Biology & French | "Detection of the causative agents of Lyme Disease and Ehrlichiosis in black-legged ticks collected from white-tailed deer of the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge" | Dr. Alan Smith |
| Meredith Millgan | English | "Representing American Mahood: The Prize-Winning Novels of Edith Wharton and Willa Cather" | Dr. Anya Silver |
| Kerry Moore | History | "The Fall of Sir Walter Raleigh" and "Anti-Semitism in the Roman Empire" | Dr. Sarah Gardner, Dr. Achim Kopp, & Dr. Scott Nash |
| Ashleigh Murphy | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | "Sequencing the CHM Chloroplast-Mutator" | Dr. Linda Hensel |
| Laura Nelms | Art | "Earthtones: Photography and Functional Pottery" | Dr. Gary Blackburn |
| Brett Odom | Political Science | "Peach State Voting Patterns in the Age of Obama: Expectations and Outcomes" | Dr. Chris Grant |
| Jacob O'Neal | Political Science | "The Federalist Papers: Lesson Planning Resource Modules for Upper Level Georgia High School Courses in American Government" | Dr. Will Jordan |
| Abigail Rowswell | French & Music | "La Renaissance de la musique folklorique en Bretagne (The Folk Music of Revival in Brittany)" | Dr. Anna Weaver |
| Hannah Smith | English | "Resplendent with Charms, Scant of Attractiveness: Women's Power in Petrarch and Rossetti" | Dr. Deneen Senasi |
| Steven Sumners | Business | "An Examination of the Use of Benford's Law to Detect Potential Fraud" | Dr. David McIntyre |
| Hannah Vann | Women's and Gender Studies | "Above and Below: Women's Organization Around Issues of Violence Against Women in Indonesia and Egypt" | Dr. Natalie Bourdon, Dr. Eimad Houry, & Dr. Sarah Gardner |