AIM Program (Advanced Immersion and Mentoring)
The mission of the Advanced Immersion and Mentoring (AIM) initiative is to instill an increased sense of confidence and belonging within incoming first-year students through immersive research and programming with W&L faculty and staff. The program offers residential and virtual opportunities.
2025 AIM Details
The AIM Scholars Summer Program will be delivered in two formats in the summer of 2025.
- The residential five-week experience will run from Sunday, June 15, to Saturday, July 19.
- The virtual one-week experience will run from Monday, July 21, to Friday, July 25, with an early move-in on Wednesday, August 20, for special programming for cohort participants.
The priority application deadline for both experiences is set on Friday, April 18 at midnight. The final deadline to apply is Monday, May 5 at midnight.
Both formats will include a variety of sessions to address academic opportunities and resources, exercises in leadership development, and tips and tools to support an increased sense of belonging and overall well-being at W&L.
Those who are selected to participate in the residential five-week experience will also have the opportunity to work with faculty and peer mentors in active and ongoing research or collaborate on an exciting new project in a specific liberal arts discipline. Moreover, those who are selected to participate in the virtual experience will have the opportunity to move to campus early for additional programming, as well as to meet and greet with various faculty and staff members before participating in a Leading Edge trip.
If you are applying for the residential experience, please note the following:
- To be eligible to apply for and participate in the residential AIM program, students must:
- Hold United States citizenship.
- Be authorized to work in the US.
These eligibility requirements exist because residential AIM participants are hired as summer research and immersion student workers (or employees). If you have questions about your eligibility to apply to the program, please email studentemployment@wlu.edu.
Please note that any incoming first-year student is eligible to apply for and participate in the virtual experience of AIM. An example of a previous virtual schedule is shown in the "Virtual Experience" section below for students in different time zones.
Personal and Professional Development
Both the residential and virtual experiences offer personal and professional development opportunities, which are designed to engage scholars across the community, offer intentional leadership development, and expose scholars to available resources. These sessions include the following:
| Topic | Description |
|---|---|
| Community & Engagement | AIM Scholars participate in introductory discussions about campus resources and involvement, team building, and volunteerism. Scholars engage with campus professionals and student leaders in areas across student life, including Student Activities, Greek Life, Campus Recreation, Office of Inclusion and Engagement, and Residential Life. |
| Leadership Education | AIM Scholars complete the CliftonStrengths assessment to identify their unique strengths, and how to meet optimal performance through intentional application of their strengths. AIM Scholars will also engage in a My Values inventory and conversation, as well as learn the importance of mentorship and how to identify potential mentors. This module also lays the groundwork for scholars to consider taking on leadership roles during their second year at W&L, part of the second learning objective of the AIM initiative. |
| Career and Professional Development | AIM Scholars learn how to navigate online career resources, including Handshake - an online career development tool. Exposure to the Career and Professional Development Office provides scholars with an opportunity to increase self-awareness and make contacts for related questions when they come to campus as W&L students. |
| Tips for College Success | AIM Scholars understand what to expect in the fall term. We promote a liberal arts approach to learning and focus on topics such as first-year seminars, writing in the curriculum, foundation requirements, etc. We introduce students to campus resources, including the writing center, academic and executive function support, study halls for STEM, and tutoring services. These discussions help students to understand the role of such components in building critical thinking skills, gaining a more diverse educational perspective, and exposing them to curricular opportunities that they may not have experienced in high school. |
Residential Experience
Watch a short video about the residential experience:
Available Academic Immersion Projects
As part of the residential experience, AIM Scholars will participate in active or ongoing research or collaborate on a new project within a specific liberal arts discipline. 2025 projects are listed below.
| Academic Immersion Project/Focus | Faculty Mentor(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Machine Learning Models of Beliefs, Values, and Expectations | Jon Eastwood | Machine learning models are widely used by computational statisticians in order to make predictions. Here we will apply them to global survey data to predict whether survey respondents believe other people -- and public institutions -- to be trustworthy. We'll use those models to find the strongest predictors of trust and distrust in data drawn from international public opinion surveys as well as sources that document how various countries' institutions and economies perform and measures of various demographic characteristics of these populations. If you join this project, you'll work alongside more experienced students and a professor to implement and interpret such models. This would be a great placement if you're interested in quantitative and computational approaches to social science questions. It would be almost equally suitable, though, for students interested in more general applications of such tools, since the models are basically the same whether applied to questions in sociology, biology, finance, etc. |
| Unraveling the Spider's Circadian Clock | Natalia Toporikova | Are you fascinated by the intricate workings of nature's timekeepers? Do you have a passion for interdisciplinary research? Are you ready to spin a web of knowledge about arachnid chronobiology? If so, we have an exciting summer research opportunity for you! During this project, you will learn how to care for lab spiders and carry out the project on spider mortality. The requirements for this project are acute animal observation skills, the ability to make graphs in Excel, and a clear and direct communication style. |
| Bedrock Erosion by Plucking; Experimental Flume Analysis | Dave Harbor |
Since 2015, we have investigated the process of plucking, which is the removal of bedrock blocks from streams and dam spillways by hydraulic forces alone. We use an experimental flume to conduct experiments and are collaborating with a team from UC-Davis that does numerical modeling of erosion in our turbulent flows. This summer we will use a new flume to conduct many experiments with varying slope, discharge, block shape, and nonuniform flow conditions. We will collect video for block motion, flow in the bedrock and water surface profiling synced with digital data including pressure and turbulence. See it for yourself: https://vimeo.com/892423876. |
| Measuring Physiological Parameters in Ground Squirrels that Hibernate | Jessica LaPrice | How do hibernators get so fat in the autumn without getting sick? How do they reproduce with basically no fat reserves in the spring? Dr. LaPrice's lab studies mechanisms of energy balance in 13-lined ground squirrels, so AIM Scholars will work with W&L Summer Research Scholars to help answer these and other questions. Activities will include learning to ethically handle lab animals, assisting with blood draws and physiological measurements, working with molecular biology techniques in the lab, and learning to read and discuss scientific literature. |
| Developing Safer Chemotherapeutics | Sarah Kim | Dr. Kim's lab focuses on developing safer and more effective chemotherapeutics for children with brain cancer. You may have heard about how chemotherapeutics can cause side effects such as hair loss, nausea, and vomiting. These side effects are more severe when given to children, who may experience lifelong hearing loss, vision loss, or learning disabilities. Scholars will learn about current challenges and promising new therapies for treating children with brain tumors. In the lab, scholars will learn to prepare therapeutics. This work is done in collaboration with a pediatric neuro- oncologist at Duke University. |
| Analyzing Cellular Susceptibility to Mobile Genetic Elements | Kyle Friend | Close to half the human genome is made up of transposable, or mobile, elements (TEs) that are DNA sequences which can duplicate themselves. Throughout life, there is a low risk that cells will be damaged by TE migration, but that risk accumulates, and TEs are associated with aging and increased risk of cancer. Currently, we have little information about the types of cells that are most susceptible to TE movement, and that will be the focus of our research this summer. |
| Spider Silk Genetics | Nadia Ayoub | The Ayoub lab is broadly interested in molecular evolution of cool spider protein systems. This summer, an AIM scholar would work with returning research students to clone and express spider silk genes in bacteria. These techniques draw on molecular genetics and biochemistry tools. There is additionally the option to complete data analysis to identify and quantify the protein components of adhesive silks in 17 spider species. |
| Finding Exquisite Integers | Carrie Finch-Smith | One of the coolest numbers is 509203, and another interesting number is 78557. These numbers have a fascinating property, and this research project focuses on finding other numbers that also have it. There are Fibonacci numbers that have this special property, as well as Lucas numbers, Perrin numbers, Padovan numbers, triangular numbers, Nexus numbers, ...you get the idea. We will look for other sequences of numbers that also contain numbers with this interesting property. |
| Comparing AI Music to Human Composed Music using Benford's Law | Sybil Prince Nelson | Join Dr. Prince Nelson's Summer Research Lab and explore the intersection of math, music, and AI. This summer, you'll dive into the fascinating world of the Benford distribution to analyze and classify music. We aim to answer questions like: Can Benford's law differentiate AI-created music from human-composed pieces, or predict a song's popularity? You'll gain hands-on experience writing programs to create original music while collaborating with a supportive research team. Whether you're interested in coding, music, or love solving challenging problems, this is a chance to push your creativity and critical thinking to new heights. No prior experience is needed-but a love of music (especially Kpop) is welcome! |
| Reciprocal Interaction Between Pesticide-Induced Shifts in the Tadpoles' Gut Microbiome and the Epigenome | Leah Lanier and Fiona Watson | It is well established that the gut microbiome can affect the health of the brain and central nervous system. The central aim of our project is to develop a detailed understanding of the impact of chronic subacute low-level exposures to different classes of pesticides and herbicides, similar to the kinds of exposure humans obtain from their food and environment on a daily basis, can affect the composition of the gut microbiome. Specifically, this summer we plan to determine whether there are associated changes in the tadpoles' epigenome. |
| Using 2nd and 3rd Generation Generative AI to Discover Novel Approaches to Genome Annotation | Gregg Whitworth | All modern biomedical studies conducted at a systems level depend on high quality genome annotation. But there are a very small number of organisms for which high quality genome annotations exist. This problem frustrates work in both model research organisms and in mammalian genomes closely related to humans. Efforts were made 20 years ago to use ML techniques to pseudo automate the annotation of genes, most of which largely failed. Recent advances in LLM-based approaches suggest the time may have come for this approach to finally be useful and productive. Professor Whitworth's team is interested in recruiting new students to work on both the computational project and bench validation. |
| Critical Mineral (rare earth element and yttrium) Extraction by Biotic Manganese Oxides Associated with Acidic Mine Drainage | Margaret Anne Hinkle | With the projected growth in renewable energy and technology sectors along with their increasing reliance on critical minerals such as rare earth elements, yttrium, and manganese, identifying domestic sources of these critical minerals is essential. Large volumes of solid waste containing critical minerals are generated every year as a byproduct of acid mine drainage remediation. Within the United States, acid mine drainage remains an ongoing environmental issue. Professor Hinkle's research will examine the potential of adapting acid mine drainage remediation systems to produce critical minerals in economically viable concentrations. The research will investigate the impact of a variety of biogeochemical conditions (such as pH, sulfate concentrations, and the presence of microbes) on rare earth elements and yttrium (REYs) uptake by hydrous manganese (Mn) oxide minerals in acid mine drainage remediation systems. These results will help identify the optimal conditions for concentrating REYs in acid mine drainage remediation systems for the recovery of these critical minerals from unconventional domestic sources, while remediating harmful metal-laden acid mine drainage. |
| Exploring Wine Chemistry Through GCMS and NMR Spectroscopy! | Connell Cunningham | Professor Cunningham's research will continue to explore the chemistry of wine, focusing on key compounds such as sugars (glucose and fructose), tannins, and acids that influence flavor and quality. Using analytical techniques like Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GCMS) and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, the Cunningham team will work to quantify and analyze these compounds in collaboration with local vineyards and businesses. |
| Energy-Driven Pattern Formation; Physics-Informed Neural Networks | Chong Wang | Professor Wang's summer research will comprise of two projects. Project 1: We are interested in energy-driven pattern formation in multi-constituent physical and biological systems. The total energy of these systems includes two terms. The first term, called the growth part, favors large domains with minimum interface. The second term, called the inhibition part, prefers small domains. Exquisitely structured patterns arise as the balance of these two terms. Examples include morphological phases in block copolymers, animal coats, and skin pigmentation. Project 2: Neural networks are computational models inspired by the structure of the human brain, capable of learning from data and making predictions or decisions. Physics-informed neural networks (PINNs) are a machine learning approach that incorporates physical laws into the learning process of neural networks. Unlike traditional neural networks that primarily rely on data-driven methods, PINNs combine data with physical constraints (such as partial differential equations and ordinary differential equations) to enhance their modeling capability and prediction accuracy for complex scientific problems. |
| Humanitarianism: Concept and Practice | Mohamed Kamara | Why and how do we undertake humanitarian actions? Why, for example, is Europe so quick and generous in its support of fleeing Ukrainians when it does everything to prevent non-European migrants from crossing into its territories? Is it because, as the governing pigs in George Orwell's 1945 novel, Animal Farm, proclaim: "All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others"? How do we explain the kind of thinking that sees some humans as superior and others as inferior? Who deserves to be helped? Who doesn't? Where is the 'human' in humanitarianism? Specific focus will be on the life and work of two Western humanitarians who lived, worked, and died in Equatorial Africa during the first half of the twentieth century: Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) and William McCutchan Morrison (1867-1918). Through this immersive work, students will hone their research skills and further their knowledge about humanitarianism as a global concept and practice. |
| Enslavement at Liberty Hall: Uncovering the Archaeology and Forgotten History of W&L's Iconic Back Campus | Donald Gaylord | During the summer of 2025, Professor Gaylord will continue his research at Liberty Hall, the location of the iconic 18th-century campus of our predecessor institution, Liberty Hall Academy. In the 1970s, Professor John McDaniel and roughly a decade of W&L students excavated here, focusing largely on the academic period of the site's occupation (1782-1803). Professor Gaylord's research has shown that after the Liberty Hall Academy House burned down in January 1803, the two subsequent landowners held roughly one hundred African Americans in bondage at Liberty Hall as the labor force for agriculture and light industry over the years between 1803 and the American Civil War. Our work this summer will focus on excavation in the yard spaces around the Foundation at Liberty Hall-Liberty Hall Structure 9-the academy's Steward's House/Dining Hall, which later served as the center of enslaved life at Liberty Hall Plantation. Enslaved people lived here, but they also likely operated a forge, cooked and ate, performed washerwoman and seamstress work, and operated one of the earliest African American schoolhouses in the Valley of Virginia. Additionally, we will concentrate on artifact processing and analysis in trying to understand what life was like for the people held in bondage at Liberty Hall. We will excavate while the weather allows, we will process and analyze the sediments and artifacts when the weather keeps us indoors, and we will visit archives in Rockbridge and Augusta County that hold many of the documents related to Liberty Hall. |
| Politics, LGBTQ Identity, Morality, Accuracy. & AI and Education Study | Jacob Gibson | Dr. Gibson and his team are working on three projects. One project is looking at the accuracy of making judgments of individuals from the LGBTQIA+ community. The second project is looking at personality, moral reasoning, and the accuracy of judgments based on political affiliation. We are also working on a project looking at how AI is used in the classroom and how it is helping and harming students. |
| Assessing Drinking Water Suitability and Challenges of Springs and Private Wells in Virginia | Madhumita Chakraborty | Did you know that over 1.7 million Virginians rely on private wells for their drinking water, while many others turn to roadside springs? These unregulated water sources are a lifeline for many households, yet their safety and quality remain a pressing concern. Here's where you come in! Join an exciting research project that dives into the heart of spring and private well water quality in Rockbridge County and the surrounding areas. Together, we'll explore critical questions, such as: (a) What contaminants are lurking in our springs and wells, if any? (b) How many people are at risk from these contaminants? (c) Who is most at risk from exposure to these contaminants? Are certain communities more vulnerable than others? (d) Do the contaminant profiles in spring water differ from those in well water? In other words, are spring water users exposed to a different set of contaminants than well water users? By participating, you'll gain hands-on experience in water sampling, analyzing contamination patterns, and GIS-based spatial data analysis while making a real-world impact. This project isn't just about water testing-it's about connecting science to society. Your efforts will contribute to identifying inequities in water access and guiding potential interventions to ensure safe drinking water for all. Interested? Let's tackle these essential questions together and make a difference! |
| Technology, Health and Cognition Lab | Karla Murdock and Wythe Whiting | Students will be working on three ongoing programs of research in the THaC Lab using a range of methodologies. The first program utilizes actigraphy to examine associations between daily physical activity and well-being. The second utilizes survey methods and objective measures to examine cognitive and affective processes surrounding the valuation of different emotional states. The third utilizes qualitative data analyses to explore themes in a body of large-scale participatory art installations. |
Note: If you have questions about a specific academic immersion project, please contact the appropriate faculty member directly.
Other Experiential Learning Opportunities
AIM Scholars participating in the residential experience also participate in the following opportunities:
- AIM Scholars engage in service with The Campus Kitchen at Washington and Lee (CKWL).
- AIM Scholars are introduced to the Integrative and Quantitative (IQ) Center and, with help from faculty and institutional technology support staff, complete a self-selected project using IQ Center technology and present their work at the end of the AIM experience. This project mimics a portion of a typical college course.
In addition to the above, AIM Scholars work on a personal reflection, addressing the value of the AIM summer experience and how it translates into their college years. Scholars present their personal reflections to members of the AIM Scholars Summer Program Leadership Team and faculty mentors at the end of the five weeks, alongside an overview of each scholar's academic work and their experiences working in their teams.
Virtual Experience
Available Faculty Panels
As part of their virtual experience, AIM Scholars attend and engage panels comprised of faculty members who represent opportunities available in the liberal arts curriculum. Below is a sample of panels that were presented in previous virtual programs:
| Faculty Presenters | Academic Discipline/Topic |
|---|---|
| Jenefer Davies, Andrea Lepage, Stephanie Sandberg | The Arts - Dance, Theater, Art History |
| Melissa Vise, Diego Millan, Genelle Gertz | English and History |
| Nadia Ayoub, Irina Mazilu, Jon Erickson, Carrie Finch-Smith, Kyle Friend, Gregg Whitworth, Sarah Blythe | STEM Fields - Biology, Neuroscience, Physics, Engineering, Mathematics, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Health Professions |
| Donald Gaylord, Brian Alexander, Art Goldsmith, Jim Casey | Social Sciences - Anthropology, Politics, Economics |
| Mackenzie Brooks | Digital Culture Information |
| Aliaa Bassiouny, Linda Hooks | Business |
| Gregg Whitworth, Natalia Toporikova | Data Science |
| Mark Coddington | Journalism and Strategic Communications |
| Eric Moffa, Haley Sigler | Teaching and Education |
| Mark Rush, Cindy Irby | Study Abroad |
| Jon Eastwood, Jenny Davidson, Marisa Charley | Community-Based Learning |
Note: Academic topics and presenters are subject to change for the 2025 AIM Scholars Summer virtual experience.
Watch a Short Video About the Virtual Experience:
Sample Schedule
| Virtual Schedule | |||||
| Time (Eastern) | Mon. | Tue. | Wed. | Thurs. | Fri. |
| 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. | X | X | Leadership Development: Defining Mentorship | Student Leadership Panel | X |
| 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. | Introduction and Team-Building | Leadership Development: Clifton Strengths | Simulated Class | X | Introduction to Career and Professional Development |
| 3:00 - 4:30 p.m. | Student Engagement Panel | Faculty Panels | Faculty Panels | Faculty Panels | Program Wrap-Up |
| 5:00 - 6:30 p.m. | X | Introduction to the Office of Inclusion and Engagement | X | X | X |
| 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. | X | X | X | X | X |
| Times TBA | Programming with PA's | Programming with PA's | X | X | X |
Note: This is only one sample cohort schedule from a previous AIM Scholars Summer virtual experience. Another cohort schedule may include more programs in the 7:00pm-8:30pm time bracket. Moreover, schedules are subject to change for the 2025 virtual AIM Scholars Summer program.
Other Expectations
AIM Scholars who are selected to participate in the virtual experience are expected to move into their residence hall on the morning of Wednesday, August 20, in advance of participating in a Leading Edge trip. The purpose of an early move-in is for students to engage in follow-up sessions from their virtual experience, connect with their fellow scholars and W&L faculty and staff, and get a head start on familiarizing themselves with campus and other resources.
If you have questions about which program to pursue, or other general questions, please contact Leah Beard. We look forward to receiving your application!