Darren Pratt, junior biochemistry major from Childress, walks through the doors of the Nuclear Energy eXperimental Testing Laboratory. Swiping his ID against the scanner, he goes into the lab to work on a project he’s been on for the past year and a half. 

Pratt is one of many students at ACU who are getting the opportunity to work on real-world projects outside of the classroom. For years, student-involved research has been one of the main focuses of the university, emphasizing its mission of creating an innovative and caring community of Christian scholars.

Since achieving Research 3 status in 2022, the university has continued to expand research opportunities for students and faculty. In February 2025, ACU received R2 status from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. 

Last academic year, the total expenditure on research for the university was $8.8 million.

In addition to sharing knowledge and having a positive impact on the world, one of the goals of research at ACU is to challenge students and to give them opportunities to grow beyond what they learn in the classroom. Dr. Janet Donaldson, vice-president for research, said research and scholarship, especially at a Christian university, can shape how students see the world and how they will shape the future.

“[We] always focus on our students, that’s the heart of this university,” Donaldson said. “The most important goal for the university from this is to make sure that our students are equipped to be able to go out into the real world armed with that knowledge about how research works in different disciplines and applying that to different situations that they’re gonna be facing.”

One of the ways that students are able to get plugged into research is  at the Nuclear Energy eXperimental Testing Laboratory. The NEXT Lab, which was founded in 2015, is researching the uses of molten salt nuclear reactors for power generation, water purification and medical applications. 

In the full history of the lab, 272 students have worked on various projects. These students come from a variety of majors at the university, such as engineering, biochemistry, and physics.

Dr. Tim Head, NEXT Lab assistant director, said students have been a driver behind the work that is done at the lab.

“Since the lab started off, they have made a huge contribution to all the stuff that we’ve worked on,” Head said. “We certainly couldn’t have done it without them.”

Students can work full or part-time at the lab over the summer or the academic year. 

Since nuclear energy is the main driver behind the work at NEXT, a lot of work is going into the fine details of what will make the reactor work. One of these projects is a digital modeling project that Joshua Fischer, sophomore mechanical engineering major from Pensacola, Florida, is working on. His team is making a complete digital copy of the reactor to assist with maintenance and optimization.

Of course, there’s more to NEXT than just making the reactor work. Natalie Serrano, sophomore mechanical engineering major from Mesquite, is working on one of the projects centered around the potential medical applications of the reactor. Serrano works with a team of students looking at isotope extraction and purification for use in treating certain forms of cancer. 

“I have a really personal tie to it because a lot of my family has been affected by cancer,” Serrano said. “So if I can help all of these other people and have a tiny role in it, it would be really cool.”

On each of these projects, the students who are involved are assigned to a faculty mentor. These mentors aren’t there to control the flow of each project, but rather to guide the students and support them in their work.

“It’s a great system we have here,” Fischer said. “All the students have mentors, so everything is guided, everything is directed. But at the same time, we also have free rein to do what interests us the most.”

Beyond the work that is done in the lab, one of the biggest impacts that the lab has on its students is building relationships between them and their mentors.

“I’ve gotten to be really close with my mentors to the point where, when I graduate, I will miss them,” Pratt said. “I didn’t ever think that I would have this relationship with my teachers, where I appreciate them not only as academic supporters but also as friends.”

While around half of the university’s research budget went to NEXT last year, it isn’t the only thing the university has to offer when it comes to research on campus. Practically every department on campus is involved in some level of research. 

Several faculty members in the College of Biblical Studies are published authors, spreading the message of the Bible academically. The Department of Psychology received a grant that will be used to support the next generation of counselors. And on top of the work being done at NEXT, the College of Science and Engineering has had a project funded by the Department of Energy for the past 40 years. 

Furthermore, this April, the university will put on the 18th Annual Undergraduate Research, Creativity and Innovation Festival, highlighting the work of students across the university. 

Regardless of their major, students have the opportunity to share what they’ve learned, whether it is STEM research or arts performances.

“I have just been blown away by the research that’s going on here,” Donaldson said. “And I bet most people around campus don’t even know all the different research that’s going on.”

As Pratt and other students continue to work at NEXT and on other research projects around campus, they are coming up with new ideas and theories that could have  lasting impacts that go well beyond Abilene.