Helping students learn how research is really done.

Ardent Research gives young scholars the opportunity to pursue original questions and experience the challenge, uncertainty, and discovery of real research.

Our programs are built around a simple idea: meaningful research requires more than access to an expert. Students need a clear process, the right technical support, and guidance that evolves as the project develops.

Ardent Research combines a structured research methodology with one-on-one mentorship. Students learn to develop a question, choose an appropriate method, work through the evidence, and communicate what they find with rigor.

Program leadership and principal mentors

Dr. Li and Dr. Ko are Ardent Research’s principal research mentors. Dr. Li leads topic selection with every scholar, while Dr. Ko coordinates projects from enrollment through completion. Both mentor students directly and hold weekly office hours.

Portrait of Dr. James Li

Dr. James Li

Program Director & Lead Research Mentor

B.S. Physics · M.S. Computer Science · Ph.D. Educational Psychology

Dr. Li is an educator, researcher, and technologist whose work spans physics, computer science, educational psychology, and artificial intelligence. A former university professor, he taught at the university level and directed graduate student research. His doctoral work focused on the use of AI in learning and instructional design.

He has spent more than two decades designing technology-enabled learning systems and previously served as a technical editor for AI Magazine. His work has included educational computing, e-learning, instructional design, artificial intelligence, and knowledge-management systems.

Dr. Li has also spent sixteen years mentoring pre-college student research. He served for six years as Co-President of the Orange County Science and Engineering Fair and for ten years on its board, and has guided students to recognition at the school, district, county, state, national, and international levels, including Broadcom MASTERS, OCSEF, ISEF, and the Regeneron Science Talent Search.

  • Research methodology
  • Data science & AI
  • Instructional design
  • Science-fair preparation
Portrait of Dr. Benjamin Ko

Dr. Benjamin Ko

Assistant Director & Research Mentor

Ph.D. Chemical Engineering

Dr. Ko is a researcher and educator with a background in chemical engineering, mathematics, and engineering. He earned his Ph.D. in chemical engineering in 2026 and currently conducts research and teaches differential mathematics and engineering at the University of California, Irvine.

He has worked with student researchers at Ardent for four years, helping students develop research questions, strengthen experimental and analytical methods, interpret results, carry projects from initial ideas through completion, and prepare for science-fair judging.

  • Chemical engineering
  • Mathematics
  • Engineering
  • Quantitative research

Our mentoring model

We build the team around the project.

Dr. Li and Dr. Ko provide continuity as research mentors. As a project becomes more specialized, Ardent brings in subject experts, coding coaches, or other technical support when the work requires it.

Research Mentors

Research mentors guide the overall intellectual development of the project. They help students refine questions, evaluate methodology, interpret evidence, and maintain the rigor expected of serious research.

Subject Experts

Subject experts contribute specialized knowledge when a project moves into a particular scientific or technical domain. Their role is to help ensure that the student’s question, assumptions, and interpretation are grounded in the field itself.

Coding Coaches

Coding coaches support computational work, including data preparation, model implementation, AI-assisted coding, debugging, analysis, and visualization.

Specialists are graduate researchers and working scientists in the relevant field, selected and briefed by Dr. Li for that project.

Dr. Li talking with one of his students at the county science-fair open house.
Dr. Li with one of his students at the county science-fair open house.
A coding coach working through code with a student at a laptop.
A coding coach working through code with a student.

Research is the student’s work

Mentors help students sharpen the question, learn the method, and solve technical problems. They guide the work without doing it for the student.

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