Summer research?

<p>Well, I have an idea, I very vague idea, but, I wish to know...how do you get professors to work with you on research? I was thinking for research, to compare the efficiency of normal solar panels, those using carbon nanotubes, and those using quantum dots. It's an idea I have, I just have no way of going about it. How should I handle this? Should I contact a college professor and ask if they could help? Or should I try looking for a professor that is doing something like this for their own research and see if I can help? I wanted to do this for my science fair project for next year, as I am truly interested in alternative energy and chemistry, so this would be perfect for me. Also, if I should contact a college professor, how would I go about doing so? Should I just pick a random name of a random local college and ask? Sorry for the naievity and the endless questions, it's just a jumble of thoughts revolving in my head at the moment, and I need some advice so that I can order them into a plan.</p>

<p>go to some college departments website and look up the profs and their research interests, pick the one that sounds interesting and email him.</p>

<p>A lot of people get research help by consulting professors they had taken classes under. </p>

<p>It’s pretty tough to find a random professor who will do work with you, since they need to know your capabilities, worth ethic, etc., and this is tough to gauge over a few emails and phone calls.</p>

<p>You can also ask your teachers if they have any connections.</p>