Undergraduate students in my group tend to pursue projects in one of two categories:
The first category is accessible to students who have only minimal scientific background, and involves using physics to create fun and engaging displays that are suitable for in-class demonstrations, campus events, or local high school outreach. Examples of this include musical Tesla coil band performances and the mobile quantum music application Qhord. These projects can often be coordinated with the physics club activities, SSLC or STEM-tor events, or uses of the GCI maker space.
The second category is more suitable for ambitious students who wish to get a taste for cutting-edge academic research, but are terrified of being responsible for running an entire project by themselves. I usually have ongoing research projects with postdoctoral scholars or graduate students, and undergraduate students are always welcome to participate. Most projects require a decent background in basic quantum mechanics, linear algebra, and calculus, as well as a bit of programming (usually in python, julia, or Mathematica). Particularly motivated students may take the lead on their own projects after absorbing enough background. Recent topics of research have included (but are not limited to): superconducting quantum computation, continuous quantum measurements, weak and generalized quantum measurements, weak value amplification and quantum metrology, quantum contextuality and nonlocality, and algebraic methods for physics. Previous students have published papers, attended conferences, participated in external summer REUs, and gone to graduate school.