Dr. Mark Seigar, assistant professor of physics and astronomy in UALR’s College of Science and Mathematics, was elected vice president of the Arkansas Academy of Science by members of the academy.

Dr. Seigar will serve for one year as vice president, the following year as president-elect, the next year as president, and following that, a year as past president.

The Arkansas Academy of Science began meeting in 1917 as a group of scientists wishing to establish regular avenues of communication with one another and promote science and the dissemination of scientific information in the state.

The Academy is a non-partisan, non-political, professional organization consisting of scientists who promote science in the state and region. The specific areas of science include, but are not limited to, biomedical, botany, plant science, chemistry, physics, astronomy, engineering, geology, environmental science, ecology, invertebrate zoology, and vertebrate zoology.

The Academy supports science in the state by providing grants and scholarships to both undergraduate and graduate students. The AAS is also affiliated with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). A representative from the Academy attends the annual AAAS meeting.