Undergraduate Research Signature Experience recipients announced

Seventy-nine University of Arkansas at Little Rock students have been selected as the inaugural recipients of the Undergraduate Research Signature Experience Awards for spring 2018. Chancellor Andrew Rogerson introduced the awards in fall 2017 to inspire UA Little Rock undergraduate students to conduct research and creative projects. Each of the recipients will receive up to $1,000 to cover the cost of materials for this one-semester signature experience in research or creative works. “It is our goal for all students to have the opportunity to have a Signature Experience during their time at UA Little Rock – one in which they actively engage in creative work with faculty,” Dr. Rogerson said. “Not only will their academic experience be enriched by these connections, but they in turn will enrich the lives of others who benefit from the research. It is also my hope that it will help students engage with their major and consider graduate school.” UA Little Rock is one of only two Arkansas higher education institutions with Carnegie designation for doctoral research. “With the Chancellor’s recognition, and strong support for undergraduate research, the university will enable valuable research experiences between our faculty mentors and our students,” said Dr. Velmer Burton, executive vice chancellor and provost. “This is further evidence at work of the value that our teacher-scholar model has for both students and faculty.” Daryl Rice, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs, noted that undergraduate research is tied to increased student persistence and graduation. “This is not surprising,” Rice said. “Undergraduate research gives students a special connection to a living scholar and provides an exhilarating taste of actually doing science, of doing sociological, historical or psychological research themselves, which has a big motivational effect.” The students’ projects range across disciplines and include topics such as a study of coral reef disease on San Salvador Island, a law review of tenant-landlord laws in Arkansas, an analysis of student perceptions of open education resources, the construction of a thermochemical system for conversion of municipal solid waste into fuel, and a reproduction of Egyptian faience ceramic techniques. “There were outstanding projects across the colleges,” said Dr. Jeremy Ecke, chair of the Student Research and Creative Works Committee. “The committee was particularly heartened to see proposals from the fine arts, theater and dance, music, math, and other disciplines that have been underrepresented in the annual research and creative works expo. This year’s launch of an expanded Student Research and Creative Works Showcase is off to a great start. I hope the awards will inspire other students to showcase their work in the spring.” Recipients of the Signature Experience Awards will exhibit their work at the Student Research and Creative Works Showcase on April 12 in the Jack Stephens Center. The showcase is open to all students across disciplines. Applications will be accepted beginning Jan. 1, 2018. Students interested in presenting work at the showcase or who want to learn more are asked to respond to a survey of interest. The Signature Experience Award winners by their respective colleges are as follows: College of Arts, Letters, and Sciences Reem Al-Shukri, Nanotechnology Emily Anderson, Chemistry Marina Avram, Chemistry Erin Beeman, Philosophy & Interdisciplinary Studies Lilly Bessette, Biology Becky Blackburn, Fine Art Andrew Blackwell, Art & Design Marvin Bonney, Physics and Astronomy Kenneth Burnett, Biology Brock Butler, Chemistry Michael Caysido, Music-Piano Performance Amairani Paredes-Cheguen, Biology Nathaniel Darbonne, English Jenish Desai, Chemistry Corrie Green, Theatre, Arts and Dance Jake Green, English Kristen Gregory, Biology Robert Hill, Chemistry Davonte Hokes, Chemistry Thomas Jackson, Theatre Arts and Dance Travis Lewison Jumper, Chemistry Emily E. Junkans, English/ World Languages Grishma Kc, Biology Amy King, History/Secondary Education William King, Biology (working with CINS) Cameryn Kirkham, English Samantha Macchi, Chemistry Katie Matthews, Biology Tyler Maxwell, Biology Rebecca Parker-Moreira, Chemistry Joy Madeline Reinbold, English Grace Rutter, Biology Paloma Salazar, Chemistry James Sellers, Chemistry Alaa Mohammed Shahare, Biology Kimber Stout, Physics Daniel Stuckey, Chemistry Zaria Sumler, Biology Sylvia Szewdo, Chemistry Thuy Thanh Le, Chemistry Conor VanLierop, Theatre Justice Williams, Biology LeShonta Williams, Chemistry Tori Williams, English Scott Wolf, Math and Statistics Dylan Wright, World Languages College of Education and Health Professions Cynthia Wyman, School of Social Work College of Social Sciences and Communication Charlana Benefiel, Political Science Desiree Doyle, Applied Communication Jesse Horton, Criminal Justice Saiyeeda Hossain, Sociology and Anthropology Cassandra Lester, Criminal Justice Chloe Moses, Rhetoric and Writing Trye Price, Criminal Justice Christina Redmann, Political Science Courtney Reed, Sociology and Anthropology Nigel Spears, Applied Communication Emily Summers, Anthropology Kimberly Thornton, Rhetoric and Writing Nicole Ursin, Anthropology George W. Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology Bergras Asgeirsdottir, Engineering Anderson Banihirwe, Computer Science Rebecca Bishop, Earth Science Kayla Bolin, Earth Science Pablo Centeno, Engineering Technology John Graham, System Engineering J’von Jackson, Engineering Technology Nicholas Lester, Information Science Joshua Miller, Engineering Technology Tarang Parikh, Engineering Technology Olivia Pate, Earth Science Jason Simmons, Earth Science Zachary Smith, Earth Science College of Business Madeline Burke, Marketing & Advertising Deepali Lal, International Business and Human Resource Management Abigail Resebdiz, Business Logan Vickery, Economics Ian Wren, Marketing Ottenheimer Library Amanda Pennington, Collections and Archives In the upper right photo, students work on a physics project in Ottenheimer Library. Photo by Lonnie Timmons III / UA Little Rock Communications.