UA Little Rock’s Donaghey Scholars spring graduates will present their final project presentations May 7-9.

The 45-minute presentations will take place in Dickinson Hall Room 209 and will showcase the projects the honors students have worked on the past year. The final projects are an integral part of the Donaghey Scholars curriculum.

“They must be a substantial piece of individual work, and as such are a crucial component to Scholars life after college. They aren’t just learning about how to do things; they are doing them, and that makes them competitive to employers and graduate schools,” said Simon Hawkins, director of the Donaghey Scholars program. “The range is always staggering, from chemistry research to novel drafts to political analyses to important work for community groups. It is particularly pleasing to see so many projects have a community focus.”

Historically, about a third of the projects have been centered on the community. Many projects are research-oriented, such as examining the water quality in Fourche Creek or studying the soil in different enclosures at the Little Rock Zoo, while other students have gathered data specifically for community organizations, such as the Historic Arkansas Museum. Still others provide direct services for community groups, designing web pages for schools and developing fundraising programs for nonprofits. Over the years, several  entrepreneurial students have turned their final projects into thriving businesses, Hawkins said.

The presentation schedule is as follows:

Tuesday, May 7

10-10:45  Luke Tyhurst – Rykos: Interactive Problem Solving for the Modern World

11-11:45  Julie O’Hara – The Effects of Elite Discourses on Secessionist Movements

12-12:45  Ingrid Helgestad – The Evolution of a Novel Medical Device: Solving the Problem of Unplanned Extubations in ICUs

1-1:45 p.m.  Jessica Morris – Evaluating Variations in Soil Composition Among Enclosures at the Little Rock Zoo

2-2:45 p.m.  Nicole Ursin – Understanding Museum Demographics: Historic Arkansas Museum

Wednesday, May 8

12-12:45  Willow Moyer – Gibbs Elementary Website Project and Web Portfolio

1-1:45  Alex Palmer – Medical Marijuana and Federalism

3-3:45  Grishma KC – Characterization of a Novel Multi-Copper Cyanobacterial Laccase

4-4:45  Taemora Williams – Grassroots Fundraising: A Sustainable Development Plan for Partners in Knowledge

Thursday, May 9

9-9:45 a.m.  Mirah Dievernich – Cell Phone Use in the Neonatal  Intensive Care Unit

10-10:45 a.m. Abigail Resendiz – Vascugenix Business Plan: Bringing a Medical Device to Market

11-11:45 a.m. Maxwell Campbell – Potential Impacts of Endocrine Disrupting Compounds on the Fourche Creek Ecosystem

12-12:45 p.m.  Arooba Ilyas – Purification of Water Using Different Adsorbents

3-3:45 p.m.  Tyler Maxwell – De Novo Biosynthesis of Resveratrol in Metabolically-Engineered Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803