Dr. Margaret McMillan, associate professor of earth science, won the 2008 Kathleen Thomsen Hall Charitable Grant, awarded annually to support a member of the UALR faculty in their efforts to contribute to or enhance their own capacity in the arts, sciences, or education, Provost David O. Belcher announced today.

McMillan was awarded the grant to support her proposal, “Assessing the Sensitivity of Water to Surface, Soil, Rock and Cave conditions in Fitton Cave, northern Arkansas.” Earth Science Assistant Professor Amelia Robinson was co-author of the proposal.

Funding from the grant will allow McMillan and Robinson to evaluate water quality as it travels through a karst aquifer. Since this is typical of Arkansas’ geological structure, this research will make an important contribution to water resource management in Arkansas. UALR faculty from nine departments submitted 21 proposals in this year’s Thomsen Hall grant competition.

The Kathleen Thomsen Hall Charitable Trust Grant is competitively awarded annually to full-time faculty and professional staff at UALR in any academic field. This grant is administered by UALR on behalf of the trust, the sole purpose of which is to support scholarly activity in the arts and sciences.