Six University of Arkansas at Little Rock students and two faculty members had the opportunity to attend one of the largest earth and space science conferences in the world. 

The group attended the American Geophysical Union conference Dec. 11-15 in New Orleans, where more than 20,000 oral and poster presentations occurred during the five-day event.

“The students had the opportunity to present their own original research, observe the presentations from experts in their fields, interact with researchers at all levels and from a wide array of different institutions, partake in professional development workshops and networking events, and meet with potential graduate schools,” Earth Sciences Instructor Joshua Spinler said.

The attendees include Spinler; Tom Colby, visiting assistant professor of earth sciences; Kayla Bolin, senior geology major; Olivia Pate, junior geology major; Jason Simmons, senior geology major; and Jeffrey Baggett, Matthew Carey, and Kalyca Spinler, graduate students in the Applied Science program.

“The students also had the opportunity to see presentations in topics that are not part of the UA Little Rock Earth Sciences curriculum, which allows them to expand their geologic knowledge base,” Spinler said.

Three students presented research conducted with a faculty mentor, Dr. Laura Ruhl, assistant professor of earth sciences.

They include:

•      Bolin, “Water Quality Assessment of the Buffalo River, Arkansas, United States”
•      Carey, “Spatial and Temporal Water Quality Dynamics in the Lake Maumelle Reservoir: Geochemical and Planktonic Variance in a Drinking Water Source”
•      Simmons, “Urbanization Effects on Floodplain Sediments in the Fourche Creek Wetlands in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States”

In the upper right photo, University of Arkansas at Little Rock students attending the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, from left to right, are Matthew Carey, Kalyca Spinler, Olivia Pate, Kayla Bolin, and Jason Simmons. Photo by Tom Colby.