Seven UA Little Rock students have received a prestigious Student Undergraduate Research Fellowships from the Arkansas Department of Higher Education to conduct research.

The Student Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program provides up to $2,750 to undergraduate students and their mentors to conduct in-depth research projects in their specific fields of study with the assistance of faculty mentors. To be eligible, all fellowship recipients have a minimum grade-point average of 3.25, at least 30 hours of credit toward a degree, and support of a faculty mentor. Funds also are provided for students to travel to conferences to present their accomplishments.

Students from all academic disciplines were encouraged to apply.

“Research is the foundation of every great discovery, and the only way to prepare students for advanced research at the graduate level is to prepare them as undergraduates,” UA Little Rock Chancellor Andrew Rogerson said. “It’s so important for our students to learn best practices under the guidance of faculty mentors so they are prepared for more rigorous research as graduate students and as professionals.”

The UA Little Rock fellows include the following:

• Saiyeeda F. Hossain of Pine Bluff, a double major in sociology and psychology, received  $2,750 to research “Personality and Depressive Disorder of College Students: A Focus on Undergraduate Students at UA Little Rock.” Saiyeeda’s faculty mentor is Dr. Neveen Shafeek Amin in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology.
• Dylan Wright of Little Rock, a Spanish and political science double major, received $2,000 to study LGBTQ rights and research “Critical Film Perspectives in the Argentine Queer Community.” His faculty sponsor is Dr. Erin Finzer in the Department of World Languages.
• Jesse Horton of Marshall, a criminal justice major, received $2,125 to research the “Impact of County-level Economic Disadvantage on Juvenile Case Dispositions in Arkansas.” His faculty sponsor is Dr. Molly Smith in Criminal Justice.
• Nicole Ursin of Batesville, a Donaghey Scholar who is majoring in history and anthropology, received $2,125 for her research project, “Understanding Museum Demographics: Historic Arkansas Museum.” Her sponsor is Dr. Juliana Flinn in the Anthropology Department.
• Trye Price of Benton, a criminal justice major, received $2,125 to research “Influence of Location and Client Characteristics on Perceived Violence Among Victims of Human Trafficking.” His faculty sponsor is Dr. Molly Smith in Criminal Justice.
• Olivia Pate of Jonesboro, a geology and math major, received $2,750 to research her project “Refining the Sol-Gel Synthesis of Intermediate Composition, Nano-Scale Olivine.” Her faculty sponsor is Dr. Michael T. DeAngelis in the Department of Earth Sciences.
• Patrick Elliott of Little Rock, an electrical and systems engineering major, received $2,750 to research “Effective Real-Time Energy Management in a Southern US Power Grid.” His faculty sponsor is  Dr. Kamran Iqbal in the Department of Systems Engineering.

The students will complete their research in the spring 2018 semester, and six of the students who also received Signature Experience Awards will exhibit their work at the Student Research and Creative Works Showcase on April 12 in the Jack Stephens Center.