On Valentine’s Day, six UA Little Rock students will be at the state Capitol to show their love … for research.

Each year, the Capitol hosts a day where undergraduate students showcase their research in the STEM disciplines of science, technology, engineering and math. Posters will set up in the Rotunda from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 14, and the student researchers will be on hand to talk about their scientific work in layman’s terms.

“The purpose of the event is to showcase undergraduate research at Arkansas universities to state representatives, senators, executive officers, public policy officials, Arkansas high school students, and the public,” said Dr. Jim Winter, director of the University Science Scholars, Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation  and Arkansas STRIVE programs.

Last year, more than 110 students from 15 Arkansas colleges and universities displayed posters.  All student researchers were nominated by a faculty member to participate.

UA Little Rock student presenters include the following:

• Paloma Salazar, Chemistry Department: “Copper-based nanocatalyst for hydrogen production”
• Shelby Wingate, Systems Engineering-Mechanical: “Characteristics of pattern recognition classifiers for EMG signal analysis”
• Nathan Taylor, Chemistry Department: “Analysis of animal kidney stones through infrared spectroscopy”
• Kristen Gregory, Department of Biology: “Investigations into the effects of caffeine on cell death in Dictyostelium discoideum”
• Zaire Husband, Computer Science Department: “Adapting Snipe-It to manage an equipment inventory system”
• Sylvia Szwedo, Chemistry Department: “Isolating Exosomes using tumor-specific antibodies in the serum and ascites of cancer patients”