Drs. J. D. Swanson and David Starkey, both assistant professors in the Biology Department, took 30 students to New Zealand during the May Intercession. The students toured the country visiting universities, museums, and wildlife reserves. They also participated in a study of the geological and biological landscape of New Zealand.
Dr. Barbara Clancy, an associate professor in the Biology Department, presented her research at Columbia University Medical Center’s “PANDA” symposium in May. The Pediatric Anesthesia Neurodevelopment Assessment (PANDA) study addresses the critical public health issue of effects of anesthesia exposure on brain development in human infants. Dr. Clancy and her colleagues have established a model to compare the timing of brain development in experimental species to brain development in humans. These translations provide information about anesthesia intervals, critical developmental windows, and maturation of the sensory system in humans.
UCA’s Dept of Physics and Astronomy was well represented at the 18th Annual Arkansas Space Grant consortium meeting held at the Rockefeller Institute on Petit Jean on April 16. Seven physics majors attended the meeting and presented results of their work with Dr. Debra Burris, an assistant professor in the Physics and Astronomy Department, and Dr. Rahul Mehta, a professor in the Physics and Astronomy Department.The students presented three posters and one contributed talk. In addition, the students were able to meet Col. “Digger” Carey, the pilot of the space shuttle Columbia on its mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.
The Arkansas Center for Mathematics and Science Education (ACMSE) has received the STEM Center Math and Science Specialists Competitive grant of $173,000 from the Arkansas Department of Education. Dr. Umadevi Garimella, the director of ACMSE, is the project director. The grant provides $86,500 each to support the work of a 12-month full time mathematics specialists and a 12-month full time science specialist in the center. The instructional specialists at UCA are part of a statewide network of instructional specialists in other educational service cooperatives and/or university math/science centers. They provide services to Arkansas school districts for the purpose of improving instruction.
Dr. Garimella has also received $114,941 Math and Science Partnership (MSP) grant titled “Science Lead teacher Institute (SLTI)” funded by the U.S. Department of Education. This grant funds the second year of the three-year project. SLTI is a content-intensive professional development program to guide 30 Science Lead Teachers in Grades 7-10 through the process of crafting tailored strategic plans for initiating and implementing effective inquiry science programs.
Belinda Robertson, Mathematics Specialist at ACMSE, presented, “Flips, Turns and Slides: Sorry, This is Not a Dance Class” at the NCTM 2010 Annual Meeting and Exposition in San Diego, California on April 22. About 100 mathematics teachers and instructional facilitators across the country attended the one-hour session on transformational geometry for K-5 students. Ms. Robertson developed the unit in collaboration with Dr. Linda Griffith, professor of mathematics.
Four senior chemistry majors were recognized with awards for excellence in academics and service at the Awards and Recognition Banquet of the Central Arkansas Section of the American Chemical Society on the campus of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock on April 20. Darrell (D.J.) Martin, Jr. and Liz Schiefer were presented with the Academic Excellence Award, an award that recognizes superior achievements in coursework and research. Daniel Fields and Martin Sharum were presented with the Service Excellence Award, an award that recognizes service to the institution and the community.