Sally Entrekin, assistant professor of biology, was awarded $5,000 by the University Research Council to study how microbial production fuels aquatic food webs. She will use the money to purchase a Hach minisonde to incorporate microbial production into her current research program. The minisondes represent the newest technology for quantifying changes in dissolved oxygen in aquatic environments. Undergraduate and graduate students will be trained to use the sonde and calculate microbial production metrics at large spatial scales following large-scale alterations.
Dr. Danny Arrigo, associate professor of mathematics, accepted the invitation to join the editorial board of the ISRN Mathematical Analysis Journal.
Dr. Clarence Burg, assistant professor of mathematics, gave a presentation on Computational Mathematics and Subaqueous Debris Flows in the Department of Mathematics at the Hendrix College on October 19, 2010.
Clint Smith, a UCA chemistry graduate, presented the first presentation in the Chemistry Departmental Seminar Series of spring semester of 2011. Clint did research with Dr. Melissa Kelley while at UCA. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. He presented his work “Regulation of membrane fusion by Viral F protein membrane interacting domains.”
Asami Nishikawa, senior physics and mathematics major, received the Acoustical Society of America’s Robert W. Young Award for Undergraduate Student Research in November 2010. The award is competitive with only two students being recognized each year. Ms. Nishikawa’s research project is with Dr. William Slaton in the Physics Department and is entitled, “Aeroacoustic Source Strength Measurement of Helmholtz Resonators.” The award comes with $500 which will be used to equip her experiment for computer data acquisition.
Workshop Introduces Elementary Teachers to Advanced Microscopy
Twenty-three elementary school teachers from 12 school districts recently attended a one-day workshop titled “Advanced Microscopy.” This activity is part of the Arkansas Science and Technology Authority (ASTA) grant, “Microscopic World.” Dr. Uma Garimella is the project director.
During the morning session, Mr. Jerry Mimms discussed the basics of the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) operation, and allowed the teachers to prepare and examine samples. The participants received high-quality images of the samples on a CD to share with their students.
In the afternoon session, Dr. Kari Naylor reviewed the capabilities and light path/theory of the Confocal Microscope. During her presentation Dr. Naylor discussed the use of Confocal Microscope in various UCA research projects and allowed teachers to visualize samples under the Confocal Microscope. The group investigated careers, scientists and historical breakthroughs in the field of microscopy.
This workshop addresses the mission of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (CNSM) to introduce high school students and educators to UCA’s advanced technologies.