Seventeen University of Central Arkansas undergraduate students, with the support of 15 faculty members, have secured grant funding for in-depth research projects to be completed this year through the Arkansas Department of Higher Education’s Student Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF).
The SURF program is designed to allow undergraduate students from across the state to conduct comprehensive research projects in their specific fields of study with the assistance of faculty mentors.
Eleven UCA students received $4,000 awards to conduct two- or three-semester projects; six students received $2,750 awards to conduct one-semester projects.
Five of UCA’s six colleges are represented with funded projects.
“Undergraduate research is a high impact practice that helps develop an array of skills and leads to both personal and professional growth,” said UCA Provost and Executive Vice President Patricia Poulter. “UCA is fortunate to have a number of faculty dedicated to mentoring students in this meaningful way.”
One of the awarded students, An Chi Yang, is working on a project titled “Synthesis of Triazole-Based Drugs for the Treatment of Chagas Disease.”
“SURF allows students like me who are motivated about research to dive deeper and discover new findings to further make our community and the world a better place to live,” she said.
Gregory Naumiec, assistant professor of chemistry, is Yang’s faculty mentor on this project.
“SURF is an amazing way to allow students to further their education in a unique way, letting them devote a lot more time to research,” he said. “An’s project has the potential impact to help in the fight against Chagas disease — an illness that impacts the lives of tens of millions of people in the Western Hemisphere.”
Another of the awarded students, Lillie Wren, will work on a project titled “Thinking Outside the Box: A Suffrage Centennial Celebration To-Go.”
“Through research of suffrage-era graphic design fonts, motifs and styles, as well as cardboard package design techniques, I will create a series of handcrafted mini ballot boxes that viewers can take home as keepsakes,” said Wren. “I will distribute my boxes to attendees at UCA’s Suffrage Centennial Celebration [this September] and urge them to register to vote.”
Gayle Seymour, art history professor and associate dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communication, is Wren’s faculty mentor. She underscores the importance of research and creative endeavors to the undergraduate experience and says Arkansas is “so lucky to have a funding source for [undergraduates] at the state level.”
To be eligible for SURF funding, students must have a minimum GPA of 3.25, 30 or more hours of credit toward a degree at the time of funding and the support of a faculty mentor. All types of undergraduate research are eligible for support, and all academic disciplines are encouraged to apply.
All projects began on Jan. 1 with end dates of either May 1, Aug. 1 or Dec. 1 of this year.
A complete list of awarded students, their project titles and faculty mentors follows:
(Faculty Mentor – Student Name
Project Title)
Dr. Ahmad Alsharif (Computer Science) – Wesley Britten
“Privacy Preserving of Data Collection and Dynamic Billing within the Smart Grid”
Dr. Douglas George (Sociology) – Jared Flemens
“‘Why Do People Think I’m A Racist When In My Heart I Know I’m Not?’ A Search For Answers”
Dr. Tamara Haselkorn (Biology) – James DuBose
“The Effects of the Burkholderia Bacterial Symbiont on its Social Amoeba Host’s Fitness and Microbiome Formation”
Dr. Nykela Jackson (Education, Teaching and Learning) – Teyhaunna Jackson
“Teachers’ Perceptions of Competency Based Education”
Dr. Michael Kithinji (History) – Blake Johnson
“Speaking Truth to Power: Political Theatre in Kenya”
Dr. Michael Kithinji (History) – Ro’Kevia Cooper
“Tea Industry in Kenya: The Kenya Tea Development Agency and its Impact on the Tea Farmers in Kenya”
Dr. Mackenzie Long (Chemistry) – Kathryn Walden
“Computing the Reactivity of Cationic Gold Halide Complexes”
Dr. Thomas Lowder (Exercise and Sport Science) – Kirsten Walker
“Exercise to Improve Quality of Life in Patients with Ehlers-Danols Syndrome”
Dr. Shauna Meador (Mass Communication and Theater) – Jillian Gregory
“Transparent Women: Exploring Outdated Aesthetics on the Modern Woman’s Body”
Dr. Matthew Moore (Sociology and Criminology) – Cally Mars
“Sociological Imagination: How is it Acquired, Developed, and Utilized in Everyday Life? A Public Sociology Research Project”
Dr. Sharif Mahmood (Mathematics) – Alex Du
“Prevalence and Determinants of Infant Mortality in Arkansas”
Dr. Gregory Naumiec (Chemistry) – An Yang
“Synthesis of Triazole-Based Drugs for the Treatment of Chagas Disease”
Dr. Kari Naylor (Biology) – Jacie Cooper
“FszA-GFP Analysis”
Dr. Ahmad Patooghy (Computer Science) – Gavin Epperson
“Enabling Machine Learning in Arduino-Based Embedded Systems Using Data Preprocessing”
Dr. Gayle Seymour (Art History and Gender Studies) – Lillie Wren
“Thinking Outside the Box: A Suffrage Centennial Celebration To-Go”
Dr. Ken Sobel (Psychology) – Rachel Bearden
“Why Do Psychosis and High-Functioning Autism Have Diametrical Associations with Migration?”
Dr. Ken Sobel (Psychology) – Nemi Shah
“Why Do People Justify Choices They Did Not Make?”
For more information, contact Amanda Hoelzeman at (501) 852-2659 or ahoelzeman@uca.edu.
