- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

Successful student entrepreneur to study global markets, economic development in Europe

Ajani Oyindamola — Thu, 09 May 2019 21:16:15 +0000

Four years ago, Abigail Resendiz was anxiously waiting for her best friend, Ingrid Helgestad, to return a phone call so she could share the good news she was struggling to keep secret.�� The then-Bryant High School seniors had both applied for the Donaghey Scholars program at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Resendiz had just received word she had been accepted into the program. Noticing that Helgestad had missed a call from the same number, Resendiz was convinced Helgestad had been accepted as well. “I kept telling Ingrid to call the number back, but she kept saying she’d do it later,” Resendiz said. “I was going crazy because I couldn’t share the news until Ingrid found out too.” Getting accepted into the Donaghey Scholars program was the start of a four-year journey filled with exceptional opportunities and fond memories for Resendiz, who will graduate May 11 with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in international business as well as a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in management. “I didn’t want to burden my parents with having to pay for my education,” she said. “Donaghey Scholars offered me a great opportunity with paying for my tuition, computer, ��living stipend, and a study abroad trip. It was too good an opportunity to pass up.” Resendiz’s parents, Paulino and Maria, are originally from Queretaro, Mexico, and moved to Arkansas in 1995. She’s always had the travel bug and was thrilled to study abroad three times while attending ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. She spent one semester studying business in Barcelona, Spain. Last summer, Resendiz traveled to Germany, France, and England to study the refugee crisis in Europe. Over one spring break, she traveled to Costa Rica to study business sustainability with local businesses. “These businesses were in the middle of nowhere, but they were thriving because of Amazon,” she said. “They were making organic soaps and shampoos in the back of their house, but they were utilizing e-commerce to export their goods to other countries.” Altogether, Resendiz has traveled to more than 20 countries on four continents. She and a friend, Ana Galfi, have a lifelong goal of visiting all seven continents and seeing as many countries as possible. Their most recent excursion was to visit Israel and Jordan in January. Much of Resendiz’s senior year has been devoted to Vascugenix, a medical startup company comprised of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock student entrepreneurs who won $75,000 in prize money in recent months. Vascugenix won $30,000 at the Arkansas Governor’s Cup and $40,000 at e-Fest 2019. As chief marketing officer, Resendiz helped created a business plan and sales strategy to bring the Speed-Torque, a medical torque device used by surgeons in minimally invasive heart surgery created by cardiologist Dwight Chrisman of Baptist Health, to market. “Vascugenix dominated my life for nine months, but I’m really glad I did it,” she said. “The learning curve was so high at the beginning. I can say now that I have pitched in front of investors and venture capitalists. At first, we were just going to do the Governor’s Cup, but we kept getting into all these competitions. Last year, I never would have imagined that we would go so far.” Outside of traveling, Resendiz interns at the Arkansas District Export Council, a nonprofit organization working to increase economic development in Arkansas through increasing exports. This summer, Resendiz will intern with a Little Rock company that is partnering with Facebook. The internship is part of Career Connections, a new career development program for college students launched by Facebook. Over the past semester, Resendiz had received training in digital marketing, social media analytics, community management, and business tools. She will put those skills to use in an internship with one of 27 local businesses partnering with Facebook. Though she was considering several post-graduation options, the clear winner for Resendiz is a full scholarship from the Global Markets, Local Creatives program from the European Union, which will allow her to earn two master’s degrees while studying at three different universities in Europe. Resendiz was one of only 22 scholarship recipients from more than 975 applications. The scholarship covers tuition, fees, and healthcare and comes with a living and travel stipend. In the fall, Resendiz will move to Scotland to spend her first semester at the University of Glasgow. She will study at the University of Barcelona during the second semester and finish out her second year at the University of Göttingen in Germany. At the end of her program, Resendiz will have master’s degrees in global markets and economic development. “This was the most interesting way for me to do a master’s degree program and live abroad,” Resendiz said. “I want to live and work abroad for a few years before coming back to the U.S. Eventually, I want to work for the United Nations in economic development and international relations or an organization that has a social cause behind it like Winrock International or Heifer International.” In the upper right photo, Abigail Resendiz is surrounded by the flags of��Scotland, Spain, and Germany, where she will��pursue dual master’s degrees over the next two years. Photo by Ben Krain.

Donaghey Scholars to present final projects May 7-9

Janea Snyder — Mon, 06 May 2019 22:12:02 +0000

��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s Donaghey Scholars spring graduates will present their final project presentations May 7-9. The 45-minute presentations will take place in Dickinson Hall Room 209 and will showcase the projects the honors students have worked on the past year.��The final projects are an integral part of the Donaghey Scholars curriculum. “They must be a substantial piece of individual work, and as such are a crucial component to Scholars life after college. They aren’t just learning about how to do things; they are doing them, and that makes them competitive to employers and graduate schools,” said Simon Hawkins, director of the Donaghey Scholars program. “The range is always staggering, from chemistry research to novel drafts to political analyses to important work for community groups. It is particularly pleasing to see so many projects have a community focus.” Historically, about a third of the projects have been centered on the community. Many projects are research-oriented, such as examining the water quality in Fourche Creek or studying the soil in different enclosures at the Little Rock Zoo, while other students have gathered data specifically for community organizations, such as the Historic Arkansas Museum. Still others provide direct services for community groups, designing web pages for schools and developing fundraising programs for nonprofits. Over the years, several ��entrepreneurial students have turned their final projects into thriving businesses, Hawkins said. The presentation schedule is as follows: Tuesday, May 7 10-10:45 ��Luke Tyhurst – Rykos: Interactive Problem Solving for the Modern World 11-11:45 ��Julie O’Hara – The Effects of Elite Discourses on Secessionist Movements 12-12:45 ��Ingrid Helgestad – The Evolution of a Novel Medical Device: Solving the Problem of Unplanned Extubations in ICUs 1-1:45 p.m. ��Jessica Morris – Evaluating Variations in Soil Composition Among Enclosures at the Little Rock Zoo 2-2:45 p.m. ��Nicole Ursin – Understanding Museum Demographics: Historic Arkansas Museum Wednesday, May 8 12-12:45 ��Willow Moyer – Gibbs Elementary Website Project and Web Portfolio 1-1:45 ��Alex Palmer – Medical Marijuana and Federalism 3-3:45 ��Grishma KC – Characterization of a Novel Multi-Copper Cyanobacterial Laccase 4-4:45 ��Taemora Williams – Grassroots Fundraising: A Sustainable Development Plan for Partners in Knowledge Thursday, May 9 9-9:45 a.m. ��Mirah Dievernich – Cell Phone Use in the Neonatal ��Intensive Care Unit 10-10:45 a.m. Abigail Resendiz – Vascugenix Business Plan: Bringing a Medical Device to Market 11-11:45 a.m. Maxwell Campbell – Potential Impacts of Endocrine Disrupting Compounds on the Fourche Creek Ecosystem 12-12:45 p.m. ��Arooba Ilyas – Purification of Water Using Different Adsorbents 3-3:45 p.m. ��Tyler Maxwell – De Novo Biosynthesis of Resveratrol in Metabolically-Engineered Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803

��Vlog��ý Little Rock student entrepreneurs come out on top at Arkansas Governor’s Cup

Ajani Oyindamola — Thu, 11 Apr 2019 20:44:12 +0000

A dream team of student entrepreneurs from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock has won two of the top honors at the Arkansas Governor’s Cup Collegiate Business Plan Competition, a statewide business plan competition for college and graduate students sponsored by Arkansas Capital Corporation. �� The Vascugenix team won first place in the Winrock Automotive Undergraduate Division and a $25,000 prize.��The team also captured first place and a prize of $5,000 in the undergraduate Innovate Arkansas Innovation Division for a total of $30,000 in prize money. Team members include ��Vlog��ý Little Rock students Noah Asher, senior finance and economics major and Donaghey Scholar; Abigail Resendiz, senior international business and management major and Donaghey Scholar; and Zach Cochran, senior economics major. Martial Trigeaud, a ��Vlog��ý Little Rock adjunct professor and business consultant at the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center, serves as the team’s mentor. “I am very proud of the team,” Trigeaud said. “The Arkansas Governor’s Cup is an amazing event with amazing judges, and we are very proud to be the winners of the 2019 undergraduate division and innovation division competitions.” The group collaborated with and Baptist Health Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit Nurse Anna Helm to commercialize a medical device invented by Chrisman. The device, the Speed-Torque, is a medical torque device used by surgeons in minimally invasive heart surgery. In addition to the Arkansas Governor’s Cup awards, the team was named a semifinalist in the Rice Business Plan Competition Aug. 4-6 and plans to launch its medical startup company after raising a significant amount in funding from investors. MBA student Gabriella De Lima also joined Vascugenix for the Rice competition. When Trigeaud first suggested the students enter the prestigious Rice Business Plan Competition, Asher thought it was a waste of time.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s Team Vascugenix won first place in the Winrock Automotive Undergraduate Division and first place in the undergraduate Innovate Arkansas Innovation Division at the Arkansas Governor’s Cup.

“This is the largest and richest student startup venture competition in the world,” Asher said. “Only 42 teams from 400 applications from the top universities are chosen. It would take an act of God for an undergraduate team to get selected.” “The hard work in Martial Trigeaud’s business boot camps paid off, and we made it,” Resendiz added. As one of 15 teams to make it to the semifinalist round, the students took home a $2,000 prize. One of the allures of competing in the Rice Business Plan Competition is the ability to pitch and network with hundreds of judges consisting of investors, venture capitalists, CEOs, entrepreneurs, and corporations who are looking to invest in the next big idea. “You’re sitting in a room with a sea of millionaires who are looking to invest in your company,” Cochran said. “That is just from people who came up to us at the competition and saw our pitch. We have a significant amount of people who are interested in investing in our company.” Asher believes their company is appealing to investors because they already have a mature business plan with a viable product that can be launched relatively quickly. “One of the reasons I think we did so well raising money is that we are a mature startup company,” he said. “We have a very simple but needed product that fits in a niche market that we can dominate. It can give investors a quick return on their investment.” The students say the experience they have gained pitching in front of investors is invaluable. “I can now say that I’ve successfully pitched in front of ventures capitalists, and that is a cool thing to say in front of potential employers,” Resendiz said. “Competing at the same level of master’s and Ph.D. students and people who have 15 plus years of experience in their fields and still being able to surpass them is an excellent feeling.” After an eventful week of competitions, Team Vascugenix isn’t resting on its laurels. The students left the Arkansas Governor’s Cup and immediately headed to the airport to compete in the Schulze School of Entrepreneurship at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota April 11-13. Funded by the , the challenge is the largest undergraduate-only venture pitch competition in North America in terms of cash prizes with a top prize of $75,000 and $250,000 in total prizes awarded.

Team Vascugenix competes at the Rice Business Plan Competition at Rice University on April 4. Team members include, from left to right, Abigail Resendiz, Zach Cochran, Martial Trigeaud, Noah Asher, and Gabriella De Lima.

“We wouldn’t have made it into this competition without the help of the university’s photographer, Ben Krain, who shot a seven-minute video we needed to enter this competition,” Resendiz said. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s team is one of 25 finalists selected from more than 100 entries representing 61 colleges and universities across America. Students will participate in a “pitch slam” elevator pitch event and an innovation challenge. Teams also will be awarded for outstanding potential to have social and global impact. Student teams also will be networking with top entrepreneurs from around the country, including Richard M. Schulze, founder of Best Buy. The students would like to thank Trigeaud; Dr. Jane Wayland, Stephen Harrow Smith Dean of Business; Laura Fine, director of the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center; and Dr. Mark Funk, chair of the Department of Economics and Finance, for their assistance in developing their startup company and participating in competitions. Once the competition season is over, Vascugenix will move forward with plans to develop the Speed-Torque for a commercial release. “We’ll look for the investors who fit the best with our company culture and vision for the future,” said Asher. “We want investors with the right networks of contacts who can help us succeed.” They are also in talks with health technology accelerators to conduct pre-market clinical trials through Baptist Health and possibly the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. “After our clinical trial, we will be ready to begin selling in the market. We will target the South and Midwest based out of Little Rock,” Asher said. In the upper right photo,��a team of business students (Zach Cochran, bottom left,��Noah��Asher, center, and Abigail Resendiz, bottom right) from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock have won first place in the Winrock Automotive Undergraduate Division and first place in the undergraduate Innovate Arkansas Innovation Division at the Arkansas Governor’s Cup. The students collaborated with Arkansas Cardiology Interventional Cardiologist Dr. Dwight Christman, back left, Baptist Health Cardiovascular Nurse Anna Helm, center left, and Martial Trigeaud, back right, to commercialize a medical device invented by Chrisman to help cardiologists perform heart surgery with greater safety and efficiency. Photo by Ben Krain.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock business students selected to participate in Rice Business Plan Competition

Ajani Oyindamola — Tue, 12 Mar 2019 13:07:13 +0000

A team of business students from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock has been selected as one of 42 teams from some of the world’s top universities who will compete for more than $1.5 million in prizes at the April 4-6.�� The competition has been dubbed as the world’s richest and largest student startup competition with a top prize of a $300,000 investment from the GOOSE Society. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock was the only team from Arkansas selected to compete. The “�ղ��ܲ��Ծ��” team is comprised of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock students Noah Asher, senior finance and economics major; Abigail Resendiz, senior international business and management major; and Zach Cochran, senior economics major. Martial Trigeaud, a ��Vlog��ý Little Rock adjunct professor and business consultant at the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center, is mentoring the team. “We are very excited to be competing in this prestigious new venture competition and to be recognized as one of the top startup teams in the world,” Asher said. The group collaborated with and Baptist Health Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit Nurse Anna Helm to commercialize a medical device invented by Chrisman. The device, the “Speed-Torque,” is a medical torque device used by surgeons in minimally invasive heart surgery, also known as interventional cardiology procedures. The teams for this year’s competition were chosen from more than 300 applicants to compete in four categories: life sciences/medical devices/digital health; digital/information technology/mobile; energy/clean technology/sustainability; and other innovations/investment opportunity. More than 210 former competitors have successfully launched their ventures and are still in business today, including 25 startups that have been acquired. Past competitors have raised more than $2.2 billion in capital and created more than 3,000 new jobs. “The true measure of success for the Rice Business Plan Competition is the number of teams that launch, raise funding, and go on to succeed in their business,” said Brad Burke, managing director of the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship at Rice University, host of the event. “The competition has served as the launch pad for a great number of successful entrepreneurial ventures, and the success rate far exceeds the national average.” Community members can show their support for the team by casting their vote in the People’s Choice Competition via Facebook. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s team has already seen success promoting the speed-torque. They won second place and a $3,000 prize during the Ivey Business Plan Competition in January and will also enter the upcoming Arkansas Governor’s Cup competition. Asher was part of a team of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock students who won the undergraduate division of the Arkansas Governor’s Cup and a $25,000 prize last year for their business plan for Spiritum Solutions, a mouth guard designed so that patients undergoing surgery or bronchoscope procedures do not damage their mouths by biting down on the tubes. Additionally, Asher received a $2,000 cash prize for winning the undergraduate elevator pitch competition. He believes that his previous experience, combined with the team’s compelling business strategy, gives them a unique advantage in both competitions and in the marketplace. “While we do have an exciting technology that will greatly benefit both surgeons and patients, we are not trying to change the way minimally invasive heart surgery is done or disrupt the marketplace,” Asher said. “We are instead focused on providing incremental, yet innovative changes that fit within existing surgical techniques, but also drastically improve surgical precision and safety. We believe that this strategy will help to drive our clinical adoption rate and to achieve long-term, sustainable growth that will generate substantial returns for investors. Our acceptance into Rice is a strong validation that investors see value in this strategy and that we are poised for success.” In the upper right photo,��a team of business students (Zach Cochran, bottom left,��Noah��Asher, center, and Abigail Resendiz, bottom right) from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock have been accepted into the Rice Business Plan Competition. The students collaborated with Arkansas Cardiology Interventional Cardiologist Dr. Dwight Christman, back left, Baptist Health Cardiovascular Nurse Anna Helm, center left, and Martial Tregeaud, back right, to commercialize a medical device invented by Chrisman to help cardiologists perform heart surgery with greater safety and efficiency. Photo by Ben Krain.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock business students take second place at international entrepreneurship competition

Ajani Oyindamola — Tue, 19 Feb 2019 14:46:42 +0000

A team of business students from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock have won second place and a $3,000 prize at the international held Jan. 25-27 in Ontario, Canada, for their business plan for a device designed to help interventional cardiologists perform minimally invasive heart surgery with greater safety and efficiency.�� The team is comprised of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock students Noah Asher, senior finance and economics major, Abigail Resendiz, senior international business and management major, and Zach Cochran, senior economics major. The group collaborated with��and Baptist Health Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit Nurse Anna Helm to commercialize a medical device invented by Chrisman. The device, the “Speed-Torque,” is a medical torque device used by surgeons in minimally invasive heart surgery, also known as interventional cardiology procedures. The Ivey Business Plan Competition, sponsored by CIBC World Markets and IBK Capital Corp, allows student teams from across North America to compete for $40,000 in prizes as well as test their venture ideas with experienced entrepreneurs, meet potential investors, and raise funds. “It was an extremely close competition with a lot of fantastic companies and entrepreneurs,” said Asher. “We are of course disappointed with coming in second, but we are very happy with our performance and are excited to see how we do in competitions to come.” Asher is no stranger to success in business and entrepreneurship competitions. He was part of a team of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock students who won the undergraduate division of the Arkansas Governor’s Cup and a $25,000 prize last year for their business plan for Spritum Solutions, a mouth guard designed so that patients undergoing surgery or bronchoscope procedures do not damage their mouths by biting down on the tubes. Additionally, Asher received a $2,000 cash prize for winning the undergraduate elevator pitch competition. He is confident that he a great team that will see many successes this year as the students are planning to compete in several more competitions, including the Arkansas Governor’s Cup, Texas Christian University’s Values and Ventures Competition, and the RICE Business Plan Competition in Texas. “Between the clinical expertise Dr. Chrisman and Anna provide and the business skills and background of Abby and Zach, this is one of the strongest and most experienced teams I have ever had the privilege of working on,” Asher said. “I’m very excited to see what the future holds for us.” The team’s mentor, Martial Trigeaud, a ��Vlog��ý Little Rock adjunct professor and business consultant at the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center, said he was extremely proud of the team’s performance. “These are incredibly challenging competitions, so to even be invited to travel to Ivey to compete is a success,” Trigeaud said. “I am very proud of what the team has accomplished, and I am waiting for the next business plan competition.” In the upper right photo, a team of business students (Zach Cochran, bottom left,��Noah��Asher, center, and Abigail Resendiz, bottom right) from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock have won second place at the international Ivey Business Plan Competition. The students collaborated with Arkansas Cardiology Interventional Cardiologist Dr. Dwight Christman, back left, Baptist Health Cardiovascular Nurse Anna Helm, center left, and Martial Tregeaud, back right, to commercialize a medical device invented by Chrisman to help cardiologists perform heart surgery with greater safety and efficiency. Photo by Ben Krain.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock students investigate migrant crisis in Europe

Ajani Oyindamola — Thu, 12 Jul 2018 15:05:24 +0000

A group of University of Arkansas at Little Rock students saw firsthand how the growing migrant crisis has changed Europe in recent years.�� Dr. Rebecca Glazier and Dr. Christopher Williams, professors in the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock School of Public Affairs, led 10 students to Europe June 4-20, where they visited London, Paris, and Berlin to learn more about the challenges Europe faces in light of the migrant crisis. The students who attended the study abroad trip, “Identity, Migration, and a Changing Europe,” include political science majors Charlana Benefield, Jorge Gonzalez, Julie O’Hara, Leon Kockaya, Elizabeth Ray, Madison Rodgers, Paige Topping, and Allie Woodville, as well as Colin Davies, a criminal justice major, and Abigail Resendiz, a business major. “In recent years, Europe has seen massive increases in both intra-European migration and migration from Middle Eastern and North African countries. This has forced many Europeans to grapple more deeply with questions of national identity and with deep societal prejudices,” Glazier said. “The course was designed to provide students with firsthand experience to develop a deeper understanding of the effects that nationalism and large-scale immigration have on societies.” The group first traveled to London, where they shared a Ramadan meal at the Central Mosque of London and attended a play about the crisis in the refugee camp in Calais, France. In Paris, they visited the famed Louvre museum, visited le Grande Mosquée du Paris, spoke with recent immigrants, and met with French National Assembly member Pacôme Rupin. In Berlin, the group visited experts in human trafficking and migration and toured the as well as the WWII-era concentration camp and the remains of the Berlin Wall. They also took in the World Cup match between Mexico and Germany. “The refugees that occupied this camp originated from countries all over the world, ranging from Syria and Afghanistan to Iran, Iraq, and Moldova,” said Topping, a senior political science major. “Reports of the experiences of refugees around the world have been and continue to be profoundly compelling. However, seeing their experiences and living conditions face-to-face truly triggers unparalleled human emotions and responses.” Asylum seekers in Germany are allowed to stay in the country if they are granted political asylum, refugee status, subsidiary protection, or if the agency declares a deportation prohibition. Refugees in Germany can apply for four different kinds of protection from the German government, including asylum protection, subsidiary protection, refugee protection, and protection from persecution if they can provide evidence that they are being persecuted in their homeland.

The study abroad students visit the Grand Mosque of Paris. The group (L to R) includes Back Row: Julie O’Hara, Elizabeth Ray, Dr. Rebecca Glazier, Madison Ray, Abigail Resendiz, Colin Davies, and Leon Kockaya. Front row: Allie Woodville, Jorge Gonzalez, Charlana Benefield, and Paige Topping.

“While most refugees are thankful to Germany for taking them in, they are all, for the most part, anxiously awaiting for their homelands to become safe enough to return to,” Topping said. “While Germany is extremely accepting of refugees and provides housing, food, recreational sports areas, playgrounds, and German classes for children and adults alike in areas such as Templehof, it does not take away from the very grim reality that most of the refugees living at Templehof had to leave their professions, homes and families behind in order to pursue a life in Germany safe from persecution” In the final leg of the journey, the group returned for a few more days in London, where they toured Parliament, Palace of Westminster, and met with political leaders in the United Kingdom. Although the students read two dozen academic readings and testimonials about what it is like to be a migrant in Europe, none of that compared to the actual experience of meeting migrants and hearing their stories. “We went to Iftar with a group of Turkish refugees living in Berlin,” said O’Hara, a 21-year-old senior from Little Rock. “Before dinner, we sat with them in small groups and they told us their stories. The first person I spoke to had been a civil engineer when he was working in Turkey. This man has five children, all still in Turkey, and his youngest was born shortly after he fled oppression. He is able to see her and talk to her through the phone, but he has never been able to hold her in his own hands. As far as he knows, he may never meet her in person. If he had stayed in Turkey he risked becoming a political prisoner, where he would not have been allowed to meet or see his family. He said to me, ‘At least in Berlin I have hope.’” O’Hara heard many more memorable accounts from the migrants, and she realized that, despite talks by European countries of coming up with a solution to the migrant crisis, it is not something that will be easily solved. Meanwhile, millions of people are left struggling while the political debate continues. “The refugee crisis in Europe is too deep to be coated with band-aid solutions and left to fester. Europe will change drastically in the coming years because of this migration,” O’Hara said. “Watching them talk about their fears for the future and seeing the heartbreak they faced day in and day out because of circumstances so far beyond their control is something that I will never forget, but, beyond that, the strength and unwavering hope they showed is something that will stick with me forever.” Students learned about the efforts to sustain migrant populations by the United Kingdom and European Union organizations, as well as the living conditions of displaced migrants and asylum seekers. Students also discussed migration issues and policy possibilities for alleviating tensions between residents in Europe. Throughout their busy schedules, students were asked to consider political and social policies that are currently enacted as well as their own solutions to Europe’s migrant crisis. “I think the conversations that the students had with immigrants and refugees are experiences that will stay with them. We thought critically about migration policy, how to best integrate immigrants, and about what societies might owe to refugees fleeing violence,” Glazier said. “I don’t think we came to any easy answers, but I do think the students gained both substantive knowledge and empathy.” The professors and students kept a travel blog of their journeys that can be viewed online. In the upper right photo,��the study abroad group met with a member of the Scotland Nationalist Party, Alison Thewliss, while touring Parliament.

Student research and creative works winners announced

Janea Snyder — Fri, 04 May 2018 21:47:21 +0000

The winners of the 2018 Student Research and Creative Works Showcase at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock were announced during an awards ceremony May 1 in the Student Services Center. Students presented more than 150 research and creative works April 12 in the Jack Stephens Center. Student projects were judged on the novelty and clarity of their research, the soundness of their methodology, the potential application of their findings, and the student’s ability to explain their project to an expert and lay audience. A complete list of winners and their projects include: Undergraduate Winners Art First Place: Corrie Green, “The New African-American Women:Exploring Intersectionality in Non-traditional Casting” First Place (tie): Thomas Jackson, “Concept Statement for the play ��Art by Yasmina Reza” Economics First Place: Abigail Resendiz, “The 1920 Merchant Marine Act: An Outdated and Protectionist Law Disturbing Economic Growth” First Place (tie): Logan Vickery and Nick Stevens, “The Cost of Responsibility: Impacts on Rental Prices of the Implied Warrant of Habitability” Education First Place: Madison Christie, “Visual Verse: Translating English Poems into ASL” Second Place: Cameryn Kirkham, “Teaching Charlie May Simon as an Author, Artist, and Arkansan” Engineering First Place: J’von Jackson, “Venturi Scrubber Design for Syngas System” Second Place: Begros Asgeirsdottir, “Utilization of Rainwater for Cooling House Interior” Life & Physical Science First Place: Davonte Hokes, “Investigation of Bio-Inspired Polymeric Coating for Improvement in ORR Activity of Amidomacrocyclic Cobal (III) Catalyst Complexes” Second Place: Emily Anderson and Cordell Gilreath, “Development for Lyme Disease” Third Place: Marina Avram, “Algal Oculata Biotemplated Water-Splitting Nanocatalysts Nickel/Iron Oxides” Social Science First Place: Abigail Resendiz, “Financial Impact of the Jones Act” Second Place: Emily Elam, “500 Fiddle Tunes: Transcriptions of Billy Mathews’ Old-Time Archive” Third Place: Cynthia Wyman, “Intellectual and Hungry: Assessing the State of Campus Food Insecurity” Technology First Place: Deepali Lal, “Are Alcohol Establishments Marketing Crime?” Second Place: Yumeng Ye, “A Project – First Approach to Teaching Entity Resolution and Identity Management” Humanities First Place: El-Noor Ahkter, “The Color of Women” First Place (tie): Michael Caysido, “Aram II’yich Khachaturian and the Use of Folk Songs in His Compositions” Second Place: Emily Junkans, “Phonetic Features of Native Spanish Speakers Learning English” Physical Science First Place: Rebecca Moreira, “Novel Renewable Resource Based Nanocomposites for Removal and Recovery of Phosphorus from Contaminated Wastewaters” Second Place: Nathan Taylor, “Ionizing Radiation Protection by Inhibition of PP2A” Second Place (tie): Samantha Macchi, “Supercapacitor application of phosphorus and nitrogen co-doped carbon materials from renewable precursor materials” Service Work and Professional Application First Place: Rebecca Moreira, “How Spanish Interpreting at the 12th Street Clinic Can Lead to Medical School” GRAD��Vlog��ýTE WINNERS Biology First Place: Diamond McGehee with M. Lahiani, F. Irwin, and M. Green, “Investigation of the Effects of Carbon –Based Nanomaterials on the Metabolomics Level in Plants” Engineering First Place: Trigun Maroo, “A Novel Gripper System for Corrugated Box Grasping and Manipulation for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles” First Place (tie): Ali Abdulhussein, “Facile fabrication of a free-standing superhydrophobic and superoleophilic carbon nanofiber-polymer block that effectively absorbs oils and chemical pollutants from water” Health Science First Place: Asween Marco, Naveen Patil, Jane Voyles, Yan Egbe, and Leonard Mukasa. “The Threat of Tuberculosis Transmission Among the US-born: Lessons from Two Outbreaks, Arkansas” Second Place: Elizabeth Burnham, “The Social (Media) Social Work(er)” Life Science Second Place: Rebekah White, “Toxic Effects of Copper and Nickel on Synechocystis PCC 6803” Life & Physical Science First Place: Amita Nakarmi and Rebecca Moreira, “Phosphate Removal From Contaminated Waters” Second Place: Dane Hudson, “Cylic Electron Flow Prevents Photoinhibition in Solanum habrochaites Under Drought Stress” Physical Science First Place: Busra Ergul, Mahbuba Begum, Nancy Kariuki, and Deborah Myers. “Oxygen Reduction Reaction Activity of Platinum Thin Films with Different Densities” First Place (tie): Daniel Nde, “Algae-Biotemplated Water-splitting Nanocatalysts for Efficient Oxygen Evolution Reaction” Professional Studies First Place: Thu Nguyen, “Do In-house Investor Relations Professionals in Real Estate Management Use PR and Strategic Communications Principles?” Second Place: Raad Alawajji, Zeid A. Nima, Ahmed K. Hashoosh, Karrer M. Alghazali, Emilie Darrigues, Nigel Kelly (undergraduate), Ashley Strohmeyer (undergraduate), and Ali Abdulhussein (presenter). “Fabrication of Transparent Superhydrophobic Polytetrafluoroethylene Coating” Social Science First Place: Jennifer Watkins: “Why don’t they listen to me: A qualitative interpretive meta synthesis of a child’s perception of their sexual abuse” Second Place: Margaret Kealy-Machella, “What’s App: Little Rock AFB Mobile App Communication Plan” Systems Engineering First Place: Rajat Singh, “Flexible Control of Synergistic Group of Muscles” Technology First Place (tie): Tuja Khaund and Samer Al-Khateeb. “Analyzing Social Bots and their Coordination during Crisis Weather Events” Second Place: Evan Xiangwen Liu, “Deep Neutral Networks Self-taught Learning” Second Place: Chen Xu, “Monitoring Traffic through IDS on OpenStack Cloud” In the photo above right, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock student Corrie Green (right) talks about her project, “The New African-American Woman: Exploring Intersectionality in Non-Traditional Casting,” to Jana McAuliffe, who was judging student works at the Student��Research��and Creative Works��Showcase.��Photo by Benjamin Krain

- University News Archive - ����Vlog��ý Little Rock

Successful student entrepreneur to study global markets, economic development in Europe

Donaghey Scholars to present final projects May 7-9

����Vlog��ý Little Rock student entrepreneurs come out on top at Arkansas Governor’s Cup

����Vlog��ý Little Rock business students selected to participate in Rice Business Plan Competition