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

Arkansas students explore life as a geologist

Ajani Oyindamola — Wed, 11 Jul 2018 13:21:17 +0000

Nine Arkansas students got a taste of life as a geologist during the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s second Geology Camp. Held June 10-15 on the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock campus, the free one-week summer enrichment program was sponsored by the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. It offered junior high and high school students a unique overview of life as a geologist. Students studied topics like field mapping, mineralogy, fossils, topographical mapping, and geologic time. The Geology Camp participants include:

��Victoria Bourgeois, of Bismarck, a student at Bismarck High School
��Luigi Cutolo, of Bentonville, a student at Bentonville High School
��Kaitlyn Gill, of Hot Springs, a student at Cutter Morning Star Elementary
��Michelle Jones, of North Little Rock, a student at North Little Rock Middle School
��Blair King, of Scott, a student at LISA Academy West
��Caroline Nalumansi, of Little Rock, attending Episcopal Collegiate
��Faizan Parry, of Little Rock, attending Pulaski Academy
��Insherah Qazi, of Little Rock, attending LISA Academy West
��Sreevatsav Seenivasan, of Little Rock, attending Central High School

��Vlog��ý Little Rock students Elizabeth Haralson, a graduate student studying environmental geology from Wynne, and Callie Pace, a senior geology major from Mountain Home, led the camp’s activities. “This camp has blown us away,” Haralson said. “All the students have bright futures ahead of them. We completely enjoyed our week. The kids exceeded all our expectations. They were asking the hard questions, thinking outside the box. It was so rewarding to see the light bulb go off in their heads when they understood a concept and to think that we have taught them something that they might remember for the rest of their lives.” Outside the classroom, students took field trips to Coleman Creek, Coleman Quartz Mine, Pinnacle Mountain State Park, and the Arkansas Geological Survey. One of the students’ favorite activities was the exploration of Coleman Creek, where the campers cleaned up the creek, observed wildlife, and collected samples of water and rocks for further study. “Playing in the creek is so fun,” Bourgeois said. “I enjoyed the exposure of going into the field and learning what geologists do.” Bourgeois also appreciated the opportunity to prepare for college. “I love science,” she said. “I do always look for different opportunities to go to college. I like meeting new people and learning new things. I really enjoyed the college prep class. I want to study science and engineering, and geology is something I could further explore now that I know a lot more about what geologists do.” In the upper right photo, the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Geology Camp participants visit the Ron Coleman Mine for Crystal Mining. Front row (L to R): Geology camp instructors Elizabeth Haralson and Callie Pace and students Michelle Jones, Caroline Nalumansi, and Kaitlyn Gill. Back Row: Faizan Parray, Luigi Cutolo, Sreevatsav Seenivasan, Blair King, Jodi Williams, staff member, Insherah Qazi, and Maranda Geoffrion, staff member.

College of Engineering and Information Technology announces award winners

Ajani Oyindamola — Wed, 02 May 2018 14:51:43 +0000

The George W. Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock honored nearly 100 awards winners during the college’s annual awards ceremony on April 27. Earlier in the day, students from the college displayed their research and capstone projects during the third annual EIT Open House. The event was sponsored by Arkansas Research Alliance, Bernhard TME Engineering, Harrison Energy Partners, Little Rock Regional Chamber, Mainstream Technologies, and VCC. The awards winners include:

EIT College Awards

Laura Butler – Outstanding Associate Degree Graduate Award Hugh Benfer – Outstanding Bachelor’s Degree Graduate Award Hadi Salman – Outstanding Master’s Degree Graduate Award Li-hsin Chang – Outstanding Master’s Degree Graduate Award Yanyan Li – Outstanding Ph.D. Degree Graduate Award

EIT Student Support Center Undergraduate Awards

Jason Simmons – Third Place Yu Nie – Second Place Justin Parker – First Place

EIT Graduate Awards

Suzan Anwar – Third Place Adewale Obadimu – Second Place Evan Xiangwe – First Place

EIT Abstract Awards

Sandeep Munot – Third Place Shashank Khaire – Second Place Pablo Centeno – First Place

Elevator Speech Awards

Sandeep Munot – Honorable Mention Harrison Blume – Honorable Mention J’Von Jackson – Honorable Mention Eric Brasby – Honorable Mention Madhuri Ghorpade – Honorable Mention Trigun Maroo – Grand Prize

Mainstream Technologies Awards

Ruipeng Zhang – Applied Innovation Award Karen Watts – Professional Presentation Award Tuja Khaund – Complete Solution Award

Arkansas Research Alliance Awards

Vernard Henley (left) presents Adewale Obadimu (right) with second place in the EIT Grad Awards.

Adewale Obadimu – Third Place Suzan Anwar – Second Place Jaimes Krutz – First Place

Department of Earth Science Awards

Kayla Bolin, Jason Spencer, Jason Simmons, and Callie Pace – 2018 Field Camp Award Rebecca Bishop and Tyler Kee – Outstanding Laboratory Assistants Luke Tyhurst – Laboratory Assistant of the Year Matt Carey – Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Matt Carey and Tyler Kee – Outstanding Service Award Aaron Baggett – Outstanding Graduate Student Jason Simmons – Outstanding Senior Award Olivia Pate – Philip and Marietta Kehler Endowed Scholarship Recipient

Department of Construction Management and Civil and Construction Engineering Awards

Nicole Compton, Jonathan Henderson, David Greenwood, Amanda Hall, Jonathan Picking, Sandeep Munot, Daniel Trotta, and William Beggs – Excellence Award for Academic Scholarship

Blake Johnston, Edyta Osiecko, Harrison Hayworth, Kassandra Castrillo, and Sam Kincannon – 2018 American Society of Civil Engineers Student Chapter Service Award

Department of Engineering Technology Awards

Christa Hindman – Freshman Award Gregory Riley – Sophomore Award Abdellatif Elmansouri – Junior Award Cory Fortson – Senior Award Elias Perez Reyes – Freshman Award Pablo Centeno – Sophomore Award Steven Swaffar – Junior Award Chris Kelly – Senior Award Anthony Elkins, Robert Hurst, Trent Smith, and Spencer Young – Senior Project Award Matthew Hood – Senior Project Award Christopher Bohner – Departmental Service Award Garret Rich – Outstanding Graduate Award Matthew Hood – Outstanding Graduate Award Gordon Ward IV – Outstanding Graduate Award Zachary Setzer – Outstanding Graduate Award

Department of Computer Science Awards

Peyton Laughley – Outstanding Freshman Award Connor Stegeman – Outstanding Sophomore Award Cindy Monterroz – Outstanding Junior Award Thomas Goss – Outstanding Graduating Senior Award Tanner Marshall – Outstanding Service Award Yanyan Li – Outstanding Research Award Chen Xu – Outstanding Master Student Award Ramiro Serrano – Outstanding First Year Doctoral Student Award Suzan Anawar – Outstanding Publication Award Connor Young – Outstanding Doctoral Student Award

Department of Information Science Awards

Eric Grasby – Outstanding Student Evan Alden – Outstanding Student Ambassador James Watts – Outstanding Web Design Student Zachary Randolph – Outstanding Web Design Student April Lim – Outstanding ITEC Student

��Vlog��ý Little Rock/��Vlog��ýMS Graduate Program in Bioinformatics Awards

Ujwani Nukala – Outstanding Doctoral Student Dan Li – Excellence in Research Award Sunil Nokku – Outstanding M.S. Project Li-Hsin Chang – Outstanding Master’s Award Shilpa Karma Konda – Outstanding Service Award Yumeng Ye – Outstanding Research Award Bingyi Zhong – Outstanding Service Award Yu Nie – Outstanding Research Award Dr. Daniel Pullen – Outstanding Alumni Award

Department of Systems Engineering Awards

John Graham – Outstanding Sophomore Award Damon Wallace – Outstanding Sophomore Award Andrew Cherry – Outstanding Junior Award Patrick Elliot – Outstanding Junior Award Andrew Lockhart – Outstanding Senior Award Anderson Banihirwe – Outstanding Senior Award Shelby Wingate – Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award Bailey Barnes – Successful Doctoral Student Award Sheng Sang – Successful Doctoral Student Award He Zang – Successful Doctoral Student Award

Beth McMillan leads Nov. 16 EARTHtalk! lecture

Ajani Oyindamola — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 21:59:12 +0000

Dr. Beth McMillan, chair of the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, is the featured speaker of the next EARTHtalk! lecture series on Nov. 16. The talk, “On the Shoulders of Giants: Sub-Summit Surfaces in the Rocky Mountains,” will take place at 6 p.m. in the Engineering and Information Technology building auditorium. The event is free and open to the public. In the lecture, McMillan will discuss how geographic information systems and geological analyses can be used to discover how and when sub-summit surfaces in the Rocky Mountains are formed. McMillan received her bachelor’s degree in geology from Colorado College, a master’s degree in environmental science and engineering from Colorado School of Mines, and a Ph.D. in geology from the University of Wyoming. Her research focuses on landscape evolution. For more information, contact Michael DeAngelis at 501.569.3542 or mtdeangelis@ualr.edu or visit the EARTHtalk! website.

��Vlog��ýLR students visit Bahamas for spring break geology trip

Taylor Aldana — Tue, 12 Apr 2016 21:27:27 +0000

Geology and ecology students explored unique rock formations and fossils, some rarely found anywhere else in the world, during a spring break trip to the Bahamas. Twelve University of Arkansas at Little Rock students participated in the week-long trip to the island of San Salvador as part of a class taught by Drs. Laura Ruhl and René Shroat-Lewis, assistant professors of earth sciences. The 12 ��Vlog��ýLR students who went on the March 19-25 trip include Heath Birchfield, Elizabeth Haralson, Max Hartman, Ryan Hefley, Christian Johnston, Samantha McGehee, Amber Mitchell, J.T. Poole, Candice Randall, Abigail Rogne, Alicia Stephan, and Jurnee West. Members of the group observed the formations of different rock layers throughout the island. Students also explored the island’s caves, lakes, and fossilized reefs and dunes, as well as the youngest rock on the island, aged between 420-3,500 years. Students studied limestone features and took samples of sediment they observed later in the lab under microscopes. The group also visited the location of what some consider to be Christopher Columbus’ landing site. The students were able to see and study things unique to the area, such as the rare type of stromatolites at Storr’s Lake, found in only two parts of the world. Stromatolites are layered sheet-like sedimentary rocks formed by the growth of bacteria. Most stromatolites today are fossils. The group had to wade through hypersaline water and muddy conditions to reach them. “We trekked through it linking arms,” said Amber Mitchell, a senior majoring in biology. “It was a little difficult with our feet sinking in the mud and stepping on the sharp remnants of stromatolites, but we eventually made it, and it was well worth it.” Other activities included swimming and bodysurfing at Sandy Point and snorkeling at French Bay and Telephone Pole Reef. Students also encountered local wildlife such as funnel-eared bats, cerion snails, hermit crabs, and white-tailed tropical birds.

Photograph taken by J.T. Poole.

However, the trip had a few misfortunes. “The weather is awesome, but most of us are sunburned already and going on little sleep due to hot dorms and sharing rooms with sand fleas,” said J.T. Poole, a senior double majoring in biology and ecology. “Their bites don’t itch. They just let you know when they bite, about every minute or two throughout the night.” Halfway through the trip, Shroat-Lewis and a student had to visit a medical clinic. On the way back from another outing, their vehicle ran out of gas, but locals helped get the group back in town. Even though there were a few difficulties, students were grateful for the opportunity to see the geology of the Bahamas. “I have absolutely (fallen) in love with this island, and kitsch as it might be, I cannot think of a better way to spend my spring break,” said Heath Birchfield, a junior double majoring in biology and ecology. The week-long trip is a credited course (ERSC 4353) that is available every two years through the Department of Earth Sciences. Participating students have asked for an advanced-level course next year, so Shroat-Lewis thinks it’s possible ��Vlog��ýLR might send a group annually. To read more about the trip, visit the blog, .

Researcher to discuss the fault with earthquake films

Ajani Oyindamola — Wed, 17 Feb 2016 17:26:00 +0000

In the 2015 movie “,” the largest earthquake in recorded history devastates California. The cause of the statewide natural disaster is the 800-mile-long, which separates the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate. It has a reputation as being one of the most destructive faults in the world, because of its proximity to major population centers like Los Angeles and San Francisco. Did Hollywood get “San Andreas” right? Can a San Andreas earthquake create a tsunami? Can California earthquakes really open huge canyons when they rupture? Josh Spinler, an instructor in the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Department of Earth Sciences shared some answers during an event that was open to the public Wednesday, Feb. 17. “Hollywood seems to think that every time there is an earthquake, a huge crack needs to open in the ground,” Spinler said. “Whereas in nature, that is rarely, if ever, the case. It just makes for a better story to have the ground open up and swallow people than what actually happens.” Spinler worked to set the record straight in his talk, “The San Andreas Fault: Hollywood’s Natural Playground (or How to Destroy California in under 2 hours!),” which was held at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 17, in the ��Vlog��ýLR Engineering and Information Technology Building Auditorium. While showing clips from “San Andreas,” and other movies including “2012,” and “10.5,” Spinler used San Andreas Fault research to discuss how accurately Hollywood portrays these natural disasters on the big screen. “For those that are focused on geological disasters, no place gets destroyed more often than Hollywood’s own backyard, California,” he said. “While some of the top geologists and geophysicists in this country have been hired as technical advisors for these disaster movies, Hollywood still finds ways to bend the truth when it comes to geological accuracy in order to better push the narrative that the director wants for their movie.” Spinler graduated from the University of Wyoming with two bachelor’s degrees in geology and geography in 2006. He next attended the University of Arizona, where he received his master’s degree in geosciences in 2008 and his doctorate in geosciences in 2014. His dissertation focused on observation and modeling the present-day crustal deformation field of the greater southern San Andreas Fault system in southern California and northern Baja California in Mexico. For more information, visit /earthsciences/earthtalk.

Faculty member elected to national STEM board

��Vlog��ý Little Rock — Tue, 14 Jan 2014 18:43:42 +0000

The Washington D.C.-based nonprofit, Triangle Coalition for STEM Education, announced yesterday its 2014 board of directors which included a ��Vlog��ýLR faculty member, Dr. Wendi J.W. Williams. Dr. Williams is in the ��Vlog��ýLR Department of Earth Sciences and Northwest Arkansas Community College. She joins six other new board members from across the nation to serve in the Triangle Coalition which works to improve STEM education through a combination of advocacy, communications, and programmatic efforts. “Triangle Coalition is fortunate to have a dedicated group of directors returning to their leadership roles in the organization this year, and I’m pleased to welcome the new board members to the fold,” said Coalition Chief Executive Officer Jessica Bridges. Williams assists first generation, STEM underrepresented students and is especially focused on recruiting talent into geoscience vocations by teaching in pre-college programs that target middle and high school students. She advocates for better inclusion of persons with disabilities and deliberately uses universal design in her teaching environments. Universal design is the concept of designing all products to be aesthetic and usable to the greatest extent possible by everyone, regardless of their age, ability, or status in life. She also contributes as a member of the NWA Community College Diversity Task Force and ��Vlog��ýLR’s Disability Advisory Council. Williams earned a bachelor of science degree from the University of Texas–Arlington, a master of science degree from the University of California–Riverside, and a doctorate from the University of Texas in El Paso.

EarthTalk kicks off with quake lecture

��Vlog��ý Little Rock — Wed, 28 Aug 2013 23:10:04 +0000

The science lecture series, ��Vlog��ýLR EarthTalk, debuted this semester and will feature lively discussions about meteorites; hydraulic fracturing and earthquakes; and the San Andreas fault.

The next lecture, “Ground-Water Models of the Alluvial and Sparta Aquifers: Management Tools for a Sustainable Resource,” will be at 4:15 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12, in Fribourgh Hall room 101.

The featured speaker is John Czarnecki of Arkansas Water Resources Center who will discuss sustainable tools for aquifers – underground layers of water-bearing permeable rock from which groundwater can be extracted using a water well.

an image of an aquifer

All lectures in the series are free and open to the public.

Upcoming lecture topics and dates:

Sept. 26 – Erik Pollock; “Caves and Isotopes”
Oct. 10 – Rhiannon Mayne; “Meteorites”
Oct. 24 – Jackie Langille; “Crustal extension in the convergent Himalaya: Constraints from northwest India”
Nov. 7 – Rebecca Bendick; “How continents challenge the theory of plate tectonics”
Nov. 21 – Ben van der Pluijm; “Smart Clays: Fault Lubrication and Creep on the San Andreas Fault”
Dec. 5 – Tricia Kelley; “Evolution and Creation: Conflicting or Compatible?”

The series began Thursday, Aug. 29, with a presentation by Scott Ausbrooks of the Arkansas Geological Survey. Ausbrooks discussed the correlation between hydraulic fracturing and the Guy-Greenbrier earthquake swarm of 2009-2010. Future talks will bring in experts from around the United States to share research into plate tectonics, and evolution and creation. For more information, go to EarthTalk Lecture Series.

Students to Examine Appalachian Geology

��Vlog��ý Little Rock — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 20:51:36 +0000

A delegation of students and faculty from ��Vlog��ýLR’s Department of Earth Sciences is heading for the Geological Society of America annual meeting in Charlotte, N.C., this week to present research combined with a field trip to study Appalachian geology. Dr. Laura Ruhl, assistant professor of earth sciences, will lecture on her work regarding the validation of novel environmental tracers in relation to coal combustion residuals. Doctoral student Haveen Rashid will speak on the “Groundwater Flow Model of the Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer of Cache Critical Area.” Dr. Beth McMillan, associate professor of earth science, will present a poster regarding the use of virtual visualization tools and a case study approach to improve learning about sedimentary rocks and minerals in an online introductory geology lab course. “In addition, we are taking 12 students with us on a field trip through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to look at Appalachian geology,” McMillan said. “While at the meeting, the students are expected to attend talks and [peruse] posters of interest to them and attend mentor breakfasts and industry-sponsored lunches.” The meeting will also allow students to meet and talk with prospective employers and graduate school representatives. Students attending include Jessica Brown of St. Louis, Corbin Cannon of Tulsa, Okla.; Chris Allen of Gravel Ridge, Jason Dodd of Benton, Kelly Ho of Jonesboro; Blake Forrest and Kirk Rodgers, both of North Little Rock; and Abby Wyant, John Hutchison, Eric Allaby, Elizabeth Eberle, and Tim Fitzhugh, all of Little Rock.

Earth Science Celebrates Fossil Day Oct. 15

��Vlog��ý Little Rock — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 14:41:59 +0000

Earth scientists from ��Vlog��ýLR will celebrate with an open house from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15, on the first floor of the Science Lab Building where the public can view actual fossils and casts of fossils from the university’s collection and from other institutional collections. Joe Daniel, a paleontologist and an alumnus of the ��Vlog��ýLR geology program, said National Fossil Day mementos — pins, postcards, posters, magnets, and other items — will be given away. ��Vlog��ýLR faculty and students will be present to answer questions. “In addition to the fossils already on display, we will open the classrooms and showcase several other fossils, both from our collections and from other participating institutions, such as the Arkansas Geological Survey,” Daniel said. “The event is open to the public and all ages are welcome. People are welcome to bring any fossils they would like identified that they can compare to those on display. Over 500 million years of Arkansas’s history will be exhibited.” Fossils discovered on the nation’s public lands preserve ancient life from all major eras of Earth’s history and from every major group of animal or plant. In the national parks, for example, fossils range from primitive algae found high in the mountains of Glacier National Park, Montana, to the remains of ice-age animals found in caves at Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. Public lands provide visitors with opportunities to interpret a fossil’s ecological context by observing fossils in the same place those animals and plants lived millions of years ago. For more information, contact Dr. Jeff Connelly, chair of ��Vlog��ýLR’s Department of Earth Science, at 501-569-3546.

Grant Competition to Foster Campus Sustainability

��Vlog��ý Little Rock — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 22:01:07 +0000

Members of the ��Vlog��ýLR Sustainability Committee are inviting all full- and part-time faculty to participate in a small grant competition aimed at incorporating sustainability into research activities at the university. Proposals supporting student research are encouraged but must be submitted by the faculty research advisor. Two awards of up to $400 are available, and proposals must demonstrate how the project relates to sustainability at ��Vlog��ýLR or in a broader context. Proposals can budget the money for travel, equipment purchases, or student workers. Grant funds are to be spent by the end of the 2011 fiscal year. To apply, complete the attached application form and submit it as an email attachment to Jamey Jones. The application form can also be downloaded from the ��Vlog��ýLR Sustainability website under the link titled “Research Grant Competition.” The deadline for applications is 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 21. Grantees will report to the Sustainability Committee the results of their activities and show evidence regarding the completion of their grants. Grantees will also be expected to present their research results or progress at a half-day sustainability symposium to be held on the ��Vlog��ýLR campus. The symposium is scheduled to coincide with Earth Day on Friday, April 22. Any questions about the program guidelines or application process should be directed to Jones, Department of Earth Sciences, at 501-683-7743.

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