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

Google grant allows ��Vlog��ý Little Rock to provide free cloud-based cybersecurity labs for Arkansas students

Ajani Oyindamola — Wed, 28 Aug 2019 14:58:47 +0000

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock professor has received a $10,000 Google grant that will help provide free cloud-based cybersecurity labs for junior high and high school students in Arkansas. Philip Huff, assistant professor of computer science and research associate with the Emerging Analytics Center, received $10,000 in Google Cloud Platform credits from Google’s education grants team. The credits will be used to host online cybersecurity labs in development at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. Funded by a three-year from the National Science Foundation, the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Emerging Analytics Center is developing a free open-source, cybersecurity curriculum for students in Arkansas with assistance from the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. “Gov. Asa Hutchinson has expanded computer science education in Arkansas, and now the state wants to expand cybersecurity education as well. We want to play a central role in educating cybersecurity students and getting them ready for the workforce.” The new curriculum is part of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s effort to create a pipeline for students to fill cybersecurity positions in the workforce. Set to be launched later this fall, the curriculum will provide a variety of cybersecurity labs that teachers can provide to their students at no cost. The online lab environment, known as the Cyber Gym, will be placed on Google Cloud. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock students who are developing the Cyber Gym workouts include Andrew Bombberger, Chance Melby, Ryan Ronquillio, and Verdin-Pol Gaétan. “The main benefit of the grant is that it enables us to run the Cyber Gym for middle and high school teachers for most of the 2019-20 school year,” Huff said. “With the $10,000, we have the ability to run 2,000 distinct classroom labs a month for six months. We are extremely grateful to Google for helping us provide these no-cost labs to students and their teachers.” In the upper right photo, Philip Huff (left), ��Vlog��ý Little Rock assistant professor and research fellow at Emerging Analytics Center, leads a cybersecurity workshop for high achool teachers from around the state. Photo by Ben Krain.

Girls learn tech skills at Windstream Girl: CODE Camp

Janea Snyder — Mon, 29 Jul 2019 18:30:58 +0000

Sixteen rising eighth- and ninth-grade girls just spent a week at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock learning coding skills that will come in handy for future STEM careers. The girls coding camp, made possible with a $10,000 sponsorship from , is a one-week annual residential camp that aims to motivate academically prepared females to enter the fields of computer science, information science or web design. The program is free to participants. During the camp, which ended July 26, girls stayed in ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s on-campus housing so they also got a taste of what it’s like to be on a college campus. During the day, they worked with Thomas Wallace, senior instructor of information science and ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s coordinator of the Web Design and Development program and information technology minor. “Our focus has been on the web stack of three core technologies: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript,” Wallace said. “Each day we focused on a different layer. The afternoons were for lab, and that’s where they applied the skills they learned.” The girls also took a field trip to Windstream where they learned how to provision a phone system, participated in binary coding exercises, and toured a network lab. “Working directly with these girls, watching them work together to learn how to provision phones on Windstream’s network is truly an inspirational experience,” said Sara Lary, manager of the Law Enforcement Support Center. “Seeing their excitement when the equipment works and watching them call their parents to share their experience and enthusiasm is proof that we are doing good work and making a difference. Yesterday one of our campers said ‘This is awesome, I want to do this! What do I need to do so I can do something like this with Windstream?’ We need to keep that enthusiasm going for generations and continue to work to provide more opportunities for young girls to succeed at an early age.” Lary’s daughter is a former participant of the camp. “I got to witness firsthand how her experience attending this camp sparked a level of confidence, interest and motivation in her education and career path that she didn’t have previously,” Lary recalled. “Once she was given the opportunity to learn cool, relevant things with technology in a healthy environment, she became excited about her future. We can do this for all young girls. By fostering an interest in STEM (now STEAM) topics at a young age and working on the negative connotations and barriers that girls face today, educators, parents, and mentors can work together to help girls maintain confidence and curiosity in STEAM.” This year’s participants were selected from schools statewide based on essay, grades, test scores, and recommendations. Schools represented include Forest Heights Stem Academy, Lisa Academy West, Pinnacle View Middle School, Pulaski Academy, and Quest Academy, all in Little Rock; Fulbright Junior High School in Centerton; Ruth Doyle Middle School in Conway; and St. Joseph School in Russellville. Photo, top right: Girls gathered at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock to participate in a week-long coding camp, sponsored by Windstream. Photos left and above right: Girls participate in technology-based challenge activities at Windstream’s networking lab on July 25, 2019. Photos by Benjamin Krain

Haller finds her place in a new city

Wed, 06 Feb 2019 19:41:11 +0000

It’s hard to believe that junior web design and development major Leslie Haller ever found it difficult to find her place at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. As an ambassador for the university’s George W. Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology, it’s hard to miss her on campus today. However, when Haller, a native of Blue Springs, Missouri, arrived in 2016, she knew no one on campus or in Little Rock and struggled to adapt to life in a new city. “My greatest challenge to overcome was branching out and accepting change. Moving to Little Rock by myself was a big change for me,” Haller said. “I found myself missing my parents and the life that I had in Blue Springs. There were times that I wished that I could just go back in time and not have to worry about all the changes that comes with becoming an independent adult.” After visiting the university’s counseling services, she quickly realized that she was living in her own “bubble” and set out to become more involved on campus. “At first, I had a hard time branching out and finding my place here. There were many different organizations and programs that I could join, but I wasn’t sure which would be the right one for me,” she said. “As an EIT Scholar, I was required to spent a lot of time in the EIT lab. I made a few friends who were EIT Ambassadors and after talking to them, I knew that I wanted to become an ambassador and represent the college.” Becoming an EIT Ambassador was only the first step in Haller’s journey to truly find her place on campus. In the spring of 2018, she was accepted for an internship at Team SI, a Little Rock- based digital marketing agency, where she continues to build a well-connected network and develop professionally in a city that only recently had still felt new and uncertain. During the fall 2018 semester, she also served as a resident assistant in South Hall after developing a passion for campus leadership. “Being involved on campus in leadership positions has really taught me a lot about being responsible and helping others,” Haller said. “Juggling school, being an ambassador and RA, and having an internship has not been and will not be easy. I know there will be long nights of hard work, but I believe that the experiences and things that I will learn will all pay off in the end.” After graduation, she plans to move again, this time equipped with the skills she needs to adapt to change and thrive in a new city. “I plan to move to a new state and start my career in web design and development after I graduate,” Haller said. “Even though Little Rock has opened many doors for me, I want to have the experience of living in another city and build my life from there. I think it is important to branch out and have new experiences in life instead of settling for the same thing you have always known. It really helps to shape who you are and exposes you to different experiences and lessons that you may not have had if you stayed in one area.” For any students who feel like they don’t have a place on campus or who may be afraid to reach out for assistance, Haller offers the following advice: “If I had one piece of advice for anyone, it would be to not be afraid to reach out and go outside of their comfort zone,” Haller said. “Having these opportunities to become involved on campus has given me ways to meet more people and strengthen important life skills. This helped me find my place here, and I’m sure it can help you too.”

��Vlog��ý Little Rock grad researches validity of patient data found on social networks

Ajani Oyindamola — Wed, 12 Dec 2018 15:35:15 +0000

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock student who is graduating on Dec. 15 is making it easier for medical researchers to validate patient data found on social networks that can be used to make important decisions about what medical products are advanced for future development. When Kim Tran of Little Rock was working at Arkansas Capital Corporation a decade ago, she noted that there was a statewide discussion on the critical importance of computer and information technology. “I was working with business and government leaders throughout Arkansas who were talking about technology and how important it was to have access to the infrastructure in order to enable that technology,” she said. “At the time, people were also starting to talk about this thing called big data. With this in mind, I wanted to learn more. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock had also just partnered with MIT to develop a curriculum that was focused on the science of data and that is what brought me to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock.” Tran, who began the Ph.D. program in computer and information science in 2010 as a part-time student who worked full time, said one of the most challenging aspects of the process was selecting a topic for her dissertation, citing the more than 1,200 articles she reviewed before choosing a topic. She’s grateful for her professors who served as mentors during her time at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. “Dr. Rolf Wigand was always pushing the boundary for me,” she said. “Every time I felt good about where I was at, he would challenge me to look around the next corner. Ph.D. students need this kind of feedback in order to strengthen the quality of their research. Dr. John Talburt and Dr. Meredith Zozus especially helped me contextualize my research. I also developed lifetime friendships with many professors at the university. They were an exceptionally supportive group, and I was lucky to have that.” Having a support structure during her doctoral endeavors was something she especially owes to her dissertation advisor, Dr. Nitin Agarwal, Maulden-Entergy Endowed Chair and distinguished professor in the Department of Information Science and director of the Collaboratorium of Social Media and Online Behavioral Studies (). “The great thing about the Ph.D. process is that you have an advisor who will guide you through the process and help open doors so that you can grow and develop. Dr. Agarwal guided me through the process,” she said. Tran’s research brings together the fields of machine learning and natural language processing, psychometrics, and social networks, all of which are applied to Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF), a lung disease which results in scarring (fibrosis) of the lungs for unknown reasons. An estimated five million patients worldwide and 150,000 patients in the United States are affected by this disease. “Kim’s research bridges the disciplines of statistics, health sciences, information sciences, and social networks by developing a computational framework to assess social media’s validity in capturing patient reported outcomes from Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis patients,” Agarwal said. “Her research has far-reaching implications to the health domain by facilitating exploratory efforts in the medical product development process.” Since 2009, regulatory reviewers have been looking at ways to incorporate patient input into its drug selection process, in order to bring drugs to the market sooner, Tran said. In 2015, a discussion held between regulatory reviewers, pharmaceutical companies, and a patient group generated consensus on the potential of social networks in supporting the validity of patient outcomes identified for medical product development and her dissertation creates a scalable framework from which the validity of social networks can be determined. “Healthcare is very unique domain since research in this area affects the lives of patients,” she said. “So any data you are deriving from any source will require a high level of scrutinization. Social networks are one possible platform that can be used as a source to develop patient-reported outcomes. While the ideal source of feedback is obtained directly from the patient, the way in which this information is gathered is highly variant in scope and in quality. The FDA, for example, still collects patient input through town halls. In the search for more efficient methods of gathering patient understanding, social networks serve as a unique source of observational data.” In order to study whether the data is valid, she uses advanced probabilistic methods to analyze and evaluate Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis messages from Twitter for the last 10 years across 34 different languages from around the world. Tran was drawn to study Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis after attending an international research conference where she spoke with patients and about this little known disease. “IPF is not as well known or studied as breast cancer,” she said. “When something is idiopathic, you don’t know the origin. The one thing you do know is that your disease is fatal and that it will result in markedly reduced lung capacity over time. I met with and spoke at length with many patients who were affected by this disease at an international conference. It was eye opening and also touching how driven and motivated these patients were to learn about IPF. They were there because they didn’t want to just be a patient, they wanted to be a part of finding a cure. That gave me the drive to learn more about the field and to help advance the understanding of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.” As part of her dissertation, Tran has collaborate with a researchers across the country who are planning to set up additional studies based on this research. “I have been fortunate to meet researchers from other institutions that I have been working with as well as others that I will begin to work with,” she said. “This is a group which will bring diverse perspectives and includes researchers from ��Vlog��ýMS, Yale, Georgetown, Northeastern, and Tulane University. There is much opportunity to extend this research to fully evaluate the validity of social networks, and I am really looking forward to it.” In the end, Tran is grateful for the opportunities that earning a Ph.D. brought her. “The Ph.D. process is an excellent development opportunity as long as you are able to commit to the process,” Tran said. “Through this process, you learn how to learn. I had an opportunity to work across a variety of fields that are all on the cutting edge of things that matter in today’s business environment and to make a novel contribution to the field.”

��Vlog��ý Little Rock awards $100,000 to students for research, creative works

Janea Snyder — Wed, 14 Nov 2018 16:19:24 +0000

More than 100 undergraduates at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock will receive $1,000 grants to conduct original research, creative works, and community service projects this year as part of the university’s Signature Experience Award Program. Award winners will complete their signature experiences by the end of the 2019 spring semester and present their work at the 2019 Undergraduate Research and Creative Works Showcase on April 18. Students can use their grants to pay expenses related to their projects, which are designed to contribute to their academic development. This year, 144 students applied for the grants, representing an 82 percent increase in applications over last year, said Dr. Jeremy Ecke, chair of the Department of English and director of the Signature Experience program. Of the 144 applicants, 112 student projects received funding, and an additional 20 unfunded applications were recognized as Honorary Signature Experience projects and applicants were invited to present at the April showcase. To receive an award, undergraduate students must have a minimum 2.5 grade point average and have a faculty member to mentor the project. “The growth of the Signature Experience over the past two years reflects the serious engagement of our students and faculty in the support and development of undergraduate research and creative endeavors,” Ecke said. “The Signature Experience is a direct embodiment of the university’s five strategic goals: it directs resources toward student success, research, and creative endeavors while fostering community engagement and promoting projects that support diversity and global citizenship.” This year’s applicants come from all of the university’s colleges and reflect a diverse range of topics. Students are researching topics ranging from breast cancer and traumatic brain injury to soil composition in the Little Rock Zoo, bank erosion in Coleman Creek, adaptation of Micronesian immigrants, and culturally based responses to homelessness in French and U.S. cities. Chancellor Andrew Rogerson announced the program in 2017 to inspire students to conduct original research and creative projects with guidance of faculty mentors. Last year, 79 students received awards. Congratulations to the following students: College of Arts, Letters and Sciences

Luke Johnson, biology, mentored by John M. Bush. “Phages in different types of water and their effects”
Kimberly Maurer, English, mentored by Paul Crutcher. “Breaking “Single Story” Silence: Celebrating Positive, Diverse Girlhood”
Bonnie R. Young, dance, mentored by Stephanie Thibeault. “Fortune Favors the Bold: Confidence in Dance”
Thuy Le, chemistry, mentored by Noureen Siraj. “A portable nanosensor for nitroaromatic detection”
Katherine Ashley Hall, theatre arts, mentored by Yslan Hicks. “Cross-dressing: The Transformative Power of Costumes on Shakespeare’s Stage”
Robert Hill, chemistry, mentored by Noureen Siraj. “Tunable Porphyrin Nanoparticles As Combination Drug For Cancer Therapy.”
Emily Anderson, biology, mentored by Shanzhi Wang. “Enzymatic Characterization of Bgp from B. burgdorferi, the Main Causative Agent in Lyme Disease in the U.S.”
Reem Al-Shukri, biology, mentored by Alexandru Biris. “Plasmonic Nanovectors for Selective Targeting and Killing of Cancer Cells”
Humam Shahare, biology, mentored by Noureen Siraj and Tito Viswanathan. “Use of Ionic Liquid Electrolyte to Enhance the Supercapacitance of Doped Carbon Materials”
KateLin Carsrud, English, mentored by Jeffrey Condran. “Braddock Avenue Books Spring Catalogue at the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference, Portland, Ore., March 2019”
David Alan Cline, physics, mentored by John Nichols. “Development and Implementation of a Miniature Musical Tesla coil”
Chandrasimha Reddy Penthala, chemistry and biology, mentored by Wei Zhao. “Synthesis of NiFe-Based Metal-Organic Framework Nanosheets on Nickel Foams for Water-Splitting Electrocatalysis”
Sarah Harper, art education, mentored by Timothy Garth. “Curating Connections: Museum Skills and Pk-12 Learning Engagement”
Caleb Alexander-McKinzie, English/legal studies, mentored by Heather Hummel. “Blood Orange Review and Braddock Avenue Books Literary Reading at the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference, Portland, Ore., March 2019
Grayson Treat, English, mentored by Heather K. Hummel. “The Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference Undergraduate Resource Guide”
Madeleine Logan, biology, mentored by Robert Sikes. “Minimizing Stress in Wild vs Domesticated Mammals: The Effects of Anesthesia and Handling Time”
Bonn Belingon, chemistry, mentored by Shanzhi Wang. “Potential Use of Enzyme Glucose Oxidase (GOx) as an Antimicrobial Agent”
Tyler Maxwell, biology and chemistry, mentored by Qingfang He. “De novo Biosynthesis of Resveratrol in Metabolically Engineered”
Madison Brown, English, mentored by Jeffrey Condran. “Presenting the 2019 Equinox Literary Magazine at the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference, Portland, Ore., March 2019”
Kathryn Bates, English, mentored by Jeffrey Condran. “Funding Undergraduate Literary Magazines: An Investigation at the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference, Portland, Ore., March 2019”
Noemi Garcia, biology/Spanish, mentored by Stephen Grace. “Gene Discovery for Health Promoting Phytochemicals in the Medicinal Plant Echinacea”
Jessica Yvonne Ley, theatre arts, mentored by Lawrence D. Smith. “The Default: An Exploration of Heteronormativity through Stage Performance”
Serena Mykenzie Gordon, theatre arts, mentored by Lawrence D. Smith. “A Theatre of Cruelty Experience”
Caroline Kornelsen, chemistry, mentored by Noureen Siraj and Tito Vishwanathan. “Synthesis of a Betaine Ester Surfactant via a Novel “Green” Method of Esterification”
Grace Young, biology, mentored by Robert Sikes. “Minimizing Stress in Wild vs Domesticated Mammals: The Effects of Anesthesia and Handling Time”
Jessica L. Morris, biology, mentored by Scott Woolbright. “Evaluating Variation in Soil Composition among Habitats at the Little Rock Zoo”
Carol Ann Bowerman, biology and chemistry, mentored by Nawab Ali. “The Investigation of Silver-coated Gold Nanorods as an Effective Nano-drug Vessel”.”
Maxwell Rollins Campbell, biology/music, mentored by Carl R. Stapleton. “Effects of Endocrine Disrupting Compounds on Ostracod Densities in Fourche Creek”
Arooba Ilyas, biology/chemistry, mentored by Noureen Siraj. “Tea Waste as an Adsorbent for Water Purification”
Ryan Mann, biology, mentored by Shanzhi Wang. “The Affects of Caspase-1 Cleavage on Alpha-Synuclein”
Travis Jumper, chemistry, mentored by Anindya Ghosh. “A Novel Synthetic Chemical Pathway for the Formation of Amides”
Lauren Humphrey, graphic design, mentored by Kevin Cates. “Children’s Bible for residents in Mongu, Zambia”
Aaron Prosser, graphic design, mentored by Kevin Cates. “Organo Guys Action Figures”
Tracy V. Cook, English, mentored by Jana McAuliffe. “Brief Thoughts of the 21st Century”
Tina Hesabizadeh, interdisciplinary studies, mentored by Gregory Guisbiers. “Synthesis of Selenium-based Nanostructures”
Vardah Asad Sheikh, physics, mentored by Tansel Karabacak. “Nanorod Arrays for Flexible Photodetector Applications”
Lyle P. Arnett, Physics, mentored by Tansel Karabacak. “Growth of Metal Oxide Nanostructures (MONSTRs) by Hot Water Treatment/Deposition”
William James Avery King, molecular biotechnology, mentored by Alexandru Biris. “Evaluation of Gold Nanoparticles with Various Aspect Ratios for Use as Artificial Extracellular Matrices for Growing Neural Cells”
Thomas Jackson, theatre arts, mentored by William Marshall. “Scenic design for Fringe Festival”
Conor Van Lierop, theatre arts, mentored by William Marshall. “Lighting design for the Fringe Festival”
Brandy Rochelle Mimms, dance performance, mentored by Stephanie Thibeault. “Deaf can Dance.”
Taylor S. Green, theatre arts and dance, mentored by Lawrence D. Smith, “The Elaine Twelve: Aftermath of the Massacre of 1919”
Emily Nichole Fendley, French / anthropology and nonprofit leadership studies, mentored by Rosalie M. Cheatham. “Homelessness: Causes, Culturally-based Responses and NGO Engagement in Mid-sized French and US Cities”

College of Education and Health Professions

Emilia Zsuzsanna Rak, social work, mentored by David J. Namir. “Change Your Days”
Wesley C. Smith, nursing, mentored by Jeffrey K. Carmack. “An Assessment of Time Spent Teaching Hearing and Non-hearing Patients”
Tamara J. Martin, communication sciences and disorders, mentored by Dr. Donna J. Kelly. “Investigation of Interdisciplinary Assessment Measures of Acute and Persistent Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) Sequela in Adults”
Darleene Rua and Michelle Henderson, nursing, mentored by Leigh Snead. “Students’ Perceptions and Skills Performance in Two Student-led Emergency Simulated Scenarios”
Jessica Swatzel, communication sciences and disorders, mentored by Dana Moser. “Effects of Applying Brain Stimulation during Language Intervention?”
Darrien Adams, health education and promotion, mentored by Janea Snyder. “Growing Healthy Communities Projects (Wellness Fair & Garden to Grill Cooking Class)”
Emily Junkans, communication sciences and disorders/ Spanish, mentored by Jeremy Ecke. “Language and Identity: Academic English and International Students”

Stuti Chatterjee, biology, mentored by Philip H. Williams. “Island project – Automated water quality sensors/wildlife webcam”

College of Business

Emelie Blennow, marketing, mentored by Dr. Casey Rockwell. “Analysis of Ethical and Legal Implications of Autopilot vehicles. Is Tesla the new Pinto?”
Maximillian Holzmueller, economics and Finance, mentored by Moiz Bhai. “A Case Study in Agrowponics”
Alexander Reid Palmer, Human Resource Management, mentored by John Hendon, “Medical Marijuana and Federalism”

College of Social Sciences and Communication

Nicholas J. Popowich, journalism, mentored by John A. Kirk. “Documenting the Black Power Movement in Arkansas”
Rhonda Thomas, professional and technical writing, mentored by Heidi Skurat Harris. “Alexander’s Stray Mare: Tracing an Ancestor from Georgia to Pre-territorial Arkansas”

Julie O’Hara, political science, mentored by Joseph Giammo. “The Effect of Elite Discourses on Secessionist Movements”
Dylan Wright, political science/Spanish, mentored by Eric Wiebelhaus-Brahm. “The Language of Truth: Exploring the Discourse of Latin American Truth Commission Recommendations”
Jordan Wallis, political science, mentored by Rebecca Glazier. “God and Country: Veteran Services in the Little Rock Religious Community”
Mary Katelyn McBrayer, applied communication, mentored by April Chatham-Carpenter. “Disrupting the Cycle of Mental Illness: Building up Intergenerational Family Resilience through Positive Communication”
Robin A. Freeman, applied communication, mentored by Avinash Thombre. “Understanding Communication Strategies for Women without Children”
Octavious Harris, criminal justice/law enforcement, mentored by Trisha N. Rhodes. “Exploring Predictors of Sentencing for Male and Female Prisoners in Arkansas”
Michael Meziere, criminal justice, mentored by Molly Smith. “Examining the Relationship between Religiosity, Rape Myth Acceptance, and Sexual Misconduct”
Asiah Bradley, criminal justice and psychology, mentored by Molly Smith. “Correlates of Sexual Misconduct Victims’ Use of Campus Resources”
Morgan Paige Topping, political science, mentored by Rebecca Glazier. “How Social Media can Increase Participation in Community-based Research: The Case of the Little Rock Congregation Study”
Rosalinda Roper, political science/international studies, mentored by Eric Wiebelhaus-Brahm. “Exploring Variation in International Response to Refugee Crises”
Madeline Burke, international studies, mentored by Casey Rockwell. “The Unregulated Regulators”

CSSC & CALS

Nicole Ursin, anthropology/history, mentored by Juliana Flinn. “Adaptation of Micronesian Immigrants”
Katherine Roberts, philosophy/interdisciplinary, mentored by Jana McAuliffe. “Diversifying the Discipline: An analysis of the 2019 Arkansas High School Ethics Bowl”
Emma Beth Williams, professional and technical writing/legal studies, mentored by Jana McAuliffe. “An Axiology of Public Philosophy: A Study in Public Intellectualism”
Solomon Ra’phael Davis, international studies/philosophy, mentored by Eric Wiebelhaus-Brahm. “Making Human Lives Better: How Material and Symbolic Reparations Improve Post Civil War Peace”

Engineering & Information Technology

Andrew Mark Cherry, mechanical systems engineering, mentored by Jin Wook Lee. “A Quadcopter with Improved Lift Capabilities”
Rebecca L. Bishop, geology, mentored by Rene A. Shroat-Lewis. “Monitoring Coral Patch Reefs of San Salvador Island, Bahamas for Diversity and Disease”
Christopher Flocken, computer science, mentored by Steven Minsker. “Functional Programming Design”
Lamarcus Coleman, computer science/mathematics, mentored by Mariofanna Milanova. “Applying Deep Reinforcement Learning to Economic Event Prediction”

Ahmed Alazzawi, systems engineering, mentored by Kamran Iqbal. “Altered Muscle Synergies While Walking Under Higher Postural Constraints”
Josh Carlat, computer science game option, mentored by Sean Orme. “A Look into the Feasibility of Teaching Game Engine Design at the Undergraduate Level”
Nikki Mullen, mechanical systems engineering, mentored by Andrew Wright and Alex Biris. “Characterization of Nanoparticle Scaffolding Polymer”
Luke Tyhurst, information science, mentored by Eric Wiebelhaus-Brahm. “Developing an Online Platform: From Market Research to a Minimum Viable Product”
Zezhang Lin, computer science, mentored by Chia-Chu Chiang. “Automatic Customization of Web Pages to Enhance User Experience”
David M. Hough, environmental geology, mentored by Thomas Colby. “Investigating the Age and Significance of a Rare Occurrence of Metagabbro in the Ouachita Mountains, Central Arkansas, USA”
Jason Spencer, geology, mentored by Michael DeAngelis. “Mineralogical, Petrological and Geochronological Investigation of the Blue Ball Lamproite Dike near Waldron, Arkansas, USA”
Cody Smith, geology, mentored by Michael DeAngelis. “Reproducing and Improving the Sol-Gel Synthesis of Nanoscale Enstatite (Mg2Si2O6) and Diopside (CaMgSi2O6)”
Li Zhou Morrow, mechanical engineering technology, mentored by Ashokkumar M. Sharma. “Design and Development of a Unique Transparent Fishing Tackle Box”

Michael Tyler Kee, geology, mentored by Laura Ruhl. “Evolution of Contaminants in Weathered Coal Combustion Residuals: an Environmental Case Study”
Julian Reid Ervin, environmental geology, mentored by Laura Ruhl. “Microplastics in Fourche Creek Wetlands”
Derrick Fuell, mechanical engineering technology, mentored by Srikanth B. Pidugu. “A Novel Macro-mixer for Medical Applications”
Jacob H. Jackson, mechanical engineering technology, mentored by Ashokkumar M. Sharma. “Water Recycling System for a Hydraulic Ram Pump”
Denver Ellis, computer science, mentored by Jan P. Springer. “Improving Versatility of Smart Mirrors Through Facial Recognition and Rotational Measurements”
Joshua Ray, environmental engineering, mentored by Lashun Massey.“A Novel Collaborative Approach to Addressing Environmental Engineering”
Kajal Shukla, computer science, mentored by Mariofanna Milanova. “Boosting Deep Learning Risk Prediction for Electronic Health Records”
Zaire Idalis Husband, computer science/information assurance, mentored by Jan P. Springer. “Multi-Factor Authentication”
Taima Zidan Suid, computer science with mathematics minor, mentored by Jan P. Springer. “Multi-Factor Authentication”
Malik Shakur El-Amin, computer science, mentored by Jan P. Springer. “MockSOC – A prototype Special Operations Center”
Sam Willis, computer science, mentored by Mariofanna Milanova. “Computer Vision System to Identify and Quantify Waste”
Chance Melby, computer science, mentored by Jan P. Springer. “Analysis of Red Team Coordination: Finding the Correct Attack Methodology”
Adam Ness, systems engineering/mathematics, mentored by Marc D. Glidden. “Ramifications of Bank Deserts on Financial Literacy”
Christopher F. Bohner, mechanical engineering technology, mentored by Ashokkumar M. Sharma. “Design-for-manufacturing, construction, and testing of a thermochemical system to generate power from municipal solid waste”
Pablo J. Centeno, mechanical engineering technology, mentored by Ashokkumar M. Sharma and Srikanth B. Pidugu. “Pick and place robot”
Bryan S. Wilson, mechanical engineering technology, mentored by Ashokkumar M. Sharma. “Design, construction, and testing of a re-designed gasifier”
Jonathon M. Horn, geology, mentored by Margaret E. McMillan. “Analysis of short-term changes in bank erosion and sediment transport in Coleman Creek, Little Rock, AR, using ��Vlog��ýV aerial surveys”
Patrick W. Paladino, geology, mentored by Margaret E. McMillan. “Analysis of Short-term Changes in Bank Erosion and Sediment Transport in Coleman Creek, Little Rock, AR, Using Field Surveys”
Mandolin Harris, geology, mentored by Laura Ruhl. “Evolution of Karst Spring Water in the Ozark Mountains: Impacts on Water Quality”
Elias Perez Reyes, mechanical engineering technology, mentored by Srikanth B. Pidugu. “Effective Thermal Conductivity of Open Celled Copper Foam metals”
Alexandria L. Smith, electronic and computer engineering technology, mentored by Hirak Patangia. “An Evaporative Energy Harvester”
Sherif A. Selim, mechanical engineering technology, mentored by Kailash C. Jajam. “Additive Manufacturing of Multiphase Syntactic Foams Modified with Glass Microballoons and Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNTs)”
Alex Alvarez, mechanical engineering technology/Spanish, mentored by Sandra Leiterman. “BB-8 in STEM Ed”
Nigel Kelly, mechanical systems engineering/mathematics, mentored by Alexandru Biris. “Fabrication of Hafnium Thin Films for Optical Applications”
Ashley Strohmeyer, electrical and computer engineering technology, mentored by Alexandru Biris. “Fabrication of Titanium Disilicide Films Using Pulsed Laser Deposition”
Eric Nelson Sutherland Jr., mechanical systems engineering, mentored by Soheil Saedi. “An Investigation on the Effects of Heat Treatment Process on Phase Transformation of NiTi Shape Memory Alloys”
Evan Angle, computer science/physics, mentored by Albert Baker. “Can Enhanced VR Display Resolution Impact Application Effectiveness?”

Honorary Signature Experience Award winners

Gary Morries, biology, mentored by Scott Woolbright. “Survey of Climate Relict Populations of Varied Groundsnakes (Sonora semiannulatum) from Rare Arkansas Glade Ecosystems.”
Madison Victoria Rodgers, political science, mentored by Rebecca Glazier. “Engagement and Religion among Little Rock Congregations: The Reciprocal Relationship between Community Involvement and Political Involvement”
Christopher Tate, post-bac nursing, mentored by Leigh Snead. “Students’ Perceptions and Skills Performance in Two Student-led Emergency Simulated Scenarios”
Elizabeth Jarrott, nursing, mentored by Leigh Snead. “Students’ Perceptions and Skills Performance in Two Student-led Emergency Simulated Scenarios.”
Laura Ruiz Astorga, international studies and psychology, mentored by Eric Wiebelhaus-Brahm. “Women’s Empowerment in Conflict-Affected Societies”
Victoria Yvonne McHargue, biology/chemistry/ American sign language, mentored by John Bush. “Using Bacteriophages for Potential Bio-remediation for a Water Source”
Allie Woodville, political science and anthropology, mentored by Eric Wiebelhaus-Brahm. “The Syrian Refugee Crisis and Information Technology: From a Public Involvement Perspective”
Katie Matthews, biology, mentored by Scott Woolbright. “Soil Microbial Communities Associated with a Prairie Restoration in Northwest Arkansas.”
Taylor Hudson, mechanical engineering technology, mentored by Ashokkumar M. Sharma. “Design Modification, Construction and Testing of Ram Pump – A Performance Improvement Study”

��Vlog��ý Little Rock student Sylvia Szwedo talks about her chemistry project during the 2018 Student Research and Creative Works Showcase. Photo by Benjamin Krain

Two ��Vlog��ý Little Rock programs earn accreditation

Ajani Oyindamola — Tue, 25 Sep 2018 14:45:48 +0000

Two programs from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology have received accreditation from ABET. The Architectural and Construction Engineering (ARCE) and Mechanical Systems Engineering (MSEG) programs have been accredited by ABET after a 20-month review process. The added accreditation is retroactive to Oct. 1, 2016. “ABET is the gold standard for technical education of all kinds,” said Nickolas Jovanovic, professor in the Department of Construction Management and Civil and Construction Engineering. “Meeting the accreditation standards for ABET is a testament to the high quality of the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock ARCE and MSEG programs, their faculty, and graduates.” Accreditation is a voluntary, peer-reviewed process that evaluates many factors, including curriculum, educational facilities, institutional support, faculty expertise, student performance, and outcomes. Many employers require degrees from accredited programs for employment in certain technical fields. The Architectural and Construction Engineering program in the Department of Construction Management and Civil and Construction Engineering was approved by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education in August 2012, and the program produced its initial graduating class in May 2017. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s program focuses on building structure design and construction engineering and management. All students in the program are required to complete a minimum of 800 contact hours of practical work experience in an approved construction- or engineering-related activity to gain valuable industry experience and insights. The Mechanical Systems Engineering program in the Department of Systems Engineering started in the spring 2017 semester. It is a unique, interdisciplinary program which combines the strengths of traditional mechanical engineering with a core of systems engineering concepts. , previously known as the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, accredits college and university programs in the disciplines of applied and natural science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology at the associate, bachelor and master degree levels. Accreditation criteria focus on what students experience and learn. Sought worldwide, ABET’s voluntary peer-review process is highly respected because it adds critical value to academic programs in the technical disciplines, where quality, precision and safety are of the utmost importance. ABET is a nonprofit, non-governmental organization recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.

Social bots disrupt online communication about natural disasters

Ajani Oyindamola — Thu, 24 May 2018 13:01:28 +0000

Researchers at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock are studying how social bots influence the delivery of news via social media during major disasters. The study examines the role of social bots – automated Twitter accounts that attempt to affect or influence the behaviors of others – and their coordination and communication patterns with complex organizational structures to disseminate information during four natural disasters that occurred in 2017. The paper, “Analyzing Social Bots and their Coordination during Natural Disasters,” will be discussed at the International Conference on Social Computing, Behavioral-Cultural Modeling, & Prediction and Behavior Representation in Modeling and Simulation to be held July 10-13 in Washington D.C. , a Ph.D. student in computer and information science at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, is the lead author who will present the paper. She is also a researcher at (Collaboratorium for Social Media and Behavioral Studies) – a research group led by Dr. Nitin Agarwal, Jerry L. Maulden-Entergy Endowed Chair and Distinguished Professor of Information Science. Khaund also presented this work at the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Student Research and Creative Works Showcase and was awarded first place in the graduate student technology division. The paper’s co-authors include Dr. Samer Al-Khateeb, a postdoctoral research fellow at COSMOS, Dr., a research project analyst at the office of Medicaid Inspector General and a postdoctoral research fellow at COSMOS, and Agarwal. Researchers collected data from Twitter during Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria as well as the 7.1-magnitude Central Mexico earthquake that killed 370 people on Sept. 19, 2017. The study resulted in the collection of more than 1.2 million tweets generated by more than 800,000 Twitter accounts. The researchers detected the presence of social bots in the collected dataset and studied the social networks of the top ranked bot accounts as well as the top ranked non-bot accounts (humans) and then compared both networks. They discovered that social bots, which evolve constantly and become more sophisticated as time progresses, can disrupt discourse in online spaces. While humans have more tightly knit online communities, social bots tend to make rather weaker connections that result in a lack of a sense of belonging in the online community. Analysis of their content revealed that the discourse was not just limited to the disaster events. Non-relevant hashtags including hoaxes and alternate narratives were latched on to the event-specific hashtags and were disseminated in Spanish, Arabic, French, and Japanese, among other languages. In future research, COSMOS investigators hope to understand the different strategies that social bots use to coordinate disinformation campaigns in which online discourse is successfully manipulated. The research is supported in part by grants from the U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR), U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and the Maulden-Entergy endowment at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funding organizations. Researchers gratefully acknowledge the support.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock students win Alabama hackathon with cryptocurrency prototype app

Ajani Oyindamola — Tue, 24 Apr 2018 13:00:51 +0000

Two University of Arkansas at Little Rock students are looking to make a name for themselves in the world of hackathons. Michael DiCicco, sophomore information science major from Benton, and Karen Watts, senior information science major from Bryant, took home a big win as first place winners of CrimsonHacks, a Major League Hacking event held April 14-15 at the University of Alabama. DiCicco and Watts, working in conjunction with two students from the University of Alabama and Florida Institute of Technology, beat out 28 other teams for the top prize, a 3D printer, for their project, . They also won the Best Use of Amazon Web Services award, which comes with a $250 Amazon Web Service credit. “Tweety Wallet is a multicurrency cryptocoin wallet,” DiCicco said. “It can hold any type of cryptocurrency, but it is configured for Bitcoin, Zcash, Ethereum, and Litecoin.” During a hackathon, teams have 24 hours to develop a prototype app. DiCicco and Watts wanted to build an app that concentrated on data and visualization while a third team member wanted to focus on cryptocurrency. Their interests seemed to be a match made in heaven to combine the three trending topics. DiCicco and Watts utilized skills they have learned while working as student researchers at COSMOS (Collaboratorium for Social Media and Behavioral Studies) – a research group led by Dr. Nitin Agarwal, Jerry L. Maulden-Entergy Endowed Chair of Information Science, to help build Tweety Wallet. The prototype app retrieves tweets from Twitter with hashtags that correspond to cryptocurrency. The app then runs a sentiment analysis to determine if current views of the digital currency are positive or negative. This information helps users determine if they should buy, sell, or hang on to their digital currency.

Karen Watts (left) and Michael DiCicco (right). Photo by Ben Krain.

“Cryptocurrency can change in an instant,” Watts said. “Whether it is positive or negative is going to tell if it is going up or down in price. The sentiment analysis is a faster prediction than stock market prices.” Safety is also of paramount concern to the hackers. In order to log in to the app, a user must enter a password and be verified as the account owner through facial recognition. A text alert is also sent to the user’s cell phone to tell them that the account has been accessed. Last year, DiCicco and Watts also won the Best Use of Amazon Web Services for their project, “Atrocious Apartments,” a website that allowed apartment hunters to view crimes that occurred within a one-quarter mile radius of an apartment complex and provide a description of the incidents and when they happened. DiCicco and Watts will compete in the HackHLTH competition in Las Vegas in May. This is a bigger competition with bigger stakes. Hacker teams will have 36 hours to build a health-related prototype app, and there are $80,000 worth of prizes and sponsorships up for grab. The Department of Information Science and the Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology are providing DiCicco and Watts with $750 each to sponsor their travel to the event.

Cruz-Neira named new member of the National Academy of Engineering

Ajani Oyindamola — Thu, 08 Feb 2018 18:41:57 +0000

Dr. Carolina Cruz-Neira, director of the Emerging Analytics Center and interim chair of the Department of Computer Science at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, has been elected as a new member of the National Academy of Engineering for her contributions to immersive visualization. “Dr. Cruz-Neira contributes in many ways, and this recognition is well deserved. She is the only ��Vlog��ý Little Rock person to ever receive this honor and one of only a few in the state,” said Dr. Lawrence Whitman, dean of the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology. “This award recognizes her contributions to the field of engineering and computer science, and we are fortunate to have her as a leader in our college.” Election to the National Academy of Engineering is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer. Academy membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to “engineering research, practice, or education, including, where appropriate, significant contributions to the engineering literature” and to “the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering education.” Cruz-Neira is among and 16 foreign members from the Class of 2018 who were announced on Feb. 7. The newly elected class will be formally inducted during a ceremony at the academy’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 30. Among the fellow inductees include Mary Barra, CEO and chairman of General Motors Co., Jeff Bezos, CEO and president of Amazon.com Inc., Diane Greene, CEO of Google Cloud, Google Inc., and Dennis Muilenburg, CEO of Boeing Co. More about Carolina Cruz-Neira: Cruz-Neira, world-renowned inventor of the CAVE virtual environment, leads ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s Emerging Analytics Center for faculty, researchers, and students exploring advanced applications of virtual reality, mixed reality, and visualization. She uses a wide range of virtual and augmented reality technologies for applications to give industries a competitive edge and to provide several government branches more effective training. She also promotes computer science work and research in education, including computer science programs in public schools. In September and October 2017, the Emerging Analytics Center participated in the TechStart Partnership between Facebook and the state of Arkansas to generate student interest in computer science education and careers. In January, she was invited by Dell to participate in the “VR for Good” panel at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show to demonstrate how innovators are using virtual reality to make a positive impact on society. Cruz-Neira demonstrated the Anatomic Eyes Project, an interactive cadaver dissection where users can dissect a life-size cadaver using simple pinch gestures. The technology has the capability to greatly transform medical education and research. Dell also invited her to participate in an upcoming panel at the Sundance Film Festival to talk about the positive impact of virtual reality on human life. Cruz-Neira has been recognized as one of the by the gaming website as well as one of the three by University Herald. She holds a bachelor’s degree in systems engineering, cum laude, from the Universidad Metropolitana as well as a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science, both from the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she specialized in virtual reality, visual analytics, and computations steering research.

Virtual reality innovator Cruz-Neira demonstrates how VR is changing the world at Consumer Electronics Show

Ajani Oyindamola — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 14:47:56 +0000

Dr. Carolina Cruz-Neira, director of the Emerging Analytics Center at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, demonstrated how innovative virtual reality technology is changing the world for the better at Dell’s Jan. 10 VR for Good event at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. The VR for Good panel featured Dell partners and innovators who are using virtual reality to make a positive impact on society. Cruz-Neira demonstrated the Anatomic Eyes Project, an interactive cadaver dissection where users can dissect a life-size cadaver using simple pinch gestures. The technology has the capability to greatly transform medical education and research. “I talked about the fact that VR is much more than just helmets, and that we need to look at the technology based on the role or tasks users need to accomplish,” she said. “Different roles and tasks may require different devices. Also, I spoke about social VR, which is the ability of having multiple people share a virtual experience without having separate devices.” The other panelists included Dr. Skip Rizzo, director of medical virtual reality at the Institute for Creative Technologies at the University of Southern California, who demonstrated a VR program that can help treat soldiers with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Mike Libecki, a National Geographic explorer with a new VR series documenting his adventures while promoting environmental awareness and climate change. A blogpost and video about the event can be . Cruz-Neira, world-renowned inventor of the CAVE virtual environment, leads ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s Emerging Analytics Center for faculty, researchers, and students exploring advanced applications of virtual reality, mixed reality, and visualization. She uses CAVE for applications to advance business, but also to promote computer science work and research in education, including computer science programs in public schools. In September and October 2017, the Emerging Analytics Center participated in the TechStart Partnership between Facebook and the state of Arkansas to generate student interest in computer science education and careers. Cruz-Neira, recently named the interim chair of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s computer science department, has been recognized as one of the by the gaming website as well as one of the three by University Herald.

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

Google grant allows ����Vlog��ý Little Rock to provide free cloud-based cybersecurity labs for Arkansas students