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

��Vlog��ý Little Rock researcher receives $100,000 to study plant stress tolerance for space exploration

Janea Snyder — Thu, 05 Sep 2019 21:54:41 +0000

Dr. Mariya Khodakovskaya, professor of biology in the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s College of Arts and Sciences, has received $100,000 from NASA to discover how to improve sustainability and stress tolerance in plants developed for exploration of Mars. For humans to explore new planets such as Mars, they must be able to sustainably grow plants and crops in environments without an abundance of water. Khodakovskaya will investigatehow applying carbon nanomaterials, such as graphene and carbon nanotubes, can affect and enhance plants’ tolerance to drought stress and other environmental factors. Khodakovskaya will apply this technology to valuable agricultural crops such as rice and soybeans.�� “Nano-agro technology is a cheap and efficient way to reduce the use of water in greenhouses to specifically produce plants for human exploration on other planets,” Khodakovskaya said. “Hopefully, this will allow space explorers to grow plant food sources on Mars one day.” She expects the project to generate data for more extensive investigation. Dr. Mariya Khodakovskaya is growing rice and soybeans with minimal amounts of water in her greenhouse laboratory at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. Photo by Benjamin Krain��

Heath shares love of astronomy with central Arkansas

Ajani Oyindamola — Mon, 10 Jun 2019 12:58:36 +0000

Last month, many scientists were saddened by the ending of the television program, “The Big Bang Theory,” which popularized physics, astronomy, and other scientific topics that often seemed out of reach to people.�� Darrell Heath, an animal lab technician at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, can especially relate to the child character of Sheldon, a young misunderstood genius growing up in a small, religious, conservative town in Texas, portrayed in the “The Big Bang Theory” spinoff “Young Sheldon.” “I can very much relate to young Sheldon, a very smart kid growing up in the South,” Heath said. “I can relate to a lot of the things Sheldon goes through with his family, teachers, and church. I relate to young Sheldon, not as a genius by any means, but as a kid who just doesn’t feel as though he fits in with the rest of the crowd.” Often described as ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s space expert (though Heath calls himself a “devout astronomy enthusiast”), he is the man who sends out emails about the best time to view the International Space Station, planets, meteor showers, eclipses, and other heavenly bodies. Heath, who has a passion for space and astronomy that he loves to share with others, thinks that most people have a natural interest in space. “I think people are inherently interested in the mysterious and unknown, and space represents that,” he said. “The night sky has inspired us over the centuries. It’s inspired religious leaders, artists, poets, scientists, and scholars. Before we knew what stars and planets were, we were looking at the night sky and telling stories about gods and monsters. The stars were our storybooks.” After getting involved in amateur astronomy in 2005 and taking an astronomy course with Dr. Tony Hall at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, Heath has served as past president and is the current outreach coordinator of the Central Arkansas Astronomical Society, which hosts star parties and other educational events on space and astronomy. He is also a volunteer with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Solar System Ambassador program, dedicated to conveying to the public information about NASA’s ongoing missions to explore the solar system.

Darrell Heath is a volunteer in the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Solar System Ambassador Program, which works to communicate the science and excitement of NASA’s space exploration missions and discoveries, some of which can be seen here in the NASA Hubble Space Telescope exhibit at the Laman Public Library in North Little Rock. Photo by Ben Krain.

“I do outreach programs for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and talk about the latest missions that are happening in the solar system,” Heath said. “This has been a fun experience for me. I travel around the state and do programs in schools and parks. It’s always nice to see the support people have for science, space, and NASA.” In 2015, Cheryl Hellman, director of university television, saw an opportunity to share Heath’s knowledge with a larger audience. “I am always looking for interesting people at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock that we can put on the university television channel,” Hellman said. “Darrell had been putting out announcements about interesting things that were going on in the sky. We talked about doing a monthly television segment. That became ‘The Night Sky.’” Every month, Heath produces a short episode of “The Night Sky” about topics in space and astronomy. Episodes have included the mythology of the constellations, tips for observing meteor showers and eclipses, a buyer’s guide for telescopes, amazing facts about the moon, and meteorites at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. He also writes companion articles posted on the website that include highlights of night sky for the month and a feature story about a phenomenon in space. “‘The Night Sky’ has become one of our most popular shows on the university channel,” Hellman said. “You’ll see some episodes on YouTube that have more than 100,000 views. It’s watched all over the globe, and it’s used in classrooms as part of educational programs. It’s a very popular show. Darrell puts a lot of heart and soul into this program.” Heath said that his newfound popularity as an expert on space has led him to some unusual conversations. “I get emails from all across the world,” he said. “People always want to know if I have seen a UFO, and kids ask me if I have been in space. I have people come up and tell me what a full moon will do to them.” While he’s never seen a UFO, a close encounter at one of the Central Arkansas Astronomical Society’s summer star parties led to a memorable experience. “We did a star party at Pinnacle Mountain State Park one June. There must have been 300 or 400 people in the crowd,” he said. “All of a sudden, I began to notice that people were looking in the sky and pointing their cell phones up there. Up in the sky, there was a formation of green lights moving slowly across the sky in uniform. It was kind of creepy at first. Then we turned our telescopes on it, and we realized it was a group of Chinese lanterns that the wind was carrying away in a pattern. At first, it looked like an alien invasion, but it turned out to just be a wedding.” For anyone interested in getting started in astronomy, Heath recommends “The Stars: A New Way to See Them” by H.A. Rey, the inventor of Curious George. “All a person needs to get started stargazing is just their eyes,” Heath said. “We have all looked at the sky with wonderment and curiosity. I think people are inherently curious about the universe I see that every time we do a star party. We have hundreds of people show up, and I’m amazed by how excited they are.” ��

From mowing grass to NASA: Siratt finds success at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

Ajani Oyindamola — Mon, 06 May 2019 12:59:29 +0000

Five years ago, John Siratt, of Malvern, began classes at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock as a non-traditional transfer student with no “master plan,” but a desire to see how much he could achieve.�� Now, Siratt will graduate from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock on May 11 with a Master of Science in mathematical sciences as well as two prestigious graduate fellowships to earn his Ph.D. in mathematics at one of the best universities in the country. In 2014, he struggled to support himself through college while working full-time as a groundskeeper at the College of the Ouachitas. It wasn’t his first attempt at college, having attended the University of Arkansas right after high school and later Henderson State University, but Siratt was determined to make this time a success. “I originally decided to come back to school because we lost my little brother in 2010, and it made me reassess my life priorities,” Siratt said. “It made me see what a loss it was, considering how much good he could have done in the world. After a year and a half, I took that job at a community college mowing grass just so I could go back to school.” After graduating from the College of the Ouachitas in 2014, Siratt began his studies as a part-time student at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. He became a full-time student after Dr. Allen Thomas, a former ��Vlog��ý Little Rock faculty member in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, hired Siratt to work as a research assistant in 2015. “I call myself a second-chance student. I wasn’t successful in college when I was younger because I didn’t have clear goals,” he said. “Growing up, most people around me didn’t understand the concept of going to school for math if you weren’t going to become a school teacher.” At ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, Siratt has found great success in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. He completed two internships with the Formal Methods Research Program at the in Norfolk, Virginia, in summer 2017 and 2018. Siratt has been recognized by the department with the Outstanding Achievement by an Undergraduate and Outstanding Senior awards. Last year, Siratt received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. The fellowship provides three years of financial support through a $34,000 annual stipend and $12,000 cost-of-education allowance to the student’s graduate institution.

John Siratt works on algebraic equations in his office at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. Photo by Ben Krain.

Siratt also received the Richard and Peggy Notebaert Premier Fellowship from the University of Notre Dame, where he will pursue a Ph.D. in mathematics. Siratt was one of eight recipients selected from more than 5,000 applicants for the fellowship, Notre Dame’s most prestigious scholarship. The fellowship is a five-year renewable scholarship that covers full tuition at Notre Dame and includes a $40,000 yearly stipend. Looking back on his time at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, Siratt is thankful to his wife, Chassidy, who is studying drawing in the Bachelor of Fine Arts program, Dr. Lakeshia Jones, assistant professor of mathematics, and Dr. Steven Minsker, professor of computer science, for keeping him motivated and encouraging him to pursue new opportunities. “You have to look for other experiences, like mentors, internships, and research projects,” Siratt said. “These experiences help you grow into success. No one should expect to come out of their education as the same person as when they started because education has completely transformed myself and who I am. It helped me explore areas of myself and opportunities that would not have been available otherwise. I mean, how many guys on a lawnmower get to go to NASA? It’s been a really cool experience after all.”

NASA lawyer who specializes in international space law to speak at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Bowen Law School March 28

Ajani Oyindamola — Wed, 20 Mar 2019 17:04:35 +0000

, associate general counsel for the International Law Practice Group at NASA, will give a lecture at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law on Thursday, March 28.�� The talk, which is free and open to the public, will run from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the student lounge on the second floor of Bowen Law School. It is hosted by the Bowen Chapter of The American Constitution Society. Bailey, a native of Little Rock and 1984 graduate of Hall High School, will discuss her legal career and experience with international legal issues regarding space for NASA. Prior to assuming responsibility for NASA’s international law practice, Bailey served a decade as the associate general counsel for NASA’s Commercial and Intellectual Property Law Practice Group. In that role, she oversaw NASA’s innovative use of funded Space Act Agreements to stimulate the commercial development of crew and cargo transportation services and was integral in the establishment of the International Space Station’s National Laboratory. Additionally, she supported the retirement of the NASA Space Shuttle program, including the transfer of NASA’s retired shuttle orbiters to U.S. museums, where they will tell NASA’s story to future generations. She also assisted with the transition of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to a multi-user spaceport, including the transfer of NASA’s historic Pad 39A launch site for refurbishment to support commercial launch activities. Bailey received her Juris Doctor from the University of California, Hastings College of Law in San Francisco. Before joining NASA, she specialized in transactions related to technology marketing and acquisition, commercialization of government-funded technology, and venture capital investments.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock professors named ‘Visionary Arkansans’

Ajani Oyindamola — Mon, 10 Dec 2018 18:42:54 +0000

Two professors at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock have been named” by the Arkansas Times for their extraordinary research accomplishments. The list recognizes “inspired men and women who are making great things happen.”�� Dr. Yu-Po Chan, chair of the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Department of Systems Engineering, is part of a trio of “spaceflight cubed” researchers who are designing CubeSats, low-cost, miniature satellites. “We are planning in the long run to have a constellation of these satellites … flying in formation,” Chan said. “This would be Arkansas’s very first with our name on it. Many other states bigger than us have already launched, so we are catching up, basically.” His collaborators are Dr. Po-Hao Adam Huang, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at ��Vlog��ý Fayetteville, and Dr. Edmund Wilson, a chemistry professor at Harding University in Searcy. Their first CubeSat model, ArkSat-1, is being designed by Huang and should be delivered to NASA by the end of 2019 and launched in early 2020. In October, Chan received a $24,900 grant from NASA to develop a different CubeSat project. Called SAMSAT (solar and atmospheric measuring satellite), the research will eventually map the presence of water vapor, methane, carbon dioxide, and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere above Arkansas. Chan will then compare that information to data collected by the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, or GOES-16, which is one of two weather orbiters operated by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. GOES weighs in at over 3 tons, according to NASA’s website — about the weight of a Hummer H2. SAMSAT will probably weigh around 3 pounds. “We are using the big satellite’s data to validate that what we see is accurate,” Chan said. “We’re talking about billions of dollars in the big satellite, thousands of dollars in these small satellites.” Additionally, “History Detective” Dr. Brian Mitchell, a professor of history at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, has been highlighted for research that is filling in the gaps of the Elaine Massacre, one of the deadliest race riots in American history.

Dr. Brian Mitchell

“Receiving the honor took me by surprise,” Mitchell said. “If I had to say anything, I would thank the students who worked with me on the projects, past and present. I would also thank my colleagues Drs. Barclay Key and Guy Lancaster, noted author and distinguished attorney Grif Stockley, Congressman French Hill and his staff, the Department of Arkansas Heritage, and the Solomon family for their assistance and support.” In September 1919, after one of several meetings black farmers held with representatives of the Progressive Farmers and Household Union, a white deputy spying on the meeting was fatally shot. Acting at the urging of the Phillips County sheriff, a mob of whites roamed the county, killing hundreds — some estimates are as high as 800 — of black residents. Five whites were killed, but only African Americans were arrested and jailed. Twelve black men were quickly found guilty of murder by an all-white jury and sentenced to death. They were imprisoned while their appeals in two famous cases traveled to the state and U.S. supreme courts. Their convictions were overturned, and they were sentenced to time served and released. But fearing they’d be lynched, all 12 fled the state, along with hundreds of other African Americans from Elaine who feared for their lives. Mitchell and his public history graduate students have searched census records, city directories, vital records, and newspaper accounts to discover what happened to the Elaine 12. So far, they have discovered the locations of six of their graves. The students are writing biographies of the men for the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies’ Encyclopedia of Arkansas. They also are raising funds to place markers on their graves, a project ��Vlog��ý Little Rock is doing in collaboration with the National Park Service and other agencies and with the help of private individuals. A previous class worked to transcribe the death certificates of African Americans killed in the race massacre and created a database. The database has been provided to the Arkansas State Archives for public use. In the spring, Mitchell’s History of Racial Violence class will look at the connections between race and violence in America from first contact through the 21st century.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock student awarded prestigious National Science Foundation fellowship

Ajani Oyindamola — Thu, 12 Apr 2018 19:26:09 +0000

Four years ago, John Siratt was struggling to support himself through college, working full time as a groundskeeper while taking classes at the College of the Ouachitas.�� Now, Siratt, a graduate student from Malvern studying mathematics at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, could not be more thankful to be a recipient of. The fellowship provides three years of financial support within a five-year fellowship period through a $34,000 annual stipend and $12,000 cost-of-education allowance to the student’s graduate institution. “I am very excited and stunned by the news,” Siratt said. “There was a rumor online that the fellowship results were going to be posted on April 2. I woke up that night and saw the email at 1:30 a.m. I showed the email to my wife who was still awake working. I wasn’t sure I had read it right until she started jumping and celebrating.” Siratt was one of 2,000 fellowship recipients from a nationwide pool of more than 12,000 applicants. The program recruits high-potential, early-career scientists and engineers and supports their graduate research training in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Launched in 1952 shortly after Congress established the National Science Foundation, the fellowship program represents the nation’s oldest continuous investment in the U.S. STEM workforce. “To support U.S. leadership and innovation in science and engineering, we must recognize and nurture talent from all of our nation’s communities,” said Jim Lewis, NSF acting assistant director for Education and Human Resources. “I am pleased that again this year, the competition has selected talented students from all economic backgrounds and all demographic categories. In addition, NSF worked successfully to accommodate students from U.S. islands devastated by Hurricanes Maria and Irma, so that they could still compete for a fellowship.” Siratt will graduate with a master’s degree in mathematics from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock in 2019. Afterwards, he is considering pursuing doctoral programs at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, Carnegie Mellon, Notre Dame, Indiana University Bloomington, and the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana.

John Siratt works on algebraic equations in his office at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. Photo by Ben Krain.

Siratt remains thankful to his wife, Chassidy, a ��Vlog��ý Little Rock art student who proofread all of his application materials, and his advisor, Dr. Lakeshia Jones, assistant professor of mathematics who Siratt described as both his “guiding light” and the “whip behind me when I started slacking,” for encouraging him to apply for the fellowship.�� “John’s life experiences, academic record, and work ethic have provided him with an innate potential for research and the potential to advance knowledge in the mathematical sciences,” Jones said. “I have learned that John has a keen ability to process a lot of information in a short period with limited oversight. He holds himself and his work to a very high standard and does not settle for mediocre.” After graduating the College of the Ouachitas in 2014, Siratt began his studies as a part-time student at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. He could afford to attend full time after Dr. Allen Thomas, a former ��Vlog��ý Little Rock faculty member in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, hired Siratt to work as a research assistant in 2015. “I call myself a second-chance student. I wasn’t successful in college when I was younger because I didn’t have clear goals,” he said. “Growing up, most people around me didn’t understand the concept of going to school for math if you weren’t going to become a school teacher.” Now Siratt is well on his way to a successful career in mathematics. This summer he will begin his second internship with the Formal Methods Research Program at the in Norfolk, Virginia. His 2017 internship was supported through a Workforce Development grant from the Arkansas Space Grant Consortium. “To me,” Siratt said, “the most important part of this story for other students is that I spent years being rejected. I never thought something like this could happen to me, but I never stopped trying to open doors.”

��Vlog��ý Little Rock student interns at NASA

Ajani Oyindamola — Mon, 06 Nov 2017 14:21:27 +0000

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock student spent his summer interning at the in Norfolk, Virginia.�� John Siratt, a graduate student in mathematics from Malvern, was one of the student researchers accepted into the highly competitive . He worked with the Formal Methods Research Program within the Safety Critical Avionics Division at NASA Langley Research Center from May to August. Siratt was able to secure an internship with the space agency thanks to help from his professors. Dr. Lakeshia Jones, assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, supervised Siratt’s independent studies and encouraged him to develop research topics and search for specialized internship opportunities. “Dr. Jones encouraged me to think about research topics, and I did a practice research statement,” he said. “The topic I got interested in seemed to have obvious applications for aerospace. The Arkansas Space Grant Consortium said that NASA has internships, so I reached out to them and had a conference call to some researchers at NASA Langley Research Center. They invited me to apply, and the next thing I knew they were asking what kind of computer I wanted when I got there.” In addition to the help Jones provided, Dr. Steven Minsker, professor of computer science, helped Siratt prepare for the internship by supervising an independent study. “Without Dr. Jones and Dr. Minsker, I would not have had the background to make the progress I made while at Langley,” he said. “My NASA mentors were very impressed with my skills and knowledge, and none of that would have been possible without the willingness of these faculty members to supervise relevant independent study.” His internship was supported through a Workforce Development grant from the Arkansas Space Grant Consortium. He worked with Dr. Anthony Narkawicz, Ricky Butler, and Dr. Cesar Munoz from NASA. At the research center, Siratt was assigned a three-month project that he wrapped up in five weeks. Siratt studies automated theorem proving, a subfield of artificial intelligence and mathematical logic that deals with proving mathematical theorems with computer programs. Siratt and his mentors redesigned and improved a library of trigonometry proofs used to prove mathematical concepts the Formal Methods team is using to verify algorithms for air traffic control systems. This work was performed in the prototype verification system (PVS) theorem prover, a system which allows users to rigorously prove mathematical statements. “Let’s say we are having a debate with a very meticulous person who wants you to justify everything,” Siratt said. “That is what it’s like to justify everything to a computer. We program a drone or autopilot system or air traffic control system, and the computer wants you to prove your mathematical concepts. We use trigonometry a lot. We don’t want to have to re-prove trigonometry to the computer every time, so we have a trigonometry library where the proofs are contained.” Siratt and his mentors generated more than 100 trigonometry proofs during his internship. “The computer is going to hammer and hammer you on the details of the computer programming until it is convinced it is right,” he said. “You can look at my work for the summer as finding ways to argue the truth of the facts of trigonometry in as simple a way as possible.” With the additional time, Siratt was able to work with other research projects and explore his own research topics with the other scientists. “I really enjoyed the internship,” he said. “It was a great atmosphere with great people to work with. People are coming in and out and discussing ideas. The people enjoy what they do and are self motivated.” Siratt is planning to apply for another internship at NASA Langley Research Center for summer 2018. In the upper right photo,��John Siratt (right) and his wife, Chassidy (left), attend the 2016 Fribourgh Award Reception at Pleasant Valley Country Club. Photo by Lonnie Timmons III/��Vlog��ý Little Rock Communications.

Astronaut Bernard Harris gives advice to future STEM leaders

Ajani Oyindamola — Mon, 24 Jul 2017 17:02:08 +0000

In 1969, 13-year-old Bernard Harris Jr. witnessed the pinnacle achievement of the American space program as astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin became the first people to walk on the moon.�� When the astronauts returned, the American people celebrated their extraordinary achievements with ticker-tape parades. Harris was determined to follow their footsteps into space. “They were called American heroes,” he said. “I wanted to be an American hero.” During the ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp July 11 in the University of Arkansas at Little Rock College of Engineering and Information Technology, Harris told a group of 36 participants the story of how he became the first African American to walk in space. Sponsored by the and Harris, the camp offers middle school students in underserved and underrepresented populations a free, two-week learning experience in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Harris recognizes that middle school is a critical time when most students might give up on pursuing STEM-related majors and careers. He hopes his story will inspire campers to pursue math and science educational opportunities. “When you finish college, we want to make sure you have a job to take care of yourself and your family, so you can give back to your community,” he said. After watching the moon landing, Harris began his lifelong dream to travel to space by learning everything he could about astronauts and what it took to become one. However, it didn’t take him long to notice that there were no African American astronauts for him to admire. “Just after the end of the Civil Rights Movement, there wasn’t much expectation for somebody who looked like me to go into space,” he said. “There wasn’t much expectation for somebody who was black, or Hispanic, or Asian, or a woman to be an astronaut.” He told camp participants they should not be ashamed for being future leaders in STEM fields. “I got teased about being smart,” Harris recalled of his school years. “Sometimes, it’s not cool to be smart. In this camp, it’s cool to be smart. You are surrounded by the future leaders of America.” After earning a Doctorate of Medicine from Texas Tech University, Harris completed a residency in internal medicine at the Mayo Clinic and a National Council fellowship in endocrinology at the NASA Ames Research Center. In addition, he trained as a flight surgeon. In 1990, Harris was one of only about 20 people out of more than 6,000 applicants selected into the Astronaut Corp. He was a mission specialist on the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1993. As payload commander on Space Shuttle Discovery in 1995, he served on the first flight of the joint Russian-American Space Program, becoming the first African American to walk in space. Harris worked at NASA for a decade, conducting research in musculoskeletal physiology and disuse osteoporosis. He conducted clinical investigations of space adaptation and developed in-flight medical devices to safely extend astronauts’ time in space. When asked what he missed the most about being in space, Harris said floating around the space shuttle in zero gravity, since it allowed him to “fulfill another childhood dream of being Superman.”

Small businesses can learn how to do business with NASA at ASBTDC workshop

Ajani Oyindamola — Mon, 19 Jun 2017 13:15:49 +0000

Arkansas small businesses can explore opportunities to do business with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration at the workshop Thursday, July 20, at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.�� The Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center, in cooperation with the Arkansas Procurement Assistance Center, is hosting the event from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the ��Vlog��ý��Little Rock Reynolds Business Center Atrium. Any company interested in learning about selling goods or services to NASA facilities and their prime contractors may participate. Representatives from Johnson Space Center, Kennedy Space Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, Stennis Space Center, and NASA Shared Services will be present to meet one-on-one with business owners. In addition, prime contractors such as Boeing and DXC, formerly Hewlett Packard, also will be on hand. The space agency is working to increase its small business industrial base, according to Troy Miller, small business specialist at the NASA Shared Services Center. “Awards to small business from NASA and our prime partners went from $4.8 billion in the 2013 fiscal year to $5.3 billion in 2016. Since small businesses are critical to the success of NASA’s missions and the heart of the country’s economy, events like these are very important to NASA and the local economies,” said Miller, who is helping organize the Little Rock event. Pre-registration is required and is . See asbtdc.org/nasa-2017. For more information, contact Shannon Roberts at��sxroberts@ualr.edu��or 501-683-7700. The Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration through a partnership with the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock College of Business and other institutions of higher education. All programs are extended to the public on a non-discriminatory basis. Language assistance services are available for limited English proficient individuals. Reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance. Contact Pamela Reed at (501) 683-7700.

Tomatoes on Mars? Student’s genetic research could one day help space travelers

Shanna Fitzgerald — Wed, 05 Apr 2017 22:22:35 +0000

Genetic research by a University of Arkansas at Little Rock student that could one day aid Mars colonists was one of only 10 student projects highlighted during a national NASA Space Grant conference. Diamond McGehee, an applied bioscience Ph.D. student from Conway, represented Arkansas and the after she was selected by the National Space Grant Directors committee. On March 2, McGehee showcased her work in the first-ever Julius Dasch Student Poster Presentation at the 2017 National Space Grant Directors meeting in Washington, D.C. “It was an exciting, illuminating experience,” McGehee said. She particularly enjoyed the opportunity to learn more about research from other states that — as with her work — could eventually be used in a NASA mission to Mars. Her presentation was titled “Metabolomic Analysis with Focus on Anticancerous Metabolites in InsP 5-ptase Expressing Tomato Fruits via Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS).” Essentially, her research explores ways to modify the genes of tomatoes so that the fruit produces more nutritious cell-protecting compounds such as antioxidants. “What we’re trying to do is to make a food source that is more protective from radiation,” McGehee said. On Earth, the atmosphere offers a radiation buffer that’s largely absent in space — potentially leading to an increase in problems such as cataracts and cancer, McGehee said. McGehee hopes her tomato research not only leads to additional nutritional protection but also will help produce plants that are more hardy and able to adapt to foreign environments. Dr. Mariya Khodakovskaya, a ��Vlog��ý Little Rock professor and the graduate coordinator of the Department of Biology, is McGehee’s faculty mentor and the research principal investigator. The Arkansas Space Grant Consortium, which is based at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock and includes 17 four-year colleges and universities, sponsored McGehee’s work. The is a program of the NASA Office of Education.

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

����Vlog��ý Little Rock researcher receives $100,000 to study plant stress tolerance for space exploration

Heath shares love of astronomy with central Arkansas

From mowing grass to NASA: Siratt finds success at ����Vlog��ý Little Rock

NASA lawyer who specializes in international space law to speak at ����Vlog��ý Little Rock Bowen Law School March 28

����Vlog��ý Little Rock professors named ‘Visionary Arkansans’

����Vlog��ý Little Rock student awarded prestigious National Science Foundation fellowship

����Vlog��ý Little Rock student interns at NASA