Fall 2009 » Student Research

Student Research

The Shape of Greens

September, 2009

Gwaltney began exploring the geometry of lettuce using the camera and mathematics. The Russellville native bought green leaf lettuce and cabbage at the grocery store, took it home and started shooting. At the same time, he began exploring the field of differential geometry, which combines aspects of geometry with calculus, to study the shape of both vegetables.

Researchers Use Fat to Fight Cancer

March, 2009

Despite medical advances, humans are not winning the war on cancer. Cancer will overtake heart disease as the world's top killer by 2010, according to the World Health Organization. Cancer diagnoses will reach 12 million and deaths related to cancer are expected to reach 7 million this year.

Building Body Parts

March, 2009

On a Thursday morning, an 11-year-old girl in the Dominican Republic entered a medical clinic with the assistance of crutches, which had been a necessary part of her life as a foot amputee. On the following Friday afternoon she walked out of the clinic crutch-free, using a commercial-grade prosthetic foot from the United States brought to the clinic by doctors working for Physicians for Peace.

What is International in Higher Education?

March, 2009

When Karl Anderson set out to discover how globalism is affecting American higher education and what programs colleges and universities are implementing to internationalize their campuses, he was surprised to find an obvious gap in research on the subject.

Graduate Student Perches on Island to Aid Breeding Seabirds

March, 2009

For his birthday this year, Jeff Kimmons was most thankful for the small, motorized boat that transported him from Eastern Egg Rock off the coast of Maine to the U.S. mainland where he temporarily rejoined mainstream society and took advantage of some of its most basic provisions, including a hot shower.

Researcher Studies Proteins that Make Rice Flourish

November, 2007

Cell and molecular biology graduate student Tameka Bailey studies a particular set of proteins in rice in hopes of enhancing drought and salt tolerance and disease resistance.

Wall Art

March, 2007

For Hunter Riley, an honors college senior majoring in economics, political science, and international relations, sidewalks and city walls have become the best places to not only find art, but to observe a rebellious form of political self-expression com-monly known as graffiti.

 

The Great Migration

October, 2006

Shelly Kaufman's travels have led her to pursue her passion for biochemistry in hopes of helping solve world health problems. Kaufman's work in organic synthesis is part of a team effort to create new drugs.

World Traveler Finds Way to Help Through Biomedical Research

October, 2006

Shelly Kaufman's travels have led her to pursue her passion for biochemistry in hopes of helping solve world health problems. Kaufman's work in organic synthesis is part of a team effort to create new drugs.

Who Rocks the Vote?

March, 2009

Leslie Yingling worries that, when it comes to politics, her peers don’t worry enough, and her concern led her to examine youth voting patterns in the United States. 

Eeew! Graduate Student Teases Out Traits of Disgust in Phobias

March, 2009

Graduate student Bunmi O. Olatunji delights in showing people pictures of creepy-crawly creatures, rotting food and gaping wounds, just to get a response out of them – all in the name of research.

Thinking about Thinking

March, 2009

Descartes said, “I think, therefore I am.” A more updated version of this quote might be something like, “I think about thinking; therefore I think better.” That is precisely what UA student Michael Pate discovered when he began conducting research into cognitive function and problem solving last autumn.

Birds of a Feather

March, 2009

Graduate student Sara Ress has transformed her love of birds into action. During her undergraduate years at Auburn University in Alabama, the zoology major and trained falconer worked in a raptor rehabilitation facility. During those years, she also spent a summer working at a zoo in Costa Rica. Now her interest in raptors has brought her to the University of Arkansas, where she pursues her passion through research.

Women Helping Women

March, 2009

Professors Barbara Hinton and Kit Brooks have conducted many needs assessments during their academic careers. When they took their skills to the Middle Atlas Mountains of Morocco, they became part of a research team of divergent cultural perspectives, united by the desire to create better opportunities for women globally.

Students Help Professor Further Research on Fat Metabolism Disorders

March, 2009

For some people, exercise brings more pain than pleasure in the form of muscle weakness, cramps and protein loss. These people suffer from a relatively rare fat metabolism disorder that affects the skeletal muscles and, perhaps, the heart. Kinesiology professor Charles Riggs and his students hope to contribute insights into how the fatty acid oxidation disorder works so that people who suffer from it might enjoy an improved lifestyle and the ability to exercise safely.

Struggle to prevent medical error takes law professor to Japan

March, 2009

To err is human, but when hospital personnel err, someone’s life, or health, can become endangered. Robert B. Leflar, the Arkansas Bar Foundation Professor of Law, studies how hospitals handle such errors both in the United States and Japan. He seeks to understand the effectiveness of both health care systems in preventing medical errors and in learning from previous mistakes.

Landscape Architects and UACDC are Making Historic Connections

March, 2009

Not far from the Arkansas State Capitol where Scipio Jones helped fight for 12 black men charged in the Elaine Race Riots, first-year landscape architecture students and University of Arkansas Community Design Center (UACDC) students are making vital long-term connections between an important historic space and the people who inhabit it.