ASU’s Office of Research and Technology Transfer announces distribution of $60,000 for student research

JONESBORO, Ark. — Arkansas State University’s Office of Research and Technology Transfer (ORTT) is excited to announce the distribution of over $60,000 in awards to support undergraduate student research, a powerful mechanism for high-impact learning, student retention and faculty satisfaction.

The Arkansas Department of Higher Education (ADHE) offers the annual Student Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) competition to support faculty-mentored undergraduate research projects. All academic disciplines are eligible.

Successful students receive a stipend up to $1,250 for a full year and $625 for one semester to conduct research with a faculty mentor. ORTT provides 100 percent match for the student stipend, for totals of $2,500 (full year) and $1,250 (one semester). In addition, students may receive up to $750 in travel funds and the faculty mentor may receive up to $750 for travel and supplies.

ASU submitted 23 proposals for a total of $80,875 this year, including $23,750 in ORTT matching funds. ADHE funded 10 of these proposals for a total of $26,250 and ORTT matched with $11,250. These include:

Student and Major; Faculty and Department; ADHE; ORTT; Total

• Michael Cerrato, Psychology; Kris Biondolillo, Psychology & Counseling; $2,750; $1,250; $4,000
• Cecilia Clark, Mechanical Engineering; Shivan Haran, Mechanical Engineering; $2,750; $1,250; $4,000
• Natanya Clark, Mathematics; Jeongho Ahn, Mathematics & Statistics; $2,750; $1,250; $4,000
• Jordan Falls, Electrical Engineering; Ilwoo Seok, Electrical Engineering; $2,750; $1,250; $4,000
• Starlene Loerch, Biology/Zoology; Paul Sikkel, Biological Sciences; $2,750; $1,250; $4,000
• Matthew Manning, CS & Mathematics; Hai Jiang, Computer Science; $2,750; $1,250; $4,000
• Andrea Meyers, Chemistry; Jianfeng Xu, Chemistry; $2,750; $1,250; $4,000
• Chelsey Moser, Exercise Science; Roy Aldridge, Physical Therapy; $2,125; $625; $2,750
• Kassandra Riley, Biology; Travis Marsico, Biology; $2,750; $1,250; $4,000
• Laura White, Mathematics; Hong Zhou, Mathematics & Statistics; $2,125; $625; $2,750

Next, the College of Sciences and Mathematics agreed to support three more proposals for a total of $8,500. These include:

Student and Major; Faculty and Department; Total

• Aaron Cato, Biology; Tanja McKay, Biological Sciences; $2,750
• Rebecca Ring, Biology; Elizabeth Hood, Biological Sciences; $2,500
• Alexander Worm, Wildlife Ecology & Mgmt; Thomas Risch, Biological Sciences; $3,250

Lastly, ORTT funded six proposals, totaling $18,750, as follows:

Student and Major; Faculty and Department; Total

• Jonathan Cole, Mechanical Engineering; Ilwoo Seok, Mechanical Engineering; $4,000
• Aaron Hattle, English; Cyndy Hendershot, English & Philosophy; $2,750
• John Koch, Mechanical Engineering; David Jeong, Mechanical Engineering; $4,000
• Linda Ogutu, Biology; Fabricio Medina-Bolivar, Biological Sciences; $2,750
• Haley Petrus, Exercise Science; Cristy Phillips, Physical Therapy; $2,500
• Jennifer Roberts, Chemistry; Maureen Dolan, Biosciences & Biotechnology; $2,750

Students will begin working with faculty mentors this month. ASU is also excited by the diversity of student majors and faculty departments represented in the proposals and award lists. All students will be strongly encouraged to showcase their research findings at the second annual “Create @ STATE: A Symposium for Research, Scholarship and Creativity” on the ASU campus on Thursday, April 11. The public is invited to attend.