Dr. Jonathan Merten, associate professor of chemistry, presented an invited talk recently at SciX in Rhode Island. Undergraduate co-authors Anna G. Anders, Erin Nicholas, Aaron Hopson, Jackie Brees and Shawnda Ethridge also participated. Their presentation was “Influence of atmosphere on laser-ablation atomic absorption measurements – findings and potential for artifacts.” These students and Merten also presented research posters. In addition, Merten gave an invited seminar at Florida, his alma mater, on “Hyphenating the laser-induced plasma.”

Congratulations to Dr. Michele Reba, research hydrologist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service. Reba was named 2022 Rice Researcher of the Year recently at the 25th annual National Conservation Systems Cotton and Rice Conference. Based at A-State, she also shares her knowledge and professional experience through her work as an adjunct faculty member in the environmental sciences program.

Dr. Hrishikesh (Hrish) Desai, assistant professor of accounting, was honored during the 2022 Management Accounting Section (MAS) mid-year meeting of the American Accounting Association (AAA). Desai was the recipient of the Outstanding Reviewer Award and was recognized by the group at the meeting, which was conducted virtually. The award recognized the quality of Desai’s professional reviews of research manuscripts.

An invited review by Dr. Mohammad A. Alam, associate professor of chemistry, has been published in Future Medicinal Chemistry. In the review, “Antibacterial pyrazoles: tackling resistant bacteria” Alam notes that development of bacterial resistance to antibiotics has been described, and has been followed in recent years by antibacterial properties of pyrazole derivatives. He also discussed the mode of action of these compounds.

Dr. Amany Saleh, professor of curriculum and instruction, will serve on the board of trustees of the newly established Individualized Intellectual Institute, a non-traditional tuition-free private school in Memphis. The school, founded by Dr. Michael Miles, a 2010 graduate of A-State’s educational leadership doctoral program, plans to open in August. It will serve 175 low-income students, grades 6-12, in a progressive, learner-based setting.