Olivia Pate receives Student Undergraduate Research Fellowship award

2018 Jan 25

Olivia Pate of Jonesboro, AR, was one of seven University of Arkansas at Little Rock students to be awarded the prestigious Student Undergraduate Research Fellowship from the Arkansas Department of Higher Education to conduct research.

The Student Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program provides up to $2,750 to undergraduate students and their mentors to conduct in-depth research projects in their specific fields of study with the assistance of faculty mentors. To be eligible, all fellowship recipients have a minimum grade point average of 3.25, at least 30 hours of credit toward a degree, and support of a faculty mentor. Funds are also provided for students to travel to conferences to present their accomplishments.

"Research is the foundation of every great discovery, and the only way to prepare students for advanced research at the graduate level is to prepare them as undergraduates," UA Little Rock Chancellor Andrew Rogerson said. "It's so important for our students to learn best practices under the guidance of faculty mentors so they are prepared for more rigorous research as graduate students and as professionals."

Pate was awarded $2,750 for research on the topic, “Refining the Sol-Gel Synthesis of Intermediate Composition, Nano-Scale Olivine.” Pate's faculty mentor is Dr. Michael T. DeAngelis in the Department of Earth Sciences.

Each student will complete his or her research in the spring 2018 semester.