University of Arkansas at Little Rock

The accolades continue to roll in for Riley Pittman, who was named a Google Cloud second team Academic All-American by the Collegiate Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Pittman, a marketing major that holds a 3.74 GPA, was named as the designated hitter for the second team.

Emilie Darrigues, a doctoral student in applied science-chemistry, studies how plasmonic nanoparticles, some designed to deliver medicine targeting cancer cells, interact with cell cultures in a 3D model through her work as a graduate research assistant in the Center for Integrative Nanotechnology Sciences.

UA Little Rock theater major Keith Harper has learned that an acting career requires both talent and extensive networking. Through the UA Little Rock Department of Theatre Arts, he has developed both. This summer, Harper heads to Silver Lake, New York, where he will spend six weeks performing in Shake on the Lake's production of Shakespeare's "As You Like It." The acting company performs classic Shakespeare throughout western New York.

With a father as a doctor and an older sister in medical school, being a doctor would seem the obvious choice for Arooba Ilyas, a recent graduate of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with a bachelor's degree in biology. "Ever since I was little, just seeing how happy my dad, a pediatric nephrologist (kidney doctor for kids), is and how many people he gets to help is inspiring," she said. "Ever since I was little, I thought I would be a doctor. When I get into high school, something about marine biology piqued my interest."

University of Arkansas at Little Rock students competed at the American Society of Civil Engineers Deep South Student Conference. The American Society of Civil Engineers sponsors 18 regional conferences across North America. The Deep South Student Conference includes 14 civil engineering programs in Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

The winners of the 2019 Student Research and Creative Works Expo at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock were announced during an awards ceremony May 2 in the Student Services Center. Students presented more than 150 research and creative works April 18 in the Jack Stephens Center during the premiere student research event. Student projects were judged on the novelty and clarity of their research, the soundness of their methodology, the potential application of their findings, and the student's ability to explain their project to an expert and lay audience. "This year's expo was bigger and better than ever before, and was part of the first ever Research and Creativity in the Rock (RCR)," said Dr. Abhijit Bhattacharyya, interim vice provost for research and dean of the Graduate School. "The RCR was an ensemble of four different college events and the expo. The presentations - posters, demonstrations and performance - were spectacular. Faculty, family, and friends turned out to celebrate the undergraduate and graduate winners of the expo in a wonderful ceremony on May 2."

UA Little Rock's College of Social Sciences and Communication honored its students at its annual awards ceremony. More than 230 guests attended the May 7 event at the Governor's Mansion that celebrated the many achievements of CSSC's students, faculty, and staff.

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock's George W. Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology recently held its annual awards ceremony on May 3, where college students were recognized for their achievements over the 2018-19 academic year.

Two baseball players from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock have been selected for the Major League Baseball Draft. Junior pitchers McKinley Moore and Chandler Fidel heard their names called on day three of the draft. Moore was selected in the 14th round (pick 410) by the Chicago White Sox, while Fidel was selected in the 23rd round (pick 700) by the Cleveland Indians.

A team of University of Arkansas at Little Rock students brought home first place in the Sustainability Competition at the American Society of Civil Engineers Deep South Student Conference for their design and build of a sustainable doghouse. The winning team consisted of Kassandra Castrillo, an environmental engineering major, Parker Little, architectural and construction engineering major, and civil and construction engineering students William Littlejohn, Isaac Martinez, and Garrett Wallace. "The design team from UA Little Rock chose bamboo as the primary material for the doghouse because it is fast-growing, strong, lightweight, resistant to bacteria, and water-repellent," said Dr. Nick Jovanovic, faculty advisor to UA Little Rock's team. "They also designed and built prefabricated panels that fit together with built-in pegs and slots to minimize the number of bolted connections and reduce construction time without sacrificing structural strength and stability."

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Sustainability Committee has awarded nearly $7,000 to five projects proposed by UA Little Rock students with the goal of making the campus more sustainable and environmentally friendly.

Though she was considering several post-graduation options, the clear winner for Resendiz is a full scholarship from the Global Markets, Local Creatives program from the European Union, which will allow her to earn two master's degrees while studying at three different universities in Europe. Resendiz was one of only 22 scholarship recipients from more than 975 applications. The scholarship covers tuition, fees, and healthcare and comes with a living and travel stipend. In the fall, Resendiz will move to Scotland to spend her first semester at the University of Glasgow. She will study at the University of Barcelona during the second semester and finish out her second year at the University of Gottingen in Germany. At the end of her program, Resendiz will have master's degrees in global markets and economic development. "This was the most interesting way for me to do a master's degree program and live abroad," Resendiz said. "I want to live and work abroad for a few years before coming back to the U.S. Eventually, I want to work for the United Nations in economic development and international relations or an organization that has a social cause behind it like Winrock International or Heifer International."

A group of 13 graduating students from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Department of Construction Management and Civil and Construction Engineering faced a unique problem for their senior design project. Split into three teams, each was given the same set of architectural plans for an identical, two-story building. Yet, each building will serve a different purpose in a different city across the U.S. Tasked with completing a structural systems design, construction cost estimate, and construction schedule for a one-year timeline, each group faced vastly different challenges in the design of their building.

In 2016, Kaiden O'Suilleabhain's life was on track. He had just graduated from the University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College and was about to start school at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock as an engineering major. His life soon took an unexpected turn he wasn't sure he would ever overcome. "I had sudden cardiac arrest and suffered a brain injury. I was actually in a coma the first day that classes started," O'Suilleabhain said. The year and a half that followed his injury would prove to be an intense journey through an extended hospitalization, rehabilitation, recovery, and setbacks, but O'Suilleabhain fought hard to get his life back and started at UA Little Rock in fall 2017. All his hard work paid off, and he recently graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in professional and technical writing at the Jack Stephens Center

At age 15, Vickie Austin left high school in Wynne, Arkansas, after becoming pregnant with her first child, though she always intended to finish her education. Fast forward 41 years, and Austin, 61, recently graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology and a minor in psychology and a strong desire to help others. In the fall, she will begin a master's degree program in rehabilitation counseling at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, but Austin doesn't intend to wait until she finishes her master's degree to start helping others.

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock graduate got the surprise of a lifetime when her family from California flew all night to surprise her on graduation day. Vivian Littrell's May 11 graduation from UA Little Rock with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice was already a special event, since the 71-year-old grandmother of four and mother of two from Little Rock was finishing her lifelong goal of earning a college degree. "I decided that I wanted to complete my bachelor's degree before my youngest grandchildren were out of high school," she said. "I've been out of college since 1984, when I last attended Philander Smith College. I wanted to major in adult education with a minor in psychology. That was my objective back then, but now many years later, I have a different agenda."

A well-known associate dean at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock said he is looking forward to helping the "most important people on campus" after completing his college education. Richard Harper II, associate dean of students, graduated May 11 with a Doctor of Education in higher education administration. He wears many hats on campus, serving as the immediate past president of Staff Senate and the advisor to the Student Government Association. "Now that graduation is over, I plan to continually live by my professional motto," he said. "I'm here to positively impact the lives of students. The other motto I live by is that students are the most important people on campus. Without them, there would be no purpose for us to be here. I will continue to advocate for students and make sure our services are high quality and continue to be an asset for higher education."

Helgestad graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock on May 11 with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and is well on her way to becoming a dentist. She already works as a registered dental assistant with Dr. Kathleen Good Ederle in Little Rock and is applying to dental schools this month. "I like dentistry because I enjoy doing art and being creative, but I also enjoy business. Combining these areas together is what general dentistry is like," she said. "Working as a dental assistant, I see how happy people get even with just a little cosmetic work to their teeth."

The Top Paper award recognizes the highest class grade for the semester at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Bowen School of Law.

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock graduate will soon be sharing his knowledge of the criminal justice system with students on the west coast. Dr. Marc Glidden, visiting assistant professor of criminal justice, graduated May 11 with a Ph.D. in criminal justice and a tenure-track assistant professor position at California State University, Northridge. "Criminal justice is such a developing field," Glidden said. "Since it is such a new field of study, there will always be topics to be curious about."

The Top Paper award recognizes the highest class grade for the fall 2018 semester at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law.

The Top Paper award recognizes the highest class grade for the summer 2018 semester at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Bowen School of Law.

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law announces its spring 2019 graduates.

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock graduate has honored his family's legacy by devoting his graduate research to uncovering the history of the Arkansas Highway Police. Cody Besett, 27, of Rogers, graduated May 11 with a Master of Arts in public history with an emphasis in archives and digital collections. Since his father and grandfather were both officers with the Arkansas Highway Police, he was inspired to write his thesis about the state law enforcement agency.

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock graduate has created a computer program that can identify emotions on a person's face in real time. Suzan Anwar, of Little Rock, graduated May 11 from UA Little Rock with a Ph.D. in computer and information science. In August, she will begin a new position as an assistant professor of computer science at Philander Smith College, where she has taught robotics courses for the past year. Anwar and her dissertation advisor, Dr. Mariofanna Milanova, professor of computer science, created a face analysis package that uses face and eye detection and eye tracking software to recognize emotions like happiness, sadness, anger, disgust, fear, and surprise. The second part of the system can track the position of a person's head and what their eyes are looking at when they feel a specific emotion. The software has the potential for a variety of real-world applications.

Juliann Fiallos, a junior geology/biology double major from Ansonia, Connecticut, spent several months this spring examining the levels and impact of microplastics in the Fourche Creek wetlands. Microplastics are microscopic pieces of plastic that are released into the environment as plastic products slowly begin to break down.

University of Arkansas at Little Rock junior distance runner Hunter Paul has been named to the CoSIDA Google Cloud first team Academic All-District for the 2018-19 track and field/cross country seasons.

Riley Pittman, a senior at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, has received First Team All-Sun Belt honors for his outstanding performance during the 2019 baseball season.

Chandler Fidel has received First Team All-Sun Belt honors for his outstanding performance during the 2019 season.

Aaron Ramos, a sophomore at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, was named a second team selection for the All-Sun Belt Conference for the 2018-19 men's golf season.