University of Arkansas at Little Rock

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock professor and doctoral student have received a $20,000 Google AI research grant for their research in artificial intelligence and machine learning. Dr. Xiaowei Xu, professor of information science, and Tolgahan Cakaloglu, a doctoral candidate in computer science, received the grant for their project, "Contextual Advanced Text Representation via Improved Deep Language Model by Utilizing Side Information." This advanced artificial intelligence technique can be successfully applied to many areas, including natural language processing, information retrieval, and search engines. Xu and Cakaloglu are currently researching how to improve a computer's understanding of natural language to improve people's experiences with search engines.

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock history professor and his graduate students are making headway into a mystery 99 years in the making. Dr. Brian Mitchell and his graduate students in the Intro to Public History Class have followed a trail of clues through cemeteries, public records, and databases as part of their search to discover what happened to a dozen black men wrongfully sentenced to death in a time of great racial turmoil in the aftermath of the 1919 Elaine Massacre.

Three University of Arkansas at Little Rock student journalists were recognized for their outstanding work with Diamond Journalism Awards, a regional competition sponsored by the Arkansas Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. The awards, which were presented Oct. 25 at Little Rock's Flying Saucer, recognize outstanding journalism by professionals and students from Arkansas and bordering media markets in Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas. The awards honor work published or broadcast between July 1, 2017, and June 30, 2018.

The Trojans had four players named to the All-Sun Belt First Team as well as one player named Second-Team All-Sun Belt. Arola Aparicio Gili, Doro Greulich, Liesa Seifert and Fanney Einarsdottir received first team honors for their excellent play to lead the Trojans to a historic season, tying the school-record for wins in season with 12. Jaclyn Purvine received second team honors after her stellar season as the first Little Rock player to score double-digit goals in a season since 2008.

Rajat Emanuel Singh, a doctoral systems engineering student at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, earned a scholarship to present his research on muscle synergy adaptation at the IEEE Biomedical Circuits and Systems Conference. Singh traveled to Cleveland, Ohio, Oct. 17-19, to present his paper, "Muscle Synergy Adaptation During A Complex Postural Stabilization Task." Rajat was one of a select group of students internationally who won a $750 competitive scholarship from the conference organizers to present his research.

Researchers from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock are joining the ranks of technology companies and universities like Google, Intel, Stanford University, and Harvard University to create the next generation benchmark suite for machine learning. Wei "David" Dai, a doctoral candidate in information science, is pursuing dissertation research on evaluating machine learning with imperfect data. Machine learning is a field of computer science that uses statistical techniques to give computer systems the ability to learn from data.

New research at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock digs into assumptions about the influence of bots on people's opinions. Some people often assume that disinformation campaigns carried out on social media by bots (a computer program that can automate social media messaging and content engagement) were highly effective in changing people's opinions through repetition tactics. However, Zachary Stine, a UA Little Rock doctoral student in computer and information science, tested this theory through an experiment to determine how easily a group of artificial agents could be influenced under three computation models. Artificial agents are simulated objects in a computer program that represent simplified versions of things, people in this case, in the real world.

Tori Lasker was elected to the All-Sun Belt Third Team as voted on by the conference's coaches in the 2018-19 Sun Belt Conference Women's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Poll.

Senior forward Arola Aparicio Gili has received Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors for her impressive performances over the weekend, announced today by league officials. The senior is receiving this honor for the second time this season, as she has been an offensive force all season long.

Little Rock senior Ronjanae DeGray was named Preseason Sun Belt Player of the Year, in addition to being selected to the conference's First Team.

University of Arkansas at Little Rock students put on a successfull production of William Shakespeare's comedy "As You Like It" Oct. 10-14 in the Center for Performing Arts' Haislip Theatre.

A group of student from Edma Delgado-Solozano's Spanish Introduction to Literature and Cultural Studies Class gave a presentation describing their development of materials for an open educational resource textbook, the Antologia abierta de literatura hispana. Students who participated in this project include Heather Rodriguez, Daisy Vasquez, Nallely Lopez, and Bryana Herrara.

Little Rock senior middle blocker Veronica Marin has been named the Sun Belt Conference's Defensive Player of the Week for the fourth time this season.

Little Rock's Shanieke Watson has been named the Sun Belt Conference Women's Cross Country Runner of the Week. This the second weekly award for Watson this season and the fifth time she's earned the distinction in her career.

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock is proud to announce UA Little Rock students who have enrolled for the fall 2018 semester.

University of Arkansas at Little Rock student teams took two of the nine final spots at the UA BlockChain Hackathon at the University of Arkansas held Sept. 28-29. The hackathon featured 21 teams from Arkansas colleges and universities and was sponsored by nine large businesses such as IBM, Tyson, Heifer International, and J.B. Hunt, who provided challenges focused on using BlockChain technology for teams to present during the competition. Each of the nine sponsors chose a team to advance to the finals where they presented their results against the winners of other challenges.

Little Rock senior middle blocker Veronica Marin has been named the Sun Belt Conference's Defensive Player of the Week for the third time this season!

Eleven University of Arkansas at Little Rock students were recently honored during a scholarship ceremony and banquet sponsored by the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Council 750 Little Rock. The banquet, held Sept. 28 in the Great Hall of the William J. Clinton Presidential Center, honored 56 students selected to receive scholarships from LULAC Council 750 Little Rock. Several central Arkansas colleges and universities, including UA Little Rock, match the LULAC Scholarships and/or offer full scholarships to students who have passed the rigorous LULAC selection process.

Tanner Marshall, a graduate student in the Department of Computer Science, has created an app for an exhibit at the Clinton Presidential Center. The app was built to accompany the "White House, Green Building" exhibit, which is on display at the Clinton Presidential Center from Sept. 8, 2018, to March 24, 2019.

Senior Justin Warren completed a tournament for the record books, finishing second among 83 competitors with an 11-under 202 at the Trinity Forest Invitational in Dallas. Led by Warren's effort, Little Rock placed sixth overall with a 7-under 845, the third-lowest tournament in program history.

Victor Ruiz, a senior systems engineering major at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, has a lot to be thankful for. He's a U.S. Air Force veteran with a beautiful wife and two young daughters. Now in his last semester as a systems engineering major, Ruiz is looking forward to a future career where he explores his passion for renewable energy.

For the second time this season, Little Rock senior middle blocker Veronica Marin has been named the Sun Belt Conference's Defensive Player of the Week.

Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge has selected nine second-year students from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law to serve as law clerks in the Attorney General's office for the fall session. The new law clerks include Michael Berry, Jonathan Hutto, Austin Kempker, Trent Minner, Rachel Moore, Alexis Pinkston, Allison Tschiemer, Chris Turansky, and Jacob Wickliffe. The law students will work in various departments to assist with legal research, draft memos and legal documents, and accompany lawyers at trials, client meetings, and hearings. "The law clerk program provides students an opportunity to experience a great service-learning environment," said Attorney General Rutledge. "Law clerks are exposed to the fulfilling experience of public service as they play a valuable role for the State, while also building relationships with some of Arkansas's top attorneys."

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law announces its first-year students entering law school during the 2018 fall semester.

The UA Little Rock Kappa Sigma chapter awarded three scholarships to outstanding freshmen who exhibited exceptional leadership abilities in high school through community involvement, participation in student organizations, and service.

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law announces the enrollment of more than 400 students for the 2018 fall semester.

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Department of English recently announced the newest members of its William G. Cooper Jr. Honors Program. Completion of the program requires students to maintain an overall GPA of 3.25, with a grade point of 3.5 in English courses, satisfactory completion of the block of Cooper Honors courses, and a letter of certification from the Director of the Program.

Aaron Ramos both placed among the top-10 individually as Little Rock tied for third at the UTSA Lone Star Invitational at TPC San Antonio. Little Rock closes out the weather-shortened event with a 13-over 589, posting a 5-over 294 over the final 18 holes.

Senior Justin Warren and sophomore Aaron Ramos both placed among the top-10 individually as Little Rock tied for third at the UTSA Lone Star Invitational at TPC San Antonio.

Little Rock senior middle blocker Veronica Marin has been named the Sun Belt Conference's Defensive Player of the Week.