University of Arkansas

Graduate business students from the Sam M. Walton College of Business are gaining national recognition for venture ideas developed in the classroom, earning top placements and prize funding across a series of high-profile pitch competitions this academic year.

RIOT Robotics, a robotics club from the U of A, earned the Design Award at the 2026 STORM robotics competition, held April 11 in Oklahoma. STORM, the Student Tele-Operated Robotics Mission, is an annual intercollegiate robotics competition hosted by the University of Oklahoma that challenges teams to build robots capable of completing real-world engineering tasks from a remote location.

The University of Arkansas Libraries, Honors College and Division of Research and Innovation are pleased to announce the winners of this year's Undergraduate Research Week competition in each of the research categories.

University of Arkansas students are transforming their college experiences into powerful digital portfolios that showcase their readiness for the workforce - and some are earning top honors for their work. Through reflection, storytelling and design, these award-winning ePortfolios demonstrate how students are connecting what they've done in college to where they are going next.

U of A startups earned more than $40,000 at the 25th annual Arkansas Governor's Cup, a startup competition open to students in seven states across the mid-south with a $141,000 cash prize pool. Altaris MedTech, which is developing a spray-based strep test that eliminates the need for traditional throat swabs, earned first place in the High Growth/Technology Graduate division to take home $20,000.

The UARK Speech and Debate Society, traveled to Middle Tennessee State University to compete in the International Public Debate Association's National Tournament and Convention. The students involved brought home many accolades, including a 2nd Place Scholastic Sweepstakes, which represents all divisions containing undergraduate students combined. Season-long, the team had its most successful run to date, earning a total of 248 awards in a single season, including a national champion speaker in the varsity division.

The largest cohort in the history of the McMillon Innovation Studio presented their projects last week at Demo Day, the bi-annual capstone that showcases a semester's worth of learning in the studio.The spring 2026 cohort included 16 design teams, which allow students to harness human-centered design principles to solve problems in an array of industries, and two product teams, which focus on teams producing a product that has a viable go-to-market strategy.

More than 95 senior Capstone Design projects filled the floor of Bud Walton Arena, as the U of A's College of Engineering opened its annual Engineering Expo to the public for two hours of head-to-head judging. The event is the culmination of the senior design sequence, in which student teams across five engineering disciplines spend their final year solving problems posed by industry, healthcare and research partners.

Altaris MedTech, a University of Arkansas student startup developing an innovative pain-free strep test, won fourth place at the prestigious Rice Business Plan Competition, earning U of A's best since 2018. Altaris was one of just 42 teams to qualify for the competition, which describes itself as the "world's largest and richest intercollegiate graduate student startup competition." Hosted by the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship at Rice University in Houston, Texas, the competition offers more than $1 million in investment and cash prizes.

A team of six University of Arkansas mechanical engineering seniors proved that grit is just as important as gears, returning from their inaugural appearance at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers' e-Human Powered Vehicle Competition (e-HPVC) with two national trophies. The e-HPVC challenges students to design, build and race electrically assisted human-powered vehicles. For the U of A team, the vehicle served as their senior capstone project, led by faculty adviser David Jensen.

Kathryn Totty, a third-year student at the University of Arkansas School of Law, earned first place at the 2026 Judicial Clerkship Opinion Writing Conference hosted by The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law. The prestigious national event brings together top law students from across the country to refine their legal writing skills under the guidance of distinguished members of the judiciary.

Angela Comeaux, a third-year student at the University of Arkansas School of Law, won the Law Student Legal Writing Competition hosted by the American Bar Association's Forum on Affordable Housing and Community Development. The forum, a premier network of legal professionals, seeks to advance the future of community development law and affordable housing while serving as a center for information about programs related to these topics.

The University of Arkansas Speech and Debate Society traveled to Dallas, Texas, to compete in their final tournament of the normal season. The team's individual success amounted to a second place sweepstakes in Team IPDA, a second place sweepstakes in IPDA and a second place overall tournament sweepstakes. The team will attend their final tournament of the year in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where Middle Tennessee State University is hosting the IPDA National Tournament and Convention.

The U of A Speech and Debate Society competed at the University of Central Arkansas' End of Hi-Bear Nation Debate Tournament. The team brought home numerous accolades, which included first place sweepstakes in all individual debate, team debate and the tournament's overall sweepstakes champion. This marks the organization's first tournament win, as well as first time sweeping every category.

Department of Music students Avery Longing and Jack Lockhart have won 2026 International Trumpet Guild Conference scholarships as part of the Ryan Anthony Memorial Trumpet Competition. This prestigious competition required them to submit recordings that were judged by an anonymous panel. Longing performed Sonata for Trumpet and Piano by Kent Kennan, and Lockhart performed Concerto for Trumpet by Oscar Bohme.

Faculty, staff and students from the University of Arkansas Department of Horticulture were recognized for strong participation and multiple student awards at the Southern Region American Society for Horticultural Science annual meeting held in Louisville, Kentucky. Department faculty and staff contributed to the conference through research presentations, session moderation and student competition leadership.

Graduate students in the Department of Animal Science recently took the spotlight during the annual Dr. Paul Noland Graduate Student Award Competition, an event showcasing emerging research and recognizing excellence in graduate scholarships. Seven students presented their current work with projects spanning animal health, beef production, sustainability and innovative technology.

The Speech and Debate Society at the U of A, sponsored by the Diane Blair Center for Southern Politics and Society, traveled to Bossier City, Louisiana, to compete in the Eddy Shell Invitational hosted at Bossier Parish Community College.

The Speech and Debate Society at the University of Arkansas, sponsored by the Diane Blair Center for Southern Politics and Society and housed in the History Department, competed at the Southern Forensics Championship Tournament, the state championship for Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. While this event typically occurs in-person and was set to be hosted by Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, the SFC board moved the event online due to winter storms. The Speech and Debate Society went on to win a whopping 58 awards, breaking their past record from the same event in 2025.

Gibson Nkhata, a doctoral student in the College of Engineering at the University of Arkansas, earned a best paper award at the 24th IEEE/WIC International Conference on Web Intelligence and Intelligent Agent Technology in London, United Kingdom. This international conference, organized by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the Web Intelligence Consortium (WIC), brings together researchers, professionals and industry experts to share research and real-world applications exploring how artificial intelligence (AI) functions in a connected world. Nkhata's paper, titled "Verifying Rumors via Stance-Aware Structural Modeling," examines the importance of verifying information and rumors on social media to limit the spread of misinformation.

Ruvindu Perera, a doctoral student in the Cell and Molecular Biology program, placed as one of the top 12 finalists out of more than 60 competitors in the regional 3-Minute Thesis competition in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Perera, who is also a Doctoral Academy Fellow, presented on his research project titled "Developing a Vaccine to Prevent Lameness in Broiler Chickens." He faced off against graduate students from universities across the South, as far west as Texas and as far east as Virginia, and received a $150 cash prize for placing as a finalist.

A student team seeking to raise awareness about whole health care captured one of the top prizes at Demo Day, a bi-annual event showcasing a semester of learnings in the McMillon Innovation Studio, the University of Arkansas' campus innovation hub. The team partnered with Community Clinic to create Wellness on Wheels, a mobile education and resource van. The program, unveiled Dec. 3 at the U of A's Institute for Integrative & Innovative Research, helps raise awareness in the community by attending local events to teach whole health principles and distribute preventative tools.

The Speech & Debate Society at the U of A is celebrating a standout mid-season performance as national rankings from the International Public Debate Association (IPDA) place the team among the top programs in the country. With half the competitive season remaining, the team is positioned for one of its strongest finishes in recent history.

The speech and debate society traveled to its final in-person tournament of the semester this past weekend, held at Arkansas Tech University in Russellville earning 18 awards at the tournament and closing out the fall semester with a combined total of 77 - well on track to break their record from the previous season. Together, the team earned four combined total awards, which includes all members' contributions to the tournament.

University of Arkansas students are showcasing their career readiness through award-winning professional ePortfolios. Top student work included those by Emma Grace Beard, Kalyx Aikin, Lucy Schram and Marshall Deree. The bi-annual ePortfolio contest recognizes students who effectively articulate their skills, experiences, and professional identities through thoughtfully designed digital portfolios.

Student media leaders and journalism faculty traveled to Washington, D.C., for MediaFest25, bringing home national awards and valuable connections with alumni working in the nation's capital.

University of Arkansas student Austin Keefe is ranked first place in the country in the Varsity speaking division. Keefe is also ranked in the top 10 as a varsity debater, coming in at ninth. The Speech and Debate Society at the University of Arkansas is represented by top-performing students and is currently ranked in the top five in the country.

The University of Arkansas Speech and Debate Society traveled to Shreveport, Louisiana, to compete in the 50th Annual "Red River Classic" hosted by Louisiana State University in Shreveport earning a total of 28 awards, bringing their season-long total to date up to 58. The Speech and debate Society is represented by top-performing students in early reports of national overall rankings, and is proud to announce their placements for the fall semester as of November, including a student currently ranked first place in the country.

Three teams of students in Mock Hogs, which compete in mock trial tournaments nationwide, filled the fall season with growth, achievement and memorable moments for all of their teams.

Altaris MedTech, comprised of University of Arkansas students Joseph Hobbs and Lance Lockwood, won first place at the 2025 Southeastern Conference Student Pitch Competition hosted by Vanderbilt University. Their novel approach to simplifying and improving diagnostic testing with a pain-free, spray-based strep test that eliminates the need for traditional swabs, stood out among student entrepreneurs from across the SEC and earned them a grand prize of $10,000.