University of Arkansas

Faculty and students from the Department of Mathematical Sciences recently represented the U of A at two regional conferences focused on mathematics and mathematics education, highlighting innovative approaches to teaching and research. Their presentations emphasized strategies for reducing student anxiety, enhancing engagement and improving student experiences in mathematics classrooms.

Ryan Calabretta-Sajder and doctoral student Federico Tiberini recently showcased their research on Italian American culture at the annual conference of the Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States (MELUS), held in Austin, Texas, and co-sponsored by the University of Texas-Austin and Southern Methodist University.

Fifty-eight 2026 honors graduates were recently recognized at a reception as University of Arkansas's Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences honored students at its yearly academic awards reception.

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.

University Recreation and Wellness hosted its annual End of Year Celebration. The celebration recognizes the academic and occupational success of UREC's student employees and club sport officers, acknowledging students for university honors, awards and graduation.

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.

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.

As an active transportation coordinator in the Office for Sustainability on campus, Emma Armendariz spends every day working to make the U of A and Fayetteville more sustainable. Yet she found the university's Environmental Resiliency program still pushed her to deepen her understanding of sustainability and rethink how she approaches the work.

Several undergraduate students from the University of Arkansas Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSDI) program recently presented research projects at the annual Arkansas Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ArkSHA) Convention, highlighting student-led work focused on clinical practice, research and community resources in speech-language pathology.

Several graduating Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design students at the University of Arkansas reflected on the experiences that have shaped their time in school and prepared them for what is next as they begin their careers. These spotlights feature six design students with diverse paths, perspectives and passions who share the growth, creativity and unique insights they have gained throughout their journey at the Fay Jones School and the U of A. Their reflections offer a closer look at their dedication as students and the positive impact they hope to make after graduation.

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.

British by birth, Abel Fenwick's unlikely journey to studying cowboy literature at the U of A began in a hotel room in New Jersey binging Robert DuVall movies with a friend. That marathon included the Lonesome Dove miniseries, based off the beloved Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Larry McMurtry.

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.

Lovelace Amos, a higher education doctoral student at the University of Arkansas, was recently invited to attend the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Youth Forum 2026, an opportunity inviting youth from around the world to engage with member states and contribute to the global dialogue on key issues with international impacts. The forum was held in the U.N. headquarters in New York City under the theme "Innovate, Unite and Transform: Youth Shaping the Road to 2030."

Two U of A students in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) were awarded National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships, supporting their continued study and research in STEM fields. Abhinav Komanduri and Aidan Donoho were selected for the fellowship, which provides funding for graduate education, including up to three years of support within a five-year period.

This May, Holli Jenkins will walk across the stage at the University of Arkansas with a biological engineering degree and her dream job already secured. The path there was built on community, shaped by a supportive department, a student club meeting and the confidence to follow up with an email. Jenkins didn't arrive at the U of A planning to study biological engineering. She initially set her sights on mechanical engineering, but an info session for the First-Year Engineering Biological Engineering program changed everything.

From the smallest towns in the Louisiana Delta to cross-country van treks, a passion for design can begin in vastly different places. That was the case for two Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design students at the U of A who were recognized by Metropolis magazine, affirming them among the top emerging designers in North America. Emmalyn Burns and Dakota Kalkstein, both interior architecture and design majors, were named to this year's Future100 list due to their exceptional academic records and compelling portfolios, proving their creativity and commitment.

For fifth-year architecture student Joseph Hill, his approach to design is shaped by more than just the classroom. Growing up in Unterschleissheim, a small town near Munich, Germany, Hill was exposed to a different way of experiencing space, one that continues to influence his work today.

Forty-five supply chain management majors from the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the U of A were inducted this spring into the Sigma Chi Mu Tau Honor Society. Sigma Chi Mu Tau is an honor society dedicated to recognizing outstanding juniors, seniors and graduate students in supply chain management, as well as educators and professionals who have demonstrated dedication and meaningful contributions to the profession. Membership is open to students who maintain an overall cumulative grade point average of at least 3.25 on a 4.00 scale and meet the following criteria:

The Gender Studies Program in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences is pleased to announce its second cohort of Maxine Miller Scholars. Named after luminary business owner of Maxine's Tap Room, Maxine Miller, scholars are selected based on the strength and innovation of their research projects, which must examine gender issues in a humanities field.

The Program in Creative Writing and Translation is pleased to announce that Jane Tucker has been awarded the undergraduate Felix Christopher McKean Memorial Award. The award was founded in 1945 to honor the memory of McKean, an Arkansas native of Lockesburg who, while studying foreign languages, business and mathematics at the U of A, discovered a passion for writing poetry.

The University of Arkansas continues its tradition of national recognition for student excellence in public service, leadership and research as juniors Amie Donathan has been named a Goldwater Scholar, Muskan Taori a Truman Scholar and Claire Walker a Udall Scholar. These highly competitive national awards recognize students who demonstrate exceptional commitment to serving others, leading change and discovering solutions to challenging problems.

Sam Vinson is graduating this May from the U of A with two majors - biological engineering and Spanish - three minors, a Walmart internship and something most engineers don't accomplish before they receive their diploma: a first-author publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

The Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design recently announced that 109 students received scholarships and other awards through its 2026 Honors and Awards Recognition program. This year, nearly $400,000 was handed out through scholarships and awards that recognized various aspects of achievement among architecture, landscape architecture, and interior architecture and design students.

The University of Arkansas School of Law Board of Advocates has announced its executive board and membership for the 2026-27 academic year. Students become eligible for the board during their third year of law school by participating in a minimum number of intraschool and interschool Board of Advocates competitions during their first and second years. The outgoing BOA Executive Board interviews applicants, who rank the leadership positions they are interested in obtaining on their applications. Once interviews conclude, the board selects students to fill each role for the next year. The Board of Advocates sponsors three internal competitions that select students for moot court, trial and advocacy teams that compete at regional and national levels. These programs provide valuable opportunities for students to develop and refine their lawyering skills.

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.

Nicole McKellar, a junior from Rogers studying biological engineering and German in the College of Engineering and the Honors College, has been selected for a DAAD RISE fellowship to research sustainable agriculture at the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart, Germany, this summer. The program, funded by the German government, places undergraduates at top German universities and is highly selective. McKellar's project will test whether combinations of mineral fertilizers and bio-stimulants can strengthen wheat and soybean crops while reducing chemical dependence. She plans to bring the research back to Arkansas for her honors thesis.

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.