Arts and Sciences | Community | Events | FeaturedAugust 21, 2025

UAFS Launches Monthly Research Den Programming

Written By: Ian Silvester

The University of Arkansas – Fort Smith is launching a new monthly series, Research Den, featuring casual, curious conversations with passionate researchers about their work. 

Four student researchers will present at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 26, at the Bakery District’s first-floor classroom. Each talk lasts approximately 10 minutes and will be followed by a question-and-answer period. 

The jargon-free evenings of fascinating discoveries are free and open to the public. 

“UAFS has some truly innovative research and ideas on campus, and I think it would surprise people to see the big ideas our faculty and students are tackling,” said Taylor Martinez, director of research and sponsored programs. “Research Den is our way of opening our doors and letting the community see what’s really going on here. These aren’t just academic exercises. Our faculty and students are working on questions that matter to Fort Smith, to Arkansas, and beyond.” 

Meet the students sharing their research: 

Willow McFerran, a senior studying biological science, leads the areawide Bioblitz, an iNaturalist project turning every citizen into a scientist by logging biodiversity. 

Shelby Zink, a senior biology major, dives into the secret lives of amphibians, complete with the impact of human influence, from Arkansas to Appalachia. 

Chris Edwards, a senior studying biology, combines old-school fieldwork with cutting-edge machine learning to explain how Arkansans impact aquatic ecosystems worldwide. 

Emily Kelley, a senior biology major, shows how citizen scientists help map Arkansas’s alligators, lizards, and turtles. 

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• Research and Sponsored Programs