Participating in the 2014 STEM Posters at the Capitol event in Little Rock on March 7 were one former University of Arkansas - Fort Smith student and two current UAFS students -- Cassie Peer and Daniel Schwartz of Fort Smith and Alice Tholen of Edmond, Okla.
The event provided STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) undergraduate students from across the state a forum to talk about their scientific work with elected state officials, the media, the general public and other undergraduates and faculty.
Mark Arant of Muldrow, STEM dean at UAFS, said he is proud of the UAFS students and faculty.
“Their work, demonstrated alongside others in the state, is representative of our University’s quality instruction and scholarship,” said Arant. “These students are some of our best, and they have very bright futures ahead.”
Faculty members who attended the event were Dr. Jeanine Myers of Clarksville, assistant professor of mathematics; Dr. Kevin Lewelling of Fort Smith, engineering professor; and Dr. Jennifer Jamison of Van Buren, assistant professor of chemistry.
Myers said Peer won the Outstanding Research Award in Mathematics last year.
“Although her major is in mathematics education, Cassie Peer is one of those exceptional students who likes challenges and took the initiative to do her senior research in theoretical mathematics,” said Myers. “Her research in the area of complex analysis, and in particular conformal mappings, resulted in some nice original propositions and theorems.”
Myers said Peer was able to “rigorously prove” these results on her own by applying the mathematical knowledge and skills she acquired in the classroom at UAFS to a higher level of mathematical critical thinking. Peer is currently a mathematics teacher at Darby Junior High School.
Lewelling said Schwartz is a sophomore electrical engineering major at UAFS.
“He has contributed to the Mars Rover Project by programming the microcontroller to control the rover’s movement using ultrasonic sensors,” said Lewelling. “Daniel’s project is funded by the Arkansas Space Grant Consortium Collaborative Research Program.”
Jamison said Tholen will graduate this May with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering through the dual program UAFS offers with the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
“Her research has focused on the controlled aggregation of gold nanoparticles using electrolytes with varying cation size and valency in order to modulate their electronic properties,” said Jamison.