T.

DAVID BATEMAN
Volume 3, Issue 2

May 2016

Undergraduate Research Newsletter

Music Education student invited to sing with the Delaware

Choral Academy in Aix-en-Provence, France .
Thank You!
To everyone that helped will have the opportunity to
out with the Arkansas Un- Tanner Oglesby, a junior
work with the outstanding choir
dergraduate Research Con- Music Education major from
ference. The conference in residence. Tanner will be
Arkadelphia, has been ac-
could not happen without a given podium time as an ap-
cepted into the prestigious
lot of assistance from faculty prentice conductor with experi-
Delaware Choral Academy
staff, administration and, of enced conductors providing
in France. According to the
course students. valuable feedback. This is an
program website, the pro-
extraordinary opportunity for
The faculty mentors of gram is an intense 19-day an outstanding HSU student to
the students who presented program for choral scholars
further his education and gain
their work at the confer- and a unique opportunity for
ence also deserve a big priceless experience. The fall
conducting scholars who are
thank you as well. It takes a seeking podium time with an 2016 edition of Reddie Research
lot of extra work, energy will have details from Tanners
outstanding choir and or-
and time to direct students trip.
chestra, with additional stud-
in research and creative
works. Also, the mad rush ies in score study and re- The program starts June 23rd
to get things ready for pre- hearsal technique. and runs through July 12th , TannerOglesby
senting at the conference 2016.
never comes at a conven- Also, conducting scholars
ient time.

There is not enough

room in this side bar to Physics Student Presents Research for Space Grant Consortium
thank everyone so more
thank yous can be found on
page 3. Junior Physics major Matthew
Taber, under the direction of Dr. Inside this issue:
circuits for a target group of 8th grade students using
I hope you enjoy the Shannon Clardy, was funded by
the VICTER power box distributed by the Arkansas
Spring 2016 issue of Reddie the Arkansas Science Teachers Science and Technology Authority and to assess the The 2016 2
Research. Our students and Association (ASTA) through the knowledge gains after performing the activities.
their faculty mentors have ASSET initiative for the spring of AURC
accomplished a lot over the 2015 through the fall of 2015. He
recently presented his project at 4
past few months. Biology News
the Arkansas
Have a great summer break! Space Grant
Consorti-
um. His pro- Arkansas Academy 6
ject was titled
T. David Bateman, Ph.D. Promoting of Science
Director, Undergraduate Student
Research Knowledge in Rowland Research 7
batemat@hsu.edu Electrical Forc-
es and Alterna-
tive Energy
Using Interac- Kennedy Scholar- 8
tive Teaching ship
Re-
sources. The
purpose was to National ACS 10
design hands- Meeting
on classroom
activities cen-
tered around Student Wins Envi- 13
energy, alternative energy, and ronmental Award


Page 2

The 2016 Arkansas Undergraduate Research Conference at

HSU.
to showcase research, creative or Grand Ballroom at 6:30, followed
Henderson State University host-
scholarly activity done under the by a keynote speech delivered by
ed the 23rd annual Arkansas
direction of their faculty advisers. Dr. Lee Sawyer. Dr. Sawyer is a
Undergraduate Research Confer-
program director at Louisiana
ence April 15th and 16th. Institu-
Students presented oral presenta- Tech and works at CERN on the
tions from across the state and
tions and\or posters to showcase discovery of the Higgs Boson and
surrounding areas participated in
their works to an audience of is currently working on the detec-
the two-day event on the HSU
fellow students and faculty advis- tion of the elusive graviton parti-
campus. The conference is an
ers. There was a banquet in the cle. His bio is on page 14.
opportunity for undergraduate
students from all academic areas

StudentsfromUAFSwiththeirMarsRover

The2016AURCBanquet.

Volume 3, Issue 2
Undergraduate Research Conference Owes Many Thanks.
To make the AURC a suc-
cess, we depend on the assistance
of dedicated volunteers to help
out. The session chairs that intro-
duce speakers, prepare the
rooms, and keep things on sched-
ule are invaluable to the confer-
ence. Dr. Mike Lloyd took pic-
tures throughout both days of the
conference and did a fantastic job
as always. Dr. Bradley Rowland
chaired the interdisciplinary post-
er session, and the individual ses-
sions were chaired by Dr. Brad
Rowland, Dr. Emilie Beltzer, Dr.
Ingo Schranz, and Dr. Aneeq Ah-
BiologyResearchersSusieBrownandRichardSpencer
Coleatthepostersession.
mad. The conference could not
have been done without them.
The student volunteers that
helped prepare the conference,
and handled registration worked
hard to help pull off a great con-
ference. This years volunteers,
along with Dr. Vincent Dunlap,
were Wade Garrett, Allie Davis,
Paul Bayliss, Colton Lechak, An-
drew Hodge and Brian Cole.
Without their contributions, this
event could not have been suc-
cessful.
PsychologyRe
searcherstudents
attheposterses
sion.
Page 3
Of course the Aramark staff
As always, the custodial staff
that catered the oral sessions and in Reynolds and the physical
the banquet were tremendous.
plant were a tremendous
They always do a great job, and
help and made sure the
Phyllis Harrison was instrumental in conference ran smoothly.
helping with the details. I also want
to thank Ernie Higgs and the Garri- More photos an page 15.
son crew for preparing the rooms
for the poster session, and banquet.
Dr. Steve Adkison, provost and Vice
President for Academic Affairs,
assisted in allocating funds to help
cover the cost of this years ban-
quet.
ChemistryResearcherWendyFernandezexplainingher
worktoMichelleEddy.
ChemistryResearcherWadeGarre discussesresearch
withColtonLechak.
 Biology

Page 4

News
Report of a Rare Inland Occurrence of a Tropical Sea Bird.
Atthe23rdAnnualArkansasUn a ngwithsomena veaqua c record,whichhittheboobys
dergraduateResearchConference, birds,theDoubleCrestedCormo breedingareainMexicosGulfof
EmilyReynebeau,seniorbiology rant.Thebirdmayhavebeen Californiaabout10daysbefore
major,presentedAfirstRecordof driveninlandbyHurricanePatri theadultfemalebirdwasspo ed
theBrownBooby(Sulaleuco cia,thestrongesthurricaneon inArkansas.
gaster)fromHowardCounty,Ar
kansas.Sheandhermentor,Dr.
JamesEngman,werealertedto
thepresenceofthisbirdon
DiercksLakeinearlyNovem
ber,2015.Thebird,typically
foundintropicalareasofthe
PacificandCaribbean,re
mainedintheareaforsever
aldays,apparentlyassoci

Dr.JamesEngman

EmilyReynebeau

Survey Collections at the Simonson Biological Field Station.

StudentsandfacultyfromHendersons
biologydepartmentareconduc ng
biologicalsurveysonthe104acrefield
sta onproperty,locatedontheshore
ofDeGrayLakeinBismarck,Arkansas.
Ongoingsurveysareexaminingthe
plants,birds,mammals,snakes,rep
ni eschangeover me.Vari
les,amphibians,bacteria,mosses,
ousfacultymembersarelook
algae,andterrestrialandaqua cinver
ingatorganismsfromtheir
tebrates.Thiswillprovidebaseline
areasofexper se,andare
datathatcanbeusedinthefuture,as
beingassistedbyagroupof
commu
mo vatedbiologymajors.

Undergradu
ateHunter
Chapman,
surveying
insectsatthe
Simonson
Biological
FieldSta on.

Wildturkeyandraccoonsaretwowildlifespeciescommononthefieldsta onproperty.

Volume 3, Issue 2
Advances in Project to Survey Bacterial Communities in Blanchard Springs Caverns.
StudentsinJamesEngmanslab
havebeenstudyingthebacterial
communityofoneofthemost
spectacularshowcavesintheU.S.
Venturingdeepintoundeveloped
regionsofBlanchardSpringsCav
erns,studentsoveranumberof
yearshavebeencollec ngbacterial
samplesfromspeleotherms(cave
forma ons)andfromcavedwelling
organisms(especiallycavecrick
ets),culturingthebacteria,and
thenusingmoleculargene ctech
niques,includingpolymerasechain
reac onandDNAsequencingto
analyzethe16sRNAgene,com
monlyusedtoiden fybacteria.A
limita onofthisapproachisthat
onlybacteriaspeciesthatwillgrow
inthelabcanbesequencedand
Page 5
iden fied.Recently,theteam
ofMemphis.Theirhardwork
ofstudents,includingItzela
andenthusiasmwillbemissed.
Cruz(sr.),LeahEfird(sr.),Tay
lorLee(jr.),CaitlynGosch(jr.)
andBrookeJohnson(fr.)began
usinganewextrac ontech
nique,andnextgenera on
sequencing,whichdoesnot
requireculturingofthebacte
ria.Thefirstsetofresultsisin,
andisintheprocessofbeing
analyzed.Twoteammembers
aregradua ngthisspringand
willbeleaving.ItzelaCruzhas
beenadmi edtothePh.D.
PrograminMolecularGene cs
attheUniversityofNebraska,
andLeahEfirdhasbeenad
mi edtotheDoctorofDental
SurgeryProgramatUniversity
UndergraduateresearchstudentCaitlynGoschwithsample.
Exampleofcavebacteriasequencedata.

Arkansas Academy of Science Celebrates 100th Anniversary
CaseyDodd
MalloryBell
Arkansas Space Grant Consortium holds annual symposium
EmilyReynebeau,whoseresearchun
derthediec onofDr.Mar nCampbell
ondevelopingnewpolyesterpolymers
fromorganicbasedioniccompounds
calledionicliquids,wasfundedthrough
agrantprovidedbytheArkansasSpace
GrantConsor um.Eachyeartheor
Page 6
PossibleAn malarials.Their
TheArkansasAcademyheldits
a endancewaspar allyfund
annualmee nginAprilonthe
edbyUndergraduateResearch
campusoftheUniversityofArkan
GrantsfundedbytheArkansas
sasatFaye eville.TwoStudents
Academy.
underthedirec onofDr.Mar n
Campbellpresentedresearchat Onthatsameevening,both
theundergraduatepostersession. studentspresentedtheirre
MalloryBellpresentedanupdate searchatthe23rdannualAr
onherresearchwithWoollyCro kansasUndergraduateRe
tonwithaposteren tled searchConferenceatHSU.
BiochemicalInquiryintoCroton
capitatus,aNa veWeed.Casey
Dodd,whohasbeenperfec ng
thesynthesisofastructuralunit
withinafamilyofpossiblean ma
larialcompounds,gaveaposter
en tledProgressinSynthesisof
Dr.Mar nCampbell
ganiza onhostsasymposiumshowcasingthefunded
projectsfrommostpublicandprivateuniversi es
aroundthestate.Thisyeartheac vitytookplacein
HotSpringsonApril15.Emilypresentedherposter
en tledPoly(ionic)Liquids:ImidazoleswithEster
Linkagesandcamebacksayingseveralpar cipants
commentedonhowinteres ngandpoten allyuseful
herresearchappeared.
EmilyReynebeau

Volume 3, Issue 2
Undergraduate Research News From Dr. Bradley Rowland
TheSpring2016semesterhasbeen
verybusyfortheRowlandRe
searchGroupatHendersonState
University.Wehavegenerated
newresults,developednewpro
jects,andpresentedourresearch
atseveralconferences.Onenew
studentjoinedRowlandsgroup
thissemester:WadeGarre ,a
seniorbiochemistrymajor.Wade
didmuchpreparatoryworkonthe
backgroundinquantumtrajecto
riesthroughhisChemicalLiterature
course(tobeoeredasIntroduc
ontoResearchinFall2016)which
haspreparedhimtoworkonthis
research.Todate,weareworking
todevelopatrajectorycodeu liz
inganewansatzforthe me
dependentpropaga onoftheWig
nerpacketinphasespace.Inpar
cular,theWignerpacketisa
pseudoprobabilitydistribu on
whichcandevelopnega veprob
abilitybasinswhenundergoing
quantumbarriersca eringpro
cesses.Therearenocurrenttra
jectorybasedtechniqueswhich
canreproducethesenega veprob
abilitybasinsanditisthought
quantumeectsarisefromthese
basins.Wadepresentedthisre
searchattheArkansasUndergrad
uateResearchConference(AURC),
heldinApril2016attheHenderson
Wade
Garre
StateUniversitymaincampus.
ColtonLechakhasmadegreat
progressinthedetermina on
oftheoriginandevolu onof
nodeforma oninsechwave
packetsundergoingevolu on
withoutapoten alenergy
surface.Aswehavemen
onedpreviously,thisisun
heardofinthequantumdy
namicalliterature,asthewell
studiedGaussianwavepacket
doesnotformnodesatany
meduringitsevolu on.This
semester,wehaveperfected
boththenumerical me
dependentwavepacketcode
(withbothpseudospectral
techniquesandfinitedier
encetechniques)andthenu
mericalanaly ccon nua on
(NAC)codetoexaminethe
complexextendedwavepack
et.Ourresultstodatehave
providedinsightintotheevo
lu onandresolu onofthese
nodesontherealaxis.We
havealsobegunanexamina
onofthecomplexquantum
poten altohelpustodeter
PaulBayliss,AllieDavisandColtonLechakatthe
AURC.
Page 7
minetheoriginofthesenodes.
Wehopetopublishourresults
thusfarthissummer.Colton
Dr.BradleyA.Rowland
presentedthisworkatthe
251stAmericanChemicalSo useoftheVernierGCtodeter
cietyNa onalMee ng,held minethecomposi onsofthe
inMarch2016inSanDiego, liquidandvaporphases,which
CA,andattheAURC. putsamodernspinonthisexper
iment.Paulscomponentofthe
PaulBayliss,ajuniorchemis
researchwastodevelopvarious
trymajor,hasbeenworking
mixturesofmethylethylketone
onanewprojectaswell.Paul
andacetone,derivethephase
isworkingonacollabora ve
diagram,andexamineanyazeo
projectinchemicaleduca on
tropicbehavior.Dr.Bateman
withDr.DavidBatemanand
contributedheavilytotheexperi
me.Dr.Batemanrecently
mentaldesignofthisprojectpro
purchasedanairdriventab
posingtheuseofaDeanStark
letopgaschromatograph(GC)
traptocollectthecondensed
byVernier.Weareworking
vaporfrac onforanalysis.The
torevampaclassicexperi
resultshavebeencomparedto
mentintheundergraduate
theore calpredic onsdeveloped
PhysicalChemistrycurricu
byDr.Rowland.Paulpresenteda
lum:TheBinaryLiquidVapor
posteronthisjointworkatthe
PhaseDiagram.Tradi onally,
AURC.MorefromDr.Rowland
thisexperimenttradi onally
onpage9.
u lizesarefractometerto
determinethecomposi ons
ofaliquidandvaporphaseat
agivenpressureandmeas
uredtemperature.Weare
workingtoincorporatethe
Dr.DavidBateman


Page 8

Chemistry/Statistics Graduate Receives Scholarship for Medical School

thesis of synthetic RNAs. Erin had
Erin E. Yancey has received the and Statistics. She was a highly
at least one job at all times during
Jack and Ida Byrne Kennedy Schol- successful student that was active-
her undergraduate career and man-
arship for 2016. This scholarship ly involved in computational
aged to maintain spectacular grades
is a one-time $5000 award given chemistry research. She spent a
in some of the universitys most
to a matriculating medical student.summer at the University of Ten-
challenging courses. One faculty
It is given for outstanding academ-nessee studying computational
member described her time man-
ic performance and ones promise chemistry before ultimately decid-
agement skillsa skill extremely
for becoming an outstanding phy- ing to pursue medicine. At Hen-
valuable to a budding doctoras
sician. derson, Erin worked with Dr.
the best he had ever seen in an
Vincent Dunlap for two years on
Erin graduated in Spring 2015 with molecular dynamics models of undergraduate student. She will be
a bachelors degree in Chemistry molecules designed to aid in syn- attending UAMS in the Fall.

ErinYancey

Students to participate in Research Experiences for

Undergraduates across the country, funded by the National
Science Foundation.
Five Henderson Students will be
participating in undergraduate
research across the country this
summer. Hannah Deputy, a Junior
Biology major, will be conducting
research at Vanderbilt University
in Nashville, TN. Allie Davis, a
Junior Chemistry Major will be
conducting environmental re-
search at Washington State Uni-
versity in Pullman, WA. Senior
Chemistry Majors Brian Cole and
weeks long beginning at the end of
Paul Bayliss will both be at Clem-
May and running through the end of
son University in South Carolina
July. Students will gain valuable re-
for their research experience.
search experience while learning
Finally, Carlie Clem a Junior Bio-
what they can expect to encounter in
chemistry Major will be conduct-
graduate research. Generally, stu-
ing research at the University of
dents end their research experience
Arkansas in Fayetteville over the
with a poster session for all of the
summer. The NSF REU program is
REU participants at their location.
highly competitive and provides
Dr. Vince Dunlap organizes a fall
funding for the research projects
seminar for HSU REU participants to AllieDavis
and stipends for participating stu-
present their work .
dents. The program is usually ten

CarlieClem
HannahDeputy
BrianCole

PaulBayliss


Volume 3, Issue 2
Page 9

Dr. Rowlands Group is Looking for Researchers.

Students who work in the Row-
land Research Group gain a varie-
ty of skills which are very useful in
their educational and career pur-
suits. We have projects ranging
exciting projectsif you would like
from mathematical modelling to
to learn more, please contact him at
topics in chemical education and
rowlanb@hsu.edu.
environmental chemistry! Row-
land is seeking new students to
join the group in the upcoming
academic year to work on these
Dr.Rowland

HSU Chemistry Club Concludes a Busy Semester.

This semester continued the inau-
gural session of the Chemistry
Seminar Series, hosted by the
Henderson State University Chem
Club. This semester, we hosted
Dr. Darin Jones, Assistant Profes-
sor of Chemistry at the University
of ArkansasLittle Rock, who
came to speak on his research in
medicinal chemistry as well as
graduate research opportunities at
UALR for Henderson undergradu-
ates. Although it was not hosted
by Chem Club, the AURC fea-
tured plenary speaker Dr. Lee
Sawyer, Professor of Physics at
Lousiana Tech. Dr. Sawyers talk
was entitled Can Particle Physics
Save the World?
The Chem Club has worked on
many outreach projects this se-
mester. Our focus in outreach
has been to serve the broader
community by providing infor-
mation and demonstrations utiliz-
ing green demos. Our Family
Science Night Road-
show, which was a collaborative
event between the Biology Club,
Society of Physics Students, and
Chem Club, visited the Garland
County Library in Hot Springs on
April 14, 2016. The Chem Club per-
formed the Tie-Dye Sharpie Demo, in
which we recycled the acetone uti-
lized in the demo, and Glow Stick
Antioxidants, which helps students
understand oxidizing agents. At the
Chem Demo Exchange at the ACS
Convention in San Diego, we utilized
glow sticks in a different demoone
which demonstrates the relationship
between the speed of chemical reac-
tions and temperature. The Chem
Club also hosted an Ellis College
Community Class on Household
Chemistry in April 2016. At the
Community Class, we demonstrated
how to make homemade glue, olive
oil powder, the uses of plant essential
oils, and how to squirrel-proof your
bird feeder.

Chemistry Club Wins Local Section Demo Competition, Moves on to

Regionals.
The HSU Chemistry Club partici-
pated in the ACS Regional Demo
competition. We video recorded
our Glow Stick Antioxidants
demo and submitted it to the
Local Section for judging. We
have made this recording available
to instructors in K-12 schools.
We won the Local Section Com-
Garrett and Kalyn Barnes, will win a
petition and have moved on to the
trip to the Southwest
Regional Competition, where we
Regional ACS Meeting
are awaiting word of the final
to present the Glow
results. If the HSU Chem Club
Stick Antioxidant
wins the Regional Competition,
demo, to be held in
the two student presenters, Wade
Galveston, Texas in
early November 2016.

ChemistryClubperformingdemoatACSinSanDiego,CAinMarch.


Page 10

Chemistry Research Students Present Research at the American Chemical Society

National meeting in San Diego.

Dr. Bradley Rowland and Dr. Ingo Schranz took fourteen undergraduate research students in the Department of Chemistry to present their
work at the American Chemical Society National Meeting in San Diego, CA. The American Chemical Society is the worlds largest scientific soci-
ety with more than 158,000 members. The theme of this years meeting was Computers in Chemistry. The meeting provides valuable experience
presenting research, and networking opportunities for students. There were also graduate school recruiters from across the nation in attend-
ance. Pictures from the meeting are shown below and more pictures can be found on the following pages.

EmilyReyne
beau

DuyHa

ColtonLechak

KaitlinGaiser


Volume 3, Issue 2
Page 11

TheHSUChemis
tryClubwith
awardforCom
mendableStu
dentChapter
fromtheAmeri
canChemical
Society.

HSU Chemistry Club Wins First Ever National Green Chemistry Chapter Award

The HSU Chemistry Club, a Student Affiliate Chapter, received the Commendable award from the American Chemical Society, which was presented at an
awards ceremony in San Diego, CA. in March. The Club is sponsored by Dr. Bradley Rowland with co-sponsors Dr. David Bateman, Dr. Vincent Dunlap
and Janice ODonnell. The HSU Chemistry Club has received an award at every ACS National Meeting since 1999, a feat not commonly duplicated.

Dr.BradRowlandandstudentsColtonLechak,AllieDavisandPaulBayliss
attheChemDemoExchangeatthe2016ACSmee nginSanDiego.


Page 12

More from the American Chemical Society National meeting in San Diego.

MalloryBell

SarahHolt

WendyFernandez

AllieDavis

BrianCole

Dr.IngoSchranz,
KaitlinGaiserand
MalloryBellpose
withtheMolesat
theACSmee ng
inSanDiego.


Volume 3, Issue 2
Page 13

Chemistry Major Wins Poster Award at National Meeting and National Award From
The American Chemical Society Division of Environmental Chemistry.
Junior Chemistry Allie Davis presented research conducted with her mentor Dr. David Bateman in the Chemistry Department, in collabo-
ration with Dr. Renn Tumlison in the Department of Biology in the division of Environmental Chemistry at the ACS National Meeting San
Diego, Ca in March. Her poster depicting research into bioaccumulation of mercury in otter samples was awarded as an outstanding
student research poster during the meeting. Allie was nominated as an Outstanding Student in Environmental Chemistry with the Division
of Organic Chemistry as well. On May 5th Dr. David Bateman was notified of her recognition as an Outstanding environmental Chemistry
Student by the National Director. As part of her award Allie will receive a certificate and complimentary membership in the Environmen-
tal Chemistry Division of the ACS for one year, which includes complimentary access to environmental research articles and other re-
sources. The title and abstract for her poster are shown below.

Determination of mercury levels in living and nonliving systems in historic cinnabar mining
districts in southwest Arkansas.
MaryDavis1,AllisonSurf2,RennTumlison2,Ph.D.;T.DavidBateman1,Ph.D.
HendersonStateUniversity1DepartmentOfChemistry2DepartmentofBiology

Cinnabarminingwasoneoftheleading toxin,thusthefocusofthisprojectisto Coldvaporatomicabsorp onspectrom

industriesinArkansasfrom1931into assessthe etryisthemethodusedtodetermine
themid1940s.Thiswastheprimary mercurylevelsinsamples,whichare
regionalimpactofhistoricminingupon
sourceforproducingquicksilver,which treatedinaccordancewithEPA
waters,soils,andorganismsofsouth
wasindemandatthis me. establishedprotocols.
westArkansasbyevalua ngmercury
Mercuryisapersistentbioaccumula ve content.

AllieDaviswith
awardforposter
presentedinSan
Diegofromthe
AmericanChemi
calSocietyDivi
sionofEnviron
mentalChemis
try.


Page 14

2015 AURC Keynote Speaker

Abstract of the Keynote Address and Speaker Biography
Below

KeynotespeakerDr.LeeSawyer


T. David Bateman
Director of Undergraduate Research Phone: 870-230-5306
HSU Box 7651 E-mail: batemat@hsu.edu
Reynolds 307

More Pictures From the 2016 Arkansas Undergraduate Research Conference.

HSU Research
Suggestions

Any suggestions for un-

dergraduate research,
this newsletter, etc. are
welcome. Please send
me an email with sug-
gestions,\questions, and
I will be happy to get
back to you. I hope I
have not left anyone out
of this newsletter, and I
am sure there are mis-
takes. Rest assured, I
hope to improve Reddie
Research with every is-
sue.