NEWS IN BRIEF

Arkansas company awarded $2 million

A Fayetteville-based company has been awarded $2 million as part of a collaborative partnership to develop new technology for hybrid electric vehicles.

The $2 million award comes from the U.S. Department of Energy and is one of 38 new projects in the United States which received a total of $45 million to develop new technologies to reduce transportation costs and improve fuel efficiencies, according to a release.

Arkansas Power Electronics International Inc., located at the Arkansas Research and Technology Park, leads the effort along with the University of Arkansas’ National Center for Reliable Electric Power Transmission, Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing North America Inc., GaN Systems Inc., and the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Arkansas Power Electronics is working on new electric-motor traction drives for hybrid vehicles using silicon carbide and gallium nitride power semiconductors.

The improvements reduce vehicle costs, increase driving distances and reduce fuel expenses.

  • John Magsam

Global Campus hosts safe-hiring seminars

The University of Arkansas’ Global Campus is hosting two workshops covering safe hiring practices in October.

The classes, held at Global Campus’ new location at 3300 Market St. in Rogers, will be taught by Shelia Moss, a corporate trainer and owner of Lowell-based Information Solutions. Moss trains professionals in the private and public sector in human resource compliance.

A workshop, titled, “Safe Hiring 1: Darned if you do;

Darned if you don’t: When is a Background Check Appropriate” will be held from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Oct. 1. A second, “Safe Hiring 2: Ensuring the ‘Safe’ in the Safe Hiring Audit” will be offered from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Oct. 8.

The workshops cost $49 each, and participants can register or obtain more information about the workshops at globalcampus.uark.edu.

The Global Campus links UA faculty and industry experts with professionals to provide continuing education, workshops and certification-building classes.

  • John Magsam

State index rises 1.34, ends at 286.1

The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, gained 1.34 to finish at 286.10 Friday.

Eleven stocks advanced and six declined.

Murphy USA, which began trading this week, was up 3.2 percent on below-average volume.

USA Truck lost 1.3 percent in light trading.

For the week, 12 stocks were up and five stocks fell.

Murphy Oil rose 8.8 percent for the week.

Arkansas Best fell 2.6 percent for the week.

Volume for the index was 20.7 million shares. The average daily volume for the week was 20.5 million shares.

The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.

Business, Pages 31 on 09/07/2013

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