Panel scrutinizesprovost candidates
FAYETTEVILLE -- A search committee met for more than five hours Sept. 12 to review information about candidates for the second-highest-ranking administrative position at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
Eleven applicants for the provost job were included in a list dated Aug. 31 that was released by UA in response to a public disclosure request submitted by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
"We considered both the applicants you've already seen and several more potential ones that have not yet formally applied," the committee's chairman, Peter Ungar, wrote in an email about last week's meeting. The University of Arkansas Foundation is paying $100,000 for UA to use a Florida-based search firm, Greenwood/Asher & Associates Inc., a university spokesman has said.
The search committee then met Tuesday with Chancellor Joe Steinmetz, said Ungar, a UA anthropology professor.
Steinmetz, UA's leader since Jan. 1, is expected to make the hiring decision, Ungar has said.
"Our next step will be to meet with persons of interest and develop a list of prospective candidates to recommend to the Chancellor for on-campus interviews," Ungar said, adding that on-campus interviews could happen in mid-October.
U.S. grants to fund 2 researchers' work
FAYETTEVILLE -- Two researchers at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville have been awarded grants from the National Science Foundation.
Jia Di, a computer engineering professor, will use $349,198 in grant money to study microcontroller computers able to withstand harsh environmental conditions, such as those in space. Di will collaborate with a Huntsville, Ala.-based company, Radiance Technologies Inc., to advance his work on microcontroller design.
Haitao Liao, an industrial engineering professor, will use a $176,860 grant to study models for efficiently collecting and analyzing health care data. He will collaborate with researchers at the University of Arizona, where he used to work.
Heat-resistant tech the focus of study
FAYETTEVILLE -- Hot car engines lead to decreased reliability for components in electric vehicles. But researchers are working on ways to ensure the car's electronics continue to function, according to the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
UA researchers studying technology able to withstand extreme temperatures have been awarded $599,901 from the U.S. Department of Energy.
"It isn't the intrinsic properties of power devices themselves that prevent their use at higher temperatures, but rather the low-voltage electronics needed to drive them and the packaging that surrounds them," Zhong Chen, assistant professor of electrical engineering and lead researcher on the project, said in a statement.
Service-class plans lead to awards for 2
FAYETTEVILLE -- Newly created University of Arkansas at Fayetteville awards have been given to Casey Kayser and Fran Hagstrom for developing classes where UA students learn to serve as health coaches.
The pair received Outstanding Contributions to Service Learning awards for working with Washington Regional Medical Center to develop a three-part series of classes.
Service learning courses at UA offer academic credit in addition to providing students a chance to help others. In 2015, UA created a special designation for service learning courses that's visible to students choosing their schedules.
Kayser is a clinical assistant professor of English and Hagstrom is an assistant dean in UA's College of Education and Health Professions.
The health-coach classes began as a pilot program in spring 2014, according to UA. Students travel to meet with underserved people in the community to outline health goals and serve as a "bridge" between patients and their health care providers, according to UA.
Institute to examine new security risks
FAYETTEVILLE -- A new research center at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville will link experts in transportation, cybersecurity and agriculture to address security risks associated with emerging technology.
The Arkansas Security Research and Education Institute is led by Jia Di, a computer science and computer engineering professor. Faculty in food safety and industrial engineering will also serve on the institute's leadership team as the center seeks to work with industry in developing solutions to security concerns, according to UA.
The center will also support efforts to cross-train students for security workforce jobs, according to UA.
Metro on 09/19/2016