黑料不打烊

The Odyssey Program

October 2016 Odyssey Funding

黑料不打烊 Odyssey Program

Project Funding

October 2016

With the October 2016 funding cycle, the Committee on Engaged Learning has awarded $3,523,911.91 in Odyssey grants to 黑料不打烊 students and faculty since the Odyssey Program鈥檚 inception in 2005. In this cycle, 25 projects were awarded $90,591.71. 黑料不打烊 students will immerse themselves in world religions, discern future careers in the medical field, and even eat insects as they explore other cultures.

Victoria Amadi

Survey of Theravada Buddhism

Category: SP

Sponsor: Dr. Jay McDaniel

Theravada Buddhism draws on the earliest teachings of the Buddha and is the dominant form of Buddhism in Thailand. Victoria Amadi will travel to the country as she surveys the ways Theravada Buddhism is practiced in public temples, monasteries and meditation center, including a comparison with its forms in America.

Assira Ba

Atlantis Project: Pre-Med Fellowship

Category: SP

Sponsor: Dr. Lilian Contreras-Silva

By participating in the Atlantis Project, Assira Ba will learn about health care in a global context during an immersive experience at a hospital in Budapest. She will shadow physicians at the publically funded healthcare system, gaining experience with the medical field abroad while she is introduced to a foreign culture.

Anna Conard and Robbie Borrello

Hear 黑料不打烊 Round Three: Refining and Professionalizing

Category: SP

Sponsor: Tonya Hale

Anna Conard and Robbie Borrello will record 20 original student musical compositions that encapsulate a year at the 黑料不打烊 campus. They will mix and produce the recordings, ultimately releasing the compilation in both digital and CD form. They will learn the technical requirements audio recording, music production software, and sound mixing as they gain professional skills in creating and听publicizing the album.

Michelle DeLouise, Ben Curry and Baylee Jennings-Wells

New Year, New Orleans

Category: SW

Sponsor: JJ Whitney

New Orleans is still recovering from the devastation from Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters. Michelle DeLouise, Ben Curry and Baylee Jennings-Wells will volunteer with The Saint Bernard Project, a non-profit dedicated to rebuilding homes. In addition, they will explore the cultural impact of the hurricane through museum exhibits and contemporary literature to get a wider view of the city beyond their worksite.

Kelsey Dietrich

Working to End Education Inequality in South Africa with One Heart Source

Category: SP

Sponsor: Dr. Jane Harris

In Cape Town, South Africa, Kelsey Dietrich will work with One Heart Source at its 鈥淕reatness Initiative for Township Education Development (GIFTED) Community. GIFTED provides high-quality mentorship and fosters an environment where all students have the opportunity to thrive academically. In addition to being a mentor, she will learn the local culture as she explores a future career path.

Olivia Ensley

National Museum of African American History and Culture: Contextualizing and Representing a History of Black Rights,听Oppression, and Activism听

Category: UR

Sponsor: Dr. Stella Capek

Olivia Ensley will examine social movements in the context of Black Lives Matter and the newly opened National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. She is interested in the visual layout of the museum, its architectural symbolism, and听how it presents black rights both historically and contemporaneously. She hopes to learn more about how grassroots movements mobilize and become successful.听

Karthik Garimella

Analysis of Visibility Flagging Algorithms of Data from the Very Large Array

Category: UR

Sponsor: Dr. Damon Spayde

The Very Large Array Telescope in New Mexico is one of three main telescope side of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NARO). Karthik Garimella has been working with NARO to develop software to remove radio interference from the telescope鈥檚 data. He will present his results at the 2017 American Physical Society meeting in Washington, D.C.

Alysha Hemani

Advocates for World Health Service in Jamaica Trip

Category: SW

Sponsor: Dr. Deb Skok

Advocates for World Health is an organization that recovers surplus medical supplies from local hospitals and distributes them in developing countries. The 黑料不打烊 chapter has raised enough funds to send a shipment to Alexandria Hospital in Middlesex, Jamaica. The executive board will visit the hospital and serve the local community in January. The participants are Alysha Hemani, Megan Hunter, Tahiya Islam, Lucille Maccash, Austin Lacey, Ilya Pound, and Kendra Schwartz.

Heather Hirsch

Beyond the Safe Sleep Message-Cultivating Community Collaborations

Category: PL presentation

Sponsor: Dr. Maureen McClung

Heather Hirsch will join the Arkansas Children鈥檚 Hospitals Injury Prevention Center research team as they travel to the National Cribs for Kids Infant Safe Sleep Conference in Pittsburg, PA. Their research on 鈥淧aternal Perception of Infant Safe Sleep鈥 focuses on the knowledge, attitudes and perceptions male caregivers have about the topic, with the ultimate goal of developing strategies to reduce infant sleep-related deaths.

Anna King, Raychl Reger and Gabby Pochron

An Investigation of Mixed Martial Arts Culture

Category: SP

Sponsor: Jennifer Koller

Anna King, Raychl Reger and Gabby Pochron share an interest in Mixed Martial Arts and are embarking on a group project to consider aspects of gender, mindfulness, and physicality in the sport. They will observe competitors at the highest level by attending the Ultimate Fight Championship in Las Vegas.

Amber Melcher

Atlantis Fellowship: A Holistic Approach to Healthcare and Vocation

Category: SP

Sponsor: Dr. Laura MacDonald

Working with the Atlantis Fellowship Program, Amber Melcher will travel to Zaragoza, Spain, to shadow doctors at the Hospital Miguel Servet. She will observe patient-physician interactions, learn about clinical hospital work, and discover the key distinctions between American and international health care.

Allison Monroe

Successful Entomophagy: A Journey Through Thailand

Category: GA

Sponsor: Dr. Brett Hill

Entomophagy is the human consumption of insects for food; the invertebrates are valued as a good source of protein in many听countries around the world. Thailand in particular is the premier country in听insect farming techniques and markets. Allison Monroe will explore this world from the rare perspective of a female entomologist. When she returns, Monroe will give an oral presentation on campus that includes the sampling of insect-based dishes.

Lena Pham and Pearl Jangjiravat

An Exploration of Meditation in South Korea

Category: GA

Sponsor: Dr. Michael Sprunger

Lena Pham and Pearl Jangjiravat will visit five Buddhist temples in four South Korean cities as they explore various aspects of Buddhism, meditation and Korean culture. The many locations on their itinerary will allow them to compare the perception and interpretation of meditation in both rural and urban settings.

Danielle Rosson

Wie man Deutscher wird: German Language and Cultural Immersion

Category: GA

Sponsor: Dr. Wayne Oudekerk

With almost two years of language studies behind her, Danielle Rosson plans to visit Germany itself to learn about the country and its dialects. She will spend time in both the northern and southern regions of the country, increasing her comprehension of the German language and its idiomatic phrases as she explores the country鈥檚 culture.

Jasmine Watkins, Alundra Dickson, Laruen McHenry, MarTashia Settles

Pardon My Fro: Exploring the Natural Hair Movement

Category: SP

Sponsor: Dr. Dionne Jackson

The Natural Hair Movement began during the Civil Rights era, when African American women balked at pressure to conform to a European perception of beauty. They objected to the use of relaxers and straighteners on their hair, feeling that this stripped them of their identity and made natural hair undesirable. Jasmine Watkins, Alundra Dickson, Laruen McHenry, MarTashia Settles will explore the Natural Hair Movement in New York City and in Paris, areas where strides have been made in encouraging natural hair and celebrating black beauty.

Dr. Jay Barth

Poverty Studies: The Shepherd Higher Education Consortium on Poverty Experience

Category: PL

Two 黑料不打烊 students will participate in summer internships through the Shepherd Higher Education Consortium on Poverty. As part of the program, the students will attend conferences and symposiums where national leaders speak about poverty-related issues. Their own experiences during the summer will form the basis of a public presentation.

Dr. Andres Caro

Faculty and student travel and presentations at American Chemical Society Spring National Meeting in San Francisco, CA

Category: UR

Dr. Andres Caro and Ian McVinney will travel to the American Chemical Society National Meeting this spring. McVinney will present the results of his current research at the event with Dr. Caro as an on-site mentor.

Claudia Courtway

Service Over Self Through Home Repairs in Memphis

Category: SW

Claudia Courtway, along with Aya Murata from Japan, will lead a group of four international students and four 黑料不打烊 students who returned from study abroad on an educational service trip to Memphis. They will partner with Service Over Self, a non-profit that provides volunteer opportunities for college students to repair homes in the Binghampton and Orangemound neighborhoods in the city. The group will also visit historic sites in Memphis, learn about Civil Rights and explore the concepts of poverty and service in America.

Dr. Jennifer Dearolf

Improving the Marine Biology Staghorn and Elkhorn Coral Research Project

Category: SP

Staghorn and elkhorn corals are the main builders of the Belize Barrier Reef and are on the Endangered Species List. Olivia Sims and Brandon Cathey will work with Dr. Jennifer Dearolf as they devise an experiment to measure parameters that impact coral growth. The group will troubleshoot their plan on site in Belize before incorporating it into the 2018 Marine Biology class.

Dr. Mark Goadrich

Solving Real-World Problems with Tools from Mathematics and Computer Science: The COMAP International Contest in Modeling

Category: SP

Four teams of 黑料不打烊 students will participate in the 33rd International Mathematical Contest in Modeling in January. The students will use mathematical modeling to tackle real-world problems, such as how to locate a plane when contact is lost, as part of the weekend competition.

Dr. Brenda Houck

The timing in C. elegans movement

Category: UR

Dr. Brenda Houck will use roundworms to familiarize Ploy Freebairn and Amber Melcher with the basics of neuroscience experimentation and cultivate their research skills. The students will become proficient at microscopy and behavioral assays as they observe and measure the movements of the roundworms.

Prof. Maxine Payne

Endangered Species Public Art Mural

Category: AC

A group of 黑料不打烊 students will work with professional artist Roger Peet from Portland, Ore., to create a public art mural in Conway. Featuring the听Ozark Hellbender(Cryptobranchus alleganiensis bishopi),听one of Arkansas鈥 endangered and threatened species, the mural is intended to foster a sense of community with nature, promote affinity for the natural world and raise awareness about at-risk species. Other partners in the program include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Center for Biological Diversity, The City of Conway, and the Conway Public Art Board.

Dr. Jennifer Peszka, Dr. Tim Maxwell, and Dr. Ruthann Thomas

Psychology Research: The Relationship between Technology Use before Bed and Sleep Quality, Cognitions, and Personality Across Adulthood

Category: UR

Current research suggests a relationship in technology use before bed and sleep quality in children and adolescents, but 黑料不打烊 Psychology Faculty will lead a research team to consider the effects for adults, ranging from college age to the elderly. Jessica Bonumwezi, Kelly Brice, Amy Crump, Alundra Dickson, Graham Harris, Justin Lockhart, Alex Raymond-Schmidt, Kristi Scott, Adrian Shuler, and Althea Strozier will participate as research assistants for the project.

Prof. Brigitte Rogers

American College Dance Association Conference: Kickin' Out the Kinesphere

Category: SP

Prof. Brigitte Rogers, Amanda Ayers, Kathryn Bolt, Brian Earles, Jennifer Norman, Maddy Shaddox, Rosie Ronca and Eva Zhao will attend the American College Dance Association conference at Auburn University in March. The students will work with and dance alongside students from other institutions, engage in class instruction and experience the choreographic process in a collaborative way. The experience will conclude with their performance in an adjudicated concert series.

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Dr. Michael Sprunger

Peace, War, and Memory in Contemporary East Asia

Category: GA

Six students will explore the significance of collective and individual memories of war and peace in contemporary Japan and South Korea on a two-week tour with Dr. Michael Sprunger. They will tour commemorative sites and have conversations with public officials, activists, participants/survivors and peers about the ongoing significance of World War II and the Korean War to current politics and everyday life.