FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The initial success of the University of Arkansas’s first graduate research symposium in mechanical engineering showed the range and quality of student work and should provide momentum as a recruiting tool, according to the chairman of the department.

“It was a big success. It gives us a foundation for growth and improvement,” said Joseph J. Rencis, professor and head of the department of mechanical engineering.

The first Arkansas Academy of Mechanical Engineering Graduate Student Research Symposium was held Friday, April 13. It featured poster presentations of 22 research projects — 11 by master’s students and 11 by doctoral students. The event coincided with the annual AAME banquet and business meeting.

“It gives our graduate research some visibility and provides some very good experience for the students to present their work,” said Ing-Chang Jong, a mechanical engineering professor and co-coordinator of the symposium.

Rencis said the department looks forward to seeing the symposium turn into an annual event and become a key recruiting tool for future students, as well as a way to show off more of the current students’ high level of research.

Arpana Verma, a doctoral candidate in mechanical engineering, has spent three years researching in the field of synthesized additives for lubricants using nanomechanical technology. She spent two days making her poster.

“This has been a very good experience, and it has been a good way for the students to see more of each other’s work, too,” Verma said.

The AAME is an organization of eminent Arkansas mechanical engineers that provides support and encouragement to the department and works to recognize outstanding mechanical engineers. The AAME members provided money and services to produce and print the poster presentations, served as judges of the posters, and provided small cash awards for prizes in two divisions — master’s and doctoral.

1^st Prize — Balaji Srinivasan for a project titled “A Microfluidic Impedance Biosensor for Detection of E.coli O157:H7 and Avian Influenza Virus H5N1.” Adviser: Steve Tung.

Honorable Mention — Samuel L. Mensah for a project titled “Emission Studies of Sputtering and Etching Plasmas.” Adviser: Matt Gordon and Deepak Bhat.

Master’s Division

1^st Prize — Aditya Aryasomayajula for a project titled “Alpha alumina thin film coatings for cutting tool application.” Adviser: Matt Gordon and Deepak Bhat.

Honorable Mention — Ying Song for a project titled “Superhydrophobic Surfaces Produced by Aluminum-induced Crystallization of Amorphous Silicon and Self-assembled Monolayers.” Adviser: Min Zou.