FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Studies by students on healthy snacks from rice, a composting plan for the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks and soil composition at the Woolsey Wet Prairie Sanctuary have been selected for funding from the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences Undergraduate Creative Projects/Research Grants Program at the University of Arkansas.

Students awarded are Rachel Browder, Grace Klausen and Zachary Tipton. Browder is in food science; Klausen in environmental, soil and water science; and Tipton in crop science.

Browder was awarded $750 for her project, "Nutraceutical Healthy Snacks Prepared from Sprouted Rough Rice and Green Gram and its Physicochemical Properties, Glycemic Index, and Sensory Attributes."

Klausen was awarded $500 for her study, "Determining Feasibility of Self-Sustaining and Supplemented Composting Management Plans at the Fayetteville Botanical Garden of the Ozarks."

Tipton received $500 for his research, "Soil Organic Carbon and Mineralization Rates at the Woolsey Wet Prairie Mitigation Project in Fayetteville, Arkansas."

Proposals were reviewed by Bumpers College faculty who serve on the honors program committee. Funding is for one year, through Dec. 1, 2017. Students are required to submit a summary of their project and how the funding was used.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.