FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Student research on the perception of fresh-market blackberries, the characteristics of short-grain rice grown in the U.S. and in Japan, and the effects of protein supplementation and physical activity on postmenopausal women are among six projects selected for funding from the U of A's Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences.

Students awarded are Aubrey Dunteman, Michiyo Nishiwaki and Emily Wong in food science; Kenia Mitre in animal science, Allie Murphy in human nutrition and hospitality innovation with a dietetics concentration, and Guillermo Tellez in poultry science.

The students are receiving funding from Bumpers College's Undergraduate Creative Projects/Research Grants Program.

Dunteman was awarded $1,000 for her project, "Identifying Consumer Perceptions of Fresh-Market Blackberries."

Mitre was awarded $1,000 for her study, "The Effect of Magnetic Water on Feed Conversion Ratio, Body Weight Gain, Feed Intake and Livability of Male Broiler Chickens."

Murphy received $750 for her project, "The Effect of Daily Protein Supplementation and Physical Activity Level on Body Composition, Cardio Metabolic Health and Strength in Postmenopausal Women."

Nishiwaki earned a $750 award for the study, "Characterization of Short-Grain Rice Cultivars Grown in Japan and the United States."

Tellez was selected for a $500 award for his research, "Effects of Phytogenic Plants on Gut Health in Broilers Exposed to Heat Stress."

Wong was awarded $750 for her project, "Starch Hydrolysis Patterns of Germinated Rices with Varying Amylase Contents under Aerobic and Anaerobic Conditions."

Their proposals were reviewed and recommended for approval by Bumpers College faculty who serve on the honors program committee. The recommendations were approved by Interim Dean Lona Robertson, Interim Associate Dean Mike Evans and Assistant Dean of Student Programs Leslie Edgar.

Funding is for one year, until April 2018, and 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.