Faculty Encouraged to Apply for Grants Supporting Undergraduate Research

Photo by Russell Cothren, University Relations

Engineering professors Sarah Nurre (left) and Sarah Hernandez used their Faculty Equipment and Technology grant to purchase nationwide data on public and private truck parking sites. Honors student Lexi Gaddy used this and other data to map and analyze truck routes and parking sites across the U.S. Photo: Russell Cothren.

You have a brilliant idea that will provide solid research experience for an honors student in search of a thesis topic — but need nationwide data so your student can crunch the numbers. Or perhaps a very small (and very pricey) lens will support a new line of undergraduate inquiry in your lab. The Honors College can help.  

U of A faculty members are encouraged to apply for Honors College Faculty Equipment and Technology Grants, designed to help tenured and tenure-track faculty purchase specialized equipment or technology to advance undergraduate research at the University of Arkansas. Grants will be awarded once per fiscal year; this year's application deadline is September 15. Requests for up to $5,000 will be considered. 

"Our goal with these grants is to help faculty get the tools they need to take undergraduate research to the next level," said Jennie Popp, associate dean of the Honors College. "Faculty are extremely generous in opening their world of research to undergraduates, and we want to support their hard work on behalf of our students."

The Honors College launched the new Faculty Equipment and Technology Grants in 2016 and has awarded almost $140,000 to date. Faculty members have used grant monies to purchase materials ranging from statistical software to a virtual anthropology workstation that allows students to analyze skeletal shapes.

This year up to $80,000 in grant funds will be awarded.

The new grant is funded by a portion of the $300 million gift made by the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation in 2002. The grants are designed to help tenured and tenure-track faculty individually, or in teams, purchase specialized equipment or technology that will make a transformational difference in their undergraduate research programs. For more information visit the Honors College website.