Dr. Edward Salo, assistant professor of history, presented the paper, "Granting a Charter: The Development of the Ferry Chartering Process in South Carolina," at the annual Missouri Conference on History and Midwest Regional Meeting of Phi Alpha Theta in Columbia. The paper examined the history of the ferry charting system in Colonial South Carolina, and how it was influenced by the development of the planter class.

Dr. Elizabeth E. Hood, Lipscomb Distinguished Professor of Agriculture, has written an invited review published by F1000Research, a consortium of science faculty who post reviews of relevant publications in their field. Her article, "Plant-Based Biofuels," is a synopsis of some of the latest breakthroughs in the areas of lignocellulosic conversion to fuels and utilization of oils for biodiesel. She expects developments in research to change the biofuels industry rapidly.

Dr. Argelia Lorence, professor of metabolic engineering, was invited to review proposals submitted to the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), the main science funding agency in Ireland. She reviewed proposals submitted to the Investigators Programme, which funds investigator-led, small-to-medium scale research teams to carry out quality science with excellent potential impact. Lorence also attended the panel that met in Dublin to make final funding recommendations to the Foundation.

Congratulations to Dr. Erick Chang, associate professor of management, who won the C. Sam Walls Entrepreneur Educator Award. The award was presented by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation as part of the Governor’s Cup Collegiate Business Plan competition and awards luncheon in Little Rock. Chang also was nominated by Dean Shane Hunt to the Arkansas Economic Acceleration Foundation (AEAF). Details are in a news release.

R. Shea Harris, outreach coordinator for Arkansas Biosciences Institute, recently coordinated ABI's first "DNA Day," which attracted 100 seventh and eighth grade students to campus. More than 50 volunteers from various campus units worked with Harris to present educational activities as part of a national initiative promoting genomics and genetics education. The Society of Physics Students used 3-D printers to make giveaway models of DNA's double-helix structure.