Arkansas Research Alliance Delivers Additional Funding for Essential Research

ARA Awards Impact Grants to Four New Research Projects to Push Industry Innovation in Arkansas

The Arkansas Research Alliance (ARA) announced that four additional ARA Impact Grants have been awarded to important research projects conducted in Arkansas research facilities within the state. Earlier this year, ARA had awarded an organization record 25 grants totaling $1.86 million to research facilities across Arkansas, helping to push essential science towards industry applications.

“ARA is deeply committed to providing assistance to science that makes a significant contribution to industries essential to Arkansas,” said Bryan J. Barnhouse, ARA President & CEO. “When we saw an opportunity to extend the grants program to additional competitive projects, we were delighted to take it.”ARA Impact Grants provide funding of up to $75,000 for 12-month scientific and engineering

ARA Impact Grants provide funding for 12-month scientific and engineering research projects that involve universities and industries in Arkansas and that support one or more of seven growth opportunity areas profiled in ARA’s report, Enabling an Innovation-Led Future for Arkansas: University Research Competencies Aligned with Innovation Growth Opportunities. The growth opportunity areas include: Population Health Innovations & Clinical Research, Power Electronics, Advanced Packaging, & Grid Management Systems, Next Generation Transportation & Logistics Systems, Materials Engineering Applications, Precision Agriculture, Food Production & Integrative Health, and Supply Chain, Retail, & Consumer Analytics.

The four new ARA Impact Grants offer funding for projects conducted by the University of Arkansas, the Public Policy Center – University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Each project has an Arkansas industry collaborator, including Riceland Foods, Anheuser-Busch, US Vanadium LLC and @Capitol, Inc. Each industry collaborator provides matching funds to the project.

The researchers receiving ARA Impact Grants:

• Dr. Noureen Siraj, UA Little Rock, “Nano V2O5-PNDC composite cathode for high-energy-density lithium-ion batteries”
• Dr. Mahfuzur Rahman, University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, “Create an Arkansas-grown rice protein brand in the plant protein market”
• Dr. Samira Feyzi, University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, “Improved Protein Extraction Technology using a Novel Green System for Production of High Quality and Sustainable Soy Protein Isolate from Arkansas Soybeans”
• Dr. Scott Lafontaine, University of Arkansas, “Optimizing Rice Extract for Brewing Efficiency and Economic Growth in Arkansas”