Arkansas Research Alliance Inducts Six Researchers Into the ARA Academy
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Little Rock, AR, April 2026 – The Arkansas Research Alliance (ARA) announced the induction of six new members into the ARA Academy through the ARA Fellows and ARA Innovation Scholars programs, bringing total membership to thirty-seven and further strengthening the impact of industry-facing, job-creating research in areas driving the state’s economic growth.
The ARA Academy Induction Ceremony was held at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts and commenced with opening remarks from Clint O’Neal, Executive Director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC). “What happens in this room today matters for the future of Arkansas,” said Mr. O’Neal. “Not just for the universities represented here. Not just for the research community. But for the businesses, the local communities, and the people across this state who are counting on us to build something extraordinary together.”
The six members inducted were selected strategically by their respective Chancellors and committed to Arkansas specifically to carry out their vision for applied and fundamental research: Mohammadreza Daroonparvar (ARA Innovation Scholar, Arkansas State University), Kaicong Wu (ARA Innovation Scholar, University of Arkansas), Anindya Ghosh (ARA Fellow, University of Arkansas Little Rock), Phillip Huff (ARA Fellow, University of Arkansas Little Rock), Qinglong Jiang (ARA Fellow, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff) and Yathish Ramena (ARA Fellow, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff).
The ARA Academy is a community of established and emerging research investigators who have benefitted from recognition, support, and financial award through one of the talent programs offered by ARA. Those programs include ARA Scholars, ARA Fellows, and ARA Innovation Scholars. The ARA Fellows program recognizes distinguished university research leaders who are currently working in the state. The ARA Innovation Scholars program recruits emerging research talent from outside the state.
All ARA programs leverage private and public funding to target researchers whose work runs directly through one or more of the industry growth areas where research can enhance Arkansas’ long-term economic competitiveness. The research work enables advancements in economic sectors such as engineered materials with timber and steel, advanced manufacturing, lithium and energy production, cybersecurity and sustainable architecture and design, and food production.
“ARA’s partnership with AEDC helps assemble world-class scientific minds, like these six new inductees, in Arkansas, connect them to our high-growth industries, and gives them the tools to convert discovery into economic opportunity,” said Bryan J. Barnhouse, ARA President and CEO. “The state’s support, when paired with investments from the ARA Board of Trustees, raises the bar for scientific and engineering research excellence that builds our capacity for research-industry collaborations that produce economic results.
Since 2008, ARA has invested $8.3 million to help recruit, retain, and enable the researchers who make up the ARA Academy, whose members have generated $1.3 billion in total economic impact for Arkansas, secured $205 million in new research funding, and produced 350 high-quality jobs earning more than $80,000 a year.
To learn more about Arkansas Research Alliance and the ARA Academy, visit ARAlliance.org.
About Arkansas Research Alliance
Founded in 2008, Arkansas Research Alliance is dedicated to advancing a fundamental belief: Research Matters. Operating as a public-private partnership, ARA invests in research that stimulates innovation, encourages collaboration, and strengthens economic opportunity. Learn more about ARA and its mission to elevate Arkansas’s research community at aralliance.org.
About the ARA Academy Inductees:
Dr. Mohammadreza Daroonparvar (A-State) is an Assistant Professor of Materials Engineering in the College of Engineering and Computer Science at Arkansas State University — and the founding Director of the A-State Center for Advanced Materials and Steel Manufacturing, known as CAMSM. His research sits at the intersection of advanced coatings, surface engineering, corrosion science, and additive manufacturing – fields that are not just academically fascinating, but economically essential to the industries that power Northeast Arkansas and the Mid-South.
Dr. Kaicong Wu (UA) is a licensed architect, a computational designer, an AI researcher, and a pioneer in robotic fabrication. He earned his Bachelor of Architecture from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, his Master of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania, and his PhD in Architecture – with a specialization in Computation and Energy – from Princeton University. Following his doctorate, he worked as a postdoctoral research associate with the MIT CarbonHouse team on parametric housing, which uses computational design techniques to create and optimize architectural structures.
Dr. Anindya Ghosh (UA Little Rock) is a Professor of Chemistry and Associate Dean of the Donaghey College of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics at UA Little Rock. He is one of the foremost green chemistry researchers in the United States. He earned his Bachelor of Science from Calcutta University in India, his Master of Science from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, and his PhD in chemistry from Carnegie Mellon University. His work focuses on developing novel catalysts and synthetic pathways that generate chemical transformations — including pollution remediation, clean energy production, and materials development — using safer, lower-cost, and more environmentally responsible methods.
Dr. Phillip Huff (UA Little Rock) is an Associate Professor of Computer Science, Director of the Cyberspace Operations Research and Education Center – the CORE Center – and a Research Fellow in the Emerging Analytics Center at UA Little Rock. He is also, notably, the co-founder of Bastazo, Inc., an Arkansas-based cybersecurity AI startup company. And before any of that, he spent fifteen years on the front lines of cybersecurity in the electric power sector, rising to Director of Critical Infrastructure Security at the Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation.
Dr. Qinglong Jiang (UAPB) is an Associate Professor and Interim Chair of the Department of Chemistry and Physics at UAPB. His work sits at the frontier of nanomaterials, semiconductor science, and optoelectronics – fields that underpin some of the most transformative technologies of our time, including next-generation solar cells, energy storage systems, quantum information science, and advanced sensors. After earning his PhD in chemistry from Northern Illinois University, Dr. Jiang conducted postdoctoral research at Florida State University’s National High Magnetic Field Laboratory and then at Argonne National Laboratory outside Chicago, one of the U.S. Department of Energy’s flagship research centers.
Dr. Yathish Ramena (UAPB) is the Director of the Aquaculture and Fisheries Center of Excellence and Interim Assistant Dean for Extension and Outreach in the School of Agriculture, Fisheries and Human Sciences at UAPB. He built a career that spans molecular biology, fish nutrition, pathology, and aquaculture systems — including over a decade working with CPF Private Limited in India in extension and aquatic animal health, and then years as a senior scientist, pathologist, and nutritionist with the Great Salt Lake Brine Shrimp Cooperative in Utah, one of the leading brine shrimp producers in the world. He earned his doctoral degree right here at UAPB, in the very department he now leads. He has also completed a Certificate in Global Business from Harvard Business School.
