Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Awards More Than $87,000 in Scholarships

In recognition of outstanding academic achievement, the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences selected 24 undergraduate chemistry majors to receive scholarships for the 2014-15 academic year.

Congratulations to the following students receiving the Octa N. High scholarship in the amount of their individual spring tuition fees: Leslie Baldwin, Lauren Burges, Kailey Claunch, Michael Elkins, Kevin Glennon, Amy James, Alexandrea Kim, Kelsey Rae Knobbe, Rebecca Moffett,  Elizabeth O’Daniel, Akash Patel, Chris Randall, Jesse Roberts, Rachel Rogers, Allison Schneider, Tyler Sweat, Jordana Thibado, Cody Timmerman, and Nicholas Timmerwilke. The average award was $3,250.

The Jacob and Wilma Sacks scholarship is awarded to Kyle Guillory, Justin Klucher, and Taylor Needham. They will receive $1,900, $1,500, and $1,100 respectively.

The Arthur and Lois Fry and W. Ves Childs Science Education scholarships are awarded to Sushanth Kumar and Bonnie Ramsey. Sushanth and Bonnie each will receive $3,000 in scholarship funds.

The Octa N. High Scholarship was established in 2009 by the late Octa N. High, a 1933 alumna who almost dropped out of school after her junior year at the University of Arkansas due to her family's inability to afford her tuition during the Great Depression. Fortunately, the institution was able to provide enough financial support for her to earn a bachelor's degree in zoology. She remained grateful throughout her life for the university's assistance. Today the Octa N. High Endowed Scholarship Fund provides scholarships to students in the programs of anthropology, biological sciences, and chemistry and biochemistry. Recipients are referred to as Octa N. High Scholars.

The Jacob and Wilma Sacks scholarship is named for Jacob Sacks and his wife Wilma. Sacks was a faculty member for more than 20 years and was largely responsible for establishing the biochemistry program. Wilma Sacks was a physician with the Arkansas Department of Health and was responsible for establishing many projects in the areas of maternal and child health.

The Arthur and Lois Fry scholarship was established by Arthur and his wife Lois. Arthur Fry joined the Chemistry Department in 1951, the year the department's Ph.D. program was established, and he played a major role in its development. His pioneering research brought international attention to the department and earned him a world-wide reputation as the "father of heavy atom isotope effects in elucidating the mechanisms of organic reactions". Fry was twice chair of the chemistry and biochemistry department and served on many National ACS committees. In 1985, he received the ACS Southwest Region Chemist Award. Lois received a graduate degree in nuclear chemistry from the department and was active in both teaching and research.

The W. Ves Childs Science Education scholarship is named in honor of W. Ves Childs, M.S.’60, Ph.D. ’63. After receiving his Ph.D., Childs worked for Phillips Petroleum Company for twenty-two years, receiving international recognition for his work in electrochemistry and fluorochemistry. Following his time at PPC, he served as division scientist at 3M for seventeen years, continuing to develop innovative and economical technologies and continuing to receive international recognition. Childs was an inventor on 52 patents, authored five book chapters and numerous articles, and spoke to major symposia and conferences. He was a 50-year member of the Alpha Chi Sigma chemistry fraternity and of the American Chemical Society and a member of Sigma Xi, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Scholarship recipients will be recognized at a certificate presentation Monday, April 20, at 4 p.m. in CHEM 105.

All chemistry majors are encouraged to apply, at the beginning of each fall term, for department of chemistry and biochemistry scholarships. The application form can be found at chemistry.uark.edu in the undergraduates section.