Cosmographers Awarded at UALR Research Expo
Several students from the COSMOS Research Center have won awards for their research at the 2024 University of Arkansas at Little Rock Research and Creative Works Expo held on Friday, April 19th, 2024.
Every year, UA Little Rock hosts its campus-wide Research and Creative Works Expo, celebrating students from all colleges and their unique research. More than 60 talented students presented their work during the 2024 Student Research and Creative Works Expo! We are thrilled to share that, this year, several of our team members won awards at the Expo!
Cosmographer Corner: Dr. Samer Al-Khateeb, Professor, Creighton University
COSMOS, in this edition of Cosmographer Corner, highlights the work of a former University of Arkansas – Little Rock graduate and Cosmographer Dr. Samer Al-Khateeb. Dr. Al-Khateeb—who is now a tenured associate professor at Creighton University, in Omaha, Nebraska—started his graduate education as a COSMOS researcher during its inception. He received his BS in Computer Science, MS in Applied Science, and Ph.D in Computer and Information Sciences from UA Little Rock in 2013, 2015, and 2018, respectively. During that time, Dr. Al-Khateeb worked at COSMOS as a graduate assistant, and after receiving his Ph.D, he worked at COSMOS as a postdoctoral fellow. We interviewed Dr. Al-Khateeb on where his career is now and what his work at COSMOS entailed.
Research Spotlight: Modeling Refugee Crisis
In this month’s research spotlight, COSMOS highlights two recent studies that both model and investigate the global refugee crisis. The paper by Dr. Esther Mead, Dr. Maryam Maleki, Dr. Mohammad Arani, and Dr. Nitin Agarwal titled “Proposing Location-based Predictive Features for Modeling Refugee Counts,” used features to identify locations of refugee crisis. Similarly, the paper by Kazi Tanvir Islam, Dr. Esther Mead, and Dr. Nitin Agarwal titled “Impact of Data Imputation on the Performance of Global Refugee Modeling Dataset” used data imputation assisted by machine learning AI to make predictions of refugee populations when there were missing predictive values.
BeyondFacts @The Web Conference 2024: Discovering YouTube Narratives
The International Workshop on Computational Methods for Online Discourse Analysis (BeyondFacts) co-located with the 31st ACM International Web Conference aims to further research that uses computational methods to discover data on the Internet, or, in other words, content and sources spreading information on the Internet; this conference features strong interdisciplinary research that can assist these computational methods, such as communication studies and computational linguistics. They aim to strengthen relationships between disparate scientific disciplines, so that web mining can be further improved by interdisciplinary research.
From Graduation to Beyond: Spring 2024 Graduation Stories
COSMOS is happy to announce the graduation of six of our own Cosmographers, Lotenna Nwana, Mary Mezue, Anulika “Pearl” Nwashili, Stella Mbila-uma, Ishmam Ahmed Solaiman, and Chinni Krishna Kongala! All three receive their Masters this Spring 2024. Dr. Agarwal said, “I am extremely proud of their accomplishments and the numerous contributions they have made to the COSMOS Research Center. Even though they have graduated, they are eternally part of COSMOS – they just shine from a distance! I wish them all the best for their future endeavors.”
Connecting Minds, Building Futures: Highlights from NSBE’s 50th National Convention
The 50th National Convention of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) was a resounding success, bringing together a vibrant community of aspiring engineers, seasoned professionals, and industry leaders. Held in the heart of Atlanta, Georgia, from March 20 to 24, 2024, this event provided a dynamic platform for knowledge exchange, networking, and professional growth for some of our cosmographers who attended.
With lots of top companies in attendance actively recruiting talent, internship and full-time job opportunities abounded. From tech giants to startups, recruiters scouted for exceptional candidates, emphasizing diversity and inclusion. Cosmographers left with not just interview opportunities but also a sense of empowerment, knowing that their skills and potential were valued.
Cosmographer Ridwan Amure Officiates Arkansas National Science Bowl: Igniting a Passion for STEM
Cosmographer Ridwan Amure had the honor of officiating in the National Science Bowl in Arkansas and served as the Technical Committee Chair for the World Mathematics Tournament at the Annual Mathematics Conference & Exhibition 2024, organized by the Mathematics for Life Foundation.
As Ridwan Amure stepped onto the stage at the National Science Bowl in Arkansas and the World Mathematics Tournament, he was met with a sea of bright, eager faces—the next generation of STEM leaders.