Rebekah Porter from The Woodlands receives SURF grant from Arkansas Dept of Higher Education

THE WOODLANDS, Texas -- Rebekah Porter, from The Woodlands, an honors civil engineering major in the College of Engineering at the University of Arkansas, recently received a State Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) from the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. Students must have an excellent academic record and the support of a faculty mentor to be eligible to apply to the program. To be considered for an award, students must submit a detailed research proposal and letters of recommendation from faculty.

Porter will use funding from the fellowship to complete a research project entitled, “The Effects of Using Different Notch Geometries During Asphalt Concrete Fracture Testing.”

“The SURF grant provides a unique opportunity to go outside of the classroom and apply principles learned in the classroom in an active research setting,” Porter said. “It also provides me with a chance to work closely with a professor. Research gives me a preview of graduate school and pushes me to collect, apply, and synthesize information.”

Porter is the daughter of Troy and Monica Porter and graduated from The Woodlands High School. The SURF program is funded by the state of Arkansas and was originally created in 1992 with start-up funding from the National Science Foundation. Designed to encourage original research by undergraduate students at colleges and universities in Arkansas, the fellowship gives students the opportunity to complete a research project of their own design under the guidance of a faculty mentor. The program awards selected students a stipend and travel funds, which can be used for research-related travel and to present research at a professional conference. Faculty mentors also receive a small stipend.

“These students are completing ambitious projects with faculty members who are nationally and internationally known scholars in their fields,” said Sharon Gaber, provost and vice chancellor of academic affairs at the University of Arkansas. “The SURF is an amazing opportunity for students asking compelling questions in partnership with experienced faculty. It is a remarkable partnership, leading to new discoveries. It is good for the student, for the University community, and for the state.”

The University of Arkansas’ Office of Nationally Competitive Awards works in partnership with the Honors College, the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, and academic departments across campus to advise UA students on SURF grants. The SURF program is administered and funded through the Arkansas Department of Higher Education, with individual colleges and universities providing matching funds. Many SURF recipients present their research at the annual Arkansas Undergraduate Research Conference held at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia.