Author: Donnie Sewell

Kevin Fialkowski, a senior from Heber Springs, and Merin Duke, a senior from Pine Bluff, won first place in the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts West Central Regional Science Fair and Senior Research Symposium, respectively.

The two competitions are the culmination of yearlong Fundamentals in Research Methods (FIRM) projects in which students choose a science-, math- or humanities-based topic to study. Students who choose science or math topics compete in the science fair while students who study humanities topics compete in the Senior Research Symposium.

The competitions were held Feb. 26-28. Students were recognized during an awards ceremony Friday.

The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts will close at noon today in consideration of issues related to the ongoing fire at the historic Majestic Hotel in downtown Hot Springs.

“I have been in communication with City of Hot Springs officials this morning regarding the fire at the Majestic Hotel complex. With the fire department’s efforts to combat the fire continuing into the weekend and expected, prolonged issues related to water pressure and air quality, campus will close following the (West Central Regional) Science Fair/SRS (Senior Research Symposium) awards ceremony this morning,” Director Corey Alderdice said in an email.

To provide time to flush air systems in affected buildings on campus once the fire has settled, classes at the school have also been canceled for Monday. Students will be able to return to campus beginning at 2 p.m. Monday. The situation will be monitored over the weekend, and students, parents and employees will be notified of any changes of plans.

Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students will have the opportunity this week to share the culmination of more than a year’s worth of research and study during the West Central Regional Science Fair and the Senior Research Symposium.

All ASMSA students must complete a Fundamentals In Research Methods (FIRM) project during their time at the school. Students pick a subject in the sciences, mathematics or humanities during the second semester of their junior year. They spend a year conducting research on the subject, preparing a paper and give a presentation on the subject during their senior year.

Eight Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students have been named 2014 National Merit Scholarship Finalists in the 59th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.

ASMSA students who were selected as finalists are:

* Simon Boerwinkle, a senior from El Dorado. He is the son of David and Robin Boerwinkle and attended El Dorado High School before ASMSA.
* Russell Bryan, a senior from Conway. He is the son of Sarah and Eric Bryan and attended Conway High School before ASMSA.
* Jesse Dai, a senior from Magnolia. He is the son of Juping Wang and Yonghu Dai and attended Magnolia High School before ASMSA.
* Yeongwoo Hwang, a senior from Jonesboro. He is the son of Kyoungsuk Ahn and Yeonsang Hwang and attended Valley View High School before ASMSA.
* Tara Moses, a senior from Arkadelphia. She is the daughter of Cheryl MacKay and attended Arkadelphia High School before ASMSA.
* William Shattuck, a senior from Mammoth Spring. He is the son of Julia and John  Shattuck and attended Mammoth Spring High School before ASMSA.
* Zaria Sumler, a senior from Poplar Grove. She is the daughter of Avis Donahoo of Poplar Grove and Amoja Sumler of Little Rock and attended Barton-Lexa High School before ASMSA.
* Claire Turkal, a senior from Hot Springs Village. She is the daughter of Margie Gilbertson and Bruce Turkal and attended Hot Springs High School before ASMSA.

The students will have the opportunity to compete for 8,000 National Merit Scholarships worth about $35 million to be announced this spring and summer.

The National Merit Scholarship Corp., located in Evanston, Ill., oversees the scholarship program. The program honors individual students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies. For more information, visit www.nationalmerit.org.

It may not be the cherry tree of President George Washington yore, but a tulip poplar on the campus of the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts can claim a presidential lineage.

On March 21, 1994, the Hot Springs Parks and Recreation Department planted a two-year old tulip poplar tree in recognition of Arbor Day on the lawn in front of ASMSA’s Administration Building. The tree is a descendant of a tulip poplar planted in 1785 by Washington himself at Mount Vernon, Washington’s estate in Virginia.

ASMSA’s tree was one of 60 seedlings sent to Washington namesake locations and other presidential sites from 1983 to 1998. ASMSA’s campus is known as Clinton Presidential Park. Of those seedlings, only 12 have survived.

Some of the other tulip poplars still living include trees at the site of President Reagan’s boyhood home in Dixon, Ill.; the President Lincoln home in Springfield, Ill.; President Truman’s boyhood home in Missouri; and the Carter Center in Atlanta, Ga., among others.

To commemorate the tree, ASMSA and the Hot Springs Parks and Recreation Department will hold a presidential tree historical marker presentation at 3 p.m. on Feb. 17. The parks department will place a historical marker with the tree, which is located in front of the ASMSA Administration Building at 200 Whittington Ave.

A reception in the Administration Building Boardroom will follow the marker presentation.

Editor's Note: Thursday's Science and Arts Cafe at the Superior Bath House featuring Underground Railroad historian Anthony Cohen has been postponed until 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20. Winter weather along the East Coast did not permit him to make it here for the original Feb. 13 date. Dr. Brian Monson, chair of ASMSA's Science Department, will present a Science and Arts Cafe Lecture titled "Radiation and Nuclear Power: Myths and Facts" on Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. at the bath house.

Anthony Cohen, a noted Underground Railroad historian, will open the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts’ Science and Arts Café series on Feb. 20.

Cohen will present a lecture titled “Unshackling History:  Recreating Experiences from American Slavery.” He will speak at 7 p.m. at the Superior Bathhouse Brewery at 329 Central Ave. in downtown Hot Springs. His appearance is sponsored through a grant from the Wagner Foundation. He will also speak at a student assembly at the school the next day.

Bob Gregory has been named the Dean of Academic Affairs at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts.

Director Corey Alderdice recently announced Gregory’s permanent appointment after a national search was conducted to fill the position. Gregory had been serving as interim dean since the spring 2013 semester.

What’s the probability of rolling a certain number on a six-sided die?

If you said one in six, you’d be correct — that is unless you’re using Denise Gregory’s special die. Then the odds rise to about 100 percent since the same number is on every side. But don’t let anyone know, at least not until she has tricked the participants in “The Mathematics of Games Shows” class at one of ASMSA’s weekend Science and Engineering Institutes to give the wrong answer.

When Seth Shumate (’02) first saw the results of his simulation for a new approach to a silicon solar cell in February of this year, he thought something was wrong. What he saw must have been a mistake.
So he did what any good scientist does — he ran another simulation.
“I thought the system was malfunctioning so I took it to another machine, which does a more detailed sort of test, and it was real there, too,” Shumate said with a smile growing across his face. “Then we did it again — over and over and over. It was exciting to see, but I was really skeptical. I thought maybe one of the other grad students had turned up the lamp to give it too much simulated sunlight.”

The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts dedicated the Meade Digital Arts Lab on Feb. 19 in honor of Dr. Benjamin Meade and Jane Hunt Meade of Little Rock.