Arkansas Tech University students Hannah Cherb and Emily Stolp have earned 2025 Arkansas Division of Higher Education (ADHE) Student Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) grants to help fund their continued study of specialized topics.
Cherb is a computer science student from Clarksville.
“I’ve always liked math, but I didn’t feel like doing accounting,” said Cherb. “Computer science has allowed me to be a bit more creative with math.”
Cherb pointed to her involvement in the University Honors program as the highlight of her ATU experience so far.
“It let me have a lot of classes with the same group of people, so I was able to make a lot of friends that way,” said Cherb. “I also met the mentor for my project, Dr. Bhaskar Ghosh, through University Honors. Making those connections and those friends has been important.”
Cherb will utilize her SURF grant to continue development of a computer application named Charm that helps students build better study habits.
“Unlike some of the other apps today, it has positive affirmations and places to journal feelings while studying,” said Cherb. “It’s just trying to help boost student mental health. The grant is helping me buy hardware to do that so I can test the app and ensure that it runs smoothly.”
Stolp is a history student from Haysville, Kan.
“So far, I’d say the best thing I have done is starting the ATU History Club and working with it,” said Stolp. “All of the events we host and help with, such as Frederick Douglass Day and Constitution Day, are fantastic. It’s nice that we can get together, geek out, talk about our interests and do it in a way that isn’t super serious.”
The ADHE SURF grant will allow Stolp to present at the Phi Alpha Theta national history honor society conference in January 2025 in Washington, D.C. Stolp’s project mentor is Dr. Kelsey Utne.
“I will present my research about a grave at the Birka site, which was a Viking settlement in Sweden,” said Stolp. “I’ve been looking into how the original interpretations of Viking graves containing women were wrong and how that has affected scholarship.”
