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*ZRC198* 04/20/2026 1:43:30 PM ZRC198
State of Arkansas 1
95th General Assembly 2
Fiscal Session, 2026 SR 29 3
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By: Senator M. McKee 5
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SENATE RESOLUTION 8
TO CONGRATULATE ARKANSAS SCHOOL FOR MATHEMATICS, 9
SCIENCES, AND THE ARTS STUDENTS ON SCIENCE FAIR 10
COMPETITION ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND TO OBSERVE ARKANSAS 11
SCHOOL FOR MATHEMATICS, SCIENCES, AND THE ARTS DAY AT 12
THE STATE CAPITOL. 13
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Subtitle 16
TO CONGRATULATE ARKANSAS SCHOOL FOR 17
MATHEMATICS, SCIENCES, AND THE ARTS 18
STUDENTS ON SCIENCE FAIR COMPETITION 19
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND TO OBSERVE ARKANSAS 20
SCHOOL FOR MATHEMATICS, SCIENCES, AND 21
THE ARTS DAY AT THE STATE CAPITOL. 22
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WHEREAS, the Arkansas School for Mathematics and Sciences was 24
established in 1991 by Act 259 and became known as the Arkansas School for 25
Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts in 2003 by Act 1305; and 26
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WHEREAS, the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts 28
opened its doors to the first students in 1993; and 29
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WHEREAS, the purpose of the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, 31
and the Arts is to educate gifted and talented math, science, and fine and 32
performing arts students in the state and to develop curricula and materials 33
to improve instruction in mathematics, sciences, and the fine and performing 34
arts for all students in the state; and 35
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WHEREAS, ten (10) students at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, 1
Sciences, and the Arts students have competed and won at regional or state 2
level science fair competitions in Arkansas and have earned the honor to 3
compete at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair on May 9-4
15, 2026, at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona; and 5
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WHEREAS, the 27th Annual West Central Regional Science Fair was held at 7
the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts, in Hot Springs, 8
Arkansas, on February 27, 2026; and 9
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WHEREAS, the 72nd Annual Arkansas State Science and Engineering Fair 11
was held at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, Arkansas, on April 12
3, 2026; and 13
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WHEREAS, the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair is 15
the largest international science competition for high school students, with 16
nearly two thousand (2,000) finalists from around the globe, and is where top 17
young researchers present original projects to be judged by experts and 18
compete for scholarships, prizes, and recognition by demonstrating 19
innovation, scientific rigor, and real-world impact; and 20
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WHEREAS, Miranda Lee is competing with a project in materials science 22
that sought to find a biodegradable plastic for dental aligners, with which 23
she earned third place overall at the 27th Annual West Central Regional 24
Science Fair and won the Best in State award at the 72nd Annual Arkansas 25
State Science and Engineering Fair; and 26
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WHEREAS, Nathan Grady, Kaitleen Toh, and Emily Lin are competing with a 28
project that tested novel chemicals found in medicinal herbs as potential 29
drugs to treat Alzheimer’s disease using both computational models and 30
laboratory experiments, with which they earned first place in their category 31
and second place overall at the 27th Annual West Central Regional Science 32
Fair, earned Third Best in State and won the Society for In Vitro Biology 33
Prize at the 72nd Annual Arkansas State Science and Engineering Fair, and for 34
which they are preparing a manuscript for publication; and 35
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WHEREAS, Tanvi Marupally is competing with a project that studied the 1
role of Helicase-like Transcription Factor as a key player in resolving DNA 2
replication stress, which can be instrumental in cancer treatments, with 3
which she earned first place in her category and first place overall at the 4
27th Annual West Central Regional Science Fair; and 5
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WHEREAS, Aarush Goyal is competing with a project that tested various 7
older and newer PFAS forever chemicals and found that they both disrupt liver 8
cell function, raising concerns for long-term health, with which he earned 9
first place in his category at the 27th Annual West Central Regional Science 10
Fair, earned first place in his category, and was in the top six (6) 11
International Science and Engineering Fair Finalists at the 72nd Annual 12
Arkansas State Science and Engineering Fair, and earned an award from the 13
Arkansas Environmental Education Association for his project; and 14
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WHEREAS, Aarush Goyal has also recently published a first author review 16
manuscript in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, which is 17
nearly unprecedented for a high school student; and 18
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WHEREAS, Isaac Cotton is competing with a project that studied how 20
quickly Staphylococcus bacteria become resistant to the antibiotic mupirocin 21
and how long that resistance is maintained in the absence of further 22
exposure, with which he earned first in his category at the 27th Annual West 23
Central Regional Science Fair and 72nd Annual Arkansas State Science and 24
Engineering Fair and placed first in his category and was in the top six (6) 25
International Science and Engineering Fair Finalists at the 72nd Annual 26
Arkansas State Science and Engineering Fair; and 27
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WHEREAS, Stevie Watkins and Beau Goldthorpe are competing with a 29
project that developed a way to intervene in algal blooms by introducing 30
rotifers to control the growth of blooms that harm ecosystems, with which 31
they placed in the top six (6) International Science and Engineering Fair 32
Finalists in the 72nd Annual Arkansas State Science and Engineering Fair and 33
are advancing to national level competition in the Stockholm Junior Water 34
Prize after winning this prize at the state level during the 72nd Annual 35
Arkansas State Science and Engineering Fair; and 36
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WHEREAS, Nathan Harbut is competing with a project that used clustering 2
coefficients to find that better arithmetic performance is associated with 3
more integrated brain activity, with which he earned first place in his 4
category and placed in the top six (6) International Science and Engineering 5
Fair Finalists at the 72nd Annual Arkansas State Science and Engineering Fair 6
and won a Naval Science Award; and 7
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WHEREAS, recognizing April 22, 2026, as Arkansas School for 9
Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts Day at the State Capitol honors the 10
accomplishments and achievements of the students of the Arkansas School for 11
Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts, 12
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NOW THEREFORE, 14
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE 15
STATE OF ARKANSAS: 16
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THAT the Senate: 18
(1) Recognize and celebrate Arkansas School for Mathematics, 19
Sciences, and the Arts Day at the State Capitol on April 22, 2026; and 20
(2) Congratulate and commend the Arkansas School for 21
Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts students who will be attending the 22
Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair on May 9-15, 2026, at 23
the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona. 24
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT upon adoption, an appropriate copy of this 26
resolution be provided to the leadership of Arkansas School for Mathematics, 27
Sciences, and the Arts by the Secretary of the Senate. 28
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