Massey, Churchill Newest U of A Faculty Inducted to ARA Academy of Scholars

Philip Massey and Hugh Churchill are the newest University of Arkansas faculty members to be inducted into the Arkansas Research Alliance Academy of Scholars and Fellows.

Massey, an associate professor of public health in the College of Education and Health Professions, and Churchill, an associate professor of physics in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, were formally inducted last Thursday during a ceremony with Gov. Asa Hutchinson at the Governor’s Mansion in Little Rock.

Philip Massey
Massey entered the academy as one of two new ARA Scholars statewide, and Churchill as one of six new ARA Fellows.

Philip Massey, second from left, with Jerry Adams, president of the Arkansas Research Alliance, Interim Chancellor Charles Robinson and Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

Massey’s research centers on health communication, media and technology in the U.S. and globally. His work focuses on topics ranging from social media, cancer prevention, substance use, health literacy and entertainment education. His scholarship has helped advance health and media literacy research in the age of misinformation and online information sources. He has worked to create new ways to utilize population-level social media interventions for health promotion, focusing on innovative narrative-focused strategies.

Using a mixed-methods approach, Massey has examined public opinion toward human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination on social media, focusing on what types of messages are shared and their impact, and developed and tested story-focused messages on social media to engage parents about the HPV vaccine. He also evaluated a broadcast serial drama about health in West Africa that produces and shares content on various social media platforms including YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. His work has been published in leading journals of health communication, health informatics and public health, and has been funded by agencies including the National Cancer Institute and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Hugh Churchill
Churchill’s research interests include semiconductors and various quantum technologies. His laboratory combines expertise in nanofabrication with quantum transport and optoelectronic characterization to investigate the electronic, magnetic and optical properties of atomically thin 1D and 2D semiconductor quantum devices.

His work is supported by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy. Earlier this year, Churchill and several colleagues at the University of Arkansas and Montana State University received a $20 million grant from the National Science Foundation to establish the MonArk NSF Quantum Foundry, which will accelerate the development of quantum materials and devices.

Churchill is a recipient of early career awards from the National Science Foundation and Air Force Office of Scientific Research, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in 2019. Some of his work is featured in the current episode of Short Talks From the Hill.

Arkansas Research Alliance Academy of Scholars and Fellows
The ARA Academy of Scholars and Fellows comprises research scientists from Arkansas’ six major research institutions: University of Arkansas, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, UA Little Rock, Arkansas State University, and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, as well as the FDA’s National Center for Toxicological Research.

Academy candidates represent a strategic value to advancing the research vision for their respective institutions. Each ARA Academy candidate is nominated by the chancellor of his or her university, or in the case of the National Center for Toxicological Research, the executive director. After an external review, the ARA Board of Trustees approves each new ARA Academy member.

Founded in 2015, the ARA Academy is now 32 members strong with research disciplines that include nanomaterials, drug discovery, big data, artificial intelligence, agricultural science, theoretical physics, bioinformatics and much more. Members of the ARA Academy routinely collaborate to facilitate research and to share ideas.

The ARA Academy is an organization of ARA Scholars and ARA Fellows developed by the Arkansas Research Alliance. An ARA Scholar is a strategic research leader recruited to Arkansas at one of the five ARA-partner universities. An ARA Fellow is a research leader recognized for his or her work currently at a partner university/institution. Each ARA Scholar receives a $500,000 grant; each ARA Fellow receives a $75,000 grant (with the exception of NCTR members, who are prohibited from accepting outside funding).

Massey and Churchill are the ninth and tenth U of A faculty members to be inducted into the ARA Academy of Scholars and Fellows. Other faculty are:

• Justin Zhan, professor of data science, computer science and computer engineering, Scholar, 2019
• Jingyi Chen, associate professor, chemistry and biochemistry, Fellow, 2018
• Laurent Bellaiche, Distinguished Professor, physics, Fellow, 2017
• Min Zou, professor, mechanical engineering, Fellow, 2015
• Jie Xiao (no longer at the university), associate professor, chemistry and biochemistry, Scholar, 2015
• Morten Jensen, associate professor, biomedical engineering, Scholar, 2015
• Alan Mantooth, Distinguished Professor, electrical engineering, Fellow, 2014
• Ranil Wickramasinghe, Distinguished Professor, chemical engineering, Scholar, 2010