UAM School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences

08/09/2026

Two students from UAM participated on a team that recently won third place at the AI Hackathon and HealthTech Startup Week competition in Little Rock.

This event was the first hackathon experience for UAM students Pronita Ghimire, a freshman double majoring in computer science and mathematics with a data science option, and Ksh*tiz Khatiwada, a sophomore double majoring in computer information systems with a cybersecurity concentration and mathematics with a data science option. Friends since high school in Kathmandu, Nepal, the two were eager to participate to advance their knowledge and skills.

Each team was given a unique healthcare challenge to solve during the competition. The common goal for each team was to solve their problem using technology and AI. One team was asked to improve therapy for individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Another team was asked to figure out how to help people understand their health insurance options. Ghimire and Khatiwada’s team was asked to improve maternal health care for women in rural communities in Arkansas.

Using data and resources provided by the event’s collaborators, the team developed Materna, a wearable health monitoring platform. Materna consists of three main components: a wearable bracelet, a mobile application and an AI-powered monitoring system. The bracelet tracks a patient’s vitals, including heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen levels and skin temperature, and sends this data to the mobile application. The mobile application securely transmits the data to the patient’s designated physician. Meanwhile, the AI monitoring system tracks the data in real time, assigning the patient a green, yellow or red risk status that appears on both the mobile application’s interface and indicator lights on the bracelet. If urgent care is needed, the system updates the interface and indicator lights to red and automatically contacts health providers. It also serves as a chatbot, allowing patients to log symptoms and questions for future reference.

All teams pitched their final projects through an oral presentation and a live demonstration before a panel of judges and the public at the Demo-and-Pitch Showcase on June 12. Materna won third place and a $3,000 prize.

To read the full story, visit UAM News: https://www.uamont.edu/news/uam-students-win-third-place-at-hackathon.html

05/29/2026

So proud of all of our freshman babies!

12/27/2025

12/19/2025

Congratulations to Dr. Hunt on his new book!!!

09/11/2025

Loving this! Go MacKenzie!!!

08/03/2025

Dr. Shuneize Slater and Mrs. Lura Cooper gave out school supplies on behalf of the UAM School of Math and Sciences at the 3rd annual back-to-school rally in Dumas on August 2nd. They handed out 150 packs of loose leaf filler paper and 400 mechanical pencils along with UAM ink pens. It was a successful event.

07/16/2025

There is still time to register for Fall classes! You can register in person in our UAM offices or online via Zoom. If interested, RSVP here: https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.uamont.edu%2Fadmissions%2Frecruitment.html&data=05%7C02%7CSlaterS%40uamont.edu%7C346459e4e35b4f39459508ddc321e09e%7C92dced1ab5404d4a85413c6c998331d0%7C0%7C0%7C638881272533600332%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=f%2FUraI3IEXhmBP9BfiAdoDdttyEZqr31xE1Gs3jgT3k%3D&reserved=0

01/30/2025

Meet Jaci Gibson! Jaci is the first student that will graduate with a degree in Mathematics but a concentration in Secondary Mathematics from UAM - University of Arkansas at Monticello! This degree first became active in January 2023 and was created to attack the problem in southeast Arkansas of having teachers in high school math classes that are not able to pass the Math subject area Praxis exam which is essential for licensure in the state of Arkansas. The math subject Praxis exam is not an easy exam as it requires knowledge and understanding of advanced mathematics such as Calculus, Probability, and Statistics. Because of this, there is a large math teacher shortage in the state, and many schools have had to hire either unlicensed teachers or teachers licensed to teach a subject other than mathematics. As our math department has faculty members who came from secondary education, they are very knowledgeable in the content and coursework necessary to pass an exam such as the math Praxis. We are so proud to announce that Jaci not only passed the math subject Praxis exam on her FIRST try but scored well above the necessary score required to pass! Jaci will now have her pick of math teaching jobs in the state! Congratulations Jaci!