By Sarah Geegan

Approximately 350 people turned out at The Arboretum Tuesday, June 5, to witness an astronomical phenomenon, not to occur again in this lifetime.

The transit of Venus, in which Venus traveled directly between Earth and the sun, began at 6:04 p.m. and could be seen from Lexington for approximately three hours.  

The MacAdam Student Observatory and the Bluegrass Amateur Astronomy Club provided telescopes and instruction for safely observing the phenomenon, as cloud cover allowed.

Tim Knauer, director of the MacAdam Student Observatory, said that he was pleased with the turnout.

"I thought given the weather, the response was good," Knauer said. "If

By Sarah Geegan

UK student Katelyn McNamara is extending her hard work, compassion and activeness across the country and globe. The topical studies in neuroscience and Hispanic studies double major and UK Honors Program student recently received the 2012 National Alternative Breaks Active Citizen of the Year Award, recognizing her as the exemplification of serving and valuing the community.

Break Away: Alternative Break Connection, Inc., is a national nonprofit organization with a mission to "train, assist and connect campuses and communities in promoting quality alternative break programs that inspire lifelong active

In November, the James W. Stuckert Career Center assembled a UK team to participate in the Clinton Global Initiative University, a program through which university students propose solutions to the world's humanitarian problems. While each of the students came from different backgrounds, from the College of Arts and

By Sarah Geegan

Ted Schatzki, senior associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences and professor of philosophy and geography, recently delivered the 2012 Distinguished Lecture at the Centre for Theoretical Studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Essex in England.

Founded by the renowned theorist Ernesto Laclau, the centre has historically been home to a collection of thinkers known as the Essex School of Discourse Theory. Since its founding, the centre has sponsored a range of activities, including weekly seminars, mini-courses, graduate conferences, and an annual distinguished lecturer. 

By Sarah Geegan

Chemistry Professor Yinan Wei recently received a $450,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for a study expected to generate some of the first ever data in her subject matter.

The proposal, titled "Protein Activity and Oligomer Stability in Cell Membrane," will focus on questions surrounding how proteins oligomerize in cell membrane, or in other words, how membrane-spanning proteins that function in units containing more than one subunit, assemble in nature.

"The selective permeability of cell membranes, which is essential for all life forms that we know, is conferred by membrane proteins," Wei said. "Approximately 80 percent of membrane proteins with known structures

By Sarah Geegan

Psychology Associate Professor Nathan DeWall will showcase his expertise on the Discovery Channel's new series "Head Games," premiering at 10 p.m. this Sunday, June 3.

The show, narrated by actor John Krasinski, invites viewers to explore brain games, mind puzzles and social experiments that display how the human mind works. Both viewers and on-screen subjects will be challenged to participate in these puzzles to better understand how and why people conform, perceive, react in certain ways or make moral judgments — all relating to the complex inner workings of the brain.

DeWall will appear in the "

By Jessica Powers

A professor can impact a student during and after their college career in a plethora of ways. Leighanne Root has been able to learn, utilize and grow with her professors throughout her time at the University of Kentucky.

Root entered UK as a philosophy major, but during her freshman year she enrolled in PHI 260 a course on classical philosophy taught by Paul Carelli. She was instantly fascinated by his use of Greek and Latin, so with his guidance, she decided to switch majors to Classics with a minor in philosophy. Carelli helped her transition into the program by consulting with her on questions and giving advice.

Sophomore year, Root enrolled in Greek courses with Professor Amy Clark. Learning a new language with a new alphabet is difficult, but Clark was patient enough to make the task enjoyable to her students.

“Dr. Clark was a huge

By Erin Holaday Ziegler

University of Kentucky graduate Amber Anderson traces her love of Japanese culture to childhood cartoons. “I remember watching TV at 10 or 11 years old and really enjoying Japanese animation,” she said.

The anthropology and Japan Studies graduate rekindled her love of Japanese culture during her undergraduate years at the University of Kentucky, but never thought that she’d someday have the opportunity to teach English in the country she so admired.

Anderson was accepted into the prestigious Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program this spring; she’ll leave The Commonwealth for Japan on August 4. “I haven’t been assigned my location or my

By Guy Spriggs

The UK Hispanic Studies Department is one of the most well-respected and highly-ranked programs in the country. As the 2011-2012 academic year came to a close, Hispanic Studies also added several teaching awards to its growing number of accolades.

But as Director of Elementary Language Instruction Yanira Paz points out, this high level of achievement is becoming the norm for Hispanic Studies.

“Our department has placed a lot of emphasis on teaching,” she explained. “We are happy for this recognition, but this is not new. We are a small group in the department, but it seems to me that we are doing things well.”

The Hispanic Studies Department earned a total of 5 recognitions, including 2 Provost Teaching Awards, 2 College of

By Sarah Geegan

"Every time I take a trip, I find myself missing home. The people. The culture. The weather," says JR Leach, a triple-major in political science, history and Hispanic studies, who is currently studying in Granada, Spain.

But he is not referring to Lexington.

"I've travelled internationally before and for extended periods of time, and I've always remembered and missed what most people would consider my home in America," Leach said. "But Granada is where all cards are off. Granada has become my home."

Studying through the International Study Abroad program (ISA) throughout the spring 2012 semester, Leach, a student in the

This podcast was produced by Cheyenne Hohman.

The Department of Political Science is excited to welcome professor Tiffany Barnes to its faculty!

Professor Barnes joins us this fall to continue studying Latin American politics, political institutions, and women in politics. Her most recent research investigates the legislation practices of male and female representatives in the Argentinian government. For clues to how men and women legislators may represent their female constituents differently, Barnes examined representatives' behavior and preferences over a 16-year sample.

This podcast is part of a series highlighting the new faculty members who joined the College of Arts and Sciences in the fall

By Sarah Geegan

The UK and Lexington community will have a rare opportunity on Tuesday, June 5 — one that will not occur again for more than 100 years.

The Arboretum, the MacAdam Student Observatory and the Bluegrass Amateur Astronomy Club will present, "Standing in the Shadow of Venus," two events which will allow the community to both understand and observe the transit of Venus.

A solar transit involves an object in the solar system moving exactly between the sun and the observer; Venus will appear to glide slowly across the surface of the sun. Transits of Venus are especially rare, occurring at intervals of 8, 105.5, 8, 121.5, 8…

By Sarah Geegan, Amanda Osborn

Imagine being a University of Kentucky student in Lexington, but sharing a "global classroom" with students in China, France or India.  In collaboration with the associate provost for International Affairs and the Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching (CELT), the UK College of Arts and Sciences recently established a program called Global Classroom Connections that will promote international learning and experiences through the use of contemporary technology.

As university graduates increasingly require international perspectives, skills and knowledge to succeed in the multicultural and interconnected world, 

By Sarah Geegan

With the school year freshly completed, 11 students in the College of Arts and Sciences are kicking off the summer in a unique way— with a 4-week intensive language and culture program in Shanghai, China.

The faculty-led program, supported by the Chinese Studies program in the Department of Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures and Culture, will advance the students' conversational fluency in Chinese. It will also introduce them to traditional and modern aspects of Chinese culture such as calligraphy, tea houses, Shanghai's history and contemporary society.

Assistant Professor of Chinese Matthew Wells said that the 4-

By Sarah Geegan

Visionaries often ask us to look skyward for signs of alien intelligence. A new book, "The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Cognition," edited by Thomas Zentall of the University of Kentucky Department of Psychology and Edward Wasserman of the University of Iowa, suggests that we might more fruitfully explore and understand alien intelligence right here on Earth.

This 960-page volume, published in February by Oxford University Press, is a compendium of scientific research into the cognitive worlds of animals, a flourishing field of study that that was prompted by Charles Darwin’s provocative proposal that

Download the flyer for more information (PDF)

Date: Wednesday, July 18, 2012 - 8:00am to Friday, July 20, 2012 - 5:00pm

Location: Appalachian Center, University of Kentucky, 624 Maxwelton Court, Lexington KY

 

Organized & Hosted by:

The University of Kentucky Appalachian Center

Facilitators:

Dr. Leanne Avery, SUNY Oneonta & Dr. Jenrose Fitzgerald, Univeristy of Kentucky

In this 3-day workshop, we will explore together methods for incorporating the science, engineering, and energy concepts students already know from everyday life into the science classroom, using new

At any given time, hundreds of salamanders are being bred at the University of Kentucky. "We have the only captive-bred salamander population in the world where people can call us up, and we can do the breedings, make those resources and ship them out nationally and internationally," says Randal Voss, a professor of biology and faculty associate of the Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center (SCoBIRC).

With funding from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the Army Research Office, Voss is studying

By Sarah Geegan

Archaeologists at the University of Kentucky have broken ground on a new project, uncovering historical evidence from a Revolutionary War siege, right in the heart of the state.

UK archaeologists Nancy O’Malley of the William S. Webb Museum of Anthropology and Philip Mink of the Kentucky Archaeological Survey, are undertaking a geophysical survey and limited excavations at the site of Fort Boonesborough on the Kentucky River in May. The study aims to find archaeological evidence relating to the Siege of 1778, a prolonged engagement that pitted a large party of French Canadians and Indians against settlers living in the stockaded fort.

By Whitney Hale

Sarah Gooch, a University of Kentucky junior majoring in Japanese language and literature with a minor in anthropology, has been awarded a National Security Education Program (NSEP) Boren Scholarship to travel to Japan this fall. Gooch is one of 161 award winners selected nationally from a pool of more than 1,000 applicants.

The Boren Scholarships provide up to $20,000 for U.S. undergraduates to study abroad in areas of the world that are critical to U.S. interests and underrepresented in study abroad. Boren Scholarships are funded by the National Security Education Program, which focuses on geographic areas, languages and fields of study deemed critical to U.S. national

By Whitney Hale

Two students from the University of Kentucky and one 2006 alumna have been selected as recipients of Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarships. The UK recipients are among 1,700 U.S. citizens who will travel abroad for the 2012-2013 academic year through the prestigious program.

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations and