LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 17, 2024) — Bradley Elliott, Ph.D., lecturer in the Department of Mathematics in the College of Arts and Sciences, is one of nine winners to receive the University of Kentucky’s 2024-25 Outstanding Teaching Awards.
These awards recognize individuals who demonstrate dedication to student achievement and who are successful in their teaching. Recipients were selected via nomination and reviewed by a selection committee based in the UK Provost’s
LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 16, 2024) — The Office of the Vice President for Research and the University of Kentucky International Center have announced the second cohort of UKinSPIRE fellows.
UKinSPIRE is an internal funding opportunity for UK faculty intended to stimulate research projects in any discipline linking UK faculty and international collaborators and to establish collaborations with new international partner institutions or add greater depth to existing institutional partnerships.
Based on these recommendations, the following UKinSPIRE projects were selected for support, which started July 1:
“Data Sonification of Genome Profiles and Mutational Signatures in Human Cancers,” Luke H. Bradley (College ofBy Erin Wickey
LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 16, 2024) — The University of Kentucky’s Igniting Research Collaborations program has awarded nearly $600,000 in pilot grants to support cross-college interdisciplinary research.
The goals of IRC include increasing interdisciplinary scientific engagement and leveraging the breadth of UK expertise to tackle problems in the Commonwealth.
Among the pilot grants are:
“A multidisciplinary approach to environmental change and bee conservation,” Clare Rittschof, Beryl Jones (CAFE), Catherine Linnen (Arts and Sciences). “Development of Novel Screening Protocols to Distinguish Limbic-Predominant Age-Related TDP-43By Jennifer Sciantarelli and Tom Musgrave
LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 12, 2024) — University of Kentucky archaeologist Paolo Visonà, Ph.D., an adjunct associate professor in the University of Kentucky’s School of Art and Visual Studies (SA/VS), announced a major archaeological discovery in Calabria, Italy.
Visonà and his team discovered Spartacus’ first battlefield and Roman fortification systems built by Crassus to blockade Spartacus’ army.
Through fieldwalking and geophysical and remote sensing techniques, Visonà’s team followed the Roman lines for more than 1.6 miles in a dense forest and
LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 10, 2024) — University of Kentucky Summer STEM Experiences Camps show what is possible when the university, local schools and community come together to bring STEM to life for youth.
“UK stands out as one of the rare universities in the country that combines a land-grant mission, a medical center and various academic departments all within one continuous campus," said Margaret Mohr-Schroeder, Ph.D., professor of STEM education, STEM Experiences Camps co-founder and UK College of Education senior associate dean for academic programs and partnerships. "This setup offers an excellent environment to introduce campers to a wide range of specialty areas.”
For faculty member
By Richard LeComte
Alyson AckermanLEXINGTON, Ky. -- Alyson Ackerman’s success as a doctoral candidate in chemistry at the University of Kentucky is attributable directly to St. Nick.
“I don't know exactly what got me interested into chemistry, but I do know that I've always been into it,” said Ackerman, who grew up in Lexington, earned her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from UK in 2018 and now is a National Science Foundation graduate research fellow. “I did get a microscope for Christmas when I was 11. That was my big Santa gift. I played with my microscope a lot growing up to identify contents of the nearby creek.”
As an undergrad in UK’s College of Arts and Sciences, Ackerman was a Patterson Scholar and earned department honors in chemistry as well as the Nancy J. Stafford Award. After spending four years as a quality
LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 3, 2024) — Daria Goncharova, Ph.D., a May 2024 doctoral graduate from the Department of English in the College of Arts and Sciences, is one of nine people to receive an University of Kentucky’s 2024-25 Outstanding Teaching Award.
The awards recognize individuals who demonstrate special dedication to student achievement and who are successful in their teaching. Recipients were selected via nomination and reviewed by a selection committee based in the UK Provost’s
LEXINGTON Ky. -- Bethany Abebe, a political science and international studies major in the University of Kentucky's College of Arts and Sciences, participated in the Meridian-Cox Foreign Service Fellowship for Emerging Leaders in Washington, D.C., in June. She was one of 20 students chosen for the program.
The Meridian-Cox Foreign Service Fellowship for Emerging Leaders is a fully paid enrichment and training program seeking to expand awareness and access to U.S. Foreign Service careers to students from underrepresented communities.
A partnership among Meridian International Center, the Una Chapman Cox Foundation and Community Colleges for International Development, the Foreign Service Fellowship provides undergraduate students with insight into American diplomacy while underscoring educational, internship and career paths within the U.S. Foreign
By Jennifer T. Allen
Julia Bursten, Rebekah Duke-Crockett, and Chad RiskoWhen Rebekah Duke-Crockett, a first-year Ph.D. student in chemistry, took Julia Bursten’s Philosophy of Science graduate seminar, she began thinking about the wealth of insights philosophy has for chemists. The questions brought up eventually led to a collaboration between Duke-Crockett, philosophy professor Bursten, philosophy Ph.D. alum Ryan McCoy, and chemistry professor Chad Risko.
That collaboration culminated in a recently published article in the Journal of American Chemical Society: “Promises and Perils of Big Data: Philosophical Constraints on Chemical Ontologies.”
“Philosophers of science spend a lot of time thinking about problems and questions relevant for chemistry but, unfortunately, chemists
LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 28, 2024) — The University of Kentucky Advising Network recently announced the recipients of the 2024 Ken Freedman Awards during the Ken Freedman Day of Recognition awards ceremony.
This year’s professional adviser award went to Phyllis Nally from the College of Arts and Sciences. Nally serves as a senior adviser in the College of Arts and Sciences, primarily working with pre-health students.
Each year, the Ken Freedman Outstanding Advisor Award is presented by the UK Advising Network to one full-time professional adviser and one faculty adviser for outstanding service. Ken Freedman, the award’s namesake, was one of the founders of the UK
By Lindsey Piercy
As one of the first Black undergraduate students to graduate from UK in 1958, Doris Wilkinson helped uniquely define and shape the history of the university.LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 25, 2024) — Doris Yvonne Wilkinson, Ph.D., a Lexington native and one of the University of Kentucky’s first undergraduate African American graduates, died at the age of 88.
Today, UK celebrates Wilkinson’s inspiring legacy and honors her memory by recognizing the virtues and values that distinguished her life, which also speak to the community UK aspires to be.
A nationally honored professor of sociology in the College of Arts and Sciences, Wilkinson’s influence spans beyond the boundaries of UK’s campus and beyond the borders of the Commonwealth.
As one
LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 21, 2024) — Undergraduate students at the University of Kentucky who participate in research under the guidance of faculty mentors have the opportunity to publish the outcomes of their work and collaborative experiences. The first edition of Aperture Journal of Undergraduate Research launched June 1, highlighting seven student-professor partnerships.
Published by the Office of Undergraduate Research, the open-access, peer- and expert-reviewed journal, which will be published annually, aims to showcase
By Jonathan Greene
McKenna GreenUniversity of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences psychology and College of Public Health public health dual major McKenna Green is one of 14 UK undergraduates selected for the 2024 Commonwealth Undergraduate Research Experience Fellowship program.
The fellowship will support McKenna as she works on research related to cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease.
Sponsored by the UK Office of Undergraduate Research and the Office of the Vice President for Research, the CURE Fellowship program empowers undergraduates to develop new knowledge and skills through research within eight of UK’s Research Priority Areas: cancer, cardiovascular health, diabetes and obesity, energy, equity (UNITE), materials science, neuroscience, and substance use disorder.
Students selected as CURE Fellows receive a $5,000 stipend to
By Tom Musgrave
Lexington Freedom Train organizers plan to unveil this monument (concept at left) to Lexington abolitionists Lewis and Harriet Hayden in mid 2025. Photos provided.LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 18, 2024) — A proposed monument honoring a Kentucky couple who escaped enslavement and later became a force in the abolition movement has University of Kentucky connections.
Four people with ties to UK are involved in the Lexington Freedom Train monument effort:
Vanessa Holden, Ph.D., an associate professor of African American and Africana studies. Frank X Walker, professor of English. Garry Bibbs, professor of art studio, metal arts and sculpture. Yvonne Giles, aLEXINGTON, Ky. (June 13, 2024) — In March, the University of Kentucky Alumni Association honored six recipients with this year’s Great Teacher Awards.
Launched in 1961, they are the longest-running UK awards recognizing accomplished and passionate educators.
In order to receive the honor, teachers must first be nominated by a student. The UK Alumni Association Great Teacher Award Committee, in cooperation with the student organization Omicron Delta Kappa, then makes the final selection. Recipients receive a commemorative award and stipend.
Zada Komara, Ph.D., senior lecturer in the Lewis Honors College and an
LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 12, 2024) — Lukas Bullock, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Gender and Women's Studies (GWS) in the College of Arts and Sciences, received one of the the University of Kentucky’s 2024-25 Outstanding Teaching Awards.
These awards identify and recognize individuals who demonstrate special dedication to student achievement and who are successful in their teaching. Recipients were selected through nomination and reviewed by a selection committee based in the UK Provost’s Office for Faculty Advancement and the
UKNow is highlighting the University of Kentucky’s 2024-25 University Research Professors. Established by the Board of Trustees in 1976, the professorship program recognizes excellence across the full spectrum of research at UK and is sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Research.
Haralambos SymeonidisLEXINGTON, Ky. (June 11, 2024) — Haralambos Symeonidis, Ph.D., the John E. Keller Endowed Professor of Spanish Linguistics in the Department of Hispanic Studies in the UK College of Arts and Sciences, has been honored as a 2024-25 University Research Professor.
Symeonidis joined UK in 2007. His research focuses on the language
On May 1, Anthropology Ph.D. students Emmanuel Asante, Nuwan Herath, Jessica Nwafor, Brittany Thomas and Refah Tamanna received Unite Predoctoral Research Enhancement Awards. The UNITE Predoctoral Research Enhancement Program provides benefits to graduate students interested in an academic career, including a $10,000 stipend, mentorship from UK professors, and research career development activities.
In late spring, James Keppeler and Michelle Roberts were awarded grants from the Wenner Gren Foundation. The foundation plays a leadership role in anthropology by publishing the Sapiens anthropology magazine and the journal Current Anthropology while also sponsoring workshops as well as pre-doctoral and post-doctoral fellowships.
Roberts’ fieldwork project is "Webs of Care: Understanding Acquired Disability in Rural Appalachia through Culture, Politics, and Biomedicine." Keppeler’s fieldwork is “Unearthing Mindanao: Archaeological
By A Fish
Patricia EhrkampLEXINGTON, Ky, -- Patricia Ehrkamp, Ph.D., professor of geography in the University of Kentucky’s College of Arts and Sciences, has been elected president of the American Association of Geographers.
The scientific and educational organization serves around 10,000 international educators, practitioners, researchers and students in geography. Ehrkamp has been serving as vice president of the organization since 2022. She will assume the presidency July 1.
“I've been involved in different roles with this professional organization since I first presented my research at annual meetings as a Ph.D. student,” Ehrkamp said. “Over the last 20 years, I've served on the boards of various research specialty groups in the organization, across different subfields such as European,
