By Erin Wickey 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 16, 2024) — Groundbreaking innovation often leads to discoveries that not only revolutionize but enhance the quality of human life. UK Research Communications partnered with UK Innovate to spotlight faculty innovators with life-changing ideas at the University of Kentucky in a video series “I am a UK Innovator.” UK Innovate works collaboratively with innovators to strategically assess, protect and license early-stage technologies and co-create new technology startups.

In this Q&A

By Richard LeComte

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Beth Connors-Manke started the nonfiction journal The Canelands audaciously with the theme of “love.” The topic, for one thing, is vast. 

“The Canelands offers you a thicket of ruminations, dense and sometimes difficult to pass through: love’s genealogies, love in friendship, love amidst catastrophe, love as a gift, love that empties the self, love in you and in old age,” Connors-Manke writes in A Note From the Editor for the first issue of the journal. “See what you can find.”

The University of Kentucky’s Department of Writing, Rhetoric and Digital Studies, part of the College of Arts and Sciences, published the 200-copy edition of The Canelands in the summer of 2024. Funding comes from the department and the College, she said. Connors-Manke, as editor in chief, led a student staff in selecting articles, designing and

By Hayden Gooding 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 12, 2024) — Elizabeth King and Ethan Morgan were crowned 2024 University of Kentucky Homecoming queen and king during the halftime ceremonies at the UK vs. Vanderbilt Homecoming football game at Kroger Field Saturday night.

King, from Georgetown, Kentucky, is a junior pursuing dual degrees in finance and flute performance. She is a Gatton College of Business and Economics ambassador, a mentor for the college’s Women in Finance Initiative, principal flutist for the UK Wind Symphony, member

By Dave Melanson 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 11, 2024) — Longtime University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research investigator Jim Hower, Ph.D., has contributed a chapter to the recently published book, “Rare Earth Elements: Sustainable Recovery, Processing, and Purification.”

Hower, who also has an appointment in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences in the UK College of Arts and Sciences, is one of the world’s top coal petrographers and rare earth element researchers.

Rare earth elements are among the critical materials that are considered the building blocks for modern society. These elements are used in the development of all the

By Jesi Jones-Bowman 

LEXINGTON, Ky (Oct. 10, 2024) — The University of Kentucky Office of Undergraduate Research has selected 15 undergraduates for the 2024-25 Undergraduate Research Ambassador program.

The program’s mission is to increase awareness and create opportunities for students to  engage in research. Ambassadors must demonstrate academic excellence, leadership potential and be involved in mentored research. This year’s ambassadors represent four colleges, nine disciplines and 10 research areas.

The student leaders’ goal is to make undergraduate research more accessible. Ambassadors promote undergraduate research involvement through

By Lindsay Travis 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 10, 2024) — A team of chemists from the University of Kentucky will advance its research on how air pollution from wildfire and combustion emissions affect the environment thanks to a grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation.

Marcelo Guzman, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Chemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences, a Lewis Honors College faculty fellow and lead chemist in the Environmental Chemistry Laboratory, is the principal investigator of the nearly $571,000 grant.

This three-year laboratory study focuses on the chemical interactions of

By Brandon Brown 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 10, 2024) — It’s University of Kentucky Homecoming week — a time when the UK community comes together to celebrate and honor its alumni. This week, UKNow is shining a spotlight on just a few of the thousands of alumni who embody the university’s mission to advance Kentucky. 

Today’s spotlight is on Connor Perry, a 2023 graduate of the UK College of Arts and Sciences, originally from Lexington, Kentucky. Perry is the current Miss Kentucky USA 2024. Perry is the primary ballet

By Jenny Wells-Hosley 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 8, 2024) — It’s University of Kentucky Homecoming week — a time when the UK community comes together to celebrate and honor its alumni. This week, UKNow is shining a spotlight on just a few of the thousands of alumni who embody the university’s mission to advance Kentucky. Spanning generations, these Wildcats are making lasting impacts in the Commonwealth and beyond through their careers and service to their communities.

Today’s spotlight is on Laura Farnsworth, a 2006 graduate from the UK College of Arts and

By Blair Hoover Conner and Jenny Wells-Hosley 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 7, 2024) — It’s University of Kentucky Homecoming week — a time when the UK community comes together to celebrate and honor its alumni. This week, UKNow is shining a spotlight on just a few of the thousands of alumni who embody the university’s mission to advance Kentucky. 

Colby Hall, a 2015 graduate of the UK

By Makenna Deaton 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 7, 2024) — Joseph Takahashi, Ph.D., the Loyd B. Sands Distinguished Chair in Neuroscience, investigator emeritus in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and chair of the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, will deliver the annual Thomas Hunt Morgan Lectures at the University of Kentucky.

The first lecture, “Circadian Clocks and Their Impact on Metabolism, Aging, and Longevity,” will be 2 p.m. Oct. 24 at the Thomas Hunt Morgan Biological Science Building in room 116.

The second lecture, “The Time of Your Life: How Circadian Clocks Promote Healthy Aging and Longevity,” will be 1 p.m. Oct. 25 at the Thomas Hunt Morgan

By Lindsey Piercy and Ben Corwin 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 3, 2024) — Its influence is inescapable.

Technology has reached nearly every corner of the globe — transforming the way we live, work and connect. But as technological advances continue to reshape society, the real challenge isn’t simply “keeping up.”

It’s about daring to ask, “What comes next?”

From artificial intelligence (AI)-driven breakthroughs to the search for sustainable solutions, the future seems both imminent and more elusive than ever.

So, what

By Lindsey Piercy and MacArthur Foundation

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 2, 2024) — Loka Ashwood, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Sociology in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky, is a recipient of a prestigious 2024 MacArthur Fellowship, often referred to as the “Genius Grant.”

Ashwood is among 22 fellows

By Tom Musgrave 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 2, 2024) — Asa O’Neal, a University of Kentucky senior mechanical engineering and physics major, was named to the 2024 Astronaut Scholars class by the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. The West Liberty, Kentucky, native is one of 71 Astronaut Scholars and was recently honored at the ASF Innovators Symposium and Gala in Houston. 

“Receiving the Astronaut Scholarship is an incredible

By Jenny Wells-Hosley 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 1, 2024) — William Burns, a cadet in University of Kentucky’s Air Force ROTC Detachment 290, shattered expectations last weekend at the 2024 Air Force Marathon, placing second overall with a personal best time of 2:39:59.

The UK senior, from Falmouth, Kentucky, is majoring in community and leadership development in the UK Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment.

This marked Burns’ fourth marathon and best time yet. He

By Joe Bandy

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 27, 2024) — The University of Kentucky Alumni Association announced the selection of 32 students who will serve as Alumni Ambassadors for the 2024-25 academic year. As official student hosts of the UK, Alumni Ambassadors promote the university at numerous events in partnership between the Office of the President, Office of Philanthropy and the UK Alumni Association.

Alumni Ambassadors represent the best and brightest of UK students, demonstrating high achievement in their collegiate careers and a dedication to the advancement of the university. Students must maintain a 3.0 GPA or higher and represent diverse backgrounds, cultures and areas of campus involvement.

By Jennifer T. Allen 

Having grown up in Mexico until the age of seven and traveling from Lexington to Aguascalientes often, Vanessa Diaz missed speaking Spanish when she came to the University of Kentucky. As a junior, she found Hay Que Hablar, a student-run Spanish speaking club housed in the College of Arts and Sciences Department of Hispanic Studies. 

“I love getting together and being able to talk in Spanish,” she said. “One of the things that I always say is that it can get tiring to

By Jennifer T. Allen

What do battery-powered devices (phones, computers and electronic vehicles), air travel, wind-generated power and power transmission have in common? 

They all rely on critical minerals derived from the Earth. 

In fact, all battery-powered devices rely on these minerals and the reality is that they’re not readily available in the United States. According to two University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences professors, the United States relies heavily on foreign sources for these critical minerals, especially those containing the rare-earth elements (REEs). 

Dave Moecher and Ryan Thigpen, professors in the Department of Earth

By Lindsey Piercy

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 25, 2024) — The Kentucky Climate Consortium (KYCC) will host the inaugural 2024 Kentucky Climate Symposium from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Sept. 26, at the University of Kentucky.

The event, taking place in Harris Ballroom of the Gatton Student Center, will bring together students, leading experts, researchers, policymakers and community members to share information and resources on climate change.

The symposium is designed as a collaborative

By Daniel Flener 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 24, 2024) — The University of Kentucky International Center, UK College of Arts and Sciences, UK College of Fine Arts and UK Residence Life will hold a two-day celebration of UK’s international community on Sept. 26-27.

“Global UK: A Celebration of Our Campus Mosaic” will feature a student panel and special film screening and will culminate in an international festival at Alumni Commons.

“This event will be a fantastic celebration of our incredible international community here at UK,” said Francis Musoni, associate professor of history and director of international studies in the College of Arts and Sciences. “There are more than 100 countries represented

By Jenny Wells-Hosley 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 20, 2024) — When Mack Thompson arrived at the University of Kentucky, adjusting to campus life presented challenges. Like many first-year students, he faced the usual hurdles of navigating a new environment. And as a person living with multiple disabilities — including Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome and suspected ADHD and autism — those challenges were even more complex. His health and limited mobility often created barriers to