At the end of May 2012, a delegation of faculty from the University of Kentucky went to Shanghai University to promote the American Studies Center, a partnership between UK and SHU. Michelle Sizemore facilitated a group discussion between UK and SHU students about cultural difference, identity, and storytelling across cultures. Four faculty members, Mary Anglin, Frank X Walker, Ron Pen, and Arturo Sandoval presented lectures on Appalachian culture, identity, history, and art. At the
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A faculty panel will discuss relevant election issues on the night of the debate. The following night, various faculty, lecturers and graduate students will lead group discussions for students, using video clips from the previous night's debate.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 10, 2012) — In the 2008 election, young Americans voted in their largest numbers since the 1970's. With the 2012 election around the corner, the UK College of Arts and Sciences, with the support of the Department of Writing, Rhetoric and Digital Media (WRD) will present several events for UK students to become more informed about the election, specifically surrounding the second presidential debate.
A faculty panel, consisting of political science
by Sarah Geegan
The University of Kentucky Department of Philosophy and the UK Program for Bioethics will present the latest component in the Research Ethics Lecture Series Wednesday, Oct. 10.
Dr. Jeffrey Bishop, director and Tenet Chair of Health Care Ethics at the Albert Gnaegi Center for Health Care Ethics at Saint Louis University, will present "Neuroscience and Other Sociopolitical Schemes." The lecture will focus upon neuroscience research
by Sarah Geegan
The UK College of Arts and Sciences has launched the third chapter in its Passport to the World Initiative, opening doors for students to "reimagine Russia's realms."
Proceeding from the college's years of South Africa and China, the year of Russia, "Reimagining Russia's Realms" amounts to a year-long exploration of culture and history that shaped Russia and the many other homelands of Eurasia. The initiative provides opportunities for the UK and Lexington community to learn about Russia and its neighbors in a multidisciplinary way, through events that range in focus from literature and history, to politics and the environment.
John Brown served with the Federal Bureau of Investigation for more than two decades. He served in many capacities, including as a serology examiner, special agent, investigator, and was program manager for the development of the National DNA Indexing System. In this podcast, Brown describes some of his work with the Bureau and how taking chemistry courses at UK gave a solid foundation for the career path he chose.
This podcast was produced by Stephen Gordinier.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
For many University of Kentucky students, the right undergraduate degree is an important stepping stone towards a life-long goal of pursuing medicine, dentistry, or law. The College of Arts and Sciences works hard to develop programs and majors that help cater to the pre-professional goals of its many students.
Ariel Blythe Reske is a Biology major and a member of the A&S Student Ambassador program; for her, the desire to become a doctor is one of the primary motivating forces in her education. As an undergraduate in the college of A&S studying Biology, Reske found both classes and professors that challenged, inspired, and changed the way she thought about the world. On top of that, she is better prepared for whatever the future may throw her way.This podcast was
by Cathy Johnson
WUKY's "UK Perspectives" focuses on the people and programs of the University of Kentucky and is hosted this week by WUKY news reporter Josh James. Today's show features Stephen Voss, associate professor and director of undergraduate studies in the Department of Political Science, talking about how the presidential and vice presidential debates are used to fuel discussions in class.
To listen to the podcast interview, from which "UK Perspectives" is produced, click here.
"UK Perspectives" airs at 8:35 a.m. and 5:45 p.m. each Friday on WUKY 91.3, UK's NPR station.
by Sarah Geegan
In a year that University of Kentucky teams have captured national titles, two UK alumni were part of another team that gained a world-record title — one that has the potential to impact everyone. UK alumni Joe Bullock and Kathy Woody are synthetic chemists at Phillips 66, a Houston-based company that manufactures energy products. Their team recently attained the world record for the most efficient polymer-based solar cells. Increasing the efficiency of these organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells could have enormous implications for the energy industry. Currently, solar panels consist of photo cells based on the element silicon, which convert light energy to electrical energy. These silicon panels are costly, fragile and expensive in large amounts. However,
by Sarah Geegan
In a year that University of Kentucky teams have captured national titles, two UK alumni were part of another team that gained a world-record title — one that has the potential to impact everyone.
UK alumni Joe Bullock and Kathy Woody are synthetic chemists at Phillips 66, a Houston-based company that manufactures energy products. Their team recently attained the world record for the most efficient polymer-based solar cells.
Increasing the efficiency of these organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells could have enormous implications for the energy industry. Currently, solar panels consist of photo cells based on the element silicon, which convert light energy to electrical energy. These silicon panels are costly, fragile and expensive in large amounts. However, organic
by Sarah Geegan
Biology Professor Ann Morris' lab contains approximately 200 individual fish tanks, but only one type of fish.
Having recently secured a $1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Morris will continue investigating zebrafish and the insight they offer in regard to solutions for human retinal degeneration. The NIH grant, titled, “The role of insm1 in vertebrate photoreceptor differentiation,” will be funded over five years and focuses on zebrafish to better understand genetic pathways that control the development of the retina.
"Mammals cannot regenerate photoreceptors, because the retina is part of the central nervous system, and
by Sarah Geegan
The UK Confucius Institute has partnered with the Headley-Whitney Museum to present contemporary art, fashioned in a centuries-old style.
The exhibition, “Realized in Wood: Contemporary Prints from China,” features 10 artists' woodblock prints, a traditional style that dates back to the Han Dynasty, prior to A.D. 220. The technique involves artists cutting away the background of an image into a block of wood with a chisel, knife or sandpaper, and then covering the block in ink and pressing it to paper or cloth.
Woodblock prints have provided a window into Chinese culture throughout history. Particularly in the
by Sarah Geegan and Sarah Hutcheon Mancoll
A new study by researchers at the University of Kentucky found that teachers and schools that value diversity have a big impact on the academic experiences of Latino immigrant children living in predominantly White communities. The study appears in a special section of the September/October 2012 issue of Child Development on children from immigrant families.
The researchers discovered that children who had a teacher who valued diversity felt more positively about their ethnicity than children who had a teacher who felt uncomfortable with diversity.
“This is important because feeling positively about their ethnicity was associated with children valuing school more, enjoying school more, feeling like they belonged at school more and getting better grades,” said
by Sarah Geegan
The College of Arts and Sciences created a new program this fall designed to help incoming freshmen get on the right track for calculus — the FastTrack.
FastTrack for Calculus is a two-week, on-campus residential academic preparation program for highly qualified incoming freshman students at UK. The program is designed as a refresher course to prepare students for Calculus I.
"All over the country it’s a challenge for students to come out of high school and do well in very demanding STEM majors: science, technology, engineering and mathematics," Mark Kornbluh, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said. "So our goal is to help the transition to some of our most rigorous science and
by Whitney Hale
The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF) has selected University of Kentucky student Brandon Kulengowski, of Lagrange, Ky., as one of this year's 28 recipients of the prestigious $10,000 scholarship. The ASF Scholarship is presented annually to outstanding college students majoring in science, technology, engineering or math.
Astronaut Scholars exhibit motivation, imagination and intellectual daring, as well as exceptional performance, both in and outside the classroom. The foundation has awarded more than $3.5 million in scholarships to date, including $131,000 in scholarships to UK students alone.
Brandon Kulengowski, the son of Debbie and Timothy Kulengowski, attended Oldham County High School before coming to UK. At the university, he is pursuing a
by Sarah Geegan
Adjunct Anthropology Professor Kim McBride's 22 years of archaeological work at Pleasant Hill, a former Shaker community approximately 30 miles southwest of Lexington, was recently featured in the national publication, American Archaeology magazine.
The magazine's seven-page feature highlights McBride's extensive work at Pleasant Hill, which includes directing a series of field schools in which more than 100 students have located former building sites throughout the village. Throughout these excavations, McBride, co-director of Kentucky Archaeological Survey
by Ann Blackford
What began as a small medical mission trip to Ecuador in 2002 for a group of pediatric medical residents led by Dr. Thomas Young, professor of pediatrics at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, has evolved over the years into a large multidisciplinary, interprofessional partnership between UK and the local community working together to discover new and improved ways to teach, learn, and serve vulnerable and resource-poor communities in Ecuador.
UK's Shoulder to Shoulder Global (STSG), formed in 2005, is a UK-based initiative devoted to improving the health and quality of life in Ecuadorian communities suffering the effects of poverty, including high rates of preventable health problems, violence, low educational
by Sarah Geegan
Though the fall 2012 semester is already underway, the College of Arts and Sciences is still offering courses for students interested in earning additional credits this semester.
Mid-semester courses, beginning in October, will progress until December and cover topics ranging from history and literature to science and research, as well as a merging of both arts and sciences.
As a component of the College of Arts and Sciences' Passport to the World Initiative, "Reimagining Russia's Realms," professors Cynthia Ruder from the Department of Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures and Cultures, and
By Sarah Geegan
Biology professor James Krupa recently received his second major accolade from the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) in the past two years. After taking home the NABT University Teaching Award last year, Krupa received the Evolution Education Award for 2012 — crediting famous UK alumnus John T. Scopes for much of his inspiration.
The award recognizes innovative classroom teaching and community education efforts to promote the accurate understanding of biological evolution. Sponsored by the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) and National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent), the honor will be officially presented to
The fluids we drink can hold cultural and historical significance -- but what about the way they affect our physiology? A new course, A&S 100-024, The Science Behind What We Drink, is professor Rita Basuray’s fusion of the two. By examining the role of water, beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea, and cola in terms of historical significance and the ways in which they interact with the human body, the class will connect science and the humanities. Basuray’s class is also bridging the gap between campus and community by bringing in local businesses such as Mon Tea and campus organizations like the UK office of Substance Education & Responsibility to the course.
For more information about the course, contact Rita Basuray:
WRD is offering a unique course in October. A&S 100-006, Composing with Visuals, focuses on the visual aspect of digital communication skills. Rachel Elliott, who is the instructor for the course, talks about the ways students will create visuals to explore identities, tell stories, and interpret information, and present findings via photography, film, and infographics. The course begins in mid-October 2012.
For more information about the course, or to enroll, please contact your advisor.
This podcast was produced by Cheyenne Hohman.