By Whitney Harder

(Dec. 19, 2014) – The first two years of doctoral study in science and technology fields are critical to student success — particularly for underrepresented populations.

Reflecting the University of Kentucky's growing leadership in ensuring more diversity in graduate studies, President Eli Capilouto Friday announced that the university's Department of Mathematics, within the College of Arts and Sciences, has been awarded a $559,626 National Science Foundation grant to fund the new Graduate Scholars in Mathematics program. The funding will be dispersed through July 2019.

The program will support incoming mathematics graduate students at UK, including first-

by Whitney Harder

(Dec. 18, 2014) — Thirteen University of Kentucky students took home top honors at the Kentucky Academy of Science 100th Annual Meeting in November, where hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students from Kentucky colleges and universities participated in research competitions.

Winners included graduate and undergraduates from the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, College of Arts and Sciences, Gatton College of Business and Economics, College of Health Sciences and College of Public Health.

by Jenny Wells

(Dec. 17, 2014) — The University of Kentucky Office for Undergraduate Research has presented 17 students with the Oswald Research and Creativity Program awards.

"There is so much high quality research being done by UK undergraduate students," said Diane Snow, director of the Office for Undergraduate Research. "We're very grateful for funding through the Oswald Awards to be able to recognize and reward these exceptional individuals!"

Established in 1964 by then-UK President John Oswald, the Oswald Research and Creativity Program encourages research and creative activities by undergraduate students at UK. The objectives of the program are to stimulate creative work by undergraduate students and to recognize individuals who

UK College of Arts and Sciences' video with Jeff Babbitt. A transcript of this video can be found in the document attached to this article. 

by Whitney Harder and Brian Connors Manke

(Dec. 16, 2014) — When University of Kentucky faculty need a piece of specialty glasswork designed, like laboratory instruments, they rely on the only scientific glassblower on campus. Jeff Babbitt has been running the Department of Chemistry's Glass Shop for almost 25 years now, providing unique skills and quick service to the UK community.

Babbitt does a variety of things — from simple repairs to the construction of complicated vacuum line systems

by: Gail Hairston

(Dec. 16, 2014) —At Kentucky’s recent 28th Annual Equal Employment Opportunity Conference, the Commonwealth’s Personnel Cabinet Secretary Tim Longmeyer and Arthur Lucas, executive director of the state Office of Diversity and Equality, presented the annual Charles W. Anderson Laureate Award to Gerald L. Smith, associate professor of history in the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences.

Anderson Laureates, the highest honor bestowed by the Kentucky Personnel Cabinet, are given to individuals recognized for significant contributions to equal

by Whitney Hale

(Dec. 16, 2014) — The Council on Library and Information Resources has announced the recipients of the 2014 Cataloging Hidden Collections Grants. A project from University of Kentucky Libraries was one out of 19 that were selected from a pool of 92 proposals submitted for grants. Award recipients will create web-accessible records according to standards that will enable the federation of their local cataloging entries into larger groups of related records, enabling the broadest possible exposure to the scholarly community.

The UK Libraries grant project, "Action in Appalachia: Revealing Public Health, Housing, and Community

by Eli Capiluto

(Dec. 11, 2014) — A special message from University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto:

"I gleaned the remains of my life, turned toward the hills that give me help, give me shelter, hold the sky where it belongs" - Jane Hicks

Over the next several months, we'll be examining and discussing the special relationship and partnership the University of Kentucky has with the Central Appalachian region.

A new series of stories, “Rooted in Our Communities: The University of Kentucky in Appalachia”, will examine the myriad ways in which UK faculty, staff and students are working in — and, more importantly, with — communities throughout the mountains. Those stories and other compelling features can be found here.

by Sarah Geegan

 (Dec. 8, 2014) — The UK Advising Network is now accepting nominations from undergraduate students for the Ken Freedman Outstanding Advisor Award. The award is designed to recognize outstanding service in the field of undergraduate academic advising for both faculty and professional advisors. Nominations are accepted online on the UK Advising Network website.

The recipients will receive a $500 travel grant from the Division of Undergraduate Education and will be

by Kathy Johnson

(Dec. 5, 2014) — WUKY's "UK Perspectives" focuses on the people and programs of the University of Kentucky and is hosted by WUKY General Manager Tom Godell. This week Godell listens in on a conversation between UK African American Studies professor DaMaris Hill and her student Nathan Moore. Under discussion is a recent anthology that showcases multiculturalism and characters of color – "Mothership: Tales from Afrofuturism & Beyond" edited by Bill Campbell and Edward Austin Hall.

To listen to the podcast interview from which "UK Perspectives" is produced, click here.

"UK Perspectives" airs at 8:45 a.m. and 5:45 p.m. each Friday on WUKY 91.3, UK's NPR station.

Video by the UK Center for Visualization and Virtual Environments (Vis Center) as part of its "What's Next" series. It can also be viewed at Reveal Research Media.

by Alicia Gregory

(Dec. 4, 2014) — The University of Kentucky is shaping the next generation of scientists and scholars by exposing undergraduates to research early in their academic careers. For T.J. Flynn, of Lexington, research as an undergrad at UK shaped his path — he is currently a Ph.D. pre-candidate at the University of Michigan, with a focus on acoustics and fluid dynamics.

An avid undergraduate researcher, Flynn worked on projects including carbon sequestration using algae at the Center for Applied Energy

by Katy Benett, Peyton Carrington

(Dec. 4, 2014) — Martin Luther King Day is a federal holiday held on the third Monday of January every year. It celebrates the life and achievements of the influential American civil rights leader. It is seen as a day to promote equal rights for all Americans, regardless of their background.

In celebration of King, people across the nation come together to participate in service activities that positively impact different aspects of their community — the Martin Luther King Day of Service. For the third year, the University of Kentucky is offering a service opportunity for students, hosted with the support of the Center for Community Outreach

by Gail Hairston

(Dec. 4, 2014) — The University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences Committee on Social Theory's Fall 2014 Distinguished Speaker is Margaret Archer, professor of sociology at l'Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland. 

The free lecture is slated at 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 12, in the Singletary Center's President's Room.

Archer was a professor of sociology at Warwick University where she developed her Morphogenetic Approach to social theory. She now heads the project at EPFL "From Modernity to Morphogenesis."

She was elected as the first woman president of the International Sociological Association at the 12th World Congress of Sociology. She is a founding member of both the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences and the Academy of Learned Societies in the Social Sciences and is a trustee of the

Don Pedi playing John Salyer's "Rose in the Mountain" at the Hindman Dulcimer Homecoming, in Hindman, Kentucky. A transcript of this video can be seen here.

by Jordan Mason

(Dec. 4, 2014) — You could say they left the best for last, as master musician Don Pedi performs the final concert in the 2014 "Appalachia in the Bluegrass" concert series. Pedi, known for his skills on the dulcimer, will perform noon Friday, Dec. 5, at the Niles Gallery, located in the UK Lucille C. Little

by Whitney Hale

(Dec. 3, 2014) — Two University of Kentucky students were recently named finalists for the Rhodes Scholarship. Luke Glaser, a 2013 English and Hispanic studies graduate from Louisville, Kentucky, and Grace Trimble, a political science senior and UK Women's Tennis Team member from Winchester, Kentucky, interviewed for the prestigious scholarship that funds graduate study at the

by Whitney Hale, Mack McCormick

(Dec. 3, 2014) — Jim Wayne Miller (1936–1996) was a prolific writer, a revered teacher and scholar, and a pioneer in the field of Appalachian studies. A new book co-edited by alumnus and University of Kentucky Graduate School Assistant Dean Morris Allen Grubbs, and Miller's wife, Mary Ellen Miller, seeks to honor and revive the legacy of this influential member of the Appalachian writing community.

During his 33-year tenure at Western Kentucky University (WKU), Miller helped build programs in the discipline in Kentucky, Tennessee and Ohio, and worked tirelessly to promote regional voices by presenting the work of others as often as he did his own. An innovative poet, essayist and short story writer, he was one of the

The Natural Resources and Environmental Science program is now offering a course on Environmental Communications (NRE 390) for Spring 2015. The course is open to students from any major. Becoming an effective environmental communicator can catapult your preofessional goals. NRE 390 will provide students with persuasive theories, strategies and skills for both mass and interpersonal communication related to environmental topics.

Students

by Whitney Harder

 (Dec. 1, 2014) — Environmental Science and Technology, a journal of the American Chemical Society, recently published research by University of Kentucky chemistry Assistant Professor Marcelo Guzman, graduate student Elizabeth Pillar and senior Robert Camm.

Environmental Science and Technology publishes papers that are particularly significant and original in the fields of environmental science, technology and policy.

The article, "Catechol Oxidation by Ozone and Hydroxyl Radicals at the Air-Water Interface," features the team's findings from work funded by the National

by Whitney Harder

(Dec. 1, 2014) – William Rayens, University of Kentucky statistics professor, was recently honored for his work in undergraduate education with a nomination in the 2014 U.S. Professors of the Year awards program.

“Teaching may well be the most important enterprise we engage in as professors, and I was thrilled to be asked to compete for one of the 2014 awards," said Rayens.

Rayens, director of undergraduate education in the Department of Statistics, developed the general education course "STA 210: Intro to Statistical Reasoning," implemented in the fall of 2011. Serving as assistant provost for general education

by Whitney Hale

The University of Kentucky Office of Nationally Competitive Awards announced that history senior and Army ROTC cadet Dahlia d'Arge, of Paris, Kentucky, has been named a Marshall Scholar. The scholarship will finance two years of graduate study for her at an institution of her choice in the United Kingdom. D'Arge is the third UK student to receive the honor from the Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission. 

"University of Kentucky students compete and succeed at a national level in academic competition, research and for national awards," said 

by Whitney Harder

(Nov. 25, 2014) — The University of Kentucky President’s Sustainability Advisory Committee recently announced seven sustainability projects receiving grants, a total of $100,000 in funding, from the UK Sustainability Challenge Grant Program. A wide range of sustainability projects were chosen, from North Limestone neighborhood initiatives to "microcomputers" that monitor individual sustainability impact on campus.  

The grant program issued a campus-wide call for proposals Aug. 15 seeking interdisciplinary, sustainability-driven proposals. By the deadline of Oct. 15, the program received 22 proposals requesting more than $450,000. Through an extensive review process, seven