By Lydia Whitman

(March 12, 2015)   The University of Kentucky Gaines Center for the Humanities has chosen 12 outstanding undergraduates as new scholars for the university's Gaines Fellowship Program for the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 academic years. Gaines Fellowships are given in recognition of outstanding academic performance, demonstrated ability to conduct independent research, an interest in public issues and a desire to enhance understanding of the human condition through the humanities.

Gaines Fellowships are awarded for the tenure of a student's junior and senior years, or for the last two years of a five-year program; students in all disciplines and with any intended

By Whitney Harder

(Feb. 24, 2015) – Ingrid Daubechies, the first female full professor of mathematics at Princeton and first woman president of the International Mathematical Union, will deliver the 2015 van Winter Memorial Lecture in Mathematical Physics at the University of Kentucky Thursday, Feb. 26.

Her lecture, "The Master's Hand: Can Image Analysis Detect the Hand of the Master?" will take place from 4-5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26, in Room 155 of the Chemistry-Physics Building.

Daubechies, the James B. Duke Professor of Mathematics at Duke University, will describe wavelets, a mathematical tool used for the analysis and compression of images (including for digital cinema). She will also explain

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.

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

(Nov. 20, 2014) — As University of Kentucky freshmen settle into life as college students, a new resource on campus has been helping them adjust to STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) programs, known for difficult coursework. Undergraduate instructional assistants (UIAs) within one of the university's newest Living Learning Programs, STEMCats, use their past experiences to mentor incoming UK students.

The College of Arts and Sciences recently produced a podcast about the STEMCats community, featuring many STEMCats UIAs explaining what they enjoy about the program and their connections with younger STEM students.

"You get to

by Gail Hairston

(Oct. 10, 2014) — The University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame induction and festivities are slated Friday, Oct. 10, at 3:30 p.m. in the Recital Hall of the UK Singletary Center for the Arts.

Honorees include:

2014 ALUMNI INDUCTEES

Her Honor Ethelee Davidson Baxter was born in Jackson, Kentucky, in 1939 and was raised in Lexington, Kentucky. Baxter graduated from Lafayette High School in 1957 and was inducted into the first class of the Lafayette High School Hall of Fame in 1989. She graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1961 with a bachelor's degree in English, speech and drama. While at UK, she was a Wildcat cheerleader, president of the Blue Marlins synchronized swimming team, and a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta

by Gail Hairston 

(Sept. 30, 2014) — More than an “s” has been added since the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Science was created in 1908 with only seven faculty members. In fact there was a College of Arts and Science even before the institution was named the University of Kentucky; the institution was called the State University, Lexington, Kentucky (previously Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky and State College) until 1916.

In those 106 years, several of today’s largest colleges were birthed from the original College of Arts and Science’s former programs, including today’s College of Education, College of Communication and Information, College of Social Work and College of Fine Arts.

The college grew quickly under the inspiration and commitment of President James Patterson, whose statue now graces the plaza next to

By Guy Spriggs

From early childhood human beings have an understanding of rotational movement: we see tops spin and planets move and gain some comprehension of what rotation is. However, even the most gifted scientists don’t have a complete understanding of how rotation – or spin, a quantum analog – operates at a sub-nucleon level.

After being awarded a highly-competitive grant to perform Advanced Scientific Computer Research (ASCR) from the ASCR Leadership Computer Challenge (ALCC), UK physics professor Keh-Fei Liu and his collaborators (including colleague Terrence Draper, post-docs and students at UK, as well as 2 co-PIs at George

By Zachary Dodson

Research at the University of Kentucky expands well beyond campus, and thanks to Physics & Astronomy professor Gary Ferland we have to measure the distance in light years instead of miles.

Ferland’s research focuses on theoretical atomic & molecular physics and how matter in space produces the light we see. Unlike other scientists, astronomers cannot perform experiments – they can’t reach out and touch another galaxy. But they have an advantage – a time machine – they can look into the past by observing galaxies far from the Earth.  It’s a science driven by observation and analysis. For this reason, Ferland and his colleagues are experts in remote sensing.

“We take the light that we can receive here on Earth and figure

by Kathy Johnson

(July 21, 2014) — A portion of Rose Street closes today in connection with construction of the new $112 million Academic Science Building that will transform the way students, faculty and staff learn, teach and conduct research on the University of Kentucky campus.

To move forward on this critical facility, demolition of old buildings and the ensuing construction on Rose Street will result in the need for closure of a portion of Rose Street between Huguelet Drive and Funkhouser Drive, and the section of Rose Street from Columbia Avenue to Funkhouser Drive will be restricted to local traffic only. Traffic will be detoured around the construction area using the streets of Columbia Avenue, Woodland Avenue, Hilltop Avenue, University Drive and Huguelet Drive.

Meawhile, the portion of Washington Avenue from South Limestone to Gladstone

by Jenny Wells

(July 8, 2014) — The University of Kentucky Honors Program has selected nine incoming freshmen as recipients of the T.W. Lewis Scholarship. Representing Fayette County and a select group of Appalachian counties in Kentucky, these "Lewis Scholars" will serve as the first cohort of Honors students to receive the prestigious scholarship.

While T.W. Lewis has offered a scholarship program in his name and his mother's, Ruth Jones Lewis, since 2006, this year marks the implementation of the new Lewis Scholars program, housed in UK Honors. This January, the UK Board of Trustees accepted a pledge of $1 million from the T.W. Lewis Foundation to create and endow the fund.

"Mr.

by Whitney Hale

(June 10, 2014) — University of Kentucky juniors Matthew Fahrbach, of Louisville, Ky., and Samuel Saarinen, of Shelbyville, Ky., have been awarded the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship worth up to $7,500 per year. Fahrbach and Saarinen are among 283 students nationwide awarded the Goldwater Scholarship this year. This year's Goldwater Scholars were selected on the basis of academic merit from a field of 1,166 mathematics, science and engineering students who were nominated by the faculties of colleges and universities nationwide.

The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program was authorized by Congress to honor the former Arizona U.S. senator who served the nation for 30 years. The scholarship program was designed to foster and encourage outstanding

by Keith Hautala

(June 3, 2014) — The University of Kentucky has been awarded a $1.9 million grant to improve retention of students in the STEM disciplines: science, technology, engineering and mathematics, through a collection of initiatives dubbed "STEMCats."

UK is one of 37 research institutions selected by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) to receive an award, from among 170 institutions competing for a share of $60 million in total funding. The five-year awards, ranging from $1.2 to $2.4 million, are intended to enable schools to focus on "significant and sustained improvement in retaining students" in the STEM disciplines.

Although the need for STEM graduates is growing nationally, fewer than half of all students who enter college with the intention of

by Whitney Hale

(April 22, 2014) — The University of Kentucky Office of External Scholarships announces Samuel Saarinen, of Shelbyville, Ky., has been awarded the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship worth up to $7,500 per year. Saarinen is one of 283 students nationwide awarded the Goldwater Scholarship this year. This year's Goldwater Scholars were selected on the basis of academic merit from a field of 1,166 mathematics, science and engineering students who were nominated by the faculties of colleges and universities nationwide.

The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program was authorized by Congress to honor the former Arizona U.S. senator who served the nation

by Keith Hautala

(April 17, 2014) — Physicist Juan Maldacena of the Institute for Advanced Study will visit the University of Kentucky Friday and will deliver the 2014 van Winter Memorial Lecture in Mathematical Physics.

The lecture, on "Quantum Mechanics and Geometry of Spacetime,” will take place from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Friday, April 18, in Room 155 of the Chemistry-Physics Building.

Maldacena is the leading string theorist of his generation. His 1998 discovery of the AdS/CFT correspondence set off a revolution in string theory and has found applications in many areas of physics and mathematics.

His work since then has included

by Gail Hairston 

(April 14, 2014) — University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto, as the principal investigator, will lead a multi-million-dollar initiative with Kentucky and West Virginia universities to increase underrepresented undergraduates studying in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

The five-year, $2.5 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant establishes the Kentucky-West Virginia Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (KY-WV LSAMP) in the STEM disciplines. Coordinated by the UK Office for Institutional Diversity and UK’s co-PI and engineering Associate Professor Johné Parker, the alliance of nine institutions of higher learning includes UK, University of Louisville, West Virginia University, Western Kentucky University, Centre College, Marshall University, Kentucky State University,

by Whitney Hale

Feb. 10, 2014 — Celebrated chemist, novelist and playwright Carl Djerassi comes to the Bluegrass this week. Known for his work in organic chemistry and as a father of insect and human birth control, Djerassi will take part in several events being held Feb. 13-15, at the University of Kentucky.

During his visit to the Bluegrass, Djerassi will participate in three events. He will first serve as the featured speaker at a luncheon for business and academic leaders. The talk, "Academic Entrepreneurship: Facts through Fiction," will feature his perspective on academic-business relationships in science and technology and will be followed by a question and answer session. The luncheon is Feb. 13, at the Hilary J. Boone

by Whitney Hale

(Jan. 28, 2014) — Renowned chemist, novelist and playwright Carl Djerassi, known for his work in organic chemistry and as a father of insect and human birth control, will take part in several events being held Feb. 13-15, at the University of Kentucky.

During his visit to the Bluegrass, Djerassi will participate in three events. He will first serve as the featured speaker at a luncheon for business and academic leaders. The talk, "Academic Entrepreneurship: Facts through Fiction," will feature his perspective on academic-business relationships in science and technology and will be followed by a question and answer session. The luncheon will begin at noon Thursday, Feb. 13, at the Hilary J. Boone Center. Cost for the