LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 10, 2025) — The University of Kentucky's Center for Applied Energy Research and the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet have completed a risk assessment of representative fats, oils and grease feedstocks that can be used to produce sustainable aviation fuel in Kentucky. The project is funded by the Office of Energy Policyky.
The study identified corn oil as the safest bet for making
By Erin Wickey
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct.10, 2025) — UK Innovate marked the achievements of innovators across campus at Patent Palooza! 2025.
These researchers, entrepreneurs and industry partners all drive intellectual property creation, commercialization success and entrepreneurial growth at the University of Kentucky. In fiscal year 2025, UK saw the most patents issued, the most licenses executed and the second-most inventions disclosed in UK history.
In fiscal year 2025, 29 teams completed Launch Blue’s UAccel program. More than 100 UK innovators were issued 61 patents, had 40 licenses and options executed for their innovations and received four Small
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 9, 2025) — Filled with natural light, open gathering areas and state-of-the-art research labs, the newly renovated Chemistry-Physics Building at the University of Kentucky has become a vibrant center for learning and discovery — a transformation now celebrated by the American Institute of Architects Kentucky.
The project’s $60.9 million first phase, led by Omni Architects, has received the AIA’s only Honor Award for 2025 — the highest professional recognition presented by the organization that commemorates architectural excellence in Kentucky.
The teaching,
By Francis Von Mann
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 8, 2025) – In the Jacobs Science Building, a mural sprawls across a whiteboard. On one side, a magnified cell with swirling, intricate layers. On the other, Charles Darwin circled by Galápagos finches and double helixes. It is equal parts science and art, memorialized with a signature in the corner: Shane D’Souza, Class of 2018.
Shane D'Souza with biology undergraduates in front of his whiteboard mural in the Biology Learning Center in the Jacobs Science Building.Seven years later, D’Souza stands in front of that same mural – untouched by students who have long admired it – delivering a lecture on his research in pediatric ophthalmology. The audience of biology undergraduates leans in. His subject is technical, but his metaphors are clear and vivid. What captivates students is not only science but how D’Souza
By Francis Von Mann
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 8, 2025) – In the Jacobs Science Building, a mural sprawls across a whiteboard. On one side, a magnified cell with swirling, intricate layers. On the other, Charles Darwin circled by Galápagos finches and double helixes. It is equal parts science and art, memorialized with a signature in the corner: Shane D’Souza, Class of 2018.
Dr. Shane D'Souza with biology undergraduates in front of his whiteboard mural in the Biology Learning Center in the Jacobs Science Building.
Seven years later, D’Souza stands in front of that same mural – untouched by students who have long admired it – delivering a lecture on his research in pediatric ophthalmology. The audience of biology undergraduates leans in. His subject is technical, but his metaphors are clear and vivid. What captivates students is
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 7, 2025) — When the sun dips below the horizon and the stars emerge over Lexington, the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences’ SkyTalk program invites the community to gather, look up and wonder — together.
For nearly two decades, the monthly talks have drawn people of all ages — from middle school students to retirees — to UK’s MacAdam Student Observatory to explore the mysteries of the cosmos
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences has selected the 2025-26 class for its Student Ambassador Program.
The college started the program in 1999. Ambassadors promote pride in a liberal arts education and assist in strengthening the identity of the college and university. Ambassadors develop leadership and communication skills while representing the College to visitors, alumni, and prospective and current students. For more information about the Arts and Sciences Ambassador Program, please contact asrecruiting@uky.edu
Activities
Ambassadors' activities include:
Participation in UK recruiting efforts such as Preview Nights, Open Houses and other high school outreach. Service to fellow students in the form of Merit Weekends, K-week, Admitted Student DaysLEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 19, 2025) — University of Kentucky physics and astronomy professor Gary J. Ferland, Ph.D., has been named the 2025 recipient of the Catherine Wolfe Bruce Gold Medal, the highest honor awarded by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.
The Bruce Medal, first awarded in 1898, recognizes a lifetime of achievement and contributions to astrophysics research. Past recipients include such influential scientists in astronomy as Edwin Hubble, Vera Rubin and Nobel laureates Hans Bethe and Willy Fowler.
Ferland, who has taught at UK’s Department of Physics and Astronomy in the College of Arts and Sciences for more than four decades, is best known for
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Crystal Wilkinson, the Bush-Holbrook Endowed Professor of English in the University of Kentucky's College of Arts and Sciences, is the winner of the 2025 Corrington Award for Literary Excellence.
She will give a reading and accept her award in a ceremony on Monday, Oct. 27, at Centenary College of Louisiana in Shreveport.
Wilkinson’s work includes:
A national-bestselling memoir "Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts." Three works of fiction: “Blackberries, Blackberries” (2000), “Water Street” (2002) and “The Birds of Opulence” (2016). A book of poetry titled “Perfect Black” (2021).Her short stories, poems and essays have appeared in
By Francis Von Mann
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 29, 2025) - Janice W. Fernheimer, Ph.D., University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences professor, has been named a 2025-26 fellow of the Jewish Writers Institute Digital Storytellers Lab, a competitive program that supports and amplifies Jewish-themed creative projects. Digital Storytellers Lab fellows develop and produce untold and lesser-known Jewish stories or familiar stories retold in innovative ways and for new audiences. Fellows receive yearlong mentorship, funding and immersive educational experiences.
Janice Fernheimer is a faculty member in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies, Zantker Professor of Jewish Studies and a James B. Beam InstituteBy Meredith Weber
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 8, 2025) — On Sept. 12, the University of Kentucky will induct 20 alumni into the 2025 Hall of Distinguished Alumni. The alumni will be honored for their meaningful contributions to the Commonwealth, nation and the world.
Since its establishment in 1965, the Hall of Distinguished Alumni has celebrated graduates whose professional achievements and community service exemplify the impact of a UK education. Since its establishment in 1965, the Hall of Distinguished Alumni has celebrated graduates whose professional achievements and community service exemplify the impact of a UK education.The prestigious event, held every five years, is the highest recognition bestowed by the UK Alumni Association. Since its establishment in 1965, the Hall of Distinguished Alumni has celebrated graduates whose
LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 12, 2025) — Each year, the University of Kentucky Graduate School recognizes exceptional faculty for their achievements in graduate education and scholarly research. Ellen D.B. Riggle, Ph.D, receives the Albert D. and Elizabeth H. Kirwan Memorial Prize, awarded for outstanding contributions to original research and scholarship.
Riggle is a professor of political science and gender and women’s studies in the UK College of Arts and Sciences. Riggle’s research explores topics including stress, health disparities and the effects of law and policy on the well-being of LGBTQ individuals and couples.
“I am honored to receive the Kirwan Prize in recognition of my scholarship and collaborations, and
By Richard LeComte
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Two recently added bachelor’s degree programs in the University of Kentucky’s College of Arts and Sciences have drawn students with passions for the law and statistics.
Brady SteeleUK’s Law and Justice major began taking students in 2024. The program, developed by the College’s Department of Political Science, explores the relationships among law, politics and society in the United States and abroad.
“The new Law and Justice major gives students the opportunity to focus on topics relevant to law and justice in a way that is broad and engaging,” said Bridgett A. King, Ph.D., director of the program and associate professor. “Because the program is interdisciplinary, students are exposed to relevant topics from a variety of different perspectives. Although many of our students do want
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 26, 2025) — Fiction has long offered writers a veil — an opportunity to tell deeply personal stories at a safe distance.
But what happens when that veil is intentionally thin, when the line between fact and imagination is not simply blurred but deliberately twisted?
Hannah Pittard is the Guy M. Davenport Professor in English at the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences. Photo provided.That’s the space explored in “If You Love It, Let It Kill You,” the latest novel from Hannah Pittard. An acclaimed author and English professor in College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky, she delves into the messy, hilarious and often painful intersections of personal truth and imaginative storytelling.
“This is a book
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept.4, 2025) — The University of Kentucky Office of Undergraduate Research has selected 15 undergraduates for the 2025-26 Research Ambassador program.
The program’s mission is to increase awareness and create opportunities for students to actively engage in research. Ambassadors must demonstrate academic excellence, leadership potential and be involved in mentored research. This year's ambassadors represent six colleges, 13 disciplines and 14 research areas.
The student leaders’ goal is to make undergraduate research more accessible. Ambassadors promote undergraduate research involvement through such student outreach and program events as tabling, drop-
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 8, 2025) — The University of Kentucky’s Office of Transdisciplinary Educational approaches to advance Kentucky has announced its faculty fellows for the 2025-26 academic year. A critical mission of TEK is the development of transdisciplinary courses and the reimagining of existing courses to emphasize one or more essential skills. To accomplish this, TEK is leveraging the expertise of a new cohort of TEK Faculty Fellows.
The third cohort of TEK Faculty Fellows for the 2025-26 academic year: is
Kristi Bartlett, product design, College of Design. Molly Blasing, modern and classical languages, College of Arts and Sciences. ChelseaLEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 8, 2025) — Before most of campus was awake, University of Kentucky Army ROTC cadets were already hard at work.
At the William H. Pieratt Intramural Fields, the students joined Lexington and UK police officers, firefighters, corrections officers and members of the Kentucky National Guard for the “Service Matters” physical training event — a morning designed to test endurance and reinforce a shared commitment to service.
Each station of the workout was modeled after real-world challenges first responders
By Francis Von Mann
LEXINGTON, Ky. (September 3, 2025) - The energy on campus is palpable. Every fall, new Wildcats arrive from across the Commonwealth and beyond to begin a new chapter in Lexington.
The College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky proudly welcomes the Class of 2029. The first-year students represent 102 Kentucky counties, 39 states and 30 countries. Every student is part of Kentucky’s bright future; future doctors, lawyers, policymakers and scientists all beginning here. Lucy Short, Kendall Hughey and Brenna Mefford are just a few of the students starting that journey.
Lucy Short, Kendall Hughey and Brenna Mefford are first-year students at the UK College of Arts and Sciences.
Lucy Short (
By Jesi Jones-Bowman and Haven L. Patrick
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 19, 2025) — Undergraduate students at the University of Kentucky who participate in research under the guidance of faculty mentors now have the opportunity to publish and broadly share the outcomes of their work and collaborative experiences. The second edition of Aperture Journal of Undergraduate Research is now available and highlights the projects of 15 student-professor partnerships.
Published by the Office of Undergraduate Research, the annual, open-access, peer- and expert-reviewed journal
