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 

Marcelo Guzman

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

By Brandon Brown 

On the left side image, Connor Perry, right, attends a UK Football game during Family Weekend in Fall 2022. Now a 2023 UK graduate, Perry was crowned Miss Kentucky USA earlier this year. Photos provided by Perry.

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 

Laura Farnsworth is a 2006 graduate from the UK College of Arts and Sciences. She says her time at UK inspires the work she does today with the Downtown Lexington Partnership.

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

By Blair Hoover Conner and Jenny Wells-Hosley 

In 2014, Colby Hall, right, and Lee Foster were crowned UK Homecoming king and queen. Today, Hall serves as executive director of SOAR, supporting Kentucky's 54 Appalachian counties through local projects and programming. Photos provided by Hall.

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 

Joseph Takahashi

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

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’s next?

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 recognized

By Tom Musgrave 

Asa O’Neal spent his summer interning at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, helping develop cryogenic CO2 scrubber technologies for human spaceflight. He got to see the inner workings of NASA, including Mission Control. Photo provided by Asa O’Neal.

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

By Jenny Wells-Hosley 

William Burns, a UK senior from Falmouth, Kentucky, placed second overall in the U.S. Air Force Marathon on Sept. 21 in Dayton, Ohio. Photo provided by Burns.

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

By Joe Bandy

The 2024-25 Alumni Ambassadors. Photo 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 

Hay Que Hablar participated in Campus Ruckus this fall co-tabling with the Latino Student Union (LSU) as an effort for Latinx-led organizations to work together and become a more united community. Hay Que Hablar executive board is from front far right to left, Veronica Diaz, president; Esteban Carreon-Leingang, vice-president; and Melissa Galvan Sanchez, secretary.

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

By Jennifer T. Allen

Dave Moecher, professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, and Riley Grove, graduate student, use an SEM scanning electron microscope to analyze rare earth minerals.

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

By Lindsey Piercy

Mark Cornelison | UK Photo

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 

Carter Skaggs | UK Photo

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 

Mack Thompson, a second-year master's student in the UK Department of Anthropology, is organizing first-ever Symposium on Dis/Ability & Debility in Appalachia, to be hosted at UK on Sept. 28. Carter Skaggs | UK Photo

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

By Lindsey Piercy 

Mark FIllmore

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 19, 2024) — Mark Fillmore, Ph.D., professor of psychology at the University of Kentucky, is serving as the 2024-25 College of Arts and Sciences’ Distinguished Professor and will deliver the annual Distinguished Professor Lecture next spring.

This honor is bestowed on the basis of three criteria: outstanding research, unusually effective teaching and distinguished professional service.

“Being named an A&S Distinguished Professor is a special honor,” Fillmore said. “It’s a broad

By Jenny Wells-Hosley 

UK doctoral student Nolan Lok demonstrates how the different colors are seen in the sky during the Aurora Borealis. A class of eighth-graders, donning prism glasses, marveled at the emission spectrum. Photo provided.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 18, 2024) — As part of its mission to inspire the next generation of scientists and scholars, faculty and students from the University of Kentucky Department of Chemistry visit local schools to engage students with hands-on demonstrations and spark curiosity in the world around them.

This past spring, a team of four doctoral students, led by Anne-Frances Miller, Ph.D., visited an eighth-grade class at Lexington Christian Academy. Armed with

By Richard LeComte 

Amy Murrell Taylor

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Amy Murrell Taylor, the T. Marshall Hahn Jr. Professor of history in the University of Kentucky's College of Arts and Sciences, is chairing the panel selecting the 26th Frederick Douglass Book Prize. Yale University’s Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance and Abolition gives the prize, which recognizes a book addressing the history of slavery, resistance and abolition. 

Taylor’s book “Embattled Freedom: Journeys through the Civil War's Slave Refugee Camps” received the prize in 2019. 

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and the Gilder Lehrman Center established the Frederick Douglass Book Prize in 1999 to stimulate scholarship in the field

By Richard LeComte

Kate Ponto

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Kate Ponto, professor of mathematics in the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, has received a three-year, $313,000 grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation to explore questions involving topology in a project titled “Parameterized, Algebraic and Chromatic Traces.” 

The grant will fund Ponto’s continued research into algebraic ways of solving questions in topology.  

“I am an algebraic topologist, which means I like to turn my topology into algebra,” Ponto said. “When I’m trying to solve topological questions. I say, ‘Well, you know, algebra can make these things easier.’ I take the topology problem, and I turn it into an algebra question.”

A key term in Ponto’s