By Whitney Harder

(Aug. 12, 2015) — Sung S. Ambrose Seo, assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Kentucky, has received the prestigious five-year National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award totaling $672,981.

The CAREER award is given in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education, and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of the university.

Funds from the award will allow Seo to investigate iridium oxides and unveil exotic collective phenomena, such as nontrivial topological states that are latent in bulk crystals, but emerge in

We are delighted to have three new faculty members joining the Department as Lecturers this fall. All three are exceptional individuals with diverse scientific interests and great enthusiasm for teaching. Dr. Lisa Blue earned her Ph.D. from UK (Atwood) and spent time in industry before returning. She will teach primarily within the General Chemistry program and also has experience in analytical chemistry.  Dr. Joshua Owen is also a UK Ph.D graduate (Butterfield) and will teach in multiple parts of the academic program, from general chemistry to organic chemistry to biochemistry. Dr. Ashley Steelman recently earned her Ph.D. at the University of Alabama (Bonizzoni) working on dendrimer synthesis, characterization, and applications. Like her other colleagues, her range of subjects

By Whitney Hale

(Aug. 11, 2015) — Legendary 81-year-old poet Sonia Sanchez will return to the upcoming Kentucky Women Writers Conference on the 10th anniversary of the founding of the conference series named for her. The Sonia Sanchez Series, which brings a major thinker in multicultural and human rights issues to Lexington to speak throughout the community, will this year include a free public screening of "BaddDDD Sonia Sanchez: a new documentary," on the life and work of the celebrated writer, at the Lyric Theatre and Cultural Arts Center.

For Sonia Sanchez, writing is both a personal and

By Alicia Gregory, Whitney Harder

(Aug. 10, 2015) — Computer science and the St. Chad Gospels. Physics and Spanish. Math and international studies. The combination of these don't seem to make a lot of sense, but it is these interests that have shaped the undergraduate career of one UK senior.

Stephen Parsons, a computer science and international studies major, with minors in physics, Spanish and mathematics, has thrived in a range of studies during his time at UK.

He has also worked in research that merged the fields of computer science and humanities. Parsons, who is a

By Gail Hairston

(Aug. 10, 2015) — The painful memories of World War II continue to adversely impact the political climate of Asia, especially between Japan and China and South Korea. In fact, many scholars still refer to the worldwide conflict as the Asia-Pacific War. Generations later, as the 70th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in 1945 approaches, Japan and its Prime Minister Shinzo Abe still struggle with what The Japan Times recently called "war apology issues."

Into this charged international political atmosphere, University of Kentucky Associate Professor of History Akiko Takenaka’s first book, "

By Gail Hairston

(Aug. 7, 2015) — Michael Bardo, University of Kentucky professor of psychology and director of the UK Center for Drug Abuse Research Translation (CDART), will serve as a member of the Pathophysiological Basis of Mental Disorders and Addictions Study Section of the Center for Scientific Review (CSR) through June 2017. CSR is the National Institutes of Health’s peer review system to identify the most promising research for treating, curing and preventing disease. NIH is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human

By Whitney Harder

(Aug. 6, 2015) — University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, together with its design and construction partners, JRA Architects and Messer, hosted a “topping off ceremony” yesterday to mark the securing of the last and uppermost beam atop the new Academic Science Building (ASB). The ceremony signifies completion of the structural phase of the three-story, $112 million project.

Those in attendance included College of Arts and Sciences Dean Mark Lawrence Kornbluh, Messer Operations Vice President Mark Hill and many Messer and College of Arts and Sciences employees working on the ASB. Held inside the building, attendees could see first-hand the

By Guy Spriggs

(Aug. 5, 2015) — Started in the summer of 2012 as an intensive “boot camp” to help the University of Kentucky’s new students prepare for college-level calculus, the FastTrack program has become an integral part of efforts to help students transition to the college classroom and set them up for success in the College of Arts and Sciences.

The curriculum for FastTrack has expanded over the last four years, and now gives students an invaluable introduction to UK’s math, biology, chemistry, engineering, Spanish and WRD (Writing, Rhetoric and Digital Studies). A key part of the program’s continued growth is the recent addition of FOCUS (FastTrack Orientation for College Undergraduate Success), a component built around developing the non-academic skills students need to achieve

By Whitney Harder

(Aug. 3, 2015) – Vibrant sunflowers, tomatoes, peppers, herbs and more thrive alongside homemade bamboo trellises and watering hubs in an 86-plot garden. Corn stalks grow tall while cabbage blooms in a plot across the walkway. This is where Sookti Chaudhary, a doctoral student in the University of Kentucky Department of Economics, cultivates fresh foods and connects with others.

The garden is located right here on the UK campus in the Shawneetown graduate and family housing community. What began as a student initiative in 2009, the Shawneetown garden has grown from a space for 20 residents to now nearly 90 plots. But more than that, thanks to a UK Sustainability

By Sarah Schuetze

From Hawaii to Arizona, from Arizona to Kentucky, from Kentucky to Bristol, England…fellow statisticians might consider their colleague Grady Weyenberg’s past and future moves a product of what they call random variation, but they are the steps he’s taken toward his career as a statistician.

Weyenberg recently received his Ph.D. from the Department of Statistics at UK, just weeks before he and his wife Hillary make the move from Lexington to Bristol where Weyenberg will begin a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Bristol.

In the midst of preparing for the defense, Weyenberg and his wife were working on selling cars, getting visas, and getting rid of all electronic devices that can’t be used with the English 230 voltage system (

By Sarah Schuetze

In late July the University of Kentucky hosted the International Conference in Homological Algebra. Over the course of three days, scholars from all over the world discussed “recent developments and applications of the homological methods in areas such as Commutative and Non commutative Algebra, Model Category Theory, Algebraic Geometry,” according to the conference website.

David Stone, Professor of Mathematics at Georgia Southern University, explained that homological algebra is “algebra, but not the algebra you learn in high school. It’s much more abstract. Algebra provides the tools we need to compute solutions to many problems from other branches of mathematics and the sciences. It is also of interest for its internal structure—homological algebra explores

By Terrance Wade

(Aug. 3, 2015) - The Department of Chemistry in the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences will host a "Mathematics of Physical Chemistry Boot Camp" to prepare students for mathematical and numerical approaches they will encounter in class and in research.

Comprising two sessions, the free boot camp will take place from 8 a.m. to early afternoon Saturday, Aug. 22, and Saturday, Aug. 29.

The sessions will be instructed by assistant professors of chemistry Peter Kekenes-Huskey and Chad Risko, and 

By Sarah Schuetze

When Dan Rowland told people his address, they were surprised. Upon hearing it, one acquaintance even said, “Why, don’t you respect your wife?”

In 1974, he and his wife Wendy had just moved to Lexington and bought a run-down mid-19th century house on the corner of Pine and Mill, in the historic South Hill neighborhood. They paid just $17,000 for it. “It was a wreck,” he remembered, but they committed to restoring it.

Living downtown didn’t have the same draw in the seventies that it does now. But over the last 40 years, Rowland has played a part in the evolution of downtown Lexington as well as the evolution of UK. 

Now a professor emeritus in UK’s Department of History, Rowland was a devoted teacher for nearly four decades. “I’m thrilled with the career I’ve had,” said Rowland. “I

by Gail Hairston

LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 31, 2015) — Descendants of both families formally agreed to an end to the infamous feuding of the Hatfields of West Virginia and the McCoys of Kentucky on a national morning news program in 2003. In truth, the families have gathered often in the Tug Fork River valley, site of the McCoys’ former homestead where the vendetta reached its bloody crescendo Jan. 1, 1888. Today, the McCoys’ former property is owned by Bob Scott, a Hatfield descendant, and the Hatfield-McCoy clan gatherings there are respectful and peaceful, even celebratory and life affirming.

Such was the atmosphere in November 2014 when members of both clans convened at the old homesite outside Hardy, Kentucky, near Pikeville. The Hatfields and

By Whitney Hale

(July 21, 2015) — From a chorus of more than 50 voices to the baton movement on a conductor's rostrum, the talents of the students and faculty of University of Kentucky School of Music were in the spotlight this summer in cathedrals, concert halls and theatres across Spain and in Prague, even in one site that premiered a popular opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

In Spain, a little less than half of the members of UK Women's Choir had the opportunity to further their own education while enriching the lives of others through the beauty of music and cultural exchange in a tour running June 9-19. Student vocalists on the trip not only had a chance to learn about the rich, musical heritage of Spain but also were able to

By Whitney Harder

(July 17, 2015) — Summer: a time to catch up on neglected projects, reconnect with old friends and tackle that summer reading list. Whether it's an inspiring autobiography, the latest science fiction, or re-reading the classics, many are immersing themselves in a range of literature this season. For professors at the University of Kentucky, they are not only cracking open new books, but reflecting on those that have impacted their lives and careers in surprising ways. 

Read below for the first in a series of professors reflecting on the books that shaped them. 

John Anthony

J. C. Hubbard Professor of Chemistry

Quite a few books have resonated with me over the years. The earliest would be the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy by

By Whitney Hale

The University of Kentucky Office of Nationally Competitive Awards has announced that anthropology doctoral candidate Lydia Shanklin Roll has been awarded the National Security Education Program (NSEP) David L. Boren Fellowship for up to $30,000 toward study of the Kurdish language and work on her dissertation research in Istanbul, Turkey. Roll is one of 101 graduate student award winners selected nationally from a pool of 385 applicants.

Boren Fellowships provide funding for study abroad in areas of the world that are critical to U.S. interests and are underrepresented in education abroad. The awards are funded by NSEP, which focuses on geographic

By Whitney Harder

(July 16, 2015) — The University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences has named Shaunna Scott as the new director of its Appalachian Studies Program and Christopher Barton as the new director of the Appalachian Center.

"Chris Barton and Shaunna Scott will make a great leadership team along with the staff of the Appalachian Center," said Ann Kingsolver, former director of both the Appalachian Center and Appalachian Studies