By Motunrayo Oladele

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 18, 2026) — Diffraction glasses, dry ice and red cabbage brought chemistry to life for eighth-grade students at Lexington Christian Academy during a University of Kentucky outreach visit.

On May 4, Anne-Frances Miller, Ph.D., Gill Eminent Professor of Chemistry, and doctoral candidates Motunrayo Oladele, Lateefat Jimoh and Hashini Navarathne from the UK Department of Chemistry visited the school to lead demonstrations on atomic emission spectra, states of matter and acid-base chemistry. The activities connected classroom science to environmephoto of three students and a professorntal issues and everyday experiences.

Miller opened the session with an introduction

Below is a summary of her recent achievements: 

By Christian Honce 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 25, 2026) — Kentuckians drink a lot of bourbon, and that means a lot of fermented grain leftover after distillation. For every bottle of bourbon produced, there’s up to 10 barrels of waste in the form of stillage.

That’s what drove University of Kentucky researchers to develop a way to transform this waste into high-performance components for supercapacitors. This solution repurposes an industrial byproduct in a way that could eventually help stabilize the electrical grid.

The project is a collaboration between Marcelo Guzman, Ph.D., a chemistry professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, and graduate student Josiel Barrios Cossio. By using a technique

By Dave Melanson 

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

By Erin Wickey 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 5, 2025) — The University of Kentucky has selected Chris Richards, Ph.D., as a 2025-26 University Research Professor.

Richards is a professor in the Department of Chemistry in the UK College of Arts and Sciences. He also serves as the director of the Light Microscopy Core and the director of the Bioelectronics and Nanomedicine Research Center.

Richards’ lab develops novel nanoscale biomaterials that

By Lindsey Piercy 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 9, 2025) — Last fall, the University of Kentucky Office of the Provost announced the second cohort of the Institutional Multidisciplinary Paradigm to Accelerate Collaboration and Transformation Awards winners. 

The IMPACT Awards initiative, an internal funding program from the Office of the Provost, launched in 2023 to support innovation and transformation within UK’s colleges.

“Fostering Bioelectronics and Nanomedicine Innovation” explores how interdisciplinary collaboration and student-led research can accelerate the development of cutting-edge technologies to

By Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Beth Guiton’s talents and interests range from growing nanomaterials inside small environments to singing big choral works at Christ Church Cathedral in Lexington. Her range of expertise shows just how multi-faceted faculty members in the University of Kentucky’s College of Arts and Sciences can be.  

First the science. Guiton, Ph.D., is professor of chemistry and Frank J. Derbyshire Professor of Materials Science in the Department of Chemistry as well as the director of undergraduate studies for chemistry. A lot of her work involves solid-state, or inorganic, chemistry. She and her fellow researchers manipulate wire-like objects at the nanometer scale — about one billionth of a meter. Guiton sees a myriad applications for her research.  

"There's a really wide range

By Jenny Wells-Hosley 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 1, 2025) — Last fall, the University of Kentucky Office of the Provost announced the second cohort of the Institutional Multidisciplinary Paradigm to Accelerate Collaboration and Transformation awards winners. 

The IMPACT Awards initiative, an internal funding program from the Office of the Provost, launched in 2023 to support innovation and transformation within UK’s colleges. Fifteen colleges, including UK Libraries and The Graduate School, are working collectively to break new ground on ways to advance Kentucky. 

One of the  2024-25 IMPACT Award projects is  “Synthetically Tunable Organic Mixed Ionic-Electronic Conductors for Printed Bioelectronics.” Organic mixed

By Haley Simpkins 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 29, 2025) — Members of the University of Kentucky community took part in a recent installment of the “Inside the Lab: Works in Progress” event series. 

Hosted by the Sustainable Futures Design Lab and supported by the Research Leadership Academy and the Office of the Vice President for Research, this series offers a  look at the workspaces of researchers, designers, artists and scholars engaged in groundbreaking projects. 

The Sustainable Futures Design Lab is collective of scholars who meet regularly to discuss ongoing work, cultivate collaborative projects and share resources to

By Alicia Gregory 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 29, 2025) — On April 25, the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees approved 18 University Research Professors for the 2025-26 academic year. Established by the Board of Trustees in 1976, the professorships program recognizes excellence across the full spectrum of research at UK.

“It is our privilege each year to recognize distinguished experts who have made significant contributions across the breadth of research fields at the University of Kentucky,” said Ilhem Messaoudi, UK’s acting vice president for research. “Our next

By Lindsay Travis 
 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 4, 2025) — The University of Kentucky has been selected to lead a project with $2.3 million in funding over four years from the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) to develop next-generation materials critical to commercializing fusion power.

The award is part of the Creating Hardened And Durable fusion first Wall Incorporating Centralized Knowledge (CHADWICK) program. The goal is to discover or develop a class of first wall materials — materials that form the inner wall of a fusion reactor and contact the plasma — that will maintain

By Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- “Hydrocarbon Biofuels” will not top the New York Times’ best-seller list for nonfiction books, but for Great C. Umenweke, it’s quite an opportunity, and one that could help humans turn waste into renewable energy. 

Umenweke, a doctoral candidate in chemistry in the University of Kentucky’s College of Arts and Sciences, has published the primer along with his adviser, Eduardo Santillan-Jimenez, Ph.D., adjunct assistant professor of chemistry and associate director of UK’s Center for Applied Energy Research. The e-book is published by the American Chemical Society (ACS) as part of its In Focus series of digital primers.  

By Beckman Foundation 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 10, 2025) — Before Hena Kachroo had enrolled at the University of Kentucky, she had a model for what it meant to feel valued in a community. Growing up, she’d attended cultural events among the Indian community in Lexington, where her family’s culture, traditions and classical dance had created in her a sense of belonging and network of support.

The primary contributors to Kachroo’s decision to apply to the Beckman Scholars Program, which provides 15-month mentored research experiences to exceptional students in

Austin Baker, MS., BS. graduated from the University of Kentucky in 2011 with a BS in Chemistry.

This interview is part of a series conducted by the department called, "UK Chemistry Alumni: Where Are They Now." This interview was coordinated by Prof. Arthur Cammers.

Arthur: Austin, we publish these student spotlights from time to time to give our current students examples that career paths in the molecular sciences can take. That’s your audience.

Austin: Thanks for the opportunity to do this, there’s a lot of unknown opportunities out there to make students aware of, so I’m happy to share my experience. It’s been over 10 years since I graduated undergrad, but still come back to Lexington a few times a year to visit family.

Arthur: Life tends to accelerate after school; there's

By Jennifer T. Allen

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Rosemary Calabro found her love of research as an undergrad examining nanoparticles in materials chemistry. After graduating with her bachelor’s degree from Indiana University in Bloomington, she applied to many graduate schools searching for the perfect fit. That’s when she found professors Doo Young Kim and Dong-Sheng Yang at the University of Kentucky.  

“Dr. Yang’s lab historically had been all laser spectroscopy, and I was the first materials person in his group,” said Calabro, who earned her doctorate in chemistry at UK in 2020. “Dr. Kim’s group was more carbon materials, which is what I was interested in studying, so I was able to bridge two interests and be co-advised.” 

Calabro

By Erin Wickey 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 16, 2024) — Groundbreaking innovation often leads to discoveries that not only revolutionize but enhance the quality of human life. UK Research Communications partnered with UK Innovate to spotlight faculty innovators with life-changing ideas at the University of Kentucky in a video series “I am a UK Innovator.” UK Innovate works collaboratively with innovators to strategically assess, protect and license early-stage technologies and co-create new technology startups.

In this Q&A

By Lindsay Travis 

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 of

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 Jenny Wells-Hosley 

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 such