By Jenny Wells

The Kentucky Girls STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Collaborative, in partnership with the STEM-H Institute at Eastern Kentucky University, will hold its fifth annual conference "Reaching for the Stars!" Friday, June 7, at the Eastern Kentucky University campus.

Educators, counselors, business and community leaders, parents and girls are invited to come meet others with a strong desire to see girls discover opportunities available to them within the STEM fields. Conference attendees will explore up-and-coming career opportunities in the STEM disciplines and learn proactive steps to help girls overcome

The College of Arts & Sciences is very pleased to announce that the recipients of the 2013-14 A&S Outstanding Teaching Awards are Drs. Shannon Bell (sociology), Jacqueline Couti (MCL), Stephen Testa (chemistry), and Kim Woodrum (chemistry).  The College wants to thank the selection committee—Yanira Paz (chair), Christia Brown, Juliana MacDonald, and Bradley Plaster—for their hard work and fine judgment.

Dr. Shannon Bell of the Sociology Department is recognized for her efforts in engaged learning and public sociology.  Since joining her Department in 2010, she has been committed to guiding students' learning about real-world social issues through research, activism, and their combination.  In her course in environmental sociology, for example, a group

By Marybeth McAlister

Four local high school students who were mentored by University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research scientists have proved that experience gained by working in laboratories with mentors is invaluable.

Valerie Sarge, a junior at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, placed first in the Energy and Transportation category at the Central Kentucky Regional Science and Engineering Fair, going on to win first place in the same category at the state competition. This qualifies her to go on to Intel’s International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) to be held in Phoenix. Sarge was mentored by John

By Bryan O'Loughlin, Whitney Hale

Sam Beavin, a University of Kentucky junior majoring in chemistry with an emphasis in biochemistry, has been awarded a Udall Scholarship of up to $5,000 for his senior year. Beavin is one of 50 students selected to receive the scholarship from a pool of more than 450 applicants.

The Udall Scholarships provide up to $5,000 to sophomore and junior level college students who have shown commitment to careers related to the environment, tribal public policy, or Native American health care. Scholarships are funded by the Udall Foundation, an independent federal agency that was established by Congress in 1992.

Beavin is the son of Gary and Tina Beavin of Louisville, Ky., and a 2010 graduate of St. Xavier High School.

The UK

By Whitney Hale, Breanna Shelton

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 2013-14 and 2014-15 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 profession are given equal consideration.

UK's 12

By Sarah Geegan

The University of Kentucky's annual Naff Symposium will host three leading chemistry experts from around the world, including a Nobel prize winner, Friday, April 12, at UK's William T. Young Library auditorium.

Presented by the Department of Chemistry in the UK College of Arts and Sciences, the Naff Symposium brings to UK's campus well-renowned chemistry experts, including Nobel prize-winning scientists, to share their knowledge with students and faculty from UK and nearby institutions. The symposium was established in honor of Anna S. Naff, a University of Kentucky graduate, through the

By Keith Hautala

The University of Kentucky Board of Trustees today approved University Research Professorships for 2013-14 for four faculty members. The professorships carry a $40,000 award to support research. Funds for these annual awards are provided by the Office of the Vice President for Research.

Now in its 37th year, the University Research Professors program's purpose is to enhance and encourage scholarly research productivity, to provide an opportunity for concentrated research effort for selected faculty members, and to recognize outstanding research achievement by members of the faculty.

The 2013-14 University Research Professors are:

By Allison Perry

A groundbreaking new study led by the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center's Dr. Peter Zhou found that triple-negative breast cancer cells are missing a key enzyme that other cancer cells contain — providing insight into potential therapeutic targets to treat the aggressive cancer. Zhou's study is unique in that his lab is the only one in the country to specifically study the metabolic process of triple-negative breast cancer cells.

Normally, all cells — including cancerous cells — use glucose to initiate the process of making Adenosine-5'-triphosphate (ATP) for fuel to carry out essential functions. This process, called glycolysis, leads to other processes that use oxygen to make higher quantities of ATP — but solid tumor cells, which have little access to oxygen, are

By Alicia Gregory

“From the standpoint of training the next generation of highly skilled professors, industrial scientists, people to work in government laboratories, people to advance our understanding of disease and advance the next generation of therapies, it will be profoundly devastating for this generation of students.”

That’s the message University of Kentucky physiologist Michael B. Reid conveys in a University of Kentucky video on the impact of sequestration — automatic cuts in research and other government spending — due to take effect March 1. Reid and UK colleagues Suzanne Weaver Smith in mechanical engineering and

By Sarah Geegan

The science may be new, but the program itself is in its second year, after tremendous success in 2011-2012. The College of Arts and Sciences' "What's New in Science" series, an outreach program aimed to strengthen UK's relationships with high school science programs, will once again engage teachers and youth in various scientific areas.

A succession of UK scientists will discuss emerging discoveries and exciting developments occurring now in the realm of science. Held in a casual round table format, professors from various disciplines and science teachers from Kentucky schools talk among themselves at these events, asking questions and discussing answers about new and emerging scientific knowledge.

Each session focuses on a new topic in one of the

By Keith Hautala

Three University of Kentucky faculty members will present at the first-ever Southeastern Conference Symposium, to be held Feb. 10-12 at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta. 

The 2013 edition of the SEC Symposium, titled “Impact of the Southeast in the World’s Renewable Energy Future,” addresses a significant scholarly issue across the range of disciplines represented by the SEC’s 14 member universities. The event showcases their academic excellence and underscores their educational and economic contributions to the vitality of the region, nation and world.

John Anthony, UK's Gill Professor of Chemistry, will present "Carbon-Based Materials for Solar Power Generation" at a session about advanced materials for

By Allison Perry

University of Kentucky assistant professor of chemistry Edith "Phoebe" Glazer has received an American Cancer Society Research Scholar Grant for $715,000 over four years to continue her research into ruthenium-based cancer drugs. These compounds are less toxic to healthy cells than a similar and widely used inorganic drug.

Cisplatin is a common platinum-based cancer drug used in a variety of cancer treatments. But while cisplatin kills cancer cells, it also attacks healthy cells, causing debilitating side effects. Ruthenium is another transition metal and belongs to the same group of the periodic table as iron.

Previously, the Glazer group developed two new ruthenium complexes designed to kill cancer cells while preserving healthy cells. These complexes are inert in the

by Jay Blanton

video by UK Public Relations and Marketing.

University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto Thursday praised the partnership of Gov. Steve Beshear and legislative leaders who are strongly supporting UK's self-financing of a dramatic $275 million transformation of the campus.

"We are here this morning because of your leadership and your willingness to partner with us, as educational institutions, united to provide Kentucky with the best education, research and service," Capilouto said at a Frankfort news conference with the governor and legislative leaders who are supporting UK's proposal. "In offering your support for us to self-finance facilities that will help dramatically improve and transform our campuses, you are voicing your faith in Kentucky's future as well

by Derrick Meads & Whitney Hale

Five University of Kentucky students have been awarded scholarships administered by the Institute of International Education to support their study abroad goals.

Four of the students received the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship; a congressionally funded scholarship sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) at the U.S. Department of State and administered by the Institute of International Education.

The scholarship supports students who have been traditionally under-represented in study abroad, including but not limited to, students with high financial need, community college students, students in under-represented fields such as the sciences and

by Sarah Geegan

UK Chemistry professor Allan Butterfield was recently announced as the newest Fellow of the Society for Free Radical Biology and Medicine (SFRBM ) at the 19th Annual Meeting of SFRBM in San Diego.

Butterfield is the UK Alumni Association Endowed Professor of Biological Chemistry; director of the UK Center of Membrane Sciences; director of Free Radical Biology in the Cancer Shared Resource Facility of the UK Markey Cancer Center; and a faculty member of the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging. His election as SFRBM Fellow was

by Guy Spriggs

On November 17, 2012, UK’s Allan Butterfield was announced as the newest Fellow of the Society for Free Radical Biology and Medicine (SFRBM). Butterfield’s election was announced at the 19th Annual Meeting of SFRBM in San Diego.

Butterfield is the UK Alumni Association Endowed Professor of Biological Chemistry, Director of the Center of Membrane Sciences, Director of the Free Radical Biology in Cancer Shared Resource Facility of the Markey Cancer Center and Faculty of the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging. His election as SFRBM Fellow

by Alicia Gregory

John Anthony, the John C. Hubbard Professor of Chemistry, is a pioneer in organic materials— things that are made from carbon instead of silicon. Anthony’s research focuses on organic solar cells (for low-cost generation of electricity), organic thin-film transistors (for flexible flat-panel displays), and organic light-emitting diodes (for high-efficiency lighting).

Watch the REVEAL: Research Media video online at http://www.research.uky.edu/reveal/anthony_john.shtml.

by Jenny Wells and Alicia Gregory 

Through the National Institute of Environmental Health Science's Superfund Research Program (SRP), University of Kentucky students are discovering ways to improve human health and diseases caused by chemical exposures near hazardous waste sites.

Kentucky has more than 200 hazardous waste sites on the active list for control, cleanup or monitoring under the federal Superfund program. The UK SRP focuses on the health impacts of exposure to different chlorinated organic compounds, such as polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, and trichloroethylene (TCE), both of which are prevalent at Superfund sites in Kentucky and nationwide. PCBs are a class of hazardous chemicals used in coatings for electronics, sealants, adhesives, paint and flame

by Whitney Hale

Last spring, Teach for America selected 27 recent graduates of the University of Kentucky to serve in America's inner cities and rural communities. The UK group, the largest in school history, is among 5,800 new corps members selected for Teach for America, a national program in which outstanding college graduates commit to teach for two years in disadvantaged urban and rural public schools.

Teach for America places its recruits in the nation's highest-need elementary and secondary schools in many of the country's lowest income communities, both rural and urban, in an effort to close the achievement gap between economically advantaged and disadvantaged children.

This year’s corps is the largest in Teach for America’s history.