Byron Hempel Chemistry Biological-Chemistry BS 2014 Teaches Environmental Engineering at University of Arizona and Climbs Mount Lemmon. 

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

Summer 2014, Arthur Cammers and Byron Hempel, after success on the iconic traditional rock climbing route, The Quest, in a light rain at Red River Gorge, Middle Small Wall!

Arthur: You bounced back to visit the family?

Byron: I did! It's great to get back into town after being away for so long.  I currently live in Tucson, AZ, and enjoy coming back to the Lexington area around two times a year.  I am also catching up with a few friends from undergrad as well! 

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

Arthur Cammers: Steven, remind me again when you graduated ... I remember that I was DUS at the time. 

Steven Chapman: I graduated from UK in 2016 with a chemistry major. During undergrad I worked in Susan Odom’s lab for about 3 years studying two-electron donating electrolytes for redox flow batteries.

Arthur Cammers: What have you been doing since? I guess I should call you Dr. Chapman now, or you should call me Art.

Steven Chapman: I went to grad school! I followed in your footsteps Art and went to the University of Wisconsin–Madison for my PhD. I worked with Tehshik Yoon and studied enantioselective

By Olaoluwapo Onitiri  

Many in the world emigrate from their homes due to hardships caused by wars. This was no different for Ghady Kanaan, who emigrated from Lebanon to the United States. He is graduating this May with a degree in chemistry, has already published research as an undergraduate with Mark Watson, associate professor of chemistry, and is working on another with Folami Ladipo, associate professor of chemistry.  

“I met Ghady as he was enrolled in our CHE 533 Advanced O-Chem laboratory in Spring ’21,” Watson said. “He was one of an outstanding group of students who all stood out for various reasons, and all seemed to seize the opportunity to carry out novel research. Ghady has that really refreshing combination of seriousness and maturity, while also loving the life he’s in and taking full advantage of the

Arthur Cammers: I know you love the great outdoors ... and I know you are super curious about science. What's the back story? What influences created the current Anna? 

Anna Fatta: I’ve loved chemistry since I first saw the periodic table in elementary school. I loved the idea of atoms and even made a lab bench out of concrete blocks and plywood in the backyard. I might as well have picked my major right then in the fifth grade. My passion for the great outdoors came a little later, though. I was a dancer for thirteen years until I came to college. When I started at UK, I needed a new way to exercise, and I was enrolled in WRD 112. Those two may seem unrelated, but my final project in that class was a multimedia assignment on an issue of public concern, and my group decided to work on outdoor recreation in the

By Jenny Wells-Hosley and Meg Mills

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 28, 2022) — The University of Kentucky Office of Nationally Competitive Awards has announced that three students and one recent graduate have been offered Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarships to travel abroad to teach, study or pursue research for the 2022-23 academic year. Among them are two College of Arts & Sciences students. 

Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected based on academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. The program operates in more than 140

By Elizabeth Chapin

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 19, 2022) — Two undergraduates have been selected as the first recipients of the University of Kentucky’s new Beckman Scholars Program, Scholars United by Chemistry: Cultivating Excellence through Science Stewardship (SUCCESS).

Elaf Ghoneim, a neuroscience major in the College of Arts & Sciences and the Lewis Honors College, and Parker Sornberger, a mathematics and chemistry major in the College of Arts & Sciences will begin their independent, laboratory research this summer.

The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation’s 

By Richard LeComte and Jenny Wells-Hosley

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 5, 2022) — This week, the University of Kentucky Department of Chemistry will host the inaugural Susan A. Odom Lecture, featuring Jodie Lutkenhaus, professor of chemical engineering at Texas A&M University.

Lutkenhaus’ talk, "Redox-active Macromolecular Radicals for Metal-Free, Degradable Batteries," will take place 4 p.m., Friday, April 8, in the William T. Young Library auditorium. 

The lecture series was created to commemorate the life and legacy of Professor Susan Odom, a faculty member in the UK

By Richard LeComte

Lily Vossekuil, Elizabeth Lorch and children working to improve their comprehension came together in the summer of 2021 to show how undergraduates and faculty can collaborate on research that benefits the Kentucky community. 

Vossekuil, a psychology major, did her research under the direction of Lorch, associate dean for research and professor of psychology, and her colleague Angela Hayden. They worked together in a first-year program organized by the Office of Undergraduate Research and the College of Arts & Sciences, funded by the University’s Office of the Vice President for Research and by donors to provide intense research experiences in the summer and throughout the academic year for

By Lindsey Piercy

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 30, 2022) — Throughout March for Women’s History Month, the University of Kentucky is spotlighting Women Making History. These women are leading their fields of research, crossing traditional academic boundaries and impacting Kentucky’s most pressing challenges, including opioid use disorder treatment, aging and Alzheimer’s, water and air filtration, environmental impacts on health and suicide prevention.  

They are mentoring the next generation of women scientists and scholars, curating stories and creating artworks illuminating who we are. Their work and voice shape the university.

On this “Wildcat Wednesday,” UK celebrates Abelline Fionah, a graduate student who is pursuing a Ph.D. in

By Kerry Steinhofer, Centre College

(Centre College photo)

Daniel Scott, assistant professor of chemistry at Centre College, received the two-year grant from the Kentucky IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (KY INBRE) to develop an inexpensive, easy-to-use diagnostic device system to enable rapid medical test results in less developed or remote areas. The proposed device system is intended to help people who live with limited access to medical care. Scott received his doctorate in bioanalytical chemistry from the University of Kentucky. 

“This project is initiating a new vision to develop better diagnostics and monitoring for patients,” Scott said. “The devices we are working toward will be small and portable diagnostic tests that will give you rapid feedback. If you imagine them as similar to the at-home COVID tests many of us are familiar with

By Richard LeComte 

On April 8 at 4 p.m., the Department of Chemistry will hold the first Susan A. Odom Lecture in the W.T. Young Auditorium. The guest speaker will be Jodie Lutkenhaus, professor of chemical engineering at Texas A&M University. Among her honors, she received the 2020 Outstanding Early Career Paper Award in Molecular Systems Design & Engineering. Learn more about Lutkenhaus and the event here.  

The lecture will mark the start of the Professor Susan A. Odom Chemistry Endowment Fund. Gifts to the fund will support:  

• A faculty position in Odom's name.  

• An annual named lecture in the area of organic or materials chemistry.   

• A named award for an undergraduate chemistry

By Kate Maddox

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 9, 2022) — The University of Kentucky’s 2022 Naff Symposium will host four experts in the area of molecular neuroscience from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday, April 1, in the William T. Young Library Auditorium. A poster session will be held in conjunction with the symposium at the Jacobs Science Building.

The event is free and open to the UK community and the public.

Each year, the Department of Chemistry in the UK College of Arts and Sciences presents the symposium, which focuses

By Dave Melanson

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 8, 2022) — Organic semiconductors, often referred to as plastic electronics, offer key advantages for emerging electronic and communication devices, provided they can meet all the appropriate metrics for performance, stability and cost. While these materials are already widely used in display technologies — the organic light-emitting diodes used as the displays in televisions, tablets, smart phones and watches are the foundation of a multi-billion dollar per year industry — there remain several technical hurdles to widespread market adoption.

Two faculty members in the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Chemistry, who also serve as affiliated faculty members at the 

By Alicia Gregory and Rob Theakston 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 31, 2022) — The University of Kentucky has been named a 2022 Beckman Scholars Program Award winner. The award will create a new program focusing on diversity and equity in undergraduate research — Scholars United by Chemistry: Cultivating Excellence through Science Stewardship (SUCCESS). This invitation-only program for top-tier research institutions provides a 15-month mentored research experience for exceptional undergraduate students in chemistry, biological sciences and associated interdisciplinary combinations.

“The University of Kentucky is honored to have been invited by the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation to apply for this award," said UK President Eli Capilouto. "It is a testament to the research-

Stanford L. Smith

June 3, 1935—October 10, 2021

By Jim Holler, December, 2021

Stan Smith began his unique pathway through life in Detroit, Michigan. He spent much time as a boy on the lakes and streams of his home state, which kindled his lifelong love of the water.

Following his graduation from high school, Stan attended Albion College and graduated in 1957. His next stop along the academic trail was Iowa State University where he began serious study of Organic Chemistry with newly-minted Assistant Professor Orville Chapman. His choice of mentor proved prescient as Chapman moved rapidly through the ranks of academia and achieved election to the National Academy of Sciences at an early age.

Stan’s interests gravitated toward mechanistic studies of photochemistry in alpha-tropolones using his favorite tool,

By Jacqueline J. Greene

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 19, 2021) — The University of Kentucky’s Office of Technology Commercialization recognized and celebrated UK innovators at its Patent Palooza! event Nov. 9. The in-person event brought almost 100 attendees to celebrate the accomplishments of UK innovators and recognize special award recipients.

The event covered accomplishments over the last three fiscal years and recognized more than 100 UK innovators for 82 patents issued, 86 licenses and options executed, 10 SBIR/STTR (Small Business Innovation Research-Small Business Technology Transfer) awards received and 17 accelerator program participants.

Ian McClure, associate vice president for research, innovation and

On September 28, 2021, the University of Kentucky inducted 27 former students into the 2020 Hall of Distinguished Alumni. The alumni are being honored for their meaningful contributions to the Commonwealth, nation, and the world. The prestigious event, held every five years, was postponed last year due to pandemic restrictions.

The 2020 inductees include William E. Seale (’63), who earned a B.A. in Chemistry, as well as an M.S. and Ph.D. from the UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. William Seale of Annapolis, Maryland, and Key Largo, Florida, is a partner in the ProFunds Group. As chief investment officer, he developed the financial models and investment techniques that direct the investments of the over 200 ProShares and ProFunds. Seale is a professor emeritus of finance at George Washington University, where he had been chairman of the

By Jesi Jones-Bowman

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 28, 2021) — The University of Kentucky Office of Undergraduate Research has announced the fourth annual 5-Minute Fast Track student research competition finalists. These undergraduates competed in the competition’s two preliminary rounds and were selected as Top 10 finalists to present their research during the final round on Thursday, Oct. 28, in the Gatton Student Center Worsham Cinema.

Finalists will present their research in five minutes in front of a panel of five judges and a live audience using only a single static slide. This challenges students to develop their academic, presentation and research communication skills while also allowing them to showcase their research in a captivating way.

The

Dr. Donald E. Sands, professor and administrator at the University of Kentucky for 37 years, died Sept. 22, 2021, at the age of 92. During his final months he amused himself, as he had all his life, by solving different types of difficult puzzles. Recently he had told people close to him that he had had a very good life.

Dr. Sands was born in Leominster, Massachusetts, in 1929 and did his undergraduate work at nearby Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He then went on to Cornell University, where he completed a Ph.D. in 1955 after having worked in chemical crystallography under the direction of J. Lynn Hoard. One of his papers with Hoard, “The Structure of Tetragonal Boron,” became a classic; a few months later, Linus Pauling wrote to Hoard saying:

I have just been reading, for the second time, your paper on tetragonal boron and I am writing primarily to tell you my

Biographical Sketch: 

Tanuja Koppal, Ph.D. is a freelance science writer, analyst and consultant serving a diverse group of publishers, conference production companies, data analysts, vendors and consulting companies. She is the Founder and President of Biomics Consulting. She specializes in researching scientific topics and trends, writing articles and reports, and organizing drug discovery conferences. She has authored several articles for business-to-business (supported by advertising) science publications and websites, and moderated online webinars targeting a global scientific community in academia and pharma/biotech industry. In the past 15 years, she has organized more than 125 conferences on behalf of her clients on cutting-edge research and technologies for early drug discovery and development. More recently she has organized events related to