Any current UK undergraduate (full- or part-time,
enrolled for either semester) who does not already
have a four-year degree is eligible for this competition
and may submit papers and other projects in
the following categories:
1. Biological Sciences
2. Design (architecture, landscape architecture,
interior design, etc.)
3. Fine Arts (film, music, painting, sculpture,
videotape, etc.)
4. Humanities: Creative
5. Humanities: Critical Research
6. Physical and Engineering Sciences
7. Social SciencesEntries are judged on originality; clarity of expression;
scholarly or artistic contribution; and the
validity, scope, and depth of the project or investigation.The following are representative winners in
the 2003-2004 Oswald Research and Creativity Program.
CATEGORY 1:
Biological Studies:
1st Place
NAME: Fabiola Djojo
TITLE: West Nile Virus in the common house sparrow in central KentuckyWe analyzed blood samples collected from house sparrows (Passer Domesticus) for the presence of West Nile Virus (WNV). WNV is an RNA virus, so we performed RNA extractions on the samples and used reverse transcription to copy any RNA into DNA, which is much more readily manipulated in the laboratory with standard molecular techniques such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR). We used PCR to amplify a segment of the DNA known to correspond to part of the WNV genome. Gel electrophoresis was then used to visually confirm the presence or absence of WNV. Samples producing a band at the correct location were considered positive for WNV. We found that 38 of 133 house sparrows tested were positive. The gender of the bird and the type of primer we used had negligible effects on the rate of infection, but age of the bird, month the sample was collected, and location of the bird had significant effects. Younger birds, especially juveniles, had higher rates of infection, and most cases of WNV occurred in July, one month prior to the peak of human cases in Kentucky. In summary, WNV is indeed present in house sparrows in central Kentucky, particularly juveniles. Moreover, the timing of the peak infection rate suggests that an outbreak in house sparrows may foreshadow an outbreak of human cases. Thus, detection of WNV in field-collected specimens, as done here, may act as an early warning system allowing us to better time mosquito control or other measures that might prevent transmission and disease among humans.
CATEGORY 2:
Design:1st Place
NAME: Andrew Watson
TITLE: Incorporating Housing/ Residential Use With
Commercial and Industrial Areas
Blue Grass Heights Design Concept.
Bluegrass Heights is a greenway community designed to provide a comfortable environment in which to live, and enjoyable place to work, a center for entertainment, shopping, and eating all designed around a greenway link to nature and outdoor recreation.The objectives are:
• Utilize and protect environmentally threatened areas on site as a protected greenway unobstructed by automobiles that connects to the larger greenways system leading to the Kentucky Horse Park.
• Greenway provides a non-vehicular route for neighborhood residents to access the main commercial area as well as for outdoor recreation and nature preserve.
• Create amenities for all neighborhood residents while discouraging through offsite traffic on local streets. High density units create private recreational greens for occupants; town homes and garden apartments form similar spaces to create a sense of place for occupants, while medium density houses have private lots with small recreational parks dispersed throughout the neighborhood for children.
• Boulevards with open greens, planted with street trees on either side provide views down ridgelines and pedestrian access to the central greenway.
• Commercial/Professional practices accessible to pedestrians and automobiles throughout with a central pedestrian corridor leading toward and from the greenway. Mixed/stack zoning creates diverse interaction and walkable ease from place to place.
• Create a commercial/retail center with large and small retailers, boutiques, restaurants, and entertainment such as in IMAX Theatre and other unique entertainment venues.
• Maintain existing fence rows on northern and eastern property boundaries for aesthetic views with roads designed for possible links to adjacent future development.
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