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I am pleased to see the outstanding research by undergraduates featured in this issue of Kaleidoscope. I applaud these students for making the most of their academic experience at a research university and congratulate them for publishing their work.

The best way I know to catch the excitement of research is to become involved in research, just as you know you like basketball or tennis because you've been there and done it!

Research universities such as the University of Kentucky are defined by their underlying mission of generating knowledge in all intellectual areas. They are the only institutions that bring together scientists, scholars, and artists to discover and create new solutions to common problems, and transmit the values and tools of their field to the next generation. This is the heart of UK: to create knowledge, transmit knowledge, and apply knowledge.

The University of Kentucky is committed to offering undergraduates a number of opportunities to learn about and be involved in research. My office alone sponsors three student research programs, one for high school students, in which students get firsthand experience working in labs alongside some of our top researcher teams. More than a dozen departments and research centers at UK offer outreach programs, summer camps, enhancement programs, internships, and research opportunities for undergraduates. In all, well over 500 undergraduates are involved in UK's research enterprise each year.

I encourage all undergraduates to take advantage of this time in your life and experience everything a research university has to offer. Hands-on discovery could be a key to unlocking a lifelong interest in, commitment to, and passion for research!