May 7, 1999 -- (Lexington, Ky.) -- Two University of Kentucky
professors have won grants totaling $3 million from the National Science Foundation and
Kentucky state government to launch a new Center for Advanced Networking Research and for
equipment to analyze atomic structures. According to John Connolly, director of
the Center for Computational Sciences at UK, part of the grants fund equipment purchases,
which will facilitate research on improving the performance of computer networks. The
center will be housed in the James F. Hardymon Building, which will soon be under
construction after a May 10 groundbreaking ceremony.
The Center for Advanced Networking will conduct research on state-of-the-art network
design, Connolly said. The center also will promote collaborative projects with research,
and its staff will provide networking expertise to state government. Meanwhile, the center
also will train a high-technology work force to prepare for 21st century needs.
The grants also make possible the purchase of a transmission electron microscope, which
can detect details down to a material's individual atomic makeup. Elizabeth Dickey,
assistant professor of chemical and materials engineering, said the electron microscope
equipment will not only serve researchers at UK, but also will be available to other
university researchers in Kentucky and to industrial users. "This will be a resource
for the whole state," Dickey said.
Dickey's research into atomic structures, which won her a special presidential award in
February, focuses on how atoms bond in various structures. The new transmission electron
microscope will be installed in UK's Advanced Science and Technology Commercialization
Center (ASTeCC).
The UK projects are receiving about $1.5 million from the NSF through its Experimental
Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) and is being matched by state money
administered by the Kentucky Science and Technology Council. The three-year NSF grant was
included in a total of $3 million given to the state Science and Technology Council, on
condition that the council match the money. Grants were awarded to the universities of
Kentucky and Louisville to permit the universities to create research positions and obtain
necessary equipment. At U. of L., the grant will fund electronic engineering and molecular
neurobiology projects.
