By Ralph Derickson

Rickey Pack, at podium, describes his part in a Bucks for Brains research project while Associate Dean Kwaku Addo,
UK President Lee Todd and
Kentucky Gov. Paul Patton listen.

The higher education institutions in Kentucky "exceeded my expectations" with the Bucks for Brains program. "Kentucky will be better off for it."

-- Kentucky Gov. Paul E. Patton

July 25, 2002 (Lexington, Ky.) -- Thirty-four potential young scientists who are participating in summer research programs at the University of Kentucky were honored at a reception today addressed by Kentucky Gov. Paul Patton and UK President Lee T. Todd Jr.

Twenty-two of the students who received certificates of recognition at a reception in their honor, and who are potential graduate students, are participating in a summer research program that paired them with "Bucks for Brains" UK faculty members. These students conducted independent research programs under the supervision of the Bucks for Brains faculty members.

Gov. Patton told the students that the higher education institutions in Kentucky "exceeded my expectations" with the Bucks for Brains program. He credited the institutions with making the program work and added, "Kentucky will be better off for it."

The governor told the students, "Your research projects will help you find your niche."

The governor recalled a research project he had conducted at the Wenner Gren laboratory on campus when he was an engineering student at UK. "I didn't stay in research, but I did get in a position to affect the search for knowledge."

President Todd thanked the governor for his support of higher education and called the governor's support of the Bucks for Brains program a "master stroke."

Twelve students honored at the ceremony are participating in a Kentucky Young Scientist Summer Research Program (KYSS) that targets undergraduate students from Kentucky's private colleges who have shown an interest in the sciences and are from diverse groups, including women and low-income students.

KYSS students are involved in research projects in the areas of anatomy and neurobiology; chemistry, microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics; pharmaceutical sciences; physiology; plant and insect sciences; psychology; and rehabilitation counseling.

A student from each of the two groups spoke at the reception sponsored by the UK Graduate School. The student speakers were Laurie Davis, Ft. Mitchell, Ky., representing the KYSS students, and Rickey Pack from Louisville, representing the Bucks for Brains students.