1.         UK, Lexington Officials Embrace ‘College-Town’ Planning Partnership

Lexington – The city and the University of Kentucky have entered into a joint venture to develop a “College-Town Concept” for an area of the city bordering the UK campus.  The plan would be a blueprint for how the area should develop and how the character of the existing neighborhoods can be preserved and enhanced.  The area includes several city blocks bordered by Rose and Limestone, Euclid and High streets.  The plan will encompass both sides of those streets. Lexington Mayor Pam Miller plans to ask the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council to approve a contract with the Baltimore, Md., firm of Ayers/Saint/Gross Architects and Planners to develop the plan.  The $200,000 cost would be shared equally by UK and the city.  Development of the plan would take approximately six months.  UK further cemented a presence in downtown Lexington last week, when officials announced the university is leasing two stories in the former Kentucky Utilities building on Vine Street to expand educational services tailored to downtown Lexington clientele.

2.         UK Participates in National Clinical Drug Study to Test HIV Vaccine

Researchers in the UK College of Medicine Division of Infectious Disease are participating in a national multi-center phase I clinical trial to test the safety and tolerability of two investigational HIV vaccines in 126 healthy individuals nationwide.  UK researchers currently are recruiting healthy individuals to participate in a study of an HIV vaccine, sponsored by Merck and Co., Inc.  UK has participated in more than 50 HIV drug trials in the past 10 years.  However, this will be the first trial involving healthy people, rather than HIV patients, said Richard N. Greenberg, M.D., professor of internal medicine in the UK College of Medicine and principal investigator of the study.

3.         UK Chosen to Award Prestigious Beckman Undergraduate Research Grants

The University of Kentucky has been selected as one of only five Research 1 universities in the nation entitled to award Beckman Foundation undergraduate research scholarships totaling $105,000 over the next three years to six students.  Two students elected in each of the three years will receive scholarships totaling $17,600 to support their undergraduate research in chemistry, biochemistry and biological and medical sciences for two summers and one academic year.  UK competed against 61 other Carnegie Institute Research 1 universities to receive the scholarships.  Other institutions authorized to grant undergraduate research awards to their students are Boston University, Duke University and Washington University and the University of California at Los Angeles.

4.         Six Are Named ‘Great Teachers’ by UK Alumni Association

The UK Alumni Association bestowed its coveted “Great Teacher Awards” on six instructors at a ceremony in mid-February.  The award is especially significant because students nominate UK faculty based on outstanding teaching.  The winners were awarded a plaque and a $2,000 cash prize.  It is the oldest continuously given award for teachers at the University of Kentucky. This year’s honorees are Douglas D. Damm, professor of oral pathology in the College of Dentistry; J. Robert Gillette, associate professor of economics in the Gatton College of Business and Economics; Clair Hicks, professor of food science in the College of Agriculture; David Lee Miller, professor of English in the College of Arts and Sciences; Susan J. Scollay, associate professor of administration and supervision in the College of Education; and Nikiforos Stamatiadis, associate professor of civil engineering in the College of Engineering and a faculty associate member of the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging.

5.         UK Researchers Find Way Bacteria Avoid Body’s Immune System

A study led by Brian Stevenson, assistant professor of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics in the UK College of Medicine, has revealed how Borrelia burgdorferi, corkscrew-shaped bacteria that cause Lyme disease, escapes the immune defenses of many different hosts.  The research found the bacteria regulate proteins on their surface, allowing them to escape immune defenses.  Stevenson’s findings were reported in the February 1 issue of Infection and Immunity.

6.         Major Indonesian Figure, Three Others Inducted Into Gatton Hall Of Fame

Former Indonesian Finance Minister Bambang Sudibyo, along with an Indonesian banker, the chairman of a leading accounting firm and a major eastern Kentucky banker, were inducted into UK’s Gatton College of Business and Economics Alumni Hall of Fame in mid-February.  Sudibyo, who earned his doctoral degree in business administration in accounting from the Gatton College in 1985, served as Indonesia’s top finance official during 1999 and 2000.  He currently is chairman of the Indonesian government’s task force for fiscal decentralization.  Also inducted were Randolph C. Blazer, chairman and chief executive officer of KPMG Consulting Inc.; Zaki Baridwan, president director of Bank BNI in Indonesia; and O. Trigg Dorton, retired president of the Citizens National Bank of Paintsville, Ky.

7.         UK School Of Music Inducts Four Into Lampert Music Hall Of Fame

Four alumni of the UK School of Music were inducted into the Carl A. Lampert Music Hall of Fame in late February.  The four are Phyllis Jenness, who taught voice at UK from 1954 until 1993; Jean Anne Shafferman, currently director of church choral publications for Alfred Publishing; Sarah Baird Fouse, flute professor at the University of Florida from 1967 to 2000; and John Drew, professor of trombone at Florida State University.  The Music Hall of Fame is named for UK’s first chair of music.

8.         Three Are Inducted Into Human Environmental Sciences Hall Of Fame

The UK College of Human Environmental Sciences (HES) inducted three people into its Hall of Fame in late February as part of its HES Week celebration.  The inductees are Peggy S. Meszaros, director of the Center for Information Technology Impacts on Children, Youth and Families at Virginia Tech and former dean of the UK College of Human Environmental Sciences; Dorotha S. Oatts, a retired home economics educator and current community volunteer and activist who served for 25 years as supervisor of home economics for the Kentucky Department of Education; and Barbara L. Rice, research dietitian for Enterprise Advisory Service at NASA Johnson Space Center and a consulting nutritionist in private practice.

9.         Researchers Find 165 Cases Of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning In Kentucky

During 1998 and 1999, there were at least 165 cases of carbon monoxide poisoning in Kentucky and another 50 probable cases, according to a study by the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center at UK.  Tim Struttmann, the center’s director, urged the installation of carbon monoxide detectors in homes and other buildings as one step to avoid the poisoning.

10.        UK Bestows Honorary Doctorate on Toyota’s Fujio Cho

Fujio Cho, president of Toyota Motor Corporation, received an honorary doctor of engineering degree from UK President Lee T. Todd Jr. in late January. Regarded as the founding father of Toyota in Kentucky, Cho now heads Toyota's entire scope of operations from its world headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. In addition to receiving the honorary degree, Cho was visiting North America for his induction into the Automotive Hall of Fame.  Cho launched Toyota’s plant in Georgetown and was its president for six years.  Governor Paul Patton also attended the ceremony.

11.        ‘Virtual Career Fair’ Puts  Students And Alumni  in Touch With Employers

The UK Career Center held an online career fair in mid-February that put more than 1,100 registered students and alumni in contact with nearly 120 participating companies and organizations.  The students logged onto the center’s Virtual Career Fair Web site to gather information about potential employers and available positions, then contacted the companies by phone or e-mail.

12.        Gatton Group Offers Mentoring to Lexington-area African-American Youth

The UK Gatton College of Business and Economics’ undergraduate chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants has launched a new initiative, the “One on One Outreach Program,” to monitor 20 African-American high school freshmen throughout their high school career.  The program’s goal is to nurture the high school students’ pursuit of a college education by helping them maintain a minimum 3.0 grade point average and a score of 20 on the ACT.

13.        CAER Research Group Makes Cover of Prestigious Scientific Journal

Snapshots of a project by the UK Center for Applied Energy Research (CAER) Carbon Group appear on the cover of The Journal of Physical Chemistry (v. 105, no. 51). The CAER group has been collaborating with researchers at the University of Florida and University of Illinois-Chicago on a combined experimental-theoretical study of carbon nanotube uses. Carbon nanotubes are a graphitic sheet wrapped to form a seamless cylinder of carbon.

14.        UK Education Professor Named ‘2001 Researcher of the Year’

Sonja Feist-Price, an associate professor in the UK College of Education’s Department of Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling, has been named 2001 “Researcher of the Year” by the National Council on Rehabilitation Education. The council recognized Feist-Price’s work in developing a community-based HIV prevention program for adolescent females in Louisville’s housing developments and a school-based HIV prevention program for adolescents in South Africa.

15.        UK’s Fund-raising Campaign Moves Closer to Goal

The Campaign for the University of Kentucky, launched in September 2000, has raised nearly $455 million, about 76 percent of its $600 million goal.  The campaign ends June 30, 2003.

16.        UK Chemical Engineering Professor Is Elected to National Academy

Winston Ho, professor of chemical and materials engineering, UK College of Engineering, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering, thereby earning one of the highest professional distinctions that can be accorded an engineer.  Academy membership honors those who have made “important contributions to engineering theory and practice” and those who have demonstrated “unusual accomplishment in the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology.”  Ho was cited “for invention and commercialization of novel separation technologies and the development of new theoretical models for membrane separations.”  Ho joined the UK chemical and materials faculty in 1999 after serving as senior vice president of technology at Commodore Separations Technology, Inc., Kennesaw, Ga.  For 11 years prior to that he was a researcher with Exxon Research and Engineering Co. in Annandale, N.J.   The New Jersey Inventors Congress and Hall of Fame named him its Inventor of the Year in 1991.

17.        UK Children’s Hospital, SAFE KIDS Promote Child Passenger Safety

In February, the Fayette County SAFE KIDS Coalition, led by the UK Children’s Hospital, celebrated Child Passenger Safety with a variety of events, including distribution of infant seats to the first babies born at three Lexington hospitals on Valentine’s Day.  The events also include inspection of child car seats at a Lexington automobile dealership.

 18.        UK’s Greeks Organize Dance to Raise Money to Fight Pediatric AIDS

More than $10,000 was raised in mid-February at the annual UK Dance Marathon, an event sponsored by the Panhellenic Association, the Interfraternity Council, Student Government and the Student Activities Board.  The money benefits the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, which funds research on HIV and AIDS in children.  UK alumna Ashley Judd serves as an honorary chairperson of the foundation.

19.        Significant Activities of Students

Karen Butler, Nursing doctoral student, presented her paper titled “The Impact of Parental Divorce on College Students,” at the Southern Nursing Research Society’s annual conference in San Antonio, Texas, last month.

Dwayn Chambers, Journalism and Telecommunications, attended the prestigious Poynter Institute's "Class of 2002: Spring Break for College Journalists,” at St. Petersburg, Fla. This is the third straight year that the Poynter Institute has invited a UK student.

Debra J. Flores, Pharmacy, received the American Pharmaceutical Association’s Student Leadership Award for 2002.

Traci Dreyer-Hanes, Library and Information Science, has received a $200 Eleanor Simmons Memorial Grant from the Kentucky School Media Association.

Carol Hoffman, Nursing doctoral student, had an article titled “Booster Seats: The Next Step in Prevention” published in the journal Kentucky Coalition of Nurse Practitioners and Nurse Midwives.

Patti Howard, Nursing doctoral student, received a $500 award from the Kentucky Emergency Nurses Association, a $325 scholarship from the Delta Psi Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International and a $325 Delta Psi research award for her study, “Parents' Beliefs About Children and Gun Safety.”  Her brochure, “Gun Safety: It's No Accident Training Program,” was published by the Emergency Nurses Association in 2001.

Regina Lowry, Nursing doctoral student, had a book chapter titled, “Holistic Health Strategies,” published in Health Promotion Throughout the Lifespan, edited by C.L. Edelman & CL Mandle.

Barbara Nunley, Nursing doctoral student, received a $3,000 grant from the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation for start-up costs for her project, “Assessment and Educational Intervention for Caregivers of Frail Elders.”

Stanley Lee Ridner, Nursing doctoral student,  presented his paper, titled “Smoking Behaviors and Cessation Attempts Among College Students,” at the Southern Nursing Research Society's annual conference in San Antonio, Texas, last month.

Celeste Shawler, Nursing doctoral student, received an $850 research award from Delta Psi Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International for her dissertation “Transitions in the Caregiving Relationships in Elderly Women and Their Adult Daughters During a Traumatic Event.”  She also presented “Music as a Therapeutic Tool for Elderly Individuals” at the Ohio Valley Appalachia Regional Geriatric Education Center Interactive Teleconference Series in October. Also, along with her colleagues Graham Rowles and Dallas High, she published “Key Decision-Making Incidents in the Life of a Nursing Home Resident” in The Gerontologist in 2001.

Scott Treadway, Nursing doctoral student, received a $275 scholarship from Delta Psi and a $500 Delta Psi Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International research award for his study, “Investigating the Feasibility and Impact of Implementing an Enhanced Health/PE Program into the Elementary School Curriculum.”

Dejan Vinkovic, Physics and Astronomy graduate student, was featured on the Discovery Channel and in Nature’s online news service for his research on noises associated with meteor showers.  He also was interviewed by a Canadian radio network.

20.        Significant Faculty and Staff Activities

Debra Anderson, Nursing, has been selected to participate in the American Association of Colleges of Nursing's Leadership for Academic Nursing Program. This year’s long program is designed to develop and enhance leadership skills in new and emerging academic nursing leaders in baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs.

Debra Anderson and Deborah Reed, Nursing, were awarded a $7,639 National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health ERC Pilot Project Research Training grant to investigate workplace and domestic violence among female long-haul truck drivers and the effects on their mental and physical health.

Kurt Anschel, Agricultural Economics, received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual meeting of the Southern Agricultural Economics Association in Orlando.

Sharon Barton, Nursing, and Deby Armstrong, University of Louisville School of Nursing, received first place for their poster entitled, “A Comparative Study: Failure to Thrive in Infants,” at the Annual Pediatric Nursing Awards Luncheon in Philadelphia, Pa. in September.

Patricia Burkhart, Nursing, presented her paper “Children’s Use of Electronic Monitors in Research” at the Southern Nursing Research Society's annual conference in San Antonio, Texas, last month.

James Campbell, Music, has published Rudiments in Rhythm, a collection of 22 original solos to assist percussion and drum students.  The book is published by Meredith Music Publications.

Norma Christman, Nursing, presented her paper “Correlates of Symptom Uncertainty” at the Southern Nursing Research Society's annual conference in San Antonio, Texas, last month.

Lillie Crowley, Lexington Community College, traveled to Washington, D.C., in late November to serve on an Advanced Technology Education Review Panel at the National Science Foundation.

Kevin Donohue, Electrical and Computer Engineering, published “Tissue Classificaton with Generalized Spectrum Parameters” in Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology and “Efficient Architectures and Algorithms for Multicasting Data in Computer Communications Networks” in J. Selected Areas of Communication.

Patricia Dyk, Rural Sociology, received the Southern Rural Sociological Association’s 2002 Excellence in Research award at the association’s recent meeting in Orlando.  She also was elected program-chair elect for the association.

Jim Griffioen, Brent Seales, Ken Calvert and Chris Jaynes, Computer Science, received a three-year, $824,621 grant from the National Science Foundation for their project “The Metaverse: A Laboratory for Digital Media Networks.”

Lynne Hall, Ann Peden and Mary Kay Rayens, Nursing, presented their paper, “The Effect of Intimate Relationships on the Mental Health of College Women,” at the Southern Nursing Research Society's annual conference in San Antonio, Texas, last month.

David Harmon, Animal Sciences, received a grant of $115,000 from Hills Pet Nutrition, Inc., to study the utilization of nutrients in dogs.

Daniel Howe, Veterinary Science, received a grant of $120,000 from Fort Dodge Laboratories to evaluate Sarcocystis neurona antigens in horses.  Sarcocystis neurona is a parasite associated with EPM, a serious neurological disease in horses.

Lynn Kelso, Nursing, received the Society of Critical Care Medicine Presidential Citation at that group's annual meeting last month. This is awarded to members of the society who have demonstrated meritorious service to both the society and to critical care medicine.

Chris Rosenthal, Kernel production manager, and Kelly Kehn, former Kernel graphic designer, received ADDY awards from the Lexington Advertising Club in late January.  Rosenthal’s award was for his design of an ad for WRFL, the student radio station on UK's campus.  Kehn’s was for her design of an ad for Rodney Farmer, a local hairdresser.

Beth Rous, Interdisciplinary Human Development Institute, has been elected to a four-year leadership term with the national Council for Exceptional Children’s Division of Early Childhood.

Brent Rowell, Horticulture, and Ric Bessin, Entomology, received a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant of $170,000 to study alternative production systems for mid-south fruit and vegetable growers.

Al Shapere, Physics and Astronomy, was featured in the Jan. 16 USA Today and on Nature’s online news service for his research on cosmic rays and black holes.  

William Snell, Agricultural Economics, received the Extension Award at the annual meeting of the Southern Agricultural Economics Association in Orlando.

Ruth “Topsy” Staten, Nursing, presented her paper “Health Behaviors of 18- to 24-Year Old College Students,” at the Southern Nursing Research Society's annual conference in San Antonio, Texas, last month.

Tom Stombaugh, Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, received a grant of $130,000 from U.S. Department of Agriculture to investigate sensors for delineation of spatial management zones.

Jeff Stringer, Forestry, was the national award winner for the Forest Resources Association’s 2002 Technical Writing contest.

Paul Taylor, Lexington Community College dean of students, received the Margaret Ruthven Perry Distinguished Journalism Award from the Southern Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers for his article, “The Future of Higher Education in the 21st Century,” which appeared in the SACRAO Journal. 

Tom Tobin, Veterinary Sciences, received a grant of $360,000 from the Kentucky Racing Commission to conduct research concerning new ways to test race horses for the presence of certain legal and illegal substances.

Jun Zhang, Computer Science, gave the keynote address, “Parallel Preconditioning Techniques for Solid Earth Simulation,” at the Workshop on Scalable Solver Software 2002 at the University of Tokyo in December.

Greg Zoll, Lexington Community College, was recently appointed as an educator member of the Review Committee on Dental Laboratory Technology Education for the American Dental Association.