1. UK’s 136th Commencement Features Dual-degree Beckman Scholars
Two of University of Kentucky’s first Beckman Scholars – both dual-degree seekers – will be among the record 4,148 degree candidates at the University’s 136th Commencement on Saturday, May 10, in Memorial Coliseum. Robin Theresa Petroze will receive a Bachelor of Science in biology and a Bachelor of Arts in chemistry with a minor in English. Garrett Sparks will receive his Bachelor of Science in biology and a Bachelor of Arts in English. They received UK’s first Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation scholarships, $17,600 awards supporting undergraduate research. Commencement is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, May 10, at Memorial Coliseum. Mary Sue Coleman, president of the University of Michigan, will be the commencement speaker.
2. Special Awards Mark Research, Scholarship, Community Service
Five members of the UK community will receive special recognition at Commencement with awards for research, scholarship and community service. Joseph Chappell, Agronomy, will receive the 2003 Albert D. and Elizabeth H. Kirwan Memorial Prize, a $5,000 award for distinguished research on plant metabolism and enzyme engineering. Dale Bauer, English, will receive the William B. Sturgill Award, a $2,000 prize presented to a graduate faculty member for outstanding contributions to graduate education at UK. The 2003 Algernon Sidney Sullivan Medallions, which recognize outstanding community service by a non-student, a graduating male senior, and a graduating female senior, will be presented to Curtis William Absher, who recently retired from the UK Cooperative Extension Service, Jonathan deWaal “Finn” Green, and Andrea Joy Murray.
3. UK Ranked 36th Among Top Public Research Universities by NSF
A 4.6 percent increase in expenditures for research earned UK a ranking of 36th among the top 150 public research universities in the annual survey by the National Science Foundation. UK reported $211,721,000 in R&D expenditures for science and engineering research to NSF for fiscal year 2001. UK also ranked 52nd overall among the top 200 public and private universities. R&D for federally financed projects jumped to $86,239,000, a 16.8 percent increase, placing UK 70th among all universities and colleges. And in the area of expenditures for industry-sponsored research, UK reported $12,933,000, a 15.3 percent increase, for a ranking of 49th. For more on the NSF’s Academic Research and Development Expenditures: Fiscal Year 2001 report, see www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/nsf03316/start.htm.
4. UK Honors, Recognition Ceremony Rewards Top StudentsOver 100 UK students were recognized for their hard work and achievements in the classroom, research laboratory, and life during the 2003 University of Kentucky Honors and Recognition Awards Program held recently. Steven Whitson, a senior who majors in history in the College of Arts and Sciences, and Julie Murray, a senior with a topical major in public policy, received the Otis A. Singletary Outstanding Senior Awards. Presented by the UK Student Activities Board, these awards honor both a male and female student who excel in and out of the classroom. Awards given at the ceremony included top UK fellowships, undergraduate research awards, community service awards, academic awards, and the Adelstein Award, which is given to outstanding students with a disability. UK President Lee T. Todd Jr., who presented the prestigious Otis A. Singletary and Charles T. Wethington Jr. Fellowships and Outstanding Senior Awards, told the recipients their academic and leadership abilities placed them among not only the best and brightest students in Kentucky but also the nation.
5. Princess Royal Visits Gluck Equine Research Center
Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, Princess Anne recently visited the Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center. Hosted by UK President Lee T. Todd Jr. and First Lady Patsy Todd, Gluck Director Peter Timoney and Gluck researchers, Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal toured the labs of UK scientists, hearing about the researchers’ strides toward prevention and cure of equine diseases, such as mare reproductive loss syndrome.
6. Provost Names Outstanding Teachers for 2003
Four UK tenured faculty members and three teaching assistants recently received the 2003 Provost Awards for Outstanding Teaching. Provost Michael T. Nietzel presented the awards, which carry cash stipends of $5,000 for the tenured faculty members and $1,000 for the teaching assistants. The winners were Jerzy (Jurek) Jaromczyk, Computer Science, College of Engineering; Carl Lee, Mathematics, College of Arts and Sciences; Leland (Buck) Ryan, Journalism and Telecommunications, College of Communications and Information Studies; and Inmaculada Pertusa-Serva, Hispanic Studies, College of Arts and Sciences. Provost Outstanding Teaching Awards were also presented to teaching assistants Walter Bower and Tammy Marvin Werner, both sociology doctoral candidates, and Bryan Pearce-Gonzales, Hispanic Studies doctoral student.
7. Anatomy and Neurobiology Aging Program Wins $4 Million RenewalThe Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology received a competitive renewal award for the next five years for its National Institutes of Health Aging Program Project grant “Aging of Central Dopaminergic Systems in Primates.” The program project grant, which was funded for its first five years beginning in 1997, is funded at $4 million through January 2008. Don M. Gash, professor and chair of the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology in the UK College of Medicine, is the principal investigator of the grant.
8. Journalist Helen Thomas to Address LCC Commencement
Longtime Washington, D.C., journalist Helen Thomas will deliver the address at Lexington Community College’s 37th Commencement at 7 p.m. Friday, May 9, at Memorial Coliseum. A native of Winchester, Ky., Thomas served for 57 years as a correspondent for United Press International (UPI). She gained fame as the journalist who would end White House news conferences saying “Thank you, Mr. President.”
9. Researchers Provide Foundation for Possible Parkinson’s Treatment
Research conducted at the UK Morris K. Udall Parkinson’s Disease Research Center of Excellence provided the foundation for an innovative treatment of Parkinson’s disease. The treatment, which involves direct drug delivery to the brain, was outlined in the March 31 online edition of Nature Medicine regarding glial cell derived neurotrophic factor. After one year, five patients who received the treatment reported significant improvement in symptoms and no side effects. Greg Gerhardt, professor of Anatomy and Neurobiology and director of UK’s Udall Center, and Don Gash, professor and chair of the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, worked in collaboration with researchers at the Institute of Neurosciences in Bristol, United Kingdom, and the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
10. Six Students Win National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowships
Six UK students have won National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Fellowships, one of the most prestigious and lucrative graduate fellowships in the world. Fellows receive $27,500 per year for three years, plus an additional $10,500 for tuition, making the three-year value of the award exceed $100,000. The 2003 UK NSF Fellows are Natalie Aronson, Chemical Engineering; Jennie Campbell, Mechanical Engineering; Brandon Conley, Chemistry; Craig Duvall; Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering; Angela Green, Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering; and Megan Knowles, Psychology.
11. Scholarships Empower Undergraduate ResearchTwo UK undergraduate science majors will have an opportunity to develop their research expertise under a grant from the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation. Elizabeth Megan Flynn and Anna Margaret Rothert are UK’s 2003-2004 Beckman Scholars. Flynn is majoring in Spanish and agricultural biotechnology and will work in the lab of horticulture professor Robert L. Houtz. Rothert, majoring in chemistry and biology, will work the lab of chemistry professor Sylvia Daunert. In 2002, UK was one of 13 colleges and universities selected nationwide to participate in the Beckman Scholars Program, which provides special grants supporting undergraduate research. Other selected institutions included Boston University, California State University in Los Angeles, Duke University, and the University of California at Los Angeles.
12. College of Pharmacy Students Receive National Honor
The American Pharmacists Association Academy of Students of Pharmacy (APhA-ASP) honored the UK College of Pharmacy student chapter with the Chapter Professionalism Award during its 2003 annual meeting. The APhA-ASP Chapter Professionalism Award was presented to the Kentucky Alliance of Pharmacy Students (KAPS) for its members’ ability to embrace professionalism in all of their activities. KAPS members also were honored for their work in the 2002 Operation Diabetes Campaign and for their work in the 2002 Operation Immunization Campaign.
13. Math and Physics Student Wins Goldwater Scholarship
John H. “Jack” Challis, a junior majoring in physics and mathematics at UK, received a 2003 Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship. He was one of 300 students nationwide who received the award, worth about $7,500. Challis was nominated by John Christopher, Physics. The scholarship covers expenses for tuition, fees, books, and room and board for students pursuing careers in mathematics and the natural sciences, as well as many engineering fields.
14. UK Takes Ovarian Cancer Screenings to Outreach Clinics Across State
UK health care providers are bringing free ovarian cancer screenings closer to women’s homes. The UK Ovarian Cancer Screening Outreach Program offers free ovarian cancer screenings on an ongoing basis at outreach clinics in Somerset, Elizabethtown, Maysville and Prestonsburg. All women over the age of 50, or women over the age of 25 with a documented family history of ovarian cancer, are eligible to participate. The Ovarian Cancer Screening Program screens women using transvaginal sonography, a painless, radiation-free procedure that can be completed in five to 10 minutes. Participants are screened annually. Free ovarian cancer screenings continue to be available in Lexington at the program’s clinic in the UK Whitney-Hendrickson Cancer Facility for Women.
15. LCC Poll Indicates Support for Chandler, Fletcher in Governor’s Race
Democrat Ben Chandler and Republican Ernie Fletcher have strong leads in the races for their respective party’s nominations in the Kentucky gubernatorial election, a poll by Lexington Community College political science students shows. The students surveyed 1,987 registered voters in Fayette and surrounding counties April 9-17. The poll also found a clear majority supporting local takeover of the Kentucky-American Water Company and opposing installation of slot machines at racetracks. The survey interviewed only people who had voted in eight of the previous 12 elections.
16. Program Seeks Undergraduate Students for Summer Biochemistry Research
The UK Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry is recruiting talented undergraduate students from colleges and universities across Kentucky for a hands-on, intensive summer research program. The Biochemistry Summer Research Program will provide research experience to undergraduates interested in careers in biochemistry, cell biology or molecular biology. Participants will perform laboratory experiments under the direction of UK faculty, gaining experience with state-of-the-art techniques and equipment. At the end of the program, participants will present findings in a research symposium at UK. The program, which begins June 2, offers a $3,000 stipend during the 10-week program.
17. Funds Received for Pike County’s Appalachian Music Preservation Project
The Common Knowledge Network received $50,000 from the state’s coal severance tax fund to continue its work with the Appalachian Music Preservation Project in Pike County. The award will be administered by the Appalachian Center to develop a community research center in Pike County. The Common Knowledge Network, a core research program of the UK Appalachian Center, is a web of partnerships, including UK, citizen groups, schools, government agencies, and others, to facilitate sustainable, equitable development in Eastern Kentucky and other Appalachian states.
18. LCC Nuclear Medicine Students Exceed National Average
Results of the 2002 Nuclear Medicine Technology Certification Board examinations show Lexington Community College students received an 86 percent (six of seven graduates) pass rate compared with a national 79 percent pass rate for all 1,072 examinees. Two LCC graduates earned “Pass with Distinction,” defined as a scaled score of 82 through 84. All the graduates are employed in their field with positions in Lexington, Berea, Danville and Elizabethtown.
19. Researchers Test Promising Drug for Alzheimer’s PatientsA drug being tested at the UK Sanders-Brown Center on Aging is showing promise as the first effective treatment for patients in the later stages of Alzheimer’s disease. The drug, memantine, slows the mental and physical deterioration of patients with moderate to severe cases of the disease. The drug blocks the activity of a brain chemical that excites neurons and can, when produced excessively, overstimulate, damage and even kill nerve cells. The UK researchers, including Frederick Schmitt, Neurology, and Greg Cooper, Neurology and medical director of the UK Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center’s outreach clinic at Lexington Clinic, participated in the drug study being led by the New York University School of Medicine.
20. Rockefeller Fellows Make Presentations to Campus Community
The Rockefeller Humanities Fellows gave final presentations of their projects at the end of the first year of the $325,000 grant that brings together international scholars and Appalachian activists who are leaders in new models for partnerships between communities, academics and government. The 2003 fellows included Lynne Faltraco, an activist from Rutherford, North Carolina; Angelyn DeBord, a performance artist, playwright and actor from Nickelsville, Virginia; and Sanjoy Hazarika, an author and researcher from Shillong, in northeast India. The five-year grant is administered by the Appalachian Center and the Committee on Social Theory.
21. General Clinical Research Center Launches Web Site for National Peers
UK is leading the way in a key mission of the National Institutes of Health by helping maintain communications networks among clinical research centers across the nation. The UK General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) Core Lab and Informatics Division recently launched the National GCRC Core Laboratory Web site at the 2003 GCRC national annual conference in Baltimore, Md. The site offers information and communication resources integral to the pursuit of clinical research. It also offers an accessible central forum to maintain cooperative and collaborative relationships among centers throughout the country. M. Chris Langub, director of the UK GCRC CORE Lab and Informatics Division; Nancy Kukulinsky, UK GCRC administrative director; and Hartmut Malluche, UK GCRC program director, were integral to the development of the site.
22. Classics Conference Draws 500 to UK to Focus on Language, Music
Some 500 scholars and college and high school students converged on UK’s campus in early April to share their understanding of classical languages, literature and music. The Classical Association of the Middle West and South included a presentation by Jonathan Shay, a staff psychiatrist at the Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic in Boston that used Homer’s “Illiad” as a prism to examine the impact of ancient and modern warfare on soldiers’ psyche.
23. Geological Survey’s Northern Kentucky Map Will Help Planners
The Kentucky Geological Survey has released “Geologic Map of the Falmouth, Madison and Cincinnati 30 x 60 Minute Quadrangles, Northern Kentucky,” a document that will help transportation and land-use planners in one of the state’s fastest-growing regions. The map provides an understanding of the location and specific mineral composition of different types of rock – information essential for the regional economy and useful in construction and transportation planning. It evaluates a 2,087-square-mile area, illustrating all or parts of 15 counties that together have a population of about 500,000 people, including the cities and towns of Covington, Newport, Burlington, Williamstown, Falmouth, Carrollton, Owenton, Florence, Fort Mitchell and others.
24. Gatton College Inducts Three Into Alumni Hall of Fame
The UK Gatton College of Business and Economics has inducted three people into its Alumni Hall of Fame. The three are Nolen C. Allen of Louisville, retired president of the Louisville CPA firm Cotton and Allen; Lee Congleton of Knoxville, Tenn., president of several coal and construction companies; and Jeffrey L. McWaters of Virginia Beach, Va., founder, chairman and CEO of Amerigroup Corp., a managed care company. This marks the tenth year of the Alumni Hall of Fame, which includes such illuminaries as former Ashland Inc. chairperson Paul E. Chellgren, Outback Steak House founder Chris Sullivan, Louisville stock broker James W. Stuckert, former Governor Edward T. “Ned” Breathitt, and banker and automobile dealership owner Carol Martin “Bill” Gatton.
25. SAFE KIDS Will Emphasize Safety at May 10 Event at Turfland Mall
The Fayette County SAFE KIDS Coalition, led by UK Children’s Hospital, will host “Wrap Your Arms Around Safety” Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 10, at Turfland Mall. Coalition members will have interactive booths for children to learn about fire, water, traffic and sports safety. Children also can have their pictures taken with local mascots. The event is held in conjunction with national SAFE KIDS Week.
26. Conference Helps Officials Prepare Students for Medical School
A conference hosted by the UK College of Medicine and the University of Alabama School of Medicine provided assistance to staff members who help prepare future physicians and scientists for training programs after graduation. The conference “The Run for the M.D. Degree: Students, Changes and Challenges,” was held in Lexington in April. The annual regional meeting involved the Southern Group on Student Affairs, the Organization of Student Representatives, and the Southeastern Association of Advisors for the Health Professions. Some issues addressed during the meetings included improving student services, student financial aid, minority affairs, continuing medical education, and admissions.
27. UK Hosts Seminar Training Literacy Counselors
In mid April, 53 participants attended the Kentucky Adult Educators Literacy Institute at UK to discuss key changes in how they teach adult literacy learners. They received certificates recognizing the completion of their yearlong professional development program. The project is housed in the Collaborative Center for Literacy Development at the UK College of Education.
28. Children’s Miracle Network Celebration to Be Broadcast June 6-8
The annual Children’s Miracle Network Celebration will be broadcast live June 6-8 from Fayette Mall in Lexington on WKYT-TV (Channel 27 in Lexington) and WYMT-TV (Channel 57 in Hazard). All money raised during the broadcast will benefit the UK Children’s Hospital. During the broadcast, the program will feature and celebrate the triumphs of young patients at UK Children’s Hospital and the health issues they face. The annual program recognizes the children as champions, and features the many people who champion the children, including families, health professionals, individuals, volunteers and donors. For more information, call (859) 257-1121.
29. Commercial Weight Loss Shows Better Results Than Self Help
People who lose weight with the help of a commercial program are more likely to keep more pounds off than if they lose weight without help, according to a multi-center study conducted in part by UK and published in the April 9 issue of the Journal of American Medical Association. James W. Anderson, Endocrinology, participated in the six-site clinical study. Over a two-year period, the study compared 212 people in a self-help program with 211 in a commercial weight loss program, Weight Watchers International. Weight Watchers International funded the study. After 26 weeks, the people in the self-help program lost an average of 2 percent of their body weight or an average of 4.5 pounds, while those in the Weight Watchers International lost an average of 13 pounds or 6 percent of their body weight. After two years, the self-help group participants regained all the lost weight. The Weight Watchers group maintained 3 percent (7 pounds) of their weight loss; however, those participants who attended meetings more regularly retained 5 percent (11 pounds) of their weight loss.
30. Walk Against Child Abuse Attracts 200 Participants, Raises $700
The annual College of Education Walk Against Child Abuse, held in April, attracted more than 200 students and volunteers for the fund-raising activity that benefits the Lexington Center for Women, Children and Families. With the help of numerous student organizations, UK athletic teams, and sororities, the college raised more than $700 this year for the center.
31. ‘Star Search’ Talent Scouts Use UK for Regional AuditionsProducers and talent scouts for the CBS-TV show “Star Search” held open auditions at the UK Student Center to screen possible performers for the hit show. The scouts assessed adult and young singers, dancers, models and comedians during two days of auditions that were part of a nationwide talent search.
32. College of Agriculture’s Minority Chapter Wins Regional Recognition
Zelia Holloway, Agriculture Minority Recruitment, reports that UK’s chapter of Minorities in Agricultural, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANNRS) earned first runner up in the Region 3 Chapter of the Year contest. The UK MANNRS chapter was voted Outstanding New Chapter in 2000.
33. Student Awards and Achievements
Tayo Agboke, Economics, and Mindy Smith, Psychology, each received $2,000 scholarships from the Southeastern Conference in recognition of their involvement in community service. Agboke is a safety on the UK football team, while Smith is a balance-beam specialist for the UK gymnastics team.
Samantha Bell, Health Science and Physical Therapy, has been chosen as the winner of the ninth-annual Trent DiGiuro Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship fund was established by family and friends of former UK offensive guard Trent DiGiuro, who died in 1994.
David Brajuha, Kinesiology and Health Promotion, won the National Athletic Trainers' Student Multimedia Award for 2003. Brajuha, the head trainer for the UK volleyball team, won this year’s award for a CD he created on “Core Stability for the Athlete.”
Melody Combs, Lexington Community College Dental Hygiene, has been selected to serve as the 2003 District V Student Delegate to the 2003 American Dental Hygienists’ Association Annual Session in New York City. Combs will represent dental hygiene students from Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio.
David Held, Entomology graduate student, received the Entomological Society of America’s John Henry Comstock Award for graduate student achievement.
Kira Holm, Lexington Community College Dental Hygiene, is one of 63 students throughout the country selected to receive the American Dental Hygienists’ Association Institute for Oral Health Scholarship. Holm will receive $1,000 to assist with her education.
Esse Kang and Mandy Ramey, Lexington Community College Dental Laboratory, have each received $500 from the Don Shear Scholarship Fund. The award is given annually in memory of Shear’s dedication to LCC students and the Dental Lab program. He was a faculty member in the program from 1966 to 1989.
Joe Knuckles, Lexington Community College Dental Laboratory Technology, received a $2,500 scholarship from Ivoclar Vivadent Inc. Only three dental lab students in the United States are selected for this annual honor.
Elgin Mannion and Tammy Werner, Appalachian Center graduate assistants, presented a talk titled “Dependency Revisited: The Debate Over Supplemental Security Income in Eastern Kentucky,” at the Appalachian Studies Association Conference.
Michael Rogers, Entomology graduate student, received a national scholarship award from the Entomological Society of America.
Amanda Staley, Entomology graduate student, won a President’s Prize for her paper on biological control from the Entomological Society of America.
Joy Zabala, Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling doctoral student, made a presentation with Belva C. Collins titled “No Surprises! Conducting Professional Development Via Distance Education Technology” at the American Council on Rural Special Education Annual Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Thirty-seven Lexington Community College students were inducted into the Alpha Phi Kappa chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society in early April. They are John Abner, Paul Bishop, Sandra Blakeman, Justin Bolender, Jennifer Brandis, Robert Chancellor, Shannah Click, Lisa Coffield, Andrew Cronin, Trina Day, Roger Decker, Nancy Dixon, Valerie Dwyer, Erin Filipp, Casey Frederick, Ashley Green, Courtnie Gregg, William Griffing, Regina Johnson, Sherry Johnson, Jeong-Eun Kim, Emily Lozier Johnson, Amanda Lynn, Jennifer McCoy, Kallen Montgomery, Holly Myers, Kyla Neal, Kyle Noe, Rebecca Petly, Lucky Rucker, Raegan St. Denis, Stacy Stevenson, Kent VanKuster, Patricia Wallace, Laura Whitehouse, Shelly Winstead, and Mary Wood. Phi Theta Kappa is the international honor society for two-year colleges, with more than 1,200 chapters at community, technical and junior colleges in all 50 states, Canada, Germany, Japan and American territories abroad.
34. Faculty and Staff Awards and Achievements
Sheryl Abercrombie, Diagnostic Radiology, was selected as the UK Hospital Employee of the Month for May.
Jayakrishna Ambati, Ophthalmology, received a 2003 Dennis W. Jahnigen Career Development Scholars Award from the American Geriatric Society, the leading clinical society devoted to the care of older adults.
Brent W. Ambrose, Finance, was made a Fellow of the Weimer School of Advanced Studies in Real Estate and Land Economics at the Homer Hoyt Advanced Studies Institute.
Doris Baker, Health Sciences, was selected to represent the Association of Schools of Allied Health Professions as a participant in the Coalition for Allied Health Leadership program.
Michael Bardo, Center of Membrane Sciences, received a $1,100,860 National Institutes of Health grant for “Development of Novel Therapies for Methamphetamine Abuse.”
Dwight Billings, Appalachian Center, delivered the College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor lecture “Writing Appalachia: Representing Class and Poverty in the Kentucky Mountains.”
William P. Bintz, Curriculum and Instruction, was a co-recipient of a 2003 Improving Educator Quality grant by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education in the amount of $300,000 for a statewide initiative titled Using High Quality and Award-winning Literature to Support Reading Comprehension in Mathematics and Science.
Lars Bjork, Tom Guskey, Skip Kifer and Eric Anderman, Education, received a $200,000 grant from the Kentucky Department of Education for research focusing on the analysis of the impact of five differentiated compensation models on teacher retention.
Sandy Carey, Lexington Community College dean of academic affairs, presented “The Role of Course Assessment in Program Review” as part of an opening panel at the North Carolina Assessment Symposium held in April, in Raleigh, N.C.
Lisa Cliggett, Anthropology, received a two-year, $200,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for research on land cover change in Zambia, Central Africa.
Alfred Cohen, Surgery and director of the UK Markey Cancer Center, was elected president of the Society of Surgical Oncology.
Belva C. Collins, Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling, presented “Using Video Strategies to Teach Functional Skills to Students with Moderate to Severe Disabilities” at the American Council on Rural Special Education Annual Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. She also made a presentation with John Schuster, Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling, on “Research on Instructional Methods in Low Incidence Rural Classrooms” at the American Council on Rural Special Education Annual Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Julie Costitch, Health Sciences and Kentucky School of Public Health, will present “Validity Testing of the CDC’s Public Health Preparedness and Response Capacity” at the Second Public Health Systems Research Meeting in Nashville.
Peter Crooks, Pharmacy, was elected as a Fellow of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS), and he is vice president-elect of the AAPS Drug Design and Discovery section.
Lynnette Dirk, Horticulture, received a $200,000 grant from the National Science Foundation’s Metabolic Biochemistry Program for her study “Chloroplast-localized N-terminal Protein Processing by Peptide Deformylase.”
Alan J. DeYoung, Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation, gave an invited talk at the national conference on “Promoting the Economic and Social Vitality of Rural America: The Role of Education” in New Orleans in mid-April.
Jacqueline S. Gibson, Internal Medicine, received the 2003 Sarah Bennett Holmes Award. Presented annually by the UK Women’s Forum, the award recognizes a woman at UK who promotes the growth and well-being of other women.
Tim Gorringe, Physics and Astronomy, received a $530,956 grant from the National Science Foundation for his study “Broken Symmetries and Fundamental Constants With Muons and Pions.”
Rosalind Harris, Community and Leadership Development, earned the Excellence in Teaching Award from the Southern Rural Sociological Association.
Kevin Holm-Hudson, Music, was named to the advisory board for Routledge’s forthcoming American Popular Music book series, an eight-volume encyclopedia aimed at junior high/high school age readers. In May he will present his paper “Two Herzgewächsen in Three Quarter-Tones: Deconstructing Performance (and Reconstructing Analysis) of a Schoenberg Work” at the annual conference of Music Theory Midwest at Indiana University.
Robert Jensen, Art History, will be a senior research fellow at the Getty Center in Los Angeles for the 2003-2004 academic year.
Deneese L. Jones, Curriculum and Instruction and UK's American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow for 2002-2003, was a panelist for the Kansas Office of Women in Higher Education Annual Conference, in April, at the Kansas University Alumni Center. She spoke on “Development/Leadership Opportunities: The ACE Fellowship Program.”
John Kiefer, Kentucky Geological Survey, was selected as the Geological Society of America’s chair of the newly created National Division for Earth Science and Society.
Betty King, Community and Leadership Development, received grants totaling $127,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for projects helping Kentucky agricultural producers add value to fruits and vegetables through certified kitchens, and adopt size-appropriate technology for hill farming.
Brian Lahmann, General Surgery, has been selected as UK Hospital’s Resident of the Month for May.
Ronald Langley, Survey Research Center, took part in a meeting on research misconduct in survey research. It resulted in the release of a best practices statement for detecting and preventing falsified data by survey organizations. Thirty directors and administrators of research survey organizations, the Census Bureau and data-collection organizations also attended.
Erla Mowbray, Lexington Community College, has been elected chairperson of the Kentucky Council of Associate Degree Nursing.
Krishnamurty Muralidhar, Decision Science and Information Systems, won the Best Interdisciplinary Paper Award at the 33rd annual meeting of the Decision Sciences Institute, in San Diego, Calif.
Lynn Penn, Membrane Sciences, was elected vice president of the Adhesion Society, a professional society devoted to surfaces, interfaces and adhesion. Penn will become president of the society in 2004.
Karl Raitz, Geography, has been named the official Kentucky State Geographer by Governor Paul Patton.
Chris Rice, Appalachian Center, made a presentation on environmental organizing, titled “Going Globalocal: Grassroots Organizations and the Production of Public Spaces for Sustainability,” at the Appalachian Studies Association Conference.
Tom Robl and Jack Groppo, Center for Applied Energy Research, received a U.S. patent for “Technology and Methodology for the Production of High Quality Polymer Filler and Super Pozzolan from Fly Ash.”
Kathy Sheppard-Jones, Interdisciplinary Human Development Institute, finished collaboration and production on a video titled “An Independent Life” for the Kentucky Division of Protection and Advocacy agency. The video highlights four individuals with disabilities who have moved from facilities into the community.
Orlando “Tubby” Smith, Athletics, received the National Association of Basketball Coaches 2003 Division I Coach of the Year Award, giving him a sweep of the six major coaching awards recognized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
Will Snell, Agricultural Economics, traveled to Geneva in February to speak to an international conference about the economic and social impact of leaf tobacco production. Conference attendees included World Health Organization officials and European Union policy makers.
John van Willigen, Anthropology, won two recent awards: the 2003 Sol Tax Distinguished Service Award of the Society for Applied Anthropology at the society’s recent annual meeting in Portland, Ore., and the Omer C. Stewart Memorial Award of the High Plains Society for Applied Anthropology at this society’s recent conference in Estes Park, Colo.
Kenneth R. Warlick, Interdisciplinary Human Development Institute, was elected treasurer of the Learning Disabilities Association of America. He will also serve on the Executive Committee, Public Policy Committee, Advocacy Committee, and as adviser to the Education Committee.
Laura Williams, Lexington Community College, received the 2003 Phi Theta Kappa Horizon Award recognizing new advisers who participate in regional and international programs.
Updated 5/5/03 by Chuck Ham