By Beckman Foundation 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 20, 2024) — University of Kentucky graduate Elaf Ghoneim was born and raised in Lexington. Her family, originally from Libya, established a tight-knit, community-oriented home that stressed service and advocacy. 

This upbringing cultivated her self-assuredness and instilled a deep sense of purpose, nurturing her two great passions: helping people and a love of science. Ghoneim aspires to pursue a career in medicine, where she hopes to help her community.

“In terms of service, my parents are

By Jennifer T. Allen

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Rosemary Calabro found her love of research as an undergrad examining nanoparticles in materials chemistry. After graduating with her bachelor’s degree from Indiana University in Bloomington, she applied to many graduate schools searching for the perfect fit. That’s when she found professors Doo Young Kim and Dong-Sheng Yang at the University of Kentucky.  

“Dr. Yang’s lab historically had been all laser spectroscopy, and I was the first materials person in his group,” said Calabro, who earned her doctorate in chemistry at UK in 2020. “Dr. Kim’s group was more carbon materials, which is what I was interested in studying, so I was able to bridge two interests and be co-advised.” 

Calabro

By Jennifer T. Allen

LEXINGTON, Ky. – University of Kentucky researchers working on the Kentucky Hispanic Heritage Project recently launched a website with enhanced searching capabilities. The website, khhp.org, is a digital space dedicated to the history, culture, achievements and contemporary experience of people of Hispanic descent living in Kentucky. The site offers users a variety of ways to browse and search materials in the collection in both Spanish and English.  

“Kentucky is a much more culturally and linguistically diverse state than most people believe –both those from outside the state and even those who live within it,” said Ruth Brown, assistant professor in the Department of Hispanic Studies in

By Rick Childress 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 13, 2024) — When people breathe in radon gas, they are more likely to develop lung cancer, particularly when they also breathe tobacco smoke. Radon, a radioactive gas, occurs naturally when uranium breaks down in rock and soil.  

Radon is invisible — you cannot smell, see or taste the gas, and there are no immediate symptoms. Most exposure to radon occurs in the home after it seeps in through gaps and cracks around service pipes and in foundations. Because of Kentucky’s geologic makeup,

By Richard LeComte

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Children may get on their parents’ nerves, but this new book helps kids understand how those nerves work. 

University of Kentucky professor Chana Akins, Ph.D., and former doctoral student Beth Ann Rice have written “

By Adrienne Clarke

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 7, 2024) — The places we live in impact people’s lives in so many ways: they determine networks of friends and coworkers, what resources and opportunities are available, the quality of schools, a sense of security and belonging and even how long people live. Yet too many of live in areas plagued by rising crime, school violence, family disintegration, addiction, alienation and despair. Even the wealthiest neighborhoods are not immune; while poverty exacerbates these challenges, they exist in ZIP codes rich and poor, rural and urban and everything in between.

The University of Kentucky Lewis Honors College, the Gatton College of Business and

By Lindsey Piercy

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 8, 2024) — On Nov. 9, community members are invited to gather at the Lyric Theater & Cultural Arts Center in Lexington for a powerful exploration of Kentucky’s history of racial violence.

The symposium, “Reckoning, Remembering, Restoring: A Symposium on the History of Racial Violence in Kentucky” aims to “confront the often-overlooked history of racial violence across the state and explore the role of digital humanities in telling this essential story.”

The symposium, which runs 9 a.m.-4 p.m., is free and open to the public, though

By Jenny Wells-Hosley 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 7, 2024) — This Saturday, the University of Kentucky Air Force ROTC Detachment 290 will remember and honor veterans and service personnel who are or were prisoners of war and/or missing in action through the revival of the POW/MIA run across Central Kentucky.

The student-led run is set to begin 6 a.m. Nov. 9, at UK’s Buell Armory. Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton will speak just before the run begins. Participants will then run approximately 29 miles to the Vietnam War Memorial in Frankfort.

By Lindsay Travis

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 6, 2024) — A new research project is investigating how coral reefs heal from damage and withstand environmental threats, particularly those associated with climate change.

A three-year, $1.3 million grant from the W. M. Keck Foundation is funding the multicampus collaboration, with U.C. Santa Barbara leading the effort.

“Our primary goal is to develop a comprehensive model that links coral

By Lindsey Piercy and Kody Kiser

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 4, 2024) — In today’s political landscape, the power of a single post, tweet or video can shift public opinion, drive movements and even shape policies.

From trending hashtags to viral tweets, social media isn’t just an accessory in politics anymore — it’s a microphone, a platform and, at times, a battleground.

But how did we get here? And where is this headed?

In the social media arena, candidates and voters engage in real-time debates, raise awareness for causes and rally support. But as its role in politics continues to grow, so do questions about its influence.

On this edition of “Behind

By Jenny Wells-Hosley

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 31, 2024) — The 43rd annual Kentucky Book Festival will return to Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Lexington, 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Nov. 2.

More than 150 authors will be in attendance, meeting readers and signing books. Patrons can enjoy a full slate of main stage events alongside educational workshops and craft talks, as well as a children’s schedule of events.

Headlining this year’s program are Al Roker of NBC’s “Today Show,” Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jonathon Eig, New York Times best

By Jennifer T. Allen

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 31, 2024) — Frank X Walker, celebrated poet and former Poet Laureate of Kentucky, recently released his latest collection of historical poetry, “Load in Nine Times,” published by Liveright. 

Walker, an English professor in the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, draws upon the rich tapestry of Black Civil War soldiers’ experiences, including the stories of his own ancestors who enlisted in the Union Army for their freedom. Moving chronologically from the antebellum era through Reconstruction, Walker weaves together the voices of the U.S. Colored Troops, their families, slave owners and such historical figures as Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln and Margaret Garner. The result is a series of “persona poems.”

“This book feels like the

By Lindsey Piercy and Manuela Blanco Suarez

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 30, 2024) — Christal Badour, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky, has been honored as the 2024 Psychologist of the Year by the Kentucky Psychological Association.

The association, which advances psychology as

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Two University of Kentucky graduates from the College of Arts and Sciences recently participated in the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program. The competitive employment opportunity allows young professionals to live and work in cities, towns and villages throughout Japan.  

Most participants serve as assistant language teachers and work in public and private schools throughout Japan; some work as coordinators for international relations as interpreters and translators. 

The

By Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Joseph Clark, associate professor of history in the University of Kentucky’s College of Arts and Sciences, has started a fellowship with the National Humanities Center in Research Triangle Park in North Carolina. 

Each fellow will work on an individual research project and can share ideas in seminars, lectures and conferences. As one of 31 fellows, Clark will work on the book project “Witchcraft and Contraband in the Early Modern Caribbean.”  

“During my time at the NHC I’ll be drafting my chapters and taking my work to seminars and workshops,” Clark said, “At the same time, I’ll be processing the archival research I’ve already completed in Spain and Mexico and figuring out what additional research I will need to undertake to complete the book.” 

Clark’s area of expertise lies

By Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky – Graciela Martinez can see the forest for the trees. 

Martinez, an Environmental and Sustainability Studies major in the University of Kentucky’s College of Arts and Sciences, is joining several students in a year-long internship through UK’s Office of Sustainability. For her internship, she will be working with UK’s Urban Forest Initiative, which promotes the tree canopy on campus. 

This fall, Martinez said, she’ll be helping run the forest initiative and organize such events as Tree Week, which was in October. Then in the spring, like all interns, she’ll develop an individual project and report on it at an event. 

“I’ll be working on the planning side," said Martinez, who’s

By Haven L. Patrick 

LEXINGTON Ky. (Oct. 21, 2024) —The University of Kentucky Office of Undergraduate Research has selected the sixth annual 5-Minute Fast Track Research Competition finalists. These undergraduates vied in the competition’s preliminary round and were selected as Top 10 finalists to present their research during the final round from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 21, in the Healthy Kentucky Research Building’s Seminar Room 150.

Finalists will present their research in five minutes in front of a panel of judges and a live audience. This challenges students to develop their academic, presentation and research communication skills while also

By Erin Wickey 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 21, 2024) — In an era where American political discourse often unfolds online, a University of Kentucky researcher is examining  evolving communication strategies with a focus on social media.

Maggie Macdonald, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Political Science in the UK College of Arts and Sciences, studies elite political behavior in the United States. Most of her work has concentrated on congressional campaigns and how they use social media to achieve their electoral goals.

“I started graduate school in 2015 and decided to study Congress and Twitter,”

By Jennifer T. Allen 

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Philip Mink, in the University of Kentucky Department of Anthropology in the College of Arts and Sciences, has been named director of the Office of State Archaeology and the William S. Webb Museum of Anthropology. 

Mink has been at UK for 25 years, most recently serving as the assistant director of the Office of State Archaeology. He replaces longtime director George Crothers, who recently retired.  

“The work of these two entities is significant. It’s critical that we document the history of the Commonwealth and I think it’s especially important that this be done at the flagship university of the Commonwealth,”

By Brandon Brown 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 18, 2024) — As a mentor and role model, University of Kentucky alumna Connor Perry is using her title to inspire young girls across the Commonwealth, proving that dreams can become reality.  

Perry, a recent graduate of the UK College of Arts and Sciences, won the Miss Kentucky USA 2024 title in her first pageant competition.  

In recognition of National Kentucky Day, observed on Oct. 19 to mark the day Kentucky became a state in 1792, Perry shares what