By Blair Hoover

Wildcat fans around the country have been rooting for the men's basketball team in the NCAA tournament. While the Wildcats are battling on the court, three University of Kentucky students are in Chicago this week to pit their brains against students from other Sweet 16 schools.

UK students Ryan Morales, Christina Zhang and Evelyn Mechas will appear on a new ESPN quiz show — "Bracket Genius." Hosted by Trey Wingo of ESPN's "SportsCenter," "Bracket Genius" aims to spotlight the academic genius of students at schools participating in March Madness. The show matches Sweet 16 schools against one another in a bracket-style competition for the chance to have their team crowned the inaugural Bracket Genius Champion and share the prize of $100,000.

​Biosystems engineering seniors Morales and Zhang and Mechas, a

By Blair Hoover

Note: This article contains a reference to UK's Bias Incident Response Team, which no longer exists. To report discrimination, harassment or sexual misconduct, visit https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?UnivofKentucky&layout_id=30.

The 1934 mural painted by Ann Rice O'Hanlon on display in Memorial Hall has been a topic of campus debate for many years. This Friday, March 24, at 1:30 p.m. in Memorial Hall, University of Kentucky's African American and Africana Studies Program will host a panel discussion after the mural's unveiling.

Panelist for the discussion include:

By Loretta Stafford

The University of Kentucky Institute for Rural Health Policy recently published a report detailing Chellgren Student Fellow and Honors biology junior Elijah Myers's research on buprenorphine treatment availability in Kentucky.

Along with his mentor, Ty Borders, who is a professor in the UK College of Public Health, Myers co-authored 

By Gail Hairston and Whitney Hale

Ernest Yanarella, chair of the Department of Political Science for the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, is one of 10 scholars worldwide who have received a Shanghai Elite Collaborative Research Grant. The grant will allow Yanarella to join his colleague Lu Chao, professor of management at Shanghai University, for a month in China, enhancing their research. Yanarella's research was eligible for this prestigious grant due to the joint effort of UK’s Confucius Institute and the Office of China Initiatives whose mission is to

By Kathy Johnson

The "Civic Life" panel series, developed by the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, is a new weekly forum exploring a wide range of issues confronting society today. Open to the entire UK campus, these lunchtime panel discussions will take place each Wednesday for the remainder of the semester, and the series kicks off Wednesday, March 22, with a discussion of immigration — a topic making headlines worldwide.

“At the core of the mission of the College of Arts and Sciences is the commitment to prepare students to be engaged citizens in our Commonwealth, in an increasingly diverse nation, and in an ever-more interconnected world," said Mark Kornbluh, dean of the college. "Faculty members across all of the disciplines of our college take this commitment seriously and are seeking to provide

By Gail Hairston

As part of the University of Kentucky Visiting Writers Series, acclaimed author Dinaw Mengestu will read from his works at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 22, in the Creative Arts Studio (Room 153) in Holmes Hall, 111 Avenue of Champions in Lexington. Mengestu, an Ethiopian-American, has written three novels, including “All Our Names,” published in 2014.

“All Our Names” is an epic love story that follows Isaac, a refugee fleeing war-torn Uganda. Isaac finds himself in the American Midwest and begins a passionate affair with the social worker assigned to him. The book was named a best book of the year by The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, The Christian Science Monitor and The Boston Globe, among other major publications.

Mengestu’s “The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears,” published in 2007, was a New York Times Notable Book, won The

By Dave Melanson

Twenty-four experts from industry, academia and government have accepted appointments to serve on the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research (CAER) Advisory Board. The advisory board, which will meet in April 2017, provides counsel and guidance to the center about emerging trends in energy research and development.

“I thank all of the advisory board members for their willingness to serve,” said Rodney Andrews, director of CAER. “The depth and breadth of expertise will provide the center and our research teams with valuable, strategic insight."

Since 1977, CAER has served as one of the nation’s premier energy research and development institutes, collaborating with companies and government agencies to help maximize Kentucky’s — and the nation’s — energy resources.

From

By Rebecca Stratton

Want to get to know the people behind some of the biggest student leadership positions on campus? We did, too! That's why we've introduced "see blue." #selfie — a series on UKNow that lets student leaders from across campus tell us a little bit more about themselves and their organizations. Up this week, College Mentors for Kids President Maddie Conrad

Meet Maddie Conrad, this year's president of the University of Kentucky's College Mentors for Kids. A senior psychology major and neuroscience minor, Conrad claims she always enjoyed working with kids but truly found her passion as she got involved with College Mentors once she got to UK. Conrad has mentored more than 100 students through this program! Learn more about Conrad in her "see blue." #selfie!

UKNow: What year are you

By Gail Hairston

For the first time, the University of Kentucky is hosting the southern chapter of the American Conference for Irish Studies (ACIS), March 9-11.

With over 50 speakers from 17 states and several speakers from Ireland, the event has something for anyone even slightly interested in the history and culture of “The Emerald Isle.”

“I am delighted that we are able to host — for the first time — the southern regional meeting of the Conference for Irish Studies here at the University of Kentucky,” UK English Professor Jonathan Allison said.

All events are free and open to members of both the UK and Lexington communities. Allison said he especially wants to invite students.  

Friday’s schedule includes the keynote address, poetry and music. Ronald Schuchard, the

By Loretta Stafford

University of Kentucky's Derek Gaiser, a secondary social studies education and history junior from Ludlow, Kentucky, has been awarded an English-Speaking Union (ESU) Scholarship presented by the English-Speaking Union Kentucky Branch. The scholarship will cover Gaiser's expenses for summer study at Oxford University.

The Kentucky Branch of the English-Speaking Union awards a limited number of scholarships to qualified Kentucky college students for courses offered at institutions in the United Kingdom. Scholarship awards include tuition, lodging and

By Loretta Stafford

Over the last year, University of Kentucky neuroscience senior and Cuban native Giamnys "Gia" Valdés Lastre has worked closely with Mark Prendergast, professor of neuroscience and psychology in the UK College of Arts and Sciences, and the UK College of Pharmacy's Center for Pharmaceutical Research and Innovation on research concerning extremophile bacteria and alcohol-related brain damage.

As an undergraduate research assistant in Prendergast's lab, Valdés Lastre is part of a team that has studied a species of bacteria found at the site of the Ruth Mullins coal fire

By Kathryn Macon

The University of Kentucky Department of Physics and Astronomy will host a public lecture on cosmology next week for a general audience. Presented by UK Physics Professor Ganpathy Murthy, "History of the Universe from the Big Bang to Now" will begin 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 7, in the William T. Young Library.

The lecture is designed to be accessible to everyone without sacrificing scientific accuracy. This event is free and open to the public and a question and answer period will follow the presentation.  

Murthy received his doctoral degree from Yale University and his research is in condensed matter theory. In recent years, he has been focused on "strongly correlated electron systems," in which the interactions between

By Gail Hairston, Amy Jones-Timoney, and Kody Kiser

Six University of Kentucky educators were named recipients of the UK Alumni Association 2017 Great Teacher Award Tuesday night.

The recipients are:

Award recipients were honored at the UK Alumni Association Great Teacher Award Recognition Dinner last night at the Hyatt Regency in Lexington. They were also recognized during the Vanderbilt

By Dave Melanson

 The University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research’s (CAER) Biofuels and Environmental Catalysis Group has received a $1.2 million U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grant for their novel work in utilizing carbon dioxide from coal-fired power plants to develop bioplastics.

The DOE's Office of Fossil Energy (FE) has selected seven projects to receive $5.9 million to focus on novel ways to utilize carbon dioxide. All of the selected research projects will directly support FE’s Carbon Storage program’s Carbon Use and Reuse research and development portfolio. This portfolio will develop and test novel approaches that convert carbon dioxide captured from coal-fired power plants to useable products. The projects will

By Gail Hairston

University of Kentucky graduate student in anthropology, Mary Elizabeth Schmid, won the Eric R. Wolf Prize from the Society for the Anthropology of Work for her paper "Tomatoes and Temporality: Political Economies of Time in the Fresh-Market Tomato Industry in the Southeastern U.S." The award is presented by the American Anthropological Association.

Schmid's dissertation research is making original contributions to a number of fields. Her findings contest the stereotypes about Latino workers in southeastern agriculture and global circulations of labor and commodities. She is studying binational Latin@ family agricultural enterprises in Mexico and the southeastern U.S.

Schmid is finding that women have an important role in these production and marketing networks, a contribution often overlooked in the literature. Latin@ entrepreneurs are

By Lisa Lockman and Kristie Law

The UK Women's Forum, formally established during the 1991-1992 academic year,  is currently celebrating over 25 years of open discussion, creativity, and leadership development for all women employed at the University of Kentucky.  Women's Forum is also celebrating the 17 women who have been nominated for the 2017 Sarah Bennett Holmes Award — an award created by UK Women's Forum.

Established in 1994, the Sarah Bennett Holmes Award honors a distinguished former dean of women at the University of Kentucky. Sarah Bennett Holmes, who was widowed at a young age, raised four children while completing her own education. She went on to have a successful career at UK where she inspired

By Gail Hairston

 For the second year, the University of Kentucky will observe World Languages Day Friday, Feb. 24.

The event is organized by UK College of Arts and Sciences Department of Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures and Cultures, Hispanic Studies and the college’s International Student and Programs represented by coordinator Megan Koshurba.

UK’s World Languages Day will host about 120 local students from Scott County High School, Tates Creek High School, Carter G. Woodson Academy and Bryan Station High School. The high school students will attend classes in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Russian and Spanish.

An open house is slated 1-2 p.m. in Buell Armory

By Gail Hairston

University of Kentucky Associate Professor of Anthropology Carmen Martínez Novo has been awarded an American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Fellowship for the year 2017-2018.

She will use it to complete her new book, tentatively titled “The Decline of Indigenous Rights in Latin America.” Martínez Novo will address the following questions:

By Tiffany Molina and Gail Hairston

The connection between two neurons in the brain has been an intriguing topic to Robin Cooper, associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky. Cooper has been at UK for 21 years teaching his true passion: synaptic transmissions. Cooper said he loves it so much that he “often goes on tangents” and has to be reminded by his students to stay on track during lectures.

When he came to Kentucky, Cooper said he noticed there was a need for outreach to the younger community. He started a regional science fair program for young middle and high school students with an interest in science. The program, which has been running for 12 years, has been a success.

“Working with the teachers and students

By Lori Minter

A record number of students made the University of Kentucky Dean's List for the fall 2016 semester. The 7,408 students were recognized for their outstanding academic performance.  That's an increase of more than 200 over the previous record reached in fall 2015 when the number of students on the UK Dean's List surpassed 7,000 for the first time.  Last semester's Dean's List includes over 700 more students than the spring 2016 semester's list.

To make a Dean’s List in one of the UK colleges, a student must earn a grade point average of 3.6 or higher and must have earned 12 credits or more in that semester, excluding credits earned in pass-fail classes.  Some UK colleges require a 3.5 GPA to make the Dean’s List.

The full Dean's List can be accessed by visiting www.uky.edu/PR