News
by Sarah Geegan
This semester, students at the University of Kentucky are learning about American leadership and democracy as it unfolds.
An interactive course, "UKC 180: America Through the Lens of the 2012 Election," utilizes an innovative classroom design and extensive multi-media resources to focus on the upcoming presidential election. Through lectures, guest speakers, in-class polls, group work in "caucuses" and interaction with real congressional staffers, students are gaining a deeper understanding of American politics, and addressing relevant issues in real time.
Mark Lawrence Kornbluh, dean of the UK College of Arts and Sciences, and
by Sarah Geegan
Associate professor of geography, Matthew Zook, was featured in two articles in The Economist, providing insight into the geoweb—particularly the practices surrounding user-generated data, such as geocoded tweets or other commentary.
The Economist article titled "The new local," argues that the physical and digital worlds are becoming increasingly intertwined through the use of high-speed internet and innovative technology.
The article references Zook's forthcoming paper, in which he, along with Mark Graham, a graduate of UK currently at the Oxford Internet Institute (part of the university) and
by Sarah Geegan
Alfred Shapere, professor in the UK Department of Physics and Astronomy, was featured in "Nature," an international weekly journal of science, for his recent paper describing framework or starting point to explaining how particles cope with fluctuations in gravity.
Co-authored by Shapere, Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge and MIT graduate student Zhaoxi Xiong, the paper presents a straightforward way for quantum particles to move smoothly from one kind of ‘topological space’ to a very different one.
The collaborators suggest that their work might provide a simplified framework for understanding
By Sarah Geegan & Tess Perica
University of Kentucky Biology professor Robin Cooper recently won an award from the Kentucky Academy of Science (KAS), commending his excellence in teaching.
The KAS Outstanding College/University Teacher award is not awarded every year, but rather only when the organization sees fit to recognize a particularly excellent professor.
To qualify for the award, recipients must have made some significant contribution primarily to science teaching, but also to research at the university level in Kentucky.
These contributions are interpreted broadly to mean contribution directly to the Commonwealth, or the
by Sarah Geegan
The University of Kentucky Confucius Institute (UKCI) administered an exam in mid-October, which amounts to more than just a language proficiency score.
The HSK exam, designed for non-native Chinese speakers, determines U.S. college students' eligibility for short-term and long-term scholarships to study in China. As increasing numbers of UK students express academic interest in the region, because of UKCI's strengthening ties with Chinese institutions and campus initiatives such as the College of Arts and Sciences' Year of China, this exam has become a crucial component in acquiring scholarships.
UKCI Director
Daniel Prior, Lecture "How a Horse Theft Becomes a Praise Poem"
Date: Wednesday, October 31, 2012 - 4:30pm to 6:30pm
Location: Keeneland Library, Keeneland, 4201 Versailles Rd.
Equestrian art takes many forms, even poetic. In 1864 a band of Kirghiz nomads in Central Asia crossed into China and stole a herd of several hundred horses from their long-time Mongol enemies at the cost of many lives. This unprovoked act of violence, which was an episode in a major outbreak of unrest, soon became the subject of a Kirghiz epic-like narrative poem celebrating the heroism of the raiders. Literature traditions show us that stealing herds of horses and protecting them from theft has held worldwide fascination for millennia. Daniel Prior, in studying and translating the previously unpublished
by Sarah Geegan
The UK College of Arts and Sciences inducted four new members to the A&S Hall of Fame on Friday, Oct. 19. The "Celebrate A&S: Alumni and Faculty Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony" took place at the Singletary Center for the Arts. Two faculty members and two alumni joined the ranks of the current 30 alumni and 6 emeritus faculty A&S Hall of Fame members. "The College of Arts and Sciences is honored to recognize these distinguished and accomplished faculty and alumni," said Mark Lawrence Kornbluh, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. "They exemplify the academic
Story by Erin Holaday Ziegler
Photo by Dana Rogers
It's 11:30 a.m. on a Thursday, and we're about to have a scientific throwdown.
University of Kentucky freshmen pull out their iPads, gather in small groups around 21st century tables and begin to discuss physics problems in a way that's as far from conventional as the touch screens they are intently gazing upon.
This is just a typical afternoon for physics and astronomy professor and chair Mike Cavagnero's experimental A&S Wired research course: the Science of Measurement.
"Measurement and observation are the foundations of science," said Cavagnero. "Measurement is the first step in all of science, actually, and it's a step that's often left out of K-12 science education."
The 26 A&S Wired
by Sarah Geegan
Associate professor of geography, Matthew Zook, was featured in two articles in The Economist, providing insight into the geoweb—particularly the practices surrounding user-generated data, such as geocoded tweets or other commentary.
The Economist article titled "The new local," argues that the physical and digital worlds are becoming increasingly intertwined through the use of high-speed internet and innovative technology.
The article references Zook's forthcoming paper, in which he, along with Mark Graham, a graduate of UK currently at the Oxford Internet Institute (part of the university) and
by Lea Mann and Whitney Hale
Fans of folk music and the dulcimer should check out the next two concerts in the "Appalachia in the Bluegrass" concert series. The first concert will feature Si Kahn, a chart-topping folk music player, at noon Friday, Oct. 26, in the Niles Gallery, located in the University of Kentucky Lucille C. Little Fine Arts Library and Learning Center. The following week, Don Pedi, an accomplished dulcimer player, will perform at noon Friday, Nov. 2. Both concerts are free and open to the public.
Folk Musician and Activist to Play at Niles Gallery
Si Kahn has performed at concerts and festivals all over the world, including events in
By Sarah Geegan
This semester, students within the College of Arts and Sciences are learning about American democracy as it unfolds.
An interactive course, "UKC 180: America Through the Lens of the 2012 Election," utilizes an innovative classroom design and extensive multi-media resources to focus on the upcoming presidential election. Through lectures, guest speakers, in-class polls, group work in "caucuses" and interaction with real congressional staffers, students are gaining a deeper understanding of American politics, and addressing relevant issues in real time.
College of Arts and Sciences Dean, Mark Lawrence Kornbluh and History professor
by Sarah Geegan
The UK College of Arts and Sciences inducted four new members to the A&S Hall of Fame on Friday, Oct. 19.
The "Celebrate A&S: Alumni and Faculty Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony" took place at the Singletary Center for the Arts. Two faculty members and two alumni joined the ranks of the current 30 alumni and 6 emeritus faculty A&S Hall of Fame members.
The ceremony followed an academic theme; the inductees wore formal academic regalia and received medallions with the UK A&S seal.
The 2012 Hall of Fame inductees:
Matthew Cutts, current leader of Google’s webspam
By Victoria Dekle
Why do some students seek a tiara as well as a diploma? What is it like to live in the Bible Belt as part of a same-sex relationship? What are the advantages of living with a LBGTQ identity in today’s world?
If you find these questions intriguing, you are in luck because they are the basis of three recently published books by faculty members and an alumna of the UK Gender and Women’s Studies Department.
The first volume is “A Positive View of LGBTQ: Embracing Identity and Cultivating Well-Being” by Ellen Riggle, Professor of Political Science and Gender and Women’s Studies and
By Sarah Geegan & Ann Kingsolver
The UK Appalachian Center and the Appalachian Studies Program will host scholars, artists and NGO representatives from mountain regions all over the world on Oct. 25-27. This Global Mountain Regions conference, free and open to the public, will be focused on comparing notes across mountain regions on several continents as residents of those regions look to the future.
Each day, Thursday-Saturday, 8-5 p.m. in the William T. Young Library auditorium, presenters from Appalachia and from other mountain regions in Indonesia, Ecuador, Wales, India, Mexico, Italy, China, Sri Lanka, Mali, Canada, the U.
by Sarah Geegan
The University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences' creative and technical services "Hive" recently completed a project, fusing the eighth and 15th centuries with the 21st century.
The Hive, a student team directed by A&S staff, provides creative and technical support to college faculty, students and staff to promote their work and ideas. Recently, it partnered with William Endres, professor in the Division of Writing, Rhetoric and Digital Media, to make two rare manuscripts available online: eighth century St Chad Gospels and a 15th century Wycliffe New Testament.
The team's work, made possible through
By Guy Spriggs “I think people are going to be surprised. They will have to keep an eye on linguistics at Kentucky.” This comment – made by first year master’s student Darin Arrick – reflects the attitude of excitement and opportunity running through UK’s Linguistics Program. The cause of this renewed energy is a brand new degree: the Master of Arts in Linguistic Theory & Typology (MALTT). The first participants in this program – Arrick among them – began their work at UK this fall. For Linguistics Program director Andrew Hippisley, the creation of this master’s degree program was the end result of years of
PHI 300-001 – Philosophy of Pornography Prof. Natalie Nenadic TR 3:00-5:30 (8 week course 1/24/13 – 3/28/13) This course will situate the issue of pornography within philosophical debates surrounding slavery, political liberty, and freedom. Through a close examination of the lived reality of pornography, we will question conventional views that cast pornography as sexual liberation. Among the authors we will read are Catharine MacKinnon, Andrea Dworkin, Gail Dines, Aristotle, Rousseau, and Wollstonecraft. PHI 300-002 – Philosophy of Sport Prof. Clare Batty TR 9:30-10:45 a.m. What is a sport? What is the nature of sportsmanship? Does playing a sport involve a special kind of knowledge? Is cheating ever morally permissible? Does using performance-enhancing drugs count as cheating? Are sports beautiful? These and other questions will be the
by Alicia Gregory
John Anthony, the John C. Hubbard Professor of Chemistry, is a pioneer in organic materials— things that are made from carbon instead of silicon. Anthony’s research focuses on organic solar cells (for low-cost generation of electricity), organic thin-film transistors (for flexible flat-panel displays), and organic light-emitting diodes (for high-efficiency lighting).
Watch the REVEAL: Research Media video online at http://www.research.uky.edu/reveal/anthony_john.shtml.