Algerian Jews in France: My Summer Research Project

Summer 2014 Research Award recipient Emily VanMeter shares a few experiences from her time at the United States Holocaust Museum

I recently conducted a research project on Algerian Jewsʼ immigration to France after the Algerian War of Independence, which spanned from 1954-62. Prior to the conflict, there were 140,000 Jews in Algeria, and by the end of the conflict, there were fewer than 5,000—Jewish life in Algeria was abolished completely in the 1970s. When Prof. Sophie Roberts made me aware of this situation, I was perplexed. The plight of these Jewish quasi-refugees seems to be completely overlooked by all, even Jewish historians.

However, through my research, conducted just as much in French as in English, I learned that this was not always the case, but rather that there was a

By Guy Spriggs

For many high school students, summer is little more than a break from school, offering the chance to relax, travel, or maybe even work at a summer job.

For the talented participants in the Whitney M. Young Scholars Program, the summer of 2014 offered the opportunity to spend two weeks gaining invaluable college experience on UK’s campus as part of a special collaboration between the UK’s Office of Institutional Diversity and the Lincoln Foundation, a Louisville-based institution dedicated to educational enrichment.

Started in 1990 – since becoming the hallmark of the Lincoln Foundation’s educational efforts – the Whitney M. Young Scholars

By Sarah Schuetze

In 2005, Edward Lo was living in Acworth, Ga., when he heard the news of Hurricane Katrina’s devastating effects in Louisiana. Five years later, as an undergraduate at Louisiana State University, Lo learned about the environmental impact Katrina had on the area’s wetlands and the ways it continues to affect people who live near them. In his geology classes, Lo was taught the science of the wetlands, but outside of class, he learned about the wetlands’ ethos.

Now as a graduate student in Department of Earth and Environmental Science, Lo brings the same spirit, call it compassionate science, to his current research. He studies the sediment patterns and hydrology of a region in Brazil called the Pantanal, which is the world’s largest freshwater wetlands

In 2013, a group of Chemistry Department faculty, students and alumni met to discuss reviving the department's newsletter, and an outgrowth of that effort to re-establish communications among current and future alumni was the Chemistry Alumni Board (CAB) which held its organizational meeting on Saturday, October 11, 2014.

A lot of positive energy came out of the meeting as the Board looks for ways to establish contact and communications between the UK Department of Chemistry and all of its alumni. 

The Board discussed ways to share with current students the experiences of alumni and to increase awareness of the diversity of careers available to chemists.

At the meeting, the Board also discussed some of the major challenges facing the Department of Chemistry, as well as the key features that should be

Martha Yip joined the Department of Mathematics as an Assistant Professor in the fall of 2014. Visit http://math.as.uky.edu/podcasts/new-faculty-2014-meet-martha-yip to hear a short podcast that introduces her research.  

by Katy Bennett, Joshua Delong

(Oct. 23, 2014) — Now is the time to prepare for the spring semester!

The Winter/Spring 2015 priority registration period begins Monday, Nov. 3, and goes through Tuesday, Nov. 25.

For the first time, once a student's registration window opens, it will remain open until midnight Nov. 25. This allows students more flexibility when registering for classes and eliminates the issue of a student's window closing before they were able to register. Additionally, students now have the opportunity to plan their courses and use the new pre-register check tool prior to the opening of their window.

Don Witt, associate provost for enrollment management and university registrar, said, “The student user experience has been greatly improved and advisors will have an additional, powerful tool to aid students as they plan

by Gail Hairston

(Oct. 23, 2014) — Mark Wahlgren Summers, the Thomas D. Clark Professor of History at the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, has published his 10th book, “The Ordeal of the Reunion: A New History of Reconstruction.”

Summers takes a new look at the Reconstruction years, focusing on the nation’s need to form an enduring Union without sacrificing the framework of federalism and republican democracy.

"As one of the country’s most respected 19th-century political historians, Dr. Summers’ latest book showcases his strengths in research, writing and storytelling,” said Mark Lawrence Kornbluh, dean of the UK College of Arts and Sciences. "In ‘The Ordeal of the Reunion,’ a new synthesis

by Gail Hairston

(Oct. 23, 2014) — A special event highlights the University of Kentucky calendar Friday morning — very EARLY tomorrow morning. About 6:45 a.m. Oct. 24, dedicated students and staff will meet for the Green Dot Fall Run/Walk, a 1.5-mile trek, beginning from Buell Armory at 7 a.m.

Co-sponsored by the Violence Intervention and Prevention (VIP) Center and the UK Army ROTC, the event was created to raise awareness for sexual assault and violence prevention. It is the first time Army ROTC has co-sponsored the event.

One goal of the run/walk is to raise awareness about sexual assault and violence prevention, but there’s a second, more tangible goal ‒ to raise proceeds for the UK Victim Assistance Fund, which

By Keith Hautala

(Oct. 21, 2014) — Trick or treat! The University of Kentucky is offering local children a sugar-coated chemistry lesson a full week before Halloween.

“The Sweet Side of Chemistry: Candy” is the theme of this year’s annual demonstration show, presented by the UK Department of Chemistry's graduate students at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24, in Room 139 Chemistry/Physics Building. The show presents the students' favorite live chemistry demonstrations in a fun, easy-to-understand format, in celebration of National Chemistry Week, Oct. 19-25.

Families are encouraged to attend the event, which promises lots of kid appeal.  

“This event is a great way to share our enthusiasm for science with the people of Lexington” said UK Chemistry Professor Anne-Frances Miller. “They’ll come away with an understanding that chemistry is

The Department of Mathematics is pleased to announce the availability of fellowships for graduate students through the Graduate Scholars in Mathematics program. Interested students should visit http://www.math.uky.edu/gsm to find out more about the program.

The Department of Mathematics plans to fill several faculty positions for the fall of 2015. We are searching for candidates in core areas of mathematics including analysis and partial differential equations, topology, and algebra. We also are interested in mathematicians with an interest in applications to economics or biology. In addition to these tenure track positions, we are searching for a post-doctoral scholar and several lecturers. Candidates should apply through mathjobs.org.   For more information, follow the links below to our advertisements:

by Keith Hautala

(Oct. 17, 2014) — Research from the University of Kentucky Department of Chemistry will help batteries resist overcharging, improving the safety of electronics from cell phones to airplanes.                        

The research, led by Susan Odom’s group, has focused on the design, synthesis, and testing of organic compounds that can be incorporated into the electrolytes of lithium-ion batteries to improve their safety profiles. Specifically, Odom’s team is studying compounds called redox shuttles.

Lithium-ion batteries are the energy storage technology of choice for portable consumer electronic devices such as laptops and cell phones. Over the past few years, these batteries have been

by Gail Hairston

(Oct. 17, 2014) — An expert in U.S. foreign relations in the Middle East since 1940 will discuss the historical foundations of the current crises in the region at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 20, in the UKAA Auditorium of the University of Kentucky's W.T. Young Library. The event, "Messy Little Wars: U.S. Approaches to Iraq Since 1990," is part of the UK College of Arts and Sciences event Year of the Middle East.

As an Ohio State University research scholar, Professor Peter Hahn has been supported by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Truman Library Institute, the John F. Kennedy Library, the Lyndon Johnson Foundation, the Eisenhower World Affairs Institute, the Office of United States Air Force History, and the U.S. Army Center of Military History.

His most recent

by Mack McCormick, Whitney Hale

(Oct. 16, 2014) — University Press of Kentucky (UPK) author T.R.C. Hutton has been named recipient of a 2014 Kentucky History Award given by the Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) and the 2014 Appalachian Writers Association’s Book of the Year Award for Nonfiction for his book "Bloody Breathitt: Politics and Violence

by Will Fawns

(Oct. 16, 2014) – The University of Kentucky's Dr. Allan Butterfield will be receiving the Society of Free Radical Biology and Medicine’s (SFRBM) Mentoring Excellence Award at the society's national conference in Seattle, Nov. 19-23.

In his 39 years at UK, Butterfield has graduated more than 65 doctoral and master's degree students and approximately 150 undergraduates. He has also trained about 20 postdoctoral scholars.

In 2012, he was selected to be a fellow of SFRBM and earned their prestigious Discovery Award for his work in the field of redox research related to Alzheimer’s disease. In 1998, he earned a trip to the White House to receive the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering

By Sarah Schuetze

As a graduate student at Michigan State University in 2008, Jim Ridolfo embarked on what he thought was a short-term research project that diverged from his dissertation work. This “secondary” project on Samaritan manuscripts has led to nationally-funded, award-winning research. 

An article that stemmed from his “side project,” “Delivering Textual Diaspora: Building Digital Cultural Repositories as Rhetoric Research,” was published by College English in November 2013 and was selected by the editor for the

by Gail Hairston

(Oct. 15, 2014) — One would be hard pressed to find a resume with accolades, awards and appointments of the quantity and quality equal to Jeremy Popkin’s. He will be adjusting that resume again shortly, as he has been named the William T. Bryan Chair of History.

Popkin has been a faculty member of the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences Department of History since 1978. Educated at the University of California, Berkeley and Harvard University, Popkin has served as chair of the history department (1996-2000), director of the Jewish Studies Program (2011-12), as well as the current (2007-) prestigious T. Marshall Hahn Professor.

The Bryan Endowed Chair was established by a nearly $4 million gift from

by Parissa Zargar

(Oct. 15, 2014) — University of Kentucky senior, Jaye "Jaxcy" Odom, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, has received the Chickasaw Nation Lifetime Scholarship. This honor is awarded to tribal citizens who are full-time students pursuing a degree from an accredited institution of higher education. Odom has been involved with the Chickasaw Nation through her attendance of tribal meetings and participation in activities to promote pride in Native American culture.

"When I found out that I had been awarded the Chickasaw Lifetime Scholarship, I was elated. It was an indescribable honor to be a recipient of this highly competitive scholarship, and it meant a

by Amy Jones-Timoney, Katy Bennett, Kody Kiser

(Oct. 15, 2014) — When Connor Appelman came to UK as a freshman, he knew he wanted to get involved on campus, but wasn't quite sure where to start. He heard a few guys in his residence hall talking about UK FUSION (For Unity and Service In Our Neighborhoods) and decided to join them. The rest is history.

"I volunteered a lot in high school," Appelman said, "and I knew I wanted to get involved with service somehow at UK right away. FUSION seemed like that first step without a big commitment — just a few hours on the Monday before classes started. I thought it would be a good way to get acclimated with campus and Lexington and meet new people."

Little did Appelman know then that a few hours on that first Monday he was on