By Sarah Geegan

In February and March, area high school teachers gathered at the University of Kentucky to learn about recent scientific discoveries in various fields. On Thursday, April 26, the College of Arts & Sciences will offer a psychological perspective on "What's New in Science."

Psychology Professor Susan Barron will lead the fourth lecture in the What's New in Science series, an outreach program aimed to strengthen UK's relationships with high school science programs. The lecture will take place in the Davis Marksbury Building at 7 p.m.

The series engages

By Jonathon Spalding

As a society, we are fascinated by war stories. Movies, television, video games and literature all do their part in capturing something that is so fundamental to human nature, yet so incredibly hard to imagine. From the beginning of time we have huddled around campfires and told each other stories of conflict, complete with a triumphant victory or a symbolic defeat, a hero and an enemy fighting for something worth dying for. Today, most of the images we associate with war are carefully and artificially crafted in a Hollywood studio or neatly twisted into a storyline fit for the nightly news.

But for the soldiers who actually live it, war is not a fictional escape but a harsh reality.

Many veterans struggle with the traumatic events of their wartime service and may never be able to express what they saw “over there.” With the inherent

By Sarah Geegan

The University of Kentucky Biology, Physics and Astronomy, Chemistry, and Psychology departments are reaching out to area high school science teachers and teaching them something new: what's new in science.

The What's New in Science series, an outreach program aimed to strengthen UK's relationships with high school science programs, will engage teachers and youth in various scientific areas. It will focus specifically on emerging discoveries and developments in the realm of science.

"The university already has a strong history in supporting science teachers in Kentucky Schools," said 

By Whitney Hale

In 1912, an incredible gift of 3,000 cherry blossom trees was bestowed on Washington, D.C. by Tokyo, Japan. Rooted strongly and surviving outside elements, the trees have withstood the test of time and become a beloved treasure of our nation's capital. Nearly a century later, the friendship between Japan and Kentucky is preparing for an unprecedented and once-in‐a‐lifetime centennial celebration of this gift as the Japan/America Society of Kentucky (JASK) paint the state and University of Kentucky campus pink.

In honor of this international friendship between Kentucky and Japan, the Embassy of Japan and the Consul General of Japan in Nashville, Tenn., has awarded the JASK 20 offspring from the original cherry blossom trees to be

By Kathy Johnson

Kentucky poet, novelist, environmentalist and University of Kentucky alumnus Wendell Berry delivered the 2012 Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities last night in Washington, D.C.  Berry was named earlier this year by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as this year's Jefferson Lecturer, the highest honor the federal government bestows for distinguished intellectual achievement in the humanities.

The lecture, titled "It All Turns on Affection," was delivered at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

To read coverage of Berry's speech by Inside Higher Education visit this website

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/04/24/wendell-berry-delivers-annual-jefferson-lecture-

The College of Arts & Sciences is pleased to announce that the recipients of the 2012-13 A&S Outstanding Teaching Awards are Drs. Christia Brown (psychology), Brenna Byrd (MCLLC), Yanira Paz (Hispanic Studies), and Bradley Plaster (physics & astronomy).

Dr. Christia Brown has been in the psychology department since 2007 and is affiliated with the Children at Risk Research Cluster, Gender and Women’s Studies, and the UK Center for Poverty Research.  She exemplifies teaching excellence.  She creates an innovative learning environment in every classroom she enters, whether through engagement activities in her large lecture courses or debates in her smaller seminars. One of her students stated, “This is the best class and professor I have ever had at UK.”  Outside the classroom she

Ignacio Martínez de Pisón, a guest writer at this year's Kentucky Foreign Language Conference, won the prestigious Premio de la Crítica for his novel El día de mañana. He received the good news while attending the 65th annual KFLC conference in Lexington. Read the full article on ABC.es here (note: the article is in Spanish).

photo by José Antonio Melendo

By Sarah Geegan, Guy Spriggs

Daehyun Kim, assistant professor in the UK Department of Geography, was recently awarded the J. Warren Nystrom Award, a prize presented every year by the Association of American Geographers (AAG).

The award, funded by geographer and former AAG Executive Director John Warren Nystrom, recognizes the best dissertation paper presented by a recent doctoral graduate in geography.

Judging for the award began in August 2011; Kim was named a finalist for the Nystrom Award, and he presented his paper at the annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers in February 2012.

Kim’s academic interests involve the complex interrelations between soils,

Karen Rignall  is a finalist for the Roy A. Rappaport Graduate Student Award, sponsored by the Anthropology & Environment Section of the American Anthropological Association (AAA).  A Rappaport Prize Panel Discussion will be held at the 2012 AAA meeting. Five graduate students have been selected to present a paper, and one of those selected will be awarded the Rappaport Student Prize. The paper  she will be presenting is entitled: The Aporias of Green Energy: Land, Sovereignty, and the Production of Solar Energy In Pre-Saharan Morocco. The paper is an expansion of her dissertation research on land rights and livelihoods in the rural south of Morocco and explores how Europe’s interest in renewable energy has created new forms of value in the vast steppe of Morocco, with problematic

Karen Rignall received the Qatar Post-Doctoral Fellowshipat the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. During academic year 2012-2013, she will deliver a public lecture on her dissertation research, teach a seminar on the Political Ecology of the Middle East and North Africa, and revise her dissertation for publication as a book.

By Jonathon Spalding

University of Kentucky history professor, Jeremy Popkin, was recently appointed a fellowship for the 2012-13 academic year by the National Humanities Center.

“The National Humanities Center is an ideal environment for scholars,” Popkin said, “It is set up to encourage the exchange of ideas.”

More than $1,500,000 in individual fellowship grants will allow scholars to take a yearlong leave from their regular academic duties to pursue research at the center, located in North Carolina. Popkin is one of 33 fellows who will have the opportunity to work on an individual research project and share their ideas in seminars, lectures and conferences.

“I’m looking forward to the rare opportunity to spend a year thinking and writing about a problem that has intrigued me since I was an undergraduate,” Popkin said.

By Sarah Geegan

The Appalachian Center and the University Press of Kentucky are hosting three events Friday, April 20, to celebrate Appalachia-related books published during this academic year.

The events, which will take place both at Memorial Hall and the Appalachian Center, honor books that contribute to the understanding of the Appalachian region and were published by UK faculty or by the University Press of Kentucky during this academic year.

Helen Lewis and Judi Jennings will give an Appalachian forum based on their new book, "Helen Matthews Lewis: Living Social Justice in

By Sarah Geegan, Lea Mann

Hanban, the Confucius Institute headquarters in Beijing, has designated the University of Kentucky Confucius Institute as the official Chinese proficiency test center for the state of Kentucky.

The HSK (Chinese Proficiency Test) and the YCT (Youth Chinese Test), are proficiency exams that rank Chinese language learners on different levels of mastery.

The HSK assesses non-native Chinese speakers’ proficiency in using the language in daily, academic and professional environments. The test contains both written and oral sections, ranking speakers into six different levels in writing and three different levels in speaking.  

Chinese universities will use the HSK test results for enrollment; by taking this exam, U.S.

By Sarah Geegan, Lea Mann

University of Kentucky math professor Carl Lee recently received the Kentucky Mathematical Association of America award at the annual KYMAA meeting at Bellarmine University. The award is given annually to one mathematician from across the state.

The Mathematical Association of America, (MAA), is a national professional mathematics society, which focuses on collegiate teaching. The Kentucky section draws from all colleges and universities across the state and recognizes one member each year for distinguished college or university instruction.

Lee said he was surprised but honored to receive the award.

"This was very unexpected," Lee said of his award. "I was attending

By Jenny Wells

Karen Tice, associate professor in the University of Kentucky College of Education Department of Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation, recently authored her new book, "Queens of Academe: Beauty Pageantry, Student Bodies, and Campus Life," published by Oxford University Press.

Tice, who also holds a joint appointment in the UK College of Arts and Sciences Department of Gender and Women's Studies, will lecture on the topic from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 18, in the President's Room at the Singletary Center for the Arts. A reception will follow. Tice also will be at Morris Book Shop on East High Street for a book signing from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, April 26.

From the Oxford University Press site:

"In 'Queens of Academe,'

By Sarah Geegan

The University of Kentucky will host the 65th annual Kentucky Foreign Language Conference (KFLC), an internationally esteemed colloquium for scholars of language, literature and culture, beginning Thursday, April 19, across the UK campus.

The event will unite scholars from across the world, as the largest U.S. conference dedicated to all aspects of the study of language and its peoples, from technology to teaching, from film to literature, from linguistics to cultural studies. With keynote speakers, discussion panels, research presentations and exhibits, the conference will address issues pertaining to language through multiple platforms.

Doug Slaymaker, executive director of the KFLC and associate professor of 

By Whitney Hale

Two University of Kentucky students have been recognized by the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program for 2012. Sophomore Josiah Hanna, of Lexington, and junior David Spencer, of Paducah, Ky., received honorable mention recognition from the scholarship program.

This year’s Goldwater Scholars were selected on the basis of academic merit from a field of 1,123 mathematics, science, and engineering students who were nominated by colleges and universities nationwide.

Josiah Hanna, son of David and Sarah Hanna, is a Paul Laurence Dunbar High School alumnus. He is pursuing majors in computer science and mathematics and a minor in 

Since the 2012 Winter Intercession, A&S has been offering a series of courses called "IT IQ," which engages students and introduces them to a variety of technologies at their disposal. The courses are generally six weeks long, are worth one credit hour, and provide students with a technological framework for academics. In this short podcast, three key players in IT IQ (Derek Eggers, Carly Germann, and Christian Ecker) talked about what students get in a typical course, what sorts of technologies are taught and how they're applied in an academic setting.

This podcast was produced by Cheyenne Hohman.

Ryan Anderson has received a National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant (NSF DDRIG). The title of Ryan’s dissertation research proposal is: "Political Ecologies of Value: Tourism and Social Conflict in Baja California Sur, Mexico."

By Sarah Geegan

Jakobi Williams, professor in the UK Department of History and in the African American and Africana Studies Program, will present the next lecture in the "Rebuilding the Block," S.T. Roach Community Conversation series, at 11 a.m., on Saturday, April 14, at the Lyric Theatre.

The "Rebuilding the Block" series is a seven-month sequence of public lectures, led by UK experts and focused around the theme of African-American males. Held at the Lyric Theatre in east Lexington, the conversations are broken into sub-themes, each presenting relevant issues in