By Sarah Geegan

Several University of Kentucky faculty members have been selected as recipients of prestigious Fulbright program scholarships.

Sponsored by the United States Department of State, and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program, which provides funding for professionals, teachers, students and scholars to undertake graduate study, advanced research, university teaching, and teaching in elementary and secondary schools. Operating in more than 155 countries worldwide, the program is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.

Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as

By Keith Hautala, Mike Lynch, Alicia Gregory

Researchers at the Kentucky Geological Survey say maps published by the U.S. Geological Survey overstate the earthquake threat in Western Kentucky and the surrounding region.

KGS researchers at the University of Kentucky have been working for a decade to have the maps changed to reduce the estimated threat level. The USGS uses a probabilistic method to determine the earthquake hazard level, a method KGS researchers say is flawed.

“This method, mathematically, is not correct,” said Zhenming Wang, head of the KGS Geologic Hazards Section. “The national hazard maps are not scientifically sound; that’s why there is a problem.”

KGS Director

By Sarah Geegan

Earth and Environmental Sciences Professor Frank Ettensohn recently joined an elite group of science, technology, and engineering scholars, who will serve a critical role in advising national policy makers. He is the first person from the Commonwealth of Kentucky to be named a Jefferson Science Fellow.

The Jefferson Science Fellows (JSF) program was established in 2003 as a model for engaging the American academic science, technology and engineering communities in formulating and implementing U.S. foreign policy. Overseen by the Office of the Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State, and with administrative support of the

by Sarah Geegan

By Dean Mark Lawrence Kornbluh   The College of Arts & Sciences is very pleased to announce that Dr. Frank Ettensohn of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences has been named the 2013-14 Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor.  Dr. Ettensohn’s thirty plus year career at the University of Kentucky is remarkable for its breadth and depth across all the roles expected of a university professor.  He has become an internationally recognized and widely published expert in sedimentary geology and paleontology, excelled in both undergraduate and graduate education, and compiled a truly distinguished record of service to the University, the Department, the science education community of central Kentucky, and the profession at the local, national, and

By Sarah Geegan

The University of Kentucky's David P. Moecher and George L. Scott Jr. were honored as the recipients of the 19th annual Ken Freedman Outstanding Advisor Awards. The award recognizes outstanding service in the field of academic advising. Two awards are presented each year, one to a full-time professional adviser and another to a faculty adviser.

David Moecher, faculty adviser and chair of the College of Arts and Sciences' Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, said that he

By Sarah Geegan

Since 1948, the University of Kentucky has operated a geology field camp in the Rocky Mountains. The field camp presents students in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (EES) with a unique opportunity to apply principles and ideas learned from the classroom in a real-world setting.

This summer EES will offer a similarly unique opportunity for its alumni: a reunion for past field camp participants taking place from July 4-6.

“This was a chance to get all of the UK geology field camp alumni who want to come back. Instructors and students can come back for our big bash out there,” EES professor David Moecher said.

As fellow EES professor

Alexandria, VA – New data collected by the American Geosciences Institute (AGI) and published in Geoscience Currents 68 reaffirms a decade-long trend of continued growth in U.S. undergraduate enrollments in the geosciences during the 2011-2012 academic year. The preliminary data shows an increase of approximately 3.3% for undergraduate enrollments, and more than 3,200 geoscience degrees conferred for the year. Graduate enrollments in the geosciences have remained relatively steady, reflecting that most programs are operating at-capacity. Of particular note regarding degrees awarded in 2011-2012 is the strong 44% increase in Master's degrees awarded, rising to 1,541. This robust growth is largely attributed to sharp increases in Master's degrees awarded in environmental science programs nationwide and geology programs in the Gulf Coast and Northeast regions.   A copy of Geoscience

By Whitney Hale

In celebration of the University of Kentucky's upcoming sesquicentennial in 2015, the 41st of 150 weekly installments remembers a popular leisure and educational travel option for the institution's students and faculty.

The April 1896 Cadet announced: "Fall in for Natural Bridge! A Gala Day! Let everybody go. Students and friends in the city. The Lexington and Eastern Railroad can’t be excelled for scenery. All who went last year, know that the trip was far superior to expectation; since then, the Railroad Co. have spent thousands of dollars, and now have the best place in the country for picnic parties and pleasure seeker. Go! 

Tickets for the road trip and admission to the grounds $1, for sale by A.S. Reese and R.F. Sever, at college, and J.W. Moore

by Sarah Geegan

UK Associate Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences Alan Fryar was recently featured in The Chronicle of Higher Education; his essay describes his experience with 11 students from the arid Middle East and North Africa who convened in drought-stricken San Angelo, Texas, to learn about water.

Through a grant from the State Department's Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, Fryar and colleagues focused on capacity building in the Middle East and North Africa, with a particular emphasis on hydrology.

In collaboration with researchers from the

by Jay Blanton

video by UK Public Relations and Marketing.

University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto Thursday praised the partnership of Gov. Steve Beshear and legislative leaders who are strongly supporting UK's self-financing of a dramatic $275 million transformation of the campus.

"We are here this morning because of your leadership and your willingness to partner with us, as educational institutions, united to provide Kentucky with the best education, research and service," Capilouto said at a Frankfort news conference with the governor and legislative leaders who are supporting UK's proposal. "In offering your support for us to self-finance facilities that will help dramatically improve and transform our campuses, you are voicing your faith in Kentucky's future as well.

As a

by Mike Lynch

The Kentucky Geological Survey (KGS) at the University of Kentucky has chosen a site to drill a 4,800-foot-deep stratigraphic research well in eastern Kentucky. This project is part of the carbon dioxide (CO2) storage research mandated and funded in 2007 by the Kentucky General Assembly in the Energy Independence and Incentives Act, which also funded part of the cost of a research well in Hancock County in 2009. 

KGS has partnered with Hanson Aggregates for access to property at their AA Limestone quarry, in northern Carter County. Hanson Aggregates is a subsidiary of Lehigh Hanson, Inc., which is part of the HeidelbergCement Group, one of the largest building materials manufacturers worldwide.

After a lengthy technical review, the site was chosen based on both its location and geology. The well

by Sarah Geegan

Eleven students from the arid Middle East and North Africa convened in drought-stricken San Angelo, Texas, over the summer — to learn about water.

Through a grant from the State Department's Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, UK Associate Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences Alan Fryar and colleagues focused on capacity building in the Middle East and North Africa, with a particular emphasis on hydrology. In collaboration with researchers from the University of Georgia and Western Michigan University, Fryar participated in a program called BOOST: Building Opportunity Out of Science and Technology.

"The State Department

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.S., Japan

Date- August 24th, 2012.

Venue- Resident of Professor Kevin Yeager and Julia Johnson

Click here to view images of the party.

In November, the James W. Stuckert Career Center assembled a UK team to participate in the Clinton Global Initiative University, a program through which university students propose solutions to the world's humanitarian problems. While each of the students came from different backgrounds, from the College of Arts and Sciences to the