Five students from the University of Kentucky have been selected for the program.
As a learning institution, 好色先生 engages in sustainable practices by collaborating with faculty, staff and students across all colleges and departments. The Sustainability Research Fellowship is a collaborative program coordinated by the and sponsored by the and . The fellowship鈥檚 goal is to support and promote sustainability-related undergraduate research endeavors. The program launched in 2014 and has supported 53 undergraduates.
鈥淪ustainability research is important because the resources at our disposal are typically limited, and their utilization can often lead to undesirable consequences. Therefore, it is our duty to manage these resources responsibly and to employ scientific methods to achieve the most effective outcomes,鈥 said Luis Silva Nunes, an electrical engineering and Lewis Honors College freshman working with Christopher Crawford, PhD, in the Department of Physics and Astronomy in the .
Students selected as Sustainability Research Fellows received a $5,000 stipend to support their research endeavors during the Summer 2024 term. Fellows engage in a research project under the guidance of a mentor.
鈥淪ustainability research is incredibly important not only for its clear connection to pressing climate issues, but also due to its necessary role in the development of more equitable, ecological and endurable communities,鈥 said Erica Smith, an architecture and junior. 鈥淲hile projects on a large, worldwide scale are certainly crucial to the adaptation of our environments for a more sustainable and just future, the visibility of research done in a variety of implementable scales is equally important for the advancement of local communities and services.鈥 Smith is working with mentor Daniel Vivian, PhD, in the 鈥檚 Department of Historical Preservation.
Students will present their research at the Summer Research Symposium on Aug. 27, 2024, Sustainability Showcase on Oct. 23, 2024, and the Showcase of Undergraduate Scholars in April 2025.
The 2024 Sustainability Research Fellows:
- Katie Christensen, agricultural and medical biotechnology and Lewis Honors College sophomore; Mentor: Kendall Corbin, PhD, Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. Project: 鈥淢ighty Microbes: The discovery of antibiotic producing bacteria from maize.鈥
- Luis Nunes, computer science and Lewis Honors College freshman; Mentor: Christopher Crawford, PhD, College of Arts and Sciences. Project: 鈥淒evelopment of Sustainable Real-Time Lossless Data Compression Algorithms on FPGAs for Sensor Waveforms.鈥
- Safiyah Sadek, neuroscience senior; Mentor: Cassandra Gipson-Reichard, PhD, College of Medicine. Project: 鈥淭he Impact of E-Cigarette Vapor Toxins and Pollutants on Estrogen and Interactions with Microglia within the Brain Reward Pathway in Female Rats.鈥
- Cooper Samuelson, agricultural and medical biotechnology and Lewis Honors College junior; Mentor: Kenton Sena, PhD, Lewis Honors College. Project: 鈥淓xamining the effects of urban forest restoration on carbon pools and infiltration rates.鈥
- Erica Smith, architecture and Lewis Honors College junior; Mentor: Daniel Vivian, PhD, College of Design. Project: 鈥淭ransit for All: Design Strategies for Improving Public Transportation in Lexington, Kentucky.鈥