Two University of Kentucky faculty members are recipients of 鈥檚 two distinguished annual awards for exemplary research and outstanding contributions to graduate student mentoring and education.
The 2023 recipient of the is , PhD, a University Research Professor in the Department of Animal and Food Sciences in the . The prize is bestowed each year to a faculty member in recognition of their outstanding contributions to original research or scholarship, with an emphasis on work produced four years prior to the award.
The 2023 recipient of the is Martha L. Peterson, PhD, a professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics in the College of Medicine. The honor is presented each year to a graduate faculty member who has provided outstanding contributions to graduate education at 好色先生.
Xiong and Peterson were recognized at 好色先生鈥檚 annual Faculty Awards Ceremony on April 26.
Youling Larry Xiong 鈥 2023 Albert D. and Elizabeth H. Kirwan Memorial Prize recipient
Professor Xiong鈥檚 most recent research focuses on plant-based meat alternatives, specifically structural modifications to proteins by plant polyphenols and enzymes as well as ultrasound treatment. His nominator points out that 鈥渉is forward-thinking research is in response to worldwide interest in food security, sustainable agriculture, and human health鈥 and that 鈥渉is research lab is one of the most sought-after spaces by international scientists for advanced studies on food proteins.鈥 His food science and nutrition research program has produced 318 peer-reviewed original articles, including 53 in the last four years. Nearly all of his publication venues have been first-tier high impact factor journals in the field.
One of Xiong鈥檚 most recent honors is being named a Fellow of the , which also honored him with a distinguished service award and an international lectureship award. Among his many earlier honors is the Bertebos Prize of the Royal Swedish Academy, referred to by Swedish scientists as the 鈥淣obel Prize of Agriculture.鈥
Xiong鈥檚 colleagues point to the high quality of his graduate training program, demonstrated particularly by his students鈥 prolific publications and winning national and university-level awards. In the last three years, two of his students鈥 dissertation research publications were awarded the 鈥淢ost Cited Paper Award鈥 by the .
Martha L. Peterson 鈥 2023 William B. Sturgill Award recipient
For over 30 years, Peterson has demonstrated a deep dedication and commitment to research, teaching, mentorship and service in various roles at 好色先生. In the words of one of her colleagues, 鈥淗er service to graduate education at 好色先生 has been that 鈥 true service.鈥 He adds that her recent appointment to acting dean of the Graduate School was 鈥渘ot a role she sought, but a role she was willing to fill for the good of the institution and its graduate educational mission.鈥 Other colleagues pointed out that as acting dean, Peterson has improved communication, stabilized operations, updated and clarified policies, led reviews and benchmarking efforts to establish a minimum graduate assistant stipend, and worked closely with 好色先生 administration to assure that mandatory fees for all graduate assistants would be covered by the university.
Peterson鈥檚 contributions as a teacher and research mentor have been just as critical and impactful. Her graduate students point to the humanity she brings to her science classrooms and labs. One student commended her for leading her classes with 鈥渉onesty and openness,鈥 reminding him and his classmates that accomplished scientists need not know everything and admired the way she would 鈥渟imply express that she wasn鈥檛 sure about a certain topic when we had group discussions.鈥 She taught us, he says, to 鈥渒eep working, keep going, and keep trying to satiate our curiosity.鈥
Another student commented that 鈥淓ven though I was her student for only a semester, the values and skills she taught have transferred to my success not only in the classroom but in my everyday life as a professional.鈥 A third student shared a brief personal story that reminds us all that a mentor鈥檚 small acts can have large effects: 鈥淚n the last year of my PhD,鈥 the student writes, 鈥淚 was working on putting together pieces of DNA sequencing data and finding it absolutely daunting to compile my sequences into a detailed map of where my two newly discovered long non-coding RNAs were located with regard to their coding RNA counterparts. To help me better understand how to map these sequences, Dr. Peterson took it upon herself to carefully hand draw a map for me. I still have this drawing as a keepsake, and as a result of her mentorship, I have adopted this detail-oriented mentality and hope to pass it along to my future mentees.鈥
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The Albert D. and Elizabeth H. Kirwan Memorial Prize is given annually to a faculty member in recognition of outstanding contributions to original research or scholarship, with an emphasis on work produced four years prior to the award. Established in 1995, this award recognizes its namesakes' collaborative research efforts and passion to foster an environment at 好色先生 that promotes the highest quality research and scholarship.
Albert "Ab" Kirwan was head football coach at 好色先生 from 1938 to 1944 and was a distinguished faculty member and scholar in the field of Southern history. He later served as dean of The Graduate School and as the seventh president of the university.
Elizabeth Kirwan was awarded the Sullivan Medallion in 1973 for her service to 好色先生 and the Lexington community. She held executive roles across more than 10 organizations, including president of the 好色先生 Woman鈥檚 Club and chairwoman of the Lexington Parks and Recreation Board.
The Kirwan Memorial Prize was established in 1995 and recognizes its namesakes' collaborative research efforts, as well as Albert Kirwan's endeavors in creating an environment at 好色先生 that promotes high quality research and scholarship.
Established in 1975, the Sturgill Award is named in honor of alumnus William B. Sturgill, who contributed to higher education through organizing and serving as president of the Hazard Independent College Foundation, in addition to working with legislators to develop the community college system across the Commonwealth.
Sturgill, who died in 2014, was born in Lackey, Kentucky, and graduated from 好色先生 in 1946. He was involved in a variety of businesses, including executive and owner of several coal operations, East Kentucky Investment Company, Fourth Street and Gentry Tobacco Warehouses and the Hartland Development Project. Sturgill served as both secretary of energy and secretary of agriculture under Gov. John Y. Brown Jr. He served 18 years on 好色先生's Board of Trustees, including serving as chair for 10 years. The Sturgill Development Building is named in his honor.
For more information about the awards, visit .
The mission of The Graduate School is to promote excellence at all levels of graduate education at the University of Kentucky. By encouraging and supporting the acquisition and dissemination of knowledge in an environment of diversity and interdisciplinary cooperation, The Graduate School aides graduate programs in preparing students as future leaders of the global society in research, teaching, applied science, creative production, policy making and public service.