By Mike Lynch

(March 19, 2015) — As the anniversary of the most fatal landslide in the history of the continental United States approaches, we are reminded of the importance of evaluating geologic hazards and communicating that information to communities that may be at risk. The Oso landslide occurred March 22, 2014, wiping out a small community near Oso, Washington, and killing 43 people.

"This tragic event can be used to increase awareness, improve communication, and formulate better policy for people living in high hazard areas," said Matt Crawford of the Kentucky Geological Survey at the University of Kentucky

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, landslides occur in all 50 states, causing $

By Deb Weis

(March 4, 2015) — University of Kentucky architecture graduate student Mark Manczyk won the UK Venture Challenge and a $1,500 scholarship with his business idea, "re.3." Second place and $1,000 went to Phillip Gordon with "Nomad Apparel." The "FinanceU" team of Michael Lewis and TJ Barnett won third place and $500. UK

Venture Challenge was held last Saturday, Feb. 28, at the William T. Young Library UKAA Auditorium.

“Congratulations to all of the students who participated in UK Venture Challenge,” said University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto. “This competition provides students the opportunity to be creative, innovative and entrepreneurial, which is an important part of their educational experience.”

Mark Manczyk, a first-year graduate student in the Masters of Architecture program, said “'re.3' will

By Sarah Schuetze

Traveling on the winding roads through the mountains of West Virginia, six people quickly realize that the mountains and the mountain folk are their worst nightmare. This is the premise for the film Wrong Turn, which is an example of “hillbilly horror” and a derogatory portrayal of Appalachia in popular culture.

Images of Appalachia and Appalachians in popular media range from idyllic to horrifying, and this semester, students in Professor Carol Mason’s course, Gender, Film, and Appalachia will examine this range of representation. The class is offered for credit through both the American Studies Program and the

By Whitney Harder 

(Feb. 9, 2015) — Since the Deepwater Horizon disaster, also referred to as the BP oil spill, occurred in 2010, scientists have been searching for millions of gallons of unaccounted oil — 11 to 30 percent of the oil estimated to have been spilled — in the Gulf of Mexico. Kevin Yeager, University of Kentucky professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, began his search that same year. After two major oceanographic cruises, and years of data collection and collaboration, Yeager and his research colleagues may have solved the mystery.

In a peer-reviewed manuscript co-authored by Yeager and others from the University of South Florida, Florida State

by: Shane Tedder, Whitney Harder, Mariah Rhodes

(Jan. 27, 2015) — "Green Talks," a new weekly talk show on WRFL 88.1, is focusing on student-funded sustainability efforts at the University of Kentucky. With efforts ranging from bottle filling stations and outdoor recycling bins to keynote speakers and funding assistance for research, travel and symposia, there is a lot to talk about. Listen to the show from 4-4:30 p.m. every Wednesday.

Funding for these initiatives comes from a mandatory student fee called the Environmental Stewardship Fee, which was initiated in 2009. Each full-time UK student pays $3.25 per semester into the fund, which generates approximately

by Gail Hairston

(Jan. 27, 2015) ‒ From Reverence to Resistance, a series of lectures about Appalachians on film, begins today with “Genre and Jessica Lynch” at 2 p.m. today in William T. Young Library Auditorium.

Stacy Takacs, author of “Terrorism TV,” will discuss how Hollywood can “spin” a war. Her lecture will answer the question “Was West Virginia soldier Jessica Lynch really a female Rambo, and did the military make her a damsel in distress who needed to be saved from Iraqis?”

The next lecture, Hillbilly Horror, is slated Feb. 24, presented by Emily Satterwhite, author of “Dear Appalachia.” The lecture will focus on Appalachian slasher films like “Wrong Turn,” a series of six movies about deformed cannibals hunting in West Virginia.

The last lecture in the series, Goodbye Gauley Mountain, takes place March 24, and welcomes filmmakers Beth

by Whitney Harder

(Nov. 25, 2014) — The University of Kentucky President’s Sustainability Advisory Committee recently announced seven sustainability projects receiving grants, a total of $100,000 in funding, from the UK Sustainability Challenge Grant Program. A wide range of sustainability projects were chosen, from North Limestone neighborhood initiatives to "microcomputers" that monitor individual sustainability impact on campus.  

The grant program issued a campus-wide call for proposals Aug. 15 seeking interdisciplinary, sustainability-driven proposals. By the deadline of Oct. 15, the program received 22 proposals requesting more than $450,000. Through an extensive review process, seven

By Sarah Schuetze

Sean Bemis put his hands together side by side to demonstrate two plates of the earth’s crust with a smooth boundary running between them. But that boundary is not always smooth and those plates do not always sit together neatly, which makes the earth’s crust a dynamic and complex surface.  

As a structural geologist and paleoseismologist, Bemis often uses visual and three dimensional (3D) models to explain his studies of the earth’s crust; sometimes that entails sophisticated 3D digital imagery, maps and diagrams of fault lines, the rocks he processes in his lab, or, as in this case, his own hands.

These techniques not only help Bemis demonstrate his research, they also represent the multidimensional nature of his work.

Bemis, an assistant professor in

By Sarah Schuetze

In a podcast recorded with A&S last year, Assistant Professor of Sociology Shannon Bell described her recent book, Our Roots Run Deep as Ironweed: Appalachian Women and the Fight for Environmental Justice, as a project that gives voice to her subjects: women fighting against the environmental effects of coal mining in Appalachia. These women live in regions directly affected by the environmental health costs associated with mountaintop removal coal

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

By Guy Spriggs

With sea levels rising, will coastal land along the northern Gulf of Mexico naturally build itself up enough to combat the loss of its coastline? As the coastline continues to disappear, where will the rate of loss be worst?

When did pollution in Maine’s Penobscot River begin? Is the polluted material being introduced into our food chain? Are new laws helping reduce the pollution level?

If we wanted to answer these important questions, where would we turn?

These questions – and many more – can be solved by the unique equipment and skilled researchers working in Kevin Yeager’s Sedimentary, Environmental and Radiochemical Research Laboratory (SER2L) at the University of Kentucky.

by Gail Hairston 

(Sept. 30, 2014) — More than an “s” has been added since the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Science was created in 1908 with only seven faculty members. In fact there was a College of Arts and Science even before the institution was named the University of Kentucky; the institution was called the State University, Lexington, Kentucky (previously Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky and State College) until 1916.

In those 106 years, several of today’s largest colleges were birthed from the original College of Arts and Science’s former programs, including today’s College of Education, College of Communication and Information, College of Social Work and College of Fine Arts.

The college grew quickly under the inspiration and commitment of President James Patterson, whose statue now graces the plaza next to

Video produced by Hive, College of Arts & Sciences Creative and Technical Services

by Keith Hautala

(Sept. 15, 2014) — The University of Kentucky is launching the “Pick it Up” campaign this week, urging participation from the entire UK community to help make our campus litter-free. The program was developed by a group of campus partners and is funded by the Office of the Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration.

"The University of Kentucky has one of the most beautiful and diverse landscapes in the nation," said Eric N. Monday, executive vice president for Finance and Administration. "We hope that Pick it Up will not only help us to preserve the natural beauty of our campus, but also encourage

by Keith Hautala

(July 21, 2014) — A "water justice" workshop organized by the University of Kentucky's Appalachian Center was held July 7-11 in Robinson Forest to promote equal access to water resources and inclusive decision-making concerning these resources on local, regional and global scales.

Participants included Kentucky high school students, public school educators, UK faculty and staff, biology and biosystems engineering majors, natural resources and environmental science majors, a faculty member and three undergraduates from the University of Lampung, Indonesia, visiting scholars from Denver University and Eastern Kentucky University, and representatives from the Kentucky River Watershed Watch, Kentucky Division of Water, Upper Tennessee River Roundtable, the Kentucky

by Keith Hautala

(April 22, 2014) — To save the United States from the effects of global warming, the U.S. government must literally “save the world,” University of Kentucky sedimentary geologist and paleontologist Frank Ettensohn said.

Ettensohn, a professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, will deliver the UK College of Arts and Sciences 2014 Distinguished Professor Lecture at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 24, in the auditorium of the William T. Young Library. The title of his talk is "Saving the World: Reflections on

by Keith Hautala, Shane Tedder

(April 8, 2014) — The University of Kentucky this month is hosting the ninth annual Earth Days in the Bluegrass (EDBG), a month-long series of events promoting sustainability.  

The Office of Sustainability coordinates EDBG and partners with other campus and community organizations to provide a full calendar of workshops, presentations, films screenings and more. This year the schedule of events includes several unique sustainability-focused volunteer

by Ashley McIntyre, Tara Wilkins

(April 1, 2014) — Many central Kentucky residents are at risk of hunger, living in veritable food deserts, defined as areas with low access to fresh, healthy foods. Since March 15 and running through April 30, the Center for Community Outreach and local non-profit Seedleaf is working together to connect Lexington’s youth with healthy, fresh food, launching the Seedleaf Highlights Campaign with classroom visits, informational sessions, and a fundraising campaign with the crowdsourcing website, Indiegogo.com.

“The CCO provides volunteer opportunities to UK students that reach into both our local and global communities,” states Laura Greenfield, CCO’s director of promotions.  “

by Katy Bennett, Student Activities Board

(April 1, 2014) — The Student Activities Board’s #TrendingTopics: It’s Not Easy Being Green will focus on how important living a green lifestyle is and if this lifestyle is worth the costs. The debate will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 3, in 230 Student Center. Both sides of the argument, for and against living a green lifestyle, will be presented in a respectful manner.

The event will engage college students because of the current trend to live a green lifestyle. The cost to live this lifestyle can seem rather substantial and not feasible for many young adults. Those who attend will have the opportunity to ask questions and share their own opinions through social media with the #TrendingTopicsBG hashtag. Events like

by Mike Lynch

(March 27, 2014) — Kentucky geologists say Saturday morning's landslide in rural Snohomish County, Wa., should serve as a reminder that other parts of the country, including the Commonwealth, face similar threats.

The incident in Washington state, reported to cover about a square mile, occurred as a result of recent heavy rains that saturated the ground. Kentucky has also been affected by landslides, though most of them are not as large or devastating as the Washington state slide.

The Kentucky Geological Survey (KGS) at the University of Kentucky is compiling a landslide inventory database to better document the distribution and geologic context of Kentucky’s landslides.

“The purpose of the database is to provide users easy access to landslide information, raise awareness of landslide causes, and avoid property damage