KAS has been standing up for Science in Kentucky since 1914! We encourage aspiring scientists, promote science literacy, give science a voice in policymaking, and recognize those who make the future brighter through scientific discovery.



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Check out news this month from Established Program for Stimulating Competitive Research (EPSCoR) and Institutional Development Award (IDeA), including federal funding opportunities and more!
EPSCoR & IDeA Newsletter - August

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If you have something to share in the monthly KAS newsletter, get in touch with our Newsletter editor, Mark dela Cerna.

The Journal of the Kentucky Academy of Science publishes work in the Social Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Life Sciences.
Digital issues are published as Issues-in-Progress which expedites publication for authors.

Illustration from:
Occurrence of Compsopogon coeruleus (red alga) on Lernaea (Copepoda) from Fishes in the Obion Creek Drainage, Hickman County, Kentucky
William G. Wells, Joshua Alvarez
Journal of the Kentucky Academy of Science 82 (1), 42-44, (28 January 2022) Abstract
Log in to read the full article
Watch a video about the research

KAS has set up a listserv so our members can talk to each other, to share science-related news & announcements, offers, requests, questions and answers.

 Opt In to the listserv:
Log In at the KAS website (https://kyscience.org/)
In the Member Menu, go to Communication / Message Boards
Click to Opt In to the KAS Member Listserv (and choose the Daily Digest option if  you prefer)
To post to the listserv, send a message to kyscience@memberleap.com

The KAS Excellence in Science Education & Outreach Award provides recognition of distinctive activities, educational programs, or approaches that increase involvement, engagement, and sustainability of science in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Nominations are open to individual members, and to groups of members (for example, from one or various institutions), that have collaborated on Education and Public Outreach initiatives.

Download a Flyer about the KAS Excellence in Science Education & Outreach Award
 
Evaluation criteria includes advocacy and involvement in public outreach, and overall impact on the public. For more information on qualifying outreach criteria, nomination eligibility, and other award details please CLICK HERE
 
Nominations must be made on behalf of a KAS member (or group of KAS members) by another KAS member (no self-nominations). The nominator must provide a letter explaining why the nominee should win the award, and three letters of recommendation from (1) the nominee’s department chair or other supervisor, (2) a colleague, and (3) a community member or teacher who has participated in an outreach activity involving the nominee.
 
Kindly send nomination materials to KAS Vice-President Noel Novelo, noel.novelo@kysu.edu
 
 

As the world gets more complex, it’s increasingly important that members of the science community focus on shared goals and work together toward achieving them.
 
That’s one reason members of the KAS Governing Board were eager to come together for a strategic planning retreat on July 16 at the University of Kentucky Ecological Research and Education Center in Lexington.
 
Clarifying an organization’s vision through periodic strategic planning is particularly important for a mission-driven nonprofit like KAS, said Carolyn Waters, an adjunct instructor at Bellarmine University who facilitated the strategic planning retreat.
 
“Lots of stakeholders contribute to a successful strategic plan,” Waters said. “When a lot of people come together and can all agree that certain things are important, it’s much easier to reach the goals you set out to accomplish.”
 

 

If you're looking for a job or if you're hiring, pop over to our jobs page. Please send any job announcements to executivedirector@kyscience.org and include contact information and closing date. We have several new job postings this month that you can view by clicking here. 

Dr. Luke Bradley is a faculty member in the University of Kentucky College of Medicine.  His NIH grant, STEM Through Authentic Research Training (START) Program for Underrepresented Communities" was awarded $260,155 to "recruit and retain... traditionally underrepresented populations by providing year-round authentic research opportunities and professional development for high school students (grades 9-12) and middle and secondary STEM teachers (grades 5-12).

Congratulations to Dr. Michael Guy, KAS member at Northern Kentucky University. Dr. Guy has been awarded  a Ky-INBRE Postdoctoral Fellowship for his project "Determining how 2'-O-methylations in the eukaryotic anticodon loop region of tRNA are formed and how they affect translation"
 

 
The Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) has launched an advocacy program: Scholars Transforming Through Research (STR). . The STR Program serves as a six month professional development opportunity for undergraduate students and faculty/mentors interested in garnering communication and advocacy skills to leverage the impact of their undergraduate research experience by conveying their story to stakeholder groups such as funding agencies, association partners, elected officials, future employers, community, and beyond. This program will broaden participation allowing for engagement from students at varied stages of the undergraduate research process. CUR encourages teams of one faculty/mentor and up to two students to submit their application to the STR Program by September 7, 2022. Learn more about this program at CUR.org/STRProgram.

More Details including training dates & locations

Student teams from Bellarmine University, Sullivan University, University of Louisville and Jefferson Community and Technical College, under the direction of faculty mentors in the Conn Center for Renewable Energy at UofL, are invited to formulate and present concepts for new uses for soybeans and soybean components. Presentations will be made to the Kentucky Soybean Promotion Board in September via Zoom. Four to five selected concepts will be awarded $2,000-$3,000 seed money to develop those concepts over the next 2-3 months.
Preliminary concepts due September 15.
Full proposals due December 12.

For more details visit: http://www.conncenter.org/soy-innovation-challenge
 

Applications are currently being accepted for the Spring 2023 term of the DOE Office of Science’s Visiting Faculty Program (VFP). The application deadline is Oct 5, at 5 pm EDT.
This is the first time VFP has opened for applications outside of the Summer term. As part of the Office of Science’s RENEW initiative, the program is expanding to offer extended opportunities for faculty to engage in research and build collaborations at the national laboratories.
VFP seeks to increase the research competitiveness of faculty members and their students at institutions historically underrepresented in research to expand the workforce vital to DOE mission areas. As such, VFP has attracted many faculty members from MSIs, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Typically, about 50% of the participants are from MSIs, one-third of which are HBCUs. Selected college and university faculty members collaborate with DOE laboratory scientific research staff on research projects of mutual interest. Each participating faculty member may invite one or two students (one of whom may be a graduate student) to join the research team during a summer term. The program will focus on faculty only in non-summer terms.
Learn more

Our colleagues at the Kentucky Psychological Foundation have joined the ‘A Community Thrives’ donation drive to fundraise for their newest initiative: The Community Mental Health Fund (CMHF).  The CMHF helps begin directly funding someone’s ability to receive the mental healthcare services they need.
What is the Community Mental Health Fund (CMHF)?
The CMHF was designed by KPF utilizing the expertise, community relationships, and network of psychologists across Kentucky to directly address and alleviate existing financial barriers to mental health care through direct cash support qualifying Kentucky residents can use to pay for mental healthcare services.
Find out more or make a donation to the Community Mental Health Fund


 

ORSANCO  (the  Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission) recently released a report showing what they found during sampling in 2021. Every site had detections of multiple PFAS (majority of which were J-flagged, very low levels).

Download the 14-page ORSANCO report and the data HERE

EPA's Drinking Water Health Advisories & more on PFAS