
September 2025
What's Inside Annual Meeting Education Policy Funding Junior Academy Research From our Science Partners More from KAS Upcoming Events Annual Meeting Registration and Abstract Submission is now open Join your fellow scientists at the University of Louisville, November 21-22. Annual Meeting Highlights Hundreds of oral and poster presentations Friday "Lab Crawl" tours at U of L Keynote from Dr. Joel Brown Special Sessions on Nuclear Energy, Federal Funding, Science Policy, and Aerospace Junior Academy activities and STEM Careers Lunch on Friday Reception and Open House at the Speed School of Engineering's 15,000 square foot Maker Space Find Annual Meeting details here Register Registration is now open. Early Registration deadline is Oct 13. Details Submit Your Abstract After you register, you'll receive a link to submit your abstract. Submission deadline is October 13. Details Kentucky Junior Academy of Science We welcome K-12 Teachers and students to participate for free. We'll have special hands-on activities for Junior Academy participants, and a STEM Careers lunch on Friday where students can connect with scientists and mentors. Middle school and high school students who are doing research are invited to submit abstracts and present their research. Top presenters are invited to represent Kentucky at the American Junior Academy of Science. Details Thank You to our Sponsors! University of Louisville School of Medicine University of Louisville Graduate School University of Louisville Center for Engaged Learning Join Us as a Sponsor or Exhibitor Be part of Kentucky's largest gathering of scientists! Details and Registration here for Sponsors & Exhibitors Education Nominate a Scientist for KAS' Excellence in Science Education & Outreach Award The KAS Excellence in Science Education & Outreach Award provides recognition for unique activities, educational programs, or approaches that have increased the involvement, engagement, and sustainability of science in the Commonwealth. The annual award is open to individual KAS members or groups of KAS members (e.g. from the same institution/organizations or various institutions/organizations who are KAS members and have worked together collaboratively on Education and Public Outreach initiatives). Nominations are due September 30, 2025. Details and nomination form Bring the Physics Petting Zoo to your classroom in Eastern or Central Kentucky The Department of Physics & Astronomy at UK has received a small grant from the Division of Condensed Matter Physics of the American Institute of Physics that will pay for round trip shipping for their Physics Petting Zoo to visit classrooms in Eastern and Central Kentucky, for up to two weeks. We will be most interested in the venues that do some of these things: Put the Physics Petting Zoo in front of a lot of interested people, or many classroom groups or in several schools; Use it as part of a Science Fun Night; Use it as the basis for a classroom learning experience that extends over several days. Information about the Physics Petting Zoo Application form and instructions Poster you can share Volunteer in Louisville for Mighty Microbes Day Sept 20 The Kentucky Science Center is hosting their first ever Microbe Day in Louisville, September 20th, 2025, from 10 AM – 2PM. Whitney Heard, the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) 's Ambassador for Kentucky, is seeking faculty and student volunteers. If you are interested in teaching microbial sciences to children in a fun, interactive, and educational manner, sign up below. ASM is also looking for donations- check the spreadsheet of items that they need to make this day awesome! To donate money or materials, please reach out to Whitney directly. Questions: please contact Whitney Heard, ASM Ambassador to Kentucky Faculty sign-up Student sign-up Supplies List - items to donate Professional Development Resources for KAS members We've curated a variety of opportunities for our members to learn new skills, advance your careers, and have more impact in the world. Check our our Professional Development Resources at the KAS website. Many of them are free or cheap. If you know of resources you would like to share with fellow scientists, send them our way! Education and Engagement Team invites your participation! Our Education & Engagement team makes connections with K-12 Teachers, Kentucky field stations, supports the Junior Academy, and connects with other partners around the state. E&E meets next on September 5 at 10 am ET. All are welcome! Email our Executive Director Amanda Fuller to get added to the list. Policy Building Capacity for State Academies in Science Policy work Issues in Science & Technology published KAS' Amanda Fuller and Madison Flory's letter to the Editor about state science policy programs- read it (and the original piece) in https://issues.org/science-informed-governance-jones-kaye-fineberg-forum/ Science Policy Special Sessions and Meetup at the Annual Meeting Hear from local scientists involved in science policy work in a Special Session at our Annual Meeting this November, and connect will colleagues interested in Policy at our Friday evening Meetup! Policy enthusiasts will also want to check out or Special Session on Nuclear Energy Details about the KAS Annual Meeting Science Policy Committee Invites your Participation! The science policy committee will meet Wednesday, September 10 at 12:30pm ET on Zoom. All are welcome! Email Science Policy Specialist Austin McMasters (policy@kyscience.org) for the zoom link or more information, and Follow our Policy work at the KAS website. Funding KAS Research Grants are Open, due Nov 15 Find details about our grant categories Marcia Athey and Botany Funds Special Research Program this is our most competitive category Undergraduate Research these are less competitive Undergraduate Supply grants Undergraduate Summer Research Grants Athey Science Education & Outreach Grant - less competitive, and K-12 Educators are eligible to submit proposals Did you know? We have funding available for our members on our website! Check out our Funding Opportunities today - some deadlines are quickly approaching! Federal Funding Check out our Special Session at the KAS Annual Meeting on Federal Funding opportunities through EPSCoR and NIH. Annual Meeting Details NIH Will Stop Posting Notices of Funding Opportunities in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts in FY2026 What federal money should be going out that has been held up? Check out this tracker Junior Academy Join our KJAS Working Group to support our middle and high school scientists. Research Can coal ash be a source of rare earth metals? Wilson Gonzalez-Espada, KAS Summer 2025 Intern Although renewable energy sources are becoming more common, the U.S. still substantially relies on fossil fuels for electricity production. After natural gas, coal is the second most common fuel type, according to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report. One of the byproducts of coal burning is ash; burning ten tons of coal results in about one ton of ash. The EPA classifies this material by size as boiler slag (pellet size), bottom ash (coarse and too large to rise in a smokestack), and fly ash (very fine and powdery). Coal ash can be ‘recycled’ into soil additives and in the manufacturing of construction materials like wallboard, concrete, and bricks. Some of it, however, ends up in surface landfill-like dumps or in waterways. Since coal originated from organic material and vegetation in peat swamps, whatever the plants absorbed from the soil or was deposited in the swamp via sedimentation remains in the coal. When burned, the carbon is converted into carbon dioxide and water vapor, leaving other chemical compounds and elements behind. Toxic metals (arsenic, lead, mercury, cadmium, selenium); rare earth elements (REE); and other elements like zirconium, yttrium, niobium, and hafnium are common in coal ash. Can coal ash be a source of rare metals? From our Science Partners Kentucky Association for Environmental Education (KAEE) Annual Conference Nov 13-14, 2025 Owensboro Convention Center https://www.kaee.org/conference Propose a session to share with environmental educators across the Commonwealth. Communication & Science Forum Sept 25 Kickoff of The Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute’s "& Science" Forum Series Participate in this important discussion about how communicating scientific information raises public awareness, creates interest, and informs policy. RSVPs appreciated Kentucky Infrasructure Network for Biomedical Research (KY-INBRE) offers free trainings, and funding opportunities- check out their monthly news EPSCoR/ IDeA News, training and funding opportunities from Established Program for Stimulating Competitive Research (EPSCoR) and Institutional Development Award (IDeA) More from KAS Check out our KAS Jobs Board Access the Journal of the Kentucky Academy of Science Like and follow the Kentucky Academy of Science Stay updated on all things KAS! kyscientists Kentucky Academy of Science kyscience kentuckyscience KAS Channel Upcoming Events Bench Talk: The Week in Science Podcast Weekly on Mondays KAS Science Policy Committee meeting 09/10/2025 Union of Concerned Scientists MindLab, a weekly mindfulness space Weekly on Wednesdays UK Sky Talk 09/11/2025 Mighty Microbes Day at Kentucky Science Center 09/20/2025 KAS Education & Engagement Committee 09/22/2025 Behind the Scenes of Policymaking: Science, Influence, and How Change Really Happens 09/23/2025- 09/26/2025 Communication & Science Forum Sept 25 09/25/2025 American Institute of Professional Geologists Annual Meeting 10/04/2025- 10/07/2025 Abstract deadline-- American Institute of Professional Geologists Annual Meeting 10/04/2025- 10/05/2025 KAS Science Policy Committee meeting 10/08/2025 UK Sky Talk 10/09/2025 Tri-State STEM Conference** 10/23/2025
KAS Newsletter* - September 2025