Greetings from KAS's new president, Dr. Trent Garrison. It is an honor to be elected as your president! As a member since I was in college, I always enjoyed attending the meetings and reading about the amazing things local scientists and students were doing. As a college instructor, I always try to support local scientific organizations and I hope you will encourage your friends to join and participate as well! 

As many of you know, KAS is over 100 years old (click here for a thorough history). If you read the article, the organization's commitment to scientific discovery in the Commonwealth will be apparent. You may also notice that, like many other organizations over time, most presidents were not very diverse. KAS, especially in recent years, is strongly committed to a membership and executive board that represents the diversity of the scientific community in Kentucky. If you are interested in knowing more, or possibly serving in our state's largest interdisciplinary science organization, there are plenty of opportunities. Below are some examples:

• Our Science & Education Advocacy Legislative Review Committee has spent many hours in recent weeks reviewing science-related bills for this legislative session in Kentucky 
• Bench Talk: This Week in Science radio show and podcast and many other videos and podcasts
• KAS Speakers Bureau
• Kentucky Junior Academy of Science
• Various grants and awards (see the "programs" tab on the homepage)
• Journal of the Kentucky Academy of Science (online)
• Dismantling Racism series 
• Lots of resources for teachers
• Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

This is not an exhaustive list, but it covers some activities that perhaps you didn't know about. If you are interested in any of these, please let us know. We always welcome new faces and collaborations. 

And lastly, I want to give thanks to a few people; especially our Executive Director, Amanda Fuller. She is in contact with us almost daily working on many projects that keeps KAS going! I also want to thank everyone on the board and all members who continue to be a part of this organization. Without you, the Kentucky Academy of Science would not thrive. 

Cheers!
Dr. Trent Garrison
2021 President 

Stay updated on all things KAS:
 
@kyscientists
 
kyscience

@kentuckyscience
 

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. We are excited about fostering more conversations within our scientific community!

 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 Kentucky Science & Technology Corporation is hiring two positions:

• Director of Development and Marketing
• Operations + Platform Manager, Venture Finance

Find out more & apply

Send us your job opportunities and we'll post them to our website.

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

Vaccine rollout continues in the state and as of the end of January, about 400,000 Kentuckians have been vaccinated. Phase 1B continues and will soon begin Phase 1C which includes anyone 60 years or older, all essential workers, and 16+ with high risk. Please remain vigilant and to practice social distancing, when possible, and to #MASKUP.




Find out more about vaccines under development and keep updated by visiting this Corona Virus Vaccine Tracker from the New York Times. 



For more information about  services and updates in our state, visit the official Team Kentucky COVID-19 source. 

KAS and our fellow scientific organizations are concerned about bills that have been introduced to impede COVID-19 vaccinations in Kentucky and undermine other proven public health measures.  Please consider contacting your legislators about using science to keep Kentucky safe and healthy. Senate Bill 8 is moving as we write this-- We're posting updates on this and other legislation at our website and we've got links for you to follow bills and contact your legislators, for example, on the legislative message line at 1-800-372-7181.

The Kentucky Academy of Science is 4000 members strong and your voice matters.
Thank you!

This month, two cancer researchers talk about their work on COVID-19. Find out how scientists are adapting innovations in cancer research to aid in developing therapeutics & vaccines for COVID-19.

Science fairs are a great way to meet the next generation of Kentuckian scientists and to celebrate the scientific creativity of students in our state. Learn more by visiting the webpage for the following ISEF-affiliated science fairs throughout Kentucky. 


 

• Science and Engineering Fair of Northern Kentucky (SFENK), Feb. 27th
• Central Kentucky Regional Science and Engineering Fair (CKRSEF), Mar. 5th-13th
• Louisville Regional Science and Engineering Fair (LRSEF), Mar. 6th-7th
• Eastern Kentucky Regional Science and Engineering Fair (EKRSEF), Mar. 6th
• DuPont Manual High School Regional Fair, Mar. 12th-13th
• Kentucky Science and Engineering Fair (STATE), Mar. 26th-27th

Some of the fairs might still be in need of volunteer judges and we encourage our members to volunteer when possible. LRSEF is still in need of judges and volunteers can register through this link.

Several opportunities are available for summer research at the undergraduate level across the state and in the US. 

 

• Eastern Kentucky University is seeking applicants for a summer REU program focusing on disturbance ecology in Central Appalachia. Applications are due on Feb. 19th. For more information visit: https://bioreu.eku.edu/.
• University of Louisville - NCI Cancer Education Program application is currently open. Students can apply to work with cancer researchers at UofL and the Brown Cancer Center. Applications are due on Feb. 15th. For more information, click here.
• KY INBRE Summer Biomedical Research Program is accepting applications until Feb. 15th to participate in biomedical research within laboratories at the University of Louisville or the University of Kentucky. Program is open to students in Kentucky colleges or Kentucky residents. For more information, click here.
• For additional opportunities, across the country, check out the National Science Foundation REU Sites by searching here. Most deadlines are also in February.

If you are aware of other opportunities that you would like to share to undergraduates in Kentucky, feel free to get in touch and we can share the information on our social media. 

The Kentucky Center for Mathematics will host the 13th Annual Math Conference with the theme "Imagine: Building New Realities through Collaboration" virtually and free of charge this year! Registration to attend the conference ends on March 3rd. Click here to register.


Learn more about KCM here or follow them on Facebook and Twitter to stay up-to-date on all KCM events.

The Kentucky Department of Education is reviewing academic standards and is seeking feedback on the current Kentucky Academic Standards for Science. The Kentucky Academy pof Science has been invited to have a representative on the Review Committee.

Public input is also important to this review and we encourage KAS members to provide input and suggestion on all or any of the science standards. 

To provide your input, fill out this form, KY Academic Standards Survey, which will remain open until February 22nd. 

This form consists of open-ended questions and it may be helpful to have  the standards at hand:
K-3 Standards
4-5 Standards
Middle School standards
High School Standards
 

The Kentucky Science Teachers Association (KSTA) is organizing a full-day summit to convene higher education science/science education instructors, professional scientists, informal science professionals, and tertiary science instructors.



Learn more about the summit and register by click this link. The deadline for Summit Poster Proposals is on February 26, 2021. The KSTA is also holding their virtual Annual Conference: The Future of Science Teaching and Learning on February 26-27, 2021. Click here to find out more and to register. Early registration ends on February 1.

The Kentucky Geographic Alliance is proud to represent students of Kentucky in Esri's 2021 ArcGIS Story Map Competition, which offers an opportunity fo High School and Middle School students in the state to think creatively about the spatial geography of Kentucky.



Students are encouraged to tell the unique heritage and livelihood of our state through creation of story maps. An email of intent to participate is due on Mar. 31st and all questions about submissions and deadlines should be directed to kga@wku.edu. 

For more information, visit the competition page. Click on the links to learn more about KGA and Esri. 

The MS Medical Sciences (MSMS) is a broad, flexible, interdisciplinary Master’s degree program  (18-24 months) that draws on the academic and research expertise of the University of Kentucky College of Medicine Basic Science Departments.

The MSMS program may be used as a stand-alone degree for career enhancement in basic biomedical research, pharmaceutical industry, or the health sciences, or to boost credentials in biomedical sciences prior to applying to medical school or other health sciences professional programs. Learn more by clicking here.