The Pigman College of Engineering is building one of the University of Kentucky’s fastest-growing research enterprises, securing more than $127 million in total research awards with $56.9 million in awards with engineering faculty as the principal investigators. Through Research Focus Areas in human health and safety; energy and infrastructure; materials and manufacturing; national security; and computing, networks and AI, PCoE researchers are strengthening recognized areas of excellence while expanding collaboration across UK to address complex challenges in Kentucky, the nation and the world.
Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies
Hastings’ research interests span nanoscale photonic and magnetic devices, nanomanufacturing, and their applications in sensing, energy, and unconventional computing. He has authored more than 75 peer-reviewed journal articles, delivered over 100 conference presentations and invited talks, and holds seven U.S. patents. His work has been supported by more than $30 million in research awards, including federal, state, foundation and industry funding. Hastings has served as principal investigator on over half of these awards.
Hastings is a recipient of both the NSF CAREER award and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Young Faculty Award, and has been recognized with the College of Engineering Excellence in Research award and University Research Professorship. He also co-founded IOPtic, Inc., a medical device startup focused on vision technologies.
Imagine a mining operation where workers, equipment and data are connected seamlessly — creating a safer, smarter and more efficient future for the industry. Now, researchers at the University of Kentucky will help advance that vision.
Have you ever wondered, what happens when a spacecraft plunges through a planet’s atmosphere? Dan Fries knows it encounters searing temperatures, powerful shock waves and chemically reactive gases — conditions that can push even the most advanced heat shields to their limits.
As the United States pushes to accelerate innovation, researchers from the University of Kentucky will play a leading role in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Genesis Mission.
As greenhouse agriculture continues to expand to meet growing food demands, researchers at the University of Kentucky are developing new technologies to produce healthier crops more efficiently, while also reducing the time and labor required to grow them. Biyun Xie, Ph.D., associate professor in the Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, is the principal investigator on a nearly $1.2 million U.S. National Science Foundation grant to develop an autonomous robotic system that could transform how greenhouse-grown tomatoes are monitored and evaluated.
The Vesuvius Challenge, co-founded by Brent Seales, professor of computer science, has achieved a historic breakthrough in the recovery of the Herculaneum scrolls — revealing new texts, titles and authors unknown to history and ushering in a new era for the study of the ancient world. At the Biblioteca Nazionale di Napoli Vittorio Emanuele III — with Mount Vesuvius rising in the distance — lead researchers, collaborators and distinguished guests gathered to mark the milestone decades in the making.
Scott Berry, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering of the Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering, has been honored as a 2026-27 University Research Professor.
