Billie Sue Chafins has spent over 20 years shipping world-class consumer and enterprise software for large consumer technology companies, with over 15 years of experience building and managing teams. A 1997 UK graduate, Chafins views her computer science degree as the passport to many opportunities she would have otherwise never had. Born and raised in Pike County, Kentucky, she grew up seeing few opportunities for women to pursue professional ambitions and her education altered the course of her life.
Malgorzata “Margaret” Marek Sturgill is the daughter of University of Kentucky emeritus professor of computer science Victor Marek; however, her interest in computers arrived independently of her father’s profession. While the Marek family was spending a year in Venezuela, a school-wide strike left 15-year-old Margaret with nearly nothing to do. While at her father’s office, she noticed a computer that was ignored by everyone. Her father handed Margaret manuals for the machine, and she took to it instantly and never looked back.
Jesus Caban met University of Kentucky professor Brent Seales in his home of Puerto Rico, and soon after, was interning for him in Lexington, Kentucky. Caban quickly taught himself English and enrolled in UK’s master’s program with Seales as his faculty advisor. He graduated with his master’s degree in computer science from UK in 2005.
Anna Workman has been a driving force in UPS's technological evolution, exhibiting leadership and innovation across various business domains within UPS Technology Group since the early 2000’s.
De-escalation training is a vital tool for police officers — helping to reduce the need for force and ensuring safer outcomes for everyone involved in a tense situation. Stephen Ware, associate professor in the Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering at the University of Kentucky, has been working to enhance officer training through the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR).
Afsaneh Mahanipour, a graduate student in the Pigman College of Engineering , was one of 30 scholars from across the nation selected as a 2025 Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) Rising Star. Selected scholars attend the Rising Stars Workshop, hosted by Vanderbilt University. Mahanipour is a Ph.D. candidate in Department of Computer Science, under the supervision of Hana Khamfroush, Ph.D.
Pigman College of Engineering Spring 2025 Dean’s List
The University of Kentucky Office of the Provost and numerous faculty and staff members marked the second year of the Institutional Multidisciplinary Paradigm to Accelerate Collaboration and Transformation (IMPACT) Awards initiative on Sept. 26 with a reception for award recipients.
