On April 30, the Pigman College of Engineering gathered at the Manchester Fountain Hall to honor its 2026 Faculty Awards recipients for their outstanding contributions to the college and beyond. Awards were given in the areas of research, service and education. This year, in addition to individual research awards, the college added a new award category to honor the work of a research team. The winners in each area are listed below.
Over spring break, Pigman College of Engineering students enrolled in The Engineering Leadership Program took their classroom learning to new heights during a four-day trip to Cape Canaveral, Florida. The trip immersed students in the heart of the nation’s space industry, offering direct access to leaders in aerospace engineering and national security. Through panels, site visits and discussions with industry experts, students explored how leadership principles translate into critical, real-world environments.
On Friday, the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees approved 17 University Research Professors for the 2026-27 academic year. Established by the Board of Trustees in 1976, the professorships program recognizes excellence across the full spectrum of research at UK.
As Artemis II prepares to lift off — marking the first crewed mission to the moon in more than 50 years — researchers at the University of Kentucky are celebrating a milestone years in the making and their role in helping bring astronauts home safely. An Orion capsule seated atop a 322-foot rocket will blast off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida as early as 6:24 p.m. ET Wednesday, April 1. Its mission: carry four astronauts around the moon and back — sending humans the farthest they’ve ever been from Earth.
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) has elected Johné Parker, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and associate dean for access and community engagement, as an ASME Fellow in recognition of her exceptional engineering achievements and contributions to the engineering profession and to ASME.
The University of Kentucky is well-represented on a list of the most-cited researchers in the world. In a database compiled by Stanford University in a partnership with Elsevier, 125 current UK scientists and scholars appear among the top 2% of the most-cited researchers across 22 disciplines. Of those 125 scientists and scholars, 21 are UK Pigman College of Engineering faculty.
Martha Grady, Ph.D., a Lighthouse Beacon Foundation Scholar and an associate department chair in the Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, is leading a multidisciplinary team to investigate how 3D-printed titanium can be engineered to resist harmful bacteria.
The KREPE-3 mission capsule sendoff offers a unique opportunity to view all 12 flight capsules before their delivery to the International Space Station.
Rahman, a Frankfort, Kentucky native who earned his degree in mechanical engineering, will compete in the Legend Cars division Jan. 16-18 and Jan. 23-25, racing a car and wearing a fire suit featuring the UK Alumni Association logo.
University of Kentucky researchers — along with collaborators from across the United States — gathered at Buckhorn School in Perry County last month to work with high school students on a water-testing device developed at UK. The ESCAPE research is part of the NSF’s Predictive Intelligence for Pandemic Preparation program. Berry is principal investigator of the nearly $18 million NSF award, shared by the four institutions.
