OUR, UK Sustainability announce winners of research poster competition

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 20, 2023) — The University of Kentucky Office of Undergraduate Research and UK Sustainability are honored to announce the six winners of the third annual sustainability research poster competition.

The competition was held in conjunction with the annual UK Sustainability Showcase in the atrium of the Healthy Kentucky Research Building on Sept. 27.

As part of the showcase, graduate and undergraduate students in all majors were invited to submit their research related to the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals as a poster for a general audience.

The 2023 Sustainability Research Poster competition winners are:

• First place undergraduate: Ellen Williams, junior member of Lewis Honors College and agricultural and medical biotechnology major, Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment

• Second place undergraduate: McKenna Clinch, senior chemical engineering major, Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering

• People’s Choice undergraduate: Olivia Dixon, sophomore dietetics major, Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment

• First place graduate: Christina Thompson, graduate Ph.D. in chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences

• Second place graduate: Donovan Lewis, graduate Ph.D. in electrical engineering, Pigman College of Engineering

• People’s Choice graduate: Montunrayo Oladele, graduate Ph.D. in chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences

First place ($250), second place ($150) and People’s Choice ($100) awards were presented to the winners.

Judges with relevant experience reviewed posters for originality, clarity, motivation and relevance to sustainability as well as the validity, scope and depth of the project or investigation.

Organizers expressed special thanks to the judges for their support of sustainability research.

More information about the competition is available here.

As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.   

In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.