Sustainability Summer Research Fellowships

Any full-time UK undergraduate student of any major who has completed at least 1 semester (preferably 2+) of research with a faculty mentor and is in good academic standing. The student also must be returning to the University of Kentucky in the following Fall Semester as an undergraduate. 

Students are encouraged to apply for multiple summer research fellowships

Students may be offered multiple summer research awards, but a student can only receive ONE summer research award from the UK Office of Undergraduate Research (e.g. Summer Sustainability Fellowships or CURE Fellowship)

Please carefully read all of the information below before applying. 

1. Good Academic Standing - 3.0 or higher  

2. A faculty member's recommendation letter (2 pages maximum) and willingness to supervise the project are very important elements in the selection process.

3. Students must submit an application and sustainability research proposal. Proposal details can be found below.  (Deadline: March 1, 2025 by 11:55 pm EST)

4. Your proposal should include an emphasis on how your research project relates to sustainability.

5. Budget Worksheet

• Complete a Pre-Experience Fellowship survey (May 2025)

• Submit a Midsummer Check-in (July 2025)

• Submit a Final Report and Post-Experience Survey (August 2025)

• Present at the Summer Research Symposium (August 2025)

• Present at the UK Sustainability Showcase (October 2025)

• Present at the Showcase of Undergraduate Scholars (April 2026)

PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

Carefully read all of the information below before applying.  

1. Completed Application Form 

2. Research Proposal (details below)

3. Budget Worksheet

4. Faculty mentor(s) recommendation and willingness to supervise the project. (2-page maximum)

PROPOSAL FORMAT AND GUIDELINES

Format Requirements 

1. 500 words minimum and 1000 words maximum (2-4 pages)

2. Microsoft Word Document or PDF

3. Include the project title, your name, faculty sponsor's name, department in which the research is being done.

Writing Guidelines 

(The body of your proposal MUST provide a brief background along with the question you plan to address.) 

1. What background information to do have about the topic you will be studying?
2. What role did you, the student, play in planning the project?
3. What is the specific issue you will be addressing or question you will be asking?
4. What specific methods will you use to perform your research or creativity? Explain how your project can be conducted remotely and/or virtually, if needed.
5. How is your project directly related to the three pillars of sustainability: simultaneously advancing economic vitality, ecological integrity, and social equity?
6. Will the project make a scholarly contribution to the discipline? If so, how?
7. What do you expect to gain from the experience?
8. Budget Worksheet (this does NOT go towards your overall word count)

Your faculty mentor should be able to help you provide a brief overview of costs associated with your research. Providing this budget does not mean you are required to use your monies for the direct purpose of the project.

SUSTAINABILITY SUMMER RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP REQUIREMENTS

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

• Students are required to maintain communication with their mentor and the Office of Undergraduate Research staff
• NOTE: Failure to comply with any and all of the requirements contained in the signed agreement form will require the recipient of the money awarded to return the funds to the Office of Undergraduate Research. This includes all monies provided in the grant amount.
• If your research has taken a different direction than outlined in your proposal please contact our office. 

MID-SUMMER UPDATE

Due date: July  2025

1. Submit at least 2 high-quality photos (600+ dpi). Preferably these photos will be of you actively engaged in your research. 
2. Caption for each photo that includes student’s name, explanation of what they are doing, and focus of research
3. Quote about your summer research experience to date. 

NOTE: Students are required to maintain communication with their faculty mentor during the Summer Research Fellowship. Our office will contact all faculty mentors following the Mid-Summer check-in deadline of July 8, 2025.

FINAL REPORT

Due date: August 2025

Upload Final Report HERE

Format Requirements 

1. 500 words minimum and 1000 words maximum (2-4 pages)
2. Microsoft Word Document or PDF
3. Include the project title, your name, faculty sponsor's name, department in which the research is being done.

Summer Research Symposium (mandatory event)

Date: August 2025; 4-6 PM Gatton Student Center Ballroom

• Letters of Excuse will be available if this Symposium occurs during a class or lab. Please email UGResearch@uky.edu to request an excuse (be sure to include the professor's name).
• Please come prepared to briefly present the research you did over the summer (will not require a poster or PowerPoint presentation)

SHOWCASE OF UNDERGRADUATE SCHOLARS

Students awarded a Summer Research and Creativity Fellowship must register and present their research at the Office of Undergraduate Research's Showcase of Undergraduate Scholars the following Spring Semester.  Summer 2025 Research Fellows will be required to present their research at the April 2026 Showcase. 

For more information about the Showcase and how to register please go here!

Final Report Deadline: August 2025 by 11:55 pm EDT

> Upload Report here

1. Background Information

This may be similar to what you provided in your proposal. What is the purpose of your research and how will it contribute to your field of study? Your introduction should be directed at all readers, not just those in your particular field.

2. Methodology

Was it carried out as originally planned? If not, why? How did you adjust for the change in plans?

3. Results

What sort of results did you see from your research and what can you conclude from them, and do they align with your hypothesis?  What are the implications of these results and where does this study go from here? What impact does this study have within the discipline, and how might it affect the real world? 

4. Your Experience - answer each question below

• How has this experience contributed to your undergraduate education and your life goals?
• What experiences will you take from this summer's research that will impact your future in education, research, or professional career?
• Was your mentor available and helpful in guiding your summer research experience?
• In reflecting back on this summer, what could have been done differently, if anything, to improve your summer research experience? 

Applications are judged on the following criteria:

1. The proposal is well-written (clear, concise, well-developed and scholarly.)

2. The role of the student researcher is clearly articulated with an emphasis on independent work and creative thought.

3. According to the student and/or mentor, the project has a high likelihood of making a scholarly contribution to the proposed discipline or student’s academic growth.

4. The proposal outlines an achievable project with a realistic timeline for a summer-long project.

5. The proposal clearly defines how the project relates to sustainability.

6. The faculty letter demonstrates strong support for the student applicant and the project.

7. The budget is reasonable and realistic for the proposed project. 

8. All required elements were included on the application: (1) name and contact information; (2) title; (3) hypothesis or purpose; (4) background; (5) methods and potential outcomes; (6) general budget; (7) letter from mentor

Awards will be announced by April 2025. Students will receive email notification of the outcome of their applications and instructions and forms required to accept the award.

Katie Christensen, a sophomore Agricultural and Medical Biotechnology major. Katie spent the summer work with mentor Dr. Kendall Corbin on their sustainability research project "Mighty Microbes: The discovery of antibiotic producing bacteria from maize."

Luis Nunes, a freshman Computer Science major. Luis spent the summer work with mentor Dr. Christopher Crawford on their sustainability research project "Development of Sustainable Real-Time Lossless Data Compression Algorithms on FPGAs for Sensor Waveforms"

Safiyah Sadek, a senior Neuroscience major. Safiyah spent the summer work with mentor Dr. Cassandra Gipson-Reichardt on their sustainability research project "The Impact of E-Cigarette Vapor Toxins and Pollutants on Estrogen and Interactions with Microglia within the Brain Reward Pathway in Female Rats."

Cooper Samuelson, a junior Agricultural and Medical Biotechnology major. Cooper spent the summer work with mentor Dr. Kenton Sena on their sustainability research project "Examining the effects of urban forest restoration on carbon pools and infiltration rates."

Erica Smith, a junior Architecture major. Erica spent the summer work with mentor Dr. Daniel Vivian on their sustainability research project "Transit for All: Design Strategies for Improving Public Transportation in Lexington, Kentucky."

Anna Ackerman, a freshman Forestry major. Anna spent the summer work with mentor Dr. Sybil Gotsch on their sustainability research project "Determining the Impact of Valley Fog on Forest Function in Central Appalachia."

Nick Gunn, a junior Dietetics major. Nick spent the summer work with mentor Dr. Dawn Brewer on their sustainability research project "Growing Gardeners."

Kyle Heffernan, a sophomore Product Design major. Kyle spent the summer work with mentor Dr. Pooya Mohaghegh on their sustainability research project "Receptacles for Reusable Material in the College of Design."

Muhammad Indra, a junior Environmental and Sustainability Studies major. Muhammad spent the summer work with mentor Dr. Betsy Beymer-Farris on their sustainability research project "Sustainability Solutions to the Plastic Pile-Up in Bali, Indonesia."

Audrey Wirasaki, a freshman Food Science and Agricultural Economics major. Audrey spent the summer work with mentor Dr. Tammy Stephenson on their sustainability research project "Measuring the Economic and Nutritional Value of Food Waste Recovery at Campus Kitchen University of Kentucky."

Asahel Aguilar Ortiz, a junior Chemical Engineering major. Asahel spent the summer work with mentor Dr. Eduardo Santillan-Jimenez on their sustainability research project "Sustainable Aviation Fuel Production via Catalytic Deoxygenation of Oleaginous Biomass including Algae."

Alina Goodman, a junior Public Health major. Alina spent the summer work with mentor Dr. Courtney Leucking on their sustainability research project "Upcycling Textiles into Grocery Bags for Mobile Food Market Deliveries to Families Experiencing Food Insecurity in Central Kentucky."

Dawson Lancaster, a junior Neuroscience major. Dawson spent the summer work with mentor Dr. Tammy Stephenson on their sustainability research project "Nurturing CKUK Partnerships through Social and Economic Sustainability in the Lexington Community."

Henri Neblina, a junior Public Policy major. Henri spent the summer work with mentor Dr. Rajeev Darolia on their sustainability research project "Effects of Net Metering Rate Change on Residential Solar in Nevada."

Rachael Snyder, a junior Agricultural and Medical Biotechnology major. Rachael spent the summer work with mentor Dr. Nicholas Teets on their sustainability research project "The effect of cold shock exposure on transgenerational plasticity in Drosophila melanogaster."

Annabelle Wilson, a junior Agricultural and Medical Biotechnology major. Annabelle spent the summer work with mentor Dr. Nicholas Teets on their sustainability research project "Assessing Solarization in High Tunnels as a Viable Method of Pest Control."

Bridget Bolt, a junior Agriculture and Biomedical Technology major. She spent the summer working with her mentor Dr. Carlos Rodriquez Lopez on her sustainability research project "Soybean Methylation and the Effect on the Microbiome."

Sean Campbell, a senior Architecture major. Sean spent the summer work with mentor Dr. Brent Sturlaugson on their sustainability research project "Food Justice Design Systems."

Leah Gardner, a junior Dietetics major. Leah spent the summer work with mentor Dr. Tammy Stephenson on their sustainability research project "Revitalization of Campus and School Gardens through Student-Led Mentorship and Sustainable Farm-to-School Approaches."

Nathaniel Messer, a junior Community and Leadership Development and Agricultural Education major. Nathaniel spent the summer work with mentor Dr. Keiko Tanaka on their sustainability research project "Extending Roots of Fresh Stop Markets Across the Southeast Region."

Gretchen Ruschman, a freshman Agricultural & Medical Biotechnology major. Gretchen spent the summer work with mentor Dr. Carlos Rodriquez Lopez on their sustainability research project "Paving a Way for more Sustainable Agriculture: Understanding How Plants Talk to Fungi."

Courtney Shields, a junior Agricultural & Medical Biotechnology major. Courtney spent the summer work with mentor Dr. Kendall Corbin on their sustainability research project "Investigating the effect of storage on wheat quality."

Clay Turner, a junior Agricultural & Medical Biotechnology major. Clay spent the summer work with mentor Dr. Chris Sass on their sustainability research project "Equitably Enhancing Lexington’s Urban Tree Canopy Through Collaborative Site Evaluation of Potential Planting Locations."

Bridget Bolt, a junior Agriculture and Biomedical Technology major with a Beer, Wine, and Spirits Distillation Certification minor. She spent the summer working with her mentor Dr. Carlos Rodriquez Lopez on her sustainability research project "Soybean Methylation and the Effect on the Microbiome".

Anna Foose, a junior Agriculture and Biomedical Technology major with an Economics minor. She spent the summer working with her mentor Dr. Clare C. Rittschof on her sustainability research project "Honey bee Allogrooming and Pesticides"

Kaela Jackson, a senior Dietetics major with a Certificate in Food Systems & Hunger Studies minor. She spent the summer working with her mentor Dr. Makenzie Barr on her sustainability research project "Power of Produce Club: Evaluation of Farmer’s Market Incentive Program for Children"

Rachel Brown, an Entomology major, completed her project, "Use of CRISPR Cas 9 Gene Editing to Produce Sterile Male Mosquitoes," with the support of her UK faculty mentor Subba Reddy Palli in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment's Entomology department.

Brett Quigley, a Mechanical Engineering major, completed his project, "Waste Plastic to Fuel Oil" in Uganda with the support of his UK faculty mentor Jeffrey Seay in the College of Engineering.

Rana Turkmani, a Mechanical Engineering major, completed her project, "GIS Study of Waste Plastic Collection Potential in Uganda" with the support of her UK faculty mentor Jeffrey Seay in the College of Engineering.

Shelby Browning, a Chemical Engineering, completed her project, "Sustainable Approach for Green Pesticide Production in Kenya from the Croton Megalocarpus Trees," with the support of her UK faculty mentor Dr. Jeffrey Seay in the College of Engineering.

Brianna Damron, a Nursing student, completed her project, "Mindfulness-based nature therapy for hospitalized patients with acute pain," with the support of her UK faculty mentor Dr. Mary Arthur in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment's Forestry department.

Christopher Kositzke, a Biology student, completed his project, "Reducing Disease Carrying Beetle Pressure in Urban Community Gardens with an Innovative, Non-Insecticidal Cucumber Beetle Trap," with the support of his UK faculty mentor Dr. Stephen Dobson in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment's Entomology department.

Dominik Tye, a Geography and Environmental Sustainability Studies student, completed his project, "Green Space and Representation of Lexington's East End: An Oral History," with the support of his UK faculty mentor Dr. Mary Arthur in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment's Forestry department.

Erica Cherry, a Political Science and WRD major, completed her project, "A Portrait of Pollution: Creating a Record of Water Quality on Permitted Eastern Kentucky Land where no Mining is Occurring," with the support of her UK faculty mentor Chris Barton in the College of Arts and Sciences' Appalachian Studies department.

Brianna Damron, a Nursing major, completed her project, "Campus tree walks for university and hospital communities: Stress reduction, education, and urban canopy care," with the support of her UK faculty mentor Dr. Mary Arthur in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment's Forestry department.

Avery Edwards, an Interior Design major, completed her project, "Finding Sustainability in Recruitment," with the support of her UK faculty mentor Greg Robinson in the College of Design.

Alberto Rondon, an Agricultural Biotechnology major, completed his project, "Phosphorylation of Cellulose for Improved Degradation," with the support of his UK faculty mentor Dr. Matthew Gentry in the College of Medicine's Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry department.

John "Lucien" Whaley, a Civil Engineering major, completed his project, "Geothermal Energy System in Shale Formations in Kentucky," with the support of his UK faculty mentor Dr. Sebastian Bryson in the College of Engineering.

Rachel Cook, an Environmental Science & Sustainability Studies major, completed her project, "Quantifying Sustsainability across Five Different Agricultural Systems," with the support of her UK faculty mentor Krista Jacobsen in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment's Horticulture department.

Grace Coy, a Natural Resources and Environmental Science major, completed her project, "UK Tree Corps: A pilot study using citizen science to assess attitudes and sustainability of Lexington's urban forests," with the support of her UK faculty mentor Mary Arthur in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment's Forestry department.

Rachel Hart, an Agriculture Economics major, completed her project, "Environmental Crowdfunding Campaigns: Why do people donate?," with the support of her UK faculty mentor Wuyang Hu in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment.

Kendra Sandar Oo, a Dietetics and Human Nutrition major, completed her project, "Sustainable Approaches to Fighting Hunger: Development and Evaluation of an Innovative Gleaning and Nutrition Education Program Among Food Insecure Children in Lexington, Kentucky," with the support of her UK faculty mentor Tammy Stephenson in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment.

Benjamin Troupe, a Philosophy and Political Science major, completed his project, "Sustainable Ethics: Promoting Sustainability by Developing a Holistic Morality," with the support of his UK faculty mentor Eric Sanday in the College of Arts and Sciences.