The pond outside Emelia Harris’ house is bright orange. A few years ago, the water source was home to a vibrant ecosystem containing a variety of fish, turtles, and frogs. The water was crystal clear. Then nearby construction resulted in run-off entering Harris’ pond. As an Estill County, Kentucky native, Harris spent her childhood immersed …
Close to Home: Emelia Harris Turns Environmental Loss Into Purpose Read More »
Meredith Swallom, a 4th year PhD student supported under Project 2 of CLIMBS’ Paleo-Perspectives initiative, won top honors in the Lightning Talk competition at the 2025 John P. Wyatt, M.D. Environment and Health Symposium on April 22nd. Her talk, “Drainages, Dams, and Downpours: What Makes a Flood?”, explored how past and present landscape changes may …
UK’s Meredith Swallom Wins Top Honors for Flood Research Read More »
From Manhattan to Kentucky’s country cafés and then research labs filled with code, crops, and climate models, Karin Pekarchik’s career has always been about bridging gaps and making connections. Her latest mission? Helping CLIMBS cultivate a resilient academic ecosystem—one rooted in research and relationships. Throughout her career, Pekarchik has gravitated toward spaces where community …
“CLIMBS will provide incalculable benefits to society… and ultimately enable us to save lives.” On March 25th, Dr. Sebastian Bryson championed the work of CLIMBS at TEDxUKY. Bryson told a gripping story–how floods and landslides have rocked our commonwealth–but also how spatial analysis, remote sensing, and artificial intelligence can help our Kentucky communities better predict …
Press Release from Kentucky Geological Survey: The Surface Processes & Modelling Laboratory (SP&M) at the Kentucky Geological Survey (KGS) is making significant strides in research and collaboration, including welcoming an esteemed international scholar, publishing research, and securing new funding. The SP&M Lab is funded by the NSF EPSCoR ‘Climate Resilience through Multidisciplinary Big Data Learning, Prediction & Building …
SP&M Lab Updates: Exciting Developments in Landslide Research and Flood Modelling Read More »
The 2025 Graduate Appalachian Research Community (GARC) Symposium, hosted by the University of Kentucky Appalachian Center on March 8th, brought together scholars and researchers from UK and the region to discuss pressing issues in Appalachia. This year’s theme, Insider/Outsider, connected history, culture, science, and art to exemplify Appalachia’s past, present, and future. One of the …
McGlue, Marks, Puckett Speak on UK’s Appalachian Center Panel Read More »
Congrats to Jian Shi and Isabel Escobar, two Track-1 EPSCoR recruits from our Bioeconomy project (2014-2018), on their new U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grant at the University of Kentucky. Shi is leading a group that will spearhead innovative methods to recover valuable metals from discarded devices and industrial waste. A perfect example of how …
UK Researchers, Hired Under Track-1, Awarded $1 Million DOE Metal Recovery Grant Read More »
The National Institutes of Health grant titled, Radon on the RADAR, is a project led by Nursing Professor Stacy Stanifer, PhD, APRN, AOCNS and UK EES PhD student Donna Robinson, GIT of the Kentucky Geological Survey. It seeks to analyze soil processes and characteristics that correlate to high radon values indoors. A key factor in …
Another testament to the connective power of KY NSF EPSCoR. Read More »
CLIMBS researchers from the University of Kentucky, Seth Carpenter and Zhenming Wang, recently spent time in Western Kentucky, specifically in the Jackson Purchase region, to select appropriate instrumentation for the passive-seismic groundwater characterization project. The team evaluated candidate nodal seismometers and were assisted at the West Farm Complex by Murray State University’s Hannah Conner. UK …
UK’s Carpenter, Wang, Partner with Murray State to Install Seismological Equipment Read More »
The first CLIMBS landslide monitoring station is officially installed at UK’s Robinson Forest (Breathitt, Knott, and Perry Counties)! These will gather hillslope data and help us observe the unique nature of Eastern Kentucky landslides, so that communities in Eastern Kentucky can better prepare and react. Congrats to Project 5 for this vital first step! This …
