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. 

The IMPACT Awards initiative is an internal funding program from the Office of the Provost, launched in February 2023 and designed to support innovation and transformation within UK’s colleges. The awards recognize the groundbreaking work conducted by faculty and staff across campus, and they create opportunities for transdisciplinary collaboration to occur between UK community members to help the university’s mission of advancing Kentucky.

The IMPACT Awards Reception brought together both cohorts of award recipients in the spirit of collaboration where individuals and teams from the inaugural cohort presented on their respective projects, detailing successes and challenges.

“It is an honor to celebrate each of our awardees, past and present, and highlight the dedication they have to UK’s mission of changing lives and advancing Kentucky,” said UK Provost Robert DiPaola, M.D. “By bringing together the two cohorts of awardees for this transdisciplinary initiative, we can take lessons learned in the last year and potentially anticipate and address challenges before they arise.”

In total, 15 colleges, including UK Libraries and the Graduate School, are working collectively to break new ground on ways to advance the Commonwealth through 10 IMPACT projects. The Pigman College of Engineering is a partner on four. 

Engineering projects are as follows: 

University of Kentucky Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Hub  

In 2023, the Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) Hub was launched and today has more than 30 researchers from five different colleges. Expanding the UK AI/ML Hub will grow UK’s AI/ML research capacity and train faculty and students to tackle problems collaboratively in various areas, including health care and agriculture. In addition to activities such as the annual AI/ML Research Symposium, the project will expand by adding an immersive nontechnical workshop for students and faculty to further engage our community across campus; growing a connected team of UK experts to solve AI/ML-related and data-oriented problems in an ongoing UK AI/ML Hub Seminar and Workshop series; and developing training and project opportunities for students and nontechnical partners. 

Accelerating Cultural Transformation in Business, Engineering and Nursing to Support Mental Health

Mental illness is increasing among college students nationally, and deterioration of mental health has accelerated since the onset of COVID-19. While academic expectations across business, engineering and nursing majors differ, analysis of national data shows alignment between prevalence of mental health symptoms and help-seeking behaviors of these student populations. Further, students from these majors who self-reported symptoms of mental health distress are significantly less likely to have sought professional help for their mental health compared to students from other majors. The project team, composed of faculty from counseling psychology, engineering, business and nursing, will work to identify factors that influence help-seeking among engineering, business and nursing students. Data will also be collected and incorporated into continued wide-scale mental health training tailored to the students in each college. 

Fostering Bioelectronics and Nanomedicine Innovation

Bringing together faculty across the Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering; the College of Arts and Sciences; the College of Medicine; the College of Pharmacy; and the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, the recently established Bioelectronics and Nanomedicine Research Center (BNRC) addresses a critical gap in health care by fostering biotechnology and bioelectronics innovation at UK. The BNRC emphasizes building multidisciplinary faculty engagement and core infrastructure for bioelectronics and nanomedicine to catalyze novel devices, diagnostics and therapies. BNRC faculty will create and implement a summer research program to provide opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to expand their skills in presenting and communicating their research, working as part of a collaborative team and mentoring. 

Enhancing UK Undergraduate Student Career Readiness by Integrating “Work Integrated Learning” into Sustainability Curriculum through UK Innovate Partnerships

Recent reports reveal that nearly half of recent college graduates consider themselves underprepared for entry-level positions, and approximately 75% of employers struggle to find graduates possessing the necessary soft skills. As a result, postsecondary institutions are increasingly making career readiness a central focus across campuses. This project will introduce “work-integrated learning” (WIL) into the classroom setting, an approach that blends classroom study with practical work experiences. The project is centered on sustainability and sustainable innovation to meet the increasing need for professionals in this area. The aim is to establish a vibrant educational environment where students from both the Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering and Gatton College of Business and Economics will engage collaboratively with professors in a hands-on approach to assist businesses in crafting and applying sustainable practices and innovations.