University of Kentucky

Digging Smarter: How Screening Eagle and CLIMBS Are Building Kentucky’s Paleoclimate Record

CLIMBS Project, Kentucky Geological Survey, Project 2 - Paleo-Perspectives, Project 3 (Safeguarding Water Supply), University of Kentucky / By

https://youtu.be/oBTcH9cvrIc?si=c8s9IwpHjr-FQhmZ Building Kentucky’s paleoenvironmental record requires a lot of digging. Boreholes, trenches, and dirt under the nails. Researchers from CLIMBS Project 2, Paleo-perspectives, are studying sediment layers stacked by the hundreds to reveal how often Kentucky flooded and how long those floods lasted, to better anticipate future hazards. Simply put, digging isn’t going away anytime …

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CLIMBS Welcomes Weibing Gong, UK Faculty and Natural Hazards Engineer

CLIMBS Project, Project 5 (Mitigate Landslide Impacts), University of Kentucky / By

As CLIMBS works to strengthen climate and hazard resilience across Kentucky, its faculty forms the backbone of the initiative. Dr. Weibing Gong, a new addition to the Department of Civil Engineering, University of Kentucky, brings expertise in landslide hazards and geotechnical engineering, directly advancing Project 5 of CLIMBS: forecasting and mitigating landslides across the state. …

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WATCH: Ryan Ramsey and Crew Install Landslide Monitors in Floyd County

CLIMBS Project, Project 5 (Mitigate Landslide Impacts), University of Kentucky / By

How does CLIMBS mitigate landslide impacts? With hillslope monitoring stations all across Eastern Kentucky! Watch as Ryan Ramsey, a University of Kentucky graduate student and Kentucky Geological Survey geologist, and his team install a landslide monitor in Floyd County’s Jenny Wiley State Park and explain how CLIMBS Project 5 will use the data from these …

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UK’s Paterson, Track-1 Hire, Earns 2 Prestigious National Awards for Research, innovation

KAMPERS, Next-Gen Conductive Materials, University of Kentucky / By

Written By Lindsay Travis, UK Research Communications. Photos by UK Engineering Alexandra F. Paterson’s research paves the way for more reliable and innovative technologies that could benefit health care, manufacturing and everyday life. For her work, she has earned two prestigious national awards for early-career faculty: the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) …

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Close to Home: Emelia Harris Turns Environmental Loss Into Purpose

CLIMBS Project, Morehead State University, Project 2 - Paleo-Perspectives, University of Kentucky / By

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 …

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UK’s Meredith Swallom Wins Top Honors for Flood Research

CLIMBS Project, Flooding Mitigation, Kentucky Geological Survey, Project 2 - Paleo-Perspectives, University of Kentucky / By

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 …

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Karin Pekarchik, KY NSF EPSCoR’s New Statewide Program Coordinator, To Cultivate CLIMBS Connections

CLIMBS Project, Communication + Dissemination, Education, University of Kentucky / By

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 …

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Bryson Champions CLIMBS in TED Talk

CLIMBS Project, Project 5 (Mitigate Landslide Impacts), University of Kentucky / By

“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 …

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SP&M Lab Updates: Exciting Developments in Landslide Research and Flood Modelling

CLIMBS Project, Kentucky Geological Survey, Project 2 - Paleo-Perspectives, Project 3 (Safeguarding Water Supply), University of Kentucky / By

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 …

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McGlue, Marks, Puckett Speak on UK’s Appalachian Center Panel

CLIMBS Project, Project 2 - Paleo-Perspectives, Project 6 - Building Community Resilience, University of Kentucky / By

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 …

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