REU 2026 Blog!
Week 10
The REU summer wrapped up as we celebrated participants and their mentors with a poster session spotlighting the awesome work that was completed throughout the summer in the new Martin-Gatton Agricultural Sciences Building. After the presentations we celebrated with an Ice Cream Social send off at Crank and Boom. We also completed our end of program evaluation with the University of Cincinnati for both faculty and participants. It was a great summer experience, and we are so thankful for all those involved in the program this year! We are so excited for these participants and already have several conferences they have been accepted to attend this upcoming year to present their work!
Photo Credits to Tiffany Messer.
Week 9
During week 9 participants visited Kentucky’s only National Park: Mammoth Cave National. Unfortunately, due to weather kayaking had to be canceled this year. However, participants had a great lunch with a graduate panel to discuss graduate student experiences at UK.
Photo Credit to Tiffany Messer.
Week 7
Week 7 was a busy week of workshops and experiments. We reviewed summarizing research findings and had Dr. LeFebvre complete a workshop on developing posters. Dr. Barzee hosted his USDA Multistate meeting and invited REU participants to view the graduate student poster session and tour the James B. Beam Institute for Kentucky Spirits, the Center of Applied Energy Research (CAER), and Alltech to learn about industries related to their research topics! It was a great networking opportunity to meet faculty from around the country focused on bioproduct development.
Photo Credits to Eryk Carrillo.
Week 6
During week 6 students visited Robinson Forest to learn about mining and site restoration practices at the UK research facility. We learned about the importance of riparian establishment for preserving water quality and had the opportunity to meet with Dr. Cristopher Barton, Professor of Forest Watershed Management at the University of Kentucky.
Photo Credits to Tiffany Messer.
Week 5
Week 5 we met for a check in to discuss how to acquire funding and site various funding agencies. We also discussed how to apply to graduate school and choose a mentor. Participants also organized bowling social!
Photo Credit to Alexander Emmerich.
Week 4
During week 4 we focused on scientific writing and reporting results. We had a group discussion about publishing and talked about of highs and lows of the experience this far. Lab and field experiments are getting exciting and participants are taking part in various explorations around Lexington and the surrounding area!
Photo Credit to Alexander Emmerich.
Photo Credit to Kennedy Griggs.
Week 3
Week 3 was focused on getting projects launched and developing materials and methods. Trainings included Developing Research Materials and Methods (Wednesday). Participants are gaining more experiences with their laboratory teams and projects and exploring more around the Lexington area. REU participants were assigned to complete a 2-3 page write up of their materials and methods for the summer that they developed working with their mentors. REU participants also had a game night in place of a cookout due to intense rainfall. Overall, it was a fun week!
Photo Credit to Tiffany Messer.
Photo Credit to Kennedy Griggs.
Photo Credit to Vicky Apostolides.
Photo Credit to Tiffany Messer.
Week 2
During the second week each participant met with their faculty and graduate student mentors to outline their research plans for the summer. The plans included their research objectives, hypotheses, and key deliverables, which will serve as a blueprint for the summer and keep everyone on the same page. Everyone also reviewed at least 5 articles suggested by their mentors and prepared summaries of the studies in order to get up to better understand their projects. On Tuesday, Jacob Murphy from the UK Student Success presented on developing strong CVs and resumes. On Wednesday, everyone was invited to the Summer Research Kickoff outdoor event hosted by the UK Office of Undergraduate Research. On Friday, we reviewed our research plans as a group and discussed the main objectives, hypotheses, challenges, and opportunities of each project. Everyone shared what they knew, what they didn’t know, and the aspects they are most excited or nervous for this summer. Through the discussion, participants learned from each other.
Week 1
During the first we spent a lot of time getting to know one another and completing trainings and paperwork. Trainings and tours included Welcome Breakfast with mentors (Tuesday), Tour of the BAE Building (Tuesday), Title IX (Tuesday), Lab Safety (Wednesday), Research Project Overviews (Wednesday), and Escape Room (Thursday). Also, on Tuesday we worked to get everyone’s I-9s, parking passes, and Wildcat Cards completed. We added in a fun team building activity doing an Escape Room challenge course and ice cream at the on Thursday with a huge thanks to the Gatton Foundation for making this possible. REU participants met with their faculty and graduate/post doc mentors to discuss projects, safety trainings, and guidance on literature reviews throughout the week. We are looking forward to a GREAT summer!
Photo Credit to Alexander Emmerich.
Photo Credit to Kennedy Griggs.