Researchers at the University of Kentucky play a pivotal role in finding solutions to meet the needs of the Commonwealth and the nation.
Much of that work to advance science is done with funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
Rodney Andrews, Ph.D., is the senior associate vice president for research administration and central services and the director of UK's Center for Applied Energy Research (CAER). He is also a professor of chemical and materials engineering in the UK Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering.
At CAER, Andrews leads experts in advanced materials, defense technologies and energy infrastructure.
He also leads the Climate Resilience through Multidisciplinary Big Data Learning, Prediction & Building Response Systems (CLIMBS) project.
This project brings together researchers across Kentucky to study extreme weather events and use big data, artificial intelligence and risk assessment tools to predict and respond to hazards like floods and landslides.
CLIMBS has considerable support from the NSF - $20 million over five years - and $4 million in additional funding from the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development.
"This funding allows us to bring in a range of expertise, from civil engineers to environmental scientists, to build up our efforts to better predict severe weather events," said Andrews. "Our goal is to help Kentucky communities be prepared and more resilient in the future."
Andrews and other members of our research community shared the importance of this federally funded research at UK. Learn more about the impactful work done in this video series from Research Communications.
Research in the news:
- CAER facility expansion enhances UK's cement research capabilities
- UK researchers are leaders in recovering materials that power our world
- CAER's Andrews appointed to Kentucky Nuclear Development Workgroup
This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation under Cooperative Agreement No. 2344533 and 1849213. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. National Science Foundation.
