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Lee T. Todd Jr. Student Innovation Scholarship
UK CAER has created a new program that will train the next generation of energy entrepreneurs. Called the Lee T. Todd, Jr. Student Innovation Award, the program will provide undergraduate student entrepreneurs with an opportunity to develop their ideas alongside UK CAER scientists and engineers in a collaborative environment.
Awardees will have full access to UK CAER laboratories and equipment. In a refreshing and novel twist, students will be paired with an entrepreneurial mentor to assist them in the commercialization aspect of their project.
The Lee T. Todd, Jr. Student Innovation Award will provide undergraduate researchers interested in energy an amazing opportunity. They will get to develop their own research project – give life to their own innovation and dreams. They will get to do so alongside both a research mentor here at CAER as well as entrepreneurial mentor, who will show them how to take that innovation from the lab to the marketplace.
– Dr. Rodney Andrews, CAER Director
in 2023, Lucas Bertucci was the inaugural recipient of the scholarship, and he made national headlines for his innovative research.
Bertucci’s research is focused on recycling electronic waste in an environmentally responsible and economically feasible manner, focusing on recycling of solar panels. Take a lab tour with Lucas below, and read more about his research here.
Energy TechUp
The University of Kentucky has been selected to serve as a regional convenor for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) national EnergyTech University Prize competition.
Sponsored by DOE’s Office of Technology Transitions (OTT), the EnergyTech University Prize (EnergyTech UP) is a collegiate competition challenging multidisciplinary student teams to develop and present a business plan that leverages laboratory-developed and other high-potential energy technologies. EnergyTech UP awards cash prizes to teams that successfully identify an energy technology, assess its market potential, and propose a strategy for commercialization.
Student teams will compete for a total of $250,000 in cash prizes. Throughout the competition, they receive mentorship and materials to help them succeed.
UK NRT
UK NRT is a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Traineeship program available at UK, aimed at fully integrating research and professional skill development within an inclusive, multidisciplinary and supportive academy. Scholarships will be available to selected students.
Food, energy and water systems face numerous challenges in Kentucky, across the nation and throughout the globe. New approaches are needed to ensure adequate food supplies for increasing populations, to foster the development of sustainable and carbon-neutral sources of energy and to improve the management of water resources. This program will combine graduate student training with cutting-edge research in mine land remediation, water treatment, crop production and power generation and will help address the need for innovators in food, energy and water systems.
For further information, visit the NRT website: nrt.uky.edu