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K Pennell

Kelly Pennell, PhD, PE
Professor, Earl Parker Robinson Chair of Sustainability and the Environment

Civil Engineering

Faculty

Research Overview

The Pennell Research Group generates solutions to human health and environmental risks posed by industrial pollution using a complex-systems approach. By clarifying constraints, quantifying uncertainty, and explicitly considering trade-offs, they advance research grounded in both scientific evidence and real-world feasibility.

Research Interests

  • Vapor Intrusion
  • Computational modeling
  • Geospatial tools
  • (Re)defining conceptual models for exposure and mitigation
  • Novel environmental sampling and analytical techniques
  • Stakeholder engagement

Education

Post-Doctoral Researcher, School of Engineering, Brown University (2005-2008)

PhD, Civil Engineering (with environmental emphasis), Purdue University (2005)

MS, Environmental Engineering, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (2001)

BS, Civil Engineering, Lawrence Technological University (1997)

Appointments

2025-present: Director, Engineering Research Endowments

2021 - present: Professor, Civil Engineering, University of Kentucky

2025-present, Professor, Epidemiology and Environmental Health (joint appointment), College of Public Health, University of Kentucky

2020 - present: Director, University of Kentucky Superfund Research Center

2016 – 2021: Associate Professor, Civil Engineering, University of Kentucky

2013 – 2016: Assistant Professor, Civil Engineering, University of Kentucky

2010-2013: Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth

2008-2010: Research Faculty, School of Engineering, Brown University

1997-2002: Project Engineer, ARCADIS