On April 30, the Pigman College of Engineering gathered at the Manchester Fountain Hall to honor its 2026 Faculty Awards recipients for their outstanding contributions to the college and beyond. Awards were given in the areas of research, service and education. This year, in addition to individual research awards, the college added a new award category to honor the work of a research team. The winners in each area are listed below.
B.S. in chemical engineering, 1981 Phil Foster is an industry-changing innovator whose career has shaped modern microelectronics manufacturing, advanced sensor technology and semiconductor processing across global markets. A native of Paducah, Foster earned his Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from the University of Kentucky in 1981. He went on to complete coursework at universities in California and Texas in finance, business and executive management.
Two engineering undergraduate researchers, Jacob Childress, Katelyn Straw, will present their work at the 24th annual Posters-at-the-Capitol on March 5.
Odianosen Ewah, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, was the 2026 recipient of the Leadership Legacy Award from the University of Kentucky Martin Luther King Center.
Hortin and her winning Engineering Design Challenge team decided to tackle the challenge of carbon sequestration. They prototyped a plant window box named, “C- filtration box,” that leverages photosynthesis to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere – turning every apartment window in an urban city into a micro-carbon filter.
During the Virtual Evening with Chemical Engineering, you’ll meet current students, professors, and alumni from the UK Chemical Engineering department on Zoom to learn more about the major, the classes, internships and co-ops, career paths, and more.
Thanks to the generous support of Stanley and Karen Pigman and Kentucky’s Research Challenge Trust Fund (RCTF), engineering researchers are receiving additional annual funding to enhance the research priorities and programs of the Pigman College of Engineering. Established in 2024, the Lighthouse Beacon Foundation Endowment supports faculty, research, graduate students, facilities and research infrastructure in the Pigman College of Engineering. This year, the endowment made $235,000 in funds available for distribution.
Katelyn Straw, junior, took first place in the undergraduate category and Odianosen Ewah, doctoral candidate, took second place in the graduate category.
