Outstanding UK faculty honored with Kirwan Prize, Sturgill Award
LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 20, 2026) — Each year, the University of Kentucky Graduate School recognizes exceptional faculty for their achievements in graduate education and scholarly research. The 2026 recipients of The Graduate School’s top honors — the Albert D. and Elizabeth H. Kirwan Memorial Prize and the William B. Sturgill Award — are Guoqiang Yu, Ph.D., and Rachel Shane, Ph.D., respectively. Yu and Shane were recognized at the 2026 UK Faculty Awards Ceremony, held Thursday, April 30. Both have made lasting contributions to their fields, their students and the academic community.
2026 Kirwan Memorial Prize: Guoqiang Yu
Yu, professor in the F. Joseph Halcomb III, M.D. Department of Biomedical Engineering in the UK Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering, is the recipient of the 2026 Albert D. and Elizabeth H. Kirwan Memorial Prize, awarded for outstanding contributions to original research and scholarship.
“Receiving the Albert D. and Elizabeth H. Kirwan Memorial Prize is an extraordinary honor and deeply meaningful to me, as it represents one of the highest recognitions for research and scholarship at the University of Kentucky,” Yu said. “I am truly humbled by this recognition because it reflects not only my individual efforts, but also the collective contributions of my students, postdoctoral scholars, collaborators, and mentors who have supported and inspired this work over the years.”
Yu’s research focuses on innovative optical imaging technologies for noninvasive measurement of tissue hemodynamics and metabolism, with the goal of translating these advances into clinical applications and addressing challenging clinical problems. As a primary inventor, he has led the development of bio-photonic technologies — supported by patents — to aid in the diagnosis and monitoring of cancers, brain injuries, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease and peripheral arterial disease.
“To see this work recognized at the institutional level reinforces the importance of translational, interdisciplinary research that bridges engineering, medicine and patient care,” Yu said. “Most importantly, it motivates me to continue pursuing innovations that can make a meaningful difference in human health.”
Yu said the recognition also underscores his commitment to creating an environment where “curiosity, innovation and collaboration can thrive.”
Yu has received more than $50 million in research funding from federal agencies including the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and Department of Defense, and national foundations.
He has authored more than 110 peer-reviewed publications and delivered more than 390 presentations, including invited talks at major national and international conferences. He has also been recognized among Elsevier’s top 2% of the world’s most-cited researchers.
Over the years, Yu has led a large and interdisciplinary research team of graduate students, postdoctoral scholars and research staff. His mentorship has been recognized with awards from the UK Center for Clinical and Translational Science and the College of Education, and his trainees have received prestigious fellowships and advanced to academic and research careers.
Yu said his approach to mentorship emphasizes balancing independence with support, helping trainees “develop confidence in generating ideas, solving problems and leading projects.”
The Kirwan Memorial Prize was established in 1995 and recognizes its namesakes' collaborative research efforts, as well as Albert Kirwan's endeavors in creating an environment at UK that promotes high quality research and scholarship. Albert "Ab" Kirwan was head football coach at UK from 1938 to 1944 and was a distinguished faculty member and scholar in the field of Southern history. He later served as dean of The Graduate School and as the seventh president of the university. Elizabeth Kirwan was awarded the Sullivan Medallion in 1973 for her service to UK and the Lexington community. She held executive roles across more than 10 organizations, including president of the UK Woman’s Club and chairwoman of the Lexington Parks and Recreation Board.
2026 Sturgill Award: Rachel Shane
Rachel Shane, department chair and professor of arts administration in the UK College of Fine Arts, has received the 2026 William B. Sturgill Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions to graduate education at the University of Kentucky.
Shane has played a central role in building and expanding graduate education in arts administration at UK and beyond. Under her leadership, both the Master of Arts and the Ph.D. in arts administration were conceived, designed and launched within the past 15 years. The doctoral program represents the first of its kind in the United States and the University of Kentucky’s first fully online doctoral degree. She also helped develop graduate certificate programs in areas such as arts emergency management, creative social entrepreneurship, and fundraising and development, expanding access to flexible, career-focused education for working professionals.
A key focus of Shane’s work has been creating rigorous, fully online graduate programs that expand access for working professionals, allowing students to remain connected to their careers and communities while pursuing advanced degrees.
“Receiving the Sturgill Award is both humbling and incredibly meaningful to me,” Shane said. “When we first began building online graduate education in arts administration, we were not thinking about awards or recognition. We were focused on creating access to a high-quality, rigorous graduate education for people who loved the arts and wanted to create meaningful change in their communities. I see this award not simply as a reflection of my work, but of the extraordinary students, alumni, faculty and community that helped build these programs together.”
Her commitment to mentorship is at the core of that work. Shane emphasizes a relationship-centered approach that supports and challenges students, helping them grow as scholars, researchers and leaders while remaining grounded in their professional practice and communities.
“What makes graduate education meaningful to me is the opportunity to help students recognize the value of their own experiences, perspectives and voices,” she said. “I find great meaning in helping students move from seeing themselves simply as practitioners to recognizing themselves as scholars, researchers and leaders capable of shaping the future of the arts and cultural sector.”
Established in 1975, the Sturgill Award is named in honor of alumnus William B. Sturgill, who contributed to higher education through organizing and serving as president of the Hazard Independent College Foundation, in addition to working with legislators to develop the community college system across the Commonwealth. Sturgill, who died in 2014, was born in Lackey, Kentucky, and graduated from UK in 1946. He was involved in a variety of businesses, including executive and owner of several coal operations, East Kentucky Investment Company, Fourth Street and Gentry Tobacco Warehouses and the Hartland Development Project. Sturgill served as both secretary of energy and secretary of agriculture under Gov. John Y. Brown Jr. He served 18 years on UK's Board of Trustees, including serving as chair for 10 years. The Sturgill Development Building is named in his honor.
For more information about the awards, visit gradschool.uky.edu/faculty-awards.
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