OUR, UK Sustainability announce winners of research poster competition
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 30, 2025) —The University of Kentucky Office of Undergraduate Research and UK Sustainability are honored to announce the six winners of the fifth annual sustainability research poster competition.
The competition was held in conjunction with the annual UK Sustainability Showcase in the atrium of the Healthy Kentucky Research Building on Oct. 15.
As part of the showcase, graduate and undergraduate students in all majors were invited to submit their research related to the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals as a poster for a general audience.
The 2025 Sustainability Research Poster competition winners are:
- First place undergraduate: Katelyn Straw, chemical engineering junior, Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering
- Second place undergraduate: Nikhil Kumar, biochemistry and mathematics Lewis Honors College sophomore, College of Arts and Sciences
- People’s Choice undergraduate: Katie Neglia, human health sciences and Lewis Honors College sophomore, College of Health Sciences
- First place graduate: Rosbelly Rios, veterinary science first-year graduate student, Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment
- Second place graduate: Odianosen Ewah, chemical engineering doctoral candidate, Pigman College of Engineering
- People’s Choice graduate: Seth Thompson, geological sciences second-year graduate student, College of Arts and Sciences
First place ($250), second place ($150) and People’s Choice ($100) awards were presented to the winners.
Judges with relevant experience reviewed posters for originality, clarity, motivation and relevance to sustainability as well as the validity, scope and depth of the project.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.