University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research

05/29/2026

Students, and those who work with students—hear us out!

We’re searching for the next Lee T. Todd, Jr. Scholar—a student ready to lead, innovate, and make an impact.

The Lee T. Todd, Jr. Student Innovation Award offers undergraduate entrepreneurs a unique opportunity to develop their ideas alongside UK CAER scientists and engineers in a collaborative research environment. Awardees will receive:

- $10,000 Scholarship
- Full access to UK CAER laboratories and equipment
- Hands-on collaboration with leading researchers
- One-on-one mentorship focused on commercialization

🔗 Apply here: https://uky.scholarshipuniverse.com/student/scholarship/550651
📅 Deadline: July 1
🎥 Hear from inaugural recipient Lucas Bertucci:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AHzt6rO19k
🎥 Watch the full conversation with Dr. Todd:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciAxA2FFTzg&t=42s
Help us spread the word and support the next generation of energy innovators!

05/20/2026

Congratulations to Matthew Weisenberger and his Carbon Materials team on being featured by KET - Kentucky Educational Television on Kentucky Edition. Dr. Weisenberger discussed the conversion of coal into high-value graphite for use in batteries and other advanced applications. hashtag

https://lnkd.in/e4BsMvkN

05/15/2026

Thanks to St. Leo School in Versailles for visiting us last week! Hope you enjoyed checking out our labs!

05/07/2026

WOCA is making headlines this week!

University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research's Bob Jewell and American Coal Ash Association's Thomas Adams were featured on KET - Kentucky Educational Television's Kentucky Edition last night.

https://lnkd.in/e9Jj2eVR

ICYMI, WOCA was also featured on local Lexington news, WKYT-TV: https://lnkd.in/esWNgXWN

05/01/2026

Our own James Hower sat down with our friends at Kentucky Geological Survey for a chat on the Big Blue Rock Pod last week.

They discuss the UK CAER, coal petrology, coal research, the Fire Clay coal, sampling coal, sampling coal-fired power plants, fly ash, rare earth elements, and the future of applied energy research.

Check it out!

https://lnkd.in/eVsEg9BD
https://lnkd.in/ekptBiNp

04/28/2026

CAER is leading the way in domestic graphite materials. Dr. Matthew Weisenberger and the CAER team are converting coal into battery-grade synthetic graphite for lithium-ion batteries, addressing a critical gap in the U.S. supply chain.

What sets CAER apart is the ability to manage the entire process in one location. As Dr. Weisenberger explains: "We have here, under one roof, the capacity to take an earth resource like coal, process that through to a synthetic graphite, fabricate and integrate that into lithium-ion batteries and then test those batteries." This is CAER's mission in action.

Read more on UK NOW from an article by Christian Honce:

Coal has long been the fuel at the heart of energy production in the Commonwealth. Kentuckians often grow up with stories of their grandfather’s days in the mines. But researchers at the University of Kentucky are finding ways to repurpose coal for energy storage — in the form of lithium-ion bat...

04/23/2026

Thanks to five generous donors, we are sitting at $750! Let's keep building!

04/23/2026

Today is the Day!

By giving to our The Lee T. Todd, Jr. Student Innovation Scholarship, you give undergraduate researchers a chance to launch their own ideas into a Kentucky company.

Give: https://onedayforuk.com/campaigns/center-for-applied-energy-research-caer

Our First Scholarship: https://lnkd.in/eyJEcHta

04/21/2026

This is how CAER opens doors for students. Help us open some more.

When CAER awarded the first Lee T. Todd, Jr. Innovation Scholarship, we believed in the power of student innovation, and the results exceeded expectations.

Lucas Bertucci earned national recognition for his solar panel recycling research, launched a high‑tech startup, proving that undergraduate innovation can drive Kentucky’s future economy.

That success was made possible by donors like you.

On One Day for UK, your gift helps more students explore research entrepreneurship, launch companies, and create good‑paying jobs across the Commonwealth.

As Dr. Todd said, “My generation was told to go to college and get a job. Today, I tell students to go to college and create a job.”

Help us open more doors for more innovators by donating on 4/23/26. https://lnkd.in/ep3cNHaC

02/19/2026

We'd like to recognize our staff and researchers on their University of Kentucky service awards! We appreciate all that you do for our center, our university, and our commonwealth.

Thomas L Robl - 50 Years
Don Challman - 35 Years
Jeff Mossey - 25 Years
David Melanson - 20 Years
Bob Jewell - 20 Years
Stephanie Guy - 15 Years
Aman Preet Kaur - 5 Years