The event, hosted by the , honored UofL faculty and staff nominated by their colleagues or self-nominated for outstanding research and scholarship accomplishments in fiscal year 2021.

“I often say that UofL is a true research engine, continuously blazing new trails and seeking answers to important questions,” said Interim President Lori Stewart Gonzalez, speaking at the event. “Our researchers, scholars and research administrators are the very backbone of that work and they deserve this celebration and recognition.”��

In addition to the roughly 90 recognized, six major awards were presented to:��

• • Kenneth Palmer, of the School of Medicine, who won Researcher of the Year, in part, for work to address the global COVID-19 pandemic, securing $8.5 million from the Department of Defense to adapt a novel broad-spectrum antiviral as a coronovirus-fighting nasal spray;
  • Hui Wang, of the J.B. Speed School of Engineering, who won Emerging Researcher of the Year for work to advance solid ion conductors and electrochemical energy storage;��
  • Becky Antle, of the Kent School of Social Work, who won Collaborator of the Year for serving as an evaluator on numerous groundbreaking projects with principal investigators across the university;
  • Monica Wendel, of the School of Public Health and Information Sciences, who won the Grand Challenger Award in Empowering our Communities in part for work to launch a new Health Equity Innovation Hub at UofL, backed by Humana Inc. and the Humana Foundation;
  • Shirish Barve, of the School of Medicine, who won the Grand Challenger Award in Advancing our Health for work to uncover the connections and impacts of alcohol on the body and organ injury and studying the gut/brain axis in HIV and aging; and
  • Joshua Spurgeon, of the J.B. Speed School of Engineering, who won the Grand Challenger Award in Engineering our Future Economy for work to create clean fuels using just water, carbon dioxide and sunlight, paving the way for more low-carbon power.

In addition to presenting awards, the event also highlighted the Office of Research and Innovation’s recently launched Ascending Star Fellowship program, which provides mentorship, funding and other support to high-performing associate professors. The inaugural class includes Cheri Levinson, Brandon McCormack and Kaila Story, all from the College of Arts and Sciences.��

Kevin Gardner, UofL’s Executive Vice President for Research and Innovation, said his office launched this inaugural awards event to recognize faculty and staff for their contributions to UofL’s research and scholarship.��

In the past fiscal year, their work helped bring in record $201.5 million to support groundbreaking work that saves and improves lives and shapes our society and culture.��And, UofL recently received another consecutive Research-1 designation from the , placing it among just 4% of schools considered.��

“What we celebrate and recognize reflects our values as an organization and as a community of scholars,” Gardner said. “Each researcher, scholar and administrator being celebrated is absolutely critical to our important work here at UofL, and we want you to know your efforts are appreciated.”

The supports promising early-career faculty who are potential role models in research and education. The award is $500,000 spread over five years, and��Spurgeon is one of only a handful of non-faculty recipients.

“I’m thrilled,” said Spurgeon, theme leader for solar fuels at . “These grants are so competitive, and this is huge for me.”��

Spurgeon’s work at UofL centers on hydrogen fuels, which he can make with just water and sunlight. With this award, he hopes to lower the cost of that method to make solar hydrogen more competitive with hydrogen derived from fossil fuels.

“We’re targeting the intersection between high-efficiency and low-cost,” he said. “The goal is to make clean, green, renewable fuel accessible.”��

The basic idea is to separate water, or H₂O, into hydrogen and oxygen using photocatalysts, which cause chemical reactions when exposed to sunlight. Spurgeon places the photocatalyst in the water, shines sunlight on it, and boom — potent, energy-dense hydrogen fuel.��

The problem, he said, is that this method is currently more expensive than fossil fuels because it relies on a combination of expensive commercial photovoltaic and electrolysis equipment. Spurgeon’s CAREER Award research will seek to lower the cost by integrating all of those components into a single semiconductor particle, making the whole process more cost-effective.��

“This would enable low-cost solar energy storage and sustainable fuel production,” said Mahendra Sunkara, director of the UofL Conn Center. “Such a technology could revolutionize the energy industry and greatly expand the energy independence of the United States.”

You can check out some of Spurgeon’s technologies and��

In addition to the research component, Spurgeon also will use his award to help build and develop a new master’s degree at the J.B. Speed School of Engineering focused on renewable energy and materials. He also plans to help underrepresented undergraduate students secure research internships and help final-year graduate students with their entrepreneurial and commercialization efforts.��

“Dr. Spurgeon is pursuing truly ground-breaking work that can broadly impact fields as diverse as transportation and utilities,” said Robert S. Keynton, Interim Executive Vice President for Research and Innovation. “We’re very proud of his accomplishment and his contributions to research and innovation at UofL.”��

Including Spurgeon’s, UofL researchers have received 21 total NSF CAREER Awards totaling some $7.1 million.