From the Office of Public Affairs | http://www.news.ku.edu
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KU engineering professor wins Blavatnik Award for Young Scientists
LAWRENCE — A professor from the University of Kansas School of Engineering is the winner of one of the country’s most significant prizes for early-career researchers. Elaina Sutley, associate professor of civil, environmental & architectural engineering and KU Engineering associate dean for impact & belonging, is the laureate of the 2025 Blavatnik National Award for Young Scientists in the Physical Sciences and Engineering category. She is KU’s first-ever laureate.
University to host community service opportunities ahead of 2025 Homecoming
LAWRENCE — To coincide with University of Kansas Homecoming festivities later this month, KU Alumni has organized a series of service events Oct. 28-30 to extend the spirit of Jayhawk unity and goodwill. The community is invited to participate. Events are planned in Lawrence, Kansas City and the Wichita area, including a Halloween Trunk or Treat event Oct. 29 in Lawrence.
Study examines ties between criminal charges and mental health among incarcerated youth
LAWRENCE — New research from the University of Kansas asks if mental health issues like depression and anxiety are associated with specific charges faced by juveniles incarcerated in the United States. The KU team parsed data from 276 youth from juvenile detention centers in the Midwest, who voluntarily answered questionnaires and provided demographic data to the researchers, which then was matched to categories of criminal charge. The findings were reported in Children and Youth Services Review.
KU Law to host Central States Law Schools Association Scholarship Conference
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas School of Law will welcome legal scholars from across the country to Lawrence this week for the annual meeting of the Central States Law Schools Association. With nearly 90 scholars from 53 law schools expected to attend, this year’s event is on track to set a new attendance record.
KU to participate in Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drill on Oct. 16
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas Lawrence campus will participate in the national Great ShakeOut Drill at 10:40 a.m. Oct. 16. KU students, faculty and staff will receive an emergency notification via email and text message (for those who have opted in to SMS messaging) at 10:40 a.m., and the university Emergency Public Address system will also be tested during this time. The drill will last approximately five minutes.
Full stories below.
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Contact: Cody Howard, School of Engineering, 785-864-2936, [email protected]
KU engineering professor wins Blavatnik Award for Young Scientists
LAWRENCE — A professor from the University of Kansas School of Engineering is the winner of one of the country’s most significant prizes for early-career researchers.
Elaina Sutley, associate professor of civil, environmental & architectural engineering and KU Engineering associate dean for impact & belonging, is the laureate of the 2025 Blavatnik National Award for Young Scientists in the Physical Sciences and Engineering category. She is KU’s first-ever laureate.
The Blavatnik Awards, independently administered by The New York Academy of Sciences, honor researchers nationwide in three categories: Life Sciences, Chemical Sciences and Physical Sciences and Engineering. The laureates in each category receive an unrestricted award of $250,000 — the world’s largest unrestricted science prize available for early-career scientists. Winners were announced Tuesday night and recognized at a ceremony at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
“The University of Kansas is proud to celebrate this extraordinary recognition of Dr. Sutley’s research,” said University of Kansas Chancellor Douglas A. Girod. “Her work has tremendous potential to improve lives, increase safety and enhance communities in Kansas and beyond.”
Sutley’s research focuses on natural hazards and disasters, community resilience and long-term housing recovery with a focus on helping to modernize building codes across the country. The goal is to make communities more resilient while helping policymakers and local leaders make informed decisions about the most effective ways to prepare for and recover from these disasters.
“Dr. Sutley winning the Blavatnik Award is a source of pride for the entire KU community. It is a tremendous honor to see her important work recognized on the national level,” said Mary Rezac, dean of the KU School of Engineering. “With natural hazards and disasters increasing potential harm to structures and society, her research is critical to safety and security around the globe.”
Sutley joined KU in 2015. She has worked on numerous projects funded by the National Science Foundation, as well as being part of the 10-year Center for Risk-Based Community Resilience Planning funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Sutley earned her doctorate in civil engineering from Colorado State. During her time at CSU, she was co-trained in sociology, setting her research on a path to put people at the center of her engineering research.
Prior to CSU, Sutley earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from the University of Alabama.
Recognized alongside Sutley as laureates are Philip Kranzusch, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School in Life Sciences; and Frank Leibfarth, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Chemical Sciences.
About the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists
The Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists, established by the Blavatnik Family Foundation in 2007 and independently administered by The New York Academy of Sciences, began by identifying outstanding postdoctoral scientists in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. In 2014, the Blavatnik National Awards were created to recognize faculty-rank scientists throughout the United States. In 2017, the awards were further expanded to honor faculty-rank scientists in the United Kingdom and Israel.
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KU provides fire, rescue and law enforcement training across Kansas.
https://ku.edu/distinction
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Contact: Ryan Edmonds, KU Alumni, [email protected]
University to host community service opportunities ahead of 2025 Homecoming
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas will host its 113th Homecoming, sponsored by Central Bank, Oct. 27-Nov. 2. The week culminates with the KU football game against Oklahoma State on Nov. 1 at the David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. KU’s Homecoming experience aims to celebrate the university’s history and tradition and instill Jayhawk pride in all members of the KU community, near and far, through the engagement of students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members.
Homecoming community service opportunities
This year, KU Alumni has organized a series of service events aimed at assisting the university community and extending the Homecoming spirit of Jayhawk unity and goodwill beyond Lawrence. All community members are invited to participate.
Visit the Homecoming webpage to find more information about Homecoming service opportunities and how to register to volunteer.
Simply Hygiene, Wichita
Oct. 28
KU Alumni’s Wichita Network is hosting a supply drive for hygiene products to support Simply Hygiene. This Wichita-based organization provides essential hygiene products to local schools, domestic violence shelters, transitional housing, homeless shelters, and food and hygiene pantries. Alumni and community members can also volunteer at the Simply Hygiene facility Oct. 28 to help package and sort product.
Trunk or Treat, Lawrence
Oct. 29
KU Alumni is partnering with the Center for Community Outreach to host its annual Trunk or Treat. Jayhawks are encouraged to register a “trunk” and engage families within the Lawrence community in this Halloween-spirited event at the Dole Institute of Politics. Community members are invited to attend a night of games, food trucks and costume contests and enjoy a live DJ.
Harvesters Food Network, Lawrence
Oct. 30
Join fellow Jayhawks in Lawrence by giving back during Homecoming through volunteering at the Harvesters Community Food Network. Volunteers will help sort and repackage donated food to support families in need across Kansas. There will be an opportunity for a pre-volunteering tour of the Harvesters’ Lawrence facility.
Harvesters Food Network, Kansas City
Oct. 30
Join fellow Jayhawks in Kansas City by giving back during Homecoming through volunteering at the Harvesters Community Food Network. Volunteers will help sort and repackage donated food to support families in need across Kansas.
Homecoming sponsors
The title sponsor for Homecoming this year is Central Bank. Presenting sponsors are Konica Minolta, KU Bookstore, Love Kansas and The University of Kansas Health System. Supporting sponsors are Jostens, Pepsi and Wendy’s.
KU Alumni will continue to update its Homecoming webpage as more information on the week’s activities becomes available.
About KU Alumni
Through the support of donors and friends, KU Alumni advocates for the University of Kansas, communicates with Jayhawks in all media, recruits students and volunteers, serves the KU community and unites Jayhawks. For more information on ways that KU Alumni builds lifelong relationships to create fierce champions for KU, visit the KU Alumni website.
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KU activity supports nearly 88,000 jobs — or 1 in every 23 jobs in Kansas.
If KU by itself were its own industry sector, it would be the 10th-largest sector in Kansas.
https://economicdevelopment.ku.edu/impact
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Contact: Brendan Lynch, KU News Service, 785-864-8855, [email protected]
Study examines ties between criminal charges and mental health among incarcerated youth
LAWRENCE — New research from the University of Kansas asks if mental health issues like depression and anxiety are associated with specific charges faced by juveniles incarcerated in the United States.
While the U.S. imprisons a larger share of its population than any other country, juvenile justice tends to be more reform-oriented than the adult criminal justice system. Such research can help clinicians approach therapeutic approaches with more precision.
“The goal is to reduce recidivism, not to be solely punitive,” said Paula Fite, professor and chair of clinical child psychology at the University of Kansas, lead author of the new research. “Really, the goal is to keep the community safe, avoid recidivism and help a kid make better choices so they don’t get caught up in the system. One of the main things we need to address, though, is mental health issues.”
Fite sought to know if particular charges are associated with types of psychopathology — specifically depression and anxiety. She was joined in the study by KU graduate students Jeevan Bains and Selena Baca.
Their findings were reported recently in Children and Youth Services Review.
For all juvenile prisoners, the researchers discovered high rates of depression and anxiety.
“What we’re finding is that it doesn’t overall really matter what the charge is,” Fite said. “We consistently see high rates of mental health concerns — depression and anxiety — among youth who are detained. There are various reasons for this. Some say experiencing mental health issues puts youth at a heightened risk to engage in problematic behaviors, because they may be less engaged in societal norms. They’re not thinking clearly, or they may act impulsively or respond poorly to stress.”
Fite acknowledged that delinquent behaviors also could drive guilt, worry or distress, and those things can lead to mounting mental health concerns.
“So, it’s probably bidirectional,” Fite said. “There’s not a clear ‘chicken-or-egg’ answer, but the two are definitely linked.”
Fite said it’s vital to address mental health concerns not just after youth become involved with the system, but before. She said prevention efforts, community-based supports and early intervention can reduce recidivism.
“Once youth are detained, though, that can actually be an opportunity — because for many, it’s the first time their mental health issues are formally recognized,” said the KU researcher. “In Kansas and in many other places, the juvenile system often becomes the first point of contact for youth receiving mental health care.”
Providers who work with incarcerated youth recognize that there’s a shortage of resources for mental health services in the community, she said, so the justice system ends up being a critical access point.
The KU team parsed data from 276 youth from juvenile detention centers in the Midwest aged 11-17, who voluntarily answered questionnaires and provided demographic data to the researchers, which then was matched to categories of criminal charge. From there they analyzed the data with statistical software.
More than 35% of participants reported clinically significant symptoms of depression, and more than 26% reported elevated symptoms of anxiety. The researchers did look at whether certain types of offenses were associated with different levels of anxiety or depression.
“There were some differences — for example, youth with arson-related offenses were associated with somewhat elevated levels of depression — but overall, the takeaway is that elevated mental health concerns are present across all types of charges,” Fite said. “It’s really important not to interpret the data as suggesting that only certain groups of youth need support.”
Fite said her findings show mental health concerns are widespread among detained youth.
“Screening and intervention should be standard practice in all detention settings, not just targeted to specific offenses,” said the KU researcher. “Ultimately, if we want to prevent recidivism and help youth reintegrate successfully, we have to take their mental health seriously.”
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Don’t miss new episodes of “When Experts Attack!,”
a KU News Service podcast hosted by Kansas Public Radio.
https://kansaspublicradio.org/podcast/when-experts-attack
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Contact: Julie Francisco, School of Law, 785-864-9205, [email protected]
KU Law to host Central States Law Schools Association Scholarship Conference
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas School of Law will welcome legal scholars from across the country to Lawrence this week for the annual meeting of the Central States Law Schools Association.
The 2025 scholarship conference will take place Oct. 10-11 in Green Hall on the Lawrence campus. With nearly 90 scholars from 53 law schools expected to attend, this year’s event is on track to set a new attendance record.
“We are thrilled to host legal academics from across the country for the CSLSA annual scholarship conference. We are especially excited that this year’s event will be the largest yet,” said Kyle Velte, KU Law associate dean and professor and current CSLSA president. “The CSLSA conference offers an important platform for legal scholars to engage in productive dialogue and collaboration. It’s unique in that it is not limited by subject matter — it offers a supportive setting for scholars to present working papers, finished articles or simply test out new ideas.”
CSLSA is an organization of law schools dedicated to fostering conversation and collaboration among legal academics. The annual conference is an opportunity for scholars — particularly early-career faculty — to share works in progress or completed research in a relaxed, collegial setting. Both junior and senior scholars from a range of disciplines offer feedback and commentary, helping participants refine their scholarship and explore new directions. Faculty from member and nonmember schools are invited to attend.
Visit the KU Law website for a complete schedule and list of presenters.
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KU spent $78.9 million across Kansas on research-related goods and services in FY23.
https://ku.edu/distinction
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Contact: Joe Monaco, Office of Public Affairs, 785-864-7100, [email protected]
KU to participate in Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drill on Oct. 16
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas will participate in the national Great ShakeOut Drill at 10:40 a.m. Oct. 16.
Students, faculty and staff are invited to practice the earthquake response tactic “drop, cover and hold on” and be counted in the world’s largest earthquake drill.
KU students, faculty and staff will receive an emergency notification via email and text message (for those who have opted in to SMS messaging) at 10:40 a.m., and the university Emergency Public Address system will also be tested during this time. The drill will last approximately five minutes.
Learn more about safety tips and what to do during an earthquake.
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KU News Service
1450 Jayhawk Blvd.
Lawrence KS 66045
http://www.news.ku.edu
Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, director of news and media relations, [email protected]
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