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Top lnnovotion 8,000 Visitors in First Yeor
UK professor David Kao’s hydraulic Kao holds master’s and doctoral de- In its first year of operation, the Uni- ~ t
turbine design—which will allow clean, grees from Duke University. He came versity of Kentucky Visitor Center has ~ :
environmentally safe generation of hy- to the United States in 1963 from Tai- visited with 5,150 people i¤€l¤dif1g it `
droelectric power in areas where it was wan and has been at UK since 1966. 1,188 P€F$P€€ilV€ $U1d€¤t$· 1
previously impossible——has earned a Among the 99 other innovations hon- Tours of the campus—both walking {
place among Science Digest’s 100 top ored in December’s edition of Science and aboard UK’$ ?1¤th€¤€l€ €l0¤bl€‘ l t
innovations for 1985. Digest were advances in such diverse decker bL1S—3d€l€€l 2,979 people te €h€ ‘ s
But Kao, chairman of UK’s civil en- fields as removing organic sulfur from total. * <
gineering department, thinks it’s just coal through use of a sulfur-eating mi- l1'1C|UiFi€S about il'1€ UK Vl$lt01` C€1°1· ·
the luck of the draw that earned him crobe and a robot vision system using ter’s success have come from such plac- t
recognition over "the many, many artificial—intelligence techniques. The 05 as the U¤lV€Y$liY ef Al"lZ0Ua and the j ‘
good scientists and engineers at UK.” scientists behind the 100 innovations University of Massachusetts. I
Kao, 49, said he thought his reward work for corporations, universities, uOill€T S€h00l$ are Calling te find ji 1
tor the project came "from being able non—pr0fit institutions and government. out what W€’Y€ d<>ins," SZIYS €€¤[€¥` €ll·
to come up with something that can The 100 innovations cited were rector Becky jordan. "They’ve heard 5
bring to people clean energy that’s envi- selected from more than 500 nomina- of US from ether U¤lV€l`$ltl€$ Whese Vl$l` l l
ronmentally sound and economical, tions_ Those reeognized "are the van- tors also have been to Kentucky." i
"Nature has given us that energy, guard of the seientifie revolution When a group of Costa Rican tour- I
and we never had the way to har- _ _ _ the inventors and innovators re- ists visited Lexington recently, one of
vest l[.H Sponsjblg for Crgatjng Our Vision Of the [TIC   S[Ud€I'][ tOUI` gLliC1€S COI'ldUC[CCl [
Kao’s turbine design can be used future"’ Seienee Digest said_ the tour on Old Blue—in Spanish (her j t
with relatively small amounts of wa- Kao said he had had requests frorn major). "We are exploring the idea of t
ter—such as in areas with headwaters as five states for more information about asking other language majors to help
ivw as 10 feet, thereby eliminating the his design and also had heard of interest with special t0urS,’-’ Jerdan Said. I
need to build major dams. from eorporations in the United States Two UK admissions oHicers—-jordan 1
Science Digest said Kao’s turbine and China. and Don Witt—share the responsibility
"improves water quality, reduces fish His system forces water upward of meeting with prospective students t
mortality and, because it is simpler in through the turbine, rather than having and parents. "We have so many visi- t
construction, is less expensive."` water How downward or horizontally tors on Fridays that we now have group i
_.   ~~-;-· _'  js _ over the blades of the turbine. The wa- sessions," jordan said. j
        ter pressure then helps support the Prospective students and their par- t
  I   A weight of the turbine runner, reducing ents can receive as much or as little at- i
“ i z "?¤**T   '   , the structural strength requirements tention from the center as they desire-
    · i __ and cost ofthe unit. from glancing through an admissions i
· ~       It’s also safer for fish and increases brochure to completinga series of regis- t '
_   hi   ‘i*"` I the potential for water aeration, which tration forms. i
  · ' improves [ht! quality of ClOWf1SU`€HIT1 W21- “\/Ve Car] arrange a day-lgng Or Over- 1 {
_ ~·—~·~r•* ter. The new design will be able to serve night stay with special hotel rates, spe- t, I
··~~ , g  areas where moderate hydroelectric po- cial campus parking, and interviews q l
‘ VA tential is available, said Kao, who with particular college or department 1
_     _   serves as director of the Kentucky \Va- heads,"_]ordan said. j I
_; `   ter Resources Research Institute. A high school student from Westport, t i
t   { Kao is also a classroom teacher and l 4
·  , / former recipient of the UK Alumni As- ~ 2
$ it 1 / sociation’s Great Teacher Award. He '
Dovid Koo, choirmon ot the UK civil engineering mammms that research and teaching E
deportment, with hydroulic turbine project in his balancc Cach ether Wcll· l
toborotory.
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