Tags: STEM

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Noted and Quoted, February 2023

A climate change summit with Vice President Kamala Harris, the impossible quest of fake meat, and using machine learning to find new exoplanets are just a few of the many stories where our faculty colleagues lead, explain, and advise in media around the world. A sample of distinguished research and time comment from February:   In Atlanta, VP Harris focuses on climate, finding solutions – event co-moderated by Georgia Athletic Association…

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How active learning affects STEM students with learning disabilities

Active learning is an instructional approach that involves engaging students with the learning process through group work, case studies, class discussions and other methods. This type of approach places a greater degree of responsibility on the learner. Students with disabilities may have unique experiences in active-learning STEM courses because most active-learning practices were designed with limited input from students with disabilities.…

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Coding for the future

UGA student Aniyah Norman advocates for others in tech while carving out her own spot When she applied to the University of Georgia, Aniyah Norman had one goal in mind: to leave her footprint on the campus in the arena of technology and innovation. Now entering her final semester, Norman can finally say that she has accomplished exactly that. Growing up in Gainesville, Georgia, she was always drawn to STEM fields. She even tutored other…

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HHMI grant will help UGA advance evaluation of teaching

A research team from the University of Georgia will join 103 institutions from across the country to form a collaborative learning community that seeks to foster inclusive undergraduate science education. Funded by a six-year, $493,065 grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Inclusive Excellence 3 (IE3) initiative, the UGA team will focus on three areas of effective and inclusive teaching including changes in policy,…

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Two Franklin faculty members receive 2022 Russell Teaching Awards

Three UGA faculty members – two from the Franklin College – have been named recipients of the Russell Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, which recognize outstanding instruction by faculty members early in their academic careers. “This year’s Russell Award recipients demonstrate how innovative, evidence-based instruction enhances student learning,” said S. Jack Hu, the university’s senior vice president for academic affairs and…

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How Black science majors succeed

University of Georgia life science and education researchers investigated the stories behind one of the most successful groups of science majors on campus: Black undergraduate students. Despite an array of additional challenges beyond their coursework, Black science majors are able to complete their science degree programs. Black students persist at a higher rate than any other racial or ethnic subgroup on campus for many of the science majors…

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Top stories of 2020

Prior to and throughout the pandemic and the switch to online instruction, work and life as we know it, news about Franklin College faculty and students garnered media attention near and far. In a non-scientific sampling, we look back at some of the year's most impactful stories, the sheer breadth of which define a great university in this or any year: In January, a new UGA study a described a way to attack…

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Working to increase diversity among STEM faculty

Franklin College faculty members are leading efforts of UGA faculty, staff and administrators to increase faculty diversity and the use of inclusive teaching practices in STEM fields: Among their first steps is a survey of the university’s STEM faculty to gather input and assess current efforts to recruit and retain diverse faculty. “We want to accurately assess our past efforts in our quest to recruit and retain a diverse STEM…

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German/Engineering program receives new support from The Halle Foundation

The University of Georgia Dual Degree Program in Engineering and German, one of the university’s signature initiatives combining Humanities and STEM disciplines, has been awarded a new grant from the Atlanta-based The Halle Foundation—named after the late Claus M. Halle, a German native who had a brilliant career with the Coca-Cola company—to support international engagement and recruitment initiatives. The grant of $280,000 will support…

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Landon Clark named 2020 Goldwater Scholar

A third-year CURO Honors Scholar who is triple majoring in biochemistry and molecular biology, genetics and biology, Landon Clark is among 396 undergraduates across the nation to be recognized as Barry Goldwater Scholars, earning the highest undergraduate award of its type for the fields of the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering: Clark’s long-term plans include pursuing an MD/PhD in…

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Andrews, Shannon honored with Russell Teaching Awards

Tessa Andrews and Jerry Shannon are among three University of Georgia faculty members named recipients of the Richard B. Russell Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, the university’s highest early career teaching honor: “By recognizing early career faculty for exemplary instruction, the University of Georgia communicates the high value it places on creating outstanding learning experiences and outcomes for students,” said S.…

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Class redesign increases student success in math

A significant redesign of two foundational UGA mathematics courses has led to remarkable gains in student success, including an increase from 65% to 85% of students who pass precalculus: While the DFW (grade of D, grade of F or Withdrawal) rate for students taking precalculus averages 27% nationally, according to the Mathematical Association of America, the DFW rate at UGA has dropped from 35% six years ago to approximately 15% last fall.…

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Franklin faculty lead UGA project to transform STEM education

Funded by a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation, the Department and Leadership Teams for Action program, or DeLTA, will engage more than 100 University of Georgia faculty across multiple departments to transform STEM education at institutions of higher education nationwide. Principal investigator Paula Lemons, an associate professor in the department of biochemistry and molecular biology, explained that she and her colleagues…

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Kudos, Nov-Dec. 2019

Students and alumni lead the kudos as we count down to the end of 2019. Congratulations all: Herb Girls Athens, a two-woman team, won the 2018-19 FABricate competition with its signature product, a healthy coffee additive called Rally Coffee. The FABricate competition is designed to empower students to turn their great ideas into working businesses. Eileen Schaffer, an agribusiness master’s degree student, and …

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Graduate student receives Department of Energy fellowship

The Department of Energy’s Office of Science has selected Matthew Wilson from the University of Georgia’s Center for Simulation Physics to participate in its Graduate Student Research Program. Wilson studies protein aggregation using computer simulation to test physical phenomena that defy analysis by traditional approaches.  “These graduate student awards prepare young scientists for STEM careers critically important to the DOE mission,”…

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Women in Science pursues equality, diversity

Five years ago, Cecilia Sánchez and Anya Brown, ecology doctoral candidates at the time, founded the Women in Science in service of creating a community where they could connect with peers and mentors. Open to anyone (including men) interested in pursuing equality and diversity in science, WiSci has grown to incorporate undergraduate students and an outreach program as well as all STEM disciplines: The organization hosts several events…

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CAREER research program to focus on active learning

One key to improving undergraduate education and student achievement across the STEM disciplines, as well as more broadly across the campus, is the integration of evidence-based teaching strategies – using what works most effectively for student learning. Now, a University of Georgia faculty member will lead a five-year, national scale research and education project to better understand and support the use of evidence-based teaching in…

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NASA program manager to deliver Charter Lecture

UGA alumnus and great friend of the Franklin College Roger C. Hunter will speak on the Kepler Mission and small spacecraft technologies when he delivers the 2019 Charter Lecture in the Chapel on Wednesday March 20: Hunter’s talk, titled “NASA’s Kepler Mission and Small Spacecraft Technologies: Today and Beyond,” will be held March 20 at 2:30 p.m. in the Chapel. The event is free and open to the public, and students are…

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UGA students 'Capture Science'

During fall 2018, UGA Libraries and the Office of Research sponsored the Capturing Science Contest. The contest, now in its second year, challenged UGA students to communicate STEM concepts using any media or genre. Organizers received 36 submissions covering STEM concepts in a variety of disciplines, including games, videos, poetry, art, illustrations, photography, …

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Amazing student: Katie Irwin

Senior biology major - with a neuroscience emphasis - Katie Irwin found her passion for advancing science through her own work studying neurodegenerative diseases and helping encourage others — especially young girls — to pursue successful careers in STEM fields: During my freshman year, I was able to join Jim Lauderdale’s developmental neuroscience lab in the department of cellular biology. In the lab, I direct my own…

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Kudos, November 2018

Major new initiatives on STEM education and research lead our kudos for the month of November: Funded by a $3 million National Science Foundation grant, more than 100 UGA faculty members in science, technology, engineering and math will collaborate on a comprehensive research project that seeks to transform STEM education on campus and at research universities nationwide   The University of Georgia launched a new degree…

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New Interdisciplinary STEM building

With the infrastructure demands of science and technology research collaborations reaching higher levels each year, the university will break ground on the new Interdisciplinary Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Research Building at 2 p.m. on Nov. 27. The groundbreaking marks the beginning of the construction of the ISTEM Research Building, which will house engineering, chemistry and related disciplines to promote…

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Football and Science outreach in the STEMzone

For the second consecutive year, students from a variety of STEM disciplines will fill the lawn of the Miller Learning Center five hours leading up to kickoff for the Auburn game, from 2–7 p.m. on Nov. 10, to share their research in the STEMzone: This year’s booths will once again feature the breadth of research interests represented at UGA, with the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources offering introductions to a host…

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Amazing student Omowunmi Oni

Senior Biological science major and African studies minor Omowunmi Oni is confident that she was destined to attend UGA because of the lifelong friendships she has built, great connections and amazing opportunities: These past four years at the University of Georgia has been an amazing experience. Throughout my time here, I have grown tremendously in my personal, academic and professional goals. One of my greatest highlights…

group photo on steps of the Hunter Holmes academic building
Kudos, September 2018

Franklin College students, faculty and staff began the new academic year with many awards, grants, new books and other distinguished accomplishments. The Georgia Debate Union finished in second place at the season-opening college debate tournament held at Georgia State this past weekend.  The Georgia State tournament featured 140 teams from around the country, including teams from Harvard, Georgetown, Northwestern, Cornell, Vanderbilt…
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