Tags: faculty

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Franklin College website redesign

In early September, the Franklin College web services team launched a redesigned primary website for the college, including the Chronicles blog: The Franklin College of Arts and Sciences launched a redesigned website, updating access to information about UGA’s largest college for faculty, students, staff and the public. The redesign of the principal Franklin site was predicated on presenting a cohesive brand experience that flows from…

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Hodgson School professor shares richness of the bassoon in class, on stage

Associate professor Amy Pollard picked up a bassoon in middle school after playing the flute for a few years, intrigued with the instrument that developed into a passion she now instills with students and audiences alike: According to Pollard, the instrument truly is diverse—able to blend with woodwinds, play alongside percussion parts or stand on its own as a solo instrument.  “I think it has a really fascinating…

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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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New study on heme synthesis for red blood cells

A plenary paper featuring students and faculty from the UGA department of biochemistry and molecular biology and the department of microbiology was recently published, highlighted, and given commentary in the journal Blood, the publication of the American Society for Hematology. The paper, which originated in the lab of professor emeritus Harry Dailey, addresses how erythroid cells acquire sufficient carbon for heme synthesis…

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Noted and Quoted, September 2018

Hurricane Florence and its highest ever ranking led the headlines for the University of Georgia in September. A sample of faculty and alumni news and widely shared expertise: Project Greenland- Reuters multi-media series following some of the world’s top scientists tackling one of its toughest assignments: Understanding exactly how — and how fast — melting polar ice sheets will make global sea levels rise. Series features Distinguished…

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Psychology, climate, public health, humanities

We're seeing, and UGA students are experiencing, great examples of the breadth of expertise in the liberal arts learning environment that is a major research university. With the unfortunately impending hurricane Florence, Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor Marshall Shepherd is responding to media requests around the clock, from around the world. And in his own regular Forbes column, he expanded the discussion of storm-related…

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The power of rhetoric in the wake of 9/11

In Angry Public Rhetorics, Distinguished Research Professor in the department of Communication Studies Celeste Condit explores emotions as motivators and organizers of collective action—a theory that treats humans as “symbol-using animals” to understand the patterns of leadership in global affairs—to account for the way in which anger produced similar rhetorics in three ideologically diverse voices surrounding 9/11: Osama bin Laden,…

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Professor's work figures in 2018 Fields medal

Finding a proof for a mathematical conjecture – a strong guess illuminating a way forward – has helped shape the course of mathematical history. The mathematics world recently celebrated the achievements of a proof that proved a conjecture partially formulated by UGA faculty member Valery Alexeev. Professor Caucher Birkar of the University of Cambridge was awarded the 2018 Fields medal, widely considered to be an equivalent of a…

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Clay science in the 'Critical Zone'

Columns features the publication of a new book written by a Franklin faclty member on one of the most ubiquitous substances found around the world, new and dear to Georgians but crucial to everything from earthenware to building construction and especially its geological role in the 'Critcal Zone': Written by UGA faculty member Paul Schroeder, Clays in the Critical Zone considers clay science in the context of the Critical Zone, the…

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Faculty chamber concert with guest ASO violinist

Tonight, Hugh Hodgson School of Music faculty members will perform a chamber music concert with Atlanta Symphony Orchestra violinist Kenn Wagner at 7:30 p.m. in Ramsey Concert Hall at the UGA Performing Arts Center. The concert program will feature works by Haydn, Bridge, and Schumann.  Kenn Wagner is a first violinist of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra since 1995 and serves as a faculty member at Kennesaw…

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Kudos, August 2018

The summer break was glorious but Franklin College faculty, students and alumni never take time off from awards, honors, new books and fellowships. A sample from recent weeks: Professor of psychology and director of the Primate Behavior Laboratory Dorothy Fragaszy was presented with the Distinguished Primatologist Award by the American Society of Primatologists.  The award honors a primatologist who has had an…

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New Faculty Tour 2018: A statewide look at UGA

The 2018 UGA New Faculty Tour wraps up today, after a five-day journey around the state showcasing agriculture and agritourism, industry, the Georgia coast and its rural communities. The tour stopped in 15 cities and passed through 48 counties, introducing faculty who have been at UGA for two or fewer years to the geography, culture, history and economic engines of the Empire State of the South: The tour began with a welcome from UGA…

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The Ocean Plastic Pollution Problem

Plastic waste has been a growing focus of attention from UGA researchers for some time, and their work along several lines of inquiry is drawing important coverage to a serious problem. Marine sciences faculty have also been studying the problem near the Georgia coast and one of them was invited share some of that expertise at a congressional briefing this summer:  University of Georgia Skidaway Institute of Oceanography…

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Scholarship Series subscriptions through July 27

Hugh Hodgson School of Music Thursday Scholarship Series and Create Your Own Season subscriptions are available for purchase and renewal now through Friday, July 27th: Whether you are a long-time patron, or a newcomer to our concert halls, we hope you will join us for what promises to be an outstanding year of classical favorites and exciting contemporary works. From Beethoven to Big Band, our talented students and faculty will inspire…

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Experiential Learning: connecting coursework beyond the classroom

The thriving Experiential Learning initiative at UGA provides arts & sciences students and faculty members the opportunity to reach higher: While experiential learning has long been part of many of UGA’s pre-professional programs, there was initial concern about the feasibility of ensuring science and humanities majors had a diverse range of opportunities. In STEM disciplines, undergraduate research is the most coveted EL experience.…

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How corn breaks genetics laws

In a new paper published in the journal Cell, genetics professor Kelly Dawe solves a long-sought mystery: Modern genetics is based on the idea that genes are passed on to progeny in a predictable fashion, as first described by 19th-century Austrian botanist Gregor Mendel. He determined that genes exist in pairs, and each one of the two has an equal chance of being transmitted to the next generation. However, in rare exceptions, chromosomes…

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Microbes and a changing environment

A striking new study published in the journal Cell shows details how ancient microbes that thrive in some of the world’s most extreme environments and modern-day humans have more in common than meets the eye—namely, they both respire and conserve energy using a similar molecular mechanism, one that has adapted to changing environmental conditions over billions of years: "Nature is really good at finding molecules that work and then modifying…

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Great Commitments: Roberto Perdisci

UGA's recently established Institute for Cybersecurity and Privacy uses anti-malware software developed by the institute’s network security expert, associate professor of computer science Roberto Perdisci, to detect malware downloads on its own networks - a model other institutions are begiining to follow: “Your antivirus software installed on your computer to protect against malware attacks will always be behind,” Perdisci says. Such software…

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Focus on the faculty: Jin Xie

Associate professor of chemistry Jin Xie is using nanotechnology to make chemotherapy and radiation therapy more effective while minimizing their toxic side effects: What are your favorite courses and why? I redeveloped the nanomaterials course, and I enjoy teaching it. Nanotechnology, especially nanobiotechnology, is a highly interdisciplinary field, and it is rapidly evolving. In this course, I not only introduce basic nanoparticle synthesis…

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Three faculty members awarded NEH support

Three Franklin College faculty members have been awarded grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The awards, announced April 9, are among $18.6 million in NEH grants for 199 humanities projects across the country: Professor of Spanish Elizabeth Wright and associate professor of French Rachel Gabara of the Romance languages department were awarded $6,000 each for summer stipends, highly competitive grants that provide full-…

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Noted and Quoted, April 2018

Franklin faculty members, students and alumni have been featured in a broad variety of media this month. A sampling: IRS computer glitch caused by "master file" issue – associate professor of history Stephen Mihm quoted on NPR  Voting laws for felons can be hard to follow – assistant professor of sociology Sarah K.S. Shannon quoted in the New York Times The 2018 hurricane season looms but Hurricane Maria still…

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Kudos, April 2018

Awards season celebrates many of our best and the accolades continue for Franklin College faculty and students. Among the many honors, inductions and elections: Janet Westpheling, professor of genetics in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, is president-electof the Society for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology. SIMB is a nonprofit, international association dedicated to the advancement of microbiological sciences,…

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2018 Josiah Meigs Teaching Professor Michael Marshall

The Franklin College is home to two of the three 2018 Josiah Meigs Teaching Professors, profiled in the Honors & Awards issue of Columns. One of three is photography professor Michael Marshall: Michael Marshall believes that artists should have a role in facilitating change and shaping the world around them. He has put that philosophy into practice and guides others to do the same. “Change can be difficult, and I am consistently…

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Mellon grant will strengthen humanities programs

A $500,000 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will enable the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts to expand its Global Georgia Initiative, a public humanities program in place since 2013: In its first six years, the Global Georgia Initiative has engaged the humanities and arts in exploring global issues of public concern in a diversity of local contexts, serving audiences at UGA and throughout the Athens community…

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Westpheling elected SIMB president

Professor of genetics Janet Westpheling has been elected president of the Society for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology in the 2018 SIMB Board of Directors election. The Society for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology (SIMB) is a nonprofit, international association dedicated to the advancement of microbiological sciences, especially as they apply to industrial products, biotechnology, materials, and processes. Founded in…
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