Tags: Earth

photo of woman in marsh with instruments
Georgia Coastal Ecosystems research program renewed

Georgia Coastal Ecosystems, a research program based at the University of Georgia Marine Institute, was renewed for another six years by the National Science Foundation with $6.7 million in funding: The award marks the third renewal of GCE’s long-term ecological research, or LTER, grant from NSF and ensures that the group’s research will continue into its third decade from its base at the Marine Institute’s headquarters on Sapelo…

photo of two women standing in front of UGA logo
Vaught Scholarship supports science policy experiences at UGA

Research scientists Irene Glowinski and Jim Vaught have established the Christopher Henry Vaught Scholarship in Science Policy at the University of Georgia. The scholarship, named in memory of Glowinski and Vaught’s son Christopher who lived for only 13 days in 1988, will encourage UGA undergraduates to spend a semester in Washington, D.C. and learn about the myriad aspects of science policy beyond what they might be exposed to on the Athens…

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Noted and quoted, January 2019

Franklin College faculty appeared in a wide variety of media over the month of January: New method to classify schizophrenia symptoms should improve care - assistant professor of psychology Gregory Strauss quoted by Psych Central   Scientists could engineer a spicy tomato. Is it worth it? Research by professor of plant biology Esther van der Knaap reported in Popular Science, Tahlequah Daily Press…

photo of woman and two men in front of building
Laboratory of Archeology: Preserving Georgia's unique past

The University of Georgia Laboratory of Archeology, established in the late 1940's, marked another important milestone in its distinguished history on January 18 at the celebration of its new location in Athens. Organized within the department of anthropology, the Laboratory provides opportunities for students of varied backgrounds to engage in archaeology and history, serving the intellectual growth of our undergraduate and graduate…

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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, …

photo of tree in forest
Diverse lineages of human pathogen live on old oaks

Commensalism is a term for one kind of biological relationship between species in which members of one gain benefits while those of the other neither benefit nor are harmed, contrasted with mutualism or parasitism. One obligate commensal is a common human fungal pathogen, the yeast Candida albicans, and the focus of new paper by assistant professor of plant biology Douda Bensasson published in…

photo of silver equipment with gauges and hoses
$2M NIH grant for mass spectrometer

The National Institutes of Health has awarded University of Georgia researchers $1.956 million for a high-resolution mass spectrometer that will enhance capabilities for scientists in many fields across campus: The award by the NIH High End Instrumentation program, which provides grants in the range of $600,000 to $2 million for a variety of expensive instrumentation, including MRI imagers, electron microscopes, DNA sequencers, and mass…

color-enhanced photo of the LasVegas strip
Serving Sustainably in Las Vegas (with her AB degree)

UGA alumna Betsy Fretwell AB ’89, MPA ’91 provides an inspiring example of impact, intuition and service: As part of her high school’s Government for a Day program, Fretwell fatefully pulled the position of city manager from a hat. After a day spent in a position she had never even heard of, playing pretend for her city government, a seed was planted in her mind. Fretwell didn’t always intend to join the public service arena…

photo collage of five students outdoors
The year at Franklin

This is the 222nd post of 2018 on the Franklin Chronicles, and what an incredible year it has been for UGA's oldest, largest and most academically diverse college. We look back: 17(!) Amazing students [and counting] Eight Focus on the Faculty features And from January though today, a plethora of rich activity that defines the modern academy - groundbreaking scholarship, outreach, research, performance, milestones, new initiatives, books,…

graphic with photo of the coast, sky and Earth
Small Satellite Research Lab become Space Dawgs

A handful of ambitious University of Georgia students set out three years ago to launch UGA into space, and their work has launched a campus initiative to push the boundaries of space systems development: Self-described “geeks” Caleb Adams BS ’18 and Hollis Neel BS ’17 were two of the handful of friends drawn together by their knack for tackling tech and software conundrums. “I was looking for the most difficult…

graphic with words, keyboard, paper
Undergraduate research at scale: C.U.R.E.

How do students find their way into the laboratory? Integrating research experiences into lab courses, where students are tackling a problem related to a faculty member’s ongoing research, can introduce undergraduates to a world of career paths and opportunities as they come to understand research. Students learning research skills in the context of solving real research problems is the focus of work by Georgia Athletic…

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Marshall Shepherd on TED.com

A TED talk by Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of Geography and Atmospheric Sciences J. Marshall Shepherd is featured today on TED.com, 3 kinds of bias that shape your worldview: What shapes our perceptions (and misperceptions) about science? In an eye-opening talk, meteorologist J. Marshall Shepherd explains how confirmation bias, the Dunning-Kruger effect and cognitive dissonance impact what we…

photo of a red pitcher plant
Franklin faculty publish first genetic linkage map for a carnivorous plant

Researchers in the UGA department of plant biology have published the first genetic linkage map for what has long-been an object of human fascination: plants that have evolved the capacity to capture and digest insects. Lead author Russell Malmberg explains: "We normally think of plants as being eaten by animals, but a small number of plant species have reversed this and are able to capture and digest insects. These…

logo graphic with sustainable review
Sustainable UGA Fall 2018 Semester in Review

Franklin College students will be among those presenting today at the Fall 2018 Sustainable UGA Semester in Review, which celebrates people, programs, activities and academic courses that are creating a culture of sustainability at UGA: The program includes brief presentations from the Office of Sustainability interns, posters and table displays from UGA classes, the announcement of 2018 Campus Sustainability Grant winners, light lunch fare and…

Outdoor photo of seven people on steps of a building
Anderson Foundation support for statewide climate project

Important news for The Georgia Climate Project, a statewide consortium of university researchers focused on helping Georgia localities facing the challenges of a changing climate: The Ray C. Anderson Foundation has awarded a $650,000 grant to Emory University to advance the Georgia Climate Project, a state-wide consortium co-founded by Emory, the University of Georgia, and the Georgia Institute of Technology, and joined by Agnes Scott…

photo of a storm on the Skidaway intercoastal
$10M weather and climate project will refine models, forecasting

UGA geography faculty member Gabriel Kooperman will lead one of 13 new DOE projects to enhance and refine computer models that help scientists understand weather patterns: This past July, the U.S. Department of Energy announced $10 million in funding for 13 projects aimed at further enhancing one of the world’s most sophisticated computer models for understanding weather and climate patterns. The projects will support…

photo of woman with cherry blossom and Lincoln memorial in background
Franklin College faculty members elected to AAAS

Six UGA faculty members, including three from the Franklin College, have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), an honor bestowed by their peers for “scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.” These six faculty members are among 416 new AAAS Fellows who will be presented with an official certificate and a gold and blue—representing science and…

aerial photo of black smoke rising from the ocean water
Noted and Quoted, November 2018

Too much screen time, the Deepwater Horizon spill, and Thanksgiving were a few of the leading headlines over the last month that quoted and reported Franklin College faculty experts: The great family exodus – associate professor of history Stephen Mihm quoted in a news story on families fleeing the city at – Axios, and reported as‘Increasingly in big cities, youth isn’t being served’ in Crain’s Cleveland Business  …

rendering of a new building
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…

vector image of materials diagram
New study opens possibilities for smaller, more powerful light-control in quantum materials

The transfer of energy, as light or information, from one point to another is a big part of the science behind the phone in your hand and the images on your screen. Manipulating light wavelengths to transmit information represents the next frontier in optoelectronics, though many obstacles remain. Among the primary challenges in using light for information processing is the difficulty of squeezing light to very small space to fit in ever-…

photo of hands holding a cell phone with congratulations
Class of 2023 begins to take shape

With a record number of early action applicants to UGA, today approximately 7,500 students are receiving the good news that they have been offered admission to the birthplace of public higher education in America: Nearly 17,000 students applied for early action admission to the Class of 2023, which is a 14 percent increase over last year and a 28 percent increase compared to five years ago. This year early action…

cartoon still with boy and octopus in office
Short film series explores environmental issues

A partnership between a UGA professor and the creator of the “Sherman’s Lagoon” comic strip has resulted in a new short film series. “The Adventures of Zack and Molly” highlights the Gulf of Mexico and the importance of healthy oceans: Samantha Joye, UGA Athletic Association Professor of Arts and Sciences and professor of marine sciences, met artist Jim Toomey at an ocean conference several years ago, and together they hatched an…

photo of woman in the medina
Double Dawgs program opening broad opportunities for students

The year-old dual degree program that pairs bachelor's and master's degree programs helps students incorporate an expansive vision for career success: For Ammishaddai Grand-Jean, the Double Dawgs program provides an opportunity to deepen his understanding of economic policy so that after graduation he can make a positive impact on communities. Ellen Everitt sees the linked bachelor’s/master’s degree…

photo of children with butterflies
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…

photo of many potatoes, with several cut open
Just in time for Thanksgiving: new data on the sweetpotato

A globally important food crop as well as a staple at every* American Thanksgiving table, Sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) has widely recognized potential to alleviate hunger, vitamin A deficiency, and poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Biofortification with pro-vitamin A-rich orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP) in SSA has led to millions of Africans being spared the devastating effects of vitamin A deficiency, a main cause of…
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