Tags: Earth


Fritjof Capra lecture: Systems view of Life

The Franklin College is one of the sponsors of an important Chapel lecture this week by Physicist and systems theorist Fritjof Capra on the "Scientific Understanding of Living Systems and the Systems View of Life" Nov. 13 at 3 p.m. What is a systems view? That's why we'll attend the lecture but, the namesake of our Odum School of Ecology, Eugene Odum, along with his brother Howard T., was an early pioneer of systems ecology - a holistic…


Carbon Sequestration in Salt Marshes

The importance of the world's rainforests, and to some extent the mangroves, as storage sinks for atmospheric are carbon well-known. But salt marshes, too, are extraordinarily efficient mechanism for photosynthesis and the production of biomass that work together to sequester carbon at a high rate. So disappearing wetlands along the coast present much more peril than loss against storm surge, which itself plays significant part in their role in…


Joye at Blue Ocean Film Festival

Samantha Joye, Athletic Association Professor in Arts and Sciences, is participating as a judge in the internationally acclaimed "BLUE Ocean Film Festival and Conservation Summit", underway in St. Petersburg Florida.  Joye joins global leaders in ocean conservation including Sylvia Earle, founder of Mission Blue, marine advocates Fabien and Celine Cousteau, grandchildren of Jacques Cousteau, and royal philanthropist Prince Albert II of…


Uma Nagendra Dances her Ph.D.

This is a quite visionary joining of art and science: University of Georgia doctoral student Uma Nagendra flipped and twisted her way to the top prize in the seventh annual Dance Your Ph.D. contest for her video explaining biology research through an aerial dance performance. The contest, sponsored by Science Magazine, the Association of the Advancement of Science and HighWire Press, challenged scientists around the world to explain their Ph.D.…


Examining the history of plants

It sounds like the title of a cable documentary (a good one! And maybe it is) but scientists from North America, Europe and China have published a paper in PNAS that reveals important details about key transitions in the evolution of plant life on Earth: From strange and exotic algae, mosses, ferns, trees and flowers growing deep in steamy rainforests to the grains and vegetables humans eat and the ornamental plants adorning people's homes, all…


Observatory open house Oct. 17

After a short pause, the UGA observatory open house returns this Friday Oct. 17 from 8 to 9:30 pm: During the early part of the viewing, Mars will be visible. In addition Albireo, a double star in the constellation of Cygnus, and the Ring Nebula, a glowing shell of gas blown off a giant star in the final phase of that star's life, also should be visible. The Ring Nebula is in the  constellation of Lyra. Visitors can view the objects through…


Anthropocene: Economics of the transition

Something that often goes missing in conversations on, much less debates about, what to do about climate change is optimism. If, for example, a discussion of the economics of the transition to an industrial model from the agricultural age had occured, there would have been great gnashing of teeth but a convincing case could have been made, though likely with some strict limitations toward eventual consequences, if these could have been imagined…


Science at the Stadium

One the greatest missed opportunities of gathering so many people on campus several Saturdays each fall for football is not engaging them in other ways with the research mission of the university. Franklin colleagues in marine sciences have designed a new way to make inroads with some of the many UGA supporters who will be here for the Homecoming matchup with Vanderbilt: marine sciences department and faculty will present "Science at the Stadium…


Geology to partner with Chevron to support graduate assistantships

Images: At top, L-R, Skip Forsthoff, Chevron; Annaka Clement, Geology graduate student; Jeff Shellebarger, Chevron: Jason Burwell, Geology undergraduate student: Doug Crowe, Geology department head. Below: undergraduate, graduate students, Geology faculty and alumni.    


Jessica Kissinger: making research usable

Great opportunity to feature not just one of our star faculty members, but also an emerging challenge for all researchers everywhere in this era of big data: Jessica Kissinger is a molecular geneticist whose research on the evolution of disease and the genomes of eukaryotic pathogenic organisms—Cryptosporidium, Sarcocystis, Toxoplasma andPlasmodium (malaria) among them—has led her to perhaps the emerging issue among research scientists…


UGA discovery: building better plants

The complexity of natural materials has long been a point of fascination for scientists, and has only increased as the technology to look closer has itself evolved. The structure and development of sea shells, for example, holds great potential for nanotechnology and building light weight materials of great strength. So, too, the cell walls of plants, whose flexibility and strength depend on two critical proteins. Now UGA scientists have…


Urbanization and Climate Change: Anthropocene

Karen Seto and Marshall Shepherd's recent paper in Current Opinions on Environmental Sustainability summarized the role of urbanization on climate and moved the discourse forward on challenges and opportunities at the intersection of the coupled-human natural system.  The objective of this lecture is to discuss the so-called "other," climate change related to human activity (urbanization).  To place urban effects on the climate system…


Archeology of the Anthropocene

The terrific Athropocene Lecture Series continues tomorrow night, Sept. 11, in the Chapel at 7 p.m. with an Archeology of the Anthropocene:   We tend to think that the human capacity for changing the face of the planet as a relatively recent development. Often we attribute its beginnings to the industrial revolution. While certainly today humankind is altering the earth on a larger scale and faster pace that is unmatched in our history, our…


Next Science Cafe subject - Vaccinations

 


Science Learning Center: breaking ground

The D.W. Brooks mall on South Campus is about to [begin to] change for the better, with much-needed science instruction space in the new Science Learning Center: The University of Georgia will break ground on its newest building-the 122,500-square-foot Science Learning Center-on Aug. 26 at 11:30 a.m. at the south end of the S10 parking lot located just off Carlton Street. ... The Science Learning Center will be situated on South Campus adjacent…


Anthropocene Lectures

What are we doing to the planet? Is that even an accurate formulation? In the great words of Tonto, what do you mean 'we'? Humans are of the Earth, and yet at the same time our impact on it has been a great force, often working against it. This can be a complex line of inquiry and to help shed some light on it, our division of biological sciences has devised and will host an important series of public lectures this fall spanning the breadth of…


Shepherd named Captain Planet Protector

The award sounds funny, but the prestigious Captain Planet Foundation has honored Marshall Shepherd for his very serious efforts on educating the public about climate change:  Marshall Shepherd is a Captain Planet Protector of the Earth, according to the Captain Planet Foundation, which recently added him to a list of outstanding real-life environmental superheroes. Shepherd, the UGA Athletic Association Professor in the Social Sciences,…


Georgia Sea Grant planning for port expansion

UGA faculty members and Georgia Sea Grant are doing important work along the Georgia coast, helping communities plan for a major expansion of the Savannah Harbor: "Most of the regional attention to the Savannah Harbor deepening has focused on the ecological effects to the river and adjacent wetland ecosystems," said Charles Hopkinson, Georgia Sea Grant director. "We want to shift the focus to local communities so that they are prepared to handle…


Shepherd on MSNBC

Athletic Association Professor of Social Sciences and director of our atmospheric sciences program Marshall Shepherd was a guest of Raphael Miranda on MSNBC this week, talking about extreme weather, new satellite technology for forecasting and the polar vortex, among other subjects. Great job, Dr. Shepherd.    


Spotlight on Geography

The department of geography at UGA is a leading center of scholarship--both in the classroom and in the field--about earth’s landscapes and human relationships to the environment.  Each semester, the department creates a newsletter compiling the latest research, awards, alumni news and profiles of students and faculty.   Of note in this edition is an article about Jerry Shannon and his research on food deserts, a term used for…


Shepherd to host Weather Geeks

Reflecting the need to understand the complexity of weather and climate issues today The Weather Channel is launching a new talk show, "Weather Geeks," featuring our own Marshall Shepherd as host: “One of the greatest aspects of my involvement with AMS and our community as a whole is the opportunity to hear the best minds in our field discuss the most pressing issues in weather,” said Shepherd. “Our vision is for Weather Geeks to be a weekly…


Microscopic photos spotlight the art of science

While they are often identified as poles, a spectrum or even a line of demarcation from one kind of investigation into another, science and art can and occasionally do cohabitate, as in the case of UGA research scientist Stefan Eberhard, who utilizes scientific instrumentation for creative purposes: Besides being a longtime research professional at the University of Georgia’s Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, Eberhard is also an accomplished…


New chemistry study challenges fundamental mechanism

As one of the fundamental disciplines that help us understand the physical world and how it works, organic chemistry plays an essential role in both our instruction and research missions. So it is significant that researchers continue to test and challenge this crucial area of study at its most basic levels: A family of millions of known chemical compounds called "aromatics" or "arenes" and their products, including a great number of medicines,…


New grant promotes physics, engineering

Great news from the Franklin College department of physics today.  A National Science Foundation grant will help promote and recruit students with an interest in either physics or engineering.  Through a program known as Developing Excellence in Engineering and Physics (DEEP), the grant will provide 20 scholarships to academically talented students with demonstrated financial need so they may pursue degrees in physics or a variety of…


UGA geneticist honored by journal Cell

A UGA geneticist received quite the honor this week. The journal Cell named Robert Schmitz, as researcher in the Franklin College’s department of genetics, as one of the most accomplished young scientists under the age of 40.  Those honored were selected for their contributions to shaping current and future trends in biology from a pool of international nominees to commemorate Cell’s 40th anniversary. Schmitz’s research focuses on plant…
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