Tags: Human Nature

photo of woman with olympic medals
40 Under 40: Maritza McClendon

The first African American woman to earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic swim team, on which she won a silver medal in the 2004 games in Athens, Maritza McClendon rounds the Franklin College graduates in the 2017 class of the Alumni Association 40 Under 40: Born in Puerto Rico in 1981, Maritza Correia is the first black female swimmer to break an American record, setting new records in both the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events at the Women's NCAA…

students in a classroom, macbook foreground
Psychology Summer Institute

Students in the undergraduate psychology summer institute (UPSI) engage in activities and conversations to prepare them for a future in graduate school. While participating in workshops at Spelman College, Morehouse College, and the University of Georgia, participants have the chance to meet and make lasting connections with students and faculty who will provide the support and expertise needed to be successful in the program and thereafter. "…

students in a lab
Training & Development summer course offerings

Faculty and staff in the Franklin College update procedures and guidelines for their areas of responsibility on a near-constant basis just to keep up with challenges of serving our students in and out of the classroom, marking our day-to-day activities throughout the academic year. And yet professional development of faculty and staff is also a priority, so summer can be a great time to brush up on procedures or to learn completely new skills.…

pregnant woman with trowel
Travelling (and pregnant) with trowel

Great feature on anthropology professor Suzanne Pilaar Birch in The Guardian: This bunch of smiling, pregnant scientists, evidently glowing as much from the sheer exertion of hard work as from hormones was a surprising spectacle on Twitter. It was around the time tennis champion Serena Williams announced she was having a baby and the internet was buzzing with the news that she’d won the Australian Open while pregnant – without dropping a set. We…

bacteria with marine diatom
UGA joins collaboration on Theory of Microbial Ecosystems

The Simons Foundation has established a new collaboration investigating the mysteries of the microscopic communities that produce more than half of Earth’s oxygen, form the base of the marine food web and cycle nutrients through the ecosystem. The Simons Collaboration on Theory of Microbial Ecosystems, or THE-ME, will investigate how microbial ecosystems in the oceans form and function. The new collaboration will seek answers to three main…

woman with computer server
Distinguished Research Professor Jessica Kissinger

Professor of genetics, globally recognized molecular biologist and world expert in bio-computational research, 2017 Distinguished Research Professor Jessica Kissinger's contributions to the field of eukaryotic pathogen research have helped transform how pathogen research is conducted internationally. An expert on the evolution of parasite genomes, she conducted the first systematic survey of gene transfer in the Apicomplexa, upending…

3-D printer photo
UGA named as NSF Innovation Corps Site

Turning research and discoveries by our faculty into new products and services that serve the public is a goal that touches several university priorities at once. And while this tranfer has been a reality at UGA for decades, the process has recently been enhanced by a National Science Foundation program that designates campuses as Innovation Corps Sites: The I-Corps award will enable UGA to serve up to 30 new startup projects a year, adding to…

man and woman in lab
Progress against infectious diseases continues

Scientists' fight against cryptosporidiosis recently reached a major milestone: Infectious disease scientists from research institutions including the University of Georgia have reported the discovery and early validation of a drug that shows promise for treating cryptosporidiosis, a diarrheal disease that is a major cause of child mortality and for which there is no vaccine or effective treatment. "Cryptosporidiosis is largely a disease of…

woman at sea on research vessel
Gulf of Mexico monitoring continues

Seven years after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, UGA researchers will embark on a new expedition to the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico: The 2010 Deepwater Horizon accident in the Gulf of Mexico resulted in the deaths of 11 oil rig workers and ultimately the largest marine oil spill in history. As this environmental disaster recedes into history, researchers from institutions across the U.S. continue to study its enduring ecological…

man juggling in space craft
Psychology professor will study astronaut health for NASA

Dorothy Carter, assistant professor of psychology, is the principal investigator on one of only seven proposals accepted by NASA's Human Research Program to support astronaut health on missions to Mars: NASA's Human Research Program will fund seven proposals to help answer questions about astronaut health and performance during future long duration missions beyond low-Earth orbit. The selected proposals will investigate the impact of the space…

photo of hot springs
Researchers model cues guiding cell behavior

A diverse set of physical and chemical cues act upon individual cells to ensure coordinated multicellular behavior. Using the bacterium Myxococcus xanthus, a team led by University of Georgia and Rice University researchers has devised a data-driven model of the mechanisms that guide elaborate self-organization at the cellular level. The research, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, provides a blueprint for…

field of sunflowers
First sunflower genome sequence

They follow the sun's path throughout the day - hence their name in the Romance languages - and this news about the sunflower genome turns our attention to a new paper in Nature: [UGA] researchers are part of an international team that has published the first sunflower genome sequence. This new resource will assist future research programs using genetic tools to improve crop resilience and oil production. They published their findings today in…


Researchers publish breakthrough in reversing leukemia

Today in the journal Nature, a UGA research team led by Takahiro Ito published important new work that identifies a new drug target for the two most common types of myeloid leukemia, including a way to turn back the most aggressive form of the disease: By blocking a protein called BCAT1, the researchers were able to stop cancer cell growth in mice and human blood samples from leukemia patients. The BCAT1 protein activates the metabolism of a…

man, headshot photo
Foster named UGA’s first Beinecke Scholar

Shawn Foster, an Honors student majoring in cognitive science and linguistics, was one of 20 students nationwide selected as a Beinecke Scholar: He is the first UGA student to receive the honor, which awards $34,000 to third-year students with demonstrated financial need who will pursue graduate studies in the arts, humanities or social sciences. Foster plans to earn a doctorate in linguistics. A first-generation college student, he is from the…

7 people with award plaques
Staff Awards, Staff Appreciation

The Franklin College celebrated staff and presented Staff Excellence in Service Awards at a reception in the Miller Learning Center on May 9: Franklin College Staff Excellence in Service Awards are designed to honor staff members for their excellent performance outstanding contributions to units in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. Nominees are evaluated and selected based on five criteria: their excellence in fulfilling job…

man and student in lab with petri dish
Strand elected to National Academy of Sciences

University of Georgia Regents' Professor Michael R. Strand has received one of the highest honors a scientist can receive-election to the National Academy of Sciences: Strand, who holds an appointment in the entomology department of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and an affiliated appointment in the genetics department of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, is UGA's eighth member of the National Academies, which…

woman in classroom with students
Kudos, April 2017

Udall and Goldwater Scholars, an HBO movie role, and a slew of teaching and research awards highlight the April kudos for Franklin students and faculty: University of Georgia juniors and Honors students Morgan Gibbs (from Peachtree City, majoring in chemistry and minoring in pharmaceutical sciences) and Mallory Harris (from Dunwoody, is pursuing mathematical sciences with a concentration in computational biology) are among 240 students across…

map with colored graphing
Noted and Quoted, April 2017

Franklin faculty and students continue to be quoted by and to author articles across worldwide media, including all major print publications. A sample from the past few weeks: Research by Archeology graduate student Sammantha Nicole Holder had her featured in The Guardian (reconstructing the diet of Napoleon's Grand Army) The other side of Confederate Memorial Day (Spalding Distinguished Professor of History, Emeritus James Cobb) – Time Four…

photo of statue representing blind justice
Reforming Georgia's criminal justice system

Georgia legislators passed reforms to Georgia’s criminal justice system in 2017, but the complex web of fines, fees, and surcharges embedded in Georgia’s legal code continues to create significant hardship for the state’s poorest citizens. A team of researchers from nine universities including UGA conducted a comprehensive review of monetary sanctions - fines, court fees, restitution, surcharges, and corrections costs - in the criminal justice…

photo of man and woman in lab, with beakers
Rising water temperatures endanger health of coastal ecosystems

"Rising ocean temperatures are changing the way coastal ecosystems-and probably terrestrial ecosystems, too-process nitrogen," said Hollibaugh, Distinguished Research Professor of Marine Sciences in UGA's Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. "Much of the global nitrogen cycle takes place in the coastal zone." Hollibaugh and researcher Sylvia Schaefer found midsummer peaks in concentrations of nitrite alongside massive increases in numbers of…

field with windmill and approaching storm
Thunderstorm asthma epidemics

"Thunderstorm asthma is a very complex phenomenon and involves interactions of allergens like grass pollens, thunderstorms and susceptible groups of people," said lead author Andrew J. Grundstein, professor of geography in UGA's Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. "Our study may help anticipate significant thunderstorms by employing a technique that helps identify wind magnitudes commonly associated with thunderstorm asthma outbreaks." The…

woman seated on steps
Joy Peltier '17: romance language linguistics

On the homestretch to commencement, Development and Alumni Relations features on students, faculty and alumni donors highlight some soon-to-graduate students and their extraordinary UGA experiences. Joy Peltier has certainly made the most of her time at UGA: As a recipient of the university’s foremost undergraduate scholarship, the Foundation Fellowship, all of Joy’s ambitions have been realized. Now, as she pursues a joint bachelor’s…

woman with flat screen TV in background, classroom
Digital Humanities: the power of the computer

Digital humanities at UGA recently received a boost among faculty when it became eligible for the Study in a Second Discipline fellowship from the Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. The impetus was largely due, McGinn said, to a push by Roxanne Eberle, an associate professor of English in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. McGinn is currently working with Eberle each week on a project analyzing the…

man and woman, photo
Graduate students recognized as outstanding debate coaches

Graduate assistants working with the Georgia Debate Union Becca Steiner and Clay Stewart were recently recognized by the Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) as outstanding graduate student coaches. Steiner, a PhD Candidate in Communication Studies from San Diego, California, and Stewart, an MA Candidate in Communication Studies from the Atlanta area, received their awards at the Southeast Cross Examination Debate…

woman with building, outside, photo, day
Two Franklin students named 2017 Goldwater Scholars

Congratulations to UGA juniors and Honors Program students Morgan Gibbs and Mallory Harris, who are among 240 students across the nation to be recognized as Barry Goldwater Scholars, earning the highest undergraduate award of its type for the fields of mathematics, natural sciences and engineering: Gibbs and Harris are each studying in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. Gibbs, from Peachtree City, is majoring in chemistry and minoring in…
Subscribe to Human Nature

Support Franklin College

We appreciate your financial support. Your gift is important to us and helps support critical opportunities for students and faculty alike, including lectures, travel support, and any number of educational events that augment the classroom experience. Click here to learn more about giving.

Every dollar given has a direct impact upon our students and faculty.