News from the Chronicles - July 2012

robot on stage
Commedia and Robots

Robotics finding its way into theatre is the subject of a New York Times feature story today. The story quotes department of theatre and film studies head David Saltz on the reality of robots and live theatre: Comedy seems to come easily to robots, whose exaggerated features and stilted movements make them natural stooges. “The more you try to imitate a human, the more creepy it can get,” Ms. Knight said. “Sometimes if you make it more…


The expanding universe (of knowledge)

Scientists at the University of Georgia, the University of California, San Diego, UCLA, California State Polytechnic University and the Australia National University have collaborated on a study, published in the journal Nature, suggesting new information on how planets are formed. The study: began with a curious and unexpected finding: Within three years, the cloud of dust circling a young star in the Scorpius-Centaurus stellar nursery simply…


Benjamin Franklin and the Franklin College

Douglas Anderson in the Sterling-Goodman Professor of English at UGA. He has taught and written about Benjamin Franklin throughout his career, including most recently The Unfinished Life of Benjamin Franklin, published by Johns Hopkins in spring 2012. Here he talks about Franklin the man, his ideas about education and his connection to the Franklin College, as well the college's central role at UGA.    


UGA anthropology researcher quoted on Mantle site

  CBSNews.com ran a story about a very interesting discovery in Ontario - a giant, hitherto unknown 16th century settlement: Occupied between roughly A.D. 1500 and 1530, the so-called Mantle site was settled by the Wendat (Huron). Excavations at the site, between 2003 and 2005, have uncovered its 98 longhouses, a palisade of three rows (a fence made of heavy wooden stakes and used for defense) and about 200,000 artifacts. Dozens of examples…


Psychology Ph.D alums shine

And speaking of great work by our post-docs and graduate students, graduates of the Franklin College’s doctoral program in clinical psychology can be found in academic and clinical settings across the nation, and two recent alumni have been honored for their work by the American Psychological Association’s Society of Pediatric Psychology: Laura Simons, who earned her PhD from UGA in 2006 and now an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical…


Tiny Universe

The Lamar Dodd School of Art presents the exhibition "Tiny Universe," on view from June 20th to August 3rd in the Gallery 307 on the third floor of the school of art. The exhibition brings together six artists who use a variety of concepts and media to create a unique framework for understanding the world around us. Employing memory, experience, religion and humor, the artists in this show have essentially made their own universes for the…


UGA - Franklin College Study Abroad

  Students and faculty at the University are fortunate in the extent to which UGA has embraced the importance of study abroad. An international academic experience intertwines crucial cultural elements with instruction in ways that are otherwise inaccessible for students, but also builds richness into the undergraduate experience that directly supports the well-rounded liberal arts education we speak and write about so often. Whether it is…


Speaking the Language

And speaking of international programs and experiences, an important part of the immersion that happens during study abroad experiences is increased proficiency in the language of where ever you might go. Of course, students can and should prepare for this on campus by taking advantage of the many language offerings in the Franklin College. Quite often, until you are on campus and sitting with a Franklin advisor, you might not know the actual…


Student and Alumni news

Students and alumni from the Franklin College are doing great things all over the world, here are examples from just two of those we heard about today: Jason Carter, a BFA student in painting and drawing at the Lamar Dodd School of Art has spent the summer working as a studio assistant for Berlin-based artist Michael Markwick. A selection of Jason's most recent works on paper will be on display July 22-23 at Studio M3 in Berlin, Germany. For…


UGA exhibit focuses on the Power of Microbes

Students and faculty from the Franklin College and other units staffed UGA's bioenergy exhibit at the second annual USA Science and Engineering Festival, held this spring in Washington, D.C. During the event, [associate professor microbiology Anna]Karls and five graduate students from the microbiology department in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences showed visitors how microbes convert garbage and waste into energy capable of powering…