News Archive - 2026

futuristic abstract digital network
Franklin faculty among teams receiving seed grants from the Institute for Artificial Intelligence

Faculty from the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences are contributing expertise in statistics, computer science, AI, and data science to seven of the eight projects selected for funding in the latest round of seed grants from UGA’s Institute for Artificial Intelligence (IAI). The projects support collaborative, multidisciplinary research focused on advancing ethical and responsible artificial intelligence and reflect UGA’s commitment to…

Cassandra Hall standing in a field with vivid sky behind her.
Franklin College’s Cassandra Hall receives a Cottrell Scholar Award

Cassandra Hall, a computational astrophysicist in Franklin College’s physics and astronomy department, has been named a recipient of a 2026 Cottrell Scholar Award for an outstanding proposal combining research and science education from the Research Corporation for Science Advancement.  She is one of 24 awardees, early-career scientists in chemistry, physics, and astronomy across the United States and Canada. Hall studies super earths,…

Downed trees and power lines left behind after a hurricane.
New study shows first responders face another danger: heat

A new study by Franklin College climate researcher Andrew Grundstein shows that hurricanes may leave behind another danger beside flooding and power outages: heat.  Grunstein's study, in Geohealth, found that emergency response workers in southeastern Texas were working in dangerous conditions most of the time following Hurricane Beryl in July 2024 due to the heat.  “Hurricane Beryl struck Texas in 2024 and left a million people…

Scientist conducting tests in the laboratory.
New CRISPR screening is the first of its kind specific to human muscle cells

UGA researchers have created a first-of-its-kind CRISPR screening platform for human muscle cells, identifying hundreds of genes critical to skeletal muscle formation and uncovering the potential cause of a rare genetic disorder. The findings come from two companion papers published in Nature Communications, one describing the large-scale screen and a second digging into a particular gene’s role in muscle development. “This is the…


Pioneering physicist to deliver Chhabra-Landau Lecture at UGA

Steven R. White, one of the world's leading physicists who is the inventor of the Density Maxtrix Renormalization Group, will deliver the 2026 Chhabra-Landau Lecture on Feb. 26 at UGA. White, Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine, is a condensed matter physicist who specializes in the simulation of quantum systems, a physical entity — such as an atom, electron or photon — whose behavior is…

Demi Thomloudis
Transforming environments into jewelry

"New HeirLooms" is a new collection of jewelry inspired by creator Demi Thomloudis's environments. Thomloudis, associate professor and area chair of jewelry and metalwork in the Lamar Dodd School of Art, created the collection inspired by details of her grandparents' apartment in Greece.  Read more about the collection, which will be on display at the Metal Museum in Memphis, Tenn. in summer 2027.

Control room in which to produce music.
New certificate in classical music recording

The Hugh Hodgson School of Music is offering a new Classical Music Recording Certificate to provide hands-on instruction in the art and technology of music recording and production.   Performers and educators often are required to extend their reach via virtual performances, remote instruction, self-produced online portfolios, and social media content. This certificate will help prepare students to meet the needs of today’s media-hungry…

Award winners
Celebrating Excellence: Exceptional Franklin alumni and donors honored at annual awards ceremony

The Franklin College of Arts and Sciences hosted its annual Alumni Awards and Donor Celebration Friday at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia. After a welcome by the college’s student ambassadors, guests spent the evening honoring seven winners whose achievements span industries and expertise, from art installations and cardiology to organizational psychology and electric vehicle battery technology. The awards highlight recipients’ leadership…


Anthropology PhD candidate receives prestigious Wenner-Gren Foundation grant

Anthropology PhD candidate Amit Kaushik has been awarded the prestigious Wenner-Gren Foundation's Dissertation Fieldwork Grant to study how caste hierarchies shape human–wildlife relations and conservation practices in the land surrounding the Veerangana Durgawati Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, India. His research will examine how conservation policies intersect with histories of displacement, land access, and social and ecological…

Sally Ann Nichols prepares to soothe oncology patient
New partnership between Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center and UGA’s music therapy program

Students in the music therapy program at Franklin College’s Hugh Hodgson School of Music now have another allied health facility where they can use music to enhance the patient experience. Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center announced their collaboration with the program to introduce medical music therapy services to its adult oncology unit, offering patients a new way to find comfort and support during cancer treatment.  Music…