Tags: faculty

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Inaugural Athens Film Festival features MFA Film students, faculty

Several UGA faculty, alumni, and MFA Film students will screen films and lead discussions during the inaugural Athens Film Festival which takes place at downtown venues in Athens Aug. 15-17.  As the local film industry grows, the UGA MFA in Film, Television, and Digital Media is right in the thick of making this creative engine go: For Alex Thomas (MFA ‘23), coming back to Athens to premiere his MFA thesis film, “The School Mistress,” is a…

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NSF CAREER Awards for three Franklin faculty members

Three Franklin College scholars are among five UGA faculty selected to receive 2024 Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) foundation awards from the National Science Foundation for their research and potential as academic role models. Our colleagues in Research Communications share the details: The awardees are assistant professors Melanie Reber (Franklin College of Arts and Sciences Department of Chemistry), Christopher Newton (…

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Fish oil may counteract genetic leaning toward high cholesterol

New research from the department of genetics attends to the complex relationship between diet, cholesterol, and disease. While fish oil has long been associated with heart health benefits for some people, the question of whether it's right for everyone with high LDL cholesterol continue to be a point of contention – and the focus of new findings: And a new study from the University of Georgia might encourage a new population to start looking…

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Oceanographer Foukal joins SkIO

Nicholas Foukal, physical oceanographer most recently at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), has joined the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography faculty. Foukal will begin his role as an assistant professor on August 1, 2024. “I am excited to join the faculty at Skidaway and get started,” said Foukal. “In many ways, I will be continuing what I began at WHOI and will keep the positive momentum going that I had built there on the…

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Joye expedition investigates hydrothermal systems

Supported by a National Science Foundation grant, marine sciences faculty member Samantha Joye led an interdisciplinary team in Spring 2024—composed of researchers from Montana State University, University of Texas at Austin, and University of Wisconsin—to the Gulf of California aboard the research vessel Atlantis, a U.S. Navy ship operated by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Our colleagues in UGA Research Communications share a terrific…

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Fellows for Transformative Teaching

Strengthening the faculty across disciplines and tenure-track lines, the Center for Teaching and Learning Fellows for Transformative Teaching bring together experienced faculty from across UGA to explore and engage in conversations about advanced teaching practices. CTL announced its 2024-25 Fellows, which include four from the Franklin College: Charles Byrd,Franklin College of Arts & Sciences Paula J Davis-Olwell,College of Public Health…

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NIH renews support of studies of bacterial metabolism and physiology

The National Institutes of Health awarded $3.5M to UGA faculty member Jorge Escalante to continue his studies of the metabolic capabilities of prokaryotic cells.  The award is known as the ‘Maximizing Investigator’s Research Award’ (MIRA), which has a duration of 5 years. Escalante, UGA Foundation Distinguished Professor in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences department of microbiology, received his first MIRA in 2019 and successfully…

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Inscoe professorship to support study of the history of the American South

The University of Georgia Franklin College of Arts and Sciences announced the John C. Inscoe Professorship in History. The new professorship, approved by the USG Board of Regents, honors longtime UGA faculty member John Inscoe, who recently retired after nearly 35 years at the university.  Nearly three hundred of Inscoe’s students, colleagues, family members, and friends contributed the funds endowing the new professorship. Inscoe, who…

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Cohen named 2024 Simons Early Career Investigator

Marine sciences faculty member Natalie Cohen has received a multi-year grant from the Simons Foundation to support her phytoplankton research investigations off the Georgia coast: Cohen, assistant professor of marine sciences in the University of Georgia’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, has been named a 2024 Simons Early Career Investigator. The three-year grant provides $810,000 to fund her work tracking shifts in phytoplankton…

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Athens history on film

The Athens Film Project will launch the first three of its very short films at Ciné’s Lab at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, July 17. A project of the Athens Historical Society that began during the early days of the pandemic, the Film Project’s goal is to create films on Athens history for local 11th grade U.S. History classes. The first two films are already…

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Getting to the roots of climate solutions

As responses to climate change move toward adaptive solutions, plant genetics research faculty at the University of Georgia are seeking plant-based solutions. Some of these colleagues – from across campus, within and beyond the Franklin College – conduct studies at the cellular level, while others investigate plants as whole organisms. Still others are exploring how epigenetics shape entire ecosystems. And while a number of UGA geneticists…

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Q & A with horn professor James Naigus

Assistant professor of horn in the UGA Hugh Hodgson School of Music, James Naigus received the 2024 Michael F. Adams Early Career Scholar Award at the UGA Research Awards. Naigus recently sat down with our colleagues in UGA Research Communications and discussed his career as a performer and composer, his love for John Williams scores, and having the New York Philharmonic perform one of his pieces: What drew you to the horn? Because I’m a glutton…

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Regenerative Bioscience Center harnesses the body’s natural healing ability

What began in 2004 as a relatively small group of researchers has since grown to include more than 40 members spanning seven colleges, including the College of Engineering, the College of Public Health, and the College of Pharmacy. Together, the scientists aim to tackle medical challenges and develop cures and treatments for devastating diseases like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and stroke. What is Regenerative Bioscience? You’re working in the…

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Discrimination may increase rates of depression and anxiety in Black youth

In a new study, UGA researchers analyzed survey responses and brain imaging data to assess how the part of the brain that detects threats and regulates emotions, known as the amygdala, reacts under conditions simulating the experience of racial discrimination. Results suggest some Black youth are internalizing racial discrimination, which may increase their rates of depression and anxiety: The analysis is part of a national study that followed…

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National Academy convenes 'State of the Science' panel

How U.S. science and innovation are positioned to respond to rising global competition and shifting priorities for the nation’s economy, security, public health and well-being will be discussed at the first State of the Science address on June 26 in Washington, D.C. The State of the Science address will be followed by a panel discussion of seven eminent leaders from across academia, including J. Marshall Shepherd, associate dean for…

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A long goodbye to the Southern accent

When we initially shared this new linguistics research late last year, it was tailor-made for media across the region, the nation and beyond. Since then UGA researchers Margaret Renwick and Jon Forrest have become a familiar presence in numerous reports of the demise of the Southern drawl. Georgia Magazine revisits the story in its new issue: Sometimes, linguistic studies start with a hunch. A good example is when a non-researcher notices that a…

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Parasuraman, Park recognized as faculty 'best mentors'

The Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities recognized two faculty members who enhance the learning experience of undergraduate researchers at the University of Georgia, at the spring 2024 CURO Symposium. This year’s recipients of the CURO Research Mentoring Award are Ramviyas Parasuraman, assistant professor in the School of Computing, and Hea Jin Park, associate professor in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. Parasuraman is…

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Honors College recognizes Terns, Yi

The Morehead Honors College recognized three UGA faculty members who have made significant contributions to Honors education. During the annual Honors graduation banquet in April, Michael Terns and Hyangsoon Yi received the Lothar Tresp Outstanding Honors Professor Award, and Erin Towery received the J. Hatten Howard III Teaching Award. Terns is a Regents’ Professor of biochemistry and molecular biology with adjunct appointments in microbiology…

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Chamber Music Athens

Don't miss the ongoing week-plus of opportunities to enjoy great music that is Chamber Music Athens. Most of these wonderful concerts are free and we note Thursday's "DISPERSIONS IN WATERCOLOR" - NEW MULTI-DISCIPLINARY MUSIC AT THE GEORGIA MUSEUM OF ART At the heart of modern chamber musical exploration is the discovery and creation of new music. Join Amy Yang, Dean of the storied Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, alongside UGA faculty and…

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Howe to receive lifetime achievement award from the Oklahoma Center for the Book

The Oklahoma Department of Libraries and the Friends of the Oklahoma Center for the Book Board of Directors has selected UGA faculty member LeAnne Howe to receive the 2024 Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award in Oklahoma City May 11.  The award is named after Arrell Gibson who was born December 1, 1921, in Pleasanton, Kansas. He earned a B.A. from Missouri Southern State College, an M.A. (1948) and Ph.D. (1954) from the University of…

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Kudos, April 2024

From competitions and professional society inductions to the most prestigious fellowships and scholarships, our colleagues – and students – continued to shine brightly, lighting up Honors season at UGA and beyond. A roundup of just a few of the many awards and accolades: Bob Schmitz, UGA Foundation Professorship in Plant Sciences and Lars G. Ljungdahl Distinguished Investigator in the department of genetics, was honored with the 2024 Charles…

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Noted and Quoted, April 2024

Franklin faculty expertise and research findings – from a new COVID test to the rise of hybrid species and the dangers of bounce houses – appeared in a variety of media around the world during April. A sample of the breath of subject matter and the reach of public scholarship, plus coverage of a theatre alumnus: Black-owned autonomous grocer goes where other stores aren’t – Jerry Shannon, associate professor of geography, quoted by…

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Brickman, Thompson elected to AAAS

Three University of Georgia faculty members – two from the Franklin College – have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the organization announced this week, bringing the university to 45 total members of the exclusive group. Fellows are elected each year by the AAAS Council to recognize achievements that lead to scientific progress. This year, UGA’s new Fellows are Victor Thompson and Marguerite…

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Bousseau awarded 2024 Dubrovin Medal

The Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA) announced UGA faculty member Pierrick Bousseau as one of two the winners of the Dubrovin Medal 2024, a special prize that recognizes exceptionally promising young researchers who have made outstanding contributions to the fields of Mathematical physics and Geometry.  Bousseau, an assistant professor in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences department of mathematics, was…

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Schmitz receives Charles Albert Shull Award from American Society of Plant Biologists

University of Georgia faculty member Bob Schmitz was honored with the 2024 Charles Albert Shull Award from the American Society of Plants Biologists (ASPB). The award, initiated in 1971 by the Society to honor Dr. Charles A. Shull, is a monetary award made annually for outstanding investigations in the field of plant biology by a member who is generally under forty-five years of age on January 1st of the year of presentation, or is fewer than…
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