Tags: faculty

illustration with children, boar, water, and birds
UGA collaboration weaves story of Indigenous environmental relationships in a new book

A new children’s book published in three languages focuses on the Wounaan, Indigenous people of Panama and Colombia, and their relationships with birds. A collaborative effort, the book results from two projects supported by the Global Environment Facility and UNDP Small Grants Program and the US-based non-profit Native Future on bird guiding, birds and culture, and forest restoration in Panama. The Wounaan National Congress and the Foundation…

graphic of art and text on green
Jazz and Glees perform for Thursday Scholarship Series

The Hugh Hodgson School of Music Thursday Scholarship Series concert features the Jazz Ensemble and Glee Clubs in Hodgson Hall on Nov. 18 at 7:30 p.m. The performance is part of the Spotlight on the Arts Festival. The program opens with Jazz Ensemble I Big Band, which is Hodgson School’s advanced Jazz Ensemble, directed by Dave D’Angelo, Lecturer of Jazz. This group plays at a variety of events, both on and off campus,…

Photo of woman on building porch, day
Witnessing the Muslim world in pencil and ink

Art speaks truth in a way that history cannot. Integrating images with text, the graphic novel can illustrate an extremely personal point-of-view. Not only can it convey the internal dialogue of the work’s characters, but it can also deliver a visceral gut-punch with an image or the absence of one. Esra Mirze Santesso, associate professor of English in the Franklin College of Arts & Sciences, wasn’t always a critic and educator of…

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Professor Emerita Mary Case passed away on October 13, 2021, at the age of 95

Mary Elizabeth Case was a founding member of the department of genetics at the University of Georgia in 1980. She remained an active participant in the department after her retirement as Professor Emerita. Case was born on December 10, 1925, in Crawfordville, Indiana. She received her B.A. in Biology from Maryville College in Tennessee and an M.A. in Botany from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She earned her doctorate from Yale…

color photo of mountain with text in black
Andean cloud forests’ socioecology

Within a transdisciplinary framework, the Andean cloud forest belt was appraised and recommended into a new ecoregion of its own: the Andean Flanks. A team of Franklin College faculty in the Neotropical Montology Collaboratory has produced a book, published in Spanish, by the Institute for Sustainable Development of Cloud Forest Research and the National University Toribio Rodríguez de Mendoza of Amazonas in Peru. Authors Fausto Sarmiento,…

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Kudos, October 2021

A prestigious book award, a startup launch, and a new protein study using AI highlight Franklin faculty and student kudos during October: Claudio Saunt, Richard B. Russell Professor in American History and Co-Director of the Center for Virtual History, has been awarded the 18th annual Ridenhour Book Prize for his widely celebrated work, Unworthy Republic: The dispossession of Native Americans and the road to Indian Territory UGA…

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Team Science: UGA builds support for effective teams

The university’s efforts to develop a support network for faculty seeking research funding, which run the gamut from pre-seed grants to team science workshops to hiring off-campus experts to review large proposals, are paying off. A distinguished roster of faculty members from across the Franklin College are connecting their research goals with the tools for sustainable results that make a difference: “It’s always been my dream to have a long-…

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Noted and Quoted, October 2021

Franklin faculty members provided clarity and guidance in the media on a range of issues from climate change to workaholism over the course of October. As sampling of a few of the many recent stories: The “extra” Atlantic hurricane name list will likely be used soon — but not the Greek alphabet – Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of geography and atmospheric sciences Marshall Shepherd writing at Forbes Why Bezos,…

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Breaking down biofuel barriers

Debra Mohnen, Georgia Athletic Association Professor in Complex Carbohydrate Research and professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, has made internationally recognized contributions to the field of plant cell-wall glycobiology with significant impacts on biomass and bioenergy research. In 75 peer-reviewed publications, which have generated more than 500 citations annually since 2013, she has advanced understanding…

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Zawacki translates human experience into poetry

Andrew Zawacki, professor in the Department of English, has gained distinction as a poet, translator, editor and critic. He has published five celebrated books of poetry, numerous chapbooks and limited-edition books, and critical essays in prestigious literary journals and a highly visible Poetry Foundation blog. Four of his poetry books have appeared in France in French translation, and another is forthcoming. For many years, he served as co-…

photo of gorilla, outdoors, day
Gorillas can tell human voices apart

Many animals recognize the voices of members of their own species, and some can even recognize those of other species, such as humans. But it turns out a few animals, such as gorillas, can not only recognize familiar voices but also connect those voices to pleasant or not so pleasant memories. A new study from the University of Georgia is the first to show that gorillas are able to recognize familiar human voices based on their relationship…

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Connecting geography and justice

Excellent video about the work of Distinguished Research Professor Nik Heynen of the department of geography, who works to connect geography and justice. “Geography really offers an opportunity to bring abstract theory and grounded, everyday experience together in a way that we can start to imagine how to both frame problems, but also how to figure out solutions and pathways to solving those problems.” Thanks to our…

photo of man and cover of book
Saunt awarded Ridenhour Book Prize

Claudio Saunt, Richard B. Russell Professor in American History and Co-Director of the Center for Virtual History, has been awarded the 18th annual Ridenhour Book Prize for his widely celebrated work, Unworthy Republic: The dispossession of Native Americans and the road to Indian Territory: The Ridenhour Prizes seek to recognize and encourage those who persevere in acts of truth-telling that protect the public interest, promote social…

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New UGA study maps the structural diversity of sugar building enzymes using AI

Sugars in our bodies, and in nearly all living organisms, are synthesized and built by a large family of proteins called Glycosyltransferases (GTs) that adopt unique three-dimensional structures and folds to perform a diverse array of cellular functions. Understanding the structure and fold of these proteins is an important first step towards characterizing their functions, which is critical for developing effective glycovaccines and for…

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Noted and Quoted, September 2021

Zoom fatigue, the asteroid Vesta, and Hurricane Ida led the news coverage of research stories and expert commentary around the world by Franklin College faculty during September. A sample of recent stories:    Turning cameras off during virtual meetings can reduce fatigue – research by Kristen Shockley, associate professor of psychology, report widely by Mirage News, Big News Network, ScienceDaily, EurekAlert…

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New heat exposure model can protect citizens

Increasingly extreme heat threatens the health and comfort of city dwellers. That’s why researchers from the University of Georgia have developed a new dynamic heat exposure index that captures varying heat exposure within urban environments. “This is the first time a dynamic heat exposure model has been proposed, thanks in part to recent technological advances in sensing and big data,” said Deepak Mishra, professor, associate head of…

photo of woman, outdoors, day
A history of colorism sheds light on discrimination today

Colorism is a form of discrimination, typically within a racial or ethnic group, favoring people with lighter skin over those with darker skin.This pernicious form of discrimination is often overshadowed in discussions about racism, but it affects a broad swath of people across multiple populations. A new study by a University of Georgia researcher explores the present-day impact of colorism, provides case studies of the effect of skin…

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Franklin faculty co-lead new NSF center to study oceanic ecosystems

The University of Georgia, along with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, will co-lead a new National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center that will pursue and promote a deeper understanding of the microbial worlds and chemical processes that swirl throughout the Earth’s oceanic ecosystems. The new Center for Chemical Currencies of a Microbial Planet (C-CoMP), based at Woods Hole in Falmouth, Massachusetts, is…

photo of drums and water bottles
Marching band kids at risk from heat illness

This time of year, you hear a lot about heat-related illnesses in athletes. Thousands of student-athletes are sidelined by heat illnesses each year, and some don’t recover. But while guidelines exist to help coaches and trainers keep their students safe, there’s another group on the field that’s still at risk: students in marching bands. “You read all these stories in newspapers about marching band members experiencing heat-related…

photo of woman looking at computer screen with faces
Cameras as the source of Zoom fatigue

In the post-pandemic world, a few things have become ubiquitous: masks, hand sanitizer and Zoom fatigue, or the feeling of being worn out after a long day of virtual meetings. But new research from a team led by University of Georgia psychologist Kristen Shockley suggests that it’s not the meetings causing the fatigue—it’s the camera. “We knew people had the perception that Zoom meetings were leading to fatigue, but we didn’t know…

photo of film shoot with camera, people, clapper board, outdoors day
MFA Film program adds new faculty in second year

The state’s first Master of Fine Arts degree in Film, Television, and Digital Media (MFA) arrives to its second year, as the program's first cohort of students make their way to sound stages and scenes around the state. The program also welcomes new faculty members to help guide our students in their pursuit to become filmmakers ready to give voice to stories that matter in today’s competitive global marketplace: UGA’s MFA in Film program…

photo of asteroid in space, with labeling text
Geologists propose theory about a famous asteroid

The asteroid Vesta is the second largest asteroid in our solar system. With a diameter of about 330 miles, it orbits the sun between the planets Mars and Jupiter. Asteroids have long played a part in building popular fascination with space. “Marooned off Vesta” was the first story published by American writer Isaac Asimov, the third story he wrote, appearing in the March 1939 issue of the science fiction magazine Amazing Stories. “When…

photo of three women painting a mural
Kudos, August 2021

Awards, grants, exhibitions and fellowships lead our shout-outs to colleagues across the college to begin the academic year. Congratulations all – a few of the highlights: Seven UGA doctoral students – four from the Franklin College – selected as ARCS Scholars – Albany Herald Jody Clay-Warner, Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor in the department of sociology, part of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, and associate…

headshot photo of man
Ye receives NIH award to pursue precision medicine

University of Georgia researcher Kaixiong Ye has received a Maximizing Investigators Research Award from the National Institutes of Health. The nearly $2 million, five-year award will support efforts to characterize gene-environment interactions, or genetic effects modified by environment, underlying complex traits in humans. The MIRA is a grant to provide support for a program of research in an early-stage investigator’s laboratory that…

waiting of earth-tone figures on black
Noted and Quoted, Summer 2021

While the summer may have been quiet for some, Franklin faculty members were busy writing and offering a wide variety of expertise in media around the world. A sampling of recent stories: It just rained at Greenland’s highest summit for the first time — and you can guess why? Thomas Mote, Distinguished Research Professor and Associate Dean, quoted by Green Matters, New York Times Potential Hurricane Henri and the remnants of Fred…
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