Joye receives SEC Faculty Award

Congratulations to Samantha Joye, Athletic Association Professor in Arts and Sciences and professor of marine sciences, who was named UGA's 2015 recipient of the Southeastern Conference Faculty Achievement Award:

The award, which is administered by SEC provosts, comes with a $5,000 honorarium and recognizes professors with outstanding records in teaching and scholarship who serve as role models for other faculty and students.

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Joye's research bridges the fields of chemistry, microbiology and geology to better understand marine and coastal ecosystems. She has been studying natural seepage of oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico for more than 15 years, and her research related to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill zone has examined the distribution of deepwater plumes of oil and gas. A team that she leads was recently awarded a three-year, $18.8 million grant from the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative to continue to measure the activities of the microorganisms that break down oil and gas and to assess the impacts of the spill.

One of our best, brightest and most visible faculty members, Joye receiving this award certainly comes as no surprise. Her research into and advocacy for a better understanding of what happened in the Gulf in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon spill has led directly to broader efforts in the region and sustained focus on the consequences once the media spotlight moved on. Reporters and policymakers listen to Dr. Joye, and we are all better served by that as well as the expertise behind such gravitas. It's great to see this acknowledged once again, this time by the SEC. Great work and congratulations. We're very proud Joye is Franklin and UGA.