Kudos, April-May 2021

Truly an April to remember for the Franklin College and the University of Georgia, with our three new National Academy of Sciences members announced. Details below on those and other extraordinary achievements across the college for faculty, students, staff and alumni. We also want to include a special note of thanks and congratulations to our 14 graduating Franklin College Student Ambassadors – we are honored by your efforts and dedication. Please see franklin_uga for more details about these wonderful students. Best wishes moving forward!

J. Marshall Shepherd, Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of Geography and Atmospheric Sciences, Mary Ann Moran, Regents’ Professor in marine sciences, and Gregory H. Robinson, UGA Foundation Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, received one of the highest honors a scientist can earn, election to the National Academy of Sciences

Earlier in April, J. Marshall Shepherd was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, an honorary society that recognizes and celebrates the excellence of its members and is also an independent research center that convenes leaders from across disciplines, professions and perspectives to address significant challenges. Shepherd was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in February, becoming the first UGA faculty member in the institution's 236-year history to be elected to all three honorary societies

Cindy Hahamovitch, B. Phinizy Spalding Distinguished Professor of Southern History, was awarded a 2021 Fellowship by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation

Chana Kai Lee, associate professor in the department of history, was awarded a 2021-22 Warren Center Faculty Fellowship at Harvard University

Graduate students Anna Claire Doner, department of chemistry, Kenneth Allen, department of mathematics, were among 78 graduate students selected for the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) program, which will support their research at National Laboratories

Jennifer Birch, associate professor of anthropology, and Emily Sahakian, associate professor of theatre and film studies, and of Romance languages, were named recipients of the Richard B. Russell Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, which recognize outstanding instruction by faculty members early in their academic careers

Alumnus Marshall Mosher (AB, MPA, BS ’15) was featured in The Jerusalem Post for his work at Singularity University—a joint venture between NASA and Google—where he builds VR environments triggered by variations in heart rates

Zachary Wood, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, was one of five UGA faculty members awarded the institution’s highest teaching honor, the Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professorship

The Office of Instruction announced the Outstanding Academic Advisor Award recipients, which include Franklin College staff members Jennifer Patrick and Elizabeth Fuller

A complete roster of 2021 UGA Honors & Awards

Cynthia Johnston Turner, director of bands and professor of music at the Hugh Hodgson School of Music, was appointed as dean of the Faculty of Music at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario 

Claire Bunn, from Marion, Arkansas, a third-year Foundation Fellow and Stamps Scholar majoring in genetics and minoring in statistics, and Yoong 'Terry' Phang, from Cumming, a third-year majoring in physics and mathematics with a focus on condensed matter physics, are among 410 undergraduates across the nation to be recognized as Barry Goldwater Scholars in 2021, earning the highest undergraduate award of its type for the fields of the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering

Bree Nichols (MM Performance '18) was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to work in the Czech Republic to create the first anthology of Czech art songs while including public performances and collaborative efforts with Czech universities

And the University of Georgia Class of 2021 set a Senior Signature record with 3,009 students making a gift to the university prior to graduation. This is the fifth consecutive year that the graduating class broke the preceding class’s participation record and the highest donor count in the program’s 30-year history