Tags: Earth

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Kudos, November-December 2021

Franklin students, alumni, and faculty distinguish themselves and the University of Georgia, across campus and around the world with their efforts, awards, new books and successful businesses. A roundup of recent honors and accomplishments: David Richards, a doctoral candidate in the department of geology, received the Mark Dawkins Leadership Award, and Gabriel Smallwood, a senior history major from Savannah, were among six UGA students and four…

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New I-STEM Research Building 1 opens

The University of Georgia held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of the first phase of the Interdisciplinary Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Research Complex on Tuesday, Nov. 30. The 100,000-square-foot I-STEM Research Building 1 features flexible, open lab spaces designed to promote collaboration and elevate UGA’s expanding lab-intensive research activities, particularly within the disciplines of chemistry,…

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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…

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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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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…

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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…

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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…

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Project travels up estuaries to find tipping points

Department of geography researchers are collaborating with faculty from the Warnell School of Forestry & Natural Resources and the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences on a four-year project supported by a grant from NOAA to connect marsh health with local economics and environmental impact. Our colleagues in the Warnell School report: The forces at work in a marsh require a delicate balancing act. Rising and falling tidewaters…

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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…

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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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First Day, fall 2021 – searchable course schedules

Welcome to the 5,800 incoming students of the University of Georgia’s Class of 2025, as they join our student body on campus today! Get off to a great start everyone, help our campus stay safe and healthy as you find your way to class. For many new and transfer students on campus today, knowing where you are going and how to get there will among the first set of challenges. So, first things first – our Franklin IT colleagues and our web team…

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Genetics research paves way for better corn plants

The newly assembled genomes of 26 different genetic lines of corn illustrate the crop’s rich genetic diversity and lay the groundwork for a better understanding of what genetic mechanisms account for crop traits prized by farmers. The mapping of the 26 genomes, published recently in the journal Science, was a team effort co-led by University of Georgia’s Kelly Dawe that will help scientists piece together the puzzle of corn genetics.…

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Archaeology Lab preserves relics of Georgia’s past

The UGA Laboratory of Archeology might be a hidden gem, but the facility holds a wealth of history and culture in its vast artifact repository, providing an ongoing connection to the past for scholars around the world – and a pathway to deeper connections to Georgia's past than most of us might have ever considered. Our colleagues in the Office of Research provides the details that go into curating a living warehouse of…

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Adapting Roots to a hotter planet could ease pressure on food supply

The shoots of plants get all of the glory, with their fruit and flowers and visible structure. But it's the portion that lies below the soil — the branching, reaching arms of roots and hairs pulling up water and nutrients — that interests plant physiologist and computer scientist, Alexander Bucksch, associate professor of Plant Biology at the University of Georgia. The health and growth of the root system has deep implications for our…

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Skidaway Institute joins ocean color nanosatellite project

Researchers at the University of Georgia Skidaway Institute of Oceanography have partnered with the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) and others in an ambitious project to use a dedicated nanosatellite to study ocean color. The nanosatellite, the SeaHawk-1 CubeSat, is about the size of a loaf of bread and weighs less than 11 pounds. Launched in 2018, it has undergone extensive testing and evaluation. It is now…

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2021 40 Under 40

The University of Georgia Alumni Association unveiled the 40 Under 40 Class of 2021 with 13 Franklin College 40 Under 40 honorees, 12 majors and 1 minor, as well as 3 Franklin affiliates. The program celebrates the personal, professional and philanthropic achievements of successful UGA graduates under the age of 40. The honorees will be recognized during the 11th annual 40 Under 40 Awards Luncheon…

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Three UGA students named Hollings Scholars

Three University of Georgia students have been awarded the Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The Hollings Scholarship Program is designed to increase undergraduate training in oceanic and atmospheric sciences. The scholarship provides two years of financial support, a 10-week, full-time paid summer internship to any NOAA facility nationwide, and support to participate in…

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Georgia Climate Project receives $300K Anderson Foundation grant

The Ray C. Anderson Foundation has awarded a $300,000 grant to Emory University and its partners for the next phase of the Georgia Climate Project, a state-wide consortium of nine colleges and universities working to strengthen Georgia’s ability to prepare for and respond to a changing climate.   The Georgia Climate Project was founded in 2018 as a collaborative effort among Emory University, the Georgia Institute of Technology and the…

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Franklin alumna leads Fort Pulaski site

An excellent story about a trio of UGA engineering students developing a plan to maintain the Fort Pulaski National Monument site in the face of sea level rise, severe storms and more frequent flooding includes a quote from Fort Pulaski Superintendent Melissa Memory, a 1989 graduate from the Department of Anthropology: “They’ve blown it out of the water metaphorically and literally with how far they’ve taken this project…

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What Climate Science Loses Without Enough Black Researchers

Excellent journalism from Bloomberg in this expansive article on racism inside climate science, which includes UGA's J. Marshall Shepherd among the featured scientists who are remaking institutions that have excluded people of color. Persevering to become a leader while pursuing critical scholarship is more than should be asked of any scientist but the group featured here honors the profession and creates new knowledge while helping our…
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