Tags: Earth

photo of football players on stage, with confetti and trophy
Kudos, January 2022

Wonderful awards and accolades across the Franklin College to begin 2022, though there can only be one headline to our January kudos: 41 years! Georgia Bulldogs win rematch vs. Alabama Crimson Tide for first college national championship since 1980 season – ESPN, Sports Illustrated, CNN, ABC News, U.S. News & World Report, UGA Today, GeorgiaDogs.com, ABH, Atlanta Business Chronicle Marshall…

three headshot photos with two women, one man
Kissinger, Yager elected as AAAS Fellows

Jessica Kissinger, Distinguished Research Professor of genetics, and Patricia Yager, professor of marine sciences, are among three UGA faculty named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In a tradition stretching back to 1874, these individuals are elected annually by the AAAS Council for their extraordinary achievements leading to the advancement of science. Fellows must have been AAAS members for at…

photo of damaged buildings and debris, day
Noted and Quoted, January 2022

A variety of articles and columns, quoting or authored by Franklin Faculty members at the turn of the new year. A recent sample of insights and expertise: Photos, other mementos discovered hundreds of miles away after tornadoes – John Knox, professor of geography, quoted by KMOX in St. Louis, via Audacy Gerald Ford vowed to whip inflation; it whipped him instead – column written by Stephen Mihm, associate professor of history,…

photo of large green leaves
'Moonshot' for botany

A new Earth BioGenome Project paper published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences highlights the progress of plant genomics and includes a roadmap for the enormous task of sequencing the genomes of plants worldwide. The Earth BioGenome Project is a federated initiative promoting sequencing the genomes of all multicellular species on our planet. The paper, co-authored by professor of plant biology James…

photo of man with computer and diagnostic machine
Third round of Presidential Interdisciplinary Seed Grants awarded

How can nanotechnology and big data be used to improve diagnosis of infectious viruses like SARS-CoV-2? That’s one of the questions that will be explored through funding provided by a third round of Presidential Interdisciplinary Seed Grants. Eleven grants totaling $1.5 million were awarded in November 2021 to recipients of the third round of Presidential Interdisciplinary Seed Grants. Overall the awards went to faculty from 13 UGA departments,…

photo of glacier ice shelf
UGA-led team exploring ocean productivity near Thwaites Glacier

Scientists from around the globe have embarked upon the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration(ITGC), an expedition to the Amundsen Sea Polynya in western Antarctica that includes a research team led by UGA marine sciences professor Patricia Yager: While an array of projects associated with the expedition are focused on sea level rise and the physical processes related to the melting, Yager is co-chief scientist and lead P.I. on the…

map graphic, with lines and streets highlighted in colors
New biking map eases the ride around Athens

Athens residents looking for a new way to pedal around the city will soon have a new way to plan their trip. An online mapping application created by UGA’s Community Mapping Lab will provide a fresh look at the most bike-friendly streets to get around the city. Created through a collaboration with local nonprofit BikeAthens, the map highlights the strengths of local biking infrastructure, such as multi-use paths and dedicated bike…

photo with fireworks and silhouette of graduate
Fall Commencement, 2021

The University of Georgia and the Franklin College welcome our newest alumni Dec. 17 as 1,888 undergraduates and 1,398 graduate students—a total of 3,286—have met requirements to walk in the university’s fall Commencement ceremonies: Both the undergraduate and graduate Commencement ceremonies will be held in Sanford Stadium. The undergraduate ceremony is scheduled for 10 a.m., and the graduate ceremony will be held at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are…

photo of container ships in ocean
Noted and Quoted, November 2021

From the "Great Resignation" to cryptocurrency, La Nina, zoom fatigue, and fungal blooms, Franklin College faculty offered expertise, scholarship, and opinion in media platforms across the world. A sample of recent reporting and stories from the month of November and early December: Cameras off can lessen fatigue – Kristen Shockley, associate professor of psychology, quoted by Sales and Marketing Why it’s time for the term “minority” to…

photo of musicians with instruments and music stands, two people in foreground
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…

photo of group cutting ribbon in front of building, day
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,…

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…

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,…

photo of woman, left, and man
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…

graphic with text and images in circles
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-…

photo of woman and child in pool, day
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,…

photo of woman in greenhouse, with white text
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…

view still photo of two men, outdoors, day
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 woman interview man on screen in studio
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…

Photo of man with blurred crowds, street, in background
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 man in boat in the ocean
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 spartina grass, water
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…

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…

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…

photo of people walking up steps, sunny day
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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