Tags: Human Nature
The Franklin College is home to 30 departments and nearly 30 more centers, institutes and programs. That's a lot of news to keep up with. But our units do a great job of sharing their specific news, notes, headlines and quotes with the wider world. And what were formerly printed materials that units mailed out are now nice elctronic documents and websites that allow us to share more information than ever with a growing roster of friends, alumni…
At commencement ceremonies on May 10, UGA recognized 13 students with the distinction of First Honor Graduate. Ranked in the top 1 percent of the 4,000-plus member class, these students have earned an outstanding achievement of maintaining perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average throughout their undergraduate studies.
Seven of the 13 are Franklin College students (now alums). Full list of names with images and hometown at the link.…
Intriguing new work on the behavior of sugar molecules in the body, known as glycans, just published by UGA researchers. The research, startling in its breadth, is focused on the causes of a debilitating brain disease:
These complex carbohydrate chains perform a host of vital functions, providing the necessary machinery for cells to communicate, replicate and survive. It stands to reason, then, that when something goes wrong with a person's…
Geography professor and 2013 Russell Teaching Award recipient John Knox weighs in with some much needed context (and some much-needed chiding) on the deleterious effects of storm-chasing on the field of meteorology in a USA Today op-ed:
Before the Twister effect, meteorology was a pretty sedate and obscure pursuit, a small department or program at only a few dozen universities. But the total market penetration of Twister changed everything. Some…
Resource exploitation was the very basis for colonialism, as well as the cause for much of the development of the modern world as we know it, for better and worse. The thirst for land and resources continues around the world, especially in Africa, and people must constantly adjust to, assess and hopefully learn from its repercussions:
Sub-Saharan Africa has foreign investors flocking to buy its fertile land. Sometimes referred to as "land…
With large scale coordination of people, machines, the United Parcel Service and the Smithsonian Institute, the Georgia Museum of Naural History received a rather significant expansion to what was already one of the largest university-based collections in the country:
As officials with United Parcel Service, which coordinated the move, looked on, they unloaded literally tons of bones and animal skins.
Freeman and other museum workers talked most…
Ten current or former UGA students have been awarded graduate research fellowships from the National Science Foundation. Six of the ten are from the Franklin College:
[The fellowships will allow students] to conduct research while working on their master's and doctoral degrees. The awards provide students with up to $126,000 during a five-year period to conduct research in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Eleven…
The UGA Librairies presents a lecture by Kenneth D. Crews, director of the Copyright Advisory Office at Columbia University in New York City, "Copyright and the Academy: The Battle turns to the Courts," on Monday May 20 at 10 am in 271 Auditorium of the Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries. Crews will discuss recent U.S. court decisions that shape fair use for higher education:
For many years, universities and some…
In thier quest to develop nanosensors for early detection of plaque build-up in the arteries, researchers from the department of chemistry have hit upon an even bigger advancement:
Early detection of cellular components in the plaque that rupture and block arteries have long been held as potentially effective detection for heart diseases and their link to atherosclerosis.
A new study by University of Georgia researchers in the Franklin…
At an event earlier this week, a colleague mentioned Shakespeare's recent birthday and offered a few appropriate lines. Exhilarated by the latter, I've always been a little skeptical of references like the former - to the actual man - as I've written about here previously.
Now comes this article in the UK Telegraph Independent about Shakespeare as a wiley businessman and speculator who made a fortune off of grain:
Hoarder, moneylender, tax…
Careers in academia are, in some ways, like those of any other profession: once you have secured a position, you set about to address professional obligations, establish personal goals and pursue opportunities for advancement. Most of all of these would occur within the framework of the position for which you were intially hired.
An important difference in the professoriat, and one emphasized by a program at UGA, is the opportunity to study…
Graduate students often participate in conferences, in formal presentations and conversations about their work with other participants during poster sessions and other events. Most frequently, academic conferences are organized by discipline but the UGA Graduate Student Association tried something different in April with their Interdisciplinary Research Conference and it seems to have been an overwhelming success. Among the unusual outcomes was…
Some great new research published out of the department of sociology, concerning the signals teachers get from students and how teacher perceptions shape student performance:
Elementary school students bring varied skills and experience to the classroom, commonly referred to as cultural capital. And when teachers notice and value these skills, students do better in school.
A new University of Georgia study, published in the April issue of the…
The Franklin College and UGA are venturing into online offerings like never before. For summer 2013, a great selection of courses is available to help students stay on track for graduation even if they are studying abroad, involved in an internship and/or working a summer job.
Have a look. Sign up. Stay on track.
A crannog is a kind of artificial island, usually found on lakes, rivers and estuaries in Scotland and Ireland, that were used as dwellings over five millenia from the European Neolithic Period. On Wednesday April 24, The Archeological Institute of America, along with the Lamar Dodd School of Art, the classics department and the department of archeology present a lecture on this and other prehistoric mysteries of Scotland.
The lecture, at 5:30…
One thing we missed in the rundown of the Faculty Awards banquet is the announcement of the 2013 Distinguished Research Professors. Among the three awardees is one of our favorite researchers and teachers from the department of chemistry, John Stickney.
Stickney has received worldwide recognition for his contributions to the field of electrochemistry. He singlehandedly invented a method of producing extraordinarily thin semiconductors created…
The 'Amazing student' feature on the UGA homepage is a window onto some of the most accomplished students you will ever hear about. Featured this week is actress and student judge for the Peabody Awards, Paige Pulaski:
All of the time that I’ve spent in the theatre department has led me to form intimate relationships with the performance, academic, design, administrative and custodial staff and faculty. There’s something about teaching a form of…
Did you know that that first time the seat of an empire was transferred to a colony happened in 1808? It was from Portugal to Rio de Janeiro, under the duress of the Napoloenic wars in Europe. And when Brazil gained its independence in 1822, the first country to recognize it was the very young United States of America and the two countries have been closely linked ever since.
This and more I learned at the inaugural Brazilian Student Association…
Originally named from an outbreak at an American Legion convention in 1976, Legionellosis or Legionaires' disease is a severe type of pneumonia that affects only a small percentage of the population but can be fatal. UGA researcher Vincent Starai was recently awarded $1,503,565 by the National Institutes of Health to investigate how the bacterium that causes Legionellosis overcome the body’s defenses.
Starai is an assistant professor who…
Undergraduate research is one of those great ideas in academia that UGA has utilized to create something truly special. The Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunites was launched way back in the olden days of 1999 and in less than 15 years has solidified a process by which our undergraduates can pursue research projects and experience in tandem with their degree programs. This year's CURO symposium is in April 1, and the great Fran Teague…
Very nice feature (and cover photo) of professor emeritus of English at UGA and very dear friend of the blog Coleman Barks in our local alt. weekly, Flagpole.
The article focuses on one of his recent collections of poetry, Hummingbird Sleep. But few contemporary poets have had the impact of Barks' work on the world. He has made the words of love and wisdom from the 13th Sufi mystic Jalal al-Din Rumi accesible to millions of English…
Three Franklin College students have been selected as mid-term recipients of the university's premier undergraduate scholarship:
The Foundation Fellowship offers unique academic, civic engagement and travel opportunities, including rigorous research projects and internship experiences.
The 2013 mid-term Foundation Fellows are:
• Maria Cox of Peachtree City, Ga., who is pursuing bachelor's degrees in mass media arts and English;
• Allison…