Category: research

An interesting take from one of the Chronicle of Higher Ed blogs on the humans systems implications of our increasing ability to subdivide time into tinier and tinier increments:

Yet we are still some way off coming to terms with analyzing these developments. They require mathematical expertise that is still in short supply. One of the most exciting academic developments of recent years has been the way in which mathematics and statistics suited to these phenomena have begun to sprout. Just as mathematicians have developed who specialize in life sciences, it seems likely that the same will happen in the social sciences and that, before long, such mathematicians will no longer be a rare breed.

Equally, there is a conglomeration of activity that brings together the arts and humanities, design, and computational science based around what might be called the aesthetics of immediacy, a longstanding Western cultural tradition first found in the realm of timekeeping (as my book with Paul Glennie, Shaping the Day, on the genesis of clock time shows), which is changing yet again as technological improvements allow new kinds of temporal representation.

Happy Monday.

Image: Time defending Truth against the attacks of Envy and Discord, 1641, by Nicolas Poussin, oil on canvas. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Professor and head of the department of psychology Keith Campbell is also a best-selling author whose research uncovers great insights on that delicate state of affairs we refer to as the human condition. Next week, he will give a lecture on how introversion impacts learning March 4 at 2 p.m. in the Reading Room of the Miller Learning Center:

The lecture is titled "Being an Introvert in an Extraverted World: The Case of Education" and is hosted by the UGA Student Affairs department of academic partnerships and initiatives.

...

"There are so many situations where extraversion helps, such as a job interview, to finding a date, to participating in class," Campbell said. "This is more important now than ever because people change jobs more often, date more and delay marriage, and are expected to actively participate in classrooms."

Another terrific event that anyone at all can turn into a learning experience. How lucky you are to be on your campus.

In a naturally-occuring process, sulfur makes its way from microbes in the ocean up into the atmosphere where it plays a part in the formation of clouds. The phenomenon has long been know, but now scientists are learning more about how it actually happens:

A new $2 million National Science Foundation grant will allow the UGA-led research group to further document how genes in ocean microbes transform sulfur into clouds in the Earth's atmosphere.

Co-principal investigators on the grant are Franklin College of Arts and Sciences professors Mary Ann Moran of the department of marine sciences and William "Barny" Whitman of the department of microbiology. The team is joined by Ronald Keine, a marine scientist at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab in Alabama, and James Birch and Chris Scholin, scientists from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in California.

...

Engineers at Monterrey Bay had created an autonomous ocean-going instrument that houses a miniaturized molecular lab that sits in the ocean, takes in water, extracts DNA from cells, analyzes DNA and sends the information back to shore via radio modem, providing scientists with real-time ocean data.

"They were looking for good uses of their unique instrument that would be scientifically valuable," Moran said. "We deployed primers for bacterial DMSP genes in their ocean-going molecular lab and caught an example of DMSP pathway regulation as it happened, for the first time ever."

Because our office is constantly engaged with this, communicating about research and scholarship is a near and dear priority. And of course, as the Franklin College, we are home to so many great scholars and scientists that it is must that we share this expertise as widely as possible.

But communicating with the public, and especially the media, can be a challenge. Now the Graduate School is organizing a workshop series designed to help our faculty communicate their work more effectively.

To help faculty members develop and practice those skills, The Graduate School, OVPR, Provost’s Office, Public Affairs, Grady College, and Department of Theatre and Film Studies are again presenting a two-part workshop on Engaging the Public. Applications are now open.

Session One: Tuesday, March 25th, 1pm-4pm
Session Two: Thursday, March 27th, 1pm-4pm

**You MUST be able to attend both sessions to participate

ACTION
Participation is extremely limited. To be considered, please email Meredith Welch-Devine (mwdevine@uga.edu) by 5pm on March 4th with the following information:
1) Your name and department Your name and department Your name and department Your name and departmentYour name and department Your name and department Your name and department Your name and department
2) Your area of research expertise
3) A brief rationale that explains why it is important for you to be chosen for this training
4) Confirmation that you would be able to attend both sessions of the workshop in their entirety
The training group will be selected for diversity across represented departments and career stages. Applicants will be notified of selection decisions by March 7th.
For further information on this workshop, contact the Director of Interdisciplinary Graduate Programs, Dr. Meredith Welch-Devine.
▪ Email: mwdevine@uga.edu

A separate set of workshops on the topic for graduate students and post-docs is scheduled for March 18 and 20. For more information and to apply, go here.

Apply for a Research Grant with UGA Libraries - Seven undergraduate research awards up for grabs

By Jessica Luton

jluton@uga.edu

Have a great idea for research but need a little funding help? The University of Georgia Libraries’ Undergraduate Research Awards are currently accepting applications for seven cash prizes totaling $2,000 for students who demonstrate distinction in research and academic inquiry. Find the requirements for applying here. 

Established in support of the University’s mission of instruction, research and service mission, these scholarships are meant to encourage scholarship and emphasize the research process using library resources and services.

This is a great opportunity for undergraduate students, especially those that may be embarking on a research project for the very first time.

Students must be enrolled in the CURO or Honors programs OR submit abstracts of their projects to the CURO Symposium by Feb. 14, in addition to applying for the research award.

Take advantage of this unique opportunity. But act fast. Deadlines are quickly approaching.  Read more about the UGA Libraries Undergraduate Research Award here and learn more about applying for the CURO Symposium here.

Enter the 2014 Tinker Graduate Field Research Award Competition

By JESSICA LUTON

jluton@uga.edu

The Franklin College of Arts and Sciences Latin American and Caribbean Studies Institute (LACSI) recently announced the 2014 Tinker Foundation, Inc. Field Research Grant for students. 

The grants are meant to help fund travel and other expenses for highly qualified graduated students with an interest in conducting preliminary field research in Spanish or Portuguese-speaking Latin American or Caribbean region, excluding Puerto Rico.

Conducting field research is instrumental for academics to clearly document and study these regions.

This opportunity, which was funded with support by the Franklin College and the UGA Graduate School, will give some students the means to pursue research that they wouldn’t otherwise have funding to complete.

The Latin American and Caribbean Studies Institute at UGA serves a very important purpose. As LACSI’s mission statement explains:

The Latin American and Caribbean region has had major social, cultural, political, and economic impact on the United States. This influence has increased exponentially over the last decade, especially in the state of Georgia. Establishing in-depth understandings of the region and its peoples, including those who have come to the United States from those regions and their descendants, has become crucially important in the state, and the challenge will likely grow in coming decades. LACSI’s primary mission is to address this need by promoting research, education, and service and outreach on Latin America, the Caribbean, and US Latinos.

LACSI offers a wide range of academic programs including an A.B. degree, an undergraduate certificate, a graduate certificate, an undergraduate minor and several other programs to help foster learning in this area of study. 

As an interdisciplinary program, the programs offer students a broad perspective. Course offerings represent many fields such as African-American Studies, anthropology, history, international affairs, journalism, literature, culture, music sociology, theater and many more. Students also complete extensive training in language—Spanish, Portuguese, Quechua and/or French. 

The LACSI’s mission grows increasingly important in the context of our changing demographics. This grant competition is a great opportunity for students to pursue research in an area of growing relevance in the future. 

Check out more about the competition for grant funds here. Applications are due February 24 and grant recipients will receive word about the competition by March 10-14. 

You can also learn more about LACSI mission here.

Great Q & A on the UGA homepage with professor of plant biology Lisa Donovan:

When did you come to UGA and what brought you here?

I came to the University of Georgia in 1995 and was attracted by the diversity and excellence of the plant biologists here.

What are your favorite courses and why?

At the undergraduate level, I enjoy contributing to BIOL 1108, “Principles of Plant Biology II” for biology majors, because it provides the opportunity to interact with a lot of students early in their academic careers. At the graduate level, I enjoy teaching PBIO 8890, “Plant Reproductive and Physiological Ecology,” because I get to teach my specialty to receptive and enthusiastic graduate students.

What interests you about your field?

An understanding of ecological and evolutionary relationships helps explain the patterns that I see in the natural world around me. It also has the potential to help us mitigate the effects of global climate change.

What are some highlights of your career at UGA?

I have had some research successes, but I get just as much satisfaction from being graduate coordinator, which allows me to facilitate the professional development of young scientists.

How does your research or scholarship inspire your teaching, and vice versa

Research allows me to contribute to our understanding of plant ecological and evolutionary responses to the environment. Teaching keeps my small research contributions in perspective within the bigger picture of science and society.  You never really understand something until you teach it!

The National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Program supports junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars, providing crucial laboratory support to promising young researchers. Congratulations to assistant professors Andrea Sweigart and Dave Nelson of department of genetics, who were each awarded five-year, $1 million grants by this program:

Sweigart is an evolutionary biologist who studies quantitative genetics and the processes that give rise to biological species, known as speciation. The grant will support further research on hybrid sterility, a subject whose origins go back to the time of Aristotle but which confounded Darwin as it seemed to run counter to his concept of natural selection. Sweigart has spent years collecting data on the genetic basis and evolution of hybrid sterility in Mimulus, an ecologically diverse genus of wildflowers found west of the Rocky Mountains.

"One of the big questions is how species diverge, even when they are growing in close proximity," Sweigart said. "Mapping these genes will allow us to identify what causes Mimulus hybrids to become sterile and help us understand the forces that initially led to their divergence."

Nelson's research focuses on how plants sense different signals in their environment, specifically one set of compounds found in smoke that stimulate seed germination after a fire, and another class of compounds called strigolactones that control root architecture, shoot growth and stimulate interaction with beneficial fungi in soil. While the two compounds are different, Nelson's research uncovered a common element: both signals control plant growth through the same genetic pathway.

"These signals that can tell a seed whether or not it's a good time to grow, or cause a plant to modify its structure based on nutrient availability," Nelson said. "We want to find that chain of events that leads from signal perception to developmental change."

The awards to Nelson and Sweigart make four CAREER awards in the department of genetics in the last two years - beyond impressive. Congratulations to our faculty and administration for continuing to do many things right: attracting and retaining bright, young faculty members takes resources but also requires much more than that - a collegial atmosphere, great facilities and students. Congratulations to Nelson and Sweigart on the recognition and support, and to the department for all the effort behind their successful program.

Lots of great news out of the department of genetics, and now we add to it an interesting new study:

researchers at the University of Georgia have published findings in Nature Communications that reveal where these extra glands come from and help explain what roles the extra thymuses may play in the complex network of the body's natural defense systems.

"This was a really important question for me as a developmental biologist studying the thymus," said Nancy Manley, professor of genetics in UGA's Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and principal investigator for the project. "It would almost be akin to someone discovering that humans have extra heart tissue somewhere else in the body."

Manley and her team of researchers discovered that the small satellite thymuses, known as cervical thymi, have two distinct origins, and while it's not entirely clear if they play a major role in human health, the T-cells these thymi produce could be either helpful or harmful.

It seems to difficult to believe that there is so much about the human body that is still being discovered. But great science is all about building on the framework of new questions and this new work is terrific evidence of both.

On November 8, 2013, Typhoon Haiyan slammed into the Philippines, whipping the low-lying and densely-populated islands with 200 mph winds and sending a two-story-high storm surge flooding into homes, schools, and hospitals. The PBS NOVA dcomentary Killer Typhoon featured perspectives from some of the world's leading climate scientists, including AMS president and UGA professor Marshall Shepherd. The program aired last night. The trailer:

As Shepherd's year AMS president comes to a close, his impact and experience is recounted in an AJC feature story today: 

Like most scientists, Shepherd believes the data overwhelmingly support global warming — which has now been rechristened as climate change. But in politics, 80 percent certainty is called a landslide. In science, it’s a call for more data.

So Shepherd, unlike the Obama administration, wasn’t quite ready to tie the hot topic of global warming to a rampaging polar vortex.

“I think it’s actually quite plausible, but from my lens, it’s a bit too early to completely anchor that as a conclusive reason,” Shepherd said in a White House-sponsored conversation of experts on the Internet.

Great work as a public scientist - working to inform citizens and decision-makers alike, not shying away from the controversies but finding new ways to help us understand what lies beyond them. Courage and confidence in your work, building influence, empowering others. Thank you, Dr. Shepherd.