Tags: Human Nature


Bulldogs Excel at GW's Lafayette Debates

Last week, we reported that UGA sent two students to the 2014 Lafayette Debates hosted by George Washington University and the French government in Washington, D.C. How'd they do? Pretty well, of course: The team of Amy Feinberg and Eilidh Geddes had a wondefully successful tournament at the recent Lafayette Debates held at George Washington University and sponsored by the French Embassy.  The team defeated teams from Georgetown, Ecole de…

Dhar in her lab
New drug formulation for cancer treatment

Great new research from the department of chemistry: The drug dichloroacetate, or DCA, was touted as a cure-all, but after years of work, scientists are still searching for ways to make the unique treatment as effective as possible. Now, researchers at the University of Georgia have discovered a new way to deliver this drug that may one day make it a viable treatment for numerous forms of cancer. They published their findings in the American…

people playing intruments
Athens Music Project Symposium April 17

Besides providing a gratuitous opportunity to post this phot of Pylon from 1979 (wow), the Athens Music Project, a Willson Center Research Cluster featuring Franklin faculty, is presenting the community with signifciant cultural dividends: The Athens Music Project will hold its first symposium April 17 from 4-8 p.m. in the auditorium of the Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries at the University of Georgia. The AMP is a…

student with computer
Goldwater Scholars, Carnegie Junior Research Fellowship

Franklin College students continue to distinguish the University of Georgia by winning elite scholarships and fellowships. Earlier this week, Honors students Tuan Nguyen and Amy Webster were named 2014 Barry M. Goldwater Scholars: The UGA Goldwater Scholars are among a group of 283 recipients of the one- and two-year scholarships that recognize exceptional sophomores and juniors in engineering, mathematics and the natural sciences. UGA students…


Fashion and the Georgia Museum of Art

The Georgia Museum of Art will host a day of events on April 3 that bring together important parts of what will be highlighted during Thinc week as well. Start-ups are in fashion, in more ways than one: The Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia will present a free lecture by Spoonflower cofounder Stephen Fraser April 3 at 11 a.m. in the M. Smith Griffith Auditorium. Spoonflower is a web-based digital printing company that allows…


Ice sheet melt into the oceans: what to expect

  Image: meltwater runoff from the ice sheet margin in Greenland during summer 2013, courtesy of Thomas Mote.


2014 CURO Symposium

Once again the best in UGA undergraduate research, heavy with Franklin College students, will be presented at the annual symposium by the Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities March 31 and April 1 at the Classic Center in downtown Athens: Since its inception in 1999, the CURO Symposium has provided a public space for students from all academic disciplines to share their research with their peers, the UGA research community and…

girls on steps, with laptops smiling
Maymester 2014: Entrepreneurial Leadership in the Arts and Sciences

Current UGA students are availed of a unique opportunity for course credit and valuable career preparation this upcoming Maymester, 2014. Boot Camp: Entrepreneurial Leadership in the Arts and Sciences FCID 3800: Leadership in the Arts and Sciences (3 credits) Students will explore the application of arts and sciences educational foundations to practical issues of leadership and innovation. Individual assessments of leadership skills will help…


The Neuroeconomics of decision-making

Terrific new study from the Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology Laboratory in the department of psychology: Although choosing to do something because the perceived benefit outweighs the financial cost is something people do daily, little is known about what happens in the brain when a person makes these kinds of decisions. Studying how these cost-benefit decisions are made when choosing to consume alcohol, University of Georgia…


Lampost post

  Maybe because it's Spring Break, but can you resist a lamppost post? Certainly, I cannot. If you every wondered why North Campus has the look and feel of park, it is because UGA has some of the best grounds crew professionals you will find anywhere. They're at it again, this time, taking the time and care to replace the 100-year-old lampposts near the arch: Installed in June 1914 by the Athens Rail and Light Company, the lampposts were…


Understanding the Past, 1/10th of a second at a time

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…


Introvert in an Extraverted World

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…

instrument in ocean
Sulfur into clouds

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…


Engaging the Public: A workshop on communicating your research

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…


Careful on campus

Okay and...we're back. Great snow, terrific sense of 'found time,' whether you used it well or not. But now we're back and you need to look out for falling ice - especially Old College, New College, Libraries, Peabody, Administration every building on campus for at least the next few hours. Image: Author photo of Old College on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014


UGA Librairies Research Grant

  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…


Daniel Matt: Jewish Mysticism

The department of religion presents a special guest lecture on Thursday Feb. 6 at 6:30 p.m. in the South P/J Plaza auditorium, "How Kabbalah Reimagines God," by Daniel Matt of the Graduate Theological Union. Matt is a leading authority on the Zohar and Kabbalah. He is the author of the best-selling "The Essential Kabbalah" (HarperSanFrancisco, translated into seven languages); "Zohar: The Book of Enlightenment" (Paulist Press); "God and the Big…


Summer research grant opportunity

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…


Focus on the faculty: Lisa Donovan

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…


Two genetics professors receive CAREER awards

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…


New research: origins of satellite thymus glands

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…


Shepherd on PBS' Nova: Killer Typhoon

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…


Faculty in the Media, January 2014

The end of the year and early 2014 has been a very active time for Franklin College faculty work and expertise. Their contributions to the public discussions on a range of subjects remains an important aspect of our work. Here are a few recent instances: As we noted, Georgia Athletic Association Professor J. Marshall Shepherd of the department of geography was part of panel on the Polar Vortex convened by the White House Office of Science and…


Kudos, January 2014

With the New Year arrives awards, acknowledgments and congratulations to UGA faculty, staff, students and alumni for their many accomplishments. A sampling of these starts with this very cool use of the internet on Friday, January 10. The White House hosted a panel discussion on the the 'Polar Vortex' featuring our very own J. Marshall Shepherd and host of other climate and weather luminaries: Archived video of the discussion is here Marine…


Liberal Arts degree(s) as pre-journalism

A good, short essay In Defense of a Liberal Arts Major by UGA Franklin College student (Women's Studies) Alex Laughlin: I knew I wanted to be a journalist when I came to college, but I also knew I wanted to spend these years expanding my mind to the world. A major in journalism would teach me to write, which I already knew how to do, while a liberal arts major could force me to question my assumptions and beliefs. In women’s studies, I learned…
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