Tags: Human Nature

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CURO opens door to funding, research, and valuable experience

Emilio Ferrara, junior biochemistry and molecular biology major from Atlanta, Georgia, utilizes CURO—the Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities—to connect with research opportunities across campus. A nice feature story on the CURO program describes Ferrara and his work on Type IV CRISPR systems: Emilio Ferrara did not realize it at first, but his experience with CURO led to a whole new career path. When you hear the title, “…

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Colorful foods improve athletes’ vision

Nutrition is an important part of any top athlete’s training program.And now, a new study by researchers from the University of Georgia proposes that supplementing the diet of athletes with colorful fruits and vegetables could improve their visual range. The paper, which was published in Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews, examines how a group of plant compounds that build up in the retina, known as macular pigments, work to improve eye health…

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Mary Ruth Moore, 1936-2023

It is with great sadness that we share the news that beloved Professor Emerita of Photography Mary Ruth Moore has passed. Mary Ruth was, according to dear friend and former colleague Senior Lecturer Ben Reynolds, “unpretentiously and purely an artist.” She is remembered as a deeply enthusiastic beacon who centered encouragement in the studio and classroom to help students hone in on their strengths. During her retirement party, solo exhibition…

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Agrawal appointed director of School of Computing

The University of Georgia has appointed Gagan Agrawal, professor and associate dean for research and graduate studies in the School of Computer and Cyber Sciences at Augusta University, as the director of the UGA School of Computing. Agrawal was selected after a national search and will begin as director July 1. UGA elevated its longstanding department of computer science to a School of Computing in July 2022 in response to rising student…

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nothin' finer in the land

Georgia Magazine dons the Redcoats for the cover of its newest issue: Bawcum has been a part of the Redcoat Band for more than 30 years, first as a saxophonist and then as drum major, graduate assistant, and associate director before being named director in 2020. He’s heard lots of iterations of the Redcoat Chant. “The way the band performs the Chant changes every year, but the basics are still the same,” he says. “That’s on purpose, and it’s OK…

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Paradigm Shift: Paintings by Margaret Morrison

The Lyndon House Arts Center presents the opening of Paradigm Shift: Paintings by Margaret Morrison, on June 8, 2023.  The exhibition, on view through September 1, 2023, includes a reception on Thursday, June 8 at 6 p.m.  Morrison, professor of art and chair of Painting and Drawing in the Lamar Dodd School of Art, received a 2022 Willson Center Faculty Research grant for her proposal, “Paradigm Shift - A Theory of…

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Welcome, Dean Stenport!

The University of Georgia and the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences today welcomes Anna Westerstahl Stenport as the 17th dean of UGA's oldest and largest college. Dr. Stenport, a professor of communication and an expert in transnational cinema and media, modern literature and drama, and visual and cultural studies, with a focus on the Arctic and Nordic regions, joined the UGA faculty as the University of Georgia Athletic Association…

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Psychology researchers changing the way we diagnose, treat schizophrenia

Our colleagues from UGA Research Communications take a deep dive across the breadth of department of psychology research on schizophrenia, changing perceptions of the disorder, new information that could bring clarity to how clinicians diagnose and treat it in the future. Great work by some of UGA's best: The popular understanding goes something like this: An individual, usually a young adult, begins having hallucinations—“hearing voices”…

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UGA students excavate Athens factory site

"Any understanding of the world must begin at home--or end there." --Siegfried Lenz, The Heritage, 1981. Faculty members at the University of Georgia have partnered with Sandy Creek Nature Center to create a field school to teach students in a hands-on environment.  “We wanted to establish a class that offers hands-on field experience to teach archaeological methods to students,” said Attila Gyucha, assistant professor in…

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First-generation Graduate empowering generations of Bulldogs

Franklin College Advisory Board member Neicy Wells' (AB '96) commitment to Franklin and love for UGA is a building on her legacy of greatness at the university:   When Neicy Wells’ grandmother encouraged her to go to college and insisted she apply to the University of Georgia because “it was the best,” she had no idea the legacy of greatness she was setting into motion. Neicy (AB ’96) began making her presence felt on campus with her…

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‘Play deserts’ common throughout Deep South, Southwest

Physical activity is crucial to children’s healthy physical and mental development. But new research from the University of Georgia shows hundreds of U.S. counties are play deserts. These play deserts are areas where parks and other spots to run around and play are nonexistent, hard to access or in less safe locations that make parents second-guess taking their children to play there. The study found that about 7% of the country…

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Spring Commencement 2023

Let the Chapel bell ring, today is the day! The University of Georgia welcomes its newest alumni on May 12 as 6,008 undergraduates have met requirements to participate in the university’s spring Commencement ceremonies. Congratulations to the 1,665 graduate students—a total of 7,673—who had their Commencement ceremonies yesterday. Welcome to the many family members and friends visiting campus this week.  The undergraduate ceremony is…

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Nora Benedict brings a digital dimension to book history

Books are a big deal. The invention of writing is one of the pivotal moments in the history of humanity, and—in terms of cultural significance—the distance from writing itself to the book is literally just the turn of a page. Books existed long before printing presses. As artifacts, they tell stories that range far beyond the mere words printed or written on their pages. Nora Benedict wants to tell those stories. An assistant professor of…

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Student Commencement speaker reflects on community

If you ask Sudhan Chitgopkar about the highlights of his time at the University of Georgia, he’ll pause before responding. “I’ve got to think about this one,” he said. “It’s four years’ worth of memories.” It is a lot to condense into a few words, but Chitgopkar will do his best as undergraduate student speaker at the 2023 spring Commencement ceremony. “I think the most important thing that I carry with me is the community,” Chitgopkar said…

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Noted and Quoted, April 2023

Weather and climate, baseball, ghosting, and Tupperware were some of the subjects Franklin faculty colleagues discussed and wrote about over the course of April. A sample of the many news stories and research reporting that appeared in media around the world:   The U.S. leads the world in weather catastrophes. Here’s why – Marshall Shepherd, Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor, quoted widely by AP News, …

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Kudos, April 2023

Honors Week, the Franklin Faculty Awards reception, Guggenheim Fellows, and Goldwater Scholars are among the Franklin College students, staff, and faculty achievements that took center stage during April. A sample of the excellence and accomplishments of our colleagues across the College: Tessa Andrews, associate professor of genetics, is one of four faculty members the University of Georgia honored with its highest accolade for…

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UGA professor narrates a new 20-episode lecture series 

More than a year in the making, a new lecture series featuring University of Georgia faculty member Suzanne Pilaar Birch "Early Humans: Ice, Stone, and Survival" is now streaming on Wondrium. The 20-episode series tells the story of humanity's journey from our earliest origins in Africa to the emergence of agriculture, examines the role of climate and environmental change in driving these transitions, and how archaeological science is helping us…

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UGA writing center receives major gift

The University of Georgia Writing Center is being renamed for Jill and Marvin Willis III.  Housed under the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences in Park Hall, the Writing Center is now known as the Jill and Marvin Willis Center for Writing in recognition of their $1 million gift. “From the moment I met Jill, I sensed her generosity of spirit and her sincere interest in the work we do to support writers,” said Rebecca…

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UGA Green Labs leads the charge in lab sustainability

The UGA Office of Sustainability has a strong impact on our Campus – and not just for Earth Day, but definitely that, too. From the Composting Program in our buildings to Bulldog Bike share to the many initiatives that advance sustainability on campus and in the community, developing student leaders on and around the issue of environmental sustainability is crucial for today as well critical for tomorrow. In that vein, UGA’s Green Lab…

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Professor helps students make sense of complicated histories

In his fifth year at UGA, Timothy Yang teaches history to help students make sense of subjects that may first appear too foreign or complex to understand. Trained as a historian of modern Japan, he teaches a broad range of courses about East Asia that emphasize connections and commonalities as well as global trends. One example is his approach to teaching complex topics like the history of capitalism. “Scholars commonly think…

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National Poetry Month

Athens Poet Laureate – and lecturer in the department of English – Jeff Fallis leads celebrations of National Poetry Month on campus, in the community, and on the phone. Fallis, a University of Georgia Franklin College instructor, is in the second year of his two-year term as Athens Poet Laureate, a position funded by the Athens Cultural Affairs Commission. Through his office and events planned throughout April, Fallis hopes to provide…

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Outstanding Advisor Award Winners

Four University of Georgia academic advisors have received 2022-2023 Outstanding Undergraduate Academic Advising Awards. The winners, including Yadira Castillo and Kestrina Shrestha from the Franklin College Office of Student Academic Services, were nominated by their Dean's Office and selected by a committee of three student representatives from SGA, along with previous advisor award winners. Yadira Castillo, academic advisor for…

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Who Black women can love: judgments of others affect relationships with white men

New research from the University of Georgia describes how Black women in interracial relationships with white men perceive experiencing varying treatment due to expectations of who Black women should date and marry. Despite examples of high-profile, interracial relationships, perceived reactions to people with double minority status (Black women) and a double majority status partner (white men), can lead the former to have the validity of their…

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Franklin OIT Web Team wins Best in WebOps Award

Pantheon selected the Franklin College Office of Information Technology's Web Services Team as The Best in WebOps team for 2023. This award celebrates high-performing brand or agency web teams that have produced extraordinary websites and embrace the core principles of WebOps. These teams thrive on collaboration, and they are shining examples of results-oriented website strategy, design, development, and execution. They were chosen by an…

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Two UGA faculty awarded Guggenheim Fellowships

Two University of Georgia faculty members are among 171 scientists, writers, scholars and artists honored across 48 fields by the Board of Trustees of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation with 2023 Guggenheim Fellowships. Guggenheim Fellowships are awarded annually to those “who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts.” Andrew Herod, Distinguished Research…
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