Tags: Human Nature

With high hurricane season – and related disinformation circulating in the public – Franklin College faculty members stepped up and into the media spotlight. Special thanks to Associate Dean Marshall Shepherd, Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Sciences and Geography, and Pam Knox, Director of the UGA Weather Network and Agricultural Climatologist in the Atmospheric Sciences Program, for their tireless commitment…
Transfer students currently make up nearly 18% of the UGA student body, arriving from 800 different colleges, 134 Georgia counties, 44 states, and 60 different countries around the world. Campus grows more diverse in every way thanks to so many different students following their academic dream to UGA. As a part of our commemorations for National Transfer Student Week (Oct. 21-25), Franklin College communications writer intern Mianna Lotshaw, who…
Franklin College faculty announce the return of the Generative AI Competition for its second year. GenAI Competition 2.0 will be facilitated by Lindsey Harding, director of the UGA Writing Intensive Program, and Aaron Meskin, professor and head of the department of philosophy, and sponsored by the Office of Instruction. Students are encouraged to submit projects between now and March 14, 2025. Guidelines: Use generative AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT,…
The potential of applications using Artificial Intelligence is quickly venturing into the medical field, with implications for patients and practitioners. A new study published in Nature Medicine presents an open-source multimodal vision-language foundation model, BiomedGPT, for various biomedical applications. AI techniques have also demonstrated potential in solving a wide range of biomedical tasks, including radiology interpretation…
Steven Holland, paleobiologist and expert in stratigraphy, has been selected as the Shellebarger Professor in Geology in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. The professorship is supported by a gift from Sydney (BSHE ’79) and Jeff (BS ’78, MS ’80) Shellebarger, former president of Chevron’s North American exploration and production operations. Jeff Shellebarger currently serves on the executive committee of the UGA Geology Alumni Board.…
A new report published by the Sentencing Project documents the four million people who are disenfranchised due to felony convictions in the United States. Locked Out 2024 reports these Americans will be unable to vote in the upcoming 2024 election due to felony disenfranchisement laws: Laws in 48 U.S. states ban people with felony convictions from voting. In 2024, an estimated 4 million Americans, representing 1.7% of the voting-age population,…
UGA alumnus Steve Yockey (A.B. Theatre, '01) visited the department of theatre and film studies Oct. 4, sitting for three Q+A sessions with students interested in pursuing careers both on stage and behind the camera. In addition to the Q+A sessions, Yockey attended Dr. John Bray’s Dramatic Writing class for a more focused discussion on his career as a playwright, who has seen much of his theatrical work produced throughout the US, Europe, and…
The Franklin College hosted alumni, staff, students and friends at the 2024 Homecoming Tailgate on Brooks Hall on Oct. 5. With catering by Flying Biscuit, corn hole, and conversation, everyone enjoyed a beautiful afternoon in the run-up to the Auburn game. Photos by Audrey Bradstock/Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.  
The University of Georgia celebrated the completion of renovations to the Holmes-Hunter Academic Building on UGA’s historic North Campus on Oct. 4. The building is named in honor of Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter-Gault, the first African American students to attend UGA: The renovations included restored historic features, improved accessibility, enhanced functionality and a courtyard that pays tribute to the building’s namesakes. The $30…
A new interdisciplinary project at the interface of philosophy, linguistics, cognitive science, and artificial intelligence seeks to explore the complicated relationship between human and machine translation. The project, led by professor of philosophy Yuri Balashov, is supported by an NSF Scholar's Award. "Translation from one language into another is a difficult and cognitively intense process requiring a broad set of linguistic and non-…
With so many opportunities to get involved in the Athens community, and a student body attuned to helping others, the September Dawg Day of Service set a new standard for the number of participating students and service sites across Athens. It's never to early to learn that investing in your community is a hands-on experience: Organized by Serve UGA – student-led groups within UGA’s Department of Engagement, Leadership, and Service – students…
UGA Theatre's season-opening production continues tonight and through the weekend with “Everybody,” written by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and directed by J.L. Reed. Performances will be held in the Cellar Theatre of the Fine Arts Building on Sept. 25-28 at 8 p.m. and Sept. 29 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $18, $6 for students and can be reserved at ugatheatre.com/everybody or by phone at 706-542-4400 or in person at the Performing Arts Center or…
A new weather radar system – a collaboration among three Georgia institutions of higher education - comes online at a critical time in hurricane season to protect people and property across the metro region and beyond: Installed recently at Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC), an X-band weather radar purchased two years ago by the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Georgia (UGA) is now providing data for a section of north Georgia…
We welcomed new faculty and staff colleagues into the Franklin College, celebrated new professorships, a Hall of Fame induction and so much more in this first month of the fall semester 2024. Congratulations to our colleagues for outstanding contributions and career achievements: Kelly Dyer, professor in the department of genetics, director of the Integrated Life Sciences Program and co-director of the NIH T32 Genetics Training Grant program, is…
Fantastic start to the fall semester, with excellent research stories and expert comment alike finding purchase in media around the world. Great job by Franklin College scholars in a wide range of disciplines, prepared with authority, ready to share. A sample of stories from recent weeks: There might be more than one way to make a planet – The New York Times reports on new research from Cassandra Hall, assistant professor of computational…
Drew Abney, associate professor in the department of psychology, has blended his interests in statistics and engineering to forge a multifaceted psychology research career. Our colleagues in UGA Research Communications share the story of how Abney's journey informs his scholarship: While working on his master’s in education, Abney took a statistics class that, surprisingly, made his passing interest in psychology seem like a possible career…
UGA faculty member John Knox was among three USG faculty honored with the Felton Jenkins, Jr. Hall of Fame Faculty Award at the University System of Georgia (USG) 20th annual Regents’ Scholarship Gala on September 12. The black-tie gala, hosted at Town Stage at Trilith Studios in Fayetteville, GA, honored faculty, alumni and friends while raising $1.85 million from generous sponsors to support and provide need-based scholarships for…
The UGA Domestic Field Study (DFS) programs integrate place-based, active, and faculty-driven experiential learning to provide immersive, off-campus learning experiences. The social and geographic diversity found across the state yield innumerable possibilities for field study programs, though perhaps none as extensive and captivating as the Georgia coast. “Writing and Community at the Georgia Coast” is a service-learning domestic field…
UGA atmospheric sciences alumnus and the Georgia Climate Project have teamed with stakeholders to find solutions to mitigate urban heat islands in Georgia's Garden City: “I was actually really surprised at the urban heat island effect that we found in Augusta,” said Max Appelbaum, UGA masters alum and Wyoming doctoral student. Appelbaum wrote his masters thesis on the urban heat island effect in Augusta while attending the University of Georgia…
The top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs open the 2024 college football season against a top-25 opponent for the 13th time in school history when UGA takes on No. 14 Clemson Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on August 31. An extraordinarily rich era in UGA football success continues with this season and the high expectations that come with it. That's what comes with winning. The Franklin College supports all UGA student-athletes and along with faculty,…
University of Georgia student Niara Thompson enjoyed a 2024 summer to remember. The 4th year film studies major worked at NBC Sports as a Digital Streaming Operations Intern for the 2024 Paris Olympics.  From broadcast testing and execution for all Olympic events appearing on the Peacock and NBC OneApp platforms to quality control checks on customer devices, Thompson learned the ins-and-outs of a tight schedule where for 24 hours of the day…
The awards, scholarships, and achievements by Franklin College students, alumni, faculty, and staff don't stop for summer. Congratulations to the members of our community whose individual honors bring great distinction to the college and the University of Georgia. A glimpse of the excellence that shined through the summer months: Jordyn Faucette, a senior philosophy, English, and political science major, was one of 19 students across the nation…
As campus winds into fall semester, Franklin College faculty have been working all summer – sharing, expertise, informed opinion and new research findings in media around the world. From cosmic rays to hurricanes to workaholism, a sample of the stories we saw this summer: John Knox, professor geography and associate director of the atmospheric sciences program, comments on how Project 2025 would impact the National Weather Service – AJC Dawdling…
Welcome to all students - new students, transfer students, graduate students – everyone who is new to campus – and our returning students. We are glad you are part of the UGA community! Make the most of your opportunities. Make new friends! Join a club, attend a performance AND and an art exhibition AND a lecture on a subject outside of your field. It's all here! Contact your advisor and remember to get some rest. Have a great semester!
Fourth-year students in the Franklin College department of geography and atmospheric sciences program Shania Green and Jada Lamar have been selected to receive 2024 American Meteorological Society Senior Named Scholarships. The national scholarships range from $1,000 to $26,000 and help further the education of outstanding graduate and undergraduate students pursuing a career in the atmospheric and related oceanic or hydrologic sciences.…