UGA Columns March 16, 2020

Periodicals Postage is PAID in Athens, Georgia

Marketing & Communications University of Georgia 286 Oconee Street Suite 200 North Athens, GA 30602-1999

UGA Archway helps launch welding program to build one community’s workforce OUTREACH NEWS

3

UGA Theatre offers a contemporary take on myth in ‘The Penelopiad’

March 16, 2020

Vol. 47, No. 27

www.columns.uga.edu

UGA GUIDE

4&5

Plan for Science Hill creates opportunities for research enterprise

Andrew Davis Tucker

Graduate student Chenyi Li, left, works with professor Yajun Yan of the New Materials Institute in his lab at Riverbend Research Lab South.

Commercial success

UGA again ranks in the top 5 for new products to market

By Michael Terrazas

michael.terrazas@uga.edu

Research at the University of Georgia led to 50 new products being introduced to the market in fiscal year 2018, ranking UGA No. 2 among all U.S. universities and colleges for this important metric. This is the sixth year in a row that UGA has ranked among the top 5 universities—including a No. 1 ranking for FY2017. This ranking is based on annual survey data from AUTM, a nonprofit organization that tracks technology transfer activity in higher education.

The 50 new products are diverse, and include: • EcoGreen Charcoal Lighter fluid, a plant-based, eco-friendly alternative to petroleum products.

• HarvXtra Alfalfa, a higher-quality alfalfa variety with reduced lignin content.

• New products from UGA startup company MuniRem Environmental, which conducts environmentally safe remediation of sites contaminated with munitions and other explosives.

• Cold-tolerant citrus cultivars, including “Pink Frost” grapefruit, “Sweet Frost” tangerine and “Grand Frost” lemon.

Also in FY2018, UGA ranked No. 8 and No. 5 for other key metrics of research commercialization activity: the number of annual research licensing deals and the current number of active licenses, respectively. UGA has ranked among the country’s top 10 universities in these categories for 12 consecutive years.

“These rankings reflect the cutting-edge research done by our faculty and students, combined with the expertise of UGA’s technology commercialization

professionals and the work of our industry partners who develop products for market,” said Derek Eberhart, associate vice president for research and executive director of Innovation Gateway, UGA’s technology transfer organization.

“The university’s success in commercializing the research of our faculty and students is as consistent as it is significant.”

In FY2018, UGA earned more than $10.5 million in overall licensing revenue, advancing it five spots to No. 26 among all U.S. universities and colleges.

In a separate but equally important category, UGA ranked No. 27 for the total number of active startup companies, its 16th consecutive year among the top 30. In FY2018, Innovation Gateway generated an estimated $531 million in economic impact through its

See RANKING on page 8

scientific inquiry,” said President Jere W. Morehead. “Our comprehensive plan combines new and renovated research facilities to achieve our goals in the most efficient and cost-effective manner.”

An essential element of the plan is the modernization of existing research facilities on Science Hill, including approximately 105,000 square feet in the original Chemistry Building to accommodate a significant portion of the research activities currently housed in the adjacent Biological Sciences Building.

The more than 120,000 square feet of available laboratory space in the Biological Sciences Building will then be modernized to

See PLAN on page 8

COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Top food products named Flavor of Georgia finalists

Judges have selected 30 products to compete in the second and final round of UGA’s annual Flavor of Georgia Food Product Contest. Narrowed from a field of 117 products, the finalists will compete on April 7 in Athens with an awards ceremony following.

The contest is the state’s proving ground for small, upstart food companies as well as established products looking for recognition or new markets. This year’s finalists represent all corners of the state and the best of Georgia’s diverse

culinary heritage.

“Year after year, winners tell me that the prestige of the Flavor of Georgia award opens doors for additional business opportunities, whether they are highlighting a product line, considering expanding into new variations, or launching a new product or company,” said Sharon P. Kane, contest coordinator and economist with the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences’ Center for Agribusiness and Economic See FLAVOR on page 8

2020 SPRING COMMENCEMENT

ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

Engineering, crop and soil sciences faculty members named University Professors

By Carolyn Payton

carolyn.payton@uga.edu

Two faculty members at the University of Georgia have been named University Professors, a title bestowed on those who have had a significant impact on the university in addition to fulfilling their normal academic responsibilities.

The 2019-2020 University Professors are William Kisaalita, Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of Engineering, and George Vellidis, professor in the department of crop and soil sciences in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

The University Professorship recognizes individuals whose research and service to the university and community have helped improve the quality with which the university serves its missions. This

The University of Georgia’s rapidly expanding research enterprise has created a challenge—providing enough space for UGA’s scientists to conduct their innovative work.

Fortunately, the university’s leaders anticipated this challenge and created a multi-year capital plan to build, renovate and modernize hundreds of thousands of square feet devoted to research and innovation in and around the section of campus known as Science Hill. The capital plan emphasizes the development of research opportunities in the STEM fields—science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

“To remain one of the nation’s top research universities, the University of Georgia must maximize its available facilities devoted to

William Kisaalita

George Vellidis

year marks the first time since 1984 that more than one University Professor has been named.

“This year’s University Professors are international leaders in their fields and agents of change here at the University of Georgia,” said S. Jack Hu, the university’s senior vice president for academic affairs and provost. “They exemplify the dedication that our faculty have to this institution and its vital missions of teaching, research

and service.”

Kisaalita’s research and innovation have had a global impact.

To address the challenges many farmers in rural Africa face due to a lack of electricity and a lack of means to keep collected milk cool, Kisaalita, a native of Uganda, and his team developed a wind and biogas-powered cooling device, the EvaKuula. This device serves as a way to maximize small farms’ dairy profits. This groundbreaking work does not stop with milk.

Kisaalita’s team of researchers are now using the EvaKuula technology to create a cooling container for eggs.

Kisaalita has held many roles on campus, including chair for biological engineering, associate director of the Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities

See PROFESSORS on page 8

Sports journalist set to deliver spring Commencement address ESPN reporter and UGA alumna Maria Taylor will deliver the University of Georgia spring undergraduate Commencement address on May 8 at 7 p.m. in Sanford Stadium.

Since graduating from UGA in 2009 with a degree in broadcast news from the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, Taylor has risen through the ranks of sports journalism and is now in her seventh season as an analyst, host and reporter for ESPN. She returned to the university to pursue her Master of Business Administration, which she completed in May 2013.

A native of Alpharetta, Taylor played collegiate volleyball and basketball for UGA. She was named to the All-SEC volleyball team three times and was also a member of the USA A2 National Volleyball team.

Prior to 2012, Taylor was a reporter and host for IMG College

(now Learfield IMG College) at the University of Georgia for three years. She also appeared on various studio shows including “Dawg Maria Taylor Report,”“SEC Men’s Basketball Tonight” and “SportsNite.”

In 2013, she was the sideline reporter on ESPN2’s weekly Saturday night prime-time college football telecast and covered the Orange Bowl for the second year. She also served as an analyst on the NCAA Women’s Basketball Selection Show, NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Preview Show and ESPN’s coverage of both the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament See COMMENCEMENT on page 8

2 March 16, 2020 columns.uga.edu

Commit to Georgia 2020

Why I Give

Name: Corrie Brown Position: Josiah Meigs and University Professor, Department of Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine At UGA: 24 years

Corrie Brown

Beneficiaries of her gift to the university: College of Veterinary Medicine Scholarship Fund, College of Veterinary Medicine Support Fund and Veterinary Medicine Comparative Research Why she contributes: “Today’s graduates need to understand how the world operates and how to communicate across cultures and national boundaries.

“UGA is committed to international engagement (hooray!), so I remain committed to ensuring more of our veterinary students have an opportunity to explore the world and become leaders in global animal health.”

To make your contribution to the Commit to Georgia Campaign, please contact the Office of Annual Giving at 706-542-8119 or visit give.uga.edu.

Source: Office of Development

FRANKLIN COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Symposium about collective behavior to be held March 20

By Alan Flurry

aflurry@uga.edu

From the coordinated blinking of fireflies to the synchronized movement of flocks of birds or schools of fish and even the exploration pattern of roots in the soil, collective behavior characterizes all domains of biology—animals, plants, fungi, bacteria and viruses.

The University of Georgia Institute of Bioinformatics will present a new State of the Art Symposium on Collective Behavior on March 20.

Because of concerns about the strain of coronavirus known as COVID-19—on March 11, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic—the meeting will now be a virtual symposium. “Understanding Collective Behavior through Transdisciplinary Efforts” will be streamed at https://monumentalmedia.com/uga037 for anyone who wants to watch. Scheduled to begin 9 a.m., the symposium may end at 4:45 p.m. instead of the previously announced time of 4 p.m.

“Collective behaviors occur on all scales of living systems, including movements of primate troops and bird flocks, the coordinated swarming of bacterial cells and the circadian ticking of molecular clocks. Even viral attacks are carried out as collectives,” said Jonathan Arnold, professor of genetics and organizer of the symposium. “Perhaps ironically, research on collective behaviors is not coordinated.

Disparate scientific groups work on these phenomena in many disciplines.

“While the problems being pursued have exciting overlap, interaction between groups has been sparse,” he also said. “Phenomena of collective behavior are relevant to a range of scholarship from all around campus.”

Speakers for the daylong symposium include Deborah Gordon, professor of biology at Stanford University; Helen McCreery, a James S. McDonnell postdoctoral fellow in Radhika Nagpal’s Self-Organizing Systems Research Group at Harvard University; Heidi Kaplan, associate professor in the molecular biology and molecular genetics department in the McGovern Medical School of the University of Texas at Houston; and Bill Bentley, Distinguished Professor and director of the Robert E. Fischell Institute for Biomedical Devices in the Fischell Department of Bioengineering at the University of Maryland. The symposium is supported by a State-of-the-Art Conference Grant from the Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost.

“The symposium is designed to promote this new interdisciplinary field, to share research from transdisciplinary collaborations, as well as different approaches and technologies, in a coordinated effort to transform investigations of collective behavior,” Arnold said.

More information about the symposium is available at iob.uga.edu.

INNOVATION DISTRICT

Two UGA faculty members named spring 2020 Innovation Fellows

By Ashley Crain

AshleyCrain@uga.edu

Faculty members Lohitash Karumbaiah and Donnie Longenecker have been selected as UGA’s Innovation Fellows for spring 2020 and will spend the semester learning how to successfully translate their research into marketable products.

Karumbaiah is an associate professor of regenerative medicine in the department of animal and dairy science and the Regenerative Bioscience Center. He conducts preclinical research on invasive tumors and traumatic brain injuries. He previously underwent training through the UGA I-Corps Accelerator program, aiming to create solutions for these brain-related pathologies.

Longenecker, a senior lecturer in the College of Environment and Design, studies performance improvements in the landscape architecture industry and the impact of continuing education on that performance. As an Innovation Fellow, he will convert this research into educational products determined to be of value both by industry regulators and landscape architects themselves. Longenecker’s goal is to develop and provide new educational programs to the landscape architecture industry in partnership with the CED. Launched last fall as part of UGA’s Innovation District initiative, the Innovation Fellows program aims to encourage faculty and staff to capitalize on the resources available through UGA’s research commercialization office, Innovation Gateway, to pursue their interest in commercialization and product development.

Dorothy Kozlowski

As Innovation Fellows, Donnie Longenecker, left, and Lohitash Karumbaiah are learning how to successfully translate their research into marketable products.

“I-Corps introduced me to the wealth of resources and expertise available to identify unmet needs and develop products and technologies to bridge therapeutic gaps,” said Karumbaiah, whose research is currently funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation’s Engineering Research Center for Cell Manufacturing Therapies. “I applied to the UGA Innovation Fellows Program on the back of this experience to continue to develop the knowledgebase required to translate academic research innovations into clinically viable solutions.”

“Our outreach should improve when you consider that UGA is one of the largest landscape architecture programs in the U.S., and it has recently been ranked as the No. 1 place to hire landscape architecture grads by Design Intelligence Magazine,” said Longenecker. “I’m hoping

that through the process of customer discovery, developing a specific value proposition and understanding the logistics of delivery and organization, I can make our outreach efforts much more effective.”

In addition to funding of up to $10,000, each Fellow will dive into a weeklong crash course on Gateway’s innovation curriculum, which will be followed by an eight-hour-per-week commitment to complete the program.

“Our hope is to not only educate our faculty and staff on the value of the commercializing process, but also on the potential their research has for the local and global markets,” said Ian Biggs, director of the startups program in Innovation Gateway. “The ultimate goal is making our community and the world a safer, smarter place to live, and through the Innovation District initiative and our Innovation Fellows, UGA’s one step closer to meeting that goal.”

ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

Second round of Affordable Course Materials Grant program brings student savings to $1.3 million

By Carolyn Payton

carolyn.payton@uga.edu

For the second year, the Provost’s Affordable Course Materials Grant program will help save students money, enhance the quality of their learning experience and increase their opportunities for success.

This semester, 11 faculty members in nine academic units received funding through the program to transition from costly textbooks to open and affordable educational resources. The $49,000 that was distributed through the program and an additional $10,000 in private support is expected to save students more than $572,000 in textbook costs per academic year. Combined with the results of the first round of funding, the savings to students exceeds $1.3 million.

“The Affordable Course Materials Grant program demonstrates the University of Georgia’s commitment to our students,” said S. Jack Hu, the university’s senior vice president for academic affairs and provost.“Thanks to this program and the dedication of our faculty, even more UGA students can benefit from open educational resources,which reduce costs and also have been shown to improve learning outcomes.”

Through the program, assistant professor of international affairs Molly Berkmeier will transform her introductory international relations course to an article-based one, saving 38 students over $4,100 per class each semester.

“What I have found is that students are most engaged with the simulation and the supplemental articles assigned outside the textbook,” Berkmeier said.

She plans to research contemporary issues that will be important for students to consider in coming years that are not represented in current international relations textbooks.

“These issues include the rise of new technologies and domains such as drones, artificial intelligence, space and cyber,” Berkmeier said.

In the School of Law, instructor Jean Goetz Mangan will use the grant funding to replace her legal writing textbook for first-year students. Mangan said that she has been unable to find a low-cost option that meets her students’ needs, so she plans to create a free open-access, online legal writing manual. This new resource will save 33 students a total of $4,300 each semester.

“Because I can continually change and update the material, there will be no need for students to buy new editions,” Mangan said.

Ben Fahrman, lecturer in the College of Engineering, plans to create statics course materials that are less costly than the current $230 textbook. The financial impact of adopting these open educational resources are expected to save 190 engineering students more than $43,000 per academic year. Fahrman also hopes that better materials will increase opportunities for student success in future courses.

In addition, 1,300 students in firstyear English composition courses will see a savings of over $41,000 per academic year thanks to a $10,000 privately funded donation through UGA Libraries. Nate Kreuter, director of the first-year writing program, plans to transition from current textbooks that cost students $162 to

free open-access text materials.

The Provost’s Affordable Course Materials Grant program is administered by the UGA Libraries and the Center for Teaching and Learning, both of which offer information and consulting to faculty interested in open and affordable educational resources.

The Provost’s Affordable Course Materials Grant Program complements the Textbook Transformation Grants program that is sponsored by the Affordable Learning Georgia initiative of the University System of Georgia.

Since 2013, faculty adoptions of open educational resources have benefited more than 67,000 UGA students and helped them save over $6.3 million in textbook costs.

Research has shown that Open Educational Resources improve students’ performance and decrease their drop, fail and withdrawal rates. OERs also have been shown to increase student success at an even greater rate for recipients of Pell Grants, part-time students and populations historically underserved by higher education.

“The Affordable Course Materials Grant program is an exemplar of how we as an institution can continue to broaden access for all students,” said Michelle Cook,vice provost for diversity and inclusion and strategic university initiatives.“It also supports innovative practices in the classroom and active learning. We are proud of the work of our faculty in this area and excited about the impact that it continues to have on learning at UGA.” For a complete list of Affordable Course Materials Grant recipients, visit news.uga.edu/columns.

OUTREACH NEWS

columns.uga.edu March 16, 2020

3

Digest Memorial service will honor Prokasy, late VP for academic affairs emeritus

A memorial service for William Frederick “Bill” Prokasy IV will be held on March 21 at 3 p.m. in Ramsey Concert Hall of the Performing Arts Center, 230 River Road.

A vice president for academic affairs emeritus at UGA, Prokasy died on Nov. 4. The ­memorial service is open to all members of the UGA and Athens ­communities.

Saturday Morning Club to showcase music from superhero movies

Shannah Montgomery

Fifteen students from Thomson High School will complete an on-site welding program this year.

‘Tremendous value’

UGA Archway helps launch high school welding program to build one community’s workforce

By Baker Owens

baker.owens@uga.edu

Students at Thomson High School now have an on-site training program designed to help them prepare for available jobs when they graduate and meet a growing workforce need in the community.

Twenty-seven students already have enrolled in the new welding program, which began in fall 2019 after community leaders, including representatives from the school system, the local chamber of commerce and the UGA Archway Partnership, recognized the need to begin the training in high school to meet a growing shortage of skilled workers in the region.

Kerry Bridges, area manager for Georgia Power and a member of the McDuffie-Thomson Archway Partnership executive committee, asked the Georgia Power Foundation to support the new program.

“The foundation board saw that because of Fort Gordon, Savannah River Site and Plant Vogtle all in this area, there was tremendous value in this project, and they decided to support it

to the tune of $100,000,” Bridges said.

Those three projects alone will employ thousands of welders and other skilled positions both during construction and in permanent, maintenancetype positions.

“We recently had a large industry move to town, Standard Iron, that had several welding positions needing to be filled,” said Debbie Jones, executive director and CEO of the ThomsonMcDuffie Chamber of Commerce.

“Also, Thomson Two State Construction continues to stay on the lookout for qualified workers to fill vacancies at their plant.”

The expansion of Georgia Power’s Plant Vogtle, about an hour away in Waynesboro, also increases the need for skilled workers in the region.

“It made sense that we bring this pathway into the school, but not without the help of funding partners Georgia Power and Jefferson Energy Cooperative,” Jones said. “We wanted to be able to expose the students to welding early, so they could obtain their certification shortly after high school and move into a well-paying career.”

The welder shortage is part of a

bigger economic issue across the country.

One of the most consistent complaints economic developers hear from industry is a lack of qualified employees. According to the American Welding Society, the average age for welders is 55 and fewer than 20% are younger than age 35.

Thomson High School’s graduation rate is 82.2%, the state average. About 55% of its graduates enroll in a technical college, four-year college or university within 12 months of graduation, according to the Georgia Governor’s Office of School Achievement. Statewide, about 62% of high school graduates go on to postsecondary education within a year.

Fifteen students will complete the welding program, a Career, Technical and Agricultural Education pathway, this year.

“This welding lab is one of the first tangible impacts of our education and workforce development partnership between the McDuffie County School System, the Archway Partnership, the Thomson-McDuffie Chamber of Commerce and local industry,” said Andy Knox Sr., chairman of the school board. “We are thrilled to see how we can continue to move forward together.”

TERRY COLLEGE OF BUSINESS

Management faculty ranked No. 1 for research productivity

By J. Merritt Melancon jmerritt@uga.edu

Last year was a very good year for the management department at the University of Georgia Terry College of Business.

In 2019, the college’s management faculty was ranked No. 1 for research productivity in its field out of 150 U.S. business schools, tied at the top with Michigan State University.

“The Terry College is incredibly proud of the relevance and impact of the research conducted by our management faculty,” said Dean Benjamin C. Ayers.

“Having one of the premier management departments in the country bodes very well for the opportunities afforded Terry undergraduate and graduate students, as well as the state of Georgia and beyond.”

The TAMUGA Rankings, named that because the research rankings are compiled every year by scholars at Texas A&M University and the University of Georgia, provide a survey of the articles

published in eight top-tier management research journals.

The annual tabulation provides a valuable insight into academic research written by management faculty from U.S. business schools, said Tim Quigley, an associate professor of management at the Terry College and point person at UGA for the TAMUGA Rankings.

“From a practical standpoint, management research asks how do we make businesses work better,” Quigley said.

“When you think about a department like ours, we’re talking about researching strategic changes and the top managers of the firm, as well as job satisfaction.

Feeling good about the work you do, feeling productive in the work you do, designing work processes that help everyone realize their full potential and how to create work environments where people feel like they’re treated fairly.”

Faculty members at UGA’s management department have been ranked among the top 10 most productive schools for four of the past five years, but this is the first year the department

has been ranked No. 1.

The ranking reflects an academic culture that supports and values the research of its faculty members and graduate students and the impact that research has on the world.

“We work to sustain a culture that supports research by removing or reducing any barriers that get in the way of our faculty achieving their research goals,” said Robert Vandenberg, the Robert O. Arnold Professor of Business and head of the management department.

“This includes helping them to navigate hurdles they encounter, but also making sure that they have the funds to conduct their research and have opportunities to present their research findings. The ability to exchange ideas with peer researchers plays an important role here.

“The TAMUGA Rankings also provide metrics for the total number of papers published over the past five years,” Vandenberg also said. “In that ranking, Terry College’s department of management ranked No. 5 in the nation.”

The next Saturday Morning Club will take place March 21 at 10 a.m. in Hodgson Concert Hall with a performance by the UGA Wind Symphony. Jaclyn Hartenberger, director of bands, will conduct the program, which will feature music from popular superhero movies.

Attendees will have the opportunity to make their own superhero mask before the concert, and there will be an instrument petting zoo after the performance, weather permitting.

The Saturday Morning Club is a series of performances for young people, by young people. These fun, interactive events are designed for children from ages 4-12 and feature UGA student ensembles and other young performers.

Saturday Morning Club events are free, and no tickets are required. For more information, visit pac.uga.edu or call 706-542-4400.

Unite ticket elected to lead SGA

University of Georgia students have elected the Unite ticket to the executive branch of the Student Government Association for the 2020-2021 academic year. The ticket consists of President-elect Asim Ahmed, Vice Presidentelect Cheryl Kwapong and Treasurer-elect ­Carson Kuck. Unite was elected in a run-off after none of the three executive tickets received 50% of the vote in the general election.

Ahmed is a third-year student from Columbus majoring in biochemistry and molecular ­biology. Kwapong is a third-year journalism major from Buford, and Kuck is a third-year political science major from Cochran.

The Unite ticket’s campaign platform centered on efforts to promote community safety, improve resources for students seeking on- and off-campus housing and financially ­assist students pursuing graduate studies.

The SGA inauguration ceremony is ­scheduled for April 6 at 6 p.m. in the Chapel.

University among Peace Corps’ top-producing schools for 2020

The Peace Corps ranks the University of Georgia at No. 5 among large schools on the agency’s list of top volunteer-producing colleges and universities in 2020.

UGA made a big leap to No. 5 from last year’s spot at No. 13.

Since the agency’s founding in 1961, more than 710 alumni from UGA have served abroad as Peace Corps volunteers. The university’s Peace Corps Prep program provides undergraduates with an opportunity to integrate coursework with hands-on experience and professional development and prepare them for international development fieldwork and potential Peace Corps service.

The Peace Corps ranks its top volunteerproducing colleges and universities annually according to the size of the student body. Among large colleges and universities with more than 15,000 undergraduates, the top five schools and the number of alumni currently serving as Peace Corps volunteers are the University of ­Wisconsin, Madison, 79; the University of Florida, 70; the University of Virginia, 68; the University of Maryland, College Park, 66; and the University of Georgia, 64.

PERIODICALS POSTAGE STATEMENT Columns (USPS 020-024) is published weekly during the academic year and

biweekly during the summer for the faculty and staff of the University of Georgia by the Division of Marketing & Communications. Periodicals postage is paid in Athens, Georgia. Postmaster: Send off-campus address changes to Columns, UGA Marketing & Communications, 286 Oconee Street, Suite 200 North, Athens, GA 30602-1999.

For a complete listing of events at the University of Georgia, check the Master Calendar on the web (calendar.uga.edu/­).

The following events are open to the public, unless otherwise specified.

Dates, times and locations may change without advance notice.

UGAGUIDE

EXHIBITIONS

The Monsters Are Due on Broad Street: Patrick Dean.

Through March 29. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662. hazbrown@uga.edu.

By Melissa Tufts

Reflecting on Rembrandt: 500 Years of Etching Through April 19.

Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662. hazbrown@uga.edu.

As part of the College of Environment and Design’s 50th anniversary celebration, the exhibition The Art of Conservation: Paintings by Philip Juras is on display until April 30 in the college’s Circle Gallery.

An Athens artist and native of Augusta, Juras holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree (1990) and a Master of Landscape Architecture degree (1997), both from the University of Georgia. He portrays the rich aesthetics of a range of ecologically intact environments, especially in the southeastern U.S. In his artwork, he combines direct observation with the study of the natural science and history of the site, an approach he attributes in large part to his experience at the environment and design college.

“My time at the CED was formative in so many ways,” Juras said. “Synthesizing the envisioning and communicating skills imparted by my MLA professors with the training I received in the art school was excellent preparation for my later work. And studying with professor and dean emeritus Darrel Morrison, particularly in his plant communities class, gave tremendous depth to my vision of the natural landscape.”

Juras’s MLA thesis examined pre-settlement Southeastern grasslands, a subject that continues to inspire his artwork. He credits Dorinda Dallmeyer, director emerita of the Environmental Ethics Certificate Program at the environment and design college, with providing him the opportunity to put his work before new viewers.

“Dorinda encouraged me to join her on a literary and visual art exploration of the world of William Bartram, which allowed me, for the first time, to reach a wide audience with my work and affect the way people see the nature I hold dear,” he said. “My hope is to promote a conservation ethic by showing people the beauty of these ecologically important places.”

In 2011, Juras’s exhibition, The Southern Frontier, Landscapes Inspired by Bartram’s Travels, opened at the Telfair Academy in Savannah. With its

Louis Comfort Tiffany: Treasures from the Driehaus Collection. Through May 10. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662. hazbrown@uga.edu.

The Georgia Coast: Contested Splendor. Through May. 11.

Russell Gallery, Richard B. Russell Special Collections Libraries.

706-542-5788. washnock@uga.edu.

Experiencing Cortona: Celebrating 50 Years of UGA Study Abroad. Through May 29. Hargrett Library Gallery, Richard B. Russell Special Collections Libraries. 706-583-0213. jhebbard@uga.edu.

The Strategies of Suffrage: Mobilizing a Nation for Women’s Rights. Through July 2. Hargrett Library Gallery, Richard B. Russell Special Collections Libraries. 706-583-0213. jhebbard@uga.edu.

Drama and Devotion in Baroque Rome. Through Aug. 23.

Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662. hazbrown@uga.edu.

Paving the Road to Progress: Georgia Interstate Highways.

Through Aug. 31. Russell Gallery, Richard B. Russell Special Collections Libraries. 706-542-5788. washnock@uga.edu.

In Dialogue: Cecilia Beaux’s “Twilight Confidences”.

Through Nov. 15. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-1817. hazbrown@uga.edu.

MONDAY, MARCH 16 CTEGD RESEARCH IN PROGRESS Presenters: Colley Lab. Moderator: Msano Mandalasi. 8:30 a.m.

175 Coverdell Center.

WORKSHOP In this 90-minute workshop, participants will use the Science Library Makerspace’s Dremel LC40 Laser Cutter to create fabric patches based on the Georgia Museum of Art’s exhibition, Material Georgia 1733-1900: Two Decades of Scholarship.

Participants will look at examples of handcraft in textiles, furniture, metalwork and basketry as a way to inform and inspire digital creations on the laser cutter. Some drawing involved. No previous experience with laser cutters is required. All materials provided. 10 a.m. 381 Science Library. 706-542-2403. makerspace@uga.edu.

FILM SCREENING Screening of Ida B. Wells: A Passion for Justice for Women’s History Month. 6:30 p.m. 271 Special Collections Libraries.

706-542-2846. tlhat@uga.edu.

TUESDAY, MARCH 17 LECTURE Speaker: Vincent Starai, microbiology department, Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. Host: Cordula Schulz. 11 a.m.

S175 Coverdell Center.

TOUR AT TWO Jeffrey Richmond-Moll, curator of American art, will give a talk focusing on two newly reinstalled galleries in the permanent collection. 2 p.m. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662. hazbrown@uga.edu.

ECOLOGY SEMINAR “ ‘Eat or Not Eat’: Manipulation and Evasion Parasitic in Two Predator-Prey-Parasite (PPP) Systems on the South Pacific Coast, Chile,” Sara M. Rodríguez, postdoctoral researcher, Marine and Limnological Sciences Institute, Universidad Austral de Chile. Reception follows seminar at 4:30 p.m. in the Ecology Building lobby. 3:30 p.m. Auditorium, Ecology Building.

706-542-7247. bethgav@uga.edu.

LECTURE “Pretindians, the President and the ‘Pocahontas’ Narrative: Musings on the Ethics of Ethnic Identity Fraud,” Lee Hester.

Present by the Institute of Native American Studies and the philosophy department. Part of the Scott and Heather Kleiner Lecture Series. 4:30 p.m. 150, Miller Learning Center.

706-542-5356. jweaver@uga.edu.

PERFORMANCE “Apparitions, Dances and Fantasies,” presented by Geoffrey Burleson, who teaches piano at Princeton University and is professor of music and director of piano studies at Hunter College-City University of New York. His visit is sponsored by the Hugh Hodgson School of Music and the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts. 7:30 p.m. Ramsey Concert Hall, Performing Arts Center. mlthomas@uga.edu.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18 WORKSHOP Participants in “Facilitating Discussion” will learn strategies for how to prepare for discussion, how to guide a discussion and keep it on track and how to evaluate what students learn from discussions. 12:20 p.m. North Conference Room, Instructional Plaza. 706-542-1355. gradteach@uga.edu.

WORKSHOP “Cultural Competency for Recruitment and Retention” is geared

4&5

Circle Gallery displays paintings by Juras, a College of Environment and Design alumnus

Kevin Cole: Soul Ties. Through April 19. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662. hazbrown@uga.edu.

The Art of Conservation: Paintings by Philip Juras. Through April 30. Circle Gallery, Jackson Street Building. 706-542-8292. mtufts@uga.edu. (See story, right.)

columns.uga.edu March 16, 2020

mtufts@uga.edu

toward faculty. Participants will deepen their understanding of what it means to be inclusive. Facilitator: Randolph Carter.

2 p.m. Room L, Training and Development Center. mary.carney@uga.edu.

SYMPOSIUM “Background and Status of Nutrient Trading in Georgia,” Laurie Hawks, water resources scientist at Brown and Caldwell. Part of River Basin Center’s Third Wednesday Symposium. Refreshments will be served. 4 p.m. Conference Room, River Basin Center. 706-583-0463. sarah.buckleitner@uga.edu.

BASEBALL vs. South Carolina-Upstate. $8. 6 p.m. Foley Field.

SOFTBALL vs. Oklahoma State. Clarke County Schools Night. 6 p.m.

Jack Turner Stadium.

THURSDAY, MARCH 19 DIGI COLLOQUIUM In this talk, Edwin Sperr will describe and demonstrate a tool called Members by Interest. Using the visualizations generated by this tool, it is possible to not only rank the specific interests of different members of Congress, but also see how the intensity of those interests compare from one member to another for a particular topic. 4 p.m. DigiLab, Room 300, Main Library.

706-542-5998. digi@uga.edu.

LECTURE “Esoteric Buddhism in the Matrix of Early Medieval India,” Ronald Davidson, Fairfield University. This is the keynote lecture for the “Vihara Project” of the International Research Workshop.

It is sponsored by the Center for Asian Studies, the Lamar Dodd School of Art, the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. 5 p.m. S150, Lamar Dodd School of Art. nmorriss@uga.edu.

TEEN STUDIO Teens ages 13-18 are invited to “Comic Strips and Monsters” led by artist and educator Kristen Bach. Explore comic strips by local artist Patrick Dean and then create comic strip-inspired art in the Michael and Mary Erlanger Studio Classroom. Includes a pizza dinner. To reserve a spot, email madison.hogan@uga.edu or call 706-542-4883. 5:30 p.m. Georgia Museum of Art. THIRD THURSDAY Eight of Athens’ established venues for visual art hold Third Thursday, an event devoted to art in the evening hours, on the third Thursday of every month. The Georgia Museum of Art, the Lamar Dodd School of Art, Lyndon House Arts Center, Glass Cube & Gallery@Hotel Indigo-Athens, Ciné, the Classic Center, ATHICA and CCBC Gallery at Creature Comforts Brewing Company will be open from 6-9 p.m. to showcase their visualarts programming. Full schedules are posted at 3Thurs.org.

6 p.m. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662. hazbrown@uga.edu.

FILM SCREENING Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot. Based on a true story, this poignant, insightful and often funny drama about the healing power of art is adapted from John Callahan’s autobiography and directed by two-time Oscar nominee Gus Van Sant.

2018, R, 114 min. 7 p.m. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-1817. hazbrown@uga.edu.

Calendar items are taken from Columns files and from the university’s Master Calendar, maintained by Marketing & Communications. Notices are published here as space permits, with priority given to items of multidisciplinary interest. The Master Calendar is available at calendar.uga.edu/.

Submitted photo

Second-year MFA Acting student T. Lynn Mikeska takes on the lead role in “The Penelopiad” and composed original music for the piece.

Eric Breitenbach

Works by UGA alumnus Philip Juras will be on display at the Circle Gallery in the Jackson Street Building through April 30.

corresponding award-winning exhibition book, it explored the southern wilderness as Bartram documented it in the 1770s.

The Wild Treasury of Nature, A Portrait of Little St. Simons Island opened in 2016 at the Morris Museum of Art in Augusta. That exhibition and accompanying book examined the natural environments of one of the most ecologically intact barrier islands on the East Coast.

His 2017 exhibition, Landscapes of Chingaza (Paisajes de Chingaza), celebrating conservation of the high elevation environments of Colombia’s Chingaza National Park, was shown in Bogotá, Colombia, and Washington, D.C. His next exhibition, Picturing the Prairie, celebrates the restoration and preservation of tallgrass prairie ecosystems in Illinois, and will be on display from May 8 to Sept. 20 at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

FRIDAY, MARCH 20 WOMEN’S GOLF Through March 22. Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic. UGA Golf Course.

WITHDRAWAL DEADLINE For spring semester.

WORKSHOP “Effective Strategies for Revising, Editing and Polishing Your Writing” is part of the Creating a Sustainable Writing Practices series for faculty. For this session, participants are encouraged to bring a work in progress. Coffee at 8 a.m., workshop at 8:15 a.m. Facilitator: Lindsey Harding Reading Room, third floor, Miller Learning Center. mary.carney@uga.edu.

LECTURE “Selling Effortless Beauty at Glossier,” Jaleesa Reed, Ph.D. candidate, department of textiles, merchandising and interiors.

Part of the Women’s Studies Friday Speaker Series. 12:20 p.m.

150 Miller Learning Center. 706-542-2846. tlhat@uga.edu.

SOCIOLOGY COLLOQUIUM SERIES “Understanding What Happens After ‘I Do’: Lessons from a Longitudinal Research on Newlywed Marriage,” Justin Lavner, associate professor, psychology department, Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. 3:30 p.m. 214 Miller Learning Center.

OPENING RECEPTION Sahar Aghasafari believes that most patterns and designs, especially ancient patterns, can be reinterpreted to appeal to contemporary tastes. For this exhibition, Aghasafari began with traditional Iranian motifs and interpreted them through multiple methods including screen printing and batik. The opening reception will begin at 5 p.m. Glass Gallery, Lamar Dodd School of Art. SOFTBALL vs. Auburn. 6 p.m. Jack Turner Stadium.

UGA Theatre offers contemporary take on myth with Margaret Atwood’s ‘The Penelopiad’

By Shanon Weaver

shanonweaver@uga.edu

UGA Theatre presents The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood, directed by guest artist Eliana Marianes, March 17-21 at 8 p.m. and March 21-22 at 2:30 p.m. in the Cellar Theatre of the Fine Arts Building at 225 Baldwin Street.

Tickets are $12 and $7 for UGA students and can be purchased online at ugatheatre.com/penelopiad, via phone at 706-542-4400 or in person at the Performing Arts Center.

Atwood (The Handmaid’s Tale) provides a contemporary take on Homer’s The Odyssey, focusing on the faithful Penelope and her struggles to maintain the kingdom of Ithaca, raise her son and thwart innumerable suitors in her husband’s absence. Upon his return to Ithaca, Odysseus lays waste to not only the suitors but 12 maids tasked with helping Penelope delay the suitors’ advances. Atwood’s retelling examines complicity in the face of injustice and demonstrates how changing perspectives can radically transform a story’s meaning.

“My directorial work has focused in large part on uncovering the central question of this play,” said Marianes. “One of the biggest challenges I faced stems from the fact that there are technically two protagonists in the play (Penelope and the chorus of Maids), who often seem to ask opposing questions.”

Second-year MFA acting student T. Lynn Mikeska, who plays Penelope and composed original music for the piece, speaks to the

Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain coming to perform March 19 show

By Bobby Tyler btyler@uga.edu

UGA Presents is bringing the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain to Athens on March 19 for a 7:30 p.m. performance in Hodgson Concert Hall. Founded in 1985 by musician and composer George Hinchliffe, the Ukulele Orchestra combines virtuoso musicianship and vocals with British humor to create a one-of-a-kind show that has entertained millions around the world.

The ensemble has toured across Europe, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, China, the U.S., Canada and even the North Pole. They also had the honor to perform, by invitation of the Prince of Wales, at the private 90th birthday party of Her Majesty the Queen at Windsor Castle.

Following a concert in New York, a critic for

CONCERT The Athens Flute Choir celebrates 10 years of concerts by performing many of their favorites with a special guest—or two.

2 p.m. Visitor Center Great Room, State Botanical Garden.

BASEBALL vs. South Carolina. $8. 7 p.m. Foley Field.

SATURDAY, MARCH 21 SUICIDE AWARENESS WALK The Pre-Counseling Club at UGA is chairing an “Out of the Darkness” suicide awareness walk. There will be day-of registration available at Herty Field from 10-11 a.m. At 11 a.m., the opening ceremony will begin, and participants will walk around UGA North Campus to remember those they have lost and to stand against the stigma of mental health. Register as a walker or form a team at afsp.org/uga. 770-315-8150. ugapcc@gmail.com.

SOFTBALL vs. Auburn. Dad and Daughter Day. 2 p.m.

Jack Turner Stadium.

MEDITATION SESSION Heartfulness Meditation is a practice of meditation that connects each of person with the light in their hearts. Through a network of mediators and a useful smartphone app, take part in this practice. 3 p.m. 251 Miller Learning Center. anjalisindhuvalli@gmail.com.

BASEBALL vs. South Carolina. $8. 2 p.m. Foley Field.

MONDAY, MARCH 23

SOFTBALL vs. Auburn. SEC Goes Teal; post-game autographs. 2 p.m.

Jack Turner Stadium.

SUNDAY, MARCH 22 BASEBALL vs. South Carolina. $8. 1 p.m. Foley Field.

CTEGD RESEARCH IN PROGRESS Presenters: Lammie Lab. Moderators to be announced.

8:30 a.m. 175 Coverdell Center.

FILM SCREENING Screening of Standing on my Sister’s Shoulders for Women’s History Month. 6:30 p.m. 271 Special Collections Libraries.

706-542-2846. tlhat@uga.edu.

TO SUBMIT A LISTING FOR THE MASTER CALENDAR AND COLUMNS Post event information first to the Master Calendar website (calendar.uga.edu/). Listings for Columns are taken from the Master Calendar 12 days before the publication date.

Events not posted by then may not be printed in Columns.

challenges presented.

“In addition to the sheer volume of material, one is presented with the problem of internalizing the kinds of grandiloquent adventures Homer wrote about,” Mikeska said of her process. “I love the chance to tell this story from the point of view of a character who has, up until The Penelopiad, been considered a tangential participant.”

“I’m incredibly excited to tackle such an epic figure,” said Robyn Accetta, second-year MFA acting student, who plays Odysseus. “The opportunity to implement my movement and vocal work into embodying such a large mythic presence is daunting and thrilling at the same time.”

Marianes views the play as an “epic for millennials,” full of song and movement. Wyatt Brooks, a first-year theatre and computer science double major, is the show’s music director.

“To incorporate the anguish and pain as well as the joy and innocence throughout the score in ways that connected to the emotion of the piece was both my biggest struggle and my greatest accomplishment,” Brooks said. “I couldn’t be prouder of this cast and T. Lynn for giving me such gorgeous music to project upon.”

Marianes believes it is up to artists to create the myths that shape our lives.

“In re-examining The Odyssey through Penelope’s female lens, and in exploring the previously untold narrative of the Maids, together we are creating a new mythology for our modern world; a mythology of inclusion, empowerment and change,” she said.

Any additional information about the event may be sent directly to Columns. Email is preferred (columns@uga.edu), but materials can be mailed to Columns, Marketing & Communications, 286 Oconee Street, Suite 200 North, Campus Mail 1999.

The New York Times wrote, “They extract more than seems humanly possible from so small and so modest an instrument.” London’s Financial Times has also praised the group: “The sophisticated sound they make—both percussive and melodic—is at once hilarious and heartfelt.”

Tickets for the Ukulele Orchestra start at $30 and can be purchased at the Performing Arts Center box office, online at pac.uga.edu or by calling 706-542-4400. A limited number of discounted tickets are available to current UGA students for $10 with a valid UGA ID (limit one ticket per student).

Patrons are invited to make it an evening by visiting the Georgia Museum of Art for a tour and free dessert at 5:30 p.m.

Hodgson Concert Hall is located in the UGA Performing Arts Center at 230 River Road in Athens.

COMING UP ECOLOGY SEMINAR March 24. “The Evolutionary Ecology of Parasite Host Range,” Andrew Park, associate professor in the Odum School of Ecology and College of Veterinary Medicine. A reception follows at 4:30 p.m. in the Ecology Building lobby. 3:30 p.m. Auditorium, Ecology Building. 706-542-7247. bethgav@uga.edu.

FACULTY RESEARCH LECTURE SERIES March 25. Nell Andrew and Isabelle Wallace will present lectures focused on their ongoing research. Wallace, associate professor of art history, will speak on her recent research concerning the work of Jordan Wolfston. Andrew, associate professor of art history, will speak on her recent research concerning puppets in modern art. 12:20 p.m. S151 Lamar Dodd School of Art.

NOTE ABOUT EVENT CHANGES Information about UGA events in this issue of Columns was correct as of press time on March 12. This may change since the March 11 declaration by the World Health Organization that the novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, is now a pandemic. Check the websites of event sponsors for ­updates (cancellations, postponements or other changes).

NEXT COLUMNS DEADLINES March 18 (for March 30 issue) March 25 (for April 6 issue) April 1 (for April 13 issue)

6March 16, 2020 columns.uga.edu

Janet Westpheling, professor of genetics in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, has been selected for the Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar Program. Since 1956, the program has been offering undergraduates the opportunity to spend time with some of America’s most distinguished scholars.

Westpheling teaches undergraduate and graduate classes in genetics and trains undergraduates, graduate students and postJanet Westpheling doctoral associates in her research laboratory. Her current research is focused on the development of genetic technologies for microorganisms that convert lignocellulosic biomass to biofuels and industrial chemicals and is funded by grants from the U.S. Department of Energy.

Current president of the Society for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology, Westpheling holds patents for microbial genetic technologies and is an active consultant to industries involved in the metabolic engineering of microorganisms for the production of fuels, chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

During the 2020–2021 academic year, the Visiting Scholars will travel to more than 100 colleges and universities that have chapters of Phi Beta Kappa, spending two days at each one and taking part fully in the academic life of the institution.

During the two-day visit, the Scholar will give a general lecture that is free and open to the public, take part in class and seminar discussions and meet informally with students and faculty. The Visiting Scholars are invited to make visits in response to requests from the Phi Beta Kappa chapters.

Kent Barnett, Hosch Associate Professor in the School of Law, has been elected chair of the Association of American Law Schools Administrative Law Section. His term will last until January 2021.

The Association of American Law Schools, formed in 1900, is a nonprofit organization of 179 law schools in the U.S. These member schools enroll and graduate most of the nation’s lawyers.

The Section on Administrative Law promotes the communication of ideas, interests and activities among members and makes Kent Barnett recommendations on matters of interest in the teaching and improvement of the law relating to the federal and state administrative process.

Lori Ringhand, Hosch Professor in the School of Law, has been elected to the American Law Institute.

The ALI is “the leading independent organization in the United States producing scholarly work to clarify, modernize and otherwise improve the law.”

The ALI’s members work to “influence the development of the law in both existing and emerging areas,” collaborate with other “eminent lawyers, judges and academics,” give back to the legal profession and “contribute to the public good.”

Sonja West, Brumby Distinguished Professor in First Amendment Law in the School of Law, has been elected chair of the Association of American Law Schools Communication, Media and Information Law Section for 2020.

The Association of American Law Schools, formed in 1900, is a nonprofit organization of 179 law schools in the U.S. These member schools enroll and graduate most of the nation’s lawyers.

The Section on Communication, Media and Information Law promotes the communication of ideas, interests and activities among members and makes recommendations on matters of interest in the teaching and improvement of the law relating to mass communication.

Kudos recognizes special contributions of staff, faculty and administrators in teaching, research and service. News items are limited to election into office of state, regional, national and international societies; major awards and prizes; and similarly notable accomplishments.

FACULTY PROFILE

Dorothy Kozlowski

Supanon Tunim, left, visiting graduate student from Khon Kaen University in Thailand, and undergraduate student Alex Rivera, right, collaborate with Samuel Aggrey in his lab.

Professor’s poultry breeding program has implications for understanding human health

By J. Merritt Melancon jmerritt@uga.edu

The same science that can help poultry farmers raise more feed-efficient chickens could help people become healthier, too.

Sammy Aggrey, professor of poultry science at UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, studies the ways in which genes affect how chickens process feed. What he’s found has led to the development of more efficient broiler (meat) chickens, but his research also has implications in the fight against obesity in people.

Currently, Aggrey’s lab focuses on the nutrigenomics of poultry, investigating the genes that are responsible for processing the amino acids and other nutrients in chicken feed. Several genes affect the way birds digest carbohydrates, amino acids and fat. The metabolism of amino acids like methionine and cysteine affects the way the birds process antioxidants to battle stress and disease.

His lab also is investigating how feed and genetics impact the birds’ microbiome, parasite loads and gut health. Just like humans, poultry also suffer from leaky gut when the microbiome balance is disturbed. The microbiome also can possess certain genes that can confer resistance to antibiotics.

Generally, heat stress is costly to farmers as they reduce productivity and profitability. Heat stress also causes welfare and well-being issues for the chickens. However, Aggrey’s lab has

established that heat stress also curtails the reproductive cycle of coccidian parasites in chickens.

Currently, nutrigenomics, microbiome and precision poultry are the focus of the Aggrey lab. The efficient use of water in poultry is an area that deserves lots of research attention. Meeting these specific breeding goals and understanding how genetics impacts the health and efficiency of birds has become increasingly possible in the last two decades thanks to a better understanding of chicken genetics and data science.

“We used to breed without a lot of information” Aggrey said. “When the genome was sequenced, the sequence provided us with unprecedented data to accurately determine the genetic worth of animals. That comes with a lot of computation.”

Using innovative computation techniques, including fuzzy logic, machine learning and artificial intelligence, neural networks have become part of identifying novel traits and breeding.

Due to changes in the climate, a shift to antibiotic-free production and the trend toward cage-free production for egg layers, Aggrey’s lab research into microbiome, resilience to the environment, partitioning of nutrients and host response to parasites helps produce adapted and robust chickens.

Meeting these specific breeding goals and understanding how genetics impacts the health and efficiency of birds has become increasingly possible in the last two decades thanks to a better

FACTS

Samuel E. Aggrey Professor Department of Poultry Science College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Member, Institute of Bioinformatics, FCAS NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow at McGill University in Canada Ph.D., Animal Genetics, University of British Columbia in Canada, 1995 M.S., Animal Genetics, Wageningen University in the Netherlands, 1990 B.S., Animal Sciences, University of Ghana, 1985 At UGA: 20 years

understanding of chicken genetics and data science. To incorporate all of this new genetic information,Aggrey has had to collaborate with other geneticists to develop analytic tools to aid in better breeding.

“The era of ‘do it alone’ in science has passed,” said Aggrey.

He is closely collaborating with Romdhane Rekaya, a faculty member in the college’s animal and dairy science department, scientists at the International Livestock Research Institute in Kenya, Martin Wagner at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Austria and other scientists at Cairo University and the University of Ghana.

COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Faculty member named to Georgia Seed Development Professorship

By Maria M. Lameiras

maria.lameiras@uga.edu

Zenglu Li, a professor in soybean breeding, genetics and genomics at the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, has been named to the Georgia Seed Development Professorship in Soybean Breeding and Genetics.

Since joining UGA’s crop and soil sciences department and Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics in 2012, Li has worked on the development of soybean varieties with high yield, enhanced quality, disease and pest resistance, herbicide tolerance and enhanced nutritional profile.

The Georgia Seed Development Professorship in Soybean Breeding and Genetics was established with support

from Georgia Seed Development to enhance the field of plant breeding and genetics programs through professorships and research programs at the College of Agricultural and EnvironZenglu Li mental Scienes.

“This funding helps enhance our research program, as well as helping with graduate education that will further the field of breeding and genetics,” Li said.

“This support will help the program move forward and enhance the prestige and reputation of our program nationally and internationally.”

While soybean is a small crop for the state of Georgia, it competes with corn

as the top agricultural crop in the U.S., averaging 85 million acres per year. Since 2012, Li’s lab has developed 12 soybean cultivars designed for the Southeastern climate that have been released for agricultural use.

In addition to developing soybean cultivars, Li said his lab is also focused on identifying genes for disease and pest resistance and for increased yield and nutritional content to incorporate into future cultivars and in preparing future scientists and plant breeders to continue the progress in soybean breeding and genetics.

Prior to his current position at UGA, Li worked in the agricultural industry leading soybean discovery breeding and corn genotyping efforts for Monsanto Company and as a research scientist for DuPont Pioneer.

TEDxUGA 2020: NEXT LEVEL

columns.uga.edu March 16, 2020

Journey for answers

7

TEDxUGA speaker to talk about importance of finding supportive community

By Sara Freeland freeland@uga.edu

When Taylor “Tot” Keller was 12 years old, her hair started falling out. She started gaining weight and experiencing terrible fatigue.

For five years, she sought answers from doctors, who dismissed her issues as puberty.

“Wait until you’re older,” they told her.

“You need to eat better.”

At 17, she finally got her diagnosis: polycystic ovarian syndrome, a disorder that affects 1 in 10 women.

And that journey for answers will be what Keller talks about in her TEDxUGA 2020: Next Level talk on March 27 at 7 p.m. at the Classic Center. Keller, a senior advertising major, is one of three student speakers at the event.

“My talk is less on the medical side and more on the human connection side,” she said. “Even if you feel like your problems are minuscule or unheard of, voice them, because you can really build a community.

And finding that community and rallying around each other [is so important].

If you have that support, you can battle anything.”

Community—be it online communities like Facebook groups or Reddit groups— really helps you not feel as crazy or like the only one in the world with that problem, she said. “Seeking help is not a weakness; it’s a big strength. Your problems are never too small for others to hear them.”

Ultimately, her goal is to raise awareness.

“So no other young girl has to go through what I did,” she said. “So they know signs, know who to ask, know the help they need.”

While PCOS is a women’s issue, she said her talk is for “everyone who has felt like they haven’t had their voice heard before.

This could be your mother, sister, wife. It’s about having compassion for all. If it’s not PCOS, it’s Type 1 diabetes, a lump on your throat that you swear is not supposed to be there, but no one believes you. Or having a rare form of epilepsy that took years to diagnose.”

The issue extends to depression or anxiety—and “people telling you to get over it.”

“Everyone knows someone or has gone through something similar,” she said.

And after she gives her talk, Keller often hears similar stories from audience members.

After her student showcase, three women

Taylor “Tot” Keller is one of three student presenters at TEDxUGA 2020: Next Level, set for March 27 at 7 p.m. at the Classic Center.

came up to her and told her they also had PCOS and had never told anyone. Talking about it is key to building that community, she said.

Advocating for yourself and not giving up is also key.

“It can be very daunting not having answers, especially from a medical professional,” she said. “Have faith in yourself.

Hope’s the biggest thing.”

Her mom was her constant support in her journey—not taking no for an answer, helping her research the best diets, medicines and doctors.

“Everyone should advocate for themself to seek further knowledge for something that affects them,” she said.

PCOS is what she’ll be talking about. But public speaking is a real passion for Keller, a self-described theater kid who loves being in the spotlight.

“I love storytelling,” she said. “I feel more comfortable on a stage than one-on-one sometimes.”

This summer, she made a bucket list and giving a TED Talk was on the list.

“I love public speaking,” she said. “And

WEEKLY READER

Book connects learning theory, practice

Connecting Adult Learning and Knowledge Management: Strategies for Learning and Change in Higher Education and Organizations Monica Fedeli and Laura L. Bierema Springer Hardback: $139.99 Ebook: $109

Connecting Adult Learning and Knowledge Management represents an initial attempt to connect adult learning and knowledge management in theory and practice.

It provides educators, learners and organizational development professionals with new strategies and resources for developing active and effective pedagogies, which in turn prepare learners and practitioners to manage knowledge in organizations and higher education.

The book is divided into three main sections: methods and theories for adult teaching and learning; knowledge management in education; and case studies and best practices that consider classroom learning, higher education change and organization development.

Monica Fedeli is an associate professor at the University of Padova in Italy and a 2020 Fulbright Research Scholar at the University of Georgia. Laura Bierema is an associate dean and professor in the department of lifelong education, administration and policy in UGA’s Mary Frances Early College of Education.

five months later, I’m shocked this is happening. I might have peaked,” she said with a laugh.

“It’s almost like everything in my life was leading up to this point. I didn’t know my talk would be about this five years ago. It’s been such a pivotal part of my life, why not talk about this?”

After TEDxUGA, Keller will be graduating in May. Another highlight on her résumé is winning the Terry College of Business’ 2019 Digital Marketing Competition with four friends. The project was to solve a marketing issue for a company—and they won an all-expenses-paid trip to San Francisco to tour Silicon Valley and companies including Facebook, Google, Twitter and Tesla. Her contribution was her advertising skills and “off the wall” thinking. The win gave her confidence in her skills.

“Advertising chose me,” she said of her major.

“I’m good at talking out ideas, meeting people,” she said. “And the advertising world is all about keeping up with trends, meeting with people. I just love talking to people and

Dorothy Kozlowski

getting them passionate about something I’m passionate about.”

In her four years at UGA, she also interned at Athens nonprofit Strong Girls— an organization that also aims to build community.

“It’s advocating for young girls who are strong in every sense, strong in mind, community and friendships,” she said. “I see so much potential in the youth. I want to see them go do TED Talks.”

That’s what TED Talks are all about— sharing ideas worth spreading. “Everyone has an idea, and everyone has a story to tell.”

TEDxUGA will have 10 total speakers.

In addition to Keller, presenters include alumni LaKeisha Gantt, Matt Stevens, Cristen Conger and Caroline Ervin; faculty members Paige Carmichael, Christopher Pizzino and Lisa Renzi-Hammond; and students John Jardin and Sam Spellicy.

Register to attend the event at tedxuga.com/register.

“It’s crazy how many fantastically brilliant people come out of this school,” she said.

“Hearing all of the other people’s ideas— I’m blown away.”

CYBERSIGHTS

ABOUT COLUMNS Columns is available to the community by ­subscription for an annual fee of $20 (second-class delivery) or $40 (first-class delivery). Faculty and staff members with a disability may call 706-542-8017 for assistance in obtaining this publication in an alternate format.

Columns staff can be reached at 706-542-8017 or columns@uga.edu

Editor Juliett Dinkins

Learn more about 2020 Alumni Weekend

alumni.uga.edu/weekend

The UGA Alumni Association is inviting alumni and friends to “feel like a student again” during its 2020 Alumni Weekend March 26-28 in Athens. Faculty and staff are invited to attend and can help spread the word to others.

Courses will be taught by UGA faculty and alumni and include “The Science of Bob Marley,” “Coffee from Bean to Cup,” “Chasing Coral–The

Georgia Connection,” “Sketching UGA’s Architectural Heritage” and “Regenerating Brain Cells to Treat Disease.”

Other highlights of the weekend include an “Orientation” dinner on March 26 with President Jere W. Morehead, tickets to TEDxUGA on March 27, optional campus tours and a “Commencement” brunch in the UGA Chapel on March 29.

Associate Editor Krista Richmond Art Director Jackie Baxter Roberts Photo Editor Dorothy Kozlowski Writers Leigh Beeson Hayley Major The University of Georgia is committed to principles of equal opportunity and affirmative action.

The University of Georgia is a unit of the University System of Georgia.

8 March 16, 2020 columns.uga.edu

PLAN from page 1

PROFESSORS from page 1 and graduate coordinator for the biological and agricultural engineering department.

“Professor Kisaalita has been a crucial asset to the growth of the College of Engineering and has had a profound impact on the development of our university resources and services,” wrote James Warnock, founding chair of the School of Chemical, Materials and Biomedical Engineering, and Eric Freeman, assistant professor of engineering, in a joint nomination letter.

“In particular, it is his commitment to the growth of the College of Engineering and providing guidance to our students in international outreach and their impact on society that lead us to enthusiastically nominate him for this honor.”

Kisaalita has been principal investigator or co-investigator for $15 million in external grant funding. He also has 101 publications and has founded three companies to commercialize technology developed in his laboratory.

Along with numerous university-level teaching awards, Kisaalita was recently named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is an active member of the African Studies Institute, as well as a founding member of the Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center, Biomedical and Health Sciences Institute and Regenerative Bioscience Center.

Vellidis’ research focuses on water resources and precision agriculture. He applies principles of engineering and the sciences to measure, model and manage the interaction between agricultural production systems and the environment. Vellidis is located at UGA’s Tifton campus, where he serves as director of academic affairs for the campus.

Fostering students to have a positive impact on Georgia has long been a goal of Vellidis. In 2001, he began conducting surveys and market research to determine if there was a demand for an undergraduate major at the Tifton campus, located 200 miles from UGA’s main campus in Athens.

His research showed that there was a significant demographic who wanted a degree from UGA but could not leave south Georgia for one reason or another.

Vellidis was one of two leaders who helped establish the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences teaching program on the Tifton campus. Graduates of this program now populate many of the agricultural companies that provide precision agriculture and laboratory services in south Georgia. Vellidis was also one of the leaders who developed the Dual Master’s Degree in Sustainable Agriculture between UGA and the University of Padova in Italy. Eighteen graduate students have participated in this program since its inception in 2018.

“Dr. Vellidis’ career at UGA exemplifies the spirit of the University Professorship,” wrote Samuel Pardue, dean and director of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, in his nomination letter. “While at UGA, he has become an internationally recognized researcher in precision agriculture, but he has also contributed significantly to the university in many other ways.”

Vellidis was a principal investigator for grants totaling $3.6 million used to construct the $8 million National Environmentally Sound Production Agriculture Laboratory facility in Tifton. He also played a key role in securing $1 million to fund the NESPAL Technology Development Center addition, a joint effort between UGA and the Tift County Development Authority.

Among Vellidis’ numerous awards are the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences D.W. Brooks Award for Excellence in Research, the International Society for Precision Agriculture Pierre C. Robert Award and the UGA Richard F. Reiff Internationalization Award.

University Professors receive a permanent salary increase of $10,000 and a yearly academic support of $5,000. Nominations from the deans of UGA’s schools and colleges are reviewed by a committee, which makes a recommendation to the provost.

COMMENCEMENT from page 1

RANKING from page 1

and Women’s Volleyball National Championship for the previous two years.

Taylor became the first African American female to co-host “College GameDay Built

by The Home Depot” in 2017. She was also tapped as the sideline reporter for ABC’s “Saturday Night Football.” She patrolled the sidelines for the 2018, 2019 and 2020 College Football Playoff and National Championship games. She previously served as the first female host of the SEC Network’s traveling college football show,“SEC Nation.” Prior to her role on “SEC Nation,” she helped launch the SEC Network as one of three studio hosts and worked as the SEC Primetime Saturday Night college football reporter.

Taylor also co-founded Winning Edge Leadership Academy, a nonprofit dedicated to improving networking opportunities and providing training and professional development to people of color and women pursuing careers in the sports industry. Since 2015, the academy has helped more than 40 students to become the next generation of leaders in sports business.

Tickets are not required for the ceremony. The university’s Clear Bag Policy will be in effect. For more information on UGA’s Commencement ceremonies, visit https://commencement.uga.edu.

startup incubator, including $322 million in the state of Georgia.

UGA created an Innovation District in 2019 to support and catalyze its rapidly growing success in research commercialization and entrepreneurship. Under the district’s broad heading, the university has launched a number of new programs designed to help more faculty turn their discoveries into viable commercial products, either through licensing them to industry or forming their own startup companies.

And the passion for all things innovation has not been limited to faculty—in less than four years, enrollment in UGA’s entrepreneurship certificate program for undergraduates has exploded from 33 students to more than 800 this spring.

“As UGA’s research enterprise grows, I predict that increasing numbers of our faculty and student researchers will want to commercialize their discoveries,” said David Lee, vice president for research.

“It’s a powerful, self-reinforcing cycle: As more of our researchers earn reputations for entrepreneurial success, we will naturally attract more faculty and students who come to UGA eager for the challenge. The ultimate winners are consumers, who benefit from these products reaching the market.”

FLAVOR

from page 1

Development. “They enjoy meeting not only food industry representatives, but other food entrepreneurs, often sharing ideas or stories to help one another.”

Judges for the final round of the contest will include food brokers, grocery buyers and other food product experts.

Entries are evaluated by category based on their Georgia theme, commercial appeal, taste, innovation and market potential.

­ ontestants will provide samples to judges C while pitching their products in a threeminute presentation.Winners will be named for each category—which include barbecue sauces, beverages, snack foods, and meats and seafood—the overall grand prize, and a people’s choice award, which will be chosen by event attendees. Visit https://bit. ly/2IDiqDp for this year’s finalists, which are listed by product name, company and city.

accommodate remaining biological sciences research as well as additional future STEM research activities—especially growth in the computational sciences, reflecting the dramatic expansion of large data sets used in virtually all areas of research today.

Facilities such as the Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, the Paul D. Coverdell Center for Biomedical Sciences and the Center for Molecular Medicine continue to showcase the university’s longstanding leadership in groundbreaking research. But there is a significant need to update aging facilities, particularly on Science Hill, where buildings constructed in the 1960s comprise more than 700,000 square feet of academic space—most of which is devoted to scientific research laboratories.

“Whether it’s finding new cures for diseases or developing sustainable solutions for the 21st century, our faculty and our students are addressing the most pressing problems of our time,” said David Lee, vice president for research.“Creating and modernizing research space to better support their work will attract gifted minds to UGA and generate the environment to uncover new solutions and boost economic development.”

The Science Learning Center, completed in 2016, was the first piece of the overall plan. A significant number of undergraduate instructional laboratories were relocated from Science Hill to this new instructional STEM facility.

Another foundation of the Science Hill capital plan is the addition of the Interdisciplinary STEM Research Buildings, which— when complete—will create approximately 200,000 square feet of new space for research and instruction.

The $65 million first phase of I-STEM, currently under construction off East Campus Road, is scheduled for completion in fall 2021. The $70 million second phase is on schedule for design drawings in fall 2020 with construction set to begin as soon as funding is appropriated.

The I-STEM complex will feature flexible, open lab spaces designed to promote collaboration and elevate UGA’s expanding lab-intensive research activities. The critical

Bulletin Board Event changes

Information about UGA events in this issue of Columns was correct as of press time on March 12. This may change since the March 11 declaration by the World Health Organization that the novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, is now a pandemic. Check the websites of event sponsors for ­updates (cancellations, postponements or other changes).

Foundation funding

The Foundation Relations team provides UGA faculty and staff with foundation funding opportunities at dar.uga.edu/foundation-relations. There, people can find out how to apply for these funding opportunities and how Foundation Relations can help.

Current opportunities include The Camille & Henry Dreyfus Foundation, funding for innovative projects in any area of Machine Learning consistent with the foundation’s objectives to advance the chemical sciences and engineering, and the James S. McDonnell Foundation, up to $250,000 in seed funds for researchers to design and carry out studies motivated by questioning, revisiting or reexamining the current state of academic knowledge of human cognition and behavior.

Dementia education, support

Beginning March 23, the Institute of Gerontology, based in the College of Public Health, will host a program for people with early-stage dementia and their caregivers. The eight-session educational and support program will be held on Mondays from 1-2:30 p.m.

Open free to the public, the program is limited to people in the

new space provided by the I-STEM buildings will be the primary catalyst for a planned series of research renovation and relocation projects that will continue until all existing Science Hill research facilities are modernized.

“New and renovated state-of-the-art STEM space will advance UGA’s teaching and research missions,” said Provost S. Jack Hu. “Many of our undergraduates engage in research with our faculty members, gaining valuable experiential learning opportunities.

These facilities also will enhance the recruitment of graduate students in STEM fields whose research is crucial to the economic competitiveness of our state and nation.”

Over the past five years, the university’s R&D expenditures have jumped by more than 34%—reaching a record $477.5 million in fiscal year 2019.

The growth in research expenditures is due in large part to the success of UGA faculty in winning grants and contracts. Notable recent examples include: • Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar Ted Ross in the College of Veterinary Medicine, who last fall received an award of up to $130 million from the National Institutes of Health to develop a universal flu vaccine; • Distinguished Research Professor Jessie Kissinger in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, who won two awards in the past year totaling up to $16.2 million to develop health informatics databases; • and associate professor David Okech in the School of Social Work, who since 2018 has been awarded nearly $20 million from the U.S. Department of State to combat human trafficking.

Investments in modern STEM facilities also will bolster efforts to commercialize research at UGA. Over the past six years, UGA has ranked among the nation’s top 5 universities for the number of new products entering the market based on the university’s research. (See story, page 1.)

“The challenges for adequate research space on our main campus will continue to grow in the years ahead as our research enterprise expands,” said Morehead. “However, this is a good problem for all of us, working together, to solve.”

early stages of dementia and their care partners. While there is no r­ egistration deadline, seating is limited, and registration will close once the program reaches attendance capacity. The sessions will be led by representatives from the Alzheimer’s Association and UGA’s Cognitive Aging Research and Education Center. To register, call the Alzheimer’s Association 1-800-272-3900.

For additional information, contact Deborah Kim by email (deborah.kim@ uga.edu) or phone (470-475-2293).

OneUSG Connect unavailability

The OneUSG Connect system will be unavailable from March 27 at 6 p.m. through March 31 at 7 a.m.

Employees will not be able to log in and access OneUSG Connect. Plan around these times for recording time, leave requests, manager self-service actions and approval of time and absences. Employee self-service will be unavailable to update direct deposit, tax information, addresses, view paystubs and download W-2s, etc.

During and after the system unavailability, Web Clock employees should record punches on a paper timesheet.

Managers will need to add these punches to the online timesheet. Pay from schedule/manual time entry employees should track time worked and then record these hours online. Kaba time clocks will remain available for regular use. OneUSG Connect benefits, Data Warehouse reporting and UGAJobs will remain available but data flow to and from OneUSG Connect will be paused.

Bulletin Board is limited to information that may pertain to a majority of faculty and staff members.