Winter 12 - UGAGS Magazine

The University of Georgia

Graduate School m a g a z i n e

winter 2012

wi nt e r 2 012 Con t e n ts 1 Letter from the Dean 2 Tim Barrett 14 Bridg'ette Israel 22 Chelcy Ford 30 Richard Christiana 39 Ketchup Capers 40 Emerging Leaders, STEM Opportunities 42 Last Word ©2012 by the University of Georgia. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any way without the written permission of the editor.

David Podorson

“A pile of rocks ceases to be a rock when somebody contemplates it with the idea of a cathedral in mind.” —Antoine de Saint-Exupery

me s s a ge f ro m

Dean Maureen Grasso In the New Year, we remain focused on expanding and improving graduate education. We draw inspiration from that which expresses the highest endeavor: innovation.

Where do innovations arise? The answer is immediate for me—they come from the minds of our best and brightest graduate students, collaborating alongside our excellent faculty. These students bring a spark of inquiry to the equation in posing a new idea or a question never before asked.

Graduate education seeds this inspiration.

When speaking about graduate education I always make this point: Graduate students are the intellectual legacy of the University of Georgia. They embrace issues in this ever-changing world and offer solutions to address new challenges. My job is to provide the best opportunities for gifted graduate students to succeed in this, while attracting new talent to UGA. A primary way we attract and retain exceptional talent is in the form of financial support. We seed inspiration by providing scholars the gift of time, time to ask that unanswered question that will lead to a new discovery. Inside this issue is the story of Bridg’ette Israel, a new PhD and professor. She says her path to becoming a researcher was opened thanks to the Sloan fellowship she received and invaluable mentorship. On our cover is Chelcy Ford, another alumna benefitting from research supported by UGA. Now, these scientists attract national recognition to UGA. How do you make such important work possible? It is easy—join me in pulling the envelope out and making a gift to support our graduate students. You can make a huge difference in the fate of these inquiring minds. Join me in saying “yes” to the importance of graduate education. Say “yes” to the University of Georgia. Say “yes” to our graduate students!

Maureen Grasso Dean

matt mcclain

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Tim Barrett already shares a credit for a National Geographic map, titled “Treasured Landscapes of the Chesapeake Bay.” He is excited by the idea of identifying what Captain John Smith saw—in that pursuit he is following in the watery wake of the nebulous, mythologized captain.

tim barrett:

following the trail of

Captain john smith

on Virginia’s Northern Neck

by Cynthia Adams photos by nancy Evelyn

T

A MAN, A PLAN, A PADDLE…Like the legendary Smith, Tim Barrett is gaining knowledge of the historic Chesapeake trail one paddle stroke at a time. A team of UGA graduate students and professors were invited to Stratford Hall in Virginia to undertake research on the grounds which abut the Potomac River.

im Barrett folds lanky legs into a row boat and takes up a paddle. With a gentle push off the bank, he rows until the forested bank recedes and the small boat is circled with lazy ripples. The warming air vibrates with insects. He swats one away from his lightly freckled face with a red ball cap and grins happily.

Beyond this pond, merely yards away from the millpond, lies the Potomac River, Barrett’s favorite research locus. He likes water. A good thing, too, as he has lived near water most of his life, and now works to advance the recently created Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail, the first of its kind.

For the moment, the boat floats lazily. The pond water itself is murky brown, as opaque as strong tea; there are snakes, bugs, frogs, fish, and snapping turtles lurking beneath the small boat. Mysteries lie below. Barrett talks animatedly about the mysteries that are above ground, too. He has a degree in natural resources conservation, and has been an intern with the U.S. National Park Service working as an historical landscape architect. In short, Barrett’s educated eye can see.

For as far as the eye can see, there are greater mysteries to be fathomed for this student in the University of Georgia’s College of Environment and Design’s Cultural Landscape Lab (known as CLL.)

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“Heaven and earth have never agreed better to frame a place for man’s habitation.”

provided by michael schultz

Top photo, from left to right: Drew McMullen, president of Sultana Projects; John Page Williams, senior naturalist with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation; Pat Noonan, founder and president emeritus of The Conservation Fund.

Below: The send-off ceremony for the crew who recreated Smith's Chesapeake voyages. On the front row, left to right: Joel Dunn, executive director, Chesapeake Conservancy; Pat Noonan; Michael Schultz, and Tim Barrett. "The shallop crew is in the background," says Barrett. In the summer of 2007, these educators and historians sailed a 28-foot reproduction of Smith's shallop, spending 121 days exploring the headwaters of nearly all the Chesapeake Bay's tributaries.

Barrett worked as a representative, promoting the John Smith Trail at the shallop's various stops en route.

Photo by Michael Wootton, MCW Photography LLC.

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The isolated, wooded spot lies about a mile and a half from what is known as the “Great House” at Stratford Hall near Montross, Va. There are stables and out buildings, slave cabins, a cemetery and even a burial vault which once contained the famously historic bones of Robert E. Lee’s kinfolk. Tools CLL students employ in interpreting these sites will include GIS/GPS technology, remotely sensed images and other sophisticated equipment they use to decipher other sites, including historic Wormsloe at the Isle of Hope in Georgia But for Barrett, what concerns him most is the American Indian experience here. And the great Chesapeake Bay, where he has already spent three and a half years in the Maryland offices of The Conservation Fund advancing conservation. (It was here that Barrett got to know founder Patrick Noonan.)

Recently Barrett says he “supported a broad suite of activities” to assist Chesapeake Bay conservation leaders in establishing America’s first national water trail, the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail.

Where Presidents' Birthplaces Are “Just up the road” These historic lands are part of the Northern Neck of Virginia, and the pond whereon he floats is one of Barrett’s favorite spots on the massive lands comprising Stratford Hall.

Not many miles away from this, the birthplace of Robert E. Lee, are the birthplaces of Presidents Washington and Monroe. “Stratford Hall,” Lee wrote, “is endeared to me by many memories.” The site depicts Colonial

—Captain John Smith

and Federal periods for the many students and scholars who come there to do research.

It is a place thick with history “Washington’s birthplace is just up the road,” says photojournalist Terry Cosgrove, who has photographed many historic sites close to his Montross, Va. studio. Montross is the nearest town to Stratford Hall. Locals are proudly engaged with Virginia history, he says, especially with Stratford Hall.

“Montross is a town of 320. It’s just an old world, small town,” Cosgrove observes. He sits on the town council and leads their tourism effort. Cosgrove has followed the developments of area historic sites and occasionally writes about them. There is plenty of inspiration in Westmoreland County, where Cosgrove works and lives.

Revolutionary figures lived nearby in such close proximity to one another it is tempting to rename the connecting rural highway threading among them “Revolutionary Road.”

Presidents, diplomats, and signers of the Declaration of Independence all came of age in Westmoreland County.

Extensive acreage abutting the Potomac on the Northern Neck was once held by the Lees, extending all the way to Little Falls in northern Virginia. This was a watery route well known to Captain John Smith in the early 1600s—one he mapped with amazing accuracy.

The lands and waters of the region are of vital interest for historians, conservationists and policy makers.

Closer than even the Potomac to the spot where Barrett idles in a boat is a nearby working gristmill, fully restored

some years ago. It is in good working order, and the miller, Steve Bashore, works here and oversees the much larger mill at Washington’s Mount Vernon. Mount Vernon’s mill may be better known, says Bashore, but is no more significant. The Stratford Hall gristmill was a commercial venture in close proximity to the Potomac for ease of commerce. It supported early Colonial homes in addition to Stratford Hall, and until recent years a dock existed, which once served mill patrons.

Nearer still are the “Clifts” as they were once known—whose scaly, claylike banks shed into the Potomac River, causing dangerous slides.

Since May of 2010, Barrett has been working with the College of Environment and Design’s efforts to document and define such features of

Captain John Smith’s masterpiece map of Virginia, published in 1612, remained in active use for seven decades and opened this part of North America to European exploration, settlement, and trade. The geographical accuracy is astounding given that Smith traveled about 2,500 miles in a series of short expeditions and had only primitive mapmaking tools to work with.

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“Stratford Hall is endeared to me by many memories,” said Robert E. Lee. Stratford Hall was Lee’s birthplace and home until the age of three. He never again lived there. Graduate students like Tim Barrett have been working here through UGA's College of Environment and Design to assist Stratford Hall's preservation efforts concerning the site's historic landscapes. "Graduate education is changing—and we think the example of our work at Stratford Hall is one powerful example," says Daniel Nadenicek. "Both students and faculty are part of an 'expeditionary team' invited by Stratford Hall for a new venture," he says.

An engraving of Captain John Smith.

Next page: Barrett discovered this fossilized whale bone last year at the Stratford Hall historic site.

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the Stratford Hall historic and cultural landscape. But Barrett’s thesis work is not necessarily on terra firma. His research concerns the waterways and tributaries explored by Smith that extend many thousands of nautical miles.

What does Captain John Smith have to do with Stratford Hall? For one thing, “He surely saw the {Lee family} property from the water and mapped its shoreline,” says Barrett. Smith is central to Barrett’s research, which concerns “the landscape corridors he mapped and how they appear today,” he says.

This Virginia landscape is for Barrett, as a student of historic preservation, a marvel of opportunity and breadth.

Barrett has spent hundreds of hours at Stratford Hall, living, hiking, exploring, photographing, observing, listening and learning. Some of that time has been on water, where he observed Stratford Hall’s dramatic coastline from Smith’s vantage point.

A Living Laboratory for “Intellectual Apprenticeship” Barrett says the time at Stratford Hall was a journey into truly untested waters, “to build upon my work experience and become a member of an ‘expeditionary team’ of graduate students and professors to make contributions that I believed would help make a difference in both an academic field and a new venture.”

Dean Nadenicek adds, “The CLL offers an unusual emersion experience for faculty and scholars. In so many ways, it has given us a chance to be realtime innovators and put scholarship to work in the real world. It provides opportunity for graduate students like Tim to develop intellectual muscle and apply that to a project, gaining experience with UGA professors guiding and channeling that experience.

It is something like an intellectual

a journey into untested waters: Barrett

has explored the Clifts, a geological marvel dating to the miocene period.

The area was once underwater and the fossilized remains found there include extinct sea creatures. Barrett and fellow researchers have access, though much of the area is closed to the public due to the frequency of landslides.

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apprenticeship. Graduate education is changing—and we think the example of our work at Stratford Hall is one powerful example.”

Assistant professor Eric MacDonald, a founder of the CLL, and Nadenicek say they “have come to believe that the next generation of cultural landscape preservationists must learn by doing.”

Barrett’s thesis and personal research, however, chiefly concerns Smith’s nearby explorations. Barrett has spent significant time at Stratford Hall and on the Potomac conducting research. Smith skirted the aforementioned “Clifts” (cliffs) of Stratford Hall in the early 1600s. (The first 1,443 acres of Stratford Hall lands were acquired in 1717 by Thomas Lee. The house was built circa 1738.) Barrett has explored the Clifts, a geological marvel dating to the Miocene period.

The area was once underwater and the fossilized remains found there include

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extinct sea creatures. Barrett and fellow researchers have access, though much of the area is closed to the public due to the frequency of landslides.

Smith, an embattled, mythic figure, wound up mapping large portions of the waterways in Virginia and Maryland.

He mapped much of the Potomac during 1608 in a 28-foot ship called a shallop. Smith was accurate to the degree that his maps were used for 100 years onward. (See links to his maps and to Barrett’s collaboration at the end of this article.)

Barrett paddles, and considers the pond and the pond’s construction. The eerie, high calls of two circling eagles interrupt his reverie.

“This pond is old,” Barrett mentions. “In a 1743 deed, this pond was described as old. But, the pond is European made and when Smith was exploring the Potomac this area had not yet been settled by Europeans…it

is probable it came not too long after Smith was here. The person who built it likely used Smith’s map to navigate to this area. It’s an integral part of the landing and the historic landscape.”

He sighs contentedly, and gently rows, telegraphing the bank with more gentle ripples. Dip, paddle; dip, paddle.

“It’s always a pleasure to work with people who are ‘of a place.’ Not in a myopic or nativistic way, but rather in a way that lets you know who they are based on their connection and love Opposite page: Statue of Captain John Smith at Historic Jamestown, Colonial National Historical Park.

Portrait of Pocahontas at age 21 during her London visit of 1616. This portrait hangs in the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. A 28-foot reproduction of Captain John Smith’s shallop. Photo provided by Michael Schultz.

“Capt. John Smith was an easy mark for envy. In his day, detractors called him boastful and self-promoting. He undoubtedly was. Yet the more I know about the real Smith, the more astonishing I find his story." —Patrick noonan, founder and former president of the Conservation Fund

MAtt MCCLAIn

for their home or region. tim has that sense of place; he’s got the Chesapeake Bay and its human history coursing through his veins,” says CLL research project member Melissa tufts.

403 years later, caPtain John sMith’s story reads as “astonishinG:” Beyond Pocahontas teasing out fact from myth concerning smith is necessary to grasp smith’s persona, and his truest relevance.

Despite the Disney film featuring a romanticized and nearly unrecognizable Captain John smith, the man was essential to the survival of Jamestown settlement. Yet smith, thorny and contentious, remains a controversial figure. the myth and the man are so complicated, that a smith biographer points out in a TIME magazine article that his prickly nature brought smith dangerously close to the hangman’s noose and the chopping block on several occasions. Legends don’t

become legends by playing it safe. nor by being a slave to the truth—smith had a penchant for exaggeration. Yet his accomplishments are undisputed.

Patrick noonan, founder and former president of the Conservation Fund, was a voice and advocate for the creation of the Captain John smith Chesapeake national Historic trail. noonan’s “friends” group led legislative and community efforts to establish the trail. “the history of that effort is a large part of my thesis,” says Barrett.

As a founder of the Friends of the John smith Chesapeake trail, now the Chesapeake Conservancy, noonan is well aware of smith’s complicated image.

“Capt. John smith was an easy mark for envy. the daring, brash son of an english farmer became a hero mercenary for the Holy Roman emperor, explored europe and northern Africa, and later led the Jamestown settlers. In his day, detractors called him boastful and self-promoting. He undoubtedly was,” noonan writes in an e-mail. “Yet the more I know about the

real smith, the more astonishing I find his story.” noonan argues that the reality of smith truly surpasses the myth.

“By the time he arrived in virginia he was a seasoned soldier and adventurer, says noonan. “He knew maps, language, how to negotiate, and how to record what he saw. He was an ideal explorer. His skills came together in his exploration of Chesapeake Bay. the map he made and the writings he left are clear evidence. His strong will and unbreakable spirit also sustained Jamestown. He rallied his fellow adventurers at key moments, went trading and raiding for food, and made them work. Without his energy, it is very likely the settlers would have given up or died off, just as they did in earlier english colonies.”

Indeed, the famously “Lost Colony” at Roanoke Island, attempted in 1585 before Jamestown was settled in 1607, was probably lost to starvation. smith’s intervention meant Jamestown’s settlers avoided Roanoke’s fate.

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“Smith’s famous ‘frying pan’ quote was made while on the Potomac,” Barrett says, smiling widely, and quotes: “‘Abundance of fish, lying so thicke with their heads above the water, as for want of nets we attempted to catch them with a frying pan: but we found it a bad instrument to catch fish with: neither better fish, more plenty, nor more variety for small fish, had any of us ever seen in any place so swimming in the water, but they are not to be caught with frying pans.’”

In the early 1600s, Smith had been dispensed by English speculators with a long to-do list that included finding “assay” and critical routes to the West.

“Smith was on the Potomac River June 16-July 14 in the summer of 1608,” says Barrett, “and nearly a quarter of that entire time he spent exploring the Chesapeake. He expected the Potomac River to be the fabled location of the Northwest Passage to the Pacific Ocean.”

Smith finally gave up on that notion.

But he was successful in mapping large segments of the Potomac and Chesapeake, and did so with surprising accuracy. And, yes, thanks to his dogged determination, Smith saved Jamestown with unerring survival skills. His fellow settlers, lacking Smith’s adaptive talents, gave him grudging respect.

Smith spent much time with various Indian tribes and his relations ranged from friendly to exploitative.

“Smith met with the following tribes while on the Potomac River,” Barrett later adds. The tribes Barrett

inventories include: “Wicocomocos, Chicacones, Nominis, Cecomocomocos, Potapacos, Nanjemoys, Patawomecks, Mattawomans, Tauxenents, Piscataways, and Anacostans.” With information these tribes provided Smith, Barrett says “He was able to map a significant stretch of the Potomac basin, including part of the Shenandoah River.”

Yet Smith’s romantic entanglement with a famous Indian Princess was a ridiculous invention. He never had a romantic involvement with Pocahontas.

She was only a young girl of nine or 10 (her age varies depending upon the account) when Smith first encountered her as a grown man.

It is agreed by most historians, however, that Pocahontas most likely did spare the neck of the industrious curmudgeon when Smith eventually ran afoul of her father, the great chieftain Powhatan. Thanks to the Disney version of the pair’s relationship, distortions continue. Fortunately, so do Smith’s historic contributions. On June 23, 2008 Barrett assisted then Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon in promoting the Captain John Smith Landing 400th Anniversary Day. New Adventures for Barrett Recently, Barrett was invited to join the Indigenous Cultural Landscape team, a national body with broad and diverse representation. The team is coordinated through the National Park Service’s Chesapeake Bay office in Annapolis, Md. “Graduate work has also led me

According to Captain John Smith, the Susquehannocks were a “gyant-like people” who dressed in wolf and bear skins and could “beat out the braines of a man” with their clubs.

“The abundance of fish, lying so thicke with their heads above the water, as for want of nets we attempted to catch them with a frying pan: but we found it a bad instrument to catch fish with: neither better fish, more plenty, nor more variety for small fish, had any of us ever seen in any place so swimming in the water, but they are not to be caught with frying pans.”

—Captain John Smith, famous “Frying Pan Quote” made while on the Potomac

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BEFORE STRATFORD HALL EXISTED Barrett overlooks the Clifts, which date to the Miocene period. He reminds that Captain Smith mapped this same Potomac shoreline in the 1600s, long before the Lee family took possession of the vast land holdings comprising Stratford Hall in 1717. Predating Smith's explorations were indigenous tribes. At least 10 Native American tribes were known to have provided essential support and information in aid of Smith's endeavors.

to be one of the first people from academia to join the team,” Barrett says. The team is comprised of national leaders and preservation experts.

“They are pondering ways to expand land conservation, tourism, and educational programs by considering cultural landscapes from the indigenous person’s perspective. The John Smith Trail may serve as a programmatic pilot,” he says.

“They are people I lean on for guidance as I develop my thesis,” Barrett adds. By this spring, he will complete his findings. At long last, Smith is given a place in history as heroic explorer and cartographer— romantic myth notwithstanding.

Noonan says Smith’s remarkable voyage of discovery throughout the Chesapeake was commemorated and validated by the Congressional order that created The Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail.

“Today, the words he first used to describe the Bay still ring true: ‘Heaven and earth have never agreed better to frame a place for man’s habitation.’”

IN MY OWN WORDS… Tim Barrett has worked to document both historic and existing features of the Stratford Hall Landscape. He is deeply interested in indigenous people and their involvements in this and other places. He will earn a graduate degree in historic preservation this year.

I chose UGA and its Master of Historic Preservation program for two reasons: 1) the opportunity to acquire expertise in cultural landscape management from one of the nation’s foremost institutions specializing in this area; and, 2) the ability to gain handson experience at a nationally significant and renowned cultural landscape, Stratford Hall. In light of the potentially “hot, flat, and crowded,” or distracted, nature-deficient, and economically constrained environment we are entering, I felt it was important to learn the most innovative and sustainable practices for historic landscape preservation.

Stratford Hall has offered an unparalleled “field lab” to further my graduate education with real-world research. This academic work, along with continued study of national historic trails,

led to an opportunity to join Pratt Cassity (director of the UGA-CED Center for Community Design and Preservation) to represent both our College and the United Nations' International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) at a bi-national cultural landscape planning workshop in El Paso, Texas. The workshop held this past June, focused on the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail/World Heritage Cultural Route and hosted officials and researchers from Mexico.

In the Eastern United States, one would be hard pressed to find a place that has not been influenced by people.

Even congressionally designated wilderness areas possess landscapes that still reflect the activities of past human inhabitants. While valuing the intrinsic qualities of nature, I also discern and celebrate the human relationship with landscape, both past and present. Many layers of cultural values are reflected in the landscapes that we pass through in our daily lives.

As the celebrated landscape scholar J. B. Jackson observed in 1951, “A rich and beautiful book is always open

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before us. We have but to learn to read it.” Jackson’s words capture the perspective and joy that I experience when researching a cultural landscape, which the Stratford Hall Cultural Landscape Laboratory has enabled me to pursue while at UGA. With an irrepressible curiosity, a modest knowledge of ecology and history, and a patient disposition, I attempt to consider how humans have experienced and shaped the land before my eyes. I look for vestiges of past human activity still present, yet long forgotten. Change in a landscape can often be hidden to human perception, so immersion and fascination in the subject and place are essential.

Training one’s eye to “read” how a landscape was used over time can provide meaningful insight about a people’s history. For instance, subtle linear “swales” and “ruts” can hint to an old wagon trace. The patterns of tree and plant communities can allude to former man-made structures, or management practices that were phased out many years ago. While walking the grounds at Stratford, a row of Eastern Red Cedars catches my attention. Knowing that nature does not often occur in straight lines, I investigate further. There are no built features to be found, but I know the

blue, berry-like fruits of cedars provide seasonal sustenance for birds and other wildlife, and their seeds pass through a bird’s stomach unharmed. I conclude that songbirds perching on a line of fence posts may have “planted” these trees, explaining the regular intervals of the specimen. Where a fence once stood cedar trees now grow tall, giving testament to an old pasture.

Indeed, many hands and natural forces have shaped the world around us.

Learning new ways to cognitively “dust” these fingerprints of the past will inspire a richer and deeper understanding, which can guide our actions as we face current and future challenges. —Tim Barrett

payne family

roots run deep at Stratford Hall

The grounds surrounding Stratford Hall Plantation are an environmentalist’s dream.

Fully intact, the 1,900 acres have close proximity to Washington, D.C. Thomas Lee purchased nearly 1,500 acres in 1717. Here he built the Great House, a Georgian brick mansion that is both grandly and distinctly British, and installed his wife Hannah and their growing family, which swelled to eight children.

The union produced six sons, and five participated in Revolutionary history. The eldest, Philip Ludwell Lee, has been called a “passive loyalist.” But the remaining five were described by John Adams as the “band of brothers, intrepid and unchangeable…who stood in the gap in defense of their country.” Two, Francis Lightfoot Lee and Richard Henry Lee, went on to sign the Declaration of Independence (the only brothers who did.) Thomas Ludwell Lee became a judge and revolutionary. Arthur and William Lee were distinguished for their work as diplomats in Europe.

Another Lee descendant, Henry, or “Light Horse Harry,” became a Virginia governor. “He was not a son of Hannah and Thomas, but a major Revolutionary War hero. He was an important figure at Stratford. Also, he was buried in 1818 following a premature death on Cumberland Island in

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Georgia,” says Barrett. The details of Light Horse Harry’s sad end were noble, befitting a heroic figure—he died of injuries received while defending another’s rights. A ceremonial burial on Cumberland Island bespoke Lee’s high station. Lee purportedly was accorded a full military burial provided by an American fleet stationed near St. Mary’s, Ga. His remains were moved later to a Lee family crypt in Virginia.

Even so, “a tombstone still marks his formerly peaceful resting place in the Golden Isles of Georgia,” adds Barrett, who conducted research there last year.

Robert Edward Lee was the son of Henry Lee and his second wife, Anne Hill Carter. Robert E. Lee became best known of all Stratford Hall occupants. Robert E. Lee, the sad and reluctant Civil War general, is most associated with the place though his time there was briefest. He only lived there until the age of three and it was never his home again. He died in Lexington, Va., in 1870.

Stratford Hall languished for decades in the hands of an owner related to the Lees by marriage, and could easily have been lost. During the Great Depression, Stratford Hall was purchased and restored by a group of determined and well-connected women who formed an association for its preservation.

terry cosgrove

A reconstructed cabin stands on the Stratford Hall Plantation, shown at left. William Wesley Payne, center, smoking turkeys. Right: The Payne family reunion in 2011. Among the attendees were family members and local journalist, Terry Cosgrove. Cosgrove has written about the Payne descendants for the media. Barrett's research group will interview them as part of their Stratford Hall efforts. Other photos on this page are from Stratford Hall's historical archives.

Today, it is still maintained by RELMA, the Robert E. Lee Memorial Association, and its numerous state delegates. Their presence is felt – it is borne on the cabins each state delegate uses while at Stratford Hall, and by the mere fact that they managed something so impossible. The women of RELMA spared beautiful and desirable lands from the developer’s bulldozer.

For historians, Stratford Hall is a dream as well, in that there are hundreds of acres of burial grounds, vaults, pastures, farmlands and mysterious footings, archaeological dig sites with present and future possibilities, and perfectly preserved buildings. All are remnants of a history imbued with folklore, culture, controversy and complexities.

For example: The cabin of William Wesley Payne was recreated at Stratford Hall (“There was a near-miss from hurricane Irene,” says Barrett.) Descendants of the Payne family, who lived longer at Stratford Hall than any members of the Lee family, gathered for their second reunion on June 25, 2011—their first was in 2001. This revealed another aspect of Stratford Hall.

“William Wesley Payne was born in 1875,” says Cosgrove, who photographed both Payne family reunions at Stratford Hall. Tim Barrett was also present at the 2011 reunion along with Cosgrove. They were privy to first-hand observations from the Payne family.

“The Payne family reunion included descendants of Uncle Wes Payne, whose (reconstructed) cabin stands on the property,” Cosgrove explains. He observed the grandson of William Wesley Payne being shown the cabin which depicts

former servant quarters. The child misunderstood the rustic cabin’s historical context. “The little boy was saying, ‘This would be a cool place to camp.’"

Cosgrove was strongly affected by the Payne descendants' “great sense of pride of their connection with Stratford.” Many family members are buried on the grounds.

“You could randomly have a conversation with them, and they all knew where they fit into the family tree. There was a sense of pride in being attached to Uncle Wes, and to Stratford. It was pride of place, that, ‘This place couldn’t have existed without us,’” says Cosgrove. Barrett’s research group is requesting permission to conduct oral histories of surviving Payne family members. n

go to

www.johnsmith400.org/smithsmap.htm to see Smith’s 1612 map. www.chesapeakeconservancy.org/files/OLD JST SITE/files/treasured_landscapes/NGS Treasured Landscapes map to see the National Geographic Society’s “Treasured Landscapes” map. www.johnsmith400.org/voyage.htm provides additional information about the voyage of the recreated Captain Smith shallop. www.ced.uga.edu/cll to see the recently launched Cultural Landscape Laboratory.

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why scientist bridg’ette israel’s 

PATH BLAZING,

GLORYMAKING,

PowerBuilding,

family RECIPE FOR SUCCESS isn't a Secret Anymore

by Cynthia Adams

photos by nancy Evelyn

T

ake everything you think you know about fast-track researchers and scientific scholars and turn it around.

Myth 1: Scientists take a vow of poverty–self-inflicting monastic conditions of self-denial in the name of their art/ research/elegant thought.

Myth 2: They must shutter out all the things they enjoy— idle pleasures, fellowship–in order to focus upon the end goaland once there, publish or perish.

Myth 3: They are driven. Mono-manic.

Myth 4: They are introverts. Left-brained.

Myth 5: First-borns only should apply.

Think again. Hit the brakes. Back it up!

Meeting Bridg’ette Israel is like meeting the mythical monk in a red Ferrari.

She exudes Georgia red. She strides into a Savannah hotel lobby in a red dress with heels, flashing a megawatt smile with teeth even and perfect beneath red lipstick. She fixes her even brighter eyes upon people in the lobby and extends a firm handshake.

Um, this is not Bridg’ette Israel, the scientific researcher, right?

This is Bridg’ette Israel. Israel was born into a gregarious family on August 21, 1978 in Chatham County, Ga. “I love people; I would talk to that wall if nobody was in here,” she jokes.

Making it all look easy—like a piece of cake. (Her favorite, of course, is RED velvet.) Yet absolutely none of it, Israel explains with a cool smile that could just as easily be a grimace, was easy.

Not a new marriage, the two children arriving at such a crazy-

hint: family ties, Fabulous Mentors, Teachers and Professors bind us to our Truest Selves and Highest Destinies UGA Graduate School Magazine w i n t e r 2 012

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making time in the midst of graduate studies, the volunteer Girl Scouts work, the fierce love of home, the drive to steer this particular dream onto the runway, and land a doctorate at UGA. None of that was easy, not one iota.

“Now, many of my little nieces, nephews and cousins have told me they will do it also!” Israel says, eyebrows high. Hopefully, I will be the inspiration for them,” she adds, beginning her supercalifragilisticexpialidocious1 story.

 Bridg’ette Israel’s Timing Makes You Shake Your Head in Disbelief She inspires incredulity, starting doctoral studies while still caring for an almostnewborn, three-month-old. In the midst of this, she and her husband, Jeremy Israel, had a second child. Bridg’ette Israel, who succeeds in reaching every dream she has hatched since growing up in Savannah in the midst of a large and loving family, likes to do things her way–and does. Multi-tasking is central to this woman’s life. Busy, she says smiling, is better.

At UGA for nine to10 hours each day, Israel had to work to find balance

“It makes you make the most of every moment. I tried to separate home and school, and came in (to the labs) early and left late. Some nights, I put the children to bed in order to do projects.”

Israel marvels at finishing her doctorate in pharmaceutical and biomedical sciences within six years.

“My kids…” she begins and falters slightly. “At times, I wanted to quit. But my family was very supportive. My daughter was like, ‘One day, you’re going to be a doctor, and then I don’t ever have to go to the doctor anymore and you can treat me when I’m sick!’

They were excited, and my motivation."

She laughs off that her toddler daughter made no distinction between an MD and a PhD. With a shake of her head, Israel adds with a hint of envy, “But to think about the people who didn’t have kids and weren’t married! On average it’s five years.”

What might overwhelm one inspires another. But what makes someone vow to defy all odds?

“Though most of my family is educated, a PhD is totally different. I am the first person in my family to have a PhD." Powerful family ties–extending from her grandmother down the family line to her small children–drove this doctoral student and Alfred P. Sloan scholar on to greater horizons. Family

3sources you should know about, According to Bridg’ette Israel

1. Textbook of Diabetic Neuropathy, edited by F. Arnold Gries 2. ABCs of Wound Healing, edited by J. Grey & K. Harding 3. Molecular and Cellular Effects of LLLT in Diabetic Wound Healing: an in vitro study,by N. Houreld and H. Abrahamseedu

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made the difference, she stresses. So did the Bridges Program and the Alfred Sloan Scholars program.

But it isn’t supposed to be this way for the middle child. (Israel has two brothers and two sisters.) The dynamic within families is such that the middle child is not typically the highest achiever. Ha! Says Israel, smashing another myth to bits.

FIRST THERE WAS THE AWESOME MS. CALLAHAN, A QUIRKY SAVANNAHIAN WHO THOUGHT SCIENCE WAS GROOVY A chemistry teacher at Windsor Forest High School in Savannah made all the difference for Israel.

“Science and math are like foreign languages you can get lost in very quickly,” Israel muses. Math had come easily to her. The language of science eluded her up until she met one key individual who changed everything and cracked the enigmatic code. Israel found herself in a classroom with Mrs. Callahan, a wildly exuberant science teacher unlike any she had ever met.

“The first day of school she came in dressed like Einstein, and I will never

At left: Israel enjoys time with her mentor, Capomacchia, in Atlanta during 2011's Sloan Scholars annual meeting.

Their association through the Sloan program has been vitally important to her future as a researcher and deeply inspiring, says Israel.

uga's dr. anthony c. capomacchia steered Israel to enter the doctoral program as a Sloan fellow."At UGA, I visited different labs. Dr. Capomacchia was so influential; I knew I wasn't going to be in anybody's lab but his," says Israel.

forget it. She was a little lady and so spunky and all excited about science!

Math was pretty easy for me, but when I met her, I knew I was going to major in chemistry in college."

Israel discusses Callahan having emanated excitement and engagement.

“She gave off the sense that every student in her class could do this…could understand science. I felt that for even myself." It was another kind of epiphany to sit in such a classroom where failure was not a possibility: “Our students and children, they feed off of you (teachers’ energies). She was really good.”

Thanks to that one teacher’s encouragement and inspiration, Israel adopted a self-image of herself as a future scientist. Afterward, more powerful teachers kept finding her. It was remarkable, Israel says. Even destiny making.

As Israel’s siblings finished high school, they advanced onward as well.

Her sisters attended Georgia Southern University. For a close-knit family, the college had the keen advantage of proximity. “It was in Statesboro, 45 minutes away. It was far enough you weren’t home, but close enough you can go home. “ Her oldest brother attended Savannah State and younger brother attended Morehouse in Atlanta. Israel, however, followed the others to Georgia Southern. On weekends, she could head home to visit her parents and family and enjoy low-country cooking.

Given a family penchant for Southern cooking, all of the sisters worked in the college catering service for extra income at Georgia Southern. Israel’s exuberant family was crazy about cooking and entertaining–and still is.

“We have parties for anything,” she grins. Israel holds up fingers, enumerating: “You get baptized,

promoted, divorced, lose a tooth, it’s enough for a celebration! Put some meat on the grill!”

As Israel matured, it was uncanny how powerful mentors and circumstances kept finding her. “When I got to Georgia Southern, I had a professor, Dr. Jim Lobue. He was the person who told me, “At least, go get your master’s.”

She rolls her eyes, laughs, and says, “I did." Israel chose a graduate school in Greensboro, N.C. “It was weird because I first met my husband in Savannah the summer before I began the master’s program at North Carolina A&T State University.

We exchanged numbers and kept in touch. He helped me move into my apartment in Greensboro." The two began a courtship that ended in marriage before she finished her graduate degree. Israel was seven

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months pregnant with their first child when she completed a master’s in chemistry.

Israel’s best friend studied chemistry at NCA&T, and was entering the Bridges Program at the University of Georgia.

Israel went along for a campus visit, strictly to support her friend. As a young married mother, Israel resisted her friend’s persuasive attempts to enroll with her. En route to Athens, Israel told her, “I said, I’m not going to start a doctoral program–a PhD was too much!"

All changed when Israel met yet another important mentor: Anthony C. Capomacchia. The professor persuaded Israel to follow her friend’s lead to UGA and join the doctoral program in pharmaceutical and biomedical sciences—after all, it would bring her back to Georgia, and within striking distance of her beloved Savannah clan.

Capomacchia also steered Israel to the Alfred Sloan program, suggesting Israel enter UGA’s doctoral program as a Sloan fellow. (See sidebar.) “It was an awesome experience,” she says. As in awe-inspiring.

When Israel returned the next time, it was as a doctoral student.

“I came to Athens in January of 2004 and my son was three months. I didn’t start that spring, but the fall of 2004." And just because Israel was a Girl Scout troop leader from way back (Savannah is where the Girl Scouts were founded) with spare minutes on her hands, she answered another strong calling. As if it is the most natural thing in the world for a new doctoral student and mother to juggle another thing, Israel was inspired to do something unexpected with her free moments.

“I wanted to introduce Girl Scouts to the housing projects.”

So Israel did that—starting a troop in an Athens housing project. She admits ruefully, “The Girl Scout project was crazy enough shortly after I had my baby.”

But it all seemed outrageous. Israel was doing rotations through various labs as she pursued pharmaceutical and biomedical studies. She tended her babies and nurtured the scouting troop during stolen time. A sense of humor, and understanding husband, sustained her.

“I wouldn’t have thought it would

be as great as it was,” Israel says. “I wouldn’t have asked for it to be any other way.”

ANOTHER ADVOCATE APPEARS: ENTER DR. CAPOMACCHIA “At UGA, I visited different labs. Dr. Capomacchia was so influential; I knew I wasn’t going to be in anybody’s lab but his." Israel describes him as “an amazing person,” who helped her find funds to attend conferences and to find opportunities.

Capomacchia also anchored her, and held her doctoral dream firmly intact. “I thought I was smart and everything, but not to the point that I was ever going to get a PhD. It was so important that he supported me, a total stranger—and to look at you and make you believe that you could do that thing. He is a great person. If someone is a good student, they always come to Dr. C.” Israel first assisted on patentpending osteoarthritis trials at the

Dot Paul

Wound-healing research at UGA led Bridg'ette Israel to her dissertation. At left is Gasper, who died in 2007. After the publication of his obituary, over 800 mourners wrote entries online. go to

www.researchmagazine.uga.edu/ for more info on the 2006 UGA research team and the beluga whale.

Getting Personal. Israel looked at the basis of wound healing in large animal research and applied it to diabetic wound healing in humans. She resolved during her doctoral research to do this in honor of her late grandmother.

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“the name uga just makes people want to give you a try,” says Israel. “Most places you have to do a post doc before becoming a faculty member. I feel like being a graduate of UGA said a lot to people. they were willing to give me a chance.”

donna butler

Complex Carbohydrate Research Center under a senior student.

“We did some trials, transdermal work with osteoarthritis, for a cream that helps rebuild the basic membrane,” Israel says.

Her second project involved working in veterinary science on wound healing for a corroborative project with scientists eventually including Capomacchia.

“A dog had severe burns and we developed ointments we thought would have the right kind of adhesion to that wound and developed bio-adhesive ointment. That same professor, Dr. Branson Ritchie, worked with the Georgia aquarium in Atlanta."

The sick animal in question this time was a beluga whale named Gasper.

Researchers worked with scientists Ritchie and Capomacchia in developing a new formulation for an aquatic animal. As Israel was researching ointments for the burned dog, she realized the stability of an oil-based gel that adhered well. She tried the gel on different surfaces, employing various tests to see if it would adhere to the whale skin. She struggled to resolve a problem concerning how to get the formulation to release the drug.

“We tailored an ointment for an aquatic animal,” she says triumphantly.

The work became the basis of her dissertation.

Finally—someone who might save the whales! (“I wish!” Israel chortles.)

“Serendipity is not normally a word applied to science,” Capomacchia,

a professor of pharmacy, said in an interview published in Research magazine. “But sometimes a hunch or happenstance, or just being in the right place at the right time, can lead to exciting possibilities.”

BEA’S KITCHEN: THE MAKING OF A FAMILY LEGACY Behind the scholarship and big dreams were good times in Savannah. Something was always cooking back home. In May of 2011, family members opened a restaurant at 2 l/2 East Lathrop Avenue in downtown Savannah.

Bea's Kitchen is a Southern-style restaurant in Savannah named for Israel's grandmother.

Here, the foods served are drawn from the family's longstanding traditional recipes.

They dubbed it Bea’s Kitchen.

“Bea’s Kitchen was named after my grandmother, who passed away last year (February 2010.) My maternal grandmother—she was my biggest fan,” Israel says. “She gave birth to 13 kids, 11 lived to be adults."

Her grandmother, Israel recalls, married at 16 and lacked a formal education, and so valued it deeply for her descendants. “Most of her grandchildren went to college. When I got into the doctoral program, she then introduced me as, ‘This is the granddaughter who is going to be a doctor.’”

At age 86, Israel’s grandmother developed complications due to diabetes. She had poor circulation, and required an amputation in January of

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2010. The wound would not heal.

“With diabetes, at some point it is very common to have a foot or leg amputation." Many amputees die within the first year, Israel says. In February, only a month after surgery, her grandmother died.

“I am supposed to defend my dissertation in two months and she died. I didn’t want to take off time to mourn her.”

Israel describes how grief was funneled into her dissertation work on wound healing of aquatic animals— specifically, the sick whale at the Georgia Aquarium. She went a few times to the aquarium and observed the subject, and weighed the challenges of treating it.

Israel’s graduation was Mother’s Day weekend, a day she would typically have honored her mother and grandmothers.

“It was emotional and special, fitting,” she says.

Now, because of her grandmother, Israel continues research in diabetic wound healing. Today she is at Florida A&M University, a historically black institution in Tallahassee, in a tenuretrack faculty position. More importantly, they recognize she is passionate about continuing her work with diabetes, though many of her colleagues are involved with cancer research.

“The name UGA just makes people want to give you a try,” says Israel.

“Many places require you to complete a post doc before becoming a faculty member. “I feel like being a graduate of UGA said a lot to people. They were willing to give me a chance.”

Israel recently traveled to Texas Tech in Lubbock for further training in diabetic wound healing animal models and study protocols.

Yet the challenges deepen for research funding. “The National Institutes of Health shut down a couple of their entities, including research centers in minorities’ HBCUs. They’re starting to downsize; that’s going to affect us.” So she utilizes what is available at Florida A&M, while networking at other institutions like Texas Tech.

A Third Valued Mentor: Deborah Elder Israel discusses another important UGA faculty member, Deborah Elder, in pharmaceutical and biomedical science.

“I was her teaching assistant. She was influential in my deciding to stay."

Elder “saw my potential,” says Israel.

Elder gave her a global viewpoint.

“Faculty members made it worthwhile. You run out of steam. But it made me prepare for the real world.

The real world doesn’t care if you’re black, you’re a woman, you have kids, somebody dies in your family…whatever your job is, they hire you as the person who’s competent to do this job."

In My Own Words My parents are Amos Sr. and Beatrice Johnson, who always taught us to value education. I am the third of five children. I earned a BS in Chemistry from Georgia Southern University (2000) and a MS in Chemistry from North Carolina A&T University (2003).

Five Bridges to the Doctorate students, also UGA Sloan Scholars, received UGA doctoral degrees, including Bridg’ette Israel.

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May 8th, 2010 was such a memorable day for me and my family. This was the day I graduated from The University of Georgia with my PhD in Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences. I began this program as a newlywed with an 11-month-old baby boy. During my second year, I was blessed with a beautiful baby girl.

I faced many challenges during my tenure as a graduate student at The University of Georgia, but I was determined to complete this program.

I met Dr. Anthony C. Capomacchia while completing my MS at NCA&T. He is the minority recruiter for the Bridges program and Alfred P. Sloan Scholarship. Dr. Capomacchia genuinely cares about the needs of the students.

After meeting him, I knew I wanted to work in his laboratory. Dr. C, as he is affectionately known, is an awesome person. As my research advisor, Dr. C. was always helpful in designing research protocol and motivating the lab members.

As an Alfred P. Sloan Scholar, I was afforded the opportunity to attend one of the best Teaching and Mentoring Symposiums in the country. October quickly became my favorite time of year during Graduate School because I knew the Southern Regional Education Board was just around the corner. Every year just when you had enough of research experiments not working out and your academic environment became a bit overwhelming, it was time to go to the SREB Teaching and Mentoring Conference. It is difficult talking to your family and friends about the PhD journey if they have not been through it. This conference provides that family for many of the Sloan Scholars. I met people from universities all over the United States and together we are changing the face of science in this country.

As a junior research faculty member, I strive to positively impact the world

of scientific research. My research focus is diabetic wound healing. I will dedicate this work to the life and legacy of my maternal grandmother, who passed away from complications from a leg amputation (due to failure in woundhealing treatments) just three months before I graduated from The University of Georgia. —Bridg’ette Israel ALFRED P. SLOAN FELLOWS and UGA “The Program began when a proposal I submitted to Director Ted Greenwood of the Sloan Foundation was funded in 1999,” says Anthony C. Capomacchia, the director of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Minority Doctoral Program at the University of Georgia “The stipulation was that I continue to recruit one minority student per year; Sloan would fund additional students up to a limit of five students by means of a fellowship.

Sloan requires that each department contribute to a student’s funding since it expects a buy-in by departments or University to support minority graduate education. The student becomes a Sloan Scholar upon accepting the fellowship,” Capomacchia explains.

“Fellowship funds are awarded directly to the student and held in an account by NACME (National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering) and accessible to the student through me to defray the costs of their graduate education; tuition, housing, books, research travel, etc." The Sloan Foundation’s psychosocial and financial impact is significant, Capomacchia explains.

“Since inception of the program the Sloan Foundation has funded, in part, 40 minority graduate students here at UGA." Sloan’s reach also grows. Five Sloan scholars entered UGA in fall 2011.

According to Director Capomacchia, the Sloan Foundation has supported 21 doctoral dissertations, five master’s theses, and 33

publications between 1992 and 2010.

“These results led to additional funding by the UGA Graduate School and to a Bridges to the Doctorate grant for minority graduate students."

In addition to personally mentoring each student, Capomacchia still attends an annual fall event called the “Compact”— the same event that so deeply affected Bridg’ette. It is fully funded by the Sloan Foundation.

Five Bridges to the Doctorate students, also UGA Sloan Scholars, received UGA doctoral degrees, including Bridg’ette Israel, Leah Williamson, Shawn Blue, Tucker Swindell, and Pamela Garner. n

super cali fragilistic expiali docious supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

Can simply mean fabulous—as a reference to a lyric contained within the Mary Poppins Disney classic. A Mary Poppins film fan writes online, "Dissecting this longest word, according to Guinness Book of World Records, we can come up with a different meaning: · super = above · cali = beauty · fragilistic = delicate · expiali = to atone · docious = educable A new meaning for this 34-letter word comes out as: Atoning for educability through delicate beauty!"

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Taking Mother Nature's Pulse: Chelcy Ford knows ecosystems and is monitoring their vital signs: They breathe, pulse and, yes, respond just like you and me.

What led Ford to an isolated pocket in the North Carolina Highlands where it rains six feet in a year? And what was she up to in Washington?

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an interview with

chelcy ford Ford earned a PhD at UGA in Forest Resources in 2004. she also has degrees in botany and applied biology. This scientist now works at the Southern Research Station at the Center for Forest Watershed Science at Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory in the Appalachian Mountains.

BY CYntHIA ADAMs PHotos BY nAnCY eveLYn

F

ord explains that the Center is charged with evaluating, explaining, and predicting how water, soil, forest, and aquatic resources respond to ecosystem management practices, natural disturbances, and the atmospheric environment; and identifying practices that restore, protect, and enhance watershed health. the researchers conduct long-term hydrologic and ecological research on forested upland and wetland watersheds. the national science Foundation sponsors the UGA-led Coweeta Long-term ecological Research project. the other lead institution on the grant is the UsDA Forest service. In addition to the University of Georgia, participating institutions involved in the Coweeta research group include Duke, UnC-Chapel Hill, UnC-Charlotte, nC state University, the virginia Polytechnic Institute, Mars Hill College, Yale, and the Universities of Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

As a scientist, Ford uses the words “climate change” with authority. It is her business to be objective and analytical, and it gets on her last nerve when she hears naysayers insist “climate change” is a manipulative, misleading phrase. she knows whereof she speaks. Ford was tapped by the federal government to join a consortium of scientists for an extended, ongoing research project. the expert team convenes in a building on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. even though she’ll physically leave the project in January, 2012, Ford says she’ll “continue to work on the project from Coweeta until June 2012.

“At that point, the Federal Advisory Committee will take over and work on it until 2013." Ford has been coordinating with other scientist across the U.s., synthesizing data and making critical recommendations for the future.

Lindsay Boring is director of the Joseph W. Jones ecological Research Center/Ichauway in newton, Ga. Ichauway is a

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29,000-acre conservation site, bequeathed by the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation to the Jones Center. More than 25 graduate students work at the Jones Center and Ichauway.

Boring met Ford when she was a UGA student at the Jones Center. He says she is “a rising star whose star has been rising” among a field of impressive researchers. “she is bright, thoughtful, methodical,” he says. “Chelcy shows an amazing amount of maturity." their experiences share parallels: Boring worked in Coweeta for 20 years prior to coming to newton. Ford says she drew inspiration from Boring. “I have nothing but respect and accolades for him. I don't know of many people who have the passion that he has for his job…and I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to do research in and live in the beautiful and ecologically diverse longleaf pine woodlands at Ichauway. In some respects, I feel that Lindsay and I have a very common thread to our careers, only in reverse. He started at UGA, went to Coweeta, and then went to the Jones Center; whereas I started at UGA and the Jones Center and ended up at Coweeta.”

In Ford's work with the Coweeta station and Washington office, she communicates research results to the public via press releases, correspondence and interviews. she is involved with field demonstrations, tours, consultations and experiments in adaptive management.

Graduate School Magazine: you've a varied background. what inspired you to become a scientist?

Graduate School Magazine: how did you get tapped to work for the Global change research Program?

ford: Interestingly, I wasn’t a very good student when I was young. I just wasn’t interested in school. that all changed in the sixth grade; in sixth grade I was first exposed to science.

And, it was like a light bulb went off. Learning suddenly had a structure (the scientific method) and a defined and crucial place for inquisitiveness. Before I was exposed to science in school, I was an average student… I wasn’t really engaged. In the sixth grade, everything turned around; and, I know that a large part of that transition was science. I’ve also had some really inspiring science teachers throughout my education. In short, I’ve always been interested in science… and, well, I just kept doing what I enjoyed.

ford: the Us Global Change Research Program (UsGCRP) was tasked with the effort of providing a report on climate change in the U.s., the national Climate Assessment (nCA) report, to Congress no less frequently than every four years by the 1990 Global Change Research Act. to this end, all of the 13 federal agencies that conduct science must participate in this effort, typically by synthesizing their own science in the form of technical input products. When the UsGCRP asked the UsDA Forest service for participation, both the project leader of Coweeta and I were proffered as scientists who would participate and help the UsGCRP with the 2013 national Climate Assessment.

Graduate School Magazine: what is the ultimate job for you—what do you aspire to?

Graduate School Magazine: what role will you play in washington during this assignment (in organizing a mass of data and research)?

ford: this is going to sound rote, or maybe shortsighted, but the job I have is the one I’ve always wanted. And, I’ve worked hard to get here. I’ve never wanted a career in academia. I’ve always wanted to be a scientist in a federal or state agency. I want to conduct basic science, but always find an application for that science that is useful to society. the Forest service has this vision at the heart of their mission statement. And, I wholeheartedly believe in the mission of the Forest service—in caring for the land we are serving the people.

ford: My role will mainly be in facilitating the process.

Federal agencies aren’t the only ones who will be able to produce technical input products that could be considered for inclusion in the 2013 nCA. A request for information recently was released by the UsGCRP soliciting input from anyone who was interested in participating. this means that monitoring networks, private institutions, and any other group or individual could produce a technical input product.

the Center is charged with evaluating, explaining, and predicting how water, soil, forest, and aquatic resources respond to ecosystem management practices, natural disturbances, and the atmospheric environment; and identifying practices that restore, protect, and enhance watershed health.

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Ford presently works with the Coweeta station and Washington office science delivery groups, communicating research results to the public through press releases, correspondence and interviews. She provides information through adaptive management experiments, field demonstrations, tours, formal consultations and informal discussions.

Most importantly to the process, is that the information must be vetted and peer reviewed, and that all technical input products must be vetted and delivered by March 1, 2012 to be considered for inclusion in the NCA. In short, there are a lot of moving parts, and my role, in part, will be to facilitate this process.

Graduate School Magazine: Who will receive these data and the final report in 2013—and will the general public also have access?

Ford: After all technical input products are received on March 1, 2012, a federal advisory committee will begin crafting the NCA using all the products. The federal advisory committee will deliver the NCA to Congress shortly thereafter. The NCA will also be readily accessible to the public, similar to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports.

Graduate School Magazine: Are detractors correct—is “global warming” a misleading term? Is that why everyone's now using the moniker “climate change?”

Ford: I think the term “global warming” is in no way misleading.

As we pump more greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, the surface of the Earth will increase in temperature. That being said, the term “climate change” is a much more inclusive term. For example, the human population is increasing (we’ll hit seven billion this year); at the same time, we know that with global warming, the frequency of extreme events will increase. This means that the future will likely be a place with more humans, increased temperatures, and more hurricanes, tornados, floods, etc.

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Graduate School Magazine: What do you think must shift in public perception concerning climate change?

Ford: I think a few things must change before we start making real progress towards addressing the effects of climate change—foremost is the public’s perception. The Yale University Project on Climate Change Communication released the results of a poll this past spring that showed that only two-thirds of people thought climate change was occurring. Of those two-thirds, only half of those people think it is human-caused. Perhaps the most interesting finding was that most people thought scientists were more skeptical of climate change than they actually are. Only 13% of the people actually knew that 81–100% of scientists think that climate change is happening. Almost a quarter of the respondents thought that scientists were split 50–50 on the issue. One explanation for the discrepancy is that most people learn about climate change from the media; and the media displays a much more conflicted view of climate change than what actually exists in the scientific community.

Graduate School Magazine: Surrounded by the famously natural and lush beauty of the Appalachians, how does this setting frame your own scientific thought/approach, or does it?

Ford: The southern Appalachians are beautiful, but honestly I try not to let the ecosystem frame the thought and approach to my science. My approach instead is to frame the questions and then find a model system in which to test the questions.

Because most of my work involves forest water relations, sometimes the southern Appalachians serve as a model system

"Ford iS A riSinG StAr whose star has been rising ," says Lindsay Boring, Director of the Joseph W. Jones ecological Research Center/Ichauway in newton, Ga. Ichauway is a 29,000-acre conservation site, bequeathed by the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation to the Jones Center. (we get over two meters, roughly six feet of rainfall per year here!); but sometimes, a more water-limited system serves as a better model. this is why a good portion of my past and current work occurs in the longleaf pine savanna systems of southwest Georgia. I have active ongoing collaborations with scientists at the Joseph W. Jones ecological Research Center in southwest Georgia.

Graduate School Magazine: finally, what is it like to have to work with a bunch of tar heels on the wrong side of the Georgia border? ford: Ahh, you know most of the scientists at Coweeta aren’t from north Carolina! so, I don’t necessarily work with a bunch of tar Heels. Currently our scientists here are from Missouri, Arizona, California, Illinois, Maryland and virginia. the bigger issue for me is going home on holidays. Both my husband and

I graduated from Georgia tech, as did my brother-in-law. And, my family is a die-hard supporter of tech. they weren’t too keen on me going to UGA for my doctorate, although they have one of the best forest science programs in the nation. so thanksgiving, when UGA plays tech in football, is always a time of conflicting allegiances in my family!

Graduate School Magazine: how do you recharge your creativity? ford: First, I like to hike. My husband and I take long-distance hiking vacations every few years. We hiked across england in 2005. We hiked 200 miles from the Irish sea to the north sea. second, I do a lot of personal reading. I read about 40-50 books a year. one of my favorite books is Red Mars. Describing how that planet could be terraformed is truly inspiring.

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are we warM? or merely very uncomfortable? news pundits keep us wondering. “where did GloBAl wArMinG Go?” the New York Times asked last fall. they reported “even as other countries take action, the issue is fading from the American agenda,” and stated, “America lags as India and China pursue aggressive steps on climate." the article cited Andrew J. Hoffman, director of the University of Michigan’s erb Institute for sustainable Development. Hoffman said, “In Washington, ‘climate change’ has become a lightning rod, it’s a four-letter word.” the Times included a Pew Research poll on the subject of climate change. “the number of americans who believe the earth is warming dropped to 59 percent last year from 79 percent in 2006,” they stated.

Merely two weeks later, on october 31, 2011, the Associated Press published the findings of California physicist and skeptic Richard Muller. Muller, who has challenged the veracity of climate change, has recanted. He examined the earth’s temperatures over the past 200 years, and now concurs that temperatures are rising and that climate change is real. “honeStly, i try to AVoid All newS oUtletS on the tV,” Chelcy Ford replies in response.

“I mainly get my ‘popular news’ from listening to national Public Radio’s ‘Morning edition.’ other than that, I have a few blogs that I read and a few podcasts that I routinely listen to; and, of course, I routinely read several of the main scientific journals in my field.”

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s u r fac e a i r t e M P e r at u r e ov e r t h e l a st 5 0 y e a r s Measured at vernadsky research station, antarctic Peninsula

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teMPerature (c)

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Global Warming? "the starting point for conversation is that this is real, there are clear and present dangers, so let's get a move on and respond," says John Ashton, a London-based special representative for climate change.

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year

In MY oWn WoRDs Water lost through plant leaves and off plant and soil surfaces, called evapotranspiration, or et, makes up half of the water lost from most terrestrial vegetated ecosystems. Because et comprises such a large component of the water cycle, accurate estimates of et in managed and unmanaged ecosystems are critical to interpreting the effects of management, natural disturbances, and climate change on water resources such as stream flow.

In addition, forest productivity and growth are inextricably linked to the loss of large quantities of water as vapor through transpiration. the ratio of water loss to productivity varies, but forest trees typically lose 170 to 340 kg of water vapor for every kg of biomass accumulated. the efficiency of production (i.e., kg dry mass produced kg-1 water vapor lost) can be a useful index because it relates to water resources and carbon sequestration; however, accounting for the total water lost by a tree over its lifetime is not easily accomplished, whereas measuring the resulting biomass is.

While studies that focus on stream flow from watersheds with different land uses can provide fundamental information regarding how forest development and land-use affect et, these studies capture a picture of water lost from plant and soil surfaces, processes which are not easily separated. several water cycle models incorporate water loss from these varied surfaces on stream flow generation, but many were originally derived for crops or simple forest systems and have proven difficult to apply to forests with complex structure and diverse species assemblages.

Forest structure and species composition change as forests age, undergo development, management, disturbance, and experience and respond to climate. Understanding the factors that control water loss through only forest trees and in turn how they affect stream flow requires detailed knowledge of water flow within a tree (i.e., sap flow) and how this

flow responds to the climate around the leaf. tree-based measurements of xylem sap flow allow us to evaluate and scale tree water loss so that we can see how stream flow responds to changes in forest structure, forest special composition, and tree size and age.

Being able to resolve the importance of species identity on the water cycle is challenging, but critical for addressing questions of management, natural disturbances, and climate change on stream flow. Management and natural disturbances often create forests with specific species or structure. Climate change will have a similar effect. Because the average rate at which ecosystems must shift geographically to keep pace with changing temperatures as a result of global warming is 0.42 km/year, most ecosystems will face temperature increases faster than species will be able to migrate or adapt, leading to mass extinction of many plant species. thus, developing an understanding of species-level variation on forest processes will allow us to predict the impacts of invasive insects (e.g., hemlock woolly adelgid) and disease (e.g., chestnut blight), climate change (i.e., by linking stress physiology with population dynamics), and develop management options to adapt to or mitigate the impacts on stream flow.

Untangling this high level of complexity requires knowledge from many disciplines. As such, my personal research is focused on elucidating ecophysiological mechanisms and controls on carbon and water cycling in managed and unmanaged forest ecosystems at multiple scales.

My primary areas of emphasis are: (1) quantifying rates of and driving mechanisms influencing water and carbon fluxes in trees across a range of environmental conditions; and (2) scaling these measurements in time and space, often in a predictive manner, to make inferences on forest ecosystem processes (e.g., stream flow and forest productivity) under changing management or climatic conditions. –Chelcy Ford n

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Children

playing their

way to health: Richard Christiana's hope to avert epidemics

of diabetes and cardiovascular

disease.

Christiana believes the outdoors is a place where children can be freer to explore and construct their own play without the pressure of team competition. This play can lead to lifelong health.

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by Cynthia Adams photos by nancy Evelyn

America’s children munch and snack their way through the day—at drive-throughs, at the computer desk, and while watching television. Their intake and activity levels are as uneven as a playground see-saw.

Portion sizes are climbing. Caloric, or energy, intake is climbing. Yet energy expended, and the quality of foods consumed are declining, along with the traditions of children having breakfast, sitting down to eat dinner with their families and being active. These trends mean disease-filled futures. Obese children are showing evidence of risk for coronary disease and pre-diabetes.

Stakes are high. How long children will live, and how healthy they will be, are in jeopardy. There is clear indication of costly dangers: federal statistics placed the 2008 health care financial toll of obese children and adults at $147 billion. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 17 percent of children are obese. State trends for the years 1985-2010, indicate that percentages of obese adults in southern states are the worst (Georgia’s obesity percentage is 29.6.)

Fearful Forecast: heart disease and diabetes

If

childhood morbidity and disease won’t get our attention, Richard Christiana makes one wonder exactly what will.

There is a war without a name, taking fatalities and a toll on America’s

well-being. It’s the battle of the bulge.

“Baby boomers say their biggest health fear is cancer,” the Associated Press (AP) warned this past summer. “Given their waistlines, heart disease and diabetes should be atop that list too.”

The battle is familiar to many Americans—truly more like a siege if you analyze the numbers for obesity, with one-third of adults (33.8 percent) at that percentile. Adults joke about their “love handles” and pat middle-aged “meno-pots”—while privately buying the latest diet book or considering fatmelting technologies. Others accept an expanding waistline as the new normal.

According to health science writer Rhonda Mullen, the scope of this dietary and lifestyle disaster is global. “Two hundred twenty million people worldwide have diabetes,” she writes, “with that number expected to double by 2030.

More people die worldwide and in developing countries from cardiovascular disease and diabetes than from malaria, HIV, and tuberculosis worldwide.”

Even the experts struggle for acceptable language in addressing a burgeoning American epidemic.

Researcher Richard Christiana, who is completing his doctorate in health promotion and behavior at the College of Public Health, agrees that it is difficult to talk about obesity in normal tones, if at all, without igniting resentments or hurt feelings. Weight is one of the last taboos.

Most especially, Christiana says, this is a “hot-button” issue when

speaking about children who are obese.

Meanwhile, America’s children are growing larger and potentially facing a future of compromised health.

Here are the numbers for American children: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) spells out disastrous statistics—the number of overweight adolescents has tripled since 1980. The prevalence among younger children has more than doubled…and the long-term consequences “increase the risk of developing high cholesterol, hypertension, respiratory ailments, orthopedic problems, depression and type 2 diabetes as a youth.”

Another health-compromising concern worries Christiana. “There is also the issue that these children will develop these conditions at younger ages, like before and during their 30s,” he says. An overweight adolescent faces a 70 percent risk of becoming an obese adult, the HHS writes. And the CDC adds, “During the past 20 years, there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States, and the rates remain high." Medicare costs are surging as obese adults grow sicker faster. The AP predicts the burden upon Medicare is unprecedented, with aging boomers tipping the scales at unprecedented and unhealthy levels.

Can we blame our woes on fried chicken, gravy and Mama’s golden biscuits? Do we just pour on the gravy and hope for a diet miracle? Not if we want our children to have a fighting

Can a hike or simple walk make a difference? “Benefits for chronic

disease—they’re major, but it doesn’t take much. You don’t have to do a lot of activity to get the health benefits,” says Christiana.

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chance at wellness, says Christiana.

Push-backs may be just as key as pushups—as in, push back from the table.

Just put the biscuit down. Now. And tell your child it’s time for play.

Correlating Obesity to Biscuits and Other Choices Isn’t That Easy You may forego the biscuit or bagel, depending upon where you live and your bread of choice. But in truth, obesity isn’t quite as simple as caloric consumption. A bewildering number of factors come into play with obesity: genetics, economics, activity levels, culture and media, and eating patterns.

“Obesity is not a single-factor issue,” Christiana explains. And there is another contributor: lifestyle. Christiana is loath to finger a single, stand-out cause. He sighs, making observations carefully, codifying his comments, like a food anthropologist. (He actually earned a degree in anthropology at SUNY Albany.)

“The causes include stress, sedentary lifestyle, dietary choices—fried, Southern, country fare." He continues.

Obesity is generational as well.

“The grandparents and parents, were physically working, active, not watching TV. People were out walking

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and more engaged with the outdoors.

You think about issues of community."

Communities, he discusses later, have changed. Sidewalks and playgrounds became passé. Children today are seldom allowed to simply play in the great outdoors.

Whippet-thin, dark haired and well on his way to wrapping up a PhD, Christiana speaks in politely low tones as he discusses childhood obesity research during a meeting in a downtown Athens lobby. Never once does he use the verboten f-word: Fat. The language and semantics of obesity are especially charged with meaning and hurtful. The word "fat" was in every school bully’s repertoire.

Yet in truth, school children of today are larger and frequently obese.

Their meals are more often from restaurants and outside the home.

Children consume more snacks and calorie-loaded beverages. The outcome is disastrous.

Governmental research indicates fewer than a quarter of American youth get the required five servings of vegetables. When they do eat a vegetable, it is most often in the form of a fried starch. “Nearly half of all vegetable servings are fried potatoes,” states one assessment of dietary habits among youth.

Worse yet, there is this tremendous reluctance to address obesity in children. This inhibition exacerbates medical intervention. “Physicians have always expressed that addressing obesity is such a difficult issue. Part of this has to be how touchy this issue is; so who is the right one to tell parents?”

Christiana respectfully drops his voice as a rotund business man makes his way through the lobby. “It’s easier to address this [social issue] with tobacco than with obesity. It’s a very, very thin line…."

Christiana’s dark eyes dart towards the man, sweep the lobby, and he resumes speaking.

“Chronic disease problems are caused by this, by obesity. I don’t think the public understands the impact on insurance, etc. Everybody wants to reform health care, and everybody’s afraid about these children. Many of these children already have adult health conditions…. It’s like everybody’s paying out of pocket for this problem right now. The public don’t realize yet the implications for everybody else. It’s a drain on the economy, the health care system, and it will affect everybody else.”

At Least, Bird Watching Kept Him Off Of the Sofa Christiana may be a slim adult today because of genetics, or diet, or simply the fact that his father loved the great outdoors and bird watching. As a kid growing up in upstate New York, he was one of five children. The family was active, though not necessarily competitively athletic. “We went hiking, did bird watching."

He played soccer and took walks in the woods near his home. But he also liked to spend time watching TV and playing videogames—describing a fairly typical childhood.

(Where does an adult go to play soccer, he asks later? “For adults to keep up an activity like soccer they need to know others who have the same interest, and need a place and time for everyone to meet. Whereas with going for a walk in the woods, or bird watching, all you need is yourself.

It seems like there are less factors or constraints to consider when trying to do these activities versus many sports." He prefers to focus upon noncompetitive activities that people can sustain over a lifetime.)

When did Christiana last have fast food? “Probably a week ago; I don’t eat fast food too much.” That’s an understatement. If Christiana is going to indulge, his weakness is for pizza and Buffalo chicken wings. “I only have that about two times a year. Most of my family are from Buffalo, N.Y. (The Buffalo wings are better there. They did originate at the Anchor Bar.)” For the record, the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, N.Y., has its own website in support of Christiana’s claim.

lightspring

p e rc e n tag e o f U. S . c h i l d r e n w h o a r e o b e s e 25% 20% 15% 10% 5%

1974

1980

6-11 years old

1994

1999

2002

2006

2008

Source: Centers for Disease Control

Christiana says “I actually started with skiing a couple of times in college and then moved on to snowboarding.

College is also where I started getting into rock climbing and backpacking."

Activity, he explains, is an important aspect to health and wellness—something simple that most of us grasp even when not incorporating it. We commute rather than walk or bike to work. We sit for long hours at computers and televisions.

Perhaps one piece of the answer for urban dwellers can be designed into our cities and communities. It even has a name: active communities.

“Engineers and city planners say we can design and promote active living.

They have a term, ‘active communities,’ or ‘healthy communities’ designed for that purpose. There are “Safe Routes” to school to get kids to walk to school."

Christiana envisions a re-imagined

America, with old fashioned sidewalks and greenways that will get more people off the sofa and out of doors.

His favorite book, Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv, is prescient.

“Louv’s book,” Christiana explains, “concerns nature deficit disorder, a term coined in the book that refers to the psychological, behavioral, emotional and physical consequences of children not having regular contact with nature."

Christiana says his father’s emphasis upon bird watching and family hikes had the benefit of providing contact with the natural world. It balanced his childhood fascination with passive television watching.

“The solution to the problem, if there is a solution, is multi-faceted,” Christina says. “Everything is interrelated. It’s a lifestyle change and a different way of thinking about

everything. It is about changing the American ideal." A shift in ideas about the American lifestyle is what Christiana advocates.

“It’s not the American way; there’s all this research saying all the values of playing video games enables them (children) to be problem solvers.

There’s some benefit of technology for the young. We embraced more of our technology as we started to abandon the natural world, especially as children.”

Christiana returns to Louv’s book, but adds, “I’m not touting the natural moderation. It’s also not bad to have and make use of technologies (i.e. videogames.) Just don’t neglect the benefits of taking a walk outside and enjoying nature. This is something technology cannot provide you, but is something that has always been around.“

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since the beginning of time. Humans

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have always had contact with our

natural environment.�

Can Wii Fit Change the Dynamic?

“Physical activity is so simple. With Wii and other games, why not get children more active while they’re playing, not just sitting there with a controller?"

Christiana discusses the simulation of experiences and value of making video games more interactive.

This leads to a new concept in changing the game on a large scale: in this case, waging a community intervention in southern Georgia. For the past year, Christiana worked with YMCA parents in Moultrie, Ga., conducting focus groups and trying to help the parents overcome barriers to healthier food and activities for their children.

“Communities are seeing problems with child obesity. Archway got this partnership together, which started out as a relationship between Colquitt County and Archway and UGA’s College of Public Health, addressing this issue."

The grant-funded project is part of the Archway Partnership initiatives.

Created in 2005, the Archway Partnership was born of a repurposing of the traditional land-grant university, agricultural extension model, in order to address a wider range of concerns faced by communities. “The Archway Partnership is a process to connect higher education resources to community-identified priorities,” Christiana notes, saying that Moultrie was the first community to engage in this particular type of relationship. The priorities differ by need.

“Archway is also a community capacity building engine, which may involve building tourism, consumerism, health, or transportation. The idea was to team up with the College of Public Health,” he explains.

Christiana says the community leaders came to the table to forge a meaningful project with the researchers.

“This ensured full community buy-in to what was happening, and ensured a more positive outcome,” he adds. He traveled to Moultrie twice monthly to cement relationships with parents and key community figures. “I was down once every other week with the childhood obesity project for one year through last summer,” he explains.

Marsha Davis from the College of Public Health is the lead researcher on the project, and Christiana is the graduate research assistant.

In the process, he worked towards a community intervention—definitely a first in Moultrie if not the entire state.

“To my knowledge, this particular thing through the Archway Partnership hasn’t been done before in Georgia,” Christiana says.

“I’ve never done this before and it was a great experience,” Christiana says, “because I was able to see a community-based participatory project get started right from the initial stages.

In classes, we learned about this type of research, but what we didn’t learn is how to build these partnerships, what a project like this really looks like on the ground, and how long of a timeframe it takes to do this type of research.”

Christiana goes to parks throughout Georgia, choosing walks, climbing, cycling. "These are sustainable activities," he says. "Team sports aren't.

You don't have to be sports-gifted to find pleasure in a hike."

The design for the eventual intervention involves working with the Moultrie community as advisors to their community leaders, helping achieve outcomes they defined for themselves.

This concept—community-based participatory research—is ground up and therefore a dynamic shift, which excites Christiana. It addresses the old problem of research being done without a buy-in by the community or participants, he explains. “This time, it’s different, doing research with the community rather than in the community." He hopes this “assures a greater sustainability of the outcomes of the research long after the researchers leave.”

out of sync: Children have less unstructured play time and consume

more calories. This is a prescription for trouble, says Christiana.

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Christiana is also involved in conducting health needs assessments in Pulaski and Sumter, Ga. He is uncertain exactly where that will lead, and patience is one of the lessons learned.

“It’s incredibly slow. It’s not necessarily the number one issue on everyone’s mind, but it’s getting people to agree when there are various sectors."

Yet there are innovative developments in Athens and other communities, Christiana points out.

And these suggest hopeful shifts for Moultrie. Community gardens, like those in Athens, are “a promising solution to healthier eating and physical activity,” he says. Creating a local farmer’s market in Moultrie, rather than exporting all the fresh produce grown in the fertile climate of southern Georgia, is another.

“Everyone’s receptive, in terms of bringing in farmer’s markets and making sure there’s fresher produce available to the public. A lot of the parents say they want that—a lot of the parents ask, ‘Why do we not have fresher produce?’”

The Problem of Exclusion with Team Sports and Activities For his own dissertation research, Christiana focuses upon early adolescents’ experience “exploring the outdoor environment.” He is examining their motivations, intentions and experiences concerning cycling, hiking and playing outdoors.

Team sports and competitive events remain popular in America but there is a definite issue of exclusivity. “A lot of kids are not sports-gifted, so they are less active." (And, he adds, heavier children often don’t get picked for the ball team, or invited to play other team sports.) This may exacerbate the

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problems obese or less active children face, Christiana discusses.

“How to get those kids involved? I would say it’s through non-competitive activities. Climb rocks, walk, and hike.

It has a different feeling to that activity.”

Solutions do emerge, the researcher promises. But this is a different way of teasing out solutions. “It’s very different to design solutions (and try to impose a model) than to participate in this with the people.”

Christiana explains how obesity is a systematic problem, not an isolated health problem. “That is part of the challenge and part of the interest factor. That’s what drew me to this area [of research]. There’s never going to be a pure solution or a cure for childhood obesity." When he completes his doctorate in 2012, Christiana will continue his research in academia.

He received the UGA Rotaract Student Service Award in 2011 after nomination by the Graduate School for community service, leadership, and academic excellence.

In My Own Words To this point, public health has focused more heavily on getting kids to participate in structured activities (team sports and physical education classes) in school.

The issue is that many children, who are not naturally athletically gifted, may tend to shy away from these types of activities, for fear of being teased or unaccepted. In effect, they get left out.

My intended work is to fill a gap in the public health research related to physical activity, by exploring children’s participation in non-competitive, outdoor activities. These tend to be spontaneous and allow children to self-facilitate their participation and level of engagement. They also tend to more inclusive, and naturally provide an opportunity for children

to build the skills that are necessary to participate in other forms of physical activity. The outdoors is a great place to study children’s noncompetitive physical activities, since children tend to play more vigorously when they are outdoors…the outdoors also provides a place where children can be freer to explore and construct their own play without adult involvement. This stimulates creativity and builds other important skills.

I grew up playing several team sports, including soccer, football and ice hockey. When I look at the types of activities I do as an adult (hiking and cycling) I notice they are noncompetitive. I don’t even know the last time I even played backyard soccer or football—and I think this may be the case with a lot of adults. Not that organized team sports don’t provide children with many skills, because they do. I just think getting children involved in more unstructured outdoor activities could promote their continued engagement in physical activity as they grow older.—Richard Christiana n

go to

www.cdc.gov/obesity/causes/ economics.html for further reading.

The Great French Ketchup Caper: Legions of French Children are Going to Get Healthier by Rescinding Rights to Ketchup Can Banning Ketchup help French children stay svelte? Blame it on political backlash.

(Remember “Freedom Fries”?) Nothing is more American than ketchup. The French have decided they are taking strong measures to ensure the billion meals served annually in French schools are healthier—and more French—so they’re banning ketchup from school meals. According to The Los Angeles Times, the ban is meant to promote healthier diets among school and college-aged students. Kim Willsher reported in the Times during October, 2011 that the French government has officially moved to restrict the use of this American condiment in their cafeterias.

Numerous news agencies in Europe and the United States howled at the news. One food blogger wrote that American ketchup is now “condimenta non grata.” Abroad, the European press took issue with the ban. The Los Angeles Times, NBC News and The Huffington Post ran features on the condiment controversy, speculating about enforcement and the French food police. Published reports stated that France is McDonald’s largest European market. “In an effort to promote healthful eating and, it has been suggested, to protect traditional Gallic cuisine, the French government has banned school and college cafeterias nationwide from offering the American tomato-based condiment with any food but—of all things—French fries,” Willsher reported from Paris. “As a result, students can no longer use ketchup on such traditional dishes as veal stew, no matter how gristly, and boeuf bourguignon, regardless of its fat content. Moreover, French fries can be offered only once a week, usually with steak hache, or burger. Not clear is whether the food police will send students to detention if they dip their burgers into the ketchup that accompanies their fries. "France must be an example to the world in the quality of its food, starting with its children," said Bruno Le Maire, the agriculture and food minister.” n

A Night at the Museum On November 19, nearly 70 graduate alumni were guests of the Graduate School for a conversation with Dean Maureen Grasso and a private tour of “Rembrandt in America.” The exhibition tour was led by Lawrence Wheeler, director, at the North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA), in Raleigh.

According to Wheeler (MA ’69; PHD ’72) this is the only East Coast venue for the Rembrandt show.

Nearly 30 authentic Rembrandts were assembled for the event. The show represents the single largest exhibition ever presented in the United States.

Alumni Christopher Bickers, a North Carolina-based photojournalist, photographed the event.

Members of the Graduate Education Advancement Board who joined the tour and reception included Michael Bunch, who also spoke at the North Carolina event, and Terry Hunt.

“Giving to graduate education is very much like planting a tree,” said Grasso, who discussed the goals and advancements of the Graduate School after the tour during a reception. “The contribution may seem very small, but we are investing in a better way of life for our children and our children’s children, our community, and our world.”

Wheeler was profiled in the Winter, 2007 issue of the Graduate School Magazine. The Rembrandt exhibition closed January 22, 2012. n

At the Rembrandt exhibition: Dean Grasso (shown top left and bottom right) joined alumni including Christopher Bickers, top center, and Abigail Panter, below left. Bickers shown with Cynthia Adams, Graduate School Magazine editor, top right.

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Promoting Self-Awareness and Inculcating Excellence at the Emerging Leaders Program The Emerging Leaders Program is an invited leadership workshop sponsored by the Graduate School. Occurring over two days during the fall break, the program was held at the Unicoi State Park in Helen, Ga. in the fall of 2011. This past program included 24 graduate students, who were selected for the session.

Presenters at the Emerging Leaders Program, or EL, included program alumni, as well experts in the field of human development, a variety of accomplished leaders, faculty and Graduate School staff.

The program was designed to reinforce innovation and leadership among graduate students, who also make friendships which cut across disciplines. This has particular value, stresses Dean Maureen Grasso.

“Participants attend sessions about professional development and leadership skills necessary for entering a workplace characterized by a diversity of people, career opportunities, and ever increasing responsibilities,” says Grasso. EL alumni are working within a variety of disciplines,

she adds, and are already distinguishing themselves as exceptional leaders. Recent Emerging Leaders alumni who are also headline-makers include Praveen Kolar, a researcher and professor at N.C. State in Raleigh, and scientific researcher Vikram Dhende, who recently joined private industry. n

Top Left: Jacqueline Shoemaker and Andrea Cluck. Top right: Anne O'Brien and Jason Mock.

Science, STEM and opportunities Developed by UGA's CIRTL Reports in The New York Times publication of the UGA Graduate School, will afford educators and “Education Life” bring STEM students under researchers specifically tailored experiences. Grasso stresses the telescope and into sharp focus. Student that a great deal of effort is concentrated towards this end, fatigue from the rigors of study, and a lack saying “graduate students will have greater opportunity and of imaginative engagement with students in specific engagement within their institutions in order to best STEM programs by the institutions, are widespread, the report prepare for science education futures.” suggests. (STEM stands for science, technology, engineering Future faculty will also be able to expand their involvement and math.) The University of Georgia imaginatively engaged within the learning community depending on personal faculty and researchers to help resolve this national problem, interests and professional standing. says Dean Maureen Grasso.

Most career opportunities are concentrated in For nearly a decade, the Center for the Integration of biotechnologies, writes NYT writer Christopher Drew. There Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL) has supported is also growth in both the environmental and health sectors, science graduate students. Now, the University of Georgia according to The Bureau of Labor Statistics. and 18 of the nation's top universities are joining the CIRTL According to CIRTL‘s web site, UGA envisions a CIRTL network efforts, in preparing science and engineering STEM Learning Community “as a suite of opportunities educators of the future. With support from the National available to graduate students and post docs that will provide Science Foundation, CIRTL assists STEM educators and high quality preparation in research, pedagogy, teaching-asresearchers via classroom innovations and imaginative research, and diversity in teaching.” n engagement with the wider STEM community. go www.ose.uga.edu/ and www.cirtl.net/ for further reading.

A personalized program, led by Maureen Grasso, dean to

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INTRODUCING AMERICA’S FASTEST AND MOST RELIABLE 4G NETWORK.

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UGAM

nonPRoFIt oRG. U.s. PostAGe

the University of Georgia Graduate school 320 east Clayton street, suite 400 Athens, Georgia 30602-4401 (706) 425-3111

PAID

AtLAntA, GA PeRMIt no. 2295

GRADUAte sCHooL ADMInIstRAtIon Maureen Grasso Dean

Julie coffield Associate Dean

Melissa Barry Assistant Dean

tonia Gantt Business

Judy Milton Assistant Dean

tom wilfong Development

the Graduate school at the university of Georgia has been enhancing learning environments and inspiring scholarly endeavors since its formal establishment in 1910. through our professional development programs and funding opportunities, we promote excellence in graduate education in all disciplines. editor/writer Cynthia Adams

design Julie sanders

Photo editor nancy evelyn

the Graduate School Magazine was awarded a CAse Award of excellence for the southeast District in 2011.

this publication was printed by gifts from verizon

AnDReW Rosen

last word:

Archie Dawg A true society Dawg with sass and class.

Georgia Federal Credit Union dedicated Archie Dawg to the Arch society and to tom Cochran.

Cochran is the founder of Arch society, a student service organization. the statue’s artists and collaborators are all Arch society members.

UGA’s Graduate School by the Numbers

Number of master's degrees awarded by end of 2011: 1,868, which is a 10% increase since 2010 and 15% increase since 2007 Number of doctoral degrees awarded by end of 2011: 443, which is a 6% increase since 2010 and 14% increase since 2007 Fall 2011 enrollment: 6,766, which is a 7% increase in African-American graduate students since 2005 and a 28% increase in Hispanic graduate students since 2005 go

now!

visit us online at www.grad.uga.edu

froM the uGa Graduate school: UGA Researchers, in partnership with the Mayo Clinic, have developed a vaccine that seeks out and kills cancer cells. the vaccine works to train the body’s immune system to recognize, and therefore attack, a protein commonly found in cancerous cells. In early testing, the vaccine reduced the size of tumors in mice by an average of 80 percent.

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