This fall, students and teachers at two Jackson County elementary schools will have the tools to develop computer science skills thanks to support from a $100,000 grant from Google through nonprofit partner the Tides Foundation. Funding will go toward procuring robots and software for classrooms and providing professional development for teachers at Maysville and South Jackson elementary schools. Faculty and graduate assistants from the University of Georgia’s Mary Frances Early College of Education will introduce the technology and lessons that will meet the computer science learning needs of ..read more

Humans may be accelerating the rate at which organic matter decomposes in rivers and streams on a global scale, according to a new study from the University of Georgia, Oakland University and Kent State University. That could pose a threat to biodiversity in waterways around the world and increase the amount of carbon in Earth’s atmosphere, potentially exacerbating climate change. Published in Science, the study is the first to combine a global experiment and predictive modeling to illustrate how human impacts to waterways may contribute to the global climate crisis. Krista Capps is an associ ..read more

National Academy of Sciences President Marcia McNutt will discuss how U.S. science and innovation are positioned to respond to rising global competition and shifting priorities for the nation’s economy, security, public health and well-being at the first State of the Science address on June 26 in Washington, D.C. The State of the Science address will be followed by a panel discussion of seven eminent leaders from across academia, including J. Marshall Shepherd, associate dean for research, scholarship, and partnerships in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences at the University of ..read more

Chris King has been appointed interim vice president for research at the University of Georgia, effective July 1, 2024. King has served as an associate vice president for research since 2013, overseeing the Office of Research Integrity and Safety. Karen J.L. Burg, the university’s vice president for research since 2021, is returning full-time to the faculty of the College of Veterinary Medicine where she holds the Harbor Lights Chair in Biomedical Research in Small Animal Studies. “Dr. King has distinguished himself as a dedicated and creative leader in the Office of Research, and I am gr ..read more

In another record-breaking year, the Parents Leadership Council raised over $1.2 million for student programs for the 2024-25 academic year. The PLC is a service-oriented group of highly engaged parents of UGA students who provide funding to the university through their annual gifts. Once a year, the council awards grants to campus organizations that have a commitment to enhancing undergraduate student life. The PLC Grants Program started in 2012 with roughly 150 families who awarded nearly $145,000 to 22 organizations. Today, the council has grown to more than 300 families, each contributing ..read more

When Cassandra Cannon was a new mother, she and her friend, Anne Read Lattimore, decided to start a pajama company. Both women were spending a lot of time at home with their babies, and they wanted something to wear that was more comfortable but also a little nicer looking than the oversized T-shirts and boxer shorts they often wore around the house. “All of the pajamas we saw were either the traditional, button down, boxy menswear style or lingerie inspired. We wanted something more comfortable and put together,” says Cannon BS ’08. Inspiration hit one day when the two women noticed their inf ..read more

Altera Investments recently placed first in the University of Georgia’s Bulldog 100, a ranking of fastest-growing businesses owned or operated by UGA alumni. David Fershteyn BBA ’17 is co-founder and CEO, Carlos Alcala BBA ’17 is CFO, and Mitch Reiner BBA ’05 is a co-founder and board member. Fershteyn and Alcala met during their sophomore year at UGA. Fershteyn first connected with Reiner his junior year of college through UGA’s Student Managed Investment Fund (SMIF), a club that teaches students to invest and manage a $3 million portfolio for the UGA Foundation. At the time, Reiner served as ..read more

A line of excited readers gathers at the inaugural Love Y’all book festival in Decatur. They weave out of a conference room, through a lobby, past a stall of booksellers, and line the walls of a hallway. More than 100 people hold stacks of books, ready to get them signed. At the end of the line is New York Times best-selling author Rebecca Ross AB ’12, marker in hand. It’s a scenario Ross couldn’t have predicted when her debut novel, The Queen’s Rising, published in 2018. But now, six years and eight books later, it’s an opportunity she relishes. “If I could go back and tell 2018 Rebecca, ‘Thi ..read more

Nancy Elder used to sit around the kitchen table with her older brothers, talking about the latest sports news. Janey Murray grew up rowing competitively and tagging along to her brother’s baseball tournaments, eventually developing a love for the tales of “America’s pastime.” Both women knew they wanted to be storytellers. “From an early age, I started thinking about how writers shape the stories of these games,” Elder ABJ ’88 says. “I got more interested in who’s behind it.” Now, Elder and Murray shape those stories for Major League Baseball’s New York Mets. Since being appointed the Mets ch ..read more

Dragonflies are recognizable thanks to their glimmering, delicate wings and their long bodies. But Emma Grace Crumbley wants people to know that’s not the full story. These insects start their lives underwater as vicious, alien-looking predators whose mouths gape open to capture prey. And as an entomologist, that unexpected element makes dragonflies Crumbley’s favorite. “You look at an adult dragonfly, and it’s dainty and beautiful, but underwater it is a whole new world,” says Crumbley BSAB ’21, BSES ’21. “That’s always my fun fact. I try to hook people with that.” Crumbley—also known online ..read more