UGA Columns June 27, 2016

June 27, 2016Vol. 43, No. 38 www.columns.uga.edu

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2CAMPUS NEWS 3UGA GUIDE

Georgia Museum of Art showcases works from Mixografia Workshop

Skidaway Island campus dedicates new Springer Mountain Farms Pavilion

The University of Georgia®

By James [email protected]

Researchers at Emory Univer-sity, UGA and the Georgia Institute of Technology, along with national and international collaborators, will investigate the mechanisms behind “resilience” following ma-laria infection.

The investigators believe learn-ing why malaria causes acute, potentially lethal disease in some humans and animals, while others are much more resilient or tolerant, could lead them to better interven-tion strategies, including new and better drugs, for malaria and other diseases.

The Defense Advanced Re-search Projects Agency and the Army Research Laboratory are supporting the research through a $6.4 million contract. The research partnership is part of DARPA’s THoR (Technologies for Host Re-silience) program and is termed the

HAMMER (Host Acute Models of Malaria to study Experimental Resilience) project.

Malaria, which is transmitted through mosquito bites, is the most widespread human parasitic disease and is endemic in approximately 100 countries. It causes fever, pain and other acute responses, and in severe cases it can become deadly within days of the onset of symptoms.

Resilience in some people and non-human primates allows them to control the disease and avoid adverse outcomes, so that the dis-ease is not incapacitating, said Mary R. Galinski, principal investigator for the project and a professor of medicine and infectious diseases at Emory University School of Medicine, Emory Vaccine Cen-ter and Yerkes National Primate Research Center.

The researchers hope they may identify features associated with

By Vicky L. Sutton-Jackson [email protected]

UGA’s Savannah River Ecology Laboratory will begin working this summer with the community of Shell Bluff in Burke County to help its residents understand the impacts of nuclear industrial operations in the surrounding area.

The Shell Bluff community, near Waynesboro, is in close prox-imity to both the U.S. Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in Aiken, South Carolina, and Georgia

Power’s Plant Vogtle.The three-year program, a col-

laboration with Georgia Women’s Action for New Directions, an Atlanta-based nonprofit, will engage and address residents’ concerns about the real and per-ceived risk of environmental con-tamination from nuclear industrial operations in the surrounding area.

The Savannah River Ecology Laboratory will be responsible for program development and imple-mentation, including a pre- and

By J. Merritt [email protected]

To promote collaboration on some of the biggest challenges facing agriculture today, UGA’s College of Agricultural and Envi-ronmental Sciences is partnering with the University of Padova in Italy for a groundbreaking dual master’s degree program in sustain-able agriculture.

On May 3, administrators and faculty from the University of Padova and UGA met in Padova

in northern Italy to sign a memo-randum of understanding finalizing the dual-degree program. The first students will be enrolled this fall.

Both the University of Padova, which is the top-ranked agricultural university in Italy, and UGA, which houses one of the best colleges of agriculture in the U.S., are lead-ers in precision and sustainable agriculture.

“This innovative program will not only provide UGA graduate students with outstanding training, it will also provide them with a

unique opportunity to learn about the challenges, opportunities and leading edges of their field on another continent,” said Suzanne Barbour, dean of the UGA Gradu-ate School. “This experience will serve our students well when they enter the job market in our increasingly global economy. I hope the dual-degree program in sustainable agriculture will be a model for others to follow as they develop comparable offerings in other disciplines.”

By Sara [email protected]

UGA has been awarded $10 million from the state of Geor-gia to purchase 19 electric buses, and Athens Clarke County received $6 million to buy 10 hybrid-electric buses.

The funding was announced June 22 at a ceremony in the Governor’s Office and was awarded by GO! Transit Capital Program, a competitive funding program administered by Georgia’s State Road and Tollway Authority. UGA will provide $5 million in matching funds.

The 40-foot electric buses emit no pollution, are quieter and have lower operating costs than existing diesel powered buses. The buses

should arrive on campus in 2017 and are part of the university’s strategic plan to advance campus sustainability.

“We are grateful to Gov. Deal and the Georgia General Assembly for backing this important trans-portation initiative, and I thank the Go! Transit Capital Program for supporting our proposal,” said UGA President Jere W. Morehead. “This significant investment will put the University of Georgia at the forefront of advancing inno-vative and cost-effective campus transportation.”

The buses will augment the university’s existing fleet of 59 diesel buses and will replace the university’s oldest buses.

“We tested several electric buses on campus over the past year

and found that not only did they perform well, our student drivers and passengers really liked them,” said Robert Holden, associate vice president for Auxiliary Services. “By adding sustainable electric buses to our UGA fleet, we also are helping to raise the air quality in our community.”

UGA’s Campus Transit system serves 11 million passengers a year—including UGA students and Athens community members. Buses in the UGA system, which is the state’s second largest bus system in ridership behind Atlanta’s MARTA system, drive a combined 900,355 miles a year. The new electric buses are expected to use 171,000 fewer gallons of diesel in a year. The battery-powered

By Stan Jackson [email protected]

More UGA students will be able to concentrate on their education and worry less about finding meals thanks to a significant six-figure gift from the R. Halsey Wise and Lisha S. Wise Family Foundation to the Let All the Big Dawgs Eat Food Scholarship, which is an integral part of the university’s commitment to overall need-based scholarship programs.

The food scholarship sponsors UGA Food Services meal plans for students with demonstrated need. Established by the Division

of Student Affairs in 2015 with an initial gift from Wayne and Robin Hoover of Atlanta, the program began with two student recipients. Over the following year, additional support from alumni and donors, as well as the contribution of four food scholarships from UGA Food Services, has enabled the program to support more than a dozen stu-dents, nine this past semester alone.

The Wises’ gift will transform the scholarship to make an expo-nentially greater impact.

“Our gift is aimed at a goal of addressing food insecurity and eliminating hunger at UGA,” said

UGA scientists part of team studying malaria resilience

DIVISION OF STUDENT AFFAIRS

SAVANNAH RIVER ECOLOGY LABORATORYCOLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Wise Family Foundation expands meal plan scholarship program

UGA, Italian university partner to establish dual-degree program in sustainable agriculture

SREL to launch new outreach program in Burke County

See MEAL on page 4

See AGRICULTURE on page 4 See OUTREACH on page 4

See MALARIA on page 4

Going greenState awards UGA $10 million,

ACC $6 million to buy electric, hybrid buses

The electric buses, which should arrive on campus in 2017, are part of the university’s strategic plan to advance campus sustainability.

See BUSES on page 2

By Jean [email protected]

DeLoris Hesse, coordinator of UGA’s undergraduate anatomy and physiology program, has received a Textbook Transformation Award from Affordable Learning Georgia for her efforts in adopting and creating open educational resources for the benefit of UGA students.

ALG is a University System of Georgia initiative that promotes the use of lower cost alternatives to traditional textbooks, including OERs.

“The adoption of open educational resources across campus is expected to save students nearly $2 million in textbook costs by the end of the current academic year,” said UGA President Jere W. Morehead. “We congratulate Dr. Hesse on receiving this outstand-ing recognition and appreciate all of her efforts to advance this important student-centered initiative.”

As coordinator of the undergraduate anatomy and physiology program at UGA, Hesse manages course schedul-ing, development and materials for more than 700 students per year who must complete the A&P sequence as a part of their program of study. A&P students take two courses using the same textbook and lab manual. Switching to

the open textbook saves A&P students $175,000 per academic year.

Rob Nichols and Leslie Pryor, who teach the large sections of both courses, have been essential to the project’s suc-cess, said C. Edward Watson, director of the Center for Teaching and Learn-ing. Hesse, Nichols and Pryor now are helping to complete an open lab manual for the OpenStax text that will be ready this summer.

“Instructors who are interested in

supporting this initiative can look to the UGA Libraries’ extensive electronic and print holdings for affordable edu-cational content,” said Toby Graham, university librarian and associate pro-vost. “As part of our course reserves service, we help faculty to easily upload into eLC lists of electronic and digitized readings from the library.”

Affordable Learning Georgia is a component of USG’s GALILEO virtual library.

2 June 27, 2016 columns.uga.edu

By Kelly [email protected]

As about 60 children and adults looked on, the UGA Marine Exten-sion and Georgia Sea Grant officially dedicated a covered pavilion at the UGA Skidaway Island campus June 8.

The pavilion was made possible by a gift from Gus Arrendale III and Springer Mountain Farms, which paid for construction materials. Volunteers from The Landings residential com-munity on Skidaway Island, who call themselves the Barn Builders, con-structed the facility.

“I want to express deep gratitude to Gus Arrendale of Springer Mountain Farms,” said Jennifer Frum, vice presi-dent for public service and outreach. “His gift was really the catalyst that allowed us to complete the pavilion. I want you all to go home and eat either wild-caught Georgia shrimp or Springer Mountain Farms’ chicken.”

Frum also acknowledged the contribution of the Barn Builders, led by Lars Ljungdahl, who spoke at the ribbon cutting.

The celebration was part of a day of activities that drew more than 150 people to the aquarium for World Oceans Day. Visitors were treated to a behind-the-scenes look at the aquarium, educational programs and animal feedings. Guests who attended the pavilion dedication were admitted to the aquarium for free from 3 p.m. until closing.

The Springer Mountain Farms Pa-vilion, named for the company founded and run by Arrendale, has running water and electricity and provides a much-needed space for outdoor education.

Private funding is critical for further aquarium expansion, said Mark Risse, director of UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant.

“It was the local community that really made this happen,” Risse said. “We hope the kids will get a chance to enjoy it. ”

Ruth Bartlett, UGA Alumni

New pavilion at Skidaway Island campus dedicatedOFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT FOR PUBLIC SERVICE AND OUTREACH

UGA LIBRARIES, CENTER FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING

Program coordinator honored for contribution to affordable learning

Listener study prompts programming changes at radio station WUGA

Programming changes designed to make WUGA even more vital and relevant to its listeners took effect June 13. Responding to a comprehensive study into current listener needs, the station has made several changes including the addition of two long-running news programs, Here and Now and The Takeaway, at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively, to its Monday through Thursday schedule.

Nearly 500 listeners participated in the online survey and focus groups late last year after the station solicited viewer participation through on-air announcements, emails to its Friends list and Community Advisory Council and promotion on its website and social media.

“After several months of research and delibera-tion, we are pleased to make some exciting pro-gramming changes to our schedule,” said Jimmy Sanders, WUGA’s general manager. “Overwhelm-ingly, our listeners wanted more news and infor-mational programming and in-depth, local news reporting, which is consistent with trends in public radio stations nationwide.”

Music will continue to be an important part of WUGA’s programming, and the station will continue to broadcast interviews with local arts and civic groups, according to Sanders. A regular, locally produced program focused on the local arts scene also is being developed.

More information about the audience survey and WUGA’s new schedule are at www.wuga.org.

UGA’s women’s track and field team finishes third at NCAA championship

UGA’s women’s track and field team matched its best finale in history with a third-place finish June 11 at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships thanks in part to two national titles and a runner-up finish in Eugene, Oregon.

The team scored 41 points to finish third in the team race behind Arkansas (72) and Oregon (62). This matched the UGA women’s finish at the 1995 NCAA outdoor championships and gives UGA three top-five finishes in a row at the meet. The UGA women also came within .3 points of equaling their top score of all time.

Senior Chanice Porter captured the NCAA long jump title with a school record on the final attempt of her collegiate career.

Sophomore Keturah Orji won her second consecutive outdoor triple jump crown with a mark of 47 feet, 8 inches, junior Kendell Williams scored a career-best total (6,225) to win the second NCAA heptathlon title of her career (fifth NCAA title overall) and sophomore Mady Fagan made the best out of her first national outdoor meet with a runner-up finish in the high jump (6-0.75).

OLLI at UGA elects officers for 2016-2017The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UGA

has elected officers for the 2016-2017 year. They will take office July 1.

Lee Albright will succeed Betty Jean Craige as president. Other officers are Brenda Hayes, president-elect; Margaret Pruiett, secretary; and Victor Gagliano, treasurer (second term). Bill Al-worth, Richard Bouldin, Sandy Clark (second term), Barbara Timmons and Clover Weller (second term) were elected board members. They will join Gary Bertsch, Heidi Davison, Nancy Grayson, Ian Hardin and Jill Reed.

At the group’s annual meeting, Craige presented a certificate to retiring Associate Dean Jack Parish, who has been OLLI’s liaison with the UGA College of Education for the past three years.

The Carol J. Fisher Award, which honors long and significant service to OLLI@UGA, was presented to Pat McAlexander, editor of the OLLI Times newsletter, photographer and writer.

OLLI@UGA now has nearly 1,500 members who last year participated in 359 classes.

Digest

PERIODICALS POSTAGE STATEMENTColumns (USPS 020-024) is published weekly during the academic year and biweekly during the summer for the faculty and staff of the University of Georgia by the UGA News Service. Periodicals postage is paid in Athens, Georgia. Postmaster: Send off-campus address changes to Columns, UGA News Service, 286 Oconee Street, Suite 200 North, Athens, GA 30602-1999.

DeLoris Hesse, UGA’s 2016 recipient of the Textbook Transformation Award, is congratulated by (from left) Edward Watson, director of the Center for Teaching and Learning; Rahul Shrivastav, vice president for instruction; and Toby Graham, university librarian and associate provost.

Dorothy Kozlowski

Taking part in the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Springer Mountain Farms Pavilion are from left, Anne Lindsay, associate director for marine education; Mark Risse, director of UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant; Lars Ljungdahl, one of the Barn Builders; summer camper Olivia Wilder; Jennifer Frum, vice president for public service and outreach; and Ruth Bartlett, president of the UGA Alumni Association.

Shannah Montgomery

Association president, presented an additional gift to Marine Extension from Arrendale for Marine Exten-sion. Bartlett is a longtime friend of Arrendale, who was not available to

attend the ribbon cutting. “It helps children who come to the

summer camps and throughout the school year,” Bartlett said. “Gus was really tickled about that.”

motors have simpler maintenance and could last for 20 years or more. Over the buses’ lifetime, fuel and maintenance costs are expected to be 84 percent less than those for diesel buses.

“We are excited about bringing this cutting-edge and sustainable electric bus technology to the University of Georgia and the Athens-Clarke County community,” said Don Walter, director of transportation and parking services at UGA. “These buses will enhance research opportunities, greatly reduce emissions and slow the growth of trans-portation costs. Most importantly, the new buses will improve the quality of transportation for students, faculty and staff. Because they’re quiet and smooth riding, they tend to increase ridership

as they’re such a joy to ride.” The electric buses will provide

opportunities for campus research. Scientists and engineers in the UGA College of Engineering are working to develop charging technologies—fast charging and wireless charging for elec-tric vehicles, such as buses. Researchers also are building a database of electric vehicle usage, operation and charge time data to come up with a set of best practices. With the addition of the buses, the researchers will have more data to access. The electric buses also can be used as batteries to power build-ings such as residence halls for up to five hours per bus. This capacity could be useful during snowstorms or other emergencies, Walter said.

from page 1BUSES

EXHIBITIONS

Barbara Holder. Through July 3. Photographer Barbara Holder brings her art to the garden. Visitor Center State Botanical Garden.

Seeing Georgia: Changing Visions of Tourism in the Modern South. Through July 30. Special collections libraries. 706-542-5788, [email protected]

Turned and Sculpted: Wood Art from the Collection of Arthur and Jane Mason. Through Aug. 7. Georgia Museum of Art.

Paper in Profile: Mixografia and Taller de Grafica Mexicana. Through Aug. 21. Georgia Museum of Art. (See story, above). John Abbot, Early Georgia Naturalist Artist. Through Aug. 31. Special collections libraries. 706-542-8079, [email protected]

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29

ARTFUL CONVERSATIONCallan Steinmann will lead a gallery discussion of selected works from the Paper in Profile exhibition. 2 p.m. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662, [email protected] (See story, above).

THURSDAY, JUNE 30

GUEST LECTURE“Sex in the Garden,” Robert Wyatt, UGA adjunct

professor. 4 p.m. Auditorium, special collections libraries. Part of the Georgia Natural History Mu-seum Lecture Series. 706-542-8079, [email protected] (See story, above right).

SUNDAY, JULY 3

CLASSIC CITY BAND ANNUAL PATRIOTIC CONCERT2 p.m. Visitor Center and Conservatory, State Bo-tanical Garden. 706-542-6014, [email protected]

MONDAY, JULY 4

INDEPENDENCE DAY HOLIDAYNo classes; offices closed.

TUESDAY, JULY 5

THRU TERM MIDTERM

SHORT SESSION I CLASSES END

WITHDRAWAL DEADLINE FOR THRU TERM

WEDNESDAY, JULY 6

SHORT SESSION I FINAL EXAMS

BIO TEM WORKSHOPThrough July 8. A three-day workshop on biologi-cal sample prep and imaging for transmission electron microscopy. This workshop is available to graduate students, staff and faculty. $600-$1,200.

8 a.m. 154 Barrow Hall. 706-202-1411,[email protected]

THURSDAY, JULY 7

DROP/ADD FOR SHORT SESSION IIThrough July 8.

EID AL-FITRIslamic religious observance.

SHORT SESSION II CLASSES BEGIN

CLASSAmerican Sign Language for Medical Settings. Meets Thursdays through July 21. $199. 1 p.m. Georgia Center for Continuing Education. 706-542-3537, [email protected]

SUNDAY, JULY 10

EXHIBITION OPENINGTom Polk. Through Aug. 13. While Tom Polk’s professional life was fulfilled as an associate pro-fessor and area chairman of art history at UGA, he was also a life-long artist. He earned a combined undergraduate degree from Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design in both art his-tory and studio art. At peace in nature, landscapes were his most frequent subject, and the State Botanical Garden was one of his favorite haunts. This show will feature drawings and paintings of landscapes and flowers executed across the span of his life, but with a special emphasis on the

explosion of work done during his retirement. Visi-tor Center, State Botanical Garden. 706-542-6014, [email protected]

MONDAY, JULY 11

SHORT SESSION I GRADES DUEDue by 5 p.m.

COMING UP

SUNFLOWER MUSIC SERIES CONCERTJuly 12. Randall Bramblett, a noted singer song-writer with 13 albums of his own original music, will perform. $15; $5 children ages 6-12. 7 p.m. Flower Garden Lawn. State Botanical Garden. 706-542-6014, [email protected]

STAFF COUNCIL MEETINGJuly 13. 2:30 p.m. 153 Miller Learning Center.

FAMILY DAY: BUGS AND BUTTERFLIESJuly 16. Participants will learn about John Abbot and scientific illustration, then design their own butterflies. 1 p.m. Special collections libraries. 706-542-8079, [email protected]

FULL MOON HIKEJuly 19. Each walk will focus on a different topic such as the moon, constellations or nocturnal creatures. $5; $15 per family 8 p.m. State Botani-cal Garden. 706-542-6156, [email protected]

UGAGUIDE3 columns.uga.edu June 27, 2016

NEXT COLUMNS DEADLINES June 29 (for July 11 issue)July 13 (for July 25 issue)July 27 (for Aug. 8 ssue)

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

TO SUBMIT A LISTING FOR THE MASTER CALENDAR AND COLUMNSPost event information first to the Master Calendar website (calendar.uga.edu). Listings for Columns are taken from the Master Calendar 12 days before the publication date. Events not posted by then may not be printed in Columns.

Any additional information about the event may be sent directly to Columns. Email is preferred ([email protected]), but materials can be mailed to Columns, News Service, 286 Oconee Street, Suite 200 North, Campus Mail 1999.

The following events are open to the public, unless otherwise specified. Dates, times and locations may change without advance notice.

For a complete listing of events, check the Master Calendar on the Web (calendar.uga.edu).

Georgia Museum of Art exhibition showcases more than 130 works from Mixografia Workshop

Ed Paschke’s Countdown is one of the works on display until Aug. 21 in the Georgia Museum of Art’s Paper in Profile exhibition.

By Madison [email protected]

Paper in Profile: Mixografia and Taller de Grafica Mexicana, an

exhibition featuring 3-D paper prints from 60 artists, is on display until Aug. 21 at the Georgia Museum of Art.

Organized by Lynn Boland, the museum’s Pierre Daura Curator of European Art, Paper in Profile encompasses more than 130 works on paper, copper casts and sculpture from the Mixografia Workshop. Each print is a fine-art paper relief created by hand, some as deep as 3 inches, incorporating previously unheard-of detail and sculptural form in a traditionally two-dimensional for-mat. Artists with work in the exhibition include John Baldessari, Louise Bourgeois, Alberto Burri, Helen Frankenthaler, Ed Ruscha, Rufino Tamayo and Rachel Whiteread.

On the recommendation of artist Pablo OHiggins, Luis and Lea Remba founded the Mixografia Workshop in Mexico City in 1968 as Taller de Grafica Mexicana. A few years later, at Tamayo’s request, Luis Remba invented the workshop’s unique printing process, which involves pressing paper pulp onto an inked cop-per mold, allowing for prints that resemble bas-relief sculpture.

In the mid-1980s, the Rembas moved their workshop to Los Angeles, where it served as a hub for dozens of the biggest names in the contemporary art world. The diversity of artists who worked with the Rembas contributed to the workshop’s radical perspective on printmaking and helped to shape its collection as a rich historical archive of international contemporary prints.

Related exhibition events include Artful Conversation, a tour focusing on only a few works in depth, with Callan Steinmann, associate curator of education, June 29 at 2 p.m.; a film series on artists who produced prints at the workshop, beginning July 7; docent-led tours July 10 at 3 p.m. and July 27 at 2 p.m.; a Q&A with Shaye Remba, son of Mixografia founders Luis and Lea Remba, who now heads the workshop, July 22 at 2 p.m.; 90 Carlton: Summer, the museum’s quarterly reception (free for members of the Friends of the Georgia Museum of Art, $5 non-members) July 22 at 6 p.m.; a Family Day July 23 from 10 a.m. to noon; the museum’s annual Alfred Heber Holbrook lecture Aug. 18 at 5:30 p.m.; and a tour with Boland Aug. 17 at 2 p.m. All events are free to the public unless otherwise indicated.

By Robert [email protected]

UGA botanist Robert Wyatt will present the third talk in the Natural History Lecture Series June 30 at 4 p.m. in the auditorium of the Richard B. Russell Special Collections Library.

His lecture, “Sex in the Garden,” is open free to the public. It will be preceded by a reception with coffee and cookies.

A tongue-in-cheek presentation about various facets of plant repro-duction, the lecture uses real-world examples to stimulate thinking about plant reproduction, while simultane-ously entertaining the audience with comparisons and contrasts—some rather far-fetched—to animal, includ-ing human, reproduction.

Wyatt was a professor of botany and ecology for more than 20 years and still retains an adjunct appointment.

The Natural History Lecture Se-ries is organized by the Friends of the Georgia Museum of Natural History, a nonprofit organization that supports and advances the mission and programs of the museum by increasing public awareness, supporting service and outreach programs, fundraising and mobilizing other resources. The series is co-sponsored by the Friends of the State Botanical Garden.

Botanist to give natural history lecture June 30

June 27, 2016 columns.uga.edu4

Parking registrationRegister for 2016-2017 parking

permits at www.parking.uga.edu.The deadline to be considered in

the first and largest round of permit assignments is July 1 at 5 p.m. Fewer permit assignments will be available after July 11.

Email [email protected] or call 706-542-7275 with any questions about registration or parking.

Research participants soughtThe kinesiology department in the

College of Education is conducting a research study to learn more about how blood sugar-lowering medications affect health.

Researchers are seeking men and women ages 18-75 who currently are taking blood sugar-lowering medica-tions, but are not on insulin.

The two-part study will be com-pleted in one to two weeks.

Study participants will be provided information about their body com-position and health. They also will receive a financial incentive.

For more information or to find out which drug classes qualify for the study, contact Melissa Erickson at [email protected] or 706-829-2560.

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

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affirmative action.

By Mike [email protected]

JoCasta Green became a teacher after she was told as a child she couldn’t be a scientist because she was a girl. In May, the pre-K teacher from Decatur achieved a small piece of her childhood dream by joining a research cruise on board Savannah, the UGA Skidaway Institute of Oceanography’s research vessel.

Green was one of two teachers on the overnight cruise, some of the first to par-ticipate in a cooperative program between the UGA Skidaway Institute and Georgia Southern University’s Institute for Interdis-ciplinary STEM Education, or i2STEMe.

“Because I am an elementary teacher, I was afraid that maybe I shouldn’t have ap-plied,” Green said. “However, once I got here and everyone was so interested and wanted to share, I really did learn a lot.”

UGA Skidaway Institute scientist Marc Frischer led the cruise with the aim to hunt, collect and study doliolids, a small gelatinous organism of great significance to the ecology and productivity of continental shelf environ-ments around the world. Green and middle school teacher Vicki Albritton of Savannah, the only teachers on board, were able to actively participate in the research activities.

They helped launch the CTD, or conduc-tivity-temperature-depth, sensor packages mounted on heavy metal frames and deployed plankton nets that concentrated a variety of tiny marine creatures into a small container.

The two teachers then worked with the science team in the darkened wet lab to sort through gallons of water and to isolate the

doliolids they were seeking.“I was hoping to see science in action,

and I did that all day long,” Albritton said. “I got to participate and learn what was going on, and now I have a wealth of information to take back to the classroom.”

Albritton said an experience like the cruise raises teachers’ credibility in the classroom, because the students see the teachers going out to learn more themselves.

“If I want them to be perpetual learners, then I need to demonstrate that same trait,” she said.

Green and Albritton were the second group of teachers to join an R/V Savannah research cruise through the partnership with Georgia Southern’s i2STEMe program. The goal of the program is to improve the teaching and learning of science, technol-ogy, engineering and mathematics at all levels from kindergarten through college throughout coastal Georgia.

The partnership between UGA Skidaway Institute and i2STEMe is expected to grow. Five additional doliolid cruises are scheduled this year with space available for as many as four teachers on each cruise.

UGA Skidaway Institute also offered two half-day cruises this month as part of i2STEMe’s summer professional develop-ment workshop for teachers.

“Teachers are some of our most important communicators,” Frischer said. “They com-municate to the next generation, so I think it is really special to be able to bring teachers right to where the research is happening. It gives them a total perspective, not only on what we are doing, but how research works and to communicate that to their students.”

SKIDAWAY INSTITUTE OF OCEANOGRAPHY

OUTREACH

Georgia teachers among first to join Skidaway Institute research cruises

Pre-kindergarten teacher JoCasta Green of Decatur, right, learns how to prepare a conductivity-temperature-depth sensor array for deployment with the help of Natalia Lopez Figueroa from Hampton University.

resilience and develop interventions that could enhance that resilience, she said.

“Some infectious diseases are particularly difficult to eradicate because of genetic mechanisms that allow them to successfully evade the immune system,” said Juan B. Guti-errez, an associate professor of mathematics and bioinformatics at UGA and co-leader of the project. “With the HAMMER project we want to come up with mechanisms that strengthen the host instead of curing a host by targeting the parasite.”

Galinski and Gutierrez are partnering with Rabindra Tirouvanziam, another key leader for the project and an assistant pro-fessor of pediatrics at the Emory University School of Medicine. They are joined by more than 40 established investigators from across the country.

THoR’s HAMMER project focuses on the malaria parasite Plasmodium knowlesi, which can infect both humans and non-human primates. P. knowlesi causes mild chronic infections in some monkeys, such as long-tailed and pig-tailed macaques, which are its natural hosts. However, it causes severe, virulent infections in other monkeys, such as rhesus macaques.

Using systems biology approaches, the THoR’s HAMMER team will generate large datasets on characteristics of P. knowlesi infec-tion in the two types of non-human primates and in humans. They will then develop and apply mathematical models to compare and

contrast the different scenarios of infection to identify particular host features associated with resilience. This may yield insights that could lead to novel interventions for malaria, including new drugs.

The researchers will use surgically im-planted devices to gather real-time physi-ological data, including temperature, heart rate, blood pressure and mobility, from the two types of monkeys. Then, by combining this information with the monkeys’ clinical and molecular data, they will look for signs of severe disease.

The researchers’ ultimate goal is to test candidate therapies in highly susceptible hosts with the aim of reducing disease se-verity and death in the absence of effective antimalarial chemotherapy, or in conjunction with antimalarial chemotherapy.

The THoR’s HAMMER project builds upon the scientific infrastructure of the Malaria Host-Pathogen Interaction Cen-ter (MaHPIC), a malaria systems biology partnership between Emory, UGA, Georgia Tech and the CDC Foundation, established in 2012 with federal funds from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

“Our systems biology team, which has be-come well-established through our MaHPIC consortium, plans to positively impact the work of all THoR projects by continuing to promote cross-fertilization of ideas both within our team and among all THoR project participants nationally,” said Tirouvanziam.

post-survey of community leaders and residents; monitoring for the presence of radionuclides, metals and other contami-nants; providing data results; and educat-ing and informing the community through extensive outreach activities.

The program will have a strong edu-cational component, according to Olin E. Rhodes Jr., director of the SREL.

“This outreach program will be data-driven and heavily focused on informing residents of our findings,” he said. “We will be present and actively involved in the Shell Bluff community—listening, sharing what we find and communicating the scientific findings in a manner that can be understood.”

The residents will have an active role in the structure of the program, from providing input on monitoring locations to identifying specific sources of concern to be included—soil, water, air and food. The program is sup-ported by a cooperative agreement between the Department of Energy and SREL.

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The dual-degree program, housed in the crop and soil sciences department at UGA, is the first of its kind in the college.

The challenges facing agriculture in the 21st century are global and won’t be solved by scientists from a single country or continent, said George Vellidis, a UGA professor of crop and soil sciences who spearheaded the effort to develop the program.

“When agriculturalists from across the globe work together, we can better solve the constant problems that emerge and threaten food production and food security,” he said. “The dual degree is beneficial to students because it will train them in both sustain-able agriculture and global competence, a valuable portfolio in a globalizing economy.”

The dual degree is the maturation of a 12-year partnership between UGA, the University of Padova and four other Euro-pean and U.S. universities. Together, these schools formed the TransAtlantic Precision Agriculture Consortium in 2004. To date, 45 undergraduate students and eight gradu-ate students have participated in the program.

“The dual degree is one of the important outcomes of a relationship cultivated over a decade between UGA and the University of Padova,” said Amrit Bart, director of the college’s Office of Global Programs. “Build-ing and sustaining international partnerships such as this takes the backing of both uni-versities and their stakeholders. While other universities and programs are talking and thinking about dual-degree programs, our college and our faculty are making it happen.”

Halsey and Lisha Wise of Ponte Vedra, Florida. “We are excited and humbled to assist in the university’s efforts to end student hunger on campus.”

College student food insecurity is in-creasingly becoming a focus of study and discussion on major college campuses across the country.

Food insecurity—lacking reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutri-tious food—can impede students in several ways, from financial strain, to time com-mitment, to nutrition quality and wellness.

Louis York, a spring 2016 graduate from Fort Mitchell, Alabama, and food scholarship recipient, said he didn’t realize how much his food insecurity was affecting his education.

“I was basically to the point where I was going to withdraw from school, quit my student involvement and pick up as many work hours as possible to begin paying off my loans,” York said. “I was out of money, and then, the university offers this food scholarship.”

York said the scholarship made a huge difference in his life. His diet improved, providing greater energy for his involve-ment and studies. He was able to scale back his work hours and concentrate more on being a student.

“UGA people are willing to step in and be family. They genuinely care about me,” he said. “I will always be thankful for the education, sure. But I’m most thankful for the family I’ve gained and the support UGA showed me.”

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