News from the Chronicles - September 2025

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International expedition tracks East Greenland Coastal Current

Nick Foukal, assistant professor in the UGA Department of Marine Sciences is co-leader of an international research project focused on oceanography and current measurements in the East Greenland Coastal Current. The team’s observations aboard the Research Vessel Thorunn Thordardottir from August 29 through September 12 aim to help determine how the East Greenland Coastal Current may influence the stability of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning…

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Conducting fieldwork in Social Science

Rumya Putcha, jointly appointed faculty in the Hugh Hodgson School of Music and the Institute for Women’s and Gender Studies, has developed a career based on understanding her role as a social science researcher. A terrific feature from UGA Research Communications unpacks her approach and the rewarding career she in the process of building: Over her decades-long career studying the role of music in international cultures, that question has been…

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From Redcoats and UGA Drama Major to Emmy-Nominated Showrunner

In our fifth profile in this seven-part series, we’re excited to highlight our 2025 Franklin alumni award winners—showcasing their accomplishments and providing some insights as we seek this year’s nominations. The Franklin College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Awards honor outstanding alumni across various categories. These individuals exemplify the Franklin Spark, the characteristics that unite the arts and sciences: ambition, curiosity,…

headshot photo of Sherrie Hines
Courtroom to Campus: Sherrie Hines’s Franklin Journey: Mock Trial to UGA Law School Lecturer  

Dual-University of Georgia grad and now UGA law professor Sherrie Hines attributes her time in the Franklin College   to her current successes. While at the UGA, Hines studied criminal justice and speech communications, and still uses tools from her courses such as a law school textbook from Professor Stephanie Lindquist's criminal law class. A 2006 summa cum laude, Hines went on to pursue a law degree from UGA, graduating in 2009. “I…

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Dance Majors and Minors Excel at UGA

In our fourth installation in this five-part series, we’re excited to showcase the talented success stories of our Art students featured in the first-ever Fine & Performing Arts Season Brochure, where all of the arts programming in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences come together in one place.     Our students exemplify the Franklin Spark, the characteristics that unite the arts and sciences: ambition, curiosity…

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NSF project to peer into deep space, observe rapid planet formation

University of Georgia faculty member Cassandra Hall is a co-principal investigator on a new project supported by $450,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to learn more about planetary formation by studying a star system over 500 light-years away. The grant funds a three-year collaborative research project between principal investigator New Mexico State University Astronomy Associate Professor Wladimir Lyra, co-principal investigator…

Gary May and Dean Stenport
Gary May, Chancellor of the University of California, Davis, shares insights on the future of higher education in lecture

This Fall, Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and the Office of the Provost welcomed Gary May, the Chancellor of the University of California, Davis, to kick off the Fall 2025 Provost Seminar Series. In his lecture, “A Retrospective and Prospective Look at the Value of Higher Education,” May detailed his personal experiences as a student, faculty member, and leader, and discussed  four challenges to mobilize higher education into the…

Pictured: Computing students holding up flag at Oxford
Where Code Meets Cobblestones

UGA Students Study Computer Science This Summer at Oxford Summer 2025, nineteen UGA students swapped their familiar Athens classrooms for the storied halls of Oxford, diving into computing courses that blended academic rigor with cultural immersion. Students were able to take two computer courses CSCI 3030 Computing, Ethics and Society, and CSCI 4450 Artificial Intelligence.   The UGA Study Away program is more than just a change…

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Science Comes Alive in Italy – Studying Biology in Cortona

This summer, a group of 40 undergraduate students from the UGA Franklin College of Arts and Sciences traveled to Cortona, Italy for a special three-week Maymester study abroad program “Biology for Medicine” taught by professors Zachary Wood and Robert Haltiwanger, faculty members in the department of biochemistry and molecular biology. The students also took an art history class taught by professor Anatole Upart focusing on Italian art, with…

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Risk of developing psychiatric conditions could be shaped by environment

A new University of Georgia research study links a lack of resources in a given area to a higher risk of certain psychiatric conditions for its residents. Living in low-income, high crime areas correlates with a 79% higher rate of psychotic disorders. Psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia can be debilitating, interfering with a person’s mental, physical and social health. The new study suggests a person’s risk for developing these conditions…