News from the Chronicles - February 2021

photo of active volcano
The link between CO2 and big volcano eruptions

Volcanologists from the University of Georgia and two Swiss universities found a link between carbon dioxide and the volume of gas trapped in magma, which could help predict the intensity and magnitude of a volcanic eruption. Higher levels of CO2, they found, lead to an increase in the total volume of gas in magma, which may result in violent, explosive eruptions. The new findings could one day lead to better early-warning systems for…

portrait of a man
Morales-Franceschini awarded Anzaldúa Poetry Prize

University of Georgia faculty member Eric Morales-Franceschini has been awarded the 2020 Gloria E. Anzaldúa Poetry Prize. The Gloria E. Anzaldúa Poetry Prize is awarded annually, in conjunction with the Anzaldúa Literary Trust, to a poet whose work explores how place shapes identity, imagination, and understanding. Special attention is given to poems that exhibit multiple vectors of thinking: artistic, theoretical, and social, which is to…

photo of man in lab with protective eyewear
New materials provide link to innovative products

When we think about the links to the future – the global transition to solar and wind energy, tactile virtual reality or synthetic neurons – there’s no shortage of big ideas. It’s the materials to execute the big ideas – the ability to manufacture the lithium-ion batteries, opto-electronics and hydrogen fuel cells – that stand between concept and reality. Enter two-dimensional materials, the latest step in innovation. Consisting of a single…

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COVID-19 Threat Increases psychological distress among Black Americans

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to devastate communities worldwide, Black Americans who face racial discrimination in hospitals and doctor's offices weather additional stresses that can exacerbate threats from COVID-19. A new University of Georgia study examines the interplay between the perceptions of coronavirus threat, , and psychological distress among Black Americans. The additional stresses arise from the prevalent belief among Black…

photo of sunrise over ocean
Niche dimensions of marine biotic powerhouse

Marine bacteria serve as regulators within and between ocean systems, processing about a quarter of all the photosynthesis on Earth. Because of their microscopic size and very short life span of a single day, learning what controls their activities, what nutrients they are trying to find, what molecules they grow on, and whether they interact with other microbes has been nearly impossible.…

photo of man with students outdoors with rain gauge
Shepherd elected to the National Academy of Engineering

Marshall Shepherd, the Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of Geography and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Georgia, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering, one of the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer or scientist: NAE membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to “engineering research, practice, or education, including, where appropriate, significant…

photo of woman, campus scene
Classics student named Gates Cambridge Scholar

UGA senior Emeline McClellan of Good Hope will continue her studies in classics this fall as one of 24 Americans selected as a Gates Cambridge Scholar. The scholarship fully funds postgraduate study and research in any subject at the University of Cambridge in England: McClellan is UGA’s eighth Gates Cambridge Scholar in the program’s 20-year history. The scholarship, which recognizes intellectually outstanding postgraduate…

photo of man in chemistry lab
‘Virtues of taking a risk’ helps shape a young scholar

Gregory H. Robinson, Foundation Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, wrote and published a scholarly tribute to Professor Jerry L. Atwood, who “inspired a generation of chemists to indulge their imaginations and to take risks in their pursuit of chemistry,” including Dr. Robinson: The most consequential friendship of my life inauspiciously began on a cold, late-November evening in 1979, in Jacksonville, Alabama. Of course, I did not see it…

photo of a painting with figure holding brushes and suit on hanger
Emerging Scholars Symposium

The 2021 Emerging Scholars Symposium: “Visualizing Identity: Exploring Dimensions of the Self through Art” will showcase research by current graduate students and other emerging scholars related to themes of art and identity throughout the history of visual and material culture. The symposium is presented in conjunction with the exhibition “Emma Amos: Color Odyssey” in partnership with UGA’s Association of Graduate Art Students. A Black…

photo of man speaking at podium
Fastest-growing alumni businesses – the Bulldog 100

On Feb. 11, the UGA Alumni Association recognized the 100 fastest-growing businesses owned or operated by UGA alumni during the 12th annual Bulldog 100 Celebration, which was hosted online. LeaseQuery, an Atlanta-based accounting software firm, was named the fastest-growing alumni business for the second year in a row: The company, led by two former college roommates, is the first business to repeat as No. 1 in consecutive years. CEO…

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