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Marine sciences professor named director of UGA’s Skidaway Institute CAMPUS NEWS
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Late printmaker’s work on display in new Georgia Museum of Art exhibition Vol. 45, No. 2
July 31, 2017
www.columns.uga.edu
UGA GUIDE
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UGA participates in calculation of global plastics production By James Hataway jhataway@uga.edu
Humans have created 8.3 billion metric tons of plastics since largescale production of the synthetic materials began in the early 1950s, and most of it now resides in landfills or the natural environment, according to a study published July 19 in the journal Science Advances. The study was reported by media around the world, including The New York Times, BBC News, Washington Post, International Business Times, the Hindustan Times and National Geographic. Led by a team of scientists from UGA; the University of California, Photo illustration
The goal of the Commit to Georgia Campaign is to raise $1.2 billion by 2020 to increase scholarship support, to enhance the learning environment and to solve the grand challenges facing society.
Fundraising skyrockets at UGA ‘You are the inspiration of this campaign’
By Katie DeGenova kdgen@uga.edu
Inspired by UGA faculty, staff and students, donors contributed $227.8 million in new gifts and pledges in the first year of the public phase of the Commit to Georgia Campaign, setting a record in fundraising for the fourth consecutive year. “When we launched the public phase of the campaign last fall, we called on our alumni and friends to help us expand the impact of this great university on the world,” said President Jere W. Morehead. “They are answering that call with extraordinary generosity and support because
they see how hard our faculty, staff and students are working, every day, to change lives and communities.” This marks the first time in the university’s long history that the annual total has surpassed $200 million. The unprecedented total represents a 24 percent increase over last year’s record of $183.8 million and nearly doubles the $117.2 million raised in fiscal year 2013, the year prior to Morehead taking office. The goal of the Commit to Georgia Campaign is to raise $1.2 billion by 2020 to increase scholarship support, to enhance the learning environment and to solve the grand challenges facing
society. More than 4,500 faculty, staff and retirees contributed this year to help the university reach an overall total of $827 million toward the campaign goal. Private giving toward the campaign already is making a difference. Donors established 115 need-based endowed scholarships, for example, through the Georgia Commitment Scholarship program, which was introduced in the President’s State of the University Address in January. Most of these new scholarships will be awarded in the fall to incoming first-year students with unmet financial need. In addition, 10 new endowed faculty positions were
Downtown business districts in some northwest Georgia cities are getting a face-lift, thanks to the University of Georgia and funding from the Lyndhurst Foundation in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Chickamauga, Chatsworth, Rossville, Lookout Mountain and Ringgold are among the communities benefiting from the expertise of UGA faculty and students working with the Downtown Renaissance Partnership program in the Carl Vinson Institute of Government.
Georgia Sea Grant funds project to enhance state’s jellyfish industry By Emily Woodward ewoodward@uga.edu
A Georgia Sea Grant-funded project will help protect turtles and enable fishermen trawling for cannonball jellyfish to operate more efficiently. Georgia fishermen recently conducted several 30-hour cannonball jellyfish trawling trips to test the turtle excluder device, which is similar to the TED for shrimpers first developed in 1968. Cannonball jellyfish, commonly referred to as jellyballs, are the third largest seafood commodity by weight in Georgia. Considered a delicacy in Asian countries, most of the jellyballs caught by Georgia fishermen are exported to Asian markets where they’re sold in restaurants and grocery stores.
The project to develop a jellyfish TED was proposed by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the College of Coastal Georgia, and Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant at the University of Georgia, all of which recognized the benefits of the commodity to both commercial fishermen and the economy. “This was a project where we needed to support a developing industry,” said Mark Risse, director of Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant. “We have to protect our turtle populations but also need to find a way to support our fishing industries. Much like the shrimping industry and TEDs, we are hoping to find a win-win solution.” The jellyball industry emerged in the late 1990s but only has been recognized as an official industry See JELLYFISH on page 4
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
University’s Downtown Renaissance Partnership helps boost economic vitality in northwest Georgia chtjames@uga.edu
See PLASTICS on page 4
PUBLIC SERVICE AND OUTREACH
See FUNDRAISING on page 4
PUBLIC SERVICE AND OUTREACH
By Christopher James
Santa Barbara; and Sea Education Association, the study is the first global analysis of the production, use and fate of all plastics ever made. Jenna Jambeck The researchers found that by 2015, humans had generated 8.3 billion metric tons of plastics, 6.3 billion tons of which had already become waste. Of that waste total, only 9 percent was recycled, 12 percent was incinerated and 79 percent
Among the projects: • A historic rail depot in Chickamauga has been converted into a downtown Welcome Center; • An old textile mill in Rossville is being studied as a possible site for social and business ventures; • The grounds around the duck pond at the John Ross house in Rossville are being updated. A log cabin on the grounds, the former home of Cherokee Indian Chief John Ross, is a National Historic Landmark; • A new stage is going up in Chatsworth, and the city is making streetscape improvements to link
the stage and surrounding park to downtown; and • The city of Lookout Mountain is developing a new town center development concept. The projects, intended to attract more new businesses and customers to rural downtowns, were developed by UGA students and faculty, led by Danny Bivins, a senior public service associate at the Institute of Government, a UGA Public Service and Outreach unit. “I don’t think it ever would’ve happened without Danny Bivins and the Carl Vinson Institute,” said See VITALITY on page 4
Researcher developing coatings that help prevent infection, clotting By Mike Wooten
mwooten@uga.edu
Infections acquired in hospitals kill thousands of people in the U.S. each year, and sticky colonies of bacteria known as biofilm that form on medical implants are one of the leading causes of these infections. Thrombosis, or blood clotting, is another potential danger associated with implants. Now, a University of Georgia scientist is developing a new weapon in the fight against clotting and infections related to medical devices. Hitesh Handa, an assistant professor in the College of Engineering,
is designing biocompatible polymer coatings that not only prevent biofilm growth but also attack harmful bacteria by releasing Hitesh Handa nitric oxide, a naturally occurring gas with potent antimicrobial properties. Handa’s work recently attracted a four-year, $1.5 million research grant from the National Institutes of Health.
See COATINGS on page 4