UGA Columns Sept. 30, 2019

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Marine sciences professor tracks environmental changes down the coast RESEARCH NEWS

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ARCO Chamber Orchestra schedules next performance for Oct. 8 in Hodgson Hall

September 30, 2019

Vol. 47, No. 10

www.columns.uga.edu

UGA GUIDE

4&5

UGA receives national award for commitment to diversity, inclusion By Sam Fahmy

sfahmy@uga.edu

‘Instant’ legacy

Marion Bradford’s work has been cited more than 206,000 times.

Photo illustration by Lindsay Robinson

Marion Bradford revolutionized biochemical research with a simple discovery Biochemist Marion Bradford spent most of his career developing new ways to use a common item found in kitchens and nurseries around the world—cornstarch. For decades, Bradford worked to convert cornstarch into a renewable energy source that could replace fossil fuels and produce everyday products ranging from food, feed and fiber to chemicals and industrial fuels. He was part of a team recognized in 2003 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the American Chemical Society for creating an organic compound from corn sugar used in carpet fibers, cosmetics and liquid detergents that helped reduce the global economy’s reliance on petroleum-based materials. The organizations praised the team’s contributions to the “welfare and progress of humanity.” But it is his research on the seventh floor of the Boyd

Graduate Studies Research Center at the University of Georgia in the 1970s that will be his legacy. A theory he pursued because he thought it would save scientists time in the laboratory turned part of his doctoral dissertation into one of the most cited scientific papers in history—and invented an analytic process that revolutionized biochemical research. “I look back and say, yep, that is what I am known for,” said Bradford, 72, who developed the Bradford protein assay, a process that is still being used in laboratories around the world to detect proteins in tissue samples. “It made life a lot simpler.”

One of the most cited research papers in history

According to an article published in Nature in 2014, if you put a printout of the first page of every paper listed on Thomson Reuter’s

Web of Science that cited Bradford’s research paper and stacked them up, the pile would almost reach the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. Five years ago, Bradford’s paper had been cited by other scientists 157,683 times and was one of only three to achieve more than 100,000 citations. Today, it has jumped to 206,088 citations and counting, which makes Bradford one of only a few scientists in the world whose work has been recognized at this rate and used by others—in the evolution of science—to provide credibility for their research and scientific knowledge. Looking back more than 40 years, Bradford, who is retired and living in Hendersonville, North Carolina, talks matter-of-factly about how the discovery—which is done in a test tube in one simple step—came about. His friend, a postdoc working next to him, See GROUNDBREAKER on page 8

FRANKLIN COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Gable Distinguished Chair will bring focus on Colonial American history to university By Alan Flurry

aflurry@uga.edu

The University of Georgia welcomes renowned historian and anthropologist James F. Brooks as the holder of the inaugural Carl and Sally Gable Distinguished Chair in Southern Colonial American History. An innovative scholar and teacher, Brooks is author of the prize-winning book Captives and Cousins: Slavery, Kinship and Community in the Southwestern Borderlands, which garnered seven major prizes including the Bancroft, Parkman and Turner prizes. The book

James Brooks

frames a pivotal episode in North American history and connects the experiences of the continent’s indigenous peoples and the descendants of those who

arrived after 1492. An interdisciplinary scholar of the indigenous and Colonial past, Brooks has taught at the University of Maryland, UC Santa Barbara and UC Berkeley and enjoyed research fellowships at the Institute for

Advanced Study in Princeton, Vanderbilt University’s Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities and the School for Advanced Research, a leading center for study in the social sciences and indigenous arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. As the inaugural Gable Chair, Brooks brings a deep commitment to comparative scholarship on slavery and public history to the UGA Franklin College of Arts and Sciences department of history. His visionary new work on the migration of the “Georgia Colony” to Colorado encourages the concept that historians not be constrained See CHAIR on page 8

For the sixth consecutive year, the University of Georgia’s farreaching commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion has been recognized with a national award. The INSIGHT Into Diversity Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award is the only national recognition honoring colleges and universities that exhibit outstanding efforts and success in the area of diversity and inclusion. Rather than recognizing a single program or unit, the award highlights a range of student, faculty and staff initiatives at the university.

“The University of Georgia is proud to be a national leader in promoting diversity and inclusion throughout our institution,” said President Jere W. Morehead. “I appreciate this recognition from INSIGHT Into Diversity once again for our successes in this important area and our efforts to go even further.” The central role that diversity plays at UGA is outlined in the institution’s mission statement, and efforts to promote diversity and inclusion include programs to recruit and support historically underrepresented and firstgeneration students; recruit and

See AWARD on page 2

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

College of Engineering unveils new instructional, lab space

By Mike Wooten

mwooten@uga.edu

The University of Georgia College of Engineering celebrated the completion of a major renovation of the Driftmier Engineering Center with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sept. 13. The project, completed in time for the beginning of fall semester classes, has transformed 21,000 square feet of 1960s-era classroom, laboratory and office space into state-of-the-art instructional labs and classrooms. The renovation also provides students with new study areas and spaces designed to promote project-based learning and teamwork. “These new classrooms,

laboratories and other enhancements truly reflect the energy of our college and its students,” said Donald Leo, dean of the College of Engineering. “The project demonstrates UGA’s commitment to engineering education and serves as a dynamic launch pad for the future of our growing college.” The $5.5 million project was funded by the university and the college with support from private donors and industry partners. The renovation work includes a significant expansion of the college’s laboratory capabilities in support of its eight undergraduate and seven graduate degree programs. In addition, the project provides students with three new modern

See ENGINEERING on page 8

FRANKLIN COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Women and Girls in Georgia conference to focus on community By Terri Hatfield tlhat@uga.edu

The Institute for Women’s Studies at the University of Georgia is hosting its eighth conference on Women and Girls in Georgia on Oct. 26 at the Zell B. Miller Learning Center. The theme of this year’s conference is “Community.” The Women and Girls in Georgia Conference was established in 2007 to highlight and encourage cutting-edge research and advocacy by, for and about women and girls in Georgia, in all their diversity. The conference brings together leading researchers, teachers, activists and community mem-

bers to share expertise, strengthen networks and strategize for positive social change in Georgia and beyond. The conference Ada Cheng seeks to stimulate questions about the status and concerns of women and girls in the state that will generate influential research and bring that research to the attention of policymakers and activists across the state and region. This year’s conference will include a keynote address by Ada Cheng, professor-turnedSee CONFERENCE on page 8


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