On an unseasonably warm winter afternoon, three women armed with baskets and shears made their way along a nature trail in the woods of Pike County, Georgia. Peering into the underbrush, they stopped occasionally to examine spots of interest in and under the trees and around fallen logs and decaying stumps. A curious observer might wonder what they were searching for with such intent — unless they overheard the trio’s conversation. 

Distinguished scientists, artists and leaders in technology, business and government will speak at the University of Georgia this semester as part of the university’s Signature Lecture Series. Coordinated by the Office of the Provost, the Signature Lecture Series features speakers noted nationally or internationally for their broad, multidisciplinary appeal and compelling bodies of work. Many of the lectures are supported by endowments, while others honor notable figures and milestones in the university’s history.

Changing weather patterns are influencing cropping systems and where certain crops can be successfully grown. Researchers in the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences recently published a study in the journal Sustainability examining the feasibility of expanding fresh vegetable production in Georgia as increased temperatures and more frequent and extreme droughts threaten producers in the Western United States.

The Rural Engagement Workshop for Academic Faculty at the University of Georgia has announced the list of funded faculty seed grants to address issues in rural Georgia. The grants offer funding between $5,000 and $10,000 for faculty to engage with rural Georgians on issues that are critical for their communities. The program encourages collaboration between faculty in UGA schools and colleges with faculty in Public Service and Outreach and UGA Cooperative Extension already working throughout rural Georgia.

Radon, an odorless, colorless and tasteless gas, is the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S., but it can be detected and mitigated with the help of local University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service offices across the state. Radon comes from the breakdown of uranium in granite and rocky soils, so Georgia’s wealth of granite bedrock increases the chance of household radon for its residents.

On a tour of her Blairsville, Georgia, home, Becky Griffin navigates a swaying maze of perennial grasses interspersed with pussy willows, switchgrass and boneset. Although it may not fit the traditional image of a well-kept lawn, this landscape is the result of careful planning and a deep commitment to ecological stewardship. As a native plant enthusiast and coordinator of the Great Southeast Pollinator Census, Griffin hand-selected each of these native plants for the countless ecological services they provide year-round.

For Sadie Lackey, graduating college during a global pandemic was never part of the plan. Nor was being diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin lymphoma nearly three years later at age 25. Lackey’s cancer diagnosis meant shifting her goals into strategic career decisions based on her health — all while maintaining her passion for agricultural policy. “I really love ag policy, and I love that I’m surrounded by it and get to nerd out and learn every day, but it’s also important to look at your career holistically,” Lackey said.

Renowned plant genetics researcher Scott Jackson has returned to the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences as the inaugural Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) Eminent Scholar in Synthetic Biology. GRA Eminent Scholars are internationally renowned scientists recruited to Georgia’s leading research universities in collaboration with the Georgia Research Alliance. GRA Eminent Scholars are distinguished by the significance of their research discoveries and their potential for commercial application.

For Yangxuan Liu, her career as an associate professor of agricultural and applied economics feels like equal parts coincidence and fate. “I was initially involved in agriculture because of my family farm in China. During breaks from school as a child, I would go visit my grandparents and work in their fields where they grow corn, wheat, cotton and other crops. This really gave me respect for the value of working the ground,” Liu said.

A new study by experts in the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is seeking to increase the value of Georgia’s peanut crops for new markets while reducing losses caused by aflatoxin, a consistent threat to the No. 1 peanut-producing state in the United States. The four-year, $490,000 grant will take a systems-based approach toward developing high-oil peanut varieties bred to withstand the unique climate and pest pressures of the Southeast.