News Stories - Page 31

University of Georgia Center for Food Safety doctoral student Jouman Hassan has been named the first-place winner of this year's Jim Ayres Young Investigator Award given by the Georgia Association for Food Protection. Hassan, whose doctoral advisor is Assistant Professor Issmat Kassem in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, obtained her master’s degree in food safety and microbiology from the American University of Beirut.

Clustered around a surgical table, students carefully perform procedures on their patients, carefully monitoring every vital sign to ensure a successful outcome. This may sound like a scene from a medical school or residency, but it describes the experiences of undergraduate students in “Avian Surgical Techniques,” a course offered by the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

UGArden, UGA's student-run community farm, welcomes Ty Brooks as its new farm director. An Athens native, Brooks is a Double Dawg with a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology and a master’s degree in agricultural and environmental education. During his time as a graduate student, Brooks also pursued his certificate in organic agriculture, which brought him to UGArden for the first time.

Whether it was Punxsutawney Phil or the Old Farmer’s Almanac, somebody got it right because, after a relatively mild winter, it’s been a cool spring across the Southeast. Even as summer approaches, these cool temperatures have provided some relief on both the air conditioning bill and the mosquito front.

For Jennifer Jo Thompson, finding solutions to meet the increasing global demands for healthy, affordable and accessible food requires an un-siloed approach in higher education and leadership. Through a collaborative project funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Higher Education Challenge Grant, Thompson is leading UGA’s Sustainable Food Systems Initiative in a collaborative project with the Food Studies Program at Spelman College.

Hospitality and tourism are a major economic driver in Georgia, and the University of Georgia is working in several key areas to support and expand that industry. The hospitality and tourism industry is Georgia’s second-largest economic contributor (after agriculture) and employs more than 400,000 residents.

Francisco Diez-Gonzalez, director of the University of Georgia Center for Food Safety, has been elected as a fellow into the prestigious American Academy of Microbiology. Diez-Gonzalez was one of 65 new fellows admitted in the Class of 2023 out of a nomination pool of 148.

Georgia cotton growers are starting the 2023 season with a boost from near-record-breaking yields last year. The United States Department of Agriculture released final yield data in late May, confirming the second-highest yields on record, as forecasted by University of Georgia cotton experts in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

The University of Georgia Griffin campus held its Spring Graduation Celebration and Brick Ceremony for 21 members of the Class of 2023 on May 10, representing four of the colleges that offer degrees at UGA-Griffin. Srijana Thapa Magar, who earned a doctorate in horticulture from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, was selected by faculty as the student speaker for the event.

Consumers hold high standards for fresh food, which farmers aim to meet, but hot summer temperatures and long-haul deliveries can degrade quality even before produce makes it into stores. In a collaborative study, Angelos Deltsidis, assistant professor of horticulture in the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, teamed up with UGA Cooperative Extension agents to improve upon a decades-old method of precooling to increase efficiency and reduce postharvest losses along the value chain.