The department is asked throughout the year to nominate students for various awards, scholarships, and committees, including Who's Who Among University and College Students, Franklin College Student Advisory Board, Leadership UGA Program, Blue Key Award, Pandora Yearbook Outstanding Service Award, and United Negro College Fund and Award.  Deadlines for these awards are often only a few days away by the time we receive notification, and we need to collect a substantial amount of information from students who wish to be considered for awards.  Last year, nomination deadlines for awards ranged from early September to late March.  You should be prepared to act quickly if you would like to be considered for one of these awards.  Ways in which you can be prepared include maintaining an updated resume and identifying professors who can write reference letters for you.  Applications for awards often require an essay about your career goals, service contributions, leadership abilities, or personal interests, and preparing essays in advance can also help you respond quickly to award deadlines.

Thirteen students from around the U.S. and Ireland participated in a summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) in prokaryotic biology sponsored by the National Science Foundation.  During the summer research program, which ran from May 28th to July 28th, students participated in laboratory research, discussions in ethics in science, learned about microbiology research carried out at UGA, and presented their research findings at the end of the program in a poster session.  Student participants were from Florida Atlantic University, Michigan Technological Institute, Ferris State University, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Luther College, Illinois Wesleyan University, Virginia Tech, Southwestern University, North Carolina State University, and Rochester Institute of Technology.  One of the goals of the REU program in prokaryotic biology is to encourage students, particularly from underrepresented groups, to pursue graduate degrees in biological sciences.  Two of the REU participants were deaf or hard-of-hearing.  For the second year in a row, our REU program participated in a student exchange with a similar program at the National University Ireland, Galway (NUI-Galway).  UGA Microbiology major Josh Bell and Bradley Tolar (from Louisiana State University) were supported by our REU program to participate in undergraduate research at NUI-Galway.  In exchange, NUI-Galway provided support for two of their students to participate in our REU program.

Numerous opportunities exist for undergraduates to participate in summer research programs across the country or even in different countries.  UGA Microbiology students participating in summer research opportunities at other institutions this year included Josh Bell (NUI-Galway), Danielle O'Toole (NUI-Galway) and Adwoa Fenin (Western Michigan University).  These programs provide students with valuable career experiences and in some cases students can obtain course credit for the internship.  Many of the research programs offer generous stipends ($3,000-$4,000) allowances for housing and food, and transportation costs.  The best way to find a summer research program that fits your career objectives is to search the Internet.  Some helpful sites are listed on our departmental website at http://www.uga.edu/mib/programs/ug_other.htm.  The UGA Career can also help you find internships and related programs.  Deadlines for these programs are often 3-4 months prior to their start, and so you should plan well in advance if you are interested in such programs.

The 2007 departmental graduation ceremony for Microbiology majors was held May 13 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. in the Student Learning Center. Over 200 guests were in attendance to honor the 38 graduating seniors who participated in this personalized ceremony!  Dr. Greg Ware, a 1988 graduate of the UGA Microbiology Department and local dentist, was the keynote speaker.  Some light-hearted entertainment was provided and each of the seniors in attendance was recognized individually for his/her accomplishments.  The graduation ceremony was followed by an informal reception with light refreshments, which provided an opportunity for the students' guests to meet the faculty and staff of the Microbiology department.  It is not too early to plan for the 2008 Graduation Ceremony!  Please contact Monica Matheson mmathes@uga.edu in the Microbiology office if you would like to help put together a video, skit or other entertainment idea for next year's graduation ceremony.

Under the sponsorship of Dr. Wendy Dustman, 5 UGA Microbiology undergraduates initiated a student chapter of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) in May.  Officers of the UGA student chapter of ASM are: Karen Bowers (President), Vandana Murty (Vice-President), Puja Kotecha (Secretary), Charlie Land (Treasurer), and Matt Hawkins (Public Relations).  Some of the planned activities of the student chapter include fundraising and participation in Atlanta AidsWalk (October) and American Cancer Society's Relay for Life (April), both in conjunction with the UGA Microbiology Graduate Student Association (MGSA).  Additionally, the ASM group is planning  several informal roundtable discussions with invitees from various realms of Microbiology throughout the academic year; a tour or Terrapin's local brewing operations is planned for late fall; and some of the students will attend the ASM branch meeting at Auburn University to present a poster of their undergraduate research work.  A membership drive is currently underway with undergraduate and graduate students both welcome to join. Students interested in joining the UGA student chapter of ASM should contact Karen Bowers (kjbowers@uga.edu).

The Board of Regents approved a B.S. in Microbiology for the UGA Griffin campus in July 2007.  The B.S. in Microbiology is the first degree approved for the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences on the Griffin campus.  Students enrolling in the Microbiology program at the Griffin campus must take introductory and core courses at other institutions for now.  Major and major related courses for the Microbiology major that are currently offered at the Griffin campus include Introductory Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BCMB 3100), Genetics (GENE 3200), Evolutionary Biology (GENE 3000). Introductory Microbiology (MIBO 3500) and Introductory Microbiology Laboratory (MIBO 3510L).  Additional course offerings are planned for the near future.