Wednesday, April 3, 2002


WRITERS: Lauren Stanchek and Natasha Splaine, (706) 583-0599, rcomm@ovpr.uga.edu
CONTACT: Judy Purdy, (706) 542-5941, jbp@ovpr.uga.edu


UGA BESTOWS ITS HIGHEST RESEARCH HONORS

ATHENS, Ga. — The University of Georgia honored outstanding faculty and graduate students April 3, 2002, at its 20th annual research awards banquet. Sponsored by the non-profit University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc., the event recognized exceptional accomplishments in UGA research and scholarly endeavors.


CREATIVE RESEARCH AWARDS

Both Clifton A. Baile and Peter H. Hauschildt each received the Lamar Dodd Award, which recognizes exceptional research activity in the sciences.

Baile is the Distinguished Professor of Animal and Dairy Sciences and Foods and Nutrition as well as the Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar of Agricultural Biotechnology. He helps transfer UGA research findings to industry by coordinating and advising faculty whose findings may have economically viable applications.

Baile works to recruit high-caliber faculty to UGA and improve UGA biotechnology research facilities through collaborations and successful grant writing. Since coming to UGA in 1995, he has helped procure a $38 million investment for new facilities, laboratories and equipment.

Hauschildt, associate professor of physics and astronomy, develops computational models of stellar atmospheres. He developed the PHOENIX computer code, which is applied to a broad range of astrophysical problems and is noted for its value in interpreting spectroscopic observations.

Since joining the UGA faculty in 1996, Hauschildt has generated nearly $1.5 million in external research grants from such sources as the National Science Foundation and NASA. This is a highly unusual record in the realm of theory and computation.

Karen S. Calhoun, professor of psychology, received the William A. Owens Award for her scholarly and creative activities in the social and behavioral sciences. Her research on sexual violence is significant for defining the scope and consequences of sexual assault as well as its treatment and prevention.

Seeking to develop a deeper understanding of sexual violence by deciphering its causes and consequences, Calhoun focuses on both the victim and the perpetrator. With her colleagues at UGA and the University of Ohio, she has developed a preventive intervention program that shows promise in reducing sexual assault rates.


CREATIVE RESEARCH MEDALS

Five Creative Research Medals were given to UGA faculty for outstanding research or creative activity on a single theme performed while at UGA in the past five years. Recipients were Joseph H. Bouton, Yen-Con Hung, Elham Izadi, Doris Y. Kadish and Hubert H. McAlexander.

Bouton, professor of crop and soil sciences, has developed a new tall fescue product that is significantly improving livestock performance. Tall fescue is a widely used pasture grass that harbors a toxic fungus. The fescue needs this fungus for survival, but the toxin it produces causes negative effects on grazing livestock. The fungus results in reduced growth and reproduction among livestock and constitutes an annual loss of $1 billion to U.S. beef producers alone.

Working in collaboration with New Zealand’s Grasslands Research Centre, Bouton has created a new strain of tall fescue that sustains a non-toxic fungus. Commercialized under the name ‘MaxQ,’ this new product has gained a reputation among producers for its positive impact on the livestock industry.

Hung, professor of food science and technology, has developed an alternative to chemical and heat treatments used by the food industry to sanitize the foods we eat. This alternative method uses electrolyzed oxidizing water, which effectively destroys harmful bacteria, preserves the nutrients normally destroyed by heat and eliminates excess chemicals in wastewater.

Hung was the first to use EO water in the food industry and interest in his work is spreading across the globe. He currently is working with Kagoshima University, the National Food Research Institute and the National Institute of Infectious Diseases in Japan to apply his EO water technology.

Izadi, associate professor of mathematics, has provided the final step of an algebraic geometry problem that has eluded world experts for more than three decades. The theory of algebraic curves is vital to the development of mathematics and has led to the advancement of such fields as differential geometry, algebraic geometry, complex analysis and calculus. In the past, mathematicians realized that the geometry and analysis of algebraic curves could be better understood from an associated abelian variety called the Jacobian and specific functions on the Jacobian named theta-functions.

Izadi has solved the final, most technically difficult step in the analysis of the Jacobian of a curve and of its theta divisor. This work has attracted funding from the National Science Foundation and established Izadi as a leading expert in the field.

Kadish, professor of women’s studies and romance languages, is generating new interest in the emerging field of French slavery studies through her research. Slavery in France and its overseas colonies is one of the least understood components of 19th century French studies. Bringing together such diverse fields as drama, history, journalism, linguistics and literature, Kadish is highlighting the need for 19th century scholars to recognize the integral role of colonialism and slavery in French literary history.

Her work focuses on the experiences of women in slavery, the writings of 18th century French women and the works of contemporary women who write about slavery. These studies enable scholars to make connections between literary texts and the social issues that underlie them.

McAlexander, professor of English, studies the life and works of Pulitzer Prize winning writer Peter Taylor, who critics consider one of the finest writers of short fiction in 20th century America.

Throughout the course of his research, McAlexander has edited a collection of Taylor interviews and critical essays about Taylor’s work. His biography, Peter Taylor: A Writer’s Life, was recently nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. McAlexander also was nominated for Georgia Author of the Year in Creative Nonfiction for this work. His biography is praised for the picture it paints of the literary world in the latter half of the 20th century and for its ability to blend personal and professional aspects of Taylor’s life.


DISTINGUISHED RESEARCH PROFESSORS

Each year five UGA faculty members are named Distinguished Research Professors, an honor given to academicians whose work is recognized as being of the highest levels of creativity by national and international leaders in the discipline. This year’s recipients were Gary A. Dudley, Arthur M. Horne, Jared S. Klein, James N. Moore and Andrew H. Paterson.

Dudley, professor of exercise science and liaison for the UGA–Shepherd Center Disabilities and Rehabilitation Sciences Initiative, is recognized internationally for his research on muscle function and innovative research approaches.

His studies on skeletal muscle metabolism and the neuromuscular aspects of muscle lengthening represent advances in aerobic exercise training and in understanding the effects of muscle inactivity associated with space flight and chronic disease. His research also is investigating a potential relationship between spinal cord injuries and diabetes, heart disease and bone loss.

Horne, professor of counseling and human development services, is recognized internationally for his pioneering studies on child and adolescent disruptive behavior. His research addresses the challenges teachers and parents face when dealing with disruptive children.

By looking at the factors contributing to aggression, Horne has been able to create effective treatment and intervention programs. These programs, such as "Bully Busters" and ACT Early, have become integral parts of many national education programs.

Klein, professor of linguistics, classics and Germanic and Slavic languages, is a leading expert on comparative Indo-European linguistics. His research focuses on the syntax of Proto-Indo-European, the original language from which such languages as Greek, Latin, English, Russian and Sanskrit arose.

Klein’s research emphasizes the Rigveda, the most ancient Indian literary work, as well as the comparative syntax of the Gothic, Classical Armenian and Greek versions of the New Testament Gospels. His efforts are methodically laying the groundwork for an eventual reconstruction of the discourse structure of Proto-Indo-European.

Moore, professor and head of the department of large animal medicine, is a leader in equine medicine research and the development of new instructional tools. His research has increased awareness of and improved treatments for equine endotoxemia, a condition that arises from a reduction in blood supply to the intestines that allows bacterial toxins to enter the bloodstream.

His computer-based, three-dimensional simulations previously earned Moore the College of Veterinary Medicine’s David Tyler Award for Innovation in Teaching. He also helped organize the first Equine Colic Research Symposium, which has become an international event.

Paterson, professor of crop and soil sciences and director of the Plant Genome Mapping Laboratory in UGA’s Center for Applied Genetic Technologies, links structural and evolutionary genetic research with production agriculture.

Paterson’s lab has produced molecular maps of important crop genomes that are used extensively by other scientists who study cotton, sorghum, sugarcane, buffelgrass and peanut. His lab’s DNA markers also show potential for identifying agriculturally useful characteristics, such as increased grain yield and resistance to bacterial blight.


INVENTOR’S AWARD

Chung K. "David" Chu, Distinguished Research Professor in the College of Pharmacy, received the Inventor’s Award, given for a unique, creative and innovative discovery that has made an impact on the community. Chu has synthesized a number of possible pharmaceuticals, three of which are currently in Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of hepatitis B, HIV and leukemia, respectively.

In 2001, he received the prestigious MERIT Award from the NIH for his extensive research in drug design for HIV and AIDS-related diseases. Fewer than 5 percent of NIH investigators receive this award, and Chu is one of two UGA professors ever to win it.


ROBERT C. ANDERSON MEMORIAL AWARDS

Recent UGA doctoral students Jason M. Brown and Ernest S. Croot III received this year’s Robert C. Anderson Memorial Award for their outstanding research during graduate studies at the university and immediately thereafter. The award is named for the late Robert C. Anderson, who was UGA Vice President for Research and President of the University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc.

Brown, a doctoral graduate from the department of cellular biology, studies the assembly and maintenance of cilia, hair-like organelles that function in cell motility and sensation. His findings will not only fill gaps in cell biology but also may help lead to a better understanding of diseases caused by dysfunction of cilia, including respiratory distress, retinal degeneration disorders and infertility. Brown’s dissertation research culminated in an original hypothesis that describes how a soluble secreted factor controls the synthesis and uniformity of cilia.

Croot, a doctoral graduate from the department of mathematics, has solved several long-standing mathematical puzzles. He linked unit fractions to cyclotomic number fields and twin primes. He also resolved the Coloring Conjecture for Unit Fractions and has made an important contribution to the analysis of algorithms used in cryptographic systems that protect the security of electronic communication.


JAMES L. CARMON AWARD

Presented to a UGA graduate student for innovative use of computers, the James L. Carmon award was received by Travis S. Barman. Established by Control Data Corporation, the award was named for the late James L. Carmon, a UGA faculty member for 36 years who helped lead UGA in computer research and development.


Barman, a doctoral candidate in the department of physics and astronomy, conducts research on modeling of planetary atmospheres. In recent years, many planets have been discovered outside our solar system that orbit stars similar to our sun. These planets are difficult to detect directly. Barman is developing a computer code that will help astrophysicists search for these elusive planets. His work is gaining recognition both for the magnitude of computation involved and for the contribution it makes to the field.


GRADUATE STUDENT EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH AWARDS

Presented to recognize the quality and significance of graduate student scholarship, the Graduate Student Excellence in Research Awards are given in the areas of fine arts, humanities and letters, life sciences, mathematical and physical sciences and professional and applied studies. Recipients this year were Nathaniel J. Cosper, Jennifer K. Graff, Ning Jiang, Dominic J. Parrott and Robin O. Warren.

Cosper, a doctoral student in the department of chemistry, is recognized for both the sophistication and scope of his research. In one project he used X-ray absorption spectroscopy to investigate the active site of enzymes that are targets for anti-cancer drugs. Another area of his research involves the study of biochemical pathways in pathogenic bacteria as a target for new antibiotic drugs.

Graff, a master’s candidate in the Lamar Dodd School of Art, creates figurative ceramic sculptures that are distinctive for their complex surfaces and colors, large size and humorous depiction of the human figure. Graff incorporates influences from early Chinese, Egyptian and Pre-Columbian ceramics as well as from contemporary artists such as Picasso, Henry Moore and Francis Bacon. Andy Nasisse, graduate coordinator for the Lamar Dodd School of Art, describes her pieces as "mature, cohesive and spirited" and her experimentation with scale, color and texture as "vital and ambitious research."

Jiang, a doctoral student in the plant biology department, is making contributions to understanding transposable elements, the mobile pieces of genetic material that make up the bulk of plant and animal genomes and contribute to evolution. Jiang described a new transposable element and is the first to find an active transposon family in rice. She also discovered that the most abundant plant transposable element, also called a transposon, tends to insert inside itself instead of into genes, which explains how plants tolerate large amounts of "junk DNA" and escape mutations.

Parrott, a doctoral student in the department of psychology, studies factors that influence aggression, such as nicotine deprivation in smokers, personality traits, homophobia, consumption of alcohol and gender. His studies seek to accurately predict conditions that will result in violence. In November 2001, Parrott received the Ramos Research Award from the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy for his broad study of aggression.

Warren, a doctoral student in the department of English, composes literary essays that combine Southern, Appalachian, Georgian, women’s and Renaissance literature. Her single-authored essays have been published in such journals as Southern Cultures and Renaissance Papers. Her growing reputation in the field of Southern literature resulted in an invitation to write encyclopedia articles on poet laureate of Georgia Bettie Sellers.

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