Browse Profiles and Awards Stories - Page 2

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.

Accomplished 4-H youth and the adults who empower them gathered at the 81st Georgia 4-H State Congress in Atlanta July 23-26. The weeklong event for top 4-H’ers features state-level Project Achievement and Leadership in Action competitions and recognizes youth development professionals and community supporters contributing to the success of 4-H in Georgia. More than 200 youth delegates competed in 50 Project Achievement areas and eight youth delegates competed in the Leadership in Action contest during annual event.

For Joseph McHugh, a career as an entomologist was never in question: He became fascinated by insects and their diversity in grade school and his passion never wavered. This year, his internationally recognized leadership in the field he loves was rewarded as he was named the Herbert H. and Jean A. Ross Memorial Distinguished Professor of Insect Systematics and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

An outreach program offered by the University of Georgia has received federal funding to train military veterans to start their own farms. Farm Boot Camp, a specialized training program for military veterans and their spouses, offers free monthly trainings and specialized workshops to provide essential skills and knowledge needed to start or return to farming operations.

An innovator in peanut breeding whose research revitalized an industry and an ardent champion of agricultural education were inducted into the Georgia Agricultural Hall of Fame at the 68th University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Alumni Association Awards in Athens. The 2024 honorees are William D. Branch, Georgia Seed Development Professor in Peanut Breeding and Genetics in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, and Elzie Argene Claxton, an agriculture educator and 1980 CAES agricultural education graduate.

Another successful cycle of the University of Georgia’s FABricate Entrepreneurial Initiative wrapped up Tuesday night at the Delta Innovation Hub, with a sustainable pool-maintenance solution winning the $10,000 grand prize. Pool Protection Technologies, founded by UGA College of Engineering students Garrett Stigall and Guy Gober, highlighted its high-quality sound amplifying machine (SAM) that treats algae growth in pools.

The door to UGArden’s herb drying room leads to an olfactory explosion — sharp peppermint, earthy tulsi, sweet calendula and floral chamomile mix into an herbal perfume that would undoubtedly have tea drinkers reaching for their kettles. Now University of Georgia students will be able to get a taste of UGArden’s chamomile tea, along with a selection of the student community farm’s other herbal teas, with their campus meals as the UGArden medicinal herb program expands into UGA dining halls this spring.

Seven alumni from the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences will be recognized at the 68th annual CAES Alumni Association Awards banquet on April 6. Two Georgia agricultural leaders will be inducted into the Georgia Agricultural Hall of Fame at the event, hosted at the Classic Center in Athens. “Georgia’s No. 1 industry — agriculture — is that because of the people that are part of the industry,” said Becca Turner, CAES Alumni Association board president.

The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences has relaunched an important administrative office to better reflect the broad student support programs available throughout the college and to align diversity efforts within the college more closely with overall UGA efforts. “The name change better represents the student support services and inclusiveness provided by the office in support of our college’s mission of academic excellence,” said Lakecia Pettway, the office's director.