Where You Go – UGA Research 2025 Impact Report

WHERE YOU

Virtual reality hurricane prep

Leading the charge in e-mobility

Searching for worms in Antarctica

Managing the (water) flow along I-85

WHERE YOU

Managing the (water) flow along I-85

Searching for worms in Antarctica

Leading the charge in e-mobility

Virtual reality hurricane prep

A red V-shaped line with a gradient, positioned against a light gray background.

Managing the (water) flow along I-85

Map showing Interstate 85 running from Atlanta, Georgia through South Carolina to Charlotte, North Carolina with cities and states labeled.

Population growth and development along the “I-85 Corridor”—the roughly 250 miles between Atlanta and Charlotte —have created or exacerbated a host of environmental issues, many of them related to water and waterways. UGA researchers across a number of colleges and research units are studying these phenomena and coming up with strategies to help state agencies, municipalities and even private organizations manage these challenges. (Illustration by Lauren Corcino)

The Interstate 85 corridor from Atlanta to Charlotte, as well as the watersheds and river basins between that corridor and the Atlantic Ocean, have been a living laboratory for researchers from the Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems and the River Basin Center. Low-flowing waterways, urban heat islands, aging wastewater and sewage systems, and environmental contamination from agricultural inputs are just a few of the challenges they’re studying. The solutions they propose could change the way infrastructure is developed within these crucial population centers. Read More >>

Searching for worms in Antarctica

Franklin College of Arts and Sciences Assistant Professor Holly Bik

A person in a red parka stands on a ship with pack ice and open water visible in the background under a clear sky.

Adélie penguins “porpoise” at the water’s surface, leaping and diving like the animal the term refers to. Researchers watched this group run fins-out across the ice to dive into the water, only to see them emerge again as they scurried away from the ship. For the penguins, the ice was no barrier to movement. For the research vessel, it was a challenging obstacle to overcome, leaving many passengers nauseous from the uneven motion through the terrain.

From left: Pereira, Barros, De Santiago and Bik meet to discuss how to align sampling schedules with the ship’s constantly evolving route. The ship’s path often shifted hourly due to changing ice conditions, inaccurate depth maps and the weather forecast. Frequent meetings were imperative to ensure everyone was ready to quickly process sediment cores whenever they came on deck.

Hila Shooter (left) and Matt Louis haul aboard the Megacore, an instrument primarily used to collect seafloor samples. The lander was slowly lowered to the seafloor on hundreds of meters of cable before its tubes were pushed into the bottom. Seafloor mud remains stacked in the tubes as the machine returns to the ship.

From left: Pereira, Bik and Mirayana Barros discuss a new sampling plan. The equipment techs worried that rocks on the seafloor would break the plastic collection tubes, so mud in the plastic bag was collected differently. Instead of the typical seafloor sampler, they used an instrument like a mini-excavator scoop that almost nobody on board had used before.

Three people wearing safety gear handle a large ice sample on a worktable outdoors; a box of Kimtech wipes is nearby.

In Spring 2023, Franklin College of Arts and Sciences Assistant Professor Holly Bik sailed on a frigid, 48-day voyage to East Antarctica, where no research vessel had gone in 22 years. There, she and colleagues searched the seafloor for marine nematodes, examining how they live to learn more about their polar marine ecosystems. Discoveries about these worms help scientists pinpoint adaptations and evaluate how organisms all over the world demonstrate resilience to changing climates. Read More >>

Leading the charge in e-mobility

Attendees look at an electric Rivian R1S sports utility vehicle on a break from the 2024 Electric Mobility Summit at the Classic Center.

Attendees socialize with each other before the start of the 2024 Electric Mobility Summit at the Classic Center.

(L-R) Georgia Power Region Director Tony Ferguson leads a Workforce Study Fireside Chat along with Savannah Economic Development Authority President & CEO of Workforce Anna Chafin and Carl Vinson Institute of Government Associate Director Workforce and Economic Development Greg Wilson during the 2024 Electric Mobility Summit at the Classic Center.

UGA is helping to lead Georgia’s advance toward electric mobility for Georgia thanks in part to a pair of gifts from Kia and Cox Automotive. The monetary commitments provide support for undergraduate scholarships, graduate research fellowships, community engagement programs, and experiential learning opportunities like co-ops, internships, and capstone projects. The College of Engineering hosted its third annual Electric Mobility Summit in April 2024. Read More >>

Virtual reality hurricane prep

Sun Joo “Grace” Ahn in UGA’s Grady College of Journalism & Mass Communication collaborated with researchers from Clemson University, Georgia Sea Grant, South Carolina Sea Grant, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to create Weather the Storm, a virtual reality simulation that puts users in the middle of hurricane storm surge. The VR experience is paired with video from Hurricane Ian, which struck Florida in 2022 and caused widespread damage across the Southeast. Read More >>