August 25, 2008

UGA Boosts Biofuel Research
University of Georgia bioenergy research could lead to cheaper fuel and cleaner skies a decade down the road. UGA researchers have earned new federal grants totaling $2.5 million to find better ways to produce biofuels. One grant is exploring how wood forms and biomass accumulates in sunflowers, which can reach heights of 21 feet. A separate grant will develop genetic and genomic tools to study the perennial foxtail millet, a relative of switchgrass that grows on poor soil with little water, fertilizer or pesticides. UGA researchers have already developed a technology that promises to dramatically increase ethanol yield from readily available non-food crops such as Bermudagrass and switchgrass – and even from yard waste.

In other bioenergy news, the University of Georgia has recruited forestry scientist Chung-Jui Tsai as the latest Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar. Her research will emphasize high-energy yielding trees for use in biofuel, which she hopes may lead to using trees as a power source rather than ethanol from food crops.

More on biofuels at UGA >
 
Brenau Renews Foreign Language Learning
This fall, Brenau University will roll out a new “portals of learning” liberal arts curriculum that includes improving students’ global awareness and enhancing language skills.  Brenau’s Language Bistro opened last spring, a laboratory for face-to-face learning where students can talk to each other in a different language and connect wirelessly to their instructor and the latest language software. Brenau is one of 10 universities selected this year for the Network for Effective Language Learning, created to help grow innovative technology-based approaches to teaching foreign languages. More > 

Spelman Launches Chinese Courses
Spelman College this fall begins offering courses in Chinese culture and the Mandarin language. The courses, designed to give Spelman women tools to interact with the growing economy of China, are part of an interdisciplinary curriculum of Spelman’s Lehman Brothers Center for Global Finance and Economic Development. Earlier this week, Spelman announced a separate anonymous $17 million gift to support international initiatives at the college. 

Clayton State Adds 4-Year Paralegal Degree
Clayton State University is building on success by adding a bachelor’s degree in paralegal studies to its existing certificate and associate’s degrees in the subject. More employers want paralegals to have a bachelor’s degree, and the field is popular among people who are changing careers. More >

Students Speak Their Mind 
Students at Georgia’s public colleges and universities think their professors are more often tolerant of different political views than fellow students are, according to a statewide study by the University System of Georgia. The results, which made national higher ed news, revealed that Georgia students hold a wide range of political and religious beliefs. A majority said they feel free to argue with professors but that other students do not respect views that differ from their own. Similar proportions reported an anti-Democratic/anti-liberal bias (12.9 percent) as an anti-Republican/anti-conservative bias (10.1 percent). More >

Lost Southern Churches at Columbia Seminary
An exhibit at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur features black-and-white silver photographs of outdoor baptismal fonts and the exteriors and interiors of lost southern churches by Dana Matthews. The exhibit will be at the Harrington Center on campus until September 30. Admission is free and open to the public.  More >

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Photo credits: Brenau University, Columbia Theological Seminary, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Georgia, University of West Georgia.