Renowned mycologist Marin Brewer has been appointed as the new head of the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Georgia's College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. A distinguished scholar and educator, Brewer joined CAES in 2011 and was named the William Terrell Distinguished Professor in 2022. Her research has focused on the evolution and diversity of plant-pathogenic fungi, with particular interest in fungicide resistance, host specialization and fungal mating systems.

For the 20th consecutive year, the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences hosted the prestigious E. Broadus Browne Research Awards competition, resulting in three new graduate students being honored for their outstanding efforts in research and communication. In recognition of former Georgia Agricultural Experiment Station Director Edmund Broadus Browne, the annual competition highlights some of the best graduate research from departments within the college and challenges contestants with an oral presentation. 

Five University of Georgia faculty and staff members are being honored for their commitment to public service and outreach. Phillip Brannen, professor and UGA Cooperative Extension specialist in the plant pathology department in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, has been named a Walter Barnard Hill Fellow for Distinguished Achievement in Public Service and Outreach. Jacob Price, a senior public service associate and Lowndes County Extension coordinator, received the Walter Barnard Hill Award.

Five University of Georgia faculty have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, bringing the university’s total membership in the exclusive group to 50. UGA’s new Fellows, including Melissa Mitchum of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, are elected each year by the AAAS Council to recognize scientific achievements.

For the first time in its history, the University of Georgia topped $600 million in research and development expenditures in fiscal year 2024. Its $628.1 million in expenditures represents a 10% increase year over year and yet another record high in R&D activity, marking the sixth consecutive year of growth for the university. “The University of Georgia is embracing its role as one of America’s top public research universities, and I am grateful to everyone who is helping us advance this vital mission,” said President Jere W. Morehead.

People love the taste of sugar beets’ primary byproduct: white sugar. Soilborne cyst nematodes — parasitic, microscopic worms — enjoy the root vegetable, too, but as their sole food source. It’s an obstinate, expensive problem for farmers that researchers at the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences are working to solve.