Schmidt Lab Alumni

Franklin College of Arts and Sciences has started an alumni award program. Feel free to let me know if you want to be considered for any of the award categories. The deadline for nomination packages is Sept 30, and nominations require two Letters of Recommendation and a CV/resume. Graduates as recent as the classes of '15 and '18 have been awardees. Hoping all is well for each of you.

Alumni Awards | Franklin College of Arts and Sciences

The new academic cycle starts anew with lots of buzz around campus. I continue teaching in the same 3 lecture classes (FYOS 1001, BCMB 3100, and BCMB 8214), but this year there is a wrinkle. The BCMB department nominated me for the Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professorship. While an honor, it does require me to prepare a 25-page dossier that includes extensive teaching analyses and letters of support, that some of you have kindly provided. Word on the street is that it may take a few tries to earn the honor. In the lab, the March 5th grant proposal didn't fare well, so we are now in between grants. This means no grad students for the foreseeable future, fewer undergrads, and a lot of grant writing. Going to try my luck with an NSF proposal and will also resubmit an update to the failed NIH grant in November. Wish me luck! All else is good, and I hope that you are all well. Random updates from some of you reflect amazing professional advancements, positive life-changing events (marriages/kids), and fun vacations to places on my bucket list. Keep changing the world, everyone!!

Welcome to the New Year, everyone! Having the CFP 'ship finally go our way was a great follow-up to the Braves' World Series win. I am convinced that the UGA outcome was inevitable because this was the first season that I owned season tickets. Had UGA Sports awarded me tickets earlier in my career, maybe they'd have had won the CFP sooner 😀. The buzz around town is still upbeat (see link), with a parade and a celebration event planned for tomorrow. The new year also brought the opening of Stem 1 (left building in the photo) and Stem 2 is nearing completion (right). On the lab front, one of my graduate students (Brittany) graduated in December, and she is now working in Ohio, which may pose a challenge sports-wise since she is an ardent supporter of the Maize & Blue (U Mich). Another grad student married recently, and yet another is engaged, so the lab social calendar is busy. Everyone continues to progress well with their research despite the challenges of Covid. Current UGA Covid positive rates are high (15% through surveillance testing) but severe illness seems to be waning, likely due to many being vaccinated. I'm not in the class this semester, so perhaps I can avoid catching Covid for a bit longer. On the home front, our kids are thriving. Our daughter is enjoying M1 at FAU, while our son finished his Fall internship at Long Engineering in ATL with an offer to return (the company helped design/build Mercedes Benz Stadium). His internship workplace was located next to Truist Park, so he was up close and personal to the Braves' World Series run. Wishing everyone a joyous and safe new year!

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/33061912/georgia-bulldogs-qb-stetson-bennett-surprises-customers-raising-cane-chicken-restaurant