From Joro spiders and bald eagles to Guggenheim Fellows and “good stress,” 2022 was another fascinating year for UGA research. Here are 12 stories that capture readers’ attention and showcase the breadth of scholarly activity across the University of Georgia.

In academia, “experiential learning” has become a buzzword, but the concept has been around a lot longer than the catchphrase. In simplest terms, it means hands-on learning, and the faculty and staff at the University of Georgia Meat Science Technology Center are masters of the craft.

When a swarm of honeybees takes up residence in your house, you may not know who to call to help safely relocate the pollinators and preserve your home in the process. Thanks to a new certification program through the Georgia Department of Agriculture called Honeybee Control and Removal, it will be easier for residents to locate licensed professionals to handle the job.

Takiyah Ball is a food safety microbiologist at Sargento Foods, but she doesn’t work in a lab. And though Sargento is known for its premium natural cheese products, Sargento is not a cheesemaker.

University of Georgia alumna Kirsten Allen was named a 2023 Quad Fellow, making her one of 100 international applicants in the fellowship’s inaugural cohort. The Quad Fellowship is a scholarship supporting interdisciplinary innovation in science and technology by connecting graduate students from the four Quad countries: Australia, India, Japan and the United States.

From year to year, many row crop producers rotate the crops they plant to reduce pest and disease pressure and to benefit the land, often alternating peanuts with cotton and corn. Peanuts in particular are considered an important cash crop for many farmers.

Each year, hundreds of international researchers — from master’s degree students to academic faculty — apply to come to the University of Georgia to work in a wide range of academic fields. In the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, dozens of international research scholars are working with faculty on important research that furthers the mission of the college while benefiting visiting scholars and their home institutions.

Farmers are tough. They work long days at physically demanding, often dangerous work and rarely get a break, much less a vacation. Months of hard work can be wiped out with a few days of bad weather, and they battle nature at every turn, from drought and floods to weeds and insects.

The National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center announced that bitterly cold conditions during the holiday season are likely. Northern areas of the Southeast region are the most likely to experience the wintry temperatures, but even Florida may experience freezing weather.