The Rivers of Iris exhibit at the Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens (CGBG) is flourishing, but the technicolor blooms aren’t the only things attracting attention. Stan Gray, volunteer iris curator at CGBG, and Brian Shamblin, an associate research scientist with the University of Georgia’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, are growing several mystery irises at the gardens that could prove to be one of two exceptionally rare iris species: Iris rivularis or a variant of Iris hexagona.

The seventh cohort of the Women’s Staff Leadership Institute celebrated its graduation with a reception March 25. “I want to say first, congratulations to all of you graduating,” said Stacy Jones, associate vice president for public service and outreach and WSLI co-sponsor. “I hope that as you continue to walk as graduates and alumnae of this program that you pay attention to the fact that you’re taking some amazing journeys.”

The 2025 Georgia Aquaculture Conference will advance sustainable aquaculture practices and foster economic growth across the state. Hosted by University of Georgia Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant, the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, the conference will take place on April 18 at the UGA Center for Continuing Education and Hotel in Athens.

In the most competitive FABricate contest to date, Sean Snarey, a graduate student in agribusiness in the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, took home the $10,000 prize on March 27 for his automated poultry rehanging system. FABricate is an entrepreneurial pitch contest where students develop their idea for a new food product, new agricultural technology, new food or agricultural-related business or new environmental or sustainable business.

University of Georgia Regenerative Bioscience Center Director Steven Stice has been elected to the 2025 class of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) College of Fellows. Stice, Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar and D.W. Brooks Professor in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, was elected to the AIMBE by his peers in recognition of his pioneering contributions in translational human stem cell research and leadership in regenerative biology, education and advocacy.

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.

Sitting in his office at the Edgar L. Rhodes Center for Animal and Dairy Science at the University of Georgia, Lohitash Karumbaiah reflects on his path from working in the agricultural biotechnology industry in India to his current role researching ways to help the brain heal itself after traumatic brain injury and disease. “I’ve always had a deep sense of adventure and a desire for purpose, and I think my journey to where I am now reflects that quite well. Getting out of my comfort zone has been a huge part of my story,” said Karumbaiah.

Sometimes at work, it’s not just a case of the Mondays. The level of dissatisfaction employees have with their job can last beyond the start of the week. New University of Georgia research has found that employers and policymakers might want to start paying attention because employee happiness contains critical economic information. Susana Ferreira, professor of agricultural and applied economics in the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, used an empirical model to relate job satisfaction, wages and work environment.

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.