CAES Newswire

 College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences UGA Cooperative Extension
Menu
Published on 05/16/19

Bodie Pennisi named Public Service and Outreach Faculty Fellow at UGA

By Sharon Dowdy

University of Georgia Department of Horticulture Professor Bodie Pennisi has been named a UGA Public Service and Outreach (PSO) Faculty Fellow for 2019-2020.

The PSO Fellowship Program provides UGA professors with an opportunity to apply their research and course curriculum to the needs of a specific PSO unit. The program creates sustained relationships between the designated unit and the Faculty Fellows’ department.

Through the fellowship, Pennisi will work with UGA’s Small Business Development Center to implement online business training designed for landscape business owners and managers.

The training will include essential topics like financials, marketing, cost estimating, employee retention and customer service.

In the future, the online training module will be used across UGA Cooperative Extension and as an online class for UGA undergraduate students. An experienced online educator, Pennisi will be using her horticulture and landscape expertise to help small businesses across Georgia.

She currently teaches three online courses at UGA — “Plant Physiology,” “Herbs, Spices, and Medicinal Plants,” and “Plants, Pollinators, and You.”

Based on the UGA Griffin campus, Pennisi coordinates a statewide program that supports the professional landscape industry. As UGA Extension’s horticulturist and landscape specialist, she also assists UGA Extension agents with landscape troubleshooting, landscape planning and local programming. She also conducts applied research focused on evaluating wildflowers and ornamental plants for attractiveness to pollinators and natural enemies, as well as other sustainable practices for outdoor and indoor landscapes.  

She serves as educational adviser to the Georgia Green Industry Association, the Urban Agriculture Council and the national nonprofit organization Green Plants for Green Buildings. She also serves on the environmental committee of the National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture, the board of directors of the Griffin Region College and Career Academy, and is a co-editor-in-chief of the journal Scientia Horticulturae.

Sharon Dowdy is a news editor with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Authors:
Sharon Dowdy
Experts/Sources:
Bodie Pennisi
Based on the UGA Griffin campus, Bodie Pennisi coordinates a statewide program that supports the professional landscape industry. She also assists UGA Extension agents with landscape troubleshooting, landscape planning and local programming, and she conducts applied research on wildflowers and ornamental plants.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.
Download Image
HurricaneHeleneGreenhouseDamageCropped CAES News
UGA Extension supports resilience in Georgia farm communities after Hurricane Helene 12/19/24 Emily Cabrera
Hurricane Helene wrought sweeping devastation across Georgia’s agricultural sector in late September, leaving an indelible mark on both the land and the people who tend it, bringing focus to vulnerabilities in Georgia’s farming industry and the need for more robust safety nets. In addition to the physical destruction, the hurricane took an emotional toll on Georgia’s farmers. In response, UGA Extension has prioritized mental health support.
Janiver in sunflower field AI web CAES News
A larger-than-life legacy: CAES student’s contagious enthusiasm inspired others 12/17/24 Jordan Powers
When Miriam Edelkind-Vealey applied for a summer role at a University of Georgia pollinator biodiversity lab in 2020, the junior undergrad didn’t quite know what to expect. After being told she got the position, Edelkind-Vealy didn’t hear anything for a few weeks. It was only then that she learned a collaborator on the project, second-year master’s degree student Amy Joy Janvier, had passed away.
University of Georgia startup CytoNest Inc. released its first commercial product this year, a fiber scaffold that optimizes cell manufacturing and tissue engineering. (Photo by Lauren Corcino) CAES News
UGA again ranks No. 1 in new research-based products 11/04/24 Brandon Ward
The University of Georgia once again ranks No. 1 among U.S. universities for the number of commercial products to market based on its research, according to an annual survey conducted by AUTM. For nine straight years, UGA has placed in the top two and has never appeared out of the Top 5 in the 11 years the survey has been reported by AUTM. UGA industry partners and startups released a record 66 new products developed from the university’s research in fiscal year 2023, on which the AUTM report is based.
Kevan Lamm teaching undergraduate students CAES News
CAES researchers prepare students to address complex challenges of the future 10/29/24 Emily Cabrera
Over the next three years, researchers in the University of Georgia’s Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication aim to transform undergraduate education in agricultural and environmental sciences by integrating systems thinking — an approach that encourages students to see the bigger picture by understanding how different components within a system interact.
Combining data collection and analysis with plant pathology, precision agriculture and robotics, the UGA team will build a photographic library of the foliar symptoms caused by onion diseases and other physiological disorders, feed them into the AI software, and use machine learning to identify the diseases based on pattern and color recognition from the images. CAES News
UGA uses AI, robotics to improve Georgia’s Vidalia sweet onion crop 10/23/24 Jordan Powers
A multidisciplinary team of UGA researchers aims to enhance the competitiveness of Vidalia onion growers in Georgia by providing them with the ability to confidently detect onion diseases early, enabling them to make management decisions on their crop at a critical time. These abilities, researchers say, should result in increased yield and quality of marketable onions and an overall increase in efficiency and productivity.
Associate Professor Rhuanito Ferrarezi poses with a Gerber daisy grown by students in his 4050/6050 Greenhouse Management class in fall 2023. CAES News
Upcoming UGA plant sales bring color to fall 10/15/24 Maria M. Lameiras
Fall weather means fall gardening, and several groups at the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences will be offering the fruits of their labors at ornamental plant sales across campus this semester. On Friday, Oct. 18, the Trial Gardens at University of Georgia will hold its annual Fall Houseplant Sale, and on Wednesday, Nov. 20, greenhouse management students will offer their ornamental plant sale at the South Milledge Greenhouse Complex.