最大资源采集网 poet and scholar Ed Pavli膰 was named a听, a prestigious honor for professionals working across the arts, humanities and sciences. Pavli膰, a Distinguished 最大资源采集网 Professor of English and African American Studies in the听, was one of 223 academics, scientists, independent scholars, writers and artists selected for the 101st class of Guggenheim Fellows from a pool of almost 5,000 applicants.

鈥淓d Pavli膰鈥檚 selection as a Guggenheim Fellow is a remarkable honor and a powerful affirmation of the scope and significance of his work,鈥� said Benjamin C. Ayers, the university鈥檚 senior vice president for academic affairs and provost. 鈥淭hrough scholarship and creative practice of extraordinary depth and cultural importance, he exemplifies the highest standards of excellence in the humanities and brings significant distinction to the 最大资源采集网.鈥�

Guggenheim Fellowships are given to individuals based on prior career achievements and future promise, spanning the creative arts, humanities and the natural and social sciences. The fellowships, managed by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, come with funding to pursue 鈥渋ndependent work at the highest level under the freest conditions.鈥�

Pavli膰 has authored 13 books, including volumes of poetry, a novel and critical studies of literature, music and film. He has also published essays in more than 60 magazines, centered on African American and diasporic life and culture. In the past decade, much of his writing has focused on the life and work of another Guggenheim Fellow, James Baldwin, the author and civil rights icon who was one of America鈥檚 towering literary and public figures of the 20th century.

Pavli膰 is under contract with Henry Holt & Company to publish 鈥淒arker than Blue: A Radical Life of James Baldwin,鈥� a literary biography drawing on archives from around the United States, private collections as well four decades of letters between Baldwin and his closest brother, David. Pavli膰 was granted access to the letters, previously unseen by scholars, by Baldwin鈥檚 family.

鈥淚鈥檓 immensely grateful to the Guggenheim Foundation,鈥� Pavli膰 said. 鈥淭his support is like pure oxygen for a writer like me 鈥� the contemplative space and uninterrupted focus enabled by this utterly unique kind of support will benefit 鈥楧arker Than Blue鈥櫶齣n ways impossible to forecast. The fellowship will directly enhance my ability to script encounters with this crucial figure, his incredible work as well as the eras he engaged in such powerful and unique ways. In learning more about the great artists, and Baldwin is one of the greatest, we learn things that are otherwise impossible to discern about ourselves and each other.鈥�

With his Guggenheim Fellowship, Pavli膰 expects to finish his book in time for publication in 2028.

鈥淓d is a prolific scholar whose work on Baldwin has illuminated the complexity of this great artist,鈥� said Anna Stenport, dean of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. 鈥淚鈥檓 so proud that the Guggenheim Foundation is supporting a project that I believe will become听the听resource for those seeking to understand Baldwin against the sociopolitical backdrop of his time.鈥�

Adoctoral candidate from the 最大资源采集网鈥檚听听developed a mobile-first artificial intelligence platform to improve disease surveillance in low-resource settings. Jane Odum鈥檚 tool, called EpiCast, earned first place and $30,000 in last month鈥檚 Google-sponsored MedGemma Impact Challenge.

鈥淩ecognition of our faculty and/or students at national and international competitions is a testament to the strong work they are doing and the quality of our programs,鈥� said Gagan Agrawal, the director of the UGA听听where Odum is pursuing her doctorate.

The competition invites developers to build human-centered AI applications that tackle complex health care problems. More than 850 teams entered the competition.

鈥淛ane possesses a rare ability to blend deep technical expertise with practical problem-solving,鈥� said鈥疛ohn Miller, a professor in the School of Computing. 鈥淗er work on EpiCast demonstrates strong initiative in creating applications with real-world impact.鈥�

Miller has been advising Odum鈥檚 doctoral research on diffusion-based generative models for epidemiological forecasting, work that directly informed the development of EpiCast.

In 2020, community health workers across West Africa began noticing warning signs of the illness now known as COVID-19, such as fever, cough and respiratory distress weeks before formal reporting to national or World Health Organization surveillance systems.

Those observations were often handwritten in notebooks and recorded in multiple languages, causing delays occurring before reaching official systems. By the time lab confirmations arrived, opportunities to contain outbreaks had already passed. This gap inspired Odum to create EpiCast.

New AI tech can help share early disease detection information across borders

Born and raised in Nigeria, Odum was there during the 2014 Ebola outbreak.

鈥淭he speed at which the disease was spreading was terrifying,鈥� she said. 鈥淥ur church organized procedures to monitor symptoms in our community. There was so much fear. That experience was the first time I understood what community health workers do and how critical their role is in collecting health information on the ground.鈥�

Odum was back in Nigeria visiting family when COVID-19 emerged.

鈥淏y the time the first case was officially confirmed in Nigeria in February 2020, the virus had already begun to spread,鈥� she said. 鈥淐ommunity health workers were detecting cases early on, but the systems in place to capture and share that information were not equipped to get it to the right people quickly enough to contain the outbreak.鈥�

If you make it easier for health workers to report what they are seeing in the languages they actually use, disease surveillance works better and outbreaks get caught earlier.

Jane Odum, Franklin College of Arts & Sciences

Memories of the two outbreaks came back to Odum when the MedGemma Impact Challenge was announced.

She wanted to build a tool that would help community health workers speak in their own native languages while also monitoring symptoms across their regions.

鈥淚f you make it easier for health workers to report what they are seeing in the languages they actually use,鈥� she said, 鈥渄isease surveillance works better and outbreaks get caught earlier.鈥�

Connecting clinical observations with formal disease surveillance听

EpiCast lets community health workers describe patient symptoms in their own language; the system then converts this input into structured clinical data aligned with global health standards.

It identifies likely symptoms, assigns severity levels and maps cases to standardized diagnostic codes within seconds. The result is a tool that connects informal clinical observations with formal surveillance systems, supporting earlier detection of outbreaks and faster public health response.

鈥淲aiting even small amounts of time per patient can disrupt workflow in a busy clinic,鈥� Odum said. 鈥淚f the system is not fast and reliable, it will not be used.鈥�

Unlike many traditional AI systems that rely on cloud computing, EpiCast runs directly on a mobile device. Odum optimized advanced medical language models to function offline, reducing processing time from minutes to seconds and removing the need for reliable internet connectivity.

鈥淓arly detection is everything in outbreak response,鈥� Odum said. 鈥淚f we can capture signals at the community level in real-time, we can change the course of an epidemic.鈥�

听signed his job offer from a hospital room,听finalizing听his return to the 最大资源采集网 just hours before the birth of his daughter.

鈥淎t that point, I knew this was going to be a lifestyle career,鈥� said Kinane, assistant professor of silviculture at the听.

For him, Warnell was already听familiar听ground, a place that had shaped him as a graduate student听years听earlier. There, he saw firsthand the dedication faculty brought to mentoring students, the way colleagues collaborated across听disciplines听and the lasting connection alumni听maintained听long after graduation.

But his path to forestry began long before he arrived at Warnell.

Growing up, Kinane spent much of his time outdoors as an Eagle Scout, while his father, a forestry graduate from North Carolina State University, built a career as a soil conservationist. Those early experiences made the field feel like a natural fit, but what drew him in was its breadth.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a very multidisciplinary field,鈥� Kinane said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e听trying to understand how a biological system behaves, and听you鈥檙e听using tools from economics, biometrics,听chemistry听and calculus to measure and model it.听That鈥檚听what I really like about it.鈥�

After earning his bachelor鈥檚 degree from NC State, Kinane came to Warnell for graduate school, completing his master鈥檚 and Ph.D. before working as an inventory analyst. He returned in 2023 to join the faculty.

鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 have听gone just听anywhere,鈥� he said, noting he applied to only a handful of academic positions.

He said the sense of investment and support at Warnell, from听faculty, alumni and the broader community, was a major factor in his decision to return.

Now, he teaches alongside former mentors, a shift that continues to shape how he approaches his role.

鈥淭o think about them as colleagues is special,鈥� he said. 鈥淧eople like Pete Bettinger, a great professor and now an incredible colleague and mentor.鈥�

In 2025, Kinane received the Xi Sigma Pi Outstanding Teacher of the Year award, recognition that matters because of who it comes from 鈥� his students.

鈥淚f you can connect with students, that鈥檚 everything,鈥� Kinane said. 鈥淲e can make this fun, or we can make it just a job.鈥�

His approach balances听challenge听with adaptability. He said he听isn鈥檛听afraid to push students, trusting they can meet听high expectations.

鈥淎t the end of the day,听they鈥檒l听be able to do it. You听have to听put a little pressure on at times.听That鈥檚听how they learn,鈥澨齂inane said.

He also emphasizes meeting students where they are. Forestry education at Warnell blends traditional coursework with hands-on, outdoor experiences.

鈥淲e have a very strong classroom component,鈥� Kinane said. 鈥淏ut a lot of people come to Warnell to do things outside. We听have the ability to听bridge that gap, to have tangible experiences while听we鈥檙e听also doing core lectures.鈥�

For听Kinane, that听flexibility and presence are essential.

He sees teaching as extending beyond class into extracurriculars,听fieldwork听and the connections that create a sense of belonging.

鈥淚t鈥檚听more than just taking classes.听It鈥檚听a way of life,鈥� Kinane said.听鈥淲e鈥檙e听already a small community on a large campus.听Let鈥檚听stick together and have听a good time听while听we鈥檙e听trying to get them through the program.鈥�

He brings that same mindset to his research, where the stakes extend far beyond academia.

Kinane studies how forests grow, helping landowners make informed decisions shaped by markets and climate pressures. In forestry, outcomes unfold slowly, making reliable data essential.

鈥淭hese decisions can take decades to play out,鈥� Kinane said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to give people the best tools possible right now.鈥�

Through his work with the听, Kinane draws on more than 50 years of continuous data to support models that guide those decisions. That depth allows researchers to offer guidance grounded in real-world outcomes.

鈥淔or some people, this is their retirement.听It鈥檚听their livelihood,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to help them stay on the path to success.鈥�

Alongside that data,听new technologies, including remote sensing and artificial intelligence, are expanding what researchers can measure. But Kinane said they are not solutions on their own.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just that 鈥� a tool,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut it can help us make better decisions.鈥�

That long-term mindset carries into other parts of his life, too.

These days, much of his time revolves around his young daughter and family. When he can, he tends a garden of daylilies and irises or works on his truck, a slower, more deliberate pace than before.

鈥淚鈥檓 just trying to be a present dad,鈥澨齂inane said.

It鈥檚听a simple goal, one that mirrors how he approaches his career: steady and intentional.

Kinane has come full circle. And like the forests he studies,听he鈥檚听thinking long term about what听he鈥檚听helping grow for the future.

That same sense of investment shapes how he sees Warnell, a place defined not only by its research and reputation, but by the people committed to building something that lasts.

Kinane understood that as a student. Now, as听faculty, he is working to add to it.

From simulating the development of habitable exoplanets to harvesting the potential of miniscule vibrations, two 最大资源采集网 undergraduates have been honored for furthering research in their fields of study.

Juniors Vaughn Frost and Annie Mehta are among the 454 undergraduates from across the nation to be recognized as Barry Goldwater Scholars this spring. The scholarship is the highest undergraduate award of its type for the fields of mathematics, engineering and natural sciences and provides funding for students studying within these fields.

Frost is a Foundation Fellow and Honors student from Mountain Brook, Alabama, and is pursuing a bachelor鈥檚 degree in mechanical engineering in the听. Mehta is from New York City and is earning a bachelor鈥檚 degree in physics and astronomy in the听. Both started conducting research with their current labs in the spring of their freshman years, and both have worked with the听.

Since 1995, 72 students at UGA have received the Goldwater Scholarship, which recognizes exceptional sophomores and juniors across the United States.

鈥淭he 最大资源采集网 is proud to celebrate Vaughn and Annie for this tremendous achievement,鈥� said President Jere W. Morehead. 鈥淭hrough their outstanding work as undergraduates, they are already significantly contributing to their fields of study, highlighting the remarkable opportunities available to UGA students during their time on campus.鈥�

This year鈥檚 Goldwater recipients include 54 scholars who intend to pursue research careers in mathematics and computer science, 237 in the sciences, 98 in medicine and 65 in engineering and materials research. Ten scholars are from Georgia institutions.

鈥淰aughn and Annie are听conducting research with their faculty mentors that will have impacts in the lab, in the air and deep into space,鈥澨齭aid Meg Amstutz, dean of the听. 鈥淭heir intellectual curiosity and excitement really exemplify why undergraduate research at UGA is thriving.鈥�

Vaughn Frost

Frost plans to pursue a doctorate in mechanical engineering, specializing in acoustics, vibrations and fluid-structure interactions. His goal is to study the minuscule movements of vibrations to find methods to prevent their destruction and harvest their potential.

鈥淲inning the Goldwater has affirmed my commitment to pursuing a career in research,鈥� Frost said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really inspiring to know that a group of highly qualified people who work in my field of study believe I have the potential to reach their level of success one day. As I reflect on this award, I can鈥檛 help to be humbled and extremely grateful for all of the professors and mentors in my life who have pushed me and gone out of their way to support me in my academics; it really doesn鈥檛 feel like an individual achievement whatsoever.鈥�

Frost鈥檚 research includes numerous projects with UGA associate professor Benjamin Davis in his Dynamic Devices and Solutions Lab. The Davis lab houses the largest university water tunnel in the Southeast, and Frost has learned how to use it, along with lasers, sensors and other equipment, to successfully run a variety of experiments.

Frost鈥檚 primary research involves looking at the impeller blades in a rocket engine and how they vibrate as they increase the flow and pressure of a fluid. He鈥檚 searching for ways to avoid catastrophic failure, also known as resonance, in rocket engines to help make launches safer and to bring down construction costs.

In addition to his primary project, Frost designed experiments that imitate fish movements, working to capture the energy of a flowing river and turn it into a usable force. He also studied how flat plates with different coatings move through the water. In January, he began working on a signal recovery optimization problem that carries important applications in the fields of dynamic testing and structural analysis.

Outside of the lab, Frost is involved in after-school tutoring through student-led organization Whatever It Takes as director of community engagement. He is an ambassador for the Morehead Honors College, a grader for an introduction to thermodynamics class and a fraternity historian for Phi Gamma Delta. Frost is also a member of the Dean William Tate Honor Society, Tau Beta Pi and a UGA Presidential Scholar.

In 2025, Frost traveled to Valencia, Spain, to spend eight weeks as an apprentice at the civil engineering firm La Mano Derecha. During his time there, he created floor plans and product designs, while also improving his Spanish.

Annie Mehta

Mehta plans to pursue a doctorate in computational astrophysics. Her goal is to narrow the search for habitable exoplanets by developing more advanced simulation software for analyzing early star formation. She wants to promote access to the findings through open-source software.

鈥淲inning Goldwater has given me a verifiable seal of approval that I can follow a meandering trajectory that inspires me 鈥� take classes that challenge and intrigue me, chase what sparks my curiosity, be rejected from some things and accepted to others 鈥� and still have that count for something tangible,鈥� Mehta said. 鈥淲e inherit this assumption that school and mathematics and astrophysics are miserably hard. I feel encouraged that I can explore the world with a sense of joy, humor and genuine curiosity and still produce meaningful results.鈥�

With Cassandra Hall, UGA assistant professor of computational astrophysics, Mehta is working on a project to classify protoplanetary disks, which are the birthplaces of solar systems. Using high-performance computing to work with a high volume of observational datasets, she hopes to generate new information about key planetary formation conditions.

Mehta also works in the听听with Deepak Mishra, UGA professor of geography. She leads all communications development, which encompasses ground-to-space and space-to-ground data handling, on the upcoming mission launches. And with Phillip Stancil, UGA professor of physics, Mehta modeled the molecular emissions of young stellar objects to examine early star formation environments.

After winning a NASA L鈥橲PACE competition against 26 other teams, Mehta and her group were awarded $10,000 by the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and Arizona State University as seed funding. They used the funding to develop a functional prototype of a solar sail steering system based on NASA鈥檚 Advanced Composite Solar Sail System.

Last summer through the National Science Foundation鈥檚 最大资源采集网 Experiences for Undergraduates program, Mehta conducted research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology鈥檚 Haystack Observatory. She developed skills in large-scale radio data analysis, learning to identify meaningful patterns in complex datasets.

In addition to her research, Mehta co-leads a peer mentorship program in physics and astronomy at UGA. She is a research mentor for the Fulton Science Academy鈥檚 astronomy club, a student pilot through the UGA Aviation Club and a remote tutor for School District 14 in New York. She is also a senior member of the Civil Air Patrol鈥檚 local squadron, Squadron 452, and has been volunteering with them at Athens-Ben Epps Airport.

For more information on the Goldwater Scholarship, visit听.

UGA鈥檚 major scholarships office, housed in the Morehead Honors College, provides students across campus with assistance as they apply for national, high-level scholarships. For more information, contact Jessica Hunt at听jhunt@uga.edu听or visit听.