Spring & Summer 2025 Highlights Student Highlights Alex Music Awarded 2025 AAAS Mass Media Science & Engineering Fellowship UGA Atmospheric Sciences graduate student Alex Music was recently named a recipient of the 2025 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Mass Media Science & Engineering Fellowship. According to the AAAS website, “This 10-week summer program places science, engineering, and mathematics students at media organizations nationwide. Fellows use their academic training as they research, write, and report today’s headlines, sharpening their abilities to communicate complex scientific issues to the public. This highly competitive program strengthens the connections between scientists and journalists by placing advanced undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate level scientists, engineers, and mathematicians at media organizations nationwide. Fellows work as journalists at media organizations such as National Public Radio, Los Angeles Times, WIRED, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and NOVA. The Mass Media Fellows use their academic training in the sciences as they research, write and report today's headlines, sharpening their abilities to communicate complex scientific issues to non-specialists. Participants come in knowing the importance of translating their work for the public, but they leave with the tools and the know-how to accomplish this important goal. For 10 weeks during the summer, the AAAS Mass Media Science & Engineering Fellows collaborate with media professionals at radio and television stations, newspapers, and magazines. As part of their job, the scientists and their journalist-hosts strive to make science news easy for the public to understand. The program strives to improve public understanding of science by enhancing coverage of science-related issues in the media. By embedding science students and recent grads in media outlets, the Fellows learn how to communicate scientific topics in clear and engaging ways, better understand how science is covered in the media, and build up a professional network of scientists and journalists who can work together to share science effectively. In its 50-year history, the program has supported nearly 900 fellows.” UGA AMS Chapter Attends 150th American Meteorological Society Meeting Earlier this month, students and faculty from UGA’s chapter of the American Meteorological Society (AMS) attended the 105th AMS Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. This year’s meeting, held from January 17th - 22nd, was the world’s largest gathering of weather and climate professionals and students with over 6000 participants in attendance. This year’s meeting featured discussions on renewable energy, extreme weather, environmental health, and was focused around the theme “Towards a Thriving Planet: Charting the Course Across Scales.” UGA’s chapter of AMS was represented by 14 undergraduate students, 3 graduate students, and 3 faculty. At the meeting, UGA's AMS student chapter won honorable mention in the chapter poster contest. Dr. Marshall Shepherd was a panelist on the Presidential Plenary Forum. In addition, two UGA Atmospheric Sciences Alumni, Dr. Marcus Williams and Dr. Brad Johnson co-organized a session on land use cover. GUSTO Hosts Trip to Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace & Justice Earlier this Spring, the University of Georgia's Geography Undergraduate Student Organization (GUSTO) organized a transformative day trip to the Equal Justice Initiative’s (EJI) Legacy Sites in Montgomery, Alabama. This educational experience included visits to the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, the Legacy Museum, and the Freedom Monument Sculpture Park. These sites highlight the history of racial injustice in the United States, exploring legacies of slavery, lynching, segregation, and mass incarceration. By immersing students in these spaces of historical reflection and social activism, the trip provided firsthand exposure to the critical intersection of geography, history, and social justice, thereby enriching students’ understanding of the built environment, spatial inequality, and community resilience. This field trip directly enhanced the academic experience for Geography students by engaging them with the historical and spatial dimensions of racial justice. Students explored the ways in which historical events shape the landscape and inform modern-day social structures. By reflecting on the importance of place, memory, and history through the lens of the EJI’s powerful exhibitions, students gained a deeper appreciation for the role of geography in social activism and political movements. The experience fostered discussions on how geography as a discipline can contribute to dismantling systemic inequality. This experience offered value to Geography students of all concentrations. The trip's emphasis on the historical development and perpetuation of racial terror aligns with the Human Geography curriculum, which analyzes race, place, and power. Secondly, the Legacy Sites’ commitment to mapping provided useful and creative opportunities for our community members studying Geographic Information Systems (GIS). New UGRD Certificate, Climate Change Geographies, Approved for Fall 2025 UGA’s Department of Geography is proud to announce the approval of it’s newest undergraduate certificate, Climate Change Geographies. The certificate proposal, created by Geography professors Jennifer Rice, Gabe Kooperman, and John Knox, was approved in early March and will be active beginning in Fall 2025. The department has shared the following abstract on the certificate: “The Undergraduate Certificate in Climate Change Geographies trains students for careers that address the varied challenges of climate change from local to global scales. Through the program’s curriculum, students will advance their understanding of the social and natural processes of climate change and develop the knowledge and skills needed to tackle issues at the intersection of the physical and human dimensions of climate change. This program is rooted in expertise on climate change research and instruction within UGA’s Department of Geography and expands broadly to provide connections with scientific, economic, and political fields of study across the UGA’s campus. In completing the certificate, students will be prepared to apply an array of geographical and critical thinking skills to solve real-world problems aimed at contributing to a more just and sustainable future in a changing climate. The certificate requirements include two core courses on the physical and human geographies of climate change, one geography elective selected from an array of topics tailored to the student’s needs, and one elective from a list of those available across campus to broaden the student’s perspective, for a total of 12 credit hours. Students will also be required to participate in an annual knowledge and cohort building event with the certificate coordinator from the year they declare the certificate until the year of graduation that includes a written assessment examining the program’s learning outcomes and integration of the student’s knowledge across courses.” Alumni Highlights UGA Geography Alumnus Castle Williamsberg Wins AMS Award UGA Geography Alumnus Castle Williamsberg was awarded the Outstanding Early Career Award by the American Meteorological Society. Williamsberg graduated with his Ph.D. in Geography in August 2020 and now works as Cheif Social Scientist at NOAA’s Weather Program Office. Williamsberg posted the following on his LinkedIn profile about the award: “I am deeply honored to have been named the recipient of the Outstanding Early Career Award by the American Meteorological Society Board on Societal Impacts. This award recognizes individuals who, within 10 years of earning their highest degree or under the age of 40 at the time of nomination, have made significant contributions to the social science discipline and demonstrate exceptional potential to become leaders in the scientific weather community. I’m truly grateful for this recognition, which highlights both past achievements and the promise of continued leadership and impact in advancing the integration of social sciences in weather research and practice. I'm excited to see what this community continues to achieve over the next 10 years!” Learn more about Dr. Williamsberg here! UGA Geography Alumnus Joshua Inwood Appointed AAG Fellow UGA Geography Alumnus Joshua Inwood has been appointed as a 2025 American Association of Geographers (AAG) Fellow. Dr. Inwood received his Ph.D. from UGA Geography in 2007 and now works as a Professor of Geography at Penn State University. In a recent press release, the AAG shared the following about Dr. Inwood’s reserach and career: “Dr. Joshua Inwood’s career has centered on developing theoretical frameworks to study racism, white supremacy, and the legacies of social justice movements while ensuring this research is accessible and impactful to multiple audiences. His work has positioned him as a leading voice in examining white supremacy within the field of geography, illustrating how geographic concepts and practices both perpetuate racial oppression and serve as tools for resistance. Learn more about Dr. Inwood here! At the core of Dr. Inwood’s scholarship is an exploration of power dynamics in social and political discourse, alongside a commitment to understanding how grassroots resistance movements challenge systems of oppression and demand accountability. Dr. Inwood is widely recognized as one of geography’s most effective advocates and communicators. Through public forums, he demonstrates the critical role of geographic storytelling and perspectives in addressing pressing social issues. A prolific writer, he contributes extensively to both scholarly publications and broader public research platforms, bridging the gap between academia and the wider community.”
