Areas of Exploration

In April, the Environmental Protection Agency announced the nation’s first drinking water standard for “forever chemicals,” a group of persistent, human-made chemicals that can pose a health risk to people at even the smallest detectable levels of exposure. The new rules are part of efforts to limit pollution from these per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, which can persist in the environment for centuries. Supported by a nearly $1.6 million grant from the EPA, researchers from the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences are developing improved, cost-effective treatment systems with advanced technologies for removing PFAS.

A new cohort has been selected for the Rural Engagement Workshop for Academic Faculty. The award-winning interdisciplinary program leverages the community engagement experience of UGA’s public service and extension faculty to support collaborative academic research that benefits rural Georgia. The primary aim is to enhance partnerships with communities throughout Georgia by fostering collaborative, rural-focused research and scholarship.

From bringing more than 50 varieties to market to monitoring the growing economic impact of the blueberry, this series dives into the multidisciplinary University of Georgia research behind the top-10 Georgia commodity. “The UGA blueberry breeding program has been a key to the success of launching a significant commercial blueberry industry in Georgia in the 1980s and helping sustain it for four decades,” said Scott NeSmith, professor emeritus in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.