To request a media interview, please reach out to School of Biological Sciences experts using our faculty directory, or contact Jess Hunt-Ralston, College of Sciences communications director. A list of faculty experts and research areas across the College of Sciences at Georgia Tech is also available to journalists upon request.
School of Biological Sciences Professor Joshua Weitz wrote an opinion piece for the myAJC blog supporting the high school students who may choose to walk out on March 14 "to honor the students and staff killed in the Parkland, Fl., school shooting three weeks ago." He implores Georgia Tech to reassure students who engage in peaceful protest that their admission status will not be jeopardized.
Opinion: Georgia Tech should break its silence on student walkout over school shootings | 2018-03-08T00:00:00-05:00
Mark E. Hay, of the School of Biological Sciences, will receive the Gilbert Morgan Smith Medal for his excellent research on algae that has implications for imperiled coral reefs. Our profile of Mark Hay in January tells the backstory of this award.
Tianyu Wang | 2018-03-04T00:00:00-05:00
The Amazon molly, an all-female fish species, is thriving despite dismal views of the genetic health of asexual vertebrae. The story features a comment from the School of Biological Sciences Pedram Samani's editorial in Nature. Samani writes, "The main finding of the paper is that the species is in remarkably good genomic health."
step challenge | 2018-02-15T00:00:00-05:00
Named after the Amazons of Greek myth, the Molly is a small freshwater fish that is challenging the established belief that asexual vertebrates are not viable long term. Each daughter is essentially a clone of her mother. Yet the Molly is thriving, perhaps for 10,000 years. Pedram Samani, an evolutionary geneticist and postdoctoral researcher in the School of Biological Sciences, comments on the research in Nature Ecology & Evolution. His comments are echoed by Cosmos Magazine.
undergraduate leadership | 2018-02-13T00:00:00-05:00
Dan Taylor, the Yellow Jackets' strength and conditioning coach for men basketball, takes advantage of the biomechanics lab on campus in order to collect data on and improve the performance of his players. Young-Hui Chang, the founder of the lab and a professor in the School of Biological Sciences, doesn't mind. Chang can use the data for his reserach into intuitive physics: the idea that people (and animals) have an innate ability to predict the physical actions of the world around them.
big tech | 2018-02-02T00:00:00-05:00
Dan Taylor, the Yellow Jackets' strength and conditioning coach for men basketball, takes advantage of the biomechanics lab on campus in order to collect data on and improve the performance of his players. Young-Hui Chang, the founder of the lab and a professor in the School of Biological Sciences, doesn't mind. Chang can use the data for his reserach into intuitive physics- the idea that people (and animals) have an innate ability to predict the physical actions of the world around them.
big tech | 2018-02-02T00:00:00-05:00
When a filmmaker set out across the South Pacific Islands to collect stories of locals fighting climate change, he probably didn't expect to find a Georgia Tech student in Fiji. Cody Clements is a Ph.D. student in the School of Biological Sciences, in the lab of Mark Hay. But in Fiji, he's a coral gardener, tending to the ocean's coral reefs like they're his backyard garden. The stituation is dire. He has personally witnessed multiple mass bleaching events in Fiji. But he works to rehabilitate the reefs by replanting various species in coral communities. His work is documented in the video series Across the Salty Roads.
Thanksgiving Meals | 2018-01-23T00:00:00-05:00
Why does the urine of blue crabs instill such intense fear in mud crabs? The answer has fascinated readers since findings by Georgia Tech researchers made news in early January. Now, the story has been picked up by Chemical & Engineering News in both their digital and print publications. C&EN's coverage includes a video that sheds light on how researchers worked with the crabs. Interviewed on the video are Julia Kubanek, a professor in the Schools of Biological Sciences and Chemistry and Biochemistry who co- led the study with Marc Weissburg, a professor in the School of Biological Sciences.
campus trees | 2018-01-19T00:00:00-05:00
Georgia Public Broadcasting radio host Celeste Headlee replays her 2015 interview with Patricia Yang, a doctoral student and co-winner of an Ig Nobel Award, an honor presented by Improbable Research given to science projects that "make you laugh, then make you think." Yang's award was for a study on animal urination, which involved monitoring and recording the bladder-emptying habits of 32 different mammals at Zoo Atlanta. Yang worked on the study with David Hu, an associate professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and the School of Biological Sciences, with an adjunct appointment in the School of Physics.
Ilker Çatak | 2018-01-10T00:00:00-05:00
Mud crabs are a favorite snack for blue crabs. But when blue crabs pee in the water while searching for food, it sends their prey a warning: Better hide or urine trouble. (Sorry, we couldn't resist.) Researchers have known that chemicals in crab urine scare mud crabs, but couldn't identify the offending chemicals — until now, thanks to a new Georgia Tech study co-led by Julia Kubanek, a professor in both the School of Biological Sciences and the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Marc Weissburg, a professor in the School of Biological Sciences. The findings could lead to better management of crab and oyster fisheries, and may even help target pollutants that upset marine life. Kubanek is also Associate Dean for Research for the College of Sciences.
Extension of Self | 2018-01-08T00:00:00-05:00
