by Kristen SimpsonClass of 2020 alumna Nicole Hooks is living her dream as a forensic toxicologist for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. While earning her Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry, Hooks built her lab experience portfolio by completing original research with her faculty mentor, Dr. Catrena Lisse, and volunteering for the Georgia College Science Education Center.Hooks is certified in blood-alcohol analysis so she can run samples and analyze evidence for the GBI’s Division...
by Kristen SimpsonGeorgia College & State University alumna Kelly Anderson (’15) has been a practicing anesthesiologist assistant for the last six years. Each day starts early in the morning, her work ranging from assisting C-sections to removing appendixes at Northside Hospital in Canton, Georgia. She’s responsible for prepping operating rooms, pre-operative evaluations, managing patient airways, patient advocacy and more. “What I really love about what I do is seeing a patient through...
It’s not a program for loafers or the faint of heart. This one comes with complicated formulas filled with symbols, letters, numbers and shapes. It requires knowledge of Newton’s laws, Maxwell’s equations and Einstein’s relativity. To the casual person walking by—it may all seem like Greek.But to 36 high school students participating in Georgia College & State University’s inaugural astrophysics summer program with SSP International—it’s pure celestial heaven.Pranav Avadhanam, a rising...
In his study of chemicals used to kill insects, weeds, rodents and other pests—Dr. Sayo Fakayode has come to call it: Pesticide on Your Plate. The slogan creates a terrifying mental picture, clearly outlining what’s become a worldwide problem. “We want to see what’s in consumable products, especially food items, that can be problematic for public health. Pesticides are a debilitating challenge for humanity,” said Fakayode, chair of Georgia College & State University’s Department of...
Some say the solar eclipse on April 8 is a lucky omen. Others say it’s a sign of God’s judgement. But one thing’s for sure. No matter what you believe, this year’s darkening of the sun by the moon promises to be an astronomical display that’s bigger and longer, brighter and more spectacular than the last total solar eclipse that crossed America in 2017. Georgia will not experience total blockage of the sun. But, weather permitting, residents will still see a remarkable occurrence,...
Some professors at Georgia College & State University go national with their research. A few get global attention. Others? They reach for the stars. Like Georgia College’s astrophysicist Dr. Arash Bodaghee. He first suggested what eventually became—after improvements from his science team—one of the winning proposals for using NASA’s next-generation space telescope. That’s quite a mouthful. Let’s put it more simply: His idea emerged among the top contenders. On how to use the next...
You might think a neutron star or black hole is nothing but empty darkness and, thus, immeasurable. But they’re not vacant. Matter is squeezed tightly into a small space creating a gravitational pull so strong even light can’t escape. They come in different sizes and move about in space, consuming their twin star and anything else in their path as fuel. Now, Georgia College & State University Physics Professor Dr. Arash Bodaghee and Cody Cox of Milledgeville—a recent physics graduate...
Nicole Snyder, senior chemistry major and dance minor, spent her summer working toward cancer solutions at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. She studied in the lab of Dr. Jeff Aubé, professor in the UNC Department of Chemistry, within the Center for Integrative Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery. She worked directly under Ryan Sherrier, her graduate student mentor, as part of a Research Experience for Undergraduates or REU. “We were working on synthesizing something being...
Morgan Collins, a first-year chemistry student, is the first from Georgia College & State University to receive an American Chemical Society Project SEED Scholarship. This year, this competitive research funding opportunity was awarded to 45 students nationwide with Collins the only recipient from Georgia. The Eatonton, Georgia, native was awarded the scholarship’s maximum amount of $5,000, which covers his tuition—leaving him to conduct research. The Project SEED Scholarship assists...
Joel Saucedo’s head is full of nuclear fusion, clean energy, fractional calculus, radioactive particles—and all that jazz. The jazz part? When he’s not studying physics, he plays saxophone in Georgia College & State University’s Jazz Band. These elements all weave together into a liberal arts education at Georgia College that Saucedo credits for helping him win a prestigious nuclear physics traineeship at Duke University this summer. “This is an environment that's ripe for cultivating...
