Third-year UGA students Sloka Sudhin, Anderson Smith and Oscar de la Torre were selected as 2025 Goldwater Scholars. (Photo by Stephanie Schupska) CAES News
Three UGA undergraduates awarded Goldwater Scholarship
From crop molecular genetics to estuarine mussels to computer experiments, three University of Georgia undergraduates have been honored for furthering research in their fields of study. Juniors Oscar de la Torre, Anderson Smith and Sloka Sudhin are among the 441 undergraduates from across the nation to be recognized as Barry Goldwater Scholars this spring. They have earned the highest undergraduate award of its type for the fields of mathematics, engineering and natural sciences.
2025 FABricate contest winner with judges CAES News
CAES student wins 2025 FABricate competition with poultry automation tech
In the most competitive FABricate contest to date, Sean Snarey, a graduate student in agribusiness in the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, took home the $10,000 prize on March 27 for his automated poultry rehanging system. FABricate is an entrepreneurial pitch contest where students develop their idea for a new food product, new agricultural technology, new food or agricultural-related business or new environmental or sustainable business.
For more than 25 years, Andres Villegas has dedicated his career to promoting agriculture and the healthy, sustainable management of forests. (Photo Special) CAES News
CAES alum speaks for the trees
Andres Villegas knows a thing or two about trees, and he wants you to know them as well. Throughout his career in the agriculture and forestry industry, Villegas has become an advocate and bridge builder connecting rural and urban communities through sustainable food and fiber products. Villegas was born in Colombia but moved to Athens at 8 months old when his parents, Pedro Villegas and Angela Villegas, returned to the University of Georgia for his father to become a professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine. From a young age, Villegas was interested in natural resources and agriculture.
Leah Whitmoyer is currently in Tunisia working on a variety of agricultural research projects through the Fulbright U.S. student program. In this photo from 2024, she conducts field work during a study abroad trip. (Submitted photo) CAES News
UGA named a top producer of Fulbright students
Seventeen University of Georgia students received Fulbright offers for the 2024-25 academic year, placing UGA among the top-producing institutions for Fulbright U.S. students. This is the third year in a row — and the seventh time in 12 years — that UGA has been named a top producer of Fulbright U.S. students. Leah Whitmoyer, Fulbright recipient and recent College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences grad, is in Tunisia working on agricultural research projects addressing compost production, well water sampling for salinity and aquifer monitoring.
Colby Ruiz CAES News
CAES alum returns to south Georgia hometown to join vascular surgery team
Dr. Colby Ruiz was a teenager when he watched his first surgery. He volunteered in the operating room at Valdosta’s South Georgia Medical Center, where his parents worked as nurses. Ruiz could have ended up in any of the hospital units except, at 14, he really didn’t want to wear the pink “candy striper” uniform of most hospital volunteers. When Ruiz learned that OR volunteers wore green, he was all in.
Top research stories of 2024 CAES News
Top UGA research stories of 2024
As the new year approaches, it’s time to reflect on 2024, a year full of exciting research achievements at the University of Georgia. UGA researchers have made their marks examining crucial topics like the health of water resources and urban infrastructure in the face of climate change, the causes of higher suicide rates among young Black men, and an alarming trend in rates of Type 2 diabetes, among other groundbreaking work. Let’s take a closer look at 12 of the most impactful stories of the past year.