Robinson, Tarleton, honored

Two Franklin faculty members received major career honors this week, campus-wide and international awards. First, University of Georgia Foundation Distinguished Professor of Chemistry Gregory H. Robinson has been named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry:

A nonprofit organization with a heritage that spans 175 years, the Royal Society of Chemistry is the United Kingdom's professional body for chemical scientists and the largest organization in Europe for advancing the chemical sciences.

Robinson joins his department of chemistry colleague, Graham Perdue Professor Henry "Fritz" Schaefer, who was elected in 2005 as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

A 2012 Humboldt Research Award from Germany's Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and a 2014 recipient of the Southeastern Conference Faculty Achievement Award, Robinson is an internationally recognized scholar whose scientific achievements have been described as groundbreaking. Over the past 25 years, Robinson and his team have published a series of fundamental findings that have reshaped how scientists view chemical bonding in many chemical compounds.

And Rick Tarleton, Distinguished Research Professor and University of Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor in Biological Sciences in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, has been named Regents' Professor:

Regents' Professorships are bestowed by the University System of Georgia's Board of Regents on faculty members whose scholarship or creative activity is recognized nationally and internationally as innovative and pace-setting.

Tarleton, who is a professor in the department of cellular biology and founder of UGA's Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, has made research advances that have the potential to transform the lives of the 10 million to 20 million people suffering from Chagas disease, a potentially deadly parasitic infection that primarily affects people in Central and South America.

Very important distinctions honoring the excellence of these renowned researchers, whose research and scholarship have broad impact in their respective fields. Professional accomplishments that attract this level of acknowledgement speak to the pinnacle careers these scholars have built in the laboratory and the classroom, teaching as they inspire the next generation of researchers. Congratulations - your work brings great honor to the Franklin College and the university.

Image: Tarelton, left, and Robinson, courtesy of UGA photo services.