Across the New Year, Franklin faculty remained constantly engaged in research, scholarship and media outreach around the globe. 

A few of the many stories that framed the calendar change over the previous month:

2024 likely the warmest year on record — why it matters to you – Georgia Athletic Association Professor of Geography and Atmospheric Sciences  Marshall Shepherd writing at Forbes

The Semester at Skidaway study program shines – Savannah CEO

The Iron Horse, a UGA “icon,” returns to wild after major restoration – AJC

Schizophrenia Today: What’s new and what’s coming – research by Gregory Strauss, Franklin Professor of Psychology, reported at Psychology Today

New technology at Skidaway gives hope to save endangered right whales - Catherine Edwards, associate professor marine sciences, quoted in reporting by NPR, WABE

Mobility and education are reshaping Black accents in Georgia – research by Jon Forrest, assistant professor of linguistics, and  Margaret Renwick, associate professor of linguistics, reported by UGA Today

Baby right whales sighted with mothers off Ponte Vedra – Catherine Edwards quoted by JAX Today

How weather fuels Palisades fire and other blazes threatening L.A. – Marshall Shepherd writing at Forbes

After a naming contest, Cardea joins the celestial ranks as a quasi-moon (UGA student submitted winning name as part of an astronomy course assignment – The New York Times, FOX5

The exile and rebirth of the South’s storied “Iron Horse” – The New York Times

New study finds that critical ocean current has not declined in the last 60 years – study co-authored by Nicholas P. Foukal, assistant professor in the department of marine sciences, reported at eco

UGA student suggestion to name Earth quasi-moon after Roman goddess wins global contest – ABH

New wave of AI, Agentic AI can work with a degree of autonomy – Ari Schlesinger, assistant professor in the School of Computing, interviewed in report at The National Desk

Image: A CTD rosette device measures the ocean’s conductivity, temperature, and depth by collecting water samples at varying depths. (Image credit: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution via