Congratulations to Dr. Nik Heynen and Dr. Mary Ann Moran
Two regular researchers at UGAMI, Dr. Nik Heynen and Dr. Mary Ann Moran, are being honored for their work. Dr. Nik Heynen, professor in the Department of Geography at UGA, was recognized as a Distinguished Research Professor 2021. Dr. Heynen is the co-director of UGA’s Cornelia Walker Bailey Program on Land and Agriculture and a principal investigator on the Georgia Coastal Ecosystems Long Term Ecological Project (GCE LTER), both of which are based on Sapelo Island. His work focuses on how the social constructs of race, class and gender have intersected to produce uneven geographical development. He studies how social movement institutions organize across space to identify and secure adequate resources for communities.
Dr. Mary Ann Moran recently received one of the highest honors a scientist can earn, election to the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Moran is a Regents’ Professor in the Department of Marine Sciences at UGA. Dr. Moran is part of UGAMI’s faculty and has several ongoing research projects that involve the Institute. She was also instrumental in founding UGAMI’s Coastal Summer Semester program and serves as a faculty instructor in UGAMI’s Marine Biology Spring Semester. Dr. Moran is internationally recognized for her work in marine microbiology and marine ecology. Her work illuminates the roles that microbes play in mediating globally significant processes associated with the cycling of nutrients such as carbon and sulfur between the ocean and atmosphere.
Congratulations to both extraordinary researchers for these well-deserved awards!