2000 Graduate Student Awards
ROBERT C. ANDERSON MEMORIAL AWARDS
for outstanding
research by recent UGA graduates
Kevin James is a recent graduate from the Department of Mathematics.
In ancient Greece, Pythagoras determined how to compute the
length of the third side of a right-angled triangle. You remember, “the
square of the hypotenuse equals the sum of the squares of the
other two sides (c² = a² + b²).” Pythagoras was also curious
as to what areas he could come up with if he restricted himself
to whole number length sides. Surprisingly, this simple sounding
problem has never been solved. However, using some of the most
powerful tools of modern mathematics from the theory of modular
forms, one can nowadays know for certain that at least a positive
proportion of whole numbers are not areas of such triangles.
Kevin James’ research gives a new perspective into such problems.
In his thesis, Dr. James described a method that allowed him
to take the first steps to answer several related questions.
Even before he defended his dissertation, experts from around
the world extended his ideas to a score of other such problems
and he has active collaborations with several world renowned
mathematicians.
Irving King Jordan III is a recent graduate from the Department
of Genetics. Across the world, the race is on to map the human
genome – the DNA code that makes each of us unique. Only about
10 percent of our DNA is made up of genes; about 50 percent
is made up of retroviral-like elements, the structure and function
of which we are still exploring. Dr. Jordan has been analyzing
the retroviral-like elements of yeast and fruit fly genomes.
He has worked extensively on Drosophila retroviral-like elements
and was the first to provide definitive proof that these elements
could be transferred between species by viral vectors. Then,
through extensive computer analyses, he was the first in the
world to determine that the retroviral elements of the yeast
genome consist not only of distinct families but also of hybrids — families
containing elements of at least two distinctly identified groups.
This disproved the popular belief that retroviral-like elements
could not exchange components to produce new composites.
Beth Kotchick is a recent graduate
from the Department of Psychology. Dr. Kotchick’s work focuses
on the role of parenting within the context of maternal HIV
infection and its effect
on children. Her work has found that maternal HIV-infection
disrupts crucial parenting behaviors known to relate to optimal
child development. She additionally identified family risk
factors for high-risk sexual behavior among adolescents and
contributed models for how these behaviors are developed and
maintained. Based on her work, Dr. Kotchick was influential
in developing a prevention program recently funded by the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, and she serves as primary
investigator. The program is designed to teach parents of high-risk
children skills for parenting and communication about sexual
behavior. Her work has shown a systematic approach to identification,
assessment and prevention of a major issue facing society and
supports the importance of the family in promoting child and
adolescent health and well-being.
JAMES L. CARMON AWARD
for innovative use
of computers by a UGA graduate student
John Davis is a candidate in the Drama Department’s MFA program in dramatic
media. What distinguishes Mr. Davis’ work is his experimental approach to the
process of 3-D animation. He has been working to perfect an algorithmic approach
to animation. Rather than animating each moment of the piece in a linear fashion,
progressing from one key frame to another, he is programming intellect into
his animated characters so they are able to animate themselves. For example,
the characters will know how to walk, run and adjust their gait depending on
their programming. As a result, all the animator will need to do is tell the
character where to start, where to end and how long to take. Similarly Mr.
Davis is developing a technique whereby the characters produce their own sounds
algorithmically, such as footsteps, breathing and sounds of impact. These technical
innovations may ultimately transform the creative process o f 3-D animation
by allowing the animator to function more like the director of live actors.
Source: 21st Annual Research Awards Program (2000)
