The University of Georgia has received a $1.5 million award from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to support the creation of eight postdoctoral positions that will strengthen UGA’s research capacity in the natural sciences.

Funding was offered to 30 research universities nationwide, with award amounts tied to each institution’s prior engagement with the foundation. UGA’s $1.5 million award reflects a longstanding relationship with the Moore Foundation dating back to 2004.

“As research personnel, postdocs play a very important role at UGA,” said Jessica Muilenburg, associate vice president for research. “This funding enables us to bring in the best and brightest for training, which is essential to the academic pipeline and the mission of UGA research. Postdocs are on the cutting edge of much of our innovation, and that innovation is enabled by avenues like grant and fellowship opportunities.”

Faculty applicants to supervise the new positions applied through an internal limited submission process and were selected by a committee. The Moore Foundation funding provides postdoctoral fellows with the flexibility to pursue projects of their choosing, encouraging creativity and innovation. Each position will last two years, allowing recipients to engage in substantial research and training during their time at the university.

Muilenburg collaborated with Matt Pruitt, senior director of foundation relations, to submit a plan to the Moore Foundation outlining how the funding would be allocated to best support postdoctoral education and research.

“There are two great things about this funding,” Pruitt said. “One is the tangible impact of funding postdoctoral fellows; it meets a really pressing need at the institution. The second is the reputational signal that it provides — that we have a longstanding relationship with Moore, a prominent national funder in the sciences based on the West Coast. We’re on their radar, and that signifies the high-level, high-impact kind of research we’re doing at UGA.”

Postdoctoral fellows funded through the award will be supervised and trained by the following faculty:

• James “Jeb” Byers, Odum School of Ecology
• Sara Rivero-Calle, Skidaway Institute of Oceanography
• Sonia Herandez, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources
• Natalie Cohen, Skidaway Institute of Oceanography
• Anny Chung, Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, department of plant biology
• Kenan Song, College of Engineering, School of Environmental, Civil, Agricultural and Mechanical Engineering
• Yiping Zhao, Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, department of physics and astronomy
• Ramviyas Nattanmai Parasuraman, Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, School of Computing 

Pruitt said that private funding is more important than ever in advancing the university’s research mission. “Private support like this will be essential to advancing our mission, and it’s a strong signal that the Moore Foundation continues to invest in the work being done at the university.”