{"677593":{"#nid":"677593","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Research Takes Flight: Benjamin Freeman Named 2024 Packard Fellow","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/benjamingfreeman.com\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBenjamin Freeman\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E has been named a\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.packard.org\/insights\/news\/the-david-and-lucile-packard-foundation-announces-the-2024-class-of-packard-fellows-for-science-and-engineering\/\u0022\u003E2024 Packard Fellow\u003C\/a\u003E for groundbreaking research in climate change and bird ecology. Freeman, an assistant professor in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/people\/benjamin%20freeman\u0022\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E, will receive $875,000 to fund his work.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cFrom all of us in Biological Sciences, we\u2019re thrilled to see Ben Freeman named a Packard Fellow,\u201d says School Chair\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003EJeffrey (Todd) Streelman\u003C\/strong\u003E. \u201cBen\u2019s research is important, compelling, and creative \u2014 a triple-threat combination that justifies this recognition.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EAwarded annually to only 20 individuals by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Packard Fellows are known for pursuing cutting-edge research, never-before-done projects, and ambitious goals.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cThese scientists and engineers are the architects of tomorrow, leading innovation with bold ideas and unyielding determination,\u201d shares\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003ENancy Lindborg\u003C\/strong\u003E, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Packard Foundation. \u201cTheir work today will be the foundation for the breakthroughs of the future, inspiring the next wave of discovery and invention.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cI\u0027m flabbergasted to receive this prestigious award,\u201d says Freeman. \u201cPackard support will be transformative. It will give me the freedom to do the sorts of risky projects that I\u0027ve dreamed about, and will support the intense fieldwork that I\u0027m convinced is necessary to understand big questions in climate change ecology.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThe Packard funding will support Freemans most ambitious project to date: developing \u201cTech Mountain\u201d in the tropics, a long-term field project focused on surveying thousands of individual birds. From mountain slope to summit, he will track their motions, their nests and predators, where they live, eat, move, and die \u2014 and how this changes as temperatures warm.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThe pioneer study will shape a window into how birds and other organisms are responding to our changing climate, while developing technology and methodology that could revolutionize the fields of ecology and biology.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe escalator to extinction\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EFreeman\u2019s previous research has shown that, in general, birds are moving to higher elevations as our climate changes.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cI found that as it\u0027s gotten warmer in the tropics, it\u0027s set in motion what I call an escalator to extinction,\u201d he explains. \u201cBirds are living at higher and higher elevations, and those that were common on a mountain top when I was a toddler in Peru are now gone from that mountain.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EWhile this previous research has shown that tropical birds are on this escalator, it hasn\u2019t been possible to determine the specifics: which birds might be most vulnerable and what the key stressors are.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EFreeman explains that \u201cTech Mountain\u201d will be a first-of-its-kind field site, equipped with innovative sensors and trackers \u2014 think cameras placed on nets, recording equipment, climatic sensors, and small individual trackers on each bird.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cI want to figure out what drives their birth rates, where they\u0027re dying, and where they\u0027re moving during the course of their life,\u201d he shares. \u201cThat will help us unravel how this escalator to extinction works.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBuilding \u2018Tech Mountain\u2019\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003ESeveral thousand meters tall, encompassing lowland rainforest, foothill rainforest, and cloud forest, Freeman\u2019s field site will feature dense vegetation, steep grades, and encompass several different climatic zones \u2014 each with unique species.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EAlong its slopes, Freeman\u2019s team will find, catch, mark, and follow the lives of thousands of individual birds across hundreds of species \u2014 for a minimum of five years, but potentially for decades. It\u2019s never been done before.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003ECurrently, most GPS trackers are too large for small birds, and smaller trackers capture limited information. Additionally, these smaller trackers cannot wirelessly transfer data \u2014 in order to download and access the data, each bird must be recaptured.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cThe conditions are tough. It\u2019s rugged. It\u2019s humid. It\u2019s cloudy and wet. We\u2019ll need to put resources into developing technology that fits our needs, and experiment with different ways of tracking individuals in these difficult conditions,\u201d Freeman says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EFreeman will also leverage\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ebird.org\/home\u0022\u003EeBird\u003C\/a\u003E, an online hub where community scientists can upload their observations. \u201cMillions upon millions of observations are uploaded by community scientists, citizen scientists, birders \u2014 people,\u201d he adds. \u201cAnd using this data, we can estimate the vulnerability of mountain bird species \u2014 which species seem to be shrinking their ranges and declining in abundance.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThis builds on Freeman\u2019s current work creating the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/benjamingfreeman.com\/mountainbirdnetwork\u0022\u003EMountain Bird Network\u003C\/a\u003E, which supports community scientists in conducting bird surveys on their local mountains.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech and global connections\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EFreeman\u2019s tools and methodologies could revolutionize fieldwork for ecologists and biologists, opening the door for rigorous new field studies.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EIt will also provide opportunities to deepen collaborations abroad. \u201cI\u0027m planning on working closely with Dr.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003EElisa Bonaccorso\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0027s\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.usfq.edu.ec\/es\/perfiles\/elisa-bonaccorso\u0022\u003Elab\u003C\/a\u003E at the University of San Francisco, Quito (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.usfq.edu.ec\/en\u0022\u003EUSFQ Ecuador\u003C\/a\u003E),\u201d Freeman says, \u201cand I\u2019m looking forward to that collaboration. The Packard funding will also support work in Ecuador conducted by an Ecuadorian graduate student who is studying at Georgia Tech.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThroughout the research, students will be at the heart of the projects. \u201cI take mentoring scientists very seriously,\u201d Freeman shares. \u201cUndergraduates will have the opportunity to get involved on the biology side of this research, the computational side, and on the engineering side of the research. They\u2019ll even help develop new tracking technologies.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThe Packard Fellowship will not only support my research \u2014 but help me provide these opportunities in the coming years to Georgia Tech\u2019s future scientists.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EClimate change has set in motion an \u201cescalator to extinction\u201d as mountain species move uphill to cooler elevations, occupy shrinking ranges, and then go extinct. The Freeman lab investigates why some species are riding this \u201cescalator\u201d \u2014 and how mountain biodiversity can persist in a warming world.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The Fellowship will support the Freeman lab as it The Freeman lab investigates how mountain biodiversity persists in a warming world."}],"uid":"35599","created_gmt":"2024-10-15 18:24:43","changed_gmt":"2024-11-01 13:12:03","author":"sperrin6","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2024-10-15T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2024-10-15T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"675324":{"id":"675324","type":"image","title":"A rufous-tailed jacamar (Photo by Benjamin Freeman)","body":"\u003Cp\u003EA rufous-tailed jacamar (Photo by Benjamin Freeman)\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1729016793","gmt_created":"2024-10-15 18:26:33","changed":"1729016793","gmt_changed":"2024-10-15 18:26:33","alt":"A rufous-tailed jacamar (Photo by Benjamin Freeman)","file":{"fid":"258935","name":"Bird.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/10\/15\/Bird.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/10\/15\/Bird.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":669493,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/10\/15\/Bird.jpeg?itok=o_dGNfhK"}},"675323":{"id":"675323","type":"image","title":"Benjamin Freeman","body":"\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;Benjamin Freeman\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1729016793","gmt_created":"2024-10-15 18:26:33","changed":"1729016793","gmt_changed":"2024-10-15 18:26:33","alt":"Benjamin Freeman","file":{"fid":"258934","name":"BenjaminFreeman.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/10\/15\/BenjaminFreeman.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/10\/15\/BenjaminFreeman.png","mime":"image\/png","size":2771976,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/10\/15\/BenjaminFreeman.png?itok=fugaKOaT"}}},"media_ids":["675324","675323"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.packard.org\/insights\/news\/the-david-and-lucile-packard-foundation-announces-the-2024-class-of-packard-fellows-for-science-and-engineering\/","title":"The David and Lucile Packard Foundation Announces the 2024 Class of Packard Fellows for Science and Engineering"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"42901","name":"Community"},{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"150","name":"Physics and Physical Sciences"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"187423","name":"go-bio"},{"id":"192249","name":"cos-community"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"},{"id":"39511","name":"Public Service, Leadership, and Policy"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWritten by \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:sperrin6@gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESelena Langner\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EContact: \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jess.hunt@cos.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJess Hunt-Ralston\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jess.hunt@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}