Calendar of Events
See events sponsored by CLAS and its departments.
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Spotlight on CLAS faculty, staff, and students.
Around the College
News about awards and events from around the CLAS.
In the News
The latest headlines garnered by CLAS faculty and students in the national media.
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News
2009
January
- Health Concerns Unite Unions,
Environmentalists, UF Author Says
Once as divided as oil and water, labor unions and environmental groups are burying their bitter differences to become natural allies about health concerns shared in workplaces and communities, says a University of Florida researcher and author of a new book. - To Climate-Change Worries,
add one more: Extended Mercury Threat
Mercury pollution has already spurred public health officials to advise eating less fish, but it could become a more pressing concern in a warmer world. - Around the College
News about awards and events from around the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. - CLAS in the News
All the headlines garnered in the national media by faculty from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
February
- Study Predicts when Invasive Species can Travel More Readily by
Air
Global airlines be forewarned: June 2010 could be a busy month for invasive plants, insects and animals seeking free rides to distant lands. - Shedding
Light on the Origins of the Milky Way
High in the foothills of the Chilean Andes, a revolutionary new telescope promises to exponentially grow our understanding of the universe, both in the far reaches of space and in our own backyard. And UF is in on the ground floor. - Film,
Panel Discussion at UF to Examine Darfur
Since 2003, between 200,000 and 400,000 people in Darfur, Sudan, have been killed and another 2.5 million have been displaced from their destroyed villages to face hunger, thirst, illness, rape and death. - A Fond Farewell to Redbay Trees and Their Buddies
Op-Ed. It seems as though every time you turn around, another environmentalist is whining about yet another threat to life as we know it. - In Memory: Arthur A. Broyles
Arthur A. Broyles, Professor Emeritus at the University Of Florida Department Of Physics, passed quietly away on Friday, January 23, 2009. He was 85 years old. - World’s Largest Snake Shows Tropics were Hotter in the Past
The largest snake the world has ever known — as long as a school bus and as heavy as a small car — ruled tropical ecosystems only 6 million years after the demise of the fearsome Tyrannosaurus rex, according to a new discovery published in the journal Nature. - Scientists: Earthquakes, El Niños Fatal to Earliest Civilization in Americas
First came the earthquakes, then the torrential rains. But the relentless march of sand across once fertile fields and bays, a process set in motion by the quakes and flooding, is probably what did in America’s earliest civilization. - CLAS Announces Award Winners in Teaching, Advising, and Dissertations
- Around the College
News about awards and events from around the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. - CLAS in the
News
All the headlines garnered in the national media by faculty from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
March
- CLAS Faculty Member uses
Fulbright Grant for Teaching, Research
Mark Thurner, an associate professor of history and anthropology, has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar grants to study and conduct research overseas this year. - UF Receives Gates Foundation
Grant to Help Fight Malaria Worldwide
In wealthy countries, the war against malaria was won nearly half a century ago, but the disease continues to afflict communities in the developing world. - Around the College
News about awards and events from around the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. - CLAS in the News
All the headlines garnered in the national media by faculty from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
April
- Boys More Prone to Trouble
after Family Upheavals, UF Study Finds
Family disruptions such as divorce or children being forced to live elsewhere are tougher on boys than girls, according to a newly published University of Florida study, which finds that rates of male juvenile delinquency and drug use rise when the household composition changes. - UF Anthropology Professor
Chosen as American Academy Fellow
Maxine L. Margolis, professor emerita of anthropology at the University of Florida, has been named a fellow in the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. - UF Geography Professor’s
Expertise Results in Distinctive Honors
Geography Professor Grant Thrall may not be a real estate agent, but he’s an expert in “location, location, location.” - Three UF Undergraduates
Named Goldwater Scholars
Three University of Florida students were named Goldwater Scholars for the 2009-2010 year by the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation. - UF Student Chosen one of Two Truman Scholars from Florida UniversitiesUniversity of Florida junior Adam Amir is one of only two students attending Florida universities to be named a Truman Scholar for 2009.
- UF Scientist Tapped by
Howard Hughes Medical Institute to Pursue ‘Best Ideas'
A University of Florida scientist whose interest in embryonic development and evolution led him to discover the molecular building blocks that shape appendages ranging from feet to flippers was named a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Early Career Scientist, a distinction given to only 50 researchers in the United States. - Faculty Members
Named as Fellows to Center for Advanced Judaic Studies
Two faculty members in the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, Michal Ben-Horin and Galili Shahar, have been named 2009–2010 Fellows at the University of Pennsylvania Center for Advanced Judaic Studies. - Around the College
News about awards and events from around the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. - CLAS in the News
All the headlines garnered in the national media by faculty from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
May
- Biologists: Greening Arctic
not Likely to Offset Permafrost Carbon Release
As the frozen soil in the Arctic thaws, bacteria will break down organic matter, releasing long-stored carbon into the warming atmosphere. - University of Florida Study
Provides Insight into Evolution of First Flowers
Charles Darwin described the sudden origin of flowering plants about 130 million years ago as an abominable mystery, one that scientists have yet to solve. - Research: Mockingbirds,
No Bird Brains, Can Recognize a Face in a Crowd
The birds are watching. They know who you are. And they will attack. - V. Betty Smocovitis Selected
as 16th Distinguished Alumni Professor
V. Betty Smocovitis of the Departments of Biology and History has been selected as the 16th Distinguished Alumni Professor from July 2009 to June 2011. - 2009-2010 Academic Year
UFRF and CLAS Term Professors Named
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is pleased to announce the UFRF and Term professorships for the 2009-2010 academic year. - CLAS Professor Named Outstanding
Research Mentor
Psychologist Robin West has been named an Outstanding Research Mentor by the Institute for Learning in Retirement. - Around the College
News about awards and events from around the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. - CLAS in the News
All the headlines garnered in the national media by faculty from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
June
- UF Astronomy Team Among
First to Use Massive New Telescope
A team of University of Florida astronomers is among the first in the world to make scientific-quality observations of the heavens using the newly completed Gran Telescopio Canarias, the world’s largest optical telescope. - New, Light-Driven Nanomotor
is Simpler, More Promising, Scientists Say
Sunflowers track the sun as it moves from east to west. But people usually have to convert sunlight into electricity or heat to put its power to use. - Former Head of Florida Humanities
Council to Direct Graham Center
The president of a Florida foundation and former foreign service officer has been named the first director of the Graham Center for Public Service at the University of Florida. - UF Study Finds Ancient Mammals
Shifted Diets as Climate Changed
A new University of Florida study shows mammals change their dietary niches based on climate-driven environmental changes, contradicting a common assumption that species maintain their niches despite global warming. - State Department Gives UF
Grant to Explore U.S. Foreign Policy
Eighteen academics from around the world are coming to the University of Florida to better understand and appreciate the intricacies of U.S. foreign policy. - Around the College
News about awards and events from around the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. - CLAS in the News
All the headlines garnered in the national media by faculty from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
July
- UF Officials Help Inaugurate
World’s Largest Telescope
Telescopes are tools for observation. But on Friday, one was the star. - Inauguration of the Gran Telescopio
Canarias
“The University of Florida’s partnership in the GTC reflects our continuing quest for international opportunities in world-class research projects." - Political
Science Junior to lead Florida College Democrats
University of Florida junior Ben Cavataro's hard work as a Democrat is paying off [Gainesville Sun]. - Restructuring of Dean's Office
Announced: CLAS Welcomes Three New Associate Deans
The University of Florida College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has announced some top-level administrative changes. - Op-Ed: Florida vs. the Superbugs
MRSA killed Alonzo Smith, an 18-year-old football player from Liberty High School in Kissimmee last September. Smith follows a long line of football players who have been sickened after infection with MRSA, a highly resistant superbug. - Astronomers, Royalty, Rock
Stars to Inaugurate World’s Largest Telescope
Four hundred years after Galileo first turned his handmade telescope toward the heavens, the world’s largest, most technologically advanced telescope is set to make its formal debut. - A Prehistoric Popeye Effect?
For the Dinosaur, Food Meant Bulk
A University of Florida biologist thinks he knows how dinosaurs got so big. And it turns out, Popeye and Pachycephalosaurus may have a thing or two in common. - Scientists: Salamanders,
Regenerative Wonders, Heal like Mammals, People
The salamander is a superhero of regeneration, able to replace lost limbs, damaged lungs, sliced spinal cord — even bits of lopped-off brain. - Native Holly can Provide Caffeinated,
Antioxidant-Rich Beverage, UF Experts Say
Coffee and tea drinkers, take note — a University of Florida study says a beverage made from a native holly tree might be just the thing to give you a caffeinated kick-start, plus a dose of antioxidants. - Around the College
News about awards and events from around the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. - CLAS in the News
All the headlines garnered in the national media by faculty from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
August
- Gravitational
Wave Observatory Listens for Echoes of Universe’s Birth
An investigation by a major scientific group headed by a University of Florida professor has advanced understanding of the early evolution of the universe. - UF Professor wins Award for Quantum
Mechanic Computing Research
The American Chemical Society named UF Professor Kenneth M. Merz recipient of their prestigious Award for Computers in Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research. - Anthropology Researcher named
a 2009-2010 Science & Technology Policy Fellow
A University professor has received an AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowship and will be working at the National Institute of Health’s Office of Biotechnology Activities. - Back to the Delta: SPOHP’s
Ongoing Documentation of the Civil Rights Movement
In August the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program at UF returned to the Mississippi Delta to continue research on the Civil Rights Movement with veteran Civil Rights activists and leading scholars of the Mississippi Freedom Movement. - Chemistry Joins Forces with UF’s
Clinical Translational Science Institute (CTSI)
The University of Florida has won the National Institutes of Health's Clinical and Translational Science Award, one of only 60 institutions to be named to the consortium and the only one in the state of Florida – the Department of Chemistry is playing a key part. - Around the College
News about awards and events from around the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
September
- Scientists Join Forces to Explain HIV Spread in Central and East Africa Scientists studying biology and geography may seem worlds apart, but together they have answered a question that has defied explanation about the spread of the HIV-1 epidemic in Africa.
- Sea Level Stargazing: Astronomers
Make Key Sighting with Florida Telescope
This summer, University of Florida astronomers inaugurated the world’s largest optical telescope on a nearly 8,000-foot mountaintop 3,480 miles away. - Study of Isolated Snakes could
Help Shed Light on Venom Composition
While studying a way to more safely and effectively collect snake venom, University of Florida researchers have noticed the venom delivered by an isolated population of Florida cottonmouth snakes may be changing in response to their diet. - UF-Built
Instrument Poised to Find Many Black Holes
University of Florida astronomers are using a new instrument to peer into the center of the galaxy [Gainesville Sun].
- UF
Scientists Develop Camera to Study Black Holes
Black holes can't be seen with the human eye, but the UF Department of Astronomy is looking anyway [Alligator]. - Socio-cultural,
Genetic Data Work Together To Reveal Health Disparities
When it comes to health disparities between different groups, how society sees people in terms of race might play a greater role than genetics, according to a new University of Florida study [ScienceDaily]. - Around the College
News about awards and events from around the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. - CLAS in the News
All the headlines garnered in the national media by faculty from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
October
- UF Study Recasts Political ‘God Gap’ Theory with Details of a Religious Left Christians who value communal forms of worship over doctrine have emerged as a politically liberal alternative to the religious right, a new University of Florida study finds.
- Department of Energy
Awards $1.275 Million Grant to University of Florida Physicists
University of Florida researchers in Physics and the Quantum Theory Project have received a new $1.275 million research grant from the Department of Energy to predict the properties of “warm dense matter” by theory, modeling, and computer simulation. - Plant Fossils give First
Real Picture of Earliest Neotropical Rainforests
A team of researchers including a University of Florida paleontologist has used a rich cache of plant fossils discovered in Colombia to provide the first reliable evidence of how Neotropical rainforests looked 58 million years ago. - UF Anthropology Professor
Inducted into American Academy
Maxine L. Margolis, professor emerita of anthropology at the University of Florida and adjunct senior research scholar at the Institute of Latin American Studies at Columbia University, was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences on Saturday. - CLAS Students Lead in Fulbright
Scholarships for Academic Year
For the 2009-2010 academic year, eight UF students were chosen to receive Fulbright U.S. Student Scholarships. Of the eight UF students chosen, five of them were CLAS students. - Professor Brings Mayan Culture
to the Heart of the Gator Nation
Each year, a group of about 25 students study at one of the oldest universities in Mexico through the UF in Merida program during summer B, late June through early August. However, the relationship goes much farther than just a study abroad program. - Preserving a Home for the Forest
Tiger
A UF doctoral student’s research project in an environmental park in India could mean big things for tigers in that area.
November
- 50th Anniversary of Civil Rights
Sit-ins to be Discussed at UF
The upcoming 50th anniversary of the sit-ins that energized the civil rights movement in the South will be discussed on Dec. 8 at the University of Florida. - Askew Institute Director
to Chair Federation of State Humanities Councils
David Colburn, provost emeritus at the University of Florida and executive director of the Askew Institute on Politics and Society, was elected chairman of the board of directors of the Federation of State Humanities Councils at the organization’s annual business meeting earlier this month. - UF
Celebrates 50 Years of Sea Turtle Research, Conservation
Sea turtles have been roaming the world's oceans for more than 100 million years. They have survived natural predators, climatic changes and dinosaur extinction, and now they are being threatened by human invasion.
[via Gainesville Sun] - Will
Hasty: UF Students Commemorate Wall's Fall
On Nov. 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall ceased to be the focal point of the political and ideological division of the world.
December
- Politics
Playing Bigger Role in Children's Books
UF faculty and staff discuss the increase in children's books geared to the ends of the political spectrum. [Gainesville Sun] - Scientists Unlock Clues for Tailoring
Corn Plant for Food, Energy Needs
Scientists have long known that the offspring of two inbred strains tend to be superior to both their parents. Now, a team of researchers including a University of Florida geneticist has discovered clues to why that might be the case for one of the most important crops in the world: corn. - Saving Languages
The number of languages spoken around the world has been decreasing at an alarming rate, prompting concern from both academics and the United Nations. Not only does the disappearance of a language reduce the diversity of our social fabric, but we loose the knowledge, history, and literature of entire cultures. - NASA Awards University of
Florida $870,000 Grant to Study Land Use Cover Change
University of Florida researchers have received a NASA Land Use Land Cover Change Program grant totaling $870,000. - Mother,
Widow, Retiree: And Now, at 63, a UF Graduate
Earther Wright will walk across the stage of the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on Saturday morning to receive a bachelor's degree in sociology from the University of Florida. [Gainesville Sun] - Scientists use Cell Phone
Records to Predict Spread of Malaria
University of Florida researchers at work on a malaria elimination study in Africa have become the first to predict the spread of the disease using cell phone records. - UF Researcher Helps Reveal
Ancient Origins of Modern Opossum
A University of Florida researcher has co-authored a study tracing the evolution of the modern opossum back to the extinction of the dinosaurs and finding evidence to support North America as the center of origin for all living marsupials. - UF Professor Wins Award after
Long Career Teaching History of Science
The History of Science Society has awarded the 2009 Joseph H. Hazen Education Prize for excellence in education to Frederick Gregory, professor of history of science at the University of Florida.
