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News
2011
January
- Astronomy
Professor Pleads Guilty to Killing Pluto
Bo Gustafson learned as a child there’s never one answer. Ask him a question and he’ll smile, knowing there’s no such thing as a simple, concise response. [Alligator] - University of Florida Hosts Event Celebrating Civil Rights Movement
Leaders
Back in 1960 when Patricia Stephens Due was still Patricia Stephens, she was a student at Florida A&M University who changed the history of the civil rights movement. - Conference
Series Examines Challenges of Rebuilding Haiti
A four-part public speaker series on rebuilding Haiti begins Monday at the University of Florida College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The Caleb and Michele Grimes Conference on Liberal Arts and Public Affairs will address how Haiti’s unique historical, geographic, and social features have shaped current crises in the country. [InsideUF] - Business
Expense
The retail industry relies on UF's annual security survey to track trends in shoplifting and employee theft.
[Explore Magazine] - Ayaan Hirsi Ali to Discuss the State of Muslim Women at the Bob Graham
Center
Ayaan Hirsi Ali, one of the most forceful and provocative feminist critics challenging Islam today, will discuss her views on the state of Muslim women in the United States and around the world during a visit to the University of Florida’s Bob Graham Center for Public Service on January 20. - Knight Foundation Funds
High-Tech Civics Initiatives at UF’s Bob Graham Center
Florida has one of the weakest civic cultures in the nation, ranking 46th among the 50 states, according to the National Conference on Citizenship. The Bob Graham Center for Public Service at the University of Florida is dedicated to improving the state’s civic health by training a new and more effective generation of public and civic leaders. - Blind
Ph.D. Student Always Aimed High
Mona Minkara, now 23 and legally blind, just finished her first semester as a University of Florida graduate student. She's seeking a doctorate in chemistry, a subject that includes equations and other visual material that pose a particular challenge. [Ocala Star Banner]
February
- More Hands in the Dirt: UF Offers Year-Long Phage Genomics Course
Starting this fall, University of Florida undergrads will join almost 1,700 students from 40 colleges and universities discovering organisms hidden under their very feet. - Leading
Expert on Citizenship and Political Process to Visit UF
Russell Dalton, whose research focuses on the role of citizens in the political process and how democracies can better address public preferences and the democratic ideal, will share his expertise February 21 at the University of Florida’s Bob Graham Center for Public Service. [InsideUF] - UF
History Professor Discusses US-Egypt Relations
The politics of the Middle East will never be the same again. [Alligator] - Award-Winning
Environmental Documentary to be Screened at Bob Graham Center
The award-winning environmental documentary “Fuel” will be screened Tuesday at the University of Florida’s Bob Graham Center for Public Service. [InsideUF] - Oil in Gulf of Mexico: Biologists Cite Need for Critical Data to
Determine Ecological Consequences
Twenty years after biologists attempted to determine the ecological damages to marine life from the Exxon Valdez oil spill, scientists dealing with the BP disaster find themselves with the same problem: the lack of critical data to determine the ecological consequences of human-induced environmental disasters, a University of Florida researcher said. - UF Astronomers, NASA Team Find Six Closely Packed Planets Orbiting
Same Star
A NASA team including three University of Florida astronomers has found six new planets in a distant solar system that in some ways resembles our own. - Florida
Senate President to Offer Insider Look at New Legislative Session
Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos will provide a preview of the upcoming 2011 Florida legislative session on Feb. 10 at the University of Florida’s Bob Graham Center for Public Service. [InsideUF] - UF Brings
Political Experts here to Discuss 2010, 2012 Elections
Professors, strategists, writers and experts in the political field are gathering Saturday, February 5, at the Hilton University of Florida Conference Center to discuss the recent midterm election and their expectations for the 2012 races. [InsideUF]
March
- UF Professor Named Leopold Leadership Fellow
A University of Florida professor has been named a 2011 Leopold Leadership Fellow — becoming only the third professor in Florida to achieve the honor. - UF Researcher: Flowering Plant Study 'Catches Evolution in the Act'
A new University of Florida study shows when two flowering plants are crossed to produce a new hybrid, the new species' genes are reset, allowing for greater genetic variation. - University of Florida Celebrates 80 Years of
Latin American Studies
The University of Florida celebrates 80 years of teaching, research and service in Latin American studies with a series of public events March 24-26. - Bob Graham Center Hosts Renowned Political Philosopher Michael Sandel
Author and Harvard University professor Michael Sandel brings his unique approach to examining the most hotly contested moral and political issues of our times to the University of Florida’s Bob Graham Center for Public Service March 22. - Fossil Bird Study Describes Ripple Effect of Extinction in Animal Kingdom
A University of Florida study demonstrates extinction’s ripple effect through the animal kingdom, including how the demise of large mammals 20,000 years ago led to the disappearance of one species of cowbird. - Geological Sciences
Professor Advises Filmmakers
Joe Meert may not be a movie star, but what this geologist knows about the history of the Earth was essential in making a new film on that topic.
April
- Explore Our Majors
A liberal arts and sciences education provides you with many options for deciding on future careers. We put together a detailed site about our majors, including career choices, cool courses, and unique opportunities. - Thirty-three
faculty named UF Research Foundation Professors for 2011
The University of Florida Research Foundation has named six CLAS faculty as UFRF Professors for 2011-2014. - UF Names
Dunlevie Professors for Honors Program for Next Year
English professor John Cech is one of three distinguished University of Florida faculty members appointed as Elizabeth Wood Dunlevie Honors Term Professors for the 2011-12 academic year. [UF News] - UF Linguistics Professor’s
New Book Defends Value of a Good Schmooze
In modern parlance, schmoozers are synonymous with users: Smooth talkers with something to gain from the conversation. University of Florida linguistics professor Diana Boxer’s new book seeks to redeem “schmoozing,” a word that originally carried no negative connotation, but simply referred to a chat that built goodwill between its participants.
May
- UF receives $1.8 million to upgrade helium-supplying facility on campus
The National Science Foundation has awarded a $1.8 million academic infrastructure grant to the University of Florida to upgrade the helium liquefaction facility that supports a wide range of research programs across the campus. [UF News Bureau] - Two UF Juniors
Chosen Among 275 Goldwater Scholars Nationwide
Two University of Florida students were named Goldwater Scholars for the 2011-2012 year by the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation. Two other students received honorable mention in the competition [UF News Bureau]. - UF Digital Worlds Institute and Department of Classics Awarded Funding
for Research Project to Develop 3-D Digitalization Tools for Epigraphists
The University of Florida College of Fine Arts and Digital Worlds Institute has been awarded funding by the National Endowment for the Humanities Office of Digital Humanities. - Academy
Students Get Lessons in Astronomy
Keith Joiner has decided to forego a career in football or basketball to become a scientist. The reason: Keith, a fourth-grader at Williams Elementary School and a student at the Saturday Academy, has been inspired by classes in astronomy and space sciences held at the Saturday Academy. [via Gainesville Sun] - University of
Florida Student from Oldsmar Named Udall Scholar
Justin Fisch, a political science and geography major with a minor in sustainability studies, has been named a Udall Scholar for the 2011-2012 year by the Udall Foundation.