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News
2008
December
-
CLAS Well Represented in UF International Educator of the Year Pool
Three faculty represented the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in the highly competitive UF International Educator of the Year Award. - Rooted Plants
Move Mysteriously down Greenways, Scientists Say
The wild pea pod is big and heavy, with seemingly little prayer of escaping the shade of its parent plant. - Preserve Healthy Cabbage Palms
If you look out your window right now, chances are you’ll spot a Sabal palmetto, the scientific name of the cabbage palm, the state tree of Florida and South Carolina. Now imagine the landscape without these icons of the tropics. - Around the College: November
2008
The latest awards and accomplishments of faculty, staff and students around the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. - In The News: November
2008
The latest headlines garnered by CLAS faculty and students in the national media.
November
- Scientists
Build ‘Roach Motel’ for Nasty Bugs
of the Bacterial Variety
The vacancy sign is on, but the lowlifes who check in never check out. - Zoologists: Sea Snakes Seek out Freshwater to Slake Thirst
Sea snakes may slither in saltwater, but they sip the sweet stuff. - Around the College: October
2008
The latest awards and accomplishments of faculty, staff and students around the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. - In The News: October
2008
The latest headlines garnered by CLAS faculty and students in the national media.
October
-
Serendipitous Observations Reveal Rare Event in Life of Distant
Quasar
A bit of serendipity has given astronomers a surprise view of a never-before-observed event in the birth of a galaxy. - Wearing Candidate
Garb won’t keep Voters away from Polls in
Florida
While poll workers in some states will turn away voters who wear political shirts, hats or buttons, wearing your political pride while voting in Florida won’t violate any anti-solicitation laws, a UF political science professor said. -
Girls who Start Puberty Early are Less Able to Cope with Stress
Girls who enter puberty early may be less able to cope with being bullied or rejected by other students than their female classmates who mature later, a new University of Florida study finds. - Created in Part
by UF, World’s Largest Computing Grid Launches
The world’s largest computing grid, pioneered in part by University of Florida researchers, launches to crunch the mammoth amounts of data expected to be produced by the Large Hadron Collider particle accelerator in Europe. - In The News: September
2008
The latest headlines garnered by CLAS faculty and students in the national media. - Around the College: September
2008
Awards and accomplishments of faculty, staff and students around the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences for September 2008.
September
- Legislators’ Nod
to Citizen Initiatives may be Tied to Re-Election Hopes
Citizen-initiated measures, such as gay rights and physician-assisted suicide, are not a uniquely Western U.S. phenomenon as traditionally thought.
- William
Woodruff, UF Professor, Author Dies at 92
William Woodruff, author, historian and emeritus Graduate Research Professor at the University of Florida, died Tuesday in Gainesville. - Wolves Show Scientists are Barking Up the Wrong Tree
The common notion is that dogs evolved a special sensitivity to their human masters during domestication. - In
Memoriam: Dr. Felix M. Berardo
Dr. Felix M. Berardo, Professor Emeritus and former Chair of the Department of Sociology at the University of Florida succumbed to a long battle with a glioblastoma brain tumor on September 18 at his home in Gainesville, Florida.
- Study Uncovers Facts about
Artists’ Modeling in Revealing Interviews
Women who appear nude as artists’ models are more concerned about losing their pose than removing their clothes, a new University of Florida study finds.
- In The News: August
2008
The latest headlines garnered by CLAS faculty and students in the national media - Shoring the Foundations of the Roof of the World
Ed Kellerman’s commitment to public service is infectious. How else can you explain his ability to bring a punk band and a retired U.S. Senator together for a common cause? - Mel Tillis Visits Graduate
Students
Country music singer and songwriter Mel Tillis visited the University of Florida Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders on September 8. - UF Physicists
to Take Part in World’s Most Ambitious
Science Experiment
When the world’s largest particle accelerator goes live later this week, University of Florida physicists will join thousands of scientists working to crack the last major mysteries of the physical universe. - Bad Sign for Global Warming: Thawing Permafrost holds Vast Carbon
Pool
Permafrost blanketing the northern hemisphere contains more than twice the amount of carbon in the atmosphere, making it a potentially mammoth contributor to global climate change depending on how quickly it thaws. -
New Research Challenges Long-Held Assumptions of Flightless Bird
Evolution
Large flightless birds of the southern continents – African ostriches, Australian emus and cassowaries, South American rheas and the New Zealand kiwi – do not share a common flightless ancestor as once believed. - Russia, Georgia, and the West: A New Cold War?
Following the brief Russian-Georgian war over South Ossetia, tensions between Russia and the West are at their highest since the collapse of the Soviet Union. What are the roots of the Russian-Georgian conflict and what are the implications? - Around the College
Awards and accomplishments of faculty, staff and students around the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences for August 2008.
August
- ‘Pristine’ Amazonian
Region Hosted Large, Urban Civilization, Study Finds
They aren’t the lost cities early explorers sought fruitlessly to discover. But ancient settlements in the Amazon, now almost entirely obscured by tropical forest, were once large and complex enough to be considered “urban” as the term is commonly applied to both medieval European and ancient Greek communities. - Building a Bridge of Communication
Paul Ortiz Takes Reins of UF’s Oral History Program - UF’s Graham
Center Brings National Political Leaders to Speak Sept. 5
Two men who led national campaigns for the Republican and Democratic parties will meet Sept. 5 at the University of Florida to share insights into running a presidential campaign. - New Research Reveals
why Chili Peppers are Hot
Despite the popularity of spicy cuisine among Homo sapiens, the hotness in chili peppers has always been something of an evolutionary mystery. - Around the College
The latest awards and accomplishments of faculty, staff and students around the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. - In The News: July
2008
The latest headlines garnered by CLAS faculty and students in the national media
July
- UF Recognized
for Collection of Children's Literature
The Collectors Weekly, a Web site for collectors and antique enthusiasts, recently selected the University of Florida’s Baldwin Library of Historical Children’s Literature Web site for its Hall of Fame. - UF Professor Wins International Award for Pioneering Research in Quantum
Chemistry
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences professor So Hirata has been selected to receive the 2008 Annual Medal of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science. -
Physicists Tweak Quantum Force, Reducing Barrier to Tiny Devices
Cymbals don’t clash of their own accord – in our world, anyway. - Geologists Push Back Date
Basins Formed, Supporting Frozen Earth Theory
Even in geology, it’s not often a date gets revised by 500 million years. - New Study Points to Agriculture
in Frog Sexual Abnormalities
A farm irrigation canal would seem a healthier place for toads than a ditch by a supermarket parking lot. - In The News: June
2008
The latest headlines garnered by CLAS faculty and students in the national media.
June
- Major Evolutionary Study
Rewrites Bird ‘Tree of Life’
The flamingo looks like it should be closely related to the stork or crane, but its closest relative may actually be the diminutive, modest grebe. - UF History Professor wins International Book Prize
Juliana Barr, University of Florida assistant professor of history, was recently awarded one of the top international book awards for female historians. - UF
Professor Wins Prestigious Award
For the second time in two years, a professor with ties to Cedar Key and the University of Florida has won the Volvo Environment Prize (Gainesville Sun). - Governor
Crist Announces New Gubernatorial Fellows: Two are UF Students, Three
are UF Alumnae
Governor Charlie Crist last week announced the members of the fourth class of the Gubernatorial Fellowship Program. - Around the College
The latest awards and accomplishments of faculty, staff and students around the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. - In The News: May 2008
The latest headlines garnered by CLAS faculty and students in the national media. - UF Receives Department
of State Grant to Explore U.S. Foreign Policy
Eighteen academics from around the world are coming to Gainesville to gain a deeper understanding of how U.S. foreign policy is created and enacted. - Visiting the
South’s ‘Stroke Buckle’ Increases
Risk of Stroke Death
It might not only be the state of your health but also the state you visit that increases the chances of dying from a stroke, a new University of Florida study finds. - Greening Gators:
UF Offers New Minor in Sustainability Studies
To strengthen its commitment to the environment, the University of Florida has
established a new undergraduate minor in sustainability studies. -
Scientists Edge Closer
to Unlocking Secrets of Mysterious Crab Pulsar
Like a celestial top, the spinning neutron star known as the Crab Pulsar is slowing, a phenomenon that astronomers have yet to fully understand. - Men on a Mission
Help Youth Thrive Despite Negative Stereotypes
Desperately needed as youth mentors, some men are answering the call despite negative publicity about male transgressions that can keep them at arm’s length from children and teenagers, says a University of Florida researcher and author of a new book. - Undergrad Named Finalist
in National History Scholars Program
Paige Scofield, a history undergraduate and native of Boca Raton, was recently named a 2008 Gilder Lehrman History Scholar Finalist.
May
- Research from UF Undergraduates
Onboard Phoenix Mars Lander Will Reveal Planet’s True Colors
When NASA’s Phoenix landerlander touched down on the surface of Mars on May 25, it carried special tools to give scientists their best look at the Red Planet’s true colors.
- After Mutual Challenge,
English Professor and Son Each to Publish a Book
A couple of years ago, University of Florida English professor Sidney Homan was walking through Central Park with his son Danny, an aspiring novelist studying for his master’s degree in creative writing at Texas State University. - CLAS Faculty Advance the Cutting Edge of Research
The University of Florida Research Foundation has named six CLAS faculty members UFRF Professors for 2008-2011. - Around the College
The latest awards and accomplishments of faculty, staff and students around the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. - In The News:
May 2008
The latest headlines garnered by CLAS faculty and students in the national media. -
Globalized Classrooms
CLAS faculty awarded grants from UF International Center to enhance the university's curriculum. - English Alumna Named Ambassador to Panama
UF English alumna Barbara J. Stephenson has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the U.S. to the Republic of Panama, following the nomination of President George W. Bush. - Holocaust Studies at the University of Florida Gets Funding to Recruit
Top Scholar
The Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Florida is seeking to elevate the prominence of its Holocaust research program, and a couple from south Florida feel that attracting a national authority on the subject is one way to do that.
April
- Princes of the Universe
Brian May, lead guitarist for the rock group Queen, is flying from London to Gainesville to help UF’s astronomers pay tribute to a renowned Spanish astronomer who will receive an honorary doctorate during Saturday’s commencement events. - Maternal Respect Stronger Among African-American and Latina Girls
Young African-American and Latina girls treat their mothers with greater deference than do whites but their mothers take it harder when tempers flare, according to a new University of Florida study. - UF Offers Summer
Camps for Kids with Dyslexia
Angela McQueen couldn’t take the frustration much longer. She had tried everything she knew to help her only child, Genevieve Owens. - CLAS Graduate Programs
Land in the Top Ten of all Public and Private Universities in the
U.S.
U.S. News and World Report has released its 2009 Best Graduate School rankings and three degree programs in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences—audiology, analytical chemistry, and statistics—have been named to the Top Ten of all public and private schools in the nation. - History Preserved: Kathryn Chicone Ustler Hall Recognized as Florida Treasure Kathryn Chicone Ustler Hall, home to the Center for Women’s Studies and Gender Research at the University of Florida, has been recognized by the Florida Heritage Foundation and the Tallahassee Trust for Historic Preservation as a “Preservation Project of Regional Impact.”
- D'Anieri Named Dean of CLAS
Paul D'Anieri of the University of Kansas will take the helm of the university's largest college July 1. - CLAS Employees Recognized
On April 18, CLAS honored its employees for their commitment and years of service to the university.
- The Search for
Gravity Waves
Scientists from the University of Florida are once again playing a leading role in the search for gravitational waves in the universe. - A Great Day
for McKnights
Five CLAS Students Receive McKnight Doctoral Fellowships to Pursue Careers in Academia. - Three UF Students
win Prestigious Goldwater Scholarships
For the third year in a row, three University of Florida students have won scholarships from the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education. - In The News:
March 2008
The latest headlines garnered by CLAS faculty and students in the national media. - Around the College
The latest awards and accomplishments of faculty, staff and students around the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. - Graham Center
Presents "Media and the Presidency"
The Graham Center for Public Service will present “Media and the Presidency,” as part of the Graham Presidential Lecture Series: The Path to the White House on April 17 at 7 p.m. in Pugh Hall’s Ocora. - UF Professor Uses Art to Highlight Tie Between Cultural and Biological
Diversity
Conservationists often promote pristine wilderness as a warehouse of biological diversity, but new research findings by a University of Florida anthropologist show higher biological diversity actually exists in areas where there is more human cultural diversity. - Scientists: New Technique Identifies Molecular ‘Biomarkers’ for DiseaseUniversity of Florida chemists are the first to use a new tool to identify the molecular signatures of serious diseases — without any previous knowledge of what these microscopic signatures or “biomarkers” should look like.
March
- UF Math Professor
Wins Norway’s Prestigious Abel Prize
A University of Florida math professor has won the world’s most prestigious award in mathematics, it was announced Thursday morning. - CLAS Announces 2008 University Scholars
More than 50 students have been selected from across the college to participate in their first major research venture. - Pulitzer-Prize Winner David M. Oshinsky to Speak at UF April 2
Historian David M. Oshinsky, who captured the 2006 Pulitzer Prize in History for his book Polio: An American Story, will give the Gus Burns Memorial Lecture at the University of Florida on April 2, 6:30 p.m., in the Pugh Hall auditorium. - Madeleine Albright to Speak at UF March 26
Just in time for Women’s History Month, the Bob Graham Center for Public Service is bringing to campus the first woman to become U.S. Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, on March 26 at 11 a.m. in the Pugh Hall Ocora.
- Physicists: After 30 Years of Study, Rare Particle Confirms Prediction
High-energy physicists devoted to recreating the conditions at the beginning of the universe have for the first time observed a new way to produce those basic particles of atoms, protons and neutrons. - Excess Worrying
can Harm Parents’ Relationships with Grown
Children
The amount of worry shared by parents and their grownup children can feel like a warm comforter or wet blanket, a new University of Florida study finds. - 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
- First Global Malaria Map in Decades Shows Reduced Risk
About 35 percent of the world’s population is at risk of contracting deadly malaria, but many people are at a lower risk than previously thought, raising hope that the disease could be seriously reduced or eliminated in parts of the world. - Grand Opening Set for Bob Graham Center for Public Service
The Bob Graham Center for Public Service at the University of Florida will hold a grand opening celebration on March 4 and 5. - Humans Inhabited
New World’s Doorstep for 20,000 Years
The human journey from Asia to the New World was interrupted by a 20,000-year layover in Beringia, a once-habitable region that today lies submerged under the icy waters of the Bering Strait. - CLAS
Professors Named Fulbright Scholars (offsite)
Four of the college's professors will spend part of 2007-2008 representing the U.S. and the University of Florida abroad. - Pugh Hall Dedication
In the heart of the University of Florida, nestled between 98-year-old Newell and 72-year-old Dauer Halls, there’s a new kid on the block energizing the historic district of campus. Jim and Alexis Pugh Hall was dedicated on February 9 and has become a focal point of campus activity. - 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.
January
- Remembering G.
Paul Moore
The University of Florida’s community of audiologists and speech-language pathologists have lost a legend in the passing of Distinguished Professor Emeritus G. Paul Moore. - Zoologists: Lusty Voles, Mindless of Danger, Mate Like Rabbits
Forgetful Casanovas are lucky in love. - Scientists: Environmental Protection, Development Not Always
at Odds
Mangroves in coastal Thailand are the main protection against deadly flooding from tsunamis, so it might seem wise to protect them at all costs. - The American Right: Political Scholar to Lecture on Conservatism
January 23
Looking for a way to participate in Super Tuesday? Political expert Donald Critchlow will present “Civic Engagement and Modern Conservatives” on Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. in the Pugh Hall Ocora Room on the University of Florida campus.
- CLAS Honors Top Teachers and Advisors
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences announces 11 teaching and advising award honorees for 2007-2008. - Gauntlet Thrown:
Medieval Knights Invade Campus January 23
En guard, gators! Knights from Kissimmee’s Medieval Times will take over UF’s Plaza of the Americas on January 23 in a display of medieval arms and armor at 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. The chivalric spectacle is free and open to the public. - Africa’s
Biggest Mammals Key to Ant-Plant Teamwork
Throughout the tropics, ants and Acacia trees live together in intricate interdependent relationships that have long fascinated scientists. - UF-Led Search for New Planets Part of Ambitious New Sky Survey
A University of Florida-led sky survey that may double the number of known planets outside the solar system is part of a major new survey program announced today at the American Astronomical Society’s annual meeting in Austin, Texas. - New Kid on the Block
Jim and Alexis Pugh Hall opens in the heart of UF’s historic district.
-
Seeing Stars at the Gator Jamboree
Thousands of sports fans received an education on the University of Florida’s world-renowned astronomy program before the Florida Gators faced off against the Michigan Wolverines at the Capital One Bowl on New Year’s Day. - 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.