CAS Chronicles

Stories

Florida High Tech Corridor CEO Paul Sohl talks to students on the USF St. Petersburg campus during the OneUSF Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium.

Corridor partnership expands undergraduate research and advances experiential learning at USF

Through the continued Corridor Undergraduate Research Initiative, more than 200 students will gain hands-on, faculty-mentored research experience in disciplines ranging from engineering and artificial intelligence to public health, education, sustainability, and the arts.

October 29, 2025Research

»Æ¹ÏÊÓÆµ: A Preeminent Research University

New translation brings south Indian literature to English audiences for first time

Written in a mixture of verse and prose, Harihara’s stories are remarkably accessible to contemporary readers due to their short, linear plots. What makes them so compelling, according to Gil Ben-Herut, a professor in the Department of Religious Studies, is their focus on “regular people in regular settings.â€

October 29, 2025Accomplishments, Research

Marcus Cooke, PhD, joined USF in 2020, at the height of the COVID pandemic. (Photo by Corey Lepak)

Molecular Biosciences chair aims to uncover the environmental drivers of disease

Marcus Cooke, a professor and chair of the Department of Molecular Biosciences, has been studying DNA damage for over 30 years ago. In that time, he has found that one thing significantly influences DNA damage, leading to the development of major diseases such as cancer: environmental exposures.

October 29, 2025Research

»Æ¹ÏÊÓÆµ: A Preeminent Research University

AI and citizen science reveal potential first detection of invasive malaria mosquito in Madagascar

Researchers from the »Æ¹ÏÊÓÆµ have used artificial intelligence and citizen science to identify what may be the first specimen of Anopheles stephensi — an invasive and deadly malaria-carrying mosquito — ever detected in Madagascar.

October 28, 2025Research

Every student was able to participate in each task while aboard the cruise. (Photo courtesy of Chase McGuire)

Making waves: Undergrads get hands-on experience on the open sea

Fifty-two students participated in a voluntary four-day educational cruise, gaining hands-on experience collecting, identifying and tagging sharks and performing other biological survey methods.

October 28, 2025Research

»Æ¹ÏÊÓÆµ: A Preeminent Research University

CAS professor and associate dean receives highest honor

Jody Harwood, a professor in the Department of Integrative Biology and associate dean for graduate studies in the College of Arts and Sciences, is among three faculty members to be named 2025 Distinguished University Professors, the highest honor given to USF faculty.

October 28, 2025Research

»Æ¹ÏÊÓÆµ: A Preeminent Research University

Internship program prepares humanities students for early-career success

Bustinza’s internship with the Make-A-Wish Foundation is one of many made possible by a five-year, $4.8 million grant from the Mellon Foundation that will support up to 900 students each year in otherwise unpaid internships.

October 20, 2025Community Engagement, Research

Halloween jack-o-lanterns

USF faculty experts available for interviews on Halloween topics from how consumers can save money, to tariff impacts, to AI use

As Halloween approaches, the »Æ¹ÏÊÓÆµ is offering a variety of faculty experts to discuss this year’s trends and impacts. Topics include consumer spending and any potential price increases from tariffs, the use of artificial intelligence for party planning, as well as the psychology of fear.

October 8, 2025Research

Jackson Anderson and Facundo Pereyra-Kluser collecting a water sample from a constructed wetland. (Photo by Nancy Romero-Daza)

When anthropology meets engineering: A fresh solution to wastewater

Nancy Romero-Daza and David Himmelgreen completed an interdisciplinary project that trains anthropology and engineering students in anthropological and environmental engineering methods in Costa Rica.

September 29, 2025Community Engagement, Research

»Æ¹ÏÊÓÆµ: A Preeminent Research University

Society of Wetland Scientists Professional Certification Program streamlines certification for USF grads

The new agreement serves as a guarantee from the Society for Wetland Scientists Professional Certification Program that the suite of classes commonly taken by environmental science and policy majors at USF meets industry standards.

September 29, 2025Alumni, Research

NOAA Hollings Scholar Coen E.E. McGarrah interned at the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi surveying the distribution of southern oyster drill snails where she encountered many different types of marine life, including a gafftop catfish.  (Photo courtesy of Coen E.E. McGarrah)

From Classrooms to Coastlines: CAS undergraduates apply learning as NOAA Hollings Scholars

Three USF College of Arts and Sciences undergraduates were named NOAA Ernest F. Hollings Scholars, a prestigious national recognition earning paid internships at NOAA facilities where they applied classroom learning to research and policy projects with NOAA scientists.

September 26, 2025Accomplishments, Research

Youjung Kim and Laura Harrison outdoors, setting up 3D scanning equipment for field research. (Photo credit: Corey Lepak)

USF urban planning professor uses 3D scanning to assess hurricane flood risk in Tampa

Youjung Kim, an assistant professor in the School of Public Affairs, is collaborating with the Access 3D Lab to investigate flood risk disparities on Davis Islands and explore solutions to reduce future vulnerability.

September 26, 2025Research

About CAS Chronicles

CAS Chronicles is the monthly newsletter for the »Æ¹ÏÊÓÆµ's College of Arts and Sciences, your source for the latest news, research, and events at CAS.

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