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Biology

Assistant Professor Jeremy Lichstein named Florida Climate Institute Fellow

Congratulations to Assistant Professor Jeremy Lichstein who has been named a 2016 Florida Climate Institute Fellow.  This award recognizes Jeremy’s influential research on the effect of climate change on forests and his contributions to UF’s interdisciplinary communities of climate science.  Great work, Jeremy!

Associate Professor Todd Palmer named Colonel Allan R. and Margaret G. Crow Term Professor

Congratulations to Associate Professor Todd Palmer, who has received a Colonel Allen R. and Margaret G. Crow Term Professorship for 2016-2017.  “Competition is always very stiff for this award”, but Todd’s amazing research and teaching profile rose to the top. Great work Todd!

Building the Tree of Life Professor Douglas Soltis

Douglas Soltis explains the interrelation of all species on earth with a beautiful, brilliant, constantly-evolving map. Dr. Soltis is currently studying what we know as the “Tree of Life.” His awards and accomplishments alone could fill a book, including over 450 publications, the 2016 Darwin-Wallace Medal and more than eight million dollars in grants and […]

Former Grad, Oscar Tarazona’s paper published in Nature

Former graduate student Oscar Tarazona and two of his undergraduate mentees (along with Biology graduate alumn Jun Zhang) have a paper in today’s issue of Nature, highlighting the ancient nature of cartilage. The genetic network underlying cartilage production pre-dates the split between Ecdysozoa, Lophotrochozoa, and Deuterostomia: 700 million years of evolution! Read about it here.

Dr. Jeanne A. Mortimer receives award honouring her life as ‘Madanm Torti’

Congratulations to Dr. Jeanne A. Mortimer who recently received a very prestigious honor, the “Lifetime Achievement Award”,  from the International Sea Turtle Society.  Mortimer, often referred to as ‘Madanm Torti” or the Turtle Lady, has over 40 years of experience working with sea turtles. See the article about her work and award in the Seychelles News Agency. Again, congratulations […]

Art-Science Exhibition Opening: April 15-August 15, 2016

Art-Science Exhibition opened on April 15-August 15, 2016 at the Libby Gallery here on campus (details below).  The exhibit features creative works that combine elements of art and science in new and interesting ways. These works represent the outcomes of semester-long collaborations between art and science students as part of my class that I co-teach […]

Biology’s latest international option for undergraduates

Biology’s latest international option for undergraduates:  The opportunity to study in Aberdeen, Scotland! The University of Aberdeen is a public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland and is the fifth oldest university in the English speaking world. Students may attend in the fall, the spring, or for the entire academic year. Curriculum and course substitutions have been specially […]

Five ways scientists are going after the Zika virus

Public health officials are drawing on expertise from many disciplines to determine whether the Zika virus is indeed responsible for a surge in birth defects. UF scientists Derek Cummings, Professor in the Department of Biology, gives expertise on how Islands can offer a uniquely revealing picture of outbreaks. The full story can be found here in the […]

Plastic ‘rafts’ help creatures cross Pacific

Congratulations to Mike Gil and Joe Pfaller on a recent front page article in the Gainesville Sun regarding their research. The University of Florida researchers discovered that diverse communities of rafting animals can inhabit even the smoothest pieces of plastic debris if barnacles step in first to create complex habitat, similar to trees in a rainforest or […]

U.F. Faculty member, Walter Judd, coauthors Plant Systematics: A Phylogenetic Approach

A comprehensive introduction to vascular plant phylogeny, the Fourth Edition of Plant Systematics: A Phylogenetic Approach reflects changes in the circumscription and placement of several families in order to represent monophyletic groups, following the classification of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (and recent phylogenetic analyses). Appendices cover botanical nomenclature as well as field and herbarium methodology. […]

New Phi Beta Kappa inductees

Eleven CLAS Biology majors and one Zoology major were elected to Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest honor society. These students have exceptional GPAs (3.75 for graduation candidates; 3.90 for “rising seniors”) as well as significant breadth of study in the liberal arts and sciences outside of their major discipline (a minimum of 36 hours). They have […]

Art of Biology

Eleven UF Biology and Florida Museum of Natural History graduate students will be participating in an art installation at the Hippodrome Theater titled “Art of Biology”. The formal gallery opening is on Friday, November 13th from 6-8pm and the photos will be available to view until November 21. The installation will contain artistic images of the subjects each student studies, along with scientific descriptions. The goal is […]