CAS Chronicles
Stories
In the ground and on the line: Inside USF’s forensic anthropology “Buried Bodies” workshops
Two hours north of USF’s Tampa campus, USF‑FORT hosts the Florida Institute for Forensic Anthropology & Applied Science’s "Buried Bodies” workshops, where investigators learn to excavate real human remains in the Florida woods. It’s real‑world training that draws professionals from across the country, but now, with the land‑use agreement ending, the program that makes it possible faces an uncertain future.
January 29, 2026Community Engagement, Research
USF-engineered material uses sunlight to combat Florida's red tide
What if sunlight could help curb Florida’s red tide? USF researchers have engineered a reusable, light-activated material that slows harmful algae growth – offering a promising, environmentally safe approach to protecting coastal waters, public health and marine life.
January 28, 2026Research
Responsibility and resilience: Reflections from the cloud forests of Guatemala
Jamie Sommer traveled to Guatemala to speak with the Mayan women of San Juan Chamelco who are fighting to maintain their cultural heritage in the face of industrial agriculture, deforestation and rising temperatures that are disturbing the cloud forest with torrential rains and droughts, devastating traditional crops.
January 21, 2026Research
Rare, giant millipedes unearthed in graduate student's conservation research
Hidden beneath Central Florida’s sandy soils lives the Florida scrub millipede, a species found nowhere else in the world. USF graduate student Anne Sawl’s research highlights the millipede’s vital role in maintaining the health of Florida’s scrub ecosystems.
January 15, 2026Research
Communication professor partners with CDC to shine light on hereditary breast cancer risk
Marleah Dean Kruzel draws on her personal experience with hereditary breast cancer to spotlight the unique needs of “previvors,” emphasizing the importance of support, storytelling, and improved genetic risk communication in her CDC-invited presentation.
January 13, 2026Accomplishments, Community Engagement, Events, Research
![The Office of Naval Research helped support new research that utilizes a remotely operated vehicle to study some of the most remote areas of the deep sea [Photo by Cliff McBride, University Communications and Marketing]](/arts-sciences/chronicles/images/2026/jan/herd-new-listing.jpg)
USF rises in new research rankings, outpacing many peer institutions in growth
With $522 million in research expenditures in fiscal year 2024, USF ranks No. 47 among the nation’s public universities – and a growth rate higher than 90% of members of the Association of American Universities.
January 13, 2026Research
![Study co-authors observing whale shark watchers off off Mexico's Yucatán coast [Photo courtesy of Jessie Bujouve]](/arts-sciences/chronicles/images/2025/december/shark-listing.jpg)
USF study finds widespread rule-breaking in whale shark tourism hotspot
One of the world’s busiest whale-shark destinations is struggling to manage a boom in ecotourism. A new USF study finds the world’s biggest fish may be paying the price.
December 10, 2025Research
Lifetime award for ethics education given to USF psychology professor
The American Psychological Association has recognized Tiffany Chenneville with the 2025 Lifetime Award for Accomplishments in Ethics Education. The award is given to a psychologist who has made outstanding contributions to ethics education across all fields of psychology.
December 2, 2025Research
USF faculty reframes what literacy means in the age of generative artificial intelligence
Gupta’s task is twofold: help students navigate the benefits and harms of the rapidly evolving technology and encourage them to develop their own principled stances so that they may find meaningful employment and become leaders in their communities.
November 24, 2025Research
USF students compete to launch experiments aboard the International Space Station
More than 3,700 students across North America competed to design experiments bound for the International Space Station through the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP). This year, USF students joined the competition for the first time, rising to the challenge and uniting to bring their innovation into orbit.
November 24, 2025Accomplishments, Featured, Research
From coding to cognition: student bridges engineering and psychology to advance brain research
Before engineering major Brandon Snyder joined the EMaC Lab, the toolbox— which makes behavior-contingent analysis of co-registration data possible — was just a dream Liz Schotter and Sara Milligan shared.
November 21, 2025Research
![Aerial photo of Monte Sierpe [Photo courtesy of J.L. Bongers]](/arts-sciences/chronicles/images/2025/november/band-of-holes.jpg)
New study suggests accounting, not aliens, explains Peru’s mysterious ‘Band of Holes’
New research published in Antiquity reveals the first scientific evidence that Peru’s puzzling “Band of Holes” — once featured in Ancient Aliens — was part of a sophisticated Indigenous network for storing and recording goods.
November 18, 2025Research