Arts & Sciences
2026 Stories
Flood monitoring system expands from research tool to critical community resource
USF St. Petersburg’s CRIS-HAZARD network now includes 40 cameras, a user-generated app and a growing community network focused on flood preparedness.
August 19, 2026Community Engagement, Research & Innovation
Composting initiative launches to reduce food waste and support urban agriculture in St. Petersburg
A partnership between USF St. Petersburg and the city has brought an industrial-sized composter to campus that will redirect tons of food waste each year from landfills while creating compost for community gardens, urban farms and landscaping.
August 17, 2026Community Engagement, Research & Innovation
Employ-A-Bull: Student dives into seagrass research internship
Environmental science and policy major Olivia Smith is gaining hands-on marine science experience while restoring a vital Florida ecosystem.
August 1, 2026Research & Innovation, Students
Is Nolan's 'Odyssey' faithful to Homer? USF faculty weigh in
Audiences have been divided over Nolan’s creative direction since Universal Pictures released the first promotional images last year.
July 30, 2026Community Engagement, Events
How Florida’s sea turtle hatchlings find the ocean in the dark
Biologist Deby Cassill explains how hatchlings navigate to the ocean and her theory for how sea turtle mothers manage one of nature’s longest survival gambles.
July 29, 2026Research & Innovation
USF scientists advance space agriculture for future moon and Mars missions
Christina Richards, a researcher in the Department of Integrative Biology, is applying her lab's plant genomics expertise to a multidisciplinary USF effort exploring whether mangroves and other resilient coastal plants could survive space-like conditions. The work is part of a broader push at USF's ASTRA Center studying sustainable agriculture for future moon and Mars missions.
July 28, 2026Research & Innovation
Catching Up With Honors Alum Sy-Woei Hao
Sy-Woei Hao earned her bachelor's degrees in biology and psychology from USF before becoming an attorney and Assistant Director of Dispute Resolution at Stetson University College of Law. She's now pursuing a PhD in educational psychology at USF, drawing on her legal background to study how law students prepare for advocacy competitions.
July 20, 2026Alumni
Inspired by curiosity: Students and experts explore red tide through summer science program
The inaugural Suncoast Student Science Experience brought together high school students, scientists, researchers, educators and conservation professionals to explore the impacts of red tide. The program culminated in a student symposium showcasing the participants' research.
July 15, 2026Community Engagement, Students
National Geographic Museum of Exploration showcases USF professor’s bronze reconstruction of iconic “first bird” dinosaur
After more than 20 years of research, USF Associate Professor Ryan Carney unveiled the world's most scientifically accurate 3D reconstruction of Archaeopteryx at the National Geographic Museum of Exploration. The project helped answer longstanding questions about the iconic fossil species that links dinosaurs and birds.
July 9, 2026Honors & Awards, Research & Innovation
BRAG awards advance commercialization of USF technologies in mosquito detection, optometry and women’s health
Ryan Carney of the Department of Integrative Biology co-invented the SmartTrap, an AI-powered mosquito detection device recently awarded a Bull Ring Accelerator Grant to help bring it to market. The grant round also funded two other USF startups working on at-home glaucoma testing and a menopause-support supplement.
July 9, 2026Research & Innovation
In the ocean’s dark middle, a USF scientist helped reveal 31 new species
USF marine scientist Heather Judkins joined an international expedition in the tropical South Atlantic focused on the ocean's midwater — and came back with 31 species believed to be new to science, including nine new jellyfish and seven new siphonophores.
July 7, 2026Research & Innovation
USF expedition to Antarctica advances research on potential melanoma treatment
A remote Antarctic expedition has brought USF researchers back to a decades-old discovery: A tiny marine organism containing a compound that kills melanoma cells while leaving healthy cells unharmed. Now, scientists are racing to unlock its potential for future cancer therapies.
July 7, 2026Research & Innovation