With the 2018 midterm elections drawing near, the University of South Florida offers a variety of faculty experts to discuss key issues relevant to the state of Florida and the Tampa Bay area. Listed below are some of our experts by topic, along with their focus areas. Members of the media are encouraged to contact these faculty members directly, and they will try to accommodate interview requests within their schedules. If there is interest in a topic not listed, or you are having any trouble reaching one of the experts listed, please contact USF media relations for assistance: Althea Paul - altheapaul@usf.edu, 813-974-1665.
In addition, USF’s Online Experts Guide is a great resource to quickly locate faculty members by keywords, expertise or college. This helpful online tool can be found at www.usf.edu/experts.
CYBERSECURITY
Sri Sridharan
Director – Cyber Florida at the University of South Florida (formerly known as the
Florida Center for Cybersecurity)
Areas of expertise:
- Cybersecurity
- Cybercrime
- Identity Theft
- Credit Card Skimming
- Consumer Protection
- Cyber Incident Response Plans
- Securing Critical Network Infrastructure
Phone: 813.974.8988, Email: sris@usf.edu
ECONOMY
Bradley Kamp
Associate Professor & Chair – Department of Economics (College of Arts & Sciences)
Areas of expertise:
- General Economics
- Tampa Bay Economy
- Energy Markets
Phone: 813.974.6549, Email: bkamp@usf.edu
R. Christopher Jones
Instructor - Department of Economics (College of Arts & Sciences)
Areas of Expertise:
- General Economics
- Fiscal Policy
- Affordable Housing Policy
Phone: 813.974.0479, Email: rcjones3@usf.edu
EDUCATION
Zorka Karanxha
Associate Professor (College of Education)
Areas of expertise:
- Educational Leadership
- Leadership Preparation
- Policy Issues in Education
- Education Law and School Choice
- Charter Schools
Phone: 813.974.6040, Email: karanxha@usf.edu
William Black
Associate Professor (College of Education)
Areas of expertise:
- Educational Leadership Preparation
- Policy Implementation and Leadership
- Educational Administration
Phone: 813.974.6097, Email: wrblack@usf.edu
ENVIRONMENT (ALGAE BLOOMS / RED TIDE)
Robert H. Weisberg
Distinguished University Professor - Physical Oceanography (College of Marine Science)
Areas of expertise:
- Red tide
- Physical Oceanography
- Continental Shelf and Estuary Circulation
- Marine Observations and Modeling
- Hurricane Storm Surge and Waves Algae Blooms, Fish
- Recruitment and Location
- Forensic Studies
Phone: 727.553.1568, Email: weisberg@usf.edu
Steve Murawski
Population Dynamics/Marine Ecosystem Analysis Professor (College of Marine Science)
Areas of expertise:
- Red tide
- Fisheries Biology
- Marine Ecology
- Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
- Oil Spill Impacts
Phone: 727.553.3367, Email: smurawski@usf.edu
GUN CONTROL AND SCHOOL SAFETY
Karen Liller
Community & Family Health Professor (College of Public Health)
Areas of expertise:
- Children and Adolescent Injury Prevention
- Health Education Program Planning
- Health Education Program Evaluation
Phone: 813.974.7047, Email: kliller@health.usf.edu
HEALTHCARE
Jay Wolfson
Distinguished Service Professor
Public Health, Medicine and Pharmacy
Senior Associate Dean, Morsani College of Medicine
Associate Vice President USF Health
Areas of expertise:
- Affordable Care Act
- Medicare
- Health Policy
- Health Economics
Phone: 813.974.6643, Email: jwolfson@health.usf.edu
Sarah J. Steinhardt
Assistant Professor, Pharmacotherapeutics & Clinical Research
(College of Pharmacy)
Areas of expertise:
- Prescription Drugs – education, research or practice related
- Opioids Policy
- Pain Management Guidelines
Phone: 813.974.0980, Email: ssteinha@health.usf.edu
POLITICS
Susan MacManus
Distinguished Professor Emerita – Department of Government and International Affairs
(College of Arts & Sciences)
Areas of expertise:
- Florida Politics
- Elections
- Political Polling and Surveys
- General Political Issues
Phone: 813.503.0561, Email: MacManus@usf.edu
Joshua Scacco
Assistant Professor, Department of Communication (College of Arts & Sciences)
Areas of expertise:
- Political Communication
- Political Campaigns
- Presidential Communication
- News Media Coverage
- General Political Issues
Phone: 813.974.2145, Email: jscacco@usf.edu
TRANSPORTATION
Robert Bertini
Director - USF’s Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR)
Areas of expertise:
- Tampa Bay Transportation
- Big Data in Transportation
- Sustainable Transportation
- Multimodal Transportation
- Transportation Planning and Policy
- Connected and Automated Vehicles
Phone: 813.974.9797 Email: rbertini@usf.edu
