CAS Chronicles
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![Students taking the Terrestrial Lidar Field Methods course, led by College of Arts and Sciences Professor Steve Fernandez from the USF School of Public Affairs and Dr. Laura Harrison from the USF Access 3D Lab, this past summer were trained in methods of 3D architectural documentation with professional-grade lidar technology while also providing real-world experience in the field in Ybor. (Photo by Alessandra Casanova)](/arts-sciences/chronicles/images/edition-17/esri-lidar-story-490x328.jpg)
USF highlighted by leading GIS software company for lidar education
Steven Fernandez, associate professor in the School of Public Affairs, has served as a source of knowledge and information for ESRI (ArcGIS)—a GIS software company specializing in interactive mapping tools—for the past two years, meeting with the company every few months to assist in improving their 3D products and provide knowledge on what he’s teaching in his lidar courses. Now, they are using his work as examples of their company’s newest capabilities.
August 28, 2023Accomplishments, Community Engagement, Research
![Team photo of Homegrown Hillsborough core staff and CAFSHC researchers. (Photo by UF/IFAS Extension Hillsborough County office)](/arts-sciences/chronicles/images/edition-17/homegrown-hills-490x328.jpg)
USF researchers inform decisions for Homegrown Hillsborough food system program
In early 2023, Hillsborough County awarded a grant to the USF College of Arts and Sciences Center for the Advancement of Food Security and Healthy Communities (CAFSHC) to serve as the research training and evaluation arm of an innovative endeavor to promote the local food system, called Homegrown Hillsborough.
August 28, 2023Community Engagement, Research
![exterior side view of airliner sitting on a tarmac](/arts-sciences/chronicles/images/edition-17/listing-plane.jpg)
USF geoscientist creates oceanic tracking model to urge investigators to revive search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight
The new method can reconstruct the drift path and origin of debris from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which went missing over the Indian Ocean with 239 passengers onboard.
August 23, 2023Research
![Marcus S. Cooke, PhD, FRCPath, (right) serves as chair of the department. (Photo by Alessandra Casanova)](/arts-sciences/chronicles/images/edition-17/mbs-new-490x328.jpg)
Department of Molecular Biosciences starts anew
The Department of Cell Biology, Microbiology and Molecular Biology at the USF College of Arts and Sciences welcomes a more succinct and up-to-date name this academic year. It has officially been renamed the Department of Molecular Biosciences.
August 22, 2023Accomplishments, Community Engagement, Research
![Five CAS faculty members who were recognized with outstanding research achievement awards](/arts-sciences/chronicles/images/edition-17/cas-research-awardees-490x328.jpg)
Five CAS faculty members recognized with Outstanding Research Achievement Awards
Five USF College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) faculty members are being recognized next month with Faculty Outstanding Research Achievement Awards. “The faculty being recognized with these awards have demonstrated extraordinary success in their research and scholarly endeavors," said USF Research & Innovation Interim Vice President Sylvia Thomas.
August 17, 2023Accomplishments, Community Engagement, Featured, Research
![Communication doctoral student Rana Elhendi earned the Top Student Award from the International Communication Association’s Organizational Communication division. (Photo courtesy of Rana Elhendi)](/arts-sciences/chronicles/images/edition-17/rana-elhendi-490x328.jpg)
USF doctoral student earns ‘Top Student Award’ from the International Communication Association
Communication doctoral student Rana Elhendi’s paper, “‘The rubber band is already broken: An extended case study of UNDP transformative resilience framework in the context of Palestine,” has earned the Top Student Award from the International Communication Association’s Organizational Communication division.
August 17, 2023Accomplishments, Community Engagement, Research
![flood waters cover Florida street during hurricane](/arts-sciences/chronicles/images/edition-16/cris-flooding-490-327.jpg)
USF receives $1.5 million national grant to develop app that identifies climate risks in vulnerable coastal communities
A $1.5 million National Science Foundation grant will allow researchers to develop a web-based application that gathers crowdsourced data in coastal communities to identify flooding risks and inform policy. Led by USF St. Petersburg GIS and Remote Sensing Professor Barnali Dixon, the research team will create the CRIS-HAZARD app.
August 15, 2023Community Engagement, Research
![students standing on a beach boardwalk](/arts-sciences/chronicles/images/edition-16/listing-image-beach.jpg)
Hurricane hunting to beach erosion: USF prepares next generation for weather-related expertise
Students traveled throughout the Tampa Bay region to gather an interdisciplinary perspective on the social and physical impacts of severe weather and climate-related disasters.
August 3, 2023Research
![Diane Wallman, PhD. (Photo courtesy of Diane Wallman)](/arts-sciences/chronicles/images/edition-16/diane-wallman-490x328.jpg)
Anthropology’s Dr. Diane Wallman earns Faculty Scholar Fulbright
USF College of Arts and Sciences anthropology associate professor Dr. Diane Wallman has been named a Faculty Scholar Fulbright. Wallman will use the Fulbright award to continue her collaborative work with colleague Dr. Caroline Borges, assistant professor of archaeology at the University of Pernambuco in Recife, Brazil.
July 26, 2023Accomplishments, Community Engagement, Research
![The Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in Malta, Angela Cervetti, visited the archaeological excavation site to meet USF students and USF IDEx staff members to learn more about the dig and their role in the international research project. Photo by Davide Tanasi](/arts-sciences/chronicles/images/edition-16/listing-image-excavation.jpg)
Uncovering ancient history: USF team discovers 2,000-year-old Roman house during excavation in Malta
Led by Davide Tanasi, professor and director of USF’s Institute for Digital Exploration (IDEx), USF students collaborated with a team of scientists from around the world on the Melite Civitas Romana Project, uncovering what life was like 2,000 years ago when Romans ruled Malta and the island was used for military staging and maritime trade.
July 26, 2023Research
![Dr. Marcus Cooke and colleagues open the door to understanding human disease through nucleic acid ‘adductomics’](/arts-sciences/chronicles/images/edition-16/nucleic-acid-adductomics-490x328.jpg)
Dr. Marcus Cooke and colleagues open the door to understanding human disease through nucleic acid ‘adductomics’
Ninety percent of the risk of developing a disease comes from exposure to certain elements in our environment, such as pollution, sunlight, tobacco use, or food components, according to USF College of Arts and Sciences professor and Department of Molecular Biosciences chair Dr. Marcus Cooke.
July 25, 2023Accomplishments, Research
![From ponds to parks: USF researchers tackle environmental injustice in East Tampa](/arts-sciences/chronicles/images/edition-16/wells-490x328.jpg)
From ponds to parks: USF researchers tackle environmental injustice in East Tampa
Students and faculty from the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Anthropology and the College of Engineering’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering gathered in a large ballroom at Ragan Park in East Tampa in late April to host a student film festival event featuring student films on oral histories the students collected from seniors and others in the community over the spring semester.
July 25, 2023Community Engagement, Research