CAS Chronicles
Stories
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
Around the world in one summer: CAS students reflect on new skills and connections gained abroad
From Cura莽ao to Kyoto, students from USF鈥檚 College of Arts and Sciences spent the summer expanding their horizons through immersive study abroad programs that blended academic learning with cultural exploration.
August 28, 2025Community Engagement, Featured, Research
Expanding excellence: 31 new faculty members join the College of Arts and Sciences
The USF College of Arts and Sciences welcomes 31 new faculty members with a unique breadth of research and expertise in highly evolving specializations, reflecting the college鈥檚 continued commitment to comprehensive excellence.
August 27, 2025Accomplishments, Featured, Research
Award-winning professor uses artificial intelligence to track world鈥檚 deadliest animal
Thanks to a grant from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, USF faculty are developing a trap that uses artificial intelligence to identify the disease-carrying insects.
July 30, 2025Accomplishments, Featured, Research
Tracking Giants: How a Department of Integrative Biology professor鈥檚 research is rooted in conservation and community
Lucas Griffin, an assistant professor in the Department of Integrative Biology, is dedicating his research to uncovering how marine life navigate their habitats, overcoming both natural and human-induced challenges. His goal is to contribute to sustainability initiatives that protect marine ecosystems while supporting the communities that rely on them.
A legacy restored: former USF professor brings posthumous Zora Neale Hurston novel to light
Convinced of its literary and anthropological value, Hurston continued to revise the unpublished manuscript until her death in 1960. When a handyman tasked with clearing out her home set fire to her trunk, the manuscript was almost lost forever.
March 26, 2025Accomplishments, Featured, Research
$4.8M Mellon Foundation grant opens internship opportunities for USF humanities students
For the first time, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation 鈥� the nation鈥檚 largest supporter of the arts and humanities 鈥� invited the 杏吧性世界 to submit a proposal last spring for one of its humanities internship grants. The foundation awarded the college a five-year, $4.8 million grant that will support up to 900 students each year in otherwise unpaid internships. The beneficiaries will be undergraduate students majoring in humanities.
January 15, 2025Accomplishments, Community Engagement, Featured
Going green: Teaching lab earns certification for sustainability efforts
The USF Sarasota Manatee teaching lab has earned My Green Lab Certification, joining a growing community of laboratories certified for implementing more sustainable practices to dramatically reduce environmental impact.
November 20, 2024Accomplishments, Community Engagement, Featured
Volunteers support the USF Botanical Gardens鈥� ongoing recovery efforts ahead of fall festival
After Hurricane Milton caused significant damage and forced the closure of the USF Botanical Gardens, dedicated staff and the Tampa Bay community united to restore the gardens and prepare for one of the year鈥檚 biggest events.
Interdisciplinary field school research in Costa Rica examines wastewater management systems and aims to address sanitation issues
Dr. David Himmelgreen and Dr. Nancy Romero-Daza of the Department of Anthropology are co-leading an interdisciplinary field school in Costa Rica examining wastewater management systems and associated sanitation issues.
September 20, 2024Alumni, Community Engagement, Featured, Research
Meet Dean Elizabeth Spiller
Dean Elizabeth Spiller joined USF in July. Learn more about her and why she鈥檚 excited to be Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
August 29, 2024Featured
Physics research team makes new progress on renewable energy project in Botswana
USF students interested in sustainable energy participated in an NSF-funded project in Botswana to implement a new concept to bring a new portable, renewable energy source to rural Africa.