Faculty
Solving Cosmic Puzzles
Neutron stars are dead stars collapsed into the densest form of matter known to humans, with a teaspoon of neutron star matter weighing a billion tons, and their collision creates a swath of galactic debris. Decades ago, stargazing scientists formed plans to detect signals from this debris. Now, in the new era of aptly named “multi-messenger astronomy,” two international projects have achieved this goal: On August 17 of this year, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO)’s two U.S.-based interferometers and the Virgo Collaboration’s Italy-based interferometer detected for the first time gravitational waves — ripples in space-time traveling at the speed of light — from the collision and subsequent merger of two neutron stars. The detection occurred just three days after yet another “chirp” from colliding black holes.
Transformative Topographies
UF anthropologist studies the lives of Peruvians who provide transportation through a post-war terrain. Richard Kernaghan, associate professor of anthropology, has received a fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies to pursue his new book project, Semblance in Terrain: On the Legal Topographies of Postwar, in Peru’s Upper Huallaga Valley. Expanding upon the work […]
A Man for All Seasons
UF’s beloved historian Michael Gannon passed in April. Michael Gannon PhD’62, who taught at UF for more than 30 years, passed away on April 10 at age 89. Gannon was nationally recognized for his research into the establishment of colonial Spanish Florida, including the introduction of Catholicism — and Christianity as a whole — to […]
Faculty Profile — Maia Martcheva
Mathematical Biologist As the daughter of biologists, Professor Maia Martcheva grew up in an academic environment in Bulgaria. “I spent my childhood in labs, going to conferences, listening to talks,” she says. She also knew what she wanted to study by age 16. She remembers studying models for chemistry and physics and asked her teacher […]
LIGO Gators
David Reitze gives back to UF Physics. David Reitze, executive director of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) at Caltech, is one of three winners of the prestigious National Academy of Sciences Award for Scientific Discovery, a prize comprising $50,000 cash and $50,000 to support the recipients’ research. Now, Reitze has given back part of […]
We’d Like to Thank the Academy
UF scientists awarded NAS membership. Besides a passion for research and a sense of humor, UF physicist Art Hebard and UF plant biologist Doug Soltis share one other thing: membership in the National Academy of Sciences. The Academy recognizes top achievement in and devotion to one’s field in selecting its members, who are scientific consultants […]
A Route to Recovery
UF psychologist Lori Knackstedt studies an antibiotic that may cure cocaine addiction. Lori Knackstedt, professor of psychology, is seven years deep into research that’s yielded some surprising results: in cocaine-addicted rats, an antibiotic reduces their drug-seeking behavior and may prevent relapse. The drug Ceftriaxone appears to increase reuptake of glutamate, a neurotransmitter that regulates dopamine, […]
From K–T to Kermit
Among UF’s renowned team of extinction experts is David Blackburn, whose appreciation for frogs has led to his work on a groundbreaking new study. A paper published in July in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (opens in new tab) shows that although frogs have been around for longer than dinosaurs, most of the world’s 6,700-plus living species of frogs evolved after a mass extinction 66 million years ago made way for new biodiversity.
The Sound of Silence
Victoria Emma Pagán of UF Classics publishes new book about Roman historian Tacitus.
Third Time’s a Charm
LIGO detects third set of gravitational waves from colliding black holes. UF physicists have played a key role in these detections.
Conservation Clues
Extinction detective Bob Holt tracks down the likely culprit behind ecological crises.
More than Skin Deep
Racism is real and stress is not just all in your head.
Biased? Who? Me?
Professor of Psychology and Executive Director of Project Implicit Kate Ratliff says many people do not recognize their own bias.
Global Issues — Bug Zappers
Liberal Arts and Sciences investigators at UF’s Emerging Pathogens Institute are here to rid the world of dangerous microbes, wielding state-of-the-art technology with their scientific toolkits of electronic tracking, computer analysis, and petri dishes!
Personal Essay — Rivers, Roads, and Gunmen
Two researchers search for the elusive logging frontier in the Amazonian wilds.
Professor of Anthropology Receives ACLS Fellowship
Professor of Anthropology Richard Kernaghan receives an ACLS fellowship for new book project.
LIGO Director David Reitze Honored
On April 20, 2017, David Reitze, UF professor of physics and current director of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Waves Observatory (LIGO) at Caltech, will be recognized by the National Academy of Sciences for his leadership at LIGO, which has detected two chirps of gravitational waves from colliding black holes. The discovery is significant because it demonstrates that the fabric of space-time is rippled by enormous outputs of energy, as Albert Einstein predicted in 1916. Learn more about gravitational waves and their detection, below.
You May Recycle, But You’re Still Not Cool
UF researchers conduct first implicit bias research on environmentalist attitudes and behaviors.
Professor of Chemistry Wins SEC Faculty Achievement Award
The Iron Man of UF has won again. Professor of Chemistry George Christou, known for his research in nano-magnets, has received the SEC Faculty Achievement Award for his accomplishments. The Southeastern Conference, an athletic association comprising 14 academic institutions, has honored one faculty member from each institution for the past six years. This year, they […]
Mass Extinction: Are We Next?
Biologist Todd Palmer says the countdown clock has started. In the movie Avatar, so many magnificent animals have gone extinct that scientists can only study them virtually. This environmentally ravaged Earth is set in the near future, in the year 2154, but according to University of Florida biologist Todd Palmer, our Earth in 2016 is […]