Matthews will serve as “Scholar in Residence” in conjunction with the Center for World Heritage Research and Stewardship. She will help to develop and teach new courses, conduct research, advise students and assist with UF’s initiatives in St. Augustine.

For the last six years, Matthews has been serving the country as associate director of Cultural Resources and keeper of the National Register for Historic Places for the National Park Service, the nation’s premier agency for historic preservation.

Under her direction, the number of Historic Landmarks reached 2,461 and the number of properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places increased to 85,001. She is well known in Florida where she led historic preservation efforts as the State Historic Preservation Officer of the Florida Department of State, taught history and theory of historic preservation at Florida State University and produced scholarly books and articles on Florida architectural history and its conservation.

In 2007, she was awarded the Beinecke-Reeves Distinguished Achievement Award by the UF Historic Preservation Program. The award honors the professional who most embodies the “spirit of historic preservation” in Florida.

Matthews received her Ph.D. in history from Florida State University and has published widely in the field of Florida history and preservation.

In welcoming Matthews into the faculty, the director of the DCP historic preservation program, Roy Eugene Graham, FAIA, praised her hard work to protect and conserve cultural heritage throughout the country.

“This appointment is an important opportunity for the advancement of the program,” he said. “Jan’s considerable experience will be utilized in new courses on government and law in historic preservation, and her research experience will highly compliment the Ph.D. program. The UF program is one of the most multi-disciplinary in the nation and Jan’s background in history will further enhance that advantage.”

“We are deeply grateful to our friends Steve and Carol Shey for sharing this magnificent bronze sculpture by Bryan Hunt with the Harn and our audiences,” said Rebecca Nagy, director of the Harn Museum of Art. “The installation of ‘Plunge’ helps us to advance our goal of making the Cultural Plaza an exciting place for people to spend time outdoors as well as inside the museums and performing arts center.”

Evoking the form of a waterfall, the large-scale, bronze sculpture depicts cascading water settling into a pool at the base of the work.
“’Plunge” was created by American artist Bryan Hunt. Hunt, who worked as a technical assistant at the Kennedy Space Center in the late 1960s, is now an internationally known sculptor. His work has been exhibited at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Guggenheim Museum and the White House.

The work is on loan from local collectors Carol and Steve Shey and will be on display for approximately six months.

For more information call 352-392-9826 or visit www.harn.ufl.edu.

The International Center established this award to recognize outstanding international endeavors by UF faculty members, in order to support UF’s strategic goal of internationalizing the campus and curriculum. A committee was established to judge nominees for the award. Each college was asked to nominate two candidates in the categories of tenured and untenured/recently tenured. Each college was free to develop their own review process, but nominations were endorsed by the deans. Consideration was given to three main factors: research, teaching and service.

The Awards Reception will take place from 3 to 4 p.m. on Nov. 17 at the Keene Faculty Center. Provost Joe Glover will present the awards to all winners. For additional information and biographical information of winners, visit www.ufic.ufl.edu.

Phillips presented each of the professors with a certificate of
recognition at a reception on Nov. 5 in the Friends of Music Room.

The professorships go to faculty members who have a distinguished
current record of research and a strong research agenda likely to lead
to continuing distinction in their fields.

The UFRF professors were recommended by their college deans based on
nominations from department chairs, a personal statement and an
evaluation of recent research accomplishments as evidenced by
publications in scholarly journals, external funding, honors and
awards, development of intellectual property and other measures.

“These nominating documents invariably use phrases like ‘zeal for
research,’ ‘maximum impact,’ and ’spirit of collaboration’ to describe
these researchers’ work,” said Phillips. “They – and hundreds of
others like them – are the reason we have been able to move into the
top tier of research universities nationally.”

The three-year award includes a $5,000 annual salary supplement and a
one-time $3,000 grant.

The professorships are funded from the university’s share of royalty
and licensing income on UF-generated products. Founded in 1986, the
not-for-profit foundation provides a means by which research can be
conducted flexibly and efficiently and by which discoveries,
inventions, processes and work products of UF faculty, staff and
students can be transferred from the laboratory to the public. Funds
generated by licensing such discoveries are used to enhance research
at the university.

The professors are:

Adegbola Adesogan, Associate Professor of Animal Sciences
Rodney J. Bartlett, Graduate Research Professor of Chemistry and Physics
Emilio M. Bruna, Associate Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
Martin J. Cohn, Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology
David S. Criswell, Associate Professor of Applied Physiology and Kinesiology
Nancy D. Denslow, Professor of Physiological Sciences
Stephen S. Eikenberry, Professor of Astronomy
Jean-Pierre Emond, Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
Zhenli L. He, Associate Professor of Soil and Water Science
Steven A. Kautz, Associate Professor of Physical Therapy
Spiro Kiousis, Associate Professor of Public Relations
Henrietta L. Logan, Professor of Community Dentistry and Behavioral Science
Steven R. Manchester, Curator of Paleobotany
Robert McKenna, Associate Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Lyle L. Moldawer, Professor of Surgery
Nicholas Muzyczka, Eminent Scholar for Cancer Research
Andrew V. Ogram, Professor of Soil and Water Science
Kevin R. Orr, Associate Professor of Piano/Piano Pedagogy
Alfonso Perez-Mendez, Professor of Architecture
Anna L. Peterson, Professor of Religion
W. Gregory Sawyer, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Edward W. Scott, Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology
Michael L. Seigel, Professor of Law
Wolfgang M. Sigmund, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering
Sihong Song, Associate Professor of Pharmaceutics
Roland Staud, Professor of Medicine
Nan-Yao Su, Professor of Entomology
David B. Tanner, Distinguished Professor of Physics
Sevan G. Terzian, Associate Professor of Teaching and Learning
Philip J. Williams, Professor of Political Science
Dapeng Wu, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Jinhong Xie, Etheridge Professor of International Business
Saun-Joo Yoon, Associate Professor of Nursing

Created by University Relations, the informal video was designed to highlight some of the attributes of the university, while also being humorous and entertaining for use on social-media Web sites.

The gift, made through the Harris Foundation, will establish an endowment fund to support early stage, innovative research projects in the field of computer science and engineering. Areas of research may include mobile communications, high-performance computing and medical informatics.

“We’re very fortunate to be part of Harris Corporation’s leadership initiative in education and research,” said UF President Bernie Machen. “Their commitment to UF and their recognition of the importance of a healthy and diverse state economy demonstrates an optimistic strategic view of the future, and we share that view with Harris.”

In recognition of the Harris gift, UF will create the Harris Gateway to Learning and Innovation in the College of Engineering, housed in the current Computer and Information Sciences building. A portion of the gift will fund the renovation of the third floor of the building to make way for this new facility.

“The Harris Gateway is aptly named in that it will provide a ‘door’ to many benefits,” said Howard L. Lance, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Harris. “It will support the ¬¬¬recruitment and development of outstanding faculty, enhance industry partnerships, create a dynamic educational model and play a key role in recruiting outstanding students to UF.”

Harris Corporation has had a longtime partnership with the University of Florida and currently employs 850 of its graduates.

“The Harris gift is an example of how leadership, partnership and innovation can mutually benefit two dynamic organizations, and in turn, benefit industry and the nation’s economy,” said Cammy Abernathy, dean of the College of Engineering. “It is also a fitting tribute to the launch of the college’s celebration of its 100th anniversary.”

The renovated space in the Computer and Information Sciences building will foster an “intellectual collision,” according to Abernathy. More than 1,100 students, 40 faculty and many visitors from industry frequent the building on a routine basis. The Harris Gateway creates a comfortable, conducive environment for the interaction of these individuals.

Work on the renovation is scheduled to begin in spring 2010.

Rudolf Kalman is a former professor of mathematics and engineering and served as director of UF’s Center for Mathematical System Theory.

Established in 1959, the medal recognizes individuals for outstanding contributions to science and engineering. A committee of presidential appointees selects nominees.

Kalman is best known for his work in developing a mathematical technique that removes ‘noise’ from a data stream. From incomplete information, it can estimate and control the state of a changing, complex system over time. The Kalman filter changed control theory and has become a common device in many engineering systems, from the Apollo lunar missions to global positioning systems to radar tracking and to automated drug delivery systems.

In 2008 Kalman won the Charles Stark Draper Prize for lifetime contributions to engineering. He was also one of four recipients of the 1985 Kyoto Prize, which is sometimes referred to as the Japanese Nobel prize.

Born in Hungary, Kalman was a graduate research professor at UF from 1971 to 1992. As the director of the Center for Mathematical Systems Theory, he brought several outstanding researchers to UF. Former Dean of the College of Engineering, Pramod Khargonekar, was one of Kalman’s Ph.D. students.

Kalman is a professor emeritus at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Sciences.

Taking a tour of the stations at UF’s College of Journalism and Communications made Stolarz want to pursue her broadcast-news interest, she said. The following week, Stolarz started volunteering at WUFT-TV. She hopes to work her way up to anchor.

“I learned that the television studio offers a very friendly and welcoming environment,” Stolarz said. “They are very willing to train you in whatever your interest might be.”

The stations, which recently restructured into the Division of Multimedia Properties, held the open house to encourage more participation among advertising, journalism and public relations, noted Rob Carr, chair of the open house committee and the college’s director of engineering. In the past, most student volunteers were telecommunication majors.

“Dean (John) Wright wants students to take a more active role in the stations,” Carr said. “When the students leave this college, we want them to be able to step out and be ahead of their counterparts.”

The open house made the stations seem more accessible, said Ben Stearns, a second-year journalism master’s student. After receiving an e-mail about the event, he attended it to look for opportunities to build his portfolio. During the tour he met Donna Green-Townsend, WUFT-FM executive producer, who encouraged him to add multimedia elements to his thesis project.

“It’s made me more open to more electronic modes,” Stearns said. He started volunteering at WUFT-FM the following week.

The stations plan to hold the open house annually or semi-annually. For more information, visit http://www.jou.ufl.edu/news/index.php?id=370.

The college is a national leader in the professional education of future journalists and other communication practitioners. It offers undergraduate programs in advertising, print and broadcast journalism, public relations, and telecommunication; and graduate programs in science/health communication, media law, political communication and international communication.

Wayne Zurburg, UF maintenance supervisor, and his team will be accepting the award at 3 p.m. on Oct. 23 at the University Village South Fields. Oct. 23 marks the start of Swamp Bowl weekend, an extramural flag football tournament that attracts intramural sports teams from all over the Southeast. Also on Oct. 23, a new Swamp Bowl 2009 field painting design will be unveiled.

As a winner, the department of Recreational Sports will receive a certificate of recognition and a Field of Excellence banner.

“Excellence in athletic field maintenance goes unrecognized and often, unappreciated,” said Pioneer Athletics. “The Field of Excellence Award program honors outstanding athletic fields and the hardworking field crews who diligently maintain them.”

The Field of Excellence Award Program was established in 1998 and has honored more than 315 athletic fields from around the country, since its creation.

Zurburg and his staff were selected from a pool of hundreds of applicants from colleges, universities, high schools, and parks and recreation departments throughout the U.S. The rigorous judging process yielded 38 winners from a large pool of applicants, with two athletic fields randomly selected as scholarship winners.

So suggest University of Florida materials science and engineering professors Simon Phillpot and Susan Sinnott in this week’s edition of the journal Science.

In an article titled “Simulating Multifunctional Structures” in Science’s “Perspectives” section, Phillpot and Sinnott say that increases in computer power combined with improved computer instructions, or algorithms, are now making possible the design, tuning and prototyping of nanostructures – the extremely small elements at the heart of computer chips and many other modern products. This modeling had been difficult until recently because these nanostructures often contained very different materials such as metals, oxides, or silicon, each of which had its own framework or paradigm that scientists used to describe or manipulate it.

“The way things had been described at that level had been very different,” Phillpot said. “We think that now, we have a common framework, or skeleton, in place in which to describe them all simultaneously.”

When scientists and engineers can model, test or simulate devices that are between 10 and 50 nanometers in size (50 nanometers equals one 1000th of the thickness of a human hair), they can speed the development of products vital to information technology, health care and many other areas, Phillpot said. That’s because such modeling and simulation reveal dead ends and reduce costly experiments, allowing developers to reach production more quickly.

“Something as simple as a hip replacement – typically, the socket is made of polyethylene, the ball of titanium, and it’s all embedded in the warm, wet, corrosive fluids of the body,” he said. “There are a lot of materials and all sorts of complex physical and chemical processes going on there, and we’d like to understand how it all works together.”

Phillpot earned his doctoral degree in physics from UF in 1985, then spent more than a decade at Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois before joining the UF materials science and engineering department in 2003. Sinnott earned her doctorate in physical chemistry in 1993 from Iowa State University. She came to UF in 2000 from the University of Kentucky.

“This Web site is the first of its kind at UF, culling together—in one location—the amazing community outreach efforts being performed by each of the 16 colleges and the auxiliaries of the University of Florida,” said Florida Bridgewater-Alford, project leader.

Reaching out to the community is a tradition at the University of Florida, which is a land-grant institution. Serving its neighbors is central to its goal of being an excellent university. UF’s outreach actively addresses needs, issues and concerns. These efforts ultimately sustain a better quality of life for our communities.

The site was recently updated, following its original creation six months ago. Updated features include improved search capabilities. For more information, contact Florida Bridgewater-Alford at 392-4567 or bridgefl@ufl.edu.

“The recognition and award from the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation to the Harn Museum reiterates the emergence of the Harn as an important contributor to the Asian art field,” said Steuber. “With the new David A. Cofrin Asian Art Wing under construction and due to open in 2011, the two publications will usher in a new prominence for Asian art at the University of Florida.”

“Collectors, Collections and Collecting the Arts of China: Histories and Challenges,” is a collaboration with Guolong Lai, assistant professor of Chinese art history and archaeology at UF. Steuber and Lai convened an international symposium of Chinese art scholars Feb. 20 – 22, 2009. The book is a compilation of the symposium papers, which explore the issues of provenance, collectors, museum collecting histories, and the development of the history of Chinese art and archaeology studies in the West.

“Original Intentions: Essays on Production, Reproduction and Interpretation in the Arts of China,” is a collaboration with Nicholas Pearce, director of the Institute for Art History and the department of art history at the University of Glasgow. The publication contains essays by international specialists exploring authenticity in the arts of China. The collection addresses issues relating to bronzes, ceramics, works on paper, sculpture and painting. A broad range of perspectives, including conservation, technical analysis, social history and aspects of collecting, are explored.

For more information, call 352-392-9826 or visit www.harn.ufl.edu.

The awards honor academic personnel and TEAMS and USPS employees who contribute outstanding and meritorious service in their field or to UF. The awards also seek to recognize employees who have made exceptional contributions to UF’s efficiency and economy or to the quality of life provided to students, faculty, alumni and employees. Nominations will be accepted through Oct. 30.

Superior Accomplishment Awards are presented each spring semester for the period covering the previous academic year. The 2010 awards will honor work done between Aug 1, 2008, and July 31, 2009. Awards are given in six categories, first at the division level and then at the university level: clerical/office support; support services; scientific/technical; administrative/supervisory; administrative/professional; and academic personnel.

Division-level winners each receive $200 along with a certificate of appreciation and a memento coffee mug. Each division winner is eligible to be selected for one of six $4,000 university-level awards or one of eight $1,000 awards sponsored by The Gabor Agency (four awards) and Willis-HRH of Gainesville Inc. (four awards).

UF’s Superior Accomplishment Awards program is coordinated by Human Resource Services. For more information, visit the program Web site at www.hr.ufl.edu/awards/saa or contact Kevin Clarke at 352-392-4777.

Merz, a faculty member in the chemistry department and member of the Quantum Theory Project, was honored in recognition of his use of quantum mechanics to study chemical, biological and pharmaceutical problems. Merz is one of 24 people who have won the award, including the Nobel Prize winner John Pople.

Quantum mechanical models provide a more realistic representation for the study of chemical, biological and pharmaceutical processes. Current models used in chemical biology provide an incomplete picture, in that only nuclei are explicitly represented. Quantum mechanics-based techniques allow for individual electrons to be mapped in relation to the nuclei, creating a more accurate picture of a molecule and its interactions with the environment.

“This is a cutting-edge, next-generation tool,” said Merz. “It will lead to a greater understanding of all of these processes.”

The award has special meaning for Merz. His doctoral degree adviser, Michael Dewar, won the award in 1994. A year later, his postdoctorate adviser, Peter Kollman, received the award. Merz will receive his award at the annual society meeting in March 2010.

The Quantum Theory Project, a joint institute of the departments of chemistry and physics, is one of the world’s largest research centers for theory, modeling, and computation of complex novel molecular and materials systems.