WHAT: Machen will answer questions about the State of Florida’s budget signed by Gov. Scott today and its impact on UF.

WHEN: 4 p.m. today, May 20.

WHERE: President’s Conference Room, second floor, Tigert Hall, SW 13th Street, UF campus, Gainesville.

CONTACT: Janine Sikes, 352-846-3903, jysikes@ufl.edu

Monday, May 20
EVENTS0520 — upcoming events of media interest.

Tuesday, May 21
GRAHAM CITIZEN — The Bob Graham Center for Public Service announces its inaugural Citizen of the Year and two honorees.

Wednesday, May 22
BUG WEEK BROADCAST VIDEO

Thursday, May 23
STUDENT SCHOLARS — UF has names eight Florida high school seniors to the Lombardi Scholars Program and three to the Stamps Scholars Program.

Friday, May 24
open

Monday, May 13
EVENTS0513 — upcoming events of media interest.

Tuesday, May 14
open

Wednesday, May 15
DAILY ASPIRIN –People often think that an aspirin a day will keep heart disease away, but that is not necessarily the case, according to two University of Florida cardiologists. They have developed a series of factors for physicians to examine when deciding if a patient would benefit from a daily dose of the drug.

Thursday, May 16
open

Friday, May 17
open

WHAT: To discuss progress on goals to reduce excessive drinking, eliminate underage drinking, reduce ills associated with excessive alcohol use and create social opportunities not related to alcohol use.

WHEN: 10 a.m. to noon, May 10.

WHERE: Emerson Alumni Hall, West University Avenue, Gainesville.

AGENDA: Reports will be made by Dave Kratzer, UF vice president of student affairs; Maureen Miller, director, UF Gatorwell Health Promotion Services; Joan Scully, UF Counseling & Wellness Center; Naima Brown, interim vice president of student affairs at Santa Fe College; and Lt. Brian Helmerson, Gainesville Police Department.

CONTACT: Jeanna Mastrodicasa, 352-392-1265, JeannaM@ufsa.ufl.edu

Monday, May 6
EVENTS0506 — upcoming events of media interest.

CAC ADV — advisory for Community Alcohol Coalition meeting

Tuesday, May 7
HiPerGator — The University of Florida unveiled the state’s most powerful supercomputer Tuesday, a machine that will help researchers find life-saving drugs, preserve state agriculture through decades-long weather forecasts and improve armor for troops. EMBARGOED UNTIL 3 P.M. MAY 7

Wednesday, May 8
WEED – A UF researcher has written a book that is a family guide to marijuana facts and myths.

Thursday, May 9
CHEMISTRY CHAIR — A $1.5 million pledge from University of Florida professor Alan Katritzky will fund a chair in the department of chemistry.

Friday, May 10
Open

WHEN: 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, May 7

BACKGROUND: HiPerGator will accelerate research on potential life-saving drugs, run 50-year weather simulations to help preserve Florida’s agriculture, analyze materials to produce better body armor for our troops and keep UF in the forefront of inquiry into the origin of the universe.

WHERE: University of Florida Eastside Campus, 2008 NE Waldo Road, Gainesville

CONTACT: Chris Moran, director of communications, at chrismoran@ufl.edu or 352-846-3903 (office) or 713-906-0525 (cell)

Monday, April 29
PET POISONING – When a puppy or dog falls ill and mushroom poisoning is suspected, University of Florida mycologist Matt Smith is sometimes called in to identify suspected fungi samples. Now, with spring rainfall and sunshine bringing up the common and toxic Chlorophyllum molybdites mushroom in grassy areas, Smith has some advice on keeping pets safe.

Tuesday, April 30
CC0413 – Monthly Florida consumer confidence report from the Survey Research Center, Bureau of Economic and Business Research.

Wednesday, May 1
INTERNET PLATFORM — UF first in country to connect to Internet2 Innovation Platform. Will transform research at UF and possibly elsewhere.

Thursday, May 2
open

Friday, May 3
open

Monday, April 22
RAINWORKS AWARD — news release announcing winner of Environmental Protection Agency Campus RainWorks Challenge.

COMMENCE SPRING 2013 — featuring graduating doctoral student and info about ceremonies.

PLANT CLINIC — The University of Florida Plant Diagnostic Center, one of the top facilities of its kind, is a front-line defender against invading pathogens that threaten plants in Florida and around the nation. The center is opening its doors 4/25 to celebrate its new headquarters.

EVENTS0422 — upcoming events of media interest.

Tuesday, April 23
UF RESEARCH PROFS — annual announcement of honorees. From Joe Kays.

Wednesday, April 24
SEA TURTLES — Sea turtle populations may be increasing– or decreasing – but by using the most common method of simply counting nests or nesting females there is no way to know for sure, a University of Florida research team reports in the journal PLOS ONE today. EMBARGOED UNTIL 5 PM APRIL 24

HEPDATA — CTSI researchers working in conjuncton with colleagues at Duke are announcing a new form of research on hepatitis.

Thursday, April 25
OYSTERS – Update from Wednesday’s meeting of UF’s oyster recovery task force.

Friday, April 26
Open

News media are reporting this morning that the two Chechen brothers were from the Russian Caucasus who moved to Kazakhstan before coming to the U.S. several years ago.

Paul D’Anieri, dean of UF’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, 352-392-0780 or danieri@ufl.edu. D’Anieri has followed the conflict in Chechnya and Chechen-sponsored terrorism in Russia since the early 1990s. He has been reading Russian newspaper websites today to gauge their reaction to the news.

D’Anieri’s research has been centered on the international and domestic politics of the former Soviet Union and, in addition to Germany and Ukraine, his studies have taken him to Russia, Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan.

During the summer of 1998, D’Anieri was a visiting associate professor at Harvard University’s Ukrainian Research Institute. He served as associate dean for international programs at Kansas from 1999 to 2003, director of the Center for Russian and European Studies in 2003-2004, and associate dean of Humanities from 2004 until accepting his position as dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at UF.

Bryon Moraski, associate professor of political science, 352-273-2361 or bmoraski@ufl.edu. Moraski studies regional politics in Russia, which includes Chechnya’s relationship with Moscow. The majority of his work focuses on parties and elections in the former Soviet Union. Courses and seminars he teaches include “Post-Communist Politics,” “Democratization and Regime Change,” and “Politics in Russia.”

Moraski has published articles in the American Journal of Political Science, Democratization, Europe-Asia Studies, Government and Opposition, Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics, Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties, Journal of Politics, and Slavic Review. His book, “Elections by Design: Parties and Patronage in Russia’s Regions,” examines the process and consequences of electoral system design at the sub-national level in the Russian Federation.

The EPA created the competition to inspire the next generation of landscape architects, planners and engineers to develop innovative green infrastructure systems that mitigate the effects of urban stormwater while supporting vibrant and sustainable communities.

WHEN: 9 a.m. Monday

WHERE: Reitz Student Union North Lawn on the UF campus

WHO: Speakers include:

• Bernie Machen, UF president
• Nancy Stoner, EPA acting assistant administrator for water
• Christopher Silver, dean, College of Design, Construction and Planning
• Glenn Acomb, senior lecturer in landscape architecture and the team’s faculty adviser
• Emily Sturm, senior in landscape architecture and the team’s project manager

CONTACT: Steve Orlando, senior director, UF Media Relations, 352-392-0186, sfo@ufl.edu

Monday, April 8

HIGHER ED SURVEY: Most Floridians feel that a college education is a good investment — and one that will continue to pay off in the future, according to new survey results from the University of Florida’s Center for Public Issues Education.

EVENTS0408 — upcoming events of media interest.

Tuesday, April 9

MARINE BIODIVERSITY — In a new study co-authored by a University of Florida researcher, experts have coordinated a call to action for support of a national marine biodiversity observation network. By organizing collections and fieldwork efforts, the study appearing online April 11 in BioScience shows a comprehensive marine biodiversity observation network could be established within 5 years. Humans depend on marine biodiversity for food, clothing, medicine and sustained healthy lifestyles, yet marine habitats are under unprecedented threat from climate change, pollution, overfishing, habitat destruction and invasive species worldwide. Organization of a marine biodiversity observation network may help researchers establish a baseline so healthy marine ecosystems may be preserved for future generations. EMBARGOED UNTIL MIDNIGHT APRIL 11.

Wednesday, April 10

INNOVATIONSQUARE — (Tentative, rescheduled from last week) — An announcement about another new tenant moving to Innovation Square.

Thursday, April 11

ALZHEIMERS TRIGGER – A new study from researchers at the University of Florida may have uncovered a critical factor that drives the relentless progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Source: David Borchelt.

Friday, April 12
Open

WHAT: “Bricks and Mortar in a Digital Age: The Uncertain Future of Higher Education,” a symposium to mark the end of the yearlong celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Morrill Act that established the land-grant university system. A full agenda is available at http://landgrant.ufl.edu/docs/Agenda-Bricks%20and%20Mortar%20in%20a%20Digital%20Age.pdf

WHEN: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, April 11

WHERE: University Auditorium on the University of Florida campus. Parking will be available in the garage at the northeast corner of Museum Road and Newell Drive.

WHO: Speakers and panelists include:

• Jeff Selingo, editor at large of The Chronicle of Higher Education and author of the forthcoming book, “College (Un)Bound: The Future of Higher Education and What It Means for Students.”
• Daphne Koller, MacArthur Fellow, Stanford University professor of computer science, and co-founder of the online education platform Coursera. (Participating via video from California.)
• Adam Putnam, Florida commissioner of agriculture
• Bernie Machen, president, University of Florida
• Mori Housseni, vice chair, Florida Board of Governors
• Jackson Sasser, president, Santa Fe College

The event will be moderated by Mike Foley, master lecturer, UF department of journalism and Hugh Cunningham Professor in Journalism Excellence

CONTACT: Steve Orlando, senior director, UF Media Relations, 352-392-0186 or sfo@ufl.edu

Monday, April 1
Open

Tuesday, APRIL 2
STUDY PARTICIPATION – A new UF study finds that the reluctance of African Americans to participate in medical research may be waning. Previous studies had shown that African Americans were less willing to participate in research studies, which may be due, in part, to incidents like the syphilis study in Tuskegee, Alabama. In the new study, researchers interviewed 6,000 people in 5 cities and found that African Americans were more likely than any other racial group to express an interest in research participation. Results appear in the American Journal of Public Health.

Wednesday, APRIL 3
BIOPOLYMER — Researchers at the University of Florida are making new industrial applications possible for crops. They’ve developed a method to turn sugarcane bagasse into a renewable chemical that can be used to make pharmaceuticals, protective coatings and compostable bags. The process uses no food crops or petroleum as raw material. Study appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Thursday, April 4
INNOVATIONSQUARE — (Tentative) — An announcement about another new tenant moving to Innovation Square, bringing more jobs to Gainesville.

Friday, April 5
Open

Registration has closed for the event, but members of the media are welcome to attend. It is being held at the Reitz Student Union on campus.

Called Sustaining Economics and Natural Resources in a Changing World: Key Role of Land-Grant Universities, the symposium will address the impact land-grant institutions and their research have had on food security and agricultural production; infrastructure and transportation; energy; sustainable development and resource policies.

“We need to know about these issues and how to adapt to the changing environment to thrive,” said Carolyn Cox, coordinator with the UF Florida Climate Institute and the event’s organizer. “This research into how we live, how we eat, will help us meet our basic needs in the future.”

The event was organized to highlight sustainability issues as well as foster research and outreach. It is a part of the 150th anniversary celebration of the Morrill Act that established land-grant universities, such as UF.

The closing keynote speaker on April 3 will be Ron Sims, former deputy secretary for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

“He’s an amazing speaker,” Cox said. “I think he’ll send people away with the feeling that the work they do in sustainability is worthwhile and to press on, regardless of the political climate or budget constraints.”

John Ingram, food security leader for the United Kingdom-based Natural Environment Research Council, will give the April 2 opening address.

His presentation will cover food security, or the availability and access to food, and how the impacts of food production systems cross international borders.

The symposium is a joint effort between UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, the Florida Climate Institute and UF’s Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment.

For more information, visit: http://conference.ifas.ufl.edu/landgrant/index.html.

Monday, March 25
LOCAL FOOD — Floridians are buying more food grown locally or regionally and retail sales are higher here than in other states, according to a University of Florida study.

Tuesday, March 26
CC0313 — Monthly Florida consumer confidence report. With color graphic showing 12-month and 5-year trends.

PARKINSONS BOOK — Michael Okun, M.D., co-director of the Center for Movement Disorders and Neurorestoration has written a book to help patients with Parkinson’s Disease live better lives while dealing with the disease. The book is being translated in 20 different languages because there is a dearth of information about the disease for non-English speakers.

Wednesday, March 27
FITNESS TO DRIVE – The University of Florida has launched the Fitness-to-Drive Screening Measure, a free, online tool to help caregivers and family members identify older at-risk drivers. After completing the screening, users are given a rating profile of the older driver and recommendations that can be shared with health professionals. The tool also offers guidelines for continued fitness to drive, options for interventions and advice on starting conversations about stopping driving.
THIS INCLUDES BROADCAST VIDEO

Thursday, March 28
PROSTATE TREATMENT – A UF College of Pharmacy professor received a $1.2 million Department of Defense award to conduct in-depth ethnographic research and analysis of death rates, treatment choices and coping mechanisms among black men who have prostate cancer. The goal of the project is to develop ethically sensitive, specially targeted ways to encourage healthful behaviors.

Friday, March 29
Nothing scheduled.