WHAT: Unveiling of historical marker commemorating the original Benton Hall, the College of Engineering’s first building and one of UF’s first buildings in Gainesville. Named after the engineering college’s first dean, John R. Benton, the building was razed in 1967 and replaced by Grinter Hall.

WHEN: 3:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6

WHERE: Outside Grinter Hall on Union Road

CONTACT: Megan Gales, director of communications for the College of Engineering, 352-392-0984, mgales@eng.ufl.edu

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND: Gainesville Mayor Pegeen Hanrahan, who earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in environmental engineering from UF, and Cammy Abernathy, engineering dean, will speak at the unveiling. Other speakers include UF Historian Carl Van Ness and Trudence Ramsay, a member of the UF Alumni Association Board of Directors and engineering college alumna. Friday’s unveiling will kick off a year-long series of events and speeches celebrating the engineering college’s 100th anniversary.

Immediately upon learning of the nature of the federal investigation of Dr. Anghaie in February, the university put him on administrative leave and cut off his access to funding, awards and university resources. He remains on administrative leave at this time.

The university cannot comment about a specific personnel matter until it is concluded. As a general rule when serious allegations of financial or other misconduct are made against an employee, the university launches an internal investigation. If misconduct is substantiated, the university takes appropriate and decisive action, up to and including termination, if that is warranted.

Who: University of Florida officials, local elected leaders and others

When: 10 a.m. Friday

Where: Emerson Alumni Hall, Warrington AB

Contact: Ron Wayne, News Desk Editor, UF News Bureau, 352-392-0186, or rwayne@ufl.edu

THURSDAY OCT 15 @ 1:50 at Digital Worlds REVE (Old Norman Gym)

Directions: www.digitalworlds.ufl.edu/facilities/directions/REVE.htm

In his early career, Richard spent seven years managing and supervising visual effects work and teams in the entertainment industry. He formed and oversaw the team that generated all of the ocean water in James Cameron’s Academy Award winning Titanic. He was then hired to work with the Wachowski brothers to design and breakdown visual effects for 1999’s visually stunning The Matrix.

In 2007, Richard supervised visual effects for both Spiderman 3 and Transformers. Recently, he supervised the visual effects for award winning director Catherine Hardwicke on the blockbuster film Twilight and also contributed to Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen and pre-production on Kingdom Come for director Dean Wright and Cinematographer Vittorio Storaro.

Richard sits on the Gnomon School of Visual Effects Advisory Board and is a former member of the Visual Effects Society Board of Directors. He has lectured on visual effects and film making at UCLA, the American Film Institute, The Art Institute of Los Angeles, University of Florida, as well as for the Entertainment Industry Development Council.
Visit Catalyst Media website at www.catalystmedia.tv/richardkidd.html

For More Information on Mr. Kidd’s presentation, call Digital Worlds at 352-294-2020 or visit www.digitalworlds.ufl.edu.

What: A breakfast for the Community Campus Council’s October meeting with a preview of the upcoming legislative session and a possible special session.

When: 7:30 a.m. Oct. 14

Where: Florida Room of Albert’s Restaurant in the Hilton University of Florida Conference Center, S.W. 34th Street, Gainesville

Reservations: Reservations are required by Monday and can be made by calling 352-392-4567 or e-mailing ccc-breakfast@ufl.edu

Contact: For more information, contact the UF Community Relations Office at 352-392-4567 or ccc-breakfast@ufl.edu. A schedule for the 2009-2010 breakfast series is available at http://www.urel.ufl.edu/communityRelations/events.html

“I commend Gov. Charlie Crist for his choice today of George LeMieux as Florida’s newest U.S. senator. George’s experience in public service and his work as deputy attorney general for Florida bring new perspectives and enthusiasm to the position. George has already demonstrated his strong support for Florida’s higher education system as well. We’re eager to work with George just as closely as we did with his predecessor, Sen. Mel Martinez, and we’re all grateful for Sen. Martinez’ tremendous leadership and service to the state of Florida.”

When: 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 25

Where: Southwest Recreation Center, Hull Road and Bledsoe Drive

Who: University of Florida President Bernie Machen, Vice President for Student Affairs Patricia Telles-Irvin, Director of Recreational Sports David Bowles and others will participate.

Background: The $16.3 million expansion will include 40,000 square feet of new space, including 15,000 square feet for cardio and strength training and a 2,100-square-foot activity room for group fitness. The second floor of the expansion will have a 1/9-mile track with three lanes. The expansion is expected to be completed by the start of the fall 2010 semester.

Contact: Gary Zetrouer, 352-273-2444, garyz@ufl.edu

What: The University of Florida Joint Civic Club Luncheon is one of the foremost annual events in the Greater Gainesville/Alachua County community that celebrates the relationship UF has cultivated among its community and civic leaders, members and friends. The luncheon brings together all civic clubs and organizations. This year marks the 39th annual event.

When: Food service begins at 11:30 a.m. Aug. 19. Program begins at noon.

Where: Paramount Plaza Hotel and Suites, 2900 S.W. 13th St., Gainesville.

Contact: Florida Bridgewater-Alford, director of community relations, 352-846-3903 or bridgefl@ufl.edu.

Who: Based on regalia orders to date, 833 graduates with bachelor’s degrees and 534 graduates with advanced degrees are expected to participate.

When: Saturday. The undergraduate ceremony starts at 2 p.m. with the processional beginning at 1:30 p.m. The advanced degree ceremony starts at 10 a.m. with the processional beginning at 9:30 a.m. A separate ceremony for doctor of pharmacy candidates will be held at 10 a.m. in the HPNP Auditorium in the Health Science Center.

Where: O’Connell Center and HPNP Auditorium.

Background: A total of 1,607 students have applied for bachelor’s degrees, and 1,399 have applied for advanced degrees.

Special notes: Paul Holloway, professor of materials science and engineering, will be recognized as teacher/scholar of the year at the advanced degree ceremony. Eight graduates will be recognized at the 2 p.m. bachelor’s degree ceremony. Four-year scholars are Jorge del Valle, Amanda Niklaus, Tracy Shank and Emily Silcox. Two-year scholars are Christie Babinski and Natalie Bachman. The outstanding female student leader is Tiffany Scoggins, and the outstanding male student leader is Christopher Walker. There are no speakers at either ceremony.

More information: Call Donna Stricker at 352-392-1311, or e-mail her at donnas@ufl.edu.

Related Web site: http://www.registrar.ufl.edu/commencement/

Diane H. Mazur is working with a prestigious think tank to clarify Obama’s authority in this area.

Mazur and the California-based Palm Center authored a July 6 legal memo that details steps Secretary of Defense Robert Gates can take to end discharges of gay personnel while waiting for Congress to amend or repeal the policy.

“If the president and the secretary of defense used the legal authority they already have to suspend or relax enforcement of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ we would have more gay service members serving openly and could resolve once and for all whether their service affects military readiness, opening a path to final repeal,” Mazur said. “From the experience of our military allies who have lifted their bans, we can expect the change will be a non-event.”

Mazur can speak on the policy in terms of national security issues, legal authority to relax enforcement, the operational effect on the military, and the experience of other countries’ military forces after the repeal of similar policies.

Mazur can be reached at mazur@law.ufl.edu.

Media also may contact Scott Emerson, Levin College of Law, 352-273-0650, or semerson@law.ufl.edu.

Speakers included UF President Bernie Machen; Ed Poppell, vice president for business affairs; Scherwin Henry, Gainesville District 1 commissioner/mayor pro tem; and Rodney Long, Alachua County commissioner District 5.

Scheduled for completion in April 2010, the building will serve more than 300 employees and will be named at a later date. (Upon completion, the entire campus will have nearly 600 employees at the East Gainesville site.) The three-story, 82-square-foot building will be gold-certified according to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System.

The building will expand the university’s presence in east Gainesville and assist with economic revitalization efforts in that area.

Contact: Ed Poppell, UF vice president for business affairs, poppell@ufl.edu, 352-392-1336

HURRICANE PREPARATIONS

Hurricane-proofing homes: Bob Stroh is a research professor in the Rinker School of Building Construction and director of the Shimberg Center for Housing Studies in the College of Design, Construction & Planning. He specializes in techniques and materials that minimize hurricane damage in new and existing homes. 352-273-1192, stroh@ufl.edu.

Hurricane-resistant building construction: Pierce Jones, professor of agricultural and biological engineering, has worked with builders specializing in hurricane-resistant homes and can discuss construction methods that reduce wind damage. 352-392-8074, piercejones@ufl.edu.

HURRICANE SCIENCE

Frequency and intensity of hurricanes: Corene Matyas, an assistant professor of geography, investigates the frequency and intensity of hurricanes, their tendencies for certain landfall locations, their rainfall patterns, and the characteristics that affect hurricanes’ formation and life cycle. 352-392-0494, matyas@ufl.edu.

Extreme wind effects and wind-driven rain: Forrest Masters, an assistant professor of civil and coastal engineering, can provide information on the hurricane wind field and damage to homes. Masters tests homes and home components using a mobile, 2,800-horsepower hurricane simulator. 352-392-9537, ext. 1505, masters@ce.ufl.edu.

Wind speed, force and impact on buildings: Kurt Gurley, an associate professor of civil and coastal engineering, can provide information on ground-level hurricane wind speeds and wind forces on residential structures. 352-392-9537, ext. 1508, kgurl@ce.ufl.edu.

How wind affects homes and buildings: David Prevatt, an assistant professor of civil and coastal engineering, can discuss both present and past construction techniques in homes and buildings and what protections they offer against hurricanes. He can also explain how to retrofit older homes to make them more hurricane worthy, an important issue in Florida, where the majority of homes were built before the state’s most recent stringent hurricane codes were in place. 352-392-9537 ext. 1495, dprev@ce.ufl.edu.

Hurricane-induced storm surge, wave, coastal inundation and coastal erosion: Peter Sheng, a professor of civil and coastal engineering, is an expert in coastal hazard and coastal ecosystem restoration. He is also a national leader in the simulation and forecasting of hurricane-induced storm surge, wave, coastal inundation and coastal erosion. Among other efforts, he has produced his own methodology for developing a more accurate Flood Insurance Rate Map for U.S. coastal counties. He has also run a forecasting system for storm surge, wave and inundation in recent hurricane seasons. Sheng is a member of the National Academies’ Committee on New Orleans Regional Hurricane Protection System and the National Academies’ Committee on FEMA Flooding Mapping. Sheng is also the lead principal investigator of the NOAA-funded Regional Storm Surge and Inundation Model Testbed for the Southeastern U.S.352-392-9537, ext. 1521, pete@coastal.ufl.edu.

Predicting storm surge: Don Slinn, an associate professor of civil and coastal engineering, researches the coastal impact of waves and flooding from hurricanes. He has helped to develop computer models that predict likely storm surge for Atlantic storms and examine effects of waves and flooding on beaches and buildings. 352- 392-9537, ext. 1431, slinn@coastal.ufl.edu.

IMPACT OF HURRICANES ON URBAN ENVIRONMENT

Wind damage to structures and utilities: Ron Cook, professor of civil engineering, can discuss wind damage to buildings, Florida’s hurricane-related building codes and how hurricanes affect utilities. 352-392-9537, ext. 1507, rcook@ce.ufl.edu.

Hurricanes and the insurance industry: David Nye, a professor of finance and insurance, can answer questions related to hurricane damage and the insurance industry. 352-392-6649, dnye@ufl.edu.

Damage to water and wastewater systems: Carol Hinton and Chris Roeder, associate director and senior training specialist with the UF Center for Training, Research and Education for Environmental Occupations, operate a statewide system that helps public water and wastewater utilities assist one another during emergency situations. The system, called FlaWARN, consists of a secure Web-based data bank of available resources and a practical mutual aid agreement. It works by matching personnel with the necessary tools and equipment to assess and assist damaged water and wastewater systems as quickly as possible following a hurricane or other emergency. 352-392-9570, ext. 209, chinton@treeo.ufl.edu; 352-392-9570, ext. 203, croeder@treeo.ufl.edu.

Barge vs. bridge accidents: Gary Consolazio, an associate professor of civil engineering, has done extensive research on how to make bridges better able to withstand barge collisions while reducing their cost. 352-392-9537, ext. 1510, grc@ufl.edu.

IMPACT OF HURRICANES ON NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

Hurricanes’ impact on beaches: Bob Dean, a UF graduate research professor emeritus in civil and coastal engineering, is one of the nation’s leading experts on beach erosion and has studied the effects of several hurricanes on Florida’s beaches. He is also knowledgeable about sea-level rise and hurricanes. 352-392-9537, ext. 1430, dean@coastal.ufl.edu.

Quantifying hurricane damage of beaches: Ramesh Shrestha, a professor of civil and coastal engineering, leads UF’s participation in the National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping. The university owns and operates airborne and ground-based laser mapping units to quickly and accurately map hundreds of miles of beaches and coastal areas to obtain damage estimates following storms. 352-392-4999, Rshre@ce.ufl.edu.

Tree protection: Ed Gilman, a professor with the environmental horticulture department, is an expert in tree health and storm damage to trees. He can address topics such as tree placement, pruning, maintenance, damage prevention and evaluation of tree health after hurricanes. (cell) 352-262-9165, egilman@ufl.edu.

Rebuilding/maintaining sand dunes: Deborah Miller, an associate professor of wildlife ecology and conservation based at UF’s West Florida Research and Education Center in Milton, has studied the best ways to rebuild sand dunes destroyed by hurricanes. 850-983-5216, ext. 104, dlmi@ufl.edu.

HURRICANES AND PEOPLE

Demographic effects of hurricanes: Stan Smith and Chris McCarty, with UF’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research, can discuss how hurricanes prompt people to relocate, both temporarily and permanently. Smith, director of the bureau, and McCarty, director of survey programs, did a study of the 2004 hurricanes that found nearly 4.5 million Floridians evacuated their homes at one time or another during the summer. The study also estimated that 2.6 million of Florida’s 8.1 million housing units were damaged by the storms. The researchers co-authored a 1996 paper that found that Hurricane Andrew forced 353,000 Dade County residents from their homes temporarily and that almost 40,000 people left the county permanently as a result of the storm. McCarty can be reached 352-392-2908, ext. 101, ufchris@ufl.edu; Smith, 352-392-0171, ext. 210, sksmith@ufl.edu.

How hurricanes affect communities: Anthony Oliver-Smith, retired professor of anthropology, has spent three decades studying the social impacts of disasters and how communities re-emerge from destruction. 352-392-2253, ext. 251, aros@ufl.edu.

Psychological impacts of hurricanes: Brenda Wiens, a research assistant professor and psychologist in the department of clinical and health psychology and the National Rural Behavioral Health Center, can speak about the mental health effects of hurricanes and other natural disasters. 352-273-5120, wiens@ufl.edu.

Economic effects of hurricanes: David Denslow, director of the Economic Analysis Program at UF’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research and a distinguished service professor in economics, can provide information about how hurricanes affect the economy. 352-392-0171, ext. 340, denslow@ufl.edu.

Hurricanes and pets/farm animals: John Haven, director of the UF College of Veterinary Medicine, directs the college’s All Animals, All Hazards Disaster Response Team and has participated in animal care operations related to hurricanes, fires and disease outbreaks. He is also a member of the State Agriculture Response Team, coordinator for the State Veterinary Reserve Corps disaster response team, and an Incident Command System Instructor. 352-392-2213, ext. 3154, havenj@vetmed.ufl.edu.

Hurricane cleanup and safety: Jimmie Hinze, professor of building construction and director of UF’s Center for Construction Safety and Loss Control, is an expert on construction safety. He can discuss the hazards and health threats that workers face during post-hurricane reconstruction and remediation efforts. 352-273-1167, hinze@ufl.edu.

Date and Time:
Friday, June 5, 2009, 3:00 p.m.

Place:
202 Tigert Hall, University of Florida

Purpose:
To Discuss Issues Coming Before the Committee

A copy of the agenda may be obtained by writing to: Mr. Brian Beach, Post Office Box 113150, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611 or by calling 352-392-1311.

Pursuant to the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, any person requiring special accommodations to participate in this meeting is asked to advise University of Florida at least 72 hours before the meeting by contacting Brian Beach at 352-392-1311. If you are hearing or speech impaired, please contact the University by calling (FRS) 1-800-955-8771 (TDD).

Any person who wishes to appeal a decision made by the University of Florida with respect to any matter considered at this public meeting will need a record of the proceedings, and for such purpose, he or she may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made, which record includes the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is based.

Date and Time:
Wednesday, June 3, 2009, 9:00 a.m.

Place:
239 Tigert Hall, University of Florida

Purpose:
To Discuss Issues Coming Before the Committee

A copy of the agenda may be obtained by writing to: Mr. Brian Beach, Post Office Box 113150, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611 or by calling 352-392-1311.

Pursuant to the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, any person requiring special accommodations to participate in this meeting is asked to advise University of Florida at least 72 hours before the meeting by contacting Brian Beach at 352-392-1311. If you are hearing or speech impaired, please contact the University by calling (FRS) 1-800-955-8771 (TDD).

Any person who wishes to appeal a decision made by the University of Florida with respect to any matter considered at this public meeting will need a record of the proceedings, and for such purpose, he or she may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made, which record includes the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is based.