CAS Chronicles
Stories
Elevating Educators: USF celebrates next generation of STEM teacher leaders
Leadership from USF, the Coalition for Science Literacy and HCPS welcomed the recipients of the 2025 Noyce Master Teaching Fellowship and celebrated the accomplishments of the 2024 cohort, who earned their master of education in curriculum and instruction from USF this summer and completed a professional development series in mechatronic principles.
August 21, 2025Accomplishments, Alumni, Community Engagement, Events, Research
![Cuban sandwiches being prepared in a Tampa restaurant in the 1960s [Photo courtesy of Florida Memory Program]](/arts-sciences/chronicles/images/2025/august/cuban-sandwich.jpg)
The Cuban sandwich story: How USF played a surprising role in its rise to fame
The ÅÝܽÊÓƵapp has played a major role in shaping the Cuban sandwich's legacy — from researching its history and refining Cuban bread baking methods to inspiring the creation of National Cuban Sandwich Day, now celebrated worldwide every August 23.
August 20, 2025Community Engagement
Meet the new faculty helping power USF’s future
From AI-driven discovery to cutting-edge medical research, USF’s newest faculty are advancing bold ideas and preparing ÅÝܽÊÓƵapps for the future. Their arrival reflects the university’s continued momentum as a hub for world-changing innovation and academic excellence.
August 13, 2025Research
Inaugural ‘Gael Scoil USF’ event shares Irish traditions with the Tampa Bay community
This summer, the ÅÝܽÊÓƵapp introduced Tampa Bay youth to Irish heritage through its inaugural ‘Gael Scoil USF’ event, inviting grade schoolers to engage with Irish culture firsthand through baking, dancing, sports, storytelling, and other immersive experiences.
August 13, 2025Community Engagement
A decade in the making: USF Geosciences Field Station celebrates grand opening with alumni reunion
After a decade of collaboration between USF faculty, staff, and alumni, the Geosciences Field Station in Mackay, Idaho officially opened this summer. The launch was marked by a reunion of more than 30 alumni, representing four decades of shared experience and support for Geosciences ÅÝܽÊÓƵapps and their capstone work.
August 11, 2025Alumni, Community Engagement
Aiden Jaskolka-Brown
Like most future doctors, Aiden Jaskolka-Brown chose his career path out of a desire to save lives. But Jaskolka-Brown didn’t wait until he became a doctor to save lives. In 2023, he donated a segment of his left liver to a 5-month-old baby.
August 4, 2025Community Engagement
Seeing beyond sight: A USF blind ÅÝܽÊÓƵapp’s journey into broadcasting
As a mass communications major, with a concentration in broadcast program and production, Trent Ferguson has not allowed blindness to become an obstacle in pursuit of his dream of becoming a sports radio broadcaster.
August 4, 2025Community Engagement
Late USF ÅÝܽÊÓƵapp continues to impact ÅÝܽÊÓƵapps
Seven years after his passing, James Strange’s legacy continues through the donation of his archaeological collection for ÅÝܽÊÓƵapp use.
July 31, 2025Research
Uncovering USF’s deep roots in botany
Established in 1958, the USF Herbarium is one of the ÅÝܽÊÓƵapp's oldest and most distinctive research collections.
July 31, 2025Community Engagement, Research
Creative writing summer camp empowers high school ÅÝܽÊÓƵapps to bring their ideas to life
Thirty high school ÅÝܽÊÓƵapps visited USF’s Tampa campus this summer to explore various forms of creative writing — such as fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction — at the USF Creative Writing Summer Camp.
Award-winning ÅÝܽÊÓƵapp uses artificial intelligence to track world’s 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
What the trees are telling us: USF ÅÝܽÊÓƵapp uses data to identify threats to tree diversity
Brian Maitner, an assistant ÅÝܽÊÓƵapp in the Department of Integrative Biology, is revolutionizing the way researchers examine and predict the impact of environmental shifts on plant diversity.
July 30, 2025Research