Thursday, April 30, 2026
The University of Florida held its 2026 Doctoral Commencement Ceremony on April 30 at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Dr. Skip G.N. Garcia, described as a pulmonary physician scientist and pioneer in advanced lung disease therapies, delivered the keynote address to the graduating doctoral class.
Sources: UF News
A joint University of Florida and Florida State University course called Biology of Sharks and Rays gives roughly a dozen students each summer a two-week, four-credit hands-on experience that includes offshore research surveys, tidal pool exploration, and direct handling of sharks. The class is taught annually by Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Program for Shark Research at the Florida Museum of Natural History, alongside a Florida State colleague. Enrollment for the current summer session is open while efforts continue to raise funds for rebuilding the program’s remote island laboratory.
Sources: UF News
Tiffany Thames, an exceptional student education teacher at Howard Bishop Middle School, has been recognized as the Amazing Teacher of the Month. The award highlights her contributions to students in Gainesville’s public school system.
Sources: The Gainesville Sun
Three of five Alachua County School Board members expressed support at a Wednesday workshop for a teacher-proposed rezoning plan that would spare Irby Elementary from closure. The proposal would house students in grades four and below at Irby and grades five through eight at Mebane Middle School, while closing Alachua Elementary. The board reviewed four options but directed staff to gather data on a fifth before a final decision is made.
Sources: WCJB TV20 · Mainstreet Daily News
Santa Fe College is set to host its spring-summer graduation ceremonies across two days this week. The events will take place at the college’s Northwest Campus in Gainesville.
Sources: Mainstreet Daily News
The Union County School Board is working on financial planning for the 2026-27 school year while the district continues to navigate a financial emergency. Details of the planning discussions were not available, but the district’s fiscal crisis remains the backdrop for budget deliberations.
Sources: Mainstreet Daily News
The University of Florida Research Foundation has named 34 faculty members as UFRF Professors for 2026, recognizing them for outstanding contributions to discovery, creativity, and innovation. The three-year professorships are awarded to scholars who have demonstrated sustained research excellence and the potential to make lasting impacts in their fields. The program, which launched in 1997, has now honored more than a thousand UF researchers.
Sources: UF News
Hana Starkman, a University of Florida senior in sport management, competed at the highest levels of rhythmic gymnastics as a three-time world champion and member of Team USA’s National Rhythmic Group before retiring from the sport. Aware that athletes in her discipline typically face early retirement, she balanced elite training with coursework through UF Online before transitioning to the in-person program after stepping away from competition. She plans to apply her athletic background to a career in the sports industry following her May graduation.
Sources: UF News
A University of Florida scholar argues in the Courier Journal that Kentucky’s newly passed Logan’s Law, inspired by the Logan Tipton murder case, fails to deliver on its promise of meaningful reform for defendants with mental illness. The piece highlights how Kentucky juries have long struggled with confusing legal distinctions between insanity and mental illness, at times producing logically inconsistent split verdicts in the same case.
Sources: UF News
The University of Florida will hold spring commencement ceremonies from April 29 through May 4, with more than 11,000 students expected to receive degrees. The university-wide ceremony is set for May 1 at 7 p.m. at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, where NVIDIA cofounder and UF alumnus Chris Malachowsky will address graduates. A separate doctoral ceremony is scheduled for April 30 at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center, featuring a address from pulmonary physician-scientist Dr. Skip G.N. Garcia.
Sources: UF News
Several University of Florida colleges remain without permanent deans even as the search for a new university president approaches its conclusion. The leadership vacancies across multiple colleges represent an ongoing administrative challenge for the institution.
Sources: The Gainesville Sun
Nearly 200 university researchers and space industry representatives gathered at Kennedy Space Center on April 21 to advance the Florida Space Research Consortium, a statewide partnership among eight universities. The meeting was aimed at aligning member institutions around space research, innovation, and workforce development. Partner schools include Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Florida A&M University, among others.
Sources: UF News
University of Florida professors Kyle C. Hartig and James Baciak, both in UF’s Nuclear Engineering Program, are working to advance technologies capable of detecting nuclear activity from orbit. The research aims to make space-based detection more reliable, accurate, and consequential for national security applications.
Sources: UF News
Florida’s population grows by nearly 1,000 residents per day, placing mounting pressure on communities and natural resources across the state. UF’s Department of Urban and Regional Planning is preparing students to tackle those pressures through coursework and research focused on affordable housing, transportation, and environmental conservation. Faculty are also engaged in hands-on research aimed at addressing challenges ranging from smart growth and cultural preservation to supporting aging populations.
Sources: UF News
University of Florida scientists have developed an experimental compound, DH20931, that targets triple-negative breast cancer by triggering a buildup of toxic fat-like molecules called ceramides, overwhelming cancer cells. The drug works by targeting an enzyme known as CerS2, which ramps up ceramide production and stresses tumors. Tests on human-derived tumors in mice showed low toxicity, though further research would be needed before any human trials could begin.
Sources: UF News
NASA’s Curiosity rover has detected a diverse array of organic molecules on Mars, including nitrogen- and sulfur-bearing compounds similar to life’s building blocks on Earth, in an experiment conducted for the first time on another planet. The discovery shows the Martian surface is capable of preserving such molecules, which could serve as indicators of ancient life. However, researchers note the findings cannot determine whether the compounds originated from past Martian life, geological processes, or meteorite delivery.
Sources: UF News
A University of Florida media professor argues that excessive consumption of negative social media content is pushing voters toward uninformed, fear-based decisions as the spring primary cycle gets underway. The piece contends that online platforms and political candidates may be exploiting public exhaustion to advance their own interests, and urges voters to resist that dynamic before the November general election.
Sources: UF News
The University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences has established a new Office of Strategic Partnerships & Innovation aimed at turning agricultural research into marketable products and startup companies. The office is led by Executive Director Damian Adams and is designed to strengthen public-private partnerships and faculty entrepreneurship. It is also intended to support Florida’s designation of agricultural technology as a target industry.
Sources: UF News
University of Florida occupational therapy and engineering students are teaming up to create custom, low-cost 3D-printed tools that help people with disabilities handle everyday tasks. The collaboration pairs health professions students with engineering teams to develop items such as jar openers and key grippers that address small but persistent challenges often ignored by large medical equipment manufacturers. Participants receive personalized devices tailored to their specific needs.
Sources: UF News
Three University of Florida students from the AI² Center Student Club traveled to France after Spring Break to participate in the Simuvaction on AI, a selective experiential learning program focused on real-world AI governance decision-making. Only 40 university students from around the world were invited to take part in the exercise, which covered AI’s effects on areas including education and the workplace. The students were accompanied by Marquise McGriff, the AI² Center’s Assistant Director of AI Student Engagement and Experiential Learning.
Sources: UF News
The University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences and FloridaCommerce are collaborating to position Florida as the leading agricultural technology hub in the United States. The initiative aims to support the creation of food-focused tech businesses, attract outside companies to the state, and help Florida farmers and ranchers remain globally competitive. Proponents frame the effort as both an economic strategy and a national security priority, reducing the state’s reliance on food imports.
Sources: UF News
Five University of Florida business students claimed first place in the Bridgewater x Metaculus Forecasting Contest, an international competition running from mid-January to mid-March 2026. The tournament challenged participants to assign probabilities to macroeconomic and geopolitical questions, drawing more than 7,000 entrants from over 700 schools across 93 countries. UF finished at the top of a field that included 90 universities worldwide.
Sources: UF News
A University of Florida associate professor of astronomy, Zachary Slepian, is among the researchers behind the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument collaboration, which has produced the largest high-resolution three-dimensional map of the universe ever created. The international DESI project has catalogued the positions of more than 47 million galaxies and quasars, providing new insight into cosmic structure, dark energy, and the expansion of the universe. UF’s HiPerGator supercomputer supported the effort, which researchers say could fundamentally alter understanding of how the universe has evolved and where it is headed.
Sources: UF News
The University of Florida marked the opening of its new Whitney Marine Research Center on April 14, a $41.2 million, 38,000-square-foot facility that more than doubles research space at the Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience in St. Augustine. The LEED gold-certified building includes 12 specialized laboratories, aquaculture and microscopy areas, a maker space, and an expanded Sea Turtle Hospital. University leaders said the center is intended to advance interdisciplinary collaboration in marine science, education, and conservation.
Sources: UF News
The University of Florida recognized five faculty members with its highest teaching and advising honors on April 14. Grady Roberts of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences was named Teacher/Scholar of the Year, the university’s oldest and most prestigious teaching award. Brian Avery and Melissa Soto were jointly named Undergraduate Teacher of the Year, marking the first time two professors have shared that distinction in the same year.
Sources: UF News
A University of Florida study finds that after roughly 9,000 years of cultivation, rice has reached the upper boundary of its thermal tolerance. Scientists project that greenhouse-gas-driven warming over the next half century will force temperatures to rise at a pace approximately 5,000 times faster than rice and many other crops have ever experienced in their evolutionary history. Because half of all people on Earth derive a significant portion of their calories from rice, the findings carry serious implications for global food security.
Sources: UF News