Across the University of Florida, our 16 colleges, numerous institutes, and health care facilities embrace our shared mission of outreach and service to improve and enrich our community, nation, and the world. UF in the Community spotlights the impact of UF in our region.

Although UF has students and employees throughout the state, North Central Florida is home to much of our faculty and staff and to our 50,000+ students. Like all area residents, we want a vibrant, safe, healthy, and equitable place in which to live and thrive. Here are some of the ways in which we are enhancing our shared community.​

A team of neurosurgeons and neurologists at the UF Health Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases recently became the first in the U.S. to implant a newly FDA-approved, technologically advanced deep brain stimulation system designed to more precisely target motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease and two other movement disorders.

In August 2021, UF will begin two picturesque gateway projects that will enhance outdoor spaces and create a pedestrian-focused campus. The redesigned campus entrances at SW 2nd Ave and at Newell Drive will enhance outdoor spaces that will offer students, faculty, and staff opportunities to gather and collaborate as well as to sit, relax, and enjoy the scenic nature campus has to offer.

Researchers from the University of Florida Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering and Taiwan’s National Chiao Tung University have developed a rapid and sensitive testing method for COVID-19 biomarkers.

The team of international researchers leveraged their expertise to develop a sensor system that provides detection within 1 second, which is far faster than current COVID-19 detection methods. These researchers previously demonstrated detection of biomarkers relevant in epidemics and emergency medicine, such as the Zika virus, heart attacks, and cerebral spinal fluid leaks.

When Tim Bucolo arrived in Gainesville in August of 2018 as the new Operations Manager of Gator Dining, he found campus menus lacking in one vital area¬: “In a state with a year-round growing season, to not make use of the range of farm-fresh ingredients so close to campus was a missed opportunity” says Bucolo. He and his team started visiting local farms and building relationships with farmers to create meals that are more reflective of Florida’s diverse flavors.

Many outstanding scholars present their research and forthcoming scholarship throughout the year. See the link below to explore a list of the distinguished scholars who will present in our virtual academic workshop series this summer 2021. Registration is required.

At the close of another year of learning disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the stakes for preschoolers and their caregivers are particularly high. The years from birth to age 5 are essential to lifelong success and well-being: social and emotional skills develop rapidly as infants and young children learn to communicate, express emotions and engage with the world around them. As the upended routines and forced isolation of the pandemic wind down and life begins to return to normal, caregivers can help ensure their child’s social and emotional learning stays on track.

A team of researchers at the UF Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering’s Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering has developed a system powered by solar energy that uses artificial intelligence to ultimately decrease the cost of keeping essential home appliances or devices running through a power outage.

That kind of system would come in handy or even save lives during hurricanes and natural disasters when people can spend days — sometimes weeks — without power, in sweltering homes while food spoils in the fridge.

Hurricane season has officially begun. Over the next six months, we must stay alert to news reports and be ready to face a tropical storm or hurricane in the state of Florida. Early forecasts predict an average of 13-20 named storms. Of those, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expects six to 10 hurricanes or storms producing a maximum sustained winds of 74 mph or higher. It also predicts three to five major hurricanes, category 3 or stronger for the 2021 hurricane season.

Contact your local UF/IFAS Extension office or visit the UF/IFAS Disaster Preparation & Recovery website for tip sheets, infographics, how-to videos and more.

And don’t forget to visit updates.emergency.ufl.edu for the latest information as well as additional resources to help you be prepared during this season.