USFSP FLIPS SWITCH ON SOLAR PANEL
USF ST. PETERSBURG
Fire ants research draws BBC filmmaking crew A team from BBC’s Natural History Unit spent part of the summer filming fire ant research at USF St. Petersburg for a television series. “We’re doing a series for the BBC called Animals Like Us, which looks at human-like behavior in animals,” says producer Rob Pilley, who worked with cameraman Rod Clarke to capture footage of the social insects. “And we’re looking at a whole array of different species from around the world, one of which is the fire ant.” The BBC team documented the ways that fire ant communities work together and how their interactions mirror those of humans. Working with USFSP professor of biology Deby Cassill, they also explored ants as individuals. “The more that we look at them, the more we discover their behavior is very similar to that of humans,” says Pilley, who worked with Cassill on another fire ant-related documentary for the BBC about eight years ago. “Dr. Cassill is a world expert on it, so she’s the obvious person to come work with on this project. “We want to look at the personality and moods that ants have,” he says. “They all have different personalities, even aside from them being from the same castes. Like humans, they have similar idiosyncratic likes and dislikes in their personalities, diets and lives.” Fire ants, a species not native to Florida, also are exceedingly resilient. When there is a flood, fire ants will gather together to form a raft-like ball and float to safety. “Having the BBC team document this type of research affirms the importance of the research being conducted at USF St. Petersburg,” Cassill says. Animals Like Us will air on BBC and is expected to air in the United States on PBS in Summer 2017.
> A 6,600-
A new solar panel array atop the USFSP 5th Avenue South parking garage was activated in May. The 6,600-square-foot system, a collaboraton with Duke Energy, will generate enough power to run the garage’s lights, elevators, security cameras and electric car-charging systems. Any extra power will be stored in batteries on the garage’s ground floor and will run the facility at night and when it’s cloudy. The solar project will allow students and faculty to study alternative energy production and storage.
SQUARE-FOOT SOLAR ARRAY WAS INSTALLED AT USFSP COURTESY OF DUKE ENERGY.
BREITBART NAMED STEM WOMAN OF THE YEAR
-CASEY CRANE ’06 | USFSP
< FROM LEFT: BBC CAMERAMAN ROD CLARKE AND PRODUCER ROB PILLEY CAPTURE VIDEO FOOTAGE AT USFSP OF FIRE ANTS.
Less than two years after being recognized as one of Popular Science magazine’s “Brilliant Ten” young scientists, Mya Breitbart has been named the 2015 STEM Woman of the Year by Girls Inc. of Pinellas. The award recognizes a woman in a STEM career who provides mentorship and supports both local and national community programs focused on inspiring girls in STEM. Breitbart is an associate professor in the College of Marine Science. Her research uses genomic sequencing to explore the identity, diversity and distribution of viruses in environments ranging from seawater to sewage.
FALL 2015 13