In the Loop
Press Release : Jan 8, 2015

9th Annual Creativity in the Arts and Sciences Event (CASE) Showcases Student Work, Collaborative Projects January 31

Science and art will meet, mix and synergize again during the ninth annual Creativity in the Arts and Sciences Event (CASE) at the University of Florida (UF) in Gainesville, Florida, on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015 from 9:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. Presented by the UF Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Science for Life Program and UF College of the Arts, CASE is a family-friendly event that highlights students’ creativity, talent and cutting-edge research. The event is free and open to the public and takes place in UF’s Reitz Union Grand Ballroom and Studio G-6 in the Nadine M. McGuire Theatre and Dance Pavilion.

The public is also invited to attend the CASE Kickoff Event Friday, January 30 from 5:45 – 7:30 p.m. in the McKnight Brain Institute DeWeese Auditorium Room LG 101-A on UF’s campus. David Epstein, author of The Sports Gene and a reporter at ProPublica, will present “Nurturing Athletic Creativity: Why We Need More Rogers and Fewer Tigers.” Carol LaFayette, professor in the Department of Visualization and director of the Institute for Applied Creativity at Texas A&M University will present “Steps to an Ecology of Networked Knowledge and Innovation: Enabling new forms of collaboration among sciences, engineering, arts, and design.” The kickoff event is also free and includes a reception with refreshments.

The CASE features science research posters, 2-D/3-D art exhibits, film, and dance/music/theatre performances. More than 130 students from 10 UF colleges and approximately 46 different departments and disciplinary programs as well as students from Emory University and Louisiana State University will compete for prizes in three categories: science, art, and science/art collaboration.

UF faculty, UF administrators and experts from the community will serve as judges for the event. Students in the science competition will participate in peer-judging of science posters as part of the competition. More than $10,000 will be awarded to further students’ academic pursuits. Award winners will be announced two weeks following the event.

"The Science for Life program agrees strongly with the university's desire to prepare UF students for their future careers in a complex and ever changing world,” said Dr. Ben Dunn, director of UF-HHMI Science for Life Program. “By encouraging and blending the efforts of students from the College of the Arts with students engaged in leading-edge scientific research, the CASE showcases their progress in ways that help the broader community gain deeper insights into their projects."

Last year’s event brought together more than 125 student participants. Twenty-six students took home awards and went on to win subsequent recognition at other events. Katie Bosley and Weier Liu received one of two first-place prizes in the collaboration category for their project, “CIPN Symptom Cups,” and Katelyn Carty and Robin Yoon earned the other top prize for “Melody and Malady: An Aural Presentation of Pompe Disease.” In the arts (visual/performing) category, two first-place prizes were awarded to Shelby Sullivan for “To blow out a candle, or kindle the fire” and to Vassiliki Daskalakis for “A Cigarette A Day.” In the science category, Madeleine Turcotte received one of two first-place prizes for “Studying the Breakdown and Rebuilding of the Cell’s Skeleton,” and Zachary Fitzpatrick was recognized for “Pushing the Boundaries of Gene Therapy Using Enveloped AAV Vectors.”

“This event is an annual highlight for our college and the university at large, as it showcases the important interdisciplinary work possible at the University of Florida,” said Lucinda Lavelli, dean of the UF College of the Arts. “CASE introduces students from the arts and sciences to each other and showcases the power of creativity through collaboration.” 

To learn more, visit sfl.aa.ufl.edu/CASE. Follow the UF-HHMI Science for Life program online @UFSFL and www.facebook.com/UF.HHMI.SFL. Follow the UF College of the Arts @UFCOTA and www.facebook.com/ufcota. Follow all the CASE happenings by using the hashtag #2015CASE.

About UF-HHMI Science for Life Program

With funding from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Science for Life Program has a mission to strengthen and transform undergraduate research and interdisciplinary laboratory education in the STEM disciplines at the University of Florida and our partnering institutions. To learn more, visit http://sfl.aa.ufl.edu.

About the College of the Arts

The College of the Arts, previously known as the College of Fine Arts, is one of the 16 colleges and more than 150 research centers and institutes at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. The College of the Arts offers baccalaureate, master’s and Ph.D. degree programs in its three institutionally-accredited schools — the School of Art + Art History, School of Music and School of Theatre + Dance. The college is home to the Center for Arts in Medicine, Center for Arts and Public Policy, Center for World Arts, Digital Worlds Institute, University Galleries and the New World School of the Arts in Miami. More than 100 faculty members and approximately than 1,200 students work together daily to engage, inspire and create. The college hosts more than 300 performances, exhibitions and events each year. Faculty and students also exhibit and perform at other local, national and international venues. To learn more, visit www.arts.ufl.edu

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Media Contacts

Grace Burmester  
UF-HHMI Science for Life Program
Office: 352-392-9306 | Cell: 612-916-0266
graceb@ufl.edu

Leah Craig
UF College of the Arts
Office: 352.273.1489 | Cell: 904.419.3346 
lcraig@arts.ufl.edu