stretching24

University of South Florida researchers deploy instruments to search for oil particles in the Gulf of Mexico. The video was shot during a six-day mission in late May aboard the R/V Weatherbird II.

TAMPA, Fla. (Apr. 4, 2013) -- With plenty of news reports talking about giant mosquitos invading Florida, Deby Cassill, a biologist at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, said it's just a matter of time before the "gallinipper" or flying, "hairy legged-zebra" take the stage.

The American Giant Mosquito or Psorophora ciliata are known as floodwater mosquitoes because they lay their eggs in low-lying areas with damp soil and grassy overgrowth. When these areas flood following a dry period, large numbers of adult mosquitoes will hatch.

They have been around for centuries and are notorious for inflicting a painful bite. It is only the females are aggressive and they can attack all day and night, in contrast to the typical dusk and dawn flights of smaller species of mosquitoes.

According to Cassill, the animal originates near the area of the Mississippi river delta and with heavy rains during previous tropical storms, migrated over to Florida.

"They've been called the hairy-legged zebra of the mosquito world and I think that they are not as big as a quarter. But their legs are long enough and their bodies are long enough to span a dime and in the mosquito world, that's a big animal, kind of like a dinosaur or a large vampire floating around and going after us," says Cassill.

TAMPA, Fla. - University of South Florida engineering professor Craig Lusk is working on a design concept for surfaces that adapt to the way things move. Lusk specializes in compliant mechanisms, which gain their motion from deflections of compliant members. Lusk has been working on the original design that he brought with him to USF and has secured funding from the National Science Foundation. Now, he has taken the concept to the next level designing numerous versions, shapes, and sizes of the surfaces.

The USF Alumni Association connects USF alumni with the university that they love. By bringing Bulls together, the association helps alumni share their pride, make an impact in the lives of others and protect the brand and integrity of USF System.

To learn more about how you can support the USF Alumni Association, contact Ron Sherman, Director of Development for the USF Alumni Association at rsherman@usf.edu

On Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018, USF System President Judy Genshaft gave her 2018 Fall Address in the Oval Theatre of the Marshall Student Center.

Many residential students at the USF live in tight-knit academically-focused or interest-based Living and Learning Communities.