Brooks College of Health
Kinesiology and Lifestyle Medicine
Dr. James Churilla, professor of clinical and applied movement science, will be presenting his study examining Associations Between Health Insurance Coverage and Lifestyle Medicine Score in U.S. Adults: 2007-2010 NHANES at the American College of Sports medicine annual meeting in May in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Public Health
Dr. Nishi Dsouza, assistant professor of social and behavioral science, published "Community-level perceptions of housing services for people with opioid use disorder: A qualitative analysis of community stakeholders in the HEALing communities' study" in Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention and Policy, April.
College of Computing, Engineering and Construction
Department of Construction and Building Management
Dr. John Kim, associate professor, coached Construction Management students Christian Shore, Alexia Fuentes, Sarah O’Neal, Charles Parrish, Natalie Brunner, Brandon Railey and Gavin Hollobaugh, who earned first place in the 2026 American Institute of Constructors Competition in April. This marks the third consecutive year UNF CCEC Construction Management students have secured first place in the AIC competition, highlighting the program’s continued strength in professional preparation, ethical leadership and industry readiness. In addition, Dr. Kim was awarded the 2026 Construction Education Foundation Faculty Travel Fund to support the students attending Southeast Society for Trenchless Technology Regional Conference at Clemson University in October.
School of Computing
Dr. Zornitza Prodanoff, professor and graduate student
Iliya Kulbaka, presented a poster, “Entropy as a Structural Signature of Quantum BFCs” at the 2026 Florida Quantum Conference 2026 in Tallahassee, April. In addition,
Dr. Prodanoff and
colleagues from the Department of Physics in the College of Arts and Sciences were awarded a UNF Foundation grant in support of the UNF Quantum Initiative. The project leverages the team's participation in the recently established Florida Alliance for Quantum Technology (FAQT) and aims to build the structure, visibility, and student pipeline needed to position UNF as a credible and active contributor to Florida's quantum future.
Scott Piersall, visiting instructor, led six mainframe students on a three-day visit to IBM's Innovation Center in Poughkeepsie, New York, March 22–24. The students presented their mainframe projects to IBM leaders and executives, gaining firsthand experience engaging with senior technology professionals in an industry setting. The immersive experience provided students with hands-on exposure to data center operations and real-world technology at scale. The visit has already yielded meaningful career outcomes, with several students securing summer internships at IBM and many past students now working for the company.
School of Engineering
Dr. Gokan May, associate professor, was selected to receive the UNF STARS Award in recognition of his high-impact research publications. The award honors faculty whose scholarly contributions demonstrate exceptional research impact, highlighting strong citation performance and the visibility of their published work over the preceding five years. In addition, Dr. May, along with collaborators Foivos Psarommatis and Victor Azamfirei, received the Top Trending Article Award from the International Journal of Production Research, a leading Taylor & Francis publication in the field. The recognition honors their article “Zero Defect Manufacturing in 2024: A Holistic Literature Review for Bridging the Gaps and Forward Outlook.” April. Also, Dr. May and co-author Foivos Psarommatis, received the Best Paper Award from the Sustainability journal in 2026 for their article “Digital Product Passport: A Pathway to Circularity and Sustainability in Modern Manufacturing.”
Silverfield College of Education and Human Services
Cara Wilmot, doctoral student and fourth-year SPIDERS Scholar, earned second place at the Kaleidoscope Research Poster Session, hosted by the Teacher Education Division (TED) at the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) annual conference in Salt Lake City in March. The award-winning poster, “Text to American Sign Language (TTASL): Exploring Accessible Educational Materials for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students,” highlights important advancements in accessibility for Ddaf and hard of hearing students. In addition,
Andrea Smith, fourth-year SPIDERS Scholar, also presented at Kaleidoscope. Her presentation focused on professional development for Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) and Response to Intervention (RTI) for pre-service teachers.
Dr. Tara Frazier, associate director of SAC and THRIVE, earned the National Certified Transition Specialist (NCTS) credential — offered by the Division for Career Development and Transition (DCDT) Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). Dr. Frazier is a member of the first group of education professionals to earn the NCTS credentials.
Dr. Elizabeth Hale Rozas, associate professor and TLC program director, received a book contract from Routledge Publishers for a fourth book titled "Crafting Writers with the Brain in Mind."
Dr. Stephen Dittmore, dean Silverfield College of Education and Human Services, moderated a panel discussion at the College Sport Research Institute on March 26, hosted by the University of South Carolina.
Dr. Katrina Hall, professor and program area leader, along with Jennia Jones, adjunct and Dr. Sarah Mattice, chair and professor, led a spring break experiential learning study abroad "Peace and Education in Italy." Fifteen undergraduate and graduate students from early childhood, special education/ESE, English secondary, child psychology, philosophy, criminal justice, and other disciplines traveled to Italy, and traveled to Corciano, Perugia, where they taught English to second and third graders.
Dr. Nile Stanley, associate professor, presented a paper, “Poetry Therapy (PT): A promising frontier for addiction treatment and resilience building,” at the International Conference on Addiction Medicine. Mental Health and Psychiatry (ICAMP, 2026), Singapore and online.
Dr. Terrie M. Galanti, associate professor, co-hosted an Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators webinar colleagues from North Carolina State University and University of North Texas. Participants explored how AI can be positioned as a collaborative thought partner in mathematical problem solving and how this positioning influences learner engagement with the Standards for Mathematical Practice.
Dr. Matthew Ohlson, director of Taylor Leadership Institute, was elected as a board member of the Renaissance Charter School, Inc.
Sydnie Steele, assistant director curricular engagement of TLI and Korie Hilliard, assistant director and co-curricular engagement of TLI, presented a research poster, “Leadership: Not a Luxury, but a Lifeline," at the UCF iLab Conference. They also presented a poster, “Scaling Leadership Skill Development Through Digital Badging,” accepted for the EdMedia 2026 World Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Dr. Laura L. Boilini, clinical associate professor and program director, participated in a Building Team Painting sSession that was conducted for the UNF Women’s Tennis team on Wednesday, April 8. The team is undefeated and Dr. Matthew Ohlson, along with Head Coach Catherine Dunagan shared word of encouragement and motivation prior to the painting event. It was a great team-building activity for the group.
Dr. Rakesh K. Maurya, associate professor, co-authored a research article (a narrative inquiry of the lived experiences of group home survivors and trauma) in Q1 Journal Qualitative Health Research.
When Julian Hooks was young, doctors cautioned that as an autistic child he would struggle socially and with expressing himself.
Get ready for UNF Night, a celebration of school spirit and community. Join fellow Ospreys to cheer on the Sharks against the New Mexico Chupacabras.
The University of North Florida Silverfield College of Education and Human Services (SCOEHS), on behalf of philanthropist Gilchrist Berg, recently surprised four Jacksonville teachers with the 2026 Gladys Prior Awards for Career Teaching Excellence and $17,000 each, one of the largest monetary awards for teachers in the nation.
The University of North Florida’s 2026 Giving Day on April 8 raised more than $1.7 million from 5,884 donors, racing past the goal of 4,750 donors and marking UNF’s largest single day of donor participation. This year’s donors included students, faculty, staff, alumni, family, corporate partners and friends of the university.
The University of North Florida ranks among U.S. News & World Report’s 2026 Best Graduate Schools for many of its graduate school programs and specialties, including business administration, nursing, healthcare management and more.
North Florida Women's Tennis captured the ASUN Conference Tournament Championship for the 11th time in program history when it defeated FGCU, 4-2, at FGCU Tennis Complex on Saturday, April 18.
North Florida Women's Golf claimed its fourth ASUN Championship title in program history at the 2026 ASUN Championship at Dothan Country Club in Dothan, Alabama on Sunday, April 19.
Growing up in Northern India, Swarnima "Tina" Naithani watched as her mother lived with epilepsy.
A decimated car slumped in the middle of the backyard – twisted frame, parts ripped off, paint scorched. As her father moved around the wreck with quiet confidence, Sayyada Harry patiently watched him rebuild the vehicle piece by piece.
As a dual enrollment student in high school, Ella Luedeke entered the University of North Florida in fall 2023, with enough credits to begin as a sophomore and immediately charted a path toward helping solve complex problems in computing, AI and cybersecurity.
The University of North Florida's Taylor Leadership Institute (TLI) held its annual Leadership Awards & Taylor Talks earlier this month recognizing and celebrating campus and community leaders who make a difference at UNF and beyond.
UNF Senior Exhibition Spring 2026
Outside Looking In: Amer Kobaslija | Opening Celebration @ MOCA
A Life and Legacy Celebration: Forever Swingin’ Tribute to Jack Petersen
Track and Field Earns a Pair of Program Records