Author

Jessi Smith

Jessi Smith

Jessi Smith (she/they) is a freelance writer who is passionate about sustainability, community building, and the power of the arts and transformative storytelling. A fourth-generation Floridian, Jessi received her B.A. in Art History and English from Florida International University and began reporting for 83 Degrees in 2009. When she isn't writing, Jessi enjoys taking her deaf rescue dog on outdoors adventures, unearthing treasures in backroads antiques and thrift shops, D.I.Y. upcycling projects, and Florida-friendly gardening.

Jessi Smith's Latest Articles

USF Library Digital Heritage & Humanities Center (DHHC) GIS Project Manager Ben Mittler designed the Florida COVID-19 Hub. The Hub features GIS dashboards tracking COVID-19 infections in Florida, with additional info localized to the Tampa Bay Area.
USF researchers develop web portals to map COVID-19 by ZIP code, forecast outbreaks

Florida COVID-19 Hub visitors can access dashboards that track infections statewide daily by ZIP code across a color-coded map of Florida. There's also visual data specific to Florida nursing homes and pediatrics, and a Tampa Bay Area dashboard that curates data localized to the region where USF's three campuses reside.

Tampa General Hospital
USF Health, TGH tackle infectious, emerging diseases via new collaborative medical research efforts

Among the first projects being tackled by the new TGH-USF Health Office of Clinical Research? Phase 3 clinical trial testing of the Novavax NVX-CoV2373 vaccine for COVID-19. 

Dr. Soomi Lee, Assistant Professor of Aging Studies and Director of the Sleep, Stress, and Health (STEALTH) Lab at USF.
29 minutes of extra sleep key to mindfulness, USF research finds

A new study published in the National Sleep Foundation journal, Sleep Health, indicates that sleeping an additional 29 minutes per night could be a key factor in improving mindfulness.

BYOB Reusables improve everything from household tasks to picnic adventures.
On the hunt for unique holiday gifts from local makers in the Tampa Bay area

83 Degrees Media set out to find unique gifts by local makers throughout the Tampa Bay region as samples of what one can find online and at area markets, boutique shops, and small galleries. While the number out there is pretty impressive, we include just a few here to whet your appetite for mining out these and other gems.

Black Leadership Network Founders (l to r) Jerry Bell, Ruth Bell, Ashley Butler, Adrien Julious-Butler, Rena Upshaw-Frazier, Anddrikk Frazier, Monica Narain and Ed Narain.
Black Leadership Network at USF champions professional development, builds community

"The Black Leadership Network helps provide a viable pathway for students who want to attend USF, offers support while they are here, and opportunities for their careers and future when they graduate," says Walter Jennings, Assistant Director of Diversity Initiatives at USF in Tampa.

Dr. Jeffrey Krischer of USF leads several diabetes studies.
USF Morsani College of Medicine leads 1st nationwide study on rare, atypical forms of diabetes

In a five-year NIH-funded study, USF's Rare and Atypical Diabetes Network (RADIANT) aims to screen approximately 2,000 people with atypical forms of the disease that do not match symptoms commonly associated with Types 1 and 2 diabetes.

Example of coral in Florida Keys.
Mote Marine shares insights on new aquarium, coral reef restoration projects

As Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium in Sarasota celebrates its 65th year, scientists there are scrambling to save Florida's coral reefs while anticipating the 2023 opening of a new state-of-the-art aquarium, Mote SEA, being built at Nathan Benderson Park.

Ph.D. student Tiffany C. Miller tests the Bull Nose prototype in Dr. Salvatore Morgera's engineering lab at USF.
A nose for COVID-19: USF researchers develop rapid test technology with virus-sniffing biosensor

USF researchers developing an electronic nose to sniff out viruses are named finalists in the global XPRIZE Rapid COVID Testing competition.

USF students and professors participated in a regional climate summit back in January 2020.
Competitive grant provides green light to study solar solutions in Tampa region

The Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council (TBRPC), in partnership with USF's Patel College of Global Sustainability, and the U.S. Department of Energy, seeks to create a framework to mitigate worst-case natural disaster scenarios in the Tampa region by harnessing a form of renewable energy with bright potential: solar power.

Banners like this one will greet students returning to USF campuses in Tampa, St. Pete, and Sarasota.
USF begins Phase II preparations for campus reopening this Fall

USF moves forward with plan to reopen campuses for a hybrid of in-person and virtual classes in Fall 2020 in Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Sarasota. 

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