Groundbreaking Discoveries: New Technologies and Enduring Questions
Thursday, December 4, 2025
DINNER鈥�& LECTURE | 6:00 p.m.鈥�
The USF College of Arts and Sciences warmly invites you to a private evening at the University Club in downtown Tampa, celebrating our valued supporters and community partners.
Join Dean Elizabeth Spiller and featured faculty members for a memorable gathering filled with culture, conversation and inspiration. Enjoy an engaging program and a delicious dinner in the company of fellow donors, alumni and friends who share your commitment to advancing education in the arts and sciences.
We are grateful for your continued support鈥攁nd we look forward to hosting you.
ABOUT THS EVENT
Dr. Chris Kiahtipes: There鈥檚 Treasure Everywhere: Big Insights from Plant Micro-Fossils
Because plants structure ecosystems and human economies alike, plant micro-fossils
provide critical insights into our distant and more recent past. In this talk, I explain
how our lab uses plant pollen to address ground-breaking questions about human evolution.
Dr. Charles Stanish: The Strange Site of Monte Sierpe of Ancient Peru
Monte Sierpe in southern Peru consists of more than 5,000 precisely arranged holes
that stretch a mile along a mountainside. Recent scientific analyses suggests this
remarkable 鈥淏and of Holes鈥� functioned as an imperial accounting system for tribute.
Dr. Davide Tanasi: The Horse in the Pot: A Prehistoric Revelation
How can science rewrite what we think we know about the past? Using cutting-edge biomolecular
techniques, this talk reveals the first evidence of horse meat consumption in prehistoric
Sicily, showing how microscopic traces trapped in ancient pottery can transform big
archaeological questions.
FEATURED CAS SPEAKERS
Chris Kiahtipes, PhD
Christopher A. Kiahtipes is associate curator of the USF Herbarium and manager of
the Institute for the Advanced Study of Culture and the Environment鈥檚 Archaeobotany
and Paleoecology Laboratory. Specializing in the analysis of plant micro-fossils,
his projects combine field, laboratory and collections-based research to address questions
about human-environment interactions at evolutionary and historical time scales. With
dozens of publications spanning global environments including Africa鈥檚 rain forests,
Caribbean coastlines and arid regions of North and South America, Kiahtipes seeks
to deepen the integration of USF鈥檚 world-class collections into novel research applications,
education and public outreach.
Charles Stanish, PhD
Charles Stanish is executive director of the Institute for the Advanced Study of Culture
and the Environment at the 色色研究所. He has conducted archaeological
research in Peru, Bolivia and Chile, while focusing on ancient societies. His work
examines the evolution of human cooperation and complex social systems. His books
include The Evolution of Human Co-operation, Ancient Titicaca, Ritual and Pilgrimage
in the Ancient Andes and Ancient Andean Political Economy. He is a Fellow of the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences and member of the National Academy of Sciences.
Davide Tanasi, PhD
Davide Tanasi is a professor in the Department of History, Director of the Institute for Digital Exploration (IDEx) and an affiliate faculty member of the Institute for the Advanced Study of Culture and the Environment. A specialist in Mediterranean prehistory and archaeological science, he integrates advanced biomolecular analysis, 3D imaging and remote sensing to reconstruct ancient lifeways. With over 300 scholarly publications, his research spans Sicily, Malta and the wider Mediterranean. Tanasi is committed to making complex scientific research accessible to broad audiences and to demonstrating how cutting-edge technologies can
Kindly register to attend by November 21, 2025. Seating is limited. Please register
early.
*In the event you may need to cancel your reservation, please provide 48鈥痟ours notice
to Dylan Garcia or CAS RSVP.
DRESS CODE
The University Club has a dress code. Men must wear a sport coat. Denim, shorts, t-shirts and sneakers are not permitted.鈥��
EVENT LOCATION
University Club
Suite 3800 鈥� 38TH Floor 鈥�&苍产蝉辫;
201 N Franklin Street鈥�&苍产蝉辫;
Tampa, FL 33602
PARKING Tips
Use the address of the parking garage for your GPS: 107 N. Franklin Street.鈥疢ake sure
you use the Whiting Street entrance for the hourly parking spaces.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;
鈥�&苍产蝉辫;
Once in the parking garage, park on Level 3 where there will be a crosswalk that connects
to the building. The University Club is on the 38th floor. Once you get into the building,
there is a bank of elevators straight ahead and on the right. Select the elevators
that will take you to the 38th floor.鈥痀ou must pre-select the 38th floor when selecting
the elevator. A number will display to let you know which elevator will take you to
the 38th floor.
鈥�&苍产蝉辫;
There is a fee for parking and the garage accepts cash or credit cards upon exit.鈥�
DIRECTIONS
From I-275 North or South
Take 275 N/S to the Ashley Street Exit (exit 44). Follow Ashley to Whiting (two stop lights past Kennedy). Turn left (east) and go up two blocks to the Old Fort Brooke Garage (107 Franklin Street)
From South Tampa
Take Bayshore Blvd. to the Platt Street Bridge. Go underneath the Convention Center. Turn left at the second light (Florida Street). Go two blocks to Whiting and turn left to park in the Old Fort Brooke Garage.鈥�
From I-75 and Crosstown
Take exit #7 Downtown West. The 2nd stoplight is Franklin Street. Turn right onto Franklin Street. Go two blocks to Whiting Street. Turn left on Whiting. Turn immediately right and enter the Old Fort Brooke Garage.
ADA ACCOMMODATIONS
For reasonable accommodations or other questions, please contact CAS RSVP.