The acoustic/electronic duo that goes by the moniker Mono/Poly is made up of Geoff Deibel and Nate Bliton. Geoff Deibel, is a native of Washington, D.C. and has emerged as one of the most promising voices for the saxophone and contemporary music. Deibel has degrees in both History and Music from Northwestern University, and obtained his doctoral degree from Michigan State University. A man of many hats, Deibel maintains a varied and multi-faceted music career as performer, teacher, and researcher. He has performed as a soloist as well as chamber musician, and his work has taken him all over the United States as well as the rest of the world, from performing at the International Iannis Xanakis Festival in Athens, Greece to the XV World Saxophone Congress in Bangkok, Thailand. Most recently, he has been a regularly featured guest artist at the Drake University New Music Series and Chamber Music Midwest.
When he isn’t traveling as a soloist, performing with Mono/Poly, or commissioning new works by up and coming young composers, Deibel is a member of the critically acclaimed h2 quartet, first prize winners at the Fischoff Competition as well as recent recipients of an Aaron Copland Fund Recording Grant. Deibel is currently teaching at the University of Florida as a Visiting Assistant Professor in the School of Music.
The other half of this dynamic music duo, Nate Bliton, is a recent Composition graduate from Michigan State University’s College of Music and a multi-instrumentalist adept at playing the Viola, Violin, Piano, Accordion, Mandola, Guitar, Bass, Drums, as well as handmade electronic instruments. His compositions have been played at conferences in Georgia and Mississippi, and he was recently recognized as a featured artist on the Drake University New Music Series. Outside of his instrumental abilities, Bliton is extremely interested in the exploration of electronics and computer programming, making Mono/Poly the perfect outlet for his varied talents and interests.
Creative researcher Angelos Barmpoutis discussed his work towards the advancement of Digital Humanities through the “Digital Epigraphy Toolbox” project. Angelos is a leading young computer scientist working in collaboration with Eleni Bozia and Robert Wagman from the UF Department of Classics. Their work is revolutionizing the ways in which we can study and experience historical texts and artifacts with the help of digital technology.
Professor Barmpoutis is a leading expert in the fields of Machine Vision and Applications, Virtual Reality in Medicine, Biomedical Image Processing and Data Visualization, Facial Recognition and Expression Analysis, and Human Motion Capture and Analysis. Other fields of interest include Algorithms and Theory, Signal and Systems, Differential Geometry, Artificial Life and Intelligence, and Parallel Computation. Prior to joining the Digital Worlds Institute, Prof. Barmpoutis received his BS in Computer Science from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, his MS in Electronics and Electrical Engineering from the University of Glasgow and lastly, earned his PhD in Computer Engineering from the University of Florida. He has co-authored over 40 journal articles, conference publications, and book chapters on his various areas of expertise. Prof. Barmpoutis has been the recipient of several awards and honors including the Outstanding Academic Achievement Award from the College of Engineering at the University of Florida, the CIEGL Bursary from the University of Oxford, as well as the University of Florida Alumni Fellowship.
Tom Hart may be best known for his daily Hutch Owen comic strip that ran for 2 years in newspapers in both New York and Boston, or his “Ali’s House”, a work co-created with Margo Dabaie that was picked up by King Features Syndicate. His newest creation, however, is the Sequential Arts Workshop (SAW) based out of Downtown Gainesville and is viewed by Hart as the next step in his already prestigious career. SAW is a non-profit organization that was created by Hart as a means to “nurture and educate tomorrow’s generation of visual storytellers, to support creative investigation, exploration and excellence in cartooning and comic art, and to promote literacy in sequential and comic art in today’s culture” according to the organizations website. SAW not only offers support to local artists and students through education but also provides viable workspaces, teaching residencies and distribution/publishing resources for practicing sequential artists.
Comics/Sequential Art and the concept of ideas being presented in a sequence are at the core of almost every dramatic and persuasive art. The merging of images with words has become the dominant means of creative communication within modern culture. SAW recognizes that this integration of multi-media resources and art forms have become the center of advertising, film, video, and video games. SAW offers to its students a core grasp of comics/sequential art that will provide to them a means to navigate the growing complexities of the modern world of media, to participate in it where desirable, and to decode it where necessary. Hart and SAW do not attempt to teach a particular artistic style but instead hope to guide their students in how to become unique, diverse, and flexible storytellers allowing them to explore and develop creatively and adeptly for the rest of their lives. Hart’s next book is Daddy Lightening set for release in March 2012 from Retrofit, and Let’s Get Furious, a 380-page new Hutch Owen collection, also slated for public distribution in March 2012, from Top Shelf.
The young, female emcee, Adaeze was born Camille Evelyn on the island of Barbados. Barbados is the birthplace of such musical artists as Hal Linton, Shontelle, Cover Drive, Rihanna, and now, Adaeze. As a youth growing up in Barbados, Adaeze developed a diverse musical foundation, teaching herself how to play the piano and receiving formal instruction in saxophone and percussion as a member of her school’s cadet band as well as its orchestra. At the age of 16, Adaeze moved to Norway to attend United World College where she continued to develop and pursue her musical aspirations. After receiving a scholarship to attend the University of Florida, Adaeze left Norway for Gainesville. It was at the University of Florida where she first came into contact with the art form of spoken word. Adaeze quickly became involved with a poetry troupe called Poets, Inc. and it was within this group that she began to develop her love and interest in this particular form of expression and first got her feet wet as a solo artist participating in numerous campus performances. During this time she was afforded the opportunity to workshop and perform with several Def Jam accredited poets such as Ishle Yi Park, Raphael Casal, and Shihan. Realizing that something was missing from her performances, Adaeze decided to merge her musical background with her budding interest in spoken word, thus the transition to a more rap/hip-hop based style. Adaeze builds upon a diverse creative/artistic background as well as her cultural experiences having lived all over the world to create a truly interesting form of artistic expression that is uniquely her own. Through her work that she dubs an “experiment”, Adaeze strives to combine the “Aesthetic with powerful content, Barbadian roots with American influence, faith with passion, and hopes for the future with the reality of the present.”
The Dance for Life program provides therapeutic and recreational movement opportunities for people with a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease and their significant others. The program is designed to help patients improve their quality of life through enhanced overall physical well-being, social interaction, creative expression, and targeted improvements in Parkinson’s symptoms including balance, strength, and mobility. The program is led by professional and student dancers from the University of Florida and Shands Arts in Medicine, and combines elements of both modern dance and social dance. Click 
Raised in Tasmania, Australia, Kelly Drummond Cawthon joined the faculty of the University of Florida School of Theatre and Dance in 1999. As an associate professor, she teaches modern dance technique, composition and repertory, collaborates with the Digital Worlds Institute, and is the artistic director of the professional training company, the Florida MOD Project. Appearing in performances on five continents, in seven nations and most of the 50 states, Cawthon’s professional career spans over two decades in performance, choreography and teaching. She has been honored to work as a performer and rehearsal director for Shapiro & Smith Dance since 1993. Click
Jill Sonke is Director of the Center for the Arts in Healthcare Research and Education (CAHRE) at the University of Florida, is on the faculty of the School of Theatre and Dance and is Assistant Director and Artist in Residence with Shands Arts in Medicine (AIM). She is active in research, curriculum and program development at UF, serves as president on the Board of Directors of the Society for the Arts in Healthcare, and is a frequent presenter, consultant, and guest artist at universities, conferences, hospitals, and festivals throughout the United States and abroad. Click
FULLNESS OF JOY dancers are: