A Nobel laureate Florida State University professor will lead a $2-million research effort aimed at improving Florida schools' math and science curriculum and the preparation of teachers for those subjects. Sir Harold Kroto will oversee the Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, to be housed at FSU, where Kroto teaches chemistry. The center got $2-million for this first year of operation, and Gov. Charlie Crist, an FSU grad, is recommending $3-million for next year. "I'm no scientist, that's why I became a lawyer," Crist said. "But my father's a doctor and my sister's a doctor, so I understand the importance of these subjects."

- Shannon Colavecchio Van Sickler, higher education reporter