Science Connect // Astro the Robodog, Blind Cavefish, Millenials Digitally Better?, Fall Scholarships, and more!

CHARLES E. SCHMIDT COLLEGE OF SCIENCE | SEPTEMBER 2019 View as Webpage

Who’s a ‘Good Boy?’ Astro, FAU’s Smart Robodog That’s Who

Using deep learning and artificial intelligence, FAU scientists in the Machine Perception and Cognitive Robotics (MPCR) Lab are bringing to life one of about a handful of these quadruped robots in the world. Astro is unique because he is the only one of these robots with a head, 3D printed to resemble a Doberman pinscher, that contains a (computerized) brain. Seen in the video alongside Astro are MPCR Lab co-directors, Elan Barenholtz, Ph.D., and William Hahn, Ph.D. Read more.

FAU Marine Laboratory Helps Turtle Conservation

Jeanette Wyneken, Ph.D., researches marine turtles at the FAU Marine Laboratory in Boca Raton. With climate change causing longer and hotter summers in South Florida, the sea turtle gender ratio is being thrown way out of balance. The research performed by Jeanette’s lab indicates a large decrease in the male population among three different species that Dr. Wyneken has been monitoring over the past 20 years. Read more.

Apply for College of Science Fall Scholarships

Deadline to Apply: October 15, 2019

College of Science General Scholarships available for students:

Stuyvesant Legacy of Excellence in STEM Scholarship Fund (Financial Aid Based Award)
Andrew R. and Marjorie C. Buglione Endowed Scholarship Fund (Financial Aid Based Award)
Sarajedini Family Scholarship

For more information about these scholarships and others and to apply, visit the College of Science Scholarships page. For questions, contact sciencescholarships@fau.edu.

The Case for Space

Tickets coming soon! Don't miss an evening with noted space expert and author, Dr. Robert Zubrin. Join us as he explores how the revolution in spaceflight opens up a future of limitless possibility. Learn more.

'Dream Team' Awarded $1.1 Million for Blind Mexican Cavefish Research

From left: Alex Keene, Ph.D., an Associate Professor of Biological Sciences in FAU's Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, and director of the Program in Neurogenetics; Johanna Kowalko, Ph.D., co-principal investigator and an Assistant Professor of Biology in FAU’s Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College; and Erik Duboué, Ph.D., principal investigator and an Assistant Professor of Biology in FAU’s Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College.

Researchers from Florida Atlantic University and collaborators have received a three-year, National Science Foundation EDGE grant totaling $1,148,464 to integrate the expertise of multiple laboratories at FAU, Stowers Institute for Medical Research in Kansas City, the University of Minnesota, and Barr-Ilan University in Israel to develop powerful transgenic tools and gene-editing technologies in the blind Mexican cavefish to significantly advance it as a research model system. The grant seeks to build on pioneering work that has developed brain imaging and gene editing technology and methods for measuring sleep and obesity in this fish model. Read more.

FAU Data Science and Analytics Conference

The 2019 Data Science and Analytics Conference will bring together the research interests of Florida Atlantic University and local industrial leaders to stimulate collaboration in the areas of data science, artificial intelligence, and analytics. At this second annual conference, we hope to build cohesiveness among the varied groups engaged in such work in the local community and beyond.

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Office Depot Center for Executive Education, FAU College of Business

8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

Meet the Dynamical Systems and Topology Research Group

FAU Dynamical Systems and Topology Research Group

Meet some members of the Dynamical Systems and Topology Research Group from the Mathematical Sciences Department. Learn more at fau.edu/math.

Millennials, Think You're Digitally Better Than Us? Yes, Says Science!

Florida Atlantic University researchers in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science are one of the first to examine this phenomenon in college-age students. The study provides some of the first results on whether or not “Net Genners,” who have grown up with widespread access to technology, are developing greater digital literacy than generations before them, and if this has enriched them with an ability to switch their attention more efficiently. Read more.

New Leadership

In the News

Young CryptograpHers Cybersecurity Summer Camp

The first Young CryptograpHers Cybersecurity Summer Camp took place at FAU’s Boca Raton campus from July 29 through August 2, 2019. The camp featured 46 enthusiastic girls from local high schools. Young CryptograpHers Director, Edoardo Persichetti, Ph.D., together with colleagues Rainer Steinwandt, Ph.D., and Shi Bai, Ph.D., coordinated a week of activities revolving around the world of Post-Quantum Cryptography. Read More.

Deep Learning Short Course

The Deep Learning Short Course offered by the Machine Perception and Cognitive Robotics Lab was a week packed full of hands-on experiences. From the basics of data-processing, model-building, and post-analytics, the course explored line-by-line code, to developing training models from scratch. While making connections and friends, the group explored the rapidly evolving pace of artificial intelligence. Read more.