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CHARLES E. SCHMIDT COLLEGE OF SCIENCE | JULY 2020 View as Webpage

Teresa Wilcox Named Interim Dean of the Schmidt College of Science

Teresa Wilcox, Ph.D., has been named interim dean of the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. Teresa served as chair and professor in the FAU Department of Psychology since 2018. She joined FAU from Texas A&M University where she was a professor and held multiple administrative positions. Read more.

Marine Science Lab Receives $1.125M From Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation

The FAU Marine Science Lab received a $1.125 million gift from The Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation. The gift will establish the Glenn W. and Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation Marine SEA Scholars Program at the Marine Science Laboratory. The gift will support a cohort of scientists-in-training, comprised of one post-doctoral fellow, three graduate students and five undergraduate students supervised by Jeanette Wyneken, Ph.D., director of FAU’s Marine Science Laboratory and professor of biological sciences. Read more.

Department of Urban and Regional Planning Joins the College of Science

We welcome the Department of Urban and Regional Planning to the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. The department comes to us from the former College for Design and Social Inquiry and is led by Steven Bourassa, Ph.D., who serves as the department chair and Henry D. Epstein Professor. Read more .

Attention Urban and Regional Planning Students: click here for academic program requirements and advising details.

FAU Sea Turtle Researcher Finds More Human Interruptions During Nesting Season

Right before turtle nesting season, beaches were closed due to COVID-19, so the assumption was there would be fewer interruptions of nesting turtles. However, FAU professor Jeanette Wyneken, Ph.D., says there were actually more turtles being interfered with.

University Coronavirus Updates

FAU continues to closely monitor the coronavirus (COVID-19). For the most recent updates, visit the University's dedicated web page at www.fau.edu/coronavirus.

Department of Psychology Welcomes Interim Chair Robin Vallacher

Robin Vallacher, Ph.D., is a professor and was recently named interim chair of the Department of Psychology. Read Message from the Chair.

Ata Sarajedini Installed as Inaugural Bjorn Lamborn Endowed Chair in Astrophysics

Ata Sarajedini, Ph.D., was installed as the inaugural Bjorn Lamborn Endowed Chair in Astrophysics. The Department of Physics was the recipient of a $1.1 million gift to establish The Bjorn Lamborn Endowed Chair in Astrophysics. The endowed chair position was bequeathed from former faculty member Bjorn Lamborn, Ph.D., a keystone faculty member in the College of Science. Read more.

Traffic Data Show Drastic Changes In Human Behavior At Pandemic Onset

It’s not just health, social and economic consequences from COVID-19 that have impacted the world. Travel behavior also has been significantly affected. Traffic volumes by March 22, 2020, dropped by 47.5 percent compared to that same point in 2019. John Renne, Ph.D., co-author, professor, and director of the Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning within FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, worked with collaborators on the study. Read more.

Climate Change Still is Key Topic for Floridians in Era of Coronavirus

“Almost overnight, the coronavirus dramatically transformed American life, but it’s encouraging to see that climate change remained a hot button issue for Floridians despite the public health crisis that shifted everyone’s priorities,” said Colin Polsky, Ph.D., director of the FAU Center for Environmental Studies, and lead author of the study. Read more.

The Ringer Interviews FAU Marine Biologist Stephen Kajiura

Image courtesy of The Ringer.

The Ringer Interviews FAU marine biologist Stephen Kajiura, Ph.D., revealing what Hollywood gets wrong about the ocean. Read more.

Call for Presentations: 2020 Data Science, Analytics and Artificial Intelligence Conference

The Charles E. Schmidt College of Science invites researchers to submit presentation proposals for the third annual Data Science, Analytics and Artificial Intelligence Conference.

The thirty-minute presentations should be original research, or conversation topics, that help users of data science and artificial intelligence in south Florida. Student poster presentations are also accepted for consideration.

Submit Your Presentation

Conference Registration Here

Presentation Submission Deadline: Monday, August 17, 2020

View Call for Presentations web page.

Saturday, November 14, 2020

9:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. ET

Ask a Scientist Now Available on Spotify

FAU’s Ask a Scientist podcast series hosted by Ata Sarajedini, Ph.D., is now available on Spotify. Follow us on your streaming service of choice by searching "FAU Ask a Scientist." Read more.

In the News

Alzheimer's Study Awarded NIH Grant

Deguo Du, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and collaborators, were awarded a National Institute of Health (NIH) grant of $444,434 to investigate the causes of Alzheimer’s disease. Read more

Undergraduate Researchers Published in Proceedings of SPIE

Congratulations to Alexandra DeCesare, Robert Sunder, and Daniel Carvalho for the publication of their manuscript titled “Toward mobile free-space optical QKD: characterization of a polarization-based receiver” in the Proceedings of SPIE journal. These recent grads performed undergraduate research alongside professor Warner Miller, Ph.D. Students led this effort under grants from FAU’s Office of Undergraduate Research and Inquiry, L3Harris, AFOSR/DURIP, AFOSR/AOARD, and support from the Schmidt College of Science.

Xavier Comas Published in Geology

Xavier Comas, Ph.D., is a professor in FAU’s Department of Geosciences whose research was published in Geology . Xavier’s recent NSF-funded study is titled “Evidence for glacial geological controls on the hydrology of Maine (USA) peatlands." This research focuses on the use of geophysical and hydrological methods to better understand the role of northern peatlands as contributors of methane gas releases to the atmosphere. Read more .

Mathematics Ph.D. Candidate Accepted Into Pandemic Study Summer Program

Emmanuel Fleurantin has been accepted into the Dynamics and Data in the COVID-19 Pandemic summer program, supported by the American Institute of Mathematics. This online program deals with informing students on the mathematics of the current pandemic mathematical epidemiology underlying the models used in studying COVID-19. Students will take a dynamical systems perspective and learn the necessary ideas and techniques from this area. Read more .

University Establishes FAU Cares Emergency Fund for Students

Help #FAU students stay in school during #COVID19 crisis

Florida Atlantic University has established the "FAU Cares Emergency Fund" for currently registered, degree-seeking students who are experiencing financial hardship. The fund can be used for education-related expenses such as room, board, tuition, and personal expenses.

Students can apply here through FAU’s Office of Student Financial Aid.

For more information and to donate to the FAU Cares Emergency Fund, visit fauf.fau.edu/fau-cares.