CHARLES E. SCHMIDT COLLEGE OF SCIENCE | MAY 2020 View as Webpage
A Message from the Dean
Congratulations Spring 2020 Graduates

As Dean of the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, I would like to congratulate every single member of our Spring 2020 graduating class on a job well done! Achieving the milestone of earning a college degree, whether it's a bachelor's, master's, or Ph.D., is one of the most challenging and rewarding tasks you will accomplish in your lives. Now, as each of you looks forward to the next phase of your lives, rest assured that your FAU experience has prepared you for what's to come. Later in your life journey, when you look back on your time at FAU, I'm sure you will agree that the return on your investment of time and effort turned out to be valuable beyond measure. I want to wish all of you the best of luck in all of your future endeavors and Go Owls!

Ata Sarajedini, Ph.D.,
Dean, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Ask a Scientist Interview with Microbiologist and Biotechnologist
Dean of the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Ata Sarajedini, Ph.D., interviews FAU Professor, Nwadiuto Esiobu, Ph.D. In this special episode, Esiobu answers questions submitted from listeners, ranging from how does a virus generate, how do we find drugs to block the coronavirus disease, how AI is used to find treatments for diseases, the impacts of climate change on viruses such as COVID-19, and how a pandemic becomes endemic. Learn more and listen to past episodes of FAU's Ask a Scientist at fau.edu/askascientist.
'Virtual' Communication in The Age of Social Distancing
Neuroscientists at FAU, Elan Barenholtz, Ph.D., an associate professor in the College of Science, and Michael Kleiman, Ph.D., a postdoctoral researcher, conducted a research study to determine whether being observed affects people's behavior during online communication. Read more.
University Coronavirus Updates
FAU continues to closely monitor the evolving coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. For the most recent updates, visit the University's dedicated web page at www.fau.edu/coronavirus.
Learning, Research and Teaching Continues for College of Science
Upon FAU’s transition to remote working, the college's Tiny Earth team (pictured above) kicked into high gear to preserve the efforts of their teaching labs and research this far in the semester. Read more .
Hello from the Department of Geosciences! Maria Fadiman, Ph.D., and her World Geography course teaching assistants (and a furry friend) were holding a team meeting when they captured this shot.
Warner Miller, Ph.D., and the Q-OWLS (Quantum Optics with Lasers) team in the Department of Physics, have a virtual weekly meeting where they typically discuss their project progress and plans for the next week. Currently, they are working on drone-based quantum communication and are finalizing the first version of their quantum signal analyzer.
Jorge Gonzalez is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of the Mathematical Sciences who recently defended his dissertation. His research involves understanding how network traffic combines from individual sources.
Sean Perry is a teaching assistant and Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Mathematical Sciences. Sean recently published a paper with Stephen Locke, Ph.D., on families of super edge-graceful trees. 
Jason Mireles-James, Ph.D., is an associate professor for the Department of Mathematical Sciences and can be seen here working from home.
Brittanney Amento-Adelmann, Ph.D., Director, Math Learning Center, and her learning assistants (LAs) worked with a national panel of experts organized by the Learning Assistance Alliance to share insights about supporting students and faculty at different institutions to create effective, LA supported, learning environments online. Thanks to the Math Learning Center for helping with the successful online transition.
Congratulations to FAU Wave Competition Winners in the College of Science
FAU hosted its fifth annual Wave Competition, an undergraduate research competition organized by the University’s Division of Research. The College of Science is proud to announce that third place went to “Drone-based Quantum Communication,” a team made up of Alexandra DeCesare, Daniel Carvalho, and Robert Snyder. Read more.
FAU Marine Biologists Develop New Way to Identify the Sex of Sea Turtle Hatchlings
Researchers from the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science have developed a first-of-its-kind technique that is minimally invasive and greatly enhances the ability to measure neonate turtle sex ratios at population levels across nesting sites worldwide. Read more.
Virtual Talk with Museum of Discovery and Science and Hubble Film Viewing
Dean of the College of Science, leading astronomer and researcher, Ata Sarajedini, Ph.D., presents “The Most Important Hubble Photos Ever Taken” along with a documentary screening of Hubble on Tuesday, May 12, starting at 6:00 p.m. in partnership with the Museum of Discovery and Science. Learn about how the Hubble Space Telescope revealed a multitude of galaxies in a seemingly blank region of the sky. Registration is free.
Virtual Pre-Health Professions and Graduate Fair
Monday, May 11, 2020
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Join us on Canvas:
The Canvas website will be live beginning on May 6, 2020.

Join us for the Virtual Pre-Health Professions and Graduate Fair! Admission representatives will be available online from health-related graduate schools and programs. Students will have the opportunity to meet admission representatives from medical schools, dental schools, pharmacy schools, veterinary schools, physician assistant programs, public health programs, graduate programs and more. The event is free and open to FAU students. Click here for details.
Mother/Infant Skin-to-Skin Touch Boosts Baby's Brain Development
A new study by researchers in the FAU College of Science demonstrates that mother-infant touch and contact are essential for optimal neurodevelopmental regulation in early infancy. Referred to as Kangaroo Care, a skin-to-skin, chest-to-chest method of caring for a baby, has been associated with promoting brain development in infants. Read more.
FAU Study Finds Being Fun Is No Laughing Matter
Brett Laursen, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Psychology, along with Robert Altman, M.A., and Li Wei, M.A., collaborated with Concordia University to conduct a research study to determine if children who are popular were able to gain popularity by being fun to hang around with. Read more.
FAU's Women Researchers Leading the Way
FAU shares the stories behind some of its women researchers and leaders paving the way in their field. These women researchers and leaders, like senior instructor, Daniela Nikolova, Ph.D., and professor Jeannette Wyneken, Ph.D., have made contributions ranging from establishing women in science associations to making breakthrough findings in marine biology. Read more.
FAU Teams Up With U.S. Coastguard to Release Three Baby Sea Turtles
Professor of Biological Sciences, Jeanette Wyneken, Ph.D., and nine of her directed independent study students decided "wild" life must go on. Jeanette amd researchers teamed up with members of the U.S. Coast Guard to release three baby sea turtles with small solar-powered satellite transmitters attached to them. Read more.
Student Spotlight with Amaury Miniño
Pursing a B.S. in mathematics with honors, and a minor in Economics, Amaury Miniño, works with assistant professor, Pamela E. Harris, Ph.D., at Williams College in continuation of his summer Research Experience for Undergraduates. Amaury's current research project involves studying Kostant's weight multiplicity formula for the exception Lie algebra of type G2. Read more.
Three Minute Thesis Competition Goes Virtual
FAU's Graduate College will host the University's 4th-Annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) Competition virtually! This exciting competition challenges FAU graduate students to present their research in three minutes. Graduate students compete for over $30,000 in scholarship prizes. Due to University guidelines for COVID-19, the competition is being held virtually this year.

Three Minute Thesis Championship
April 29- May 3

Vote for the People's Choice winner by electronic ballot at the Championship. Online voting will be live April 30 through May 4; Championship winners will be announced May 5. Web link will be provided for the Championship.
University Establishes FAU Cares Emergency Fund for Students
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 expeses such as room, board, tuition, and personal expenses. Read more.
In the News
11th Annual Graduate and Professional Research Day

Congratulations to the winners of the 11th Annual Graduate and Professional Research Day from the College of Science. This research day brought together graduate student researchers from across the University for the first virtual graduate research day. The competition provided graduate students with the opportunity to present their research to esteemed faculty judges from all disciplines. View the winners.
10th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium

Congratulations to the 10th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium winners from the College of Science. The virtual symposium provided students engaged in undergraduate research and scholarly activity the opportunity to present their findings either through poster/visual arts presentation or an oral/performing arts presentation. View the winners.
Remote Student Advising and Support
College of Science Student Services and Advising has transitioned to remote platforms. Learn more.
Sponsored Research Awards
Edward Ester, Ph.D.
American Psychology Association, $28,800  

Edward Ester, Ph.D.
National Science Foundation, $553,436
Marianne Porter, Ph.D.
National Science Foundation, $625,943

Colin Polsky, Ph.D.
University of Central Florida Board of Trustee, $50,000
Upcoming Events
Submit your news for Science Connect to scicomm@fau.edu .