Digitizing Hope: Preserving a Species on the Brink of Extinction | |
The vaquita, which means “little cow” in Spanish, is the world’s smallest porpoise and most endangered marine mammal. With a population estimate of less than 10 animals to date, vaquitas are expected to become extinct imminently. Jamie Knaub, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Biological Sciences within the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science and imaging lab assistant in the FAU Lab Schools’ Owls Imaging Lab and in collaboration with the San Diego Natural History Museum and SeaWorld San Diego, is playing an important role in this preservation. Using state-of-the-art, high resolution micro-CT scanning, Knaub has helped to scan a full vaquita skeleton. Read more. | |
“Imaging such a rare specimen is important because the digital representation of this individual such as photos, scans and 3D mesh files will persist long after the last living vaquita is gone,” said Knaub. “Importantly, digitizing the skeleton and making the data openly available to other researchers and the public significantly enhances accessibility, providing broader opportunities for collaboration and research.” | | |
Florescent Probes Illuminate Cholesterol and Alzheimer's Research | Florida Atlantic researchers have developed cutting-edge fluorescent cholesterol probes, which now enable them to visualize cholesterol movement and distribution in live cells with unprecedented detail. Maciej J. Stawikowski, Ph.D., an assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, Schmidt College of Science and a member of the FAU Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute, and his team, including Qi Zhang, Ph.D., an associate professor chemistry and biochemistry, have focused on developing advanced tools to investigate the relationship between lipids and cellular function. Results of their study were recently published in Scientific Reports. Read more. | |
“Cholesterol is essential for brain function, but its dysregulation could be a key factor in disease progression,” said Stawikowski. “Our new tools provide a window into how cholesterol impacts cellular processes and may help identify therapeutic targets for conditions like Alzheimer’s.” | | |
Marine Microplastic Pollution: How Science Faculty, Students Are Studying This Permeating Problem | While microplastics are rapidly becoming a major issue, Schmidt College of Science faculty and students are working to understand their abundance and distribution across South Florida’s coastlines – both important steps toward mitigation efforts and establishing initiatives to protect these crucial environments. Read more. | |
“Understanding the abundance of microplastics is a very important step toward mitigation efforts,” said graduate student Halaina Hahn. “There is limited research regarding microplastics in coastal sediments and even less in southeast Florida. This research will help inform conservation and management initiatives that can be established to protect these vital coastal environments.” | | |
Online Veteran Bachelor’s Program Achieves First 'U.S. News' Ranking | |
Florida Atlantic University’s online bachelor’s program for veterans is ranked for the first time at No. 67 in the nation for 2025 by U.S. News & World Report. Fully online undergraduate programs are offered in select colleges at Florida Atlantic, including the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. Read more. | |
2024 Art of Science Photography and Videography Winners | |
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First place winner, "All's Fair in Love and War," by Jacob Francis, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, features a stunning dark-field view of the stigma of Mexican clover (Richardia grandiflora), showcasing magenta-stained pollen grains and intricate calcium oxalate crystals that possibly deter herbivores (pictured above). Read more.
Congratulations to all of the Art of Science Contest winners in the college. The Schmidt College of Science has winners in a range of categories, including Third Place, "In the Field," "People's Choice," "In the Lab," and a number of "Honorable Mentions" for our students, faculty, and staff. Learn more.
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“This is a really excellent place to study the natural world and how humans are impacting it,” Francis said. “Florida is a unique place with endemic species that cannot exist anywhere else. There is no shortage of plants, introduced from around the world that are changing our native ecosystems. That kind of locality, and its complex interactions with human society, are what makes the world a beautiful place to be.” | | |
Watch Frontiers in Science: Living Better as We Age: The Science Enhancing Your Healthspan | |
Did you miss the January 30th Frontiers in Science panel discussion? The captivating conversation dives into the latest scientific advancements aimed at optimizing health and well-being as we age. Our distinguished experts explore a range of topics, from understanding the underlying mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases to the power of exercise and data-driven health solutions. Watch here. | |
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Meet Fulbright Student Scholar Allison Centeno
Discover how graduate student Allison Centeno, a 2024 Fulbright Student Scholar, finds Mother Nature to be an endless source of curiosity, as well as how she is using satellite imagery to study how oceanographic conditions affect the foraging behavior and movement patterns of sea turtles. Read More.
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Ph.D. Student Spotlight: Daniel Van Zant
Ph.D. student Daniel Van Zant has developed an innovative approach for neuroscientists to test brain function theories, which combines AI with a revolutionary 3D map of fruit fly brain connections to run virtual experiments. Read more.
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Video: How Are Sea Levels Measured?
Sea levels are measured using tide gauges and satellites. Tide gauges act like rulers in the ocean, recording water levels over time. Satellites measure sea levels by sending radar pulses to the ocean’s surface and recording the time it takes for them to bounce back. Scientists compare these measurements to a fixed starting point.
This video was developed by FAU's The Invading Sea. Watch video.
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Spring 2025 WLW-ECOS Student Success Scholarship
The $7,500 scholarship provides awards to undergraduate students in their junior and senior year with financial need, who have a demonstrated interest in environmental science. Deadline to apply: Friday, February 7. Learn more.
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New Postbaccalaureate Fellowship Program
Florida Atlantic University’s John D. MacArthur campus in Jupiter has launched a new research training opportunity for recent college graduates who are looking to take the next step in their careers. Applications are now being accepted for the campus’s first Postbaccalaureate (Postbac) Fellowship Program. Deadline to apply: Thursday, February 13. Learn more.
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Spring 2025 Schmidt College of Science Scholarships
Financial aid-based and merit-based scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students. Deadline to apply: Friday, February 14. Learn more.
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New Ph.D. Positions at Leiden University on Safe and Sustainable by Design in Healthcare
Ph.D. researcher on life cycle-based sustainability assessment and circularity mapping. Deadline to apply: Friday, February 7. Learn more.
Ph.D. Researcher on dynamic material flow analysis and probabilistic human and environmental risk
assessment for the healthcare sector. No deadline, expression of interest. Learn more.
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2025 Janke Foundation Innovations in Sustainability Fund
The Walter & Lalita Janke Foundation Innovations in Sustainability Science Research Fund is requesting research project proposals that will enhance existing energy technologies and support the early development of promising new energy concepts. Pre-proposals are due by Saturday, March 1. Learn more.
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Science Internship Course
Students interested in obtaining 1-3 academic credits for a science-based internship can schedule an appointment with Science Career Coach Kelly Nielsen to learn more at nielsenk@fau.edu. This course is offered by the Schmidt College of Science, in partnership with the Career Center. Learn more.
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HBOI Ocean Lecture Series
Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute has released the schedule for its spring 2025 free community lecture series. The series takes place every Wednesday through the end of March. Learn more.
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WLW-ECOS Travel Grant
Grants of up to $2,000 per person will be awarded to help offset expenses associated with travel to present research at scientific conferences or to attend workshops for specialized training. Applications must be from ECOS-affiliated faculty or member of their lab (post-doc or graduate/undergraduate student). Upcoming deadlines: Saturday, March 1 and Thursday, May 1. Learn more.
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FAU Three Minute Thesis Competition
The Graduate College is hosting FAU's 9th Annual Three Minute Thesis Competition (3MT®) live, in-person at the Boca Raton Campus Student Union. Over $15,000 in scholarship prizes are awarded annually to winners from both the preliminary rounds and the championship. Preliminary rounds: Monday, March 10 and Tuesday, March 11. Championship: Wednesday, March 12. Learn more.
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Mindfest 2025
Florida Atlantic’s Center for the Future Mind is set to host this annual conference, which brings together thought leaders who study the future of intelligence, especially artificial intelligence (AI), philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience, to discuss the interaction between mind and machine, the nature of intelligence and conscious experience. Wednesday, March 12 and Thursday, March 13. Learn more.
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Continuing Education Courses in the Department of Biological Sciences
The Department of Biological Sciences is offering two continuing education courses that are available to students, members of the community, and out of state enrollees: Assisted Reproductive Technology and DNA Forensics. Tuesday, March 18 to Thursday, April 17. Learn more.
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Pre-Health Professions Week
Registration is now open for the annual Pre-Health Professions Week and Graduate and Professional School Fair, on Monday, March 31 to Thursday, April 3, 2025. This free event is open to Florida Atlantic undergraduate and graduate students to talk personally with admission representatives from various health-related graduate and professional programs. Deadline to register: Wednesday, March 26. Learn more.
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Join Florida Atlantic's School of Environmental, Coastal, and Ocean Sustainability (ECOS)
Florida Atlantic's School of Environmental, Coastal, and Ocean Sustainability (ECOS) invites all FAU faculty, postdocs, and graduate students to become affiliate members of the school. Engage in transformational interdisciplinary research, teaching, and community engagement initiatives that bring forth the collective environmental capabilities of the university. Learn more.
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The Vaquita: Preserving a Species on the Edge of Extinction
The Sun Sentinel, Ecomagazine and Scienmag featured coverage of how Florida Atlantic researchers, together with SeaWorld San Diego and the San Diego Natural History Museum, collaborated to scan a full skeleton of a very rare vaquita specimen, the world's smallest porpoise and most endangered marine mammal.
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Friday, February 7, 2025
Public Viewing Night FAU Observatory
Tuesday, February 18, 2025
Public Viewing Night FAU Observatory
Wednesday, February 19, 2025
Frontiers in Science: Future-Proofing Our Coasts
Saturday, March 1-Friday, March 7, 2025
Spring Break
Monday, March 10-Tuesday, March 11, 2025
FAU Three Minute Thesis Competition Preliminary Rounds
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Tuesday, March 11, 2025
Art of Science Interactive Gallery Opening Night
Wednesday, March 12, 2025
FAU Three Minute Thesis Competition Championship Round
Wednesday, March 12-Thursday, March 13, 2025
Mindfest 2025
Monday, March 31-Thursday, April 3, 2025
Pre-Health Professions Week and Graduate and Professional School Fair
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Partner With the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science as We Race Toward Excellence! | |
Pictured: "Eye of the Cerebellum," FAU Art of Science third place winner, Marianne Charlene Monet, graduate student in the Schmidt College of Science. Learn more. | |
At the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, we have an unprecedented obligation and opportunity to provide our students and community with the highest caliber of research, scientific invention, and education in the country. | | | | |
