Author: Abimbola Elizabeth Eminowa

Halmos Graduate Student Wins Spot on Great White Shark Expedition

This Halloween, Halmos College marine biology master’s student Jessica Schieber will be travelling to California to participate in the 20th Anniversary Great White Shark Expedition in Guadalupe Island, Mexico. Ms. Schieber was one of two winners of the female student research opportunity funded by the host: Marine Conservation Science Institute (MarineCSI).

Ms. Schieber is conducting her thesis research on the age and growth of yellow stingray with Halmos College faculty member David Kerstetter, Ph.D.

Applicants for the trip needed to demonstrate understanding MarineCSI’s research techniques and how this trip would propel her career forward. MarineCSI offered this opportunity because “we feel women are under-represented in shark research. How many women in leading scientific roles have you seen on Shark Week or Shark Fest?”

The Marine Conservation Science Institute (MCSI) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded on the belief that focused research can make a difference in how we view and manage our marine resources.  MCSI is committed to promoting important issues in marine biology and fisheries, and is currently involved in research projects around the globe dedicated to protecting and conserving marine resources.

For more information: https://www.marinecsi.org/

Halmos Biophysicist Makes Cover of Physics World Journal

This September, Halmos faculty member Louis Nemzer, Ph.D. had his research project make the cover of the journal Physics World. The article that led to the cover was “Treating Epilepsy with Physics”. Millions of people with epilepsy live in dread of unpredictable seizures from this medical condition. Nemzer’s article describes how novel approaches to predicting and treating these events are being developed thanks to advances in our understanding of the physics of the brain. This research was done in collaboration with Gary Cravens, M.D., an associate professor at NSU’s Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Halmos Faculty Shares the Importance of Children’s Foot Development.

On Thursday, September 17, Halmos faculty member Mark Jaffe, D.P.M. conducted a presentation to over 25 families who attended the Start Smart Storytime for Little Minnows that morning. During this invited presentation, Jaffe informed the parents of the importance of their child’s foot development and taught them how to assess their kids shoes using the “1,2,3, Shoe Test”. After the presentation, Jaffe, along with six students, they screened about half of the children.

Prior to any community outreach, all student volunteers are trained on how to teach parents to analyze their children’s shoes. Prior to this event, Jaffe trained 15 of Halmos’s students to work with him on such outreach projects.

Halmos Faculty Publish Galapagos Article in Nature Scientific Reports

Halmos faculty Bernhard Riegl, Ph.D., Matthew Johnston, Ph.D., and Joshua Feingold, Ph.D. are part of a group of researchers who published their findings on environmental and biological determinants of coral richness in the Galapagos (Ecuador).

Their research shows that throughout the Galapagos, differences in coral reef development and coral population dynamics were evaluated by monitoring populations from 2000–2019, and environmental parameters (sea temperatures, pH, NO3−, PO43−) from 2015–19. The chief goal was to explain apparent coral community differences between the northern (Darwin and Wolf) and southern (Sta. Cruz, Fernandina, San Cristóbal, Española, Isabela) islands. Site coral species richness was highest at Darwin and Wolf. In the three most common coral taxa, a declining North (N)-South (S) trend in colony sizes existed for Porites lobata and Pocillopora spp., but not for Pavona  spp. Frequent coral recruitment was observed in all areas. Algal competition was highest at Darwin, but competition by bioeroding sea urchins and burrowing fauna (polychaete worms, bivalve mollusks) increased from N to S with declining coral skeletal density. A single environmental factor could not explain the variability in observed coral community characteristics, with minimum temperature, pH and nutrient levels the strongest determinants. Thus, complex environmental determinants combined with larval connectivity patterns may explain why the northern Galápagos Islands (Darwin, Wolf) have higher coral richness and cover and also recover more rapidly than central/southern islands after region-wide disturbances.

For more information:https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-46607-9

Math Colloquium Series looks at Using Slow-Fast Dynamical Systems to Understand Regime Shifts in Ecology

On Friday, October 4, University of Miami Research Faculty member Ting-Hao Hsu, Ph.D. will present a seminar entitled, “Using Slow-Fast Dynamical Systems to Understand Regime Shifts in Ecology”. In ecology, regime shifts are continual rapid change between different long-lasting dynamics. For instance, rapid evolutionary changes have been observed in a wide variety of organisms, both in predators and in prey. Another example is disease outbreak, where a system exhibits qualitative changes after long periods of apparent quiescence. Using the theory of slow-fast dynamics, for systems of differential equations with sufficiently large separation of time scales we derive conditions under which regime shifts occur

This is joint work with Shigui Ruan and Gail Wolkowicz. 

Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography department of mathematics hosts the mathematics colloquium series in Parker Building, Room 301. For more information about the math colloquium series, please contact mathematics faculty member Jing Chen, Ph.D. (jchen1@nova.edu) or Evan Haskell (haskell@nova.edu).

Halmos Faculty Member Co-Authors on Motivating Girls to the STEM fields

Santanu De, Ph.D.

This fall, Halmos faculty member Santanu De, Ph.D. with Fischler College of Education faculty member Vanaja Nethi, Ph.D. published an article entitled, “The Potential of Socio-biologically Relevant Mobile Applications to Attract Girls to STEM” in the Florida Distance Learning Association Journal.

Stimulating girls’ interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) when they are in school, and sustaining that interest, is critical in motivating girls to choose STEM-related disciplines in higher education and enter STEM careers. Research has shown that one of the main drivers that impact girls’ interest in STEM is hands-on experience with real-world problems. This paper proposes a strategy to provide middle-to-high school aged girls (13-17 years) with the opportunity to engage with biological concerns that are relevant to them. This strategy utilizes the prevalence of the smartphone among young people in this age group, and the availability of suitable free or low-cost mobile applications to address the problem of a ‘leaky’ STEM pipeline.

For more information:  https://nsuworks.nova.edu/fdla-journal/vol4/iss1/4/

Alumni Spotlight: Marla Somerstein Neufeld, J.D.

Marla Somerstein Neufeld, J.D.

Marla Somerstein Neufeld, J.D. (’99), is an attorney and partner at Greenspoon Marder LLP, where she founded the firm’s surrogacy and reproductive technology practice group. As the mother of twin boys who were born with the assistance of a gestational surrogate, she brings personal experience to her practice.

Neufeld assists clients with all legal aspects of third-party reproduction and represents parties using a surrogate or an egg, sperm, or embryo donor. With a focus on helping others start a family using these technologies, or Florida adoption laws, Neufeld has authored numerous publications about the subject, including co-authoring a book, The American Bar Association Guide to Assisted Reproduction: Techniques, Legal Issues and Pathways to Success.

Neufeld is a board member or volunteer at several organizations, including ARC Broward, Broward Partnership for the Homeless, and the March of Dimes. She is the recipient of honors that include NSU University School’s 2018 Alumni Hall of Fame, Super Lawyers magazine 2018 Rising Stars in Florida, Daily Business Review 2014 Rising Stars (40 Under 40), South Florida Business & Wealth 2014 Rising Star, Leaders in Law, and Florida Trend magazine Up & Comer 2010.

A 1999 graduate of NSU’s University School, Neufeld earned a B.A. at American University in 2003. She earned her J.D. degree at the University of Miami School of Law, graduating Cumlaude in 2007.

1 … 16 17 18 19 20 … 79