Author: iharrell

Halmos Partners with Montachem to Explore Global Plastics

This coming fall, the Department of Humanities and Politics in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences and Guy Harvey Oceanographic Research Center will launch a new experiential opportunity for students in partnership with Montachem International Inc.  Montachem is a leader in the distribution of thermoplastics and plastic resins to producers around the world. 

The “Global Issues, Student Solutions” initiative will provide an opportunity for undergraduate students at NSU to explore the role of plastics in the modern world, develop an understanding of the challenges posed by plastics pollution, and provide solutions that might be implemented in individual communities around the world.  “Global Issues, Student Solutions” will run as a case competition in a section of Global Issues, the introductory survey course in the B.A. in International Studies program.

Students in this course will have the opportunity to engage in a team research project on plastics as a global issue and the results of this research will be disseminated at the end of the semester.  Montachem International will provide insight and access to resources for the student teams working on this challenge, in addition to making a generous donation to support undergraduate research in the DHP.

“Plastics are essential to everyday life around the world, these materials are used in simple and very complex applications from can liners (trash bags) all the way to interior components in airplanes to medical instruments and even body parts” according to J. C. Avila, Chief Operating Officer of Montachem International.

According to Ransford Edwards, Ph.D., assistant professor in DHP and instructor for Global Issues, the section in which the “Global Issues, Student Solutions” case competition will take place, “tackling global issues often starts with local solutions.”  He notes that “this problem-solving course will tap into the curiosity and ingenuity of our students as we explore aspects of sustainable development. Students will have an opportunity to investigate, get a little hands-on, and collaborate with a variety of stakeholders to address this issue related to our use of plastics.”

Alumna Publishes Article on Human Resources Development

Suzette Henry-Campbell

Suzette Henry-Campbell, Ph.D., doctoral graduate in the Department of Conflict Resolution Studies in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences and the Guy Harvey Oceanographic Research Center was the co-author of an article published in the journal New Horizons in Adult Development and Human Resources Development. The article, titled “Expatriate Experiences and the Role HRD plays in Cultural Awareness in International Companies,” was co-authored with Selma A. Hadeen.

In addition to her doctoral degree, Henry-Campbell received an M.S. in Conflict Analysis and Resolution and an M.S. in Human Resource Management from NSU. She earned her B.A. in English from the University of the West Indies and is an adjunct lecturer there. She has extensive experience in human resources.

NSU Alumna Honored for Service as Speech-Language Pathologist

Aimee Aranguren, M.S., CCC-SLP

Aimee Aranguren served patients and families for 12 years as a speech-language pathologist for Jefferson Health – Magee Rehabilitation Hospital.

In November of 2020, she was honored as a recipient of the Jefferson Health Humanitarian Hero Award­/2020-2021 Magee’s Healthcare Hero. Staff members were recognized with the Humanitarian Award for their professionalism, compassion and empathy for our patients and selfless contributions to the organization.

Now patient Room 405 is named in honor of the recipients of Jefferson Health Magee’s 2020- 2021 Humanitarian Award recipients, including Aranguren.

Education Alumna’s 10-year-old Daughter is Published Artist

No matter what path 10-year-old Angelica Gary takes in life, she’ll have options.

Her mother, Wanda Fernandopulle a Doctor of Education graduate from the Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice in 2004, has made sure of it.

Wanda Fernandopulle

Whether it’s supporting her daughter’s passion for art, enrolling her in classes to help her learn the basics of four different languages or laying the foundation for her daughter’s education, Fernandopulle has made preparing her daughter for the future a major priority.

Earlier this year, Fernandopulle accumulated a collection of her daughter’s artwork and created “Exploring Angelica’s Art,” a book published through Trafford Publishing. This book can be found in more than a thousand bookstores across the country. Having their name on a published book is an exciting accomplishment few 10-year-olds can say they’ve experienced, and Fernandopulle hopes it will inspire her daughter to continue to achieve as she gets older.

Fernandopulle currently serves as the Senior Dissertation Chair at Grand Canyon University. Education has long been an important factor in Fernandopulle’s life, from her years as a student through her career in academia. No matter her workload, she has made time to instill that same love for education in her daughter. “That’s my job as a parent, to prepare her.” It’s a labor of love she takes seriously.

“When I’m not looking at dissertations, doing dissertation defenses and helping all my doctoral Learners out at Grand Canyon, this is my other life in terms of her academics and also homing in on her gift,” she said. “There’s always a purpose in everything that you do, and my purpose is to hopefully give her some options.”

In addition to being published, Gary’s art has been showcased in other ways. Her tribute to famous artist William H. Johnson was published last year in TIME for Kids magazine. Gary submitted artwork she drew of Ida B. Wells to former First Lady Melania Trump’s “Building the Movement: America’s Youth Celebrate 100 Years of Women’s Suffrage” project. The project accepted art submissions, themed around the suffrage movement, from children all over the country before selecting one art piece to represent each state. Gary’s piece was selected to represent her home state, South Carolina.

“Melania Trump sent her a beautiful letter from the White House, she was invited to come, and it was all on the news,” Fernandopulle said. “She sent us an invitation to the White House, but that was in the midst of COVID when it was really bad, so I made the decision not to go.”

Her daughter is currently working on a second book. “It’s fun for her. She loves art and those kinds of things,” she said. “With children, you have to make it fun, but at the same time I know that there’s a reason behind the fun.” Fernandopulle hopes that her daughter’s love of art will continue in her education. Maybe she’ll even pursue a doctorate in art history someday.

Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Workshop Sept. 30

Jonathan Smith

This virtual workshop, hosted by The Qualitative Report and delivered by Jonathan Smith from Birkbeck University of London UK, will provide a practical introduction to the experiential, qualitative approach-interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA).

The aim is that, by the end of the class, attendees will recognize the important principles of the approach and understand the main practical steps involved in a research project using IPA. The workshop will begin with a short example of a study conducted by Jonathan.

The best way to get to grips with the value of an approach is to see what it can produce. This will be followed by a brief presentation of the theoretical underpinnings of IPA. Most of the workshop will focus on Smith guiding participants through the stages of conducting an IPA study: design, data collection, analysis, writing up.

The workshops will take place via the Zoom platform.

Biology Student Wins Congress Attendance Grant

This July, Halmos College of Arts and Sciences undergraduate biology major Camryn Pajon won a Congress Attendance Grant for the joint American Society of Microbiology and the Federation for European Microbiological Society (FEMS) meeting in July. Her work, which examines how changes in spatial structure affect the ability of bacteria to coexist, is sponsored by the Army Research Office. Her ultimate goal is to understand how to disrupt interactions between coexisting bacteria so as to facilitate their treatment in the clinic.

Pajon works with HCAS faculty member Robert Smith, Ph.D. FEMS provides grants for European and non-European early career scientists to support their attendance at the World Microbe Forum. The American Society of Microbiology, with more than 30,000 members, including researchers, educators and health professionals, is one of the largest life science societies in the world.

Collaborate to Educate: Fischler Professor Gives BSO Investigators Special Needs Training

Maribel Del Rio-Roberts

Maribel Del Rio-Roberts, Psy.D., associate professor, Department of Human Services at NSU’s Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice provided training for Broward Sheriff’s Office Child Protective Investigators (CPI) on Best Practices in Supporting Parents with Special Needs.

The training will provide the CPI’s with information on the rights of parents with disabilities, specifically as it relates to the laws, services, and resources that pertain to them when a dependency case is opened. There were four different training sessions held on two days that introduced participants to a variety of relevant topics including the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), the challenges faced by parents with disabilities, the importance of personal assistance services, the intersection of parental disability and the child welfare system, interventions to support parents with special needs, and national and community resources.

Del Rio-Roberts is the lead faculty for the M.S. in Developmental Disabilities program.

Students design social media campaign for Guy Harvey Research Institute

During the Winter 2021 semester, undergraduate Communication students in COMM 4300: Social Media Theory and Practice had the opportunity to put their social skills into action and design a strategic social media campaign for NSU’s Guy Harvey Research Institute. Each winter, the course, offered through the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences, partners with a real-world client seeking to solve a problem or take advantage of an opportunity with its social media presence.

“The best way for students to learn how to conduct a bona fide social media campaign is by partnering with a real client with a real need, and we were excited to have the chance to work with Dr. Shivji and the Guy Harvey Research Institute,” said Whitney Lehmann, associate professor of communication for the Department of Communication, Media, the Arts. “Dr. Shivji had a very clear, strategic vision for the GHRI’s social presence, and it was an invaluable learning experience for students to work with him and his team to design a unique and effective campaign tied to their organizational goals.”

Students kicked off the semester by conducting an initial client interview with Mahmood Shivji, Ph.D., professor for the Department of Biological Sciences and director of the Guy Harvey Research Institute and Save Our Seas Foundation Shark Research Center. Following the interview with Shivji and Tyler Plum, the GHRI’s social media manager and a master’s student in the Department of Biological Sciences, the undergraduate students conducted an audit of the GHRI’s social media presence and presented Shivji and Plum with proposed objectives, strategies and tactics tied to priority audiences and organizational goals. Campaign deliverables included new social media branding, a social media manual, targeted Twitter lists for networking with members of the media, and a revamped YouTube channel for archiving and curating GHRI video content.

“Working with Dr. Lehmann and her students was not only tremendously informative for us in terms of learning better strategies for social media platform construction and use, but it was also a pleasure interacting with the impressively creative undergraduates,” Shivji said. “The end result of this campaign is a vastly better social media platform for the GHRI to disseminate our work.”

For more information about the B.A. in Communication program, COMM 4300: Social Media Theory and Practice and other courses offered through the curriculum’s Strategic Communication concentration and minor, click here.

Follow the Guy Harvey Research Institute on social media @nsughri, the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences @nsuhcas, and the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts @nsu_dcma

Halmos Faculty, Students Publish Article on Bacterial Inhibitors

Growth characteristics of Yersinia pestis wild-type (wt) and ΔyscF strains on MOX agar incubated at room temperature (RT) or 37°C for 48 h. Colonies of the wt are seen growing on MOX agar incubated at RT but not at 37°C, the temperature at which type III secretion is induced (top). Colonies of the ΔyscF strain, which does not have a functional type III secretion system, are seen growing on the MOX agar incubated at RT and at 37°C (bottom).

Several bacteria use needle-like structures called type III secretion systems (T3SS) to avoid our immune systems by injecting toxins into our cells and causing disease. If the T3SS is blocked, then these bacteria cannot cause the infection, making these structures an attractive target for new antibiotics.

Written by undergraduate students and Halmos College of Arts and Sciences biological sciences faculty member Julie Torruellas Garcia, Ph.D., this paper discusses a new method developed in Garcia’s lab to detect inhibition of bacterial type III secretion systems by small molecules. This method may be useful for screening additional small molecules that target bacterial T3SSs to potentially be used as new treatments for antibiotic resistant bacterial infections.

Undergraduate students (now alumni) co-authors on this paper include Sukriti Prashar, Miguel Portales Guemes, Poorandai Shivbaran, Eugenia Jimenez Alvarez, Christopher Soha, Samir Nacer, and Michael McDonough.

The article, titled “Novel Disk Diffusion Assay on Magnesium Oxalate Agar To Evaluate the Susceptibility of Yersinia pestis to Type III Secretion System Inhibitors” was published in June 2021 in the ASM Journal Microbiology Spectrum. Learn more

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