Author: iharrell

Halmos Faculty Member Interviewed for Belgium Podcast

Santanu De, Ph.D.

Santanu De, Ph.D., a faculty member in the Department of Biological Sciences in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences and the Guy Harvey Oceanographic Research Center, was interviewed for a Belgium podcast dedicated to helping shape today’s budding students, researchers and scientific writers. The podcast series, titled “The Researcher’s Chronicle,” was organized by researchers collaborating from Yale University and the Baden Aniline and Soda Factory in Belgium.

De’s session was published online last Dec. 10 via Paperprimer Book and Periodical Publishing in Maryland.

Click here to access the interview.

De’s research and teaching interests include Interdisciplinary research in reproductive physiology, STEM education and pedagogy, anatomy, cell biology and human biology.

Posted 02/04/24

Upcoming Event Stresses Importance of Saving Early

You’ll learn tips on ways to save, benefits of starting early and various types of saving options at “YOU GOT THIS! Pay Yourself First: Saving Made Easy” on Wednesday, Feb. 28 from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Candy Coleman, an experienced banking professional with more than 35 years of experience, will be the guest speaker in room 2053 at the Alvin Sherman Library. Coleman manages the Plantation Branch of AmTrust Bank, a Division of Flagstar Bank, and has been there more than 10 years. She also is very knowledgeable in the areas of fraud prevention and financial literacy, and frequently speaks on these topics at financial literacy programs.

Refreshments will be served.

Posted 02/04/24

Professor’s Co-Authored Paper Promotes Marine Biodiversity Strategy

A fundamental challenge to marine biodiversity protection is the relatively poor and patchy understanding of the diversity and distribution of marine life, making it more difficult to strategically designate protective measures and assess their success.

The marine environment presents unique challenges: the world ocean is vast, much of it is distant from human populations, its life is often hidden from view and sampling presents formidable logistical difficulties. As a result, observations of ocean life are a fraction of those on land and are especially sparse in the water column and deep sea. These ecosystems have been the subject of an internationally recognized program led by researchers at Halmos College of Arts and Sciences and the Guy Harvey Oceanographic Research Center (HCAS).

The program, titled “DEEPEND” (www.deependconsortium.org), is led by Professor Tracey Sutton, who was among 28 scientists, economists and marine policy experts worldwide who were invited to assess the U.S. national strategy for marine biodiversity protection. Sutton participated in a series of dialogues and workshops over the past three years, the results of which were recently published.

In this paper, published in One Earth, the task force that included Sutton proposed a scientific framework to assess the distribution and abundance of marine biodiversity in U.S. waters inside and outside existing protections and  applied it to waters from the near coast to the borders of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (200 miles offshore).

Why This Matters

Marine biodiversity globally is in crisis. Climate change, overfishing, habitat destruction and other extractive industries are causing species losses at an alarming rate. Increasingly, scientists, managers and governments are taking steps to protect marine life. But it requires a network of protected areas that are ecologically representative, foster connectivity between habitats and consider the dynamic nature of coastal and marine habitats.

The framework is the basis by which managers and communities can ground regional and local actions with knowledge of marine biodiversity distribution. It’s crucial to fulfilling the president’s commitment to protect 30% of land and waters by 2030, implementing the White House Ocean Climate Action and National Ocean Biodiversity Strategy. It can inform existing mandates that involve area-based management, from the National Marine Sanctuaries Act to the Marine Mammal Protection and the Endangered Species Act.

Posted 02/04/24

Honors Course Leads to Conference Presentations

Members of the protein modeling course

Students in the Farquhar Honors College Intro to Protein Modeling course will present their innovative 3D protein models at the annual American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) conference this March. The models were created using advanced computational tools to predict a protein’s structure.

Understanding the structure of a protein is essential to altering its function. Students used a variety of methods to map out the structure, such as artificial intelligence and metal-binding force fields. Understanding the functions of proteins can give us hints to answer the question “What is life?” since proteins work together in a complicated and coordinated way to support life.

“Each year the creativity, passion and drive of the students results in a rich diversity of not only project ideas but innovative methods of accomplishing their lofty goals,” said course co-instructor Arthur Sikora, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Physics in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences (HCAS). “I am learning and exploring the scientific world right alongside my students every time.”

Emily Schmitt Lavin, Ph.D., professor and chair in the Department of Biological Sciences at HCAS, teaches the course with Sikora. The course gives students experience as scientists, including conducting research, analyzing data and discussing and presenting their findings. At the end of the course, students can present their work at a conference of their choice and return as a mentor for the next cohort of students who take the course. More than 20 honors students have presented at conferences as part of the course.

Saleh’s protein model

The course has been especially influential for honors student Omar Saleh. Based on the work he completed in the course, Saleh was chosen to co-lead a protein modeling workshop at the American Chemical Society’s Biennial Conference on Chemical Education in Kentucky, where he will train and encourage faculty from other universities to create similar courses at their institutions.

“I feel both incredibly honored and privileged to take such a novel step in my undergraduate career,” said Saleh, a junior biology and neuroscience major. “It will be my first time traveling to another state, and the workshop will significantly increase both my leadership and public speaking skills. I am proud to showcase not only our wonderful protein modeling class with other out-of-state instructors, educators and faculty, but also the work my team and the other teams, both past and present, have produced.”

View projects from the honors Intro to Protein Modeling course.

Posted 02/04/24

Professor Teaches Asset Mapping in Rural Alabama

Moya L. Alfonso, Ph.D., MSPH, gave participatory asset mapping training to the Blackbelt Community Foundation in Camden, Ala., as a part of a community-based participatory research project funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The training was part of the foundation’s Interdisciplinary Research Leaders Program. Alfonso is the program director of the Ph.D. and DHSc doctoral programs in health science and an associate professor of health science in the Dr. Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences. Her expertise includes community-engaged research, program evaluation, addiction and recovery, and adolescent health.

Alfonso was invited to teach coalition members to use asset mapping, which is the mapping of resources in local communities with the intent of building on the assets to create change. Her workshop was a part of a series to educate coalition members on a variety of topics, including racism, decolonizing nutrition, accessing resources and advocacy. Asset mapping is being used to reframe the narrative around childhood obesity – focusing more on health than body size and weight – and identify the structural causes of health problems. Coalition members learned how to use asset mapping with community members to identify local resources that could contribute to addressing obesity and racism in rural Alabama.

You can read more about the project here: https://irleaders.org/team/centering-the-lived-experience-of-head-start-families-to-investigate-intersections-of-structural-racism-rurality-and-childhood-obesity/.

Posted 02/04/24

Halmos Faculty Member Publishes Chapter on Game ‘Monsters’

Melissa Bianchi, Ph.D.

Melissa Bianchi, Ph.D., associate professor in NSU’s Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts, has written “A Field Guide to Monsters: Practices of Wildlife Watching in Video Games,” a chapter appearing in the recently published “Ecogames: Playful Perspectives on the Climate Crisis.”

The collection from Amsterdam University Press brings together established and emerging voices in the scholarly conversation about how video games increasingly participate in the production, circulation and interrogation of environmental assumptions.

In her chapter, Bianchi connects video game analyses to the beliefs and practices that determine how we reproduce animals in visual media. Touching on a variety of games, including “New Pokémon Snap,” “Monster Hunter Rise” and “NUTS,” the chapter demonstrates how gameplay can exemplify troubling aspects of the human-animal divide and support critical perspectives on human ecological agency and responsibility toward animals.

“I am honored to be a part of this valuable resource for scholars, designers and players who see the critical potential of games and are acutely aware of pressing environmental challenges,” Bianchi said.

Learn more about the M.A. in Composition, Rhetoric and Digital Media here.

Posted 02/04/24

Head of Army ROTC Programs Tours Davie Campus

U.S. Army Major General Antonio Munera meets with NSU’s ROTC cadets.

U.S. Army Major General Antonio Munera, who leads the U.S. Army Cadet Command’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), visited NSU’s Fort Lauderdale/Davie Campus on Tuesday, Jan. 30.

Munera sought to familiarize himself with universities and colleges in South Florida, gain a better understanding of the education track at NSU and discuss growing the ROTC program at NSU.

Major Gen. Munera has lunch with Dr. Moon.

Munera’s met with ROTC cadets, thanked them for their service, reminded them how good the NSU program is and told them about his plans to expand the program at NSU.

“The Army is a people business,” he said. “Your mission is to make subordinates and peers better than they thought they could be.”

He cautioned the cadets to think about their “digital footprint” and how they promote themselves online. The meeting culminated in a photo shoot with the cadets at Forman Field at the Armed Forces Service Flag Plaza outside the Horvitz Administration Building.

Munera visited the Alan B. Levan I NSU Broward Center of Innovation. He toured the center’s cybersecurity range, which equips organizations with the knowledge and skills to tackle cyber threats. He also was introduced to the center’s volumetric capture studio, a leader in 3D content creation.

NSU cadets prepare for a rappelling exercise atop the Alvin Sherman Library.

Munera met Dr. Harry K. Moon, NSU’s executive vice president, chief operating officer and president-elect; Dr. Brad Williams, vice president of student affairs; Terry Mularkey, executive director of development and community relations; Kimberly Durham, dean of the Abraham Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice; Lt. Col. Ken Green, head of the Broward County Junior ROTC program; and Sandra Wendland, director of NSU Military Affairs. The group discussed NSU’s collaborations and commitment to the military.

NSU cadets staged an afternoon rappelling demonstration for the major general from atop the Alvin Sherman Library. The demonstration was coordinated by military instructor Sgt. First Class Jamie Howard.

Posted 02/04/24

Call for InterLACE 2024 Abstracts is Now Open

InterLACE is a free, virtual, university-wide, research showcase event for NSU faculty, clinicians, students and research staff from all NSU campuses to showcase their interdisciplinary and interprofessional collaborative research efforts. The 2nd Annual Research Showcase event will be Friday, April 12, tentatively scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The deadline to submit an abstract is Thursday, Feb. 15.

Submit an abstract here: https://forms.office.com/r/f1Z7c9g71r

Collaborations featured at this event must include substantive involvement of members from different disciplines and/or professions at multiple stages of the research process. The event will feature poster and slide presentations and be attended by members of the NSU research community.

For questions, please contact Jordan Merritt, Ph.D., at jm3137@nova.edu

Posted 02/04/24

WCC Faculty Coordinators Featured on Podcast

From left, Kelly Concannon, Ph.D., and Janine Morris, Ph.D.

Janine Morris, Ph.D., and Kelly Concannon, Ph.D., talked about their collaboration on “Emotions and Affect in Writing Centers” on WLN: A Writing Center Journal’s Slow Agency podcast. Their penchant for collaboration also has been discussed on NSU’s Writer’s Edge podcast.

“Emotions and Affect in Writing Centers” contains 15 chapters that explore how emotions affect function in writing centers from the perspectives of writing center tutors and administrators. The collection has interest for anyone working with students in supportive roles, including administrators and staff in tutoring centers, writing centers and academic support services. The collection was nominated for a 2023 Conference on College Composition and Communication Outstanding Book Award.

Morris and Concannon co-edited “Emotions and Affect in Writing Centers,” published by Parlor Press. Morris is an associate professor and Concannon is a professor in the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences. The two also are faculty coordinators at the NSU Writing and Communication Center (WCC).

“The editorial process was incredibly collaborative,” Morris said. “It was exciting to see the collection grow from the work we do here in the WCC.”

‘Emotions and Affect in Writing Centers’ is available via Parlor Press at https://parlorpress.com/products/emotions-and-affect-in-writing-centers

To learn more about the WCC, visit https://www.nova.edu/wcc/

Posted 02/04/24

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