Author: Christie Williams

Halmos Faculty Explains What Are Floating Up on Our Beaches

Every so often, strange items wash up on our beaches. This one came from West Africa and landed on Palm Beach. Called “fish aggregating devices,” or FADS, the sometimes raft-like structures can get sucked into the North Equatorial Current and travel as far as the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and Florida.

Often made from refuse such as oil jugs or bamboo sticks lashed together, the curtains of netting dangle beneath them with a reach that can be more than 300 feet deep. They attract large fish that gather for shelter or to feed on small fish and other organisms that grow in this artificially created ecosystem.

Halmos College faculty member David Kerstetter, Ph.D. discussed the situation with the Palm Beach Post. “The presence of these things around the Caribbean is starting to get more attention,” said Kerstetter, “Things like sea turtles can get entangled in them and the other concern when they break free is that all that netting and other material smashes into coral reefs.”

This recent device’s information was collected by Halmos College graduate student Erin Kimak, who is collecting information on where lost FADS are landing as part of the Caribbean FAD Tracking Project. Kerstetter said he hopes to identify which fisheries are losing the most devices to provide more ways to reduce ocean plastics and debris.

Halmos Faculty Member Presents at Health Professions Research Day


On February 21, the NSU Health Professions Division held their 7th annual research day. A consortium of eight academic colleges—Allopathic Medicine, Dental Medicine, Health Care Sciences, Medical Sciences, Nursing, Optometry, Osteopathic Medicine, and Pharmacy, banded together to offer poster displays and oral presentations of their current cutting-edge research.

Among the presenters was Halmos College faculty member Santanu De, Ph.D. His talk, entitled “Navigating Healthcare Science Student Learning and Engagement through Implementation of a Virtual Classroom” discussed his research on whether virtual classrooms can be utilized to facilitate student learning and engagement.

This study was funded by the HPD Research Grant at Nova Southeastern University.

 

Halmos Faculty Studies Oceanographic Structures and Light Levels

In February, Halmos College biology faculty members Matthew Johnston, Ph.D. and Tracey Sutton, Ph.D. were two of the authors for a Frontiers in Marine Science article, “Oceanographic Structure and Light Levels Drive Patterns of Sound Scattering Layers in a Low-Latitude Oceanic System”.

The oceanic biome is approximately 71% of the planet’s area and much more of the planet’s living space by volume, yet it remains vastly understudied. This paper discusses the research looking at one of the most conspicuous features of this biome: the persistent and ubiquitous sound scattering layers formed by zooplankton and micronekton.

These organisms are responsible for the Earth’s largest animal migration, a process known as diel vertical migration. This paper looks at several factors have been reported to structure the spatial and temporal patterns of sound scattering layers, including temperature, oxygen, salinity, light, and physical oceanographic conditions. Results indicate correlations in the vertical position and acoustic backscatter intensity of sound scattering layers with oceanographic conditions and light intensity. The importance of biotic (primary productivity) and abiotic (sea surface temperature, salinity) factors varied across oceanographic conditions and depth intervals, suggesting that the patterns in distribution and behavior of mesopelagic assemblages in low-latitude, oligotrophic ecosystems can be highly dynamic.

 

First Annual Honorable Esthetic Achievement Poster Student Award Competition at the College of Dental Medicine

Steven Milhauser, D.D.S; Steven Kaltman, D.D.S., M.D., FACS, Interim Dean; Audrey Galka, D.D.S; Andrew Powel, student candidate c/o 2020; Rafael Martinez, student candidate c/o 2020; Rafael Llanes, student candidate c/o 2020; Mariana Savoca, student candidate c/o 2020, Deshek Patel, student candidate c/o 2020; Youssef Mohamed, student candidate c/o 2020; Hal Lippman, D.D.S.; Liliana Mosquera, D.D.S., M.B.A.

The College of Dental Medicine held their First Annual Honorable Esthetic Achievement Poster Student Award (HEAPS) Competition during the 2020 American Student Dental Association (ASDA) Day on February 26, 2020 at the Fort Lauderdale/Davie campus.

The poster competition was sponsored by the Department of Prosthodontics in coordination with the Cosmetics Club, under the leadership of Sharon C. Siegel, D.D.S, M.S, M.B.A, Professor and Chair,    faculty advisors Steven Milhauser, D.D.S Assistant professor, Liliana Mosquera, D.D.S, M.B.A, Assistant Professor, and Cosmetics Club president, Lena Varone, class of 2020 student candidate. The panel of judges included: Sharon Siegel, D.D.S, M.B.A;  Liliana Mosquera, D.D.S, M.B.A; Leila Ahmadian, D.D.S. M.S; Peter Pugliese, D.D.S and Harry Lehrer, D.D.S. There were 6 posters presented according to the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD) Guidelines. After judging was completed, the selected poster presented by Andrew Powell, class of 2020 student candidate, was selected as the winner.

Front row: Liliana Mosquera, D.D.S, M.B.A; Lena Varone, student candidate c/o 2020; Deshek Patel, student candidate c/o 2020; Youssef Mohamed, student candidate c/o 2020; Andrew Powel, student candidate c/o 2020 Second row: Sharon Siegel, D.D.S,M.S. M.B.A; Rafael Llanes, student candidate c/o 2020; Mariana Savoca, student candidate c/o 2020, Rafael Martinez, student candidate c/o 2020; Harry Lehrer, D.D.S; Peter Pugliese, D.D.S; Steven Milhauser, D.D.S; Leila Ahmadian, D.D.S, M.S

CAHSS Faculty and Students Participate in NAMM Show and Student wins NAMM Presidential Innovation Award

Jessica Muñiz-Collado, M.F.A., assistant professor in the Department of Performing and Visual Arts in NSU’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (CAHSS) and music majors Mario Yi and Ernesto Velasquez participated in the NAMM Show held at the Anaheim Convention Center in California on January 16-19, 2020.  The NAMM Show is the world’s largest music trade show and conference.

Collado was also a presenter at the renowned music conference, and Mario Yi received the NAMM Presidential Innovation Award. This is the first time an NSU student won this prestigious award.

2020 Pi Day is Coming-Cancelled

On Monday, March 16, the Halmos College Department of Mathematics will host its annual Pi Day Celebration in conjunction with the Chemistry Club. Rounding up this year (Pi day is March 13, a Saturday), students, faculty and staff can enjoy pizza supplied by the Chemistry Club for dessert, there will be pieces of apple, cherry, peach, and other pie flavors!

This year the event will be held outside of Parker under the awnings from 12-1 p.m.! At 12:30 the event will also host a Pi Contest with Pi prizes! All are encouraged to enter!

Come learn how Pi, a mathematical constant, is so important to space exploration. Everyone also had a chance to play Pi games and learn how important Pi is in chemical equations.

Pi (Greek letter “π”) is the symbol used in mathematics to represent a constant — the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter — which is approximately 3.14159.

NSU University School Students Earn Prestigious Award at National Model UN Conference

NSU University School congratulates 20 of our Upper School students for earning the Research and Preparation Award at the National High School Model United Nations Conference in New York City. The students, who worked as delegates from the country of Uruguay, researched their country’s positions on specific topics and debated with students representing other UN members. USchool students also had the incredible opportunity to meet with the actual delegates from Uruguay and engage in a roundtable discussion about the country’s policies where they addressed real, pressing issues.

We are proud of this fine group of outstanding scholars:  Berent Bexley, Rohan Chiravuri, Madison Davis, Alisa Fedotova, Jack Flairty, Joshua Frank, Maia Goldstein, Jonathan Greenip, Jeremy Kane, Breyanna Lehrer, Parker Maier, Luca Menendez, Justin Milledge, Jake Morris, Noa Rabin, Ronnie Shashoua, Rita Shuster, Sam Shuster, Julian Smith, Ramon Villamayor.

 

Sea Turtle Derby is Back! Part of Rock the Ocean & Tortuga Music Festival

Who says turtles are slow!?

For the second year, NSU is proud to partner with Rock the Ocean and the Tortuga Music Festival for the Sea Turtle Derby. This unique sea turtle “race” features six sea turtles named for some of the artists performing at this year’s festival. The race is underway, and festival goers and sea turtle enthusiasts alike can watch the progress of each of the artists’ turtle namesake online at TortugaMusicFestival.com/seaturtlederby.

The winning turtle, which is the one who logs the most miles during the derby, will be named on Wednesday, April 8. This program fits in perfectly with the ongoing research being done by NSU scientists at its Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography, the Broward County Sea Turtle Conservation Program and the Marine Environmental Education Center at the Carpenter House.

You can read the full press release ONLINE.

May be the best turtle win – and we’ll see you on the beach!

‘Power Lunch’ Launch Sponsored by Memorial Healthcare System at NSU Art Museum

Recently, NSU Art Museum and Memorial Healthcare System launched a new Power Lunch menu in the Museum Cafe, along with a youth “eat the rainbow” initiative with Broward School Students. The first Power Lunch was attended by Laura Raybin Miller, Vice Chair of South Broward Hospital District’s Board of Commissioners, Pierre Flerismond, Executive Chef at Memorial Regional Hospital, Audra Nelson, Assistant Director of Pediatric Clinical Nutrition at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital. Also in attendance were Phillip Dunlap, Broward Cultural Division, Paula Levenson, AutoNation, Nila Do Simon, Venice Magazine, Marianne Ferro, Museum Board of Governors, Bonnie Clearwater, Museum Director and Chief Curator, Anna Sorenson, Museum Director of Development.

The Power Lunch menu and eat the rainbow initiative were inspired by the museum’s current exhibition, Happy!, which explores the pursuit of happiness through contemporary art. https://nsuartmuseum.org/exhibition/happy/

The Power Lunch features menu items developed by Memorial Healthcare System nutritionists that promote healthy eating. It’s an extension of the museum’s continuing focus on health and well-being that incorporates creative engagement, social interaction and intellectual stimulation.

 

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