Tag: Halmos College of Arts and Sciences

Interdisciplinary Effort Merges Strengths on Arts and Sciences

For the past five years, the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences faculty has been engaged in interdisciplinary efforts to combine science and art at NSU through a program where undergraduate art students visit the microbiology lab to learn how to use bacteria as “paint” and agar plates as their “canvas” to create art.

In March 2022, Julie Torruellas Garcia, Ph.D., and Katie Crump, Ph.D., from the Department of Biological Sciences, Kandy Lopez Moreno, M.F.A. from the Department of Art + Design, and former NSU visiting Professor Véronique Côté, M.F.A., published an article titled “Creating an Interdisciplinary Curriculum within the Undergraduate Arts and Sciences Through Agar Art,” in the Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education.  In their article, they shared the agar art curriculum including learning outcomes and assessment tools and discussed the benefits of integrating science into the arts.

Check out the full article.

Posted 04/10/22

TriBeta Holds Its 20th Annual Induction Ceremony

On March 28, 2022, The NSU Chapter (Rho Rho) of the Beta Beta Beta National Biological Honor Society (TriBeta) held its 20th annual induction ceremony. TriBeta is dedicated to improving the understanding and appreciation of biological study and extending boundaries of human knowledge through scientific research. The Chapter had the honor of inducting the 2022 new members virtually via Zoom. The Society inducted 111 regular members at this year’s event. The ceremony was conducted by the 2021-2022 executive board members including Naziba Akther Nuha as President, Anjana Reddy as Secretary, Harsh Chheda as Treasurer, and Grace Waldron as Historian. The event was introduced by the TriBeta faculty advisor Dr. Katie Crump, Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, Halmos College of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Emily Schmitt Lavin, Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, Halmos College of Arts and Sciences, also gave a brief history of TriBeta at NSU for the new members.

The induction ceremony guest speaker was Dr. Robert Smith, an Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences. He engaged the audience in a moving and inspirational speech about the importance of overcoming “Imposter Syndrome” to continuously believe in yourself, your abilities and accomplishments. The event was very well attended by students. All members recited TriBeta’s membership pledge. New members signed their names in a virtual membership book. New members also received a certificate and honors cords to wear at graduation.

Congratulations and welcome to all our new members of TriBeta!

Posted 04/10/22

Halmos Faculty Members Publish Viral Genome

Halmos faculty members Katie Crump, Ph.D., and Julie Torruellas Garcia, Ph.D., in the research laboratory for HHMI SEA Phage Discovery Training.

Halmos College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Biological Sciences faculty members Julie Torruellas Garcia, Ph.D., and Katie Crump, Ph.D., recently participated in the 2021 Faculty Phage Genomics Workshop as part of the HHMI SEA-PHAGES program at NSU. During their training, Crump and Garcia worked on a team to annotate the genome of a Mycobacterium phage called Madiba. The complete genome was published in GenBank, a comprehensive public database: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nuccore/2180079159

PHAGES, or Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science, is a program where students collect soil samples in hopes of finding new viruses, called phages, that attack bacteria. Once the phages are isolated from the soil, they are identified using a genetic approach. These newly identified phages could potentially be used in the future to treat antibiotic resistant bacterial infections.

Students interested in participating in this research can sign up for BIOL 1000 and BIOL 1001 Introduction to Biological Research I and II. These three-credit courses are open to freshman and sophomore students with any major.

Posted 04/10/22

Halmos Mathematics Talk Focuses on Slender Body Theory

William Mitchell, Ph.D.

The Halmos College of Arts and Sciences Department of Mathematics will host guest speaker William Mitchell, Ph.D., as part of their Mathematics Colloquium Series.  Mitchell will be discussing the “Slender Body Theory” – a widely used modeling tool applied to the mechanical movement of tiny, tubular, biological structures.  Because of ease and simplicity, bacterial flagella and similar long, thin forms are often modeled as one-dimensional curves rather than as more complicated objects with volume and surface area.  New evidence, however, suggests doing so would make a poor approximation in some circumstances.

Mitchell is an assistant professor at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. As an undergraduate, he mainly studied theoretical mathematics. After teaching at the junior high level in Guinea and Burkina Faso, he decided to move in a more applied direction and studied fluid mechanics, earning an M.S. from the University of Alaska – Fairbanks and a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Calculus, computational linear algebra, differential equations, and modeling are his favorite courses to teach.

“Modeling and Simulation of Microscopic Fibers in a Viscous Fluid”, will take place on Thursday, April 14thfrom 12:30 to 1:20 p.m. on Zoom.  The entire NSU community, including students at all levels of mathematics, is invited and encouraged to attend.

Posted 03/31/22

Halmos Student Wins Esteemed NAEP Award

Amber Orr

Amber Orr, a student in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences, has been selected as the 21st recipient of the Charles F. Zirzow Memorial Student Award presented by the National Associate of Environmental Professionals (NAEP).  The award is given to a current college student or recent graduate who has been recognized for outstanding academic achievement, and this is the first time a Nova Southeastern University student has received this award.

Per NAEP’s website, the organization is “a multi-disciplinary association for professionals dedicated to the advancement of the environmental professions, a forum for state-of-the-art information on environmental planning, research and management, and a network of professional contacts and exchange of information among colleagues in industry, government, academia, and the private sector.”

Orr was nominated by Halmos Department of Biological Sciences faculty member Paul Arena, Ph.D. and will receive the award at the National Association of Environmental Professionals’ Annual Conference, held May 16-19, 2022.

Posted 03/25/22

Halmos Invites You to Farmworker Rights and Fair Food Event on March 28

The Department of Humanities and Politics (DHP) in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences and the Guy Harvey Oceanographic Research Center (HCAS), and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) are co-sponsoring to a special event entitled, Farmworker Rights and Fair Food on Monday, March 28, 2022 from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. in the Mailman Auditorium (2nd floor) in the Mailman Hollywood Building.

Do you know where your food comes from? Do you know that some of the workers picking those fruits and vegetables may be working under involuntary servitude? Come and learn more from the featured speakers from the CIW and its partner organization, the Alliance for Fair Food (AFF). The event is free.

For more information, please contact Yvette Fuentes, Ph.D., faculty in DHP at yf60@nova.edu

Posted 03/21/22

Speaker Discusses Prey Defense and Pattern Formation, March 24

Photo of Evan Haskell, Ph.D., sitting at an outdoor restaurant by the ocean.

The Halmos College of Arts and Sciences Department of Mathematics will host guest speaker Evan Haskell, Ph.D., as part of their Mathematics Colloquium Series.  Haskell will be discussing how prey defense patterns influence predator-prey distributions.  The review will cover pattern formation resulting from prey defenses that lead to spatial segregation from their predators as well as the potential impact of prey defense mechanisms on prey species in resource competition.

Evan Haskell, Ph.D. is a professor of mathematics at NSU Florida. He earned his Ph.D. in mathematics from the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University in 2000. Dr. Haskell joined the faculty at NSU in 2005 and has served as mentor and professor to hundreds of NSU students. He works on applied problems inspired by the real and engineered world.

“Prey Defense Patterns / Predator-Prey Distributions,” will take place on Thursday, March 24, 2022 from 12:30 – 1:20 p.m. in Parker Building, Room 338.  The entire NSU community, including students at all levels of mathematics, is invited and encouraged to attend.

Get more information about Evan Haskell.

Posted 03/21/22

NSU Music Presents Songwriter Showcase, April 7

NSU Music and the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts present its Songwriter Showcase featuring performances from NSU songwriters, producers and arrangers.

Date: Thursday, April 7, 2022

Time: 7:30 p.m.

Location: Performance Theatre, University Center

Free event; tickets will be available on the evening of the event on a first come, first served basis.

For more information, contact Jessica Muñiz-Collado at jcollado@nova.edu

Posted 03/21/22

NSU Shark Talent Students Present Shark Showcase, April 1

NSU Shark Talent and the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts present the Shark Showcase on April 1. This year’s theme, “The Comeback: Live!”, celebrates the first in-person student showcase since the pandemic. All NSU students are invited to participate in the event produced, hosted and curated by the Razor’s Edge Shark Talent Scholars Program.

Date: Friday, April 1, 2022

Time: 7:30 p.m.

Location: Performance Theatre, University Center

Free event

For more information, contact Shark Talent Coordinator Dan Gelbmann at gelbmann@nova.edu

Posted 03/21/22

Halmos to Host Webinar ‘Russia’s War on Ukraine’ on March 18

The Council for Dialogue and Democracy (CDD) and the Sustainable Development Seminar Series (SDSS) in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences and the Guy Harvey Oceanographic Research Center (HCAS) extend an invitation to join us for an important dialogue on the current crisis in Ukraine, titled, “Russia’s War on Ukraine.”  This webinar will provide an opportunity to learn more about the causes and background of the crisis. It will be held on Friday, March 18, 2022, from noon-1:30 p.m.

The panelists include J.P.T.Savage, Ph.D., Researcher and Social Science Faculty at Catholic University of Leuven; David Kilroy, Ph.D., Chair and Professor of History in the Department of Humanities and Politics (DHP); Katy Doll, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of History in DHP; and Dustin Berna, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Conflict Resolution and Political Science in the Department of Conflict Resolution Studies (DCRS).

The event is free and registration is required. Please see the flyer for the registration link.

For more information about the CDD, please contact Judith McKay, J.D., Ph.D., at mckayj@nova.edu and Charles Zelden, Ph.D., at zelden@nova.edu.  For more information about the SDSS, please contact Elena Bastidas, Ph.D., at bastidas@nova.edu

Posted 03/11/22

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