Tag: Halmos College of Arts and Sciences

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

Halmos Students Present at Annual Microbiology Meeting

On February 25-27, the Florida Branch of the American Society for Microbiology held its 2022 annual meeting, giving Halmos students the opportunity to present their research.  The labs of Halmos faculty members Julie Torruellas Garcia, Ph.D.; Robert Smith, Ph.D.; and Jose V. Lopez, Ph.D. attended, presented, and won awards.

From the Garcia Lab:

  • Undergraduate biology students Ashley Janke, Sri Rishitha Nannapaneni & Alyssa Gershon won 2nd place award for Outstanding Undergraduate Poster Presentation for their work, “Isolation of bacteriophages in soil that infect Gordonia rubripertincta”.
  • Chloe Barreto-Massad, American Heritage Boca/Delray High School (a high school student mentored by Garcia) won 3rd place award for outstanding Undergraduate Oral Presentation for “An Investigation of the Effects of Aerobic and Anaerobic Environments on Antibiotics Produced by Soil Bacteria”

From the Smith Lab:

  • Camryn Pajon, an undergraduate biology major won 1st place award for outstanding undergraduate oral presentation for her research, “Carbon source driven metabolic buffering determines the co-existence of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa”.
  • Laura Garcia-Dieguez, Masters in Biological Sciences student gave an oral presentation,

“Changes in Frequency and Amplitude of Spatial Disturbances Modulate the Expression of Quorum Sensing-Mediated Virulence Effectors in Pseudomonas aeruginosa”

She also entered the Microbiology Art Contest with the theme “Florida Microbes” and won Honorable mention.

  • Masters in Biological Sciences students Gabriela Diaz-Tang & Estefania Marin Meneses gave an oral presentation on “The Influence of Growth Efficiency on the Inoculum Effect”

From the Lopez Lab:

  • Colleen McMaken, Masters in Biological Sciences gave an oral presentation regarding

“Microbial impacts on loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and green (Chelonia mydas) sea turtle hatching success”

The Florida Branch of the American Society for Microbiology (FLASM) promotes microbiology education and research in Florida through meetings, discussions, and publications. Our members represent the many diverse areas of microbiology including virology, metagenomics, clinical, environmental, basic research, education, industrial, bioenergy, veterinary, and more.

Congratulations to all students presenting at this year’s meeting!

Posted 03/13/22

Halmos Faculty Co-authors Chapter in Encyclopedia of Peace History

Mary Hope Schwoebel, Ph.D.

Mary Hope Schwoebel, Ph.D., faculty in the Department of Conflict Resolution Studies (DCRS) in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences and the Guy Harvey Oceanographic Research Center (HCAS), co-authored a chapter entitled, The Evolution of the Peace-development Nexus: Inequality and the Transformative Turn. The chapter was accepted for publication in the upcoming Oxford University Press Encyclopedia of Peace History.  Schwoebel’s co-author is Erin McCandless, Ph.D. McCandless is faculty at the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa.

Schwoebel’s teaching and research interests include peacebuilding and state building, peacebuilding and development, gender and conflict, culture and conflict, and facilitation.

Posted 03/13/22

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