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Florida State University-affiliated startup companies competed “Shark Tank”-style at the fourth annual Discovery Challenge event, pitching their business ideas and winning a combined $85,000 in funding.

The event featured five startups pitching their technologies to a panel of judges and a packed audience, explaining how they planned to advance their products and bring them to market. The event, held Wednesday at FSU’s Herbert Wertheim College of Business, was part of FSU’s annual Discovery Days, a weeklong celebration of research, creativity and innovation.

Anosh Gomes with Cryton Biosciences won the first-place prize of $50,000. The audience choice award of $10,000 went to Zachary Asarnow with Esperance Biotech and the second-place prize of $25,000 went to Kimberley Christopher with Radical Solutions.

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Florida State University’s School of Dance will present its annual Days of Dance in November, featuring two programs of works choreographed and performed by students and faculty.

For more than 50 years, Days of Dance has been a highlight of the School of Dance’s performance season, giving the Tallahassee community an opportunity to experience the range of work created and performed at FSU.

The annual mainstage production features faculty choreography alongside a juried selection of works by students and staff, performed by School of Dance students.

“We are incredibly excited to share our Fall 2026 Days of Dance performances featuring a wide range of forms from Ballet to Contemporary. There’s something for everyone who loves dance,” said Helanius J. Wilkins, chair of the School of Dance. “Each performance is unique, so please come join us and enjoy both programs. The breadth of work represented reflects the diverse perspectives, movement practices and choreographic voices that shape our School of Dance.”

Program A features choreography by Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, an award-winning School of Dance professor and founder of the New York City-based dance company Urban Bush Women. The program also includes works by School of Dance BFA students Isabelle Hagley, Sierra Lowell, Miranda Martinez, Nika Nosova, Ella McCarthy, Allison Wheelock, William Mrozek, Bailey Carson, MaLeah Izquierdo, Juliana Burner, Riley McDaniel and Arissa-Noele Lawson.

Program B features choreography by School of Dance professor Gwen Welliver along with work from School of Dance BFA students Kaitlyn Gerard, Amelia Floyd, Allyson Shulman, Jamora Lewis, Camille Pepper, Gabriella Castro, Kyah Everett, Priscilla Gonzalez, Lisbeth Moquete, Fernanda Romero, Marissa Uhler, Sophia Ferguson, Isabelle Hagley, Alex Willis and Natalie Martinez.

Days of Dance performance schedule

Program A

• Friday, Nov. 6, 7:30 p.m.

• Saturday, Nov. 7, 2 p.m.

• Saturday, Nov. 14, 7:30 p.m.

Program B

• Saturday, Nov. 7, 7:30 p.m.

• Friday, Nov. 13, 7:30 p.m.

• Saturday, Nov. 14, 2 p.m.

Before the Nov. 13 performance, Professor Jen Atkins will host a free event highlighting her work with the Popular Movements Project and the first season of its new podcast, “Swan Lake Unfolded.” The podcast explores recent popular culture references to the iconic ballet “Swan Lake” and examines their meanings. The pre-show event will begin at 6:15 p.m.

All performances will take place at the Nancy Smith Fichter Dance Theatre in FSU’s Montgomery Hall, 130 Collegiate Loop, Tallahassee.

Tickets to all Days of Dance performances are available now at tickets.dance.fsu.edu.

To learn more about the School of Dance, its programs and upcoming events, visit dance.fsu.edu.

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From pioneering cancer research and building the world’s most powerful magnets to expanding the frontiers of health, engineering and the arts, Florida State University has spent generations turning research and creative discovery into work that changes lives.

As FSU celebrates its 175th anniversary, that legacy stretches from the university’s earliest research programs to the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory and today’s rapidly growing FSU Health academic health system.

“Research is central to Florida State University’s mission and essential to the impact we make on Florida, the nation and the world,” said President Richard McCullough. “For generations, FSU researchers have pushed the boundaries of knowledge, tackled complex challenges and transformed bold ideas into discoveries that improve lives. We look to build on that legacy as we continue investing in the research that will drive the next generation of breakthroughs.”

Early research foundations

In 1947, the Florida State College for Women became Florida State University, signifying an expansion of the institution’s mission from undergraduate education to a research enterprise.

The university’s research footprint was also growing. FSU established its first marine laboratory, the Oceanographic Institute, in 1949, followed by additional facilities on the St. Johns River near Jacksonville and on Tampa Bay. The facilities supported research into local fisheries, the oceanography of the Gulf Stream, red tide and other marine science topics.

As the FSU research program developed, the university became a leading institution in the physical sciences, especially physics and chemistry. In 1957, FSU established the High Energy Physics group, the first high-energy physics program in the Southeast. The FSU Accelerator Laboratory — now the John D. Fox Nuclear Accelerator Laboratory — began operations in 1960, helping FSU physicists study low-energy nuclear physics, nuclear astrophysics and the quantum mechanics of atomic nuclei and their reactions, which supports applications like medical treatments, energy production and storage, national security and more.

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Florida State University has appointed Keithen Mathis as interim director of the FSU Civil Rights Institute (CRI). Mathis will lead the institute’s academic and public-facing initiatives and its work to advance civil rights research, dialogue and engagement.

A respected scholar and educator, Mathis brings extensive experience in research, teaching and community engagement to the role. He currently serves as a teaching professor and associate dean for Culture and Community Engagement at FSU’s College of Social Work.

“The Civil Rights Institute is an important part of the FSU community, bringing people together to examine the past, engage with the present and help shape the future,” said Jim Clark, provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs. “Keithen’s experience and expertise make him well-suited to lead the institute during this transition, and I am confident he will continue advancing its important mission.”

Housed in the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy (COSSPP), the CRI commemorates, celebrates and studies the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. The institute brings together students, faculty and staff from across academic disciplines, including sociology, public health, urban and regional planning, criminology, social work, medicine, nursing and education.

“Keithen’s deep experience in community engagement and campus leadership makes him well-suited to guide the CRI’s interdisciplinary work and build on the institute’s existing opportunities for advancing dialogue, understanding and public engagement in the area of civil rights,” said COSSPP Dean Tim Chapin.

Mathis said he looks forward to building upon the institute’s work while helping guide its next chapter.

“Accepting this interim appointment is both a tremendous privilege and an important responsibility,” Mathis said. “I am honored to serve alongside our faculty, staff, students, alumni and partners as we build on the Institute’s momentum, advance its mission and impact, and embrace the opportunities ahead. Together, we can ensure a smooth transition while laying a strong foundation for the institute’s next exciting chapter.”

The CRI was conceived in 2018 by FSU alumni and siblings Doby and Fred Flowers, with support from a volunteer board of faculty, staff and community leaders. In 2023, with the backing of President Richard McCullough and Provost James Clark, the CRI expanded its operations to include a full-time director.

FSU plans to launch a national search for the institute’s next director in the coming months. For more information about the FSU Civil Rights Institute, visit the institute’s website.

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IGNITE Tallahassee will showcase how it supports high-tech and deep-technology ventures in Florida’s Capital Region during FSU Discovery Days.

The IGNITE Tallahassee Open House + Innovation Expo will give visitors a front-row seat to the resources, success stories and investment strategies available at this business incubator.

With state-of-the-art facilities, expert mentorship, commercialization support, investor access and a vibrant community of clients, IGNITE Tallahassee empowers founders to transform early-stage technology into real-world products and solutions.

The open house program includes:

• State of IGNITE-FSU updates from IGNITE leadership

• Startup Spotlight at IGNITE! featuring IGNITE Tallahassee companies Piersica, Phusion AI, SafePath App, Feel With Me, SeraphFlora and SCOFile

• iCREATE: Innovation Experience for Undergrads with students from the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering delivering elevator pitches, a panel discussion, and the presentation of the TiE Tampa Bay’s ARTISAN Student Pitch Award

• Capital of Florida: VC & Angel Funding Panel on how Sunshine State tech startups find funding across Florida

• “Innovation is Everywhere” Expo, featuring demos, prototypes and founders of IGNITE incubator companies and ecosystem sponsors

The program ends with lunch. Breakfast is provided. IGNITE events will continue Wednesday with Discovery Challenge, when FSU startups compete in a “Shark Tank”-style pitch competition for up to $100,000 in cash prizes.

The IGNITE Tallahassee Open House + Innovation Expo will take place:

WEDNESDAY, OCT 21

 9 A.M. – 12:30 P.M. 

IGNITE TALLAHASSEE 

1729 W. Paul Dirac Drive

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA

Visit the event website for more information and to register.
Registration is free and open to everyone.

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Forty free events include community health experiences, technology competitions, startup showcases, performances and family programming

Florida State University will open its research and creative enterprise to the community Oct. 17-24 during its fourth annual FSU Discovery Days, featuring 40 free events, from community health experiences and innovation competitions to performances, technology showcases and family-friendly science.

“Discovery Days brings the energy of discovery beyond our laboratories, studios and classrooms and invites everyone to experience how FSU ideas are changing lives,” said Stacey S. Patterson, Vice President for Research. “Whether you have been at FSU for a long time or are a student or community member curious about what comes next, this week offers a front-row seat to innovation and creativity in action.”

Discovery Days begins Oct. 17 with the FSU Health Expo: Bridging Community, Health and Research at the Gadsden County Courthouse, where attendees can access health screenings, explore educational resources, enjoy family-friendly activities and connect with organizations working to improve community well-being.

On Oct. 19, FSU and Tampa-based cybersecurity company ReliaQuest team up for The Quest for What’s Next! at the Herbert Wertheim College of Business. ​Six teams will compete for a grand prize of $100,000 in funding from ReliaQuest to pursue innovative projects in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.

On Oct. 21, IGNITE Tallahassee invites the business community inside the region’s startup ecosystem for an open house and innovation expo. Attendees can meet founders of high-tech ventures, hear investment insights from venture capital and angel funding experts, and discover student innovations from across Florida’s Capital Region.

That afternoon, ​FSU startups will compete in Discovery Challenge, a pitch competition for up to $100,000 in prizes.

The arts and humanities take the stage throughout the week. Experience how the arts can promote healing at a performance introducing The Living Song Project, where four musicians and a music therapist will blend recital, improvised guitar and therapeutic narrative. At the Arts-Health-Humanities Symposium, faculty, artists, creators and researchers will explore how poetry, visual art, music and film can strengthen working environments and health outcomes.

The week also includes a full slate of seminars for FSU researchers. Learn how Amazon Web Services can support you at a series of workshops, practice sharing your work with the media and general public at Lights, Camera, Research! and more.

On Oct. 24, Saturday Morning Physics + Art finishes the week with a family-friendly experience exploring the science of bubbles for K-12 students.

Explore the full schedule, choose your events and register where required at the FSU Discovery Days website.

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Florida State University faculty are helping build stronger structures by examining how wave-shaped patterns on exterior walls and roofs reduce wind loads on low-rise buildings by up to 60%.

The research, which was published in Engineering Structures, could help architects and engineers combat hurricane-force winds through innovative building shapes.

“Changing a building’s shape can significantly reduce the intensity of wind forces it has to withstand”, said Pedro Fernández-Cabán, one of the co-authors of the work and an assistant professor of civil engineering at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. “These nonconventional building shapes reduce the damage from worst-case severe weather scenarios. It’s another tool for engineers and designers to protect against wind damage.”

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The Florida Institute for Pediatric Rare Diseases (IPRD) at Florida State University has enrolled its first families in the Sunshine Genetics pilot program, which utilizes whole-genome sequencing to screen newborns for rare genetic conditions.

The screening checks for nearly 900 genetic conditions. Early identification of these conditions will empower families with knowledge about their newborn, reduce diagnostic delays and accelerate the path to treatment or specialized management.

Florida Rep. Adam Anderson (R-Palm Harbor), who championed the legislation which established both IPRD and the Sunshine Genetics Act, called it a milestone he will never forget.

“Two years ago, this was an idea we were fighting to make a reality,” Anderson said. “Today, Florida families have the opportunity to enroll their newborns in a program we once could only imagine. This remarkable progress is a testament to the doctors, researchers and industry leaders, as well as the hospitals and universities across Florida and around the country, who believed in this vision and worked to make it possible.”

Anderson will deliver a keynote address at the International Consortium of Newborn Sequencing (ICoNS), Oct. 7-8 at Harvard Medical School before an international collection of experts in the field. He will be joined there by IPRD and Sunshine Genetics leadership, in addition to leadership from many of its program partners.

Sunshine Genetics and its pilot program is administered by IPRD at FSU’s College of Medicine, with guidance from the multi-institutional Sunshine Genetics Steering Committee and support from industry leaders Baylor Genetics, GeneDx, Nest Genomics  and Amazon Web Services (AWS).

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A Florida State University artificial intelligence and data scientist has earned one of the most prestigious early career faculty awards to develop a new type of AI model that better calculates and uses numeric data, including large-scale healthcare data for applications in cancer research.

Michael Gubanov, associate professor in the Department of Computer Science, received a 2026 CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development Program for his work developing an advanced large language model, or LLM, to analyze properties of numeric data, such as number order, and more accurately calculate and interpret numeric data.

The Faculty Early Career Development Program offers the NSF’s most significant awards in support of early career faculty who have the potential to serve as leaders in research and education. The award provides five years of funding to support scientific goals, student training and educational outreach activities.

“While AI can’t diagnose or treat patients, this advanced AI model is expected to help healthcare professionals make more accurate decisions,” Gubanov said. “Because of its ability to better comprehend complex numerical data, it can be applied to gauge the promise of candidate cancer treatments for patients based on individual factors, such as prior cancer treatments, to increase cancer patients’ survival rate.”

Gubanov is collaborating with Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, to apply and evaluate the model’s potential impact in the field of healthcare to further understand how it can be used for personalized recommendations of cancer treatments like chemotherapy and immunotherapy. At FSU, Gubanov is the founder and supervisor of BigLab!, which bridges AI and data science technologies with cancer research to improve the quality of cancer care and treatment.

“Michael has successfully used AI techniques in novel ways to help interpret large-scale health data,” said Sam Huckaba, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “There’s a level of complexity that must be overcome to provide swift and meaningful analysis of these rich datasets. Michael is among a handful of researchers who’ve made progress. His NSF CAREER Award is a mark of excellence that highlights his cutting-edge research.”

LLMs determine answers to numeric questions by relying on complex statistical pattern recognition and common themes instead of recognizing numeric qualities or possessing the ability to calculate — generally, models comprehend and encode numbers as tokens. Because of this, LLMs often provide inaccurate responses to numerical operations because the model is largely guessing the most probable answer rather than calculating the answer.

“Models don’t fully comprehend the order and magnitude of numeric data,” Gubanov said. “If you ask an LLM what two plus two is, it will likely say four — not because it calculated what two plus two equals, but because the model recognizes four as the most likely answer to that question. Our goal is to develop a model that can instead apply more meaningful quantitative reasoning to better comprehend numerical data.”

A heightened validity of numerical data analysis can help make AI applications in clinical practice more trustworthy. This new model also has potential applications in industries that require precise calculations of numeric data, marking significant shifts in medicine, government, finance, science and more.

“Currently, LLMs hallucinate and are inherently non-deterministic, which makes them hit accuracy barriers preventing their adoption in medicine and healthcare because they lack high numeric precision,” Gubanov said. “We’re planning to build a model that doesn’t use guesswork and instead understands the properties of numerical data, which is often more complex and structured than natural language text.”

This project will also support the development of new teaching materials, student research opportunities in data science and AI at the BigLab! and outreach activities to engage students in data reasoning. In addition to NSF funding, BigLab! has received support from the Casey DeSantis Cancer Research Programs’ Florida Cancer Innovation Fund and Amazon Web Services.

“Receiving the NSF CAREER Award is a huge honor, but nobody succeeds by themselves,” Gubanov said. “I’m grateful for the inspiration and support from my collaborators and colleagues, FSU, and the BigLab!. Without them all, this project wouldn’t be possible.”

Gubanov earned his doctorate in computer science from the University of Washington in 2010 and completed postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before taking an endowed faculty position at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He joined FSU’s faculty in the Department of Computer Science in 2018.

Visit the Department of Computer Science website to learn more about research conducted in the department.

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For over four decades, Odell Haggins Jr.’s presence at Florida State University has been defined by impact, first as a force on the defensive line, then as a pillar of mentorship on the sidelines.

The FSU College of Criminology and Criminal Justice brought that storied journey full circle, inducting the alumnus and associate head coach into its hall of fame. The ceremony, held on Oct. 1 at the Beth Moor Lounge, brought together university leaders, faculty, alumni, former teammates and friends to celebrate Haggins’ lasting impact at Florida State both on and off the field.

Addressing the crowd gathered for the induction, FSU President Richard McCullough highlighted how Haggins embodies the core values of the college.

“The College of Criminology and Criminal Justice prepares students for careers around service, justice and stronger communities,” McCullough said. “And at the heart of that work are the values that you, Coach Haggins, have demonstrated throughout your entire career: integrity, character and mentorship. So it’s very fitting that you are being welcomed into its hall of fame.”

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Florida State University students and recent graduates earned 10 nationally competitive scholarships to study critical languages abroad during the 2025-26 and 2026-27 academic years.  

The awards include four Boren Awards and six Critical Language Scholarships (CLS), which support students studying languages considered critical to U.S. national security and economic interests. 

Senior Gage Stanton earned both awards. After receiving a CLS to study Russian during the 2025-26 academic year, Stanton was awarded a Boren Scholarship for 2026-27 and is currently studying Russian overseas. 

The Boren Awards allow students to study abroad for up to a year in areas of the world critical to U.S. national security. The scholarship provides up to $20,000 for undergraduate students to study less commonly taught languages in regions underrepresented in study abroad programs and considered critical to U.S. interests, including Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America and the Middle East. 

During the 2025-26 academic year, three FSU students received Boren Scholarships, offered through an initiative of the National Security Education Program. 

Nadia Rassech, who graduated in summer 2026 with degrees in international affairs and Middle Eastern Studies, received the scholarship to study Arabic in Morocco. 

During the fall 2025 and spring 2026 semesters, Rassech spent nine months in Rabat, Morocco, immersing herself in Arabic while studying local history, film, literature and political science through Amideast Education Abroad, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educational development in the Middle East and North Africa. 

“I liked how well-rounded the program was for getting a better sense of Moroccan history and society outside of language studies,” she said. “You learn so much about a language by living in a place and exploring its culture, and vice versa — by studying a language, you learn a lot about a country’s culture and history.” 

Rassech, who long wanted to study abroad, had already immersed herself in Arabic language and culture on campus, building a strong foundation through classes in the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics. She also lived in the Arabic Language House, where students reside with a native Arabic speaker and practice the language beyond the classroom, and worked as an assistant at FSU’s Middle East Center, an interdisciplinary center focused on the region. 

She also completed internships at the Foundation Orient Occident, a local nonprofit that supports refugee communities through cultural exchange and community development. 

Rassech previously studied abroad in Fez, Morocco, through FSU funding, and at the Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg in Germany through the Center for Global Engagement’s Global Exchanges Program. She said the Boren Scholarship’s length and scope provided greater opportunities for language, cultural and community immersion. 

“My biggest takeaway from the experience was not only my language development, but also the community that I was able to build in that city,” she said. “I don’t think I would have gotten nearly as much out of this experience if I hadn’t been in one place for a whole academic year.” 

Maya O’Donnell, who earned her bachelor’s degree in international affairs from FSU in 2024 and is now pursuing a graduate degree in international affairs, studied Russian in Latvia.  

Sandra Leis, who earned her bachelor’s degree in linguistics and languages in spring 2026 and is now pursuing a graduate degree in East Asian languages and cultures, studied Mandarin in Taiwan. For the 2026-27 award cycle, Stanton became FSU’s next Boren Scholar and is studying Russian overseas. 

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the CLS provides eight to 10 weeks abroad for American undergraduate students to study one of nine critical languages (Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, and Swahili). Recipients also serve as citizen ambassadors while developing skills for an increasingly globalized workforce. 

During the 2025-26 academic year, four FSU students earned the Critical Language Scholarship.  

Shovik Saha, who graduated from FSU in 2026 with a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary social sciences, received the scholarship to study Hindi in Jaipur, India. 

Saha attended the American Institute of Indian Studies and lived with a host family, an experience he said deepened his understanding of contemporary life in India.  

“Immersing myself in the Hindi language and South Asian culture helped me better understand diverse communities, which is especially valuable as I prepare for a legal career,” said Saha, who plans to attend law school and pursue a career in environmental law. 

Because Saha already knew Bangla, the national language of Bangladesh, learning Hindi felt like a natural next step. The languages share Indo-Aryan roots, sentence structures and many Sanskrit-derived words, though they have distinct sounds, grammar and writing systems.  

“I started the program as a beginner, and through the immersive experience and the ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview, I reached intermediate mid-proficiency,” Saha said. “Since completing the program, I have continued using my Hindi skills when speaking with Hindi speakers, engaging with Hindi media and maintaining my language skills through practice.” 

Saha’s other international experiences include a UK Fulbright Summer Institute Program at the University of Exeter in 2024 and the Junior Resident Fellows Program at the Center for Khmer Studies in Siem Reap, Cambodia, in summer 2026. He said the experiences strengthened his commitment to global engagement and cultural exchange. 

“I believe experiences like this are valuable because they help me better understand people, communities and perspectives that may be very different from my own,” he said.  

Along with Saha and Stanton, Rand Peate, a graduate student in urban and regional planning, studied Arabic in Jordan through the CLS, while alumnus Jackson Root, who earned a bachelor’s degree in political science in spring 2025, used the scholarship to study Arabic in Egypt.  

Two more recipients from FSU earned the CLS for 2026-27. Mahathi Tallapragada, who graduated in Fall 2025 with a bachelor’s degree in biological science, used the scholarship to study Hindi in India. Sara Boswell, a sophomore double majoring in Russian and international affairs, is studying Russian in Latvia. 

Applications for the 2027-2028 CLS Program will open during the fall 2026 semester. Applications for the 2027-2028 Boren Awards are due Nov. 19.  

Undergraduate students interested in applying for a Boren Award or the CLS may contact Bonnie Garcia-Gloeckner, associate director of the Office of National Fellowships, at bjgarcia@fsu.edu, or visit onf.fsu.edu. Graduate students interested in applying for a Boren Award or the CLS may contact Keith McCall, assistant director of the Office of Graduate Fellowships and Awards, at kmccall2@fsu.edu, or visit ogfa.fsu.edu. 

To learn more about FSU’s global footprint, visit global.fsu.edu.  

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