Science & Technology

The world on their backs: Loggerhead sea turtles host diverse community of miniature organisms

Published: June 1, 2020 | 12:23 pm | Posted in: Science & Technology

Researchers collect samples of organisms living on the shells of loggerhead sea turtles during summer 2018. Photo by Matthew Ware / Florida State University

Editor’s note: The photographs of loggerhead sea turtles were taken during research activities permitted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (permit #MTP-18-239) under conditions not detrimental to these animals. Please do not attempt to recreate the content of these images without appropriate training and observation. These images were taken under red light and […]

FSU nuclear physics lab wins $5.7M NSF grant

Published: May 27, 2020 | 10:03 am | Posted in: Science & Technology

Six physicists at Florida State University have received a $5.7 million grant from the National Science Foundation to continue their cutting-edge research in nuclear physics and nuclear astrophysics. The grant supports operations of the John D. Fox Accelerator Laboratory at FSU and the research of professors Ingo Wiedenhoever, Samuel Tabor and Paul Cottle; assistant professors Sergio […]

Paint by atomic numbers: FSU chemistry professor teaches students the science behind art

Published: May 21, 2020 | 1:10 pm | Posted in: News, Science & Technology

During Picasso’s blue period, the famed Spanish artist had no trouble finding an array of hues to create spectacular paintings. But that wasn’t the case for artists prior to the 1700s until a pharmacist accidentally synthesized a cheap blue pigment, changing the landscape for painters and others. Stories like the history of the color blue and […]

FSU researchers develop innovative technique for 3D printing using magnets

Published: May 20, 2020 | 1:51 pm | Posted in: Science & Technology

Madhuparna Roy, a former engineering doctoral student and the lead author of a paper that showed the possibility of using magnets to realign fibers inside a material being used for 3D printing.

Researchers from Florida State University’s High-Performance Materials Institute and the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering have developed and investigated a new technique for 3D printing that could produce much stronger materials that could be used in a variety of engineering applications. In a paper published in the journal Additive Manufacturing, recent engineering doctoral graduate Mahuparna Roy […]

FSU student awarded prestigious fellowship from U.S. Department of Energy

Published: May 19, 2020 | 11:01 am | Posted in: Science & Technology, University News

A Florida State University graduate student has earned an esteemed fellowship from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Judith Roth, a doctoral student in the Department of Chemistry, was one of 62 graduate students from across the nation selected for the DOE’s Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) Program. “Judy’s award is the recognition […]

FSU researcher detects unknown submarine landslides

Published: May 18, 2020 | 12:54 pm | Posted in: Science & Technology

A Florida State University researcher has used new detection methods to identify 85 previously unknown submarine landslides that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico between 2008 and 2015, leading to questions about the stability of oil rigs and other structures, such as pipelines built in the region. Assistant Professor Wenyuan Fan in the Department of Earth, Ocean […]

‘Hurricanes from scratch’: FSU researchers find even small disturbances can trigger catastrophic storms

Published: May 13, 2020 | 2:27 pm | Posted in: Science & Technology

An image of the simulated wind field around a modeled hurricane. (Courtesy of Jacob Carstens)

You’ve probably seen the satellite images that show a hurricane developing: thick white clouds clumping together, arms spinning around a central eye as it heads for the coast. After decades of research, meteorologists still have questions about how hurricanes develop. Now, Florida State University researchers have found that even the smallest changes in atmospheric conditions […]

Fundamentals of physics help FSU engineers study mysteries of termite mounds

Published: May 8, 2020 | 8:49 am | Posted in: Science & Technology

The mound of an African giant termite (Macrotermes jeanneli) in southern Ethiopia. (Courtesy of Scilight)

When FAMU-FSU Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering Neda Yaghoobian looks at a termite mound, she sees more than a pile of dirt. She sees an engineered structure. Termite mounds, with their odd shapes, are designed naturally by termites to provide livable spaces for their residents — just like human-designed buildings. Yaghoobian and her students are […]

FSU Research: For better emergency management planning, consider stress and frustration

Published: May 7, 2020 | 11:58 am | Posted in: Science & Technology

When a hurricane is dangerous enough to prompt evacuations, thousands of people find themselves fleeing at once. Emergency planning officials want to know the best ways to safely and quickly evacuate their residents. That’s often meant focusing on a single objective, like moving people out of danger in the fastest way possible. But researchers at […]

FAMU-FSU researcher awarded NSF funding for COVID-19 impact on municipal solid waste management facilities

Published: May 7, 2020 | 11:20 am | Posted in: Science & Technology

A FAMU-FSU College of Engineering researcher is studying the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on municipal solid waste management systems with the help of a Rapid Response Research grant from the National Science Foundation. “There has been a lack of understanding of how the COVID-19 pandemic affects our waste management industry,” Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering Juyeong Choi said. Choi and fellow researcher, Professor of Civil Engineering Tarek Abichou, will examine waste-management system-related […]

FSU researchers study Gulf of Mexico in international collaboration

Published: May 6, 2020 | 11:05 am | Posted in: News, Science & Technology

Rachel Kalin, left, an alumna of Eckerd College, and FSU research assistant Samantha Bosman transferring a core sample during a research cruise. (Photo: Devon Firesinger)

When the Deepwater Horizon oil rig suffered a blowout in 2010 and began spilling oil into the Gulf of Mexico, scientists got to work understanding the effects of that disaster. But limited data on the typical conditions in the Gulf made understanding the potential changes from the spill more difficult. To make sure scientists weren’t […]

FSU statistics professor named 2020 American Statistical Association Fellow

Published: April 24, 2020 | 4:01 pm | Posted in: Science & Technology

A Florida State University faculty member has been named a 2020 Fellow of the American Statistical Association. Yiyuan She, professor and assistant undergraduate adviser in the Department of Statistics in the College of Arts and Sciences, was selected by the ASA in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field of statistical science. “Being elected as an ASA fellow […]