Science & Technology

FSU researchers net record number of prestigious NSF awards

Published: May 21, 2018 | 1:33 pm | Posted in: Science & Technology

Florida State University's NSF Career Award winners, 2018. (From left) Back row: Daniel Hallinan and Mainak Mookherjee. Front row: Justin Kennemur, Chen Huang and Ken Hanson.

A record number of Florida State University faculty members have received the National Science Foundation’s prestigious CAREER award this year for researchers in the early stages of their careers. Five Florida State University assistant professors have received the award that carries funding for their lab as well as the opportunity to work closely with the […]

Worm-eating mice on small island hold clues to evolution

Published: May 15, 2018 | 1:27 pm | Posted in: Science & Technology

Mt Halcon forest mouse on Mindoro Island in the Philippines. (Credit L.R. Heaney, The Field Museum)

When animals are isolated on an island, all bets are off as to how they will evolve and whether an animal will branch out into a new species. Australia has several types of kangaroos and Madagascar has many different lemurs. But just how much space a given species needs in order to evolve is a […]

FSU students win National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships

Published: May 15, 2018 | 9:35 am | Posted in: Science & Technology, University News

Four Florida State University students and three recent graduates have received the prestigious Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation. The fellowship program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s or doctoral degrees. “This is a simply wonderful achievement further illuminating the […]

Idle talk or fierce competition? FSU research finds women use gossip as a weapon against romantic rivals

Published: May 9, 2018 | 10:51 am | Posted in: News, Science & Technology

FSU psychology researcher Tania Reynolds is hopeful her research on women's gossiping techniques has positive impacts. “I hope we can create a new form of success for women that has nothing to do with whether they have romantic partners or whether they’re physically attractive." (FSU Photography Services)

New research from Florida State University, investigating how women use gossip to compete in the realm of romance, offers insights that aim to reduce bullying and enhance women’s friendships. Tania Reynolds, a doctoral student in FSU’s Department of Psychology, found adult women often use the same gossiping techniques as adolescent girls to tarnish another woman’s […]

FSU research: New model could help rebuild eroding lands in coastal Louisiana

Published: May 7, 2018 | 11:20 am | Posted in: Science & Technology

Jaap Nienhuis, assistant professor of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science, said Coastal Louisiana is losing about a football field of its wetlands every hour. (Credit: U.S. Geological Survey)

As coastal lands in Louisiana erode, researchers, environmentalists and engineers are all searching for ways to preserve the marsh coastline. Now, a Florida State University researcher has developed a model to help stakeholders figure out what factors they need to consider to rebuild land in this fragile wetland. The model is outlined in the journal […]

Study shows sea turtle nesting beaches threatened by microplastic pollution

Published: May 1, 2018 | 12:30 pm | Posted in: Science & Technology

EOAS student researcher Victoria Beckwith surveyed 10 important loggerhead turtle nesting beaches along the Gulf coast. Microplastics were present at each site.

Plastic is famous for its unyielding durability, making it perfect for consumer products but a unique and persistent menace to the natural environment. For the loggerhead sea turtles that nest on the once-pristine beaches bounding the Gulf of Mexico, millimeters-thick pieces of broken down plastic — called microplastics — pose a particularly urgent threat. A […]

FAMU-FSU College of Engineering researchers net $1.2M grant for climate change study

Published: April 20, 2018 | 2:06 pm | Posted in: Science & Technology

A FAMU-FSU College of Engineering researcher is exploring how the changes people make to the land through farming and development affect the planet’s climate. Gang Chen, professor of civil and environmental engineering at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, received a $1.18 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to examine the larger question of […]

U.S. Military looks to FSU to develop revolutionary machine-learning tool to address upsurge in suicides

Published: April 19, 2018 | 11:45 am | Posted in: Health & Medicine, News, Science & Technology

Jessica Ribeiro, assistant professor of psychology, says current methods to detect suicide risk are not very accurate. "One of the most effective ways to accurately detect risk is using certain machine-learning algorithms, so this grant will leverage new algorithms to become the 'engine' of the tool that we develop."

An alarming spike in suicides among U.S. military service members and veterans over the past 15 years is prompting the Department of Defense to turn to Florida State University’s renowned suicide research program to find solutions. A new federal grant will support innovative research led by Jessica Ribeiro and Joseph Franklin, both assistant professors in […]

FSU takes first place at MuniMod civic tech competition

Published: April 19, 2018 | 10:56 am | Posted in: Business, Law & Policy, Science & Technology, Students & Campus Life

MuniMod judges present $10,000 check to FSU student Molly Cloonan. (from left) Gwen Johns, Mount Dora City Clerk & President of the Florida Association of City Clerks; Mike Lester, NASA Technology Transfer Program Director; Mayor Gary Bruhn, Town of Windermere & President of the Florida League of Mayors; Molly Cloonan, Florida State University student; Commissioner Gil Ziffer, City of Tallahassee & President of the Florida League of Cities; Toni Bleiweiss, CGCIO, Lee County Clerk of Courts & President of the Florida Local Government Information Systems Association; and Jim Hanson, Retired Town Administrator, Orange Park, & President of the Florida City & County Management Association.

A Florida State University student team placed first in the MuniMod, Florida’s largest civic tech competition to date, by developing Social Safe, an app to reduce intimate partner violence. The hackathon-style event was hosted by the Florida League of Cities in collaboration with Domi Station April 7-8 in Orlando. Students were tasked with applying their […]

FSU researchers: Urban growth leads to shorter, more intense wet seasons in Florida peninsula

Published: April 9, 2018 | 2:31 pm | Posted in: Science & Technology

A summer storm gathers over Miami. Misra found that large urban areas are experiencing shorter, more intense wet seasons than rural or less developed areas.

New research from Florida State University scientists has found that urban areas throughout the Florida peninsula are experiencing shorter, increasingly intense wet seasons relative to underdeveloped or rural areas. The study, published in the Nature Partner Journal Climate and Atmospheric Science, provides new insight into the question of land development’s effect on seasonal climate processes. […]

Danfoss Turbocor president receives 2018 FSU Research Community Partner Award

Published: April 4, 2018 | 10:18 am | Posted in: Science & Technology

Vice President for Research Gary Ostrander and Danfoss Turbocor Compressors President Ricardo Schneider, winner of the FSU Office of Research Community Partner of the Year Award April 3. (FSU Photography Services)

The Florida State University Office of Research honored Danfoss Turbocor Compressors President Ricardo Schneider Tuesday with the FSU Office of Research Community Partner of the Year Award for his work in promoting university research locally and worldwide. Vice President for Research Gary K. Ostrander said the award recognizes Schneider’s continued efforts to partner with the […]

NASA taps FSU researcher to study space radiation, astronaut health

Published: April 3, 2018 | 12:32 pm | Posted in: Science & Technology

For astronauts soaring through the limitless expanse of deep space, cosmic rays pose a major problem. The powerful radiation that pulses just above Earth’s atmosphere can have devastating effects on human beings, imperiling any crewed mission beyond the safety of the planet’s magnetic field. Now, Florida State University researcher Michael Delp is part of a […]