Florida State University’s Institute for Connecting Nutrition and Health (ICON-Health) marked its first anniversary  Oct. 20 with a symposium exploring how poor diet drives chronic disease and how lifestyle medicine and GLP-1 are changing treatments and even food choices in our society.

Nearly three in four U.S. adults are overweight or have obesity, and an estimated 11% of U.S. adults — about 40 million — now take a GLP-1 medication for weight loss, nearly four times the number in 2024. The “Blurry Lines: When Does Nutrition Become Medicine?” symposium, part of FSU’s Discovery Days, took a hard look at this issue.

The forces shaping how we eat are complex. Neuroscience and sensory science experts at the event described how weight-loss medications can influence food choices, helping people eat differently. They also emphasized that physical activity and preserving muscle are critical components of healthy weight loss.

Research presentations

With poor diet and food environments as primary drivers of obesity and other chronic diseases, weight loss was a recurring theme among the ICON-Health members presenting:

• Debra Ann Fadool, distinguished research professor of biological science and neuroscience in the College of Arts and Sciences, explored the connection between the sense of smell and obesity.
• Gregg Stanwood, professor of biomedical sciences in the College of Medicine, presented on how GLP-1 drugs rewire the brain and gut. “All motivated behavior comes from the brain,” said Stanwood, whose research explores the relationship between the brain and the gut microbiome, including the role of dopamine reward circuits.
• David W. Smith, a cardiologist with TMH Physician Partners, Services by Southern Medical Group, presented on insulin resistance — fat being stored where it should not be, in muscle, the liver, the pancreas and the heart — and on lifestyle change as a key part of cardiac rehabilitation after a heart attack.
• Cammy Crolic, assistant professor in the Dr. Persis E. Rockwood School of Marketing at the Herbert Wertheim College of Business, discussed how wanting a food can influence how much we like it, and vice versa. She said the food industry has responded to the success of GLP-1 drugs by reducing portion sizes and emphasizing higher-quality products and peak enjoyment. GLP drugs are restoring people’s sense of willpower, Crolic said.

The event also highlighted ICON-Health’s first-year accomplishments and partnerships as institute leadership works to improve public health and economic prosperity.

“It’s exciting to be a year-old kid and already walking,” Professor Regan Bailey, an ICON-Health founding director, said in her welcome remarks. “We’ve been able to amass a team of more than 80 scientists, not only at the university but around the world. We have faculty, clinicians and allied health professionals as members, but importantly we also have students and trainees as members of ICON-Health.”

Professor Patrick Stover, a fellow ICON-Health founding director, also noted new biomarker research facility will be housed in a soon-to-open FSU Health Research and Collaboration Building. The facility will significantly expand nutritional research opportunities across biological or medical studies.

Biomarkers help researchers understand how individuals respond differently to nutrients. The facility will feature a microscope that can measure seven health- and disease-related pathways simultaneously. Researchers can use fluorescent markers to track those pathways and study how cells respond to different nutrient doses and combinations.

“We can determine whether certain configurations of nutrients promote health pathways or promote disease pathways in the short term, which then correlates to long-term outcomes,” Stover said. “AI is reading this all the time, and when it sees a hit, it will go back and reoptimize that exposure and that response to maximize it and see what all the biological variables are.”

About a decade ago, the National Institutes of Health  began requiring that sex be considered as a biological variable in the research it funds, because men and women can respond differently to exposures, medications and interventions. Stover said nutrition is now being discussed as a fundamental biological variable in the same way.

“There are differences in fundamental biology, how our metabolism works, how our physiology works,” he said. “We all respond differently to the diet and that diet-disease connection. What’s good for one person in terms of maintaining their health may not be good for another person.”

Visit the ICON-Health website to learn more about how this institute is pioneering a comprehensive approach to tackle diet-related chronic diseases through its multidisciplinary nutrition research initiatives.

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The project to create an advanced nuclear magnetic resonance facility supports U.S. National Science Foundation priorities in biotechnology, energy, advanced manufacturing and health 

The Florida State University-headquartered National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, or MagLab, is launching a new magnet facility to build on its world leadership in nuclear magnetic resonance with $18 million in funding from the National Science Foundation.

The new ultra-high-sensitivity facility will center around a new 23.5-tesla nuclear magnetic resonance, or NMR, magnet, one of the strongest in the United States, complemented by additional equipment to accelerate data acquisition for a wide range of research.

“This grant will fund an instrument that is unique in the world. It’s a significant milestone and exciting news for the MagLab, FSU and the U.S. as a whole,” said Frederic Mentink-Vigier, lead researcher for the project and an affiliated faculty member in the FSU Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. “What this instrument is opening up is the ability to look at samples with higher sensitivity, and thus to look at the entirety of the periodic table.”

With stronger magnets, researchers can make deeper investigations to drive breakthroughs across disciplines.

“This facility will provide previously inaccessible capabilities for understanding the structure and dynamics of matter at the atomic scale, critical to U.S. priorities in biotechnology, energy, advanced manufacturing and health,” said the NSF award announcement.

New magnet, expanded capabilities

Nuclear magnetic resonance harnesses high magnetic fields and radio waves to determine the 3D structures of molecules, uncover the mechanisms of enzymes and catalysts, and provide insights into surfaces and interfaces at scales far beyond the reach of conventional microscopes.

The technology allows scientists to examine samples for biologically essential elements such as iron, copper, sulfur and calcium, along with greater study of membrane proteins that act as cell gatekeepers and amyloid proteins, which play a role in Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Type II diabetes and other diseases.

“All this is essential to be able to understand disease and develop cures,” said Mentink-Vigier.

The instrument will expand capabilities to see elements such as lithium and sodium being studied for solid-state batteries. Scientists will also be able to better detect cadmium, selenium and lead, crucial for electronics, solar cells and LEDs, along with platinum-group metals, which play critical roles in catalysis and medicine.

World-leading techniques

Mentink-Vigier’s research focuses on dynamic nuclear polarization, or DNP, a technique in which he is a world-renowned expert. This new instrument represents the cutting edge of DNP, a signal amplifier that improves sensitivity by up to four orders of magnitude. The new system will utilize magic angle spinning, combined either with DNP or cryoprobes, to improve resolution. That technique can lower measurement times by a factor of up to 16. This will be the only ultra-high-field magnet in the world equipped with both magic angle spinning and dynamic nuclear polarization.

“When people want information out of the NMR experiments, this is the combination: magic angle spinning gives you resolution and dynamic nuclear polarization gives you signaling intensity,” said Mentink-Vigier. “We have the ability to do experiments that previously we were not able to do. What you could not absolutely see before, you can now see.”

Serving the scientific community

The new magnet system is scheduled for installation in 2028, with access for users from around the world starting the following year. The new magnet will operate as part of the MagLab’s large user program, serving more than 1,600 academic researchers and companies each year, and providing a technical training ground for students who will help build the future STEM workforce.

“Our NMR program is already known for its unparalleled equipment and expertise,” said MagLab Director Kathleen Amm. “This will only expand what’s possible for top scientists from around the world who come here to push the boundaries in biology and other disciplines.”

“I am delighted to see this remarkable facility become a reality and serve the scientific community,” said Ayyalusamy Ramamoorthy, MagLab researcher and professor of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering.

Ramamoorthy’s lab investigates amyloid formation, dynamic structures of membrane proteins and the roles of biological relevant metals in disease-related molecular processes.

“This award further amplifies the MagLab’s impact by empowering scientists from around the world to make new discoveries,” he said. 

A legacy of NMR leadership

The project serves as a legacy for former NMR Facility Director Robert Schurko, who passed away in February 2026 after a battle with cancer. Schurko spent his career extending the use of solid-state NMR research and discovery.

“Rob was the catalyst that brought us together around a shared vision of creating a unique facility that would push the boundaries of solid-state NMR,” said Mentink-Vigier. “We are honored to carry his vision forward. This award is a testament to Rob’s legacy and our collective commitment to making this facility a reality.”

The National MagLab is funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the State of Florida.

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For most meteorology students, studying hurricanes involves satellite imagery, weather models and classroom discussions. For Florida State University students Tan Dao and Diego Barbero, hurricane research took on a different perspective: from inside a storm.  

On Oct. 9, both students boarded a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) NOAA P-3 aircraft and flew into Hurricane Isaias, giving them a firsthand look at how scientists collect data that improve forecasts, inform the public and help protect communities. 

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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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Clinical psychology doctoral candidate Tapan Patel is leveraging technology to address the social implications of appearance-related anxiety. His research led to the development of an innovative, smartphone-based text-messaging intervention designed to help individuals manage appearance concerns and ease social anxiety in real time. 

Supported by a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Individual Predoctoral Fellowship from the National Institutes of Health, Patel uses scientific methods to understand why body image worries become overwhelming and disruptive. 

Beyond the lab, Patel is dedicated to local mental health advocacy. Working alongside the Clinical Psychology Graduate Student Association, he plans to expand his work locally to help make mental health resources more accessible across Tallahassee.

Why did you choose FSU?

I chose to attend FSU to complete my doctoral degree because of the world-renowned psychology department and its collegial nature. Within my field, FSU has positioned itself as a leader in clinical science. I wanted a world-class education and experience in cutting-edge research within psychology and found that in FSU’s clinical psychology program. 

What academic achievements are you most proud of?

I earned a prestigious fellowship from the National Institutes of Health: the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Predoctoral Fellowship (F31). 

This fellowship has given me the opportunity to earn valuable training in complex scientific methods to examine the dynamic process of anxiety around appearance. For some, these concerns around their looks become overwhelming and lead to avoidance of social situations, constant checking in mirrors, comparisons with others and serious emotional distress. 

My work at FSU has focused on understanding why these worries become overwhelming and how they can be reduced. Notably, I have developed a simple intervention that leverages text messaging to target behaviors related to appearance that reduced appearance concerns and social anxiety. I am continuing to refine this intervention to hopefully disseminate one day. 

How do you serve the FSU community?

I work with the Clinical Psychology Graduate Student Association to help determine how we can best serve our community in Tallahassee. My goal is to improve access to evidence-based mental healthcare to ensure anyone who needs it can access mental healthcare. 

My work has positively contributed to FSU and the research community by highlighting the importance of appearance concerns as a common feature of multiple psychological disorders. Highlighting these concerns through research can help people by letting them know this is a common concern, and my intervention work seeks to directly address how these concerns can be improved. 

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Three Florida State University theoretical physicists are part of a major national initiative exploring how quantum computing could help answer fundamental questions in high energy physics.

Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor of Physics Laura Reina, Professor of Physics Fernando Febres Cordero and Research Faculty member Herschel Chawdhry, all from the Department of Physics, will lead one of eight projects funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s $7.3 million Quantum Outposts in Fundamental Physics initiative under the DOE Office of Science’s High Energy Physics program.

Their project, “Seeking Quantum Advantage in High-Energy QCD,” has received $755,000 and aims to apply quantum computing to theoretical predictions in high energy physics and identify rare physical phenomena emerging in particle physics collider experiments.

“For years, Drs. Reina and Febres Cordero have been a powerhouse team in the field of theoretical high energy physics, and their newer teammate, Dr. Chawdhry, multiplies the discovery potential this team will have going forward,” said Paul Cottle, Department of Physics chair. “Their new DOE grant will connect high energy physics with quantum computing and demonstrates their continued physics leadership.”

As theorists, the team aims to understand the universe at its fundamental level by studying particle collision analyses and providing predictions for the Large Hadron Collider, the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator housed by CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, near Geneva. Much of their research improves the precision of LHC calculations based on the Standard Model of particle physics, which explains how fundamental forces of nature dictate particle interactions.

“Our work helps make the most of data collected in LHC experiments, and we’re always seeking to use the best technologies and algorithms to extract the information we need to probe the Standard Model and possibly identify signals of new physics beyond it,” said Febres Cordero, the study’s principal investigator. “Now, based on what Herschel found in a previous paper, we’re exploring what quantum computers can offer to this work on top of what’s already provided by classical computers.”

One of Chawdhry’s previous papers showed hints that quantum computers have the potential to provide more precise theoretical predictions or complete more complex calculations than traditional computers and even supercomputers — because it’s a quantum system, it can exploit patterns, or use unique quantum rules to solve problems or perform tasks much faster, that can’t be exploited in standard numerical calculations.

“The idea is that we’ll be able to do the same calculation faster, extend the reach of calculations, and hopefully even open up a whole new class of processes for us to study,” Chawdhry said. “Doing so will improve our sensitivity to new physics by increasing our ability to detect small discrepancies that maximize our chance of discovering new physics beyond the Standard Model in the future.”

Expanding quantum computing

To explore how quantum computing can expand theoretical capabilities, the team is applying the technology to quantum chromodynamics, or QCD — the theory that explains the interaction holding quarks and gluons together inside protons and other particles. The LHC is a proton-proton collider, meaning the strong force has a major influence on LHC measurements. However, the technology the team is developing could have potential applications in other quantum field theories, not just QCD.

“The sizes of some of the computations we’re doing are quite large and often reach the limit of current computing capabilities,” Reina said. “The natural question arising from the revolution we’re seeing in quantum computing and information asks if we can use quantum computing to explore how to make our theoretical predictions and calculations even more efficient and precise.”

In addition to aligning with the FSU Initiative in Quantum Science and Engineering, this project contributes to multiple U.S. national priorities including the Quantum Genesis Initiative in the Genesis Mission, which seeks to deliver scientifically relevant quantum computing to the nation by 2028.

“I’m so pleased that the DOE has expressed confidence that the research we’ve done so far and will conduct in the future is contributing to this fast-moving field,” Chawdhry said. “This also gives our group the opportunity to contribute to the U.S. workforce needs because the country wants to expand in quantum information science, an area in which FSU has longstanding expertise due to its decades of fundamental physics research.” 

For more on research conducted in FSU’s Department of Physics, visit physics.fsu.edu.

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A Florida State University scientist has received a nearly half-million-dollar grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to improve nighttime thunderstorm forecasts, research that will help forecasters and communities better prepare for dangerous weather.

Assistant Professor of Scientific Computing Hristo Chipilski will use the $422,645 grant to lead a three-year project combining computational methods with atmospheric observations to accurately model nighttime thunderstorms, which often depend on complex atmospheric conditions that are more difficult for weather models to predict than daytime storms.

“This project is not simply testing a new algorithm or instrument in isolation,” Chipilski said. “Its central question is how advanced computational methods and observations can work together to improve forecasts of one of the atmosphere’s most difficult phenomena.”

All thunderstorms are difficult to predict because small differences in temperature, humidity or wind can affect when and where a storm develops. During the day, sunlight heats the ground, helping warm air rise to form clouds and rain. After sunset, that source of energy for thunderstorms disappears.

Nighttime storms instead depend on conditions including warm, moist air above the Earth’s surface; fast-moving air in the lower atmosphere; fronts; gravity waves or atmospheric disturbances; and outflows, or cool air spreading from earlier storms. Small errors made when inputting these storm conditions can cause a predictive model to estimate the wrong timing, location, amount of rainfall or miss the storm altogether, which can lead to devastating impacts in significant weather events, particularly when nighttime storms spawn tornadoes.

Chipilski will collaborate with researchers at the NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Severe Storms Laboratory. His team will use a technique called data assimilation, which blends observations with weather models to estimate current conditions and provide a starting point for forecasts. Using ground-based remote sensing profilers, which are instruments that measure temperature, moisture and wind at different heights, researchers will observe atmospheric changes just before storms form to combine with the data assimilation techniques.

“Getting that starting point is especially important for nighttime thunderstorms because their nonlinear physics can magnify a small initial error very quickly,” Chipilski said. “By combining measurements with advanced data assimilation techniques, we hope to give the model a more accurate picture of the atmosphere and a better starting point for predicting storms.”

The project will test specific data assimilation methods called quantile-conserving ensemble filters, which preserve more information about possible atmospheric conditions than standard methods. While standard methods often simplify calculations by assuming uncertainty follows a Gaussian, or bell-shaped, pattern, quantile-conserving ensemble filters account for more complex conditions. The team will test whether using this method improves predictions of when and where nighttime storms develop.

This work could lead to earlier, more reliable forecasts of nighttime thunderstorms and hazards including flash flooding, hail, damaging winds and tornadoes. Improved forecasts give communities more time to prepare for weather events while benefiting agriculture, aviation and transportation.

“I did not think about a difference between night and day storms before, but Hristo’s project made it clear to me that there is considerable uncertainty in forecasting and issuing warnings for severe nighttime storms, particularly tornadoes and flash floods,” said Peter Beerli, chair of the Department of Scientific Computing. “Hristo’s research will open new ways to analyze and improve existing data using tools that don’t rely on the usual bell-curve assumptions.”

The grant will also support one of Chipilski’s doctoral students, Stephen Asare, who will contribute to the research by conducting numerical experiments on supercomputers while combining research in scientific computing, atmospheric science and applied mathematics.

“The unanswered questions surrounding nighttime thunderstorms continue to motivate me, and I hope this project will make meaningful contributions in this direction,” Chipilski said. “That understanding can help guide future observing networks and forecasting methods well beyond nighttime thunderstorms.”

To learn more about research conducted in the Department of Scientific Computing, visit sc.fsu.edu.

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A Florida State University researcher is helping guide national research priorities in artificial intelligence, advanced computing and data systems in his new role as a program director within the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure at the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Professor of Computer Science Weikuan Yu will serve as an NSF program director for at least one year starting in Fall 2026. In this role, he’ll collaborate with researchers and other program directors to help manage NSF programs and oversee federal research investments related to his expertise in AI, powerful computing systems, large-scale data management and computing infrastructure.

“It’s a great honor to represent FSU at the national level and contribute to federal investments in advanced cyberinfrastructure and national AI research resources,” Yu said. “This opportunity comes at an especially exciting time, as AI is rapidly reshaping science, technology and society. The role gives me an opportunity to step back and look more broadly at where our research community is heading, particularly how national computing, AI and data infrastructure can enable scientific discovery and serve the larger research community.”

A major focus of Yu’s research is improving the efficiency of AI systems. Most recently, he led the development of AURORA, a software framework that monitors AI while helping the system run faster, use memory more efficiently and consume less energy. AURORA was selected for FSU’s 2026 ReliaQuest Innovation Challenge Fund, which supports innovative proof-of-concept solutions in AI and cybersecurity through the FSU Office of Research.

“Computing has become fundamental to nearly every aspect of modern science and society, and AI is accelerating that transformation at an unprecedented pace,” Yu said. “Continued progress depends not only on better AI models, but also on sustained advances in the computing, data, software and networking infrastructure behind them. Ultimately, investing in this foundation is essential to sustaining scientific discovery, technological innovation and our nation’s leadership in an increasingly AI-driven world.”

Yu joined FSU’s Department of Computer Science in 2015 and has served as associate chair for research and held the Mainline Information Systems Endowed Professorship. He also led the Department of Computer Science as chair for three years. “Dr. Yu, who has a robust and broad research program of his own, is imminently well qualified to fulfill this role as a program director,” said College of Arts and Sciences Dean Sam Huckaba. “Serving as director will provide value in both directions. The NSF will benefit from Dr. Yu’s knowledge and experience, and he will return with a better understanding of emerging federal research priorities and how the NSF arrives at funding decisions, particularly for its current highest priorities. While the funding agencies have strict policies against a program officer having anything to do with decision making relating to their home institution, the overall experience of Weikuan’s service will be beneficial to FSU.”

This position was made possible through the Intergovernmental Personnel Act rotator program, which allows federal agencies to bring experienced researchers and professionals from universities or other organizations into federal service, facilitating the exchange of expertise among government agencies and participating institutions.

Yu will also have the opportunity to increase access to large-scale high-performance computing and national AI research resources through programs like the NSF-funded State and Regional AI Infrastructure Hubs, which provide computing resources and training for AI research and education. These efforts connect institutions with fewer resources, like small rural schools, with tools and technology needed to conduct AI research.

“It will be exciting to help advance programs that push the boundaries of national cyberinfrastructure, from high-performance computing and AI research resources to networking, data, and software systems, and broaden their impact across scientific disciplines,” Yu said. “I’m also eager to collaborate with other program directors on emerging opportunities in AI-enabled sciences and help develop the research community and workforce needed to build and use the next generation of national cyberinfrastructure.”

Visit the FSU Department of Computer Science website to learn more about Yu’s work and research in the department.

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Nestled in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood just east of downtown Atlanta, a two-story home built in 1895 preserves the childhood story of one of the world’s most renowned civil rights leaders, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. This historic home, managed by the National Park Service, reopened to the public this year with contributions from a Florida State University historian.

Assistant Professor of History Kathleen Powers Conti began working in 2019 to help restore and reinterpret King’s childhood home, working with NPS staff to identify needed repairs, update accessibility features and recommend ways to create a more historically accurate and meaningful experience for visitors.

“This home is a pilgrimage site for thousands of people, including global dignitaries, presidents and everyday citizens,” said Conti, who has worked on more than 100 public history and historic preservation projects in 45 states. “It was a phenomenal project, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to ensure these sites fully honor Dr. King’s legacy and his historical importance.”

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A Florida State University meteorologist has been recognized for contributions to researchers’ understanding of rainfall and drought patterns in arid environments. This work addresses the globally relevant topics of freshwater availability, changing climate, drought and famine.

Sharon Nicholson, Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor Emerita of Meteorology and Environmental Science, has earned the 2027 Hydrologic Sciences Medal from the American Meteorological Society. This is the highest honor AMS can bestow upon a hydrologic scientist and reflects breakthrough achievements made during Nicholson’s career, which include disproving accepted climate concepts and discovering several previously unknown phenomena, with a focus on the African continent.

“Sharon is a leading expert in tropical meteorology and climate, particularly in Africa,” said Michael Stukel, chair of the Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Science. “This is a career-capping award and significant recognition of both Sharon’s outstanding career and the department’s status at the forefront of tropical meteorology.”

Founded in 1919, AMS advances atmospheric science and its related fields, technologies, applications and services for public good. The Hydrologic Sciences Medal is granted annually to a researcher who contributes outstanding scientific knowledge in hydrology, hydrometeorology, or hydroclimatology, including interactions between Earth’s surface and the atmosphere.

“For me, this award says that the meteorological community really respects my contributions, and my name is now associated with some outstanding scientists, prior medal winners, whom I greatly admire,” Nicholson said.

Before her 2025 retirement from FSU, Nicholson studied African rainfall and drought patterns to assess their evolution from 20,000 years ago to today. This work employs a unique combination of traditional meteorological observations, satellite remote sensing, climate dynamics theory and historical records.

In 2018, she disproved a longstanding scientific explanation related to the Intertropical Convergence Zone, or ITCZ, a region in the low latitudes bordering the equator where northerly and southerly winds meet.

“Researchers believed the ITCZ explained the seasonal cycle of rainfall throughout Africa’s tropical and subtropical regions, which span most of the continent,” Nicholson said. “My research showed that ITCZ does not exist over most of Africa and that even where it is present in western countries like Senegal and Mali, it is still not the cause of rainfall. This is my most important work because the ITCZ has in the past been used to predict and explain climate changes.”

Nicholson also discovered that the El Niño-Southern Oscillation — particularly its El Niño phase, spurred by unusually warm conditions in the Pacific — is a primary driver of drought and famine on the continent. Her work has strong implications for forecasting droughts and floods and has been recognized by the heads of several African meteorological services, such as the Ghana Meteorological Agency, as well as former leaders of Senegal and Morocco.

However, Nicholson’s first landmark discovery was made in 1999, well before her breakthrough ITCZ-related work. After examining nearly two decades of satellite data from the Sahel — a strip of semi-arid land immediately south of the Sahara Desert — Nicholson proved that the Sahara Desert was, in fact, not expanding indefinitely as researchers previously thought. Instead, she found that year-to-year rainfall and drought conditions shaped the desert’s continuously shifting borders, giving the illusion of its growth.

“Before my work challenged and overturned the concept, researchers believed the Sahara Desert was expanding at the hands of humans,” Nicholson said. “Although I certainly believe humans have an impact on climate, I was able to definitively show the desert’s changes were caused by meteorological factors and the Sahara was not expanding.”

Nicholson also demonstrated the existence of several previously unknown jet streams: fast-moving air currents that steer storms, drive temperature fluctuations and even trigger extreme weather. Scientists had long been stumped by the presence of deserts on the Horn of Africa — which includes countries like Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia — as equatorial regions are typically known for lush vegetation and syrupy humidity, not dry air and sand dunes. The Turkana jet, one of the jet streams analyzed by Nicholson, suppresses rainfall, explaining how desert conditions are supported on the equator in East Africa.

“Highlighted by the Hydrologic Sciences Medal, Sharon’s work to understand Africa’s complex and highly variable climate has led to improved rainfall forecasts that can help communities prepare for droughts and floods and better ensure food security, water availability and the livelihoods of millions,” Stukel said.

To learn more about research conducted in the FSU Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, visit eoas.fsu.edu.

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Two Florida State University graduate students, Chloe Britton Naime and Ana Julia Ferrugini Souza, have been awarded the 2026 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (NSF GRFP). The five-year program supports students pursuing research-focused graduate degrees in science, technology, engineering and math. 

Designed to boost the quality and reach of scientific innovation across the country, the fellowship provides recipients with three years of financial support, including an annual $37,000 stipend. The national recognition also highlights both the recipients’ undergraduate schools and current graduate institution. 

“Florida State University attracts world class graduate students to conduct research in innovative and impactful ways,” said Craig Filar, associate dean of Honors, Scholars, and Fellows. “Their dedication to scholarship grounded in academic rigor toward a goal of improving the lives of others illustrates the ideal character of an FSU student. It is this level of excellence that has been recognized by the National Science Foundation and elevate all the work that we do across campus in our celebration of these two students’ success.” 

Three current FSU graduate students, Tan Duy Dao, Elizabeth Holyat and Zachary Levy, also received honorable mentions in the latest program. 

Chloe Britton Naime 

Chloe Britton Naime received a fellowship for neuroscience research investigating the reading skills of young adolescents. Growing up in Los Angeles, Britton Naime struggled with dyslexia. 

That personal experience inspired a career in neuroscience, with the goal of helping children in similar situations. 

“I was always wanting to give back to my community, and this is how I’m doing it: through research and bringing that lived perspective to the field,” Britton Naime said. 

During undergraduate studies at Syracuse University, Britton Naime pursued a double major in Neuroscience and Mechanical Engineering. At Syracuse, Britton Naime conducted research at the Center for Autism Research and Electrophysiology lab, focusing on identifying and understanding sensory and perceptual differences within autism and ADHD. 

In the summer of 2024, Britton Naime was named a Fulbright-Mitacs Globalink scholar and joined the Baby Learning Lab at the University of British Columbia to help develop the lab’s first processing pipeline for high-density functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). 

In the fall of 2025, Britton Naime began a doctoral degree in neuroscience at Florida State University after earning a McKnight Doctoral Fellowship. 

“The research at FSU was a very good match,” said Britton Naime. “I’m part of The Learning Brain Lab, we study children with neurodevelopmental, specifically ADHD and learning differences or disorders, and work towards understanding how their brains are processing information and developing.” 

FSU played an important role in securing the fellowship. 

“The support I have received from the department as a grad student has been great. I also think FSU has done a wonderful job supporting graduate students and helping provide an environment where we can continue making progress toward our academic and professional goals,” Britton Naime said. 

Ana Julia Ferrugini Souza 

Souza grew up in Volta Redonda, Brazil, but her love for chemistry brought her all the way to Tallahassee. Receiving an NSF GRFP means continuing her path toward innovation in the pharmaceutical industry. 

Souza spent her undergraduate years at Universidade Federal Fluminense in Volta Redonda, Rio de Janeiro. Attending lectures, research conferences and seminars helped her to decide what she would pursue later in life. 

“My time at UFF allowed me to explore all different parts of chemistry,” said Souza. “I got to understand what aspects I liked the most.” 

After receiving her bachelor’s degree in chemistry, FSU seemed like the perfect next step. 

“The research being done at FSU really piqued my interest. It was in line with my interests and future goals,” Souza said. 

Working in the Smith Lab, Souza takes part in research on synthesizing biologically relevant natural products with complex structures, including molecules that have never been made before Souza hopes to help make the synthesis of these structures simpler, taking less steps and less time to complete. This comes with a purpose. 

Souza hopes that her work in organic chemistry will help others. In return, the NSF helped her out with a GRFP. Souza is incredibly grateful for this recognition. 

“Now that I am in my doctoral degree, and all of the work I did is being recognized, it’s really worth it,” Souza said. 

Souza notes the role that FSU played in her big achievement. 

“Having time to get preliminary data in the lab made my proposal much more successful than it would have been without it,” Souza said. “FSU gave me that opportunity.” 

For more information about fellowship opportunities from the Office of Graduate Fellowships and Awards and the Office of National Fellowships, visit ogfa.fsu.edu or onf.fsu.edu. 

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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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