Florida State University psychologists, education researchers and computational scientists have teamed up to transform raw data from educational research into a digital resource that can advance the teaching and learning of K-12 mathematics.

The interdisciplinary team will bring together six existing dataset covering about 90,000 elementary students and 3,000 teachers and build an interactive dashboard with an AI chatbot that allows users to ask questions about the data in plain language.

Professors of Psychology Colleen Ganley and Chris Schatschneider, Professor of Scientific Computing Gordon Erlebacher and Associate Professor of Mathematics Education Robert Schoen have been awarded $1.5 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support the creation of the Integrated Data for Education AI, and Learning in Mathematics Project (IDEAL-Math) Network.

The collaboration between researchers and educational practitioners aims to improve the quality of existing math education data by developing a digital dashboard to increase accessibility to education research.

“This project represents an important national investment in FSU’s strengths in psychological science, education, artificial intelligence and data science,” said Brad Schmidt, Robert O. Lawton Professor of Psychology and Department of Psychology chair. “By bringing researchers together with teachers and technology experts, this project will organize the high-quality data needed to better understand how children learn mathematics and develop increasingly effective educational tools and practices.”

The IDEAL-Math project is one of five projects funded across the country through NSF’s Collaboratory to Advance Mathematics Education and Learning for K-12 initiative. Together, these five projects will form a shared national hub intended to have a lasting influence on the collection, digital organization and sharing of U.S. education data.

The interdisciplinary nature of this work is reflected by the versatile affiliations of its lead researchers. Alongside their roles in the FSU Department of Psychology, Ganley is a faculty affiliate of the Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, or FCR-STEM, and Schatschneider is the associate director of the Florida Center for Reading Research. Schoen is also an associate director of FCR-STEM, and Erlebacher directs FSU’s Interdisciplinary Data Science Master’s Degree Program.

“Every year, researchers collect large amounts of data through surveys, test scores, classroom videos and other methods trying to understand how children learn math,” said Ganley, director of FSU’s developmental psychology program. “Too often, those data get squirreled away after a few publications and never make it back to the educational community or public. This project aims to change that by taking data that have already been collected and making them more useful for researchers, educators and policymakers who want to ask their own questions.”

“By bringing researchers together with teachers and technology experts, this project will organize the high-quality data needed to better understand how children learn mathematics and develop increasingly effective educational tools and practices.”

– Brad Schmidt, Robert O. Lawton Professor of Psychology and Department of Psychology chair

Data sharing is often mandated as a condition of funding for federal agencies and an increasing number of foundations that support research. However, back-end tasks — producing high-quality documentation, organizing information so computers and humans can easily reuse it and de-identifying sensitive information like names and faces from classroom videos — require a significant amount of expertise and time that a research team may not have once the research itself has concluded.

To protect the privacy of research participants, the IDEAL-Math Network’s team will employ de-identification processes that prevent data, such as test scores and survey answers, from being traced back to one person. For example, the data will not include specifics on parents’ occupations but instead include broad job categories from public databases. Statistical and AI-based methods will assess reidentification risk for participants across multiple datasets to ensure student, parent and teacher confidentiality.

“As a computational scientist, my role is in translation, or taking data that are meaningful to psychology and education researchers and turning them into a structured, validated and well-documented dashboard that someone without coding experience, as well as AI systems, can easily understand,” Erlebacher said. “As we build the AI chatbot component, I am focused on lowering barriers for teachers and principals by eliminating weak points where the chatbot risks giving a confident-sounding wrong answer.”

Researchers will curate and assemble six datasets collected by FSU researchers into the interactive dashboard and develop the custom chatbot so users can ask questions and receive answers in plain language. The team will also host workshops for education researchers on ethical data sharing, data management and AI in education research.

“Research shows that beyond a person’s preference for one subject over another, the way someone learns math as a child has ripple effects into adulthood, influencing aspects like reading capability, the likelihood of pursuing a STEM career, and eventual socioeconomic status,” Erlebacher said. “Through this project, we hope that a district administrator, for example, can ask for strategies to increase students’ confidence in their math skills and receive a data-backed answer in seconds instead of never being able to ask the question at all.”

To learn more about research conducted in the FSU Department of Psychology, visit psychology.fsu.edu, and for more information on work in the FSU Department of Scientific Computing, visit sc.fsu.edu. To explore offerings in the FSU School of Teacher Education, visit annescollege.fsu.edu. Visit the FCR-STEM website for more information on this Learning Systems Institute program.

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A Florida State University computational scientist is paving the way for future medical breakthroughs by developing mathematical models and simulations to predict the behavior of a unique drug-delivery method, which aims to deploy treatments directly to targeted sites in the body.

Florida State University Associate Professor of Scientific Computing Bryan Quaife is part of a multi-institutional team of engineers, mathematicians and computational scientists who are conducting foundational research essential to the design of a drug-delivery system that could reduce medication side effects while increasing treatment efficacy. Their research expands upon work proposing the use of magnetic particles to guide cell-like drug carriers toward a specific target, like a tumor.

This work, which was published in Physical Review Letters, the American Physical Society’s flagship publication, reveals how tiny particles moving inside microscopic drug carriers can gradually stress and eventually rupture the enclosing membrane. These findings could help engineers design smarter drug delivery systems to protect therapeutic cargo during transport and release it on demand at the desired location.

“Our paper shows how mathematical models and computations can reveal processes that are difficult to measure experimentally,” Quaife said. “We needed to study how magnetic force affects the cell-like membrane that transports a drug to a specific site to prevent it from rupturing inside the body. Many measurements — such as the membrane’s ‘floppiness’ and the amount of magnetic force its internal walls can withstand — can’t be taken at such a small scale. I filled in the gaps by developing computer code that predicts experimental outcomes.”

How it works

Medicines like pills and injections circulate throughout the body, which can dilute potency and lead to side effects. For example, chemotherapy drugs are administered to kill cancer cells, but they often also cause severe exhaustion, nausea, hair loss, increased infection risk and anemia. By transporting drugs directly to the site they’re meant to treat, researchers aim to enhance drug efficiency while alleviating unnecessary strain on the body and potentially reducing debilitating side effects.

Researchers first encapsulate a magnetic particle and cargo, such as a drug molecule, within an artificial cell membrane called a vesicle. In this scenario, the vesicle is like a car, the magnetic particle provides the driving force, and the cargo are the passengers being transported. A magnet field outside the body guides the vesicle to the desired location where a specific stimulus, such as light, deteriorates the vesicle membrane and releases the drug into the body. The technique can be used in cases that benefit from pinpoint accuracy in treatment, such as delivering a drug directly to a tumor or to sites of localized inflammation.

“Beyond biochemical targeting, one targeted drug delivery approach is like a truck pulling a trailer, using a particle or microrobot to move the drug where they want it to go,” said On Shun Pak, a co-author on this work and associate professor of mechanical engineering and applied mathematics at Santa Clara University, California. “However, attaching and manipulating cargo can be challenging at the microscale. We instead employ a microparticle encapsulated within a drug carrier to generate propulsion from the inside, rather than towing it from the outside.”

This magnet-driven method was first explored last year in the journal Nanoscale by a research team including Pak, Yuan-Nan Young, professor of mathematical sciences at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and Jie Feng, assistant professor of mechanical science and engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Many aspects of the drug delivery system they conceptualized were too small for scientific instruments to measure without destroying the experiment. Young, who led this subsequent research, connected with Quaife to explore the underlying mechanisms using customized, sophisticated computer codes.

“The particle-driven vesicle configuration is so unique and challenging that it’s impossible to simulate using common commercial software,” Young said. “In the beginning stages, Bryan’s expertise helped us identify magnetic-driven drug delivery as something that’s actually possible. After the code was implemented, we did more analytic calculations to determine how the process can work without rupturing the membrane entirely.”

Why it matters

In addition to medicine, this research could eventually lead to new forms of environmental remediation. By swapping a drug for another type of active agent, the vesicle system could potentially be used to neutralize contaminants in water systems or clean up oil spills, especially in areas that are difficult to reach by traditional means.

“This is highly collaborative work at the intersection of fluid dynamics, soft matter and biophysics,” Quaife said. “Experiments informed decisions we made while developing the code, but when we discovered new things through computation and modeling, we relayed that back to the experimentalists. This allowed us to have a full-circle loop among the experiments, analysis, modeling and computation.”

Additional co-authors on this National Science Foundation-funded work include Hervé Nganguia, associate professor of mathematics at Towson University and Howard Stone, the Neil A. Omenn ’68 University Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Princeton University.

Visit the FSU Department of Scientific Computing website to learn more about the department’s research.

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A Florida State University researcher has earned a major grant to research local waterways that affect the everyday lives of Tallahassee residents.

Ming Ye, a professor in the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science, has been awarded more than $2.5 million from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to research groundwater sources in the Wakulla Springs basin and map the basin’s underwater caves, some of which have never been explored.

“All of Florida’s springs are facing critical issues: water level is dropping, amount of flow is decreasing, and water quality is becoming worse,” said Ye, who is also affiliated with the Department of Scientific Computing. “The funding of this project gives us a chance to finally go subsurface to understand both the quantity and quality of the water.”

Wakulla Springs, just a 30-minute drive from FSU’s Tallahassee campus, is a natural exit point for the groundwater of the Floridan Aquifer, one of the most productive aquifers in the world, which provides drinking water to nearly 10 million people. The basin comprises a series of caves, conduits and sinkholes that lead into Wakulla Springs, which was named an International Geological Heritage Site in 2024.

By testing water at the springs and mapping the cave systems that lead into it, researchers will better understand how our water is affected by the geological makeup of the caves it passes through and how it’s affected by various other environmental factors, from rising sea levels to pollution.

Ye will partner with the University of South Florida, a cave diving team of the Woodville Karst Plain Project, and SunFish, a Texas-based underwater field services company to train its new technology, the Underwater Autonomous Vehicle, in mapping cave systems beneath Wakulla Springs. While in the cave systems, divers will accompany the UAV — a small, drone-like machine — and “teach” it how to map the caves by guiding it through passages so the machine can work independently in the future.

“Ming is an expert in hydrogeology and using computational approaches to model groundwater transport, which helps him study fluid transport beneath the ground here in Florida,” said Michael Stukel, chair of the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science and a professor of oceanography and environmental science. “He’s a collaborative and interdisciplinary scientist and teacher whose work builds bridges across different curricular groups within EOAS.”

Florida is home to the highest concentration of springs in the world — over 1,000 throughout the state — which are an essential part of the ecosystem. Methods like dye tracing have long been used to map how water moves through the underwater cave system, and taking water samples has provided insights into the chemical makeup of the water.

While divers have charted some of the caves, parts of the basin remain unmapped and unsampled because they’re too narrow or dangerous for humans to reach. The UAV can access these dangerous caves, taking water samples from more areas to provide a comprehensive picture of how different geological compositions in the cave system affect the water that’s eventually consumed and used in our daily lives.

“This area was brought to my attention on day one of my FSU career because it had a worldwide reputation for how difficult it was to map,” said Ye, who began studying Wakulla Springs when he joined FSU’s faculty in Spring 2007. “There are still a lot of research questions regarding these water sources.”

The Wakulla Springs basin is the largest spring basin in Florida, and the cave system stretches approximately 25 miles. The UAV will map the size and shape of the caves while taking water samples to help researchers understand the chemical makeup of the water that will eventually make its way to Wakulla Springs.

“The UAV is a new way to study these systems, and the technology can be expanded to the entire state and to other states with ongoing problems in their springs,” Ye said. “Wakulla Springs is part of our heritage; I bring my daughter to swim in the spring, and I hope it can remain as healthy as possible so future generations can also enjoy it.”

Ye received his doctorate in hydrology from the University of Arizona in 2002 before completing his post-doctoral research with the Hydrology Technical Group in Portland, Oregon, part of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. He joined FSU’s faculty in 2007 as part of the Department of Scientific Computing before transferring to EOAS in 2017. During his time at FSU, Ye has been honored with awards such as the Department of Energy’s Early Career Award, FSU’s Developing Scholar Award, and the Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize from the American Society of Civil Engineers. He was elected as a fellow of the Geological Society of America in 2012.

Visit the FSU Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science website to learn more about Ye’s work and research.

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Doctoral candidate Mani Tyagi is pursuing his doctoral degree in Computational Science within the Department of Scientific Computing. Tyagi’s mission is to advance the mathematical methods used to model materials, utilizing high-performance computing to solve complex challenges in physics. He aims to use his research to improve the accuracy of how we predict the behavior of materials simulations essential to modern technology. 

Tyagi uses resources from the Research Computing Center and high-performance computing to make the complex and time-consuming calculations feasible. He has been working under the guidance of Chen Huang, associate professor in the Department of Scientific Computing, who has been helpful in mentoring him and guiding his research direction. 

As a researcher, Tyagi has made significant contributions to the development of new computational models and mixing parameters. He is recognized for his work on approximating how electrons interact within atoms, an approach that allows researchers to more accurately simulate materials like transition metals and other highly correlated materials. For his academic contributions and research potential, Tyagi was honored with the Dean’s Award for Doctoral Excellence (DADE Scholarship). 

Tyagi’s impact is felt across the FSU community through his service as a mentor for the Florida-Georgia Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (FGLSAMP), where he supports the professional development of the next generation of researchers. He holds key leadership roles as President of the Indian Students Association of Tallahassee (INSAT) and as the coordinator of his department’s student-run journal club, strengthening an environment of inclusivity and scientific communication. 

Why did you choose to attend Florida State University?

I chose Florida State University because of its strong interdisciplinary program in Computational Science, which provides an ideal environment for advancing my research in DFT and materials modeling.  

The Department of Scientific Computing at FSU has a reputation for combining high-performance computing with fundamental research in physics and materials science, a synergy that aligned perfectly with my academic interests. FSU’s collaborative learning culture and access to cutting-edge computational facilities have been instrumental as I built the foundation for my doctoral degree.  

What are some projects you’ve been involved in?

One of my most significant projects at Florida State has been the development of the Spatial Mixing of Model Potentials (SMMP) method. In this work, I designed spatially dependent mixing parameters to improve exchange–correlation potentials by combining exact exchange with local density approximations. This project also involved implementing Optimized Effective Potential (OEP) methods with nonlocal pseudopotential forces, with the aim of improving predictions for strongly correlated systems. 

Another important accomplishment has been my work on the Embedded Atom Approximation (EAA) for exchange–correlation energy. By partitioning electron density across atoms, this method provides a more realistic treatment of localized correlations, particularly in transition metals and rare earth materials. This work has enhanced our understanding of complex correlation effects in materials such as transition metal oxides. 

In recognition of my academic contributions and research potential, I was awarded the DADE Scholarship at FSU. This highly competitive fellowship supports outstanding doctoral students across disciplines, and this award has been a strong motivation for me to continue advancing methodological developments in Density Functional Theory and materials modeling. 

How have you impacted your community?

One of my most meaningful contributions at Florida State has been serving as a mentor in the FGLSAMP program for the past two years. In this role, I have mentored undergraduate students by supporting their academic growth, exposing them to research and guiding their professional development. This experience has been especially rewarding because it allowed me to contribute directly to FSU’s mission of broadening participation in STEM and fostering the next generation of researchers. 

My research also serves the university’s broader mission; I have contributed to FSU’s reputation as a leader in computational science by developing advanced Density Functional Theory methods that improve the accuracy of electronic structure predictions in technologically important materials. This work not only strengthens the university’s standing in scientific research but also creates opportunities for future collaborations in materials modeling. 

Beyond the lab, I serve as President of the Indian Students Association of Tallahassee (INSAT), where I organize cultural and social events that strengthen inclusivity and community engagement on campus. I also act as the coordinator of our department’s newly established student-run journal club, providing a collaborative platform for graduate students to critically discuss recent research and enhance scientific communication skills. Together, these contributions reflect my commitment to advancing scientific knowledge while also giving back to the FSU and Tallahassee communities. 

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This week, Florida State University will bring together experts on artificial intelligence and machine learning to explore the role of agentic AI — a type of AI that performs tasks and adapts to change with little human intervention — across industries including medicine, finance, education and more.

The 2026 Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Expo, AIMLX26, is set for Friday, Feb. 27, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 28, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Challenger Learning Center of Tallahassee, 200 S. Duval Street. The two-day event is presented by the FSU Interdisciplinary Data Science Master’s Degree Program.

On Friday, industry professionals and researchers from FSU’s Department of Computer Science, the FSU School of Information, OpenAI, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Florida and Premera Blue Cross will present on topics ranging from the engineering of AI systems to their applications.

“The theme of this year’s event is agentic AI with a focus on how intelligent, autonomous and collaborative AI systems are reshaping research, industry and society,” said Zhe He, director of the Institute for Successful Longevity at FSU and a professor in the School of Information. “The program will explore topics such as multi-agent systems, large language model–based agents, decentralized and agentic web architectures, AI for scientific discovery, and real-world deployments in domains like health care, finance and enterprise systems.”

He, who is also affiliated with the Department of Computer Science, Department of Statistics, and the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine in the College of Medicine, will present the lecture “Developing a Multi-Agent AI System for Explaining Lab Results to Older Adults.” This work is supported by a recent grant from the National Institute on Aging’s Artificial Intelligence and Technology Collaboratories for Aging Research and aims to help older Americans better understand how to use AI and other emerging technologies to better manage and act upon their health data.

He’s presentation will include his team’s work on LabGenie, a patient-and-caregiver facing application that is designed to improve health outcomes for consumers.

“The system is designed to translate complex laboratory data into patient-friendly, actionable insights that support better engagement, shared decision making, and improved health literacy and outcomes,” He said.

This year’s keynote speaker, Sherwin Wu, is a member of technical staff at OpenAI and leads engineering for the OpenAI Platform. His keynote address on Friday, “Slowly, and Then All At Once: A survey of AI agents over the last three years and a glimpse into the next three years,” will discuss industry trends since ChatGPT’s launch in 2022 and the current and future landscape of AI capabilities.

On Saturday, the Challenger Learning Center will host the local K-12 community for additional FSU faculty lectures as well as a series of interactive activities — the first event of its kind in AIMLX series history. Activities include learning about robotics, color coding magnets, basic programming, car challenges, binary number bracelet crafts and more that allow learners of all ages to participate.

“We’re highlighting the connection between what goes on at FSU on the scientific level and day-to-day applications of AI tools,” said Gordon Erlebacher, IDS program director and a professor in the Department of Scientific Computing, who will present Saturday on the rapid evolution of AI tools and their impact on daily life. “AI tools have so many uses that students should learn about, and the community day allows participants to directly ask FSU faculty questions about AI while providing a point of contact for the future. We hope that hearing from local experts who use these tools will make AI approachable and relatable.”

For a full schedule of presentations, events, topics, presenter details and more, visit the FSU Data Science event website.

AIMLX26 is sponsored by Florida State University, the FSU College of Arts and Sciences, the FSU College of Communication and Information, the FSU School of Information, the FSU Department of Computer Science, the FSU Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics, the FSU Department of Scientific Computing, the FSU Department of Statistics, the Challenger Learning Center of Tallahassee and Ruvos.

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Four faculty members from Florida State University have been selected to receive a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award for the 2025-2026 academic year by the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.  

Their work will take them to Ireland, Taiwan, Hungary and India to advance scholarship through global perspectives.  

Fulbright U.S. Scholars are faculty, researchers, administrators and established professionals teaching or conducting research in affiliation with institutes abroad. Fulbright Scholars engage in cutting-edge research and expand their professional networks, often continuing research collaborations started abroad and laying the groundwork for forging future partnerships between institutions. Upon returning to their home countries, institutions, labs, and classrooms, they share their stories and often become active supporters of international exchange, inviting foreign scholars to campus and encouraging colleagues and students to go abroad. 

The 2025-2026 Fulbright Scholars from FSU are: 

Kristin Dowell, an associate professor in the Department of Art History in the College of Fine Arts, will use the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award to conduct research at University College Cork (UCC) in Cork, Ireland, during the spring 2026 semester.   

Dowell specializes in art of Native North America with an emphasis on Indigenous cinema and contemporary art. During her time at UCC, Dowell will develop a new exhibition to be installed in Ireland. She will also teach seminars on collaborative research projects, Indigenous art history and curatorial practices, in addition to several public speaking engagements.  

“I am honored to have been selected for this Fulbright Scholar Award at the esteemed University College Cork, which prioritizes the belief that ‘the university is in the community, of the community and for the community,’” Dowell said. “This ethos strongly aligns with my own research ethics, interdisciplinary scholarly and curatorial practices, and long-term professional commitment to community engagement.” 

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This August, Florida State University’s College of Arts and Sciences will welcome its first cohort of students into a new interdisciplinary master’s degree track that will prepare them to enter a growing job market spanning industries including government, technology, health care, business, education and more.  

The new track in computational linguistics, part of FSU’s Interdisciplinary Data Science Masters’s Degree Program, pulls from foundational concepts of data science and computational research methods to unlock new avenues in the scientific study of language and its sounds, structures and meanings.  

“Rapid developments in artificial intelligence have highlighted the critical importance of analyzing spoken and written language as well as other forms of communication,” said Reinier Leushuis, chair of the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics and a key player in the track’s establishment. “This new track is a perfect example of how interdisciplinary efforts lead to cutting-edge and innovative research that has exciting real-world implications.”

With demand for professional computational linguists — researchers who combine data science with linguistics to process language data — increasing, this track offers full-time and part-time study options as well as funding opportunities like tuition waivers for university and state employees, creating opportunities for working professionals in addition to students pursuing graduate study immediately after earning a bachelor’s degree. 

“AI software that uses voice recognition, such as Apple’s virtual assistant Siri, is developed by computational linguists using natural language processing engineering,” said Tom Juzek, assistant professor of computational linguistics. “They also contribute to literacy programming, language localization, translations, speech data analysis, knowledge engineering, voice interface design, language documentation and revitalization. Their skills are highly sought by government intelligence services and tech companies such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Duolingo.”

Students in the computational linguistics track will engage with world-class instructors inside and outside the classroom through opportunities such as the FSU Scientific Computing Artificial Intelligence Seminar in Tallahassee, the annual Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Expo, colloquia and technological resources at the FSU Innovation Hub and more. 

“As linguists, we gain key insights about our research that would be difficult or impossible to achieve without incorporating data science and computations into our work,” Juzek said. “In the last few decades alone, our understanding of language acquisition and children’s language acquisition, for example, improved greatly after using computational methods to analyze many language datasets, similar to datasets students will encounter in their computational linguistics courses.” 

While the track has no thesis requirement, students can pursue research opportunities with a program faculty member via Directed Individual Study and have access to laboratories such as the Visualization Laboratory in the Department of Scientific Computing and the Language Processing and Eye-tracking Laboratory in the Diffenbaugh Building. 

In addition to foundational data science courses on machine learning, regression methods, ethics and more, students in the track may also

take electives such as psycholinguistics, text analysis and deep learning, language invention, and more to stay updated on the newest applications in groundbreaking language technology.

“Large datasets are permeating and impacting every area of scientific endeavor, and this track is especially timely because large language models, the engine of today’s AI revolution, draw deeply from the field of linguistics,” said Gordon Erlebacher, director of the Interdisciplinary Data Science program and a professor in the Department of Scientific Computing. “By launching this track, we’re positioning FSU students at the forefront of a transformative field combining computational techniques with linguistic insights.”

Visit the FSU Computational Linguistics website to learn more about the new master’s degree track, including application information.

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Two Florida State University College of Arts and Sciences students, Grace Hickey and Kaya Simmons, have been awarded the 2025 Barry Goldwater Scholarship, a national honor recognizing outstanding undergraduates pursuing research careers in natural sciences, mathematics and engineering.

“FSU’s consistent success with the Goldwater Scholarship is not only a testament to the quality of our students’ research, but the quality of the guidance and mentorship they receive from their faculty mentors who demystify what it means to be a scientist,” said Jesse Wieland, associate director of the Office of National Fellowships.

The Barry Goldwater Scholarship & Excellence in Education Foundation received 1,305 applications from 445 colleges and universities for the 2024-2025 cycle, awarding 441 new scholarships. Since 1986, the program has honored 11,162 scholars for their contributions to scientific advancement.

Grace Hickey, a junior from Niceville, Fla., is pursuing dual degrees in Cell and Molecular Neuroscience and Computational Science. Since arriving at FSU, she has immersed herself in neuroscience research, laying the groundwork for her Goldwater Scholarship.

Her passion for neuroscience began in high school after reading “Patient H.M.: A Story of Memory, Madness, and Family Secrets,” a book about the history of lobotomies and a patient who underwent a brain surgery in 1953 that caused him to lose the ability to form new memories.

“I didn’t always want to be a scientist — through most of middle school I actually wanted to be a fiction author — but ‘Patient H.M.’ opened the door to neuroscience and all of the incredible things that the brain does,” Hickey said. “It opened my eyes to the brain’s complexity and set me on this path.”

For her honors thesis, Hickey has focused her studies on genetic and cellular bases of social behavior alongside Elizabeth Hammock, associate professor in the Department of Psychology. She has also worked on frog mate choice with Alan Lemmon, professor in the Department of Scientific Computing, and the study of insect vision with the Air Force Research Laboratory, where she is the lead author on a forthcoming paper.

Hickey praises the Office of National Fellowships (ONF), especially Jesse Wieland, associate director of the Office of National Fellowships, for the invaluable assistance in preparing her for such a competitive award application.

“FSU’s overall environment for undergraduates in research is fantastic; so many professors are willing to bring undergraduates into their labs, and these professors have been critical to shaping my experience and goals,” she said. “I know I would not be in the same place without the support of ONF and the amazing professors at FSU.”

Reflecting on her journey, Hickey sees this Goldwater Scholarship as both a milestone and a motivator toward her future in research.

“It’s really validating to know that I’m on the right track for a career in research,” she said. “Winning a Goldwater is an amazing reminder that all of my hard work in academics and research over the last three years is helping me grow into a scientist, both now and in the rest of my career.”

Kaya Simmons, a junior from DeLand, Fla., is pursuing a degree in behavioral neuroscience, earning a 2025 Barry Goldwater Scholarship for her innovative animal behavior research.

Her passion for research took flight while working at a local parrot sanctuary in high school, where she interacted with more than 100 parrots to address behavioral challenges.

“The variations in each bird’s response fascinated me, sparking questions about what drives behavioral differences within and across species,” she said. “Behavior ultimately starts with the nervous system, which is why neuroscience is of extra interest to me.”

Since her freshman year at FSU, Simmons has been part of the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP), building a foundation for her 2025 Goldwater Scholarship.

With Emily DuVal, professor of biological science, Simmons develops machine-learning techniques to analyze dance displays of Panama’s tropical birds, preparing her for upcoming summer fieldwork there. For her honors thesis with Emily Lemmon, professor of biological science, she investigates how vasotocin, a neural hormone, shapes female frog reproductive behavior.

Last summer, Simmons secured a National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates Award to study climate change’s impact on ground squirrel behavior in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. She also co-founded a campus bird-window strike study and leads the Spoonbill Society, FSU’s birding club.

“The faculty here at FSU have played a monumental role in my achievements and ultimately the awarding of this fellowship,” Simmons said. “By providing me with endless knowledge, support, opportunities and resources, I have been able to accomplish so much more than I ever thought was possible.”

Reflecting on the scholarship, she added, “This honor confirms I’m on track for a research career. It’s a milestone motivating me to keep following my academic dreams and contribute to science long-term.”

“Emily and Alan Lemmon, Elizabeth Hammock and Emily DuVal are consistent champions for the undergraduates in their research labs, and their belief in their students is invaluable in this competitive process,” Wieland said. “Grace and Kaya worked incredibly hard to earn this prestigious honor, and I am excited to see where it takes them in their academic and professional careers.”

To learn about fellowship opportunities, visit onf.fsu.edu. Applications for the 2025-2026 cycle will open Tuesday Sept. 2, 2025.

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Florida State University researchers will use new funding from the National Science Foundation to investigate mechanisms that drive wildfire spread.

Professor of meteorology Ming Cai; Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Institute (GFDI) director and professor of scientific computing Kevin Speer; associate professor of scientific computing Bryan Quaife; and Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Science research faculty Jie Sun are part of a multi-institution team awarded a three-year, nearly $900,000 NSF grant to explore how atmospheric factors influence wildfires and to improve emergency responses by developing computer models and simulations of wildfires.

“Wildfires, which are becoming more intense and destructive, threaten lives, properties and air quality,” said Cai, the study’s principal investigator. “By identifying key environmental factors that influence rapid fire spread, we can provide evidence-based guidance for wildfire suppression and prescribed fire operations. This work will improve fire management strategies, reduce risks to communities, and enhance air quality forecasting, benefiting both emergency responders and the public.”

WHY IT MATTERS

As one of today’s most pressing environmental challenges, wildfires pose hazards to human and ecological health and cost the U.S. between $394 and $893 billion annually, according to the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

Historically, wildfires were viewed as wholly destructive, and land managers suppressed all instances of fire, which resulted in a decades-long buildup of wildland fuels such as fallen leaves, dense shrubbery and timber litter. Since the mid-20th century, land managers have increasingly turned to prescribed burns as an integral fire management and mitigation tool as excess natural fuels and climate change lengthen and intensify fire seasons.

To inform emergency forecasting and prescribed fire techniques, the team’s research aims to better predict interactions between plumes — the distinctive columns of smoke, embers, and ash rising from wildfires — and atmospheric wind density currents, which are kept in motion by gravity as dense air sinks. The Santa Ana winds are an example of such density currents and can approach near hurricane speeds, exacerbating emergencies like the Palisades Fire in January in California.

“The recent Los Angeles fires in January 2025 underscore the urgency of this issue, with related economic damages estimated at $135-150 billion,” Quaife said. “Wildfires pose major challenges due to the complex interaction between manmade and natural fuels, atmospheric conditions such as the Santa Ana winds, changes to Earth’s climate, and growing populations in areas directly adjacent to fire-prone areas. Plumes are the primary transport mechanism for smoke and embers through complex environments, yet many aspects of plumes are not understood.”

HOW IT WORKS

When exploring how the plume-density current relationship produces critical implications for wildfire spread, the researchers are also accounting for environmental factors such as vertically sheared crossflows — winds that blow in different directions at different heights — in addition to atmospheric stratification — how the atmosphere is layered based on temperature and density — and topography.

“Fundamental questions we seek to answer include how far plumes can carry embers before they land, spreading fire in a process called spotting,” Cai said. “We are also interested in how the combined effects of fire intensity, atmospheric stratification and crossflow speed determine a plume’s ceiling, transitioning the distribution of smoke from vertical to horizontal and affecting the geographic reach of air quality concerns.”

Through their combined expertise in scientific computing — using computers to answer scientific questions — and meteorology, researchers will conduct high-resolution simulations coupled with ember transport models, enhancing the predictive capabilities for fire spread.

A LEGACY OF RESEARCH INTO FIRE DYNAMICS

Established in 1967, FSU’s GFDI is a global leader in the study of fluid dynamics — how the continuous circulation of liquids and gases influences Earth’s oceans and atmosphere. This wildfire research stems from GFDI’s Fire Dynamics program, which is distinguished from traditional engineering and forestry programs in the U.S. for its focus on fundamental fluid dynamics and fire science.

“As wildfires become more frequent and severe, understanding the complex interactions among fire, the atmosphere and smoke plumes is crucial for public health, safety and emergency responses,” Sun said. “This NSF funding enables us to collaborate with experts across disciplines, leverage advanced numerical simulations and generate insights that ultimately help communities better prepare for and respond to wildfire events.”

Additional collaborators on this project include David Schvartzman from the University of Oklahoma and Jielun Sun from NorthWest Research Associates.

To learn more about GFDI and fire dynamics research, visit gfdi.fsu.edu. For more information on meteorology research in the FSU Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Science, go to eoas.fsu.edu. Visit sc.fsu.edu to learn more about scientific computing research and the FSU Department of Scientific Computing.

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With both Ukraine and Florida experiencing catastrophic damage to cities from war and hurricanes, respectively, students at Florida State University joined forces with peers in Ukraine to develop real-life solutions for reconstruction efforts last month. This collaboration brought students together to address an urgent and tragic crisis – the destruction of cities.

The event, “Hack Disaster: The International Hackathon to Rebuild Cities,” was hosted by the FSU Innovation Hub in collaboration with FSU’s Ukraine Task Force and the Ukrainian-based organization Hackathon Expert Group. The five-day event virtually connected 32 FSU students with 17 students from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (KNU) in Ukraine.

Hackathons have become a popular educational tool where interdisciplinary teams compete to solve a real-world problem. This unique hackathon split students into nine interdisciplinary teams, each consisting of four to six students from both Ukraine and the U.S. These binational teams worked together online to respond to the rise of natural and manmade disasters in the 21st century.

The challenge provided an exceptional opportunity for students to use design thinking and advanced technology to assess building damage and estimate reconstruction costs. Over a dozen faculty and experts from FSU and KNU volunteered to support the student teams as mentors and facilitators, offering their expertise across several disciplines, including data science, computer science, artificial intelligence, engineering, emergency management, entrepreneurship and communications.

“It was a true partnership from the earliest planning to the emotional conclusion,” said Ken Baldauf, director of the Innovation Hub at FSU. “We blended design methodologies from the FSU Innovation Hub with a hackathon framework from the Ukrainian Hackathon Expert Group. The results were even more impressive and impactful than we had hoped for. Perhaps the most valuable results were the international connections that were formed between all involved.”

The winning team, “Clear Sight Disaster Suite,” included FSU students Calen Sims, Kathleen Ticer, Ethan Long, and Farhana Taiyebah, along with KNU students Kyrylo Bonduryansky and Daniia Kravchuk. Their project focused on using a shipping container as a command-and-control center outside of a disaster recovery zone and establishing a graphical user interface concept.

Sims, the winning team’s project manager and architect, described the event as a “transformative experience.” He earned his undergraduate degree in computer engineering from the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering while at FSU Panama City in 2021 and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in systems engineering at the same location.

“The event not only challenged my technical skills, but also expanded my understanding of project management, systems engineering, interdisciplinary problem-solving and the importance of global collaboration,” he said. “Working alongside talented peers at FSU and KNU was particularly inspiring, as it highlighted the value of diverse perspectives in addressing complex issues like disaster recovery. This experience instilled in me a commitment to leveraging my skills to solve real-world challenges, leaving a lasting impression that will continue to guide my academic and career aspirations.”

The idea for the event was born this past summer when Taras Panchenko, head of the computer science department at KNU, spent a month on FSU’s campus through the BridgeUSA Ukrainian Academic Fellows Program. The program aims to help Ukrainian universities educate and train professionals critical to the country’s recovery and reconstruction through lasting, productive collaboration with U.S. institutions of higher education.

FSU’s Ukraine Task Force hosted Panchenko and three other Ukrainian higher education officials to learn about teacher-training development, combating human trafficking, mental health care, trauma resiliency, intensive English language development, drone applications, closed-circuit television (CCTV), body security innovations and many other areas. The task force was created in 2022 to support Ukrainian colleges and universities, explore areas of possible research or grant collaboration and educate the FSU community about Ukraine. It falls under the purview of the Learning Systems Institute.

During his time on FSU’s campus, Panchenko, who leads the Ukraine-based Hackathon Expert Group alongside peers at KNU, connected with FSU faculty members and discussed how to foster collaborations between students at FSU and KNU. That’s when he pitched the idea for a virtual hackathon where students at both institutions could collaborate virtually to solve a problem.

“All of the BridgeUSA Fellows are spectacular educators,” said Vilma Fuentes, program director of the FSU Ukraine Task Force. “They live in the world of innovation and are trying to find engaging learning opportunities for their students in the midst of Russia’s daily missile and drone attacks. I am delighted to know that we were able to organize this international hackathon just months after Taras Panchenko’s departure. It was a spectacular learning opportunity for all involved. This is just one of the many international projects we hope to implement with our Ukrainian colleagues at KNU.”

In addition to Panchenko, Baldauf and Fuentes, the planning committee for the event included Anna Romanova, researcher at Learning Systems Institute; Gordon Erlebacher, professor in the Department of Scientific Computing and program director of the Interdisciplinary Data Science Program at FSU; Emily Pritchard, assistant provost for health innovation; David Merrick, director of the Emergency Management and Homeland Security Program and the Center for Disaster Risk Policy at FSU; Stephen McDowell, assistant provost for international initiatives at FSU; and Paul Marty, associate vice provost for academic innovation and professor in FSU’s School of Information.

To learn more about the Innovation Hub at FSU, visit innovation.fsu.edu. For more information about FSU’s Ukraine Task Force, visit lsi.fsu.edu/fsu-ukraine-task-force.

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An interdisciplinary team of Florida State University researchers is set to tackle some of Florida’s most pressing environmental issues thanks to nearly $1.5 million in funding awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The team will work together on three EPA-funded projects to examine South Florida’s waterways from three different perspectives: Pesticide and fertilizer transport, water pollution, and threats to groundwater.

“One of our biggest goals with this research is to highlight how important collaboration is in tackling these water issues,” said Ming Ye, a professor in both the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science and the Department of Scientific Computing. Ye is leading a three-year, $400,000-project to develop a model-experiment integration, or ModEx, algorithm to better understand how applied pesticides move into and affect the ecosystem.

In model-experiment integrations, researchers combine computational modeling, such as surface water and groundwater modeling methods, with field and lab work that involves site visits and data collection.

South Florida is home to a multi-billion-dollar industry that supplies huge percentages of the state’s agricultural production, including all its sugarcane, almost half of its vegetables, and nearly 40 percent of Florida’s citrus. In turn, many pesticides and fertilizers used are disseminated into the air and the area’s waterways, eventually making their way to the air we breathe and water we use.

After conducting dye-tracing experiments and collecting site-specific data like pH, oxygen, and nutrient levels, the team will combine these observations with various models ranging from process space models to data-driven machine learning algorithms to determine which model is the most accurate in predicting the path of pesticides after application.

“All of these different modeling approaches are informed by the exact data of what’s happening at this site, allowing us to validate predictions against the monitored data we collect via dye-tracing and other methods — we’re calling it a modeling experimental frame,” Ye said.

The second project is led by Ebrahim Ahmadisharaf, an assistant professor in the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Resilient Infrastructure and Disaster Response Center, or RIDER. Ahmadisharaf will use $400,000 to tackle water pollution over four years.

The team will develop and utilize machine learning to evaluate water quality in the St. Lucie estuary, part of Indian River Lagoon, and the Caloosahatchee estuary, both of which are connected to Lake Okeechobee, Florida’s largest freshwater lake. The research will distinguish the impact of natural and human-related effects on short-term and long-term water quality. They will also investigate further effects of poor water quality, including harm to wildlife like the federally protected manatee and contribution to destructive algae blooms.

“Understanding which factors in water pollution are dominant will help us determine what should be controlled first in addressing water pollution,” Ahmadisharaf said. “We’ll look at salinity readings, nutrient levels, and which pollution factors are short-term versus long-term factors. Combining these observations with valuable insights from the community, such as if certain areas are limiting fertilizer use for some reason, give us a more complete picture of what’s happening and how to address it.”

The team’s final project is led by Ahmed Elshall, one of Ye’s former postdoctoral researchers and current assistant professor in the Department of Bioengineering, Civil Engineering, and Environmental Engineering at Florida Gulf Coast University. This project, funded for $650,000 over three years, addresses challenges of rising sea levels, changing precipitation patterns, and rapid socioeconomic development, all of which threaten Florida’s groundwater and community resilience.

“A main goal of ours is to make our key findings accessible to the public and stakeholders so we all understand the direct and indirect impacts of decisions we make going forward,” Ye said. “For instance, we hope to help the Hydrologic and Water Quality System, a national watershed and water quality assessment online tool accessible to anyone, incorporate a pesticide module.”

Approaching complex, layered environmental issues such as water pollution requires an all-hands-on-deck strategy, as the study of water encompasses chemistry, mathematics, earth science, physics, engineering, biology and more. It also requires community involvement to achieve successful solutions.

“Collaboration and interdisciplinary research is necessary in confronting these problems that impact our health and the ecosystem so strongly,” Ahmadisharaf said. “We’re also working closely with federal agencies and state government organizations such as the South Florida Water Management District, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and the U.S. Geological Survey to fill local knowledge gaps and ensure our work is helping the community.”

To learn more about research conducted in the FSU Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science, visit eoas.fsu.edu. Visit eng.famu.fsu.edu to read more about the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering and its research and rider.eng.famu.fsu.edu for more about the RIDER Center.

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This week, Florida State University will host scientists from around the world for an interdisciplinary astrophysics conference featuring presentations from some of the field’s top experts.

FSU’s Department of Scientific Computing will host the 14th International Conference on High Energy Density Laboratory Astrophysics, or HEDLA, May 20-24 at the Hotel Duval in Tallahassee. The conference will welcome scientists from a variety of disciplines to discuss the most recent advancements in high energy density physics, a relatively new physics subfield comprising the intersection of condensed matter physics, nuclear physics, astrophysics and plasma physics.

“HEDLA will bring over 100 scientists from academia and government research laboratories from the U.S., Europe and Asia to FSU,” said Tomasz Plewa, conference co-organizer and professor of scientific computing. “It is a chance for the university to demonstrate its support for top scientific research and for FSU researchers to develop new meaningful collaborations in science, technology, engineering and math fields.”

The HEDLA conference, which is held every two years, has been hosted by institutions in the U.S., Europe, and Asia since its founding in 1996. This year’s conference will provide broad coverage of recent astronomy and astrophysics progress made in experimental plasma facilities.

“HEDLA is unique in that it combines various aspects of high energy density physics and astrophysics, two seemingly different scientific fields,” Plewa said. “However, these fields are not all that different, as the laws of physics are the same whether we are conducting experiments on Earth or studying a supernova explosion.”

High energy density physics is a relatively new multidisciplinary field that studies matter with exceptionally high temperatures, densities, and pressures, which is a frequent occurrence in space. Astrophysical problems include the structure of planets, formation of stars, stellar evolution and stellar deaths, and extreme phenomena associated with the evolution of neutron stars and black holes. Scientific computing uses advanced mathematical computer models to solve complex science and engineering problems, and the topics and problems presented by high energy density astrophysics require supercomputer installations and sophisticated computer programs to make sense of complex equations that describe astronomical objects.

“Astrophysics is concerned with fundamental processes governing the evolution of objects in the universe as well as the evolution of the universe itself,” Plewa said. “Many aspects of theoretical astrophysics, cosmology and elementary particle physics in particular, aim at probing the universe’s origins and infancy, formation of the first stars and galaxies, and creation of elements required to build life as we know it.”

While the concept of astrophysics may seem far-removed from daily life on Earth, some of the field’s brightest minds have applied their expertise to developing sustainable, clean energy sources to ensure energy security and improve environmental protection, a topic of central interest for HEDLA this year.

Among HEDLA’s notable speakers specializing in sustainable energy development is Bruce Remington, a distinguished member of the technical staff at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California. Remington studies fusion energy science, an interdisciplinary field focused on developing an energy source based on controlled thermonuclear fusion reactions, which is the same type of reaction that powers the sun and other stars.

The conference banquet speaker is Daniel Casey, a physicist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Casey, who works with Remington, earned his doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2012, and he won an Early Career Research Program award from the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science in 2023. During the HEDLA banquet, Casey will discuss recent results and prospects of creating sustainable energy sources on Earth using stellar-like, thermonuclear reactions, which are created by fusing hydrogen and helium isotopes with some of the world’s most powerful lasers.

“I hope the conference fosters collaborations among many researchers and also interaction between graduate students and established researchers,” said Peter Beerli, chair of the Department of Scientific Computing. “Research institutions such as FSU as well as our department should lend a hand in organizing conferences such as HEDLA that foster research idea exchanges and collaborations among faculty at many different institutions and across the world.”

To learn more about the HEDLA 2024 conference, visit hedla2024.sc.fsu.edu. For more information about FSU’s Department of Scientific Computing, visit sc.fsu.edu.

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