🎓 FAU Jupiter Monthly Newsletter

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JUNE 2023

Joint Luncheon for Summer Research Undergrads

Students participating in the National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) programs at FAU Jupiter, Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience and The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology convened for a networking luncheon hosted at UF Scripps.

During the luncheon, students participated in an exercise that encouraged them to interview fellow REU students from different program sites on campus.

"The world of scientific research is relatively small, so it's important and worthwhile to start making connections early in a career," noted Bethany Stanhope, Ph.D., executive director for Academic Operations at FAU Jupiter. The luncheon was also an opportunity for the students to step out of the labs and talk research in a relaxed setting with their peers.

Running into Middle Age

A new study by Florida Atlantic University and CINVESTAV found that physical activity (specifically running) may prevent aging-related memory loss. The study focused on long-term running during middle age and its effects on a network of neurons in the hippocampus — the brain’s main hub for learning, memory and special navigation.

The brain produces new neurons during early adulthood that can help maintain cognitive function as a person ages. This study sought to understand if these new neurons remain integrated into neural networks and whether they are affected by physical activity, particularly during middle age. The results showed that long-term exercise is beneficial to the aging brain.

FAU Awarded $1.5M Teaching Grant

Florida Atlantic University’s College of Education received a three-year $1.5 million grant through the Florida Center for Students with Unique Abilities for the FAU Academy for Community Inclusion. The grant will fund initiatives that provide education, skills training and employment opportunities for adults with intellectual disabilities.

The grant will also support full-time instructional staff to coordinate the programs at FAU Jupiter and the Boca Raton campus.

Tech Trek

FAU Jupiter hosted the annual American Association of University Women (AAUW) Tech Trek camp in June. Girls from across Florida who are entering eighth grade participated in the weeklong STEM immersion camp where they got hands-on experience learning in university classrooms and labs.

Instructors were a combination of university and grade-school teachers. Five FAU instructors led workshops in their areas of expertise.

Bethany Stanhope, Ph.D. (genome editing and DNA)
Nicole Baganz, Ph.D. (neuroscience)
Chitra Chandrasekhar, Ph.D. (chemistry)
Chelsea Bennice and Ivana Serra (marine biology)

Tech Trek is a national program designed to spark girls' interest in STEM at an early age. FAU and Stetson University are the only universities in Florida that participate.

Learn More.

NeuroExplorers Fall 2023

Registration opens soon for the Fall 2023 semester of NeuroExplorers. This after-school program introduces middle schoolers to neuroscience using cutting-edge educational tools. The program is taught by professional neuroscientists and their trainees at FAU Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute in Jupiter.

The upcoming semester-long program begins Sept. 6.

NeuroExplorers is part of FAU Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute's ASCEND program.

To receive information about registration for the Fall 2023 semester, email

BI-Outreach@fau.edu.

View flyer.

Brain Sparks

The next Brain Sparks event is Saturday, Aug. 26 at the Cox Science Museum in West Palm Beach. Students in sixth through eighth grades can learn about the brain from professional neuroscientists through hands-on activities and virtual reality experiences.

Brain Sparks is produced in partnership with FAU Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute's ASCEND program and Cox Science Museum.

View flyer.

Happenings

Weather Spotters

FAU Jupiter hosted one of the stops on WPTV’s First Alert Weather Hurricane Preparedness Tour. Meteorologists Steve Weagle, Jennifer Correa and James Wieland led an interactive program about how to recognize severe weather and what to do when it threatens.

The Weather Spotter program helps the meteorologists at WPTV gain real-time information about current weather conditions through participants’ photo submissions and calls. FAU’s College of Engineering and Computer Science was the premier sponsor of the Hurricane Preparedness Tour. The tour presentations featured information about the cutting-edge weather-monitoring tools being developed through FAU's Institute for Sensing and Embedded Network Systems Engineering (FAU I-SENSE).

Learn More.

Mascot Mania

Owlsley recently joined the birthday party celebration for mascots Robbie the Redbird from the Palm Beach Cardinals and Hammy the Hammerhead from the Jupiter Hammerheads at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.

It was a home game and a Kids Club night at the stadium. The Cardinals prevailed over the Hammerheads 4-1.

Disaster Preparedness Tax Holiday

Consumers can purchase qualifying disaster preparedness supplies exempt from sales tax during the 2023 Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday. Passed by the Florida Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis, the next sales tax holiday runs Saturday, Aug. 26 through Friday, Sept. 8.

View a list of qualifying items.

For more information, visit the Florida Department of Revenue or Florida Atlantic University's Department of Emergency Management.

Events

Resources

New Masterminds Magazine Hit the Streets

Read all the latest news inside the FAU Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute's annual publication, Masterminds magazine - online and in print. Read more.

Florida Atlantic Magazine

The Fall 2022 issue of the Florida Atlantic magazine is now available online.

Check out the celebration of news from around the university, including groundbreaking research, student achievements and alumni success stories.

Read here.

Campus Virtual Tour

Explore key Jupiter campus locations and learn about life as a Wilkes Honors College student without leaving your home.

The virtual tour takes visitors through the John D. MacArthur Campus, world-class research facilities and the Jupiter community with nearby beaches.

Tour now .

Research Rising

FAU's Division of Research’s 2021-22 Annual Momentum Report underscores the university's meteoric growth in research over the last five years, driven by faculty expertise, best-in-class facilities and innovative collaborations with premier partners.