On November 6th, we hosted our annual Fall Research Day, this time in a virtual format. With four presenters, most of whom were presenting their HITM research, and over 25 attendees, the event was a huge success in allowing these students to present their research and have an opportunity to practice defending their thesis. We’re especially thankful for our amazing presenters and their respective research mentors for their role in continuing undergraduate research efforts at FSU! 

The Fall 2020 semester saw the culmination of the IDEA Grants and Tech Fellows programs at the virtual President’s Showcase of Undergraduate Research Excellence on November 19^th. Each program participant presented their research project to hundreds of audience members via Zoom. You can find recordings of the Showcase presentations here. This year’s presenters should be applauded for their creativity and resilience for adapting their projects to the restrictions they faced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. If you visit the Honors, Scholars, and Fellows House blog, you can find posts from 2020 IDEA Grants winners about how they progressed through the summer in completing their projects. In addition, you will find blog posts from our Tech Fellows about adapting to virtual internships and reflecting on their summer experience.

In addition to IDEA Grant and Tech Fellows participants, the FSU-iGEM team was also invited to present at the President’s Showcase. FSU-iGEM, Florida State’s representatives in the International Genetically Engineered Machine competition, shared their research on how to prevent antibiotic resistance in Florida’s waterways. You can watch their video presentation here and visit their project website here. Like the other participants in CRE’s Fall programs, FSU-iGEM were forced to adapt to current circumstances conducting numerous interviews with stakeholders via Zoom and only being able to model their solution, instead of testing it in the lab. The hard work of the team paid off on November 23^rd when they were awarded a silver medal in the international competition of some 250 teams from around the globe.

Monday and Friday: 12:00PM - 2:00 PM with Yanira Campos: https://fsu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEsduygqTsoHNyluwZGLLwTiZ7o9ExKL7fO

Tuesday 1:00PM - 3:00 PM with David Advent: https://fsu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAuduCvpzkvH9NkUPkbarkZ_b_AWaQQoMvc

Wednesday and Thursday 10:00AM - 12:00PM with Yanira Campos and David Advent: https://fsu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcudu-vrTosGN2NWsRYYuX0ICE2bD5zjqMA

Please contact David Advent at david.advent@fsu.edu with any questions. If you want to learn more about how to connect with CRE, look over our website here: https://cre.fsu.edu/step3.

Please see our website for more details: https://www.cre.fsu.edu/global/globalscholars. If you have any questions, please email CRE Associate Director for Global Programming, Warren Oliver (boliver@cre.edu). This is an amazing opportunity to learn what it means “to get involved”. So, join Global Scholars and learn about Social Impact work!

In addition, for FSU students, we will be able to offer limited funding to cover registration costs with no separate FSU application required. Stay tuned for more information! 

Next, if you're a student and have attended a FURC before and would like to be featured on FURC 2021 social media, please fill out this Student Spotlight form here: https://fsu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6Phuh6Afg3wclbT

Submit your workshop proposal by December 11 here: https://fsu-2021furc.smapply.us/prog/furc_2021_workshop_proposal/.

Read more information about FURC 2021 here: https://www.floridaundergradresearch.org/furc

You can watch a recording of the FURC 2021 Info Session here: https://www.floridaundergradresearch.org/info-session-and-spotlight

You can submit your abstract here: https://fsu-2021furc.smapply.us/prog/furc_2021_abstract_submission/

If you have any questions, please email FURC2021@fsu.edu!

FSU’s peer-reviewed undergraduate research journal, The Owl, will release its Fall 2020 Special Issue on December 16 at 4pm. This issue, produced in collaboration with students and faculty from the Honors Department, represents The Owl’s twelfth publication. At this release event, you will hear from featured students about their work, former faculty sponsors about the origins of The Owl’s development, and from the Editor-in-Chief about The Owl’s publication process amidst a pandemic. The Zoom registration link can be accessed here. We hope to see you there!

The Owl, FSU's Undergraduate Research Journal, is currently accepting submissions for its annual Spring issue. If you would like to find out more information about this opportunity, you can attend the Publishing in The Owl Information Session on December 3 at 5pm via Zoom. Register here. You can also access more information on The Owls website or contact theowlfsu@gmail.com. The deadline for submissions is December 19 at 11:59pm.

At our upcoming informational session, editors of The Owl will explain how students can submit their research and research-based creative works for publication in The Owls spring issue. We will discuss the peer review process, our evaluation criteria, and tips on how to translate your research experiences into paper form. 

Applications to the Humanity in Action Fellowship are due in mid-January of 2021. The FSU Campus Deadline for the Boren Scholarship is January 12, 2021. If you are considering an application to either of these fellowships, our office recommends reaching out as soon as possible as the office will be closed with the university between December 19, 2020 and January 5, 2021. Our contact information is on the About Us -> Contact Us page of our website (onf.fsu.edu).

Picture Yourself at the NCHC Board Table The National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) is an organization that provides honors programs with information and support. Nominations are available for student positions on the NCHC Board of Directions- a great opportunity to contribute to the conversation and improve the honors experience!

"Growing up in Gainesville, Florida State University senior Beatrice Dain said she never considered going to FSU.

But when the time came to apply for college, Dain was intrigued by the unique opportunities available to freshmen at FSU, like the Living Learning Communities, the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) and the Service Leadership Seminar.

As a freshman, Dain participated in UROP on a research project that aimed to create a massive open online course through an app to provide Nicaraguan artisans with the tools to sell their products to international clients through Etsy.

“My role in this project was to translate questions and help design the format of the app,” Dain said. “During spring break of my freshman year, I traveled to Nicaragua to conduct preliminary interviews with artisans to account for their needs and skill levels in the course.”

Dain presented the project at the Florida Undergraduate Research Conference (FURC) and at FSU’s 18th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium.

Fluent in English, Spanish and German and proficient in Portuguese, Dain was able to put her language skills to use and studied abroad twice while at FSU. In 2017, she participated in the University Studies Abroad Consortium in Lüneburg, Germany, to study German and take political science classes on the European Union. In 2019, she traveled to Antigua, Guatemala, to take part in the University of Arizona’s IDEA’s (International Program for Education and Social Action) AVANCSO program and study Spanish, human rights, and anthropology.

Last spring, travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic interfered with starting her honors thesis in International Affairs, which looks at the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) and their refugee resettlement efforts conducted in Latin America during the 1930s and 1940s. Dain had received the David B. Ford Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Award to fund a month in New York City conducting archival research at the Center for Jewish History, but the pandemic forced her to use online archives.

Dain’s research at FSU has inspired her to pursue a career in law focusing on human rights.

“I will definitely be taking a few years off where I would like to work for an NGO or organization working for increased immigrant rights to gain additional experience,” Dain said. “Afterward, I am interested in attending law school with a focus on human rights and immigration law. I’m sad to leave FSU, but excited for the future.”"

Congratulations, Beatrice! We're so proud of you and your hard work!

"Diana Conrad said she always knew she wanted to be a teacher. Four years of studying at Florida State University confirmed that dream — and even gave it a bit more meaning.

Conrad, who is majoring in chemistry with hopes of becoming a professor one day, said education has been a priority throughout her life thanks to the amazing support she’s received from her teachers.

Inside the classrooms and laboratories at FSU, Conrad has enjoyed countless opportunities to indulge her interests and expand her knowledge of research. Conrad is a member of the Honors Program and, last summer, she worked on an IDEA Grant project for her Honors in the Major thesis.“During my junior year, I began research with Professor Michael Shatruk in the area of inorganic chemistry,” she said. “Working in a lab and being able to continually work on a project and improve on techniques allowed me to rediscover my pure curiosity about the chemistry field.”

Honing her research skills is something Conrad said she hopes to continue doing as she considers graduate school and then, ultimately, returns to college classrooms and laboratories as a professor.

“I plan to pursue a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry with the goal of becoming a professor at a university,” she said. “As a professor, I hope to inspire the next generation of students and honor the legacies of the professors who have inspired me.”

Conrad said it’s her goal to take her cues from her FSU professors and create a similar classroom experience that both teaches and builds confidence.

“I hope to foster a learning environment that encourages others to challenge themselves and work to their full potential,” she said. “With the confidence and skillset gained from working in research as an undergraduate student, I am excited to become a research professor where I can unite my love for research with my passion for educating and mentoring future generations of students.”

Conrad said she’ll carry the lessons from her time at FSU with her as both a foundation and a guide to help steer her toward her future.

“My entire experience at FSU has been about trying new things, building community and trying to see the bigger picture,” she said. “I’ve enjoyed so many opportunities to branch out, to see the impact service can make here in Tallahassee. I’ve learned so much about how to be a good teacher and researcher. FSU has helped give me so much confidence — confidence to be a researcher, to be a teacher, to be a volunteer.”"

Congratulations, Diana! We're so proud of you and your hard work!

"While working with Adams, Dodd and her research team received a $6,000 Steve Madden Undergraduate Research Award, funding that is part of the FSU IDEA Grant program and is specifically geared toward students interested in STEM fields.

Dodd and her team used these funds to study the proficiency of object detection algorithms in detecting sea turtles, which are the target of massive conservation efforts in Florida.

“The beach is also a great place to practice flying the AI using a DJI Phantom 3 drone to spot the turtles from an aerial perspective,” Dodd said. “This allowed us to get a good count of their nests without impacting the wildlife.”

Through the project, Dodd and her team attached infrared cameras to drones to detect sea turtles submerged in water from an aerial perspective.

“The cameras were programmed with a special algorithm that can box each individual turtle on a computer screen, clearly labeling and counting the number of turtles it has boxed,” she said.

She and her team submitted their research on synthetic data and artificial intelligence to national research conferences and plan to continue their studies during the spring.

“It excites me to constantly be at the forefront of human innovation,” Dodd said. “Ever since I was a little girl I have wanted to be a scientist. Now, I can use the knowledge and experiences I’ve gained from FSU to help make science fiction a reality.”"

Congratulations, Ava! We're so proud of you and your hard work!

To join Florida State Anywhere, please let us know your plans for the fall semester by August 10 by completing this short survey: https://fla.st/30zkKDW