News and Events
Spring 2016 Colloquium Calendar
Dr. Xavier Comas’ graduate students, William Wright and Matt McClellan from the Environmental Geophysics Lab in the Department of Geosciences at Florida Atlantic University are measuring methane and carbon dioxide gas distribution and releases from peat soils in the Florida Everglades using near-surface geophysical methods.
Read more on page 42 here.
Geosciences' PhD student Keren Bolter talks with NBC News' Ann Curry as she looks into whether a link exists between recent extreme weather events and climate change.
Congratulations to Hilton and Georgia on being awarded first and second place, respectively, in graduate student talks at FSG! In addition, Janie and Christine also gave excellent talks as well at the conference.
- Hilton - “The Geography of Airfares: Market and Spatial Forces in the U.S. Airline Industry”
- Georgia - “Practical Application of Fused Data in An Object-Based Approach: Mapping Wetland Vegetation in Everglades National Park”
- Janie – “Scale Dependence in Social-Ecological Water Quality Processes in the Indian River Lagoon System”
- Christine – “Resource Access and the Florida Commons: The Saw Palmetto Berry Industry and Missed Opportunities for the State of Florida”
Floating above the rising tides debate: Keren Bolter at TEDxMiami 2013
Keren Bolter is dedicated to increasing awareness of the need for adaption to sea level rise in South Florida. Her research to date includes mapping and analysis of the impacts of sea level rise, addressing both physical, socioeconomic, and health implications.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEhx-Q43Tfo
FAU to Host Distinguished Guest Lecturer - Tuesday, November 19
FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Geosciences and Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (HBOI) were recently chosen to host an Ocean Leadership Distinguished Lecturer, an honor for which approximately ninety institutions applied and only thirty were selected. HBOI will host Jennifer Biddle, Ph.D., for a special lecture titled “Microbial Life in the Subsurface: Letting the Sequences Tell the Story” on Tuesday, November 19 at 10:30 AM in the Physical Sciences Building, room 226. The lecture will be broadcast to Davie LA 148, HBOI LE 103, and Jupiter SR 270.
“This is an exciting opportunity to interact with a scientist who is at the forefront of investigating life in the deepest regions of the earth’s crust,” explains Peter McCarthy, Ph.D. of HBOI’s Marine Biomedical and Biotechnology program. “Microorganisms thrive within the deep subsurface and may well provide insights into the origins of life on this and other planets.”
Click here for official flyer for the event. Everyone is welcome and we look forward to seeing you at this special event.
As a follow-up to the earlier announcement about the initiation ceremonies for the Geography and Earth Sciences Honor Societies, we wanted to extend a welcome to all members of the geosciences community, their friends, and family to join us for the initiation ceremonies . In addition to honoring the new inductees, the ceremonies are a fun opportunity for everyone in the department to socialize. We will begin the ceremonies at 5:00 pm on Oct. 26th in SE 417. Following the ceremonies we will gather at the Irishman Pub (1745 NW 2nd Ave, Boca Raton, FL 33431).
Xavier Comas, Scott Markwith and Tara Root promoted to Associate Professor
Tobin Hindle promoted to Associate Scientist
8/25/2013
Scott Markwith, Dolores Jane Forbes, Aaron Evans,
Zhixiao Xie, Christine Mitchell, and Georgia H. De Stoppelaire will all be presenting at the 2013 Applied Geography conference in Annapolis, MD.
8/25/2013
Recent publication by Dean Monette and Scott Markwith
PhD student Dean Monette and faculty member Scott Markwith featured on the cover of the most recent issue of Ecological Restoration for their article
"Hydrochory in the Florida Everglades: Temporal and Spatial Variation in Seed Dispersal Phenology, Hydrology, and Restoration of Wetland Structure"
First Ph.D Defense - Rebecca Walters
Rebecca J. Walter successfully defended her dissertation, “The Landscape of Prosperity and Poverty in Urban QCTs: De-concentrating Poverty or Perpetuating Existing Conditions?” on Thursday, February 16, 2012. She is the first student in the new Geosciences doctoral program to complete a dissertation. Her doctoral committee is Russ Ivy (advisor), Maria Fadiman, Yanmei Li (Urban and Regional Planning) and Charles Roberts.
Geosciences Grant Award - Stereo 3D Geovisualization Lab
Spring 2010 - Geosciences professors received $59,000 to fund a Stereo 3D Geovisualization Computer Lab. Dr. Tobin Hindle submitted a successful FAU Technology Fee proposal that will allow Geosciences' to provide state-of-the-art 3-dimensional (3D) computer analysis and visualization technology to students and faculty for educational and research activities. Geovisualization provides the tools and techniques that support geospatial data analysis through the use of interactive visualization. This technology is becoming essential for geographers and geologists, as well as many related disciplines such as biology, environmental sciences, urban planning, etc., to understand complex human and environmental systems.
This grant will fund advanced computer hardware, 3D capable graphics cards and monitors, active 3D shutter glasses, 3D projection system and software to implement advanced 3D visualization. 3D interactive systems provide incredible opportunities to visualize and interpret data in a rich new way that our exiting labs cannot support. In addition, 3D visualization has become an exciting new experience in consumer television and movies, which faculty can capitalize on to get students excited about learning and research at FAU. In 3D, the data “comes alive” on the screen and students become much more interested in understanding, manipulating and interpreting the information than they do with “normal” screen display.
Geosciences Grant Award - Internet and Mobile GIS Application Project (IMAP)
Fall 2009 - Geosciences professors received $26,000 to fund Internet and Mobile GIS Mapping Applications. Dr. Tobin Hindle submitted a successful FAU Technology Fee proposal that will allow Geosciences' to provide state-of-the-art Internet and mobile Geographical Information Systems (GIS) technology to students and faculty for educational and research activities.
The mobile GIS equipment funded includes a combination of several types of educational and research targeted technologies. These include bluetooth GPS units communicating with five netbook tablets, four Trimble Juno SB GPS's as entry level professional grade integrated GPS/data collectors, a professional Trimble ProXH decimeter accuracy GPS paired with a ruggedized Panasonic Toughbook field laptop and two dual, quad-core ArcGIS Sever based Dell Poweredge servers for Internet based GIS functionality.
Ph.D. in of Geosciences
The Department of Geosciences at Florida Atlantic University now offers advanced graduate training leading to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Geosciences. This professionally oriented program combines department specialties in geography and geology with other cognate areas in the College and the University through an innovative curriculum that includes ecology and conversation biology, chemistry, anthropology, civil engineering, ocean engineering and urban and regional planning. The program will provide advanced research and technical training to allow its graduates to find solutions to problems. While the main focus of the degree is on traditional, full-time students, the degree program also welcomes part-time students who wish to maintain their professional employment while earning their doctoral degree.