NSU Horizons Spring 2017

25 NSU HORIZONS Alyson Kuba, a graduate student in NSU’s Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography (HCNSO), is the first beneficiary of the Coral Reef Conservation Endowed Student Support Fund, sponsored by the Washington D.C. Area Marine Aquarist Society, Inc. (WAMAS). WAMAS funds are targeted to help students studying coral reefs and marine sciences. The WAMAS donation to Kuba is $25,750. Kuba is finishing her master’s degree in marine biology at HCNSO and plans to continue her studies toward a doctorate degree in coral research. “I am very grateful to receive the WAMAS scholar- ship and will be using this to help cover tuition costs. Generous groups like WAMAS help students like me continue research in critical fields of science,” said Kuba, whose studies focus on the effect climate change has on coral reproduction. “This donation comes directly from the proceeds of our hosting the Marine Aquarium Conference of North America in 2015 and is consistent with our shared interests in conservation and education,” said Tom Land, WAMAS president. “We are very pleased and excited to be able to offer meaningful support to NSU and to future students who will benefit from this fund.” n FIRST RECIPIENT OF CORAL REEF CONSERVATION ENDOWED STUDENT SUPPORT FUND NAMED AROUND NSU The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) and the U.S. Navy is helping the next generation of specialists in science, math, and technology be trained with a $3-million grant. The grant will allow NSU’s Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography students to participate in a project that is part of the Electromagnetic Observatory in the Straits of Florida. Students from Florida Atlantic University SeaTech are also participating. In this project, physical oceanography students are participating in field work and being trained in computa- tional fluid dynamics for modeling the magnetic signature of oceanic processes. Students are also participating in lab experiments and are expected to report results at conferences and meetings and submit papers to peer-reviewed journals. According to Alexander Soloviev, Ph.D., an NSU professor and principal investigator on this project, the U.S. Navy is interested in the preparation of specialists in physical oceanography, magnetics of the ocean, and other emerging areas of ocean science. “Ocean water is an electrical conductor—when moving in the magnetic field of the Earth, it induces electrical fields according to Maxwell’s Law,” said Soloviev. “These electrical fields in turn produce secondary electrical currents and mag- netic fluctuations. This results in the magnetic signature of ocean currents including fine-scale features. Magnetics poten- tially opens a new dimension in physical oceanography.” Soloviev is planning to incorporate some project results into class materials for his courses taught at Nova South- eastern University’s Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography. n NSU RECEIVES $3-MILLION GRANT FROM U.S. NAVY AND NAVAIR