STEM Brochure 2012
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Transcript of STEM Brochure 2012
STEM Education
Be WorldsAhead
Today’s students are creating the future. Worlds Ahead is an attitude, one that
commands each of us to think differently, exceed expectations and create
new possibilities. It’s what we challenge our students to become. At FIU, our
students are surrounded by the educational and career opportunities needed
to achieve their dreams. Award-winning faculty. State-of-the-art research
facilities. A diverse student body. An incomparable location in one of America’s
most exciting cities.
Here education doesn’t stop at the edge of campus. South Florida is a living
laboratory. Our students immerse themselves in the lessons of our local
communities. From the seagrass of the Atlantic Ocean to the sawgrass of
the Everglades, from the boardrooms of downtown Miami to the operating
rooms of area hospitals, our students explore a breathtaking array of real-life
opportunities inside and outside the classroom. We challenge them to think
differently. Go beyond what is expected. Take the opportunity they’re given
and do something great with it. Be WorldsAhead.
STEM Education at FIU
Graduates of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM)-related
programs are in high demand. In fact, a report by the U.S. Department of
Labor identified STEM-related careers as some of the highest paying and
reported they have the greatest potential for job growth through 2018. With
this in mind, we’ve built upon our current research excellence in STEM-related
disciplines and expanded our university-industry partnerships.
Today FIU researchers are working together in record numbers, using a
multifaceted approach to solve society’s most important and complex
problems. Our faculty engage in life-altering research and mentor students
who go on to conduct their own. The smaller class size in many of our STEM-
related programs allows our students to build a lasting sense of community
with one another and their teachers. Together they’re creating unforgettable
undergraduate experiences that leave our students well positioned for the next
phase of their education and career.
At FIU, education
doesn’t stop at the
edge of campus.
South Florida is a living laboratory.
Our students immerse themselves
in the lessons of our local
communities.
Florida International University offers inspiring undergraduate research experiences
in STEM-related disciplines. The time our students
spend conducting research will be the most exhilarating
of their undergraduate careers. It will open their eyes
and minds to opportunities and careers they didn’t
know existed. It will change their lives and their view
of the world. And they’ll graduate knowing they can
contribute in their own unique way to the solving of
the world’s greatest challenges and deepest mysteries.
FIU faculty conduct groundbreaking research, and our
students work alongside them and other students in
the lab and in the field. At FIU, it’s not just about what
we teach, but how we teach. For more information,
visit go.fiu.edu/stem.
re-imagining a better future. The goal
of engineering is to advance our quality of life, whether it’s
creating newer, more resilient materials or improving the
way we commute. FIU faculty are pushing the boundaries
of discovery through interdisciplinary research to improve
medical tools for diagnostics. Students and researchers
in biomedical engineering are working on neuro-enabled
protheses that can transmit the sensation of touch. This
focus on sensory feedback is unique among prostheses
research being conducted today. And students in the College
of Engineering and Computing, working alongside faculty,
conducted research that resulted in changes to the latest
Florida Building Code. The new code is making structures
stronger and better able to withstand hurricane-force winds.
“Just after one semester here, I have done hands-on research, providing me with both practical and theoretical knowledge that will help me in my path as an engineer.”
extreme education. Students at FIU don’t memorize
the momentum equation.
They collide model cars and
collect data to understand it.
They don’t take notes about
electricity. They use magnets
to generate voltage and study it. First applied in the Department
of Physics, Modeling Instruction abandons traditional lecture
and assigned reading approaches to teaching in favor of a
classroom that’s a working laboratory. This is just one of the
ways FIU is challenging traditional learning. Peer-Led Teaching
Learning (PLTL) is another. Used in biological sciences courses,
student volunteers augment faculty course instruction by leading
weekly study workshops. The program is so popular that FIU
now runs one of the largest PLTL programs in the country. QBIC
(Quantifying Biology in the Classroom) is another example of FIU
challenging the status quo. This highly selective undergraduate
premedical and biology scholarship program develops critically
minded, holistic students. Faculty in biology, math, chemistry,
statistics, physics, computer sciences and biomedical engineering
collaborated in creating this program, which equips students with
non-biological tools to make them better researchers.
technology support. FIU equips students with
the latest technologies
to conduct research
and explore their fields
of study. Creators of
the Wall of Wind have
invented a device that simulates hurricane-force winds. The most
powerful device of its kind in the world, the machine is helping
engineers design safer homes and giving students hands-on
research opportunities. Astronomy students have access to
telescopes at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona and the
Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, allowing them
to explore both northern and southern hemisphere skies without
ever having to leave Miami. Students interested in forensic
science utilize the latest technologies in explosives detection,
DNA profiling, drug analysis, forensic anthropology and much
more. FIU’s earth scientists are deploying state-of-the-art
equipment for better weather forecasting, to explore and improve
groundwater supplies, and to effect global climate change.
Geosciences students work in fully equipped labs with on-site
analytical facilities. In every field of study, FIU provides the best
technologies for all students to experience a hands-on education.
community engagement. FIU encourages
students to become
agents of change. By
engaging deeply with
the world and interacting with local and global communities in relationships
and activities, faculty and students are bridging the gap between theory and
practice. In an initiative called “The Education Effect,” FIU, JPMorgan Chase
and Miami-Dade County Public Schools are partnering to transform lives
in one of South Florida’s most impoverished communities. The partnership
is bringing together the intellectual resources of a research university, the
investment of a major corporation, the commitment of the nation’s fourth
largest school district and the dazzling potential of thousands of young
minds. At FIU, the goal is to provide hands-on community engagement
experiences from the outset of our students’ education. This approach
empowers them to be Worlds Ahead.
“I’ve been able to actively participate in the workings and developments of specific research projects, with my individual input never being ignored or undervalued.”
living laboratories. Students in our marine sciences, biology,
chemistry, biochemistry, and earth and environment programs benefit from
the unique geography of South Florida, which provides living laboratories
literally in our backyard. This includes the Florida Everglades, Florida
Bay and Biscayne Bay. Students also are given the opportunity to take
what they learn in unique ecosystems and become globally engaged in
projects all across the world including the Shark Bay Ecosystem Project
in Australia, coral reef research in the Caribbean and the Global Water for
Sustainability Program, which is bringing clean, freshwater to the most
needy places in Africa, Asia and South America.
real world assistantships. The Center for Children
and Families at FIU is
a premiere facility for
children with mental health
problems and learning
disabilities. Undergraduate
students can work in a true clinical setting, gaining experience in the
field of child clinical psychology in exchange for class credit. The
hands-on, real-world opportunities allow undergraduate students to
be contributing members of research teams. Opportunities like this are
available throughout the university. A highlight of the Herbert Wertheim
College of Medicine’s curriculum is the Green Family Foundation
NeighborhoodHELP (Health Education Learning Program), an immersion
program that sends interdisciplinary teams of students into communities
of need. Students track and monitor the health of a number of families
throughout their education. The program brings greater access to health
services, personalized health education and a distinctly personal touch
to South Florida’s most vulnerable communities. NeighborhoodHELP is
revolutionizing the way medical students are taught.
“In my nuclear physics class, we studied how MRI machines work, exploring what happens at the cellular level with humans. It was really intense.”
Florida International University11200 S.W. 8th StreetMiami, FL 33199
For general information, visit www.fiu.eduFlorida International University is an Equal Opportunity/AccessEmployer and Institution.
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