Melanie Bauer, Ph.D. Principal Investigator
Newswise — FORT LAUDERDALE/DAVIE, Fla. – Florida faces many pressing regional issues such as hurricane and flood mitigation, an aging population, and harmful algal blooms, just to name a few. While these societal challenges are particularly relevant to our state, they are widespread around the U.S. and world. Solving these intractable problems requires team-based solutions that cross disciplinary boundaries and likely require collaborations between academia, government, industry and other stakeholders.
A recently awarded, collaborative $300,000 National Science Foundation (NSF) grant will fund research support staff from several Florida universities to do researcher “matchmaking,” creating interdisciplinary teams of faculty from across the state. Each will focus on a Florida-based challenge and receive professional development support in their idea development and grant seeking.
The leaders of this project (listed below) come from five Florida institutions, led by Nova Southeastern University (NSU) and represent expertise in team science, technology-supported collaboration, faculty training and mentorship, research project ideation and proposal development, large-scale networking events and education/social science research. The leaders are:
- Nova Southeastern University: Melanie Bauer, M.A., (serves as the PI/Project Director); Roxana Ross, D., M.B.A., GPC;
- University of Central Florida: Joshua Roney; Stephen Fiore, Ph.D.;
- Florida State University: Beth Hodges;
- Florida Atlantic University: Jeanne Viviani, M.P.A.; and
- University of West Florida: Leigh Brasfield.
The project team represents a statewide network of research development professionals, the Florida Research Development Alliance (FloRDA; https://florda.org/), with current members from 21 Florida institutions. Success in this project will provide a template for replication and scaling by states and other sizable networks focused on addressing major societal challenges.
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About Nova Southeastern University (NSU): At NSU, students don’t just get an education, they get the competitive edge they need for real careers, real contributions and real life. A dynamic, private research university, NSU is providing high-quality educational and research programs at the undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree levels. Established in 1964, the university includes 15 colleges, the 215,000-square-foot Center for Collaborative Research, the private JK-12 grade University School, the world-class NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, and the Alvin Sherman Library, Research and Information Technology Center, one of Florida’s largest public libraries. NSU students learn at our campuses in Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Miami, Miramar, Orlando, Palm Beach, and Tampa, Florida, as well as San Juan, Puerto Rico, and online globally. With more than 200,000 alumni across the globe, the reach of the NSU community is worldwide. Classified as having “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, NSU is one of only 59 universities nationwide to also be awarded Carnegie’s Community Engagement Classification, and is also the largest private institution in the United States that meets the U.S. Department of Education’s criteria as a Hispanic-serving Institution. Please visit www.nova.edu for more information.
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