Bot race boosts future engineers

Robots did double duty on a recent afternoon at the FIU Engineering Center. Assembling and racing the shoebox-sized autonomous vehicles—bots on wheels with no remotes—simultaneously gave electrical and computer engineering majors hands-on experience in their chosen field and sparked STEM interest among local youngsters. It was loud, fun and totaling energizing as some 40 teams vied […]

Career Services expands opportunities for students

Nearly 18 months after joining FIU as director of Career Services, Fernando Figueredo and his team are celebrating record numbers of employers at Career Fairs and several new partners for internships – including at least four with local municipalities. With lofty goals set out in BeyondPossible 20/20, the university’s new strategic plan, Figueredo is charged […]

Carnival Foundation awards full scholarships to five students

Hospitality students receive full-tuition scholarships sponsored by Carnival Foundation Five of South Florida’s brightest and most promising hospitality students are getting the opportunity to pursue their dream of launching a career in hospitality management with an $80,000 scholarship from Carnival Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Carnival Corporation . The Carnival Gold Scholars program, which is in […]

First generation students receive Golden Gift scholarships

Forty-four first generation students who live near FIU’s Biscayne Bay Campus (BBC) are now Golden Gift Scholars. The scholarship fund is a project of the BBC Vice Provost’s Council, a group of community and business leaders committed to supporting programs on the campus. The Golden Gift First Generation Scholars Program focuses on juniors and seniors […]

Chaplin School honors world’s most beloved professor

FIU legend Rocco Angelo sure can bring down the house. The Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management recently threw the professor a surprise party that drew industry luminaries and scores of alumni from as far away as New York, California and Amsterdam. With Frank Sinatra and Julie Andrews—his favorites—blaring in the background, and wine, appetizers […]

2015 TEDxFIU speakers exemplify perseverance

Two-time TEDxFIU speaker Dr. Aileen Marty has been to places “not on anyone’s bucket list.” Despite naysayers and fears of contagion, she has gone all over the world studying dangerous diseases like leprosy and plague. “If you have the skills and the training and the experience, and you are needed, you need to step up,” Esther […]

Blind alumnus excels as NASA engineer

In anticipation of NASA’s launch of the Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft on Thursday, Dec. 3, we sat down with electrical engineering alumnus Marco Midon ’97, MS ’00 to discuss how he built a successful career as a NASA communications engineer.   Marco Midon discovered his love for telecommunications when he was young and fascinated by […]

Student organization establishes First Generation scholarship

Reaching back and helping others climb the same mountain makes everyone stronger. The men and women of Alpha Kappa Psi, a professional business fraternity at the College of Business, have raised funds to establish a First Generation Scholarship at FIU, making them the first student organization to do so. “Many of us, including myself, are […]

Program helps minorities pursue doctorates in STEM

Doctoral candidate Michelle Pierre is working to create a biosensor that can pre-diagnose diabetes, and to develop a form of neonatal testing that can detect diabetes in premature babies using only a small sample of blood. As a single mother, however, juggling graduate school and research while raising two daughters is not easy; but taking […]

Launch a new venture in 54 hours at Startup Weekend Miami

Jeff Brown hears new startup ideas all the time. He has even had would-be entrepreneurs approach him with their idea scrawled on a napkin. What does Brown – a self-described serial entrepreneur and angel investor – tell them? “I’m not going to fund a napkin and I’m not going to do the work for you,” […]