NSU offers a variety of research opportunities for students. The Halmos College of Arts and Sciences and the Guy Harvey Oceanographic Research Center is the hub for marine research.
The NSU Oceanographic Campus Library is where students can learn about the different research opportunities and resources offered. Resources include electronic journals, databases and a collection of books that marine biology students may find pertains to their areas of interest.
Librarian Lisa Ferrara said that the OC’s library can help a variety of students.
“For undergrads, we are more teaching about how they do research, find articles, search a database, evaluate an article, and cite an article. For the graduate students, there are still basic research instructions along those lines, but we are also helping them find more obscure sources since their research is more advanced than the undergraduate needs,” Ferrara said.
The OC helps graduate students find archived documents and specifically, species records.
Librarians also assist faculty with finding sources and compiling articles relating to a specific topic for research or class purposes.
Students also have access to technological resources. Both the Alvin Sherman Library and the OC library offer access to a KIC scanner. The
PHOTO BY JENNIFER GRIGGS Matthew Gassmann, sophomore marine biology major, browses through books at the Oceanographic Center.
KIC scanner allows students to scan their books and documents to turn them into audio files, editable PDFs or Word documents. This is beneficial for students who are auditory learners, have visual impairments or prefer to not carry textbooks with them.
The OC library offers two 3D scanners. These devices scan specimen bones that students may have caught on their own or for a class assignment. Students can use these devices to scan fish skulls, bird skulls, shells and coral.
The computer software offered at the OC library helps students like Thyre Bielfeldt, junior marine biology major, with their research assignments.
“If you are looking to do research at the Alvin Sherman Library or Oceanographic Center, depending on your major, [if you are] mainly marine bio-based, I would recommend the Oceanographic Center because they have a very good number of resources,” Bielfeldt said.
The OC library’s computer software is free for students and helps them complete their research, including graduate theses. Students can use the software for many research functions, including performing statistical analysis, editing 3D models, visualizing data, creating graphics or artistic renderings and processing and analyzing geospatial data and imagery.
“Our public computers have a lot of software that is not available on most computers on most campuses, things like ENVI, Primer, ArcGIS and a whole bunch of software that’s available on our public computers that students can come in and use.” Ferrara said.
Bielfeldt said some of the most helpful resources at the OC are the people.
“They are not limited to anything and even the professors are willing to help answer questions that you have,” Bielfeldt said.
Emma Brennan-Ross, graduate academic adviser and adjunct professor, is the program coordinator for the Department of Marine and Environmental Science, which includes undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students. Each academic year has its own phase of research.
“Students will have to seek the opportunities out themselves. Even though it is something we set up, basically you have to shine in your classes and really stand out,” Brennan-Ross said. “The undergraduate has to make that connection with the faculty and see if they have space.”
Independent studies allow undergraduate students to get involved with research at the OC. Students can work in labs studying topics ranging from marine mammals and stable isotopes to parasites, apex predators and coral labs.
Undergraduate students can also help graduate students with their theses projects.
“Sometimes we send out emails to our students, like the undergraduates, if a graduate student needs help with their research,” Brennan-Ross said.
At the OC, graduate students can conduct independent research on any scale using the lab.
Brennan-Ross encouraged all students to get involved with research at the OC.
“Research, regardless of how young you are. By just by getting involved, even if you don’t want to do research, it just makes it better because then you can go on and educate other people about what you’ve learned,” she said. “Research is critical and crucial. With everything changing at a rapid pace, just being able to communicate that with the public is crucial so they become involved, educated, and can help spread the news of what is happening, and maybe something can be done about it.”
Students not part of the marine biology or science-focused programs at NSU can be a part of the OC community by joining beach cleanups. Non-science major students would need to email or call the OC library for a parking pass to have access to the building.
For more information:
Guy Harvey Oceanographic Center, 8000 North Ocean Dr., Dania Beach, FL 33004.
oclibrary@nova.edu
954-262-4600
To learn more about OC labs and programs, contact
Emma Brennan-Ross at eb1185@nova.edu.
Visit the OC website here:
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