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Nine Students Earn Recognition at Florida Academy of Sciences

March 9, 2017

Nine Florida Polytechnic University students took home awards for their presentations at the 81st Annual Meeting of the Florida Academy of Sciences (FAS).

The annual meeting brings together students and industry professionals from across the state to present their research in a wide variety of disciplines. This year’s meeting was held from March 10-11 at Florida Poly.

Florida Poly students were recognized for “outstanding oral presentation” in the following categories: Computer and Mathematical Sciences; Engineering Sciences; Physics and Space Sciences; and Social Sciences. Additionally, student Dieff Vital won the Al Hall Memorial Award for his presentation: “Global Particulate Matter Characterization for Gasoline and Diesel Filters.” Here is the full list of winners:

COMPUTER AND MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES

Outstanding Oral Presentation, Undergraduate—Joshua Rentrope, Florida Polytechnic University, “Optimizing Molecular Geometry Based Positioning Applications for UAV Networks”

Outstanding Poster Presentation, Undergraduate—Kyle Cook, Florida Polytechnic University, “Introduction to Singular Value Decomposition and Image Compression”

Outstanding Poster Presentation, Undergraduate—Alex Durante, Florida Polytechnic University, “MIMIC-III: A Use Case”

ENGINEERING SCIENCES

Outstanding Oral Presentation, Graduate—Langley Payton, Florida Polytechnic University, “Maximizing Donor Conversions: A QGIV Case Study”

Outstanding Oral Presentation, Undergraduate—Michael Sanchez, Florida Polytechnic University, “Pulse Oximetry”

Outstanding Poster Presentation, Undergraduate—Laura Wemple, Florida Polytechnic University, “Effectiveness of doping agents on the photocatalytic oxidation of organic pollutants”

Al Hall Memorial Award—Dieff Vital, Florida Polytechnic University, “Global Particulate Matter Characterization for Gasoline and Diesel Filters”

PHYSICS AND SPACE SCIENCES

Outstanding Oral Presentation, Undergraduate—Marshall Smith, Florida Polytechnic University, “Going with the Proton Flow – Generating Fusion Power in the Van Allen Belt”

SOCIAL SCIENCES

Outstanding Oral Presentation, Graduate—Kristopher Kindle, Florida Polytechnic University, “State Liberalization of Cannabis Restrictions and Traffic Fatalities: Two Decades of Evidence”

Session Details

This session will demonstrate that practical risk management is for everyone, regardless of a formal program. Attendees will learn actionable and simple strategies that are easy to implement, enabling them to start immediately by focusing on their top risks to build greater operational resilience and ensure the sustained success of their auxiliary enterprises.

Presenter Profile

Michelle Powell serves as the pioneering Risk Manager at Florida Polytechnic University, the state’s sole 100% STEM-dedicated institution. Having been with the university for nearly 11 years, Michelle transitioned from a leadership role in Admissions in October 2023 to establish and evolve the risk management function from the ground up. In this solo capacity, Michelle builds robust frameworks for our dynamic, young university, overseeing our insurance portfolio, consulting on third-party and event risks, and developing critical campus-wide training programs. Michelle has obtained the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO) Enterprise Risk Management certificate and the Associate in Risk Management (ARM) and Construction Risk and Insurance Specialist (CRIS) designations. Her distinct background in mathematics and engineering, combined with extensive higher education leadership, brings an analytical and strategic approach enhancing the institution’s resilience.