Energy

» The University of Central Florida, the Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy (FIEA) and the Orlando Science Center joined forces to create a video game to raise awareness about how to effectively utilize energy sources to help solve energy problems and combat climate change. The game, made possible by a grant from the Progress Energy Foundation with additional support from the Turner Foundation, is now a featured component of the Science Center's H2Now exhibit, which explores hydrogen power and alternative energy.

» D. Yogi Goswami and his team of researchers at the University of South Florida Clean Energy Research Center have secured a grant from the state through the Florida Energy Systems Consortium to build a solar power energy plant on campus. Included is a thermal storage system being developed with a $3.9-million grant from U.S. Department of Energy.

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Marine

» University of Miami scientists are using the geologic record of Caribbean corals to understand how reef ecosystems might respond to climate change. The study looks at the fossil records of coral communities from nine countries in the Caribbean region to better understand the nature of these ecosystems during the Pliocene epoch — more than 2.5 million years ago. They believe the research can provide some insight into how coral reefs may evolve.

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Education

» Iveris L. Martinez, chief of the Green Family Foundation Division of Medicine and Society at Florida International University's College of Medicine, has conducted a survey of medical education and is evaluating the role of interprofessional education on student attitudes and knowledge. The results will be instrumental in determining how medical students will be taught in the future.

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Defense/Engineering

» Researchers at UF and Florida Institute of Technology International Center for Lightning Research and Testing are using a $9.8-million grant from the federal Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency for a four-year study aimed at exploring how lightning starts in clouds, how it moves through the air and how it connects to the ground.