FIU in Washington, D.C.

Recently, members of the Florida Congressional delegation secured millions in increased funding for FIU’s research initiatives, particularly on critical climate technologies. 🌍 🏛️

This includes over $8 million in direct earmarks, making FIU the number one school in the state in securing congressional earmarks. 📈

Our Senators and Representatives continue to deliver on behalf of our staff, scientists, and students. Their advocacy for our efforts and for our many research partners allows us to continue our cutting-edge research and development, from the Wall of Wind to the ocean floor in Biscayne Bay. 🌊

We are grateful to the , , , , our Florida delegation, and everyone else for their hard work and support for FIU!



Pictured: Rep. Díaz-Balart at FIU’s Wall of Wind presenting on recently acquired federal funds.

It was a busy Friday with visitors today. In the morning we welcomed Mariel Doyenart and Alejandro Mashad from - Instituto Cultural Argentino Norteamericano. We also welcomed Samuel Riccardo as a Guest Service Representative for the city of Coral Gables and proud FIU Alumus

Excited to have hosted "Building Tomorrow: Environmental Resilience through Climate Technologies with Avia Lindquist from and Dr. Todd Crowl from tonight m! Thoughtful conversation and diving deep into what Climate technology is and learned about the new Miami Dade Climate Rwady Tech Hib with Franceca Covey from

At the , meets with FIU Alumna Pascale Jean at , Haley Levinsky at Presidential Personnel Office, and with FIU Alumna Gabriela Giro at to discuss career pathways in the federal government.

Some and Gators walk into the … great night with celebrating the 2024 spirit with alumna, coach reflecting on keeping the spirit, vision alive to meet your goals.. ! 🇺🇸

Spotted at ... is on the scene here in the 202, for 3 days of advocacy and visits with , programs at and at

Spotted in Dc.. Erica Friedman and at at 2024 pride event and
Leo Bobadilla KFSCIS advocating for Environmental Robotics!

Today some of our Interns were able to go on a White House Tour! They took in the history and viewed many presidential portraits throughout the White House!

Last Night .palfrey was our moderator for our exclusive conversation with Alumni Ernesto Alfonso regarding the upcoming NATO Summit being held July9-11 in Washington, DC.

It’s official: is officially coming to a close. The announcements, discussions, and speeches were insightful and inspirational, and FIU is more excited than ever to continue our own work in the South Florida seas and beyond. Today, we’d like to showcase two of our favorite initiatives.

Our teams at FIU are hard at work researching one of the most important – and most threatened – ecological niches: sharks! The PEC Lab, led by Drs. Papastamatiou and Chapman, uses cutting-edge tools like chemical tracers, telemetry, and multi-sensor data-loggers to study and answer questions about these beloved predators. 🦈

Complementing these studies is the research done across the world by Dr. . The Shark Bay Ecosystem Research Project (SBERP), located off the coast of western Australia, is the world’s most detailed ecological study of our ocean’s predators in one of the last large seagrass ecosystems untouched by mankind. From our campus in Miami to Shark Bay, Australia, FIU is ready to accept the challenge of protecting our oceans. 🌊

As unfolds, interdisciplinary students and scientists at FIU are studying the importance of ocean health. Today, we’re highlighting the work done by our Blue Carbon Analysis Lab.

Together with the Florida Coastal Everglades program, they’re studying the stored in seagrass meadows, mangrove swamps, and tidal marshes across South Florida. This important research looks into how the current rates of seagrass loss could contribute to global carbon emissions.

📸: Jim Fourqurean dives near Shark Bay to collect data for the laboratory’s research.

FIU in D.C. is celebrating Capitol Hill Ocean Week by showcasing the incredible work of our students, scientists, and collaborators in creating a sustainable and resilient future, from the coast to the keys!

On Tuesday, the coastal area around South Florida was designated as an official Hope Spot by . Biscayne Bay, the Florida Keys, and Ten Thousand Islands were scientifically identified as critical to the ocean’s health. FIU has been working hard to create solutions in these areas, like in our one-of-a-kind .

We are excited to recognize three FIU scientists who championed this initiative: Dr. Mireya Mayor, executive director of strategic projects and National Geographic Explorer; Mike Heithaus, marine ecologist and executive dean of the FIU College of Arts, Sciences & Education; and Heather Bracken-Grissom, marine scientist and assistant director of the Coastlines and Oceans Division in .



📸: Alligator Reef Lighthouse, image by Jack Fishman

Yesterday, we had the pleasure of welcoming FIU faculty member Monica Cardella and her colleague Megan Kendall from UTEP, who were in town for an NSF PI meeting for NSF's STEM Education Core Research Program. We look forward to collaborating with them on upcoming events!

Last Thursday, was proud to be a sponsor of the Fulbright Association Awards Ceremony held in Washington, DC. We were joined by FIU Alumni and Friends to celebrate the award receipents, in particular the William Fulbirght Prize for International Understanding- Gary White and Matt Damon, regarding their work with Water.org and Water Equity. What an inspiring night!

Today we are excited to welcome our CARTA Caplin News Bureau students! Welcome to FIU In DC and welcome to your first day! We look forward to your summer experience! .news

Intern kick off participants visited Dr. Azzam's Lab to learn about the research being done regarding cancer research! Participants also met with Provost Dr. Elizabeth Bejar. We look forward to working and supporting yiu in DC!

This week the team welcomed the Global Learning Transformation Contest DC Fly-In students who were in town Wednesday-Friday. The students were able to visit the Peace Corps Department of State, Partnership for Public Service, Global Ties, UN Foundation and USAID!

Our FIU DC students and had an exclusive tour at the Embassies of Guatemala & El Salvador! They engaged in conversations with the ministers from each embassy about regional development, foreign policy, and diplomatic relations!🇬🇹🇸🇻

Join alums from Florida schools for a mixer at Royal Sands in Navy Yard on April 24 from 6-8 pm! Enjoy some specialty cocktails and foods while meeting new people from all over the sunshine state!☀️ 🍊🌴

Last night at FIU in DC we hosted our board of directors and alumni currently working at . We were thrilled to see our alumni return and wanted to give a special thanks for your continuous involvement at FIU and for helping out the future generation of panthers!!! 🐾 💙

The Hamilton Scholars Program offers a selective opportunity for FIU Honors College student advocates. It allows them to make an impact on the issue they are most passionate about and kick-start their careers in the nation’s capital during an academic semester, in person!

Fall 2024 semester applications are now open! Visit hamilton.fiu.edu to apply today!

The priority application deadline is Friday, May 10 and the final deadline is Friday, June 7!

Meanwhile at … watching the breathtaking solar eclipse!✨🌑🌞

FIU College of Arts, Sciences & Education Senior Joel Zambrano recently participated in an FIU in DC fly-in, an experiential seminar run by the university’s center on Capitol Hill and focused on public policy with the goal of introducing students to internship and career opportunities. As Zambrano is aiming to pursue an internship in DC, he says his experience in Washington, D.C., has got him thinking about positions he never before considered. “In the nation’s capital, I was able to connect and talk with people from different backgrounds and careers that allowed me to see the array of fulfilling and meaningful careers that I could set my eyes on”. In partnership with the Black Student Union and FIU Campus Life, this is one of 15 fly-ins throughout the year. Read more about his time in DC, which included visits to Congressional offices like that of Frederica Wilson, Bloomberg News, Mount Vernon CID, and the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture

Out of my comfort zone: Visit to the nation’s capital has got a student thinking bigger Taking part in FIU’s Washington, D.C., “fly-in” opportunity has opened new possibilities for a graduating senior.

Excited to announce that Florida International University was among the 11 projects announced by The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) receive $34 million (collectively) for tools to advance a clean, reliable electricity grid run on wind and solar energy. These initiatives will enable grid planners, grid operators, and utility companies to manage renewable energy and battery storage resources on the electric grid, resulting in a reduction of extreme weather-related outages. One of these initiatives led by Sumit Paudyal, Associate Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering and Computing is the ‘Advanced Methods for Integrating Renewables in Grid Planning (ADMIRE-GridPlan)’ focuses on the capability gaps of the existing grid planning tools and complements the tools with novel methods in critical and interrelated planning aspects. This proposal is a collaborative effort among Florida International University (FIU), Clarkson University(CU), University of North Carolina at Charlotte(UNCC), Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), and GE (General Electric). The team will be supported by the New York Power Authority (NYPA), and this further advances the collaboration and impact of the recently designated South Florida ClimateReady Tech Hub on environmental projects.

DOE Invests $44 Million to Advance a Clean, Reliable Electric Grid Funding Will Develop Tools to Clear Interconnection Queues and Improve Reliability During Extreme Weather Disruptions

HAPPENING NOW: LAC Goes Global: Allies and Partners in Latin America and the Caribbean presented by and Robbie Furton 🌎 https://www.youtube.com/live/xq3X0XVje8Q?si=mXIG-dK188Q5ll88