Jumpstart Postdoctoral Program Past Awardees

2026

Project title: Computational Complexity and Quantum Advantage in Bosonic Many-Body Systems

Jumpstart Postdoctoral Fellow: Federica Fragomeno

Faculty Mentor: Han Fu, Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science

Faculty Mentor: Francesco Sica, Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science

2025

Postdoc: Daniel Barker, Ph.D.
Title: 鈥淭esting mechanisms of microbial probiotic protection and distribution against a common blueberry pathogen鈥�
Principal investigator: Jacob Francis, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Co-principal investigator: Caitlin Rering, Ph.D., Chemical Ecologist, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service

2024

Postdoc: Amaury Dechaux, Ph.D.
Title: 鈥淓mergence of Biological Agency鈥�
Principal investigator: Eminent Scholar in Science and Professor Scott Kelso, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Co-principal investigator: Professor Erik Engeberg, Ph.D., College of Engineering and Computer Science

Postdoc: Liberty Boyd, Ph.D.
Title: 鈥淔oraging Ecology and HAB Toxin Exposure Risk of Loggerhead Sea Turtles (Caretta caretta) in Coastal 吃瓜网鈥�
Principal investigator: Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Professor John Baldwin, Ph.D., Department of Biological Sciences, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Co-principal investigator: Associate Research Professor Matt Ajemian, Ph.D., Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute

Postdoc: Samantha Kuschke, Ph.D.
Title: 鈥淯nveiling the Presence of and Potential Factors Leading to Sea Turtle Egg Fusariosis鈥�
Principal investigator: Chair and Associate Professor Tiffany Roberts Briggs, Ph.D., Department of Geosciences, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Co-principal investigator: Associate Professor Michael McCoy, Ph.D., Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute

Postdoc: Darien Satterfield, Ph.D.
Title: 鈥淐ollective Behavior: Understanding Shark Groups Using Kinematic, Network, and Fluid Modeling Approaches鈥�
Principal investigator: Associate Professor Marianne Porter, Ph.D., Department of Biological Sciences, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Co-principal investigator: Assistant Professor Ashkan Fahimipour, Ph.D., Department of Biological Sciences, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science

Postdoc: Willian Carlos Siqueira Lima, Ph.D.
Title: 鈥淎ssessing the Potential of Nature-based Solutions in Urban Areas for Enhancing Urban Resilience Planning鈥�
Principal investigator: Assistant Professor Melina Matos, Ph.D., Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Co-principal investigator: Assistant Professor Stephanie Wakefield, Ph.D., Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science

2023

Postdoc: Qiaoyin Pan, Ph.D.
Title: 鈥淟oop Quantum Gravity鈥�
Principal investigator: Associate Professor Muxin Han, Ph.D., Department of Physics, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Co-principal investigator: Assistant Professor Yang Li, Ph.D., Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Description: The main focus of this research will be on the numerical and statistical aspects of quantum gravity by using and improving upon advanced statistical methods such as the Markov-Chain Monte-Carlo (MCMC) method.

Postdoc: Juliana Marques, Ph.D.
Title: 鈥淒evelopment of Cardioprotective Treatments for Cancer鈥�
Principal investigator: Professor Salvatore Lepore, Ph.D., Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Co-principal investigators: Associate Professors Claudia Rodrigues, Ph.D., and Bommareddy Ajay, Ph.D., Schmidt College of Medicine
Description: This project will investigate the role of a novel compound, developed at FAU, in preventing damage to the heart caused by chemotherapy.

Postdoc: Eric Berg, Ph.D.
Title: 鈥淩ebooting Social Media: Utilizing Network Neuroscience to Help Reverse the Negative Impact of Social Media鈥�
Principal investigator: Assistant Professor Geoffrey Wetherell, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Co-principal investigator: Professor Susan Schneider, Ph.D., William F. Dietrich Chair in Philosophy, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, and Director, FAU Center for the Future Mind
Description: This project will evaluate methods that attenuate the deleterious consequences of standard social media algorithms on learning and well-being by proposing alternative algorithms that encourage critical thinking at the direct expense of emotion-based manipulations.

Postdoc: Laiqi Zhang, Ph.D.
Title: 鈥淢ultiple Cellular Ions Real-time Sensing Using Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy and Machine Learning鈥�
Principal investigator: Assistant Professor Renjie Wang, Ph.D., Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Co-principal investigator: Professor Xingquan (Hill) Zhu, Ph.D., College of Engineering and Computer Science
Description: This project is focused on developing chemical sensing materials with three key features: controllable microstructures, surface modification, and superior sensing properties.