Tulane School of Science and Engineering

09/06/2026

🌎 “These are my people.”

When Nicole Gasparini began her career, computational modeling was still on the fringes of geomorphology. She remembers attending conferences where scientists questioned whether what she was doing was even “real earth science.”

A lot has changed.

Today, computational modeling is fundamental to understanding how rivers, mountains and landscapes evolve, and Gasparini has spent nearly two decades helping move the field forward while creating opportunities for the next generation of scientists.

Now, the Tulane Earth and Environmental Sciences professor has received the Distinguished Career Award from the Community Surface Dynamics Modeling System (CSDMS), a community she calls her “intellectual home.”

Her impact can be seen not only in the models and research she has helped advance, but in the Tulane students she has connected with collaborators around the world, taken into the field and inspired to see the science happening all around them.

For Gasparini, that community is what makes the recognition so meaningful:

“To be recognized by the people you respect the most is really all that you can ask for.”

🔗 Read the full story about Gasparini’s career, her students and the scientific community she helped build: https://sse.tulane.edu/community-changed-career-and-scientific-field

09/05/2026

Between studying how brain circuits shape emotion and behavior, Dr. Jonathan Fadok makes time for cookies. As Faculty-in-Residence at Fogelman Hall, he swaps the lab for the community kitchen each week, using coffee chats and baking sessions to help students feel at home at Tulane.

Science and community, baked in. That's SSE.

Read more: https://ow.ly/yMS650ZHoCs

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09/04/2026

Save the date! The Tulane School of Science and Engineering Career Fair is happening Friday, October 9, 2026, from 12:00 to 4:00 pm at the Lavin-Bernick Center.

Students, this is your chance to meet face-to-face with recruiters hiring for internships and entry-level STEM roles, all in one afternoon without leaving campus.

Before you go, check out the website. It lists every employer attending, the positions they're hiring for, and the fields of study they're looking for, so you can map out exactly who to visit and how your skills or openings line up before you even walk in the door.

Employers, join us to connect with Tulane's talented undergraduate and graduate STEM students and grow your applicant pool.

Registration is free and open now on our website: https://sse.tulane.edu/career-fair

09/04/2026

Congratulations to Dr. Courtney Baker on her promotion to Full Professor in Psychology at Tulane SSE! Through her work with Project DIRECT she promotes high quality community-based mental health and pre-academic programs for children and their families in New Orleans and nationally.

Dr. Baker states that, "Being promoted to full professor is deeply meaningful and recognizes the collective work, relationships, and experiences that have shaped my career. I remain passionate about translating evidence-based practices into schools and other settings where children spend their lives, in close collaboration with educators, families, and community partners. Moving forward, I hope to continue building research and training initiatives that are rigorous, responsive to community priorities, and capable of creating meaningful and lasting change. I am excited to continue this work and the next chapter of my career at Tulane."

Her dedication to community-engaged research and student mentorship is making a real impact both on campus and beyond! 🧠✨

09/03/2026

🌎 Welcome to SSE, Dr. Tianze Liu!

We're thrilled to welcome Dr. Liu as an Assistant Professor in Earth and Environmental Sciences! Using seismic data, he studies how fluids and melts move through the deep Earth, research with real implications for geologic hydrogen and geothermal energy, as well as how tectonic plates evolve over hundreds of millions of years.

Dr. Liu earned his PhD in geophysics from Stanford and joins us after research appointments at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Welcome to SSE, Dr. Liu! We can't wait to see what you uncover! 🌊🪨

09/03/2026

🛰️ In case you missed it: Tulane has a new Space Science and Engineering Minor.

Open to undergraduates in any major, the 16-credit minor blends astrophysics and planetary science with engineering, computing, human health, AI and more — designed to complement whatever you're already studying, not replace it. Think chemical engineering students exploring materials for spaceflight, neuroscience students studying how the body responds to space travel, or computer science students working on AI for autonomous systems.

Students can formally declare beginning Fall 2027, but many eligible courses are already open, so you can start building your pathway now.

🔗 Read the full announcement: https://sse.tulane.edu/tulane-introduces-new-space-science-and-engineering-minor

09/02/2026

From an artist who never wanted to do science to an EPA scientist protecting communities from air pollution: Dr. Peter Tellez's path took him from LA Community College, to a chance flyer that sent him to Costa Rica, to a PhD at Tulane's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.

Now he splits his time working on hazardous air pollutants and managing federal grants that help California communities and tribal nations reduce pollution, including a project bringing air quality monitors to Marin City for the first time.

His advice for students on a similarly winding path? Find a mentor who cares about you.

Read more: https://sse.tulane.edu/tulanes-fungal-labs-epa-peter-tellez-finds-his-path-environmental-science

09/01/2026

🔬 Tulane researchers are developing MAGIC-SCAN, technology that could tell surgeons within minutes, not weeks, whether they removed all of a patient's cancer. By combining high-res 3D imaging with AI, the tool maps a tumor's surgical margins in real time, potentially saving patients from a second surgery. Backed by up to $22.9M in ARPA-H funding, the project is led by Dr. Quincy Brown and Dr. Brian Summa. 🐊💚

Learn more: https://www.fox8live.com/2026/08/31/tulane-researchers-aim-reduce-cancer-treatment-time-with-new-tech/

Biden-era White House funding is supporting new tech at Tulane

09/01/2026

Please welcome Dr. Taylor Marcus, Professor of Practice, to Tulane's School of Science and Engineering!

Dr. Marcus earned her Ph.D. in Neuroscience right here at Tulane, where she studied the roles of reward and familiarity in self-face recognition using behavioral testing, eye tracking, and fNIRS in the Learning and Brain Development Lab. She went on to complete postdoctoral research in the Social Memory Lab, examining how reward and familiarity shape the way we represent familiar faces using fMRI.

Now she's teaching Brain and Behavior in the Department of Psychology and continuing her research with the Social Memory Lab, where she explores how reward, familiarity, and social networks influence identity representation. Welcome home, Dr. Marcus!

09/01/2026

Thinking about med school? Here's your chance to ask the people who read the applications. 🩺
Join Chayan Chakraborti and Michael Woodson from the Tulane School of Medicine Office of Admissions for "What Are Med Schools Looking For?" — a live seminar covering exactly what admissions committees want to see.

📅 Friday, September 11
🕒 3:00pm | 100 Paul Hall

Stick around afterward for a Cell/Med School Admissions Q&A at 4:00pm in the Paul Hall 4th Floor Huddle Space, with one-on-one time and MCAT prep pre-registration available.

Open to all majors — bring your questions!