At 46th, FIU is the only South Florida school to make the top 50 in the list of 2025 Top Public Schools. This is its first time in the top 50, and it sits at 98th among all national universities, public and private, according to the report.

“FIU climbed 18 spots from last year among public universities and 26 spots overall to become one of the Top 100 universities in the nation,” the university wrote in a news release. 

FIU soars into the Top 50 among public universities and Top 100 overall @USNews, rising faster than any university in the last 10 years. We couldn’t have done it without you, Panthers! Read at more: https://t.co/CjOweJk8N0 pic.twitter.com/mC7zzYGmN3

— FIU (@FIU) September 24, 2024

Who took the top spots?

The top public school in the country is the University of California Los Angeles, the report says, followed by the University of California Berkeley. The University of Michigan Ann Arbor took the third spot.

How did Florida do?

The Florida school that ranked the highest on the list of best public schools was the University of Florida in Gainesville, which took the number 7 spot. 

Florida State University in Tallahassee and University of South Florida in Tampa, ranked 23rd and 45th, respectively.

The University of Miami ranked 63rd nationwide.

Miami Dade College made history with its highest ranking to date, placing 4th among Top Public Schools – Regional Colleges.

Rep. Carlos Gimenez took to X to congratulate his alma mater.

More reasons to have Panther pride

FIU also boasts the number 2 undergraduate international business program in the country, “a position that it has held for the last six years,” the school said in a news release.

“The success of our undergraduate business program, in particular, is a point of pride for FIU and our global city,” FIU Provost, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Elizabeth M. Béjar said. “FIU is preparing business leaders for South Florida and the world.”

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

At a news conference at the university’s Tamiami Hall, Mr. Worldwide looked on as Athletic Director Scott Carr made the announcement before a crowd.

“It’s my great honor to officially announce a partnership unique to the 305 with a worldwide brand,” Carr said. “Just so you all know, this will be the first time an athletics venue has ever been named after a world-renowned musician.”

“So picture this–should I say with a Kodak?” the athletic director joked in reference to a lyric from Pitbull’s “Give Me Everything.” “Pitbull in concert at Pitbull Stadium. OK? How about that?”

Pitbull, born Armando Pérez, beamed and applauded. He said his goal with what FIU described as a 10-year deal was to give back to students and provide them with a place to learn and succeed.

“We don’t do this for propaganda. We do it from the heart,” he said.

FIU said in a news release:

“Pérez has a history of promoting education. His nonprofit SLAM (Sports Leadership Arts and Management) Foundation supports K-12 schools in underrepresented communities using an innovative curriculum infused with sports, science, technology, media and more to engage and prepare youngsters for college and industry careers. The first school opened in Miami in 2012, and today 14 schools in five states serve nearly 10,000 students. Now he has connected with an institution of higher education that has served as a foundation for success for many in his community – and the university looks forward to the attention that will bring.”

Pérez will pay $1.2 million annually for the next five years, the university said, for the naming rights. He will have an option in August 2029 to extend the deal for another five years and continue the rebranding.

“Yes, we’re going to create history in Pitbull Stadium,” the Grammy winner said. “This isn’t just an announcement. This is a movement. This is truly history in the making.”

Pérez will also be involved with FIU’s efforts in the name, image and likeness space, Carr said.

“This is a historic day for FIU athletics to uniquely partner with a world-renowned artist and amazing person who truly values relationships and his community,” Carr said. “Armando’s financial support is program-changing, but him providing a microphone to amplify FIU will be even more beneficial to growing our brand.”

As part of the deal, Pérez gets use of the stadium for 10 days each year rent-free, with some tickets to those events to be set aside for FIU students. A vodka brand he owns will be a preferred brand at the stadium going forward, he will receive use of two suites and 20 VIP parking passes for FIU football home games, and he’s being asked to create an “FIU Anthem” to be played at the school’s athletic contests.

“It’s a true blessing, a true honor,” Pérez said. “Let’s make history.”

At 46th, FIU is the only South Florida school to make the top 50 in the list of 2025 Top Public Schools. This is its first time in the top 50, and it sits at 98th among all national universities, public and private, according to the report.

“FIU climbed 18 spots from last year among public universities and 26 spots overall to become one of the Top 100 universities in the nation,” the university wrote in a news release. 

FIU soars into the Top 50 among public universities and Top 100 overall @USNews, rising faster than any university in the last 10 years. We couldn’t have done it without you, Panthers! Read at more: https://t.co/CjOweJk8N0 pic.twitter.com/mC7zzYGmN3

— FIU (@FIU) September 24, 2024

Who took the top spots?

The top public school in the country is the University of California Los Angeles, the report says, followed by the University of California Berkeley. The University of Michigan Ann Arbor took the third spot.

How did Florida do?

The Florida school that ranked the highest on the list of best public schools was the University of Florida in Gainesville, which took the number 7 spot. 

Florida State University in Tallahassee and University of South Florida in Tampa, ranked 23rd and 45th, respectively.

The University of Miami ranked 63rd nationwide.

Miami Dade College made history with its highest ranking to date, placing 4th among Top Public Schools – Regional Colleges.

Rep. Carlos Gimenez took to X to congratulate his alma mater.

More reasons to have Panther pride

FIU also boasts the number 2 undergraduate international business program in the country, “a position that it has held for the last six years,” the school said in a news release.

“The success of our undergraduate business program, in particular, is a point of pride for FIU and our global city,” FIU Provost, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Elizabeth M. Béjar said. “FIU is preparing business leaders for South Florida and the world.”

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

In a statement, FIU officials said Chief Alexander Casas is on leave and Maj. James Mesidor was appointed acting chief.

It’s unclear why Casas was on leave, and in the statement FIU said it doesn’t comment on personal matters.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Casas has been FIU’s police chief since 2011, after more than 21 years with the Miami-Dade Police Department.

Jazmin Locke-Rodriguez, a postdoctoral associate at the Institute of Environment at FIU, is among the team that’s figured out a way to clean them up using an unlikely source: flowers.

“We found that the flowers did an incredible job at removing the nutrients and the pollutants the same way that we would expect from wetland plants,” Locke-Rodriguez said.

Over the course of 12 weeks, Locke-Rodriguez and FIU students planted flowers on floating platforms and placed them in polluted waterways like Little River.

“The roots that are hanging in the water help uptake these pollutants and their nutrients, essentially remediating the water, cleaning the water up,” she said.

The waterways in South Florida all lead to the ocean, which is why it’s so important to clean them up.

“In the face of climate change with increased heat and increased storms, we’re seeing more water and more rain running more of these pollutants into our canals and into our lakes,” Locke-Rodriguez said.

It’s that kind of pollution that leads to things like toxic algae blooms and the widespread fish kills we’ve seen in Florida in recent years.

According to FIU’s research, the floating flower beds removed two common nutrients found in fertilizer at a faster pace than the natural cycle.

One flower performed the best.

“The marigold seems to be working really well,” said FIU professor Dr. Krishnaswamy Jayachandran. “We looked at the root system and they’re really enjoying the waterways.”

Researchers are now looking at ways to place flower beds in more waterways.

Additionally, the flowers grown in canals are not going to waste.

“We’re cutting the flowers regularly and we’ll be able to sell bouquets of flowers in the process,” Locke-Rodriguez said.

The idea is that the proceeds from the flower sales will help pay for their project.

“It actually turns out that Miami is the hub for the nation’s cut flower industry,” she said.

It’s sustainable agriculture in our own backyard that’s turning trash, into something beautiful, one plant at a time.

Locke-Rodriguez founded the start-up called Green Thumb Strategies and along with FIU, they’re hoping to gather more support to continue growing their flower beds and place them in more waterways.

For more information about the project, click here.

At 46th, FIU is the only South Florida school to make the top 50 in the list of 2025 Top Public Schools. This is its first time in the top 50, and it sits at 98th among all national universities, public and private, according to the report.

“FIU climbed 18 spots from last year among public universities and 26 spots overall to become one of the Top 100 universities in the nation,” the university wrote in a news release. 

FIU soars into the Top 50 among public universities and Top 100 overall @USNews, rising faster than any university in the last 10 years. We couldn’t have done it without you, Panthers! Read at more: https://t.co/CjOweJk8N0 pic.twitter.com/mC7zzYGmN3

— FIU (@FIU) September 24, 2024

Who took the top spots?

The top public school in the country is the University of California Los Angeles, the report says, followed by the University of California Berkeley. The University of Michigan Ann Arbor took the third spot.

How did Florida do?

The Florida school that ranked the highest on the list of best public schools was the University of Florida in Gainesville, which took the number 7 spot. 

Florida State University in Tallahassee and University of South Florida in Tampa, ranked 23rd and 45th, respectively.

The University of Miami ranked 63rd nationwide.

Miami Dade College made history with its highest ranking to date, placing 4th among Top Public Schools – Regional Colleges.

Rep. Carlos Gimenez took to X to congratulate his alma mater.

More reasons to have Panther pride

FIU also boasts the number 2 undergraduate international business program in the country, “a position that it has held for the last six years,” the school said in a news release.

“The success of our undergraduate business program, in particular, is a point of pride for FIU and our global city,” FIU Provost, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Elizabeth M. Béjar said. “FIU is preparing business leaders for South Florida and the world.”

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

A moment of silence was held Friday afternoon at FIU to honor the victims of the March 15, 2018 collapse.

The 174-foot-long, 950-ton pedestrian bridge collapsed while under construction. National Transportation and Safety Board officials later concluded the design firm underestimated the load of the bridge and overestimated its strength in a critical section that splintered.

The victims included five people who were sitting in the cars underneath the bridge while stopped at a traffic light: Alberto Arias, 53, Brandon Brownfield, 39, FIU student Alexa Duran, 18, Rolando Fraga, 60, and his partner Oswaldo Gonzalez, 57. Construction worker Navaro Brown, 37, was also killed in the collapse.

Plans are in the works for a new bridge that will span the same location, crossing Southwest 8th Street at Southwest 109th Avenue. The goal of the bridge is to help make it safer for students and staff to cross from FIU’s main campus to residential towers and student housing located across Southwest 8th Street.

Construction is expected to begin in 2024 and last for about two years. A memorial plaque honoring the victims of the bridge collapse will be placed on the new bridge when it is constructed.

It’s one of several devices more law enforcement agencies can start using, thanks to a new and free program Florida International University launched to get first responders trained.

You aim, push a button, and within seconds, the Pendar X10 displays what’s in a certain substance.

It’s a new and valuable tool for officers and deputies in the field, especially when it comes to testing potent substances like fentanyl.

“That is one of the hottest things on the street right now,” said Kirk Grates, a forensic chemistry project manager with FIU.

He invited NBC6 to the university’s Global Forensic and Justice Center in Largo, Florida for an exclusive look at the Pendar X10 and other field drug tests.

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This FIU lab can test actual narcotics, so we suited up with gloves and goggles and went to work testing, starting with a vial of acetyl fentanyl.

“Aim into the white crystal material and pull the trigger all the way through,” Grates instructed.

As the laser blinked, we waited, and a few seconds later, the results were displayed on the screen as acetyl fentanyl, fentanyl and one other chemical compound.

This device has the capability of identifying up to 7,400 chemical compounds, including illegal street drugs, explosives, and even chemical warfare agents.

But we wanted to test it in a more realistic scenario, so we went to FIU’s training facility equipped with fake drug houses and vehicles filled with visible white substances resembling drugs.

Standing a few feet away, we pointed the laser at a baggie we placed on the passenger side seat containing real meth.

Within seconds, the Pendar X10 detected methamphetamine.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 150 people die every day from overdoses related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl.

It’s why law enforcement agencies continue to look for innovative ways to combat this epidemic.

Because the Pendar X10 is one of the most cutting-edge pieces of technology out there, as more law enforcement agencies learn about it, they’re reaching out to FIU’s Global Forensic and Justice Center to receive the training necessary to implement it with their agencies.

One of those agencies is the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, they partnered with FIU for a pilot program funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, that enables its deputies to undergo a free online and hands-on training.

“Partnerships like this like we have with FIU are really advantageous to the sheriff’s office because it gives us better safer ways to test drugs and to help the deputies and the community to stay safe together,” said Capt. Chad Cave of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

Grates said it would cost a law enforcement agency about $90,000 for the technology but under the FIU’s pilot program, they’d receive the Pendar X10 for free for six months.

“They can actually analyze the sample find out what’s in it, what cutting agents are being used and then if there’s a death maybe locally, they can tie in maybe hey this is the same drugs, or cutting agents that were found next to the person or a different crime scene,” said Grates.

Already, Grates said three more agencies have reached out wanting to participate in the pilot program.

While the Pendar x10 is not the only device used to test drugs in the field, it’s one of the most advanced and more importantly, it’s more accurate.

The fight against deadly street drugs is showing no signs of slowing down so neither can law enforcement.

This is yet another tool for their ever-growing tool kit with an added benefit of eventually leading to more convictions of drug dealers, especially if it’s their drugs that are behind overdoses.

Transportation planners in Miami-Dade are discussing two new options to get to and from FIU’s main Modesto A. Maidique Campus.

One route involves a new county commuter rail line and another would include an expanded Metromover route going East to West along Flagler Street. 

For the commuter rail line, the county would have to negotiate a plan with CSX, a freight train company which owns the existing tracks. As of now, that’s been moving slowly with no agreement in place as of yet.  

“That’s a freight line and that’s also run by a freight company. They are not good at nor do they have any financial incentive to be a passenger rail connection,” said Commissioner Eileen Higgins, who represents District 5 in Miami-Dade County. “I’m very worried that those discussions will collapse sometime in the future so that’s why I wanted to make sure we have a back up.”

Higgins, who is also the chair of Miami-Dade’s Transportation and Mobility Committee, is pushing for the alternative option of an elevated Metromover extension going out West. 

“If you live on the western edges of our county, there’s a lot of traffic and we have looked at a couple of solutions, none of which have worked out perfectly,” said Higgins, “I proposed that we begin to look at doing in what my opinion has been obvious for a long time, which is finding a solution to go on Flagler street all the way out to FIU from downtown. That in my opinion, is a Metromover extension.”

The Miami-Dade Transportation Planning Organization recently voted to ask the Florida Department of Transportation to do a feasibility study on both the commuter rail and Metromover plans. 

This map shows the current proposed East-West Corridor as part of the county’s Strategic Miami Area Rapid Transit (SMART) Program, which aims to advance rapid transit corridors all across Miami-Dade.

“I think that would be really helpful for a lot of people to make everything more accessible,” said Rachel Espitia, a frequent Metromover rider.

“I think that’s a great idea if it goes out West to FIU. There’s a lot of college students that could have trouble with transportation to school and that area is very populated just like Miami’s intercity so I think it would be a good idea,” said Cedric Lester, a frequent passenger on public transportation. 

This all comes after planners decided that a previously agreed upon bus rapid transit plan along the 836 was not the best option. That study has not been scrapped, but is being pushed aside for now to pursue these other ideas. 

Both transportation options are still in the early planning and study stages, so there are no cost estimates for the Metromover or CSX rail option.

Future funding could come from a mix of county, state and federal dollars. 

There is a railroad boxcar sitting in the middle of the Florida International University main green: a replica of the cattle cars the Nazis used to transport millions of victims, mostly Jews, to the death camps during World War II. It’s a stark reminder of where unchecked hatred and mob mentality can lead, and it features a multimedia presentation on the inside.

It’s a teaching tool for a teachable moment.

“To help those who are more ignorant to kind of understand and maybe even change the hearts of those who are more on the hateful side of things,” said FIU student Alex Bennett, just after he experienced the presentation.

“It’s heartbreaking, seeing, like, the atrocities that occurred back then,” added FIU student Michael Aguirre. “Sometimes you need to take a moment and look back and see how bad it really was.”

The exhibit was brought to FIU by its Hillel chapter.

“We felt it’s important to put this here in the middle of campus, let people know what happens when antisemitism is at its worst, and how they can stand up to hate of all kinds,” said Jon Warech, the chapter president.

The boxcar stands as a monument to hate at a moment when the Jewish community is saying “never again” is now.

“Everybody’s scared, whether you’re a student, whether you’re a parent, we’re all kind of feeling the same thing,” Warech said.

They’re scared because of the flood of antisemitic incidents worldwide, such as Harvard students harassing a student merely because he was visibly Jewish, a man slashing a “Stand With Israel” banner in Miami Beach, death threats directed at Jewish students at Cornell University, Jewish homes and businesses being marked with Stars of David in Paris, and the list goes on, obviously fueled by the Israel-Hamas war.

One student told us when protesters excuse or minimize the barbaric Hamas terror attacks on Israelis, it’s endorsing the dehumanization of Jewish people, which is exactly what the Nazis did.

“It is striking how they normalize genocide of the Jewish people, how they are trying to normalize the elimination of a culture, of a people, of a nation, and that is disgusting in my opinion,” said FIU student Ismael Columna.

The chilling parallels between the past and the present, illustrated by the boxcar exhibit.

The money represents back wages and interest after the alleged discrimination was found during a routine compliance review, the U.S. Department of Labor said in a news release Wednesday.

The review alleged that from Aug. 1, 2017, to Aug. 1, 2018, the university paid 163 women employees less than men in similar positions, the release said.

In addition to paying back wages and damages, the employer agreed to set aside $125,000 for “future pay equity adjustments and other pay equity-related activities” and to take steps to make sure its compensation practices and policies are free from discrimination, the release said.

“Employers that hold federal contracts must provide all employees with equal employment opportunities and audit their employment processes to make certain no barriers to equal employment exist,” said Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs Southeast Regional Director Aida Collins in Atlanta. “We appreciate that Florida International University worked cooperatively with the Department of Labor to resolve our concerns.”

FIU also released a statement on the allegations.

“At FIU, we take our commitment to equal employment opportunity seriously and strive to treat our employees fairly. While we disagree with the OFCCP’s allegations, we decided to enter into a conciliation agreement after an extensive review. This allows us to continue to focus our resources on our mission of excellence in higher education and research,” the statement read. “In keeping with the normal course of university business, we will continue to monitor our processes to ensure equal employment opportunities for every employee at FIU.”

At 46th, FIU is the only South Florida school to make the top 50 in the list of 2025 Top Public Schools. This is its first time in the top 50, and it sits at 98th among all national universities, public and private, according to the report.

“FIU climbed 18 spots from last year among public universities and 26 spots overall to become one of the Top 100 universities in the nation,” the university wrote in a news release. 

FIU soars into the Top 50 among public universities and Top 100 overall @USNews, rising faster than any university in the last 10 years. We couldn’t have done it without you, Panthers! Read at more: https://t.co/CjOweJk8N0 pic.twitter.com/mC7zzYGmN3

— FIU (@FIU) September 24, 2024

Who took the top spots?

The top public school in the country is the University of California Los Angeles, the report says, followed by the University of California Berkeley. The University of Michigan Ann Arbor took the third spot.

How did Florida do?

The Florida school that ranked the highest on the list of best public schools was the University of Florida in Gainesville, which took the number 7 spot. 

Florida State University in Tallahassee and University of South Florida in Tampa, ranked 23rd and 45th, respectively.

The University of Miami ranked 63rd nationwide.

Miami Dade College made history with its highest ranking to date, placing 4th among Top Public Schools – Regional Colleges.

Rep. Carlos Gimenez took to X to congratulate his alma mater.

More reasons to have Panther pride

FIU also boasts the number 2 undergraduate international business program in the country, “a position that it has held for the last six years,” the school said in a news release.

“The success of our undergraduate business program, in particular, is a point of pride for FIU and our global city,” FIU Provost, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Elizabeth M. Béjar said. “FIU is preparing business leaders for South Florida and the world.”

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

After years of continuous upward movement, FIU achieved its highest-ever rating in the U.S. News and World Report annual college rankings, coming in at number 64 on the public universities list, jumping eight spots from last year, and 124^th overall.

It is currently tied with the University of Central Florida.

“I’ll tell you, we are beyond excited,” said FIU’s president, Dr. Kenneth Jessel. “We have been working very hard over several years to really focus on student outcomes, student performance and it has truly paid off,  and this year going up eight points from number 72 to 64 is truly incredible, and the nice thing is that U.S. News is now placing greater emphasis on the things that we believe are important, and that is upward economic mobility, student performance, and student success over time once they hit the workforce.”

The news spread quickly among students, who realize that as the university’s reputation shines, their achievements and degrees are magnified.

“I already knew FIU is a good school but it’s ranked higher so it’s even better school than it was before?” said freshman Schnayda Jean. “But it feels good to go to a good school that has all these opportunities.”

“Makes me proud of my school, too, and you know it’s good, good for all the students that are attending and working hard and it will make them more proud to be Panthers,” said junior Sebastian Del Valle, who added that the value of his eventual degree is rising with FIU’s rankings. “Which is good for jobs, interviews, internships.”

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FIU’s momentum is by design. Jessel says the school has concentrated on ratings factors, such as student outcomes after they graduate, and increasing the amount of research. FIU is now in the top 3% of universities in money spent on research.

“The Wall Street Journal came out last week, we were ranked the fourth highest public in the country, so in terms of publics, we had the University of Florida, New Jersey Institute of Technology, and then University of Michigan Ann Arbor and FIU, we are in very good company,” Jessel said.

Most of FIU’s graduates stay in South Florida, adding their talents to the local work force.

“Our thinking is, why would you want to go anywhere else? FIU is truly the place to be, Miami is the place to be,” Jessel said.

Speaking of Miami, the University of Miami stands at 67^th overall in the U.S. News rankings.

Meanwhile, the University of Florida, Florida State University and the University of South Florida dropped in the new rankings.

UF was No. 6 in this year’s public-university rankings, a drop from its No. 5 spot last year. It shared the No. 6 ranking with the University of California, Davis and the University of California, San Diego.

FSU fell from No. 19 to No. 23 this year and was tied with the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and William & Mary University in Virginia.

The University of South Florida also slipped, clocking in at No. 45 on the list of public universities after being No. 42 last year.

Florida A&M University moved into the top 100 public schools, hitting No. 91 on the U.S. News and World Report list.

Despite some schools dropping in the rankings, the state university system’s Board of Governors touted having six schools in the top 100.

The Miami River runs for nearly six miles across one of the most densely populated and industrialized areas of Miami-Dade County, carrying along a wide range of waste materials, including plastics, which ultimately will end up in the bay – and therefore, need to be removed.

“Most of the cleanliness that we see here today is being done hand to hand or by use of this outstanding green or red boat called Scavenger 2000,” said Horacio Aguirre, president of the Miami River Commission. “It will not only pick up bulk trash — it will decontaminate the water and it will oxygenate the water.”

Weekly, they collect up to 8,000 pounds of waste, purifying 10,000 gallons of water per minute through an electrochemical process.

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“We destroy bacteria, we destroy viruses, we eliminate color or improve clarity in the water, we increase the dissolved oxygen level in the water — so fish can thrive, manatees can swim,” said Sophie Mastriano, the president of Water Management Technologies.

It also enables the removal of plastics.

”The scavenger can collect small debris, as small as straws, which is very important,” Mastriano said. “It protects the sea turtles. Or microplastics as well that lodge themselves in the dead decomposing seagrass.”

Truly microscopic polymers are impossible to remove with the scavengers’ current technology. Though thousands of miles away, scientists at the University of British Columbia have recently announced a promising discovery.

By using a filter made with wood chips and tannins, which are natural plant compounds, they’ve managed to capture 99.9% of microplastic particles of various sizes and types. The innovative method called Biocap is in its laboratory stage, and while there is not a set date for its eventual industrial-scale production, its creators affirm that it will be fairly economical.

Technology aside — scientists, politicians and activists agree that solving this issue will be a collective human effort.

“One of the things that we need to do is just, first of all, instead of just cleaning, we need to avoid, you know, dumping all this trash into our environments,” said Henry Briceño, a research professor of the Southeast Environmental Research Center at Florida International University.

“We need to be heard more across all the boards, because, you know, society depends on people,” said Olympic swimmer and environmental activist Merle Liivand. “But if those microplastic pieces and microbeads end up now more and more in human blood, it’s going to start affecting the society’s behavior.”

“As far as solutions, you have policy solutions that could be in place, but you also need education, and education at every level, from policymakers to the average citizen to the tourist that comes here to vacation,” Miami-Dade County Chief Bay Officer Irela Bagué said. “Everyone has a part to play.”

“The good news is that again people are waking up to it,” said Ombretta Agro Andruff, an environmental activist and ARTSail Founder. “There are incredible organizations that are doing as good a job as the organizations here that are gathering attention and really implementing changes there. But, it is a global issue and so we need global solutions.”

The Wall Street Journal evaluated factors including student experience, salary impact and social mobility.

The University of Florida ranked as #15 overall, and #1 out of only the public institutions.

Florida International University secured the fourth spot in terms of public universities, and the 29th spot out of the 400 public and private universities.

The University of Miami also made it into the top 100 – ranking at #90.

Florida State University ranked just past the top 100 threshold, at #102 overall.

In terms of social mobility and student experience overall – FIU notably ranked in the top 10 in each category.

Meanwhile, in the salary impact category, the University of Florida took the 35th spot.

See where other Florida institutions and universities nationwide ranked here.

Plastic and its microparticles are an emerging issue. FIU scientists are beginning a detailed analysis of their behavior once they reach the water by means of modeling techniques.

“The idea of developing such a model is to provide a simulation model that was able to be used for management actions, different options to reduce the inflow of pollutants, or study what would happen if there is a sudden discharge of pollutants somewhere within the bay,” explained Reinaldo Garcia, Research Professor at FIU’s Southeast Environmental Research Center.

This model was successfully validated in previous studies related to the bay’s water salinity and its interaction with terrain, currents, and meteorological conditions.

Henry Briceño, another Research Professor at the Southeast Environmental Research Center, added, “We’ll be able to say where the most important sources of plastics are in the watershed, how do they get into the bay, how fast they get here, how they move within the bay, and how they leave the bay. That’s what the model is going to do.”

Now, the research is analyzing the currents and its patterns, while studying how they diverge due to rainfall or drought during the year.

“We are going to use drifters with GPS installed so that we can track different drifters at different points and at different times during the tidal cycles so that we can track where these drifters go,” Garcia explained.

This study will take close to two years and should help identify plastic discharge areas, their trajectories and enable authorities to manage the issue of plastic discharge along the watershed.

Garcia continued, “The managers can use the model to study different scenarios to see where the plastics can go or see different control to the inflows, where they can be more critical to the water quality within the bay.”

Another crucial task will be to collect water samples at various depths and in different sectors within Biscayne Bay.

“We have to go to specific places in the bay, collect water samples, and measure what kind of plastics or microplastics are in those samples,” said Piero Gardinali, the Associate Director for the Institute of Environment at FIU. “Information on the size, how much of these plastics we have, and then whether they’re floating, whether they’re in the water column, or whether they’ll sink at the bottom.”

The BBLAST Project will require time, effort, and collaboration among various branches of science. It’s only a part of the formula to address such an issue.

In our next story, we’ll see what about the role our communities play.

It’s a problem that began in the 20th century with the creation of the first synthetic plastics from oil byproducts. Today, they are found in rivers, lakes, beaches, oceans, and even in polar ice.

“They degrade and then there are small particles which come out of that. And, those particles are called microplastics when they are smaller than 5 millimeters,” said Henry Briceño Research Professor of the Southeast Environmental Research Center at Florida International University. “So, these microplastics are not only here in the bay, they are everywhere. They are in the sediments.”

FIU Student Assistant Estefany Carvajal added, “In our oceans, we have things such as filter feeders that filter the water and that’s how they feed. So, if these microplastics are dissolved in our oceans and in our waters, things that eat those filter feeders will make that microplastic bioaccumulate up the food chain. Actually, we consume them already. We consume about a credit card’s worth of microplastics in around a week.”

According to the Plastic Oceans International Organization, the equivalent of a truckload of plastic is poured into the oceans every minute of the day. The interaction with climate and the environment breaks down plastic waste such as bags, bottles, or textile fibers, into smaller pieces yielding particles that end up in the sea.

These contain additives such as forever chemicals that, according to the CDC, could even cause certain types of cancer.

“These microplastics are not only present in the water and at the seabed, but they are also found in various organisms,” Briceño continued. “Those microplastics bioaccumulate in those organisms when they go from little, you know, snail to fish to humans. So, we are consuming microplastics and those chemicals are not good for our health.”

The scientific community calls it the invisible pollutant due to the technological limitations for its detection.

Maria Donoso — the UNESCO Chair at FIU’s Southeast Environmental Research Center — tells NBC6, “We are beginning to work on what will be the standards, such as for various microplastic components. When they exceed a certain magnitude, this amount becomes hazardous for humans or for aquatic animals, even birds that also feed on these animals.”

Scientists from Florida International University, in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency, have taken on the challenge of identifying the main sources of plastic pollution in Biscayne Bay through a project called BBLAST.

Henry Briceño added, “It’s a two-year project. What we plan has two main issues that we are going to be dealing with — how plastics move within the bay. Where do they come from? Where do they go? How do they stay? Where do they accumulate? So, it’s not only here in the bay, but also the coral reef and the ocean. They go all the way.”

After a few months of preparations, the research is currently in its initial phase.

How will they be able to trace back the origins of plastic waste in our local waters, and what can be done to prevent it? We’ll explore those topics in our upcoming stories on — ‘Planet in Crisis: Solutions.’

Between July 3 and Aug. 24, three reports of a peeping tom at the University Apartments were reported to FIU Police, university officials said in an email sent out Friday. The reported incidents occurred between midnight and 5:30 a.m.

The suspect is believed to be a white male driving a black, four-door sedan. There were no further details on his physical description or the make and model of the car.

Students were urged to be vigilant about their surroundings, ensure that their doors and windows are locked, and were encouraged to keep their window coverings closed.

Anyone who sees anything suspicious is asked to call FIU Police immediately, either on its non-emergency line at (305) 348-2626 or the emergency line at (305) 348-5911.

You may speak this dialect and not even know it. Chances are if you are Cuban-American or have any Cuban in your family you helped create the dialect.

The dialect is “Only in Dade,” so NBC6 went to downtown Coral Gables to see if it exists, and we found it does.

According to FIU, the dialect incorporates what linguists call “calques” or borrowed translations from the speaker’s native language, in this case Spanish. Most of the time it is a literal translation.

The FIU professor behind the study, Phillip M. Carter, calls it “Miami English.”

“I think it’s resignation because people want to feel seen,” said Carter, an FIU Professor of Linguistics and English. “They want their language to feel legitimated.”

They are certainly being seen now. The study, which took more than a decade, has quickly taken off with TikToks and news articles being viewed by millions.

“We know that folk who are in the immigrant community use these types of translations in their speech, but what we found is that these expressions get passed down to the second and third generation, people who are native speakers of English,” explained Carter.

Carter says the majority of people who use this dialect are 3rd and 4th generation Cuban-Americans who were born in the Miami area.

“Miami is its own little country. So it’s fair that we have our own dialect,” said one Miami native NBC6 spoke to.

The professor stresses that “new” is relative, saying his studies show the dialect emerged over the past 50-60 years. FIU plans to continue the study to determine if groups outside of Cubans speak with this dialect.

The major announcement was made at an event at FIU Thursday.

The partnership will allow Baptist Health’s Hospital of Miami to become a teaching hospital for FIU medical students, with expanded undergraduate and graduate medical programs, clinical teaching and research.

With the alliance, Baptist Health and FIU, through its Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, will also work together to expand physician training, research and care.

The university’s school of medicine first opened in 2006 and enrolled its first medical students in 2009.

Baptist’s main hospital is in Kendall and holds about 950 beds.

“The quality of the research and the quantity of the research we’re going to do, it’ll grow significantly because of our partnership with the great doctors that Baptist is recruiting and those doctors want an academic affiliation. They want to do research and we’re gonna be their partner in all this,” said Dean Colson, chair of the board at FIU.

“We’re going to have residents and fellows at our Dade County facilities. This is going to dramatically improve access to physicians in our community, cause Miami’s growing, and access to a lot more research,” Baptist Health CEO Bo Boulenger said.

Officials said certain details, like when the partnership will begin, will be finalized over the summer.

During the event, entitled “An Evening with Dr. Jane Goodall: Inspiring Hope through Action,” the acclaimed primatologist spoke for about 90 minutes about her life’s journey and her hopes for our collective responsibility to care for our planet and all living species.

“We are not really treating our environment very well,” Goodall told NBC6’s Jackie Nespral. “That’s around the world, and we have a window of time to try and address that, to try and slow down climate change and slow down the loss of biodiversity.”

In 1960, as young British woman, Goodall ventured into the forests of Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania to follow her childhood dream. In doing so, she revolutionized the scientific world with her breakthrough discoveries on chimpanzees and more than 60 years later has become a global icon as one of the first conservationists.

In fact, her research continues today as the longest-running chimpanzee study in the world.

“I was ten when I discovered Tarzan of the Apes and fell in love with him,” Goodall told NBC6. “I was really jealous because he married the wrong Jane. That’s what made me tell everybody ‘I’m going to grow up, go to Africa, live with wild animals and write books about them.'”

Now, at 88 years old, she continues to be a tireless advocate for animals and the environment and remained steadfast in her pursuit of spreading her message throughout the globe, including here to South Florida.

During the event, Goodall shared her understanding of the problems South Florida faces such as the Everglades’ lowering water levels and the need to protect the last of the Florida panthers.

“Think of your Florida panther,” Goodall said to the crowd of 3,400 people. “If enough of you are determined to stop it from becoming extinct, you can do it. You can save the manatees from speed boats and help the Everglades. Don’t give up — there’s so much you can do. If we get together, we truly can make this a better world.”

Goodall continues to inspire people all over the world to conserve the natural world we all share, to ultimately improve the lives of people, animals and the environment, which according to Goodall, are all connected.

“Human beings are human beings, whether they whatever the color of their skin, their language, their culture. And we all need to wake up. We all need to do our part. People like me all around the world doing their bit. And cumulatively that is moving us towards a better future,” Goodall said.