FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Their core work

Florida Atlantic University is a US public research university based in Boca Raton with notable strength in marine and ocean sciences, which is the main channel of its engagement with European research. In H2020, FAU contributed expertise on deep-sea sponge ecosystems, marine microbial processes, and plastic pollution in ocean biogeochemistry, acting as a non-EU scientific partner rather than a lead coordinator. A separate strand connects to humanities research, where FAU hosted a Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship on linguistics. For European consortia, FAU functions as an Atlantic-facing counterpart offering US field sites, laboratory capacity, and trained marine scientists.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the earlier H2020 period (2016-2020), FAU's contribution was anchored in deep-sea ecology — mapping sponge grounds, modelling food webs, and connectivity of vulnerable marine ecosystems in the North Atlantic. By 2021-2025, the focus shifts upward in the water column and toward human impact: microplastics, biofilms, microbial carbon cycling, and citizen-science engagement in coastal waters. The trajectory moves from cataloguing pristine deep habitats toward understanding anthropogenic pressure on ocean biogeochemistry.

FAU is positioning toward pollution-impact and microbial-process science in coastal oceans, making it a relevant partner for future calls on plastics, carbon cycling, and ocean health monitoring.

How they like to work

FAU never coordinated an H2020 project — it joined once as participant and twice as third party or partner, which fits the pattern of non-EU universities contracted in for specific scientific expertise. Across three projects it worked with 23 unique partners in 10 countries, suggesting each engagement pulled in a fresh network rather than repeat collaborators. Expect a focused contributing specialist inside an EU-led consortium, not a consortium architect.

FAU connected with 23 unique partners across 10 countries through three H2020 projects, with a clear transatlantic orientation linking US marine research to European consortia.

What sets them apart

FAU is one of relatively few US universities that appears in H2020 marine consortia with a consistent Atlantic-ocean focus, offering European partners access to US coastal field sites, subtropical marine systems, and US-trained marine ecologists and microbiologists. Unlike EU-based marine institutes, it also brings a non-European regulatory and policy perspective to questions of plastic pollution and deep-sea conservation. The presence of an MSCA fellowship in linguistics hints at a broader incoming-fellow hosting capacity beyond the marine core.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SponGES
  A large integrated North Atlantic project on deep-sea sponge grounds — the kind of ambitious, multi-country marine ecology effort where a US partner's Atlantic coverage is genuinely useful.
• PLOCEAN
  An MSCA Global Fellowship on microplastics and ocean biogeochemistry — signals FAU is an approved host for EU-funded fellows working on frontier pollution topics.
• LIDISNO
  An MSCA fellowship in sociolinguistics, showing FAU's hosting capacity extends beyond marine science into humanities.