Having trouble viewing this email? Click here to view in browser.

Laura Vernon, Ph.D., Named Associate Dean of Wilkes Honors College

Laura Vernon, Ph.D., named associate dean of academic affairs and research of the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College of Florida Atlantic University at Jupiter. Dr. Vernon served the college for 13 years as an assistant, associate, and now professor of psychology. She previously served at Auburn University before coming to the college in 2006. She received her Ph.D. and M.A., in Clinical Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Timothy Steigenga, Ph.D., interim dean of Wilkes Honors College explained he selected Dr. Vernon from among a competitive field of candidates for the position. “Dr. Vernon brings extensive experience and strong ties across the campus and the university through her work on Dean and Provost searches, the FAU Thrive initiative, and partnerships with Jupiter Life Science Initiative (JLSI), Max Planck Florida Institute, and the Brain Institute,” added Dr. Steigenga. Last year, the university named Vernon FAU’s Distinguished Teacher of the Year.

Algorithm Steers Catheters to Target for Treating Atrial Fibrillation

Florida Atlantic University researcher and Brain Institute fellow developed the first algorithm that steers catheters to the right spot to treat atrial fibrillation without the need for special catheters or 3D maps of the heart. “ICAN guides the incremental movements of this catheter from an arbitrary initial placement on the atrial tissue until a source of arrhythmia, rotor or focal, is detected by the algorithm,” said Behnaz Ghoraani, Ph.D., senior author, an assistant professor in FAU’s Department of Computer and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and a fellow of FAU’s Institute for Sensing and Embedded Network Systems and FAU’s Brain Institute, two of the university’s four research pillars.

OLLI at FAU Jupiter Appoints Advisory Board Members

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Florida Atlantic University’s John D. MacArthur Campus in Jupiter is pleased to announce the appointments of Brenda Babitz, Mark Goldman, M.D., Anne Messer and Lawrence Ornstein to its advisory board. “All four of our new board members embody the spirit of community and bring talent and expertise to our program,” said Eliah Watlington, Ph.D., executive director of OLLI Jupiter.

Outreach

Palm Beach North Chamber of Commerce Education Awards

Florida Atlantic University at Jupiter served as the presenting sponsor of the Palm Beach North Chamber of Commerce Education Awards breakfast on May 15. The annual event honors outstanding educators in Palm Beach North, as well as the achievements of our students. The chamber awarded five seniors the John C. Giba Student Leadership Award, including Anna Hernandez (pictured on the far right), who plans to attend the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College in fall. Elijah Watlington, Ph.D., executive director of Osher Lifelong Learning in Jupiter provided the presenting sponsor remarks. 

Events

Jupiter Campus Information

Florida Atlantic University serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six-county service region in southeast Florida. FAU’s John D. MacArthur Campus , located in downtown Abacoa offers a variety of upper-division and graduate course. The campus houses the Academy for Community Inclusion , Center for Autism and Related Disabilities , College of Education , Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College , John D. MacArthur Campus Library and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute , the largest lifelong learning program in the nation. FAU Jupiter unites scientists and students in research and training programs and leverages FAU’s close affiliations with Scripps Florida and the Max Planck Florida Institute , also located on the campus. As part of this effort, the university-wide Brain Institute launched in 2016 and is a hub of cutting-edge, multidisciplinary neuroscience activity that builds on existing neuroscience centers and programs within the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine , Charles E. Schmidt College of Science and Center for Molecular Biology and Biotechnology offers research and training programs in molecular biology and biotechnology and serves as a link between FAU and other institutions and industries in this field.