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April 2019
A political science professor of the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College won the Distinguished Teacher of the Year award during Florida Atlantic University 50th Annual Honors Convocation. Jeffrey Morton, Ph.D., professor of political science in the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, presented the keynote speech on Thursday. He also directs the Leon Charney Diplomacy Program, which offers students a unique opportunity to enhance their diplomatic skills and compete in diplomatic simulations. 
2019 Florida Atlantic University Jupiter Honors Convocation Awardees 
University Scholar
Samantha Iliff
Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College  
              
Distinguished Student Award
Christy LaFlamme
Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College         
                     
Undergraduate Researcher of the Year
Abhimanyu Ahuja
Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College                              
 
University Researcher of the Year
Alex Keene, Ph.D., Associate Professor
Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
(Pictured)
 
Scholar of the Year
Nancy Jones, Ph.D., Associate Professor
Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
 
Excellence and Innovation in Undergraduate Teaching
Wairimu Njambi, Ph.D., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College Kenan Scholars, David Gorski and Amanda Barstow placed first and second at the annual Florida Atlantic University Business Plan Competition, recently hosted by FAU’s Adams Center for Entrepreneurship and the College of Business at the FAU Office Depot Center on the Boca Raton campus. Life-Metrics, an activity tracking mobile app that won first place and $10,000. Second prize and $6,000 went to Daisy, a nonprofit organization that aims to facilitate the donation of feminine hygiene products to homeless and at-risk women by selling “period kits” to shelters or homeless resource centers.
Rachel Corr, associate professor of anthropology, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College of Florida Atlantic University was honored with the Rocky Mountain Council for Latin American Studies (RMCLAS) prestigious  Judy Ewell Award for  Interwoven: Andean Lives in Colonial Ecuador’s Textile Economy .
Research
In a study published in the journal  Neurobiology of Disease   ,  Qi Zhang, Ph.D., senior author, an investigator at the Florida Atlantic University’s  Brain Institute, and an assistant research professor in FAU’s  Schmidt College of Medicine, along with collaborators from  Vanderbilt University, tackle an Alzheimer’s disease mystery by devising a multi-functional reporter for amyloid precursor protein and tracking the protein’s localization and mobility using quantitative imaging with unprecedented accuracy to see if it is an accomplish or mastermind behind the disease.
Jang-Yen (John) Wu, Ph.D., distinguished professor of biomedical science in Florida Atlantic University's Schmidt College of Medicine and member of the FAU Brain Institute joined forces with Boca Raton Regional Hospital’s ( BRRH) Marcus Neuroscience Institute to combine a breakthrough interventional procedure for stroke with a novel drug compound that has neuroprotective properties.
Researchers from Florida Atlantic University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science have developed an innovative way to automatically and reliably detect and monitor medication ON and OFF states in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. They have combined an algorithm and sensor-based system that detects ON and OFF state patterns in PD patients using two wearable motion sensors placed on the patient’s most affected wrist and ankle. Behnaz Ghoraani, Ph.D., an assistant professor in FAU’s College of Engineering and Computer Science, and a fellow of FAU’s I-SENSE and Florida Atlantic University Brain Institute served as the senior author on this study.
Many older adults live in ethnically diverse rural settings where they face a higher burden of developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD) as well as delayed detection due to health inequities. Furthermore, cultural perceptions about aging could add to disparities in recognizing and treating AD in these populations.
Researchers from Florida Atlantic University’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and Brain Institute have addressed this need by developing a novel tool called the “Basic Knowledge of Alzheimer’s Disease” (BKAD).
Osher Lifelong Learning
The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Florida Atlantic University in Jupiter awarded 10 scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students at the Northern Campus Achievement Awards. The graduate scholarship recipients were Marie E. Mahovertz and Aliza Sloan. The undergraduate scholarship recipients were Abigal Chavez, Wyatt A. Davis, Pierce Hermann, Makenna King, Elizabeth Lanzon, Kyle Owen, Luis Henrique Pollon and Erica Yedwab.
The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Florida Atlantic University in Jupiter announced its course offerings for the summer semester, which begins Tuesday, May 7. Taught by FAU professors and distinguished guest lecturers, course offerings include such varied subjects as foreign policy, political science, film, music, art history and literature. The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute was established to provide adults of all ages the opportunity to enrich their lives through non-credit, university-level courses with no homework or tests.
CARD
The FAU Center for Autism & Related Disabilities (CARD) is offering hosting a training at FAU Jupiter for mental health and other therapeutic/educational professionals who strive to provide the best interventions when serving individuals on the autism spectrum.

This one-day conference featuring Luke Kalb, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University School of Mental Health, will focus on the epidemiology of mental health among individuals with ASD; psychiatric service utilization among this population, with a particular focus on gaps and crisis services; and introduce research on the measurement and characteristics of mental health crisis among youth with ASD.
Student Spotlight
Several Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College Students were awarded for their work during the 9th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium held on April 8th, 2019 on FAU'S Boca Raton campus. Several Honors College graduates and undergraduates were also published in the recently released 2019 Florida Atlantic Undergraduate Research Journal.
Community Outreach
Wilkes Honors College Spring Open House
The Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College Spring Open House was a great success! Nearly 70 students attended, and a total of 182 guests participated. Student attendees ranged from high school freshmen to seniors. During the event, three seniors committed to attending the Honors College. Corey King, Ed.D., Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management and Honors College Dean Ellen Goldey, Ph.D., kicked off the program, followed by an alumni panel moderated by Caitlin Saladrigas, a family session, and campus showcase. 
Chamber of Commerce Visit 
The Florida Atlantic University at Jupiter Communications team hosted Central Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce for their Science and Environmental Day! Attendees learned more about the campus through a presentation and tour's of the labs and Max Planck Florida Institute. 
Upcoming Events
Friday, April 26, 10 a.m.
FAU Jupiter, Robert J. Huckshorn Arboretum
Friday, April 26, 12 - 3 p.m.
FAU Jupiter, EC 101 & 102
Thursday, May 2, 7 a.m.
Abacoa Golf Club
Benefitting Wilkes honors College
Volunteers Needed!
Tuesday, May 21, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience
Saturday, April 27, 7:30 p.m.
Downtown Abacoa
FAU Jupiter is a proud community sponsor.
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.