Innovation meets impact

January 30, 1990, is a significant but largely forgotten day in FIU history. On this day, FIU electrical engineering faculty members Mark J. Hagmann and Tadeusz M. Babij were issued patent 4,897,600 for their invention of a high frequency ammeter. The occasion marks the first known patent assigned to FIU. Just 33 years later, university inventors have catapulted FIU to a top 20 ranking among public universities in U.S. utility patents.

Our significant growth in patent production is illustrative of FIU’s evolution as a university. Fifty years after opening our doors to students, we are one of the 10 largest public universities in the country – a thriving ecosystem of student, academic and research excellence. We have multiple academic and research facilities in South Florida and beyond. Our researchers and students are engaged in finding solutions to complex challenges in areas such as population health, environmental resilience, brain health, mental health, cybersecurity, disaster mitigation and technology innovation, among others.

The university community celebrated FIU’s 50th anniversary with our hearts and minds focused on the future. We are moving forward with clarity and confidence. It is in this spirit that we introduce our new research magazine, an annual publication highlighting the discovery, innovation and creation of our scientists and students. Their work is improving our lives, safeguarding our planet’s most precious resources, and powering our state’s economy.

In this inaugural issue, we introduce you to the individuals leading the largest ecosystem restoration project in the world. We check in with a researcher who has spent decades searching for a way to reverse the damaging effects of environmental lead exposure. We learn more about a cancer expert’s efforts to create individualized treatments for children with advanced cancers. And we catch up with an electrical engineer whose patented designs are transforming wireless communications for the future.

We hope you enjoy this publication, and we encourage you to explore researchmag.fiu.edu for videos and additional information accompanying many of these stories.

Thank you,

Elizabeth M. Béjar
Provost
Executive Vice President
Chief Operating Officer
Email: bejare@fiu.edu

Andrés G. Gil
Senior Vice President, Research and Economic Development
Dean, University Graduate School
Professor, Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work
Email: gila@fiu.edu