Dr. Brian Benscoter, biological sciences, was published in the November 2011 issue of Nature Communications as part of a team that was the first to investigate the effect of drainage on carbon accumulation in northern peatlands and the vulnerability of that carbon to burning.

Dr. William Bosshardt, economics, received a grant from the Florida Council on Economic Education to provide materials and knowledge to area teachers through the Center for Economic Education's workshops and programs.

Dr. Brenda Claiborne, provost and chief academic officer, has recently been elected to serve as an officer of the Society for Neuroscience (SfN), which has more than 41,000 members worldwide and publishes the weekly scientific journal, The Journal of Neuroscience. It is the world's largest organization of scientists and clinicians studying the brain and nervous system. Dr. Claiborne will serve a three-year term that began Nov. 15, the first as an officer-elect, the second as treasurer and the final year as past-treasurer.

Dr. Janet Cramer, communication and multimedia studies, was appointed Associate Provost for Assessment and Instruction. Previously, she served as Associate Dean for Curriculum and Instruction in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of New Mexico.

Dr. Fraser Dalgleish, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, has received a notice of allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for his Method and Apparatus for Synchronous Laser Beam Scanning patent application, which will provide advanced ocean floor imaging capability compared with sonar.

Dr. Deborah L. Floyd, educational leadership, was appointed the editor of the Community College Journal of Research and Practice, which is a multidisciplinary forum for researchers and practitioners in higher education and the behavioral and social sciences to promote an increased awareness of community college issues. An article detailing Dr. Floyd's work was published in The Chronicle of Higher Education in October 2011.

Dr. Ed Gerstein, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, was awarded first place for "use of technology to advance research" for his presentation titled "Of Manatee and Men" at the International Marine Animal Trainers' Association meeting.

Dr. John Hardman, educational leadership and research methodology, published a book titled Leading for Regeneration: Going Beyond Sustainability in Business, Education, and Community. The book presents the regenerative leadership framework that has emerged from doctoral research and consulting work with successful sustainability leaders. The framework synthesizes the levels of awareness, the leadership styles and behaviors, and the organizational arrangements that correlate most significantly across these domains.

Dr. Brett Laursen, psychology, published results from a study on how friends influence problem behaviors in a sample of middle and high school students. The findings were published in August in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology, a journal of the American Psychological Association.

Briar March, communications and multimedia studies, has received two awards for her documentary There Once Was an Island: Te Henua e Nnoh, which tells the story of the inhabitants of an island in the Pacific that is disappearing because of climate change (http://www.thereoncewasanisland.com). The film was selected as winner of Best International Film at the Rome International Film Festival (Rome, Georgia) and Winner of Audience Award at the Festival International Du Film Insulaire (France).

Steve McCulloch, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, was awarded first place in the category of education and conservation for his presentation "Response to Marine Mammal Entanglements within the Southeastern United States" at the International Marine Animal Trainers' Association meeting.

Dr. Robert Pinsker, accounting, and his co-authors received the Behavioral Research in Accounting (BRIA) 2011 Best Paper Award. Awarded by the American Accounting Association, the Best Paper Award recognizes annually a paper published in BRIA with the greatest impact or potential impact on behavioral and/or organizational research in accounting.

Maryellen Quinn-Lunny, exceptional student education, has been named the new director of FAU's Center for Autism and Related Disabilities. Quinn-Lunny comes to FAU after a long tenure as the executive director of exceptional student education with the Martin County School District.

Paul Raeburn, communication and multimedia studies, received the American Chemical Society's James T. Grady-James H. Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry to the Public. The award cites Raeburn's work as science editor and chief science correspondent at the Associated Press from 1981 to 1996, where thousands of his articles were distributed to more than 1,700 newspapers and 6,000 television and radio stations worldwide.

Dr. D. V. Reddy, civil, environmental and geomatics engineering, has been elected a Fellow of the American Concrete Institute (ACI), in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the production and use of concrete materials, products, and structures in the areas of education, research, development, design, construction, and management.

Adam Schaefer, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, co-authored a study titled "Risk Factors for Colonization of E. coli in Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins (tursiops truncates) in the Indian River Lagoon," which was published in the Journal of Environmental and Public Health. HBOI employees Marilyn Mazzoil and Dr. Gregory Bossart also co-authored the article.

Dr. Tim Steigenga, political science, co-authored a book titled Living Illegal: The Human Face of Unauthorized Immigration, which focuses on the individual lives of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S., paying close attention to the difficult circumstances they face while travelling to and living in the United States, including economic hardships, social issues, and deportation. Dr. Steigenga currently serves as Chair of Social Sciences and Humanities in the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College.

Dr. Tsung-chow Su, ocean and mechanical engineering, has two papers accepted for publication: "Axisymmetric Vibrations of a Viscous-Fluid-Filled Piezoelectric Spherical Shell and the Associated Radiation of Sound" in the Journal of Sound and Vibration and "On predicting boat drift under time-varying and uncertain sea environment and boat parameters" in the International Journal of Offshore and Polar Engineering.

Lana Thompson, University Center for Excellence in Writing, authored her second book, Plastic Surgery, which is a non-fiction consumer publication about the pros and cons of restorative and cosmetic surgery. Ms. Thompson is a three-time alumnus of FAU, receiving her bachelor's and master's in anthropology, as well as her master of fine arts in creative writing.



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