Florida Tech's International Diversity Develops Global
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FLORIDA TECH’S INTERNATIONAL DIVERSITY DEVELOPS GLOBAL CITIZENS ONE BIG QUESTION “IS MY SMART TV SPYING ON ME?" Florida Tech TODAY | 1 In This Issue SPRING 2017 • Volume 26, Issue 1 Departments Features President’s Message...........4 17 Is My Smart TV Spying on Me? On Campus...................5 Heather Crawford discusses the delicate balance between consumer privacy and A Closer Look.................10 technological progress. Etc. .13 Athletics .....................14 18 Cultural Charisma First Person.................38 Florida Tech’s international experience is ubiquitous—benefiting our international population and domestic students alike—through cross-cultural programs and events and that small-town, close-knit feel that means you can’t help but develop a shared sense of Panther pride. 24 Style and Substance A week in the luxurious world of Elizabeth Webbe Lunny ’93, vice president of style for The New York Times and publisher of T Magazine, may include everything from a fashion show in Milan to lunch with Ralph Lauren in New York City. GO GREEN, GET ONLINE! 27 Student Design Find expanded coverage, Showcasing the innovative designs and research insights of Florida Tech students. photos and videos at: today.fit.edu 2 OYSTER MATS Florida Tech’s Indian River Lagoon Research Institute invited community volunteers to make oyster mats on campus for an Earth Day project. The mats will be deployed in the Indian River Lagoon as part of the Living Docks program to promote the growth of filter-feeding organisms such as oysters, sponges, barnacles and tunicates along boat docks and sea walls. TODAY http://today.fit.edu Florida Institute of Technology PRESIDENT T. Dwayne McCay, Ph.D. VICE PRESIDENT FOR MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS Wes Sumner Florida Tech Today is published three times a year by Florida Tech’s Office of Marketing and Communications and is distributed to over 70,000 readers. MANAGING EDITOR/ART DIRECTOR Judi Tintera, [email protected] EDITOR Christena Callahan ’07 M.S., [email protected] CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Stephanie Bacon, Christena Callahan, Erin Fox, Shelley Preston, Wes Sumner, Daniel Supraner, Jessica Taylor, Jennifer Torres PRODUCTION Rob Gribbroek, Kristie Kwong WEB LAYOUT Christena Callahan, David Smith CIRCULATION Ali Faisal PHOTOGRAPHY Dominic Agostini, Mike Brown, Jim Hogue, Amanda Stratford, Space Coast Business In This Issue Alumni Office VICE PRESIDENT FOR ALUMNI RELATIONS AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ALUMNI ASSOCIATION Bino Campanini ’90, ’92 MBA 321-674-8434, [email protected] ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR Stephanie Bacon 321-674-7198, [email protected] ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT OFFICER Stevie Pursell ’12 MBA Alumni News 321-674-6826, [email protected] 30 From the FTAA President Have a Story Idea? Email [email protected] Changing Addresses? 31 AlumNotes and On the Road Don’t leave copies of your alumni magazine behind. Send your new address to Florida Tech, Office of 37 Alumni Spotlight: Jody Palmer Development Services, 150 W. University Blvd., Melbourne, FL 32901-6975, [email protected] Unsubscribe Please email [email protected] if you no longer wish to receive this publication. www.fit.edu © Copyright 2017 by Florida Institute of Technology. Connect With Us All rights reserved. Reproduction by any means whole or in part without permission is prohibited. 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Florida Institute of Technology is committed to nondiscrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnic or national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, age, ancestry, disability, genetic information, military status, protected veteran status, or other non-merit reasons in admissions, scholarship and loan programs, educational COVER PHOTO: Lakshmi Narasimhon Athinarayana Venkatanarasimhan, known as Simhon, is the programs, athletic or other university sponsored programs or activities, and employment including employment of disabled veterans and veterans of the Vietnam Era, as required by applicable laws. Contact the Title IX Coordinator at (321) 674-8700. coordinator of the Florida Tech Diplomat Program, a 12-year-old initiative of the Office of International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS). See story on page 18. Photo by Mike Brown Florida Tech Today | 3 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Dear Alumni and Friends, On May 6, Florida Tech conferred more than 1,400 degrees on undergraduate and graduate students. I had the honor of leading the ceremonies and seeing the results of the hard work and unflagging commitment these students put forth to achieve their goals. I was reminded of those qualities on another occasion on that special Saturday, too, and it also involved degrees. Though these recipients were not there in person, the results of their hard work, intelligence and passion are spread across our campus, and our community, to the benefit of us all. BIMDA, the Space Coast’s not-for-profit medical Five years after he arrived from his native Norway with his and dental association, has pledged $15,000 family in 1984, Bjørnar Hermansen joined our board of trustees. By then he had already to Florida Tech in support of STEM education. helped start a cruise line that would go on to reshape Port Canaveral and the cruise The grant is one of six the association recently awarded to select Central Florida organizations industry itself. As you might expect, his impact on our board, on which he served until his in support of STEM, medicine and nursing and passing in December 2015, was deep and long-lasting. He was a steadfast advocate for in celebration of 15 successful years of hosting Florida Tech’s commitment to global education, and that critical area of our programming its signature Medical Expo. Pictured, left to right: Glad Kurian, Dr. Aparna Kopuri, President McCay, grew during his tenure, nurtured in part by his attention and counsel. He and his lovely Dr. Ashok Shah. wife Bjørg, who passed away last October, also funded two scholarship programs here, in addition to supporting our Foosaner Art Museum. And in January, Mary Helen and I were honored to establish the Bjørnar K. Hermansen Ocean Engineering Professorship. On May 6, Florida Tech took another step toward highlighting Bjørnar’s significance to our university by conferring on him an honorary doctorate. Like Mr. Hermansen, the second recipient we honored made contributions that were wide ranging and substantial, both on campus and beyond. Nathan Bisk was a visionary man and an innovator. Already an accomplished accountant, he was attending law school at the University of Florida in 1971 when he took, and passed, his Certified Public Accountant exam. But he found that access to good test preparation materials was lacking. So what did he do? Create Bisk Education to offer seminars for folks preparing for the CPA exam. Today, Bisk is the leading online program management company in the President McCay was recently honored with the country. With over 800 employees, Bisk has facilitated more than one million enrollments Samuel Ginn College of Engineering Outstanding for university partners including Florida Tech. Aerospace Engineering Alumnus Award from Auburn University. McCay is one of the few three- Mr. Bisk’s connection to Florida Tech, however, ran far deeper than the contract to time graduates of Auburn. In 1968, he earned develop and support the university’s online learning programs. He served for nearly eight his bachelor’s degree in physics; in 1969 he years as a member of our board of trustees before stepping down in January. And in 2009 graduated with his master’s degree in aerospace and again in 2014, he provided substantial gifts to support what we now know as the engineering; and in 1974 he was the first doctoral graduate from aerospace engineering at Auburn. Nathan Bisk College of Business. Mr. Bisk passed away at his Tampa home on March 6, Pictured with McCay and representing Auburn, but his legacy at Florida Tech, across cyberspace, and throughout the education spectrum, left to right: Jane DiFolco Parker, vice president, is secure. Office of Development; and Dan Bush, associate director of development. Sincerely, T. Dwayne McCay, Ph.D. President Florida Tech was featured as the cover story for the May edition of Space Coast Business magazine. In addition to acknowledging the university’s important role in helping to fill the high-tech talent pipeline, the Pillars of Excellence program was highlighted. Left: Bjornar Hermansen’s son, John, accepts an honorary doctorate awarded posthumously to his father. Right: Nathan Bisk’s children, Alison and Mike, receive the honorary doctorate in their father’s memory, presented at the Spring 2017 Commencement Ceremony. 4 International Festival by the Numbers From Brazil to India, ONSaudi CAMPUS Arabia to China, the world’s cultures, foods and traditions were celebrated at Florida Institute of Technology’s