SPECIAL REMEMBRANCE

The Florida Atlantic community recently lost neuroscientist Emmanuele Tognoli, Ph.D. “Emmanuelle was passionate in her efforts to understand the meaning of brain dynamics underlying thought and social experience,” said Randy Blakely, Ph.D., executive director of the FAU Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute. “Her own mind, generous spirit, and joy of others will long be remembered by all who knew her. Her efforts to champion equality and equity will be impactful.”

Continuing Her Passion

Recently, the university received a three-year, nearly $1 million National Science Foundation Advance Adaptation grant to help transform faculty diversity and ensure appropriate representation of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. This grant continues the work of Tognoli, who served as a research professor in FAU’s Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences within the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science and a member of the Brain Institute. She was the original principal investigator of the submitted proposal and led the design of the initiatives and interventions to a successful grant submission, which is now allowing FAU to implement these initiatives.

“Successful implementation of our program for institutional change will achieve a more representative and participatory STEM faculty and accelerate institutional competitiveness in education and research,” said Alka Sapat, Ph.D., principal investigator, professor and director of the School of Public Administration in FAU Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters. “The crucial outcome of this transformation will be the mitigation of STEM workforce shortages with implications for local industries, in particular, biotechnologies, aerospace, health, aging, agriculture, international trade, marine environment, information and security, and financial services.”