A Florida State University research team has received a $350,000 grant from the Humana Foundation to develop and test an artificial intelligence-powered system that helps older adults build social connections through volunteering and community engagement.

The two-year project, “ALCOVE: A Personalized AI Concierge to Promote Community Engagement and Social Connectedness Among Older Adults,” will create a digital platform tailored to the needs, preferences and lifestyles of older adults across North Florida.

Led by FSU School of Information Professor and Institute for Successful Longevity Director Zhe He, the interdisciplinary team includes co-principal investigators Mia Liza A. Lustria and Dawn Carr, along with collaborators from multiple FSU departments and partner institutions.

“Social isolation is one of the most pressing public health crises, yet it is often an overlooked challenge facing older adults, and this grant from the Humana Foundation gives us the opportunity to do something meaningful about it,” He said. “ALCOVE harnesses the power of AI to help older adults find meaningful volunteer and social activities in their community — in a way that feels personal and supportive. It supports people in taking meaningful steps to reconnect with their communities and improve their overall well-being. We are deeply grateful to the Humana Foundation and look forward to making a real difference in the lives of older adults in North Florida.”

The ALCOVE system will function as a personalized “digital social concierge,” guiding users through a simple conversational process to learn about their interests, mobility, transportation options and social preferences. The platform will then match participants with vetted volunteer and community opportunities and provide ongoing reminders, encouragement and follow-up support to help them stay engaged.

The project addresses a growing public health concern. Research has linked chronic loneliness among older adults to increased risks of cognitive decline, heart disease, depression and premature death, as well as billions of dollars in annual health care costs. ALCOVE aims to connect older adults to community, purpose and opportunity.

“Finding opportunities is only part of the solution. People are much more likely to stay engaged when opportunities reflect who they are and fit the realities of their daily lives,” Lustria said. “AI makes that level of personalization possible by learning about each person’s interests, motivations, abilities, transportation options, and other real-world circumstances, allowing ALCOVE to deliver tailored recommendations and ongoing support that simply wouldn’t be feasible at this scale. Ultimately, our goal is to make meaningful community engagement more accessible, helping older adults find purpose, build relationships, and strengthen their connections with the communities around them.”

Carr, director of FSU’s Claude Pepper Center, noted the importance of the specific focus of this project on volunteering.

“Volunteering is a particularly novel and important health behavior to focus on with older adults at risk of experiencing social isolation and loneliness because it is among the most well-established activities for promoting meaningful social connections,” she said. “Not only does volunteering help people feel more connected in the community and with others, it’s also as effective as other health behaviors like exercising and eating well, showing that people who regularly volunteer experience reduced physiological aging over time.”

The project reflects FSU’s leadership in community-engaged and innovative aging research. ALCOVE builds on more than seven years of collaborative research by the team, including NIH-funded efforts to develop AI tools that support healthy aging and long-term engagement among older adults.

The Humana Foundation grant supports the development of the AI system, community-based research and evaluation of outcomes related to social engagement, loneliness and emotional well-being.

Through focus groups and co-design workshops, researchers will work with older adults in North Florida to identify challenges to social participation and shape the platform’s development. The team will then test the system in a two-year pilot study with approximately 50 participants.

Ultimately, the research team aims to use findings from the ALCOVE pilot to pursue additional federal funding and expand the platform to serve older adults nationwide.

The project includes collaborators from Weill Cornell Medicine and Arizona State University, as well as community partners such as the Tallahassee Senior Center, which will help connect researchers with local participants and organizations.

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This week, Florida State University will bring together experts on artificial intelligence and machine learning to explore the role of agentic AI — a type of AI that performs tasks and adapts to change with little human intervention — across industries including medicine, finance, education and more.

The 2026 Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Expo, AIMLX26, is set for Friday, Feb. 27, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 28, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Challenger Learning Center of Tallahassee, 200 S. Duval Street. The two-day event is presented by the FSU Interdisciplinary Data Science Master’s Degree Program.

On Friday, industry professionals and researchers from FSU’s Department of Computer Science, the FSU School of Information, OpenAI, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Florida and Premera Blue Cross will present on topics ranging from the engineering of AI systems to their applications.

“The theme of this year’s event is agentic AI with a focus on how intelligent, autonomous and collaborative AI systems are reshaping research, industry and society,” said Zhe He, director of the Institute for Successful Longevity at FSU and a professor in the School of Information. “The program will explore topics such as multi-agent systems, large language model–based agents, decentralized and agentic web architectures, AI for scientific discovery, and real-world deployments in domains like health care, finance and enterprise systems.”

He, who is also affiliated with the Department of Computer Science, Department of Statistics, and the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine in the College of Medicine, will present the lecture “Developing a Multi-Agent AI System for Explaining Lab Results to Older Adults.” This work is supported by a recent grant from the National Institute on Aging’s Artificial Intelligence and Technology Collaboratories for Aging Research and aims to help older Americans better understand how to use AI and other emerging technologies to better manage and act upon their health data.

He’s presentation will include his team’s work on LabGenie, a patient-and-caregiver facing application that is designed to improve health outcomes for consumers.

“The system is designed to translate complex laboratory data into patient-friendly, actionable insights that support better engagement, shared decision making, and improved health literacy and outcomes,” He said.

This year’s keynote speaker, Sherwin Wu, is a member of technical staff at OpenAI and leads engineering for the OpenAI Platform. His keynote address on Friday, “Slowly, and Then All At Once: A survey of AI agents over the last three years and a glimpse into the next three years,” will discuss industry trends since ChatGPT’s launch in 2022 and the current and future landscape of AI capabilities.

On Saturday, the Challenger Learning Center will host the local K-12 community for additional FSU faculty lectures as well as a series of interactive activities — the first event of its kind in AIMLX series history. Activities include learning about robotics, color coding magnets, basic programming, car challenges, binary number bracelet crafts and more that allow learners of all ages to participate.

“We’re highlighting the connection between what goes on at FSU on the scientific level and day-to-day applications of AI tools,” said Gordon Erlebacher, IDS program director and a professor in the Department of Scientific Computing, who will present Saturday on the rapid evolution of AI tools and their impact on daily life. “AI tools have so many uses that students should learn about, and the community day allows participants to directly ask FSU faculty questions about AI while providing a point of contact for the future. We hope that hearing from local experts who use these tools will make AI approachable and relatable.”

For a full schedule of presentations, events, topics, presenter details and more, visit the FSU Data Science event website.

AIMLX26 is sponsored by Florida State University, the FSU College of Arts and Sciences, the FSU College of Communication and Information, the FSU School of Information, the FSU Department of Computer Science, the FSU Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics, the FSU Department of Scientific Computing, the FSU Department of Statistics, the Challenger Learning Center of Tallahassee and Ruvos.

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Florida State University recognized international and domestic participants of the Fulbright Program during a reception Tuesday, Nov. 18, at the Longmire Building. 

Founded in 1946, the Fulbright Program is one of the most widely recognized international academic exchange programs. It aims to increase mutual understanding and support friendly and peaceful relations between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The U.S. government currently partners with more than 160 countries worldwide. 

FSU has participated in the Fulbright Program since 1951 and has been among the nation’s top producers of both faculty and student awards in recent years. The U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs recognized Florida State as a top-producing institution of U.S. Fulbright Scholars earlier this year.  

For the 2025-2026 cycle, three current and former FSU students earned scholarships through the prestigious Fulbright U.S. Student Program to conduct research in the U.K., Colombia and Argentina. In addition, four FSU faculty members will travel to teach and conduct research abroad through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program in Ireland, Taiwan, Hungary and India.  

On campus, 13 foreign students and scholars from places like Indonesia, Armenia and Uruguay are currently studying or conducting research at FSU through the Foreign Fulbright Program. Twelve students are here through the Fulbright Foreign Student Program, and one researcher is here through the Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program. 

Steve McDowell, FSU’s assistant provost for International Initiatives, presided over the event. FSU Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs James Clark delivered welcoming remarks.  

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Florida State University School of Information professor Zhe He has received two major honors for his work in health informatics.

He was elected a Fellow of the International Academy of Health Sciences Informatics (IAHSI) and awarded a $280,000 grant from the National a2 Pilot Awards Competition, funded by the National Institute on Aging.

“Dr. Zhe He has been an extraordinary colleague from the moment he joined the FSU faculty,” said Dean Michelle Kazmer of the College of Communication and Information. “He is an excellent teacher and mentor, a committed member of the university community and has conducted transformational research in the area of health informatics. Dr. He, along with his students and research colleagues across the globe, has done foundational research and systems design to improve health outcomes for everyone. I am grateful and proud that he is a member of the faculty in the College of Communication and Information.”

IAHSI recognizes global leaders who advance healthcare through research, education, and innovation. This year, the academy named 18 Fellows worldwide, including 11 from North America.

“Being elected as a Fellow of the IAHSI is an incredible honor and a deeply humbling experience,” He said. “It represents international recognition of the work I’ve done over the past 17 years to advance biomedical and health informatics.”

He’s research focuses on the intersection of biomedical and health informatics, artificial intelligence and big data analytics, and he serves as the director of the FSU Institute for Successful Longevity; director of the UF-FSU CTSA Biostatistics, Informatics, and Research Design Program; and chair of the AMIA Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining Working Group.

He first connected with IAHSI through his involvement with the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA), which founded IAHSI in 2017. Over the years, he has presented research, organized panels, and collaborated with scholars internationally through IMIA conferences.

“He is an excellent teacher and mentor, a committed member of the university community and has conducted transformational research in the area of health informatics. Dr. He, along with his students and research colleagues across the globe, has done foundational research and systems design to improve health outcomes for everyone.”

– Dean Michelle Kazmer, College of Communication and Information

“I was both surprised and honored to be nominated and elected by such a distinguished group of peers whose work I have long admired,” He said.

As a Fellow, He aims to support the academy’s goal of advancing health sciences informatics by strengthening global collaboration on pressing issues like climate change, aging and the ethical use of artificial intelligence in health care. He also looks forward to working with international colleagues on leadership practices, sharing knowledge and building the capacity of low-resource settings and communities.

In addition to his IAHSI Fellowship, He was recently awarded a one-year $280,000 research grant from the National a2 Pilot Awards Competition, hosted annually by the Artificial Intelligence and Technology Collaboratories (AITC) for Aging Research Program and funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA).

The grant supports his project, “Developing a Multi-Agent AI System for Explaining Lab Results to Older Adults,” which is part of his ongoing research initiative, LabGenie.

“This recognition underscores the importance of addressing the unique challenges older adults and their caregivers face in interpreting lab test results,” He said.

He began working with the National Institute on Aging through research on health and aging, collaborating with clinicians, behavioral scientists, and computer scientists. He has also earned two other NIA grants for projects on clinical trial optimization and personalized AI tools.

He hopes LabGenie will expand to include symptom tracking, contextual insight generation, patient portal integration, and shared decision-making support, making lab results more comprehensive and accessible for older patients and their caregivers.

“My hope is that LabGenie becomes a model for how AI can enhance patient engagement for those with varying health literacy levels and improve outcomes, especially for older adults with multiple chronic conditions,” He said.

For more information about FSU’s College of Communication and Information, visit cci.fsu.edu.

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As Florida State University celebrates the summer class of 2025, more than 2,850 graduates are stepping into the next chapter of their lives, joining a global network of over 407,000 FSU alumni.

This summer, the university will award 1,692 bachelor’s degrees, 881 master’s and specialist degrees, 183 doctoral degrees, 4 Juris Doctor degrees, 93 Juris Master’s degrees, and 2 LLM degrees. Roughly 1,850 graduates will participate in person, marking a proud moment for the FSU community.

This summer’s graduates have had a variety of experiences, mentors and moments that shaped their individual academic journeys. From groundbreaking research to personal transformation, these stories reflect the resilience, curiosity and drive that define the spirit of FSU.

Miguel Garcia-Salas is graduating with a doctorate from FSU’s School of Communication Science and Disorders. His work focused on speech-language pathology with an emphasis on family-centered interventions.

During his time at FSU, Garcia-Salas published in top-tier journals, presented at national American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) conferences, earned multiple awards and taught undergraduate courses.

A highlight of his research was the development of the DREAM Program, Dialogic Reading Education through Accessible Modules. This online initiative helps families implement dialogic reading, a proven technique that fosters language development through interactive storybook reading. Garcia-Salas piloted the program with 42 families and reported promising outcomes in his dissertation.

Beyond academics, Garcia-Salas raised his young family in Tallahassee, an experience he describes as deeply meaningful.

“This is all my family knows, this FSU community,” Garcia-Salas said. “The FSU Childcare and Early Learning Program, the Florida Center for Reading Research my school, the library and university grants have all played a role in helping me balance fatherhood and scholarship.”

After graduation, Garcia-Salas will join the University of Arkansas as an assistant professor. He plans to continue working with historically underserved families and community organizations to promote language and literacy development through home-based interventions.

Carlton Wier, a Marine Corps veteran born and raised in Tallahassee, is graduating this semester with a degree in interdisciplinary social science from Florida State University’s College of Social Sciences and Public Policy.

Wier chose to attend FSU for its tradition, culture and the outstanding reputation of the Student Veterans Center.

“It is an honor to walk in this semester’s commencement ceremony and join close relatives as Florida State alumni,” Wier said. “The history, culture, tradition and the people I had the privilege to meet set Florida State apart.”

During his time at FSU, Wier found support through the Student Veterans Center, which he described as a model of integrity, inclusion and expertise in navigating VA benefits.

“The Student Veterans Center is an example of what selfless service truly means,” he said. “It improves character, performance and confidence in a veteran experiencing college life after and during military service.”

He said he will miss the staff, facilities, athletics, academics, professors, students and alumni most from his time at FSU.

After graduation, Wier plans to start a business or organization dedicated to supporting veterans, law enforcement, first responders and their families with a broader mission to serve the community in any way possible.

“I look forward to continuing to uphold the title and responsibility that comes with being a graduate of Florida State University,” he said. “Go Noles!”

Zahria Moore, a first-generation college graduate from Boca Raton, Florida, is earning her degree in criminology with a minor in African American studies from Florida State University’s College of Criminology and Criminal Justice.

Moore chose Florida State for its standout academic programs and vibrant campus life. Criminology, one of FSU’s top-ranked majors, caught her attention early on, but it was the university’s spirit and support systems that made it feel like home.

“My journey has been very unique and challenging,” Moore said. “Walking in this commencement ceremony is something I’ve always dreamt of, but never fully imagined happening until this week. Getting the email that I would graduate made my heart do a backflip.”

Throughout her time at FSU, Moore found a strong sense of community through the Unconquered Scholars Program and CARE (Center for Academic Retention & Enhancement). These programs provided her with more than just academic support—they gave her a village.

“These programs feel like drinking from a wishing well,” Moore said during her keynote address at the 2025 Unconquered Scholars Awareness Banquet. “Everything that I wanted, everything that I came to college looking for, I found in this remarkable program and these amazing people. My family, my home away from home, my safe space, my confidants.”

Moore’s proudest accomplishment was not only growing within the Unconquered Scholars Program but also helping it grow. Serving on the executive board became a defining part of her college experience.

“Joining the board was possibly one of the best things I could have done in my college career,” she said.

When she reflects on her time at FSU, Moore lights up at the memory of football season and spontaneous campus events.

“Something I love about FSU is the spirit of football season. It unites everyone—no matter who you are or where you came from,” she said. “And I’ll miss the random events on Landis. Waking up to a carnival being built genuinely made me smile.”

After graduation, Moore will begin her career as a youth counselor at a juvenile detention center in New Hampshire—her first step toward a long-term goal of positively impacting the criminal justice system.

“I earned this,” she said. “And I’m excited for everyone to see that.”

Alison Cole has always been drawn to the roar of engines. Growing up in Jupiter, Florida, she was captivated by a nearby facility that assembled and tested military helicopters.

“I grew up down the street from where they built the Blackhawks, and I’d always watch them get tested, and you could hear the engines going,” Cole said. “It was just really fascinating to me.”

That early fascination led her to pursue a Master’s in Business Administration at FSU, which she will receive this month. After graduation, she will work in Orlando for Lockheed Martin’s Missiles and Fire Control department.

Cole credits her success to the support she received from professors and mentors, especially Larry Giunipero, one of the nation’s top supply chain experts.

“Without Dr. Larry Giunipero, I don’t know where I would be,” she said. “His connections and his love of the supply chain really helped me focus on where I wanted to go after graduation.”

Giunipero praised Cole’s intelligence, business acumen and drive, noting her potential to help solve complex supply chain challenges.

Cole said her MBA experience helped her understand business dynamics and corporate strategy, giving her the tools to navigate the professional world.

Outside of academics, Cole recently completed the London Marathon, a personal milestone she describes as one of her proudest accomplishments.

“It was the hardest thing I’ve probably ever had to accomplish, but I’m really proud that I did that,” she said.

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The development of more accessible artificial intelligence (AI) models has transformed the field of health diagnoses and medicine, with AI being used for diagnostic accuracy, personalized treatment plans, interpreting medical images, streamlining operations, supporting remote patient monitoring and much more.

Researchers from the eHealth Lab at Florida State University’s School of Information have been evaluating the application of AI as a tool to aid health care providers in making more accurate patient diagnoses. The advancement has the potential to enhance treatment methods and improve patient outcomes.

Senior Author and Director for FSU’s Institute for Successful Longevity Zhe He and Visiting Assistant Professor Balu Bhasuran are among the co-authors on the multi-institutional research. The study has already garnered significant attention, with the paper being accessed more than 3,000 times since its publication in mid-March.

The paper, which was published in npj Digital Medicine, expands on FSU’s LabGenie project, a patient-engagement tool aimed at improving older adults’ understanding of lab test results.

The research team has been exploring the feasibility of using large language models (LLMs), a type of AI that learns from a large amount of text to answer questions accurately, to assist clinicians and improve differential diagnosis accuracy and efficiency. Differential diagnosis (DDx) is a critical step in clinical decision-making, helping health care providers distinguish between conditions with similar symptoms.

“The AI generated differential diagnosis is very comprehensive in covering all possible diagnoses for patients,” He said. “What this study helps show is how AI can potentially be used as a tool to help practitioners make more informed decisions for their patients.”

The study involved utilizing the LLMs to generate lists of the top one, five and ten DDx for clinicians’ evaluation. Researchers assessed the accuracy and predictive power of the LLMs and examined how incorporating lab test results impacted their diagnostic accuracy.

“What this study helps show is how AI can potentially be used as a tool to help practitioners make more informed decisions for their patients.”

– Zhe He, senior author and director for FSU’s Institute for Successful Longevity

The study tested five LLMs — GPT-4, GPT-3.5, Llama-2-70b, Claude-2 and Mixtral-8x7B — using clinical vignettes, or narrative patient-related cases, derived from 50 case reports. Their findings reveal that lab test data significantly improves diagnostic accuracy, with GPT-4 achieving the highest performance.

Specifically, GPT-4 achieved 55% top one accuracy and 60% top 10 accuracy with lab data, with lenient accuracy reaching 80%. Lab tests, including liver function, metabolic/toxicology panels and serology/immune tests, were generally interpreted correctly by the LLMs.

“When we asked the model for the top differential diagnosis, most of these models were able to produce the patient’s exact diagnosis,” Bhasuran said. “That’s very interesting because it implies that even in rare case diseases, the model is able to predict that.”

The research aims to help address well-known areas of concern often felt in health care settings from both the provider and patient perspective. Accurate diagnosis is crucial for effective patient management, directly influencing treatment decisions and overall patient outcomes. Reducing diagnostic errors helps streamline patient care, eliminating the need for excessive or repeated testing and ultimately lowering health care costs through reduced hospital stays and unnecessary procedures.

The work was supported by an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality grant and partially supported by the University of Florida-Florida State University Clinical and Translational Science Award and the National Library of Medicine. It also included collaboration with Tampa General Hospital and coauthors from Florida State University, the National Library of Medicine, Emory University, University of South Florida and University of North Texas Health Science Center. FSU Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) students Angelique Deville, Hailey Thompson, Maggie Awad and Yash Alva assisted in extracting key information for the case reports.

To learn more, visit ehealthlab.cci.fsu.edu.

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The emerging and transformative field of artificial intelligence has international implications that require global collaboration. To help bridge the gap, Shuyuan Ho Metcalfe, an associate professor in the School of Information at Florida State University’s College of Communication and Information, took on research and a lectureship at the University of Bologna in Bologna, Italy, through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program.

Fulbright U.S. Scholars are faculty, researchers, administrators and established professionals teaching or conducting research in affiliation with institutes abroad. Fulbright Scholars engage in cutting-edge research and expand their professional networks, often continuing research collaborations started abroad and laying the groundwork for forging future partnerships between institutions. Upon returning to their home countries, institutions, labs and classrooms, they share their stories and often become active supporters of international exchange, inviting foreign scholars to campus and encouraging colleagues and students to go abroad.

In addition to teaching at the University of Bologna, Metcalfe conducted research on the perception and traceability of anonymous communication for global cyber defense.

“It’s going to be an international effort across two different continents to study this very interesting problem,” she said.

One of the biggest highlights of Metcalfe’s experience was the countless comparisons she noticed between the United States and Italy, particularly among the students. She observed an eagerness to learn that transcended cultural differences.

“I feel like students were well prepared and there is no difference between the students in Italy and the students in the United States,” Metcalfe said. “Both are really eager to learn and jump onto and think about how to solve the problem.”

She noticed a similar eagerness for knowledge among faculty members as well.

“We are right in the same space thinking about the same issue, so this gave me confirmation of what we are thinking across different borders,” she said.

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Michelle Kazmer is the dean of Florida State University’s College of Communication and Information. She is also a professor in the School of Information and a leading expert on Golden Age crime fiction author Agatha Christie.

Kazmer is a leading expert on how Christie uses information theories in her stories, but she also explores other aspects of Christie and crime fiction’s lasting impact on society.

Kazmer recently spoke with Sir David Suchet in his new BritBox original series “Travels with Agatha Christie & Sir David Suchet,” specifically on the episode about Christie’s holiday in Hawaii.

Kazmer has contributed the chapter “Christie’s Clues as Information” to “The Bloomsbury Handbook to Agatha Christie,” been interviewed by the BBC on the topic twice and co-hosted two episodes of the All About Agatha Christie Podcast. She is also the first American to give the keynote speech at the Agatha Christie and Golden Age of Crime international conference.

What drew you to study Agatha Christie’s works and life?

Like many readers, I’ve been an Agatha Christie “fan” since my tween years. A little over a decade ago I had the opportunity to turn my research attention to her works. Crime fiction in general is an extremely important object of study; it’s economically powerful, first of all, but crime fiction is also important to humanity. For millennia, human beings have processed what it means to be human, and how we handle those among us who violate our shared obligations, through consuming crime fiction. It literally shapes how we think and our societal infrastructures of justice.  

How does your background in information science differentiate your unique expertise on Christie and Golden Age crime fiction?

There are lots of brilliant folks who study crime fiction from many different perspectives: literary, legal, media, linguistic, forensic and so forth. There wasn’t anyone I could find who was approaching fictional detection as an “information behavior.” Information behaviors are something we study and theorize a lot in information science so I was curious: can we learn more about what makes crime fiction successful by analyzing it according to theories from the field of information science? The answer is yes.

How did Christie’s holiday in Hawaii and travels in general in the 1920s, before she became the famous writer known today, inform and influence her writing?

Young Agatha Christie was, as we see from her diaries and autobiographical material, a quite vigorous woman. She was social and quite physically active! She loved travel and took the opportunity to travel part of the world in 1922 on a trip associated with the British Empire Exhibition in London. There’s a book about it called “The Grand Tour” edited by her grandson, Mathew Prichard. The new series available on BritBox, “Travels with Agatha Christie and Sir David Suchet,” features Sir David Suchet going to all the same destinations.

Travel features heavily in almost all of Agatha Christie’s writing. Whether it’s domestic travel in trains or automobiles, or international travel on trains, airplanes, ships, boats, buses or on camels — she included it in her work throughout her more than 50 years of publishing. Travel is in many ways a crime writer’s dream: it lets you pull together different types of people, often into an isolated setting, and have them acting in ways they mightn’t do in their everyday lives. And because she traveled so much herself, her travel is very realistic, both in the good aspects and in the inconveniences!

What makes Christie’s work enduring and lasting in popular media as well as academia?

Crime fiction remains popular globally and Agatha Christie particularly so. She’s the best-selling novelist of all time and her work has been translated into more then 100 languages from their original English, and adapted into every possible medium from radio play to manga, from stage play to video game. But WHY Agatha Christie, in particular? First of all, her writing is readable, not because what she has written is easy or simple, but because she had an extraordinary talent and skill for clarity of plot and prose. So, you can read it quickly in an airport and enjoy the heck out of it, or you can read it deeply for academic analysis — and still enjoy it as well as learning a lot. Her work bears re-reading; it’s sufficiently interesting that even if you know “whodunnit,” you are happy to come back for more. And finally: she was a brilliant innovator. For anything we think of as a common trope in crime fiction, Agatha either did it first — that is, she invented it; or she did it best — so someone else invented the trick, but she perfected it; or BOTH — she innovated a trick and did so perfectly.

Where would you recommend new readers start if interested in reading Christie’s works?

As you can imagine, recommending a “first” Agatha Christie to new readers is highly debated among the Agathologists! I will offer some groupings:

• Starter pack: “The Murder at the Vicarage” (Miss Marple); “Death on the Nile” (Hercule Poirot); “Evil Under the Sun” (Hercule Poirot); “Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?” (Standalone).
• The crown jewels: “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd,” “Murder on the Orient Express” and “And Then There Were None.”
• Other wonderful things to read early on: “The Secret Adversary,” “Five Little Pigs,” “A Murder is Announced,” “Ordeal by Innocence,” “Hercule Poirot’s Christmas,” “The Mysterious Affair at Styles,” “A Pocket Full of Rye” and “Crooked House.”

There are 66 novels, 14 short story collections, plays and practically infinite adaptations, so it is possible to be occupied for quite some time.

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With both Ukraine and Florida experiencing catastrophic damage to cities from war and hurricanes, respectively, students at Florida State University joined forces with peers in Ukraine to develop real-life solutions for reconstruction efforts last month. This collaboration brought students together to address an urgent and tragic crisis – the destruction of cities.

The event, “Hack Disaster: The International Hackathon to Rebuild Cities,” was hosted by the FSU Innovation Hub in collaboration with FSU’s Ukraine Task Force and the Ukrainian-based organization Hackathon Expert Group. The five-day event virtually connected 32 FSU students with 17 students from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (KNU) in Ukraine.

Hackathons have become a popular educational tool where interdisciplinary teams compete to solve a real-world problem. This unique hackathon split students into nine interdisciplinary teams, each consisting of four to six students from both Ukraine and the U.S. These binational teams worked together online to respond to the rise of natural and manmade disasters in the 21st century.

The challenge provided an exceptional opportunity for students to use design thinking and advanced technology to assess building damage and estimate reconstruction costs. Over a dozen faculty and experts from FSU and KNU volunteered to support the student teams as mentors and facilitators, offering their expertise across several disciplines, including data science, computer science, artificial intelligence, engineering, emergency management, entrepreneurship and communications.

“It was a true partnership from the earliest planning to the emotional conclusion,” said Ken Baldauf, director of the Innovation Hub at FSU. “We blended design methodologies from the FSU Innovation Hub with a hackathon framework from the Ukrainian Hackathon Expert Group. The results were even more impressive and impactful than we had hoped for. Perhaps the most valuable results were the international connections that were formed between all involved.”

The winning team, “Clear Sight Disaster Suite,” included FSU students Calen Sims, Kathleen Ticer, Ethan Long, and Farhana Taiyebah, along with KNU students Kyrylo Bonduryansky and Daniia Kravchuk. Their project focused on using a shipping container as a command-and-control center outside of a disaster recovery zone and establishing a graphical user interface concept.

Sims, the winning team’s project manager and architect, described the event as a “transformative experience.” He earned his undergraduate degree in computer engineering from the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering while at FSU Panama City in 2021 and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in systems engineering at the same location.

“The event not only challenged my technical skills, but also expanded my understanding of project management, systems engineering, interdisciplinary problem-solving and the importance of global collaboration,” he said. “Working alongside talented peers at FSU and KNU was particularly inspiring, as it highlighted the value of diverse perspectives in addressing complex issues like disaster recovery. This experience instilled in me a commitment to leveraging my skills to solve real-world challenges, leaving a lasting impression that will continue to guide my academic and career aspirations.”

The idea for the event was born this past summer when Taras Panchenko, head of the computer science department at KNU, spent a month on FSU’s campus through the BridgeUSA Ukrainian Academic Fellows Program. The program aims to help Ukrainian universities educate and train professionals critical to the country’s recovery and reconstruction through lasting, productive collaboration with U.S. institutions of higher education.

FSU’s Ukraine Task Force hosted Panchenko and three other Ukrainian higher education officials to learn about teacher-training development, combating human trafficking, mental health care, trauma resiliency, intensive English language development, drone applications, closed-circuit television (CCTV), body security innovations and many other areas. The task force was created in 2022 to support Ukrainian colleges and universities, explore areas of possible research or grant collaboration and educate the FSU community about Ukraine. It falls under the purview of the Learning Systems Institute.

During his time on FSU’s campus, Panchenko, who leads the Ukraine-based Hackathon Expert Group alongside peers at KNU, connected with FSU faculty members and discussed how to foster collaborations between students at FSU and KNU. That’s when he pitched the idea for a virtual hackathon where students at both institutions could collaborate virtually to solve a problem.

“All of the BridgeUSA Fellows are spectacular educators,” said Vilma Fuentes, program director of the FSU Ukraine Task Force. “They live in the world of innovation and are trying to find engaging learning opportunities for their students in the midst of Russia’s daily missile and drone attacks. I am delighted to know that we were able to organize this international hackathon just months after Taras Panchenko’s departure. It was a spectacular learning opportunity for all involved. This is just one of the many international projects we hope to implement with our Ukrainian colleagues at KNU.”

In addition to Panchenko, Baldauf and Fuentes, the planning committee for the event included Anna Romanova, researcher at Learning Systems Institute; Gordon Erlebacher, professor in the Department of Scientific Computing and program director of the Interdisciplinary Data Science Program at FSU; Emily Pritchard, assistant provost for health innovation; David Merrick, director of the Emergency Management and Homeland Security Program and the Center for Disaster Risk Policy at FSU; Stephen McDowell, assistant provost for international initiatives at FSU; and Paul Marty, associate vice provost for academic innovation and professor in FSU’s School of Information.

To learn more about the Innovation Hub at FSU, visit innovation.fsu.edu. For more information about FSU’s Ukraine Task Force, visit lsi.fsu.edu/fsu-ukraine-task-force.

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Florida State University researchers and a guest speaker from the University of Pennsylvania considered the challenges and opportunities that technology and artificial intelligence present for aging populations in holistic health care during a panel discussion hosted by the FSU Institute for Successful Longevity.

The Oct. 9 event, held at the Tallahassee Senior Center, was part of FSU Discovery Days, a week that celebrates FSU research, creativity and innovation.

“Events like this allow us to connect directly with the community, hear their perspectives and better understand their needs,” Interim Director of the ISL Zhe He said. “Technology can enhance the quality of life for older adults, but it’s essential that we address their unique challenges and concerns. This event is not just about showcasing advancements — it’s about ensuring that innovations in technology are accessible, user-friendly and aligned with the real needs of the people we aim to support.”

Special guest George Demiris, the Mary Alice Bennett University Professor and Penn Integrated Knowledge University Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, kicked off the event with his talk “Aging and Technology: Challenges and Opportunities.” Demiris highlighted research focusing on the various ways technology can support aging in place while addressing issues such as social isolation and health monitoring.

Demiris spoke about how artificial intelligence and wearable smart technology can be integrated into smart homes, allowing health care providers and family to collect integral health information about aging patients that can be used to help monitor behavior and health patterns seamlessly and unobtrusively.

“This technology can help us understand how someone is living in their own home,” Demiris said. “We can see if someone becomes more restless at night, or that they move around more or less frequently in their own home.”

This kind of data collection can provide care teams with the information to create tailored, holistic care plans to best fit the needs of each patient.

Following Demiris’ talk, he joined the panel of FSU researchers including He, Director of FSU’s Claude Pepper Center and Associate Professor of Sociology Dawn Carr, FSU Professor of Information Mia Liza A. Lustria and Professor of Sociology and Director of the Pepper Institute on Aging and Public Policy Miles Taylor.

The panel answered questions posed by community members surrounding data collection integrity, levels of patient care and current research.

“We need to recognize that aging is diverse, and technology must be adaptable to meet the unique needs of each individual,” He said.

Later in the day, Demiris also gave the talk “Artificial Intelligence and Aging: Examples and Lessons Learned” at FSU’s Claude Pepper Center.

The FSU panelists are part of a research team awarded a $1 million grant earlier this year from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to develop LabGenie, a tool to help older patients better understand the results of medical lab health tests.

FSU Discovery Days events continue through Saturday, Oct. 12. For the full calendar of events, visit discoverydays.fsu.edu.

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Six faculty members and one postdoctoral researcher at Florida State University have received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award for the 2024-2025 academic year from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

Their expertise will take them to Finland, Colombia, Italy, India, Germany and Sweden.

Fulbright U.S. Scholars are faculty, researchers, administrators and established professionals teaching or conducting research in affiliation with institutes abroad. Fulbright Scholars engage in cutting-edge research and expand their professional networks, often continuing research collaborations started abroad and laying the groundwork for forging future partnerships between institutions. Upon returning to their home countries, institutions, labs and classrooms, they share their stories and often become active supporters of international exchange, inviting foreign scholars to campus and encouraging colleagues and students to go abroad.

The 2024-2025 Fulbright Scholars from FSU are:

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