ASEMFL 2026 Annual Meeting

The Annual Meeting “Advancing Resilience for Florida’s Future” will be held at the Marshall Student Center, University of South Florida, 4103 Cedar Circle, Tampa, FL 33620. The Annual Meeting hotel is Embassy Suites, 3705 Spectrum Blvd, Tampa. Shuttle service will be provided between the hotel and the meeting venue; parking is also available at the meeting location.

We welcome all interested stakeholders (faculty, industry, government professionals, postdocs, students, and community members) to attend the 2026 Annual Meeting.

The featured keynote speaker is Dr. Monica Bertagnolli, President of the National Academy of Medicine, surgical oncologist and former NIH Director, who grew up on a cattle ranch.

Technical sessions address targeted topics for our rapidly evolving world. These include: 1. Artificial intelligence (rural medicine, defense, cognitive reasoning); 2. Florida’s Aging Population: Aging in Place (digital health, design of living spaces, brain dynamics/gait & balance); 3. Agriculture: Resilience and Innovation (contributions to Florida’s well-being, adaptative trends, evolving tools); and 4. Recovery of Critical Minerals (international business landscape for the rare earth elements, recovery of radium and rare earths from the waste streams of Florida’s phosphate mines, and phyto-mining using plants to extract metals from soil).

Of special interest, plenary speaker, Dr. Nina Schor, physician scientist and pediatric neurologist, will be speaking on “the neurobiology of trustworthy communication with the public”.

The Annual Meeting will also feature Poster Sessions and recognition of Rising Stars. Posters by trainees and early-stage researchers in industry, non-profit, or government positions will provide a great opportunity for networking and learning about specific projects in science, engineering, and/or medicine. Rising Stars are assistant professors or junior-to-mid-level professionals in industry, non-profit or government who are making a significant impact in science, engineering, and/or medicine. Rising Stars will be formally recognized and will give rapid-fire presentations about their influential work.

New for this year’s annual meeting are late-breaking sessions. Stay tuned.

Returning due to overwhelming demand is “Amplifying Florida’s Voice: Learn what the national academies do and how you can get involved” to provide connections with National Academies members and insights into what the National Academies do and how you can become engaged.

The 2026 Annual Meeting is organized by the ASEMFL Annual Meeting Program Committee (Ann Salamone (chair), Norma Alcantar (incoming chair), Christine Schmidt (past chair), Hortensia Amaro, Gregory Boebinger, Adam Carrico, Lily Elefteriadou, Megan Ennes, Kenneth Ford, Yogi Goswami, Lisa Hightow-Weidman, Margaret Pericak-Vance, Sudipta Seal).

ASEM - FL

Event Program

Contact Information:

Jennifer Stalzer
Executive Administrative Assistant
College of Engineering and Computer Science, UCF
Jennifer.Stalzer@ucf.edu