Gumerman Professor in Honors

Dr. Paul G. Flikkema has joined the Honors College as the inaugural Gumerman Professor of Honors. Established through a generous gift, this first endowed Honors professorship is named after George “Wolf” Gumerman, former Director of the NAU Honors Program and founding Dean of the NAU Honors College. Dr. Flikkema, who received his PhD from the University of Maryland, arrived at NAU in 1999. Currently Professor of Electrical Engineering, he does research foremost on energy-efficient embedded systems and networks, wireless sensor/actuator networks for monitoring and control of environmental and ecological systems, and cybersecurity with a focus on IoT (Internet of Things).

Dr. Flikkema has received international acclaim and is the recipient of numerous awards, most recently a Fulbright to serve as Visiting Researcher at the Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia. He is also active in engineering education, where he has contributed to innovations in student learning of systems thinking and the design of complex engineered systems. As Gumerman Professor, he will deliver a public lecture, mentor Honors Engineering students, and teach an Honors seminar in Engineering. The generous gift of the Gumerman Professorship will give NAU Honors students the chance to work directly with this world-class researcher and educator.