MEDIA CONTACT: Patsy Jones
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FAU Professor is First Mathematician to Receive German Founder’s Award

            BOCA RATON, FL (October 10, 2006)  Florida Atlantic University Professor, Dr. Heinz-Otto Peitgen, a faculty member who works in the departments of mathematics and biomedical science, was awarded the German Founder’s Award 2006 in the category of “Visionary.” This award was presented during a televised show in Berlin, Germany that included the German minister for economics and technology. 

Peitgen is the first mathematician to ever receive this award, which is for his Center for Medical Diagnostic Systems and Visualization, known as MeVis group. He also is a professor of mathematics and biomedical science at the University of Bremen, in the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, Germany.

Peitgen was selected from a field of 1,000 enterprises by an expert team for the categories “Concept” and “Fast –Growing Startup.”  The German Founder’s Award – first bestowed in 2002 – is to recognize excellent entrepreneurs.  Innovative ideas, extraordinary dedication, positive corporate culture, visionary concepts and social commitment are criteria considered for the awards.

Peitgen has contributed greatly to the field of breast cancer research. Working with Dr. Kathy Schilling, medical director of breast imaging and intervention at the Center for Breast Care at Boca Raton Community Hospital, they have developed and piloted a unique software platform utilizing computational clinical imaging techniques for the analysis and display of serial-time MRI, which is showing great promise in the early detection and treatment of breast cancer.  Peitgen used the mathematical concept of fractals to develop this software. Fractals are large, irregular geometric patterns made up of infinitely smaller, but identical, irregular patterns and provided an appropriate platform for the program because the ducts within human breast tissue have fractal properties. Using this method, a recent study has shown that in over 30 percent of patients there were additional tumors in the same breast, and in almost 10 percent of the patients there were tumors in the opposite breast. These tumors were not previously found using mammography or ultrasound.

To contact Dr. Heinz-Otto Peitgen, e-mail peitgen@fau.edu.

-FAU-

Florida Atlantic University opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University serves more than 26,000 undergraduate and graduate students on seven campuses strategically located along 150 miles of Florida's southeastern coastline. Building on its rich tradition as a teaching university, with a world-class faculty, FAU hosts nine colleges:  the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Biomedical Science, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, and the Colleges of Business, Education, Engineering & Computer Science, and Architecture, Urban & Public Affairs.