Pete Markowitz appointed associate dean of Honors College

The Honors College has appointed Pete E.C. Markowitz assistant dean.

Markowitz joined FIU in 1995 as a professor in the Department of Physics. In 2001, he became a faculty fellow at the Honors College where he has taught Freshman Seminar and sophomore courses.

“I have had the privilege of working with Pete for almost 15 years,” says Honors College Dean Juan Carlos Espinosa. “He is a gifted instructor who has played a pivotal role in developing Honors curriculum over the years. He brings with him energy, creativity and a deep understanding of the mission and values of the Honors College.”

As a physicist, Markowitz conducts nuclear and particle physics experiments at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in Virginia and the European Center for Nuclear and Particle Physics (CERN) in Geneva, Switzerland. His research interests focus on the source of gravity, extra dimensions, black holes, quark structure of nuclei, dark matter, dark energy and the electro production of quarks and anti-quarks (or matter and anti-matter).

He is a founding member and the longest serving member of the Office to Advance Women, Equity and Diversity (AWED) run by Vice Provost Suzanna Rose. The office received FIU’s first NSF ADVANCE grant to promote, recruit and retain women and minorities in the sciences. Markowitz has mentored junior faculty through the office’s faculty mentor program and helped run FIU’s Bystander Leadership training.

As the Faculty Athletic Representative (FAR) to the NCAA at FIU, under the Office of the President, Markowitz has also provided critical support to student-athletes and facilitated their successful progress toward graduation and beyond, including for many Honors College student-athletes.

Already a pivotal part of the FIU community, this new position will allow Markowitz to futher impact and oversee curriculum, faculty, undergraduate research and special projects within the Honors College.

“I am really excited to be a formal part of something as special and impacting as FIU’s Honors College,” Markowitz says. “Honors is a huge part of what makes this university FIU, and the opportunity to contribute to that, and to work with the university’s best students, is…well it is pretty awesome.”