Freshman Convocation will be Thursday, September 15, 2022 at 12:30 a.m. in the L. Douglas Wilder Performing Arts Center
On Thursday, September 15, 2022 the University will pause to celebrate its rich past and its promising future as well as welcome the Class of 2026 with the Freshman Convocation. This year, the University will welcome the Class of 2026 with a live in-person Freshman Convocation Ceremony. The featured keynote speaker is NSU alumna, Dr. LaVonda Brown.
Keynote Speaker
Dr. LaVonda Brown
Founder and CEO, EyeGage
Freshman Convocation Keynote Speaker
Dr. LaVonda Brown is the founder and CEO of EyeGage, an intelligent drug screening technology company powered by eyes. She holds a BS in Electronics Engineering from Norfolk State University, an MS and PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Georgia Tech, as well as an MBA from the Scheller College of Business. Her expertise lies in the areas of artificial intelligence and eye-analysis technologies. She has developed a robotic engagement model based on user eye gaze and pupil size (dilation and constriction). This engagement model has been applied to both math education and physical therapy to improve learning outcomes. Dr. Brown has also developed an eye-analysis system to validate eye tracking as a viable biomarker for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). For this system, she developed machine learning algorithms to model and classify patients as healthy or MCI/AD based on their eye data. Over the past decade, the robotic engagement model and eye-analysis software has been published, patented, and licensed for commercial use. After living with a loved one with an alcohol addiction, Dr. Brown launched her startup company EyeGage that applies the aforementioned eye-analysis techniques to individuals battling substance abuse.