MEDIA CONTACT: Kristine M. McGrath
561-297-1168, kmcgrath@fau.edu

FAU College of Business Awarded First Patent

BOCA RATON, FL (January 4, 2006) - Florida Atlantic University was recently awarded an Integrated Guardianship Information System patent that will assist in legal guardianship case management workflow. Dr. Stuart Diaz Galup, FAU associate professor of information technology with the College of Business; Dr. Ronald Dattero, formerly with the FAU College of Business and now professor of computer information systems at Missouri State University; and Bryan Thabit, formerly the director of auditing for the Broward County Courts and now the chief financial officer for the Broward County Library, developed this Internet/Intranet-based system. The technology provides decision support capabilities for local government departments that oversee guardianship cases. This is the first FAU patent to come from faculty affiliated with the College of Business.

"The value to society of the patented process and associated software is significant. The integrated system captures data about the financial assets of the ward of the state directly from the guardian and through the court's auditing function the ward's family and friends are assured that the their rights are protected," said Galup. "The efficient process of capturing the ward's financial data, transferring the data and auditing the data provides a timely examination of the facts by the courts."

The Integrated Guardianship Information System is composed of a personal computer-based software system that captures guardianship plans and annual accounting data that can be printed on paper forms or electronically transmitted to the Clerk of the Court's Office using the Internet. The receiving system is a client/server software product that resides at the Clerk of the Court's Office and allows the flow of the guardianship data between the Clerk of the Court's Office and the county courts. The process replaces a paper system, provides accurate monitoring of document transfers between offices and aids in the detection of financial and material fraud for the Courts. Part of the system has been tested and is currently used by Broward, Pinellas and Pasco counties in Florida. The development of the system was partially funded by a $138,000 grant from The Florida State Attorney's Office and the Florida Department of Elderly Affairs through the FAU College of Business' Stuart James Research Center.

"The research genius of Dr. Galup and his colleagues has advanced child protection in Florida and vastly improved the state's ability to protect its most vulnerable citizens. The FAU College of Business is extremely excited about this patent and Dr. Galup's vision of technology in facing the challenges posed by the state courts," said J. Dennis Coates, interim dean and professor in FAU's College of Business.

"The attractive features to the users of this software are its uniformity and completeness, by making the reports uniform to the court," said Thomas Jordan, Fort Lauderdale CPA and user of the system. "Thankfully a program is available for the practitioners to inform the court of activity."

For more information regarding the Integrated Guardianship Information System patent, contact Stephen Nappi, FAU Office of Technology Transfer, at 561-297-1165.

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