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New UCF Grad Spreads the Value of Financial Literacy

Robert Stephens — Wed, 29 Jul 2026 13:30:25 +0000

Natalie Otero ’26 may have missed her graduation ceremony this spring, but she had a good excuse. She’d just landed in Japan for a long-awaited vacation that was three years in the making. She says the trip — where she discovered new interests (sword-making), traversed a mountain and bonded with friends — symbolized her UCF experience.

“Building knowledge and strengthening friendships,” Otero says. “�ճ󲹳�’s my story at UCF.”

Those relationships led her to pivot from pre-med to accounting and opened her up to learn new skills like coding. Friends fueled her drive, brought her joy and encouraged internships, all of which she credits for her induction into the Order of Pegasus, the highest honor for UCF students.

“When I started at UCF, I didn’t know anyone,” says the Jacksonville, Florida, native. “Everything changed quickly.”

UCF President Alexander N. Cartwright (left) and Provost John Buckwalter (right) recognize Natalie Otero ’26 during an Order of Pegasus ceremony. (Photo courtesy of Natalie Otero)

Discovering Her Own Calling

Otero didn’t really want to be a doctor. She just heard she was supposed to be a doctor.

“When you do well in high school, people say, ‘Oh, be a doctor and cure cancer.’ �ճ󲹳�’s where my mind was when I arrived as a freshman,” says Otero, who began her UCF journey studying biomedical sciences.

Then an elective class, Principles of Financial Accounting, intervened.

“The professor, Jeff Reinking ’13PhD, broke the mold of what it means to be an accountant,” she says. “The concepts made such perfect sense that I switched my major to accounting and saw a clear path ahead. For a freshman, that’s exciting.”

Natalie Otero (right) found a community at UCF when she joined the student organization KnightHacks. (Photo courtesy of Natalie Otero)

That same year, Otero’s friends introduced her to KnightHacks, a student organization that hosts UCF’s biggest software-building marathon annually for hundreds of students from throughout the nation.

“I said I’d go for fun. Only one girl in our group was a computer science major, but we were able to use basic coding theories to build a program from scratch in 36 hours,” she says. “We didn’t need to win. Learning and becoming closer, those were our awards.”

A Powerful Cycle for Success

Otero needed no push but says her friends at UCF became like iron sharpening iron. They’d talk about work experiences, which made Otero feel as if she needed to catch up. As a sophomore, she applied for the (CWEP), a year-long paid opportunity that enables undergraduate and graduate students to gain real-world work skills and abilities relevant to their academic and career goals.

“I guess they sensed something genuine because they offered the position to me,” she says.

Before graduating, Otero completed an internship with one of the big four accounting firms, Deloitte. (Photo courtesy of Natalie Otero)

A few months later, she was chosen for another internship, this one with Deloitte. By the time she started her junior year, she had experience with two corporations, had become a hackathon regular and developed a hunger for accounting coursework.

“It all comes full circle. The instructors bring business experiences to the lessons, and we take lessons into businesses,” she says. “I’d leave [Associate Professor] Sean Dennis’s class and think auditing must be the most exciting subject ever. All along, my friends and I kept encouraging each other.”

Her True Inspiration

Word about Otero’s accounting skills spread until people began asking her to help with their taxes. She routinely gives her time and skillset to the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, where she serves people limited by income, language and disabilities.

“My dad walked me through financial knowledge, and with VITA I have the privilege of doing the same for others,” she says.

Otero has drawn more than financial knowledge from her family. Her paternal grandparents came to the U.S. from Cuba at young ages as part of Operaçion Pedro Pan, an agreement of cooperation between the U.S. State Department and Catholic Charities of Miami in the 1960s that saw more than 14,000 unaccompanied children sent by their parents to Miami, away from the growing communist regime in Cuba.

“This has been so much better than I imagined when I came to UCF and didn’t know anyone.” — Natalie Otero ’26

“It was hard, but my grandparents talk about how happy they were to be in the U.S., even with limited resources and not knowing when they’d see their parents again,” Otero says. “They’ve always been optimistic because they know the value of opportunities and they worked hard to make the most of them.”

Otero’s own optimism engages friends, and her work ethic has led to the Order of Pegasus award, another internship with Deloitte this summer and graduate school in the fall at UNC Chapel Hill.

“It’s hard to believe,” Otero says. “This has been so much better than I imagined when I came to UCF and didn’t know anyone. Everything is more rewarding, too, because of all the people who have made it possible.”

After graduating from UCF, Natalie Otero is pursuing a graduate degree at UNC-Chapel Hill. (Photo courtesy of Natalie Otero)

UCF Computer Science Students Expand Technology Supporting Military Operations

Wed, 27 May 2026 13:30:57 +0000

Five years after UCF computer science students first helped the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) build a tech solution to enhance efficiency, Knights are still improving the platform — and the impact keeps growing.

Reserve Mercury, a mobile and web application designed to replace slow, paper-based administrative processes used by Army Reserve units, is now being used by thousands of reservists nationwide. What started as Project Mercury — a student-led effort to replace paper forms — has evolved into a long-running collaboration between student developers in UCF’s Senior Seminar Course, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and the USAR.

Originally launched in 2023, the app digitized the Army Reserve’s DA 1380 submission process — a manual workflow that once required soldiers to print forms, physically route paperwork through chains of command and wait for approvals tied to compensation and service records.

Now, soldiers can digitally submit pay, absence and medical forms within the platform from any device. Leaders can then review and approve submissions instantly, helping reduce delays and ensure soldiers are paid on time.

But the momentum behind Project Mercury didn’t end at launch.

Each semester, new student teams continue building on the work of those before them, refining features, fixing issues and expanding the platform based on direct user feedback from soldiers.

“As technology continues to advance, it’s important that critical systems like those used by the Army Reserve evolve as well,” says Shaun Gorllapati ’26, functional test and continuous improvement lead on the Fall 2025–Spring 2026 Senior Design II team. “Projects like this help bridge that gap by introducing more efficient, scalable and modern solutions that improve overall operations.”

Inheriting a Mission Already in Motion

Under the guidance of Associate Lecturers Matthew Gerber and Richard Leinecker in UCF’s College of Engineering and Computer Science, Project Mercury has become one of the university’s most ambitious long-term software projects since its inception in 2021.

Senior Design students work alongside Army Reserve subject matter experts led by Reserve Mercury Program Manager Lt. Col. Jonathan LacKamp while gaining experience in large-scale software engineering, testing and deployment management.

Members of the Fall 2025–Spring 2026 Senior Design II team, from left to right: Gradi Mbuyi, Jared Luzod, Lee Marshall, Alanys Galarza Hernandez, Joe Sparma, Thai Nguyen, Javier Chavez, Michael Cran, Areeb Yousuf, Noah Coe, Yoan Molina, Mitchell Lance, Shaun Gorllapati ’26, Alexander Canapp and William Bu. (Photo courtesy of Shaun Gorllapati ’26)

This year’s team included 15 students with expertise in data science, artificial intelligence and application and web-based development. Organized into three groups, they focused on backend development, bug fixes and maintenance, and new feature development.

At the start of the semester, the team inherited a nearly five-year-old codebase from previous students. Through documentation reviews, handoff meetings and collaboration with prior developers, they learned how to maintain and expand a living software system already serving military users nationwide.

New Features Focus on Speed, Security and Simplicity

For Spring 2026, 84 new users from the 6th Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment were onboarded and trained on the platform. Their feedback directly shaped several new improvements.

Among the latest updates was a Pay Type Limits feature that helps commanders monitor annual submission thresholds tied to DA 1380 compensation requests. Students also improved the app’s dental form process by adding required field validation, submission confirmation and better signature handling to help ensure medical documentation is completed accurately for deployment readiness.

Another major upgrade was a redesigned notification system.

“I’m especially proud of the notification system, which significantly improves how reservists stay informed and act within the application,” Gorllapati says. “Previously, … users had to rely on an activity log to view updates. Notifications were not actionable, lacked clear read and unread indicators, and did not guide users to the relevant part of the app.”

Additional enhancements currently in development include multi-factor authentication for stronger security and a large-scale user interface redesign to modernize the platform and improve accessibility.

The response from reservists has reinforced the project’s impact.

“We recently onboarded a unit that was struggling with an HR administrator shortage across multiple companies,” says Maj. Jeffrey Garner, Reserve Mercury onboarding and implementation lead. “After they started using Reserve Mercury, the feedback was immediate — they called it a ‘game changer’ and asked to onboard their additional units as soon as possible.”

Developing Career-Ready Skills Through Mission-Driven Work

For students, the experience goes far beyond the classroom.

“Working on a project with real-world, national-level impact while still a student has been a very meaningful experience,” Gorllapati says. “[It has] prepared me to handle real-world engineering challenges more effectively and has reinforced my goal of pursuing a career in software engineering, where I can contribute to large-scale, impactful systems.”

Senior Design team members build experience in frontend and backend development, AWS services, deployment management, software testing, and release cycles while collaborating directly with military stakeholders in an environment that mirrors professional software engineering teams.

But for many, the most rewarding part is knowing their work directly supports service members.

“Knowing that the end users are real service members adds purpose to every feature we build,” Gorllapati says. “It motivates us to learn new tools, improve our technical skills, and apply best practices to ensure the application is reliable, efficient, and easy to use.”

That purpose continues driving Reserve Mercury forward — one update, one deployment and one student at a time.

“What we’ve seen over the life of the project is the power of collaboration between reservists as both customers and subject matter experts, innovation sponsors like DIU and the incredible dedication of successive student teams,” LacKamp says. “The program is currently poised for wider adoption across USAR, but that wouldn’t be possible without the strong foundation built by our UCF partners. At Reserve Mercury, we believe that administrative efficiency is directly related to both operational readiness and the retention of qualified soldiers. UCF is helping make this belief a reality.”

How One Student Turned Tragedy and Self-Doubt into Success at UCF

Jenna Marina Lee — Tue, 05 May 2026 14:02:22 +0000

As Preston Strenth prepares to cross the stage at commencement, he finds himself flashing back to the moment his journey to this milestone started in 2023 with the South Carolina National Guard.

Strenth was on deployment in Kuwait with his unit. Among his fellow infantrymen was 20-year-old Jayson Haven. Haven had been accepted to his dream school, the ��ֱ�� of Michigan, and was fulfilling the final two months of his year-long assignment before shipping off to college. He was tragically killed in a non-combat vehicle rollover accident.

“I think all of us who were on that deployment understood you’re here and somebody else isn’t. What are you going to do with your life?” Strenth says.

“I think all of us who were on that deployment understood you’re here and somebody else isn’t. What are you going to do with your life?”

Seven months later, Strenth envisioned that life and voiced his goals to his wife, Kriselle. He proposed a two-year timeline to earn a college degree in computer science and start a new career path.

“I feel like everything in my life now is all clicking together,” says Strenth, who landed three job offers before graduating and is in the process of purchasing his first home. “I have achieved the American dream in a sense.”

As a member of the South Carolina National Guard, Preston Strenth connected with the Office of Military and Veteran Students Services at UCF and accessed their resources to land an internship with BNY, which he turned into a full-time job. (Photo by Daniel Schipper)

The Right Place

A Central Florida native, Strenth moved to South Carolina at 17 and joined the National Guard two years later. He extended his contract twice — his current contract ends in 2027 — as he pursued a degree in criminal justice from the ��ֱ�� of South Carolina.

He took advantage of the educational benefits the U.S. Army offers and obtained a certification in computer programming, which introduced him to coding software.

After that fateful deployment in Kuwait, he and his wife set their sights on Orlando and UCF, where Strenth knew of the university’s reputation as one of the nation’s top military friendly schools, its strength in computer science and our many industry partnerships.

Learn more about Preston Stenth’s journey from his .

“Without a doubt, coming to UCF is the best thing I ever did,” he says.

His credits from the ��ֱ�� of South Carolina transferred over to help keep him on track for his two-year timeline. He thrived, in part, because of his willingness to take advantage of the many resources offered through the .

His experience here also tested him in ways that led to great growth and confidence.

In his second semester, while taking Computer Science I, he was stuck on his first programming assignment. Every time he willed the coding to work, he was met with the same result: fail.

His frustration turned to tears as he voiced his doubts to his wife. What if he just screwed up his life? What if he couldn’t do this?

She encouraged him while leveling with him at the same time — he wasn’t the first to attempt this class or this degree. If he wanted to be here, he was going to figure it out.

She was right.

“I think that is kind of the point — they will make you go to that line and ask yourself, ‘Do you want to be here?’ ” Strenth says. “Because it’s a program that can lead you to a financially stable future. I have offers that no one in my family has ever had in front of them before. But you’ve got to work for them.”

Preston Strenth on his first day of a summer internship with BNY in 2025. (Photo courtesy of Preston Strenth)

Opportunity Calls with BNY

He applied that same grindstone mentality to maximizing opportunities outside of the classroom — all the while driving to South Carolina once a month to fulfill his National Guard duties.

“I have offers that no one in my family has ever had in front of them before.”

In Spring 2024, he attended a lunch and learn with BNY, which was organized by the Office of Military and Veteran Student Success. The leading global financial services company announced a formal partnership with UCF that establishes a co-located educational innovation hub on UCF’s main campus — the first-of-its-kind in Florida.

Strenth turned the connection he made with the BNY recruiter into a summer internship as a software engineer and vowed to himself to secure a job offer.

He wasn’t deterred by the fact that many of his fellow interns had started programming as middle-schoolers while he, at 24, had just learned the basics a year prior.

He committed to being the first one in the door and one of the last to leave. He reached out to fellow veterans he found in an interdepartmental staff directory to seek advice about integrating into the company. He emailed a weekly recap to his supervisor that listed how his accomplishments that week aligned with BNY’s core values.

“I was trying to showcase that I wanted to be here, and I wanted this job offer more than anything,” Strenth says.

When the internship ended, he stayed connected, even as he lined up another software engineering internship with Hatalom Corporation, a service-disabled veteran-owned small business.

Strenth had three job offers lined up before graduation day with BNY, Hatalom and Northrop Grumman. BNY’s career growth potential, military leave policy and proximity to his home were too good to pass up.

“BNY has a future leaders program that I’ve already expressed interest in even though I’m not eligible for another two years. But I’m already telling them, ‘This is something I want to do. How can I?’ ” he says.

He draws upon that memory of his conversation with his wife from years ago — in his story, he refers to it as “the gamble” — as he sits here today, once again, betting on himself.

“Now two years later, I’m like, ‘We won. We did it,’ ” he says. “Celebrating this moment at graduation is a testament to the sacrifices that my wife has made, my family has made, and the countless other people who have supported me to get to this point.”

UCF Collegiate Cybersecurity Competition Team Advances to Nationals After Outstanding Regional Win

Bel Huston — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 15:10:13 +0000

Under a high-stakes, simulated cyberattack and mounting pressure, the UCF Collegiate Cybersecurity Competition (C3) team proved it can defend, adapt and outperform — earning first place at the 2026 Southeast Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (CCDC).

The team rose above nine competitors, including Tennessee Tech ��ֱ��, Clemson ��ֱ��, the ��ֱ�� of South Florida and the ��ֱ�� of Florida. With the win, UCF advances to the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition, which will be held virtually next month.

Twelve students make up this year’s C3 team: sophomore information technology (IT) majors Gabriel Edwards and Maksim Shostak; junior IT majors Logan Autry, Anthony Donnelly, Joseph Durand, Adam Raczynski and Jonathan Styles; senior IT major Ardian Peach; sophomore computer science major Tyler Waddell; junior computer science major Benjamin Williams; cyber security and privacy master’s student Andy Pompura ’23; and senior prelaw major Noah Magill, who serves as team captain.

UCF’s Legacy of Cybersecurity Success

Their stellar performance marks UCF’s ninth first-place finish at the Southeast CCDC regional since 2013. UCF earned runner-up finishes in 2017 and 2025, along with first-place titles in special at-large CCDC regionals during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.

“UCF has historically maintained high service availability levels while under attack by the red team.” — Tom Nedorost ’02MS, senior instructor and C3 team coach

The team not only clinched the top spot but also swept all three categories, winning Best in Uptime Service, Best in Business and Best in Defense.

“UCF has historically maintained high service availability levels while under attack by the red team,” says Tom Nedorost ’02MS, C3 team coach and senior instructor of computer science and IT. “We lived up to that expectation again this year, which resulted in winning the Best in Uptime Service award.”

Nedorost adds that the team strengthened its ability to complete technical service requests while hardening systems against vulnerabilities to protect their network, key improvements that led to the two additional category wins.

Putting Cyber Defense Skills into Practice

At each competition, teams are tasked with defending a fictional company’s network against cyberattacks launched by red team members attempting to infiltrate it. All the while, competitors must maintain business operations and respond to customer service requests.

Each obstacle mimics real-world scenarios cybersecurity professionals face, allowing competitors to demonstrate their technical skills, business acumen and ability to collaborate.

It’s fun to go up against people [who, collectively,] would be a force to reckon with in the cyber world .” — Noah Magill, prelaw major and C3 team captain

Magill says the Southeast CCDC is among the most competitive, with red team members from leading companies such as Amazon Web Services and Cisco.

“All of them put together make up one of the scariest real-world life adversaries,” Magill says. “It’s fun to go up against people [who, collectively,] would be a force to reckon with in the cyber world — and a lot of [them] are [UCF] alumni.”

Next Up: Nationals

As the team sets its sights on the national competition, the work is far from over. Magill says a few more 100-hour weeks are likely ahead.

“Everyone on the team is incredibly adept at what they do and world-class [in] their specialty,” Magill says. “Leading this team [and relying] on such amazing teammates with such a diverse amount of skills has been really awesome.”

IEEE 2026 Awardee Carolina Cruz-Neira: Turning a “Plan B” Into a Global Legacy

Juzanne Martin — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 14:51:12 +0000

Interim (IST) Director Carolina Cruz-Neira’s career in virtual reality (VR) began as a backup plan.

She spent her childhood training as a ballet dancer. When a knee injury at 21 ended her professional dance aspirations, she leaned on the engineering degree her father had encouraged her to pursue.

While earning her doctoral degree in electrical engineering and computer science at the ��ֱ�� of Illinois Chicago, she discovered the Electronic Visualization Laboratory — and with it, a way to merge art and technology.

“My philosophy as a researcher has always been to take on projects that are a little risky.”

In 1992, she unveiled the Cave Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE), an immersive VR system that transforms a room-sized cube into an interactive 3D digital world. Unlike early VR headsets that isolated users, the CAVE allows multiple people to step inside the same digital environment, fostering shared exploration and real-time collaboration.

Today, CAVE systems are used worldwide, from gaming and art installations to military training and automotive design, helping industries visualize complex problems, improve safety and refine products before building them in the real world.

Powering the Future of Simulation

Over nearly four decades, Cruz-Neira has made significant contributions to the fields of VR, interactive visualization, high-performance computing and digital twins, which are dynamic virtual replicas of real-world objects used for simulation and testing across industries. Her innovations have influenced training and research for NASA, the U.S. military and U.S. National Laboratories.

By the Numbers: A Lasting Impact

Secured more than $200 million in research funding
Authored more than 100 publications
Elected to the National Academy of Engineering — one of the highest professional distinctions for engineers in the U.S.
Named an IEEE fellow and Forbes’ 50 Over 50 honoree for innovation
Inducted into the inaugural Augmented World Expo XR Hall of Fame and the Orlando Tech Community Hall of Fame for her contributions to Central Florida’s tech ecosystem
Recognized in the U.S. Congressional Record for the national impact of her work

“My philosophy as a researcher has always been to take on projects that are a little risky,” says Cruz-Neira, UCF’s Agere Chair Professor of computer science. “I tell my students that we do research with a purpose. And yes, it’s challenging. But if we have that vision of where this thing is going, our talent and creativity have a terrific playground.”

That bold spirit of exploration drew her to UCF in 2020 — a university recognized for its strength in computer science and deep partnerships and collaborators across several sectors, including space, defense, entertainment and healthcare.

“There’s a whole community of researchers, faculty and students here who are passionate about this kind of work.”

Since arriving, she says she has found something even more powerful: a culture that pairs high-level excellence with a nurturing environment — where ambitious ideas are energized, challenged and brought to life through collaboration.

“There’s a whole community of researchers, faculty and students here who are passionate about this kind of work. That has allowed us to expand our ideas tremendously,” Cruz-Neira says. “We’re now collaborating with teams across the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the College of Medicine, the College of Arts and Humanities and the , which broadens what we’re able to do. It’s nice to have a tribe around you, where everyone helps each other and works together.”

Among those collaborators is longtime colleague and IEEE VGTC Virtual Reality Service awardee, Gregory Welch. Cruz-Neira says they first met as “Ph.D. babies,” beginning a collaboration that has now spanned nearly 38 years. Since joining UCF, she has continued working closely with Welch and his team on several joint research projects and publications.

Agere Chair Professor Carolina Cruz-Neira, recipient of the IEEE VGTC Virtual Reality Lifetime Achievement Award, is working with her team to explore how humanoid robots can extend human presence into places we cannot physically reach. (Photo by Antoine Hart)

What’s Next: Blending Physical and Virtual Worlds

As IST director, Cruz-Neira is helping broaden UCF’s modeling and simulation legacy while leading several cutting-edge research projects in collaboration with talented students and faculty. One such project explores humanoid robots as extensions of the human body, allowing a person to navigate remote or inaccessible locations in real time. Using artificial intelligence, the robot captures its surroundings and transmits a live digital replica into the CAVE, where a human operator’s movements control the robot, creating a seamless exchange between physical and virtual worlds.

“This project opens a lot of possibilities and aligns with where we want to go at IST and UCF,” Cruz-Neira says. “We do a lot of work with defense, first responders and healthcare professionals, and in many cases, we see the need for a human [presence in locations] that aren’t feasible. By combining mature technologies available in the commercial world with some of our more advanced algorithms and system designs at UCF, we’ve finally been able to come together to make this prototype and showcase it in December 2025 at [the Interservice/Industry Training Simulation and Education Conference], a major defense training environment.”

Cruz-Neira continues to push boundaries, bringing people together and asking questions like, “What can we create next?” and “How far can we take this?”

And despite a lifetime achievement award, she’s clear about one thing: “I’m not done yet.”

UCF Computer Science Professor Recognized for Contributions to Human-Computer Interaction

Marisa Ramiccio — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 17:44:24 +0000

Professor Joseph LaViola Jr. has been fascinated by human-computer interaction (HCI) since his undergraduate days in the mid-1990s. Decades later, that interest has propelled him to the forefront of the field, earning him global recognition from his peers.

LaViola is one of 11 computer science academics and professionals selected for induction into the Association of Computing Machinery’s Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (ACM SIGCHI) Academy this year. He will be honored during an awards ceremony at the 2026 CHI conference in Barcelona, the leading international conference on human-computer interaction.

“It means a great deal to me, both personally and professionally, to be included with so many outstanding HCI researchers and pioneers in the field,” LaViola says. “This honor helps recognize the work I have done over the last 20-plus years in the field, and I am truly humbled to be part of this select group.”

LaViola manages the Interactive Computing Experiences Research Laboratory at UCF, where his work with 3D user interfaces, 2D and 3D gesture recognition and sketch- and touch-based interfaces contributed to his induction into the ACM SIGCHI Academy. He and his team are currently developing multimodal interfaces that use visual language models to track users’ movements and eye gaze and interpret their speech. The goal is seamless human-computer interaction, enabling computers to predict user needs without requiring exact commands. He’s also the lead author of the second edition of 3D User Interfaces: Theory and Practice, the first comprehensive book on the topic.

Since joining UCF in 2007 as an assistant professor, LaViola has risen to become the Charles N. Millican Professor of computer science and director of the Interactive Computing Experiences Research Cluster. He has published more than 200 refereed journal and conference articles and written eight book chapters. He contributed to leading research that demonstrates how stereoscopic 3D viewing, head tracking, gestural control and eye tracking can affect a player’s performance in video games.

In 2025, LaViola was inducted into the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Visualization and Graphics Technical Community’s Virtual Reality Academy. He is a senior member of both IEEE and ACM.

LaViola says his induction is a shared achievement and thanks those who helped him along the way.

“Being inducted into the SIGCHI Academy is not an honor that is achieved in isolation,” he says. “I would like to thank my Ph.D. advisor, Andries van Dam, for his guidance over the years, as well as Robert Zeleznik, with whom I have collaborated closely on many human-computer interaction projects during my career. I would also like to thank my book collaborators Doug Bowman, Ernst Kruijff, Ivan Poupyrev and Ryan McMahan, as well as my graduate students who did a lot of the work that I am being recognized for. Finally, I would like to thank Steve Feiner for nominating me for inclusion into the SIGCHI Academy.”

The Mind to Move Mountains

Robert Stephens — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 15:00:11 +0000

Nothing motivates Ilkin Isler ’22MS ’25PhD quite like this phrase: “It can’t be done.”

When Isler says candidly, “Working on my Ph.D. is the most difficult thing I’ve ever faced,” there’s a montage of difficult things in her life to consider — physical and mental, past and present.

For example, in August 2025, the recent computer science doctoral graduate began work as a senior artificial intelligence (AI) engineer at Universal Creative. Her role involved analyzing complex white papers and developing state-of-the-art AI systems from scratch — all for the purpose of improving the safety of park guests.

“I find solutions for high-risk applications,” Isler says, “which is a good description for what I love to do.”

“… when I hear something can’t be done, it motivates me to make it happen.” — Ilkin Isler ’22MS ’25PhD

The fact that her work requires fortitude also fits Isler well. In high school in Turkey, she once walked into a gym “just for something to do.” A trainer immediately suggested she head to the cardio area, where she’d blend in easily. Isler, however, saw the powerlifting space and thought, “�ճ󲹳�’s what I want to do.”

“I had to teach myself how to do [powerlifting],” she says. “People probably thought I’d give up, but when I hear something can’t be done, it motivates me to make it happen.”

Self-taught and competing despite her small frame, Isler went on to become a European powerlifting champion.

All of this is important for understanding the person who, while studying at UCF, helped develop an AI model to assess cancerous tumors.

Using Computer Imaging to Enhance Patient Care

Guided by a team of advisors, Isler came up with a way to feed medical imaging into an algorithm that measures shapes and textures with more speed, precision and consistency than is currently possible. Given such accurate information, an oncologist could make quicker, more confident decisions — improving overall patient care.

“… [Ilkin’s] work helps push the field forward in an important and timely way.” — David Mohaisen, UCF computer science professor

“The problem she chose to work on is inherently difficult for several reasons,” says David Mohaisen, UCF computer science professor and one of her advisors. “Medical imaging is a high-stakes domain where errors have serious clinical consequences.”

“It’s also a mature and crowded research area, with competitive works focusing on incremental benchmark gains rather than addressing deeper issues, such as reliability, uncertainty and clinical integration,” Mohaisen continues. “Instead of chasing marginal improvements, Ilkin focused on meaningful outcomes. Her work helps push the field forward in an important and timely way.”

Yet the breakthrough alone, and the work that went into it, does not fully capture what Isler faced at the dizzying start of her doctorate journey.

Taking a Chance to Change Her Life and Others

Isler arrived from Turkey with two suitcases and a hotel reservation near UCF.

“My mom filled one of the suitcases with Turkish food,” Isler says. She can laugh now, but at the time, she had no clear path beyond the airport. “I had to figure everything out.”

A few years earlier, she traveled across the globe to UCF as an undergraduate, having earned a competitive internship in the Synthetic Reality Lab, where she worked with Pegasus Professor Charles Hughes and then computer engineering doctoral student Kamran Ali ’21PhD on facial expression recognition.

“She committed herself to the research,” Hughes says, “and even contributed to writing and editing the resulting report after she returned to Turkey.”

Days away from starting doctorate-level research, with all her belongings in a single piece of luggage, Isler would do what she does best: find a way. She moved from the hotel to an unfurnished apartment.

But with her, Isler brought two specific interests to her postgraduate research at UCF. Her mother, a dentist in Turkey, inspired an interest in medical advancement. Her father, a computer science professor, recognized in his daughter the curiosity and determination required for the field.

“If I know an idea can be impactful, I’ll do whatever is necessary to make it a reality,” she says. “The higher the stakes, the more driven I become.”

Those stakes led her to focus on medical imaging solutions for cancer care worldwide. Without a medical background, she collaborated with doctors. It helped that she never looked at her research as an academic exercise. She wanted only to deliver something trustworthy that clinicians everywhere could use to eliminate gray areas in image analysis.

“I’ve been fortunate to work with many doctoral students over the years, and Ilkin stands out on multiple levels,” says Mohaisen, pointing out her motivation, energy and curiosity, before adding: “I’d say she is among the most driven.”

Fueled by Challenge and Service

By now, the source of Isler’s uncommon drive is clear. Every time someone showed skepticism about her powerlifting, she responded by breaking a national record. Although she could have attended a private college in Turkey, where she would have been surrounded by familiar language and culture, she instead chose to move across the world to study AI.

There’s one more motivation that consistently guides her: others.

Isler considers her greatest accomplishment in powerlifting to be the doors she helped open for others in Turkey to try any form of fitness they choose. And she says she would gladly move to another continent again, with just a suitcase and her AI skills, if it meant helping improve the lives of others.

“When I look back, I can see that I’ve often traded comfort for growth,” she says, “and I will not hesitate to do it again.”

UCF Computer Science Professor Named Fellow of Preeminent Computing Organization

Marisa Ramiccio — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 15:00:07 +0000

After decades of pushing the boundaries of how computers think, Pegasus Professor Yan Solihin of the has earned the highest professional distinction in computer architecture.

The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) has named Solihin to its 2025 class of fellows — a distinction awarded to just 71 professionals worldwide for their remarkable achievements, technical innovations and lasting contributions to the field.

Selected from ACM’s 100,000 members, the new fellows will be formally inducted at the ACM Awards Banquet in June.

For Solihin, the recognition represents something deeper than a title.

“Being one out of 71 selected for this designation worldwide in 2025, I feel deeply honored,” he says. “This recognition is the culmination of decades of research in computer architecture, with contributions from my former and current Ph.D. students and collaborators.”

A Pioneer in Computer Architecture

Long before today’s cloud-powered, security-conscious computing era, Solihin was asking questions others weren’t.

In the early 2000s, as research focused on single-core processors, he turned his attention to multicore systems and uncovered a hidden flaw. His research group identified a critical performance challenge in shared cache architecture: uneven slowdowns caused by cache sharing. When multiple programs run simultaneously and share a common cache, some slow down more than others due to resource limitations.

“I feel deeply humbled because, at the time I chose to work on these problems, it was not clear how important they would turn out to be.”

Groundbreaking when it emerged in 2003, this phenomenon is now widely known and studied by computer scientists. Solihin and his group coined the term “fair cache sharing” and introduced a technique to partition the cache so programs slow down equally, ultimately improving overall performance. They also coined the term “cache quality of service,” advocating for cache policies that enable differentiated performance levels. Solihin also pioneered research on secure processors, which allow applications to run in an environment protected from vulnerabilities in system software.

Today, those once-theoretical ideas are foundational. Cache partitioning and secure processors are now standard features in graphics processing units and central processing units, particularly those powering cloud computing systems worldwide.

“I feel deeply humbled because, at the time I chose to work on these problems, it was not clear how important they would turn out to be,” Solihin says. “I started working on … cache partitioning when the hot research topics of the day were single-core processors. I started working in secure execution environment design when it was still unclear if hardware architecture should play a major role in computer security.”

Making an Impact in Industry and Education

After earning his doctorate in computer science from the ��ֱ�� of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Solihin worked as a professor at North Carolina State ��ֱ��. He then joined the U.S. National Science Foundation, where he served as a program director for secure and trustworthy research on cyberspace and computer systems.

When he joined UCF in 2018, that bold ambition and pioneering spirit came with him.

As director of the at UCF, Solihin helped expand the university’s research footprint and developed the Cyber Security and Privacy master’s program within the Department of Computer Science. Under his leadership, the program has grown to 200 students, the research cluster has added 13 faculty members and his findings have been incorporated into the computer processing industry’s design and development of computer architecture.

Yet Solihin doesn’t claim any of these achievements as his greatest.

“The achievement I am the proudest of is the positive impact I have made on students that I have advised,” he says. “Some of my past students have established good careers of their own, including becoming professors at Oxford ��ֱ��, Northeastern ��ֱ��, UC Santa Cruz and Binghamton ��ֱ��.”

UCF Career Services Turn UCF Students into Ideal Job Candidates

Margot Winick — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 15:04:33 +0000

As an ambitious computer science major at UCF, Kenny Nguyen ’25 was already thinking ahead before graduating — about internships, industry connections and the kind of real-world experience that would launch his career as a cyber analyst for Deloitte & Touche.

Thanks to ’s dedicated support for STEM students, he had access to resources so he would not have to navigate that journey alone.

“Engineering is hands-down our most active liaison area,” says Taylor Sandifer ’23MA, assistant director of employer relations in Career Services who supports all STEM majors, including the College of Engineering and Computer Science. “CECS students show up to everything. They’re really engaged, and they take advantage of every opportunity.”

For Knights like Nguyen, that means access to employers through engineering-focused employer-led workshops, resume reviews, mock interviews, and the highly attended , which occurs annually in the fall at the Addition Financial Arena, where as many as 300 employers fill the venue.

Big Companies Recruit Knights

Before Expo, students can participate in the Career Readiness Program, a two-week series including industry-specific, employer-led sessions where recruiters host one-on-one resume reviews and mock interviews to help students prepare.

UCF’s employer-relations model attracts major companies such as Google, Meta, Amazon, Siemens Energy, Lockheed Martin, L3Harris and Walmart directly to campus for tabling, information sessions, and networking events.

“Employers coming in to recruit STEM talent will work with us to get connected,” Sandifer says. “We help them get into the engineering atrium, set up information sessions, reach students through Handshake, and collaborate with CECS to spread the word.

“We want students to see a clear path from UCF to a career.”— Taylor Sandifer ’23MA, assistant director of employer relations in Career Services

“We want students to see a clear path from UCF to a career. When they put in the effort, and we can help make those connections, it all comes together.”

Sandifer has seen firsthand how transformative this can be.

“One computer science student (Nguyen) showed up on the wrong day — in a suit — but stayed anyway,” she recalls. “He came back the next day, met with recruiters, and we connected him with Deloitte & Touche. He ended up getting the job. His hard work and willingness to show up made the difference.”

Real World Ready

Nguyen credits the Dixon Career Development Center in helping him shape his career path.

“I wasn’t very prepared initially and had no idea where to even start. It was overwhelming just thinking about it,” he says. “I attended an event I found off Handshake and it turned into me getting resume reviews, mock interviews, and attending events that got me to meet employers I was passionate about joining.”

He took advantage of summer appointments, interview strategies, and also printed business cards to hand out to the company representatives at the Internship and Career Expo. Those efforts paid off with an opportunity at Deloitte — a place he was drawn to for its culture and its constant flow of new challenges.

His biggest takeaway from his experience with the Career Center is to be persistent and open to every opportunity.

“You never know what conversation you have with someone that could turn into a huge career opportunity,” he says.

�ճ�� will take place on Tuesday, March 10.

Supporting Those Who Serve: UCF’s Commitment to Military, Veteran Students

Mon, 10 Nov 2025 18:41:39 +0000

From balancing studies to family to what comes next, the transition from service to student life presents unique challenges for many military and veteran students. For those who begin their next chapter at UCF, they find more than support — they discover a community that understands their journey.

Dedicated resources, personal guidance and a shared sense of purpose help illuminate their path to success. That commitment is reflected in national recognition, with UCF earning a Silver Award on the 2025-26 Military Friendly Schools List — placing Knight Nation in the top 20% of all participating schools — and ranking among the top five colleges in Florida (No. 51 overall) on Military Times’ 2025 Best for Vets Colleges List.

More than 3,300 student-veterans attend UCF, where they’re supported by the Office of Military and Veteran Student Success. This is a dedicated unit that creates an enriching and welcoming environment for military students to achieve educational and career goals through academic success and community partnerships.

Pursuing a degree online is a convenient and affordable path for military and veteran students who balance work and personal responsibilities. As a leader in online education for nearly 30 years, UCF is recognized among the best institutions that offer online programs for service members and their families.

UCF is also a 2025 Best Military-Friendly Online College, according to OnlineU, an organization that reviews and ranks top online colleges with the best value and return on investment. In January, UCF was ranked No. 8 for Best Online Bachelor’s Programs for Veterans by U.S. News & World Report. Best Colleges has also ranked UCF No. 3 for Best Online Military-Friendly Colleges of 2025.

Opening More Doors for Military and Veteran Students

To enhance support for military and veteran students, UCF has formed partnerships to extend academic offerings to this community, including its selection as one of 12 universities nationwide — and the only one in Florida and the southeast — to join the new Service to Service initiative.

The national pilot program is a collaboration between two nonprofit organizations: The Volcker Alliance, which supports public service education, and We the Veterans, which aims to empower service members and their relatives. Service to Service is dedicated to connecting veterans and their families with graduate educational pathways in public service and helping them find impactful long-term careers in public leadership.

At UCF, students who join the initiative, known as Service to Service Fellows, can further their education through the university’s graduate programs in public administration, emergency and crisis management, nonprofit management, public policy, and regional and urban planning. Fellows also benefit from mentorship, community building, professional development opportunities and job placement support.

This is just one of many examples of how UCF opens doors to new purpose after military service — and part of the reason why Trevor Chandrapaul chose to become a Knight after retiring from the U.S. Navy.

Trevor Chandrapaul

“I always knew I wanted to go back to school,” says Chandrapaul, a third-year student who was drawn to UCF for its strong military community and proximity to major defense companies. “I saw how many military veterans actually attended [UCF]. I reached out to someone at the Veterans Academic Resource Center, and they took the time to talk to me and offer reassurance.”

Trevor Chandrapaul: From the Engine Room to Emerging Tech

After completing prerequisite courses at Valencia College with plans to become a physical therapist, Chandrapaul took an unexpected five-year detour in the U.S. Navy. As a gas turbine systems technician working in the engine room, he was introduced to systems and engineering fundamentals — a turning point that sparked his interest in computer science.

“[UCF] is surrounded by so many defense companies, and I felt like it was a good place for me to continue my studies.”

Although he never intended to build a long-term military career, his service shaped his direction. At 26, Chandrapaul says he was feeling slightly out of place as an older student and transferred to UCF.

“Coming from the military, I wanted to continue to serve after my service,” he says. “[UCF] is surrounded by so many defense companies, and I felt like it was a good place for me to continue my studies.”

Through [the Military Veteran and Success Center (MVSC), formerly VARC], he quickly found community among other veterans. The initial intimidation of being older than his peers faded as he connected with other student-veterans.

In his first semester, he landed a job at the MVSC and now serves as a program specialist with the Peer Success Coaches. In this role, he helps military-connected students navigate the transition to UCF — from connecting them with campus resources to encouraging involvement in student clubs and supporting their academic success.

“Through that job, I was able to help host and participate in so many different events and meet organizations like the Student Veteran Association,” he says.

He’s also strengthening his skills in computer science through Knight Hacks, UCF’s largest and only hackathon and software development student organization, while continuing to challenge himself academically. In Spring 2025, he enrolled in Entrepreneurship for Defense — a course he initially picked as a fun elective, but one that quickly became a launchpad.

Assigned to a team developing a maritime awareness system, Chandrapaul worked alongside students from across engineering disciplines. They conducted market research, interviewed high-ranking military officials and industry experts, and presented weekly updates to professors and government sponsors — all of which sharpened his public speaking and technical communication skills.

The experience led to his selection for the Defense Innovation Unit’s summer Maritime Domain Awareness System fellowship.

As a fellow, Chandrapaul is helping improve the safety of maritime environments by developing sensors capable of detecting threats like drug smugglers and illegal fishing activity.

“We recently did a demo on the rooftop of a coastal condo in West Palm Beach, Florida. We got to see a bunch of boats that our radar picked up. We did demos with the U.S. Navy, too. I had the opportunity to visit the Mayport Naval Station in Jacksonville, which was a base I had pulled into during my time in the service.”

Now, Chandrapaul is focused on solving real-world challenges through technology. With experience in software development, rapid prototyping and mission-driven problem-solving, he aims to work at the intersection of national security and emerging technology.

And he’s not ruling out entrepreneurship.

“Since [taking the Entrepreneurship for Defense] course, we might actually make it into a real business, which now might be in my future plans,” he says. It’s a lot of fun making a project that has a real-world impact. And I have to thank UCF for even presenting me with this opportunity.”

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