Unlike a typical scholarship that only covers the cost of tuition and fees, the SMART scholarship also provides an annual stipend, a summer internship, an experienced mentor and guaranteed employment with the DOD after graduation.

The program is open to undergraduate and graduate students pursuing STEM degrees who can commit to one year of employment with the DOD upon graduation. The goal is to develop a talent pipeline of technically proficient professionals who can meet the nation’s security needs.

Carlos Arteaga

M.S. in civil engineering

For Arteaga, applying for the DOD SMART Scholarship program was a no-brainer. He already works for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a geotechnical engineer and plans to use his time in the program to develop as a professional within that agency. He says this program stood out because it aligned perfectly with his values of technical excellence, service to country and long-term impact.

“I was drawn to the program’s integration of academic advancement with real-world application, especially within the DOD’s infrastructure and research divisions,” Arteaga says. “The opportunity to contribute to national security while deepening my expertise in structural and geotechnical engineering made it an ideal fit.”

As a master’s student on the non-thesis track, Arteaga plans to take a more practical approach to the internship. He hopes to gain a better understanding of how engineering decisions are made in defense and looks forward to collaborating with experts across the DOD.

Balancing coursework with a job and the responsibilities of the DOD program is no easy feat, but Arteaga says that the flexibility and technical rigor are what drew him to UCF’s graduate programs.

“The curriculum has strengthened my foundation in structural and geotechnical principle while also enhancing my ability to communicate complex ideas clearly and effectively,” Arteaga says. “Combined with my experience at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, my time at UCF has prepared me to contribute confidently and competently to the DOD’s mission.”

Chance Brewer ’20

Ph.D. in mechanical engineering

Through his work in the Putnam Lab, managed by Shawn Putnam, mechanical engineering associate professor, Brewer has had the chance to collaborate on research projects sponsored by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). As a DOD SMART scholar, Brewer will rejoin the AFRL team to work on research related to his expertise.

“My academic research on multifunctional materials in thermal management systems is already closely tied with the work I will be doing with AFRL, but the challenges and applications I am targeting will shift to focus on thermal control for space vehicles,” Brewer says. “Over the past two summers I have worked with the same team that I will be working with for SMART, so I am already very familiar with the community that I will be joining after I graduate, and I feel very fortunate to be joining such a great team.”

Brewer thanks Putnam as well as the UCF Office of Undergraduate Research and the UCF Academic Advancement Programs office for their support and encouragement to get involved with research as an undergraduate student. He credits their guidance and sense of community with shaping his graduate experience and, ultimately, a career with the DOD.

“My ultimate goal from this experience is to establish a career within AFRL leading research on coupled thermal and optical materials for thermal monitoring and control systems,” Brewer says. “Through these efforts, I also hope to learn how we can leverage thermal solutions being developed for space applications to help support missions across the DOD and to help advance thermal management systems for commercial technologies.”

Jean-Philippe Perrault ’06 ’14MBA

Ph.D. in industrial engineering

Like Arteaga, Perrault is already employed with the DOD. He works as an engineering supervisor for the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division (NAWCTSD). He’s also a father of five, a chess coach an active community volunteer and a doctoral student. With a very full schedule, the DOD SMART Scholarship was a practical choice because it designates study time during work hours, alleviating the pressure of pursuing a Ph.D.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree in business administration, Perrault returned to UCF in Fall 2024 to continue his studies. He also serves on the advisory board for the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems and with the encouragement of Professor Luis Rabelo, joined the industrial engineering doctoral program’s systems engineering track.

Perrault’s research focuses on the development of a theoretical framework to adopt AI technology in military training systems. He says the SMART scholarship program will help him deepen his technical knowledge and in turn, inform his research.

“Beyond technical skills, I aim to gain a comprehensive understanding of how research translates into real-world applications within the DOD, including navigating the complexities of defense innovation and collaboration,” Perrault says. “I also look forward to developing leadership, project management and interdisciplinary collaboration skills that will enable me to contribute effectively to the defense community both during and after my scholarship.”

Perrault plans to continue working for the NAWCTSD but hopes to strengthen the collaborative relationship the agency has with UCF. As a three-time alum, he says that some of his most cherished memories were formed at UCF — memories of friendship, hard work and achievements.

“As a continually growing university located close to home, UCF has played a significant role in shaping my professional journey,” Perrault says. “My success is largely attributed to the comprehensive education and experiences I gained here — the coursework, laboratories, professors and student support services all contributed to my development as a leader within our local community.”

His devotion to his research and desire to improve the human condition earned him the honor of being named a 2023 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow in the section of engineering. He is the 17^th current UCF leadership and faculty member to earn the honor.

Karwowski, who also serves as chair of within the (CECS), joins 501 other esteemed fellows across 24 different AAAS-recognized disciplines.

“I was a bit surprised that I was elected,” he says. “But of course, it was a pleasant surprise, and I’m very honored.”

“Being an active fellow means greater recognition at the national level,” Karwowski says. “You really must have demonstrated significant contributions to science and education. Since my work in human factors is interdisciplinary, and crosses the issues of engineering, management, psychology, neuroscience, I think that that’s very fitting.”

On Sept. 21, Karwowski and other new fellows will receive a certificate and a gold and blue rosette pin (representing science and engineering, respectively) to commemorate their election at a forum in Washington, D.C., which will also mark the 150^th anniversary of the AAAS.

Karwowski was elected, “for distinguished contributions to the field of human factors and ergonomics, particularly for modeling and simulation of human performance in complex systems,” according to AAAS.

Being elected an AAAS Fellow is a tremendous accomplishment, says Sudip Parikh, AAAS chief executive officer and executive publisher of the Science family of journals.

“As we celebrate the 150^th anniversary of the AAAS Fellows Program, AAAS is proud to recognize the newly elected individuals,” Parikh said in a press release. “This year’s class embodies scientific excellence, fosters trust in science throughout the communities they serve and leads the next generation of scientists while advancing scientific achievements.”

A Super Science

Ergonomics and human factors are so much more than workplace buzzwords or esoteric theories for Karwowski. He defines them as sciences that apply to how we relate to everything.

“Ergonomics is a super science,” Karwowski says. “From the moment we are born, we interact with the outside world. Understanding these interactions — not just with computers or cars, but with one another — is crucial to improving the human condition worldwide. Our goal is to make our lives as productive and joyful as possible.”

The contemporary field of human factors and ergonomics aims to understand how people interact with any system, at any level, and at any age, Karwowski says. His research focuses on enhancing efficiency and satisfaction while reducing fatigue and human error.

“My field is relatively new, dating back to World War II, when it became crucial to understand how people operate systems without fatigue or errors,” he says.  “This initial focus on military has now expanded to manufacturing, service systems, space exploration, leisure, entertainment and everyday activities.”

Karwowski has seen the field greatly broaden with even more opportunities to fine tune and study human factors and ergonomics. Advances in technology have allowed him and his peers to explore an emerging field of “neuroergonomics.”

Karwowski, who holds over 20 editorial roles in various academic publications, co-founded and serves as a field-chief-editor for the Frontiers in Neuroergonomics scholarly journal due to his interest in this new discipline.

“The field of neuroergonomics is young,” Karwowski says. “We can now better understand brain signatures of daily activities, getting to the core of neural basis of human cognition and its limitations. This is fundamental to understanding human performance at a deeper level.”

Analyzing cognitive feedback to prevent error or fatigue and see where it happens, is crucial in understanding how we work and interact with the world around us, Karwowski says.

“We use knowledge of our neuronal processes to understand our limitations and capabilities for efficient and safe work,” he says. “We must also design systems with these factors in mind.”

A Perfect Fit

Karwowski’s pursuit of improving the human condition through ergonomics research is possible through UCF’s arsenal of resources and ease of access, he says. The university’s commitment to fostering research and interdisciplinary partnerships aligns with his ambitions.

“There are no limits to what you can achieve here at UCF,” he says. “The environment here is conducive to collaboration across departments and colleges. I’ve worked with people from psychology, computer science, sociology, mathematics, business and other engineering departments. It’s very easy to do that here.”

Karwowski joined UCF as a professor in 2007 after working at the ����ֱ�� of Louisville. He received his master’s in production management from the Technical ����ֱ�� of Wroclaw in Poland and his doctorate in industrial engineering from Texas Tech ����ֱ��.

Karwowski says he felt embraced and guided by his peers when he became chair of UCF’s Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems. UCF professors Charles Reilly, Gavriel Salvendy, CECS Dean Michael Georgiopoulos, and former CECS Dean Marwan Simaan were especially supportive, he says.

“As a new chair, I benefited greatly from Professor Marwan Simaan, my mentor, who helped me adapt to my role as chair,” Karwowski says. “I wanted to continue my development as a researcher and scientist. Thanks to great staff support and talented graduate students, I was able to advance my research while serving as chair. The environment here allows me to mentor many Ph.D. students and continue my research.”

Karwowski, who has advised 60 doctoral students throughout his career, says above all else the mentorship he’s provided young scientists is the most gratifying accomplishment of his career.

“UCF attracts excellent domestic and international students,” Karwowski says. “They are the backbone of education and research. … Our graduate students’ contributions should never be forgotten. They motivate us to excel as we strive to educate them and enable them to gain the knowledge needed to make significant contributions to the world.”

Other current UCF leadership and faculty who have been previously inducted as AAAS fellows include:

• Peter Delfyett (2022; UCF) College of Optics and Photonics Pegasus Professor and ����ֱ�� Distinguished Professor
• Ronald DeMara (2022; UCF) College of Engineering and Computer Science Pegasus Professor
• Talat Rahman (2020; UCF) College of Sciences Pegasus Professor, distinguished professor
• Alexander N. Cartwright (2016; State ����ֱ�� of New York)
  UCF President
• Martin Richardson (2015; UCF) College of Optics and Photonics Pegasus Professor, Northrup Grumman professor
• Louis Chow (2012; UCF) College of Engineering and Computer Science Professor
• Peter Hancock (2012; UCF) College of Sciences Pegasus Professor and provost distinguished research professor
• Zhihua Qu (2012; UCF) College of Engineering and Computer Science Pegasus Professor, Thomas J. Riordan and Herbert C. Towle chair
• Ni-Bin Chang (2011; UCF) College of Engineering and Computer Science Professor
• Charles Reilly (2010, UCF) College of Engineering and Computer Science assistant vice provost, professor
• Debra Reinhart (2009; UCF) College of Engineering and Computer Science Professor Emerita
• Mubarak Shah (2009; UCF) College of Engineering and Computer Science Trustee chair professor
• Issa Batarseh (2008; UCF) College of Engineering and Computer Science Pegasus Professor
• Sudipta Seal (2008; UCF) College of Engineering and Computer Science Chair and professor
• Al Sattelberger (2002; Los Alamos National Laboratory) College of Sciences Courtesy research scientist
• Marwan Simaan (1999; ����ֱ�� of Pittsburgh) College of Engineering and Computer Science Florida 21st Century chair, distinguished professor

“For a student in kindergarten through high school, this has to be one of the coolest projects they’ll ever do,” says industrial engineering major Konrad Krol, who also serves as the operations director for , maker of the extraterrestrial “soils.”

Plant the Moon and Plant Mars Challenges are outgrowths of a partnership between Exolith and researchers at NASA and UCF. The soils in each kit are technically “simulated regoliths” — replicates of the materials you’d find on the surfaces of the moon and Mars. They can be rooted back to samples NASA has collected over the years from the real moon and data collected from the real Mars. Researchers use the samples and data to identify mineral compositions on extraterrestrial bodies (the moon, Mars, Mercury, and asteroids). They then determine which minerals here on Earth most closely mirror the real thing. Exolith uses those findings to create recipes for the simulants.

“What we make is as close to the real thing that you can find,” says Krol. “I’m still amazed every time I put my hands in it.”

Two years ago, the teams at UCF and NASA decided it would be a good idea to allow curious K-12 students to put their hands in it, too. The Plant the Moon and Plant Mars Challenges bring to mind scenes from the movies Apollo 13 andThe Martian: You have 10 weeks to take what you find in the box and grow a whole-plant meal, as if you’re a hungry astronaut trying to live off the fat of another planet.

As science projects go, how do you top that? The kit alone is a wonder of sorts.

“We have to find the minerals for the recipe,” Krol says. “We source them from remote regions in Greenland, Germany, Canada, and the U.S.”

So, when students open that 11-pound bag and stuff their hands inside, they might not be pulling out particles directly from the moon or Mars. But it’s still rare. And again, thanks to decades of research, it’s close to authentic.

The participants find out real fast that nurturing a plant in space is just as the name of the contest suggests: a challenge. There are no organics on the moon. No worms. No bugs. No rose petals or coffee grounds. Students can add their own ingredients to the soil that arrives in the kit, but in the process they gain an appreciation for the goal behind decades of research: sustaining life in space.

“The students don’t need a deep science background or an interest in engineering to do this,” Krol says. “We’ve seen the challenge ignite a passion.”

The passion is spreading. For the first Plant the Moon and Plant Mars Challenges in 2021, Exolith sent out kits to 40 student teams, mostly based in Florida. For the most recent Spring 2023 challenges, Exolith sent kits to 800 teams comprised of 20,000 participants from across the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

“This kind of work excites me every day,” says Kathleen Loftin ’89 ’00MS ’09Phd. As the center chief technologist at Kennedy Space Center, she leads a team of researchers discovering how to sustain life by growing food away from Earth. “For the space program to continue to push boundaries, we need people from all backgrounds involved.”

NASA calls today’s students “the Artemis generation.” They’ll be needed for expertise in business, psychology, marketing, humanities and technology — who knows, maybe for interplanetary agriculture, too.

“There should be no barriers,” Krol says. “We want anyone who’s curious, intelligent, or creative to have access to this challenge.”

“There should be no barriers. We want anyone who’s curious, intelligent, or creative to have access to this challenge.” — Konrad Krol, operations director for UCF’s Exolith Lab

Grants from NASA have helped get the soils into schools where the $400 kit isn’t in the budget. Just as important are the video lessons from NASA experts who share knowledge that has taken several lifetimes to collect.

It’s working. The projects are improving. Some of the student-made labs look like professional plant-growth labs. Students have figured out how to grow broccoli, kale, butterbeans and buckwheat. Some can’t get anything but sticks to pop out of their versions of the moon and Mars.

“That’s OK,” Krol says. “Their findings about ‘what not to do’ are valuable, too.”

They could win Best in Show in the category of Evaluation of Results. A team with a thriving little garden could win for Best Plant Growth. A creative idea might be in the running for Innovation, and a well-documented project for Experimental Design.

“I remember some of my school science projects,” says Krol. “They were nothing compared to this. Imagine what these kids will be talking about.”

For my science project … I grew mung beans on the moon. Do you want to hear about it?

The finding comes from an examination of posts labeled controversial on social news aggregation site Reddit. To perform the study, the researchers analyzed more than 47,000 posts about cybersecurity in a Reddit dataset that was collected by the Computational Simulation of Online Social Behavior (SocialSim) program of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

Researchers found that these posts were seen by nearly twice the number of people and traveled nearly twice as fast when compared to posts not labeled controversial. The findings were published recently in the .

Reddit is one of the most visited websites in the U.S. A post is labeled controversial by a Reddit algorithm if it receives a certain number of polarized views, or a moderator can label a post with any number of comments as controversial.

The posts analyzed in the study included topics that wouldn’t be considered traditionally controversial but were labeled as so by Reddit, such as a personal computer giveaway offer.

The research is important because it shows that disagreement may be a powerful way to get people to pay attention to messages, says study co-author Ivan Garibay, an associate professor in UCF’s .

However, he advises caution to those inducing disagreement in their social media posts.

“There may be an incentive in terms of influence and audience size for a social media user to consistently include controversial and provocative topics on their posts,” Garibay says. “This benefits the person posting the messages. However, controversial comments can be divisive, which could contribute to a polarized audience and society.”

Reddit’s definition of a controversial post, which tends to depend on increasing numbers of both likes and dislikes, is different than the traditional advertiser’s definition of a controversial post, which would contain truly provocative or taboo messaging, says Yael Zemack-Rugar, an associate professor in UCF’s .

“To give this idea life, you may like a recent ad for Toyota, and I may not,” Zemack-Rugar says. “This will not make it controversial. But if the ad featured Colin Kaepernick, as the Nike ad did in 2018, after he recently refused to recite the national anthem during his games, now we are talking controversial. There is an underlying tone that is much deeper and more meaningful.”

Reddit posts are also more akin to word-of-mouth communication since they are user generated and not paid advertising, she says.

The study’s findings are consistent with past research that has found that traditional controversy increases the spread of word of mouth and discussions online, especially when contributions are anonymous, as they somewhat are on Reddit, Zemack-Rugar says.

Of the more than 47,000 posts, approximately 23,000 posts were labeled controversial, and about 24,000 were noncontroversial.

The researchers found an association between controversially labeled comments and the collective attention that the audience paid to them.

For the controversial posts, there were more than 60,000 total comments, whereas for the noncontroversial posts, there were less than 25,000 total comments.

A network analysis examining the reach and speed of the posts, showed that nearly twice the number of people saw controversial content compared to noncontroversial content and that controversial content traveled nearly twice as fast.

The researchers limited posts in their analysis to those that had at least 100 comments.

Jasser Jasser, a doctoral student in UCF’s , and the study’s lead author, says the findings highlight the need to better understand why the content labeled in Reddit as controversial spreads.

“The next step in this work is to analyze the language used to induce such controversy and why it brings the attention of the social media users,” Jasser says.

Study co-authors were Steve Scheinert, a senior solutions specialist with a professional services company and Alexander V. Mantzaris, an assistant professor in UCF’s .

The study was funded with support from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

Garibay received his doctorate in computer science from UCF. He joined UCF’s Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems, part of UCF’s College of Engineering and Computer Science, in 2016.

Social media has become a dominant form of communication for individuals, and for companies looking to market and sell their products and services. Properly understanding and responding to customer feedback on Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms is critical for success, but it is incredibly labor intensive.

That’s where sentiment analysis comes in. The term refers to the automated process of identifying the emotion — either positive, negative or neutral — associated with text. While artificial intelligence refers to logical data analysis and response, sentiment analysis is akin to correctly identifying emotional communication. A UCF team developed a technique that accurately detects sarcasm in social media text.

The team’s findings were recently published in the ��.

Effectively the team taught the computer model to find patterns that often indicate sarcasm and combined that with teaching the program to correctly pick out cue words in sequences that were more likely to indicate sarcasm. They taught the model to do this by feeding it large data sets and then checked its accuracy.

“The presence of sarcasm in text is the main hindrance in the performance of sentiment analysis,” says Associate Professor of engineering Ivan Garibay ’00MS ’04PhD. “Sarcasm isn’t always easy to identify in conversation, so you can imagine it’s pretty challenging for a computer program to do it and do it well. We developed an interpretable deep learning model using multi-head self-attention and gated recurrent units. The multi-head self-attention module aids in identifying crucial sarcastic cue-words from the input, and the recurrent units learn long-range dependencies between these cue-words to better classify the input text.”

The team, which includes computer science doctoral student Ramya Akula, began working on this problem under a DARPA grant that supports the organization’s Computational Simulation of Online Social Behavior program.

“Sarcasm has been a major hurdle to increasing the accuracy of sentiment analysis, especially on social media, since sarcasm relies heavily on vocal tones, facial expressions and gestures that cannot be represented in text,” says Brian Kettler, a program manager in DARPA’s Information Innovation Office (I2O). “Recognizing sarcasm in textual online communication is no easy task as none of these cues are readily available.”

This is one of the challenges Garibay’s is studying. CASL is an interdisciplinary research group dedicated to the study of complex phenomena such as the global economy, the global information environment, innovation ecosystems, sustainability, and social and cultural dynamics and evolution. CASL scientists study these problems using data science, network science, complexity science, cognitive science, machine learning, deep learning, social sciences, team cognition, among other approaches.

“In face-to-face conversation, sarcasm can be identified effortlessly using facial expressions, gestures, and tone of the speaker,” Akula says. “Detecting sarcasm in textual communication is not a trivial task as none of these cues are readily available. Specially with the explosion of internet usage, sarcasm detection in online communications from social networking platforms is much more challenging.”

Garibay is an associate professor in . He has several degrees including a Ph.D. in computer science from UCF. Garibay is the director of UCF’s Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Initiative. He is also director of the master’s program in data analytics. His research areas include complex systems, agent-based models, information and misinformation dynamics on social media, artificial intelligence and machine learning. He has more than 75 peer-reviewed papers and more than $9.5 million in funding from various national agencies.

Akula is a doctoral scholar and graduate research assistant at CASL. She has a master’s degree in computer science from Technical ����ֱ�� of Kaiserslautern in Germany and a bachelor’s degree in computer science engineering from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological ����ֱ��, India.

Assistant Professor of Industrial Engineering �������Sawyer ’14MS ’15PhD and his team are working to make it easier for people to read digital text at a high speed with increased comprehension. The readability technology isn’t just about making words easier on the eyes, it’s about helping people consume and comprehend a high volume of information quickly while not being overwhelmed.

“Helping students and professionals to read better through technology is vital, especially during a pandemic,” Sawyer says of the work that began in response to the initial COVID-19 outbreak in 2020. “Children, college students, and physicians alike are struggling to keep up with information, and our team’s readability tech can help.”

The potential applications are far reaching, especially during a pandemic. Examples include:

• Doctors rapidly comprehending patient histories to deliver better care
• Students shifted to online learning better handling increased reading loads
• Scientists conducting research while keeping abreast of developments in their field
• Business leaders understanding swiftly changing competition more efficiently

Sawyer is leading the research, a collaboration with Adobe and non-profit Readability Matters, the awardee named in Fast Company. The Virtual Readability Lab was launched in 2020 and in less than a year Sawyer has led this interdisciplinary team to become leaders in the evolving field. Adobe’s Max 2020 Creativity Conference showcased the work as a part of the company’s continuing efforts toward creating products that empower people to change the world, such as its recent collaboration with a UCF-spin-off, the nonprofit Limbitless Solutions. The growing readability research community now includes researchers at Brown ����ֱ��, ����ֱ�� of Toronto, ����ֱ�� of Arizona, Stanford ����ֱ�� and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Fast Company, read by Fortune 500 company leaders, started the World Changing Ideas awards five years ago to recognize businesses, policies, projects, or concepts that are actively engaged and deeply committed to pursuing innovation good for society and the planet, according to a company press release. The magazine’s summer issue will highlight the awardees and is available on newsstands this week.

Sawyer received a master’s in industrial engineering in 2014 and a doctorate in applied experimental and human factors psychology from UCF in 2015. He completed his post-doctoral work at MIT and worked with the Air Force Research Laboratory’s 711^th Human Performance Wing, before returning to UCF as faculty in 2018. His work is focused on the information exchange between humans and machines. His interdisciplinary team works at the intersection of engineering, psychophysics, and applied neuroscience.

“The new rankings reflect our focus on student success and faculty excellence and puts us one step closer to reaching our goal of becoming a 21st-century university committed to fueling the talent, ideas and innovation that will drive our community and state forward.”

The list shows the university’s upward trajectory in the number of programs on the top 100 list; there were 18 programs ranked in 2017. The rankings measure the quality of 800 schools’ faculty, research and students, and are based on peer and expert opinions.

“From our growing academic reputation to our successful athletic programs, the ����ֱ�� has made impressive gains over the last decade,” says Elizabeth A. Dooley, provost and vice president for academic affairs. “The new rankings reflect our focus on student success and faculty excellence and puts us one step closer to reaching our goal of becoming a 21st-century university committed to fueling the talent, ideas and innovation that will drive our community and state forward.”

UCF’s top-ranked program this year, Emergency and Crisis Management, tied for No. 7, above programs at Texas A&M ����ֱ��, American ����ֱ�� and George Washington ����ֱ��. The program is under the direction of Associate Professor Claire Connolly Knox, who says the course builds on the strength of the faculty, advisory board and alumni who mentor students.

“Effective emergency and crisis management is vital for every community,” Knox says. “Since 2016, four hurricanes — Matthew, Irma, Maria and Michael — and three mass casualty events — Pulse nightclub, Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School and Fort Lauderdale Airport — have greatly impacted Florida communities. There is an increasing need for emergency management specialists to expand their knowledge, skills and abilities through an advanced degree so they can more ethically manage emergencies and crises.”

The next highest UCF rankings are the Nonprofit Management at No. 8 (moving up from 12) and Counselor Education at No. 9 (moving up from 10).

Other programs ranked in the top 50 are: Optics and Photonics (No. 12), Elementary Education (No. 22), Public Administration (No. 23), Criminal Justice (No. 26), Industrial Engineering (No. 36) and Health Administration (No. 46).

UCF programs with the biggest point-gain improvements this year were in nursing. UCF’s master’s nursing school ranked No. 61 overall, moving up 26 points, and the Doctor of Nursing Practice ranked No. 72, improving by 29 points.

Other programs in the top 100 are:
Computer Engineering (No. 52)
Communication Sciences and Disorders (No. 53)
Electrical Engineering (No. 53)
Overall best public administration graduate school (No. 53)
Materials Science and Engineering (No. 57)
Physics (No. 61)
Environmental Engineering (No. 63)
Civil Engineering (No. 65)
Mechanical Engineering (No. 65)
Social Work (No. 70)
Overall best graduate engineering school (No. 75)
Overall best graduate education school (No. 78)
Computer Science (No. 82)
Overall medical research school (No. 88)
Part-time MBA (No. 89)

This was the first time in the top 100 for the part-time MBA, which includes both the UCF Evening MBA and the UCF Part-time Professional MBA.

Repeating from last year, the Counselor Education program earned UCF’s highest ranking, moving up a notch to No. 9 nationally. The program prepares students for careers as counselors and practitioners in schools, community mental health agencies, hospitals, institutions and private practice.

“This ranking exemplifies the hard work of our Counselor Education faculty and staff and the progress we have achieved,” said Pamela S. Carroll, dean of the College of Education and Human Performance. “What an honor to be listed in the top 10 in the nation in this field.”

The next highest UCF rankings were No. 14 for the atomic, molecular and optical sciences programs in the College of Optics & Photonics, and No. 17 for the Nonprofit Management program in the College of Health and Public Affairs, a jump of eight places.

Two more programs in the College of Health and Public Affairs were ranked in the top 50 – Criminal Justice (26) and Healthcare Management (38) – and Industrial Engineering was ranked at No. 39.

Others in the top 100 were: Communication Sciences and Disorders (53), Public Administration (63), Computer Engineering (64), Materials Science and Engineering (65), Electrical Engineering (66), Civil Engineering (75), Environmental Engineering (75), Social Work (78), College of Engineering & Computer Science (82), Physics (85), Medical Research (88), Computer Science (90), College of Education & Human Performance (91), and Doctor of Nursing Practice (100).

The Best Graduate Schools 2017 edition will be available on newsstands April 5.

The U.S. News rankings were announced one day after The Princeton Review and PC Gamer magazine named UCF’s Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy the best video game graduate school in North America.

The Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy’s No. 2 ranking was released today by The Princeton Review and PC Gamer Magazine. FIEA has been ranked among the top five in all four Princeton Review sets of rankings since the school opened in downtown Orlando nine years ago.

Since opening its doors in 2005, FIEA has graduated 359 alumni working at 124 companies around the world, including Google, Electronic Arts, Blizzard, Ubisoft, Disney and Microsoft. The average starting salary for FIEA graduates is $54,581.

“I’m glad to see the Princeton Review recognize the hard work put in by our faculty and staff at FIEA,” said FIEA executive director Ben Noel. “We spend every day ensuring our students are as ready as possible to have valuable careers in the video game, film and simulation ���Ի�ܲ��ٰ������.”

In other rankings released today, U.S. News & World Report ranked 23 UCF graduate programs among the top 100 in their fields. Last year, 21 UCF programs were ranked in the top 100 in their fields. The Best Grad Schools 2015 rankings are available online at https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools, and the Best Grad Schools 2015 guidebook will be available on newsstands beginning April 8.

The Counselor Education program earned UCF’s highest ranking at No. 7, up two spots from its 2014 ranking. Counselor Education educates and prepares students interested in working as counselors and practitioners in schools, community mental health settings, institutions, hospitals, and private practice.

UCF’s Special Education program also earned a Top 20 ranking, jumping up four places to No. 12. The program provides course work needed to meet state certification requirements in special education of children and youth with disabilities

“We’re very pleased with the recognition our programs have received,” said Sandra Robinson, dean of the College of Education and Human Performance. “Faculty, staff and students have earned these accolades through their hard work and professionalism.”

UCF’s College of Optics and Photonics ranked No. 14 among the nation’s atomic, molecular and optical sciences programs. The Nonprofit Management program in the College of Health and Public Affairs ranked No. 25.

Two other programs in the College of Health and Public Affairs also made the top 50 – Criminal Justice (26) and Healthcare Management (46) – along with the College of Engineering and Computer Science’s Industrial Engineering program, which ranked No. 42.

“These rankings clearly demonstrate the national recognition our programs have achieved in both health and public affairs,” said Michael Frumkin, dean of the College of Health and Public Affairs. “They are truly a testimony to the commitment and hard work of our faculty and the excellence of our students.”

Others from UCF in the top 100 of their specific fields are: Computer Engineering (58), Public Administration (59), Materials Engineering (61), Electrical Engineering (64), Environmental Engineering (68), Communication Sciences and Disorders (73), Civil Engineering (76), College of Nursing (79), College of Engineering & Computer Science (81), Physics (85), Social Work (89), Computer Science (90), Business Part-Time MBA Program (94), Mechanical Engineering (97), College of Education (98) and Physical Therapy (99).

More than 1,300 programs are reviewed nationwide for the magazine’s annual graduate-school guide. Scores are based on expert opinions about programs and statistical indicators that reflect the quality of faculty, researchers and students at each institution.

In a separate set of rankings released in January, UCF ranked No. 24 among the Best Online Graduate Nursing Programs, up from No. 45 in 2013.

The event challenged participants to find a partner to design a production process and race to make the most – and best – sandwiches to donate to The Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida. Teams of two worked together to make the sandwiches in the limited time permitted.

The event employed industrial engineering practices to ensure high-quality sandwiches that were neatly made, had consistent weight, and were prepared and packaged safely.

View photos .

Hosted by the UCF chapter of the Institute of Industrial Engineers, this event was part of Engineers Week at UCF, Feb. 18-22, and is also a celebration of UCF’s 50th anniversary. The UCF College of Engineering and Computer Science (CECS) – with more than 24,000 alumni – is one of the university’s original colleges. The week has featured a variety of fun, visual public events & activities on UCF’s main campus, planned by CECS student groups, to showcase the fact that just about every modern convenience is possible because of engineers.

Engineers Week is sponsored nationally by the National Engineers Week Foundation and celebrated on every U.S. engineering college campus and within businesses that employ engineers. Visit http://cecs.ucf.edu for more information.