A groundbreaking discovery in a university laboratory may solve a scientific problem but turning that discovery into a successful company is an entirely different challenge. Researchers must determine whether customers actually need their technology, develop a viable business model, attract investors, and build the expertise and infrastructure needed to compete in the marketplace. Even promising technologies can stall somewhere along that journey.

After decades of helping researchers bridge the gap between discovery and commercialization, UCF is now bringing that proven model to a national stage.

Small U.S. businesses based in a variety of technologies that are seeking support to scale their reach can .

With a $20 million investment from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), UCF is leading the National Commercialization and Translation Institute (NCTI), a two-year pilot program designed to help late-stage federally funded technology companies make the difficult transition from validated technology to commercial success.

The effort has drawn support from more than 30 organizations across industry, academia, national laboratories and the innovation community. Samsung, Siemens, Lockheed Martin and L3Harris are a small sample of the industry leaders that submitted letters of support. Research and higher education institutions supporting the effort include UC Berkeley, the Florida High Tech Corridor, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratory. Together, these organizations and others that will be brought into the mix represent the kind of national network NCTI aims to bring together to help promising technologies reach the marketplace.

How NCTI Will Support Small Businesses

Under the leadership of UCF’s experts, NCTI will build on that commercialization experience by studying companies that have progressed beyond the initial stages of research and development. Researchers will examine how different combinations of support, including capital investment, mentorship, training, prototyping and testing, and market validation, can most effectively accelerate commercialization.

“NCTI completes that pipeline rather than duplicating any part of it.” — Ivan Garibay, professor

UCF Professor of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems ’00MS ’04PhD, principal investigator for NCTI, will lead the institute. For more than 20 years, the UCF computer science alum has advanced research focused on modeling and simulating complex systems that combine social, technological, and economic factors. Through his previous positions at UCF, including serving as the Office of Research’s director of technology and innovation, Garibay has gained unique expertise on how to transform developments from the lab into real-world innovations.

Garibay says NCTI is designed to build upon existing federal research translation and commercialization programs by providing support at a later stage, when promising technologies have been developed but companies may still struggle to reach the market. NCTI also builds on another NSF effort Garibay has been leading at UCF since 2024, the Accelerating Research Translation program, which has strengthened internal processes at the university to enhance potential for developing viable business.

“NCTI completes that pipeline rather than duplicating any part of it,” Garibay says. “We coordinate the full continuum of federal resources, managing the handoffs from [the NSF] Innovation-Corps customer discovery through to commercialization support, so each company knows where it stands and what comes next.”

“Furthermore, the research study conducted in this effort will discover which interventions applied to enhance commercialization efforts of deep tech companies have the intended impact.” — Michael Georgiopoulos, CECS dean

, dean of UCF’s College of Engineering and Computer Science for over a decade, will also contribute expertise as a co-principal investigator for NCTI. Georgiopoulos is a seasoned researcher in electrical and computer engineering whose areas of interest include machine learning and neural networks. Georgiopoulos has also helped lead NSF-supported efforts focused on strengthening STEM education and student success — fueling a talent pipeline for future innovators and entrepreneurs.

“This is a great opportunity for UCF with its prior expertise with TIP (Technology, Innovation and Partnership) programs such as ART, I-Corps, Engines to bring together a national network of entrepreneurs, innovators, venture capitalists, subject matter experts, and other stakeholders to help deep-tech companies with proven technologies to successfully commercialize their efforts and attain the expected impact that their technologies are destined for,” Georgiopoulos says. “Furthermore, the research study conducted in this effort will discover which interventions applied to enhance commercialization efforts of deep tech companies have the intended impact.”

Enhancing a Commercialization Ecosystem

Over time, UCF has steadily expanded its efforts to help faculty researchers move discoveries beyond the laboratory, from establishing the UCF Business Incubation Program in 1999 to taking leadership roles in major economic-focused NSF initiatives.

�� ’96MS ’96MBA ’05PhD, a professor of industrial engineering and management systems, has been involved in many of these efforts. He founded the UCF Business Incubation Program, which Time magazine recently named the No. 17 on its inaugural America’s Best Incubators and Accelerators 2026 — and the top ranked traditional business incubator in the country.

“The notion now is bringing all these disparate tools together to help an engineer or a scientist get the training, processes, and tools that they need to transfer that technology into something beneficial to society.” — Thomas O’Neal, professor

“The whole notion is to build a robust ecosystem at the ����ֱ�� to help us get technology out of the laboratory and into the marketplace,” O’Neal says.O’Neal also serves as the co-principal investigator for UCF’s NSF Innovation-Corps (I-Corps) program, which launched at UCF in 2014 as the first NSF-sponsored economic effort at the university. Through the program, researchers undergo a structured customer-discovery process that helps them evaluate the market for their technology and ultimately reach what O’Neal describes as a “go or no-go” decision about pursuing commercialization.

“It is a formal process that helps engineers and scientists transfer their technology into viable business opportunities,” O’Neal says.

UCF is also strengthening the broader infrastructure surrounding research commercialization through NSF ART, which O’Neal is a co-principal investigator on.

“We were really siloed before,” O’Neal says. “The notion now is bringing all these disparate tools together to help an engineer or a scientist get the training, processes, and tools that they need to transfer that technology into something beneficial to society.”

Expanding Tech Focuses and Business Insights

That commercialization experience at UCF also extends to the Florida Semiconductor Engine, an NSF-funded initiative led by UCF Galloway Professor of Management , a co-principal investigator of NCTI.

“Some of the most critical factors include sufficient capital investment, clarity on customer need, business savvy and focused leaders, and the discipline to execute.” — Ron Piccolo, professor

“The Florida Semiconductor Engine is charged with translating and commercializing promising technologies in the semiconductor domain,” Piccolo says. “I am hopeful that we can support similar efforts in adjacent technologies. … NCTI extends the university’s portfolio of programs that support entrepreneurship, technology development and market readiness.”

As an NCTI co-principal investigator, Piccolo will draw on his experience as a business scholar to help develop and execute the institute’s research plan. His work with the Florida Semiconductor Engine will also help connect NCTI with a national network of NSF Engines spanning critical technology areas, including energy, textiles, quantum computing, critical materials, semiconductors and natural resources.

Determining why some promising technologies become viable companies while others do not will be a central part of NCTI’s research.

“Some of the most critical factors include sufficient capital investment, clarity on customer need, business savvy and focused leaders, and the discipline to execute,” Piccolo says.

Ready to Grow Your Business?

NCTI supports a select group of NSF-funded U.S. small businesses (NSF-funded SBIR and STTTR Phase II and Phase IIB companies) at the later stages of deep technology research and development — such as AI, biotechnology, quantum computing and other fields — ��through funding, mentoring and connections, paired with individualized support that includes diagnostic triage, a commercialization plan, dedicated mentor teams and curated introductions to customers, investors, industry and national laboratories.

Small businesses across America based in a variety of technologies that are seeking support to scale their reach can .

“NSF invests in small businesses that bring the most innovative cutting-edge technologies to the market and society,” says Erwin Gianchandani, NSF assistant director for TIP. “By closing this gap that is known as the ‘valley of death,’ NSF aims to strengthen our commitment to translational research and further develop innovation ecosystems in the United States.”

The “valley of death” refers to a stage at which a new technology innovation has been substantially de-risked but the technology has not yet been commercially proven, making it difficult to attract funding or other support needed to achieve commercial viability.

“NCTI builds on UCF’s growing national leadership in helping promising technologies become products, companies and economic growth.” — Alexander N. Cartwright, UCF president

“Many NSF-supported small businesses have the potential to become great commercial successes and contribute significantly to economic growth and job creation throughout the nation,” says Lesia Crumpton-Young, TIP section head for small businesses. “We want to support small businesses to overcome the hurdles common to commercializing deep technology innovations.”

Led by the ����ֱ��’s National Commercialization and Translation Institute (NCTI), the pilot will examine the factors, conditions and approaches that lead to the successful transition of deep technology innovations to nationally impactful technologies.

The institute represents the latest evolution of a commercialization pipeline UCF has spent years developing. Through initiatives including the Southeast Hub of NSF I-Corps, NSF Accelerating Research Translation (ART) and the Florida Semiconductor Engine, UCF has helped researchers evaluate commercial opportunities, advance emerging technologies and strengthen regional innovation. NCTI will build on that foundation by expanding UCF’s commercialization efforts to companies nationwide.

UCF Professor of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems , principal investigator for NCTI, will lead the institute, which will provide commercialization funding, expert mentorship and investor connections to SBIR/STTR Phase II and Phase IIB funded companies, while evaluating which approaches most effectively help deep technology ��companies reach the marketplace.

“We are grateful to the National Science Foundation for its continued confidence in UCF and for the opportunity to help shape the future of research translation and commercialization,” says UCF President Alexander N. Cartwright. “Discovery reaches its greatest potential when it moves beyond the laboratory and improves lives, strengthens industries and creates opportunity. NCTI builds on UCF’s growing national leadership in helping promising technologies become products, companies and economic growth. With Central Florida’s extraordinary concentration of talent, industry and innovation, UCF is well positioned to build a model that can deliver impact for Florida and across the nation.”

“UCF’s readiness to lead this national effort is anchored by our highly integrated entrepreneurial infrastructure critical in the ‘lab-to-market’ pipeline,” says Winston Schoenfeld, vice president for research and innovation. “NCTI will ensure that federally funded technologies successfully transition into investor-ready commercial enterprises.”

“Providing a ‘bridge’ to support our late-stage NSF-funded companies will move their impactful innovation to the market more quickly and thereby benefit the national economy.” — Peter Atherton, program director for NSF Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer.

“A validated technology is a scientific achievement, but it isn’t yet a business. Many NSF SBIR Phase II companies hold genuinely de-risked technologies, yet still lack the business expertise, infrastructure, and capital access to turn that validation into a viable company,” Garibay says. “NCTI completes that pipeline rather than duplicating any part of it: we coordinate the full continuum of federal resources, managing the handoffs from I-Corps customer discovery through to commercialization support, so each company knows where it stands and what comes next.”

The pilot will support a select group of NSF-funded small businesses at the later stages of deep technology research and development through funding, mentoring, and connections, paired with concierge-level individualized support: diagnostic triage, an individualized commercialization plan, dedicated mentor teams, and curated introductions to customers, investors, industry, and national laboratories.

“Providing a ‘bridge’ to support our late-stage NSF-funded companies will move their impactful innovation to the market more quickly and thereby benefit the national economy,” says Peter Atherton, program director for NSF Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer.

Each stage of the pilot will be structured and independently evaluated. Designed as a scalable model, the results of the pilot will determine whether to establish a long-term program.

Learn more about the .

The decision by Michael D. Johnson, provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs, follows a review committee’s 5-year performance analysis of Georgiopoulos and the college along with feedback from constituents across the campus and community.

“Dean Georgiopoulos has been instrumental in boosting the college’s excellence in research and in producing top talent for Florida’s high-tech economy,” Johnson says. “I look forward to seeing even greater impact as we strive to be Florida’s premier engineering and technology university.”

Georgiopoulos joined UCF in 1986 as an assistant professor in the Electrical Engineering Department and later became a Pegasus Professor, the highest honor a faculty member can earn at UCF. He served in various leadership roles before being named dean of CECS in 2013.

Since then, the college’s research funding has more than doubled while enrollment, graduates and fundraising have increased significantly. The home to UCF’s powerhouse student cyber defense and programming teams, CECS produces the most engineering and computer science graduates in Florida and is among the top 10 nationally.

Georgiopoulos has fostered strong ties with industry to develop programs and partnerships that drive innovation and help fuel the state’s growing high-tech economy. The college plays a key role in UCF being the nation’s leading provider of talent to the aerospace and defense industries.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to continue serving UCF in this role as dean,” Georgiopoulos says. “The college eagerly embraces the university’s vision of becoming the state’s premier engineering and technology institution. In collaboration with our many partners, we are prepared to pursue and achieve this vision for the well-being of our stakeholders and UCF.”

UCF also ranked among the top 40 civil engineering programs in the nation in the same global ranking, alongside Iowa State, Johns Hopkins, Michigan State and Penn State.

The ranking includes 200 of the world’s top universities, and places UCF ahead of Georgia Tech, Purdue, Arizona State ����ֱ��, Carnegie Mellon and the ����ֱ�� of Florida in the category.

Last year, UCF ranked among the top 20 in the nation and top 75 in the world in the same category.

Also known as Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), ShanghaiRankings annually ranks the best universities in academic subjects ranging from physics and biological sciences to finance and hospitality and tourism management. The rankings take into account six indicators, including the success of alumni, the quality of faculty and the amount of research published in the field’s top academic journals.

“The significance of the ranking means that UCF has another pocket of excellence in its mix,” says Michael Georgiopoulos, dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science. “Outstanding faculty and students, who we recruit to UCF, look at these rankings to make decisions about whether to join our institution. Funding agencies look at the reputation of the institution’s faculty and students to make funding decisions. The college’s continued pursuit of research and educational excellence depends on pockets of excellence such as transportation science and technology housed in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering [CECE].”

UCF’s CECE department has made impressive strides over the past several years, including being ranked among the top 40 civil engineering programs in the nation in the same global ranking, alongside Iowa State ����ֱ��, Johns Hopkins ����ֱ��, Michigan State ����ֱ�� and Pennsylvania State ����ֱ��.

The team has published nearly 300 articles in top journals and been recognized for best papers by the Transportation Research Board, the ASCE Journal of Transportation Engineering and the World Conference on Transport Research Society; beat out 50 other teams — including Ford and Uber — to win a national competition by the U.S. Department of Transportation focused on making driving safer; and garnered roughly $22 million in research funding for projects, including a grant from the Federal Highway Administration to test several smart cities transportation technologies locally. In addition to the USDOT, FDOT and MetroPlan, UCF researchers have collaborated with the Federal Highway Administration, the National Cooperative Highway Research Program and the ����ֱ�� Transportation Center: Safety Research Using Simulation to study topics focused on monitoring, assessing and improving traffic safety.

“Integrating programs in transportation systems and smart cities have extended our influence and reach to many students, and increased the demand for our programs.”
— UCF Professor Mohamed Abdel-Aty

UCF offers several degrees for students interested in pursuing transportation studies, including a B.S. in civil engineering, an M.S. in civil engineering, an M.S. in transportation systems engineering, and the nation’s first engineering-focused M.S. in smart cities.

“Integrating programs in transportation systems and smart cities have extended our influence and reach to many students, and increased the demand for our programs,” says Mohamed Abdel-Aty, Pegasus Professor of civil engineering and chair of the CECE department. “Our faculty have wide range of critical expertise that contribute to the excellent quality of our education and research.”

As one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities and only hubs offering connectivity options via road, sea, air, rail and even space, Orlando offers faculty and students alike the opportunity to study multi-modal, multi-faceted transportation systems. Orlando was the most-visited destination in the U.S. with a record 75 million people in 2018 and was ranked the No. 23 worst cities in the nation for traffic, according to a 2019 ranking by international navigation company TomTom. The area boasts seven major highways, three major ports less than 2 hours away, seven international airports within 100 miles, and 68 miles of railroad with an additional 170 miles of new track being developed by Virgin Trains to connect Orlando to Miami. NASA’s Kennedy Space Center is also only roughly an hour away.

Currently, there are more than $10 billion in transportation infrastructure investments in Orlando, including the $2.3 billion, 21-mile long I-4 Ultimate project. According to The Wall Street Journal, the public-private partnership is one the nation’s largest roadway projects.

Discover other UCF academic rankings.

“The increasingly complex business environment the travel and tourism industry is facing requires an interdisciplinary approach to produce professionals who not only have a strong technology foundation but also understand the business context in which the technology is applied.”
— Youcheng Wang

The proliferation of new and emerging technologies that make traveling more convenient and efficient, such as ride-sharing mobile apps and third-party booking services, is fueling the industry’s demand for high-tech workers.

The master’s degree program — the first of its kind in the nation — will be offered by UCF’s College of Engineering and Computer Science and Rosen College of Hospitality Management, which is ranked No. 4 in the world for hospitality education by CEOWorld magazine. The degree was approved by the UCF Board of Trustees and the Florida Board of Governors last year.

“This innovative program is the result of strong collaboration between our two colleges, and illustrates how UCF continually strives to create opportunity beyond traditional academic boundaries,” says Michael Georgiopoulos, dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science.

“The increasingly complex business environment the travel and tourism industry is facing requires an interdisciplinary approach to produce professionals who not only have a strong technology foundation but also understand the business context in which the technology is applied,” says Youcheng Wang, dean of the Rosen College of Hospitality Management. “Such a partnership program between the two colleges is definitely the right answer to the industry call.”

Orlando, where UCF is located, is the No. 1 travel destination in the United States and provides an ideal learning environment for technology professionals who may want to apply their skills in the travel industry.

The program has been designed by a team of UCF faculty led by Alan Fyall, associate dean of academic affairs, Visit Orlando Endowed Chair of Tourism and a professor of hospitality. Fyall is an expert in global travel industry workforce trends.

“There is no better place than Orlando to get hands-on experience in the travel industry,” Fyall says. “Students in this degree program can work for airlines, hotels, resorts, travel companies, entertainment companies, theme parks — the opportunities are endless here.”

The travel technology and analytics master’s degree will appeal to technology professionals who may be working in other industries, according to Ali Gordon, associate dean for Graduate Affairs in the College of Engineering and Computer Science.

“Many of our computer science and information technology graduates are recruited by large-scale technology companies, and therefore may not initially consider the travel industry when they make early-career moves,” Gordon says. “This new degree gives these professionals another exciting career choice.”

Also on the faculty team is Naveen Eluru, associate professor of civil engineering. Eluru is an expert in transportation engineering and technology and heads the Transportation Econometric Modeling Group at UCF. He will teach one of the core analytics courses in the program.

Eluru notes that while the COVID-19 global pandemic has disproportionately affected the travel and tourism industry, this time can present an opportunity for professionals to broaden their skills and engage in the industry’s resurgence.

“The revival of the travel and tourism industry will lay increased emphasis on the application of technology and analytics in the future,” says Eluru. “With the rapid emergence of new technologies, the opportunity for career growth in travel technology and analytics is huge, as the role of smart infrastructure expands in tourism and hospitality sectors along with burgeoning smart transportation systems across cities.”

Eluru is also on the faculty team that designed and oversees UCF’s master’s degree in smart cities program — another first-of-its-kind program in the nation — that began last fall.

The 30-hour master’s degree program in travel technology and analytics is offered partially or fully online. In-person classes are scheduled to be held at both the Rosen College campus near International Drive and UCF’s main campus in east Orlando.

The coursework follows an appropriate mix of required core courses and elective options. The core courses will cover concepts in travel technology, hospitality management and travel analytics, providing STEM students with a solid foundation in the travel and tourism industry. The program also includes a capstone course to provide students with hands-on tourism industry experience.

Core courses include Smart Travel and Tourism, International Tourism and Management, Service System Quality Engineering, Discrete Choice Modeling in Transportation, Algorithms and Models for Smart Cities, and a capstone course.

The deadline to apply for the program is July 1, 2020.

More than 4,000 students are currently enrolled in the university’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering programs. There were 111 students who graduated last year with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in aerospace engineering, and more than 120 are expected to graduate this year.

More than 550 students have graduated with an aerospace engineering degree during the past five years.

“Orlando is the epicenter of rapid economic growth as more engineering companies begin calling it their home.” –��Yoav Peles, UCF’s Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering chair

“UCF’s ranking as the top producer of talent for the aerospace and defense industries showcases, one more time, the sustained partnership that UCF has established with the aerospace and defense industry to educate the next generation of engineers and computer scientists that this industry needs to perpetuate its continued dominance,” says Michael��Georgiopoulos, dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science.

Rounding out the Top 5 universities that have provided the most graduates to the industries are: ����ֱ�� of��Florida,������ֱ�� of Arizona,��Pennsylvania State ����ֱ����and ����ֱ�� of Washington.

Yoav Peles, department chair, says UCF’s graduates are working at some of the top engineering sites in the nation, such as Lockheed Martin, Siemens and the Kennedy Space Center.

“As one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States, Orlando is the epicenter of rapid economic growth as more engineering companies begin calling it their home,” he says, including other companies such as Boeing, Pratt & Whitney, Mitsubishi, Harris��and Disney.

UCF’s newest engineering program, a doctorate in aerospace engineering, was recently approved and is accepting applications for the Fall 2019 semester. The department also offers a doctorate in mechanical engineering, and master’s degrees in aerospace engineering, biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering.

Aviation Week collaborated with the Aerospace Industries Association, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and PwC on the annual study. UCF also has earned a Carnegie Classification of Highest Research Activity, and ranks among the nation’s Top 25 U.S. public universities for the number of patents secured by the National Academy of Inventors.

The projects, which will be on display from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the and , is a culmination of eight-months of effort that students must complete for their capstone senior design course. Engineering and computer science students take Senior Design I to brainstorm and design a project before bringing them to life in Senior Design II the following semester.

Uniting Florida Engineering Students

This year’s showing will have even more to offer, as students from nine other engineering colleges present 25 additional projects for the first Florida-Wide Student Engineering Design Invitational.

The partnership shows how strong engineering and computer science talent is being developed at universities to fuel Florida’s innovation economy. UCF is the nation’s No. 1 workforce supplier to the aerospace and defense industry and is among the nation’s top producers of engineers and computer scientists.

“[The invitational] gives a forum to students from many Florida institutions to interact with each other during an important day of their academic career,” says Michael Georgiopoulos, dean of . “Capstone projects, a staple in engineering and computer science colleges in Florida, are a unique way of connecting the talent pipeline with future employers just because engineering students quite often work on capstone projects sponsored by industry.”

Designing for the Future

Orlando Utilities Commission is one industry sponsor that challenged three teams to design a solar-powered art sculpture for the downtown Orlando City Stadium. The three solar sculptures include “Giration,” a soccer ball with filigree shadows; “¡Golazo!,” a soccer player kicking upwards into a net; and “Project Impact,” a bursting soccer ball and three risers.

The event kicks off at 9 a.m. for an hour-long Duke Energy Symposium on renewable and sustainable technology, with keynote speaker Doug Guidish ’07, founder and CEO of Guard Dog Valves. During this time, six graduation mechanical engineering students will present their composite glass-polymer metamaterial project that has the potential to drastically reduce the energy usage and cost of cooling a home through the concept of “passive radiative cooling.”

Another project on display is the “Noni” augmented-reality restaurant menu that provides an authentic view of the food selection and is already being used at local restaurants. The demo will allow users to choose a supported restaurant, point it at the table and experience the food as if it were actually there.

There will also be a real-life transformer in the form of a six-legged surveillance robot, known as “SigSent.” The droid will demonstrate the intelligence to tell the difference between rough and smooth terrain and adapt between walking and rolling on each appropriate surface.

The showcase will close with an award ceremony in the Engineering II Atrium from 3:30 to 5 p.m. A volunteer panel of faculty, staff and engineering professionals will vote to determine the top projects in each discipline, the top visiting project, and best-in-show.

The designation, which brings prestige and additional access to scholarships and research grants, comes under a federal program that’s meant to reduce the vulnerability of America’s information infrastructure by strengthening higher education and research in cyberdefense. The honor recognizes that by producing top-notch graduates, the ����ֱ��’s College of Engineering & Computer Science is addressing the critical shortage of professionals with the skills to defend against hackers and cyberattacks.

“I am so proud of our student champions and our faculty who spend countless hours researching and teaching in this critical discipline that is a part of our daily lives,” said Provost and Executive Vice President Dale Whittaker. “This latest recognition as a National Center of Academic Excellence is a clear testament to the quality of our people and our programs.”

The quality of computer science and computer engineering students at UCF comes as no surprise to the university community.

The student Collegiate Cyber Defense Club at UCF – also known as Hack@UCF – is the two-time, back-to-back winner of the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition, making it the reigning national champion in the field. The club’s competition team members are defending their title this weekend at the 2016 competition in San Antonio. The club’s success played a role in the designation, according to Michael Georgiopoulos, dean of the College of Engineering & Computer Science.

“This designation recognizes the successes and cybersecurity expertise of our students and faculty, and our constant focus on the cutting edge of this changing field,” Georgiopoulos said. “It will open a lot of doors for UCF students and faculty, including scholarships and grant opportunities.”

Georgiopoulos credited faculty from across his college for bringing the honor to UCF, including computer science professor Mostafa Bassiouni, who led the “Herculean effort.”

The criteria for the federal program is stringent. Among other things, centers must have “a vibrant and mature” cyberdefense program, foster student research, employ faculty with expertise in current cyberdefense practice, and partner with companies to identify their needs and support student job placement.

UCF has also moved to strengthen its cybersecurity offerings by establishing a university-wide research cluster focusing on security, privacy and their intersection. Led by Department of Computer Science chair Gary T. Leavens, the cluster will span multiple disciplines, including computer science, computer engineering, industrial engineering and management systems, legal studies, mathematics, optics and photonics, philosophy, political science, psychology and statistics.

Aside from the prestige and professional advantages being named a National Center of Academic Excellence brings, students who attend institutions with that designation are eligible to apply for scholarships and grants through the Department of Defense Information Assurance Scholarship Program and the Federal Cyber Service Scholarship for Service Program.

Jonathan Lundstrom, a senior majoring in computer engineering and leader of Hack@UCF’s competition team, said the designation will benefit graduate students in particular.

“It’s supposed to give graduate researchers the ability to essentially bid on research projects that only schools that have this title have access to,” Lundstrom said.

The student led non-profit group—Limbitless Solutions—and UCF are partnering on a hub of innovation that will blend art, medical and engineering disciplines to create a worldwide resource for 3-D printed biomedical solutions.

“Limbitless Solutions is a prime example of a group of students with the ingenuity to turn an idea into a flourishing start-up enterprise,” said Tom O’Neal, director of the UCF Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and associate vice president for UCF’s Office of Research and Commercialization.�� “We are excited to collaborate with them to develop the Center for Applied Biomedical Additive Manufacturing (CABAM) and look forward to seeing how this project transforms biomedical science and the lives of individuals on a local, national and international level.”

CABAM’s mission is to establish a world-class interdisciplinary research facility and a marketplace to provide standardized, cost-effective, innovative, creative, and functional biomedical solutions. The center will leverage, support, and extend the great work and international recognition of the nonprofit Limbitless Solutions, and it aspires to be the place for researchers and passionate students to push the limits of innovation. This partnership will expand Limbitless’ efforts around the world and help create more collaboration among world-renowned scientists, medical doctors and engineers in the field of additive manufacturing.

“We are so excited to help build a generation of visionaries who use science to make a difference in the world around them,” said John Sparkman, an engineering graduate student at UCF and one of the directors at Limbitless Solutions. “This partnership will help us continue to change children’s lives and to inspire and lead a new generation of students to do even more.”

Limbitless Solutions was founded last July when UCF doctoral student Albert Manero and his team of volunteers created a 3D-printed arm for then-six-year-old Alex Pring. Pring, from Groveland, was born without most of his right arm. The team created the arm in an engineering lab at UCF in less than two months using off-the shelf servos and a Stratasys 3D printer for a cost of about $350. They gave Pring the arm and received international attention when they put the construction directions online for anyone to use at no cost.

Since then, the team has delivered three arms in the U.S. and has been flooded with requests from more than 40 countries. The volunteers, all students continue to build the arms in their spare time using UCF’s engineering manufacturing lab and donations.

In March the team saw a surge in requests for help when Robert Downey Jr., a.k.a. Iron Man, featured Pring and Manero in a short video on his Facebook page. Downey, who was in character, gave Pring a new Limbitless-produced arm with an Iron Man design. The video was watched more than 50 million times. Microsoft also featured the students and their work in #TheCollectiveProject social media campaign.

Earlier this month a 12-year old from Vero Beach, Wyatt Falardeau, requested that his arm design feature his heroes — Blue Man Group. When the team at Blue Man Group learned that Falardeau, who has autism, is a huge Blue Man fan, they conspired with Limbitless to mastermind the delivery of Wyatt’s arm in an unforgettable way.

A of that emotional encounter was shown at UCF as part of Monday’s announcement.

“We started out wanting to create a memorable experience for Wyatt, but in the end, I’m certain we are the ones who will never forget it.” Wes Day, Blue Man Captain for Blue Man Group at Universal Orlando, said. ��“Limbitless Solutions is changing the world, and we’re honored to support them any way we can.”

Others have also been inspired. UCF’s College of Engineering and Computer Science, where the team spends most of its time, jumped at the chance to be part of CABAM, as did the College of Medicine. The colleges will provide space, faculty mentors and expertise to the center to push students’ work forward.

CABAM also hopes to draw more faculty and students who want to pioneer biomedical solutions much like Limbitless Solutions has done. UCF’s Venture Accelerator and the Office of Technology Transfer will facilitate the process of taking new discoveries made at the center to commercial development.

“CABAM was established from the ground up in under a year, which illustrates how uniquely UCF is positioned to pursue the endeavors of CABAM – research, philanthropy and entrepreneurism – on day one,” said Michael Georgiopoulos, dean of the college of engineering and computer science. “We already have Maker Space laboratories where 3D printing innovations are happening. We have an established nucleus of faculty performing cutting edge biomedical engineering research. We have an army of talented engineering students who are passionate about helping others. And we have resources to help entrepreneurs take their innovations to market.”

Deborah German, the dean of the UCF’s College of Medicine and��vice president for medical affairs is thrilled her college will be working with the center on a variety of projects.

“This partnership matches the excitement of the younger generation with 3D printing and innovative solutions to long-term medical problems,” German said. “ It’s a perfect partnership for students with a passion for new kinds of patient care and�� new ways of solving problems.”

Manero, who leads the team even as he completes a Fulbright research fellowship at the German Aerospace Center, said he’s looking forward to the future.

“This is just the beginning,” Manero said. “No family should have to pay for their child to have a bionic arm. Together we can make a difference. I invite companies, individuals, organizations and your community to join us as we move forward to help change the world.”

He has published many books, narrated PBS specials, appeared on a variety of shows including The Colbert Report, Late Night with David Letterman and even had a guest spot on the TV comedy The Big Bang Theory.

That’s why Greene was a perfect fit for the conference, which focuses on science technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in everyday life and the importance of sharing that knowledge to motivate more young people to pursue careers in these fields.

“Understanding physics, math, engineering and science is critical because you may not be a scientist, but you certainly enjoy the technological advances they are creating,” said Michael Georgiopoulos, interim dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science. The college is home to the iCubed project, which is sponsoring the conference. “Likewise, you may not be an artist, but you can appreciate the beauty of what the artist creates. It takes the collaboration of people from different disciplines to move our society forward.”

That is the mission of iCubed, a National Science Foundation-funded project that partners with several colleges within the university, including the College of Engineering and Computer Science, College of Arts and Humanities, College of Education, and College of Sciences. The project goal is to ensure broader impact of NSF-funded projects through coordination and integration of the education and research activities by increasing participation in STEM fields.

To bring the point home, ����ֱ�� of Oregon professor Richard Taylor will be joining Greene at the conference.

Taylor is a physicist and accomplished artist, which give him a unique way of seeing the world. Blending both backgrounds into his work led him to search for fractal patterns that are everywhere, from microbes to Jackson Pollock’s abstract paintings. Fractal patterns are mathematical structures that nature appears to use for many of the phenomena we observe. Taylor will talk about how science and art are more connected than most people recognize.

Leonardo da Vinci, for example, ��is famous for his paintings, but he also developed early sketches for a helicopter, tank, robot and scuba gear among other things.

The conference concludes with a book signing and the STEAM artwork showcase.

STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics) is a university project, and one of the iCubed activities that brings together science and art students and encourages them to work together to produce art pieces that are inspired by science or engineering.

“We have found that students initially face difficulties to work together, but they eventually find their own unique ways to communicate with each other to complete the project,” Georgiopoulos said. “It’s an important skill to have, to be able to communicate your scientific or artistic work to multiple audiences.”

Other STEM conference sponsors are the College of Sciences, the Office of Research and Commercialization, the School of Visual Arts and Design, the Steve Goldman Foundation and the UCF Student Government Association.

The STEM conference will run from 8:15 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Cape Florida room in the Student Union on the main campus. Greene’s presentation will be 9 to 10:15 a.m. Taylor’s talk will begin at 10:30 a.m., and the book signing and artists showcase will begin at 1 p.m. Early arrival is advised as seating is limited.

For more information contact Costas Efthimiou at 407-823-0179 or costas@physics.ucf.edu