Luke Cormican ’01 still remembers a time when animation meant stacks of paper, sharpened pencils and long nights hunched over a drawing table. It was a far cry from today’s fully digital pipelines and global productions. That hands-on foundation, paired with a willingness to evolve alongside rapidly changing technology, helped propel the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ art graduate to the top of one of television animation’s most enduring franchises.

A 2001 graduate of Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s visual arts program, Cormican now serves as the showrunner of Teen Titans Go!, a globally recognized series that has redefined how superhero stories can blend slapstick humor, heart and cultural commentary. He oversees every facet of production, shaping a show that has entertained audiences for more than a decade.

But his path to that role was anything but immediate.

Betting on the Basics

Growing up in Hollywood, Florida, Cormican knew early on that drawing and storytelling were more than hobbies. Animation captured his imagination — from flip books and stop-motion experiments to studying The Illusion of Life, the seminal Disney animation text. When it came time for college, he explored top art schools and even earned a scholarship to the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Then he visited Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½.

“We had Disney animators giving lectures and even teaching classes. That kind of access was huge.�

What stood out wasn’t just the campus — it was the animation program, which at the time was uniquely split between traditional hand-drawn animation and emerging computer animation. In the early 2000s, as Pixar ushered in a new era of computer-generated imagery and many questioned whether traditional animation would survive, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ offered both paths.

“I opted for the traditional route,� Cormican says. “I always loved to draw.�

At Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½, Cormican immersed himself in storyboarding, visual storytelling and collaborative creative work — skills that would become foundational throughout his career. Just as impactful was Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s proximity to Walt Disney World Resort’s then-active Orlando animation studio, which brought industry professionals directly into the classroom.

“It was kind of a secret gem,� Cormican says. “We had Disney animators giving lectures and even teaching classes. That kind of access was huge.�

Rising Through the Ranks

After graduating in 2001, Cormican did what many aspiring animators eventually must. He packed up and moved to Los Angeles with little more than a portfolio and determination.

His first job paid just $8 an hour at a small independent studio — modest by any standard but monumental to someone being paid to do what he loved.

From there, he worked project to project, studio to studio, navigating an industry defined by constant change. His career took him through Disney Television, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, each stop building both his creative credibility and leadership skills.

That persistence paid off in 2012, when Cormican joined Teen Titans Go!, a comedic reboot of the earlier Teen Titans animated series, as an episode director.

Cormican rose through the ranks, serving as head of story on the franchise’s theatrical film before stepping away briefly to direct animated Diary of a Wimpy Kid movies for Disney+. Working closely with author Jeff Kinney, he gained valuable experience guiding stories from script to screen — experience that proved critical when he returned to Teen Titans Go! as showrunner.

Evolving with the Tools

Cormican’s role as showrunner requires both creative vision and operational discipline, a balance he credits in part to his upbringing and education.

“Animation is collaborative at every level. You’re guiding hundreds of creative decisions, but it all starts with the story.�

Over his 24-year career, Cormican has witnessed dramatic technological shifts within the animation industry. When he entered the field in 2002, animation was still largely analog.

“We were drawing with paper and pencil, using Xerox machines to resize drawings and fax machines to send images and notes between studios,� he says. “Around 2006, everything started to go digital.�

While digitization has increased efficiency, it has also raised expectations.

“The technology allowed people to do more things in less time,� Cormican says. “And so, they were expected to do just that.�

Still, even as animation continues to evolve, with artificial intelligence emerging as the next frontier, Cormican approaches change thoughtfully.

Lessons From Sketching His Path

Despite leading a globally successful series, Cormican prefers working behind the scenes and values the long view of a career built step by step.

“It’s taken me about 25 years to get where I am,� he says. “I started at the very bottom and worked my way up.�

That perspective is exactly what he hopes to pass on to Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ students and alumni with ambitious creative dreams.

“If you have an interest in something that feels out of reach, just take it one step at a time,� Cormican says. “Keep the goal in view and keep moving toward it.�

For Cormican, that journey began at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ — a place he credits as the launch point for everything that followed, and one he hopes to continue supporting through mentorship and engagement with future Knights.

Inspired by desire to give back, this summer, Alvarez and Wysolmierski will teach art classes to prisoners in the Florida Prison Education Project (FPEP), a Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ initiative founded in 2017 that seeks to offer a high-quality undergraduate education to people incarcerated in Central Florida. From October 2022 to September 2023, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ faculty volunteers for FPEP taught 12 face-to-face classes in three prisons to 180 incarcerated students.

“FPEP is thrilled to have Alex and Jim join the team,â€� says Keri Watson, executive director of the Florida Prison Education Project and assistant director of Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s School of Visual Arts and Design. “Our incarcerated students are eager for more classes and are always excited to learn more about visual art.”

For Alvarez, beginning his new role as FPEP program coordinator is an incredible opportunity to work with and help incarcerated people. Growing up in Springfield, Massachusetts, he witnessed and experienced the injustices that impact impoverished communities, such as police brutality and the drug epidemic.

As a troubled youth, he was in and out of the juvenile justice system. At 17, he eventually spent three months in an adult correctional center, which he says “scared [him] straight.�

“When I was arrested and ultimately locked up for a short amount of time, that definitely broadened my perspective on how your rights can be taken away in a second,� Alvarez says. “The dark side of people’s personalities is escalated when you’re in there and are treated the way that you are. It’s a life-changing experience.�

Changing Life for the Better

After incarceration, Alvarez was focused on changing his life’s trajectory for the better. He would later become a truck driver for 21 years, traveling across the lower 48 states and seeing various inner cities like the one he grew up in. As a kid, Alvarez always drew and read comic books such as X-Men, Spawn and the Fantastic Four. Now an adult, Alvarez wanted to use art to share his story and use it as a vehicle to start conversations and create change within his community and ones like his.

In 2019, Alvarez started enrolled at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½. There were multiple options for schools to attend, but he wanted somewhere completely new to have a fresh start. Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s campus and the people there were appealing, but it was the quality of the work created in the art program that attracted him the most.“[When I saw] all the student work … in the hallways when I took the tour, I was like ‘Wow, this is pretty awesome here,’ â€� Alvarez says. “That’s what drew me to Orlando and Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ in general. Compared to everywhere else that I went, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ really stuck out.â€�

During his time at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½, Alvarez has created works with a theme of redemption. The Best Things in Life Aren’t for Me is a work featuring a body bag filled with tar pigment and trash gathered from gun violence sites. Another work, Head Space, contains a series of sculpted heads and painted boxes with a sculpture of a mother’s head and a rosary in the middle. The work is representative of the impact Alvarez’s mom had on him as he aspired for a better life.

“I like to have the mother figure as the hub that grounds you within this whole world of chaos and disorder,� Alvarez says. “It’s the guiding light.�

At Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½, Alvarez found guiding influences for his future as an artist through former FPEP program coordinator Jason Fronczek ’16 and Watson. Seeing the impact Fronczek and Watson made through FPEP, sparked Alvarez’s interest to get involved with the community more. While Alvarez was still guarded about his personal story, reading more about FPEP and encouragement from Watson has led him to join the project’s team to help incarcerated people.

A Story of Transformation

Wysolmierski’s journey to Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ began in the Sunshine State, where he was living in Gainesville as part of a punk band that toured the world. Through his time in the band, he developed acute alcoholism and was hospitalized on multiple occasions. He was incarcerated a few times for alcohol-related offenses, with his longest sentence being six months. At one point, Wysolmierski was even living behind a Taco Bell dumpster. It was at that point  he wanted to change his life and started turning things around.

He entered Alcoholics Anonymous, and in 2020 he earned a bachelor’s degree in studio art from USF, furthering an art background that used in making T-shirts and record covers for the band. When he looked at schools for his master’s degree, he says he wanted to stay close to his parents, as he was taking care of his mother with dementia and his father with cancer. Caring for his parents was the beginning of Wysolmierski’s desire to use adverse situations as a chance to give back, he says.

Transformation is a key theme in Wysolmierski’s art, whether it’s transforming materials to represent a theme or showing the story of someone transforming from negative experiences to making a positive impact. An example is a piece featuring a blanket made from hospital and club wristbands.

Another artwork is a pile of HVAC tubes filled with material representing bile and corrosive material. The work symbolizes alcohol’s effect on the intestines, and was inspired by Hurricane Ian, which damaged the HVAC units in Wysolmierski’s Orlando apartment complex and forced Wysolmierski to evacuate in 2022.

“When I was able to move back into my apartment, a work crew was installing new units and removing the temporary ones. In this process, there were piles and piles of AC ducts all over the place. I thought, ‘Those look like intestines. That reminds me of what I did to my body,’ â€� Wysolmierski says. “I also thought of the temporary comfort that the units were providing, and I thought of the temporary comfort that alcohol used to provide me. There was a connection between the pain of my alcoholism and the adversity of being displaced from my complex. It all tied together for me, and I really, I’m happy with that work.â€�

It was during that time that faculty and staff at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ impacted Wysolmierski outside of the classroom, with those in the art program providing a place for him to stay.

“I felt this sense of family and that was the biggest positive experience that Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ gave me,â€� Wysolmierski says. “It was a sense of community that everybody was there for me as I am for them.â€�

Wysolmierski has also given back at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ through teaching, first as a graduate teaching assistant and then as a graduate teaching associate. As he came upon the last final of his beginning sculpture and 3D-design class last week, he thought about the students and what he gets out of teaching.

“I get this bond and being able to see them grow throughout the semester is so cool,â€� he says. “I love it when I’m like, ‘They get it.’ I just think that to myself, ‘Look at what they did in the first day to what they’ve done now.’ It’s amazing.”

The Possibility of Change

As Wysolmierski prepares to teach at FPEP, he says he hopes the students there get some sort of release. In his thesis work, he wrote about how sometimes verbal depictions don’t come across as well as making art about it. As an artist, it’s easier for Wysolmierski to express himself through sculpture, and he wants to help other artists in the program to express themselves through their mediums.

Alvarez says he wants to inspire those he teaches in the program to find purpose and use art as a vehicle to teach them the possibility of change, fostering within them the passion to pursue a better life. He also wants to use his experience to provide perspective and inspire.

“I definitely want to encourage the prisoners to change their mindset,â€� Alvarez says. “I know that right now they’re confined physically, but mentally, you can open your whole world up to all kinds of possibilities. I really want to encourage them to create their own world … [and] to help inspire others as well.â€�

“For me, art has always been about letting go of your preconceived notions of how things should work and just allowing the best of what’s possible to unfurl naturally,� says Hammack, who will earn a from the within the College of Arts and Humanities. “The creative process is about starting with nothing and creating something special. The best artistic experiences I’ve had have all happened when I simply let go of my personal plans and allowed myself to be completely in the moment with my work. So, my art is a lot like my life in that sense.�

Hammack uses traditional oil-painting techniques to create works of art that attempt to elicit subtle, subconscious reactions from the viewer.

Fascinated by the mechanics of the human mind, Hammack uses traditional oil-painting techniques to create works of art that attempt to elicit subtle, subconscious reactions from the viewer. His unique body of work integrates aspects of surrealism with internet memes and other forms of modern-day, humor.

Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Professor has been a mentor to Hammack since he arrived at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ in 2017. She will miss his presence in her advanced painting classes, but she looks forward to his success in the professional art world.

“There is no doubt that Rex Hammack will succeed as a nationally recognized contemporary painter in the not-too-distant future,â€� says Poindexter, who has taught at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ since 2000. “Rex’s work is unique, intellectually enticing and emotionally provocative. As a student he has been a joy to work with, and I will personally miss his generosity and spirit of engaging conversation during class conversations and formal group critiques.â€�

With unpredictability being a goal at the start of every project, there is no such thing as a typical Rex Hammack painting. A Hammack painting may contain comedian Jim Carrey playing pingpong while petting an exorbitantly large black cat against the backdrop of a cartoonish collage. It may be a small-faced portrait—the eyes, nose and mouth purposefully drawn much smaller than the outlining face—of actor Tom Hanks. A painting may be a surrealist take on the cartoon character Nigel Thornberry from the popular cartoon The Wild Thornberrys, which was popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s during Hammack’s childhood. Hammack’s art features a wide variety of paintings that are completely open to the viewer’s .

“I want people to have a quiet, personal conversation between themselves and my work. It is important to me that they look at each piece and come to their own conclusions of what my work means to them personally,� says Hammack. “I also want them to laugh sometimes, or at least chuckle a bit, and walk away with the same lighthearted feelings that I had while I was working on the painting.�

Hammack’s work has most recently been displayed at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s Allegoria exhibition—the School of Visual Arts and Design’s Fall 2019 showcase of works from their graduating undergraduate fine arts majors—held at the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Art Gallery. The gallery hosts the exhibition at the conclusion of each fall and spring semester, and it attracts approximately 800-1,000 visitors each semester. In addition to the Allegoria exhibition, Hammack’s work has been featured at numerous other local venues, including CityArts, HENAO Contemporary Center, and Faith Arts Village Orlando, among others.

In 2016, Hammack was commissioned to craft a series of mushroom-themed murals at various Mellow Mushroom restaurants throughout Florida. Additionally, Hammack’s work has a growing social media following on Facebook, Instagram and Reddit.

Following commencement, Hammack plans to spend much of the next year traveling while continuing to focus on his artistic endeavors. He is currently exploring various artist-in-residence opportunities across the nation. Next fall, he plans to enroll in a yet-to-be-determined master of fine arts program on the West Coast, an area of the country where he hopes to settle permanently.

“I grew up in Orlando and I will always love Central Florida, but I want to spread my wings as much as possible, giving my work a wide audience and gaining visibility in the art world,� says Hammack. “Regardless of where I am physically, I’m going to continue to create art that is fascinating to me and makes me happy to look at.�

Becoming a contemporary artist has been a natural evolution for Hammack. Beginning in high school, doodling served as both a creative outlet as well as a means for dealing with the typical anxieties of adolescents. As his skill sets progressed, near daily doodling sessions produced more in-depth images in sketch books and eventually onto canvases.

With a drive to take his craft to the next level, Hammack pursued formal artistic instruction at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½. Since coming to the University in 2017, he says his work has flourished under the tutelage of professors who have encouraged him to explore all aspects of his creativity.

“At Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½, I’ve been embraced fully as an artist, and I feel as though my creative freedoms have been both acknowledged and celebrated here. I’ve been given the opportunity to simply focus on learning the nuances of creating art and building a body of work,â€� says Hammack, who in addition to creating and displaying his work widely, aspires to be a visual arts professor at a major university. “In my time at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½, I’ve felt both challenged and pushed, but I’ve never felt pressured in a disciplinary, parental-type of way. It has always been more like pairs of helpful, watchful eyes, guiding me along my way.â€�

“[My work] isn’t about business for me. It’s about giving women their dignity back.�
—Stacie Becker

“I never thought my decisions would lead to this,� Becker says of her unlikely path. “The reward … I can’t really put it into words.�

Becker’s enthusiasm is not all her own. It’s a reflection from her clients at Empower Tattoos in Altamonte Springs, where breast cancer survivors look in a mirror after maybe two hours under Becker’s magical talent and see what they thought had been lost forever: completeness.

From the most basic business standpoint, Becker is filling a need that previously had few real answers. Reconstructive surgeons can build breasts back up for women who have undergone mastectomies. They can even attempt an additional procedure to construct areolas, which means more cutting, folding and stitching. But that final step does not usually restore a realistic appearance long-term. It’s like a flower stem without the petals, leaving patients with constant reminders of what has been lost.

Or those surgeons can send patients to the tattoo parlor, where Becker uses less invasive instruments to create 3D tattoos that restore the shape and pigmentation of areolas. It’s easier and cheaper than surgery and, plainly speaking, she makes nipples look as close as possible to the way they did before surgery.

“When a woman gets her cherries back,� as Becker puts it, “it changes her quality of life immediately. I’ve seen how much it means.�

What you hear in Becker’s message isn’t sales or marketing. She’s only worked with the medical community since late 2018 and officially launched Empower in the spring of 2019, so even she is still surprised to be discussing how tattoos impact the lives of breast cancer survivors.

“This isn’t at all what I once thought I was supposed to do,� she says. Like a priceless piece of art, her purpose has been woven together across four winding decades.

Finding Her Calling

Of the hundreds of pictures Becker drew as a child, she remembers the fountain. Actually, she remembers her grandmother drawing Becker drawing the fountain. “We had a cool bond,â€� she says. Art became the core of her memories and of her passion, but it wouldn’t be her major — first at the University of Miami and then for a semester at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ nearly 20 years ago. The adults knew better, of course: art’s a great hobby, but how will you make a living at it?

So Becker studied business while working at a bank.

“Something was completely missing,� she says.

Becker’s husband, Mike, saw some of the pieces she’d been painting on the side and suggested she apprentice as a tattoo artist. Together, they opened their own shop in 2009. Occasionally, she’d use her expertise to help a client cover up a scar. But the nexus happened in November 2018 when she designed a pink ribbon on the neck of a breast-cancer survivor. The woman’s plastic surgeon, Edgar Sosa, saw the clean lines of the tattoo and contacted Becker to see if she could put the finishing touches on his patients by creating nipples. That’s when she did a little research and found:

• More than 100,000 breast-cancer patients undergo some form of mastectomy every year in the U.S.
• One in eight women will be affected at some point in their lives.
• requires most types of health insurance carriers to cover all stages of reconstructive surgery following a mastectomy for breast cancer patients.

The more she studied, the more Becker realized tattoos would be a simple way to finish the difficult journey for breast cancer patients. No more surgery. No more poking and prodding. And no huge medical bill.

“It isn’t about business for me,� Becker says. “It’s about giving women their dignity back.�

Only it hasn’t been quite so simple. There’s still the stigma of tattoos in the medical community. Unfortunately, and perhaps predictably, insurance companies are more likely to reimburse for costly and painful surgical restoration of areolas rather than preferred alternatives — like tattoos. This despite the fact that many surgeons like Sosa and Charles Newman (another Orlando-area specialist who now refers patients to Empower) admit that the tattoo nipple is more authentic.

Becker has become relentless, reaching out to government officials, insurance coalitions, surgeons and the American Cancer Society. “I’m willing to work with everyone because too many people need this,� she says. “I’m not slowing down.�

Her client stories provide the fuel. Like her first breast-cancer patient after launching Empower. A retired kindergarten teacher who didn’t want more surgery, she just wanted to feel like herself again. Becker consulted with the woman, then went to work on the tattoos. Two hours later, Becker took a picture of the woman looking in the mirror — the way her grandmother once painted a picture of Becker painting a fountain.

“I’ll never forget the look on her face,� says Becker. “At that moment, it dawned on her — and on me — what it meant to have her breasts complete.�

The trio specializes in 3-D animation and projection mapping content, encompassing all stages of the design process, from projection conception to final product.

While the threesome works cohesively as a team, their individuality is distinct.

For example, when you ask the designers what their favorite projects have been so far, you’ll get three notably different answers. Rosa is especially proud of the team’s first large-scale projection mapping for the , while Knott fondly remembers their , and Brown appreciates the innovation and challenges of the .

In addition, while their interest in digital media began in their childhoods, they all found themselves inspired by different life experiences.

Rosa was born a Navy brat in the mid-’70s on the island of Oahu in the Hawaiian Islands. His late grandfather passed down his love for film and animation, teaching Rosa how to draw Disney characters when he was just 5 years old. And, when “TRON� hit theaters in 1982, Rosa found himself captivated by computer-generated imagery.

“My grandfather always wanted to work for Disney when he retired from the Army after World War II, but became a truck driver instead to support his family,� Rosa explains. “In some ways, I feel that I’m carrying on his dream through me, along with my own.�

Knott grew up in Orlando, training in traditional drawing and sculpting early on, and even attending the Theatre Magnet Program at Dr. Phillips High School. She earned a B.S. in interior design from Florida State before continuing her education at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½.

“As I got older and tried new mediums, it inspired me to see if there was a way that I could combine all of my favorite things from each medium into one,� Knott says. “Animation does that in spades.�

Following the death of the family TV to a lightning storm, Brown started telling stories at a young age. To keep himself entertained, he listened to collections of short stories on tape, which eventually transitioned into an interest in cinematic video games when he reached his teen years.

“It’s a never-ending source of problems to solve, and new technologies to experiment with, which has always been what I love about working in digital media,� Brown says.

In 10 years, Rosa hopes they will have a well-established company and a foothold in the animation industry, with more than 50 employees working on feature-length films and hybrid versions of projection mapping and augmented reality.

He advises current digital media students to: “See how far you can push yourself, and learn where your breaking point is. I think people would be surprised at how much they can take on. Phil Peters’ class alone was perhaps the most mentally intensive class I have ever taken. It was incredibly draining at the start, but I gradually learned how to compartmentalize, and it gave me a better work ethic now because of that experience. I attribute half of my gray hair to him!�

Knott’s advice is to: “Be proactive with your education. There’s only so much you can be taught in a classroom, so if you’re truly dedicated to this path, learn everything you can. I’m five years out of college, and I still make it a point to try to learn something new every day.

And, Brown says, “Google everything. Never be satisfied with what you know how to do already, or what you know a program is capable of automatically. Sooner or later, you’ll have to do something out of the box, and the more you understand in depth, the more ammunition you will have to throw at the problem.�

ANIMATED Q&A

Q. Dream project?

Joe Rosa (JR): My two dream projects would be to produce and direct a feature-length animated film for theaters, and to have the opportunity to work with Universal Studios on projects stemming from their new partnership with Nintendo.

Heather Knott (HK): My dream project is to create digital sets for a production on Broadway. You can take the geek out of the theatre, but not the theatre out of the geek.

Q. What’s one thing about your job that people would be surprised to learn?

Chris Brown (CB): When working in a team of artists, a not-too insignificant number of creative differences can be settled by Nerf guns.

Q. If you had to choose another career, what would it be?

JR: Restoration of old, classic, muscle cars

HK: I’d love to be a photographer for National Geographic. Traveling the world, exploring and recording it for posterity would be quite an adventure.

CB: Lion tamer. Although, if you gave me a stern look and forced me to consider my skill set, probably computer sciences or IT. I’ve always had an interest in data visualization.

Q. Last thing you Googled?

JR: Black holes and quantum mechanics. Can’t read enough about black holes and how incredibly fascinating they are.

HK: The architectural history of Bamberg, Germany

CB: Optical tracking with OpenCV

Q. Do you have any other artistic abilities?

JR: Wood working and glass blowing. I’ve always been able to build things from scratch with little to no plans or drawings.

HK: I draw mostly. I’ve dabbled in sculpting, painting, photography and mixed media.

CB: A distinct lack thereof, actually. It was dramatically clear to me from an early age that I was rubbish at drawing. Why do you think I started working with computers instead?

Q. What’s your spirit animal?

JR: Well, according to spiritanimal.info, my spirit animal is an owl. And, this whole time, I was thinking it was a dragon!

HK: Jack Skellington

CB: Turtle

Q. Favorite website?

JR:

HK:

CB: shadertoy.com

Q. Best way to decompress?

JR: Spending time with my wife and children. It’s always fun to come home from a long day at work and play robots, wrestle on the floor, watch a good movie with them, and laugh.

HK: Depending on the amount of stress, either a quiet night with a book and a glass of wine, or a solid couple of hours killing things on my Xbox

CB: Video games, a good side project, a cold beer, or, ideally, a combination of the three

Q. What’s one thing you always bring with you to work?

JR: Passion. I love the company we three have created, the work we do, and the industry we’re in. Failure is a word that is not in our vocabulary at Ninjaneer Studios.

HK: Water and snacks. I have a tendency to hyperfocus on a project, so I regularly forget to eat or drink if it’s not sitting right next to me.

CB: A pen that can write on my arm. I’ve had one in my pocket almost continually since I was 17.

Q. If you could offer your 13-year-old self one piece of advice, what would it be?

JR: To stay passionate about what you want to do and be in life. Half way along my journey, I had not lost the passion to do what I’m doing today, but I encountered many road blocks and setbacks. Never lose focus of where you want to be in life, and keep that fire and passion burning.

HK: Don’t be afraid to be yourself. It took me a long time to be comfortable with myself, and I think I let some experiences pass me by because of it.

CB: Provided he would listen, which I sort of doubt, it would be that the things you think are a big deal right now probably won’t matter too much down the road. Just relax, and focus on the things that really interest you, and, one day, if you play your cards right, people will pay you to explore them.

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The Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) exhibit presents paintings, posters, prints, photographs and 3D artworks created by Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ fine arts students in response to presentations on research by Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ scientists and their students.

The exhibition is sponsored by the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ ICubed Project, which was funded by the National Science Foundation for the overriding purpose of encouraging new and increased Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) research and education at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ and communicating Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ STEM research to stakeholders.

ICubed is successfully integrating the STEAM activities into existing photography, illustration, music composition, and painting courses. Furthermore, through a team collaboration approach, involving STEM students and Art and Design students, posters depicting STEM research have been created. Select artworks from these efforts are being preserved by the ICubed project for a travelling exhibition displaying science inspired art and can be viewed on their website.

The 2014 Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½STEAM exhibition is free and will be held in the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Art Gallery, in the Visual Arts Building on the main campus. Gallery hours are Monday-through Friday from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.  The opening reception is Thursday, March 27 from 6 – 8 p.m.

The book approaches physiology in an integrated way, just the way the human body works. It features models who work and study at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ and incorporates formatting and colors that help the brain learn best, according to neuroscience.

“My goal was to re-invent the wheel when it came to a physiology book,� said Dr. López-Ojeda, an assistant professor at the College of Medicine’s Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences. “There are already too many outstanding human physiology textbooks that include typical presentation methodologies. Physiology is math, chemistry and physics applied to the human body. I wanted to make physiology eye-catching, tangible and easy to understand.�

Illustrations include simple drawings that show tissues next to actual histology micrographs that Dr. López-Ojeda created to show real human tissues. Students see the simple version first in almost a cartoon form. Then they graduate to a more complicated, real-life histology micrograph. Dr. López-Ojeda says too many undergraduate students see complicated mechanisms and math equations in physiology books and become overwhelmed. Their first reaction: “I don’t get this. I quit.â€� The goal of his book, he says, is to illustrate human physiology — integrated with other basic sciences – in a way that is relevant and attractive to the eye, yet does not demean the science.

The book’s colors are soothing pastels, not dark, intimidating, depressive hues. Dr. López-Ojeda has also incorporated his passion for exercise and yoga to illustrate the complex science. One of the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ models, whose photo introduces the chapter on metabolism, is doing yoga’s Cobra pose, which is believed to improve metabolism by stimulating the circulation of blood and lymphatic fluids in the body.

The book is organized by systems, just like the human body, because “human organs do not work in an isolated manner,� Dr. López-Ojeda said. “The human heart isn’t just a piece of muscle. Its functions not only interface all body organs, but also support all human systems.�

Lab exercises and activities accompanying each chapter are also simplistic in design. Take neurophysiology, the study of how the nervous system works. Students can’t see inside their own brains. They can’t touch neurotransmitters or synapses. But they can see and touch their skin. So Dr. López-Ojeda integrates the skin to discuss how stimuli like temperature, touch and vibration are perceived by specific cutaneous receptors and interpreted by the brain. “My goal is to teach neurophysiology employing a simple concept that students will understand, learn and remember,� he said. “Everyone knows the skin.�

Dr. López-Ojeda’s scientific interests are many. As an undergraduate, he researched the retina – how certain neurotransmitters convey what we see. As a graduate student he focused on topics including muscular dystrophinopathies, the impact of a prenatal stress on the developing embryo and cocaine addiction among women. More recently he has examined natural and integrative medicine therapies for the treatment of the cocaine-addicted brain. He said that even as a child he was always curious about how the body works.

“I am a scientist and clinician at heart,� he said. “I’m always questioning, ‘What? How?’ It’s just a part of me.  I always need to find out how things work and if the process can be improved.�

The event, hosted by the College of Education, showcased participants’ creative abilities and school spirit while challenging them to create a work of art that celebrates Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s milestone birthday.

The event drew artists from Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ and the community and from all levels of experience.

While some participants worked individually, others collaborated with team members to design their 4-by-4 foot sections of sidewalk. Freshmen Olivia Keene and Kristine Jubilag infused their majors into their artwork by illustrating Pegasus looking through a microscope.

“Using Pegasus was an obvious choice for us, but we wanted to incorporate the scientific aspects of the university as well,� said Keene, a biology and environmental studies major.

Meanwhile, Valencia College sophomore Kevin Cadena focused on a different aspect of Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s 50th anniversary: its four presidents. Cadena, who will transfer to Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ to study advertising/public relations, partnered with Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ sophomore Wendy Nishikawa, a studio art major, to lead their team of five artists.

“I felt that we should incorporate the history of the university,� said Cadena. “We decided that our art should be an ode to the four presidents who made this school so great.�

Artwork was judged by local artists and educators. Keene’s and Jubilag won first place for their drawing; Rudy Drapiza placed second; Jamie Schwerstein was third; Cadena and his team placed fourth; and Janet Tombros came in fifth place. Winners received prizes from Orlando art store Sam Flax and the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Bookstore.

Freshmen Olivia Keene and Kristine Jubilag won first place for infusing their majors into their artwork by illustrating Pegasus looking through a microscope.

Rudy Drapiza’s building blocks combined Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ with it’s original name, Florida Technological University.

Through April 25, two- and three-dimensional works will be displayed along with statements of origin that chronicle the content and concept development of each student work.

Artwork from faculty members Thomas Brewer, Bryndís Arnardóttir, Anne Grey will also be displayed.

Both student and faculty work may be available for purchase, with funds going to support the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ chapter of the National Art Education Association.

To learn more about Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s School of Teaching, Learning & Leadership, visit .

Hosted by the College of Education, the event will be held on the walkways surrounding the main campus’ Teaching Academy from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The theme for the competition is Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s 50th anniversary, and artists are invited to work individually or in teams to create images commemorating the celebration. Chalk art will be judged by local artists and art educators, and prizes from Orlando art store Sam Flax will be awarded.

Along with the art competition, local artist Lee Jones will give a presentation on Madonnari, which means “street painting� in Italian, at noon in Room 130 of the Teaching Academy.

Jones’ presentation is free and open to the public. Entry into the art competition is $5, and participants must bring their own supplies. The competition is open to 50 participants, and registration is available.

The chalk art event is part of the College of Education’s weeklong celebration of Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s 50th anniversary. The week will conclude with the fourth annual Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Book Festival, which will be held at the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Arena from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, April 13.