�鶹ӳ����ý’s leading space medicine experts, valued strategic partners and an astronaut who holds NASA’s record for spacewalks will gather April 10 in Lake Nona’s Medical City to discuss how they can work together to keep space travelers healthy and use that research to create groundbreaking clinical innovations on Earth.

The “Star Nona 2026” event is led by the Lake Nona Research Council, which is focused on encouraging interdisciplinary scientific partnerships between industry, academia and healthcare.

The council includes physicians and researchers from �鶹ӳ����ý, Orlando Health, AdventHealth, the , the Orlando VA Medical Center, Nemours Children’s Health, business and industry.

Star Nona 2026 Event Details

“Our goal is to bring together space medicine leaders and experts from academia, medicine and the space industry to find more ways we can work together to research the health impacts of space flight and how our discoveries can also improve healthcare on Earth,” says Michal Masternak, �鶹ӳ����ý professor of medicine.

An anti-aging and cancer researcher, Masternak leads the Lake Nona Research Council’s space medicine research group. He also leads the College of Medicine’s program that processes astronaut samples so physicians and scientists can analyze the immediate impact of space travel on astronauts’ bodies.

Sessions will include presentations on:

• Microgravity and radiation exposure and their impact on human physical and mental health
• How space travel affects muscles, bones, cells, vision and the brain
• Protecting muscles in space (led by AdventHealth researchers)
• Next generation of the space station
• New technologies for diagnosing how space travel impacts human cells.

These presentations will feature �鶹ӳ����ý researchers from medicine, , and . �鶹ӳ����ý graduate students and post-doctoral scientists will also present research posters on space medicine.

The plenary speaker is NASA astronaut Robert Curbeam, a U.S. Navy captain who completed four spacewalks during space shuttle Discovery’s 2006 mission to the International Space Station.

The Space Coast’s College of Medicine

Located 45 miles west of the Space Coast and Kennedy Space Center, �鶹ӳ����ý’s College of Medicine is the perfect partner to chart a new frontier in healthcare as humans prepare for longer missions to the moon and Mars, and commercial space flights take more civilians into space.

The goal: explore how factors such as microgravity, radiation and isolation impact the human body in space and how that knowledge can drive innovation into diagnostics, treatment and disease prevention on Earth.

To further those efforts, �鶹ӳ����ý has created a new Center for Aerospace and Extreme Environments Medicine (CASEEM), which includes �鶹ӳ����ý faculty experts in medicine, engineering, computer science, psychology, arts and educational leadership. This interdisciplinary group will work together to research and develop new technologies for keeping space travelers healthy, as well as soldiers on military missions, deep sea explorers and mountain climbers.

About the Lake Nona Research Council

Edward Ross, the College of Medicine’s chair of medicine and assistant dean for research, leads the Lake Nona Research Council.

Ross says Star Nona and the partnerships it creates will help solidify �鶹ӳ����ý and Medical City’s reputation as a premier center for space medicine.

“When people think of keeping space visitors healthy, we want them to immediately think �鶹ӳ����ý.” — Edward Ross, College of Medicine’s chair of medicine

“As a university, �鶹ӳ����ý was born to create the workforce to send humans to the moon,” he says. “We’re continuing that legacy with space medicine. When people think of keeping space visitors healthy, we want them to immediately think �鶹ӳ����ý.”

Event Registration

Star Nona 2026 will be held at the �鶹ӳ����ý Lake Nona Cancer Center, with registration beginning at 8:15 a.m. Star Nona is made possible by support and sponsorships from Dr. Jogi Pattisapu and the Hydrocephalus and Neuroscience Institute, Tavistock Development Company and the Florida Space Institute. To sign up to attend the event, please visit .

Although Royal knew since high school that he wanted to be an engineer, he didn’t know these courses were essential to succeeding in his studies. He enjoyed working with his hands, solving practical problems, and was interested in science, math, and technology. Mechanical engineering felt like the perfect intersection of all his interests.

What he didn’t have was guidance.

Starting Behind — and Pushing Forward

Royal didn’t know anyone in engineering or have access to mentors who could advise him on the classes a university engineering program required. When he later reconnected with two friends from high school — Kent Huerta and Isaac Washington, both civil engineering majors at the University of South Florida — he quickly discovered they faced many of the same challenges navigating STEM pathways without early guidance.

“I would’ve still been a year behind graduating if I [hadn’t taken] an accelerated courseload,” says Royal, who’s now a mechanical engineering graduate student on track to become a double Knight. “We realized that … if we had some prior knowledge or someone to talk to us about STEM before we got to this level, or before we tried to enter STEM, we could have avoided those pitfalls.”

That realization helped turn his personal ambitions into action that benefits others.

In 2024, Royal, Huerta and Washington co-founded STEM Mentorship Matters, an outreach program that connects students at their high school, Q. I. Roberts Junior-Senior High School, with professionals in STEM fields and equips them with the knowledge to successfully pursue their careers.

“We … didn’t have that many opportunities or much education related to STEM when we were in high school,” Royal says. “That made it a lot more difficult compared to our peers who did. So we thought, ‘Is there any way to give something to students who were like us, who could use opportunities in STEM?’”

Giving Students a Head Start

What began as a grassroots effort serving just 30 students at Q. I. Roberts has since grown into a network of 10 high schools across Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, reaching hundreds of junior and senior high school students. The organization now includes 30 volunteer mentors who lead monthly workshops that connect professionals with students.

STEM Mentorship Matters also offers a range of resources, including guidance on applying to universities through the Common App, explanations of different engineering disciplines and advice on getting involved on campus. Monthly discussions focus on preparing for careers in STEM, with topics shaped by student interest and shared through the organization’s Discord server.

From navigating the college application process and building strong resumes to learning how to network and apply for internships, volunteer mentors guide students to success in the classroom and beyond graduation.

“It helps students think, ‘What would I want to do beyond middle and high school? Am I even interested in STEM?’” Royal says. “[And] it’s OK if they’re not. We’re just trying to provide them with some insight. It also provides some insight into what they may want to do in STEM if they are interested.”

Royal adds that these interactions help students narrow their interests, explore future career possibilities and feel more confident entering their chosen field. Just as important, it gives them something Royal says he and his co-founders lacked early on: encouragement.

“Just someone saying, ‘You can do this if you set your mind to it,’ is very important because we didn’t have a lot of that pursuing STEM,” he says. “And I feel it’s important to have because it makes it easier to accomplish whatever you set out to do.”

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 �鶹ӳ����ý’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 �鶹ӳ����ý 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 �鶹ӳ����ý Office of Undergraduate Research and the �鶹ӳ����ý 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 �鶹ӳ����ý 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 �鶹ӳ����ý. As a three-time alum, he says that some of his most cherished memories were formed at �鶹ӳ����ý — memories of friendship, hard work and achievements.

“As a continually growing university located close to home, �鶹ӳ����ý 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.”

And that’s when he understood the promise of his medicine-engineering double degree (MEDD) from �鶹ӳ����ý.

The unique partnership between the College of Medicine and College of Engineering and Computer Science allows undergraduates to earn two baccalaureate degrees — one in mechanical engineering or any other engineering discipline �鶹ӳ����ý offers — and one in biomedical sciences. The program recognizes that the future of healthcare is in technology and that the workforce needs trained professionals who can understand the biology of disease and the engineering principles to create new healthcare solutions.

MEDD is demanding, requiring 163 credit hours to earn the two degrees. To date, seven students have completed the program.

“The MEDD program is probably the most challenging undertaking at �鶹ӳ����ý on the undergraduate level,” says William Self, professor of medicine who leads undergraduate education at the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences and helped create the medicine-engineering program. “This small cohort of scholars are driven by their desire to help mankind in the areas of healthcare and medicine through the engineering principles they learn along the way. I am so proud of these students for their drive and perseverance to complete this path and look forward to seeing how they impact society in the future.”

Senthil will graduate in August and hopes to work for a company that makes assistive devices or create his own start-up. Fellow Knight Michael Meyers ’25 graduated in the spring and will begin his master’s in electrical engineering this fall at �鶹ӳ����ý. He wants to develop better ways to diagnose diseases through enhanced imaging technologies, such as AI-assisted X-rays and non-invasive visual biopsies.

Limbitless Provides Inspiration for Medicine-Engineering Partnerships

Senthil always thought his future would include medical school. But while living in Texas during high school, he discovered how Texas A&M’s EnMED program encourages engineering majors to attend medical school and use their problem-solving skills to improve patient care. Senthil, a National Merit Scholar, received information from �鶹ӳ����ý about the MEDD program and the Burnett Honors College. �鶹ӳ����ý also offered a scholarship and a university visit. He liked �鶹ӳ����ý’s campus life and met other students who had used their MEDD studies to achieve their dreams. He decided to become a Knight.

On campus, he became active in Limbitless Solutions, a �鶹ӳ����ý organization that creates and provides 3D-printed, EMG-powered prosthetics for clinical trial participants. He started with technological development and then became part of the clinical research team, where he worked with patients and their families to understand how the prosthetic limbs worked and could increase independence.

“We don’t create this technology to fix someone,” he says. “The goal is to give them tools to express themselves.”

The Limbitless experience also provided Senthil with research opportunities. He has published research in multiple journals and presented his scientific findings at �鶹ӳ����ý and even nationally. One of those presentations was at RESNA, the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America. The non-profit professional organization is dedicated to maximizing “the health and well-being of people with disabilities through technology.”

Senthil was considering graduate and medical school when he saw the scope of assistive technologies on display at the conference. His new career goal — develop technology to help people.

“I want to create a device that fills a need, that enables others,” he says. “My passion is helping people improve their lives.”

Improving Diagnostics Through Imaging

Meyers grew up in the Orlando area. His mother is a nurse, and he always expected to be a pre-med major. Then, like Senthil, he received communication from �鶹ӳ����ý about the MEDD program and the Burnett Honors College. “The dual degree broadens our experience,” he says, “and gives you a big step up in applying what you’ve learned in school.”

He acknowledges the double degree courseload is tough, laughing as he discusses three lab courses each semester and having to train your brain to “flip flop” from memorizing microbiology terms to thinking about logical engineering processes. But he says his flip-flopping brain helped him better understand difficult subjects like immunology. “Engineering helped me understand why and how processes are happening when the body is fighting a disease,” he says.

At �鶹ӳ����ý, he used his dual training in research and in practice. He was an undergraduate research assistant in �鶹ӳ����ý’s Nanobio Sensors Lab and did internships at Northrop Grumman and Mitsubishi Power Americas.

He credits a class with �鶹ӳ����ý Professor of Electrical Engineering Wasfy Mikhael with inspiring him to understand how imaging and signal processing can create new systems to help physicians better see diseases like cancer in the body. That will be the focus of his masters training.

“The body in and of itself, is a well-oiled machine,” Meyers says. “With my dual degree, I want to figure out a way moving forward to make it even better.”

Over its 40-year history, the ASF has awarded scholarships totaling over $9 million to more than 850 students. This year, 71 undergraduate students from 48 U.S. colleges and universities were named Astronaut Scholars, including three exceptional leaders from �鶹ӳ����ý.

Abigail Glover

To Abigail Glover, a Burnett Honors Scholar and mechanical engineering student at �鶹ӳ����ý, earning a prestigious award like the Astronaut Scholarship represents far more than just financial support. For her, it’s entry into a network of ambitious individuals sharing her passion for space, engineering and scientific discovery. Glover describes the Astronaut community as “a family of like-minded individuals who will always support you.”

Much of Glover’s research has focused on planetary science. Some of her undergraduate research initiatives include studying the influence of humidity on simulated lunar highlands regolith properties and terra mechanics. Currently, her Honors Undergraduate Thesis is on “Quantifying the Performance of the SPARTA Toolkit for use in Planetary Regolith Characterization Missions.”

Glover is a project manager with the Regolith Interactions for the Development of Extraterrestrial Rovers (RIDER) program at �鶹ӳ����ý’s , where she coordinates with industry experts and leads a team focused on enhancing technologies for lunar regolith and rover wheel interaction. She has also worked with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems — assisting the Human Systems Integration team in preparing for Artemis II. Beyond her professional experiences, she founded the Lake-Sumter State College Astronomical Society in 2016. She also served as the social media and marketing chair for the �鶹ӳ����ý chapter of the American Society for Mechanical Engineers and is the creative chair for Students for the Exploration and Development of Space at �鶹ӳ����ý.

Glover came to STEM from a background in art and theater, which initially left her feeling like an outsider in the world of engineering and research. In her first semester, she had difficulty adjusting to the demanding load of her STEM classes. With some encouragement from her mother, she returned to �鶹ӳ����ý for her second semester with renewed determination.

“It has been a long journey of discovering my capabilities and limits, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” she says.

Glover’s courage in asking questions and seeking new opportunities has been a powerful force in her development. A conversation with a professor led her to �鶹ӳ����ý’s Exolith Lab, and a class interview connected her to the NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars program, which set off a chain of experiences she says “opened doors to opportunities I would never have thought possible.” Glover has received multiple scholarships and awards throughout her academic career such as the Office of Undergraduate Research Grant, the Pell Grant, and the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship.

Looking ahead, Glover hopes to contribute to long-term lunar habitation. She envisions herself continuing with lunar regolith research and building systems for sustainable human presence beyond Earth’s atmosphere. However, Glover’s past experiences have inspired her to remain adaptable, confident that “life has a funny way of working out.”

Charlotte Moore

With a passion for astronomy and a double major in and physics, Burnett Honors Scholar Charlotte Moore sees research as a way to learn more about the universe. Her research journey began in her first year and has transformed her academic experience, allowing her to build meaningful relationships and discover the collaborative spirit of the STEM community.

With her sights set on a doctoral degree in astronomy, Moore plans to focus on galaxy mergers, especially in tidal features at higher redshifts. “Once I finish my Ph.D., I hope to work at a university or other research institution to continue my research,” she says. Currently, Moore is an undergraduate student researcher with Eric Bell from the University of Michigan working on the time constraints of the merger of Centaurus A from the Stellar Halo. She is also an undergraduate researcher with Theodora Karalidi, associate professor of physics at �鶹ӳ����ý, working on the impact of optical thickness on the polarization of the light of Jupiter.

Despite her accomplishments, Moore candidly acknowledges the challenge of imposter syndrome.

“There are very few moments where I haven’t had doubts about what I’m doing,” she says.

However, by immersing herself in new topics and projects, she has cultivated a sense of belonging in astronomy. Her hard work was marked by her first official publication, a moment that reinforced that she could make waves in the field of astronomy.

Moore credits her success to the incredible mentors she has encountered along her journey.

“Dr. Karalidi has always pushed me to pursue outside opportunities that will help me towards my goal of graduate school,” she says.

Additionally, she has benefited from the experiences of peers who have previously received the Astronaut Scholarship, utilizing their insights as she navigated her application process.

Beyond her academic pursuits, Moore is committed to helping others find their footing in research. As the secretary of the Society of Physics Students, she mentors fellow students, sharing her knowledge and experiences to guide them. Additionally, Moore has received multiple honors and awards, such as the Order of Pegasus in 2024, the Knights Achievement Scholarship, and the Allyn M. Stearman Scholarship. Moore embodies the academic excellence, commitment to community, and passion for discovery that the Astronaut Scholarship seeks to promote.

Luis Santori

As a second-time recipient of the Astronaut Scholarship Luis Santori, a Burnett Honors Scholar and mathematics major, also appreciates the opportunities the ASF community will offer for his growth as a researcher.

“The doors that the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation opens will be crucial to my career,” he says.

For Santori, the ASF community provides opportunities to collaborate, learn and grow as a researcher.

Santori is an undergraduate research assistant involved in multiple projects, including two with Kerri Donaldson Hanna and Adrienne Dove, associate professors in �鶹ӳ����ý’s Department of Physics, focusing on lunar craters and lunar regolith. He describes his mentors — Hanna, Dove, and Professor Eduardo Teixeira from the �鶹ӳ����ý Department of Mathematics — as instrumental in his growth and development as a researcher.

Santori’s research journey has been transformative for both his academic and personal development.

“Research has fostered personal growth by keeping me curious and introducing me to subjects beyond my curriculum,” he says.

His research experiences have improved his communication skills, something that will be a necessity for him as he continues to promote his work.

Santori has also had to deal with the challenges that come with imposter syndrome, common in research where the uncertainty of discovery can lead to self-doubt. However, he reflects that by recognizing that it’s not productive to compare his path to the path of others, he has moved beyond this challenge. He also emphasizes the importance of maintaining a good work-life balance in sustaining a research career. His ability to work through these challenges and his dedication to his academic career have earned him the Allyn M. Stearman Research Fellowship, the Summer@ICERM 2023 Fellowship, and the 2024 NASA Exploration Science Forum Student Travel Grant.

Looking ahead, Santori plans to apply to doctoral programs in applied mathematics and planetary science, aiming to contribute to advancements in these fields. He is considering a career in academia, national labs or industry. With his passion and resilience, Santori is ready to make meaningful contributions to planetary science and mathematics as he continues on his academic journey as an Astronaut Scholar.

Those interested in the Astronaut Scholarship and other opportunities should reach out to the Office of Prestigious Awards at��OPA@ucf.edu.

Under the mentorship of Pegasus Professor Alain Kassab, Messmore shifted career paths once again, this time in the direction of biomedical engineering, a field that combines her passions for both medicine and engineering. Now Messmore, is one of the first students to pursue a doctoral degree in biomedical engineering at �鶹ӳ����ý.

The doctorate in biomedical engineering, which launched in Fall 2022, is the newest degree offered through the in the . The program is designed to prepare students for research and development careers in the biomedical industry, government labs and organizations and academia.

Supporting the Industry

The program also supports the demand for a workforce with advanced biomedical engineering knowledge and skills. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that employment of biomedical engineers and bioengineers will increase steadily throughout the decade. Florida is also among the states with the highest employment in this field.

One employer of biomedical engineers is the company .decimal, which manufactures devices and develops software that can assist with the treatment of cancer. Kevin Erhart ’04 ’06MS ’09PhD, the president and chief technology officer of the company, says that the pipeline of students from �鶹ӳ����ý to industry can be invaluable to small companies like his.

“Having local Ph.D. students engaged in work within our fields of interest would open the door to collaborative projects where students solve novel problems and companies commercialize the results through their existing sales and marketing channels,” Erhart says. “Students will hopefully be better exposed to real-world research and development and also have opportunities to interact with local companies that would have significant interest in hiring them upon graduation.”

Opportunities for Growth

Students are exposed to real-world research opportunities in faculty labs at both CECS and the College of Medicine, and they also have the chance to engage in research projects with local medical professionals. Steven Scheller, who joined the program when it launched in Fall 2022, says that it provides an in-depth look at what it takes to design and develop medical devices that doctors and patients use every day.

“In many cases, doctors will have the medical knowledge and desire to improve a device or develop a new device to help fellow medical professionals and patients,” he says. “However, they lack the engineering background and expertise to determine how to go about designing and building a device. I want to be a physician who is able to bridge this gap. I want to have both the medical and engineering knowledge and skill necessary to take an idea I have to invent or improve a medical device, design, build, and test it in order to dramatically improve patients’ lives.”

When it comes to their area of study, students can tailor the degree program to their interests, which Messmore says sets it apart from similar doctoral programs.

“Since biomedical engineering is a very rapidly advancing field and is also so broad, the degree maintains the balance of requiring fundamentals in the field but allowing people to tailor their electives to whatever subfield they wish,” Messmore says. “It’s great because it doesn’t limit anyone to a specific specialty, and you can pursue whatever you desire – biomechanics, biofluids or even regenerative medicine – all while working with world-class faculty.”

Students are also not limited in how they enter the program. Graduates with a master’s degree can apply as can graduates with a bachelor’s degree who would like to earn a master’s degree along the way.

The First Alum — With Many More to Come

Currently, nine students are enrolled in the program, which will soon boast its first alumnus. Jinfeng Li ’19MS ’22PhD transferred from the mechanical engineering doctoral program to biomedical doctoral program last fall. He graduated in Fall 2022 under the tutelage of Associate Professor Helen Huang.

“Compared to other programs, the biomedical engineering Ph.D. program is a highly interdisciplinary program that trains students to solve biomedical problems with engineering approaches,” Li says. “This program has many faculty members who are rising stars, accompanied with outstanding resources from the main campus and Lake Nona, and offers [various] career opportunities.”

Li may be the first alumnus of the biomedical doctoral program, but he certainly won’t be the last. Tamar Yishay ’20 ’21MS is one future graduate of the program and a current alumna of �鶹ӳ����ý. She says the program will give her more exposure to the clinical work environment and will allow her to build off of her previous work in the undergraduate biology and master’s in nanotechnology programs.

“As I strive to strengthen and cultivate my niche in the science world, the pursuit of a biomedical engineering Ph.D. will inspire me to continue to develop my identity within the �鶹ӳ����ý community and to bring about revolutionary contributions to the art of science and medicine,” Yishay says. “Moreover, it provides an exciting journey to healthy living, which is what I hope to embody throughout my career and life.”

The deadline for applications for the doctorate in biomedical engineering program are due July 1 for fall and December 1 for spring. ��For more information about the program, visit

To counter this, �鶹ӳ����ý researchers are developing a way for large machines to “breathe” in and out cooling blasts of water to keep their systems from overheating.

The findings are detailed in a recent study in the journal Physical Review Fluids.

The process is much like how humans and some animals breath in air to cool their bodies down, except in this case, the machines would be breathing in cool blasts of water, says Khan Rabbi, a doctoral candidate in �鶹ӳ����ý’s and lead author of the study.

“Our technique used a pulsed water-jet to cool a hot titanium surface,” Rabbi says. “The more water we pumped out of the spray jet nozzles, the greater the amount of heat that transferred between the solid titanium surface and the water droplets, thus cooling the titanium. Fundamentally, an idea of optimum jet-pulsation needs to be generated to ensure maximum heat transfer performance.”

“It is essentially like exhaling the heat from the surface,” he says.

The water is emitted from small water-jet nozzles, about 10 times the thickness of a human hair, that douse a hot surface of a large electronic system, and the water is collected in a storage chamber, where it can be pumped out and circulated again to repeat the cooling process. The storage chamber in their study held about 10 ounces of water.

Using high-speed, infrared thermal imaging, the researchers were able to find the optimum amount of water for maximum cooling performance.

Rabbi says everyday applications for the system could include cooling large electronics, space vehicles, batteries in electric vehicles and gas turbines.

Shawn Putnam, an associate professor in �鶹ӳ����ý’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and study co-author, says that this research is part of an effort to explore different techniques to efficiently cool hot devices and surfaces.

“Most likely, the most versatile and efficient cooling technology will take advantage of several different cooling mechanisms, where pulsed jet cooling is expected to be one of these key contributors,” Putnam says.

The researcher says there are multiple ways to cool hot hardware, but water-jet cooling is a preferred method because it can be adjusted to different directions, has good heat-transfer ability, and uses minimum amounts of water or liquid coolant.

However, it has its drawbacks, namely either over or underwatering that results in floods or dry hotspots.

The �鶹ӳ����ý method overcomes this problem by offering a system that is tunable to hardware needs so that the only water applied is the amount needed and in the right spot.

The technology is needed since once device temperatures surpass a threshold value, for example, 194 degrees Fahrenheit, the device’s performance decreases, Rabbi says.

“For this reason, we need better cooling technologies in place to keep the device temperature well within the maximum temperature for optimum operation,” he says. “We believe this study will provide engineers, scientists and researchers a unique understanding to develop future generation liquid cooling systems.”

Jake Carter, a former undergraduate in �鶹ӳ����ý’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and now a graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley, also co-authored the study.

Rabbi received his bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology and joined �鶹ӳ����ý’s mechanical engineering doctoral program in 2017. Since starting at �鶹ӳ����ý, he has also completed successful internships with Nokia Bell Labs and semiconductor equipment supplier ASML.

Putnam received his doctorate in materials science and engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and his bachelor of physics and bachelor of science in applied mathematics degrees from the University of Minnesota Duluth. He joined �鶹ӳ����ý’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, part of �鶹ӳ����ý’s College of Engineering and Computer Science, in 2012.

The research was funded by the U.S. Office of Naval Research and the National Science Foundation.

The team is doing this through a recently awarded National Science Foundation Rapid Response Research Award for $200,000 to explore reducing COVID-19 transmission by making saliva heavier and stickier using candy or corn starch to help sneeze and cough particles fall rather than float.

The approach could lead to creating something as simple as a cough drop or lozenge that people would pop in their mouths before going into the grocery store, work or school.

“One way to kind of think about it is, for example, clouds are just little, tiny droplets that are suspended in the air for hours, and they just flow with the atmosphere,” says Mike Kinzel, an assistant professor in �鶹ӳ����ý’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering who is the project’s principal investigator.

“However, these droplets collide to form larger droplets that just fall out of the air,” he says. “That’s kind of the process we’re trying to promote. We don’t want the droplets to blow around with the wind like a cloud, we want them to fall out of the sky like rain.”

A way to reduce transmission distance will be especially important as people return to work and school, where maintaining six feet of social distance may be difficult, says Kareem Ahmed, an assistant professor in the department and co-principal investigator.

“The six feet is great as a general guide, but then in a confined environment like our offices, grocery stores, public transit or hospitals, these droplets are going to interact with surfaces, HVAC systems or ventilations,” Ahmed says.

“So if we change the properties from the source, which is essentially our respiratory functions, whether it’s coughing, sneezing, speaking or breathing, then you’re simply going to reduce the amount that you’re producing, and hopefully bring the six feet to something shorter, where we can interact more,” Ahmed says.

“Based on our early data, coupling a face mask with saliva mixed with corn starch will potentially have us go from six feet to two feet for social distancing,” he says.

Leading the analyses of the effort are postdoctoral researchers Douglas Hector Fontes in Kinzel’s lab and Jonathan Reyes in Ahmed’s lab.

Fontes is running numerical simulations to study how differences in viscosity, density and surface tension impact droplet dispersal.

“Our preliminary results have shown a significant reduction in the duration of droplet suspension in the air by changing the properties of the saliva,” Fontes says.

Reyes is using high-speed cameras to characterize the patterns and distance traveled of droplets emitted from sneezing and coughing, including those that have been altered by candy or starch. He’s finding similar reductions.

“Our data have shown that altering the physical properties of the saliva shows great promise in reducing the exposure of a sneeze,” Reyes says. “Particulates travel shorter distances and fall faster.”

As part of the research, Reyes is also supplying the sneezing.

“If you know anyone who can sneeze on command, send them my way,” Reyes says.

The team is working closely with Jelena Catania, a doctor and expert in infectious diseases at���鶹ӳ����ý’s College of Medicine and the Orlando Veteran’s Administration Medical Center, for the��implementation challenges, and Brent Craven, a researcher at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, for the potential implementation.

Kinzel received his doctorate in aerospace engineering from The Pennsylvania State University and joined �鶹ӳ����ý in 2018. In addition to being a member of �鶹ӳ����ý’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace engineering, a part of �鶹ӳ����ý’s College of Engineering and Computer Science, he also works with �鶹ӳ����ý’s Center for Advanced Turbomachinery and Energy Research.

Ahmed earned his doctoral degree in mechanical engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He worked at Pratt & Whitney Military Engines and��Old Dominion University prior to joining �鶹ӳ����ý’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in 2015. He is the director of �鶹ӳ����ý’s Propulsion and Energy Research Laboratory, a faculty member of �鶹ӳ����ý’s Center for Advanced Turbomachinery and Energy Research, an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, a U.S. Air Force Research Lab Summer Faculty Fellow, and a member of �鶹ӳ����ý’s Renewable Energy and Chemical Transformation Cluster.

Learn more about �鶹ӳ����ý’s role in the aerospace and defense industries.

“The universities identified as preferred suppliers are those institutions that hiring managers turn to when looking to fill critical and high-value jobs,” the publication says, adding that the preferred-supplier status is based on academic reputation, research and the success of alumni already in the industry.

The aerospace and defense industries are populated by graduates with a variety of �鶹ӳ����ý degrees, such as mechanical and aerospace engineering, industrial engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, computer engineering, business, communication and other fields. Several of the engineering degrees are offered fully online at �鶹ӳ����ý and can be completed from anywhere.

Many of the graduates in those industries are from �鶹ӳ����ý’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering programs. More than 4,000 students are enrolled in those programs, and more than 150 graduated with bachelor’s degrees and 23 with master’s degrees in the 2018-19 academic year. More than 550 have graduated with an aerospace engineering degree in the past five years.

�鶹ӳ����ý graduates work at some of the top aerospace and defense industries in the nation, such as Lockheed Martin, Siemens and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center — where 30 percent of employees are Knights.

�鶹ӳ����ý graduates work at some of the top aerospace and defense industries in the nation, such as Lockheed Martin, Siemens and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center — where 30 percent of employees are Knights.

Through strategic internship opportunities with industry partners, students can gain relevant work experience through paid internships while remaining enrolled full-time at the university. This includes at Central Florida Research Park, adjacent to the university’s main campus, and which is home to high-tech research operations for the Army, Navy and Air Force. The university also has partnerships with the Lockheed Martin Work Experience Program, which is available to undergraduate and graduate students in a variety of disciplines, and the , which is available in nearby Melbourne, Florida, for students majoring in industrial engineering and business.

Lockheed Martin provides paid work experience to about 650 students each year. On average, 60 percent are offered full-time jobs. The company hires more graduates from �鶹ӳ����ý than from any other university in the country. It also is the No. 1 employer for graduates of the College of Engineering and Computer Science and the College of Business and is the No. 4 employer for all �鶹ӳ����ý majors.

�鶹ӳ����ý just established a new doctorate in aerospace engineering this year and 34 students are enrolled in the program. One student, who entered the program with a master’s in mechanical engineering and had already been working on aerospace research, will be the first to graduate from the program in December.

Rounding out the Top 5 universities that provide the most new graduates to the aerospace and defense industries are: California Polytechnic State University, University of Florida, University of California at San Diego, and Georgia Institute of Technology.

Aviation Week��Network developed the annual rankings in collaboration with PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Aerospace Industries Association, and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

For several years while growing up, Rodriguez and his family moved around a lot, bouncing from home to home. But thanks to a few teachers, he excelled in middle school, even taking an international trip to Morocco that opened his eyes. In high school, after moving to Florida, he “scraped by” trying to adjust to being in a large school. But still he dreamed of being the first in his family to graduate from college — something the mechanical engineering student will achieve during �鶹ӳ����ý’s commencement May 2 before moving on to pursue a Ph.D. in engineering public policy at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

“I needed that research experience [at �鶹ӳ����ý] ��in order to get the necessary credentials to apply to grad school.” –��Victor Rodriguez, �鶹ӳ����ý student

Rodriguez will earn his bachelor’s degree thanks in part to , a program launched in 2006 that guarantees admission to �鶹ӳ����ý to graduates of six state colleges, including Valencia College, where Rodriguez earned his associate degree. In May, �鶹ӳ����ý will award its 50,000^th degree to a DirectConnect student.

“I didn’t have the right mindset at the time to go straight to �鶹ӳ����ý,” he says.

High school had made him question his ability to excel in college, but he was ambitious and determined to become the first in his family to get a college degree. He enrolled at Valencia, where he met Eda Davis-Lowe, who encouraged him to explore STEM areas of science, technology, engineering and math, an area he had always been good at. He became interested in research and also learned about the DirectConnect program.

“They don’t have a lot of research opportunities at Valencia – �鶹ӳ����ý does,” he says. “And so I needed that research experience in order to get the necessary credentials to apply to grad school.”

“DirectConnect to �鶹ӳ����ý … continues to be recognized as a national model in the ability to provide access.” –��J. Jeffrey Jones, vice provost for �鶹ӳ����ý Connect and �鶹ӳ����ý Global

This is exactly the kind of student situation that DirectConnect was established to solve: To help create access to high-quality bachelor’s degree programs for students who might not otherwise gain entry to a four-year university, says J. Jeffrey Jones, vice provost for �鶹ӳ����ý Connect and .

“The representation of first-generation college students, students from lower socioeconomic means, and racial- and ethnic-minority students has been an impressive outcome of the program,” Jones says. “Despite ever-increasing admissions standards at the university, DirectConnect to �鶹ӳ����ý has continued to provide access to students from Central Florida. It continues to be recognized as a national model in the ability to provide access and it encourages others in higher education to try similar programs.”

Making a Bachelor’s Degree a Reality

The DirectConnect program started as a first-of-its-kind partnership with Eastern Florida State College, Lake-Sumter State College, Seminole State College and Valencia College. It has since expanded to a total of six state colleges, including Daytona State College and the College of Central Florida; been a path to �鶹ӳ����ý for more than 67,800 students; and received the Institutional Excellence for Students in Transition award by the National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students. Similar programs have also been adopted by Arizona State University, University of South Florida and Florida International University.

Of the more than 50,000 degrees that will have been awarded by the end of this semester, 28,959 have been conferred to Valencia graduates like Rodriguez who came to �鶹ӳ����ý through the program.

“The spirit of collaboration has been the key to success for DirectConnect to �鶹ӳ����ý.” – ��J. Jeffrey Jones, vice provost for �鶹ӳ����ý Connect and �鶹ӳ����ý Global

That is by design. The system was set up to expand access to all students, but especially those who otherwise may not be able to pursue a university degree through traditional channels. In 2018 alone, this included 2,379 minority students, 1,647 first-generation students and 3,180 Pell-eligible students from low-income families.

“The spirit of collaboration has been the key to success for DirectConnect to �鶹ӳ����ý,” Jones says. “Along with our six state college partners, the university has embraced the access mission. Our faculty and staff fully understand that this has been the way that we’ve been able to serve wide distributions of the population while maintaining very high levels of academic integrity…We understand that unless everyone is at the table and has the opportunity to guide our direction, it isn’t likely to be as successful in the future as it is today.”

Nationally, of students who start at community colleges and successfully transfer to universities, only 42 percent complete a bachelor’s degree.

“DirectConnect provided a smooth transition to �鶹ӳ����ý by having offices on every campus and having knowledgeable advisors that could … ��assist me.” Victor Rodriguez, �鶹ӳ����ý student

“DirectConnect provided a smooth transition to �鶹ӳ����ý by having offices on every campus and having knowledgeable advisors that could review my transcript and assist me with choosing courses that can transfer into my degree at �鶹ӳ����ý,” Rodriguez says.

As time goes on, more and more students are taking advantage of the ground-breaking concept. In its first year, nearly 2,000 �鶹ӳ����ý degrees were awarded to students. Last year, about 5,000 degrees were awarded.

And the benefits to the community are to boost the potential of underserved populations and help supply the region’s workforce.

“DirectConnect to �鶹ӳ����ý provides social mobility for the citizens of Central Florida and beyond by uplifting of lives and livelihoods,” Jones says.

On the Horizon

DirectConnect continues to evolve to meet the needs of today’s students.

The program has long provided students with academic advising, student services and transfer support at community campuses by both college advisors and �鶹ӳ����ý success coaches, who are embedded at the state colleges.��The results are better-prepared transfer students and a smoother transition experience, as witnessed by an 80 percent first-year retention rate for students in the program in 2018.

And the new �鶹ӳ����ý Downtown, which will be shared with Valencia College when the campus opens this fall, will have DirectConnect success coaches on site to assist more students who want to utilize the program.

Also, as online classes become more popular, students are provided with a level of success coaching that they haven’t necessarily had in the past.

The university continues to work on technology to serve students, including a new mobile app in development that will assist in providing support services to keep students on track. And �鶹ӳ����ý is expanding the program to international students.

“International DirectConnect to �鶹ӳ����ý is a recent development in the program,” Jones says. “As our state college partners increasingly see international enrollment, these students are provided the same opportunity to matriculate to �鶹ӳ����ý as any other student would. We partner with �鶹ӳ����ý Global to provide international students with the types of services that will assist them in being successful in their transition to the university.”

50,000 Degrees and Counting

On May 3, psychology major Hannah Holbrook will receive the 50,000^th degree at the commencement ceremony for the College of Sciences.

Holbrook, who came through DirectConnect from Lake-Sumter State College in Clermont, wants to eventually go to medical school to study emergency medicine. But first beginning in June she’s going to start an accredited EMT course for the next year to get some hands-on field experience.

She says her transition to �鶹ӳ����ý was helped by being a member of the Tau Sigma National Honor Society, which is specifically for transfer students.

“It has allowed me — from thinking about only top 100 grad programs — to applying to and getting accepted to a fully funded top five engineering program.” – Victor Rodriguez, �鶹ӳ����ý Student

“It provides a place for transfer students to connect with others, because you are coming like I did from a small town, a small community college, and then transferring to this huge university and you don’t know anyone,” she says. “You don’t get the same experience that a freshman would have, being there for four years and getting to grow with all these people, so sometimes it can be hard for people to connect with others or network or get into research opportunities or volunteer. That’s what Tau Sigma provides.”

As for Rodriguez, he says he wouldn’t be where he is without DirectConnect, which helped put him on the path to gain his footing at �鶹ӳ����ý as a Ronald E. McNair Scholar, serve as a peer mentor, and conduct research at the NanoScience Technology Center.

To help build on his success at �鶹ӳ����ý, he says he has appreciated the “environment of other like-minded ambitious students that motivate each other to reach our highest goals.

“It has allowed me — from thinking about only top 100 grad programs — to applying to and getting accepted to a fully funded top five engineering program. I want my research to address some of the world’s greatest problems.”