FIU College of Engineering and Computing

Behind every elite athlete is a team you never see. ⚽

When Inter Miami CF athletes take the field, FIU alumnus Brandon Gonzalez is part of the reason they perform at their best. As a full-stack software engineer for the club, Brandon builds the platforms that track real-time player performance, fuel nutrition planning, and power scouting decisions at every level of the organization.

"I believe you should never stop learning," he says. "In computer science, things are constantly changing. You have to adapt."

From a kinesiology background to a computer science BA from FIU, his path is proof that curiosity and a willingness to pivot can lead somewhere extraordinary.

FIU Knight Foundation School of Computing
📷 Inter Miami CF game photos courtesy of Inter Miami CF.
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FIU Grad Powers Inter Miami CF from Behind the Scenes FIU Grad Powers Inter Miami CF from Behind the Scenes June 17, 2026 Inter Miami CF game photos courtesy of Inter Miami CF. Brandon Gonzalez portrait courtesy of Brandon Gonzalez. By Adrienne Sylver   When fans watch Inter Miami CF stars like Leo Messi take the field at Nu Stadium, they see the glam...

The em dash has become one of the most recognizable signs of AI-generated writing. But why do models like ChatGPT keep using it?

FIU AI researcher Mustafa Ocal explains how AI predicts language, why em dashes appear so often in high-quality training data and whether avoiding them changes the way AI writes.

FIU Knight Foundation School of Computing
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https://news.fiu.edu/2026/why-does-ai-use-so-many-em-dashes-an-expert-explains?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=news_promotion&utm_term=College+of+Engineering+and+Computing

Congratulations to Mark Finlayson on his selection as an associate member to the 2026 class of the Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine of Florida.

Finlayson, an associate professor and associate director for research and academic affairs at FIU Knight Foundation School of Computing, was recognized for his contributions to the computational modeling of narratives and their role in advancing our understanding of cultural texts.

“One of the most exciting aspects of my research is its potential to bring science and the humanities closer together, enabling tools that allow us to apply a scientific lens to questions of culture and society that have long resisted scientific investigation," said Finlayson.

He is one of five FIU faculty members selected for this distinguished honor and the only member of the College of Engineering & Computing in this year's cohort.

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Professor Mark Finlayson Selected for Induction into Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine of Florida Professor Mark Finlayson Selected for Induction into Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine of Florida June 15, 2026 Mark Finlayson, associate professor and associate director for research and academic affairs in FIU's Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences, has been se...

Congratulations to FIU energy researcher and Department Chair Arif Sarwat on receiving the 2026 World Class Faculty Award from the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance.

Through groundbreaking work in energy grids, AI and cybersecurity, Sarwat and his team are advancing the technologies that power South Florida's future while preparing the next generation of engineers.

FIU Electrical and Computer Engineering
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FIU energy researcher Arif Sarwat wins economic impact award The Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance has named the FIU professor and energy grid researcher recipient of its 2026 World Class Faculty Award.

What if the hardware inside our devices is revealing more than we realize?

Meet Ph.D. candidate Md Sadik Awal, whose research is uncovering hidden security vulnerabilities at the physical layer of computer chips and helping shape the future of hardware security.

Read Sadik's full Ph.D. Spotlight:
https://cec.fiu.edu/news-events/news/2026/phd-spotlight-md-sadik-awal-on-uncovering-hidden-hardware-security-vulnerabilities.html?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=news_promotion&utm_term=College+of+Engineering+and+Computing

Hackers do not just steal data, they erase it in seconds.

FIU researcher Weidong Zhu is rethinking how computers defend themselves by turning a storage chip into an active cybersecurity shield. His new system extends recoverable data history up to 126 days, giving users a critical window to recover files even after a cyberattack.

By reorganizing how solid-state drives handle deleted data, the approach helps protect the most recently compromised files instead of letting them be erased first. The result is stronger data resilience with minimal performance impact.

This breakthrough could reshape how storage devices contribute to cybersecurity defenses.

🏷️FIU Knight Foundation School of Computing

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FIU researcher discovers how to turn a computer's storage chip into a cybersecurity shield A way to make deleted data recoverable in the critical window after a computer is compromised could save the day – and one’s files – in the aftermath of a digital attack.

From FIU student to published researcher, alumna Mellissa Komninakis is helping advance safer, more effective approaches to nuclear waste remediation.

Now a junior engineer at FIU’s Applied Research Center, her work focuses on reducing the release of radioactive particles during cleanup operations, with implications for protecting workers, communities and the environment.

Read how she is making an impact in this critical field and helping shape the future of nuclear remediation:
https://news.fiu.edu/2026/alumna-blazing-trail-in-nuclear-waste-remediation-research?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=news_promotion&utm_term=College+of+Engineering+and+Computing

Alumna blazing trail in nuclear waste remediation research She's helping clean up from World War II.