UCF Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering

NEW for Fall 2026: Our new graduate certificate in verification, validation and test, the first of its kind in Florida, prepares industry professionals to fill a skills gap that is in high demand nationally.

“Our industry partners gave us feedback that it was hard to find students who are skilled in this area,” says Associate Professor Mike Borowczak, the coordinator of the graduate certificate program. “It’s one of those cases where we listened to industry and now it’s producing results.”

Learn more about the new program: https://bit.ly/4gnydr6

Meet UCF computer engineering alumnus Elkin Norena '03 '09MBA, the resident management officer for NASA's Space Launch System Program at the Kennedy Space Center, where he has helped launch more than a dozen space shuttle missions. Learn more about him and his role at the agency from NASA's feature story: https://bit.ly/4vb34M3

Congratulations to Pegasus Professor Issa Batarseh! He was honored with the Yogi and Lovely Goswami Award in Energy and Sustainability at the recent National Academy of Inventors Conference. We're so proud!

Shannon Hankinson ’26 is a single mother of two and a former retail leader who made the decision to start over. This spring, she graduated with her bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, earning Dean’s List or President’s Honor Roll recognition nearly every semester. Now, she is a research assistant at the Radiation Effects and Reliability Laboratory, continuing directly into a master’s program in electrical engineering, with plans to pursue a doctoral degree: https://bit.ly/4g3AB62

UCF's new Pegasus Partnership with Universal opens more doors to research opportunities in themed entertainment, including service robotics, augmented reality and virtual reality technologies for entertainment, and the use of artificial intelligence and digital twins for guest experiences.

A number CECS alumni are employed by Universal and contributed to the opening of its newest theme park, Epic Universe. We're putting a spotlight on electrical engineering alumna Sara Wijas ‘24 and industrial engineering alumnus Austin Kelly ‘16 ‘19MS, who shared their roles with the company, their experiences on opening day and how UCF prepared them for their engineering careers: https://bit.ly/435LjS7

We're working with TAU Systems on a new radiation testing method that could make the process faster, more accessible and easier to scale at SpaceU. 🚀

TAU Systems is developing compact particle accelerator technology that could help address growing demand for radiation testing critical to satellite and spacecraft development. Electrical engineering assistant professor Enxia Zhang and a team of researchers are working with the company to study how the systems may support future space missions.

Learn more about their work: https://bit.ly/4dUtASm

Thank you all for joining us at this year's ECE Banquet! We were thrilled to celebrate another phenomenal year at the department, and accomplishments that would not have been possible without your continued hard work and dedication.

We're so proud to share that our very own Qun Zhou Sun was recently featured by the IEEE Power & Energy Society!

“I hope to bring more consumers’ perspectives to the PES community, through advances in technology and data. From wholesale power markets to daily energy activities, consumers can play more active roles in the power industry."

See her member spotlight here: https://bit.ly/4eNJWhV

Next week, we are heading to Tampa for the 2026 IEEE International Frequency Control Symposium. We're so proud to share that we have four students who were selected as best poster finalists, the most of any other institution attending IFCS 2026! Congratulations to:

✨ Daniel Eduardo Lopez Garcia, "AlN MEMS Resonators and Oscillators Operating at High Temperature Up to 800°C"

✨ Pooja Roy, "An Optoelectronic Feedback Oscillator Referenced to a Diamagnetically Levitated Mechanical Resonator"

✨ Tanvir Hasan, "Enhanced Acoustoelectric Charge Transport in Lamb Wave Delay Lines via Depletion-Mediated Channel Confinement"

✨ Samira Yasmin, "Ultralow-Loss Rotation and Internal-Resonance-Induced Mode Coupling in a Diamagnetically Levitated Graphite Rotor"

Such a heartwarming story!

Twenty-two years ago, Sam Eisert spent 12 days in the NICU at Health First Holmes Regional Medical Center. Each year, his family visited to thank the staff for saving his life, bringing cards and treats.

This week, the family made their annual visit celebrating a memorable milestone: Sam will graduate this Saturday with a degree in computer engineering from UCF.

See the photos from their visit: https://bit.ly/4n9NtsW