Students

In high school, André Childs wasn’t particularly interested in higher ed. He wasn’t surrounded by college graduates or even friends who were planning to enroll. However, he was curious about some aspects of science and engineering, so he decided he’d try community college. Fast forward to 2023. Childs is an award-winning Ph.D. candidate in material…

The event may have been hosted by Rollins College, but it was dominated by UCF Knights with materials science and engineering backgrounds. Two Knight-led startups took first and second place at the Crummer Graduate School of Business’ 2023 Venture Plan Competition, one of Central Florida’s largest pitch competitions. Kismet Technologies, led by Christina Drake ‘07PhD,…

UCF students shared their discoveries, findings and breakthroughs at the 2023 Student Scholar Symposium. More than 500 students, including some from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, showcased their work at the annual research celebration co-hosted by the College of Graduate Studies, the Office of Undergraduate Research and the Division of Student Success and Well-Being.…

The Wound Healing Society has selected materials science and engineering postdoctoral scholar Elayaraja Kolanthai as one of eight recipients of its Young Investigator Award. As a recipient, Kolanthai is invited to present his research on oxide nano particles during the Young Investigator Session at the 2023 WHS annual meeting. The event will take place at…

Seven University of Central Florida graduate students are currently interning at Adobe and 3M, among other leading employers thanks to fellowships supported by the National Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering Fellowship (GEM) program. The GEM program began in 1976. The public-private partnership aims to connect students from underrepresented groups with the nation’s top employers…

Materials science and engineering doctoral student Udit Kumar has received two scholarships from the UCF College of Engineering and Computer Science. Kumar has been selected for the Dr. Austin L. Grogan Scholarship as well as the David T. and Jane M. Donaldson Scholarship. The former is worth $500 and the latter is worth $4,000. Both…

Five students affiliated with the Department of Materials Science and Engineering have been selected to receive Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships from UCF. Avani Shandilya, Erik Marcelo, Ishan Patel, Ryan Wood and Erin Watson will each spend the summer working a research project that they will later present at the UCF Summer Undergraduate Research Poster Showcase.…

Materials science and engineering doctoral student Suvash Ghimire won the Best Poster Award in the energy and sustainability category at the 2022 Materials Research Society Spring Meeting. Ghimire, who works under the guidance of Assistant Professor Kausik Mukhopadhyay, presented his research on a hybrid clay material that can be used for energy applications. This material…

The UCF Department of Materials Science and Engineering celebrated its spring graduates this past May, including its first group of graduates from the undergraduate program. Below is the full list of spring graduates and some pictures from the celebration: Undergraduates Nicolas Ayers Natalie Crutchfield Devin Lyons Andrea Molina Moreno Brandon Ortiz Ryann Valmonte Masters Lorena…

Biomedical sciences student Angela Shar is one of three UCF students who received the 2022 Goldwater Scholarship. One of Shar’s Goldwater mentors is Assistant Professor Mehdi Razavi who holds a joint appointment in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. The scholarship was founded in honor of former senator Barry Goldwater and is considers of…

The Department of Materials Science and Engineering marks a milestone this semester with its first entry in the Senior Design Showcase. A team of four students, guided by Assistant Professor Tengfei Jiang, will make department history when they present their project, titled “Alloy Design for Solder Joints in Advanced Semiconductor Devices.” “Being the first in…

Students from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering won big at the Student Scholar Symposium, the main event of UCF’s Student Research Week. The event combines both the Graduate Research Forum and the Showcase of Undergraduate Research Excellence into one week-long symposium that includes workshops and a poster competition. This year, several students from…

Undergraduate biomedical sciences student Architha Venkatesan has been selected for a spring 2022 Honors Undergraduate Thesis Scholarship. This scholarship, worth $1,000, is given to students who demonstrate excellent work in the Burnett Honors undergraduate thesis program. Venkatesan currently works in the Nano Biomaterials Manufacturing Lab under the guidance of professor and department chair Sudipta Seal.…

Yuen Yee Li Sip, a graduate of UCF’s Biotechnology bachelor’s and Nanotechnology master’s programs and currently completing her doctoral degree in the Materials Science and Engineering department, has traveled a long way from her hometown in the Caribbean. Born in Puerto Rico and raised in Sint Maarten, Li Sip traveled more than 1,000 miles to attend UCF in 2012.…

MSE starting-senior Ms. Natalie Crutchfield is one of the recipients of the 2021 George A. Roberts Scholarship award from ASM Material Education Foundation. The award carries a certificate of recognition and $6,000 cash award towards education expenses for one academic year. Natalie was nominated by Dr. Mukhopadhyay from the MSE dept. for the scholarship award.…

Steven Meikle participated in the Siemens Energy 1st Annual Clean Energy Competition and was selected as a finalist, received a $1,000 research grant to start prototyping biohybrid dye-sensitized solar cells. He became 3rd or top 1.1% applicant status worldwide. Finalists are listed here: Siemens Energy 1st Annual Competition Information Link 

Ashley Santana Majors: Biotechnology and biomedical sciences Ashley is one of 16 undergraduates at UCF to receive the prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship in 2021. Webpage: https://www.ucf.edu/news/16-knights-earn-nsf-graduate-research-fellowships-most-in-ucf-history/ University Involvement: McNair Scholar, member of the Student Undergraduate Research Council, transfer student peer mentor for the Office of Undergraduate Research, former vice president for the Eureka Research Society, and a…

The work “Probing Structural Changes of 2D Supercapacitor Electrode by Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy” presented by Kausik Sambath in “Advanced Materials for Energy Conversion and Storage VII poster session” is selected as the best poster at the TMS 2021 conference. TMS2021 Poster Certificate First Place – Energy Conversion and Storage VII

Dr. Lin Hu, 2021 Founders’ Day Honoree Dr. Lin Hu received the Outstanding Dissertation Award and was recognized as one of the 2021 Founders’ Day Honorees (https://www.ucf.edu/news/2021-founders-day-honorees/). He completed his doctoral research with Prof. Xiaofeng Feng, with a focus on catalytic materials for electrochemical energy conversion. He revealed structure-activity relationships of metal catalysts for the…

https://researchweek.ucf.edu/scholarship-recipients/    

Ashley Santana, an undergraduate researcher from the Crawford lab receives a highly competitive 2020 Goldwater Scholarship. The awards go to juniors or sophomores who show promise in becoming research leaders in fields such as science, technology, engineering, or mathematics. https://www.ucf.edu/news/2-students-receive-goldwater-scholarships/   Ashley Santana, biomedical sciences and biotechnology major, have received the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship. The Goldwater Scholarship,…

Mr. Sachit Shah is working on nanoscale polyelectrolyte complex micelles for their potential application as carriers of nucleic acids and proteins for targeted drug delivery. He is also investigating the effects of added temperature-responsive functionality as a controlled-release trigger and the molecular dynamics of the carriers and their cargo.

Emmanuel Okogbue got selected as a finalist for the Lemelson-MIT competition.   This’s an extremely competitive & prestigious platform, only selecting a very small number of top grad students nation-wide. If the process is the same as in previous years, there are about 3 finalists in each category out of > 100 applicants. A small number…

Mrs. Mousumi is awarded as one of the best 5 speakers in the silicon for photovoltaics symposium at the MRS Fall 2020 Meeting. She is a graduate student working in Dr. Kristopher Davis’s research group. This year she has been awarded as one of the best five presenters in the silicon for photovoltaics symposium at…

Mr. Corbin Feit received the SVC Foundation scholarship from the Society of Vacuum Coaters in the amount of $2,500 for Spring 2021. The SVC Foundation has recognized Corbin as an enterprising student who has an interest in furthering his education in the field of vacuum coating technology. Corbin is a Ph.D. candidate in Material Sciences…

Ms. Kasey Rigby received the Burnett Honors College HUT scholarship in the amount of $1,000 for Fall 2020. Kasey is a junior majoring in Biomedical Sciences and has been working with Dr. Kausik Mukhopadhyay for her Honors undergraduate thesis through research in the MSE department. Based on Kasey’s excellent work in the Honors Undergraduate Thesis (HUT) program,…

Elizabeth Barrio (a NASA Research Fellow) just received the Luigi G. Napolitano Award.  “The Luigi G. Napolitano Award is presented annually by the Space Education and Outreach Committee (SEOC) of the International Astronautical Federation to a young scientist, below 30 years of age, who has contributed significantly to the advancement of the aerospace science and…

Our students are Honorably Mentioned the UCF student winner/category. Materials, Devices, and Enabling Technologies Awards Honorable Mention  Udit Kumar (Graduate student) University of Central Florida Postdoc Awards Honorable Mention Aadithya Jeyaranjan University of Central Florida Undergraduate Awards Runner Up Michael Hnatiuk University of Central Florida

MSE Grad Orientation 2020 agenda

Materials science and engineering centralize multiple disciplines: materials science, metallurgy, physics, biology, chemistry, nuclear engineering, and mechanical engineering. UCF researchers in the field have contributed to scientific advances as diverse as medicine and space exploration. UCF’s MSE graduates are sought-after by industry. Many become entrepreneurs by securing patents and starting promising companies. THE UCF DIFFERENCE…

UCF Student Wins National Public Health Award The U.S. Department of Human and Health Services recognized second-year medical student David Gittess (FIRE student from UCF COM, working with Dr. Seal) for his work with clinics that serve Apopka farmworkers and downtown Orlando’s homeless population. BY CHRISTIN SENIOR | APRIL 1, 2020 Before arriving at UCF in 2018,…

UCF’s most prestigious student award is based on academic achievement, university involvement, leadership and community service. BY GENE KRUCKEMYER ’73 | FEBRUARY 19, 2020   Twenty-four students —– ranging in disciplines from engineering to biology to education and more —– have been named as 2020 recipients of the Order of Pegasus, UCF’s most prestigious student…

At 2nd International Conference on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology-2019 (ICNAN ’19), VIT Vellore, India, the attendees came from 25+ Countries and participated with more than 1000 student applicants and 400+ presenters. More than 525 research papers were submitted, and over 60 globally renowned speakers gave their talk. Out of 1000 student applicants and more than 400…

MSE Ph.D. student Aadithya Jeyaranjan has been awarded the UCF Graduate Dean’s Dissertation Completion Fellowship. This fellowship provides a stipend of $10,000, tuition support, and health insurance for Spring 2020. This award is college nominated and is intended for students in their final semester of graduate education who have a realistic expectation of degree completion…

The second 3MT Winner is… By: Carreen Krapf on November 15, 2019 01:00 pm Frogs on fire, copper versus silicon, motivating volunteer combat fighters and lithium car batteries were just a few of the topics at the Second UCF Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition in the Live Oak Room. An event co-sponsored by the College…

In the last week’s Nano Florida conference, UCF student Emmanuel Okogbue received the 1st prize for his presentation in the Nanomaterials & devices session.  He was also selected to be the sole 1st prize winner with the highest score (i.e., 100) across entire sessions – out of a total of 133 contestants. His advisor is…

Student designed the T-Shirts, and we had many activities at Lake Claire

UCF students Sharron and Tin, at MS&T 2019 meeting, Largest Materials Science Eng meeting with Dept Chair. The Materials Science & Technology (MS&T) technical meeting and exhibition is the long-standing, recognized forum for fostering technical innovation at the intersection of materials science, engineering, and application. Each year, MS&T brings together scientists, engineers, students, suppliers, and…

Successful UCF graduate students from this year’s Graduate Research Forum and 3-Minute Thesis Competitions presented their research and competed for top honors in the state this week at the Statewide Graduate Student Research Symposium. The symposium, hosted by the Florida International University on behalf of the Florida Council of Graduate Deans, aims to promote the…

Minh-Chau N. Le, a mechanical engineering major and materials science and engineering minor, was named an honorable mention for the Goldwater Scholarship. The Goldwater Scholarship is a prestigious scholarship that seeks to identify and support college sophomores and juniors who show exceptional promise of becoming the United States’ next generation of research leaders in the…

Two of Assistant Professor Elizabeth Brisbois’ graduate students won awards for their posters at the Graduate Research Forum: Manjyot Kaur Chug — “Integration of Antifouling and Nitric Oxide Releasing-Polymer for Enhanced Biocompatibility of Insulin Cannula.” Manjyot has been selected to represent UCF at the statewide Graduate  Research Forum next week. Corbin Feit — “Development of…

Aviation Week Network, in collaboration with the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, has announced that materials science and engineering student Linda Rossmann has been named one of the 20 Twenties to watch in 2019. Rossmann and 19 other students in the nation were identified as the top aerospace-bound students from an international field of…

Doctoral candidate Abhishek Mehta is awarded the dean’s dissertation completion fellowship, which is worth $10,000 plus the cost of tuition. Mehta is a research assistant in Professor Yongho Sohn’s Laboratory of Advanced Materials and Additive Manufacturing. His dissertation work focuses on exploring the fundamental core effects in novel metallic alloys named high entropy alloys. Has…

Doctoral student Aadithya Jeyaranjan was selected to sit on the prestigious ASM International Board of Trustees as a student member. The selection was based on his excellent credentials, leadership experience, knowledge of the field and society. This unique opportunity will enable him to speak on behalf of students and gain first-hand experience with the issues and…

Materials science and engineering student Nileshi Saraf received a travel grant to present at the Americas International Meeting on Electrochemistry and Solid State Science. The meeting is a joint international meeting of the Electrochemical Society, to be held in Cancun, Mexico. Saraf won a grant worth $500 to present her work on organic electrochemical transistor…

Materials science and engineering students took home first and second place awards at the smart sensors workshop organized by the Florida chapter of the International Microelectrics Assembly and Packaging Society. Nileshi Saraf and Craig Neal, both of whom are advised by Professor Sudipta Seal, won the student poster competition this past August.

Materials science and engineering graduate student Craig Neal received the Young Investigator Award from the International Workshop on Radiation Damage to DNA. Craig was asked to deliver an oral presentation of his work at the 15th IWRDD conference in Aussois, France in the French Alps.