Students

Every year on the first Wednesday of April, UCF honors the outstanding accomplishments and contributions of our people on Founders’ Day, our annual celebration of the employees, faculty, and students who keep reaching for the stars. The entire UCF community was invited to join us at these special events, held in the Pegasus Ballroom of…

Student Research Week is an annual university event that allows students of all majors to showcase a particular project from their area of study. More than 700 students participated this year, including over 120 undergraduate and graduate students from the College of Engineering and Computer Science. Students presented their research through several sessions throughout the…

A UCF materials science and engineering master’s student has taken top honors for his work on thin films fabrication. Eric Bissell took first place at the 2025 Florida Semiconductor Summit student poster session for his work, “Atomic Layer Deposition on Powders for Precisely Engineered Microstructure and Composition Control of Sintered Ceramics.” Bissell says he was…

Pritha Sarkar, a graduate student in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, has been selected for the American Heart Associations’ Predoctoral Fellowship. This opportunity is awarded to students who are enrolled full-time in a nursing, public health, or a clinical science doctoral program. Between 100 and 130 students from are selected for this fellowship…

Faculty are always recognized for their research, but during Student Research Week, UCF turns the spotlight toward students. At the Student Scholar Symposium, the main event of Student Research Week, more than 800 students with over 600 projects present their research to their peers, faculty, staff and judges who award the top poster presentations. This…

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.…

This weekend, Sharon Park ’19 ’20MS is traveling 900 miles for what will appear to outsiders to be a five-second walk across the stage at Addition Financial Arena. Like the rest of the 1,700 participating graduates expected to attend this special commencement celebration, Park completed the requirements for her degree in 2020, but the Florida Board of…

A record-breaking 16 UCF students and alumni were named National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellows this year — with an additional seven singled out for honorable mentions. Started in 1952, the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program is the oldest graduate research program of its kind and recognizes graduating seniors and first-year graduate students studying…

Gary Hoppenworth, a computer science and mathematics major, and Ashley Santana, a biomedical sciences and biotechnology major, have received the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship, the first time two UCF students have qualified for the scholarship in the same year. The Goldwater Scholarship, named after former U.S. Sen. Barry Goldwater, was established by Congress in 1986, and recognizes college sophomores or juniors who show…