Enter the shiny glass building known as the L3Harris Engineering Center near the center of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 campus. Look up. Dozens of banners hang proudly in the atrium the way they do in sports arenas. Now look more closely. The banners are reminders that UCF is home to two of the most successful high-tech teams in the nation: the prestigious and the prestigious . Separate teams. Separate accomplishments. Separate banners. Yet sometimes it 麻豆精品 S檚 easy for people outside the glass walls to mistake them for each other.
麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 like basketball and volleyball teams hanging championship banners in the same gym, 麻豆精品 S� says Glenn Martin 麻豆精品 S�92 麻豆精品 S�95MS 麻豆精品 S�12PhD, who competed on UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 computer programming team as a student before joining the coaching staff in 1994. 麻豆精品 S淲e want the cybersecurity team to do well because it elevates all of UCF, and I assume they feel the same way about us. 麻豆精品 S�
The founder of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 C3 team, Associate Instructor of Computer Science Tom Nedorost, credits the computer programming team for the setting a winning tone 40 years ago.
麻豆精品 S淭he success of both teams is the best indication of the quality of our undergraduate computer science and information technology programs. Their team set the precedent, 麻豆精品 S� Nederost says. Then he adds a neighborly jab. 麻豆精品 S淏ut I hung the first banners. They copied us. 麻豆精品 S�
Both teams continued their long streaks of success in 2022. Earlier in the year, two computer programming teams took first and second places among 70 teams at the Southeast Regionals (this marks the 40th straight year that at least one UCF team has finished third or higher at regionals). In November, UCF placed third in the nation and 26th in the world among 137 teams at the International Collegiate Programming Competition (ICPC) in Bangladesh.
While the computer programming team competed overseas at ICPC, two of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 cybersecurity teams were taking the top spots at the Department of Energy 麻豆精品 S檚 CyberForce Competition in Illinois. Three days earlier, they 麻豆精品 S檇 secured first and third places at the Aviation ISAC Student Cyber Challenge. A week later they won another competition in Idaho. The wins are hard to keep track.
麻豆精品 S淪chools from around the country know when our team walks into a building, 麻豆精品 S� says Nedorost, before adding a note that applies to the C3 and computer programming teams. 麻豆精品 S淲e 麻豆精品 S檝e been so successful for so long that people locally tend to become numb to it. They don 麻豆精品 S檛 realize the work that goes into continuing this level of success. 麻豆精品 S�
Computer programming stalwart Seba Villalobos finishes a five-hour practice with the satisfied exhaustion of someone who just finished training for a triathlon.
麻豆精品 S淲e want to win so we can hang another banner. That 麻豆精品 S檚 why we push each other. 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� Seba Villalobos, UCF Computer Programming Team member
For starters, they put in five hours every Saturday, all year long 麻豆精品 S� with one exception.
麻豆精品 S淲e took Thanksgiving weekend off, 麻豆精品 S� says Martin, a research associate professor at the UCF-based .
Each practice simulates a national or world competition, where teams of three students solve as many real-life problems as they can within the time allotted. They route fire trucks through city streets confused with closed intersections, arrange gate arrivals at a backed-up airport, determine the shortest distances for a series of shipments from various distribution centers.
麻豆精品 S淭he practices prepare them for the mental drain of competition, 麻豆精品 S� Martin says. 麻豆精品 S淭hey enjoy it enough to put in extra work. If you come to the labs late at night during the week, you 麻豆精品 S檒l find people practicing. 麻豆精品 S�
Everyone from the six-person coaching staff and 27-member team talks about 麻豆精品 S渃ulture 麻豆精品 S� as the biggest difference-maker. Villalobos is a National Hispanic Scholar who didn 麻豆精品 S檛 even like coding until coming to UCF. An Introduction to Computer Programming class sparked a bit of intrigue. Then, while working on an electric longboard in a lab, someone convinced Villalobos to try out for the computer programming team.
麻豆精品 S淚 didn 麻豆精品 S檛 quite make the team, 麻豆精品 S� Villalobos says of the tryouts that thinned 100-plus students down to 18 varsity and nine junior varsity competitors. 麻豆精品 S淚t drove me to train harder. 麻豆精品 S�
For the next few months, Villalobos practiced more than 40 hours a week. The work paid off when Villalobos was invited to join the JV team before eventually being promoted to varsity.
麻豆精品 S淚 had no idea how talented the other teams were until my first competition, 麻豆精品 S� Villalobos says. 麻豆精品 S淵ou see these students from MIT, Stanford, Russia and China. It 麻豆精品 S檚 a reminder that we can 麻豆精品 S檛 slack off. For every moment we aren 麻豆精品 S檛 training, other teams are getting better. There 麻豆精品 S檚 a saying we use: 麻豆精品 S楬ard work beats talent when talent doesn 麻豆精品 S檛 work hard. 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S�
麻豆精品 S淸The Cybersecurity Team’s] success adds fuel for us to do even better. 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� Seba Villalobos, UCF Computer Programming Team member
To be sure, UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 computer programming team has both: a deep pool of talented students who have to work to earn spots on a team that 麻豆精品 S檚 won bronze at worlds (in 2018) while traveling to Moscow, Portugal and Beijing. The most important props, though, come from their fellow Knights. During halftime of a football game last fall, UCF President Alexander N. Cartwright introduced the team to the home crowd.
麻豆精品 S淭hat was super cool, 麻豆精品 S� Villalobos says, before adding, 麻豆精品 S渂ut that same week the cybersecurity team got a big congratulations on a road sign for finishing first at a national competition. Their success adds fuel for us to do even better. 麻豆精品 S�
Cybersecurity mastermind Cameron Whitehead first became aware of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 national prestige when he saw a picture of the C3 team on a marquee in Times Square. He was 14 at the time. A year earlier he 麻豆精品 S檇 developed his own online video game. By the time he came to UCF at the age of 19, he already had a bachelor 麻豆精品 S檚 and two master 麻豆精品 S檚 degrees. He 麻豆精品 S檚 about to complete a third, in digital forensics. His reasons for coming to UCF had to do with those banners in L3Harris and some problems he encountered with his video game.
麻豆精品 S淚 discovered vulnerabilities in my game that fit with the research I 麻豆精品 S檓 doing on securing power grids, 麻豆精品 S� he says.
To dive even deeper into the tactical minds of bad guys, Whitehead and his sister, Caitlin, joined the Collegiate Cyber Defense Club (commonly known as Hack@UCF). Their skills stood out enough for Nedorost to pull them onto the national championship C3 team. Since March 2021, they 麻豆精品 S檝e stood on more than 12 podiums around the country.
麻豆精品 S淭hey develop the programming, and we find flaws in it. We both make the world better. 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� Cameron Whitehead, UCF Cybersecurity Team member
麻豆精品 S淲herever UCF goes to compete, it seems like we 麻豆精品 S檙e the defending champions, 麻豆精品 S� Cameron says.
On Nov. 2, the Whiteheads and Jeffrey DiVincent won the Aviation ISAC Student Challenge in Orlando. The next morning, they drove to Orlando International Airport for an early morning flight to Illinois, where they 麻豆精品 S檇 compete in CyberForce.
麻豆精品 S淲hen we went through security, I prayed no one would see my search history from the day before when the competition required us to understand and test airport security systems, 麻豆精品 S� Cameron says.
At the event he didn 麻豆精品 S檛 want the competitors from 108 schools to witness anything other than another win for UCF.
麻豆精品 S淲e 麻豆精品 S檝e set a high standard, and we use it get better every year, 麻豆精品 S� he says.
When he 麻豆精品 S檚 asked about the computer programming team, he says, 麻豆精品 S淭hey represent UCF, so I 麻豆精品 S檓 proud when they do well. They develop the programming, and we find flaws in it. We both make the world better. 麻豆精品 S�
