On Wednesday, three faculty members will join an exclusive group in earning UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 highest honor 麻豆精品 S� the Pegasus Professor award 麻豆精品 S� during Founders 麻豆精品 S� Day. UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 president and provost select the annual honorees based on their global excellence in teaching, research and service.
Roger Azevedo is converting psychology theories into life-like models. Fevzi Okumus personifies the meaning of hospitality. Yan Solihin continues to build a force in cybersecurity education and training.
The uncommon drive of these three professors comes from childhoods spent in war-torn Angola, in a small village in Turkey and in one of the poorest areas of Indonesia. Each will receive $5,000 and have his picture displayed in front of the John C. Hitt Library. The UCF community is invited to celebrate these professors and additional honorees during the Founder 麻豆精品 S檚 Day Faculty Honors Celebration on Wednesday, April 2, in the Student Union Pegasus Ballroom.
For now, meet the UCF Pegasus Professors for 2025:
Roger Azevedo
Professor, School of Modeling Simulation and Training
Lead scientist and co-cluster lead, Learning Sciences faculty cluster initiative
Director, SMART Lab
Few people know: His dream as a kid was to move to Japan and become a ninja. It didn 麻豆精品 S檛 happen, but he did earn a black belt in Shaolin white crane kung fu. 麻豆精品 S淭he determination I use in physical training is the same determination I use as a scientist, 麻豆精品 S� he says.
It 麻豆精品 S檚 going to be a good April for Roger Azevedo. Three weeks after accepting his honor as a Pegasus Professor, he 麻豆精品 S檒l fly to Denver to be recognized as a fellow with American Educational Research Association.
麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 humbling, 麻豆精品 S� Azevedo says.
Those two words are not a copy and paste acceptance phrase, even for the man who 麻豆精品 S檚 already received prestigious awards from the American Psychological Association and U.S. National Science Foundation for his progress in developing artificial agents that embody psychological principles of learning, reasoning and problem solving to augment human knowledge and skills in K-12, healthcare and workforce development. Azevedo 麻豆精品 S檚 students sense a deep personal meaning every time he uses variations of the word 麻豆精品 S渉umbling. 麻豆精品 S�
Lead with humility. Stay humble. They fuel his work every day.
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Azevedo spent the first eight years of his life in the middle of a civil war in the African nation of Angola. Any remembrances of hobbies were blotted out by memories of the all-day, all-night sounds of mortal shells and bullets. To avoid sniper fire, his family would eat dinner on the floor of their small home with the lights turned off. Uncles, aunts and cousins vanished. Azevedo went to elementary school with the help of armed escorts.
麻豆精品 S淲e were more concerned about survival than education, 麻豆精品 S� he says.
He vividly remembers his family being ushered to an airport in the middle of the night and landing the next day in Montreal, with just the clothes on their backs.
麻豆精品 S淲e left everything behind, 麻豆精品 S� he says, 麻豆精品 S渂ut wow, even at that age I was thankful to have a second chance. Being an immigrant was not easy for us. The memory motivates me to be the role model that I didn 麻豆精品 S檛 have for most of my academic life. 麻豆精品 S�
Azevedo 麻豆精品 S檚 mother only completed fourth grade before she had to start working. His father made it through high school. Once in Canada, they eventually scrabbled enough money together to buy World Book Encyclopedias. That 麻豆精品 S檚 when Azevedo discovered his insatiable appetite for learning.
麻豆精品 S淚 could have thought, 麻豆精品 S榃ell, I 麻豆精品 S檓 just glad to be alive, 麻豆精品 S� and taken a job in labor. But I wanted to go against the grain. I 麻豆精品 S檓 still like that. While other kids were watching TV, I was reading. My parents said if I wanted to go to college, I 麻豆精品 S檇 have to figure it out, which was fine. I gladly worked three jobs to pay my own way. 麻豆精品 S�
Along that way, Azevedo took an Introduction to Psychology class and fell in love with the study of human behavior. He had an urge, however, to the theories into realms where they 麻豆精品 S檇 never been taken. Through modeling and simulation, he could help students become better learners, clinicians become more accurate diagnosticians, teachers and faculty understand their students 麻豆精品 S� learning needs in real-time, and professionals working in high-stress environments perform to the best of the capabilities. Azevedo 麻豆精品 S檚 curiosity opened doors to universities and conferences around the world until he entered into a conversation while visiting and presenting at UCF before the Learning Sciences faculty cluster initiative officially announced openings.
麻豆精品 S淭he people here weren 麻豆精品 S檛 just talking about using psychology in interdisciplinary research, they embodied the spirit of interdisciplinary research, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淪o, I accepted a position and started working with learning sciences and psychology students alongside computer scientists and engineers and various stakeholders to create intelligent systems to augment and support human capabilities and test their effectiveness. 麻豆精品 S�
They are now designing generative artificial intelligence-driven pedagogical agents to support learners 麻豆精品 S� thinking about thinking processes (such as metacognitive), building empathetic digital twins to be empathetic, so practitioners will be better equipped to help children and adults coping with end-of-life situations and other health challenges. Azevedo considers every aspect of his work a privilege, which rubs off on his students and postdoctoral scholars.
麻豆精品 S淲hen they share my excitement, I feel like a blacksmith with pieces of metal. I inject oxygen, fan the flames, delicately and progressively shape the metal, and turn them into swords, 麻豆精品 S� Azevedo says.
He pauses to briefly remind anyone listening, including himself, why he will move mountains for his students.
麻豆精品 S淕iven my background, this is all a pipedream 麻豆精品 S� earning a Ph.D. at an Ivy League school such as McGill [University], pursuing postdoctoral studies in cognitive psychology at Carnegie Mellon University, teaching across North America and other places in the world, and turning psychological theories into impactful, intelligent technological systems to benefit humans and society. I 麻豆精品 S檓 still just an immigrant kid who was lucky to survive. That 麻豆精品 S檚 why I 麻豆精品 S檒l do anything in my power to make sure all of my students have whatever they need to be successful, including the love of learning, spirit of innovation, intellectual curiosity, and the desire to use technology to benefit humans and society. 麻豆精品 S�
Fevzi Okumus
Central Florida Hotel and Lodging Association Preeminent Chair Professor
Founding chair of the hospitality services department at the Rosen College of Hospitality Management
Editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management
Few People Know: He 麻豆精品 S檚 traveled to more than 60 countries and has a goal of visiting at least 100. His favorite spots? The Maldives for location. The Azores for experiences. The Taj Mahal for human-made wonder. 麻豆精品 S淏ut Turkey will always be a special place to visit and let my daughters see my humble beginnings, 麻豆精品 S� he says.
Fevzi Okumus is passionate about teaching, research and working with industry partners. He teaches and works on research in the areas of strategic management, leadership and hospitality management. Okumus was recognized as a Highly Cited Researcher in 2021; 2022; 2023 and 2024 by Clarivate. But he calls himself an 麻豆精品 S渁cademic entrepreneur 麻豆精品 S� more than a teacher and researcher as he loves working on new initiatives. He can 麻豆精品 S檛 separate the academic whose influence has helped catapult UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Rosen College of Hospitality Management to No. 1 in the world for five straight years from the entrepreneur who dreams of opening his own hotel someday.
He personifies hospitality from classrooms to hospitality settings, with a perpetual smile and an innate desire to serve others.
麻豆精品 S淗ospitality is about making people happy and offering positive memorable experiences, 麻豆精品 S� Okumus says. 麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 a good fit for me as a teacher, too. I want my students to know the joy of reaching the highest standards of excellence. 麻豆精品 S�
As the founding chair of hospitality services at the Rosen College, Okumus has mentored and worked with more than half of the faculty members. He is very proud that Rosen College has an unheard-of job placement rate of over 90%. Graduates are raising the hospitality bar around the world, with many of them securing management positions within a few years of being hired. Alumni of the Rosen College are also taking research skills to universities around the country and adding to the home-grown faculty talent at UCF. As if all of this isn 麻豆精品 S檛 enough to fill Okumus 麻豆精品 S檚 calendar, he 麻豆精品 S檚 also the editor-in-chief of three well-known hospitality and tourism journals. He is the founding editor of two of them. In summers, Okumus co-lead hospitality camps to train high school students with disabilities for employment.
His smile never fades. Neither does his purpose.
麻豆精品 S淣othing is more important to me than serving and making a positive impact. It 麻豆精品 S檚 why I enjoy my work so much. 麻豆精品 S�
Okumus first learned hospitality from growing up in a small village near Bolu, Turkey, where yesterday 麻豆精品 S檚 strangers became today 麻豆精品 S檚 friends over home-cooked meals. As a teenager one summer, he visited Lake Abant and saw something he 麻豆精品 S檇 never seen: tourists. They looked different and were speaking different languages.
麻豆精品 S淚 wanted to know more about where these people came from, the hotels where they stayed, and what made them happy, 麻豆精品 S� Okumus says.
He enrolled in a vocational high school to learn hospitality concepts and he worked different hotel jobs possible to apply his skills: cooking, bartending, cleaning, running front desks and managing.
麻豆精品 S淚 found out in every role that you excelled by solving problems and making the guest experience better, 麻豆精品 S� he says.
Okumus thought he would use his growing knowledge that spanned all the way to a doctoral degree. He lived and worked around Europe and Asia working on research projects and teaching future managers at colleges. When he was invited to the Rosen College for a job interview in early 2005, he saw the state-of-the-art campus.
麻豆精品 S淚t had just opened, 麻豆精品 S� he says, 麻豆精品 S淚 called my wife in Hong Kong and said, 麻豆精品 S楾his is where we need to be. 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S�
One year after coming to the Rosen College, Okumus was promoted to associate professor and chosen to be the founding chair of the hospitality services department. Today, the college is known worldwide as the template of hospitality training with more than 2,000 undergraduates and 300 graduate students. Okumus becomes the first Rosen College faculty member to earn the Pegasus Professor distinction, in part because he exemplifies his own objective in hospitality.
麻豆精品 S淟ove and excel what you do and offer memorable experiences through serving, 麻豆精品 S� he says.
Graduates often reconnect with Okumus to thank him for impacting their lives. One, now the manager of a restaurant, told Okumus how his mentorship at UCF helped him overcome homelessness.
麻豆精品 S淵ou never know what types of challenges each student might be facing, 麻豆精品 S� Okumus says. 麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 another reason to have a servant leadership mentality. 麻豆精品 S�
Yan Solihin
Professor and director of the cyber security and privacy program
Charles N. Millican Chair Professor of Computer Science
Few People Know: His past hobbies have ranged from collecting insects around his home to learning how to play guitar. 麻豆精品 S淢y favorite is listening to Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits play his guitar in Sultans of Swing, 麻豆精品 S� he says.
To this day, Yan Solihin doesn 麻豆精品 S檛 know how his parents were able to buy a computer when he was growing up in Indonesia. He has no doubt, however, that the first time he turned on a PC it began to radically change his future.
麻豆精品 S淚 remember being astonished at what could be done on that single device, 麻豆精品 S� Solihin says.
With the unexpected introduction to technology, Solihin wrote his first program at the age of 10 麻豆精品 S� a game where the computer generated random numbers for players to guess. The game piqued his curiosity about how a computer could possibly generate random numbers and if they really were random at all. Those questions pulled him into cryptography, an area where computer science and math converge, and computer security. After nearly two decades of teaching and researching (including time with the U.S. National Science Foundation), Solihin came to UCF in 2018, where he 麻豆精品 S檚 launched two labs while guiding the university 麻豆精品 S檚 growth into a prominent hub of cyber security and privacy research and education.
The latest recipient of the Pegasus Professor honor has never stopped marveling at the power of computing. It 麻豆精品 S檚 just that the stakes are higher today than when he was typing words and creating games as a curious boy.
麻豆精品 S淲e have a long way to go to meet the need for more cybersecurity professionals, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淲itness the frequency of cyberattacks. Many organizations are short staffed to handle them. That 麻豆精品 S檚 why I came to UCF with its young spirit and open attitude to new ideas. Our goal since I arrived is to be one of the best places in the world for cybersecurity and privacy research and education. 麻豆精品 S�
Solihin has overseen a quadrupling in the number of faculty members specializing in cyber security, with more than 150 students now enrolled in the master 麻豆精品 S檚 in cyber security and privacy and 100 enrolled in the master 麻豆精品 S檚 in digital forensics.
麻豆精品 S淭he most exciting aspect of my job is mentoring and teaching. I feel like I 麻豆精品 S檓 taking students through a journey of exploration and discovery. It 麻豆精品 S檚 deeply fulfilling to instill a sense of awe, 麻豆精品 S� Solihin says.
Their awe connects him back to Indonesia, to his childhood home reachable only by foot or bicycle, where water had to be drawn from a well with a bucket and the walls were made of thin bamboo weaves. Solihin will never forget where his future began or the wisdom of his father, who sacrificed so much for that first computer: 麻豆精品 S淓ducation is the only means out of poverty. 麻豆精品 S�
麻豆精品 S淚t took time for those words to sink in, 麻豆精品 S� Solihin says, 麻豆精品 S渂ut they have guided everything I 麻豆精品 S檝e done in my professional life. 麻豆精品 S�
With this backdrop, you can understand why Solihin believes students with the same kind of drive can provide the energy to grow 麻豆精品 S渁 national powerhouse 麻豆精品 S� in cyber security and privacy education at UCF. You also realize why he says three factors motivate him whenever he wakes up.
麻豆精品 S淔or one, I believe in stewardship 麻豆精品 S� leaving whomever or whatever I am entrusted in a better place. I also consider it a blessing that I 麻豆精品 S檓 paid to do what I really like because not everyone can say that. And finally, the adventure of identifying problems and thinking of solutions makes every day exciting. To come from my childhood to where I am now, it still gives me a sense of amazement. 麻豆精品 S�
