Four UCF professors have been named this year 麻豆精品 S檚 Pegasus Professors, UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 highest faculty designation.
Pegasus Professors are selected by the president and provost and are recognized for excellence in the teaching, research and service. This year 麻豆精品 S檚 honorees include innovative researchers who have not only made a difference at UCF, but nationally and internationally.
Stephen Fiore 麻豆精品 S檚 classrooms and cognitive science gatherings have birthed hundreds of ideas for dissertations, publications, research projects and even apps, in settings he calls 麻豆精品 S渁nti-disciplinarian. 麻豆精品 S�
Jane Gibson is a medical geneticist and molecular pathologist who uses genomic technology to improve patient diagnostics and treatment, and shares a career of knowledge with the next generation of medical professionals.
Jennifer Kent-Walsh built a center from the ground up at UCF to help people of all ages who live with barriers caused by communication disorders.
Marianna Pensky opened new doors 28 years ago as the first woman faculty in UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Department of Mathematics, and has influenced the field through research and mentorship.
The four professors will be recognized Wednesday during the Founders’ Day Faculty Honors Celebration from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Student Union Pegasus Ballroom.
Stephen Fiore
Professor, cognitive sciences
Director, ,
,
Few people know: He spent so much time working in restaurants during college that he once considered a career in the restaurant business.
Stephen Fiore arrives 30 minutes early to move the furniture for the classes he leads. A handwritten note sometimes greets him. 麻豆精品 S淧lease put the chairs where you found them when you 麻豆精品 S檙e finished. 麻豆精品 S�
Fiore is half-tempted to ask, 麻豆精品 S淲hy? 麻豆精品 S�
The circular format he employs has proven to open the gates to some of the most constructive conversations about some of the strangest questions you can imagine. Do dogs think about the future? What does a tick experience when landing on a person 麻豆精品 S檚 flesh?
If the topics sound odd, that 麻豆精品 S檚 perfect.
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His students have done plenty with their off-the-wall questions over the years. They 麻豆精品 S檝e pursued research projects, published papers and written dissertations. Two students recently joined Fiore 麻豆精品 S檚 Cognitive Science Lab, helping work on grants studying social cognition in human-robot interaction and how AI affects teamwork.
The common denominator is the questions that no one would dare ask out loud anywhere other than Fiore 麻豆精品 S檚 group settings. He calls his classes 麻豆精品 S済atherings. 麻豆精品 S� He says they are 麻豆精品 S渁nti-disciplinary. 麻豆精品 S� He never lectures.
麻豆精品 S淢y role is to create the right environment for conversation, 麻豆精品 S� he says, 麻豆精品 S渁nd then I shut up and listen. 麻豆精品 S�
The computer scientist learns perspectives from the anthropologist. The sociology graduate listens to the biology graduate. Together, they dig deeper than they could ever dig within their own colleges or own heads.
Does the ocean have a memory? The question could, and has, led to ideas to study beach erosion. How about ants 麻豆精品 S� does the shape of their nests alter social behavior? This one has spawned theories about architecture.
麻豆精品 S淲hen we 麻豆精品 S檙e specialists in a field, we might not see the big picture, what I call 麻豆精品 S榙isciplinary myopia, 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� Fiore says. 麻豆精品 S淥r we might look down on ideas from other fields, what I call 麻豆精品 S榙isciplinary disdain. 麻豆精品 S� I try to help others avoid these see me practicing what I preach. 麻豆精品 S�
Fiore 麻豆精品 S檚 methods are so intriguing that he 麻豆精品 S檚 been invited to give more than 120 presentations around the world and co-authored more than 200 peer-reviewed papers. He 麻豆精品 S檚 played a role in securing more than $30 million in grants. One question, however, causes him to stumble when it comes up: 麻豆精品 S淗ow did he get here? 麻豆精品 S�
麻豆精品 S淭hat 麻豆精品 S檚 not so easy to answer, 麻豆精品 S� he says.
To summarize, Fiore attended junior college out of high school 麻豆精品 S渇or the heck of it. 麻豆精品 S� He realized he enjoyed learning and studied at the University of Maryland before moving to the beach with two degrees and a craving for fun.
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Fiore happened to pick up a brochure describing a seminar on the brain. A little more research led him to a field called 麻豆精品 S渃ognitive psychology. 麻豆精品 S� He quit his job and went back to school to study how people think, remember, and solve problems. He also volunteered in labs where he worked with researchers from all fields of expertise.
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Like, what new knowledge can be created from the collisions of ideas from people with vastly different perspectives?
麻豆精品 S淵ou know the saying, 麻豆精品 S楳any hands lighten the load? 麻豆精品 S� It works with minds, too. We need to invite more of it. 麻豆精品 S�
Jane Gibson
Professor, pathology
Chair,
Associate dean for Faculty Affairs
Director, Molecular Diagnostics
Few people know: She was a candidate for the astronaut program in the 1990s before realizing claustrophobia 麻豆精品 S減robably wouldn 麻豆精品 S檛 bode well in a spaceship. 麻豆精品 S�
As one of the foremost researchers and clinicians in medical genomics and genetics, Gibson knows the literal definition of 麻豆精品 S済roundbreaking. 麻豆精品 S� In fact, 15 years ago she could have taken her expertise anywhere in the country. She 麻豆精品 S檇 already set up the genetics program for Orlando Health and directed another for Ameripath (before it became Quest Diagnostics). But in 2008 she chose to take all her expertise to an empty field in Lake Nona.
麻豆精品 S淭here was nothing but dirt, bulldozers and cows, 麻豆精品 S� Gibson says of the site that would become UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 College of Medicine. 麻豆精品 S淲e didn 麻豆精品 S檛 even have running water. But that 麻豆精品 S檚 what excited us: we had a blank slate to create something extraordinary. 麻豆精品 S�
Gibson 麻豆精品 S檚 mother always encouraged her to 麻豆精品 S渟hoot for the stars, 麻豆精品 S� to look beyond what is and see what could be. Instead of seeing a field of cows and the shell of a building, Gibson and half a dozen other doctors envisioned the home of a world-class medical center. There would be a hospital, labs and freedom to extend the boundaries of medical science. Most important, there would be students with equally big dreams.
麻豆精品 S淚t comes down to this: We want to expose them to the latest discoveries and technologies of a precision medicine and genomics era and then send them into the world to make lives better, 麻豆精品 S� Gibson says.
She doesn 麻豆精品 S檛 simply talk about discoveries in genomics and precision medicine. She makes them. Her dad did the same thing as a plant geneticist. Gibson would watch him crossbreed vegetables to find more resilient varieties in his greenhouses. Early in her career, Gibson attended a conference in Colorado and happened to sit around a campfire with Mary-Claire King, who said she 麻豆精品 S檇 been researching how breast cancer and ovarian cancer ran in families. Her groundbreaking research is now legendary: A mutation of the gene called BRCA1, which causes hereditary breast cancer and is now tested along with other genes as a standard of patient care
麻豆精品 S淭he genetic cause of cancer was mostly unproven at the time, 麻豆精品 S� Gibson says. 麻豆精品 S淏ut right after that, the field just exploded. Now we use the genomic testing every day in patient care. I 麻豆精品 S檓 blessed to have been on the leading edge of it. 麻豆精品 S�
It all fits her decision to choose a pasture over an established institution 15 years ago. 麻豆精品 S淭o whom much is given, much is expected, 麻豆精品 S� she says, quoting a verse that directs her life. Gibson and her colleagues consider the College of Medicine a gift to the Orlando community. From it, more than 1,000 graduates have gone out to advance research and to care for patients who need something more tangible than a ray of hope: they need smart practitioners.
A week before learning she had been selected as a 2023 Pegasus Professor, Gibson went to a doctor 麻豆精品 S檚 appointment 麻豆精品 S� this time as a patient. In the office, she saw a reminder of why she chose this path: a former student, now a doctor, making lives better in our community.
麻豆精品 S淭hat 麻豆精品 S檚 what we envisioned when we entered uncharted waters, 麻豆精品 S� Gibson says, 麻豆精品 S渁nd it still inspires me every day. 麻豆精品 S�
Jennifer Kent-Walsh
Professor, communication sciences and disorders
Founder and director,
Associate dean of Research,
Few people know: She was a Highland dancer and traveled across Canada and to Scotland to compete and perform in festivals representing her Scottish heritage.
Before she dove into speech-language pathology as her calling and before she developed the FAAST Assistive Technology Center at UCF from scratch, Jennifer Kent-Walsh learned to pay attention. She grew up in communities on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, where people expected an honest answer when asked, 麻豆精品 S淗ow are you? 麻豆精品 S� And they 麻豆精品 S檇 listen.
麻豆精品 S淧eople looked out for one another, 麻豆精品 S� Kent-Walsh says.
Her father was a minister, and her mother was a teacher and vice principal. Not surprisingly, Kent-Walsh started her career in classrooms, teaching in England and Canada. Something kept grabbing her attention.
麻豆精品 S淭he students, 麻豆精品 S� she says. 麻豆精品 S淪ome had communication disorders that created barriers to the power of education. In math, for example, the numbers weren 麻豆精品 S檛 necessarily the problem. It was often the words and understanding the language that caused students challenges. 麻豆精品 S�
Her interest shifted to speech-language pathology for her graduate education. During a clinical placement, she met a young woman who completely lost the ability to speak due to complications during a routine surgery. Kent-Walsh saw it as another example of the profound impact communication disorders can have on patients and their families.
麻豆精品 S淲hen a person is unable to effectively communicate, it affects everything in life. I realized that I wanted to be involved in research so I could help find meaningful solutions to provide every person with effective ways of communicating, whether or not they have functional speech. 麻豆精品 S�
Turns out, Kent-Walsh would build a place to do just that at UCF, where she was offered the opportunity to create an advanced research and educational center focused on assistive technology.
麻豆精品 S淭he university had an openness to innovating and developing new curriculum and clinical experiences for students. For me, it was exciting and intimidating at the same time, 麻豆精品 S� she says.
With encouragement from the department chair, Jane Lieberman, Kent-Walsh wrote the first research and service-delivery grants to get things started. She pulled together clinical faculty, academic faculty, students and community stakeholders, and together they began to work with clients and families to help break communication barriers experienced by adults and children with significant speech impairments. Along with her primary research collaborator at the University of New Mexico, Cathy Binger, the UCF team paired language therapy with augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) technologies to support clients, their loved ones, and service providers. Since then, Kent-Walsh and her team have secured millions of dollars in funding from local, state and federal sources to advance their research and service-delivery missions.
麻豆精品 S淲e 麻豆精品 S檝e been intentional about leveraging the power of AAC technologies by employing both direct language interventions with clients and indirect interventions with the other significant people in their lives from day one, 麻豆精品 S� Kent-Walsh says. 麻豆精品 S淧arents of the children who participate in our research often tell us their kids are speaking more and they 麻豆精品 S檙e excited to use technology as one of many modes of communication 麻豆精品 S� whether it 麻豆精品 S檚 a high-tech device like an iPad with a speech output application, picture symbols in a communication book, or gestures. 麻豆精品 S�
Twenty years ago, Kent-Walsh had to convince others, one by one, to give these ideas a chance. Today, professionals from around the world access the published findings and contact her team of collaborators to learn how to apply them and to report the positive outcomes they have seen from implementing the AAC interventions developed at UCF. Thousands of undergraduate and graduate students have taken what they 麻豆精品 S檝e learned into their own work. Some of them have returned to UCF after practicing clinically to join Kent-Walsh and her team to advance research.
麻豆精品 S淲e 麻豆精品 S檙e light-years ahead of where we were, not because of me, but because so many people have invested themselves in this mission to ensure every person is able to communicate effectively. 麻豆精品 S� And there is still much more work to be done to ensure every person enjoys the right to communicate and to achieve their full potential, 麻豆精品 S� she says.
Marianna Pensky
Professor, mathematics
,
Few people know: She 麻豆精品 S檚 only had one job interview in her life 麻豆精品 S� at UCF.
In 1995, Marianna Pensky, a single mother from Russia with two sons, interviewed at a university in Orlando she 麻豆精品 S檇 never heard of. Pensky was a good match for the Department of Mathematics since they needed redeveloping of the probability and statistics sequence for the newly approved mathematics Ph.D. program, and she was an expert. The job was hers if she wanted it. At the urging of her sons, Pensky accepted it.
麻豆精品 S淚 had only four days to sign the offer commit to immigrating and be completely on my own with children. I was scared to death, 麻豆精品 S� Pensky says. 麻豆精品 S淏ut everything worked very well. 麻豆精品 S�
Pensky 麻豆精品 S檚 hiring is a milestone in UCF history, as she 麻豆精品 S檚 the first woman faculty in the mathematics department.
麻豆精品 S淚t is a huge mistake that many girls think that they have to choose between career and family, or that they cannot succeed in sciences, 麻豆精品 S� she says. 麻豆精品 S淏oys are not any better at sciences than girls. 麻豆精品 S�
Pensky says the culture at UCF helped her to explore and experiment with her research. She 麻豆精品 S檚 authored more than 100 publications, including a major work on reliability theory and journal articles about statistical inverse problems, Bayesian statistics, statistical genetics, wavelets and signal analysis. She 麻豆精品 S檚 also received uninterrupted U.S. National Science Foundation funding for more than 20 years.
Her work has paved the way for more women to join the math and statistics faculty. They serve as role models for female students to pursue careers in science and teaching.
Pensky has also influenced dozens of graduate students as an advisor and by serving on Ph.D. committees. She 麻豆精品 S檚 developed a variety of special topic graduate courses that covered novel areas of statistics. And through these course materials she 麻豆精品 S檚 impacted the research of computer science, engineering, physics and statistics students.
UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 mathematics department carries significance to Pensky 麻豆精品 S檚 personal life, too. It was there she met her husband. Their daughter arrived the same week as Pensky 麻豆精品 S檚 tenure letter. Now, she is a grandmother, and her family keeps growing.
When asked what makes her most proud of the Pegasus honor, Pensky stumbles over the word 麻豆精品 S減roud. 麻豆精品 S� She 麻豆精品 S檇 rather use 麻豆精品 S渉appy 麻豆精品 S� because she values the feeling over pride and achievements.
