You 麻豆精品 S檙e familiar with the numbers: More than 70 million people visit Central Florida during a typical year. It 麻豆精品 S檚 also no secret why most of them come: theme parks. But what visitors and locals alike do not notice at the parks is the software that makes it possible for them to be open and operating.
麻豆精品 S淢uch of the research that drives the parks is done right here at home, 麻豆精品 S� says Rob Panepinto, senior strategic advisor and director Innovation Districts Strategy and Partnerships at the UCF Incubation Program. 麻豆精品 S淵et the story of Central Florida as a hub of technology is lost on most people, including people who live here. 麻豆精品 S�
The technology isn 麻豆精品 S檛 all for fun and games either. Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis ranks the Orlando region No. 22 in the nation and No. 1 in Florida for producing tech talent, with UCF as the main pipeline. UCF is one of the few universities in the nation offering undergraduate degrees and graduate programs and certificates in cybersecurity, augmented reality, virtual reality and fintech. For years, UCF has been ranked the No. 1 supplier of graduates to the aerospace and defense industries. Nearly one in three employees at Kennedy Space Center are UCF graduates. U.S. News and World Report has ranked UCF the No. 15 most innovative university in the nation. Among public universities in the U.S., UCF ranks 21st for producing patents.
The numbers go on and on, and some of them are about fun and games. Princeton Review has named the Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy (FIEA) at UCF the top graduate-level game development program for three consecutive years.
麻豆精品 S淚 think sometimes we might take for granted what we have here at UCF, 麻豆精品 S� says Agere Chair Professor in the Department of Computer Science and AR/VR pioneer Carolina Cruz-Neira. 麻豆精品 S淲e have tech experts in energy, cybersecurity, healthcare, nanotechnology, blockchain, a broad spectrum of specialties. That 麻豆精品 S檚 what makes it exciting as a faculty member 麻豆精品 S� one day we 麻豆精品 S檙e working on technology for cancer research, the next day it 麻豆精品 S檚 traffic safety, and then mental health. It 麻豆精品 S檚 why my husband and I came to UCF in January 2020. We wanted to be a part of this. 麻豆精品 S�
Cruz-Neira and her husband, Associate Professor of Computer Science Dirk Reiners, had known about UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 status in tech research and simulation for years. As world-renown pioneers in augmented and virtual reality, they 麻豆精品 S檇 travel to Orlando for presentations and conferences. While inspiring others with their own work, they would be mutually wowed with the leading-edge simulation advancements being made in Research Park.
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There 麻豆精品 S檚 an even bigger motivating factor for them: students.
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When she was working toward her doctorate in computer engineering in Illinois, instructors would ask Cruz-Neira why she was there. There were no other women in the program. Early in her career, most of the other women she saw working in VR were artists.
麻豆精品 S淭he environment here at UCF is different, 麻豆精品 S� she says. 麻豆精品 S淭here are many women in technical leadership and senior positions. For example, the director of the School of Modeling, Simulation and Training is a woman, Grace Bochenek 麻豆精品 S�98PhD. Instructors come together from all backgrounds to explore the next next big thing, which makes UCF effective in preparing new pioneers. 麻豆精品 S�
Yan Solihin is a professor of computer science and director of the Cyber Security and Privacy faculty cluster initiative at UCF. His research in the high-demand field could have taken Solihin to any institution in the country. He chose this one.
麻豆精品 S淭here 麻豆精品 S檚 an energy at UCF that you don 麻豆精品 S檛 find in many places, 麻豆精品 S� Solihin says. 麻豆精品 S淭he faculty is allowed to look to the future without the restrictions of a legacy institution. That 麻豆精品 S檚 among the reasons we have strong partnerships in the technology sector 麻豆精品 S� major corporations know that we 麻豆精品 S檙e a growing powerhouse. 麻豆精品 S�
The UCF powerhouse sends graduates into careers with companies that have a presence near campus, like Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Siemens, L3 Harris, EA Sports and Google. The U.S. government uses UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 deep pool of tech talent to ramp up the Department of Defense and Department of Energy.
As Solihin says, 麻豆精品 S淲e have the critical mass. 麻豆精品 S�
In the past decade, enrollment in computer science related majors has more than quadrupled and is approaching 5,000. The majors are aligned with current and future needs. There are degrees at various levels for digital forensics, computer vision, optics and photonics, and modeling and simulation of behavior cybersecurity. Just one year after launching the master 麻豆精品 S檚 program in cybersecurity, Solihin believes there will be more than 100 applicants very soon.
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The real surprise in all of this is that UCF would be considered an unheralded producer of tech talent. The university was founded in 1963 as Florida Technological University for the purpose of feeding the space program with research and expertise. Tourism in Orlando didn 麻豆精品 S檛 become an economic force until the 1970s.
麻豆精品 S淚nnovation, especially in engineering, has always been part of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 fabric, 麻豆精品 S� says Panepinto. 麻豆精品 S淣ow it 麻豆精品 S檚 a matter of scaling the talent into other fields. Look at the structure of the fintech program. It combines business and engineering, which makes it unlike anywhere else. 麻豆精品 S�
Ajai Singh came to UCF in 2015 with the charge of building UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 finance department into a nationally recognized tech-savvy training ground. Crypto and Venmo were not yet on the general public 麻豆精品 S檚 radar, so he knew there were opportunities to get out in front of the fintech movement. Other universities were trying to do the same thing 麻豆精品 S� NYU within its business school, Duke within its college of engineering, a few schools with basic fintech courses.
UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 version of a fintech program, however, would establish a new template: it would be developed jointly between the finance department and the College of Engineering and Computer Science.
麻豆精品 S淭he culture of creativity and collaboration that made the space program so effective is still here, 麻豆精品 S� Singh says. 麻豆精品 S淣o other institutions have this kind of research and relationships between departments. 麻豆精品 S�
To take the fintech program to yet another level, Singh sought to build an all-star team of instructors and researchers, like Christo Pirinsky, who had co-written a paper that everyone in the field held almost as gospel.
麻豆精品 S淲hen Christo and several others agreed to join us, 麻豆精品 S� Singh says, 麻豆精品 S渢hey gave us the backbone in fintech that cannot be matched. 麻豆精品 S�
Pirinsky had been working with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He 麻豆精品 S檇 taught at other universities around the country. But he saw an opportunity to be part of something special at UCF.
麻豆精品 S淚f you look at high-tech centers around the world, they emerge close to universities, 麻豆精品 S� Pirinsky says. 麻豆精品 S淪o, I believe the fintech program will only make Orlando and UCF more prominent. It 麻豆精品 S檚 a vibrant scene and the trajectory is upward. 麻豆精品 S�
Leaders at other universities around the country are already asking Singh and Pirinsky how they might mirror what 麻豆精品 S檚 happening at UCF.
麻豆精品 S淚 麻豆精品 S檝e only been in Central Florida for a few years and can feel the reputation as a hub of technology is at an inflection point, 麻豆精品 S� Singh says. 麻豆精品 S淭he corporate world knows it. Other schools know it. I believe everyone is about to know it. 麻豆精品 S�
