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Ali Hurson 麻豆精品 S�80PhD is quite familiar with what it feels like to be a pioneer.

A computer science student in the 1970s, when computers had a fraction of the popularity they do today, he was accustomed to having just a small cohort of colleagues and friends who understood the kind of work he was doing.

Fast forward to 1980 and he truly would be a pioneer 麻豆精品 S� the first Ph.D. graduate of UCF.

While he was pursuing a Ph.D. at the University of Iowa, where he was a research assistant, his advisor 麻豆精品 S� the late Professor Amar Mukherjee 麻豆精品 S� was offered a faculty position at UCF.

麻豆精品 S淚 was tired of the cold weather, so I followed him, 麻豆精品 S� says Hurson, adding that although warmer weather was appealing, it did take a little bit of convincing for him to make such a big move.

麻豆精品 S淥ne of the challenges of being a Ph.D. student at the time was word processors, computers, workstations 麻豆精品 S� these were not popular [or widely accessible] at the time, 麻豆精品 S� Hurson says. 麻豆精品 S淯CF supplied all that for me and hired staff to type and proofread my dissertation. 麻豆精品 S�

In 1980, UCF had just been approved by the State University System of Florida to offer a doctoral degree in computer science 麻豆精品 S� the first doctoral program at the university and the first computer science doctoral program in the state.

Hurson, who now is a professor of computer engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology, was an early adopter of computers thanks to his home country, Iran.

麻豆精品 S淐omputing, or the notion of computer science, was restricted to an elite group of people in society [in its early days]. I was among the small group of people who were exposed to computing. I saw the future in it and knew this was an area I had to invest in, 麻豆精品 S� says Hurson, who previously worked at a government information center.

He also aspired to teach because of his upbringing in Iran, where teaching was considered a privileged position.

麻豆精品 S淢y family motivated me. They sensed I liked studying and kept encouraging me to pursue my education as far as I could go, 麻豆精品 S� he says.

That privilege is something Hurson does not take for granted, even today.
麻豆精品 S淭o have a Ph.D. is to be privileged, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淣ot everyone is lucky enough to reach that point. I hope those who get it remember that. If you have the opportunity in the future to help others, please do so. 麻豆精品 S�

As Hurson thinks back on his days at UCF, he says he 麻豆精品 S檚 amazed by all the change and growth of opportunity that 麻豆精品 S檚 happened since the 麻豆精品 S�80s.

麻豆精品 S淲hen I came to UCF, there were about 8,000 students. It was very small. There was no Student Union like what the students know today, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淲hen I came back for a visit in the early 2000s, I couldn 麻豆精品 S檛 believe how much a university could grow in a short period of time. Now I hear about national rankings, centers around the campus 麻豆精品 S� it 麻豆精品 S檚 extraordinary. 麻豆精品 S�

To students today, especially graduate students, Hurson suggests this: Be consistent. Keep going. Doing research is a lot like growing up.

麻豆精品 S淭here is a lot of frustration because you are trying to solve an unknown, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淵ou often make a mistake. I let students know this is part of the deal. That 麻豆精品 S檚 a part of growing up. Learn from your failures. Look at them as part of the learning process. 麻豆精品 S�