Alumni Stories

Gator Engineering has been around for a long time—almost 100 years. We have a rich heritage filled with graduates who have gone on to become influential community and industry leaders and remarkable researchers, including both the chairman of UF's Board of Trustees and the mayor of Gainesville, not to mention our dean. The University of Florida is a lifetime experience—once you're a Gator Engineer, you'll always be a Gator Engineer.

  • John Atanasoff: Electrical Engineering alumnus invents the digital computer

    April 25, 2005
    The son of an immigrant from Bulgaria, John Vincent Atanasoff paid his way through college at the University of Florida by doing everything from working in a phosphate mine to acting as head of science department for Gainesville public schools. After earning his bachelor's in electrical engineering in 1925, Atanasoff continued on to a career in academia. In 1942, he developed a device that would change the world forever. This article was originally published on August 22, 2003, as part of the university's 150th anniversary celebrations. It borrowed from an article first published in the January 1984 edition of The Florida Engineer, which commemorated the 100th anniversary of John Atanasoff's birth.

  • Pegeen Hanrahan: Environmental Engineer and Mayor of Gainesville

    April 22, 2005
    Pegeen Hanrahan is the mayor of the City of Gainesville, Fla. She also works as a conservation finance consultant with the Trust for Public Land. Hanrahan writes:

  • Nils Diaz: Nuclear engineering grad chosen as NRC chairman

    April 4, 2005
    Nils Diaz was a student at UF in the late 1960s. Graduating with his PhD in nuclear engineering sciences, Diaz has influenced both industry and government thoughtout his career. President George Bush recently appointed chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.



© 2005 University of Florida College of Engineering
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