The student speaker application for the 2022-2023 academic year will open January 17th, 2023. The deadline to submit your application is Friday, February 24, 2023 at 5PM.
Spring 2021 Guest Speaker
Dr. Gary Miller
Dr. Gary Miller is a founder of Exactech and was named executive vice president of research and development in February 2000. Since the company’s inception, he has served as the company’s director and vice president of Research and Development.
Miller received a Bachelor of Science from the University of Florida, a Master of Science in Biomechanics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Florida. Gary has served as associate professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and director of Research and Biomechanics at the University of Florida College of Medicine from July 1986 until August 1996. He has also previously held an adjunct associate professorship in the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Small Animal Surgical Sciences Division and has served as an adjunct associate professor in the Department of Aerospace, Mechanics and Engineering Sciences from 1995 until 2010 at the University of Florida. He currently serves on the Dean’s advisory board in the Wertheim College of Engineering at the University of Florida. He also serves on the College’s external advisory boards for the J. Crayton Pruitt Department of Biomedical Engineering and for the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, where he also is appointed as Courtesy Professor. Miller was a consultant to the United States Food and Drug Administration from 1989 to 1992 and has served as a consultant to such companies as Johnson & Johnson Orthopaedics, Dow-Corning Wright and Orthogenesis.
Spring 2021 Student Speakers
Dr. Kathleen Plinske
Kathleen Plinske currently serves as Executive Vice President and Provost at Valencia College in Orlando, Florida. Following a national search, she was recently named as Valencia’s fifth President, and will begin in this new role on July 1, 2021. Prior to joining Valencia in 2010, Plinske began her career at McHenry County College, a community college in her hometown of Crystal Lake, Illinois.
A graduate of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, Plinske attended Indiana University as a Herman B Wells Scholar, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and Physics with highest distinction and honors. A member of Phi Beta Kappa, she completed a Master of Arts in Spanish from Roosevelt University, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Florida, and a Doctorate in Educational Technology from Pepperdine University. She has recently completed a Master of Science in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the University of Florida.
Blake Studer
Born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, Blake Studer is the third Studer brother to attend the University of Florida, though the first to study engineering (much to the excitement of his engineer father). Coming from an Air Force family, aviation and the study of leadership have always had a special place in Blake’s heart and have inspired him to accept a job as an associate quality engineer at Northrop Grumman in St. Augustine upon graduating with his Industrial and Systems Engineering degree. At the University of Florida, Blake has been fortunate to study abroad in Rome and fill many leadership positions within student organizations. Blake has served as the President of the Engineering Ambassadors and Freshman Leadership Engineering group, Vice President of the Engineering Leadership Circle, and as a Lead Scholar in the Reitz Scholars Program. Blake is beyond thankful for his loving family and friends throughout this journey.