THE LATEST FROM THE UNIVERSITY
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The University of Florida Board of Trustees has named a Presidential Search Advisory Committee to guide the national search for the university’s next president. The committee brings together representatives from across the UF and State University System community, including trustees, faculty, students, alumni, administrators and external stakeholders. Members were selected for their breadth of experience and their willingness to devote the time and attention required for a comprehensive search for UF’s 14th president.
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Joe Glover, Interim Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, has announced the formation of an Engineering Dean Search Advisory Committee and the launch of a national search for the next dean of the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering. The committee will be chaired by David Norton, vice president for research, with support from the executive search firm Isaacson, Miller. The committee will review candidates and advance finalists for in-person interviews this spring.
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The National Academy of Inventors welcomed three new Gators as NAI Fellows this month: Abdelsalam (Sumi) Helal, Ph.D., Chris Malachowsky, M.S. and Mark Sheplak, Ph.D. These University of Florida engineering inventers are part of a larger cohort of 185 exceptional inventors — 169 from the United States and 16 international Fellows.
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University of Florida Associate Professor and researcher Nina Stark was named the new director of the Center of Coastal Solutions — known as CCS — within the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering. Stark currently serves as faculty lead of UF’s Coastal and Marine Geotechnics research group. Her new role started on Jan 1.
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A University of Florida research team with an eye on privacy and real-world impacts is working with government leaders and other universities to combat AI-based platforms that turn personal images into nude photos without consent
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Gator Pride on Ice: Cheer on Erin Jackson
Olympic gold medalist Erin Jackson (B.S. MSE ’15) is back on the world stage, representing Team USA at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. Be sure to tune in on Monday, Feb. 9, at 11:30 a.m. EST for the 1,000m, and again on Sunday, Feb. 15, at 10 a.m. EST for the 500m, on your favorite channel or streaming platform to cheer on our very own Gator Engineering Olympian.
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NEWS FROM AROUND THE COLLEGE
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Nicholas Rudawski, Ph.D., an electron microscopy expert at the University of Florida’s Nanoscale Research Facility, is helping students and researchers from around the world use electron microscopes and understand electron microscopy, one video at a time.
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As artificial intelligence becomes woven into everyday life, UF researchers are working to make sure the technology learns safely. A new paper from the University of Florida and Visa Research introduces a training method designed to prevent AI models from memorizing sensitive information — a growing privacy risk in modern machine learning systems. The work, titled “Deep Learning with Plausible Deniability,” was showcased in early December at NeurIPS 2025, one of the world’s most prestigious AI conferences.
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The Quantum Day Symposium at the University of Florida took place on Dec 10, with 20 keynote and lightning presentations, including discussions on quantum computing in semiconductors, quantum spintronics for future computing, property-guided generative models for molecules, magnetic molecules as qubits, design automation for quantum computing integrated photonics, cryogenic CMOS, mapping atomic landscapes for quantum innovation and quantum + AI topics. UF is expected to lead the nation in translatable quantum research and producing leaders in the field, particularly in national security.
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The University of Florida’s Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure & Environment, or ESSIE, is part of a project that recently received the Excellence in Partnering Award by the National Oceanographic Partnership Program for its collaborative, multi-institutional effort aimed at improving prediction of coastal storm impacts. ESSIE’s team focused on creating models to predict such complex storm effects as breaching, erosion, water levels and property damage.
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Neha Rani, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Computer & Information Science & Engineering, is working to understand the factors that contribute to students’ patterns of AI reliance. She and her team want to help students use AI tools more effectively.
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Amie Baisley, Ph.D., the Thomas O. Hunter Rising Star Instructional Associate Professor in the Department of Engineering Education, whose research focuses on assessment strategies, has led to the development of new assessment tools, including mastery-objective rubrics, a grade dashboard and a sentiment analysis tool to identify student tone in written reflections.
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CELEBRATING OUR FUTURE ENGINEERS
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From left, Sofia Serna (SHPE UF president, 2023–24), Sebastian Sobrino-Gonzalez (president 2025–2026) and Juan Valderrama (president 2024–2025) pose with their chapter awards in Philadelphia.
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Winning the Gold Award two years in a row is a substantial point of pride for the chapter. Chapter leaders were especially overjoyed to receive the award with previous generations of leadership in attendance. Three former SHPE UF presidents — Juan Valderrama, Sofia Serna and Jorge Moros — were able to join the festivities in Philadelphia.
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Gator Robotics members John Flaacke, left, and Brooks Silber show off Steggy, left, and Termigator.
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Nursing battles wounds and awaiting repairs, Steggy and Termigator the battle bots are back in Gainesville after a smashing December showing at the National Havoc Robot League World Championships.
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The American Institute of Steel Construction’s Steel Teaching Sculpture, installed in the mid-1980s, was designed to give students a new way of visualizing the complex 3-D connections involved in steel construction. In a December, sculpture-side meeting of his Analysis & Design in Steel class, Professor of Practice Taylor Rawlinson, Ph.D., P.E., asked students to identify the sculpture’s different types of structural members and connections as they circled the sculpture.
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The Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering is mourning the loss of Stephen J. Pearton, Ph.D., a distinguished professor emeritus in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE), who died on Dec. 7. A world-renowned materials scientist, Pearton was celebrated for his pioneering work in semiconductor technology and his decades of service to his beloved University of Florida.
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Long-time, beloved University of Florida engineering professor Robert Thomas Dehoff, Ph.D., died on Jan. 7 in Gainesville. A founding member of the Department of Materials Science & Engineering, DeHoff played a key role in shaping the department and advancing the study of materials science.
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GRATEFUL RECOGNITION - $100,000+ GIFTS
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We are deeply grateful to those whose generosity helps Gator Engineers be future-ready leaders through bold research, hands-on learning and forward-thinking innovation!
Chuck Kung & Lisa Guerra Innovation Fund – To support new innovation investments that have the potential to achieve transformative change across the College.
Chang & Szalay Samaritan Biologics Endowed Professorship in Biomedical Engineering - To support an endowed professorship in the J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering.
Gonzalez Family Endowed Fund - To support the ECE's educational purposes and the department's greatest needs.
The Rhines Award - An award recognizing ECE department faculty who lead major center grants of $40M or more, including programs such as NSF, ERC and STC.
Hsing Foundation - Research support for ECE in Large Language Modeling and Power Electronics and EMI.
The Malachowsky Family Professorship – An award to support professorships in Electrical & Computer Engineering leaders in artificial intelligence.
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Mark your calendar for Gator Nation® Giving Day!
Every year, Gators everywhere come together to help fuel discovery, advance innovation and expand opportunity on Giving Day. Be ready sure to show your impact on Feb 19, Gator Engineers!
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SUPPORT ENGINEERING STUDENTS
Gifts made to the Dean’s Excellence Fund help students through experiential learning opportunities that emphasize team-based learning, hands-on projects, student-organized competitions, internships, and externships to develop their leadership and innovation skills.
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