Category: Alumni Spotlight

We’re proud to celebrate the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering alumni who were named to the 2026 Gator100, earning the distinction among the fastest-growing, Gator-led businesses worldwide. 

In a Q&A, Anil Rajvanshi (MAE ’79) explains his love for UF, India and making lives better.  

Every time Texas-based tech executive Steve Blum returns to his beloved alma mater in swampy Florida, he can’t help but smile.  

Farimah Farahmandi, Ph.D., Walden C. Rhines Endowed Professor for Hardware Security and associate director of the Florida Institute for Cybersecurity, has received UF’s 40 Under 40 alumni award. In April, Farahmandi will also receive the Distinguished Young Alumni Award from UF’s Department of Computer & Information Science & Engineering.  

For Hugo Ortega, a UF engineering-alumnus-turned-yacht-captain and reality star, being on Below Deck is a real-time test of the systems thinking and problem-solving skills he learned as a materials science major.

ISE supporter and former CEO made substantial impacts in the College of Engineering

Engineering alumnus and donor Neil Shopke was known for his generosity and ingenuity.

Growing up in Gainesville with a professor father, Pegeen Hanrahan adored going to the University of Florida Engineering Fair each year. It was a beloved family tradition that shaped her love of engineering and, certainly, the Gators.  

When University of Florida graduate Andres Espinosa isn’t optimizing supply chains, diving into transportation research or fine-tuning an artificial intelligence model to compose video game music, he often can be found on the pickleball court or strumming his guitar.

David Wantman, co-founder of a successful South Florida-based consulting, planning, surveying and design firm and 1990 UF engineering graduate, has been selected as a Distinguished Alumnus from the University of Florida.