Category: spotlight

Mohamed Sugal (BSCS ‘21) was always captivated by video games as a child. They opened his eyes to a world of wonder and opportunity, sparking his interest in computing and technology. He also had the opportunity to learn personal computing with a friend and his tutor propelled this interest forward.   “It was my first […]

Gloria Katuka first saw a laptop when she was 12 years old, a moment she has never forgotten on her journey to becoming a computer scientist. Years later, Katuka has spent her time finding ways to bring computer science to K-12 students, even founding InTECHgrate, a nonprofit that provides after-school programs to bring computer science, […]

Chris Crawford, Ph.D., may have taken a different path in life had a storm not fried his computer. “It was literally a lightning strike that propelled me into computer science,” said Dr. Crawford (HCC Ph.D. ’17), an assistant professor at the University of Alabama Department of Computer Science. The computer was a gift from his […]

Growing up in Gainesville, FL, Rhonda Holt, the senior vice president of information technology at the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), assumed she would be pursuing aerospace as a profession. The space program was gearing up in Florida, and like many people, she had grown up watching space shuttle take-offs. But, after graduating from high school […]

Growing up in China, Chunbo “Chuck” Huang, Ph.D., (Ph.D. CE ’00), founder and CEO of Citcon, didn’t know that one day he would become a computer scientist. After he won the national level high school math and physics Olympiad competitions, he received an offer from Tsinghua University to attend and pick any major. “Although I […]

Finding a Community at the University of Florida Engineering may not have always been a dream shared by triple Gators Dan and Teresa Nieten. Dan (BSECE ’92; MSCE ’04; Ph.D., CE ‘11), at one point, wanted to be an astronaut, and Teresa (BSECE ’92; MSCE ’04; Ph.D., CE ‘11) wanted to be a veterinarian. But […]

The University of Florida Department of Computer & Information Science & Engineering (CISE) is proud to announce the graduation of Brianna Posadas, Ph.D., the first Latina to earn a doctoral degree from the department. Dr. Posadas, who wants to pursue agricultural technology policy and usability in agricultural engineering design, passed her dissertation defense in April […]

The University of Florida Department of Computer & Information Science & Engineering (CISE) is proud to announce the graduation of Stephanie Carnell, Ph.D., the first Native woman doctoral student in the department. According to the Taulbee Survey, which started documenting Ph.D. graduates by race and gender in 2013, only one American Indian or Alaska Native […]