Momentum Volume 4 | UCF MAE | 2019-2020

MOMENTUM UCF Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Orlando, Florida | Volume 4 | 2019-2020

UCF Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering | 1

Contents Letter from the Chair

3

Rising to the Challenge

5

Essential Engineering

6

Momentum is an annual publication that highlights the achievements of the students, faculty, staff and alumni from the University of Central Florida’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

A Drop of Innovation

8

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND COMPUTER SCIENCE Dean Michael Georgiopoulos, Ph.D.

Page 8

Supply and Demand Winning CAREERS

12 13

Alumni-Led Startup Wins $5,000 Fellowship

14

Nature Inspired

15

An Eye-Opening Experience

16

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL AND AEROSPACE ENGINEERING Chair Yoav Peles, Ph.D.

PUBLICATION PRODUCTION Marisa Ramiccio Communications Coordinator

CONNECT WITH US

@ucfmae mae.ucf.edu

2 | MOMENTUM Fall 2020

Taking Flight

Page 10

Page 15

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Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering University of Central Florida 12760 Pegasus Blvd.

Orlando, FL 32816-2450

letter from the

chair

Dear Friends, In an unexpected turn of events this year, we’ve all had to face a new and uncharted reality brought about by a worldwide, once-in-a-lifetime pandemic.

In mid-March, the University of Central Florida had to quickly pivot to remote teaching and learning model, which was no easy feat for a university with nearly 70,000 students. Our department not only faced the challenge of transitioning from face-to-face to remote classes mid-semester, but figured out how to continue our top-notch research in unusual and unprecedented circumstances.

Despite it all, our esteemed faculty members and extremely dedicated and competent staff members were able to excel. During these tested times, it became clear that we are not only a department of the highest caliber, but a community comprised of individuals who deeply care about each other. From my humble observation about how things played out, I’m extremely optimistic that we

are heading toward a great future together. I’m truly grateful to be part of the UCF community.

This is our fourth issue of Momentum, and while we usually don’t focus our content on public affairs, it became evident that this, too, would be another evolution caused by the pandemic. We would be remiss if we did not cover the spectacular efforts of our students, faculty and alumni who have put their innovative minds to the task of solving just a few of the many issues that have arisen from COVID-19. We’re proud of their efforts and we know that COVID-19 will continue to be a research focus well into the next year.

As you journey through this issue, you’ll find that we have many exciting stories to share beyond the pandemic.

Perhaps the biggest understated story of the last decade or so is the breadth and depth of UCF’s contribution to the aerospace industry. As you will read on page 11, UCF has been the No. 1 supplier to the industry for six consecutive years and is ranked the No. 2 preferred supplier in the nation

by Aviation Week.

This year was also marked by a record number of NSF CAREER awardees in MAE—three to be exact— and you can learn more about them and their research on page 12.

We’ve also introduced a new graduate level track in guidance control and dynamics this fall, and you can learn more about it on page 13. This will not only give the students in our mechanical engineering and aerospace engineering master’s programs more flexibility to adapt the programs to their interests, but it will also fill the industry’s need for employees with skills in this area.

Other interesting stories about our students and faculty are also detailed in this issue.

I hope you will enjoy reading this edition of Momentum. Above all, I wish you and your family the very best health during this pandemic.

Yoav Peles Chair, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering University of Central Florida

UCF Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering | 3

4 | MOMENTUM Fall 2020

RISING

TO THE CHALLENGE

They say hindsight is 20/20 — if only we had the foresight to see what 2020 would bring.

No one could have predicted that a global pandemic would turn the world upside down at the dawn of a new decade. But as the number of cases and complications from COVID-19 arose, our alumni, students and faculty set out to find solutions to the many challenges that have reshaped our daily lives.

UCF Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering | 5

ALUMNI

Essential Engineering When essential healthcare workers were in desperate need of face

shields, Limbitless Solutions stepped up to help. The nonprofit, which manufactures 3D-printed bionic arms and was founded by three-time MAE alumnus Albert Manero, joined a national COVID-19 coalition that was created to produce and provide personal protective equipment to those in need.

The coalition was created by Stratasys, a 3D printer company that has partnered with Limbitless to further support its development of bionic arms. Limbitless participated by 3D-printing visors, a critical component of face shields. Each visor was printed with one of four messages: “Hope,” “Love,” “Compassion,” or “We Thank You.” The visors were then delivered to an offsite location where the face shields were assembled and distributed.

A portion of the visors were also 6 | MOMENTUM Fall 2020

sent to Orlando Health to help local healthcare workers during the pandemic.

Overall, the coalition — which included organizations such as Blue Origin, Boeing, Medtronic, Andretti Autosports and the University of Minnesota — manufactured and shipped more than 275,000 face shields.

But as the crisis continued, visors weren’t the only PPE component that healthcare workers needed.

In addition to visors, Limbitless also began to 3D print earsavers, devices that hook the straps of a face mask behind the head to alleviate discomfort and pressure on the ears.

These were also provided to workers at Orlando Health.

Sharing Solutions As Limbitless shifted its focus to help others during the pandemic, it learned a few lessons along the way.

The nonprofit published an article on its findings in the Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. One recommendation offered

by Limbitless is for universities to build relationships with local hospitals so they can adequately support their 3D printing needs during future public health emergencies.

“We decided to share our analysis and recommendations in the manuscript because universities are part of their communities and uniquely positioned to be a part of solutions to global and local problems,” Manero told UCF Today. “We learned a lot from our experience and see the potential to help local hospitals be ready for next time.”

The article also discusses the challenges and benefits of 3D printing medical devices and PPE and offers recommendations for local and national collaborations during times of crisis.

STUDENTS Could Shockwaves Be Used to Evaporate COVID-19 Droplets?

With one sneeze or cough, droplets of COVID-19 can contaminate the air and transfer to surfaces. While we can clean and disinfect those surfaces, a better method that can also purify the air is needed.

Mechanical engineering student Marley Albright is trying to find that method.

Under the guidance of Associate Professor Subith Vasu, and with assistance from doctoral scholar Raghu Veera Kancherla, Albright is investigating the use of shockwaves to evaporate droplets of COVID-19.

She believes that shockwaves will break up the droplets, creating a smaller surface area that can be evaporated quickly. An added benefit to the use of shockwaves is that they will not damage surfaces.

to wear. They also plan to make it transparent, flexible, biodegradable and anti-bacterial.

Zapata and Gou are collaborating with Professor Olusegun Ilegbusi as well as Professor Bari Hoffman from the College of Health Professions and Sciences, and Assistant Professor Jeffrey Lehman from the College of Medicine. The group hopes to patent the device in the future.

Doctoral Student Develops Device that Could Diagnose Cancer Remotely

Face Mask Adaptor Could Lead to Safer Testing

Want to Learn More About Limbitless Solutions?

To read the full journal article, visit bit.ly/LimbitlessArticle.

To learn more about Limbitless Solutions, visit limbitless-solutions.org.

Because people can’t wear face masks when they get tested for COVID-19, the medical staff who test them put themselves at risk for catching the virus. But what if there was a way for people to be tested with their face masks on?

Undergraduate mechanical engineering student Jose Zapata has been researching the effectiveness of a face mask with a snap, or adaptor, attached to the front. The adaptor would allow a nasal swab to be inserted into the nose with a face mask still on, reducing the number of airborne pathogens that medical staff could be exposed to.

Zapata is conducting his research under the guidance of Professor Jan Gou. The two plan to test the face mask adaptor on patients to determine how comfortable it is

Prior to the pandemic, doctoral student Sakura Sikander was developing a novel healthcare device that would allow doctors to investigate and diagnose cancerous tumors remotely. Now, her research is more important than ever.

“In situations like this, if physicians would have the option of a remote touch feature, then patients would not need to visit hospitals for early diagnosis of cancerous tumors, and they could avoid possible exposure to such infectious diseases.”

Under the guidance of Associate Professor Sang-Eun Song, Sikander is developing a tactile display that will mimic the size and stiffness of the tumor and provide physicians with the sensation of a touch for an accurate diagnosis.

Her device would not only adhere to social distancing guidelines, but would be convenient for any individual who cannot easily access a healthcare facility in person.

For her work om this device, Sikander was named a Rising Star in Healthcare Innovations at the 2019 IEEE Healthcare Innovations and Point of Care Technologies Conference.

UCF Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering | 7

FACULTY

A DROP OF INNOVATION A team of University of Central Florida researchers is looking at

changing people’s saliva to help manage the spread of COVID-19 as the nation gets ready to go back to work and school.

The team is doing this through a recently awarded National Science Foundation Rapid Response Research Award for $200,000 to explore reducing COVID-19 transmission by making saliva heavier and stickier using candy or corn starch to help sneeze and cough particles fall rather than float.

The approach could lead to creating something as simple as a cough drop or lozenge that people would pop in their mouths before going into the grocery store, work or school.

“One way to kind of think about it is, for example, clouds are just little, tiny droplets that are suspended in the air for hours, and they just flow 8 | MOMENTUM Fall 2020

with the atmosphere,” said Mike Kinzel, an assistant professor in UCF’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering who is the project’s principal investigator.

“However, these droplets collide to form larger droplets that just fall out of the air,” he says. “That’s kind of the process we’re trying to promote.

We don’t want the droplets to blow around with the wind like a cloud, we want them to fall out of the sky like rain.”

A way to reduce transmission distance will be especially important as people return to work and school, where maintaining six feet of social distance may be difficult, said Kareem Ahmed, an assistant professor in the department and coprincipal investigator.

“The six feet is great as a general guide, but then in a confined environment like our offices, grocery stores, public transit or hospitals, these droplets are going to interact

with surfaces, HVAC systems or ventilations,” Ahmed said.

“So if we change the properties from the source, which is essentially our respiratory functions, whether it’s coughing, sneezing, speaking or breathing, then you’re simply going to reduce the amount that you’re producing, and hopefully bring the six feet to something shorter, where we can interact more,” Ahmed said.

“Based on our early data, coupling a face mask with saliva mixed with corn starch will potentially have us go from six feet to two feet for social distancing,” he said.

Leading the analyses of the effort are postdoctoral researchers Douglas Hector Fontes in Kinzel’s lab and Jonathan Reyes in Ahmed’s lab.

Fontes is running numerical simulations to study how differences in viscosity, density and surface tension impact droplet dispersal.

“Our preliminary results have shown a significant reduction in the

duration of droplet suspension in the air by changing the properties of the saliva,” Fontes said.

Reyes is using high-speed cameras to characterize the patterns and distance traveled of droplets emitted from sneezing and coughing, including those that have been altered by candy or starch.

He’s finding similar reductions.

“Our data have shown that altering the physical properties of the saliva shows great promise in reducing the exposure of a sneeze,” Reyes said. “Particulates travel shorter distances and fall faster.”

As part of the research, Reyes is also supplying the sneezing.

“If you know anyone who can sneeze on command, send them my way,” Reyes said.

The team is working closely with Jelena Catania, a doctor and expert in infectious diseases at UCF’s College of Medicine and the Orlando Veteran’s Administration Medical Center, for the implementation challenges, and Brent Craven, a researcher at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, for the potential implementation.

Kinzel received his Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from The Pennsylvania State University and joined UCF in 2018. In addition to being a member of MAE’s faculty, he also works with MAE’s Center for Advanced Turbomachinery and Energy Research (CATER).

Ahmed earned his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He is the director of UCF’s Propulsion and Energy Research Laboratory, a member of CATER, an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and a U.S. Air Force Research Lab Summer Faculty Fellow.

Written by Robert Wells for UCF Today.

Want to Learn More?

To learn more about Kinzel’s research, visit mae.ucf.edu/ CFAL. To learn more about Ahmed’s research, visit mae.ucf.edu/PERL.

AI Could Be the Key to Distinguish Beteen Symptomatic and Asymptomatic Patients

You can’t tell if someone is symptomatic or asymptomatic without a test, but Associate Professor Subith Vasu is developing a monitor that can distinguish between the two with one breath.

He and statistics Associate Professor Mengyu Xu are using artificial intelligence to develop a highly sensitive monitor that will be able to determine the concentration of COVID-19 markers in exhaled gases. The monitor will also be able to detect changes in the concentration of those markers as the illness progresses.

Vasu and Xu received a $40,000 grant to work on the device. They are one of five research teams at UCF to receive funding for COVID-19-related research through the university’s new Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Initiative, which aims to fund projects that find solutions to major research questions. A total of 23 research teams applied for the competitive grants. The top projects were selected by a group of researchers, faculty and administrators with expertise in big data and AI. “There were many really interesting and innovative projects that hold a lot of promise in the mix,” says Debra Rienhart, associate vice president for research and scholarship. “It was very difficult to select just a handful. We can’t wait to see where these projects go.”

To learn more about Vasu’s research, visit mae.ucf.edu/ VasuLab.

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SUPPLY AND DEMAND:

UCF Named No. 1 Aerospace, Defense Workforce Supplier, No. 2 Preferred Supplier by Aviation Week

For the sixth year in a row, Aviation Week Network has named UCF the

no. 1 supplier of graduates to the aerospace and defense agencies.

The university was also named the most preferred supplier in Florida and ranked No. 2 in the nation, just behind the Georgia Institute of Technology.

“The Aviation Week Network Workforce Study differs from other university ranking polls in one simple way — the universities and colleges are those that companies choose as their primary resources for the talented workforce needed for the future,” says Greg Hamilton, president of Aviation Week Network.

“Companies were asked to provide their top three universities in each category, with the aggregated data providing the final list of top schools.”

Engineering students were also surveyed and a random sample from 14 U.S. universities shows that 72 percent are interested in a career in aerospace engineering. The survey

also shows that cost and location are the primary factors that students use to choose their school.

UCF is located near aerospace and defense giants such as Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Siemens, L3Harris, and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, where 30 percent of workers are UCF alumni. Through the Center for Advanced Turbomachinery and Energy Research, the university partners with Aerojet Rocketdyne, Embraer and GE Global Research.

It also supplies a steady pipeline of students to the Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman work experience programs.

“Our relationships with these companies go well beyond being next-door neighbors,” says Ali P. Gordon, the associate dean of Graduate Affairs for the College of Engineering and Computer Science. “They’re key stakeholders in the college. We collaborate very closely with them to integrate their workforces’ future skillset needs into

our undergraduate- and graduatelevel curricula.”

The Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering launched the Ph.D. in aerospace engineering this past fall in an effort support the growing demands of the aerospace and defense industries. As of this fall, more than 13,000 students are enrolled in the College of Engineering and Computer Science. This past year, the college awarded 2,259 degrees across its graduate and undergraduate programs — an increase of 11 percent compared to the previous year. Many graduates from UCF’s College of Business, College of Sciences and other colleges also pursue careers in aerospace engineering and defense industries.

Aviation Week Network’s annual Workforce Study is sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers and created in partnership with the American Institute of Aeronautics and the Astronautics and Aerospace Industries Association.

Interested in a career in the aerospace industry?

Visit mae.ucf.edu to learn more.

UCF UCF Department Department of of Mechanical Mechanical and and Aerospace Aerospace Engineering Engineering || 11 11

Winning U

CF broke its own record Award Sleppy, recipients Shanice Jones, ‘18 for for the most number of National Science Foundation CAREER Christine ‘18 this year.

The university leads the state and ranks sixth in the nation for boasting 12 award winners, three of whom are mechanical and aerospace engineering faculty members. Assistant professors Ranajay Ghosh, Helen Huang and Andrew Dickerson were selected for this year’s award, and Huang even broke a record of her own — she is the first faculty member at UCF to receive an NSF CAREER Award and an RO1 grant from the National Institutes of Health.

“I’m so proud of our faculty members. These awards are only the tip of the iceberg and they demonstrate the stellar competency of our faculty as a whole,” said Yoav Peles, the chair of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. “This is just the beginning and I’m sure that there are many more to come.”

Winning “Structure-Property on the Outside: The Extreme Mechanics of Tunable Exoskeleton Structures”

“Leveraging Electroencephalography (EEG) Artifacts for Multimodal Neuromechanics”

Ghosh aims to discover and quantify the origins of extreme mechanical behavior of tunable exoskeletal systems, which would address many of the challenges of soft autonomous systems. Through his research, Ghosh intends to discover a central consequence of structure-property relationships, that of a building-block paradigm.

Huang aims to establish that EEG alone can be used for multimodal neuromechanics, which would eliminate the need for integrating multiple systems with EEG. With the award, she will also establish an outreach program, Neuromechanics^Girls, to support and encourage young girls who are interested in STEM.

To learn more about Ghosh’s research, visit mae.ucf.edu/COSMOS. 12 | MOMENTUM Fall 2020

To learn more about Huang’s research, visit mae.ucf.edu/BRAIN.

“Tuning Liquid Jet and Splash Dynamics By Deformable and Heterogenous Boundaries” Science has yet to physically model complex flow phenomena of liquid jet and splash dynamics in surfacetension dominated flows, but Dickerson intends to do just that.

His work will lead to the creation of new methods of fluid dispersal, and could even empower the next generation of airborne drug delivery systems and shift the paradigm in splash control.

To learn more about Dickerson’s research, visit dickersonlab.com.

Taking Flight:

MAE Adds Graduate-Level Track in Guidance Control and Dynamics S tudents who enroll in the mechanical engineering or aerospace

engineering master’s degrees at UCF now have not one, not two, but three tracks to choose from.

The department has introduced a guidance control and dynamics track this fall to fulfill the industry’s need for engineers with these skills.

The program was developed in collaboration with Lockheed Martin and is specifically designed for industry employees who want to learn a new set of skills or update their knowledge of systems design. The track will prepare students to design effective and efficient control

systems for autonomous vehicles such as drones, spacecraft and selfdriving cars. As the manufacturing of autonomous vehicles steadily increases, so does the need for engineers skilled in systems design.

“The applications for guidance, control and dynamics are ubiquitous in the aerospace and defense industry,” said Assistant Professor Tarek Elgohary, who developed the track. “As UCF leads the supply of talent to such industries, having a dedicated track addressing those areas for our graduate and professional students is only

natural. Our industry partners and collaborators expressed high interest in the new program as it will provide their existing and future engineers the necessary conditions to succeed and excel in their assignments.”

Students can enroll in the guidance control and dynamics track through either the Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering or the Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering.

They’ll be required to take courses such as Digital Control Systems, System Control and Intermediate Dynamics. Classes will be taught both in-person and online.

To learn more about the guidance control and dynamics track, visit catalog.ucf.edu.

UCF Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering | 13

Alumni-Led Startup Wins $5,000 Fellowship B

lackstone LaunchPad has announced that FLUIX LLC, a startup company co-founded by mechanical and aerospace engineering alumni Abhishek Sastri ‘20 and Eduardo Castillo ‘15MS ‘18PhD, is one of 50 companies selected to participate in the Summer Startup Fellowship.

The fellowship was developed

by Blackstone as a response to the Coronavirus pandemic, which has decreased internship and job opportunities, as well as business idea competitions, for current students and recent graduates.

More than 330 budding entrepreneurs from almost all 24 of Blackstone’s college-affiliated networks applied for the fellowship, which offers participants eight weeks of virtual mentoring, coaching and learning, along with a $5,000 grant.

Sastri said that he and the team at FLUIX are ecstatic about this opportunity.

“We are grateful for the Summer Startup Fellowship as it breathes new life into our company in the form of mentorship, funding, and guidance towards our milestones,” Sastri said.

“This is the first time we are about to launch a consumer product into a niche market, so the opportunity to gain insight and mentorship from entrepreneurs and industry professional who have done this before, is truly priceless.”

That product is the FLUIX 14 | MOMENTUM Fall 2020

CANVAS case, which is designed to keep PCs from overheating. As hardcore gamers, Sastri and Castillo wanted to find a way to keep their high-performing computers cool, and make the process of building them faster and easier. The duo developed a case with a patentpending cooling solution that keeps the internal components of the PC running optimally. The cases are also designed with aesthetics in mind so that gamers can feel proud to show off their equipment.

“Nowadays, gaming PCs are much more than high-tech computers — they are aesthetics pieces inside the game room and are an extension of the builder’s personality. It’s kind of like showing off a nice car,” Sastri said.

“We at FLUIX take incredible care is designing state-of-the-art liquidcooled cases that are meant to be shown off and educate the builder in the science behind keeping PCs cool.”

Sastri said that the pandemic slowed down the startup’s progress, but he’s ready to do what it takes to make it succeed.

“Growing a small business during these times can be tough and lonely, however, having the ability to connect with mentors at a national level shows that there are support groups wanting us to succeed,” Sastri said. “We know we have a lot of work to do, and we are ready to put one hundred and ten percent into this journey.”

Aerospace engineering alumnus Abhishek Sastri, ‘20

To learn more about FLUIX and its products, visit the startup’s website, fluixengineering.com.

Assistant Professor Kawai Kwok

U

CF engineering Assistant Professor Kawai Kwok studies the way insects fly and land on plants to inspire his understanding of deployable structures, which could one day help NASA more easily explore the solar system.

Deployable structures are those that can change their shape on command. Think of an umbrella, which uses mechanisms to change shape as a response to stimuli. Now imagine a spacecraft deploying a satellite with panels.

“Moving plants and insects change their shapes dramatically and rapidly to catch prey and take off from the ground,” says Kwok. “The mechanics behind it are quite complex but, if understood, has far-reaching applications for deployable space structures, robotics and even smart devices.”

Kwok and his team look at the diverse behavior of flexible structures and materials with microarchitectures, and to propose new designs by exploiting novel material and geometric characteristics.

Through computational modeling, experimental characterization, and device fabrication, the group is unlocking the secrets behind the mechanics and creating new structures and materials with multiple functionalities, he says.

NASA is particularly interested in understanding the shape accuracy and structural characteristics of

Nature Inspired:

UCF Engineer Studies Plants and Insects to Create Flexible Equipment

composite deployable reflectors and booms after long periods of packaging. That’s important when deploying satellites. Right now, the group is looking at the structure of antennas on space satellites in hopes of improving the antenna’s performance.

But space exploration isn’t the only application of Kwok’s work. His research not only dips into aerospace technology but also shape-memory polymers that react to certain stimuli through shapeshifting. This type of research can be used in wearable electronic devices and even seatbelts that absorb kinetic energy.

Kwok’s interest for shapes and how they bend, is only rivaled by his passion for teaching the next generation of engineers.

“As a faculty member, I have a team of graduate students with the freedom to tackle problems that are appealing to us,” he says. “This is the fun that keeps me going in the job.”

He has seen many students go on to land high-quality industry jobs they are truly passionate about.

“The biggest enjoyment is to see

students became passionate in the same subject and decided to pursue an engineering career later on,” says Kwok. “It’s rewarding to be able to closely interact with students, witness their intellectual development, and be part of their formative years.”

Kwok joined UCF in 2017. He holds multiple degrees including a master’s and a doctorate in aerospace engineering from the California Institute of Technology. His research areas also include flexible composites, high-temperature ceramics, instability and micromechanics modeling. Kwok has published numerous journal papers and was recognized with a 2010 NASA Tech Briefs Award. His students have also garnered awards including a 2018-19 NASA Florida Space Grant Consortium Fellowship.

Written by Simone Rousseau for UCF Today.

Want to learn more about Kwok’s research? Visit his website, mae.ucf.edu/kawaikwok.

UCF Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering | 15

“Life is not about how high you can climb, but the quality of the journey along the way.”

–Assistant Professor Andrew Dickerson

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An Eye-Opening Experience

While most Americans celebrated the new year with confetti,

kisses and champagne, Andrew Dickerson welcomed 2020 with new connections, a unique cultural experience and a fresh perspective on his career.

The assistant professor was one of 24 faculty members from across the U.S. who spent the beginning of the year in Israel as part of the Jewish National Fund’s 2019-20 Winter Faculty Fellowship Program. He was also the first faculty member from UCF to participate in the program.

The faculty fellowship, which is typically offered in both winter and summer, provides U.S.-based professors with a two-week, fully paid trip to Israel, where they travel to several universities in Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem and Beersheba to meet with other faculty from their disciplines. The goal is to foster community building, international

exchange programs for faculty and students, and international research collaborations.

Dickerson expects to collaborate with at least one faculty member from Ben Gurion University, but the personal connections he made on the trip were just as meaningful as the academic associations.

“I learned that no matter the field of expertise, people just want to laugh and have fun,” Dickerson said.

“There are other academics out there like me that don’t take life all too seriously and are at peace where they are in their careers, both on big and small stages. That’s refreshing. Life is not about how high you can climb, but the quality of the journey along the way.”

The trip wasn’t purely academic — the group also spent time sightseeing in Israel. While nearly every experience was meaningful to Dickerson, the most impactful moment was praying at the Western

Wall in Jerusalem.

“It was neat to see Jewish worshipers praying and chanting in the place they have done so for thousands of years, and in the shadow of the Dome of the Rock,” he said. “The experience represented reverence, devotion, and tolerance. I was able to put on a kippah and go to the wall to pray myself, no questions asked.”

Dickerson describes the trip as incredible, and recommends that any faculty member, from any discipline, participate in it.

“It was eye-opening, refreshing, fun, and informative. You cannot believe the sights you will see, the people you will meet, and the food you will eat!” Dickerson said.

“I loved Israel more and more as the trip drew on, and came away with a greater understanding of its cultural amalgamation and political challenges.”

UCF Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering | 17

Holy Water: Dickerson stands in the Jordan River at the site believed to be where the Israelites crossed from what is now Jordan into the Promised Land of what is now Israel.

A Historic Sight: The Western Wall of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Some historical implements are below. At the top is the Al-Aqsa Mosque, an important mosque in the Muslim faith.

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Hidden City: This is an excavated

settlement in Jerusalem, underneath what was a parking lot, believed to date back to the reign of King David. It is thus named the City of David.

Wall of Worship: Dickerson prays at the Western Wall, or Wailing Wall, of the Temple Mount. This is the holiest site in Judaism.

Keep Kosher: The fellows traveled to a culinary school in Tel Aviv to make their own dinner. The meal was kosher, of course.

Beautiful Botanicals: A view of the Bahá’í Gardens in Haifa.

The Bahá’í Gardens are terraced, with each representing a pillar of the faith. The Bahá’í faith is headquartered in Haifa.

To learn more about the Faculty Fellowship Program in Israel, visit ff2israel.org.

UCF Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering | 19

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 3575 ORLANDO, FL

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering College of Engineering and Computer Science University of Central Florida 12760 Pegasus Drive Orlando, FL 32816-2205

UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS

GRADUATE PROGRAMS

Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering

Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering

Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering

Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering

Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering

Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering

Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering

Masada National Park in Israel 20 | MOMENTUM Fall 2020

DOCTORAL PROGRAMS