2021
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA
FOUNDERS’ DAY HONORS CONVOCATION 2021
WELCOME The Founders’ Day Honors Convocation celebrates outstanding academic achievements of our faculty members and students. As we recognize these achievements, we remember the efforts of those women and men who made this university a reality, and we prepare for the accomplishments of the future. Thank you for helping us honor the outstanding work being highlighted.
Table of Contents Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching
1
Excellence in Graduate Teaching
3
Excellence in Research
5
Excellence in Mentoring Doctoral Students
7
Excellence in Faculty Academic Advising
9
Excellence in Librarianship
10
Excellence in Instructional Design
11
Excellence in Professional Service
12
Recognition of Service to the University
13
Emeritus and Emerita
16
Reach for the Stars
19
Pegasus Professor
21
Student Awards
27
Acknowledgments
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E XCEL L ENC E IN UNDER GR ADUATE TE ACHING
C OL L EGE AWAR DS College of Arts and Humanities Francisco Fernández-Rubiera Martha García Duncan Hardy Alla Kourova
College of Business Administration Dana Wallace
College of Community Innovation and Education Marc Consalo Nicole Damico Taylar Wenzel
College of Engineering and Computer Science Tian Tian
College of Health Professions and Sciences Eunkyung “Muriel” Lee Danielle Webster
1
College of Medicine Alicia Hawthorne
College of Nursing Erica Hoyt
College of Optics and Photonics Peter Delfyett
College of Sciences Edward González-Tennant Amanda Groff Tamra Legron-Rodriguez Tammy Muhs Grace White
Rosen College of Hospitality Management Ray Eddy
UNIV ER S ITY AWAR D Amanda Groff College of Sciences
2
E XC EL L ENC E IN G R ADUATE TEAC H ING
C OL L EGE AWAR DS College of Arts and Humanities Cheryl Briggs
College of Community Innovation and Education Danielle Atkins
College of Engineering and Computer Science Dingbao Wang
College of Graduate Studies Joseph Kider Jr.
College of Health Professions and Sciences Matt Stock
College of Medicine Kenneth Teter
College of Nursing Christopher Blackwell
3
College of Optics and Photonics Axel Schülzgen
College of Sciences Güneş Tezcür
Rosen College of Hospitality Management Xiaoxiao Fu
UNIV ER S ITY AWAR D Matt Stock College of Health Professions and Sciences
4
EXC EL L ENC E IN R ES EAR C H
C OL L EGE AWAR DS College of Arts and Humanities Duncan Hardy
College of Business Administration Marshall Schminke
College of Community Innovation and Education Sarah Bush
College of Engineering and Computer Science Hassan Foroosh
College of Graduate Studies Joseph Kider Jr.
College of Health Professions and Sciences Matt Stock
College of Medicine Debopam Chakrabarti
5
College of Nursing Ladda Thiamwong
College of Optics and Photonics Kathleen Richardson
College of Sciences Peter Hancock
Rosen College of Hospitality Management Wei Wei
UNIV ER S ITY AWAR D Kathleen Richardson College of Optics and Photonics
6
E XCE L L ENC E IN MENTOR ING DOC TOR AL ST UDE NTS
UNIV ER S ITY AWAR D Xin He College of Business Administration
7
E XCE L L ENC E IN MENTOR ING DOC TOR AL ST UDE NTS
UNIV ER S ITY AWAR D Luis Rabelo College of Engineering and Computer Science
8
E XCE L L ENC E IN FAC U LTY ACADEMIC ADVISING
UNIV ER S ITY AWAR D Amanda Groff College of Sciences
9
EXC EL L ENC E IN L IB R AR IANS HIP
UNIV ER S ITY AWAR D Peter Spyers-Duran UCF Libraries
10
E XCEL L ENC E IN INSTR U C TIONAL DESIGN
UNIV ER S ITY AWAR D Kathleen Bastedo Division of Digital Learning
11
E XCEL L ENC E IN P R OF ES S IONAL S ERVICE
UNIV ER S ITY AWAR D Keri Watson College of Arts and Humanities
12
R ECO GNITION OF S ER V IC E TO THE UNIVE RSIT Y 20 Y EAR S College of Arts and Humanities
Florencio Hernández
Sabatino Dibernardo
Eugene Paoline
Fon Gordon
Mark Winton
Anthony Grajeda
Randall Hewitt
Anna Maria Jones College of Engineering and Computer Science
Thomas “Rudy” McDaniel Chistopher Niess
Linan An
Tison Pugh
Issa Batarseh
Claudia Schippert
Suryanarayana Challapalli
Steven Spencer
Matthew Gerber Dan Marinescu
College of Business Administration
Sumanta Pattanaik
Tarek Buhagiar
Yongho Sohn
Mark Dickie
Rajan Vaidyanathan
Steven Hornik Richard Lapchick
College of Graduate Studies
Stefanie Mayfield Garcia
Shawn Burke
Benjamin Rockmore
College of Community Innovation
College of Health Professions and Sciences
and Education
Bari Hoffman
Laura “Junie” Albers-Biddle
13
College of Optics and Photonics Shin-Tson Wu
College of Sciences Steven Berman Walter Sotero Suren Tatulian Nizam Uddin Graham Worthy
Office of Research Mikhail Klimov Kirk Scammon
UCF Libraries Richard Harrison Terrie Sypolt
14
R ECO GNITION OF S ER V IC E TO THE UNIVE RSIT Y
30 Y EAR S College of Arts and Humanities
College of Nursing
David Brunner
Mary Lou Sole
Robert Rivers College of Sciences College of Engineering and
Robert Peale
Computer Science
Morgan Wang
Alain Kassab Office of Research
Mansooreh Mollaghasemi
Jeffrey Sonne
40 Y EAR S College of Engineering and
College of Sciences
Computer Science
Michael Hampton
Samuel Richie
15
EMERITUS AND EMERITA Stephen Berman Professor Emeritus, College of Medicine
David Brunner Professor Emeritus, College of Arts and Humanities
Susan Chase Professor Emerita, College of Nursing
Steven Chicurel-Stein Professor Emeritus, College of Arts and Humanities
Sophia Dziegielewski Professor Emerita, College of Health Professions and Sciences
Maribeth Ehasz Vice President Emerita, Student Development and Enrollment Services
Robert Folger Professor Emeritus, College of Business Administration
Walter Gaudnek Professor Emeritus, College of Arts and Humanities
16
Robert Hoekstra Professor Emeritus, College of Engineering and Computer Science
Bernard Jensen Professor Emeritus, College of Sciences
Jeffrey Jones Vice Provost Emeritus, UCF Connect and UCF Global
Marcia Katz Professor Emerita, College of Medicine
Genaro Lopez Professor Emeritus, College of Medicine
Ronald Michaels Professor Emeritus, College of Business Administration
M.G. “Jim” Moharam Professor Emeritus, College of Optics and Photonics
David Nickerson Professor Emeritus, College of Sciences
Moshe Pelli Professor Emeritus, College of Arts and Humanities 17
Richard Peppler Professor Emeritus, College of Medicine
Debra Reinhart Professor Emerita, College of Engineering and Computer Science
John “Jack” Ryalls Professor Emeritus, College of Health Professions and Sciences
Dawn Trouard Professor Emerita, College of Arts and Humanities
Lynn Unruh Professor Emerita, College of Community Innovation and Education
Parveen Wahid Professor Emerita, College of Engineering and Computer Science
Alvin Wang Professor Emeritus, College of Sciences
Bonnie Yegidis Professor Emerita, College of Health Professions and Sciences
18
REACH FOR THE STARS
19
REACH Helen Huang
Adrienne Dove College of Sciences
College of Engineering and Computer Science
F OR
T HE Amber Southwell College of Medicine
STARS Mel Stanfill College of Arts and Humanities
20
Thomas Wahl College of Engineering and Computer Science
PEGASUS PROFESSOR
PEGASUS PROFESSOR ‘21
“The sun illuminates our path to sustainable energy and an innovative future.” ISSA BATARSEH came to UCF nearly 30 years ago. He began his research to discover how to take forms of energy and make them usable. He has created devices that allow us to use solar energy in our homes. His has created products that are cost-effective, safe and reliable. He and his team were called on by NASA to help fix power issues on the International Space Station. If there is one thing Batarseh loves more than his research, it’s his students. Many of them have gone on to lead companies and create lifechanging products. “Being a faculty member is the greatest thing in the world for me,” he says. “It is an opportunity to impact the lives of thousands of students.”
WATCH VIDEO
PEGASUS PROFESSOR ‘21
“Research to cure diseases.” CRISTINA FERNANDEZVALLE left Cuba as an infant and moved to Miami with her family who rebuilt their lives from the ground up. Her father went to law school again while working full time to support his family. The perseverance of her parents shaped her life. “I had the example of hard work and that you can achieve anything,” Fernandez-Valle says. “You can have everything taken from you, but you can never lose your education.” She researches neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder that causes tumors to grow on nerves and in the brain. It’s painful and debilitating, and there is no cure. She is trying to find a therapy to stop tumors from growing. Recently, a drug that she has been working on began a clinical trial – which is “like going to the Super Bowl,” she says.
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WATCH VIDEO
PEGASUS PROFESSOR ‘21
“It’s a privilege to play with ideas and words to find truth.” LUIS MARTÍNEZFERNÁNDEZ fell in love with history from listening to stories told to him by his grandmother, an immigrant who left Spain at the age of 15. “My life has had historical complications,” he says. “I was born in Cuba, we fled to Peru in exile but then had to leave again after a military coup to Puerto Rico. So from an early age I have seen the power of history.” It was his professors at the University of Puerto Rico that kept him in academia. He says they were true role models, and he knew he would be a historian and pass on what he had learned to future generations. He says he loves the curiosity that students bring to the classroom.
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WATCH VIDEO
PEGASUS PROFESSOR ‘21
“Authentic achievement requires authentic ethics.” MARSHALL SCHMINKE is a proud first-generation college student. He and his wife, Maureen Ambrose (also a Pegasus Professor), came to UCF in 1999 to build the doctoral program in the College of Business Administration. “When you can influence doctoral students, you’re shaping their professional life for the rest of their career,” he says. “You make sure when they leave, they are good researchers, good professionals, good mentors and that they care about students.” His field of business ethics is making sense of what is right and wrong, and continuing to enforce what is right in the workplace.
25
“Many people are smart but not eager to work towards something,” he says. “If you want to accomplish something meaningful, put your head down and work.” WATCH VIDEO
PEGASUS PROFESSOR ‘21
“Without kinesiology we wouldn’t be able to move forward.” JEFFREY STOUT had an expectant feeling twice in his life: when he first discovered the field of kinesiology, and when he was introduced to his wife. In those instances, he knew what his career would be, and who his life partner would be. Stout, a first-generation student, didn’t know what kinesiology was until he was an undergraduate and a professor told him about the field. He loves teaching, and he has served in various leadership roles. “Being a first-generation student has made me more aware of the students who are like me,” he says. “I was probably a little behind other students who had parents who went to college. So I look for them and try to mentor them.”
26
WATCH VIDEO
STUDENT AWAR DS F OU NDER S ’ AWAR DS College of Arts and Humanities
College of Medicine
Ryan Polk
Cathy Le
College of Business Administration
College of Nursing
Jaylen Brown
Chloe Fyre
College of Community Innovation and Education
College of Optics and Photonics Melissa Siver
Isabella Bustamante College of Sciences
College of Engineering and Computer Science
David Wright
Chloe Geller
College of Undergraduate Studies
College of Health Professions and Sciences
Victoria Alexander
Riley Shurack
Rosen College of Hospitality Management Elizabeth Hewitt
27
STU DENT AWAR DS HONOR S IN THE MAJOR College of Engineering and Computer Science Zachary Stein
College of Medicine Jacob Howard
College of Sciences Jenna Dovydaitis Sarah Swierz
OUTSTANDING MASTER ’S THESIS College of Engineering and Computer Science Daniela Diaz
College of Sciences America Edwards
O U TSTANDING DOC TOR AL DIS S ER TAT ION Department of Arts and Humanities
Materials Science and Engineering
Jasara Hines
Lin Hu 28
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Our sincere appreciation to the following groups and department personnel for their assistance: Commencements, Convocations, and Recognitions Committee Faculty Excellence Faculty Excellence Awards Committees Founders’ Day Committee Office of University Events and Engagements
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The University of Central Florida adopted the Pegasus as the university’s official symbol to reflect the institution’s purpose. The Pegasus represents the harmony between the humanities and the sciences and also the efforts of UCF, its students, staff, faculty, and alumni to Reach for the Stars.