2026 Symposium Agenda
Thursday, March 5
UCF Campus
12:00 pm – 4:00 pm
CREOL 102/103
4:00 pm
CREOL Lab Tours
5:00 pm
Distinguished Speaker
Mikhail Lukin
Harvard University, QuEra Computing, Inc.
6:15 pm – 8:30 pm
Student-Affiliate Mixer
Bounce House, 12100 Challenger Pkwy
Friday, March 6
Fairwinds Alumni Center
8:30 am
Welcome and Introduction to CREOL
9:15 am
Biomedical Photonics
Bruce Tromberg
Director of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health
Aristide Dogariu
CREOL Professor
10:15 am
Coffee Break
10:45 am
Industry Focus
Kent Rochford
CEO and Executive Director, SPIE
Jason Eichenholz
Founder and CEO, Relativity Networks
Company Spotlight Presentations
Jim Kafka
Immediate Past President, Optica
12:00 pm
Student Poster Elevator Pitches, Part 1
12:15 pm
Lunch Break & Company Exhibits
1:15 pm
Student Poster Elevator Pitches Part, 2
1:30 pm
Student of the Year Talk and Award
1:45 pm
State Quantum Initiative [FAQT]
Jason Mahon
Deputy Secretary for Economic Development and Chief Manufacturing Officer, Florida Department of Commerce
Andrea Blanco-Redondo
CREOL Professor
Paul Parazzoli
Public Sector Business Development, IBM Quantum
Noel Goddard
CEO, Qunnect
3:15 pm
Awards
3:30 pm
Ending Reception & Poster Session
Saturday, March 7
Lake Claire Recreational Area, UCF Campus
12:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Spring Thing Picnic
Hotels
Ask for UCF rates.