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A passion for helping others and the technical expertise to make it happen recently earned a global prize for CREOL graduate Ceyhun Akcay, Ph.D., ’05. As senior director of research and development at medical technology company Alcon, Akcay builds lenses to correct cataracts, the leading cause of preventable blindness. The implantable lens developed by Akcay…

Brian Monacelli, Ph.D., ’05, may have recently helped send a laser-based Raman and fluorescence spectrometer to Mars on the Perseverance rover, but the achievement he’s most proud of might surprise you. Monacelli’s passion is rooted in teaching and supporting technicians to ensure their success in the workplace. His interest in education began as a youth,…

A childhood growing up in the shadow of the Pentagon led Jennifer Hewitt, a Ph.D. candidate at CREOL, the College of Optics and Photonics, to pursue a path that will lead her back to her roots. The Maryland native has strong family ties to her motivation for working for the U.S. Department of Defense. “A…

Proposals from CREOL Professor Shin-Tson Wu, Ph.D., to slim down and evolve augmented and virtual reality displays are the subject of a new feature in Light: Science and Applications. The article details how to take advantage of the recent development of miniaturized optical devices. These advancements offer unique opportunities in the ongoing challenge of evolving…

  The work of two graduate students in CREOL, the College of Optics and Photonics, recently earned them recognitions from industry leading organizations. The International Liquid Crystal Society presented Kun (Kelly) Yin and Jianghao (Jasper) Xiong (Jasper) Xiong with the Diamond and Platinum awards, respectively.  Another CREOL student, Tao Zhan, received the Platinum award in…

Innovative research underway in CREOL, the College of Optics and Photonics, received several spotlights in the latest issue of UCF’s main publication, Pegasus. A super-resolution microscope funded by $3.3 million in grants is one of them. Assistant Professor Kyu Young Han, Ph.D., is building the microscope to study the movement and network of proteins that…

BY ZENAIDA GONZALEZ KOTALA UCF is joining LaserNetUS, a consortium of the nation’s best large laser facilities started by the Department of Energy as a part of a broader strategy to boost the nation’s standing in intense laser science. The invitation-only 11 member- network boasts big players in the laser research world, including Lawrence Berkeley…

By ZENAIDA GONZALEZ KOTALA & ALLISON HURTADO Pegasus Professors Peter Delfyett, Ph.D.., and Kathleen Richardson, Ph.D., were among the 15 faculty recognized Wednesday night at the annual Luminary Awards Night. UCF leadership lauded faculty members for being leaders in their fields and conducting work that has had a significant impact on the world. COVID-19 disrupted…

BY ZENAIDA GONZALEZ KOTALA The Directed Energy Professional Society (DEPS) recently awarded three UCF graduate students scholarships worth up to $10,000 to continue their work in the area of directed energy. The students, Jessica Peña ’19, Owen Thome and Nicholas Vail are all part of the Laser Plasma Laboratory, which is part of UCF’s Center for…

When Peter Delfyett first fell in love with science during elementary school, he imagined he would grow up to be a paleontologist. Instead, the Pegasus Professor of optics and photonics has spent his career developing futuristic technology. From lasers that are used to cut Gorilla Glass for Samsung phones to fiber-optic cable technology that allows…

A chance encounter in the workplace is what led Rebecca Venegas, M.S ’20, to find her purpose as an electro-optics engineer. Venegas, a scientist who specializes in integration and characterization of EO systems, was looking for meaning in her work after graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a degree in Astronautics and Aeronautics.…

The Army Research Lab has awarded the University of Central Florida a $4.5 million grant to develop a smart, computer vision-based navigation system for when GPS is unavailable or jammed. The system will be like a cyber co-pilot that supports navigation of ground vehicles by using artificial intelligence and machine learning to assess computer imaging…