Photonic science and engineering alum Alejandro Lopez Zelaya ’25 is proud that his professional journey is continuing near the community that helped him grow into an emerging tech leader.  

“Central Florida is my home, and I’d like to be part of this community for as long as I can,” he says. 

That plan fell into place when he landed a job at Lockheed Martin, a UCF Pegasus Partner, just weeks after graduating with his bachelor’s. His new role as an electro-optical engineer associate in Lockheed Martin’s Orlando Missiles and Fire Control division involves developing new imaging systems — a project that comes with its own challenges.

“These systems make use of sensors specific to the mission,” says Lopez-Zelaya, who is part of the 83% of career-ready UCF alums who help fuel Florida’s workforce, “And we’re concerned with how these sensors generate images, so we take the optics and other sources of noise into consideration.” 

That’s exactly the skillset he honed during his time at CREOL. In addition to engineering and physics concepts, CREOL students learn the hands-on methods necessary to build optical and electro-optical systems — allowing them to contribute to technological developments that benefit humanity. Lopez Zelaya says he now puts that training to use every day. 

“Somebody who doesn’t have an optics and photonics background can’t truly engage in these discussions,” he says, “Because they don’t understand the basics of what is actually happening in these systems.” 

Lopez Zelaya’s early career success is a continuation of the legacy he built during his undergrad years. Between classes that taught him MATLAB, display technology, image processing and semiconductor devices, he got involved as an undergraduate student research assistant. He also volunteered at Grace Medical Home, served as president of the IEEE Photonics Society student chapter and served on UCF’s President’s Leadership Council. His dedication to both professional development and his fellow students led to his induction into Order of Pegasus, the most prestigious award UCF bestows upon students.

Lopez Zelaya says UCF’s culture of creating lifelong learners prepared him well for his next steps at Lockheed Martin. 

“Everybody is willing to learn something new about optics,” he says, adding that he’s often a source of expertise for questions that arise in the field. 

Lopez Zelaya’s quick transition illustrates the value of the talent pipeline CREOL supplies to the Central Florida photonics industry. As a valued, longtime member of CREOL’s Industrial Affiliates Program, Lockheed Martin’s partnership has strengthened both the available opportunities for students and collaborative research efforts that aim to benefit the industry at large. And as a new Pegasus Partner with UCF, Lockheed Martin’s investment in the future will make impacts far beyond CREOL’s walls, building on a longstanding and pragmatic focus on talent pipeline. 

With a 7-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio, CREOL’s students are in a unique position to have a small-college experience at a big university. Lopez Zelaya says he’s glad to have found a similar sense of community at Lockheed Martin.

“There’s a misconception that new technologies mostly emerge from startups, but a lot of them are being developed here,” he says. “Development is fun — taking a concept and making it into a working product.” 

Lopez Zelaya says he’s proud to put those skills to use in his hometown, and for a company that’s leading the way in emerging optical technology – positively contributing to Central Florida’s economy along the way.

“It’s one of the best ways to make an impact here,” he says.