Tarek A. Elgohary, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Email: elgohary@ucf.edu
Phone: (407) 823-4379
Office: ENG I, Room 216
Tarek A. Elgohary is an associate professor at the UCF mechanical and aerospace engineering department. He is the director of the Astrodynamics and Space Robotics Laboratory. Before joining UCF, he was a postdoctoral research associate at Texas A&M and a visiting scholar in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of California, Irvine. He received his B.S. in mechanical engineering from the American University in Cairo and his master’s degree and Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from Texas A&M University. His research interests are in astrodynamics, optimal control, robotics and space situational awareness.
- Heep Fellowship, Texas A&M Institute for Advanced Study, 2013-14
- Aerospace Engineering Graduate Fellowship, Texas A&M University. 2012-13
- Regents Fellowship, Texas A&M University, 2008-09
Post Doctoral Students
Dr. Tahsinul Haque Tasif
Lab Manager
- BS Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology
- PhD Mechanical Engineering, University of Central Florida
Research Interests: Astrodynamics, Non-linear Dynamics, Computational Methods, Optimal Control, Feedback Control, Robotics
Ph.D. Students
Joao Marcelo Rocha Belmonte
Ph.D. Student
- MS Mechanical Engineering, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University
- BS Mechanical Engineering, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University
Research Interests: Dynamics & Control, Space Systems, Robotics
Ovijit Bhattacharjee
Ph.D. Student
- BS Mechatronics Engineering, Khulna University of Engineering and Technology
Research Interests: Astrodynamics, Guidance Navigation & Control, Optimal Intelligent Control
RAU LANCE B. CUNANAN
Ph.D. Student
- MS Mechanical Engineering, Mindanao State University - Iligan Institute of Technology
- BS Mechanical Engineering, Mindanao State University - General Santos City
Research Interests: Computational Fluid Dynamics, Control Theory, Finite Element Analysis, Guidance Navigation & Control, Robotics, Space Environment
Matthew Crews
Ph.D. Student
- BS Physics , University of Nebraska at Omaha
Research Interests: Computational Physics, Electrostatics, Nuclear Physics, Plasma Physics, Quantum Mechanics
Bethany Hintz
Ph.D. Candidate
- MS Aerospace Engineering, University of Central Florida
- BS Mechanical Engineering, University of West Florida
Research Interests: Astrodynamics & Optimal Control
Awards:
- STEM+M Scholar (USAF)
- Outstanding Student Aware (UWF, 2019)
- Student of the Year: Experimental (UWF, 2019)
-President's List (UWF, 2018-2021)
Ryan Ketzner
Ph.D. Candidate
- BS Mechanical Engineering, University of Central Florida
Research Interests: Astrodynamics, Flight Dynamics and Controls
Shripad Sant
Ph.D. Student
- MS Aerospace Engineering, University of Southampton
- BS Aerospace Engineering, University of Southampton
Research Interests: Astrodynamics, Optimal Control, Space Systems, Robotics
Nicole Weeden
Ph.D. Student
- BS Aerospace Engineering, University of Central Florida
Research Interests: Astrodynamics & Trajectories
Hunter Quebedeaux
Ph.D. Student
- MS Mechanical Engineering, University of Central Florida
- BS Mechanical Engineering, University of Central Florida
Research Interests: Robotics, Space Systems, Flight Dynamics and Controls
Vireli Anbarasu
MS Student
- BS Aerospace Engineering, University of Central Florida
Research Interests: Guidance Control & Navigation, Optimization Problems
Benjamin Mitchell
MS Student
- BS Aerospace Engineering, University of Central Florida
Research Interests: Computational fluid Dynamics, Guidance & Control, and Machine Learning
Berk Aydogmus
Undergraduate
- BS Aerosapce Engineering
Research Interests: Astrodynamics
Keanu Brayman
Undergraduate
- BS Aerospace Engineering
Research Interests: Astrodynamics, Flight Dynamics & Controls, Guidance & Navigation, Optimal Control, Robotics
Andrew Field
Undergraduate
- BS Mechanical Engineering
Research Interests: Computer Vision, Control Theory, Robotics
Jacob Llorca
Undergraduate
- BS Aerospace Engineering
Research Interests: Flight Dynamics & Control, Robotics
Angelica Lavan-Ying
Undergraduate
- BS Aerospace Engineering
Research Interests: Astrodynamics, Space-Based Optical Telescopes, Long-Duration Spacecraft Power Systems, Satellite Systems, Planetary Rovers, Spacecraft Propulsion
Student Visitors
Summer 2025
Alyssa Smith
Undergraduate
- BS Mechanical Engineering
with an Aerospace Emphasis, Utah State University
Research Interests: Computational Fluid Dynamics, Heat Transfer, & Orbital Mechanics
Allen Nunes
Undergraduate
- BS Mechanical Engineering, Penn State University
Research Interests: Astrodynamics, Guidance Control & Navigation
Dr. James Hippelheuser
- MS Aerospace Engineering, University of Central Florida
- BS Aerospace Engineering, University of Central Florida
Research Interests: Astrodynamics, Space Situational Awareness, Orbit Determination, Optimal Control, State Estimation
Dr. Ahmed Elsadek Seleit
- MS Aerospace Engineering, University of Central Florida
- MS Aerospace Engineering, Cairo University
- BS Aerospace Engineering, Cairo University
Research Interests: Flight Dynamics and Controls, Autonomous Systems, Optimal Control, Nonlinear Dynamics
Dr. Pugazhenthi Sivasankar
- MS in Space Exploration, Delft University of Technology
- BS Aeronautical Engineering, Madras Institute of Technology
Seminars Attended:
Exploring Physics of Planetary Environments, KTH, Sweden
- 2nd Space Science School, ISSI-BJ, Sanya, China
Research Interests: Higher-dimensional PDF Approximation in satellite orbits
Awards:
- 3rd Best Student Award at 3rd IAA Conference on Space Situational Awareness
- 1st Prize Winner in 5th International Conference on Dynamic Data Driven Application Systems: 2024
- Winner of 2024-2025 Chateaubriand STEM Fellowship
Dr. Hao Wang
- MS Aeronautics and Astronautics, Purdue University
- BS Aeronautics and Astronautical Engineering, Purdue University
Research Interests: Astrodynamics, Flight Dynamics and Control, Machine Learning, Space Situational Awareness, System Engineering
Ryan Debevec
MS Student
- BS Aerospace Engineering
Nathan Eckhoff
Fmr. Lab Manager | MS Student
- BS Engineering, Western Carolina University
Research Interests: Astrodynamics, Satellites, Space Systems Engineering, Robotics
Laura Jones
MS Student
- BS in Aerospace Engineering, University of Florida
Research Interests: Astrodynamics, Optimal Control
Jeremy Luckett
MS Student
- BS Mechanical Engineering, University of Central Florida
Research Interests: Robotics
Michael Renzetti
MS Student
- BS Aerospace Engineering
Bastian Weiss
MS Student
- BS Mechanical Engineering, Florida Atlantic University
Research Interests: System Control & Robotics
Javier Arturo Cuevas Chabrier
Undergraduate
- BS Aerospace Engineering
- BS Mechanical Engineering
Research Interests: Aerodynamics, Artificial Intelligence, Propulsion
MIkaeel Danawala
Undergraduate
- BS Computer Engineering
Research Interests: Robotics
Kalani DeCosta
Undergraduate
- BS Electrical Engineering
Research Interests: Robotics
Sarah Fleischer
Undergraduate
- BS Mechanical Engineering
Research Interests: Theme Park Engineering
Micah Iversen
Undergraduate
- BS Mechanical Engineering
Research Interests: Additive Manufacturing, Propulsion, Space Robotics
Pablo Lopez
Undergraduate
- BS Aerospace Engineering
Research Interests: Astrodynamics, Manufacturing, Propulsion, Robotics
Christian Martinez
Undergraduate
- BS Mechanical Engineering
Research Interests: Mechanical Design & Robotics
Leyna O'Brien
Undergraduate
- BS Aerospace Engineering
Research Interests: Orbital Mechanics
Chad Rose
Undergraduate
- BS Mechanical Engineering
Research Interests: Astrodynamics, Mission Analysis
Ryan Sheffield
Undergraduate
- BS Electrical Engineering
Research Interests: Computational Methods, Flight Dynamics and Controls, Robotics
Rachel Singh
Undergraduate
- BS Aerospace Engineering
Research Interests: Robotics, Space Systems Engineering
Joshua Villegas
Undergraduate
- BS Aerospace Engineering
Research Interests: Rockets