The UCF College of Engineering and Computer Science is making an impact in areas such as hypersonic technology, nanomedicine and biomedical engineering, and robotics and autonomous systems – and has hired a new group of faculty who will enhance its reputation in these fields.
Seventeen new faculty members will join four of the six departments for the fall semester. They bring an expertise in areas such as biomedicine, nanomaterials, optoelectronics, semiconductor devices and quantum computing. The addition of this group follows the hiring of more than 30 faculty members during the past academic year, reflecting the college’s goals of providing quality education and producing innovative research.
Shadi Abdel-Gawad
Associate Lecturer
Abdel-Gawad rejoins UCF as an associate lecturer after serving as an associate professor at the University of Alberta. He previously worked at UCF as an assistant lecturer and a principal instructor and has degrees in mechanical engineering and industrial engineering from this university. He earned his doctoral degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Alberta. Abdel-Gawad brings both research and industry experience as the CEO of an engineering company in Canada. His research interests include robotics and inverse dynamics.
Abdraouf Abusoua
Assistant Professor
Abusoua comes to UCF from the University of Texas at Arlington, where he worked as a postdoctoral scholar. His research focuses on nonlinear dynamics, vibrations and controls. He earned his doctoral and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from Clemson University and his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Tripoli University-Libya.
Zhipeng Deng
Assistant Professor
Deng brings to UCF an expertise in big data and quantum computing, which he’ll use to optimize energy systems and advance understanding of the built environment. The assistant professor joins UCF from Syracuse University, where he recently worked as a postdoctoral researcher. He earned his doctoral degree from Purdue University and a bachelor’s degree from Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
Paula do Vale Periera
Assistant Professor
Periera earned her doctoral degree in space systems engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2022. Upon graduation, she joined the Florida Institute of Technology as an assistant professor. Her research focuses on small satellites and CubeSats, probes for ocean exploration and hardware development for space exploration.
- Written by Marisa Ramiccio