Students

UCF students are headed to the most elite programming competition, the World Finals of the International Collegiate Programming Contest, for the 13th time in 14 years. They placed in the top 10 in the North America Championship (NAC), which UCF hosted Memorial Day weekend. Mechanical engineering master’s student Tyler Marks ’24, mathematical sciences master’s student Andy Phan ’21…

Student software developers hacked their way to multiple accolades at Bitcamp XI, held this spring at the University of Maryland. Twenty-five members of Knight Hacks took part in the hackathon, where more than 1,000 participants brought their ideas to fruition in a 36-hour development marathon fueled by creativity, very little sleep and sheer drive to…

A doctoral student dedicated to creating authentic experiences in virtual reality (VR) has earned a Best Paper Award from the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (ACM CHI), held in Yokohama, Japan. The distinction was awarded to the top 1% of paper submissions. Jake Belga ’20 ‘23MS, a fifth-year…

The UCF Programming Team placed first at the 2024 Southeast Regional Programming Contest held last week, besting more than 100 other teams. Their victory secures a spot at the North America Championship (NAC), which will be held in May 2025. Top teams from the NAC are invited to compete at the world finals. UCF sent…

An impressive finish on a computer vision conference challenge has paved the way for a computer science student’s first trip overseas. Tina Tran, an accelerated bachelors to master’s student and undergraduate researcher at the Center for Research in Computer Vision (CRCV), earned a trip to Milan to present her research courtesy of CRCV founder and…

The UCF Collegiate Cybersecurity Competition Team has claimed another national title with a first-place finish at the 2024 U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) CyberForce Competition. The win marks UCF’s fifth championship and fourth consecutive victory, with previous wins in 2018 and 2021-23. The annual competition, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, challenges competitors to…

Learning a second language opens doors to new possibilities — new places, new cultures, new connections with people you would likely never meet. Although English has become the world’s de facto lingua franca, college students across the U.S. are increasingly discovering the benefits of language learning and the many opportunities it provides. “College is a…

In a world increasingly defined by digital innovation, the demand for skilled cybersecurity professionals has never been greater. For students aspiring to become tomorrow’s cybersecurity professionals, UCF stands out as the premier destination for learning, training — and winning. Home to one of the nation’s most prestigious cybersecurity programs, UCF is not only fostering the next generation…

Following their win in April at the 2024 National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (NCCDC), the UCF Collegiate Cybersecurity Competition Team visited Washington, D.C., and met with federal and industry professionals who are charged with securing the nation against cyber adversaries. Ten students and their coach, Professor of Computer Science Tom Nedorost ’02MS, visited the Pentagon, U.S.…

UCF’s “Apocalypse Attack” students will be among 50 teams from the U.S. and Canada competing May 27 in the nation’s most prestigious computer programming contest, showcasing their exceptional talents to leading employers. The UCF College of Engineering and Computer Science will host the International Collegiate Programming Contest’s (ICPC) North America Championship. Known as the “Battle of Brains,”…

Joust Social Venture winners were Joshua Walsworth, Harrison Keating and Noah Magill. Computer science major Harrison Keating, information technology major Noah Magill and cybersecurity master’s student Joshua Walsworth competed against three other teams in the Shark Tank-style competition at The Celeste Hotel. With a mission to help user defend against cyber threats and safeguard companies…

Two UCF computer science students have made it to the Olympics of collegiate cybersecurity competitions by being drafted as members of the U.S. Cyber Team. As part of the team, they will represent America and compete in thevarious global scrimmages, including the Cyber Games, and the International Cybersecurity Challenge in 2024 Senior computer science major Matthew McKeever…

UCF is becoming a cybersecurity dynasty. A UCF student team defeated more than 94 teams from across the country last weekend to win the university’s fourth U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) CyberForce Competition. This year marks the UCF Collegiate Cyber Defense Club’s third consecutive win, and the university also placed first in 2018. Also competing in…

A team of six Knights won the second-place award at Lockdown, a cybersecurity competition hosted by the University at Buffalo on Oct. 21. The winning team members were sophomore computer science majors Andrew Terry and senior Milo Gilad, sophomore IT major Noah Magill, and senior IT majors Andy Pompura, Caleb Sjostedt and team captain Caleb…

A team of six Knights – IT sophomore Noah Magill; IT senior Colton Knight; computer science seniors Zachary Groome, Harrison Keating and Matthew McKeever; and cyber security and privacy master’s student Jeffrey DiVincent – took first place in the Southeast Collegiate Penetration Testing Competition Regional. Ten schools were selected to compete in the southeast division…