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Michelle Aiello, '17
Michelle Aiello
Michelle Aiello was born and raised in Miami, Florida. She received her Associates in Arts from Miami Dade College. She is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in Psychology at the University of Central Florida. Her passion for translational research relating to anxiety disorders has led her to become an Undergraduate Research Assistant at UCF RESTORES, UCF's Anxiety Disorders Clinic, under the guidance of Dr. Deborah Biedel and Dr. Sandra Neer. Michelle is currently researching the effect compassion mediation has on heart rate variability of veterans with PTSD under the guidance of Dr. Ariel J. Lang as apart of University of California San Diego, STARS Summer Research Program. She plans to obtain her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology in hopes of conducting research, becoming a college professor, and helping other first generation students achieve their goals.
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Ahmad Azim, '17
Ahmad Azim
Ahmad Azim was born in Kabul, Afghanistan. He immigrated at the age of 5 to the United States and grew up in Jacksonville, Florida. He is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Photonic Science & Engineering and a minor in Mathematics. Ahmad conducts research at the Laser Plasma Laboratory as part of the laser development team in CREOL, the College of Optics & Photonics. Currently, his research interests include temporal and spatial coherent combining of laser pulses for generating high-energy, high-power ultrafast lasers for applications in plasma and atomic physics. Ahmad is currently working on the development of a novel picosecond pump laser for a quasi-single-cycle optical parametric chirped-pulse amplifier system using multidimensional coherent pulse addition.
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Desia Bacon, '17
Desia Bacon
Desia Bacon is from the small town of Callahan, FL. She left her hometown for UCF to pursue her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Minor in Cognitive Sciences and Leadership Studies. Her passion lies in working with children and researching questions pertaining to cognitive development and language acquisition. Desia has previously researched children's understanding of linguistic color categories under the guidance of Dr. David Barner as part of the University of California San Diego, STARS Summer Research Program. Desia plans on obtaining her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology in hopes of continuing research, becoming part of a professoriate, and mentoring other underrepresented students.
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Itza Beltran, '17
Itza Beltran
Itza Beltran was born and raised in Bucaramanga, Colombia and moved to the United States at the age of 12. She transferred to the University of Central Florida from Valencia College in the Fall of 2014 where she is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. She is passionate about the creation and implementation of new "Green" technologies. She recently started working at the Center for Advanced Turbines and Energy Research under the supervision of Dr . Jayanta Kapat. She plans to obtain her Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and continue doing research in clean-renewable forms of energy.
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Hardeo Chin, '17
Hardeo Chin
Hardeo Chin was born in Kingston, Jamaica and raised in South Florida. He is pursuing a bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Central Florida. Hardeo has served as President and Senator of the National Society of Black Engineers. He is currently researching the effects of mistuning on turbomachinery. His research interests include gas turbines, propulsion and combustion. He plans to obtain his Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering and work in the Research & Development section of an Aerospace Company.
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Shirley Dorsainvil, '17
Shirley Dorsenvil
Shirley Dorsainvil is born and raised in Boynton Beach, Florida. She is pursuing her bachelors in Psychology at the University of Central Florida. Shirley serves as the Internal Vice President of the cultural organization Club Kreyol and the Secretary of Transfer Knights. She is a current Undergraduate Research Assistant for the Department of Psychology Personality, Relationship Development/Dynamics (PRDD) Research Group. She is interested in the meaning of marriage, sexual dysfunction specifically hypoactive sexual desire, long distance relationships, military couples, sex and couples therapy, intimacy and relationship problems, infidelity and resolution of infidelity in relationships, diverse families, effects of marital conflict on family members, achievement issues in low-income, minority, and at-risk populations. She plans to obtain a MA in Marital and Family Therapy and a Ph.D. in Social/Personality Psychology in order to pursue a career in providing therapy to military families and conducting research.
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Marvin Hoo, '17
Marvin Hoo
Marvin Hoo was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and was raised in Miami, Florida after moving there at the age of six. He is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in psychology at the University of Central Florida. His passion for psychology and research has lead him to learn about research as an Undergraduate Research Assistant from different labs here at UCF. He plans on obtaining a Ph.D in psychology and working as college professor, a researcher, or starting his own private practice. He would also like to start an organization in his community college, Miami Dade College where he informs students from different majors the importance of getting involved into their fields early.
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Roxanne Howes, '17
Roxanne Howes
Roxanne Howes is the daughter of military veterans, born in Berlin, Germany and eventually settling in Orlando, FL. She is pursuing her bachelor’s degree in English Literature. Her passion lies in Ethnic literature, identity, and representation, but her interests also include women’s studies, gender and sexuality, cultural studies, film and media, and creative writing. Roxanne is currently working on an undergraduate HIM thesis concerning multiethnic identity within contemporary US literature with the inclusion of personal essay with the guidance of her mentor, Dr. Cecilia Rodriguez-Milanes. She plans to obtain a Ph.D. in English or Cultural Studies and start a career in academia as a research professor and writer.
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Jeffery Jorges, '17
Jeffery Jorges
Jeffery Jorges was born and raised in South Florida. He is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Physics, specializing in Astronomy. He serves as the current president of UCF’s Astronomy Society and vice-president of UCF’s chapter of the Society of Physics students working to help share his love of science with others by participating in science outreach for his university and general public. Since January 2015 he has also worked as a research assistant at UCF’s Center Of Microgravity Research studying low-velocity collisional systems to better understand the evolution of planetary ring systems and the formation of planetesimals. His academic interest is in using computational methods in astrophysics to study dark matter as well as the formation and evolution of galaxies. Jeffery aspires to obtain his Ph.D. in Astrophysics and become faculty at a university doing research on dark matter and galaxies.
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Michael Lopez-Brau, '17
Michael Lopez-Brau
Michael Lopez-Brau was born in Boston, Massachusetts and raised in Orlando, Florida. He is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering with minors in computer science and mathematics. He has worked in research labs spanning across many disciplines: from bioengineering to signal processing and machine learning. His vision is to utilize computational and mathematical techniques to elucidate the inner-workings of cognition and consciousness. Michael is currently in two research labs. The first lab focuses on developing algorithms for adaptive compressive sensing. The second lab focuses on using deep learning for image ranking functions in image retrieval. He plans to obtain his Ph.D. in computer science and become a college professor and science communicator.
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Samantha Mensah, '17
Samantha Mensah
Samantha Mensah is a native of New York and was raised in South Florida. Her academic interests include analytical chemistry, physical chemistry, and theoretical physics. Through community outreach, she is an active participant in encouraging K-12 students to pursue post-secondary education and careers in STEM. Samantha has been conducting research alongside Dr. Chumbimuni-Torres since January of 2013. Her research centers on the development and optimization of sensors that can be used to determine the presence of ions in the body and environment. She has published her research findings in a peer-reviewed journal and plans to earn her Ph.D. in chemistry.
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Ashelyn Sidders, '17
Ashelyn Sidders
Ashelyn Sidders was born and raised in Orlando, Florida. She is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in both biomedical sciences and biotechnology. Ashelyn is currently conducting research under the guidance of Dr. Kyle Rohde, in order to optimize the current knockout methodology used in pathogenic Mycobacteria to better understand their virulence mechanisms. Additionally, she is also a part of the diagnostics research being done in Dr. Rohde’s lab, and is working to develop a highly sensitive diagnostics system for Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis. Ashelyn plans to obtain her Ph.D. in Molecular Pathogenesis and Immunology, to conduct research in the field of emerging infectious diseases.
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Heidi Waite, '17
Heidi Waite
Heidi Waite was born in Redmond, Washington and moved to Naples, Florida at the age of nine. She is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Biology at the University of Central Florida. Her passion for marine wildlife and ecology has led her to participate in undergraduate research focused on oyster reef and shoreline restoration. She is currently conducting research in the Coastal Estuarine and Ecology Laboratory under the supervision and mentorship of Dr. Walters. Heidi plans to obtain a Ph.D. in Marine Biology in hopes of pursuing a career in marine research and academia.