Category: News

Make no mistake, the Department of Engineering Education and its chair, Idalis Villanueva Alarcón, Ph.D., have had a banner year. And it’s only October. 

Hassan Tanvir came to the University of Florida to pursue a Ph.D. in engineering education with a background unlike many in the department.   Tanvir was born and raised in Pakistan to a supportive family that valued education and service.   This translated into serving in the Pakistani military, completing his bachelor’s degree in computer science and […]

Dear faculty, students, and friends,  I want to thank you for a truly amazing year at the Department of Engineering Education (EEd). In this inaugural newsletter for EEd, we celebrate a few of fall’s accomplishments, students and faculty. First, I want to congratulate the graduates of our Ph.D in EEd program that started in 2023: […]

The Engineering Education Graduate Student Council (EEdGSC) recently seated its newest executive board, consisting of students and research assistants from the department of Engineering Education (EEd.) The board consists of Caroline Lubbe, President; Mariam Ayub, Vice President; Sam Englehart, Secretary; Teja Kolla, Treasurer; Hima Yalavarthi, Social Media Manager; and Faculty Advisor, John Mendoza Garcia. The […]

A team of innovators from the University of Florida has created an award-winning tool that’s transforming the way students learn to code and saving them money in the process. 

Thanks to a grant and a national best-paper award, Engineering Education professor Sindia M. Rivera-Jimenez, Ph.D., will dig deeper into the challenges faced by engineering transfer students during a three-year research project.

UF engineering professor John Mendoza-Garcia has turned curiosity into community impact through STEAM Night, an annual hands-on event at C.W. Norton Elementary School. Since launching the program in 2019, Mendoza-Garcia and his wife, Andrea Bohorquez, have helped hundreds of students and families explore science, technology, engineering, arts and math in creative, engaging ways. Their efforts earned him Norton’s Volunteer of the Year Award, recognition he humbly shares with teachers, parents, and volunteers who make the program thrive.

Dr. Idalis Villanueva Alarcón recognized for pioneering contributions to mentorship, diversity, and interdisciplinary graduate education.

Catia Silva, Ph.D., won the 2025 Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering Undergraduate Teacher of the Year Award, as well as the 2025 UF Rising Star Award.

In April, Gadhaun Aslam won the prestigious Gator Engineering Attribute Award and the Presidential Service Award. He also was a finalist for the Distinguished Engagement Award.