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UCF Symposium Spotlights Cutting-Edge Research in AI, Quantum Computing, and Digital Twins
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Meta Description: The second annual UCF Research Computing Symposium brought together leading scholars and industry experts to explore the latest advancements in high-performance computing and digital change.
The University of Central Florida (UCF) recently hosted its second annual Research computing Symposium, a vibrant forum where scholars, students, and industry leaders converged to explore the rapidly evolving landscape of computing and digital transformation. The event, organized by the Office of Research Cyberinfrastructure, drew 85 attendees and showcased 27 student posters representing groundbreaking work across a spectrum of disciplines.
The symposium highlighted advancements in key areas including high-performance computing (HPC), machine learning/artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing, cloud computing, and digital twins.A senior official noted the event served as a crucial platform for interdisciplinary collaboration and underscored the university’s dedication to advancing research through technology.
Nasir Wasim of DDN delivered the keynote address, titled “The Agentic AI Revolution: Transforming How We Work, Learn and live.” The presentation, according to attendees, offered a compelling vision of AI’s potential to reshape society. Later in the day, Andy Lin, CTO of Mark III Systems and an NVIDIA partner, demonstrated the capabilities of Omniverse in constructing digital twins, providing a glimpse into the future of simulation and virtual modeling.
Student Research Takes Center Stage
A central component of the symposium was the student poster session, featuring 27 projects spanning diverse fields such as hospitality, mathematics, physics, AI, mechanical and aerospace engineering (MAE), and computer science. A panel of judges – including representatives from DDN and NVIDIA, alongside faculty and researchers from UCF Libraries and the Nicholson School of Dialog and Media – evaluated the posters.
The poster awards recognized exceptional student achievement. Maxine Khumalo took the top prize for her work, “applying Quantum Learning Theory for Classical Encryption,” co-authored with Eduardo Mucciolo. Honorable mentions were awarded to Then Tiezer Dayen for “Computational Screening of Single-Atom Catalysts for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction,” co-authored with Shyam Kattel, and Syeda Faiza Rubab Sherazi for “Revealing the Active Site Local Atomic environment of Oxide-supported Ag Single atom Catalyst,” a project involving Duy Le, Kailong Ye, Shaohua Xie, Fudong Liu, and Talat S. Rahman.
Fostering a Collaborative Research Ecosystem
Shafaq Chaudhry, director of Research Technology, emphasized the symposium’s role in cultivating a collaborative research environment. “this symposium reflects our commitment to fostering a collaborative research ecosystem where emerging technologies can thrive,” she stated. Nandan tandon, a computational scientist who chaired the poster session, echoed this sentiment, noting the “remarkable variety and depth” of student research and their success in tackling real-world challenges with advanced computational tools.
The event’s success was further underscored by strong industry support. DDN sponsored
