Fifteen faculty members from the University of South Florida were recognized for their distinguished accomplishments at the Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine of Florida annual meeting on November 6, 2026 at the Marshall Student Center at USF. The 2026 USF faculty inductees into ASEM-FL are:
Full Members
- Kwang-Cheng Chen, Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, for significant innovation
and commercialization of wireless communication technology that has advanced mobile
Internet devices.
- Michael Francis, Associate Professor, Departments of Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine and Medical
Engineering, for revolutionizing regenerative orthopedics through patented biomaterials
and implants, leading innovations like Tapestry, and Actibraid, securing over $55
million in funding, 25 granted US patents and a $275 million acquisition that advanced
global musculoskeletal care.
- Vladimir Uverksy, Professor, Department of Molecular Medicine, for discovery of intrinsically disordered proteins, revealing that IDPs, lacking fixed 3D structures, are essential in cellular processes and contribute to the pathogenesis of cancer and neurodegenerative diseases, transforming protein biology and disease research.
Associate Members
- Anna Pyayt, Professor, Department of Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering, for significant
contributions to the field of sensing applications, artificial intelligence, assistive
technology for individuals with blindness and mobile health technologies.
- David Simmons, Professor, Department of Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering, for transforming our understanding of how heterogeneitites alter the properties of nanostructured polymers, with impacts on nanocomposites, commodity polymers, polymer films and interfaces; and pioneering discoveries enabling emerging materials and reducing environmental impact.
Rising Stars
- Katherine Alfredo, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, for environmental
engineering research that advances drinking water safety through interdisciplinary
research linking treatment technology, human behavior, public health and policy.
- Nancy Diaz-Elsayed, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, for pioneering
data-driven approaches to the design of sustainable systems that advance resource
efficiency and resilience.
- Kay Everett, Assistant Professor, Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, for pioneering a mechanistic
ventricular–vascular coupling framework for VA-ECMO that redefines myocardial loading
and injury.
- Zachary Haber, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, for outstanding
contributions to bridge engineering practice and education.
- Udit Halder, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, for pioneering
contributions to understanding and engineering embodied intelligence through modeling,
sensing and control of bioinspired soft systems.
- Trung Le, Assistant Professor, for pioneering sensor-based, AI-driven methods that predict
failures in complex systems — biological and engineered alike.
- Dayane Alfenas Reis, Assistant Professor, Bellini College of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity & Computing,
for pioneering cross-layer computing-in-memory architectures that make artificial
intelligence radically more energy-efficient, robust and secure at the resource-constrained
edge.
- Babak Safa, Assistant Professor, Department of Medical Engineering, for transformative research
in ocular biomechanics, uncovering mechanical drivers of glaucoma and advancing innovative
strategies for improved vision care.
- Ioannis Spanopoulos, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, for pioneering contributions to multifunctional
crystalline materials design for energy, medical, environmental and quantum applications
across emerging technological platforms.
- Andrew Tricker, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical, Biological & Materials Engineering, for advancing the understanding of reaction environments in chemical reactors driven by unconventional energy inputs to enable sustainable chemical processes.