Nearly 200 participants from the State University System of Florida and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) gathered at UCF on Oct. 17-18 for the first Florida Defense Science and Technology Symposium (FDSTS) to learn from each other and strengthen research partnerships.

UCF hosted the symposium on its main campus and co-organized the event with the University of South Florida and the Florida High Tech Corridor.

The symposium brought together some of the best minds in Florida to equip them with the skills and knowledge to successfully engage with DoD.

Additionally, the symposium featured presentations and lectures by distinguished speakers on opportunities within various DoD agencies, strategies for creating winning proposals, building effective relationships between research faculty and DoD officers, identifying and cultivating critical fields for research and development, poster presentations and faculty lightning talks. The research and collaboration discussion focused on artificial intelligence (AI), cyber security, modeling and simulation, space technologies, and lasers and optics.

Participants included local and federal defense agency representatives and officers from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), the Office of Naval Research (ONR), the Army Research Office (ARO), and the U.S. Special Operations Command.

Attendees also had plenty of opportunities to bolster their connections with each other between panels, during breaks and in networking sessions.

UCF Vice President for Research and Innovation Winston Schoenfeld mirrored President Alexander N. Cartwright’s sentiments in his introductory speech by highlighting UCF and Florida’s track record for fostering meaningful research.

“Here at UCF, we have a rich history of exceptional research in key defense areas such as hypersonics, optics, directed energy, cybersecurity, [AI], and modeling and simulation — just to name a few,” Schoenfeld said to attendees on the second day of the symposium. “Our research in these areas has benefitted from significant DoD support — with more than 30% of our federal funding coming from DoD sources for over a decade.”

He also encouraged attendees to take advantage of the opportunities at the symposium.

“With a deep well of talent, expertise, and interdisciplinary research, Florida academic institutions are uniquely positioned to address the emerging needs and challenges of security and defense,” Schoenfeld said. “This symposium will help ensure that we harness this across our institutions through greater awareness and stronger alignment with the nation’s defense priorities.”

Sylvia Wilson Thomas, USF vice president for research and Innovation, also echoed Schoenfeld’s desire for collaboration.

“There’s an opportunity for us to make a unique impact across the defense industry,” she said. “We want the program officers here to embrace what we have to offer.”

The symposium was well-received, and organizers are hopeful it will become a regular event, said Saiful Khondaker, UCF assistant vice president for research advancement.

“It was wonderful to see so many faculty and program officers coming together,” he said. “The promise of continuing to advance our partnerships and developing critical technologies is exciting. With the success of this symposium, we’re optimistic we can bring everyone together again and keep the momentum going.”

Learn more information about the FDSTS here.