UCF recently joined the consortium of universities comprising the Systems Engineering Research Center (SERC), one of 15 U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) designated University Affiliated Research Centers (UARC) in the country.

UCF’s membership in the UARC allows researchers and DoD project sponsors to better directly connect with one another and collaborate on meaningful research through exclusive access to a designated allotment of federal grant funds of about $105 million a year over five years.

UARCs are strategic research centers associated with one or more universities. They are formally established by the Director of Defense Research and Engineering, Office of the Secretary of Defense, to ensure defense critical engineering and technology capabilities are maintained and advanced.

According to SERC’s mission, establishing a community of focused systems engineering researchers delivers impact and research well beyond what one university could accomplish.

SERC is housed at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey and it was formed in 2008 to bring together leading universities with a strong track record for advancing engineering and defense innovations.

Additionally, UCF gained membership to the Acquisition Innovation Research Center (AIRC) also at the Stevens University of Technology. AIRC was established in September 2020 by the Department of Defense to infuse innovation and alternative disciplines from academia and successfully translate them into use.

Twenty-five universities comprise SERC and AIRC network, and UCF joins the University of South Florida as the only two universities representing Florida.

In mid-December, Dinesh Verma, professor at Stevens Institute of Technology and SERC/AIRC executive director, visited UCF and spoke on the evolving research priorities of the SERC/AIRC at the College of Business Administration.

Verma said to attending UCF faculty that collaboration was key.

“A UARC is a very powerful construct,” he said. “Each has a different goal. We’re here to help you get to know the SERC and its faculty.”

UCF’s ability to provide engineering expertise and tap into critical resources through the SERC network is a superb way to enrich systems engineering research, says Winston V. Schoenfeld, UCF vice president for research and innovation.

“UCF’s inclusion into the Systems Engineering Research Center UARC speaks volumes about the quality of our engineering research, and our commitment to supporting key DoD research objectives,” he says. “Our faculty will greatly benefit from the resources and collaboration the SERC UARC brings, enabling us to produce meaningful advancements in systems engineering of high value to the DoD.”

UCF has an impressive track record of cultivating a STEM workforce and producing impactful research through its College of Engineering and Computer Science and College of Sciences.

U.S. National Science Foundation’s Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey from FY 2023 showed that UCF is No. 2 in Florida for DoD funding and in the top 11% nationally. UCF is first in Florida and among the top 14% nationally for aerospace engineering expenditures, and third in Florida and among the top 13% nationally for mechanical engineering expenditures.

UCF is also recognized as the most innovative university in Florida for the seventh consecutive year, according to the 2025 Best Colleges rankings released by U.S. News & World Report.