Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/83317
T hese student researchers have the opportunity to serve as an extension of the research faculty at the University of Central Florida (UCF), University of South Florida (USF) and University of Florida (UF), advancing commercially applicable technologies for leading innovative companies. Dozens of companies across the 23-county Florida High Tech Corridor participate every year in the Matching Grants Research Program, offering the chance for student researchers to receive hands-on training and gain real-world research experience. Since the program was established in 1996, more than 300 faculty and 2,400 students have engaged in side-by-side research with 350 companies—all thanks to the Florida High Tech Corridor Council's (FHTCC) investment of $57 million matched by nearly $160 million from participating companies. Unlike much of the primary research conducted at the university level, these partnerships provide students the opportunity to work on projects that have practical applications and could quickly make a major impact in technology markets. UF Ph.D. candidate, Navya Mastanaiah's current research stems from an MGRP project in partnership with Sestar Technologies that studied the potential for using plasma technology to sterilize objects against micro-organisms in a short amount of time. "Imagine the ability to instantly sterilize an operating table in a battlefield situation or a disaster-relief situation, where the potential for infection is rampant due to unsterile environmental conditions," posed Mastanaiah. What she considers a possible medical "revolution" prompted her to continue her research of the subject while continuing her doctoral studies. Through a Matching Grants Research Program project with Harris Corporation, Alper Yilmaz helped develop an automated system for identifying linear features in video images while completing his Ph.D. in Computer Science at UCF. Thanks to the prevalence of video surveillance and other available satellite imagery, Yilmaz can apply VATANA AN (left) verifying the state of the command, control, communications, computer, and navigation (C4N) system at the Naval Surface Warfare Center 12 florida.HIGH.TECH 2012