UCF is redefining technology & shaping the future
UCF is redefining technology & shaping the future
Publish Date: 2026-06-13 17:22:00
Source Domain: mynews13.com
ORLANDO, Fla. — Since its founding in 1776, the United States has pursued innovation and technological breakthroughs with a relentless drive impacting almost every corner of every community.
“It was back in the 60s when Ivan Sutherland realized that computers were powerful tools but operating them with switches and knobs was not going to be the future,” said Carolina Cruz-Neira, Executive Director of the University of Central Florida’s Pegasus Research Institute and Institute for Simulation and Training (IST).
“The future was to be able to have a more natural way to communicate with the computer, so he created the first interactive display and developed a pen where he would draw on a screen, which was the very beginning of visual simulation and that was born here in the United States,” said Cruz-Neira referring to Sutherland’s revolutionary Sketchpad computer program that he developed in 1963 as a PhD student at MIT.
Recognized internationally as one of the top innovators for virtual reality, Cruz-Neira has spent more than 30-years combining visual simulation with real-world elements and enhancing the human connection through interactive technologies, advanced computer science and systems engineering.
“I do a little bit of everything, including digital twins, along with art and design, for a holistic approach to our larger-scale systems. It’s the ability of having a human inside the computer for an immersive experience in the digital world,” said Cruz-Neira referring to the methodology that allows industry and government partners to test new technologies safely and cost-effectively before implementation in the real world.
Currently, Cruz-Neira is working with NASA on its historic missions to return humans to the moon and send the first humans to Mars for exploration. She and her team demonstrated a simulation with a robotic rover driving through an extreme amount of dust on the moon’s surface.
“This is to help researchers develop better…
