Panthers win historic first game ONE BIG QUESTION OA“WHY ENC UR GE YOUNG PEOPLE TO STUDY MATH?” p. 15 MK-600-713 FTT Fall 2013.indd 1 10/1/13 3:19 PM In This Issue FALL 2013 • Volume 22, Issue 2 Departments Features President’s Perspective . 4 15 One Big Question with Semen Koksal Two Cents....................5 Mathematical Sciences Department Head Semen Koksal explains why it’s important to On Campus...................6 encourage young people to study math. Etc. .13 Athletics ....................35 16 Rob Phebus: Leadership and Loyalty Football Schedule Poster.......36 Rob Phebus’ leadership and loyalty—both in his career and in his service to the university—exemplify the ideals of the Jerome P. Keuper Distinguished Alumnus award. 18 Panther Parent Pride Youth leagues, high school accolades, family heritage … Panther football parents reflect on the journey of building a collegiate athlete. 22 When Mars Attacks! Seventy-five years after Orson Welles’ infamous “War of the Worlds” broadcast, the GO GREEn, Get OnLInE! question of alien existence still captivates us. The question Assistant Professor Hakeem Find expanded coverage, Oluseyi ponders is how do we find it. photos and videos at: 39 Honor Roll of Donors today.fit.edu 2 MK-600-713 FTT Fall 2013.indd 2 10/1/13 3:19 PM The campus swelled with Panther Pride before the inaugural football game on Sept. 7. Tailgating activities filled the parking lots south of university blvd., including a tent and concession area adjacent to the football practice field, the Panther Den. Fans also lined the route of the Panther Prowl, cheering the team as they made their way from the Denius Student Center to the Varsity Training Center in advance of the game. TODAY http://today.fit.edu Florida Institute of Technology PRESIDEnT AnD CHIEF ExECuTIVE OFFICER Anthony James Catanese, Ph.D., FAICP ExECuTIVE VICE PRESIDEnT AnD CHIEF OPERATInG OFFICER T. Dwayne McCay, Ph.D. VICE PRESIDEnT FOR MarketinG AnD COMMunicationS Wes Sumner Florida Tech Today is published three times a year by Florida Tech’s Office of Marketing and Communications and is distributed to over 60,000 readers. MAnAGInG EDITOR/DESIGnER Judi Tintera, [email protected] EDITOR Christena Callahan, [email protected] ASSIST nT EDITOR Karen Rhine, [email protected] COnTRIbuTInG WRITERS Christena Callahan, Bino Campanini, Ryan Jones, Carl Kotala, Lisa M. Onorato, Karen Rhine, Wes Sumner PRODuCTIOn Rob Gribbroek, Kristie Kwong WEb LAYOuT Joshua Culver CIRCuLATIOn Ali Faisal PHOTOGRAPHY Dominic Agostini, Eva Bjork, Mike Brown, Peter Finger, Michael Grace, Dennis Greenblatt, KHL Photography, Amanda Stratford Alumni Office ASSISTAnT VICE PRESIDEnT FOR ALuMnI RELATIOnS AnD ExECuTIVE DIRECTOR, ALuMnI ASSOCIATIOn Bino Campanini ’90, ’92 MBA (321) 674-8434, [email protected] ATESSOCIA DIRECTOR Diane Deaton ’10 MBA (321) 674-7198, [email protected] ASSIST nT DIRECTOR Marjorie Beckett ’98, ’08 MBA (321) 674-7642, [email protected] ALuMnI EngagemenT OFFICER Stevie Pursell ’12 MBA (321) 674-6826, [email protected] ALuMnI RelationS COORDInator Hazel Rosskamp (321) 674-7190, [email protected] How To Keep In Touch Alumni news Florida Tech, Office of Marketing and Communications, 150 W. University Blvd., Melbourne, 25 From the FTAA President FL 32901-6975 (321) 674-6218, Fax (321) 674-6399, [email protected] Changing Addresses? 26 Homecoming 2013 Don’t leave copies of your alumni magazine behind. Send your new address to Florida Tech, Office of 28 On the Road Development Services, 150 W. University Blvd., Melbourne, FL 32901-6975, [email protected] n ew York • boston • Dad Vail unsubscribe Please email [email protected] if you no longer wish 30 AlumNotes to receive this publication. Alumni Spotlight: James Wong Alumni Spotlight: Melissa Steinman www.fit.edu © Copyright 2013 by Florida Institute of Technology. Alumni Spotlight: Kim bozik All rights reserved. Reproduction by any means whole or in part without permission is prohibited. For reprint information, contact Florida Tech Today at 34 News from Bino Campanini (321) 674-8963, Fax (321) 674-8606 or [email protected]. Florida Tech Today is printed on Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI)® certified paper. Florida Institute of Technology does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, color, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, marital status, age, disability, sexual orientation, Vietnam-era veterans status or any other discrimination prohibited by law in the admission of students, administration of its educational policies, scholarship and loan programs, employ- COVER PHOTO: Xavier Milton hauls in Florida Tech’s first touchdown in program history ment policies, and athletic or other university sponsored programs or activities. Saturday, Sept. 7 in front of over 5,400 fans at Pirate Stadium. Photo by Amanda Stratford Photography. Florida Tech Today | 3 MK-600-713 FTT Fall 2013.indd 3 10/1/13 3:19 PM PRESIDEnt’s PERSPECTIVE Dear Florida Tech Alumni and Friends, What a great way to start Florida Tech’s 55th anniversary! Sept. 7, we literally “kicked off” the year with a win in our inaugural football game, beating the Stetson Hatters 20-13. Our young men played with great spirit and energy. I can’t imagine a President Catanese joins the more fitting way to open a new chapter in the life of the university. cheerleaders, ready to greet We recently got the news that, for the fourth straight year, the football team for their first U.S. News & World Report ranks us as a Tier One Best National Panther Prowl across campus during Sept. 7 tailgating. University. Among the 1,500 institutions annually assessed by the publication, Florida Tech was again among the top national universities and the second-highest ranked private university in the state, behind only the University of Miami. Further, Florida Tech earned praise for being the second-most internationally diverse National University in the country. We hope you’ll join us for Homecoming 2013, Oct. 22–26, as we reflect on some of these accomplishments and continue planning for the future. It will be a great opportunity to catch up with old friends and reminisce about days gone by. Increasing enrollment, expanding programs and ongoing stories of alumni success converge to make Florida Tech a continued point of pride for us all. Stay tuned for Chairman of the Board Phil more great news from your university, coming spring semester 2014. We appreciate Farmer, the President and Sara your continued support. Catanese welcome Howard Schnellenberger to the stadium. The former Florida Atlantic head football coach said he believed Sincerely yours, that Catanese is the first man to start two college football programs. A.J. Catanese, Ph.D., FAICP President & Chief Executive Officer President Catanese is interviewed by CBS Sports in advance of the Sept. 19 nationally televised game. An aerial view of Florida Tech’s inaugural football game at Palm Bay High School. 4 MK-600-713 FTT Fall 2013.indd 4 10/1/13 3:19 PM TWO CENTS Feedback From Our Readers Tell us your Two Cents. We welcome your input on the magazine. You asked for bigger photos, expanded campus coverage and more Alumni News; and we listened. Have a comment about something you’ve read? Want to share a memory about your FIT days? Email us at [email protected]. HK RIGH ICKERS EVEALED Many of the high kickers from 1981 responded to our nostalgia photo and shared the names of their comrades. We also received some fond memories and photos. Thomas (T.R.) Hernacki ’84 formal Cheerleading squad was going explained the origin of the photo to be elevated from an intramural/club as follows: activity to a varsity sport activity. “up to this point in time, it was tradition that the Men’s Crew provided the This was the beginning, I believe, of the entertainment at the Homecoming university changing from a male- basketball game—the Varsity Men dominated engineering college to a full created one squad and the Freshmen well-rounded program with the female created another. on-campus population increasing every The varsity crew “cheerleaders” pictured here were: Juan Hinestrosa ’84, semester. I cheered on the freshmen Al Shawcross ’83, Steve Fluhr ’83, Greg Hogan ’84, Steve Somosky ’85, This was the last year of the squad that year since it was my first tradition. The newly created Dave Forcucci ’83, John Sodano ’83, Bruce Schwab ’83, Mike McDevitt year at FIT as a transfer student … in ’84, Dave Hill or Steve Stevens and Glen Bunting (coach) or Tom Terry. Cheerleading squad did not appreciate the ole gym with the falling ceiling tiles.” our antics that evening as we sort of Do you know who the two far right fellows are? destroyed their planned routine. At the Bruce Schwab ’83 wrote, next practice, bill Jurgens laid down “I had a chuckle when I flipped the IN THE NEXT ISSUE the law that the tradition was going to magazine over to see our picture die a peaceful disappearance and the from 1981!” W R ELCOME EVIEWS I get a lot of magazines from universities around the country through my work, and I want to tell you that yours is one of the best, and is getting better all the time. I toss most of them aside, but I always find I hold up on Florida Tech Today and end up reading at least half the articles. The content is interesting and varied, the design and layout are snappy and modern, the graphics are grabby. I basically rank it with MIT’s Technology Review and Stanford Magazine. Sometimes I even get show ideas from it. So congratulations on a job well done. Courtland Lewis Host of American Variety Radio and senior consultant with the National Science Foundation The current Alumni Association publication is a great asset to perpetuate.