Prime Examples of: Creativity
Prime is a quantity.
Unique, a product unachievable by any two other numbers. 1, 3, 5 …
Prime is a quality.
Excellent, of the highest caliber. Outstanding, Choice, Top-Notch …
In both quantity and quality, this column features Prime Examples of what makes us Florida Tech.
Prime Examples of: CREATIVITY
To define “creativity” would demean it. Often artistic, never mundane, creativity lacks rules and exceeds boundaries. Originality, imagination, ingenuity—creativity is required by both the artist and the researcher. The engineer and the entrepreneur. The teacher and the student. The thinker and the doer. Particularly at Florida Tech, a hub of innovation and forward-thinking, creativity permeates everything.
Here are a few Prime Examples.
One (1)
Arts Journal
1. Kaleidoscope
Kaleidoscope is the university’s student-run arts journal, a term staff has aimed to keep loosely defined since the publication’s inception in 2008. Born from the ashes of The Belletrist, a literary magazine published from 1995 to around 2004, Kaleidoscope includes literary materials such as poems, essays, short stories and plays, as well as photography, paintings, graphic art, etc.
Kaleidoscope has been a relentless advocate and outlet for freedom of expression. The artistic community at Florida Tech is small, but it is alive and well.”
Ted Petersen, School of Arts and Communication assistant professor, director of student media and organizer of The Florida Tech Crimson’s Free Speech Week
Three (3)
Expressive Alumnae
1. Salem Hadeed ’86, business administration-finance
Actor, Director, Producer
She has recently appeared in TV shows, including “Manifest,” “Only Murders in the Building” and “Law & Order: SVU,” and in movies such as Marvel Studios’ “The Falcon and the Winter Solider,” “Abe,” which premiered at Sundance Film Festival, and “Grape Leaves,” which she also produced, co-wrote and co-directed.
2. Priyanka Prakash Valletta ’12, civil engineering, Florida Tech String Orchestra and Concert Choir Alumna
Electric violinist and singer, Positive Chaos
An active Melbourne-based five-piece rock and grunge band, Positive Chaos includes two Panther alumni: Priyanka and her husband, David Valletta ’12. Between gigs, both work as engineers with BRPH and NASA, respectively. The mantra: Life is chaos—so keep it positive, and have fun! Check out the group’s latest album on Spotify and YouTube!
3. Shanita Allen ’05 M.S., applied behavior analysis
Author, Let’s Go Dreaming
A Board Certified Behavior Analyst with a passion for writing turned her idea for one children’s book into a nine-book series that aims to inspire young minds to “reach beyond the stars and pursue their dreams.”
Five (5)
Clever Design Projects*
*as presented at the 2022 Northrop Grumman Engineering and Science Student Design Showcase
1. Pyblocks
A website and application featuring an interactive “grid world,” where users use code to move characters around, pick up treasure and cast magic spells, all the while transitioning from block- to text-based programming.
Olisemeka Adugwo, Michael Bardin, Bailey Smith, Xinjie Zhuang
2. Crossing Buddy
Powered by artificial intelligence and computer vision, Crossing Buddy is a wearable vest that helps visually impaired people cross the street through crosswalk sign identification, car detection and “stop” and “go” audio cues.
Elias Anastasopoulos, Alexander Esenwein, Joshua Quinto, Ryan Schwieterman
3. Trufflr
Think Facebook for foodies. Trufflr is an interactive web application through which users share recipes, searching, “liking” and saving their favorites while the system generates recommendations.
Tyler Le Cluse, Zev Lerner, Hunter Plaks, Austin Sisinni
4. S.H.A.R.K.
Disguised as a nurse shark, the Sub-sea Hydrodynamic Autonomous Recon Kit, or S.H.A.R.K., is an autonomous underwater vehicle designed to move into foreign harbors and collect valuable information undetected.
Evan Bridges, Matt Gutmann, Josh Tutela
5. Halbach Array Charger**
A theoretical design for a wireless electric vehicle charger, exploring the characteristics of a Halbach Antenna Array.
Abdallah Al Kindi, Omar Al Sinani, Sean Catron, William Gay, Lucas Harbour, Bin Huang, David Perry, Ariel Santiago, David Sebesta, Abigail Tunnell
**Won Best in Show in the Electrical and Computer Engineering category at the 2022 Northrop Grumman Engineering and Science Student Design Showcase
This piece was featured in the fall 2022 edition of Florida Tech Magazine.
