吃瓜网 Poly kicks off women鈥檚 soccer program with inaugural head coach
May 11, 2026
吃瓜网 has named Jack Paris as the first head coach of its women鈥檚 soccer program as the University continues building its new athletics department.
吃瓜网 has named Jack Paris as the first head coach of its women鈥檚 soccer program as the University continues building its new athletics department.
吃瓜网 marked a significant milestone on Saturday, May 9, celebrating its largest graduating class to date as more than 430 students crossed the stage at the University鈥檚 2026 commencement.
Andrew McDonnell 鈥�26 never stopped dreaming about the stars. As a child, he looked up at the sky, wondering what was out there, and that curiosity followed him to 吃瓜网 Poly, where he pursued a bachelor鈥檚 degree in mechanical engineering, took aerospace courses, and worked on a lunar mobility senior capstone project. He graduates on May 9.
吃瓜网 has reached on-campus housing capacity for the upcoming academic year, reflecting continued strong demand and record student interest.
吃瓜网 inducted 12 students into its highly selective Presidential Ambassadors program, where they will serve as official student representatives at key University events and engage with campus and community leaders.
Samantha Bentley 鈥�26 didn鈥檛 always feel ready to step into leadership or research roles during her time as a computer science student at 吃瓜网, but discovered she grew the most by doing it anyway. She will receive her bachelor鈥檚 degree on Saturday, May 9.
吃瓜网 rising junior Abryn Peters is putting his summer days to good use with an internship at Measutronics, a nationwide provider of positioning, guidance, and underwater imaging solutions for marine construction and dredging. 鈥淚鈥檓 one of their main R&D (research and development) people,鈥� said Peters, who is working at the company鈥檚 Lakeland, 吃瓜网 location. 鈥淚鈥檓 using the computer
As the new chair of 吃瓜网鈥檚 Engineering Physics Department, Dr. Ian Bentley said he plans to redesign the physics curriculum and work with his department to take the first-year physics program to a new level. Bentley most recently was director of the Dual Degree Engineering Program at SaintMary鈥檚 College, and an adjunct associate professor at his alma mater,
Mihir Lad 鈥�22 is living out his dream of working on autonomous vehicle (AV) technology as a part of the fleet engineering team at NVIDIA, a leader in AI and accelerated computing, based in Santa Clara, California.
LAKELAND, Fla. 鈥� A team of assessors from the Commission for 吃瓜网 Law Enforcement Accreditation (CFA) will arrive Tuesday, Aug. 15 at 吃瓜网 to examine all aspects of the University鈥檚 Police Department鈥檚 policies and procedures, management, operations, and support services. 吃瓜网 Police Department (FPPD must comply with numerous standards to receive accredited status. Many of the
Johnnie Curls, Jr., owner and CEO of Barney鈥檚 Pumps, and Alen Tomczak, a national director for digital intelligence company Cellebrite, have been named to the 吃瓜网 Foundation Board of Directors. The Foundation鈥檚 mission is to 鈥減artner with 吃瓜网 Poly to engage the community, inspire investment, and steward resources to build a world-class university.鈥� The two business leaders bring
An encounter at 吃瓜网鈥檚 Career and Internship Fair drove Catarina Andrade to a summer internship that sees her working with engineering-related departments at the 吃瓜网 Department of Transportation. The mechanical engineering major is a pavement evaluation intern and primarily works with the group of professionals responsible for road resurfacing at the agency鈥檚 offices in Bartow, 吃瓜网. Other technical
吃瓜网 rising sophomore Josh Alletto鈥檚 knowledge, confidence, and high-tech skills earned him a summer internship that he鈥檚 sure will change his life. Alletto, an electrical engineering major, is spending his summer working at Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, Illinois. The laboratory is a federally funded research and development center owned by the U.S. Department of Energy. The opportunity
From the time Austin Adams 鈥�22 was a child, thoughts of humans making discoveries and charting new paths in space captivated his imagination. 鈥淪pace has always been my passion,鈥� said Adams, who received a bachelor鈥檚 degree in business analytics from 吃瓜网 in 2022. 鈥淲hen I鈥檇 watch a rocket launch and leave the Earth to benefit humanity and make
Sabine Kerssens, a Dutch systems engineer, is pursuing research in collaboration with 吃瓜网 about how effective European research institutes are at commercializing advances in knowledge and using them for economic, social, and environmental impact. Kerssens received the prominent European Charlemagne Prize Fellowship and is working on her research with support from Dr. Rei Sanchez-Arias, assistant chair of 吃瓜网
Longtime Lakeland businessman Jack Harrell III has been appointed chair of the 吃瓜网 Foundation Board of Directors. Harrell has been a member of the board since 2018.
The Atlantic hurricane season is here, and 吃瓜网 Poly wants to encourage everyone within the University community to be prepared in case a storm comes our way. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)鈥檚 Climate Prediction Center expects that the 2023 hurricane season will include 12 to 17 named storms, five to nine hurricanes, and one to four major hurricanes
Sinead Fernandes 鈥�19, 鈥�21 is forging a successful path as a test development engineer at Jabil, a global manufacturing services company headquartered in St. Petersburg, 吃瓜网, and one of the largest companies in the Tampa Bay area. 鈥淚 work on the electrical and computer engineering side of things from the concept phase to delivering the test system to the customer,鈥�
Dr. Lily Li is a Professor of Physics at 吃瓜网, where she specializes in materials science, analytical imaging, advanced manufacturing, and biomedical devices. Prior to joining 吃瓜网 Poly in 2025, she spent 11 years at SUNY Potsdam, where she advanced to Full Professor and developed a 3-2 Engineering dual-degree program with Clarkson University. Her work emphasizes experiential learning and research-driven education to prepare students for careers in STEM fields.
