During 麻豆原创 Celebrates the Arts 2026, Legally Blonde took the stage with a twist audiences didn鈥檛 see coming 鈥� one that blurred the line between performance and possibility.

The story still delivered the heart: College student Elle Woods chases love, faces doubt and ultimately discovers her own strength along the way. But this production layered something new into that journey: state-of-the-art robotics. At 麻豆原创, Florida鈥檚 Technological University, innovation shows up in unexpected places 鈥� even onstage.

The result was a show that felt both nostalgic and forward-looking, where dynamic musical theater met emerging tech.

Musical theatre major Lyric Stratton played the perfect protagonist, Elle Woods, whose dreams of settling down after college graduation are cut short when her boyfriend, Warner, breaks up with her to attend Harvard Law School. Devastated and determined to get him back, Woods pulls together an unconventional application and charms her way into Harvard Law.

High-energy dance numbers powered the production from start to finish. In one standout scene titled 鈥淲hat You Want,鈥� Woods turns her Harvard application into a full-scale performance, trading a traditional essay for a show-stopping number alongside the UCLA cheer team.

The number featured 25 students on stage and took 13 hours to stage.

Three characters led a Harvard admissions conference room scene, delivering sharp dialogue as they debated Woods鈥� fate.

From left: Joey Fields as Winthrop, Tristan Haberland as Lowell and Jasper Allen as Pforzheimer.

Just as the audience settled into the story, two robot dogs stepped into the spotlight. During the nine-minute number 鈥淲hat You Want,鈥� they appeared in a Harvard campus scene where engineering students 鈥� played by theatre majors Mia Freeman and Isabel Ramos 鈥� walked them around as UCLA cheerleaders looked on in awe. In a brief but striking moment, technology wasn鈥檛 just a prop 鈥� it became part of the story.

Operated live on stage, the robots transformed the moment into a seamless blend of performance and engineering. Freeman and Ramos were trained by Mohsen Rakhshan, assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, and his graduate teaching assistant, Chinmay Dhanraj Nehate.

鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing the incorporation of robotics into different things at an accelerated rate, including art. It’s exciting,鈥� says Rakhshan, who closely collaborated with the production鈥檚 director to bring the robots into the show.

The electrical and computer engineering department houses 15 state-of-the-art robot dogs, nine of which are in Rakhshan鈥檚 Laboratory for Interaction of Machine and Brain. There, he and his graduate teaching assistant use them for both instruction and research 鈥� teaching an Introduction to Robotics course and training the robots to navigate the uncertainties of real-world environments.

During last year鈥檚 annual 麻豆原创 football Space Game, Michael Jablonski, assistant professor of musical theatre in the College of Arts and Humanities, watched the ECE department鈥檚 robot dogs in motion across the field. At that moment, he saw more than entertainment 鈥� he saw the potential for storytelling. A way to take something typically confined to classrooms and labs and give it emotion and meaning.

When planning聽Legally Blonde, a story rooted in breaking expectations, the idea came naturally: why not let innovation share the stage?

Even with its high-tech twist, the show stayed true to its roots 鈥� including Bruiser, Woods鈥� loyal (and stylish) Chihuahua, brought to life by a real dog named Marty McFly.

During 鈥淲hipped Into Shape,鈥� fitness guru Brooke Wyndham, played by theatre major Isabel Ramos, led her cellmates through a relentless workout. Accused of murder, Wyndham refused to reveal the truth when Woods visited 鈥� unless she could keep up 鈥� turning the moment into a high-energy number where actors sang while performing intense jump rope choreography.

In the climactic courtroom scene, Woods took the lead, defending Wyndham and using sharp instincts, wit and confidence to expose the real culprit. It was a defining moment where she proved she belongs, blending intelligence, intuition and boldness to win the case.

Front row from left: Lyric Stratton as Elle Woods, Isabel Ramos as Brooke Wyndham and Jaxon Ryan as Emmett Forrest.

Along the way, Woods stops chasing approval and finds her confidence, purpose and voice. This central theme drew Jablonski, Legally Blonde production director, to the female-driven story.

鈥淭his story showcases how a very strong, intelligent woman [Elle Woods] finds her way in a male-dominated world. She initially follows love, but through it, she finds a space where she fits perfectly,鈥� Jablonski says. 鈥淭hrough being misjudged and stereotyped, we come to see that she鈥檚 far above the people around her in her thinking and in the way she brings humanity into her work as a lawyer.鈥�

What audiences saw was only part of the story. Behind every scene change, lighting cue, and musical number is a network of students, faculty, and staff working in sync 鈥� often just out of sight. Behind the curtain, more than 50 people managed lighting, sound and scene transitions in real time.

The music didn鈥檛 just support the story 鈥� it drove it. Legally Blonde, presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International, featured music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin, with 23 total musical numbers. The book is by Heather Hach.

Projection-mapped animations and imagery 鈥� created with QLab software and delivered through two high-brightness front projectors 鈥� were precisely timed to the music, blending seamlessly with choreography and lighting to shape the show鈥檚 visual rhythm.

鈥淓ach scene had its own visual identity, with projections adding specific details that help it stand out,鈥� says Tim Brown, associate professor of theatre design and technology. 鈥淭he goal is to support the show鈥檚 fun, colorful world in a clear and energetic way.鈥�

Costuming defined each character with bold color and precise detail. Huaixiang Tan, professor of costume and make-up design in the School of Performing Arts, led the design, with support from assistant costume designers Sabrina Cervilla and Aisha Bader-Ortega. The production featured more than 100 costumes, each the result of hundreds of hours of craftsmanship.

In the Theatre 麻豆原创 scene shop, students began using hands-on technical skills to build and refine set pieces in January.

Built through layers of paint, planning and precision, the set came together as a large-scale collaboration among more than 40 students.

Designed for transport, much like a touring production, the set added an extra layer of complexity and was built to be assembled at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. It was completed and delivered on March 30.

鈥淚 am on the receiving end of care for this disease. I want to be part of improving care for all of us who deal with epilepsy.鈥� 鈥� Julia Moras, student

Moras is part of new 麻豆原创 research and educational opportunities created by Laura Brattain, a biomedical engineer by training who is integrating AI, medical ultrasound and surgical robotics to create healthcare innovations that improve patient care.

As an associate professor at 麻豆原创鈥檚 College of Medicine and a member of 麻豆原创鈥檚 new Institute of Artificial Intelligence, Brattain holds secondary positions in the College of Engineering and Computer Science. She is offering a newly revitalized Introduction to Medical Robotics course that is part of a new master鈥檚 program in robotics and autonomous systems. Those educational opportunities are also expanding research opportunities.

During a recent gathering, Brattain and her students 鈥� 麻豆原创 undergraduates, master’s and doctoral candidates 鈥� demonstrated the promise AI and medical robotics have for patient care.

鈥淢y hope is that students come away from this course with not only a solid understanding of how robotics and AI are transforming medicine, but also a sense of creativity and purpose 鈥� seeing themselves as future innovators who can bridge engineering and healthcare to improve patient outcomes,鈥� Brattain says.

鈥淲ith the advances in AI and hardware acceleration, medical robotics is going to be one of the next frontiers in healthcare innovation.鈥� 鈥� Laura Brattain, associate professor

The Promise of Technology

As part of the new class, students are using AI to program a small medical robot to recognize anatomical structures in medical images. For example, the robot鈥檚 probe can recognize the difference between soft tissue and bone in the human body. With the probe, you can feel the softness of human tissue and the hardness of bone as the probe enters each.

Such robots could provide needed care in rural and isolated areas, Brattain explains. A surgeon miles or even countries away could direct the robot with his or her hands to perform surgery.

M. Iffat Hossain is a 麻豆原创 graduate student studying computer engineering. He says Brattain鈥檚 class has opened his eyes to ways engineers and physicians can work together.

In another lab, 麻豆原创 students and Brattain show the use of ultrasound technology to improve care. There, they are programming a small, handheld ultrasound machine that can provide medical imaging rather than rely on the large ultrasound machines used in hospital and established clinical settings.

One of her students uses a wireless ultrasound probe on his arm to track the median nerve using AI. Patients with carpal tunnel syndrome often require surgery or nerve blockers injected into that nerve to relieve their pain. AI-driven ultrasound technology can improve outcomes of such procedures and increase access to care, she says.

Her research is also studying the use of AI and ultrasound to better diagnose breast cancer with less invasive procedures for patients. Currently, a certain percentage of patients with a suspected tumor undergo surgical biopsies, where a piece of the tumor is surgically removed for testing.

What if AI and ultrasound imaging could better differentiate between benign vs. malignant tumors, thus reducing the need for surgical biopsies?

What if technology could provide a less invasive and more cost-effective way to keep track of breast cancer progression and reduce the reliance on mammograms and MRIs?

鈥淚f we could use AI and medical ultrasound technology to safely reduce surgical biopsies by even 20%, that would mean improved quality of life to many women, including younger women.鈥�

麻豆原创 Students Are Inspired

Farhan聽Fuad聽Abir聽is a 麻豆原创 computer engineering doctoral candidate working on the breast cancer AI research. His mother is a breast cancer survivor.

鈥淚 want to create technology that serves humankind.鈥� 鈥� Daryl Docteur, computer science graduate student

鈥淭he opportunity to use my skills to create technology to help people like my mother is powerful,鈥� he says.

Engineering and computer science students say the medical robotics course has inspired them on new ways to use their skills while simultaneously increasing the potential of job opportunities linking engineering, computer science and healthcare.

Daryl Docteur was inspired to return to school after what he saw firsthand while working as a nurse in assisted living centers in Miami. He says as a health provider, he became enthralled with the innovative technology being developed to improve patient care and decided to come to 麻豆原创 to pursue his master鈥檚 degree in computer science to further his training.

鈥淚 want to be part of the solution,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 want to create technology that serves humankind.鈥�

Now students with a passion for robotics can take their interest and their education to a new level. The College of Engineering and Computer Science plans to launch the master鈥檚 in robotics and autonomous systems within the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in Fall 2024.

Students who enroll in the program will learn to analyze, design and develop the robotics and autonomous systems that are used in society. This includes self-driving cars, drones, medical robots 鈥� and even mechanical dogs. The curriculum will cover multiple disciplines with a focus on electrical and electronic hardware, machine learning, autonomous control and computer vision.

鈥淩obotics is a very interdisciplinary field and 麻豆原创鈥檚 program ensures that students are exposed to courses from multiple engineering specialties,鈥� says Professor Gita Sukthankar, coordinator of the program. 鈥淭he master of science in robotics and autonomous systems is housed within the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, but it also includes required courses from mechanical engineering and computer science.鈥�

While other graduate level programs in Florida offer specializations related to robotics, none are as comprehensive or immersive as this master鈥檚 degree, Sukthankar says. Students who enroll can take courses in computer vision, machine learning, autonomous vehicles, medical robotics and intelligent systems. The skills they develop can be applied to an independent study project, a master鈥檚 thesis or robotics research in a related laboratory or center. With the skills and experience gained from the program, students can establish careers as robotics engineers across a variety of industries.

鈥淒epending on the student鈥檚 selection of technical electives, they are likely to be recruited for certain specialized computer, electrical and mechanical engineering roles,鈥� Sukthankar says. 鈥淔or instance, a student who opted to take machine learning electives would be eligible to work as a machine learning engineer.鈥�

The program is designed to not only benefit students, but the local workforce as well.

鈥淲e hope the program helps local companies with their workforce needs,鈥� Sukthankar says. 鈥淐entral Florida is home to several companies that have large robotics investments, including Lockheed Martin, L3Harris and Siemens. We also hope that some of our graduates choose to start companies of their own since this area is ripe for venture capital investment.鈥�

Prospective applicants should have a 3.0 GPA or above and an undergraduate degree in a STEM-related discipline. Some knowledge of programming languages, engineering statistics, linear algebra and multivariate calculus is preferred.

To learn more or to apply, visit the master鈥檚 in robotics and autonomous systems webpage.

During this year鈥檚 Hour of Code, students, faculty and staff members and the community will see exclusive 鈥淪tar Wars: The Force Awakens鈥� footage and learn about the computer coding that鈥檚 involved with sci-fi films. Then, they鈥檒l be challenged to write their own line of code using their cell phone, tablet or laptop.

Hour of Code is a national movement to bring awareness to coding. More than 100 million students created a computer code during last year鈥檚 event, which President Obama also participated in.

麻豆原创 is one of the more than 156,000 Hour of Code host sites from more than 180 countries. 麻豆原创鈥檚 event will start at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 8, at the Education Complex Gym.

The event will be led by College of Education and Human Performance Assistant Professor Megan Nickels.

Prior to joining 麻豆原创, Nickels volunteered as an educator at a children鈥檚 hospital in Peoria, Ill. She saw firsthand how critically and terminally ill children such as those with cancer struggled with understanding math, so she introduced programmable robots that can be coded by the kids into her lessons.

The robots are named Dash and Dot, and they鈥檙e produced by Wonder Workshop. Children use tablets to code the behaviors of the robots, and teachers use the robots to expose children to STEM principles in a fun and interactive way.

While working on her Ph.D. in Chicago, Nickels studied how robots like Dash and Dot impacted the children鈥檚 understanding of math and overall well-being. She found that when the children were working on math with the robots, their blood pressure went down. The children also reported having less of a chemo brain or feeling foggy or forgetful while they programmed the robots.

Children from BASE Camp Children鈥檚 Cancer Foundation in Winter Park鈥攚here Nickels currently volunteers鈥攚ill be at Hour of Code to share how the robots are helping them learn.

Hour of Code is free and part of the College of Education and Human Performance’s Computer Science Education Week.

The 4 p.m. talk will be at the Partnership II Building, room 208, 3100 Technology Drive, in the Central Florida Research Park next to the 麻豆原创 campus. The talk is free and open to the 麻豆原创 community and public.

Abell is the lead scientist for Planetary Small Bodies assigned to the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Directorate at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. He is among many working toward NASA’s mandate to put an astronaut on a near-Earth object (NEO) by 2025.

As likely launching pads for a manned space flight to Mars, NEOs are objects of considerable interest. Dr. Abell’s interest, however, goes beyond their utility as an interplanetary pit stop. They have potential as a source for minerals and even water and fuel for more distant space travel. Some also have a trajectory that could be hazardous to life on Earth as we know it. And for that reason, too, scientists want to know more about them.

Dr. Abell has studied potentially hazardous asteroids for more than 15 years. One of such bodies, 1999 RQ36 (probability of impact: 1-in-63,000 in 2169, 1-in-3,850 in 2182), is the destination for the OSIRIS-REx robotic space craft, set to launch in late 2016 and return with samples by 2023.

Missions to NEOs will provide a great deal of engineering and technical data that will help scientists develop strategies for defense against an “Armageddon” of the kind supposed by the 1998 sci-fi movie.

Since 2006, Dr. Abell has been part of a NASA team formed to examine the possibility of long-duration missions to NEOs and is lead committee member of the Small Bodies Assessment Group. He has described asteroids as the “leftover building blocks of the solar system” and valuable as stepping stones to other places.

The club brought back a 2nd place and a check for $4,000.00 for the second consecutive year. Sponsored by Army Research Lab’s (ARL) Simulation and Training Technology Center (STTC) and the Institute for Simulation & Training (IST), they competed against 14 other schools from as far away as Taiwan.

Students are required to design and build an autonomous surface vehicle capable of, without any human intervention, channel navigation, obstacle avoidance and other advanced tasks such as spraying water onto shoreline targets. The 麻豆原创 platform, Boatname the Brave, repeatedly passed through the departing gates and navigated a channel of red, green, and yellow buoys using a suite of sensors that includes a digital compass, laser range finder and digital camera.

Those watching the live status updates on Facebook over the weekend saw how 麻豆原创 pushed through multiple challenges such as motor and electronics failure, and pulled together as a team to achieve the best channel navigation capability they have ever performed at the event.

More information about the event, including video recaps, can be found at RoboBoat.org. More about the Robotics Club and the team is at and Robotics at 麻豆原创 on Facebook.

Most participants preferred the manual mode, which requires them to think several steps ahead and either physically type in instructions or verbally direct the arm with a series of precise commands. They favored the manual mode even though they did not perform tasks as well with it.

鈥淲e focused so much on ,鈥� said Assistant Professor Aman Behal. 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 expect this.鈥�

John Bricout, Behal鈥檚 collaborator and the associate dean for Research and Community Outreach at the University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work, said the study demonstrates how people want to be engaged — but not overwhelmed — by technology. The psychology theory of Flow describes this need to have a balance between challenge and capacity in life.

鈥淚f we鈥檙e too challenged, we get angry and frustrated. But if we aren鈥檛 challenged enough, we get bored,鈥� said Bricout, who has conducted extensive research on adapting technology for users with disabilities. 鈥淲e all experience that. People with disabilities are no different.鈥�

The computer program is based on how the human eye sees. A touch screen, computer mouse, joystick or voice command sends the arm into action. Then sensors mounted on the arm see an object, gather information and relay it to the computer, which completes the calculations necessary to move the arm and retrieve the object.

Behal is seeking grants to translate the study鈥檚 findings into a smoother 鈥渉ybrid鈥� mode that is more interactive and challenging for users and features a more accurate robotic arm. Laser, ultrasound and infrared technology coupled with an adaptive interface will help him achieve his goals.

The key is to design technology that can be individualized with ease, Behal said. Some patients will have more mobility than others, and they may prefer a design closer to the manual mode. Though the automatic mode wasn鈥檛 popular in the pilot study, it may be the best option for patients with more advanced disease and less mobility.

Bob Melia, a quadriplegic who advised the 麻豆原创 team, says the new technology will make life easier for thousands of people who are so dependent on others because of physical limitations.

鈥淵ou have no idea what it is like to want to do something as simple as scratching your nose and have to rely on someone else to do it for you,鈥� Melia said. 鈥淚 see this device as someday giving people more freedom to do a lot more things, from getting their own bowl of cereal in the morning to scratching their nose anytime they want.鈥�

Behal鈥檚 initial research was funded with a grant from the National Science Foundation and through a pilot grant from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Behal presented his findings at the 2010 International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Anchorage, Alaska.

Behal is collaborating with Bricout, who previously worked in the College of Health and Public Affairs at 麻豆原创, to apply for another grant in the area of assistive technology.

The research team includes Dae-Jin Kim, Zhao Wang, and Rebekah Hazlett from 麻豆原创,聽聽 John Bricout from UT Arlington, and Heather Godfrey, Greta Rucks, David Portee and Tara Cunningham from Orlando Health Rehabilitation Institute. The institute helped recruit patients for the study.

A 麻豆原创 faculty member since 2006, Behal has a joint appointment in the College of Engineering and Computer Science and the NanoScience Technology Center. He received his master鈥檚 degree from the Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai, India, and a Ph.D. from Clemson University in South Carolina.

麻豆原创 went against 12 other teams in the design and programming of a surface vehicle to complete a 20-minute mission involving eight separate 鈥渢rials.鈥� Team members designed and built the craft with GPS navigation, computer vision, water cannon, and other capabilities required for the assignment.

The robotics team also earned an extra $500 Sportsmanship and Cooperation award. The Institute for Simulation & Training cosponsors the team and provides workshop space and advisors.

According Daniel Barber, an IST researcher and academic advisor for the team, “Boatname the Brave” during one of its runs made a sharp turn at the end of a bouy channel and fouled a motor in the pond’s lining.

“Regardless, I’m exremely happy with the team’s overall performance this year,” said Barber. He noted that the team of undergraduate and graduate students worked long hours on this competition. In spite of numerous “Murphy’s Law” incidents that shut down their computers, waterlogged a motor, confused the color sensors and otherwise plagued the initial competition days, the team came out of qualifying rounds in first place.

Team members are Chris Bunty (team leader; electrical engineering), Johathan Mohlenhoff (electrical engineering), Travis Goldberg (mechanical engineering), Kiran Bernard (electrical engineering), Ross Kerley (electrical engineering), Mike Podel (electrical engineering), Nick Yielding (electrical engineering), Brian Valentino (computer science), Gary Stein (robotics advisor; computer engineering) and Daniel Barber (academic advisor; modeling & simulation).

For more information about the 3rd ASVC, including videos and a list of the competing universities, go to .

麻豆原创 will compete against 12 other teams in the design and programming of a surface vehicle to complete a 20-minute mission involving eight separate “trials.” Team members designed and built the craft with GPS navigation, computer vision, water cannon, and other capabilities required for the assignment.

Mission requirements are loaded into the onboard computer and the craft must use this information, plus input from its various sensors, to complete the trials. No radio-control is allowed during competition.

The eight-member team of graduate and undergraduate students based this year’s design on lessons learned from the two previous competitions. The team built the boat from scratch, including the lightweight fiberglass hulls.The current design, according to team notes, “is faster, stronger and more agile than previous years.”

Actual construction of Boatname the Brave began in late January. The craft was finally ready for launch in March. Club members continued building and testing components right up to the deadline for travel to Virginian Beach.

Team members are Chris Bunty (team leader; electrical engineering), Johathan Mohlenhoff (electrical engineering), Travis Goldberg (mechanical engineering), Kiran Bernard (electrical engineering), Ross Kerley (electrical engineering), Mike Podel (electrical engineering), Nick Yielding (electrical engineering), Brian Valentino (computer science), Gary Stein (robotics advisor; computer engineering) and Daniel Barber (academic advisor; modeling & simulation).

For more information about the 3rd ASVC, including videos and a list of the competing universities, go to http://bit.ly/3rdASVC. The contest finals will stream live on Sunday, June 13, beginning at 1:00 pm EDT.

Themed “Energizing Our Future,” the event brought together student engineers from the region to race solar-powered robots in a competition of smarts and ingenuity.

Teams had only three minutes to charge their robots from indoor “sun” lights, and have them complete as many laps as possible around an obstacle-laden track. The robots were not allowed to have any form of stored energy prior to the start of the competition.

To get its robot, “Knight-Brite,” charged up quickly, the 麻豆原创 team used a scissor-lift design to position the robot as close to the light source as possible.

“It took about two minutes to charge,” said team captain Michael Scherer, “leaving one minute to race.” Scherer added that while all teams put in a good effort, many of the robots at the competition didn’t move.

Team members included Chris Davis, Alex Demos, James Humphries, Steven Kobosko, Jonathan Mohlenhoff, Chris Nergard, Cassondra Puklavage and Matt Znoj.

The 麻豆原创 Robotics Club participated in cooperation with the IEEE 麻豆原创 Student Chapter.