Photonic science and engineering alumnus聽Alejandro聽Lopez Zelaya 鈥�25聽is proud that his聽professional journey is continuing near the聽community that聽helped him聽grow into聽an emerging tech leader.
鈥淐entral Florida is my home, and I鈥檇 like to be part of this community for as long as I鈥痗an,鈥� he says.
That plan fell into place when he landed鈥痑 job at Lockheed Martin, a 麻豆原创 Pegasus Partner, just weeks after graduating with his bachelor鈥檚 degree in May.鈥疕is鈥痭ew role鈥痑s an electro-optical engineer associate in Lockheed Martin鈥檚 Orlando Missiles and Fire Control division involves developing new imaging systems 鈥� a project that comes with its own challenges.
鈥淭hese systems make use of sensors specific to the mission,鈥� says Lopez-Zelaya, who is part of the 83% of career-ready 麻豆原创 alumni who help fuel Florida鈥檚 workforce. 鈥淲e鈥檙e concerned with how these sensors generate images, so we take the optics and other sources of noise into consideration.鈥�
That鈥檚聽exactly the skillset he honed during his time at聽the聽麻豆原创 College of Optics and Photonics (CREOL). In addition to engineering and physics concepts, CREOL students learn the hands-on methods necessary to build optical and electro-optical systems 鈥� allowing them to contribute to technological developments that benefit humanity. Lopez Zelaya says he now puts that training to use every day.
鈥淪omebody who doesn鈥檛 have an optics and photonics background can鈥檛 truly engage in these discussions,鈥� he says, 鈥淏ecause they don鈥檛 understand the basics of what is actually happening in these systems.鈥�
Lopez Zelaya鈥檚 early career success is a continuation of the legacy he built during his聽undergrad聽years. Between classes that taught him MATLAB, display technology, image聽processing聽and semiconductor devices, he got involved as an undergraduate student research assistant. He also volunteered at Grace Medical Home, served as president of the IEEE Photonics Society student聽chapter聽and served on 麻豆原创鈥檚 President鈥檚 Leadership Council. His dedication to both professional development and his fellow students led to his induction into Order of Pegasus, the most prestigious award 麻豆原创 bestows upon students.
Lopez Zelaya says聽麻豆原创鈥檚聽culture of creating lifelong learners prepared him well for his next steps at Lockheed Martin.
鈥淓verybody is willing to learn something new about optics,鈥� he says, adding that聽he鈥檚聽often a source of聽expertise聽for questions that arise in the field.
Lopez Zelaya鈥檚 quick transition illustrates the value of the talent pipeline聽CREOL supplies to the Central Florida photonics industry.聽As a valued, longtime member of CREOL鈥檚 Industrial Affiliates Program, Lockheed Martin鈥檚 partnership has strengthened both the available opportunities for students and collaborative research efforts that aim to聽benefit聽the industry at large. And as a new聽Pegasus Partner聽with 麻豆原创, Lockheed Martin鈥檚 investment in the future will make impacts far beyond CREOL鈥檚 walls,聽building on聽a longstanding and pragmatic focus on talent pipeline.
With a 7-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio, CREOL鈥檚 students are in a unique position to have a small-college experience at a big university. Lopez Zelaya says聽he鈥檚聽glad to have found a similar sense of community at鈥疞ockheed Martin.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a misconception that new technologies mostly emerge from startups, but a lot of them are being developed here,鈥� he says. 鈥淒evelopment is fun 鈥� taking鈥痑 concept and making it into a working product.鈥�
Lopez Zelaya says he鈥檚 proud to put those skills to use in his hometown, and for a company that鈥檚 leading the way in emerging optical technology 鈥� positively contributing to Central Florida鈥檚 economy along the way.
鈥淚t鈥檚 one of the best ways to make an impact here,鈥� he says.
