What you need to know: This U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship program is among the most prestigious honors possible for students pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees in STEM fields around the U.S.
Why this year is significant for UCF: From the 13,000 graduates who applied for the fellowship nationwide, the NSF awarded only 1,500 (about one in nine). Those honorees receive financial support for advanced education and a stipend for their research. Six of them are UCF alums who are now set up to advance research in the areas of interest they discovered as undergraduates.
If you only remember one item: The NSF considers these six graduates among our nation’s next high-achieving scientists and engineers. Two of these six graduates, Alejandro Aparcedo Gonzalez ’24 and Darrel Nieves Lugo ’24, are alumni of the College of Engineering and Computer Science.
Alejandro Aparcedo Gonzalez ’24
Computer science alum and computer vision graduate student
He’s working on his master’s in computer vision at UCF, with an eye on “advancing video understanding with multimodal artificial intelligence (AI).” In short, Gonzalez sees into the future.
Research Interest: In professional terms, I’m finding ways for computer vision to improve human understanding of the real world. In practical terms, the end goal is to give humans time for leisure activities. The way I see it, that’s essentially the goal of AI research.
Research Inspiration: My parents owned a computer shop when I was a kid, so I’ve always been comfortable with technology. Turns out, my parents (like a lot of people) still had a lot to learn. Now they use AI in their own work, and I see how it leaves them more time to engage in other activities.
For Example: With the perfect video understanding model, we could make a device to help blind people to navigate the world by asking the device questions, like, “Is it safe to cross the street?” Using AI, the device would understand the visual context of traffic, obstacles, and pedestrian signals, and give reliable guidance.
How UCF Provided a Path: I was introduced to this field in the Center for Research in Computer Vision, the same place where I learned about the fellowship. I’m now the first person in my family to pursue a Ph.D.
Career Vision: I’d like to work in a top AI lab and then transition into academia — or maybe the other way around.
Darrell Nieves Lugo ’24
Aerospace engineering alum and graduate student
The B.S.-to-M.S. aerospace program at UCF allowed him a seamless transition to begin focusing on his rotorcraft research, with plans to share his research with aerospace professionals through the NSF Fellowship.
Research Interest: Helicopter and tiltrotor blades can be unstable. So, I’m using computational fluid dynamics and machine learning to show that instability can be mitigated through a novel approach.
Research Inspiration: As kid from Puerto Rico, I visited KSC with my family in 2015. That experience filled me with awe and instilled a desire to be an aerospace engineer.
How UCF has Provided a Path: As a sophomore, I participated in a quadcopter design project through my engineering club (American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics) … and got hooked. Making FPV (first-person view) drones became my hobby, which grew into a specific interest in computational methods.
Career Vision: I’d like to advance the technology of rotorcraft, planetary vehicles, and in the emerging field of air mobility. With God’s favor, perhaps I can inspire the next generation, especially those from Puerto Rico, to push the boundaries of what is possible.
Written by Robert Stephens | November 10, 2025