The Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering celebrates Black History Month with a final spotlight on several excellent ECE Florida faculty, staff, and students.
Nicole T. Young
Electrical Engineering Undergraduate Advisor
What is the best advice you ever received?
In any group, first observe the room to see how people interact with each other.
Who or what inspires you?
I am driven to succeed because one of my grammar school teachers said I would never graduate high school, much less attend and graduate college. Enjoying proving them wrong.
How do you hope to inspire the next generation of UF students?
I am my advisee students’ biggest cheerleader. All students are intelligent and resilient in their own way. You can achieve anything in life as long you are persistent.
What is one of your favorite hobbies?
I enjoy painting during my free time. I am also a die-hard Seattle Seahawks fan!
Teley Laporte
ECE Undergraduate student
Recent Service: Pre-College Initiative Chair in the National Society of Black Engineers. My job is to travel to local middle and high schools encouraging students to pursue a career in STEM.
What is the best advice you ever received?
To attend the University of Florida! As a first-generation college student, I was worried about going away to college. I’m glad that I decided to put that fear behind me.
Who or what inspires you?
My mother
How do you hope to inspire the next generation of UF students?
By always shooting for the stars and encouraging everyone to be the best version of yourself.
What is one of your favorite hobbies?
I love fitness and being able to help other people feel more confident about themselves.
Always be ready to seek out the next level of your education, job or career—even if it means making a life change.
Who or what inspires you?
Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela
How do you hope to inspire the next generation of UF students?
Providing guidance, mentorship and technology leadership to the youth, here at UF, in the Gainesville community, and in Africa. My office is open to anyone who needs me, anytime.
What is one of your favorite hobbies?
Getting involved in my community; Jogging
Joshua Peeples
ECE Graduate student, NSF and McKnight Doctoral Fellow
Lab: Machine Learning and Sensing Lab Research Interests: Deep learning for texture characterization, segmentation, and classification of images. Applications include: automated medical diagnosis, explosive hazard detection for the military, and autonomous vehicles. Recent Internship: Naval Research Enterprise Internship Recent Service: President of A3ECE
What is the best advice you ever received?
Being the smartest or most successful person will not matter if you do not have character and integrity.
Who or what inspires you?
My late father, Tracy Peeples
How do you hope to inspire the next generation of UF students?
By demonstrating the principle that, through hard work and perseverance, adversity can be only a temporary situation in one’s life and career.
What is a fun fact about you?
I have a twin brother who is also an engineer.
Ayobami Edun
ECE Graduate student
Research Lab: SmartDATA Lab Research Specialty: Signal processing, machine learning, computer vision, and energy systems. Using reflectometry and machine learning to detect, characterize, and locate the presence of faults in a solar array system. Recent Accomplishment: 2021 Attributes of a Gator Engineer Award for Service. Recent Service: Vice-President of A3ECE
What is the best advice you ever received?
Spend your time on things that are important, but not urgent, and build a system around it.
Who or what inspires you?
Who: I am inspired by how professors lead ground breaking research, teach, compete for grants, combine a lot of work, and yet succeed. What: The desire to be better today than I was yesterday
How do you hope to inspire the next generation of UF students?
By being proof that it is possible to do well academically while being very committed to several community services.
