The department held a graduation reception and pinning ceremony at the Hilton University of Florida Conference Center on May 1st to celebrate the class of 2016! Faculty, staff, family and friends all gathered to recognize the hard work of the 32 students in this year’s class. We were honored to have Dr. Crayton Pruitt, Jr. in attendance on behalf of the Pruitt Family for which the department is named.
The program consisted of messages from Dr. Christine E. Schmidt, Pruitt Family Professor and chair, Dr. Carlos Rinaldi, professor and senior associate chair, Dr. Stephen Arce, BME lecturer and ABET coordinator, Dr. Kyle Allen, assistant professor and associate chair for undergraduate studies and Dr. David Gilland, associate professor and undergraduate coordinator.
BME graduate, Leslie Morgan, was selected to serve as the 2016 class speaker and gave a heartfelt address during the ceremony. In addition, each of the students shared their favorite BME memory.
The program concluded with the much-anticipated pinning ceremony in which the graduates received a special department pin to recognize their alumni status. These custom-designed pins recognize our graduating students for their achievements and serve as a guiding reminder of excellence and research to improve human health. It is a symbol the class of 2016 will carry with them long after they walk across the stage. 
After the ceremony, faculty, students and their families processed to the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts for the formal engineering commencement activities.
Please visit the Flickr album to view all the photos from this event.
Congratulations to the 2016 class!
Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering
Mohammed Adam – graduated with honors
Medhut Alnadi – graduated with high honors
Marleny Aarones – graduated with highest honors
Adam Batchelor – graduated with honors
Jackson Cagle – graduated with highest honors
Santiago Carrasquilla
Kelly Clark – graduated with honors
Anthony Davis – graduated with honors
Preston Donaldson – graduated with honors
Noah Ellis – graduated with honors 
Emily Ferradaz – graduated with honors
Evan Glass – graduated with highest honors
Vanessa Guarnizo – graduated with honors
Charles Heinke – graduated with highest honors
Darin Jagnarine – graduated with honors
Aaron Johnston – graduated with honors and recipient of the Attribute of a Gator Engineer Award for Professional Excellence
Kevin Knox – graduated with honors
Bich Ngoc Lam – graduated with highest honors
Leslie Morgan – graduated with highest honors
Thein Nguyen – graduated with highest honors
Zachary Quicksall – graduated with honors
Akshatha Rao – graduated with honors
Tanner Repasky – graduated with honors
Brandon Reso – graduated with honors
Julian Rey – graduated with honors
Darrian Rice – graduated with honors
Gabrielle Riley – graduated with honors
Scott Siegel – graduated with honors
Anthony Sorrentino – graduated with honors
Benjamin Tessler – graduated with honors
Kevin Vidal – graduated with honors
Kristina Zopf – graduated with honors
Pinning Sponsors
Mr. Jose E. Aguirre
Dr. Stephen H. Arce
Mr. Jerry Chang
Dr. Bryan P. Conrad
Dr. Arthur Coury
Ms. Li Ding
Dr. Mingzhou Ding
Dr. Jon Dobson
Dr. David R. Gilland
Dr. Aysegul Gunduz
Dr. David Hintenlang
Dr. Gregory Hudalla
Dr. Benjamin Keselowsky
Mr. Michael Masem
Dr. Gary J. Miller
Dr. Richard L. Morin
Dr. Brandi K. Ormerod
Dr. Kevin Otto
Dr. Win M. Phillips
Dr. Parisa Rashidi
Dr. Carlos Rinaldi
Dr. Christine E. Schmidt
Dr. Blanka Sharma
Dr. John W. Sheets, Jr.
Dr. Cherie L. Stabler
Dr. Hans Van Oostrom
Dr. Bruce C. Wheeler
Dr. Lin Yang
Mrs. Karen Zaderej
Ms. Meg Hendryx
Dr. Pete McFetridge
Dr. Jack Judy