University of Advancing Technology (UAT) founders Dominic and Ann Pistillo founded the university 40 years ago in September of 1983. Throughout the last 40 years Dominic and Ann have seen the university grow and transition from the CAD Institute into the University as it is today. The foundation that they laid for the university all those years ago have allowed the university to flourish, not only for the students but for faculty and staff as well.

Having founded the university, Dominic and Ann have seen every milestone, hardship and win UAT has experienced. Dominic said about the inception of UAT “There was four or five partners who decided back in 1982 when the IBM PC was just coming on the market, that this was going to change the world. So, it actual started as a computer business whose focus shifted quickly to big systems for architects and engineers. We had to take a multi-pronged approach to getting them to integrate these tools into the design process, but the computers really weren’t powerful enough yet so we started building more powerful computers. We had a computer manufacturing facility, and started training. that (the training) was the CAD Institute. We thought we really needed to focus on education.” It was at that point Dominic and Ann shifted focus from manufacturing computers and software and threw everything into educating on computers and technology. 

Once the foundation of what they wanted to do was built, the University began to grow. Ann said “The first ten, 15 years the school grew rapidly. We were changing things constantly. We went from 1000 square feet on Southern Avenue to 2000 on Broadway and then expanded on to double that. That was all in a relatively short amount of time. It was going from nothing to getting financial aid, all the licensing and accreditation and then keeping that progression going until we got university status.”

As quickly as the campus expanded so did the curriculum. Dominic said "We had to go to the state board to get approval to go from certificate granting to a degree granting institution. Normally the progression would be to go to a two year associate degree, but we went right from the nine month certificate to a four year degree."

Once the school and curriculum grew, it was time for the campus to grow. Both Ann and Dominic played a large part in the location and structure of the current UAT campus. Dominic said "The location here's what they call the Dragon Mountains in Phoenix. It's a big valley and these mountains have power and the largest dragon mountain in the Phoenix Valley is South Mountain, and the tail of South Mountain wraps right around here. This is one of the Mose auspicious places in the Phoenix Valley, that's why we bought here."

With the location picked out both Dominic and Ann knew they wanted to use Feng Shui as the primary design principle of the campus. To find the right architect to bring their vision to life, they decided a design competition would help them locate that person. Ann remembers the final touches once campus was built in 1998, "We had done the campus, we were running around, starting classes in this building on Monday and it was Sunday and we had been working all weekend in this place getting everything ready. We send everybody home and we were here probably four or five more ours alone just putting the final touches on the place. part of what we were doing was a blessing on the campus. Kind of a clearing some of the energy of construction, which can be quite draining. But that was our celebration at the end, to have that moment together." 

It was shortly after this time Ann took a step back from being at UAT daily, while Dominic stayed for another 10 years or so. When Dominic decided he wanted to retire he put current UAT President Jason Pistillo and Provost Dr. Dave Bolman on track to lead the university. He recalls "When I decided that I was going to retire, I put Jason and Dave on president training and I think they were on it for five years. It was an intensive training program, and the Board they were nervous about it.  So toward the end of the five years Dave then became President for a year or year and a half, then Jason for another year or year and a half." At the end of the five years, with Ann already retired from the university and Jason voted in as President by the Board of Directors, Dominic was able to retire from day to day service at UAT. 

While they are no longer on the UAT campus daily, the foundation they built and their life's work will continue to educate students and advance technology for many years to come. 

Click here to read more on UAT through the years and the history of UAT.

SIP Title: Control Your Emotions
Student Name: Hanna Richards, Game Design, Game Art and Animation

As a lifelong lover of video games, Hanna Richards (Game Design, Game Art and Animation) has always been inspired by the narrative element of games. She grew up playing titles renowned for their emotionally compelling stories—games like Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us. But still, Hanna saw the potential for further emotional sway on the player: What if the player’s emotion could impact the gameplay experience?

Enter Control Your Emotions, Hanna’s Student Innovation Project (SIP), a project that takes emotionality to a new level.

Control Your Emotions factors in the player’s real-time emotions to the gameplay experience, impacting character interactions and story outcomes through procedural generation. The non-playable character (NPC) starts the scene in a neutral state, only to be swayed by player input regarding their emotional state while playing. While the project in its current state requires the player to input their emotional state, Hanna envisions a future version that could use detection hardware to automatically pull this data.

Hanna feels that the types and structure of classes at UAT are different from the average university her friends attend, but says what ultimately made her college experience unique was the dedication of the faculty.

“The connection with the professors is really the most interesting thing about UAT,” she said.“When working on projects for your portfolio and trying to get a job, they are helpful to the max. They're there for you, they're going to help you every step of the way. And they're only here to help you succeed.”

For Hanna, coming to Arizona from the small town of Adelanto, CA, building that connection with the UAT community was key to her success in completing her SIP as well as double-majoring in Game Design and Game Art and Animation. To complete her SIP, Hanna collaborated with UAT graduate Alec Carter (2021, Game Programming) and took guidance from UAT faculty—primarily Matthew Marquit (UAT professor and alumnus, 2016), whose courses Hanna learned so much from.

Hanna chose Game Design as her initial major because she “fell in love with it” after taking a few game design courses in high school. After attending some of UAT’s digital arts courses, she decided to add a second major in Game Art and Animation. Hanna feels that combining her two passions is a dream come true.

In order to bring her vision to execution, Hanna had to learn a variety of skills, both anticipated and unexpected. From visual scripting to prototyping in Unreal Engine 4, she had to expand her knowledge and capabilities to bring Control Your Emotions to reality. Hanna also noted that in addition to increasing her creativity through design courses, her English classes were instrumental in learning how to construct a complex narrative structure.

Hanna’s claim to innovation is an impressive and daunting one, in that she wants to expand game design itself, taking video game narrative to the next level.

“When players are playing games, they’re designers in their own right too,” Hanna explained.“They're feeling connected to these games, because games already do that to people—they make them feel connected, they make them feel special. And I think my SIP is another way to branch onto that and to make it even more special for those players.”

Hanna is graduating this fall from UAT and plans to move back to California for a beat to polish up her resume and her portfolio, before tackling the next challenge of her budding career as a game designer and animator: Seeking gainful employment.

Hanna’s keeping an open mind to wherever life and her career could take her next.

“Wherever work takes me—I'd be willing to go and venture off.”

Begin Earning Your Game Design Degree at UAT:

Did this student’s story spark your interest in UAT? Now is the perfect time to request more information or even apply for admission! Wherever you are at in your journey toward pursuing higher education, UAT’s friendly Admissions and Financial Aid teams can offer you support and guidance. Take the next step into your future by reaching out today!

Every fall at University of Advancing Technology (UAT) kicks off with the provost challenge. The provost challenge, hosted by UAT Provost Dr. Dave Bolman, is the first opportunity for our newest students to build, create and innovate. 

The Projects

Team Butterfly: Max Fighter 1984

Team Giant Squid: Under Atrophic Tech

Team Lions: Maxi Firewall

Team Moose: A Story Game starring Max

Team Night Wolves: Max Trap

Team Opossums: Max the cat-scot Virtual Pet

Team Phoenix: Free Fur All

Team Racoons: Drunken Horse

Team Seals: A Day in Max's Life

Team Shark: Max's Great Escape 

Team Sun Bears: Where's Max

Team Turtles: Max Runner 

40 Years of UAT

Each year, around September 23rd, University of Advancing Technology (UAT) celebrates its founding. The 2023 edition of this celebration marks our university’s 40th anniversary. Four decades ago, the world realized that computer technology was changing how we worked, communicated, transacted, and entertained ourselves in ways that would affect nearly every human, organization and business.

That was 1983, a year when I was an engineering undergraduate student. I remember attending an IEEE meeting (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) whose main agenda was how newly invented computer-aided design (CAD) tools would soon change how engineering ideas would be visualized and tested. I was captured and quickly withdrew from my aerospace program and enrolled in a new interdisciplinary study of computer graphics. I then spent the remainder of my undergraduate time with others who carried 5.25″ disks in backpacks, wishing to be able to afford hard drives. We applied linear algebra to algorithms that generated animations and renderings on humble systems that never had enough capacity to match what we were attempting. 

A new and rapidly evolving landscape of computer technology was the backdrop driving the creation of UAT (then called CAD Institute). UAT’s founders realized that an inexperienced world needed to quickly become comfortable and competent with new digital tools. Setting about this work, UAT’s founders saw an opportunity to rethink what it means to be a master of technology. They realized that personal computing was accessible to anyone wanting to get involved and that building with these new tools wasn’t theoretical or a series of mental exercises. Anyone could create, test, see their results, and then iterate and refine using these desktop boxes of silicon chips. With this new reality in front of them, UAT’s founders looked for the best ideas about learning and molded what they found to match a new computing future. Every year, new ideas about technology education were inserted into UAT classrooms, learned from, and improved in a way that parallels how students learned about and practiced building their applications. There are lines of history connecting all current elements of UAT methods to these early explorations: production studio, SIP, Synchronic learning, small class sizes, boards, and a culture of 24/7 creating technology solutions.

Innovation Journey from Provost Challenge to SIP

For many UAT students, participating in the Provost Challenge is the starting place in their journey to becoming unmatched tech creators. UAT could not be prouder of the participants who built tech as a part of the Fall 2023 Provost Challenge. Of the 13 teams who started, 12 presented, and this number bests the completion rates of any prior year’s challenge. The purpose of the Provost Challenge is to get new students into the mindset of what it is like to build things. Professionally, you rarely have as much time as you want, an optimal mix of talents, or all the tools you could hope for. Just the same, we build, get across the finish line, and honestly talk about the experience with the people in our communities. For 2023, the audience and judges saw board, card, computer, and hybrid games. Some games went beyond entertainment to also encompass teaching cyber awareness and safety. We saw a prototype with a market analysis of a tracking system for Max. There was even a Tamagotchi concept for micro desktop games that keep a virtual Max engaged and stimulated.

Several teams made up a close pack of prize contenders, and ultimately, Team Shark took the top prize with their card and board game Max’s Great Escape. Team Shark demonstrated a balanced approach that engaged all their team’s talents and the resources available to create a polished and game-tested product. Max’s Great Escape allows two players to either be a vet trying to give Max a shot or Max doing all he can to avoid receiving a needle. The game squarely answered the criteria: “Is this fun and something people want to use?”. The team’s enthusiastic chant of “Team Shark, Team Shark, Team Shark” while using their hands to form fins overhead made the point that they had pulled together in short order to get their project MVP done.

If the Provost Challenge is the start, then its bookend is the Student Innovation Showcase. During August, soon-to-be alums presented to the UAT community technology solutions that had been considered, planned, attempted, broken, iterated, fixed, stressed about, rehearsed, and shared. Ideas, innovations, and solutions included tools that use VR/AR for improved event planning, the use of AR to visualize individual medical data, tools that help non-artists navigate color theory, embedded systems prototypes allowing hands-free raising and lowering of visors, novel game mechanics, systems to improve storage for sailors stationed on submarines, several projects aimed at communities who are less tech comfortable to help them securely use IoT and help youth identify companies embracing sustainability practices. On behalf of all your professors, advisors, and supporting team, I want each of you who took part in the August SIP Showcase to know and feel how proud we are of what you accomplished. 

Access to Technology and Events

Today, UAT’s approach to teaching how to be excellent and relevant as a tech builder is unmatched. CAD has evolved into tools like 3D printing, Studio Max, Maya, and Solidworks. The emerging computing landscape has evolved into AI, drones, cloud tech, IoT, immersive experiences, and cyber. Because UAT’s founders were patient and persistent in the march to their vision, UAT students and alumni routinely create amazing tech to solve challenges with designs that factor in what people want and as a result, make lives and communities better. 

One of the baked-in elements of the UAT experience is access to events that give insights into where technology is headed, what people are excited about, and insider knowledge needed by businesses attempting to be smart about these same techs. As a student, you want to do everything you can to use these moments because what you learn will inform your course selections, boards, and student innovation projects. The more tech-relevant you are as a graduate, the better the career opportunities will be as you graduate.

The next tech opportunity is on Tuesday, September 26th, from 3:30p to 5:00p when UAT is hosting a virtual speaker series panel on Generative AI and Intellectual Property. AI is important, valuable, not understood, and will drive changes in laws and tech norms. The community will look to UAT students to help navigate an AI-infused future. Attending this web session will help you be ready. Members of UAT can register for the session by following this link: https://www.aztechcouncil.org/events/. While registering, enter the promo code UAT to have your ticket fees waived.

And one more thing…

UAT’s annual celebration of Founders Day includes marking the birthday of Max, our most excellent catscot. This year is Max’s 7th birthday, and on Thursday, the cafe will be putting out a lunch that will be themed “Max’s Catch of the Day.” I expect to see feathers, bones, and some kind of fish in the mix. There will also be deserts befitting the occasion. If you are near campus on Thursday, stop in, grab a tabby orange desert, and give our Max a pat and belly rub.

Happy quadrennial (and yes, this is a real word) Founders Day!

Dr. Dave Bolman, Provost

Morgan Soetaert has been presented with University of Advancing Technology's (UAT) World Changer award for her Summer 2023 Student Innovation Project titled "Visualize Life".

Provost, Dr. David Bolman states, "Some ideas and innovations have the capacity to reshape the way things are and have been done. UAT’s World Changer award goes to Student Innovation Projects that fit this mold by being technology applications capable of changing perspectives and expectations in big ways. World changers have the potential to broadly make the way businesses operate or how people go about their lives better. These student creations, once refined, become the game-changers people look for when attempting to use emerging tech to solve persistent challenges." 

UAT is proud to honor Morgan with the World Changer Award for her inspiring and innovative augmented reality (AR) medical app prototype. 

About Morgan Soetart

Morgan grew up in a small town in Missouri and moved to Arizona to study Game Design and Game Programming. Her hobbies include video games, reading and spending time with family. Most of Morgan's life has been a struggle to balance work and disabilities, but she doesn't let these challenges hinder her from achieving her goals. Upon learning about the potential to spend a lifetime creating video games, Morgan was completely sold, and ever since that moment, she has been diligently pursuing that cherished dream. Morgan studies Game Design and Game Programming at UAT, and prior to that pursued General Studies at Crowder College. 

"I was inspired to create this application based on my own experiences in healthcare. In my experience, it can be difficult for a doctor to read through everything with all the data I have. Doctors then have to rely on the patient to tell them all the relevant data. It's difficult as a patient to remember everything and key pieces of information can accidentally be missed. It is vital that doctors have all the information about a patient so that they can accurately set up a plan on how they want to treat the patient."

- Morgan Soetaert on the inspiration behind her SIP project 'Visualize Life'

Visualize Life

Summary: This project uses Unity's AR Foundation to take patient data and show it in an AR space. This project is inspired by my own experiences and knowledge of the healthcare system. In my experience, it can be difficult for a doctor to read through everything with all the data I have. Doctors then have to rely on the patient to tell them all the relevant data. It's difficult as a patient to remember
everything and key pieces of information can accidentally be missed.

Objectives: Doctors can access their patient's medical history by scanning the barcode on the patient's ID bracelet, using the Visualize Life App on their phones. The data will pop up using AR image tracking and they can zoom in using touch controls. The data is connected using lines, colors, and dates.

Innovation Claim: Patient data has never been displayed this way before. Currently, patient data is only displayed in 2D, and in newer, still-being-developed technology, VR. With my application, Doctors can finally visualize a patient's medical history in a way that makes it easier to see all the data
and the connections between certain disorders.

Learn more about Student Innovation Projects or request information about University of Advancing Technology. Apply today if you think you have what it takes to earn #techrespect at UAT!

SIP Title: Real Time Molding
Student Name: Victor Robles, Virtual Reality

When Victor Robles (Virtual Reality) put on his first virtual reality (VR) headset several years ago, he was instantly immersed in a new, imagined world. He had found not only a new hobby, but had also found a whole new possibility for the trajectory of his real-world life.

A military veteran, Victor chose UAT for his Virtual Reality degree after completing his service. Feeling somewhat lost and in search of a purpose for his civilian life, Victor took to Google, scouring webpages until he found what he was looking for: a Virtual Reality degree at University of Advancing Technology. 

This simple Google search truly paid off for Victor, as he is graduating August 2023 with a degree in Virtual Reality from UAT with not only the knowledge needed to pursue a career in the field, but also practical experience developing an impressive VR project for his Student Innovation Project (SIP).

Real Time Molding allows players to manipulate and prototype objects in a virtual environment. Users can shape and customize existing objects in the VR space, which will then dynamically adapt to their inputs in real-time.

Victor’s SIP has several practical applications in video games, such as customizing items like in-game weapons or tools, allowing the player even more control over their gameplay experience. Outside of video games, Victor believes Real Time Molding could be used to assist in building virtual rather than physical prototypes.

Victor had to use many of his newly learned skills at UAT to execute his vision. Whether in Game Design Fundamentals or other courses, Victor always felt encouraged by his professors at UAT, who often noticed his strong work ethic and desire to challenge himself to exceed expectations in his coursework and student projects.

“Professor Matthew Marquit would always tell the class to do certain tasks. And of course, to keep [scope] in mind and understand that you can’t do everything,” Victor explained. “And I took that as a challenge. And I tried to do everything and make everything from scratch.”

This drive to go above and beyond in all projects meant increasing his skills and experience using Unreal Engine, a complex software used to create graphics, and so he accepted “being confused and lost” while in the difficult process of learning it. But eventually, like a complex puzzle, everything started to fit together for Victor.

“I really enjoy figuring things out. I really like the challenge—it's like a puzzle, there are so many different puzzles to solve,” Victor said. “And when it comes to developing a game, or developing a simulation or anything really, there are things that are standard and then there are the bells and whistles.”

Bells and whistles meant extra effort and time on Victor’s part, but they paid off in the form of his remarkable SIP, Real Time Molding.  

“Naturally, I would like to expand upon Real Time Molding—refine it and possibly have some coding and software engineers take a look at it, so that we can start fixing what was wrong and collaborate to optimize it for everyone to use.”

As for what’s next for Victor, after graduation he hopes to travel to Norway to meet and gain insight from Andrew Perkis, ME, MTM, PhD, an admired VR and augmented reality (AR) expert, and someone who inspired Victor to want to run his own business and eventually help mentor others pursuing their passion projects.

“I would like to be able to not only have a company that creates things, but also to facilitate the space and the resources to allow the world's most gifted and talented engineers, coders and designers to start creating the next generation of devices and technology—whatever it is.”

Begin Earning Your Virtual Reality Degree at UAT:

Did this student’s story spark your interest in UAT? Now is the perfect time to request more information or even apply for admission! Wherever you are at in your journey toward pursuing higher education, UAT’s friendly Admissions and Financial Aid teams can offer you support and guidance. Take the next step into your future by reaching out today!

SIP Title: Alexander AI
Student Names:

Whether investing in stocks or in cryptocurrencies, the only guarantee you can really count on is the unpredictability of it all. That’s why University of Advancing Technology (UAT) students Chris Tomaskovic (Advancing Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence), Hunter DeVries-Ramirez (Network Security) and Anthony Shank (Advancing Computer Science) decided to construct a solution. With Alexander AI, a stock forecasting tool and the group’s Student Innovation Project (SIP), they strive to illuminate how public perception of a company can impact rising and falling stock value.

To keep the scope of Alexander AI reasonable, the app in its current form only evaluates the value of Tesla stock. Alexander AI performs sentiment analysis with data from Twitter to evaluate stock value based on what people are saying about the company and key partners. The AI used for the project makes predictions using a long short-term memory (LSTM) model, which is ideal for processing sequential data such as stocks. LSTM algorithms aid machine learning and help the AI understand complex data. The AI can take both positive and negative tweets to form a mean sentiment score, which is then used to inform the anticipated value of stocks for a five-day period.

A project as complex as Alexander AI has many moving parts, so each student worked on a different element to bring their collaboration to life. With Chris heading up AI elements and putting his Python skills to use, Hunter securing the website from potential threats using JavaScript and Anthony developing the app and using Flutter to code the user interface for multiple platforms, the three were able to lean into their strengths and interests to complete their SIP.

The students also had to use or learn unexpected skills to bring Alexander AI to the finish line, securing an all-hands-on-deck mentality. Anthony had to learn a new programming language as well as how to create custom APIs to complete his portion of the project. Hunter polished up his graphic design skills to create the group’s logo, a Spartan-inspired image replacing a spear with a stock forecast arrow. As for Chris, he felt like he picked up a lot of new knowledge in entrepreneurship, learning everything from how to come up with a viable business plan to taking it from idea to market to securing domain names for a venture.

Chris believes the best part of studying at UAT has been the emphasis on practical application of studied concepts over theory.

“What I really like about UAT is the project-based approach,” Chris said. “Not having to worry about tests and quizzes, and actually doing the hands-on work is how I learn best.”

Chris also added that since attending UAT, the community has been a favorite part of his experience. “It’s a lot of like-minded people,” he said.

The UAT community is one in which curious, engaged and ambitious students can thrive and collaborate with others who also think and work differently. For Hunter, he appreciates that UAT offers more than just the cookie-cutter four-year trajectory for earning a degree.

“I like the accelerated program and getting done quicker than the normal four-year mark,” said Hunter, who will be wrapping up his UAT degree in just two semesters at the age of 21.

Anthony also loves the project-based style of learning and the way UAT gives students the freedom to explore their interests while still providing the support from professors as well as the resources they need to be successful.

“It’s exciting being able to create something on your own,” Anthony said. “And one of the best things about it is that UAT doesn't claim the projects that you create.”

Anthony is referring to the fact that any IP created by students during their time at UAT remains student owned. This way, any SIPs or other projects can still be developed by students after graduation. 

All three arrived at UAT by different paths. Chris found out about UAT through an Instagram ad before taking a tour and deciding it would be where he would pursue his degree. Hunter’s mom told him about the university after seeing an advertisement on Facebook and arranging a tour. Anthony, meanwhile, heard about UAT from a friend and decided to give it a try via UATx, an overnight, on-campus open house event, before enrolling.

The students received ample guidance from UAT professors in the creation of Alexander AI. Anthony thinks Professor Tony Hinton is the best teacher to learn programming from because “he goes out of his way to help you.” Professor DapzuryValenzuela played a key role in advising the group and keeping them on track so they could all present Alexander AI together at the annual SIP Showcase.

Because the students own their IP, this leaves Chris, Anthony and Hunter free to continue to develop Alexander AI after graduation, which all three have expressed interest in continuing because the project is so innovative. While there are existing AI-generated stock trading guidance services, these use news headlines and other media to form their sentiment analysis. Alexander AI, however, is different in that it forms its recommendations purely via public sentiment.

A future version of Alexander AI would likely need its own dedicated server space and other resources, but the students feel it could expand into covering other stocks than Tesla, or could even use social platforms beyond Twitter, such as Reddit.

All three group members are on track to graduate from UAT within the next couple of semesters, at which point they plan to pursue their careers independently. Still, they see the possibility for continuing development of Alexander AI.

“If we can build a business off of Alexander AI, I'd love to keep working on this,” Chris said.

Begin Earning Your Degree at UAT:

Did this student’s story spark your interest in UAT? Now is the perfect time to request more information or even apply for admission! Wherever you are at in your journey toward pursuing higher education, UAT’s friendly Admissions and Financial Aid teams can offer you support and guidance. Take the next step into your future by reaching out today!

SIP Title: Eros
Student Name: Rico Garcia, Robotics & Embedded Systems

As a Navy veteran, Rico Garcia (Robotics & Embedded Systems) has traveled all over the globe. After leaving his home state of Wyoming, Rico was initially stationed in Pearl Harbor. And from his new home base in Hawaii, Rico spent four years traveling 12 countries—traversing everywhere from Latin America to the South China Sea. With all this wanderlust under his belt, when it finally came time to pursue his college degree, Rico didn’t care where he’d be, so long as his robotics degree would be applicable to his future career.

That’s what brought Rico to University of Advancing Technology (UAT). After moving to Arizona and starting school, he soon took a part-time job at a Men’s Wearhouse, where he would quickly learn what seemed to be a near universal truth: “Men want to look good, they just don’t know how.”

Enter Eros, an AI-powered chatbot designed to help men demystify personal style, build a coveted wardrobe and look sharp in any setting. Rico’s Student Innovation Project (SIP) is named after the Greek god of love and desire.

Taking after his mischievous, legendary namesake, Eros’ first interaction with its creator involved the AI mocking Rico’s attire choices, telling him his outfit looked horrible. Refinement was necessary, and Rico used a combination of tools including Python, ChatGPT, JavaScript and React Native to keep working on Eros until he got it right.

Rico specifically mentions Professor Tony Hinton as a source of support while converting the programming language of his SIP from Python to JavaScript, and also credits influence to Professors Craig Belanger and Matthew Prater. While Rico admits he is eager to graduate and start the next phase of his career, he is also glad to have had the personalized assistance and to have been a part of the exclusive culture that UAT offers.

Due to being limited to a few select outfits that he had to wear while in the Navy, Rico’s interest in fashion stemmed from a desire to finally stand out rather than blend in. He now feels his personal style is defined by what most might overlook—accessories and the little details that make an outfit pop. Notably, he feels the most crucial accessory for any outfit is the confidence needed to complete the look.

“It’s 90% confidence, 10% fit,” Rico said, noting that he can help with the fitting and aesthetics, but the rest is up to the wearer. “The confidence comes when you learn how to wear it all correctly or learn to mix patterns and colors that complement each other. That's when you can look in the mirror and say, ‘I look pretty damn good right now.’”

For the future of Eros, Rico envisions a version of the application that allows users to not just receive fashion advice, but also catalogue their wardrobes and generate customized outfit suggestions.

Ideally, Rico wants to find work in AI — but he is keeping an open mind about where the future can take him. On track to graduate in the summer of 2023, he would love to work at Tesla or even in the field of human prosthetics, acknowledging that his experience and knowledge in robotics are applicable to a wide variety of industries.

Rico says that three years ago, he would have had “no idea where to even start” when it came to developing Eros, as he learned most of his coding skills and technological savvy at UAT.

“The main goal behind Eros was to really push the boundaries of my experience and what I could do with AI, coding and everything I've learned so far.”

Begin Earning Your Robotics & Embedded Systems Degree at UAT:

Did this student’s story spark your interest in UAT? Now is the perfect time to request more information or even apply for admission! Wherever you are at in your journey toward pursuing higher education, UAT’s friendly Admissions and Financial Aid teams can offer you support and guidance. Take the next step into your future by reaching out today!

SIP Title: Liberty’s Estimation Station
Student Name: Hyrum Johnson, Game Programming

A rite of passage unique to University of Advancing Technology (UAT) students, the creation of their Student Innovation Project (SIP) is an essential step before graduation. For most UAT students, coming up with a fresh idea for their SIP can be a challenge that requires brainstorming, critical thinking and perhaps even a small epiphany.

For Hyrum Johnson (Game Programming), the idea for his SIP, Liberty’s Estimation Station (L.E.S.) came about quite naturally, as the family business is in construction. Estimating is a time-consuming, but crucial, element of contracting any project. It all goes back to the family business, as Hyrum’s father started Rockwell Homes, a top builder of houses in Eastern Idaho, as well as a custom home building business called Liberty Homes—the namesake of L.E.S. While home for Christmas and working for Liberty Homes, Hyrum’s brother presented him with a common problem: Why is it so difficult to get an accurate quote for a home building project?

With this dilemma in mind, Hyrum easily dreamt up the possibility of a software that can not only help contractors tally up actual costs of a project based on square footage, but also factors in fluctuating material costs. For example, by using past data, L.E.S. can calculate changes in prices for concrete, lumber and other essential materials. And with this vision of a solution, Hyrum set to work on L.E.S., a software designed to create more accurate quotes for home building. An ambitious goal to be sure, but UAT would turn out to be just the environment needed to make his vision a reality.

Hyrum was a motivated student in high school as well. He began taking college coursework long before receiving his diploma, so he can speak firsthand to what makes the UAT experience different from other universities.

“The classes are smaller and not as lecture-based—you get your hands in there and do the projects,” Hyrum explained. “There are not as many quizzes on the theory behind code, rather, you actually write code and make projects out of your code.”

Originally from Idaho Falls, Idaho, Hyrum knew he wanted to be a game programmer from a young age; he just needed to find the right degree program to help him learn the skills and knowledge. The clear answer arrived after Hyrum filled out his career interests on his SAT form: A flyer from UAT advertised its one-of-a-kind Game Programming degree, exactly what Hyrum was looking to find.

In order to bring his SIP from idea to fruition, Hyrum would soon develop a slew of skills at UAT. From Python to C#, he had to learn multiple programming languages, as well as develop a keen understanding of machine learning and algorithms. He says he is grateful to his professors at UAT for guiding the direction of his learning in order toachieve his complex SIP goal, as well as the freedom of “long hours with me, myself, and I” needed to actually complete the project.

Specifically, Hyrum is grateful for the guidance of Professor Tony Hinton.

“Professor Hinton helped me a lot with the AI and machine learning,” Hyrum said.“Everything I needed help with, I could go and talk to him about it. He told me that I needed to learn Python, so he kind of put me on the right course. He’s been a great help, and I am really appreciative of him.”

Hyrum feels that UAT coursework has been both harder and easier in some ways than he anticipated.

“It's rigorous coursework, and there's a lot I'm learning that I never thought I would be learning. But I've been able to pick it up so quickly that I've surprised myself with how natural coding feels to me,” Hyrum said. “It's been a crazy journey doing all this advanced programming and I’ve thought, ‘Wow, there's no way I could learn that’—and I just learned it.”

Hyrum will soon be moving to Baltimore to complete a religious mission, but he hopes to eventually apply the skills he learned at UAT toward a career in the game industry. He’s keeping an open mind in terms of the studio and location of his future job, but he would love to work for one of his favorite video game publishers or developers, like Activision or Treyarch. He feels the practical experience he’s gained at UAT can help get him there.

“There's not a teacher that's sitting up there lecturing you, which is very nice. I don't really like lectures,” Hyrum said. “It's great to have teachers who have hands-on experience who can help you—everyone is really accommodating.”

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The concept of the virtual citizenship award finds its purpose in acknowledging the exceptional efforts of online students who transcend conventional expectations in bolstering their fellow peers within the realm of online courses. Unlike their counterparts in physical classrooms, online program participants are not blessed with the luxury of physically repositioning their seats to engage in spontaneous discussions, offer insights on ongoing projects, or assume the role of mentors for peers situated in immediate digital proximity.

For these virtual scholars, the campus remains more of a concept than a concrete reality, yet this prestigious award seeks to honor those who emulate the very essence of campus camaraderie despite the geographical divide. Their actions reflect a commitment to foster an environment akin to students interacting side by side in a traditional classroom setting.

At the forefront of such exemplary virtuous conduct stands Robert Feraco, a paragon of altruism. Drawing from his own reservoir of industry experience, he dispenses unwavering assistance, kindles the flames of encouragement, and dispenses pearls of wisdom among his academic peers. His proficiency is matched only by his sociability, and his contagious enthusiasm radiates positivity within the virtual learning community.

Anticipation brims over regarding the post-graduation feats of Robert Feraco. His journey beyond the academic sphere is poised to be adorned with accomplishments that resonate loudly. As he unfurls his potential and continues to flourish within his designated role, we are poised to witness a tale of success that shall undoubtedly inspire generations to come.

Jay Lohman, the current Chairman of the Board for the University of Advancing Technology (UAT) has served on the Board since 2005, becoming Chairman pro-tempore in November of 2012, and official Chairman in March of 2013. Chairman Lohman has made his career as a CPA and founded his firm the Lohman Company in 2000. He recalled being asked to join by UAT founder Dr. Dominic Pistillo, "I really was impressed by what Dominic had done, an independent board. That means it wasn't made up of family, it wasn't made up of key employees. The one other thing that I knew as I got to know Dominic more with a little bit that general consulting is that he established it utilizing the Carver method of governance."

The Carver model is different from other models of governance in that it strives to keep the Board actively engaged in strategy and focused on Mission, and avoids distraction with tactics and administrative issues. In other words, the Board offers guidance on where you should be going - not how you should get there. It has long been revered as one of the most ethical board governance models, as it dictates high levels of "moral ownership". A Carver board has goals tied to the outcomes of its organization, but cannot play a role in directing any of the operations to achieve those goals (e.g. a Carver board member who happens to be a botanist could never direct their organization to start selling houseplants, and then direct the organization to purchase those plants from their nursery). Chairman Lohman discussed the Carver model stating "We (the Board) hold the president accountable. Are we meeting those and now achieving the goal that we laid out, etc.. Now, if you understand that background, that's a huge difference that most people don't understand. And that's a congrats to Dominic for setting up on that. Jason continues exactly in the same way and that you have a board that independent under the Carver method."

After spending nearly 20 years on the UAT Board of Directors Chairman Lohman has a unique perspective of UAT’s achievements and the future of where UAT can go. When speaking on what he has seen UAT do, Chairman Lohman said “The quality of education that's been done, the quality of the key management people is phenomenal. Education's one of the toughest businesses here. The biggest reason why is, if you think about it, at the Board level is the groups that we're responsible. We're responsible to students. We're also have a contingent in exposure to the parents and we're responsible to the shareholders and the owners. “ 

Not only has he seen UAT grow, UAT has made and impact on Chairman Lohman. He said “I have a much deeper appreciation for how challenging the education business is. The economic, political regulations and then the number of number of pockets of people that the organization and the board is responsible for, then that's over top of that whole organization are federal and state regulations.  That's probably what I've learned the most.”

With UAT’s history of success comes the anticipation of what is next, and from a higher level inside the organization like the Board, Chairman Lohman has a unique view on where UAT can go. He anticipates UAT’s future to be a bright one describing, “If you can keep that structure, not the same directors necessarily, but if UAT can keep focus on the whole energy and goals of the firm as defined and hopefully maintain a high percentage of the same management talent. You're going to have people moving up there, and some people retire. That's part of that challenge of building and retaining and continuing a quality organization. I see it very high. The reason is there's been a real focus on what kind of student you're attracting. And that focus then is into the courses offered. “

Click here to read more about UAT through the years and the history of UAT.

University of Advancing Technology (UAT) Professor and Alumnus Derric Clark has been with UAT since the early 90’s. After Professor Clark graduated in 1995 he started as a Computer Reality Center (CRC) lab monitor before becoming a full-time UAT employee as a Technical Specialist, then making the transition to Virtual Reality (VR) professor in 1997. Over the last 28 years Professor Clark has become a fixture on campus and a crucial part of the students' UAT journey to graduation.

With a unique student to professor perspective of UAT, over the years Professor Clark has seen the University grow and transition, embracing a multitude of new technologies. He explained what it was like to be a student and employee during this time. “It was an amazing time in technology. The internet, VR, animation, were all new and we were figuring things out as we went. Learning the newest technology and then turning around to apply it in the real world was a tremendous opportunity. Every time I would tour a group or put someone in a VR system, I was reminded just how rare and special this technology was and how amazing it was to have these experiences.”

Professor Clark has an exclusive viewpoint of UAT projects, having taken part in creating or overseeing student and university projects. He highlighted a special project stating, “One of these was a virtual build of the Bank One Ballpark, now Chase Field, in full HMD driven Virtual Reality. This allowed the decision makers to sit in any seat and see what the view would be, how the advertising would look and what the experience in the ballpark would be.”

For nearly three decades Professor Clark has been a part of growing UAT, and that first decade he was with the University set the stage for how far UAT has come and where UAT will go. He stated "This is the period where programs were added, education was put to the forefront, distractions were removed, and the foundation for what UAT is today was built. While every era has hard work, dedication, and focus, being a part of this decade of the university really makes me appreciate what we have accomplished and where we are today."

Click here to read more about UAT through the years and the history of UAT.

University of Advancing Technology (UAT) Chief Operating Officer (COO) Karla Argon began working at UAT in August of 1999 as an IT support specialist. Through the years she has transitioned out of IT and onto UAT’s leadership team. Over the last 24 years Karla has become a vital part of UAT’s culture while earning the titles of Chief Operating Officer, Vice President of Talent and Operations and Director of Organizational Development and Operations. As COO she oversees many departments crucial to UAT’s success including Financial Aid, Organizational Development and Legal.

Seeing that Karla has been an essential part of UAT since 1999, she has seen a variety of milestones over the years. One that stands out to her was in 2002 when UAT dropped “computer” from its name. In regard to this milestone and its impact on UAT history she said, “Around 2002 we dropped computer from our title, we became not just computer technology but also robotics and lot of technology, computer kind of became outdated. That was a big turning point for us because in addition to dropping that, we were able to offer different programs and offer a master's degree. I think that's what allowed us to move into that specialty area was by dropping computer to add a couple different things.” 

While actively participating in UAT milestones Karla has seen how the University has changed over the years. She describes this as “So working for UAT each year for the past 24 years I’ve seen a lot of changes with the milestones. We've become a different school. When I started at UAT, we were kind of a niche school that people went to because they saw billboards or saw a sign, everybody was local. Now we are pretty much kind of half and half. We have a big online population. We started our online program much earlier than other schools and so we were able to not just have the Arizona perspective, but the changes of having people internationally, having people and military, it really did change the university to feel more collegiate. And I think that was huge.”

Not only has Karla seen UAT change over the last 24 years, but she has also experienced how UAT has changed her. She describes these changes as “I've worked here longer than I haven’t. I started here at 19, obviously very different person than I was growing up. I was incredibly shy. I didn't speak and a credit that to Jason (Pistillo). Jason would force me to speak up, and that really helped. He’s probably regretting it because now I have no problem doing it. That's a huge change. I feel like I'm a different person, but also just I've met a lot of people here who have been gone for many years but are still very close friends, they still talk to a lot of people who I just think are brilliant. You wouldn’t have that level of intelligence at other places. I get to work with these really smart people, I am not the smartest person and I want to always have people smarter than me around, but too, I get to learn from them and kind of get motivated and excited. So, I think it has changed everything. My life would be completely different if I didn’t work here. “

Click here to read more on UAT through the years and the history of UAT.

Tell me a little about yourself.

My name is Christelle Deborah Cyprian. I'm actually from Haiti. I've lived in a total of four different states, but I moved to Arizona three years ago from Miami, Florida. When I moved here, I came to UAT to study Virtual Reality starting in January of 2020, and ending in August of 2022. 

After graduating from UAT in August of 2022, I ended up working here as a Program Support Specialist. And I love it here. I help professors and students in different ways. When it comes to students, I help with time management, reaching out to professor's and finding resources. When it comes to the professors just anything that they need, if they need assistance with grading, checking PowerPoints, checking content, and doing like a lot of just kind of like backend work like checking on students and things like that. 

You are working on your master's now, what are you studying? 

So I decided to go with the Technology Leadership master's program. One of my goals is to become a professor, and in order to do that, you do have to get your masters. But the tech leadership degree really caught my attention, because I'm really interested in just planning. I'm a big planner, I love to plan I’m always like “just give me a minute, let me get my calendar”! So with tech leadership, I'll be able to learn different methods in order to run different projects. So that's why I thought that would be the perfect degree for me, and that way I get experience as well. So when I'm ready to teach, I'm able to use what I've learned and apply that to the classroom as well.

What are your goals after graduating? 

So after graduating my master's, honestly, I think I always wanted to be at UAT even if it ends up being adjunct, full time, whatever it is, I just think I can see myself being here forever. So I'm interested in VR, which I have my undergrad in. But I'm also really into Bible history and just history in general. So but um, so I guess let's say outside of UAT, I would want to stick with you at first. So at UAT, I would definitely be interested in teaching a VR course. I would also love to use the skills learned here at when it comes to VR, tech leadership and game design, in order to create a biblical VR application. So even if that's on my own, or helping a company by working to make those applications, that's something I would definitely be interested in. 

What stood out in your education at UAT?

What really stands out to me about my educational experience at UAT is that there's always someone here to help and make it very accessible for you to reach out when you need to. They really provide you with a lot of resources, whether that's a person or the things that we have on campus, you know, so it never felt like oh, I'm lost. I don't know what to do. There's always someone there for you. Starting from applying to UAT, up until now, the professors and all of the resources at the school are wonderful and very supportive. 

What does it mean to you to be a student at UAT and a graduate of UAT?

I would say two phrases that come to mind are the term lifelong learner as well as innovator. I don't think those are words I would I use to describe myself in the past, but just coming here within just my first week here, I had to come up with a concept and in two weeks and come up with a working game do this. So those are two words that I definitely started identifying myself with because of just the way our assignments are structured to make us think outside of the box. So I would say that's what I definitely got with from my undergrad. Now at the graduate level, I can just take all of the ideas that I thought of and apply my knowledge to help create a better world.