{"id":153612,"date":"2026-06-09T12:00:53","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T16:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=153612"},"modified":"2026-06-09T10:21:41","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T14:21:41","slug":"ucf-alum-helps-siemens-energy-power-what-comes-next","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/ucf-alum-helps-siemens-energy-power-what-comes-next\/","title":{"rendered":"UCF Alum Helps Siemens Energy Power What Comes Next"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Pegasus Partnership between UCF and Siemens Energy is designed to accelerate innovation, fuel workforce development and strengthen the future of energy infrastructure. Few people embody that collaboration more fully than Joshua DeAscanis \u201911 \u201922MBA<\/strong>, business development manager at Siemens Energy.<\/p>\n On most days, DeAscanis is focused on something many people never think about: the invisible systems that keep modern life running.<\/p>\n Hospitals must power critical equipment. Cities endure record-breaking heat. Data centers aim to hum without interruption. Behind those moments are gas turbines the size of buildings, and a team of engineers determined to make them \u00a0smarter, faster and more reliable.<\/p>\n At Siemens Energy, DeAscanis helps lead that charge.<\/p>\n His bold goal is ambitious: transform how turbines are tested, inspected and manufactured so they can be delivered at the speed and scale global demand now requires. As electricity needs surge worldwide, efficiency is no longer optional.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the turbines don\u2019t work, the power doesn\u2019t exist,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n After earning his aerospace engineering degree from UCF<\/a>, DeAscanis joined Siemens Energy located just steps from campus. He began on a small team of three engineers developing custom tools to test next-generation engines. The work was intensely hands-on and involved long days refining inspection systems, improving automation and solving problems in real time.<\/p>\n Colleagues describe DeAscanis as calm under pressure and relentlessly curious. He sees constraints not as roadblocks but as design challenges.<\/p>\n That perspective proved essential during lean years in the energy sector, when fluctuating demand forced teams to justify every investment. Rather than scale back, DeAscanis and his colleagues innovated their way forward \u2014 streamlining inspection processes, reducing testing time and building automation systems that improved both speed and precision.<\/p>\n Those efforts produced measurable results. DeAscanis now holds 11 patents, with dozens more innovations developed across his team. Some advances are patented; others remain proprietary trade secrets that strengthen Siemens Energy\u2019s competitive position in a global marketplace.<\/p>\n Over the past decade, he has also helped grow his organization from fewer than five engineers to nearly 100. His role expanded from technical contributor to strategic leader, overseeing budgets, setting research priorities and securing U.S. Department of Defense contracts to accelerate development. Recognizing the importance of business fluency, he returned to UCF to earn his MBA<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI knew how to build technology,\u201d he says. \u201cI wanted to understand how to scale it.\u201d<\/p>\n His journey traces back to his UCF senior design project, where he and three classmates developed a system to manufacture thin carbon nanofiber sheets designed to reinforce aircraft structures against lightning strikes. The project demanded technical rigor, collaboration and applied problem-solving \u2014 the same qualities Siemens Energy looks for in its engineers. It also helped open the door to his first role at Siemens Energy, proving that classroom innovation can translate directly into industry impact.<\/p>\nRising to Energy Design Challenges<\/h2>\n
Enhancing Expertise to Deliver Impact<\/h2>\n
Fueling the Energy Industry<\/h2>\n