UF-ITAC Named 2026 U.S. Department of Energy Center of the Year 

Recognition for Excellence

The University of Florida Industrial Training and Assessment Center (UF-ITAC), housed in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and directed by S.A. Sherif, Ph.D., has been named the 2026 U.S. Department of Energy Industrial Training and Assessment Center of the Year, the highest recognition awarded among ITACs nationwide.

The Center of the Year Award is presented to the nation’s top-performing ITAC based on a rigorous evaluation of performance metrics established by the U.S. Department of Energy. Every center is assessed in three key areas: identifying opportunities for manufacturers to improve energy efficiency and productivity, the implementation rate of those recommendations, and the effectiveness of training future energy engineers. For the past decade, UF-ITAC has consistently excelled in all three categories, earning top rankings year after year while building a national reputation for innovation and impact. 

Industry Impact

Each year, UF-ITAC conducts approximately 20 comprehensive industrial assessments at manufacturing facilities throughout the region. Teams of four to six members—including either the center director or assistant director—visit each facility to inspect operations, evaluate equipment, collect measurements and meet with facility engineers. Before leaving the site, the team presents its preliminary findings and discusses the recommendations that will be included in the final audit report. Within 60 days, the report is completed and submitted to the DOE for review before being delivered to the facility. Six to nine months later, the team follows up to determine which recommendations have been implemented, allowing the DOE to measure the long-term effectiveness of each assessment. 

A typical assessment generates between 10 and 15 recommendations, several of which require little or no financial investment while producing annual savings in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Others offer payback periods of less than two years, helping manufacturers improve energy efficiency, increase productivity and reduce waste through practical, cost-effective solutions. 

Sherif attributes the center’s sustained success to the quality and originality of its recommendations. Over the years, UF-ITAC has developed a library of hundreds of proven assessment strategies, allowing audit teams to combine decades of experience with innovative ideas tailored to the specific needs of each facility. The center has reached international recognition through faculty and staff collaborations from fellow universities in Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Jamaica, Venezuela, Spain, and France. These partnerships have spanned everything from local audits, energy center start-ups, and short courses to engineering theses, study abroad programs, and conferences.

“I am proud of the UF-ITAC being consistently ranked highest in the opportunity identification and opportunity implementation areas, the former area measures the quantity and quality of the assessment recommendations we make to the audited facilities. The latter measures how many have been implemented.” 

The center’s impact extends well beyond individual facilities. According to DOE records, UF-ITAC has completed more than 600 industrial assessments, generated over 5,000 energy-saving recommendations, helped industry save nearly $192 million in operating costs and conserved more than 15 tera British thermal units (TBtu) of energy. Beyond those impressive numbers, the center is also committed to serving communities across Florida, with 10 to 20 percent of its assessments conducted in economically disadvantaged areas where helping manufacturers reduce operating costs can have a meaningful impact on local economies. 

Training Future Energy Engineers

Equally important to the center’s mission is educating the next generation of engineers. Through hands-on participation in industrial assessments, undergraduate and graduate students gain experience working directly with manufacturing systems, collecting field data, interacting with professional engineers and developing real-world solutions to complex energy challenges. These experiences prepare students for careers immediately after graduation, with many UF-ITAC alumni receiving multiple job offers from leading companies and organizations including NASA, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, United Technologies, Carrier, Trane, General Electric and universities across the country. Several former students have also earned national recognition from the Department of Energy through Outstanding Achievement in Energy Engineering Awards and ITAC Distinguished Alumnus Awards. 

Building on a Legacy

While the award recognizes the center’s accomplishments today, Sherif emphasized that its success reflects the culmination of decades of commitment from faculty, staff and students who have dedicated themselves to UF-ITAC throughout its 35-year history. He also highlighted the exceptional leadership of Assistant Director Dr. Cristian Cardenas-Lailhacar, whose nearly 450 industrial assessments have played a critical role in establishing the center’s national reputation. 

“The past 10 years have been particularly important, especially as they pertain to the dedication and expertise of Dr. Cristian Cardenas-Lailhacar, we have also been incredibly fortunate to have what seems to be an endless supply of highly talented and motivated undergraduate and graduate students not just in MAE but also throughout the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering.” 

Established in 1991, UF-ITAC was originally housed in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering before moving to the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in 2011 under Sherif’s leadership. Since then, the center has expanded its impact while earning a reputation as one of the nation’s top-performing Industrial Training and Assessment Centers.

“This award is a formal testimony by the U.S. Department of Energy that the University of Florida’s Industrial Training and Assessment Center is the best such center around the country, it is the supreme recognition of excellence as measured by the performance metrics and standards set forth by the U.S. Department of Energy.” 

For UF-ITAC, the 2026 Center of the Year Award is more than a recognition of exceptional performance—it is a celebration of more than three decades of innovation, collaboration and service. Through its commitment to advancing industrial energy efficiency, strengthening American manufacturing and preparing future engineering leaders, the center continues to demonstrate the impact that research, education and industry partnerships can have both within Florida and across the nation.