Alumna Selected For Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award

A College of Sciences alumna’s contributions to developing technology like online streaming and DVDs recently earned her a Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award.

Yvette Kanouff, ’88, ‘93MS, who built a C-suite career at companies including Time Warner and Cisco, will be recognized by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) at the 71st Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards in April.

“Winning a lifetime achievement Emmy for engineering and technology is an amazing honor,” said Kanouff, a graduate of the Department of Mathematics.  “I love that the Academy honors both the artistic and the engineering side of television. The best part of innovating in media has been the great companies and people that I have had the privilege of working with!”

Kanouff, who serves on the COS Dean’s Advisory Board, was a pioneer in the field of streaming in the mid-90s. Her mathematics expertise developed algorithms that compressed massive files small enough to pass through a fiber-optic cable in real time without sacrificing quality.

That experience builds on a lifetime committed to developing technology using the power of mathematics. She developed radar algorithms at Lockheed Martin, for instance, while pursuing her degree at UCF. She is also responsible for co-developing the industrial track for the Department of Mathematics, which allows students to sample a broad scope of math applications, including pattern recognition, mathematic modeling and scientific computing.