Crystal Maraj, Ph.D., assistant research professor and director of the Realistic Assessment of Performance in Devices (RAPID) Lab at the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Simulation & Training (IST), has been promoted to associate research professor, effective August 2026.

IST is a multidisciplinary research institute that advances modeling, simulation and training (MS&T) technologies for applications across defense, healthcare, education and industry. Maraj said the promotion can help her further bolster the professional relationship between UCF and outside collaborators.

“It helps me further strengthen relationships that I’ve created, and hopefully build new relationships with small businesses and other companies,” Maraj said. “It helps to build that ecosystem that we’ve come to enjoy by being part of UCF.”

Maraj first attained a bachelor of science in psychology from UCF in 2008, followed by a master of science and doctorate in modeling and simulation in 2012 and 2015. She then went on to become an assistant research professor and director of the RAPID Lab in 2017.

The RAPID Lab conducts research and scholarly activities around commercial and government off-the-shelf virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies. RAPID provides empirical results that offer cost-benefit, capability and functionality recommendations. This insight benefits military organizations and industry partners by enhancing their operational effectiveness and technological advancements.

Maraj said an extent her work at IST is related to efforts on how to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of warfighters, and that these projects focus on getting technologies or tools into the hands of soldiers, as well as providing them with the knowledge on the advantages and disadvantages of the tech used for training solders.

Following her promotion, Maraj said she looks forward to exploring digital twins and delving in to its human-related elements.

“I’m interested in looking to see how you can model an individual and individual behaviors as part of that twin, but more so, what does that do for you?” Maraj said. “How does it help society?”

In addition to her work at IST, Maraj has also served as the faculty advisor to the Robotics Club at UCF since 2015. She oversees robotics-related efforts that either focus on competition-based projects or demonstration-based projects.

In this role, Maraj provides guidance to students with varying technical backgrounds to work together in teams. She emphasized the importance of being a mentor to the students.

“A big part of it is just getting the next generation to understand and value what they can bring to the community,” Maraj said.