Larsen Motorsports Driver, Dragster Among Highlights of Florida Tech Discovery Day

University Welcomes Students, Families April 9

MELBOURNE, FLA. — It’s not unusual for incoming students at Florida Institute of Technology to come to campus with a car along with their towels, laptops and instant noodles.

Still, Katarina Moller’s ride may stand out just a bit.

Moller, who will start earning her master’s degree in communications at Florida Tech this fall, is a driver for Larsen Motorsports. On weekends, her vehicle of choice is often a 5,500-horsepower dragster powered by a jet turbine that can hit upwards of 270 mph.

The Sarasota native and her Matrix Systems Automotive Refinishes jet dragster will be on campus Saturday as Florida Tech holds Discovery Day, its daylong opportunity for students interested in attending the Melbourne-based university.

At Discovery Day, students and their families will have a chance to experience all that Florida Tech has to offer, including hearing from admission staff members, meeting current students and speaking with faculty. Participants will learn about the admission and financial aid processes, take a campus tour, explore labs and facilities associated with their areas of interest, and experience Florida Tech’s beautiful subtropical campus.

They will also see that dragster, a part of the unique partnership between Florida Tech and Larsen Motorsports of Palm Bay, whose co-founder, the champion racer Elaine Larsen, drives the Florida Tech dragster.

The partnership is built on the STEM teachings – science, technology, engineering and math – that flourish in Florida Tech classrooms and are put to real-world use at Larsen Motorsports.

Moller, who goes by “Kat,” began racing at age 11. She is starting her third season as a driver at for Larsen Motorsports. In between rocketing down the straightaway at drag strips across North America, she found time to earn her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at the University of South Florida. She will graduate next month.

For more about the Florida Tech-Larsen Motorsports partnership, visit http://jetdragster.fit.edu.

Click here for more on Discovery Day.

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