Austin Lubetkin ’19 has built a career at the intersection of technology and creativity, balancing software engineering at Northrop Grumman with a passion for visual art.
Now, the Florida Polytechnic University alumnus is bringing those worlds together in “Memories of Water,” an exhibit at the Orlando Science Center running through Aug. 23. Lubetkin collaborated on the project with artists from Arts4All Florida, which provides support, education, and cultural experiences for people with disabilities. Together, they used augmented reality (AR) to enhance the viewer’s experience.
“It was really interesting to work with each one of these artists to bring their imagination to life in such a vivid way through augmented reality,” said Lubetkin, whose artwork often draws from his experience with autism.
Engineering and impact
Lubetkin graduated from Florida Poly in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in computer science. He soon began working in Northrop Grumman’s Space Systems Division in Los Angeles and recently earned a master’s degree in engineering management.
Today, his days are spent programming as a software engineer in Northrop Grumman’s Aeronautics Systems Division in Melbourne, Florida. Though much of his work remains confidential, Lubetkin said he is proud to contribute to projects with real-world impact.
“I feel like I’m making a difference in the world, and I’m very passionate about the work I’m doing,” he said.
Technology fuels expression
Art has been part of Lubetkin’s life since childhood. His mother, an artist, taught him to paint, and he later turned to art therapy, which he said helped him find his creative voice. Physical limitations related to autism and other diagnoses made it difficult to fully express himself through traditional mediums until his father introduced him to Photoshop and digital art.
“I started to work closer to the speed that I could think through things, and it became a much more seamless creative process,” he said.
Lubetkin also experiences synesthesia, a neurological trait that, for him, causes emotions to appear visually as colors and patterns – an influence that shapes his artistic perspective.
Recognition and future work
Lubetkin’s artwork has earned recognition, including the LA Open’s 2026 Excellence in Digital Art award. He also donated digital artwork to the University shortly after graduation and supports various organizations through art.
On May 20, the Artists Gallery in Los Angeles unveiled an exhibit he curated, “Voices in Color: The Spectrum of Expression.”
“This is a really exciting opportunity to feature artists describing the experience of being on the spectrum,” Lubetkin said.
His own work often uses AR to change how viewers experience a piece, usually by scanning a QR code and viewing the work through a mobile phone camera.
“A lot of the artwork I’ve done has a very powerful message, and using augmented reality lets people experience that message all over again and makes it much more real,” Lubetkin said.
That creative momentum continues in July with the launch of “Austica Electronica,” a music album inspired by his life with autism.
A Florida Poly foundation
Lubetkin said his Florida Poly education helped prepare him for the career he has now, especially a master’s-level elective in computational mathematics that introduced him to his current area of expertise.
“Up to that point, I feel like I took a lot of very high-level mathematics courses but reanalyzing them through the lens of code made them accessible in a new way,” Lubetkin said.
Lubetkin said his undergraduate education also continues to inform his work in computer vision and other computer science areas, and he encourages current students to identify niche specializations and build expertise early.
“You should specialize and separate yourself from your peers, so go past the introductory certifications and get to the maximum level you can,” Lubetkin said.
View more of Lubetkin’s work on his Instagram page and experience his AR artwork on the TAG Gallery website.
Austin Lubetkin’s artwork
Contact:
Lydia Guzmán
Director of Communications
863-874-8557
