By NATALIE WEBER | Tampa Bay Times | Published: May 14, 2021 ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Tribune News Service) — After launching satellites on a SpaceX flight designed and built by engineers at the University of South Florida, the college’s Institute of Applied Engineering has a slew of new projects in their orbit. Last year, the institute entered an $85 million contract with the U.S. Special Operations Command, after several years of collaboration between the university and SOCOM, under USF Dean of Engineering Robert Bishop. Now in its second year, the Institute is working on about 15 tasks under the contract and looking to shape what Bishop calls “the future of conflict.”