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Chemistry Researchers Advance Universal Design for Learning in STEM Courses
Focus on Bilingual approaches through National Science Foundation grant expand accessibility for learning across diverse student groups By: Emily Dougherty I October 4, 2024 Dr. Erin Saitta, Assistant Professor in the UCF Department of Chemistry, and doctoral student (Chemistry), Kathleen Lugo Charriez, have recognized the array of difficulties that undergraduate chemistry and other STEM students […]
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First UCF Student Awarded Voyager Scholarship
UCF junior Andrea Hernandez Gomez was one of 100 college students selected nationwide to receive the 2024 Voyager Scholarship — making her the first UCF student to receive the award. Inspired by the Voyager Scholarship’s impact on young people, Gomez says she wanted to apply to make a more significant difference in the world, especially […]
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UCF Receives Prestigious Keck Foundation Award to Advance Spintronics Technology
A team of researchers led by University of Central Florida Pegasus Professor of Physics Enrique Del Barco is working on a new project that could change the future of electronics, making them faster and more energy efficient. The work is funded by a new $1.3 million award from the W.M. Keck Foundation, one of the […]
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Seas the Opportunity
While some people unplug to truly escape on vacation, UCF student Madison Schwetje stayed connected to complete the Spring 2024 semester aboard Royal Caribbean’s nine-month Ultimate World Cruise. Traveling from Brazil to New Zealand to China and 62 other countries, she skillfully managed her globe-trotting adventure alongside her full-time studies through UCF Online. “UCF’s online […]
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10 UCF Students Selected for 2024 DoD SMART Scholarships
Receiving paid tuition, annual stipends, an internship and guaranteed employment after graduation sounds like a dream come true to any college student. But for several UCF students, that dream is about to become a reality. Eight Knights were selected for the 2024 Department of Defense (DoD) Science, Mathematics and Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship, an […]
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Film Professor Receives Inaugural Cinematic Legacy Award
Associate Professor Barry Sandler reflects on career and milestone recognition By Sultana Ali As Film and Mass Media Associate Professor Barry Sandler commemorates his 20th year of teaching at UCF, he has something extra to celebrate—the inaugural UCF Cinematic Legacy Award from the College of Sciences. This first-of-its-kind award recognizes the achievements of a UCF […]
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UCF Researchers Develop Rapid Test to Detect Dopamine
Dopamine, a neurotransmitter in our brains, not only regulates our emotions but also serves as a biomarker for the screening of certain cancers and other neurological conditions. University of Central Florida researchers, led by UCF NanoScience Technology Center Professor Debashis Chanda, have developed an integrated optical sensor capable of detecting dopamine directly from an unprocessed blood sample. […]
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STEM Students Hone Research Skills Through UCF’s Research Experience for Undergraduates Programs
Sixty-seven undergraduate students from across the U.S. gathered at UCF to take advantage of STEM research opportunities through the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program. UCF’s REU site, funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, connects promising STEM students with established faculty at REU sites, enhancing their in-class learning experience with research, workshops and events. […]
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UCF Office of Research Awards 3 Faculty Fellowships to Accelerate Research Enterprise
Three UCF faculty members have been awarded fellowships by the UCF Office of Research to advance the university’s research efforts over the coming year. The selected fellows — Vladimir Boginski, Nichole Lighthall and Dinender Singla — will develop and implement programs that can help improve faculty grant success and accelerate the growth of the research […]
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UCF Ranks in Top 15 in Nation for Best Public Universities, Social Mobility by Washington Monthly
UCF is intensely focused on helping students of all backgrounds succeed. As a result of the university’s success, UCF is among the nation’s top universities overall and for social mobility — according to the Washington Monthly magazine’s 2025 rankings released this week. For the past decade, UCF has made great strides in the area of social […]
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UCF Named Top Producer for Fulbright Students for Second Year
UCF, with 11 Fulbright awardees, was named a Top Producer of Fulbright U.S. Students for the 2024-25 academic year, marking the second consecutive year of this honor. Three of UCF’s honorees are also Burnett Honors Scholars. The Fulbright application for 2025-26 is now open. The UCF deadline is Sept. 12. The Fulbright Program encourages cross-cultural […]
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Celebrating 5 Years of UCF Downtown: Transforming Lives and Our Community Through Education
Five years ago today, students stepped onto the newly constructed UCF Downtown campus for the first time in downtown Orlando. Since then, UCF has awarded over 10,300 degrees to downtown students, strengthening Central Florida’s talent pipeline and contributing to the region’s economic vitality. UCF Downtown is home to students in select majors across the university’s […]
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4 Volunteers Will Spend 45 Days in a NASA-simulated Mars Habitat — How Will They Handle Isolation, Mental Health?
NASA has its sights set on Mars, a key target for learning more about science, technology and whether life exists on the red planet. Experts around the world are developing technologies that may eventually allow humans to live and work on Mars. But making the long trek to Mars is still years — perhaps decades […]
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UCF Planetary Scientist’s Expertise Informs New Method for Terraforming Mars
Mars remains in humanity’s crosshairs as a promising planet to colonize due to its great potential in becoming habitable someday. With this in mind, UCF Planetary Scientist Ramses Ramirez, in collaboration with researchers at the University of Chicago and Northwestern University analyzed Martian climate models to study the possibility of using Mars-based nanoparticles to warm […]
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UCF Scientists Study Starship Launchpad in Preparation for Future NASA Lunar Missions
Scientists at UCF are gathering valuable data for humanity’s next venture back to the moon and even for potential lunar settlements. UCF physics doctoral candidate Brandon Dotson and Florida Space Institute planetary scientist Phil Metzger ’00MS ’05PhD analyzed rock samples from the first SpaceX Starship rocket launch in April 2023 that triggered a unique reaction […]
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Gilman Scholars Making a Difference in World and Beyond
When UCF Knights embark on their collegiate journey, there are many places their education will take them. One of those places are overseas. With the support of the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program, 15 UCF students will have the opportunity to further their education internationally by studying abroad. Each recipient is awarded up to […]
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UCF Student Uses Stories of the Past to Educate Current, Future Generations
For anthropology major and soon-to-be graduate Griffon Binkowski, the studies of humans and culture allows him to showcase the lives of those before us, providing information for future generations to learn from. Through his studies at UCF and as an educator at the Orange County Regional History Center (OCRHC), Binkowski has conducted research and educated […]
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UCF Researchers Develop Nano-treatment to Help Save Florida Mangroves from Deadly Disease
Mangroves and palm trees are hallmarks of the Sunshine State not just for their beauty but for their immense importance to Florida’s coastlines. Mangroves are crucial because they naturally protect coastal shores from storm damage and serve as vital wildlife habitats around the world. Scientists at the University of Central Florida are working to preserve […]
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UCF Knights to Represent at 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, Paralympics
Six Knights will represent America, Denmark, Germany and Lithuania at the 2024 Summer Olympics (July 26-Aug. 11) and Paralympics (Aug. 28-Sept. 8) in Paris. These athletes exemplify the spirit and dedication of Knight Nation. Watch the events on NBC or stream via Peacock as you cheer them on. Kyle Coon ’13 Event dates: Sept. 1-2 […]
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Trio of Graduating UCF Doctoral Students Showcase Excellence in Physics
Many of the 4,460 Knights who graduate from UCF this summer represent a growing diversity of students in both background and course of study. A small, stand-out group of these Knights are completing doctoral degrees in physics, signifying efforts to combat the larger national trend of underrepresented graduate degree-holders in the field. Currently, only 7% […]
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UCF Biology Student Luciana Banquero Wins Statewide Aylesworth Scholarship
Luciana Banquero, a graduate student studying marine science in UCF’s Biology department in the College of Sciences, has won the notable Aylesworth Scholarship from Florida Sea Grant.
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UCF Students Shine at Prestigious NAHJ Conference in Los Angeles
Nine students in the Nicholson School of Communication and Media receive conference support from scholarships. By Katie Coronado Thousands of college students and journalism professionals from the U.S. and around the world gathered this past week to network and learn the latest in the news business at the 2024 National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) […]
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UCF Launches Inaugural Mentorship, Scholarship Initiative for Students in AI
Faculty in UCF’s College of Sciences and College of Engineering and Computer Science are preparing incoming students to keep pace with the emerging multidisciplinary field of artificial intelligence. A team of five faculty, led by UCF’s Center for Research in Computer Vision (CRCV), recently received a U.S. National Science Foundation grant totaling nearly $2.5 million […]
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5 Questions with UCF Alum Richard Bilbao: New Editor-in-Chief of Orlando Business Journal
After starting at the Orlando Business Journal (OBJ) as a reporter in 2008, Richard Bilbao ’07’s has been appointed editor-in-chief for the publication. In his sixteen years at OBJ, the UCF journalism alum has also worked as a digital producer and as an associate managing editor. As an experienced journalist, Bilbao has also won awards […]
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UCF Biologist Continues Unraveling Mystery of Magnetic Bacteria
The remarkable ability of migratory animals to navigate and recall routes may be attributed to a sensitivity to not just Earth’s magnetic fields, but perhaps an interaction with magnetic bacteria living inside them. The relationship between these magnetic bacteria and the animals they reside in is not yet fully understood, but UCF Department of Biology […]
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UCF Awards Promotion and Tenure to 104 Faculty
UCF faculty members across the university achieved significant career milestones in earning promotions and tenure for the 2023-24 cycle. The 104 approved faculty — 63 for promotion, 40 for promotion and tenure and one for tenure — underwent a rigorous performance evaluation by peers, college and university leaders that took nearly an academic year. The […]
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Remembering Frank Kujawa, UCF’s Longest-Serving Faculty Member
July 1969 was a monumental time for Frank and Ann Kujawa. On the fifth of the month, they were married and about to travel from their home in Baltimore to Orlando for Frank’s final interview with UCF. Eleven days later, they sat atop the school’s engineering building to watch the Apollo 11 launch. That summer […]
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UCF Student Honored with Prestigious Goldwater Scholarship
Biology student Robin Marquez was selected from 1,353 nominees nationally for the highly competitive Goldwater Scholarship. This year, only 438 total scholars were selected. The U.S. Congress established the Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation in 1986 to honor the lifetime work of Sen. Barry Goldwater, who served as a soldier for almost six […]
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UCF’s First Mission to the Moon Passes Two Critical Milestones
In the spring of 2024, NASA’s Lunar-VISE, or Lunar Vulkan Imaging Spectroscopy Explorer, mission passed through two critical milestones on its continued successful path to the Moon in 2027. Lunar-VISE is a NASA Payloads and Research Investigations on the Surface of the Moon (PRISM) program-selected mission. In late January and early February, the Lunar-VISE team […]
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13 Knights Recognized Among OBJ’s 40 Under 40 for 2024
Recently, Orlando Business Journal celebrated its 2024 40 Under 40 honorees, which include 13 Knights Meet the alumni, students and staff who are making an impact in their industries and across The City Beautiful. Zac AlfsonSenior director of marketing and communications, Central Florida Community ArtsDegree: Former stage management and integrative general studies student Jenny Austin […]