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College of Sciences Recognizes its Newest Group of Outstanding AlumKnights
On March 3, the UCF College of Sciences and its alumni chapter hosted their second annual Outstanding AlumKnights awards ceremony. The college’s dean, Michael Johnson, hosted this year’s festivities, which took place in the Grand Ballroom of the UCF FAIRWINDS Alumni Center, where guests enjoyed music, cocktails, heavy hors d’oeuvres and a photo booth, in addition to […]
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Order of Pegasus Class of 2016
20 students have received the Order of Pegasus, UCF’s most prominent student award and six out of those 20 students representing the College of Sciences. The Order of Pegasus recognizes exemplary performance by undergraduate and graduate students in the areas of academic achievement, outstanding university involvement, leadership and community service. Because of the breadth of accomplishments required for this […]
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UCF Speech Team Shines in Tournament
Story by UCF Nicholson School of Communication February 18, 2016 The two-day speech competition event dubbed “The Knight-Nole Swing,” hosted jointly this year by the speech teams of the University of Central Florida (UCF) and Florida State University, brought together contenders from nine schools and resulted in a “fantastic success” for UCF, according to Instructor […]
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Shedding Light on Sex Offenders
Department of Sociology chair and professor Elizabeth Mustaine, Ph. D., recently co-authored an article called “Criminal Justice Officials’ Views of Sex Offenders, Sex Offender Registration, Community Notification, and Residency Restrictions.” Her article was chosen by Jon Brandt, associate blogger of the Journal of Research and Treatment, as one of the standout articles from 2015 in the field of sexual abuse. “Criminal Justice […]
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Wright Editing Earns a Win
Sociology Pegasus Professor, James Wright, Ph.D., contributed his editing skills to Elsevier’s “International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences”, helping them win the Award for Excellence in Reference Works at the 2016 PROSE Awards. Dr. Wright was the editor-in-chief of the “International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences”, 2nd edition. Elsevier is an academic publishing company […]
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Biology Student Makes Waves with Research
Congratulations to UCF biology major, Lacie Anderson, for her accomplishment as the February recipient of the Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Award (DURA). Each month, one student is rewarded for their time and effort spent researching a subject of their choice. During their research, students work with a mentor that guides and helps them during the process. With their […]
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UCF Recognized as ‘Center of Excellence’
UCF researcher Swadeshmukul Santra, Ph.D., associate professor with the NanoScience Technology Center and the chemistry department at UCF, has been awarded a $1.9 million grant to develop a method for protecting the troubled citrus industry from the disease HLB, also known as citrus greening, U.S. Senator Bill Nelson announced Tuesday. In awarding the funding, the U.S. Department of […]
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Air Force Grant Helps UCF Soar
UCF Physics alumnus and current assistant professor in the department, Michael Chini, Ph.D., has earned $480,000 in grants from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. He is using laser pulses to create more powerful electronics and partnering with Sumit Jha,Ph.D., UCF assistant computer science professor, who is looking to combine thousands of transistors into a […]
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An Outstanding Four Years
Saturday, Dec. 5, COS student Lauren Gandy was honored as the Outstanding Four-Year College Student by the Orlando Section of the American Chemical Society. The award was presented to Gandy at the Orlando Section of the American Chemical Society Annual Banquet held at the Blue Herron Restaurant, Titusville, FL. The award consists of a plaque and a […]
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GIS Academy Hosts National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
On Oct. 28, Timothy Hawthorne, Ph.D., and The Geospatial STEM Academy hosted Sue Gordon, deputy director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), for a student and STEM meet and greet event. Currently an assistant professor of geographic information systems (GIS) in the department of sociology, Dr. Hawthorne is also the Founding Director and Principal Investigator of […]
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Space Dust Research Wins NASA Rides
By Scott Powers – Writer for Orlando Sentinel Tiny particles of space dust: How do they stick together? How might astronauts not stir them up? Two UCF scientists are asking, and they’ve gotten NASA’s attention. UCF physics Professor and Assistant Director at the Florida Space Institute Joshua Colwell, Ph.D., and UCF physics post-doctoral Research Scientist Julie Brisset, Ph.D., have won […]
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Who Is a Millionaire?
Under a sunset stroked sky in front of the University of Central Florida’s main administration building, university leaders celebrated the common traits of tenacity, collaborative spirit, and commitment to excellence that UCF’s top grant earning researchers share. Twenty-nine researchers earned $1 million or more earning a bid into UCF’s Millionaires Club, which hosted the celebration […]
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Distinguished Speaker Wins Big for Anthropology
2015-16 COS Distinguished Speaker Series participant, Sarah Parcak, Ph.D., won the 2016 TED Prize for her work on archeological sites in the Middle East and around the globe. As a satellite archeologist, she is known for discovering, analyzing and preserving archaeological sites by using satellite and infrared imagery. Dr. Parcak was the 1st speaker of the 2015-2016 COS […]
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UCF Alumni Honors 30 under 30
Story by Angie Lewis, UCF Alumni Association The UCF Alumni Association was proud to host its inaugural 30 under 30 awards dinner Friday, Nov. 20, honoring the outstanding achievements of 30 successful Knights. Nine of the 30 alumni awarded are graduates from the UCF College of Sciences. Young alumni currently make up one-third of UCF’s […]
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Confessions of a Serial Communicator
Mike Griffin, ’84, Vice President of Public Affairs at Florida Hospital, 2015 UCF Nicholson School of Communication Alumni Hall of Fame Inductee On Nov. 16, nearly 85 UCF alumni and friends gathered to honor Michael Griffin, ’84, as he was inducted into the 2015 UCF Nicholson School of Communication Hall of Fame, becoming the program’s […]
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Statistics Professor Wins Acclaimed Award
Mark Johnson, Ph.D., professor of Statistics, is a recipient of the American Society of Quality (ASQ) Chemical and Process Industries Division Shewell Award. Given to the best paper based on “excellence of presentation and written manuscript”, Dr. Johnson received this award at the 2015 Fall Technical Conference (FTC) held in Houston, TX. This award was shared with Christine Anderson-Cook, Ph.D., […]
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NSC Professor Receives APR Title and Two New Research Awards
October 2015 was quite a month for Nicholson’s Melissa D. Dodd, Ph.D. The Ad/PR assistant professor can now proudly add three more letters to her title, upon successful completion of her voluntary APR accreditation. She also learned that she is to be recognized for two prestigious research awards at the International Public Relations Society of […]
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Black & Gold Professional Achievement
James Rosengren, ’81 | Founder/Chairman/CEO, Heritage Health Solutions Inc. The UCF Alumni Association and College of Sciences presented their 2015 Professional Achievement Award to James Rosengren, ’81, at the annual Black & Gold Gala on Oct. 22. After earning his bachelor’s degree in biology from UCF, Jim went on to earn his master’s degree in […]
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A Chair For The New Kurdish Chair
Güneş Murat Tezcür, Ph.D., the Jalal Talabany Kurdish Political Studies Endowed Chair at UCF, was inaugurated on October 29th, as part of the Kurdish Political Studies Program’s panel presentation on Kurdish Political Issues. Dr. Kerstin Hamann, Chair of the Political Science Department and Co-Chair of the Kurdish Political Studies Program at UCF, welcomed and thanked the audience for […]
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Security Studies Students Shine at Conference
The weekend of October 23-25th, 11 students and 4 faculty and staff members represented UCF at the International Studies Association (ISA) South annual conference in Tampa, Florida. Christopher Faulkner and Rebecca Schiel, two second-year Ph.D. security studies students, not only represented UCF at the conference, but they also took home the Jim Winkates Graduate Student Paper grand prize and runner-up […]
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Crystal Technology Wins Professor Prestigious Award
UCF Department of Chemistry assistant professor, James Harper, Ph.D., recently applied for and received the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award. Awarded for his research on “Developing Accurate Crystallography Without Diffraction.”, this award is the NSF’s most prestigious award supporting junior faculty and will provide funding for a five-year period. This funding will be used to support […]
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COS Distinguished Alumni Award Winner 2015: Ybeth Bruzual
Ybeth Bruzual, ’05, graduated from UCF with a bachelor’s degree in political science. Since then, Bruzual has demonstrated an exceptional multi-media journalism career and dedication to her alma mater. Due to her accomplishments, Bruzual was nominated and honored as the 2015 Political Science Outstanding AlumKnight awardee at the inaugural ceremony this year. You will most […]
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Orlando’s 40 Under 40 Includes COS Alumni
Three graduates from the UCF College of Sciences will be honored with the 2015 40 under 40 Award. The Orlando Business Journal announced the alumni in this year’s 40 Under 40 Awards, recognizing Central Florida’s brightest young business leaders based on demonstrated business success over the past 12 to 18 months. Of the 40 recognized, […]
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LEARN Expands with National Science Foundation Grant
A University of Central Florida researcher who started a successful program to keep freshmen in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines is expanding the model to two other universities and adding a component to focus on transfer students. Kimberly Schneider, Ph.D., director of the Office of Undergraduate Research, will split a $1.8 million National […]
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Distinguished Speaker Series Revolutionized
The first talk of the 2015-2016 Distinguished Speaker Series was held on September 23rd, at Cevíche Tapas Bar & Restaurant in downtown Orlando. Approximately 70 guests came out to hear Sarah Parcak’s, Ph.D., presentation on “A Digital Revolution: Archeology from Space”. Many UCF faculty, staff, alumni, students, and community members were in attendance, including the Dean of the College […]
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National Award for Substance Abuse Identification Test
Congratulations to 5th year Ph.D. chemistry student David Nash, on receiving the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Graduate Research Fellowship. The NIJ is the research-funding branch of the Department of Justice. Annually, they provide a handful of graduate students a monetary award to conduct research in the social or physical science fields that will help the criminal justice, […]
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Outstanding Sociology Alumnus, Professor, and Professional
Dr. Nicholas Guittar, ’01, ’05, ’11, was honored with the 2015 Sociology Outstanding AlumKnight Award in February. The Sociology Department nominated Dr. Guittar for this award based on his outstanding career achievements, service to students, and loyalty to the university and department. He is currently assistant professor of sociology at Valdosta State University. Previously, Dr. Guittar served for […]
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UCF College of Sciences Honors 2015-16 Scholarship Donors and Recipients
On September 25, the UCF College of Sciences held its third annual Scholarship Luncheon to celebrate its supportive donors and accomplished student scholarship recipients for the 2015-16 academic year. This year the college celebrated awarding 46 scholarships, totaling $94,050 in scholarship aid. The event provided a unique opportunity for scholarship recipients to have lunch with […]
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Award Winning Google Glass Research
In 2014, Psychology Ph.D. candidate Ben Sawyer, was the lead researcher and wrote the first peer reviewed study looking at the driving distraction potential of Google Glass. In his study it showed the novel device to be less distracting in some ways than an Android phone, but still dangerous compared to just driving. This summer, […]
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NSC Senior Adviser Receives Well-Deserved Promotion
She remembers it like it was yesterday. It was 2009, her first day at work, and she was six months pregnant. That day, Rebecca Morales was charged with the mammoth task of transforming an abandoned darkroom and photo lab into a student advising center. “When I arrived, the ceiling and walls were black, the floor was […]