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Virtual UCF Arboretum Expands Offerings For Digital Game Designers
The Virtual UCF Arboretum continues to expand its reach and impact, with the recent launch of a new library of 70 photorealistic plants for use in augmented and virtual reality. The free-to-use content pack of 3D plants on the Epic Games Unreal Engine Marketplace follows last year’s $25,000 Epic Megagrant from the same game maker, […]
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Overseas Deployment Adds To Ph.D. Candidate’s Security Studies Experience
By TAD SCHNAUFER During the summer, many students undertake internships to gain hands-on experience in their respective fields. For Tad Schnaufer, a Security Studies doctoral candidate in the School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs, his summer experience came from his service as a captain in the Florida Army National Guard. He currently serves as […]
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UCF Study Finds Smaller Turtles are Nesting on Florida Beaches
A new University of Central Florida study indicates that smaller loggerhead and green sea turtles are nesting on Florida beaches than in the past; however, researchers aren’t sure why. The findings, published this month in the journal Ecosphere, give clues to the status of the turtles, which is important to researchers who are monitoring the […]
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UCF College of Sciences Researchers Join Project to Fight Animal-borne Diseases
Two University of Central Florida College of Sciences researchers have been selected by a national philanthropic foundation as research fellows to help fight the threat of animal-borne diseases. Laurene Tetard, an associate professor in UCF’s Department of Physics, and Xiaohu Xia, an assistant professor in UCF’s Department of Chemistry, were selected as fellows by the […]
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India Center Welcomes New Director of Public Affairs
The India Center has witnessed exciting changes just this past month, and is delighted to introduce Leila Chacko, the India Center’s Director of Public Affairs. Leila is the India Center’s first full-time staff member and you can find her in the India Center’s new office (Chemistry 117). An Orlando native and licensed attorney, Leila brings […]
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UCF Physics Bridge Program Produces 2nd and 3rd Graduates
By NIKITTA CAMPBELL The UCF Physics Bridge Program continues to produce successful graduates, with two of its Ph.D. students becoming the second and third UCF participants to graduate from the American Physics Society (APS) Bridge Program. Fernand Torres-Davila and Brian Zamarripa Roman walk the stage at the end of the summer semester. The Physics Department […]
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UCF RESTORES Provides Mental Health Aid at Surfside Condo Collapse
While in Surfside, Florida, a first responder working the tragic collapse of the Champlain Towers South condo building approached Deborah Beidel with fine jewelry he found among the rubble. He was worried about who it belonged to and the significance it held. “With discoveries like this, you’re helping people get a part of their relative […]
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Endowed Scholarship Further Cements UCF’s Leadership Role in Gaming Industry
Thanks to a $100,000 gift from Electronic Arts (EA), an endowed scholarship was created to benefit students in the University of Central Florida’s Nicholson School of Communication and Media in the College of Sciences. One of many initiatives in a multifaceted strategy to empower students from diverse backgrounds to explore successful careers in fields of […]
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Senior Heads to Ivy League Grad Studies After Graduation
By ALLY FRIEDMAN Mathematics Senior Ryan McCleary is heading to Cornell University this fall with a publication to his name thanks to a professor’s mentorship. When McCleary leaves Florida in a few months to begin graduate work at Cornell University he’ll take with him the lessons learned from Mathematics Assistant Professor Abey López-García, Ph.D. […]
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Ph. D. Candidate Serves as a Discussant at the Air University Research Showcase
By Sara Belligoni, Ph.D. Candidate Sara Belligoni, a doctoral candidate in Security Studies at the School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs, served as a Discussant at the Air University (AU) Research Showcase for the panel “Strategic Direction for Blood Banks” on June 7, 2021. The conference, organized by AU in partnership with […]
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Fulbright Program Selects NSCM Leader For International Award
By IULIA POPESCU Boyd Lindsley, Ed.D, who serves as the senior associate director for the Nicholson School of Communication and Media (NSCM), was recently chosen for participation for the Fulbright Program’s International Education Administrators (IEA) Award. 2021 marks 75 years since the Fulbright Program first commenced. Following its inception in 1946, more than 400,000 “Fulbrighters” have participated […]
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NSF Grant Fuels Next Stage of Deadly Waterborne Bacteria Study
Ongoing research to investigate the behavior of deadly waterborne bacteria recently received a big boost in the form of a National Science Foundation CAREER award. The $782,351 award, spread out over five years, further validates the work of Assistant Professor Salvador Almagro-Moreno, Ph.D., and his research into members of the bacterial family Vibrionaceae. Members of […]
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Security Studies Graduate Takes Position Advising Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff
U.S. Army Colonel Joseph Funderburke, Ph.D. ’19, has stepped into a new advisory role as Special Assistant to the Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark A. Milley — the highest-ranking military officer in the Department of Defense and principal military advisor to the President of the United States and the Secretary of Defense. […]
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12 UCF Researchers Honored with Asteroids Named after Them
A dozen University of Central Florida space researchers were honored recently when planetary bodies were named after them. This brings the total number of current UCF researchers whose names are attached to asteroids to 19, along with another 12 former researchers. The honor comes just in time for today’s International Asteroid Day, which was started […]
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UCF Journalism Alumna Part of Pulitzer Prize-winning Team at The New York Times
A UCF graduate was part of the data collection team that helped The New York Times win the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in Public Service — the highest honor in journalism. The award was announced June 11. Bianca Fortis ’10, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from UCF’s Nicholson School of Communication and Media, […]
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Purple Martin Project Teaches Field Work, Unlocks Biodiversity Mystery
A hands-on research project on UCF’s campus is teaching students field work fundamentals while unraveling the source of a major loss of bird biodiversity. The project is led by Department of Biology Research Scientist Anna Forsman, Ph.D., and focuses specifically on the decline of Purple Martins. “It’s important for us to study these birds from a […]
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UCF Advocacy Leads To Bump In Physics Enrollment at Jones High School
A competitive advantage was offered to Jones High School seniors this past year when they were automatically enrolled in physics. Administration for the high school in the heart of Orlando did so at the urging of UCF leadership and Department of Physics, which recognizes that a full year of physics prepares students to be four […]
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UCF 25th Among Public Universities in the Nation and 60th in the World for Producing Patents
UCF ranked 25th among public universities in the nation for producing patents and 60th in the world, according to a new report released today. The National Academy of Inventors and the Intellectual Property Owners Association ranks institutions every year based on the number of patents received and filed through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. […]
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From Pet Store Employee to International Conservation Biology Research Pioneer
Roisin Stanbrook tried to ignore her love of bugs by studying computer coding her first year of college. It didn’t stick. She ended up dropping out of school and working at a pet store. But she couldn’t resist her interest in bugs, especially when she saw an ad about an opportunity to participate in a […]
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‘In Journalism You Have the Opportunity to Witness History’
UCF alumna Christal Hayes ’15, has already covered some of the most momentous events in modern American history – from the tragic mass shootings in Orlando and Las Vegas to two presidential impeachments in Washington. Hayes, who graduated from UCF with a bachelor’s degree in journalism, recently was promoted to national correspondent for USA Today, […]
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New Faculty Member Brings Human Origins Expertise To Classroom This Fall
One of the newest additions to the Department of Anthropology faculty will bring a specialized perspective on the evolution of humans to students this fall. Sarah Freidline, Ph.D, studies the origin and evolution of Homo sapiens using three-dimensional shape analysis, geometric morphometrics and bone histology techniques. These tools help her virtually reconstruct and quantify the […]
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NSCM Mentorship Program Offers Career Guidance, Insights
The freedom to explore different career paths in college can be a burden as much as a gift for students, including Abbigale Martin ’21 BA. Martin first chose English as her major based on a love of writing, then pursued Human Communication with a Business and Professionalism Track after transferring to UCF from Florida Gulf […]
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First-of-its-Kind Study Finds Lightning Impacts Edge of Space in Ways not Previously Observed
A team of researchers working with data collected by the Incoherent Scatter Radar (ISR) at the Arecibo Observatory, satellites, and lightning detectors in Puerto Rico have for the first time examined the simultaneous impacts of thunderstorms and solar flares on the ionospheric D-region (often referred to as the edge of space). In the first of […]
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Study Sheds Light on Pre-Columbian Life in Understudied Area of SW Amazon
A new study co-authored by University of Central Florida researchers shows that pre-Columbian people of a culturally diverse but not well-documented area of the Amazon in South America significantly altered their landscape thousands of years earlier than previously thought. The findings, published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, show evidence […]
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STRONG Program Shrinks University, Offers STEM Students Success
The University of Central Florida carries a reputation for its size, but Anael Ais didn’t fully realize how big the university truly is until he transferred from Valencia College. “It’s a big adjustment because UCF is such a big school and it’s hard to navigate that alone,” said Ais. The university began to shrink, however, […]
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19 UCF Students Living the Dream, Working at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center
For 19 UCF students, the dream of working for NASA came true this past semester as they completed internships at Kennedy Space Center through NASA’s Pathways Program. The program gives qualifying university students an opportunity to work at the space agency, where every semester UCF has students working in everything from engineering to accounting. The students […]
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Forensic Hair Research Wins Recognition for NCFS Graduate Student
A forensics graduate student has earned the Forensics Sciences Foundation’s Emerging Forensic Scientist Award for his research on hair and color texture analysis. The research provides a quantitative method to analyze texture and color in hair strands. Associate Professor of Chemistry and Forensic Science Candice Bridge, Ph.D., characterizes David Funes’ research as a “solid step […]
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UCF Student Receives Boren Scholarship to Study Swahili
Language has an incredible ability to make us feel connected. For Abigail Reynolds the first time she connected through a foreign language was during a first-year UCF study abroad trip to South Africa, where a local woman gave her a Zulu name. “I helped run a clothing drive and I had the greatest time working […]
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UCF Research Flies Three-for-Three on Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo Unity
University of Central Florida research has now flown on the first three flights of Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo, VSS Unity, with Saturday’s successful launch and landing at Spaceport America in New Mexico. “It was exhilarating and moving to share the experience with the large group of family and friends of Virgin Galactic employees on hand for […]
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Chemistry Professor Breaks Down Vaccine Mystery With Ingredient Explanation
Mistrust of the COVID-19 vaccine is rooted partly in its rapid introduction, the seemingly new technologies involved and the long list of ingredients with mysterious names like “N-ditetradecylacetamide.” But the purpose behind “monobasic potassium phosphate” in the vaccine can be understood with chemistry principles UCF students learn all the time, according to Professor of Chemistry […]