Meet UCF Bioarchaeologist Who Looks Into Our Buried Past

Sandra Wheeler graduated with multiple degrees in anthropology from UCF and returned in 2010 as an instructor specializing in bioarchaeology. Her main area of research focuses on the bioarchaeological analysis of infants and children, which recently led her to uncovering the earliest recorded evidence of child abuse. Her findings were reported by national media. She […]

COS Professors Featured in “The Verge”

Drs. Arlen and Diane Chase were recently featured in “The Verge” for their work using Lidar, also known as laser, imaging, detection and ranging. It  works by illuminating a target zone with lasers affixed to an aircraft. The light is reflected off target objects — whether foliage, buildings or even clouds — and captured by […]

COS Professor Discovers Earliest Case of Child Abuse

Dr. Sandra Wheeler, UCF professor and bioarchaelologist, led a group of researchers to the discovery of the first recorded case of child abuse in history. Using a bioarchaeological approach integrating biological, socio-cultural, and physical environments they analyzed a child from Kellis 2, a Roman Period (c. 50-450 AD) cemetery located in Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt. The […]

UCF Professors Write Guest Column Piece for the Orlando Sentinel

Drs. Ty Matejowsky and Beatriz Reyes-Foster, professors in the Department of Anthropology at UCF, recently wrote a guest column piece for the Orlando Sentinel called, “Anthropologists should do a better job of promoting their field.”  The featured article addresses the negative attention that cultural anthropology tends to receive in the news lately. They describe cultural anthropology as […]

Science Cafés featuring UCF scientists

As part of our celebrations for the UCF 50th Anniversary the College of Sciences will be hosting several Science Cafés to showcase our Pegasus Professors and discuss Science Beyond UCF with the Central Florida community. Admission is free, and you need no reservation—just come ready to listen and contribute. Each speaker will begin their presentation at […]

Sarah “Stacy” Barber : Women who shaped UCF

What is your current job title and responsibilities?  Assistant Professor, Anthropology.  I am a Mesoamerican archaeologist responsible for teaching undergraduate courses and conducting archaeological field research in Oaxaca, Mexico, and in Florida. What is your history at UCF? (past job titles, responsibilities) I have been at UCF since 2007 as an Assistant Professor. What is […]

UCF Professor Receives RIHA Grant

Dr. Sarah Barber, a UCF anthropology professor, recently received a grant from the Religion and Human Affairs (RIHA) Program of The Historical Society funded by the John Templeton Foundation through the University of Colorado Boulder. The grant will allow Dr. Barber to study the role of religion in the social and political innovations that led […]

Encouraging Global Citizenship through Community Engagement

Joanna Z. Mishtal is Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology and specializes in sociocultural and medical anthropology, focusing on reproductive rights and policies in Poland, Ireland, and the European Union. She received her PhD from the University of Colorado Boulder and completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Columbia University. She joined the UCF faculty in […]

Ephesus: Harbor, City, and Hinterland

The UCF Anthropology department and the Austrian Archaeological Institute are hosting “Ephesus: Harbor, City, and Hinterland” March 29 at 7 p.m. Ephesus, which is located on a fertile valley, was established as a port and was used as a important commercial centre. Read more about the ancient city here.   The lecture will be in Room 108 of the Psychology […]

Beatriz Reyes-Foster : Women Who Shaped UCF

Congratulations, Beatriz Reyes-Foster, on your special honor from the UCF Center for Success of Women Faculty.  The Center is celebrating “31 wonderful UCF women who have helped chart the course of UCF’s 50-year history” with special stories on their site. Leclair was honored on March 2 with the below interview. What is your current job title and […]

Solving the Mystery of the Southwest’s First Capital

Chaco Canyon, in the bleak deserts of northwestern New Mexico, is an unlikely setting for a regional center and capital. But so it was in the 11th and 12th centuries A.D. Chaco’s ruins captured public and scientific attention in the late 1800s and has ever since remained a “mystery” – Why there? What were its […]

Graduate Research Forum abstracts due

The Tenth Annual Graduate Research Forum, a part of Student Research Week, is open for submissions! The College of Graduate Studies and the Graduate Student Association invite UCF graduate students to submit your proposals now. Scheduled for Tuesday, April 2, 2013 in the Student Union, the Graduate Research Forum is an excellent opportunity for you to […]

A woman’s richest ornament: Hairstyles and hair products in Roman Egypt

UCF Anthropology Assistant Professor Dr. Lana Williams is presenting “A woman’s richest ornament: Hairstyles and hair products in Roman Egypt” on Feb. 8 as part of the “In the Dirt” Lecture Series. Williams is a bioarchaeologist specializing in the analysis of human health and diet through material and tissue analysis, human osteology and mortuary archaeology. She have […]

Founders’ Day Honors Convocation 2013

The annual Founders’ Day Honors Convocation will be held beginning at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, April 3, 2013, in the Pegasus Ballroom at the Student Union. We will recognize faculty members who have demonstrated excellence in teaching, advising, research, professional service, and librarianship. We will also recognize those members of our faculty who have completed […]

Six UCF students win Public Anthropology Awards

Six UCF students, Scott Vogelpohl, Kelsey Chantry, Daniel Londono, Rebecca Young, J. Hemingway and Jeffrey Endriss, won Public Anthropology Awards when the participated in a North American essay competition involving over 3,600 students from 25 schools. To read their award-winning opinion pieces, please click here. All six winners are students of Dr. Joanna Mishtal, who is an […]

Knights helping knights

As part of UCF’s 50th Anniversary, the College of Sciences is collecting donated items for the Knights Helping Knights Pantry. To date, COS has collected 1,215.52 pounds of donated items!  If you would like to donate items, drop them off in the Dean’s Office or any COS departmental office. Learn more about our ongoing and future events […]

College of Sciences videos

Learn more about the College of Sciences by watching our video playlist below. Further information on each professor is listed below the video screen. College of Sciences Video Playlist Learn more about how to support UCF Sciences here. Learn more about the Asteroid Viewing Party here. Learn more about Drs. Arlen and Diane Chase and […]

Fast food no longer just an American experience

Earlier this year, McDonald’s re-released its Grand Canyon Burger for the third time. It incorporates a beef patty with  “steak filling” topped by cheddar and mozzarella cheese, crispy onions, smoked soy steak sauce, and a fried egg. These flavors are meant to evoke the spirit of our nation’s greatest natural landmark. If the burger doesn’t […]

Political Economy, Neoliberalism, and the Prehistoric Economics of Latin America

Dr. Ty Matejowsky recently edited “Political Economy, Neoliberalism, and the Prehistoric Economics of Latin America,” which is volume 32 of the book series “Research in Economic Anthropology“. Research in Economic Anthropology is the longest-running book series exclusively dedicated to economic anthropology, and enjoys a high reputation as a promoter of “the comparative study – though […]

Center for Success of Women Faculty redefines direction

With a new name and a new direction, the UCF Center for Success of Women Faculty has one overriding purpose: To achieve its self-fulfilling title.  After being known for more than a decade as the Women’s Research Center, the group was renamed a few weeks ago to better reflect the organization’s goals. And now, the […]

Anthropology professors discusses work-life balance

UCF Anthropology Assistant Professor Sarah Stacy Barber discusses the issue of balancing work and life in the latest issue of the Archeological Record printed by the Society for American Archeology.  “I make no claims to being an expert at the juggling act,” Barber says in her essay, “but I can speak to my own experiences of the challenges […]

American Association for Advancement of Science honors COS professors

The American Association for the Advancement of Science is honoring five University of Central Florida professors with specialties in everything from archaeology to engineering for their significant contributions to their perspective fields. “These individuals have been elevated to this rank because of their efforts toward advancing science applications that are deemed scientifically or socially distinguished,” […]

Event: Environmental progress at UCF

Sociology Professor Penelope Canan and Anthropology Professor Matthew McIntyre will be speaking at the Environmental Progress event hosted by the UCF Unifying Theme Team. The Unifying Theme was created to focus discussion and reflection across the General Education Program, but has now broadened its horizons to include the entire Undergraduate Studies program. Regardless of major or academic […]

UCF Book Festival accepting book submissions

The 4th annual UCF Book Festival/Orlando will be held at the UCF Arena on Saturday, April 13, 2013. The mission of the UCF Book Festival/Orlando is to encourage the appreciation of diverse and quality literature in addition to fostering and sustaining a love of reading. Annually, the festival draws thousands of readers of all ages […]

Event: “Birth, Life & Death: Infancy and Childhood in Roman Egypt”

Join the Florida Public Archaeology Network and the Florida Historical Society for its second fall presentation, which is part of the “In the Dirt” Lecture Series. The presentation, titled “Birth, Life & Death: Infancy and Childhood in Roman Egypt”, will be held this Friday, October 19th at 7 p.m. at the FHS Library located at 435 Brevard Ave. […]

“From the Trenches”: Faculty parents share experiences of parenting in academia

Dinner date with a scientist

Imagine enjoying dinner and participating in a lively discussion with cutting-edge scientists about the ways lasers and nanoprobes are used in medical treatment, the impact of runoff water on the marine ecology, asteroids and their connection to the planet’s building blocks or the latest discoveries from a Mayan dig in Belize. It happens the first […]

Event: “In the Dirt” lecture series

Join the Florida Public Archaeology Network and the Florida Historical Society for its first fall presentation, which is part of the “In the Dirt” Lecture Series. It starts tonight at 7 p.m. and guests are invited to come and learn about early human habitation on the Bahamas with Dr. Peter Sinelli. Dr. Sinelli is an instructor of anthropology […]

Join us for a discussion about the Temple of Isis

The temple has long been one of the most famous sites in the city, but how much do we really know of this site, and how was it used? Dr. Swetnam-Burland presents an overview of the sanctuary we think we know, and an altogether different view, focusing on the inscriptions and elaborate decorations and painting […]

Lidar archaeology shines a light on hidden sites

UCF Anthropologists Arlen and Diane Chase have been gaining international attention for their use of lidar archaeology. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) recently featured the Chases in a piece about lidar archaeology. You can read an excerpt below and view the full article by clicking here. If you think archaeologists spend all the time with trowel […]