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Arboretum Goes Pokémon
If you’ve walked around UCF campus recently you probably have noticed students glued to their phones playing the popular game, Pokémon GO. The UCF campus is full of ‘trainers’ catching Pokémon and visiting ‘Poke Stops’ spread throughout campus. One Poke Stop in particular hopes to lure UCF students in for a special event. The UCF […]
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Biology Students Study in the Tropics
UCF Biology and Pegasus Professor Linda Walters, Ph.D., took a group of UCF students to the tropics in Belize this summer as part of her Tropical Marine Biology study abroad course. Offered every two years, this program gives undergraduate UCF biology students the opportunity to spend one week on an island to study marine ecosystems […]
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Permanent Home for Sea Turtle Research
Story by Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala, UCF Today The University of Central Florida and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have reached a historic agreement that will establish a permanent conservation research facility along the Brevard County coastline. UCF has run a sea turtle monitoring and research program on the beaches of the Archie Carr National Wildlife […]
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Grad Students Lead Science Summer Camps
The UCF Department of Biology and the Biology Graduate Student Association (BGSA) have collaborated with the UCF Chemistry Department and the Uknighted Chemistry Graduate Student Association (UCGSA) for the second annual Biology Integrated Orlando Training and Enrichment Camp (BIOTEC) and fifth annual Orlando Chemistry Tutoring, Enrichment and Training Camp (OCTET). BIOTEC, held June 27 – July 2, and OCTET, held […]
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UCF Led Team Discovers New Venomous Snake
Story by UCF Today An international team of scientists has solved a case of mistaken identity and discovered a new species of venomous snake. The newly discovered Talamancan Palm-Pitviper is a striking green-and-black snake living in some of the most remote regions of Costa Rica. The coloring is a characteristic it shares with its close […]
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Biology Student Receives Golden Opportunity
The UCF Department of Biology is pleased to announce that Shelly Gaynor has been named as the winner of the 2016 Golden Opportunity Scholars Award by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America and Soil Science Society of America. Shelly is a junior majoring in Biology and has been involved in undergraduate research […]
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Biology Student’s Research Seeds Success
UCF Biology student, Michelle Shaffer, has been awarded the July 2016 Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Award (DURA) for her ecological research. This award recognizes UCF undergraduate students who demonstate exemplary academic research in their field. Under the guidance of a mentor, the student’s research is submitted for review by the Student Undergraduate Research Council. Shaffer’s award-wining research, […]
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A Wild Summer for Biology Research Team
Alicia Huber, graduate student in the UCF Biology Department, has been working with a team of UCF students this summer at the Disney Wilderness Preserve to investigate its soil’s carbon storage. “It is well known that wetland ecosystems generally function as carbon sinks—their soils especially often store significant amounts of carbon,” explained Huber. “Although we […]
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Alumna UKNIGHTS for Orlando’s First Responders
University of Central Florida biology and psychology alumna Melyssa Allen, ’12, worked with departments and organizations across the university to assemble more than 150 care packages for Orlando’s first responders following the tragedy at Pulse nightclub. “I was listening to the radio the day after the tragedy at Pulse and heard that there had been […]
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UCF Biologist Studies ‘Coral Zombies’
Story by UCF Today Scientists have known for a while that coral reefs around the world are dying, and in a worst-case scenario they were counting on large, healthy-looking corals to repopulate. But a new study presented at the 13th International Coral Reef Symposium in Honolulu this week shows that these seemingly healthy colonies are “Coral […]
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Love Conquers Hate at UCF Vigil for Pulse Victims
Story by UCF Today Rain and lightning delayed but could not stop a vigil Tuesday night where the UCF community honored the victims of the Pulse shooting, vowing to conquer hate with love. Gathered in the University of Central Florida Student Union, attendees listened as leaders from the university, the student body, the LGBTQ+ community […]
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UCF to Remember Pulse Victims at Candlelight Vigil
Story by UCF Today The University of Central Florida community will join together Tuesday, June 14, to honor the lives taken during the act of terror at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. A candlelight vigil will begin at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Reflecting Pond. The event is being organized by members of UCF’s LGBTQ+ […]
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UCF Hosting Several Blood Drives This Week
UCF encourages the campus community and the public to donate blood at several on-campus drives this week. Big Red Buses from One Blood will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, June 13, in front of the Student Union and also at Bright House Networks Stadium. President John C. Hitt, Student Body President […]
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UCF Community Copes with Orlando Tragedy
Our entire Knight family is mourning the victims of the Orlando terror attack. Our thoughts and prayers are with their families and friends. To assist our students, faculty and staff during the difficult days and months ahead, the Division of Student Development and Enrollment Services will host a series of campus conversations and therapy support […]
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President Hitt: UCF Stands with Orlando Against Terror
Story by UCF Today The following message is from President John C. Hitt: Orlando was attacked today. How painful, frightening, and infuriating it is to write that sentence. As President Obama said, this was “an attack on all of us, and on the fundamental values of equality and dignity that define us as a country.” […]
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UCF Alumna Puts Conservation into Practice
UCF Biology alumna and former UCF Arboretum employee, Tina Richards, ’06, ’13, embraced her passion for the environment at UCF. From her instrumental role in the growth of the UCF Arboretum to becoming a full-time biologist, Richard’s path to success can be traced back to her time spent at UCF. In 2006, Richards received her […]
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UCF Arboretum Coordinator Exemplifies Sustainability
Jennifer Elliot, coordinator of the UCF Arboretum, was featured as June’s faculty spotlight by the UCF Sustainability Initiatives. As an advocate for sustainability at UCF through her work at the arboretum, Elliot shares the same goal with UCF Sustainability Initiatives of pursuing environmental, economic and social sustainability. Q: What does Sustainability mean to you? A: […]
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UCF Biology to Offer Tracks in Fall
Undergraduate students in the UCF Biology Department will soon be able to concentrate in specific subjects with their degree. Starting this fall, tracks will be offered within the UCF biology degree. While in the past, students could focus in subject areas informally by taking certain elective classes, this new addition allows students to be formally […]
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UCF Biologists’ RAD Research
In a recent blog post featured by NPR’s ‘Car Talk,’ Kieran Lindsey, Ph.D., highlights a UCF Department of Biology research team’s mission to determine the effectiveness of linking Roadside Animal Detection Systems (RADS) with various types of warning signs. This research team includes biology doctoral student Molly Grace, Pegasus Professor Reed Noss, Ph.D., and Research Associate Daniel Smith, […]
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COS Celebrates its New Alumni
The UCF College of Sciences continued the tradition of honoring its graduates with a post-ceremony reception jointly hosted by the college and its academic departments. The reception was held in the UCF Psychology building immediately following the college’s spring commencement ceremony on Friday, May 6, 2016. More than 1,200 College of Sciences’ graduates walked at […]
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UCF Biology Professor Explores Mysteries of Insect Life
By Jonathan Gabriel Monday, May 9, 2016 The first time biology associate professor Barb Sharanowski, Ph.D., encountered insects, they terrified her. “When I was a kid in Ontario, Canada, my older brother used to throw them at me – gosh, it was just basically torture,” she said. “But as I grew older I overcame that […]
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Elephants and Bees
UCF Biology student Matthew Rudolph, 31, always knew he wanted a career that involved animals, but he never envisioned using tiny honeybees to help save the world’s largest land mammal. Still, that’s exactly what Rudolph has been doing for the past six months, working alongside a team of international researchers in Kenya to build fences […]
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COS Faculty Receive Incentive Awards
The College of Sciences is proud to announce the 2015-2016 winners for the Teaching Incentive Program and Research Incentive Award. Each year, UCF’s Academic Affairs’ Office of Faculty Excellence gives incentive awards to outstanding faculty for their dedication to teaching, research and scholarship. Every award winner, whether holding a nine or 12 month contract, is given […]
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Biology Success in Mexico City
Three UCF biology students, Hollis Dahn, Alejandra Osorio, and Jason Stickland, participated at the annual Southwestern Association of Naturalists (SWAN) meeting in Mexico City from April 14-17. Hollis, Alejandra, and Jason all work in Biology Professor Chris Parkinson’s, Ph.D., laboratory. The Parkinson Lab focuses on evolution, systematics, and conservation of reptiles. Graduating senior Hollis Dahn, was […]
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Biology Students Ready for Research
The UCF Biology Department is proud to have multiple students participating in competitive research experiences this summer across the nation. These Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) support active research participation of students in any of the areas of research funded by the National Science Foundation. Michelle Gaynor – Junior, Biology Michelle was awarded one […]
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COS Celebrates Faculty Promotions
Promotion is a mark of accomplishment and a gratifying recognition from one’s peers. Because of their hard work and dedication, the following College of Sciences faculty and staff members have been promoted or have earned tenure this year. Promotion to Professor Emeritus/Emerita Ida Cook, Ph.D. – Sociology Robert Dipboye, Ph.D. – Psychology Promotion […]
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COS Excellence in Academics
The UCF College of Graduate Studies recognized graduate students and faculty for excellence in research, teaching and mentoring at an awards ceremony during the 13th Annual Graduate Research Forum on April 5, 2016. Each year the Graduate Council Program Review and Awards Committee reviews college nominations and recognizes graduate students for the University Graduate Awards […]
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COS Shines at Student Research Week
Student Research Week celebrates the research and creative projects of UCF undergraduate and graduate students. From April 4 through April 7, graduate and undergraduate students attended workshops, presented research, developed research skills, and met with researchers. On April 5 and April 7, students from all disciplines, shared their research with the UCF community at the annual Graduate […]
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Alumni Fund Biology Scholarship
Born and raised in Stuart, Florida, Clay Scherer, ’94, is a third generation Floridian. Growing up in one of the most ecologically diverse places in the world, he enjoyed the outdoors and developed an appreciation for nature. Clay and his wife Juliann recognize the importance of natural history in today’s education of biologists and want to make sure […]
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Biology Service Learning Students Steal the Show
All of the students in UCF Biology professor Linda Walters’, Ph.D., advanced marine biology course were winners at the 2016 UCF Service-Learning Showcase on Thursday, April 14. The team, dubbed the “Microterrors,” conducted research on microplastic abundance and diversity on Central Florida beaches and estuaries and then presented this research to Ms. Tricia LaChance’s fifth […]