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Introducing 13 New Ph.D. Graduates
In a reception hosted by Dean Michael Johnson, Ph.D., the College of Sciences celebrated its new Ph.D. graduates in the Physical Sciences building. Thirteen students were recognized with family members and faculty advisors by their side. Associate Dean Teresa Dorman, Ph.D., honored each student by presenting their research and dissertation. A champagne toast followed to celebrate the students’ […]
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Team Receives Grant to Explore Photon Funnels
By Zenaida Kotala The National Science Foundation has awarded a UCF-led team $400,049 to develop new devices for concentrating and controlling light called “photon funnels.” Concentrating light is used in a variety of electronics and machines people have come to depend on, from computers and cell phones to fiber optics and sensors that detect toxic […]
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Faculty Recognition: Research and Teaching Effectiveness
RIA Awardees The University of Central Florida Research Incentive Awards (RIA) program supports outstanding research, scholarly and creative activity that advances the body of knowledge in a particular field, including interdisciplinary research and collaborations. The below faculty members were recognized for their contributions to UCF’s key goal of achieving international prominence in research and creative activities. […]
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UCF Teaches Outstanding Chemistry AlumKnight the Value of Hard Work
UCF chemistry graduate Dennis Donahue, M.D., is an example of what hard work can bring. The board-certified urologist graduated with his bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1975 when UCF was still Florida Technological University. Dr. Donahue is a now a doctor with Florida Hospital Medical Group, coming a long way from his first job as […]
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Rising Stars
The COS Dean’s Distinguished Researcher and Rising Star Awards recognize the efforts of the most ‘research productive’ faculty and the outstanding value that they bring to their classroom teaching, as well as to the unambiguous value of the research mentorship that they offer to undergraduate and graduate students that are their apprentices. The applicants must have […]
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NSF Funded Research Could Help Cure Disease
Chemistry doctoral student Riley Gentry was awarded the Graduate Research Fellowships Program (GRFP) by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in spring 2017. Out of the 13 thousand national applicants representing a wide range of scientific disciplines, only 15 percent were chosen for the award. Gentry provided a personal statement, a research proposal and letters of […]
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UCF Chemistry Professor Discovers Energy Breakthrough
Story by Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala, UCF Today A chemistry professor in Florida has just found a way to trigger the process of photosynthesis in a synthetic material, turning greenhouse gases into clean air and producing energy all at the same time. The process has great potential for creating a technology that could significantly reduce greenhouse […]
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COS Undergrads Shine at Showcase
Every year, the UCF Showcase of Undergraduate Research Excellence, presented by the Division of Teaching and Learning, celebrates undergraduate research and creativity across the curriculum. The showcase gave University of Central Florida undergraduate students the opportunity to present their research and creative projects to the university community. Students from all fields and disciplines gathered at […]
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COS Students Shine at Graduate Research Forum
The UCF Pegasus Ballroom was packed Tuesday, April 5 with graduate students sharing their innovative, original research and creative projects at 14th Annual Graduate Research Forum. More than 200 students and 80 faculty judges participated in the event and over $16,000 in awards was presented for Best in Category presentations. Additionally, first place winners are […]
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Founders’ Day Honors Top Faculty, Staff, Students
University of Central Florida’s Founders’ Day Honors Convocation recognizes faculty, staff members and students for outstanding teaching, research, professional service and years of dedication to the university. Awards included the Pegasus Professor Award presented to College of Sciences Associate Dean Jana Jasinski, Ph.D., the UCF Reach for the Stars Award presented to UCF Biology Assistant […]
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Meet the 2017 COS Order of Pegasus Recipients
UCF has named 21 students as recipients of the Order of Pegasus, the university’s most prestigious student award. Eleven of these recipients are students of the UCF College of Sciences. Get to know them below. CHRISTOPHER CLEMENTE: Tampa, FL About: Christopher Clemente, College of Arts and Humanities and College of Sciences, is majoring in history and […]
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COS Grad Programs Ranked Nationally
Several graduate programs in the University of Central Florida College of Sciences were ranked in the top 200 in their respective fields by U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate Schools of 2018. The following COS graduate programs were ranked in the top 200 of their fields: Physics – No. 85 Sociology – No. 102 […]
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UCF Chemistry Students Judge at Science Competition
University of Central Florida’s Uknighted Chemistry Graduate Student Association volunteered at an Orlando Science Center competition on March 11, 2017. The members of Uknighted Chemistry Graduate Student Association served as volunteer judges at the Science Challenge competition. Although the organization volunteers in the community often, this particular event was a first for the 3-year-old organization. […]
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NCFS Hosts Laser Ablation Workshop
University of Central Florida researchers Matthieu Baudelet, Ph.D., assistant professor of chemistry, and Mauro Martinez, Ph.D., postdoctoral associate at the National Center for Forensic Science, presented at a workshop on Laser Ablation for Forensic Science Applications. The event was hosted by UCF’s National Center for Forensic Science on Feb. 8 and 9, 2017. The event, […]
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Second Annual ACS Florida Chemistry Conclave
The Student Chapter of the American Chemical Society (ACS) at the University of Central Florida (UCF) hosted chemistry students from across Florida attending the Second Annual ACS Florida Chemistry Conclave, held on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017. The goal of the Conclave is to promote the bonds between student chapters of ACS across Florida, to help […]
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COS Students to Receive University’s Highest Honor
Story by Mark Schlueb, UCF Today UCF has named 21 students as recipients of the Order of Pegasus, the university’s most prestigious student award. Eleven of these recipients are students of the UCF College of Sciences. The 2017 recipients were selected from a pool of 65 nominations. The 2017 class includes eight LEAD Scholars, eight President’s Leadership […]
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UCF Gets $1.3 million to Fight Zika
University of Central Florida scientists, including three Department of Chemistry faculty members, received a total of nearly $1.3 million in state funds Wednesday to research the Zika virus with the goal of understanding its effects on human health and developing a vaccine for the mosquito-borne illness. The funding was part of Gov. Rick Scott’s authorization of $25 […]
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Fighting Crop Disease
Story by Mark Schlueb, UCF Today An international agricultural company has licensed a formula for fighting crop disease that a UCF scientist spent more than five years perfecting. Gowan Co. recently signed an agreement with the University of Central Florida to obtain exclusive rights to the anti-fungal and anti-bacterial formulation developed by researcher Swadeshmukul Santra, Ph.D. The […]
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COS Celebrates Fall 2016 Grads
On Friday, December 16, 2016 the University of Central Florida’s College of Sciences celebrated more than 1,000 students graduating from the college. The college hosted its traditional graduation reception immediately following the afternoon ceremony for its graduates to celebrate with their faculty, friends and family. The event, held in the UCF Psychology Building, hosted more […]
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UCF Chemistry Student Receives National Honor
University of Central Florida undergraduate chemistry student Samantha Mensah won the Winifred Burks-Houck Undergraduate Award scholarship from the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers. The award is only presented to one undergraduate student in the United States every year. Mensah also attended NOBCChE’s annual conference in November in Raleigh, […]
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Grant to Aid Sexual Assault Investigations
Story courtesy of Gabriel PR Candice Bridge, Ph.D., a professor at the University of Central Florida (UCF), was awarded a $324,000 grant from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) to develop new forensic science techniques to aid in sexual assault investigations. “This grant will enable us to conduct research into a unique new means of identifying […]
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Professor Dedicates Career to UCF
Associate Professor Frank Kujawa has been a part of the University of Central Florida family for 47 years and counting. The office of Associate Professor Frank Kujawa, Ph.D., is full of memories. The shelf space is packed with catalogs, books and miscellaneous texts spanning decades. An overhead projector sits on top of a full filing […]
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COS Faculty in National Academy of Inventors
Story by Barb Abney The University of Central Florida inducted 29 researchers into its new chapter of the National Academy of Inventors on Monday night in a gala focused on innovation and invention. Nine of these inductees are faculty or maintain a joint appointment in the UCF College of Sciences. The NAI membership has more […]
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Chemistry Student Awarded Presidential Doctoral Fellowship
Chemistry graduate student Riley Gentry has been at UCF for five years – first for his bachelor’s degree and now for his doctorate. He is one of eight recipients of the Presidential Doctoral Fellowship award from the College of Graduate Studies. Gentry was nominated for the scholarship by his advisor Eda Koculi, Ph.D., assistant professor […]
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UCF Hosts Fourth STEM Day
By Julia Anderson On Friday, October 28, the University of Central Florida hosted 1,200 K-12 students on campus for its bi-annual STEM Day event. Students from 33 schools across Orange, Seminole, Volusia, Hernando, Brevard and Sumter counties participated in the event coordinated by the Center for Initiatives in STEM (iSTEM). Several home school groups attended […]
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Bonded By Chemistry
Story by Jenna Marina, UCF Alumni Fate, and a dash of chemistry, brought together two-time UCF alumna Cynthia McCurry and current College of Sciences student Lauren Gandy. McCurry has supported a scholarship for the College of Sciences since 2001. Students of various science majors have received the scholarship over the years, but until this fall, […]
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UCF Research Team Seeks to Improve Classroom Learning
Three University of Central Florida professors are teaming up to improve classroom learning for students who struggle with attention deficit disorder, autism and learning disabilities. The National Science Foundation awarded $300,000 to fund Project Adapting College Classrooms to Equally Support Science Students (ACCESSS), led by UCF professors Jacquelyn Chini, Ph.D., Cherie Yestrebsky, Ph.D., and Eleazar […]
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COS Staff Recognized at Annual Awards Program
The UCF College of Sciences was well represented at the 44th Annual Awards Program on Friday, September 2, 2016. The UCF Human Resources Department held the event in the Pegasus Ballroom where over 500 attendees gathered to celebrate the university’s outstanding USPS and A&P employees. View photos from the event here. Several College of Sciences […]
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UCF Team Tricks Solid Into Acting as Liquid
Story by Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala, UCF Today Two scientists at the University of Central Florida Chemistry Department have discovered how to get a solid material to act like a liquid without actually turning it into liquid, potentially opening a new world of possibilities for the electronic, optics and computing industries. When chemistry graduate student Demetrius A. […]
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Chemistry Welcomes Chair
This summer Cherie Yestrebsky, Ph.D., was named the chair of the UCF Chemistry Department. Dr. Yestrebsky has been serving as interim chair of the department since November of 2014, prior to her long-term appointment in June 2016. Before coming to UCF, Dr. Yestrebsky earned her doctorate in chemistry from the University of South Florida. She […]