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Fighting Fire with Fire: How Controlled Burns Keep Us Safe
BY JENNA MARINA LEE From December through June, visitors to UCF’s main campus may occasionally see large, orange flames licking at trees and incinerating plants near recreational grounds, parking garages or student housing. The scene appears much scarier than what’s actually occurring. These months of the year are UCF’s burn season, which is overseen by […]
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Attorney Brings Experience Fighting Human Trafficking to UCF
The Center for the Study of Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery at UCF has recently recruited the talents of lawyer Shilpa Finnerty to serve as its senior fellow and community advisor. Through Finnerty’s experience in human rights and trafficking advocacy, the center hopes to expand their presence in the Orlando area. “The work that we […]
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UCF Research Provides Tools for Prosecuting Domestic Violence
New, potentially life-saving research from the Department of Sociology is reshaping the way law enforcement approaches domestic violence. Specifically, an associate professor and doctorate students are working alongside investigators with the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office to identify signs of strangulation and collect valuable forensic medical evidence to corroborate the potentially lethal attacks. The risk of […]
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Student Snags 1st Place For Research Into Oyster Reefs
UCF Senior Megan Witt received the first place award for her oral presentation on her first research project, “Exploring the Driving Factors Behind Mangrove Colonization On Oyster Reefs Within Mosquito Lagoon.” She received a $300 dollar check in conjunction with her Undergraduate Research Supply Grant for $500 that she received in summer 2019. Witt has […]
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Doctorate Student Presents Findings on Preparedness For Hurricane Maria
By SARA BELLIGONI Sara Belligoni, a doctorate student in Security Studies, has just returned from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Focused on emergency management and human security, Belligoni presented the preliminary results of her research about the local-federal (un)coordination in Puerto Rico before, during and after Hurricane Maria. This, in occasion of the Conference Within a […]
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Conference Brings Focus on Technology for Doctorate Student
By SARA BELLIGONI On Dec. 4, Sara Belligoni, a doctorate student in the Security Studies at the School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs, participated in the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation, and Education Conference (I/ITSEC). I/ITSEC is the largest world conference for modeling, simulation, and training. Conceived as a showcase for the aerospace and military fields, […]
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Preparing for Extreme Sea Levels Depends on Location, Time, UCF Study Finds
By ROBERT WELLS Sometimes to understand the present, it takes looking to the past. That’s the approach University of Central Florida coastal researchers are taking to pinpoint the causes of extreme sea level changes. Using historical data from tide gauges that line U.S. coasts, the researchers created an extreme sea level indicator that identifies how […]
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Grad Makes ‘Intelligent’ Choice With Lockheed Career
Everything from the precision of military strikes to global money markets hinges on timely, accurate information, or, as it’s known in the trade, “intelligence.” Alanna Fulk ’16, M.A. ’19, is keenly aware of that now as an intelligence analyst for one of the most prestigious intelligence and security corporations in the world, Lockheed Martin. But […]
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New Scholarship Funds Student Study of Sea Turtles
Three students with big ambitions to curb the dwindling sea turtle population will benefit from a new scholarship started by the National Save the Sea Turtle Foundation. The foundation chose to partner with UCF in recognition of the work conducted by Kate Mansfield, Ph.D., who leads the Marine Turtle Research Group (MTRG). Mansfield is a […]
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New Research Technique May Shed Light On Baby Sea Turtle Journey
By ZENAIDA GONZALEZ KOTALA A team of Florida researchers and their collaborators created a first-of-its-kind computer model that tracks where sea turtle hatchlings go after they leave Florida’s shores, giving scientists a new tool to figure out where young turtles spend their “lost years.” Nathan Putman, a biologist with LGL Ecological Research Assoc. based in […]
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New Book Examines Modern Relations Between Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia
A newly published book takes a timely look at the intersection of the relations between Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia as U.S. influence and involvement declines in the Middle East. Aspiring Powers, Regional Rivals: Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the new Middle East, co-authored and edited by Gönül Tol and David Dumke, was published […]
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Nicholson Grads Reunite on Set of ‘Shark Tank’
There is no one path to success. Neither Jen Rosen ’09 nor Kelly Nader ’16 pictured themselves in casting and production when they began Radio-Television classes at the Nicholson School of Communication and Media. And both took different career routes after graduation. But in the funny way life works, the UCF grads crossed paths on […]
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RISE Conference Returns For Second Year of Puerto Rico Awareness
The RISE 2019 conference, focused on raising the awareness around displaced communities in the wake of natural disaster, successfully wrapped up their second annual meeting in Albany, New York, drawing in a crowd of more than 400 people. Professor Fernando Rivera, Ph.D, director of the Puerto Rico Research Hub at UCF, is pleased to see […]
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New Alumni Reflect on Journey That Brought Them to Fall ’19 Graduation
As he adjusted his black gown, a yellow tassel dangling out of the corner of his eye, Bepsy Omar Aguasvivas thought about his father’s words: “The hardest thing to do is be born. Everything else is simply a step ahead.” That advice carried Aguasvivas through his academic experience at UCF all the way to Saturday, […]
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OSIRIS REx Target on Asteroid Bennu Revealed, Next Step – Touch-and-Go in 2020
By ZENAIDA GONZALEZ KOTALA The OSIRIS-REx team announced today, the selection of two sites on asteroid Bennu that they will target for sample collection next year. The selection of the two spots nicknamed Nightingale and Osprey sites represents a milestone in NASA’s first mission to collect a sample of an asteroid and bring it back […]
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Agreement Opens New Research Opportunity at State Park
A first-of-its-kind agreement between a Florida state park and a public university opens new research opportunities for students and faculty of disciplines ranging from biology to engineering. The agreement between UCF and Florida Park Service centers on a building in Econfina River State Park in rural Taylor County, about an hour southeast of Tallahassee. A […]
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India Center names senior as Fall 2019 India Fellow
Senior Monica Foster is the Fall 2019 India Fellow for the Office of Global Perspectives and International Initiatives (GPII), in cooperation with the India Center. She is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology, with a minor in Religion and Cultural Studies, as well as Creative Writing. Foster is a member of Phi Eta Sigma Honor […]
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Students Share Who They’re Grateful For This Thanksgiving
There’s a lot to be grateful for this Thanksgiving. So we asked College of Sciences students to narrow it down to a person that influenced their decision to pursue sciences as a career. Psalmiyah Barber Psychology Sophomore There was no hesitation in Psalmiyah Barber’s answer when asked what she was most thankful for this […]
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UCF Instructional Video Nominated For Regional Emmy Award
A powerful video detailing a journalist’s approach to her work has earned a Suncoast Regional Emmy Award nomination for the UCF team that produced it. The project, titled “Ethics in Journalism: A Morning with Nancy Alvarez,” explores the decisions the Channel 9 anchor made approaching news coverage of two major Orlando stories: the Pulse nightclub […]
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International Conference Offers Insights and Networking Opportunities
By SARA BELLIGONI In early November, Sara Belligoni, a Security Studies doctorate student,presented her research paper at the Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society (IUS-AFS) international conference in Reston, Va. The conference is organized every other year in the U.S. and represents an excellent forum of discussion for scholars and professionals involved in the […]
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Physics Education Produces Twelve Teachers in Two Years
Adam LaMee has always had a passion for showing others the wonder of physics. So when UCF recruited him from his small, high school classroom to teach in their Physics Teacher Education (PhysTEC) program, it was a no-brainer. Now on its eighth year, LaMee’s passion has led PhysTEC to hit a major milestone: the 5+ […]
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NASA Funds 2 UCF Projects Focused on Returning to the Moon
By ROBERT WELLS Two new University of Central Florida projects will test innovative technologies designed to help astronauts return safely to the moon. NASA recently funded the projects that will help scientists better understand the nature of lunar dust so that its potentially damaging effects to equipment and spacecraft during lunar landings can be minimized. […]
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UCF Professor Part of Team Awarded the Sir Arthur Clarke Award
By ZENAIDA GONZALEZ KOTALA NASA’s New Horizons Mission Team, which includes UCF physics Professor Dan Britt, Thursday was awarded the 2019 Sir Arthur Clarke Award, one of the most prestigious space-exploration awards in the world. The award recognizes teams and individuals that have made notable or outstanding achievements in space activities in the past year. […]
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GIS Day 2019 Introduces New Careers to Central Florida K-12 Students
The Pegasus Ballroom was buzzing with drones and excited conversations Thursday for GIS Day 2019. GIS Day presents students with hands-on activities that teach them about GIS (geographic information system) mapping, drones and coding for apps. “Students use these apps and services every day, but they don’t realize that they are using GIS. We’re using […]
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Globetrotting Journalist and Spy Novelist David Ignatius to Visit UCF
The Office of Global Perspectives & International Initiatives (GPII) will host award-winning Washington Post foreign affairs columnist and best-selling novelist David Ignatius during his visit to UCF on Nov. 18. Ignatius will be the keynote speaker at the 12th Annual International Education Week Breakfast, which is cohosted by GPII and UCF Global. Ignatius will be […]
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Film Screening Launches Diversity Studies Track
The UCF India Center, in conjunction with the Interdisciplinary Studies Program (Diversity Studies), and the Asian Cultural Association (ACA), was pleased to host the opening film of the ACA’s 25th Annual South Asian Film Festival. The film, Girija: A Life Time in Music, explores the career of renowned vocalist Girija Devi and her life in […]
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Seema Shekhawat Joins India Center as a Fellow
The India Center welcomes Seema Shekhawat, Ph.D., as a Fellow. Shekhawat is a social scientist with a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Jammu in India. Her doctoral work focused on the intersection of gender, conflict and displacement in Kashmir. Her research and teaching interests include conflict, peace and gender, and […]
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Alumna Goes To Washington With PoliSci Degree
In the nine years after graduating from UCF, Nathalia Martins ’10 ’12MA has crossed paths with Washington D.C. movers and shakers, held a job with the Brazilian ambassador and started a new career path in public relations. Not bad for someone who didn’t have a clear plan when she arrived in college. “When I […]
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Award Created to Honor Legacy of Florida Civics Education Leader
The Florida Council for the Social Studies (FCSS) recently announced their first student-centered award in honor of Doug Dobson, Ph.D., a senior fellow at UCF’s Lou Frey Institute. The Dr. L Dobson Student Civic Engagement Award recognizes a student, or students, that have demonstrated outstanding civic engagement and leadership. For Dobson who has been one […]
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10 Things to Know About Impeachment
By Robert Stephens In September, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a formal impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump. And while the word — impeach — has been around for four and half centuries, the history and meaning of it are often misunderstood. Few people may know this better than David Dumke. Dumke is […]