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Arecibo Observatory Telescope to be Decommissioned After Second Cable Break
Following a review of engineering assessments, the U.S. National Science Foundation today announced it will begin planning the controlled decommissioning of the 1,000-foot-wide telescope at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. The observatory, which UCF manages for NSF under a cooperative agreement, has for 57 years served as a world-class resource for radio astronomy and […]
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A Second Cable Fails at NSF’s Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico
A main cable that supports the Arecibo Observatory broke Friday at 7:39 p.m. Puerto Rico time. Unlike the auxiliary cable that failed at the same facility on Aug. 10, this main cable did not slip out of its socket. It broke and fell onto the reflector dish below, causing additional damage to the dish and […]
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UCF Professor Briefs Planetary Sciences Community about NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Mission During Conference
UCF physics Professor Humberto Campins is today (Thursday, Oct. 29) giving the science community a look at the evolving OSIRIS-REx mission to collect an asteroid sample and return it to earth. Astronomers and other scientists from around the world are attending the 52nd annual Division of Planetary Sciences meeting to learn and discuss the latest […]
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McKnight Fellowship Aids Research on Defining Science Success
A Physics graduate student is redefining what success looks like with the help of minority academics and the McKnight Dissertation Fellowship. Brian Zamarripa Roman traces his fascination with the cosmos to childhood, but it was only recently that he noticed the lack of representation in the scientific community — specifically, scientists who looked like him. […]
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OSIRIS REx Ready to for Touch-n-Go Maneuver on Tuesday, Oct. 20
Four years after it launched, NASA’s OSIRIS REx NASA mission is closing in on its big day. On Oct. 20, the spacecraft is scheduled to complete its touch-and-go move to collect a sample of asteroid Bennu. University of Central Florida Physics Professor and asteroid expert Humberto Campins is counting down the days. He is part […]
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3 UCF Researchers Part of Nature Astronomy Articles Chronicling Spitzer Space Telescope Legacy
To understand the significance of the Spitzer Space Telescope on the understanding of our solar system, think of what the steam engine meant for the industrial revolution. A national team of scientists today published in the journal Nature Astronomy two papers that provide an inventory of the major discoveries made possible thanks to Spitzer and […]
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Physics Alumna Named Interim Dean At Connecticut Community College
Fatma Salman’s journey in physics starts with dismantling battery-powered devices as a child and leads up to her recent appointment as interim dean of academic and student affairs at Manchester Community College (MCC) in Connecticut. Along the way, she raised five children, picked up two master’s degrees, a doctorate degree and became a U.S. citizen. […]
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Telecomms Pioneer Recognized With Prestigious Schawlow Award
Video conferencing has kept the remote workplace humming during this year’s pandemic, and it was made possible through the work of researchers like Peter Delfyett, Ph.D., the 2021 winner of the prestigious Arthur L. Schawlow Prize in Laser Sciences. Specifically, Delfyett, a Pegasus Professor of optics and photonics, studies the application of semiconductor lasers to […]
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Asteroid Bennu Continues to Surprise Scientists
If UCF physics Professor Humberto Campins was a betting man, he should run out and play the lottery. The planetary scientist, who is an international expert on asteroids, predicted a finding from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission to asteroid Bennu — remnants of another asteroid scattered across its surface. The spacecraft took images and made observations of […]
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UCF Researcher to Build a System that Identifies Habitable Planets Based on the Color They Emit
Only a handful of the roughly 4,000 identified planets outside our solar system can potentially support human life — what experts call “habitable exoplanets” — but astronomers are certain there are many more. The best candidates were found when they crossed in front of the star they orbit. A silhouette is hard to analyze for […]
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UCF Researcher Awarded NASA Grant to Study Little Understood trans-Neptunian Objects
Florida Space Institute Planetary Scientist Estela Fernández-Valenzuela has been awarded a $315,700 NASA grant to use modern day technology to analyze one of the oldest and least understood objects of our solar system. The first trans-Neptunian Object (TNO) — objects that orbit the Sun beyond Neptune — was discovered more than 25 years ago. Some […]
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New Equipment Expands Testing Capacity of REACT Cluster
By WILLIAM KADEN, PH.D. An interdisciplinary team of faculty led by Physics Assistant Professor William Kaden, Ph.D. has received funding to bring a new piece of equipment to UCF’s Materials Characterization Facility (MCF). The state-of-the-art Near-Ambient Pressure Xray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (NAP-XPS) apparatus – the only of its kind in the southeast U.S. – is made […]
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Semi-Metal Research Earns Physics Assistant Professor First NSF Career Grant
Physics Assistant Professor Yasuyuki Nakajima, Ph.D, has received his first National Science Foundation CAREER grant for research on semi-metal materials with characteristics of nematic superconductivity. “We are exploring materials that could potentially revolutionize information technology,” said Nakajima. “I formed the hypothesis that an unusual superconducting state called nematic superconductivity could be a key research ingredient […]
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Broken Cable Damages Arecibo Observatory
One of the auxiliary cables that helps support a metal platform in place above the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, broke on Monday (Aug. 10) causing a 100-foot-long gash on the telescope’s reflector dish. Operations at the UCF-managed observatory are stopped until repairs can be made. The break occurred about 2:45 a.m. When the three-inch […]
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National Program Opens Door for More Underrepresented Students in Physics
When Taylor Douglas fell in love with physics and began to pursue it in college, she started to feel like an outsider. Most of her classmates were men and white. After earning her bachelor’s degree at Rowan University in New Jersey, she applied to several institutions to pursue a master’s degree, something only 6 percent […]
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Arecibo Observatory Returns from Tropical Storm Isaias Lockdown to Track Asteroid for NASA
The Earth has one less asteroid to worry about thanks to the research of an international team of scientists at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. Asteroid 2020 NK1 was spotted in early July by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) survey team at the University of Hawaii. Little was known about the asteroid, […]
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Research Team turns to Nanotechnology for Chemical Reaction Promoters
Noble metals, such as platinum, palladium, and rhodium are among the most versatile and efficient industrial catalysts for a large number of reactions, ranging from the purification of poisonous pollutants emitted by vehicle engines to the generation of commodity chemicals or clean energy resource, which benefits the environment and our society. But there’s a limited supply of noble […]
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College of Sciences Celebrates Summer 2020 Ph.D. Grads
A doctorate degree represents one of the highest honors in academia. The 2020 Summer term’s Ph.D. graduates not only earned this honor, they did so with the extra stress of doing their work remotely. The College of Science recognizes and applauds the hard work applied to receive this degree. Chemistry Ziyang Huang, Ph.D. Faculty Advisor: […]
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UCF Planetary Scientist Receives NASA Funding for Asteroid Research
UCF planetary scientist Adrienne Dove and a team of students have teamed up with NASA’s Johnson Space Center to examine data on an asteroid experiment years in the making. The work is funded by a recently announced $200,000 grant from NASA’s Physical Sciences Research Program. Dove’s research group is one of only five recipients to […]
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The Department of Energy Selects UCF Physicist for Career Award
The Department of Energy has awarded UCF physicist and assistant professor Li Fang a career grant of $785,000. The award is part of the DOE’s Office of Science’s Early Career Research Program, which recognizes researchers for their promising work, early on in their careers. This year, only 76 awards were made to scientists at private […]
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National Asteroid Day: A Celebration of Mysterious Small Bodies
Imagine a celestial body larger than the Statue of Liberty skyrocketing past Earth with enough energy to flatten a city. Since 2011 this has only happened once, and it occurred earlier this month. Asteroids are small bodies, often made up of rock, that exist in the solar system. Where did they come from? Scientists speculate […]
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UCF’s Butterfly-Inspired Nanotech Makes Natural-Looking Pictures on Digital Screens
Taking inspiration from nature’s nanotech that creates the stunning color of butterfly wings, a University of Central Florida researcher is creating technology to make extremely low-power, ultra-high-definition displays and screens that are easier on the eyes. The new technology creates digital displays that are lit by surrounding light and are more natural looking than current […]
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Fulbright Fellowship Sends Grad Student to France for Space Research
Department of Physics graduate student Joshua Forer is headed to Bordeaux, France, to conduct research, courtesy of the prestigious Fulbright Fellowship. The fellowship will span ten months and allow Forer to work with research scientists at the University of Bordeaux. Forer’s research focuses on carbon-hydrogen molecules and their role in planetary atmospheres and interstellar mediums. […]
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UCF 1st in Florida, 3rd Nationally for Coveted National Science Foundation CAREER Grants
UCF leads the state and ranks third in the nation for the number of National Science Foundation CAREER Award recipients this year. Nine UCF has 11 confirmed awards as of June 3, and NSF has recommended two more for funding. In Florida, a total of 21 awards have been given so far, including four to […]
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Weekly Astronomy Web Series Launched by Ph.D. Students
If you’ve ever been curious about the planetary sciences, the UCF-AVS Student Chapter is here to help. Beginning on Thursday May 14, a webinar series that spans until the end of June will bring the expertise of astronomers and astrochemical scientists to student’s computer screens. The series, spearheaded by doctoral students Brian Ferrari and Katie […]
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Physics Faculty and Staff Find Freedom in Running During Quarantine
By NIKITTA CAMPBELL A group of runners from the Department of Physics are using exercise for a temporary escape during quarantine. The runners represent the scope of the department — from faculty to accounting — but they all agree exercise does wonders for both their physical and mental health. “Running has been my escape from […]
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151 UCF Faculty Promoted Across All Disciplines
A great university is built by great faculty, and this year’s group of promoted and tenured faculty are the reason behind UCF’s academic excellence. Thirty-three were granted the title professor, a marker of an exceptional career in academia. A university’s excellence hinges on the strength of its faculty as scholars and as teachers. “This class […]
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Six COS Students Recognized With 2020 Order of Pegasus
Six College of Sciences students were recently awarded the Order of the Pegasus, the highest student achievement at the University of Central Florida. Here are the 2020 winners. Samantha Berg “UCF’s remarkable faculty and programs developed me into the strong researcher and individual I am today. Upon entering The Burnett Honors College (BHC), I immediately […]
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Magnet Research Hits Breakthrough
Researchers pushing the limits of magnets as a means to create faster electronics published their proof of concept findings Friday in the journal Science. The University of Central Florida is the lead university in the multidisciplinary university research initiative (MURI) project, which is funded by a $7.5 million grant from the Department of Defense. The […]
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College of Sciences Celebrates Founder’s Day Awardees
By ALLISON HURTADO ’12, SIMONE ROUSSEAU & ROBERT WELLS Three College of Sciences faculty were recognized Wednesday with the University of Central Florida’s highest awards. Physics Professor Joseph Harrington, Ph.D., was one of four new Pegasus Professors. Luca Argenti, Ph.D., and Jacquelyn “Jackie” Chini, Ph.D., were selected for the Reach for the Stars award, […]