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New Book Explores Breast Milk Sharing Among Central Florida Women
An in-depth, years-long study into the practice of Central Florida mothers sharing their breast milk to nourish babies other than their own recently culminated in a co-authored book. The authors trace their interest in peer-to-peer breast milk sharing to Associate Professor of Sociology Shannon Carter, Ph.D., who first observed human milk sharing at breastfeeding support […]
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Critical Seagrass Mapping Project Continues Uninterrupted Thanks to Remote Instruction
Critical work mapping seagrass beds on the Pacific West Coast continues uninterrupted this fall thanks to innovative thinking from the Citizen Science GIS team. The seagrass (also known as eelgrass) project is funded by a $1.3 million grant from the National Science Foundation and helps researchers to measure seagrass meadow dynamics over time. This data […]
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New Grant Funds ‘Boots on the Ground’ Approach To Studying Wetland Loss
A new grant from the National Academies of Sciences will fund a “boots on the ground” approach to evaluating how severe wetland loss impacts the recreational fishing industry. Kristy A. Lewis, Ph.D, and her team at the Lewis Lab of Applied Coastal Ecology received the $110,662 grant in collaboration with Louisiana State University to help […]
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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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Political Science Faculty Weigh in on 2020 Election
The world has been watching the build-up to the U.S. presidential election for months now. The candidates and their platforms, the Electoral College and, in 2020, allegations of potential voter fraud are all of intense interest to international media. To find out what topics international media are interested in, we spoke with three faculty members […]
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Two COS Faculty Members Inducted Into the UCF Scroll and Quill Society
Each fall, the University of Central recognizes faculty who have made a national and international impact through their research, teaching and service, by inducting new members into the Scroll and Quill Society. “This society is a chance to celebrate imaginative creative works, scholarly research and the service our faculty provides to better our community,” says […]
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‘Multiple Paternity’ Gives Invertebrates Climate Change Advantage, Research Finds
A common reproductive strategy among invertebrates called multiple paternity could give animals like porcelain crabs a survival advantage as the world grows warmer, new research finds. While climate change is often associated with major events like melting glaciers and super storms, the authors of the recently published paper in the Journal of Crustacean Biology […]
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How Fake News Affects U.S. Elections
The term “fake news” has become so ubiquitous in our society that it’s even become a punchline. But the threat is very real — with real consequences — which is why UCF Associate Lecturer of Psychology Chrysalis Wright dedicates her days to studying it. Wright is an expert on fake news and online disinformation who […]
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UCF Study Will Look at Transitional Housing Effectiveness for Survivors of Domestic Violence
Housing programs can serve as a lifeline for domestic violence survivors and their children – providing them with vital resources to leave abusive relationships and find safety. Various housing models are being implemented across the country; however, little is known about their long-term effectiveness. A team of researchers from the University of Central Florida, University […]
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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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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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Charter Faculty Member Provides Perspective On UCF Overcoming Historical Challenges
We hear “unprecedented times” often as the coronavirus pandemic unfolds through 2020 and into the next year. But someone with the long lens of history like Professor Emeritus Robert Bledsoe, Ph.D., a charter faculty member of UCF, can attest this is far from the first challenge the university has faced. “This university has weathered a […]
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Pandemic Inspires Creative New Partnerships to Complete Research
When the COVID-19 pandemic restricted travel at UCF, Assistant Professor Michelle Gaither, Ph.D., got creative. Gaither planned to conduct field research in various parts of the country this past summer to complete some of her research, but COVID derailed those plans. So, she and her team of students came up with another idea that will […]
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Animals’ Magnetic ‘Sixth’ Sense May Come from Bacteria, New Paper Suggests
A University of Central Florida researcher is co-author of a new paper that may help answer why some animals have a magnetic “sixth” sense, such as sea turtles’ ability to return to the beach where they were born. The question is one that has been unresolved despite 50 years of research. “The search for a […]
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UN Communications Coordination Committee Taps Psychology Faculty For Board Position
Associate Lecturer Chrysalis Wright, Ph.D., serves as the Honors in the Major program coordinator for the Department of Psychology. She was recently elected to the board of directors at the Communications Coordination Committee for the United Nations. In an interview with the College of Sciences, Wright shared the latest developments in her research into fake […]
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Questioning Chemistry Benchmark Sets Stage for New Protocols
A little due diligence went a long way for a team of UCF chemists studying a fundamental catalytic reaction used by hundreds of research groups around the world. Assistant Professor Titel Jurca, Ph.D., and graduate student, Lorianne Shultz, in collaboration with Assistant Professors Melanie Beazley (UCF Chemistry) and Xiaofeng Feng (UCF Physics) published the initial […]
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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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Focus On Active Learning Improves Drop Rate for Calculus Classes
By ALLY FRIEDMAN A shift from rote memorization to active learning is producing measurable, positive results for students taking Calculus I. The Fall 2019 drop/add rate fell from UCF’s historical 54% to 18-22% across all calculus courses after Professor Eduardo Teixeira, Ph.D., deployed a technique called meaningful learning theory. The statistical majority grade also rose […]
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Fellowship Opens Opportunity for Biology Grad Students to Test Drive Teaching
A new fellowship offered by the Department of Biology gives doctoral students the chance to experience what it’s like to be in charge of the classroom. The doctoral teaching fellowship debuts this fall, and walks Ph.D. candidates through the process of designing and teaching their own courses. Matthew Atkinson is one of the first to […]
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UCF Faculty Member Appointed to Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals
By ALEXANDRA SHIMALLA “I have desks all over the place,” laughed Eric Merriam. “I think I have four right now. I spend a lot of time at those desks.” Merriam is an associate professor, with a joint appointment to the Department of Legal Studies and the School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs at UCF. […]
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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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New Study Reveals How Frogs Use Bile and Bruise Color for Camouflage
Researchers have discovered, for the first time, how frogs use the chemical responsible for the color of bile and bruises for their own camouflage coloring. The mechanism the frogs use to turn what is essentially a waste product into a part of their protection is detailed in a new study published this month in the […]
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Genes Responsible for Protecting Frogs May Play Role in Death from Global Disease
For frogs dying of the invasive chytridiomycosis disease, the leading cause of amphibian deaths worldwide, the genes responsible for protecting them may actually be leading to their demise, according to a new study published today in the journal Molecular Ecology by University of Central Florida and the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) researchers. The lowland […]
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Renewed Funding Keeps ICCAE Inspiring Intelligence Students for Five More Years
UCF students pursuing careers in intelligence will continue to receive competitive advantages thanks to renewed federal funding for UCF’s Intelligence Community Center for Academic Excellence (ICCAE). The five-year funding from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence is particularly helpful for minority students, who are historically underrepresented in intelligence careers. ICCAE Director Tom Dolan […]
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Indian Viewpoints on Conflict Resolution Focus of Two New Books
The enduring legacy of non-violent conflict resolution championed by two prominent Indian thinkers is the focus of two new books by Adjunct Professor Debidatta Aurobinda Mahapatra, Ph.D. The first is titled “Gandhi and the World,” and it explores the question: “Is it possible to generate Gandhian optimism in nonviolent methods to address conflicts in the […]
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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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UCF is Developing New Nanotech to Detect Food Fraud
A University of Central Florida researcher is developing new technology to make sure people are getting the food they think they’re eating. The work is funded by a recent $490,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Agriculture and Food Research Initiative grant to create an easy-to-use and highly sensitive device to […]
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UCF Scientists Study Method to Combat Florida Red Tide
An inexpensive, natural countermeasure to curb the devastating economic and ecological impacts of Florida red tide is now under study at UCF. The study focuses on spraying a clay solution to sink the cells (flocculate) of Karenia brevis (known commonly as Florida red tide) to the bottom sediments. Florida red tide is the algae responsible […]
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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 […]