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Archaeology Student Finds Unique Training Opportunity In Ocala National Forest
A U.S. Navy veteran pursuing his master’s degree in archaeology will serve his country in a different way this Spring. Anthropology student Taylor Collore will participate in a stewardship with the U.S. Forest Services and work directly with government officials to protect the Ocala National Forest. “Serving my country and giving back is something I […]
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Reach for the Stars Honorees Pushing the Boundaries of Earth and Space
This year’s Reach for the Stars honorees really live up to the award name. They are tackling some huge problems and are conducting research that betters society and improves the possibilities of the human race. The five honorees are: making space travel safer to expand our species’ reach into the galaxy; figuring out how to […]
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2021 Founder’s Day Honorees
BY ALLISON HURTADO ’12 The Founders’ Day Awards celebrate the outstanding academic achievements of our faculty members and students. As we recognize these achievements, we remember the efforts of those women and men who made this university a reality, and we prepare for the accomplishments of the future. In an extraordinary time, our faculty and […]
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UCF Researchers Work with Public Agencies to Examine Pandemic Efforts, Effects
Some may say the past year has been one giant global experiment. While scientists and researchers didn’t create the coronavirus, the pandemic has spurred opportunities for investigations that run the gamut of public-service efforts and response. Here are just a few ways experts at UCF as using their insight to enhance what we’ve learned and […]
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UCF Biologist Awarded Grant to Unlock Plant Defenses, Improve Food Supplies
UCF Biologist Chase Mason today was awarded a $450,000 grant from the Foundation for Food & Agricultural Research to turn around “audacious” food and agricultural research, which may lead to more sustainable food supplies. Mason’s project focuses on determining the genetic control mechanisms that induce a plant’s natural chemical defenses against harmful pests and pathogens. […]
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National Goldwater Scholarships Go to Four UCF STEM Students
Four UCF STEM students were selected from a pool of 1,256 nominees across the nation and will receive 2020-21 Goldwater Scholarship Awards. Only 410 college students were selected after a rigorous screening process. Universities are only allowed to nominate four students, five if one of them is transfer student. According to the award website, the […]
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UCF Researcher Asks: How Does Diversity Affect Dynamics of Space Crews?
With the prospect of space missions to Mars and beyond becoming a likelihood within the next decade, putting together the right team for those longs trips is critical. That’s where Krisztina Szabo comes in. The doctoral student in industrial/organizational psychology wanted to find out how diversity affects team dynamics, and she said she could think […]
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Cliffside Burial Mystery Continues Unraveling Through Laboratory Work
Ongoing work to unravel the secrets surrounding Peruvian cliffside burials is the focus of a recent feature in Archaeology Magazine. It’s been five years since Associate Professor J. Marla Toyne, Ph.D. returned to the Chachapoyas region in the Andes Mountains, but it hasn’t slowed down her investigation into why the ancient Chachapoya people created the […]
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New UCF Nanotech Gives Boost to Detection of Cancer and Disease
Early screening can mean the difference between life and death in a cancer and disease diagnosis. That’s why University of Central Florida researchers are working to develop a new screening technique that’s more than 300 times as effective at detecting a biomarker for diseases like cancer than current methods. The technique, which was detailed recently […]
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Math Professor is ‘Rock Star’ in the World of Physics, Thanks to New Stellar Wind Model
Not many people may imagine that an expertise in applied mathematics would make someone a “rock star.” But UCF mathematics Professor Bhimsen Shivamoggi is certainly a celebrity in the world of physics these days. American Scientist magazine this month notified Shivamoggi that a blog featuring his work — the first systematic theoretical formulation to describe […]
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UCF Graduate Video Game Design Named No. 1 — for Third Time
UCF’s graduate video game design program has been recognized as the top graduate game design program in the world. This marks the third time in the past six years that UCF has garnered the top spot, ahead of New York University, Southern Methodist University and the University of Southern California. UCF’s undergraduate game design program […]
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Florida Academy of Sciences Names UCF Biologist as 2021 Medalist
The Florida Academy of Sciences today named UCF Biology Professor Linda Walters its 2021 Medalist during its annual conference. The Academy, which is an affiliate of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, honors one Floridian each year based on the nominee’s contributions to the advancement of science and outstanding efforts to share that […]
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Deborah Beidel Receives Advocacy Award
UCF RESTORES, which began as a government-funded research initiative in 2011, has grown to serve as an invaluable resource to the Orlando community, the state of Florida and beyond. The nonprofit’s unique approach to treatment — including the first-of-its-kind (in the U.S.) three-week intensive outpatient program — combines exposure therapy, emerging technology, and one-on-one and […]
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Research: Medical Outcomes for Certain Women Significantly Improve With More Female Doctors
Assistant Professor Kenicia Wright, Ph.D, is challenging perspectives through her research focusing on the interplay of race and gender. The School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs faculty member’s most recent accolade is winning the American Political Science Association’s 2021 “Best Paper on Race and Intersectionality Award.” The award comes from APSA’s Women, Gender, and […]
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U.S. Army Awards Psychology Professor For Human Factors Work
A psychology professor’s work at the intersection of people and machines recently earned him the U.S. Army’s Civilian Service Achievement Medal. Pegasus Professor and Provost Distinguished Research Professor Peter Hancock, Ph.D., specializes in human factors, a unique discipline that blends human behavior and engineering. It’s behind the design of everything from medical equipment to smartphones […]
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A First-of-its-Kind Camera to Investigate the Moon’s South Pole
A thermal infrared camera aboard a lunar lander scheduled to head to the moon as early as 2022 could help determine which regions on the lunar surface have water trapped in them. Assistant Professor of Physics Kerri Donaldson Hanna is working with University of Colorado Boulder Professor Paul Hayne on NASA’s Lunar Compact InfraRed Imaging […]
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Renewed Funding Opens Three More Years Of Citizen Science in Belize
Impactful community research in rural Belize will continue for another three years thanks to renewed funding from the National Science Foundation. The $465,000 grant supports fully funded research experiences for eight undergraduate students and two K-12 teachers each year. The team will perform drone-mapping and citizen science to mitigate flooding and litter in Hopkins Village […]
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New Bachelor’s to be Offered for Big Data
Students interested in big data science careers will benefit from a new Bachelor of Science degree coming this fall. The bachelor’s in Data Science spans a variety of sub-disciplines within the greater field of data science, including mathematics, statistics, specialized programming and algorithm design. It also teaches students how to draw useful conclusions from data […]
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2021 Women’s History Month Honorees
Each March, Faculty Excellence honors 31 women for their impact on students and UCF’s campus community. This year, as we continue to charge on during a pandemic, our women faculty have not wavered in their commitments as mentors, role models, friends, researchers and teachers. This blog post will be updated daily during the month of […]
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Coastal Changes Worsen Nuisance Flooding on Many U.S. Shorelines, Study Finds
Nuisance flooding has increased on U.S. coasts in recent decades due to sea level rise, and new research co-authored by the University of Central Florida uncovered an additional reason for its added frequency. In a study appearing today in the journal Science Advances, researchers show that higher local tide ranges, most likely from human alterations […]
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23 Students to Receive UCF’s Highest Honor
UCF has named 23 students as recipients of the Order of Pegasus, the university’s most prestigious student award. The 2021 recipients were selected from a pool of 83 nominations. The 2021 class includes 15 Burnett Honors College students, six LEAD Scholars, six Student Government leaders, three President’s Leadership Council members, one Greek member, one student-athlete […]
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Nicholson Faculty Lend Expertise to Global Pandemic Communications
Today’s global pandemic was just a worst-case scenario when Deanna Sellnow, Ph.D., and Timothy Sellnow, Ph.D., developed a communications plan for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2006. Still, the husband and wife team, both faculty in the Nicholson School of Communication and Media, are encouraged they could play a part in how […]
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UCF Funds Second Round of $1 million SEED Initiative to Support Faculty Research
Thirty-seven UCF teams will split $1 million in UCF SEED funding to conduct preliminary research the university hopes will lead to bigger individual grants from other agencies and breakthroughs in a variety of fields. The Office of Research and the Provost Office began the pilot SEED program with $1 million last year. Those recipients will […]
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UCF Hosts Spring Graduation Celebration, April 30 to May 9
UCF is excited to offer spring graduates and their families the opportunity to choose one of two in-person options to celebrate their achievements. Recognitions of graduates will occur April 30 to May 9. Spring 2021 graduates will have the option of either participating in UCF’s Grad Walk or their college’s in-person commencement. Both recognitions will […]
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Toy Telescope Launches Career Hunting for Life on Exoplanets
It all started with an inexpensive toy telescope Theodora Karalidi’s father gave her when she was 5 years old. “I looked through it and I was wowed,” says Karalidi, an assistant professor of physics at the University of Central Florida. “To five-year-old me, it was like millions of sparkling stars and I was hooked. Of […]
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UCF Genetics Expertise Extends to the Land Down Under
The genetic expertise of University of Central Florida researchers is extending all the way to the land down under in a new study of a unique animal of Australia’s waters – the weedy seadragon. In the study, which appeared recently in the journal PLOS One, UCF researchers helped discover that the weedy seadragon found off […]
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Chemistry Student Chosen for Internship at Storied National Laboratory
An upcoming internship at one of the most storied laboratories in the world represents a big first step into a career as a nuclear scientist for Travis Hager. The Department of Chemistry senior is poised to wrap up two years of study and research under the mentorship of Assistant Professor Vasileios Anagnostopoulos,Ph.D.. Adding to his […]
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UCF Names 30 Under 30 Alumni Award Winners
UCF Alumni has announced its annual 30 Under 30 Award winners. These accomplished graduates were chosen for their great professional success, commitment to helping others and track record of giving back to UCF and their local community. “Every year, UCF Alumni’s 30 Under 30 classes are made up of extraordinary young alumni. This year’s class […]
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New UCF Study Examines Leeches for Role in Major Disease of Sea Turtles in Florida
University of Central Florida researchers are homing in on the cause of a major disease of sea turtles, with some of their latest findings implicating saltwater leeches as a possible factor. The disease, known as fibropapillomatosis, or FP, causes sea turtles to develop tumors on their bodies, which can limit their mobility and also their […]
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Sociology Research Project Show Pre-Med Student Human Side of Medicine
Practicing medicine is as much about compassionate, human interaction as patching up broken bodies. Pre-med graduate Emily Vernet ’20 got a firsthand understanding of this fundamental truth through an undergraduate research project in partnership with the Department of Sociology. The results, which were published in the Journal of American College Health on January 31, 2021, […]