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Could This Toy Help Save Our Planet?
By Robert Stephens UCF Professor Fernando Uribe-Romo is merging his love for chemistry and nature to create a new form of energy — artificial photosynthesis — that actually cleans air. The conversation is supposed to be about deep topics like renewable energy, global warming and scientific methods. But less than a minute in, Fernando Uribe-Romo […]
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Opioid Misuse Isn’t White or Black Issue
Although the opioid epidemic has been portrayed in the media as a largely “white” epidemic, a UCF study finds this drug doesn’t discriminate. The abuse of opioids affects whites and blacks almost equally, according to a study led by sociology doctoral student Harvey Nicholson. His findings were recently published in the peer-reviewed journal Drug and Alcohol […]
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Political Science Student Becomes Minority Fellowship Program Fellow
The Minority Fellowship Program, hosted by the American Political Science Association (APSA), recognizes the research and hard work of political science students from underrepresented backgrounds. It’s a competitive scholarship, and the APSA only honors 12 students each year. UCF student Angie Torres has just become one of those 12. “I am excited and grateful when […]
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Sea Turtle Diet Expert to Give Talk about Importance of Healthy Habitat
A University of Central Florida biologist who is an authority on what sea turtles eat will present on her work March 18 in a public seminar. The talk at the Barrier Island Center in Melbourne Beach will focus on what endangered and threatened sea turtles eat, types of habitats they depend upon in Florida, and […]
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Physics Degree Leads to Career in Missiles, Aerospace
When Roland Williams first stepped foot on UCF’s campus nearly 50 years ago, the library was the tallest, most prominent building around. There was almost nothing else in sight as Williams pulled up to the school, but he was excited for the opportunity to move closer to his family and explore his interests in physics. […]
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Paving the Path for a Future Diplomat
By Meredith Harris Ever since taking a UCF honors diplomacy course at The Burnett Honors College, Amanda Fleming ’15 dreamed of working as a diplomat. Armed with a 4.0 GPA and international work experience, the political science major (and psychology minor) took steps to make herself competitive for a position in the U.S. Foreign Service, […]
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Online Education Leads to Studying Abroad
College education doesn’t need to be defined by four walls and a weekly classroom setting, just ask Kristine Carlos. Carlos is a UCF student taking only online classes while studying cultural anthropology, and she has not once let her learning be confined to a desk or to a computer. Instead, she takes her education across […]
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Physics Graduate Student Awarded Order of Pegasus
The Order of Pegasus is the University of Central Florida’s most prestigious student award. Student recipients are recognized for their academic success, university involvement, leadership qualities and community service activities. For graduate student applicants, UCF also considers previous publications or research experiences. It was his research with optics and nanoscale materials that brought physics graduate […]
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Fish’ Super Power May Offer Clues About Biodiversity Evolution
by Allison Hurtado A group of international scientists, including a University of Central Florida biologist, recently discovered that a species of fish living in the north Atlantic Ocean has an ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions that are linked to the depth of its watery habitat. The unknown mechanism, which gives the roundnose grenadier […]
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Helping Young Children Feel Secure, Prepare for School
by Zenaida Kotala A local pilot program aimed at addressing the social and emotional needs of children just got a boost thanks to the Central Florida Foundation’s “100 Women Strong” giving circle. The organization provided a $45,000 grant to the Early Learning Coalition of Orange County, which is partnering with the University of Central Florida to […]
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Venezuelan Background Helps Alumna Help Others
Having lived through an almost 11-year separation from her parents after they were denied re-entry into the United States, UCF alumna Raquel Fernandez knows firsthand the difficulties of the immigration process. Now, as the community relations coordinator for the Orange County Tax Collector’s Office, she helps support and educate others going through the same process […]
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Alumna Overcomes Eating Disorders to Help Others
by Jenna Lee On the surface, Kaitlyn Chana ’13 had it all together. In fact, she basically owned life. The former straight-A student at Lake Brantley High School started her own non-profit as a teenager that sent cards of kindness to hospitalized children. She was a member of UCF’s President’s Leadership Council, LEAD Scholars and […]
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UCF-led Consortium to Manage Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico
By Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala The observatory’s radar system gathers information about planets, moons, asteroids and comets. (Image courtesy of Arecibo Observatory, a facility of the NSF) The largest fully operational radio telescope on the planet – the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico – will soon be under new management. A consortium led by the University […]
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Fruits and Veggies Made Friendly
How many books on nutrition do you remember reading during your childhood? Probably not many, since UCF Biology faculty Rani Vajravelu, Ph.D., wrote one of the first. Her recently published book, The Dog That Didn’t Like Leftovers, encourages young children and their families to open a dialogue about healthy eating. The book follows Lucy the […]
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How Caregivers Can Best Care for Themselves
by Robert Stephens There is nothing fictional in the most famous line from The Wizard of Oz: “There’s no place like home.” It’s true when we’re growing up … and it’s just as true as we reach our twilight years. Which is why more than 42 million Americans provide care inside the home for […]
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UCF Alumnus Represents Home Country
Thirty years before he became the Counselor for Political Affairs at the Embassy of El Salvador in Washington D.C., Luis Aparicio was an international student waiting to graduate from high school. His biggest dream was to attend college in the United States and study journalism. “I remember I requested over a dozen catalogs from U.S. […]
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Pride Commons Connection Leads To UCF Love Story
By Jenna Marina Lee The wedding ring popped out of the box, rolled onto the gazebo floor and continued rolling right on into the depths of Lake Baldwin during the middle of Nicole Dumbroff ’15 and Cecil Chik ’09 ’15MA’s wedding ceremony. Thanks to theringfinders.com, the ring is back on Nicole’s finger after spending two […]
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New UCF Center Takes Bold Stand Against Human Trafficking
The University of Central Florida has established a new Center for the Study of Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery to proactively address the growing human-trafficking problem that communities face in Central Florida, the United States and around the world. One of the largest criminal enterprises, human trafficking keeps as many as 40 million people in […]
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The India Center Helps Send Debate Team Around the World
The weather in Orlando was chilly during the winter break, but the UCF Debate Team continued to heat up. Not only did the team compete at the Hurricane Debates hosted by the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, some of the team also traveled to India and participated in Calcutta’s Festival of the Spoken […]
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Chemistry Grad Student Cracks Code for Colorblind Tests
Tatiana Fedotava-Molden, a first-year Ph.D. student in the department of Chemistry, has already had her first research breakthrough and publication in one of the most prestigious international chemistry journals. For a chemistry Ph.D. student, Molden had an interesting start. When she lived in Russia, she went to school for journalism and found herself at movie […]
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Alumna Andrea Otero Connects With Community
The first in her family to graduate from college back in 2009, Andrea Otero understands the importance of hard work when crafting dreams into reality. Now, as the community outreach and communications specialist for the Orange County Clerk of Courts, she is leading the efforts in promoting the many services the Clerk’s office provides in […]
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Citizen Science GIS Team Unites Community Using Drones
UCF’s Citizen Science GIS team has spent the last few years using drone technology to map the coastline and local island communities of Belize. Led by UCF’s assistant professor, Timothy L. Hawthorne, Ph.D., the Citizen Science GIS team aims to strengthen the connections between science and society through geographic information systems and drones. As an […]
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Mining for Moon Water
by Zenaida Kotala UCF’s Phil Metzger and Julie Brisset from the Florida Space Institute recently landed a contract to develop a model to mine the moon for water. Data suggests the moon has water locked away in its icy soil, especially at the moon’s poles. The challenge is finding an effective and inexpensive way to […]
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Longtime Professor Clausen Leaves Legacy in Chemistry
by Gene Kruckemyer Professor Christian Clausen III, one of UCF’s longest-serving faculty members who taught at the university from 1969—the year after classes started—until his retirement in 2016, died Jan. 4 while visiting family in New Orleans. He was 77. During his tenure as a key figure in the Department of Chemistry, Clausen taught physical […]
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Alumna Combines Health and Climate Change
The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) awarded UCF alumna Linh Anh Cat a Next Generation Fellowship award. This award recognizes her research on patterns of fungal disease dispersion and climate change, as well as a review she wrote which links her work to public policy. Her public policy review calls for nations to cooperate […]
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UCF Alumnus’ Drive to Champion Orlando Leads to NFL Pro Bowl
By Jenna Marina Lee During last year’s NFL Pro Bowl at Camping World Stadium, CEO of Florida Citrus Sports Steve Hogan ’91 had a unique perspective of the game. From the sidelines, he watched as New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees’ children played catch with Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell […]
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Biology Student Aims for Vet School
Biology student Nicole Santana uses a hands-on approach to make a difference. While studying to becoming a veterinarian, she also works as a research assistant in anthropology assistant professor John Starbuck’s lab. Santana compares images of mice with Down syndrome to those without. She hopes to find differences in their skulls, something that can then […]
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UCF Chemistry Professor Goes Viral
UCF Chemistry Assistant Professor Fernando Uribe-Romo has gone viral. A story featuring his published research from April 2017 has been viewed more than 898,848 times on the global science news website, EurekAlert! Romo-Uribe found a way to trigger the process of photosynthesis in a synthetic material, turning greenhouse gases into clean air and producing energy all […]
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A Life Less Ordinary For Psychology Alumna
Sleep is not a word Jenna Reisert knows. A UCF alumna, Reisert has not taken a break since she first stepped foot on campus, back in 2014. After graduating from the psychology program in three years, an entire year earlier than planned, she embarked on an insane gap year to “live a life less ordinary” […]
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National Coastal Center Launches at UCF
UCF has launched a national research center focused on finding big-picture solutions to threats facing coastal communities. In 2017, federal and local governments in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico spent more than $284 billion to deal with the impact of hurricanes and flooding, according to NOAA. “There’s a perfect storm coming,” said Graham Worthy, UCF biologist […]