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10 Alumni Honored With 30 Under 30 Award
The 2017 University of Central Florida Alumni 30 under 30 class has been announced. These young professionals were chosen due to their outstanding contributions to the community and UCF alike. These alumni still live their lives by the UCF creed and exemplify excellence in either professional success, community involvement or university impact. The 30 Under […]
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Using Data to Tell a Story
The world is changing every day. We have more data than ever to tell us about people and explain incredible phenomena. For two University of Central Florida alumnae, data is being used to change the world for the better. Sara S. Vega, Ph.D. (left) and Jenny Nguyen (right), Ph.D., both graduated from UCF in May […]
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Citizen Science GIS Team Awarded for Spatial Storytelling
By Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala Esri, a leader in spatial analytics, recognized a team from the University of Central Florida with its Special Achievement in GIS Award during the annual Esri User Conference last week. Citizen Science GIS, a collaborative effort led by UCF geographic information system Assistant Professor Tim Hawthorne, was among the 180 selected […]
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Can Robots Keep You Young?
By Gene Kruckemyer None of us is getting any younger, and for that reason alone researchers of an interdisciplinary project at UCF want to introduce some of us to the benefits of robots – but maybe not in the way you expect. These aren’t robots to take out the garbage or play chess. Instead, they […]
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Student Finds UCF Connection in Texas
By Jenna Marina Nearly four years ago, UCF alumna Shelby Shankin ’13 found herself in Austin, Texas, for the first time in her life to work on mega festival South by Southwest. Justin Tejada is a current first-generation student majoring in advertising-public relations and minoring in political science. He has made it his mission to […]
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Arc Partnership Empowers Special Needs Community
By Zenaida Kotala A group of conservation biologists and a non-profit agency that advocates for individuals with special needs are partnering to help keep local waterways healthy. UCF Biologist Linda Walters, whose research and volunteer efforts help restore eroding shoreline and oyster habitats along the Mosquito Lagoon, is teaming up with The Arc of Indian […]
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UCF Continues to Stand for Opportunity for AlumKnight Joan McCain
UCF attracts students for many different reasons: Spirit Splash, the luxurious pool, a state-of- the-art gym and tailgates at Memory Mall before football games. But when Outstanding AlumKnight Joan McCain chose UCF, none of that existed. She knew UCF would provide the opportunity, experiences and internships to launch her career in marketing and communications. “Instinct […]
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PTSD Intensive-Therapy Approach Proves Highly Effective
Story by Rachel Williams At the University of Central Florida RESTORES Clinic that treats post-traumatic stress disorder, veterans and active military members are put face-to-face with what has caused them anguish. Through virtual reality, patients see bombs detonate and the smell of smoke or gunfire fills their nostrils. It’s like being on the front lines in Iraq […]
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Helping Avoid Long Lines at Theme Parks
Two UCF alumni and a student each earned first place in a competition that stretched their statistical math skills to come up with better resources to help people visiting theme parks avoid long lines. Kanak Choudhury ‘17,Taha Mokfi ’17 and statistical computing major Phuong Pho competed individually in Touring Plans’ Big Data Challenge. The contest […]
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TEDx Talk With Coastal Implications
Story by Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala Albert Manero ‘16, president of Limbitless Solutions, will speak about the power of technology and art to help children unlock their identities during the relaunch of TEDx Orlando on Saturday, June 24. UCF biology Pegasus Professor Graham Worthy also will speak about the pressures of population growth on the […]
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Fall 2017 IC CAE Study Abroad Scholarship
The Intelligence Community Center for Academic Excellence (IC CAE) is offering a study abroad scholarship for Fall 2017. The IC CAE is a grant-funded program that is housed in the political science department. Its main goal is to prepare students for careers in intelligence and national security by enhancing critical skills and knowledge deemed essential by the […]
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UCF Alumni Start “The Dru Project” in Honor of Pulse Victim
Two-time University of Central Florida psychology alumnus Christopher Andrew Leinonen, ’07 ’09MS, known to most as “Drew,” lived and breathed having an impact on LGBTQ youth, hoping to equip them with education and empowerment. As a junior in high school, Drew received the Anne Frank Humanitarian Award from the Florida Holocaust Museum for taking initiative […]
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Maps, Apps and Drones
University of Central Florida professors of geographic information systems and biology teamed up Wednesday to take GIS technology and drones into Florida classrooms for 5th grade through high school. In the geospatial technology training workshop for Florida teachers, 15 teachers were shown customizable lesson plans that use GIS, mapping and drone technologies. Tim Hawthorne, GIS assistant […]
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The Many Roles of Outstanding AlumKnight Debra Perry
Each year, University of Central Florida’s College of Sciences honors 10 esteemed alumni with the Outstanding AlumKnights award. The Department of Mathematics gave this accolade to Debra Perry based on her outstanding achievements. Perry graduated from UCF with two bachelor’s degrees in 1977 – one in applied mathematics and the other in education. She continued […]
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UCF Alumna Harvard Bound after Earning Nearly Perfect Score on LSAT
Story by Rachel Williams Years ago, Rebecca Fate’s vision of her future never included college. Neither of her parents earned college degrees, and growing up in a single-parent household meant there was little to no extra money to send her to school, she said. But when her fifth-grade teacher opened Fate’s eyes to her […]
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Adventure is Out There
Story by Jenna Marina Years ago, when anyone asked biology alumna Anai Colyer ’14 what she wanted to be when she grew up, she dreamed of a life as a wildlife documentarist. She didn’t view it as a practical choice – rather, a choice of the heart. A self-taught photographer, Coyler’s hobby has led to […]
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From Dust to Outer Space
Story by Zenaida Kotala Adrienne Dove, a University of Central Florida assistant professor in the physics department, recently was awarded NASA’s Susan Mahan Niebur Early Career Award for her research on microgravity and dusty plasmas, collisions and planet formation. Her work is helping scientists who have been puzzled for decades understand some mechanisms of dust […]
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GOLD Mission: Step Toward Never-Before-Seen Space Images
Story by Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala An instrument that will provide unprecedented imaging of the Earth’s upper atmosphere has been successfully installed on a commercial satellite that will carry it into geostationary orbit some 22,000 miles above the planet. The GOLD instrument, which is short for Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk, is expected to […]
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Physics’ Vertex Model for Speedy Solutions
Story by Mark Schlueb A well-known computational problem seeks to find the most efficient route for a traveling salesman to visit clients in a number of cities. Seemingly simple, it’s actually surprisingly complex and much studied, with implications in fields as wide-ranging as manufacturing and air-traffic control. Researchers from the University of Central Florida and […]
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Rising Stars
The COS Dean’s Distinguished Researcher and Rising Star Awards recognize the efforts of the most ‘research productive’ faculty and the outstanding value that they bring to their classroom teaching, as well as to the unambiguous value of the research mentorship that they offer to undergraduate and graduate students that are their apprentices. The applicants must have […]
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Lunar Knights Compete in NASA Robotic Competition
By Rachel Williams University of Central Florida students who make up the Lunar Knights Mining Club will compete this month in NASA’s national Robotic Mining Competition that was developed to help in the exploration of Mars. The eighth annual competition is May 22-26 at Kennedy Space Center. About 50 student teams from across the country […]
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Bacon and Bots
By Jenna Marina With a name like Exploding Bacon, it’s hard to believe that the moniker was the second choice for a local youth robotics team led by UCF alumna Elise Cronin-Hurley ’90 ’94 MPA. Organized Chaos was voted as the winner – conceptualized by a random name generator – but when the mother of the lead […]
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A Student’s Journey From Prison to Law School
Angel Sanchez has spent much of his college career helping those who, like him, yearned for a second chance. He’s mentored previously incarcerated students, and through his position as president of Moot Court at UCF, an organization that gives pre-law students practice at arguing cases, he helped collect more than 300 books to donate to […]
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New Program Teaches Students Civics
Middle school students across the state of Florida and all over the United States are learning civics through a program developed by the University of Central Florida’s Lou Frey Institute. Civics360 is an interactive civics review website provided by the Lou Frey Institute’s Florida Joint Center for Citizenship. It evolved from the Escambia County Civics […]
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Advocating for Women in STEM
A first generation Mexican American and University of Central Florida student seeks to give voice to an underrepresented population. UCF physics doctoral student Brian Zamarripa just won a National Science Foundation to fund his proposed research on gender disparity in the field of physics. With parents hailing from Mexico, Zamarripa is part of a minority […]
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UCF Chemistry Professor Discovers Energy Breakthrough
Story by Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala, UCF Today A chemistry professor in Florida has just found a way to trigger the process of photosynthesis in a synthetic material, turning greenhouse gases into clean air and producing energy all at the same time. The process has great potential for creating a technology that could significantly reduce greenhouse […]
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UCF Roots into Sustainability Efforts
Fifteen more trees have made their way on to the University of Central Florida campus thanks to students, alumni and community partners getting their hands dirty in honor of Arbor Day. Arbor Day is an annual holiday that aims to encourage the planting and care of trees. It was celebrated at UCF on April 19, […]
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COS Undergrads Shine at Showcase
Every year, the UCF Showcase of Undergraduate Research Excellence, presented by the Division of Teaching and Learning, celebrates undergraduate research and creativity across the curriculum. The showcase gave University of Central Florida undergraduate students the opportunity to present their research and creative projects to the university community. Students from all fields and disciplines gathered at […]
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“Shark Tank” Internship Program Keeps Growing
More and more University of Central Florida students are swimming with the Sharks thanks to communication alumnus Clay Newbill ’82. The Executive Producer of ABC’s “Shark Tank” provides opportunities for his fellow Knights through an exclusive internship with the show. Since the Clay Newbill Hollywood Internship program started in 2013, 15 interns have traveled to Hollywood, Calif. to […]
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COS Students Shine at Graduate Research Forum
The UCF Pegasus Ballroom was packed Tuesday, April 5 with graduate students sharing their innovative, original research and creative projects at 14th Annual Graduate Research Forum. More than 200 students and 80 faculty judges participated in the event and over $16,000 in awards was presented for Best in Category presentations. Additionally, first place winners are […]