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Sorority Inspires PoliSci Grad to Pursue Legal Career Protecting Citizens
“You can’t be what you can’t see.” This is the motto Genevieve Bonan ’10 says carried her through her undergraduate studies at UCF, and still inspires her today. Bonan currently practices consumer protection law in the Consumer Protection Division of the Florida Attorney General. In her free time, she volunteers with various charities and organizations, […]
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Summer ’19 Ph.D. Grads Honored At Reception
The Summer ’19 doctorate degree students were recognized Friday at a special reception. Graduates celebrated their achievement with their faculty advisors, family, College of Sciences Dean Michael Johnson, Ph.D. and a special champagne toast. Click here to see the full gallery of photos. Chemistry Anuradha Akmeemana, Ph.D. Faculty Advisor: Michael E. Sigman, Ph.D. Dissertation: […]
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Summer Commencement Launches Careers of New COS Grads
Rain didn’t dampen the spirits of UCF’s newest College of Sciences graduates on Saturday. Jeremy Ivy, 23, is a psychology graduate, and plans on applying to a master’s program at Florida Institute of Technology for registered behavioral therapy. These therapists are registered to treat children with autism and work with others that may have […]
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Department of Energy Selects UCF Assistant Professor for National Research Program
BY ZENAIDA GONZALEZ KOTALA For a second consecutive year, one of UCF’s physics faculty members has been selected for the Department of Energy’s Early Career Research Program. Physics Assistant Professor Luca Argenti is one of 73 scientists across the nation and the only one from Florida selected for the program, which includes a $750,000 grant […]
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Biology Master’s Student Chosen For Prestigious Pew Fellowship
A biology master’s student’s research just received a big endorsement from the prestigious Pew Charitable Trusts and the Florida Wildlife Commission. The national and state organizations are funding the research of Michelle Shaffer, ’16, who has spent the past five years studying the ecosystems and wildlife in the Indian River Lagoon in conjunction with the […]
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UCF Grad Battles Cancer and Loss While Earning Degree
BY NICOLE DUDENHOEFER ’17 When Erica Catron ’19MA decided to go back to school three years ago she knew as a non-traditional student she would face more challenges than others. As a married woman in her 40s, raising a young boy and taking care of a household, she figured she’d have a lot to juggle […]
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Undergrad Recognized For Native American Research
An undergraduate’s research into the impact of rising sea levels on Florida’s Native American tribes recently earned her recognition from the Office of Undergraduate Research. Senior Sarah Swiersz’s interest in political ecology and climate change led her to study Florida’s coastal communities. She decided to focus on indigenous Native American tribes because of the way […]
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Trapped Tortoise Research Earns Award For Alumnus
An abandoned railway presents no obstacle to most people. But it’s a different story altogether if you’re crawling two-inches from the ground with a shell on your back. Exactly how railways impact the well-being and movement of gopher tortoises was the focus of UCF alumnus Rhett Rautsaw’s research while he pursued a master’s degree in […]
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UCF Biologists Hunt For Hidden Carbon
Car exhaust and factory pollution take a lot of blame for global warming. But a team of UCF biologists are on the hunt for a hidden storage of carbon that’s right beneath your feet. Plants spend their lifetime absorbing carbon dioxide, then deposit it into the soil when they die. If they’re trapped under water […]
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Political Science Department Becomes New UCF School
UCF has added a new school to its roster with the change of the Department of Political Science to the School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs. While political science remains at the heart of the school and the academic curriculum, the new designation better reflects the broader scope of its mission and programs, […]
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Medieval Bones Reveal Diet Secrets
Jane Holmstrom doesn’t speak medieval French, but that hasn’t stopped her from learning from the long-dead residents of Saint-Jean-de-Todon in Laudun, France. The bioarchaeology doctorate student traveled at the beginning of May to an archaeological site about 90 minutes northwest of the Mediterranean city of Marseilles. The site sits on a hill just above […]
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New Photo Exhibit Captures Indian Festivals in Florida
A new photo exhibit opening this week in the John C. Hitt Library opens a window into the connection between Indian festivals and Central Florida. The more than 30 photos, commissioned by the Asian Cultural Association (ACA), follow more than a year of Indian festivals, including Holi, the Festival of Colors, and Navratri Garba. The […]
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Conference Casts National Spotlight On UCF Sustainability
UCF’s work to build a sustainable future came under the national spotlight last week (June 26-29) at the Association for Environmental Studies and Science’s (AESS) annual conference. The conference drew 200 representatives from more than 80 colleges and universities across the country to discuss the research and teaching underway on topics including fossil fuels, coastal […]
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NASA Awards $7.5 Million to UCF’s Center for Lunar and Asteroid Surface Science
BY ZENAIDA GONZALEZ KOTALA NASA today awarded a $7.5 million grant to UCF’s Center for Lunar and Asteroid Surface Science (CLASS), helping secure the next five years of the center’s bright future. “This win goes a long way to ensure UCF leadership in space science for the Space Coast” says Professor Dan Britt, the center’s director, […]
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NASA Spacecraft Crosses Into Uncharted Territory
BY ZENAIDA GONZALEZ KOTALA NASA’s New Horizons mission continues to fly toward the outer edges of our solar system, now more than 4.1 billion miles from Earth with a cruising speed of 33,000 mph. The mission has been going for more than 20 years, with its biggest claim to fame being the first close flyby […]
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UCF Research Impact: U.S. Virgin Islands Ban Harmful Sunscreens
BY ZENAIDA GONZALEZ KOTALA The U.S. Virgin Islands Tuesday became the first American jurisdiction to ban sunscreens containing oxybenzone and octinoxate effective Dec. 31, to help restore its coral reefs and marine ecosystems. Hawaii and Key West, Florida, passed bans that go into effect next year but they don’t go as far as this legislation, which […]
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Mission Reveals New Details About Saturn’s Rings
BY ROBERT WELLS | JUNE 17, 2019 Researchers are offering glimpses into the nature and composition of Saturn’s legendary rings by using data from some of the closest observations ever made of the main rings. Even though NASA’s Cassini spacecraft’s mission to Saturn ended in 2017, scientists are still poring over the copious amounts of data it […]
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Nuclear Sub Visit Opens New Opportunities For Physics, Engineering Students
A recent trip to San Diego by two UCF professors sets up new opportunities for students interested in nuclear physics. Both Physics and Engineering were represented on the visit to the U.S. Navy’s submarine base, with Robert Peale, Ph.D., representing the former, and Sam Richie, Ph.D., bringing the Engineering perspective. The pair headed home to […]
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Biology Major Receives Prestigious Goldwater Scholarship
BY JONATHAN GABRIEL ’06 Katie Stahlhut, a UCF biology major and National Merit Scholar, recently got a boost for her scientific aspirations, receiving the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship. Established by Congress in 1986, the scholarship, named for former U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater, provides up to $7,500 a year in support of undergraduate students intending to do research […]
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Math Grad Pioneered Streaming Video Services
“I love the challenge when I hear a kid say they hate math.” For Yvette Kanouff, ’88, ’93, who has built a C-Suite career at companies like Cisco and Time Warner Cable using math, those words represent the chance to astound a struggling student with math’s possibilities. Just like an 8th-grade teacher did for a […]
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Statistics Launches Alumna Into High-Tech Career
Lesley Cheema, ’97, ’99 MS, was certain heading into college she wanted a career in mathematics. But that all changed after a meeting with former statistics professor Lorrie Hoffman, Ph.D., who introduced her to new opportunities in the manufacturing world that relied more on statistics than math. That perfectly suited Cheema, who was more […]
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Alumnus Conquers Wild Frontier of Data Science
Businesses have been trying to get into the minds of their customers for centuries. Now they’re closer than ever. While there’s still no mind-reading device on the market, there is data — about 2.5 quintillion bytes of data created per day. And that data can reveal customers’ preferences, from time of day they’re likely to […]
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Students Head To Belize For GIS Mapping and Teaching
BY TIM HAWTHORNE, Ph.D. Opening up one’s worldview. Exploring foreign landscapes. Interacting with new cultures. Engaging in research with communities. These are just some of the things that a group of 11 UCF students did this May with the UCF Participatory Geographic Information Systems (GIS) study abroad class in Belize. The class is part […]
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COS Grad Among Fulbright Winners
BY JONATHAN GABRIEL ’06 Five recent UCF graduates — include a College of Sciences alumna — have received prestigious Fulbright awards that will allow them to travel abroad to pursue research and educational opportunities or teach English. This year’s recipients will represent their alma mater in Montenegro, South Korea, Belgium and Brazil. The Fulbright U.S. […]
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Arecibo Observatory Debuts New Mascot at Puerto Rico’s Comic Con
BY ZENAIDA GONZALEZ KOTALA The University of Central Florida is storming the comic con world this week by participating in MegaCon Orlando and Puerto Rico Comic Con. Both events are geared for fans of science fiction, fantasy, anime and horror. They draw thousands of attendees who attend celebrity panels, shop for their favorite novelties, comics […]
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Science Fair Projects Wow Judges At Nemours Children’s Hospital
Sick children confined to hospitals miss not only the experience of classroom teaching, but grade school traditions like the science fair. So, on Thursday, the science fair came to them – thanks to the help of UCF faculty and students – in the form of the first-ever STEM Day at Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando. […]
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Research Holds Life-Changing Potential For Malnutrition Victims
Research underway in the National Center for Forensic Science carries life-changing potential for people suffering from malnutrition or exposure to hazardous toxins. Malnutrition is the source of a host of health issues, including zinc deficiency. Low amounts of the mineral can delay growth in children, suppress the immune system and even cause brain damage. The […]
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Three College of Sciences Faculty Receive NSF CAREER Awards
BY ZENAIDA GONZALEZ KOTALA College of Sciences faculty represented half of the six grants awarded in the National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development’s highly competitive CAREER program. The recipients represent some of the most promising early career scientists and engineers with high promise of leading major advances in their respective fields and who will serve as […]
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NPR News’ NextGenRadio Features UCF Students, Faculty
BY HEATHER GIBSON ’17MBA If there’s one thing UCF student Lillian Hernández Caraballo knows about journalism, it’s that you can’t miss a deadline. Her dedication to meeting an important deadline helped her land a coveted spot in the NPR News’ national training program, NextGenRadio. UCF’s Nicholson School of Communication and Media and WUCF-TV partnered with […]
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Mining the Moon For Ice Focus of UCF Research
BY ROBERT WELLS With space set to be the site of the next “gold rush,” University of Central Florida researchers are helping prospect a spot for a major first step in the upcoming scramble – creating a lunar mining outpost. The work will be funded through a recently announced grant from NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts […]