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Professor Emeritus Takes To The Skies For 80th Birthday
A former chair of the Department of Psychology and expert in gerontology took to the skies Wednesday to prove his point that age is just a number. Dick Tucker, Ph.D, celebrated his 70th birthday by tandem skydiving. For his 80th birthday this week, he chose hang gliding. For about 15 minutes, Tucker circled peacefully […]
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UCF Graduate Chris Van Dorn Channels Batman To Rescue Animals
Step aside Bruce Wayne. Chris Van Dorn ’17 is the real hero Gotham — and Orlando — deserves. Van Dorn’s mission to rescue animals dressed as Batman recently made national news, and bumped him closer to making his rescue mission a full-time opportunity. “It all started in the shower,” said Van Dorn, a sociology alumnus. […]
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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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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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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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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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Arboretum Founder’s Legacy Lives On With Boardwalk Naming
Hank Whitter, Ph.D., was once asked, “What’s going to happen to the Arboretum when you’re no longer here?” Whittier, who helped lead the movement in the early 80s for a protected green space on UCF’s campus, was not concerned. There’s always someone next in line whose passion matches your own, he explained. “Just look […]
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Psychology Student Recipient of 50,000th DirectConnect Diploma
BY GENE KRUCKEMYER ’73 On May 3, psychology major Hannah Holbrook will receive the 50,000th degree at the commencement ceremony for the College of Sciences. Holbrook, who came through DirectConnect from Lake-Sumter State College in Clermont, wants to eventually go to medical school to study emergency medicine. But first beginning in June she’s going to start […]
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Upcoming STEM Day Opens Learning Opportunities At Children’s Hospital
There’s not many opportunities that blend marine conservation and medical sciences. So Jacob Hromyak considers himself lucky to volunteer at PedsAcademy at Nemours Children’s Hospital. PedsAcademy is a pediatric school program that provides hospitalized children research-backed educational opportunities. It was founded earlier this year under the leadership of Megan Nickels, Ph.D., an assistant professor of […]
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Mobile Learning Lab Gets Fresh, Updated Exterior
A new mobile learning lab focused on geospatial technologies like maps, apps and drones just edged closer to its public debut with a brand new look. The GeoBus is the vision of Citizen Science GIS, an international research organization led by UCF researchers to enhance public knowledge and application of mapping with geographic information systems […]
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UCF Takes Lead on 5-Year, $7.5M Project for Department of Defense
The University of Central Florida is taking the lead on a five-year, $7.5 million investigation into machines that can operate at trillions of cycles per second for the Department of Defense. The grant award comes from the DoD’s highly competitive multidisciplinary university research initiative (MURI), which combines the brainpower of top scientists in their respective fields […]
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COS Faculty and Students Recognized for Outstanding Achievements at Founders’ Day Convocation
The dedication and high quality of instruction provided daily by College of Sciences (COS) faculty was recognized recently at the 2019 Founders’ Day Convocation. COS students were also praised for their outstanding academic work. Multiple faculty received awards for their contributions to teaching and research at UCF. They are: College Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate […]
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College of Sciences Welcomes New Pegasus Professor and Honors Reach for the Stars Recipient
BY ZENAIDA GONZALEZ KOTALA AND ALLISON HURTADO ’12 Two College of Sciences professors were among those honored Wednesday for their dedication to teaching UCF students and their innovation in the classroom. Josh Colwell, Ph.D., was one of four new Pegasus Professors, the highest academic honor a professor can receive at the university. Tim Hawthorne, Ph.D., […]
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U.S. Air Force Taps Psychology Professor For Scientific Advisory Board
UCF is now represented on the scientific advisory board that supplies independent guidance to U.S. Air Force research. Peter Hancock, Ph.D., was appointed recently to the roughly 50-member board, which studies topics considered of critical importance by the secretary and chief of staff of the Air Force. While many members are engineers or provide similar […]
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Global Perspective’s John Bersia Pushed for International Awareness
BY GENE KRUCKEMYER ’73 John C. Bersia ’77, director of UCF’s Global Perspectives Office, a professor of international issues, and a Pulitzer Prize recipient while an editorial writer at the Orlando Sentinel, died Thursday of metastatic cancer. He was 62. Bersia started working at UCF in 2001, later became a special assistant to the president […]
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Compelling Research on Disabilities in Ancient Cultures
A new article in Science Magazine includes a UCF anthropology professor’s research into attitudes ancient civilizations had toward people with conditions like dwarfism and cleft palates. The article reports on research presented at the first Workshop on Ancient Rare Diseases, which was hosted in Berlin, Germany. Overwhelmingly, scientists challenged the conventional view that people with […]
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Florida House of Representatives Clerk Credits UCF For Leadership Traits
The rules and procedures that keep Florida’s Legislature running smoothly are no accident. There’s rules for introducing bills, who gets to speak on the floor and for how long and voting procedures — just to name a few. Maintaining order and enforcing those rules falls to the clerk of the House of Representatives, currently Jeff […]
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UCF Class Spotlight: Space Law
BY LAYLA FERRIS ’18 Class Name INR 4404 – Space Law Description A look at how rules and laws regarding outer space pertain to nations, corporations and individuals — and who should be making and enforcing them. Instructor Robert Bledsoe When is it offered? Usually once a year How many students in a class? 20-30 Prerequisites […]
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Researchers Recruit Drones To Map Past, Determine Future
Drones have evolved over the years from novelty to a sophisticated tool deployed in the wake of natural disasters. Now researchers have unlocked its use as a time machine. The work is happening in the coastal communities of Belize, including Hopkins Village, where rising sea levels are threatening homes and livelihoods. Lain Graham, a UCF […]
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Seven COS Faculty Among UCF’s 2019 Women’s History Month Awardees
BY FACULTY EXCELLENCE UCF Faculty Excellence has chosen 31 women to honor during Women’s History Month, which begins today. The national observance was started in 1981 to recognize women who have shown a commitment to humanity and our planet. At UCF, these women have helped shape the university from its beginnings until today. For more […]
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Puerto Rico Research Hub Officially Opens Its Doors
The Puerto Rico Research Hub welcomed the public and the academic community to its new office space Wednesday at an official open house. Director Fernando Rivera, Ph.D., repeated his pledge to use the research expertise of the hub to improve the lives of the Puerto Rican community. “We want to be accessible. Our goal […]
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Scientists Gather to Discuss Future Objectives of Arecibo Observatory
BY ZENAIDA GONZALEZ KOTALA The Arecibo Observatory and its researchers hosted scientists from around the world this week to discuss the future of research at the Puerto Rican facility under UCF management. Planetary scientists, radio astronomers and atmospheric scientists discussed the status of the facility, what potential upgrades could mean for the future of the […]
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UCF Researchers Uncover Florida’s Past Before It’s Lost to the Sea
BY ROBERT WELLS As Florida’s Space Coast moves into the future, University of Central Florida archaeologists are taking a look back at some of the historic sites there before they succumb to erosion and rising seas. “People don’t realize how interesting it is and how valuable it is for our institutional and social memory to […]
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General Intelligence Won’t Be Enough to Prevent Ecological Disasters, UCF Study Finds
BY ROBERT WELLS High IQs aren’t going to be enough to stop an ecological disaster. It’s going to take social intelligence, too. That’s the conclusion of a new study co-authored by a University of Central Florida researcher and published Wednesday in the journal Nature Communications. The findings could help identify why some groups better manage shared […]
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Physics Assistant Professor Named UCF’s First Sloan Research Fellow
By Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala Xiaofeng Feng has been named a Sloan Research Fellow, the first for the University of Central Florida. The award recognizes early career scientists that demonstrate high promise. Past Sloan Research Fellows have gone on to do big things. Collectively they have received 47 Nobel Prizes, 17 Fields Medals in mathematics, 69 […]
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Forensic Database Opens New Opportunities To Capture Sexual Assailants
Researchers from the University of Central Florida are a step closer to giving law enforcement officials a new tool to help track down rapists and other sexual offenders. Forensic scientist Candice Bridge, Ph.D., has spent the past two years leading a team in the development of a database detailing the chemical makeup of common […]
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Voiceless Find Community and Hope In Aphasia Choir
Robert Rosich is in the middle of naming the songs he performed with his friends over Christmas when the words get stuck in his throat. It’s a familiar sensation for Rosich, who has relearned to speak after surviving two strokes. But this time the words just won’t come out. So he tries a different […]
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PoliSci Student Among Glamour Magazine’s Top 10 College Women
A UCF senior’s advocacy for undocumented minors has earned her a spot as one of Glamour Magazine’s 10 College Women of the Year for 2018. Karen Caudillo’s tearful interview with the Guardian newspaper after a Capitol Hill hearing went viral when it was broadcast on social media, including to NowThis’ 14 million Facebook followers. Caudillo […]