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Animals’ Magnetic ‘Sixth’ Sense May Come from Bacteria, New Paper Suggests
A University of Central Florida researcher is co-author of a new paper that may help answer why some animals have a magnetic “sixth” sense, such as sea turtles’ ability to return to the beach where they were born. The question is one that has been unresolved despite 50 years of research. “The search for a […]
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New Study: Face-Covering Use Up, More People Are Taking COVID-19 Threats Seriously
A new National Science Foundation-funded survey of six states has found that during the past two months, more people are wearing masks, vaccine uncertainty is on the rise, and many people are overestimating their risk of becoming seriously ill and dying from COVID-19. The results are in a new report published this month by the […]
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UCF Researcher to Build a System that Identifies Habitable Planets Based on the Color They Emit
Only a handful of the roughly 4,000 identified planets outside our solar system can potentially support human life — what experts call “habitable exoplanets” — but astronomers are certain there are many more. The best candidates were found when they crossed in front of the star they orbit. A silhouette is hard to analyze for […]
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UN Communications Coordination Committee Taps Psychology Faculty For Board Position
Associate Lecturer Chrysalis Wright, Ph.D., serves as the Honors in the Major program coordinator for the Department of Psychology. She was recently elected to the board of directors at the Communications Coordination Committee for the United Nations. In an interview with the College of Sciences, Wright shared the latest developments in her research into fake […]
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Arboretum Donation Inspired By Work of Granddaughter
Kelsie Johnson’s thumb was decidedly not green growing up. So it was all the more surprising to her grandparents when Johnson ‘16 announced she was pursuing horticulture and environmental conservation as a career. “Kelsie has always been outgoing, but never did we picture her becoming involved in the Arboretum program or any of the outdoor […]
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Questioning Chemistry Benchmark Sets Stage for New Protocols
A little due diligence went a long way for a team of UCF chemists studying a fundamental catalytic reaction used by hundreds of research groups around the world. Assistant Professor Titel Jurca, Ph.D., and graduate student, Lorianne Shultz, in collaboration with Assistant Professors Melanie Beazley (UCF Chemistry) and Xiaofeng Feng (UCF Physics) published the initial […]
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UCF Researcher Awarded NASA Grant to Study Little Understood trans-Neptunian Objects
Florida Space Institute Planetary Scientist Estela Fernández-Valenzuela has been awarded a $315,700 NASA grant to use modern day technology to analyze one of the oldest and least understood objects of our solar system. The first trans-Neptunian Object (TNO) — objects that orbit the Sun beyond Neptune — was discovered more than 25 years ago. Some […]
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UCF Researchers Are Developing Models to Predict Storm Surges
Storm surges sometimes can increase coastal sea levels 10 feet or more, jeopardizing communities and businesses along the water, but new research from the University of Central Florida shows there may be a way to predict periods when it’s more likely that such events occur. In a study published recently in the Journal of Geophysical […]
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Awards Presented to Artificial Intelligence, Big Data Projects for COVID-19 Research
Five research teams using Artificial Intelligence and Big Data have been awarded a total of $185,000 to conduct COVID-19-related research. Establishing the awards was the first act of UCF’s new Artificial Intelligence & Big Data Initiative announced this summer. The intent of the program is to seed the development of research projects that use these […]
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UCF Grad Impresses Magicians Penn & Teller
Of all the majors at UCF that a mentalist could choose, psychology seems like the best fit. Keith Kong ’17 certainly thought so. Kong recently celebrated one of his biggest achievements to date as a mentalist — or a “mind-reading” magician — with an appearance on the CW’s show “Fool Us,” which features legendary magician […]
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UCF Researchers Develop AI to Detect Fentanyl and Derivatives Remotely
To help keep first responders safe, University of Central Florida researchers have developed an artificial intelligence method that not only rapidly and remotely detects the powerful drug fentanyl, but also teaches itself to detect any previously unknown derivatives made in clandestine batches. The method, published recently in the journal Scientific Reports, uses infrared light spectroscopy […]
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UCF Offers Free Nature-themed VR and AR Applications to Help Students and Those Isolated Because of COVID-19
UCF is offering a free virtual reality environment and augmented reality app to help teachers supplement science lessons and provide some stress relief for those isolated because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Maria Harrington, an information scientist and artist, created the applications as a way to advance virtual reality technology, while engaging the public in informal […]
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Semi-Metal Research Earns Physics Assistant Professor First NSF Career Grant
Physics Assistant Professor Yasuyuki Nakajima, Ph.D, has received his first National Science Foundation CAREER grant for research on semi-metal materials with characteristics of nematic superconductivity. “We are exploring materials that could potentially revolutionize information technology,” said Nakajima. “I formed the hypothesis that an unusual superconducting state called nematic superconductivity could be a key research ingredient […]
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Third Scholarship Recipient Chosen By National Save the Sea Turtle Foundation
A new scholarship for a Biology student will support her final undergraduate year studying and promoting sea turtle conservation. Christine Sarkis is the third 2020 recipient of the $10,000 scholarship from the National Save the Sea Turtle Foundation. She’s joined by two other students working in tandem with the UCF Marine Turtle Research Group, led […]
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New Scholarship Honors Legacy of Faculty Pioneer John T. Washington
A notable figure from UCF’s past is the inspiration behind a new scholarship created to help students build a brighter future. The name John T. Washington is probably familiar to campus visitors walking through the breezeway named in his honor, but his connection to UCF less so. Washington, Ph.D., was one of the first African […]
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New Grant Program for Grad Students Launched to Fund Research Fighting Social Injustice
Graduate students interested in developing social justice research projects have a new funding source through Citizen Science GIS in the Department of Sociology. The new initiative splits proposals into two areas: Amplify Knight Voices and Broaden Community Connections. Amplify Knight Voices funds projects that address “educational or environmental inequality; oppression; anti-racist practices and systems; and/or […]
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Broken Cable Damages Arecibo Observatory
One of the auxiliary cables that helps support a metal platform in place above the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, broke on Monday (Aug. 10) causing a 100-foot-long gash on the telescope’s reflector dish. Operations at the UCF-managed observatory are stopped until repairs can be made. The break occurred about 2:45 a.m. When the three-inch […]
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Alumna Blends Medicine and PoliSci To Create World-Changing Impact
At the intersection of political science and medicine sits the passion of Kezia Domond ’20, a recent UCF political science graduate with a calling to help those in underrepresented and underprivileged communities throughout the world. This upcoming fall, Domond takes a seat in Boston University’s Masters of Public Health program, where her hope is to […]
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Focus On Active Learning Improves Drop Rate for Calculus Classes
By ALLY FRIEDMAN A shift from rote memorization to active learning is producing measurable, positive results for students taking Calculus I. The Fall 2019 drop/add rate fell from UCF’s historical 54% to 18-22% across all calculus courses after Professor Eduardo Teixeira, Ph.D., deployed a technique called meaningful learning theory. The statistical majority grade also rose […]
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National Program Opens Door for More Underrepresented Students in Physics
When Taylor Douglas fell in love with physics and began to pursue it in college, she started to feel like an outsider. Most of her classmates were men and white. After earning her bachelor’s degree at Rowan University in New Jersey, she applied to several institutions to pursue a master’s degree, something only 6 percent […]
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Arecibo Observatory Returns from Tropical Storm Isaias Lockdown to Track Asteroid for NASA
The Earth has one less asteroid to worry about thanks to the research of an international team of scientists at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. Asteroid 2020 NK1 was spotted in early July by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) survey team at the University of Hawaii. Little was known about the asteroid, […]
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UCF Preps Alumna For Career In International Relations
It was the second semester of her freshman year when Andrea de la Camara ’13 stumbled upon the political science department at the University of Central Florida. An aspiring veterinarian at the time, de la Camara didn’t know that she’d soon be an ambitious graduate with a budding career in the field of political […]
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Fellowship Opens Opportunity for Biology Grad Students to Test Drive Teaching
A new fellowship offered by the Department of Biology gives doctoral students the chance to experience what it’s like to be in charge of the classroom. The doctoral teaching fellowship debuts this fall, and walks Ph.D. candidates through the process of designing and teaching their own courses. Matthew Atkinson is one of the first to […]
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UCF Faculty Member Appointed to Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals
By ALEXANDRA SHIMALLA “I have desks all over the place,” laughed Eric Merriam. “I think I have four right now. I spend a lot of time at those desks.” Merriam is an associate professor, with a joint appointment to the Department of Legal Studies and the School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs at UCF. […]
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COVID-19 Cases to Decline Beginning Next Month, UCF Research Finds
COVID-19 infection rates may be peaking in Orange County later this month and trending down toward December, according to new projections by data scientists at the University of Central Florida. The researchers from the Departments of Statistics and Data Science and Computer Science caution, however, that their projections — built using the latest artificial intelligence […]
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14 Tips to Help You Prepare for Hurricane Season
Hurricane season begins in June and continues through November, with Florida is at risk every year. UCF Associate Professor Christopher Emrich, an expert in hazard science, social vulnerability, disaster recovery and community resiliency, has plenty of experience with hurricanes. He’s worked with FEMA and other federal agencies to identify vulnerabilities in communities affected by hurricanes […]
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UCF Experts Weigh in as Coronavirus Captures Headlines
As the coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to dominate daily news cycles, UCF experts in areas ranging from hospitality, tourism, economics and student health services are helping shape the conversation surrounding the effects of the virus on various industries and the community as a whole. Kenneth Adams, professor — Ph.D. in criminal justice from State University of […]
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Research Team turns to Nanotechnology for Chemical Reaction Promoters
Noble metals, such as platinum, palladium, and rhodium are among the most versatile and efficient industrial catalysts for a large number of reactions, ranging from the purification of poisonous pollutants emitted by vehicle engines to the generation of commodity chemicals or clean energy resource, which benefits the environment and our society. But there’s a limited supply of noble […]
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New Study Reveals How Frogs Use Bile and Bruise Color for Camouflage
Researchers have discovered, for the first time, how frogs use the chemical responsible for the color of bile and bruises for their own camouflage coloring. The mechanism the frogs use to turn what is essentially a waste product into a part of their protection is detailed in a new study published this month in the […]
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Genes Responsible for Protecting Frogs May Play Role in Death from Global Disease
For frogs dying of the invasive chytridiomycosis disease, the leading cause of amphibian deaths worldwide, the genes responsible for protecting them may actually be leading to their demise, according to a new study published today in the journal Molecular Ecology by University of Central Florida and the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) researchers. The lowland […]