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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 […]
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Founders’ Day Honors Top Faculty, Staff, Students
University of Central Florida’s Founders’ Day Honors Convocation recognizes faculty, staff members and students for outstanding teaching, research, professional service and years of dedication to the university. Awards included the Pegasus Professor Award presented to College of Sciences Associate Dean Jana Jasinski, Ph.D., the UCF Reach for the Stars Award presented to UCF Biology Assistant […]
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Meet the 2017 COS Order of Pegasus Recipients
UCF has named 21 students as recipients of the Order of Pegasus, the university’s most prestigious student award. Eleven of these recipients are students of the UCF College of Sciences. Get to know them below. CHRISTOPHER CLEMENTE: Tampa, FL About: Christopher Clemente, College of Arts and Humanities and College of Sciences, is majoring in history and […]
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Robots and Trust Issues
The expertise of Florian Jentsch, Ph.D., associate dean of the College of Sciences at the University of Central Florida, was recently cited in an article on the Inverse web site. Jentsch, a psychology professor at UCF with a joint appointment in the Department of Psychology and the Institute for Simulation and Training, specializes in human-automation […]
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COS Grad Programs Ranked Nationally
Several graduate programs in the University of Central Florida College of Sciences were ranked in the top 200 in their respective fields by U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate Schools of 2018. The following COS graduate programs were ranked in the top 200 of their fields: Physics – No. 85 Sociology – No. 102 […]
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Archaeologist Uses Satellites to Protect Ancient Sites
Story by Mark Schlueb, UCF Today University of Central Florida archaeologist Scott Branting, Ph.D., has gotten his hands dirty on plenty of digs, but some of his most important work now involves satellites instead of shovels. Since 2014, Branting has been a principal investigator on a U.S. Department of State project meant to track damage […]
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UCF’s Crime Lab Combats Human Trafficking Through Research
UCF Department of Sociology’s “crime lab,” a team of faculty and students, is trying to help police and nonprofit agencies better understand human trafficking in hopes of stopping it. While human trafficking is the latest crime the UCF team is tackling, it has been working with all sorts of crime data. The team works with […]
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Sociology Alumnus’ Pursuit of Education and Recovery
For the past decade Thomas Hall, Ph.D., has been at the forefront of implementing one of the most premier prevention programs in the country at the University of Central Florida. UCF has been recognized by the US Department of Education, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and the state of Florida as […]
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UCF Health’s Integrated Service Makes Headlines
Two University of Central Florida and UCF Health faculty are making headlines for their work and development of an integrated behavioral health service. News segments on WNDU in Indiana and KIMT in Iowa and Minnesota aired featuring Cerissa Blaney, Ph.D., and Maria Cannarozzi, M.D. The segments highlighted how the integrated system helped one of their […]
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COS Students to Receive University’s Highest Honor
Story by Mark Schlueb, UCF Today UCF has named 21 students as recipients of the Order of Pegasus, the university’s most prestigious student award. Eleven of these recipients are students of the UCF College of Sciences. The 2017 recipients were selected from a pool of 65 nominations. The 2017 class includes eight LEAD Scholars, eight President’s Leadership […]
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Open Reef Drones Take on Environmental Conservation
Geographic information systems (GIS), and related geospatial technologies like drones, are being used to do wonders for our planet. With the growing issue of climate change and over-development, University of Central Florida researchers have taken the initiative to protect the areas with the greatest risks: islands and coastal areas. UCF Assistant Professor of GIS in […]
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Peer Milk-Sharing Participants Generally Keep it Clean
Story by Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala, UCF Today Mothers who want the benefits of breast milk for their babies but can’t produce the substance often turn to milk-sharing networks. A new study from the University of Central Florida found that although not a recommended practice, those who participate in milk-sharing networks generally follow good hygiene, which is […]
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Endangered Tiny Bird Has Big Ally in UCF
Story by Barbara Abney The future of the tiny Florida Grasshopper Sparrow may rest on a hot-water blaster that safely fends off fire ants, which threaten the remaining 100 or so wild sparrows in Central Florida. Joshua King, a self-described ant nerd, ecologist and entomologist at the University of Central Florida, received $15,500 from the […]
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NSC to host ICRC Conference
Story by UCF Nicholson School of Communication News Nicholson School of Communication is making plans for an exciting International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference March 13-15, 2017. The annual ICRCC features presentations, workshops and panel discussions on strategic crisis communication issues, case studies, best practices and emerging trends. These are presented by an impressive lineup of top practitioners and prominent […]
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Digging up the Past
J. Marla Toyne, Ph.D., assistant professor in the University of Central Florida’s Department of Anthropology, uses ancient and modern human and animal tissues to study dietary and migration patterns of the past. In the Laboratory for Bioarchaeological Sciences, located in the basement of the Math and Sciences Building, Toyne uses samples from archaeological sites from […]
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UCF Gets $1.3 million to Fight Zika
University of Central Florida scientists, including three Department of Chemistry faculty members, received a total of nearly $1.3 million in state funds Wednesday to research the Zika virus with the goal of understanding its effects on human health and developing a vaccine for the mosquito-borne illness. The funding was part of Gov. Rick Scott’s authorization of $25 […]
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A Big Crowd for Big Data
The University of Central Florida College of Sciences, College of Business Administration and College of Engineering and Computer Science hosted the UCF Big Data Symposium on Thursday, January 26, 2017 in the UCF FAIRWINDS Alumni Center. More than 200 UCF alumni, faculty, students and community partners attended the event to hear the developments in Big Data at […]
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NASA Mission is One Step Closer to Launching into Space
Story by Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala, UCF Today A NASA instrument that will study the upper atmosphere and the impact of space weather on Earth is a step closer on its journey into space. The Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD) mission, led by University of Central Florida scientist Richard Eastes, is scheduled to […]
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Pegasus Professor Named Fellow of AVS
University of Central Florida Pegasus Professor in the Department of Physics Talat Rahman, Ph.D., has been named a Fellow of the American Vacuum Society (AVS). Fellowship is the premier membership recognition for this professional Society and recognizes AVS members who have made sustained and outstanding scientific and technical contributions in areas of interest to AVS. […]
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Alumnus Elevates UCF Nationwide
Orlando resident Louis Rotundo, ’73, ’75, has been influential in shaping local legislation. He began the political effort, drafted the legislation and secured the funding for SunRail and has worked with some of the most prominent elected officials in Florida over the last forty years. He is also a proud University of Central Florida graduate. […]
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Fighting Crop Disease
Story by Mark Schlueb, UCF Today An international agricultural company has licensed a formula for fighting crop disease that a UCF scientist spent more than five years perfecting. Gowan Co. recently signed an agreement with the University of Central Florida to obtain exclusive rights to the anti-fungal and anti-bacterial formulation developed by researcher Swadeshmukul Santra, Ph.D. The […]
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Alumnus Holds Key To Big Data
By Jenna Marina In the past, the biggest threat from a data breach was to the individual. But now with the onset of Big Data, there are much bigger threats and even bigger opportunities. Few people, however, understand what Big Data is or how it can be used, said Lee Odess, ’99, vice president of […]
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Professor’s Research Part of First Mission to Trojan Asteroids
Story by Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala, UCF Today University of Central Florida Physics Professor Dan Britt, Ph.D., will help explore some of the oldest asteroids in the solar system thanks to a new NASA mission. NASA, this month selected the Lucy mission, which will explore Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids for the first-time. The robotic spacecraft will also explore […]