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The Nature Conservancy, UCF Coastal Join Forces To Study Protected Lands
Tens of thousands of acres of protected Florida habitats will receive deeper scientific scrutiny thanks to a new agreement between The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and UCF Coastal. TNC has been on a mission since 1961 to guard prime Florida landscapes from development and conduct scientific research through a team that includes 50 scientists and land […]
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New Grant Funds ‘Boots on the Ground’ Approach To Studying Wetland Loss
A new grant from the National Academies of Sciences will fund a “boots on the ground” approach to evaluating how severe wetland loss impacts the recreational fishing industry. Kristy A. Lewis, Ph.D, and her team at the Lewis Lab of Applied Coastal Ecology received the $110,662 grant in collaboration with Louisiana State University to help […]
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‘Multiple Paternity’ Gives Invertebrates Climate Change Advantage, Research Finds
A common reproductive strategy among invertebrates called multiple paternity could give animals like porcelain crabs a survival advantage as the world grows warmer, new research finds. While climate change is often associated with major events like melting glaciers and super storms, the authors of the recently published paper in the Journal of Crustacean Biology […]
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Pandemic Inspires Creative New Partnerships to Complete Research
When the COVID-19 pandemic restricted travel at UCF, Assistant Professor Michelle Gaither, Ph.D., got creative. Gaither planned to conduct field research in various parts of the country this past summer to complete some of her research, but COVID derailed those plans. So, she and her team of students came up with another idea that will […]
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Reducing Property Risks by understanding Natural Hazard Risks
By D’Ann Rawlinson Our goal is to show people common natural hazards in their area, the average annual occurrence of those hazards and ways to mitigate risks, including estimated costs. An interdisciplinary team of researchers led by Chris Emrich, associate professor of public administration at UCF and a member of UCF Coastal, is developing web […]
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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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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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UCF Scientists Study Method to Combat Florida Red Tide
An inexpensive, natural countermeasure to curb the devastating economic and ecological impacts of Florida red tide is now under study at UCF. The study focuses on spraying a clay solution to sink the cells (flocculate) of Karenia brevis (known commonly as Florida red tide) to the bottom sediments. Florida red tide is the algae responsible […]
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17 Academics from Across the Nation Warn that COVID-19 Pandemic Worsens Equity Gap between Men, Women in Academia
The nationwide shutdown due to COVID-19 forced faculty members to work remotely and resulted in women faculty taking on more domestic jobs at home. This is creating a wider gap between men and women and will also impact underrepresented groups.
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UCF to Lead Study Exploring Social Media’s Impact on Consumer Behavior when Red Tide Strikes
The University of Central Florida is one of two universities selected to study the social and economic impacts of Florida’s red tide events during 2017-19 that killed fish, stunk up the coastlines and sent tourists packing. Notwithstanding today’s global pandemic, a large chunk of Florida’s economy depends on its beaches and waterways. The red tide […]
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UCF Researcher Helps Improve Accuracy of Storm Surge Analysis
Accurately predicting how many people are at risk due to sea level rise and storm surges has always challenged scientists, but a new method is improving models that account for the impact of these natural occurrences. A new international study published this week in the journal Nature Communications, applied a novel statistical method that — […]
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Student Research: Understanding the Lionfish Invasion in Florida
Biology major Katherine Viehl conducts research focused on the lionfish, one of the state’s most invasive species. Though this species is native to the South Pacific and Indian oceans it has been spreading through the Atlantic Coast since 1985. Their predatorial habits cause damage to the biodiversity destroying native fish and plants of the estuaries […]
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UCF, FAU and Coast Guard Team up to get Endangered Sea Turtles Home
Florida Atlantic University and the University of Central Florida teamed up with the U.S. Coast Guard to take some endangered sea turtles into the ocean where they belong. With the COVID-19 pandemic closing or severely limiting everything from beaches to lab activities at universities, researchers got creative to make sure three six-month old green turtles […]
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UCF Master’s Programs in Emergency Management, Nonprofit Management Rank Among Top 5 in the Nation
U.S. News & World Report today ranked 27 UCF graduate programs in the top 100 of their fields nationally, according to the publication’s 2021 Best Graduate Schools rankings. Seven of the programs are taught in the College of Community Innovation and Education, including UCF’s highest-ranking program, Emergency and Crisis Management, which was ranked No. 2 […]
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Making A Difference: Protecting the Aquatic Ecosystem
By ZENAIDA GONZALEZ KOTALA Kelly Kibler spends a good deal of time in the classroom and her lab at UCF, but it’s not unusual to see her with her feet in the mud of local waterways or driving a boat. For the assistant professor in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, those days […]
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Preparing for Extreme Sea Levels Depends on Location, Time, UCF Study Finds
By ROBERT WELLS Sometimes to understand the present, it takes looking to the past. That’s the approach University of Central Florida coastal researchers are taking to pinpoint the causes of extreme sea level changes. Using historical data from tide gauges that line U.S. coasts, the researchers created an extreme sea level indicator that identifies how […]
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Agreement Opens New Research Opportunity at State Park
A first-of-its-kind agreement between a Florida state park and a public university opens new research opportunities for students and faculty of disciplines ranging from biology to engineering. The agreement between UCF and Florida Park Service centers on a building in Econfina River State Park in rural Taylor County, about an hour southeast of Tallahassee. A […]
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UCF Receives $3.4 Million Grant to Help Homeowners Evaluate Property Risks
By ZENAIDA GONZALEZ KOTALA When buying a home, people often weigh the quality of the schools, crime rates, cost and property values into their buying equation. Rarely do they think about disaster risk, mostly because there is no easy way to do so. University of Central Florida Professor Chris Emrich and his team are about to change […]
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Glitter, Hurricanes and Amphibians Among Topics of ’19-20 Distinguished Speaker Series
The College of Sciences Distinguished Speaker Series brings renowned speakers to enrich the lives of members of the Central Florida community. You don’t need to be in a classroom to learn the latest technology or hear the latest findings of our cutting-edge research. Our speakers will address topics relevant to the natural, computational, social or […]
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Conference Promotes Cross-Discipline Approach To Research
Big problems require big answers. But often scientists are narrowly focusing on their own fields of research, or, as Jacopo Baggio, Ph.D., puts it, “Hunting for vertical solutions to horizontal problems.” Baggio, an assistant professor in the School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs, recently collaborated with another researcher in Sweden, Örjan Bodin, to host […]
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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 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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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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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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27 UCF Graduate Programs Ranked Among the Top 100 in the Nation
Twenty-seven UCF programs were nationally ranked today in the top 100 of their fields by U.S. News & World Report, and 35 graduate programs total were included in the publication’s 2020 Best Graduate Schools edition. This is a record number of programs ranked for the university. The list shows the university’s upward trajectory in the number of programs […]
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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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New Deal With Embry-Riddle Brings Drone Expertise to UCF Coastal
UCF Coastal’s research is soaring to new heights through a new partnership with Embry-Riddle’s unmanned aircraft systems program. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University boasts a fleet of drones of all shapes, sizes and capabilities, and brings extensive expertise to bear as one of only a few universities in the U.S. offering a bachelor’s in unmanned aviation. […]
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Helping the United Nations to Better Understand Climate Change
Thomas Wahl, core faculty member for the National Center for Integrated Coastal Research and assistant professor in the UCF College of Engineering and Computer Science, is helping the United Nations better understand and communicate climate change to the world. Wahl, who also is a member of UCF’s Sustainable Coastal Systems Cluster, will serve as a contributing […]