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UCF Video Game Design Programs Among the Best in the World for 2023
The University of Central Florida excels as one of the nation’s top talent pipelines for a rapidly growing gaming industry that fuels Central Florida’s economy and is projected to be worth more than $300 billion worldwide by 2026. In UCF’s undergraduate and graduate game design programs, talented students learn from world-class faculty with strong industry […]
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UCF Uses 6-Foot ‘Test Tubes’ to Study Red Tide
A potential treatment for Florida’s devastating red tides took another step toward widespread deployment after successful testing in Sarasota Bay. Additional detailed data analysis is required to confirm results, but UCF Assistant Professor of Biology Kristy Lewis is encouraged by the large-scale test of a red tide mitigation technology called clay flocculation that was performed […]
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Remembering UCF Alumnus, Spectrum News Reporter Dylan Lyons
An up-and-coming journalist and graduate from the Nicholson School of Communication and Media (NSCM) was killed Wednesday while reporting on the scene of a fatal shooting. Dylan Lyons ’19 was 24. Lyons’ journalism professors remember him as a “confident and talented go-getter who was always up for a challenge and never turned down a story,” […]
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UCF Research in 60 Seconds: Studying Culture Through Food
Whether it’s solving the world’s biggest problems or investigating the potential of novel discoveries, researchers at UCF are on the edge scientific breakthroughs that aim to make an impact. Through the Research in 60 Seconds series, student and faculty researchers condense their complex studies into bite-sized summaries so you can know how and why Knights […]
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Innovative VR Therapy Helps Patients Overcome PTSD Caused by Hospital Stays
Exceptional medical care from first responders, nurses and doctors routinely saves the lives of patients with critical illnesses. But many of those patients will suffer from anxiety, depression and PTSD after they return home. A team of UCF researchers is confident that exposure therapy featuring virtual reality with real sounds and smells, all mimicking the […]
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UCF Joins Ohio State, Missouri and Arizona as New Partners in NBCU Academy Supporting Journalism, Media Students
NBCU Academy has selected UCF as one of 15 new partners nationwide in a program that will strengthen how the Nicholson School of Communication and Media supports and prepares students to succeed in the media industry. Benefits of the partnership include scholarships; resources to help expand students’ field reporting and internships; and more opportunities for […]
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UCF Researchers Uncover Key Mechanisms for Sustainable Ammonia Production
A University of Central Florida research team with collaborators at Virginia Tech have published critical findings about the electrochemical synthesis of ammonia, advancing sustainable fertilizer research and thus aiding global food safety efforts. Ammonia, a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen, is an essential ingredient in many fertilizers for food production. However, its primary method of […]
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UCF Researchers Work to Reduce the Amount of Precious Metals in Catalytic Converters
The precious metals, such as platinum, palladium and rhodium, in catalytic converters make the vehicle devices attractive to thieves, but University of Central Florida researchers are working to reduce the amount of precious metals needed in them — down to single atoms — while still maximizing their effectiveness. Catalytic converters, which were widely introduced in […]
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Electronic Arts Awards Scholarships to UCF Students to Increase Diversity in Gaming Industry
One of the world’s largest gaming companies, Electronic Arts (EA), has made a total investment of $125,000 to encourage UCF students in their continued pursuit of careers in the video game industry. Through its Inclusion in Gaming Endowed Scholarship, EA aims to diversify the growing gaming industry by supporting the success of students at UCF, […]
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Pabst Steinmetz Foundation Arts and Wellness Innovation Award Winners Enhance Mental Health Resiliency
The arts and humanities have a unique power to resonate with the human soul across time, place and socioeconomic status. When this power is harnessed by the community through sustainable, evidence-based and cross-disciplinary initiatives, the potential for positive human impact is limitless. Based on this idea, the Pabst Steinmetz Foundation Arts and Innovation Award gives […]
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Research Replicating Neurons Holds Potential to Shape Artificial Intelligence
Recent research replicating neurons in the brain holds potential to reshape our approach to artificial intelligence and applications like autonomous driving. The research centers on molecular-sized transistors and behavior that suggests they exchange information similar to neurons in the brain. Pegasus Professor Enrique Del Barco Ph.D., in collaboration with Professor of Molecular Modelling Damien Thompson, […]
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New Study of Comets Provides Insight into Chemical Composition of Early Solar System
A new study from the University of Central Florida has found strong support that the outgassing of molecules from comets could be the result of the composition from the beginning of our solar system. The results were published today in The Planetary Science Journal. The study was led by Olga Harrington Pinto, a doctoral candidate […]
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UCF Recognizes 6 Top Scholars as 2022 Luminary Award Winners
Six faculty members were lauded for being leaders and making impacts in their fields during UCF’s annual Luminary Awards on Tuesday at Leu Gardens in Orlando. The Luminary Awards are designed to recognize some of UCF’s brightest stars who shine a positive light on UCF and on their respective fields, as well as illuminate a […]
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New $1.25 Million Research Project Will Map Materials at the Nanoscale
A University of Central Florida researcher will lead a recently announced $1.25 million project to map and manipulate materials at the nanoscale. The project’s funding is through the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, a philanthropic foundation established by Intel co-founder Gordon Moore and his wife Betty Moore to support scientific discovery, environmental conservation, patient care […]
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UCF’s Limbitless Solutions Named as a Global Finalist for the 2022 .ORG Impact Awards
Limbitless Solutions has been named a finalist in the fourth annual .ORG Impact Awards. The global awards program is hosted by the Public Interest Registry (PIR) to celebrate inspiring mission-driven organizations and leaders from around the globe that create a positive impact in their communities. Limbitless Solutions is one of five finalists in the Health […]
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UCF Professor Moonlights as Serial Marathoner
UCF Associate Professor of Chemistry Seth Elsheimer’s journey to running more than 300 marathons starts with “just a little farther.” Elsheimer was an occasional runner when he encouraged two students in his organic chemistry class at UCF to join him on a run, then sign up for a 5K race. The former football players were […]
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UCF Knights Are Part of NASA’s Artemis Program to Return to the Moon
As the nation looks on this week to see the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft blast into space on its test flight, UCF faculty, students and alumni will only momentarily pause to watch the historic milestone before returning to what they do best — scientific discovery and developing the next generation of technology […]
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Robots, AI Not as Welcomed in Nations Where Income Inequity is High
Robots are becoming more ubiquitous in the workplace but that doesn’t mean people are accepting them. In a new study by researchers with the University of Central Florida, workers in countries with greater amounts of income and social inequality were found to be more likely to perceive robots and artificial intelligence as job threats. This […]
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James Webb Space Telescope Detects Carbon Dioxide on Planet Outside Solar System
A University of Central Florida researcher is part of an international team that has used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to capture definitive evidence for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a gas-giant planet orbiting a sun-like star 700 light-years away. The finding was published online today and will appear in the journal Nature. […]
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UCF Doctoral Candidate Works to Create a ‘Bioassessment Toolkit’
Dedicated to preserving ocean life at every scale, UCF doctoral candidate Ashley Reaume is working to create an efficient and cost-effective “bioassessment toolkit” that can be used to evaluate the impact of water quality on plankton communities. “Both plankton and estuaries play important roles in sustaining human life, providing us with ecosystem services like nutrient […]
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Genetic Rescue of Florida Panthers May Have Had Unintended Consequences
The introduction of Texas pumas to Florida in the 1990s as part of a genetic rescue may have helped save Florida panthers from extinction, but it also brought some harmful mutations with it along the way. In a new study led by UCF, researchers show that nearly half of the harmful mutations found in recent […]
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3 UCF Students Selected for 2022 Astronaut Scholarship
Three UCF students have been awarded the highly competitive Astronaut Scholarships this year — raising the university’s student awards from the organization to 54 since 1989. Each year, over 60 students across the country are awarded up to $15,000 each through the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF). ASF awarded its first seven scholarships in 1986, sponsored […]
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Recent UCF Graduates Have Accepted Tenure-track Positions at Top Universities
Getting a tenure-track faculty position at a university has become harder, but several UCF recent graduates are beating the odds. For many students, an academic position is the goal. For others, it’s industry. Getting into academia is challenging. The American Association of University Professors reports tenured faculty positions have declined to approximately only 21% of […]
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UCF Student Selected for International Optica Women Scholars Award
Isabella Pardo has been recognized as one of the first 20 Optica Women Scholars in the world. The award supports women majoring in optics, physics, chemistry, math, or engineering who are pursuing careers in optics and photonics. Launched this past January, the program received more than 160 applications from 36 countries from both undergraduate and […]
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UCF Researchers Eagerly Awaiting First James Webb Space Telescope Images
UCF physics graduate student Olga Harrington Pinto is counting down the minutes until July 12. She is one of eight UCF researchers and one alumna who will be using the world’s mightiest space telescope as soon as NASA gives the go-ahead on Thursday. That’s when final checks on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) should […]
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UCF Student Summer Project: Getting an Early Start on Space Rover Design
Catherine Millwater has been dreaming of space long before arriving at UCF. In 2018, the eager 17-year-old reached out to UCF’s Planetary Sciences Group in hopes they had room for a high school student willing to learn how to be a researcher. Spoiler alert: They did. Millwater, who expects to graduate from UCF in May […]
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World Uniters: Five Knights Receive 2022 Fulbright Awards
Over the coming months, planes carrying five UCF Knights will land on various runways thousands and thousands of miles from home. The five will stroll off those planes into the purpose of the Fulbright Program for which they’ve been selected: to work, live, and learn with others on the ground. For them, the ground will […]
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Arecibo Observatory Scientists Help Unravel Surprise Asteroid Mystery
When asteroid 2019 OK suddenly appeared barreling toward Earth on July 25, 2019, Luisa Fernanda Zambrano-Marin and the team at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico jumped into action. After getting an alert, the radar scientists zoned in on the asteroid, which was coming from Earth’s blind spot — solar opposition. Zambrano-Marin and the team […]
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UCF Professor to Moderate State Department Discussion on Planetary Defense
In June, at least five asteroids — some as large as a Boeing 747 — will buzz by Earth, coming as close as 431,000 miles from the planet. Asteroids are always moving through our solar system. Although none of them pose a serious threat to Earth now, they could in the future. As a civilization […]
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UCF Researchers Develop Technology for AI that Mimics the Human Eye
University of Central Florida researchers have developed a device for artificial intelligence that mimics the retina of the eye. The development could lead to advanced AI that can instantly recognize what it sees, like automatic descriptions of pictures taken by a camera or phone. The technology also has applications in self-driving vehicles and robotics. The […]