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UCF’s Brightest Shine During Luminary Awards
The UCF community celebrated the accomplishments of 15 exceptional faculty members at its annual Luminary Awards Night. UCF leadership lauded faculty members for being leaders in their fields and conducting work that has had a significant impact on the world. COVID-19 disrupted plans for the recognition ceremony in 2020 so UCF honored the 2020 and […]
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New Resource Makes It Easier to Find Research Collaborators Across Colleges
The Office of the Provost and the Office of Research have partnered to provide those conducting research and creative works at UCF a new resource — the Scholar Expertise Portal. The portal allows faculty and students to see what kind of research and creative works their fellow colleagues are working on. You can search by […]
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Free Lab Coat Cleaning Service Available to UCF Researchers
Beginning Wednesday, Oct. 6, faculty, students and staff who work in a research lab at UCF can say goodbye to washing their own lab coats. Those working in a lab and who have completed all their safety training will be able to walk up to one of seven kiosks, swipe their UCF ID, select a […]
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UCF Has More Than a Dozen Research Projects Aimed at Returning the U.S. to the Moon
When the U.S. returns humans to the Moon in the coming years, there’s a good chance that University of Central Florida research will have played a role in the return, whether from landing there safely, harvesting its resources, or training the next generation of space scientists. The university, known for its extensive space research, currently has […]
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Neptune Celebrates 175th Birthday, Still a Mystery Worth Solving
Students and community members got a nice view of the planet Neptune and its biggest moon Triton during one of September’s Knights Under the Stars events hosted at UCF’s Robinson Observatory. It was an early look at the planet, which today celebrates its 175th birthday. “I did a Neptune project all the way back in […]
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New Dean Named for UCF’s College of Sciences
Maggy Tomova will become the next dean of UCF’s College of Sciences on Oct. 18. She joins UCF from the University of Iowa, where she currently serves as the associate dean for the Natural, Mathematical, and Social Sciences in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Her appointment by Michael D. Johnson, interim provost and […]
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Scientists Work to Ensure Solutions to Red Tide Don’t Cause More Harm than Good
A team of experts from Florida and Massachusetts are evaluating a technique that may help eliminate the algae blooms that cause massive fish kills, stink up neighborhoods and disrupt the Florida economy. A recent large-scale experiment promises a deeper understanding of how marine life responds to a red tide mitigation technique called clay flocculation. Red […]
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Study Finds Critical Data Needed for Monitoring and Preserving Biodiversity is Missing
The world’s largest repository of raw genomic sequences from wild plants, animals and fungi is missing critical data necessary to monitor and protect the Earth’s biological diversity, according to a new study. The missing data includes the time and location the organism’s sample was collected, which is needed for monitoring the genetic diversity of populations. […]
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6 Trustee Chairs Named For 2021-2026
The University of Central Florida has many outstanding faculty members, and to continue to recruit and retain faculty who have world renown accomplishments, the UCF Trustee Chair Professorship exists. Created by former UCF President John C. Hitt in 2003, the Trustee Chair title is a prestigious one, and only held by a handful of faculty. […]
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Deadlines May Be Effective in Building Support for Climate Change Action
Human-caused climate change — including increased extreme weather and climate events — is here, according to the recently released United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2021 report, but the best way to communicate the concern is still debated. The panel’s previous report in 2018 was widely reported by media as setting a 12-year deadline […]
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UCF Awarded $800,000 Grant to Establish Center on Materials Research and Education
The U.S. National Science Foundation has awarded the University of Central Florida an $800,000 grant to help build a partnership with the University of Washington that will accelerate research in the areas of Ultrafast Dynamics and Catalysis in Emerging Materials. UCF was one of 10 universities selected across the nation for the award. The funding, […]
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Students Sought for UCF’s First Graduate Student Advisory Council
UCF is looking for students to serve on its new Graduate Student Advisory Council launching this fall. Serving on the council is an opportunity to share experiences, identify and suggest solutions to challenges unique to graduate students, and to make recommendations to the College of Graduate Studies to build a welcoming and inclusive graduate community. […]
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UCF Moon Dust Research Blasts Off Aboard Blue Origin
University of Central Florida research has blasted off on another high-profile flight with the launch of spaceflight company Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket today. The research, an experiment to study charged dust behavior in microgravity, lifted off from the company’s West Texas location aboard the rocket and past the von Karman Line for three minutes […]
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A Summer of Hands-on GIS Field Work for UCF Researchers
The Citizen Science Geographic Information Systems (GIS) team at UCF spent long days trekking through shoreline mud and sweating in coastal heat this past summer — and they couldn’t have been happier about it. The return to fieldwork follows a pandemic pause on critical shoreline mapping, which the team attempted to continue with limited success […]
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UCF is 1 of 7 Universities to Win Grant to Support NASA’s Artemis Program
UCF will be a player in developing innovative technologies needed to support NASA’s Artemis program, which will return people to the moon and create a robust presence there over the next decade. The university has been awarded a $500,000 grant to create transformative space technologies by bringing together interdisciplinary teams of faculty and students to […]
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UCF Planetary Scientists Join Star-Studded MegaCon Guest List
University of Central Florida researchers will be putting the “sci” in “sci-fi” for the MegaCon science fiction and pop culture convention Aug. 12 through 15 at the Orlando County Convention Center. With a line-up that includes guests like Star Trek’s William Shatner and George Takei, MegaCon is the Southeast’s largest comics, sci-fi, horror, anime and […]
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UCF Space Experts Work with School Teachers to Bring University Research Alive in Classrooms
When children return to school next week, students at four Central Florida schools will have new hands-on space science activities to look forward to, thanks to a collaboration with space experts at UCF. This past summer, teachers from East River High School, Wekiva High School, South Creek Middle School, and Mollie Ray Elementary spent time […]
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UCF Doctoral Scholar Named National Science Foundation Biology Fellow
The National Science Foundation has awarded UCF doctoral scholar William Beckerson one of a handful of national Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Biology. The $138,000 award is a result of his work on promising research exploring a “mind control” fungus for medical applications to treat neurological disorders. Beckerson, a molecular geneticist, is investigating Ophiocordyceps, a fungal […]
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UCF Police Officer, Professor Recognized by Secret Service
A veteran UCF Police officer and a College of Sciences professor were recently honored by the United States Secret Service for their work with the federal agency. Detective Eric Walton, a 30-year veteran with UCF Police, and Michael Sigman, a chemistry professor at UCF, were honored with a surprise presentation as a thanks for providing […]
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Surviving Earthquake Motivates UCF Grad to Make the Most of Her Life
A decade has passed since a 7.0 magnitude earthquake rocked Haiti, killing roughly 250,000 people and injuring another 300,000. Many who survived were forced to live among the aftermath in makeshift tents. Soon-to-be UCF graduate Bianka Paul was one of them. Paul, who is earning two degrees in psychology and criminal justice this semester, remembers […]
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UCF Study Finds Smaller Turtles are Nesting on Florida Beaches
A new University of Central Florida study indicates that smaller loggerhead and green sea turtles are nesting on Florida beaches than in the past; however, researchers aren’t sure why. The findings, published this month in the journal Ecosphere, give clues to the status of the turtles, which is important to researchers who are monitoring the […]
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UCF College of Sciences Researchers Join Project to Fight Animal-borne Diseases
Two University of Central Florida College of Sciences researchers have been selected by a national philanthropic foundation as research fellows to help fight the threat of animal-borne diseases. Laurene Tetard, an associate professor in UCF’s Department of Physics, and Xiaohu Xia, an assistant professor in UCF’s Department of Chemistry, were selected as fellows by the […]
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UCF College of Sciences Researchers Join Project to Fight Animal-borne Diseases
Two University of Central Florida College of Sciences researchers have been selected by a national philanthropic foundation as research fellows to help fight the threat of animal-borne diseases. Laurene Tetard, an associate professor in UCF’s Department of Physics, and Xiaohu Xia, an assistant professor in UCF’s Department of Chemistry, were selected as fellows by the […]
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UCF RESTORES Provides Mental Health Aid at Surfside Condo Collapse
While in Surfside, Florida, a first responder working the tragic collapse of the Champlain Towers South condo building approached Deborah Beidel with fine jewelry he found among the rubble. He was worried about who it belonged to and the significance it held. “With discoveries like this, you’re helping people get a part of their relative […]
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Endowed Scholarship Further Cements UCF’s Leadership Role in Gaming Industry
Thanks to a $100,000 gift from Electronic Arts (EA), an endowed scholarship was created to benefit students in the University of Central Florida’s Nicholson School of Communication and Media in the College of Sciences. One of many initiatives in a multifaceted strategy to empower students from diverse backgrounds to explore successful careers in fields of […]
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12 UCF Researchers Honored with Asteroids Named after Them
A dozen University of Central Florida space researchers were honored recently when planetary bodies were named after them. This brings the total number of current UCF researchers whose names are attached to asteroids to 19, along with another 12 former researchers. The honor comes just in time for today’s International Asteroid Day, which was started […]
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UCF Journalism Alumna Part of Pulitzer Prize-winning Team at The New York Times
A UCF graduate was part of the data collection team that helped The New York Times win the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in Public Service — the highest honor in journalism. The award was announced June 11. Bianca Fortis ’10, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from UCF’s Nicholson School of Communication and Media, […]
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UCF 25th Among Public Universities in the Nation and 60th in the World for Producing Patents
UCF ranked 25th among public universities in the nation for producing patents and 60th in the world, according to a new report released today. The National Academy of Inventors and the Intellectual Property Owners Association ranks institutions every year based on the number of patents received and filed through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. […]
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From Pet Store Employee to International Conservation Biology Research Pioneer
Roisin Stanbrook tried to ignore her love of bugs by studying computer coding her first year of college. It didn’t stick. She ended up dropping out of school and working at a pet store. But she couldn’t resist her interest in bugs, especially when she saw an ad about an opportunity to participate in a […]
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‘In Journalism You Have the Opportunity to Witness History’
UCF alumna Christal Hayes ’15, has already covered some of the most momentous events in modern American history – from the tragic mass shootings in Orlando and Las Vegas to two presidential impeachments in Washington. Hayes, who graduated from UCF with a bachelor’s degree in journalism, recently was promoted to national correspondent for USA Today, […]