“America’s Next Top Model” features UCF student

Nicole Lucas, a UCF psychology student, is one of the contestants competing in the new season of “America’s Next Top Model,” which returns to The CW network on Feb. 23. She will be among the 14 ladies competing for a contract with IMG Models, a fashion spread in Vogue Italia, a cover of Beauty in […]

Physics hosts space conference

The Physics Department, in partnership with UCF, is sponsoring the 2011 Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference from Feb. 28 to March 2. About 400 scientists, engineers, and educators from around the world will be listening to leaders of commercial and public institutions talk about a new generation of space vehicles capable of economically delivering payloads, experiments […]

COS students wins miss UCF

Jacqueline Boehme, a senior molecular and microbiology major, was awarded the 27th annual Miss UCF crown. She will receive $1,600 in scholarships and will compete for the title of Miss Florida in July. Should Boehme win the state title she will go on to compete for Miss America. In August last year, 90 women auditioned […]

Sociology professor leads grant from U.S. Dept. of Agriculture

Dr. Fernando Rivera was awarded a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture. He will lead the Sociology component of a two year grant with two UCF faculty members from the department of Public Administration. The trio will study how risk and vulnerabilities can be managed by identifying factors influencing community capacity and resilience […]

Debate team back, ceremony celebrating UCF’s first team Friday

Four decades ago, when the University of Central Florida was known as Florida Technological University, the school was nationally known in the world of debate, competing against the likes of Harvard and Northwestern. After years of inactivity, UCF Debate is back, thanks to Nicholson School of Communication Instructor Sydne Kasle. Kasle began restoring the program […]

Anthropology professor captures video in Cairo

Anthropology professor Amanda Groff visited Egypt to spend a month researching an ancient Christian cemetery that is south of Cairo. After finishing their work, Groff and a colleague traveled north to visit Alexandria and the country’s capital. When they arrived, though, residents warned them about the impending conflict. Groff was interviewed by the Orlando Sentinel […]

COS February newsletter

View the College of Sciences newsletter for the month of February by clicking here.

Stephen J. DeCanio visits UCF Feb. 7

Through the Distinguished Speakers series, the College of Sciences is bringing Stephen J. DeCanio to UCF on February 7. DeCanio will speak at 1:30 p.m. in room 117 in the Teaching Academy. His talk is titled “Game Theory and Climate Diplomacy.” The discussion will cover the lack of progress in reaching an international agreement to […]

Chemistry and biology students release research

One professor and a duo of UCF students are helping research new ways to battle cancer. College of Medicine professor Otto Phanstiel, doctorate of chemistry student Aaron Muth and undergraduate biology major Joseph Kamel presented their research at the most recent American Chemical Society regional meeting in New Orleans. The team’s research was on polyamines, […]

Communication student raises money through racing

A win on the track for one UCF student could help gain in the search for a muscular dystrophy cure. Shea Holbrook, a junior communications major, combines her professional racing career with fundraising for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, the only fatal form of muscular dystrophy. “My goal is to be like Danica Patrick,” Holbrook said. “If […]

Anthropology alumnus awarded for altruism

An act of altruism earned a Knight alumnus token of high honor from the UCF Police Department on Jan. 20. On January 19, anthropology graduate Matt Newton noticed an abandoned wallet and cell phone in the downstairs men’s restroom of Howard Phillips Hall. Newton said he glanced around for the owner but didn’t see anyone. […]

Nicholson alumni hits Washington

Bianca Fortis, a 2010 Nicholson School of Communication journalism graduate, is the newest enrollee in the Scripps Howard Semester in Washington program. Through this prestigious internship, she will be writing for the Hispanic Link New Service, which focuses on the national Hispanic community. “Basically, we take any story and find a Hispanic angle on it,” […]

Stopping the spread of cholera through water tests

A complex sugar may someday become one of the most effective weapons to stop the spread of cholera, a disease that has claimed thousands of lives in Haiti since the devastating earthquake last year. A technique developed by University of Central Florida scientists would allow relief workers to test water sources that could be contaminated […]

UCF researchers join elite schools in national ranking

It is hard not to notice all of the research happening at UCF. People outside of the university will now know what many students, professors and alumni already do – UCF is a top school for research. The Carnegie Foundation for Teaching and Learning listed UCF among the nation’s top research institutions in an analysis […]

Military expert to speak at UCF

Bernard Finel will visit the University of Central Florida on Tuesday, Jan. 18 to speak on global terrorism. His presentation, “Are We Winning? Measuring Progress in the Struggle Against Terrorism,” will start at 3 p.m. in the Key West Ballroom of the Student Union and is free and open to the public. Finel is considered […]

Professor awarded for contributions to science

A UCF professor has been named a fellow by one of the world’s largest and most prestigious scientific societies. Charles H. Reilly, an industrial engineering professor, is the sixth UCF College of Engineering and Computer Science professor in two years to earn the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s recognition for scientifically or socially […]

Q & A with award winning professor

Dr. Kimberly Wilmot Voss, an assistant professor of Journalism in the Nicholson School of Communication, received two awards at the American Journalism Historians Association Convention in Tucson, Ariz. “Food Journalism or Culinary Anthropology? Re-evaluating Soft News and the Influence of Jeanne Voltz’s Food Section in the Los Angeles Times” received the David Sloan Award for […]

Political Science chair featured in Orlando Sentinel

Dr. Roger Handberg was recently featured in an article for the Orlando Sentinel. The article reads, “The clouds are darkest over the Space Coast, as the U.S. space agency and its private subcontractors continue to shed thousands of shuttle-related jobs in Brevard County. The losses, which began last year, are rippling through the local economy, from […]

$3.5 million psychology grant

Deborah C. Beidel, Professor and Director, Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology at UCF, has received a 3.5 million dollar grant to treat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan war. Beidel will conduct research for three years examining a treatment known as trauma management therapy. “This is a groundbreaking project that will […]

You could win $30,000 this semester

The Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Barry S. Miller College of Business directed by Dr. Cameron Ford is hosting business competitions in the spring semester with rewards worth over $30,000. The competition is open to all UCF students. The CEI will offer free coaching sessions and online help to participants. The competitions include […]

Chemistry professors receive US Department of Energy grant

The United States Department of Energy awarded chemistry professors Andres Campiglia and Eloy Hernandez with a grant of over $500,000 for a three year period. The grant proposal targets a critical element of the Environmental Remediation Science Program research portfolio, which is the development of enabling scientific tools for characterizing the spatial and temporal evolution of […]

UCF among top 40 best values

The University of Central Florida provides one of the nation’s best values in education, according to a Kiplinger’s report published today. UCF now ranks 33rd, advancing three spots from its 2010 position on the magazine’s annual 100-school list of best-value U.S. public colleges and universities. UCF has advanced 12 spots in just two years. The […]

Henry Schaefer visits UCF on Jan. 14

Through the Distinguished Speakers series, the College of Sciences is bringing Henry F. “Fritz” Schaefer, III to UCF on January 14. Schaefer will speak at 4:30 p.m. in HEC 125. His talk is titled “The Third Age of Quantum Chemistry.” He will discuss how quantum chemistry became reliable for the prediction of new chemistry. Schaefer will also provide examples […]

Political Science professor develops inspiring program

The Civics Connection: Conversations with Congress was developed by the institute and the United States Association of Former Members of Congress for high school and college-level American government courses. The video interviews also are accessible to anyone who would like to hear insider perspectives on how policies are developed and how the business of government […]

PhD student wins scholarship to study jaguars

Joe Figel, a UCF PhD candidate studying conservation biology, won a prestigious scholarship from the Wild Felid Research and Management Association to study jaguars. Figel will study jaguar ecology in fragmented Neotropical landscapes, with an emphasis on corridor design in agricultural areas. The goal of the study is to provide insight into how unprotected lands […]

VIDEO: UCF scientists use new LIDAR sensing system to explore ancient Maya city in Belize

Students picked for Dow Jones News Fund internship

Four University of Central Florida journalism students will intern for one of the nation’s most prestigious media groups this summer. Michelle Dendy, Chelsy Tracz, Jessica Gillespie and Justin Sanak, who are also members of UCF’s Society of Professional Journalists chapter, were selected for the Dow Jones News Fund Summer Internship programs. Dendy will work on […]

UCF prepares students for “green” jobs

The U.S. Department of Energy has cast a national spotlight on UCF’s efforts to conserve energy and prepare students for “green” jobs. An article published on the federal agency’s website features UCF’s Energy Specialist program and a unique partnership between UCF and Orange County’s Central Florida Energy Efficiency Alliance (CFEEA). During 12 weeks of training, […]

Millican remembered at memorial service

Late founding president of the University of Central Florida, Charles N. Millican, was remembered today at his 10 a.m. memorial service in the Pegasus Ballroom of the student union. The service was pre-planned by Millican who chose the prayers, music and location. Friends said he planned the service to the very last detail, including his […]

Research from UCF professor published in Nature

A peculiar gas-giant planet orbiting a sun-like star 1200 light-years away is the first carbon-rich world ever observed. The implications are big for planetary chemistry, because without much oxygen, common rocks throughout the planet would be made of pure carbon, in forms such as diamonds or graphite. “On most planets, oxygen is abundant. It makes […]