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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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Physics Post-Doc Lands First-of-its-Kind Fellowship For UCF
Research bringing quantum computers closer to reality recently landed a new Department of Physics graduate a Mathematical and Physics Ascending Postdoctoral Research Fellowship — a first for UCF. Justin Reyes, Ph.D ’20, received the maximum funding award through the U.S. National Science Foundation to support three years of post-doctoral research. The MPS-Ascend fellowship broadens the […]
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Alumnus-Developed App Improves Communications, Eases Anxiety During Hospital Stays
The long, anxious wait for news about the outcome of a loved one’s surgery just got a little shorter thanks to the ingenuity of a UCF alumnus. The “Ease” app, short for “Electronic Access to Surgical Events,” allows clinicians to send secure texts, photos and video updates to patients’ families in real time during a […]
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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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Paper Gains Doctoral Student Second Place Award From Innovations in Nuclear Technology R&D Awards
Chemistry doctoral student Jordan Stanberry recently received second place in the Innovations in Nuclear Technology R&D Awards, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Fuel and Supply Chain. The award is linked to his research paper “Oxidative Dissolution of TcO2 by Mn(III) Minerals under Anaerobic Conditions: Implications on Technetium-99 Remediation,” published in […]
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Book Profiling Early Botanist Takes Spotlight in New Smithsonian Magazine
The biography of a little-known French botanist is bringing UCF to the pages of the prestigious Smithsonian Magazine. Biology Professor Emeritus Walter Taylor, Ph.D., along with Charlie Williams, retired librarian of Charlotte, North Carolina, and Eliane Norman, professor emerita at Stetson University, published “André Michaux in North America: Journals and Letters, 1785-1797” in March 2020 […]
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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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Alumnae Launch Podcast to Provide Insight, Perspective on “Twenty-Something” Life
Two UCF alumnae are using their voice to highlight the successes and struggles of being in your 20s with their podcast, “Twenty & Trying.” Charlotte Trattner ’20 came up with the idea of creating a podcast when the pandemic first started. Inspired by the book “Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter And How To Make […]
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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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Summer 2021 Graduates Head Out With New College of Sciences Degrees
UCF’S newest College of Sciences graduates crossed the stage Saturday at Summer 2021 Commencement. Among them was Nahla Turner, a psychology graduate who not only battled pandemic challenges in 2020, but a cancer diagnosis. A clean bill of health in October 2020 brought her to Saturday’s academic finish line and a new starting line pursuing […]
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Congratulations to the Summer 2021 Doctoral Graduates
Biology Jordan Dowell, Ph.D., faculty advisor, Chase Mason, Ph.D. and Pedro Quintana-Ascencio, Ph.D. Dissertation: “Genetics and Evolution of Specialized Metabolism In Wild and Cultivated Helianthus.” Christopher Long, Ph.D., faculty advisor, Katherine Mansfield, Ph.D. Dissertation: “Long-Term Changes in Juvenile Green Turtle Abundance and Foraging Ecology in the Indian River Lagoon, Florida.” Chemistry Sajia Afrin, Ph.D., faculty […]
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Radioactive Contaminant Research Receives Boost from American Chemical Society
New research on radioactive iodine has received the American Chemical Society Award in Environmental Chemistry. Ilana Szlamkowicz recently received the award for her research in the fate of iodine, a radioactive contaminant that results from nuclear fission in the environment. “We’re trying to find ways to lower the risk of people encountering radioactive iodine,” Szlamkowicz […]
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Study of Medieval Migration Moves Forward with NSF Grant
A deep dive into the evolution of Christianity in medieval France will continue unabated thanks to a new NSF Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant. The $19,986 grant funds the work of bioarchaeology student Jane Holmstrom, whose research centers on two cemeteries in the remnants of Saint-Jean-de-Todon, near Laudun, France. Holmstrom’s research to date is built […]
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Study: UCF Tops Production of Ergonomics and Human Factors Research Papers
The University of Central Florida and five of its researchers produced the most articles in the world on the topic of ergonomics and human factors over an 18-year span, according to a new study. The study, published July 20, 2021 in the International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics, examines the volume of research produced […]
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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 Researchers Create Global Storm Surge Database
Storm surges can be deadly coastal hazards but the current historical tide gauge data that is needed to better understand them, and perhaps predict their impacts, doesn’t go far back enough in time. That’s why University of Central Florida researchers are working to reconstruct the missing data and compile the information in a newly created […]
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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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Fellowship Fuels Future Forage Fish Research
An ongoing study into the intricate food webs of Florida’s coastal environments recently received a boost from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). The $15,000 fellowship was awarded to Biology graduate student Kira Allen, who is writing a thesis on the impact of freshwater diversion and sea level rise on Apalachicola Bay. […]
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Digital Media Student Raises Mental Illness Awareness Through Video Game
A video game developer is drawing awareness to mental illness and sexual assault by incorporating them into her video games. Digital Media student Emilia Hernandez has participated in three video game creation competitions where her projects focused on meaningful and serious topics, including sexual assault and depression. “I think it’s important to discuss mental health […]
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Virtual UCF Arboretum Expands Offerings For Digital Game Designers
The Virtual UCF Arboretum continues to expand its reach and impact, with the recent launch of a new library of 70 photorealistic plants for use in augmented and virtual reality. The free-to-use content pack of 3D plants on the Epic Games Unreal Engine Marketplace follows last year’s $25,000 Epic Megagrant from the same game maker, […]
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Overseas Deployment Adds To Ph.D. Candidate’s Security Studies Experience
By TAD SCHNAUFER During the summer, many students undertake internships to gain hands-on experience in their respective fields. For Tad Schnaufer, a Security Studies doctoral candidate in the School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs, his summer experience came from his service as a captain in the Florida Army National Guard. He currently serves as […]
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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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India Center Welcomes New Director of Public Affairs
The India Center has witnessed exciting changes just this past month, and is delighted to introduce Leila Chacko, the India Center’s Director of Public Affairs. Leila is the India Center’s first full-time staff member and you can find her in the India Center’s new office (Chemistry 117). An Orlando native and licensed attorney, Leila brings […]
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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 […]