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Kurdish Aspirations, Geopolitical Realities
On November 16, the Kurdish Political Studies Program (KPSP) sponsored an event about contemporary Kurdish politics in the Middle East with an audience of more than 30 people. Güneş Murat Tezcür, Ph.D., opened up the event and invited Kerstin Hamann, Ph.D., Chair of the Department of Political Science, to present the Dr. Najmaldin Karim Fellowship […]
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UCF Launches Big Data Ph.D. Program
UCF’s Department of Statistics will offer one of the only Big Data Ph.D. programs in the world beginning Fall 2018. The field of big data has recently exploded. As companies continue to collect more and more data about their customers, there is a gap to fill with an industry professional who can interpret it. Big […]
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New Zika Test is Hitting the Market
by Zenaida Kotala A new diagnostic test that can detect a Zika viral infection within 30 minutes could be headed to hospitals in the next year thanks to a partnership between the University of Central Florida and Orlando-based biotechnology startup Nano Discovery Inc. Qun Treen Huo, a faculty member at UCF’s Department of Chemistry and […]
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Another Side of Anthropology: Infants and Children
Not many anthropologists focus on infants and children when they research the past, but UCF bioarchaeologist Sandra Wheeler, Ph.D., does just that. She investigates the burial practices of ancient cultures and the archaeological contexts surrounding death and burial, creating an image of how society treated their youth and infants. She works with skeletal and mortuary […]
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Saudi Crown Prince Bets on Economy
by David Dumke, director of Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd Program This week marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of Bill Clinton’s victory over George H. W. Bush, a notable presidential election that familiarized the political world with the mantra, “It’s the economy, stupid.” Coined by Clinton’s famed political strategist James Carville, it stated the simple truth that […]
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Kids ‘Drone’ Up Interest in Citizen Science GIS
by Rachel Williams More than 350 4th-12th grade students, their teachers and parents Wednesday saw firsthand at UCF how apps, maps and drones are used in geographic information systems, an interdisciplinary field that captures, analyzes and presents geographic data in meaningful ways. Students flew mini drones over a model town to simulate how GIS professionals fly […]
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Conference Grows Interest in Plant Science
The first annual Plants Beyond Limits Conference was held Friday, Nov. 10, at the University of Central Florida. Over 200 UCF students, alumni and visitors from the greater Orlando area attended. Tickets sold out online a week before the event making turnout a success. Many attendees expressed their excitement to be a part of the […]
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Ph.D. Candidate Closing the Health Gap
Selected as a Health Policy Research Scholar, sociology Ph.D. candidate Harvey Nicholson works to close the gap in health disparities throughout the United States. Out of 295 applicants, Nicholson was one of 40 chosen to be a part of this national leadership program funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Nicholson’s research focuses on the […]
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Team Works to Understand Social Behavior
by Mark Schlueb The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has awarded a combined $12.5 million in federal contracts to two UCF research teams to develop models and massive simulations to help understand online social behavior and predict the spread of information in online social networks. DARPA awarded $6.3 million to a team led by Associate […]
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Anthropology Ph.D. Program to Launch in 2018
by Zenaida Kotala UCF will begin offering a Ph.D. program in integrative anthropological sciences next fall, but it won’t be your traditional anthropology degree. Students who enter the program will benefit from a methods-focused program that encourages them to integrate advanced methodological expertise with anthropology’s strengths in diversity to address enduring problems not just in […]
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History Reveals Future Opportunities
Thanks to the American Anthropological Association (AAA) internship program, one UCF student traveled to Washington, D.C. this past summer and experienced the vast opportunities present in the anthropology field. Karina Nogueras spent her time conducting research for the United States Navy as well as analyzing the learning objectives of various anthropology departments nationwide to make […]
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Victory at Vanderbilt
The UCF Debate team is showing off its skills and earned several awards and trophies recently. On Oct. 13, 2017, Vanderbilt University hosted its annual invitational debate tournament. Brittany Bolger, Lauren Christie, Louis Dor, Anna Jurlina, Dveen Manoogian, Ariel Olson, Ethan Smith, Joe Tracey and Ethan Uhlig collectively competed at the invitational in both the novice and junior varsity divisions. Jurlina and Smith are freshmen; Bolger, Christie, […]
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Using Vocal Cords to Unlock Human Origins
UCF undergraduate student Austin Stanley is majoring in anthropology and tackling the question of human origins at the same time. More specifically, he’s studying the vocal capabilities of homo heidelbergensis, a more direct human ancestor than Neanderthals, to get a broader sense on when spoken language of humans began. This can be determined through looking […]
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New Finding Sheds More Light on Zombie Ants
Charissa de Bekker, Ph.D., an assistant professor in biology, came to UCF earlier this year to continue her research on a fungal parasite that infects ants, hijacks their brains and controls their behavior to spread its fungal spores – a phenomenon that’s led to those infected being called “zombie ants.” Throughout her career, she’s found […]
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Uncovering History Through Undergraduate Research
Most college students think of beach days and bathing suits when they hear they’re going to visit the East Coast for the summer. Current UCF senior Alexandra Kulenguski headed to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to spend her break working as an Archaeology and Digital Heritage Technician, instead of soaking up the sun beach-side. This […]
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Alumna’s Community Involvement Leaves Impact
Chelsea Daley is passionate about her community. Daley graduated from UCF with a bachelor’s degree in political science and government in 2015, and now works as an email marketer at the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C. She stays connected to the UCF community through the D.C. AlumKnights chapter and uses the skills she […]
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Anthropologist Wins Prestigious Book Award
Associate professor of anthropology, Joanna Mishtal, Ph.D., has won an award for her book, The Politics of Morality: The Church, the State and Reproductive Rights in Postsocialist Poland. Mishtal’s book was selected as the winner of the Adele E. Clarke Book Award. The award honors Mishtal’s extensive research into the politics of gender, reproductive rights, […]
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Making Puppies Popular for Abuse Victims
November’s Outstanding AlumKnight Jessie Holton, Ed.D., has spent his life giving back to the community. A United States Marine Corps veteran, Holton now works in Brevard County’s Special Victims Unit as a major crimes investigator. He pairs this with continued research at UCF, working to understand the needs of his community and creating programs to […]
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Student Published in the Washington Post
Peyman Asadzade, UCF student pursuing a doctorate degree in security studies, recently published a blog post in the Washington Post’s Monkey Cage, which is a leading political blog with national exposure. His piece focused on public opinion and Iran’s involvement in the Syrian civil war. It discusses Iranian public response to Iran’s growing military presence […]
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International Observe the Moon Night
By Barb Abney An event for lunar observers is planned Oct. 29 at UCF’s Knights Plaza with telescopes, a mining robot and other activities. The event, organized by the UCF physics department, Robinson Observatory and student organizations including the Astronomy Society, is being held as part of the worldwide celebration of lunar science and exploration. […]
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Professor Advises NATO for the Summer
For the second consecutive year, Associate Professor Eric Merriam (joint appointment to the Political Science and Legal Studies departments) served as a legal advisor this summer to the International Military Committee at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. Serving as an active duty judge advocate for the Air Force for 14 […]
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NFL Star Breaks Mental Health Stigma
by Jenna Marina Lee The day that NFL star wide receiver and UCF alumnus Brandon Marshall ’06 went public with his borderline personality disorder diagnosis in 2011, his wife, Michi Marshall ’06, remembers turning to him and saying that his diagnosis was going to help someone. They knew immediately they needed to organize and mobilize […]
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Physics Takes a Student to France
UCF Physics’ Ph.D. student Chi Hong (Isaac) Yuen received a Chateaubriand fellowship to pursue research in France. He is spending eight months overseas to study the destruction of carbon dioxide molecules and the formation of the ozone molecule in collaboration with the Ecole Centrale de Paris, the University of Le Havre and the University of […]
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Math Professor Solves Real-World Problems
by Barbara Abney Whoever said studying mathematics has no practical application, doesn’t know UCF math Professor Alexander Katsevich. Katsevich has liked math since an early age, and in 2001 he developed a breakthrough algorithm, which efficiently and accurately processes the data collected from high-speed computed tomography scanners and translates them into clear 3-D images. The […]
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Two Professors Honored as Fellows of the American Physical Society
Two UCF Department of Physics professors have been selected as Fellows of the American Physical Society. Election to the Fellowship in the APS is limited to no more than one-half of one percent of the membership. The criterion for election is exceptional contributions to the physics enterprise; e.g., outstanding physics research, important applications of physics, […]
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14 Faculty Awarded for International Impact
UCF recognized 45 faculty members Wednesday during the university’s inaugural Luminary Award presentations for making an impact on the world. Fourteen of the recipients are College of Sciences faculty members. The event, themed like Oscar night, honored those who are academic leaders in their field and are making contributions to the world that are having […]
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Never Hug an Orangutan
UCF alumnus Paulo Maurin, Ph.D., shares tales of adventure in his newly-published book “The Hugging Orangutan Chase: Narrative of encounters with animals and people across the Hawaiian and Indonesian Archipelagos.” Maurin currently works for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coral Reef Conservation program in Hawaii. During his first seven years, Maurin participated in […]
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Alumna Analyzes Drugs to Solve Crime
After completing a bachelor’s degree in forensic science with a minor in chemistry from UCF, Danielle Ostrow now identifies and analyzes controlled substances as part of her job as a forensic chemist at the Pinellas County Forensic Laboratory. Ostrow built the foundation in identifying and analyzing controlled substances and gained valuable skills for her career […]
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UCF Space Program Honored at Center Field
UCF has a strong connection to space. At Spectrum Stadium, Physics Professor Joshua Colwell was honored at the UCF Homecoming football game. He has ongoing research with commercial space companies and NASA, including the historic Cassini mission to explore Saturn. Assistant Professor Adrienne Dove, also joined him on the field. She was honored with NASA’s Susan […]
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College of Sciences Celebrates Scholarships
On Oct. 12, 2017, the College of Sciences celebrated scholarship recipients and donors at the annual Scholarship Luncheon at the Live Oak Event Center. The luncheon serves as a place for students to meet the donors that make their scholarships possible, and for the donors, a chance to see how their scholarships make a difference. […]