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A Man Named Qusai
UCF graduate turned international hip-hop star pays a visit to his alma mater before House of Blues concert. By Sam Schiffer I walked into the UCF Fairwinds Alumni Center Wednesday evening expecting to hear an up-and-coming rapper talk about his time at the university. I walked out knowing an artist that sought to make a […]
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Anthropology Student Focuses on Sustainability
What if you could spend the summer reading books by the beach in San Diego? That’s what Sarah Davenport did. But that’s not all. Davenport is majoring in anthropology and her research conducted as an undergrad is already getting attention. She focuses on sustainability – but not just the environment kind. Working with an environmental […]
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Knight Life: The UCF Turtle Team
It’s 9:30 p.m., the sun is down, and your shift is about to start. You put on your long pants, long-sleeved shirt, bug jacket and fanny pack with your nightly turtle kit. Out on the beach in Brevard County, in the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge, you’re starting your search for nesting female sea turtles. […]
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Student Zooms With NASCAR This Summer
You might see Monica Matias’ powerful serve on the tennis court, but this summer she was driving around Daytona International Speedway. Matias, a Puerto Rico native who was recruited to play tennis at UCF, spent her summer rubbing shoulders with policy makers. The rising senior Human Communications major landed a position as a public affairs […]
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Student’s Fantasy Work Becomes Reality
by Gene Kruckemyer UCF senior Branden Hall hopes that one day Zeek St. Cloud finds his true purpose in life – but he knows that’s going to take thousands of years. Hall, who is majoring in creative writing and advertising/public relations, and his brother Horacio are enabling Zeek on his journey, and recently received an […]
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COSmic Knight Exposes Injustice
This week’s COSmic Knight aspires to do work that really matters to people. With a double major in political science and journalism, Sam Schiffer is a force to be reckoned with. His interest in how government operates began in his high school career. He was excelling in government and civics classes when he realized the importance of understanding government dictates the […]
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Ph.D. Student Makes Major Changes
William Volante, Ph.D. student, has been at UCF for seven years, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t finished. In fact, he’s just begun. Volante is from Gainesville, and out of high school was interested in engineering. Despite having a large state university in his own backyard, he wanted to go to UCF. He began his […]
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Faculty Leave the Knights to Tackle Tigers
The UCF College of Sciences is proudly sending off two faculty this fall – Chris Parkinson, Ph.D., and Cynthia Young, Ph.D. Parkinson is a professor of biology and founding director of the Faculty Cluster Initiative. He’s known among students for the Parkinson Lab, where students studied venomous snakes, lizards, marine turtles and small mammals. Parkinson […]
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Knight Charges On to Graduation Despite Cancer Diagnosis
By Rachel Williams At 63 years old and after years of hard work, Cherie Carr had finally achieved her goal of earning a bachelor’s degree. She couldn’t wait to walk the stage at graduation. Then, everything changed. In the hospital three weeks ago for splitting headaches, shortness of breath and stomach pain, Carr got news […]
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Introducing 13 New Ph.D. Graduates
In a reception hosted by Dean Michael Johnson, Ph.D., the College of Sciences celebrated its new Ph.D. graduates in the Physical Sciences building. Thirteen students were recognized with family members and faculty advisors by their side. Associate Dean Teresa Dorman, Ph.D., honored each student by presenting their research and dissertation. A champagne toast followed to celebrate the students’ […]
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He Did it Again: Chang Breaks Record of Fastest Light Pulse
by Mark Schleub A research team at the University of Central Florida has demonstrated the fastest light pulse ever developed, a 53-attosecond X-ray flash. The group led by Professor Zenghu Chang beat its own record set in 2012: a 67-attosecond extreme ultraviolet light pulse that was the fastest at the time. At one-quintillionth of a […]
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COSmic Knight Took a Risk That Paid $5K
Funding your college career may be difficult, but Cristobal Reyes-Rios took a chance that won himself a scholarship. With a double major in journalism and political science, Reyes has a lot on his plate. He became interested in journalism in ninth grade when he took a journalism class and showed promise in news writing. He […]
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A View From Capitol Hill
University of Central Florida Political Science alumnus David Feinman shows that taking a chance can really pay off. Feinman graduated from UCF in 2011 but his experience was far from the norm. Most students work while in school but not many have had the opportunity to work out of state while getting their degree. Feinman […]
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UCF Alumnus Soars in Career and Life
The University of Central Florida produced great minds far before it was dubbed UCF. When the school started as Florida Technological University, it was mainly STEM-focused and produced professionals to work for science-based companies such as NASA. One such professional initially came across the country to attend FTU. Outstanding AlumKnight Scott Fouse ’76, originally chose […]
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Alumna Takes Conservation Studies Across the Pond
From the Everglades to the Florida panther, it’s no secret that Florida is home to many endangered ecosystems and animals. Conservation is a huge topic of conversation as it impacts the lives of most Floridians and researchers daily. For one University of Central Florida alumna, Florida piqued her interest in zoology and wildlife conservation and […]
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Real Science
The Biology Summer Field Institute isn’t a field trip into the woods. For the week of July 17, rising high school juniors and seniors become real scientists. Led by Jennifer Elliott, Assistant Director of the UCF Arboretum, students were broken up into four groups: wetlands health assessment, forest ecology, vegetation monitoring, and gopher tortoise studies. […]
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Video Games Takes Student to South Korea
This COSmic Knight took an opportunity that landed him halfway across the globe. Radio and television major, Justin Wilson, got his big breakthrough playing video games. He played video games professionally while at UCF from 2010-2012 and frequently participated in tournaments and competitions. In 2012, he retired from playing professionally but kept up with the […]
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UCF Alumnus Rocks the Restaurant Business
Kris ‘Po’ Maronpot is warm and welcoming. He knows how to treat people, and after working in the restaurant business for over 20 years, it comes naturally. Maronpot graduated from UCF in 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. At the time, he chose UCF for the great scholarships he received and the fact that […]
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Stabilizing the Shoreline an Oyster at a Time
Linda Walters, Ph.D., and Melinda Donnelly, Ph.D. work together to stabilize Florida’s estuarine shorelines that have severely eroded due to storms and boat wakes. Since 2007 the duo’s work has restored 82 reefs and stabilized over 2000 meters of shoreline. Without volunteers and grants from various organizations, their work wouldn’t be possible. In early July, […]
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Team Receives Grant to Explore Photon Funnels
By Zenaida Kotala The National Science Foundation has awarded a UCF-led team $400,049 to develop new devices for concentrating and controlling light called “photon funnels.” Concentrating light is used in a variety of electronics and machines people have come to depend on, from computers and cell phones to fiber optics and sensors that detect toxic […]
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Ph.D. Student Finds Gene Linked to Depression Risk
By Rachel Williams A University of Central Florida study has found that a gene variant, thought to be carried by nearly 25 percent of the population, increases the odds of developing depression. People with apolipoprotein-E4, called ApoE4 for short, have a 20 percent greater chance of developing clinically significant depressive symptoms later in life compared […]
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10 Alumni Honored With 30 Under 30 Award
The 2017 University of Central Florida Alumni 30 under 30 class has been announced. These young professionals were chosen due to their outstanding contributions to the community and UCF alike. These alumni still live their lives by the UCF creed and exemplify excellence in either professional success, community involvement or university impact. The 30 Under […]
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Using Data to Tell a Story
The world is changing every day. We have more data than ever to tell us about people and explain incredible phenomena. For two University of Central Florida alumnae, data is being used to change the world for the better. Sara S. Vega, Ph.D. (left) and Jenny Nguyen (right), Ph.D., both graduated from UCF in May […]
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Citizen Science GIS Team Awarded for Spatial Storytelling
By Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala Esri, a leader in spatial analytics, recognized a team from the University of Central Florida with its Special Achievement in GIS Award during the annual Esri User Conference last week. Citizen Science GIS, a collaborative effort led by UCF geographic information system Assistant Professor Tim Hawthorne, was among the 180 selected […]
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Can Robots Keep You Young?
By Gene Kruckemyer None of us is getting any younger, and for that reason alone researchers of an interdisciplinary project at UCF want to introduce some of us to the benefits of robots – but maybe not in the way you expect. These aren’t robots to take out the garbage or play chess. Instead, they […]
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COSmic Knight Gianna Mascaro is in Tune with her Passions
Gianna Mascaro’s ear for music blossomed on long car rides with her parents listening to Fleetwood Mac and The Rolling Stones. Since then, the ambitious digital news journalism major has joined numerous organizations to continue her career. She worked for Knight News as an entertainment writer, where she met new connections, experienced events and fine-tuned […]
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Student Finds UCF Connection in Texas
By Jenna Marina Nearly four years ago, UCF alumna Shelby Shankin ’13 found herself in Austin, Texas, for the first time in her life to work on mega festival South by Southwest. Justin Tejada is a current first-generation student majoring in advertising-public relations and minoring in political science. He has made it his mission to […]
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From Victimhood to Empowerment
The already highly precarious existence of Yazidi Kurds, a religious minority with long history of persecution, in Iraq took an ominous turn with the rise of the self-styled Islamic State in the summer of 2014. The IS assault against the Yazidi communities in the Sinjar area located in northwestern Iraq in August 2014 led to […]
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Healing Powers of Fire Cider
On Friday, July 7, the University of Central Florida Arboretum held a workshop enlightening people on the benefits of fire cider. Fire cider is a mixture of simple, natural ingredients that is fermented for at least a month to create an antibiotic drink. It can be consumed straight or added to food and drinks. The ingredients […]
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Arc Partnership Empowers Special Needs Community
By Zenaida Kotala A group of conservation biologists and a non-profit agency that advocates for individuals with special needs are partnering to help keep local waterways healthy. UCF Biologist Linda Walters, whose research and volunteer efforts help restore eroding shoreline and oyster habitats along the Mosquito Lagoon, is teaming up with The Arc of Indian […]