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Inspiring Women in STEM
Story by Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala, UCF Today Julie Delauriers squarely blames UCF Biology professor Linda Walters for where she is in her career today – attending one of the best veterinary schools in the nation. “She is such an inspiration,” Delauriers said from Purdue University. “She kept encouraging me, pushing me to do science research. […]
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Psychology Students Receive UCF Summer Fellowships
Four incoming UCF Psychology Department graduate students received awards from the UCF Summer Mentoring Fellowship Program. The campus-wide competitive fellowship program provides funding support from the College of Graduate Studies for underrepresented students to complete summer research projects before they begin graduate school. The four recipients included incoming Applied Experimental and Human Factors doctoral students Lindsay […]
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Chemistry Welcomes Chair
This summer Cherie Yestrebsky, Ph.D., was named the chair of the UCF Chemistry Department. Dr. Yestrebsky has been serving as interim chair of the department since November of 2014, prior to her long-term appointment in June 2016. Before coming to UCF, Dr. Yestrebsky earned her doctorate in chemistry from the University of South Florida. She […]
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Chemistry Student Researches Gene Expression
UCF Chemistry Department senior Monica Cortez recently returned to the sunshine state from 11 weeks in North Carolina. Cortez spent the summer working full-time in a biophysics laboratory perfecting a tool that can be used to control biological processes on a nuclear level. Cortez was one of 12 students from across the United States that […]
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UCF Scientists Investigate Restoration Efforts
Story by Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala, UCF Today A scientific answer to a challenge such as water pollution is only part of a long-term solution. For example, science may provide a way to clean water, but keeping it clean usually relies on identifying underlying causes and making a long-term impact on human behavior. A team of UCF […]
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Physics Student Wins with Research
UCF Physics doctoral student Jenna Crowell was the winner of the best student poster award at the Asia Oceania Geosciences Society (AOGS) annual meeting this summer. Supported by NASA’s Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI), Crowell attended the annual meeting in Beijing, China from July 31- August 5. Her presented poster won the top […]
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Ordinary People, Extraordinary Risks
Güneş Murat Tezcür, Ph.D., the Jalal Talabani Endowed Chair of Kurdish Political Studies in the UCF Department of Political Science, recently published an innovative article in the flagship journal of the American Political Science Association. Under what conditions does an individual willingly risk his or her life for a political cause? Dr. Tezcür explains that […]
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Professorial Fellow Appointment
UCF Psychology faculty member Mindy Shoss, Ph.D., has been named a Professorial Fellow at the Centre for Sustainable Human Resource Management and Wellbeing at Australian Catholic University (ACU). In addition to her appointment, she has been invited to be a keynote speaker at the International Research Symposium on Social Identity in the Workplace and Employee […]
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A Professor’s Passion for Political Science
“When the media kept repeating the line about terrorists ‘hating us for our freedom’ during the run-up to the [Iraq War 2003], I remember thinking ‘Is that really true?’” This was the pivotal question that prompted UCF Political Science professor, Andrew Boutton, Ph.D., to pursue his interests in the field of political science. Originally from central […]
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Civics Teaching Certificate
The UCF Department of Political Science has teamed up with the School of Teaching, Learning and Leadership to offer a certificate in civics teaching. The certificate, administered through the Lou Frey Institute of Politics and Government, is comprised of a four course program designed to develop expertise in civics content, pedagogy and assessment. The certificate […]
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Psychology Appoints Chair
Clint Bowers, Ph.D., has been appointed as interim chair of the UCF Psychology Department. Although this is a new role for Dr. Bowers, UCF is not new to him. For more than 20 years Dr. Bowers has worked at UCF, serving in positions throughout the university. With a passion for technology, Dr. Bowers oversees the […]
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Security Studies Students Impress at CENTCOM
Several students and faculty from the UCF Security Studies Ph.D. program visited the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) in Tampa to present their research on August 11, 2016. CENTCOM personnel expressed interest in the students’ research, providing positive feedback and discussing collaboration on future events. UCF security studies doctoral student Chelsea Faherty works full time at […]
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GIS to Offer Certificate
Beginning this fall, UCF will offer a new Graduate Certificate in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). This new GIS certificate will provide students with the interdisciplinary background in the geography and the technical skills in the application of GIS through a 4 course, 12 credit hour load. The certificate will not only enhance students’ ability to understand, […]
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Back from Belize, Changed
“Back from Belize, Changed.” This is the shared sentiment of ten University of Central Florida students who traveled to Belize this summer as a part of the UCF Geographic Information Systems’ Belize study abroad experience from May 30 – June 10, 2016. UCF Citizen Science GIS is a collaborative, academic initiative that works in community-university […]
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Professor Honored at Embassy of Kazakhstan
Houman Sadri, Ph.D., associate professor of Political Science at UCF, received a medal dedicated to the 20th Anniversary of the Assembly of People of Kazakhstan. Dr. Sadri, accompanied by his son Arman, received the medal at the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Washington, D.C. on August 4, 2016. The Embassy of Kazakhstan awarded Dr. Sadri with […]
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NCFS DARTs for Fast Forensics
Forensic scientists, scholars and students gathered at UCF’s National Center for Forensic Science (NCFS) for ‘DART Day’ on Friday, August 5. Direct analysis in real time – mass spectrometry, or DART-MS is an instrument that can analyze or screen any unknown gas, liquid, or solid sample within 5-10 seconds. NCFS and UCF Chemistry Professor Candice Bridge, […]
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Fighting Inequality with GIS
Representing the UCF Department of Sociology is Yingru Li, Ph.D., an assistant professor in Geographical Information Systems (GIS). With a family background deeply rooted in geography, it was no surprise that Dr. Li went to pursue her master’s degree in GIS and Ph.D. in Geography. “My father is a geologist,” explained Dr. Li. “When I was […]
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For the Love of Halley’s Comet
The beauty of Halley’s Comet streaking through the night sky in 1986 is responsible for launching Yan Fernandez, Ph.D.’s, career, which next month puts him smack in the middle of a historic NASA mission to explore a nearby asteroid. The University of Central Florida associate professor of physics is one of the scientists working on the […]
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Summer Grads Celebrate with COS
It’s that time of the year again! The College of Sciences and its academic departments and school hosted their traditional graduation reception for the Summer 2016 graduates. On Saturday, August 6, COS over 600 graduates walked across the commencement stage to receive their diplomas. Graduates and their family and faculty were then welcomed into the UCF Psychology […]
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Political Science Junior Law School Bound
In just a few weeks, Rodney Ulysse is heading to the Florida State University (FSU) College of Law. He will be the only University of Central Florida (UCF) senior and first-year FSU law student in his class. The UCF Political Science major was admitted through FSU’s highly competitive 3+3 program. It provides qualifying students from […]
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Outstanding Physics AlumKnight
UCF Physics alumnus Howard Bender, Ph.D., ’98, has stayed connected to his alma mater in more ways than one. Most recently he was recognized as a 2016 College of Sciences Outstanding AlumKnight as well as founded an endowed scholarship in the UCF College of Nursing. Dr. Bender graduated from UCF in 1998 with a doctorate […]
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Physics Faculty Lead Conference
UCF Physics professor Daniel Britt, Ph.D., who was recently selected to take part in the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) New Horizons extended mission, continues to make waves in the world of physics. Most recently, he assisted in organizing the International Conference on the Exploration of Phobos and Deimos hosted by NASA […]
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Big Win for Ad/PR Alumnus
Story by Tommiea Jackson, Nicholson News Washington, D.C. is more than 850 miles away, but it isn’t too far for a Knight to travel to make his or her presence known. Steven Torres, ’16, a 2016 College of Sciences advertising-public relations graduate, traveled to the nation’s capital in June and brought home the top prize. […]
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NSC Partners with Latin American Studies
Story by Tommiea Jackson, Nicholson News For college students, choosing a major takes a great deal of consideration. With a little more planning with academic advisors, many Knights can walk away from college with two bachelor’s degrees by earning not more than the 120 credit hours required for one degree. Faculty and administrators at the […]
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A Summer of STEM
This summer, UCF hosted its STEM Summer Institute (SI) camps for Central Florida middle and high school students. The STEM Summer Institute (SI) offers a mix of activities designed to maximize learning through hands-on, individualized instruction in an effort to provide science, technology, and math related summer opportunities to students. The SI currently offers camps in […]
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Dog Days of Summer Graduation
Story by Jenna Marina, UCF Alumni ORLANDO, Fla. — Soon to be UCF Psychology alumna, Amanda Overend takes pride in propagating what has become a life motto: “Help is a four-legged word.” The Orlando native associates her college experience with volunteering – a passion she found five years ago. Her most recent philanthropic endeavor has […]
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UCF Professor Dives into Marine Ecology
With an appreciation for biology and oceanography, UCF Department of Biology assistant professor Geoffrey Cook, Ph.D., found the field of marine ecology to be a perfect fit. In 2005, Cook was admitted into the Biological Oceanography doctoral program at Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) where he received a Marine Biodiversity and Conservation NSF-IGERT graduate student fellowship […]
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Communication Alumna Conquers Nonprofit Career
Story by Tommiea Jackson, Nicholson News Tallahassee, Fla. – The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy has named UCF Nicholson School of Communication alumna Fonda Anderson, ’84, as chief of staff. In this role, Anderson serves as a key member of the senior leadership team, providing strategic oversight for programs, communication, development and planning processes to […]
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Dirt in Space
Story by Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala, UCF Today As NASA and private space companies look to explore other planets, they are turning to one of the world’s best dirt experts – UCF’s Phil Metzger. Metzger, who works at UCF’s Florida Space Institute, knows his dirt. He has wall to ceiling spice rack shelves in his office that […]
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Arboretum Goes Pokémon
If you’ve walked around UCF campus recently you probably have noticed students glued to their phones playing the popular game, Pokémon GO. The UCF campus is full of ‘trainers’ catching Pokémon and visiting ‘Poke Stops’ spread throughout campus. One Poke Stop in particular hopes to lure UCF students in for a special event. The UCF […]