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UCF Doctoral Student Awarded National Nuclear Security Administration Program Award for Technical and Higher-Education
PhD chemistry student, Zachary Murphy, has been recognized for his research at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. By: Emily Dougherty | December 12, 2024 Zachary Murphy, a doctoral chemistry student in the College of Sciences, has been awarded the National Nuclear Security Administration Program Award for Technical and Higher-Education (PATH) for his research focusing on […]
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Doctoral Chemistry Student Selected for the Department of Energy, Office of Science Graduate Student Research Program
Alec DeCecco, a graduate student in the Department of Chemistry, is investigating the impacts of Criegee intermediates on climate change By: Emily Dougherty | October 29, 2024 Since the beginning of his undergraduate studies at UCF, Alec DeCecco, now a Ph.D. student in the Department of Chemistry, has spent his time in a research lab […]
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Chemistry Researchers Advance Universal Design for Learning in STEM Courses
Focus on Bilingual approaches through National Science Foundation grant expand accessibility for learning across diverse student groups By: Emily Dougherty I October 4, 2024 Dr. Erin Saitta, Assistant Professor in the UCF Department of Chemistry, and doctoral student (Chemistry), Kathleen Lugo Charriez, have recognized the array of difficulties that undergraduate chemistry and other STEM students […]
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Spring ‘23 Doctoral Graduates Honored by Dean
Spring 2023 College of Sciences doctoral graduates were celebrated at the COS Pre-Commencement Celebration on Thursday, May 4, 2023. Dean Maggy Tomova, Ph.D., honored their accomplishments with remarks and a toast. She said, “These credentials establish you among your contemporaries as someone who is willing to make sacrifices and embrace challenges in their pursuit of knowledge. There […]
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What’s Ahead for 2023: COS Faculty Projections
Faculty at UCF share predictions and upcoming milestones for 2023. Politics Associate Professor Aubrey Jewett Ph.D., Assistant Director, School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs “For 2023 in U.S. politics, I expect the battle lines to sharpen for the Republican nomination for president. So far, it looks like former President Trump will be the frontrunner, […]
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Fall ’22 Doctoral Candidates Honored By Associate Dean
A traditional toast and individual recognition from Associate Dean Teresa Dorman , Ed.D., sent 22 doctoral graduates into the next chapter of their careers. In her remarks, she said, “You have what it takes to be successful. You worked very hard for a very long time . . . but now you are done. Savor […]
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UCF Lecturer’s Service-Learning Research is Cover of Academic Journal
By Rachel Stamford A UCF chemistry lecturer’s pioneering service-learning research on sucralose in the Orlando Easterly Wetlands has put her on the cover of a premier academic journal. Dr. Emily Heider was a postdoctoral research assistant at the University of Central Florida developing sensors to detect mercury in water before she was hired in 2015 […]
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UCF’s International Chemistry Exchange Program Changing Lives
By Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala Carlos Salazar is wrapping up a month-long educational experience in one of UCF’s chemistry labs this week – and he says it has changed his life. “I had only read about computational chemistry and chemistry modeling back home” in Peru, Salazar says. “We don’t really have access to that, but now I’m […]
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Congratulations, Summer 2018 Ph.D. Grads!
The College of Sciences celebrated its new Ph.D. graduates in a reception hosted by Dean Michael Johnson. Twenty students were recognized at the ceremony with their family members and faculty advisors by their side. Associate Dean Teresa Dorman honored each student individually by presenting their research and a brief description of their dissertation. Afterward, the group toasted […]
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A Lifetime of Chemistry
Debbie Dunn, Ph.D., graduated with a chemistry degree from UCF in 1972, back when UCF was still known as Florida Technological University (FTU). Graduation is always a momentous occasion, but Dunn’s held even more importance than a simple first step in her career. When she walked up to receive her diploma, she started on the […]
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A Green Approach to Making Ammonia Could Help Feed the World
By Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala A UCF research team with collaborators at Virginia Tech have developed a new “green” approach to making ammonia that may help make feeding the rising world population more sustainable. “This new approach can facilitate ammonia production using renewable energy, such as electricity generated from solar or wind,” said physics Assistant Professor Xiaofeng […]
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Chemistry and Forensic Science Award Winners- Congratulations!
Congratulations to the winners of the 2018 Chemistry and Forensic Science student awards. The recipients were chosen from both undergraduate and graduate areas of studies, according to their performance in specific classes, research and other UCF achievements. The winner of the W.W. McGee Forensic Science award for the most outstanding chemistry or forensic science major […]
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Congratulations, 2018 Pegasus Professors!
UCF’s annual Founders’ Day Honors Convocation celebrates outstanding achievements of the university’s faculty members, staff and students. Among the recognitions this year are five Pegasus Professors, three from the College of Sciences. View a full list of Founders’ Day Honors Convocation honorees. The Pegasus Professor Award is the highest academic honor an educator can receive at UCF and rewards highly […]
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Virtual Teaching May Help GTAs Prepare for the Classroom
An innovative tool with a new application in STEM education research may help prepare graduate teaching assistants (GTA) to transition from students to instructors. Jackie Chini, an assistant professor in the UCF Physics Department, focuses her research on STEM education – or how to improve science teaching and learning. In her latest NSF-funded grant, she, […]
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Chemistry Grad Student Cracks Code for Colorblind Tests
Tatiana Fedotava-Molden, a first-year Ph.D. student in the department of Chemistry, has already had her first research breakthrough and publication in one of the most prestigious international chemistry journals. For a chemistry Ph.D. student, Molden had an interesting start. When she lived in Russia, she went to school for journalism and found herself at movie […]
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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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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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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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UCF Teaches Outstanding Chemistry AlumKnight the Value of Hard Work
UCF chemistry graduate Dennis Donahue, M.D., is an example of what hard work can bring. The board-certified urologist graduated with his bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1975 when UCF was still Florida Technological University. Dr. Donahue is a now a doctor with Florida Hospital Medical Group, coming a long way from his first job as […]
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NSF Funded Research Could Help Cure Disease
Chemistry doctoral student Riley Gentry was awarded the Graduate Research Fellowships Program (GRFP) by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in spring 2017. Out of the 13 thousand national applicants representing a wide range of scientific disciplines, only 15 percent were chosen for the award. Gentry provided a personal statement, a research proposal and letters of […]
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President’s Leadership Council
5 College of Sciences’ students who exemplify well-rounded excellence through leadership, academic achievement, extracurricular activities, and service to the university and community, were recently selected to serve on the 2016-2017 President’s Leadership Council (PLC). Chosen by a committee of faculty, staff, and students, the President’s Leadership Council is comprised of ambassadors for the university in a […]
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Controlling Fungus with Federal Grant
UCF scientists have been awarded a $477,000 grant to develop a method of combating a bacterium that attacks tomatoes and other crops. The grant is part of a $5.2 million investment in nanotechnology research at 11 universities announced by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. The money from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of […]
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In Memory of Dr. William McGee
On Monday, March 14, the founder and first director of the National Center for Forensic Science (NCFS), William McGee, Ph.D., passed away. The University of Central Florida chemistry professor created the undergraduate program for forensic science within the chemistry department in 1971, along with the NCFS in March of 1997. “…I have sat in my office for […]
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UCF Gains Chemistry through Skype-Casting
On Thursday, Feb. 18, 2016, Romain Gaume, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Optics and Phototonics at UCF, gave a lecture on the science and art of glass that was presented in person to UCF chemistry students and simultaneously Skype-cast to over 40 of their peers at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida. The following Saturday students […]
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UCF Chemistry Hosts First Conclave
On Saturday, April 2, 2016, the American Chemical Society (ACS) Central Florida Student chapters at UCF, Rollins, Stetson, and FIT hosted the first annual American Chemical Society Florida Chemistry Conclave (ACSFCC) at the UCF Orlando main campus. The Conclave was a free, one-day, professional-development workshop. Students from across the state gathered in Orlando for a day filled with research, networking, […]
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UCF Brings the Evidence
On March 11, Michael Sigman, Ph.D., Candice Bridge, Ph.D., and Erika Remley, M.S., presented at the Conference on the Modern Interpretation of Forensic Evidence at Florida A&M University, College of Law in downtown Orlando. The conference, a Continued Legal Education (CLE) training event, was aimed towards criminal law practitioners to help them understand advanced scientific practices that will […]
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Service Learning with Nanoscience
A new minor in the rapidly advancing field of nanoscience is now available for University of Central Florida undergraduates. Nanoscience is the study of materials on the nanometer scale. That’s exceedingly small – a sheet of paper is about 75,000 nanometers thick. At the nanoscale, materials can exhibit unusual properties that scientists have put to […]
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Spring 2017 Study Abroad Fair
Study abroad Spring 2017 applications are now available. Join UCF Abroad at their Spring Study Abroad Fair Thursday, January 21, from 10 AM – 2 PM in front of the Student Union. Come and learn about the multiple programs offered in many disciplines in countries around the world. Political Science students have the opportunity to study for a semester […]
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COS Celebrates 27 New Ph.D. Graduates
On Friday, Dec. 18, 12 new Ph.D. students graduated from the College of Sciences. A special graduation reception was held to congratulate the graduates on Thursday, Dec. 17. The event was held in the afternoon in the Physical Sciences building. Family members of the graduates, faculty advisors and members of the Dean’s office staff were in attendance. […]
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Matanzas Murder Mystery
Can you solve a murder mystery? On November 19th, the UCF Forensic Science Association (FSA) teamed up with Matanzas High School to help students and hosted their very first “Murder Mystery at Matanzas”. “Murder Mystery at Mantanzas” was designed as an interactive first look at the disciplines within the forensic science field, with an emphasis on crime […]