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$750K Awarded To Physics Professor To Improve Online Ed
A UCF assistant professor’s reimagined approach to optimizing online physics education has landed him a $750,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. The NSF award to Zhongzhou Chen, Ph.D., lasts for five years. In collaboration with the Center for Distributed Learning at UCF, Chen is developing a series of new online learning modules optimized for […]
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Uncertain Start at UCF Sends Student Around the World
Steven Carrion never thought UCF would be the foundation for the rest of his future. When he was graduating from high school, he almost didn’t apply to the school at all. Dreaming of far-off places, and thinking success would come away from home, Carrion applied reluctantly, as a last-minute decision. As it turned out, UCF […]
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Math Student Scores Summer Project at Harvard
A UCF math major is headed to Harvard University this summer to study forest ecology through an interdisciplinary research project that combines philosophy, math algorithms and principles of ecology. Evan Waldmann credits working with Assistant Professor of Philosophy Jonathan Beever and his team for helping him land a Research Experience for Undergraduates grant from the National Science […]
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UCF on Track to Become National Leader in Space Research
When the University of Central Florida took the helm of the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico on April 1, the university entered a new era. “We are forging new ground for UCF,” said Elizabeth Klonoff, vice president for research and dean of the College of Graduate Studies. “We already have outstanding research in planetary sciences, […]
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Sociology Post-Doc Wins STEM Scholars Award
Hannah Torres, Ph.D., came to UCF from the University of South Florida to take part in an exciting and meaningful research project. She completed her doctoral degree in geography and environmental science and policy, and holds a master’s degree in coastal environmental management. The choice to apply for the post-doc position at UCF was an […]
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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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Imaging Device to Be Used in Anthropology Research
By Mark Schlueb Due to the collaborative nature of UCF’s faculty, the National Science Foundation has awarded the university a grant that will help fund the purchase of a $900,000 imaging device that will do everything from design nanoparticles of the future to delve into our civilization’s past. The NSF approved the funding request because […]
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Drone Research Hits New Heights
As the popularity of drones and geospatial technologies continues to rise, the Citizen Science GIS research team at University of Central Florida aims to train the next generation of community-minded scientists in the art and science of drone flights, image processing, open data sharing and spatial storytelling with drone imagery. The National Science Foundation has […]
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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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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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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 […]
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Molecular Electronics Scientists Shatter ‘Impossible’ Record
Story by Mark Schlueb An international research team that includes University of Central Florida Professor Enrique del Barco, Damien Thompson of the University of Limerick and Christian A. Nijhuis of the National University of Singapore has cracked an important limitation that for nearly 20 years has prevented the practical use of molecular diodes. Electrical circuits […]
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From Dust to Outer Space
Story by Zenaida Kotala Adrienne Dove, a University of Central Florida assistant professor in the physics department, recently was awarded NASA’s Susan Mahan Niebur Early Career Award for her research on microgravity and dusty plasmas, collisions and planet formation. Her work is helping scientists who have been puzzled for decades understand some mechanisms of dust […]
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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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UCF’s Conservation Efforts Highlighted by SeaWatch
Research conducted by University of Central Florida Department of Biology Pegasus Professor Linda Walters, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow Melinda Donnelly, Ph.D., and Winter Springs High School teacher Paul Sacks, Ph.D., was recognized in the Coastal Conservation Association’s (CCA) spring 2017 publication of SeaWatch. Walters has been an advocate for marine conservation for many years. She is […]
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UCF Team to Receive Revolutionary Microscope
The fastest detecting and most advanced electron microscope in the world is coming to the Department of Physics thanks to researchers at the University of Central Florida. The group researches properties within materials that could be used in a variety of fields from medicine to engineering. There is the potential of discovering novel ways to […]
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GIS REU Site Wraps Up Successful Start
The first ever UCF Geographic Information Systems Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) was a huge success this summer. The international REU site, held in Orlando and Belize, was funded by the National Science Foundation. The program hosted eight competitive undergraduate students from across the country. The eight scholars, including one UCF sociology student Amanda Ashby, […]
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Biology Professor’s Heritage Inspired His Love of Nature
UCF conservation biology professor Pedro F. Quintana-Ascencio, Ph.D., grew up with lush forests as his backyard playground. He remembers walking through Veracruz, Mexico, listening to the wind playing in the trees and critters calling to each other all around him. His father would sometimes join him on horseback rides to a nearby river and lake. […]
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UCF Research Team Seeks to Improve Classroom Learning
Three University of Central Florida professors are teaming up to improve classroom learning for students who struggle with attention deficit disorder, autism and learning disabilities. The National Science Foundation awarded $300,000 to fund Project Adapting College Classrooms to Equally Support Science Students (ACCESSS), led by UCF professors Jacquelyn Chini, Ph.D., Cherie Yestrebsky, Ph.D., and Eleazar […]
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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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GIS Scholars Impress at the Embassy
UCF assistant professor of geographic information systems Timothy Hawthorne, Ph.D., of the UCF Department of Sociology and the College of Sciences GIS Cluster Initiative led a group of eight students to the U.S. Embassy in Belmopan, Belize as part of the Community Geographic Information Systems and Citizen Science Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU). Citizen Science […]
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UCF Led Team Discovers New Venomous Snake
Story by UCF Today An international team of scientists has solved a case of mistaken identity and discovered a new species of venomous snake. The newly discovered Talamancan Palm-Pitviper is a striking green-and-black snake living in some of the most remote regions of Costa Rica. The coloring is a characteristic it shares with its close […]
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UCF Sociology Department Lands New NSF Project
UCF is launching two new summer Research Experiences for Undergraduate programs and continuing a third, thanks to new funding from the National Science Foundation. The programs are designed to encourage select students from around the country to pursue graduate studies and eventually become leaders in their chosen areas of expertise. Getting REUs is difficult because […]
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Biology Students Ready for Research
The UCF Biology Department is proud to have multiple students participating in competitive research experiences this summer across the nation. These Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) support active research participation of students in any of the areas of research funded by the National Science Foundation. Michelle Gaynor – Junior, Biology Michelle was awarded one […]
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The 5+ Club
The University of Central Florida is proud to be one of the new 2016 inductees into The 5+ Club. The 5+ Club is a special initiative program run by the Physics Teacher Education Coalition (PhysTEC). It is a group of institutions that has graduated five or more highly qualified physics teachers in the last academic year. This program is just one of the many […]
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Crystal Technology Wins Professor Prestigious Award
UCF Department of Chemistry assistant professor, James Harper, Ph.D., recently applied for and received the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award. Awarded for his research on “Developing Accurate Crystallography Without Diffraction.”, this award is the NSF’s most prestigious award supporting junior faculty and will provide funding for a five-year period. This funding will be used to support […]
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LEARN Expands with National Science Foundation Grant
A University of Central Florida researcher who started a successful program to keep freshmen in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines is expanding the model to two other universities and adding a component to focus on transfer students. Kimberly Schneider, Ph.D., director of the Office of Undergraduate Research in UCF’s College of Undergraduate Studies, […]
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Wood Decomposition a Climate Change Detector?
Climate change models could have a thing or two to learn from termites and fungi, according to a new study released this week. For a long time scientists have believed that temperature is the dominant factor in determining the rate of wood decomposition worldwide. Decomposition matters because the speed at which woody material are broken […]
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An Epic Scientific Exploration
The Florida Museum of Natural History transformed into a beacon of scientific exploration for fifteen students, from April 17 to 19th, made possible through FSU’s Institute for Digital Information and Scientific Communication award funded by a National Science Foundation grant. All fifteen participating undergraduate students, of which six residing at UCF, embarked on a two-day […]
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2014 STEAM Exhibit: Putting Art in Science
People often view art and science as polar opposites, but fine arts students at UCF may be changing that perspective with their newest exhibition. The 2014 STEAM Exhibition will showcase students’ artwork they have created in response to presentations given by UCF scientists and students in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The […]