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Screening Frogs for Infectious Disease
An undergraduate researcher has developed a method to screen frogs for an infectious disease that has been linked to mass die-offs of frogs around the world. Thanks to her method, scientists will be able to track the disease and try to figure out why it is triggering the deaths. Emily Karwacki, who recently earned her […]
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The Science Behind Zombie Ants
Biology Assistant Professor Charissa de Bekker is working to figure out how a fungus is manipulating and killing ants. A zombie invasion is happening in Central Florida, but humans aren’t the ones at risk. Rather, some of nature’s tiniest creatures — carpenter ants — are the victims. Since 2016, biology Assistant Professor Charissa de Bekker, Ph.D., has been studying […]
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The Importance of the Deep Blue Sea
World Oceans Day — held each June 8 — is an opportunity to promote campaigns and initiatives that bring ocean issues to the forefront. This year’s observance follows recent research that suggests the amount of plastic in the ocean is worse than scientists previously expected. A garbage patch in the Pacific Ocean is now twice […]
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Hawaii Looks at Banning Sunscreen Ingredient Because of UCF Research
A University of Central Florida biologist is seeing a wave of action from his work, which links a certain sunscreen ingredient with the death of coral reefs around the world. Associate Professor John Fauth and a team of international researchers in 2015 published a study that showed the ingredient oxybenzone disrupted coral reproduction and caused bleaching. Coral […]
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Couple’s $6.6M Gift Will Boost Many UCF Programs
What do sea turtles, veterans, language programs, science and football have in common? They’ll all be better off thanks to the generosity of Jim and Julia Rosengren, who have committed $6.6 million to support those programs at the University of Central Florida. It is among the largest alumni commitments in university history. Combined with their […]
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11 Students Honored For Women’s History Month
The College of Sciences is proud of our 11 female students who were recognized as outstanding student leaders for Women’s History Month. Congratulations to the awardees! Sarah Davenport, Anthropology “Seek positive mentorship. Mentorship from the McNair Program and my faculty mentor are the reasons why I have been able to achieve and exceed my […]
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Cuban Immigrant Graduate Living Her Father’s Dream
by Christin Senior Jeanine Garcia was too young to remember the day her father Lazaro set sail from Cuba on a raft made of beer kegs and rope, armed with a parcel of food and a dream for a better life in America. When Garcia walks across the UCF stage Saturday to collect her Bachelor […]
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Where Turtles Eat Unlocks New Conservation Areas
by Allison Hurtado UCF alumna Simona Ceriani published a new study that finds sea turtles are what they eat – but where they eat may be even more important. Ceriani, who is a tenured research scientist with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, collaborated with three UCF Department of Biology researchers on the study, published […]
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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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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. […]
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Student Researches Roses and Cabbage
Senior biology major Shelly Gaynor shares her interest in genetics and evolutionary biology with the ecological community thanks to the National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates (NSF-REU) program. She is interested in polyploidy evolution, a process of genome doubling which leads to organisms with multiple sets of chromosomes. Her research investigates the influence of […]
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The 2017-18 Distinguished Speaker Series is Here!
The UCF College of Sciences Distinguished Speaker Series is back this September with six UCF faculty who are experts in topics relevant to the natural, computational, social or behavioral sciences and the developments in their respective fields. This year’s 2017-18 series will be held monthly at Tuscawilla Country Club at 6 p.m., from September 2017 […]
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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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Student’s Award-Winning Restoration Research
Conservation genetics research conducted by Shelly Gaynor, a University of Central Florida biology student, has earned her awards at multiple events. Gaynor was recently awarded for her research presentations at Eureka: Student Research Talks and the American Society of Plant Biologist (ASPB) Southern Sectional conference. Her research evaluates the impact of current shoreline restoration efforts […]
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Student’s Research Earns Unique Experience
Heidi Waite, a University of Central Florida biology senior, has been accepted as a Frost Scholar and awarded the Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Award for May 2017. Waite graduates in May 2017 and has an exciting and unique road ahead of her. The Frost Scholarship Programme is an extremely competitive program available only to students attending […]
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COS Professor Honored with Reach for the Stars Award
Kate Mansfield, Ph.D., is one of five of the University of Central Florida’s brightest early career professors. She was honored for her cutting-edge research, including her internationally recognized study of sea turtle migration. She received the Reach for the Stars Award as part of the celebration of Founders’ Day on April 5, 2017. President John C. […]
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UCF Alumna’s Outstanding Environmental Work
Jane Provancha ’78 is an environmental enthusiast, a University of Central Florida alumna and the Department of Biology’s 2017 Outstanding AlumKnight. Provancha received her award at the College of Sciences Outstanding AlumKnight award ceremony on March 2, 2017. The award will add to Provancha’s long list of impressive achievements. From a UCF student to the Environmental […]
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COS Grad Programs Ranked Nationally
Several graduate programs in the University of Central Florida College of Sciences were ranked in the top 200 in their respective fields by U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate Schools of 2018. The following COS graduate programs were ranked in the top 200 of their fields: Physics – No. 85 Sociology – No. 102 […]
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COS Students to Receive University’s Highest Honor
Story by Mark Schlueb, UCF Today UCF has named 21 students as recipients of the Order of Pegasus, the university’s most prestigious student award. Eleven of these recipients are students of the UCF College of Sciences. The 2017 recipients were selected from a pool of 65 nominations. The 2017 class includes eight LEAD Scholars, eight President’s Leadership […]
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Endangered Tiny Bird Has Big Ally in UCF
Story by Barbara Abney The future of the tiny Florida Grasshopper Sparrow may rest on a hot-water blaster that safely fends off fire ants, which threaten the remaining 100 or so wild sparrows in Central Florida. Joshua King, a self-described ant nerd, ecologist and entomologist at the University of Central Florida, received $15,500 from the […]
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How UCF Faculty Turn Their Offices into Works of Art
Story by Rachel Williams, UCF Today In honor of National Inspire Your Heart with Art Day on Jan. 31, five University of Central Florida faculty members share how they use their offices to display their own variants of art – handmade masks, paintings, even skeletons – to inspire themselves, students and coworkers to continue learning. […]
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A Wild Win for UCF Biology Student
Rhett Rautsaw, a master’s student in UCF Department of Biology, won first place for his presentation at the 38th annual Gopher Tortoise Council Meeting in Palatka, Florida held January 13-15, 2017. Rautsaw was representing the university at the meeting where he was awarded first place for his oral presentation on a new method to survey […]
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Student’s Hardship Inspires Volunteerism
By Rachel Williams, UCF Today A University of Central Florida student’s experience with economic hardship and childhood illness has inspired a volunteer trip to Puerto Rico, where a group of students will help bring joy to pediatric cancer patients and their families in need this holiday season. Akasha Palou, a senior studying biology, planned the […]
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A Knight for the Sea Turtles
The University of Central Florida College of Sciences and Department of Biology hosted ‘A Knight for the Sea Turtles’ in Melbourne Beach on Friday, November 18, 2016. The event celebrated UCF’s partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The partnership, announced over the summer, establishes a permanent conservation research facility along the southern Brevard County coastline. […]
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CEO, Doctor and Harvard Grad Student
UCF biology alumnus Patrick Fullerton ’92 has a simple philosophy: Think big. “If people aren’t laughing at your dreams, you aren’t dreaming big enough,” he said. Fullerton, the son of a truck driver, is a first-generation college student who grew up with no professional leadership in his life. He said UCF made all the difference […]
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2016 30 Under 30
The 2016 30 Under 30 class gathered to be honored Saturday at FAIRWINDS Alumni Center during the Indoor Tailgate. They then were recognized on the field at Bright House Networks Stadium during the football game. This incredible group of individuals includes 12 alumni of the College of Sciences. Amanda Booz, ’13, Nicholson School of Communication Ms. Booz […]
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Snakes, Knightro and Yoga — Oh My!
Story by Bernard Wilchusky, UCF Today Snakes, Knightro and yoga — just a few of the animals, mascots and activities one can enjoy during Faculty and Family Fun Sundays, a monthly fall get-together for the UCF faculty in the Arboretum Park. This free event was the idea of Linda Walters, Ph.D., director of the Center for […]
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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 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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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 […]