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UCF Researchers Earn Top Spots in Their Fields in New Ranking of Scientific Impact
Three University of Central Florida researchers are among the world’s top 25 scholars in their field, and 100 are in the top 2%, according to a new study ranking career-long scientific impact of researchers from around the globe. The study, which appeared recently in the journal PLOS Biology, used a composite indicator based on six […]
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NASA Funds 2 UCF Projects Focused on Returning to the Moon
By ROBERT WELLS Two new University of Central Florida projects will test innovative technologies designed to help astronauts return safely to the moon. NASA recently funded the projects that will help scientists better understand the nature of lunar dust so that its potentially damaging effects to equipment and spacecraft during lunar landings can be minimized. […]
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Mining the Moon For Ice Focus of UCF Research
BY ROBERT WELLS With space set to be the site of the next “gold rush,” University of Central Florida researchers are helping prospect a spot for a major first step in the upcoming scramble – creating a lunar mining outpost. The work will be funded through a recently announced grant from NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts […]
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Understanding Charge Transfers in Molecular Electronics
An international research team, which includes University of Central Florida Professor Enrique del Barco and Christian A. Nijhuis of the National University of Singapore, has found a way to understand and manipulate the transition of charges in molecular junctions. A molecular junction connects molecules to two metallic electrodes, such as gold. For electrons to flow […]
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Physics Degree Leads to Career in Missiles, Aerospace
When Roland Williams first stepped foot on UCF’s campus nearly 50 years ago, the library was the tallest, most prominent building around. There was almost nothing else in sight as Williams pulled up to the school, but he was excited for the opportunity to move closer to his family and explore his interests in physics. […]
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Physics Staff Recognized For Outstanding Service
On February 14, 2018, two UCF Department of Physics staff were honored for their outstanding work serving fellow staff, faculty and students. This year’s winners of the Dean’s Recognition Award are Esperanza Soto-Arcino (farthest to the right), graduate program assistant, and Jessica Brooks (third from left), senior accountant. Soto-Arcino began her role with the department […]
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Researcher Works to Explain Mars Clay
by Zenaida Kotala A study published today in Nature provides a new explanation for how clay formed on Mars, which could help scientists and engineers figure out how to unlock the early climate history of the planet. “The basic recipe for making clay is you take rock and you add heat and water,” said Kevin […]
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Professor’s Work Highlighted by the Department of Energy
Madhab Neupane, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Physics, uses light to eject electrons out of materials revealing the states of electrons occupy inside the material. He does so by using a technique known as angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). He employs very intense (but finely controlled) light beams to illuminate a sample, extract […]
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Physicist’s Career Launched by Cassini Mission
by Zenaida Kotala When NASA’s Cassini mission ends on Sept. 15 by plunging into Saturn’s atmosphere, one UCF professor will be reminiscing about the mission that launched his career and the family he’s made throughout the almost 20-year journey. Physics Professor Josh Colwell began working on the Cassini mission right out of graduate school after […]
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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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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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Advocating for Women in STEM
A first generation Mexican American and University of Central Florida student seeks to give voice to an underrepresented population. UCF physics doctoral student Brian Zamarripa just won a National Science Foundation to fund his proposed research on gender disparity in the field of physics. With parents hailing from Mexico, Zamarripa is part of a minority […]
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COS Faculty Join Elite Society
Eight University of Central Florida College of Sciences faculty were inducted into the Scroll and Quill Society on April 13, 2017. The society honors faculty members who have brought positive national and/or international attention to the university through their scholarly work. The faculty who were recognized have demonstrated sustained scholarly contributions over a period of […]
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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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UCF Physics Shines at APS Bridge Conference
The University of Central Florida’s Department of Physics was well represented at this year’s annual conference of the American Physical Society Bridge Program. Physics faculty and students made UCF proud with their participation and outstanding presentations at the conference held Feb. 10-12, 2017 in College Park, Maryland. The event included talks on physics graduate education, […]
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NASA Mission is One Step Closer to Launching into Space
Story by Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala, UCF Today A NASA instrument that will study the upper atmosphere and the impact of space weather on Earth is a step closer on its journey into space. The Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD) mission, led by University of Central Florida scientist Richard Eastes, is scheduled to […]
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Pegasus Professor Named Fellow of AVS
University of Central Florida Pegasus Professor in the Department of Physics Talat Rahman, Ph.D., has been named a Fellow of the American Vacuum Society (AVS). Fellowship is the premier membership recognition for this professional Society and recognizes AVS members who have made sustained and outstanding scientific and technical contributions in areas of interest to AVS. […]
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Physics Graduate Students Conference Bound
Brian Zamarripa Roman and Fernand Eliud Torres-Davila, University of Central Florida physics graduate students, were awarded a travel grant from the American Physical Society (APS) to attend the APS Graduate Education and Bridge Program Conference in College Park, Maryland. “As part of the bridge program, we hope to expand our knowledge of the cutting-edge fields […]
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Physics Professor on Good Day Orlando
University of Central Florida Physics Professor Dan Britt, Ph.D., was a special guest on FOX 35’s morning show, “Good Day Orlando,” on Friday morning, January 13. Britt, director of the Center for Lunar & Asteroid Surface Science at UCF , will help explore some of the oldest asteroids in the solar system thanks to a […]
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Physics Pegasus Professor’s International Appointments
Talat Rahman, Ph.D., Pegasus Professor in the University of Central Florida’s Department of Physics, has received several prestigious appointments in her field. Beginning in January 2017, Rahman will begin serving as a member of the Physical Sciences Directorate Advisory Committee at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. She will assess and provide advice on the […]
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Physics Professor’s Research Published in Science
Luca Argenti, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department Physics and College of Optics & Photonics at the University of Central Florida, has co-authored a research paper recently published in the prestigious journal “Science.” This work is the result of a large theoretical and experimental collaboration that came together in 2013 to address a long-standing conundrum […]
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Lee Chow Inducted into NAI
Lee Chow, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Central Florida, was recently inducted into the university’s chapter of the National Academy of Inventors. Chow is one of 29 researchers at UCF inducted into the university’s new chapter of the National Academy of Inventors. Chow and colleagues were honored at a […]
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News and Views
Assistant Professor in the UCF Department of Physics Michael Chini, Ph.D., wrote a “News and Views” article for the academic journal “Nature” published on October 20, 2016. In his News and Views article, Chini highlights research on ultrafast electron dynamics in solid-state materials which was performed by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics. […]
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UCF Physicist Observes Breakthrough
UCF physicist Madhab Neupane, Ph.D., led a group of international researchers to examine BiPd, discovering characteristics never seen before in the material. “These characteristics have the potential to be the first step in an entirely new field of electronics and technology,” explained Neupane, assistant professor in the Department of Physics. Neupane led the team of […]
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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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New Ways to Colonize Mars
Two researchers at the University of Central Florida were featured in an article published by The Atlantic titled ‘The Low-Tech Way to Colonize Mars.” The article focuses on the research conducted by Philip Metzger, Ph.D., an associate in planetary science research at the Florida Space Institute, and his team. Daniel Britt, Ph.D., professor in the Department of […]
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Physics Student Wins International Prize
Story by Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala, UCF Today One of the world’s leaders in liquid-display technology has selected a UCF project led by professor Debashis Chanda, Ph.D., and physics graduate student Daniel Franklin for its “2016 Displaying Futures Award.” The Germany-based company Merck selected UCF’s plasmatic full-color display project as its top pick from 30 others in […]
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UCF Physics Revamps Student Society
Twenty-five UCF undergraduate physics students gathered for the first Society of Physics Students (SPS) meeting of the fall semester. A once thriving chapter, UCF’s SPS has died down the past few years according to Conrad Troha, recently appointed chapter president. Troha, a UCF senior studying physics on the astronomy track, hopes to change this. “Our […]
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Physics Professor Sheds Light on New Planet
The discovery of the new exoplanet Proxima Centauri b seems like a story out of a science fiction novel – maybe because it actually is. The plot of science fiction author Stephen Baxter’s 2015 book Proxima is about an expedition to the actual red dwarf star Proxima Centauri and the colonization of an Earth-sized planet […]
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Physics Welcomes New Chair
Eduardo Mucciolo, Ph.D., is the new chair of the UCF Department of Physics. Dr. Mucciolo officially began serving in his new appointment on May 20, 2016. Dr. Mucciolo has been at UCF since 2003 when he was hired as a tenure-track associate professor, teaching all levels from freshman physics to graduate courses. In 2006 he […]