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Physicist Works to Make Science Accessible
Jackie Chini is one of the UCF Department of Physics’ most well-funded junior faculty. Her awards from the National Science Foundation total over $1 million, and she’s achieved one of the most prestigious awards: The NSF CAREER Award. It all started in high school in her hometown in rural New Jersey in a physics class. […]
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UCF-led Consortium to Manage Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico
By Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala The observatory’s radar system gathers information about planets, moons, asteroids and comets. (Image courtesy of Arecibo Observatory, a facility of the NSF) The largest fully operational radio telescope on the planet – the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico – will soon be under new management. A consortium led by the University […]
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Physics Takes a Student to France
UCF Physics’ Ph.D. student Chi Hong (Isaac) Yuen received a Chateaubriand fellowship to pursue research in France. He is spending eight months overseas to study the destruction of carbon dioxide molecules and the formation of the ozone molecule in collaboration with the Ecole Centrale de Paris, the University of Le Havre and the University of […]
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Rising Stars
The COS Dean’s Distinguished Researcher and Rising Star Awards recognize the efforts of the most ‘research productive’ faculty and the outstanding value that they bring to their classroom teaching, as well as to the unambiguous value of the research mentorship that they offer to undergraduate and graduate students that are their apprentices. The applicants must have […]
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Lunar Knights Compete in NASA Robotic Competition
By Rachel Williams University of Central Florida students who make up the Lunar Knights Mining Club will compete this month in NASA’s national Robotic Mining Competition that was developed to help in the exploration of Mars. The eighth annual competition is May 22-26 at Kennedy Space Center. About 50 student teams from across the country […]
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Researchers with UCF Connections Honored with Asteroid Names
Original story by Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala. The University of Central Florida hosts a chapter of an out-of-this-world club, which recently grew by two. Planetary astronomer Noemi Pinilla-Alonso from the Florida Space Institute and UCF alumna Emily Kramer were honored when asteroids were named after them to recognize their contributions to planetary science research. That increases the […]
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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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Professor’s Research Part of First Mission to Trojan Asteroids
Story by Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala, UCF Today University of Central Florida Physics Professor Dan Britt, Ph.D., will help explore some of the oldest asteroids in the solar system thanks to a new NASA mission. NASA, this month selected the Lucy mission, which will explore Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids for the first-time. The robotic spacecraft will also explore […]
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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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Research Team Discovers New Behavior of Friction
A group of physics students and their faculty advisor recently tested a theory that was thought untestable and observed an atomic behavior that had never been seen before. Their findings could mean big things for the future of friction and wear-reduction technologies. The team, advised by Masahiro Ishigami, Ph.D., associate professor of physics and nanoscience […]
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Physics Team’s Research Paper is Editor’s Pick
A UCF research team just had its paper on how to improve graduate student teaching methods chosen as an Editor’s Pick in “Physical Review.” The journal is the flagship series of the American Physical Society, the largest society of physicists in the U.S. Among its newest offerings, added in 2005, is an open access online […]
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Physics Professor Achieves Astronomic Dream
Story by By Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala, UCF Today Humberto Campins grew up looking at the night sky and reading The Little Prince. The children’s story by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is about a man who crashes his plane in the middle of the Sahara Desert. While he’s making repairs, a boy shows up. He is the […]
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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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UCF in CLASS of Its Own Studying Space
Story by Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala, UCF Today UCF has diligently and methodically been making a name for itself in the world of planetary exploration, and it’s beginning to pay off in big ways. Not only are two UCF professors part of the upcoming NASA OSIRIS-REx mission to collect asteroid samples – a first for the United […]
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Physics Student Makes Noise this Summer
UCF Physics senior, Michael Antia, has been one of the latest undergraduate selected for a research experience with California Institute of Technology this summer. Caltech’s LIGO Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF) program provides graduate and undergraduate students the opportunity to participate in the research and development program of Laser Interferometer Gravitational- Wave Observatory (LIGO). A broad […]
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COS Excellence in Academics
The UCF College of Graduate Studies recognized graduate students and faculty for excellence in research, teaching and mentoring at an awards ceremony during the 13th Annual Graduate Research Forum on April 5, 2016. Each year the Graduate Council Program Review and Awards Committee reviews college nominations and recognizes graduate students for the University Graduate Awards […]
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COS Shines at Student Research Week
Student Research Week celebrates the research and creative projects of UCF undergraduate and graduate students. From April 4 through April 7, graduate and undergraduate students attended workshops, presented research, developed research skills, and met with researchers. On April 5 and April 7, students from all disciplines, shared their research with the UCF community at the annual Graduate […]
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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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UCF Physics Professor Named to NASA Mission, And Grant for Space Mining
UCF physics professor Dan Britt has been named to the New Horizons mission team as the spacecraft heads to the Kuiper Belt. He’s also just landed a grant to help create fake asteroid material, which will help NASA and private companies prepare the technology needed to mine asteroids and eventually other planets. “It’s been a […]
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STEM Day at UCF
On Friday, April 8, more than one thousand students from the Central Florida area spilled on to UCF campus for STEM day. STEM day is a bi-annual outreach event for K-12 students interested in learning more about the study of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The day featured a wide variety of activities focused on STEM […]
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College of Sciences Shines at Founders’ Day
From a nanoscientist to an undergraduate biology student, the College of Sciences had many recipients recognized at the annual Founders’ Day Honors Convocation on Wednesday, April 6, 2016. Founders’ Day is a time-honored tradition where UCF faculty members, staff and students who have made significant achievements and academic contributions are recognized. Awards were given to […]
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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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Blue Origin’s Spacecraft: UCF Experiment Makes History
ORLANDO, April 2, 2016 — Yes! Followed by a high five. That was UCF Physics Professor Dr. Joshua Colwell’s reaction as he watched the successful launch into suborbital space of his experiment aboard Blue Origin’s (https://www.blueorigin.com/) New Shepard space vehicle on Saturday, April 2. “We have been waiting for this day for a long time,” […]
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UCF Virtually Educates with TeachLivE
This research is published in Physical Review Physics Education Research. –Michael Schirber Just as pilots train in flight simulators, physics teachers can hone their skills in classroom simulators. Of course, explaining Newton’s laws to teenagers is a little less challenging than landing a 747. Still, a new study shows that undergraduate teaching assistants can gain […]
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UCF NASA Experiment Takes Flight
Five experiments testing everything from how fire reacts in space, to the effectiveness of a lizard-inspired adhesive are headed to the International Space Station on Tuesday, March 22. NASA’s commercial partner Orbital ATK Inc. is scheduled to launch the Cygnus spacecraft atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. […]
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Air Force Grant Helps UCF Soar
UCF Physics alumnus and current assistant professor in the department, Michael Chini, Ph.D., has earned $480,000 in grants from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. He is using laser pulses to create more powerful electronics and partnering with Sumit Jha,Ph.D., UCF assistant computer science professor, who is looking to combine thousands of transistors into a […]
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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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Space Dust Research Wins NASA Rides
By Scott Powers – Writer for Orlando Sentinel Tiny particles of space dust: How do they stick together? How might astronauts not stir them up? Two UCF scientists are asking, and they’ve gotten NASA’s attention. UCF physics Professor and Assistant Director at the Florida Space Institute Joshua Colwell, Ph.D., and UCF physics post-doctoral Research Scientist Julie Brisset, Ph.D., have won […]
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Who Is a Millionaire?
Under a sunset stroked sky in front of the University of Central Florida’s main administration building, university leaders celebrated the common traits of tenacity, collaborative spirit, and commitment to excellence that UCF’s top grant earning researchers share. Twenty-nine researchers earned $1 million or more earning a bid into UCF’s Millionaires Club, which hosted the celebration […]