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UCF Shines at National Physics Conference
UCF was well represented by a number of faculty and students at the American Physical Society (APS) National Mentoring Community & Bridge Program Conference on October 9-11, 2015. Held in Miami, Florida at Florida International University, this conference focused on mentor/mentee relationships, gave guidance on how to build successful bridge programs and let attendees hear […]
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UCF Bear Brigade
The UCF Bear Brigade, a new pilot educational program to teach ecological concepts to fourth- and fifth-grade students, will visit six Orange and Seminole County elementary schools by the end of this month to foster a greater interest in the subject at an early age. To effectively teach conservation and other environmental concepts, organizers said […]
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New Faculty Brings GIS Innovation to UCF
Starting this fall, Scott Branting, Ph.D., Timothy Hawthorne Ph.D. and Yingru Li, Ph.D. joined UCF’s GIS cluster. GIS stands for Geographical Information Systems or Geographic Information Science. It is a powerful information system that improves our ability to collect, store, retrieve, manage, analyze, and report information on the earth’s surface, and to integrate those with economic, […]
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UCF Professors Land NASA Grants Focused on Asteroids, Comets, Venus
UCF professors are involved in two potential NASA spacecraft missions that could take flight as early as 2020. The five proposed space missions would study Venus, near-earth objects and a variety of asteroids and comets. Each mission team will receive $3 million and have a year to get their proposals ready for a final round of […]
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National Award for Substance Abuse Identification Test
Congratulations to 5th year Ph.D. chemistry student David Nash, on receiving the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Graduate Research Fellowship. The NIJ is the research-funding branch of the Department of Justice. Annually, they provide a handful of graduate students a monetary award to conduct research in the social or physical science fields that will help the criminal justice, […]
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Political Science Alumnus Means Business
Eddie Bradley, ’04, graduated from UCF with dual bachelor’s degrees in political science and legal studies. While you wouldn’t think you could have a career like Bradley with these degrees, the business acumen that he ultimately developed is a direct result of his educational foundation in dealing and communicating with people, as well as navigating […]
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COS Knights Give Back Through Oyster Restoration
On Saturday, October 3, Volunteer UCF held its annual day of service, Knights Give Back. The UCF College of Sciences Alumni Chapter and Linda Walters, Ph.D., professor in the UCF Department of Biology, held one of several service projects, bringing 100 UCF students and alumni volunteers together for an important cause. Volunteers gathered at […]
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Outstanding Sociology Alumnus, Professor, and Professional
Dr. Nicholas Guittar, ’01, ’05, ’11, was honored with the 2015 Sociology Outstanding AlumKnight Award in February. The Sociology Department nominated Dr. Guittar for this award based on his outstanding career achievements, service to students, and loyalty to the university and department. He is currently assistant professor of sociology at Valdosta State University. Previously, Dr. Guittar served for […]
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UCF College of Sciences Honors 2015-16 Scholarship Donors and Recipients
On September 25, the UCF College of Sciences held its third annual Scholarship Luncheon to celebrate its supportive donors and accomplished student scholarship recipients for the 2015-16 academic year. This year the college celebrated awarding 46 scholarships, totaling $94,050 in scholarship aid. The event provided a unique opportunity for scholarship recipients to have lunch with […]
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Record Year for UCF Marine Turtle Research Group
Green sea turtles have had their highs and their lows. Before being commercially harvested for hundreds of years, green sea turtles used to be a typical sight in the Atlantic, but now they are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in multiple locations across the globe. Even with being one of the first species to have federal regulations protecting them, green […]
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Award Winning Google Glass Research
In 2014, Psychology Ph.D. candidate Ben Sawyer, was the lead researcher and wrote the first peer reviewed study looking at the driving distraction potential of Google Glass. In his study it showed the novel device to be less distracting in some ways than an Android phone, but still dangerous compared to just driving. This summer, […]
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NSC Senior Adviser Receives Well-Deserved Promotion
She remembers it like it was yesterday. It was 2009, her first day at work, and she was six months pregnant. That day, Rebecca Morales was charged with the mammoth task of transforming an abandoned darkroom and photo lab into a student advising center. “When I arrived, the ceiling and walls were black, the floor was […]
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UCF Appoints First Kurdish Political Studies Endowed Chair in US
Kurdish Political Studies at the University of Central Florida has a new leader, Güneş Murat Tezcür, Ph.D., the inaugural holder of the Jalal Talabany Kurdish Political Studies Endowed Chair. The Chair is the first of its kind in the United States. It was initiated by a $1 million donation led by Dr. Najmaldin Karim, a neurosurgeon, […]
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NSC Continues Strong Partnership with Orlando’s PBS Affiliate
The Nicholson School of Communication is thrilled to continue its partnership with Orlando PBS affiliate, WUCF-TV and is now in the process of hiring a shared broadcast coordinator to serve as a liaison between the school and the station. The new broadcast coordinator will continue the work of NSC’s Radio-Television associate instructor, Stephanie Rice, who was instrumental […]
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Chemistry Students Uknight to Combat Graduate Level Stress
Like many graduate students, Karen Chiang entered her Ph.D. program full of enthusiasm, and she looked forward to earning her scientific wings. But instead, graduate school became associated with some of the lowest points in her life, because of the overwhelming stress and self-doubt she experienced. “I had a very difficult time seeing myself in […]
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Making a Difference in Uganda
After a semester conducting research as a Fulbright Scholar in Uganda, associate professor Ann Miller, Ph.D. returns to the Nicholson School of Communication this fall. Miller was the recipient of the Fulbright AIDS and AIDS-Related Research Award and spent the 2015 spring semester at her host institution, Uganda Christian University (UCU). There she partnered with UCU […]
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UCF Anthropologists “Dig Up” New Speaker Series
In partnership with the University of Central Florida, the Orlando Science Center is hosting a special guest speaker series in conjunction with the Mummies of the World: The Exhibition. Topics will feature studies on current anthropological and archeological research around the world, including mummification, bioarcheology and forensic anthropology. The Mummies of the World exhibition depicts an once-in-a-lifetime […]
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Thinking Small Wins UCF Big NASA Project
Sometimes thinking small can get you a big win. That’s certainly the case for a team of physicists at the University of Central Florida. UCF was one of only two universities selected to prepare an experiment for a miniaturized satellite mission as part of NASA’s Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration (SIMPLEx) program. Twenty-two projects […]
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The Politics of Reproductive Rights in Post-Soviet Poland
Associate professor of anthropology, Joanna Mishtal, Ph.D., had her book, The Politics of Morality: The Church, the State and Reproductive Rights in Postsocialist Poland, published and released with Ohio University Press in August. The Politics of Morality is a full-length, single author ethnography based on 21 months of primary data collection in Kraków, Warsaw, and […]
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Lifetime Achievement
Nicholson School of Communication associate instructor, Shari Hodgson received the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce’s first ever “Lifetime Achievement Award” for her devotion to the development and success of leadership programs, including Youth Leaders. Hodgson, who teaches in the human communication program, was honored earlier this year at the Chamber’s 25th anniversary ceremony. “Shari is someone […]
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NSC Professor Wins Distinguished National Award
With a growing body of revered research on risk and crisis communication, one of the newest faculty members at the Nicholson School of Communication (NSC), Timothy Sellnow, Ph.D., recently won National Communication Association’s Gerald M. Phillips Award for Distinguished Applied Communication Scholarship. First presented in 1994, the Gerald M. Phillips award is given to scholars responsible for authoring […]
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Anthropology Department: Past and Present
The department of anthropology hosted a welcome back BBQ on August 22, 2015 to welcome six new faculty members and to honor the department’s inaugural chair, and current Associate Dean for the College of Sciences, Arlen Chase, Ph.D., for his many contributions to the department. Dr. Arlen Chase was the department of anthropology’s inaugural chair when they became a department in […]
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New Doctor on Campus
Amanda Groff, Ph.D., lecturer in the anthropology department, recently completed her Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Florida. She received her B.A. in anthropology from UCF in 2003, her Maya Studies Certificate from UCF in 2005 and her M.A. in anthropology from UCF in 2007. Dr. Groff is a lecturer of anthropology who specializes in archaeology and bioarchaeology. Her […]
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National Geographic Educator of the Week
Timothy L. Hawthorne, Ph.D., assistant professor of geographic information systems (GIS) in the department of sociology, is featured as the National Geographic Educator of the Week. Dr. Hawthorne spent his summer teaching students at the Urban Atlanta Geospatial STEM Academy as part of a $75,000 Verizon Foundation grant. This academy provides a place for […]
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UCF Physics Alumna Paves Pathway for Future Research
Dr. Clara Rivero-Baleine, ’01, ’03, ’05, was honored as the 2015 Outstanding Physics AlumKnight at the inaugural award ceremony in February. Her continued commitment to excellence in the industry along with her pioneering efforts in research and development are just some of the reasons the UCF Physics Department nominated her for the award. Dr. Rivero-Baleine […]
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Mathematics Professor Becomes Editor
One of our esteemed mathematics professors has been invited by the National Institute of Standards and Technology to serve as a Senior Associate Editor for the NIST Digital Library of Mathematical Functions. Mourad Ismail, Ph.D., has been recognized on numerous occasions for his hard work within the field of mathematics. NIST, now a part of […]
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2015 UCF College Showcase
The UCF College of Sciences will once again participate in the UCF College Showcase during UCF Family Weekend. Family Weekend, taking place September 18-20, is a UCF annual tradition bringing together families and students to create memories that will last a lifetime. Events taking place throughout the weekend include campus tours, The Understudy play at the UCF […]
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New Fellow in the College of Sciences
Elizabeth Grauerholz, Ph.D., will be serving in the coming year as a Dean’s Fellow for the UCF College of Sciences. Her responsibilities will include the college’s assessment efforts. Dr. Grauerholz is a professor of sociology at the University of Central Florida with areas of research interest that include the scholarship of teaching and learning, gender, family and […]
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College of Sciences Graduate Program Panel
Kick-off this year’s Pegasus Palooza at the COS Graduate Panel, Monday, August 24th, hosted by the Graduate Student Association (GSA) and the UCF College of Sciences (COS). The panel will be held in the Pegasus Ballroom of the Student Union from 2:30 to 4 p.m. Four students from different COS graduate programs including anthropology, biology, […]
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Anthropology Students Help Uncover Napoleon Army Death Mystery
After the discovery of a mass grave in 2001 featuring the remains of Napoleon Bonaparte’s army in Lithuania, UCF anthropology students Serenela Pelier and Sammantha Holder recently performed a research study on the remains of the soldiers. Over 3,000 corpses were found and revealed to be from “Napoleon’s Grande Armée” in 1812. The soldiers were amidst traveling through Vilnius, […]