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UCF Gains Chemistry through Skype-Casting
On Thursday, Feb. 18, 2016, Romain Gaume, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Optics and Phototonics at UCF, gave a lecture on the science and art of glass that was presented in person to UCF chemistry students and simultaneously Skype-cast to over 40 of their peers at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida. The following Saturday students […]
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UCF Chemistry Hosts First Conclave
On Saturday, April 2, 2016, the American Chemical Society (ACS) Central Florida Student chapters at UCF, Rollins, Stetson, and FIT hosted the first annual American Chemical Society Florida Chemistry Conclave (ACSFCC) at the UCF Orlando main campus. The Conclave was a free, one-day, professional-development workshop. Students from across the state gathered in Orlando for a day filled with research, networking, […]
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Statistics Brings the Big Data
Big Data is the estimated 2.5 quintillion bytes of data that we create per day from conducting our daily lives; posting on social media, using rewards cards at stores, making insurance claims, surfing the internet, etc. On March 28, the UCF Statistics Department hosted its sixth annual Big Data Analytics Symposium. During the symposium, professionals […]
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Big Data Win for UCF Math Lecturer
UCF Mathematics lecturer, Aaron Smith, Ph.D., was awarded first place in the 2016 EverBank Cup Contest at the Big Data Analytics Symposium on March 28, 2016. The 4th annual EverBank Cup Contest recognizes outstanding achievement in data mining and analytics made by Florida higher education students. Dr. Smith, a SAS Data Mining Certificate student at […]
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Hot Summer Nights in Roman Egypt
Join Anthropology Lecturer, Lana Williams, Ph.D., on Tuesday, April 26, as she talks about seasonality in conception, birth, and death and how it is one of the most fundamental and enduring patterns in life’s rhythms. These patterns are mostly influenced by interactions between biology and environment. However, human culture also plays a very distinct role […]
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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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New UCF Greenhouse Takes Root
Story by Jonathan Gabriel, UCF Today The UCF Arboretum celebrated the completion of a new campus greenhouse that will support UCF’s educational and research efforts. UCF faculty, staff and students gathered at the new greenhouse for a ribbon cutting ceremony and reception on Friday, March 25. Dr. Michael Johnson, Dean of the UCF College of […]
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A Savage World for Frogs
UCF biologist Anna Savage, Ph.D., is obsessed with frogs and figuring out why they are dying at an unprecedented rate around the world. Her latest research, published today in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, suggests that natural selection as well as other evolutionary forces have shaped the evolution of immune genes in […]
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Bill Nye Encourages Students to Help ‘Change the World’
March 16, 2016 – By Daniela Marin With the same bow tie, sense of humor and knack for explaining things, Bill Nye the Science Guy broke down a new topic at the University of Central Florida on March 15 – changing the world. On the same day as the Florida presidential primaries, a crowd […]
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UCF Used Green Thumb this St. Patrick’s Day
This St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 2016, UCF volunteers gathered to celebrate UCF’s trees in recognition of Arbor Day. UCF Landscape and Natural Resources and the Arboretum hosted the Arbor Day event by leading volunteers through a planting and learning experience. National Arbor Day is always celebrated on the last Friday in April, but many states observe Arbor Day […]
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UCF Brings the Evidence
On March 11, Michael Sigman, Ph.D., Candice Bridge, Ph.D., and Erika Remley, M.S., presented at the Conference on the Modern Interpretation of Forensic Evidence at Florida A&M University, College of Law in downtown Orlando. The conference, a Continued Legal Education (CLE) training event, was aimed towards criminal law practitioners to help them understand advanced scientific practices that will […]
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COS Women Making History
Since March of 1981, Americans everywhere have helped pay tribute to women whose commitment to humanity and to our planet have proved to be invaluable for society. Each year during March – Women’s History Month, the UCF Center for Success of Women Faculty honors and shares the stories of 31 outstanding UCF women that have been […]
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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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Service Learning with Nanoscience
A new minor in the rapidly advancing field of nanoscience is now available for University of Central Florida undergraduates. Nanoscience is the study of materials on the nanometer scale. That’s exceedingly small – a sheet of paper is about 75,000 nanometers thick. At the nanoscale, materials can exhibit unusual properties that scientists have put to […]
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The Last Man on the Moon
On Thursday, March 17th, please join us for a special preview screening of The Last Man on the Moon. The Last Man on the Moon is a film about Captain Eugene A. Cernan and how he holds the distinction of being the last man to leave his footprints on the moon. Forty years later, Captain Cernan is now […]
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Big Data in Psychology: Tweets, Work and Stress
Assistant Professor of Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Wei Wang, Ph.D., was the lead big data researcher on a recently published paper entitled “Twitter Analysis: Studying U.S. Weekly Trends in Work Stress and Emotion.” According to Center for Disease Control and Prevention and previous research, in the United States, more than 70% of workers report that their jobs are stressful, […]
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Success at Sociology Career Day
On Wednesday, March 2, the Sociology Department, along with the College of Sciences and Career Services, hosted the third annual Sociology Career Day. The Key West Ballroom in the UCF Student Union was filled with the buzz of sociology students, eager to network with representatives from local and national organizations. Nearly 200 students and alumni visited this year’s […]
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Bill Nye Comes to UCF
Get your bow ties ready because Bill Nye is coming to UCF! Students, faculty and staff are invited to spend “An Afternoon with Bill Nye,” popularly known as “The Science Guy,” on March 15, 2016. Nye won America’s heart as the star of the live-action educational comedy that aired on PBS from 1993-1998. He famously […]
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COS Student Captures Coveted Internship
Alex Alvarado is learning in a very different classroom this semester: the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. The UCF junior, who is pursuing a B.S. degree in Legal Studies, with a minor in Intelligence and National Security, is working in the office of Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who represents Florida’s 27th Congressional District. The new Intelligence and National Security […]
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Florida Declared a Global Biodiversity Hotspot
The North American Coastal Plain – the low-lying land stretching from Texas to Florida to New England – was recently named the 36th biodiversity hotspot in the world, highlighting the importance of this region, but signaling concerns over threats to the plant and animal life there. UCF Biology professor, Reed Noss, Ph.D., was the lead […]
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UCF Research Steals the Show
The spotlight was on UCF at the 2016 Indian River Lagoon Symposium (IRLS). On Feb. 11-12, the Indian River Lagoon and their sponsors held the Indian River Lagoon Symposium at the Johnson Education Center, FAU Harbor Branch, in Fort Pierce, Florida. This year’s theme was Indian River Lagoon: Linking Research with Management. The goals of this […]
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Faculty Cluster Pursues Coastal Sustainability
Coastal systems research will soon evolve beyond its typical limits by integrating an interdisciplinary focus in a new collective opportunity. To no surprise, coastal systems research is vital to the state of Florida, given that its well-being maintains the economy and environment. The University of Central Florida’s faculty has recognized these stresses and has taken […]
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The Kurdish Chair in Kurdistan
Güneş Murat Tezcür, the Jalal Talabani Endowed Chair of Kurdish Political Studies, traveled to Kurdistan Region of Iraq between February 6 and 13. During his trip, Dr. Tezcür met with the Presidents and administrators of the three largest public universities of Kurdistan, Salahaddin University-Erbil, the University of Duhok, and the University of Sulaimani, as well […]
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Get Plugged in with Anthropology Professor Branting
On Jan. 28, Assistant professor of anthropology, Scott Branting, Ph.D., participated in a Future Tense discussion about how present and emerging technologies can be used to deliver cultural heritage from the past to the future. After the event, Increasing Human Potential asked Dr. Branting for a follow-up interview for their “Unmanned Unplugged” feature. Increasing Human […]
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Biology Student Makes Waves with Research
Congratulations to UCF biology major, Lacie Anderson, for her accomplishment as the February recipient of the Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Award (DURA). Each month, one student is rewarded for their time and effort spent researching a subject of their choice. During their research, students work with a mentor that guides and helps them during the process. With their […]
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Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Joshua King
Growing up in a rural community in New England, Joshua King, Ph.D., entomologist and associate professor in the Department of Biology, began his exploration in the life sciences as many children do: outdoors. With a voracious curiosity, King developed a hobby of observing and collecting insects. Inspired by the support and encouragement of his high […]
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Rachel Carson’s Legacy for Florida
On Feb. 17, join Robert Musil, Ph.D., M.P.H., president and CEO of the Rachel Carson Council (RCC), as he shares Rachel Carson’s environmental legacy for Florida. Dr Musil will be speaking about how Rachel Carson and her work was and still is relevant to the state of Florida. The presentation will be followed by a workshop on environmentalism and book […]
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UCF Pendulum Swings Back Into Action
The College of Sciences is proud to announce that for the first time in more than 20 years, the pendulum in the Mathematical Science building is swinging back and forth again. The Foucault Pendulum, named after a French Physicist, was part of the original building and has been on campus since October 1970. Back then […]
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Central Florida Math Circle
The Department of Mathematics at UCF presents The Central Florida Math Circle. These sessions offer students of the Central Florida area, particularly middle school students, an opportunity to have fun with mathematics. The Math Circle is not directed towards a particular curriculum; it is not a class, a lecture or a tutorial. It is a way to have […]
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UCF Recognized as ‘Center of Excellence’
UCF researcher Swadeshmukul Santra, Ph.D., associate professor with the NanoScience Technology Center and the chemistry department at UCF, has been awarded a $1.9 million grant to develop a method for protecting the troubled citrus industry from the disease HLB, also known as citrus greening, U.S. Senator Bill Nelson announced Tuesday. In awarding the funding, the U.S. Department of […]