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College of Sciences

Surviving Earthquake Motivates UCF Grad to Make the Most of Her Life

Adecade has passed since a 7.0 magnitude earthquake rocked Haiti, killing roughly 250,000 people and injuring another 300,000. Many who survived were forced to live among the aftermath in makeshift tents. Soon-to-be UCF graduate Bianka Paul was one of them. Paul, who is earning two degrees in psychology and criminal justice this semester, remembers much of that afternoon in…

UCF Police Officer, Professor Recognized by Secret Service

Aveteran UCF Police officer and a College of Sciences professor were recently honored by the United States Secret Service for their work with the federal agency. Detective Eric Walton, a 30-year veteran with UCF Police, and Michael Sigman, a chemistry professor at UCF, were honored with a surprise presentation as a thanks for providing valuable…

UCF College of Sciences Researchers Join Project to Fight Animal-borne Diseases

Two University of Central Florida College of Sciences researchers have been selected by a national philanthropic foundation as research fellows to help fight the threat of animal-borne diseases. Laurene Tetard, an associate professor in UCF’s Department of Physics, and Xiaohu Xia, an assistant professor in UCF’s Department of Chemistry, were selected as fellows by the Research Corporation for Science…

Endowed Scholarship Further Cements UCF’s Leadership Role in Gaming Industry

Thanks to a $100,000 gift from Electronic Arts (EA), an endowed scholarship was created to benefit students in the University of Central Florida’s Nicholson School of Communication and Media in the College of Sciences. One of many initiatives in a multifaceted strategy to empower students from diverse backgrounds to explore successful careers in fields of…

UCF Study Finds Smaller Turtles are Nesting on Florida Beaches

A new University of Central Florida study indicates that smaller loggerhead and green sea turtles are nesting on Florida beaches than in the past; however, researchers aren’t sure why. The findings, published this month in the journal Ecosphere, give clues to the status of the turtles, which is important to researchers who are monitoring the population…

UCF RESTORES Provides Mental Health Aid at Surfside Condo Collapse

While in Surfside, Florida, a first responder working the tragic collapse of the Champlain Towers South condo building approached Deborah Beidel with fine jewelry he found among the rubble. He was worried about who it belonged to and the significance it held. “With discoveries like this, you’re helping people get a part of their relative…

12 UCF Researchers Honored with Asteroids Named after Them

Adozen University of Central Florida space researchers were honored recently when planetary bodies were named after them. This brings the total number of current UCF researchers whose names are attached to asteroids to 19, along with another 12 former researchers. The honor comes just in time for today’s International Asteroid Day, which was started in 2015 to…

UCF Journalism Alumna Part of Pulitzer Prize-winning Team at The New York Times

AUCF graduate was part of the data collection team that helped The New York Times win the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in Public Service — the highest honor in journalism. The award was announced June 11. Bianca Fortis ’10, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from UCF’s Nicholson School of Communication and Media, was part of the daily data journalism team…

Online Forums Set for UCF College of Sciences Dean Finalists

The campus community is invited to online presentations starting Monday (June 21) through June 29 by finalists for the next dean of the UCF College of Sciences. Each finalist will provide a presentation on student success and helping UCF advance as a major metropolitan research university. Questions and answers with the audience will follow. The…

Online Campus Forums Set for College of Sciences Dean Finalists

See the Job Prospectus The campus community is invited to online forums Monday, June 21, through June 29 for five finalists seeking to be the next dean of the College of Sciences, UCF’s largest college.  Each forum will feature a presentation by a candidate on student success and helping UCF advance as a top metropolitan…

Study Sheds Light on Pre-Columbian Life in Understudied Area of SW Amazon

Anew study co-authored by University of Central Florida researchers shows that pre-Columbian people of a culturally diverse but not well-documented area of the Amazon in South America significantly altered their landscape thousands of years earlier than previously thought. The findings, published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, show evidence of people…

UCF Student Receives Boren Scholarship to Study Swahili

Language has an incredible ability to make us feel connected. For Abigail Reynolds the first time she connected through a foreign language was during a first-year UCF study abroad trip to South Africa, where a local woman gave her a Zulu name. “I helped run a clothing drive and I had the greatest time working…

UCF Research Flies Three-for-Three on Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo Unity

University of Central Florida research has now flown on the first three flights of Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo, VSS Unity, with Saturday’s successful launch and landing at Spaceport America in New Mexico. “It was exhilarating and moving to share the experience with the large group of family and friends of Virgin Galactic employees on hand for…

New Virtual Reality Technology to Treat PTSD Enters Clinical Trials

The American Psychiatric Association estimates that one in 11 people will be diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in their lifetime, but new virtual reality (VR) technology is providing hope for the recovery of those suffering. UCF RESTORES, a nonprofit trauma research center and treatment clinic at UCF, has developed a state-of-the-art VR treatment tool that can…

UCF Forensic Scientists Unlocking Unique Chemical Signatures In Tires

Skid marks left by cars are often analyzed for their impression patterns, but they often don’t provide enough information to identify a specific vehicle. UCF Chemistry Associate Professor Matthieu Baudelet and his forensics team at the National Center for Forensic Science, which was established at UCF in 1997, may have just unlocked a new way to…