Thu Mar 4
Today’s global pandemic was just a worst-case scenario when Deanna Sellnow, Ph.D., and Timothy Sellnow, Ph.D., developed a communications plan for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2006. Still, the husband and wife team, both faculty in the Nicholson School of Communication and Media, are encouraged they could play a part in how…
Tue Mar 2
Dear Colleagues and Students: I am pleased to report that a search is now underway for dean of the College of Sciences. The college plays a central role in supporting UCF’s advancement as a major metropolitan research university that serves a highly diverse community, one that champions the success of students from all backgrounds. We…
Mon Feb 22
An upcoming internship at one of the most storied laboratories in the world represents a big first step into a career as a nuclear scientist for Travis Hager. The Department of Chemistry senior is poised to wrap up two years of study and research under the mentorship of Assistant Professor Vasileios Anagnostopoulos,Ph.D.. Adding to his…
Thu Feb 18
University of Central Florida researchers are homing in on the cause of a major disease of sea turtles, with some of their latest findings implicating saltwater leeches as a possible factor. The disease, known as fibropapillomatosis, or FP, causes sea turtles to develop tumors on their bodies, which can limit their mobility and also their…
Fri Feb 12
The American Association for the Advancement of Science will induct Pegasus Professor Talat Rahman, Ph.D., as a fellow in an official ceremony this weekend. The storied society traces its history back to the mid-19th century; Rahman shares her fellow status with scientists as varied as Thomas Edison, sociologist W.E.B. Du Bois and anthropologist Margaret Mead.…
Wed Feb 10
NASA has selected a University of Central Florida nanotechnology team as one of seven university groups from around the country tasked with developing ways to stop the negative effects of moon dust during lunar missions. The selection, which was announced recently, is part of a year-long initiative known as the Breakthrough, Innovative and Game-changing (BIG) Idea Challenge, in…
Fri Feb 5
Committing to anti-racism requires that we not only examine individual-level interactions that reproduce inequalities, but that we make actual changes to ensure our procedures are equitable and inclusive. In the Department of Sociology, we have pledged to become a better and more welcoming place for students and scholars from minoritized groups. To do this, we…
Thu Feb 4
World leaders don’t have a crystal ball to help them predict how the pandemic will look in the coming months, but two teams of UCF researchers are working to provide the next best thing. The teams — known as University of Central Florida and Pandemic Wave Predictor —have advanced with 46 other teams to phase…
Tue Jan 19
University of Central Florida planetary science continues its ascent as a leader in space research with another high-profile flight, this time aboard Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne, which was blasted into orbit Sunday from the company’s 747 carrier aircraft, Cosmic Girl. The launch took place at 10:50 a.m. at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California.…
Mon Jan 11
Florida’s threatened coral reefs have a more than $4 billion annual economic impact on the state’s economy, and University of Central Florida researchers are zeroing in on one factor that could be limiting their survival – coral skeleton strength. In a new study published in the journal Coral Reefs, UCF engineering researchers tested how well staghorn…
Fri Dec 18
Aprototype sensor that detects Moon dust by shooting lasers through the sky has successfully completed its first hurdle. That means UCF is one step closer to building the real instrument that could fly to the moon on a future mission. UCF researchers designed the Ejecta STORM instrument to scan the area around a lunar lander…
Wed Dec 16
Stargazers are in for a very rare treat on Monday. If the clouds cooperate, they’ll be able to see the “Bethlehem Star” — an event that hasn’t been seen in about 800 years. The moniker applies to the Christian description of the “Bethlehem” or “Christmas Star” that was said to have appeared in the night…
Wed Dec 16
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 citation…
Wed Dec 16
Agreat professor really can change a student’s life. Lain Graham, who will be graduating with her doctoral degree in sociology on Dec. 19, can attest to the power a knowledgeable and caring faculty member can have on a life — and in her case on a whole family. “I first met Dr. Tim Hawthorne as an anthropology…
Thu Dec 10
Founding Director and Professor of the UCF Nanoscience Technology Center, James J. Hickman, Ph.D., has been honored as an inductee of the National Academy of Inventors for his outstanding contributions in the field of both biological and non-biological nanoscience. UCF recruited Hickman in 2004 to establish the NanoScience Technology Center following recognition for his work…
Wed Dec 9
Tens of thousands of acres of protected Florida habitats will receive deeper scientific scrutiny thanks to a new agreement between The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and UCF Coastal. TNC has been on a mission since 1951 to guard prime Florida landscapes from development and conduct scientific research through a team that includes 50 scientists and land…
Thu Dec 3
Students interested in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) now have another good reference book to help them get started: the Fundamentals of Recoupling and Decoupling Techniques in Solid-State NMR. The book by Physics Associate Professor Physics faculty Bo Chen, Ph.D., was just published by the American Institute of Physics, LLC (AIP). The book covers a wide range…
Wed Dec 2
NASA today gave a team of researchers the green light to begin building instruments that will be launched on a satellite to scan and create high-resolution maps of water on the moon. In June 2019, NASA selected the Lunar Trailblazer mission, along with three other proposed missions, for further study under its Small Innovative Missions…
Tue Dec 1
A handheld device that could allow individuals to screen themselves for cancer is one potential outcome of ongoing research into the power of terahertz lasers. The work comes from the lab of Richard Klemm, Ph.D.,in collaboration with the Kadowaki-Kashiwagi-Tsujimoto and Minami groups at the University of Tsukuba in Japan. They recently published the results of…
Tue Dec 1
The instrument platform of the 305-meter telescope at Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico fell at approximately 7:55 a.m. Puerto Rico time today, Dec. 1. No injuries were reported as a result of the collapse, but it caused damage to the observatory dish and surrounding facilities. Extent of the damage is being assessed. “Safety of personnel…