Mon Nov 30
Mohammed Al Awwad, a Junior at the School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs majoring in Political Science, has been selected for a highly competitive internship with the U.S. State Department in fall 2020. He is currently serving as Human Rights Research Intern at the United States Consulate of Erbil, Iraq, as part of the…
Tue Nov 24
Growing up with family members who held leadership positions with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians — the only federally recognized tribal nation in Alabama — Rebecca Naragon ’07 knew she wanted to pursue a career in public service. Now the political science grad is an economic development director for the United South and Eastern Tribes, a nonprofit organization…
Tue Nov 24
In response to the psychological toll of the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Central Florida’s psychological trauma clinic, UCF RESTORES, is working with Orange County on two new projects to provide treatment services in the area. The work will focus on residents of Azalea Park on the east side of Orlando and essential workers who live…
Mon Nov 23
The pandemic has brought great uncertainty, changed our opportunity to interact with loved ones and has affected millions of jobs. While 2020 has been a trying time, which will likely impact the next few years of our lives, some would suggest it’s even more important now than ever to be thankful for what you have.…
Mon Nov 23
The search for a superconductor that can work under less extreme conditions than hundreds of degrees below zero or at pressures like those near the center of the Earth is a quest for a revolutionary new power – one that’s needed for magnetically levitating cars and ultra-efficient power grids of the future. But developing this…
Thu Nov 19
Following a review of engineering assessments, the U.S. National Science Foundation today announced it will begin planning the controlled decommissioning of the 1,000-foot-wide telescope at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. The observatory, which UCF manages for NSF under a cooperative agreement, has for 57 years served as a world-class resource for radio astronomy and planetary,…
Wed Nov 18
Satisfaction and happiness are intangible, subjective emotions, but Statistics grad Donna Lockhart ’03 knows how to quantify those feelings into useful, actionable data. Lockhart currently leads the team that takes the pulse of guest satisfaction at Disney, and uses that data to make recommendations to senior leadership. While behind-the-scenes as the senior management consultant at…
Tue Nov 17
Today’s students are engaging in a world of politics that’s less meaningful conversation and more “angry team sports,” observes longtime Central Florida pundit Tico Perez ’83. Tico Perez Perez, an attorney and staunch Republican, recently did his part to reverse that trend by joining up with former Florida Representative and Democratic champion Dick Batchelor ‘71…
Fri Nov 13
An in-depth, years-long study into the practice of Central Florida mothers sharing their breast milk to nourish babies other than their own recently culminated in a co-authored book. The authors trace their interest in peer-to-peer breast milk sharing to Associate Professor of Sociology Shannon Carter, Ph.D., who first observed human milk sharing at breastfeeding support…
Fri Nov 13
The University of Central Florida today delivered engineering options to address the Arecibo Observatory to the National Science Foundation. UCF manages the facility under a cooperative agreement with Universidad Ana G. Méndez and Yang Enterprises Inc. for NSF. A main cable failed at AO about 7:30 pm on Nov. 6. Safety remains the team’s primary concern, so…
Tue Nov 10
Critical work mapping seagrass beds on the Pacific West Coast continues uninterrupted this fall thanks to innovative thinking from the Citizen Science GIS team. The seagrass (also known as eelgrass) project is funded by a $1.3 million grant from the National Science Foundation and helps researchers to measure seagrass meadow dynamics over time. This data…
Mon Nov 9
The day after Oneisha Eugene’s seventh birthday, her father, a St. Lucian native, was in a car accident that deprived his brain of oxygen long enough that he temporarily lost the ability to walk, move or talk. The accident altered his well-being for the rest of his life. “[Since] then, we basically had a very…
Mon Nov 9
Presidential election night is considered the Super Bowl of journalism. Journalists are expected to deliver at the highest-level while under intense pressure in a rapidly changing environment. Sixteen journalism students and 20 radio-television students recently experienced the election rite of passage through a partnership with the Orlando Sentinel on Nov. 3. Orlando’s flagship newspaper has been operating without a newsroom since…
Sun Nov 8
Amain cable that supports the Arecibo Observatory broke Friday at 7:39 p.m. Puerto Rico time. Unlike the auxiliary cable that failed at the same facility on Aug. 10, this main cable did not slip out of its socket. It broke and fell onto the reflector dish below, causing additional damage to the dish and other nearby…
Fri Nov 6
A documentary film about efforts to enhance education for the children of India’s sweeper communities will make its world premiere this month at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival. Lisa Mills, Ph.D., associate professor of Film in the Nicholson School of Communication and Media, wrote and directed Son of a Sweeper. The 30 minute film profiles Vimal…
Thu Nov 5
While some argue voting in the presidential election is one of the most important civic duties, ensuring that a democracy serves the best interests of its citizens requires active participation all year, every year. “America is built on hope for the next opportunity. What happens in the next midterm election two years from now, and…
Thu Nov 5
The India Center hosted a conference on “The Politics of Security in India: Progress and Challenges” during the month of October. The conference took place virtually as a series of three panels that featured international experts from academia and think tanks to discuss international, domestic and human security issues in India. Security constitutes a central…
Wed Nov 4
New research shows that abuse of prescription stimulant medication by adolescents and young adults is driven by different motivations closely linked to age. The study was conducted by Ty Schepis, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, Texas State University; Jason Ford, Ph.D., Department of Sociology, University of Central Florida; Timothy Wilens, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Mass. and…
Tue Nov 3
A new grant from the National Academies of Sciences will fund a “boots on the ground” approach to evaluating how severe wetland loss impacts the recreational fishing industry. Kristy A. Lewis, Ph.D, and her team at the Lewis Lab of Applied Coastal Ecology received the $110,662 grant in collaboration with Louisiana State University to help…
Fri Oct 30
The increase in online education has allowed a new type of teacher to emerge — an artificial one. But just how accepting students are of an artificial instructor remains to be seen. That’s why researchers at the University of Central Florida’s Nicholson School of Communication and Media are working to examine student perceptions of artificial intelligence-based teachers.…