Tue Aug 25
To help keep first responders safe, University of Central Florida researchers have developed an artificial intelligence method that not only rapidly and remotely detects the powerful drug fentanyl, but also teaches itself to detect any previously unknown derivatives made in clandestine batches. The method, published recently in the journal Scientific Reports, uses infrared light spectroscopy and…
Sun Aug 23
Longtime work to restore oyster reefs in the Indian River Lagoon has found a new, unusual ally: potato chips. The Coastal and Estuarine Ecology Lab at UCF has been experimenting with various products looking for an effective, biodegradable material for restoration that’s inexpensive. For the past 14 months the group has been testing a mesh…
Fri Aug 21
A notable figure from UCF’s past is the inspiration behind a new scholarship created to help students build a brighter future. The name John T. Washington is probably familiar to campus visitors walking through the breezeway named in his honor, but his connection to UCF less so. Washington, Ph.D., was one of the first African…
Fri Aug 21
University of Central Florida researchers are making the cutting-edge field of attosecond science more accessible to researchers from all disciplines. Their method to help open up the field is detailed in a new study published today in the journal Science Advances. An attosecond is one billionth of a billionth of a second, and the ability to…
Tue Aug 18
Graduate students interested in developing social justice research projects have a new funding source through Citizen Science GIS in the Department of Sociology. The new initiative splits proposals into two areas: Amplify Knight Voices and Broaden Community Connections. Amplify Knight Voices funds projects that address “educational or environmental inequality; oppression; anti-racist practices and systems; and/or…
Tue Aug 18
A$170,000 grant award from the National Science Foundation will allow a research team led by Clay Posey, associate professor of management and a cybersecurity expert, to explore the ramifications of home-based work environments on company security. Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S. in March, the country’s business landscape has rapidly shifted in favor of remote work,…
Mon Aug 17
At the intersection of political science and medicine sits the passion of Kezia Domond ’20, a recent UCF political science graduate with a calling to help those in underrepresented and underprivileged communities throughout the world. This upcoming fall, Domond takes a seat in Boston University’s Masters of Public Health program, where her hope is to…
Fri Aug 14
A shift from rote memorization to active learning is producing measurable, positive results for students taking Calculus I. The Fall 2019 drop/add rate fell from UCF’s historical 54% to 18-22% across all calculus courses after Professor Eduardo Teixeira, Ph.D., deployed a technique called meaningful learning theory. The statistical majority grade also rose to an A.…
Mon Aug 10
It was the second semester of her freshman year when Andrea de la Camara ’13 stumbled upon the political science department at the University of Central Florida. An aspiring veterinarian at the time, de la Camara didn’t know that she’d soon be an ambitious graduate with a budding career in the field of political science.…
Fri Aug 7
A new fellowship offered by the Department of Biology gives doctoral students the chance to experience what it’s like to be in charge of the classroom. The doctoral teaching fellowship debuts this fall, and walks Ph.D. candidates through the process of designing and teaching their own courses. Matthew Atkinson is one of the first to…
Wed Aug 5
When Taylor Douglas fell in love with physics and began to pursue it in college, she started to feel like an outsider. Most of her classmates were men and white. After earning her bachelor’s degree at Rowan University in New Jersey, she applied to several institutions to pursue a master’s degree, something only 6 percent…
Tue Aug 4
“I have desks all over the place,” laughs Eric Merriam. “I think I have four right now. I spend a lot of time at those desks.” Merriam is an associate professor with a joint appointment to the Department of Legal Studies and the School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs at UCF. He’s also a husband and father, UCF’s Moot…
Wed Jul 29
COVID-19 infection rates may be peaking in Orange County later this month and trending down toward December, according to new projections by data scientists at the University of Central Florida. The researchers from the Departments of Statistics and Data Science and Computer Science caution, however, that their projections — built using the latest artificial intelligence and deep-learning models —…
Mon Jul 27
Noble metals, such as platinum, palladium, and rhodium are among the most versatile and efficient industrial catalysts for a large number of reactions, ranging from the purification of poisonous pollutants emitted by vehicle engines to the generation of commodity chemicals or clean energy resource, which benefits the environment and our society. But there’s a limited supply of noble…
Thu Jul 23
As protests and demonstrations spread around the country in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, UCF students have the opportunity to enroll in a variety of courses that can help them better understand the calls for equality, reform and justice. These 13 courses are a sampling of what is offered at UCF this fall…
Thu Jul 23
For frogs dying of the invasive chytridiomycosis disease, the leading cause of amphibian deaths worldwide, the genes responsible for protecting them may actually be leading to their demise, according to a new study published today in the journal Molecular Ecology by University of Central Florida and the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) researchers. The lowland leopard frog,…
Wed Jul 22
A doctorate degree represents one of the highest honors in academia. The 2020 Summer term’s Ph.D. graduates not only earned this honor, they did so with the extra stress of doing their work remotely. The College of Science recognizes and applauds the hard work applied to receive this degree. Chemistry Ziyang Huang, Ph.D.Faculty Advisor: Swadeshmukul…
Tue Jul 21
Researchers have discovered, for the first time, how frogs use the chemical responsible for the color of bile and bruises for their own camouflage coloring. The mechanism the frogs use to turn what is essentially a waste product into a part of their protection is detailed in a new study published this month in the…
Fri Jul 17
The enduring legacy of non-violent conflict resolution championed by two prominent Indian thinkers is the focus of two new books by Adjunct Professor Aurobinda Mahapatra, Ph.D. The first is titled “Gandhi and the World,” and it explores the question: “Is it possible to generate Gandhian optimism in nonviolent methods to address conflicts in the contemporary…
Fri Jul 17
UCF students pursuing careers in intelligence will continue to receive competitive advantages thanks to renewed federal funding for UCF’s Intelligence Community Center for Academic Excellence (ICCAE). The five-year funding from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence is particularly helpful for minority students, who are historically underrepresented in intelligence careers. ICCAE Director Tom Dolan…