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College of Engineering and Computer Science

UCF to Host, Compete in 2023 ICPC North American Championship

Computer programming continues to grow exponentially in complexity. Our world relies on programming for so many things: scientific research, government services, eCommerce, business operations, artificial intelligence and strong cybersecurity to defend against online attacks. As programming becomes more sophisticated, it’s vital that America’s programmers keep pace. This year, UCF will host and compete in the ICPC…

UCF is Designing Self-repairing Oyster Reefs to Protect Florida’s Coastlines

University of Central Florida engineering researcher is part of an international team of scientists who are developing oyster-based shoreline protection for U.S. coastlines. The work is through a $12.6 million Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)-funded project that seeks to create self-repairing, biological and human-engineered reef-mimicking structures. The project is led by Rutgers University and…

From Outer Space to Garden Space

Literally speaking, the moon is 238,000 miles from every schoolyard in the United States. Mars is an average of 140 million miles away. Figuratively, however, slices of the moon and Mars are landing in classrooms across the country. They arrive inside an 11-inch by  8-inch box. When students open the box, they pull out ph…

UCF Ranks as a Top 25 U.S. Public University for Patents Granted

The University of Central Florida has moved into the ranks of the top 25 public universities in the nation for patents granted, according to the latest report from the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). UCF secured 63 patents in 2022, ranking it No. 52 in the world and No. 23 among public universities in the…

10 Knights Earn National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships

Ten Knights are the recipients of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program, where they receive financial support for their education and an annual stipend to support their research and career endeavors. It is one of the most prestigious awards for graduate students, with just about 16% of applicants awarded each year.…

UCF Knights Speed Past the Competition in Human-powered Vehicle Challenge

Agroup of UCF Knights raced to the top at the 2023 e-Human Powered Vehicle Challenge, a national design and innovation competition that encourages college students to design, build and race their own human-powered vehicle. The mechanical engineering majors won three top awards, including first place overall and the corresponding $1,000 prize. Their vehicle, a recumbent tricycle that…

UCF Hosts Spring 2023 Commencement May 5-6

UCF will award more than 9,000 degrees during six commencement ceremonies at Addition Financial Arena May 5-6, sending a talent pipeline of highly skilled graduates into careers that are vital for our region and our state. Of the degrees UCF expects to award, 7,548 are bachelor’s, 1,291 are master’s, 171 are doctoral and 12 are education specialist…

UCF Leads Development of First Large-scale System for Extended Reality Research

University of Central Florida researcher is leading a nearly $5 million U.S. National Science Foundation-funded project to develop the first, large-scale system for extended reality human subjects research. Called the Virtual Experience Research Accelerator, or VERA, the system will enable researchers to carry out large studies in extended reality (XR) environments, including virtual reality (VR),…

Limbitless Solutions Selected for 2023 Unity for Humanity Grant

Limbitless Solutions — a nonprofit and direct support organization at UCF dedicated to increasing accessibility and empowering children and adults in the limb difference community — and two affiliated UCF faculty members have received $85,000 in philanthropic grant funding for their bionic arm training video game, Quantum’s Pursuit.  The project was selected as one of eight winners…

UCF’s Limbitless Solutions Receives Honors from Florida Governor and First Lady

Limbitless Solutions president and co-founder Albert Manero ’12 ’14MS ’16PhDwas recently honored by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and First Lady Casey DeSantis during the first annual Florida Heroes reception. The event welcomed heroes from across Florida to the Governor’s Mansion in Tallahassee to honor them for exhibiting courage, perseverance, and self-sacrifice. This included police officers, first responders,…

The Sloan Foundation Awards $250K to Support Hispanic STEM Graduate Students

Thanks to a new partnership, UCF and its two partner schools in the Florida Consortium of Metropolitan Public Research Universities (the Consortium) ― Florida International University (FIU) and the University of South Florida (USF) ― will unleash the potential of Hispanic/Latina/o/x graduate students who seek to become leaders in the STEM workforce. The Alfred P.…

Celebrating UCF’s Incredible Employees on Founders’ Day 2023

UCF’s annual Employee Honors Celebration thanked and congratulated more than 350 employees for choosing the university as their professional home and advancing UCF’s impact as the University for the Future. UCF honored employees for reaching 5, 10, 15, 25, 30, 35 and 40 years of service; recognized recent retirees; and presented the Florida TaxWatch Productivity Awards for…

UCF Student Honors Celebration Spotlights Top Achievers

UCF’s stellar students being honored on Wednesday for Founders’ Day have unleashed their potential and excelled in colleges and disciplines across the university. Among the undergraduate and graduate students are groundbreaking national and global scholarship winners, researchers, athletes, teaching assistants, residence assistants and leaders in campus organizations such as Student Government, LEAD Scholars and the…

Awardees Announced for 2023 Founders’ Day Faculty Honors Celebration

UCF will showcase more than 200 faculty members for academic excellence and service Wednesday at the Founders’ Day Faculty Honors Celebration in the Student Union’s Pegasus Ballroom. The celebration runs 3-5 p.m. and includes a reception after the formal program. Highlighted are recipients of the Pegasus Professor Award, UCF’s highest faculty honor; recipients of the…

UCF Reach for the Stars 2023 Honorees Are Unleashing the Potential of People, Ideas

This year’s Reach for the Stars honorees are united by their passion to help people and positively change the world. By promoting positive healthcare and helping improve how we respond to survivors of violence to enriching the human experience through space exploration, advanced computing and cultural understanding, the honorees are helping unleash the potential of…

Researchers Identify 6 Challenges Humans Face with Artificial Intelligence

University of Central Florida professor and 26 other researchers have published a study identifying the challenges humans must overcome to ensure that artificial intelligence is reliable, safe, trustworthy and compatible with human values. The study, “Six Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence Grand Challenges,” was published in the International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction. Ozlem Garibay ’01MS ’08PhD, an assistant professor…

7 Unique Funds to Support on UCF Day of Giving

We’ll bounce, stomp and celebrate UCF Day of Giving on April 13 this year. With this celebration of all things Black & Gold, we wanted to highlight a few unique funds for those who are looking for the right area to support. Girls EXCELing in Math and Science (GEMS)  The GEMS program is dedicated to…

UCF Joins $25M National Consortium on Nuclear Forensics

UCF is one of 16 universities in the U.S. that have formed a consortium on nuclear forensics. The association is supported by a $25 million cooperative agreement with the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). The goal of the consortium is to engage in research that supports the NNSA’s nuclear security and nonproliferation…

UCF Alum Expands Business, Receives Support From Blue Origin

Abhishek Sastri ’20 built a business on cooling technology for high-performance computers. Now, the UCF mechanical engineering alumnus plans to take the business one step further by developing cooling technology for data centers around the world. The coolant is unlike anything created on Earth. It’s created in microgravity, and has already received recognition from Blue Origin. Sastri’s company,…

A World of Possibilities is Right Here

The requests come regularly to the research teams at UCF’s Institute of Simulation and Training (IST). The change leader of a company or with a government agency wants to know how they can take a gigantic innovative leap without also taking a gigantic risk. Is it even possible? And so, these leaders reach out to IST, where the following…