The University of Central Florida brings innovation and solutions to some of society’s most pressing problems through research and the discovery and dissemination of new knowledge and avenues for progress.
Fri Sep 10
Ateam of researchers at the University of Central Florida have created a new nanomaterial that repels water and can stay dry even when submerged underwater. The discovery could open the door to the development of more efficient water-repellent surfaces, fuel cells and electronic sensors to detect toxins. The work is documented in the cover story of…
Fri Sep 10
The U.S. National Science Foundation has awarded UCF a grant to purchase and install an almost $2 million high-peak-power, high-repetition-rate ultrafast infrared laser system — a first of its kind in the world. The money is an investment in the cutting-edge research being conducted at UCF, which is advancing knowledge and technologies in physical, chemical, and…
Fri Sep 10
UCF researchers have developed a nanoparticle-based disinfectant that can continuously kill viruses on a surface for up to seven days – a discovery that could be a powerful weapon against COVID-19 and other emerging pathogenic viruses. The findings, by a multidisciplinary team of the university’s virus and engineering experts and the leader of an Orlando technology firm,…
Thu Sep 2
Human-caused climate change — including increased extreme weather and climate events — is here, according to the recently released United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2021 report, but the best way to communicate the concern is still debated. The panel’s previous report in 2018 was widely reported by media as setting a 12-year deadline…
Wed Sep 1
From fraudulent COVID-19 small business loans to security breaches that leak shoppers’ credit card data, the exploitation of the complex nature of corporate relationships continues to be a major concern. For instance, the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center received more than 28,000 complaints related to COVID-19 fraud in 2020 and a record number of complaints…
Wed Sep 1
An ingenious idea born out of a research lab at the University of Central Florida has led to a growing operation that is having a direct impact on space exploration. Chances are that some of the equipment landing on the moon and the methods that will be used to grow food or build shelter, will…
Wed Sep 1
Having a structured environment for children, whether during school days or when stuck in quarantine as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, could benefit children’s health, according to new research from the University of Central Florida. In a study of more than 50 rural schoolchildren over the course of two weeks, researchers found that behaviors that lead…
Thu Aug 26
A new study from the University of Central Florida suggests that masks and a good ventilation system are more important than social distancing for reducing the airborne spread of COVID-19 in classrooms. The research, published recently in the journal Physics of Fluids, comes at a critical time when schools and universities are considering returning to more…
Tue Aug 24
One of the nation’s largest philanthropic organizations – the W. M. Keck Foundation – has awarded the University of Central Florida a $1 million Science and Engineering Research grant. The money is for a project led by University of Central Florida College of Optics and Photonics Professors Ayman Abouraddy and Demetrios Christodoulides. The project is titled Space-time…
Tue Aug 24
UCF will be a player in developing innovative technologies needed to support NASA’s Artemis program, which will return people to the moon and create a robust presence there over the next decade. The university has been awarded a $500,000 grant to create transformative space technologies by bringing together interdisciplinary teams of faculty and students to work…
Tue Aug 24
Disagreement seems to spread online posts faster and further than agreement, according to a new study from the University of Central Florida. The finding comes from an examination of posts labeled controversial on social news aggregation site Reddit. To perform the study, the researchers analyzed more than 47,000 posts about cybersecurity in a Reddit dataset…
Tue Aug 24
Your home may be the most comfortable place to be during an epidemic, until someone’s infected. If someone in your household gets COVID-19 or another airborne disease, how can you prevent it from spreading to others in your home? This question is the basis of a recently completed research project at the FSEC Energy Research Center,…
Tue Aug 24
Storm surges can be deadly coastal hazards but the current historical tide gauge data that is needed to better understand them, and perhaps predict their impacts, doesn’t go far back enough in time. That’s why University of Central Florida researchers are working to reconstruct the missing data and compile the information in a newly created…
Sun Aug 22
The University of Central Florida is incorporating new technology that produces a lifelike person in hologram form to help train future healthcare professionals. This is a historic first in healthcare education and was funded in part by a gift from Brooks Rehabilitation. The tech was created by PORTL Inc., and its use in healthcare education is being…
Thu Aug 19
College of Medicine researchers have discovered a new technology to accelerate wound-healing using specially designed ceramics wrapped in a rubber blanket fabricated for them by Gladiator Therapeutics. Their findings were accepted for presentation at the Military Health System Research Symposium (MHSRS), scheduled in Kissimmee, Florida, Aug 23-26, 2021. The MHSRS is the USA Department of Defense’s premier scientific meeting…
Wed Aug 18
The Citizen Science Geographic Information Systems (GIS) team at UCF spent long days trekking through shoreline mud and sweating in coastal heat this past summer — and they couldn’t have been happier about it. The return to fieldwork follows a pandemic pause on critical shoreline mapping, which the team attempted to continue with limited success…
Mon Aug 16
UCF will be a player in developing innovative technologies needed to support NASA’s Artemis program, which will return people to the moon and create a robust presence there over the next decade. The university has been awarded a $500,000 grant to create transformative space technologies by bringing together interdisciplinary teams of faculty and students to work…
Wed Aug 4
Hydrogen fuel derived from the sea could be an abundant and sustainable alternative to fossil fuels, but the potential power source has been limited by technical challenges, including how to practically harvest it. Researchers at the University of Central Florida have designed for the first time a nanoscale material that can efficiently split seawater into…
Wed Jul 21
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…
Wed Jul 21
In a recent study in Gerontology & Geriatric Medicine, Dr. Su-I Hou, professor and founding director of UCF’s School of Global Health Management & Informatics, identified models of how older adults can best “age in community” – a more updated approach than “aging in place,” which primarily focuses on keeping older adults out of long-term care facilities and in their…