Research
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.
Mon Mar 1
Making sure spacecraft don’t crash into each other or into space junk is at the center of Assistant Professor Tarek A. Elgohary’s research at UCF’s Astrodynamics and Space Robotics Laboratory. Using analytical and computational methods in addition to machine learning techniques, Elgohary and his team of students calculate the probability of collision between Resident space objects…
Thu Feb 25
The glass-and-shiny-steel flagship building that is home to UCF’s College of Engineering and Computer Science has been renamed the L3Harris Engineering Center, announced Michael Georgiopoulos, dean of the college. The announcement celebrates the rebranding of one of the most prominent buildings on UCF’s main campus and showcases the longstanding partnership between UCF and L3Harris Technologies, an $18…
Thu Feb 25
Twenty years ago, landing people on Mars seemed like sci-fi, but with commercial spacecraft launching into space almost every month and NASA’s Mars Perseverance landing on the Red Planet last week, sending astronauts to Mars and beyond is actualizing into reality. “When the idea of astronauts actually getting to Mars became realistic, there was a…
Wed Feb 24
The helicopter that arrived on the Red Planet on Feb. 18 as part of the Mars 2020/Perseverance mission is not the only rotorcraft NASA is sending into space. A team of scientists, including a University of Central Florida researcher, is working to help NASA design a rotorcraft to explore Saturn’s moon, Titan. The mission and…
Wed Feb 24
A new report by the University of Central Florida’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management shows the economic impact of Florida’s vacation home rental industry exceeds $27 billion. “Our research confirms that Florida’s lodging industry for vacations, beyond traditional hotels and resorts, which include rentals like houses, apartments and condos, boosts the economy significantly. Renters remain in the…
Mon Feb 22
Sometimes big things come in small packages, and the new thin but strong materials the University of Central Florida is helping NASA develop are no exception. These materials, known as thin-ply composites, are as thin as carpenter’s measuring tape but strong enough to support satellite payloads, such as solar sails for solar-powered space travel, or…
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…
Thu Feb 18
When Peter Delfyett first fell in love with science during elementary school, he imagined he would grow up to be a paleontologist. Instead, the Pegasus Professor of optics and photonics has spent his career developing futuristic technology. From lasers that are used to cut Gorilla Glass for Samsung phones to fiber-optic cable technology that allows the internet…
Thu Feb 11
The University of Central Florida has been awarded a nearly $2.9 million grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation to provide cybersecurity scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students. Scholarship recipients will focus on cybersecurity training and research at UCF, and after graduation, must work for a federal, state, local, or tribal government organization in a…
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 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…
Thu Dec 10
’Tis the season to be grateful, even for your boss, according to a recent University of Central Florida study that suggests when supervisors feel appreciated, it gives them a boost of energy and optimism. In the end, that’s good for employees and the organization’s bottom line. “Based on theory, we knew feeling appreciated by another…
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…
Tue Dec 8
Three UCF researchers working on different projects have been awarded a total of about $1.3 million from the Department of Defense. The grants were part of the DOD awarding of $50 million to 85 institutions across the nation in the Fiscal Year 2021 Defense University Research Instrumentation Program. The recipients and their projects are: Ayman…
Tue Dec 8
Falls in older adults are the leading cause of fatal injury, and the most common cause of nonfatal trauma-related hospital admission according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s a global issue that aging expert Ladda Thiamwong has been focused on for 20 years. After seeing older adults die from a fall in her native…
Mon Dec 7
The U.S. population is becoming more diverse and therefore, so are the patients seeking healthcare. But for these growing number of patients, their healthcare outcomes are often vastly different compared to white patients. Among the most staggering statistic is the fact that Black, American Indian, and Alaska Native women are two to three times more…
Fri Dec 4
The world was dealt some major blows in 2020, and this was reflected in what made the list of Top 10 research news stories from the University of Central Florida. Topping the list were stories about the collapse of the Arecibo Observatory radio telescope in Puerto Rico and research UCF is doing to curb the…
Thu Dec 3
Teacher preparation programs are instrumental for long-term improvement in teacher effectiveness and retention. STEM teacher preparation programs are designed to prepare undergraduate and graduate students to become certified teachers in mathematics or science education. The programs consist of STEM-related content courses, teaching methods courses and field-based experiences, including student teaching internships in K-12 schools. Research…
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…
