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.
Wed Mar 23
Janice Seabrooks-Blackmore prides herself on working with — rather than around — people’s uniqueness. Ever since childhood, she has made the most of her ability to help people learn. And as executive director of the Florida Center for Students with Unique Abilities and professor of exceptional student education, Seabrooks-Blackmore spends her time discovering new ways to optimize accessibility…
Wed Mar 23
The impact of research is seen every day from the latest smart phone innovation to the way music impacts healing and learning. And at UCF, it’s not just faculty conducting the research — it’s students, too. It’s an opportunity to be part of big changes that produce big results. A group of UCF graduate students…
Wed Mar 23
Anew study finds that parents who frequently share photos of their children on social media tend to have more permissive and confident parenting styles and engage their children with social media at younger ages. These parents also tend to share posts beyond small networks of family and friends, regularly posting on more public networks, which…
Mon Mar 14
Anew, first-of-its-kind clinical trial will examine how the brain adapts to advanced, bionic arms in children born without a limb, with the ultimate goal of improving children’s control of their prosthetic. The work, which starts this spring, will be led by Limbitless Solutions, a nonprofit, direct support organization at the University of Central Florida, Wolfson Children’s Hospital…
Wed Mar 9
Afresh take on quantum computing recently earned Physics Ph.D. student Eric D. Switzer an industry prize at an annual symposium. Switzer, advised by Pegasus Professor and UCF Trustee Chair Professor Talat S. Rahman, Ph.D., walked away with the IBM-Zerner Graduate Student Award at the Sanibel Symposium based on a poster he presented exploring the use…
Mon Mar 7
For all his knowledge about complex topics like robotics and cell biology, Chris Clifford ’21 does not know how to simply decompress. Clifford finished his electrical engineering degree in December, and he’s scheduled to leave for Cambridge, England, in October to continue his ongoing research in stem-cell therapy as UCF’s first-ever Gates Cambridge Scholar. It is among the most…
Mon Mar 7
Like the charged power suit worn by Black Panther of Marvel Comics, UCF researchers have advanced NASA technologies to develop a power suit for an electric car that is as strong as steel, lighter than aluminum and helps boosts the vehicle’s power capacity. The suit is made of layered carbon composite material that works as…
Mon Mar 7
As a Division I water polo athlete, Yasmine Ghattas spent much of her time coaching basketball and softball to children with intellectual disabilities. Now a second-year UCF medical student, Ghattas has developed a passion for sports medicine and is researching the impact of moderate exercise among the intellectually disabled. She was one of several medical…
Mon Mar 7
An inhaled steroid significantly reduced severe asthma symptoms for Black and Latinx patients and helped reduce the devastating impact of the lung disease on their lives, according to a national research study done with the help of two UCF physicians and published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine. Physicians recently updated treatment guidelines for…
Mon Feb 28
The four-year project is a collaboration between the laboratory of Michael Leuenberger at UCF and the laboratory of Dirk R. Englund Ëat Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It’s funded by a $1.1 million-dollar grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). “The goggles that currently exist in the field are too heavy and bulky,” says Leuenberger.…
Fri Feb 25
Thanks to a trio of donors with a passion for supporting the state’s marine life , the new boat debuting this spring replaces a 1976 craft reaching the end of its lifespan. “I always joke our bimonthly team building exercise is fixing something on the boats,” says Kate Mansfield, an associate professor and director of…
Thu Feb 24
UCF was recently tapped to participate in a national training program that strengthens the capacity for data-based research among historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic serving institutions (HSIs). This initiative builds evidence-based research through data analysis to promote the success of Black and Latino students in postsecondary education. The Leveraging Big Data to…
Tue Feb 22
Whether it’s solving the world’s biggest problems or investigating the potential of novel discoveries, researchers at UCF are on the edge scientific breakthroughs that aim to make an impact. Through the Research in 60 Seconds series, student and faculty researchers condense their complex studies into bite-sized summaries so you can know how and why Knights plan…
Mon Feb 21
The one-size-fits-all approach may work in some situations, but not with reading, according to research out of the University of Central Florida. Beyond the familiar problem of text that is too small for older eyes, researchers have shown that everyone sees the written word differently and that individual text formatting changes can make big differences…
Wed Feb 16
Innovation at UCF is not an exception; It is the expectation. In 2021, U.S. News and World Report ranked the University of Central Florida as the 15th most innovative university in the United States — of the top 30, it was also the youngest. The classification drew from a survey of top college administrators, asking them to nominate institutions…
Mon Feb 14
UCF’s engineers do more than develop innovative space technology or reimagine the next generation of wind turbines — they also solve matters of the heart. Several mechanical and aerospace engineers at UCF focus their expertise on finding creative solutions to various heart conditions. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women…
Tue Feb 8
Beginning this summer 10 undergraduate students from across the nation will have the opportunity to get hands-on experience working with UCF biologists to see how they conserve, restore, and communicate what they do and why it matters. The U.S. National Science Foundation has recently awarded UCF $369,000 over three years to run the new program.…
Mon Feb 7
University of Central Florida researchers are part of a new $1 million project funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research to better understand and predict how and why raindrops are affected when they cross a hypersonic shock wave. Hypersonic speeds are those at Mach 5 and higher, or five times greater than the…
Mon Feb 7
Latina breast cancer survivors and their partners may benefit from a more personalized virtual couples-intervention program thanks to a new, $2.7 million study co-led by UCF. Sejal Barden, associate professor of counselor education in UCF’s College of Community Innovation and Education will adapt online couples-intervention program, OurRelationship (ORI), for Latina breast cancer survivors and their partners. UCF will be…
Fri Jan 28
UCF is developing new technology that is expected to make airplane engines emission free, potentially revolutionizing the aviation industry. UCF put together a team of experts and stakeholders to evaluate their innovation, which aims to not only make aviation fuel green, but also create engines and fueling systems that easily integrate into current airport infrastructure…