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.
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…
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…
Thu Jan 14
Our faculty pursue big ideas and share what they learn by publishing their research to advance the profession. As part of an institution designated as “very high” research activity by the Carnegie Foundation, our published research exemplifies our goal to make a collective impact. Here are the most recent publications by UCF College of Health…
Mon Jan 11
Florida’s threatened coral reefs have a more than $4 billion annual economic impact on the state’s economy, and University of Central Florida researchers are zeroing in on one factor that could be limiting their survival – coral skeleton strength. In a new study published in the journal Coral Reefs, UCF engineering researchers tested how well staghorn…
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…
Tue Dec 1
A handheld device that could allow individuals to screen themselves for cancer is one potential outcome of ongoing research into the power of terahertz lasers. The work comes from the lab of Richard Klemm, Ph.D.,in collaboration with the Kadowaki-Kashiwagi-Tsujimoto and Minami groups at the University of Tsukuba in Japan. They recently published the results of…
Fri Nov 27
During the next five years, a team of researchers from UCF will work with UCP of Central Florida, a nonprofit organization and charter school system, to investigate whether artificial intelligence and robots can help elementary students with autism spectrum disorder and other disabilities be more aware of their emotions and recognize other’s nonverbal cues in…
Wed Nov 25
Suicide is a growing health problem in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, death by suicide rose by nearly 30 percent from 1999 to 2016, and suicide risk factors continue to intensify with the health, social, and economic challenges inherent within the ongoing pandemic. Kim Gryglewicz, associate professor in the School…
Mon Nov 23
UCF was selected to receive four awards from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technologies Office, the most of any university this year. The awards total $9.64 million — $7 million from the DOE and $2.64 million in matches from UCF. “These awards amplify UCF’s national leadership in solar energy research.”— James Fenton, director…