As we speed toward the end of the year and fall semester in this season of gratitude, we want to send a big “Thank You” for being a part of College of Sciences and contributing to this S.P.A.C.E. This will be the last newsletter edition of 2024, but we look forward to sharing more news with you in the New Year! 

College of Sciences supporters and students gathered this past November to celebrate the accomplishments of students and heard remarks from Provost Michael D. Johnson and Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs Teresa Dorman, along with several donors and scholarship recipients.  

Biology student (junior) Rebecca Hallanan addresses the crowd of UCF and College of Sciences leaders, sharing her story about how receiving the Walter K. Taylor scholarship has changed her life.  

“This scholarship has done so much for me,” says Hallanan. “I will take this gift, and continue to give my all towards my education, passions, and working to make a difference for Florida's wildlife.”

Kaige Shi has been recognized by the American Vacuum Society for his research to provide solutions for converting renewable electricity into chemical energy.

“My experience at UCF has been pivotal to my success. UCF Department of Physics is home to outstanding faculty, including my advisor Dr. Xiaofeng Feng and my collaborator Dr. Talat Rahman, who have been tremendous mentors,” Shi says. “UCF’s community of supportive faculty, researchers, and facilities, as well as the interdisciplinary research environment of the Renewable Energy and Chemical Transformations (REACT) cluster has been invaluable to my growth as a researcher. Without UCF’s resources and collaborative environment, I could not have achieved the AVS Russell and Sigurd Varian Award.”

Raine Keenan, a senior studying journalism, joined the Northern Light Productions team to produce a documentary about the story of UCF Nicholson Communication and Media alumnus, Dylan Lyons, who was tragically murdered while covering a story of a local homicide in 2023.   

“Being on a personal level with interviewees helps to tell the story in a genuine way,” Keenan says. “One of my vivid memories was an interview with Jesse Walden, who referred to Dylan as his work best friend. He was injured on that tragic day and hearing his story was unbelievable. He is still working as a news photographer and it was moving to hear him talk about his passion for journalism.”

Knights are making an impact worldwide through the U.S. government’s most prestigious academic exchange program. 

Eleven UCF alums have earned Fulbright awards, including six College of Sciences students, marking the second highest number of recipients in university history. UCF has been recognized by The Chronicle of Higher Education as a Fulbright Top Producer twice in the last four years as well as a Fulbright leader among Hispanic-Serving Institutions for the fourth year in a row. 

Dr. Jeffrey Cassisi, Professor of Psychology in the College of Sciences, is a recipient of the 2024 Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman Award for his mentorship and support of Stacie Becker’s research. Becker is a master’s student studying emerging media studio art at UCF and has conducted research regarding the positive psychological impact of medical tattooing for breast cancer survivors.  

“Dr. Cassisi changed my life and helped to bring medical tattooing to the forefront in the space where it deserves to be,” Becker says.

The Center for Distributed Learning, Department of Legal Studies, and Nicholson School of Communication and Media collaborations captures conditions at the U.S.-Mexico border through two documentary film projects, receiving major accolades.  

Rick Brunson ’84, field producer for the docuseries and senior instructor at UCF’s Nicholson School of Communication and Media, described the border as a space “where duty and dreams collide,” aiming to humanize all sides of the immigration debate. 

The journey of A Break for Impact and Beneath the Same Sky underscores UCF’s commitment to blending education with storytelling, producing content that informs, inspires, and moves audiences. 

The India Center crested a milestone moment, establishing its inaugural Indian Community Endowed Chair and Director, Yogesh Joshi, Ph.D., in a celebratory Investiture Ceremony. 

Provost Michael D. Johnson provided remarks on the significance of the moment.  

“UCF is enriched by a significant number of Indian American faculty, staff, and students, with Indian students representing the largest group of international graduate students at UCF,” says Johnson. “An endowed professorship is a tremendous investment in The India Center’s future, and we greatly appreciate our Founding Chairs and all the donors who made this possible.” 

Before joining UCF, Joshi led the National Security and Foreign Policy program at the Institute of South Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore and previously taught at the Yale-NUS College. “Reflecting on my upbringing from a small Himalayan town, I am constantly reminded of the transformative power of education and social mobilization,” says Joshi.  

AI’s impact on our world continues to present opportunities and challenges, inviting conversation around its uses and ethical implications. In September, The India Center at UCF hosted a webinar entitled, “Navigating the Crossroads: Ethics and AI” featuring Jibu Elias, Ph.D., who is the creator of INDIAai and the India Fellow for the Responsible Computing Challenge  at Mozilla.   

“The impact of AI on Indian society, politics, and economy is already quite visible. Ethical dilemmas posed by AI will be a serious policy issue in the future. I am very grateful to have experts speak with The India Center on navigating the dilemmas posed by the AI revolution and how India aims to intervene in these debates on the global stage,” says Yogesh Joshi, Indian Community Endowed Assistant Professor and Director of The India Center. 

Chemistry Lecturer Nicole Lapeyrouse received an Excellence Award in Instructional and Teaching Practice from the Online Learning Consortium. 

This award represents effective practices in online and/or blended teaching effectiveness with documented impact on equity, learning effectiveness and student outcome achievement. 

Lapeyrouse has developed unique multimedia to increase student experiences in chemistry and geology courses, increase student retention, and contribute to the development of affordable course materials.

Nine faculty members across UCF were honored for their trailblazing work and the impact they are making in our local communities, our nation and the world during UCF’s annual Luminary Awards held Friday at the Orlando Museum of Art. One of the faculty recognized was Psychology Professor Mindy Shoss.  

Shoss has been instrumental in building and maintaining UCF as a powerhouse of workplace psychology research, particularly in areas such as artificial intelligence, layoffs and the future of work.

The Luminary Awards — established in 2017 — are designed to recognize some of UCF’s brightest stars who shine a positive light on the university and in their respective fields, as well as illuminate a path of discovery for those who will come after them.

Scammers keep coming up with new tactics to gain access to our personal finances, especially when targeting older people. Associate Professor of Psychology and researcher Nichole Lighthall tells us how we can all do something about it. 

In 2015 Lighthall came to UCF and launched the Adult Development and Decision Lab. Earlier this year she earned a Research Incentive Award for providing much-needed contributions to her area of study. 

“This research is important to a lot of agencies,” she says, referring to grants her lab received from the Department of Defense, the National Institutes of Health, and Florida Department of Health. Her research group also has partnerships with stakeholders in the aging community. “The partnerships reflect how urgent it is to find answers.” 

The Charge | Written by: Ana Carolina Ferreira Verdugo Lizama 

In between waves of excitement, curiosity and laughter, K-12 students had the opportunity to learn about chemistry at the L3Harris Engineering Center by joining the American Chemical Society for STEM Day on Friday. 

“STEM Day is like every fall, but we have other things, like judging for science fairs that happen sometimes in the spring,” Celine Torres, American Chemical Society secretary, said. “Throughout Halloween we do pumpkins and protons, which is like a volunteering event with the Orlando Science Center.”

The Charge | Written by: Gio Gonzalez 

Researchers at UCF are studying the Bilingual Switch Cost Effect to understand how bilinguals process language differently than people who speak only one language. 

"Sometimes depending on your cognitive load—how much you have happening at that day or that time—or what are you trying to express, that is, explaining something that you haven't done a lot, you have a decline," Rader said. "Basically, it takes you a little longer to express yourself, and you might say things that aren't accurate." 

The Charge | Written by: Sofia Sutter

Dr. Daniel Britt, Pegasus Professor of Planetary Sciences, served on science teams for NASA missions such as Mars Pathfinder and Deep Space I. He said he does not believe travel to the Red Planet will be possible in the next few years.  

“Not at all,” Britt said. “But I think on the horizon, things will be very different once these new launchers get going. [Once] the SpaceX starship and Blue Origin gets going that will really revolutionize things.”

NPR 

There's a lot going on up there. Join space reporter Brendan Byrne each week as he explores space exploration. From efforts to launch humans into deep space, to the probes exploring our solar system, Are We There Yet? brings you the latest in news from the space beat. Listen to interviews with astronauts, engineers and visionaries as humanity takes its next giant leap exploring our universe.

Josh Colwell, UCF Pegasus Professor, Associate Dean of Research at the College of Sciences, and co-host of the podcast "Walkabout the Galaxy" and Stephen Eikenberry, UCF Professor of Physics and Professor of Applied Optics discuss spooky space phenomena on the NPR space exploration podcast, "Are We There Yet?"

Phys.org

University of Central Florida researchers have helmed a study that found Florida panthers are not particularly susceptible to a potentially transmissible disease that causes cognitive decline leading to death in their prey. The findings abate concerns that this fatal disease, known as chronic wasting disease, is threatening the species.

Pumas—the common name for panthers in western North America —were introduced to Florida from Texas in the 1990s to help restore the dwindling panther population, says Bob Fitak, UCF assistant professor of biology and study co-author.

Spectrum News13 

The project is investigating microplastic pollution in wind and rain samples near the Indian River Lagoon. The estuary is nearly a second home for Dr. Linda Walters, a Pegasus Professor of Biology at the University of Central Florida. She’s been studying the lagoon for nearly 30 years. 

“‘What’s really in our atmosphere that we could be breathing in or our kids or pets are breathing in or landing in the water in the Indian River Lagoon?’” Walters said.