UCF in the News

Mars is a frigid world today, and all of its surface water is frozen solid. However, there’s ample evidence that liquid water once coursed over the Red Planet. That paradox has sparked an ongoing debate: What warmed up Mars’s climate billions of years ago? A team now has proposed that giant asteroid impacts—the kinds that carve out basins exceeding 1,200 kilometers in diameter—might have played an important role. In a process known as oxidation, iron-bearing minerals reacted with water present in Mars’s subsurface to produce iron oxides and hydrogen gas. That hydrogen then went on to collide with the carbon dioxide already present in Mars’s atmosphere. All of that bumping together of molecules changes their electronic structure and allows them to absorb radiation at a wider range of wavelengths, an experimentally verified phenomenon known as collision-induced absorption. “These molecules become even better greenhouse gases,” said Ramses Ramirez, a planetary scientist at the University of Central Florida in Orlando not involved in the research. Recent research has suggested that an atmosphere composed of both carbon dioxide and hydrogen can reach temperatures above freezing. On the other hand, a carbon dioxide–dominated atmosphere void of hydrogen or other greenhouse gases can attain a top temperature of only about −40°C, Ramirez said. “That’s over 40° too cold.”

There are a handful of athletes whose extraordinary abilities transcend sports, dazzling other professionals and the casual onlooker alike with feats exceeding what anyone thought possible. ChatGPT is Michael Jordan. Except that when ChatGPT fabricates what looks as if it’s authentic information, it’s more like “Air” Jordan missing a dunk while simultaneously being able to change the official scoreboard to show that he actually put up points. Yet despite so much that’s still unknown, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the chatbot’s solo brilliance will need the right “supporting cast” – as Jordan famously referred to teammates – to achieve its transformational potential in medicine. A 2021 article in AI Magazine broached the idea of a Hippocratic Oath for AI scientists. But David Metcalf, director of a technology integration lab at the University of Central Florida’s Institution for Simulation and Training, suggested a simpler approach perhaps more suited to the fast-paced team sport of AI development and deployment. Noting the increasing use of AI-driven voice analytics via chatbots like Siri and Alexa or through smartphone applications, Metcalfe said he tells his students, “Think of each prompt and how it might be used for profiling you in the future.”

As UCF gets set to join the Big 12 on July 1, UCF Athletics has announced that transformational updates to the tune of $12 million are on the way for the basketball and volleyball facilities. The updates are coming to Addition Financial Arena, the Venue, Knights Plaza and adjacent residence halls. According to the release, the upgrades touch areas within the basketball and volleyball programs and the Athletics Village, including more than 40 separate projects. “The start of UCF’s competition in the Big 12 Conference will be a series of landmark moments for our athletics teams, alumni and fans,” says UCF vice president and director of athletics Terry Mohajir. “This long and comprehensive list of upgrades will enhance not only the gameday experiences but also day-to-day environments for our student-athletes, coaches and staff. All these projects give us an opportunity to enhance our success as we enter a new age for our institution as part of the Big 12.”

Elon Musk's SpaceX will use for its next rocket launch a water-cooled steel plate that can withstand the world's most powerful liftoff after the debut attempt of its Starship rocket to reach space caused extensive launchpad damage. On the ground at SpaceX's launchsite in Texas, the rocket's engines - there are over 30 - fired with more force than any other rocket in the world, violently pummeling its launchpad floor as it slowly took flight. That blasted a crater several feet deep and sent large chunks of reinforced concrete flying thousands of feet, photos of the aftermath showed. "Launch & landing pads are touchy. Any little thing that goes wrong can cause a zipper effect that creates a giant problem," Phil Metzger, a planetary scientist at the University of Central Florida who has studied the ground effects of rocket launches and landings, said on Twitter. "That's because you're trying to safely dispose of enough super high energy gas to shoot a rocket into the sky."

Metabolism is the process of your body changing food into energy. It is often said that the metabolism you're born with is the metabolism you are stuck with for life. However, there are things you can do to benefit your metabolic health. "When a person either exercises or consumes food their metabolism increases or decreases," said Steven Burroughs, MS, RDN, LDN, CDN, a Nutritionist and Metabolic Expert at the University of Central Florida. "We know that protein in the diet, coming from things like chicken, beef or eggs, increases the amount of muscle tissue. If a person meets their protein requirements, they can increase the body's ability to use food for energy."

Two leading education technology companies have released products claiming to make the artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT safe from academic dishonesty — but teachers are not so sure. “The rapid growth of AI and other technologies will always supersede the plagiarism detection tools,” said Trey Vasquez, a professor of special education at the University of Central Florida, a pilot school for Turnitin’s AI detection tool. He has tested ChatGPT with students for months.

Earning an online master’s in hospitality management is a smart move for professionals seeking to gain a competitive edge in the hospitality industry. A master’s degree in hospitality management can open doors to higher-paying positions, leadership roles and an overall lucrative career. Read on to discover everything you need to know about an online master’s in hospitality management. Some online master’s programs in hospitality management require applicants to have prior work experience in the field. The University of Central Florida, for example, requires applicants to have at least two years of professional industry experience, preferably in upper-level positions such as supervisors or managers.

A new invention allows patients with limited mobility to use their facial muscles to control their wheelchairs. The hands-free wheelchair technology invented at the University of Central Florida allows people with limited mobility to use their facial muscles to control their wheelchairs. The control method uses electromyography sensors placed on a patient's temporalis muscles to move a wheelchair or vehicle. When a user clenches their jaw, the wheelchair will respond by moving in the designated direction. "The technology has the potential to unlock mobility independence for certain patients," said one of the inventors, Albert Manero, in the news release. "We are hopeful to complete further clinical trials on the equipment before working with a wheelchair provider to integrate with their available devices."

Virtual reality can help people see their favorite band perform, hang out with friends or relax on a beach without leaving home. It is also pushing some people to speak in front of crowds or revisit war zones, processing fears or traumatic memories for the sake of their health. Hospital and university clinics for years have helped people with post-traumatic stress disorder and phobias by using virtual reality to immerse them in simulations that help them reckon with the problem. It is a virtual version of the longstanding technique called exposure therapy, in which people confront memories or fears, such as seeing spiders or getting into an elevator, with a therapist to overcome the feeling of being under threat. Now researchers are aiming to make immersive VR-based therapy more personal and bring it into people’s homes. “It is a tool that in the hands of therapists can be very powerful,” said Deborah Beidel, director of a research clinic for post-traumatic stress disorder at the University of Central Florida.