UCF in the News

According to those who study tourism, after disasters like the OceanGate deaths, interest often grows. "It will probably make it even more attractive. People are attracted by danger, people are attracted by extreme forms of tourism of all shapes and forms. Will this stop people going down? No, it will probably attract even more people now," said Alan Fyall, associate dean of Academic Affairs and the Visit Orlando Endowed Chair of Tourism Marketing at UCF's Rosen College of Hospitality Management. "In this particular case, I think they understand the risk, because you're going down deep, deep into the ocean. So I can't believe they don't really appreciate the risk they're going into."

Thrill-seekers don't travel to the bottom of the ocean or to the top of a mountain because it's the safe thing to do. But even by adventure travel standards, the now-missing OceanGate Titan submersible was surrounded by extreme danger. The experimental vessel took tourists to the crushing depths of the ocean. And while OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush − who is on board the missing vessel − maintained the craft was safe, even "pretty much invulnerable," he did not seek to hide that the vessel skirted established norms as it catered to wealthy thrill seekers. People know they're taking their life in their hands when they engage in these extreme experiences but it doesn't stop them, said Alan Fyall, chair of tourism marketing at the University of Central Florida. “It's just really, really unfortunate and horrible situation, but it won't stop people from going down. It will probably encourage even more people to go down. That's the irony," he said.

There’s more than one Independence Day in the United States. On June 19, 1865, over two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, enslaved African Americans in Texas were told they were free. Today, Juneteenth is all about celebrating Black culture, history, and life, bringing people together to honor all those who came before us and fought for the rights and privileges we hold today. “It’s important, especially today, but it was important in the past because you’re talking about a group of people who were in a society, but they were not of the society because they were enslaved,” said Kibibi Mack-Shelton, a Professor of African American Studies at the University of Central Florida.

Cislune, a technology lab working to accelerate the timeline of placing humanity back on the Moon, took home four big wins this year in the form of NASA contracts when the space agency announced the winners of Phase I of its 2023 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program on June 5. And for the STTR grants, the first, which was created in collaboration with the University of Central Florida Board of Trustees, is called “refuse-to-get-stuck rovers,” suggesting that lunar rovers must be able to drive quicker and more autonomously.

In the bowels of a Laotian cave, illuminated by faint sunlight and bright lamps, scientists have unearthed the earliest known evidence of our human ancestors making their way through mainland Southeast Asia en route to Australia some 86,000 years ago. Any trace of human remains is a delight for archaeologists – but none more so when they dust off a discovery, date it, and realize it could push back timelines of early human migration in an area by more than ten thousand years. For this new study, the team led by biological anthropologist Sarah Freidline of the University of Central Florida, turned to luminescence dating and other techniques to get an age estimate of the sediments surrounding the newly discovered fossils, the deepest of which was found at nearly 7 meters (23 feet).

Orlando-based Capacitech Energy Inc. is an Orlando Inno 2023 Fire Awards honoree. The firm ranked No. 1 in the Not Just Lucky category, companies that are 7-8 years old. The firm created a revolutionary product: a power cord that also stores energy to make batteries and renewables better. "When we are working on projects with customers, we generally start by understanding their needs and technical requirements," said CEO Joe Sleppy. What’s one big challenge your firm’s rapid growth has created? It has led to larger projects, bigger budgets and greater operating complexities. We are overcoming those through world-class partnerships with companies like Genesis Research & Development and New World Angels. We are at the UCF Business Incubation Program at Central Florida Research Park, which gives us access to engineering talent and lab infrastructure.

Artist Michael Pilato has been painting all night when a reporter calls, and he continues to paint as he talks about “Inspiration Orlando United” — a mural of those affected by the Pulse tragedy that will go on view Monday at Orlando Museum of Art to commemorate the mass shooting at the Orlando nightclub on June 12, 2016. It’s only a few days before the mural goes on display — the first time all sections of the work will be seen together — but Pilato isn’t behind schedule. Side projects also developed: The pair painted a mural at UCF of two Pulse victims and a downtown mural of Billy Manes, the gay advocate who died in 2017.

When it comes to the future of spaceflight, the Moon is the place to be. Several missions are set to land on the Moon in the next few years in an effort to establish a human presence on the lunar surface. Although they’re meant to bolster lunar activity, those landings, however, could in turn have a negative effect on spacecraft orbiting the Moon. A recent study, newly uploaded to the preprint arXiv, examined the potential damage caused by lunar landers, which can eject dust from the surface of the Moon and send it into orbit as they land on the surface. With enough Moon landings in the future, a cloud of pesky lunar dust particles could get in the way of orbiting spacecraft. As NASA prepares to land on the Moon as part of its Artemis program, the space agency is now aware of the trials and tribulations of lunar dust when it comes to its astronauts. Frequent Moon landings, however, could have larger impacts on orbiters or space stations in lunar orbit, according to the new pre-print, which has yet to go through peer review. Planetary physicist Philip Metzger from the University of Central Florida co-authored the new study.

With artificial intelligence systems quickly evolving, it’s not uncommon to feel anxious about the development of technology and how that may affect our own jobs. According to a Forbes advisory survey, 77% of people are concerned that AI will cause job loss in the next year as businesses are looking to increase overall productivity. Even if AI hasn’t been implemented into your workplace, you might feel uneasy about how fast it’s growing, which is fair. AI is able to mimic human function, including tasks that involve perceiving, reasoning, learning, problem solving, and more — all without the use of human minds. As Goldman Sachs reported, AI is predicted to replace over 300 million jobs or partially replace two-thirds of roles. All of this means AI can have a psychological impact, depending on if the technology comes as an opportunity or a threat, Mindy Shoss, professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Central Florida, told HuffPost. As a result, job insecurity can be an extremely stressful experience. “Jobs can be a source of meaning, social connection, identity and stability in one’s life,” Shoss said. “Job insecurity is difficult to cope with because people are unsure of if or when job loss might happen — this can lead to a near-constant state of vigilance and anxiety.”