UCF in the News

Could sight be a sense soon to be unlocked by artificial intelligence? This is the basis of a project led by researchers at the University of Central Florida. Thanks to a device capable of reproducing the retina of a human eye, their creation could lead to new, more powerful AI systems with new capabilities. In practical terms, the technology could allow AI to instantly understand what it's actually looking at. The most obvious applications for such technology are autonomous cars and robotics.

Just weeks ahead of the start of the new academic school year, Florida State University and the University of Central Florida announced new hires for administrative positions. Rodney Grabowski is UCF’s new Senior Vice President of Advancement and Partnerships.“[Grabowski] has an incredible track record of success in fundraising, university advancement, and in fostering the connections and relationships necessary to fuel the success of a 21st-century university,” UCF President Alexander N. Cartwright says.

Like most cities where tourism fuels the economy, Orlando was hit hard by the pandemic. The theme parks shut down for months in 2020. The restaurants and hotels which once served millions of tourists a year were quiet. The smaller businesses were hurt too. The airport slowed down to a grind. Thousands of employees were temporarily out of work. Now, the University of Central Florida is starting a $4.5 million research project that educators believe will help the next time a pandemic strikes.

When asteroid 2019 OK suddenly appeared barreling toward Earth on July 25, 2019, Luisa Fernanda Zambrano-Marin and the team of astronomers at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico quickly sprang into action. After receiving an alert, the radar scientists zoned in on the asteroid, which was approaching from Earth’s blind spot — solar opposition. Zambrano-Marin and the team had just 30 minutes to collect as many radar readings as they could. The asteroid was traveling so fast, that’s all the time she’d have it in Arecibo’s sights. University of Central Florida manages the Arecibo Observatory for the U.S. National Science Foundation under a cooperative agreement. Because the asteroid appeared to come out of nowhere and was traveling so fast, it made headline news.

In the future, patients may have more treatment options thanks to the new method of tracking metastatic cancer cells that have been developed by researchers at the University of Central Florida. Dr Annette Khaled's research lab reported in the most recent issue of PLOS ONE that they used a protein complex called chaperonin as a new marker for cancer cells in the blood, which provides a clearer indication of cancer spread.

The future of astronomy arrived with a window to the ancient past as NASA released the first images of the James Webb Space Telescope. The $10 billion looking glass delivered on a stellar promise 30 years in the making with out of this world images that left University of Central Florida researchers gawking. Noemi Pinilla-Alonso, a UCF planetary scientist, was with her team at the Florida Space Institute when the images dropped. Pinilla-Alonso is among the eight UCF researchers and one alumna who will be using the solar system’s mightiest space telescope to answer long-held questions, or (more probably) discover questions scientists haven’t thought to ask yet.

The Orlando Economic Partnership is claiming the city as the metacenter, or the "physical center of the metaverse." It doesn't seem like such a far-out idea, as Orlando was recently named the best big city to start a business by WalletHub. At UCF, Ben Noel is the executive director of the Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy. He leads the best and brightest in video game development. “The video game industry in Central Florida is one of the fastest-growing video game regions in the country,” Noel said.

An army of Knights are among the researchers charging their way into final frontier with innovative projects shaping the future of space travel. Perhaps it’s unsurprising due to the University of Central Florida’s history tied to the American space program. As need for more aerospace engineers rose, the “space university” opened its doors to education in 1968 — the same year the Apollo 8 mission took humans into the moon’s orbit.

A simple smile is a powerful thing. “Smiling is soothing, it’s healthy,” said Will Lee, UCF Football’s Director of Player Development. So when a group of UCF football players were asked to help make local kids smile, they jumped at the opportunity. “I didn’t have to beg for these guys to come here they were like coach we are all in,” said Coach Lee. “Me and a bunch of my teammates are here to hopefully make some smiles for these kids and brighten their days,” UCF running back Isaiah Bowser said. But these kids aren’t just any kids. They are warriors. “Because they are fighting a war every day,” said Dr. Shveta Gupta, a pediatric hematology and oncology physician at Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children.