UCF in the News

On yet another early morning, on yet another oppressively humid day in Central Florida, 25-year-old Cyan Nardiello adjusts her Mickey ears and prepares to go rope-drop-to-park-close at the Most Magical Place on Earth. That, of course, could describe any of the millions of tourists who descend upon Orlando on an annual basis, but Nardiello is different—she’s a theme-park nanny, and she’s about to make $400 for helping kids have fun at Walt Disney World. On any given day, you’ll find a handful of paid magic makers like Nardiello visiting Disney’s 27,520 acres. Orlando’s theme-park nanny business is booming, and for good reason—visiting Disney World is more complicated than ever. Grappling with Genie+ (Disney’s paid skip-the-line service) and the odyssey that is navigating from one side of the resort to another is stressful in the best of times. Throw in a screaming kid or two, and you have a weeklong math problem, not a vacation. And so, in 2020, Nardiello came up with a solution: a theme-park nanny agency called Once Upon A Nanny. As a senior at the University of Central Florida, she took a child she nannied to Disney World on their last day of school. When this became a regular occurrence, she started filming video diaries of their adventures for TikTok. Millions of views followed—as did inquiries from parents hoping Nardiello could do the same for their kids. “From my first TikTok, I had hundreds of parents asking me to help,” Nardiello tells me. “I still get kids who are excited to see me because they’ve seen my videos.”

As the space around Earth becomes increasingly cluttered with human-made junk, scientists are ramping up their efforts to safeguard satellites in real time. The latest in that effort are new algorithms being developed at the University of Central Florida (UCF) to automatically monitor and protect spacecraft from bumping into satellites and asteroids in cislunar space — the realm between Earth and the moon, which is under the gravitational influence of both celestial bodies. Because cislunar space is so vast, tracking and predicting the orbits of satellites, spent rocket stages and asteroids is a challenging task, scientists say. The existing infrastructure "is not equipped to provide the needed coverage in cislunar space," Tarek Elgohary, an associate professor of aerospace engineering, said in a UCF statement. "There is a need for fast and accurate solutions to quantify uncertainties to improve predictions and provide [space domain awareness] information in the absence of continuous coverage." The new algorithms are being designed to autonomously track objects and predict collisions in low Earth orbit (LEO), which is expected to become increasingly crowded in the coming decade. Elgohary said the same tools, whose development is largely being funded by the Virginia-based Air Force Office of Scientific Research, could also be used to monitor ships at sea, predict their paths and "spot suspicious behavior in real time."

You’ve read the headlines:“Explosive Atlantic hurricane season predicted for 2024.”“Hurricane forecasts for 2024 predicts the highest number of storms ever.”And, “Long-range forecasts suggest 2024 hurricane season from hell.”What are these headlines really doing? Scaring you, your family, your friends. Don’t be scared, just be prepared is our motto at Spectrum News 13, and it’s a great way to prepare for any storm that may impact us. Dr. Deborah Beidel, a Professor of Psychology and the Executive Director of UCF Restores, has some advice on how to mentally prepare when handling the extreme hype of the upcoming season. “What we find is that when people are worrying about uncertainty, because that’s what this is, the best thing to do is try and plan and prepare,” Beidel says. “I think the best thing to do to parse through the information is to remember that although all these storms might happen, the probability of any one storm hitting us directly is always pretty low. It’s not impossible, but it’s low. So, we shouldn’t think that we are going to be hit by 21 storms or whatever it may be.”

A new theory of how rockets erode moon soil makes a startling prediction: powered lunar landings may fling around four to 10 times more material than previously thought. The work suggests that without sufficient precautions, rocket-lofted lunar dust would pose a serious sandblasting hazard to cargo and crew on the moon. The physicist behind the new calculations, Phil Metzger, is one of the world’s leading experts on how rocket plumes interact with planetary surfaces. Now that his research has been published in two studies in the journal Icarus, he is calling for more global cooperation on the problem as space agencies plan out long-term lunar infrastructure—including human outposts. “The amount of damage [that lunar dust] might cause to a spacecraft could be an order of magnitude worse than we believed,” says Metzger, director of the University of Central Florida’s Stephen W. Hawking Center for Microgravity Research and Education.

One of NASA’s goals is to return our country and humanity to the moon by 2026. Thanks to enterprising college students, the United States can continue to lead the way. It is imperative that private industry support them in reaching for the stars. Despite skepticism about the value of returning to our nearest celestial neighbor, we cannot overlook the economic, cultural, and scientific benefits of this endeavor, including the eventual journey to Mars. The talented students first tackled some of the extraterrestrial challenges of tomorrow during the initial round, held at the University of Central Florida’s Exolith Lab. The final round was held at Kennedy Space Center. Collaborating with industry leaders such as Riegl USA and TLS Division Manager Tan Nguyen, a UCF graduate, students learned first-hand from leaders in the geospatial industry about how to apply LiDAR and other technology to lunar exploration. These students represent the next generation of innovators and leaders in engineering.

"As a first-generation college graduate, mom and wife, my family comes first. I sought a program that could acclimate to my already busy schedule raising humans. I knew I wanted a degree though, and I was determined to do whatever it took. Night-time classes and online options were an integral part of my success. The ability to study and submit assignments from the comfort of my own home provided me a sense of security. If you or someone you know enjoys helping others, and ensuring that their health and medical information is protected, a degree in HCI might be for you. While you are not on the clinical team, your importance and role in the patient’s care remains a top-notch priority. Though I am now in a different industry, I’m still able to help others while also maintaining data integrity.” -Tiffany Oliva, University of Central Florida, class of 2019, Master of Science in health care informatics.

The imminent bankruptcy of Red Lobster has led to talk of unlimited shrimp and Cheddar Bay biscuits. But Red Lobster and its founder, Bill Darden, made a significant contribution to the civil rights movement and the growth of Orlando. Darden was a Georgia native who opened the Green Frog Restaurant in Waycross, Georgia in 1938. It was typical of small-town diners, with a lunch counter and friendly service. But there was one major difference. In the heart of the Jim Crow South, Darden served African Americans...The company has grown along with Orlando, becoming involved in nearly every aspect of the city’s life. Rick Cardenas, the president of Red Lobster, serves on the board of trustees of the University of Central Florida. The company has been a mainstay of Second Harvest Food Bank and Seniors First. But it all started with Bill Darden’s dream and his commitment to service for all.