New data from the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey shows UCF is a top university for research and development in Florida — and across the nation. The HERD Survey is the primary source of information on research and development expenditures at U.S. colleges and universities. Survey points were taken from FY 2023 (Oct. 1, 2022 to Sept. 30, 2023).

UCF is No. 1 in Florida and among the top 5% nationally for computer and information sciences expenditures. The university also ranks in the top five in Florida for research backed by several national departments, including:

  • No. 2 for NASA funding in Florida — and top 7% nationally (Up from 9% last year)
  • No. 2 for Department of Defense funding in Florida — and top 11% nationally(Up from 15% last year)
  • No. 2 for Department of Energy (DOE) funding in Florida — and in the top 12% nationally(Up from 20% last year)

Over the year, UCF’s projects were tied to several agencies and scientific disciplines:

Computer and Information Sciences
UCF is first in Florida and among the top 5% nationally
UCF is one of three universities that are part of a three-year $927,203 grant for advancing future quantum information science (QIS) education by using identifying and addressing misconceptions related to it. Assistant Professor of Computer Science Ryan McMahan is the lead principal investigator for the project and providing an iterative development of QubitVR, a quantum-education VR application. These efforts include the machine-learning-based intelligent tutoring versions of the application, conducting the lab-based studies and evaluating QubitVR through an undergraduate QIS course.

Engineering
UCF is first in Florida and among the top 14% nationally for aerospace engineering expenditures
UCF is also third in Florida and among the top 13% nationally for mechanical engineering expenditures
UCF Pegasus Professor Jayanta Kapat and researchers Marcel Otto and Ladislav Vesely have invented a way to cost-efficiently convert excess renewable energy to hydrogen and oxygen and store it long-term — days, weeks or even months. Later, when the energy is needed, it’s reconverted and added to the electrical grid. That on-demand capability enables power companies to meet and balance the energy needs of a community not just from day to day, but from season to season.

Physical Sciences
UCF is second in Florida and among the top 7% nationally
Charles Schambeau ’18PhD, an assistant scientist with UCF’s Florida Space Institute, is working on a new, NASA-funded project that will gather the most comprehensive collection of data on active centaurs and distantly-active Jupiter-family comets to date. The work will inform research into the origins of the solar system, as these bodies contain materials from the dawn of its formation.

Physics
UCF is second in Florida and among the top 4% nationally
Instead of pigment-based colored paint, which requires artificially synthesized molecules, Debashis Chanda, a professor in UCF’s NanoScience Technology Center, has developed an alternative way to produce colored paint that is more natural, environmentally friendly and lightweight. Chanda’s interest in structural color and the development of the paint stemmed from the vibrancy of butterflies.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration
UCF is second in Florida and among the top 7% nationally
UCF received funding designed to foster long-term partnerships between NASA and minority-serving institutions and to give eligible research projects the chance to pursue larger grants in the future. Research projects include the development of a wireless multimodal sensor that can monitor conditions such as temperature, pressure, acceleration and airflow. Another project is studying the emissions of sustainable aviation fuels, while a third is developing a simulation engine that will allow NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration and researchers around the world to digitally develop and test new artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms that manage aircraft and converged network system technologies, including cybersecurity measures that could protect unmanned aerial vehicles from malicious attacks.

Department of Defense
UCF is second in Florida and among the top 11% nationally
Kareem Ahmed, a professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, received a $450,000 Naval Research Laboratory grant to develop a hypersonic engine that can morph or transform its configuration during flights to optimize performance. Ahmed is also heading a $1.5 million U.S. Department of Defense award to develop high-performance fuels for hypersonic propulsion.

Department of Energy
UCF is second in Florida and among the top 12% nationally
UCF’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering has received a $400,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to enhance the current understanding of artificial intelligence reasoning. The project focuses on developing algorithms to create robust multi-modal explanations for foundation, or large, AI models through the exploration of several novel explainable AI methods. The DOE recently awarded $400,000 to fund the project.

UCF is one of 16 universities in the U.S. that have formed a consortium on nuclear forensics. The association is supported by a $25 million cooperative agreement with the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). The goal of the consortium is to engage in research that supports the NNSA’s nuclear security and nonproliferation missions while building a next-generation workforce of nuclear scientists, engineers and researchers.