UCF in the News

The theme park rivalry in Orlando, Fla. is heating up. This week, Universal will open its latest park, Epic Universe, a reportedly $7 billion bet for the Comcast-owned company and the newest salvo in its ongoing push to expand its tourism and entertainment empire. That puts pressure on Walt Disney Co., whose Walt Disney World Resort has long dominated the Orlando vacation landscape, but is now seeing increased competition, particularly from Universal. “Disney has been pretty steady and consistent, but Universal is very rapidly expanding,” said Carissa Baker, an assistant professor of theme park and attraction management at the University of Central Florida’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management. “They’re highly encouraging their theme park sector right now.”

The University of Central Florida is ready to deploy a mobile trailer across the state to help first responders and victims in hurricanes, mass shootings and other emergencies. “Today marks a significant step forward in mental health care for first responders and trauma survivors,” said UCF President Alexander Cartwright in a statement. The mobile trailer is equipped with quiet spaces and therapy rooms to help first responders deal with the horrors of their jobs, and to assist the victims they’re helping. The space has a TV and necessities like socks or toothbrushes. “The command center, unveiled at UCF’s Memory Mall, marks a national first: the launch of a mobile, trauma care-specific command center — built with purpose, backed by state and corporate partners, and ready to serve those who lay their lives on the line for Florida’s communities,” the school said in a press release this week. The idea for such a mobile unit developed at UCF after the Surfside condo collapse in 2021.

The only consistent thing about NASA’s VIPER lunar rover is that the road to the moon has been a rocky one. And now the space agency has nixed its attempt to find a commercial partner to launch VIPER moonward, leaving the nearly complete little space vehicle in a continued state of limbo. VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Explorer Rover) was intended to launch this year to explore the lunar south pole in search of buried ice and other chemical compounds. But NASA canceled it in July 2024 after delays led to cost overruns. This is the second time NASA has nixed a lunar rover mission in recent years, says Philip Metzger, a planetary physicist at the University of Central Florida (UCF). In 2018 NASA axed the Resource Prospector rover, which would have done similar exploration. VIPER could also answer basic science questions about the origin of the water on the moon, says UCF’s Metzger. It may have been part of the lunar core from the moment of its formation, or the water could have arrived with planetary dust or large impactors over time, among other possibilities. “Understanding those processes is crucial for understanding our solar system,” Metzger says. The answers could reveal more about how common water-rich bodies are in the galaxy and how many planets or moons might host life.

As reports of lithium-ion batteries overheating and catching fire continue to make headlines, a Central Florida company says it may have found a safer solution. A Central Florida startup, C-Batt, is working to revolutionize battery technology with a new material called "Obsidia" that could replace graphite — an essential component of most lithium-ion batteries. C-Batt began a decade ago as a spinoff project incubated at the University of Central Florida’s business development program. The team has spent the past seven years developing Obsidia, operating largely under the radar. The technology is built around a coal-based derivative, aiming to reimagine a traditionally maligned fossil fuel into something valuable and sustainable. Their vision: a safer battery that’s not only high-performing but also sourced entirely within the U.S., avoiding reliance on foreign supply chains.