UCF in the News

Dr. Alexander Cartwright is strengthening UCF’s role as a place where education, research and public-private partnerships produce practical results for Florida. In 2026, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement relocated its Orlando toxicology laboratory to UCF’s Academic Health Sciences Campus in Lake Nona. The laboratory processes approximately 10,000 cases annually and will give students greater access to internships, forensic experts and career opportunities while connecting FDLE with university researchers developing new drug-detection methods and analytical tools. “This partnership reflects what UCF was built to do — bring talent, technology and applied research together in service to Florida,” Cartwright said.

The University of Central Florida is expanding its space medicine program to train students in providing healthcare for astronauts during missions. "Space medicine is a relatively new field in the realm of things when you think about the history of medicine, which really started in the 1960s with the first humans flown into space," said Dr. Manny Urquieta, founder of the division of aerospace medicine at UCF.

The journey from a groundbreaking laboratory discovery to a commercially viable enterprise is fraught with complexity, often leaving promising innovations stranded in the gap between scientific validation and market reality. Researchers frequently find themselves ill-equipped to navigate the intricate landscape of customer validation, business model development, and capital acquisition. The University of Central Florida is addressing this critical bottleneck by leading a new $20 million National Science Foundation initiative designed to bridge this divide on a national scale. This effort represents a significant expansion of UCF’s decades-long commitment to transforming academic research into tangible economic impact for small businesses across the United States. The National Commercialization and Translation Institute, or NCTI, is a two-year pilot program specifically tailored to support late-stage federally funded technology companies.

Data centers have existed for decades. Every text message you send, credit card you swipe, show you stream, and prescription you pick up involves a data center. However, it’s the hyperscale data centers, more recently being developed to support AI, that are making headlines. In Florida, a large data center is defined as a facility with a peak load of 50 megawatts. For reference, the Nuclear Regulatory Division says one megawatt can power up to 1,000 homes. Data center neighbors worry about the burden on the electric grid. Professor Issa Batarseh teaches electrical and computer engineering at UCF and spent years working on power supplies for data centers. “When people demand, or submit requests, that galvanizes every tool available to AI to answer your questions, that’s a huge power pulse that could affect the grid,” he said. However, Batarseh is confident other fixes are coming. “They are pushing for that technology and you will see the press releases coming in,” he said of big tech companies.

A University of Central Florida researcher is advocating for federal recognition of a little-known condition that can follow patients home from the intensive care unit. Brian Peach, a researcher with the UCF College of Nursing, is among the group that formally proposed creating a specific diagnosis code for post-intensive care syndrome, or PICS. The proposal was presented to the federal ICD-10 Coordination and Maintenance Committee in March. The committee, co-chaired by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, reviews proposed changes to the nation’s medical coding system.

Univ of Central Florida has significantly expanded its premium inventory at Acrisure Bounce House, using a rebuilt Roth Tower to add more club seating, larger suites and outdoor options designed to generate revenue on game days and throughout the year. The project increased club space by 256%, from 4,400 square feet to 15,650 square feet, while adding 42% more club seating, 28 larger luxury suites and 34 outdoor Sky Suites. AECOM lead designer Brandon Liebst said generating revenue has become increasingly important for athletic departments as the economics of college sports shift, particularly with the growth of NIL. The existing Roth Tower offered limited premium space and variety, and Liebst said the goal of the project was to create a wider range of offerings at multiple price points. The expansion created larger suites, while the Sky Suites added private outdoor seating with food and beverage service.

When a sudden health crisis changed her life, Cecilia Hernandez found an angel on four paws. Today, Canela gears up in full personal protective equipment—goggles and booties included—to protect Cecilia in the UCF chemistry lab while she pursues her Ph.D. Canela isn’t just a life-saving service dog detecting health emergencies before they happen—she’s a best friend, a hardworking lab buddy, and officially a semi-finalist in the American Humane Hero Dog Awards. The 407's Lauren Margolis shares their story.

Rocket Lab is challenging NASA's decision to give a Mars mission contract to another contender, saying the agency's review was inconsistent and incorrect. NASA awarded Blue Origin a $700 million contract to build, launch and operate a Mars Telecommunications Network. "Congress passed a law that authorized this project, and Congress was really specific about what companies would be allowed to bid on the contract," Philip Metzger said. "They had to already have done a study on a Mars sample return, and they had to have already bid a Mars telecommunications relay as part of that." Metzger is a University of Central Florida planetary scientist and director of the Stephen W. Hawking Center for Microgravity Research. He said this would support future robotic and human missions. It's also expected to give us a better idea of whether there's other life out there.

The U.S. National Science Foundation today announced a $20 million investment to launch a two-year pilot supporting small businesses in commercializing their deep-technology ventures. The pilot aims to address a persistent gap separating federally funded deep technology research from commercial success. The investment ensures that the U.S. remains at the forefront of global innovation. “We are grateful to NSF for its continued confidence in UCF and for the opportunity to help shape the future of research translation and commercialization,” said University of Central Florida (UCF) President Alexander N. Cartwright. “Discovery reaches its greatest potential when it moves beyond the laboratory and improves lives, strengthens industries and creates opportunities. UCF’s National Commercialization and Translation Institute (NCTI) builds on UCF’s growing national leadership in helping promising technologies become products, companies and economic growth. With Central Florida’s extraordinary concentration of talent, industry, and innovation, UCF is well positioned to build a model that can deliver impact for Florida and across the nation.”