UCF in the News

Last week, the Orlando Sentinel published an article referencing a report that I recently authored (“Opioid overdoses fall in Central Florida for the first time in years”). This report detailed how overdose deaths in Central Florida declined 11% between 2021 and 2022, but this only tells part of the story. As a researcher deeply entrenched in the field of addiction and overdose, I have witnessed the devastating impact of the opioid crisis up close. In my role as a researcher, I am driven by a profound sense of purpose. The overdose crisis is not just a statistic; it’s a harrowing reality that demands our unwavering dedication. With medical advancements and harm reduction initiatives on the horizon, my mission is to contribute to the knowledge base that will save lives. I devote my efforts to educating and bringing awareness and expertise to help inform the public health response for prevention and treatment to save lives. I encourage others to do the same, get involved to prevent overdoses, and save lives. The media must play its part, shedding light on the magnitude of this crisis and pushing for the changes needed to combat it effectively. Together, we can make a difference and turn the tide on this silent epidemic. - Kendall Cortelyou is the interim director of the School of Global Health Management and Informatics at UCF.

The University of Central Florida is embracing the future of robotics and introducing a cutting-edge robot dog named “Tape Measure” to expand research opportunities for UCF students and faculty. The doglike robot, manufactured by Boston Dynamics, will be used by students to research concepts such as human and robot interactions and to develop new robot tasks and applications that benefit humanity. “It allows our students to see how their work can be applied in different ways,” mentioned Grace Bochenek, Ph.D., director of UCF SMST. “Research is often not a linear line, and we build on each other’s work. This robot, although different than our other projects, integrates many of the same principles. It is a continuation, not a culmination, of the technology.”

On Sunday morning, somewhere above the Utah desert, a parachute will open and a capsule containing about 250g of rubble will float to the ground. As it descends, four helicopters bearing scientists, engineers and military safety personnel will race across the arid landscape to recover the precious cargo. Because this is not just any old dirt: these are 4.6bn year old chunks of space rock that could not only shed light on how planets formed, but how life itself began. Kerri Donaldson Hanna, a planetary geologist at the University of Central Florida who has been working with the Oxford team, says such “ground-truthing” could also help scientists interpret observations of other asteroids in the solar system that can only be studied by telescope or spacecraft. “That’s really the icing on the cake,” she says.

The UCF News Clips shares stories, both positive and negative, related to UCF coverage in the media. These clips are for your awareness and cover various topics, including significant higher education issues. If you have questions, please contact Chad Binette at chad.binette@ucf.edu UCF News UCF stands out as innovative school in U.S. News & World Report rankings Florida Politics | 591,790 unique visitors per month UCF is moving up in the U.S. News & World Report school rankings. The University of Central Florida (UCF) fared well in its latest assessment from a premier college rankings system, with the school improving its national status and getting top grades in innovation. The U.S. News & World Report rankings, published Monday, placed UCF near the top of the list in the “most innovative” category. School leaders in a press release suggested that’s even more impressive when you consider that UCF wasn’t established until 1963. “The University of Central Florida has accomplished in decades what others have taken a century or more to achieve,” the school said. At No. 14 in the country, UCF is among esteemed company and is also the most innovative school in the state, a title it’s held for six consecutive years. Other schools grading well in the “most innovative” category include Stanford, the University of Michigan, Arizona State University (ASU), and Georgia Tech. ASU, a school that UCF has long admired, took the the No. 1 spot. Notably, UCF leaders used ASU’s Phoenix campus for inspiration when they were developing their own in downtown Orlando. In addition, UCF also tied for No. 124 among all national universities — a 13-spot gain over last year.

Every year, from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, Hispanic Heritage Month acknowledges, appreciates, and celebrates Latin and Hispanic cultures, as well as their impact on the United States. It’s a time when music, cuisine, and rich traditions intertwine. It’s a time to recognize Hispanic culture and the independence days of Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and South and Central America. Despite Hispanics and Latinos making up 20% of the population and Hispanic Heritage Month being a nationwide observance, there is still a lot that people don’t know about it. “It started back in 1967, ‘68 when a congressman from east L.A. presented a bill to have Hispanic Heritage Week,” said Luis Martinez-Fernandez, a professor of Caribbean history at the University of Central Florida. So, why does it start Sept. 15 and end Oct. 15? “The reason for the selection of that date was that some Central American countries gained their independence on Sept. 15 of 1821,” Fernandez explained.

Former UCF football coach Gene McDowell and former school president John Hitt are among six former administrators, coaches and athletes named to the athletic departments’ 2023 Hall of Fame class Thursday. Kyle Bono (baseball), Marc Daniels (broadcaster), DeLaina Sarden (volleyball), Shelby Turnier (softball) and the 2007 national champion UCF cheer team are joining McDowell and Hitt in the class. The group will be inducted into the HOF during a banquet on Friday, Nov. 1. Hitt spent 26 years as UCF’s fourth school president from 1992-2018, building up the university’s academic standards while bolstering its national reputation. He was integral to getting an on-campus football stadium built and championed for the school’s admittance into the Big 12 Conference. Hitt died on Feb. 20, 2023, at the age of 82.

Researchers from the University of Central Florida (US) created the first environmentally friendly, large-scale and multicolor alternative to pigment-based colorants, inspired by butterfly wings. Common paints and colorants are pigment based, which means new molecules need to added for every color present. In nature, such as butterfly wings, on the other hand, colors are structural, and typically two colorless materials produce all colors with their geometrical arrangement. With this, they control the way the light is reflected, scattered or absorbed. These structural colors use only metals and oxides, and tare therefore more environmentally friendly than pigment-based colors that use artificially synthesized molecules.

A research team from the University of Central Florida and Hesperos, a pioneer in human-on-a-chip technology, has developed the first human model to study the effects of an opioid overdose and reversal with naloxone. The study, "Human IPSC-Derived PreBötC-like Neurons and Development of an Opiate Overdose and Recovery Model" ( doi.org/10.1002/adbi.202300276 ) was published in Advanced Biology on September 7, 2023. The paper describes the development of human preBötC neurons from induced pluripotent cells (iPSCs) and the establishment of a human model that mimics opioid overdose with four opioids and the recovery of neuronal activity with naloxone treatment. “I am incredibly proud of our team's groundbreaking work that will provide invaluable insights into understanding opioid addiction and recovery, paving the way for more effective treatments and ultimately saving lives. We hope this exciting first step will play a significant role in understanding and developing treatment solutions for this devastating crisis.”

The US Naval Research Laboratory has funded a groundbreaking project to develop a new hypersonic engine capable of morphing its shape during flight to optimize power, thrust and efficiency. It's now entering experimental testing in Florida. Now, a team from the University of Central Florida is applying a similar concept to the inside of the scramjet engine. The team is led by Professor Kareem Ahmed, whose work we've covered before – back in 2020, Professor Ahmed and his team produced the world's first stable operation of a rotating detonation engine.