UCF in the News

Mackenzie Scott, the former wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, on Tuesday donated $40 million each to two state universities in Florida that have a history of promoting social mobility and educating students from communities traditionally underserved by higher education. The University of Central Florida is one of them. The gift will help UCF toward its goal of becoming the world’s leading public metropolitan research university by funding faculty research and supporting programs that help students succeed, UCF President Alexander Cartwright said.

Pythons in the Everglades should be shaking in their skin. Researchers at the University of Central Florida are developing new technology to help hunters find this invasive snake. Special cameras developed at UCF make that job a lot easier by enhancing the contrast between the snakes and their surroundings in real-time. It essentially makes that snake pop out as bright against a dark background.

UCF held a UCF Remembers Pulse Vigil, where the university commemorated the 49 individuals who were killed in the Pulse nightclub shooting. The names of the victims were read aloud during the ceremony. Speakers included UCF President Alexander Cartwright and Carlos Guillermo-Smith, a UCF alumnus and a state representative.

UCF professor Robert Rivers is the winner of the 2021 Florida Prize in Contemporary Art, taking home a $20,000 award for his drawing series, “The Promised Land.” The work spans 500 feet with panels 5 1/2 feet tall and represents the processing of a personal tragedy in Rivers’ life.

UCF is launching a new master's degree in cybersecurity and privacy this fall amid heightened awareness of cyber crimes and a demand for workers with this skillset.

UCF faculty, staff and the general Orlando community can honor the lives of the 49 lost at the Pulse shooting by donating blood on campus this week.

Central Florida is coming together five years later to honor the memory of the victims of the 2016 Pulse Nightclub shooting. On a corner of the University of Central Florida Student Union, facing Aquarius Agora Drive, a mural by artist Michael Pilato depicts UCF student Juan Ramon Guerrero and alumnus Christopher Andrew “Drew” Leinonen. The two were among the 49 killed at Pulse. Students and visitors can pause to reflect on the lives lost, specifically the couple depicted in the mural.

At the University of Central Florida, the RESTORES team has been building trauma therapies using virtual reality that allows clinicians to control the level of detail in a simulation, down to the color of a bedspread or a TV that can be clicked on or off, in order to more easily trigger traumatic memories. The program offers free trauma therapy, often using V.R., to Florida residents and focuses on treating PTSD. Dr. Deborah Beidel, psychology professor and executive director of RESTORES, has broadened the treatments beyond visuals, customizing sounds and even smells to create an augmented reality for patients.

For the second year in a row, the ShanghaiRanking Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2021 ranked Rosen College No. 1 in the nation and No. 2 in the world. College leadership credit the ranking to its collaborative, international research initiatives and its curriculum that spans the entire hospitality spectrum, from foodservice and restaurant management to travel technology and analytics.