UCF in the News

A University of Central Florida economic development initiative is expanding its services to help more international and out-of-state companies determine whether Central Florida is the right place to expand or establish operations. The UCF Business Incubation Program’s Soft Landing initiative launched a Discovery and Validation Program earlier this month, adding services such as advising, ecosystem engagement, opportunity validation and risk management and financial feasibility analysis. Rafael Caamano, interim director of Innovation Districts and the Incubator, told OBJ the resources provided through the program help companies become strategically positioned to launch and grow their presence in Central Florida. “We’ve been a catalyst in bringing companies to Central Florida, thus creating high-wage jobs and outside capital that might have struggled in coming here,” he said. There are 104 companies in the business incubator, with 52 focused on supporting space, defense, fiber optics, simulation and training, Caamano said.

A new study digs into whether artificial intelligence is better than humans at recognizing faces. Facial recognition is now a fixture of modern life, powering everything from national border security to the simple convenience of unlocking a smartphone. However, these advancements bring significant risks to privacy, equity, and civil rights. While AI can now match faces as accurately as humans, the specific logic these algorithms use to calculate similarity remains a “black box” (closed source). Ultimately, the research suggests that as we move toward an AI-integrated future, we must evaluate the reliability of both the machine and the human making the final decision. Additional coauthors are from the University of Colorado at Boulder, the University of Central Florida, New Mexico State University, and the University of Virginia.

Travelers are accustomed to seeing an all-inclusive price for airfare when browsing flights online, but they may soon need to read the fine print before purchasing as the federal government is trying to change disclosure requirements. The Department of Transportation proposed new regulations last month that would allow airlines to highlight fares without individual components such as taxes. The change could mislead consumers, marketing and aviation experts said. “The airlines would have more leeway in terms of showing the price of the actual flight compared to the additional taxes and fees,” said Stephen Pratt, a professor at the University of Central Florida’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management. “Transparency in pricing is a good thing for consumers and gives the power back to the consumers.”

The University of Central Florida College of Medicine has launched a new aerospace medicine clinic for pilots and future aviation professionals in the region. The UCF Health Aerospace Medicine Clinic is now the only academic FAA Aviation Medical Exam Clinic in Central Florida. It offers specialized aviation medicine services and performs FAA-mandated medical exams for pilots at all levels, from recreational flyers to commercial airline pilots.

Microbiologist Taseen Desin with the University of Central Florida's College of Medicine joined WESH 2 News live on Tuesday to answer your questions: How worried should we be about the cyclospora outbreak? "So, it's definitely a parasite that can cause gastrointestinal disease. We've heard terms like 'explosive diarrhea,' which can make a person quite afraid or worried, but it is relative. Relative to other pathogens or other gastrointestinal diseases. It is a pathogen that causes similar symptoms. It can cause diarrhea, vomiting, and if we take care of ourselves, I think most of us are able to handle it if we stay hydrated, if we contact our healthcare officials at the right times, if we make sure that we wash our produce," Dr. Desin said.

Sticky or slippery? Snails can change their slime to meet the moment Snails are slimy. But there's more to that goo of theirs than meets the eye. It's a fact that may help inspire the creation of new materials. Slime is splattered across the animal kingdom. In a paper published in the journal Science, the researchers reveal that these snails tune the relative proportions of certain proteins and ions to create five different types of mucus, each with their own function and distinctive properties. "There are immense potential applications," says Kausik Mukhopadhyay, a materials scientist at the University of Central Florida who wasn't involved in the study. "It could be cancer research, drug delivery, cosmetics." He says that the lubricant mucus could be tweaked for use with catheters to help them glide into place in the body with less friction. The adhesive mucus, he adds, might be developed into something to help close a wound. In other words, there's much to learn from a slimy snail. "Nature is always smarter than us," says Mukhopadhyay. "We are just maybe 0.1% to what nature has synthesized — that is where we are right now."

The University of Central Florida College of Medicine on Thursday unveiled a new aerospace medicine clinic to serve pilots in need of medical care. University leaders and aviation specialists turned out for the announcement at the UCF College of Medicine in Lake Nona. The clinic is at the College of Medicine’s clinical practice in Lake Nona, UCF Health Faculty Physician Practice. Minutes away from Orlando International Airport, staff said the location will help serve local and traveling pilots in one of the nation’s busiest aviation hubs. "We're looking at ways to apply different extreme environments to research so that we can use it not only for space exploration and those applications, but also for Earth-based scenarios as well — people who go into extreme environments in very remote areas of the world," said Ed Powers, chief medical officer for the UCF Center for Aerospace and Extreme Environments Medicine. Powers said the clinic has already soft-launched and has seen patients for aviation medicine. It offers specialized exams, screenings and referrals that connect pilots with different specialties in one area.

Orlando Family Stage plans to expand its educational offerings for the 2026–2027 season with new classes, performance opportunities, and family-focused programs. The organization also continues its long-standing collaboration with the University of Central Florida’s nationally recognized Theatre for Young Audiences graduate program. Through the partnership, graduate students gain professional experience working on productions and educational programming while contributing to new play development and research. According to Orlando Family Stage, its education team includes full-time staff, professional teaching artists, classroom educators, working theatre professionals, and UCF graduate students, many of whom have served Central Florida families for more than a decade.

The University of Central Florida's Exolith Lab features a Regolith Bin to simulate the moon's surface for research. Simulated moon soil, or regolith, is extremely abrasive and poses significant challenges for equipment and astronauts. Lunar dust is considered a major hazard because it can damage spacesuits, clog mechanisms and interfere with electronics. Shielded by white protective suits and powered air-purifying respirators, four college students dug into dusty, sharp-edged simulated moon soil amid the otherworldly environment of the University of Central Florida's Regolith Bin. This airlock-equipped 10-by-10-meter enclosure at UCF's Exolith Lab serves as a rare space-hardware test bed where researchers can help refine NASA's vision of building humanity's first lunar base near the moon's south pole from ground level. Jared Long-Fox, a UCF planetary exploration research scientist, said simulated moon regolith feels like flour to the touch — but this material proves extremely abrasive.