UCF in the News

Cislune, a technology lab working to accelerate the timeline of placing humanity back on the Moon, took home four big wins this year in the form of NASA contracts when the space agency announced the winners of Phase I of its 2023 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program on June 5. And for the STTR grants, the first, which was created in collaboration with the University of Central Florida Board of Trustees, is called “refuse-to-get-stuck rovers,” suggesting that lunar rovers must be able to drive quicker and more autonomously.

In the bowels of a Laotian cave, illuminated by faint sunlight and bright lamps, scientists have unearthed the earliest known evidence of our human ancestors making their way through mainland Southeast Asia en route to Australia some 86,000 years ago. Any trace of human remains is a delight for archaeologists – but none more so when they dust off a discovery, date it, and realize it could push back timelines of early human migration in an area by more than ten thousand years. For this new study, the team led by biological anthropologist Sarah Freidline of the University of Central Florida, turned to luminescence dating and other techniques to get an age estimate of the sediments surrounding the newly discovered fossils, the deepest of which was found at nearly 7 meters (23 feet).

Orlando-based Capacitech Energy Inc. is an Orlando Inno 2023 Fire Awards honoree. The firm ranked No. 1 in the Not Just Lucky category, companies that are 7-8 years old. The firm created a revolutionary product: a power cord that also stores energy to make batteries and renewables better. "When we are working on projects with customers, we generally start by understanding their needs and technical requirements," said CEO Joe Sleppy. What’s one big challenge your firm’s rapid growth has created? It has led to larger projects, bigger budgets and greater operating complexities. We are overcoming those through world-class partnerships with companies like Genesis Research & Development and New World Angels. We are at the UCF Business Incubation Program at Central Florida Research Park, which gives us access to engineering talent and lab infrastructure.

Artist Michael Pilato has been painting all night when a reporter calls, and he continues to paint as he talks about “Inspiration Orlando United” — a mural of those affected by the Pulse tragedy that will go on view Monday at Orlando Museum of Art to commemorate the mass shooting at the Orlando nightclub on June 12, 2016. It’s only a few days before the mural goes on display — the first time all sections of the work will be seen together — but Pilato isn’t behind schedule. Side projects also developed: The pair painted a mural at UCF of two Pulse victims and a downtown mural of Billy Manes, the gay advocate who died in 2017.

When it comes to the future of spaceflight, the Moon is the place to be. Several missions are set to land on the Moon in the next few years in an effort to establish a human presence on the lunar surface. Although they’re meant to bolster lunar activity, those landings, however, could in turn have a negative effect on spacecraft orbiting the Moon. A recent study, newly uploaded to the preprint arXiv, examined the potential damage caused by lunar landers, which can eject dust from the surface of the Moon and send it into orbit as they land on the surface. With enough Moon landings in the future, a cloud of pesky lunar dust particles could get in the way of orbiting spacecraft. As NASA prepares to land on the Moon as part of its Artemis program, the space agency is now aware of the trials and tribulations of lunar dust when it comes to its astronauts. Frequent Moon landings, however, could have larger impacts on orbiters or space stations in lunar orbit, according to the new pre-print, which has yet to go through peer review. Planetary physicist Philip Metzger from the University of Central Florida co-authored the new study.

With artificial intelligence systems quickly evolving, it’s not uncommon to feel anxious about the development of technology and how that may affect our own jobs. According to a Forbes advisory survey, 77% of people are concerned that AI will cause job loss in the next year as businesses are looking to increase overall productivity. Even if AI hasn’t been implemented into your workplace, you might feel uneasy about how fast it’s growing, which is fair. AI is able to mimic human function, including tasks that involve perceiving, reasoning, learning, problem solving, and more — all without the use of human minds. As Goldman Sachs reported, AI is predicted to replace over 300 million jobs or partially replace two-thirds of roles. All of this means AI can have a psychological impact, depending on if the technology comes as an opportunity or a threat, Mindy Shoss, professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Central Florida, told HuffPost. As a result, job insecurity can be an extremely stressful experience. “Jobs can be a source of meaning, social connection, identity and stability in one’s life,” Shoss said. “Job insecurity is difficult to cope with because people are unsure of if or when job loss might happen — this can lead to a near-constant state of vigilance and anxiety.”

The Moonrush has begun. Last year, NASA's Artemis 1 mission flew to the Moon and back in a test of the technology that will take humans back to the surface in the next few years. The Artemis program will establish a space station called the Lunar Gateway in orbit and a base on the surface. There will be other visitors too - both Russia and China are planning crewed missions. And some 30 uncrewed missions are in various stages of completion by spacefaring nations and private companies. All that heralds a new age of lunar exploration, discovery and commercialization. But it also comes with risks. One problem is that the ejecta from lunar landings and launches could envelop the moon in a cloud of high-velocity dust particles that threaten other lunar missions. But just how significant this problem will be is currently unknown. Enter Philip Metzger at the University of Central Florida and James Mantovani at the NASA Kennedy Space Center, who have attempted to quantify the risks for the first time. They say that spacecraft orbiting high above the lunar surface should be safe but others making closer approaches risk significant impacts with this dust. The challenge in assessing the risk is that the interaction between rocket exhaust and the lunar surface is poorly understood. The evidence from Apollo missions is that landers’ rocket exhausts appeared to sweep away surface dust leaving a clean rock surface but no crater.

The U.S. Army is teaching soldiers to identify and report mold in barracks, housing and offices — as part of a long-running battle against mold contamination. The problem the Army faces is common. One study estimated 47% of U.S. homes had substantial dampness or mold issues. Another found 100% had mold on some surfaces. PHILIP FAIREY: Mold is ubiquitous. JAY PRICE (reporter): Philip Fairey of the University of Central Florida is an expert on mold issues in structures. FAIREY: It's everywhere all the time. There's mold spores everywhere. PRICE: And he says the right amount of moisture on a surface can be the catalyst. How the spores get that moisture is what humans have to figure out and prevent, and it's often complicated. The cause of moisture that triggers, say, mold inside walls isn't always obvious, and whether a particular mold problem is serious is a big question. Take mold in bathrooms, a common issue in the barracks and, Fairey says, in every home with a tile shower. FAIREY: Every single one, because there's enough moisture there to support the growth of mold. So is that a problem or not? It's not really a problem for me because, I mean, a little bit of Clorox will fix it.

Florida is not only richer than many states when it comes to personal wealth, but is more resilient for the time an expected national recession sweeps the country. “Economically speaking, we have our flashlights, batteries, food and water,” Sean Snaith, an economist at the University of Central Florida, said Thursday upon the release of his quarterly state economic forecast. “Compared to what Florida went through in the two previous recessions, the next recession will be more akin to a tropical depression.” Snaith’s analogy, of course, is designed to greet the arrival of the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season, which started Thursday.