UCF in the News

CNN reviewed and verified dozens of videos from Venezuela’s two deadly earthquakes and found many residential towers had ‘pancaked.’ But why is it so lethal when buildings collapse this way? UCF civil engineering professor Necati Catbas, who has studied collapsed structures, describes the collapse of floors onto each other as 'pancake collapse.'

An international research consortium led by the University of Central Florida (UCF) has announced two key milestones for its Virtual Experience Research Accelerator (VERA) platform, aiming to accelerate and expand global extended reality research. Supported by collaborative grants from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), VERA is the first large-scale system dedicated to human-subjects research in virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR). The platform has entered open beta, launched its first large-scale remote study, and issued its first operational-use grant.

Meet the key professionals guiding where artificial intelligence and education intersect in the Sunshine State: Laura Brattain, Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Central Florida, College of Medicine, Internal Medicine Department Time in role: 2 years Brattain has been heavily involved in biomedical artificial intelligence research. Her recent work includes mentoring a senior design team to develop an AI-based app for a robotic knee surgeon at Jewett Orthopedic Institute. She is also working with Vanquish Bio on an AI detection tool to more quickly and effectively diagnose pancreatic cancer. Other work by Brattain with Orlando Health includes the AIMS program. Known as AI for Medical Surgery, the system, designed by six senior design students, enables tracking of medical staples in a surgical environment. Brattain’s work comes as UCF has increased its cross-disciplinary AI work across multiple colleges. The goal is to tackle problems with experts from multiple specialties.

The University of Central Florida is quickly building out its artificial intelligence infrastructure, including bringing companies into the process. For example, global financial firm BNY and Central Florida health system Orlando Health are both located in the college’s SPRK building, which also houses its Institute of Artificial Intelligence. Both organizations are participating in UCF’s Pegasus Partnerships program — a system in which the private sector works closely with UCF students to create employment opportunities — to expand opportunities and advance emerging technology. For BNY, it was the first to open an 8,400-square-foot Next-Gen Cybersecurity Technology and Operations Center Lab. The lab allows students to learn how technologies such as AI are used in banking alongside BNY staff. Orlando Health was drawn to the building because it can have an extension of itself directly on campus for students to access. That adds to its presence at other campuses, such as the Lake Nona Academic Health Sciences Campus. UCF’s AI Institute, created in 2025 and now under construction, has grown to 24 faculty members across multiple disciplines. The institute includes a presence from the College of Medicine, College of Business, College of Sciences, and College of Engineering and Computer Science. It is working to promote cross-industry and cross-college collaboration to address potential problems. At UCF Downtown, the Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy, which offers education in video game careers, works with a variety of companies that use artificial intelligence. These include major firms such as Electronic Arts and smaller studios. Ben Noel, executive director for FIEA, said there are applications for the technology, especially with repetitive tasks.

Mass graves, large fortifications, and a collection of cuneiform tablets, all dating back almost 4,000 years, are evidence of siege warfare in northern Iraq. According to archaeologists working at the site, the age of the artifacts found at Kurd Qaburstan, 14 miles (22 kilometers) southwest of Erbil, aligns with the siege and subsequent fall of the Bronze Age city, Qabra. While Qabra’s existence has been documented in ancient records, its physical location remained something of a mystery. “The charred debris, the large number of ceramic vessels and individuals who met untimely deaths and were buried in the destruction layers, provide the clearest archaeological case of Middle Bronze Age siege warfare yet discovered in northern Mesopotamia,” Tiffany Earley-Spadoni, associate professor of history at the University of Central Florida and director of the Kurd Qaburstan project, said in a statement.

At the University of Central Florida Institute of Artificial Intelligence, a group of rising eighth graders recently took part in a week-long summer camp to learn about the uses of generative AI in robotics, the medical field and more. Sitting in the first row, Orlando Gifted Academy student Paayal Sonde paid close attention to the lecture. “I'm really into STEM and AI is really interesting,” Sonde said. “My passion is space. I love space exploration, and I feel like I would have such a big role in space exploration as well, along with, like, autopilots.” Although at first glance it might look a regular class setting at UCF, it's actually a group of middle school students filling the seats of a classroom at the university. “I’m really excited to be part of this AI summer camp," said Dr. Laura Brattain, an associate professor at the UCF College of Medicine. "The goal of this summer camp is to introduce this new next generation of students to learn about AI, different concepts of AI and for me, I really want to introduce students about medical AI, which is going to be a key driver in for the future of healthcare."

Since its founding in 1776, the United States has pursued innovation and technological breakthroughs with a relentless drive impacting almost every corner of every community. “It was back in the 60s when Ivan Sutherland realized that computers were powerful tools but operating them with switches and knobs was not going to be the future,” said Carolina Cruz-Neira, Executive Director of the University of Central Florida’s Pegasus Research Institute and Institute for Simulation and Training (IST). “The future was to be able to have a more natural way to communicate with the computer, so he created the first interactive display and developed a pen where he would draw on a screen, which was the very beginning of visual simulation and that was born here in the United States,” said Cruz-Neira referring to Sutherland’s revolutionary Sketchpad computer program that he developed in 1963 as a PhD student at MIT. Recognized internationally as one of the top innovators for virtual reality, Cruz-Neira has spent more than 30-years combining visual simulation with real-world elements and enhancing the human connection through interactive technologies, advanced computer science and systems engineering. Under the umbrella of UCF’s Institute of Simulation and Training, its Mixed Emerging Technology Integration Lab (METIL) is also advancing critical research in artificial intelligence, blockchain, digital twins, cybersecurity and simulation-based learning. “As a systems integration lab, we have an opportunity to take some of the latest and greatest emerging technologies and put them together,” said METIL Director David Metcalf who has spent more than 20 years researching in the areas of simulation training and several other digital engineering specialty areas.

SpaceX’s Friday IPO – the largest in stock market history – will benefit more than Elon Musk, now considered the world’s first trillionaire. The billions of dollars raised the moment the stock offering hit the market is expected to fuel a surge of investment and development in new private space companies, many of which will have a presence in Orlando and Brevard County. UCF College of Business Professor Dr. Zaheer Ali, who leads the space commercialization program, equated the offering to Columbus crossing the Atlantic, which set off a new era of exploration and investment in transatlantic trade in the following decades. This time, humans will be eyeing the moon, Mars and the asteroid belt. “Who’s going to do the impossible next?” Ali asked, saying the focus would shift from getting to space to doing things in space. “Now, they have the money to do it. That’s what this IPO represents.” Ali credited SpaceX with making the journey to space achievable for so many others. Since the company came online, he said costs for transporting satellites and other equipment up into orbit has fallen by 90%, thanks largely in part to the innovations in management, manufacturing and logistics that SpaceX has solved over the years.

Two young girls are gaining independence and smiles thanks to customized cars designed to help children with mobility challenges. This week's Community Champion highlights UCF Go Baby Go!, a national organization that provides modified vehicles to children in need. Melody and Keller, who require extra support with mobility, received these cars as generous gifts from Go Baby Go!, the national organization that has a branch at UCF. Interviewed for the WESH2 Community Champion segment is its Director is Jennifer Tucker, a Clinical Associate Professor in the Program of Physical Therapy at the University of Central Florida.