UCF in the News

Orlando Utilities Commission is testing an energy-saving product created locally by Capacitech Energy, Inc., a tech startup operating out of the UCF Incubation Business Program. The company’s PowerLink high-power energy storage technology is designed to improve the reliability and resilience of power grids by providing the necessary rapid response capacity to address fluctuations in usage. “The need for that is growing rapidly,” Capacitech CEO Joe Sleppy told Orlando Business Journal. “Our product is filling a gap that is growing due to the complexity of today's grid and microgrids. What Capacitech does is help make the grid healthier and more sustainable.” The partnership is being funded by the U.S. Department of Energy through Sandia National Laboratories, a research entity that supports federal, state and local government agencies, companies and organizations.

Paramdai “Vicky” Somwaru is one of the fourth-grade teachers at Hamlin Elementary School. She goes above and beyond for her students every day; leads the school’s chess team; spends countless hours planning, preparing and teaching her students each year and sets high expectations both academically and socially that help her students to grow and be successful. She also is an adult ESOL teacher. She has been named Teacher of the Year, received the Disney “Teacherrific” award for two years and earned National Board Teacher Certification. The Lockheed Martin-University of Central Florida program paid for her Master of Mathematics and Science Education.

Any astronauts reaching the surface of the moon will be greeted first by a plume of dirt, sent flying by the boosters of their spacecraft. They will emerge and put bootprints in the dirt, take samples and study the dirt, and eventually they may use the dirt to make the fuel and other supplies needed to maintain a long-term lunar presence. When it comes to exploring the moon, it’s all about dirt. Planetary physicist Philip Metzger at the University of Central Florida is the king of moon dirt, or regolith. In 2013, he cofounded a group of research labs at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida, where research teams spend their days working with artificial lunar regolith, like the sample pictured below, to learn how it behaves and what we will be able to do with it. With NASA’s Artemis programme aiming to put humans back on the surface of the moon in 2027 and eventually set up a permanent base there, that knowledge is becoming increasingly important.

In 2021, the team launched MoveApps – a free platform of analytical tools to help scientists make sense of all that data. The system allows programmers to develop data-analysis tools that scientists can apply to the animal-tracking data stored in the Movebank database. Tracking turtles in the open ocean is one way it’s being used to do this. An enduring mystery in conservation biology is what happens to sea turtles in the period between emerging as tiny hatchlings on beaches around the world, to returning to coastal waters as dinner-plate-sized juveniles. “Those early life stages are the foundation of the rest of their lives,” says Dr. Kate Mansfield, a professor of conservation biology at the University of Central Florida, who is collaborating with ICARUS on a project that will track the movements of sea turtles in the open ocean. “If you’re working with protected species or animals that are of conservation concern, you really want to know everything you can about them at every single life stage,” Mansfield says. Currently, “that early dispersal stage that’s associated with the sea turtles’ lost years is really the biggest data gap”, in sea turtle biology, she explains.

Orlando is on the rise as a top tech hub in the South, according to a recent study by CommercialCafe, which credits affordability, specialized industry, which credits affordability, specialized industries and local universities for attracting investment, companies and talent to the region. The study evaluates tech job density, median earnings and overall quality of life, among other things, in populated areas of more than 200,000 people. The Orlando market, including Sanford and Kissimmee, joins four other Florida metros in the Top 20 after missing out on last year's list. Orlando sits at No. 20 behind Palm Bay (No. 15), Crestview (No. 17), Tampa (No. 18) and Jacksonville (No. 19). The study notes that Orlando has “leveraged strengths in simulation technology and enjoys a robust talent pipeline from the University of Central Florida, cementing its rise as a tech hub.”

It’s been less than a week since UCF announced the return of Scott Frost as its football coach, and the athletic department is already feeling the move’s impact. The waitlist for season tickets climbed to 2,500 people and, according to a spokesperson, the athletic department has seen 12 major gifts in the Shareholder Society since the announcement. Final figures won’t be available until the end of the year. All in all, it’s been quite the moment for the school. “We want to keep UCF in the news,” athletics director Terry Mohajir said during a groundbreaking event on the expansion of the Roth Tower at FBC Mortgage Stadium. “It’s exciting. Anytime you can feel the momentum, people are excited about our new coach and some of the personnel we’re bringing back. It all works together.” Frost was hired last weekend after a nearly weeklong search following the resignation of Gus Malzahn on Nov. 30. Malzahn left to become the offensive coordinator at Florida State under former colleague and friend Mike Norvell. The decision to bring back Frost, seven years after he helped lead the Knights to a perfect season, capped by a win over No. 7 Auburn in the Peach Bowl, brought a lot of excitement back to the program. That enthusiasm has carried over, especially after former UCF quarterback McKenzie Milton joined Frost’s coaching staff as quarterback coach. Milton helped guide the Knights to that 13-0 season, which ended with a win over the Tigers who were led by Malzahn. He was part of a team that won a program-best 25 games in a row, earning another appearance in a New Year’s Six Access bowl.

Amid the backdrop of newly announced Artemis moon-mission postponements, analysts expect potential NASA administrator Jared Isaacman to shake up the agency from a private-businessman and private-astronaut perspective — "NASA needs to be prepared for dramatic changes."Isaacman is the 41-year-old billionaire founder and CEO of Shift4 who partnered with Elon Musk's SpaceX to command and finance the groundbreaking Inspiration4 and Polaris Dawn commercial astronaut spaceflights. Greg Autry, associate provost for space commercialization and strategy at the University of Central Florida, said "NASA needs to be prepared for dramatic changes." "When you look at Artemis, basically every vendor has problems with every system in that program. And the whole thing is kind of coming off the tracks," Autry said during a Wednesday FLORIDA TODAY interview — the day before NASA announced the latest Artemis II and Artemis III delays.

UCF coach Gus Malzahn has resigned after four seasons with the school. ESPN’s Pete Thamel was the first to report the move, with Malzahn leaving to take the offensive coordinator job at Florida State. Malzahn previously worked with FSU coach Mike Norvell during their time at Tulsa under then-coach Todd Graham from 2007-08. The Seminoles fired offensive coordinator Alex Atkins on Nov. 10 in a coaching purge following a disastrous 2-win season. UCF Athletics released a statement: “We would like to thank Coach Malzahn for his contributions to our football program over the past four seasons, including our transition into the Big 12 Conference. We appreciate his professionalism and dedication to our student-athletes throughout his tenure at UCF and wish he and his wife, Kristi, the very best in their future endeavors.”

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