Political Symposium scheduled at UCF

Officials from the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., and other leading experts will gather Monday, April 4, at UCF to discuss how the two countries can work together to overcome those challenges.

“U.S. and China: What Does the Future Hold?” is the spring Lou Frey Institute of Politics and Government symposium. 

The event, which is free and open to the public, will be from 8:40 a.m. to 2:20 p.m. in the Pegasus Ballroom of the Student Union.

This symposium topic stems from a trip that former U.S. Rep. Lou Frey and four other former members of Congress took last year to China. The group visited three universities, met with leaders in the ministries of Commerce and Foreign Affairs and toured several high-tech companies, among other places.

http://today.ucf.edu/u-s-china-relations-will-be-focus-of-political-symposium/

Graham Worthy speaks "Dolphin"

According to Ben Raines article in the Press-Register a combination of factors probably led to this year’s rash of dolphin deaths, although plumes of cold water that entered Mobile Bay in January and February may have delivered the killing blow.

Graham Worthy, a University of Central Florida researcher who ran the state of Texas’ dolphin research program for a decade, said it may be impossible to pinpoint the exact cause of death for the 90 animals that have been recovered this year.
But, Worthy said, basic tests looking at the fat composition of the animals’ blubber layer and the condition of their skin, would reveal much about the overall fitness of the creatures before they died.

“I suspect what we are seeing is several things coming together to form a perfect storm,” Worthy said. “The cold was a very unusual circumstance, but I think we may also be seeing an indirect effect stemming from the BP oil spill, from the way it may have disrupted the food chain.”

Read the rest of the article, from Ben Raines of the Press-Register click here http://blog.al.com/live/2011/03/cold_water_may_have_delivered.html

Beidel makes headway in study

Dr. Deborah Beidel, a University of Central Florida psychology professor, leader of the study and expert on post-traumatic stress disorder is hoping that a combination of reliving painful experiences with the smells of war will help Iraq and Afghanistan veterans overcome their anxieties.

Linda Shrieves of the Orlando Sentinel wrote about the project that will combine virtual-reality simulation of wartime scenes with the smells of Middle East combat zones in an attempt to help veterans overcome post-traumatic stress disorder.

Read the story here:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/health/os-ucf-war-smells-research-20110329,0,2523820.story

UCF Students raise awareness about Arboretum

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcqSFxzLq6A

In the midst of a controversy between UCF administration and students, Chelsea Stewart and Samantha Ruiz, both UCF students, speak on why they support the conservation easement that is placed on a piece of land within the UCF Arboretum.

Story coming soon!
Click here for more info
http://www.arboretum.ucf.edu/

Research apprentice program comes to UCF

UCF first year students will have an opportunity to live and learn together while becoming research apprentices.

The Learning Environment and Academic Research Network (LEARN) funded by the National Science Foundation will provide a living and learning community where students will live on campus together and take three courses – a freshman seminar, English and an introduction to research course.

LEARN's goal is to increase retention in science, technology, engineering or mathematics disciplines for first generation and minority students at UCF.

Participants will be expected to work three hours a week with graduate students and faculty mentors as part of a research apprenticeship. The goal is to have these students learn hands-on experience, learn laboratory techniques, help process data and assist with experiments.

Applications are currently being accepted for Fall 2011. Applicants are required to major in a STEM discipline course and live on campus.  There are currently 28 spots available and the program will begin reviewing applications on May 1, 2011. 

For more information and application click here http://www.our.ucf.edu/learn/about/index.php

COMM Day

The Nicholson School of Communication is hosting its first COMM Day for students and professionals.

NSC will induct the new Nicholson School of Communication Hall of Fame members and honor Outstanding Students and alumni on Friday April 8, at the Fairwinds Alumni Center.

The Keynote speaker is Sally Hogshead,  she is an authority on brand creation, management,  consultantion, and author of  FASCINATE: The 7 Triggers to Persuasion and Captivation.

There will be several other speakers, optional breakout sessions and quick tips regarding leadership and career success. 

Proceeds from this event will benefit the William T. Grasty Communication Scholarship and the NSC Alumni Chapter. Student admission is $15 and $20 for professionals.

For more information click the link below

http://www.ucfalumni.com/commday/sessions.htm

“The Dark Side of Interpersonal Attraction: Obsessive Relational Intrusion and Stalking”

Dr. William Cupach will be speaking on behalf of the event sponsored by the Nicholson School of Communication as part of the College of Sciences’ Distinguished Speaker Series. 

The title of his speech is “The Dark Side of Interpersonal Attraction: Obsessive Relational Intrusion and Stalking.” 

ORI is the repeated and unwanted pursuit and invasion of one’s sense of physical and symbolic privacy by another person who desires or presumes an intimate relationship. Persistent and threatening ORI constitutes stalking. 

He is the author or co-author of 13 books and edited works as well as more than 50 highly influential refereed journal articles, book chapters, and encyclopedia entries. 

The event, which is free and open to the public on April 12 in the Harris Corp. Engineering Center (HEC), Rm. 125 at 6:30 p.m. 

UCF professor, Peter Hancock publishes book

Looking for a book with a twist of mystery and suspense? 

UCF psychology professor, Peter Hancock has recently published Richard III and the Murder in the Tower. 

Description of Richard III and the Murder in the Tower from College of Sciences News:

Richard III is accused of murdering his nephews—the "Princes in the Tower"—in order to usurp the throne of England. Since Tudor times he has been painted as the "black legend," the murderous uncle. However, the truth is much more complicated and interesting. Rather than looking at all the killings Richard III did not commit, this book focuses on the one judicial murder for which we know that he was responsible. On Friday, June 13, 1483, Lord Hastings was hustled from a meeting of the Royal Council and summarily executed on Tower Green within the confines of the Tower of London. This book solves the mystery of this precipitate and unadvised action by the then Duke of Gloucester and reveals the key role of William Catesby in Richard’s ascent to the throne of England. It explains his curious actions during that tumultuous summer of three kings and provides an explanation for the fate of the "Princes in the Tower."

The book is now available on http://www.amazon.com/

Biology Department's Bug Closet

The "Bug Closet" may be one of many best kept secrets at UCF. As it's growth expands however, attention is being drawn from across the world. 


Stuart M. Fullerton's Collection of arthropods began at UCF 20 years ago. He started to build up a small collection of bugs and insects with the help of students who would bring them back to the lab to be pinned and labeled.

Located in the biology building the bug closet now is home to 420,000 specimens from bee's to beetles.


Dr. Hojun Song of the biology department spends most of his time working in the bug closet and urges students to learn more about each species habitats and where they live. He said his main goal is to turn the bug closet into a major research collection. Already making a name for itself, the bug closet has been used as a resource to scientists from all over the world. 

http://biology.cos.ucf.edu/bugs/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VK4Awcsfn8U

Attention for Health Care

The University of Central Florida is hosting the seventh-annual State of Health Care in Central Florida Symposium.

Panelists will discuss the ways technology is used to improve health care, such as the use of electronic health records and mechanisms for checking in and treating patients.

Speakers on the panel include Andy Lee, chief scientist for Harris Healthcare; Rick Schooler, vice president and chief information officer for Orlando Health; Rajesh Toleti, CEO of PatientPoint; and Dr. James Palermo, chief medical and quality officer for Health First.

The event is open to the public at the FAIRWINDS Alumni Center, across the street from the UCF Arena, from 6:30 to 8 p.m., Wednesday, March 16.

There will be a networking session from 6 to 6:30 p.m. Entry is free for UCF students, and the fee for UCF Alumni is $10. The cost for the general public is $15.

For information or to register for this year’s symposium, call 407-823-1600 or visit

www.ucfalumni.com/symposium

UCF awarded with 2010 President's Volunteer Service Award

Third times a charm. UCF was recently presented for the third time with the President’s Volunteer Service Award. 

This Gold Level award for 2010 was recently presented by President Barack Obama. Its purpose is to recognize organizations that provide 15,000 volunteer service hours or more to their communities.

UCF received the award through its partnership with Junior Achievement. Nicholson School of Communication Instructor Steve Neel, and his students, are a major part of the Junior Achievement volunteer efforts. 

See more here http://news.ucf.edu/UCFnews/index?page=article&id=00240041052a2b5bb012d4490764900503c

UCF Students Prepare to Launch Experiment into Space

UCF's Associate Professor Joshua Colwell was one of three scientists selected nationally to fly aboard Blue Origin’s space vehicle New Shepard. He has selected UCF undergraduates as well as two graduates  to work within the project, building a machine that they hope will ultimately lead to informing us how planets are formed. Their machine will fly into space and a series of four tests will be done. After the flight the experiment returns these students will review the tapes and conclude data of their findings. 


Stay tuned for a full story I am covering on this very topic. If you can't wait however, view some of the links I have provided below!


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/01/science/space/01orbit.html?scp=2&sq=space&st=cse

http://news.ucf.edu/UCFnews/index?page=article&id=00240041052a2b5bb012d44907649001331&subject_id=0024004102975ad83011b2b83251c08df

Frozen smoke?

'Frozen smoke' is one of the newest fascinations in the robotic surgery and energy storage world. University of Central Florida Associate Professor Lei Zhai and postdoctoral associate Jianhua Zou have engineered the world’s lightest carbon material. Currently in the initial process of doing tests Zhai hopes this can be used to detect pollutants and toxic substances. This in turn will improve robotic surgery techniques and store energy more efficiently. They have been able to invent something so new and unique that even tiniest pressure change can be detected and tracked. For more information on this click on the links below.


http://news.cos.ucf.edu/?p=626
http://chemistry.cos.ucf.edu/faculty_zhai.php

Vacation Destination: Space

Virgin Galactic CEO, George Whitesides, plans to send customers into space. Whitesides came to speak at UCF during the Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference. 


"April 6 marks 50 years that people have been exploring space," Whitesides said. "But over the course of that time only about 500 people have been able to actually travel into space." He said Virgin Galactic believes they can fly 500 people into space just within the first year of operation.



Read more here:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/community/ucf/orl-ucf-virgin-galactic-ceo-takes-tourism-next-level,0,2291675.story

Story on Fortis published in the Orlando Sentinel

A UCF journalism alumna found herself desperately searching for a job after moving back home to Spring Hill, Fla., post graduation in May 2010. In December she received news of her acceptance to the Scripps Howard Foundation's Semester in Washington, beating out applicants nationwide... click link to read more!

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/community/ucf/orl-ucf-graduate-bianca-fortis-reports-washington,0,2110237.story