NSTC News
October 2017
Researcher’s Nanomaterial Can Extract Hydrogen Fuel from Seawater
t’s possible to produce hydrogen to power fuel cells by extracting the gas from seawater, but the electricity required to do it makes the process costly. UCF researcher Yang Yang has come up with a new hybrid nanomaterial that harnesses solar energy and uses it to generate hydrogen from seawater more cheaply and efficiently than current materials.
September 2017
Six UCF students awarded for their presentations at NanoFlorida 2017
Students from the Nanoscience Technology Center have won several awards at the recent NanoFlorida 2017 conference held at Florida International University, Miami, on September 23rd and 24th, 2017.
Dr. Yang’s Research Published on Energy & Environmental Science
An article titled “MoS2/TiO2 Heterostructures as Nonmetal Plasmonic Photocatalysts for Highly Efficient Hydrogen Evolution” from Dr. Yang's research group has been published by Energy & Environmental Science.
Jung’s group reports atom-thick 2D hetero-semiconductor integrations in Nano Letters.
Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors with near atom thickness present an unusual combination of extremely high mechanical bendability and superior electrical/optical properties, rendering unprecedented opportunities for flexible electronics/optoelectronics. More interestingly, heterogeneously integrating one 2D semiconductor on top of the other achieving vertical stacks of 2D “hetero” structures is envisioned to project even more exciting functionalities impossible with their mono-component counterparts. One of the major hurdles for their technological applications lies in the technical difficulty with precisely integrating them into flexible substrates on a large scale compatible with prevailing microelectronics processes while maintaining their structural integrity.
Professor Striving to Turn Nanoscale Inventions into Real-Life Products
In the very small world of nanoscience, Debashis Chanda, an associate professor at UCF’s NanoScience Technology Center and College of Optics and Photonics, is forging huge innovations in the way we view, use and manipulate light.
Dr. Yang’s Research Published on Advanced Energy Materials
An article titled “Surface-Modified Porous Carbon Nitride Composites as Highly Efficient Electrocatalyst for Zn-Air Battery” from Dr. Yang's research group has been published by Advanced Energy Materials.
UCF Researchers’ Work Pushes Battery Tech Forward
University of Central Florida Assistant Professor Yang Yang’s research group has developed two promising energy storage technologies in its work with sustainable energy systems.
August 2017
UCF Students Honored at 2017 Joint Nanoscience and Neutron Scattering User Meeting
The annual 2017 Joint Nanoscience and Neutron Scattering User Meeting was held July 31-August 4 at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
Article by Dr. Thomas and Dr. Jung Selected for "Celebrating 10Years of Energy Research" in ACS Nano
An article recently published in the ACS Nano Journal by Dr. Thomas and Dr. Jung has been selected for the exclusive virtual issue of “Celebrating 10Years of Energy Research” in ACS Nano.
July 2017
UCF, Nemours Collaborate to Defeat Difficult-to-Treat Childhood Cancer
Attaching curcumin, a component of the common spice turmeric, to nanoparticles can be used to target and destroy treatment-resistant neuroblastoma tumor cells, according to a new study published in Nanoscale. The study, conducted in partnership by researchers at Nemours Children’s Hospital and the University of Central Florida, demonstrates a potentially novel treatment for neuroblastoma, the most common cancer in infants.
Dr. Seal to Become a Trustee Chair
Congratulations to the three new Trustee Chairs who were honored at the UCF Board of Trustees meeting on July 20, 2017 - Mohamed Abdel-Aty, Sudipta Seal, and Stella Sung.
Dr. Yang’s Research published on Advanced Energy Materials
An article authored by Dr. Kun Liang, Kyle Marcus, Dr. Yang Yang and others has been published by Advanced Energy Materials . The article, titled “NiS2/FeS Holey Film as Freestanding Electrode for High-Performance Lithium Battery”, highlights a facile and scalable nanomanufacturing technique to produce freestanding holey films as electrodes for lithium battery, which presents superior electrochemical performance and cyclability. This work provides a promising way to develop high energy density and long lifetime electrodes for next generation renewable energy storage devices.
Mayo Clinic Convergence 2018 Conference
The Convergence 2018 Conference will be held between February 21st through the 23rd, 2018 at the UCF Fairwinds Alumni Center.
Angie Diaz Awarded 2017 FSGC Thesis Improvement Fellowship Award
Angie Diaz, a student in the Nanotechnology Masters program, has been awarded the 2017 NASA Florida Space Grant Consortium Dissertation/Thesis Improvement Fellowship.
Asymmetric Supercapacitors Featured on Cover of Advanced Materials
Supercapacitors: Asymmetric Supercapacitor Electrodes and Devices (Adv. Mater. 21/2017), a paper published by Dr. Yeonwoong Jung and Dr. Jayan Thomas research groups, has been featured as the cover page for the Advanced Materials journal. The paper, which reports on the development of asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) electrodes and devices, was first published early last month.
June 2017
Dr. Chanda's Group Awarded Winner of Nanofabrication Micrograph Competition for “Nano-Space Shuttle”
One the biggest lithography conference “Electron, Ion, Photon Technology and Nanofabrication (EIPBN-2017) awarded Dr. Chanda's “Nano-Space Shuttle” as winner of the nanofabrication micrograph competition.
May 2017
UCF Research Could Bring ‘Drastically’ Higher Resolution To Your Phone and TV
Research from Dr. Chanda's group has been featured in UCF Today. A breakthrough in display technology being developed by Dr. Chanda's group, including researcher Daniel Franklin, could lead to future displays with 3-4 times the resolution of traditional displays.
Congratulations to PSM/MS Students Graduting in Spring 2017
Congratulations to several PSM/MS students graduting in Spring 2017. We are very glad to have them in our program, very proud of their great accomplishments, and wish them all the best in their future career!
Huo Recieves UCF TIP Award
Dr. Qun Huo received the UCF Teaching Incentive Program Award for 2016-2017. The TIP award rewards sustained high levels of teaching effectiveness. Eligible faculty must have been employed by UCF for at least four (4) years and meet or exceed median student credit hour (SCH) production. The award provides a $5,000 base salary increase.
April 2017
Swetha Barkam Recieves Graduate Student Award from Materials Research Society
Swetha Barkam has been awarded the Graduate Student Silver Award by the Materials Research Society. Barkam is one of just 27 graduate students selected from among the top universities to recieve this award. Barkam recieved her award and was commended for her presentation at the Awards Ceremony and Innovation in Materials Characterization Award Talk on April 18th
NSTC Students Awarded at Graduate Research Forum
On April 4, 2017, the UCF College of Graduate Studies and the Graduate Student Association hosted the 14th annual Graduate Research Forum as part of the Student Research Week. Students from various UCF colleges exhibited their latest research and findings while receiving feedback from faculty judges. Cash prizes were awarded for best posters in each category
NSTC Participates in STEM Day
A group of faculty members and students from NanoScience Technology Center participated in the 5th STEM Day held by the Center for Initiatives in STEM on March 31st. Over 1,300 K-12 students from nearly 20 Florida schools attended the event. Drs. Kang, Santra, Yang, Seal, Jung, Zhai and their students (Adi Jayaranjan, Nileshi Saraf, Kyle Marcus, Zhao Li, Nitin Choudhary Ashraful Islam, Luis Hurtado, Anthony Schropp, Angie Diaz, Nicholas Castaneda, Edgar Cruz James Heidings, Tyler Maxwell, Chen Shen, David Fox, Zeyang Zhang, and Ruginn Catarata) set up six stations to demonstrate the application of nanotechnology including the extraction of DNA, two-dimensional materials, energy storage, non-wetting surfaces, and etc. More than 200 K-12 students visited the demonstration stations from NSTC.
Swaminathan Rajaraman featured in ISIMM Newsletter
Swaminathan Rajaraman, Ph.D., is an assistant professor at the University of Central Florida (UCF) with joint appointments at the NanoScience Technology Center and at BRIDG/ISIMM. Dr. Rajaraman is well published in micro/nanofabrication, biomedical engineering, and wearable micro-electro-mechanical (MEMS) devices. He is a co-founder of an advanced biotechnology company, and holds 13 patents/applications. Dr. Rajaraman's dual appointment with UCF and BRIDG/ISIMM enhances an established coordination of efforts to increase advanced manufacturing research, development, education, and workforce for sustained growth in the United States.
UCF Stepping up to Be Farming’s Knight in Shining Armor
While the University of Central Florida (UCF) is a world class institution with one of the largest enrollments in the country, it is not a school that jumps to mind when considering agricultural research. But, this could be changing as a new center of excellence was established there with a focus on sustainable agriculture. In addition, a number of other ag projects engaging the latest in technology are being researched at the university.
March 2017
Dr. Tetard Awarded Diversity & Inclusion Appreciation Award
Dr. Laurene Tetard has been selected to receive the College of Engineering & Computer Science Office of Diversity & Inclusion’s Appreciation Award. This award is given annually to recognize those who have committed their time or collaborated with our office to broaden the participation of underrepresented students in engineering.
Chanda Wins 2017 Research Incentive Award
Debashis Chanda is a winner of UCF's 2016-2017 Research Incentive Awards. The UCF RIA program honors faculty whose research has substantially contributed to a body of knowledge or significantly influenced a field of study.
Middle and High School Students Mentored by Dr. Tetard Awarded
Middle School student Laboni Santra recently attended the Seminole County Regional Science, Math and Engineering Fair competition where students from the entire Florida Seminole County presented projects on various STEM related topics.
News Coverage of UCF and NASA Study
News station WFTV featured coverage of Dr. Sudipta Seal and Kevin Grossman, detailing the research efforts aimed toward using Martian soil to eventually build human habitats on Mars.
The research is the result of a NASA grantFebruary 2017
Brandon Carpenter Featured on Forbes 30 Under 30
Brandon Carpenter, one of Dr. Thomas' undergraduate students, has been featured on the Forbes list '30 Under 30'
UCF and NASA Study Using Martian Soil to Build Human Habitats
It’s hard enough to transport humans to Mars. But once they get there, where will they live?
UCF Graduate Student in NanoTech Program One of the Best, Earns National Fellowship
Central Florida native John Bittman has had an unconventional journey to the University of Central Florida and now the trip has just taken an unexpected turn.
January 2017
Graduate student Hao Chen’s Poster Selected as Student Poster Competition Winner
Graduate student Hao Chen’s poster “High Efficacy, High Color Quality Hybrid White OLEDs Incorporating Red Quantum Dots with Narrow Emission Bands” has been selected as a winner of the Student Poster Competition of the 2017 DOE Solid state lighting (SSL) R&D workshop and he was invited to present on this topic at Long Beach, CA.
Collaborative Paper Published in Advanced Materials
A paper from the groups of Dr. Yajie Dong, Dr. Shin-Tson Wu and Dr. Andre J. Gesquiere, titled “Ultrastable, Highly Luminescent Organic-Inorganic Perovskite - Polymer Composite Films”, has been published by Advanced Materials.
Dr. Dong Invited to Display Week 2017 Technical Program Committee
Dr. Dong has been invited to join Emissive Display (EMD) subcommittee of Display Week 2017 Technical Program Committee.
Beatriz Jimenez Selected for SURF Research Scholarship at UF
Beatriz Jimenez, an EE undergraduate student from Dr. Chanda's group working on IR spectroscopy was selected for the SURF Program, a summer research scholarship
Dr. Santra's Group Formula Licensed, First Time for UCF/Agriculture Industry
Gowan Co. has licensed an anti-fungal and anti-bacterial formula developed by Dr. Santra's lab, the first agreement of its kind for UCF.
New, Old Science Combine to Make Faster Medical Test
A UCF researcher has combined cutting-edge nanoscience with a magnetic phenomenon discovered more than 170 years ago to create a method for speedy medical tests.
Flexible Electronic Solar Ribbon Featured on Foreign Policy Site
The ENERGY SMART textile is highlighted among the “innovations” in the current issue of prestigious “Foreign Policy” magazine (owned by Washington Post company). The ENERGY SMART textile is being developed by Dr. Thomas' research group
Dr. Jung’s Research Featured on ACS Nano Cover
Dr. Eric Jung's work has been featured on the cover of ACS Nano. The cover article features additional coverage of Dr. Jung's Core/Shell Nanowire Supercapacitor research. More specifically, the article details a new type of “one-body” supercapacitors has been developed by chemically converting flexible tungsten foils to one-dimensional (1D) nanowires with conformal two-dimensional (2D) tungsten sulfide (WS2) layers.
December 2016
Tyler Maxwell Named Outstanding Graduate Student by ACS
Tyler Maxwell, a Ph.D. student in Associate Professor Swadeshmukul Santra’s lab in the Chemsitry Department at UCF, has been named Outstanding Graduate Student by the Orlando section of the American Chemical Society (ACS).Maxwell was nominated by Associate Professor and collaborator Andre Gesquiere for his educational outreach and in applying discoveries in the lab to start a business. Maxwell, who plans to work as a researcher on the design and discovery of novel nanotherapeutics, received a plaque and a $200 check at the awards luncheon on Dec. 3.
November 2016
A Phone That Charges in Seconds? UCF Scientists Bring it Closer to Reality
UCF Today has highlighted a team of UCF scientists that has developed a new process for creating flexible supercapacitors that can store more energy and be recharged more than 30,000 times without degrading.
Dr. Soumen Das and Dr. Sudipta Seal's Research featured on Chemistry of Materials cover
An article in collaboration with Dr. Soumen Das and Dr. Sudipta Seal has been featured on the cover of ACS Chemistry of Materials Journal. The article, titled "Structure–Activity Map of Ceria" deals with heterogeneous reactions, such as automotive catalysis and water gas shift reactions.
Kevin Grossman awarded at Sustainable Nanotechnology Conference
Kevin Grossman (PhD student MSE) won the Sustainable Nanotechnology Conference best poster paper presentation. Congratulations Kevin!
Invitation to be recognized at the Board of Trustees Meeting
Dr. Debashis Chanda and Mr. Daniel Franklin will be recognized at the Board of Trustees Meeting on November 17, for winning the International Prize for Novel Display Technology. President Hitt will recognize both to the Board of Trustees at this meeting.
Congratulations to both Dr. Chanda and Mr. Franklin for their achievements.
UCF Today: 'Back to the Future' Inspires Solar Nanotech-Powered Clothing
Dr. Jayan Thomas has been recognized for his work on solar nanotech powered clothing. Dr. Thomas says that 'Back to the Future' was the inspiration for the solar powered, self charging textiles.
UCF Establishes Chapter of National Academy of Inventors
UCF has established a chapter of the National Academy of Inventors. Several NSTC professors were inducted, including Dr. Sudipta Seal, Dr. James Hickman, Dr. Qun Huo, and Dr. Swadeshmukul Santra. The inaugural members boast impressive contributions to innovation at UCF, holding 541 of UCF's total 925 patents.
Swetha Barkam Awarded 1st Place Sapphire Award, GEMS
Swetha Barkam selected for a Graduate Excellence in Materials Science (GEMS) Award for 2016. Specifically, Barkam was awarded 4th place overall, and 1st within the Sapphire Ranking division. Congratulations Swetha!
