NSTC News
September 2016
Dr. Chanda and Daniel Franklin Awarded 1st Prize, Displaying Futures Award 2016
Dr. Debashis Chanda and Daniel Franklin have been awarded the 1st place prize for the Displaying Futures Award 2016 in Frankfurt, Germany.
The prize comes with $50,000 in research support and a long term nurturing from Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, the company that hosted the event.
Nileshi Saraf Awarded SNO Student Award for 2016
Nileshi Saraf has been awarded $525 to attend the 2016 SNO Conference in Orlando, between Nov 10-12.
Swetha Barkam to be awarded Artistic Creativity award
Swetha Barkam, a PhD student in Dr. Seal's research group will be awarded the Artistic Creativity award for the 1st Annual ACerS PCSA Creativity Competition at MS&T
Dr. Chanda and Daniel Franklin selected for Top-10 Displaying Futures Award
Dr. Debashis Chanda and Daniel Franklin have been selected for a Top-10 novel display innovation, Displaying Futures Award 2016. They has been invited to Germany for a three day event where their idea, "Skin-like plasmonic Full-Color Displays" will be recognized.
Dr. Soumen Das received "Young Investigator Award" for ICIP 2016
Dr. Soumen Das, a member of Dr. Seal's research group, has received a young investigator award for "International Conference on Ionizing Processes (ICIP 2016)". The conference will take place between October 10 through October 14 at BNL.
UCF-Developed Formula to Stop Citrus Greening Finalist for 2 Awards
Dr. Santra and Dr. Thomas have been acknowledged recently in an article by UCF Today for their individual participations in the development of nano technologies. Dr. Santra's Zinkicide invention is extensively detailed in the article, and Dr. Thomas is noted for his award winning portable energy source and chemically sensitive tape.
August 2016
Ankur Gupta Named TSS Student Board Member
Graduate student Ankur Gupta has been selected as a student board member on the Thermal Spray Society Board of Directors.
Dr. Huo's Student Recognized for Scientific Achievement
Dr. Huo's former student, Lauren Austin, has been recognized for her scientific achievements by Chemical and Engineering News magazine.
UCF Growth Leads to Record Research Funding, Researcher Dr. Santra Noted
Researchers at the University of Central Florida received an all-time-high $145.75 million in funded research in FY16, a period that featured a national top 20 ranking for UCF patents and a new record for federal funding.
July 2016
Thomas and Tetard Featured on Cover of Journal of Materials Chemistry A
An article authored by Jayan Thomas, Laurene Tetard and others is featured on the cover of Journal of Materials Chemistry A.
Dan Franklin awarded College of Sciences General Scholarship
Dan Franklin, a Ph.D. student in Dr. Debashis Chanda's research group was awarded the College of Sciences General Scholarship.
June 2016
Two UCF students honored at SID Display Week 2016
At the Society for Information Display's Display Week in San Francisco, UCF students Hao Chen and Juan He were recognized.
Chanda's Team Earns $1.3 Million DARPA Grant
Debashis Chanda's team has been awarded a $1.3 million grant by The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to fund the development of a next-generation infrared detector that could be used in fields as varied as night vision, meteorology and space exploration. DARPA is funding the UCF team’s research for the 3½ years.
May 2016
Barkam Selected as Student Member of ASM Board of Trustees
Swetha Barkam, MSE PhD student, was selected on the ASM Board of Trustees as a student member.
Seal's Research Featured on Cover of the Journal of Materials Chemistry B
Sudipta Seal's research on "Controlling the surface chemistry of cerium oxide nanoparticles for biological applications" was featured the cover of the Journal of Materials Chemistry B, issue 29, 2016.
Mayo Clinic Symposium
A mini-symposium exploring collaboration opportunities between UCF and Mayo-Jacksonville will be held on Friday, May 13, 2016. Topics and speakers were selected by Mayo, and the symposium is an outgrowth of collaborations between Mayo scientists and UCF Professor Sudipta Seal, Director of NSTC, AMPAC, and Interim Chair of Material Sciences and Engineering. We hope that this symposium is just one step in developing more extensive collaborations with Mayo scientists and UCF science and engineering faculty, offering complementary expertise to their research staff. All interested faculty, staff and students are invited to participate.
Energy (R)evolution: The Future of Renewables An Interview with James Fenton
The thought that solar and electric vehicles (EVs) would ever be viable, prominent energy alternatives was a revolutionary idea a few years ago. Now, EVs are becoming more affordable and efficiency levels are consistently on the rise, opening the door to a renewable energy future.
Gupta Awarded the SGA Graduate Student Research Scholarship
Ankur Gupta has been awarded the SGA Graduate Student Research Scholarship for 2015-16.
The scholarship is awarded to graduate students who are presenting research at a conference and provides $500 in assistance.
Novel Atom-Thick Semiconductors Developed in Jung’s Group Featured In Scientific Reports
As the miniaturization of modern electronic devices continues, scientists have turned to what are now known as two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors which are made up of a few atom thick semiconducting layers – the ultimate size limit of device units.
April 2016
Zhai and Coffey Receive UCF TIP Awards
Dr. Lei Zhai and Dr. Kevin Coffey received UCF Teaching Incentive Program Awards for 2015-2016. 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.
Washington Wins Delores A. Auzenne Fellowship
Torus Washington won the Delores A. Auzenne Fellowship from the Office of Graduate Studies.
Santra, Huo, Khondaker, Zhai inducted into UCF Scroll & Quill Society
Swadeshmukul Santra, Qun "Treen" Huo, Saiful I. Khondaker, and Lei Zhai have been selected to be inducted into the UCF Scroll & Quill Society.
Student Group Featured in National Nanotechnology Initiative Supplement to the President's 2017 Budget
The Society for Emerging and Nanotechnologies (SENT) was featured on the cover of the National Nanotechnology Initiative Supplement to the President's 2017 Budget. The document serves as the NNI annual budget and report to Congress as mandated by law.
Sleppy Wins Best Project in Mathematics & Physical Science II at the Showcase of Undergraduate Research Excellence
Joseph Sleppy Won the Best Project in the Mathematics & Physical Science II category at the Showcase of Undergraduate Research Excellence for his research in A PCBM Assisted Perovskite Growth Process to Fabricate High Efficiency Semitransparent Solar Cells. The award is joined by a $750 scholarship.
Students Win First Place at Graduate Research Forum
Three students from the NSTC, MSE, and AMPAC won first place at the 2016 Graduate Research Forum.
Barkam Awarded Travel Scholarship to Attend Summer School in France
Swetha Barkam has received a $1000 travel scholarship from the American Ceramic Society (ACerS) to attend the European Ceramic Society's (ECerS) Summer School in Limoges, France, June 23 - 25, 2016. The scholarship is an effort to help offset the costs of the program's attendance.
USDA Grant Funds Deadly Crop Disease Solution
Swadeshmukul Santra and his team were awarded a $477,000 grant by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as part of a $5.2 million investment in nanotechnology research at 11 universities. The grant was awarded to develop a method of combatting a bacterium that attacks tomatoes and other crops.
March 2016
Barkam Recognized as Outstanding Student Leader for Women's History Month
Swetha Barkam has been recognized as an outstanding student leader for Women's History Month, representing March 28th, by the Lead Scholars Academy. Barkam was featured along with an interview with questions about her involvement, goals, advice for students, and favorite UCF traditions.
Mosquito-Borne Disease Detection Nanotech Featured on WFTV9
Sudipta Seal and his team's nanotech, in collaboration with Bradley Willenberg from the UCF College of Medicine, was featured on WFTV9. The technology is designed to detect mosquito-borne diseases such as the Zika virus in real time.
Barkam and Tasneem Awarded Scholarships
Congratulation to Swetha Barkam and Kazi Tasneem who have been selected for the Frank Hubbard Engineering Endowed Scholarship for 2016-2017. The scholarship amount is $1,000 over two semesters.
Chanda's Research to Tech Showcased on WUCF TV
Debashis Chanda and his team's technology for thin, flexible, skin-like color displays was showcased in a February short on WUCF TV's SciTech Central.
February 2016
Chanda's Work Featured in Photonics Spectra's Top Stories of 2015
Debashis Chanda's research on a flexible skin-like color display has been featured in Photonics Spectra's Top Stories of 2015.
Barkam Awarded Order of Pegasus
Swetha Barkam has been selected for induction into the Order of Pegasus Class of 2016. She will be recognized at the Order of Pegasus award ceremony on April 4, 2016.
January 2016
Santra Awarded $1.9M Federal Grant, UCF Recognized as Center of Excellence by USDA
Swadeshmukul Santra and his team were awarded a $1.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to develop a solution to citrus greening, a monumental threat to Florida's $11 billion citrus industry.
Sudipta Seal Interviewed on His Start as a Researcher and Entrepeneur
Sudipta Seal, Ph.D., was recently interviewed by the Office of Technology Transfer on his journey to embracing research and entrepreneurship through academia and industry.
Chanda's Research Featured in NSF's International Year of Light
Debashis Chanda and his team's research on flexible, skin-like, color displays was recently featured as part of the National Science Foundation's International Year of Light Celebration.
December 2015
Elbrecht wins Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Award
Dan Elbrecht won the Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Award of December 2015 from the Student Undergraduate Research Council for his research project Incorporation of Skin into In Vitro Drug Screening Platforms. The award included a $200 scholarship.
November 2015
Oscar of Invention Awarded to UCF Technology
Nanotechnology Approach in Mosquito-Borne Disease Detection
A UCF College of Medicine researcher, Bradley Willenberg, has designed a new mosquito surveillance tool that attracts the insects, diagnoses those carrying disease, and turns them a different color as a warning system to residents in at-risk areas throughout the world.
October 2015
Chanda and Franklin's Work Featured on ABC WFTV Channel 9
Debashis Chanda and Daniel Franklin's work on bendable, wearable, displays was covered in a recent video on Channel 9.
NSTC & AMPAC Faculty/Staff Present at UCF Sensor Conference
On Friday, October 30, Several NSTC and AMPAC Faculty and Staff are presenting at the UCF Sensor Conference.
Heller Awarded RAMP Fellowship
Steven Heller has been awarded a Research and Mentoring Program (RAMP) fellowship with Sudipta Seal, Ph.D. as his advisor.
Ahuja Wins Second Place at Annual FLASM Meeting
Kripa Ahuja won second place for a poster presentation in the recently held Florida American Society of Microbiology meeting. Even as a high school student, she competed in the undergraduate category and was awarded the second place prize.
MSE Students Represent UCF on ACerS President Council
MSE students represented UCF on the ACerS President council at the Materials Science and Technology 2015 conference in Ohio.
Santra's bactericide, Zinkicide, featured on ABC WFTV Channel 9
Swadeshmukul Santra's bactericide invention, Zinkicide, has been recently featured by ABC WFTV Channel 9 on a segment about the Florida citrus industry continuing to fight for funding for research and testing to battle citrus greening.
Kumrah Awarded the October Distinguished Undergraduate Award
Preeti Kumrah has been awarded the Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Award for the month of October 2015 at the University of Central Florida.
