To build the ultrafast computers of the future, scientists are looking beyond the electrical charge of electrons to another property: their spin. While conventional hardware relies entirely on the movement of charge to process data, the ability to tap into this intrinsic quantum property could enable researchers to completely reinvent how information travels through a circuit.

Now, a team led by UCF Professor of Physics has identified a promising candidate. Neupane and his collaborators found evidence of altermagnetism, an emerging form of magnetism that combines useful characteristics of the two more familiar types of magnetism: ferromagnetism and antiferromagnetism.

Ferromagnetism produces the behavior most people associate with everyday magnets. In these materials, magnetic moments align in the same direction, creating a magnetic field. That property can be useful in electronics, but the resulting stray magnetic fields can interfere with nearby components.

Antiferromagnets behave differently. Their magnetic moments point in opposing directions and cancel one another out, largely avoiding the stray fields. However, they lack some of the useful electronic properties found in ferromagnets.

Altermagnets offer another possibility by combining desirable characteristics of both.

Like antiferromagnets, they can avoid producing unwanted stray magnetic fields. But they can also generate and detect spin currents 鈥� the movement of electron spins through a material 鈥� that researchers hope to use for future electronics.

Neupane and his collaborators experimentally identified signatures of this unusual magnetic state in Co鈧�/鈧凾aSe鈧�, a layered material containing magnetic cobalt atoms. The discovery gives researchers a promising, versatile platform for studying altermagnetism and could help advance future electronic and spintronic technologies.

鈥淭hese materials are distinguished from more conventional antiferromagnets by their ability to generate and detect spin currents without the negative effect of producing stray fields,鈥� Neupane says. 鈥淭his new property makes them very well positioned for use in many different applications 鈥� including spintronics, ultrafast memory devices, terahertz networks and energy-efficient electronics.鈥�

Tracking the Signs of Altermagnetism

To determine whether Co鈧�/鈧凾aSe鈧� exhibited altermagnetism, the researchers needed to examine how its electrons behaved.

They used a technique called angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, or ARPES, which allows scientists to measure the energy and movement of electrons and map a material鈥檚 electronic structure.

鈥淥ur approach was to use higher-resolution methods that were insensitive to the electron鈥檚 spin to measure the splitting in the energy levels,鈥� Neupane says. 鈥淭hen, we complemented this measurement with spin-resolved ARPES to conclusively tell if this looks like altermagnetism.鈥�

The team first detected a characteristic splitting in the material鈥檚 electronic bands. They then used spin-resolved ARPES to take a closer look and found that those split states carried opposite spin polarizations, key evidence of altermagnetism.

Getting a clear look at that behavior presented another challenge. Photoemission measurements are extremely sensitive to a material鈥檚 surface, so researchers needed exceptionally clean samples to accurately observe what was happening.

While collaborators produced high-quality Co鈧�/鈧凾aSe鈧� samples, Neupane鈥檚 team carefully screened them for ultra-clean surfaces before mapping the material鈥檚 electronic behavior.

鈥淭he significance became clear once the experimental measurements consistently matched our theoretical predictions,鈥� Neupane says. 鈥淪eeing those independent pieces of evidence converge gave us confidence that we had identified a genuine layered altermagnet.鈥�

Why Layered Materials Are Changing the Game

Finding evidence of altermagnetism was only part of what made Co鈧�/鈧凾aSe鈧� interesting to researchers.

The material is built from extremely thin layers stacked on top of one another. Because those layers are weakly bound, scientists can separate and combine them into extremely thin structures, making layered materials promising for use in thin-film devices and other emerging technologies.

Scientists call this family of layered materials transition-metal dichalcogenides, or TMDs.

In Co鈧�/鈧凾aSe鈧�, magnetic cobalt atoms inserted between the layers help create the material鈥檚 unusual magnetic properties. Its layered structure also makes the material highly tunable, allowing researchers to modify it and study how those changes affect its electronic and magnetic behavior.

The team also wanted to understand where that unusual electronic behavior originated. Before the study, it was unclear whether the key signatures of altermagnetism in layered materials would come primarily from the surface or from deeper within the material.

Their measurements showed that the relevant electronic state originated primarily within the material itself and displayed clear signatures of altermagnetic order.

鈥淓vidence for altermagnetism in a versatile materials platform opens a lot of new possibilities,鈥� says Milo Sprague, the study鈥檚 lead graduate student researcher. 鈥淭here鈥檚 currently a lot of debate in altermagnetic theory about how the spin-polarized electronic states interact with other magnetic phenomena. Now we have a material that we can easily modify to explore these new questions.鈥�

Building the Foundation for Future Technologies

Most conventional electronics rely on the electrical charge of electrons to transmit and process information. But electrons possess another property, their spin, that researchers are exploring as another way to carry information.

This emerging field is known as spintronics.

Altermagnets could be particularly useful for spintronics because they can generate and detect spin currents without producing the stray magnetic fields that can interfere with densely packed electronic components.

鈥淎s electronic devices continue to shrink, researchers need new materials that can operate faster while consuming less energy,鈥� Neupane says.

Layered materials are already being investigated for use in extremely small transistors, optical technologies and other electronic devices. At the same time, researchers are exploring whether spin currents can provide new ways to transmit digital information.

Layered altermagnets could bring those two areas of research together, providing extremely thin, adaptable materials capable of controlling electron spin without producing the same unwanted magnetic interference as conventional magnets.

鈥淚f this approach proves viable, then layered altermagnets will be at the forefront of electronics development,鈥� Neupane says.

What Researchers Still Don鈥檛 Know

The study gives researchers something particularly valuable: a material they can use to investigate the many unanswered questions surrounding altermagnetism in Co鈧�/鈧凾aSe鈧�.

Scientists still don鈥檛 fully understand why this unusual magnetic state forms or why it can become favored over other possible magnetic structures 鈥� including ferromagnetism and other forms of antiferromagnetism 鈥� and how it behaves.

Theoretical studies suggest that competition among different interactions between electrons may help determine which magnetic state forms, but researchers are still working to determine how completely those theories describe the behavior of real materials.

鈥淭here are many details to the theory of how altermagnets work that haven鈥檛 been explored or verified yet,鈥� Neupane says. 鈥淣ow that we have identified several platforms for answering these questions, more advanced studies into these materials are underway.鈥�

Because scientists can modify Co鈧�/鈧凾aSe鈧� and observe how its properties change, the material provides researchers with a new experimental platform for investigating unanswered questions and exploring how altermagnetism interacts with other magnetic and electronic phenomena.

This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science under Award Number DE-SC0024304.

贵辞谤听seven consecutive years, the听Rosen College of Hospitality Management听谤补苍办蝉听No. 1 in the nation听for Hospitality and Tourism Management Programs, according to听ShanghaiRanking鈥檚 2026 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects.

鈥淭he ranking recognizes what Rosen College has accomplished over the past two decades,鈥� Rosen College Dean Cynthia Mejia says. 鈥淲hat excites me most is how we build on that foundation. Our goal is to influence the future of hospitality through the students we educate, the research we produce, the partnerships we create and the solutions we help develop for the industry’s most important challenges.鈥�

Additionally, UCF ranks听No. 2 in the nation听for Transportation Science and Technology 鈥� and in the top 10 for the seventh year in a row. The recognition reflects the breadth of research underway across UCF to develop solutions and advancements for the future of the transportation industry while improving safety and mobility on the nation鈥檚 most critical and busiest roadways.

鈥淚 am happy that our hard work and expanding our transportation faculty have paid off in this continuous recognition,鈥� UCF Pegasus Professor Mohamed Abdel-Aty says. 鈥淲e have opened new fronts in transportation systems, technology and ideas looking to the future. We balance traditional transportation research with cutting-edge and high-impact new directions.鈥�

The rankings represent significant industries that drive international economies with travel and tourism contributing to a global GDP (gross domestic product) of $11.6 trillion and supporting about one in every nine jobs around the world, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council鈥檚 2025 report.

The ShanghaiRanking Global Ranking of Academic Subjects evaluates universities by academic discipline using research-focused indicators, these include measures related to research output, research quality, international collaboration and academic influence.

A Global Leader in Hospitality and Tourism Research

Located in the nation鈥檚 top tourism destination, Rosen College students, faculty and staff are embedded in industry, allowing them to directly explore emerging areas in the field.

鈥淭his ranking reflects the depth, quality and consistency of the research being produced by our faculty,鈥� Manuel Rivera, associate dean of research at Rosen College says. 鈥淭o be recognized once again among the world’s leading hospitality and tourism programs is a testament to the collective efforts of our faculty, students, alumni and industry partners. The ranking recognizes the foundation Rosen College has built over the past two decades. Building on that foundation, Rosen College is helping shape the future of hospitality through impactful research, innovation, industry partnerships and the development of future leaders.鈥�

Faculty research spans areas including tourism, lodging, events, food service, consumer behavior, technology, and the management of destinations and hospitality organizations, including:

• HFTP Professor of Hospitality Financial Management and Technology Mehmet Altin鈥檚 study on entrepreneurial ecosystems in hospitality and tourism with a comparative analysis across economic contexts, which was published in Tourism Economics.
• Associate Professor Yun Ying Zhong, a research faculty member of 糖心logo入口鈥檚 Disability, Aging and Technology faculty cluster initiative, completed a systematic review of 30-year research on hospitality in healthcare, which was published in the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management.
• Assistant Professor Frank Badu-Baiden鈥檚 study of the factors influencing consumers鈥� acceptance of drone food delivery, including the role of usefulness, emotions and perceived risk, which was published in the International Journal of Hospitality Management.

The No. 1 ShanghaiRanking placement builds on Rosen College鈥檚 continued excellence in curriculum, research and workforce impact as Universal Destinations & Experiences (UDX) joined UCF as a Pegasus Partner in June to establish the Universal School of Experience Leadership & Innovation. Through this partnership, UCF and UDX will further explore:

• Service robotics and human-centered approaches to shape guest and employee interactions

• AR and VR simulation technologies for training, operations, and immersive environments
• AI and digital twins for optimizing and personalizing the guest experience

Advancing Transportation Safety and Technology

With more than 23.4 million residents in 2025, Florida is the nation鈥檚 third most populated state, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In the same year, the Sunshine State welcomed 143.3 million visitors听as America鈥檚 No. 1 domestic travel destination, according to Visit Florida.

As residents and tourists navigate around the state, UCF researchers are working to improve transportation challenges related to roadway safety, emerging mobility technologies and other areas.

Abdel-Aty and Associate Professor Shaurya Agarwal lead multiple projects funded by U.S. and Florida Departments of Transportation to develop safety plans and demonstrate technologies across various Florida counties.

One examines Florida鈥檚 Regional Advanced Mobility Elements, or IFRAME, project along Interstate 4 between Orlando and Tampa. The study is evaluating the performance of advanced transportation technologies to inform decisions about future investments to enhance safety and mobility.

Research Assistant Professor Zubayer Islam and Abdel-Aty鈥檚 Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX) project 鈥� the first of its kind in the Southeast 鈥� evaluates the effectiveness and enhancements of the agency’s Flex Lanes Program on sections of its expressway. It is the latest development in UCF鈥檚 longstanding partnership with the CFX.

For nearly 14 years, UCF has worked to make highways safer by tackling wrong-way driving, one of the nation鈥檚 deadliest roadway hazards. An international expert in transportation engineering, planning and operations, Professor Haitham Al-Deek, in partnership with CFX, designed, implemented and evaluated wrong-way driving and prevention system technology to detect and deter wrong-way driving on high-speed roads. Deployed across the CFX system, it has achieved an 88.5% driver self-correction rate, the highest known worldwide, which is well supported by the largest amount of data collected on the performance of the invented technology.

Al-Deek and his students also invented the nation鈥檚 first algorithm to help transportation agencies identify wrong-way driving hotspots and prioritize improvements for greatest safety impact with maximum economic efficiency. Through competitively won contracts at state and national levels, this algorithm was implemented for five transportation networks throughout Florida and Idaho.

鈥淎ccording to the data we collected, the deployed lifesaving technology on CFX transportation network helped 2,541 out of the detected 2,870 wrong-way drivers self-correct and turn around safely as of June 2026,鈥� Al-Deek says.

Research That Translates to Daily Impact

UCF鈥檚 performance in transportation science and technology and hospitality and tourism management reflects two distinct research strengths while also demonstrating how the university is improve daily life across the region, state and nation. The 2026 ShanghaiRanking Global Ranking of Academic Subjects also show UCF is making an impact in Public Administration as the No. 11 program in the nation and Law as the No. 25 program across the U.S.

For generations, scientists have looked to the genetics inside immune cells for ways to improve how the body fights disease.

Now, a research team led by UCF College of Medicine assistant professor Hung Nguyen is examining an understudied molecule within T cells as a pathway to treatments for cancers, infections and autoimmune disorders.

Their study, recently published in Trends Open, focuses on transfer RNA (tRNA), molecules within cells that help build proteins to energize themselves. Nguyen is working to chemically modify these molecules to expand the function of T cells, specialized white blood cells that are the cornerstone of the body鈥檚 immunity. The findings represent an important first step toward understanding whether tRNA can eventually be manipulated to fine-tune immune responses to multiple diseases.

T cells play a key role in identifying and killing invasive abnormalities within the body, including infections and cancers. The cells also allow the body to remember previous infections and respond more quickly if re-infected or attacked, says Cuong Pham, a biomedical sciences Ph.D. candidate working under Nguyen who served as the study鈥檚 first author.

鈥淭 cells are already central to modern medicine,鈥� Pham says. 鈥淎t the same time, we still do not fully understand all the molecular mechanisms that determine how T cells become activated to respond. Our review brings together emerging evidence showing that tRNA modifications can help support and regulate these responses.鈥�

This discovery comes as a continuation of Nguyen鈥檚 efforts to find innovative immunotherapies for a wide range of conditions. An early career researcher, Nguyen earned a 鈥淩each for the Stars鈥� award from UCF in 2024 for his potential for significant impact.

An Innovative Approach to Immunity

UCF鈥檚 research is the first time scientists have tested modifying mitochondrial tRNA in T cells to change their behavior, Nguyen says.

鈥淲e are looking at the tRNA modification within T cells that have never been reported,鈥� he says. 鈥淚n the field, tRNA modification is not so new. For T cells, researchers have been focusing on all the other parts before now.鈥�

The discovery came as a result of an active project in Nguyen鈥檚 lab that is examining how diet can affect the immune response in听 cancer patients.

鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 say we found this by accident, but we were very lucky,鈥� Nguyen says. 鈥淲e examined the mitochondria of the T cell, and we kept looking at all the different layers and targets and then we arrived at the tRNA.鈥�

Studying tRNA is challenging because the molecules are short and densely packed, making them difficult to analyze and modify, Nguyen says.

So the UCF team used cutting edge technology called liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The highly sensitive technique separates massive quantities of molecules in a sample and then identifies and measures them.

鈥淚t is very new for use in detecting tRNA, and it was so important for us to see how everything worked,鈥� Nguyen says.

Results Could Impact Other Immunity Research

In the study, the team genetically engineered the tRNA to give T cells signals to activate against specific disease cells.

While the research is still in its early stages, Nguyen says that they have already identified ways to modify T cells to pinpoint and fight melanoma, colon cancer and lupus.

Nguyen says he hopes his new findings will provide a way for other researchers to create new immunotherapies.

鈥淲e want to share these ideas with the greater science community and bring everyone together to help us validate them and ultimately benefit more people,鈥� he says.

Drawn to UCF for its opportunities for interdisciplinary research, Pham says he鈥檚 looking forward to being a part of what鈥檚 next in the College of Medicine鈥檚 immunology efforts.

鈥淭he next step is to move deeper into the mechanisms behind these observations,鈥� Pham says. 鈥淥ur lab has strong and ambitious research directions in immunometabolism. We want to understand how those changes in tRNA influence T cell metabolism and function, and whether specific pathways can eventually be targeted to ultimately help patients.鈥�

Minh Tuyet Le Nguyen, a UCF postdoctoral scholar, and the Hanoi University of Pharmacy in Vietnam also contributed to the research.

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Heart, Lung, And Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01HL166820. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

鈥淣SF invests in small businesses that bring the most innovative cutting-edge technologies to the market and society,鈥� says Erwin Gianchandani, NSF assistant director for TIP. 鈥淏y closing this gap that is known as the 鈥榲alley of death,鈥� NSF aims to strengthen our commitment to translational research and further develop innovation ecosystems in the United States.鈥�

The 鈥渧alley of death鈥� refers to a stage at which a new technology innovation has been substantially de-risked but the technology has not yet been commercially proven, making it difficult to attract funding or other support needed to achieve commercial viability.

鈥淣CTI builds on UCF鈥檚 growing national leadership in helping promising technologies become products, companies and economic growth.鈥� 鈥� Alexander N. Cartwright, UCF president

鈥淢any NSF-supported small businesses have the potential to become great commercial successes and contribute significantly to economic growth and job creation throughout the nation,鈥� says Lesia Crumpton-Young, TIP section head for small businesses. 鈥淲e want to support small businesses to overcome the hurdles common to commercializing deep technology innovations.鈥�

Led by the 糖心logo入口鈥檚 National Commercialization and Translation Institute (NCTI), the pilot will examine the factors, conditions and approaches that lead to the successful transition of deep technology innovations to nationally impactful technologies.

The institute represents the latest evolution of a commercialization pipeline UCF has spent years developing. Through initiatives including the Southeast Hub of NSF I-Corps, NSF Accelerating Research Translation (ART) and the Florida Semiconductor Engine, UCF has helped researchers evaluate commercial opportunities, advance emerging technologies and strengthen regional innovation. NCTI will build on that foundation by expanding UCF鈥檚 commercialization efforts to companies nationwide.

UCF Professor of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems , principal investigator for NCTI, will lead the institute, which will provide commercialization funding, expert mentorship and investor connections to SBIR/STTR Phase II and Phase IIB funded companies, while evaluating which approaches most effectively help deep technology 听companies reach the marketplace.

鈥淲e are grateful to the National Science Foundation for its continued confidence in UCF and for the opportunity to help shape the future of research translation and commercialization,鈥� says UCF President Alexander N. Cartwright. 鈥淒iscovery reaches its greatest potential when it moves beyond the laboratory and improves lives, strengthens industries and creates opportunity. NCTI builds on UCF鈥檚 growing national leadership in helping promising technologies become products, companies and economic growth. With Central Florida鈥檚 extraordinary concentration of talent, industry and innovation, UCF is well positioned to build a model that can deliver impact for Florida and across the nation.鈥�

鈥淯CF鈥檚 readiness to lead this national effort is anchored by our highly integrated entrepreneurial infrastructure critical in the ‘lab-to-market’ pipeline,鈥� says Winston Schoenfeld, vice president for research and innovation. 鈥淣CTI will ensure that federally funded technologies successfully transition into investor-ready commercial enterprises.鈥�

鈥淧roviding a 鈥榖ridge鈥� to support our late-stage NSF-funded companies will move their impactful innovation to the market more quickly and thereby benefit the national economy.鈥� 鈥� Peter Atherton, program director for NSF Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer.

鈥淎 validated technology is a scientific achievement, but it isn鈥檛 yet a business. Many NSF SBIR Phase II companies hold genuinely de-risked technologies, yet still lack the business expertise, infrastructure, and capital access to turn that validation into a viable company,鈥� Garibay says. 鈥淣CTI completes that pipeline rather than duplicating any part of it: we coordinate the full continuum of federal resources, managing the handoffs from I-Corps customer discovery through to commercialization support, so each company knows where it stands and what comes next.鈥�

The pilot will support a select group of NSF-funded small businesses at the later stages of deep technology research and development through funding, mentoring, and connections, paired with concierge-level individualized support: diagnostic triage, an individualized commercialization plan, dedicated mentor teams, and curated introductions to customers, investors, industry, and national laboratories.

鈥淧roviding a 鈥榖ridge鈥� to support our late-stage NSF-funded companies will move their impactful innovation to the market more quickly and thereby benefit the national economy,鈥� says Peter Atherton, program director for NSF Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer.

Each stage of the pilot will be structured and independently evaluated. Designed as a scalable model, the results of the pilot will determine whether to establish a long-term program.

Learn more about the .

Florida firefighters routinely respond to people enduring the worst moments of their lives. But understanding when those experiences 鈥� along with the professional and personal stresses firefighters face 鈥� place the responders themselves at risk has historically been difficult.

Now researchers at UCF RESTORES r have created one of the clearest statewide pictures yet of suicide among Florida fire service members, identifying 307 deaths between 1999 and March 2026 by linking nearly three decades of state records.

Founded in 2011, UCF RESTORES provides its evidence-based clinical treatment services to individuals experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other trauma-related concerns 鈥� with 76% of first responders no longer meeting the criteria for PTSD after treatment.

The research was led by , Ph.D., UCF RESTORES deputy executive director and research associate professor, and , Ph.D., a postdoctoral research fellow and licensed clinical psychologist at the clinic. Working with the Florida Department of Health and Florida Division of State Fire Marshal, they connected previously separate state datasets to identify patterns that could help inform suicide prevention efforts throughout firefighters鈥� careers and beyond.

鈥淭he driving factor was to have a more reliable and valid mechanism to track suicide in the state,鈥� says O鈥橠are says. 鈥淏ut really to inform prevention efforts because we don鈥檛 want to just quantify the deaths. We want to use the information to be able to help inform what we鈥檙e doing to prevent as many of those losses as we can.鈥�

Building a Clearer Picture

Historically, researchers have lacked a reliable way to track deaths by suicide among first responders. While organizations have attempted to document these deaths, O鈥橠are says available information often relied on self-reporting or other methods that made it difficult to establish a consistent baseline.

Finding a better approach required bringing together information that already existed across different state agencies.

鈥淲hat鈥檚 made it possible? Really, partnerships,鈥� O鈥橠are says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a complex problem, and one person or one group can鈥檛 do it all.鈥�

Researchers linked de-identified vital statistics with firefighter certification and emergency medical services licensure records. Winch then helped clean and analyze the data, allowing the team to examine patterns across age, career status, veteran status and method of death.

鈥淚t’s a complex problem, and one person or one group can’t do it all.鈥濃�擪ellie O’Dare, deputy executive director of 糖心logo入口 RESTORES

The findings revealed several potential areas for prevention. Deaths were most concentrated among fire service members ages 35-54 years, while nearly one-third occurred among those 55 and older. More than a third of members with known licensure status were inactive at the time of death, and firearms accounted for 66.4% of the deaths identified. Veterans also represented 30.5% of cases with known veteran status.

According to an earlier study by O鈥橠are and Winch, annual counts were lower in earlier years but increased around 2009 and continued trending upward after 2014, including 21 deaths in 2024 and 18 in 2025. To better understand this increase, the researchers are examining factors such as changes in workforce size, credentialing, occupational conditions and data collection methods.

The researchers emphasize that the findings represent descriptive counts rather than rates and cannot determine why any individual death occurred. Instead, the patterns provide a foundation for identifying questions and opportunities for further research and prevention.

Supporting Firefighters Throughout Their Careers

For O鈥橠are, one particularly important finding was the number of people who were no longer active in the fire service when they died.

Leaving a department can mean losing access to the relationships and sense of community that can become an important source of support for firefighters throughout their careers.

鈥淭he fire service culture is incredibly important,鈥� O鈥橠are says. 鈥淭he kitchen table at the firehouse is an incredibly important component of social support.鈥�

That transition can also happen relatively early. O鈥橠are says firefighters may retire in their 40s or 50s and then face the challenge of adjusting to life outside a profession that provided a strong sense of identity and purpose.

The findings point toward the importance of viewing behavioral health as something that should be supported throughout a firefighter鈥檚 career 鈥� not only after someone reaches a crisis.

For Winch, that also means recognizing that behavioral health among first responders extends beyond PTSD.

鈥淧TSD, I always like to say, is part of the picture, but it鈥檚 not the whole picture,鈥� Winch says. 鈥淯nfortunately, there is this misrepresentation that trauma equals PTSD, and that鈥檚 not necessarily true.鈥�

Repeated exposure to traumatic and high-stress situations can intersect with anxiety, depression, substance misuse, occupational pressures and challenges at home. At the same time, Winch says firefighters may hesitate to seek treatment because of stigma or concerns about what acknowledging a behavioral health problem could mean for their careers.

Building trust, she says, requires more than simply making resources available.

鈥淵ou have to show up and you have to make yourself known to these departments so that stigma gets reduced,鈥� Winch says.

Moving From Response to Prevention

The findings come alongside the rollout of the Florida State Fire Marshal鈥檚 Zero Suicide Prevention Framework, which adopts the nationally recognized Zero Suicide model for Florida鈥檚 fire service.

Rather than relying on isolated mental health or suicide prevention trainings, the framework is designed to integrate prevention into leadership, training, access to care and department operations throughout firefighters鈥� entire careers. It鈥檚 seven interconnected elements 鈥� Lead, Train, Identify, Engage, Treat, Transition and Improve 鈥� provide a structure for departments to build sustained behavioral health support.

Ultimately, O鈥橠are says she hopes the work helps continue a cultural shift away from viewing behavioral health only through illness or crisis and toward treating wellness, resilience and readiness as parts of a firefighter鈥檚 entire career.

Winch hopes the findings can help accelerate that change before another department experiences a loss.

鈥淚 would love for this report to be a wake-up call without needing more devastation,鈥� Winch says. 鈥淭here are plenty of agencies that fully buy into having more prevention, but we need that to be statewide.鈥�

UCF RESTORES is now conducting related research to move from these descriptive findings toward more advanced analyses of relative risk, geographic distribution, protective factors and prevention opportunities.

Support and treatment are available to those in need. UCF RESTORES provides no-cost, evidence-based trauma care, and its鈥�鈥痯eer support network offers firefighters, law enforcement officers, and emergency dispatchers confidential, 24/7 access to peers who understand the realities of the job. Learn more at鈥�. If you are in crisis, please call, text, or chat with the鈥�Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, or contact the鈥�Crisis Text Line鈥痓y texting鈥�TALK to 741741.

Researchers in UCF鈥檚 Department of English and (CHDR) are slated to (NEH) to create searchable digital editions of Webster’s historic dictionaries, giving scholars, educators and the public unprecedented access to foundational texts that helped shape American English.

The two-year grant will support Noah Webster’s Dictionary Online: Preserving America’s Revolutionary Language Heritage. The project is led by Beth Young, associate professor of English, with co-principal investigators CHDR Associate Director Brook Miller and Professor of English Mark Kamrath, who is co-director of CHDR.

The project will also expand educational opportunities for UCF students.

Undergraduate and graduate students will contribute to proofreading, digital editing and semantic text tagging while gaining internship and research experience across several academic programs. Postdoctoral fellow Abigail Moreshead 鈥�11 鈥�17MA 鈥�23PhD will help conduct research and supervise the student team, and XML (extensible markup language) Specialist William Dorner 鈥�07 鈥�10MA 鈥�15PhD will oversee the technical encoding.

Bringing Webster鈥檚 Words Into the Digital Age

The project builds on two previous NEH-funded digital humanities initiatives. Drawing on the experience of creating Johnson鈥檚 Dictionary Online, the team will create comprehensive digital editions of Webster鈥檚 The Compendious Dictionary of the English Language (1806) and An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828).

“This grant enables us to provide digital editions … that are as reliable, accurate and searchable as today’s scholarship demands.” 鈥� Beth Rapp Young, UCF associate professor of English

鈥淣oah Webster believed that our new nation needed its own language, not just its own government,鈥� says Young, an affiliate scholar with CHDR. 鈥淗e correctly predicted that American English would one day be spoken by 鈥�300 millions鈥� of people. This grant enables us to provide digital editions of Webster鈥檚 dictionaries that are as reliable, accurate and searchable as today’s scholarship demands.鈥�

Unlike existing online versions, which primarily consist of scanned pages or basic text transcriptions, the new editions will include advanced search capabilities, complete transcriptions, high-quality images and scholarly annotations.

The team aims to complete the searchable 1828 edition in time for its 200th anniversary in 2028, followed by the 1806 edition.

Together, the dictionaries capture American English as it was developing during the nation鈥檚 formative years, preserving the language used in early American law, politics, education and everyday life.

The project also builds on the , an initiative led by Mark Kamrath that aims to identify, transcribe, organize and ultimately edit the post-revolutionary author鈥檚 uncollected writings, making them searchable in an electronic environment. Webster鈥檚 dictionaries are from the same era and provide a bridge to understanding Brockden鈥檚 texts.

More Than a Dictionary

Webster鈥檚 dictionaries remain valuable resources for literary, historical and legal scholarship more than two centuries after their publication. According to the project proposal, courts continue to reference the dictionaries when interpreting the original meaning of constitutional and legal terms, while educators use them to help students understand the language of America鈥檚 founding era. The UCF team has already seen evidence of this type of use with Johnson鈥檚 Dictionary Online, with the resource being cited by The Atlantic, The New York Times, and U.S. federal and district courts.

By making the texts easier to search and study, the project will enable users to explore Webster鈥檚 work in ways that scans can鈥檛.

CHDR鈥檚 Susan Xiao will serve as the project鈥檚 lead programmer, overseeing development of the digital platform that will power the searchable editions. The website currently hosts full-page images and will ultimately feature advanced search tools, scholarly annotations, and high-resolution entry images designed to make Webster鈥檚 landmark dictionaries more accessible to researchers, educators, and the public.

CHDR will host and maintain the project, building on its experience supporting digital humanities initiatives.

Noah Webster’s Dictionary Online: Preserving America’s Revolutionary Language Heritage will be made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this project do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.听

As it drifts inward through the solar system, the frozen body known as Centaur 450P/LONEOS has begun releasing gas and dust 鈥� behavior more commonly associated with comets than with Centaurs, the small icy objects that typically orbit between Jupiter and Neptune.

Now, researchers led by UCF Planetary Scientist and Associate Professor Charles Schambeau say they may be witnessing the early stages of a centaur transforming into a comet.

Using observations from NASA鈥檚 James Webb Space Telescope and the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii, scientists detected carbon dioxide gas, icy dust and signs of recent thermal activity surrounding 450P/LONEOS.听 The findings, accepted for publication in the Planetary Science Journal, could provide new insight into how distant icy bodies evolve into active comets as they migrate inward through the solar system.

鈥淐entaurs are scientifically important because they are thought to be transitional objects that originated farther out in the solar system and are slowly evolving toward becoming Jupiter-family comets. In that sense, they give us a way to study relatively primitive material from the outer solar system while it is beginning to respond to stronger solar heating.鈥�

A Close Encounter with Saturn

Researchers believe 450P/LONEOS began 鈥渨aking up鈥� after a close gravitational encounter with Saturn in 1992 significantly altered its orbit.

The research team, which included Researcher Scientist Maria Womack and Professor Yan Fernandez and graduate student Aren Beck, found that the interaction moved the object inward from a more distant trajectory bringing its perihelion, the point in its orbit closest to the sun, closer to Jupiter.

As the centaur moved closer to the sun, researchers observed the gradual formation of a faint coma, a cloud of gas and dust surrounding the object commonly associated with cometary activity. Continued monitoring between 2019 and 2024 showed that the coma became increasingly visible as the object鈥檚 distance from the sun decreased.

鈥淭hat increased solar heating can warm the surface and subsurface layers of the nucleus,鈥� Schambeau says. 鈥淎s those layers heat up, volatile ices or trapped gases can be released, which can drag dust away from the surface and produce a coma.鈥�

Detecting Carbon Dioxide in Deep Space

One of the study鈥檚 most significant discoveries came from the James Webb Space Telescope, which detected carbon dioxide gas surrounding 450P/LONEOS at a distance where ordinary water ice would typically vaporize efficiently.

Researchers found strong evidence of carbon dioxide emission but no signs of water vapor or carbon monoxide, suggesting carbon dioxide is likely driving the centaur鈥檚 activity.

The observations also revealed icy dust grains within the coma, including possible signs of crystalline water ice 鈥� material that may preserve evidence of the object鈥檚 thermal evolution as it warms in its new orbit.

鈥淭he carbon dioxide detection was important because it directly identified one of the gases likely driving the activity,鈥� Schambeau says. 鈥淎t 450P鈥檚 distance from the sun, the nucleus is too cold for normal water-ice sublimation to be the main activity source, so detecting CO鈧� gives us an important clue about what is powering the coma. The possible crystalline water ice is also interesting because it suggests that some of the ice in the coma has experienced heating or physical processing, rather than remaining completely unchanged since formation.鈥�

Understanding How Comets Begin

Only a relatively small fraction of known centaurs show visible activity, making objects like 450P/LONEOS especially valuable听 for studying how primitive icy bodies evolve over time.

The research suggests the object鈥檚 recent activity may be linked to warming beneath its surface. As buried amorphous ice 鈥� an irregular form of ice that traps gases inside its porous structure 鈥� warms and transforms into听 crystalline ice, it releases carbon dioxide gas into space, carrying dust with it and creating the coma.

鈥淪tudying objects like 450P helps us connect different stages of small-body evolution.鈥濃�� Charles Schambeau, research associate professor, Florida Space Institute

鈥淲e think this process may explain how 450P became active after its orbit changed and it began receiving more sunlight,鈥� Schambeau says. 鈥淭he released gas can escape through the porous nucleus and lift dust grains into the surrounding coma.鈥�

Together, the findings may provide scientists with a better understanding of how distant icy bodies gradually evolve听 into the active comets that periodically visit the inner solar system.

鈥淪tudying objects like 450P helps us connect different stages of small-body evolution,鈥� Schambeau says. 鈥淐entaurs are likely related to trans-Neptunian objects, and some will eventually become short-period comets. By studying their activity, surface properties, and volatile composition, we can learn how comet nuclei change as they move inward through the solar system, how long they preserve primitive ices, and what physical processes turn an otherwise quiet icy body into an active comet.鈥�

This research was supported by NASA鈥檚 Solar System Observations Program under award number 80NSSC23K0678, the Space Telescope Science Institute through award JWST-GO-02416 and the Florida Space Research Initiative.

That dedication and her passion for research recently earned Kramer the inaugural Dean Deborah C. German, M.D. FIRE (Focused Individualized Research Experience) Impact Award, an honor named after the founding dean of 糖心logo入口鈥檚 College of Medicine who created the FIRE course, which requires every student to conduct a two-year research project.

German announced earlier this year that she is transitioning from her role and will remain at UCF for a year as an advisor to the president and provost on health affairs. FIRE leaders created the award to honor German鈥檚 legacy of scientific discovery as part of medical training, an educational component that makes UCF鈥檚 medical school unique nationally.

鈥淚 want our students to develop a spirit of inquiry. I want every UCF physician not to be afraid to seek answers to medicine鈥檚 unanswered questions.鈥� 鈥� Deborah German, College of Medicine dean

鈥淚 want our students to develop a spirit of inquiry,鈥� German told Kramer as she presented her with the award. 鈥淚 want every UCF physician not to be afraid to seek answers to medicine鈥檚 unanswered questions.鈥�

After earning an undergraduate degree the University of South Florida, Kramer decided to attend UCF in part because the FIRE course was one reason she came to UCF.

鈥淚 wanted to combine research with clinical care,鈥� she says.

Her FIRE project focused on glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer with a five-year survival rate of only 5% to 7%, according to the Mayo Clinic. Even if surgery, chemotherapy and radiation initially stop the cancer, it usually returns and becomes stronger. Kramer says she wanted to know why.

With support from her FIRE mentor, Kiminobu Sugaya, head of the College of Medicine鈥檚 neuroscience research division, she discovered that extracellular vesicles responsible for cell-to-cell communication may influence non-cancer cells to take on cancer-like properties.

The new award goes to the student whose research shows the greatest potential impact to medicine and/or biomedical research. College of Medicine faculty and fellow students chose Kramer for the award during the FIRE Conference.

鈥淚t is our privilege to establish this award in honor of Dean German,鈥� say Robert Hines and Lane Coffee, co-directors of the FIRE course. 鈥淲hen establishing this medical school, she realized the importance of rigorous scientific inquiry, and our students have benefited from 鈥� and will continue to benefit from 鈥� this course within the curriculum.鈥�

Medicine can treat infections after people get sick, but UCF infectious disease expert Mollie Jewett is seeking to halt Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria, which causes Lyme disease, in its tracks without relying on general antibiotics. Her goal: 鈥渟tarve鈥� the bacteria of the nutrients they need to function before they spread through the human body.

Jewett, professor and head of the Immunity and Pathogenesis Research Division at UCF鈥檚 College of Medicine, is supported by a recently renewed five-year, $2.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.

She is entering a third consecutive federally funded research cycle with $513,314 received this year. Jewett鈥檚 research builds upon more than a decade of discoveries that have narrowed the search for ways to stop B. burgdorferi from triggering Lyme disease, one of the nation鈥檚 most common vector-borne diseases. Her team includes a UCF undergraduate who occasionally struggled to walk because of pain from Lyme disease.

The disease is spread by blacklegged ticks that become infected after biting mammals or birds carrying the bacteria. The ticks are so small, humans often don鈥檛 notice they have been bitten. Symptoms include fever, chills, headache and fatigue, which often are misdiagnosed as a virus or the flu. Even after treatment, Lyme disease patients can face complications including nervous system and heart issues, severe fatigue and arthritic pain.

The disease is most commonly found in Maine to Virginia and in the upper Midwest but is spreading as suburban growth enters wildlife areas. Florida reports few cases of Lyme disease annually, but travelers who go to endemic areas like New England are at increased risk.

A New Approach to Battle Borrelia

UCF researchers are focused on how B. burgdorferi manages to survive and thrive as it spreads in ticks and mammals to humans.

鈥淭he bacteria need to adapt to two different environments, and so we want to know how it does that,鈥� Jewett says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e looking at what the bacteria eat and what it needs to survive. In our lab, we call Borrelia a wimpy pathogen because it can鈥檛 make a lot of the nutrients it needs on its own, and so it scavenges what it needs from wherever it is.鈥�

The first iteration of the NIH grant allowed the scientists to screen all of the bacteria鈥檚 genes that might be important for the infection. With the second grant, Jewett targeted three genes that appeared to play a role in spreading the infection from a bite on the skin to other parts of the human body.

“One of these three genes we found is important to the ability of the bacteria to consume riboflavin. We want to target this gene and see if we can starve the bacteria.” 鈥� Mollie Jewett, UCF infectious disease expert

Now they have focused on riboflavin, commonly known as vitamin B2, after discovering that B. burgdorferi salvages the vitamin from each host to sustain itself.

鈥淥ne of these three genes we found is important to the ability of the bacteria to consume riboflavin,鈥� Jewett says. 鈥淲e know that riboflavin is a precursor for other cellular activities that are important to the metabolism of the bacteria. Essentially, we want to target this gene and see if we can starve the bacteria.鈥�

If their theory is successful, it could lead to therapies specific to B. burgdorferi that would prevent successful bacterial infection by limiting its riboflavin uptake. An advantage of such potential treatments would be that patients don鈥檛 have to take general antibiotics that can also harm the body鈥檚 good bacteria and increase risks for antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

The UCF team is collaborating with Baylor University scientists to trace exactly how riboflavin is used by the bacteria.

Students Driving Discovery

Biomedical sciences doctoral student Anna Schulz 鈥�25MS played a key role in pinpointing specific ways the bacteria use riboflavin to generate energy. She served as first author on a recent publication examining these processes, and says she鈥檚 looking forward to growing as a researcher in this next phase.

鈥淎s a first author, I took more ownership over the experiments and the writing process,鈥� Schulz says. 鈥淸Jewett] was really great about letting me lead the project as a student. Borrelia is so unique, and there鈥檚 still so much we don鈥檛 know, and that鈥檚 what keeps me engaged with this research.鈥�

“… I couldn鈥檛 treat it until years after I got infected. So, I truly care about finding new treatments for Lyme disease.” 鈥� Grace Easterling, UCF biomedical sciences student

Third-year biomedical sciences undergraduate Grace Easterling says she was drawn to Jewett鈥檚 lab because she previously developed Lyme disease and suffered tremendous joint pain. She was determined to find a way to protect others.

鈥淚t was something that, because we live in Florida, wasn鈥檛 caught early because it鈥檚 not as common,鈥� Easterling says. 鈥淚 struggled for a long time to get diagnosed, and I couldn鈥檛 treat it until years after I got infected. So, I truly care about finding new treatments for Lyme disease and understanding the bacteria.鈥�

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health under award number R01AI099094. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

The nationwide initiative encourages interdisciplinary teams to develop new AI models and research workflows capable of addressing national challenges across fields such as advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, critical materials, energy and quantum information.

鈥淭he Genesis Mission harnesses the collective strengths of the nation鈥檚 leading institutions across academia, industry, and government to accelerate the pace of discovery,鈥� says Winston Schoenfeld, UCF vice president for research and innovation. 鈥淯CF鈥檚 participation reflects听the expertise of our researchers听and talented students, whose contributions will help shape AI-enabled scientific workflows and transform technological advances into real-world solutions that fuel American competitiveness.鈥�

A New Approach to Creating Fuels and Chemicals

As interdisciplinary scientific challenges become increasingly data-intensive, applying human ingenuity to advanced technologies creates possibilities to solve long-standing industry issues.

Ling鈥檚 contribution to the Genesis Mission will aim to address problems with biomanufacturing by developing an AI digital twin (virtual replication). This digital twin predicts and optimizes bioprocess performance, enabling improved process monitoring, decision-making, and scale-up.

The project will also provide opportunities for UCF researchers at different stages of their careers to contribute to the work. Pinzhen Lin, who will begin a doctoral degree at UCF鈥檚 College of Optics and Photonics in Fall 2026, will join Ling鈥檚 research group and lead development of the project鈥檚 real-time sensor, including its characterization and performance benchmarking. Jirui Fu 鈥�24PhD, a UCF mechanical engineering doctoral graduate and postdoctoral scholar in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, will also assist with the project.

鈥淭he challenge is that conventionally scaling up biomanufacturing is slow and prone to failure, creating a need for smarter tools to accelerate development,鈥� Ling says. 鈥淚f successful, this project could significantly accelerate the development and deployment of sustainable biomanufacturing for fuels and chemicals, making the process faster, cheaper and less risky.鈥�

With industry-academic collaboration at the core of the Genesis Mission, Ling is working on the project with Kansas State University Assistant Professor Yian Chen, as well as the National Laboratory of the Rockies researchers Ajinkya Pal, Jason DesVeaux and Evan Komp.

A Mission With Many Benefits

Although the Genesis Mission is focused on accelerating scientific discovery, Ling believes the work has the potential to create benefits that extend beyond the research community.

鈥淭he AI digital twin framework developed here has strong potential as a commercial platform that can be adopted across a wide range of industries, from energy to materials,鈥� Ling says. 鈥淢ore broadly, it could lower the barriers for industrial partners to adopt bio-based processes, helping drive the transition toward a more sustainable economy.鈥�

For Ling, the research also represents an opportunity to see emerging technologies applied to real-world challenges.

鈥淎s an early-career researcher, I feel very fortunate to lead and participate in a mission of this scale,鈥� Ling says. 鈥淲hat excites me most is the opportunity to apply this technology to solve real-world problems, and to see how it can be integrated with the rapidly advancing field of AI.鈥�

This project will be supported by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science through the Genesis Mission, a Transforming Science and Energy with AI initiative.