New College of Engineering Graduate Is on a Mission To Break Barriers to Space Travel for People With Disabilities
Ever since Eric Shear was a child, he has looked up to the sky, watching the stars and wondering “what’s out there.”
With a curious brain wired for space exploration and degrees in physics, planetary science and, as of Friday, a master’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Florida, it seems natural that Shear pursues his lifelong dream to travel into space.
There’s only one problem. Shear was born profoundly deaf, meaning he can only hear random sounds — like a dog’s loud bark or a jet engine — that are at least 80 decibels, and that bars him from flying to space with NASA or any other space agency, for now.
“My ultimate goal is to be an astronaut,” Shear said, “but if I can’t journey into space, I want to be involved from the ground and develop life-support technologies that assist those who do fly.”
UF Innovate Honors Innovators at Fifth Standing InnOvation Celebration
More than 200 innovators and entrepreneurs gathered for UF Innovate | Tech Licensing’s fifth annual Standing InnOvation event to honor and celebrate innovators and their work at the University of Florida in fiscal year 2022.
QRDI’s Qatar Open Innovation Program Announces Winning Partnerships
The Qatar Research, Development and Innovation (QRDI) Council’s flagship program, Qatar Open Innovation (QOI), has announced the two winning innovation partnerships for Hassad Food, Qatar’s investment arm in food and agribusiness sectors, one of which is a UF startup and Accelerate resident, Micro Nano Technologies.
Orange County Hands Out Thousands of Free Mosquito Traps
Last month, Orange County Mosquito Control identified approximately 93,000 acres that are seeing more mosquitoes. Because of that influx, the county and the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences are handing out free mosquito traps.
The traps were invented in a UF lab. And the company that now sells them, Inzecto Mosquito Trap, donated 100,000 traps to hard-hit communities impacted by hurricane Ian. 9,000 of those traps went to Orange County.
UF Start-Up Helps Fight Mosquitoes in Areas Hit Hardest by Hurricane Ian
A product developed in a University of Florida lab designed to protect American soldiers from insect-borne diseases is helping wage war against the surge of mosquitoes in areas hardest hit by Hurricane Ian.
The Inzecto Mosquito Trap, co-created by Phil Koehler, a UF distinguished professor in the department of entomology and nematology, is an easy-to-use, environmentally friendly, and effective mosquito-killing device. The Gainesville-based company donated 100,000 traps this week to communities struggling with large populations of mosquitoes due to the floodwaters left behind by the hurricane’s rain and storm surges.
Dr. Barry Byrne Named Innovator of the Year
The annual event honored Dr. Barry Byrne as Innovator of the Year for his contributions to gene therapy and highlighted six teams of inventors for their Inventions of the Year.
Here’s How AI Could Bring Better Fruit to Your Table
Researchers at the University of Florida envision a quicker method: exploring the natural variations in plant genetics using artificial intelligence. The applications extend far beyond blueberries, a growing sector of Florida’s $182.6 billion agriculture industry. Their brainchild, the AI Connoisseur, would not only give Florida farms an edge, but make healthy food more palatable to more people, bringing varieties with heirloom-quality flavor within everyone’s reach. All they’d have to do is teach a computer to taste.
$12.6 Million Department of Energy Grant Funds Advanced Quantum Research Center
The Center for Molecular Magnetic Quantum Materials at the University of Florida has received a $12.6 million, four-year grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to continue its work developing next-generation quantum materials for advanced applications in computing and energy.
UF Researchers Find New Sugar Substitutes in Citrus That Could Change Food and Beverage Industry
Finding natural, non-caloric sugar substitutes is desirable but challenging. However, researchers at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences have made a breakthrough — discovering new, natural sweeteners in citrus for the first time.
New HiPerGator Simulations “Solve Mother Nature” To Address Real-World Problems
In one of the most intensive uses yet of the University of Florida’s HiPerGator supercomputer, UF engineers have faithfully reproduced the turbulence and complexity of hot air rising along a wall — a previously impossible simulation with applications in home fire safety and heating and cooling.
