The Magazine of the University of Central Florida THE SPACE ISSUEPEGASUS | SUMMER MAGAZINE 2016 WHERE TO NEXT? UCF.EDU/PEGASUS | 1 PEGASUS MAGAZINE ILLUSTRATION BY JOSHUA NOOM NOTE: We know the constellation here isn’t accurate, but we didn’t feel right turning our beloved winged horse upside down. UCF’s motto is “Reach for the Stars,” and the constellation To see how Pegasus looks in the night sky and to learn more about the constellation, go to ucf.edu/pegasus. Pegasus shows us the way. For centuries, it has been a guide for travelers and astronomers alike, whether by land, sea or air. 2 | SUMMER 2016 Written in t he S t ars UCF.EDU/PEGASUS | 3 PEGASUS PEGASUS MAGAZINE VICE PRESIDENT FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND UCF STANDS MARKETING CONTENTS Grant J. Heston ’13 WITH ORLANDO. ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT 6 In Focus FOR MARKETING Patrick Burt ’08 Just as this issue of Pegasus was scheduled 12 The Feed MANAGING EDITOR to print, the Pulse nightclub in downtown 13 Heavy Metal Laura J. Cole Orlando was attacked. 14 On Campus EDITORIAL DIRECTOR All of UCF grieves with the victims and 16 Briefs Eric Michael ’96 their friends and families. As President 18 Destination Downtown CREATIVE DIRECTOR Ron Boucher ’92 Hitt wrote the day of the attack, “I tell our 20 One Small Step for Man, ART DIRECTORS LGBTQ students, faculty, staff and alumni One Giant Leap for UCF Lauren Haar ’06 this: You are not alone. Your university 22 It’s All Geek to Me Steve Webb stands with you.” 24 Knights in Space DESIGNERS In future issues, we will share memories Mario Carrillo 26 Opinion: Space Tourism Adam Smajstrla ’11 of the Knights who were killed and show 28 Where to Next? COPY EDITOR how the UCF family rallied to help our 34 Such Great Heights Peg Martin hometown recover. AlumKnights PHOTOGRAPHERS What we know today is this: Orlando is 39 Steven Diaz UCF’s home, and the Orlando community 46 Why I Jumped Nick Leyva ’15 Bernard Wilchusky is the UCF community. PRODUCTION MANAGER Sandy Pouliot Together, we grieve. ONLINE PRODUCER Together, we heal. Roger Wolf ’07 Together, we stand. WEB PROGRAMMERS Jim Barnes — The staff at Pegasus Keegan Berry ’12 RJ Bruneel ’97 Jo Dickson ’11 CONTRIBUTORS Jeffrey Billman ’01 Brian Boesch “In attempting to make sense of this Konstantin Datz Pat Duggins ’84 senselessness, my mind is drawn to wise Alan Eustace ’79 words Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke Alan Fyall Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala nearly 50 years ago. Gene Kruckemyer ’73 Josh Letchworth Angie Lewis ’03 Elijah McNeal When our days become dreary with low- Joshua Noom Greg Razoky hovering clouds of despair, and when our Jeffrey San Juan Bill Stanford nights become darker than a thousand Asli Tasci Susan White midnights, let us remember that there is a Paige Wilson creative force in this universe, working to PEGASUS ADVISORY BOARD Barb Abney ’03 pull down the gigantic mountains of evil, Chad Binette ’06 Anne Botteri a power that is able to make a way out of Richard Brunson ’84 Cristina Calvet-Harrold ’01 no way, and transform dark yesterdays John Gill ’86 Michael Griffin ’84 into bright tomorrows. Let us realize that Mike Hinn ’92 Gerald McGratty Jr. ’71 the arc of the moral universe is long but it Michael O’Shaughnessy ’81 Dan Ward ’92 bends toward justice. MAILBOX SUBMISSIONS As they were true then, so are Dr. King’s Emails to the editor should be sent with the writer’s name, graduation year, address and daytime phone words true today.” number to [email protected]. — An excerpt from President Hitt’s June 12 letter to the Letters may be edited for length and clarity, and may UCF community be published in any medium. Due to volume, we regret that we cannot reply to every letter. MOVED RECENTLY? NEED TO UPDATE YOUR INFO? #ORLANDOUNITED Update your contact information: ucfalumni.com/contactupdates 4 | SUMMER 2016 UCF.EDU/PEGASUS | 5 IN FOCUS PEGASUS MAGAZINE KNIGHT VIEW Dedicated on April 25, 1996, the Robinson Observatory provides research and educational opportunities for students and the community alike. The facility, which houses a 20-inch telescope, offers students a training ground to collect solid data and conduct original research. And the popular “Knights Under the Stars,” a series of free events held throughout the academic year, invites the community to learn more about the solar system from knowledgeable volunteers. “People will literally gasp the first time they see an up-close view of Saturn’s rings or craters on the moon. It’s very satisfying for us to be able to bring the night sky to people in such a visceral way.” — Yan Fernandez, associate professor of planetary science and director of the Robinson Observatory 88 Number of constellations 100 billion+ Number of stars in the Milky Way 100-200 billion Number of galaxies seen from the Hubble telescope 1 trillion Potential number of galaxies in the universe 100 sextillion (100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) Estimated number of stars in the universe Sources: Space.com and Forbes 6 | SUMMER 2016 UCF.EDU/PEGASUS | 7 IN FOCUS PEGASUS MAGAZINE INTERGALACTIC SYMPHONY In April, UCF Celebrates the Arts offered a multimedia performance that combined music, science and visual art. Titled “The Warped Side of the Universe” and held at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, the event featured work from composer Hans Zimmer, astrophysicist Kip Thorne and visual effects artist Paul Franklin, who worked together on Interstellar. Through music, videos, lectures, artistic renderings and computer simulations, the trio produced a journey through warped space and time, including colliding black holes, exploding supernovas and the birth of our universe. “Thirty-five years ago, I had this idea of playing in a planetarium. I didn’t want anyone to watch me. … So even though I have my friends with me here tonight … [I hope you] go on this journey with us.” — Hans Zimmer, Oscar-winning composer 9,541 Total number of people who attended UCF Celebrates the Arts 2,099 People who attended “The Warped Side of the Universe” 10 Musicians 4 Hours for tickets to sell out 2 Visual artists 1 Astrophysicist 8 | SUMMER 2016 UCF.EDU/PEGASUS | 9 PEGASUSIN MAGAZINE FOCUS GO FOR LAUNCH On April 2, 2016, a team of UCF scientists made history as their experiment became the first to go to space aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard. The project, known as MEDEA and led by Professor Joshua Colwell, examines how space dust builds up to form planets and the rings around planets. The experiment is one of several that Colwell, along with Assistant Professor Adrienne Dove, Post Doctoral Associate Julie Brisset (pictured bottom right) and a team of UCF students, has worked on. The others include four experiments that were conducted on parabolic flights and two on the International Space Station — earning the team another historic distinction: the first to partner with Blue Origin and the ISS to conduct research. “We want to understand how planets form and what conditions are needed to form planets — in particular, planets that could be habitable like Earth.” — Joshua Colwell, UCF professor 339,138 Height reached in feet (2 miles above the Kármán line, which marks the boundary of space) 3,635 Feet at which rocket engine was re-ignited for landing 11 Minutes from liftoff to landing 3 Minutes in high-quality microgravity environment 3rd Test flight of this vehicle to space 1st Science payload on New Shepard IMAGES COURTESY OF BLUE ORIGIN 10 | SUMMER 2016 UCF.EDU/PEGASUS | 1 1 PEGASUS MAGAZINE The Feed Artifact Find more @ today.ucf.edu @UCF Facebook.com/UCF Suit Up UCF football is getting faster — Heart to Heart and more fashionable. 3-D printed hearts are a great tool bit.ly/ucf-suit-up Heavy Metal for pediatric surgeons. bit.ly/ucf-heart-to-heart Drumroll, Please Meteorites give physics students a Jeffrey Moore has been named dean of the College rock-solid connection to cosmic theories. of Arts and Humanities. bit.ly/ucf-drumroll- BY ERIC MICHAEL ’96 please In the study of physics, some of the best lessons fall from the sky. To help his 1 students better comprehend the composition of asteroids, planets and other celestial bodies, Professor Daniel Britt began building a collection of UNIFORM IMAGE COURTESY OF UCF ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS OF UCF ATHLETICS COURTESY IMAGE UNIFORM meteorites in 2003 with the help of Guy Consolmagno, curator of the Vatican’s meteorite collection. “Meteorites tell us about the mineralogy of asteroids — how they’re put together, how strong they are and how they’ll react to shock,” says Britt, who has worked for NASA on Mars missions, including Pathfinder, the Spirit rover and the Phoenix lander, and was named to Pluto’s New Horizons mission team. The current collection of 15 meteorites, which all date from the formation of the solar system 4.6 billion years ago, come primarily from northern Africa and China, and represent a diversity of ancient cosmic materials that are valuable Floating Farm for study. An on-campus solar “When you ‘see’ the oldest thing 2 farm could one day offset in the solar system, it’s more the energy used by Bright House The Buzz on Elephants concrete, more tactile,” Networks Stadium. How bees are keeping elephants Britt says. “There are bit.ly/ucf-floating-solar-farm safe in Kenya. lots of things we don’t bit.ly/ucf-the-buzz-on-elephants understand yet, but that’s what science is about.” WHAT’S TRENDING ON... UCF TODAY TWITTER FACEBOOK Squirm to Learn April 29 • @UCF 400KG is how much water is University of Central Florida May 4, 2016 Letting kids with ADHD squirm needed for 4 astronauts for 30 days in space.