UCF Department of Chemistry

Our department welcomes its newest faculty member, Dr. Venkatesh Telugu!
Dr. Telugu joins UCF Chemistry as a Lecturer for Organic Chemistry and brings with him a wealth of professional preparation: he obtained his PhD in Organic Chemistry from CSIR-IICT, India and dis his postdoctoral training at UCLA and UCF.
Welcome to the department Dr. Telugu!
https://sciences.ucf.edu/chemistry/person/venkatesh-telugu/

Venkatesh Telugu - Chemistry Dr. Venkatesh Telugu’s research focuses on the total synthesis of natural products in organic chemistry. He teaches Organic Chemistry and related courses. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from CSIR-IICT, India, in 2021. Later, he did postdoctoral research at UCLA and OSU. Publications: Khong, S.; ...

We are proud to recognize UCF Chemistry graduate student Lucy Hunley, who has been invited to participate with U.S. Women in Nuclear (U.S. WIN) for the third consecutive year and continues to be an active member of the organization!

U.S. WIN supports and advances women across the nuclear field through mentorship, professional development, leadership, and networking.
For graduate students like Lucy, this involvement provides valuable opportunities to connect with leaders across the nuclear enterprise and build relationships and skills that will support their future careers.

Congratulations, Lucy, for your commitment and engagement and for representing University of Central Florida and UCF Chemistry so well!
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👏 Big congratulations to our graduate student, Lucy Hunley on being selected for the 2026 Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) Rising Stars Program! 🌟
Organized by the NEA, this prestigious program is dedicated to empowering and mentoring the next generation of women leaders in the nuclear field.
As part of this honor, Lucy will be heading to Canadian Nuclear Laboratories in Chalk River, Ontario, this October to attend the annual Rising Stars Workshop. 🎉

Congratulations to our Administrative Coordinator, Sofia Voudouri, for being recognized with the UCF College of Sciences Every Day Excellence Award!
This award acknowledges outstanding staff service, meaningful contributions and positive impact on their colleagues, projects, and day-to-day work environment.

Congratulations to Department of Chemistry students Kaithlyne Nguyen, Deanna Nguyen, Emily Willis, and Caroline del Barrio, who were selected to participate in the inaugural Safety, Security, and Safeguards (3S) Summer School for Advanced and Small Modular Reactors, held July 6-10 at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in Idaho Falls.

All four students are members of the CORES Lab, directed by Dr. Deborah Penchoff. Sponsored by the DOE-NNSA TECH Consortium, the program addressed 3S challenges in advanced and small modular reactors through lectures from experts at INL, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratories, team exercises, and tours of INL facilities.

Opportunities like this are central to preparing the next generation of the nuclear security workforce. We are proud of our students for representing the CORES Lab and the University of Central Florida.

-TECH

Advancing Materials Characterization with AI and Computational Spectrometry

Dr. Shengli Zou, has been awarded a prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) grant under the Computational and Data-Enabled Science and Engineering (CDS&E) program!
The project entitled "Collaborative Research: CDS&E: Computational Spectrometry and Hyperspectral Imaging Integrated with Machine Learning for Advanced Materials Characterization" is pioneering AI-powered hyperspectral imaging and computational spectroscopy and is expected to bridge the gap between advanced optics and machine learning to enable characterization of complex materials that were previously unreachable by conventional methods.

Join us in congratulating Dr. Zou for his leadership on this project!
UCF College of Sciences

Dr. Deborah Penchoff will lead High-Performance Computing (HPC) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the newly announced BRIDGES Engine, an Regional Innovation Engine led jointly by the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, the University of Tennessee, Auburn University, AGgrow Tech LLC, and Volkswagen Group of America. BRIDGES has the potential to receive up to $160 million to accelerate biobased manufacturing, strengthen workforce development, and drive rural economic growth. Congratulations to Dr. Penchoff and CORES researchers Brittany Stieferman, Emily Willis, Deanna Nguyen, Caroline del Barrio, Hunter Chewning, and Kaithlyne Nguyen. The UCF Department of Chemistry community looks forward to the innovation and impact this initiative will create in the years ahead.

Link: https://utianews.tennessee.edu/ut-partners-win-up-to-160m-for-nsf-regional-innovation-engine-to-drive-rural-economic-development/

Congratulations to our doctoral student and National Nuclear Security Administration NNSA Fellow, Wilfredo Rivera Rodriguez, on being selected for the prestigious GEM Fellowship!
This nationally recognized program provides financial support, mentorship, professional development and internship opportunities to prepare future leaders in science.

Wilfredo began conducting research as an undergraduate with Professor Vasileios A. Vasileios Anagnostopoulos and is now advancing our understanding of how materials produced during high-temperature nuclear events evolve under extreme conditions.
He is currently expanding this research through an internship at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where he is contributing to nuclear forensics and national security chemistry.

Read about his story of perseverance, curiosity, mentorship and courage: https://sciences.ucf.edu/news/doctoral-chemistry-student-earns-gem-fellowship-for-research-in-nuclear-forensics-and-national-security/

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At UCF Chemistry, we’re focused on more than just teaching—we’re focused on the impact of our instruction!

We’ve seen firsthand how integrating tools like Gradescope transforms the student experience by:
- Accelerating Feedback: Faster grading cycles help students master concepts and learn from their mistakes in real-time.
- Boosting Efficiency: Faculty are reclaiming hours previously spent on administrative tasks, allowing for more time dedicated to active learning and student mentorship.
- Enhancing Fairness: Rubric-based grading and secure digital records ensure greater transparency and consistency for all our students.

We’re proud to be at the forefront of evidence-based teaching, creating a more efficient and supportive environment for the next generation of scientists.
Congratulations to Dr. Paul Lawrence for leading this effort!

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To all of our Knights, faculty, staff and friends, happy 4th of July!