Timothy Letzring, senior vice provost for academic affairs, made the appointment in close consultation with Provost John Buckwalter. The decision was shaped by thoughtful feedback from faculty, staff and other stakeholders throughout the search.

“Dr. Weishampel’s steady leadership as interim dean has created an environment that supports the success of our students, faculty, and staff and strengthens collaboration across the college.” — Timothy Letzring, senior vice provost for academic affairs

“Dr. Weishampel’s steady leadership as interim dean has created an environment that supports the success of our students, faculty, and staff and strengthens collaboration across the college,” Letzring says. “I am confident that as dean, he will continue to elevate the College of Graduate Studies through innovation, scholarly distinction and a strong commitment to graduate students.”

Weishampel has spent nearly 31 years at UCF, beginning his career as an assistant professor in biology. He has served in a variety of leadership roles, including biology graduate program director, director of interdisciplinary studies and senior associate dean. He has also served as a U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) program officer in the Division of Graduate Education. In those roles, his oversight helped elevate UCF’s national profile in graduate education and expand opportunities for interdisciplinary training and research engagement.

“This college sits at the intersection of everything UCF aspires to be from research excellence, student opportunity and meaningful community impact,” Weishampel says. “I’ve spent the better part of my career here building those connections, and I’m excited to deepen that work as dean.”

As permanent dean, Weishampel’s agenda centers on three interlocking priorities: supporting graduate students and postdoctoral scholars success, strengthening day‑to‑day operations, and building collaborations across UCF and with external stakeholders.

“Our graduate students and postdocs are doing extraordinary work. My job is to make sure the infrastructure, the mentorship and the resources are in place so they can excel — and so the world knows about it.” — John Weishampel, College of Graduate Studies dean

In practice, he says he sees these as inseparable. For Dean Weishampel, prioritizing competitive stipends and accessible health care, goes hand in hand with modernizing degree audit systems and data tools that help students and advisors track progress. He also believes both efforts depend on strengthening relationships with faculty, principal investigators, industry partners, and the graduate education community to enhance opportunities and UCF’s national profile.

“Our graduate students and postdocs are doing extraordinary work,” he says. “My job is to make sure the infrastructure, the mentorship and the resources are in place so they can excel — and so the world knows about it.”

Weishampel’s first steps as dean include establishing an advisory board, launching a strategic enrollment plan to strengthen domestic and international recruitment, and creating additional pathways for graduate students to showcase their research and compete for national and international recognition.

“We have made significant progress,” he says. “The goal now is to build on it deliberately to make UCF a destination for the best graduate students and scholars, and to ensure every one of them leaves prepared to take on the challenges associated with our dynamic world.”

“The goal now is to build on it deliberately to make UCF a destination for the best graduate students and scholars, and to ensure every one of them leaves prepared to take on the challenges associated with our dynamic world.” — John Weishampel, College of Graduate Studies dean

A nationally recognized scholar, Weishampel’s research spans remote sensing of forest ecosystems, sea turtle ecology and pioneering applications of LiDAR to detect archaeological features beneath forest canopies. His work has been supported by major federal agencies, including NSF, NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Education, garnering honors such as the NSF CAREER Award and NASA New Investigator Award.

Earlier in Weishampel’s career, he held numerous fellowships and visiting appointments, including service as a Fulbright distinguished research chair and senior scholar; Fulbright awards in Canada, Germany and Spain; a Charles Bullard Fellowship at Harvard University; and a visiting professorship in Paris. From 2019 to 2021, he served as a program officer at NSF, administering the Research Traineeship and Innovations in Graduate Education programs across more than 100 institutions, an experience he now draws upon in his leadership.

Weishampel holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Duke University and master’s and doctoral degrees in environmental sciences from the University of Virginia. Before joining UCF, he served as a National Research Council Research Associate at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

For UCF’s graduate community, Weishampel’s selection reflects confidence, in a leader who knows the institution well and brings a clear vision for what comes next.

In its second round of grants this year, the non-profit agency of the ɫ���� in Orlando, gave 20 teams a total of just over $1 million to help propel the promising research forward and bring new NASA and National Science Foundation work to Florida.

The funds were made available to FSI through the Space Research Initiative (SRI); a collaboration between UCF and the University of Florida, created to support joint efforts between the two universities in space-related research.

“Both UCF and UF have a broad set of research capabilities in space science and technology. SRI gives researchers a running start on the most promising projects to grow Florida’s space research portfolio,” said Joshua Colwell, FSI’s assistant director.

Scientists from both universities are involved in the projects, which include experts in chemistry, physics, biology, electrical engineering, planetary science, computer science, and nanotechnology.

One of the criteria used to select winners was the likelihood these projects, once developed a bit further, could draw additional funding from federal agencies.

“UF and UCF play a vital role in advancing new space-related technologies that are essential to Florida’s long-term future as a space hub,” said David Norton, UF’s vice president for research. “By providing early-stage funding for promising ideas, the Florida Space Institute leverages state funds into federal and private funding that will result in high-paying space-related jobs in our state.”

For example, UCF Assistant Research Professor Nicoleta Hickman, an expert in photovoltaic and thermoelectric materials at the Florida Solar Energy Center in Cocoa, is working with environmental engineering professor Chang-Yu Wu at UF to develop a self-cleaning material that can be used to protect space instruments from getting clogged with dust and other debris encountered on alien planets such as Mars. It’s a huge problem encountered in each mission to Mars for example.

Keeping equipment clean is vital especially on space rovers that draw energy from the Sun during multi-year missions. If the rovers’ solar panels get too dirty, there could be a loss of power, false instrument measurements and damage to optical surfaces necessary for exploration of the planet. Millions of miles from home, a clean up crew isn’t an option. The team received $95,000 to work on a problem that is high on NASA’s priority list

In another project UCF Biologist John Weishampel and UF engineering professor Peter G. Ifju  received $51,211 to develop computer vision algorithms to help satellite technology accurately track the nesting routes of endangered sea turtles. The team also includes Franklin Percival from the United States Geological Society Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at UF Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, UCF computer science associate professor Marshall Tappen and UCF assistant biology professor Betsy Von Holle.

For a complete list of the winning awards visit http://fsi.ucf.edu/

FSI Director Alan Stern summed up the new awards as follows, “FSI’s Space Research Initiative is one of the ways we’re helping Florida’s space economy diversify into new areas. It’s also a key way that we increase the wheelbase of space efforts at UCF. We have been excited about the quality of innovation in the proposals we’re able to fund, and very proud to be able to give birth to these projects.”

The Florida Space Institute (FSI) supports space research, development, and education activities. In addition, it supports the development of Florida’s space economy—civil, defense, and commercial. Learn more about FSI at http://fsi.ucf.edu/

A study published today in the journal PLOS ONE describes how scientists at the ɫ���� used a technique that links chemical signatures of the turtles’ diets and their watery environments to their migratory routes. They found the technique just as effective as expensive satellite tracking.

Little is known about the turtles, which spend 99 percent of their time in the water and return to the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge’s beach to nest once every two to three years. The 13-mile-long beach is home to the second-largest population of loggerheads in the world and to about one of every four nests those turtles lay in the United States.

While other turtles’ nests are increasing along the refuge’s shores, the loggerheads’ have been declining since 2000. The technique validated by the UCF scientists could help managers preserve the turtles’ nesting grounds, migration routes and foraging grounds, all of which are critical to their survival.

“We need good information so policy makers can focus the limited conservation funds available where they can make the greatest impact,” said Simona Ceriani, the UCF graduate student who led the study. “We all want our children to see these beautiful creatures and not just read about them in a book.”

In addition to validating the tracking technique, the study found that the foraging area for the Florida turtles is much broader than previously thought.

“Think of these turtles as Florida tourists and snowbirds,” Ceriani said. “They come and nest and then go back to lots of different places. And while we knew some went back north, we had no idea that this was a popular destination.”

Based on her tracking, some turtles head for the water off the shores of Virginia and Delaware while others go to the Bahamas and the Gulf of Mexico. Some stay off the coast of Central Florida’s beaches. Previously, scientists believed the majority of the loggerheads headed south.

While there are efforts to protect the turtle nests on the beaches, protecting their foraging grounds is equally important, biologists say. Many turtles die because they accidently get caught in fishing nets or encounter other dangers while out at sea.

The technique Ceriani validated should aid those efforts.

She took small blood samples from turtles at the refuge and completed a chemical analysis, which measured distinct markers known as stable isotopes. She also attached transmitters to the turtles so she could follow them using the more expensive but proven satellite tracking technique. The isotope approach proved to be equally useful, and it is much less expensive.

“By combining isotope research with satellite tracking technology, we are learning exciting information about loggerhead sea turtles,” said Daniel R. Evans, a research specialist at the Sea Turtle Conservancy and co-author of the research paper. “This research helps scientists and conservation managers identify key feeding areas for loggerhead turtles and helps direct policy and regulations that protect sea turtles in these specific areas.”

Ceriani said she will continue to research the migratory routes by adding more loggerheads to the study.

Ceriani earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of Milan in Italy and was a research fellow at Florida Atlantic University before joining UCF’s PhD program in conservation biology in 2007.

Others who contributed to the study include:  UCF Biologist, John Weishampel, James D. Roth from the University of Manitoba in Canada and Llewellyn M. Ehrhart from the Marine Turtle Research Group at UCF.

Several grants from Florida’s Sea Turtle Grants Program funded this study. The program gets is funding from the sale of the .

Sea turtle monitoring at the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge was coordinated through the ɫ���� Marine Turtle Research Group, with funding from Brevard County, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the United States National Marine Fisheries Service.