{"id":153844,"date":"2026-06-19T09:00:38","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T13:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/153844///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/153844//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/153844//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/153844//?p=153844"},"modified":"2026-06-19T11:09:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T15:09:39","slug":"ucf-air-force-partnership-expands-opportunities-in-national-security-research-student-training","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/153844///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/153844//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/153844//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/153844//ucf-air-force-partnership-expands-opportunities-in-national-security-research-student-training/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/153844//","title":{"rendered":"UCF, Air Force Partnership Expands Opportunities in National Security Research, Student Training"},"content":{"rendered":"
At a time when the United States faces a shortage of trained radiochemists and growing national security demands, UCF is helping prepare the next generation of scientists to meet the challenge./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/153844/n
A new educational partnership between UCF and the U.S. Air Force Technical Applications Center (AFTAC) is creating opportunities for research, student training and workforce development in one of the country/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/153844/u2019s most specialized scientific fields. The collaboration strengthens critical scientific capabilities, facilitates the sharing of resources and expertise and helps build the radiochemistry talent pipeline. and positions UCF at the forefront of nuclear chemistry research that supports national security missions./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/153844/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/153844/u201cThrough collaborative research projects and summer internships, UCF students gain hands-on experience working alongside federal scientists and access to AFTAC/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/153844/u2019s facilities and instrumentation for research supporting national security missions,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/153844/u201d says Vasileios Anagnostopoulos, associate professor of chemistry and principal investigator of the partnership./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/153844/n
Only a small number of universities nationwide have established this type of relationship with AFTAC, the Department of the Air Force responsible for monitoring nuclear treaty compliance and detecting nuclear events worldwide./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/153844/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/153844/u201cThe fact that we were invited by AFTAC to be one of their official academic partners says a lot about the recognition of our program and the important role chemistry and radiochemistry play in the national security landscape.”/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/153844/u2014Vasileios Anagnostopoulos, associate professor/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/153844/n
According to Anagnostopoulos /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/153844/u2014 director of UCF/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/153844/u2019s Nuclear Regulatory Commission Fellowship and UCF principal investigator for the multi-institutional NNSA-funded Consortium for Nuclear Forensics/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/153844/u2014 UCF/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/153844/u2019s growing reputation in radiochemistry and analytical chemistry helped distinguish the university as a strong academic partner./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/153844/n
The collaboration also reflects UCF/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/153844/u2019s broader role in supporting Florida/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/153844/u2019s rapidly growing aerospace, defense and national security ecosystem through research, workforce development and federal partnerships./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/153844/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/153844/u201cOur radiochemistry program is gaining national recognition through multiple research grants and collaborative proposals,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/153844/u201d Anagnostopoulos says./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/153844/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/153844/u201cThe fact that we were invited by AFTAC to be one of their official academic partners says a lot about the recognition of our program and the important role chemistry and radiochemistry play in the national security landscape./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/153844/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/153844/n