The future is moving fast, and the world needs problem-solvers who can keep up.
Go for Launch is a historic campaign for the future of our university and our world. This is UCF’s moment to lead with purpose, meet the world’s growing needs, invest in our strengths and put our name in the stars. We are ambitiously embracing the endless possibilities ahead.
Our aim is clear: Fuel discovery and innovation. Advance future frontiers. Elevate student success. Maximize competitive excellence.
That’s why our researchers are developing solutions the world needs most. Our programs are preparing students to meet the future where it’s going. And our community of innovators is achieving breakthroughs in AI technology, creating a world-class destination campus and competing at the highest echelons in academics and athletics.
We’re not just imagining the future — we’re building it. With each discovery and every journey, we transcend boundaries and defy expectations to chart our own path forward. It’s this kind of excellence that has put UCF on the map.
We are acting on our ambition, because the future can’t wait. This campaign will move us all forward together, toward a future that UCF is building today. And when you join us, you help launch UCF into a greater orbit. Together, there’s no limit to where we can go.
JOIN US
WE INVITE YOU TO JOIN OUR MISSION TO DRIVE COMPETITIVE EXCELLENCE AND PROPEL UCF FORWARD INTO ITS NEXT BOLD ERA. THERE’S NO LIMIT TO WHAT WE CAN ACHIEVE TOGETHER. GOFORLAUNCH.UCF.EDU
MISSION: FUELING DISCOVERY AND INNOVATION
At UCF, research powers progress — turning bold ideas into real-world solutions that improve lives, strengthen our economy and tackle the world’s most urgent challenges.
PRIORITIES
OUR FUTURE IS NOW
Our region and state depend on this kind of purposeful inquiry. With more than $200 million in external grants, gifts and sponsored awards annually, UCF is actively converting curiosity into impact.
We must fuel discovery and innovation so that our students become creators of tomorrow’s technologies, our faculty become master problem-solvers, and our region becomes a place where progress is born and sustained.
The time is right — and urgent — for UCF to amplify its role as a crucible of discovery. Rapid technological disruption in space, cybersecurity, health and energy demands bold, interdisciplinary responses, while global challenges — from human health in space to sustainable coastal systems — are increasingly complex and time-sensitive. With strong industry partnerships, a thriving research park and a culture of commercialization, UCF is poised to accelerate ideas into impact. Now is the moment to invest in people, platforms and partnerships.
LAUNCHING A NEW ERA
That future is happening here and now. At UCF, innovation is fueling discoveries that will solve the world’s greatest challenges. Health and human performance are becoming limitless. Collaboration and partnerships are propelling us toward a better tomorrow. And our competitive spirit is inspiring championcaliber greatness.
For us, the call to achieve, to lead and to win rings in our ears, and we are challenging ourselves to new levels of competitive excellence. Thanks to the generous support of our alumni, donors and fans, we’ve unlocked the power of preeminence, with the state of Florida designating UCF as one of its leading institutions. Now every dollar you give is more powerful than ever before.
From athletics to AI, from healthcare to space exploration, we’re creating a future the world has only begun to imagine. This is what preeminence looks like — not centuries in the making, but forged by grit, ambition and an unwavering belief that greatness belongs to those who dare to charge ahead. And we are just getting started.
Join us in our mission as we launch a bold new era.
REACH
EVERY KNIGHT
TRAILBLAZING STUDENT IN SPACE RESEARCH
Kaaliyah McGaughy ’25, a first-generation college student, found her place at UCF working in the Exolith Lab, contributing by hand to the construction of the world’s largest simulated lunar surface test bin — 33 × 33 feet, 240,000 pounds of lunar simulant. Her work helps NASA and the private-space sector test rovers and hardware that may one day land on the moon’s South Pole.
“A lot of what I do is for my family … we built a lot of things by hand. It was a very student-friendly environment, and a really good foundation for space-related studies.” – McGaughy
Her journey illustrates how UCF is turning student curiosity into mission-critical research — while preparing talent for the rapidly growing space and technology economy.
FACULTY RESEARCH
UNDERSTANDING COSMIC ORIGINS
Ryan Ogliore Associate Professor of Physics at UCF, studies rocks from space — meteorites, dust from comets and asteroids, and returned spacecraft samples. By using micro-analytical isotopic tools, his work uncovers the age and formation history of our solar system.
“We sent a spacecraft to collect microscopic dust… and discovered that its composition was made up of igneous rocks… It suggested the comet wasn’t just a leftover piece of the Solar System’s building blocks, as we first thought, but rather a record of a more complex later stage of solar-system formation.”
WHY NOW
THE TIME IS RIGHT — AND URGENT — FOR UCF TO AMPLIFY ITS ROLE AS A CRUCIBLE OF DISCOVERY.
Technological disruption is advancing faster than ever: breakthroughs in space, cyberspace, health and energy demand bold, interdisciplinary responses. UCF’s dedicated clusters in cybersecurity, renewable energy, aging & disability technologies and more illustrate this urgency.
The global stakes are higher. Whether it’s human health in space, sustainable coastal systems or next-generation propulsion, the challenges of our era are complex, interlinked and time-sensitive. UCF’s work in aerospace medicine, lunar resources and microgravity bone loss directly speak to this moment.
UCF’s infrastructure and partnerships are in prime position. With strong industry ties in Central Florida, a thriving research park ecosystem and a culture of commercialization, UCF is ready to accelerate ideas into markets, jobs and societal benefit.
TYPES OF OPPORTUNITIES
At UCF, “Fueling Discovery and Innovation” means opening strategic pathways across several dimensions:
Faculty-led Research & Collaboration Faculty across disciplines are joining forces through UCF’s Faculty Cluster Initiative to tackle thematic challenges — from resilient energy systems to genomics & bioinformatics to sustainable coastal design.
Student Engagement & Workforce Development
Undergraduate and graduate students engage directly in research and innovation: writing grant proposals, developing new technologies, working alongside industry mentors and publishing outcomes.
