[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Page 8249]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA

 Mr. NELSON. Madam President, today I wish to congratulate the 
University of Central Florida as the school celebrates its 50th 
anniversary this year.
  It has been impressive to watch UCF over the years grow into what is 
now the Nation's second largest university. The school--one of 12 
public universities in Florida--is second in size only to Arizona 
State.
  It is educating nearly 60,000 undergraduate and graduate students 
this year from all around the world at what is now a sprawling campus 
located in Orlando, FL. Throughout the years, UCF has increasingly 
become an integral part of the Sunshine State--and a nationally 
recognized hub for research.
  Located adjacent to the university is Central Florida's Research 
Park--a 1,000-acre, high-tech complex that fosters innovation through 
its collaboration of UCF students, private-sector researchers and 
government agencies all working together in the same location. Together 
these researchers and students are working on projects in the sciences, 
engineering, photonics and optics, as well as a variety of health-
related fields.
  The facilities they use also are home to some of the most state-of-
the-art modeling and simulation equipment in the country.
  Just 2 months ago, NASA awarded UCF a $55 million grant to build a 
satellite that will enhance our ability to study the Earth's 
atmosphere.
  Not only is this award the largest grant in UCF's history, it also 
makes it the first university in Florida to lead a NASA mission--which 
is a fitting honor for a university located in the shadow of Kennedy 
Space Center.
  It was President Kennedy's historic call for a manned mission to the 
moon that prompted the Florida Legislature to authorize the creation of 
Florida Technological University--the original name of UCF--in 1963. 
Five years later, NASA awarded UCF its first research grant. And, as 
evidenced by this most recent one, the partnership continues to this 
day.
  So, I want to congratulate the University of Central Florida for the 
tremendous progress it has made in its first five decades.
  I have no doubt the university will continue to build on its many 
successes for many decades to come.

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