Biomedical engineers shine in 19th annual IPPD expo

In News, Research & Innovation

Gator Engineering’s Integrated Product and Process Design program continues to spotlight innovation with its 19th annual Final Design Review and Prototype Demonstration Showcase on April 15. This exposition will be the first year undergraduate biomedical engineering students are participating. Team “Clean Cut” includes seniors from BME’s inaugural graduating class collaborating on a prototype system of recycling single-use medical equipment. They …

University Of Florida Researchers Say Lobster’s Sense of Smell Could Help Detect Explosives

In News, Research & Innovation

As reported by First Bell on March 19, 2014: On its website, NBC News reports University of Florida researchers say that by studying a lobster’s sense of smell they may be able to develop technology that can protect soldiers from landmines and other explosives. The UF researchers have found that an olfactory neuron in lobsters “emits bursts of electrical pulses, …

Distinguished professor examines all angles of industrial disaster

In News, Research & Innovation

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – It wasn’t just chemistry gone awry that resulted in thousands of deaths when a pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, leaked tons of poisonous gases in a single evening 30 years ago. The recipe for the disaster also included ingredients of politics, economics, history and culture. So says Ranganathan “Ranga” Narayanan, a University of Florida chemical engineering professor who is …

Gator Engineering professor improves methods for estimating citrus crop yields

In News, Research & Innovation

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Citrus crop-yield estimates may be more accurate, thus ensuring higher productivity and more revenue, if an algorithm proves as successful as it did in a recent University of Florida study. Wonsuk “Daniel” Lee’s study, published in the January issue of the journal Biosystems Engineering, could eventually help Florida’s $9 billion-a-year citrus industry. Lee, a UF agricultural and …

Florida researchers developing football helmets to reduce concussions

In News, Research & Innovation

Appeared in ASEE’s First Bell, January 9, 2014 (Reuters) – Researchers in Florida believe they have come up with a low-cost way to improve football helmets and better protect players against the glancing blows that experts say contribute to most concussions. Protective sports helmets on the market today are largely designed to absorb shock from direct linear hits, like head …

Tissue engineering could help thousands each year

In News, Research & Innovation

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Kidney failure patients in the not-too-distant future may have a new option that sidesteps the current organ shortage, lengthy wait and potential rejection: Grow your own. University of Florida researchers are using a pig kidney as a “scaffold” in which they are building a human version by injecting it with stem cells grown from the patient. Those …

Gator Engineers reinvent the accelerometer, environment and consumer to benefit

In News, Research & Innovation

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The technology used to track movement in our cell phones, gaming devices, and airbags is about to scale down, resulting in smaller packaging, lower costs, and reduced environmental impact. Accelerometers are used everyday to track movement in many responsive electronic devices – they are how your smart phone knows to readjust a picture when you turn your …

Civil Engineering’s David Prevatt shares suggestions for typhoon preparation with NBC News

In News, Research & Innovation

In the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, reporters are asking the question everyone is thinking: How can we prevent tragedies like this from happening. David Prevatt, a professor of civil and coastal engineering at the University of Florida, offered suggestions for building more wind-resistant structures and surge-protected communities in an interview with John Roach of NBC News: “Surviving typhoons will require smarter …

Interdisciplinary research at UF aims to save lives in Africa

In News, Research & Innovation

An interdisciplinary effort between the University of Florida’s College of Engineering and the College of Medicine is aiming to save the lives of at-risk expectant mothers living in Africa. Electrical and biomedical engineering professor Jose Principe and the chief of obstetric anesthesia for UF Health Shands Hospital, Tammy Euliano, are developing a simple device to detect preeclampsia – a high …

Reuters brings UF’s storm research into the public eye

In News, Research & Innovation

With the anniversary of Hurricane Sandy fast approaching, scientists say they are moving closer to developing more effective early warning systems for future storms. Engineers at the University of Florida are building small autonomous vehicles that fly into and under hurricanes to provide real time data about their intensity and track. Ben Gruber reports. http://www.reuters.com/video/2099/01/01/reuters-tv-video?videoId=274195097