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UF researcher: Floridians must “rise to the occasion” to fortify against impact of storms

In Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering, ICYMI, In the Headlines, NewsBy Mary Ellen KlasStory originally published on Tampa Bay Times

David O. Prevatt, Ph.D., professor of Civil & Coastal Engineering, studied the damage caused by Hurricane Ian and said Floridians continue to be slow to make the changes needed to fortify themselves against the costly impacts of storms. “When we rise to the occasion, we learn from our failures,” he said. “I contend that our learning from failure in a context of wind hazards is too slow and the growth of housing — being built in very vulnerable areas — far exceeds our ability to do something about it.”

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Understanding nature’s fury: UF researchers take their lab to the middle of the hurricanes

In Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment, In the Headlines, News, Research & InnovationBy Karen DooleyStory originally published on UF News

Forrest Masters, a civil engineer and interim dean of the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, and his team take field data gathered during storms and compare it to wind tunnel modeling performed at UF’s Powell Family Structures & Materials Laboratory. With support from the National Science Foundation, UF is developing new tools that test hazardous winds on a variety of artificial landscapes inside the lab’s wind tunnel to help better understand how storms impact cities and towns.

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CCS researcher developing AI model to predict harmful algal blooms in southwest Florida

In Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment, Featured, In the Headlines, NewsBy Andrew ShipleyStory originally published on FOX 4 Southwest Florida

Enrique Orozco Lopez, Ph.D., a postdoctoral associate at the Center for Coastal Solutions (CCS), spoke with FOX 4 Southwest Florida about the AI model he has been developing to better manage the water flow from Lake Okeechobee to the Caloosahatchee River, with the goal of reducing the amount of released nutrients that produce harmful algal blooms.