Category: Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment

The University of Florida’s Center for Coastal Solutions, or CCS, and the SAS Institute, a global leader in data analytics software, are joining forces to study the factors that influence water quality and the connections between water quality and economic activity in southwest Florida.

Researchers at the University of Florida found that residential settings might be hotspots to spread SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, due to poor ventilation in homes and the relaxed usage of masks. As part of this study, researchers were also the first to demonstrate a viable, or infectious, virus on the surface of a cellphone.

The University of Florida’s Eckhoff Steel Bridge team placed first in the American Institute of Steel Construction’s (AISC) Student Steel Bridge National Competition for the second year in a row. The competition was hosted by Virginia Tech on May 27 and 28, 2022, with more than 140 participating schools internationally.

A University of Florida Transportation Institute (UFTI) study funded by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) found that advanced communication technologies and vehicle on-board units (OBUs) are effective in increasing driver awareness. These technologies provide information to drivers regarding their surroundings, such as the presence of pedestrians and traffic signal information.

The University Term Professorship was established in 2016 and is presented to 250 eligible faculty members annually. Selection of the professorships is based on an assessment of academic accomplishment by either a faculty advisory committee and/or the department chair and approved by the dean of the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering.

With $3 million in government funding through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a team of UF researchers led by Christine Angelini, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Coastal Solutions, along with colleagues in ESSIE, is giving the Corps a sustainable framework for water resources engineering projects on Florida’s First Coast. The multidisciplinary team hopes to provide these ecosystems the protection necessary to withstand and even thrive under unpredictable climatic conditions and the burden of their many uses — commercial, residential, recreational and tourism.

On any given day, Gainesville’s Autonomous Shuttle (AV) can be seen driving around city streets. AV shuttle corridors across the country are mostly designed without traffic lights, or the shuttles are maneuvered through traffic lights manually by an attendant. However, the Gainesville AV can now communicate with traffic signals and make right or left turns without the assistance of a human operator.

Antar Jutla, an associate professor, and Chang-Yu Wu, a professor, in the Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences within the Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment (ESSIE) were featured in The Washington Post. They discussed how climate conditions and human behaviors impact COVID-19 transmissions. 

David O. Prevatt, Ph.D., wrote a guest essay for The Washington Post and was featured on NPR’s All Things Considered program, the Black Network News Channel, and The Weather Channel.

Christopher Ferraro, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Civil & Coastal Engineering, was featured in Explore magazine for his research on making the world’s favorite building material stronger, more durable and more sustainable.