Category: Research & Innovation

In Polk County, University of Florida researchers have designed a wetlands-filtration system to solve the problem of leachate – the liquid that filters to the bottom of the landfill at tens of thousands of gallons per day.

Engineering researchers at the University of Florida are playing a key role in advancing safety and precision in robot-assisted surgery, or RAS.

UF scientists are asking the question: Why do people experience pain differently? The answer may be found in a surprising place: valuable human tissue that would otherwise be thrown away after surgery.

Cocaine sharks have been in the news of late, and scientist and triple Gator Tracy Fanara’s name surfaces in many of those reports. Outlets from NPR to Forbes have reported on sharks consuming cocaine dumped in the waters off Brazil, quoting Fanara as an environmental scientist.

In newly published research, Won Suk “Daniel” Lee, a professor of agricultural and biological engineering and Natalia Peres, a professor of plant pathology, show how artificial intelligence (AI) can improve leaf wetness detection to help growers estimate the risk of their fruit getting infected with a fungal disease.

Michael Tonks, Ph.D., the new acting chair of MSE, is an award-winning professor whose research is playing a key role in NASA’s quest for a crewed mission to Mars.

UF faculty conducted a record $1.26 billion in research in fiscal year 2024, thanks in part to a nearly 10% increase in federally funded research, compared to FY2023. Engineers in the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering conducted $150.4 million in research on such things as cybersecurity, accessibility to computer technology, storm readiness, retail theft deterrence, and robotics.

Athletes Mollie Brewer and Kevin Childs are UF Ph.D. engineering students and key players in the $2.5-million UF & Sport Collaborative initiative.

As questions surrounding the impact of AI continue to capture the public’s attention, UF’s 2020-founded AI Across the Curriculum initiative – with its lauded AI Fundamentals and Applications Certificate – is already paying off for graduates.

Daniel Ferris, Ph.D., a professor of biomedical engineering in the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, has shown that our brains react differently when training with robots than when playing against human opponents.