- UF contributed significantly to the development of the radio proximity fuze during the waning years of WWII
- The fuze is one of a few American technological advances credited with turning the tide of the war
- National security-focused research and workforce development continue at UF FLARE’s facilities in Gainesville and on the REEF campus at Eglin Air Force Base
This month marks 80 years since the U.S. Navy Bureau of Ordnance recognized the University of Florida for developing research that helped thwart the Nazis in World War II.
That storied recognition launched a partnership that continues to thrive.
With locations on UF’s main campus in Gainesville and a regional campus on Eglin Air Force Base in the Panhandle, Florida Applied Research in Engineering, known as FLARE, now provides real-world — and highly secure — research for the Department of Defense, as well as workforce development that includes Gator engineers from the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering.
But the program’s roots date back further than 80 years.
In 1943, at the height of the war, University of Florida researchers quietly signed a contract with the U.S. Office of Scientific Research and Development. Created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the agency administered federal funds to universities and industrial laboratories for military-relevant research.