Welcome to the Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure & Environment (ESSIE) at the University of Florida’s digital newsletter. I am proud to share the latest updates within our School.
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Fall 2025 Letter from the Director
Dear alumni, students, faculty and friends, The Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure & Environment has enjoyed a busy fall fueled by faculty accolades, groundbreaking research, student success, substantial grants and, of course, a winning concrete canoe named Reptilia.
Kurtis Gurley
Interim Director, Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure & Environment
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Remembering a beloved Gator engineer
Engineering alumnus and donor Neil Shopke was known for his generosity and ingenuity.
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Multi-university AI research may revolutionize wildfire evacuation
Armed with a nearly $1.2 million National Science Foundation grant, UF, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Utah are creating these AI-based models to simulate human behavior during evacuations – information that will help emergency managers shape more effective evacuation plans.
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Can ribbed mussels save salt marshes? UF professor digs for answers
UF associate professor Alberto Canestrelli, Ph.D., won a prestigious CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation. The award will fund his research on protecting sensitive salt marshes with the help of ribbed mussels.
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Du appointed endowed professor for Industrialized Construction Engineering program
Engineering Professor Jing “Eric” Du, Ph.D., has been awarded the prestigious Steve and Wendy Blum Endowed Professorship for Industrialized Construction Engineering.
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NSF awards UF researcher grant to improve transmission tower safety
The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently honored University of Florida assistant engineering professor Gaby Ou, Ph.D., with a prestigious Early CAREER Award to further investigate transmission tower collapses during storms.
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With lasers, smoke and a wind tunnel, UF helps federal agency investigate deadly Hurricane Maria
Engineering professor and natural hazards researcher Brian Phillips, Ph.D., is leading UF’s efforts in a Hurricane Maria investigation conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, known as NIST.
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Four UF engineering professors named 2025 ASCE Fellows
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) this year has inducted three faculty members from the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering at the University of Florida as ASCE Fellows: Lily Elefteriadou, Kyle Riding and Scott S. Washburn, all Ph.D.s.
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UF concrete canoe team claims its fifth championship
Less than a month after UF’s Eckhoff Steel Bridge Team made history by capturing its fifth consecutive national title, another UF civil engineering team paddled its way to its fifth national title (four in the last six years).