Category: Research & Innovation

Using a $7.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), a team of researchers led by the University of Florida will examine the needs of marginalized and vulnerable populations among security and privacy technologies. The project, supported by the NSF’s Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace Frontiers program, seeks to develop foundational design principles to mitigate harm and improve benefits to these populations based on foundational computer science, social science theory, and direct collaboration with marginalized and vulnerable populations.

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.

Ben Keselowsky Ph.D., professor, and Greg Hudalla, Ph.D., associate professor, both in the J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, are collaborating with UF College of Medicine researchers on a three-year, $2.6M R01 project funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) that will further develop a novel enzyme-based therapeutic that has shown early promise in the treatment of liver ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI).

University of Florida faculty surpassed $1 billion in research spending for the first time in 2022. Engineers in the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering conducted $131.8 million in research on such things as the application of artificial intelligence and cybersecurity; predicting and mitigating hurricane damage; ensuring bridge and road safety; and addressing sea level rise.

The University of Florida and the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency have entered an agreement to study how artificial intelligence and machine learning applications (AIML) can be used to detect and deter malicious agents that infiltrate computer networks. The work will be carried out by researchers associated with UF’s Florida Institute for National Security.

The National Science Foundation has recognized a record nine University of Florida faculty members, including five Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering faculty members, with 2022 Early Career Development Awards, one of its most prestigious honors.

Damon Woodard, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has agreed to serve as director of the Florida Institute for National Security (FINS). As part of a new vision, FINS will particularly focus on leveraging the UF AI Initiative to position the state’s flagship university as the nationally recognized premier provider of AI talent for the national security and defense industry, and as an innovation leader in AI-enabled national security.

The University of Florida ranks first among public universities and second nationwide in a new report that evaluates which U.S. universities are best at moving new discoveries from the lab and into the real world through research commercialization and STEM graduates.

Nancy Ruzycki, Ph.D., instructional associate professor in the Department of Materials Science & Engineering, is leading multiple K-12 engineering education initiatives to develop the teachers and the students to help fill prospective job openings in AI related fields.

University of Florida researchers have confirmed their artificial intelligence system, known as MySurgeryRisk, is at least as accurate as physicians in predicting surgical complications and sometimes more so. Developing and testing MySurgeryRisk has been a collaborative, interdisciplinary effort involving experts across the UF campus. A group of 22 engineering and medical researchers initially helped to develop and test the algorithm, and researchers from the UF departments of anesthesiology, medicine and electrical and computer engineering contributed to the latest findings.