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¶¶MÅ®ÆÍ Experts for the 2022 Hurricane Season

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With the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season forecast to be above average activity with a higher probability of major hurricanes making landfall along the continental United States coastline, several ¶¶MÅ®ÆÍ faculty experts are available to discuss various issues surrounding hurricane preparedness, evacuation and aftermath:

• Anthony Abbate is a professor and director of the MetroLAB in the School of Architecture, within the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters. Abbate is knowledgeable in materials and methods of construction, and architectural design for climate and adaptation to climate change. Abbate has been licensed to practice architecture in Florida since 1985 and has completed building evaluations including damage assessments.

• , Ph.D., is a professor and associate dean for undergraduate studies and community outreach in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatics Engineering within the College of Engineering and Computer Science. Bloetscher is knowledgeable on water and wastewater technology; groundwater wells, flow and contaminant transport; wastewater disposal practices and risk assessment; sustainable water resource planning and management; environmental engineering; and utility management.

• , Ph. D., is an associate professor in the Department of Geosciences within the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. Roberts Briggs is knowledgeable on hurricane impacts, coastal geomorphology, and sedimentology with emphasis on the beach dune and nearshore environments.

• , Ph.D ., is the executive director of ¶¶MÅ®ÆÍ’s Institute for Sensing and Embedded Network Systems Engineering (I-SENSE) and a professor in the College of Engineering and Computer Science. ¶¶MÅ®ÆÍ’s I-SENSE is the lead technology provider for the, a large regional network of atmospheric monitoring stations, managed in collaboration with Coastal Carolina University. The volumes of data collected by the network are used by the National Weather Service to drive its weather forecasting systems along the Atlantic coast. ¶¶MÅ®ÆÍ’s I-SENSE is helping to build the southeastern region by deploying sensing assets in local municipalities.  

• , Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Geosciences within the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. Johanson is knowledgeable on hurricane impacts, climate stress, human impact on environments and climate modeling. Johanson’s often collects and analyzes sediment cores from lakes and wetlands in Central and South America, the Caribbean and Florida.

• , Ph.D., is a professor in the finance department and associate dean within the College of Business. Johnson can discuss the effects of hurricanes on the housing market and new development. His areas of expertise include rental housing, real estate markets, homeownership, real estate and real estate economics.

• , Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, the John DeGrove Eminent Scholar Chair in Growth Management and Development, and director of the Visual Planning Technology Lab within the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. Her research focuses on the use of geographic information systems and spatial and statistical analysis to understand the interactions between the built and natural environments to inform sustainable urban planning and environmental practices. She has expertise on topics related to sea level rise vulnerability, climate adaptation and mitigation planning, shoreline stabilization, and health effects of climate change.

• , Ph.D., is a professor of geosciences and director of the Center for Environmental Studies (CES) within the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. Polsky is knowledgeable on sea level rise. CES was established to improve Florida’s sustainability through research, education and outreach on wetlands ecology and coastal resilience.

• , Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning and director of the Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions within the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. Renne is knowledgeable on hurricane evacuations and his work focuses on creating sustainability and resilience through land use and transportation systems. Among his numerous books is .

• , Ed.D., is director of ¶¶MÅ®ÆÍ’s hospitality and tourism management program within the College of Business. Ricci can discuss how hurricanes affect hospitality and tourism, an industry still trying to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. His areas of expertise include guest service/customer service, hotel management, and hospitality and tourism trends.

For more information on ¶¶MÅ®ÆÍ’s faculty experts, email mediarelations@fau.edu.  

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