We are very pleased to announce that Mr. Brad Thoburn has joined the UFTI’s External Advisory Board. Serving as the Assistant Secretary for Strategic Development at the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), Mr. Thoburn leads planning efforts at the statewide and multimodal levels. He has more than 27 years of expertise in the transportation sector ranging from transportation planning to policy, and government relations.

Michele Manuel, Ph.D., Professor and Department Chair of the UF Department of Materials Science & Engineering in the H.W. College of Engineering, has been elected a Member of the National Academy of Engineering. This honor is bestowed on her for contributions to research, implementation, and teaching of a computational materials design of biomimetic self-healing metals and high-performance lightweight alloys. Dr. Manuel has conducted research for the Florida Department of Transportation related to material properties of weathering steel in bridge construction.

Dr. Peter Sheng from the UF Coastal and Oceanographic Engineering Program is guest editor for a special issue in Sustainability, an open-access research journal. The special issue is titled "Sea-Level Rising - Coastal Vulnerability and Adaptation Management". This special issue aims to inform the scientific and coastal communities of the latest research in coastal vulnerability and adaptation management.

Other guest editors include Dr. Trevor Meckley, Director of the Effects of Sea Level Rise (ESLR) Program at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Dr. Karen Thorne, an international expert on coastal wetlands, United States Geological Survey (USGS).