Water Institute Faculty Advisory Committee members Christine Angelini, Tomas Bianchi, Nancy Denslow, David Kaplan and Todd Osborne are part of UF’s Moonshot iCoast. The highly multi-disciplinary team knows the strength of working together from different perspectives. To consider the health of coastal infrastructure as well as its ecological and biological systems, the iCoast pilot project team will gather data and develop a database never before available on the natural and built environments of the coast. The project will serve as a model for collecting and analyzing data to make predictions about the health of Florida’s 8,436 miles of coastline.

Todd Osborne stated,“…we thought we would use the best technology available and perhaps develop some of our own technology to sense the environment in a more rapid and novel way so we can model what is going on on the coastline.” (cited at iCoast Connection by Cindy Spence)

Ultimately, the project will allow for real-time management of threats to the natural and built environments of the coastline from San Sebastian to Pellicer Creek.

“We have some of the most talented researchers in the world right here at the University of Florida, and we’re harnessing those talents to tackle specific challenges that need answers now,” Norton said. “This initiative will enlist the UF faculty to pursue breakthroughs in areas important to the state, nation and the world.” (UF News)

To learn more about iCoast: https://icoast.program.ufl.edu/