As Miami’s Public Research University, FIU knows what it means to make a real impact. Our recent naming to the Top 15 Most Innovative Public Universities by U.S. News & World Report reflects the groundbreaking work happening across our college. We take on the pressing issues that affect our community and tackle the challenges poised to affect our whole world, from environmental resilience to technology to artificial intelligence.
The latest edition of FIU Research Magazine perfectly captures the innovative spirit that has been earning us prestigious rankings. Today, I would like to share with you how our faculty members are creating real impact through their groundbreaking research in infrastructure resiliency, energy and materials.
Bolstering infrastructure
Conventional concrete may be strong. But ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) is five times stronger.
Atorod Azizinamini — along with the team he leads at the USDOT-funded Innovative Bridge Technologies/Accelerated Bridge Construction University Transportation Center (IBT/ABC-UTC) — currently explores new ways to maximize the advantages of UHPC through additive construction.
“Just applying a shell of UHPC around a structure, like a bridge column, adds to its total strength and makes it almost maintenance free for life,” explains Azizinamini, director of infrastructure, research and innovation at FIU and a leading bridge engineering expert who holds a patent for this UHPC shell framework concept. Read more.
New energy generation and storage solutions
Daniela Radu leads the DoD-funded Center of Excellence for Integrated Renewable Energy and Energy Storage. Established with a $10 million investment from the Department of Defense, the center is focused on finding new energy solutions that support DoD’s strategic commitment to making climate resilience a national security priority.
“If you look at traditional solar panels, the first thing that comes to mind is they’re very heavy,” says Radu, the project’s principal investigator. “Soldiers carry a lot in the field, so imagine having to carry heavy solar panels and batteries on top of it. We’re aiming to create lightweight, foldable, portable alternatives.” Read more.
Charging up
Laptops, smart phones and electric vehicles have all evolved dramatically in the last few decades. The batteries that power them? Not so much. At this point, lithium-ion is decades old technology.
Bilal El-Zahab has spent over a decade working on beyond lithium-ion battery technologies, such as solid-state, lithium-sulfur and lithium-air batteries. One resulting innovation is a patented lithium sulfur battery that packs more energy into the same amount of space and weight.
“Instead of using a 1,000-pound EV battery, you could have one that’s 500 pounds and get the same driving range,” El-Zahab says. “Or you could keep the battery the same size, replace it with our cells and get double the range. For example, a Tesla Model 3 gets 320 miles on a full charge, so that could become 640 miles, at least.” Read more.
Grid revolution
Microgrid technology is uniquely capable of protecting the reliability of our energy supply in the wake of extreme weather events such as wildfires and hurricanes.
As part of a decades-long effort to advance renewable energy technologies, FIU — in partnership with Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) — conducts ground-breaking research on the AI-based renewable microgrid installed at the university’s engineering center.
“This research can help pave the road for providing local and global communities with increased resiliency for riding through extreme weather and power grid events,” says Arif Sarwat, principal investigator of the FIU-FPL microgrid and director of FIU’s Energy, Power and Sustainability-Intelligence research group. Read more.
Engineering a bright future
These innovations represent just a sampling of the transformative research happening within our College of Engineering and Computing. I encourage you to read more about our faculty’s achievements in this year’s FIU Research Magazine.
As we move through 2025, our innovative spirit along with our brand-new Innovation Complex — a 120,000-square-foot facility set to open this year — will help us continue our mission of solving real-world challenges through cutting-edge research and education. Our rise in the rankings reflects not just our past achievements, but our commitment to future impact.
I look forward to sharing more of our success stories with you throughout the year.
Sincerely,
Inés R. Triay
Interim Dean, FIU’s College of Engineering and Computing