UROP Project

Hurricane-Resilient Design of Onshore Flexible Structures via ML-Assisted Aerodynamic Optimization

optimization, machine learning, structures, wind, wave, hurricanes
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Research Mentor: Pedro Fernandez-Caban,
Department, College, Affiliation: Civil and Environmental Engineering, FAMU-FSU College of Engineering
Contact Email: plf22a@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor): Arezoo Bakhshizadeh
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email: ab22cd@fsu.edu
Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Computer Science
Project Location: FAMU-FSU College of Engineering
Research Assistant Transportation Required: FSU Bus (Seminole Express)
Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 10, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Not participating in the roundtable

Project Description

During hurricanes, extreme wind and storm surge conditions are the main environmental forces affecting civil infrastructure in coastal regions. In particular, lightweight, tall, and slender structures (e.g., transmission/communication towers, light poles, etc.) are sensitive to the variable and dynamic nature of wind and wave action. Therefore, predicting and optimizing the performance of such structures remains an ongoing challenge. This UROP project investigates novel ML-assisted optimization strategies that account for the combined effects of wind and waves and their interaction with coastal structures.

Research Tasks: -Literature review
-CFD simulation and wind tunnel testing
-Data processing and analysis

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: -Python (JupyterLab) - Required
-Excel - Required
-Latex (Overleaf) - Recommended

Mentoring Philosophy

My role as an undergraduate mentor is to facilitate opportunities to enhance the technical and professional skills of mentees. I continuously tailor research tasks based on my conversations with mentees to ensure such tasks align with skills the students want to develop further (e.g., technical writing, data analysis, programming, etc.). I've also found it helpful to share my own research experience through the years, from my undergraduate days to my current role as a faculty member. In particular, mentees often relate to stories from my early research experiences that highlight common challenges faced by undergraduate researchers and how best to address them.

Additional Information


Link to Publications

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=nzBOhdoAAAAJ&hl=en