Accelerating Discovery in Wind Engineering Research
Fusing AI, Automation, and High-Throughput Experimentation

About the Webinar

This webinar will highlight how AI and state-of-the-art experimental instruments are transforming how researchers model wind hazard events and their impact on the built environment. The talk will cover novel wind tunnel approaches performed at the University of Florida (UF) NHERI Experimental Facility (EF) that integrate machine learning and automation to enhance the physical simulation of complex wind fields. These experimental capabilities allow researchers to explore a broad range of wind hazard conditions that affect civil infrastructure, while boosting data efficiency and reproducibility.

Presenter

Pedro L. Fernández-Cabán
Florida A&M University-Florida State University (FAMU-FSU) College of Engineering

Pedro L. Fernández-Cabán is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Florida A&M University-Florida State University (FAMU-FSU) College of Engineering. His research integrates experimental techniques, numerical modeling, design optimization, and cyber-physical methods to enhance the performance of civil infrastructure under wind hazards. He has conducted extensive research in boundary layer wind tunnels and has also been involved in field experiments to characterize near-surface wind fields during landfalling hurricanes. Dr. Fernández-Cabán is a 2020 Fellow of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Enabling the Next Generation of Hazards and Disasters Researchers Fellowship Program led by the Natural Hazards Center (NHC), and a recipient of the NSF CAREER award. He received his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering (Structures) from the University of Florida in 2017, and B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez in 2013.