EPA Campus Rainworks 2021
The Marine Academy of Science and Technology (MAST) is located inside Florida International University's Biscayne Bay Campus (FIU-BBC). MAST is the only university-based magnet high school in Florida specializing in marine and environmental research, blending high school and university life elements. The FIU-BBC campus, with a nearly 200-acres area and 1.4 miles of coastal edge, is at risk due to hurricanes and sea-level rise hazards. Hence, it is imperative to rethink the existing campus infrastructure and implement sustainable practices to preserve the site, which benefits students and the North Miami community. Working closely with the FIU-MAST's leadership, students, and FIUBBC facilities, we identified several problems, including (1) extensive flooding due to projected sealevel rise, (2) lack of freshwater for irrigation of green areas, (3) pollution monitoring of the Biscayne Bay, and (4) lack of public gathering spaces for FIU-MAST and FIU-BBC campus. Based on the 2050 sea-level rise data, our solutions include: (1) elevating a perimeter road of the FIU-MAST to prevent coastal flooding, (2) installing green infrastructures to reduce stormwater runoff and the urban heat island effect (including a green roof on the FIU-MAST building and utilizing permeable pavement for a portion of the existing parking lot), and (3) providing multipurpose smart pavilions for gathering which will communicate water education with its form and interaction. The effectiveness of the proposed solutions has been analyzed using various computational methods, and we believe that the proposed solutions could be adopted by other coastal universities and schools facing similar challenges.
Keywords
Augmented Reality, HoloLens 2, Data Visualization, Sea Level Rise, Public literacy
Website
https://www.epa.gov/green-infrastructure/
Credits
Faculty and Staff Advisors: Dr. Arturo S. Leon (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering); Dr. Biayna Bogosian (Department of Architecture); Nicholas Ogle (College of Arts, Sciences, and Education); Matthew J. Welker (Principal, MAST@FIU); Danny Paan (Director, Physical Plant)
Student Team: Sumit R. Zanje (Civil Engineering); Gisselle Guttierez (Environmental Engineering); William Campbell (Hydraulic Engineering); Jennyfer Hernandez, Matthew Nuzum, Elena Passoni (Architecture); Pratik Mahyawansi, Juan Arzuza Toledo (Mechanical Engineering); Akash Dodani (Engineering Management)
Acknowledgments
Environmental Protection Agency
Year
2021