NEWS

WOW Challenge for Students
July 26, 2024 | NSF-NHERI DesignSafe Radio Podcast

Learn about the Wall of Wind Challenge, an annual event for high school students. NHERI researchers provide a specific wind mitigation challenge. Student teams design and build a protective structure, and then get the chance test their designs in the Wall of Wind.

Full scope of Beryl’s damage yet to be assessed while many still without power
July 13, 2024 | CBS Saturday Morning News

Beryl left a trail of destruction from Texas to Vermont, marking the latest “billion dollar” weather and climate disaster to impact the U.S. The increasing cost of extreme weather events has authorities looking to improve their response to them. The NSF-NHERI Wall of Wind at FIU is highlighted.

Unique Wall of Wind experiments
July 2, 2024 | NSF-NHERI DesignSafe Radio Podcast

FIU-based meteorologist and educator Erik Salna relates some unusual but important WOW experiments to test the effects of wind loading on civil infrastructure such as construction cranes and electrical power towers.

Department of Commerce funds South Florida ClimateReady Tech Hub
July 2, 2024 | FIU News

U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Alejandra Y. Castillo was in Miami to announce $19 million in funding for the Tech Hubs program. $10 million will go to FIU for several projects including the NSF-NHERI Wall of Wind.

Introducing the Wall of Wind
June 18, 2024 | NSF-NHERI DesignSafe Radio Podcast

Meteorologist and educator Erik Salna provides nitty-gritty details on the gigantic, NSF-funded wind research lab called the Wall of Wind, or WOW. Located at Florida International University in Miami, the WOW facility is part of the NSF-funded NHERI network.

FIU, Wall of Wind, Bring Wind Engineering into Florida Classrooms
June 4, 2024 | NSF-NHERI DesignSafe News

Annual NSF-funded summer programs train STEM teachers in engineering.

2024 Wall of Wind Mitigation Challenge: High School Teams Design, Test Protective Wind Barriers
June 3, 2024 | NSF-NHERI DesignSafe News

Exciting competition at Florida International University inspires future wind engineers, connects them with local practitioners.

CBS4 Miami: Museum of Discovery and Science’s “Eye of the Storm” teaches guests everything about hurricanes
June 2, 2024 | CBS4 Miami

The FIU Eye of the Storm at MODS in Fort Lauderdale on June 1st was a huge success! The event highlights hurricane science, mitigation, preparedness, FIU’s wind engineering students, and Wall of Wind research.

Wall of Wind receives $4 million to expand hurricane and windstorm resilience research
May 31, 2024 | FIU News

U.S. Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart presented FIU’s Wall of Wind with a $4.05 million federal allocation to support windstorm research.

At a glance: Hurricane research at FIU
October 11, 2023 | FIU Research Magazine

The FIU Wall of Wind program was started in 2007-08 thanks to a major investment from the State of Florida. Today it is one of only eight National Science Foundation-supported experimental facilities in the U.S. under the Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI). The NHERI Wall of Wind has been used for more than a decade to test construction materials in support of better performance-based design and safer building codes.

The ocean is rising — and so is Miami’s skyline
September 18, 2023 | Vox

Miami is at the water’s edge of understanding exactly how buildings fall apart under hurricanes and how to make them stand up to future storms. Results from labs like the Wall of Wind help officials decide where buildings can be built, what materials they need to use, and even what kinds of roofing nails are required.

Construction standards in an era of increasing natural disasters: FIU leads the conversation
September 8, 2023 | FIU News

FIU is steering the nation's infrastructure agenda through critical research and advocacy. Recently, government officials, students, and faculty experts, including Dr. Arindam Gan Chowdhury, NHERI Wall of Wind Director, gathered in Washington, D.C., to discuss a national problem: the country's outdated building codes.

Wall of Wind challenge is launching pad for high school students, hub for alumni
June 8, 2023 | FIU News

Recently, Florida International University (FIU) hosted its Wall of Wind (WOW) Mitigation Challenge, which has teams of high school students develop innovative wind mitigation concepts and solutions within guidelines set by Wall of Wind engineers.

FIU's Wall of Wind prepares Floridians for future hurricanes
June 1, 2023 | Morning in America

June 1 marks the beginning of hurricane season. Florida researchers simulate worst-case scenario hurricane winds in Florida International University's Wall of Wind facility to better plan for storms that may make their way to the coast.

'Wall of Wind' hurricane facility puts buildings through Category 5 test
June 1, 2023 | FOX Weather Live

Erik Salna, Associate Director of Education and Outreach for the FIU Extreme Events Institute joined FOX Weather to talk about Florida International University's "Wall of Wind" hurricane facility and how it all works.

Wall of Wind tests rooftops to see if structures can withstand hurricane-force winds
April 5, 2023 | FOX Weather

FOX Weather multimedia journalist Brandy Campbell shows Florida high school teams testing rooftop designs for the Wall of Wind challenge.

Researchers discussed their work as part of Aspen Ideas climate conference
March 22, 2023 | FIU News

FIU researchers, including the NSF-NHERI Wall of Wind discussed their work and showcased various projects during excursions for attendees of the recent Aspen Ideas: Climate conference, which was hosted by the prestigious Aspen Institute in collaboration with the City of Miami Beach.

Hurricane Simulation Lab: the Wall of Wind at FIU Miami
March 16, 2023 | PBS series HomeDiagnosisTV

PBS series HomeDiagnosisTV features the NHERI-FIU Wall of Wind, 12 giant fans arranged to simulate a Category 5 hurricane. See their testing setup and meet the engineers who are helping to advance wind engineering.

Expanding capabilities of wind tunnel testing using innovative cyber-physical method
March 15, 2023 | FIU News

Engineering experts from FIU and Lehigh University are using an innovative part-physical, part-computational testing method known as real-time cyber-physical modeling to get a full picture of how powerful winds affect tall buildings.

Reducing wind damage is the focus of the partnership between top U.S. companies, FIU, Texas Tech and Florida Tech
December 8, 2022 | FIU News

With support from the National Science Foundation, FIU and Texas Tech University (TTU) are accelerating the application of wind hazard research to real-world problems through the collaborative creation of the Center for Wind Hazard and Infrastructure Performance (WHIP-C).

Engineers studying damage left behind from Hurricane Ian for lessons we can learn as we rebuild
October 27, 2022 | FOX 4, Fort Myers

Dr. Zisis, NSF-NHERI Wall of Wind Researcher, was on the ground shortly after Hurricane Ian, studying the damage. From what he saw, the building codes addressing wind appear to have made a difference.

30 years later: Hurricane Andrew’s legacy
August 24, 2022 | FIU News

A great deal has changed since August 24, 1992 – from how hurricane insurance works to Florida building codes – and FIU has been at the forefront of that change. In fact, FIU’s Wall of Wind (WOW) is a direct legacy of Hurricane Andrew.

Professor researches destructive thunderstorms by simulating winds at FIU
July 15, 2022 | FIU News

Professor and wind engineering researcher Amal Elawady is using the NSF-NHERI Wall of Wind at FIU to research how high-intensity winds from downbursts affect low-rise residential buildings. A downburst occurs when a large amount of rain, hail or air from a thunderstorm cloud plummets earthward, generating wind in a downward direction. Once the wind hits the ground, it spreads in all radial directions and a wind vortex forms on the edges of the storm.

Head of NSF's Directorate of Engineering discusses diversity and research at FIU
June 3, 2022 | FIU News

Listening, learning and wanting to serve, Susan Margulies, head of the National Science Foundation’s Directorate of Engineering, led a discussion at the FIU College of Engineering and Computing (CEC) about diversity and inclusion in education and research. Margulies was one of several national leaders on campus attending a press conference at the NSF-NHERI Wall of Wind.

FEMA announces national initiative to modernize building codes at FIU Wall of Wind
June 1, 2022 | FIU News

With the NSF-NHERI Wall of Wind at FIU as a backdrop, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell announced a new initiative by the Biden-Harris administration to modernize building codes, improve climate resilience and reduce energy costs.

Professor and renowned wind researcher Amal Elawady receives NSF CAREER Award
February 7, 2022 | FIU News

Professor and NSF-NHERI Wall of Wind researcher Amal Elawady is FIU’s College of Engineering and Computing’s 20th NSF CAREER Award recipient. Elawady will receive more than $700,000 in the form of an NSF grant earmarked to advance research into the impact of downburst winds — caused by thunderstorms — on building structures worldwide.