ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Engineering students and faculty at the University of Central Florida are using science and technology to tackle real-world problems.
As part of Engineers Week, researchers are showcasing projects focused on issues including disaster preparedness, public health, and digital security.
One project aims to help communities better prepare for hurricanes and power outages. Graduate student Ethan Frakes has developed a semantic data model that analyzes years of historic outage maps alongside nighttime satellite images to better understand when and where power failures occur.
“Using this geospatial temporal data of power outages, we can use it to help detect outages in the past,” he said. ”We also could use it to help predict outages in the future.”
By identifying vulnerable areas before storms hit, the data could help guide where resources are needed most before and after disasters.
“Where do we need, specifically solar panels or just any backup power generation following a hurricane, a tornado, or any other disaster,” Frakes said.
Another project focuses on improving sanitation in places where cleanliness is critical. Ph.D. student Francisco Hernandez and his team are developing ultraviolet light technology to sanitize entire rooms more quickly and efficiently without using chemicals.
“You could install these within your ceiling or parts of the wall,” he said. ”You tell everyone to walk out, turn it on for a bit, and then after a couple of minutes, the room’s done. It’s clean.”
Researchers say the technology could be especially useful in hospitals, laboratories, and other settings where people with weakened immune systems are at higher risk.
On display a few booths away, another experiment highlights the growing importance of cybersecurity and the protection of personal data.
Professor Mike Borowczak demonstrated how electronic devices can unintentionally leak sensitive information through their power usage.
“We’re listening to how much power is being used by the device and figuring out what information it’s leaking,” said Borowczak.
Within seconds, his system deciphered a computer password.
By studying systems from the perspective of a hacker, he says researchers can identify weaknesses before they can be exploited.
“We want to understand the vulnerabilities and risks, so we can go back and actually protect against those before an attacker would,” he said.
Borowczak, an Associate Professor with the UCF College of Engineering & Computer Science, says the work on display for Engineers Week shows how local engineers are taking their work from the lab into everyday life.
“We’re going to see things related to quantum computing, security, AI, space, all these innovations that are all around us. We’re at the cutting edge of doing that work each and every day,” he said.
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