(Geosensing Engineering and Mapping)

The mission and goal of the GEM Research Center for Natural Disasters are to provide state-of-the-art research capabilities in geosensing systems engineering and coastal mapping using new and evolving technologies.

Natural disasters, by definition, involve massive destruction of property and possibly loss of life, resulting in widespread distress among the populace. Successful disaster mitigation efforts rely on rapid response, based on detailed quantitative information about the location and extent of the damage. Recent technological advances make it possible to map the surface of earth with unprecedented accuracy and rapidity, opening new opportunities for scientists and engineers to evaluate the damage associated with a natural disaster within hours or days, rather than weeks or months. Many local, state and federal agencies agree that Airborne Laser Swath Mapping (ALSM, also known as LIDAR), Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), Hyperspectral Imaging (HI), Airborne Digital Imaging (ADI), and Land Based Laser Scanning (LBLS) all appear to offer opportunities to improve their disaster mitigation efforts. However, even in the academic community where there are many experts on each of the technologies, only limited research has been done on the optimal mix of technologies for natural disaster mitigation.

As the first university in the nation to own and operate an ALSM unit at a cost of $1.5M, and one of only a few academic institutions in the nation having a core faculty with broad knowledge and experience covering all of these techniques, the GEM Center at University of Florida leads the way in conducting the research needed to determine the optimal mix of space, airborne and land geosensing engineering technologies for natural hazard mitigation and in geosensing systems engineering.

The GEM Research Center, Geosensing Systems Engineering

Department of Civil & Coastal Engineering

124 Yon Hall, P.O. Box 116580, Gainesville, FL 32611

Tel: (352) 392-4999    Fax: (352) 392-5032