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FACULTY
After four decades of conducting research in geosystems engineering, Michael McVay, Ph.D., a University Term Professor in the Department of Civil & Coastal, retired and has been named professor emeritus.
Dr. McVay joined the department in December of 1981 as an assistant professor, he was promoted to associate professor in August of 1987. Dr. McVay was promoted to professor in December of 1996.
“We celebrate Dr. McVay’s 40-year career of dedicated teaching, impactful research and distinguished service. Students and colleagues describe him as an honest and devoted mentor who looks for solutions beyond the obvious. He thrives on the frontiers of research, pursuing the most demanding and emergent areas of geosystems engineering. His consistent commitment to seek new ways to mentor and embrace fresh challenges is inspiring, and his positive impacts on science and teaching are indelible. We are grateful he chose to spend his career at UF,” said Kirk Hatfield, a professor and director in ESSIE.
Prior to his tenure at UF, Dr. McVay earned his bachelor’s and master’s from the State University of New York Buffalo and his doctorate in civil engineering in 1982 from the University of Massachusetts.
His research began by focusing on flow through porous media, specifically phosphatic waste clay pond reclamation and gas flow through concrete. Then his studies shifted to soil-structure interaction, wave propagation, monitoring while drilling and geostatistics related to foundation design.
Dr. McVay has written multiple papers on instrumentation use and testing of soil and rock on a site for assessing properties and reducing uncertainty for improved designs and construction. In Sept. 1990, Dr. McVay was recognized by the American Society for Engineering Education as the South Eastern Best Engineering Paper for his research on the “Role of Geotechnical Engineer.” He received a letter of accommodation from the U.S. Air Force in June 1991 on his paper on “Identify Damage Mechanism to Airfield Aprons Due Synthetic Oils, Water and Heat.” Most recently, Dr. McVay was awarded in 2018 from the Florida Engineering Society GMEC “In Recognition of Outstanding Service to the Geotechnical and Materials Engineering Profession.”
“I most enjoyed teaching students as well as collaborating with students and colleagues on research that improves infrastructure design, construction and maintenance,” Dr. McVay said.
Throughout his career, he has mentored over 100 students. He has been a faculty advisor to more than 15 doctoral students, 10 post-doctoral students and 50 master’s students.
“Besides the teaching, research and publications, the interactions with my colleagues, and students from all over the world were very special. Likewise, receiving Christmas cards, phone calls, and emails from current and past students on their life, family and work are very special,” Dr. McVay said.
During retirement, Dr. McVay plans to visit all the national parks and the Bureau of Land Management from New Mexico to the Canadian border. He is interested in hiking and seeing wildlife in native habitats. After approximately a year of traveling, he plans to work on research with colleagues.
When asked about what he will miss most about UF after leaving the university, Dr. McVay responded, “I don’t think you can ever leave. I am a Gator for life.”
MCVAY NAMED PROFESSOR EMERITUS
by Reba Liddy
CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL GRAD PROGRAMS PLACED IN TOP 20 FOR THIRD STRAIGHT YEAR
by Reba Liddy
For the third year in a row, the Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment’s (ESSIE) Department of Civil & Coastal Engineering and Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences are ranked among the top 20 public universities, according to the 2022 U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools. The Civil Engineering graduate program jumped two spots, landing at No. 17.
“We view such rankings as one indicator of the impact of ESSIE’s focus on continual development of educational and research capacity,” said ESSIE Director Kirk Hatfield, Ph.D. “Our educational experiences have been enhanced by a growing population of research-active faculty who bring their latest discoveries and unique hands-on experience into the classroom and laboratory.” The Environmental Engineering Sciences graduate program was ranked at No. 18 among public universities, for a second consecutive year. ESSIE Associate Director Kurtis Gurley, Ph.D., credits the rankings as a result of a joint endeavor from School personnel.
“While we are encouraged by the national rankings that validate our sustained efforts, we reserve our pride for the collective efforts of our faculty, staff and students, and the culture of excellence, diversity and mutual respect they carry forward every day,” Dr. Gurley added.
ESSIE is a part of the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering at the University of Florida. The Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering is ranked among the Top 25 public graduate engineering schools in the U.S. and the No. 1 engineering school in the State of Florida.
THAT VALIDATE OUR
SUSTAINED EFFORTS,
WE RESERVE OUR
PRIDE FOR THE
COLLECTIVE EFFORTS
OF OUR FACULTY, STAFF AND STUDENTS,
- KURTIS GURLEY, PH.D.
COMBATTING COVID-19
Written by Reba Liddy
UF RESEARCHERS FIND VIABLE VIRUSES IN AEROSOLS THAT CAUSE COVID-19
In April of 2020, research from the University of Florida provided strong evidence that aerosol transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, may be possible.
Prior to these findings, the virus had been detected in aerosols, but there was a lack of direct evidence that the particles were actually viable (“culturable”)1, so at the time of discovery, the World Health Organization and other public health agencies have not emphasized aerosol transmission in their public health protection and mitigation guidance.
A team of UF researchers, led by John Lednicky, Ph.D., and ChangYu Wu, Ph.D., found that SARSCoV-2 in aerosols can be cultured, sparking the need to reevaluate safety protocols to reduce transmission in indoor spaces.
The researchers collected air samples that contained culturable SARS-CoV-2 from the air of a hospital room with COVID-19 patients. The team used a unique virus aerosol sampler, codeveloped with Aerosol Dynamics Inc., that gently collects airborne viruses and preserves their viability. The sampler uses water vapor condensation-based technology to efficiently collect virus aerosols, accomplishing a task not possible using other devices. They were able to obtain viable viruses more than 15 feet away from the patient, contained within the room, and they matched the virus in the air to that in a nasal swab from that patient. Once the samples were collected, Lednicky, an expert virologist and aerobiologist, was able to isolate the virus in cell cultures, resolving the long-standing question of whether SARS-CoV-2 can remain viable in aerosols.
“The air we breathe is full of microorganisms. A pathogen that you breathe poses no harm if it is not alive. For example, non-viable, or
COVID-19, just like a dead tiger can’t eat you. By showing that viable viruses are in the air, we show there is an inhalation risk. We are the first group to show this conclusively,” Lednicky said.
Importantly, virus was not located in hospital hallways or other areas, including the emergency room waiting room, showing the effectiveness of infection control practices.
The findings stimulated fervent discussion. Virginia Tech’s Linsey Marr, Ph.D., a leading expert on airborne virus transmission, calls it the “smoking gun.”
“Our research opens a new door for analyzing outbreaks due to respiratory viruses. It is especially valuable for those involving asymptomatic individuals or those who have mild symptoms, who are often missed by current epidemiology and surveillance practices during assessments of outbreaks caused by respiratory viruses. That is because those people are typically not tested, yet may be seeding the air with infectious virus particles that pose a risk to others. Instead of relying on human specimens, aerosol sampling is a noninvasive and
effective technique for collecting airborne respiratory viruses, and thus has many important and practical uses,” Wu said.
The key researchers of the multidisciplinary team include: Chang-Yu Wu, Ph.D., a professor in the Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure & Environment in the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering at UF; John Lednicky, Ph.D., a professor in the department of environmental and global health at the UF College of Public Health and Health Professions and a member of the UF Emerging Pathogens Institute; Michael Lauzardo, M.D., deputy director of the Emerging Pathogens Institute and J. Glenn Morris, M.D., director of the Emerging Pathogens Institute, both of whom are faculty members in the UF College of Medicine; and Thomas B. Waltzek, Ph.D., an associate professor in the department of infectious diseases & immunology at the UF College of Veterinary Medicine and a member of the Emerging Pathogens Institute.
1Viable: In virology, the term ‘viable’ is used instead of ‘live’. To determine if virus is viable, it must be isolated (“cultured”) in a susceptible animal or in laboratory cell cultures. For further information on the study, visit https://www.medrxiv.org/ content/10.1101/2020.08.03.20167395v1.
MEASURING THE NEW NORMAL POST COVID-19
The coronavirus pandemic forced the world to shut down, now, as America continues to reopen, people are adjusting to a new normal.
Eric Jing Du, Ph.D., an associate professor, plans to examine and predict changes to people’s mobility behavior with a Rapid Response Research (RAPID) Award from the National Science Foundation. Dr. Du is collaborating with Ryan Qi Wang, Ph.D., at Northeastern University. The ultimate goal is to enable improved citizens’ preparation and public agencies’ responses to future public health crises. “A person’s daily trip decisions can be affected by a variety of motivational, decisional and sentimental factors, such as the sense of urgency for going out, concerns about the coronavirus spread, news coverage and social influence,” Dr. Du said.
A smartphone app developed by Dr. Du and his
A smartphone app developed by Dr. Du and his students, Tianyu Zhou, Qi Zhu and Paul Wei. The app captured Twitter geographical data to detect where people went on a daily basis.
students, Tianyu Zhou, Qi Zhu and Paul Wei.
Dr. Du worked with his students–Tianyu Zhou, Qi Zhu and Paul Wei–to develop a smartphone mobile app to send daily high-frequency surveys to users and obtain location data through the built-in GPS tracker. He plans to cross-reference the app’s results with the individual’s geolocation data captured from Twitter to gather information.
Based on the results of the attitudinal data with people’s daily GPS results, Dr. Du will build machine learning models. The mathematical model will be used to display a trajectory of the public’s mobility pattern changes during the pandemic as changing conditions influence attitudes correlated to travel decisions.
“This is important because the general public can be better informed of safer travel behaviors, such as avoiding certain areas at certain times in the day and the use of personal protective equipment when using public transport. Public agencies can use our data and model to help predict the development of the pandemic and investigate strategies to encourage safer behaviors related to daily travels,” Dr. Du said.
The project gathered data from roughly 500 individuals over a 12-month period. Participants consented to releasing their geolocation information for research purposes. Participation in this research is voluntary and adheres to UF Institutional Review Board compliance guidelines.
When his study concluded in April 2021, Dr. Du found that the mobility pattern showed a vast increase from the previous year. Since the pandemic ensued,
Americans traveled much more that spring than any other time period.
He also found that trust in the government’s information and political positions are the most significant indicators in daily travel decision-making.
“Travel was significantly affected by the political position, with republicans traveling 23% farther than the democrats in 2020. And in 2021, the republicans traveled 110% more than democrats,” Dr. Du said. Other notable factors in determining someone’s willingness to travel include gender, education status, stress levels, demographic groups, perception of COVID-related information and socioeconomic status.
The findings of this research will help build more accurate mobility prediction models when there is another prevalent widespread event. Dr. Du added, “It will help affected communities make easier and informed decisions such as avoiding the at-risk locations and at risk timepoints of travels. Also, our research will inform better mitigation strategies, which will assist with improved response plans for local and federal government.”
Since this project’s conclusion, Dr. Du will work with Ryan Wang, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Northeastern University, on the next phase of this study. They are using the app to collect big data on travel behaviors to see if they derive from biases and uncertainties.
