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At FIU, we search the world for real solutions to global problems. From the Everglades in South Florida to the Arctic Ocean at the North Pole, FIU researchers are using real innovation to make a real difference.

As South Florida’s only public research university, our drive to make our world a better place has earned us a distinction few other universities can match: R1 Carnegie Very High Research Designation, the top-tier category for doctoral research universities.

Learn more about FIU Research

Research By the Numbers

  • $281.6M

    FY 2022 research expenditures

  • 90

    invention disclosures

  • 77

    U.S. patent applications

Research in Action

Aquarius Reef Base 

The world’s only underwater research laboratory, where FIU is working to preserve vital ecosystems. To  date, Aquarius has secured more than $15M in research funding, established the world’s deepest coral nursery and investigated sharks’ impact on  coral reefs — helping FIU to earn R1 research status.

 

Wall of Wind 

FIU’s 14-foot-high, 12-fan Hurricane Simulator recreates the power of 157mph winds to better protect our coastal communities from life-threatening storms.  Cutting edge research at the Wall of Wind is helping to inform building standards, foster new technologies, and decrease the vulnerabilities of our buildings, lifelines and infrastructure systems.

 

Arctic Ocean Research

FIU researchers are taking 'fingerprints' of the Arctic Ocean to better predict the trajectory of changes to the area’s  geochemistry. The   National Science Foundation (NSF) invested approximately $20 million in the U.S. Arctic GEOTRACES expedition where FIU  is conducting this research.

COVID-19 Prediction Dashboard 

FIU professor M. Hadi Amini, and his research team at FIU, have created a dashboard that can predict the number of cases and deaths from COVID-19 worldwide. Amini is using Spatiotemporal data collection which is the same method used to uncover weather patterns, hurricane predictions and climate change trends. 

 

Origami Antennas

The Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) has awarded FIU an additional $4.82 million to expand its groundbreaking research on origami antennas. FIU Professor Stavros  Georgakopoulos  is the inventor and lead investigator   for  the development  of the advanced origami-based antenna technologies for the Air Force and Department of Defense.

 

Neural-Enabled Prosthetic Hand 

FIU  professor  Ranu  Jung and her team have been awarded a $6 million grant by the Department of Defense (DOD) to expand testing of their pioneering prosthetic hand system – which allows amputees to "feel" again – to military veterans and other amputees.