The 2025 Atlantic hurricane season begins on June 1, and forecasters are predicting an above-average year. Several Florida Atlantic University faculty experts are available to discuss a range of hurricane-related topics such as preparedness, evacuation planning, storm impacts and post-disaster recovery.

• Anthony Abbate is a professor and director of the MetroLAB in the School of Architecture within the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters. Abbate is knowledgeable in materials and methods of construction, and architectural design for climate and adaptation to climate change. Abbate has been licensed to practice architecture in Florida since 1985 and has completed building evaluations including damage assessments. He also is certified for Disaster Service Essential Emergency Duties. Abbate can be reached at aabbate@fau.edu.
• Fred Bloetscher , Ph.D., is a professor and associate dean for undergraduate studies and community outreach in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatics Engineering within the College of Engineering and Computer Science. Bloetscher is knowledgeable on water and wastewater technology; groundwater wells, flow and contaminant transport; wastewater disposal practices and risk assessment; sustainable water resource planning and management; environmental engineering; and utility management. Bloetscher can be reached at fbloetsc@fau.edu.
• Tiffany Roberts Briggs , Ph.D., is chair and an associate professor in the Department of Geosciences within the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. Roberts Briggs is knowledgeable on hurricane impacts, coastal geomorphology, and sedimentology with emphasis on the beach dune and nearshore environments. Roberts Briggs can be reached at briggst@fau.edu.
• Jason O. Hallstrom , Ph.D., is the executive director of FAU’s Sensing Institute (I-SENSE) and a professor in the College of Engineering and Computer Science. FAU I-SENSE is the lead technology provider for the South East Atlantic (SEA) Econet, a large, multi-state network of atmospheric monitoring stations, managed in collaboration with Coastal Carolina University. The volumes of data collected by the network are used by the National Weather Service to drive its weather forecasting systems throughout Florida and the Atlantic coast. FAU I-SENSE manages a network of more than 150+ atmospheric stations and 30+ water level stations in Florida – with additional stations managed outside the state. Hallstrom can be reached at jhallstrom@fau.edu.
• Jeffrey E. Huber is a professor in the School of Architecture within FAU’s Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters. His interdisciplinary work spans ecological, landscape, urban and architectural design, with a focus on public projects that address pressing environmental and social challenges. Huber’s current research explores sea level rise and climate adaptation strategies in South Florida. He is a national leader in advancing sustainability education and resilient design practices through both academic and professional platforms. A Fellow of the American Institute of Architects – an honor awarded to only 3% of AIA’s 100,000 members – he has been recognized with the AIA National Young Architect Award (2017) and the prestigious Bethune Fellowship (2024). He also received the Tau Sigma Delta Gold Medal from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, the highest national honor for architecture practitioners, in 2024. Huber’s work has garnered more than 80 national design awards, including a 2018 AIA National Honor Award for Salty Urbanism, a sea level rise design research initiative. Published in 2024, Salty Urbanism continues to serve as a critical resource in climate resilience discourse. Huber can be reached at  huberj@fau.edu. 
• Erik Johanson , Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Geosciences within the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. Johanson is knowledgeable on environmental change, climate stressors, human impact on environments, and fire histories. Johanson’s Environmental Change Laboratory often collects and analyzes sediment cores from lakes and wetlands in Central and South America, the Caribbean and Florida. Johanson can be reached at ejohanson@fau.edu.
• Brian Lapointe , Ph.D., is a research professor at FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute. He is an algal physiologist and biochemist with research expertise in seagrass and coral reef ecology, marine bio-invasions and marine conservation. His research is focused on the causes and consequences of excessive nutrients and algal growth in freshwater and marine environments, using techniques that identify the nutrient(s) fueling the growth, which aids identification of sources and solutions. He studies the macroalgae Sargassum spp. and the complex ecosystem it hosts in the Gulf of America, Sargasso Sea and Caribbean region. He is knowledgeable about how hurricanes impact water quality and harmful algal blooms. Lapointe can be reached at blapoin1@fau.edu.
• Melina Matos , Ph. D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning within the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. She has more than 10 years of experience as a planning practitioner with local and state governments. Matos has actively participated in the plan-making process, land use planning, floodplain management, disaster mitigation, climate adaptation, resilience planning and community engagement. She specializes in disaster recovery, climate adaptation and community resilience. Her research interest focuses on developing and deploying strategies to create innovative, sustainable and resilient communities. Matos has been working on community engagement efforts within the Center of Excellence for Risk-Based Community Resilience Planning and on several resilience grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
• Diana Mitsova , Ph.D., is a professor and chair of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, and John DeGrove Eminent Scholar Chair in Growth Management and Development within the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. Her research focuses on the use of geographic information systems and spatial and statistical analysis to understand the interactions between the built and natural environments to inform sustainable urban planning and environmental practices. She has expertise on topics related to flood mitigation, infrastructure resilience, shoreline stabilization and healthy aging. Mitsova can be reached at dmitsova@fau.edu.
• Colin Polsky , Ph.D., is the associate vice president for FAU’s three Broward campuses and a professor of geosciences in FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. He founded FAU’s School of Environmental, Coastal, and Ocean Sustainability (ECOS) and served as director of the FAU Center for Environmental Studies (CES) from 2014 to 2024. Polsky is an environmental social scientist whose research and teaching examine how people create, perceive and respond to environmental challenges. Trained as a geographer, he is knowledgeable on sea level rise, flood risk perception and climate change vulnerability assessments. Polsky can be reached at cpolsky@fau.edu.
• Peter Ricci , Ed.D., is a clinical professor and director of FAU’s hospitality and tourism management program within the College of Business. He is a hospitality industry veteran with more than 25 years of managerial experience in segments including: food service, lodging, incentive travel and destination marketing. Ricci can discuss how hurricanes affect hospitality and tourism, and his areas of expertise include guest service/customer service, hotel management, and hospitality and tourism trends. Ricci can be reached at ricci@fau.edu.
• James Sullivan , Ph. D., is the executive director of FAU Harbor Branch. Sullivan is knowledgeable on marine ecosystem health and researches the ecology and physiology of phytoplankton (commonly called algae), and in particular, the algae that create harmful algal blooms and their negative effects on ecosystems and human health (toxins, hypoxia/anoxia, wildlife kills, etc.). Sullivan can be reached at jsullivan@fau.edu.
• Yijie Zhu , Ph.D., is an assistant professor of climate science in the Department of Geosciences within the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. He has been actively studying the spatial and temporal patterns of tropical cyclone post-landfall intensity decay process using the best-track data. Zhu’s work also involves the use of the Weather Research and Forecasting model to investigate the environmental factors that contribute to the destructive wind footprint from hurricanes as they move inland. Zhu can be reached at yijiezhu@fau.edu .

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