When Nilver Tovar-Ospina ’26PhD came to 91�Թ��� to pursue a doctorate in environmental engineering, he expected to continue studying the environmental challenges he had explored in Colombia during his graduate studies. Instead, the Colombian native opened a new avenue of research in �����’s .

In Summer 2026, Tovar-Ospina became the first graduate of 91�Թ���’s integrative anthropological sciences doctoral program with a concentration in environmental anthropology. His research in environmental engineering examines how flooding and sea-level rise affect vulnerable communities in South Florida.

Tovar-Ospina found that while high-income, tourist-focused areas received substantial flood-protection infrastructure, historically lower-income communities continued to experience recurrent flooding that, in some places, had persisted for decades. He connected these contemporary disparities to earlier drainage and canalization projects, environmental changes and uneven infrastructure investment.

“Understanding what these communities are experiencing today is essential for developing more equitable risk assessments and adaptation strategies,” he says.

From Colombia to 91�Թ���

Tovar-Ospina’s interest in the field began years ago while working for a company that conducted environmental studies in Neiva, Colombia. His experience evaluating how hydrological companies, construction and projects can impact biodiversity and societies dependent on biodiverse resources deepened his interest in how environmental and social changes affect communities. It prompted him to explore these connections further from home, which led him to the 91�Թ��� Global Intensive English Program and eventually his doctoral program.

Focus of Research

During his doctoral studies, Tovar-Ospina began examining how flooding and sea-level rise affect communities in Miami-Dade County and why flood vulnerability is distributed so unevenly. Through 91�Թ��� Coastal, one of �����’s Faculty Cluster Initiatives (FCI), he connected his anthropological research with broader interdisciplinary conversations about coastal vulnerability and climate adaptation.

“I wanted to go beyond conventional flood-risk models and understand how flooding is actually experienced by the people living with it,” Tovar-Ospina says. “That meant combining ethnography and community knowledge with historical research, participatory mapping and GIS to understand not only where flooding occurs, but why vulnerability is so uneven.”

Tovar-Ospina’s dissertation, Architectures of Flooding: History, Power, and the Production of Flood Risk in Miami-Dade County, examined flooding not simply as a natural hazard but as a condition shaped by history, infrastructure, environmental transformation and funding. His research combined ethnography, interviews, participant observation, participatory mapping, historical research and GIS to connect residents’ lived experiences with the broader processes that have shaped flood vulnerability across Miami-Dade County.

To his surprise, some communities identified as highly exposed by conventional flood-risk models reported relatively limited experiences with recurrent flooding. Sea walls, coastal barriers and improved drainage systems helped protect some coastal communities, revealing a disconnect between modeled flood exposure and the lived experiences of residents.

Farther inland, Tovar-Ospina found lower-income communities experiencing recurrent flooding, including residents still recovering from hurricanes of the previous years. These experiences showed that elevation or proximity to the coast alone could not explain how flood risk was lived across Miami-Dade County.

Through participatory mapping, residents identified places where they repeatedly experienced flooding, allowing Tovar-Ospina to compare community knowledge with official representations of flood risk. The maps revealed recurrent flooding, drainage problems, mobility disruptions, and household impacts that conventional assessments did not always capture.

“Living with these low-income communities, I learned that residents were often offered ‘palliative solutions’ or short-term responses, like sandbags and water bottles, while they continued to call for longer-term adaptation strategies and infrastructure that could better protect them,” Tovar-Ospina says.

Awards and Accolades

Over the course of his doctoral program, Tovar-Ospina built an exceptional record of research and scholarship, receiving recognition at the university, national and international levels.

In 2026, his peer-reviewed article, “Tangible and Intangible Impacts of Flooding in Miami-Dade County: A Human-Centered Analysis,” was published in Human Ecology. He also received a Judges’ Choice Award at �����’s 2026 Student Scholar Symposium and the Best Paper Presentation Award at the International Conference on Environmental Anthropology and Sustainability in Paris.

Among his other recent accomplishments, he received the 2026 Laura Bassi Scholarship for his book manuscript, Architectures of Flooding: Unequal Ground in a Drowning County and was selected as one of nine international participants for the 2025 Climate Politics and Autocratization Conference at the University of Bergen in Norway.

A Pathway to Strengthen Florida’s Coastal Communities

Tovar-Ospina hopes his work will help direct greater attention and resources to those most affected.

“Communities need to be included in discussions, studies and assessments when developing climate-related policies to ensure their concerns are understood and addressed,” he says.

Tovar-Ospina also feels proud for paving the path for future students who are interested in environmental anthropology at 91�Թ���.

“Florida and other coastal areas have been affected by hurricanes and flooding,” he says. “We need more environmental anthropologists to ensure the knowledge and experiences of the most impacted communities are part of how these challenges are understood and addressed.”

“The new rankings reflect our focus on student success and faculty excellence and puts us one step closer to reaching our goal of becoming a 21st-century university committed to fueling the talent, ideas and innovation that will drive our community and state forward.”

The list shows the university’s upward trajectory in the number of programs on the top 100 list; there were 18 programs ranked in 2017. The rankings measure the quality of 800 schools’ faculty, research and students, and are based on peer and expert opinions.

“From our growing academic reputation to our successful athletic programs, the 91�Թ��� has made impressive gains over the last decade,” says Elizabeth A. Dooley, provost and vice president for academic affairs. “The new rankings reflect our focus on student success and faculty excellence and puts us one step closer to reaching our goal of becoming a 21st-century university committed to fueling the talent, ideas and innovation that will drive our community and state forward.”

�����’s top-ranked program this year, Emergency and Crisis��Management, tied for No. 7, above programs at Texas A&M University, American University and George Washington University. The program is under the direction of Associate Professor Claire Connolly Knox, who says the course builds on the strength of the faculty, advisory board and alumni who mentor students.

“Effective emergency and crisis management is vital for every community,” Knox says. “Since 2016, four��hurricanes — Matthew, Irma, Maria��and Michael — and three��mass casualty events��— Pulse nightclub,��Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School and Fort Lauderdale Airport —��have greatly impacted Florida communities. There is an��increasing need for��emergency management specialists��to expand��their knowledge, skills and abilities through an advanced degree so they can��more ethically manage emergencies and crises.”

The next highest 91�Թ��� rankings are the Nonprofit Management at No. 8 (moving up from 12) and��Counselor Education at No. 9 (moving up from 10).

Other programs ranked in the top 50 are:��Optics and Photonics (No. 12), Elementary Education (No. 22), Public Administration (No. 23), Criminal Justice (No. 26), Industrial Engineering (No. 36) and Health Administration (No. 46).

91�Թ��� programs with the biggest point-gain improvements this year were in nursing. �����’s master’s nursing school ranked No. 61 overall, moving up 26 points, and the Doctor of Nursing Practice ranked No. 72, improving by 29 points.

Other programs in the top 100 are:
Computer Engineering (No. 52)
Communication Sciences and Disorders (No. 53)
Electrical Engineering (No. 53)
Overall best public administration graduate school (No. 53)
Materials Science and Engineering (No. 57)
Physics (No. 61)
Environmental Engineering (No. 63)
Civil Engineering (No. 65)
Mechanical Engineering (No. 65)
Social Work (No. 70)
Overall best graduate engineering school (No. 75)
Overall best graduate education school (No. 78)
Computer Science (No. 82)
Overall medical research school (No. 88)
Part-time MBA (No. 89)

This was the first time in the top 100 for the part-time MBA, which includes both the 91�Թ��� Evening MBA and the 91�Թ��� Part-time Professional MBA.

Senior photonic science and engineering major Rafaela Frota beat out six other finalist companies with her concept for Wawwe (We Are What We Eat.) The mobile app uses data and algorithms to help people decide whether they should eat something based on their personal dietary needs.

The competition rewards students who develop solutions intended to impact society’s biggest problems.

In under seven minutes, finalists had to present the problem they intended to solve, the solution they planned to offer, and a sustainable and scalable business model that could deliver the solution. Then they had up to three minutes to answer questions from a panel of three judges, who selected winners based on criterion such as concept, social impact, context, performance measures and presentation.

“The inspiration for Wawwe came from my desire to help give confidence and support to people diagnosed with a diet restrictive illness and were feeling lost and overwhelmed,” says Frota, who came up with the idea at 14 after watching food documentaries such as Food Inc. “My dream is to work with hospitals across the nation to bring Wawwe to as many patients as possible and increase their health through easy access, easy to understand personalized nutrition.”

Frota was awarded a $2,500 scholarship from State Farm Insurance, which sponsors the contest. Second-place finishers took home $1,250 and third-placed earned $500 in scholarship funding.

About the Competition

�����’s Social Venture Competition differs from other business contests because at the core of each business is a greater purpose to serve individuals or a community. Cameron Ford, director of �����’s Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership and Blackstone LaunchPad, created the competition in 2015 to provide a platform for students to learn how to utilize entrepreneurship to address complex, social problems.

“One of the challenges with social ventures or enterprises is evaluating their success,” Ford says. “It’s a little bit different from a standard corporate [measurement,] like sales, revenue, number of customers and stuff like that. Here you’re looking at things a little more broadly, like impact, which can be pretty difficult to measure.”

“91�Թ��� has really paved the way for us to have access to so many more opportunities … and we’re incredibly grateful for that.” –��David Thomas Moran ’14MFA

Last year, texts and technology doctoral student��David Thomas Moran ’14MFA��and��art major��Nathan Selikoff ’04,��a Burnett Honors Scholar,��were able to overcome this challenge. They won the competition with their transportation tech startup Omnimodal. The platform merges real-time public transportation information with already existing navigation apps so users can use their phones to get around easier. Their win at 91�Թ��� led them to even greater success in the local community as they went on to win Central Florida’s Rally Social Enterprise Accelerator.

“The [Social Venture Competition] reminded Nathan and I that it’s so important to break out of our innovation silos and actively engage with all the incredible opportunity spaces across the Central Florida startup community here at 91�Թ��� and beyond,” says Moran.��“91�Թ��� has really paved the way for us to have access to so many more opportunities since we won last year and we’re incredibly grateful for that.”

This Year’s Winners

About thirty minutes before this year’s competition, two finalists realized they had similar ideas for their long-distance ride sharing app – down to the same statistics used in their presentation.�� Rather than compete against each other, senior information technology major Eliecer Vera and junior computer science major Breezy Baldwin recognized an opportunity to be more successful through partnership

“It was really bizarre how identical they were. We both realized that neither of us would be likely to win the competition if we had the exact same pitch, but that it applied to our companies as well. We both can’t go head-to-head in the exact same market,” says Baldwin.

“We both realized that neither of us would be likely to win the competition if we had the exact same pitch.” –��Breezy Baldwin, 91�Թ��� student

Within minutes Baldwin, who has been working on her idea for 18 months and Vera, who developed his four months ago, managed to successful merge their presentations and companies under the name Hchhkr (pronounced “hitchhiker”.) So much so that they earned second place. They plan to continue working together.

Third place was awarded to Connected Wise, a smart onboard device that aims to improve safety in rural areas by allowing drivers to communicate with one another about road conditions. The company’s founders, Enes Karaaslan and Burak Sen, developed the idea from the areas of focus in their civil engineering doctoral studies.

The Food Exchange, developed by junior finance major Aurora Pavlish-Carpenter and first-year environmental engineering major Talia Gratz, earned an honorable mention and received $250. The app focuses on reducing food waste by allowing users to trade their unwanted food with other users nearby.

Other Finalists

Three more companies qualified to present at the competition:

Students who are interested in pursuing any venture, social or otherwise, are encouraged to visit the Blackstone LaunchPad on the first floor of the Student Union to get one-on-one coaching from someone with experience or expertise.

Repeating from last year, the Counselor Education program earned �����’s highest ranking, moving up a notch to No. 9 nationally. The program prepares students for careers as counselors and practitioners in schools, community mental health agencies, hospitals, institutions and private practice.

“This ranking exemplifies the hard work of our Counselor Education faculty and staff and the progress we have achieved,” said Pamela S. Carroll, dean of the College of Education and Human Performance. “What an honor to be listed in the top 10 in the nation in this field.”

The next highest 91�Թ��� rankings were No. 14 for the atomic, molecular and optical sciences programs in the College of Optics & Photonics, and No. 17 for the Nonprofit Management program in the College of Health and Public Affairs, a jump of eight places.

Two more programs in the College of Health and Public Affairs were ranked in the top 50 – Criminal Justice (26) and Healthcare Management (38) –��and Industrial Engineering��was ranked at No. 39.

Others in the top 100 were: Communication Sciences and Disorders (53), Public Administration (63), Computer Engineering (64), Materials Science and Engineering (65), Electrical Engineering (66), Civil Engineering (75), Environmental Engineering (75), Social Work (78), College of Engineering & Computer Science (82), Physics (85), Medical Research (88), Computer Science (90), College of Education & Human Performance (91), and Doctor of Nursing Practice (100).

The Best Graduate Schools 2017 edition will be available on newsstands April 5.

The U.S. News rankings were announced one day after The Princeton Review and PC Gamer magazine named �����’s Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy the best video game graduate school in North America.

The Counselor Education program earned �����’s highest 2016 ranking at No. 10. The program prepares for careers as counselors and practitioners in schools, community mental health agencies, institutions, hospitals and private practice.

“We are extremely proud of the work being done by our faculty and staff in the area of Counselor Education, and pleased to acknowledge the recognition the program continues to receive on a national level,” said Grant Hayes, interim dean of the College of Education and Human Performance.

�����’s College of Optics and Photonics ranked No. 14 in the top atomic, molecular and optical sciences programs, and the Nonprofit Management program in the College of Health and Public Affairs was listed at No. 25.

Two other programs in the College of Health and Public Affairs made the top 50 – Criminal Justice (26) and Healthcare Management (39)��–��and Industrial Engineering��was ranked at 45th.

Others in the top 100 are: Electrical Engineering (52), Computer Engineering (58), Public Administration (59), ), Environmental Engineering (70), Communication Sciences and Disorders (73), Civil Engineering (74), College of Nursing (83), College of Education & Human Performance (83), College of Engineering & Computer Science (85), Physics (85), Social Work (89), Computer Science (90), Physical Therapy (99) and Mechanical Engineering (100).

The Best Graduate Schools 2016 edition will be available on newsstands April 7.

The program placed ninth in the nation in rankings released today, up two spots from last year. A second College of Education program – Special Education – ranked No. 16.

“It is gratifying to see our programs in Counselor Education and Special Education receive this recognition on a national stage,” said Dean Sandra L. Robinson of the College of Education. “Our faculty and staff bring passion and excellence to their work and that is reflected in the success of our students as well as our programs.”

Twenty-one 91�Թ��� programs were ranked in U.S. News & World Report‘s top-100 list of Best Graduate Schools for 2014. Today’s rankings are available online at usnews.com/best-graduate-schools, and the Best Graduate Schools 2014 guidebook will be available on newsstands beginning April 9.

�����’s College of Optics and Photonics ranked No. 13 among the nation’s atomic, molecular and optical sciences programs. The Nonprofit Management program in the College of Health and Public Affairs ranked No. 25.

Two other programs in the College of Health and Public Affairs also made the top 50 – Criminal Justice (26) and Healthcare Management (46) – along with the College of Engineering and Computer Science’s Industrial Engineering program, which moved up 13 places to No.35.

Others from 91�Թ��� in the top 100 of their specific fields are: Electrical Engineering (55), Computer Engineering (58), Public Administration (59), Environmental Engineering (64), Materials Engineering (70), College of Engineering & Computer Science (72), Communication Sciences and Disorders (73), College of Nursing (79), Social Work (89), Civil Engineering (90), Computer Science (91), College of Education (91), Mechanical Engineering (93) and Physical Therapy (99).

More than 1,200 programs are reviewed nationwide for the magazine’s annual graduate-school guide. Scores are based on expert opinions about programs and statistical indicators that reflect the quality of faculty, researchers and students at each institution.

The ninth-ranked 91�Թ��� Counselor Education program is designed to educate and prepare individuals interested in working as counselors and practitioners in schools, community mental health settings, institutions, hospitals, and private practice.

“This was a pretty fast progression, especially since many of the other programs in the top 10 have been there a long time,” said program director Bryce Hagedorn. “Our curriculum is designed with a heavy emphasis on experiential and clinical work for master’s students, and teaching research and supervision for doctoral students.”

Cuenya was recognized specifically for pioneering contributions to the understanding of processes taking place in metal nanocluster-catalyzed chemical reactions.

During her academic career Beatriz received an early CAREER award from the National Science Foundation (2005). She is the author of 31 peer-reviewed publications and three book chapters and has given more than 35 invited talks at international and national conferences and universities. She is also actively involved in high-school outreach activities providing research opportunities to local K-12 students. Within the AVS she is serving as associate editor of the Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology B and has taught an AVS-sponsored short course on nanophysics.