The Warren B. Nelms Institute for the Connected World celebrated its 5th Anniversary in January 2022.
Since its inception in 2017, the Warren B. Nelms Institute for the Connected World has become a national leader in the education and research on Internet of Things (IoT) Innovation. Under the leadership of Dr. Swarup Bhunia, Director, and Dr. My T. Thai, Associate Director, the Warren B. Nelms Institute has developed broad IoT technologies and applications to create more secure, efficient, and connected communities.
Thanks to its expert faculty and leading cohort of graduate and undergraduate researchers, the institute is exploring new ways to use connected IoT technology to solve major health, energy, transportation and manufacturing issues while also remaining focused on the privacy and security of people utilizing smart devices. With billions of IoT-connected devices already in the world today—and billions more in the coming years—the institute will enable UF to remain at the forefront of this burgeoning field while creating a critical mass of expertise at the convergence of AI and IoT.
The Warren B. Nelms Institute for the Connected World is named in honor of Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) alumnus Warren B. Nelms, a New Engineer who built his own solar “smart” house where he raised his children – who both went on to become UF engineers as well. His son and daughter-in-law, David and Daryl Nelms, honored him by generously investing $5M to help create this institute. Learn more about Warren B. Nelms.
Dr. Sachio Semmoto was also instrumental in the creation of the institute and has continued to support it with a generous gift of $1.5M, creating the Semmoto Professorship of IoT. The Semmoto Endowed Professor also serves as the director of the Institute. Learn more about Sachio Semmoto.
The Warren B. Nelms Institute stands at the convergence of research, education, workforce development and the University of Florida’s commitment to becoming a global force in the 4th Industrial Revolution.
“The Institute has convened a team of talented researchers to pursue truly transformative research in IoT. We are developing innovative and impactful technologies that improve lives and transform industries. Warren’s bold vision for intelligent automation and his enduring legacy are constantly inspiring our faculty and students to develop technology solutions designed to solve global problems.”
– Dr. Swarup Bhunia, Semmoto Endowed Professor of IoT & Director, Warren B. Nelms Institute
As part of the 5th Anniversary celebration, David, Daryl, and Patsy Nelms visited the University of Florida campus to learn about some of the incredible things the institute is doing. During the Research Poster Session, over 20 students were able to showcase their work to the Nelms family, faculty members, and other students. Many students presented live demonstrations of their research, including a wearable health monitoring device, automotive security technology, a device for the detection of counterfeit medicine, and an adaptive vision camera.
