The Warren B. Nelms Institute for the Connected World was established in 2017 to lead research and education in all aspects of the intelligent connection of things, processes, people, and data that address major world challenges including health, energy, transportation, and manufacturing. Since its inception, the Warren B. Nelms Institute for the Connected World has worked toward becoming a national leader in technology, applications, and workforce development in Internet of Things (IoT) Innovation and it’s convergence with Artificial Intelligence (AI), also known as AIoT. With billions of IoT-connected devices already in the world today—and billions more in the coming years—the institute is enabling University of Florida to remain at the forefront of this burgeoning field while fostering a critical mass of expertise in AIoT.
Mission
Together with industry, university, and government partners, the Warren B. Nelms Institute will develop broad, interdisciplinary Internet of Things (IoT) technologies and applications to create more secure and connected communities. To fuel the next industrial revolution, the Warren B. Nelms Institute will promote tech transfer, entrepreneurship, policy, education, and outreach in IoT and its integral components of sensors, low-power embedded processing, communication, networking, edge computing, data analytics, machine learning, security, privacy and trust.
Vision
As the AIoT field evolves, we focus on three core pillars that will drive the institute’s initiatives and momentum.
Pillar 1: Designing the Technology
The Warren B. Nelms Institute is developing core technologies and fundamental innovations in IoT hardware, software, intelligent edge computing, and AI algorithms tailored to edge devices. These fundamental technology drivers are the building blocks that allow researchers to address multifaceted challenges and specific needs of diverse applications.
Pillar 2: Developing Novel Applications
Leveraging elements from the technology toolbox, researchers can apply in a wide range of fields from healthcare to agriculture to autonomous vehicle exploration.
Pillar 3: Education & Workforce Development
AIoT is an evolving field and there is a growing need for a well-trained workforce pipeline. The Warren B. Nelms Institute not only works toward developing accessible, hands-on university curriculum, but also on creating ways to bring AIoT educating into K-12 academic programs and extracurriculars and reaching unique learners such as military veterans.
People
Thanks to a multi-disciplinary team of over 60 expert faculty and leading cohort of over 120 graduate and undergraduate researchers, the institute is exploring new ways to use connected IoT technology to solve major health, energy, transportation, environmental, and manufacturing issues while also remaining focused on the privacy and security of people utilizing smart devices.
Under the guidance of Dr. Swarup Bhunia, Director, Dr. My T. Thai, Associate Director, and the Nelms Institute Leadership team, the Warren B. Nelms Institute has developed broad AIoT technologies and applications to create more secure, efficient, and connected communities.
Leadership
Creating the Institute
The institute is named in honor of alumnus Warren B. Nelms, a pioneering engineer. His son and daughter-in-law, David and Daryl Nelms, honored him by generously investing $5M to create the institute. The Nelms Family’s continued supported has led to the creation of additional endowments within the institute.
More about Warren B. Nelms
Dr. Sachio Semmoto has a special relationship with the Warren B. Nelms Institute for the Connected World—he was instrumental in its creation and has continued to support it with a generous gift of $1.5M, creating the Semmoto Professorship of IoT.
More about Sachio Semmoto