The Nelms Institute for the Connected World is named in honor of Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) alumnus Warren B. Nelms, a pioneering 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, have honored him by generously investing $5M to help create this institute. Their continued support has led to the establishment of two new IoT Endowed Professorships.
Nelms’ innovative spirit revealed itself early in his life—he invented an auto-dial system for telephones while still in high school. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Florida in 1959 and his Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1968. He went on to work for Westinghouse.
He started his own company, Computec, in 1981 and invented several devices, including Bluebox, a device to determine home energy use, cost, and efficiency, and the Watt Counter for educating the public about energy usage.
In Memoriam- Warren B. Nelms, 1937-2021
