Archives: Faculties

Clarissa Carr

Clarissa Carr

Historic Preservation Program
Research Assistant Professor
352-294-9141
ARCH 146
clcarrdi@ufl.edu

Research Interests:

  • Preservation of Mid-century Modern and the recent past
  • Values and significance in preservation
  • Memory and nostalgia

Clarissa Carr has over ten years of professional experience in historic preservation, exhibit design, and public outreach and education. She is responsible for day-to-day program operations as well as the graphic development of grant and project deliverables. A 2010 Preservation Institute Nantucket (PIN) alumna, Ms. Carr is responsible for PIN program marketing and enrollment.

She received her Bachelor of Interior Design in 2011 with a minor in Landscape Architecture and Master’s in Interior Design in 2013 from the University of Florida with graduate certificates in Historic Preservation, Museum Studies, and Web Design and Online Communication. She is in the process of completing a Ph.D. in Historic Preservation focusing on a prolific Mid-century Modern architect and professor who specialized in intertwining the built and natural environments.

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Changjie Chen

Changjie Chen

Department of Urban and Regional Planning
Assistant Scientist
ARCH 160
chj.chen@ufl.edu

Changjie is a planner and statistician whose research emphasis is directed at the simulation of future land-use scenarios and transportation modeling by integrating spatial analytics, High-Performance Computing (HPC), and Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms.

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Carla Brisotto

Carla Brisotto

School of Architecture, Florida Institute for Built Environment Resilience (FIBER)
Assistant Director and Assistant Scholar
352-213-7293
ARCH 160
c.brisotto@ufl.edu
https://dcp.ufl.edu/fiber/

Ph.D. in Design, Construction, Planning, University of Florida, College of Design, Construction, and Planning
Degree in Architecture, Università IUAV di Venezia

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Areas of Focus:

Productive Landscape, Placemaking and Placekeeping, Qualitative Research, Community Design and Planning, Storytelling

Bio:

Dr. Brisotto is an interdisciplinary researcher, urban theorist, and licensed architect from Italy. Currently, she serves as the Assistant Director and Assistant Scholar at the Florida Institute for Built Environment Resilience (FIBER) at the University of Florida (UF). Brisotto holds a Ph.D. in Design, Construction, and Planning from UF and an Architecture degree from the University IUAV of Venice. At the core of Brisotto’s research lies the intersection of urbanism and environmental narratives. Her research focuses on productive landscapes and climate change’s asymmetric impacts on populations and their environments through both contemporary and historical lenses. More recently, she has been conducting research that examines how people engage in self-resilient practices of disaster coping mechanisms. Her main roles at FIBER include working closely with communities within the Florida Resilient Cities program. Her goals include supporting local capacity building, communicating highly technical and scientific research to residents, and educating about community resiliency to facilitate collaborations and partnerships. Additionally, she encompasses the same objective as Program Director of GatorCorps bringing AmeriCorps members across the region to serve communities facing climate risks.

Brisotto has published a book, ‘Re-Imagining Resilient Productive Landscapes: Perspectives from Planning History,’ along with book chapters, double-peer-reviewed papers, proceedings, and presentations at several national and international conferences. She has been teaching History and Theory of Architecture, Urban Design and Planning, and seminars on Spatial Justice. Beyond UF, Brisotto has collaborated with institutions like Morgan State University, Politecnico di Milano, and Drury University, emphasizing a commitment to teaching, research, and service in urban design.

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Xingjing Xu

Xingjing Xu

Department of Urban and Regional Planning
Research Assistant Scientist
352-295-8799
ARCH 416
axuxinjing@ufl.edu

University of Florida, PhD Urban Planning, 2021
University of Florida, M.S. Statistics, 2019
Bauhaus University, M.S. Advanced Urbanism, 2014
Tongji University, Master of Engineering, Urban Planning, 2014
Tongji University, Bachelor of Engineering, Urban Planning and Design, 2011

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RESEARCH AREAS

• Transportation safety
• Geospatial analysis
• Urban planning and design
• Automation of GIS

BIO

Xingjing Xu has joined the University of Florida Department of Urban and Regional Planning in 2022 as a Research Assistant Scientist. She has extensive experience in transportation safety analysis and geospatial techniques in urban planning and design. Her research work includes transportation safety studies and automated GIS application developments.

She received her Ph.D. with a concentration in urban planning and a Master of science in statistics from University of Florida. She also holds a Bachelor and a Master of Engineering in urban planning and design from Tongji University. She worked as an urban planner at Shanghai Tongji Urban Planning & Design Institute, and her practitioner work includes urban design and ecocity technologies.

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Nicholas Serrano

Nicholas Serrano

Department of Landscape Architecture
Assistant Professor
(352) 392-4836
ARCH 430
nicholas.serrano@ufl.edu

• Ph.D., North Carolina State University, 2022
• MLA, Ball State University, 2011
• BS, North Carolina State University, 2007

Nicholas Serrano came to UF from the Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture at Louisiana State University where he holds the Neil Odenwald Professorship. He has a Bachelor of Science in horticulture from North Carolina State University, a Master of landscape architecture from Ball State University, and a Ph.D. in the design program at North Carolina State University. Nicholas has taught introductory ecology, ornamental landscape plants, planting design, and various histories of the built environment at North Carolina State University and Ball State University.  His main research project looks at the history of landscape architecture and urban development of the American South. His writing spans the disciplines of Landscape and Environmental History, Southern Studies, and Material Culture to consider the construction of racial identity through the built environment. His secondary research and teaching interests are in contemporary planting design and horticultural technologies in landscape architecture.

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Gabriel Castelblanco

Gabriel Castelblanco

M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Construction Management
Assistant Professor
352-273-0563
RINKER 315
gabriel.castelbl@ufl.edu

PhD, Universidad de los Andes, 2022

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Google Scholar | LinkedIn | ResearchGate

Before joining Rinker, Dr. Gabriel Castelblanco was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Management Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Turin in Italy, Lecturer and ad-hoc researcher in the School of Engineering at the University of Central Lancashire (UK). He taught Project Management and Construction Project Management. He has collaborated with universities in Latin America (Chile and Colombia), Europe (the Netherlands, the UK, and Italy), and an Australian research center (CSIRO – Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation). Dr. Castelblanco also worked as a practitioner for more than eight years in Real Estate Project Management.

His research focuses on decision support systems, governance, and risk analysis for alternative project deliveries. He has published over 20 peer-reviewed papers in the fields of P3s and project finance. He is also an Associate Member of the ASCE and a reviewer for its Journal of Management in Engineering and the Journal of Construction Engineering and Management. His experience as a project management practitioner adds value to his academic role to guide students in combining theoretical principles with real-world experience. He encourages students’ collaborative problem-solving approach in an environment where making mistakes is safe, which empowers them to bring their experiences and prior knowledge to the class.

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Renee Tapp

Renee Tapp

Department of Urban and Regional Planning
Assistant Professor
352-294-1485
ARCH 450
ctapp@ufl.edu

PhD, Clark University, 2018

Renee Tapp is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Florida. Dr. Tapp’s research and teaching interests focus on the political economy of housing and real estate. Her current projects examine (1) the impact of institutional real estate investment in rental housing markets; (2) changes to the ownership and management of government real property; and (3) the municipal housing bond market and the relationship between public and private finance.

Her work has been published in a range of journals, including Antipode; City; Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space; Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space; Geoforum; and Urban Geography. The National Science Foundation, the Urban Studies Foundation, the Harvard University Real Estate Research Grant program, and the Government Finance Research Center at the University of Illinois Chicago have funded her research.

Before joining the University of Florida, she was an Urban Studies Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Illinois Chicago and a Pollman Fellow in Real Estate and Urban Development at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. She completed her PhD in Geography at Clark University in 2018.  

 

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Kyle Dost

Kyle Dost

Department of Urban and Regional Planning
Instructional Assistant Professor
352-294-1486
ARCH 441
kyledost@ufl.edu

• Ph.D., University of Florida, Currently Pursuing
• Master of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Florida, 2017
• Bachelor of Science in Environmental Policy and Planning, Virginia Tech University, 2015

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Kyle is faculty with the University of Florida’s Department of Urban and Regional Planning where he serves as Program Director for the Master of Urban and Regional Planning online degree program. His role involves strategic program administration, fiscal management, and direct engagement with students through advising, internship placement, and professional development. He teaches URP 3001, Cities of the World, and leads students on international study abroad experiences.

Kyle is AICP certified and currently serves as Professional Development Officer for the Sun Coast section of the American Planning Association. He has hosted a variety of professional events for the Section, including AICP trivia and webinars as well as a webinar on Artificial Intelligence in Planning.

His primary areas of knowledge include planning education, natural resource management, international development, and community resilience. He holds a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Florida and a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Policy and Planning from Virginia Tech.

Kyle is currently pursuing his doctorate at University of Florida.

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Dennis Mitterer

Dennis Mitterer

M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Construction Management
Fire and Emergency Services Instructional Professor & Advisor
352-273-1084
RINKER 336
dmitterer@ufl.edu

Dr. Mitterer completed his Ph.D. in Leadership and Organizational Change from Walden University focusing on the effects of a leader’s behavior on employee job satisfaction, productivity, engagement and turnover. Mitterer draws on social science theories to develop future leaders in the Fire and Emergency Services Program at Rinker School. Dr. Mitterer has extensive practical experience in leadership in the private sector, health care, emergency services, and in higher education.  

Dr. Mitterer has published numerous articles on diverse subjects related to safety in emergency services, risk management, the use of technology in the delivery of patient care, and leadership’s effect on trust and psychological safety. He has also published books on Personal Wellness, Finance, and Risk Management.  

Prior to joining UF, full time, Mitterer taught at Lebanon Valley College, Immaculata College, and the Pennsylvania College of Health. He earned his master’s degree in Management from Penn State University, Smeal Business College, bachelor’s degree from Penn State University, in nursing, and a bachelor’s degree in business from Elizabethtown College.  

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