Archives: Faculties

Vivian Wong

Vivian Wong

M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Construction Management
Assistant Professor
352-846-7051
RINKER 344
vivian.wong@ufl.edu

Publications

Google Scholar

Biography

Vivian Wong holds a Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering and a minor in Computer Science from Stanford University, with research interests in the interface of data-driven methods and urban systems. Her research combines spatio-temporal analysis with practical implementations to manage the flow of people, goods and services in space and through time, with the overarching goal of establishing a safe, efficient and inclusive urban societal system. She received her bachelor’s in Civil Engineering from UIUC in 2017 and her master’s in Civil Engineering from Stanford in 2019.

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Aishwarya Shankar

Aishwarya Shankar

Department of Landscape Architecture
Instructional Assistant Professor
(352) 294-1446
AH 436
shankaraishwarya@ufl.edu

Shankar has been a practicing architect and landscape architect in India since 2016. Most recently, her research with the New York State Water Resources Institute at Cornell University was on equity in water infrastructure, advancing climate adaptation tools in landscape design and planning, and conducting research and outreach to support communities in implementing flood resilience projects. Shankar’s teaching and research interests lie in the use of design communication to reframe the role of the landscape architect in decolonial processes.

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Changjie Chen

Changjie Chen

Department of Urban and Regional Planning
Assistant Scientist
AH 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
Assistant Professor in Urbanism at the School of Architecture
AH 2023
c.brisotto@ufl.edu

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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Biography

CARLA BRISOTTO, Ph.D. is a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Resilient Urbanism at the University of Florida’s School of Architecture, where she leads design-driven research at the intersection of urbanism, cultural landscape, and climate adaptation. Winner of the International Planning History Society’s First Prize for her co-edited book Re-Imagining Resilient Productive Landscapes: Perspectives from Planning History (Springer, 2022) and the 2026 Columbia University/ACSA Course Development Prize, Brisotto brings a distinctive transatlantic perspective to questions of how designing urban spaces that absorb, adapt to, and recover from hazards disruption.

Trained as an architect at the University IUAV of Venice and holding a Ph.D. in Design, Construction, and Planning from UF, Brisotto has built a research program that moves fluidly between historical analysis and on-the-ground community engagement. Her recent work investigates self-resilient practices and disaster coping mechanisms as generative design strategies, with ongoing fieldwork in coastal Florida and reclaimed agricultural landscapes in southern Italy. As Principal Investigator of a US Department of State–funded bilateral research program and Co-PI on the NASEM GatorCorps CREATE grant, her projects translate rigorous scholarship into actionable tools for local governments and communities. Through the Urban Futures Workshop, she advances interdisciplinary urban design practice directly with communities navigating climate transition.

Design Lead at the Florida Institute for Built Environment Resilience (FIBER) and affiliated faculty of both the UF Florida Sea Grant and the UF Water Institute, Brisotto is a featured researcher at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 Italian Pavilion with the ReclaiMEDland project. Her scholarship spans Springer and Routledge volumes, peer-reviewed journals, and presentations at venues from the Natural Hazards Workshop to the AAG Annual Meeting and EDRA.

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Xingjing Xu

Xingjing Xu

Department of Urban and Regional Planning
Research Assistant Scientist
352-295-8799
AH 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
AH 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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Publications

Google Scholar | LinkedIn | ResearchGate

Biography

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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Kyle Dost

Kyle Dost

Department of Urban and Regional Planning
Instructional Assistant Professor
352-294-1486
AH 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 203
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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