Dr. Jules Bruck
Director, School of Landscape Architecture and Planning
Chair and Professor, Landscape Architecture
Office: AH 431A
Contact
(352) 294-3859
jbruck@ufl.edu
Research Affiliations:
Research Specialization(s):
- Land Use Modeling and Ecosystem Service Valuation
- Stakeholder & Community Engagement
- Master Planning for Resilience
Dr. Jules Bruck, FASLA, PLA, is the Director of the School of Landscape Architecture and Planning, and Chair and Professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Florida. Prior to this role, she was the Founding Director of the Landscape Architecture Program at the University of Delaware, which she established in 2016. In 2018, Dr. Bruck partnered with Delaware state agencies, faculty, and community members to launch the Coastal Resilience Design Studio (CRDS)—an innovative academic initiative that offers interdisciplinary undergraduate internships focused on designing resilience strategies for coastal communities. CRDS has earned both national and state recognition for its impact, which includes catalyzing infrastructure investment, stimulating local economic development, and shaping land use policy. Several award-winning CRDS projects now serve as the foundation for her research at UF, where she has secured over $2M in awards since her hiring in 2022 to collaborate with multidisciplinary teams and mentor students to advance large-scale, nature-based infrastructure planning and applied design.
Dr. Bruck has served as Principal Investigator (PI) and Co-PI on projects funded by agencies such as the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, NOAA’s Sea Grant, and the Delaware Department of Transportation. She has guided numerous student teams to national awards.
She teaches advanced design studios and courses in creativity, design process, and ecological planting design, while also mentoring both graduate students and undergraduate honors students. A registered landscape architect, Dr. Bruck was elected to the Council of Fellows of the American Society of Landscape Architects in 2024.
Education
- Ph.D. in Agricultural Education | Texas A&M University
- MA in Horticulture | Penn State University
- BS in Landscape Contracting | Penn State University
Select Research Publications
Sadaf, A., Bruck, J. & Tahmasebi, M.* (pre-published). Coastal resilience through nature-
based solutions – A GIS suitability analysis model for living shorelines at Aberdeen Proving
Ground, Maryland. Journal of Ecological Informatics. Manuscript Number: ECOINF-S-24-
01422
Tahmasebi, M., Bruck, J., Alakshendra, A., Tepe, E., Volk, M., Puleo, J.& Doran, D. (2025)
Coastal carbon at risk: forecasting the impacts of sea-level rise on future land
cover. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. V13.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2025.1608422
Donner, B.*, Bruck, J., & Manley, D. (2025, May 27–31). Generating green infrastructure
strategies for the coastal city of Lewes, Delaware. In EDRA56 Conference Proceedings.
Halifax, Canada: Environmental Design Research Association. (EDRA Best Paper Award,
2025)
Sadaf, A., Bruck, J. & Tahmasebi, M.* (2025). A comparative evaluation of GIS spatial analysis
tools for prioritizing natural and hybrid shoreline solutions. Annals of GIS.
Everett, C.L., Williams, O., Ruggiero, E.*, Larner, M., Schaefer, R., Malej, M., Shi, F., Bruck, J.,
& Puleo, J.A. (2022). Ship wake forcing and performance of a living shoreline segment on an
estuarine shoreline. Frontiers in the Built Environment.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fbuil.2022.917945
Bruck, J., Ruggerio, E.*, Wik, A. (2022). Wilmington, DE, in Landscape architecture for sea
level rise: Innovative global solutions. Ed. Galen Newman and Zixu Qiao. Routledge,
NY. ISBN: 978-1-0005-5560-8
Fogarty, E*., & Bruck, J. (2021). Marian Coffin Gardens at Gibraltar (Images of America).
Arcadia Publishing. ISBN: 978-1-4671-0754-9
Garcia, C. S. G., Paiva, P. D. O., Bruck, J., & Sousa, R. B. (2021). Distribution of urban green spaces: Comparative analysis between cities in different countries. Ornamental Horticulture, 27(1), 8–19.
https://doi.org/10.1590/2447-536X.v27i1.2151
Student Researchers
Ph.D.
Mojtaba Tahmasebi | Land Use Modeling & Ecosystem Service Valuation, Master Planning for Resilience
Chris Bonura | Master Planning for Resilience
Holly Abeels | Stakeholder & Community Engagement
Master’s
Spencer Asofsky | Master Planning for Resilience
Veronica Cancio | Stakeholder & Community Engagement
Undergraduate
Sophia Ward | Master Planning for Resilience
Desi-Roch Hernandez | Master Planning for Resilience
Amaia Morgan | Master Planning for Resilience
Significant Projects
*Ph.D. or master’s student
Bruck, J., Lewandowski, E., Bromley, D., Fettke von Koeckritz, C., Muldrow, L., Pilotte, D.,
McCune, R., Ganyon, K. (2021). Carbon in the Tidewater.
https://bpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/sites.udel.edu/dist/7/9849/files/2022/02/UD-CERF21-CarbonTidewater-Report.pdf
Bruck, J., Lewandowski, E., Muldrow, B., Esterly, S., Gainey, A., Gasko, I., McCune, R.,
Pilotte, D.* (2021) Riverfront Park Conceptual Plan: Claymont, Delaware.
https://bpb-usw2.wpmucdn.com/sites.udel.edu/dist/7/9849/files/2021/10/Claymont_Booklet.pdf
Fogarty, E.* & Bruck, J. (2021). The Marian Coffin Gardens at Gibraltar. Arcadia Publishing,
Chicago, IL.
Bruck, J., Lewandowski, E., Muldrow, Boon, O., Bromley, D., Fettke von Koeckritz, C., Gainey, J., Muldrow, L., Ruggiero, E., Switliski, M.*, (2020). Conceptual Resilience Plan:
Little Creek, Delaware.
https://bpb-us w2.wpmucdn.com/sites.udel.edu/dist/7/9849/files/2021/02/21-DE-Little-Creek-ConceptReport.pdf.
Grants and Awards
Bruck, J. (May 2025 – May 2030). EWN Phase 2. US Army Engineering Research and Development Center. ($434,840). (PI, Andrew Altieri, ESSIE. 5 year project awarded, $6,822,233.39)
Bruck, J. (October 2024 – September 2027). Dover Air Force Base REPI. US Army Corps of Engineers. ($79,957).
Bruck, J. (November 2024 – October 2025). Building Coastal Community. US Army Corps of Engineers. ($100,000).
Puleo, J. & Bruck, J. (October 2023 – September 2027). Exploring the Potential of Self-Generative Infrastructure for Coastal Resilience in the Hampton Roads Region and at Joint Base Langley-Eustis. US Army Corps of Engineers. $960,743 (Bruck $423,040.47)
Bruck, J. & Lewandowski, E. (Feb. 2022 – Jan. 2024). Coastal Resilience Design Studio. NOAA Sea Grant. $181,953. (2-year project, UF Subaward to Bruck $92,674)
Bruck, J., Bardenhagen, E., Hale, E., Head, M., Puleo, J. (2022). Building Coastal Community Resilience with Nature–based Shoreline Solutions, for Developing Engineering practices using Ecosystem Design Solutions for Future Army (Military DEEDS Project). 2022-2026. With Louisiana State University and the Army Corps of Engineers. $9,431,003 (4-year project, UF Subaward to Bruck $854,723)
Recent Conference Presentations
*= student
Donner, B.*, Bruck, J., & Manley, D. (2025, May 27–31). Generating green infrastructure strategies for the coastal city of Lewes, Delaware. EDRA56, Halifax, Canada.
Bruck, J., Delay, C.*, & Smith, K. (2024, July 30). Synergizing Academic Partnerships through Capstone Projects. ASLA Florida 2024 Annual Conference & Expo, Orlando, FL.
Bruck, J., & Dart, L*. (2024, June 29). Spatial analysis of coastal flood resilience quantification in Hampton, Virginia. Architecture Media Politics Society’s Livable Cities Conference. London, UK.
Bruck, J., Ryan, M., Sadaf, A., & Tahmasebi, M. (2024, March 23). Modeling Carbon Storage and Sequestration with InVEST: A Case Study for Aberdeen Proving Ground. Council for Educators in Landscape Architecture. St. Louis, MO.
Bruck, J., Donner, B., Sadaf, A., & Tahmasebi, M. (2024, March 22). Living Shoreline Design Interventions based on GIS Suitability Analysis Models at Aberdeen Proving Ground. Council for Educators in Landscape Architecture. St. Louis, MO.
Bruck, J. (2024, February 20). Coastal Resilience and Nature-Based Solutions. 2024 Water Institute Symposium, Gainesville, FL.
Bruck, J. (2024, February 16). Exploring coastal community resilience through nature-based solutions. UF DCP Research Seminar, Gainesville, FL.
Bruck, J., & Lewandowski, E. (2023, October 30). Tidewater Park: Voice of the Nanticokes. National Extension Tourism Conference, Milwaukee, WI.
Schoen, D. P., Bruck, J., & Hearn, M. (2023, October 23). Engineering with Nature in San Francisco: Collaboration and Process Across Disciplines and Scales. ASLA 2023 Conference on Landscape Architecture, Minneapolis, MN.
Bruck, J. (2023, July 13). Building coastal community resilience with nature-based shoreline solutions. MacDill Air Force Base, EWN Workshop, Tampa, FL.
Bruck, J. (2023, June). Engineering with Nature for Coastal Sustainability. Global Forum on Urban Sustainability, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
Bruck, J. (2023, June). Engineering with Nature for Coastal Sustainability. Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China.
Bruck, J., Bardenhagen, E., Hale, E., Hammaker, Z., Head, M., Muldrow, L.*, & Puleo, J. (2023, May 10). DEEDS Overview and Potential for Follow Projects. USACE/UD Partnership Meeting, Newark, DE.
Bruck, J. (2023, April 11). EWN Landscape Architecture Tools. Engineering with Nature Design Short Course. 2023 Coastal Sediments Conference, New Orleans, LA.
Bruck, J., Bardenhagen, E., Puleo, J., Head, M., Hale, E., Muldrow, L., & Hammaker, Z. (2023, March 17). Building coastal community resilience with nature-based shoreline solutions. Council for Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA) Annual Conference, San Antonio, TX.
Professor and Supervisory Honors and Awards
UF Fellow for the Southeastern Conference Academic Consortium’s Academic Leadership Development Program (SECU/ALDP), 2025-2026
Fellow, American Society of Landscape Architects, 2024
Honor Award | Collaboration, CRDS – Adapting and Living with Changing Coastal Conditions. ASLA PA/DE Student Design Awards, Faculty Supervisor for winning team entry with Bardenhagen and Hammaker, 2023
Award for Excellence | Sustainability, CRDS – Adapting and Living with Changing Coastal Conditions. 2023 American Planning Association (APA) Sustainable Communities Divisions. Student Design Awards, Faculty Supervisor for winning team entry with Bardenhagen and Hammaker, 2023
Award of Excellence | Student Collaboration, Carbon in the Tidewater. ASLA Student Design Awards, Faculty Supervisor for winning team entry. 2022
Honor Award | Collaboration, Carbon in the Tidewater. ASLA PA/DE Student Design Awards, Faculty Supervisor for winning team entry. 2022
Tourism Partner of the Year | Laurel’s Ramble Plan. Southern Delaware Tourism’s, with Laurel Planning Team, 2021
First Place, Carbon in the Tidewater, Coastal Estuarine Research Federation (CERF), with CRDS undergraduate student team, 2021
News
Bruck Elected to Prestigious American Society of Landscape Architects Council of Fellows
The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) announced the election of University of Florida Department of Landscape Architecture Chair Jules Bruck as one of 40 ASLA Fellows in 2024. ASLA Fellows are recognized for their exceptional contributions to the landscape architecture profession and society at large. Election to the ASLA Council of Fellows is among the highest honors the ASLA bestows on members and is based on works, leadership/management, knowledge and service.
Department Chair Dr. Jules Bruck Visits ERDC Alongside UF Center for Coastal Solutions
In July 2025, Dr. Jules Bruck, Chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture, visited the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory in Vicksburg, Mississippi alongside the UF Center for Coastal Solutions.
Dr. Bruck serves as one of the Center’s affiliate faculty members. This visit, and the Center’s partnership with the ERDC as a whole, is focused on combining academic innovation with applied engineering to deliver smarter, more scalable strategies for protecting U.S. coastlines.
Courses
LAA 4210/6322: Project Management for Landscape Architects
Major Projects
Developing Engineering practices using Ecosystem Design Solutions for Future Army
(Military DEEDS Project)
Building Coastal Community Resilience with Nature-Based Shoreline Solutions
University of Delaware / University of Florida / Partnership for the Delaware Estuary
This 2022-2026 project, supported by the Army Corps of Engineers, focuses on designing and implementing a persistent, shellfish-based living shoreline that spans subtidal, intertidal, and supratidal zones. Located in the Delaware Bay and Chesapeake Bay Estuaries, the initiative addresses critical coastal defense challenges in the mid-Atlantic region.
As landscape architects, we are leveraging this opportunity to:
- Develop processes for site suitability analysis.
- Translate complex scientific data into accessible insights for stakeholders.
- Explore future land-use scenarios in light of sea-level rise, land subsidence, and increasingly severe coastal storms.
To evaluate the ecological and economic benefits of the project, we are utilizing the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) software to assess habitat value. In Lewes, DE, we are advancing an innovative shoreline design and working through the permitting process to bring this concept to life.
Our efforts also include a collaboration to develop an agent-based model to simulate the interplay between human behavior, hazards, and infrastructure impacts. This model, combined with an engagement strategy, helps stakeholders better understand these interactions and their implications for coastal resilience.
This work represents a multidisciplinary, collaborative, and forward-thinking approach to nature-based solutions, combining ecological innovation with community-centered planning to enhance resilience in vulnerable coastal areas.
Publications: Sadaf, A., Bruck, J., Tahmasebi, M. (2025) A Comparative Evaluation of GIS Spatial Analysis Tools for Prioritizing Natural and Hybrid Shoreline Solutions, Annals of GIS. https://doi.org/10.1080/19475683.2025.2452264
Exploring the Potential of Self-Generative Infrastructure for Coastal Resilience at Joint Base Langley- Eustis and Adjacent Communities
Advancing Nature-Based Solutions for Coastal Resilience
This 2023-2026 project, supported by the Army Corps of Engineers, focuses on nature-based coastal defense strategies for Joint Base Langley-Eustis and surrounding areas. Key objectives include:
- Assessing vulnerability to sea-level rise and extreme storm events.
- Engaging stakeholders to understand risks and opportunities.
- Developing a baseline resilience model to guide decision-making.
- Creating a comprehensive resilience master plan, including three priority living shoreline projects.
By blending innovative ecological design with collaborative planning, this project aims to set a benchmark for sustainable coastal resilience, balancing environmental and community needs.