Forrest Masters

Background

About Forrest Masters

Dr. Forrest Masters serves as the Interim Dean for the University of Florida Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, which is one of the largest engineering colleges in the US (19 degree programs, 750 faculty/staff, students,$132M/yr in research*). Previously, he served as the Assistant Vice President for Strategic Initiatives for UF Research and as the Associate Dean for Research for the College. Dr. Masters is also a professor of civil and coastal engineering with a research interest in hurricane effects on the built environment. He has received support from 60+ grants from state, federal and private sources, including the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER, MRI, and MsRI Programs, and during the last 20+ years has conducted field experiments in 40 named storms, including multiple Category 4-5 storms. Dr. Masters also founded one of seven Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI) experimental facilities for the NSF to study the damaging effects of extreme wind events on civil infrastructure. He serves on the Board of the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, and recently served on the NIST National Advisory Committee on Windstorm Impact Reduction. In 2014, Dr. Masters was awarded the junior International Association of Wind Engineering award, which is the highest award in his field that recognizes significant and original contributions to research by an individual under the age of 40. He was also honored with the Outstanding Achievement Award in Mitigation at the National Hurricane Conference.*2022 NSF Higher Education Research and Development Survey