Boating Research Center

The Boating Research Center is a research arm of the Division of Marine Affairs and Policy at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. It primarily conducts boating research studies and manages boating related data. Most of its research projects deals with boating and boating related activities in South Florida, its environmental, economic, and social impacts to the South Florida communities. It maintains boating data such as registered boats in Florida, boating accidents, census data, manatee statistics, and through its projects, has compiled names and addresses of several major marine related businesses in Florida and boat use and boat traffic patterns in South Florida. It has a faculty and staff from our Division of Marine Affairs, and the Business Schools who are involved in boating related studies. Specifically, The BRC faculty members have done various research studies and published papers and reports on the field of boating and its related activities.

The center maintains and processes its databases through the RSMAS Computing Facility, its VAX station, and through its microcomputers and peripherals. The BRC also maintains an ARC/INFO-based geographic information system (GIS).

Primary Researchers

Edward K. Baker

B.S. Industrial Engineering, M.S. Management Science, Ph. D., Management Science and Statistics

Expertise and Research Interests: Development of information systems and large scale simulation models for government and corporate agencies, Research in network models, simulation , and application of operations research techniques to problems in land and sea transportation and finance. Economic impact studies on boating related activities.

Maria Villanueva

B.S. Industrial Engineering, M.B.A., M.A. in Marine Affairs

Expertise and Research Interests: Development and management of marine geographic information systems, PC based computer data processing, analysis and management. Research on economic, environmental and social impacts of boating, application of spatial analysis through GIS in marine policy.

Recent Related Grants and Projects

• Hurricane Preparedness of Dade County Boating Community in Dade County, Florida, 1990. (Funded by Coastal Zone Management).
• Boat Traffic and Boat Use Patterns in Biscayne Bay, Dade County Florida, 1991 (Funded by Metro Dade DERM)
• Economic Impact of Yacht Brokerage in Florida, 1991. (Funded by the Florida Yacht Brokers Association).
• Marina Siting Model for Dade County, Florida, 1992. (Initial funding by the University of Miami Research Council).
• Socio-Economic Study of Live Aboards in Dinner Key Anchorage, Florida, 1992. (Initial funding by the University of Miami Research Council).
• Analysis of Hurricane Andrew Economic Damage and Recovery Options for the Boating, Marina and Marine Service Industries, 1993. (Funded by the Florida Sea Grant Program)
• Boating Study, Palm Beach County, Florida, 1993. (Funded by the Florida Department of Natural Resources).
• Hurricane Andrew Aftermath Workshop, August 1993 (Funded by the Florida Sea Grant College Program).
• Artificial Reefs, Dade County, Florida, 1995 (Initial Funding by the University of Miami Research Council).
• Palm Beach Boating Study, Palm Beach, Florida, 1994. (Funded by the Florida DEP)
• The BRC has also done several projects with numerous marine businesses and marine organizations in Florida. These projects involved the generation and analyses of marine related data for financial, marketing, and facility location purposes.

Contact Information

Ms. Maria Luisa E. Villanueva
RSMAS - University of Miami
4600 Rickenbacker Causeway
Miami, FL 33149

tel: 305/361-4012
fax: 305/361-4675
maf@rsmas.miami.edu

Last revised: 22 Aug 1996