Florida International University has long been known as a hurricane research center. Think: the famous Wall of Wind, the giant fan system that tests the effects of 157-mph winds on structures and materials. A much larger, stadium-sized testing facility for wind and waves may soon be on the way.
FIU, with its main campus in Miami, also has been recognized for its hurricane-loss modeling, often used by insurers and regulators to gauge the potential impact of storms that visit Florida annually. Under a bill approved by a Florida House of Representatives subcommittee last week, management of that modeling program and other functions would be transferred to Flor