An FIU team is rethinking shoreline protection in urban coastal environments. They developed special 3D-printed tiles to be attached to existing seawalls. Each tile has grooves, ridges, and small pools for marine organisms to shelter in. “Instead of treating seawalls only as barriers, these tiles allow us to transform them into living surfaces that support marine life, improve habitat complexity and enhance coastal resilience,” says Shahin Vassigh.

The team installed the tiles at a waterfront park to study how marine life colonizes the surfaces and whether the added habitat can contribute to improved water quality and shoreline performance. Two of the tiles include sensors that track conditions such as temperature, salinity, and water quality.

• Shahin Vassigh