lagosl@fiu.edu 305-348-1810 Dr. Lagos CV
Dr. Lagos is an Associate Professor at FIU’s Moss Department of Construction Management, Director of Research at FIU’s Applied Research Center, and Director of FIU’s Science & Technology Workforce Development Initiative (DOE Fellows Program). Dr. Lagos is also a Principal Investigator (PI) and Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI) on several sponsored research projects. Dr. Lagos has over 28 years of hands-on experience in executing, managing, and leading research programs sponsored by federal agencies and private industry. As a PI and Director of Research, Dr. Lagos executes, and directs research efforts of a multi-disciplinary team composed of 23 full-time staff (scientists, engineers), Post-Doctoral Associates, and over 30 STEM students including undergraduates, Master’s and PhDs. Since 2012, Dr. Lagos has been the Principal Investigator for the DOE-FIU Cooperative Agreement conducting multi-disciplinary research in areas of robotics and remote systems, AI/LM, generative AI, cyber security, natural language processing, radiochemistry, environmental chemistry, decommissioning, digital decommissioning.
Other current and past research funding include, the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy’s University Program (research area: robotics), National Science Foundation (robotics, sensors, big data/data analytics, predictive maintenance, STEM workforce development and training), Department of Energy’s Minority Serving Institutions Partnership Program (research areas: robotics, sensors development and deployments), Sandia National Laboratory Exoskeleton program (research areas: wearable robotics), Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (blockchain and machine learning technologies applied to fossil power plants), National Science Foundation Convergence Program (research areas: project management/5G technology development), Department of Education Title III HIS STEM Grant (research areas: Cybersecurity STEM training) and National Nuclear Security Administration (research areas: advanced manufacturing for small modular reactors). The above research portfolio has a value of approximately $8M a year.
Dr. Lagos is an active member of the Waste Management Symposia (WMS) and American Nuclear Society. For the WMS, Dr. Lagos serves as a Program Advisory Committee Member (PAC) As a PAC member, he supports STEM initiatives and contributes to various Tracks, including Tracks 9 (Robotics), and Track 10 (STEM). He has also actively contributed to Track 8 (Communication, workforce development and training, and stakeholder’s involvement) and Track 6 (Deactivation & Decommissioning). Dr. Lagos serves as a member of the Roy G. Post Foundation Board of Trustees.
Dr. Lagos also is a member of the American Nuclear Society’s (ANS) Robotics & Remote Systems Division (RRSD) and has served in various roles including treasurer (2016), vice Chair (2017) and Chair (2018-2020) of RRSD’s Executive Committee. Dr. Lagos has led Florida International University’s Applied Research Center international efforts and has developed active working relationships with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) of France, the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) and the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE), Halden, Norway, And University of Porto, Portugal.
Dr. Lagos is also an adjunct professor in FIU’s Biomedical Engineering Department and previously an adjunct professor in FIU’s Mechanical and Materials Engineering Department. Dr. Lagos is also a Graduate Faculty within the Department of Civil/Environmental Engineering and Moss Department of Construction Management at FIU. As a Graduate Faculty Dr. Lagos has participated in 33 Masters and PhDs committees since 2009. As a major professor or co-major professor, Dr. Lagos is supervising a total of 6 PhDs and 8 Master students.
As part of his research efforts, Dr. Lagos supports a total of 30 STEM students including 6 PhDs, 6 Masters, and 18 undergraduate students fully funded under various sponsored research projects.
RECENT PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS
Additional peer-reviewed journal and conference papers can be found at Google Scholar page:
Dr. Lagos is the Principal Investigator (PI) for the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management and Florida International University Cooperative Agreement (No. DE-EM0005213).
Under this CA, Dr. Lagos executes and supervises multi-disciplinary research in areas of robotics and remote systems, AI/LM, generative AI, cyber security, natural language processing, radiochemistry, environmental chemistry, decommissioning, digital decommissioning, and workforce development that directly supports support to the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM) mission of accelerated risk reduction and cleanup of the environmental legacy of the nation’s nuclear weapons program. Under this agreement, Dr. Lagos also conducts research efforts for the Office of Legacy Management at DOE. The outcome of this research can be found in the following web portals:
In 2008, Dr. Lagos established the FIU Science & Technology Workforce Development Initiative (DOE Fellows Program). The program was designed to train and mentor FIU minority students to enter the DOE workforce upon graduation from FIU. Since its inception, the program has formality inducted 203 STEM students. To date, the program has graduating 22 PhDs and 62 Masters, and over 94 undergraduate students. The program has completed a total of 208 internships at DOE facilities in 14 states. A total of 315 oral/poster presentations has been completed by DOE Fellows at national and international conferences. The program has achieved a 98% hiring rates of DOE Fellow that has been hired by federal, state/local, and STEM industry in general.
Additional information on this program can be found at:
Manuel Escobar (Mechanical Engineering)
Manuel Escobar is a Ph.D. candidate in Mechanical Engineering at Florida International University (FIU). With over three years of experience in robotics research and development, Manuel is actively engaged in research aimed at the digitalization of the decommissioning process for nuclear facilities. His work involves integrating advanced robotic systems, such as quadruped robots equipped with LiDAR technology and radioactive sensors. The primary goal of this research is to perform radiological characterization without human intervention, thereby minimizing workers’ exposure to radiation and enhancing safety in hazardous environments.
Name | Level | Professor | Degree | Status | Time Line |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Philip Moore | M.S. | Major Professor | MME | Current | 2022 – Present |
Carlos Rios | M.S. | Major Professor | MME | Current | 2023 – Present |
Brian Pineda | M.S. | Co-Major Professor | MME | Current | 2023 – Present |
Hiba Khalil | M.S. | Major Professor | MME | Current | 2023 – Present |
Shawn Cameron | M.S. | Major Professor | MME | Graduated | 2022 – 2024 |
Josue Estrada | M.S. | Major Professor | MME | Graduated | 2022 – 2023 |
Olivia Bustillo | M.S. | Major Professor | Env. Eng. | Graduated | 2022 – 2023 |
Sebastian Story | M.S. | Major Professor | MME | Graduated | 2022 – 2023 |