Industrial engineering founding faculty passes away in Ghana at 77

Dr. Yaw Owusu

The FAMU-FSU College of Engineering community is saddened to announce that Professor Yaw A. Owusu passed away in Ghana, West Africa, on the morning of Feb. 7, 2020. He was 77.

Owusu was a founding faculty member of the industrial and manufacturing department at the college and joined the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering in August 1987. During his tenure, he served as the associate chair of the department and was instrumental in bringing forth the first additive manufacturing equipment to the college. He retired in 2009 after a successful, distinguished career. 

“Owusu served as a wonderful role model for our students,” said Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering chair Okenwa Okoli, Ph.D. 

During his tenure, he introduced numerous minority students to research through his Undergraduate Research Center for Cutting Edge Technologies (URCCETT).

He received his doctorate in industrial and systems engineering from Penn State in 1980. From 1980 to 1983, he held the position of assistant professor at Wayne State University. He then joined the faculty in the Department of Systems at the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Saudi Arabia from 1983 to 1987.

Owusu will be missed by his friends and colleagues at the college.