Like many of our leading faculty, J. Murray Gibson, dean of the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, is known around the world for his research and leadership experience. As an experienced scientist and researcher, Gibson has been asked several times to provide guidance on the evaluation of large-scale research enterprises in other countries, including the UK, France, Germany and Australia. He was recently selected to be a judge at the ‘Investissements D’Avenir’ program in France, where the government has invested 35 billion euros in sustainable research projects that promise to address France’s challenges and opportunities.
Of the investments past and present, almost 22 billion euros are allocated to higher education and research to revolutionize the landscape of French science and engineering, including expanding digital, biotechnology and nuclear engineering industries.
“Participating in peer review overseas is interesting because you learn about exciting developments and different approaches to supporting research and education around the world,” Gibson said. “Most faculty in research intensive colleges such as the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering regularly engage in review panels evaluating other people’s research work and proposals. Peer review is the currency of scientific research, and as an active player you must participate on both sides of it.”
Gibson and other international judges were assigned to a jury overseeing materials and energy research in France to recommend which large projects will continue to be supported in the next five years.
Because the program was designed from the start to inject fresh competition into the French system, and almost all active French research institutes became involved, the government relies exclusively on international juries to make the difficult selections of proposals in the 10 million-euros-per-year range. Gibson has visited France four times in the last decade as a jurist at different stages in this competition, traveling to Paris at the French government’s expense. He has been impressed by the “systems” approach to funding where French scientists and engineers in similar disciplines team up on a national level in collaborative multidisciplinary research to compete on the international level.
“I felt like this experience was worthwhile because I can keep abreast of developments in Europe,” he said. “Understanding how the French and European systems are evolving helps us position ourselves better at the international level. The U.S. government and European government(s) encourage collaboration for joint activities in engineering.”
Gibson holds a Ph.D. in Physics from England’s University of Cambridge. Over his career he has worked in industry for 13 years, including as an associate director of Argonne National Laboratory and Founding Dean of the Northeastern University College of Science before joining the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering in 2016.