They’ve been around for years. A group of chemicals known as PFAS, are man-made materials and have been widely used in industry and consumer products since the 1950s. PFAS are found in nonstick cookware, water repellent clothing, and many household products and are even used to fight fires.

It’s another sunny day in Florida, and the Florida Department of Health issues another health alert for the presence of toxins related to blue-green algae in a lake. The foul-smelling, toxic algal blooms are becoming more common in the state’s freshwater ecosystems. They are increasingly affecting coastal areas, where polluted freshwater and saltwater mix. 

The FAMU-FSU student chapter of the Florida Water Environment Association won first prize in the student design competition at West Palm Beach, FL this year. The competition is a segment of the Florida Water Resources Conference annual program. The design team were awarded a $1,000 Norm Casey Scholarship and a $4,000 travel allowance to move on to the national competition at the Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition & Conference held this year in Chicago.

Safe and uninterrupted road travel is crucial in the aftermath of storms so that people can access medical treatment, downed power lines can be removed, and communities can begin a return to normalcy.

A team of Florida State University (FSU) engineering and social work researchers wants to understand the impact of flood disasters on our health—especially related to asthma—in a new National Science Foundation (NSF) grant. 

Tech giant Apple is awarding millions in grants to HBCUs in a new partnership program with colleges and universities to develop the talent of outstanding students attending a Historically Black College or University (HBCU). Three FAMU-FSU Engineering undergraduate students are among the latest recipients of the scholarship award program initiative launched in June 2020. 

The Apple Scholars Engineering and Innovation Scholarship Award is part of a new program established by Apple in partnership with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund for HBCU students.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — The Gulf Specimen Marine Lab was awarded a grant from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

According to the FDEP, the grant is worth $736,531.64 and will be targeted towards preventing harmful algal blooms (HAB) and improving water quality in the state.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection notes the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab, which is located in Panacea, will partner with the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering to study the use of natural and local algae to remove nutrients from Dickerson Bay near Panacea.

Engineering Senior Design Day happens every year in every engineering school in the nation, and FAMU-FSU College of engineering is no exception. It is an event filled with college students in suits scurrying through the school— mostly dark, serious suits with the flair of youth, and maybe colorful sneakers or a tie. Some students carry projects in their hands; other prototypes are so large it takes an entire team to cart them into the building.

Machine learning (ML) is a powerful new weapon to battle water pollution in Florida. FAMU-FSU College of Engineering researchers are using the technology, a form of artificial intelligence (AI), to make predictions that can mitigate and prevent water pollution in the Floridan aquifer.

Civil engineer and RIDER Center faculty member Nasrin Alamdari is the principal investigator of a new U.S. Department of Environmental Protection (EPA) project to predict harmful algal blooms. The FAMU-FSU researcher is developing a novel method of collecting data to control and mitigate algal growth in South Florida.