Years ago as a new faculty member, FAMU-FSU College of Engineering Professor Lisa Spainhour wrote an essay on the lack of a variety of thinking in the engineering profession. “If all you have is hammers,” she lamented, “All of the problems will look like nails.” 

In a crisis like the current  COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic, even something as simple as a face mask can suddenly become a hot commodity. In the wake of a disaster, supplies can run out while getting time-sensitive medicines to people in need could mean life and death for someone from an affected area.

Two researchers at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering hope a new concept called “factory-in-a-box” may provide a solution for disruption in the supply chain that occurs in a disaster.

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly famously called the Bahamas, “the most beautiful place from space.”

The 700-island archipelago spans the ocean with islands that boast white shimmering sand beaches and some of the clearest water on earth. The islands are known for many things from pirate forts to the famous Junkanoo festival. 

Something that most people don’t know is the Bahamas are also the home of some very successful engineers and they are graduates of the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering.

A FAMU-FSU College of Engineering researcher is studying the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on municipal solid waste management systems with the help of a Rapid Response Research grant from the National Science Foundation.

“There has been a lack of understanding of how the COVID-19 pandemic affects our waste management industry,” Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering Juyeong Choi said.

A team of civil engineering undergraduates at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering took first place in the student poster competition at the Florida Section of the Air and Waste Management Association’s 55th Annual Conference and Exhibition. The theme of the conference, held at the FSU Turnbull Center in October 2019, was Shaping the Future: Risk and Resiliency. Seniors Priscilla Young, Ana Pinto, and Alix Kabre presented the results of their research on using polymer additives to enhance the behavior of bentonite-based geosynthetic clay landfill liners.