Story originally appeared in the FAMUan on 2/6/19

For the FSU-FAMU College of Engineering, research and multiculturalism are the most significant factors in the school’s rising national ranking.

According to Murray Gibson, dean of the shared college, they have increased their rankings by about 19 points in the last two years. He says it’s all due to their messaging and their research funding.

Russell Cooks Jr., an electrical and computer engineering student at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, had something to prove when he first arrived on campus.

Thomas Harrison, Ph.D. passed away on the morning of Dec. 17, 2018 in Tallahassee. Dr. Harrison was an electrical engineering professor at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering and was the chair of the electrical and computer engineering department from 1988 to 1996. Before joining academia, he was an engineer at IBM.

Simon Foo, Ph.D., Harrison's colleague in the department and also a former chair, said of him:

Dear FAMU-FSU College of Engineering students,

Although classes at both main campuses will be suspended on their respective Homecoming Day (see dates below), classes at the College of Engineering will be held as usual.  

Engineering researchers develop expertise in helium gas-cooled superconducting power devices useful for naval applications

When Peter Cheetham first arrived at the Center for Advanced Power Systems (CAPS) as a graduate student four years ago, there was a problem that needed a solution. Researchers at the center were working on a million-dollar grant from the U.S. Office of Naval Research to design a power system for an all-electric ship—something that hadn’t yet been done. 

Juan Patino is a senior electrical engineering student from Miami. He arrived at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering through the Panama City campus after receiving his AA in electrical engineering around 2016.

The Seminole 100 list for 2020 was released yesterday and four FAMU-FSU Engineering alumni businesses are among the honorees. Three of the businesses are repeat awardees for the honor. The list recognizes the fastest-growing businesses owned or managed by Florida State University alumni, some of whom are responsible for some of the most innovative and profitable companies in America. The official ceremony will be held in February 2020 to honor graduates.

Tariq Hopkins is a third-year electrical engineering student from Jacksonville, FL. Since he was eight years old, Hopkins has been interested in cars. By tenth grade, Hopkins knew he wanted to be an automotive engineer. Now, well into his engineering training, he aims to create better sustainable-fuel vehicles—for the likes of Porche, Volvo or Bugatti.

In 2018, engineering dean J. Murray Gibson initiated the Dean’s Engineering Fellows Program, a new graduate funding area facilitated through the Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies. The initiative aims to enhance the quality and number of engineering Ph.D. students at the college.