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.

“Right now, the big thing is disruption. Shattering the mold, because that’s where you get gigantic increases,” John Taylor says. “Everyone is looking for the next big thing.”

Taylor teaches lean manufacturing and process improvement in the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering (IME) at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. He posits that while disruption might be great for designers, for engineers who work with highly repetitive processes and need consistency, disruption is not a welcome idea. 

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.