TALLAHASSEE— Florida A & M University (FAMU) began the new fiscal year with a marked increase in research awards. Vice President for Research, Timothy Moore, Ph.D. attributes the 10 percent surge to an energized faculty that has resulted in the receipt of over $47 million, a 10 percent increase over 2014.
“FAMU researchers are among the best in the nation. Despite their heavy instructional commitments, our faculty continues to generate innovative research concepts in an extremely competitive arena. Our clients deem this important and have determined that these research concepts are important enough to fund,” Moore said.
Most recently Principal Investigator Kalayu Belay, Ph.D. of the College of Science & Technology received a $388,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Defense. Belay’s research will result in an entirely new class of embedded sensors and diagnostic processes specifically designed for highly prized and affordable lightweight composite structures like aircraft wings. These unique sensors will alert engineers to cracks or a pending component failure before the flight begins thus improving safety and reliability.
Researchers such as Belay are ensuring that clients see FAMU as the research organization of choice to meet their innovation needs. It is also one of the reasons for the $2 million increase in the university’s research proposal dollars, which brings the total to $104 million this fiscal year.
