U.S. Department of Defense Recommends FAMU for $1.9 Million Grant

March 27, 2013

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida A&M University (FAMU) has received notification from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) for recommended grant funding totaling more than $1.9 million to support research at the university for the next three years.  The U.S. DOD Research and Education Program for Historically Black Colleges and Universities/Minority-Serving Institutions (HBCU/MI) provides support through the DOD’s U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command Army Research Office.

The recommended grant awards will support the following research projects of faculty at the FAMU-Florida State University (FAMU-FSU) College of Engineering:

• High Temperature Supersonic Jet Noise-Fundamental Studies and Control using Advanced Actuation Methods (Farrukh Alvi);
• A Novel Approach to Adaptive Flow Separation Control (Emmanuel Collins);
• Towards Ultra-light Weight Hybrids, Foams and Green Bodies: Structure-Property Relationships in Novel Polymer Grafted Nanoparticles (Subramanian Ramakrishnan); and
• Simulation of Fluid-Structure Interaction for High-Reynolds-Number Compressible Flow (Kunihiko Taira).                

The recommended funding will allow these principal investigators to conduct research in aeroacoustic prediction capabilities and actuator placement design in future work. They will explore the architectures of materials that give rise to enhanced toughness (durability) while simultaneously being amenable to processing and maintaining their properties over longer periods of time with current technologies. These findings may lead to better protection for U.S. troops.

“FAMU is extremely excited about these research initiatives and the faculty’s dedication in conducting research and training the next generation of engineers,” said K. Ken Redda, professor and interim vice president for Research.  “I appreciate the hard work and dedication of these principal investigators in attracting these competitive grants that help support U.S. military initiatives.  We are elated to have been recommended by the DOD’s Army to conduct new and innovative research.”

The Research and Education Program for HBCU/MI enhances research programs and capabilities in scientific and engineering disciplines critical to the national security functions of the DOD; it encourages greater participation by HBCU/MIs in DOD research and education programs and activities; increases the number of graduates, including underrepresented minorities, in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM); and encourages research and educational collaboration with other institutions of higher education.
   
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