FAMU Grad Student Receives Honor from Department of Defense

FAMU graduate student Faheem Muhammed has been awarded the 2017 Department of Defense SMART (Science, Mathematics and Research for Transformation) Fellowship, one of only two hundred nationwide across all fields. Muhammed is the first FAMU student to receive this prestigious award. The award also marks the first DoD SMART Fellowship in the Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering.

Muhammed’s graduate research will involve working with his advisor, Professor Subramanian Ramakrishnan, Ph.D., in the FAMU-FSU Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, and with U.S. Army Research Laboratory scientist Larry Holmes, principal investigator for Additive Manufacturing Materials Development. The topic of the research involves additive manufacturing of low k dielectric polymer-particle composites for electromagnetic shielding applications.

Working closely with Army Labs, Muhammed will be able to use state-of-the-art materials science and 3D printing technology that increases microelectronic capabilities, reduces unintentional radiated electrical emissions, assists thermal management in thermo-electronics, and creates tunable composites for use in sensors.

“Faheem is a very driven and talented student. Previously he was awarded the NASA Harriet Jenkins Fellowship with internships at Kennedy Space Center and an internship at Army Research Labs. The scientists at Army Labs were impressed by Faheem’s work ethic and productivity and wanted to continue working with him, one of the main reasons he was awarded the SMART Fellowship. I am extremely happy for him and look forward to working with him on this exciting research topic in collaboration with Army Labs,” Ramakrishnan said.

The SMART Scholarship for Service Program is an opportunity for students pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines to receive a full scholarship and be gainfully employed upon degree completion. It is an extremely competitive national program with a commitment from the DOD to hire the student after graduation. More information about the fellowship can be found at https://smart.asee.org/.

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