FAMU’s aggressive research strategy prompts big prize

FAMU’s aggressive research strategy prompts big prize

While FAMU scientist participates in historic Paris Climate Change Conference

Professor Mbuya (c) and Vice President Al Gore (l).

      Florida A&M University was awarded advanced research status earlier this year. The university is now a Carnegie Level II High Activity Research University. The designation places FAMU among the nation’s larger predominantly white universities and that distinction is significant, according to FAMU Vice President for Research Timothy Moore, Ph.D., “Our faculty are demonstrating that FAMU can compete against other larger universities with double the faculty and continue to produce cutting million edge research at ever increasing levels.”

In the late ‘90’s there was an effort to restrict FAMU’s academic focus to undergraduate studies only. Then President Frederick Humphries successfully stopped that effort and kept the university on the re-search path. “Our current position is directly linked to the efforts of previous leaders and faculty scholars.  We can stand on their shoulders and move this university forward and solve some of the nation’s most vexing scientific problems,” Moore said.

Meanwhile, Moore attributes the new status to the dramatic increase in research awards. FAMU research began the new fiscal year with a marked increase in research awards of $27.9 million in the first quarter of the fiscal year 2015 – 2016 more than doubling awards from the same period in the previous year.  The total research awards in fiscal year 2014-2015 was $42.3 million.

Florida A&M University Professor Odemari Mbuya, Ph.D., was the FAMU representative for the Florida Climate Change Institute at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris, France recently. As an FCI representative, Mbuya was able to showcase climate change milestones confirming the commitment to address issues related to climate at national and global levels.

Mbuya, program leader of Agronomy, Soil and Water Sciences at the College of Agriculture and Food Sciences and faculty director of the Sustainability Institute met with former Vice President Al Gore and US Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell. He gave them the FCI statement commitment to climate change. Excerpts of the statement are as follows;

“We recognize the urgent need to act now to avoid irreversible costs to our global com-munity’s economic prosperity and public health and are optimistic that world leaders will reach an agreement to secure a transition to a low carbon future. Today our school pledges to accelerate the transition to low-carbon energy while enhancing sustainable and resilient practices across our campus.”

Mbuya also met with high ranking officials from the Government of India. India is willing to establish a recruitment center for FAMU for students interested in advanced degrees.