FAMU Announces a Record $112M in Research Awards, $72.6M in R&D Spending
College of Agriculture and Food Sciences Professor Odemari Mbuya, Ph.D., secured a $4.9M USDA grant for a comprehensive evaluation of the impact of industrial hemp.
Florida A&M University (FAMU) received a record $112.4 million in research awards during the 2023-2024 fiscal year.
President Larry Robinson, Ph.D., a scientist and principal investigator on a five-year, $30 million National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration research grant, lauded the University’s impressive research accomplishments.
“The FAMU research enterprise has grown tremendously and reflects the groundbreaking science and engineering being conducted by our faculty,” Robinson said. “Topping $100 million in research awards is an important milestone on our way to accomplishing Carnegie Research-1 status. It’s only a matter of time before FAMU achieves that goal.”
The Research & Development (R&D) spending is $72.6 million, according to Charles Weatherford, Ph.D., vice president for Research.
“This is the fifth straight year of record total awards and R&D spending at FAMU,” Weatherford said. “The FAMU faculty and research administrative staff have produced these results and have moved FAMU much closer to the Carnegie R-1 goal.”
The previous year, FAMU received a record $96.4 million in research awards and had $63.5 million in R&D spending.
Top 5 Research Awards
College of Agriculture and Food Sciences Professor Odemari Mbuya, Ph.D., $4,998,565 USDA grant for a comprehensive evaluation of the impact of industrial hemp.
Professor Kwasi Densu, Ph.D., U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDANRCS) $4,999,990 grant to expand markets for climate-smart fruit, vegetable, organic and specialty crops in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina Oklahoma and South Carolina, and supports farmer implementation and monitoring of climate-smart practices.
School of the Environment Dean Victor Ibeanusi, Ph.D., $4,793,345 Department of Energy grant for a project, “Let’s Talk Big Data: A Geospatial-Artificial Intelligence Enhanced Curriculum (LTBD-GAIEC) for Minority Serving Institutions.”
Aundra McGlocton, associate director of the Florida Small Business Development Center at FAMU, $2,978,650 Department of Commerce grant for the Florida Panhandle Capital Readiness Collaborative (FPCRC) program
FAMU-FSU College of Engineering Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Yuan Li, $2.6 million U.S. Department of Energy grant for a project, “Hot-Swap and Modular PV + Battery Energy System to Achieve Strong Resilience and Fast Restoration from Natural Disasters for Underserved or Vulnerable”