Spring 2019 CEE Newsletter

FACULTY IN THE NEWS

CEE professor partners with
childhood friend to invest in
elementary education for Tunisia

Whether engineering a fix for septic problems in coastal areas or building libraries and playgrounds for children,  Tarek Abichou  has always been passionate about helping his home country of Tunisia.
Abichou, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, spent his summer on a community service project with  TUNISIA-AID , organizing and stocking an elementary school library in Zarzis, a small town in south Tunisia.
“TUNISIA-AID is vital because it focuses on supporting early education and fighting the structural causes of poverty by promoting local economic development,” Abichou said.
TUNSIA-AID is an American nonprofit organization that works to “provide humanitarian aid and support, empower local and economic development, and promote and support social development.” With the help of Tunisian-Americans, the association coordinates projects to provide education access and resources that young children in those areas would not normally receive. The organization, founded in 2011, is small yet mighty.
CEE Students & Alums in the News

Student Profile: Ariana Morales Rapallo

Rapallo grew up in Venezuela where political upheaval created an economic crisis and caused dramatic changes to the education system, which restricted access to universities.
“The changes meant I’d not be able to take classes for about six months, so I just decided to leave the country and start all over,” she said.
Rapallo decided to enroll at  Florida State’s branch campus in the Republic of Panama  with the idea that she would move on to the Tallahassee campus under the special  2+2 scholarship program .
That program is designed to help citizens of a Latin American or Caribbean country earn an FSU degree. FSU Panama students are able to complete up to two years of undergraduate courses at the Panama campus before moving to Tallahassee to finish their degree at an in-state tuition rate. That option saves a student about $15,000 a year.

FAMU-FSU Engineering student takes People's Choice at Three Minute Thesis competition


Anwer Al-Kaimakchi, a graduate student at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering studying civil and environmental engineering earned $500 for the “People’s Choice” award at the annual Three Minute Thesis event on Tuesday, Nov. 27. His research focused on making bridges safer by studying the flexural performance of stainless steel precast prestressed concrete girders. Two other FAMU-FSU Engineering students competed in the renowned event as well.
Florida State University doctoral student Eve Humphrey left judges and attendees with a smile as she closed her speech at the annual competition.
“When under pressure, just keep swimming and getting it on,” she said.
Humphrey, a biological science student, took home the $1,000 prize and will represent Florida State at a regional competition in Knoxville in February.
FAMU-FSU’s Engineers Without Borders Builds Relations with Rural Community in Guatemala



Raphael Kampmann and a group of students with FAMU-FSU  Engineers without Borders  (EWB) just returned from their second trip to Guatemala where they are helping with the design and construction of a school house for a local community.  Kampmann  is a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the college, and volunteers as a faculty advisor for FAMU-FSU EWB.
The students are all members of a collegiate chapter of EWB, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping communities with basic human needs of water, food and shelter. On the first trip, two years ago, the EWB students and their advisor went to central Guatemala for an assessment trip, traveling to the remote community of Cantun II. The small rural community desperately needed a school house for the children. The village had been using a makeshift building held together with bamboo and tarp as their school. The structure leaked badly and there was no place for the children to go to the bathroom or wash their hands.  

Student Spotlight: Garit Poire

Florida Engineer Maximizes Second Chance at Life


Life for Garit Poire falls into two boxes. There are the days before Nov. 16, 2014, and those that have followed.
And that day in the middle, the line of demarcation?
On Nov. 16, 2014, Garit, then a civil engineering student at Florida State University, was visiting Atlanta for his mom’s birthday. He didn’t feel well. He thought perhaps he’d accidentally eaten some gluten and triggered his allergy.
He was wrong. It wasn’t gluten.
“My entire heart sac had filled up with fluid and was pushing against my heart,” Poire said.
The doctors gave him one week to live unless they did emergency heart surgery immediately.

Faculty Spotlight: Eren Ozguven

Civil and environmental engineering professor is favorite media source for storm evacuation
Eren Ozguven, Ph.D. , professor of civil and environmental engineering, is often called upon to explain what's happening during a big storm event as well as the best ways to ensure the safety of our most vulnerable citizens.
ANNOUNCEMENTS


Engineers Week: FAMU-FSU Engineering Open House


Saturday
February 23rd
11 a.m. - 4 p.m.


For Your Information  is an update from the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering providing breaking news and information about upcoming events. For more, please visit https://eng.famu.fsu.edu/cee
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