FAMU mechanical engineering doctoral candidate Renee Gordon is
the first student in the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering to be named a
Fulbright Scholar. Her research will focus on using biomass, specifically
Nigeria’s cassava leaves, as a green alternative to case hardening steel. She
will reside at Nigeria’s Federal University of Technology (FUT) in Akure, which
partners with FAMU in a mutual teaching and research exchange program.
According to Gordon, receiving the Fulbright grant brings
her closer to fulfilling her desire to do something “forward thinking and
innovative” with the indigenous resources of Nigeria. Her goal upon completing
her Ph.D. is to work in green engineering with a focus on sustainable and
alternative energy and to eventually return to FAMU as a professor to share her
knowledge and experiences with others.
“It’s about using sustainable materials and resources that don’t take away from our fossil fuels and using materials that can be regenerated and regrown,” said Gordon about the focus of her research, which picks up where her mentor and research supervisor, Peter Kalu, left off.
Kalu, a 3M Distinguished Research Professor in Mechanical
Engineering at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering and 2009-2010 Fulbright
Scholar, also conducted research on how Nigeria’s cassava leaves could be used
as an alternative method for hardening metal. His research was essential to the
establishment of FAMU’s exchange program with FUT.
“We’re making headway there and she’s going to really take
the research further,” said Kalu, expressing confidence in his protégé’s
potential.
Gordon is a first generation American citizen by way of
Jamaica, and first generation college graduate. She said receiving the
Fulbright grant is a milestone in the progress of her research after having to
overcome several obstacles in order to continue her work
When Gordon and Kalu were invited to present their research
at the Fifth International Conference on Structural Engineering, Mechanics and
Computation in Cape Town, South Africa in 2013, the duo had planned to have
research samples delivered to Nigeria to complete an important heat treatment
process phase of the cassava project, however a lack of resources and funding
limited them in getting the samples to their destination, until then-Interim
President Larry Robinson, stepped in to help.
After receiving the funding they needed, Gordon and Kalu
were able to journey to Nigeria for six days prior to their presentation in
South Africa, complete the heat treatment and return stateside to continue the
research.
“My mom has always instilled in me that I should go as far
as I can with my education,” said
Gordon. “I’ve had a lot of hurdles and stumbling blocks, so
it’s great for it to come full circle.”