On theHill

FAMU Student Wins $250K Grand Prize in Pharrell Williams Black Ambition Initiative

FAMU senior engineering student Zac Gilchrist won this year’s Black Ambition Initiative, sponsored by Grammy Awardwinning musician/entrepreneur Pharrell Williams. Gilchrist won $250,000 to go toward launching his product, The Move, a social media app for parties, events, and cool local areas built for college students. The app allows students to vote on which events they want to attend each day. It also has group chats for each event with danger alert buttons, so students can notify each other of any potential danger signs at parties.

“We are so incredibly proud of Zachary Gilchrist and the hard work that he put into this project,” said professor Jason Black of the Department of Computer and Information Sciences. He has been very active in multiple ideation and product pitch competitions, and this experience has only better prepared him to excel when the time came for him to pitch his product idea.”

The third-place winner was recent FAMU MBA student Nicki Ekhomu, who won $50,000 for her HBCU Award Product Idea, the EQ1: Powerful Pain Relief in the Palm of Your Hand. The EQ1 is an all-inclusive physical rehabilitation device that provides athletes with every treatment needed for a speedy and effective recovery without the need for an icepack or bulky equipment. It gives users six treatments in one wireless portable handheld device, including temperature therapy, cold and hot massage, electrical stimulation (TENS and EMS), and infused padding.

“We are also very proud of Nicki Ekhomu,” Black said. “As a recent School of Business and Industry MBA Candidate, she has definitely demonstrated the ability and skills instilled in SBI students, and help further the legacy of Dr. Sybil Mobley and the current faculty and staff of this esteemed department.”

FAMU Unveils Indoor Air Quality Center of Excellence

FAMU has unveiled the new Indoor Air Quality (“IAQ”) Center of Excellence (COE). The Center is being established in partnership with Aura Air, a leading global provider of smart-air technology. Led by Professor Victor Ibeanusi, Ph.D., dean of the FAMU School of the Environment, the facility will serve as the authoritative center for studying, testing, and analyzing indoor air quality in the State of Florida.

“The global pandemic raised the awareness of the role of contaminants such as COVID,” Ibeanusi said. “We have researchers; we have the capability of training students. Our goal is to secure grants. There are zero professionals in this area. We don’t have students who are trained to do the research who understand the role of COVID particulate matter and how they travel. That’s the role of engineering. We also aim to reach out to low-income communities to raise awareness. The good news is that this Center is in the School of the Environment and we can do all of this.”

The COE will facilitate workshops and training to educate the public on the importance of air quality monitoring and develop a statewide IAQ management plan that includes:

■ Training the next generation of air quality professionals

■ Improving energy efficiency in buildings

■ Supporting a statewide air monitoring program

■ Providing air filtration, purification, and monitoring solutions to government buildings, educational institutions, hospitals, and public transportation.

FAMU unveiled the new Knight Foundation Plaza and digital technology board that will become the centerpiece of the students’ vaunted weekly “Set Friday” tradition of student entrepreneurship, Greek fraternities and sororities stepping, and musical performances.

“The Plaza will be the location for many memorable events for our students and the community,” said FAMU President Larry Robinson, Ph.D. “The Knight Foundation Plaza symbolizes a further cementing of the relationship between our University and this great philanthropy.”

The Foundation’s first investment in FAMU dates back to 1971. Since then, Knight has invested more than $7 million in the University. The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Plaza is a 25,000-square-foot plaza that includes the Will Packer Performing Arts Amphitheater. The Miami-based foundation first announced the $1.5 million donation during Homecoming 2021 that included funding for the video screen, which debuted during the opening ceremony moderated by Student Government Association President Zachary Bell and attended by FAMU President Larry Robinson, Ph.D.

Roshell Rosemond Rinkins, a FAMU alumna, is now the chief Diversity and Equity and Inclusion officer and vice president of Grants

Administration for the Knight Foundation. She spoke on behalf of the organization at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

“Over the last year, the team has worked tirelessly to bring this digital public space to life with the installation of the video wall that you see right behind me at the Amphitheater and other theatrical equipment that will come online in the coming months,” Rinkins said. “This latest investment of $1.5 million builds on a 51-year relationship between Knight and the University and ensures that there is a safe and vibrant gathering place for future generations of Rattlers, Tallahassee residents, and visitors.”