Robert I. MacCuspie, Ph.D. a research chemist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology has been named the first faculty member at Florida Poly. He has more than seven years of experience working in government national labs and has held research positions at the Air Force Research Laboratory and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
In addition to his research experience, MacCuspie also mentors undergraduate students. He will be instrumental in helping to develop curriculum and assisting Florida Poly to achieve accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).
As the first faculty member of Florida Poly, he has outlined three major goals:
- To develop a cutting-edge curriculum in the College of Engineering, including a track focused on Nanotechnology and on Multifunctional Materials. He also plans on incorporating student leadership development as a key part of their education.
- To develop partnerships with key stakeholders, including local companies and government agencies and to partner in creative ways to benefit our stakeholders, Florida Poly, and our students. Potential ideas might include internship programs, collaborative research, externship programs, using adjunct instructors and shared research resources.
- To provide students with a high quality education in a way that they can relate it to the real world in their future jobs.
A native of Winter Park, he is excited about moving back to Florida and being part of a brand new state university.
“This is a great opportunity to be part of the founding team of a new university, especially a polytechnic university, with its focus on science, engineering and applied research, and at the same time, leave a positive legacy on my home state by training the next generation of scientific leaders,” he said.
When asked where he sees Florida Poly in the future he said, “In five years, I hope to see the university graduating its first class of incoming freshmen, with a growing student population and a growing reputation for the school’s programs. In ten years, I hope to see Florida Poly building its reputation on the national stage as a leading polytechnic university, with an exciting research portfolio, student leaders on campus, and a young alumni base beginning to influence the world in their careers in part due to their education and experience gained at Florida Poly.”
MacCuspie earned a B.S. in Chemistry and Molecular Biology and Microbiology from the University of Central Florida and his Ph.D. in Nanotechnology and Materials Chemistry from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.
He will join Florida Poly full time in October.