J. Choi, Ph.D.
Read the original article on Tallahassee.com
While the COVID-19 pandemic has focused largely on the impact of public health, a FAMU-FSU College of Engineering researcher is interested in a different environmental focus: solid waste management.
The National Science Foundation is equally interested and has awarded a Rapid Response Research grant to Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering Juyeong Choi.
Choi and Professor of Civil Engineering Tarek Abichou will use the $152,000 grant to study waste-management system-related challenges in the pandemic environment across several states.
They are hoping to produce a comprehensive database that will allow for the development of a more proactive, resilient approach for future pandemics, according to an FSU release.
“There has been a lack of understanding of how the COVID-19 pandemic affects our waste management industry,” Choi said.
The researchers will examine what impact COVID-19-related changes in daily routines are having on systems. Their studies will involve systems in Florida, California and New York to identify and characterize a broad range of waste management challenges faced by different stakeholders and municipalities.
“People working from their homes to prevent the spread of the coronavirus are generating more residential waste than normal,” Choi said. “We want to know how different facilities are adapting to this situation.”
