At the advent of the millennium, the College set ambitious goals to cultivate a distinctive and influential research identity. It aligned its research profile with the Institute, focusing on human and societal aspects of engineering, science, technology, and computing. Faculty began pursuing significant external funding to support research. By all measures, it has been a decade of extraordinary growth and success.

Susan Cozzens, Associate Dean for Research said, "Sue Rosser [former Dean] envisioned the College as a research environment worthy of a premier research university and took steps to achieve that. She stressed pursuit of external funding and led the way in securing major grants for projects. She also put in place an administrative infrastructure to support faculty in the grant process."

Today, Ivan Allen College is home to one of the nation's largest concentrations of researchers on the science, technology, and engineering workforce; distinguished historians and sociologists who put science and technology in context; literary scholars and artists redefining the boundaries of media and digital innovation; the only school of international affairs at a major technological institution; and one of a handful of public policy schools worldwide that focus on science and technology. Its reputation for extraordinary interdisciplinarity attracts top caliber faculty and students in these areas.

Faculty in the College explore more than 30 main areas of inquiry including Georgia Tech's priority research areas: energy & environment, nanotechnology, health and biomedicine, and civil infrastructure. They lead nine research centers and five media laboratories. Annual publishing of original work includes nearly two dozen books and 185 book chapters and refereed articles. As leaders in their fields, faculty serve on the editorial boards of the major international academic journals and are regularly recognized for distinguished work in their fields. They are having an increased influence in Washington, D.C. through research presentations, congressional testimony and consultations in areas such as climate policy, economics, nanotechnology, and security. They are building a global profile by leading conferences involving policy makers and researchers from around the world.

Growing the Grant Portfolio

Government and foundation funding for the social sciences and humanities in the U.S. has traditionally been modest, making it remarkable that Ivan Allen College faculty have secured more than $25 million in research grants during the last five years and the total is expected to surpass $30 million in 2010. Sources of external funding are the most diverse at Georgia Tech, with significant grants from top tier entities including the European Union, National Science Foundation, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, National Institutes of Health, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and National Endowment for the Humanities, and support from foundations such as the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Kauffman Foundation (entrepreneurship), Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (culture, performing arts, environment, and public affairs), the Carnegie Foundation (peace), the MacArthur Foundation, and the Energy Foundation.

The wide range of funders interested in work by College faculty has enabled collaborations across the Institute and work conducted around the globe from Brazil to Liberia to Finland, China, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Iran, and beyond. Major awards have provided the underpinning for the College's graduate programs with five of the six schools now offering masters and PhD degrees.

Susan Cozzens explained, "The external funding has helped accelerate scholarly productivity, allowed the College to elevate requirements for faculty tenure, and has helped upgrade the scope and quality of programs for both undergraduates and graduates." Cozzens notes that, in 2008, grants provided $875,000 in graduate student stipends and $300,000 in tuition.

Even the College's undergraduate majors are directly involved in research; their work is consistently among the winners of the President's Undergraduate Research Awards (PURA) and Undergraduate Research Option Program (UROP) awards.

On the Horizon

By examining science and technology through the lens of the liberal arts, Ivan Allen College has extended the boundaries of the Georgia Tech's traditional classrooms and laboratories and is expanding its influence and effectiveness as a catalyst for change in Atlanta, the state of Georgia, the nation, and the world. Cozzens talked about what's next on the horizon.

"It has truly been a remarkable decade in which we assembled a diverse and creative research portfolio," said Cozzens. Despite the economic downturn, we anticipate continued growth in research funding. I am working to engage even more faculty in research projects, and to create the conditions for them to lead campus-wide initiatives. Very exciting things are ahead."

Read more in stories below about faculty research awards and a major new grant.