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Congress on Campus

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During the annual August recess, members of Congress leave Washington, D.C. and head back to their home states to meet with constituents and tend to district business and issues. This year, three of Georgia’s members of Congress spent some of that time with Georgia Tech, as well as more than 25 of their staffers.

Congressman Buddy Carter, who represents Georgia’s first congressional district along the coast, visited the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) in Tech Square to learn more about how ATDC is engaged in the health care startup industry. Congressman Carter, a health care professional himself, heard from health care startups about how the federal government might empower entrepreneurs in their pursuit of innovative ideas that better serve patients and families. He also met with staff in Georgia Tech’s Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid to receive an update about what they are doing to help students afford a Georgia Tech degree. They also discussed the impact of current and proposed federal policies related to financial aid.

Up in Smyrna, Congressman Jody Hice visited the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI)’s Cobb County Research Facility (CCRF) located near Dobbins Air Reserve Base. Though Congressman Hice represents Georgia’s tenth congressional district in the eastern part of the state, he was visiting CCRF as part of his service on the House Committee on Armed Services, specifically in his role as a member of the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities, which oversees and authorizes the Department of Defense’s $88 billion research enterprise.

Back in Atlanta, in his capacity on the Senate Committee on Armed Services, Georgia Tech alum and Georgia Senator David Perdue (BS IE ’72, MS OR ’75) hosted a roundtable at the Bill Moore Student Success Center to discuss the importance of Georgia’s nine military installations to the state’s economy and local communities.

Lastly, 25 staff members of Georgia’s congressional offices gathered on campus for Georgia Tech’s Congressional Staff Visit. This annual gathering allows Georgia- and D.C.-based congressional staffers to come to campus for an update on the people, places, and programs of Georgia Tech. This year, the group was briefed on:

  • Research in Antarctica to test drilling for ice on Europa by Dr. Britney Schmidt, Assistant Professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences;
  • Internet-of-things and supply chain security by Dr. Alenka Zajic, Associate Professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Dr. Milos Prvulovic, Associate Chair in the School of Computer Science;
  • Cell manufacturing technologies by Dr. Krish Roy, Robert A. Milton Endowed Chair in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering;
  • 3-D printing for medical devices by Dr. Scott Hollister, Professor in the School of Biomedical Engineering; and
  • The Student Competition Center by students on several of the teams including EcoCar 3, GT Motorsports, GT Off-Road, HyTech Racing, GT Solar Racing, Wreck Racing and RoboJackets.

The group also engaged with Dr. Charles Isbell, Executive Associate Dean in the College of Computing and Dr. Ashok Goel, Professor in the School of Interactive Computing, about artificial intelligence’s impact on everything from workforce to policy.

“We are grateful that these Members of Congress and their staff would spend time learning how the people and technologies here at Georgia Tech are impacting their constituents,” said Robert Knotts, Georgia Tech’s Director of Federal Relations. “It’s important for them to visit with our amazing faculty, staff and students on campus so they can see firsthand how the Georgia Tech community is impacted by decisions they make in DC.”   

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  • Workflow Status:Published
  • Created By:Laura Means
  • Created:09/04/2018
  • Modified By:Laura Means
  • Modified:09/06/2018

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