Three College of Computing faculty members have been honored by Georgia Tech for their outstanding work. Ashwin Ram was awarded the 2011 Class of 1934 Outstanding Innovative Use of Education Technology, and Barbara Ericson and Mark Guzdial jointly received the2011 Faculty Outstanding Service Award.

An associate professor in the School of Interactive Computing, Ram earned the Class of 1934 award, which recognizes a faculty member who has developed and instituted innovative techniques to improve the learning environment and the learning process, for his work on OpenStudy. Ram co-founded OpenStudy, a social learning website that’s been called the “Match.com for online learners.” The site is set up in Facebook style, where users can add study partners, join groups, and post questions and answers. OpenStudy allows learners to widen their resources by giving them access to peer students across the world.  Ram’s award carries a $7,500 prize.

Ericson, director of CS outreach in the College, and Guzdial, professor in the School of Interactive Computing, received their joint award for work the two have done to promote computing education in the state through Georgia Computes! The Faculty Outstanding Service Award is presented to a faculty member who has benefited the Institute, profession, school/department or the general public in an exemplary manner. Through the programs of Georgia Computes!, Ericson and Guzdial have led the way in building and diversifying the pipeline of Georgia computing students. The two will receive an award of $5,000 provided by the Office of the Provost.