The Petit Center is made possible by a transformational commitment from technology entrepreneur, philanthropist, and Georgia Tech alumnus Parker H. "Pete" Petit.

Since 1980, Petit has provided significant philanthropic support across campus, including the naming of the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB), one of Georgia Tech’s 11 Interdisciplinary Research Institutes. IBB is an interdisciplinary hub for transforming biological discovery into real-world health impact, bringing together engineers, scientists, and clinicians to accelerate innovations in diagnostics, therapeutics, medical devices, and biomanufacturing. With more than 300 interdisciplinary faculty researchers, 13 research centers, and 1,300 trainees making unprecedented discoveries and generating innovative technologies, IBB is a catalyst for innovative bioengineering and bioscience research. 

The success of IBB led Petit to make his latest investment, which will build on Georgia Tech’s broader commitment to medical innovation: applying engineering, computing, AI, biosciences, and systems thinking to health challenges that require more than any one field can solve. The Petit Center’s work will strengthen the tools, partnerships, and research pathways needed to help more discoveries move from the lab toward real-world patient care. 

A key goal of the Petit Center will be to use AI to build more precise models of how disease works in the body. Its first research initiative will focus on creating virtual models of human cells. Led by Jeffrey Skolnick, Regents’ Professor and Mary and Maisie Gibson Chair and GRA Eminent Scholar in Computational Systems Biology in the School of Biological Sciences, researchers will use those models to study how diseases progress and to identify treatments that may work best for individual patients. 

By modeling disease at the cellular level, researchers can test ideas faster, uncover links among different diseases, and focus on therapies most likely to help patients based on their unique biology. The work could expedite the discovery of new therapies for some of the hardest-to-treat diseases, including pancreatic cancer and glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. 

“Medical innovation is one of the fastest-growing areas in Georgia Tech’s research, and Pete Petit’s commitment will help us further shape the future of medicine," said Ángel Cabrera, president of Georgia Tech. “This new research center will find new ways to harness the power of AI to accelerate critical medical discoveries and move them into clinical settings so patients can get the care they need. We’re deeply grateful for Pete's support, and we’re excited to get started.”

The Parker H. Petit Center for AI-Driven Health Innovation will operate under the Institute for Data Engineering and Science (IDEaS) and bring together researchers from across Georgia Tech to advance AI-driven approaches to human health. Researchers affiliated with the Petit Center will work across fields and with clinical and healthcare organizations to help close the gap between discovery and practical use. Over time and with additional investments, the Petit Center’s work will expand into areas such as cancer biomarker discovery, healthy aging, advanced cellular therapies, and AI-supported healthcare systems. 

"Georgia Tech has the expertise to redefine what is possible in healthcare through AI," said Skolnick. "By combining advanced computational methods with biological and medical insights, we can create powerful new approaches to predicting disease, identifying treatments, and improving patient outcomes." 

Petit’s commitment will support advanced computing infrastructure, graduate and postdoctoral fellowships, seed research grants, and annual programs that will bring together leading researchers from around the world working at the intersection of AI and health. 

Petit hopes this investment will inspire others to support interdisciplinary research at the Institute. "Georgia Tech has long demonstrated its ability to solve complex challenges," said Petit. "I believe artificial intelligence will fundamentally reshape healthcare, and I am excited to support a center that can help accelerate discoveries to improve and save lives." 

This transformative commitment is included in Transforming Tomorrow: The Campaign for Georgia Tech and is propelling the comprehensive campaign’s success.  

When Robbie van Zyl first started working with drones, it was not for defense. It started with curiosity. 

Beginning July 6, Techwood Drive will be fully closed to vehicular traffic between Bobby Dodd Way and North Avenue to support utility work associated with the renovation of the Smith and Howell residence halls. The sidewalk next to Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field will be closed to pedestrians. The eastern sidewalk, in front of the residence halls, will be open on either side of the project entrance.  

Traditional approaches to brain monitoring are often invasive, costly, and limited to clinical settings. New research from Georgia Tech points to a more accessible approach. A recent study published in Science Advances shows that a soft, wireless wearable device could help enable home-based monitoring of physiological changes associated with sleep and brain health.

The research team, led by W. Hong Yeo, Peterson Endowed Professor in the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and director of the Wearable Intelligent Systems and Healthcare Center and the Korea KIAT-Georgia Tech Semiconductor Electronics Center, developed a wearable device that uses light-based sensing and wireless communication to support natural sleep monitoring at home. The device is designed to collect data outside of a clinical environment, allowing researchers to study sleep in a more comfortable and realistic setting.

“This paper introduces the first soft, wireless, and non-invasive wearable near-infrared spectroscopy system capable of continuously monitoring brain water and glymphatic clearance dynamics in a natural home sleep environment, overcoming the restrictive, costly, and invasive limitations of traditional methods like MRI and polysomnography,” Yeo said.

The device works by emitting LED light at specific wavelengths. That light interacts with tissue and fluid near the brain, and reflected signals are detected by a photodetector placed on the skin. The collected data is then transmitted wirelessly via Bluetooth to a nearby device for analysis.

The researchers note that the optical measurements can be influenced by factors beyond brain-related fluid changes. Breathing depth, slight shifts in forehead pressure, body position, motion, and temperature drift can all affect the signal. 

For that reason, the team focused on changes and trends over time rather than claiming precise measurements of brain water content. They also emphasize that some of the measured signal may reflect effects from the skin, scalp, device pressure, or movement, in addition to changes associated with the brain.

By making sleep monitoring more comfortable and accessible, this soft wearable technology could help advance future studies of sleep, glymphatic activity, and brain health in real-world settings. The Wearable Intelligent Systems and Healthcare Center is supported by the Institute for Matter and Systems at Georgia Tech. 

DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aed2056

It’s a role she knows well.

For more than 11 years, Stoinski has served as president, CEO, and chief scientific officer of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, leading efforts to help the world better understand and protect Rwanda’s mountain gorillas — a species with only about 1,000 left in the wild.

Although she now oversees a multimillion-dollar budget and 400 employees worldwide, she never planned to be a CEO.

“I’m a scientist at my core,” says Stoinski. “Day to day, I function more as a leader and executive, but I still think of myself as a scientist first.”

Her job covers a wide range of responsibilities, including fundraising, public speaking, budgeting, and strategy. One week, she might find herself observing gorilla behavior in Rwanda; the next, she’s back in the U.S., discussing conservation on the popular Armchair Expert podcast. 

“I love my job,” she says. “It doesn’t feel like work; it’s a passion.”

A Helluva Scientist

One of the reasons Stoinski chose Georgia Tech for her Ph.D. was its connection to Zoo Atlanta.

Her doctoral advisor, the late Terry Maple, emeritus professor in the School of Psychological and Brain Sciences, served as director of Zoo Atlanta, giving students rare access to conservation-focused research.

“The zoo was our lab. I studied elephants, lemurs, gorillas, and golden lion tamarins, both in the zoo and in the wild in Brazil and Africa,” says Stoinski.

She appreciates how Georgia Tech prepared her for the challenges of her career.

“The rigor of a Georgia Tech education is something you need as a scientist,” she says. “I also had the opportunity to do a lot of public speaking and teaching, which are huge parts of my job now.”

Leading Global Conservation Efforts

After earning her Ph.D., Stoinski spent 14 years with Zoo Atlanta while also working with the Atlanta-based Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. She became CEO in 2014 and now oversees conservation and research programs in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Under her leadership, the Fossey Fund has expanded its footprint, including opening its Ellen DeGeneres Campus in 2022, a 12-acre research and education center in Rwanda.

The site includes labs, classrooms, and a restored landscape, where roughly 250,000 plants from 110 species have been planted to reestablish native ecosystems.

“We host hundreds of students — including groups from Georgia Tech, and support dozens of graduate and postdoctoral researchers, from countries all over the world including many from Africa,” she explains. “Seeing their excitement and commitment gives me lots of hope for the future.”

Scientific Storytelling

A Gorilla Story follows the Pablo family of mountain gorillas living on the slopes of Volcanoes National Park in northwestern Rwanda.

“The Pablo group goes back to Dian Fossey’s time,” explains Stoinski. “It’s the largest group of gorillas ever recorded, at one point reaching 65 individuals. An average gorilla family is about 10.”

Due to Rwandan regulations, filming could take place for just one hour each day. Filmmakers and scientists would often have to hike for five to six hours to reach the gorillas.

Because Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund researchers have followed these gorilla families for decades, they were already familiar with the individual gorillas, including six generations of family history, which “makes the story incredibly rich,” says Stoinski.

“You see grief, relationships, alliances — all of it,” she says. “Ultimately, I hope that connection leads people to care and to take action.”

Collaborative Conservation

Stoinski’s career is all about taking action — and inspiring others to do the same.

“We need people on the ground doing this work, but we also need people outside of our field to support and be aware of what’s happening to gorillas and the planet’s biodiversity,” she says.

She encourages Tech students to stay informed:

 “Even if you’re not going into conservation, take a class, listen, learn,” she says. “Unfortunately, there are real challenges facing the next generation.”

She frequently points out that by helping gorillas, we’re saving ourselves, sharing that gorillas live in the Congo Basin, one of the most important ecosystems on Earth. By dispersing seeds and maintaining forest structure, they help sustain environments critical for climate stability and planetary health.

“Protecting gorillas means protecting those ecosystems, which ultimately support human survival.”

A Lasting Georgia Tech Connection

Stoinski maintains strong ties to Georgia Tech through research collaborations and student engagement. Projects over the years have included helping to establish the Center for Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing at the University of Rwanda, geospatial mapping, and architectural design and planning. 

She invites alumni and students to engage with the work firsthand.

“I encourage more Georgia Tech alumni and students to work with us or come see us. And if you want to meet with a Georgia Tech grad, I lead tours: we can put on our Tech gear and take a photo with the gorillas!”

For communities across the country, this growth hits close to home, and not without controversy. What do data centers actually deliver for the local economies that host them?
 

New research from Daniel Yue, assistant professor of Information Technology Management at Georgia Tech’s Scheller College of Business, and his co-author, Yiyang Zeng, examines how data center openings affect local jobs, wages, business activity, and electricity prices. Their findings suggest that geography plays a decisive role in whether communities see meaningful economic gains.
 

“Enormous amounts of capital are flowing into specific communities, much of it tied to new construction, while rigorous evidence on the local benefits of these facilities has been thin,” said Yue. “Community pushback has organized rapidly across the country. Our paper begins to fill that gap by providing new evidence using detailed, facility-level data paired with county-level economic indicators.”

A Historic Investment Wave

There are more than 2,500 data centers, either active or under construction, across the United States. Individual hyperscale facilities often cost more than $1 billion to construct and can consume as much electricity as a small city. Is it all worth it?

On average, Yue and Zeng found that when a data center opens, the host county sees a measurable lift: Employment rises by about 3.5%, wages by 5%, business establishments by nearly 5%, and household income by about 2%. Building permits also increase sharply, reflecting construction activity tied to new facilities.

These are real, economically meaningful gains. But Yue and Zeng discovered that these gains are much smaller than what might be expected from a large investment. And they’re not evenly distributed.

Why Metro Areas Benefit More

The researchers’ clearest finding is that metropolitan areas capture most of the economic benefits from data centers, while rural areas see far fewer spillover effects. While metro counties saw increases in employment and new business growth, non-metro counties saw no measurable gains.

The reason comes down to what economists call “agglomeration,” or economic density.

Data centers don’t operate in isolation. They rely on construction contractors, engineers, equipment suppliers, professional services, and a skilled workforce. Those connections are far easier to build in places that already have deep labor markets and established business networks.

Metropolitan areas are well-positioned to absorb the indirect spending that data centers generate. High-wage technical employees support restaurants, retail, and local services. Suppliers and contractors can scale up quickly. These spillover effects amplify the impact of the initial investment.

In rural areas, that amplification is much harder to achieve. Facilities tend to employ relatively few permanent workers — often fewer than 100 — and many specialized services are imported from outside the county. As a result, the broader economic ripple never materializes.

That doesn’t mean rural communities see no benefit at all. The research finds a small but real drop in unemployment rates in non-metro counties, and local governments may still gain tax revenue or infrastructure investments. But the sweeping job and wage growth often promised during local recruitment efforts will not likely arrive on its own.

“Location, not facility size, determines whether the local benefits show up,” Yue said.

The Hidden Cost: Electricity Prices

Yue and Zeng’s research also uncovers an important trade-off. Data centers use a lot of electricity. A single large facility can use as much power as roughly 80,000 homes. In areas where the researchers can cleanly measure price effects, electricity prices rise by about 5% after a data center enters.

“When the benefits to communities are small, even downsides like higher electricity prices that strain infrastructure will be felt by locals,” Yue shared.

Who pays for the increased cost of electricity isn’t straightforward. Yue and Zeng’s research suggests communities should ask specific questions about who pays for new infrastructure and how those costs will be distributed. Local utility companies divide costs differently among homeowners, businesses, and large industrial users, including data centers. Because cost-sharing systems vary by state, each data center development is unique.

What Communities Should Consider

As states and cities work to attract or push back against data center construction, Yue and Zeng hope their research will encourage more evidence-based decision-making.

For metro areas with strong labor markets and dense business ecosystems, data centers can deliver meaningful, though not transformative, economic gains. For rural communities, the positive impact is more complicated.

“In 10 years, communities will likely wish they had pressed harder on the quality of the decision itself, including whether the debate was evidence-based, whether their local economy was equipped to capture the gains, and whether the fine print aligned with residents' long-term interests,” Yue said. “It’s vital that communities look past flashy, headline incentive packages and focus on the details: tax abatement structures, electricity tariff arrangements, and who ultimately pays for infrastructure upgrades.”

As data centers continue to dot the American landscape, understanding where they create shared value — and where they don’t — will be critical for community leaders and policymakers alike.
 
Read More: The Local Economic Effects of Data Center Entry

The North Georgia Lightning Mapping Array (NGLMA) uses specialized detection equipment to generate detailed maps of the lightning that occurs in the metropolitan Atlanta area. Through a collaboration between GTRI and the National Weather Service (NWS), the array provided continuous lightning information to agencies responsible for visitor safety.
 

“The North Georgia Lightning Mapping Array is providing decision-support information to agencies responsible for protecting events in Atlanta related to the World Cup,” said Michael Peterson, director of the GTRI Severe Storms Research Center (SSRC). “The system has been up and running and gave us excellent measurements of the thunderstorms that occurred in mid-June. It complements the other sources of weather information that the agencies have available.”
 

Read the full article on the Georgia Tech Research Institute news page

Before fans fill the stadiums and World Cup moments are made on match days, grounds crews are hard at work inside the 16 stadiums hosting the global tournament, preparing the pitch that will serve as the canvas for the art that is the beautiful game.  

A new study published July 9 in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research demonstrates how artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to automatically detect and classify new e-cigarette devices with screens. The study, led by Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) scientists, in collaboration with the CDC Foundation, analyzed publicly available product images from online tobacco retailers. 
 

“Monitoring online e-cigarette marketing is like a game of Whack-A-Mole, with so many new products and features popping up,” said Kristy Marynak, PhD, Senior Director for Tobacco Control Initiatives at the CDC Foundation and a study author. “This study shows how machine learning techniques can shed light on the online e-cigarette marketplace and the vast quantities and types of e-cigarette products available.”

Read the full article on the Georgia Tech Research Institute news page
 

That dichotomy is part of what drives the field of synthetic biology: where scientists apply engineering principles to learn from and carefully adapt nature’s biological systems to address human problems. By understanding biological systems, scientists can carefully redirect them when natural processes cause harm.

This principle has shaped my work as a biomedical engineer for over two decades. My lab studies how to program cells in order to better understand their behavior and ultimately use them as medicine. The goal is not to discard or replace nature, but to learn from biological principles and use that knowledge to responsibly help society.

Researchers announced on July 2, 2026, that they had created the first synthetic cell built from purified, nonliving components.

The lab’s cell-like system, dubbed SpudCell, raises key questions: What does it take to build a cell from scratch? If scientists assemble something that feeds, grows, copies genetic material and divides, have they created life?

How to Create Cells From Scratch

Natural cells are astonishingly complicated. Researchers want to use synthetic cells to learn more about how life works, and they are doing this by rebuilding some of life’s basic features in a simpler, more understandable form.

Earlier designs of minimal cells, used to test which components are necessary for lifelike behavior, began with existing living cells and reduced the size of their genomes. A minimal cell is useful because it is simple, but that simplicity comes at a cost. It may reveal which parts are needed for lifelike behavior, but it usually lacks the autonomy, resilience, metabolism and evolutionary capacity of natural cells.

Instead, synthetic cells are built through a bottom-up engineering approach. Scientists start with a simplified compartment – a kind of biological “box” – and ask what must be added for it to behave more like a living cell. A membrane separates the inside from the outside. Genetic material stores instructions. Molecular machinery reads those instructions to make molecules. Energy sources power reactions. Other components can allow growth, division and adaptation.

A useful way to think about synthetic cells is to compare them with technologies society already depends on. The radio wasn’t invented all at once. Engineers learned how to combine an antenna, tuner, amplifier, power source and speaker to convert invisible electromagnetic waves into sound. A car is not just a metal shell; it becomes transportation only when a frame is connected to wheels, brakes, steering, an engine, and transmission and control systems. A computer began with switches and strings of ones and zeros that could be assembled into circuits capable of storing and processing information.

Similarly, SpudCell was assembled from the bottom up with purified, nonliving parts. Researchers used lipid molecules to create a cell-like membrane, DNA molecules to store genetic instructions, purified enzymes to copy and read those instructions, and other molecular machinery to help build proteins and other molecules from small chemical building blocks, such as amino acids and nucleotides.

SpudCell is exciting scientists because it appears to bring several features of life together in one system. The researchers describe it as capable of feeding, growth, genome replication, genetically encoded division and something close to evolution. These features resemble a biological cell cycle.

Close to Life, But Not Quite

While SpudCell is an important milestone in the field, it stops short of being a fully synthetic living cell. A membrane-bound compartment containing DNA is not automatically a living cell, just as a pile of car parts is not a car.

SpudCell can carry out several life-like processes, but it is not independent. It still relies on carefully controlled laboratory conditions and on researchers to supply its molecular machinery. It doesn’t reliably pass on its genetic material or spontaneously evolve the way natural cells do.

To approach life, a synthetic cell must coordinate many processes at once. NASA describes life as a “self-sustaining chemical system capable of Darwinian evolution,” meaning it must independently use energy, copy information, grow, divide, respond to its surroundings and persist over time. Natural cells do this with extraordinary reliability because they are the products of billions of years of evolution.

SpudCell still falls short of that standard. It depends on researchers to continuously supply it with the molecular machinery to function and to physically help it divide. It also cannot reproduce indefinitely outside a carefully controlled laboratory environment. In other words, SpudCell may have been built rather than born, but it is not yet autonomous life.

That limitation does not make the achievement unimportant. In fact, it is scientifically valuable precisely because it exposes what is still missing to create life. Which parts are essential? Which processes must be coordinated? How much complexity is necessary before chemistry begins to look like biology?

Why Create Synthetic Cells?

Those questions have practical importance. Answering them can help scientists and engineers design safer biological systems for a wide range of industries.

Synthetic cells allow scientists to more cleanly test how the surrounding membrane separates the inside of a cell from its environment, how genetic instructions are read, how energy is used, and how growth and division are coordinated. These cell-like systems could eventually become simplified test beds for studying biological circuits, disease mechanisms and the origins of life.

They could also help scientists build safer systems for making medicines, fuels or materials, detecting environmental toxins, or delivering therapies without relying on fully living organisms.

More broadly, synthetic biology connects medicine and biotechnology: Viruses can be redesigned into vaccines or gene therapy, immune cells can be reprogrammed to recognize cancer, and microbes can be engineered to make useful molecules, such as insulin, or detect pollutants.

Similarly, researchers could use synthetic cells to deliver a drug only to diseased tissue, or create microbial systems that detect toxins or pathogens in water. They can also act as simplified biological factories that can make medicines without requiring a fully living organism, or as biosensors providing early warning of dangerous threats, such as bioweapons.

Creating Life Responsibly

The philosophical question “Is SpudCell alive?” may not have a simple yes or no answer.

Depending on whether your definition of life emphasizes metabolism, reproduction, evolution, autonomy or cellular organization, the boundary between living and nonliving can look very different.

Life is not defined by one property alone. Viruses contain genetic information but depend on host cells to reproduce. Mitochondria perform essential metabolism but cannot live independently outside of cells. A seed can remain dormant for years before resuming growth.

When synthetic biology is guided by a strong sense of responsibility, scientists can learn how to redirect harmful processes, build safer tools and help society. This requires not only asking whether biological systems can be built, but also whether their creation should be controlled, where they should function and what safeguards are needed.

Over the past two decades, scientists have built many kinds of biological kill switches – that is, genetic circuits that can shut down engineered cells under specific conditions. Some researchers have made cells dependent on a specific nutrient. Others have created cells that can survive only in a particular environment or activate self-destructive pathways when conditions change.

Kill switches are not magic off buttons and do not replace careful regulation, physical containment or public oversight. But they are an important example of synthetic biology’s moral compass: to not only build useful biological tools, but to build them with safety, accountability and humility in mind.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The latest rankings build on a record year for Georgia Tech commercialization. In 2025, the Institute reported advancing hundreds of technologies toward the marketplace, while achieving record levels of invention disclosures, issued patents, and licensed technologies. Those milestones underscore Georgia Tech’s expanding role in transforming research discoveries into products, companies, and partnerships that create economic and societal value.

“The strong performance reflects a commercialization strategy focused not only on protecting IP, but also on helping researchers translate discoveries into practical applications,” said Raghupathy “Siva” Sivakumar, chief commercialization officer at Georgia Tech. “Whether through licensing technologies, launching startups, or partnering with industry, we are building pathways that help researchers transform discoveries into real-world solutions.” 

From advanced health technologies to environmental monitoring tools and next-generation aerospace ventures, Georgia Tech innovations are reaching users and markets in increasingly diverse ways. One example is Kinemo, a startup developed through Georgia Tech research that is helping people with limited mobility regain independence through wearable assistive technology. Founded by researchers from the College of Engineering, Kinemo uses physiological sensing and small intentional movements to enable users to control digital devices. The company works closely with clinicians and patients at Shepherd Center to refine the technology and expand accessibility for individuals living with spinal cord injuries and mobility limitations.

Another example is Skopii, a startup launched from research in the lab of environmental engineering professor Ameet Pinto. The company is commercializing portable imaging and artificial intelligence technology that enables users to rapidly analyze microorganisms in water and environmental systems, eliminating the need for lengthy laboratory testing. The technology has the potential to improve decision-making for water utilities, food production systems, and environmental monitoring efforts.

As research institutions face increasing pressure to demonstrate impact beyond publications and laboratory discoveries, Georgia Tech continues to show how world-class research can translate into technologies, startups, jobs, and solutions that improve lives. The latest AUTM rankings provide another measure of that success, highlighting an innovation ecosystem that consistently moves ideas from the lab to the marketplace.

Startups such as Kinemo and Skopii illustrate the broader commercialization approach reflected in Georgia Tech's AUTM rankings. 

Georgia Tech has appointed the College of Computing’s David Joyner as interim vice provost for AI in Education, effective July 1. In this role, Joyner will lead implementation of the Institute’s academic artificial intelligence (AI) strategy. He will coordinate efforts across Colleges and administrative units and seek to expand access to resources, partnerships, and opportunities that support AI fluency, faculty innovation, and student success. 

“Peatlands are essential carbon stores, but as temperatures warm, this carbon is in danger of being released as carbon dioxide and methane,” says Kostka, who is also the associate chair for Research in the School of Biological Sciences and the director of Georgia Tech for Georgia’s Tomorrow. Understanding the ratio of carbon dioxide to methane is critical, he adds, because while both are greenhouse gasses, methane is significantly more potent.

Kostka is the corresponding author of a new study unearthing how and why peatlands are producing carbon dioxide and methane. 

The research, “Northern peatland microbial communities exhibit resistance to warming and acquire electron acceptors from soil organic matter,” was published this summer in Nature Communications, and was led by co-first authors Borja Aldeguer-Riquelme, a postdoctoral research associate in the Environmental Microbial Genomics Laboratory, and Katherine Duchesneau, a Ph.D. student in the School of Biological Sciences.

The study builds on a decade of research at the Oak Ridge National Lab’s Spruce and Peatland Responses Under Changing Environments (SPRUCE) experiment, a long-term research project in Minnesota that allows researchers to warm whole sections of wetland from tree top to bog bottom.

“Over the past 10 years, we’ve shown that warming in this large-scale climate experiment increases greenhouse gas production,” Kostka says. “But while warming makes the bog produce more methane, we still observe a lot more CO2 production than methane. In this paper, we take a critical step towards discovering why — and describing the mechanisms that determine which gases are released and in what amounts.”

Methane mystery

The subdued methane production in peatlands has been a long-standing mystery. In water-saturated wetlands, oxygen is scarce, but microbes still need to respire — a type of ‘breathing’ that allows them to produce energy for metabolic function. Without oxygen, microbes use nitrate, sulfate, or metals to respire — still releasing carbon dioxide in the process. However, if these ingredients aren’t present, microbes ‘breathe’ in a way that releases methane.

Since nitrate, sulfate, and metals are relatively rare in peatlands, methane production should be the most likely pathway, but surprisingly, observations show the opposite. “In both fieldwork and lab experiments, peatlands produce much more carbon dioxide than methane,” Kostka explains. “It’s puzzling because the soil conditions should help methane production dominate.”

To solve this mystery, the team leveraged a suite of cutting-edge genetic tools called “omics” —  metagenomics (studying DNA), metatranscriptomics (studying RNA), and metabolomics (a technique used to study the “leftovers” of metabolism), providing a detailed look under the hood of the microbial “engine” that cycles organic matter in wetlands. It also gave a new window into the diversity of soil microbes in wetlands: 80 percent of the organisms identified in the study were new at the genus level.

‘Omics’ innovations

Over the course of several years, the team collected samples from a peatland enclosed in an experimental chamber that was slowly warmed, then analyzed the samples using omics to see how they changed. Initially, they hypothesized that warming the soil would cause microbial communities to change quickly. “Microbes can evolve and grow rapidly,” Kostka says. “But that didn’t happen.”

The DNA-based methods showed that while the microbial communities stayed largely stable, the bog did release more greenhouse gasses as it warmed. To assess the metabolic potential of the microbes, Duchesneau and Aldeguer-Riquelme constructed microbial genomes, investigating how they were decomposing the organic matter in peatlands and cycling carbon.

“We found that microbial activity increases with warming, but the growth response of microbial communities lags behind these changes in physiological or metabolic activity,” Kostka says. He cautions that this doesn’t necessarily mean that wetland communities won’t change as climates warm — just that these shifts might come behind metabolic ones. 

A diversity of discoveries

And the methane? The team believes that microbes may be breaking down organic matter to access the key ingredients for producing carbon dioxide — nitrate, sulfate, and metals — though more research is currently underway to investigate this.

“Doing this type of integrated omics research in soil systems is still incredibly difficult,” Kostka says. The challenge is multifaceted: the research leverages years of experiments, long-term datasets, advanced laboratory techniques, and fieldwork innovations. 

At SPRUCE, experimental chambers are about 1,000 square feet. While it’s an impressive experimental setup, researchers still must be careful: “We need to take soil samples for many years, so if we take too many, there’d be no soil left!” Kostka explains. “Part of our research involves developing better, non-destructive sampling techniques.”

The other challenge lies in what makes these peatlands so unique: it’s very hard to detect small changes because of the sheer diversity of organisms present. “Every time we conduct this type of research, we learn more about these incredible systems,” he says. “There’s always something new.”

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-61664-7

Funding: The Office of Biological and Environmental Research, Terrestrial Ecosystem Science Program and Genomic Science programs, under the US Department of Energy (DOE); the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a DOE Office of Science User Facility sponsored by the Biological and Environmental Research program. The SPRUCE experiment is funded by the Biological and Environmental Research program in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.

School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Professor Yuhang Wang and his team studied the factors affecting SO₂ and sulfate concentrations during winter and summer in the “Rust Belt” — from New York through the Midwest — and the Southeast regions of the U.S. over two decades (2004 to 2023). Supported by the National Science Foundation and Georgia Tech’s Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems, the team also developed an ensemble machine learning approach to project seasonal patterns until 2050. 

“Power plants, particularly those burning coal and oil, are a major source of SO₂ emissions in these regions,” says Wang, who co-authored, with Ph.D. students Fanghe Zhao and Shengjun Xi, the study recently published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters. 

Seasonal differences in atmospheric chemistry 

In the U.S., the chemistry in the atmosphere varies among the seasons. During summer, solar radiation from ample sunlight activates oxidant reactions that produce hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) in the atmosphere. The supply of H₂O₂ is determined by the amount of emitted air pollution, and once in the atmosphere, H₂O₂ can oxidize SO₂ quickly into sulfate aerosols in the aqueous phase. 

Sulfate aerosols from the oxidation of SO₂ contribute to the formation of particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter (PM2.5). Particulate sulfate poses significant environmental and public health risks, including air pollution, acid rain, and circulatory and respiratory issues. 

“The supply of H₂O₂ in summer is eight times greater than in winter — a huge difference — which means sulfate concentrations are generally higher in summer and a reduction in SO₂ emissions leads to a proportional decrease in sulfate concentrations,” explains Wang. “When SO₂ emissions exceed the available supply of H₂O₂ in winter, the reduction in sulfate concentrations can be much smaller because of a ‘chemical damping’ effect that causes sulfate levels to decline more slowly than SO₂ emissions.” 

Narrowing the disparities between seasonal sulfate levels 

The study’s two-decade observations revealed distinct patterns in the reduction of SO₂ emissions and sulfate concentrations during winter and summer. 

While SO₂ emissions significantly decreased in both seasons­ over time — primarily from the Clean Air Act and more power plants transitioning from coal to natural gas — the reduction of sulfate concentrations initially showed large seasonal differences. However, over the past decade, the disparity between winter and summer sulfate levels narrowed as SO₂ emissions decreased.

According to Wang, the seasonal disparity of sulfate was caused by changing chemical regimes in winter over time. Although the lower supply of H₂O₂ remained stable in winter, SO₂ wintertime emissions were higher from 2004 to 2013, then dropped below the level of H₂O₂ after 2013 — reaching parity with the levels of reduced SO₂ emissions in the summer. 

“When you have this complexity of atmospheric chemistry, there is a non-linear effect in winter — as SO₂ emissions decreased, sulfate aerosol production efficiency increased until 2013, then flattened as of today. The reduction in sulfate aerosols initially lagged behind the decrease in SO₂ emissions but eventually caught up as a result of sustained air quality control efforts,” says Wang. “Conversely, there is a simple, linear effect in summer — the more SO₂ emissions, the more sulfate aerosols in the atmosphere — and if you reduce one, the other is reduced by the same proportion.”

Decades-long full impact 

From now until 2050, the researchers’ machine learning projections indicate a continuing decrease of winter and summer sulfate levels, which are currently around 20 percent, as SO₂ emission controls achieve comparable efficacy across the seasons. 

“We’re now seeing the full impact from the Clean Air Act,” concludes Wang, “and the nation’s sustained effort in pollution reduction is key to improving air quality and health outcomes.”

The University System of Georgia’s (USG) Unified Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Program team continues to make steady progress through the Architect and Configure phase, which will continue through the calendar year.  

Malena Bisanti’s work and life mirror each other. She calls herself a “lifetime learner” by practice. She works with faculty to design the visual presentation of online graduate courses while spending her free time constructing layered works of art. Somewhere between the classroom and the studio, her philosophy, career, and creativity have come together into a real-life collage. 

On June 17, the Office of Information Technology will add Info-Tech to its catalog of IT learning and development resources offered to the Georgia Tech community.  

1. It’s not about exposure anymore. Atlanta is already a global city, so the focus is on whether the World Cup delivers lasting value for residents.
2. Economic impact is uneven. Big headline numbers do not show who actually benefits, and much of the spending may not reach local communities.
3. Infrastructure will be tested. Transportation and downtown systems will face heavy strain, raising concerns about what improvements last beyond the event.
4. The hidden story is food and logistics. Behind the scenes, Georgia Tech researchers are working to reduce food waste and strengthen systems that could outlast the tournament.

A Global Stage and Familiar Promises

As Atlanta welcomes the world for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the promises are familiar: millions of visitors, global attention, economic growth, and a chance to showcase the city on one of the biggest stages in sports.

But Georgia Tech experts say the real question is not whether the tournament will generate activity — it is who benefits from it and what remains after the final match is played.

From Visibility to Value

Mega-events have long been sold as catalysts for transformation. The 1996 Olympics reshaped Atlanta’s physical landscape and helped position the city as a global destination. Thirty years later, the World Cup arrives at a very different moment.

“There are similarities,” said Emily Barrett, assistant professor in the School of City and Regional Planning. “Like the Olympics, the World Cup is an accelerator for infrastructure upgrades and public and private investment alike.”

Atlanta is seeing significant public investment in transportation improvements and billions of dollars in private development downtown. But today’s Atlanta is very different from Atlanta in the 1990s.

“Atlanta is no longer a city seeking recognition on the world stage,” Barrett said. “We are a thriving and growing city.”

That shifts the conversation from visibility to value.

“The open question is whether hosting mega-events makes the city work better for the people who live here,” Barrett added.

The Economics Behind the Headlines

Assessing that value becomes more complicated when economic forecasts enter the conversation.

Large projections often dominate headlines, but Declan Abernethy, lecturer in the School of History and Sociology, cautions that economic impact estimates rarely tell the whole story.

“It is far easier to put out an economic impact projection compared to the difficulty of measuring impact,” Abernethy said.

While visitors will spend money on hotels, restaurants, transportation, and entertainment, he notes that much of that spending may not reach the community.

“When we look closely at that spending, we can see that much of the profit will be taken in by large corporations or FIFA in the immediate vicinity of Mercedes-Benz Stadium and not as much by Atlanta residents or small businesses,” he said.

According to Barrett, economic studies often overlook a critical question: What could alternative investments have accomplished?

“Economic studies rarely account for displacement costs, or whether the same public dollars could have generated similar or better outcomes if invested elsewhere,” she said.

Pressure Points Across the City

The World Cup’s impact extends beyond economics; it will also test Atlanta’s infrastructure at a scale few events can match.

Michael Hunter, professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, says the biggest challenge may be the volume of people moving through the city.

“There will be a number of pressure points. However, one of the most significant will be just the number of people,” Hunter said. “This event will attract significant crowds.”

Atlanta’s transportation agencies have spent years preparing, drawing on lessons learned from events including the Super Bowl, World Series, and major concerts. Still, capacity limits are unavoidable.

“There is only so much traffic that MARTA or any transit agency can handle,” Hunter said. “People need to understand that there will be congestion and longer wait times. The key is to be patient.”

The concern is whether those investments result in lasting improvements or merely support a few weeks of activity.

Abernethy argues that the World Cup should be viewed as part of a broader vision for Atlanta rather than a standalone catalyst.

“We are seeing the World Cup as a part of a longer-running and more cohesive vision for sport and economic development downtown,” he said. “Atlanta may not be repeating the same cycle nor cracking downtown’s development problem with the World Cup itself.”

Behind the Scenes: Food and Logistics

Infrastructure challenges extend beyond transportation. Feeding hundreds of thousands of visitors while minimizing waste requires its own network of logistics, coordination, and planning.

Nicole Kennard, a research scientist at Georgia Tech’s Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems, views the tournament as an opportunity to strengthen how food moves throughout the city.

“These large events are a really big opportunity for us to coordinate and test our infrastructure,” Kennard said. “We have to think critically about how to improve the infrastructure and ensure its resilience and efficiency.”

Working with organizations such as Second Helpings Atlanta, the official food rescue partner for the World Cup, Georgia Tech researchers are building technologies and tools to improve coordination among food rescue groups. The effort aims to keep surplus food out of landfills by quickly moving it from stadiums and vendors to local food organizations.

“It’s really a logistics problem, a data problem, and a coordination problem,” Kennard said. “The faster you can move food from the point of surplus directly to a pantry, the more likely it is to reach people who need it.”

What Legacy Looks Like

Ultimately, Atlanta’s World Cup legacy may not be measured by attendance figures or visitor spending alone.

“How we evaluate success depends on what we choose to measure, and too often we focus on headline numbers instead of who actually benefits,” said Abernethy.

Kennard sees the tournament as a chance to build systems that outlast the event itself. “What we build for the World Cup could become critical infrastructure for future emergencies and disasters,” she said.

Atlanta already knows how to host a global event. Whether the investments, partnerships, and infrastructure created for the World Cup leave the city stronger after the crowds leave remains to be seen.

After leading Georgia Tech through one of the most successful periods in its history, President Ángel Cabrera has been selected to serve as the next president and CEO of the Aspen Institute, one of the world’s foremost nonprofit organizations dedicated to leadership, dialogue, and addressing society’s most pressing challenges. 

1. You’re paying more at the pump, and it’s not going away anytime soon.

Gas prices are the most visible sign of the crisis, and the increases are already significant. National average retail gasoline prices are more than $1.20 higher than they were in February, before the conflict escalated.

“Even though U.S. petroleum production often exceeds our consumption, we are not insulated from disruptions in global oil supply because oil is a globally traded commodity,” says director of the Energy Policy and Innovation Center, Laura Taylor. “If supply is restricted anywhere in the world, prices will rise everywhere, including in the U.S.”

Markets expect some relief by fall, with future prices pointing lower than today’s levels. But Tony Harding, assistant professor in the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School of Public Policy, cautions, “Prices are likely to remain above pre-conflict levels for the foreseeable future, and temporary relief measures, such as Georgia’s motor fuel tax suspension, will not last forever.”

Taylor puts it plainly: “Wages are not rising faster than prices, so people are feeling the pinch and will continue to do so.”

2. Your summer plans just got more expensive.

The impact does not stop at the gas station. For Americans planning summer travel, the timing of this conflict could not be worse. Matthew Oliver, associate professor in the School of Economics, points to commercial air travel as one of the most exposed sectors.

“Jet fuel prices have roughly doubled in the wake of the current oil price spike, putting immediate upward pressure on airfares,” says Oliver.

The ripple effects extend far beyond travel. 

“Oil is an input into the supply chain of nearly every good at some point,” says Bobby Harris, assistant professor in the School of Economics. “When input costs go up, prices go up.”

3. Expect to pay more at the grocery store.

The connection between Middle East tensions and the American dinner table is more direct than many realize, because petrochemicals are a key feedstock for fertilizer production.

“Higher oil prices lead to higher fertilizer prices, which lead to higher food prices,” says Oliver. 

Combined with existing tariff pressures and tight supply chains, the strain on household budgets is coming from multiple directions at once.

“If the crisis persists, there will be upward pressure on the prices of nearly every physical good,” Oliver adds.

4. The government’s options are limited, and the clock is ticking.

Washington has tools to respond, but none are silver bullets. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve currently holds around 400 million barrels and can release about 4 million barrels per day, roughly 20% of U.S. daily demand.

“I see the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as a tool to buy time during a crisis,” says public policy professor Dan Matisoff. “But if the conflict drags on, we will ultimately be in a more vulnerable position.”

Quick fixes like price caps or demand subsidies carry trade-offs. 

“Subsidies can mitigate the impact of price shocks, but they can also mask important market signals that help balance supply and demand,” says Harding, using Europe’s 2022 energy crisis as a cautionary example.

5. The smartest thing Americans can do right now is think about efficiency.

“People in general tend to undervalue energy efficiency,” says Matisoff. “Think of energy efficiency investments as a sort of hedge or insurance against volatile energy prices.”

That means considering fuel efficiency when buying a car, and looking at heat pumps, electric vehicles, and home energy upgrades when the time is right.

“Higher energy prices increase the value of investing in energy efficiency upgrades to your home and adopting technologies that are less dependent on fossil fuels,” says Harding.

For families navigating uncertainty, both economists and policy experts point to the same practical advice: Reduce your exposure to fossil fuel price swings before the next crisis hits.

Georgia Tech’s Landscape Services collaborates with student leaders to develop projects that have a big impact yet are easily completed in a few hours. This year’s opportunities range from planting wildflowers, shrubs, and trees to laying sod, pulling weeds, and spreading pine straw.  

The event begins with breakfast and a welcome by student leaders. Groups of eight to 10 volunteers are then given tools and gloves and directed to the various worksites across campus. One ambitious goal this year is to plant 200 native azaleas.  

“Our department enjoys working with the students not only because we are able to get a lot of work done in a short amount of time, but it also gives students a small window into the hard work our teams do daily,” says Interim Associate Director of Landscape Services Neil Fuller. “Students also gain a sense of pride when they can look at a completed job and say they did it.  And it gives the students a chance to make their mark on campus and be able to come back and point out a specific plant or tree and tell their family how they planted it years ago.” 

Tech Beautification Day has a long history of engaging students, faculty, staff, and family members on a spring Saturday. Campus archives reveal that during one event more than 1,000 volunteers worked together to beautify campus. Additionally, photographs from 2012 show the entire football team, along with coaches and families, participating. Organizers are working toward increasing participation to pre-pandemic numbers, and this year is just the beginning. Sign up now to spend a morning making the Georgia Tech campus even more beautiful than it already is.  

April 1, 2023 Schedule:

8:30 a.m. – Breakfast, check in, and welcome at The Kendeda Building

9 a.m. – noon: Volunteer projects 

12:30 p.m. – Clean up, return tools, closing remarks 

SIGN UP TO PARTICIPATE 

The streets have been paved. The grass has been mowed. Projects across the city have rushed to completion in anticipation of Atlanta hosting eight World Cup matches in June and July. Georgia Tech’s campus will join in the excitement, and the campus community is ready. 

Pathway of Progress was made possible by significant philanthropic support from Andrea Laliberte, IE 1982, M.S. IE 1984, HON Ph.D. 2025, and designed by Merica May Jensen, MGT 2008, M. ARCH 2011. The 2026 honorees embody the Institute’s motto of Progress and Service and have made a lasting impact on the world around them.

2026 Pathway of Progress Honorees

Niesha Alice Butler, INTA 2016, is the founder and CEO of S.T.E.A.M. CHAMPS. Her multifaceted career has included serving as a software engineer and computer science instructor. She has founded multiple companies focused on teaching coding, robotics, and engineering to underserved communities. While a student at Georgia Tech, she played basketball and was named ACC Rookie of the Year in 1999. 

Mary Ann Gordon, EE 1981, is a retired vice president of quality compliance at Altria Group. Her work in engineering and manufacturing has influenced industry standards and operational excellence. A leader in her community, she also serves the Institute through her involvement on multiple boards, including the College of Engineering Advisory Board and the Georgia Tech Foundation Board of Trustees. She has given back to Georgia Tech through her support of undergraduate scholarships and Roll Call, among other areas of interest.

Margie Ann Morse, NE 1979, is a pioneer in the field of nuclear engineering. She co-founded the engineering firm Parallax in 1992 and grew it into a multimillion-dollar nuclear logistics service company. She has remained involved with the Institute and served on the Georgia Tech Advisory Board. 

Heather Smith Rocker, IE 1998, is the CEO of Women in Technology, an organization dedicated to creating more opportunities for women and girls to explore, pursue, persist, and lead in technology. She has served with organizations focused on advancing Georgia through STEM-focused education, workplace development, and leadership development, and was a member of the Georgia Tech Alumni Association Board of Trustees.

Marilyn Jones Smith, AE 1982, M.S. AE 1985, Ph.D. AE 1994, is the David S. Lewis Professor in the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering and director of the Vertical Lift Research Center of Excellence. She is a pioneer in the aerospace industry and leads award-winning research teams focused on critical aeromechanics issues. In addition to mentoring hundreds of students, she serves as a caregiver to the many cats who call the Georgia Tech campus home. 

Ridhi Tariyal, IE 2002, is the co-founder and CEO of NextGen Jane. A leader in health science, she developed a method for using menstrual fluid for diagnostic testing, advancing the science of women’s health and making testing more accessible.

Liz Harriss York, ARCH 1990, M. ARCH 1995, is a managing principal at HDR. A recognized leader in sustainability, architecture, and public health, she was the first chief sustainability officer for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She has demonstrated her commitment to Georgia Tech through her volunteer leadership and service on the Georgia Tech Alumni Association Board of Trustees,  as well as through her philanthropic support across campus.

The first week of June marks National CPR and AED Awareness Week, but year-round, Georgia Tech students are helping equip the campus community with lifesaving skills. 

Read more »

As an energy economist, I am often asked about what contributes to gas prices and what different policies can do to affect them.

The price of a retail gallon of gas is the sum of four things: the cost of crude oil, refining, distribution and marketing, and taxes.

In nationwide figures from January 2026, crude oil accounted for about 51% of the pump price, refining roughly 20%, distribution and marketing about 11% and taxes about 18%. That mix shifts with conditions: When crude oil prices spike, that can drive more than 60% of the price; when the price drops, taxes and logistics are larger shares of the cost.

Crude Oil is the Biggest Ingredient

Because the price of crude oil is the largest element, most of the price at the pump is derived from the global oil market.

Usually, big swings in crude prices come mainly from shifts in global demand and expectations – not from supply disruptions, according to widely cited research in 2009 by the economist Lutz Kilian.

But what is happening in early 2026 with the war in Iran is one of the exceptions: a classic supply shock. Severe disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on Middle East oil infrastructure have taken millions of barrels a day off the global market.

Most drivers generally can’t quickly reduce how much they drive or how much gas they use when prices rise, so gasoline demand doesn’t change much in the short run. That means a jump in crude costs tends to result in people paying more rather than driving less.

Refining, Regulations, and the California Puzzle

Refining turns crude into gasoline at industrial scale. The U.S. doesn’t have a single gasoline market, though. Roughly a quarter of U.S. gasoline is a cleaner-burning blend of petroleum-derived chemicals called “reformulated gasoline,” which is required in urban areas across 17 states and the District of Columbia to reduce smog.

California uses an even stricter formulation that few out-of-state refineries make. California is also geographically isolated: No pipelines bring gasoline in from other U.S. refining regions.

California’s gasoline prices have long run above the national average, explained in part by higher state taxes and stricter environmental rules. But since a refinery fire in Torrance, California, in 2015 reduced production capacity, the state’s prices have been about 20 to 30 cents a gallon higher than what those factors would indicate.

Energy economist and University of California, Berkeley, professor Severin Borenstein has called this the “mystery gasoline surcharge” and attributes it to the fact that there isn’t as much competition between refineries or gas stations in California as in other states. California’s own Division of Petroleum Market Oversight says the surcharge cost the state’s drivers about $59 billion from 2015 to 2024. It’s not exactly clear who is getting that money, but it could be gas stations themselves or refineries, through complex contracts with gas stations.

Getting the Gas Into Your Car

The distribution and marketing category covers the costs of everything involved in getting the gasoline from the refinery gate to your tank.

Gasoline moves by pipeline, ship, rail and truck to wholesale terminals, and then by local delivery truck to service stations.

At the retailer’s end, the key factors are station rent and labor, the cost to buy gasoline in bulk to be able to sell it, credit card fees of as much as 6 to 10 cents a gallon at current prices, and franchise fees paid to the national brand, such as Sunoco or ExxonMobil, for permission to put their branding on the gas station.

Most gas station operators net only a few cents per gallon on fuel itself – which is why many gas stations are really convenience stores with pumps out front. Borenstein and some of his collaborators have also documented that retail gas prices rise quickly when wholesale costs climb but fall slowly when wholesale costs drop.

The Question of Gas Tax Holidays

The federal government charges a tax on fuel, of 18.4 cents a gallon for gasoline and 24.3 cents a gallon for diesel. States charge their own taxes, ranging from 70.9 cents a gallon for gas in California to 8.95 cents in Alaska.

When gas prices rise, many politicians start talking about temporarily suspending their state’s gas tax. That does reduce prices, but not as much as politicians – or consumers – might hope. Research on past gas tax holidays has found that consumers get about 79% of the reduction in gas taxes. That means oil companies and fuel retailers keep about one-fifth of the tax cut for themselves rather than passing that savings to the public.

Gas tax holidays also reduce funding for what the taxes are designed to pay for, typically roads and bridges. That pushes road and bridge upkeep costs onto future drivers and general taxpayers.

There is an additional problem, too: Taxes on gasoline are supposed to charge drivers for some of the costs their driving imposes on everyone else – carbon emissions, local air pollution, congestion and crashes. But Borenstein has found that U.S. fuel tax levels are already far below the true cost to society. Removing the tax on drivers effectively raises the costs for everyone else.

The Jones Act: A Small Number That Adds Up

The 1920 Jones Act is a federal law that requires cargo moving between U.S. ports to travel on vessels built and registered in the U.S., owned by U.S. citizens, and crewed primarily by U.S. citizens and permanent residents. Of the world’s 7,500 oil tankers, only 54 meet this requirement. Only 43 of these can transport refined fuels such as gasoline.

So, despite significant refining capacity on the Gulf Coast, some U.S. gasoline is exported overseas even as the Northeast imports fuel, in part reflecting the relatively high cost of moving fuel between U.S. ports.

Economists Ryan Kellogg and Rich Sweeney estimate that the law raises East Coast gasoline prices by about a penny and a half per gallon on average, costing drivers roughly $770 million a year. In light of the war’s effect on gas prices, the Trump administration has temporarily suspended the Jones Act requirements – an action more commonly taken when hurricanes knock out Gulf Coast refineries and pipeline networks.

What Moves the Number

The result of all these factors is that the price that drivers see at the pump mostly reflects the global price of crude, plus a stack of domestic costs, only some of which are inefficient.

Tax holidays give a partial, short-lived rebate. Jones Act waivers trim pennies, though permanent repeal may cause more fundamental changes, such as reduced rail and truck transport of all goods, which could lower costs, emissions and infrastructure damage associated with cargo transportation. Harmonizing fuel blends across states and seasons may lower prices somewhat, but likely at the expense of increased emissions.

Ultimately, the best protection against oil price shocks is a more efficient gas-burning vehicle, or one that doesn’t burn gasoline at all. In the meantime, the best I can offer as an economist is clarity about what that $4.30 actually buys.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

After days of testing at General Motors’ Milford Proving Ground in Milford, Michigan, Georgia Tech won first place in the final year of the current EcoCAR EV Challenge cycle. Tech students competed against 13 universities over four years, applying emerging technologies to create intelligent mobility solutions. 

The possible treatment, which could become the first non-drug, non-surgical, long-acting therapy for glaucoma, uses the injection of a natural and biodegradable material to create a viscous hydrogel — a water-absorbing crosslinked polymer structure — that opens an alternate pathway for excess fluid to leave the eye. 

“The holy grail for glaucoma is an efficient way to lower the pressure that doesn’t rely on the patient putting drops in their eyes every day, doesn’t require a complicated surgery, has minimal side effects, and has a good safety profile,” said Ross Ethier, professor and Georgia Research Alliance Lawrence L. Gellerstedt Jr. Eminent Scholar in Bioengineering in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. “I am excited about this technique, which could be a game-changer for the treatment of glaucoma.”

The research, which was supported by the National Eye Institute and the Georgia Research Alliance, was published Dec. 7 in the journal Advanced Science. The research was conducted in animals, and shows that the approach significantly lowered the intraocular pressure.

As many as 75 million people worldwide have glaucoma, which is the leading cause of irreversible blindness. Glaucoma damage is caused by excess pressure in the eye that injures the optic nerve. Current treatments attempt to reduce this intraocular pressure through the daily application of eyedrops, or through surgery or implantation of medical devices, but these treatments are often unsuccessful.

To provide an alternative, Ethier teamed up with Mark Prausnitz, professor and J. Erskine Love Jr. Chair in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Georgia Tech, to use a tiny hollow needle to inject a polymer preparation into a structure just below the surface of the eye called the suprachoroidal space (SCS). Inside the eye, the material chemically crosslinks to form the hydrogel, which holds open a channel in the SCS that allows aqueous humor from within the eye to drain out of the eye through the alternative pathway.

There are normally two pathways for the aqueous humor fluid to leave the eye. The dominant path is through a structure known as the trabecular meshwork, which is located at the front of the eye. The lesser pathway is through the SCS, which normally has only a very small gap. In glaucoma, the dominant pathway is blocked, so to lessen pressure, treatments are created to open the lesser pathway enough to let the aqueous humor flow out.

In this research, the hydrogel props open the SCS path. A hollow microneedle less than a millimeter long is used to inject a droplet (about 50 microliters) of the hydrogel-precursor material. That gel structure can keep the SCS pathway open for a period of months.

“We inject a viscous material and keep it at the site of the injection at the interface between the back of the eye and the front of the eye where the suprachoroidal space begins,” Prausnitz said. “By opening up that space, we tap a pathway that would not otherwise be utilized efficiently to remove liquid from the eye.”

The injection would take just a few minutes, and would involve a doctor making a small injection just below the surface of the eye in combination with numbing and cleaning the injection site. In the study, the researchers, including veterinary ophthalmologist and first author J. Jeremy Chae, did not observe significant inflammation resulting from the procedure.

The pressure reduction was sustained for four months. The researchers are now working to extend that time by modifying the polymer material — hyaluronic acid — with a goal of providing treatment benefits for at least six months. That would coincide with the office visit schedule of many patients.

“If we can get to a twice-a-year treatment, we would not disrupt the current clinical process,” Prausnitz said. “We believe the injection could be done as an office procedure during routine exams that the patients are already getting. Patients may not need to do anything to treat their glaucoma until their next office visit.”

Beyond extending the time between treatments, the researchers will need to demonstrate that the injection can be repeated without harming the eye. The procedure will also have to be tested in other animals before moving into human trials.

“The idea of having a ‘one-and-done’ treatment that lasts for six months would be particularly helpful for those whose access to healthcare is non-optimal,” Ethier said. “Having a long-acting therapy would have an additional advantage during times of pandemic or other disruption when access to healthcare is more difficult.”

This research was supported by a grant from the National Eye Institute (R01 EY025286) and by the Georgia Research Alliance. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funding agencies.

Mark Prausnitz serves as a consultant to companies, is a founding shareholder of companies, and is an inventor on patents licensed to companies developing microneedle-based products (Clearside Biomedical). These potential conflicts of interest have been disclosed and are being managed by Georgia Tech. J. Jeremy Chae, Jae Hwan Jung, Ethier, and Prausnitz are listed as co-inventors on an IP filing related to this study.

CITATION: J. Jeremy Chae, et al., “Drug-free, Non-surgical Reduction of Intraocular Pressure for Four Months After Suprachoroidal Injection of Hyaluronic Acid Hydrogel.” (Advanced Science, 2020) https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202001908

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Walker has been a member of the Guggenheim School faculty since 2005 and has held several leadership positions, including associate chair for graduate studies. Prior to his appointment as chair, he served in the dean’s office as the College’s associate dean for academic affairs.

“Mitchell’s leadership and achievements reflect the excellence and innovation that define Georgia Tech,” said Raheem Beyah, provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs. “As a longtime member of our faculty, he brings a deep understanding of the Institute’s values and aspirations to this new role. I am confident he will build on the College of Engineering’s extraordinary legacy and elevate its global impact.”

Walker is known for his ability to bring together expertise and partners across schools and colleges to develop high-impact programming, including the interdisciplinary Minor in Applications of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.

He played a pivotal role in advancing the sustained advocacy that led to Georgia Tech securing $88 million in state funding for a new Aerospace Engineering Building. Under his leadership, the nation’s top-ranked public aerospace program built a compelling case through years of coordinated effort among faculty, staff, alumni, advisory board members, and past leaders. This momentum reflects Walker’s contributions to aligning academic excellence with strategic institutional advocacy to achieve a landmark investment for the Institute.

“Georgia Tech’s College of Engineering represents the very best in innovation, impact, and collaboration,” Walker said. “I am honored to lead such an accomplished community of faculty, staff, and students and look forward to building on its strong foundation. Together, we will continue to advance research, education, and partnerships that address the world’s most pressing challenges and improve lives.”

Walker is a respected leader in advanced propulsion research, focusing on experimental and theoretical studies of plasma propulsion concepts for spacecraft, including Hall thrusters, gridded ion engines, and vacuum facility effects. He directs Georgia Tech’s High-Power-Electric Propulsion Laboratory and is principal investigator and director of the $15 million Joint Advanced Propulsion Institute (JANUS), a multi-university NASA Space Technology Research Institute. JANUS develops strategies to overcome limitations in ground testing of high-power electric propulsion systems, enabling and expanding their use in flight.

Walker is a fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and serves as a member of the organization’s Electric Propulsion Technical Committee. He is also an associate editor of the Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets and serves on the editorial boards of Frontiers in Physics and Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences – Plasma Physics. In addition, he has delivered expert witness testimony to the Space Subcommittee of the House of Representatives to help guide national investments in space propulsion technology.

His contributions have been recognized with numerous honors, including the Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Program Award, the AIAA Lawrence Sperry Award, the AIAA Sustained Service Award, and the Georgia Power Professor of Excellence Award.

As dean, Walker will lead the College’s academic and research enterprise, which includes more than 21,000 students, 50 degree tracks, and nearly 500 faculty members. Its undergraduate program is ranked No. 3 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, and the graduate program is No. 4. All 11 of its programs are consistently ranked in the top 10.

Walker succeeds Beyah, who began his term as provost last November.

“I would like to thank Doug Williams for his steady leadership and service as interim dean during this important transition,” Beyah said. “Since November, he has provided critical stability for the College, and we are deeply grateful for his support of our faculty, staff, and students. I would also like to thank the search committee and their chair, Dean Vivek Sarkar. Vivek and the committee brought world-class candidates forward during this process, and their work has resulted in an exceptional new dean.”

Writer: Brittany Aiello, Faculty Communications Program Manager, Executive Communications, Institute Communications

LOOP, powered by Goat Farm, will launch at 665 Marietta St. NW, activating a key site within Atlanta’s emerging Creative Quarter. With Georgia Tech Arts, the initiative advances the Institute’s broader commitment to arts, creativity, and interdisciplinary collaboration. 

The Office of Technology Licensing has announced the latest recipients of the Tech Ready Grants, an initiative that helps Georgia Tech faculty advance their innovations toward market readiness. Providing early momentum for promising technologies, the grants help move research toward real-world impact. 

Giuli Capparelli Sanabria, a third‑year biology major, described her dream to become a veterinarian, which requires both undergraduate and graduate school. Receiving the G. Wayne Clough Tech Promise Scholarship has allowed her to attend Tech without incurring student loan debt and keep veterinary school an option. 

Colin Fravel, a fourth‑year industrial engineering student from Massachusetts was prepared to take on significant debt to finish his Tech degree. Before his second year, he opened his tuition bill to find a surprise: a scholarship funded by the Lizanne and Robert A. Milton Scholarship Endowment. “I cried while showing my parents,” Fravel said. “I was able to eat food on the weekends that wasn’t peanut butter and jelly, and I could travel home more than once a semester.”

Andrés Robles Sotomayor, a fifth‑year aerospace engineering student and native of Puerto Rico, shared how Hurricane Maria left his family homeless in 2017, prompting their relocation to Georgia. When he was accepted to Tech, his mother asked, “How are you going to pay for it?” The answer came in the form of the G. Wayne Clough Tech Promise Scholarship. Robles Sotomayor has interned at Northrop Grumman, Gulfstream Aerospace, and Pratt & Whitney, and will join Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Development Program after he graduates. 

A recap video of the event is available here. Plans are already underway for next year's celebration.

Sherman Lofton Jr. has been a Yellow Jacket for more than 40 years, as a student, alumnus, and employee, currently serving as the senior director of cybersecurity operations. He arrived on campus in 1984 and earned a bachelor’s degree in management in 1990, and he never imagined that decades later he’d be graduating with a master’s degree from Tech on the same day as his daughter.  

Sherman Lofton Jr. has been a Yellow Jacket for more than 40 years, as a student, alumnus, and employee, currently serving as the senior director of cybersecurity operations. He arrived on campus in 1984 and earned a bachelor’s degree in management in 1990, and he never imagined that decades later he’d be graduating with a master’s degree from Tech on the same day as his daughter.  

Whether you are in Atlanta for an internship, taking summer classes, or simply hanging around, there are lots of events taking place around town during Memorial Day weekend. 

Brew at the Zoo 

For decades, bird flu was uncommon in the U.S., but that has changed. In the past several years, epidemics have threatened poultry and dairy cattle operations across the country. Higher egg prices, driven largely by bird flu-related supply disruptions, have cost American consumers billions of dollars in losses.

“The H5N1 strain of the bird flu, which has driven recent and current outbreaks, is a highly lethal virus that kills domestic chickens and other bird species in droves,” said David Pattie, GTRI research scientist and branch chief. “It can easily jump from birds to other animal species — and sometimes to humans.”

The research team will leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to design and test a probiotic avian flu vaccine that, if successful, could be served to chickens in their feed. Currently, vaccinating a flock means individually injecting every bird. 

“We’re focusing on live bacterial vaccines, which means the vaccine comes from living bacteria you swallow, instead of an injection,” said Mike Farrell, GTRI principal research scientist and the project’s lead investigator. 

“These probiotic vaccines would help protect birds and livestock from flu-like infections and lower the risk of those viruses spreading to humans,” he added.

In addition to Farrell and Pattie, the team includes researchers from an array of disciplines across the Institute: Faramarz Fekri, professor and John Pippin Chair in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering; JC Gumbart, Dunn Family Professor in the School of Physics; Brian Hammer, associate professor in the School of  Biological Sciences; and Anton Bryksin, director of the Molecular Evolution Core at the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience. 

Building on Human Influenza Research 

The project builds on Farrell’s ongoing research into developing probiotic vaccine adjuvants for human influenza. The goal is to use probiotic bacteria — the “good bacteria” found in foods like yogurt — to help create immunity for the flu vaccine.

If the researchers can get probiotic bacteria to display pieces of the flu virus (called antigens) on their surface, then they could be swallowed like a normal probiotic pill.

“The gut is a great place for building immunity. When these bacteria reach the gut, your body would recognize the virus pieces on the bacteria and start building flu antibodies,” Farrell explained. “That way, when the chickens get exposed to flu, their immune system would already be prepared to fight it.”

Putting AI to the Test

“The idea behind this oral bird flu vaccine is to leverage artificial intelligence and the vast historical database for H5N1 available to us, because it's a very well-studied virus,” Farrell said. “There is a ton of structural data out there.” 

Gumbart is an expert in protein modeling and simulation. Part of his role is figuring out the best design for a viral protein piece (antigen) — one that looks and behaves like the real virus protein, so it triggers the right immune response. To do this, he will combine Fekri’s AI-generated predictions with computer modeling. 

“That’s where my team adds real value,” Gumbart said. “We use simulations to test how stable and realistic these protein designs are, which allows us to choose the best ones for lab experiments.”

AI has already identified new medicines and antibiotics by studying chemical databases. If the team can use AI to help design virus proteins for vaccines, it could transform how vaccines are made. 

Pattie says that any viral infectious disease with a high mortality rate has the potential to become a national security threat. “At that point, developing countermeasures becomes exceedingly important from a national security perspective,” he said.  

This is the first time several of the team members are working on poultry research. For Gumbart, the project is a full-circle moment.

“I grew up in rural Illinois, and as a kid, one of my daily chores was to take care of chickens, and I kind of hated it,” he said. “It is some sort of universal irony that I am back to taking care of chickens again.”

McCamish Pavilion will host Atlanta Public Schools (APS) graduation ceremonies throughout the week, bringing additional traffic to the Georgia Tech campus.   

The peak of the severe weather season is nearing its end, but in Georgia, it's been a quieter period than residents have become accustomed to in years past, devoid of the flurry of tornado warnings, heavy rain bands, and thunderstorms. Zachary Handlos, director of the B.S. in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences degree program, explains that the region lacked a major component of the severe weather formula.  

Omar Garcia Urdiales, CREATE‑X’s associate director of Learn, brings a global entrepreneurial experience to Georgia Tech: founder and CEO of a startup operating in the AWS Accelerator Loft, longtime startup coach in Europe’s major innovation hubs, lecturer across multiple universities, and an external doctoral researcher in entrepreneurship and digitalization. He brings this background to his teaching of Startup Lab’s latest iteration – a significant redesign developed by VentureLab’s Director Keith McGreggor. McGreggor created the course and has evolved it over many years, building on its initial success.  

“This new iteration of Startup Lab allows us to meet students exactly where they are,” said McGreggor. “By doing this, we give them the strongest foundation possible, providing them with the tools to grapple with uncertainty and build their confidence.” 

Startup Lab has long anchored the Institute’s entrepreneurial pathway with clearer structure, a unified language, and a deeper focus on reflective growth, so more Georgia Tech students can discover (and trust) their own entrepreneurial judgment.

Startup Lab is expanding responsibly, with six sections in Atlanta and additional global sections in France and Asia-Pacific taught by faculty trained in the curriculum. Students here benefit from a program that’s learning across borders and bringing that learning back to campus.

“Startup Lab is not about becoming an entrepreneur, but about engaging in the unknown and adopting entrepreneurial behavior, which can be applied to all career paths,” Urdiales said. “Students become better equipped to identify problem spaces and solve them through evidence-based building.” 

Start Where You Are

Urdiales emphasized that Startup Lab is built for students who are still exploring, uncertain, or are simply curious.

“Many students tell us they’re curious about entrepreneurship but feel not ready,” he said. “They worry they’re too introverted for customer interviews or assume Startup Lab is only for people with fully formed ideas. In fact, those are the most common misconceptions.”

The course’s first few weeks focus on training students to see struggles and patterns in the world. Then, they apply those skills on a team, exploring, designing, and testing a concept with real people. The nonnegotiable outcome isn’t the best idea; it’s a more confident, evidence-driven version of you. 

“Startup Lab is strengthening that self-awareness. All of us who are entrepreneurs, we don’t grow linearly. We have various iterations of how we see things,” Urdiales said. “This ability to see patterns or to see problems with customer discovery, it’s a learning process and a growth process.” 

Building Muscle Memory

Urdiales said that students won’t have a passive experience in the lab.

“To become an entrepreneur, you need to do it. You need to engage with customers. You need to get out of the building,” he said. “It gives you the ability to incorporate theoretical frameworks into practical solutions and then understand these more practical outcomes.”

Aligning with CREATE-X’s culture of continuous iteration, Startup Lab is tightening the hands-on core of the course around four simple, repeatable tools so that entrepreneurial thinking becomes muscle memory, not a one-off assignment. The new iteration of the curriculum, developed by McGreggor, helps students learn to: 

• Elicit grounded problem stories from real people (and separate observations from interpretations).
• Make explicit strategic decisions — who you serve, what you offer, how you deliver, how you get paid — and back them with discovery evidence.
• Externalize your logic with clear Business Model Canvas snapshots (hypotheses ≠ decisions ≠ open questions).
• Design minimum viable experiments (MVEs) that can falsify assumptions, not just confirm them. 

“What we have is a frontier model in entrepreneurial education,” said McGreggor. “The result is a course that teaches sound decision making and builds entrepreneurial confidence that rewards authentic discovery and iteration over performative polish. It creates a more solid foundation for entrepreneurial thinking and sets students up to engage more deeply with everything that follows in their CREATE-X pathway.” 

Reflection as a Feature

As a part of Startup Lab, instructors integrate reflection throughout the semester, which helps students notice patterns of work, make small experiments, and adjust based on what’s learned. Students often worry they’re not the founder type or that their introversion will hold them back; Startup Lab reframes those worries as raw material for growth, including communication skill building and one-on-one interactions you won’t always get in higher-level courses. 

Startup Lab integrates HaradaLite — McGreggor's adaptation of the Japanese Harada Method — as a weekly reflection practice in which students keep a reflection log, helping them notice patterns of work, run small experiments, and adjust based on what's learned. With this approach, educators are able to measure the growth of entrepreneurial confidence by self-report, leading to a more quantitative approach to teaching.

A Common Language Across CREATE‑X

There’s no mandated order for CREATE-X courses. Startup Lab simply makes the next steps clearer by providing a shared language and milestone structure across sections and instructors, so whatever comes next (I2P, Capstone, Launch, or an internship), you can carry forward a coherent, evidence- aware story of your work. 

“All CREATE‑X Learn sections will work with the same milestone objectives,” Urdiales said. “Students trained in Startup Lab are already trained in the muscles of entrepreneurship. They’re more equipped to go into Make and Launch or be a leader within their industry.”

Built To Be Inclusive Across Disciplines and Needs

Startup Lab is about becoming the kind of person who can see opportunities, reason from evidence, and make better decisions when the path isn’t obvious. 

• You do not need an idea or a pre‑built team — curiosity is enough.
• You do not need special permits to enroll. Startup Lab is open to anyone ready to explore.
• You can benefit from the course before or after I2P or Capstone, since there’s no fixed order to the CREATE‑X pathway.
• Introverts are welcome. The course intentionally builds communication skills through structured, low-pressure interviews and guided interaction. 

“Startup Lab helps students see the world’s problems and fill the gaps with fresh ideas, teaching them to see and understand the important difference between evidence and inference,” said McGreggor. “This lays the foundation that leads to good founders, and builds the entrepreneurial confidence needed to succeed.”

What You’ll Actually Do 

Students in Startup Lab can expect a workshop-heavy, conversation-rich semester with weekly artifacts, scenario-based decision prompts, startup reports, and quizzes that keep you honest about what you’re learning. You’ll assemble a Continuity Pack near the end: a compact bundle of your best discovery evidence, decisions, MVEs, economics, and final story slides so your future self (or your I2P/Launch application) can pick up right where you left off. 

The course also sets norms for modern tool use. AI is welcomed as a coach and organizer, after your own baseline thinking and research, and as an enhancement of the real conversations you have. That matters because Startup Lab’s promise is that you build solid judgment under the test of uncertainty, critical to the world of today and the future that is being built. 

Jump Into Startup Lab

You don’t have to have it all figured out. If you’re a first-year student still exploring, a junior craving real-world projects, or a senior looking to stand out in interviews, Startup Lab is for you. 

Seats fill quickly across all sections — and for good reason.
This course gives you the clearest, most supportive on‑ramp into CREATE‑X, with a global methodology, a unified curriculum, and instructors who believe deeply in your potential to grow. Learn how to think entrepreneurially. See the world differently. Build the confidence that will follow you long after the semester ends.

Register for Startup Lab for Fall 2026.

 

Biology major Sonali Kaluri is a STEM expert. Spanish major Sonali Kaluri is a language and culture expert. 

The idea behind VETTEX began with a problem Mike Pullen remembered from his own days playing football: Arm sleeves protected players from turf burns, but they could also make the ball harder to secure. As a high school receiver, Pullen saw firsthand how athletes were often forced to choose between protection and performance. 

Christopher Zuo never thought of himself as someone mosquitoes singled out. They bit him from time to time, he said, but no more than anyone else who spent a lot of time outdoors. 

Gemini is a versatile generative AI assistant that supports a range of activities such as brainstorming, drafting communications, summarizing complex materials, and generating code. NotebookLM functions as a research-focused assistant, which allows users to upload documents and receive responses grounded in their own provided data, complete with citations and contextual insights.

Faculty and staff can access Gemini and NotebookLM through Georgia Tech-managed environments using their standard credentials, ensuring that they are operating within the Institute’s data protection guidelines. Employees who work with sensitive data, specifically GTRI employees and other campus researchers, are encouraged to review OIT’s new Institutional AI Register for guidance on permissible data usage with these services before using them.

• Faculty and staff access to Gemini is available at: https://gemini.g.gatech.edu.
• Faculty and staff access to NotebookLM is available at: https://notebooklm.g.gatech.edu.
• Students, affiliates, and temporary employees must request access to a Google for Education license through the MyAccess Packages portal, as these licenses are limited.

“Our goal is to provide the campus community with the tools they need to move faster and think bigger,” said Leo Howell, vice president for Information Technology and chief information officer. “Equally important is building the infrastructure, governance, and guidance that ensures we are doing so responsibly.”

This rollout is part of a larger, ongoing effort to build a comprehensive and transparent AI ecosystem at Georgia Tech. OIT recently enhanced its AI website with new resources designed to improve visibility and streamline access to tools, including:

• A dynamic institutional register of AI tools, which provides a real-time inventory of the tools that are approved for use and what types of data they support, as well as where other tools are in the institutional review process.
• A centralized intake form for AI tools, enabling faculty and staff to request evaluation of new technologies not currently included in the Institute’s portfolio.
• An invitation to participate in OIT’s AI Smart Pass program, which provides temporary access to Copilot for Microsoft 365 and OpenAI ChatGPT Edu licenses for faculty and staff.

All AI tools undergo a comprehensive review process before approval. This includes third-party security assessments, data privacy and risk analysis, contractual and compliance review, and alignment with Institute and University System of Georgia (USG) policies. These steps ensure that tools can be safely used with Georgia Tech systems and data, particularly when protected or regulated information is involved.

In the coming weeks, Georgia Tech will introduce its first formal AI policy, aligning with USG requirements and establishing a foundation of governance, expectations, and leading practices for AI use across the Institute.

To explore available tools or review guidance, visit https://oit.gatech.edu/ai.

Sherman Lofton Jr. has been a Yellow Jacket for more than 40 years, as a student, alumnus, and employee, currently serving as the senior director of cybersecurity operations. He arrived on campus in 1984 and earned a bachelor’s degree in management in 1990, and he never imagined that decades later he’d be graduating with a master’s degree from Tech on the same day as his daughter.  

Eligible full-time faculty and staff are encouraged to apply for education assistance through the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) and the Staff Tuition Reimbursement Assistance Program (STRAP). These programs are designed to support your professional development and help you achieve your educational goals by providing tuition and mandatory fee waivers or reimbursements.  

At the five Spring Commencement ceremonies, student speakers will share what they have learned during their time at Tech, as well as inspiring words of advice to their fellow graduates. 

GT² is a newly established research initiative at Georgia Tech that focuses on discovery science, engineering innovation, and AI-enabled decision tools to address urgent challenges at the intersection of environmental and community resilience in the Southeast. The initiative fosters research in direct service to regional communities through public-private partnerships, and it provides opportunities for graduate student engagement.

The BHIC-GT² research fund and partnership will pursue shared initiatives in the fields of coastal sustainability, ecosystem health, and environmental resilience. By combining BHIC’s applied, field-based conservation work with Georgia Tech’s expertise in technological innovation and data analysis, new opportunities for impactful research will be created through graduate student projects and community engagement.

About the Partnership
Like the GT² initiative, BHIC’s Johnston Center for Coastal Sustainability was created to translate research into real-world impact. BHIC established the Johnston Center as a research partnership and education hub for sustainability initiatives on Bald Head Island, with the broader goal of advancing coastal sustainability across the Southeast. Seed funding for the Center was provided in 2021 by Dick and Pat Johnston, longtime supporters of BHIC. 

Dick, a Georgia Tech IM 1962 alumnus, and Pat Johnston shared their enthusiasm for the BHIC and Georgia Tech collaboration, noting: 

“We are delighted to see our two favorite institutions come together through this partnership. It brings additional resources, expertise, and leadership to our shared focus on keeping the historic tagline ‘Living in Harmony with Nature’ in the hearts of future generations.”

Joel Kostka, Faculty Director of GT² who also serves as Tom and Marie Patton Distinguished Professor and associate chair for Research in the School of Biological Sciences with a joint appointment in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Georgia Tech added:

“The Bald Head Island Conservancy and its Johnston Center for Coastal Sustainability exemplify how place‑based conservation and rigorous science can work together to create real impact. The Bald Head Island Conservancy’s long‑term stewardship, research infrastructure, and commitment to translating science into action make it an ideal partner for Georgia Tech for Georgia’s Tomorrow as we advance collaborative research that strengthens coastal resilience across the Southeast.”

This partnership will focus on Georgia Tech graduate student research projects that use innovative technology and data analyses to directly support the conservation work of BHIC.

Graduate student research already plays an important role in BHIC’s conservation efforts. Gabie Krueger, a Georgia Tech Ph.D. student in Ocean Sciences and Engineering and BHIC’s 2025-26 Johnston Graduate Fellow in Coastal Sustainability, has been working with BHIC scientists on a salt marsh ecology project that examined how ribbed mussels and fiddler crabs influence the health of Bald Head Island’s dominant salt marsh grass Spartina alterniflora. These flora-fauna interactions serve as primary indicators of marsh health, so her research is important for understanding the resilience of Bald Head Island’s salt marsh to environmental concerns such as sea-level rise and development.

Through the BHIC-GT² partnership, Georgia Tech student researchers who work with the Conservancy will also gain invaluable experience with local conservation efforts and community engagement.

G. Christopher Shank, Ph.D., Executive Director of BHIC, commented:

“The Bald Head Island Conservancy is thrilled about this opportunity to create a formal research partnership with Georgia Tech, one of the nation’s most esteemed research universities. It is recognition of the quality of conservation studies we are currently pursuing at the Conservancy and it also augments the impact of our work for BHI and beyond because of the technological and data analysis talent that Georgia Tech for Georgia’s Tomorrow will bring to this partnership.”

Why This Matters
This research fund and partnership represents an important step forward in strengthening connections between academic research and applied conservation institutions. Together, BHIC and GT² aim to inform coastal management decisions, support resilience planning, engage students, and advance research that benefits coastal ecosystems and communities across the southeastern U.S.

Looking Ahead
Additional details about joint initiatives, research priorities, and collaborative opportunities will be shared in the coming months.

Just saying hello to someone can make all the difference in the college experience. That’s the message Lucas McCarty wants to pass on to the next generation of Yellow Jackets as he graduates with a master’s degree in mechanical engineering.   

Harding is an alumnus of the School of Economics and returned to Georgia Tech after a postdoc at Harvard University. He studies the impact of innovative technology on climate change policy and governance, focusing on solar geoengineering. In the eight years he's been researching it, Harding said it's the scale of the conversation that's changed the most: not what the researchers are speaking about, but who they're speaking to. 

"A lot of people in the climate policy and academic realms were hesitant to talk about solar geoengineering, and I think that’s starting to change," Harding said. "There's definitely wider acceptance of at least talking about it, and in that way, pathways to having spaces to talk about it and research funds are opening up." 

As the idea of solar geoengineering picks up steam, Harding invites everyone to join the conversation, starting with learning about what it is, how it works, and whether or not this once-niche proposition really can save the world. 

What is Solar Geoengineering? 

The most commonly proposed method of solar geoengineering, which also goes by names such as solar radiation modification or climate intervention, uses sulfate aerosols. When injected into the Earth's stratosphere, they reflect a small amount of the sun's radiation — less than 1% — and reduce Earth's surface temperature. This option is the most popular, and the one Harding studies, because we have natural examples, he explained. Volcanoes release sulfates when they erupt, and the largest ones are strong enough to push them into the stratosphere.  

"So we have evidence from the past that if sulfate aerosols make it up to the stratosphere, there's a cooling effect," he said. "This natural analog gives us a bit more belief that it's going to work at least in some of the ways we expect it to in the real world and not just on a computer." 

The other two types of solar geoengineering researchers consider most seriously are marine cloud brightening to reflect incoming sunlight and Cirrus cloud thinning to let light escape more easily. Each one has pros and cons. For example, marine cloud brightening would only occur over the deepest and darkest parts of the ocean, Harding said, "which would have a non-uniform cooling effect and could lead to certain adverse outcomes. " 

Stratospheric aerosol injection has a more uniform distribution and cooling effect that better mimics the warming we're experiencing. However, it comes with its own concerns, one of which is that the cooling isn't permanent.  

"If something happened to stop the deployment of the aerosols, whether it was for political or technological reasons, we would bounce right back and experience a rapid heating that we've never experienced before, and could have catastrophic impacts," Harding said. 

What are the Costs and Benefits of Solar Geoengineering? 

This question is where Harding's research makes the most impact. As an economist, he examines the costs and benefits of solar geoengineering to highlight the tradeoffs involved. Harding has published articles on how solar geoengineering could impact other climate change mitigation policies, how it affects income inequality, and the value of reducing uncertainty around solar geoengineering. 

"Making it clear what the different tradeoffs are around climate policies is super important for informing decision-making," he said. "On one side, we have these really, at their core, basic scientific questions around whether solar geoengineering will work and if it can scale up. But it's also an interesting question from a governance and economics perspective. Solar geoengineering has global repercussions, the decision will affect the entire world. How do we develop governance structures, conversations, and inclusivity to ensure we're making a choice for the collective good?"  

For example, one of the downsides of using sulfate aerosols for solar geoengineering is negative health effects. But it also has the benefit of preventing temperature-related deaths. So, how do they compare? Harding's recently submitted paper, which is not yet peer-reviewed, finds that the benefits of reduced deaths outweigh the adverse health effects of solar geoengineering "by at least an order of magnitude — if not two orders of magnitude," he said.  

Harding notes that a more comprehensive comparison of risks and benefits is still required, but in the context of the two health impacts he examined, “Yes, it’s a concern, and something we should consider, but we need to put it in perspective that the benefits are significantly greater than that negative effect." 

Why is Solar Geoengineering Controversial? 

Uncertain health outcomes? Check. What else makes solar geoengineering so controversial that some academics want a ban on public funding, experiments, patents, deployment, and support for the technology in international institutions? 

There is a running theme in climate conversations that discussing adaptation policies reduces the focus on cutting emissions, Harding said, and the concerns around solar geoengineering are the same: not just that it will pull research funds from mitigation efforts, but that it will pull attention from dealing with the source of the warming as well. (His 2023 paper examines this problem.) 

Although he disagrees, others believe that researching solar geoengineering also makes it more likely that we deploy it, Harding explained. So, for those against the technology, disrupting research efforts to prevent the idea from moving further makes sense. 

What's Next? 

As with any unfamiliar and emerging technology, questions arise, such as, will this go horribly wrong and destroy the planet? Or, will it be the solution to all of our problems? 

"Putting my realistic hat on, it's probably somewhere in between," Harding said. "It's always hard to predict the future, but I can propose what I think is a realistic hope for where it can go." 

Harding anticipates more research and is hopeful for continued discourse between academics and the public. 

"The first and most important thing to do is make people aware of this technology and educate them about it," Harding said. "We have to understand how general people, outside of policymakers, feel about it — because that matters a lot." 

He also wants to see more serious international policy discussions around governing solar geoengineering to prevent a situation where one person or country deploys it independently. Whether it's a moratorium on its use or another agreement, international guidelines would help legitimize research without fears of a rogue actor, he explained. 

Final Takeaway 

To package it all up into a neat little tagline, "Solar geoengineering is a really new technology that could alleviate a lot of suffering in the case of climate change. But there's a lot of uncertainty, and it needs a lot more attention to quell any concerns about catastrophe," Harding said.  

"The most salient concern is that we put a lot of faith in solar geoengineering, invest a lot of resources, and slow down emissions cuts because we think we have a silver bullet. And then we get to 2080 and realize it doesn't work as expected. That's a very real concern. But the one that receives less attention is if we put solar geoengineering aside and don't spend the resources investigating it. Then we get to 2080 and realize, 'Wow, this technology could have worked and relieved a lot of suffering.' I think it's important to understand the flip side of that." 

Building upon a multifaceted relationship, the two are bringing hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and fueling infrastructure to campus — turning Georgia Tech into one of the nation’s most prominent campus-based examples for hydrogen mobility.

“Hyundai Motor Group is proud to strengthen our collaboration with Georgia Tech as we work together to accelerate the future of clean mobility. Georgia Tech’s leadership in innovation and its commitment to developing the next generation of problem-solvers make it a natural partner in advancing technologies,” said Ken Ramírez, executive vice president and head of Global Energy and Hydrogen Business at Hyundai Motor Group. “By combining the university’s excellent research with Hyundai’s global experience, we are creating the foundation for real-world solutions that will help drive the energy transition and inspire future mobility leaders.” 

Ramírez is also a 1991 Georgia Tech graduate and a member of the Georgia Tech Advisory Board. 

“It’s very fulfilling to donate a handful of our NEXO fuel cell SUVs as part of our expanding relationship with Georgia Tech. Hydrogen-powered NEXO fuel cell vehicles will immediately serve to expand the clean mobility footprint on campus while providing real-world experiences with the cutting edge of zero-emissions transportation technology,” said Randy Parker, president and CEO, Hyundai Motor North America.

“Georgia Tech has a long history of working with industry to move breakthrough technologies from the lab into the real world. By expanding our work with Hyundai, we’re advancing hydrogen research, reducing emissions on our campus, and strengthening Georgia’s role in the future of clean mobility," Georgia Tech President Ángel Cabrera said.

How the Partnership Drives Hydrogen Innovation and Research

The partnership includes the donation of four Hyundai NEXO fuel cell electric SUVs by Hyundai Motor North America and a hydrogen electrolyzer project, which will be installed at Georgia Tech’s North Avenue Research Area, positioning Tech as one of the most visible real-world test beds for hydrogen mobility in the U.S.

The vehicles and infrastructure will support campus operations and interdisciplinary research. Key areas of focus include:

• Engineering: Exploring hydrogen-based systems and mobility solutions.
• Sustainability: Assessing the environmental benefits of hydrogen technologies.
• Energy systems: Understanding the integration of hydrogen fuel cells into current infrastructure.
• Public policy: Evaluating the regulatory and social implications of hydrogen adoption.

This initiative connects Georgia Tech’s research enterprise with campus operations, using the Institute as a living laboratory for clean transportation technologies. Faculty and students will study:

• Real-world performance of hydrogen technology.
• Infrastructure requirements for large-scale deployment.
• Environmental impacts of hydrogen energy systems.

Insights gathered from this initiative aim to inform and accelerate the widespread use of hydrogen technology in campuses, fleets, cities, and freight corridors. The initiative also supports Georgia Tech’s strategic plan, which includes the goal of expanding the use of zero-emissions vehicles powered by sustainable energy sources.

Why Is the Partnership with Georgia Tech Key to Hyundai Motor Group’s Vision? 

The collaboration between Hyundai and Georgia Tech is a testament to the power of aligning academic expertise with corporate innovation. Beyond hydrogen energy, the partnership seeks to advance innovation in the areas of:

• Autonomous driving
• Electric vehicle (EV) batteries
• Charging infrastructure
• Materials science
• Cybersecurity

In addition, Hyundai’s presence in Georgia underscores its commitment to the region. Georgia is home to the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America and also serves as a hub for zero-emissions transportation through HTWO Logistics, a clean logistics partnership that operates Hyundai XCIENT fuel cell heavy-duty trucks in logistics operations near Savannah. The collaboration with Georgia Tech builds on this regional foundation, reinforcing the link between education, research, and Hyundai's long-term goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2045.

What’s Next for the Partnership?

The partnership between Hyundai and Georgia Tech represents more than an investment in research. It’s a shared effort to lead the next generation of mobility advancements. Additional announcements about the partnership’s research projects, educational programs, and vehicle deployment are expected in the coming months.

You hear a lot of chatter in the Campus Recreation Center (CRC) — “All the weight machines are full!” “Where is the swimming pool?” “I exceeded my one-rep max today!” — but one sentence you don’t expect to hear is, “Do you want to go play video games?” 

To help find answers, researchers at the Institute for Neuroscience, Neurotechnology, and Society (INNS) are using math, data, and AI to unlock the secrets of thought. Together they are helping turn the brain’s raw electrical “noise” into real insights about how people think, move, and perceive the world.

Fair warning: Prepare your neurons for the complexity of this brain research ahead.

Building AI Like a Brain

What if artificial neurons in AI programs were arranged as they are in the brain?

AI programs would then help us understand why the brain is organized the way it is. This neuro-AI synthesis would also work faster, use less energy, and be easier to interpret. Creating such systems is the goal of Apurva Ratan Murty, an assistant professor of Psychology who is creating topographic AI models like the one above of three domains — vision, audition, and language inspired by the brain. In the near future, he predicts doctors might be able to use these patterns to predict the effects of brain lesions and other disorders. “We’re not there yet,” he says. “But our work brings us significantly closer to that future than ever before.”

Computing Thought and Movement

How cats walk keeps Chethan Pandarinath on his toes. This biomedical engineer uses sensors to analyze how two sets of feline leg muscles — flexors and extensors — are controlled by the spinal cord. Understanding how that happens could help patients partially paralyzed from spinal cord injuries, strokes, or progressive neuro-degenerative diseases get back on their feet again. “My lab is using AI tools that allow us to turn complex spinal cord activity data into something we can interpret. It tells us there’s a simple underlying structure behind the complex activity patterns,” says the associate professor.

Revealing the Brain’s Spike Patterns

“The brain is like a symphony conductor,” says Simon Sponberg. “Individual instruments have some independent control, but most of the music comes from the brain’s precise coordination of notes among the different players in the body.” This physics professor studies the fantastically fast-beating wings of the hummingbird-sized hawk moth (Manduca sexta). Its agile flight movement comes as a result of spikes in electrical activity in 10 muscles. Sponberg found something that surprised him — the brain focuses less on creating the number of spikes than in orchestrating their precise patterns over time. To Sponberg, every millisecond matters. “We are just beginning to understand how the nervous system first acquires precisely timed spiking patterns during development,” he says.

Predicting Decisions Through Statistics

Put a mouse in a maze with food far away, and it will learn to find it. But life for mice — and people — isn’t so simple. Sometimes they want to explore, only want water, or just want to go home. What’s more, animals make decisions based on their history, not just on how they feel at the moment. To dig deeper into the decision-making process, Anqi Wu, an assistant professor in the School of Computational Science and Engineering, is giving mice more options. By using a new computational framework called SWIRL (Switching Inverse Reinforcement Learning), her findings have outperformed models that fail to take historical behavior into account. “We’re seeking to understand not only animal behavior but also human behavior to gain insight into the human decision-making process over a long period of time,” she says.

Modeling the Mind’s Wiring With Math

Connectivity shapes cognition in the cerebral cortex, a layered structure in the brain. The visual cortex, in particular, processes visual data from the retina relayed through the Lateral Geniculate Nucleus (LGN) in the thalamus, and directs it to the correct cognitive domain in the brain. How it does this is the mystery that computational neuroscientist Hannah Choi wants to solve. “The big question I’m interested in is how network connectivity patterns in the architecture of the LGN are related to computations,” says this assistant math professor. To find answers, she shows mice repeated image patterns such as flower-cat-dog-house and then disrupts the pattern. The goal? To grasp how the thalamus’s nonlinear dynamical system works. If scientists and doctors better understand how brain regions are wired together, such knowledge could lead to better disease treatment.

This story was originally published through the Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine. Read the original publication here.

The following students were recognized at this year's event:

College of Computing

Donald V. Jackson Fellowship
Andrew Flaherty, Grace Kim, Sri Ranganathan Palaniappan 

Marshall D. Williamson Fellowship
Ansel Erol, Madison Steinau, Ethan Yang

Outstanding Graduate Head Teaching Assistant Award
Ghazal Mirzazadeh

Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award
Nawal Reza

Outstanding Undergraduate Head Teaching Assistant Award
Elias Lind

Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Assistant Award
Joseph Thomas

Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts

Academic Excellence Award for Graduating Students – Economics
Nidhi Reddy

Academic Excellence Award for Graduating Students – History and Sociology
Cate Gemmell

Academic Excellence Award for Graduating Students – International Affairs
Iris Allgrove

Academic Excellence Award for Graduating Students – Literature, Media, and Communication
Sanika Tank

Academic Excellence Award for Graduating Students – Modern Languages
Wesley Lanter

Academic Excellence Award for Graduating Students – Public Policy
Alison Eltz

College of Design

School of Architecture

AIA Medal for Academic Excellence
Elisabeth Walker

Alpha Rho Chi Medal
Nour Khalifa

School of City and Regional Planning

AICP Outstanding Student Award
Nick Albrinck

School of Industrial Design

Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) Student Merit Award
Ebube Maduka-Ugwu (Graduate), Adam Saint-Jacques (Undergraduate)

Scheller College of Business

Dow Chemical-P.C. McCutcheon Prize for Outstanding Student Achievement in Business
John “Ryan” Halligan

Jennifer R. and Charles B. Rewis Award for Student Excellence in Accounting
Jorge Castaneda Perez, Mallory Maples

John R. Battle Award for Student Excellence
Victor Huang, Kai Lewis

College of Sciences

The School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Quarter Century Award
Sophia Buettner, Daniel Lamprea, Rowan Ray, Claire Riggs

The School of Chemistry and Biochemistry Arduengo Award
Arya Akbarshahi, Ryan Wiebold

The School of Psychology Moll Davenport Award
Kate Cole

Metha Phingbodhipakkiya Memorial Scholarship
Nick Elidor

A. Joyce Nickelson and John C. Sutherland Prize
Carlos Marcio De Oliveira E Silva Filho

Roger M. Wartell and Stephen E. Brossette Award
Sara Dixon, Nikhita Subramaniarao

Robert A. Pierotti Memorial Scholarship
Zachary Beddingfield, Kate Cole, Kathleen “Katie” Griffin

College of Engineering

Aerospace Engineering

Aerospace Engineering Outstanding Senior Scholar Award
Alexander Payne

Donnell W. Dutton Outstanding Senior in Aerospace Engineering Award
Isabel Botelho

Biomedical Engineering

G.D. Jain Outstanding Senior in Biomedical Engineering Award
Neha Shahrawat

Outstanding Academic Achievement in Biomedical Engineering Award
Inho Lee

S.K. Jain Outstanding Research Award in Biomedical Engineering
Saif Khan

Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

Chair’s Award — Outstanding Chemical and Biomolecular Junior
Hannah Reynolds

Chair’s Award — Outstanding Chemical and Biomolecular Senior
Rohan Datta

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Buck Stith Outstanding Junior Award in Civil Engineering
Juliette Bolte

Buck Stith Outstanding Junior Award in Environmental Engineering
Sarah Moreno Amezquita

Buck Stith Outstanding Senior Award in Civil and Environmental Engineering
Phoebe Ellis

School Chair’s Outstanding Senior Award in Civil Engineering
Sean Kirby

School Chair’s Outstanding Senior Award in Environmental Engineering
Bahar Banihashemi

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Computer Engineering Undergraduate Research Award
Aparupa Brahma

Electrical Engineering Undergraduate Research Award
Carlton Cort

Outstanding Computer Engineering Senior Award
Aparupa Brahma

Outstanding Electrical Engineering Senior Award
Carlton Cort

Industrial and Systems Engineering

Alpha Pi Mu Academic Excellence Award
Yubin Kim

Evelyn Pennington Outstanding Service Award
Phong Nguyen

Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers Excellence in Leadership Award
Sujan Ganesh Kumar

Materials Science and Engineering

Polymer, Fiber, and Textile Materials (AATCC) Distinguished Senior Award
Vikas Muralidharan

School of Materials Science and Engineering Outstanding Senior Award
Jeremy Knight, Marissa Reichelscheimer

Mechanical Engineering

George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering Outstanding Scholar Award
Aleksandar Bošković

George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering School Chair’s Award
Vijay Sreenivasan

Richard K. Whitehead Jr. Memorial Awards
Owen Gil, Massimiliano Iaschi, Aastha Singh, Olivia Trask, Tarun Vinodkumar

Nuclear and Radiological Engineering

George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering Chair’s Award in Nuclear and Radiological Engineering
Colin Gold

College-Wide Awards

College of Engineering Honors Day Awards
William “Alex” Abraham, Ansley Cheng, Sierra Czubaj, Martin Jaramillo Feijoo, Kate Hennigan, Felipe Martins, Advaith Menon, Paul Pelkowski, Khue Phan, Jackson Stahl, Jared Weitkamp

Helen Grenga Outstanding Engineer Award
Haasa Gaddipati

Davidson Family Tau Beta Pi Senior Engineering Award
Michael Silas

Institute Awards

Alvin M. Ferst Leadership and Entrepreneur Scholarship Award
Samantha Bolton, Atharva Amit Lele

Communication Center Assistant of the Year Award
Lillian Ayala

Jordan Lockwood Peer Tutor of the Year Award
Julia Artigue

John H. Martinson Honors Program Outstanding Student Award
Jessica Dasilva Bonet, Esha Venkat

Georgia Tech Women’s Club Scholarships
Charlotte Marie Cooper, Sania Ali Chaudhary, Jailyn Davila, Makaylah Deshield, Clear Holley, Isabel O’Connell

Outstanding Tutor Award
Javanith Wangsiriwech

Outstanding PLUS Leader Award
Marin Alter

Outstanding Learning Assistant Award
Egan Mejia

The University System of Georgia (USG) Academic Recognition Award
Elliot Huang

Provost’s Academic Excellence Award
Carlton Cort, Elliot Huang, Nour Khalifa, Margaret Wei

Love Family Foundation Award
Caleb Adams, Marielle Frooman

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Georgia Tech Chapter Sigma Xi Awards

Best Faculty Paper Award

Matt T. McDowell
Professor and Carter N. Paden Jr. Distinguished Chair
College of Engineering

Jiang Zhigang
Professor
College of Sciences

Young Faculty Award

Cong “Callie” Hao
Assistant Professor and ON Semiconductor Junior Professor
College of Engineering

Omobolanle Ogunseiju
Assistant Professor
College of Design

Sustained Research Award

Kostas T. Konstantinidis
Richard C. Tucker Professor
College of Engineering

Institute Research Awards

Outstanding Achievement in Research Enterprise Enhancement

Anna Osterholm
Principal Research Scientist
College of Sciences

Outstanding Achievement in Research Innovation Award

Lakshmi “Prasad” Dasi
Rozelle Vanda Wesley Professor
College of Engineering

Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Advisor Award

Shimeng Yu
Professor
College of Engineering

Outstanding Achievement in Research Engagement and Outreach Award

Edward Botchwey
Professor
College of Engineering

Outstanding Achievement in Research Program Development Award

Human Space Exploration Team

Phillip First
Professor
College of Sciences

Masatoshi Hirabayashi
Associate Professor
College of Engineering

Brant Jones
Senior Research Scientist
College of Sciences

Julie Linsey
Professor
College of Engineering

Peter Loutzenhiser
Associate Professor
College of Engineering

Thomas Orlando — Team Leader
Regents’ Professor
College of Sciences

Frances Rivera-Hernandez
Assistant Professor
College of Sciences

Alvaro Romero-Calvo
Assistant Professor
College of Engineering

Meisha Shofner
Professor
College of Engineering

Jiang Zhigang
Professor
College of Sciences

Outstanding Achievement in Research Program Impact Award

Georgia Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing (AIM)

Clarence Anthony
Workforce Development Manager
Enterprise Innovation Institute

John Avery
Director
Advanced Technology Development Center

Justin Biddle
Associate Professor
Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts

David Bridges
Vice President
Enterprise Innovation Institute

Zach Brunson
Research Engineer I
College of Engineering

Matt Carroll
Research Coordinator I
Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute

Camille Cowans
Senior Project Manager
Georgia AIM

Donna Ennis
Vice President
Enterprise Innovation Institute

Steven Ferguson
Principal Research Scientist
Enterprise Innovation Institute

Chris Gaffney
Professor of the Practice
College of Engineering

Tasheé Hawkins
Program Support Coordinator
Enterprise Innovation Institute

Leigh Hopkins
Assistant Director
Center for Economic Development Research

Paul Joseph
Principal Research Scientist
Office of Commercialization

Andrew Krejci
Project Manager
Enterprise Innovation Institute

Danyelle Larkin
Program Director
Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing

Kristen Morales
Marketing Strategist
Georgia AIM

Jennifer Pasley
Senior Project Manager
Enterprise Innovation Institute

Kyle Saleeby
Research Engineer II
Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute

Ryan Scott
Community Engagement Manager
Georgia AIM

Steven Sheffield
Senior Assistant Director of Research
Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute

Aaron Stebner — Team Leader
Eugene C. Gwaltney Jr. Chair in Manufacturing
College of Engineering

Weston Straka
Research Scientist II
Institute for Matter and Systems

Stephan Turano
Senior Research Engineer
Institute for Matter and Systems

Eric Vogel
Executive Director, Institute for Materials, and Hightower Professor of Materials Science and Engineering
Institute for Matter and Systems

Jarod Weber
Research Program Manager
Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute

ANAK Awards

Outstanding Staff ANAK Award

Steve Place
Campus Sustainability Project Manager
Office of Sustainability

Outstanding Faculty ANAK Award

Rebecca Watts Hull
Assistant Director, Faculty Development for Sustainability Education Initiatives
Center for Teaching and Learning

Staff Awards

Leadership in Action Award

Sirocus Barnes
Director of Expanded Learning Programs
Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing

One Giant Leap Award

Jason Gregory
Institute Landscape Architect
Infrastructure and Sustainability