Brian Magerko has been appointed as the James and Mary Wesley Chair for New Media Studies in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication. Magerko is a Regents’ Professor of Digital Media and head of the Expressive Machinery Lab. He has served as director of graduate studies for the Digital Media Program for eight years and will step down from this leadership role on July 31.
The endowed chair appointment is a renewable, three-year term, starting on Aug. 1. The endowed professorship is supported by a gift from James and Mary Wesley, long-time Atlanta philanthropists. The chair conducts research and develops and teaches courses within the School of Literature, Media, and Communication (LMC) and has recognized expertise in digital environments across media platforms.
"Dr. Magerko's innovative work in cognition, coding education, and creativity makes him an ideal fit to serve as our Wesley Chair,” said Amanda Murdie, dean of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, Regents’ Professor, and Ivan Allen Jr. Chair in Liberal Arts and Technology. “This chair will help advance his groundbreaking research while also supporting his transformative leadership of LMC’s Digital Media Program.”
Magerko’s expertise lies at the intersections of computation, cognition, and the social/creative interactions between humans and artificial intelligence. His research explores how studying human and machine cognition can inform the creation of new human/computer creative experiences. He has been research lead on more than $15 million of federally funded research and has authored over 100 peer-reviewed articles related to computational media, cognition, and learning.
His work has been shown at galleries and museums internationally, and he co-founded a music-based learning environment for computer science, called EarSketch, that has been used by about 2 million learners worldwide. Magerko and his work have appeared in the New Yorker, USA Today, CNN, Yahoo! Finance, NPR, and other global and regional outlets.
Magerko joined Georgia Tech in 2008 as an assistant professor of digital media. He received his B.S. in Cognitive Science from Carnegie Mellon University and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Michigan.
“Dr. Magerko exemplifies our teaching and educational mission in his work on behalf of our Digital Media program,” said Kelly Ritter, chair of LMC and professor of Writing and Communication. “He has built an already strong and forward-looking program into an even better one that provides pathways for students and fellow faculty to accomplish their own professional and intellectual goals.”
Biology major Sonali Kaluri is a STEM expert. Spanish major Sonali Kaluri is a language and culture expert.
Put the two together and you have a sharply educated researcher with a passion for healthcare. Kaluri is headed to Barcelona after graduation this Spring as a Fulbright Scholar to study the health of migrant workers under the digital platform economy. She plans to later embark on a career in medicine.
It’s something she says she couldn’t have done without her experiences at the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.
“You need to have a deep understanding of people and the systems that surround us to be able to effectively and ethically help people as a physician,” said Kaluri, who attended Georgia Tech as a Stamps President's Scholar.
Kaluri’s Applied Languages and Intercultural Studies degree from the School of Modern Languages helped shape that understanding, including through classes studying Spanish literature.
“Literature is such an important window into the lives of people different from you,” Kaluri said. “Studying another language’s great works is an excellent way to understand the experiences of different people and build that empathy, which translates to real life for me in being able to better connect with the people I meet.”
Kaluri, who was fluent in her parents’ languages of Telugu and Kannada before arriving at Georgia Tech, had always wanted to combine language training with her work in healthcare.
“Early in high school and college, I would shadow doctors, and if they had a patient that couldn’t speak English, I’d be able to follow along with the conversation even without an interpreter using my knowledge from high school Spanish classes,” Kaluri said. “I figured that one day as a doctor, it would be cool to be able to talk directly to a larger number of patients without needing an interpreter and to be able to build greater rapport with patients. That was the spark for why I wanted to pursue more rigorous study of Spanish.”
Her interest in medicine derives from seeing how cultural norms around gender and caregiving can shape and even sideline women’s own healthcare needs.
“I realized that was a big part of why I wanted to pursue medicine — to advocate for people on a deeper level, to try to bridge these gaps that I've noticed in research, in the clinic, et cetera,” Kaluri said.
Kelly Comfort, one of Kaluri’s Spanish professors, said Kaluri’s success shows what’s possible with a combined STEM and liberal arts education.
“Sonali is the kind of student who proves that the humanities are not separate from science and medicine — they strengthen them. Her ability to think critically about culture, identity, and social systems through her ALIS major has shaped her into a more thoughtful future healthcare professional,” Comfort said.
“She is not only highly skilled in pre-health and pre-medicine fields, but she is also multilingual, interculturally competent, empathetic, reflective, and prepared to improve the human condition across cultures, languages, and borders,” Comfort said.
When Boys and Girls Club Digital Growth Director Tiffany Simmons met with Georgia Tech students at the organization’s national headquarters in January, her directive was simple: "dream big.”
That challenge served as the catalyst for a collaboration between the School of Literature, Media, and Communication (LMC) and the Boys and Girls Clubs that has culminated in a commercial that’s now slated for national distribution. The project will serve as a strong portfolio item for the students as they pursue future opportunities in film production while helping build awareness and donations for the Boys and Girls Clubs.
“It was very exciting to get to work on something with such a big impact and real-life application,” said Lila Parker, the project’s student director. She will graduate this Spring with a degree in Literature, Media, and Communication.
Parker’s vision was selected from a series of competitive pitches delivered by six students enrolled in a special topics cinematography course overseen by John Thornton, LMC's director of film and media. Students Charity Dawson, Jordan Green, Natalie Howlette, Taylor Lee, and Erica Yun comprised the crew and took on various roles to make the commercial a reality.
“During our first meeting, Tiffany told us to dream big. That stuck with me and evolved into the concept for the ad, which I titled, ‘Not Just a Dream,’ Parker said. “The ad starts with a kid sleeping and transitions into a whimsical, dreamy sequence showing pursuits like art and athletics. It then switches to show that this is actually reality for these kids at the Boys and Girls Clubs. The message is that the club provides the resources to make these big dreams come true.”
The partnership originated when Simmons sought a fresh perspective from a younger demographic to modernize the organization’s creative content.
The production involved a two-day shoot, including location filming at a Boys and Girls Club venue and studio work in the Skiles Building, where students designed and constructed their own sets.
Beyond academic credit, participants gained hands-on experience in pre-production, script finalization, and equipment coordination.
The resulting commercial will be integrated into the Boys and Girls Clubs’ paid advertising on television and YouTube to drive awareness and donations. Simmons said she intends to share those metrics with the students to help bolster their resumes.
“In my twelve years of marketing, these students are by far the most advanced I have ever worked with,” Simmons said.
The initiative, which Simmons said she expects will become an annual partnership, highlights LMC's commitment to providing students with industry-standard opportunities that bridge the gap between the classroom and the professional media landscape, according to Thornton.
“It’s a tremendous advantage for college graduates who are interested in pursuing film as a career to leave school with meaningful real-world examples of the kind of work they’re capable of doing,” he said. “These are the kinds of opportunities we’re excited to offer at LMC, and we’re grateful to the Boys and Girls Club for the opportunity to partner on this great project.”
The School of Literature, Media, and Communication offers a concentration in media, including film, as part of the Bachelor of Science in Literature, Media, and Communication, as well as a minor in film and media studies.
Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts
]]>Midway through her doctoral studies in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication, Zhao’s commitments expanded in two demanding directions: she became a mother and a business co-owner with her husband. Suddenly, time for research became a particularly precious commodity.
“After becoming a mother, my available working time each day became extremely limited — sometimes only two hours,” Zhao said. “I had to become very efficient and focused with the time I had.”
It was within those tight constraints — balancing the rigors of entrepreneurship and parenthood — that Zhao developed BioVR, which looks to reimagine how humans interact with technology. The technology is at the heart of Zhao’s other startup.
Zhao’s research moves beyond the standard handheld controllers and head-tracking used in many virtual reality and augmented reality experiences. BioVR, on the other hand, is all about how internal physiological signals such as heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rhythm can control a virtual environment in real time.
"I wanted to investigate what happens when the interaction comes from inside the body," Zhao said. "BioVR demonstrates how internal states can become meaningful, expressive input for interactive systems."
The applications of her work are myriad, from horror games that adapt to a player’s fear levels to rehabilitation systems that automatically adjust difficulty based on a patient's physiological response.
Zhao credits the pressure of her personal life with sharpening her academic focus. Running a business while pursuing a degree prevented her from staying in an "academic bubble."
"Running a business opened my eyes to another path — how research can connect to real societal needs," she said. "Becoming a mother also reshaped my values. It reminded me that health and family relationships should never be taken for granted."
Zhao is now headed to Yale University, where she will work as a postdoctoral associate and continue her research.
Before she goes, however, she has advice to other Georgia Tech students facing similar juggling acts: success is built on sustainability.
"I learned that physical and mental health are the foundation of everything," she said. "No matter how many tasks you have, try not to panic or rush. Organize priorities step by step, and most importantly, protect your sleep."
]]>Watch the full talk on YouTube.
]]>His dedication to students even extended to learning Italian so that he could better teach a class called “The Age of Galileo.”
“For ten ‘generations’ of Tech students, Bob brought news of Dante and DaVinci and Galileo and Shakespeare and exposed them to the masterworks of classical Hollywood,” said LMC Associate Professor Blake Leland, who worked with Wood for nearly four decades.
Wood, a poet and scholar who retired as an associate professor in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication (LMC) in May 2025 after 50 years of service with Georgia Tech, passed away recently.
“He will be missed,” Leland said. “I will miss him.”
Wood, who had a Ph.D. in English and a master’s degree in mathematics, arrived at Georgia Tech in 1974 after two years as a math instructor at Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute.
A poet and specialist in Renaissance drama, the science and culture of the renaissance, and film and television, he was the author of books including Some Necessary Questions of the Play: A Stage-Centered Analysis of Shakespeare's 'Hamlet’; the 2014 Georgia Author of the Year award-winning book of poetry, The Awkward Poses of Others; Alms for Oblivion, and a chapbook — a short book of poetry — called Gorizia Notebook.
His poems were published in outlets including Blue Fifth Review, Jelly Bucket, Jabberwock Review, Sojourn, and Prairie Schooner.
At Georgia Tech, he taught classes ranging from English Composition to Shakespeare to Intro to Film to Theater Production. He also helped establish LMC’s Film Studies program, recalled his retired colleague, Professor Emeritus Jay Telotte.
The two spent many hours together, lugging heavy projection equipment to other buildings with enough space for film screenings, Telotte said.
“And when, as often happened, we encountered technical problems — a sound system not working, a screen that wouldn’t go down, a projector bulb suddenly blown, or even an auditorium or projection booth that was locked when it wasn’t supposed to be — Bob would typically entertain the student audience with his wealth of jokes while I went looking for help,” Telotte said. “My sense, and probably that of many students as well, is that his other calling was neither drama nor poetry, but stand-up comedy, at which he was very good.”
For years, Wood and other LMC faculty members met regularly as a writing group they called the “Not Dead Yet Poets Society.” Some members collaborated on a book of poetry, On Occasion: Four Poets, One Year.
“He was a generous and thoughtful reader of poetry and often found just the right word needed to turn a poem on its head,” said JC Reilly, director of creative writing curricula in LMC. “He was kind and funny in a quiet, snarky way, and he made me — all of us — a better writer. “
Travis Denton, associate director of Poetry@Tech, called Wood “a staple in the Atlanta poetry community.”
“There’s no doubt Bob made a huge impact on his many students over the years, sharing his love of poetry, and he served as a force and advocate for the craft in the School,” Denton said.
Wood was one of the first faculty members Professor Carol Senf met when she joined the faculty in what was then Georgia Tech’s English Department.
“Bob never failed to charm and delight though his wit was sometimes so subtle that it snuck up on me,” Senf said. “Appropriately for a Shakespearean, he was a true Renaissance man. A teacher who genuinely loved his students, he was also a very fine poet, and a connoisseur of art, music, and film.”
Senf said Wood adored his family, evident in a series of poems inspired by his granddaughter:
No footprint mars
her lunar wondering,
the first philosophy.
“There are terrible beauties as Yeats has shown us, but the beauty of a child’s first exploration of the world renews us all,” Wood wrote in a “Writer’s Statement on Beauty” published with the poems. “My Thora poems began when I heard a speaker quote Aristotle as saying, ‘Philosophy begins in wonder.’”
Reilly said she’s grateful Wood left behind such a trove of poetry and other writing.
“I am heartbroken that he’s gone, and I’m really going to miss him,” she said. “He left us way too soon, but he lives on in his poems, and I keep them close.”
]]>The Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts attracts some of the best minds in the social sciences and humanities, scholars and practitioners eager to further Georgia Tech's mission of educating leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition. Our newest faculty members are no exception.
This year, we are proud to welcome 13 tenured or tenure-track faculty, 21 non-tenure-track faculty, including Marion L. Brittain Postdoctoral Fellows and new cadre members in our ROTC programs, four research faculty, and 11 visiting faculty.
Georgia Tech’s writing program has a fresh look this Fall.
To better serve the needs of the Georgia Tech community, the Writing and Communication Program (WCP), in partnership with the School of Literature, Media, and Communication (LMC) and the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, is broadening the mission of the Naugle Communication Center and changing the program’s organizational structure.
The communication center will now be known as the Naugle Writing and Communication Center and expand its services to faculty and staff, in addition to its traditional student audience.
The program will also now function as its own department within LMC — highlighting the crucial role of writing and communication in educating tomorrow’s leaders.
While the program will retain its academic ties to the School, it will now report directly to the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts’ dean’s office on administrative and operational matters, such as faculty affairs, finance, human resources, facilities, and information technology.
The program will also gradually transition several Marion L. Brittain Postdoctoral Fellow positions to full-time lecturer positions. That change should help improve continuity and provide for better mentorship opportunities, said Melissa Ianetta, Class of 1958 Professor in Communication and executive director of writing and communication.
“These changes reflect our commitment to fostering a culture of strong communication across the Institute, affirm the vital role of writing and communication in the liberal arts, and position the program to further contribute to College and Institute-wide initiatives,” Ianetta said.
The Writing and Communication Program offers courses, faculty training, and support services to help members of the Georgia Tech community communicate clearly and effectively in any setting. It is also the home of approximately 45 Marion L. Brittain Postdoctoral Fellows — instructors who teach many of the first-year writing courses at Georgia Tech.
The Communication Center provides drop-in support for students — and now faculty and staff — seeking to improve their writing, polish presentations, or learn ways to ease the anxiety of public speaking engagements.
LMC Chair Kelly Ritter said the changes will help elevate the profile of writing instruction at Georgia Tech at a crucial time, with students and faculty alike navigating with the promise and peril of communicating in the age of AI.
“This transition will bring greater attention to writing research and pedagogy in the WCP as it benefits students of all majors at the Institute, and also faculty teaching writing in their own courses,” Ritter said. “It also will allow the expert faculty in the WCP a stronger collective voice in shared governance, including the advent of any future initiatives to help sustain and grow writing-related efforts across campus.”
The changes follow an update to the program’s curriculum for first-year students rolled out last year. Those changes emphasized more research, idea synthesis, and revised writing.