{"47189":{"#nid":"47189","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Provides Technical Assistance, Workforce for Georgia Chemical Firm","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGene Williams, president of Optima Chemical Group, LLC, remembers all too well his experience after graduating from college in 1977.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u0022When I got out of school in the mid-70s, there was a big brain drain,\u0022 he says.  \u0022Students from Georgia with in-demand degrees like chemistry and engineering were finding employment outside the state.\u0022\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nThe Douglas-based Optima now provides opportunities for such students.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u0022It\u0027s important for us to have qualified chemical and engineering candidates.  Georgia Tech assists us by providing the engineers and chemists we need to run the plant,\u0022 says Williams.  \u0022I\u0027m proud of the fact that Optima Chemicals provides opportunities for students to stay in Georgia and contribute to their communities.\u0022\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nHowever, Georgia Tech\u0027s involvement with Optima does not end with providing an educated workforce.  In fact, Tech began consulting with the company before it was ever located in Douglas and continues to provide advice today. \u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"Optima Chemical Group, a Douglas-based company, has relied on Georgia Tech for a wide range of assistance, from chemical research and site location to environmental assessments and personnel recruiting.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27304","created_gmt":"2002-11-04 01:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:03:45","author":"Matthew Nagel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2002-11-04T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2002-11-04T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.edtv.gatech.edu\/articles\/articlesans.cfm?ID=110","title":"Assistance continues today"}],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=\u0022\u003EContact  \u003C\/a\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}