Despite decades of research, the chaotic nature of turbulence makes it difficult to predict and control. This challenge impedes more than smoother air travel. Solving the turbulence problem could lead to advances in areas ranging from sustainable energy to training a smarter workforce for the era of artificial intelligence (AI).
To advance understanding of turbulence, the National Science Foundation is establishing a new, $30 million Science and Technology Center (STC) at Michigan State University. Georgia Tech is among eight universities supporting the center.
Assistant Professor Qi Tang will join the STC for Transformative Explorations in Multi-Physics and Engineering of Scientific Turbulence (TEMPEST). TEMPEST, launching on Sept. 1, aims to build trustworthy, predictive models of real-world turbulence.
Tang will lead TEMPEST’s modeling and scientific machine learning (ML) efforts. NSF will fund Tang and Georgia Tech with over $1 million from the center’s five-year, $30 million award.
By understanding and predicting turbulence, TEMPEST can unlock new applications, with a focus on fusion energy and national security. The center will also generate long-term research projects with applications in air and space flight, manufacturing, chemistry, and broaden science education and AI fluency.
“Turbulence has resisted prediction for a century,” said Tang, a faculty member in the School of Computational Science and Engineering (CSE).
“STC TEMPEST aims to develop a unified, predictive science that advances fusion energy, improves hypersonic technologies, and deepens our understanding of how stars created the elements that make up our world and ourselves. For everyday people, the center points toward abundant clean energy and faster, more efficient flight."
Turbulence is the motion of a fluid characterized by chaotic changes in pressure and speed. Turbulent flows can occur across all scales, from interactions between subatomic particles to astrophysical scales, including supernovas, black holes, and cosmic rays.
While turbulent flows are common and occur naturally, scientists still do not fully understand them. Small changes in a turbulent flow can produce dramatically different outcomes. Combined with the countless interactions across multiple scales of time and space, this makes turbulence extraordinarily difficult to predict.
“Rather than studying individual pieces of this enormously complex problem in isolation, we are bringing together theory, experimentation, computation and artificial intelligence to develop a deeper understanding of turbulence across scales,” said Michael Murillo, an MSU professor and the director of TEMPEST.
“Our goal is not simply to understand turbulence better, but to make it predictable and controllable in ways that will enable new technologies and scientific discoveries.”
The NSF TEMPEST award supports students and researchers at Michigan State University, Auburn University, Baylor University, Georgia Tech, San José State University, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, University of Rochester, and Yale University to combine theory, computation, AI techniques, and experimentation to build trustworthy predictive models of real-world turbulence for high-consequence applications.
Additional partners include Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Pacific Fusion, and General Atomics.
Together, TEMPEST researchers will build more accurate and reliable physics-grounded models. The center will test new ideas against real-world observations, then use those results to refine the models.
Tang contributes expertise in ML, scientific computing, and plasma physics to STC TEMPEST.
Earlier this year, Tang received an Early Career Research award from the Department of Energy’s Office of Science. He is using the award to build ML and data science tools that help scientists analyze massive datasets from fusion experiments and simulations.
This interdisciplinary approach is intended to move science from understanding why turbulence behaves as it does to predicting how it will behave. Through prediction and simulation, scientists could eventually engineer solutions to control turbulence in real-world scenarios.
The center will make its data and software broadly available and engage the public through museum exhibitions, immersive media, and educational programs that are expected to reach more than 10,000 K-12 students annually. TEMPEST will also help train an AI-fluent scientific workforce prepared to tackle complex problems across disciplines.
“One reason I am excited to work in TEMPEST is because it aligns perfectly with our School of CSE mission. As a discipline, CSE complements theory and experimentation as a mode of scientific discovery,” Tang said.
“We build computational models to simulate scientific and engineering concepts, like turbulence in this case, so that we can test theories that are too difficult, expensive, or risky for physical experiments.”
]]>As Georgia Tech President Ángel Cabrera delivered his final Institute Address from the Walter G. Ehmer Theater inside the John Lewis Student Center, he emphasized that the end of his tenure is not the end of a race but rather the next leg of a relay. As he prepares to pass the baton to the next president, he outlined Tech’s unprecedented momentum.
“Here’s what I’ve learned about relays: The best handoffs happen at full speed. Not when a team is limping and not when it’s regrouping, but rather when the momentum is strong, the baton is secure, and the next runner is already moving,” he said.
Since 2019, when Cabrera took office as the Institute’s 12th president, Tech has become one of the nation’s fastest-growing universities, delivering a strong return on investment for students, life-changing research, and record economic impact for Georgia.
Cabrera outlined how Tech is bucking national trends to achieve the goals outlined in its strategic plan.
He noted that, as the No. 2 university in federally sponsored research, Tech continues to conduct life-changing research that addresses real-world challenges. His examples included a cancer-screening breath test, skin patches that deliver vaccines and medicines without needles, stronger and more sustainable batteries, new methods of mining critical minerals, and pioneering innovative aircraft solutions for the next generation of flight.
Tech students fill the job openings of Georgia and the nation’s most critical industries, and funds invested in the Institute become a crucial part of the state’s economic engine. As a hub for innovation, Tech has risen from No. 48 to No. 19 worldwide in patents issued to faculty. Last year, faculty and students launched 179 startups, compared to 57 in 2019.
“Demand for a Georgia Tech degree is at an all-time high because the value of a Georgia Tech degree has never been greater,” he said. “State and philanthropic support are at all-time highs because our quality, scale, and impact have never been greater. Our research enterprise has never been stronger because our research has never done more to make this state and this nation safer, healthier, and more competitive. The public’s confidence in higher education is not something we can lecture our way back into. It has to be earned. Georgia Tech is earning it every day.”
For the second consecutive year, Georgia Tech set a new fundraising record. The Institute raised more than $415 million in fiscal year 2026, exceeding the previous record by more than $100 million and pushing Transforming Tomorrow: The Campaign for Georgia Tech past the $2 billion mark with 18 months remaining.
A $30 million donation has established the Michael E. Tennenbaum Family Institute for Technology and Civic Leadership, a new interdisciplinary institute designed to prepare students to navigate the intersection of technology, civic life, and leadership. It is an integral part of Tech’s efforts to foster open inquiry, civil discourse, and responsible problem-solving through teaching, research, and public engagement.
As he prepares to depart from his alma mater at the end of October, Cabrera sees an opportunity for a smooth transition with a leadership team ready to hit the ground running.
“Look at where we are. Enrollment, research, state support, philanthropy, and economic impact are all at record levels,” he said. “We are several years into a strategic plan that is working and that our community believes in. Our newest leaders are in place and past the learning curve. The executive leadership team is in lockstep. Students want to come here. Companies want to move here to work with us and hire from us. Government agencies bring us their hardest problems. Donors want in on all the amazing work being done here every day.”
Concluding his final Institute Address, Cabrera reflected on the role that Tech has played in his life and his wife Beth’s life.
“I got something almost nobody gets: the chance to come back and lead the place that made me. Serving as your 12th president has been the honor of my career,” he said, becoming visibly emotional. “I’ve had the enormously good fortune to spend seven years working alongside some of the best people in higher education anywhere — to do work that truly matters and makes a huge difference in the lives of countless thousands — at the institution that set the course of my own life.”
On Beth’s role as Tech’s first lady, Cabrera praised the passion and generosity that she has shown since the couple arrived on campus.
“A lot of what people describe as the warmth of this community, or my own, has come from Beth. She’s poured more of herself into Georgia Tech than most people will ever know, and she did it with great joy, without expecting anything in return,” he said.
Angus Wilkinson, associate chair and professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the School of Materials Science and Engineering, has been elected chair of Georgia Tech's Faculty Executive Board.
Wilkinson brings extensive experience to the role. Since joining the Georgia Tech faculty in 1993, he has contributed to the Institute as a researcher, educator, and administrator. He currently serves as associate chair for undergraduate programs in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
“Angus has earned the respect of colleagues across Georgia Tech through his thoughtful leadership, institutional knowledge, and commitment to academic excellence,” said Raheem Beyah, provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs. “His collaborative approach and dedication to shared governance make him well-suited to lead the Faculty Executive Board. I look forward to working with him as we continue advancing Georgia Tech’s mission of education, research, and service.”
As an institution of the University System of Georgia, Georgia Tech operates under a model of shared governance. This model empowers faculty to fulfill responsibilities related to their own governance, the governance of students, and the maintenance of high educational standards. Through this process, faculty play an important role in shaping the academic experience across the Institute.
As chair of the Faculty Executive Board, Wilkinson will help lead the faculty in governance of itself, the curriculum, and Georgia Tech students. The Faculty Executive Board serves a central role in shared governance, representing faculty perspectives and working with Institute leadership on issues that shape the academic experience. Wilkinson will work closely with Secretary of the Faculty Adam Steinberg to oversee governance processes and amplify faculty voices.
“Georgia Tech’s strength has always been rooted in the talent and dedication of its faculty,” Wilkinson said. “I am honored by the opportunity to serve as chair of the Faculty Executive Board and to work with faculty colleagues and Institute leadership to ensure that faculty perspectives help inform decisions that affect our students, our research enterprise, and our academic community.”
Wilkinson earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Oxford and completed graduate studies in chemical crystallography and inorganic chemistry at Oxford. Before joining Georgia Tech, he conducted research in the Materials Research Laboratory at the University of California, Santa Barbara. At Georgia Tech, he received tenure in 1999 and was promoted to full professor in 2004.
Over the course of his career, Wilkinson has led research efforts spanning inorganic materials chemistry, cement science, low and negative thermal expansion materials, and advanced characterization techniques. His work has addressed both fundamental scientific questions and practical challenges, contributing to advances in energy, environmental, and infrastructure-related materials.
Wilkinson succeeds Dima Nazzal, associate chair for academic administration in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering and director of Education and Projects with the Center for Health and Humanitarian Systems, who has served as chair since 2024. During her tenure, Nazzal provided thoughtful leadership and strong advocacy for faculty perspectives while helping guide the Institute through a period of continued growth and change.
The Office of the Provost extends its appreciation to Nazzal for her dedicated service as chair of the Faculty Executive Board and for her longstanding commitment to Georgia Tech’s faculty, students, and shared governance processes. Her leadership strengthened collaboration between faculty and administration and contributed meaningfully to the advancement of the Institute’s academic mission.
Writer: Brittany Aiello, Faculty Communications Manager, Institute Communications
In time for the fall semester, the ribbon has been cut, and students will soon move into Georgia Tech’s newest traditional residence hall — the Bud and Val Peterson Residence Hall.
Located along Northside Drive between Eighth and Ninth streets, the 191,000-square-foot facility offers approximately 862 beds in double-occupancy rooms. The first traditional residence hall constructed on campus since 1969, Bud and Val Peterson Residence Hall features collaborative learning areas, an esports lounge, a fitness room, community lounges, a kitchen on the first floor of each wing, and a 24/7 cashierless market.
The opening of the new residence hall allows Tech to keep pace with enrollment as the Institute continues to grow. This fall, over 4,100 first-year students will enroll at the Institute, along with 1,400 transfer students in the fall and spring. With growth comes the need for new infrastructure, as Georgia Tech President Ángel Cabrera said during Thursday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“It turns out that more unbelievable students from every county in Georgia, from every corner of our country and countries around the world, want to have the learning experience here. It’s our duty to figure out creative solutions, not just to house them, but to provide them with a transformative experience,” he said. “The transformation of our students happens right here. It happens in the residence halls. It happens in the friendships that you make, the study groups, the activities, and when you’re learning to be independent and to grow up. This is not just a dorm where you come to sleep.”
The residence hall is named in honor of Georgia Tech’s 11th president and first lady. During Peterson’s tenure from 2009 to 2019, Tech enhanced student programs and grew enrollment; increased collaboration and built strategic partnerships in Atlanta and Georgia; expanded its global reach, with a focus on innovation; executed Campaign Georgia Tech, which raised $1.8 billion for the Institute; and more than doubled new research awards, exceeding $1 billion for the first time in 2019. As president, Peterson launched the Online Master of Science in Computer Science program, which has since become a global model for accessible education.
He has remained involved with the Institute as president emeritus, a Regents’ Professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, and a member of the steering committee for Transforming Tomorrow: The Campaign for Georgia Tech.
In his remarks, Peterson recounted his first time visiting Tech, the feeling he got when he was on campus, and his path to eventually becoming Tech’s next president, succeeding President Emeritus G. Wayne Clough, who was in attendance at the ceremony.
Becoming a candidate for the job of president was “one of the most important decisions I’ve made in my professional career,” Peterson said. “This is a remarkable place with remarkable people doing remarkable things. Val and I are enormously honored to be recognized in this fashion.”
As first lady, Val Peterson was a dedicated presence on campus and an ardent supporter of students and faculty. She served as the chief spokesperson for the Tech Ends Suicide Together initiative when it launched in 2016 and mentored students and campus organizations. Val Peterson holds two bachelor’s degrees and a teaching certificate from Kansas State University and a master’s degree from Texas A&M. She has been recognized as an honorary alumna by the Georgia Tech Alumni Association for her devotion to the greater good of the Institute. Nicknamed the “Queen Bee” of Georgia Tech, she found it “quite fitting” that the new hall bears the couple’s names, because they lived together in a dorm room at KSU when they were first married.
“That’s where it all began. Those two towers, like us, together forever,” she said. “My hope for the students who live in Peterson Hall is that their experience parallels our paths, not only in school but in life.”
Each space in the new residence hall is designed to encourage students to interact and develop shared experiences, a mindset that Kasey Helton, associate vice president of Campus Services, says was fostered during Peterson’s tenure.
“We weren't trying to create 860 places to sleep. We were trying to create 860 opportunities to belong. That sense of belonging is exactly what Bud and Val spent a decade here building. They championed living-learning communities, expanded opportunities for students to develop global perspectives, strengthened support for student well-being, and helped make a Georgia Tech education accessible to all students. That same spirit is built into this hall,” Helton said.
The opening of the Bud and Val Peterson Residence Hall brings the Institute’s capacity to more than 9,600 bed spaces across nearly 50 residence halls. Move-in for the fall semester begins Aug. 15, including the first group of students who will call Bud and Val Peterson Residence Hall home.
Georgia Tech is one of America’s best colleges, according to Money magazine.
The Institute is one of 17 public schools to receive a five-star ranking and the only institution in the state to receive the designation. To compile its list for 2026 and to “help families find schools that deliver strong value,” the publication evaluated more than 700 four-year colleges on 25 metrics, including graduation rates, costs, financial aid, student debt, and alumni salaries.
In its breakdown, Money declares, “Georgia Tech gets results.”
Cementing its status as a national leader in outcomes and value for all students remains a top priority in the Institute’s strategic plan. Since 2019, as in-state tuition has risen nationwide by an average of $2,200, Tech has reduced its in-state tuition and fees by nearly 25%. Georgia Tech students continue to outpace the national average with a 93% graduation rate, 75% of whom finish in four years or less.
Tech recently completed its most successful fundraising year in history, including millions of dollars for need-based scholarships, advancing opportunities for students of all socioeconomic backgrounds.
The recognition from Money is the latest accolade Tech has received for its value creation and return on investment. The Princeton Review has named Georgia Tech a best value public college for three consecutive years, and this year, Tech retained its place on Forbes’ list of New Ivies, receiving the highest C-suite rating of any university.
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.
“David has been an important contributor to Georgia Tech’s academic AI strategy from the beginning,” said Raheem Beyah, provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs. “With expertise in AI use in the classroom, a commitment to instructional innovation, and a deep appreciation for and understanding of faculty perspectives, David is exceptionally well-positioned to lead this work.”
Joyner’s appointment kicks off the next phase of the academic AI strategy, which was developed with input from faculty, staff, students, and academic leaders from across the Institute. The strategy is organized around three goals: advancing AI-driven teaching and learning, equipping faculty and students to build and integrate AI tools effectively and responsibly, and strengthening Georgia Tech’s impact and leadership through responsible AI innovation and engagement.
As interim vice provost for AI in Education, Joyner will work closely with faculty governance leaders, academic leadership, and campus partners to coordinate implementation efforts, support strategic initiatives, expand access to AI resources, and help align activities across the Institute.
Joyner currently serves in the College of Computing as associate dean for Off-Campus and Special Initiatives and executive director of Online Education and the Online Master of Science in Computer Science (OMSCS) program. He will continue to serve as executive director of OMSCS while stepping down from his associate dean responsibilities to assume the role of interim vice provost for AI Strategy.
Joyner is a recognized leader in online learning, educational technology, and AI-enabled education. His research focuses on learning at scale, online instruction, and the use of AI to support student success and teaching innovation. Through his leadership of OMSCS and his work as a researcher and instructor, he has helped shape how Georgia Tech and higher education approach technology-enhanced learning.
“I am thrilled to take on this role at such a pivotal time for AI and education,” said Joyner. “Georgia Tech’s faculty, staff, and students are already making incredible strides in this area, and I can’t wait to highlight and empower what they’re doing while helping us all articulate how we both use and address AI responsibly, in every sense of the word.”
Faculty expertise and shared governance will remain central to the implementation of the academic AI strategy. Faculty interested in contributing to pilot projects, sharing effective practices, or helping inform future AI initiatives will have opportunities to participate as the work continues.
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
]]>