{"581875":{"#nid":"581875","#data":{"type":"news","title":"ISyE\u2019s Valerie Thomas and Team Win Judges\u2019 Choice Award from MIT\u2019S Climate CoLab","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESuriya Arulselvan (MSCE 2015) and Valerie Thomas, a professor in Georgia Tech\u2019s Stewart School of Industrial \u0026amp; Systems Engineering (ISyE), have been awarded the Judges\u2019 Choice Award for the 2016 Aviation contest from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Climate CoLab. They accepted the award and presented their research at the MIT Climate CoLab\u0027s Crowds \u0026amp; Climate Conference, September 28-29, 2016, on MIT\u2019s campus.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe pair submitted their proposal, \u201cStrategic Investment to Scale-up Aviation Biofuel,\u201d to the Climate CoLab\u2019s Aviation contest category. They proposed that one large country (the U.S., China, or Brazil) or coordinated region (e.g., the EU) intensely ramp up aviation biofuel production, along with associated coproducts such as diesel fuel, to a level of about 120 million tons of biomass by the year 2030. They specifically focused on the feasibility of China to contribute to this initiative.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EEmphasizing technology development for aviation biofuel within a particular country would result in gaining expertise in the most efficient pathway. Plausible ways to develop a stable supply and demand for biofuel include the following:\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cul\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003ECollaborating with neighboring countries to establish an efficient supply chain.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EWorking with suppliers and airlines that are taking initiatives to use biofuel.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EA common fuel distribution system can be established in the airports of China, similar to the bioports implemented in Amsterdam, Holland and Oslo, Norway. This way all the operators flying into these airports will be refueled by biofuel.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EWith the European Union including the aviation industry in its emission trading system since 2012, a strategic alignment could be made between the EU and China to substantiate the investment.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EArulselvan and Thomas\u2019s proposal was particularly commended by the contest judges for its potential impact to considerably reduce carbon dioxide emissions.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ETo learn more about the pair\u2019s proposal, read here: \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/bit.ly\/2cJQPjU\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/bit.ly\/2cJQPjU\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWatch a video about the pair\u2019s work here: \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/youtu.be\/un9Ve3V5w8M\u0022\u003Ehttps:\/\/youtu.be\/un9Ve3V5w8M\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbout Valerie Thomas and Suriya Arulselvan \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESuriya Arulselvan\u003C\/strong\u003E is a process modeling engineer at Aspen Technology in Bedford, MA. She has a Master of Science in chemical engineering from Georgia Tech, and a Bachelor of Technology in chemical engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Tiruchipappalli.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EValerie Thomas\u003C\/strong\u003E is the Anderson Interface Professor of Natural Systems in ISyE, with a joint appointment in the School of Public Policy. Her research interests are energy and materials efficiency, sustainability, industrial ecology, technology assessment, international security, and science and technology policy. Current research projects include the environmental impacts of biofuels and electricity system policy and planning.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbout the Climate CoLab\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe goal of the Climate CoLab is to harness the collective intelligence of thousands of people from all around the world to address global climate change.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EInspired by systems like Wikipedia and Linux, the MIT Center for Collective Intelligence has developed this crowdsourcing platform where people work with experts and each other to create, analyze, and select detailed proposals for what to do about climate change.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EBy constructively engaging a broad range of scientists, policy makers, business people, investors, and concerned citizens, the hope is that the Climate CoLab will help to develop, and gain support for, climate change plans that are better than any that would have otherwise been developed.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAnyone can join the Climate CoLab community and participate. Community members are invited to submit and comment on proposals outlining ideas for what they think should be done about climate change. In some contests, members create proposals for specific kinds of actions such as generating electric power with fewer emissions or changing social attitudes about climate change. In other contests, members combine ideas from many other proposals to create integrated climate action plans for a country, a group of countries, or the whole world. Experts evaluate the entries and pick finalists, and then both experts and community members select the most promising proposals.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESuriya Arulselvan (MSCE 2015) and Valerie Thomas, a professor in Georgia Tech\u2019s Stewart School of Industrial \u0026amp; Systems Engineering (ISyE), have been awarded the Judges\u2019 Choice Award for the 2016 Aviation contest from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Climate CoLab.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Suriya Arulselvan (MSCE 2015) and Valerie Thomas, a professor in Georgia Tech\u2019s Stewart School of Industrial \u0026 Systems Engineering (ISyE), have been awarded the Judges\u2019 Choice Award for the 2016 Aviation contest from the Massachusetts Institute of Technol"}],"uid":"28766","created_gmt":"2016-09-29 14:21:57","changed_gmt":"2024-01-22 21:40:21","author":"Shelley Wunder-Smith","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-09-29T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2016-09-29T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"581862":{"id":"581862","type":"image","title":"Valerie Thomas","body":null,"created":"1475155087","gmt_created":"2016-09-29 13:18:07","changed":"1475155087","gmt_changed":"2016-09-29 13:18:07","alt":"Valerie Thomas","file":{"fid":"221789","name":"valerie082b.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/valerie082b.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/valerie082b.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":973860,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/valerie082b.jpg?itok=WR8vjege"}},"581863":{"id":"581863","type":"image","title":"Suriya Arulselvan","body":null,"created":"1475155195","gmt_created":"2016-09-29 13:19:55","changed":"1475155195","gmt_changed":"2016-09-29 13:19:55","alt":"Suriya Arulselvan","file":{"fid":"221790","name":"Suriya_Photo.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Suriya_Photo.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Suriya_Photo.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":153127,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Suriya_Photo.jpg?itok=pBB9QRDf"}}},"media_ids":["581862","581863"],"groups":[{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"},{"id":"1243","name":"The Supply Chain and Logistics Institute (SCL)"}],"categories":[{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1135","name":"valerie thomas"},{"id":"166911","name":"Suriya Arulselvan"},{"id":"426","name":"isye"},{"id":"166912","name":"Climate CoLab"},{"id":"1173","name":"aviation"},{"id":"2056","name":"biofuel"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"},{"id":"39541","name":"Systems"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71911","name":"Earth and Environment"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:shelley.wunder-smith@isye.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EShelley Wunder-Smith\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EStewart School of Industrial \u0026amp; Systems Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E404.385.4745\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["shelley.wunder-smith@isye.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"661272":{"#nid":"661272","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Charitable Campaign is Underway","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen it comes to charitable giving, every dollar donated to the Georgia State Charitable Contributions Program (GASCCP) helps a worthy cause. There are more than 700 local, state, and national nonprofit organizations to which employees can contribute. This year\u0026rsquo;s theme is \u0026ldquo;Making a Difference in Georgia.\u0026rdquo; The campaign runs through Nov. 16.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Please consider joining with others at Georgia Tech by making a contribution,\u0026rdquo; said Valerie Thomas, campaign chair. \u0026ldquo;This year\u0026#39;s charity list includes local charities from across the regions of Georgia, as well as national and international charities. Find one that you like and give it your support.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe GASCCP is a benefit for State of Georgia and University System employees that allows contributions to the charity of choice through payroll deductions or a one-time donation.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EGiving online through OneUSG Connect is the preferred method because it is confidential, secure, and simple to use.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ETo contribute:\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026middot; Log in to \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/oneusgconnect.usg.edu\/\u0022\u003EOneUSG Connect\u003C\/a\u003E and select \u0026ldquo;Make SCCP Contribution\u0026rdquo; on the \u0026ldquo;State Charitable Contributions Program\u0026rdquo; button in the upper left of the Employee Self Service screen.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026middot; Select \u0026ldquo;Make Charitable Campaign Pledge\u0026rdquo; and follow the instructions.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026middot; Choose \u0026ldquo;Payroll Deduction\u0026rdquo; to set up the amount you choose to pledge in equal installments. Deductions will begin January 2023.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026middot; If you would rather download a pledge form, you can complete it and submit with your check to your unit ambassador or to Valerie Thomas at 415 Groseclose, ISyE. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAdditional details about the campaign can be found at \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/charitable.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003Echaritable.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The annual campaign runs through Nov. 16. "}],"uid":"27713","created_gmt":"2022-09-16 20:21:19","changed_gmt":"2022-09-19 12:26:33","author":"Victor Rogers","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2022-09-16T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2022-09-16T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"244801":{"id":"244801","type":"image","title":"Charitable Campaign Logo","body":null,"created":"1449243722","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:42:02","changed":"1509375428","gmt_changed":"2017-10-30 14:57:08","alt":"Charitable Campaign Logo","file":{"fid":"228000","name":"charitablecampaign.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/charitablecampaign.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/charitablecampaign.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":30261,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/charitablecampaign.jpg?itok=kZ70XhrQ"}}},"media_ids":["244801"],"groups":[{"id":"1317","name":"News Briefs"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"2094","name":"charitable campaign"},{"id":"1966","name":"usg"},{"id":"1135","name":"valerie thomas"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EVictor Rogers\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["victor.rogers@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"657006":{"#nid":"657006","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Russell Gentry Chairs State Sustainable Building Materials Committee","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/arch.gatech.edu\/people\/russell-gentry\u0022\u003ERussell Gentry\u003C\/a\u003E, director of the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/dbl.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EDigital Building Lab\u003C\/a\u003E, has been appointed chair of the newly created Sustainable Building Material Technical Advisory Committee. The committee will work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by creating a method for calculating the net carbon held in existing wooden structures.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ETrees naturally capture carbon dioxide, the most significant greenhouse gas, and Georgia already has a registry for carbon held by living trees. But trees used for construction also hold about half their weight in carbon, Gentry said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;So if you have 100,000 pounds of wood in your building, then there\u0026rsquo;s 50,000 pounds of carbon that\u0026rsquo;s sequestered in that wood [for the life of the building].\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EGentry will lead the committee\u0026rsquo;s approach as they create a carbon-tracking process for trees used in construction. Wood building materials will then be part of the state\u0026rsquo;s carbon registry, which will allow carbon credits to be bought and sold.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe committee also relies on\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.isye.gatech.edu\/users\/valerie-thomas\u0022\u003EValerie Thomas\u003C\/a\u003E, the Anderson-Interface Chair of Natural Systems in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/isye.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EH. Milton School of Industrial and Systems Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E, to determine net carbon benefit of sustainable materials versus conventional construction materials.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThomas brings expertise in life cycle assessment to the committee. She looks at the whole life of the building material, from manufacture to disposal, to develop an accurate idea of environmental impact.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Some of the part I\u0026rsquo;m especially tasked with is, \u0026lsquo;How do you quantify this? How much is it?\u0026rsquo;,\u0026rdquo; Thomas said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIt\u0026rsquo;s not as simple as adding up the weight of lumber used and dividing by half. \u0026ldquo;We have transportation, sawmills, and treatment,\u0026rdquo; she said, \u0026ldquo;and we\u0026rsquo;re probably using fossil fuels to do it.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe environmental cost of all those processes must be compared to the costs of processes associated with concrete and metal frame buildings.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ETo make sure the credit for captured carbon is meaningful, \u0026ldquo;We have to look at all that to make sure the comparison is quantitatively sensible.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ECalifornia and Canada\u0026#39;s British Columbia have related carbon-tracking systems, which provide incentives for using their timber in construction.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Georgia is the largest forestry state in terms of structural lumber production,\u0026rdquo; said Gentry, \u0026ldquo;but we don\u0026rsquo;t have a lot of mass timber being produced from Southern Pine, so that\u0026rsquo;s considered to be a competitive disadvantage for the southeastern United States.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThis amendment to the current carbon registry provides incentive to use Georgia timber in construction, rather than bringing it in from other states. It will also help builders prove their commitment to greener development, Gentry said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Mass timber ties the logging and forestry industry -- a core business of rural Georgia -- to Atlanta where we have this huge influx of people. Cities need to build lots of multifamily housing, but in a thoughtful and environmentally conscious way,\u0026rdquo; said Gentry.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;This project speaks so well to both Georgias, and I think that\u0026rsquo;s part of the challenge we see in many things right now, is knitting that together. If there\u0026rsquo;s a win on both sides, it\u0026rsquo;s a good win.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch2\u003EBuilding Taller and Cleaner with Mass Timber\u003C\/h2\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAt the Digital Building Lab, Georgia Tech researchers develop new ways of using mass timber in commercial construction.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Mass timber is a process of cutting a tree up into lots of small pieces, essentially observing and removing the defects and then putting those boards back together to make huge pieces of wood,\u0026rdquo; said Gentry.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;This could be a panel of wood 10 feet by 40 feet by a foot and a half thick,\u0026rdquo; he said. \u0026ldquo;That\u0026#39;s like a piece of plywood on steroids. That can become a floor system in a 20-story building.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMass timber is a relatively new technology: in 2021 Georgia building codes were updated to allow for timber buildings taller than 5 stories using the new mass timber technology.\u0026nbsp;These changes allow for taller and more cost-competitive mass timber buildings.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EVery few buildings in the state use mass timber technology. Two local examples are the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/livingbuilding.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EKendeda Building\u003C\/a\u003E, on the Georgia Tech campus, and T3 West Midtown, a 7-story office building in Atlantic Station, near the Georgia Tech Campus.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAlthough the committee is not the first research group to look at carbon held in buildings, they will still have to develop new models to compare how much wood construction captures carbon as compared to traditional steel, Thomas said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EBut, she said, the research is so new that \u0026ldquo;we can\u0026rsquo;t just look at what everybody else does and say, \u0026lsquo;that\u0026#39;s what we\u0026#39;re doing\u0026rsquo;.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAccording to Thomas, the committee is \u0026ldquo;defining the regulations that will make it possible to have mass timber buildings that sequester carbon in the state of Georgia, and I expect that the procedure we use will be used by others also in the USA and in other countries.\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ourstate.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESo we\u0026rsquo;re directly applying our expertise to support the state of Georgia.\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOne implicit consequence of the amended carbon registry is that it \u0026ldquo;encourages building these innovative types of buildings in Georgia,\u0026rdquo; said Thomas.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;I grow my tree. I cut it down. I make a building with it so it\u0026#39;s just sitting over there for hopefully a very long time. And then I grow another tree. So I\u0026#39;m taking carbon out of the atmosphere and putting it into buildings on a continuing basis.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EFor carbon sequestration to have an impact on the environment, \u0026ldquo;we\u0026#39;re not talking one or two buildings in Atlanta. It has to be really large scale,\u0026rdquo; said Thomas.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;If we\u0026rsquo;re going to get the climate stabilized at 1.5 degrees centigrade increase, we\u0026rsquo;ve got to have some kind of technology for taking carbon out of the atmosphere.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch2\u003EGrowing a New Industry at Georgia Tech\u003C\/h2\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd cultivating a new type of construction is no small endeavor, Gentry said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;The mass timber problem is one of integration. It\u0026rsquo;s not like there\u0026rsquo;s a specific problem with adhesive bond lines or the density of wood. The real problem is the entire ecosystem that it\u0026rsquo;s going to take to make a mass timber industry in Georgia.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMass timber components require development of sophisticated manufacturing techniques.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;There\u0026rsquo;s tremendous capital expense for the presses that make these materials, and automation and CNC equipment that cuts these things into the kind of interlocking shapes that come to the job site and make these buildings so easy to erect,\u0026rdquo; Gentry said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;In the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/design.gatech.edu\/dfl\u0022\u003EDigital Fabrication Lab (DFL)\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;we have much of that equipment. Our students are learning to run that equipment, and so this semester our students are exploring the design and economic potential of mass timber, looking at not only design of buildings, but also the technical aspects of prefabricating the components and bringing them to the site.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe fact that Gentry and his students can prototype and deliver these building components right from the DFL amplifies the impact, he said. \u0026ldquo;I think one of the huge strengths of Georgia Tech is its ability to deliver not just knowledge, but instances of that knowledge applied.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EGentry speaks from experience: he\u0026rsquo;s an alumnus of the Institute as well as a decades-long faculty member of the Schools of\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/arch.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EArchitecture\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cee.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ECivil and Environmental Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E. So, too is another member of the Sustainable Building Material Technical Advisory Committee, Devon Dartnell (EE \u0026#39;84) Director of Market Analysis and Research at the Georgia Forestry Commission, and a Georgia timberland owner.\u0026nbsp;Dartnell manages the work of the committee for the Forestry Commission.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe legislation identifies the specific viewpoints and expertise required to craft the new sustainable building carbon registry. Members include Edie Sonnie Hall, a life cycle analysis consultant from Washington State; Brian Campa, Principal at Cooper Carry; Jacek Siry, Professor of Forest Economics at the University of Georgia; Troy Harris, Managing Director of Timberland at Jamestown; Ted Miltiades, Director of Construction Codes and Industrialized Buildings at Georgia Department of Community Affairs; and Bill Howard, \u0026nbsp;General Manager of Claude Howard Lumber Company.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/arch.gatech.edu\/people\/russell-gentry\u0022\u003ERussell Gentry\u003C\/a\u003E, director of the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/dbl.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EDigital Building Lab\u003C\/a\u003E, has been appointed chair of the newly created Sustainable Building Material Technical Advisory Committee. The committee will work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by creating a method for calculating the net carbon held in existing wooden structures.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Russell Gentry, director of the Digital Building Lab, has been appointed chair of the Sustainable Building Material Technical Advisory Committee."}],"uid":"34590","created_gmt":"2022-04-05 17:28:24","changed_gmt":"2022-04-05 17:28:24","author":"km86","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2022-04-05T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2022-04-05T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"657002":{"id":"657002","type":"image","title":"Valerie Thomas and Russell Gentry with mass timber components","body":null,"created":"1649177670","gmt_created":"2022-04-05 16:54:30","changed":"1649178322","gmt_changed":"2022-04-05 17:05:22","alt":"Valerie Thomas and Russell Gentry with mass timber components","file":{"fid":"249024","name":"thumbnail.thomas_and_gentry_in_dfl.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/thumbnail.thomas_and_gentry_in_dfl.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/thumbnail.thomas_and_gentry_in_dfl.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1502148,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/thumbnail.thomas_and_gentry_in_dfl.jpg?itok=Et4DGuZY"}},"657003":{"id":"657003","type":"image","title":"Kendeda Building under construction, showing mass timber structure","body":null,"created":"1649178223","gmt_created":"2022-04-05 17:03:43","changed":"1649191712","gmt_changed":"2022-04-05 20:48:32","alt":"Kendeda Building under construction, showing mass timber structure","file":{"fid":"249025","name":"50617508816_868e951772_k.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/50617508816_868e951772_k.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/50617508816_868e951772_k.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":809901,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/50617508816_868e951772_k.jpg?itok=tioy00z4"}},"657004":{"id":"657004","type":"image","title":"Cultivated pine forest","body":null,"created":"1649178744","gmt_created":"2022-04-05 17:12:24","changed":"1649178744","gmt_changed":"2022-04-05 17:12:24","alt":"Pine forest in Georgia.","file":{"fid":"249026","name":"feature.forest.gatrees.org_.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/feature.forest.gatrees.org_.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/feature.forest.gatrees.org_.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":391514,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/feature.forest.gatrees.org_.jpg?itok=OJXOt1nm"}}},"media_ids":["657002","657003","657004"],"groups":[{"id":"1221","name":"College of Design"},{"id":"60379","name":"DBL - Digital Building Lab"},{"id":"48996","name":"School of Architecture"}],"categories":[{"id":"131","name":"Economic Development and Policy"},{"id":"137","name":"Architecture"},{"id":"179355","name":"Building Construction"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"154","name":"Environment"}],"keywords":[{"id":"10403","name":"russell gentry"},{"id":"1135","name":"valerie thomas"},{"id":"831","name":"climate change"},{"id":"1702","name":"carbon capture"},{"id":"190314","name":"mass timber"},{"id":"11082","name":"digital building lab"},{"id":"14657","name":"digital fabrication lab"},{"id":"171054","name":"sustainable buildings"},{"id":"175","name":"Architecture"},{"id":"506","name":"alumni"},{"id":"69451","name":"College of Engineering; H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial \u0026 Systems Engineering"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"},{"id":"39471","name":"Materials"},{"id":"39491","name":"Renewable Bioproducts"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":["ann.hoevel@design.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"649763":{"#nid":"649763","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Valerie Thomas Named Chair of National Academies Committee to Study Life Cycle Analysis of Low-Carbon Transportation Fuels","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERenewable and low-carbon fuel standards, such as the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/renewable-fuel-standard-program\u0022\u003EFederal Renewable Fuel Standard\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;and the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ww2.arb.ca.gov\/our-work\/programs\/low-carbon-fuel-standard\u0022\u003ECalifornia Low Carbon Fuel Standard\u003C\/a\u003E, are major U.S. programs for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transportation fuels. These standards rely on life cycle assessment as a method to estimate fuel greenhouse gas emissions. However, current life cycle assessments differ notably in how they are implemented, with disagreements pertaining to data quality, modeling approaches, and key assumptions.\u0026nbsp;Now, a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) committee will study\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nationalacademies.org\/our-work\/current-methods-for-life-cycle-analyses-of-low-carbon-transportation-fuels-in-the-united-states?utm_source=Division+on+Earth+and+Life+Studies\u0026amp;utm_campaign=272559c8cf-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_12_05_06_00_COPY_01\u0026amp;utm_medium=email\u0026amp;utm_term=0_3c0b1ad5c8-272559c8cf-233933165\u0026amp;mc_cid=272559c8cf\u0026amp;mc_eid=78b2985366\u0022\u003ECurrent Methods for Life Cycle Analyses of Low-Carbon Transportation Fuels in the United States\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;Professor\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.isye.gatech.edu\/users\/valerie-thomas\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EValerie Thomas\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, Anderson-Interface Chair of Natural Systems in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, has been appointed to chair the committee, which will meet through April 2022 to do its work.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThomas, who holds a joint appointment in Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s School of Public Policy, is an expert in\u0026nbsp;life cycle assessment, sustainability, and science and technology policy.\u0026nbsp;Her current research projects include life cycle assessment of biofuels made from algae, of carbon dioxide captured from air, of chemicals made from biomass, and of alternative technologies for conventional and urban agriculture.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EUnder Thomas\u0026rsquo; leadership, the committee will consider direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions; that is, direct greenhouse gas emissions from producing feedstock for fuel and making and using the fuel, and emissions from indirect effects such as land use change. Indirect effects can occur, for example, when land used for one purpose \u0026ndash; such as growing corn for food \u0026ndash; instead is used to grow feedstock for biofuel.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe committee will also consider key assumptions and the quality of the data used to estimate greenhouse gas emissions, and may assess needs for additional data and model development. The group also will consider methods used to evaluate biofuels, electricity as a transportation fuel, hydrogen fuels, low-carbon diesel fuels, and aviation and maritime fuels, among others.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Transportation is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, and multiple alternative-fuel technologies are being developed to address this challenging problem,\u0026rdquo; said Thomas. \u0026ldquo;Our committee has been tasked with providing recommendations for potential use in a national low-carbon fuels program.\u0026nbsp;Our aim is to provide policy makers and the public with a robust, useful set of findings on the state-of-the-science in evaluating greenhouse gas emissions of low-carbon transportation fuels.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThomas, an expert in\u0026nbsp;life cycle assessment, sustainability, and science and technology policy, will lead the committee\u0026#39;s considerations of\u0026nbsp;direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Thomas, an expert in\u00a0life cycle assessment, sustainability, and science and technology policy, will lead the committee\u0027s considerations of\u00a0direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions."}],"uid":"28766","created_gmt":"2021-08-17 13:58:55","changed_gmt":"2021-08-23 22:29:32","author":"Shelley Wunder-Smith","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2021-08-17T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2021-08-17T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"649762":{"id":"649762","type":"image","title":"Human use of fossil fuels, especially for transportation, is a major producer of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.","body":null,"created":"1629208434","gmt_created":"2021-08-17 13:53:54","changed":"1629208434","gmt_changed":"2021-08-17 13:53:54","alt":"Car exhaust pipe with fumes coming out of it","file":{"fid":"246634","name":"Human use of fossil fuels, especially for transportation, is a major producer of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere..jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Human%20use%20of%20fossil%20fuels%2C%20especially%20for%20transportation%2C%20is%20a%20major%20producer%20of%20greenhouse%20gases%20in%20the%20atmosphere..jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Human%20use%20of%20fossil%20fuels%2C%20especially%20for%20transportation%2C%20is%20a%20major%20producer%20of%20greenhouse%20gases%20in%20the%20atmosphere..jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":527849,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Human%20use%20of%20fossil%20fuels%2C%20especially%20for%20transportation%2C%20is%20a%20major%20producer%20of%20greenhouse%20gases%20in%20the%20atmosphere..jpg?itok=yMIvJ3Oj"}},"649761":{"id":"649761","type":"image","title":"Valerie Thomas","body":null,"created":"1629208349","gmt_created":"2021-08-17 13:52:29","changed":"1629208349","gmt_changed":"2021-08-17 13:52:29","alt":"Headshot of Valerie Thomas","file":{"fid":"246633","name":"Valerie Thomas_Square.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Valerie%20Thomas_Square_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Valerie%20Thomas_Square_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":455435,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Valerie%20Thomas_Square_0.jpg?itok=wDzEhNnY"}}},"media_ids":["649762","649761"],"groups":[{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"1243","name":"The Supply Chain and Logistics Institute (SCL)"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"187577","name":"NASEM"},{"id":"1135","name":"valerie thomas"},{"id":"10402","name":"life cycle assessment"},{"id":"843","name":"greenhouse gas emissions"},{"id":"7508","name":"carbon dioxide"},{"id":"86041","name":"Center for Business Strategies for Sustainability"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"},{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"},{"id":"39541","name":"Systems"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:swundersmith3@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EShelley Wunder-Smith\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EH. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"634165":{"#nid":"634165","#data":{"type":"news","title":"The Future of Energy in Rwanda","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EEnergy access in sub-Saharan Africa is extremely limited, and much of the energy currently consumed is used to cook food. Most people use biomass \u0026mdash; organic materials such as wood, plants, or waste \u0026mdash; for this purpose. This is a widely accepted and affordable way for individuals to cook their meals, but it poses some significant problems.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;It takes people a long time to gather their firewood,\u0026rdquo; explained Valerie Thomas, Anderson-Interface Professor of Natural Systems in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE).\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;A lot of these areas face deforestation, which not only cuts down on wildlife but also makes it harder for people to gather firewood; as the trees get cut down, the forest gets further away from the village.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to these deforestation challenges, cooking indoors with biomass fuels (which many people do) creates air pollution, leading to negative health effects. Thomas is conducting research on solar cooking and parabolic stoves, studying how this simple technology can help people in Rwanda address both issues.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;I\u0026rsquo;m really enthusiastic about finding better ways for people to cook, especially using solar,\u0026rdquo; Thomas said. \u0026ldquo;There are limitations \u0026mdash; for example, you can\u0026rsquo;t do your cooking when the sun isn\u0026rsquo;t out. But there are also a lot of advantages. You don\u0026rsquo;t need to gather anything, it works well, it\u0026rsquo;s very inexpensive, and there are a lot of different options.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe cooking initiative is one part of the work Thomas has been doing in Rwanda. Since 2016, she has collaborated with industry practitioners, as well as researchers and students from ISyE, to determine the best way to bring sustainable energy to the people of rural Africa.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;There is minimal access to grid electricity in rural Africa,\u0026rdquo; said Thomas. \u0026ldquo;We\u0026rsquo;re using operations research techniques to examine future development scenarios that will help governments make better infrastructure decisions and balance supply and demand.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to the lack of energy infrastructure, Africa also faces a shortage of Ph.D.s to help solve these complex issues. To address this problem, Thomas serves as an international advisor to graduate students at the African Center of Excellence in Energy for Sustainable Development, a pan-African program at the University of Rwanda established with support from the World Bank Group. Supporting trained Ph.D.s and students in Africa who will continue to research these issues is key to the region\u0026rsquo;s future success.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EISyE Professor Valerie Thomas is researching ways to bring sustainable energy to the people of Rwanda.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"ISyE Professor Valerie Thomas is researching ways to bring sustainable energy to the people of Rwanda."}],"uid":"28766","created_gmt":"2020-04-08 15:56:42","changed_gmt":"2021-05-28 13:32:57","author":"Shelley Wunder-Smith","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2020-04-08T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2020-04-08T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"634164":{"id":"634164","type":"image","title":"A home in Rwanda with a solar panel on the roof","body":null,"created":"1586360801","gmt_created":"2020-04-08 15:46:41","changed":"1586360801","gmt_changed":"2020-04-08 15:46:41","alt":"","file":{"fid":"241315","name":"Africa_sQ.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Africa_sQ_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Africa_sQ_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":273279,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Africa_sQ_0.jpg?itok=hyN15fa-"}},"634166":{"id":"634166","type":"image","title":"Anderson-Interface Professor of Natural Systems Valerie Thomas","body":null,"created":"1586361496","gmt_created":"2020-04-08 15:58:16","changed":"1586361496","gmt_changed":"2020-04-08 15:58:16","alt":"Anderson-Interface Professor of Natural Systems Valerie Thomas","file":{"fid":"241316","name":"Valerie Thomas_Square.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Valerie%20Thomas_Square.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Valerie%20Thomas_Square.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":455435,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Valerie%20Thomas_Square.jpg?itok=ufnkMIfB"}}},"media_ids":["634164","634166"],"groups":[{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"1135","name":"valerie thomas"},{"id":"166890","name":"sustainability"},{"id":"81101","name":"Rwanda"},{"id":"213","name":"energy"},{"id":"167182","name":"solar"},{"id":"426","name":"isye"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39491","name":"Renewable Bioproducts"},{"id":"39541","name":"Systems"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:laurie.haigh@isye.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ELaurie Haigh\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EH. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["laurie.haigh@isye.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"600283":{"#nid":"600283","#data":{"type":"news","title":"The Promise of Blue-green Algae: An Environmentally Friendly Source for Producing Biofuels and Other Products","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMany people are familiar with ethanol \u0026mdash; a popular biofuel mixed with gasoline \u0026mdash; and how it\u0026rsquo;s made in the United States: from corn. Second-generation biofuel is also coming on to the market, made from inedible plant materials such as corn stalks, leaves, and cobs.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ENow, thanks to a $6.25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), a third generation of biofuel is being developed via blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe three-year grant was jointly awarded to Algenol, an industrial biotechnology company; Georgia Tech; the National Renewable Energy Laboratory; and Reliance Industries under the DOE\u0026rsquo;s Advancements in Algal Biomass Yield, Phase 2 (ABY2) program to produce biocrude and co-products. Valerie Thomas, the Stewart School of Industrial \u0026amp; Systems Engineering\u0026rsquo;s Anderson Interface Professor of Natural Systems, and Matthew Realff, the School of Chemical \u0026amp; Biomolecular Engineering\u0026rsquo;s Professor and David Wang Sr. Fellow, are the lead researchers from Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThis grant will enable the team to explore the environmental process and impacts of cyanobacteria-produced biofuels and other high-value chemicals. The ethanol is extracted from the algae\u0026rsquo;s water and nutrient bath in a process that is similar to whiskey distillation. Algenol has developed a process that produces pure ethanol from very dilute ethanol in a way that is highly energy efficient.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWhy is cyanobacteria as a source for ethanol so promising? Principally, cyanobacteria-produced biofuel is environmentally friendly \u0026mdash; for a number of reasons.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAs Thomas explained, \u0026ldquo;The algae are grown in photobioreactors, which are basically large plastic bags, along with water and nutrients. The plastic bags hang in rows out in the sun, and there\u0026rsquo;s no reason for the land to be good agricultural land. It can be in desert areas or near the coast for shipping. It\u0026rsquo;s also quite productive per acre compared with land plants [that can be used to make first- or second-generation biofuel].\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn addition, the carbon dioxide that the algae need to grow could be siphoned-off fossil fuel power plant emissions and piped into the photobioreactors. A number of other carbon capture and utilization scenarios for biorefineries have been studied by the Algenol-Georgia Tech team, including stand-alone systems where carbon dioxide is generated on-site. Many of those scenarios show competitive economics and very low carbon footprints compared to gasoline.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThomas \u0026mdash; an expert on greenhouse gas emission evaluation \u0026mdash; and Realff \u0026mdash; an expert in chemical process modeling and optimization \u0026mdash; have been working with Algenol on its biofuel production processes for a number of years. Thomas works in environmental systems analysis, with a main area being life-cycle assessment. This means that she looks at the entire supply chain for producing and using this biofuel. She said that this includes \u0026ldquo;what kind of fertilizer it uses, how the production facility is built, and the energy used in the facility \u0026mdash; how much is used and where it comes from. All the emissions need to be taken into account.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ETo proceed to commercial-scale production, the process needs to be both environmentally sound and cost-effective. It\u0026rsquo;s challenging to make third-generation biofuel that can match today\u0026rsquo;s historically low petroleum prices. However, Algenol technology can yield other products, including natural food colorants and fertilizers, that are well along in the pipeline.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EExpanding on the multi-product approach, the grant team is evaluating additional biofuel components that can be made within an Algenol biorefinery that would be cost-effective and have low environmental impact.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAn Algenol-Georgia Tech team that includes ISyE Anderson Interface Professor of Natural Systems Valerie Thomas is working to produce ethanol from cyanobacteria.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"An Algenol-Georgia Tech team that includes ISyE Anderson Interface Professor of Natural Systems Valerie Thomas, is working to produce ethanol from cyanobacteria."}],"uid":"28766","created_gmt":"2018-01-02 17:00:48","changed_gmt":"2018-03-21 23:48:13","author":"Shelley Wunder-Smith","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2018-01-02T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2018-01-02T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"600282":{"id":"600282","type":"image","title":"Photobioreactors are large plastic bags that contain the nutrient bath in which algae is grown.","body":null,"created":"1514911716","gmt_created":"2018-01-02 16:48:36","changed":"1521676080","gmt_changed":"2018-03-21 23:48:00","alt":"Photobioreactors are large plastic bags that contain the nutrient bath in which algae is grown.","file":{"fid":"230278","name":"algae.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/algae.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/algae.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":85523,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/algae.jpg?itok=B1fHjtcs"}}},"media_ids":["600282"],"groups":[{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"},{"id":"1243","name":"The Supply Chain and Logistics Institute (SCL)"},{"id":"1316","name":"Green Buzz"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"1135","name":"valerie thomas"},{"id":"176639","name":"Matthew Realff"},{"id":"426","name":"isye"},{"id":"173096","name":"cyanobacteria"},{"id":"136271","name":"Algenol"},{"id":"663","name":"Department of Energy"},{"id":"3441","name":"DOE"},{"id":"176640","name":"ehtanol"},{"id":"2056","name":"biofuel"},{"id":"479","name":"Green Buzz"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:shelley.wunder-smith@isye.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EShelley Wunder-Smith\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EStewart School of Industrial \u0026amp; Systems Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E404.385.4745\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["shelley.wunder-smith@isye.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"587305":{"#nid":"587305","#data":{"type":"news","title":"ISyE\u2019s Valerie Thomas Named to Second Term as Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee Member for the USDA and the Department of Energy","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s Valerie Thomas, a leading expert in energy and environmental analysis, has been reappointed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to serve a second term as a member of the Biomass Research and Development (R\u0026amp;D) Technical Advisory Committee. The committee advises DOE and USDA on R\u0026amp;D related to biofuels and feedstock development. Her appointment is effective through December 30, 2019.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThis committee, initially established by the Biomass Research and Development Act of 2000 (Biomass Act), was reauthorized by the Agricultural Act of 2014. As part of this committee, Thomas, the Anderson Interface Professor of Natural Systems at the Stewart School of Industrial \u0026amp; Systems Engineering, will assist the USDA and DOE in meeting the Act\u0026rsquo;s national goals of a healthier rural economy and improved national energy security.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Act\u0026rsquo;s main focus is on overcoming key technical challenges through R\u0026amp;D that will lead to an expanded U.S. bio-based industry. Thomas has the responsibility of providing advice to the two departments on matters including biomass research and development; technical focus and direction of requests for proposals issued under the initiative; procedures for reviewing and evaluating requests for proposals; and facilitating consultation and partnerships among federal agencies.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThomas\u0026rsquo; research interests are energy and materials efficiency; sustainability; industrial ecology; technology assessment; international security; and science and technology policy. Current research projects include the environmental impacts of biofuels and electricity system policy and planning.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThomas received a B.A. in physics from Swarthmore College and a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Cornell University. Before coming to Georgia Tech she held positions at Carnegie Mellon University and Princeton University. From 2004 to 2005, Thomas was the American Physical Society Congressional Science Fellow. A member of the U.S. EPA Science Advisory Board from 2003 to 2009, Thomas is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Physical Society.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EValerie Thomas has been reappointed by the USDA and the DOE to serve a second term as a member of the Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Valerie Thomas has been reappointed by the USDA and the DOE to serve a second term as a member of the Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee."}],"uid":"28766","created_gmt":"2017-02-13 13:49:48","changed_gmt":"2017-02-13 19:34:51","author":"Shelley Wunder-Smith","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2017-02-13T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2017-02-13T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"581862":{"id":"581862","type":"image","title":"Valerie Thomas","body":null,"created":"1475155087","gmt_created":"2016-09-29 13:18:07","changed":"1475155087","gmt_changed":"2016-09-29 13:18:07","alt":"Valerie Thomas","file":{"fid":"221789","name":"valerie082b.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/valerie082b.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/valerie082b.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":973860,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/valerie082b.jpg?itok=WR8vjege"}}},"media_ids":["581862"],"groups":[{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"}],"categories":[{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"154","name":"Environment"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1135","name":"valerie thomas"},{"id":"67611","name":"usda"},{"id":"663","name":"Department of Energy"},{"id":"426","name":"isye"},{"id":"3023","name":"biomass"},{"id":"172747","name":"spotlight"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39491","name":"Renewable Bioproducts"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:shelley.wunder-smith@isye.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EShelley Wunder-Smith\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EStewart School of Industrial \u0026amp; Systems Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E404.385.4745\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["shelley.wunder-smith@isye.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"585235":{"#nid":"585235","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Exploring How to Bring Electricity to East Africa","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe ready availability of electricity is something we take for granted here in the U.S., while many developing African countries do not have the infrastructure to bring electricity to the citizens of their rural regions.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn order to develop a model for such an infrastructure \u0026mdash; one that brings electricity more equitably to rural parts of African countries \u0026mdash; researchers from both ISyE and ExxonMobil are working together to create a 30-year model for potential electricity generation. They are focusing particularly onthe east African countries of Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania, and the central African country the Democratic Republic of the Congo.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESuch a problem is compounded, said Valerie Thomas, ISyE\u0026rsquo;s Anderson Interface Professor of Natural Systems, because \u0026ldquo;on the one hand, there are many people without access to electricity and on the other hand, you have the governments and agencies and companies that would build this capacity but also are poor. It\u0026rsquo;s not that there\u0026rsquo;s no grid, but there\u0026rsquo;s not much of one.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThomas and ISyE research partner Dima Nazzal, Executive Director of Academic Administration and Student Experience, are confident this problem can be solved, however. \u0026ldquo;It\u0026rsquo;s a very difficult problem,\u0026rdquo; said Nazzal. \u0026ldquo;We are attempting to design a large-scale complex system that has conflicting performance objectives and significant levels of uncertainty when it comes to electricity generation and storage capacities, electricity demand data, and stakeholders utility, to name a few. But this type of project is perfectly aligned for industrial and systems engineering research. We model these types of systems and try to create robust cost-effective designs \u0026ndash; deciding where to locate power plants, where to build the grid network, and how much demand to satisfy, while balancing limited financial and natural resources.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOne possible solution is the hydroelectric resources available in east Africa and other parts of the continent. \u0026ldquo;There is the potential to build large dams,\u0026rdquo; explained Thomas, \u0026ldquo;that could provide electricity reliably in high quantities at low cost, if the generation and transmission system could be built, and if the environmental and social impacts could be addressed. Or, smaller lower-impact hydro power could provide more local solutions.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThomas and Nazzal are also considering the balance between fossil fuels such as natural gas or petroleum and more climate-friendly resources such as solar or hydro. ISyE Ph.D. student Amelia Musselman is working with Thomas and Nazzal to develop an optimization model on how to supply electricity to the greatest number of people. She said that right now, she has \u0026ldquo;the model formulation ready \u0026mdash; or at least the first version \u0026mdash; and I\u0026rsquo;m working on programming it and getting the data to solve it.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EExxonMobil is working in conjunction with the ISyE team to construct models that can evaluate many trade-offs in a systematic manner, by selecting appropriate optimization tools.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAccording to Thomas, the next step is testing and validating the model to verify that it works: \u0026ldquo;Then we will do some experiments to answer the big questions about tradeoffs between environmental impact and costs.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe ready availability of electricity is something we take for granted here in the U.S., while many developing African countries do not have the infrastructure to bring electricity to the citizens of their rural regions. This is a problem on which a team from ISyE is working.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The problem of electricity distribution in Africa is the focus of a team from ISyE."}],"uid":"28766","created_gmt":"2016-12-19 19:08:45","changed_gmt":"2016-12-19 19:08:45","author":"Shelley Wunder-Smith","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-12-19T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2016-12-19T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"585234":{"id":"585234","type":"image","title":"Electricity in Africa","body":null,"created":"1482174268","gmt_created":"2016-12-19 19:04:28","changed":"1482174268","gmt_changed":"2016-12-19 19:04:28","alt":"Electricity in Africa","file":{"fid":"223124","name":"iStock_70030723_LARGE.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/iStock_70030723_LARGE.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/iStock_70030723_LARGE.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":749178,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/iStock_70030723_LARGE.jpg?itok=47vhNsd9"}}},"media_ids":["585234"],"groups":[{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"}],"categories":[{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"}],"keywords":[{"id":"426","name":"isye"},{"id":"12489","name":"developing countries"},{"id":"436","name":"electricity"},{"id":"166890","name":"sustainability"},{"id":"861","name":"Africa"},{"id":"1135","name":"valerie thomas"},{"id":"64561","name":"Dima Nazzal"},{"id":"142701","name":"Amy Musselman"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"},{"id":"39541","name":"Systems"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:shelley.wunder-smith@isye.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EShelley Wunder-Smith\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EStewart School of Industrial \u0026amp; Systems Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E404.385.4745\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["shelley.wunder-smith@isye.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"527641":{"#nid":"527641","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Rolling Robots","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETwo ISyE professors, Valerie Thomas (Anderson Interface Professor of Natural Systems) and Sebastian Pokutta (David M. McKenney Family Assistant Professor) are featured in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003EResearch Horizon\u003C\/em\u003E\u0027s article \u0022Rolling Robots,\u0022 about the work being done by Georgia Tech researchers on autonomous cars, which one day may shape the future of transportation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERead the full story here:\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.rh.gatech.edu\/features\/rolling-robots\u0022\u003E http:\/\/www.rh.gatech.edu\/features\/rolling-robots\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EResearchers work to avoid potholes and pitfalls on the road to autonomous vehicles.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Researchers work to avoid potholes and pitfalls on the road to autonomous vehicles."}],"uid":"28766","created_gmt":"2016-04-21 13:49:42","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:21:25","author":"Shelley Wunder-Smith","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-04-21T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2016-04-21T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"527621":{"id":"527621","type":"image","title":"The presence of millions of high-\u00adcapacity car batteries could have major implications for the U.S. electric grid. ISyE professor Valerie Thomas, who researches renewable energy, is studying the interplay between electric vehicles and the grid.","body":null,"created":"1461337200","gmt_created":"2016-04-22 15:00:00","changed":"1475895301","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:55:01","alt":"The presence of millions of high-\u00adcapacity car batteries could have major implications for the U.S. electric grid. ISyE professor Valerie Thomas, who researches renewable energy, is studying the interplay between electric vehicles and the grid.","file":{"fid":"205610","name":"rollinrobots_thomas_.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/rollinrobots_thomas__0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/rollinrobots_thomas__0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":950052,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/rollinrobots_thomas__0.jpg?itok=VmOmro7P"}}},"media_ids":["527621"],"groups":[{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"152","name":"Robotics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"97281","name":"autonomous vehicles"},{"id":"426","name":"isye"},{"id":"167832","name":"Sebastian Pokutta"},{"id":"1135","name":"valerie thomas"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39521","name":"Robotics"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:shelley.wunder-smith@isye.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EShelley Wunder-Smith\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWriter\/Editor\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStewart School of Industrial \u0026amp; Systems Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404.385.4745\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["shelley.wunder-smith@isye.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"506771":{"#nid":"506771","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Faculty Spotlight: Scientist Spotlight with Valerie Thomas","body":[{"value":"\u003Ch2 data-canvas-width=\u0022257.59880000000004\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EE-mail interview conducted by Allison Feldman, FAS\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr. Valerie Thomas is the Anderson Interface Professor of Natural Systems in the School of Industrial \u0026amp; Systems Engineering at Georgia Tech, with a joint appointment in the School of Public Policy. She is also a member of the FAS Board of Experts. Dr. Thomas\u0027s research interests are energy systems, sustainability, industrial ecology, technology assessment, international security, and science and technology policy. Current research projects include the environmental impacts of biofuels and electricity system policy and planning. Dr. Thomas is a member of the USDA\/DOE Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee. In 2004-2005, she was the American Physical Society Congressional Science Fellow. Dr. Thomas is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and of the American Physical Society, and has been a Member of the U.S. EPA Science Advisory Board. She has previously worked at the Department of Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University, and at Princeton University\u2019s Environmental Institute. Dr. Thomas received a B.A. in physics from Swarthmore College and a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Cornell University.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat made you want to become a scientist or engineer and what is your primary field of focus?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI became a scientist because I was fascinated by quantum physics. I wanted to know about it and I wanted to know more.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut now I am working on a very pragmatic and applied problem: how to create a sustainable energy system. It\u2019s an easy problem. That is, we can solve this and I am confident we will. The challenge is in how gracefully we get there, and the details of the solution.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI keep wanting to get back to theoretical physics. But I love working on energy problems and with so much work to do currently, I haven\u2019t yet found a way to do both.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat was your first science experiment?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGreat question. It made me think: What makes something a science experiment, and what makes it mine?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMy first experiments were engineering experiments \u2013 about making things rather than discovering the world. As a child, I liked to design and make things \u2013 out of fabric, paper, yarn, paint \u2013 and I liked to explore and build forts in the woods.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESo, what makes an experiment \u201cmine\u0022? It\u2019s \u201cmine\u201d simply when I create it and carry it out. In high school \u0026nbsp;and college, all the science experiments were with a partner, so to me, that doesn\u2019t count. Finally in graduate school, we had a lab course in which we had to carry out the experiment alone, by ourselves. That was great; I worked on superconductivity.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat advice would you give scientists and other technically-trained people in how to apply their knowledge and experience to societal issues and\/or to educate policymakers?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI would specifically like to address this question in the context of climate change and energy challenges. In my view, there has been too narrow a focus on the science of climate change and on the impacts of climate change, at the expense of a focus on how we can change our energy and industrial systems. There is huge potential for us to change our systems for the better; there is a very positive message and opportunity here.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMy advice is to bring forward any of the myriad innovations, and to convey the happy enthusiasm that we have for continuing to be creative and innovative.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat advice would you give someone trying to break into your field or the scientific and technical worlds in general?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKeep a deep and intense commitment. Make sure to have lots of failures, and remember that it is really fun. Don\u2019t be afraid.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDo you find that people react in a certain way when you tell them you\u2019re a scientist? Do they make any assumptions?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI find that people assume I\u2019m a rigid, narrow-minded, boring, uncreative person, focused on the immediately practical, with no vision, poetry, or spirit. And they definitely assume it would not be fun to ask me much about what I do.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat do you personally find to be the most rewarding and the most irritating parts of studying science?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI like to sink down into a problem, to really work at it hard and thoroughly, and to come up with a new way of thinking (or to at least slightly change how people understand the questions and the solutions).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI also really like working with a wide variety of people \u2013 on research projects, in class, in committees \u2013 and finding ways to get to better and more satisfying outcomes \u2013 whether in my teaching or in the research we are doing, or in how our scientific and engineering institutions are set up. People don\u2019t realize how wildly social science can be.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe most irritating parts? Hm, here\u2019s a list: boring talks, having to sit in my chair for too long, slow computers, unhealthy boxed lunches, so many airplane flights\u2026\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat do you believe is FAS\u2019s greatest strength and how can the organization take advantage of it?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFAS\u2019s greatest strength is its clear and consistent record of focus on science and technology issues of international security. This provides a platform, both for building dialogue with policy makers and for providing opportunities for scientists and engineers to engage with policymakers. FAS could further develop this potential by finding more scientists and engineers, from different locations and institutions, who could use FAS as a bridge to communicate with policy makers and the public.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat are the top issues that FAS should focus on in the next five years?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENuclear power and nuclear proliferation, globally. I used to work in the area of nuclear arms control, and in that field, the challenges of nuclear proliferation are well understood. Now I work in the energy field, and, strangely, nuclear proliferation is generally seen as \u201cout-of-scope.\u201d Developing an integrated understanding of nuclear energy and nuclear proliferation risks as part of the energy future is something that FAS is very well suited to do.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEnergy solutions, globally: New approaches to buildings and transportation for large, system-level efficiencies. New technologies \u2013 piezo-electrics, thermo-electrics, energy storage.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENuclear problems have been and continue to be a challenge that FAS can address comprehensively and with credibility. Energy solutions \u2013 as mind-blowingly different as nuclear energy was in the 1930s \u2013 are what scientists and engineers are working on now; their potential is what we desperately need to communicate to our policy makers and the public\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EComplete\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E this \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Esentence: \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cem\u003EScience \u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cem\u003Eis \u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cem\u003Evital\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cem\u003E because ..\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cem\u003E.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EScience is vital because we are exploring the nature of the universe. It is part of what makes \u003Cem\u003Eus \u003C\/em\u003Evital.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThis installment features Q\u0026amp;A\u0027s with prominent FAS-affiliated scientists and engineers. Dr. Valerie Thomas is the Anderson Interface Professor of Natural Systems in the School of Industrial \u0026amp; Systems Engineering at Georgia Tech, with a joint appointment in the School of Public Policy. She is also a member of the FAS Board of Experts. Current research projects include the environmental impacts of biofuels and electricity system policy and planning.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Q\u0026A with prominent FAS-affiliated scientists and engineer"}],"uid":"28766","created_gmt":"2016-02-26 14:15:24","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:20:53","author":"Shelley Wunder-Smith","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-02-26T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2016-02-26T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"506751":{"id":"506751","type":"image","title":"Valerie Thomas, ISyE Anderson Interface Professor of Natural Systems","body":null,"created":"1456765200","gmt_created":"2016-02-29 17:00:00","changed":"1475895268","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:54:28","alt":"Valerie Thomas, ISyE Anderson Interface Professor of Natural Systems","file":{"fid":"204861","name":"valerie082b_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/valerie082b_0_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/valerie082b_0_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":973860,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/valerie082b_0_0.jpg?itok=F3QOCP8m"}}},"media_ids":["506751"],"groups":[{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"807","name":"environment"},{"id":"171593","name":"ESNS"},{"id":"39961","name":"FAS"},{"id":"8681","name":"Georgia Tech Ivan Allen College School of Public Policy"},{"id":"426","name":"isye"},{"id":"166890","name":"sustainability"},{"id":"1135","name":"valerie thomas"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:shelley.wunder-smith@isye.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EShelley Wunder-Smith\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWriter\/Editor\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStewart School for Industrial \u0026amp; Systems Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404.385.4745\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["shelley.wunder-smith@isye.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"489561":{"#nid":"489561","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Breathe Easier","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ECombining information about electric power plant operation with real-time air quality predictions has allowed researchers to create a new capability for minimizing the human health effects of air pollution from power generating facilities.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Air Pollutant Optimization Model, described in the journal \u003Cem\u003EProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences\u003C\/em\u003E, provides a new approach for reducing the health effects of ozone and fine particulate pollution. By considering health impacts and generating costs together, the hybrid model may provide a new tool for utility companies seeking to meet air quality standards.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn a test case for the state of Georgia, the model suggested that health impacts could have been reduced by $176 million, while increasing generating costs by $84 million.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe looked at what would be the least expensive way of running these power plants if you take into account both the generating costs and the health impact costs,\u201d said Valerie Thomas,\u0026nbsp;Anderson Interface Professor of Natural Systems in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial \u0026amp; Systems Engineering and School of Public Policy at Georgia Tech. \u201cYou would still be operating plants that emit pollutants, of course, but you would reduce operations at the ones having the greatest impact and increase the use of facilities that have less impact or are in other areas.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe new approach depends on the use of \u201creduced form\u201d air quality predictions. Comprehensive air quality models typically require days of computer time to calculate concentrations of pollution for one emissions scenario, but the new format uses only the \u201csensitivities\u201d derived from the full model to accurately produce predictions in less than a second. This capability would allow utility companies, for the first time, to test many possible scenarios in evaluating how air quality would change with different combinations of generating plant operations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis is really all about \u2018smart generation,\u2019\u201d said Athanasios Nenes, a professor in Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and School of Chemical \u0026amp; Biomolecular Engineering. \u201cThis shows there\u2019s a way to meet the standards by controlling who emits what and at what time, and that may change the amount of investment you\u2019d need to make in new emission control equipment. Hour-by- hour, we\u2019ll be able to determine what makes the most sense.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ECombining information about electric power plant operation with real-time air quality predictions has allowed researchers to create a new capability for minimizing the human health effects of air pollution from power generating facilities.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The Air Pollutant Optimization Model provides a new approach for reducing the health effects of ozone and fine particulate pollution."}],"uid":"28766","created_gmt":"2016-01-22 12:16:46","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:20:27","author":"Shelley Wunder-Smith","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-01-22T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2016-01-22T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"489551":{"id":"489551","type":"image","title":"ISyE Professor Valerie Thomas Helped Develop the Air Pollutant Optimization Model","body":null,"created":"1453658496","gmt_created":"2016-01-24 18:01:36","changed":"1475895245","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:54:05","alt":"ISyE Professor Valerie Thomas Helped Develop the Air Pollutant Optimization Model","file":{"fid":"204405","name":"valerie_thomas.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/valerie_thomas.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/valerie_thomas.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":51477,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/valerie_thomas.jpg?itok=owj-Pvxj"}}},"media_ids":["489551"],"groups":[{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"}],"categories":[{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"154","name":"Environment"}],"keywords":[{"id":"104451","name":"air pollution"},{"id":"213","name":"energy"},{"id":"171593","name":"ESNS"},{"id":"479","name":"Green Buzz"},{"id":"426","name":"isye"},{"id":"1135","name":"valerie thomas"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:shelley.wunder-smith@isye.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EShelley Wunder-Smith\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWriter\/Editor\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStewart School of Industrial \u0026amp; Systems Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404.385.4745\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["shelley.wunder-smith@isye.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"278871":{"#nid":"278871","#data":{"type":"news","title":"E-waste and the Internet of Things: The Problem is Part of the Solution","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EISyE\u0027s\u003Cstrong\u003E Valerie Thomas\u003C\/strong\u003E, Anderson Interface Associate Professor of Natural Systems in the Stewart School of Industrial \u0026amp; Systems Engineering, and Alain Louchez, Managing Director of the Center for the Development and Application of Internet of Things Technologies (CDAIT) at Georgia Tech, co-wrote \u003Cem\u003EE-waste and the Internet of Things\u003C\/em\u003E for International Telecommunications Union. Their focus was on the Internet of Things (IoT), which describes the integration of any object, whatever its size or nature, into the communications space. As electronics are increasingly embedded in the economic and personal fabric of society, it is imperative to manage these devices beyond their useful life, both to protect the environment and to maintain our supply of materials. Read on about how IoT fuels e-waste, what we can do to improve the environment using IoT, and managing e-waste:\u0026nbsp; \u003Ca class=\u0022moz-txt-link-freetext\u0022 href=\u0022http:\/\/bit.ly\/1mDqx43\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/bit.ly\/1mDqx43\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EISyE\u0027s\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026nbsp;Valerie Thomas\u003C\/strong\u003E, Anderson Interface Associate Professor of Natural Systems in the Stewart School of Industrial \u0026amp; Systems Engineering, and Alain Louchez, Managing Director of the Center for the Development and Application of Internet of Things Technologies (CDAIT) at Georgia Tech, co-wrote\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003EE-waste and the Internet of Things\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026nbsp;for International Telecommunications Union.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"ISyE\u0027s Valerie Thomas explains that as electronics are increasingly embedded in the economic and personal fabric of society, we need to manage these devices beyond their useful life."}],"uid":"27868","created_gmt":"2014-02-25 12:43:31","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:55","author":"Lizzie Millman","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-02-25T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-02-25T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"63741":{"id":"63741","type":"image","title":"Valerie Thomas","body":null,"created":"1449176708","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:05:08","changed":"1475894559","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:42:39","alt":"Valerie Thomas","file":{"fid":"191862","name":"Valerie_Thomas.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Valerie_Thomas_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Valerie_Thomas_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1535961,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Valerie_Thomas_0.jpg?itok=XN4RFnwT"}}},"media_ids":["63741"],"groups":[{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1135","name":"valerie thomas"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:barbara.christopher@isye.gatech.edu\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBarbara Christopher\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIndustrial and Systems Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404.385.3102\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["bchristopher@isye.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"275141":{"#nid":"275141","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Lifecycle Sustainability Assessment to Influence Use of Alternative Fibers","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EValerie Thomas\u003C\/strong\u003E, Anderson Interface Associate Professor of Natural Systems in the Stewart School of Industrial \u0026amp; Systems Engineering, worked with Georgia Tech\u2019s Institute of Paper Science and Technology, directed by Norman Marsolan, to \u0026nbsp;develop an assessment for Kimberly-Clark (K-C) on the environmental and broader sustainability issues related to using non-forest alternative fibers. K-C, the world\u2019s largest tissue manufacturer, partnered with Georgia Tech on this project to more fully understand and responsibly manage the impact of its decisions on fiber.\u0026nbsp; Read more about the study \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.kimberly-clark.com\/sustainability\/people\/LCAMessaging.aspx\u0022\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThomas and Wenman Liu, a PhD student in the School of Public Policy, evaluated a wide range of environmental impacts, including water use, biodiversity, greenhouse gas emissions, and ecosystem impacts, as well as broader issues regarding land use and sustainability.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to its efforts to reduce its forest fiber footprint, K-C has announced its plan to transition at least 50 percent of wood fiber sourced from natural forests to alternate fiber sources by 2025. This broad, new initiative is expected to help protect biodiversity and reduce the impacts of fiber that the company uses, while ensuring the fiber is sourced in an environmentally and socially responsible way. Equally important, the initiative will also help insulate the company from continuing volatile price fluctuations in the world fiber market.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith a joint appointment in the School of Public Policy, Thomas\u2019 research interests include energy and materials efficiency, sustainability, industrial ecology, technology assessment, international security, and science and technology policy. Thomas is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the American Physical Society.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EValerie Thomas\u003C\/strong\u003E, Anderson Interface Associate Professor of Natural Systems at ISyE,\u0026nbsp;and team developed\u0026nbsp;an assessment for Kimberly-Clark on the environmental and broader sustainability issues related to using non-forest alternative fibers.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Valerie Thomas, Anderson Interface Associate Professor of Natural Systems at ISyE, and team developed an assessment for Kimberly-Clark on the environmental and broader sustainability issues related to using non-forest alternative fibers."}],"uid":"27868","created_gmt":"2014-02-10 08:46:26","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:51","author":"Lizzie Millman","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-02-10T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-02-10T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"275151":{"id":"275151","type":"image","title":"Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment","body":null,"created":"1449244131","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:48:51","changed":"1475894966","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:26","alt":"Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment","file":{"fid":"198739","name":"lca.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/lca_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/lca_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":23044,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/lca_0.jpg?itok=IytnjDN8"}},"63741":{"id":"63741","type":"image","title":"Valerie Thomas","body":null,"created":"1449176708","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:05:08","changed":"1475894559","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:42:39","alt":"Valerie Thomas","file":{"fid":"191862","name":"Valerie_Thomas.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Valerie_Thomas_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Valerie_Thomas_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1535961,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Valerie_Thomas_0.jpg?itok=XN4RFnwT"}}},"media_ids":["275151","63741"],"groups":[{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1135","name":"valerie thomas"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:barbara.christopher@isye.gatech.edu\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBarbara Christopher\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIndustrial and Systems Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404.385.3102\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["bchristopher@isye.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"261391":{"#nid":"261391","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Beyond the Classroom with Valerie Thomas","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIn the classroom, Valerie Thomas, Anderson Interface Associate Professor of Natural Systems, and her students investigate energy and materials efficiency, sustainability measures, and industrial ecology. At home, she and her family apply sustainability science to everyday life by experimenting with a unique approach to cooking. If you were to visit Thomas for a weekend meal, you might find her in the backyard next to an odd cooking contraption, a stove that looks like something the Jetsons would have used. In fact, it\u2019s a parabolic stove that uses the energy of the sun as fuel.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cem\u003EWhat motivated you to begin cooking on a parabolic stove?\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI\u2019ve been cooking with a solar oven for several years now. The solar oven works great, but I wanted to be able do stove-top type cooking, so I got a parabolic stove.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cem\u003EWhat kinds of things do you cook or not cook on it?\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWe boil water for tea and coffee. I cook hamburgers, sausages, eggs, and vegetables. Basically it\u2019s exactly like a gas burner on a gas stove.\u0026nbsp; However, mine is a bit harder to manage than my gas stove. Generally, I end up having the hot spot a bit more on one side rather than exactly in the middle. Also, it is a bit over-focused so to get even cooking I need to swivel the pan back and forth a little. I don\u2019t use it for gentle, slow simmering.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne limitation is that the sun has to be up. Even in the summer, if I wanted to rely on it for morning tea, I would usually have to wait until 10 a.m. or so.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cem\u003EHow often do you use the stove?\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI only use it about one day a week, on the weekends, because most days I\u2019m not there much before sundown. It would work in the winter, but I don\u2019t use it then because it involves going in and out of the house a lot. I use it like other people use an outdoor grill. It\u2019s a fun way to cook.\\\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cem\u003EHow is cooking on this different\/similar to\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cem\u003Ecooking on a regular stove?\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESince I\u2019m relying on the sun, I really do have to strike while the iron is hot. Using a solar stove leads me more toward cooking food in the middle of the day, and being mindful of how late it is in the afternoon and how much sun is left.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cem\u003EDescribe the process from set up to shut down for cooking one of your favorite recipes.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe first step is to get the stove into the sun and pointed at the right angle. That could involve picking it up and moving it to a sunny spot. Then I tilt the parabola back and forth until the heat is focused on the cooking ring. Once I get the angle to the sun about right, I wave my hand through to feel where the heat is to see if I need to make some adjustments to the angle. Next I put the pan on the cooking ring and look underneath to see exactly where the bright sunny spot is on the bottom of the pan. I continue to make small tilts and turns to get the bright spot to be in the middle of the pan. Then, I proceed as usual. Let\u2019s say I\u2019m making a stir fry.\u0026nbsp; I\u2019ll pour some oil in the pan, wait a bit, tilt the pan around to cover the bottom of the pan with oil, add some spices, stir a bit with a spatula, add some onions and garlic, add the other ingredients, stir around a bit more, and it\u2019s done. To shut down, I just swivel the parabola a bit to the side.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis article first appeared in the Fall 2013 ISyE Alumni Magazine.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIn the classroom, \u003Cstrong\u003EValerie Thomas\u003C\/strong\u003E, Anderson Interface Associate Professor of Natural Systems, and her students investigate energy and materials efficiency, sustainability measures, and industrial ecology. At home, she and her family apply sustainability science to everyday life by experimenting with a unique approach to cooking.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27868","created_gmt":"2013-12-16 15:59:23","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:33","author":"Lizzie Millman","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2013-12-16T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2013-12-16T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"261401":{"id":"261401","type":"image","title":"Valerie Thomas using her parabolic stove that uses the energy of the sun as fuel.","body":null,"created":"1449243999","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:46:39","changed":"1475894948","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:08","alt":"Valerie Thomas using her parabolic stove that uses the energy of the sun as fuel.","file":{"fid":"198394","name":"valeria_thomas.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/valeria_thomas_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/valeria_thomas_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":113453,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/valeria_thomas_0.jpg?itok=5vEcEHPi"}}},"media_ids":["261401"],"groups":[{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1135","name":"valerie thomas"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:barbara.christopher@isye.gatech.edu\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBarbara Christopher\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIndustrial and Systems Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404.385.3102\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["bchristopher@isye.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"221001":{"#nid":"221001","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech life-cycle study finds TCO of medium-duty electric and diesel delivery trucks similar; electric life-cycle energy use and GHG lower than diesel","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA Georgia Tech team consisting of Dong-Yeon Lee, Civil and Environmental Engineering Ph.D. student, Valerie Thomas, Anderson Interface Associate Professor of Natural Systems in the Stewart School of Industrial \u0026amp; Systems Engineering, and Marilyn Brown, professor in the School of Public Policy, compared the life-cycle energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), and total cost of ownership (TCO) of medium-electric and diesel urban delivery trucks for a range of drive cycles and electricity generation scenarios.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe study was published in the ACS journal\u003Cem\u003E Environmental Science \u0026amp; Technology\u003C\/em\u003E:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EFor both types of trucks, vehicle efficiency is important from the perspective of energy consumption, GHG emissions, and TCO over the vehicle lifetime. The TTW [tank-to-wheels] efficiency of the truck depends strongly on the drive cycle, and the electric truck is more likely to provide higher benefits with the NYCC-style driving conditions than with the CSHVC or similar conditions. Given the same drive cycle and thus the same vehicle efficiency, the electric truck would be more attractive to fleet operators with high truck utilization (VKT [vehicle kilometers traveled] demand), of course within the electric drive range.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EBattery replacement is another key factor; to maximize the benefits from electric trucks, the durability and reliability of the automotive Li-ion battery are crucial, which might be advanced with technological development. Recycling of the EV Li-ion battery could also improve life-cycle energy consumption and GHG emissions. There is also variation by state in the electric truck\u2019s comparative energy consumption and GHG emissions. For the baseline case, recent and projected future generation mixes result in similar or less energy consumption and GHG emissions of the electric truck compared to the diesel truck in most parts of the US.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u2014Lee et al.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor more information visit \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.greencarcongress.com\/2013\/07\/gatech-20130706.html\u0022 title=\u0022http:\/\/www.greencarcongress.com\/2013\/07\/gatech-20130706.html\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.greencarcongress.com\/2013\/07\/gatech-20130706.html\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EValerie Thomas, Anderson Interface Associate Professor of Natural Systems at ISyE, worked with a team of Georgia Tech researchers to compare the life-cycle energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and total cost of ownership of medium-electric and diesel urban delivery trucks for a range of drive cycles and electricity generation scenarios.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27511","created_gmt":"2013-07-08 14:02:11","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:14:30","author":"Ashley Daniel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2013-07-08T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2013-07-08T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"63774":{"id":"63774","type":"image","title":"Valerie Thomas, Anderson Interface Associate Professor of Natural Systems","body":null,"created":"1449176708","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:05:08","changed":"1475894561","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:42:41","alt":"Valerie Thomas, Anderson Interface Associate Professor of Natural Systems","file":{"fid":"191873","name":"valerie082b.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/valerie082b_1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/valerie082b_1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":973860,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/valerie082b_1.jpg?itok=GwKXM4Bv"}}},"media_ids":["63774"],"groups":[{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"}],"categories":[{"id":"42941","name":"Art Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"69121","name":"Dong-Yeon Lee"},{"id":"69131","name":"Environmental Science \u0026 Technology"},{"id":"109","name":"Georgia Tech"},{"id":"330","name":"Marilyn Brown"},{"id":"169545","name":"Stewart School of Industrial \u0026 Systems Engineering"},{"id":"1135","name":"valerie thomas"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:barbara.christopher@isye.gatech.edu\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBarbara Christopher\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIndustrial and Systems Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404.385.3102\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"177921":{"#nid":"177921","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment to Influence Use of Alternative Fibers","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EValerie Thomas, Anderson Interface Associate Professor \u003C\/strong\u003Eof Natural Systems in the Stewart School of Industrial \u0026amp; Systems Engineering, and Norman Marsolan, director of Georgia Tech\u2019s Institute of Paper Science and Technology, are developing an assessment for Kimberly-Clark (K-C) on the environmental and broader sustainability issues related to using non-forest alternative fibers. K-C, the world\u2019s largest tissue manufacturer, has partnered with Georgia Tech on this project to more fully understandand responsibly manage the impact of its decisions on fiber.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThomas is working with Wenman Liu, a PhD student in the School of Public Policy, to evaluate a wide range of environmental impacts, including water use, biodiversity, greenhouse gas emissions, and ecosystem impacts, as well as broader issues regarding land use and sustainability.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to its efforts to reduce its forest fiber footprint, K-C has announced its plan to transition at least 50 percent of wood fiber sourced from natural forests to alternate fiber sources by 2025. This broad, new initiative is expected to help protect biodiversity and reduce the impacts of fiber that the company uses, while ensuring the fiber is sourced in an environmentally and socially responsible way. Equally important, the initiative will also help insulate the company from continuing volatile price fluctuations in the world fiber market.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith a joint appointment in the School of Public Policy, Thomas\u2019 research interests include energy and materials efficiency, sustainability, industrial ecology, technology assessment, international security, and science and technology policy. Thomas is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the American Physical Society.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis article first appeared in the 2012 edition of the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/issuu.com\/isyealumnimagazine\/docs\/2012\u0022\u003EISyE Alumni Magazine\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EISyE Professor Valerie Thomas and Norman Marsolan, director of Georgia Tech\u2019s Institute of Paper Science and Technology, are developing an assessment for Kimberly-Clark on the environmental and broader sustainability issues related to using non-forest alternative fibers.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27511","created_gmt":"2012-12-17 15:05:17","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:13:22","author":"Ashley Daniel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-12-17T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2012-12-17T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"}],"categories":[{"id":"42941","name":"Art Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"53261","name":"Alternative Fibers"},{"id":"2487","name":"American Association for the Advancement of Science"},{"id":"53281","name":"American Physical Society"},{"id":"10936","name":"Biodiversity"},{"id":"843","name":"greenhouse gas emissions"},{"id":"426","name":"isye"},{"id":"5434","name":"Kimberly-Clark"},{"id":"10402","name":"life cycle assessment"},{"id":"167078","name":"School of Public Policy"},{"id":"1135","name":"valerie thomas"},{"id":"53271","name":"Wenman Liu"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"},{"id":"39491","name":"Renewable Bioproducts"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:barbara.christopher@isye.gatech.edu\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBarbara Christopher\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIndustrial and Systems Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404.385.3102\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"128181":{"#nid":"128181","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Thomas Advocates in Washington for Federal Support for Research","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EValerie Thomas visited with U.S. congressional members from Georgia April 24-25, advocating for federal funding for\u0026nbsp;Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) research and energy research.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThomas, who is associate professor in the School of Public Policy and is the Anderson Interface Associate Professor of Natural Systems Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, attended the 2012 Congressional Visits Day, along with Georgia Tech\u0027s director of federal relations, Robert Knotts. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThomas met with Representative John Lewis and with staff for Representative Hank Johnson and Senator Saxby Chambliss.\u0026nbsp; Thomas emphasized the value of research being done at Georgia Tech, as well as, the importance of federal research funding from agencies such as the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Energy that supports the development of solutions for challenges in energy and creating a more sustainable way of life. She also highlighted her own research on energy options in the southeast.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cFederal support of research is important, both for fundamental research that can provide the basis for future advances, and for progress on national priorities including defense and energy,\u201d said Thomas. She noted the importance of such congressional visits if we are to provide long-term understanding and relationship-building between researchers and policy-makers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EValerie Thomas visited with U.S. congressional members from Georgia last week, advocating for federal funding for\u0026nbsp;Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) research and energy research.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27167","created_gmt":"2012-05-03 12:41:31","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:12:09","author":"Rebecca Keane","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-05-03T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-05-03T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"126281":{"id":"126281","type":"image","title":"Valerie Thomas visits with Representative John Lewis (center) during Congressional Visits Day","body":null,"created":"1449178604","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:36:44","changed":"1475894749","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:49","alt":"Valerie Thomas visits with Representative John Lewis (center) during Congressional Visits Day","file":{"fid":"194517","name":"valerie_and_john_lewis.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/valerie_and_john_lewis_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/valerie_and_john_lewis_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":4984824,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/valerie_and_john_lewis_0.jpg?itok=7mQhv_A3"}}},"media_ids":["126281"],"groups":[{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"213","name":"energy"},{"id":"626","name":"public policy"},{"id":"1186","name":"Research funding"},{"id":"1135","name":"valerie thomas"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":["barbara.christopher@isye.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"126261":{"#nid":"126261","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Valerie Thomas Attends 2012 Congressional Visits Day in Washington","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EValerie Thomas, Anderson Interface Associate Professor of Natural Systems in the Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, along with Robert Knotts, Georgia Tech\u0027s Director of Federal Relations, attended the 2012 Congressional Visits Day, organized by the American Physical Society, held in Washington D. C. on April 24-25, 2012.\u0026nbsp; Thomas met with members of congress and their staff to advocate for federal support of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) research, as well as the value and importance of research at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDuring her visit, Thomas met with Representative John Lewis, as well as with the staff of Representative Hank Johnson and Senator Saxby Chambliss.\u0026nbsp; She highlighted the importance of federal funding for research, including funding from the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Energy, as a way to help solve some of our current challenges in energy and to create a more sustainable way of life.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; She also spoke about her research on energy options in the southeast.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cFederal support of research is important both for fundamental research, that can provide the basis for future advances, and for progress on national priorities, including defense and energy,\u201d said Thomas.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECongressional visits are imperative if we are to provide long-term understanding and communication between researchers and policy-makers she added.\u0026nbsp; \u201cWe must emphasize the importance of research with members of congress and their staff, to thank them for their ongoing support, and to build long-term relationships.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EValerie Thomas, Anderson Interface Associate Professor of Natural Systems in ISyE, attended the 2012 Congressional Visits Day, organized by the American Physical Society, held in Washington D. C. on April 24-25, 2012.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27511","created_gmt":"2012-04-26 09:53:39","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:12:04","author":"Ashley Daniel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-04-26T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-04-26T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"126281":{"id":"126281","type":"image","title":"Valerie Thomas visits with Representative John Lewis (center) during Congressional Visits Day","body":null,"created":"1449178604","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:36:44","changed":"1475894749","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:49","alt":"Valerie Thomas visits with Representative John Lewis (center) during Congressional Visits Day","file":{"fid":"194517","name":"valerie_and_john_lewis.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/valerie_and_john_lewis_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/valerie_and_john_lewis_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":4984824,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/valerie_and_john_lewis_0.jpg?itok=7mQhv_A3"}}},"media_ids":["126281"],"groups":[{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"}],"categories":[{"id":"155","name":"Congressional Testimony"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"31601","name":"Congressional Visits Day"},{"id":"426","name":"isye"},{"id":"31591","name":"Robert Knotts"},{"id":"1135","name":"valerie thomas"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:barbara.christopher@isye.gatech.edu\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBarbara Christopher\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIndustrial and Systems Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404.385.3102\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"74521":{"#nid":"74521","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Advanced Manufacturing at ISyE","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen President Barack Obama named Georgia Tech\nPresident G. P. \u201cBud\u201d Peterson to the steering committee of the Advanced\nManufacturing Partnership (AMP) in June, he was acknowledging an established\nfact\u2014the Georgia Institute of Technology is a national leader in supporting\nAmerican industry.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ETech joined other top universities\u2014the Massachusetts\nInstitute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, University of\nCalifornia-Berkeley, and University of Michigan\u2014in the $500 million AMP push to\nguide investment in emerging technologies and increase the supply of\nhigh-quality manufacturing jobs and overall U.S. global competitiveness.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe applaud this initiative, and Georgia Tech is\nhonored to collaborate to identify ways to strengthen the manufacturing sector\nto help create jobs in Georgia and across the United States,\u201d Peterson said.\n\u201cMany of our challenges can be solved through innovation and fostering an\nentrepreneurial environment, as well as collaboration between industry,\neducation, and government to create a healthy economic environment and an\neducated workforce.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EToday, the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and\nSystems Engineering (ISyE) leads the way in advanced manufacturing research and\ndevelopment at Georgia Tech. ISyE faculty specialize in many related\ndisciplines, including computer-integrated systems, controls for flexible\nautomation, manufacturing systems design, analysis and simulation, lean\nmanufacturing strategies, and performance measurements.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAdvanced manufacturing involves not only new ways to\nmanufacture existing products, but also new products emerging from advanced\ntechnologies, observes Stephen E. Cross, Georgia Tech\u2019s executive vice\npresident for research. Cross, who is also a professor in ISyE, is working with\nPresident Peterson to support the AMP.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cISyE\u2019s competencies in manufacturing, logistics,\nsupply chains, and methodological work in operations research, statistics,\nsimulation, and decision support provide the intellectual core for a\nrenaissance in advanced manufacturing,\u201d Cross said recently. \u201cISyE\u2019s track\nrecord of excellence, combined with equally stellar research throughout the\nrest of the Institute, has made Tech one of the leading research universities\nin the world.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EISyE Professor Leon McGinnis is supporting both\nPeterson and Cross in their work with the AMP Steering Committee. McGinnis is\nbeing joined by Ben Wang, who in January will assume the role of executive\ndirector of the Manufacturing Research Center (MaRC) at Georgia Tech and also\nbecome a professor in ISyE.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EBoth educators will serve on a Georgia Tech working\ngroup that will focus on ways in which research and education can maximize the\nimpact of emerging technologies on the U.S. manufacturing sector.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EOther ISyE faculty serving the advanced\nmanufacturing thrust includes Professor Chelsea (Chip) White III, Schneider\nNational Chair in Transportation and Logistics, and Harvey Donaldson, associate\nchair of Industry and International programs. Both are involved in a workshop\nfocusing on the Council on Competitiveness\u2019s U.S. manufacturing competitiveness\ninitiative. The meeting, planned for early 2012 at Georgia Tech, will focus on\nhow the supply chain and logistics industry can best support U.S. manufacturing\ncompetitiveness.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAdvanced manufacturing can be viewed as a system of\nsystems that involves design, processes, equipment, information, energy,\nmaterials, and the entire supply chain,\u201d said Wang, who served as director of\nthe High-Performance Materials Institute at Florida State University before\ncoming to Georgia Tech. \u201cThis new kind of manufacturing relies on a highly\neducated workforce and on truly innovative research capable of furnishing the\nbasis for new companies as well as supporting existing industry\u2014and ISyE is\nuniquely positioned to supply both the skilled workforce and the innovative\nresearch.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EISyE faculty members conduct some $6.5 million in\nsponsored research annually, in areas that support all facets of manufacturing\nand industrial systems\u2013 optimization, stochastic systems, logistics,\nsimulation, statistics, natural systems, economic decision analysis, and\nhuman-integrated systems analysis. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EBelow are instances (in alphabetical order) of the\ncutting-edge work being performed by ISyE faculty in areas related to advanced manufacturing.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJane Ammons,\u003C\/strong\u003E who is the H. Milton and\nCarolyn J. Stewart School Chair and a professor in ISyE, collaborates on\nreverse production systems with Matthew Realff, a professor in the School of\nChemical \u0026amp; Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE) and David Wang Sr. Fellow. For\nmore than ten years, the team has focused on two important areas: the recovery and\nreuse of carpet wastes and ways to reduce electronic waste (e-waste).\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAmmons, Realff, and their team have developed a\nmathematical framework to support the growth of used-carpet collection\nnetworks. Such networks could help to recycle much of the nation\u2019s annual\ncarpet waste total of 4.7 billion pounds. The successful reuse of that carpet\nhas a potential value of $2.8 billion, versus a cost of $100 million to send\nthe waste to landfills.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn other work, the team is studying the problem of\ne-waste\u2014unwanted electronic components such as televisions, monitors, and\ncomputer boards and chips. The e-waste stream includes multiple hazardous\nmaterials containing lead and other toxins, yet effective management and reuse\nof e-components can be profitable. Ammons and Realff have devised mathematical\nmodels that address the complexities of e-waste processing, with the goal of\nhelping recycling companies stay economically viable.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWorking with both, companies and government, our\ngoal is to eliminate as much product disposal in landfills as possible,\u201d Ammons\nsaid. \u201cBy extending our work to address new operational control and\ninfrastructure design problems, we can help to address uncertainty and\nvariability in closed-loop supply chain flows on a global scale.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;Associate\nProfessor \u003Cstrong\u003ENagi Gebraeel \u003C\/strong\u003Econducts\nresearch in the area of detecting and preventing failure in engineering systems\nas they degrade over time. The goal is to avoid both expensive downtime and\nunnecessary maintenance costs.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe could be talking about a fleet of airlines,\ntrucks, trains, ships\u2014or a manufacturing system,\u201d Gebraeel said. \u201cIn any of\nthese cases, it\u2019s extremely useful for a number of reasons to be able to\naccurately estimate the remaining useful lifetime of the system or its components.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn one project, Gebraeel and his team worked with\nRockwell Collins\u2014a Cedar Rapid, Iowa, maker of avionics and electronics\u2014to\nmonitor and diagnose the performance of circuit boards that control vital\naircraft communication systems.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ESince the exact time of component failure is\nunknown, airlines are forced to anticipate when replacements are needed.\nScheduled maintenance can result in replacement of parts that still have usable\nlife. Using circuit boards until parts actually fail will result in unplanned\nand expensive downtime.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAs Gebraeel methodically exposes an avionics\ncomponent to heat and vibration, he employs a network of computers and sensors\nto record and analyze data on the degradation rate of the part he is testing.\nIf he can reliably predict the failure rate of a component, he can help\nairlines replace parts at the most cost-effective time.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn another effort, Gebraeel has developed an\nadaptive prognostics system (APS), a custom research tool that allows him to\ninvestigate how quickly components degrade under vibration and other stresses.\nGebraeel and his team can use APS to test a complex system\u2014such as a gearbox\u2014by\nusing multiple sensors in a triangulated pattern to detect the frequency\nsignals coming from individual components.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EGebraeel is currently in talks with a major airline\nto use APS to analyze critical engine components. The aim is to be able to\npredict engine wear rates in ways that will help optimize aircraft maintenance\nprocedures.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThere\u2019s a real need for information about the remaining\nlife of components, so that users can find the economical middle ground between\nthe cost of scheduled replacements and the cost of failure,\u201d he said. \u201cThink of\nthe everyday problem of whether we really need to replace vehicle engine oil at\n3,000 miles. If we replace it early, we sacrifice some useful time, but if we\nreplace it later, we risk engine damage. It\u2019s very useful to have detailed\ninformation about degradation in a system over time.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EProfessor\n\u003Cstrong\u003ELeon McGinnis \u003C\/strong\u003Efocuses on model-based\nsystems engineering, an approach that uses cutting-edge computational methods\nto enable capture and reuse of systems knowledge among multiple stakeholders. McGinnis,\nhis team, and other faculty collaborators are pursuing several sponsored\nprojects in this area.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn one notable project, McGinnis and his team are\nworking with Rockwell Collins, the Iowa-based maker of avionics and\nelectronics. The aim is to help the corporation speed transition of new\nproducts by automating the process that simulates physical manufacturing.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn order to optimize the resources needed to make\nproducts at the required rate, McGinnis explains, Rockwell Collins creates a\ncomputerized simulation model of the manufacturing processes. Development of\nsimulation models has traditionally been the province of experts who are\nskilled in using initial system designs to simulate the demands of actual\nproduction.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis is not a trivial task\u2014producing a simulation\nmodel requires some 100 to 200 hours per product,\u201d said McGinnis, who holds the\nEugene C. Gwaltney Chair in Manufacturing Systems. \u201cDue to expert resource\nlimitations, the company was only able to generate a few production models at a\ntime, which created something of a bottleneck.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ETo analyze the model-development process, an ISyE\nteam interviewed Rockwell Collins engineers on the methods they used to develop\na simulation model. The Georgia Tech investigators carefully analyzed the steps\nand methods that the engineers used to progress from an original system design\nto a simulation model.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThen the ISyE researchers turned to SysML, a\nlanguage that enables the computerized modeling of complex systems. SysML lets\ndesigners delineate a new product\u2014and multiple related factors such as people,\nmachinery, and product flows\u2014in a standardized way.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EBy describing the evolution of a given product using\nSysML, McGinnis and his team were able to automate the movement of that product\nfrom design to simulation. Even more importantly, the ISyE team created a\ndomain-specific version of SysML that was customized to the Rockwell Collins\nenvironment. That achievement allowed any of the company\u2019s new products and\nsystems to be plugged into an SysML-based automation process.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThis new way to doing things appears to reduce the\ntime required to build simulation models by an order of magnitude McGinnis\nsaid. It also allows multiple products to be developed concurrently and\nencourages \u201cwhat-if\u201d studies that couldn\u2019t be performed before.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cEssentially, this technology lets the people who\nown a process validate it without the middleman\u2014the simulation expert,\u201d he\nsaid. \u201cThere\u2019s a two-part philosophy here\u2014one is to articulate the system in a\nway that all the stakeholders can agree on, and then to automate the bringing\nof information and knowledge to the stakeholders without requiring mediation by\nexperts.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EMcGinnis is also working on several other projects.\nIn one effort, he is collaborating with the School of Mechanical Engineering\nand the Manufacturing Research Center (MaRC) to develop semantics for\nmanufacturing processes under a DARPA contract. In another project, he is\ncollaborating with the Tennenbaum Institute to address the challenges of\nidentifying and mitigating risks in global manufacturing enterprise networks.\nIn other MaRC research, he is investigating the integration of product design\nand manufacturing management of flexibly automated production throughout an\nentire manufacturing system.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESpiridon\nReveliotis\u003C\/strong\u003E, an ISyE professor, is currently involved in a\nproject that addresses a cutting-edge approach to automation in manufacturing.\nThis concept, known as flexible automation, involves variable-size batch\nproduction and the ability to reconfigure and rebalance the shop floor quickly\nto accommodate differing product mixes.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ETo date, Reveliotis explains, flexible automation\nhas been most successful at the level of single manufacturing processes. To\naddress this limitation, he is developing the analytical capability and\ncomputational tools to enable effective deployment and in the methodological\nareas that define the technical bases for these works.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EReveliotis is using the representation of a Resource\nAllocation System\u2014an enriched version of a queuing network model\u2014and also\nemploying modeling and analytical capabilities derived from modern control\ntheory, computer science, and operations research.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EUsing these, he is seeking to build a framework and\nmethodology to enable rapid reconfiguration of automated production systems,\nwith control logic capable of managing the system operation in each new\nconfiguration. One challenge, he said, involves managing the trade-offs between\nthe quest for a high-fidelity model of the underlying shop floor dynamics and\nthe need to keep the control logic and its deployment manageable.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn another project, Reveliotis is developing methods\nto help remanufacturing facilities approach component-disassembly tasks in the\nmost efficient ways. This work, sponsored by the National Science Foundation,\nuses a learning-based approach comprised of efficient sampling techniques and\nnovel machine-learning algorithms to determine the optimal disassembly plan for\neach product type.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EBeyond addressing important practical problems in\nthe manufacturing and remanufacturing domains, both of the above lines of work\nare also contributing seminal analytical results enterprise development for the\naerospace industry. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EProfessor\n\u003Cstrong\u003EJianjun (Jan) Shi\u2019s\u003C\/strong\u003E research\naddresses system informatics and control. He uses his training in both\nmechanical and electrical engineering to integrate system data\u2014comprised of\ndesign, manufacturing, automation, and performance information\u2014into models that\nseek to reduce process variability.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EShi, who holds the Carolyn J. Stewart Chair in ISyE,\nis currently working on several sponsored projects. In one effort, Shi is\nworking with nGimat, a Norcross, Georgia-based company that was a 1997 graduate\nof the Advanced Technology Development Center startup-company incubator at\nGeorgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EnGimat is currently addressing the challenge of\nmass-producing a type of nanopowder for use in high-energy, high-density\nbatteries for electric cars. With sponsorship from the Department of Energy\n(DoE), Shi is supporting nGimat as it works to increase its output of this\nnanopowder by several orders of magnitude.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis nanopowder product has very good\ncharacteristics, and the task here is to scale-up production while maintaining\nthe quality,\u201d Shi said. \u201cWe must identify the parameters\u2014 what to monitor, what\nto control\u2014to reduce any variability and do so in an environmentally friendly\nway.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn work focusing on the steel industry, Shi is pursuing\nmultiple projects including investigating sensing technologies used to monitor\nvery high temperature environments used in steel manufacturing. With DoE\nsupport, he is working with OG technologies to develop methods that employ\noptical sensors capable of providing continuous high-speed images of very hot\nsurfaces\u2014in the area of 1,000 to 1,450 degrees Celsius.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn steel manufacturing, Shi explains, continuous\ncasting and rolling lines can be miles long and production can take hours.\nVariations in the process temperature\u2014currently difficult to detect\u2014can lead to\ncostly quality problems, increased labor costs, and increased carbon dioxide\nemissions due to wasted energy.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe want to catch defect formation in the very early\nstage of manufacturing,\u201d Shi said. \u201cBy using imaging data of the product\neffectively with other process data to eliminate defects, we can help optimize\nthe casting process.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn another representative project, Shi is\ninvestigating ways to use process measurements and online adjustments to\nimprove quality control in the manufacturing of the ubiquitous silicon wafers\nused in semiconductor electronics. In work sponsored by the National Science\nFoundation, he is working with several manufacturers to examine the root causes\nof undesirable geometric defects in wafer surfaces.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EShi explains that the first step of his approach\ninvolves developing a software model capable of detecting and accurately\ncharacterizing surface characteristics on a silicon wafer. If waves are\npresent, the model must be able to capture both their mean profile as well as\ndetect and characterize particular types of waves.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe second step requires using this model to judge\nwhether an actual wafer surface is of acceptable quality. If the surface is\nfaulty, the model returns data on what must be done to improve it.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWafer manufacturing is another instance of a\ncontinuous process where, if you catch imperfections early, you can quickly and\ncost-effectively return to a previous step in the process and correct the\nproblem,\u201d Shi said.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAssociate\nProfessor \u003Cstrong\u003EJoel Sokol\u003C\/strong\u003E, A. Russell\nChandler III Chair and Professor \u003Cstrong\u003EGeorge\nNemhauser\u003C\/strong\u003E, and Professor \u003Cstrong\u003EShabbir\nAhmed\u003C\/strong\u003E recently completed a project supporting a major float glass\nmanufacturer. The company was automating a process where finished glass plates\nare removed from the production line and packed for shipment.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe company was concerned that the new machines that\npick up and remove glass from the production line might fall behind, allowing\nvaluable plates to be heavily damaged. What was critically needed was the\ncapability to carefully schedule the sequence of production so the machines\ncould function at maximum capacity with as little waste as possible.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe ISyE team tackled development of new software\nthat could minimize production scheduling problems. They devised algorithms\nthat allowed the machines to work at their maximum efficiency and enabled them\nto handle input data with more than 99 percent efficiency.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe algorithms we delivered can also be used\nstrategically to determine how many machines of each type should be installed\non a production line,\u201d Sokol said.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn another project, Sokol,\u0026nbsp; Nemhauser, and Ahmed are collaborating on a\nproject for Korea-based Samsung. The aim is to support production throughput at\na Samsung semiconductor- manufacturing facility.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe challenge involves the physical movement of\nsemiconductors from one processing station to another throughout the factory.\nBecause the routing of semiconductors between processing machines can differ\nfrom item to item, there\u2019s no linear assembly- line type of procedure; instead,\nhundreds of automated vehicles pick up an item from one processing point and\nmove it to its next step.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EBecause of the facility\u2019s structure, these automated\nvehicles encounter congestion that can delay the production schedule, Nemhauser\nsaid. The ISyE team is developing ways to best route and schedule the vehicles\nto minimize congestion and move items between machines in ways that don\u2019t delay\nproduction.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis is clearly a highly complex challenge that\nwill require development of an accurate system model,\u201d added Ahmed. \u201cBut it\u2019s\nexactly the type of problem that can be solved by devising effective software\nand hardware modifications.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EValerie Thomas\u003C\/strong\u003E, Anderson Interface\nassociate professor of Natural Systems in ISyE, is conducting research on the\nuse of information technology, mediated by bar codes or radio frequency (RFID)\ntags, to improve recycling and end-of-life management for electronics and other\nproducts.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThis work has been presented to the U.S.\nEnvironmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Congress and has been featured in\nthe New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn another area, Thomas is collaborating with\nProfessors Matthew Realff and Ron Chance in the School of Chemical \u0026amp;\nBiomolecular Engineering (ChBE) and with ISyE PhD students Dexin Luo and Dong\nGu Choi on the design, energy efficiency, water management, and carbon\nfootprint for facilities to produce biofuels. This work is supported by Algenol\nBiofuels as part of their $25 million DoE-funded pilot plant for the production\nof ethanol from cyanobacteria.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAssociate\nProfessor \u003Cstrong\u003EChen Zhou\u003C\/strong\u003E, associate chair\nfor undergraduate studies, and Professor Leon McGinnis tackled sustainability\nissues for Ford Motor Company in a recent project.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe issue involved shipping gearbox components from\nChina to the United States in ways that would minimize not only cost but\ngreenhouse gas emissions and waste.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIt turned out that packaging was at the heart of the\nissue. The researchers had to configure component packaging so that the maximum\nnumber of components could be placed in a cargo container yet also allow for\noptimal recycling of the packing materials to avoid waste and unnecessary cost.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis was definitely a complex problem,\u201d Zhou said.\n\u201cYou must track every piece of packaging from its source to its final resting\nplace, when it either goes into another product or into a landfill.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\n\nThe team created a\nmodel\u2014a globally sourced auto parts packaging system\u2014 that optimized cargo\ncontainer space. The model also enabled the use of packing materials that were\nfully reusable; some materials were sent back to China for use in future\nshipments, while the rest was recycled into plastics that became part of new\nvehicles.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EISyE leads the way in advanced manufacturing research and\ndevelopment at Georgia Tech, specializing in many related\ndisciplines.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27511","created_gmt":"2011-12-16 14:35:15","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:10:53","author":"Ashley Daniel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-01-03T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2012-01-03T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"74531":{"id":"74531","type":"image","title":"(Clockwise) Leon McGinnis, professor, Jane Ammons, H. Milton and Carolyn J. Stewart School Chair, Nagi Gebraeel, associate professor, and Ben Wang, executive director of Manufacturing Research Center","body":null,"created":"1449178046","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:27:26","changed":"1475894688","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:44:48","alt":"(Clockwise) Leon McGinnis, professor, Jane Ammons, H. Milton and Carolyn J. Stewart School Chair, Nagi Gebraeel, associate professor, and Ben Wang, executive director of Manufacturing Research Center","file":{"fid":"193786","name":"manufacturinggroup.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/manufacturinggroup_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/manufacturinggroup_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":355911,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/manufacturinggroup_0.jpg?itok=R78sO9sQ"}}},"media_ids":["74531"],"groups":[{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"}],"categories":[{"id":"132","name":"Institute Leadership"}],"keywords":[{"id":"7903","name":"Chen Zhou"},{"id":"4742","name":"George Nemhauser"},{"id":"1202","name":"H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering"},{"id":"6991","name":"jan shi"},{"id":"7987","name":"Jane Ammons"},{"id":"1200","name":"joel sokol"},{"id":"577","name":"leon mcginnis"},{"id":"215","name":"manufacturing"},{"id":"6992","name":"nagi gebraeel"},{"id":"169661","name":"Shabbir Ahmed"},{"id":"169689","name":"spiridon reveliotis"},{"id":"1135","name":"valerie thomas"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:barbara.christopher@isye.gatech.edu\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBarbara Christopher\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIndustrial and Systems Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404.385.3102\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"65615":{"#nid":"65615","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Thomas speaks on how Smart Trash reinvents computer waste recycling","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe concept of\nSmart Trash as an innovative way to encourage a cradle-to-grave approach to\nhandling electronic products was presented on April 15\u003Csup\u003Eth\u003C\/sup\u003E at an event\nhosted by the Embassy of the United States of America in Wellington, New Zealand.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ETwo presenters,\none from Georgia Tech and the other from US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)\nin Washington DC, joined the Wellington event by videoconference to discuss a\nnew approach to tackling the global e-waste problem.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EDr Valerie Thomas\nis the Anderson Interface Associate Professor of Natural Systems in the Stewart\nSchool of Industrial and Systems Engineering with a joint\nappointment in the School of Public Policy at Georgia Tech.\u0026nbsp; She has been researching the concept of Smart\nTrash for a number of years and believes that the time is right for electronic\nproducts to take \u2018self responsibility\u2019.\u0026nbsp;\n\u201cProduct stewardship encourages suppliers to take responsibility for\ntheir own products at end of life, but I believe we can go even further and get\nthe products to take more responsibility for themselves,\u201d she said.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u201cThe secret is to attach the Universal\nProduct Code (UPC) barcode or RFID (radio frequency identification) tag to the product\nitself, as opposed to the packaging which is typically discarded as soon as the\nproduct is installed.\u201d\u0026nbsp; She cited a\nsuccessful application with mobile phones in Europe where the data in the\nbarcode recorded full details of the materials used in manufacture, reducing\ncosts when the phones are sent for recycling.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003EDr Thomas pointed\nout the costs of applying RFID tags at the point of manufacture have dropped to\nas low as US 5 cents, so there is no cost barrier to widespread implementation,\neven on low value items. \u201cOnce implemented, lots of new options become\navailable for efficiently managing the re-use, refurbishment or recycling of\nthe products,\u201d she said. \u201cBut most importantly, it will make the disposal of\nelectronic trash easy for the end consumer and even open up the possibility of\na cash return. \u0026nbsp;With cash incentives and\nuser-friendliness, consumers are much more likely to start disposing of their\nelectronic waste in a responsible and environment-friendly manner.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAngie Leith from\nEPA provided the background to the development of RFID as a possible technology\nfor tracking electronic products at end of life as well as for the distribution\nof new products to retailers.\u0026nbsp; \u201cWe\nstarted studying RFID technologies in 2002 to help us understand any possible\nnegative effects on the environment, but now see them as a possible tool for\nmanaging waste streams and increasing the levels of recycling.\u0026nbsp; In the USA in 2009, only 15% of the\nelectronic equipment entering the waste stream\u0026nbsp;\nwas recycled and our goal is to achieve recycling rates much closer to\nthe national average for other materials (33%), or even higher,\u201d she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cTwenty-five\npercent of the states in America now have legislation covering e-waste, with\nmany banning electronic waste in landfills.\u0026nbsp;\nWe are relying on technology innovations such as RFID to help us\nimplement better e-waste solutions on a nationwide basis,\u201d Ms Leith said.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; But she did point out that this will rely on\ncomputer companies attaching RFID tags to their products at the point of\nmanufacture. \u201cWhile we will do everything we can to encourage this, we do not\nenvisage a legislative solution at this stage,\u201d she concluded.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cEfficient and\nconvenient collection and disposal systems are critical for successful e-waste\nrecycling, but it is important that the mechanisms are also in place to\ntransport the recovered materials into new manufacturing processes,\u201d said\nLaurence Zwimpfer, Chair of the eDay New Zealand Trust, and MC for the Smart\nTrash discussion. \u201cThis presents a special challenge for New Zealand, because\nof our geographic isolation from the main manufacturing nations in Asia and\nEurope.\u0026nbsp; We still have to pay to get\nextracted materials to these markets.\u0026nbsp; We\nfind the Smart Trash approach very interesting and will certainly encourage\nmanufacturers to start tagging their products, but we believe there will still\nbe a net cost to achieve sustainable e-waste recycling in New Zealand.\u0026nbsp; We will continue to press for product\nstewardship schemes to be put in place in New Zealand with supporting\ngovernment regulations to ensure all suppliers participate equitably in\ncovering these costs,\u201d he said. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe eDay New\nZealand Trust was formed in 2010 to focus on the development of sustainable\nsolutions for the recycling of electronic waste in New Zealand and the Pacific.\u0026nbsp; It took over running the annual eDay, free\ne-waste recycling event in New Zealand, which in 2010 saw nearly 20,000 cars\ndropping off over 80,000 items of electronic waste, filling over 160 20\u2019\nshipping containers.\u0026nbsp; \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Public Affairs\nSection of the Embassy of the United States of America arranges videoconference\npresentations from time to time on matters of public interest.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDr. Valerie Thomas, Anderson Interface Associate Professor of Natural Systems in the Stewart\nSchool of Industrial and Systems Engineering with a joint\nappointment in the School of Public Policy at Georgia Tech, spoke on the concept of\nSmart Trash as an innovative way to encourage a cradle-to-grave approach to\nhandling electronic products on April 15\u003Csup\u003Eth\u003C\/sup\u003E at an event\nhosted by the Embassy of the United States of America in Wellington, New Zealand.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Thomas speaks on how Smart Trash reinvents computer waste recycling"}],"uid":"27279","created_gmt":"2011-04-18 13:37:22","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:08:34","author":"Barbara Christopher","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-04-18T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2011-04-18T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"65614":{"id":"65614","type":"image","title":"Angie Leith from the US Environmental Protection Agency (left) and Dr Valerie Thomas from Georgia Tech Atlanta beam in from Washington DC to an interested audience at the US Embassy in Wellington, New Zealand.","body":null,"created":"1449176863","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:07:43","changed":"1475894579","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:42:59","alt":"Angie Leith from the US Environmental Protection Agency (left) and Dr Valerie Thomas from Georgia Tech Atlanta beam in from Washington DC to an interested audience at the US Embassy in Wellington, New Zealand.","file":{"fid":"192283","name":"Thomas_Wellington_Videoconference.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Thomas_Wellington_Videoconference_0.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Thomas_Wellington_Videoconference_0.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3585424,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Thomas_Wellington_Videoconference_0.JPG?itok=645dO6lh"}}},"media_ids":["65614"],"groups":[{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"}],"categories":[{"id":"155","name":"Congressional Testimony"}],"keywords":[{"id":"12825","name":"electronic waste"},{"id":"1352","name":"ewaste"},{"id":"171081","name":"smart trash"},{"id":"1135","name":"valerie thomas"},{"id":"12830","name":"Wellington New Zealand"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"63776":{"#nid":"63776","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Valerie Thomas, Dean Don Giddens Among Six Georgia Tech Professors Named AAAS Fellows","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EValerie Thomas\u003C\/strong\u003E, Anderson Interface associate professor\nof natural systems in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems\nEngineering, joins \u003Cstrong\u003EDon Giddens\u003C\/strong\u003E, dean\nof the College of Engineering (COE), and four other distinguished faculty\nmembers named Fellows by the American Association for the Advancement of\nScience (AAAS).\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAAAS is the world\u2019s largest general scientific society, and the election as\na Fellow is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThomas, who also holds a joint appointment in the School of Public Policy in\nthe Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, was honored \u201cfor sustained commitment\nto combining science policy with innovative interdisciplinary research in\nindustrial ecology.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EGiddens, a biomedical engineering professor in the Coulter Department, was\nhonored \u201cfor significant contributions to our understanding of the role of\nhemodynamics in cardiovascular pathobiology and for leadership of engineering\neducation nationally.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to Thomas and Giddens, three of the six new Fellows at Georgia\nTech also hail from the College of Engineering; one is on the faculty in the\nCollege of Sciences\u2019 Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. They include the\nfollowing:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGilda A. Barabino\u003C\/strong\u003E, associate chair for graduate studies and\nprofessor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at\nGeorgia Tech and Emory, who was honored \u201cfor distinguished contributions to\ntissue engineering research and education, as well as for enhancing the\nparticipation of underrepresented groups in scientific fields.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EStephen P. DeWeerth\u003C\/strong\u003E, professor of biomedical engineering at\nthe Coulter Department, who earned the distinction \u201cfor contributions in the\nfield of neuroengineering, particularly for the real-time modeling of\nsensorimotor systems and for the development of neural interfacing technology.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJoseph W. Perry\u003C\/strong\u003E, professor of physical, polymer and\nmaterials chemistry and optical science, who was honored \u201cfor distinguished\ncontribution to the understanding, development and application of organic\nmaterials for third-order nonlinear optics.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EZhuomin Zhang\u003C\/strong\u003E, professor of mechanical engineering, who was\nawarded the Fellow distinction \u201cfor advancing thermal radiation research and\nits applications in temperature measurement, promoting education in nano- and\nmicro-scale heat transfer and serving professional societies.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ENew Fellows will be honored at the AAAS Fellows Forum during the upcoming 2011\nAAAS Annual Meeting to be held on February 19\u003Csup\u003E, \u003C\/sup\u003E2011, in Washington,\nD.C.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EValerie Thomas, Anderson Interface associate professor\nof natural systems in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems\nEngineering, joins Don Giddens, dean\nof the College of Engineering, and four other distinguished faculty\nmembers named Fellows by the American Association for the Advancement of\nScience.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Valerie Thomas, Dean Don Giddens Among Six Georgia Tech Professors Named AAAS Fellows"}],"uid":"27328","created_gmt":"2011-01-21 12:37:24","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:08:02","author":"Edie Cohen","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-01-21T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2011-01-21T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"63774":{"id":"63774","type":"image","title":"Valerie Thomas, Anderson Interface Associate Professor of Natural Systems","body":null,"created":"1449176708","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:05:08","changed":"1475894561","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:42:41","alt":"Valerie Thomas, Anderson Interface Associate Professor of Natural Systems","file":{"fid":"191873","name":"valerie082b.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/valerie082b_1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/valerie082b_1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":973860,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/valerie082b_1.jpg?itok=GwKXM4Bv"}},"63744":{"id":"63744","type":"image","title":"Don P. Giddens","body":null,"created":"1449176708","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:05:08","changed":"1475894559","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:42:39","alt":"Don P. Giddens","file":{"fid":"191865","name":"Giddens.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Giddens_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Giddens_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1037696,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Giddens_0.jpg?itok=Fr9wv507"}}},"media_ids":["63774","63744"],"groups":[{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"11718","name":"AAAS Fellow"},{"id":"11721","name":"Don P. Giddens"},{"id":"109","name":"Georgia Tech"},{"id":"426","name":"isye"},{"id":"1135","name":"valerie thomas"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:barbara.christopher@isye.gatech.edu\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBarbara \nChristopher\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIndustrial and Systems Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404.385.3102\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"240231":{"#nid":"240231","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Diesel or Electric? Study Offers Advice for Owners of Urban Delivery Truck Fleets","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFor owners of delivery truck fleets who may be trying to decide between electric or diesel vehicles, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology are offering some advice: comparisons of the energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and total cost of ownership for the medium-duty vehicles.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe advantages of electric versus diesel depend largely on how the trucks will be used \u2013 the frequency of stops and average speeds \u2013 and the source of electricity for charging batteries. In city driving with frequent stops, the electric trucks clearly outperform diesel vehicles.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOn average in the United States, electric urban delivery trucks use about 30 percent less total energy and emit about 40 percent less greenhouse gases than diesel trucks, for about the same total cost, taking into account both the purchase price and the operating costs,\u201d said Dong-Yeon Lee, a Ph.D. student in the Georgia Tech \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.ce.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Civil and Environmental Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E. \u201cHowever, costs and emissions depend on how and where the truck will be used.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn urban delivery routes with lots of stop-and-start driving, electric trucks are roughly 50 percent more efficient to operate than diesel trucks overall. That makes them at least 20 percent less expensive than diesel-fueled trucks, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by roughly 50 percent. Where they are frequently stopped and started, the higher efficiency of the electric motor at low speeds and the regenerative braking systems in electrical vehicles help provide better efficiency.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHowever, electric delivery trucks lose their advantage in suburban routes that involve fewer stops and higher average speed. Electric vehicles have a limited daily range and top speed, and without a lot of stops, lose their regenerative braking advantage. Electric vehicles can cost more than their diesel counterparts under certain conditions, particularly if high-cost charging systems are used, if the battery must be replaced early, or if they are used mainly for highway driving.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe relative benefits of the electric vehicles, the researchers found, depend on vehicle efficiency associated with drive cycle, diesel fuel price, travel demand, electric drive battery replacement and price, electricity generation and transmission efficiency, electric truck recharging infrastructure and purchase price. The study findings were reported July 16, 2013, in the journal \u003Cem\u003EEnvironmental Science and Technology\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research team took into account the sources of electricity used to charge the electric vehicles in evaluating greenhouse gas emissions. Electricity produced from hydroelectric sources \u2013 more common in the northwest United States \u2013 dramatically reduced total greenhouse gas emissions for electric vehicles operated there.\u0026nbsp; Vehicles operated in states heavily dependent on coal for producing electricity showed higher emissions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn every state in the U.S., electric trucks provided some reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, with urban routes providing the most advantage. In about half of the states, the electric trucks cut greenhouse gas emissions by a third or more compared to diesel vehicles.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWild cards in the study included the future costs of both diesel fuel and electricity, and the potential cost of replacing an electric truck\u2019s battery pack if it has a shorter-than-expected lifetime. Lithium-ion battery packs are expected to last the lifetime of the trucks, as much as 150,000 miles for the drive cycles tested.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cTechnology advances make predicting the long-term price of electric trucks difficult,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.isye.gatech.edu\/faculty-staff\/profile.php?entry=vt34\u0022\u003EValerie Thomas\u003C\/a\u003E, one of the study\u2019s co-authors and a professor in Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.isye.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EStewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.spp.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Public Policy\u003C\/a\u003E. \u201cBattery price reductions down the road could have a large effect on the cost-competitiveness of electric trucks, while only diesel fuel prices could have a similarly large effect on the future cost-competitiveness of diesel trucks.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers decided to study electric trucks in urban delivery applications because vehicles in these applications tend to travel the same routes each day, spend significant amounts of time in stop-and-start operation, and return at the end of each day to a central location where they can be charged.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe comparison involved a 2011 Smith Newton electric truck powered by a 120 kW electric motor, and a 2006 Freightliner truck powered by a Cummins diesel engine. The two trucks had approximately the same gross vehicle weight, curb weight and payload. The comparison controlled for improvements in diesel efficiency between 2006 and 2011.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers were surprised to find that the electric truck had cost advantages over the diesel vehicle under some conditions. They had expected that costs would always be higher for the electric vehicle, especially since the purchase price of the electric truck studied was higher than the diesel truck \u2013 and other models of electric trucks would have larger cost differentials.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOver the life of the truck, there are many situations in which the total cost of operating an electric vehicle is less than operating a diesel vehicle,\u201d noted \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.spp.gatech.edu\/aboutus\/faculty\/MarilynBrown\u0022\u003EMarilyn Brown\u003C\/a\u003E, another co-author and a professor in Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.spp.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Public Policy\u003C\/a\u003E. \u201cOur expectation was that the electric vehicle would provide environmental benefits, but at a cost. We found that particularly in urban settings and in locations with relatively low greenhouse gas emissions from electricity, electric delivery trucks both save money and have environmental benefits.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDepending on what happens with vehicle and fuel costs, the advantages could swing even farther in the direction of electric vehicles.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe relative benefit of electric trucks over diesel counterparts could be much more significant than one might expect,\u201d said Lee. \u201cIf the electric truck is deployed in the right drive or duty cycle application, fleet operators could enjoy higher returns on investment, while saving energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION\u003C\/strong\u003E: Dong-Yeon Lee, Valerie M. Thomas and Marilyn A. Brown, \u201cElectric Urban Delivery Trucks: Energy Use, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, and Cost Effectiveness\u201d (Environmental Science and Technology, 47 (14): 8022-8030, 2013). \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1021\/es400179w\u0022 title=\u0022http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1021\/es400179w\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1021\/es400179w\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia\u0026nbsp; 30332-0181\u0026nbsp; USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Assistance\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon (404-894-6986)(\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or Brett Israel (404-385-1933)(\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFor owners of delivery truck fleets who may be trying to decide between electric or diesel vehicles, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology are offering some advice: comparisons of the energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and total cost of ownership for the medium-duty vehicles.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Researchers have compared energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and total cost of ownership for electric and diesel trucks."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2013-09-25 13:50:11","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:07:23","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2013-09-25T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2013-09-25T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"240201":{"id":"240201","type":"image","title":"Urban-delivery-vehicle","body":null,"created":"1449243688","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:41:28","changed":"1475894665","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:44:25","alt":"Urban-delivery-vehicle","file":{"fid":"197766","name":"urban-delivery-vehicles.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/urban-delivery-vehicles_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/urban-delivery-vehicles_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1628251,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/urban-delivery-vehicles_0.jpg?itok=5LWniBdq"}},"240191":{"id":"240191","type":"image","title":"Urban-delivery-SEV","body":null,"created":"1449243688","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:41:28","changed":"1475894501","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:41:41","alt":"Urban-delivery-SEV","file":{"fid":"197765","name":"urban-delivery-smith.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/urban-delivery-smith_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/urban-delivery-smith_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":904300,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/urban-delivery-smith_0.jpg?itok=ks9_1v6U"}},"240221":{"id":"240221","type":"image","title":"Urban-delivery-differences","body":null,"created":"1449243688","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:41:28","changed":"1475894494","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:41:34","alt":"Urban-delivery-differences","file":{"fid":"197767","name":"urban-delivery-differences.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/urban-delivery-differences_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/urban-delivery-differences_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":92493,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/urban-delivery-differences_0.jpg?itok=etz2_j2B"}}},"media_ids":["240201","240191","240221"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"}],"keywords":[{"id":"74801","name":"electric truck"},{"id":"74791","name":"electric vehicle"},{"id":"479","name":"Green Buzz"},{"id":"330","name":"Marilyn Brown"},{"id":"167755","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering"},{"id":"167078","name":"School of Public Policy"},{"id":"74831","name":"urban delivery vehicle"},{"id":"1135","name":"valerie thomas"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"},{"id":"39541","name":"Systems"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71911","name":"Earth and Environment"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch News\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E(404) 894-6986\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"59878":{"#nid":"59878","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Rethinking Renewables in the Peach State","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EValerie Thomas, Anderson Interface Associate Professor of Natural Systems in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering,is featured in\u003Cem\u003E the article, \u0022Rethinking Renewables in the Peach State,\u0022 in \u003C\/em\u003Ethe June\/July 2010 Issue of \u003Cem\u003E\u003Cem\u003EGeorgia Engineer.\u003C\/em\u003E \u003C\/em\u003EThomas and other featured Georgia Tech researchers\u003Cem\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u003C\/em\u003Ediscuss the practicality of a number of renewable options they are investigating, including biomass, solar, wind, and tidal energies. According to Thomas, getting 20 to 30 percent of Georgia\u0027s energy needs from biomass is feasible.\u0026nbsp; \u0026gt;\u0026gt; \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.thegeorgiaengineer.com\/issue.asp \u0022\u003ERead more\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EValerie Thomas, Anderson Interface Associate Professor of Natural Systems in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering,is featured in\u003Cem\u003E the article, \u0022Rethinking Renewables in the Peach State,\u0022 in \u003C\/em\u003Ethe June\/July 2010 Issue of \u003Cem\u003E\u003Cem\u003EGeorgia Engineer.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Rethinking Renewables in the Peach State"}],"uid":"27328","created_gmt":"2010-06-30 10:41:33","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:06:59","author":"Edie Cohen","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2010-06-28T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2010-06-28T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"59877":{"id":"59877","type":"image","title":"June\/July 2010 Issue Features Valerie Thomas, Other Georgia Tech Researchers","body":null,"created":"1449176239","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:57:19","changed":"1475894517","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:41:57","alt":"June\/July 2010 Issue Features Valerie Thomas, Other Georgia Tech Researchers","file":{"fid":"191020","name":"GA_Engineer.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/GA_Engineer_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/GA_Engineer_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":15012,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/GA_Engineer_0.jpg?itok=2AnPVbmX"}}},"media_ids":["59877"],"groups":[{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"10217","name":"Georgia Engineer"},{"id":"109","name":"Georgia Tech"},{"id":"426","name":"isye"},{"id":"1135","name":"valerie thomas"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:barbara.christopher@isye.gatech.edu\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBarbara Christopher\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIndustrial and Systems Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404.385.3102\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"58053":{"#nid":"58053","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Industrial Ecology: Moving beyond Traditional Engineering Borders","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Spring 2010 issue of \u003Cem\u003ESociety\nof Women Engineers\u003C\/em\u003E magazine featured an article titled \u201cIndustrial Ecology:\nMoving beyond Traditional Engineering Borders.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\nIn the article, Valerie Thomas, Anderson Interface Associate Professor\nof Natural Systems in the Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering,\ndiscusses how a bag of potato chips illustrates the far-reaching implications\nof industrial ecology.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;Factors like cost and consumer appeal affect most decisions\nabout making and buying products.\u0026nbsp; Industrial ecology introduces another\nperspective. A bag of potato chips, according to Thomas, involves decisions\nabout growing potatoes, the materials to make the bag, and where the waste from\nthe potatoes and bag goes.\u0026nbsp; She clarified, \u0022Consumption and\nproduction affect not just the immediate use of products but have a past and a\nfuture.\u0026nbsp; Products do not appear out of nothing and they do not disappear\nwhen we throw them away.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026gt;\u0026gt; \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.nxtbook.com\/nxtbooks\/swe\/spring10\/#\/0.\u0022\u003ERead more:\u003C\/a\u003E. \u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Spring 2010 issue of \u003Cem\u003ESociety\nof Women Engineers\u003C\/em\u003E magazine featured an article titled \u0022Industrial \nEcology:\nMoving beyond Traditional Engineering Borders.\u0022\u0026nbsp;\nIn the article, Valerie Thomas, Anderson Interface Associate Professor\nof Natural Systems in the Stewart School of Industrial and Systems \nEngineering,\ndiscusses how a bag of potato chips illustrates the far-reaching \nimplications\nof industrial ecology.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27328","created_gmt":"2010-06-14 11:35:29","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:06:47","author":"Edie Cohen","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2010-06-14T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2010-06-14T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"49873":{"id":"49873","type":"image","title":"Valerie Thomas","body":null,"created":"1449175366","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:42:46","changed":"1475894451","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:40:51","alt":"Valerie Thomas","file":{"fid":"126988","name":"tpd91861.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tpd91861_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tpd91861_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":32508,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tpd91861_0.jpg?itok=NUz2REkF"}}},"media_ids":["49873"],"groups":[{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"109","name":"Georgia Tech"},{"id":"426","name":"isye"},{"id":"1135","name":"valerie thomas"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:barbara.christopher@isye.gatech.edu\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBarbara\n\n \nChristopher\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIndustrial and Systems Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404.385.3102\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"49848":{"#nid":"49848","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Team Contributes to Atlanta Emission Reduction Plan","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EOn March 17, 2009, Mayor Shirley Franklin released Atlanta city government\u0027s first report on greenhouse gas emissions as the first step towards the goal of reducing emissions in the city seven percent by 2012. Also known as the \u0022carbon footprint,* the figure was calculated with the help of a student-faculty team from Georgia Tech and establishes a baseline to measure progress in Atlanta\u0027s sustainability efforts. The Georgia Tech team was comprised of Valerie Thomas, Anderson Interface Associate Professor at the Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE), along with PhD students Seth Borin, ISyE, and Joy Wang, Public Policy.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThomas, Wang, and Borin worked with the Office of Sustainability of the City of Atlanta and Sustainable Atlanta to evaluate the total greenhouse gas emissions from the operations of the City of Atlanta government. This includes City electricity and natural gas use, transportation fuel use by City vehicles, as well as emissions of other greenhouse gases.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The City of Atlanta\u0027s greenhouse gas emissions in 2007 came to 540 thousand metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, which is equivalent to emissions from the household energy use of about 150,000 people or the annual energy use of about 100,000 passenger vehicles,* said Valerie Thomas, Anderson Interface Associate Professor at the Stewart School of Industrial and Systems at Georgia Tech and primary author of the report. \u0022Having conducted an inventory and committed to reducing emissions makes the City of Atlanta a leader in the state and region and well ahead of federal action on climate change.* \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We know that the opportunities to reduce our emissions are great, particularly now with the federal administration\u0027s focus on green job creation and green energy,* said Mayor Franklin. \u0022With funding from the recently-passed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Atlanta\u0027s sustainability efforts will focus on energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives which will create jobs, save money and protect our environment,* she said. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDetermining Atlanta city government\u0027s carbon footprint coincides with the release of the inaugural sustainability report for Atlanta.  Produced by Sustainable Atlanta (a non-governmental partner to the city\u0027s Office of Sustainability), the report compiles readily available data to create benchmarks for measuring Atlanta\u0027s sustainability efforts, including the city\u0027s carbon footprint.  The report * available at \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.sustainableatlanta.org\u0022 title=\u0022www.sustainableatlanta.org\u0022\u003Ewww.sustainableatlanta.org\u003C\/a\u003E * also provides best practices, context, proposed strategies and action in the areas of water; energy and climate change; parks and greenspace; and recycling and materials management.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The Sustainability Report for Atlanta is both a map and milepost,* said Lynnette Young, executive director of Sustainable Atlanta. \u0022It is a snapshot of Atlanta\u0027s current status as it relates to sustainability and a context for future measurement and opportunity, determining what we can do together to help the city advance sustainable lifestyles for everyone.*\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ELaunched in 2008 with support from the Kendeda Fund, the Atlanta Office of Sustainability is working across city departments to \u0022green* operations and at the same time, maximize efficiencies. Sustainable practices implemented at City Hall are already generating a 20 percent drop in electricity use, with a forecast of nearly $135,000 in annual operations cost savings. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWith the municipal carbon footprint established, the next step will be to develop the Atlanta Climate Action Plan. \u0022The Climate Action Plan will be our blueprint to guide all city departments so that current initiatives and near-term objectives are aligned with achieving the 2012 emissions reduction goal,\u0022 said Mandy Schmitt, Atlanta\u0027s Director of Sustainability. \u0022This strategic effort to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions supports the ultimate goal of making Atlanta a community that lives within the self-perpetuating limits of its environment, while maintaining high standards for economic growth, environmental integrity, and social justice.\u0022  \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAccording to Schmitt, near-term goals for Atlanta city government to achieve by the end of 2009 include:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n1. 10 percent drop in energy use in general fund* facilities through low\/no-cost conservation measures yielding $300,000 to $500,000 in annual savings\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n2. Five percent drop in water use in general fund facilities\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n3. At least two renewable energy demonstration projects\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n4. Three percent drop in fossil fuels used by municipal fleet yielding $267,000 in annual savings\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n5. 10 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in general fund facilities \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAtlanta\u0027s greenhouse gas inventory was guided by a protocol developed by ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability. Atlanta is one of more than 1,057 cities, towns and counties worldwide that are members of ICLEI and that have made a commitment to sustainable development. Atlanta also hosts ICLEI\u0027s Southeast Regional Office, and city staff shares office space with ICLEI representatives to maximize the organization\u0027s resources in developing performance-based, results-oriented campaigns and programs. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E*General fund facilities do not include facilities in Enterprise Fund Departments, such as Watershed and Airport, whose funds come directly from user fees.\n\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"On March 17, 2009, Mayor Shirley Franklin released Atlanta city government\u0027s first report on greenhouse gas emissions as the first step towards the goal of reducing emissions in the city seven percent by 2012. Also known as the \u0022carbon footprint,* the figure was calculated with the help of a student-faculty team from Georgia Tech and establishes a baseline to measure progress in Atlanta\u0027s sustainability efforts.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Team Contributes to Atlanta Emission Reduction Plan"}],"uid":"27279","created_gmt":"2009-03-18 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:03:59","author":"Barbara Christopher","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2009-03-18T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2009-03-18T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"49849":{"id":"49849","type":"image","title":"City of Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, ISyE Profe","body":null,"created":"1449175366","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:42:46","changed":"1475894451","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:40:51","alt":"City of Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, ISyE Profe","file":{"fid":"127002","name":"tgd00840.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tgd00840_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tgd00840_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":59459,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tgd00840_0.jpg?itok=B1IUW1cQ"}},"49850":{"id":"49850","type":"image","title":"Mayor Shirley Franklin announces plans to reduce g","body":null,"created":"1449175366","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:42:46","changed":"1475894451","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:40:51","alt":"Mayor Shirley Franklin announces plans to reduce g","file":{"fid":"127001","name":"tym01508.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tym01508_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tym01508_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":70370,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tym01508_0.jpg?itok=RFZ3lSBk"}},"49851":{"id":"49851","type":"image","title":"ISyE Professor Valerie Thomas discusses the total","body":null,"created":"1449175366","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:42:46","changed":"1475894451","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:40:51","alt":"ISyE Professor Valerie Thomas discusses the total","file":{"fid":"127000","name":"tng01799.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tng01799_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tng01799_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":70705,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tng01799_0.jpg?itok=MFntgRmP"}}},"media_ids":["49849","49850","49851"],"groups":[{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"131","name":"Economic Development and Policy"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"845","name":"carbon footprint"},{"id":"1134","name":"City of Atlanta"},{"id":"109","name":"Georgia Tech"},{"id":"1138","name":"greenhouse gas emmsions"},{"id":"426","name":"isye"},{"id":"1137","name":"joy wang"},{"id":"170919","name":"seth borin"},{"id":"1135","name":"valerie thomas"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003EBarbara Christopher\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIndustrial and Systems Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=bt3\u0022\u003EContact Barbara Christopher\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404.385.3102\u003C\/strong\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["bchristopher@isye.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"49872":{"#nid":"49872","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Valerie Thomas Testifies Before Congress on Managing E-Waste","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EValerie Thomas\u003C\/strong\u003E, \u003Cem\u003EAnderson Interface Associate Professor of Natural Systems at Georgia Tech\u0027s Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, and Professor in the School of Public Policy\u003C\/em\u003E, testified before the U.S. House of Representatives\u0027 Committee on Science and Technology on February 11, 2009. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn an effort to craft legislation to reduce the environmental impact of electronics, and to support the incorporation of environmental considerations in engineering curricula, the Science and Technology Committee sought testimony from five witnesses regarding the draft legislation entitled \u0022The Electronic Waste Research and Development Act of 2009.*  \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAccording to Thomas, \u0022Today, recycling programs for electronics and other consumer products have low recycling rates both because collection programs are difficult for consumers to use and because the products are difficult to recycle. To achieve high recycling rates, products need to be designed for recycling, and collection programs need to be designed to be very easy, almost automatic, regardless of the complexity of the product. Currently, consumers are mainly responsible for managing the recycling or disposal of their products. In some locations there have been efforts to make producers responsible for managing the recycling or disposal of their products. A third approach might work better: improve both product design and collection systems so that products can increasing manage their own entry into the collection and recycling system. Rather than having to continue to work so hard to educate consumers about how to recycle each and every one of their purchases, consumer products could, almost, manage themselves (Saar and Thomas 2002; Thomas 2003).*\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThomas and the other witnesses discussed innovative ways to deal with electronic waste and how research and development can help address the challenge of managing the disposal of electronic products in the United States.  \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFive witnesses, representing perspectives from academia, a non-profit electronics producer, and electronics recyclers, offered testimony.  They included:\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDr. Valerie Thomas\u003C\/strong\u003E, \u003Cem\u003EAnderson Interface Associate Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology, Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, and School of Public Policy\u003C\/em\u003E. Dr. Thomas discussed her research on innovative methods to manage electronic waste and the challenges facing the recycling and re-use of electronic products.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ERead Dr. Thomas\u0027 testimony: \u003Ca href=\u0027http:\/\/www.isye.gatech.edu\/thomastestimony\u0027\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.isye.gatech.edu\/thomastestimony\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EVideo of hearing (click on webcast):\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\u0027http:\/\/science.house.gov\/publications\/hearings_markups_details.aspx?NewsID=2348\u0027\u003Ehttp:\/\/science.house.gov\/publications\/hearings_markups_details.aspx?NewsID=2348\u003C\/a\u003E \u003C\/strong\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDr. Paul Anastas\u003C\/strong\u003E, \u003Cem\u003ETeresa and H. John Heinz III Professor in the Practice of Chemistry for the Environment and Director, Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering, Yale University, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies\u003C\/em\u003E.  Dr. Anastas discussed the applicability of research in green chemistry and engineering to the electronics sector.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMr. Philip J. Bond\u003C\/strong\u003E, \u003Cem\u003EPresident, Information Technology Association of America.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nMr. Bond discussed ways in which innovation through R\u0026amp;D could help electronics manufacturers address the challenge of electronic waste. He will also give his views on promoting collaboration between industry and non-industry researchers to encourage the transfer of successful research into products.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMr. Jeff Omelchuck\u003C\/strong\u003E, \u003Cem\u003EExecutive Director, Green Electronics Council, Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT). \u003C\/em\u003E Mr. Omelchuck discussed the development and utility of EPEAT, challenges to making existing electronic products more environmentally friendly, and ways in which R\u0026amp;D could address these challenges.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMr. Willie Cade\u003C\/strong\u003E, \u003Cem\u003EFounder and Chief Executive Officer, PC Rebuilders and Recyclers, Home of the Computers for Schools Program.\u003C\/em\u003E Mr. Cade discussed the challenges faced by electronic refurbishes and recyclers, as well as ways to promote collaboration between academic researchers and the recycling and refurbishing business.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"Professor Valerie Thomas testified before the U.S. House of Representatives\u0027 Committee on Science and Technology on February 11, 2009.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Expertise sought on \u0022Electronic Waste Research and Development A"}],"uid":"27279","created_gmt":"2009-02-11 01:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:03:59","author":"Barbara Christopher","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2009-02-11T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2009-02-11T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"49873":{"id":"49873","type":"image","title":"Valerie Thomas","body":null,"created":"1449175366","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:42:46","changed":"1475894451","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:40:51","alt":"Valerie Thomas","file":{"fid":"126988","name":"tpd91861.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tpd91861_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tpd91861_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":32508,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tpd91861_0.jpg?itok=NUz2REkF"}},"49874":{"id":"49874","type":"image","title":"Thomas and the other witnesses discussed innovativ","body":null,"created":"1449175366","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:42:46","changed":"1475894451","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:40:51","alt":"Thomas and the other witnesses discussed innovativ","file":{"fid":"126987","name":"tpz91780.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tpz91780_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tpz91780_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":34775,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tpz91780_0.jpg?itok=-NYA37xU"}}},"media_ids":["49873","49874"],"groups":[{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"155","name":"Congressional Testimony"},{"id":"132","name":"Institute Leadership"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1352","name":"ewaste"},{"id":"1191","name":"industrial engineering"},{"id":"426","name":"isye"},{"id":"1153","name":"recycling"},{"id":"167212","name":"stewart school of isye"},{"id":"1135","name":"valerie thomas"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003EBarbara Christopher\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIndustrial and Systems Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=bt3\u0022\u003EContact Barbara Christopher\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404.385.3102\u003C\/strong\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["bchristopher@isye.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"39636":{"#nid":"39636","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Research Serves as Basis for Art Exhibit","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA Tech professor\u0027s research into sugar production in South Africa serves as the inspiration for an artist.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMinnesota artist and educator Susan Armington recently visited Atlanta to work on a project with her longtime friend, Industrial and Systems Engineering Associate Professor Valerie Thomas. Armington, a roster artist of the Minnesota State Arts Board, directs the Talking Suitcases project, which is billed as an arts-based process for exploring questions and processes. She primarily uses the project in education and community building, exploring topics such as immigration, racism, grief and other \u0022life-transitional\u0022 issues. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022[The works] are suitcases filled with hand-made objects that tell a story.\u0022 While visiting Atlanta and Georgia Tech, she and Thomas collaborated on a suitcase that tells the lifecycle of sugar, from the ground to the refinery. The duo is working together to tell the story of 40 grams of sugar, the USDA\u0027s recommended daily limit.  \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We calculated how much of each item it takes to produce this amount of sugar,\u0022 Armington said. Items used in the project \u0022Sugar: Lifecycle Inventory in a Box,\u0022 include a 10-inch square representing the land area of ground required to produce 40 grams of sugar, the sugarcane fiber that is used to power the sugar factory, some water, some diesel fuel, a small amount of coal, etc. \u0022The project breaks it down to the basic ingredients for that small amount of sugar.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis particular project, \u0022Making Concepts Visible,\u0022 was precipitated by Thomas\u0027 research with University of Johannesburg Professor Charles Mbohwa and graduate student Livison Mashoko, under a grant from the South African National Research Foundation on the environmental impacts of renewable fuel options in South Africa. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Sugarcane is a promising biofuel feedstock for southern Africa, and our first research step has been to evaluate the environmental impacts of the current sugar-production systems in South Africa.. While their work and research are rooted in sustainability, it\u0027s not just about the carbon footprint, Thomas says. They also can show ways to improve the process. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThomas says that research into the lifecycles of products typically breaks the processes down to their basic components, detailing every step in their creation. \u0022I do this all the time, checking the numbers,\u0022 she said. \u0022Our work is justified not only by having intellectual merit, in advancing the science, but also by having broader impact for society.. With [this project], we can take this research to local high schools. The artistic aspect translates the work to show the broader impact.\u0022 \u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs a companion piece, Armington wanted to also illustrate not only ingredients used in the front-end creation, but also the connections and relationships created by the sugar business. \u0022It takes 34 people buying sugar to pay [daily wages] for one South African worker.\u0022 \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EArmington says her idea is to create objects that make visible the relationship between parts of the lifecycle, to aid people in reflecting on it. The objects are designed to help everyone, not just scientists, to see better what\u0027s going on.  \u0022It\u0027s not good, it\u0027s not bad. You can draw your own conclusions.\u0022 \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor her process, Armington creates prototypes before delving into the full project. \u0022[Valerie and I] work on stuff together,\u0022 said Armington, who attended graduate school at Cornell with Thomas. \u0022I\u0027ll take what I\u0027ve completed, and leave some of it to be used by her. I\u0027m always looking to work in places I haven\u0027t been yet,\u0022 Armington said. \u0022I like to grow; I like to collaborate and work with people in other cultures and disciplines.\u0022 \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022It was nice that she cared to listen to my ideas,\u0022 said Thomas, who shares a joint appointment in the School of Public Policy. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EArmington said this project has opened up other \u0022lifecycle inventories\u0022 in her mind. \u0022I would love to have a project on the lifecycle of petroleum,\u0022 she said. \u0022Once you start to do these things, you want to keep looking into other items.\u0022 Her new work, inspired by explorations with Thomas, will be part of the upcoming show, \u0022Art Explores Science,\u0022  May 2010 at the Phipps Center for the Arts, in Hudson, Wisconsin.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"Georgia Tech ISyE Associate Professor Valerie Thomas research assists Minnesota artist Susan Armington with her Talking Suitcases art project.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Professor assists with sustainable artwork"}],"uid":"27191","created_gmt":"2009-08-26 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:01:25","author":"Robert Nesmith","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2009-08-26T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2009-08-26T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"39637":{"id":"39637","type":"image","title":"Georgia Tech ISyE Associate Professor Valerie Thom","body":null,"created":"1449174110","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:21:50","changed":"1475894263","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:37:43","alt":"Georgia Tech ISyE Associate Professor Valerie Thom","file":{"fid":"189692","name":"tfq02079.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tfq02079_2.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tfq02079_2.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":140206,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tfq02079_2.jpg?itok=XwZHLwJu"}},"39638":{"id":"39638","type":"image","title":"Work created by Minnesota artist Susan Armington","body":null,"created":"1449174110","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:21:50","changed":"1475894263","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:37:43","alt":"Work created by Minnesota artist Susan Armington","file":{"fid":"189691","name":"tiu02079.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tiu02079_2.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tiu02079_2.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":11387,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tiu02079_2.jpg?itok=7hNSck3t"}}},"media_ids":["39637","39638"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.susanarmington.com-a.googlepages.com\/index.htm","title":"Susan Armington"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.isye.gatech.edu\/faculty-staff\/profile.php?entry=vt34","title":"Valerie Thomas"}],"groups":[{"id":"1183","name":"Home"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1431","name":"industrial and systems engineering"},{"id":"170778","name":"Susan Armington"},{"id":"1867","name":"Talking Suitcases"},{"id":"1135","name":"valerie thomas"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003EBarbara Christopher\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIndustrial and Systems Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=bt3\u0022\u003EContact Barbara Christopher\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404.385.3102\u003C\/strong\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["bchristopher@isye.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}