Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the launch of Foundry School, a national advanced manufacturing education initiative led by Stanford University in partnership with Georgia Tech and six other universities. At Tech, the program will bring industry experts and leaders from advanced manufacturing companies to campus for talks with students about what it takes to build and operate world-class manufacturing enterprises.

The initiative comes as the United States works to expand domestic manufacturing capacity and address a growing need for skilled workers. The State Department estimates American manufacturers will need to fill 3.8 million jobs by 2033 across industries including semiconductors, defense, and energy.

For Tech, that national effort builds on work already underway across the Institute.

Tech’s Advanced Manufacturing Pilot Facility (AMPF) recently expanded to 60,000 square feet, creating a next-generation environment where industry, researchers, and students develop, test, and scale advanced manufacturing technologies. The facility is incorporating artificial intelligence, robotics, and connected equipment to accelerate the path from research to production.

“The launch of Foundry School recognizes something we have seen here at Georgia Tech for years: Rebuilding American manufacturing requires more than building factories,” said Tim Lieuwen, executive vice president for research at Georgia Tech. “It requires the talent, technology, research, and industry partnerships to make those factories successful. Georgia Tech is already bringing those pieces together — helping move technologies from the lab toward production while preparing the people who will drive the next generation of American manufacturing.”

The AMPF is part of a broader Georgia Tech ecosystem that connects research and education with industry and workforce partners, including the Technical College System of Georgia. Georgia Tech also has longstanding relationships with nations participating in the State Department’s Pax Silica initiative.

As manufacturing investment grows in Georgia and across the country, Georgia Tech is helping develop the technology, talent, and partnerships needed to support that growth.

Using mathematical formulas, engineering principles, and a curiosity for exploration, a Georgia Tech alumnus is on a path to biking every public street in Los Angeles, covering more than 7,500 miles.  

Georgia Tech rose to No. 3 in the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression's (FIRE) 2027 College Free Speech Rankings. 

Maintaining campus buildings often means identifying problems before they become visible. Georgia Tech’s Planning, Design, and Construction department is piloting an innovative building envelope assessment at Lyman Hall that uses drone-mounted infrared technology to detect hidden moisture intrusion and potential building performance issues.  

Microbes from space have fueled the plots of science fiction mainstays like “Project Hail Mary” and “The Andromeda Strain.” But with more space missions launching each year, finding extraterrestrial life in a microbial form is becoming more plausible. What will the response be back here on Earth if – or when – scientists discover extraterrestrial microbes? Will the international policy and security communities be prepared for the fallout?

When you hear about extraterrestrial life, your mind may go to intelligent life, like the kind present in a lot of Hollywood science fiction. But even the confirmation of microbial life that originated somewhere other than on Earth – which is much more likely – would be a paradigm-shifting event. Thinking about what these consequences might look like early on can help nations and the international community prepare.

Our team is interested in this question. We’re made up of a full professor of international affairs, who earned a Ph.D. in chemistry, and whose expertise is on how emerging science and technologies could affect global conflict and cooperation, as well as an emerging scholar in space policy and security and an expert on social and political implications of frontier technologies, such as AI, space, quantum and energy sources.

Multiple Mars landers have identified large amounts of frozen and liquid water, essential for life, on the red planet. Samples retrieved by Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft from a near-Earth asteroid revealed the presence of uracil, part of RNA, which is a building block of life. Uncrewed space probes like NASA’s Europa Clipper and the European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer are on their way to conduct detailed reconnaissance of the planet’s moons and to investigate whether they have conditions suitable for life.

Along with data from the James Webb Space Telescope and future missions targeting Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus, the likelihood of discovering extraterrestrial microbial life has increased substantially.

A Governance Challenge

The discovery of microbial life would expose significant gaps in international governance related to space.

While there are some existing international agreements, including the Outer Space Treaty, that provide space law guidelines, these are ill-equipped to address the complexities posed by extraterrestrial biology.

The Outer Space Treaty, established in 1967, dictates that countries should use outer space peacefully. It also states that no single nation may claim ownership or exert sovereignty over parts of outer space or celestial bodies such as the Moon.

However, it doesn’t have much to say about who can own extraterrestrial organisms or what to do about biosecurity risks. It doesn’t have direction for who can use, preserve or destroy living things, such as bacteria or fungi, that may be discovered in space.

Historical Analogies and Future Pathways

While people have yet to discover extraterrestrial life of any kind, there are some major geopolitical events that can help researchers understand what the consequences might look like.

While the space race of the 1950s and ’60s led to exploration of the Moon, it was driven by a Cold War power struggle between two nations back on Earth. Instead of coming together to explore space, both countries experienced a renewed sense of nationalism. They used the new discoveries that came from the space race to invest in their military capabilities.

On the other hand, researchers can look at how states respond to asteroid threats. Since an asteroid could pose a truly existential threat from space, preventing the worst-case scenario requires cooperation and thinking ahead.

Astronomers have built a global, collaborative network to monitor for and sound the alarm about any potential threats. This network has shown that nations can put aside terrestrial rivalries to work together if they perceive something from space as a truly existential threat.

The International Space Station is another example showing how nations that are competing great powers on Earth work together to cooperate in space. Countries have collaborated to solve issues on the International Space Station that have specific, short-term and clearly identified goals.

These examples show a range of possible reactions to the discovery of space microbes. The situation could renew space races between competing countries and lead to militarization, or it could create unprecedented cooperation.

Potential Outcomes

We’ve identified three main possible outcomes to the discovery of microbial extraterrestrial life.

First, there’s a cooperative outcome, reminiscent of the asteroid threat network or the International Space Station. Here, nations collaborate to regulate research, share data, protect the planet or advance specific interests they share.

This pathway isn’t inherently benign or malignant. It could entail expanding the roles of international organizations or creating new legal instruments.

Second there’s a competitive outcome, characterized by strategic rivalry between countries. Like in the space race, nations could fight to be technologically superior. They might try to monopolize access to the extraterrestrial microbes or to leverage biological discoveries from the microbes for their own economic or military advantage.

Scientific breakthroughs derived from extraterrestrial organisms could lead to innovations in medicine, agriculture, energy and beyond. However, the organisms could also be weaponized, intentionally or otherwise, which would amplify biosecurity risks. In this sense, the discovery of microbial life could create a new form of technological competition, one that merges space exploration with biological research and development.

The increasing role of private companies, such as SpaceX, complicates this dynamic. These companies receive contracts from the government, blurring the lines between commercial civilian and strategic activities.

For example, around 60% of all satellites currently orbiting the Earth belong to SpaceX’s Starlink subsidiary. The company can – and has – chosen to block access selectively, in alignment with its political priorities. When commercial interests and national priorities diverge, who has access versus who is denied access can be uncertain.

Research around biopiracy may come into play. Biopiracy is a term that applies to two primary issues: the patenting of indigenous knowledge or the patenting of natural resources, such as microbes, for profit. The Budapest Treaty prohibits claiming ownership of a naturally occurring microbe on Earth, but there’s no equivalent for microbes in space.

Third is an isolationist outcome, in which states could sever their involvement in international cooperation due to biosecurity concerns or political distrust. The potential for unknown biological risks, however minimal, could trigger precautionary restrictions on data sharing, which limits international collaboration.

Countries may lose or gain allies as they grapple with whether the microbe could cause harm to humans or the environment, or be developed into a biological weapon.

Emerging technologies will also shape these outcomes. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are already integral to scientific research. Scientists use them to process astronomical data and identify potential biosignatures. Nanotechnology and advances in the life sciences and engineering could allow researchers to study, modify or exploit extraterrestrial microbes, if they’re given access to them.

Countries will have to prepare not only for the scientific implications of discovery but also for its societal and political reverberations. The politicization of scientific discoveries from the microbes could complicate or change how countries respond domestically and at the international scale. Misinformation about the microbes could shape policy and public response.

Preparing for the Unprecedented

The discovery of extraterrestrial microbial life would not merely mark a scientific milestone. It would be a geopolitical event.

Rather than attempting to predict a singular outcome, policymakers could adopt scenario-based planning approaches in the meantime to anticipate and prepare for a range of possibilities. In these approaches, participants explore multiple futures through structured activities similar to professional or military wargaming or path games, in which they explore multiple outcomes systematically to test strategies, to plan and to analyze potential outcomes under realistic uncertainty.

In our view, the question is not whether humanity will discover life beyond Earth, but whether it is prepared for the consequences when it does.

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

As Georgia Tech President Ángel Cabrera delivered his final Institute Address from the Walter G. Ehmer Theater inside the John Lewis Student Center, he emphasized that the end of his tenure is not the end of a race but rather the next leg of a relay. As he prepares to pass the baton to the next president, he outlined Tech’s unprecedented momentum.  

We encourage everyone to allow extra travel time when moving through these affected areas:

• The Historic Academy of Medicine.
• Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons.
• Price Gilbert Memorial Library.
• Crosland Tower.
• Tech Green.
• Harrison Square.
• Kessler Campanile area.
• Bobby Dodd Way and Cherry Street corridors.

Production activity is expected to take place primarily during the day, starting as early as 7 a.m., and in the early evening hours, with setup, filming, and breakdown occurring throughout the three days. While every effort will be made to minimize disruption, brief holds may be necessary at various times to ensure the safety of the campus community and filming crew.

Campus parking and vehicular traffic may also be affected in select areas due to production vehicle and equipment staging. This includes parking in E84, W21, and limited spaces along Ferst Drive near the John Lewis Student Center. Please follow all posted signage.

We appreciate your patience and cooperation as Georgia Tech hosts this production.

You’ve been planning your dream beach vacation for months, only to arrive and find the shoreline covered in large piles of smelly, brown seaweed, with even more floating offshore. It’s disappointing, for sure – and increasingly common.

Since 2011, summer scenes like this have played out on beaches in South Florida and throughout the Caribbean.

The consequences are even greater for people who live and work along the Caribbean and Gulf coasts and the coasts of the tropical Atlantic. Large masses of sargassum seaweed can clog harbors, interfering with fishing and boating, and in some cases harm marine life. As the seaweed begins to decompose it releases gases, including hydrogen sulfide, ammonia and methane, raising concerns for both public health and the environment.

To reduce the impact of these sargassum blooms, a crucial first step is understanding why the seaweed started growing in the first place and what’s sustaining it now.

We study the oceans, marine life, and algae blooms, such as sargassum. Our research suggests that these vast mats of smelly seaweed may have entered a self-sustaining cycle, effectively feeding their own expansion. It’s creating a chronic disaster for the affected coasts, with little sign of ending.

Columbus and the Great Sargasso Sea

Pelagic sargassum is a type of brown seaweed that floats on the ocean surface and is naturally abundant in the Sargasso Sea, a region of the subtropical North Atlantic.

The seaweed takes its name from sargaço, the Portuguese word for grape. When Portuguese navigators reached the region, they noticed its small, grapelike, air-filled bladders that keep the seaweed afloat. Christopher Columbus later wrote about encountering vast mats of it during his voyage to the Americas.

However, in 2011, people began noticing unusually large mats of sargassum in the tropical Atlantic, between the coasts of Africa and Brazil. In the years since, these blooms have become more frequent, lasted longer, and grown much larger, with vast amounts of sargassum washing ashore across Central America, the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico.

In this new area, now called the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt, the amount of sargassum surpassed an estimated 37,500 million tons in 2025. Forecasts suggest summer 2026 could break records again.

Sargassum’s Drivers Changed Over Time

For years, scientists have searched for the causes of the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt.

They explored changes in ocean nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizer and other human activities in the Amazon and Congo river basins, increasing amounts of Saharan dust blowing in the wind, and changes in ocean temperatures, winds and currents. None of the hypotheses could fully explain year-to-year variations in the sargassum belt.

Our research suggests something else is also going on – the main cause has changed.

In the winter of 2010, strong winds brought some sargassum southward from the Sargasso Sea to the tropical Atlantic. For a few years, winds stayed strong in winter and spring, acting like a giant spoon and mixing deeper, nutrient-rich water up to the sunlit surface, giving the algae the resources it needed to bloom and grow.

A floating sargassum mat is much more than just seaweed. It is like a floating city, home to fish, shrimp, crabs and countless tiny living organisms, all food for larger fish. Together, they form an ecosystem that we call the sargassumsphere. It’s much like a mobile reef or forest.

These animals collect food around the floating mats and recycle nutrients through their waste and the breakdown of older sargassum. In this way, nutrients are gathered from a much larger area and concentrated around the seaweed, helping the next bloom to grow.

This process can make sargassum blooms very likely to persist in the years ahead.

To test this theory, we created a mathematical model that accounts for the mechanisms controlling the blooms. With the measurements of nitrogen content and isotopic composition in argassum collected around the U.S. Virgin Islands, our model not only reproduced the blooms from 2011 to 2022 but also predicted ahead of time the size and evolution of blooms that occurred in 2023 and 2024, suggesting the theory is correct.

Better Forecasts, Better Solutions

Our work shows that the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt is likely here to stay.

Predicting when blooms will occur, and understanding what drives them, can help create early warning systems that give coastal communities time to prepare for their unwanted arrival. It can also support long-term efforts to turn sargassum from a costly nuisance into a valuable resource.

Sargassum biomass has attracted growing interest as a renewable feedstock for biofuel production. Unlike bioenergy crops grown on land, sargassum does not need land, freshwater or fertilizers, reducing competition with food production. The seaweed is rich in carbohydrates that can be converted into bioethanol, biogas, bio-oil, or hydrogen through processes such as fermentation, anaerobic digestion, hydrothermal liquefaction and gasification.

Scientists at a university in Barbados, for example, developed a way to produce biofuel from a combination of the excessive sargassum on the island’s shores and wastewater from the local rum industry.

The island is also encouraging farms to use sargassum as a fertilizer and soil amendment, providing a sustainable alternative to synthetic fertilizers. Sargassum is rich in organic matter, potassium, calcium, magnesium and trace elements. After careful processing to remove the salt and excessive metals, it can be used to improve soil structure, enhance water retention and stimulate plant growth.

Sargassum is increasingly also being explored as a sustainable construction material, particularly in Mexico and Brazil. The biomass can be incorporated into building products, such as compressed panels similar to drywall that were developed by researchers at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, and low-cost bricks developed by entrepreneur Omar Vázquez Sánchez in Mexico using about 40% sargassum with limestone and other organic materials. Using sargassum as a mortar additive also helps reduce dependence on conventional, carbon-intensive materials.

By learning to live with and make use of sargassum, affected regions may be able to transform a growing challenge into a new opportunity.

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

You’ve probably heard artificial intelligence models described as “open” or “closed.” These are not descriptions of the model’s personality. Large language model AIs like the one under the hood of ChatGPT don’t have actual personalities, despite appearances.

The labels refer to whether all of the information about how an AI model works is publicly available and the model can be modified, or whether the model’s developer keeps its inner workings secret and the model itself private property.

Open-Source Software

The concept of open-source software originated in the free software movement of the 1980s and ’90s. The movement’s founders believed that software creators and users had the right to “four freedoms” – to run the program, to study and modify it, to distribute copies of the original, and to distribute copies of subsequently modified versions. The fundamental requirement was that the source code – the basic instructions – for a program should be made available.

In the late 1990s, software developers associated with projects such as the Netscape web browser and the Linux operating system coined and promoted the term “open source” to refer to these ideals.

As part of the evolving movement, certain organizations developed open-source licenses that specified how a particular piece of source code could be used and distributed, including the Gnu General Public License, Apache License, MIT License and the Berkeley Software Distribution. Each type of license also specified any potential restrictions on how software patents applied to the source code.

Open Source or Open Weight?

The open-source idea has risen to prominence again in the past several years as artificial intelligence large language models have surged, notably OpenAI’s ChatGPT, released in 2022. Developers first train new models on large datasets, then deploy the models for use by other people.

Meta was one of the first large companies to release an open-source large language model, called LLaMa. The company released LLaMa on Feb. 24, 2023, and made available the “inference” source code – the instructions that run the model. And it released the so-called weights, the encoded knowledge the model learned during training. However, open-source organizations such as the Open Source Initiative have stated that the LLaMa licensing guidelines prohibit commercial reuse, which the initiative maintains is not truly open source.

Other companies have released “open weight” models, such as DeepSeek from DeepSeek AI and Qwen from Alibaba. The models have less restrictive terms for reuse, and the AI community has adopted them rapidly. Still, many developers believe that a true open-source AI model must not only include the source code and weights but also the data that is used to train the model.

A Lot to Open Up

The Open Source Initiative’s definition of a fully open-source AI model includes the training data as a key element. Some developers wonder, however, how feasible it is to distribute the enormous datasets required.

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

The milestone was driven by startup activity in CREATE-X and Quadrant-i, two cornerstone initiatives of the Office of Commercialization, and reflects the expanding reach of Tech's innovation ecosystem. The programs support students, faculty, researchers, and alumni in transforming ideas into companies within industries ranging from healthcare and robotics to legal technology and accessibility.

"Crossing the 200 startup teams milestone is more than a record. It's a reflection of a commercialization ecosystem that is helping translate ideas into products and companies that solve real problems," said Raghupathy "Siva" Sivakumar, chief commercialization officer. "Building a dense, connected community of founders is essential to our vision of becoming the nation's leading startup campus and maximizing the value of Georgia Tech innovation."

Diverse Paths to Entrepreneurship

The founders behind this year's milestone represent the many paths entrepreneurs can take at Georgia Tech. They come from different disciplines, pursue various industries, and arrive with a wide range of experiences, but all share a desire to solve meaningful problems.

For alumnus Alberto Flores Guerrero, who earned an M.S. in cybersecurity from the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts in 2025, and his longtime friend and co-founder, Luis Estala, that journey to CREATE-X began nearly 2,000 miles from Atlanta.

The pair are building Separate, an AI-powered platform designed to help people navigate divorce by simplifying legal processes, organizing paperwork, and connecting users with resources. Drawing on Flores Guerrero's background as a lawyer, the company aims to make one of life's most stressful experiences more manageable.

When they learned about CREATE-X Startup Launch's kickoff just two weeks before it began, they didn't hesitate. Flying wasn't an option, so they packed the car and drove from Mexico to Atlanta.

Four days later, they arrived at Georgia Tech, convinced the opportunity was worth every mile. Inspired by the kickoff experience, Flores Guerrero soon returned to Mexico, packed his belongings, and moved to Atlanta for the summer.

For both of them, Startup Launch became more than a summer program. It gave them the confidence to build their company as part of a community of founders.

"This experience has completely changed the way we think about ourselves and what's possible for our company," Estala said. "This is the chance of our lives."

"I've learned so much just by being around these people," Flores Guerrero said. "Georgia Tech has some of the smartest students in the world, and then you put the most entrepreneurial of them together in one room. Nice things should happen."

Building a Deep-Tech Startup

For Georgia Tech master's student Rohit Gore in the College of Computing and co-founder Patrick Walsh, entrepreneurship began with one idea. But their startup took shape after they pivoted in a new direction.

As they developed a low-cost drone, they kept encountering the same challenge: Robots that performed well in simulations often struggled in real-world environments. After talking with robotics teams across the country, they launched Brio Robotics, a company developing a simulation and automated testing platform for autonomous systems.

CREATE-X Startup Launch helped the team refine its approach to customer discovery, sales, and commercialization.

"We're engineers by trade, and we don't know anything about B2B sales," Gore said, noting that Startup Launch Director Margaret Weniger “has been hugely helpful. It was so valuable to hear her perspective on what good sales metrics look like, what the goal of a customer call should be, and how to approach those conversations."

Today, Brio Robotics is finalizing its first design partnership with a drone company and has five additional robotics companies in its sales pipeline.

Turning Research Into a Startup

While many startups begin with student entrepreneurs, others emerge directly from Georgia Tech's research labs.

For Yue Chen, associate professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, commercialization meant looking beyond the lab. Working with Ph.D. students Yixuan Xia, Yilin Cai, and Samuel Wilcox, Chen launched Fructus, a startup developing robotic harvesting technology to help growers address labor shortages and improve harvesting quality.

The technology began as a USDA-funded blackberry harvesting project. But through Quadrant-i Startup Launch, conversations with growers and industry stakeholders revealed a greater opportunity in Georgia's blueberry industry, prompting the team to pivot toward a larger market and a more pressing need.

"For faculty, we focus on research and developing fundamental science" Chen said. "But there's a gap between the work we do in the lab and the final product." Startup Launch helped bridge that gap through customer discovery. It “gave us the opportunity to get out of the lab, talk to stakeholders, and understand what they really need."  

For Cai, the experience changed the team's perspective. "As researchers, we usually focus on solving a research problem," he said. "Through Startup Launch, we learned to see the problem from the customer's perspective and think about what it really takes to build a product."

Looking Ahead

More than 150 startups will showcase their ventures at CREATE-X Demo Day on Thursday, Sept. 3, at LOOP, Georgia Tech's newest creative arts and performance venue. The event will bring together students, investors, mentors, industry leaders, and the broader community to meet the founders behind this record-breaking cohort and explore the next generation of Georgia Tech innovation.

"This experience has completely changed the way we think about ourselves and what's possible," Estala said. "If you have an idea, just do it. You never know where it might take you.” 

When Chevron reported its highest quarterly profit in six years on July 31, 2026, it was just one detail in a larger picture: Analyst firm Wood Mackenzie estimates the global oil and gas industry is on course for a cash windfall of US$495 billion in 2026. That’s profit above and beyond what the industry expected before the U.S.-Israel war with Iran began.

Three separate bills seeking to tax those profits are now in Congress, and President Donald Trump has even said the oil companies are “making too much money.”

As an applied microeconomist, I am often asked how taxes affect economic activity. Economists have long held a more nuanced view of windfall taxes than either side of the current debate suggests. Advocates often make overly optimistic revenue projections, and opponents often overstate how much such a tax might discourage investment. A 1980s U.S. windfall-tax experiment is instructive on both counts.

Other Nations Have This Type of Tax

In the U.K., a windfall tax on North Sea oil and gas – layered on top of existing levies to produce a combined rate of 78% on profits – is on course to generate an estimated 8 billion pounds in 2026 (about $10.8 billion), roughly double its 2024–25 revenue.

A similar European Union-wide tax imposed as a one-time measure after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine raised 26.15 billion euros ($30 billion). Five EU countries are now calling for a second one in response to the Iran war.

How to Tax a Windfall

Many taxes are deliberately designed to change behavior. But a windfall tax is different: It goes after money that results from a company making the same production decision it was already planning to make before prices rose. The oil was going to be pumped regardless; the war just made each barrel worth more.

A textbook windfall tax would not fall on all profits, but only on the amount exceeding a baseline level. Australia’s Petroleum Resource Rent Tax and Norway’s special petroleum tax are the closest working examples. Under those, companies deduct all costs — including exploration and investment – plus a normal rate of return, before any windfall tax is owed.

In the U.S., the Crude Oil Windfall Profit Tax, enacted in 1980, was projected to raise $393 billion over its planned 10-year life. It raised about $80 billion before being repealed in 1988 – roughly a fifth of the projection. Prices collapsed after 1986, domestic production was increasingly exempted, and the tax was generating almost nothing by the time it was repealed.

What Congress is Considering

The bills currently in Congress are structured very differently from the textbook design – and from each other.

A proposal by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Rep. Ro Khanna of California, both Democrats would levy a 50% excise tax per barrel on the difference between the current average Brent crude price and the 2025 average of $69. With a July 2026 average of $84, a company would owe $7.50 per barrel – regardless of production costs or profitability.

A second bill, the Iran War Oil Crisis Windfall Profits Tax Act by Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman of California, is more aggressive: a 100% tax on the amount by which crude prices exceed $75 per barrel. At the July 2026 average of $84, companies would owe $9 per barrel. That tax would be in effect only until hostilities end and prices fall below that threshold.

Both are triggered by prices, not by any measure of underlying profit. A third proposal, the Taxing Buybacks from Big Oil Windfalls Act by Democratic Sens. Ron Wyden, Chuck Schumer, and Michael Bennet, takes a different approach: raising the excise tax on stock buybacks from 1% to 25% for large oil and gas companies, targeting not the windfall itself but what companies do with it.

Where the Money is Going

The American Petroleum Institute has argued that proposals like these “erode the certainty needed to make investment” decisions. The Tax Foundation has warned that “taxing producers is the opposite of a solution to a supply crisis.” Neither side, however, has put a specific dollar figure on how much investment would actually be deterred.

The data tells a different story. According to Wood Mackenzie, the 49 largest oil and gas companies will pocket about $272 billion of the sector’s windfall – roughly equal to 70% of their combined annual investment budgets. Yet investment spending has barely moved, stock buybacks are on course to fall, and dividends have stayed flat. The cash is simply accumulating on balance sheets.

This is exactly what economic research predicts: When a windfall doesn’t change a firm’s underlying investment opportunities, managers hold the cash and wait. In 2026, the industry is waiting for clarity on how long the war lasts, whether prices have peaked and whether Congress will pass a windfall tax. The argument that such a tax would prevent important economic activity weakens by the day.

What the Current Proposals Would Mean

For oil companies, the direct effect is straightforward: Every dollar paid in tax is a dollar less in earnings. The indirect effect – discouraging investment – is likely weaker than usual because the windfall isn’t being invested now anyway.

For government revenue, the 1980 experience is a cautionary tale: Projections built on current prices tend to overstate what a tax will collect.

For consumers, a tax only on domestic production is largely borne by producers, while a tax that touches imports can raise pump prices.

But the use of the revenue matters too. Both the Whitehouse-Khanna and Sherman bills rebate proceeds directly to households. The Whitehouse-Khanna proposal could give an estimated $216 a year to a single taxpayer at $100-per-barrel oil – helping offset pump prices particularly for lower-income families, who spend a larger share of their budgets on fuel.

Whether the trade-off between taxing companies’ war-driven windfall profits and the risks of market intervention is worth making depends on human values as much as on financial estimates. People differ on how fair it is to let companies keep profits that result from a war, and on the reliability of projections about revenue raised and investment lost. Those are not questions economists alone can settle.

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

The semester may have only just started, but it’s time for a day off. Georgia Tech’s campus will be closed on Monday, Sept. 7, in observance of Labor Day.   

Angus Wilkinson, associate chair and professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the School of Materials Science and Engineering, has been elected chair of Georgia Tech's Faculty Executive Board. 

In time for the fall semester, the ribbon has been cut, and students will soon move into Georgia Tech’s newest traditional residence hall — the Bud and Val Peterson Residence Hall.  

On Monday, Aug. 31, the Georgia Tech Police Department (GTPD) began increased enforcement of micromobility violations across campus, reinforcing existing state laws and City of Atlanta ordinances that apply to all micromobility devices. 

The effort builds on GTPD's ongoing micromobility education and safety initiatives and is intended to promote safer riding behaviors and reduce conflicts among riders, motorists, and pedestrians. 

Know the Rules of the Road 

Under Georgia law, micromobility devices are considered vehicles, and riders are expected to follow applicable traffic laws while operating them. This includes obeying traffic signals and posted signs, yielding to pedestrians, and following other rules that apply to vehicles operating on public roadways. More information regarding applicable laws can be found here.  

Riders should also remember that the walkways surrounding Tech Green are designated for pedestrians and ADA mobility devices during peak pedestrian traffic, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Cyclists, scooter riders, and other micromobility users should dismount and walk their devices through the area during those times. 

Education Remains Essential 

Along with enforcement, GTPD will offer a Micromobility Diversion Class designed to reinforce safe riding behaviors and educate eligible riders about applicable traffic laws and expectations. 

The rider improvement course focuses on safe driving attitudes and behaviors, rules of the road, and responsible micromobility operation. 

The diversion program will be available to eligible Georgia Tech-affiliated micromobility riders who receive a citation from GTPD. To be eligible, you must have a referral from a GTPD officer. Micromobility users determined to be at fault in a collision are not eligible. Additional circumstances may also affect eligibility, and receiving a micromobility citation does not guarantee admission into the diversion program.  

Safety Is a Shared Responsibility 

GTPD has continued to expand micromobility education as bicycles, scooters, and other devices become increasingly common modes of transportation across campus. Riders are encouraged to wear a helmet; remain alert; avoid distractions; use appropriate lighting at night; and be mindful of pedestrians, vehicles, buses, and other micromobility users. 

Whether traveling across campus for class, work, or another activity, the expectation is simple: Know the rules of the road, ride responsibly, and help keep Georgia Tech safe for everyone. 

For additional information about micromobility rules, safety practices, violations, and educational resources, visit the Georgia Tech Police Department's Micromobility webpage. 

The Georgia Institute of Technology has established the Michael E. Tennenbaum Family Institute for Technology and Civic Leadership, a new interdisciplinary institute designed to prepare students to navigate the intersection of technology, civic life, and leadership. The naming was recently approved by the University System of Georgia Board of Regents in recognition of a transformative philanthropic commitment from Georgia Tech industrial engineering alumnus Michael E. Tennenbaum and his family. 

Building on initial seed funding from the State of Georgia and shaped by substantial engagement with Georgia Tech stakeholders, and in alignment with the vision of the Board of Regents, the Governor’s office, and the Georgia General Assembly, the institute will serve as a convening hub for students, faculty, and external partners. Tennenbaum's investment will create a permanent endowment to support the institute's long-term operations and strategic initiatives. It will also expand programming, strengthen faculty and student engagement, and help position Georgia Tech as a national leader in addressing societal challenges through innovation. 

“At Georgia Tech, we believe that technological innovation and civic leadership must go hand in hand,” said Ángel Cabrera, president of Georgia Tech. “The Tennenbaum Family Institute will help to ensure that our students grow as productive, open-minded, engaged leaders, ready to work across ideological lines to get the job done. We are grateful to Michael Tennenbaum and his family for making this vision possible.” 

Rooted in Georgia Tech's motto of Progress and Service, the institute will foster open inquiry, civil discourse, and responsible problem-solving through teaching, research, and public engagement. Georgia Tech's strengths in engineering, computing, the liberal arts, entrepreneurship, and interdisciplinary collaboration position it to address important questions arising from rapid technological change. “Given the complexity of modern social life, the Tennenbaum Family Institute will be essential in building the well-rounded, technical leaders we’ll need in the future,” said Amanda Murdie, dean of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts at Georgia Tech and Ivan Allen Jr. Chair.

“The institute will support new courses and programming that encourage students to grapple with a wide range of perspectives and prepare them to lead in a world shaped by rapidly advancing technology,” said Aaron Levine, interim executive director of the Michael E. Tennenbaum Family Institute for Technology and Civic Leadership and interim chair of the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School of Public Policy. “We hope this new institute will engage our students and faculty with external partners as they work together to address pressing real-world questions at the intersection of technology and the human condition.” 

Tennenbaum is a distinguished alumnus and business leader whose philanthropy has supported entrepreneurship initiatives, interdisciplinary research, student scholarships, faculty positions, and programs across Georgia Tech. He also played an instrumental role in the growth of CREATE-X, the Institute’s student startup program. In recognition of his achievements, leadership, and service, Georgia Tech awarded an honorary doctorate to Tennenbaum in 2016. 

“The challenges facing society today do not fit neatly within any one discipline,” said Tennenbaum. “Addressing them requires leaders who understand technology, appreciate civic responsibility, and can work across differences to find solutions. My family and I are proud to support Georgia Tech in creating an institute that will encourage the exchange of ideas and will prepare the next generation of thoughtful leaders.”  

Tennenbaum’s commitment is part of Transforming Tomorrow: The Campaign for Georgia Tech, helping advance priorities to expand opportunity, accelerate innovation, and strengthen Georgia Tech's impact in Georgia and beyond. 

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, will pay $17.1 billion and implement new protections to reduce the harmful effects of social media on young people, settling a lawsuit alleging that the social media giant violated consumer protection laws and targeted teenagers through its addictive features.  

Georgia Tech is excited to host the University of Colorado for the Yellow Jackets’ football season opener at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 3, at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. 

Since becoming the first woman to serve as dean of the College in 2019, Lozier's strategic approach has led to historic growth in enrollment, research activity, philanthropy, and reputational excellence. During her tenure, the College has launched dozens of innovative programs and expanded support and mentoring for more than 3,300 students and 550 faculty across six internationally ranked Schools. 

In fiscal year 2026, the College reached a record $70 million in research expenditures. Undergraduate enrollment is up by more than 60%, with nearly 180,000 undergraduate credit hours taught each year. More than three-quarters of the College's undergraduate students are from Georgia.

“It has been nothing short of an honor and pleasure to serve as dean,” said Lozier. “If my tenure will be remembered as one that fostered an environment where amazingly talented students, faculty, and staff felt supported and encouraged in their work, then I will have accomplished what I set out to do. From year one to year seven, the people in the College of Sciences community have been my top priority.” 

The College has added new minors ranging from astrophysics and quantum science to the science of mental health and well-being. New offerings include bachelor’s degrees in math and computing and environmental science, as well as the interdisciplinary doctoral program in Neuroscience and Neurotechnology. 

Under Lozier’s leadership, the College also achieved reputational highs, with all graduate degrees ranked in the top 10% of their respective U.S. News & World Report program rankings. 

In 2025, Sciences was the first college to surpass its Transforming Tomorrow campaign goal, raising more than $90 million and counting. Philanthropic contributions to the College have created new undergraduate scholarships and set record fellowship and endowment support for graduate students, faculty, and postdoctoral scholars. The College also advanced new initiatives for student support and career education, faculty mentoring and teaching, and alumni engagement, and expanded programming to convene experts in space exploration, health and ecology, and artificial intelligence and brain science. 

Lozier established four new strategic research centers to extend work on critical minerals, artificial intelligence, and spatial processing and navigation. She also led the creation of Georgia Tech for Georgia’s Tomorrow, a wide-ranging effort to address pressing health and climate challenges across the state, from farms and forests to Georgia’s coastal communities and growing cities. 

“Dean Lozier has set a remarkable example of what it means to lead with purpose, generosity, and deep commitment,” said Raheem Beyah, provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs. “She has left an enduring mark on the College of Sciences and on the many people who have benefited from her guidance, advocacy, and mentorship. She has helped position the College for an exciting future while bringing distinction to Georgia Tech through her leadership and scholarship. We are grateful for all she has given to the Institute, and I look forward to seeing the continued impact of her tenure in the years ahead.” 

Beyond Georgia Tech, Lozier has served in leadership roles in several international scientific organizations, including a recent term as president of the American Geophysical Union, representing more than 62,000 members across 144 countries, and as president of The Oceanography Society. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and is a member of the Board of Directors for the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. 

Recent honors include election as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2020 and receipt of the Henry Stommel Research Medal in 2022, the highest honor given to an oceanographer by the American Meteorological Society. In 2025, Lozier was named Faculty of the Year by the Georgia Tech Graduate Student Government Association and, earlier this year, received the Lettie Pate Whitehead Evans Award. 

An active researcher and one of the world’s foremost physical oceanographers, Lozier remains the international project lead for the $32 million National Science Foundation-funded Overturning in the Subpolar North Atlantic Program observing system, known as OSNAP. 

In planning for new leadership, Beyah has named Mitchell Walker, dean of the College of Engineering, to serve as chair of the search committee. Details about interim leadership and the timing of the search process will be announced soon.

As a new semester dawns and thousands of new Yellow Jackets arrive, Week of Welcome is a chance for students new to campus to learn their surroundings, meet new people, and have fun before classes begin.  

Generating $6.3 billion in economic impact for Georgia’s economy in fiscal year 2025, Georgia Tech surpassed its own record and continues to lead all state public universities, according to a University System of Georgia (USG) study.  

What started as concern about food waste has grown into a campuswide effort to help food-insecure Georgia Tech students while keeping thousands of meals out of the waste stream. Since launching in 2024, Green Forks has transformed surplus food from catered events into a valuable resource for students in need. 

The Georgia Tech Solar Racing team returned from this year’s Formula Sun Grand Prix (FSGP) and Electrek American Solar Challenge (ASC) with hardware in hand, setting team and competition records in the process.  

Most members of the Georgia Tech community rarely think about campus utilities, and that's exactly how Jermaine Clonts likes it. 

Georgia Tech is one of America’s best colleges, according to Money magazine.  

Plan accordingly for delays in the following areas: 

• West Campus.
• Techwood Drive.
• Centennial Olympic Park Drive (East Campus and North Avenue move-in).
• Tenth Street (graduate housing).

Additionally, drivers should abide by all posted signage, including parking notices and “No Parking” signs, as these areas are necessary for resident check-in, unloading, and short-term parking. 

Some parking areas will be reserved for move-in use only. If you park in the following areas, see alternate parking locations for move-in days:

• W10 – Campus Recreation Deck 
  • Alternate parking location: W02 – Student Center Deck
• ER54 – North Avenue Apartments South Deck 
  • Alternate parking location: Park on levels 2 and 3 only
• WR29 – On-street parking near Armstrong/Hefner Residence Halls (West Campus Residential)
  • Alternate parking location: W31 – Institute of Paper Science and Technology (IPST) Lot 
• ER51 – On-street parking near Gray/Hayes Residence Halls (Southeast Housing)
  • Alternate parking location: E52 – Peters Deck 

But discovering and vetting those materials can be slow, expensive, and hands-on, requiring researchers to prepare samples, run experiments on specialized equipment, and repeat the cycle through trial and error.

Now, Georgia Tech aims to deliver a paradigm shift in materials and manufacturing research with a new Programmable Cloud Laboratory that will leverage artificial intelligence (AI), simulation, and autonomous experimentation to accelerate that process dramatically.

Built upon Georgia Tech’s Advanced Manufacturing Pilot Facility (AMPF), a core facility of the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute (GTMI), the cloud lab will allow researchers across the country to direct work remotely, refine experiments based on results and AI recommendations, and tap into advanced manufacturing capabilities without spending weeks on-site. In effect, the cloud lab will bring the facility to the researcher.

“By making advanced manufacturing and AI-driven experimentation accessible from anywhere, we are accelerating the discovery of critical new materials and shaping the future of U.S. innovation,” said Tim Lieuwen, executive vice president for Research. “Georgia Tech is proud to provide the world-class infrastructure to help meet this national need and strengthen our research partnerships.”

The cloud lab is supported by $18.1 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and is part of a broader effort to build a national network of 20 AI-enabled cloud laboratories. The labs are designed to work together, eventually allowing researchers to combine capabilities and workflows across the network. The new research ecosystem will connect advanced scientific infrastructure with expertise across the country.

“Researchers can ask a question, have work recommended by AI agents, have experiments carried out at the facility using robotics, and get the results back,” said Aaron Stebner, GTMI associate director, Eugene C. Gwaltney Jr. Chair, James R. and Sarah R. Borders Faculty Fellow, and professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering and the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering (ME). “They can use AMPF resources to advance their own research without having to be experts in each piece of equipment or send students to AMPF for weeks at a time.”

By lowering costs and barriers to conducting that research, Stebner said, the cloud lab will dramatically expand who can take advantage of AMPF’s capabilities.

A Self-Driving Research Lab

AMPF is a mixed-use facility where both industry and academic partners can discover new materials and do manufacturing research. Today, the facility is approaching autonomous workflow capabilities across about 38 pieces of equipment. Through the cloud lab, the team aims to expand automated and autonomous workflows to more than 100 of AMPF’s 160 pieces of equipment.

The cloud lab will also bring together stages of materials development that have traditionally happened separately, allowing researchers to explore materials discovery, manufacturing, testing, and scale-up within the same research environment.

Pascal Van Hentenryck, director of the NSF AI Institute for Advances in Optimization and A. Russell Chandler III Chair in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, said the automation extends beyond individual pieces of equipment. Robots can operate machines and move materials from one station to another, physically carrying out workflows requested by researchers from afar. AI will help determine which machines and robots are needed for each task and manage their movements across the facility.

Van Hentenryck compared the process to following a recipe.

“When you cook, you have a recipe, and the recipe tells you what you have to do,” Van Hentenryck said. “You don’t need to understand exactly how the stove is working. You just need to know what you need to accomplish with it.”

AI agents will take those high-level “recipes” from researchers, translate them into detailed workflows, and coordinate experiments, simulations, and data flows across the facility.

The system will rely in part on digital twins — virtual models of the facility that can help plan, monitor, and improve experiments before and during execution. Van Hentenryck said the system is also designed to learn from each run, improving how machines are tuned and how future workflows are scheduled.

The project will integrate Duke University’s Automatic FLOW for Materials Discovery software platform, led by professor Stefano Curtarolo, to connect computational discovery with physical experimentation and help researchers more rapidly identify and evaluate promising new materials. Contextualize, led by founder and CEO Branden Kappes, will provide the data platform that seamlessly connects researchers, instruments, data, and IT systems across the distributed network. Tech AI will also contribute to the project as part of the broader research team.

The cloud lab will help bridge a longstanding gap between research and industrial adoption. Companies can be reluctant to interrupt working production lines to test unproven technologies, while startups and academic researchers often lack access to industrial-scale facilities where they can demonstrate that their ideas work. AMPF provides an environment where emerging technologies can be tested and de-risked without disrupting commercial production.

“The cloud lab will give industry partners and manufacturers the ability to evaluate new ideas before they commit to large-scale deployment,” said Tom Kurfess, executive director of GTMI and Agustin A. Ramirez/HUSCO International Distinguished Chair in Fluid Power Systems in ME. “This initiative will shorten development cycles and make it easier to bring promising technologies into production, enabling our partners and us to innovate at the speed of thought.”

Expanding Access to Advanced Research

The project aims to serve more than 400 users from 150 academic, industry, and government institutions, with more than half participating remotely.

“Making these autonomous labs available to a very wide community is key to innovation,” Van Hentenryck said. “You just give a lot of people the opportunity to try things out.”

The cloud lab builds on a larger effort Georgia Tech has pursued through AMPF for years: integrating AI, automation, and advanced manufacturing to create a flexible research environment that can evolve with technology, expand access, and strengthen U.S. leadership in materials and manufacturing.

For Stebner, the cloud lab represents a critical next step in bringing that vision to life.

“We are six years into this effort, and we’re already at a place I thought would take us 20 years to reach,” Stebner said. “This cloud lab is going to take us to a level of technology, research, leadership, and access that I didn’t know if we would reach by the end of my career.”

Georgia Tech’s Office of Sustainability, in partnership with the Office of Research Operations, is launching Georgia Tech’s first Sustainable Lab Certification program, which will provide a framework for campus laboratories to implement practical, high-impact sustainability measures. Labs earn recognition for their efforts through tiered certification levels — bronze, silver, or gold — based on the number and results of practices implemented.  

Fueled by the generosity of thousands of alumni, donors, corporations, foundations, and friends, this defining moment builds on the strongest two-year fundraising performance in Georgia Tech’s history and reflects extraordinary engagement across the Institute. Recent milestones underscore the breadth of support behind Transforming Tomorrow, including the 79th Roll Call, which raised $8.8 million, and Georgia Tech Athletics’ Full Steam Ahead initiative, which led to more than $100 million in gifts and commitments.

The collective support of donors, including gifts from first-time donors, is already making a difference across campus — in the experiences of students, the work of faculty, and the spaces that shape learning and discovery.

Transforming Campus and Expanding Opportunity

Donor support has fueled major projects such as the Thomas A. Fanning Student-Athlete Performance Center, which opened in May, and George Tower | Scheller Tower, which will open in September. Scheller Tower will house MBA and executive education programs for the Ernest Scheller Jr. College of Business, while George Tower will become the new home of the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering. These facilities are designed to foster collaboration, innovation, and student success.

This momentum continues as Georgia Tech advances new capital projects, including the Aerospace Engineering Building, Medical Innovation Building, Creative Quarter, and Alumni Welcome Center — each critical to the Institute’s future growth.

At the same time, philanthropy is transforming access to education. Donors have contributed more than $513 million to expand scholarship and fellowship support, opening doors for talented students and ensuring that financial barriers do not limit opportunity.

Investing in Students, Faculty, and Research

Support for students extends from undergraduate access to graduate-level research and discovery. Graduate fellowships funded through the campaign are enabling students to pursue advanced study, contribute to research labs, and play a central role in Georgia Tech’s academic mission.

At the faculty level, donor investment continues to strengthen Georgia Tech’s ability to attract and retain world-class educators and researchers. A landmark example is the $100 million bequest from the estate of alumnus John W. Durstine, the largest gift in the Institute’s history, supporting faculty excellence in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering.

In health research, a significant commitment has established the Parker H. Petit Center for AI-Driven Health Innovation, a new research hub focused on using artificial intelligence to model diseases, identify treatment paths, and move discoveries closer to patient care.

Driving Innovation Through Collaboration and Industry Engagement

Philanthropy is also fueling new interdisciplinary initiatives that reflect Georgia Tech’s collaborative, forward-looking approach. The Tony Kepano Joint Center for Real Estate brings together the Ernest Scheller Jr. College of Business and the College of Design to create a multidisciplinary platform for education, research, and industry engagement.

Corporate and foundation partnerships are accelerating progress in key areas. The Delta Air Lines Foundation’s $5 million commitment is helping fund the new Aerospace Engineering Building. This facility will elevate one of the nation’s top-ranked aerospace programs, fuel the state’s economy, and accelerate innovation across the aviation industry.

Georgia Tech’s multidecade partnership with Hyundai Motor Company is advancing research and education in sustainable mobility, hydrogen technologies, and workforce development, while strengthening the Institute’s role in driving innovation and economic growth.

Looking Ahead: Sustaining Momentum

The campaign’s success reflects the collective efforts of alumni, donors, volunteers, faculty, staff, students, and partners who have advanced Georgia Tech's mission and strengthened its impact. The momentum created through their generosity will help shape the Institute’s future for years to come.

“Behind every gift is someone who believes in Georgia Tech’s mission and wants to help us amplify our impact,” said Georgia Tech President Ángel Cabrera. “Their generous support has expanded access to education, strengthened research and innovation, and strengthened our Institute to make sure it keeps creating value for generations to come. I am profoundly grateful to each of our donors for investing in Georgia Tech. 

I’m equally grateful to our deans, faculty, Campaign Steering Committee volunteers, and every member of our Development team for opening doors, carrying our message everywhere, and persuading others to participate in this campaign. Congratulations to all of them on reaching the most ambitious philanthropic goals in Institute history.”

The fierce backlash against data centers shows no sign of easing up.

Since early 2024, more than 1,200 public actions – including zoning fights, public campaigns and temporary moratoriums – have been logged by the Data Center Tracker, a public U.S. database of community responses to data center site selection. Among the concerns, grid capacity, water use and transparency around siting appear most often.

This momentum is leading to political action. In Maine, lawmakers passed a contested bill in spring 2026 that would have imposed the nation’s first statewide moratorium on new data centers. Gov. Janet Mills ultimately vetoed the measure on grounds that it would scuttle a US$550 million conversion of the closed Androscoggin Mill in the town of Jay into a data center.

But in a nod to the political climate, Mills said she supported in principle a pause in development and signed separate legislation barring state tax incentives going to data centers. She also pledged to create a council to study the industry statewide.

Maine’s dispute shows how statewide decisions on whether to promote or curb data centers can come down to one local case. It was no isolated example: Up to 10 other states are considering similar measures to contain their expansion.

But lawmakers across the country still lack clear evidence on whether new data centers can boost the economies of the communities hosting them.

As scholars of how technological change and innovation shape business strategy, we set out to produce rigorous research so that policymakers can make better decisions for their communities despite the emotions on both sides.

What we found was that data center development can boost growth and jobs – but these benefits are most pronounced when the local economy is more urban and developed. In fact, it turns out that the local economy around a data center matters more than the facility itself.

Testing the Data Center Promise

For years, state and local governments have courted data center projects with property tax abatements, sales tax exemptions and other incentives. Some jurisdictions still compete aggressively, but more and more are turning the other way, blocking tens of billions of dollars in proposed investments.

To understand the full economic impact, we combined records of when the centers began operating with data on local economic activity. We then compared how those economic outcomes changed before and after a county’s first data center opened relative to similar counties without data centers.

Overall, we found that data centers do boost growth. In the first three years after one opened, local employment rose on average by about 0.9%, wages by 1.1%, and the number of business establishments by 1%. Longer term, those effects grew to roughly 3.5%, 5% and 4.7%, respectively. Household income and building permits, meanwhile, increased by 1.9% and 16.1%, respectively. All of these gains accumulate gradually, rather than at once.

But the average effects mask an important pattern. Data centers are more likely to juice the economy when there’s a cluster of labor and capital already nearby, such as construction contractors, equipment suppliers, professional services and a skilled workforce.

In metropolitan counties, where that cluster of labor and capital is thicker, employment jumped by about 4.1%, while wages increased by 5.5%. In less populous counties, by contrast, job and wage spillovers were negligible. This suggests that the host community’s level of economic development matters more than the size of the project.

That said, other factors also affected local economic effects from one area to the next. Facilities operated by major tech companies, for example, raised local wages more than smaller companies. In addition, counties that attracted multiple data centers within five years of the first showed larger cumulative gains than counties with a single, isolated facility.

What About Electric Bills?

Electricity in the United States is delivered through complex regional grids and regulated utilities. In turn, retail prices depend on state and local rules and how costs are allocated among households, businesses and large industrial users.

This complicated patchwork goes to the heart of one of the biggest criticisms of data centers: Because they’re extraordinarily power-intensive, opponents say, they hike electric bills for consumers. So we looked at counties where a utility’s service area was localized enough to isolate the effects. We found that retail electricity prices rose by about 5% after a data center becomes operational.

Our estimate of 5% is not universal, however. Utility territories most often span multiple counties, while rate-setting rules differ by state and utility. And prices are affected by other factors, such as weather, transmission systems and regulations. That made the electricity effect harder for us to pin down than the other economic outcomes we studied.

But if our estimates stand, our figure is substantially lower than some more sensational reports, which may not be correct in attributing bigger hikes in electric bills to data centers.

Why Tensions are Running High

Pushback against data centers has picked up since 2024, as proposed projects have grown larger and more visible. Communities often make decisions amid uncertainty, with little local evidence to draw on.

Our findings help clarify part of that uncertainty: Economic spillovers are strong in metropolitan counties, while many rural counties see minimal gains in job growth.

We also find that opposition to data centers is more common where data centers already operate. That pattern suggests local experience may matter, although it doesn’t explain how much opposition reflects direct local experience versus broader anxiety about the impact of artificial intelligence more generally.

Beyond the Construction Incentives

As more data center siting decisions come up, lawmakers will need to judge whether a county’s economy will benefit and whether the project’s terms will help all residents even when they don’t share those gains. This means that the details of local subsidy design matter, including tax incentives, electricity tariff arrangements, grid and water upgrades, and whether any new resulting tax revenue will boost public services.

Together, those factors can matter more than the headline investment figure touted in a company press release. While our findings are a starting point to help navigate this emotional debate, more work is needed on how these other decisions shape community outcomes.

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

Without using a zero, what is the lowest possible four-digit number you can make in which the digits add up to 18? 

Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing far more than hospital paperwork. Researchers say it's beginning to help doctors make clinical decisions, identify mental health risks earlier, expand care through smartphones and wearable devices, and extend healthcare to people who might otherwise go without it. 

One study found that admissions data offers limited insight into long-term academic success. The other challenges assumptions about so-called "lurkers," students who rarely post in online discussions but may still be deeply engaged in their courses. Together, the studies suggest that what matters most for student success may not be the easiest thing to measure.

Presented at the Learning@Scale conference in Seoul, South Korea, the research draws on data from Georgia Tech's Online Master of Science in Computer Science (OMSCS) program, one of the world's largest online degree programs. The program's scale gives researchers access to data from thousands of learners and allows them to identify patterns that would be difficult to detect in smaller educational settings.

Predicting Success

The long-term success study analyzed years of admissions and student performance data to examine whether application materials can predict what happens after a student applies. The research focused on three practical issues that can influence student success: who gets admitted, whether the admitted students matriculate, and who ultimately completes the program. OMSCS has always had a unique admissions model that focuses more on holistically evaluating a student’s background rather than GPAs or GRE scores and does not require applicants to have a strong computer science background or undergraduate education. 

"OMSCS has always followed a different admissions model from basically everyone else in higher education, so we can't draw from prevailing wisdom about what students to admit," said David Joyner, interim vice provost for AI in Education and executive director of online education and OMSCS. "Enough time has passed since we moved to a new admissions system that we finally could step back and look at what factors predicted success."

The researchers found that application materials could reasonably predict admissions and matriculation decisions. But when it came to forecasting retention and long-term success, early-course performance — not application information — played an outsized role in predicting whether students would remain in the program.

"I've always thought that success is most predicted by invisible factors like intended time commitment and external incentive to success," Joyner said. "But I thought there would be some signal in the application data. It's encouraging that there's not."

Learning About Lurking

Another indicator of student success is participation. It's often assumed that students who primarily read discussion forums rather than actively posting in them — sometimes called "lurkers" — are less engaged in their courses. Marjorie Ivy, lead author of the second study on lurkers and a 2025 OMSCS graduate, became interested in the topic through her own online learning experience.

"I've been that student in an online course who reads every discussion thread, thinks deeply about the material, feels genuinely connected to what's happening in the class — and never posts," Ivy said. "That mismatch between what activity logs say about a student and what the student is actually experiencing is what drew me to this topic. I wanted to see if we could give data and language to the quieter forms of engagement that often go unnoticed."

To better understand those students, the researchers looked beyond behavioral data and examined how learners perceived their social experiences in a course. Students completed surveys about belonging, peer interaction, and whether they felt their contributions were acknowledged. Using similarity algorithms and network analysis that examines relationships between different people, the researchers grouped students into clusters of learners who shared similar attitudes about their course experiences. The results revealed that some students who rarely posted still reported feeling connected to their classmates and learning community. 

Looking Beyond the Numbers

Although the studies examine different stages of the student journey, they arrive at a similar conclusion: Visible metrics often miss important parts of the learning experience. Understanding student success may require looking beyond what is easiest to count.

"My biggest hope is this program will signal to other universities how broken our traditional admissions model is," Joyner said. "We should be giving more students the chance to succeed, because higher education is not currently accommodating plenty who can succeed."

School of City and Regional Planning Assistant Professor Rounaq Basu knows it, too. So he and his students (supported by the Center for Urban Resilience and Analytics) created the Cool Routes app to help people in Atlanta find the most shaded — and most importantly, the coolest — paths if they have to walk or bike outside.

Describing Atlanta’s latest heatwave, “This is great for research, but not so great for residents,” Basu said. “I like to walk and bike everywhere, and it’s too hot. I need to know where the shaded paths are!”

The Cool Routes app currently covers 10 cities in the U.S., including Atlanta. Users choose a city from a dropdown menu, provide a trip start and destination, tell the app whether they’re walking or biking, and select route preferences. The app then generates up to three routes to the user’s destination, allowing them to compare how much cooler one route is from another. Further refinement of routes is offered after that.

Learn more >>

• AI is accelerating cyberattacks.
• The same technology can strengthen defenses.
• The biggest risk is falling behind.

Artificial intelligence is changing cybersecurity on both sides of the battlefield. The technology helping organizations improve efficiency also enables cybercriminals to identify vulnerabilities, develop exploits, and launch attacks at unprecedented speed.

Researchers in the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy (SCP) say the greatest concern is not that AI is creating entirely new forms of cyberattacks. Instead, it is accelerating activities that attackers already perform, making existing threats quicker, cheaper, and harder to stop.

"AI is dramatically speeding up cyberattacks," said Brendan Saltaformaggio, associate professor in the SCP and the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE). "AI can identify vulnerabilities far faster than humans and often in places humans wouldn't think to look."

Hackers Are Moving Faster

Most cyberattacks include several stages: finding vulnerabilities, developing ways to exploit them, gaining access to systems, and pursuing a goal such as stealing information or disrupting operations. According to Frank Li, associate professor in the SCP and ECE, AI is having its biggest impact on the early phases of that process.

"AI can help attackers explore potential decisions and implement attacks faster than in the past, whether it's identifying software bugs or constructing social engineering hooks," Li said.

The pace of attacks has already changed dramatically. Peter Swire, J.Z. Liang Chair in the SCP and professor of law and ethics in the Scheller College of Business, says attackers are moving from vulnerability discovery to exploitation much faster than in the past.

"The average time until an exploit is detected even a couple of years ago was measured in months," Swire said. "Now it is measured in hours."

That compressed timeline is forcing organizations to rethink how quickly they identify, prioritize, and patch vulnerabilities.

The Risk Reaches Everyone

Healthcare systems, critical infrastructure providers, government agencies, and small businesses remain attractive targets because they often manage sensitive information or essential services while relying on legacy technology. But experts emphasize that no organization is immune.

"Unfortunately, everyone is at risk," Saltaformaggio said. "AI is not creating new victims; AI is making attackers faster and more effective at targeting the same organizations they have always pursued."

Organizations with outdated systems or limited cybersecurity resources face particular challenges because AI allows attackers to identify weaknesses in less time and at lower cost than ever before.

Fighting AI With AI

Cybersecurity defenders also have access to the same technology.

Experts say AI can strengthen defenses before, during, and after a cyberattack. Defenders can use AI to identify and patch vulnerabilities more quickly, reducing opportunities for attackers to gain access. AI can also detect subtle signs of intrusion by correlating activity across networks and recognizing patterns that would be difficult for humans to spot in real time.

Once an attack occurs, AI can support rapid investigation and response by analyzing how the compromise happened, identifying root causes, and helping deploy targeted protections.

"AI can help defenders in every step of stopping a cyberattack," Saltaformaggio said.

Researchers at Georgia Tech are already demonstrating AI's defensive potential. Saltaformaggio pointed to Georgia Tech's recent success in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Artificial Intelligence Cyber Challenge, which highlighted how AI systems can autonomously discover and reason about software vulnerabilities at large scale. Swire also noted that a Georgia Tech team led by Professor Taesoo Kim won a $4 million DARPA prize for developing advanced AI-based cybersecurity defenses.

Speed Is the New Defense

Despite the promise of AI-powered security, significant challenges remain. Security teams need AI tools they can trust, ones that explain how they reached conclusions and provide evidence that analysts can verify. Attackers may also attempt to manipulate AI systems, creating new risks for organizations that rely heavily on automated tools.

Li says organizations cannot rely on traditional, human-paced security processes to keep up.

"AI's primary impact on cyberattacks is enhancing speed and scale," Li said. "Organizations need to adapt to more agile defenses and processes that account for this, in many cases relying on AI as well to help speed up defensive actions."

Organizations also need to rethink how they respond to vulnerabilities. Swire argues that traditional patch management is no longer fast enough in a world where exploits can emerge within hours.

"The entire process for patching systems will have to be re-engineered," he said.

The cybersecurity landscape has always been an arms race between attackers and defenders. AI hasn't changed that reality. It has simply accelerated it. The organizations that will be best positioned are those that adopt AI as quickly as the adversaries they are trying to stop.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aed2056

It’s a role she knows well.

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

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

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

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

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

A Helluva Scientist

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

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

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

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

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

Leading Global Conservation Efforts

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

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

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

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

Scientific Storytelling

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

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

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

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

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

Collaborative Conservation

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

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

She encourages Tech students to stay informed:

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

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

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

A Lasting Georgia Tech Connection

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Historic Investment Wave

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

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

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

Why Metro Areas Benefit More

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Hidden Cost: Electricity Prices

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

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

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

What Communities Should Consider

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

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

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

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

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

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Hayabusa2 Extended Mission conducted a flyby of the asteroid Torifune. Toshi Hirabayashi, associate professor in the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering and a member of the Space Research Institute, helped select the target asteroid and developed the spacecraft’s final orientation and trajectory for the encounter. The mission marked the world’s first successful use of a laser altimeter during a high-speed flyby of a small celestial body. Hirabayashi was in Japan for the operation.

Traveling at nearly 5 kilometers per second, the spacecraft captured visible and infrared images of Torifune, documenting its unique shape and surface and revealing evidence of geological diversity. The asteroid resembles a dumbbell, with two chunks connected by a neck obscured in shadow. 

The spacecraft also detected data signals from the laser altimeter and the near-infrared spectrometer. The laser altimeter received two data points, and the near-infrared spectrometer detected multiple points during a narrow observation window. Researchers hope the observations will help them better determine the flyby conditions at high accuracy and understand how asteroids evolve and what they can reveal about the earliest days of the solar system.

Hirabayashi previously contributed to JAXA’s landmark mission that returned asteroid samples to Earth. But the Torifune flyby presented a different set of challenges.

“The spacecraft was not designed for flyby operations, so there are many constraints,” he said. “It was necessary to develop a new strategy to maximize science data acquisition.”

The knowledge gained from the mission could strengthen international planetary defense efforts. The data will help scientists better understand how asteroids move through space and how to observe them effectively. The researchers hope Torifune will offer insights not only into the origins of planets but also into how humanity can better prepare for future asteroid threats.

"Planetary defense is a critical aspect for the public," Hirabayashi said. "Georgia experienced an airburst [when a meteoroid bursts mid-air] event in 2025. While the event was small, a larger event may get people hurt. Hayabusa2's flyby experience will be critical for acquiring the knowledge and skills needed to better observe such a potential threat.”

This research is funded by the Space Research Institute. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

Raman’s company, 8Seven8, produces quantum chips for aircraft navigation and industrial automation. To explain it to investors, he drew on the sport he knows best. “The technology I'm working on needs precision, timing, and teamwork, so I compared that to volleyball,” he said. “You need precision to place the ball, timing to block, and teammates who support you.”

The metaphor helped investors grasp his company’s value, a skill Raman developed in Q-i’s first space-themed cohort, run with the Space Research Institute. The six faculty and student teams learned how to launch startups, from customer discovery to storytelling — soft skills essential to bringing research to market.

“Building a successful startup means recruiting a team, winning customers, and convincing investors, all of which require the ability to rally people behind a world-changing vision,” said Theo Williams III, general partner at Creations VC, a space venture capital firm that funded the cohort. “Soft skills turn brilliant researchers into the kind of leaders people want to follow.”

Sharing the Art of Storytelling

To help faculty connect with investors, Q-i brought in storytelling coaches from Creative Re/Frame, a Boston-based consultancy founded by academics Jen Guillemin and Wendy Swart Grossman. They led a workshop to refine pitches, then worked one-on-one with teams on everything from narrative to presentation.

The biggest hurdle: translating complex research for audiences who aren’t scientists. “We help faculty innovators translate deep knowledge and expertise into relatable human stories that solve real-world problems and create change,” they said.   

Faculty quickly saw the payoff.

“Giving customers or investors the story behind a startup shows how invested you are in its success,” said Panagiotis Tsiotras, who leads Penumbra Autonomy, a spacecraft maneuvering startup.

The workshop also reshaped how some participants framed their work. James Read, founder of ferroelectric memory startup CIMTech.ai, said it shifted his focus beyond novelty. “As researchers, you focus on novelty, but you have to ground it in something anyone can understand,” he said. “Quadrant-i pushes you to focus on customer value, not just what’s publishable.”

Discovering the Customer

That focus starts with customer discovery: listening, asking questions, and validating problems before building solutions.

“In research and development, there is a natural tendency to lead with the solution: build something sophisticated and then look for a market that needs it. But customer discovery flips that instinct on its head,” said Mike Yan, whose startup OpenWerks streamlines supply chain management for space industries. “If you haven't validated that a problem is real, urgent, and worth solving from the customer's perspective, you risk building something technically impressive that no one actually needs. The soft skills of listening, empathy, and intellectual humility are what make genuine customer discovery possible.”

For Q-i director Jonathan Goldman, that mindset shift is the point.

“Faculty are best positioned to drive real-world impact by partnering with experienced entrepreneurs,” he said. “They also have to be the first salesperson before hiring one.”

The approach is already paying off. OpenWerks has secured funding from the Georgia Research Alliance and the Defense Logistics Agency and is prototyping with aerospace and defense manufacturers, validating both its technology and its market.

Programs like Q-i show that research doesn’t have to be paradigm-shifting to matter. Sometimes, the key to impact is simple: meeting people where they are with a story they understand.

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

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

Modern pesticides have helped boost crop yields, but they can also harm the insects that make those yields possible. Sulfoxaflor, a next-generation pesticide introduced in 2013, kills sap-feeding pests like aphids in crops, including soybeans and corn. Sulfoxaflor is also known to be toxic to bees. Scientists are still working to understand how low-dose exposure affects bee reproduction at the molecular level.

Researchers at Georgia Tech have found that sulfoxaflor disrupts reproduction and gene expression. In a study funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the team exposed groups of worker bumblebees to low doses of the pesticide and analyzed changes in gene activity. They found that ovarian tissues showed the most significant shifts in gene expression. These changes could contribute to reduced reproductive output and, over time, affect bee populations.

In the study, the researchers flash-froze bee tissues and analyzed RNA to track how gene activity shifted after pesticide exposure. The Georgia Tech team used computational models to pinpoint which biological systems were most affected.

“What makes this study exciting is that it connects molecular changes in gene expression to real-world consequences for individual bees and their colonies,” said Michael Goodisman, a professor in the School of Biological Sciences. “That type of connection is rare and gives us a much clearer picture of how pesticides affect bees.”

The implications of the study highlight a pressing challenge in agriculture. 

“We need pesticides to control crop pests, but they can also harm essential non-target insects like bumblebees,” said Sarah Orr, who led the research as a postdoctoral fellow at Georgia Tech and now works as an assistant professor at the University of Tampa. “As a scientist, my goal is to identify practical solutions that support pest management while also protecting beneficial insects and the food systems that depend on them.”

That balance between pest control and pollinator protection is critical. “We need many bees for successful pollination,” Orr said. “If they’re not producing enough offspring, pollination will decline.”

Pesticides are only one of several threats facing bumblebees. Stressors like heatwaves also play a growing role. By better understanding how chemicals like sulfoxaflor affect bee biology, researchers hope to help farmers protect both their crops and the pollinators that sustain them.

Michael A. Catto, Jixiang Xu, Kayla A. Murray, Emma Leigh M. Bossard, Michael A.D. Goodisman, Sarah E. Orr, Integrative assessment of sulfoxaflor effects on gene expression, reproduction, and behavior in the bumblebee Bombus impatiens, Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, Volume 315, 15 April 2026, 120101, ISSN 0147-6513.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2026.120101

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

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