Sichen Jin, who graduated in the spring with a Ph.D. in computer science from Georgia Tech’s School of Interactive Computing, said students in this situation should make good use of their internships.
Jin speaks from experience because she wasn’t sure which path to take when she started her Ph.D.
“I think that was always an open question to me,” she said. “I was debating between them a lot. I know my first two or three years, I wanted to make sure I got to know what research was like and then try the industry experience.”
Knowing she would complete at least two internships at Georgia Tech, she decided to base her decision on those experiences.
In 2024, Jin interned at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). She helped design a large-scale visual analytics tool powered by artificial intelligence (AI) to help power grid operators make quick, informed decisions.
“The work I did at PNNL was more aligned with the work I was doing in my Ph.D.,” she said. “It was very exploratory. I had free reign to go whatever direction I wanted.”
Jin said her next internship was nothing like her internship at PNNL. She interned at Cisco over the summer and said the main difference was that the work focused on producing research to enhance a product.
She helped Cisco build new pipelines that allowed its products to automate visualizations with AI.
“I think industry’s goal is so different from what academia is looking for,” she said. “Usually, academia wants a novel idea and a demo, but industry wants something reliable, something that is tested repeatedly. There are so many steps before you can release a product. They are driven by results.”
Jin said she gravitated toward that, which pushed her to apply for industry jobs.
She is now a research scientist at Meta.
“I like that the work is straightforward,” she said. “You get a task with a concrete goal, and you aim for it, and you get it solved. There’s tangible output. You get to see what you build be used by users, and your work reaches a lot broader audience. Every decision you make will affect them and whether they are happy with the product.”
Looking back on her experience, Jin said she wouldn’t change how she approached her Ph.D. Whether a doctoral student wants to pursue academia, industry, or is unsure, she said laying a foundation for their research is paramount.
“You need some concrete research outcomes that people know you for, and you need some publications under your belt. Those are the years when you’re still exploring your topic or research. Most of the time, your advisor can’t tell you what the topic of your dissertation, so you need to figure it out. Doing a research-oriented internship can help you do that.”
Jin added that all students should experience both sides to ensure they make the best choice.
“You might find that you are doing research that is aligned with the industry’s needs. Then you might want to get a sense of what that looks like; you can do an engineering or product-driven internship. You can make fair comparisons and not regret your decision.”
]]>“It was something I had wanted since I was a kid,” he said. “Growing up in India, it wasn't known for martial arts.”
Agrawal knew he needed something to help him balance his physical health with the challenges of graduate school. He checked the list of classes offered by Georgia Tech’s Campus Recreation. One stood out: Georgia Tech Taido.
Taido is a niche martial art that applies a modern, scientific approach to traditional Okinawan karate. There is only one school in the U.S. that teaches it — Taido Karate in Peachtree Corners, Ga., which is currently the world’s largest taido school.
Taido means “the way of the body and the mind.” It was invented in the 1960s by Seiken Shukumine.
One of Shukumine’s students, Mitsunobu Uchida, brought the new martial art to the U.S. when he immigrated in 1975. Uchida decided that Atlanta would be an ideal place to open a new school.
Since then, generations of students have trained at Taido Karate, including Georgia Tech alumnus Bryan Sparks (EE 2000), and Andy Fossett, who started as a student at Tech in 1996 before transferring to Georgia State.
Sparks and Fossett learned taido together as kids. Both became black belts before graduating high school.
Shortly after becoming students at Tech, they started an official taido club on campus. They taught their first class in 1996, which only had one student. By the next semester, they had almost a dozen.
“The class was held in an open area, and a lot of people would walk by and see us training,” Sparks said. “That was the best advertisement we could ever have. We’d invite them to work out, and it grew from there. We did some demonstrations around campus in the early days.”
The taido club is still going strong and celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.
Agrawal discovered it in 2018 as a first-year Ph.D. student. He earned his doctorate in robotics from Georgia Tech’s School of Interactive Computing in 2025.
While keeping his Ph.D. studies first, Agrawal trained for five years to earn a black belt. He said the process was the most physically and mentally challenging he’s ever experienced.
“The tenets of taido teach you how to compose yourself and how to have a good mindset, which becomes helpful in dealing with daily life stress,” Agrawal said. “It helps you focus on what’s important in the moment.”
“There were times when I felt like nothing was going right, and I kept asking ‘What am I even doing?’ But I knew if I could do some of the harder things in taido, there’s no reason I couldn’t do the same thing in my Ph.D.”
Agrawal’s commitment paid off in 2022 when he became one of five students from Tech Taido to pass the black belt test that year.
“The test is grueling,” he said. “It’s four hours long. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done physically, and I’ve run several marathons. They test you on everything you’ve learned from white belt level to brown belt level. I was training five days a week for five months.
“It was one of the best days of my life. It felt like no matter what happened, I could move forward with my life and be proud of that accomplishment.”
Agrawal landed a remote job with a robotics startup after graduating. His new position allowed him to stay in Atlanta and continue with Georgia Tech Taido as an instructor.
He said the unique aspect of taido is its emphasis on community and culture, which can be attributed to Uchida’s influence.
“A lot of times, American senseis open dojos after learning martial arts overseas. They bring the techniques and the discipline over, but they don’t bring the culture that comes with it. I love how taido is a part of our lives. It’s not a separate workout; it’s a communal thing.”
Agrawal teaches classes with Lacy Hardcastle, who took over as lead instructor when Sparks moved out of the area in 2019. Hardcastle took her first Taido class at Tech in 2007.
Hardcastle said students trying taido for the first time will get a challenging workout.
“I didn’t know how weak my legs were until I took taido,” she said. “It kicked my butt the first semester. We do whole body conditioning with lots of push-ups, lunges, squats and other exercises. It’s a very athletic martial art and requires whole-body fitness and control.”
Hardcastle describes the environment as welcoming and supportive, with regular get-togethers outside of class and a biennial trip to Japan with the Taido Karate school.
“We have a great social community where we support each other,” she said. “We occasionally go out to social events together. Sometimes we’ll get together to watch MMA fights, things like that. But we also work out hard.”
Georgia Tech Taido classes are held every Monday and Wednesday from 8:30 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. in Studio A of the Georgia Tech Campus Recreation Center. The registration cost for the fall semester is $75. To register, visit https://crc.gatech.edu/martial-arts-4/.
]]>But after more than a decade in the corporate world, Doetsch’s entrepreneurial spirit led him to VinoBarrel, where he serves as vice president of technology. The startup, launched in 2022, combines software, hardware, and data to help restaurants, bars, hotels, and other venues build customer relationships through wine.
The company builds technology-enabled wine dispensers housed in upcycled bourbon barrels. Customers can use a key fob or an integrated tablet to access their profiles, redeem offers, and pour wine. The system enables operators to track customer activity and manage loyalty programs.
For Doetsch, the unusual blend of tech and wine was part of the appeal when he first learned about VinoBarrel from its founder, fellow GT alumnus Seth Lytle (IE 2003).
“I saw the product at Tech Alpharetta (Tech North Atlanta), and I told Seth, ‘This is awesome. It looks like you’re collecting a lot of valuable data, but you don’t have a platform for people to view it,’” said Doetsch, who grew up in Alpharetta, GA.
He was impressed by Lytle’s vision for the company and decided to invest. In addition to funding, he consulted for the company part-time. Earlier this year, however, Doetsch left Capital One for a full-time role at VinoBarrel.
“I realized I could just build this myself,” he said. “Corporate life is not for me. I was ready to leave Capital One and move on to a smaller business startup where I could have a bigger impact.”
Doetsch’s path to VinoBarrel began as a Georgia Tech CS major who interned with a software company. The internship led to a job offer after graduation. Doetsch worked for the company for 10 years as a software developer, senior developer, team lead, and ultimately a manager.
The experience gave him more than technical skills. Working closely with the company’s founder exposed Doetsch to the business side of software: how a company is built, how it grows, and what happens when an owner decides to sell.
“That gave me a ton of entrepreneurial insights,” he said.
Doetsch left the company to start his own. He co-founded Lemony Learning, a financial literacy education company, in 2022. The platform provides resources to help K-12 teachers teach students about personal finance.
He sold the company in 2024 but retains an equity stake and serves as an advisor.
At VinoBarrel, Doetsch oversees the technology that powers the business. He develops the software platform that customers use to configure barrels, create loyalty clubs and coupons, and analyze sales and customer data. He is also modernizing some of the company’s internal systems.
The barrels are manufactured locally from upcycled bourbon barrels. Inside, they contain refrigeration, kegs, plumbing, electronics, and software.
“There’s so much left to build,” he said.
VinoBarrel is focused on expanding its customer base. In addition to new locations opening soon in Midtown Atlanta near the Georgia Tech campus, the company regularly demos at restaurants and venues across metro Atlanta, including events at Truist Park.
“The company is really taking off,” said Lytle. “We have several early adopters, the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center is evaluating our product, and we have a follow-up meeting with a global airport concessions operator.”
“Our immediate goals are to gain support from high net-worth investors – ideally with restaurant or hospitality experience, continue advancing our technology, and grow our client base.”
Despite the demands of working at a startup, Doetsch finds time to stay connected to Georgia Tech and the College of Computing.
He recently mentored a student team in an entrepreneurship-focused CS design capstone, during which the team developed a tool to help manage and forecast AWS cloud costs. He says he enjoys working with students because it’s an opportunity to share lessons he’s learned.
“It just feels like the right thing to do. I was given a lot. I was helped by a lot of people. So, it seems like the ethically right thing to do, to come back and give back.
He also sees staying connected with fellow alumni as a practical part of building a career.
“Meeting fellow computer science alumni, you might find a good partner, and you might also find a customer or an investor,” he said.
For students interested in entrepreneurship, Doetsch offers a perspective shaped by his experience with startups and established companies.
“As a Georgia Tech student, you have access to immense resources and support from Tech overall and also specifically from the College of Computing,” he said.
“However, it's up to you to be proactive in using the resources available to you. Be intentional about what you choose to pursue, because you can have anything, but you can't have everything.”
]]>Sr. Communications Mgr.
Georgia Tech College of Computing
]]>“This year’s honorees are incredible trailblazers who have built remarkable careers, demonstrated exceptional leadership, and continue to inspire those who follow in their footsteps,” says Susan Lozier, dean and Betsy Middleton and John Clark Sutherland Chair of the College of Sciences and professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. “It is a privilege to recognize these extraordinary individuals and celebrate the many ways they reflect the strength and spirit of the College of Sciences.”
Honorees will be recognized at the second annual Distinguished Alumni Awards Celebration on Thursday, Oct. 22, from 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. at the Renaissance Atlanta Midtown Hotel.
Recognition categories include the Distinguished Alumni Awards, honoring one graduate from each school; the Distinguished Young Scientist Award, recognizing early-career excellence; and the College of Sciences Impact Award, honoring transformative contributions to the College’s mission and future.
“The large response to our call for nominations was a powerful reminder of how deeply our alumni contribute to their fields and communities,” says Director of Alumni Relations Leslie Roberts. “We are excited to recognize this year’s amazing honorees and celebrate the lasting influence they have had both within and beyond Georgia Tech.”
B.S. Earth and Atmospheric Sciences 1996
B.S. Applied Biology 1972
Ph.D. Chemistry 2003
M.S. Applied Mathematics 1973
B.S. Physics 1965, M.S. Physics 1967, Ph.D. Physics 1969
Ph.D. Psychology 2000
B.S. Psychology 2014
B.S. Physics 1978
]]>
The Tech Promise Scholarship, founded in 2007, makes it possible for Georgia students with family incomes below $55,500 to earn a debt-free degree from Georgia Tech. Weigel’s appointment as a faculty guide on the eve of the program’s 20th anniversary marks the first time a recipient of the scholarship has returned to the program in a mentorship capacity.
For Weigel, a senior academic professional in Georgia Tech’s School of Biological Sciences, the position is a full-circle moment:
Nobody gets to Tech by accident, but I know that for students who come from backgrounds similar to mine that it might not always feel that way. I’ve been keeping an eye out for this opportunity because I truly think it makes all the difference to have a broad support system and people who get where these students are coming.
Read Emily Weigel's story. >>>
]]>College of Computing alumna Nova Ahmed (CS Ph.D. 2010) will return to campus on Sept. 14 to discuss her two decades of experience applying technology to address social and humanitarian challenges.
Ahmed will present Connecting Systems with Humans as part of the OMSCS Speaker Series. The lecture will explore the evolution of Ahmed's research, from sensing systems designed for eldercare homes to low-resource technologies that address challenges faced by women and marginalized communities.
“I was inspired by many other projects that handled social and humanitarian problems, especially one where Jill Diamond worked on domestic violence under the supervision of Amy Bruckman at Georgia Tech,” Ahmed said. “I thought, ‘this is what work should look like, where lives are changed, and impacts are made.’”
Ahmed’s research journey began with designing sensing systems for eldercare homes as a creative solution to an existing commercial problem. After completing her doctorate, she returned to Bangladesh, where she found that conventional technology design approaches often did not fit communities whose challenges were deeply connected to social and cultural contexts.
Her work subsequently shifted toward low-resource technologies designed for women and marginalized communities.
In her upcoming OMSCS Speaker Series lecture, Ahmed will discuss projects focused on social justice and on preventing violence and sexual harassment, as well as sensing technologies designed to improve people’s lives. She will also share research and projects inspired by students and discuss her ongoing work examining women in computing and STEM, including the stressors faced by undergraduate students in STEM fields.
One of Ahmed’s early projects was Protibadi, a technology-based effort to address sexual harassment in Bangladesh.
Her work designing technology for marginalized communities has reinforced the importance of developing solutions that account for the specific needs and circumstances of the people they serve.
“Designing something is easy, but designing for someone who needs something very different from others, being a marginalized one, takes a lot of courage and often can get overlooked,” Ahmed said. “But once it can be done, it is extremely rewarding.”
Ahmed is a computer scientist and professor at North South University in Bangladesh. Her primary research interests include feminist human-computer interaction (HCI), low-cost sensor systems, and information and communication technologies (ICT) for development.
Ahmed hopes those who attend her lecture this month will take away the importance of continuing to pursue meaningful change.
“The fact that things do not change much, but still we can keep trying to make the world a better place,” she said.
Ahmed said she is looking forward to returning to Georgia Tech.
“I am so humbled, honored, and can't wait to meet many of my old friends,” she said.
The lecture will take place Sept. 14 from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the Klaus Building, Rooms 1116 East and West. The event is free and open to the public.
College of Computing alumna Nova Ahmed (CS Ph.D. 2010) will return to campus on Sept. 14 to discuss her two decades of experience applying technology to address social and humanitarian challenges.
]]>Now, in what he calls his “fourth quarter,” he and his wife plan to spend time with family, travel the world — and, of course, keep working, if only part-time, as the operations director for the nonprofit ministry connected to his church.
“I don’t think retirement is a biblical term,” he said. “A friend of mine referred to it as being repurposed. I suspect that as long as I have breath, I’ll work within this calling to have an impact for good.”
Holt says his computing education at Georgia Tech prepared him for every phase of his life.
“I love the challenges of problem-solving and figuring out puzzles,” Holt said, “how to make things work and then debugging it to find out things that are wrong. They’re just skills you carry through life.”
The First Quarter: Education
Holt began his college career at the U.S. Air Force Academy. While there, he met the woman who captured his heart. But because cadets weren’t allowed to marry, he dropped out of the academy to marry his wife and enrolled at Georgia Tech in 1981.
Both Holts worked hard, lived in married-student housing, and watched their pennies. That didn’t keep them from making good memories, though.
“We would watch Thursday night movies in the engineering building auditorium,” Holt said. “It was only 25 cents to attend. That theater was a kind of respite for us, something we could afford.”
His other favorite places on campus were the library and the basement of the Information building, which housed the IT department for the then-called School of Information and Computer Science.
“I was just thinking about how far things have come with AI now,” he said. “I actually had a punch card class.”
The Second Quarter: Computing Industry
Holt graduated from Georgia Tech with highest honors in September 1983 and accepted a position at NCR. He flourished there, rising from programmer to Vice President and General Manager of NCR’s small-business computer division in just 12 years.
In the late 1990s, NCR began divesting its computer business. After 14 years with NCR, Holt took a job at Dell in 1998, a role that came with two challenges. First, he was a software expert, yet Dell put him in charge of a hardware team. Second, he took a step down in rank for the job.
“Within six months, I became the vice president and general manager of their entry-level server division,” he said. “In 2002, I became a member of the executive committee.”
His role expanded to vice president and general manager of the enterprise systems division, covering both servers and storage. The 2002 Network World annual list, "50 Most Powerful People in Networking," included Holt and a Dell colleague, both co-vice presidents and general managers of Dell Computer Corporation’s Enterprise Systems Group.
During this period, Dell significantly accelerated its push into high-density rack servers, networking switches, and enterprise Linux deployments. Rather than listing them individually, Network World grouped them by their collective impact on corporate infrastructure and named them among the final 50.
While at NCR, Russ served as a Georgia Tech contact involved in NCR recruiting. He assumed a similar role after he settled into Dell. Holt was invited to serve on the College’s Advisory Board in 2003 and remained on the board until 2015, serving as the board’s chair for the last two of those years.
His career was flourishing, but around 2002 he felt called to leave it all behind.
The Third Quarter: Ministry
When he was in his early 30s, Holt wrote a mission statement for his life as part of a broader drive to live with purpose.
It is my mission in life to experience sustaining joy by living an abundant life spiritually, socially, industrially, and financially.
Holt had been a devout Christian since childhood, and as he reached new career heights, he began to wonder whether it was time to give back by serving in ministry and living out his faith in practical ways.
“There came a point in my career when my wife asked me, ‘When is enough enough?’” he said. “Was I going to have a life that was all about me and what I could accomplish, or about giving back? We made the decision together to go into ministry.”
While at NCR, the couple had spent 14 years attending Gateway Church in Columbia, South Carolina, a Southern Baptist Church. In 2006, their pastor was building a leadership team. Twenty-three years after graduating from Tech and after a little over 8 years with Dell, Russ stepped into ministry. Russ Holt jumped in, not as a preacher, but to use his professional skills to help the congregation.
After three years with Gateway Church, he joined Crossroads Church, a non-denominational church that had founded a non-profit organization focused on reaching the city with the gospel – the good news of Christ. The non-profit encourages churches in the city to work together, to collaborate rather than compete, and to mobilize their people where they live, learn, work, and play, so they have the opportunity to love and serve their neighbors and colleagues and to share their faith with those who are far from God but close to them.
He became the church’s executive pastor and served as the operations director for the non-profit. These roles were similar to those of a chief operating officer in industry. He helped select and implement management software as part of the church’s operations. This included designing the system’s workflows to improve processes within the church and the non-profit.
“The software industry is pretty active on the church side as well,” he said.
Crossroads Church later connected with other churches across the U.S. and, together, founded a nonprofit network operating in more than 100 cities across the U.S. and Canada. Rather than serving in traditional pastoral roles, he leaned into the same strengths that had carried his corporate career: administration, finance, staffing, strategic planning, and process design.
For example, he built workflow diagrams for how the church should handle everything from guest follow-up to staff hand-offs, applying engineering discipline to congregational life. At the nonprofit, he held similar roles, including assisting other churches with their operations and strategic planning.
His ordination came later, prompted not by a career milestone but by his youngest son's request that he officiate his wedding. After 15 years on staff, Russ began to sense another transition in his calling and purpose.
The Fourth Quarter: Service
Holt describes his life in roughly twenty-year arcs. The first twenty-two years prepared him for adulthood; the next twenty-three were spent in the computing industry; and the following twenty were devoted to full-time ministry. Now 65, he is “re-purposing” to focus on family and the non-profit ministry.
He and his wife have three adult children, seven grandchildren, and have been married for forty-five years. This year, they are taking a river cruise down the Rhine, and next year, they're headed to the Cotswolds with Georgia Tech Alumni.
He is not stepping down from his mission, however. Holt continues to serve as an elder with Crossroads Church and, in his part-time role as operations director, will continue serving with the non-profit network, which now has 37 active city movements across North America.
“It wasn’t a drastic shift,” he said. “It was more of a, ‘I want to drop the HR, the administration, the business financial side of running the church, and just dedicate half my time, 20 hours a week, to this nonprofit.’”
Although he divides his life into quarters, Holt says there’s been a strong thread running through it.
“My identity is wrapped up in my faith in Christ,” Holt said. “I feel like my time at Tech and in industry was preparing me with skills I could apply to ministry – to helping the church and serving ministry leaders.”
]]>Communications Director
Georgia Tech College of Computing
claycombe@cc.gatech.edu
]]>“The future of computing extends far beyond the tech industry alone, and every sector increasingly relies on computational thinking and digital tools,” Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education Olufisayo Omojokun said.
“Students who double major embody that vision by combining technical skills with expertise in another field. That combination prepares them to solve real-world problems in innovative ways.”
While the national average for double majoring across all undergraduate disciplines sits at roughly 11%, Tech students are charting their own distinct paths. Among recent computer science graduates, 17.5% (596 students) successfully completed at least one minor, and 3.8% (131 students) graduated with a full double major.
“Overall, interdisciplinary interest is high, especially in areas like math, robotics, and economics,” said Bethany Mason, director of computing enrollment.
A Snapshot of Interdisciplinary Paths
While mathematics remains the most common pairing, computing students combine their studies with other fields in a wide range of ways. These combinations reflect individual interests and career goals, shaping how students translate technical skills into different professional contexts.
The top double majors among recent College of Computing graduates are mathematics, applied languages and intercultural studies, and industrial engineering.
Other recent graduates have minored, with Fintech, Mathematics, and Computing and Business being the top choices.
Students pursue degree combinations for a variety of reasons. Elliot Huang (CS and Psychology, 2026), for example, added psychology after becoming interested in how people think. He now applies both fields in computational cognitive neuroscience research.
For Hunter Richardson (CS and Business Administration, 2026), the connection between computing, accounting, and data systems made business a natural complement to his CS studies. He said the combination also helped him during recruiting and will inform his work in Tech Assurance at KPMG.
Oliver Lee (CS and Electrical Engineering, 2025) was drawn to electrical engineering after developing an interest in embedded systems, computer vision, and physical devices. His CS background now gives him a software foundation to apply to hardware and engineering projects.
For Aaron Huang (CS and Biochemistry, Spring 2027), the path to a second major was influenced in part by his parents, both physicians. He has since combined his interests through research in medical labs, where computational methods are increasingly central to the life sciences.
Looking Ahead
The success of these students highlights a clear mandate for the College of Computing: to support and expand these impactful pathways even further.
“Our role is to support those pathways with curricula and advising that make it feasible for students to meaningfully integrate rigorous computing preparation with study across other fields, so they graduate prepared for a wide range of careers and graduate programs,” Omojokun said.
Moving forward, the College is actively exploring how to broaden and formalize more of these interdisciplinary tracks.
“We don't want students to just manually piece together a double major; we want to build structured frameworks that seamlessly blend disciplines from day one,” Omojokun said.
“We’ve already proven it can be done. For years, the immense student demand for combining mathematics and computer science led directly to the creation of our formal, joint mathematics and computing major.”
Looking to the future, the College will use that successful blueprint to design even more formalized joint degrees, helping the next generation of Yellow Jackets change the world through the exponential power of computing.
]]>College of Computing leaders often talk about a concept that defines the field’s future: “X to the Power of Computing.” It is the idea that computing acts as a force multiplier, exponentially amplifying every discipline or industry it touches.
]]>For Oliver Lee, a passion for software led to a desire to build things he could see and touch. The 2025 computer science (CS) graduate is completing a second major in electrical engineering, where he’s developed an interest in microelectronics, semiconductor physics, and integrated circuits.
His background in computing complements that work.
What drew you to study computing?
I took my first computer science class during my freshman year of high school and fell in love with it. Later, I developed a fondness for embedded systems and computer vision, so I decided to attend Georgia Tech and pursue a CS degree.
What inspired you to pursue your second major?
After two years at Tech, I realized that pure software did not scratch my mental itch to build physical creations. I also developed a curiosity for microelectronics, semiconductor physics, and integrated circuits.
When did you decide to double major?
I decided to double major in 2025. A few documentaries on the sociopolitical dynamics of chip technology were major influences. I decided to take advantage of my time here at Tech to learn more about it.
How do your two majors complement each other?
In my opinion, CS can supplement virtually all sciences and facets of engineering. Going into electrical engineering with a complete CS degree means I have software experience I can apply to tangible, motivating engineering projects in research and future work.
Can you share a specific project, class, or experience where you’ve combined both fields?
When I took CS 3651 Prototyping Intelligent Applications in Fall 2025, I decided to make a DIY camera with a custom camera sensor. For this project, I had to program the camera’s firmware and teach myself how to design the custom PCB for the camera sensor, which I had little experience with given my CS background. This experience reinforced my decision to double major. It also taught me that I enjoyed the struggle and the satisfaction that comes afterward, especially when the result is a physical product, with software as a factor rather than the whole.
How have you managed the challenges of balancing two majors?
Luckily, I didn’t face any major challenges in balancing the two majors since I was almost done with my CS degree when I declared my double major. The primary challenge was recognizing how arduous engineering courses are. I had to change how I manage my time. The struggle was hard, but it does feel rewarding.
How do you plan on using your double major?
I plan to pursue a master’s in electrical engineering and hope to conduct research into the fabrication of semiconductor devices. Given the prominence of software and EDA tools in this field, I believe my double-major background will provide a solid foundation for further academic growth and make me a competitive candidate for graduate school.
What advice would you give to students considering a computing-related double major?
If you find the applications of computing more interesting than pure computing and algorithms, you should consider either a minor or a second major in the field that interests you. However, note that this will require you to take more classes, so make sure to weigh the opportunity cost of the extra semesters you might need to complete that major or minor.
Is there anything unexpected you’ve gained from combining computing with another field?
Seeing how software supports engineering work and projects is a great motivator to learn more about software and algorithms. It also made me realize how useful the mindset I developed through my computing degree is for solving engineering problems.
Double majoring in computer science (CS) and psychology offered Elliot Huang complementary perspectives on how people think, solve problems, and make decisions. The 2026 Georgia Tech graduate combined the two fields through his coursework and research in computational cognitive neuroscience.
As he prepares to continue that work as a postbaccalaureate researcher at Dartmouth College, Huang reflects on why he chose to double major and how the fields inform one another.
What drew you to study computing?
I could combine my everyday laptop and logic, with no additional material costs, to build something (an app, robot, algorithm, etc.) that solves a real human problem.
What inspired you to pursue psychology as a second major?
I've always been fascinated with logic and how humans think. A few friends were facing mental health issues, which made me want to understand how the mind works so I could better support them.
What influenced you to double major?
I decided the summer after my sophomore year. There were several psychology courses I wanted to take, and I wanted a formal structure. I originally planned to complete two psychology certifications but found them too restrictive in course options. I realized that the second major required only one or two additional classes and would give me much greater flexibility to choose based on my specific interests.
How do your two majors complement each other?
At first glance, they seem completely different, but they complement each other deeply. Computer science is essentially human logic executed very quickly, so understanding how the mind generates rational thought can improve CS theory and algorithm design. Conversely, CS thinking–variables, functions, procedures–can be used to represent much of what the mind does, both consciously and unconsciously.
Can you share a specific project, class, or experience where you’ve combined both fields?
My research with Dr. Bob Wilson sits at the intersection of both fields, in a domain called computational cognitive neuroscience. At a high level, I develop mathematical models that represent how humans use information to make decisions. My goal is to inform these models with real human behavioral data, implement them computationally, and evaluate their performance. Strong alignment suggests the model captures something genuine about how humans think.
What challenges have you faced balancing two majors?
The greater course load has not been too difficult. I took a psychology class one summer so I could still graduate in four years. Beyond that, I fulfilled a substantial portion of both degrees through research credit I was already pursuing, which made the overall load much more manageable.
How do you plan on using your double major?
I will be working as a postbaccalaureate researcher with Dr. John Murray at Dartmouth College while applying to MD/PhD programs. The work is a natural integration of both majors. Much of what I will be doing involves mediating between brain activity, human behavior, and artificial neural networks.
What advice would you give to students considering a computing-related double major?
Don't double major just to boost your resume. A minor will likely get you most of the way there. Double major because you are genuinely interested in learning about another field.
Is there anything unexpected you’ve gained from combining computing with another field?
There is a certain type of person and way of thinking that is drawn to CS, so the people I know in the major are not necessarily representative of the broader population at GT. Psychology students see the world very differently. Combining fields has exposed me to people with much more diverse perspectives than I would have encountered otherwise.
For Hunter Richardson, pairing computer science with business administration made sense. Building on his interest in data systems and accounting, the 2026 Georgia Tech alumnus saw double majoring as a solid foundation for understanding how technology can be applied across industries.
Richardson begins as an audit associate at KPMG in October. In this Q&A, he explains why he chose to double major, how the two fields complement each other, and how his computing background has shaped his career plans.
What drew you to study computing?
I knew technology was, is, and will continue to change the world. To become a leader in any industry, I felt it was crucial to understand the literal 1s and 0s of how the world operates.
What inspired you to pursue business administration as a second major?
I found the applications of computer science most interesting in this field. The intersection of accounting and database systems fascinated me.
What influenced your decision to pursue a double major?
I knew I wanted to double major by the end of my first year after one of my first business classes and officially added it in my third year.
How do your two majors complement each other?
Professionally, it made my recruiting cycle incredibly easy. I secured a full-time role after one interview. Academically, CS coursework provided a solid foundation across all technical topics, allowing me to focus on more conceptual aspects of business technologies.
Can you share a specific project, class, or experience where you’ve combined both fields?
MGT 4046 Data Analytics in Accounting. Many of my colleagues struggled with the coding language and syntax required to succeed in this course. However, I had used Python and SQL for four years by then, so the course was incredibly enjoyable for me.
How have you managed the challenges of balancing two majors?
The biggest challenge was simply managing the larger number of credits, but with proper planning for each semester, no course load was too unbearable.
What advice would you give to students considering a computing-related double major?
Combining CS with another field gives you the opportunity to become a liaison in any field you find interesting, which inherently makes you more valuable on the team by bridging communication gaps when technology doesn't meet industry needs.
Is there anything unexpected you’ve gained from combining computing with another field?
Before I was officially a double major, I had considered reducing CS to a minor, because I felt a little burned out after three semesters of intro-level classes. But by “padding” my remaining seven semesters with other classes, the burnout feeling decreased, and I found myself enjoying more complex electives like CS 4641 Machine Learning and CS 4400 Intro to Database Systems.
Annie came to Metz through a different route. A French major from the University of Tennessee Knoxville, she was assigned to Lycée Robert Schuman, a high school near the Technopole. Her days were spent in the classroom teaching English to children, and her evenings were spent grading papers and occasionally visiting local friends. That night, she planned to meet a friend at the CROUS cafeteria, never imagining she would meet her future husband.
For most, it was just another Tuesday at the CROUS. For Guilhem and Annie Denozière, it was the beginning of a decades-long international love story that started that fateful day in a cafeteria in Metz. After several years of dating in France and then in the United States, the couple married in a 12th-century church near Guilhem’s village (population 150). The international wedding was such a novelty that it made the front page of three local papers. The couple honeymooned in Metz, revisiting the city that had brought them together. It was their last trip there until now.
Twenty-four years later, their son, Owen, is about to enter the same doors at Georgia Tech-Europe as a student participating in Georgia Tech’s First-Year Semester Abroad (FYSA) program.
Owen Denozière chose Georgia Tech over rival UGA after campus tours convinced him it was the right fit. When he learned about the First-Year Semester Abroad (FYSA) program at GTE, the decision to return to Metz, the site where his family’s story began, was straightforward. Georgia Tech’s FYSA program offers students the opportunity to begin their degree programs in a living-learning cohort abroad. This curated learning experience is focused on encouraging independent living while supporting first-year learning and resource needs in an immersive, international environment.
“I have always dreamed of traveling the world. When I heard that I could spend this very first semester abroad, it was just a no-brainer,” Owen says. “It was the same place they found love. I feel like it’s going to be an amazing travel experience. I like the idea of independence, being able to jump around every weekend and let the spontaneity take me where I want to go.”
Owen’s parents share his excitement. “The expression in French is 'les voyages forment la jeunesse,' which translates roughly to ‘travel shapes young minds.’ From my perspective, this is a unique opportunity for him to become an independent young man, to experience different cultures and to seize every chance to explore,” says Guilhem.
Annie’s hopes are in the transformative potential of the learning experience:
“He’s already a wonderful young man, but I’m excited to see the growth that will come. When I studied abroad and came home, I felt like I was a new person. I can’t wait to see who that person is going to be when he comes back and get to know him all over again.”
Beyond personal growth, Owen has his eye on Georgia Tech’s International Plan, a degree designation that demonstrates a graduate has participated in a series of international studies designed to support the development of the intercultural competencies essential for success in a global workplace. Owen is eager to build the kind of international professional network that the intimate GTE environment uniquely enables through smaller class sizes and proximity to European engineering students in the Technopole and student housing.
This fall, Owen begins his own Metz chapter: his first semester at Georgia Tech, his first time living alone and abroad, and his first chance to explore the city where his family's story started. The family plans to visit Owen in Metz, perhaps even squeezing in a Christmas ski trip in the Grand Est mountains. Annie and Guilhem already know their first stop: the CROUS café. It’s been more than two decades since they first stood in line together, but some moments in life are meant to be lived and enjoyed again, across generations.
]]>Twenty-four years later, their son, Owen, is returning to Metz to begin his own Georgia Tech journey through the First-Year Semester Abroad program at Georgia Tech-Europe. Drawn by the chance to live independently, travel widely and build an international network, Owen is stepping through the same doors that shaped his parents' lives. For the Denozières, the return is both a new chapter and a homecoming, and their first stop is already planned: the cafeteria café where it all began.
]]>Mentoring is a flexible and rewarding opportunity to give back to the ISyE community while making a lasting impact on a student's personal and professional growth. Whether you are an early-career graduate or a seasoned professional, your experiences can help shape the next generation of ISyE leaders.
"Having a mentor through MentIE gave me someone who understood where I was and where I wanted to go. My mentor helped me navigate internship decisions, build confidence in my career goals, and see new possibilities for my future. The experience was one of the most valuable parts of my time at Georgia Tech."
– ISyE Undergraduate Student
A Rewarding Experience for Mentors
Mentors frequently find that they gain as much from the experience as their mentIEs.
"MentIE provided a meaningful way to reconnect with Georgia Tech and invest in the future of the ISyE profession. Seeing my mentee grow in confidence and achieve their goals was incredibly rewarding."
–MentIE Mentor
"The conversations were engaging, the time commitment was manageable, and it was rewarding to share experiences that could help someone just beginning their journey. I would absolutely mentor again."
–MentIE Mentor
Benefits of Becoming a MentIE Mentor
Mentoring is not only impactful for students. Alumni often find the experience personally and professionally rewarding.
As a MentIE mentor, you can:
Answer the Call to Mentor
A conversation can inspire confidence, open new possibilities, and help a student envision their future. We invite you to share your experience, strengthen your connection to Georgia Tech, and make a meaningful difference in the life of an ISyE student.
Ready to make an impact? Sign up today to become a MentIE mentor this academic year and help develop the next generation of Yellow Jacket industrial engineers.
For more information or to volunteer as a mentor, please visit https://case.isye.gatech.edu/success-initiatives/mentie-program or contact mentoring@isye.gatech.edu.
One mentor. One student. A lifetime of impact.
]]>“I was a young engineering student, getting ready to graduate when I learned that the Dean of Students had put me up for the Alvin Ferst Student Entrepreneur of the Year Award,” said Moore, Founder & CEO of Artisan Financial Strategies. “Sitting at that table with Mr. Ferst, my mother, and my grandmother, something shifted inside me. I didn’t just receive an award that night. I received an identity.”
But the recognition itself was only part of the story.
For Moore, sitting at the table with Alvin Ferst (IM 1943), an entrepreneur and philanthropist whose legacy continues to inspire innovation, she experienced a defining shift in perspective.
“For the first time, I understood that I wasn’t just an engineer looking for a job. I was an entrepreneur. Someone who wanted to build, lead, create, and solve problems,” said Moore, who has enjoyed more than 20 years of successfully navigating wealth management. “The word entrepreneur resonated immediately because I always knew I would have made a terrible employee. I was confident enough to believe I could build a better mousetrap than most, and during my internships I struggled working for people when I felt like I had better ideas. The Alvin Ferst award gave me the language and the permission to own that about myself.”
This realization would go on to influence an entire career trajectory, one rooted in leadership, innovation, problem-solving and maybe the most important lesson for Moore.
“Fail forward. Keep beta testing, keep trying new things, and understand that failure is not just okay, it is part of the process. It is a numbers game. But the deeper lesson for me has really been about network,” said Moore, who also credits ISyE Professor Emerita Jane Ammons as an amazing role model in her studies, keeping her focused on her path at GT and beyond. “Having the right people around you, mentors and teammates who have done it before, people you can pick up the phone and call on a moment's notice, that is everything. Those relationships have shaped my business more than any single decision I have ever made.”
ISyE has long played a role in cultivating these moments of discovery. Through programs, mentorship, and recognition, ISyE empowers students to explore entrepreneurship alongside their technical training.
“Core processes are everything when you’re building a business, and systems thinking is deeply baked into the ISyE curriculum. That training shaped how I approach building projects and companies. I think in a very linear way, and having that methodical, process-oriented foundation has been a real asset,” said Moore, who in recent years led a TED Talk on how couples can use to have productive conversations about financial planning. “Where it has made me better as a leader is in understanding my own blind spots. I know what I am really good at, and I have learned that hiring people who think just like me is the wrong way to go. Building a team that complements your weaknesses and challenges your thinking is not just good practice, it is what makes the whole thing work. ISyE teaches you to optimize systems. Part of that is knowing which inputs you are missing.”
Whether through competitions, experiential learning opportunities, or engagement with alumni and industry leaders, ISyE encourages students to see themselves not only as engineers, but also as innovators capable of shaping industries and communities.
“Entrepreneurship is not only about launching a company; it is about developing the confidence and discipline to identify meaningful problems, design better systems, and create value for others,” said Professor Kamran Paynabar, Associate Chair for Innovation, Leadership, and Entrepreneurship and Fouts Family Chair. “That mindset is deeply connected to what we teach in ISyE. Our students learn how to structure ambiguity, use data to make better decisions, and improve complex systems. Those same capabilities are essential for entrepreneurs.”
Paynabar says ISyE’s culture of support extends well beyond graduation with alumni continuing to engage with and inspire one another, creating a network where shared experiences and mentorship help reinforce entrepreneurial growth across generations.
“Entrepreneurship often begins with curiosity, persistence, and a willingness to test ideas in the real world,” Paynabar said. “Our alumni prove that there is no single path to entrepreneurship. Some started with a senior design project, some built companies through years of perseverance, and some applied ISyE thinking in entirely different industries. What connects them is the ability to see systems, understand people’s needs, and keep improving.”
In a full-circle moment years later, Moore, a “finance whisperer,” had the opportunity to connect with a member of the Ferst family, reflecting on the profound impact of that early recognition. The experience served as a reminder that the influence of mentorship and belief often reaches further than anyone can anticipate.
“This story still gives me chills. On the call, Leigh Ferst, Alvin’s daughter, and I started talking through our backgrounds. When I mentioned Georgia Tech and the award I had received from a man named Alvin Ferst, the whole conversation shifted. That is when she told me her father was Alvin Ferst. I burst into tears on the phone,” said Moore. “I was able to tell her that that award had changed my life. It gave me my identity. It gave me the permission to see myself as an entrepreneur at a moment when I had no idea who I was supposed to be. Personally, and professionally, it was one of those full-circle moments you could not write if you tried.”
]]>Dunkin is an IISE Fellow, the highest classification of IISE membership that recognizes outstanding leaders of the profession who have made significant, nationally recognized contributions to industrial and systems engineering. She has served as chief information officer at the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, as well as chief strategy and innovation officer at Dell Technologies. She has also held numerous leadership positions at Hewlett Packard, largely in the areas of manufacturing, research and development and IT. She currently serves as a distinguished external fellow with Georgia Tech’s Strategic Energy Institute.
Dunkin holds appointments as a distinguished professor of the practice in Georgia Tech’s School of Cybersecurity and Privacy and in the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School of Public Policy. She is also a distinguished external fellow at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI).
“The Emerging Technologies forum is a great opportunity for practicing ISEs to get exposure to a range of emerging technologies in a short period of time and identify those that they want to experiment with and implement in their organizations,” Dunkin said.
The Aug. 26 event, which will be held virtually from 1-5 p.m. EDT, will explore technologies shaping the future of industrial and systems engineering, including artificial intelligence, digital twins, and robotics and autonomy.
As event chair, Dunkin will be joined by experts from the healthcare, aerospace, logistics, manufacturing and technology industries, including representatives from Royal Caribbean, The Boeing Company, UPS and other organizations.
The complimentary event is open to engineers and improvement professionals of all backgrounds. Registration is available through the IISE Emerging Technologies Forum website.
The alumni on the list were chosen by the Georgia Tech Alumni Association. The announcement was made on July 15. Representing the College this year are:
The annual 40 Under 40 program honorsTech graduates impacting every industry worldwide and work to improve the way we live, even in the early stages of their careers.
You can learn more about this year’s honorees at the 40 under 40 website, and through a visualization of this year’s class on the same site.
]]>“We are proud to celebrate three outstanding College of Sciences alumni who have been recognized for their professional achievements, leadership, and impact,” says Leslie Roberts, director of Alumni Relations and Corporate Engagement in the College. “Their accomplishments reflect the many ways our alumni are making a difference in their communities, professions, and the world.”
Meet the College of Sciences honorees:
Clinical Psychologist, Assistant Member | St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Elyse Heidelberg is a clinical psychologist and assistant member of the clinical faculty in the Department of Psychology and Biobehavioral Sciences at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. She is head of the New Oncology Program in Psychology, a clinical program that integrates psychological assessment and intervention into the care of all oncology and transplant patients at St. Jude. Heidelberg’s clinical and research interests include promotion of coping and adjustment through early psychological assessment and intervention, AYA oncology, pain and symptom management, and pediatric palliative care.
Favorite Tech Memory: Watching Georgia Tech beat Georgia in Athens in 2008 with my brother (also a GT grad!). THWG.
Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist | Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory University
Zuri Hudson is an assistant professor of hematology/oncology at the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) and Emory University. She received her bachelor’s degree in biology prior to medical school at Lincoln Memorial University-DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine in Cumberland Gap, Tennessee. Prior to matriculation, she served in AmeriCorps focused on emergency management and disaster relief. She did her pediatric residency at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, where she completed a chief year prior to a fellowship at CHOA/Emory. She stays active on campus at Georgia Tech through Student-Athlete and Pre-Med Mentor Jackets and College of Sciences fairs.
Favorite Tech Memory: Any rideout, clutching the side of the Ramblin’ Wreck. 10/10 feeling that I’ll never be able to recreate!
Associate Professor | Georgia State University
Lauren Margulieux is an associate professor in the Department of Learning Sciences at Georgia State University. She is also the founding director of the Snap Inc. Center for Computing in Teacher Education, where she leads efforts to integrate computing and AI into Georgia State’s pre-service teacher preparation programs across all disciplines. Margulieux’s research focuses on computer science education for computing and programming novices, with a particular emphasis on promoting computational literacy for all learners.
Favorite Tech Memory: Getting a very supportive end-of-year evaluation from the faculty despite not submitting materials while finishing my dissertation and job search.
Learn more about the 2026 class on the Georgia Tech Alumni Association’s website or by exploring the interactive honoree dashboard.
]]>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.”
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.”
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.”
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.”
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.”
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!”
]]>
Composed of influential executives, industry leaders, and academic representatives, the ISyE Advisory Board plays a vital role in providing strategic guidance, industry perspectives, and philanthropic support to advance the School's initiatives and maintain ISyE's standing as the top-ranked industrial engineering program in the nation.
New Advisory Board Members
Brandon Melton (B.S. IE 2004, MBA 2018)
Assistant Vice President of Strategy, Wellstar Health System
Brandon leads strategic initiatives across the health system, applying systems engineering approaches to healthcare operations and strategic growth.
Francisco Uriarte (B.S. IE 1990)
Managing Partner, ESP Advisors
Francisco offers deep expertise in executive consulting and private capital investment, helping advise organizations on long-term strategy and growth execution.
Yoan Mattos (B.S. IE 2000)
Vice President of Enterprise Applications, Hawks Basketball, Inc.
Yoan brings technology leadership from the sports and entertainment industry, driving enterprise technology and digital transformation for the Atlanta Hawks.
Chris Anderson (B.S. IE 2008, M.S. Analytics 2021)
Data Science Principal, Georgia Power Company
Chris blends industrial engineering methodologies with advanced analytics, applying machine learning and statistical modeling to complex utility and energy infrastructure challenges.
Betsy Higgins (B.S. IE 1991)
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Oglethorpe Power Corporation
Betsy brings extensive leadership in capital allocation, financial strategy, and energy infrastructure management.
Aarav Gupta (B.S. IE Class of 2027)
Student Representative and President, Georgia Tech Chapter of IISE
Serving as the board's student member, Aarav represents the voice of current undergraduates. As president of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) at Georgia Tech, he works closely with student leaders and faculty to strengthen student-alumni connections.
New Advisory Board Leadership
Jeff Anderson (B.S. IE 1991) – Advisory Board Chair
Jeff Anderson, co-founder and chief growth officer at Kaizen Analytix LLC, steps into the role of advisory board chair. With over 25 years of experience leading business development, sales, and analytics strategies across global brands, Anderson brings a passion for data-driven innovation and alumni engagement to board leadership.
Peyton Johnston (B.S. IE 2006) – Advisory Board Vice Chair
Peyton Johnston, chief of staff to the executive vice president at The Home Depot, assumes the role of vice chair. Johnston brings extensive experience in cross-functional strategy, innovation, and operational transformation across top-tier management consulting and retail enterprise environments.
For a full directory of current board members, strategic task forces, and engagement opportunities, visit the ISyE Advisory Board webpage.
]]>Graduates with liberal arts degrees are typically associated with skills increasingly in demand as AI’s influence grows — creativity, critical thinking, and communication. But how do hiring managers react when those liberal arts graduates also have enhanced science and technology training?
To find out, Georgia Tech’s Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts surveyed 1,200 U.S. hiring managers in a variety of industries. The survey found that managers rated candidates for an entry-level analyst role with resumes that included a liberal arts degree from a technology-focused institute as more hirable than candidates with a liberal arts degree from a traditional state university.
“We heard many anecdotal examples, from industry contacts and alumni, of our Ivan Allen liberal arts graduates with STEM skills having a career edge over graduates from traditional liberal arts institutions,” said Amanda Murdie, dean of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, Regents’ Professor, and Ivan Allen Jr. Chair in Liberal Arts and Technology. “So we set out to test that hypothesis with an old-fashioned science experiment.”
The survey was conducted in spring 2026 with Georgia Tech Institutional Review Board approval. The survey, conducted through Prolific, gathered responses from U.S.-based adults prescreened for having prior hiring experience and recruited using an even mix of men and women.
Hiring managers randomly received one of four slightly different resumes: a baseline resume, saying the students has a liberal arts degree from a traditional state university; a resume saying the student had completed STEM coursework (computer science and mathematics); a resume saying the student’s liberal arts degree is from a technology-focused institute; and a resume saying the student has STEM skills and went to a technology-focused institute. All other aspects of the candidate profile, including work experience, skills, and performance indicators, remained the same.
“We used the four different resumes in order to look at how the coursework common at a technology-focused institution — math and coding — helped hirability, as well as just the name recognition of a tech-based university,” Murdie said.
The hiring managers were asked to rate candidate attributes that included communication, engineering team fit, ramp-up time, and technical competence. Respondents were told the theoretical position they were hiring for was not a technical role and did not require STEM or technical skills.
The survey found that any resume that included STEM skills and/or a liberal arts degree from a technology-focused institute improved hiring managers’ rating of the candidate’s hirability. For example, compared to liberal arts-only candidates, candidates with technical coursework received higher ratings on perceived technical competence and team fit, and were viewed as requiring less ramp-up time.
“There is a lot of buzz among my peers about how being at a tech-focused institution affects our job prospects, so it was extremely exciting to get the opportunity to examine that with data,” said Adiba Syed, a recent Master of Science in Economics graduate who coauthored the survey. “Our findings suggest that hiring managers really do value the combination of liberal arts training and technical skill development that Ivan Allen students bring to the labor market. I think it's important for our students and broader community to know this because it speaks to the unique edge Ivan Allen students bring within Georgia Tech’s broader ecosystem."
Resumes that included a liberal arts degree from a technology-focused university and advanced mathematics and computing coursework had the highest likelihood of being advanced for an interview — an 11-point increase (on a 0 to 100 scale) in how respondents rated the hirability of the candidate over the baseline liberal arts resume. Candidates from this category were also substantially more likely to be moved forward to an interview relative to the baseline liberal arts degree-only candidates.
“That’s what we like to call the ‘Ivan Allen Advantage,’” said Murdie. “It’s a unique advantage to study the liberal arts at a technology-based university. The combination of the liberal arts and a technology-infused environment benefits both the tech-related programs and the liberal arts programs, preparing students to lead in a complex world.”
The research team is also working on a soon-to-be-released survey experiment of how hiring managers rate resumes for an engineering position when the candidate has additional liberal arts coursework compared to a candidate with solely engineering-focused coursework and degree. Preliminary results show a hiring advantage associated with liberal arts training.
“In our AI environment, hiring managers know that skills like critical writing analysis and ethical decision-making are even more foundational,” Murdie said. “As the world is becoming more technical, core liberal arts training can be what sets a new jobseeker apart.”
The Georgia Tech Class of 2026 celebrated one of its most significant accomplishments last week. Among those crossing the stage for the 2026 Spring Commencement is Marina Vemmou, who will be receiving her Ph.D. in computer science.
During her time at Georgia Tech, Vemmou was heavily involved with the School of Computer Science Graduate Student Association, where she served as the student and faculty affairs chair for a term. In 2023, Vemmou received the College of Computing Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award, an honor she is especially proud of.
Before finishing this chapter of her academic journey, Vemmou shared about her Ph.D. journey and what she’s taken from the experience.
What did your research focus on?
My general area is computer architecture. I work a lot at the intersection of different components and how we can, instead of trying to optimize each component on its own, coordinate among components so that we get the best performance out of a system without completely changing everything.
What made you interested in studying that topic?
In my mind, it’s kind of like Legos because you have a bunch of building blocks and you’re trying to make something new with them. I find that fascinating. I also like that in computer architecture, there’s never a singlecorrect answer, and everything is a trade-off. I like that extra difficulty.
Why did you choose to study at Georgia Tech?
I think it was a combination of my advisor and the location. I had met with my advisor, Alex Daglis, before and knew I wanted to work with him. I also preferred the urban environment of Georgia Tech.
Are there any specific people who helped you during your Ph.D. journey?
Alex Daglis is the ideal advisor. He’s smart, a good researcher, and an excellent advisor. He truly cares about students, and he’s been involved in everything and has helped so many people, including me.
I also want to shout out the School of Computer Science staff, specifically Tiffany Ntuli. We appreciate the admins and all the work that you do.
What advice would you give someone interested in pursuing a Ph.D.?
Don’t forget that there’s a life outside of your research. The research is great, but it’s not the most important thing. You can take the time to go on a walk, call your family , or see friends.
What’s the most important lesson you learned during your time at Georgia Tech?
Perfection is futile. A lot of students come in expecting that we have to be perfect immediately, that they already know how to write the perfect paper or do research on their own. But the point of a Ph.D. is to learn how to do those things. That was important for me to work through.
What are your plans after graduation?
I want to stay in academia and am considering postdoc positions.
As a machine learning (ML) theorist, Xinyuan Cao spent her Ph.D. at Georgia Tech digging into the mathematical foundations of artificial intelligence (AI).
Cao's work has earned her recognition, including the 2024 J.P. Morgan AI Research Ph.D. Fellowship and the 2023 Georgia Tech ARC Fellowship. Last week, she joined the Class of 2026 as she received her Ph.D. in machine learning.
Before starting her next role in AI research, Cao shared the ideas and people that defined her time at Tech.
What did your research focus on?
I work on ML theory, which focuses on building foundations for ML algorithms. We try to understand why certain algorithms work or don’t work from a theoretical perspective. This ensures a better underlying understanding of those algorithms.
What made you interested in studying that topic?
When I was starting my Ph.D., a lot of new AI and ML technologies were coming out , and I was really interested in understanding them. I feel it’s meaningful for us to step back and think about more foundational things. I also like that the research involves a lot of theory that comes from geometry or algebra. Some of these theories could be from 100 years ago, but you can use them to show an algorithm that was just proposed this year.
Why did you choose to study at Georgia Tech?
When I talked to professors here, we found many common interests in the field of machine learning theory, and that was very exciting. Georgia Tech’s CS rankings and the great weather here were also big factors.
Are there any specific people who helped you during your Ph.D. journey?
Definitely my advisor, Santosh Vempala. We’re working in an area that is a combination of very traditional theory and modern technologies, and this makes it hard to define a clear question to focus on. Santosh has been very helpful throughout that experience, and working together has been really nice.
I’ve also worked with Jacob Abernethy and appreciate learning from him. He has an ML theory reading group that I’ve attended frequently, and that’s a good memory for me.
What advice would you give someone interested in pursuing a Ph.D.?
I think it’s important to find the problem that you are truly interested in. In research, you may reach a point where neither you nor your advisor knows how to proceed, and it is unclear whether the problem is even solvable. If you’re not working on something that you really care about, it can be hard to push through and find the motivation to keep working on it and solve it.
What are your plans after graduation?
I have accepted a postdoctoral fellowship at the Vector Institute, where I will continue my AI research.
“From my seat, I can feel the energy. I see the momentum. We're all about growth and change,” said Vivek Sarkar, dean and John P. Imlay Jr. Chair of the College of Computing.
“But those are just words. What's really behind the words is all the hard work put in by all of you.Today's celebration is for the entire College, all of you, and all your hard work.”
Students, faculty, and staff from the School of Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) were among those recognized at the celebration. Their accomplishments reflected a year dedicated to excellence in research, teaching, and service. School of CSE award recipients included:
Two lecturers in the School of Computing Instruction with ties to the School of CSE received awards at the celebration.
Max Mahdi Roozbahani received a Dean’s Award, which went to instructors who taught class sizes over 350 students this year. A Class of 2019 CSE alumnus, Roozbahani teaches CSE 6242: Data and Visual Analytics.
Nimisha Roy received the Monica Sweat Outstanding Lecturer in External Engagement Award. She earned her Ph.D. in CSE in 2021.
Professor Polo Chau advises Kim, Palaniappan, and Wright, and recommended them for their awards.
Chau is an associate director of Georgia Tech’s M.S. Analytics program, which won the UPS George D. Smith Prize at the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS). The award recognizes excellence in preparing students to become practitioners of operations research and analytics.
For Kim, the Jackson Fellowship was the latest achievement in a year decorated with accolades. She was one of two School of CSE students to receive the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program award (GRFP). Kim was also selected for a Fulbright U.S. Student Program Research award.
Ph.D. student Abir Haque was CSE’s second NSF GRFP awardee, receiving the grant to advance research in scientific computing. Advised by School of CSE Professor and Associate Chair Edmond Chow, Haque additionally received a Department of Energy (DOE) Computational Science Graduate Fellowship.
Chow was appointed to several leadership roles this year in the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM). The organization selected Chow as vice president for programs. SIAM also named him as co-chair of next year’s Conference on Computational Science and Engineering.
NSF presented the CAREER award to two CSE faculty. Assistant Professor Yunan Luo received a grant to build artificial intelligence models to study understudied proteins in biology.
Elizabeth Qian is an assistant professor in the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering with a joint appointment in the School of CSE. Her NSF CAREER award will support research developing machine learning methods that learn from multi-fidelity data.
Researchers from the School of CSE were finalists for the 2025 Gordon Bell Prize. Assistant Professor Spencer Bryngelson led a team that included Ph.D. students Ben Wilfong and Anand Radhakrishnan, Research Staff member Dan Vickers, and alumnus Henry Le Berre (CS 2025).
The team achieved the largest computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation to date, exceeding the current record by a factor of 20. The group simulated interacting plumes of 33 rocket thrusters inspired by the SpaceX Super Heavy booster.
Bryngelson advises Melody Lee, an undergraduate student who was one of three Georgia Tech students to receive a Barry Goldwater Scholarship this year. She received the award to continue research at the intersection of quantum computing and CFD.
Assistant Professor Qi Tang received the DOE Early Career Research Award. He is the first-ever faculty member from CSE and the College of Computing to receive the award.
The $875,000 award will support Tang for five years as he researches particle data processing and compression, with applications in fusion, accelerator, and nuclear physics.
Tang was also selected as a Summer Early Career Scholar of Digital Futures at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden.
Bryngelson and Tang were selected as collaborators for three DOE Predictive Science Academic Alliance Program (PSAAP IV) Centers. The program leverages the academic community to advance science-based modeling and simulation.
One of Tang’s students, Alex de Magalhaes, received a SPARK Award scholarship from the Georgia Tech Strategic Energy Institute. The award recognizes outstanding student engagement in energy research.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded prestigious R01 grants to three CSE faculty, each valued at $1.2 million.
Assistant Professor Anqi Wu is using the grant to study multi-animal social behavior using advanced representation learning and reinforcement learning.
NIH awarded a grant to Assistant Professor Kai Wang and Professor B. Aditya Prakash to build an AI framework to efficiently treat patients diagnosed with diabetes and other chronic diseases.
Prakash advises M.S. student Sudarshan Anand, who claimed two awards at the 2025 International Conference on Biomedical and Health Informatics. First, Anand was the champion of the conference’s data challenge competition. Then, the conference selected him as a Young Professional NextGen Scholar.
Ph.D. student Yiqiao (Ahren) Jin was selected as a 2026 MLCommons ML and Systems Rising Star. He was one of 39 total awardees and participated at the 2026 ML and Systems Rising Stars workshop is hosted by AMD.
Assistant Professor Victor Fung won a 2025 Google Scholar Program award. He received the award in the Applied Science category for multi-modal scientific agents for in silico materials discovery and inverse design. The Research Scholar Program provided up to $60,000 to early-career professors to support advancement of their research.
This year, the College of Computing selected School of CSE Professor Rich Vuduc as director of Georgia Tech’s Center for Scientific Software Engineering (CSSE). The center was formed in 2022 from an $11 million investment from Schmidt Sciences. Georgia Tech was one of four universities that Schmidt Sciences selected to host a center.
CSSE develops custom software tools and best practices to meet scientists' needs. Overall, this approach accelerates the pace and quality of scientific discovery.
Vuduc advised alumnus Elizabeth Hong (CS 2025), who received a Fulbright U.S.-Korea Presidential STEM Initiative Award. Designed to promote academic and cultural exchange, the award provided graduating college seniors and graduate students funding to pursue independent research projects in Korea on STEM topics of their choice.
Vuduc advises Ph.D. student Max Hawkins, who was selected for the OMSCS Pre-Doctoral Fellowship program.
The program provided Hawkins support to design and teach a one-credit, pass/fail/audit seminar course. Hawkins taught Computing at Scale: The Design, Operation, and Societal Impacts of Data Centers in Fall 2025 and a research course in Spring 2026.
Hawkins also received a $3,000 scholarship through the 7X24 Exchange Atlanta Scholarship Program. He was one of three scholarship recipients awarded to students in the greater Atlanta area with research interests in the data center industry.
Vuduc advises Team Phoenix, Georgia Tech’s student cluster competition team. Team Phoenix placed first among USA participants and sixth internationally at SC25’s IndySCC competition (30 total teams, 12 USA and 18 international). The team was graded on optimizing techniques and running industry standard benchmarks on supercomputers.
The team included computer science undergraduate students Alexander Ichtovkin, Alex Kim, Aiden Lambert, Sahil Samar, Seth Yiming Shi, and Venkata Sai Aditya Reddy Devarapalli. Graduate students Charles Lindsey and Jay Saraha mentored the team coached by Research Scientists Jeff Valdez, Aaron Jezghani, and Will Powell.
Alumni Ziyi (Francis) Yin (Ph.D. CSE-CSE 2024), Rafael Orozco (Ph.D. CSE-CSE 2024), Mathias Louboutin (Ph.D. CS-CSE 2020), and Professor Felix Herrmann received an honorable mention for the Best Paper of 2024 from the journal Geophysics. The award, presented in 2025, recognized the group’s work on WISE: a full-waveform variational inference via subsurface extensions.
Georgia Tech approved both of CSE’s promotion cases this year. Elizabeth Cherry will be promoted to full professor. Srijan Kumar will be promoted to associate professor with tenure.
]]>“From my seat, I can feel the energy. I see the momentum. We're all about growth and change,” said Vivek Sarkar, dean and John P. Imlay Jr. Chair of the College of Computing.
“But those are just words. What's really behind the words is all the hard work put in by all of you.Today's celebration is for the entire College, all of you, and all your hard work.”
Students, faculty, and staff from the School of Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) were among those recognized at the celebration. Their accomplishments reflected a year dedicated to excellence in research, teaching, and service.
]]>That sense of purpose shaped Spring 2026 Commencement, where School of Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) graduates celebrated years of research, collaboration, and discovery.
“Today, we celebrate you, your accomplishments, and your potential,” said Georgia Tech President Ángel Cabrera in his commencement address to Ph.D. graduates.
“I thank you for choosing a career of science and research when some question science and research. We need you to continue on this path. The world needs you.”
In addition to administering its flagship CSE Ph.D. and M.S. programs, the School of CSE offers doctoral degrees in computer science and machine learning. Ph.D. students who received their diplomas and doctoral hoods on May 7 at McCamish Pavilion were:
This semester, 14 CSE doctoral students completed M.S. degrees and will continue their studies at Georgia Tech. They are:
Georgia Tech’s CSE graduate program includes 12 schools and departments participating as home units. These home units represent the colleges of Computing, Engineering, and Sciences. This approach facilitates an immersive, interdisciplinary experience in which students study computational methods within their respective domains.
Georgia Tech celebrated master’s graduates at a May 9 ceremony at Bobby Dodd Stadium. After the Institute celebration, graduates were recognized during ceremonies held by their respective colleges.
Mohammed Wazir Adain (M.S. CSE 2026)
Aditi Agarwal (M.S. CSE 2026)
Sudarshan Anand (M.S. CSE 2026)
Arjun Bansal (M.S. CSE 2026)
Shraddha Bharadwaj (M.S. CSE 2026)
Aarushi Biswas (M.S. CSE 2026)
Anurita Bose (M.S. CSE 2026)
Hao-Cheng Chang (M.S. CSE 2026)
Nai-Jen Cheng (M.S. CSE 2026)
Yida Cheng (M.S. CSE 2026)
Denys Chernenko (M.S. CSE 2026)
Aarushi Vishal Dhanuka (M.S. CSE 2026)
MacKenzie Taylor Starr Drury (M.S. CSE 2026)
Chandra Sekhar Reddy Edula (M.S. CSE 2026)
Shiqi Fan (M.S. CSE 2026)
Yuanting Fan (M.S. CSE 2026)
Wen (Ava) Feng (M.S. CSE 2026)
Amrutha Praveen Ganapathiyat Othayoth (M.S. CSE 2026)
Aman Garg (M.S. CSE 2026)
Xin Guan (M.S. CSE 2026)
Yunmei Guan (M.S. CSE 2026)
Srihas Gunda (M.S. CSE 2026)
Yihui Han (M.S. CSE 2026)
Keenan Wai-sean Hom (M.S. CSE 2026)
Shiqi Hu (M.S. CSE 2026)
Wenxin Jiang (M.S. CSE 2026)
Harneet Singh Khanuja (M.S. CSE 2026)
Hyunjeong Kim (M.S. CSE 2026)
Vijay Prabhas Kodamalla (M.S. CSE 2026)
Neel Kothari (M.S. CSE 2026)
Ziji Li (M.S. CSE 2026)
Qinye Liu (M.S. CSE 2026)
Ruixin Liu (M.S. CSE 2026)
Yibo Liu (M.S. CSE 2026)
Shenyifan Lu (M.S. CSE 2026)
Wenliya Lyu (M.S. CSE 2026)
Aditya Akash Mavle (M.S. CSE 2026)
Samuel Wesley Moss (M.S. CSE 2026)
Shruti Santosh Murarka (M.S. CSE 2026)
Karthic Palaniappan (M.S. CSE 2026)
Shrey P. Patel (M.S. CSE 2026)
Tanish R. Patwa (M.S. CSE 2026)
Tim Minh Phan (M.S. CSE 2026)
Jing Qi (M.S. CSE 2026)
Wanrong Qi (M.S. CSE 2026)
Hui Qiao (M.S. CSE 2026)
Aditya Raghavan (M.S. CSE 2026)
Araceli Rodriguez Vallejo (M.S. CSE 2026)
Chloé Saleh (M.S. CSE 2026)
Vanshika Shah (M.S. CSE 2026)
Kaichen Shen (M.S. CSE 2026)
Bohan Shu (M.S. CSE 2026)
Kunhao Song (M.S. CSE 2026)
Ajeet Karthik Subramanian (M.S. CSE 2026)
Jingyun Sun (M.S. CSE 2026)
Yupeng Tang (M.S. CSE 2026)
Michael Kenneth Thompson (M.S. CSE 2026)
Yu Chu Tsai (M.S. CSE 2026)
Viren Dipin Varma (M.S. CSE 2026)
Aarushi Chetan Wagh (M.S. CSE 2026)
Yiling Wu (M.S. CSE 2026)
Yitong Wu (M.S. CSE 2026)
Jiayi Xu (M.S. CSE 2026)
Shuyan Yang (M.S. CSE 2026)
Yiming Ye (M.S. CSE 2026)
Zhenghao You (M.S. CSE 2026)
Yijia Zeng (M.S. CSE 2026)
Jinkai Zhan (M.S. CSE 2026)
Yuehan Zhang (M.S. CSE 2026)
Xinyu Zhao (M.S. CSE 2026)
Yuqian Zheng (M.S. CSE 2026)
Alexander Zhou de Magalhaes (M.S. CSE 2026)
Shizhuo Zhu (M.S. CSE 2026)
Xiaoai Zhu (M.S. CSE 2026)
Xinjie Zhu (M.S. CSE 2026)
]]>That sense of purpose shaped Spring 2026 Commencement, where School of Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) graduates celebrated years of research, collaboration, and discovery.
“Today, we celebrate you, your accomplishments, and your potential,” said Georgia Tech President Ángel Cabrera in his commencement address to Ph.D. graduates.
“I thank you for choosing a career of science and research when some question science and research. We need you to continue on this path. The world needs you.”
]]>Between orchestra concerts, magic shows, and yo-yo exhibitions, Li thrives in the limelight. In fact, not much rattles his nerves considering the five years of pressure he endured studying computational neuroscience at Tech.
Before he returns to New York City to continue building brain-interface technologies at Meta, we caught up with Li to learn how he keeps such a cool head at Georgia Tech and beyond.
Graduate: Chengrui Li
Research Interests: Computational neuroscience, eye-tracking experiments and data analysis, statistical machine learning
Education: Ph.D. in Computational Science and Engineering (CSE)
Faculty Advisor: School of CSE Assistant Professor Anqi Wu
What persuaded you to attend graduate school at Georgia Tech?
My undergraduate was at Sichuan University in China. We knew that the most cutting-edge technology and research were in the United States, so I participated in an undergraduate exchange program at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, during my third year.
I wanted to pursue a Ph.D. in neuroscience while also becoming very proficient in math and computer science (CS). This led me to apply to the CSE Ph.D. program over others. Georgia Tech’s CS ranking is very high, and the CSE program is very interdisciplinary, which matched my expectations super well. I did attain a solid education in math and CS at Georgia Tech. I also advanced my interest in neuroscience and its application by studying mathematical models and algorithms.
What research project from Georgia Tech are you most proud of?
My variational importance sampling paper is a favorite. That one was based heavily on statistical inference. I spent many hours working through complicated derivation calculations, often half-awake and half-asleep after several late nights.
This paper confirmed to me, though, that innovative research requires both hard work and inspiration, and that this endeavor can be rewarding. The paper was selected as a top 5% spotlight paper at ICLR 2024, a world-leading conference on artificial intelligence research.
Could you share more about your role as a research scientist at Meta?
I have been working on Meta’s electromyography (EMG) neural band. This next-generation human-computer interaction device connects with and navigates Meta’s AI glasses.
With the neural band, you can use finger gestures to control the display content you see through the glasses, like swiping your thumb to scroll the screen, or writing on your lap as if you had a pen in your hand to send WhatsApp messages.
How did your Georgia Tech education prepare you for this role?
By pursuing my Ph.D., I am more proficient in critical thinking, math, coding, and presentation. During my interview, I demonstrated these skills and provided my publication records. This helped me land an internship, enabled my success in that role, and led to a full-time position. Additionally, my background in computational neuroscience best matched the work on the EMG neural band team at a big tech company.
What advice would you give someone interested in graduate school?
First, be clear whether a bachelor’s or master’s degree meets your work needs, or if you are truly interested in a scientific research topic. This interest should be based on your own passion, not the current trends. Interest is an important factor in deciding to pursue a Ph.D. because you have to like the topic and like it for a long time. A Ph.D. will require you to dive deep into a subject you must be genuinely curious about.
Second, we are in a new era with rapid advances in information technology. Time is an invaluable resource and is shaped by technology. You have to think more about your time, consider where and how you spend it, and embrace ways to use it more efficiently.
Can you tell us more about your hobbies and how you keep up with them?
I started learning violin when I was five years old, and magic tricks when I was 11. The brain is a supercomputer suitable for functional computation. Our brain is an interface between the objective and subjective, where computation plays a core role in integrating these exact mechanics into interpretations of the world. This realization was one of the important factors that inspired me to pursue my Ph.D. research in computational neuroscience.
Another comparison I’ve learned after playing violin for 23 years is that the cochlea in our inner ear is a fast Fourier Transformer that simultaneously computes the aesthetic of music for us. Performing magic tricks for 17 years taught me that all the occurrences of seemingly low-probability magic phenomena are achieved by either letting it be a certain event or exhausting all possibilities.
I also have other hobbies, like yo-yo balls. I enjoy performing all these skills in front of audiences. Performing brings me satisfaction when I see excitement and happiness from the people I entertain. I am very grateful to my parents for their cultivation and encouragement in doing things that bring me fulfillment. They taught me to be curious and explore my interests, to enjoy pastimes, and instilled the habit to not give up my passions. These were not secondary things that distracted me from coursework or Ph.D. research, but rather complementary parts of my life that bring out the best in me.
What is your favorite Georgia Tech memory?
I have a lot. For my research, I debated frequently with Anqi Wu, my advisor. These often went late into the night to defend my stances. These challenged my beliefs and made me a stronger scholar, for which I am grateful to Anqi for her time and patience.
I also enjoyed performing in the Georgia Tech symphony orchestra with our great conductor, Chaowen Ting. I was involved with the Georgia Tech Chinese Students and Scholars Association, where I showcased magic and yo-yo performances at organization events.
]]>Between orchestra concerts, magic shows, and yo-yo exhibitions, Li thrives in the limelight. In fact, not much rattles his nerves considering the five years of pressure he endured studying computational neuroscience at Tech.
Before he returns to New York City to continue building brain-interface technologies at Meta, we caught up with Li to learn how he keeps such a cool head at Georgia Tech and beyond.
]]>From AI-powered tools that support dementia care to platforms that translate natural language into data insights, computing students showcased a wide range of software solutions at the Spring 2026 College of Computing Capstone Expo.
Held on April 27 in the Exhibition Hall, the event highlighted the technical skills and creativity of third- and fourth-year students in the School of Computing Instruction (SCI).
The Expo marks the culmination of a semester-long course in which computer science and computational media majors design products that address real-world needs. In the program, students either collaborate with external clients to deliver real-world solutions or develop startup-driven prototypes under the mentorship of industry professionals.
Volunteers from industry and the campus community judge teams on functionality, aesthetics, and presentation.
Winning Teams:
TimeSlips AI Integrated Mobile App
This project is a mobile app with questions and image prompts to support facilitators in meaningfully engaging people with dementia. AI integration transcribes sessions and lets facilitators review them, get feedback, and develop them into stories.
DataChat: Natural Language Analytics for Non-Technical Teams
This project is a ChatGPT-like app where users can upload CSV files (usually sports-related). The app will analyze the CSV file and provide detailed results, including why the results turned out the way they did.
Healthy Actions
This project focuses on preventing weight gain. The web app allows users to assess their health and behaviors at the beginning, midpoint, and end of a 12-week program to track progress and support healthier outcomes.
Georgia Tech alumna Christine Ling (BS Industrial Engineering 2025) mentored two of the winning teams, TimeSlips and Healthy Actions.
“These teams have been a joy to work with from start to finish. They consistently approached their project with thoughtfulness, realism, and a clear sense of purpose,” Ling said.
“What stood out most was their motivation and collaborative spirit. They were proactive in seeking clarification, eager to refine their ideas, and genuinely invested in producing a polished, high‑quality final product. Their steady work ethic and willingness to iterate made them an absolute pleasure to support.”
Entrepreneurial Capstone Winning Teams:
Optimis
This project attributes cloud billing changes to specific runtime behaviors in a developer’s Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and Continuous Integration (CI) pipeline, helping teams avoid unexpected billing surprises.
PulseAPI
This project converts real application programming interface (API) traffic into an OpenAPI contract and detects deviations from it, helping teams catch breaking changes before they affect production systems.
More photos from the expo are available here.
From AI-powered tools that support dementia care to platforms that translate natural language into data insights, computing students showcased a wide range of software solutions at the Spring 2026 College of Computing Capstone Expo.
]]>That is clearest on the surface, where Shah studied how public statements by businesses and financial institutions shape market behavior. At a deeper level, though, his success was buoyed by support from professors and his mentorship of younger students.
Shah’s ability to connect and invest in others led him to partner with Georgia Tech colleagues and start a financial technology business. He returns to campus this week to officially graduate from Tech, giving us a chance to catch up about his grad school experience and life as an entrepreneur.
Graduate: Agam Shah
Research Interests: Quantitative and computational finance, artificial intelligence, natural language processing, large language models (LLMs)
Education: Ph.D. in Machine Learning, home unit in the School of Computational Science and Engineering (CSE)
Faculty Advisors: Scheller College of Business Professor Sudheer Chava and School of CSE Associate Professor Chao Zhang
What persuaded you to attend graduate school at Georgia Tech?
Georgia Tech’s dedicated College of Computing strongly appealed to me. I was particularly drawn to the interdisciplinary nature of its machine learning Ph.D. program and the School of Computational Science and Engineering, both of which align well with my research interests.
What research project(s) from Georgia Tech are you most proud of and why?
I am proud of all 20-plus research papers I have had the opportunity to contribute to at Georgia Tech. However, if I had to choose one, it would be my work on Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) text analysis, which was also highlighted in the news.
This work is not only well-cited in academic literature, but the language model developed in the paper is also actively used by economists at many of the world’s top central banks, including researchers at the FOMC and the Bank of England. It is also used by leading financial institutions such as BlackRock and Daiwa Securities. Since its release, the model has achieved over 100,000 downloads on Hugging Face.
What can you tell us more about your startup, ZettaQuant?
ZettaQuant aims to solve one of the biggest challenges in using LLMs and agents: working effectively with massive underlying datasets. We serve as a layer between raw data and LLMs, helping distill billions of tokens into the relevant context that models can use.
As a deep-tech startup, we are actively engaging with industry practitioners to better understand how to design and engineer our system to integrate seamlessly with their evolving AI workflows. Given the complexity of the problem we are tackling, particularly in advancing document intelligence systems, we are currently very focused on research and foundational development.
How did your Georgia Tech education prepare you for starting ZettaQuant?
Not just my education, but my entire experience at Georgia Tech, extending beyond the classroom, prepared me for this journey. I met my co-founders at Georgia Tech, and many of the initial use cases we are exploring at ZettaQuant are built on open-source research I conducted there.
In addition to research, I mentored more than 300 students through the Vertically Integrated Project “NLP for Financial Markets.” This experience taught me how to manage teams and think about building systems with a long-term vision.
What advice would you give someone interested in graduate school?
Most people pursue graduate school after already completing more than 15 years of education. Also, people who are admitted to a top school like Georgia Tech are often already well-positioned to secure strong job opportunities. So, graduate school should provide value beyond what you could learn outside the classroom.
Before deciding, think carefully about what you hope to gain from graduate school that you cannot otherwise. Once you enroll, take full advantage of the faculty, research labs, networks, and seminars. Many students underutilize these opportunities during their undergraduate and graduate years.
I would also like to quote the epilogue of my Ph.D. thesis: ‘Advice is abundant; conviction must be your own.’ Build a strong conviction about what you want to achieve from graduate school before committing to it.
What did you do for fun and relaxation while attending Georgia Tech? Do you still keep up with these now?
This may sound unconventional, but I spent a significant amount of time mentoring and teaching throughout my Ph.D. Many of my mentees went on to gain admission to top graduate programs. This included two students I mentored for all four years of their undergraduate studies who later joined the ML Ph.D. program at Georgia Tech. They are now teaching and mentoring students, completing a full-circle journey.
Working with mentees and supporting their growth gives me a strong sense of fulfillment and serves as a form of relaxation. In addition, I enjoy listening to music, especially while coding, and I continue to do that today.
What is your favorite Georgia Tech memory?
If I had to choose one favorite memory, beyond the many exciting late nights in the lab, it would be proposing to my wife on Tech Green at Georgia Tech. She is also a Yellow Jacket, having completed her undergraduate degree here and currently pursuing her Ph.D. Our home truly is a hive of Yellow Jackets.
]]>That is clearest on the surface, where Shah studied how public statements by businesses and financial institutions shape market behavior. At a deeper level, though, his success was buoyed by support from professors and his mentorship of younger students.
Shah’s ability to connect and invest in others led him to partner with Georgia Tech colleagues and start a financial technology business. He returns to campus this week to officially graduate from Tech, giving us a chance to catch up about his grad school experience and life as an entrepreneur.
]]>Mizan Rahman knows there’s much that academia and industry can learn from each other.
He’s living proof of it.
The 52-year-old entrepreneur will receive his Ph.D. in human-centered computing (HCC) as he walks across the stage on Thursday at Georgia Tech’s Spring 2026 Ph.D. Commencement.
When Rahman was accepted into the HCC Ph.D. program, he’d already founded three successful tech startups and was an angel investor in numerous others. He also earned a master’s in computational science and engineering from Georgia Tech in 2013.
Rahman took on the challenge of a Ph.D. because he’s always been in pursuit of a holistic view of technology. One perspective he said he needed to understand was that of the end user.
“I’d already done computer science and computational science and engineering, so I wanted to look at the human dimension, the user’s perspectives, and society,” Rahman said. “You’ve got to build technology that fits into our human dynamics.”
Rahman’s journey began as an undergraduate in chemical engineering at Miami Dade College and Florida Atlantic University. He switched to computer science after his roommate, also a CS major, showed him some programming he had been working on.
“I couldn’t sleep after that,” Rahman said. “I was writing software all night. I loved solving problems through technology.”
Early Success
Rahman invented BayBuilder, a strategic sourcing automation technology, in 1999. The software was adopted by major Fortune 500 companies. Rahman estimates it has saved these companies $1 billion in procurement spending.
Baybuilder was acquired by a NASDAQ-listed firm in 2001, and he was ready to start his next company.
“I’ve been an entrepreneur as far back as I can remember,” Rahman said. “I was born with it. If I saw something that didn’t exist, I created it.”
After relocating to Atlanta, Rahman founded a new company, M2SYS Technology. Governments around the world used the company’s innovative identity technology to automate processes and deliver efficient services to citizens. M2SYS also worked with the CDC to treat HIV in Haiti and Zambia, as well as many U.S. hospitals, including Grady Memorial in Atlanta, to protect patients from fraud and receiving the wrong treatment.
Rahman’s most recent startup, CloudApper AI, introduced a new system architecture that generates secure software requiring minimal ongoing maintenance. His non-biased algorithm, which he created during his Ph.D. for CloudApper, is now used by major companies to streamline automated resume analysis and candidate scoring.
Living in Two Worlds
Rahman began his Ph.D. in 2021, but he kept his new venture to himself and his family. He didn’t tell his employees he was pursuing a Ph.D., and he didn’t disclose his industry background to his fellow doctoral students.
“I kept the other side of me far away,” he said. “The people who knew, they knew, but I purposefully didn’t discuss my outside activities and experience. I wanted to fit in, and I think I was able to do that.”
When Rahman was at his company, he was a CEO and entrepreneur, and when he was at Georgia Tech, he was a researcher. But what he was learning as a researcher began to change how he perceived his business.
“I wanted to be a researcher and think like a researcher and not just always think about sales and marketing,” he said. “I started bringing in more ideas about how the user should be thought of in our products. I’m sure they were wondering why I was emphasizing that so much, but it was because I was applying what I was learning in my Ph.D.
“Now I’ve been on both sides, I want to be connected to both in the future, applying research principles and practices in product development and innovation.”
Building Community Through Makerspaces
When it came time for Rahman to choose a subject for his dissertation, he returned to his roots and looked for ways technology can support young entrepreneurs and their startups. That’s when he began conducting research in makerspaces.
“I wanted to find out how we can bring innovation to a scale where anybody can participate,” he said. “I saw this happening in makerspaces where regular people learn, collaborate, and build products and companies from scratch. I saw that the community at large is facing a sustainability crisis.”
Rahman argued in his dissertation that makerspaces can play a significant role in local innovation. When people struggle to survive, it disrupts communities in numerous ways.
Rahman details four studies conducted over three-and-a-half years that show how socio-technical factors drive organizational sustainability in makerspaces and how AI tools can foster an innovative culture within them.
“The compelling thing about his research is that he shows that people come to makerspaces for the tools, but they stay for the people,” said Rosa Arriaga, associate professor and Rahman’s advisor.
“He has plenty of work from his ethnographic research that shows that a makerspace can have all the tech and resources, but if there isn’t cohesion among the people, there’s a problem.”
It Takes a Village
Rahman is the first to admit that it’s not possible for one man to run a company while pursuing a Ph.D. He needed a community. This starts with his family. His wife, Mohu Sultana, now serves as interim CEO of M2SYS and has supported Rahman throughout his Ph.D. research.
The Georgia Tech community has been part of Rahman’s life in some way since he started his career.
Sultana holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Tech, and their daughter, Malisha Rahman, is graduating this week with a bachelor’s in economics and international affairs. Malisha Rahman has also been accepted into the HCC program and will begin her Ph.D. in the fall.
Rahman said that any student who wants to create a tech startup will have an advantage from access to Georgia Tech’s network.
“The Georgia Tech startup community is fantastic,” he said. “There is a tremendous amount of knowledge here, and the research community can help shape the next big thing. We have CREATE-X, a place where you can find mentorship from faculty who started in industry. You’ll learn things I wish I knew before I started.”
]]>Mizan Rahman, a 52-year-old entrepreneur with three successful tech startups, is completing his Ph.D. in human-centered computing. Driven by a desire to understand the human dimension of technology, his dissertation focused on makerspaces as hubs for community-driven innovation, arguing that social cohesion — not just tools and resources — is key to their sustainability. Rahman credits his academic journey with transforming how he approaches product development, and he now aims to bridge industry and research going forward.
Each week on his way to the Howey Physics Building, Harrington passed the MiRC, wondering what happened behind its doors.
“One day I got the courage to walk in. I went to the front desk and I asked, ‘Hey, do you have any jobs for freshmen?’” Harrington recalled. “I was pointed to Bob Rose, so I walked down and had a brief conversation with him where he hired me on the spot.”
That moment—walking in with curiosity and leaving with a job— shifted Harrington’s career path from pursuing a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering and working in electronic design automation (EDA) to a life in the laboratory advancing microelectronics research.
When he began working for the MiRC in the early 2000s, the cleanroom facilities had only three full-time employees. The small staff gave Harrington opportunities to contribute. He started with smaller tasks, from changing pump oil to sorting nuts and bolts, but his dedication quickly led to greater responsibility.
At the time, Gary Spinner, director of cleanroom operations for the Institute for Matter and Systems (IMS), played a key role in mentoring students and expanding access to the Institute’s microelectronics facilities. Known for his hands-on approach and commitment to student development, Spinner helped guide the growth of cleanroom operations and the people who worked within them.
“Gary took note of me and said, ‘Brandon, please join the co-op program,’” Harrington said. “I quickly found my way into the cleanrooms, and from that point on, I touched basically every system, whether it was the billing software, the access control system, or the toxic gas monitoring.”
As an undergraduate co-op, Harrington advanced through the MiRC, training graduate researchers on tools and developing new or modifying existing efficiency systems. By the time he earned his undergraduate degree, he had accumulated extensive experience in the cleanrooms and graduated with an offer to be a full-time electrical engineer for the MiRC while pursuing his master’s degree.
An unexpected outcome of this role was a friendship that led him to a Ph.D. in electrical engineering. While working full-time, Harrington became good friends with then-Ph.D. student Reza Abdolvand. After Abdolvand joined Oklahoma State University as a faculty member, he asked Harrington if he would come help him start his research group.
“I was really good friends with Reza and I thought this was a way I could get his career going,” Harrington said. “So I left Georgia Tech, around 2008, to pursue my PhD from Oklahoma State.”
Today, Harrington supports the industry in a variety of ways, providing consultation for startups and large corporations alike. His work includes early feasibility studies, prototype development, productization, transfer to volume-production foundries, and yield improvement activities.
He is now the director of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) development at AMFitzgerald, where he leads a team delivering innovative solutions to clients—all because he followed his curiosity.
Harrington’s journey reflects the broader impact of Georgia Tech’s cleanroom facilities—spaces where curiosity can turn into hands-on experience, mentorship, and career-defining opportunities. By providing students access to advanced tools, real-world problem-solving, and a collaborative research environment, the cleanrooms continue to shape the next generation of engineers and innovators, just as they did for a curious freshman who decided to walk through an open door.
]]>Media Contact: Amelia Neumeister | Communications Manager
The Institute for Matter and Systems
]]>He first considered Tech while walking to a basketball game with his father back in the ‘90s. Hope wondered aloud if Tech could be in his future.
His father answered: “Sure, IF you can get in.”
Hope took the response as a personal challenge. “It awakened a mission to prove to everyone that doubting me was a mistake,” he remembers.
Years later, Hope did get in, but getting out proved far more difficult.
As someone who’d always been good in math, Hope began in computer engineering, then switched to industrial engineering. Struggling with his classes, he was faced with a hard choice: sit out a semester or leave Georgia Tech.
He chose to stay.
“It was fight or flight,” says Hope. “I knew I had to find something I was passionate about and catalyze some momentum — or go home.”
He found that passion in the science of behavior.
“I discovered Industrial-Organizational Psychology and realized that the human element; how we work, why we lead, and how we build cultures, is a fascinating and useful science,” says Hope.
Once he found his direction, Hope never faltered.
Today, he is a people leader at Google, who attributes much of his success to the resiliency honed at Georgia Tech. And, after once coming close to leaving without a degree, he is now returning to give the commencement address at the College of Sciences master’s graduation celebration.
What were you involved with on campus?
Hope: I was a Georgia Tech Student Ambassador and a Co-op Ambassador. I was also a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., the Student Alumni Association, the Minority Recruitment Team, the African American Student Union, the National Society of Black Engineers, and the Freshman Activities Board.
What’s something you’re especially proud of from your time at Tech?
Hope: I was an IT co-op at McKinneys, before I switched to psychology. I was told I couldn’t receive the co-op designation on my diploma because it wasn’t in my major. I read the rules, saw no language that disqualified me, advocated for myself, and persuaded them to change their minds. If that rule is different now, it’s because of me.
What is your leadership philosophy?
Hope: Show up as my authentic self. Part of the reason I'm able to do that is that I work at a company like Google where that's really championed.
How did Georgia Tech influence the way you lead today?
Hope: I learned that even when it looks like there are no options, there is always a way to get it done and move forward.
What concepts from psychology shape your leadership style?
Hope: The scientific method comes to mind. Create a hypothesis, leverage some data, then iterate. Stay open to being wrong. If it’s not exactly what you expect, go back to the drawing board.
How would you describe your leadership style?
Hope: I'm a teacher at heart. Knowledge sharing and helping others grow are important to me. That said, I don’t speak just to talk. I constantly ask myself: Is what I’m about to say useful? Georgia Tech taught me to value thoughtful contribution over volume.
What’s a leadership rule you follow?
Hope: I don’t know if this is a leadership rule or a life mantra, but always act with integrity. Never do or say anything you wouldn’t want printed in The New York Times. I’ve worked hard to get where I am, but it only takes one thing to ruin your reputation, and leadership is built on trust.
In your commencement speech, you talk about the importance of leadership in everyday life. How does leadership show up in your home life?
Hope: My wife and I are very intentional in parenting our two boys. Our instinct is often to teach, but sometimes the best lesson is knowing when to step back. Letting them make mistakes, then talking it through together at the kitchen table, that’s a different — and oftentimes more difficult — kind of leadership.
A deeply engaged alumnus, Hope has served on the College of Sciences Young Alumni Board, participates in Georgia Tech Connect and Roll Call, and was recently asked to join the College of Sciences Advisory Board.
What advice would you give to Georgia Tech graduates?
Hope: Constantly build your brand. Mine is important, not just for me personally, but the better my reputation, the more I can help others through the influence I carry.
Why is giving back important to you?
Hope: As a student ambassador, I saw firsthand how alumni support shapes the student experience. I remember realizing that certain buildings and programs exist because alumni gave back. It changed my entire perspective on giving. Today, I like being a part of creating something bigger and better for the next generation of scholars.
]]>
This week, Time Magazine named CrowdStrike and Pindrop Security among the 10 Most Influential Software Companies of 2026.
CrowdStrike and Pindrop appear on TIME’s new list alongside some of the world’s best-known computing companies, including Adobe, Microsoft, and Palantir. Released on April 27 as part of the outlet’s TIME100 Companies: Industry Leaders series, this recognition underscores their rising influence.
“It’s exciting to see that two out of the ten companies on this list were founded by alumni and faculty from the College of Computing. We are bursting with pride,” said Vivek Sarkar, John P. Imlay Jr. Dean of Computing. “This recognition reflects the strength of our academic and research programs, as well as the impact of our commitment to fostering a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem.
"It also highlights how we are empowering our students and faculty to translate bold, innovative ideas into successful ventures. Looking ahead, we will further integrate entrepreneurial thinking with the computational and AI foundations embedded throughout our curriculum.”
Their inclusion on TIME’s list this year is especially notable because both CrowdStrike and Pindrop address the growing cybersecurity threat landscape, including deepfakes.
GT Computing alumnus Vijay Balasubramaniyan (PhD CS 2011) co-founded Pindrop in 2011 with his doctoral advisor, Mustaque Ahamad, and Georgia Tech alumnus Paul Judge (PhD CS 2002). It commercialized his doctoral research to help call centers determine whether callers are legitimate.
The company has also developed a deepfake protection product and recently raised $100 million in capital funding to expand its deepfake video detection business. During this expansion, the company developed Pindrop Pulse, which TIME named one of the Best Inventions of 2025.
“Identity, consent, and accountability are society’s contracts. Deepfakes erode all three,” Balasubramaniyan told TIME.
Pindrop technology can confirm participants' identities in audio/video conference calls within a few seconds.
“Vijay’s Ph.D. research was of the highest quality, and the Pindrop paper was published in one of the top-tier security conferences,” said Ahamad, Regents' Entrepreneur and interim chair of the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy.
“However, because of his work experience before coming to Georgia Tech, he also focused on the real-world relevance of his research, which led to the launch of Pindrop Security. He is a great example of impactful research that students conduct in our laboratories.”
Like Pindrop, CrowdStrike was founded to counter emerging digital threats and has evolved to combat growing AI-powered security challenges. Dmitri Alperovitch (CS 2001, MS InfoSec 2003) co-founded the company and served as chief technology officer at its 2012 launch.
Alperovitch, recently inducted into the College of Computing Hall of Fame, played a pivotal role in securing more than $150 million in capital investments for the company, helping pave the way for CrowdStrike to become one of the world’s leading cybersecurity companies. In fact, its client list includes nearly 60% of Fortune 500 companies.
“What appealed to me in cybersecurity is that you are never really done,” Alperovitch said during a recent campus fireside chat with students.
“As long as there are human beings out there that want to do you harm, there are always security problems to solve.”
Asked about the founding of CrowdStrike, Alperovitch described investigating a 2010 breach at Google by a nation-state actor as a pivotal moment for him.
“The industry refused to acknowledge this was a widespread problem, and that realization led me to start CrowdStrike,” he said. “You no longer just have to be better than your competitors. You must stay proactive and vigilant.”
Alperovitch is the co-founder and chairman of Silverado Policy Accelerator and the bestselling author of World on the Brink: How America Can Beat China in the Race for the 21st Century.
]]>Sr. Communications Manager
Georgia Tech College of Computing
albert.snedeker@cc.gatech.edu
]]>Lloyd George was back in the gym just two weeks after completing 2,002 muscle-ups in 24 hours in July of 2025, which broke the world record. He immediately started training for an even more challenging feat—the world record for the most muscle-ups done on a gymnastic ring in 8, 12, and 24 hours.
On Sunday, April 12, 2026, he surpassed all three, completing 900 ring muscle-ups in 8 hours, 1,100 in 12 hours, and 1,320 in 24 hours. (The records are unofficial until they can be reviewed by Guinness World Records.)
“I’ve sort of got a recipe for these world records now,” says Lloyd George, who used the challenge to raise money for the Wounded Veterans Relief Fund, a charity that helps veterans receive dental care.
Since the summer of 2025, he steadily increased his training volume, pushing past 17,000 total ring muscle-ups, and completing longer sessions, including a six-hour effort of 722 ring muscle-ups.
Ring muscle-ups are a more demanding variant of the standard bar muscle-up. The sway of the rings introduces instability and makes muscles work harder when the ropes move. The grip is also different.
“You wrap your wrists around the rings almost like you’re trying to arm wrestle them,” Lloyd George says. Put in physics terms—a field he knows well as a doctoral student at Duke University researching trapped ions for quantum computing—the rings introduce four more degrees of freedom.
His decision to attempt three world records came down to simple math. The current 8-hour record is 843, while the 24-hour record is 1,308. No formal record exists for the 12-hour category.
“I realized that if I do two ring muscle-ups every minute, at that pace I’d get to 960 in 8 hours. There isn’t a 12-hour record, and there are for other calisthenic records, so I thought I could set that one, too,” he says.
When he broke the bar muscle-up record in 2025, he didn’t know how challenging the final hours would be. The last 50 reps were grueling, and with the support of his friends and family who cheered him on, he pushed past his limits. Knowing what the challenge will feel like changes his mental preparation this time around.
“I think you have to play with the mental game and really ask yourself, ‘Why am I doing this?’ especially on those difficult training days. For those, I think about the charity I’m trying to raise money for that I believe in, and that this is one more opportunity to challenge myself.”
“There is incredible power in alumni stories,” says Susan Lozier, dean of the College of Sciences and Betsy Middleton and John Clark Sutherland Chair. “It’s inspiring for students to speak with alumni in the workforce, hear how they landed their first jobs, and learn from their successes — and their setbacks.”
Claire Haskell (Mathematics 2025) recently obtained her first job with Deloitte and attended the dinner to offer perspective to current students.
“I want to reassure students still in school that, even in today’s uncertain times, getting a job is still really doable and not as out of reach as it seems. Meeting Tech alumni is a great first step.”
College of Sciences Career Educator Program Manager James Stringfellow and Director of Alumni Relations Leslie Roberts organized the annual signature career event.
“We put on events like this because we want all of our students ready for their next opportunity,” says Stringfellow.
Second-year psychology major Aleena Sange attended the event for the first time, and says she will be back next year. “The alumni were really helpful and reassuring,” says Sange. “I learned what employers look for in a resume and even received advice about contract negotiations and retirement.”
First-year astrophysics student Shannon Callahan agrees. “What struck me the most was hearing how well Georgia Tech prepares you for the workforce. It gave me a lot of confidence to hear that Tech alumni hit the ground running because they’re used to learning quickly.”
The evening included casual and more structured networking, with students rotating between tables on topics such as “Using AI in the Workplace,” “Handling Conflict,” and “How to Get Hired in the Real World.”
Janessa Rowland (Earth and Atmospheric Sciences 2014) works as an operations program manager for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. She encouraged students to think beyond their major
“Sometimes an internship or class outside your major can open up the door for what you can do after Georgia Tech.”
Morgan Foreman (Psychology 2017), a technical product manager at IBM, offered encouraging insight: “People often tell you college is the best years of your life. Georgia Tech also sets you up for your dream life after college.”
During the festivities, Stringfellow announced Boehringer Ingelheim as the Internship Employer of the Year. The award honors a company that provides a high-quality learning environment for student interns.
Arya Akbarshahi, a biochemistry major who spent a semester doing a co-op job at the company, presented the award, thanking the biopharmaceutical company active in both human and animal health for the learning experience provided.
“Co-oping at Boehringer Ingelheim was one of the most formative experiences in my training. From day one, I was trusted as a scientist, which allowed me to formulate hypotheses and execute experiments with direct implications for drug development strategy and decisions,” says Akbarshahi.
After presenting the award to Boehringer Ingelheim Senior Scientist Marc Sprouse, Akbarshahi also presented a surprise mentorship award to Sprouse.
“Marc was an exceptional mentor,” says Akbarshahi. “He challenged me to think critically about the biology, not just the assay, and consistently created space for me to take ownership and operate at a higher level.”
Sprouse accepted both awards and spoke of the benefits of working while still in school: “Getting real-world work experience while in school sets students up for success. I encourage all College of Science students to check out our website and apply for future co-ops and internships."
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Georgia Tech’s College of Engineering remained among the nation’s elite, ranking No. 4 overall in Best Engineering Schools and maintaining its position among the top institutions nationwide.
Several engineering disciplines continued to rank among the nation’s best, with multiple programs placing in the top five. The College’s consistent performance reflects its leadership in research, innovation, and graduate training that closely aligns with industry and global challenges.
Top engineering rankings include:
Georgia Tech continued to demonstrate national strength in computing, ranking No. 7 overall among Best Computer Science Schools in the 2026 rankings.
Notable computing rankings include:
These rankings reflect Georgia Tech’s leadership in emerging and foundational computing technologies, as well as its role in applying computation across disciplines to address real‑world challenges and strengthen industries.
Graduate programs at the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School of Public Policy earned strong national placements in the 2026 rankings, highlighting the school’s growing visibility at the intersection of technology, policy, and governance.
Highlights include:
The Scheller College of Business continued its momentum in the 2026 rankings, earning a No. 9 national ranking in Best Part-Time MBA Programs, rising from No. 10 last year.
Scheller also received recognition across a range of graduate business disciplines, with several programs newly ranked in 2026.
Notable Scheller rankings include:
Georgia Tech’s graduate programs in the physical sciences earned continued national recognition, reflecting strength in foundational research areas that support advances in engineering, computing, sustainability, and health.
Science program rankings include:
*Please note that this summary includes the latest rankings issued by U.S. News & World Report for 2026. Not all Georgia Tech Colleges, Schools, and subjects are ranked every year by this organization.
]]>Now a senior professional working at the intersection of business automation and AI integration, Lane balances a high-tech career with a people-first leadership style as the head of the College’s Computing Alumni Network. In this role, she promotes mentorship, global outreach, and the "non-linear" paths that shape a successful career.
In the following Q&A, Lane shares insights from her journey from a computer science student to an AI automation expert, discusses the "human" side of technology, and outlines her vision for growing our alumni community well beyond Atlanta.
What drew you to get involved with the Computing Alumni Network?
Honestly, it started for personal reasons. I wanted to expand my network and find my people. But what kept me engaged was something deeper. I reconnected with the College about ten years ago, and I quickly realized how much I'd missed by not being involved sooner.
There's an energy you get from staying close to a place that shaped you, and I wanted to help provide that for others the way I wished it had been for me.
Can you share a moment or initiative with the Network that you’re especially proud of?
We've had some wonderful events over the years — some that really stand out, others that were quieter but no less meaningful. Reflecting on it, what I'm most proud of is how the Network has endured the turbulence of the last few years.
Navigating the pandemic, adapting to significant changes in our supporting staff, and still showing up for students and each other — that resilience is something I don't take for granted.
How has the alumni community changed since you graduated?
I can't speak to the full arc. I got involved with the Computing Network in 2019, so my perspective is more recent. What I can say is that our focus has become more centered on the students, how we can give back, and how we can include our global alumni network.
Why do you think staying connected to the College matters, even years after graduation?
I'm living proof that it's never too late and that getting involved is more than worthwhile. The relationships you build here, the sense of shared identity with people who went through something hard and came out the other side — that doesn't expire. And the further you go in your career, the more you realize how rare it is to find a community with that kind of foundation.
You’re now working in AI automation—what excites you most about your work today?
What gets me out of bed every morning is the chance to make work more human again. There's a pattern I see everywhere right now where people are being used as the connective tissue between disconnected systems — doing repetitive, manual work that drains the meaning out of their days. It's deflating in a way that's hard to overstate. I believe automation, when done right, can give people back the time and energy. If I can add some genuine meaning back to someone's workday, that's a win I'll take every time.
How did your experience as a CS student prepare you for a career in tech and business?
Georgia Tech taught me how to adapt — and more importantly, that I could. It gave me the discipline to teach myself new things, the humility to ask for help when I needed it, and the confidence to know I can do hard things. That combination has been the through-line of my entire career. The specific technical skills matter, but it's that mindset that's carried me through every pivot and challenge since.
What advice would you give to current students who hope to follow a similar path?
Find a mentor, and don't wait until you feel like you need one. The relationships you build now — with professors, with older students, with alumni — will compound in ways you can't predict.
Also, stay curious beyond your major. The most interesting problems I've worked on sit at the intersection of technology and human behavior, and I never would have found my way there if I'd kept my head down in purely technical work or kept doing only what I already knew.
How can alumni best support students and recent graduates right now?
Mentoring is the highest-leverage thing you can do, especially for students graduating into such unpredictable times. It doesn’t have to be formal or structured mentoring. Sometimes it's just about being genuinely available, replying to an email, scheduling a coffee chat, or sharing an honest picture of what your career actually looked like, not the polished version. Students need to see that the path isn't always linear, and that people who have navigated uncertainty are willing to help them do the same.
What’s next for the Network—any upcoming priorities or initiatives you’re excited about?
Our big focus right now is growth — expanding the College of Computing alumni in Atlanta and beyond. There's a lot of Georgia Tech computing talent spread across the country and the world, and we want those people to feel that this community is for them, too, not just those of us who stayed local.
Making that geographic reach feel real, not just theoretical, is something we're actively working toward.
]]>Georgia Tech College of Computing
albert.snedeker@cc.gatech.edu
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