But powering devices is only part of the challenge. Enabling those same systems to communicate at modern data rates is a much harder. That’s the leap the team is now making. The same lens-based approach is being used to unlock high-speed communication once considered out of reach for ultra-low-power systems.
In a study published in Nature Communications, researchers in Professor Manos (Emmanouil) Tentzeris’ Agile Technologies for High-performance Electromagnetic Novel Applications (ATHENA) lab demonstrated a first-of-its-kind lens-enabled backscatter system capable of multi-gigabit data rates, reaching up to 4 gigabits per second (Gbps). At the same time, it operates using only a fraction of the power required by conventional wireless devices — bringing high-speed connectivity to systems that were never meant to support it.
For years, backscatter has been treated as a tradeoff: extremely low power, but extremely limited performance. Rather than generating its own radio signal, a backscatter device modulates and reflects existing wireless transmissions to communicate, allowing it to operate with minimal energy.
As a result, backscatter has typically been used only to send small amounts of data, most often in simple identification and sensing systems.
“What we’ve shown is that backscatter doesn’t have to be slow,” said Marvin Joshi, the research lead and Ph.D. candidate in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. “With the right architecture, it can operate at gigabit‑per‑second speeds while remaining ultra‑low power.”
The Georgia Tech team’s dielectric lens — similar in spirit to an optical lens — focuses incoming millimeter-wave energy onto an array of tiny antenna elements, enabling both wireless energy capture and high‑speed backscatter communication within the same system.
The system reshapes and reflects existing wireless signals, with each element modulating the reflected signal to enable high-speed data transmission without requiring a traditional transmitter.
At millimeter-wave frequencies, used by 5G and future 6G systems, there is plenty of available bandwidth, but signals at these frequencies are highly directional and sensitive to alignment.
In practice, that means even small misalignment can break the link. This has been a major limitation for real-world deployment. The lens overcomes that constraint by enabling high gain and wide angular coverage simultaneously, without the need for active beam steering.
“Think of it like a camera lens for wireless signals,” Tentzeris said, who is a Ed and Pat Joy Chair Professor in ECE. “It captures energy coming from many different directions and focuses it efficiently onto the device.”
The result is a system that can communicate over a ±55-degree field of view, maintaining strong performance even when the device and the reader are not perfectly aligned.
In controlled experiments, the researchers achieved data rates of up to four Gbps, with sustained gigabit communication at distances of up to 20 meters, using high-order modulation schemes like those used in modern cellular networks.
For a system that doesn’t generate its own signal, those numbers are unexpectedly efficient. The system operates at just 0.08 picojoules per bit — approaching million-fold improvements compared to conventional wireless radios.
“To put that in perspective,” Tentzeris said, “a typical wireless transmitter burns milliwatts of power. This system operates at essentially near-zero power while pushing the data rates 1,000 times higher than what traditional backscatter could do.”
Taken together, the results point to a fundamentally different class of wireless system, according to Tentzeris, one that combines high data rates with ultra-low power in a way that hasn’t been demonstrated before.
Based on standard wireless modeling, the team estimates the technology could support Gbps communication over distances of kilometers when paired with existing 5G millimeter-wave infrastructure, extending high-speed, ultra-low-power links far beyond what has been achievable with backscatter systems.
“That combination is exactly what future wireless networks are moving toward. This capability aligns naturally with next‑generation 6G systems,” said Tentzeris, pointing to the growing importance of Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC) and Joint Communication and Sensing (JCAS) frameworks that require simultaneous communication, sensing, and localization.
But speed and efficiency are only part of the story. Because the devices are low-cost, lightweight, and printable, they could be deployed at massive scale on buildings, roads, vehicles, drones, or wearable systems.
In a smart city, thousands of these tags could continuously exchange information about traffic, air quality, or structural health without ever needing batteries. That means dense, always-on sensing and communication without worrying about power or upkeep.
In disaster zones, temporary high-speed networks could be set up almost instantly, without cables or power infrastructure.
“Imagine an ambulance transmitting high-resolution medical images in real time, or first responders building a live digital map of a disaster area,” Joshi said. “You get fiber-like performance, but completely wireless and energy-efficient.”
The architecture also lends itself to intelligent optimization, where AI-based control can be enabled to dynamically enhance signal capture and system efficiency, further expanding performance in large-scale deployments.
“This is really about adding intelligence to anything, anywhere,” Tentzeris said. “When communication becomes this fast, efficient, and scalable, entirely new applications become possible.”
With the core architecture now demonstrated, the ATHENA Lab team is shifting focus from proof‑of‑concept to deployment. That means moving out of the lab and into real-world environments. The next phase includes testing the system outdoors, integrating it onto drones and mobile platforms, and exploring flatter, more compact lens designs that could be easier to mount on real-world infrastructure.
“We’re thinking about how this fits into the broader wireless ecosystem,” Joshi said. “We’ve shown what’s possible. Now the question is how far we can push it in the real world."
Professor Emmanouil “Manos” Tentzeris and Ph.D. student Marvin Joshi hold a lens‑enabled backscatter system that could support battery‑free wireless communication across future smart city infrastructure.
“A small vial of genetically engineered cells can contain multiple millions of dollars’ worth of intellectual property and require several years of work to develop,” said Corey Wilson, a professor in Georgia Tech’s School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE). “Accordingly, the protection of high-value engineered cell lines has become critically important to the biotechnology industry.”
Wilson and his research team have published their findings in Science Advances demonstrating the effectiveness of their new biological security technology, known as GeneLock™, in protecting high-value engineered cell lines.
GeneLock is a cybersecurity-inspired technology that protects valuable genetic material directly at the DNA level. To demonstrate its strength, Wilson’s team conducted what they describe as a first-of-its-kind biohackathon, detailed in the new paper, to simulate unauthorized access.
“GeneLock greatly improves our ability to protect high-value engineered cell lines by expanding security from the lab environment to the genetic level,” Wilson said.
Economic Impact
What are the stakes? Estimates place the global market for high-value genetic materials at more than $1.5 trillion, projected to reach $8 trillion by 2035. The use of these materials ranges from advanced medicines and proprietary research enzymes to specialty chemicals and sustainable materials.
Currently, the protection of high-value cell lines depends on physical safeguards such as restricted lab access and secure facilities, Wilson explained.
“The key weakness of physical security measures is once circumvented, there are typically no measures in place to protect valuable cells from theft, abuse, or unauthorized use,” Wilson said.
“Once a sample leaves the building, the DNA it carries typically remains fully functional. This is like placing an unlocked cellphone in a desk drawer. Anyone who gains access to the drawer can view sensitive content on the phone—or in this case will have full access to the valuable cell line.”
Genetic Passcode Protection
The GeneLock biological security technology developed by Wilson and his team places a passcode on engineered cells, akin to those used on ATM machines and protected cellphones.
Instead of leaving a valuable gene in readable form, the team scrambles the DNA sequence of interest. The scrambled genetic asset remains in a nonfunctional state unless the living cell where it resides receives the correct sequence of chemical inputs. Those inputs act as a molecular passcode.
“Only the right combination, delivered in the right order, rearranges the DNA into a working form,” Wilson said.
Biohackathon Security Test
To evaluate the technology, the researchers organized a blue team and a red team in what they describe as an ethical biohackathon. The blue team designed the encrypted DNA sequence, while the red team was challenged to discover the correct chemical passcode through experimentation in a gray box exercise, meaning the red team had partial knowledge of the system but did not have access to the internal designs.
“This approach for testing security strength is commonly used in cybersecurity,” Wilson explained.
The blue team engineered the system inside Escherichia coli, or E. coli, a bacterium widely used in biotechnology. The protected asset was a fluorescent protein gene selected as a measurable stand-in for commercially valuable targets. When the correct chemical sequence was applied, the fluorescence turned on. Without the correct passcode, the gene remained scrambled and the cells could not fluoresce green.
“In practice, most DNA sequences produce valuable proteins or chemicals that are essentially invisible to the human eye, requiring specialized devices or experiments to observe,” Wilson said. “If the biohackathon were conducted with a standard commercially valuable target, the penetration testing would have taken more than 10 times longer to complete, years instead of months.”
The biohackathon results showed a dramatic reduction in risk. GeneLock reduced the probability of unlocking the genetic asset by random search to about 1 in 85,000 (a 0.001% chance), assuming the unauthorized user had access to the required chemical inputs.
Without access to those inputs, “the likelihood of success by chance becomes effectively negligible,” said Dowan Kim (Georgia Tech PhD 2024), co-lead author of the study.
Commercial Uses and What’s Next
Although the researchers used a non-commercial fluorescent protein as a test case, the implications extend much further. Many biotechnology companies rely on proprietary engineered strains. New England Biolabs, for example, produces more than 265 non-disclosed enzymes in E. coli, each representing a high-value cell line.
Protein-based drugs are also manufactured in living cells, and proprietary metabolic pathways are used to produce specialty chemicals, bioplastics, and high-value ingredients.
“In each case, the genetic blueprint inside the cell represents intellectual property that can be protected by our technology,” said Ishita Kumar, a PhD candidate in ChBE and co-lead author of the study.
While the team’s current focus is on protecting intellectual property in the form of high-value cells, future iterations aim to strengthen biological security more broadly.
“We are currently developing protection measures to mitigate unauthorized use or release of sensitive cell lines that can be potentially hazardous to human health or the environment,” Wilson said.
“As it stands, GeneLock represents an important shift in biological security, enabling, for the first time, protection of valuable cells at the genetic level, even after physical security measures have been bypassed,” he added.
The work is already moving toward commercialization. The team filed a provisional patent application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in February 2026 and is forming a company to deploy the technology.
This research was funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation.
CITATION:
Dowan Kim, Ishita Kumar, Mohamed Hassan, Luisa F. Barraza-Vergara, Christopher A. Voigt, and Corey J. Wilson, “Protecting cells at the genetic level and simulating unauthorized access via a biohackathon,” Science Advances, 2026.
]]>Georgia Tech students will once again take part in a national competition that connects them directly with automotive industry leaders to develop the next generation of mobility innovations.
For the fourth consecutive cycle, Georgia Tech has been selected to participate in the Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition’s EcoCAR Challenge, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, General Motors, Stellantis, MathWorks, and other industry partners.
Georgia Tech is among 20 universities chosen for the four-year competition, which challenges students to apply emerging technologies — including artificial intelligence, machine learning, and exascale computing — to create intelligent mobility solutions.
The Institute is one of 10 schools competing on the General Motors track and has been provided a 2026 Chevrolet Blazer EV. During the cycle, the team will modify the vehicle’s propulsion system to optimize efficiency and design connected and automated vehicle technologies without sacrificing safety or driving dynamics, closely mirroring industry goals.
Recruitment for the competition will begin this spring, following the conclusion of the current cycle, which culminates in final competition events in Detroit in late May.
Made up of more than 50 undergraduate and graduate students from six of Georgia Tech’s Colleges, the team reflects what faculty advisor Antonia Antoniou believes is the essence of the competition. Antoniou is a professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering.
“We have students represented from all over campus, and they have risen to meet every challenge,” she said. “They work together to optimize, design, and execute these tasks. Everything you can think of that we do at Georgia Tech happens while we're working on this car — from engineering and design of hardware and software to communications.”
Across six subteams, EcoCAR members have transformed a Cadillac LYRIQ EV to include new motors, a selectable drivetrain, and automated driving features. After testing the vehicle in environments ranging from Georgia Tech’s Student Competition Center to the Arizona desert, the team has earned multiple second-place finishes at competitions and first-place awards for presentation skills.
Antoniou, as well as David Taylor, a professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering who will enter his fifth cycle, will return for the latest challenge, and three new advisors will join the team, including Frank K. Webb Academic Professional Chair in Communication Skills in the Woodruff School Jill Fennell and associate professors Sam Coogan (ECE) and Shuman Xia (ME).
Participation in the EcoCAR Challenge is paired with coursework through Georgia Tech’s Vertically Integrated Projects program, allowing students to gain hands-on experience while earning academic credit. The technical training and real-world problem-solving skills developed through the program make the competition a valuable experience, said Mason Shackelford, subsystem design and integration lead.
“A lot of what you do on the job, you have to learn on the job, and that’s what makes EcoCAR such a great opportunity,” Shackelford said. “You learn something new every day; there is always a new challenge and the thrill of finding unique ways to solve them. You get to meet a lot of people, work on a great team, and apply what you learn in class.”
Eric Gustafson, a graduate student in mechanical engineering, has worked on the project for five years, beginning as an undergraduate at Georgia Tech. As he prepares to graduate and start his career at MathWorks, he said he cannot imagine his time at Tech without EcoCAR and encouraged more students to join the upcoming cycle.
“When I look back in 15 years on what I did at Tech, all my memories will be of this competition,” Gustafson said. “Traveling to different testing sites — Austin, Los Angeles, Detroit, and Orlando — working with these amazing people, the 12-hour days. Those are going to be core memories forever.”
For application information, visit the EcoCAR VIP’s website.
A team of researchers led by Ankur Singh, the Carl Ring Family Professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University, has been awarded up to $6 million from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) of the U.S. Department of Defense to accelerate the development of medical countermeasures (MCMs) against deadly biological threats that endanger public health, national security, and warfighters.
DTRA’s mission is to provide solutions that enable the Department of Defense, the U.S. government, and international partners to deter strategic threats. A key priority is advancing new or improved MCMs that can be deployed before or after exposure to biological or chemical agents.
Singh’s multi-year project, Systematic Human Immune Engineering for Lethal Disease (SHIELD) Countermeasures, aims to create a threat-agnostic platform that transforms how respiratory pathogens and toxins are studied. The platform is designed to speed up the discovery, development, and production of immune-based countermeasures.
Singh leads a collaborative team that includes Cornell University’s Matthew DeLisa and Stanford University’s Michael Jewett. Together, they will integrate immune-engineering technologies with advanced cell-free protein synthesis platforms to discover and manufacture protein-based MCMs. Cell-free protein synthesis is a laboratory technique that efficiently produces proteins without relying on living cells, which can be unpredictable and technically demanding when it comes to expressing complex or toxic proteins and scaling production quickly. The team expects the SHIELD Countermeasures platform to reduce the time and cost of MCM development by more than tenfold.
“The foundational science and cutting-edge tools we develop will ignite future discoveries, ensuring a robust pipeline of advanced protein-based MCMs for chemical and biological defense,” said Singh, who also directs the Center for Immunoengineering at Georgia Tech. “This will significantly enhance national security and equip our warfighters with next-generation biodefense capabilities."
Traditional animal models often fail to accurately replicate human immune responses, and standard tissue cultures lack the complexity required to study how immune cells interact with pathogens. In contrast, human immune organoids and immune-competent devices — built from human cells — are emerging as groundbreaking research tools. These systems recreate key immune features, such as lymph nodes and mucosal environments, within three-dimensional or microengineered platforms.
“Many organoid and engineering devices, often called organ-on-chip platforms, lack immune integration,” Singh said. “Because immunity sits at the center of human health, these limitations have broad consequences. Immune-competent organ-on-chip platforms extend this concept by combining human cells with microfluidic engineering that simulates blood flow, tissue barriers, and chemical gradients.”
Singh has previously published studies on a synthetic human immune chip and an immunocompetent lung on a chip, and has also teamed up with DeLisa previously to use synthetic immune organoids for immuno-profiling antibacterial MCMs.
“It’s about being able to test far larger numbers of candidate protein-based MCMs in a single experiment—and to do it much faster,” DeLisa said. “Cell-free systems allow us to produce MCMs at unprecedented speed and scale, but traditional evaluation methods can’t keep up with those numbers. By combining cell-free MCM production with immune organoid technology, we can assess the potency of dozens or even hundreds of candidates at a time and characterize the resulting immune responses within just a few days.”
By integrating immune cells with tissues such as lung, gut, skin, or vascular systems, these devices allow scientists to observe immune responses in real time, including cell migration, inflammation, and interactions with pathogens or therapeutics. As biological threats evolve, the development and deployment of immune-competent platforms will be critical for rapid, effective countermeasures.
DTRA’s investment in Singh’s work highlights the urgent national priority of strengthening U.S. biodefense capabilities. The SHIELD Countermeasures platform and its cutting-edge technologies promise to transform the nation’s response to biological threats and help safeguard communities from biological and chemical attacks.
]]>ISyE researchers are applying AI to complex manufacturing environments, including multistage production systems, asset management, quality improvement, and human‑centered manufacturing. Faculty leaders emphasize the importance of contextualizing large volumes of manufacturing data so AI can support reliable decision‑making, efficient operations, and sustainable outcomes. At the same time, the initiative acknowledges challenges such as data integration, system complexity, and the need to balance automation with human involvement. Together, these efforts position ISyE at the forefront of shaping AI‑powered manufacturing systems that are innovative, resilient, and socially responsible.
Read the full article in ISyE Magazine
]]>The Georgia Scientific Computing Symposium (GSCS) held its annual meeting on February 21 in Athens. Since 2009, the event has hosted researchers from across the Peach State to showcase homegrown advances in scientific computing.
The symposium highlighted Georgia’s reputation as a computing innovation hub. People from around the world come to Georgia universities to lead computing research. By advancing science, engineering, medicine, and technology, their work improves communities at home and abroad.
Faculty and students from Georgia Tech, UGA, Georgia State University, and Emory University presented at the symposium. Georgia Tech participants came from the colleges of Computing, Engineering, and Sciences.
This year’s organizers agreed to meet in Atlanta for the 2027 symposium. Georgia Tech’s School of Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) will host the 19th GSCS.
“From healthcare to computer chip design, scientific computing underpins many of the technological advances we see in our lives,” said Professor Edmond Chow, associate chair of the School of CSE.
“Scientific computing provides the mathematical models, simulations, and data‑driven tools that make modern innovation possible. It allows people to analyze complex systems, test ideas virtually before building them, and make faster, more accurate decisions across nearly every sector of society.”
Professor Haomin Zhou and Assistant Professor Helen Xu delivered two of the symposium’s five plenary talks.
Zhou presented a new method for solving the Schrödinger equation, a landmark equation in quantum mechanics. Drawing inspiration from the mathematics used in generative artificial intelligence models, his approach develops an algorithm that more effectively simulates waves, particle motion, and other physical systems.
Xu focused on improving how computers move and organize data during complex calculations. Her work uses “cache-friendly” layouts that help computers access data more efficiently, boosting performance for scientific and engineering applications.
“Speaking at GSCS was a great opportunity,” Xu said. “The symposium fostered connections within the scientific computing community and gave us a chance to share exciting research.”
The symposium showcased student work through a poster blitz and a poster session. During the blitz, 36 students each had one minute to introduce their research to the full audience. They then shared more details about their research during the poster session.
The student projects showed the range of fields supported by scientific computing. The session also provided attendees with an opportunity to connect and expand their professional networks, helping grow the field’s future impact.
“As an aerospace engineer by training and aspiring computational scientist, GSCS gave me the platform to network with other researchers in the field while showcasing my own research,” said M.S. student Kashvi Mundra.
“I was able to connect with scientists across different disciplines whose work intersects with my own in unexpected ways. Those conversations pushed my thinking beyond my own lab's perspective, helping me see my work on physics-informed machine learning for inverse problems in a broader scientific computing context.”
Georgia Tech students who presented posters included:
Abir Haque (CSE), Massively Parallel Random Phase Approximation Correlation Energy via Lanczos Quadrature
Antonio Varagnolo (CSE), Physics-Enhanced Deep Surrogates for the Phonon Boltzmann Transport Equation
Ben Burns (CSE), Infinite-Dimensional Stein Variational Inference with Derivative-Informed Neural Operators
Ben Wilfong (CSE), Shocks without Shock Capturing; Compressible Flow at 1 quadrillion Degrees of Freedom without Loss of Accuracy
Daniel Vickers (CSE), Highly-Parallel Fluid-Solid Interactions for Compressible Flows
Eric Fowler (CSE), High-Performance Tensor Contractions in Computational Chemistry
Haoran Yan (Math), Understanding Denoising Autoencoders through the Manifold Hypothesis: A Geometric Perspective
Kashvi Mundra (CSE), Autoregressive Multifidelity Neural Surrogate Modeling under Scarce Data Regimes
Sebastián Gutiérrez Hernández (Math/CSE), PDPO: Parametric Density Path Optimization
Vivian Zhang (AE), Multifidelity Operator Inference: Non-Intrusive Reduced Order Modeling from Scarce Data
Xian Mae Hadia (CSE), Data Efficiency of Surrogate Models: Learning Physics Data from Full Field Data vs. Inductive Bias from Approximate PDE Solvers
Xiangming Huang (CSE), Neural Operator Accelerated Evolutionary Strategies for PDE-Constraint Optimization
Zhaiming Shen (Math), Understanding In-Context Learning on Structured Manifolds: Bridging Attention to Kernel Methods
Zhongjie Shi (Math), Towards Understanding Generalization in DP-GD: A Case Study in Training Two-Layer CNNs
]]>The Georgia Scientific Computing Symposium (GSCS) held its annual meeting on February 21 in Athens. Since 2009, the event has hosted researchers from across the Peach State to showcase homegrown advances in scientific computing.
The symposium highlighted Georgia’s reputation as a computing innovation hub. People from around the world come to Georgia universities to lead computing research. By advancing science, engineering, medicine, and technology, their work improves communities at home and abroad.
]]>New cybersecurity research from the Georgia Institute of Technology, however, revealed that crews aboard commercial vessels were often not adequately prepared to manage cyberattacks effectively due to systemic training gaps.
The findings are based on interviews conducted by researchers with more than 20 officer-level mariners to assess the maritime industry’s readiness to handle cybersecurity attacks at sea.
"Historically, cybersecurity research has focused heavily on cyber-physical systems like cars, factories, and industrial plants, but ships have largely been overlooked,” said Anna Raymaker, Ph.D. student and lead researcher.
“That gap is concerning when more than 90% of the world’s goods travel by sea. Recent incidents, from GPS spoofing to ships linked to subsea cable disruptions, show that maritime systems are increasingly part of the global cyber threat landscape.”
The researchers proposed four practical strategies to strengthen maritime cyber defenses and close the training gaps. Their findings were presented recently at the ACM SIGSAC Conference on Computer and Communications Security (CCS).
Many of those interviewed for the study described current cybersecurity training as “boilerplate” — generic modules that don’t reflect real shipboard risks.
Researchers recommend:
At sea, crews can’t simply escalate a cyber incident to a shore-based IT department and wait. Operational resilience requires onboard readiness.
Researchers recommend:
Related Article: When GPS lies at sea: How electronic warfare is threatening ships and their crews by Anna Raymaker
Maritime cybersecurity regulations are often reactive and fragmented. Researchers argue the industry needs a cohesive, domain-specific framework.
Key recommendations include:
Finally, the researchers stress that long-term resilience requires deeper technical research focused on maritime systems.
Priority areas include:
Cyber threats at sea are no longer hypothetical. Mariners report real-world incidents ranging from GPS spoofing to ransomware that disrupts global trade.
“Through our interviews with mariners, I saw firsthand how much dedication and pride they take in their work,” said Raymaker. “Our goal is for this research to serve as a call to action for researchers, policymakers, and industry to invest more attention in maritime cybersecurity and support the people who risk their lives every day to keep global trade, food, and energy moving."
A Sea of Cyber Threats: Maritime Cybersecurity from the Perspective of Mariners was presented at CCS 2025. It was written by Raymaker and her colleagues, Ph.D. students Akshaya Kumar, Miuyin Yong Wong, and Ryan Pickren; Research Scientist Animesh Chhotaray, Associate Professor Frank Li, Associate Professor Saman Zonouz, and Georgia Tech Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Raheem Beyah.
]]>Communications Officer II School of Cybersecurity and Privacy
]]>Li, an accomplished computer security and privacy researcher, joined Georgia Tech in 2020 as the Institute was launching the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy (SCP). He holds a joint appointment with the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE).
“While tenure may be an individual's milestone, in reality, it reflects the help, support, and hard work of countless others,” Li said.
He credits his accomplishments to the ongoing mentorship and support he has received from faculty and staff at SCP, ECE, and Georgia Tech.
“I'm also extremely thankful to work with such amazing students at Georgia Tech, especially the Ph.D. students in my research lab, and the BS and MS students in my classes, who help our research efforts. Georgia Tech has been an amazing place to start my faculty career,” said Li.
Li advises five Ph.D. students at his Better Empirically Established Security (BEES) lab in SCP. They take a data-driven approach to understanding how security and privacy concerns manifest in practice, and use the insights gained to drive improvements in real-world security.
Their research examines how users, security operators, and attackers behave in various security and privacy-sensitive situations, often using internet-wide measurements, network traffic analysis, user studies and experiments, and large-scale data mining.
“The tenure and promotion to associate professor rank is in recognition of the outstanding research program Frank has developed at SCP,” said Mustaque Ahamad, interim chair and Regents’ Entrepreneur.
“He is an award-winning educator. We look forward to his continued leadership in the important areas of usable security and network security in the future.”
Li was among nine College of Computing faculty members who received promotion and tenure this year.
John P. Imlay Jr. Dean of Computing Vivek Sarkar emailed the College community with the good news.
“We are truly thrilled to celebrate this moment with you, as we recognize your contributions to our students and to the advancement of our College and Institute in so many ways,” he said.
In 2025, Li received the prestigious CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF). His CAREER project will investigate real-world uses of FIDO2/passkeys and address security and usability issues that can arise. A goal of his research is to identify and resolve problems before they become widespread and more difficult to solve.
]]>Communications Officer II School of Cybersecurity and Privacy
]]>In the International Disaster Reconnaissance (IDR) course, students now use Filio, a platform built by School of Computing Instruction Senior Lecturer Max Mahdi Roozbahani, to capture immersive 360° media, photos, and video that transform real disaster sites in India and Nepal into living digital classrooms.
Offered by the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering and taught by IDR director and Regents’ Professor David Frost, the course pairs traditional fieldwork with Roozbahani’s expertise in immersive technology and data-driven learning, transforming on-the-ground observations into reusable, interactive educational resources.
Disasters are not only physical events; they are also information events, Roozbahani says. Effective response and long-term resilience depend on the ability to observe, record, and communicate critical data under pressure. Georgia Tech’s IDR course pairs structured on-campus preparation with international field experiences, enabling students to study the cascading effects of major disasters, including how local building practices, governance, and culture shape damage and recovery.
“When students step into a disaster zone, they learn quickly that resilience is a systems problem: physical, social, and informational. Our job in computing is to help them capture and reason about that system responsibly,” Roozbahani said.
During spring break last year, the cohort traveled along the Teesta River corridor in Sikkim, India. The region is shaped by steep terrain, fast-moving water, and critical infrastructure in narrow valleys.
The visit followed the October 2023 glacial lake outburst flood from South Lhonak Lake, which destroyed the Teesta III hydropower dam and impacted downstream towns, including Dikchu and Rangpo. Field stops across India included Lachung, Chungthang, Dikchu, Rangpo, Gangtok, and New Delhi.
Students explored both upstream and downstream consequences.
Upstream, the team examined how steep terrain and river confinement amplify flood forces, creating cascading risks for infrastructure. Using Filio’s interactive 360° media, students captured conditions in Lachung and Chungthang, allowing viewers to explore the landscape through a 360° photo and 360° video that reveal how topography and river dynamics intensify disaster impacts.
They studied community-scale effects downstream, including damaged buildings, disrupted access, and prolonged recovery timelines.
Rangpo offered a glimpse of recovery in motion, with materials staged for rebuilding bridges and roads essential to commerce and emergency response.
Students documented their field experience using Filio, an AI-powered visual reporting platform developed by Roozbahani through Georgia Tech’s CREATE-X ecosystem. Filio captures high-resolution photos, video, and 360° immersive media, preserving both the facts and the context of disaster sites; what the site felt like, what was lost, and what communities prioritized in recovery.
“A 360° capture lets students return months later and ask better questions. That second look is where learning accelerates,” Roozbahani said.
Supported by alumni and faculty mentors, including Tech alumnus Chris Klaus and Georgia Tech mentor Bill Higginbotham, the platform is evolving into a reusable educational library for future courses on immersive technology, responsible AI, and global resilience.
The course concluded in Kathmandu, Nepal, where students examined how heritage, governance, and the everyday use of public space shape resilience.
Through Filio’s immersive documentation — including a 360° photo and 360° video from Kathmandu — the focus broadened from hazard impacts to cultural context, highlighting how recovery is not only about rebuilding structures, but also about preserving identity, memory, and community.
Frost and Roozbahani envision the IDR immersive media library as a reusable resource for students even when they cannot travel, supporting future courses on immersive technology, responsible AI, and global resilience. Spring 2026 cohorts will continue to build on this foundation by documenting, analyzing, and sharing insights that can improve education and real-world disaster response.
In the International Disaster Reconnaissance (IDR) course, students now use Filio, a platform built by School of Computing Instruction Senior Lecturer Max Mahdi Roozbahani, to capture immersive 360° media, photos, and video that transform real disaster sites in India and Nepal into living digital classrooms.
]]>Indoor farms, also known as vertical farms, are popular among agricultural researchers and are expanding across the agricultural industry. Some benefits they have over outdoor farms include:
Additionally, some studies indicate that indoor farms produce more nutritious food for urban communities.
However, these farms are often inaccessible to birds, bees, and other natural pollinators, leaving the pollination process to humans. The tedious process must be completed by hand for each flower to ensure the indoor crop flourishes.
Ai-Ping Hu, a principal research engineer at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), has spent years exploring methods to efficiently pollinate flowering plants and food crops in indoor farms to find a way to efficiently pollinate flower plants and food crops in indoor farms.
Hu, Assistant Professor Shreyas Kousik of the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, and a rotating group of student interns have developed a robot prototype that may be up to the task.
The robot can efficiently pollinate plants that have both male and female reproductive parts. These plants only require pollen to be transferred from one part to the other rather than externally from another flower.
Natural pollinators perform this task outdoors, but Hu said indoor farmers often use a paintbrush or electric tootbrush to ensure these flowers are pollinated.
An early challenge the research team addressed was teaching the robot to identify the “pose” of each flower. Pose refers to a flower’s orientation, shape, and symmetry. Knowing these details ensures precise delivery of the pollen to maximize reproductive success.
“It’s crucial to know exactly which way the flowers are facing,” Hu said.
“You want to approach the flower from the front because that’s where all the biological structures are. Knowing the pose tells you where the stem is. Our device grasps the stem and shakes it to dislodge the pollen.
“Every flower is going to have its own pose, and you need to know what that is within at least 10 degrees.”
Harsh Muriki is a robotics master’s student at Georgia Tech’s School of Interactive Computing, who used computer vision to solve the pose problem while interning for Hu and GTRI.
Muriki attached a camera to a FarmBot to capture images of strawberry plants from dozens of angles in a small garden in front of Georgia Tech’s Food Processing Technology Building. The FarmBot is an XYZ-axis robot that waters and sprays pesticides on outdoor gardens, though it is not capable of pollination.
“We reconstruct the images of the flower into a 3D model and use a technique that converts the 3D model into multiple 2D images with depth information,” Muriki said. “This enables us to send them to object detectors.”
Muriki said he used a real-time object detection system called YOLO (You Only Look Once) to classify objects. YOLO is known for identifying and classifying objects in a single pass.
Ved Sengupta, a computer engineering major who interned with Muriki, fine-tuned the algorithms that converted 3D images into 2D.
“This was a crucial part of making robot pollination possible,” Sengupta said. “There is a big gap between 3D and 2D image processing.
“There’s not a lot of data on the internet for 3D object detection, but there’s a ton for 2D. We were able to get great results from the converted images, and I think any sector of technology can take advantage of that.”
Sengupta, Muriki, and Hu co-authored a paper about their work that was accepted to the 2025 International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) in Atlanta.
The pollination robot, built in Kousik’s Safe Robotics Lab, is now in the prototype phase.
Hu said the robot can do more than pollinate. It can also analyze each flower to determine how well it was pollinated and whether the chances for reproduction are high.
“It has an additional capability of microscopic inspection,” Hu said. “It’s the first device we know of that provides visual feedback on how well a flower was pollinated.”
For more information about the robot, visit the Safe Robotics Lab project page.
]]>A Georgia Tech research led by Ai-Ping Hu and Shreyas Kousik team is working to solve that. A robot they've developed can efficiently pollinate plants that have both male and female reproductive parts. These plants only require pollen to be transferred from one part to the other rather than externally from another flower.
]]>In these contests, a handler directs a trained dog with whistle signals to guide a small group of sheep across a field and sometimes split the flock cleanly into two groups. But sheep do not always cooperate.
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology studied how handler–dog teams manage these unpredictable flocks in sheepdog trials and found principles that extend beyond livestock herding.
In a study published in Science Advances as the cover feature, the researchers applied those insights to computer simulations showing how similar strategies could improve the control of robot swarms, autonomous vehicles, AI agents, and other networked systems where many machines must coordinate their actions despite uncertain conditions.
Group Movement Dynamics
“Birds, bugs, fish, sheep, and many other organisms move in groups because it benefits individuals, including protection from predators,” said Saad Bhamla, an associate professor in Georgia Tech’s School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. “The puzzle is that the ‘group’ is not a single organism. It is built from many individuals, each making local, imperfect decisions.”
When a predator threatens a herd of sheep, individuals near the edge often move toward the center to reduce their own risk, Bhamla explained. “This is ‘selfish herd’ behavior,” he said. “Shepherds exploit that instinct using trained dogs.”
From examining hours of contest footage, the researchers found that controlling small groups of sheep can be harder than managing large ones. A larger group, with more sheep protected in the center, may behave more coherently than a small group as the animals constantly shift between two instincts: “follow the group” and “flee the dog.”
“That switching behavior makes the group unpredictable,” said Tuhin Chakrabortty, a former postdoctoral researcher in the Bhamla Lab who co-led the study.
Looking closely at how dogs and their handlers guide small groups, the researchers found that unpredictability in the flock’s behavior does not always make control harder. “Under the right conditions, that ‘noisy’ behavior might actually be a benefit,” Bhamla said.
Successful Sheep Herding
Sheepdog handlers categorize sheep by how strongly they respond to a dog’s threatening pressure. Some very responsive sheep might panic under too much pressure, while others might ignore mild pressure and require stronger positioning by the dog.
The researchers observed that successful control often followed a two-step pattern. First, the dog subtly influenced the sheep’s orientation while the animals were mostly standing still. Once the flock was aligned in the desired direction, the dog increased pressure to trigger movement. The timing of those actions was critical, because alignment within a small group could disappear quickly as individuals switched between instincts.
“In our simulations, increasing pressure makes the flock reach the desired orientation faster, but how long the flock stays aligned is set mainly by noise,” Chakrabortty said. “In essence, dogs can steer the direction, but they can’t hold that decision indefinitely, so timing matters.”
Developing Computer Models
To understand the broader implications of that behavior, the team developed computer models that captured how sheep respond both to the dog and to one another. The models allowed the researchers to test different strategies for guiding groups whose members make independent decisions under uncertainty.
They then applied those ideas to simulations of robotic swarms. Engineers often design such systems so that each robot blends signals from all nearby robots before deciding how to move. While that approach works well when signals are clear, it can break down when information is noisy or conflicting, Bhamla explained.
To explain why that switching strategy can work under noisy conditions, the researchers used an analogy of a smoke-filled room where only one person can see the exit, and no one knows who that person is. If everyone polls everyone else and averages the guesses, the one correct signal can get diluted by many noisy ones.
“That’s the counterintuitive part. When only one person has the right information, averaging can wash out the signal. But if you follow one person at a time, and keep switching who that is, the right information can spread through the crowd,” Bhamla said.
Building on that idea, the researchers tested a strategy inspired by the switching behavior they observed in sheep. In the simulations, each robot paid attention to just one source at a time (either a guiding signal or a neighboring robot) and switched that source from one step to the next.
Under noisy conditions, this switching strategy required less effort to keep the group moving along a desired path than either averaging-based strategies or fixed leader-follower strategies.
The researchers call their approach the Indecisive Swarm Algorithm. The name reflects a counterintuitive insight: allowing influence to shift among individuals over time can make groups easier to guide when conditions are uncertain.
“Our findings suggest that the same dynamics that make small animal groups unpredictable may also offer new ways to control complex engineered systems,” Bhamla said.
CITATION: Tuhin Chakrabortty and Saad Bhamla, “Controlling noisy herds: Temporal network restructuring improves control of indecisive collectives,” Science Advances, 2026
This research was funded in part by Schmidt Sciences as part of a Schmidt Polymath grant to Saad Bhamla.
Some labs in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) use liquid nitrogen and liquid helium to chill cryogenic test systems to as low as 4 Kelvins (K), or -452.47 degrees Fahrenheit (F), temperatures that rival the coldest regions of deep space.
At this point, materials and electronic devices stop behaving in familiar ways, which is exactly why ECE researchers use these extreme conditions to explore and develop new semiconductor technologies.
“Electronics are very temperature dependent,” Professor John Cressler said, whose lab houses some of these cryogenic test systems. “Whether you see it or not, every electronic you buy has a tested temperature spec associated with it.”
Current commercially sold devices, including most cell phones, are made to run between 32 F and 85 F. Researchers in ECE test across a far wider range, as they develop technology with extraterrestrial and quantum computing applications in mind.
Other ECE teams work in natural extremes, carrying instruments into polar regions where cold creates challenges that no lab can fully replicate.
Just as cold pushes athletes in different ways, it guides ECE research down its own distinct paths.
Read the full story on the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering's website.
]]>A newly discovered vulnerability could allow cybercriminals to silently hijack the artificial intelligence (AI) systems in self-driving cars, raising concerns about the security of autonomous systems increasingly used on public roads.
Georgia Tech cybersecurity researchers discovered the vulnerability, dubbed VillainNet, and found it can remain dormant in a self-driving vehicle’s AI system until triggered by specific conditions.
Once triggered, VillainNet is almost certain to succeed, giving attackers control of the targeted vehicle.
The research finds that attackers could program almost any action within a self-driving vehicle’s AI super network to trigger VillainNet. In one possible scenario, it could be triggered when a self-driving taxi’s AI responds to rainfall and changing road conditions.
Once in control, hackers could hold the passengers hostage and threaten to crash the taxi.
The researchers discovered this new backdoor attack threat in the AI super networks that power autonomous driving systems.
“Super networks are designed to be the Swiss Army knife of AI, swapping out tools, or in this case sub networks, as needed for the task at hand," said David Oygenblik, Ph.D. student at Georgia Tech and the lead researcher on the project.
"However, we found that an adversary can exploit this by attacking just one of those tiny tools. The attack remains completely dormant until that specific subnetwork is used, effectively hiding across billions of other benign configurations."
This backdoor attack is nearly guaranteed to work, according to Oygenblik. This blind spot is nearly undetectable with current tools and can impact any autonomous vehicle that runs on AI. It can also be hidden at any stage of development and include billions of scenarios.
“With VillainNet, the attacker forces defenders to find a single needle in a haystack that can be as large as 10 quintillion straws," said Oygenblik.
"Our work is a call to action for the security community. As AI systems become more complex and adaptive, we must develop new defenses capable of addressing these novel, hyper-targeted threats."
The hypothetical fix to the problem was to add security measures to the super networks. These networks contain billions of specialized subnetworks that can be activated on the fly, but Oygenblik wanted to see what would happen if he attacked a single subnetwork tool.
In experiments, the VillainNet attack proved highly effective. It achieved a 99% success rate when activated while remaining invisible throughout the AI system.
The research also shows that detecting a VillainNet backdoor would require 66x more computing power and time to verify the AI system is safe. This challenge dramatically expands the search space for attack detection and is not feasible, according to the researchers.
The project was presented at the ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security (CCS) in October 2025. The paper, VillainNet: Targeted Poisoning Attacks Against SuperNets Along the Accuracy-Latency Pareto Frontier, was co-authored by Oygenblik, master's students Abhinav Vemulapalli and Animesh Agrawal, Ph.D. student Debopam Sanyal, Associate Professor Alexey Tumanov, and Associate Professor Brendan Saltaformaggio.
Georgia Tech cybersecurity researchers discovered the vulnerability, dubbed VillainNet, and found it can remain dormant in a self-driving vehicle’s AI system until triggered by specific conditions.
Once triggered, VillainNet is almost certain to succeed, giving attackers control of the targeted vehicle.
]]>]]>
Historically, most engineers believed the former, using heterogeneities, or differences, in materials to make materials stronger and more resilient. However, research from Georgia Tech is showing that, in some cases, heterogeneities make materials weaker and can even accelerate cracks.
Led by School of Physics Assistant Professor Itamar Kolvin, the study, “Dual Role for Heterogeneity in Dynamic Fracture,” was published in Physical Review Letters this fall.
While Kolvin’s work is theoretical, the results of the research are widely applicable. “Predicting this type of toughening effect helps engineers decide how much reinforcement to add to a material, and the best way to do so,” he says. “Cracks are complex — they interact with the material, change shape, and respond dynamically. All of this affects the overall toughness, which impacts safety.”
The study found that the key to crack behavior starts at the microscopic level where the material’s microscopic structure influences how it resists cracks running at different speeds.
“Cracks propagate by breaking bonds, and that costs energy,” he explains. “On top of this, materials experience extreme deformations close to where the crack runs, which costs additional energy. In some materials, the amount of this energy cost can depend on the crack’s speed because of microscopic friction between molecules.”
Other materials, like window glass, are mostly indifferent to the crack speed. These materials are made of simple molecules, allowing a crack to propagate slowly or quickly using the same amount of energy. The researchers found that including heterogeneities can help strengthen these materials.
Materials made of more complex molecules, like polymer plastics and gels, on the other hand, are velocity dependent: it takes more energy for a crack to propagate faster. In these materials, heterogeneities are less effective at toughening, and if the crack is fast enough, heterogeneities could help it advance. “That’s something we didn’t expect when we started,” Kolvin says.
After discovering which types of materials can benefit from heterogeneities, Kolvin wanted to investigate the best way to add them. “Natural materials like rocks are usually very messy and disordered,” he explains, “but in engineering, heterogenous materials tend to be patterned.” For example, imagine a manufactured material: heterogeneities may be added in a grid-like or other patterned way. Now, contrast that with the irregular freckles and inclusions you might see in a rock found in a streambed.
Kolvin’s question was simple: which material was stronger? The results, again, were surprising. The disordered case — similar to what is found in nature — created the toughest material.
Among the patterned materials the team tested, only one was as tough as the disordered case — and every other pattern tested made the material weaker.
At Georgia Tech, Kolvin’s lab focuses on the mechanics of materials — both solid and fluid. “We are using our expertise in physics to explore questions across different fields,” he says. “A common concept is treating materials as continua — zooming out from molecular detail to look at how materials deform and flow at the large scale.”
This current research follows suit with applications ranging from investigating the smallest material microstructures to predicting earthquake fractures. “Earthquake faults are highly disordered, and simulating these ruptures is a major challenge, usually requiring supercomputers to solve crack propagation in three dimensions,” Kolvin says. “But with the tools our study has developed, we can simulate similar conditions and large systems using just a desktop computer.”
“This opens the doors for scientists, engineers, physicists, and geologists to explore problems right from their own computer, allowing more researchers access to more tools,” he adds. “And new tools often lead to new discoveries.”
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/j4vb-y1ng
]]>The Eshelby Mechanics Award was established in 2012 in memory of Professor John Douglas Eshelby to promote the field of mechanics, among young researchers. The award will be formally presented at the 2026 Applied Mechanics Division Awards Banquet during the ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition in November.
Athanasiou and his team advance the fundamental mechanics and physics of materials and translates these insights into systems-level design strategies that address global challenges in resource efficiency and sustainable development. His research integrates advanced experimental methods capable of capturing material behavior under realistic operational conditions, mechanics-based design principles, and tailored AI- and physics-informed modeling frameworks.
Together, these efforts enable the development of life-cycle-efficient, cost-effective materials and structures for applications ranging from sustainable packaging to aerospace systems and space construction. His recent work published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) introduced a bioinspired framework to improve plastic recycling while addressing a foundational mechanics question: how can we build reliable structures from inherently variable materials?
Athanasiou is also the recipient of the 2024 NSF CAREER Award and the ASME Orr Early Career Award, and is a Climate Tech Fellow at the New York Climate Exchange.
]]>McDowell is one 130 new members and 28 international members in the 2026 class. Election to the NAE is among the highest professional recognitions for engineers and an honor bestowed on just 2,900 professionals worldwide. New members are nominated and voted on by the Academy’s existing membership.
McDowell is Georgia Tech’s 50th NAE member. He is Regents’ Professor Emeritus in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and the School of Materials Science and Engineering.
Read the full story about McDowell on the College of Engineering website.
]]>Students and faculty from the School of Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) are leading the Georgia Tech contingent at the SIAM Conference on Computational Science and Engineering (CSE25). The Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) organizes CSE25, occurring March 3-7 in Fort Worth, Texas.
At CSE25, the School of CSE researchers are presenting papers that apply computing approaches to varying fields, including:
[Related: GT CSE at SIAM CSE25 Interactive Graphic]
“In CSE, researchers from different disciplines work together to develop new computational methods that we could not have developed alone,” said School of CSE Professor Edmond Chow.
“These methods enable new science and engineering to be performed using computation.”
CSE is a discipline dedicated to advancing computational techniques to study and analyze scientific and engineering systems. CSE complements theory and experimentation as modes of scientific discovery.
Held every other year, CSE25 is the primary conference for the SIAM Activity Group on Computational Science and Engineering (SIAG CSE). School of CSE faculty serve in key roles in leading the group and preparing for the conference.
In December, SIAG CSE members elected Chow to a two-year term as the group’s vice chair. This election comes after Chow completed a term as the SIAG CSE program director.
School of CSE Associate Professor Elizabeth Cherry has co-chaired the CSE25 organizing committee since the last conference in 2023. Later that year, SIAM members reelected Cherry to a second, three-year term as a council member at large.
At Georgia Tech, Chow serves as the associate chair of the School of CSE. Cherry, who recently became the associate dean for graduate education of the College of Computing, continues as the director of CSE programs.
“With our strong emphasis on developing and applying computational tools and techniques to solve real-world problems, researchers in the School of CSE are well positioned to serve as leaders in computational science and engineering both within Georgia Tech and in the broader professional community,” Cherry said.
Georgia Tech’s School of CSE was first organized as a division in 2005, becoming one of the world’s first academic departments devoted to the discipline. The division reorganized as a school in 2010 after establishing the flagship CSE Ph.D. and M.S. programs, hiring nine faculty members, and attaining substantial research funding.
Ten School of CSE faculty members are presenting research at CSE25, representing one-third of the School’s faculty body. Of the 23 accepted papers written by Georgia Tech researchers, 15 originate from School of CSE authors.
The list of School of CSE researchers, paper titles, and abstracts includes:
Bayesian Optimal Design Accelerates Discovery of Material Properties from Bubble Dynamics
Postdoctoral Fellow Tianyi Chu, Joseph Beckett, Bachir Abeid, and Jonathan Estrada (University of Michigan), Assistant Professor Spencer Bryngelson
[Abstract]
Latent-EnSF: A Latent Ensemble Score Filter for High-Dimensional Data Assimilation with Sparse Observation Data
Ph.D. student Phillip Si, Assistant Professor Peng Chen
[Abstract]
A Goal-Oriented Quadratic Latent Dynamic Network Surrogate Model for Parameterized Systems
Yuhang Li, Stefan Henneking, Omar Ghattas (University of Texas at Austin), Assistant Professor Peng Chen
[Abstract]
Posterior Covariance Structures in Gaussian Processes
Yuanzhe Xi (Emory University), Difeng Cai (Southern Methodist University), Professor Edmond Chow
[Abstract]
Robust Digital Twin for Geological Carbon Storage
Professor Felix Herrmann, Ph.D. student Abhinav Gahlot, alumnus Rafael Orozco (Ph.D. CSE-CSE 2024), alumnus Ziyi (Francis) Yin (Ph.D. CSE-CSE 2024), and Ph.D. candidate Grant Bruer
[Abstract]
Industry-Scale Uncertainty-Aware Full Waveform Inference with Generative Models
Rafael Orozco, Ph.D. student Tuna Erdinc, alumnus Mathias Louboutin (Ph.D. CS-CSE 2020), and Professor Felix Herrmann
[Abstract]
Optimizing Coupled Systems: Insights from Co-Design Imaging and Optical Chemistry
Assistant Professor Raphaël Pestourie, Wenchao Ma and Steven Johnson (MIT), Lu Lu (Yale University), Zin Lin (Virginia Tech)
[Abstract]
Multifidelity Linear Regression for Scientific Machine Learning from Scarce Data
Assistant Professor Elizabeth Qian, Ph.D. student Dayoung Kang, Vignesh Sella, Anirban Chaudhuri and Anirban Chaudhuri (University of Texas at Austin)
[Abstract]
LyapInf: Data-Driven Estimation of Stability Guarantees for Nonlinear Dynamical Systems
Ph.D. candidate Tomoki Koike and Assistant Professor Elizabeth Qian
[Abstract]
The Information Geometric Regularization of the Euler Equation
Alumnus Ruijia Cao (B.S. CS 2024), Assistant Professor Florian Schäfer
[Abstract]
Maximum Likelihood Discretization of the Transport Equation
Ph.D. student Brook Eyob, Assistant Professor Florian Schäfer
[Abstract]
Intelligent Attractors for Singularly Perturbed Dynamical Systems
Daniel A. Serino (Los Alamos National Laboratory), Allen Alvarez Loya (University of Colorado Boulder), Joshua W. Burby, Ioannis G. Kevrekidis (Johns Hopkins University), Assistant Professor Qi Tang (Session Co-Organizer)
[Abstract]
Accurate Discretizations and Efficient AMG Solvers for Extremely Anisotropic Diffusion Via Hyperbolic Operators
Golo Wimmer, Ben Southworth, Xianzhu Tang (LANL), Assistant Professor Qi Tang
[Abstract]
Randomized Linear Algebra for Problems in Graph Analytics
Professor Rich Vuduc
[Abstract]
Improving Spgemm Performance Through Reordering and Cluster-Wise Computation
Assistant Professor Helen Xu
[Abstract]
Students and faculty from the School of Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) are leading the Georgia Tech contingent at the SIAM Conference on Computational Science and Engineering (CSE25). The Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) organizes CSE25, occurring March 3-7 in Fort Worth, Texas.
]]>The new institutes focus on expanding breakthroughs in neuroscience and space, two areas where research and federal funding are anticipated to remain strong. Both fields are poised to influence research in everything from healthcare and ethics to exploration and innovation. This expansion of Georgia Tech’s research enterprise represents the Institute’s commitment to research that will shape the future.
“At Georgia Tech, innovation flourishes where disciplines converge. With the launch of the Space Research Institute and the Institute for Neuroscience, Neurotechnology, and Society, we’re uniting experts across fields to take on some of humanity’s most profound questions. Even as we are tightening our belts in anticipation of potential federal R&D budget actions, we also are investing in areas where non-federal funding sources will grow and where big impacts are possible,” said Executive Vice President for Research Tim Lieuwen. "These institutes are about advancing knowledge — and using it to improve lives, inspire future generations, and help shape a better future for us all.”
Both INNS and SRI grew out of faculty-led initiatives shaped by a strategic planning process and campus-wide collaboration. Their evolution into formal institutes underscores the strength and momentum of Georgia Tech’s interdisciplinary research enterprise.
Georgia Tech’s 11 IRIs support collaboration between researchers and students across the Institute’s seven colleges, the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), national laboratories, and corporate entities to tackle critical topics of strategic significance for the Institute as well as for local, state, national, and international communities.
"IRIs bring together Georgia Tech researchers making them more competitive and successful in solving research challenges, especially across disciplinary boundaries,” said Julia Kubanek, vice president of interdisciplinary research. “We're making these new investments in neuro- and space-related fields to publicly showcase impactful discoveries and developments led by Georgia Tech faculty, attract new partners and collaborators, and pursue alternative funding strategies at a time of federal funding uncertainty."
The Space Research Institute
The Space Research Institute will connect faculty, students, and staff who share a passion for space exploration and discovery. They will investigate a wide variety of space-related topics, exploring how space influences and intersects with the human experience. The SRI fosters a collaborative community including scientific, engineering, cultural, and commercial research that pursues broadly integrated, innovative projects.
SRI is the hub for all things space-related at Georgia Tech. It connects the Institute’s schools, colleges, research institutes, and labs to lead conversations about space in the state of Georgia and the world. Working in partnership with academics, business partners, philanthropists, students, and governments, Georgia Tech is committed to staying at the forefront of space-related innovation.
The SRI will build upon the collaborative work of the Space Research Initiative, the first step in formalizing Georgia Tech’s broad interdisciplinary space research community. The Initiative brought together researchers from across campus and was guided by input from Georgia Tech stakeholders and external partners. It was led by an executive committee including Glenn Lightsey, John W. Young Chair Professor in the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering; Mariel Borowitz, associate professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs; and Jennifer Glass, associate professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. Beginning July 1, W. Jud Ready, a principal research engineer in GTRI’s Electro-Optical Systems Laboratory, will serve as the inaugural executive director of the Space Research Institute.
To receive the latest updates on space research and innovation at Georgia Tech, join the SRI mailing list.
The Institute for Neuroscience, Neurotechnology, and Society
The Institute for Neuroscience, Neurotechnology, and Society (INNS) is dedicated to advancing neuroscience and neurotechnology to improve society through discovery, innovation, and engagement. INNS brings together researchers from neuroscience, engineering, computing, ethics, public policy, and the humanities to explore the brain and nervous system while addressing the societal and ethical dimensions of neuro-related research.
INNS builds on a foundation established over a decade ago, which first led to the GT-Neuro Initiative and later evolved into the Neuro Next Initiative. Over the past two years, this effort has culminated in the development of a comprehensive plan for an IRI, guided by an executive committee composed of faculty and staff from across Georgia Tech. The committee included Simon Sponberg, Dunn Family Associate Professor in the School of Physics and the School of Biological Sciences; Christopher Rozell, Julian T. Hightower Chaired Professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering; Jennifer Singh, associate professor in the School of History and Sociology; and Sarah Peterson, Neuro Next Initiative program manager. Their leadership shaped the vision for a research community both scientifically ambitious and socially responsive.
INNS will serve as a dynamic hub for interdisciplinary collaboration across the full spectrum of brain-related research — from biological foundations to behavior and cognition, and from fundamental research to medical innovations that advance human flourishing. Research areas will encompass the foundations of human intelligence and movement, bio-inspired design and neurotechnology development, and the ethical dimensions of a neuro-connected future.
By integrating technical innovation with human-centered inquiry, INNS is committed to ensuring that advances in neuroscience and neurotechnology are developed and applied ethically and responsibly. Through fostering innovation, cultivating interdisciplinary expertise, and engaging with the public, the institute seeks to shape a future where advancements in neuroscience and neurotechnology serve the greater good. INNS also aims to deepen Georgia Tech’s collaborations with clinical, academic, and industry partners, creating new pathways for translational research and real-world impact.
An internal search for INNS’s inaugural executive director is in the final stages, with an announcement expected soon.
Join our mailing list to receive the latest updates on everything neuro at Georgia Tech.
]]>The National Academy of Inventors is honoring two Georgia Tech faculty members for their contributions to technology and society: Deepakraj “Deepak” Divan and Arijit Raychowdhury. Both are in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
Raychowdhury is a semiconductor pioneer whose patented circuit and system-on-chip designs have advanced computing efficiency and commercialization. Divan is a global leader in power electronics and grid modernization, whose innovations and ventures have transformed how electricity is delivered and managed worldwide.
“Congratulations to Deepakraj and Arijit on earning one of the most esteemed accolades in technology and discovery. Their groundbreaking work, with nearly 100 patents between them, advances solutions to global challenges,” said Raghupathy “Siva” Sivakumar, chief commercialization officer at Georgia Tech. “Their success exemplifies how research commercialization drives real-world impact, and we’re proud to see them honored as academy fellows.”
Election to NAI is the highest professional distinction specifically awarded to inventors. With this recognition, Georgia Tech’s roster of NAI Fellows grows to 24. Divan and Raychowdhury join a 2025 class of 169 new fellows representing university, government, and nonprofit organizations worldwide. They will be inducted at the NAI 15th Annual Conference on June 4, 2026, in Los Angeles.
Professor Emeritus (2004-2025)
Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar
School of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Founder, Georgia Tech Center for Distributed Energy
Deepakraj “Deepak” Divan is a globally recognized innovator in power electronics and grid transformation. He was awarded the IEEE Medal in Power Engineering in 2024.
He holds over 85 U.S. and international patents and has authored 400 refereed publications. His pioneering work on soft‑switching converters—integral for efficient energy storage, EV charging, and industrial controls—has spurred a global $70 billion power electronics industry.
Divan laid the groundwork for grid‑forming inverter control, enabling high-renewables integration. He is the co-author of Energy 2040: Aligning Innovation, Economics and Decarbonization, named by Forbes as one of the “10 Essential Books and Podcasts Every Leader Needs in 2025”.
“Being named an NAI Fellow is a tremendous honor,” said Divan. “It reflects years of effort to rethink how electricity is delivered and managed to solve real problems and to drive practical innovations that matter.”
As the founder of Georgia Tech’s Center for Distributed Energy, he led research that transforms electricity delivery through analytics, monitoring, and optimization.
An entrepreneur, Divan co-founded Varentec (backed by Bill Gates and Khosla Ventures) and seeded ventures including GridBlock, Soft Switching Technologies, Innovolt, and Smart Wires—raising over $500 million. A National Academy of Engineering member and IEEE Fellow, he champions scalable energy-access solutions worldwide.
Professor and Steve W. Chaddick School Chair
School of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Director, Center for the Co-Design of Cognitive Systems
Arijit Raychowdhury has been the Steve W. Chaddick School Chair of ECE since 2021. He is a leading innovator in semiconductor technologies, holding more than 27 U.S. and international patents and authoring over 350 publications.
His work spans low-power circuits, specialized accelerators, and system-on-chip design, with breakthroughs widely adopted in industry.
“This recognition reflects the collective effort of students, colleagues, and partners who share a vision for advancing microelectronics,” said Raychowdhury. “I am honored that NAI champions the same mission to lead through research, education, and innovation."
At Texas Instruments, he developed the world’s first adaptive echo-cancellation network for integrated Digital Subscriber Lines (DSL)—a patented technology that enabled high-speed internet over traditional phone lines that received the EDN Innovation of the Year award. At Intel, he developed and incorporated foundational memory and logic technologies that shaped commercial products across global markets for more than a decade.
His research on fine-grain power management of systems-on-chip at Georgia Tech has been licensed and widely adopted by the semiconductor industry.
He directs Georgia Tech’s Center for the Co-Design of Cognitive Systems and leads initiatives to advance microelectronics design with applications to AI. Over the years, he has served as a founding advisor and board member to multiple startups in the areas of edge-computing and low power design.
Raychowdhury’s research bridges invention and real-world impact, earning him numerous honors, including IEEE Fellow, Semiconductor Research Corporation Technical Excellence Award, and multiple industry awards. Through pioneering designs and mentorship, he continues to drive innovation in computing systems, influencing both academic research and industrial commercialization.
When Cole Rogers got the notice four years ago that he’d been moved off the waitlist and admitted to Georgia Tech, he knew exactly who to call first.
His grandfather, Peter Petrecca, had studied aerospace engineering at Tech and had a long career in aviation, engineering, and product development. No one would celebrate the news more, so Rogers called him with the news before he even told his parents.
Petrecca had raised three daughters and exposed them to engineering and making things. But none had been interested enough to make it a career — or study at Tech.
“Then Cole came along, and I had another opportunity,” Petrecca said. “We made model cars and motorcycles together and did other things. I wasn't sure he was going to go the engineering route, but I was thrilled when he got accepted.”
Now Rogers is graduating with his industrial engineering bachelor’s degree, and in the sometimes funny way history echoes itself, he’ll walk across the stage exactly 60 years after his grandfather finished his own degree.
It’s a path that probably has been quietly paved throughout Rogers’ life, during all his visits to his grandfather’s house.
Peter Petrecca, left, with his grandson Cole Rogers — Georgia Tech engineers who graduated 60 years apart. (Photo: Candler Hobbs)
]]>This semester’s Capstone Design Expo showcased the ingenuity and problem-solving skills of more than 118 student teams across seven disciplines. Among them, 17 teams represented H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE), presenting a wide range of solutions, from optimizing scheduling for medical clinics, to refining inventory management for a major auto manufacturer, to enhancing sepsis detection through data-driven patient monitoring.
Capstone Design Expo monodisciplinary Industrial Engineering award went to Serving Solutions. The team partnered with North Fulton Community Charities (NFCC), a nonprofit dedicated to preventing hunger and homelessness, to design scalable systems for enhancing the overall customer experience.
“By focusing on operational efficiency and accessibility, we delivered improvements across three key areas,” said Emma MacGregor, a fourth-year ISyE student on the team. “We modernized inventory management by implementing barcode scanners to streamline tracking; we enhanced customer order processes by developing a more accessible interface supported by a digital queueing network and automated ticketing and printing system, and optimized the pantry layout to create more usable space while also reducing travel time through the pantry.”
In addition to MacGregor, the full team consisted of Samhith Aravind, Sachin Bharadwaz, Shaktik Bhattacharyya, Elyse Daniel, Erin Hinnegan, and Zora Ripkova, under the advisement of Xin Chen, James C. Edenfield Chair and ISyE professor.
Professor Chen noted that the team’s success was measured not only in numbers and workflows, but in real benefits for the families NFCC serves.
“Serving Solutions delivered measurable improvements to North Fulton Community Charities (NFCC)’s pantry operations and the families it serves, such as optimization-driven reshelving that expanded usable shelf space by 16.4%," said Chen. “Watching students transform classroom concepts (optimization, stochastic modeling, and applied data science) into practical systems that volunteers can easily run was truly inspiring.
He added that the benefits extend directly to the community, and how partnerships like these strengthen both student learning and nonprofit operations.
“Collaborations with food pantries like NFCC showcase the immense value of ISyE partnerships. When our students engage with mission-driven organizations, they don’t just apply theory; they create solutions that significantly enhance community impact. I look forward to more opportunities where these collaborations continue to drive lasting improvements that strengthen communities.”
To learn more about the expo, read the full capstone story here.
Following a nationwide search, Georgia Tech President Ángel Cabrera has named Timothy Lieuwen the Executive Vice President for Research (EVPR). Lieuwen has served as interim EVPR since September 10, 2024.
“Tim’s ability to bridge academia, industry, and government has been instrumental in driving innovation and positioning Georgia Tech as a critical partner in tackling complex global challenges,” said Cabrera. “With his leadership, I am confident Georgia Tech will continue to expand its impact, strengthen its strategic collaborations, and further solidify its reputation as a world leader in research and innovation.”
A proud Georgia Tech alumnus (M.S. ME 1997, Ph.D. ME 1999), Lieuwen has spent more than 25 years at the Institute. He is a Regents’ Professor and holds the David S. Lewis, Jr. Chair in the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering. Prior to the interim EVPR role, Lieuwen served as executive director of the Strategic Energy Institute for 12 years. His expertise spans energy, propulsion, energy policy, and national security, and he has worked closely with industry and government to develop new knowledge and see its implementation in the field.
Lieuwen has been widely recognized for his contributions to research and innovation. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, as well as a fellow of multiple other professional organizations. Recently, he was elected an International Fellow of the U.K.’s Royal Academy of Engineering, one of only three U.S. engineers in 2024 to receive this prestigious commendation. The honor acknowledges Lieuwen’s contributions to engineering and his efforts to advance research, education initiatives, and industry collaborations.
He has authored or edited four books, published over 400 scientific articles, and holds nine patents — several of which are licensed to industry. He also founded TurbineLogic, an analytics firm working in the energy industry. Additionally, Lieuwen serves on governing and advisory boards for three Department of Energy national labs and was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Energy to the National Petroleum Council.
The EVPR is the Institute’s chief research officer and directs Georgia Tech’s $1.37 billion portfolio of research, development, and sponsored activities. This includes leadership of the Georgia Tech Research Institute, the Enterprise Innovation Institute, nine Interdisciplinary Research Institutes and numerous associated research centers, and related research administrative support units: commercialization, corporate engagement, research development and operations, and research administration.
“I am honored to step into this role at a time when research and innovation have never been more critical,” Lieuwen said. “Georgia Tech’s research enterprise is built on collaboration — across disciplines, across industries, and across communities. Our strength lies not just in the breakthroughs we achieve, but in how we translate them into real-world impact.
“My priority is to put people first — empowering our researchers, students, and partners to push boundaries, scale our efforts, and deepen our engagement across Georgia and beyond. Together, we will expand our reach, accelerate discovery, and ensure that Georgia Tech remains a driving force for progress and service.”
To ease this environmental burden, industry has worked to adopt renewable biopolymers in place of traditional plastics. However, developers of sustainable packaging have faced hurdles in blocking out moisture and oxygen, a barrier critical for protecting food, pharmaceuticals, and sensitive electronics.
Now, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a biologically based film made from natural ingredients found in plants, mushrooms, and food waste that can block moisture and oxygen as effectively as conventional plastics. Their findings were recently published in ACS Applied Polymer Materials.
“We’re using materials that are already abundant in and degrade in nature to produce packaging that won’t pollute the environment for hundreds or even thousands of years,” said Carson Meredith, a professor in Georgia Tech’s School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE@GT) and executive director of the Renewable Bioproducts Institute. “Our films, composed of biodegradable components, rival or exceed the performance of conventional plastics in keeping food fresh and safe.”
Meredith’s research team has worked for more than a decade to develop environmentally friendly oxygen and water barriers for packaging. While earlier research using biopolymers showed promise, high humidity continued to weaken the barrier properties.
However, Meredith and his collaborators found a fix using a blend of these natural ingredients: cellulose (which gives plants their structure), chitosan (derived from crustacean-based food waste or mushrooms), and citric acid (from citrus fruits).
“By crosslinking these materials and adding a heat treatment, we created a thin film that reduced both moisture and oxygen transmission, even in hot, humid conditions simulating the tropics,” said lead author Yang Lu, a former postdoctoral researcher in ChBE@GT.
The barrier technology developed by the researchers consists of three primary components: a carbohydrate polymer for structure, a plasticizer to maintain flexibility, and a water-repelling additive to resist moisture. When cast into thin films, these ingredients self-organize at the molecular level to form a dense, ordered structure that resists swelling or softening under high humidity.
Even at 80 percent relative humidity, the films showed extremely low oxygen permeability and water vapor transmission, matching or outperforming common plastics such as poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and poly(ethylene vinyl alcohol) (EVOH).
“Our approach creates barriers that are not only renewable, but also mechanically robust, offering a promising alternative to conventional plastics in packaging applications,” said Natalie Stingelin, professor and chair of Georgia Tech’s School of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) and a professor in ChBE@GT.
The research team has filed for patent protection for the technology (patent pending). The research was supported by Mars Inc., Georgia Tech’s Renewable Bioproducts Institute, and the U.S. Department of Defense through the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship Program. Eric Klingenberg, a co-author of the study, is an employee of Mars, a manufacturer of packaged foods.
Citation: Yang Lu, Javaz T. Rolle, Tanner Hickman, Yue Ji, Eric Klingenberg, Natalie Stingelin, and Carson Meredith, “Transforming renewable carbohydrate-based polymers into oxygen and moisture-barriers at elevated humidity,” ACS Applied Polymer Materials, 2025.
]]>
Even when engineers have a working device and brain, called a controller, changes and improvements to the exoskeleton system typically mean data collection and training start all over again. The process is expensive and makes bringing fully functional exoskeletons or robotic limbs into the real world largely impractical.
Not anymore, thanks to Georgia Tech engineers and computer scientists.
They’ve created an artificial intelligence tool that can turn huge amounts of existing data on how people move into functional exoskeleton controllers. No data collection, retraining, and hours upon hours of additional lab time required for each specific device.
Their approach has produced an exoskeleton brain capable of offering meaningful assistance across a huge range of hip and knee movements that works as well as the best controllers currently available. Their worked was published Nov. 19 in Science Robotics.
Full details on the College of Engineering website.
]]>School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Ph.D. students Gus Richter, Malhar Tamhane, and Felipe Sandoval are the latest to make the trip to the “Last Frontier” as they work to push the boundaries of atmospheric research. The trio participated in the 2025 Polar Aeronomy and Radio Science (PARS) summer school program held in August at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP).
Read the full story on the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering's website.
]]>Ph.D. students Gus Richter, Malhar Tamhane, and Felipe Sandoval took part in the Polar Aeronomy and Radio Science program, taking advantage of the unique geography and equipment to work on their Ph.D. research.
Monteiro has been a leading figure in continuous optimization for decades, recognized for combining deep theoretical advances with practical algorithm design that has shaped modern optimization. His pioneering work includes foundational contributions to interior-point methods, the influential Monteiro–Zhang framework for semidefinite programming, and the Burer–Monteiro method, which made it possible to tackle massive optimization problems across areas such as machine learning, data science, and engineering.
The John von Neumann Theory Prize, awarded annually by INFORMS, honors a scholar (or scholars in the case of joint work) whose body of research represents fundamental, sustained contributions to theory. Prize criteria include significance, innovation, depth, and scientific excellence, with emphasis on work that has stood the test of time. Named for the legendary mathematician John von Neumann, the prize commemorates his extraordinary contributions to mathematics, computing, and applied science. Von Neumann’s work on the stored program concept and the IAS computer laid the foundation for modern computing architecture. He also played a pivotal role in advancing computational methods for solving some of the most complex scientific and engineering challenges of his time.
“Dr. Monteiro’s work exemplifies the spirit of the John von Neumann Theory Prize,” INFORMS noted in its announcement. “His contributions combine mathematical depth with wide-reaching impact, influencing generations of researchers and practitioners.”
Monteiro will receive the award, which includes a $5,000 honorarium, a medallion, and a citation, during the INFORMS Annual Meeting award ceremony in Atlanta on Sunday, October 26, 2025.
]]>When a Georgia Tech-led project received a contract award from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), it was for a bold idea with aggressive metrics. And it wasn’t guaranteed money. The team, led by biomedical engineer Gabe Kwong, had to deliver on its vision. Doing so could transform cancer screening and care, leading to one-size-fits-all tests that detect multiple cancers before they’re visible on CT or PET scans.
It’s a big goal, but that’s the point of ARPA-H. The agency funds staggeringly difficult healthcare innovation ideas that require major investment to succeed.
Two years into the $49.5 million project, Kwong and the team from Georgia Tech, Columbia University, and Mount Sinai Health System has crossed a critical threshold.
They’ve built the first tool able to measure enzyme activity around cancer tumors and healthy cells. And they’ve deployed it to understand the unique signatures for tumors from 14 different kinds of cancer.
That data is powering the first version of a cancer “atlas.” Like a geographical atlas, it will offer directions to each kind of tumor, allowing scientists to design sensors that follow the map and detect cancer tumors when they’re still small.
“If I want to deliver a sensor to a particular region inside the body, right now, there's no way of directing it. We give it systemically, and it basically infuses all tissues all the time,” said Kwong, Robert A. Milton Professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering. “What's powerful is that we’re now defining tissue sites with a specific molecular ‘barcode.’ Then if a sensor is given systemically, it should only turn on when the barcode matches the local tissue.”
Read more about the project on the College of Engineering website.
“This facility demonstrates Georgia Tech’s long-term commitment to pioneering the technologies that will shape the future of aviation,” said Ángel Cabrera, president of Georgia Tech. “Aerospace products are Georgia’s No. 1 export, and the Institute’s top-ranked Guggenheim School produces some of the nation’s top aerospace engineering talent. With this advanced laboratory, we’re making strategic investments that will grow our state’s and our Institute’s national leadership in aerospace innovation and advanced manufacturing.”
The 10,000-square-foot facility, located in Georgia Tech’s North Avenue Research Area, has been purpose-built to accelerate innovation in electric and hybrid-electric aircraft propulsion as well as autonomous flight systems. Designed as a hands-on research and teaching environment, the Aircraft Prototyping Laboratory includes a suite of specialized laboratories: an electric powertrain lab, a propulsion system test cell, an avionics lab, a composites fabrication area, and a high-bay integration space capable of housing prototype aircraft with wingspans up to 20 feet.
One of the facility’s first major projects is RAVEN (Research Aircraft for eVTOL Enabling techNologies), a collaboration with NASA to design, build, and fly an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) research aircraft in the 1,000-pound weight class. The aircraft will serve as a research platform for electric propulsion reliability, flight controls, noise reduction, and autonomy. Systems integration and test activities for RAVEN will take place within the new lab, underscoring the facility’s central role in shaping the national agenda for advanced air mobility.
“The Aircraft Prototyping Laboratory is the centerpiece of an ecosystem of flight research that we are building at Georgia Tech, focused on eVTOLs, drones, and other advanced air vehicles,” said Brian German, professor of aerospace engineering at Georgia Tech. “We greatly appreciate the long-term partnership we’ve had with NASA in the development of RAVEN, and we’ve designed the facility specifically to support RAVEN and aircraft of a similar scale.”
Other projects underway in the Aircraft Prototyping Laboratory include a solar-electric aircraft demonstrator and SETTER, a subscale eVTOL testbed focused on developing software for safety-critical applications. These projects support Georgia Tech’s expanding ecosystem for flight testing and research, including collaborations with regional test facilities in the metro Atlanta area.
“These projects exemplify our commitment to advancing the technologies that will define the future of flight. Powered by the ingenuity of our faculty and students, the Aircraft Prototyping Laboratory ensures that Georgia Tech and the state of Georgia remain leaders in aerospace innovation and economic development,” said Mitchell Walker, William R.T. Oakes Professor and chair of the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering.
Through the Aircraft Prototyping Laboratory, Georgia Tech continues to develop research in electric and autonomous aircraft, supporting both the Institute’s and Georgia’s role in the aerospace industry. The school educates more than 2,000 aerospace students and is ranked No. 1 among public universities for aerospace engineering.
]]>Steimle’s work applies operations research and machine learning to improve medical decision-making and advance population health, with a focus on maternal and child health. Her recent projects explore maternal healthcare access, prevention of severe maternal morbidity from cardiovascular conditions, and strategies to prevent and control poliovirus outbreaks.
Read the full story here.
]]>As part of the recognition, Ziani has been invited to present his work in the MIF Early Career Award session at the 2025 INFORMS Annual Meeting in Atlanta. His talk, titled “Towards Inclusive and Human-Centered AI: Research and Service at the Intersection of Algorithms and Society,” will take place on Monday, October 27, 2025.
In his presentation, Ziani will highlight how his research redefines fairness in algorithmic decision-making, treating it not simply as a technical requirement but as a property shaped by broader socio-economic contexts. His work leverages methods from computer science, operations research, and economics to study both immediate and long-term disparities and to evaluate the societal impacts of algorithm-driven systems.
“This award is a recognition not only of my research but also of the importance of building inclusive structures that support the next generation of researchers,” Ziani said.
Beyond research, Ziani has dedicated his career to supporting emerging scholars in the field. He has spearheaded initiatives such as ISyE-MS&E-IOE Rising Stars Workshop, in conjunction with Stanford University Management Science and Engineering and University of Michigan Industrial and Operations Engineering, and has served as Doctoral Consortium Chair for the ACM Conference on Equity and Access in Algorithms, Mechanisms, and Optimization (EAAMO) for the past four years.
For more information on 2025 INFORMS Annual Meeting, please visit the INFORMS website.
]]>A newly released study confirms what many shippers have suspected: Atlanta-bound cargo through Savannah offers shippers lower costs, greater reliability, and similar transit times compared to West Coast ports.
According to independent research conducted by Georgia Tech’s Supply Chain and Logistics Institute (SCL), shipping through Savannah offers a 32% cost savings over West Coast ports, while delivering comparable transit times and greater reliability.
“While vessel transit from China to the U.S. West Coast is shorter than East Coast transits, supply chain rehandling and congestion can lead to delays,” says Benoit Montreuil, executive director, Supply Chain and Logistics Institute at Georgia Tech. “Containers routed via West Coast ports are often trucked to local warehouses for transloading into 53’ domestic containers and then drayed to railheads for transit to Atlanta, which can add further delays and transit variability.”
The study, “Shipping Variability and Trade Route Decision-Making,” evaluated shipping performance from 10 major Asian ports to Atlanta. The research accounted for complete end-to-end shipping costs and times, including both ocean and inland transportation. Savannah emerged as the more efficient and cost-effective gateway.
“These are powerful findings that we understood anecdotally, but now have been proven by the research,” said Griff Lynch, president and CEO of Georgia Ports Authority. “Savannah’s terminal velocity combined with faster inland routes overcome the West Coast Ocean transit.”
The study was conducted at Georgia Tech’s Physical Internet Center, a hub for global logistics innovation established in 2006 by Professor Montreuil. SCL researchers, comprising professors and Ph.D. students, are focused on creating smarter, more sustainable supply chain systems. In addition to its Atlanta-based work, SCL collaborates with international partners in Europe and Asia. The recent collaboration with Georgia Ports Authority is among several initiatives where SCL will continue to provide expertise for improving efficiencies across statewide transportation and logistics networks.
“Logistics is a global challenge, and it takes collaboration across countries and disciplines. By combining academic insight with industry data, we’re helping design systems that are more efficient, more resilient, and better for the future,” says Xiao Huang, PhD student, Operations Research.
“It’s encouraging to see that the research we do can go beyond the university and help improve supply chain systems on the ground.”
To learn more about this study, watch here.
The Georgia Tech-Shepherd Center Seed Grant Program is part of an ongoing partnership between the two institutions that started in 2023 with the goal of advancing rehabilitative patient care and research.
“The seed grant program is intended to stimulate new interdisciplinary research collaborations by providing seed funding to obtain preliminary data or prototypes necessary for the submission of an external grant or industry opportunities,” says Deborah Backus, vice president of Research and Innovation at Shepherd Center. “As two leading research institutions, we know the potential for advancing rehabilitation therapies is even greater when we work together. We look forward to the solutions, treatments, and therapies that emerge from these initial seed grants.”
Experts from both institutions evaluated and scored seed grant applications based on the research’s innovation, approach, and potential for training opportunities, as well as its anticipated impact, prospects for commercial translation, and strategy for securing continued funding. This year, each awardee team received close to $50,000.
“We are very excited to launch this new seed grant program, which will spur ideas and propel research forward,” said Michelle LaPlaca, professor in the Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Georgia Tech lead of the Collaborative. “The complementary expertise of Georgia Tech and Shepherd Center researchers, combined with the motivation to find solutions for individuals with neurological injury and disability, is a winning formula for innovation.”
"Offering new hope for neurorehabilitation patients requires bringing together interdisciplinary researchers to explore new and creative ideas,” adds Chris Rozell, Julian T. Hightower Chaired professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the inaugural executive director of the Institute of Neuroscience, Neurotechnology, and Society (INNS) at Georgia Tech. “I'm excited to see the talent at these world class institutions coming together to develop new solutions for these complex problems."
This year’s seed grants were awarded to the following projects:
Audra Davidson
Research Communications Program Manager
Institute for Neuroscience, Neurotechnology, and Society
Led by PI: Taylor Higgins, Assistant Professor, FAMU-FSU Department of Mechanical Engineering, partnering with Co-PIs Shreyas Kousik, Assistant Professor, Georgia Tech, George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, and Brady DeCouto, Assistant Professor, FSU Anne Spencer Daves College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences, the research will use the acquisition of unicycle riding skill by participants to gain a better grasp on human motor learning in tasks requiring balance and complex movement in space. Although it might sound a bit odd, the fact that most people don’t know how to ride a unicycle, and the fact that it requires balance, mean that the data will cover the learning process from novice to skilled across the participant pool.
Using data acquired from human participants, the team will develop a “robotics assistive unicycle” that will be used in the training of the next pool of novice unicycle riders. This is to gauge if, and how rapidly, human motor learning outcomes improve with the assistive unicycle. The participants that engage with the robotic unicycle will also give valuable insight into developing effective human-robot collaboration strategies.
The fact that deciding to get on a unicycle requires a bit of bravery might not be great for the participants, but it’s great for the research team. The project will also allow exploration into the interconnection between anxiety and human motor learning to discover possible alleviation strategies, thus increasing the likelihood of positive outcomes for future patients and consumers of these devices.
Author
-Christa M. Ernst
This Article Refers to NSF Award # 2449160
]]>Right now, about 70 million miles away, a Ramblin’ Wreck from Georgia Tech streaks through the cosmos. It’s a briefcase-sized spacecraft called Lunar Flashlight that was assembled in a Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) cleanroom in 2021, then launched aboard a SpaceX rocket in 2022.
The plan was to send Lunar Flashlight to the moon, where the spacecraft would shoot lasers at its south pole in a search for frozen water. Mission control for the flight was on Georgia Tech’s campus, where students in the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering (AE) sat in the figurative driver’s seat. They worked for several months in 2023 to coax the craft toward its intended orbit in coordination with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL).
A faulty propulsion system kept the CubeSat from reaching its goal. Disappointing, to be sure, but it opened a new series of opportunities for the student controllers. When it was clear Lunar Flashlight wouldn’t reach the moon and instead settle into an orbit of the sun, JPL turned over ownership to Georgia Tech. It’s now the only higher education institution that has controlled an interplanetary spacecraft.
Lunar Flashlight’s initial orbit, planned destination, and current whereabouts mirrors much of the College of Engineering’s research in space technology. Some faculty are focused on projects in low earth orbit (LEO). Others have an eye on the moon. A third group is looking well beyond our small area of the solar system.
No matter the distance, though, each of these Georgia Tech engineers is working toward a new era of exploration and scientific discovery.
Meet them in the latest issue of Helluva Engineer magazine.
]]>A charcoal-like material made from leaves and branches that collect on forest floors could be a cheap, sustainable way to keep pollution from washing off roadways and into Georgia’s lakes and rivers.
Engineers at Georgia Tech and Georgia Southern University have found that this biological charcoal, or biochar, can be mixed with soil and used along roadways to catch grimy rainwater and filter it naturally before it pollutes surface water.
Their tests found the biochar effectively cleans contaminants from the rainwater and works just as well in the sandy soils of the coastal plain as in the clays of north Georgia. Their biochar-soil mixture can be easily substituted for expensive material mined from the earth that’s typically used on roads.
Though they focused on Georgia, the researchers said the findings could easily apply across the U.S., providing a simple, natural way to keep road pollutants out of water sources. They published their approach in the Journal of Environmental Management.
Learn about their system on the College of Engineering website.
]]>As microchips grow more complex and data demands intensify, traditional electrical connections are hitting their limits. Speed is king in today’s digital systems, but a major bottleneck remains in how quickly information can move between components like processors and memory.
This lag is one of the most pressing challenges in advanced hardware design. While processors continue to accelerate, the links that connect them can't keep pace.
Georgia Tech researcher Ali Adibi is addressing this problem with $5.3 million in funding over three years from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). His project is part of DARPA’s Heterogeneous Adaptively Produced Photonic Interfaces (HAPPI) program, which aims to dramatically boost the speed and density of data transmission within microsystems by using light instead of electricity.
“Optical solutions are highly advantageous for providing the required data rates and power consumptions, and our project is formed to address the most important challenges for achieving the system-level performance,” said Adibi, a professor and Joseph M. Pettit Chair in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
The project brings together a multidisciplinary team, including collaborators from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Florida, NY CREATES, and NHanced Semiconductors, Inc.
Going Vertical
Unlike traditional optical communication, which connects systems across distances, this project focuses on enabling ultra-fast, low-loss communication withinelectronic systems.
The key innovation is vertically connecting electronic chips in a compact stack. This design helps overcome the limitations of planar optical routing geometries (layouts that guide light horizontally across a chip) which are often not compatible with the dense, 3D chip architectures needed for next-generation computing.
Adibi’s team is developing a novel 3D optical routing system that can transmit data with minimal loss, high bandwidth, and compact components. The system is designed to scale to large arrays of interconnected chips with minimal interference between data channels.
Smarter Design with Machine Learning
At the heart of the project is the use of machine learning (ML) to help design and optimize the light-based communication system.
ML is used to shape and fine-tune the tiny structures that guide light through and between chips. This includes finding the best sizes, shapes, and layouts for components like couplers and waveguides, so they can be made smaller, work more efficiently, and fit into dense chip layouts.
“Designing a complete, scalable 3D optical routing structure involves innumerable variables,” Adibi said. “Machine learning helps us navigate that complexity and find solutions that would be nearly impossible to identify manually.”
Tiny "Mirrors"
Another key innovation involves specialized optical structures, or what Adibi refers to as “artificial mirrors”.
The tiny, precisely shaped structures, called metagratings, are embedded in the chip material to redirect light vertically between layers with minimal loss. These components are designed to guide light efficiently in tight spaces, helping connect stacked chips without losing signal strength.
“Imagine light traveling through a chip and suddenly being redirected straight up. That’s the kind of precise control we’re achieving,” Adibi explained.
These innovations, along with advanced techniques for building vertical light paths through thick silicon layers and new packaging solutions that keep components precisely aligned, have shown promise on their own. But combining them is what enables dense, high-speed, low-loss communication between vertically stacked chips, something that no system has achieved before, according to Adibi.
“As with any complex system, success depends on how well everything is structured and optimized,” he said. “Once everything is in alignment, data can move faster, more efficiently, and with less energy consumption for communicating each bit of data.”
About the Research
This research is supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Heterogeneous Adaptively Produced Photonic Interfaces (HAPPI) program. Notice ID DARPA-SN-24-105.
By combining advanced optical techniques, Professor Ali Adibi’s 3D optical routing systems looks to enable vertical chip integration in a way not previously achieved. (Photo: Allison Carter)
More than half a century after the United States won the race to the moon, the White House is setting its sights on a new frontier: Mars. In a move reminiscent of the Apollo era, the administration has proposed landing Americans on the red planet by the end of 2026 — a bold initiative that has reignited national ambition and drawn comparisons to the space race of the 20th century.
At Georgia Tech, researchers are already considering the mission’s implications, from engineering challenges to international diplomacy. While the White House has framed the mission as a demonstration of American leadership, experts say its success will depend on collaboration — across disciplines, sectors, and borders.
“This is more than a space race,” said Christos Athanasiou, an assistant professor in the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering. “Mars isn’t just the next step for space exploration — it’s a stress test for everything we’ve learned about sustainability, resilience, and engineering under uncertainty.”
Engineering for the Red Planet
For Athanasiou, the Mars mission is a test of human ingenuity, creativity, and endurance. Unlike the moon, Mars is months away by spacecraft, with no quick return option. That distance introduces a host of engineering challenges that must be solved before a single boot touches Martian soil.
“Ensuring astronaut safety on such a long-duration mission requires us to understand how the Earth materials we will be using in our mission behave in extraterrestrial conditions,” he said.
In his recent TEDx talk, Athanasiou emphasized that the mission must also consider its environmental impact. Mars may be barren, but it is not immune to contamination. Athanasiou believes that strategies used for environmental remediation on Earth — such as waste recycling, habitat sustainability, and pollution control — can be adapted to protect the Martian environment.
“If we can build structures that survive Mars using recycled materials, AI, and Earth-born ingenuity, we’ll unlock entirely new ways to live — both out there and back here,” he said.
Reading the Martian Landscape
James Wray, a professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, has spent years analyzing Mars’ surface using data from orbiters and rovers. He sees the planet as both a scientific treasure trove and a logistical puzzle.
“Mars has vast lava plains, dust storms, and steep canyons that pose real risks to human settlement,” Wray said.
But beneath the challenges lies opportunity. Mars is home to significant deposits of water ice, especially near the poles and just below the surface in some mid-latitude regions. That water could be used not only for drinking but also for producing oxygen and rocket fuel — critical resources for long-term habitation and return missions.
“The presence of water ice near the surface is a game changer. It could support life, and more importantly, it could support us,” Wray said.
He also noted that Mars’ thin atmosphere — just 1% the density of Earth’s — complicates everything from landing spacecraft to shielding astronauts from cosmic radiation. “We’ve learned a lot from robotic missions. Now it’s time to apply that knowledge to human exploration.”
Diplomacy Beyond Earth
Lincoln Hines, an assistant professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, says that the Mars mission could have significant diplomatic implications. “The Mars mission has little to no bearing on space security; it has no military value,” he said. However, he noted that international cooperation could still play a valuable role in reducing the financial burden of such a costly endeavor.
Hines warned that shifting U.S. priorities from the moon to Mars could strain the international partnerships built through the Artemis program. He explained that some countries may view the Mars initiative as a distraction from the more immediate and economically promising lunar goals. Political instability in the U.S., he added, could further erode trust in its long-term commitments. “Countries may lose faith that the United States is a reliable partner to cooperate with for its lunar program if Mars seems to be the new priority,” he said.
He also pointed to existing legal frameworks like the Outer Space Treaty, which prohibits sovereign claims on celestial bodies, and the Rescue Agreement, which obliges nations to assist astronauts in distress. While these agreements provide a foundation, Hines emphasized that they don’t fully address the complexities of future Mars missions.
Establishing international norms for Mars exploration, he said, will be challenging. “Norms are really hard to develop,” Hines explained, noting that countries often hesitate to commit to rules without assurance that others will do the same. Still, he suggested that Mars — with its limited material value — might offer a rare opportunity for cooperation, if nations are willing to engage in good faith.
More than half a century after the United States won the race to the moon, the White House is setting its sights on a new frontier: Mars. In a move reminiscent of the Apollo era, the administration has proposed landing Americans on the red planet by the end of 2026 — a bold initiative that has reignited national ambition and drawn comparisons to the space race of the 20th century.
]]>School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Assistant Professor Amirali Aghazadeh and Ph.D. student Daniel Saeedi have developed AstroAgents, an AI system that analyzes mass spectrometry data — detailed chemical compositions from meteorites and Earth soil samples — to generate novel hypotheses about the origins of life on the planet.
What sets AstroAgents apart is its use of agentic AI. Unlike traditional AI systems that perform fixed tasks, this agentic system is designed to pursue a scientific goal. It draws from astrobiology literature, interprets complex data, and proposes original ideas that researchers can investigate further.
Their paper, recently featured in the journal "Nature", is opening new possibilities for how scientists explore questions that have remained unanswered for decades.
In a special Q&A, Aghazadeh and Saeedi explain how AstroAgents analyzes space chemistry, what it’s revealing about the possible origins of life on Earth, and what they hope to explore next.
]]>As electric vehicles and renewable energy storage become central to the global energy transition, the battery supply chain is under more pressure than ever. In 2024, global battery demand surpassed 1 terawatt-hour, equal to powering 100 million homes for an hour, according to the International Energy Agency. But while demand is booming, the infrastructure to meet it — especially in the U.S. — is still catching up.
The U.S. Push for Battery Independence
For years, the U.S. has relied heavily on foreign sources for battery components and materials. Now, with geopolitical tensions rising and clean energy goals looming, policymakers are trying to change that. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), passed in 2022, offered tax credits and incentives to boost domestic battery production. It also introduced restrictions to limit reliance on adversarial nations.
“These policies, as well as support from state and local governments, have significantly accelerated battery manufacturing in the U.S.,” said Matt McDowell, a mechanical engineering and materials science professor at Georgia Tech and Carter N. Paden Jr. Distinguished Chair for Innovation in Material Science and Metals Processing. “But we’re still in the early stages of building a truly resilient supply chain.”
Gleb Yushin, a professor at Georgia Tech and chief technical officer of battery materials company Sila, agrees. “The IRA’s FEOC restrictions sent a timely, much-needed market signal to spur demand for battery materials made outside of China and, in turn, investments by cell makers into local suppliers,” he said.
Still, reshoring production is no small feat. “It’s been great to see increased domestic production of graphite and other components,” McDowell added. “This will result in more robust battery supply and lower prices in the long-term.”
How New Materials Are Changing the Game
While policy is one piece of the puzzle, innovation is another. For decades, graphite has been the go-to material for battery anodes. But researchers have long eyed silicon as a more powerful alternative — one that can store up to 10 times more charge.
The problem? Silicon swells dramatically during charging, which can damage the battery. “It expands by 300%,” Yushin explained. “That’s compared to just 7% for graphite.”
After years of research, Sila developed Titan Silicon™, a silicon-carbon composite that solves the swelling issue. “It offers 25–35% more energy density, over two times faster charging, and can be dropped into any production line,” Yushin said. “Now, the challenge lies in scaling this technology for mass production while staying ahead of market pressures.”
Solid-state and lithium-sulfur batteries are also gaining attention for their potential to improve safety and performance. But while McDowell is excited about these technologies, he cautions that they’re not yet ready for prime time. “A key focus is developing scalable manufacturing processes to compete with lithium-ion batteries,” he said.
Yushin is more skeptical of the benefits. “Solid-state batteries require entirely new supply chains and infrastructure,” he said. “Silicon is a perfect replacement for lithium metal — it’s stable, reversible, and compatible with existing infrastructure.”
What It Will Take to Compete and Lead
The IRA initially generated over $115 billion in clean energy investments, with $69 billion directed toward battery manufacturing. But with parts of the law now under threat of repeal, the future is uncertain.
“Now that most of the IRA stands to be repealed, we will see if a tariff approach can spur the same results,” Yushin said. “There’s a lot of capital waiting on the sidelines. But without long-term certainty, it’s hard to justify the risk.”
He also pointed to deeper structural issues. “Capital intensity and the cost of borrowing are primary inhibitors of investment,” he said. “Firm purchasing of goods is required to secure financing, but uncertainty over tax credits has cooled demand for local supply.”
McDowell believes the solution lies in a broader strategy. “We need to invest in workforce development, research, and infrastructure,” he said. “This isn’t just about batteries — it’s about building an entire ecosystem.”
“When I finished rehabilitation, my doctors and therapist and, most importantly, the insurance company said, ‘For someone with your condition, we feel like you've made all the improvement that you will, have a nice life,’” said Burkhart, who was left with limited feeling and mobility below the neck after a 2010 diving accident injured his spinal cord. “That didn't sit well with me.”
Hoping even a fraction of hand mobility would increase his independence, Burkhart turned to a clinical research trial on a brain-computer interface (BCI) designed to detect movement signals in the brain and send them to a computer to stimulate the arm muscles, bypassing the spinal cord in the hopes of restoring movement.
“I had had four and a half years of never thinking my hand was going to move again,” he recalled. When testing to see if he qualified for the study, researchers stimulated his hand muscles. “I saw my hand move, and that was all I needed to know — I was ready to risk it all for something that may or may not work.”
Burkhart’s story is one of many that reveal the deeply personal side of neurotechnology research. Centering lived experiences like his is central to the mission of the Institute for Neuroscience, Neurotechnology, and Society (INNS), a new Interdisciplinary Research Institute launching this July at Georgia Tech.
“If we want to build neurotechnology that truly serves people, their voices should be part of the scientific process from the very beginning,” said Chris Rozell, a professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering and one of the many researchers at Georgia Tech working to understand and advance BCIs. “Hearing from individuals who live with these devices helps guide more ethical, inclusive, and effective research. The entire field benefits from inclusive conversations like these.”
Burkhart and three others recently shared their stories live on the Ferst Center stage at “Wired Lives: Personal Stories of Brain-Computer Interfaces, an event organized by Georgia Tech’s Neuro Next Initiative. Their stories gave over 200 attendees a rare, honest glimpse into the realities of neurological conditions and the path to brain-computer interface research.
“I was at a crossroads in my life at 47 years old,” said Brandan Mehaffie, who told his story of living with early-onset Parkinson’s disease. “I was trying to figure out, do I continue with the status quo and watch my career dwindle into nothing? Watch my life with my family, my kids, not being able to go on hikes or family vacations?”
Mehaffie eventually qualified for deep brain stimulation (DBS) treatment, a procedure where a pacemaker-like device is implanted into the brain to provide electrical stimulation. “It changed my life for the better in ways that I can't even tell you.”
When former U.S. Air Force Sgt. Jennifer Walden’s doctor told her about a clinical trial testing DBS as an epilepsy treatment, she jumped at the chance. “The 48 hours after those seizures are 48 hours where you don't want to live anymore.” Walden explained that her response to medication had dwindled after years of traditional treatment, increasing the frequency and severity of her seizures. “I feared suicide. It's something I didn't want to do, but if something happened in those 48 hours to end my life, I didn't care,” she said.
“I am now probably 99% seizure-free,” she beamed as she recalled her response to DBS on stage. “I don't know how I got so lucky in life, but I don't take it for granted.”
Common themes in their stories were resilience, hope, and a deep desire to give back.
“When I joined the study, it had no physical benefit to me, but that's not why I joined it,” said Scott Imbrie, who experienced a major spinal cord injury and participates in a clinical BCI study at the University of Chicago. “I decided to have invasive brain surgery and have electrodes implanted on my brain to help other people.”
Timed alongside the InterfaceNeuro conference at Georgia Tech, the gathering offered a rare opportunity for scientists, engineers, and clinicians to engage directly with the lived experiences of individuals using brain-computer interfaces — a perspective often missing from traditional research settings.
“It makes you think about how we ethically conduct research and how we recruit and interface with patients,” said Eric Cole, a postdoctoral researcher at Emory University, who was reminded that many patients participating in BCI research have been on a long, difficult journey before interacting with researchers. “We should remember to take their experiences seriously and respect them. They're giving up something for research — that part we should always remember.”
“Wired Lives” was one in a series of events highlighting the lived experience of individuals with neurological conditions organized by the Neuro Next Initiative, which has served as the precursor to INNS.
“A core mission of INNS is to consider how neuroscience and neurotechnology impact people’s lives,” said Jennifer Singh, associate professor in the School of History and Sociology, a member of NNI’s executive committee, and a co-organizer of the event. “Their stories matter when it comes to the types of science and technology we pursue and how they benefit the human condition. Many scientists and engineers may never encounter people living with neurological conditions outside of events like this. That will be a priority for INNS — to bring the expertise of lived experiences to the research process.”
Ian Burkhart’s lived experience reminded the audience that not every clinical trial has a happy ending. His BCI was ultimately removed after seven years as research funding ran short, taking his newly improved hand mobility with it. Despite this, Burkhart remained positive.
“I'm so glad I was able to take that risk and have that voluntary brain surgery and participate in this type of research because it's defined my life.” Burkhart went on to found the BCI Pioneers Coalition and his own nonprofit because of his research participation. “It gave me a lot of hope for the future, and a lot of hope that these types of devices are going to be able to help people and improve their quality of life.”
This event was produced in partnership with The Story Collider and made possible through support from Blackrock Neurotech and Medtronic.
]]>Imagine a scene from an old spy movie—an agent hides a coded message in a public place, then someone else picks it up later. There is no direct contact, no traceable link—just a clever drop-off.
Something similar plays out online every day, but it’s hackers, not secret agents, doing the drops.
When a hacker uses malware to infect a device, they won’t send instructions to it directly. Instead, they hide the location of their control servers inside scrambled strings of data. These encoded messages, called dead drops, are quietly stored on trusted web applications like Dropbox or Google Drive. When malware infects a device, it connects to one of these services, decodes the message, and learns where to go next—without ever raising red flags.
This method helps attackers stay under the radar by blending in with everyday web traffic on legitimate online services, but a team of cybersecurity researchers from Georgia Tech’s Cyber Forensics Innovation (CyFI) Lab have developed a solution to combat this stealthy threat.
Led by Georgia Tech Ph.D. student Mingxuan Yao and Jonathan Fuller from the United States Military Academy, the research team developed a tool to automatically detect and neutralize dead drop resolver (DDR) -enabled malware. Named VADER by the researchers, it analyzes how each malware sample decodes hidden content and extracts the logic—or recipe—it uses to uncover the final command-and-control (C&C) server.
Yao and Fuller discovered how widespread this problem is when VADER identified nearly 9,000 real-world malware samples using DDR techniques across seven different popular web storage apps.
“It’s crucial for web app providers to act fast by removing these hidden payloads,” said Yao. “But that’s just the start—new, disguised versions could be hiding anywhere on their platforms.”
Since providers have no idea how the content has been manipulated, spotting these hidden threats used to be nearly impossible. In an experiment by the CyFI team, a striking 64.1% of C&C servers shielded by dead drops were still active as of the day the study was conducted.
That’s why the CyFI Lab designed VADER to scale. When tested on 100,000 malware samples, it identified the 8,906 DDR-enabled ones and extracted seven unique decoding methods. Then, using those recipes, the system scanned live web traffic and discovered 72 additional dead drops across 11 different platforms, leading to the identification of 67 new C&C addresses.
So far, VADER’s results have enabled security teams to work with providers to take down 43 of those malicious dead drops—and counting.
VADER: Enhanced Web Application Security Through Proactive Dead Drop Resolver Remediation will be presented in the 32nd ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security Conference in Taipei, Taiwan later this year.
This method helps attackers stay under the radar by blending in with everyday web traffic on legitimate online services, but a team of cybersecurity researchers from Georgia Tech’s Cyber Forensics Innovation (CyFI) Lab have developed a solution to combat this stealthy threat.
]]>College of Computing | School of Cybersecurity and Privacy
]]>Elanor Finlayson, a master's computer science student, secured her spot on the podium at the recent Collegiate National Road Cycling Race on a bicycle designed and built by a fellow Yellow Jacket.
As a high school athlete, the Atlanta native often used cycling for cross-training, but she began cycling more frequently during the Covid-19 pandemic. At the same time, in northern Virginia, Iain MacKeith, ME 2023, continued his cycling ambitions on the bike and in the shop.
Combining his interest in mechanical engineering and cycling, and having competed in races since he was 9, MacKeith began constructing steel bicycle frames. He designed and built six frames in six months before arriving at Tech in August 2020.
Once on campus, Finlayson and MacKeith both sought out a cycling community and joined the Georgia Tech Cycling Club. They began training and racing together, and when Finlayson found out about her training partner's side hobby, she commissioned MacKeith to make her a gravel bike. MacKeith has since made five more bikes for Finlayson, including the carbon fiber road bike she used in the recent national competition — a race she was determined to compete in after breaking her collarbone in 2024.
"I was off the bike for two months and in a sling, but once I figured out a way to get on the indoor bike trainer, I was ready to get back to training,” she said. “Once I had the all-clear from the doctor, I knew I was going to throw everything into training and gear up for nationals."
Finlayson was unable to participate in nationals while completing her computer science degree due to her finals schedule, but as a graduate student, she knew she had the chance to compete. Confident in her equipment and herself, Finlayson's goal was to earn a spot in the top five. With the finish line in sight at the end of the 60-mile race in Madison, Wisconsin, she was overcome with emotion.
"Coming into the final straight, I just started screaming. It was a combination of intensity, the fact that I was pushing myself so hard, and it was such an insane moment to realize that I would be on the podium," she said.
MacKeith, former cycling club president at Tech, is familiar with the feeling of crossing the finish line, but as the maker of Finlayson's bike, he found a similar sense of accomplishment on the sidelines.
"I think it's an accomplishment and a sense of relief. The interesting thing about cycling is that, even though it's one person on the podium, it's a team sport in a way, and we can share this feeling, and there's a great satisfaction to playing a part in someone else's success," he said.
As a mechanical engineering student, MacKeith gained a better understanding of the materials needed to construct a more aerodynamic frame, particularly carbon fiber. While at Tech, he spent hours in campus makerspaces as a prototyping instructor at the Flowers Invention Studio, where he taught other students how to create their own frames.
Since graduation, MacKeith has worked at a space and aerospace manufacturing company, but he hasn't stopped constructing bicycles. Without the makerspaces, he built a home studio and retrofitted an oven to handle curing abilities for carbon fiber parts.
MacKeith intends to keep making bicycles but doesn't intend to mass produce his designs, because his joy comes from fitting each frame to its rider's specific needs. He also continues to improve the design of a filament winding machine, which he created as a student at Tech, that allows him to robotically layup carbon fiber tow into tubular shapes to increase efficiency in the construction process.
Through her lab work on campus and her studies, Finlayson has become increasingly interested in the use of data and has implemented it in her training methods. Set to graduate in December, she intends to enter the data analytics field with a focus on improving public health outcomes.
No matter where their professional paths take them, MacKeith and Finlayson have a shared desire to compete and win, so they will continue to race and motivate each other along the way.
We caught up with Holly and Andrew to learn more about what makes Georgia Tech so appealing to students and employees alike, and the unique perspective their mother-son relationship brings to campus.
How long have you worked at Georgia Tech? What do you do as a financial operations assistant director?
[Holly] I have been at Georgia Tech since 2000 and joined the College of Computing in early 2005. Ironically and very memorably, I found out I was expecting Andrew right after I started in Computing. I still recall being very nervous about telling my new boss that I was expecting, but she was happy for me and very accommodating. I went to the bookstore right after our meeting and bought Andrew his first Georgia Tech t-shirt, which I plan to pass down to him one day.
Being part of the College for this long, I have watched it grow from having divisions to schools. I began as a financial administrator and steadily grew into my current role as assistant director of financial operations for the School of Computational Science and Engineering (CSE). In my current role, I oversee financial operations for the School of CSE, including budgeting, forecasting, financial reporting, and ensuring compliance with Institute and sponsor guidelines. I work closely with faculty, staff, and leadership to support our financial programs and other initiatives. It is a rewarding role that allows me to contribute to the success of the college while watching it grow, just like my own journey here.
How much influence did your mom’s work at Georgia Tech have on your interest in coming here for college?
[Andrew] It definitely played a role. I grew up a fan of all things Georgia Tech, so this was always my dream school. When I got in, all the stars aligned. Tech was my dream school, my mom worked there, and I was close to home. It was perfect.
What is it about Georgia Tech that has kept you here for more than two decades?
[Holly] From the beginning, I have always felt that my work contributes to something bigger – supporting faculty who offer world-class education and innovation. I have had the opportunity to grow professionally and work alongside very talented colleagues.
How has your first year gone? What do you like best about attending Georgia Tech?
[Andrew] Overwhelming. I wasn’t sure what to expect from attending college. The college lifestyle was a big change for me, and I had to learn how to navigate it. I knew Georgia Tech would be challenging, and I thought I was ready for it, but it was still harder than I expected. However, I managed to get through my first year with great resilience and finish stronger than I started.
What do you each like best about being on campus together?
[Holly] I enjoy being nearby and getting to share this chapter of his life. There are many times that Andrew is focused on his studies or his fraternity commitments, so he doesn’t get to come home as often as I would like. But with me being on campus, we can grab a quick lunch or have a short visit. I also like knowing he is a short walk from my office if I want to drop off a homemade meal. Even when we are both too busy for a visit, sometimes I find myself looking out the window across campus. Just seeing the top of a building where he is attending class gives me comfort knowing he is there.
[Andrew] Bouncing off of what my mom said, it has been great. It is comforting that I can go to her office just to say “hey,” and not drive all the way home. It’s nice that when I’m having a rough patch with school, she drops by to offer some reassurance.
What has been the key to reaching the milestones of a fulfilling career and witnessing your children achieve their goals?
[Holly] The key to reaching these milestones has really been maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Georgia Tech has given me the space and support to grow professionally while also being present as a parent. That balance has been everything. It allowed me to build a fulfilling career that I’m proud of, while also being there to watch my children grow and pursue their dreams, including Andrew becoming a Georgia Tech student himself. Being able to do both, without having to choose one over the other, has truly been the foundation of my success and happiness.
What do you look forward to in the next few years studying computer engineering at Georgia Tech? And after graduating?
[Andrew] I am most excited for my threads and starting my career. I have learned so much that I am already applying my studies. I recently used Raspberry Pi to build a circuit that enabled a motion detector to work and set off an LED indicating motion. This was a part of my discovery class for my major, and it was the most fun I have had at Georgia Tech so far. It was very new and exciting to learn about, and it motivates me to put my skills to work.
After graduating, I want to work in cybersecurity, possibly as a hardware security engineer for the government or even my own startup. The project I mentioned opened my eyes to my threads and really motivated me to continue in this field.
Rush is one of more than 150 College of Computing staff members who support the College and its five schools. Staff members are the backbone of the College. From managing operations to providing essential services, their dedication ensures the seamless delivery of education, research, and community support, making them integral to the College's success.
]]>We caught up with Holly and Andrew to learn more about what makes Georgia Tech so appealing to students and employees alike, and the unique perspective their mother-son relationship brings to campus.
]]>The researchers described the soft robot April 23 in Science Robotics. They said their findings could help develop robots capable of jumping across various terrain, at different heights, in multiple directions.
Read the entire story and see video of the jumping robot and small nematodes.
Wang is a recipient of the 2025 Outstanding Dissertation Award from the Association for Computing Machinery Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (ACM SIGCHI). The award recognizes Wang for his lifelong work on democratizing human-centered AI.
“Throughout my Ph.D. and industry internships, I observed a gap in existing research: there is a strong need for practical tools for applying human-centered approaches when designing AI systems,” said Wang, now a safety researcher at OpenAI.
“My work not only helps people understand AI and guide its behavior but also provides user-friendly tools that fit into existing workflows.”
[Related: Georgia Tech College of Computing Swarms to Yokohama, Japan, for CHI 2025]
Wang’s dissertation presented techniques in visual explanation and interactive guidance to align AI models with user knowledge and values. The work culminated from years of research, fellowship support, and internships.
Wang’s most influential projects formed the core of his dissertation. These included:
“I feel extremely honored and lucky to receive this award, and I am deeply grateful to many who have supported me along the way, including Polo, mentors, collaborators, and friends,” said Wang, who was advised by School of Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) Professor Polo Chau.
“This recognition also inspired me to continue striving to design and develop easy-to-use tools that help everyone to easily interact with AI systems.”
Like Wang, Chau advised Georgia Tech alumnus Fred Hohman (Ph.D. CSE 2020). Hohman won the ACM SIGCHI Outstanding Dissertation Award in 2022.
Chau’s group synthesizes machine learning (ML) and visualization techniques into scalable, interactive, and trustworthy tools. These tools increase understanding and interaction with large-scale data and ML models.
Chau is the associate director of corporate relations for the Machine Learning Center at Georgia Tech. Wang called the School of CSE his home unit while a student in the ML program under Chau.
Wang is one of five recipients of this year’s award to be presented at the 2025 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2025). The conference occurs April 25-May 1 in Yokohama, Japan.
SIGCHI is the world’s largest association of human-computer interaction professionals and practitioners. The group sponsors or co-sponsors 26 conferences, including CHI.
Wang’s outstanding dissertation award is the latest recognition of a career decorated with achievement.
Months after graduating from Georgia Tech, Forbes named Wang to its 30 Under 30 in Science for 2025 for his dissertation. Wang was one of 15 Yellow Jackets included in nine different 30 Under 30 lists and the only Georgia Tech-affiliated individual on the 30 Under 30 in Science list.
While a Georgia Tech student, Wang earned recognition from big names in business and technology. He received the Apple Scholars in AI/ML Ph.D. Fellowship in 2023 and was in the 2022 cohort of the J.P. Morgan AI Ph.D. Fellowships Program.
Along with the CHI award, Wang’s dissertation earned him awards this year at banquets across campus. The Georgia Tech chapter of Sigma Xi presented Wang with the Best Ph.D. Thesis Award. He also received the College of Computing’s Outstanding Dissertation Award.
“Georgia Tech attracts many great minds, and I’m glad that some, like Jay, chose to join our group,” Chau said. “It has been a joy to work alongside them and witness the many wonderful things they have accomplished, and with many more to come in their careers.”
]]>Wang is a recipient of the 2025 Outstanding Dissertation Award from the Association for Computing Machinery Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (ACM SIGCHI). The award recognizes Wang for his lifelong work on democratizing human-centered AI.
]]>College membership honors those, “who have made outstanding contributions to engineering and medicine research, practice, or education,” and “to the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of medical and biological engineering or developing/implementing innovative approaches to bioengineering education.”
The distinction is among the highest professional distinctions given to medical and biological engineers, comprised of the top two percent of engineers in these fields.
He was nominated and inducted for outstanding contributions to computational neuroengineering, psychiatric neuromodulation, and international leadership in accessible biomedical education.
Rozell's research interests are in computational neuroengineering, an intersection of neuroscience, data science, neurotechnology and computational modeling that advances the understanding of brain function and the design of effective interventions.
His research has a particular focus on advancing our understanding and novel brain stimulation therapies for psychiatric disorders such as treatment resistant depression.
Recently, he was part of a team that identified a unique pattern in brain activity that reflects the recovery process in patients with treatment-resistant depression. This pattern, known as a biomarker, represented a significant advance in treatment for the most severe and untreatable forms of depression.
His work also includes research that takes a creative approach to advancing the understanding of the societal impacts of emerging technologies such as neurotechnology and AI.
Rozell especially takes pride in being a first-generation scholar who is committed to accessibility in scientific communities. In pursuit of this goal, he co-founded and serves on the Board of Directors of Neuromatch, Inc., a global nonprofit increasing access to scientific knowledge.
His scholarly efforts have resulted in many published works in top publications, such as Nature, and a number of awards, including the NSF CAREER Award.
Before joining the ECE faculty in 2008 as an assistant professor, Rozell received a B.S.E. degree in computer engineering and a B.F.A. degree in music in 2000 from the University of Michigan. He then received M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering in 2002 and 2007 from Rice University and was a postdoctoral scholar at the Redwood Center for Theoretical Neuroscience at the University of California, Berkeley.
]]>To meet this demand, the College is doubling down on efforts to equip students with entrepreneurial skills, offering expanded course sections and deeper collaborations with CREATE-X. Faculty say the goal isn’t just to produce startups—it’s to teach students how to identify and tackle meaningful problems, a skill that’s increasingly vital in the rapidly evolving tech landscape.
This growth can be traced back to the collaborative roots of the CREATE-X Capstone. In 2018, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education Olufisayo Omojokun partnered with Mechanical Engineering Professor Craig Forest to co-teach the Institute's first multi-college capstone section.
This allowed engineering and computing students to work together in a dynamic learning environment.
"Right away, we saw how powerful this combination of engineers and computer scientists working together was. The College of Computing has always been a willing and eager partner to try experiments and boldly move toward this future direction. Every step of the way, they've risen to the challenge," Forest said.
This jump represents the College’s emphasis on creating the next generation of problem solvers who are also problem seekers.
“It’s not just about finding solutions but identifying the problems that must be solved. This emphasis is more important than ever given the changing landscape of computing,” Omojokun said.
He points to AI and automation as key drivers of this shift. While launching startups is an exciting outcome, the deeper focus is on preparing students for a future where the definition of a software engineer may evolve and the number of traditional roles in the market could shift. With the power of computing, students who can identify meaningful problems are better equipped than ever to solve them—often with fewer resources and smaller teams.
“Can our College lead in graduating such multifaceted students who know how to fix things and what to look for? Embedding entrepreneurship into our non-elective courses gives us that opportunity,” Omojokun said.
RELATED: SCI Pilots AI-Enhanced Capstone to Advance Software Engineering Instruction
While some students may go on to continue their projects after the course, others might revisit them after graduation, driven by personal motivation or market opportunities. Many will enter the workforce and, perhaps years later, draw on the confidence they built through this capstone to forge their paths in entrepreneurship.
“It’s not necessarily about launching the most successful startups right now. It’s about giving students the confidence to try—and even fail—while the stakes are low,” Omojokun said.
“Whether they pursue entrepreneurship immediately or later in their careers, my hope is that the confidence from this course sticks with them if they ever choose to do something different and forge their path.”
SCI faculty members Aaron Hillegass, Dan Forsyth, and Jennifer Whitlow co-mentor the College’s entrepreneurial capstone course. Whitlow describes the course as a hands-on, problem-driven environment where students are encouraged to tackle scalable, global challenges.
“We’re trying to treat it like a venture studio would work,” said Whitlow, who is familiar with executing such a model from her leadership role at a startup accelerator. “The first part of the class is focused on identifying scalable real-world problems and understanding actual pain points through customer discovery.”
Whitlow and Hillegass have startup experience and unique perspectives that they share with students. These insights help students understand the entrepreneurial process of identifying problems, designing solutions, and building products.
"This is the only course at Georgia Tech where they go from zero to 100. By the end of the semester, students have developed something entirely from scratch, giving them a unique skill set that sets them apart from their peers," said Whitlow, a Georgia Tech computational media alumna.
Based on enrollment growth this Spring, the College offered students the option to choose between the course’s two sections. Computing students seeking to work with engineering students on solutions incorporating hardware and software elements signed up for the multidisciplinary section. Students exclusively interested in software chose the section dedicated to software-based solutions.
Hillegass, who recently sold a midsized software company and spent years at different startups before his academic career, is mentoring thirteen software-only teams.
“The software-focused section gives me a chance to apply my knowledge and give students a perspective that can help them address the real-world challenges and opportunities specific to companies whose fate is determined primarily by software,” Hillegass said.
Forsyth, who has many years of industry experience building large software system, says the following about the process of guiding students through the problem finding phase of the course:
“The problem-finding phase requires balancing a passion for solving particular problems with the realities of customer preferences, technical limitations, team strengths, and financial sustainability. This phase is often the most challenging because teams must navigate ambitious ideas, practical constraints, and customer needs while making tough, objective decisions," he said.
"I can't make choices for them, and the future is uncertain, but I can challenge them with hard questions to determine whether they can make reasonable assumptions that plot a path to success. I see myself as a colleague to the students—offering my advice based on experience while also having the privilege of helping them tackle problems I've never encountered before. Watching bright, passionate students break through barriers to achieve their goals is incredibly rewarding.”
Unlike traditional capstone projects with predefined requirements, Computing’s entrepreneurial capstone course gives students full ownership of their ideas. Students finish with a product to showcase in job applications or with the foundation for a startup. They can pursue opportunities like CREATE-X Startup Launch or the Klaus Startup Challenge, with the added advantage of owning their intellectual property.
"It’s really the launching pad to additional opportunities to turn it into a business. Even if they fail, they’ve learned, pivoted, and now have a new place to launch from," Whitlow said.
With the continued success and growth of the CREATE-X Capstone, Omojokun is committed to sustaining this momentum and expanding the program further, especially given the endorsement of CREATE-X Director Rahul Saxena. He says this will require collaboration from more people, including experienced entrepreneurs from Atlanta’s vibrant ecosystem.
Interested in participating in or learning more about the College of Computing’s CREATE-X Capstone? Contact Omojokun at omojokun@cc.gatech.edu to explore opportunities for involvement.
To meet this demand, the College is doubling down on efforts to equip students with entrepreneurial skills, offering expanded course sections and deeper collaborations with CREATE-X. Faculty say the goal isn’t just to produce startups—it’s to teach students how to identify and tackle meaningful problems, a skill that’s increasingly vital in the rapidly evolving tech landscape.
]]>Ph.D. student Phillip Si and Assistant Professor Peng Chen developed Latent-EnSF, a technique that improves how ML models assimilate data to make predictions.
In experiments predicting medium-range weather forecasting and shallow water wave propagation, Latent-EnSF demonstrated higher accuracy, faster convergence, and greater efficiency than existing methods for sparse data assimilation.
“We are currently involved in an NSF-funded project aimed at providing real-time information on extreme flooding events in Pinellas County, Florida,” said Si, who studies computational science and engineering (CSE).
“We're actively working on integrating Latent-EnSF into the system, which will facilitate accurate and synchronized modeling of natural disasters. This initiative aims to enhance community preparedness and safety measures in response to flooding risks.”
Latent-EnSF outperformed three comparable models in assimilation speed, accuracy, and efficiency in shallow water wave propagation experiments. These tests show models can make better and faster predictions of coastal flood waves, tides, and tsunamis.
In experiments on medium-range weather forecasting, Latent-EnSF surpassed the same three control models in accuracy, convergence, and time. Additionally, this test demonstrated Latent-EnSF's scalability compared to other methods.
These promising results support using ML models to simulate climate, weather, and other complex systems.
Traditionally, such studies require employment of large, energy-intensive supercomputers. However, advances like Latent-EnSF are making smaller, more efficient ML models feasible for these purposes.
The Georgia Tech team mentioned this comparison in its paper. It takes hours for the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts computer to run its simulations. Conversely, the ML model FourCastNet calculated the same forecast in seconds.
“Resolution, complexity, and data-diversity will continue to increase into the future,” said Chen, an assistant professor in the School of CSE.
“To keep pace with this trend, we believe that ML models and ML-based data assimilation methods will become indispensable for studying large-scale complex systems.”
Data assimilation is the process by which models continuously ingest new, real-world data to update predictions. This data is often sparse, meaning it is limited, incomplete, or unevenly distributed over time.
Latent-EnSF builds on the Ensemble Filter Scores (EnSF) model developed by Florida State University and Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers.
EnSF’s strength is that it assimilates data with many features and unpredictable relationships between data points. However, integrating sparse data leads to lost information and knowledge gaps in the model. Also, such large models may stop learning entirely from small amounts of sparse data.
The Georgia Tech researchers employ two variational autoencoders (VAEs) in Latent-EnSF to help ML models integrate and use real-world data. The VAEs encode sparse data and predictive models together in the same space to assimilate data more accurately and efficiently.
Integrating models with new methods, like Latent-EnSF, accelerates data assimilation. Producing accurate predictions more quickly during real-world crises could save lives and property for communities.
To share Latent-EnSF to the broader research community, Chen and Si presented their paper at the SIAM Conference on Computational Science and Engineering (CSE25). The Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) organized CSE25, held March 3-7 in Fort Worth, Texas.
Chen was one of ten School of CSE faculty members who presented research at CSE25, representing one-third of the School’s faculty body. Latent-EnSF was one of 15 papers by School of CSE authors and one of 23 Georgia Tech papers presented at the conference.
The pair will also present Latent-EnSF at the upcoming International Conference on Learning Representations (ICLR 2025). Occurring April 24-28 in Singapore, ICLR is one of the world’s most prestigious conferences dedicated to artificial intelligence research.
“We hope to bring attention to experts and domain scientists the exciting area of ML-based data assimilation by presenting our paper,” Chen said. “Our work offers a new solution to address some of the key shortcomings in the area for broader applications.”
]]>Ph.D. student Phillip Si and Assistant Professor Peng Chen developed Latent-EnSF, a technique that improves how ML models assimilate data to make predictions.
In experiments predicting medium-range weather forecasting and shallow water wave propagation, Latent-EnSF demonstrated higher accuracy, faster convergence, and greater efficiency than existing methods for sparse data assimilation.
]]>Currently, there are nine students in the Cardiovascular Biomechanics Graduate Training Program at Emory and Georgia Tech (CBT@EmTech). The program offers two years of training in an assortment of disciplines, including cardiovascular biomechanics, mechanobiology, medical imaging, computational modeling, medical devices, therapeutics discovery and delivery, and data science.
“The goal of the program is to stimulate interdisciplinary training,” so we expose the students to multiple areas of research,” says Hanjoong Jo, CBT@EmTech director, Wallace H. Coulter Distinguished Professor.
“And we have a very diverse group of trainees interested in various aspects of cardiovascular research and medicine,” Jo added. “Four out of five students from our first cohort already have secured prestigious fellowships, demonstrating the caliber of the trainees in the program.”
The students from that cohort brought a wide range of experiences, interests, and ambitions to the program. Now in their final months as CBT@EmTech trainees, they took time to share their stories.
Principal Investigator: Michael Davis
Campus: Emory
Undergraduate: University of Texas-San Antonio
I've always had a passion for helping people and I feel that I’m doing this through my research on aortic valve tissue engineering for pediatric patients. Aortic valve disease is found in 1-2% of live births, because of congenital heart defects or infections. Current valve replacements are limited — for one thing, they’re incapable of growing and remodeling with the patient. This presents a need for a new tissue-engineered valve that can address these challenges. In the Davis lab, we’re working on a tissue engineered heart valve to provide a better, long-term solution.
Throughout my time in the CBT@EmTech program, I've gained a range of knowledge in the cardiovascular space, learning about atherosclerosis, peripheral artery disease, valve disease, as well as computational and imaging techniques to help solve some of these problems. As part of the program, we are also required to take an Advanced Seminar class in the cardiovascular area.
Through this class, I was able to participate in some interesting clinical observations in the Emory University Hospital cardiology department. For example, I watched a cardiologist perform a transesophageal echocardiogram. The doctor was checking for heart blockages on a patient who had atrial fibrillation. This procedure was followed by a cardioversion to restore a normal heart rhythm. This was a profound demonstration of biomedical technology in action that left a lasting impression on me.
Principal Investigator: Hanjoong Jo
Campus: Emory
Undergraduate: Duke University
As a PhD student in the Jo Lab, I am studying how disturbed flow influences transcriptional regulation in endothelial cell reprogramming and atherosclerosis. Our goal is to identify and develop therapeutics that target non-lipid residual pathways contributing to this widespread and deadly disease.
I initially became interested in this line of research due to a family history of cardiovascular disease. As an undergraduate, I worked in a tissue engineering lab where I employed stem cell and tissue engineering methods to model the circulatory system. A desire to further explore the role of mechanosensitive genes and proteins in cardiovascular disease led me to pursue a PhD in this field.
One of the most valuable aspects of the CBT@EmTech program has been the opportunity to connect with a network of students and faculty who are leaders in cardiovascular research. Through monthly meetings, we share our work and gain insights into the diverse engineering applications our interdisciplinary program brings to the field, with the common goal of improving cardiovascular health.
Principal Investigator: Lakshmi Prasad
Campus: Georgia Tech
Undergraduate: Georgia Tech
October 2024 marked the three-year anniversary of my uncle’s passing due to complications from a mild heart attack. His angiogram showed 30% vessel blockage, leading to heart surgery. Sadly, he suffered a brain stroke days later, resulting in deteriorating speech, muscle movement, and eventually death at 48. This personal tragedy brought urgency to my research questions: Can the risk of complications following cardiovascular treatments be predicted? Can underlying cardiovascular pathology be treated before it progresses to a heart attack or stroke? Was my uncle’s death preventable? These questions drive my cardiovascular research, focused on predicting post-procedural heart valve outcomes through computational modeling.
Being part of the prestigious CBT@EmTech program at Emory and Georgia Tech has significantly advanced my research journey. Learning from fellow trainees, presenting my research, and attending academia-focused workshops (like one about grant writing) have helped me stand out in heart valve computational modeling. The program, along with my PI, Dr. Lakshmi Prasad Dasi, and co-PI, Dr. John Oshinski, has provided the resources needed to translate my research from the lab to the clinic through regular meetings with clinicians and data transfer to and from hospitals. I am grateful for the opportunity to pursue my long-term goal of predicting risks of complications before cardiovascular treatments and helping prevent adverse clinical outcomes like those experienced by my uncle.
Principal Investigator: Simone Douglas-Green
Campus: Georgia Tech
Undergraduate Degree: University of Virginia
Peripheral artery disease (PAD) occurs when atherosclerotic plaque accumulates in limb arteries, blocking blood flow. Current interventions limit disease progression, but surgery is often needed to prevent critical limb ischemia. A less invasive approach promotes angiogenesis and arteriogenesis to strengthen collateral vessels and bypass blockages. The Hansen Lab studies satellite cells (SCs), which repair muscle fibers and release growth factors, as a potential PAD therapy.
My research focuses on improving the delivery of SCs using a special fibrin scaffold in a mouse model of blocked blood flow in the legs. By adjusting the properties of the fibrin scaffold, we can create an environment that helps these cells grow and renew themselves. We study how quickly the fibrin forms to ensure the cells stay where we inject them and how it breaks down to keep a steady supply of renewing SCs. We believe that with fibrin, the cells will move into the damaged tissue, repair muscle fibers, and release growth factors to encourage new blood vessel growth.
The goal is to create alternative treatments for PAD that prevent disease progression and improve patients' quality of life.
The CBT@EmTech program has given me a supportive network of peers and mentors, enhancing my growth as a researcher. The program chairs have tailored the curriculum to our needs and allowed us to shape it. For example, I’ve had the privilege of co-planning our biannual retreat. We recruited guests for two panels and invited a guest speaker for a storytelling workshop. This retreat shows how the program imparts knowledge beyond research, aiming to improve our scientific storytelling and self-presentation skills, valuable for any career.
Principal Investigator: Simone Douglas-Green
Campus: Georgia Tech
Undergraduate Degree: University of Virginia
As a researcher, I am challenged to explore the unknown. Moreover, my role as an engineer is rooted in using knowledge that has already been conceptualized. Combining these perspectives as a biomedical engineer has led me to pursue research with an emphasis on improving human health.
Today, cardiovascular diseases represent the global leading cause of death. While this glaring statistic indicates the egregious burden of cardiovascular diseases, my parents' lived experiences with cardiovascular diseases is what drives me to use my life’s work to address critical challenges at the intersection of the cardiovascular field and biomedical engineering.
My research seeks to alleviate cardiovascular diseases by using nanoparticles to target endothelial cells, which line the innermost layer of blood vessels and contribute to blood vessel function. The Cardiovascular Biomechanics and Mechanobiology Program at Emory (CBT@EmTech) has given me an avenue to pursue this research.
Through my CBT@EmTech co-mentorship, I have developed a foundation in endothelial cell biology and atherosclerosis. I have also been challenged to think critically about how my research benefits both science and society through my exposure to prominent cardiovascular researchers. My experiences with CBT@EmTech have made me eager to use my training to pursue a postdoc in the and eventually lead a lab answering critical questions in cardiovascular research.
Students and faculty from the School of Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) are leading the Georgia Tech contingent at the SIAM Conference on Computational Science and Engineering (CSE25). The Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) organizes CSE25, occurring March 3-7 in Fort Worth, Texas.
At CSE25, the School of CSE researchers are presenting papers that apply computing approaches to varying fields, including:
[Related: GT CSE at SIAM CSE25 Interactive Graphic]
“In CSE, researchers from different disciplines work together to develop new computational methods that we could not have developed alone,” said School of CSE Professor Edmond Chow.
“These methods enable new science and engineering to be performed using computation.”
CSE is a discipline dedicated to advancing computational techniques to study and analyze scientific and engineering systems. CSE complements theory and experimentation as modes of scientific discovery.
Held every other year, CSE25 is the primary conference for the SIAM Activity Group on Computational Science and Engineering (SIAG CSE). School of CSE faculty serve in key roles in leading the group and preparing for the conference.
In December, SIAG CSE members elected Chow to a two-year term as the group’s vice chair. This election comes after Chow completed a term as the SIAG CSE program director.
School of CSE Associate Professor Elizabeth Cherry has co-chaired the CSE25 organizing committee since the last conference in 2023. Later that year, SIAM members reelected Cherry to a second, three-year term as a council member at large.
At Georgia Tech, Chow serves as the associate chair of the School of CSE. Cherry, who recently became the associate dean for graduate education of the College of Computing, continues as the director of CSE programs.
“With our strong emphasis on developing and applying computational tools and techniques to solve real-world problems, researchers in the School of CSE are well positioned to serve as leaders in computational science and engineering both within Georgia Tech and in the broader professional community,” Cherry said.
Georgia Tech’s School of CSE was first organized as a division in 2005, becoming one of the world’s first academic departments devoted to the discipline. The division reorganized as a school in 2010 after establishing the flagship CSE Ph.D. and M.S. programs, hiring nine faculty members, and attaining substantial research funding.
Ten School of CSE faculty members are presenting research at CSE25, representing one-third of the School’s faculty body. Of the 23 accepted papers written by Georgia Tech researchers, 15 originate from School of CSE authors.
The list of School of CSE researchers, paper titles, and abstracts includes:
Bayesian Optimal Design Accelerates Discovery of Material Properties from Bubble Dynamics
Postdoctoral Fellow Tianyi Chu, Joseph Beckett, Bachir Abeid, and Jonathan Estrada (University of Michigan), Assistant Professor Spencer Bryngelson
[Abstract]
Latent-EnSF: A Latent Ensemble Score Filter for High-Dimensional Data Assimilation with Sparse Observation Data
Ph.D. student Phillip Si, Assistant Professor Peng Chen
[Abstract]
A Goal-Oriented Quadratic Latent Dynamic Network Surrogate Model for Parameterized Systems
Yuhang Li, Stefan Henneking, Omar Ghattas (University of Texas at Austin), Assistant Professor Peng Chen
[Abstract]
Posterior Covariance Structures in Gaussian Processes
Yuanzhe Xi (Emory University), Difeng Cai (Southern Methodist University), Professor Edmond Chow
[Abstract]
Robust Digital Twin for Geological Carbon Storage
Professor Felix Herrmann, Ph.D. student Abhinav Gahlot, alumnus Rafael Orozco (Ph.D. CSE-CSE 2024), alumnus Ziyi (Francis) Yin (Ph.D. CSE-CSE 2024), and Ph.D. candidate Grant Bruer
[Abstract]
Industry-Scale Uncertainty-Aware Full Waveform Inference with Generative Models
Rafael Orozco, Ph.D. student Tuna Erdinc, alumnus Mathias Louboutin (Ph.D. CS-CSE 2020), and Professor Felix Herrmann
[Abstract]
Optimizing Coupled Systems: Insights from Co-Design Imaging and Optical Chemistry
Assistant Professor Raphaël Pestourie, Wenchao Ma and Steven Johnson (MIT), Lu Lu (Yale University), Zin Lin (Virginia Tech)
[Abstract]
Multifidelity Linear Regression for Scientific Machine Learning from Scarce Data
Assistant Professor Elizabeth Qian, Ph.D. student Dayoung Kang, Vignesh Sella, Anirban Chaudhuri and Anirban Chaudhuri (University of Texas at Austin)
[Abstract]
LyapInf: Data-Driven Estimation of Stability Guarantees for Nonlinear Dynamical Systems
Ph.D. candidate Tomoki Koike and Assistant Professor Elizabeth Qian
[Abstract]
The Information Geometric Regularization of the Euler Equation
Alumnus Ruijia Cao (B.S. CS 2024), Assistant Professor Florian Schäfer
[Abstract]
Maximum Likelihood Discretization of the Transport Equation
Ph.D. student Brook Eyob, Assistant Professor Florian Schäfer
[Abstract]
Intelligent Attractors for Singularly Perturbed Dynamical Systems
Daniel A. Serino (Los Alamos National Laboratory), Allen Alvarez Loya (University of Colorado Boulder), Joshua W. Burby, Ioannis G. Kevrekidis (Johns Hopkins University), Assistant Professor Qi Tang (Session Co-Organizer)
[Abstract]
Accurate Discretizations and Efficient AMG Solvers for Extremely Anisotropic Diffusion Via Hyperbolic Operators
Golo Wimmer, Ben Southworth, Xianzhu Tang (LANL), Assistant Professor Qi Tang
[Abstract]
Randomized Linear Algebra for Problems in Graph Analytics
Professor Rich Vuduc
[Abstract]
Improving Spgemm Performance Through Reordering and Cluster-Wise Computation
Assistant Professor Helen Xu
[Abstract]
Students and faculty from the School of Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) are leading the Georgia Tech contingent at the SIAM Conference on Computational Science and Engineering (CSE25). The Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) organizes CSE25, occurring March 3-7 in Fort Worth, Texas.
]]>Making the switch could slash the impact of one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions: Buildings account for roughly 1/5 of emissions globally. By some estimates, using hemp-based products would reduce the environmental impact of insulation by 90% or more.
The Georgia Tech researchers’ work, reported this month in the Journal of Cleaner Production, is one of the first studies to evaluate the potential for scaling up U.S. production and availability of hemp-based insulation products.
Read about their findings on the College of Engineering website.
]]>Georgia Tech’s Space Exploration and Analysis Laboratory (SEAL) has developed new algorithms that are headed to the Moon, as part of the Intuitive Machine’s IM-2 mission. The mission is sending a Nova-C class lunar lander named Athena to the Moon’s south pole region to test technologies and collect data that aim to enable future exploration. The mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative.
SEAL, led by AE professor John Christian, collaborated with Intuitive Machines to develop algorithms to guide Athena to the Shackleton crater: a region known for its limited sunlight and cold temperatures. In coordination with SpaceX, launch of the company’s IM-2 mission is targeted for a multi-day launch window that opens no earlier than February 26 from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Athena will transport NASA's PRIME-1 (Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1) which includes two instruments: a drill and spectrometer. The Regolith and Ice Drill for Exploring New Terrain (TRIDENT) is designed to drill up to three feet of lunar surface to extract soil, while the mass spectrometer (MSOLO) will measure the amount of ice in the soil samples.
After launch, Athena will separate from the rocket and begin a roughly five-to-four-day cruise to the Moon’s orbit. The lander will orbit the Moon for approximately three to 1.5 days before its descent to the south pole.
In Fall 2022, Research Engineer Ava Thrasher (AE 2022, M.S. AE 2024) began working on IM-2, developing new algorithms to guide Athena to the Shackleton crater using optical terrain relative navigation (TRN). Her approach looked at developing a crater detection algorithm (CDA) using image processing techniques that capture crater center locations on the Moon which are then used to determine Athena's position estimations.
Then, she developed a crater identification algorithm (CIA) to match craters found in the image to a catalog of known lunar craters. By using CDA and CIA in tandem, Athena is able to estimate its location and orientation with a single photo, autonomously, and in real-time.
“We wanted to strike a balance between creating something that would be done quickly on board, but also something that was reliable,” she explained. “We ended up using simple crater geometry and knowledge of the sun angle to render what we expect a crater to look like in the image.”
The CDA finds craters by calculating a similarity score between the image and the rendered crater at each image pixel point. This process, also known as template matching, marks crater centers at points of very high similarity. CIA then uses these crater center locations to match them with known craters in a catalog. By matching pixel locations in an image to known three-dimensional positions on the Moon, the spacecraft is able to produce an estimation of its position.
After two years of research and testing, Thrasher, Christian, and the Intuitive Machines team successfully demonstrated the CDA and CIA on synthetic imagery and Thrasher handed off the algorithms to Intuitive Machines to convert them into flight software for Athena.
She first got involved with optical navigation (OPNAV) research after she took AE 4342: Senior Design with Prof. Christian as an undergraduate student. “I found optical navigation to be really interesting. I liked the idea of being able to figure out where you are and how you’re moving in real-time based on a picture,” she said. In Fall 2022, she started her first graduate semester at Tech and was a new member of SEAL, where she quickly began demonstrating the idea of detecting craters and prototyping the CDA and CIA programmed into Athena.
After she graduated with her master’s degree in aerospace engineering in May 2024, she loved what she did so much, that she decided to stay and work as a full-time research engineer in SEAL. Now, she’s gearing up to see her work make its way to the Moon.
“It's been really exciting and humbling to contribute to the massive task of putting a lander on the Moon. I never really appreciated the scale of work and collaboration needed to make it happen until I was lucky enough to be a part of it. I'll certainly be watching the launch and tracking the mission with great anticipation of both the engineering and scientific results,” said Thrasher.
As part of a multi-year collaboration, Christian helped develop a key navigation algorithm for Intuitive Machines’ first space mission (IM-1) which launched a Nova-C lunar lander named Odysseus to the Malapert A crater on the Moon’s south pole region; about 11 miles away from IM-2’s targeted Shackleton crater.
The IM-1 mission launched from Kennedy Space Center on February 15, 2024 and soft-landed on the Moon on February 22, 2024---making Odysseus the first U.S. lunar landing since the Apollo program and the first-ever successful commercial lunar landing. Odysseus had a rougher-than-expected soft landing due to an anomaly with the altimeter that was supposed to provide insight into the lander’s height above the lunar surface. In the absence of these altimeter measurements, Odysseus relied critically on the visual odometry technique that was jointly developed by Christian and Intuitive Machines.
Despite these challenges, Odysseus captured images of the Moon during landing and operated on the lunar surface for 144 hours before entering standby mode.
Prof. Christian and SEAL have more projects on the horizon to develop new technologies for exploring our Moon, other planets, asteroids, and the solar system. These technologies will enable future scientific missions to safely explore challenging destinations and answer scientific questions that were impossible with yesterday’s technology.
SEAL, led by Professor John Christian, collaborated with Intuitive Machines to develop algorithms to guide Athena to the Shackleton crater: a region known for its limited sunlight and cold temperatures. Research Engineer Ava Thrasher (AE 2022, M.S. AE 2024) led Georgia Tech's SEAL team on developing the algorithms used for Athena's flight software.
]]>6:30 p.m. EST launch coverage begins
7:02-7:34 p.m. EST launch window
Stream on NASA+
]]>Intuitive Machines' IM-2 mission lunar lander, Athena, in the company's Lunar Production and Operations Center. Credit: Intuitive Machines
As the Los Angeles fires quickly spread starting Jan. 7, with wind gusts approaching 100 mph, scientists observed a 110-fold rise in airborne lead levels. This spike had receded by Jan. 11.
The fires enabled the first real-time data on airborne lead, thanks to a pioneering air quality measurement network known as Atmospheric Science and Chemistry (ASCENT), a nationwide initiative funded by the National Science Foundation, operating in 12 sites across the U.S.
ASCENT measured tiny particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter (PM2.5) — small enough to enter the lungs and bloodstream. Unlike typical wildfires that burn natural materials such as grass and trees, the Eaton Canyon and Palisades fires burned through infrastructures like homes, including painted surfaces, pipes, vehicles, plastics, and electronic equipment. This raised concerns about the toxicity of these particles in the air, especially since many of the buildings were constructed before 1978, when lead paint was still commonly used.
Lead is a toxic air contaminant that poses significant health risks, particularly for children, who are more vulnerable to its neurodevelopmental effects. While chronic lead exposure is well-documented, the effects of short-term spikes, like those recorded during these fires, are less understood.
“Our work through ASCENT,” said Sally Ng, Georgia Tech’s Love Family Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and the network’s principal investigator, “has provided us with new insights into the air we breathe, with unprecedented levels of detail and time resolution. Beyond the mass concentration of PM2.5 that is typically measured, we are now able to detect a wide range of chemical components in the aerosols in real time, to better understand and evaluate to what extent one is exposed to harmful pollutants.”
Investigators used several instruments to obtain hourly measurements at the ASCENT monitoring site in Pico Rivera, approximately 14 miles south of the Eaton Canyon fire, to assess atmospheric lead during the wildfires.
“Our findings showcased the importance of having real-time measurements of the chemical species that comprise particulate matter,” said California Institute of Technology Ph.D. candidate in atmospheric chemistry and ASPIRE researcher Haroula Baliaka. “During the LA fires, we provided the public with timely information about what they were breathing and how air quality evolved in the days that followed.”
This research has been published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
However, this new generation of self-thinking robots would need security protocols to ensure they aren’t susceptible to hackers. To integrate such robots into society, they must come with assurances that they will behave safely around humans.
It begs the question: can you guarantee the safety of something that doesn’t exist yet? It’s something Assistant Professor Glen Chou hopes to accomplish by developing algorithms that will enable autonomous systems to learn and adapt while acting with safety and security assurances.
He plans to launch research initiatives, in collaboration with the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy and the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, to secure this new technological frontier as it develops.
“To operate in uncertain real-world environments, robots and other autonomous systems need to leverage and adapt a complex network of perception and control algorithms to turn sensor data into actions,” he said. “To obtain realistic assurances, we must do a joint safety and security analysis on these sensors and algorithms simultaneously, rather than one at a time.”
This end-to-end method would proactively look for flaws in the robot’s systems rather than wait for them to be exploited. This would lead to intrinsically robust robotic systems that can recover from failures.
Chou said this research will be useful in other domains, including advanced space exploration. If a space rover is sent to one of Saturn’s moons, for example, it needs to be able to act and think independently of scientists on Earth.
Aside from fighting fires and exploring space, this technology could perform maintenance in nuclear reactors, automatically maintain the power grid, and make autonomous surgery safer. It could also bring assistive robots into the home, enabling higher standards of care.
This is a challenging domain where safety, security, and privacy concerns are paramount due to frequent, close contact with humans.
This will start in the newly established Trustworthy Robotics Lab at Georgia Tech, which Chou directs. He and his Ph.D. students will design principled algorithms that enable general-purpose robots and autonomous systems to operate capably, safely, and securely with humans while remaining resilient to real-world failures and uncertainty.
Chou earned dual bachelor’s degrees in electrical engineering and computer sciences as well as mechanical engineering from University of California Berkeley in 2017, a master’s and Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Michigan in 2019 and 2022, respectively. He was a postdoc at MIT Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Laboratory prior to joining Georgia Tech in November 2024. He is a recipient of the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate fellowship program, NSF Graduate Research fellowships, and was named a Robotics: Science and Systems Pioneer in 2022.
]]>John (JP) Popham
Communications Officer II
College of Computing | School of Cybersecurity and Privacy
Someday, your drinking water could be completely free of toxic “forever chemicals.”
These chemicals, called PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), are found in common household items like makeup, nonstick cookware, dental floss, batteries, and food packaging. PFAS permeate the soil, water, food, and air, and they can remain in the environment for millennia. Once inside the human body, PFAS can persist for years, suppressing the immune system and increasing cancer risk.
Georgia Tech researchers, armed with a cutting-edge machine learning (ML) model, are spearheading a multi-university initiative. Their goal? To design a better membrane that efficiently removes PFAS from drinking water, a significant source of human exposure.
“More than 200 million Americans in all 50 states are affected by PFAS in drinking water, with 1,400 communities having levels above health experts’ safety thresholds,” noted the study’s principal investigator Yongsheng Chen, Bonnie W. and Charles W. Moorman IV Professor in Georgia Tech’s School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Chen also directs the Nutrients, Energy, and Water Center for Agriculture Technology, or NEW Center. “Our research aims to provide a scalable, efficient, and sustainable solution for mitigating these toxic chemicals’ impact on human health and the environment.”
The resulting work, funded with over $10 million in multiyear grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the National Science Foundation, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), was recently published in Nature Communications.
Sewage Treatment Limitations
Conventional water treatment processes are ineffective at removing PFAS. Too often, traditional cleansing methods, such as using chlorine to kill pathogens in water, create harmful byproducts.
“Solving one problem creates another problem,” said Chen.
He has already used ML and artificial intelligence in precision agriculture to monitor nutrient levels in plants and insists that tackling PFAS removal similarly requires new approaches. Rather than treating an entire body of water, Chen’s team first separated PFAS from the water stream. Success depended on finding the right membrane material to isolate the chemicals in the water.
Chen relied on a team of 10 Ph.D. students and nine research scientists to perform the ML modeling. In addition to Georgia Tech, two other schools contributed people and laboratory expertise. The University of Wisconsin-Madison (UWM) validated the model with molecular simulations, while Arizona State University (ASU) trained it using data from scientific literature and their lab.
“Applying machine learning to membrane separation represents an exciting frontier for environmental engineering,” said Tiezheng Tong, an associate professor of environmental engineering in ASU’s School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment.
This is another step in tackling PFAS pollution, a widespread problem that has recently received significant public attention due to PFAS’ toxic nature and the recent EPA ruling on PFAS in drinking water, he said.
“By integrating with molecular simulation tools, we can better understand PFAS transport across nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membranes, pushing the boundary of fundamental science relating to membrane separation,” Tong said.
ML Accelerates Membrane-Material Discoveries
Using ML modeling significantly sped up the discovery process. For instance, one Ph.D. student in Chen’s lab used trial and error over two years to pinpoint one promising membrane. Machine learning modeling allowed the team to find eight membrane candidates 10 to 20 times faster, reducing discovery time from years to a few months.
“Our molecular dynamics simulations reveal that electrostatic interactions, size exclusion, and dehydration play critical roles in governing the transport of PFAS molecules across polyamide membranes,” Ying Li explained. Li is an associate professor of mechanical engineering at UWM. “These calculations indicate that electrostatic interactions dominate PFAS rejection, with charged functional groups significantly influencing transport behavior. The simulation results provide fundamental insights that align with ML predictions, highlighting the key molecular determinants of PFAS removal efficiency.”
Addressing PFAS Exposure in Agriculture
By addressing PFAS contamination, this research could also benefit the agriculture industry, which depends on fertilizer sourced from water treatment plants. Wastewater biosolids are processed into fertilizer, offering farmers and ranchers a cheaper alternative to chemical fertilizers. Unfortunately, PFAS-tainted fertilizers from sewage sludge have contaminated significant amounts of land and livestock. Industry groups estimate that almost 70 million acres of U.S. farmland could be contaminated by these forever chemicals.
By funding this research, the USDA hopes that an effective membrane will help the United States reclaim this crucial resource.
“Synthesizing a very smart membrane to get rid of PFAS also allows us to recover the fertilizer from municipal wastewater treatment plants,” Chen said. “Such a membrane could enable us to get rid of things we don’t want and keep the things we need, so we can keep the water for irrigation or other applications.”
Eliminating PFAS in fertilizers also could help address the mismatch of food and water demand in urban versus rural areas since 80% of the demand resides in cities. PFAS removal could directly support urban area resource recovery and food production.
“Our goal is achieving a circular economy where materials never become waste, and nature is regenerated,” Chen said.
What’s Next
The team will fine-tune the model and add more data to improve its training features. Chen will synthesize membranes in his lab to further test the model's PFAS removal predictions.
Today, scientists have found ways to remove long chains of PFAS, but the shorter chains of these chemicals persist, explained Chen.
“If we can better understand the mechanism, we’ll be able to design a good material membrane to get rid of all PFAS. That could be game-changing.”
— By Anne Wainscott-Sargent
Funding
This work is partially supported by the NSF (Award Nos. 2112533, 2427299, 2345543, Y.C.; 2448130, T.T.; and 2345542, Y.L.).
Y.C. acknowledges the financial support by the USDA (Award No.2018−68011-28371), NSF-USDA (Award No. 2020-67021-31526), and EPA (Award No. 840080010).
T.T. acknowledges the support of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (Hatch Project COL00799, accession 1022591).
Y.L. acknowledges the financial support by the National Alliance for Water Innovation (NAWI), funded by the US DOE, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Advanced Manufacturing Office, under Funding Opportunity announcement Number DE-FOA-0001905, through a subcontract to the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The project, led by the Texas Institute for Electronics (TIE) at The University of Texas at Austin, represents a total investment of $1.4 billion. The $840 million award from DARPA, announced by TIE in 2024, aims to develop the next generation of high-performing semiconductor microsystems for the Department of Defense (DoD).
“We are honored to collaborate with TIE and its broader team on this far reaching and strategic program to enable best in class 3D heterogeneous integration (3DHI) processes and technologies in the United States,” said Muhannad S. Bakir, the Dan Fielder Professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering and director of the 3D Systems Packaging Research Center, who is heading the project for Georgia Tech.
3DHI is a semiconductor manufacturing process that incorporates different materials and components into microsystems with precision assembly. The use of 3DHI allows for the creation of high-performance, compact, and energy-efficient systems.
The investment is part of DARPA’s Next Generation Microelectronics Manufacturing (NGMM) Program comprised of 32 defense electronics and leading commercial semiconductor companies and 18 nationally recognized academic institutions.
Under the agreement, TIE will establish a national open access R&D and prototyping fabrication facility. The facility will enable the DoD to create higher performance, lower power, lightweight, and compact defense systems. The advancements are expected to have wide-ranging applications, including radar, satellite imaging, and unmanned aerial vehicles.
Georgia Tech will provide a wide range of expertise in 3DHI including design, fabrication and assembly processes, and characterization to support the NGMM national open-access R&D and prototyping facility at TIE.
Regents' Professor and Morris M. Bryan, Jr. Professor Suresh K. Sitaraman in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering will be a key contributor to Georgia Tech’s efforts on the project.
“We are delighted to be partnering with UT/TIE on the establishment of a 3D Heterogeneous Integration Microsystem prototyping facility,” said Sitaraman. “In addition to advancing fundamental science, this project is a great opportunity for Georgia Tech to demonstrate and integrate our ground-breaking and innovative 3DHI research approaches and technology solutions into TIE’s prototyping facility, and understand the challenges involved when translating lab-scale research work to a large industry-strength fabrication facility.”
ECE Professors Saibal Mukhopadhyay, Arijit Raychowdhury, Visvesh Sathe, and Shimeng Yu will be working alongside Bakir and Sitaraman.
A significant portion of the research will be conducted at the Institute for Matter and Systems (IMS), which operates Georgia Tech’s state-of-the-art electronics and nanotechnology core facilities.
Read the press release from TIE and view the project’s team and partners.
]]>The demand for electricity to power AI data centers is skyrocketing, placing immense pressure on traditional energy sources.
“If we continue pursuing clean energy for AI and data centers, we will need to triple the energy supply for data centers by 2030,” says Woodruff Professor Anna Erickson, a nuclear engineering expert from Georgia Tech. Nuclear power, with its high energy density and continuous operation, is well-suited to provide the steady base load of electricity required.
According to Erickson, the recent headlines of the restarting of Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island Unit 1 reactor (TMI-1) could play a crucial role in meeting these demands sustainably.
This decision, supported by a 20-year agreement with Microsoft, aims to provide carbon-free energy to meet the escalating power demands of AI data centers. The company’s goal to be carbon negative by 2030 aligns with the broader push for sustainable energy solutions.
According to the United States Energy Information Administration, as of Aug. 1, 2023, the United States has 93 operating commercial nuclear reactors across 54 nuclear power plants in 28 states. The most recent reactor to begin commercial operation is Unit 4 at the Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant in Georgia, which started on April 29, 2024.
The commercial start of Unit 4 completes the 11-year expansion project at Plant Vogtle.
A Historic Site With a New Mission
Three Mile Island, infamous for the 1979 partial meltdown of its Unit 2 reactor, has remained a symbol of nuclear caution. However, the reopening of TMI-1, which operated safely for decades before its 2019 shutdown due to financial constraints, represents a potential renaissance for nuclear power. The plant’s revival is seen as a strategic move to address the increasing strain on conventional electricity grids, exacerbated by the energy-intensive needs of AI technologies.
Expert Insights on Safety and Innovation
Erickson stresses the importance of rigorous safety measures and technological upgrades in the reopening process.
“Reopening TMI-1 will require addressing several critical safety concerns, primarily focused on aging infrastructure and modern regulatory standards,” she explains. Comprehensive inspections and upgrades to emergency cooling, radiation monitoring, and digital control systems will be essential to ensure structural integrity and operational reliability.
Erickson notes, “We can expect to see developments in advanced radiation detection, novel sensors, and AI-driven security systems.” These technologies not only enhance safety but also improve the efficiency and reliability of nuclear power plants. She also highlights the potential for innovative advancements in reactor technology.
Economic and Environmental Implications
The reopening of TMI-1 is expected to bring notable economic advantages. According to Erickson, upgrading existing infrastructure is likely to be more cost-effective than new construction and can be completed more quickly.
“The implications of restarting are significant,” she explains. “It supports clean energy goals and provides a reliable power source for the growing needs of data centers.”
Environmental considerations are also paramount. The plant’s carbon-free energy production aligns with efforts to combat climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“Nuclear energy is a clean and reliable power source that can help us achieve our climate goals while meeting the growing energy demands of AI,” Erickson emphasizes.
Public Perception and Regulatory Oversight
Despite the potential benefits, public perception of nuclear energy remains cautious, primarily due to historical incidents like the Three Mile Island accident. Erickson acknowledges these concerns and indicates the importance of transparent regulatory oversight and effective communication.
She says the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) “does a lot to ensure safety and security, but as experts, we need to do a better job of explaining technological advances and the benefits of nuclear energy.”
The reopening of TMI-1 is subject to approval from the NRC and other regulatory bodies, ensuring that all safety and environmental standards are met.
Institute Communications
]]>Middlemen get a bad rap for adding cost and complications to an operation. So, eliminating the go-betweens can reduce expense and simplify a process, increasing efficiency and consumer happiness.
James Dahlman and his research team have been thinking along those same lines for stem cell treatments. They’ve created a technique that eliminates noisome middlemen and could lead to new, less-invasive treatments for blood disorders and genetic diseases. It sidesteps the discomfort and risks of current treatments, making life easier for patients.
“This would be an alternative to invasive hematopoietic stem cell therapies — we could just give you an IV drip,” said Dahlman, McCamish Early Career Professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering. “It simplifies the process and reduces the risks to patients. That’s why this work is important.”
Dahlman and a team of investigators from Georgia Tech, Emory University, and the University of California, Davis, published their approach in the journal Nature Biotechnology.
Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are like parent cells. Residing in the bone marrow, they produce all types of cells needed to sustain the blood and immune systems. Their versatility makes HSCs a valuable therapeutic tool in treating genetic blood diseases, such as sickle cell anemia, immune deficiencies, and some cancers.
HSC therapies usually involve extracting cells from the patient’s bone marrow and re-engineering them in a lab. Meanwhile, the patient endures chemotherapy to help prepare their body to receive the modified HSCs.
“These therapies are effective but also hard on the patients,” Dahlman said. “Patients undergo chemotherapy to wipe out their immune systems so the body will accept the therapeutic cells without a fight. The procedure can be life-threatening. We’re hoping to change that.”
HSCs can also be modified directly inside the body. The procedure uses lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) to carry genetic instructions to the stem cells. The LNPs have targeting ligands attached — molecules designed to find specific target cells. Precisely engineering them adds layers of time, complexity, and cost to the process. They are, like extraction from bone marrow and chemotherapy, another middleman.
The researchers wanted something simpler. They found it in a specific nanoparticle called LNP67.
“Unlike other nanoparticle designs, this one doesn’t require a targeting ligand,” Dahlman said. “It’s chemically simple, which means it’s easier to manufacture and opens the door to eventually scaling production, like mRNA vaccines.”
The key to LNP67’s success is its ability to dodge the liver, the body’s primary blood filter. Foreign invaders, even helpful invaders delivered through an IV as medicine, can be captured by a healthy liver.
“The liver absorbs almost everything,” Dahlman said. “But, by reducing what it captures by even as little as 10 percent, we can double delivery to other tissues where the nanoparticles and their payloads are needed.”
The researchers developed 128 unique nanoparticles, narrowing the list down to 105 LNPs that didn’t have targeting ligands. These were ultimately screened and evaluated for their performance in delivering genetic instructions (in the form of mRNA) effectively and safely.
LNP67 emerged as the best performer thanks to its stealthy design. For example, the surface is designed to repel proteins and other molecules that would mark the LNP for capture by the liver. This feature helped the particles circulate more evenly in the body and reach the HSCs.
“We achieved low-dose delivery without a target ligand, which is exciting,” Dahlman said. “This is something we’ve been working toward for years, and I’m very happy we got there.”
Citation: Hyejin Kim, Ryan Zenhausern, Kara Gentry, Liming Lian, Sebastian G. Huayamares, Afsane Radmand, David Loughrey, Ananda Podilapu, Marine Z. C. Hatit, Huanzhen Ni, Andrea Li, Aram Shajii, Hannah E. Peck, Keyi Han, Xuanwen Hua, Shu Jia, Michele Martinez, Charles Lee, Philip J. Santangelo, Alice Tarantal, James E. Dahlman. Lipid Nanoparticle Study, Nov. 2024, Nature Biotechnology.
Funding: This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health grants UL1TR002378, UH3-TR002855, U42 OD027094, and TL1DK136047; National Science Foundation grant 0923395. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of any funding agency.
Competing Interests: James Dahlman, Marine Z. C. Hatit, and Huanzhen Ni have filed a provisional patent related to this manuscript (US patent application number 63/632,354).
A firm handshake between proteins on immune cells is important for the body’s ability to fight infection. Meanwhile, a weak grip helps explain the poor immune deficiencies caused by a rare genetic disorder.
A new study led by Georgia Tech and Emory University researcher Cheng Zhu explores the role of physical force on the immune system’s ability to fight an infection. The team’s discoveries could lead to new therapies that boost immune responses and improve the outcomes of patients battling a rare and devastating disease.
“With this research, we’ve shown how dynamic and physical the immune system truly is,” said Zhu, Regents' Professor and J. Erskine Love Jr. Chair in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME).
The work focuses on the interaction of B cells and T cells in the body’s immune system via two proteins — CD40 on B cells and CD40L on T cells — in an immune deficiency disease called X-linked Hyper IgM syndrome, or X-HIgM. It’s a genetic disorder affecting two out of every million newborn boys, 80% of whom die before the age of 25.
The researchers found mechanical forces generated by these interactions create a “catch bond” between the proteins. It’s like a strong handshake that only gets firmer when each person tries to pull away.
When the bond is strong, it causes T cells to signal B cells they need to make antibodies to fight an invading pathogen. In fact, the B cells can actually switch gears, producing antibodies that are different from what they had been making.
But people with X-HIgM have damaged CD40L proteins, resulting in weak bonds, poor signaling, and the inability to make the right antibodies.
The team published their findings in Science Advances. The work emphasizes the role of mechanotransduction — the conversion of physical force into chemical activity — in the immune system.
Zhu’s fellow principal investigators in the study included Georgia Tech researcher Ankur Singh and Juergen Wienands of the University Medical Center Göttingen in Germany. Lead authors were BME PhD student Stefano Travaglino and former postdoc Hyun-Kyu Choi (now an assistant professor at Yonsei University in South Korea).
In the body’s defense system, B cells are produced in the bone marrow and migrate to a part of the lymph nodes called the germinal center.
“It’s like a training camp where B cells undergo improvement processes, including affinity maturation and antibody class switch, enhancing their ability to make effective antibodies,” Travaglino said.
B cells interact with and receive instructive signals from T cells to make antibodies that are most effective in coping with the pathogen invader. It’s a process that relies heavily on the interaction of CD40 and CD40L.
Using techniques like fluorescence microscopy, the researchers were able to look closely at activity in germinal centers. They used force spectroscopy tools like the biomembrane force probe which revealed that the strong, tugging handshake is suppressed by X-HIgM mutation.
The findings suggest that the physical environment and activity within the germinal center is just as important as the chemical signals at play between the proteins. By demonstrating how X-HIgM mutations impair catch bonds, the researchers provided a mechanistic explanation for the condition’s antibody deficiencies — knowledge that could open the door to future innovations in therapeutic intervention and immunotherapy.
Singh called the team’s findings “nothing short of revolutionary.”
“The significance of the research extends far beyond understanding X-HIgM, offering a fresh perspective on how to approach a variety of immune disorders,” he said. “As this field of study evolves, the potential for advancements in immune therapies looks bright.”
CITATION: Hyun-Kyu Choi, Stefano Travaglino, Matthias Münchhalfen, Richard Görg, Zhe Zhong, Jintian Lyu, David M. Reyes-Aguilar, Jürgen Wienands, Ankur Singh, and Cheng Zhu. “Mechanotransduction governs CD40 function and underlies X-linked Hyper IgM syndrome,” Science Advances. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adl5815
FUNDING: This research was supported by National Institutes of Health grants U01CA250040, U01CA280984, R01CA238745, and R01CA266052; The Hyper IgM Foundation AWD-004331; German Research Foundation SFB TRR 274, project A08; National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant RS-2024-00337196; and the Yonsei University Research Fund 2024-22-0036. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of any funding agency.
The research team used advanced microscopy techniques to capture these images of CD40 and CD40L interactions.
Cybersecurity researchers have discovered new vulnerabilities that could provide criminals with wireless access to the computer systems in automobiles, aircraft, factories, and other cyber-physical systems.
The computers used in vehicles and other cyber-physical systems rely on a specialized internal network to communicate commands between electronics. Because it took place internally, it was traditionally assumed that attackers could only influence this network through physical access.
In collaboration with Hyundai, researchers from Georgia Tech’s Cyber-Physical Systems Security Research Lab (CPSec) observed that threat models used to evaluate the security of these technologies were outdated.
The team, led by Ph.D. student Zhaozhou Tang, found that vehicle technology advancements allowed attackers to launch new attacks, improve existing attacks, and circumvent current defense systems.
For example, Tang’s findings included the possibility for attackers to remotely compromise the computers used in cars and aircraft through Wi-Fi, cellular, Bluetooth, and other wireless channels.
“Our job was to thoroughly review existing information and find ways to protect against these attacks,” he said. “We found new threats and proposed a defense system that can protect against the new and old attacks.”
In response to their findings, the team developed ERACAN, the first comprehensive defense system against this new generation of attackers. Designed to detect new and old attacks, ERACAN can deploy defenses when necessary.
The system also classifies the attacks it reacts to, providing security experts with the tools for detailed analysis. It has a detection rate of 100% for all attacks launched by conventional methods and detects enhanced threat models 99.7% of the time.
The project received a distinguished paper award at the 2024 ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security (CCS 24) held in Salt Lake City. Tang presented the paper at the October conference.
“This was Zhaozhou’s first paper in his Ph.D. program, and he deserves recognition for his groundbreaking work on automotive cybersecurity,” said Saman Zonouz, associate professor in the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy and the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has designated the transportation sector as one of the nation’s 16 critical infrastructure sectors. Ensuring its security is vital to national security and public safety.
“Modern vehicles, which rely heavily on controller area networks for essential operations, are integral components of this infrastructure,” said Zonouz. “With the increasing sophistication of cyberthreats, safeguarding these systems has become critical to ensuring the resilience and security of transportation networks.”
This paper introduced to the scientific community the first comprehensive defense system to address advanced threats targeting vehicular controller area networks.
The CPSec team is putting the technology it has developed into practice in collaboration with Hyundai America Technical Center, Inc., which sponsors the work. Tang hopes ERACAN’s success will raise awareness of these new threats in the research community and industry.
“It will help them build future defenses,” he said. “We have demonstrated the best practice to defend against these attacks.”
Tang received his bachelor’s degree at Georgia Tech, where he first performed security-related work for the automobile industry. While working with Zonouz on his master’s degree, he decided to change course and pursue research initiatives like vehicle security in a Ph.D. program.
“It is interesting how it came full circle,” he said. “I will continue on this path of automobile security throughout my Ph.D.”
ERACAN: Defending Against an Emerging CAN Threat Model, was written by Zhaozhou Tang, Khaled Serag from the Qatar Computing Research Institute, Saman Zonouz, Berkay Celik and Dongyan Xu from Purdue University, and Raheem Beyah, professor and dean of the College of Engineering. The CPSec Lab is a collaboration between the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy and the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
Communications Officer II
School of Cybersecurity and Privacy
]]>
While they’re at it, they’re pioneering new fields of research, and possibly spinning the work into a new commercial venture.
Last year, Coskun and his team introduced a new study in “single cell spatial metabolomics,” which explores the distribution of small molecules — metabolites — within tissues and organs. Now they’re spearheading “spatial interactomics,” a research area concerned with interactions between various biomolecules inside of individual cells.
To study these interactions, they’ve developed an innovative technique, or tool, to better understand why non-small cell lung cancer, or NSCLC, resists treatment in so many patients. They call it the “intelligent sequential proximity ligation assay,” or iseqPLA.
“It’s a smart test that can look at proteins and how they interact with each other in space,” said Coskun, Bernie Marcus Early Career Professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University.
“Basically, we’re the first to create a new research area on spatial protein-protein interactions, which can tell us more about cell types and their functions,” said Coskun. “With spatial interactomics, we can validate how cells physically touch, sense, and regulate nearby cells through the interaction of pairs of proteins.”
So, the immediate goal of spatial interactomics is to investigate how protein-protein interactions drive drug resistance in NSCLC. And iseqPLA allows researchers to visualize how it’s all happening at the subcellular level. Coskun’s team described its work recently in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering. He’s also forming a company to commercialize the technology.
Drugs called tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs, like Osimertinib) have been successful in treating people with NSCLC. But many patients who initially respond well to the regimen, eventually develop a resistance. Protein interactions, a molecular kind of crosstalk, are a prime suspect in causing this resistance.
Proteins interact with each other all the time, and this mingling controls how cells grow, divide, or survive. Coskun and his team want to see how these interactions change in response to cancer treatment, and iseqPLA shows them, essentially attaching glowing tags to proteins, lighting up their locations and interactions under a microscope.
“Think of it like a super detailed map showing how different proteins in a cell are connected,” Coskun said.
The iseqPLA can examine 47 protein interactions in a single sample, which saves a lot of time (and resources) when compared to older methods, which look at two to three interactions at a time.
The researchers also created a computer model to analyze the spatial data they collected from iseqPLA, identifying patterns in protein interactions to help predict whether a cell was responding to a treatment or developing resistance.
“We showed that the test works not only in lab-grown cells but also in tissues from mice and humans,” Coskun said. “It can really help us understand how patients respond to certain treatments.”
Going forward, Coskun aims to enhance iseqPLA to study interactions among RNA, proteins, and metabolites, as well as the RNA, proteins, metabolites, etc., and other subcellular dynamics. He also hopes to get the technology into the hands of other researchers.
“We believe it will be a groundbreaking tool,” he said.
With that in mind, Coskun is planning to form a startup company called SpatAllize. He’s working with VentureLab, the nonprofit organization at Georgia Tech that provides entrepreneurship programs for students and faculty.
“We are currently performing customer interviews and forming a strategy for a viable plan towards the marketplace,” he said.
He also plans to expand iseqPLA’s utility into other areas of research, focusing on how protein interactions influence the immune system, the heart, and brain health. His team is also developing a spatial interactomics robot that integrates iseqPLA with advanced imaging and automated deep learning.
“This will allow us to map all molecules within cells and tissues for an even better understanding of drug-cell interactions, particularly in cancer treatment planning,” Coskun said.
CITATION: Shuangyi Cai, Thomas Hu, Abhijeet Venkataraman, Felix G. Rivera Moctezuma, Efe Ozturk, Nicholas Zhang, Mingshuang Wang, Tatenda Zvidzai, Sandip Das, Adithya Pillai, Frank Schneider, Suresh S. Ramalingam, YouTake Oh, Shi-Yong Sun, and Ahmet F. Coskun. “Spatially resolved subcellular protein–protein interactomics in drug-perturbed lung-cancer cultures and tissues.” Nature Biomedical Engineering.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41551-024-01271-x
FUNDING: This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health, grant Nos. P50CA217691, P30CA138292, and R33CA291197; and the National Science Foundation, grant No. R35GM151028. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of any funding agency.
COMPETING INTERESTS: Coskun, Cai, and Hu declare a patent application related to the spatial-signaling interactomics assay (U.S. Provisional 63/399,427 and U.S. Application No. 18/452,178).
]]>An artistic rendering of sub-cellular activity: The cell membrane is seen at the top, nucleus on the bottom/right. Protein pairs are being targeted by antibodies (sets of two). Then antibodies are linked to DNA pieces that glow when proteins were found to be closely interacting with each other. The glowing fluorescence DNA signal is then imaged by a microscope indicating the spatial locations of protein interactions as dots, which researchers use to generate graph models. The straight lines connecting the antibody and protein pairs indicate their graph wiring that gets altered in drug resistance.
The Academy announced his election Oct. 21 alongside 99 others. Membership in NAM is considered one of the highest recognitions in health and medicine, reserved for those who’ve made major contributions to healthcare, medical sciences, and public health. The roster is small: only 2,400 or so individuals have been honored.
“It’s an honor to be elected to the National Academy of Medicine and have the work of our team at Georgia Tech recognized in this way,” said Prausnitz, Regents’ Professor and J. Erskine Love Jr. Chair in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.
The Academy cited Prausnitz for innovating microneedle and other advanced drug delivery technologies. He also was honored for translating those methods and devices into clinical trials and products and founding companies to bring the advances to patients. NAM praised Prausnitz for “inspiring students to be creative and impactful engineers.”
Read the full story on the College of Engineering website.
]]>The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded Georgia Tech researchers a $4.6 million grant to develop improved cybersecurity protection for renewable energy technologies.
Associate Professor Saman Zonouz will lead the project and leverage the latest artificial technology (AI) to create Phorensics. The new tool will anticipate cyberattacks on critical infrastructure and provide analysts with an accurate reading of what vulnerabilities were exploited.
“This grant enables us to tackle one of the crucial challenges facing national security today: our critical infrastructure resilience and post-incident diagnostics to restore normal operations in a timely manner,” said Zonouz.
“Together with our amazing team, we will focus on cyber-physical data recovery and post-mortem forensics analysis after cybersecurity incidents in emerging renewable energy systems.”
As the integration of renewable energy technology into national power grids increases, so does their vulnerability to cyberattacks. These threats put energy infrastructure at risk and pose a significant danger to public safety and economic stability. The AI behind Phorensics will allow analysts and technicians to scale security efforts to keep up with a growing power grid that is becoming more complex.
This effort is part of the Security of Engineering Systems (SES) initiative at Georgia Tech’s School of Cybersecurity and Privacy (SCP). SES has three pillars: research, education, and testbeds, with multiple ongoing large, sponsored efforts.
“We had a successful hiring season for SES last year and will continue filling several open tenure-track faculty positions this upcoming cycle,” said Zonouz.
“With top-notch cybersecurity and engineering schools at Georgia Tech, we have begun the SES journey with a dedicated passion to pursue building real-world solutions to protect our critical infrastructures, national security, and public safety.”
Zonouz is the director of the Cyber-Physical Systems Security Laboratory (CPSec) and is jointly appointed by Georgia Tech’s School of Cybersecurity and Privacy (SCP) and the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE).
The three Georgia Tech researchers joining him on this project are Brendan Saltaformaggio, associate professor in SCP and ECE; Taesoo Kim, jointly appointed professor in SCP and the School of Computer Science; and Animesh Chhotaray, research scientist in SCP.
Katherine Davis, associate professor at the Texas A&M University Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has partnered with the team to develop Phorensics. The team will also collaborate with the NREL National Lab, and industry partners for technology transfer and commercialization initiatives.
The Energy Department defines renewable energy as energy from unlimited, naturally replenished resources, such as the sun, tides, and wind. Renewable energy can be used for electricity generation, space and water heating and cooling, and transportation.
Communications Officer II
College of Computing | School of Cybersecurity and Privacy
]]>Eight Georgia Tech researchers were honored with the ACM Distinguished Paper Award for their groundbreaking contributions to cybersecurity at the recent ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security (CCS).
Three papers were recognized for addressing critical challenges in the field, spanning areas such as automotive cybersecurity, password security, and cryptographic testing.
“These three projects underscore Georgia Tech's leadership in advancing cybersecurity solutions that have real-world impact, from protecting critical infrastructure to ensuring the security of future computing systems and improving everyday digital practices,” said School of Cybersecurity and Privacy (SCP) Chair Michael Bailey.
One of the papers, ERACAN: Defending Against an Emerging CAN Threat Model, was co-authored by Ph.D. student Zhaozhou Tang, Associate Professor Saman Zonouz, and College of Engineering Dean and Professor Raheem Beyah. This research focuses on securing the controller area network (CAN), a vital system used in modern vehicles that is increasingly targeted by cyber threats.
"This project is led by our Ph.D. student Zhaozhou Tang with the Cyber-Physical Systems Security (CPSec) Lab," said Zonouz. "Impressively, this was Zhaozhou's first paper in his Ph.D., and he deserves special recognition for this groundbreaking work on automotive cybersecurity."
The work introduces a comprehensive defense system to counter advanced threats to vehicular CAN networks, and the team is collaborating with the Hyundai America Technical Center to implement the research. The CPSec Lab is a collaborative effort between SCP and the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE).
In another paper, Testing Side-Channel Security of Cryptographic Implementations Against Future Microarchitectures, Assistant Professor Daniel Genkin collaborated with international researchers to define security threats in new computing technology.
"We appreciate ACM for recognizing our work," said Genkin. “Tools for early-stage testing of CPUs for emerging side-channel threats are crucial to ensuring the security of the next generation of computing devices.”
The third paper, Unmasking the Security and Usability of Password Masking, was authored by graduate students Yuqi Hu, Suood Al Roomi, Sena Sahin, and Frank Li, SCP and ECE assistant professor. This study investigated the effectiveness and provided recommendations for implementing password masking and the practice of hiding characters as they are typed and offered.
"Password masking is a widely deployed security mechanism that hasn't been extensively investigated in prior works," said Li.
The assistant professor credited the collaborative efforts of his students, particularly Yuqi Hu, for leading the project.
The ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security (CCS) is the flagship annual conference of the Special Interest Group on Security, Audit and Control (SIGSAC) of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). The conference was held from Oct. 14-18 in Salt Lake City.
Communications Officer II
College of Computing | School of Cybersecurity and Privacy
]]>Whether it is the sound of music through your headphones or the precise control of a robotic arm, analog circuits play a crucial role in both established and future technologies.
Analog does a lot of things, but in general, it functions as the interpreter between the real world and digital devices. It transforms signals — like sound waves, voltage levels, temperature, pressure, and light intensity — into information that digital systems can understand.
As the semiconductor industry evolves, the demand for skilled analog engineers continues to grow even in this digital world.
“Analog circuits remain vital because they enable the initial data acquisition from the environment,” said Assistant Professor Shaolan Li. “That’s just the application perspective, but they are also structurally very different than digital circuits. Students need hands-on experience with real-world measurements, which are crucial for mastering analog circuits.”
To meet this demand, the Georgia Tech School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) is collaborating with Texas Instruments (TI) to launch strategic educational opportunities aimed at providing students access to industry-grade analog chip design, fabrication, and testing processes. TI is a global semiconductor company that designs, manufactures, and sells analog and embedded processing chips.
Tzu-Han Wang working on a circuit board with an analog chip connected to pattern generator instruments used to create continuous waveforms to test and analyze the performance of the chip.
]]>“For a long time, people have been looking for a lower-cost, more sustainable alternative to existing cathode materials. I think we’ve got one,” said Chen, an associate professor with appointments in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and the School of Materials Science and Engineering.
The revolutionary material, iron chloride (FeCl3), costs a mere 1-2% of typical cathode materials and canstore the same amount of electricity. Cathode materials affect capacity, energy, and efficiency, playing a major role in a battery’s performance, lifespan, and affordability.
“Our cathode can be a game-changer,” said Chen, whose team describes its work in Nature Sustainability. “It would greatly improve the EV market — and the whole lithium-ion battery market.”
First commercialized by Sony in the early 1990s, LIBs sparked an explosion in personal electronics, like smartphones and tablets. The technology eventually advanced to fuel electric vehicles, providing a reliable, rechargeable, high-density energy source. But unlike personal electronics, large-scale energy users like EVs are especially sensitive to the cost of LIBs.
Batteries are currently responsible for about 50% of an EV’s total cost, which makes these clean-energy cars more expensive than their internal combustion, greenhouse-gas-spewing cousins. The Chen team’s invention could change that.
Building a Better Battery
Compared to old-fashioned alkaline and lead-acid batteries, LIBs store more energy in a smaller package and power a device longer between charges. But LIBs contain expensive metals, including semiprecious elements like cobalt and nickel, and they have a high manufacturing cost.
So far, only four types of cathodes have been successfully commercialized for LIBs. Chen’s would be the fifth, and it would represent a big step forward in battery technology: the development of an all-solid-state LIB.
Conventional LIBs use liquid electrolytes to transport lithium ions for storing and releasing energy. They have hard limits on how much energy can be stored, and they can leak and catch fire. But all-solid-state LIBs use solid electrolytes, dramatically boosting a battery’s efficiency and reliability and making it safer and capable of holding more energy. These batteries, still in the development and testing phase, would be a considerable improvement.
As researchers and manufacturers across the planet race to make all-solid-state technology practical, Chen and his collaborators have developed an affordable and sustainable solution. With the FeCl3 cathode, a solid electrolyte, and a lithium metal anode, the cost of their whole battery system is 30-40% of current LIBs.
“This could not only make EVs much cheaper than internal combustion cars, but it provides a new and promising form of large-scale energy storage, enhancing the resilience of the electrical grid,” Chen said. “In addition, our cathode would greatly improve the sustainability and supply chain stability of the EV market.”
Solid Start to New Discovery
Chen’s interest in FeCl3 as a cathode material originated with his lab’s research into solid electrolyte materials. Starting in 2019, his lab tried to make solid-state batteries using chloride-based solid electrolyteswith traditional commercial oxide-based cathodes. It didn’t go well — the cathode and electrolyte materials didn’t get along.
The researchers thought a chloride-based cathode could provide a better pairing with the chloride electrolyte to offer better battery performance.
“We found a candidate (FeCl3) worth trying, as its crystal structure is potentially suitable for storing and transporting Li ions, and fortunately, it functioned as we expected,” said Chen.
Currently, the most popularly used cathodes in EVs are oxides and require a gigantic amount of costly nickel and cobalt, heavy elements that can be toxic and pose an environmental challenge. In contrast, the Chen team’s cathode contains only iron (Fe) and chlorine (Cl)—abundant, affordable, widely used elements found in steel and table salt.
In their initial tests, FeCl3 was found to perform as well as or better than the other, much more expensive cathodes. For example, it has a higher operational voltage than the popularly used cathode LiFePO4 (lithium iron phosphate, or LFP), which is the electrical force a battery provides when connected to a device, similar to water pressure from a garden hose.
This technology may be less than five years from commercial viability in EVs. For now, the team will continue investigating FeCl3 and related materials, according to Chen. The work was led by Chen and postdoc Zhantao Liu (the lead author of the study). Collaborators included researchers from Georgia Tech’s Woodruff School (Ting Zhu) and the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (Yuanzhi Tang), as well as the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (Jue Liu) and the University of Houston (Shuo Chen).
“We want to make the materials as perfect as possible in the lab and understand the underlying functioning mechanisms,” Chen said. “But we are open to opportunities to scale up the technology and push it toward commercial applications.”
CITATION: Zhantao Liu, Jue Liu, Simin Zhao, Sangni Xun, Paul Byaruhanga, Shuo Chen, Yuanzhi Tang, Ting Zhu, Hailong Chen. “Low-cost iron trichloride cathode for all-solid-state lithium-ion batteries.” Nature Sustainability.
FUNDING: National Science Foundation (Grant Nos. 1706723 and 2108688)
]]>
Professor Tim Lieuwen has been elected to the status of International Fellow by the U.K.’s Royal Academy of Engineering. He is one of three other US engineers to receive this prestigious fellowship, which emphasizes enhancing the role of engineering in society and developing an inclusive future through research, education initiatives, and industry collaborations.
Lieuwen is a Regents’ Professor, the David S. Lewis, Jr. Chair in the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering (AE), a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, among several others. For 12 years, he served as executive director of the Strategic Energy Institute; he is currently serving as Georgia Tech’s interim executive vice president for Research.
“Tim Lieuwen’s groundbreaking research and leadership have been instrumental in advancing the AE School’s mission,” said Mitchell Walker, AE chair. “His work in combustion dynamics, propulsion, and clean energy systems not only enhances our academic reputation but also drives significant, real-world impact, as recognized by the Academy.”
Lieuwen’s research focuses on developing clean combustion technologies for power generation and propulsion. He works closely with industry and government professionals to address energy concerns and set the standard for clean tech manufacturing. The Georgia Tech alumnus will formally be admitted to the Academy at a special ceremony in London on November 27, 2024.
The 2024 class includes 60 Fellows, six International Fellows, and five Honorary Fellows, each of whom has made exceptional contributions to their own field, pioneering new innovations, leading progress in business or academia, providing high-level advice to government, or promoting wider understanding of engineering and technology.
When pressure readings at the Holland Plant dropped drastically in the early morning hours of Friday, July 26, Jim Stephens, vice president of Infrastructure and Sustainability (I&S), knew what that meant.
Despite a year of bypasses and other mitigation strategies around a chilled water system leak underneath Cherry Street in Harrison Square, the leak grew and led to a widespread outage across campus. Classrooms, research labs, offices, and other vital spaces were without air conditioning.
The I&S team had run through this exact scenario during its continuity of operations planning with the Office of Emergency Management. So, as the sun rose that Friday morning, a plan was in place. Crews began excavating to isolate the leak 20 feet underground, and the team started securing mobile chillers to protect vulnerable research labs and buildings against equipment failure, mold, and other potentially detrimental side effects of rising temperatures and humidity.
Meanwhile, students on campus for the summer session were preparing to take finals in classrooms that were suddenly without air conditioning.
Stephens likened the situation to triaging in an emergency room. He followed the example set by his mother, a pediatric cancer nurse.
"You have to be keenly focused on the next steps you need to take. You want to solve all the problems, but you may not be able to. What you can control is that next step and make sure you've got as many things covered as possible. That way, you're going to make the best of the situation you have,” he said.
Stephens and Emergency Management met with Institute leadership daily (and often twice daily) to ensure that resources were properly deployed to minimize the impact on operations.
Led by Executive Director of Infrastructure Greg Spiro and Associate Director of Utilities Will Varnado, excavation crews continued around-the-clock operations to isolate the leak under Cherry Street and replace a pipe that had been there since the 1960s — working carefully to avoid surrounding electric and gas lines. Meanwhile, a secondary leak by the Dalney Building threatened to make matters worse by taking the Biotech Quad offline. Repairs were quickly made to alleviate the pressure and bring chilled water back to the research hub.
I&S estimated that the repairs would take two to four weeks; in the meantime, mobile chillers arrived on tractor-trailers to serve as a temporary solution. Associate Director of Infrastructure Services Jamie Ready and her team quickly secured chillers from across the country, and within the week, units arrived to be placed around campus. Laboratory and Chemical Safety Officer Alicia Wood-Jones and Environmental Programs Manager April Kelly were charged with identifying hazards in more than 2,000 lab spaces during the outage, as well as promoting compliance in any needed repairs. At the same time, Emergency Management and the Office of the Provost enacted contingency plans for final exam locations.
Among the most affected buildings on campus was the Price Gilbert Memorial Library. Home to 30,000 books and collections, the Library quickly reached indoor temperatures in the high 90s with 85% humidity. Archives and rare books were at risk. Library staff moved artwork into a central cool zone operating on a chiller and a dehumidifier and moved all physical collections to the Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons. Collections are currently being cleaned by hand and returned to the Library, but it will take several months to return them all to the shelves. Nearly all books are available online and by delivery from the Library Service Center.
As the outage stretched into August, I&S worked to bring student-facing facilities like Stamps Health Services and the John Lewis Student Center back online before move-in.
"This effort seems like one long day because it never really stopped," Stephens recalled.
As workers installed new bypasses and pipes, they added pressure back slowly to avoid overloading the system. When students returned to campus the weekend of Aug. 10, air conditioning had returned to most campus buildings.
The Harrison Square excavation, which will continue during this academic year, presents an opportunity to rework aging sections of the chilled water system and "do it in a way so we won't have to fool with it for the next 50 years," Stephens said. He and Spiro emphasized the importance of creating a more redundant system, allowing chilled water to reach all areas of campus via multiple pathways. Another driving force in the repairs has been the continued electrification of campus heating and cooling operations to further align with the Climate Action Plan and the Institute's goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.
Having worked in Florida, Stephens has a background in hurricane preparedness, and the urgency to plan for the worst-case scenario guides his approach in his work. He never wants to experience another chilled water outage, but if one arises, he knows he's surrounded by the right team.
"The true success of this story was the planning and the people at this institution working together for a common goal," he said. "If there's any message that outlives this crisis, it's that when we all decide to focus on accomplishing a common goal, we can do incredible things together."
While remnants of the recent chilled water outage remain in Harrison Square, operations are mostly back to normal following an around-the-clock operation executed by multiple departments across the Institute.
Their instructor, Associate Professor Saman Zonouz, created this course to teach students to prevent, detect, and respond to common cyberattacks launched against cyber-physical systems.
According to Zonouz, infrastructure like power grids, water treatment plants, hospitals, and healthcare are all cyber-physical systems, an area of cybersecurity where software and hardware interact with physical processes. These systems are also found in drones, making the course widely applicable to students.
“This knowledge will be invaluable in their future careers, especially if they work in industries like Tesla, where safeguarding equipment against cybersecurity threats is essential,” Zonouz said. “It’s not feasible to build a power plant in class for students to practice on. Drones are a compact cyber-physical system students can experience firsthand.”
That day, the students in the park showed just how hands-on the semester had been. Each team had a drone they had spent the semester building, testing, and attacking. Their remote aircraft had open-source auto-pilot software, GPS, altitude sensors, cameras, AI software, and their developed security solutions.
In one exercise, students had to use their AI software to recover from and play as a surrogate controller against a GPS spoofing cyberattack on their drone in mid-flight.
“Flights need to be safe regardless of potential cyber-attacks,” he said. “This course combines cybersecurity and drones in a way that specifically targets the drone's operation against cybersecurity threats.”
This course is part of Georgia Tech’s Masters of Cybersecurity—Cyber-Physical Systems track and an instantiation of the Department of Energy’s Cyber-Informed Engineering (CIE) initiative, which Zonouz is a co-PI on. Zonouz wants the course to serve as a model for other universities interested in teaching drone cybersecurity. While there are existing courses on power grid security, the emphasis on hands-on experiences sets it apart.
His lab's research on drones (CPSec: Cyber-Physical Systems Security Lab) has also received federal recognition. Last fall, the lab hosted a United States congressional visit in the Klaus Advanced Computing Building.
On September 24, his lab will welcome Mary Ellen Callahan, assistant secretary, DHS Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office (CWMD) as a guest lecturer, key note speaker, and panelist. The event will take place in the Coda atrium from 9:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.
]]>Associate Professor Saman Zonouz speaks about the Cybersecurity of Drones, a unique course he created at Georgia Tech. The class exposes students to fundamental security principles specific to drones and to apply them to a broad range of current and future cyber-physical security challenges. Professor Zonouz developed the course in collaboration with the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy and the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
Video by Kevin Beasley, College of Computing
]]>Every millisecond will matter when the world's best athletes gather in Paris for the Summer Olympics, and track and field athletes will compete on a surface designed to produce record-breaking performances.
Mondo athletic tracks have been underneath the feet of Olympians since 1972. In that time, 300 records were broken on surfaces designed and constructed in Alba, Italy, including 15 at the Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta.
Georgia Tech’s George C. Griffin Track and Field Facility was outfitted with a Mondo track before the 1996 Games to serve as the workout track for the Olympic Village, and the material has been a staple at the facility ever since. Yellow Jacket Track and Field Coach Grover Hinsdale, a coach to three Olympic gold medalists, explains that the consistency in Mondo's construction sets it apart from all other tracks.
"A Mondo track is made in a climate-controlled factory, processed from the raw rubber to the finished product. So, every square inch of Mondo is the same — same durometer, same thickness, everything is the same. All other rubberized track surfaces are poured on-site, so variables like temperature and humidity affect the result, and you may end up with lanes that don't set uniformly,” he said.
Hinsdale likened the installation process to laying carpet. It will take more than 2,800 glue pots to set the 13,000 square meters of track inside Stade de France. Jud Ready, a principal research engineer in the School of Materials Science and Engineering, says the evolution of the company’s technology has also contributed to producing faster tracks.
"They're able to alter the rubber track's energy return mechanism by changing the shape of the particulate and the compressibility of it," Ready said. "Longevity is less of a concern for the Paris track, so they can tune it to emphasize speed."
Each layer of the track surface plays a different role in helping athletes achieve peak performance. Hinsdale describes how those layers come together with each step.
"When your foot strikes down on an asphalt surface or you're running down a sidewalk, there's virtually no give other than what's taking place in the muscles and joints of your body. The surface is giving nothing back. When your foot strikes a Mondo surface, it'll sink in slightly, and the surface gives energy back. This pushes your foot back off that track quicker, putting the foot back into the cycle to complete another stride,” he said.
Because of the energy given back by the thin and firm surface of the Mondo track, Hinsdale says, sprinters and distance runners will run faster with the same effort they normally exert on any other surface.
Athletes look for every edge to get ahead of the competition. Ready's course, Materials Science and Engineering of Sports, examines how that advantage can be found at the scientific level.
"All sports are so heavily driven by material advancements these days,” he said. “Yes, we use the mechanical properties we've used since the Egyptians started racing chariots, but as material scientists, we keep trying to make things better.”
Viewers will notice the unique purple hue of the Paris track when the games begin, but Ready and Hinsdale don't expect the striking color to affect performance.
The river has been closed to swimmers for the past 100 years because of pollution, but Olympic organizers hope to stage the triathlon and marathon swimming events in the water flowing in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.
Katherine Graham has followed the saga in Paris. She’s an assistant professor in the Georgia Tech School of Civil and Environmental Engineering who studies the fate and transport of pathogens and their indicators in water, including E. coli. She said several factors are at play in the Seine.
“Paris, like most large cities, has a lot of concrete and not much dirt and grass for water to soak into."
Read the entire story on the College of Engineering website.
Jayaraman, a renowned expert in fibers, polymers, and textiles, recognizes linen as the best fabric for hot and humid conditions. He explains that linen's effectiveness lies in its superior moisture management properties. The fiber structure of linen allows it to absorb moisture quickly and then transport it away from the body. This is due to linen's high moisture regain capacity, which means it can absorb a significant amount of moisture without feeling damp.
“The moisture vapor transport rate for linen is much greater than that for cotton or polyester,” he explained. Additionally, linen's bending rigidity prevents it from clinging to the body, allowing for better air circulation.
Cotton is another popular fabric for summer, known for its softness and breathability. However, Jayaraman points out that while cotton effectively absorbs moisture, it tends to retain it longer than linen, making it feel clammy in extreme heat. Cotton's moisture vapor transmission rate is lower than linen’s, meaning it doesn't dry as quickly.
The structure of cotton fibers, which are ribbon-like and can trap more water, also affects cotton’s performance. While it’s more prone to sticking to the body due to its lower bending rigidity, cotton is generally comfortable for less humid conditions or for shorter durations in the heat.
While polyester may not be the first fabric that comes to mind for summer, its performance can be significantly enhanced with chemical treatments. Dri-FIT technology, for instance, improves polyester’s moisture-wicking properties, making it a popular choice for athletic wear.
“Regular polyester is terrible when it comes to moisture absorption,” admitted Jayaraman. “But Dri-FIT polyester doesn’t feel clammy and is very comfortable for being physically active in the summer months.”
While functionality is crucial, aesthetics also play a role in fabric choice for the summer. Linen, despite its excellent cooling properties, is prone to wrinkling and may not drape as elegantly as cotton or treated polyester. Jayaraman notes that linen's natural stiffness, which contributes to its cooling benefits, also leads to its tendency to wrinkle. He says, “For a crisp appearance, linen garments often require ironing before wear.” For those prioritizing appearance, cotton offers a softer drape and a smoother look, albeit with slightly less cooling efficiency.
]]>Now Georgia Tech bioengineer Ankur Singh and his research team have developed a method to improve this pioneering immunotherapy.
Their solution involves using nanowires to deliver therapeutic miRNA to T-cells. This new modification process retains the cells’ naïve state, which means they’ll be even better disease fighters when they’re infused back into a patient.
“By delivering miRNA in naïve T cells, we have basically prepared an infantry, ready to deploy,” Singh said. “And when these naïve cells are stimulated and activated in the presence of disease, it’s like they’ve been converted into samurais.”
Currently in adoptive T-cell therapy, the cells become stimulated and preactivated in the lab when they are modified, losing their naïve state. Singh’s new technique overcomes this limitation. The approach is described in a new study published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.
“Naïve T-cells are more useful for immunotherapy because they have not yet been preactivated, which means they can be more easily manipulated to adopt desired therapeutic functions,” said Singh, the Carl Ring Family Professor in the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering.
The raw recruits of the immune system, naïve T-cells are white blood cells that haven’t been tested in battle yet. But these cellular recruits are robust, impressionable, and adaptable — ready and eager for programming.
“This process creates a well-programmed naïve T-cell ideal for enhancing immune responses against specific targets, such as tumors or pathogens,” said Singh.
The precise programming naïve T-cells receive sets the foundational stage for a more successful disease fighting future, as compared to preactivated cells.
Within the body, naïve T-cells become activated when they receive a danger signal from antigens, which are part of disease-causing pathogens, but they send a signal to T-cells that activate the immune system.
Adoptive T-cell therapy is used against aggressive diseases that overwhelm the body’s defense system. Scientists give the patient’s T-cells a therapeutic boost in the lab, loading them up with additional medicine and chemically preactivating them.
That’s when the cells lose their naïve state. When infused back into the patient, these modified T-cells are an effective infantry against disease — but they are prone to becoming exhausted. They aren’t samurai. Naïve T-cells, though, being the young, programmable recruits that they are, could be.
The question for Singh and his team was: How do we give cells that therapeutic boost without preactivating them, thereby losing that pristine, highly suggestable naïve state? Their answer: Nanowires.
Singh wanted to enhance naïve T-cells with a dose of miRNA. miRNA is a molecule that, when used as a therapeutic, works as a kind of volume knob for genes, turning their activity up or down to keep infection and cancer in check. The miRNA for this study was developed in part by the study’s co-author, Andrew Grimson of Cornell University.
“If we could find a way to forcibly enter the cells without damaging them, we could achieve our goal to deliver the miRNA into naïve T cells without preactivating them,” Singh explained.
Traditional modification in the lab involves binding immune receptors to T-cells, enabling the uptake of miRNA or any genetic material (which results in loss of the naïve state). “But nanowires do not engage receptors and thus do not activate cells, so they retain their naïve state,” Singh said.
The nanowires, silicon wafers made with specialized tools at Georgia Tech’s Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology, form a fine needle bed. Cells are placed on the nanowires, which easily penetrate the cells and deliver their miRNA over several hours. Then the cells with miRNA are flushed out from the tops of the nanowires, activated, eventually infused back into the patient. These programmed cells can kill enemies efficiently over an extended time period.
“We believe this approach will be a real gamechanger for adoptive immunotherapies, because we now have the ability to produce T-cells with predictable fates,” says Brian Rudd, a professor of immunology at Cornell University, and co-senior author of the study with Singh.
The researchers tested their work in two separate infectious disease animal models at Cornell for this study, and Singh described the results as “a robust performance in infection control.”
In the next phase of study, the researchers will up the ante, moving from infectious disease to test their cellular super soldiers against cancer and move toward translation to the clinical setting. New funding from the Georgia Clinical & Translational Science Alliance is supporting Singh’s research.
CITATION: Kristel J. Yee Mon, Sungwoong Kim, Zhonghao Dai, Jessica D. West, Hongya Zhu5, Ritika Jain, Andrew Grimson, Brian D. Rudd, Ankur Singh. “Functionalized nanowires for miRNA-mediated therapeutic programming of naïve T cells,” Nature Nanotechnology.
FUNDING: Curci Foundation, NSF (EEC-1648035, ECCS-2025462, ECCS-1542081), NIH (5R01AI132738-06, 1R01CA266052-01, 1R01CA238745-01A1, U01CA280984-01, R01AI110613 and U01AI131348).
Ankur Singh has developed a new way of programming T cells that retains their naïve state, making them better fighters. — Photo by Jerry Grillo
The approach capitalizes on the natural antibacterial properties of copper and creates incredibly small needle-like structures on the surface of stainless steel to kill harmful bacteria like E. coli and Staphylococcus. It’s convenient and inexpensive, and it could reduce the need for chemicals and antibiotics in hospitals, kitchens, and other settings where surface contamination can lead to serious illness.
It also could save lives: A global study of drug-resistant infections found they directly killed 1.27 million people in 2019 and contributed to nearly 5 million other deaths — making these infections one of the leading causes of death for every age group.
Researchers described the copper-stainless steel and its effectiveness May 20 in the journal Small.
Read the full story on the College of Engineering website.
]]>The approach capitalizes on the natural antibacterial properties of copper and creates incredibly small needle-like structures on the surface of stainless steel to kill harmful bacteria like E. coli and Staphylococcus. It’s convenient and inexpensive, and it could reduce the need for chemicals and antibiotics in hospitals, kitchens, and other settings where surface contamination can lead to serious illness.
It also could save lives: A global study of drug-resistant infections found they directly killed 1.27 million people in 2019 and contributed to nearly 5 million other deaths — making these infections one of the leading causes of death for every age group.
Researchers described the copper-stainless steel and its effectiveness May 20 in the journal Small.
Read the full story on the College of Engineering website.
]]>The Douglasville, Georgia, native got her first sewing machine when she was 9, taking inspiration from her seamstress grandmother. Despite sewing through her finger the first time she used the machine, Curtis kept at it.
"I am not someone who gives up or quits. If you sew through your finger once, that doesn't mean you'll do it again. Everything, whether it's a hobby or starting a new project, comes with a learning curve, and if I start something, I'm going to finish it," she said.
Around the time she started sewing, Curtis set foot on the Georgia Tech campus for the first time. Attending CEISMC events and K.I.D.S Club events, she remembers how expansive the 400-acre campus felt as a child. Over time, it became familiar as she returned often with her dad, who was earning a master's degree in civil engineering.
"When we were on campus with him, he would study in front of the same big tree on Tech Green. While he studied, I would do my homework, and that spot became one of my favorite study spots on campus," she said.
On one of her many weekend trips to campus as a high school student, she attended a biomedical engineering student panel and felt an instant connection to the program.
"As a high school sophomore, I listened to the panel talk about their experiences, what it meant to be in BME, and everything they do at Georgia Tech, and that was a primary reason why I gravitated toward it. I felt that it fit with who I was as a person, and in hindsight, getting my education here allowed me to pursue my passions," Curtis, a John Lewis Leadership Fellow, said.
After graduating, she will join Owens & Minor as an R&D product engineer focusing on medical apparel, combining her interests in sewing and helping others. Owens & Minor was the primary sponsor of Curtis' capstone project, in which her team created a more inclusive cleaning coverall.
"Unfortunately, the hoods currently used in cleaning coveralls don't accommodate the fact that people have heads and that those heads have hair. That was a glaring complaint we heard, especially from women who wear their hair in puffs or may have braids. Our coverall resolves that issue with an inclusive hood that covers your hair, keeps everything nice and sterile while you're working, and eliminates waste," she explained.
From the Flowers Invention Studio to the Salsa Club, Curtis will miss plenty of aspects of campus life, including one that she knows goes against the norm for most college students.
"I'm surprisingly going to miss the atmosphere and the vibes around final exams when everybody's super stressed and scrambling, and you see everyone cramming in the Library," she said.
When she crosses the Commencement stage, Curtis will be thinking of all those who helped her get to this point — her family, the Georgia Tech Society of Black Engineers, the Black Women’s Support Group, the Office of Minority Educational Development, and BME faculty members including James Blumling, Swati Gupta, Melissa Kemp, S. Balakrishna Pai, and Ankur Singh.
]]>