{"692566":{"#nid":"692566","#data":{"type":"news","title":"A Window into the Hidden World of Immunity Inside Human Bone Marrow ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe cells that keep vaccines working for decades have long remained a mystery deep within human bone marrow. A new study watched them move, settle, and survive in a living human tissue model, revealing a surprisingly dynamic world that could reshape how scientists think about immunity, aging, cancer, and vaccine protection.\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor decades, immunologists have known that the body\u0027s most durable defenses depend on plasma cells, the antibody-producing cells responsible for long-term immune memory. Long after an infection has passed or a vaccine has been administered, these cells continue releasing protective antibodies, sometimes for decades.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYet one of immunology\u0027s enduring mysteries has remained unsolved: scientists understand what plasma cells do, but not how they interact with their environment.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe challenge is simple. Plasma cells reside deep within bone marrow, one of the most difficult tissues in the human body to study. Encased in bone and inaccessible to direct live imaging, it has largely remained a black box. As a result, much of what scientists know comes from mouse studies or simplified laboratory systems that capture only fragments of the human environment.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENow, researchers at Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt University have opened an unprecedented window into this hidden world.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn a study \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/10.1126\/sciadv.adz3976\u0022\u003Epublished in \u003Cem\u003EScience Advances\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, the team developed a human bone marrow-on-a-chip with channels of the size of human hair that allowed fluids to flow through it. This enabled them to directly observe human antibody-secreting cells as they migrated, interacted, and settled within a three-dimensional tissue environment.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe platform recreates not only the cellular complexity of bone marrow but also its vascular architecture and specialized microenvironments.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhat we found was far more dynamic than the textbook view of plasma cells simply taking up residence and staying put,\u201d said study co-senior author Ankur Singh, Carl Ring Family professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/me.gatech.edu\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EGeorge W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E and the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/bme.gatech.edu\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EWallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E at Georgia Tech and Emory University. Singh is also Director of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/immunoengineering.gatech.edu\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ECenter for Immunoengineering\u003C\/a\u003E at Georgia Tech, part of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/bioresearch.gatech.edu\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch3\u003EBuilding a Human Bone Marrow Model\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERather than creating a conventional cell culture, the researchers engineered a living microenvironment containing two major bone marrow neighborhoods: areas surrounding blood vessels, known as the perivascular niche, and a bone-like region lining internal bone surfaces, known as the endosteal niche.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team then introduced human antibody-secreting cells generated from engineered lymphoid organoids, which are miniature immune tissues capable of producing large numbers of cells that develop into plasma.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhat happened next surprised them.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInstead of dispersing throughout the tissue, the cells traveled through the vascular network and accumulated around blood vessels.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThese cellular gatherings were not random traffic jams,\u201d said co-senior author \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/engineering.vanderbilt.edu\/bio\/krishnendu-roy\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EKrishnendu Roy\u003C\/a\u003E, the Bruce and Bridgitt Evans Dean of Engineering University Distinguished Professor at Vanderbilt University. \u201cThe cells appeared to congregate in regions rich in survival signals, suggesting that specialized perivascular neighborhoods serve as safe harbors for long-term immune memory.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe collaboration between Roy and Singh began while Roy was a faculty member at Georgia Tech, where much of the work was initially conceived and launched. The Roy lab pioneered the bone marrow chip while the Singh lab pioneered the lymphoid organoids. Their joint findings provide strong evidence that human plasma cells actively seek supportive environments rather than simply becoming trapped where they are, as previously believed.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch3\u003ENot as Stationary as Once Believed\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPerhaps the most striking discovery emerged when researchers tracked individual cells over time.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERather than remaining fixed in place, a subset displayed a distinctive \u0022stop-and-go\u0022 migration pattern.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cClassic immunology has often viewed plasma cells as largely sedentary,\u201d said Singh. \u201cWe found that many cells paused for extended periods, moved, stopped again, and continued exploring their surroundings.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe behavior suggests that plasma cells actively sample their environment, searching for the combinations of signals and support needed for long-term survival.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch3\u003EA Tale of Two Niches\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe study also revealed that bone marrow\u0027s two major compartments perform distinct but complementary functions.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe perivascular niche attracts cells and provides key survival signals, while the neighboring endosteal niche influences how they migrate, persist and are retained.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETogether, these compartments form a cooperative ecosystem that shapes plasma cell fate, challenging the idea of bone marrow as a single, uniform environment.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch3\u003EWhy It Matters\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe implications extend far beyond understanding where plasma cells live.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBone marrow niches support the cells responsible for long-term antibody protection, placing them at the center of vaccine durability, immune aging, autoimmune disease, chronic infection, blood cancers, and cancer metastasis.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe new platform allows researchers to systematically manipulate components of the human bone marrow environment and observe the consequences in real time. It may help explain why immunity wanes with age, why some vaccines provide longer-lasting protection than others, and how disease disrupts the biological foundations of immune memory.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMost importantly, it offers a rare glimpse into one of the immune system\u0027s most inaccessible habitats. Though there is still much more to learn, their secrets are no longer quite so hidden.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt Scientists Use Human Bone Marrow-on-a-Chip to Reveal the Secrets of Antibody-Producing Cells "}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe cells that keep vaccines working for decades have long remained a mystery deep within human bone marrow. A new study watched them move, settle, and survive in a living human tissue model, revealing a surprisingly dynamic world that could reshape how scientists think about immunity, aging, cancer, and vaccine protection.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"In a study published in Science Advances, the team developed a human bone marrow-on-a-chip, enabling them to directly observe human antibody-secreting cells."}],"uid":"36479","created_gmt":"2026-09-11 17:55:21","changed_gmt":"2026-09-13 21:32:43","author":"abowman41","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-09-11T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-09-11T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"681139":{"id":"681139","type":"image","title":"bone-marrow-on-chip.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EInside this lab-grown bone marrow, blood vessels (green and grey) thread through a network of supportive cells and proteins (magenta). Antibody-producing cells (blue) move through this landscape, finding the signals they need to survive and keep making antibodies.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1789149330","gmt_created":"2026-09-11 17:55:30","changed":"1789149330","gmt_changed":"2026-09-11 17:55:30","alt":"A microscopic image shows lab grown bone marrow and blood vessels highlighted in gray and green weaving through a network of supportive cells and proteins highlighted in magenta.","file":{"fid":"265499","name":"bone-marrow-on-chip.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/11\/bone-marrow-on-chip.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/11\/bone-marrow-on-chip.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":573015,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/09\/11\/bone-marrow-on-chip.jpg?itok=-LhFSLBJ"}}},"media_ids":["681139"],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"188776","name":"go-research"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"193652","name":"Matter and Systems"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWritten by: Ankur Singh, Professor\u003Cbr\u003EGeorge W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMedia Contact: Ashlie Bowman, Communications Manager\u003Cbr\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"692179":{"#nid":"692179","#data":{"type":"news","title":"New Center Seeks to Unlock the Science of Turbulence for Energy, Flight, and Discovery","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMost people know turbulence as the force that can make airplane flights bumpy. Scientists recognize it as one of the most important, yet unsolved, problems in physics.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDespite decades of research, the chaotic nature of turbulence makes it difficult to predict and control. This challenge impedes more than smoother air travel. Solving the turbulence problem could lead to advances in areas ranging from sustainable energy to training a smarter workforce for the era of artificial intelligence (AI).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo advance understanding of turbulence, the National Science Foundation is establishing a new, $30 million Science and Technology Center (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nsf.gov\/news\/nsf-launches-three-new-science-technology-centers-90m\u0022\u003ESTC\u003C\/a\u003E) at Michigan State University. Georgia Tech is among eight universities supporting the center.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAssistant Professor\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/tangqi.github.io\/\u0022\u003EQi Tang\u003C\/a\u003E will join the STC for Transformative Explorations in Multi-Physics and Engineering of Scientific Turbulence (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/tempest-stc.msu.edu\/\u0022\u003ETEMPEST\u003C\/a\u003E). TEMPEST, launching on Sept. 1, aims to build trustworthy, predictive models of real-world turbulence.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETang will lead TEMPEST\u2019s modeling and scientific machine learning (ML) efforts. NSF will fund Tang and Georgia Tech with over $1 million from the center\u2019s five-year, $30 million award.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy understanding and predicting turbulence, TEMPEST can unlock new applications, with a focus on fusion energy and national security. The center will also generate long-term research projects with applications in air and space flight, manufacturing, chemistry, and broaden science education and AI fluency.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cTurbulence has resisted prediction for a century,\u201d said Tang, a faculty member in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cse.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Computational Science and Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E (CSE).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cSTC TEMPEST aims to develop a unified, predictive science that advances fusion energy, improves hypersonic technologies, and deepens our understanding of how stars created the elements that make up our world and ourselves. For everyday people, the center points toward abundant clean energy and faster, more efficient flight.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETurbulence is the motion of a fluid characterized by chaotic changes in pressure and speed. Turbulent flows can occur across all scales, from interactions between subatomic particles to astrophysical scales, including supernovas, black holes, and cosmic rays.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile turbulent flows are common and occur naturally, scientists still do not fully understand them. Small changes in a turbulent flow can produce dramatically different outcomes. Combined with the countless interactions across multiple scales of time and space, this makes turbulence extraordinarily difficult to predict.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cRather than studying individual pieces of this enormously complex problem in isolation, we are bringing together theory, experimentation, computation and artificial intelligence to develop a deeper understanding of turbulence across scales,\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/msutoday.msu.edu\/news\/2026\/08\/nsf-grant-turbulence-research-center\u0022\u003Esaid Michael Murillo\u003C\/a\u003E, an MSU professor and the director of TEMPEST.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur goal is not simply to understand turbulence better, but to make it predictable and controllable in ways that will enable new technologies and scientific discoveries.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe NSF TEMPEST award supports students and researchers at Michigan State University,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/wire.auburn.edu\/content\/cosam\/2026\/08\/261600-nsf-turbulence-center.php?utm_source=auburn-today\u0026amp;utm_medium=web\u0022\u003EAuburn University\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/news.web.baylor.edu\/news\/story\/2026\/baylor-astrophysicists-among-partners-30-million-nsf-grant-establish-turbulence\u0022\u003EBaylor University\u003C\/a\u003E, Georgia Tech,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/blogs.sjsu.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/sjsu-researchers-join-30m-nsf-science-and-technology-center-to-tackle-turbulence\/\u0022\u003ESan Jos\u00e9 State University\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.tamucc.edu\/news\/2026\/08\/images\/tamu-cc-researcher-to-be-part-of-nsf-funded-turbulence-research-center.php\u0022\u003ETexas A\u0026amp;M University-Corpus Christi\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/nsf-funded-tempest-turbulence-research-center-716372\/\u0022\u003EUniversity of Rochester\u003C\/a\u003E, and\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/news.yale.edu\/2026\/08\/28\/tempest-collaboration-will-take-turbulence\u0022\u003EYale University\u003C\/a\u003E to combine theory, computation, AI techniques, and experimentation to build trustworthy predictive models of real-world turbulence for high-consequence applications.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAdditional partners include Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Pacific Fusion, and General Atomics.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETogether, TEMPEST researchers will build more accurate and reliable physics-grounded models. The center will test new ideas against real-world observations, then use those results to refine the models.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETang contributes expertise in ML, scientific computing, and plasma physics to STC TEMPEST.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEarlier this year, Tang received an \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/news\/department-energy-award-power-nuclear-research-machine-learning\u0022\u003EEarly Career Research award\u003C\/a\u003E from the Department of Energy\u2019s Office of Science. He is using the award to build ML and data science tools that help scientists analyze massive datasets from fusion experiments and simulations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis interdisciplinary approach is intended to move science from understanding why turbulence behaves as it does to predicting how it will behave. Through prediction and simulation, scientists could eventually engineer solutions to control turbulence in real-world scenarios.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe center will make its data and software broadly available and engage the public through museum exhibitions, immersive media, and educational programs that are expected to reach more than 10,000 K-12 students annually. TEMPEST will also help train an AI-fluent scientific workforce prepared to tackle complex problems across disciplines.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOne reason I am excited to work in TEMPEST is because it aligns perfectly with our School of CSE mission. As a discipline, CSE complements theory and experimentation as a mode of scientific discovery,\u201d Tang said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe build computational models to simulate scientific and engineering concepts, like turbulence in this case, so that we can test theories that are too difficult, expensive, or risky for physical experiments.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETo advance understanding of turbulence, the National Science Foundation is establishing a new, $30 million Science and Technology Center (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nsf.gov\/news\/nsf-launches-three-new-science-technology-centers-90m\u0022\u003ESTC\u003C\/a\u003E) at Michigan State University. Georgia Tech is among eight universities supporting the center.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"To advance understanding of turbulence, the National Science Foundation is establishing a new, $30 million Science and Technology Center (STC) at Michigan State University. Georgia Tech is among eight universities supporting the center."}],"uid":"36319","created_gmt":"2026-09-01 16:21:43","changed_gmt":"2026-09-10 19:00:07","author":"Bryant Wine","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-09-01T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-09-01T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"681026":{"id":"681026","type":"image","title":"TEMPEST-Head-Image.png","body":null,"created":"1788279712","gmt_created":"2026-09-01 16:21:52","changed":"1788279712","gmt_changed":"2026-09-01 16:21:52","alt":"TEMPEST Supernova","file":{"fid":"265373","name":"TEMPEST-Head-Image.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/01\/TEMPEST-Head-Image.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/01\/TEMPEST-Head-Image.png","mime":"image\/png","size":900620,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/09\/01\/TEMPEST-Head-Image.png?itok=SqyzW4L4"}},"681027":{"id":"681027","type":"image","title":"Collapsing-Star.png","body":null,"created":"1788281400","gmt_created":"2026-09-01 16:50:00","changed":"1788281400","gmt_changed":"2026-09-01 16:50:00","alt":"TEMPEST Collapsing Star","file":{"fid":"265375","name":"Collapsing-Star.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/01\/Collapsing-Star.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/01\/Collapsing-Star.png","mime":"image\/png","size":169940,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/09\/01\/Collapsing-Star.png?itok=GAu9n5Pu"}}},"media_ids":["681026","681027"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"136","name":"Aerospace"},{"id":"194606","name":"Artificial Intelligence"},{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"42911","name":"Education"},{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"132","name":"Institute Leadership"},{"id":"194685","name":"Manufacturing"},{"id":"147","name":"Military Technology"},{"id":"194610","name":"National Interests\/National Security"},{"id":"150","name":"Physics and Physical Sciences"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"654","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"166983","name":"School of Computational Science and Engineering"},{"id":"9153","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"10199","name":"Daily Digest"},{"id":"181991","name":"Georgia Tech News Center"},{"id":"187812","name":"artificial intelligence (AI)"},{"id":"9167","name":"machine learning"},{"id":"170447","name":"Institute for Data Engineering and Science"},{"id":"195119","name":"applied physics"},{"id":"4079","name":"astrophysics"},{"id":"2082","name":"aerospace engineering"},{"id":"186858","name":"go-sei"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193655","name":"Artificial Intelligence at Georgia Tech"},{"id":"39431","name":"Data Engineering and Science"},{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"},{"id":"39461","name":"Manufacturing, Trade, and Logistics"},{"id":"39481","name":"National Security"},{"id":"193657","name":"Space Research Initiative"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBryant Wine, Communications Officer\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:bryant.wine@cc.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebryant.wine@cc.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"692466":{"#nid":"692466","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Supporting Community-Led Flood Resilience","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EA new research project aims to empower coastal communities. Using advanced AI-based flood modeling, residents will be able to compare flood mitigation strategies and identify the potential solutions that best meet their needs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThe CHORUS (Community Hubs for Optimizing Resilience) project will collaborate with coastal communities in Georgia and New York and will be split into two pieces: technology development and community engagement.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cWe\u2019re not just building a simulator and hoping it fits the needs of coastal residents,\u201d explains \u003Cstrong\u003EAlex Robel, \u003C\/strong\u003Eproject leader and Jean \u201cChris\u201d Purvis Associate Professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. \u0022By collaborating with community partners from the very beginning, we can ensure that what we ultimately develop will be effective because the people who will be using it are helping design it.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPutting Flood Modeling in Residents\u0027 Hands\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThe technology development component will include faculty from the College of Sciences and the College of Computing. The College of Sciences team will develop an AI-based flood simulator and the College of Computing team led by\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003EJosiah Hester\u003C\/strong\u003E,\u0026nbsp;associate professor and Catherine M. and James E. Allchin Early Career Professor, will create a web platform that allows users to visualize potential flood impacts.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003ETraditional flood models can take hours or days to generate results and often require specialized expertise and expensive computing resources. The CHORUS platform will be designed to provide easy-to-understand results in seconds, producing building-scale flood maps that show how water moves through streets, yards, and structures during a range of flooding scenarios. Researchers will use the model to test how specific interventions, such as seawalls, restored marshes, or improved stormwater infrastructure, could affect flooding.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EEventually, users will be able to test their own scenarios through the browser-based tool, enabling them to explore how different decisions could change flood impacts in their communities:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cUsers will be able to go into a web browser and indicate where a sea wall could go or change a parking lot into a porous vegetated landscape, then click simulate. Within a few seconds, they\u2019ll have a new flood map showing the impacts of these interventions,\u201d says Robel.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA Community-Driven Approach\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EA collaborative effort with the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nyclimateexchange.org\/climate-data\u0022\u003ENew York Climate Exchange\u003C\/a\u003E, the project will be funded by\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/gacoast.uga.edu\/research\/biennial-funding\/\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;Georgia Sea Grant\u003C\/a\u003E and IBM, with support from\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sciences.gatech.edu\/georgias-tomorrow\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;Georgia Tech for Georgia\u2019s Tomorrow\u003C\/a\u003E (GT2),\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cearhub.org\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech\u2019s Coastal Equity and Resilience (CEAR) Hub\u003C\/a\u003E,\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cearhub.org\/\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/a\u003Eand the\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/seagrant.noaa.gov\/\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;National Sea Grant College Program\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;The CHORUS project is an initiative of the New York Climate Exchange, where Georgia Tech is a core partner institution.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003ECommunity engagement in Georgia is being led by CEAR and the Pin Point Betterment Association, which represents descendants of the historic Gullah Geechee community near Savannah. In New York, the project team is partnering with the New York Climate Exchange and the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/waterfrontalliance.org\/\u0022\u003EWaterfront Alliance\u003C\/a\u003E to work with communities surrounding Jamaica Bay.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cWhat makes this partnership meaningful is that it puts community voices at the center,\u201d says\u003Cstrong\u003E Jasmine Smith\u003C\/strong\u003E, president of the Pin Point Betterment Association.\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u201cToo often, decisions are made to \u2018better\u2019 communities without actually involving the people who live there. We hope this partnership can serve as a blueprint for how communities are included in future sustainability projects from the very beginning.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThe project includes community advisory boards and technical advisory boards in both locations. Community members will help identify priority assets, select flood scenarios for analysis, and shape the design of the web-based tool. They\u2019ll also test and offer feedback. Technical advisory boards made up of local officials, planners, and other experts will help evaluate the feasibility of proposed solutions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cThe aim is to blend information from both groups without allowing the technical perspective to override community priorities,\u201d says Robel.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EAccording to Robel, giving communities direct access to flood modeling tools can help close the gap between public input and infrastructure planning.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cWe are putting decision making in the hands of the community. With a tool like this, the community can say: \u2018We want to prevent flooding at this community center, this school, or this road,\u2019\u201d says Robel. \u201cThey can run the model, produce data, and present it to local governments or the Army Corps of Engineers\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u2014 advocating\u0026nbsp;for potential solutions themselves rather than relying on outside experts.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003ERobel sees this project as just the beginning:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cFunded by two-year grants, CHORUS is meant to be a pilot for how this kind of community-centered project can be done. Once we understand some of the challenges and opportunities involved, it will hopefully make it easier for us to scale this work to additional community partners.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbout Community-Engaged Research at Georgia Tech\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech is actively working to foster more projects that foster community engagement. Collaborative groups at Georgia Tech involved in the CHORUS project include:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli dir=\u0022ltr\u0022 data-list-item-id=\u0022e24ad42d08ff5aaeb8f0e7892a7ae22cc\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe CEAR Hub\u003C\/strong\u003E, part of the Institute for People and Technology (IPaT), and housed at the Georgia Tech Savannah campus, advances community-engaged research and planning throughout coastal Georgia, helping communities build resilience to environmental and climate challenges.\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.scre.research.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli dir=\u0022ltr\u0022 data-list-item-id=\u0022e37deda0b2f16b9d512f523a8c923dc46\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.scre.research.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EThe Center for Sustainable Communities Research and Education\u003C\/a\u003E (SCoRE) trains faculty, students, and staff in best practices for conducting community-engaged research as well as facilitating connections directly with communities.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli dir=\u0022ltr\u0022 data-list-item-id=\u0022e79895753719bd77cdf19df0d35438ceb\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sustainablesystems.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EThe Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems (BBISS)\u003C\/a\u003E houses SCoRE and is Georgia Tech\u2019s point of contact to the New York Climate Exchange. BBISS forms partnerships like these to fulfill its mission to expand the reach and impact of Georgia Tech\u2019s sustainability research.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe CHORUS research project will combine advanced flood modeling, artificial intelligence, and community partnerships to help coastal residents in Georgia and New York evaluate flooding solutions and shape resilience planning.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The CHORUS research project will combine advanced flood modeling, artificial intelligence, and community partnerships to help coastal residents in Georgia and New York evaluate flooding solutions and shape resilience planning."}],"uid":"36607","created_gmt":"2026-09-09 17:30:40","changed_gmt":"2026-09-10 15:49:22","author":"ls67","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-09-09T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-09-09T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"681109":{"id":"681109","type":"image","title":"Alex Robel","body":"\u003Cp\u003EAlex Robel\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1788975052","gmt_created":"2026-09-09 17:30:52","changed":"1788975052","gmt_changed":"2026-09-09 17:30:52","alt":"Headshot of a smiling man","file":{"fid":"265466","name":"Robel55224553122_c82a2500b1_k.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/09\/Robel55224553122_c82a2500b1_k.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/09\/Robel55224553122_c82a2500b1_k.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":775472,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/09\/09\/Robel55224553122_c82a2500b1_k.jpg?itok=LQ3vrmCk"}},"681110":{"id":"681110","type":"image","title":"Jill Gambill, executive director and senior research associate of the CEAR Hub, demonstrates a tide gate engineered to maintain storm sewer outflow capacity amidst rising sea levels to Georgia Tech students.","body":"\u003Cp\u003EJill Gambill, executive director and senior research associate of the CEAR Hub, demonstrates a tide gate engineered to maintain storm sewer outflow capacity amidst rising sea levels to Georgia Tech students.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1788975321","gmt_created":"2026-09-09 17:35:21","changed":"1788975321","gmt_changed":"2026-09-09 17:35:21","alt":"Students view a tide gate to prevent flooding in a marshy area.","file":{"fid":"265467","name":"Jillbafkreic4slfm5vvdcatjamaxofnzvz7emg6fmxa4zmomgejdunhsb4vzoy.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/09\/Jillbafkreic4slfm5vvdcatjamaxofnzvz7emg6fmxa4zmomgejdunhsb4vzoy_0.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/09\/Jillbafkreic4slfm5vvdcatjamaxofnzvz7emg6fmxa4zmomgejdunhsb4vzoy_0.png","mime":"image\/png","size":1357639,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/09\/09\/Jillbafkreic4slfm5vvdcatjamaxofnzvz7emg6fmxa4zmomgejdunhsb4vzoy_0.png?itok=pd_MVOtp"}}},"media_ids":["681109","681110"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/sciences.gatech.edu\/news\/rare-nasa-satellite-data-reveals-major-limits-flood-models","title":"Rare NASA Satellite Data Reveals Major Limits in Flood Models"},{"url":"https:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/news\/2026\/04\/13\/bringing-classroom-coast","title":"Bringing the Classroom to the Coast"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"42901","name":"Community"},{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"194611","name":"State Impact"},{"id":"194836","name":"Sustainability"}],"keywords":[{"id":"181662","name":"Coastal Flooding"},{"id":"192254","name":"cos-climate"},{"id":"194631","name":"cos-georgia"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"194566","name":"Sustainable Systems"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELaura S. Smith, writer\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["laura.smith@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"692473":{"#nid":"692473","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Professor, Alumni Receive Award for Edge Computing Research ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA Georgia Tech research team was recently recognized for an influential paper that helped define how applications could run efficiently outside the cloud.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team received the 10-Year Test of Time Award at the 20th ACM International Conference on Distributed and Event-Based Systems (DEBS 2026) in July.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProfessor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sites.cc.gatech.edu\/fac\/Kishore.Ramachandran\/homepage.html\u0022\u003EUmakishore Ramachandran\u003C\/a\u003E and his former Ph.D. students \u2013 \u003Cstrong\u003EEnrique Saurez\u003C\/strong\u003E, \u003Cstrong\u003EKirak Hong\u003C\/strong\u003E, \u003Cstrong\u003EDave Lillethun\u003C\/strong\u003E, and \u003Cstrong\u003EBeate Ottenw\u00e4lder\u003C\/strong\u003E \u2013 were recognized for their 2016 paper, \u003Cem\u003EIncremental Deployment and Migration of Geo-distributed\u003C\/em\u003E \u003Cem\u003ESituation Awareness Applications in the Fog. \u003C\/em\u003ESaurez, now a researcher at Microsoft, was the lead author of the paper.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMost of a person\u2019s daily internet use, such as sending emails or shopping, runs through the cloud. Cloud computing does have latency issues, but this is typically not perceptible to people. However, in situation-awareness applications, such as virtual reality or autonomous vehicles, this latency becomes a barrier. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cCloud computing is not appropriate for these latency-sensitive applications where events occur at computational perception speeds as opposed to human perception speeds. And this is the reason that edge computing became important,\u201d Ramachandran said. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERather than using the cloud, edge computing brings computation closer to the data source. This method reduces latency and backhaul bandwidth consumption. Beyond latency reduction, edge computing offers other advantages over the cloud. Businesses and organizations that handle confidential data may not want to store their records in the public cloud, and edge computing offers a more secure alternative. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe awarded paper proposed a new programming model, \u003Cem\u003EFoglets,\u003C\/em\u003E that enables domain experts with limited knowledge of edge computing to run their applications on the geographically distributed edge infrastructure. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe showed that with edge compute you can actually do some of the things that you need for situation awareness applications,\u201d Ramachandran said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAll of these students that I worked with on this paper have graduated and moved on to industry and academia and are doing great things, so it\u2019s a nice honor to see something we did 10 years back get recognition.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA Georgia Tech research team was recently recognized for an influential paper that helped define how applications could run efficiently outside the cloud.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team received the 10-Year Test of Time Award at the 20th ACM International Conference on Distributed and Event-Based Systems (DEBS 2026) in July.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A Georgia Tech research team was recently recognized for an influential paper that helped define how applications could run efficiently outside the cloud."}],"uid":"36532","created_gmt":"2026-09-09 20:09:20","changed_gmt":"2026-09-09 20:13:52","author":"Morgan Usry","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-09-09T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-09-09T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"681111":{"id":"681111","type":"image","title":"Kishore.jpeg","body":null,"created":"1788984791","gmt_created":"2026-09-09 20:13:11","changed":"1788984791","gmt_changed":"2026-09-09 20:13:11","alt":"A man standing in a courtyard in front of buildings","file":{"fid":"265470","name":"Kishore.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/09\/Kishore.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/09\/Kishore.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":120176,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/09\/09\/Kishore.jpeg?itok=N9_9SkJI"}}},"media_ids":["681111"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"50875","name":"School of Computer Science"}],"categories":[{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"175470","name":"edge computing"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMorgan Usry, Communications Officer, School of Computer Science\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["morgan.usry@cc.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"692462":{"#nid":"692462","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Warming Climate Could Actually Increase Physical Activity, Georgia Tech Economist Finds","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EHardly anyone loves exercising in the festering crucible of a brutal summer heatwave. So it stands to reason that as global temperatures rise, the kind of physical activity that\u2019s so crucial for our health and economic productivity could fall.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0047272726000745?via%3Dihub\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022(opens in a new window)\u0022\u003Erecent research\u003C\/a\u003E from Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/econ.gatech.edu\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022(opens in a new window)\u0022\u003ESchool of Economics\u003C\/a\u003E in the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts suggests adding an asterisk to earlier research that makes that conclusion, saying previous studies failed to account for one simple fact: people adapt.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech economist \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/iac.gatech.edu\/people\/person\/889222ee-d2fd-599b-9140-79d7dc30afeb\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBobby Harris\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E used a massive database of Fitbit step count data to measure how temperature shapes physical activity and found that extreme heat cuts step counts by 6% when compared to ideal weather. And while residents of the warmest regions cut their activity by an average of only 354 steps on days over 100 degrees, those living in the coldest regions cut theirs by 1,081, according to Harris\u2019 analysis.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo be fair, cold bites, too. On days that stay below freezing, people take roughly 1,000 fewer steps. That\u2019s a 12% drop, enough to pack on a pound over the course of a typical Madison, Wisconsin winter, Harris found.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut as the climate grows warmer, how humanity will respond to warmer temperatures remains a significant concern. In fact, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.bmj.com\/content\/392\/bmj.s514\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022(opens in a new window)\u0022\u003Eearlier research\u003C\/a\u003E projected that, by 2050, temperature-driven declines in physical activity could contribute to 500,000 premature deaths a year worldwide and annual productivity losses topping $2.4 billion.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProjections like those typically assume everyone responds to heat the same way, with no capacity to adapt, Harris said.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/iac.gatech.edu\/featured-news\/2026\/09\/climate-change-physical-activity-adaptation\u0022\u003ERead Full Story on the IAC News Page\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022ef65b166366f6499d63005112fb785d6f\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe Finding\u003C\/strong\u003E: A study led by economist Bobby Harris at Georgia Tech\u0027s Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts reveals climate change could increase average U.S. physical activity by 893 steps per day by 2099 as people adapt to rising temperatures.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022e89b00ae19f9597ec785b646581c9fc95\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBy the Numbers\u003C\/strong\u003E: Fitbit data used in Harris\u2019 study show that warm-climate residents are \u003Cstrong\u003E50% less sensitive\u003C\/strong\u003E to heat extremes than northern neighbors, \u003Cstrong\u003Ecutting 354 steps on hot days\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cstrong\u003Ecompared to 1,081 in cooler regions\u003C\/strong\u003E.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022eb7df64a5e9dccfd5ae6f4af39678e1e6\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EExpert Insight\u003C\/strong\u003E: \u0022There are still significant dangers to rising temperatures, but we must better factor adaptive capacity into conversations about climate change,\u201d Harris said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":" study led by economist Bobby Harris at Georgia Tech\u0027s Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts reveals climate change could increase average U.S. physical activity by 893 steps per day by 2099 as people adapt to rising temperatures. "}],"uid":"36413","created_gmt":"2026-09-09 16:23:47","changed_gmt":"2026-09-09 16:25:50","author":"pdevarajan3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-09-01T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-09-01T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"681107":{"id":"681107","type":"image","title":"climate-and-activity-paper-harris--1-.jpg","body":null,"created":"1788971073","gmt_created":"2026-09-09 16:24:33","changed":"1788971073","gmt_changed":"2026-09-09 16:24:33","alt":"Person holding a water bottle in their left hand wearing a smart watch and a towel on his shoulder appearing to be after a workout","file":{"fid":"265463","name":"climate-and-activity-paper-harris--1-.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/09\/climate-and-activity-paper-harris--1-.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/09\/climate-and-activity-paper-harris--1-.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":59696,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/09\/09\/climate-and-activity-paper-harris--1-.jpg?itok=jVZ4yMKf"}}},"media_ids":["681107"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/iac.gatech.edu\/featured-news\/2026\/09\/climate-change-physical-activity-adaptation","title":"Read Full Story on IAC News Page"}],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"367481","name":"SEI Energy"},{"id":"1280","name":"Strategic Energy Institute"}],"categories":[{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"151","name":"Policy, Social Sciences, and Liberal Arts"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"186858","name":"go-sei"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"692319":{"#nid":"692319","#data":{"type":"news","title":"New Associate Professor Sees Research Becoming More Human-Centered","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJesse Thomason has seen his research evolve over the last decade.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt began with a focus on helping computer systems incorporate human language into their perception of the world. Could a robot tell humans that a heavy object is straining its arm? Does it know that a container makes a sound when it is picked up or dropped?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENow, Thomason\u2019s research has become more human-centered, which is one reason he feels at home as he joins the faculty at Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Interactive Computing as an associate professor.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThomason comes to Georgia Tech after spending five years as an assistant professor at the University of Southern California\u2019s Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe will move his Grounding Language in Actions, Multimodal Observation, and Robots (GLAMOR) lab to Tech. The lab explores methods for connecting natural language processing to robotics.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile pursuing his computer science Ph.D. at the University of Texas, Thomason researched early NLP systems before large-language models such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini were introduced.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThomason then expanded into robotics to explore how roboticists can create new ways to communicate with robots using computational representations of language.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe idea was you could do something that looked like robot programming without as much engineering work if you used one of these coding modules to create a language-code interface,\u201d Thomason said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen OpenAI and Google released their commercial LLMs in 2022, Thomason felt a seismic shift.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThat area of NLP and robotics became more crowded and accessible with the advent of (LLMs),\u201d Thomason said. \u201cIt created a huge inroad to roboticists being able to plug and play language technologies in a way they couldn\u2019t before. Robotics hardware has also become much cheaper and more standardized.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut as LLMs became universal tools accessible to everyone, Thomason said he started thinking more about how he could improve optimization for users.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI became most interested in how language interfaces, starting in 2022, were suddenly everywhere,\u201d he said. \u201cEverybody had a chatbot on their phone. I wanted to see what we could do as researchers to make the interaction between an AI system like a language model and a person smoother and more beneficial.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThomason said he felt he needed a new environment where end users were at the center of the technology design process. He was drawn to the School of Interactive Computing for its reputation in human-computer interaction research.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThat was a big factor in my decision to move to the School of Interactive Computing, where you value that kind of human-centered computing,\u201d he said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWith the strong HCI researchers here, I have an opportunity to learn more from my colleagues about how to run high-quality human-subject studies, conduct participatory design, and identify actual users of a potential system and talk to them about what would be helpful.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJesse Thomason comes to Georgia Tech after spending five years as an assistant professor at the University of Southern California\u2019s Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Jesse Thomason comes to Georgia Tech after spending five years as an assistant professor at the University of Southern California\u2019s Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science."}],"uid":"36530","created_gmt":"2026-09-04 13:14:34","changed_gmt":"2026-09-04 13:16:02","author":"Nathan Deen","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-09-04T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-09-04T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"681069":{"id":"681069","type":"image","title":"Jesse-Thomason_86A6990-copy.jpg","body":null,"created":"1788527693","gmt_created":"2026-09-04 13:14:53","changed":"1788527693","gmt_changed":"2026-09-04 13:14:53","alt":"Jesse Thomason","file":{"fid":"265421","name":"Jesse-Thomason_86A6990-copy.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/04\/Jesse-Thomason_86A6990-copy.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/04\/Jesse-Thomason_86A6990-copy.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":122256,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/09\/04\/Jesse-Thomason_86A6990-copy.jpg?itok=7bxT6Bs5"}}},"media_ids":["681069"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"50876","name":"School of Interactive Computing"}],"categories":[{"id":"194606","name":"Artificial Intelligence"},{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"152","name":"Robotics"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193655","name":"Artificial Intelligence at Georgia Tech"},{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"},{"id":"39521","name":"Robotics"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"692299":{"#nid":"692299","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Researchers Share AI Cyber Challenge Lessons at USENIX Security 2026","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhat can artificial intelligence (AI) do to protect software from cyberattacks?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech researchers \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sites.gatech.edu\/winningaixcc\/\u0022\u003Espent two years\u003C\/a\u003E helping to answer that question through \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.darpa.mil\/research\/programs\/ai-cyber\u0022\u003EDARPA\u2019s AI Cyber Challenge\u003C\/a\u003E (AIxCC), a competition designed to test whether AI could identify and fix security vulnerabilities in real-world software.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENow, they are sharing what they learned with the cybersecurity community.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETheir paper, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.usenix.org\/system\/files\/usenixsecurity26-zhang-cen.pdf\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003ESoK: DARPA\u2019s AI Cyber Challenge (AIxCC): Competition Design, Architectures, and Lessons Learned\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, was presented at \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.usenix.org\/conference\/usenixsecurity26\u0022\u003EUSENIX Security 2026,\u003C\/a\u003E one of the world\u0027s leading cybersecurity conferences. The paper was selected as a runner-up for the conference\u2019s distinguished paper award, placing it among 36 recognized papers from 362 accepted papers out of 3,028 submissions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe paper examines how the seven finalist teams approached the competition and what the results reveal about the future of AI-powered cybersecurity.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EPutting AI to the Test\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAIxCC challenged teams to build Cyber Reasoning Systems (CRSs) that could operate with minimal human assistance to identify software vulnerabilities, develop fixes, and determine whether security alerts were real threats.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe teams had 143 hours to analyze 53 software projects during the final competition.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/team-atlanta.github.io\/\u0022\u003ETeam Atlanta\u003C\/a\u003E, which won the competition, used an approach that combined multiple AI agents with traditional security tools. Other teams used different approaches, including applying AI for specific tasks or building highly autonomous AI agents.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe variety of systems provided researchers with a rare opportunity to compare different approaches to AI-powered cybersecurity.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ELesson from the Competition\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne of the biggest lessons was that reliability matters as much as intelligence.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESome systems were highly capable but struggled to remain operational while analyzing large, complicated software projects. The strongest systems were often those that could work reliably throughout the competition.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers also found that AI and traditional security tools have different strengths. Traditional tools were still effective at finding common bugs, while AI performed better at reasoning through more complex problems.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHowever, AI-generated fixes remain a major challenge.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers found that 38% to 46% of AI-generated patches were semantically incorrect. This means a patch might stop a security problem but also break a feature or create another problem.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe results show that AI can play an important role in cybersecurity, but human experts are still needed to verify the safety of AI-generated fixes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ESharing the Lessons\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECen\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cstrong\u003EZhang\u003C\/strong\u003E, the paper\u2019s first author, said the research offers a unique look at the competition by combining lessons from the finalist teams, organizers, and DARPA\u2019s data.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis paper provides a unique angle on how AIxCC was designed, the techniques teams used, and what the scores reveal and conceal,\u201d Zhang said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJiho\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cstrong\u003EKim\u003C\/strong\u003E presented the paper at USENIX Security 2026. He said the presentation was an opportunity to share lessons from two years of work with the broader cybersecurity community.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cSeeing the strong interest and thoughtful questions from the audience made the experience particularly rewarding,\u201d Kim said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers say they hope the lessons from AIxCC will help guide the next generation of cybersecurity tools.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhat can artificial intelligence (AI) do to protect software from cyberattacks?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech researchers spent two years helping to answer that question through DARPA\u2019s AI Cyber Challenge (AIxCC), a competition designed to test whether AI could identify and fix security vulnerabilities in real-world software.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENow, they are sharing what they learned with the cybersecurity community.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech researchers spent two years helping to answer the question: What can artificial intelligence (AI) do to protect software from cyberattacks?"}],"uid":"36253","created_gmt":"2026-09-03 19:03:58","changed_gmt":"2026-09-03 19:20:31","author":"John Popham","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-09-03T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-09-03T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"681067":{"id":"681067","type":"image","title":"USENIX-AIxCC-Paper-web-copy.jpg","body":null,"created":"1788463126","gmt_created":"2026-09-03 19:18:46","changed":"1788463126","gmt_changed":"2026-09-03 19:18:46","alt":"A dark room with a man presenting from a slideshow","file":{"fid":"265418","name":"USENIX-AIxCC-Paper-web-copy.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/03\/USENIX-AIxCC-Paper-web-copy.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/03\/USENIX-AIxCC-Paper-web-copy.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1074015,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/09\/03\/USENIX-AIxCC-Paper-web-copy.jpg?itok=473Fyfwp"}}},"media_ids":["681067"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"660406","name":"School of Cybersecurity \u0026 Privacy"},{"id":"660367","name":"School of Cybersecurity and Privacy"}],"categories":[{"id":"194606","name":"Artificial Intelligence"},{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"193158","name":"Student Competition Winners (academic, innovation, and research)"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193655","name":"Artificial Intelligence at Georgia Tech"},{"id":"145171","name":"Cybersecurity"},{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Popham\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECommunications Officer for the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jpopham3@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"692258":{"#nid":"692258","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Isbell, Stamps Fellowships Advance Minority-led Research in School of IC","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESherilyn Francis\u003C\/strong\u003E enters her final semester of her Ph.D. at Georgia Tech with extra motivation after being named the first recipient of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/news\/2023-isbells-visionary-impact-pushed-beyond-boundaries\u0022\u003ECharles Isbell Jr. Graduate Fellowship\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe new fellowship award was announced in 2023 and named after Isbell, who served as dean for the Georgia Tech College of Computing from 2019 to 2023.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIsbell joined Georgia Tech as a faculty member in 2002. He was instrumental in developing the College\u2019s innovative Threads curriculum and the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/omscs.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EOnline Master of Science in Computer Science\u003C\/a\u003E (OMSCS) program.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe new fellowship is given to graduate students from underrepresented groups.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFrancis is a fifth-year Ph.D. student in human-centered computing (HCC) working toward the improvement of black women\u2019s maternal health. She is advised by Associate Professor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/wtl.cc.gatech.edu\/people\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAndrea Parker\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI\u2019m humbled and grateful that my body of work was compelling enough to be awarded,\u201d Francis said. \u201cReceiving this fellowship in Dr. Isbell\u2019s name is encouraging, and I want to do my best work in my last semester to honor his legacy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis fellowship secures funding to complete my Ph.D. and continue equity-centered work and champion voices of marginalized or under-resourced populations. This fellowship is directly making this work possible.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFrancis\u2019s work drew attention early in her Ph.D. when she started assisting Parker in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/centerformaternalhealth-equity.org\/programs\/3103-2\/\u0022\u003EPreventing Maternal Mortality Using Mobile Technology\u003C\/a\u003E (PM3) study led by the Morehouse School of Medicine\u2019s Center for Maternal Health Equity.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe project aimed toward designing an app that reduces maternal mortality among Black postpartum women by getting them care on their phones. The app featured real-time health monitoring, educational resources, social support groups, and personalized care.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGoogle recognized Francis\u2019s work through its Fitbit Health Equity Research initiative in 2021.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFrancis entered the HCC Ph.D. program with a background in public health. She holds a bachelor\u2019s degree in public health education and promotion from Georgia Southern University and master\u2019s degrees in public health and biotechnology from Morehouse.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI felt overwhelmed at first because I thought I had made the wrong choice pursuing a computing Ph.D. coming from a public health background,\u201d she said. \u201cAfter steeping myself in the literature and applying myself, I found that I can be a leader and innovator in this space.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFrancis said the fellowship will allow her to continue her research in clinical artificial intelligence (AI) for black women\u2019s health.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EStudent Enters Ph.D. Program as Stamps Fellow\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs Francis gets set for her final semester, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/rachelbakerramos.com\/\u0022\u003ERachel Baker-Ramos\u003C\/a\u003E is beginning the first semester of her Ph.D. as a recipient of the Stamps Fellowship.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBaker-Ramos is part of the second cohort of the Stamps Fellows, which was implemented by Georgia Tech in 2025. The Stamps Fellowship is the highest merit-based doctoral fellowship offered by Georgia Tech and given to exceptional scholars positioned to advance technology that improves the human condition.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe is the second student from the School of Interactive Computing to be named a Stamps Fellow. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/news\/prestigious-fellows-bring-industry-experience-school-ic\u0022\u003EAdya Danaditya\u003C\/a\u003E was a member of the first cohort last year.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBaker-Ramos completed her master\u2019s in human-computer interaction in 2024 under Georgia Tech\u2019s MSHCI program.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe spent two years as a research scientist in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/kamoamoa.com\/\u0022\u003EKa Moamoa Lab\u003C\/a\u003E, led by SIC associate professor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/josiahhester.com\/\u0022\u003EJosiah Hester\u003C\/a\u003E. In 2025, she received the College of Computing\u2019s Outstanding Research Scientist Award.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe will continue her Ph.D. research with Hester as her advisor.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBaker-Ramos has assisted Hester, a native Hawaiian, on several Hawaii-based projects centered on sustainability and indigenous STEM education.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs a master\u2019s student, Baker-Ramos led the design of \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/kumuconnect.com\/\u0022\u003EKumu Connect\u003C\/a\u003E, a STEM lesson plan generator that creates culturally relevant lessons co-designed with Hawaiian immersion language teachers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHester and his lab received a Google Academic Research Award for their work on Kumu Connect and recognition from the 2025 MIT Solve Indigenous Communities Fellowship. Baker-Ramos was also first author on a paper about the project that earned best paper honorable mention recognition at the ACM Interaction Design and Children Conference.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhen I first came to Tech, I was seeking out something with the Hispanic community because we are underrepresented in STEM, but it became this partnership with my advisor,\u201d Baker-Ramos said. \u201cIt\u2019s been interesting as a researcher from an underrepresented community working with another community that has some experiences that are parallel and some that are different.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs she thinks about what her Ph.D. research will look like, she is interested in how AI is impacting indigenous cultures. She plans to start research in that area in Hawaii and then expand to other communities.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe\u2019re talking with Hawaiian educators about what AI should look like if it were grounded in principles of caring for the land,\u201d she said. \u201cI want to look at what\u2019s appropriate with these tools, and what should be their limitations with data sovereignty, community agency, sustainable impacts, and how they\u2019re localized to each community.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cRight now, my work is mostly in Hawaiian spaces, but there\u2019s a lot of nuance between different communities. We need to understand what each community wants or doesn\u2019t want out of these systems.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESheriyln Francis is the first recipient of the Charles Isbell Jr. Graduate Fellowship, and Rachel Baker-Ramos is a member of the second cohort of Stamps Fellows.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Sheriyln Francis is the first recipient of the Charles Isbell Jr. Graduate Fellowship, and Rachel Baker-Ramos is a member of the second cohort of Stamps Fellows."}],"uid":"36530","created_gmt":"2026-09-03 16:28:19","changed_gmt":"2026-09-03 16:31:06","author":"Nathan Deen","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-09-03T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-09-03T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"681063":{"id":"681063","type":"image","title":"_86A6620-copy.jpg","body":null,"created":"1788452913","gmt_created":"2026-09-03 16:28:33","changed":"1788452913","gmt_changed":"2026-09-03 16:28:33","alt":"Sherilyn Francis and Rachel Baker-Ramos","file":{"fid":"265414","name":"_86A6620-copy.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/03\/_86A6620-copy.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/03\/_86A6620-copy.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":146907,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/09\/03\/_86A6620-copy.jpg?itok=fR9v2HJI"}}},"media_ids":["681063"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"50876","name":"School of Interactive Computing"}],"categories":[{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"193157","name":"Student Honors and Achievements"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"692256":{"#nid":"692256","#data":{"type":"news","title":"New AI Models Could Create More Accurate Visualizations of Classical Architecture","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe release of the 2026 film adaptation of \u003Cem\u003EThe Odyssey\u003C\/em\u003E sparked intense debate among historians and classical scholars about its accuracy in depicting ancient Greece.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHowever, new artificial intelligence (AI) models developed at Georgia Tech may soon weigh in on the debate, providing a richer, more accurate understanding of what classical structures looked like than ever before.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe new AI and machine learning models developed by GT researchers will provide archaeologists and classical architecture experts with better analytical tools for studying temples, theaters, homes, and other structures from ancient Greece.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThese models could enable researchers to draw conclusions and make new discoveries in a fraction of the time required to identify and analyze archaeological data using traditional statistical methods.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/kartikgo.github.io\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EKartik\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cstrong\u003EGoyal\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/arch.gatech.edu\/people\/myrsini-mamoli\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMyrsini\u0026nbsp;Mamoli\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E received a $225,000 grant from the National Endowment of the Humanities earlier this year to support interdisciplinary collaboration, including the development of the models.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGoyal is an assistant professor in Tech\u2019s School of Interactive Computing. He researches how natural language processing can benefit humanities scholars, including analyzing historical texts to make new discoveries.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMamoli, a native of Greece, is an architectural historian and joint lecturer in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/arch.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Architecture\u003C\/a\u003E and\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/hsoc.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of History and Sociology\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;. She conducted early research on how computational methods can help reconstruct historical architectural remains while earning her Ph.D. in architecture from Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMamoli is one of hundreds of researchers who spend their summers each year studying archaeological sites and monuments in Greece or Italy. She is among a select few working at the Ancient Agora in Athens.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe Agora is where the political buildings of Athens emerged, and democracy was born, so it\u2019s one of the most important sites in the classical world,\u201d said Mamoli.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cHaving been excavated by the American School of Classical Studies in Athens for almost 100 years, it\u2019s the most well-funded, systematically explored, and most digitally well-documented site.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMore than 180,000 artifacts have been uncovered at the Ancient Agora.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe physical structures that have survived for thousands of years, along with recorded data and references in ancient texts, are the primary sources scholars rely on to determine what buildings might have looked like in antiquity.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMamoli said identifying and studying all comparable structures and formulating hypotheses about them takes years. Every discovery made at the Agora since 1933 has a digitized record, leaving a massive amount of data to sort through.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAI can comb through it in a matter of moments and help researchers fill the gaps.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAnything I want to look at, I can access it online, but the process of going through and connecting the dots and identifying certain design principles like proportions and material is tedious. Imagine if we could feed this data into an AI model that would automatically discover the connections.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMamoli said architecture has its own \u201clanguage\u201d that can be analyzed as a shape grammar. This visual, rule-based mathematical concept is used to generate designs in that language. Each architectural style has its own shape grammar.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMamoli\u2019s work as a Ph.D. student involved manually computing this information to generate 2D visualizations. Now, she hopes Goyal\u2019s models will enable the instant conversion of data into more subjective and accurate visualizations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cYou encode these design principles and then apply them recursively, and you come up with various possible reconstructions,\u201d she said. \u201cMaking these rules is time-consuming, so we hope with AI, a whole fresh approach can happen where AI can discover the rules by looking at the data at scale.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGoyal has already used similar methods to analyze early modern English printed books and identify their printing origins. When Mamoli approached him about collaborating with her, he believed the same process could be applied to reconstructing classical buildings.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAncient texts and historical architecture records can help us fill in the blanks,\u201d Goyal said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThese systems can automatically infer patterns from the fragmentary plans described in various texts. To automatically generate a proposed reconstruction, we are deploying machine learning techniques. They make the model not just think about producing tokens or pixels, but also about the aesthetic and geometric features.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGoyal said he\u2019s aware some humanities scholars have expressed concern that AI could compromise scholarly integrity. Large-language models, for example, can struggle to account for cultural nuances and often inject biased hallucinations into their output.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis is reflected in many problems in the humanities that I\u2019m working on \u2014 the need for AI systems to be more transparent and more easily modifiable,\u201d he said. \u201cIf we run these models blindly, we risk incorporating undetected bias.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMamoli said it\u2019s important to limit the scope of AI and think of it as a tool.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI strongly believe that AI should not replace the human brain,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t see it replacing the scholarly work that is being done. I see it as assisting it.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor archaeologists, it may be necessary.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith so many sites being excavated, it could be the best way to keep track of hundreds of thousands of artifacts and use them to gain a clearer historical understanding.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cRight now, I am working in the Section Iota in the Agora of Athens,\u201d said Mamoli.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis is a disturbed site with artifacts from all over the Agora because people have moved them for secondary uses. What if an AI model could instantly create a map to trace that movement and show exactly where these fragments came from?\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ENew AI and machine learning models developed by GT researchers will provide archaeologists and classical architecture experts with better analytical tools for studying temples, theaters, homes, and other structures from ancient Greece.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"New AI and machine learning models developed by GT researchers will provide archaeologists and classical architecture experts with better analytical tools for studying temples, theaters, homes, and other structures from ancient Greece."}],"uid":"36530","created_gmt":"2026-09-03 14:36:12","changed_gmt":"2026-09-03 14:38:59","author":"Nathan Deen","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-09-03T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-09-03T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"681062":{"id":"681062","type":"image","title":"Kartik-Goyal_86A2072.jpg","body":null,"created":"1788446193","gmt_created":"2026-09-03 14:36:33","changed":"1788446193","gmt_changed":"2026-09-03 14:36:33","alt":"Kartik Goyal","file":{"fid":"265413","name":"Kartik-Goyal_86A2072.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/03\/Kartik-Goyal_86A2072.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/03\/Kartik-Goyal_86A2072.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":200838,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/09\/03\/Kartik-Goyal_86A2072.jpg?itok=DidzQWZo"}}},"media_ids":["681062"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"50876","name":"School of Interactive Computing"}],"categories":[{"id":"137","name":"Architecture"},{"id":"194606","name":"Artificial Intelligence"},{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193655","name":"Artificial Intelligence at Georgia Tech"},{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"692255":{"#nid":"692255","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Matthew McDowell Named to National Academies Committee on Future Battery Technologies","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) professor Matthew McDowell has been appointed to a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine committee. The appointed committee will explore current and next-generation battery energy storage technologies for defense applications.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe committee, convened through the National Academies\u0027 project \u003Cem\u003EFuture of Battery Technology Options for Defense Applications\u003C\/em\u003E, will identify the strengths and weaknesses of future battery technologies, including an examination of performance, safety, and manufacturability across technology and manufacturing readiness levels. The committee will also identify gaps where research investments could potentially improve battery capabilities across technology and manufacturing readiness levels, creating opportunities to leverage commercially available technologies.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith a joint appointment in MSE and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Ethe George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, McDowell is internationally recognized for his research on batteries and energy storage materials. His work focuses on understanding how materials change during battery operation and using that knowledge to develop safer, more efficient, and more sustainable energy storage systems. McDowell is also co-director of the Georgia Tech Advanced Battery Center. He leads research spanning solid-state batteries, lithium-ion and sodium-ion technologies, and next-generation energy storage materials. \u201cI am very thankful to be selected, and I look forward to working with colleagues on developing recommendations to advance battery technologies in support of our country,\u0022 said McDowell.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/mse.gatech.edu\/news\/matthew-mcdowell-named-national-academies-committee-future-battery-technologies\u0022\u003ERead Full Story on the MSE Newspage\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) professor Matthew McDowell has been appointed to a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine committee. The appointed committee will explore current and next-generation battery energy storage technologies for defense applications.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe committee, convened through the National Academies\u0027 project \u003Cem\u003EFuture of Battery Technology Options for Defense Applications\u003C\/em\u003E, will identify the strengths and weaknesses of future battery technologies, including an examination of performance, safety, and manufacturability across technology and manufacturing readiness levels. The committee will also identify gaps where research investments could potentially improve battery capabilities across technology and manufacturing readiness levels, creating opportunities to leverage commercially available technologies.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith a joint appointment in MSE and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Ethe George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, McDowell is internationally recognized for his research on batteries and energy storage materials. His work focuses on understanding how materials change during battery operation and using that knowledge to develop safer, more efficient, and more sustainable energy storage systems. McDowell is also co-director of the Georgia Tech Advanced Battery Center.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"School of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) professor Matthew McDowell has been appointed to a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine committee."}],"uid":"36413","created_gmt":"2026-09-03 14:23:39","changed_gmt":"2026-09-03 14:27:25","author":"pdevarajan3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-08-25T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-08-25T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"681061":{"id":"681061","type":"image","title":"McDowell_Crop2.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMatthew McDowell, Professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering and George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and Co-director of Georgia Tech Advanced Battery Center\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1788445424","gmt_created":"2026-09-03 14:23:44","changed":"1788445424","gmt_changed":"2026-09-03 14:23:44","alt":"Matthew McDowell","file":{"fid":"265412","name":"McDowell_Crop2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/03\/McDowell_Crop2.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/03\/McDowell_Crop2.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":178659,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/09\/03\/McDowell_Crop2.jpg?itok=Ewb0JKyI"}}},"media_ids":["681061"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/mse.gatech.edu\/news\/matthew-mcdowell-named-national-academies-committee-future-battery-technologies","title":"Read Full Story on MSE News Page"}],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"367481","name":"SEI Energy"},{"id":"1280","name":"Strategic Energy Institute"}],"categories":[{"id":"194607","name":"Batteries"},{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"186858","name":"go-sei"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"692254":{"#nid":"692254","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Ellen Mazumdar Earns NASA Early Career Faculty Award for Spacecraft Heat Shield Research","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/me.gatech.edu\/faculty\/mazumdar-0\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEllen Yi Chen Mazumdar,\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E assistant professor and Woodruff Faculty Fellow in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/me.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorge W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, has received a NASA Early Career Faculty (ECF) Award to develop new methods for studying the extreme conditions spacecraft experience during atmospheric entry.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis award is part of NASA\u2019s Space Technology Research Grants Program, which supports groundbreaking projects with the potential to transform space science and technology.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThrough the three-year, $750,000 award, Mazumdar and her research team will develop laser-based methods to simultaneously measure temperature, chemical species, gas velocity, and other properties in the gases surrounding heat shield materials.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe aim to implement our measurement techniques in arc jet or plasma jet facilities, like the ones at NASA, to assist with the evaluation of thermal protection systems for next-generation spacecraft,\u201d Mazumdar said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe project uses ultrafast lasers, which produce extremely short, high-intensity pulses. These pulses allow researchers to study the behavior of molecules on extremely short timescales and measure properties that can improve understanding of the gases surrounding a spacecraft during atmospheric entry.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMazumdar said she and her students are excited about this project and hope it will help NASA develop new heat shields for spacecraft traveling to destinations such as Mars, Venus, and Titan.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/news\/ellen-mazumdar-earns-nasa-early-career-faculty-award-spacecraft-heat-shield-research\u0022\u003ERead Full Story on the ME Webpage\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/me.gatech.edu\/faculty\/mazumdar-0\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEllen Yi Chen Mazumdar,\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E assistant professor and Woodruff Faculty Fellow in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/me.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorge W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, has received a NASA Early Career Faculty (ECF) Award to develop new methods for studying the extreme conditions spacecraft experience during atmospheric entry.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis award is part of NASA\u2019s Space Technology Research Grants Program, which supports groundbreaking projects with the potential to transform space science and technology.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThrough the three-year, $750,000 award, Mazumdar and her research team will develop laser-based methods to simultaneously measure temperature, chemical species, gas velocity, and other properties in the gases surrounding heat shield materials.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe aim to implement our measurement techniques in arc jet or plasma jet facilities, like the ones at NASA, to assist with the evaluation of thermal protection systems for next-generation spacecraft,\u201d Mazumdar said.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Ellen Yi Chen Mazumdar, assistant professor in the Woodruff School has received a NASA Early Career Faculty (ECF) Award to develop new methods for studying the extreme conditions spacecraft experience during atmospheric entry."}],"uid":"36413","created_gmt":"2026-09-03 14:18:57","changed_gmt":"2026-09-03 14:21:47","author":"pdevarajan3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-08-25T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-08-25T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"681060":{"id":"681060","type":"image","title":"Mazumdar_web.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EEllen Yi Chen Mazumdar, assistant professor and Woodruff Faculty Fellow in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/me.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorge W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1788445171","gmt_created":"2026-09-03 14:19:31","changed":"1788445171","gmt_changed":"2026-09-03 14:19:31","alt":"Ellen Yi Chen Mazumdar, assistant professor and Woodruff Faculty Fellow in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering","file":{"fid":"265411","name":"Mazumdar_web.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/03\/Mazumdar_web.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/03\/Mazumdar_web.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":137639,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/09\/03\/Mazumdar_web.jpg?itok=HbzEsBLK"}}},"media_ids":["681060"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/news\/ellen-mazumdar-earns-nasa-early-career-faculty-award-spacecraft-heat-shield-research","title":"Full Story on the ME Newspage"}],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"367481","name":"SEI Energy"},{"id":"1280","name":"Strategic Energy Institute"}],"categories":[{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"186858","name":"go-sei"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003ETracie Troha, ME Communications\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"692182":{"#nid":"692182","#data":{"type":"news","title":"DOE Assistant Secretary Catherine Jereza Visits NEETRAC","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.energy.gov\/oe\/person\/catherine-jereza\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer\u0022 title=\u0022(opens in a new window)\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAssistant Secretary Catherine Jereza\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E of the U.S. Department of Energy\u0027s (DoE) Office of Electricity visited the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/neetrac.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENational Electric Energy Testing, Research and Applications Center\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E (NEETRAC) on August 20, it provided an opportunity for researchers to showcase their latest work and discuss the challenges facing America\u0027s electric grid.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ece.gatech.edu\/news\/2026\/08\/doe-assistant-secretary-catherine-jereza-visits-neetrac\u0022\u003ERead more.\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe nationally recognized Georgia Tech consortium brings together industry, government, and academia to advance power grid reliability and innovation.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The nationally recognized Georgia Tech consortium brings together industry, government, and academia to advance power grid reliability and innovation. "}],"uid":"36172","created_gmt":"2026-09-01 18:56:26","changed_gmt":"2026-09-03 14:15:22","author":"dwatson71","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-09-01T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-09-01T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"681030":{"id":"681030","type":"image","title":"DoE-NEETRAC-Visit-8.png","body":null,"created":"1788288999","gmt_created":"2026-09-01 18:56:39","changed":"1788288999","gmt_changed":"2026-09-01 18:56:39","alt":"Department of Energy Office of Electricity Assistant Secretary Catherine Jereza (center) tours NEETRAC\u0027s research and testing facilities at GeorgiaTech. The visit highlighted the center\u0027s work with utilities, manufacturers, and government partners to address emerging challenges facingthe nation\u0027s electric grid.","file":{"fid":"265378","name":"DoE-NEETRAC-Visit-8.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/01\/DoE-NEETRAC-Visit-8.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/01\/DoE-NEETRAC-Visit-8.png","mime":"image\/png","size":1969060,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/09\/01\/DoE-NEETRAC-Visit-8.png?itok=cauoi5LR"}}},"media_ids":["681030"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"367481","name":"SEI Energy"},{"id":"1280","name":"Strategic Energy Institute"}],"categories":[{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"}],"keywords":[{"id":"186858","name":"go-sei"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"692252":{"#nid":"692252","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Alumna to Discuss Designing Tech for Marginalized Communities in Upcoming Lecture ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECollege of Computing alumna \u003Cstrong\u003ENova Ahmed\u003C\/strong\u003E (CS Ph.D. 2010) will return to campus on Sept. 14 to discuss her two decades\u0026nbsp;of experience applying technology to address social and humanitarian challenges.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAhmed will present \u003Cem\u003EConnecting Systems with Humans\u003C\/em\u003E as part of the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/omscs.gatech.edu\/omscs-speaker-series\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EOMSCS Speaker Series\u003C\/a\u003E. The lecture will explore the evolution of Ahmed\u0027s research, from sensing systems designed for eldercare homes to low-resource technologies that address challenges faced by women and marginalized communities.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI was inspired by many other projects that handled social and humanitarian problems, especially one where Jill Diamond \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ajc.com\/lifestyles\/georgia-tech-student-helps-create-street-harassment-app\/kMNuBbctHPCiFSTktVBL9J\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Eworked on domestic violence\u003C\/a\u003E under the supervision of \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/people\/amy-bruckman\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EAmy Bruckman\u003C\/a\u003E at Georgia Tech,\u201d Ahmed said. \u201cI thought, \u2018this is what work should look like, where lives are changed, and impacts are made.\u2019\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAhmed\u2019s research journey began with designing sensing systems for eldercare homes as a creative solution to an existing commercial problem. After completing her doctorate, she returned to Bangladesh, where she found that conventional technology design approaches often did not fit communities whose challenges were deeply connected to social and cultural contexts.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHer work subsequently shifted toward low-resource technologies designed for women and marginalized communities.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn her upcoming OMSCS Speaker Series lecture, Ahmed will discuss projects focused on social justice and on preventing violence and sexual harassment, as well as sensing technologies designed to improve people\u2019s lives. She will also share research and projects inspired by students and discuss her ongoing work examining women in computing and STEM, including the stressors faced by undergraduate students in STEM fields.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne of Ahmed\u2019s early projects was \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/news\/alumna-creates-app-help-victims-sexual-harassment-bangladesh\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EProtibadi\u003C\/a\u003E, a technology-based effort to address sexual harassment in Bangladesh.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHer work designing technology for marginalized communities has reinforced the importance of developing solutions that account for the specific needs and circumstances of the people they serve.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cDesigning something is easy, but designing for someone who needs something very different from others, being a marginalized one, takes a lot of courage and often can get overlooked,\u201d Ahmed said. \u201cBut once it can be done, it is extremely rewarding.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAhmed is a computer scientist and professor at North South University in Bangladesh. Her primary research interests include feminist human-computer interaction (HCI), low-cost sensor systems, and information and communication technologies (ICT) for development.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAhmed hopes those who attend her lecture this month\u0026nbsp;will take away the importance of continuing to pursue meaningful change.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe fact that things do not change much, but still we can keep trying to make the world a better place,\u201d she said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAhmed said she is looking forward to returning to Georgia Tech.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI am so humbled, honored, and can\u0027t wait to meet many of my old friends,\u201d she said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe lecture will take place Sept. 14 from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the Klaus Building, Rooms 1116 East and West. The event is free and open to the public.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECollege of Computing alumna Nova Ahmed (CS Ph.D. 2010) will return to campus on Sept. 14 to discuss her two decades\u0026nbsp;of experience applying technology to address social and humanitarian challenges.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"College of Computing alumna Nova Ahmed (CS Ph.D. 2010) will return to campus on Sept. 14 to discuss her two decades\u00a0of experience applying technology to address social and humanitarian challenges. "}],"uid":"36613","created_gmt":"2026-09-03 13:54:51","changed_gmt":"2026-09-03 14:14:16","author":"Emily Smith","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-09-03T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-09-03T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"681059":{"id":"681059","type":"image","title":"nova2.jpg","body":null,"created":"1788443843","gmt_created":"2026-09-03 13:57:23","changed":"1788443843","gmt_changed":"2026-09-03 13:57:23","alt":"Nova Ahmed","file":{"fid":"265410","name":"nova2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/03\/nova2.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/03\/nova2.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":129797,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/09\/03\/nova2.jpg?itok=VpMSrJqJ"}}},"media_ids":["681059"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"660374","name":"School of Computing Instruction"}],"categories":[{"id":"130","name":"Alumni"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"133","name":"Special Events and Guest Speakers"}],"keywords":[{"id":"654","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"506","name":"alumni"},{"id":"121521","name":"OMSCS"},{"id":"8472","name":"amy bruckman"},{"id":"166941","name":"School of Computer Science"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":["emily.smith@cc.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"692107":{"#nid":"692107","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Researchers Discover New Layer of the Human Genome ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA new study led by \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/people.research.gatech.edu\/francesca-storici\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EFrancesca Storici\u003C\/a\u003E, a professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E and faculty member of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/bioresearch.gatech.edu\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/a\u003E, has uncovered an unexpected feature of human DNA linked to gene activity and the physical organization of DNA. The findings, \u003Ca rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cell.com\/cell\/fulltext\/S0092-8674(26)00922-0\u0022\u003Epublished in \u003Cem\u003ECell\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, could change how scientists think about DNA organization, transcription, and genome function.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDNA and RNA are usually separate molecules inside cells, each with a different job. But small RNA building blocks, called ribonucleotides, sometimes become embedded in DNA during normal cellular activities. Scientists knew these RNA building blocks existed, but until now they did not know where they were located across the human genome or whether they served a purpose.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStorici\u0027s team, working with collaborators at multiple institutions, created their detailed map of these RNA building blocks throughout human DNA. The researchers found that they are not randomly scattered. Instead, they are distributed in distinct patterns across the genome. The researchers call this genome-wide landscape of DNA-embedded ribonucleotides the human nuclear \u201cribome.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cRibonucleotides embedded in DNA have traditionally been viewed mainly as mistakes that need to be removed,\u201d Storici said. \u201cOur findings suggest a different perspective: they can influence the physical properties of DNA and may have biological functions that we are only beginning to understand.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team discovered that these embedded RNA building blocks are especially common near the starting points of active genes, where cells begin reading genetic instructions to make RNA. Their abundance also increases with gene activity. These regions experience physical stress as DNA is repeatedly accessed and used. The researchers found evidence that the embedded RNA building blocks influence how tightly the DNA twists and coils in these areas. This DNA twisting, known as supercoiling, is closely associated with transcription.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe findings suggest that these RNA building blocks are more than accidental leftovers from normal cellular processes. Instead, they can modulate DNA supercoiling, revealing a previously unrecognized connection between embedded ribonucleotides, DNA topology, and transcription.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOne of the most exciting findings is that processing ribonucleotides embedded in DNA can change DNA supercoiling,\u201d Storici said. \u201cThis provides a new connection between the chemical composition of DNA, its physical organization, and transcription.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe work also may help scientists better understand diseases linked to problems removing embedded RNA from DNA, including rare autoimmune disorders. More broadly, the discovery could open a new area of investigation into the roles of embedded ribonucleotides in human genome biology.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy providing the first comprehensive map of these RNA marks in human nuclear DNA, the study shows that what once appeared to be simple molecular mistakes may actually contribute to how the genome is organized and functions. The discovery opens new opportunities to explore how embedded ribonucleotides influence DNA topology, transcription, and genome maintenance.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E______\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EStorici\u0027s team included: Deepali Kundnani (alumnus), Yeunsoo Lee (Ph.D. student), Tyler Warner (Ph.D. student), and Ryan Eckerty (undergraduate student). Nata\u0161a Jonoska, a mathematician at the University of South Florida, also contributed. Additional collaborators across multiple institutions contributed expertise, resources, and scientific insights that greatly expanded the scope and comprehensiveness of the study.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003EResearchers led by Francesca Storici, a professor in the School of Biological Sciences and faculty member of the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, created the first comprehensive map of ribonucleotides embedded in human nuclear DNA. Published in \u003Cem\u003ECell\u003C\/em\u003E, the study found that these RNA building blocks cluster near active genes and are associated with DNA supercoiling, a physical property linked to transcription. The findings suggest that embedded ribonucleotides are not simply molecular errors but may help shape genome organization and function, opening new avenues for research into gene regulation and diseases associated with defects in ribonucleotide removal.\u003C\/div\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A new study led by Francesca Storici reveals that RNA building blocks embedded in human DNA are organized in distinct patterns and may play an important role in regulating DNA structure and gene activity."}],"uid":"36479","created_gmt":"2026-08-28 17:05:02","changed_gmt":"2026-09-03 12:34:50","author":"abowman41","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-08-28T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-08-28T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"681002":{"id":"681002","type":"image","title":"_0000_storici-ribonucleotides.jpg","body":"\u003Cdiv\u003EScientific rendering of multiple DNA double helices with several embedded ribonucleotides highlighted in red along the strands.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E","created":"1787936801","gmt_created":"2026-08-28 17:06:41","changed":"1787936801","gmt_changed":"2026-08-28 17:06:41","alt":"Scientific rendering of multiple DNA double helices with several embedded ribonucleotides highlighted in red along the strands. The red RNA building blocks appear at distinct locations within the gray DNA structure, illustrating how ribonucleotides can become incorporated into human DNA.","file":{"fid":"265349","name":"_0000_storici-ribonucleotides.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/28\/_0000_storici-ribonucleotides.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/28\/_0000_storici-ribonucleotides.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":133621,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/28\/_0000_storici-ribonucleotides.jpg?itok=GND4O2ZW"}}},"media_ids":["681002"],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"188776","name":"go-research"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAshlie Bowman | Communications Manager\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691448":{"#nid":"691448","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Professor Earns NSF CAREER Award for Data Center Research","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Computer Science Assistant Professor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/faculty.cc.gatech.edu\/~amsmti3\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAhmed Saeed\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E has received a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support his research on improving data center efficiency. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe award is the NSF\u2019s most prestigious honor for early-career faculty and supports researchers with the potential to serve as academic role models and to lead advances in their department or organization. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Receiving the NSF CAREER Award is a tremendous honor and an opportunity to advance my long-term research agenda,\u201d Saeed said. \u201cIt was only made possible by the creativity and dedication of my students and the unwavering support and guidance of my family and mentors.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EModern data center servers manage resource allocation and load distribution separately, which can result in conflicting decisions. A key idea behind Saeed\u2019s proposal is to develop an integrated view of these operations to improve efficiency without requiring additional hardware.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhen performing operations jointly, you can maximize performance and completely eliminate the chances of conflict,\u201d Saeed said.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnother driver of the project is what Saeed calls the \u201csingle queue fallacy.\u201d This occurs when data center load controllers assume that all incoming requests to a server wait in a single queue to be processed.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn reality, servers are much more complex than this and can handle multiple queues at the same time. Modern workloads have heterogeneous load requirements, meaning that different requests end up landing in different queues.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis single queue fallacy can lead to severe underutilization of these servers,\u201d he said.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERecent research by Saeed shows that a server\u2019s throughput can be doubled by avoiding the single-queue fallacy. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe potential benefits of this project are wide-ranging and impactful. Maximizing server efficiency would reduce costs and energy use. With fewer resources needed, the project could contribute to more sustainable computing infrastructure. Lower operational costs would benefit companies, application developers, and users.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe goal of my proposal is to develop mechanisms and policies that can allow data center operators to easily maximize the utilization of all hardware,\u201d he said.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs part of the educational component of his proposal, Saeed plans to organize competitions for students to design more efficient load and resource management algorithms using artificial intelligence.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to this award, Saeed was named a \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/news.research.gatech.edu\/2025\/11\/13\/bbiss-welcomes-seven-new-faculty-fellows\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EBrook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems (BBISS) Faculty Fellow\u003C\/a\u003E last fall to support his goal of making data centers more sustainable.\u202f\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Computer Science Assistant Professor Ahmed Saeed has received a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support his research on improving data center efficiency. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe potential benefits of this project are wide-ranging and impactful. Maximizing server efficiency would reduce costs and energy use. With fewer resources needed, the project could contribute to more sustainable computing infrastructure. Lower operational costs would benefit companies, application developers, and users.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"School of Computer Science Assistant Professor Ahmed Saeed has received a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support his research on improving data center efficiency. "}],"uid":"36532","created_gmt":"2026-08-04 20:21:56","changed_gmt":"2026-09-02 19:59:12","author":"Morgan Usry","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-08-04T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-08-04T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680791":{"id":"680791","type":"image","title":"Ahmed-Said-Mohamed_86A1028-copy.jpg","body":null,"created":"1785906796","gmt_created":"2026-08-05 05:13:16","changed":"1785906796","gmt_changed":"2026-08-05 05:13:16","alt":"man standing in front of computer servers","file":{"fid":"265109","name":"Ahmed-Said-Mohamed_86A1028-copy.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/05\/Ahmed-Said-Mohamed_86A1028-copy.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/05\/Ahmed-Said-Mohamed_86A1028-copy.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":109815,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/05\/Ahmed-Said-Mohamed_86A1028-copy.jpg?itok=s0fvXuul"}}},"media_ids":["680791"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"50875","name":"School of Computer Science"}],"categories":[{"id":"194606","name":"Artificial Intelligence"},{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"194836","name":"Sustainability"}],"keywords":[{"id":"194190","name":"AI data centers"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193655","name":"Artificial Intelligence at Georgia Tech"},{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMorgan Usry, Communications Officer, morgan.usry@cc.gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["morgan.usry@cc.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"692032":{"#nid":"692032","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Open Source, Big Ideas: Scientific Computing Community Heading to Georgia Tech","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBefore building a fusion reactor, designing a new aircraft, or forecasting tsunamis, scientists and engineers test their ideas using computer simulations. The people who create and use the software that powers these simulations are meeting in Atlanta this fall to share best practices and improve their tools.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech is hosting the 2026 MFEM (Modular Finite Element Methods) Community Workshop, Sept. 22-25. MFEM supports research in computational physics, earth systems modeling, engineering, energy, and other fields.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe four-day\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/mfem.org\/workshop\/\u0022\u003Eworkshop\u003C\/a\u003E is being held at the\u0026nbsp;Georgia Tech Global Learning Center and will focus on improving software for scientific computing and discovery. Participants can also attend online. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/e\/1FAIpQLSc95PhC-tyb2V63iEtp7Dto6P8odbePLJl7Ok26cffsGegNtg\/viewform\u0022\u003ERegistration\u003C\/a\u003E for the workshop is open through Sept. 11.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe\u0027re very excited and grateful for the opportunity to have this workshop at Georgia Tech,\u201d said\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/people.llnl.gov\/kolev1\u0022\u003ETzanio Kolev\u003C\/a\u003E, a computational mathematician at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cGeorgia Tech has a great reputation in our field, and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/computing.llnl.gov\/about\/newsroom\/mfem-workshop-2025\u0022\u003Ehosting at universities\u003C\/a\u003E is a great way to connect with students. We see students as our future colleagues who will improve MFEM for generations to come.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMFEM is an open-source software library for solving equations in computational models. Scientists and engineers use it to build and test virtual designs on some of the world\u2019s most powerful supercomputers before creating real-world prototypes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn fact, MFEM powered a tsunami early-warning model that ran on\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.llnl.gov\/news\/highlights\/el-capitan-high-performance-computing\u0022\u003EEl Capitan\u003C\/a\u003E, the world\u2019s second-fastest supercomputer. The framework completed a simulation in a fraction of a second, 10 billion times faster than conventional algorithms. Kolev was part of the team that won the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.llnl.gov\/article\/53636\/llnl-ut-ucsd-win-gordon-bell-prize-exascale-tsunami-forecasting\u0022\u003E2025 Gordon Bell Prize\u003C\/a\u003E for the project.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMFEM\u2019s impact extends beyond its original developers. The AWS Center for Quantum Computing uses the software as the foundation for a tool called\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/aws.amazon.com\/blogs\/quantum-computing\/aws-releases-open-source-software-palace-for-cloud-based-electromagnetics-simulations-of-quantum-computing-hardware\/\u0022\u003EPalace\u003C\/a\u003E. This project runs 3D electromagnetic simulations to aid in the design of quantum computing hardware.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThese workshops have been very beneficial for both the broader user community and also for MFEM developers,\u201d said Kolev.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cEvery workshop, we are surprised by the ways people are building on our work, seeing what incredible, interesting, amazing things they do with it.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENext month\u2019s workshop at Georgia Tech will connect MFEM users and developers from national laboratories, academia, government, and industry.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority joins LLNL and Georgia Tech in sponsoring this year\u2019s workshop. Nearly 20 scientists from Department of Energy (DOE) laboratories are attending in person. They represent LLNL, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, and the Naval Nuclear Laboratory.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe workshop\u2019s first day features a free, hybrid tutorial.\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/hpcic.llnl.gov\/\u0022\u003ELLNL\u2019s High Performance Computing Innovation Center\u003C\/a\u003E will lead the tutorial, helping new users get started with MFEM and learn what the software can do. The tutorial\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/llnlfed.webex.com\/webappng\/sites\/llnlfed\/meeting\/register\/8ebcc46f456b4ad18d9a52681e65dbc4?ticket=4832534b00000007c5b494f01c941f17a12a8cd43c82453c4f35f60a3648a272a8d8a99672c47aa6\u0026amp;timestamp=1787231662277\u0026amp;RGID=rb48e17ed4f10072dffdae65cdeffe44f\u0026amp;isAutoPopRegisterForm=false\u0022\u003Erequires separate registration\u003C\/a\u003E for virtual participants.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe workshop will also host a simulation and visualization contest. Participants can submit images and videos of simulations using MFEM, which will be posted in a\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/mfem.org\/gallery\/\u0022\u003Egallery\u003C\/a\u003E. The workshop organizers will select an overall winner.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFurther workshop activities include:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022ee31916319061709fa9a28fec836fd3bf\u0022\u003EMFEM news and roadmap for future projects\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022edce38a0a18d98d1d7fa524b78a89e1f8\u0022\u003ETalks from application developers\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022ed8c28becfd96baa3239b50eb0c1330d7\u0022\u003EStudent-user lightning talks\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022e11e59f4f20a8a56dee6c6eafabc7390e\u0022\u003EIn-person poster sessions\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022e43fcdf35c0105418070457776f42b786\u0022\u003EOffice hours with MFEM experts\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe MFEM workshop highlights the role open-source software plays in scientific discovery.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy making tools freely available, researchers can build on each other\u2019s work rather than starting from scratch. This shared approach can accelerate innovation, improve software, and make advanced computing tools accessible to a wider community.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech hosts a\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ssecenter.cc.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ECenter for Scientific Software Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E and an\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ospo.cc.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EOpen-Source Program Office\u003C\/a\u003E. This year\u2019s workshop connects these units with the MFEM community to help put the software into the hands of more researchers across science and engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe MFEM workshop aims to foster collaboration among all MFEM users and developers,\u201d said\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/tangqi.github.io\/\u0022\u003EQi Tang\u003C\/a\u003E, a workshop organizer and assistant professor in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cse.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Computational Science and Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cHosting its annual community workshop brings researchers from DOE laboratories, universities, and industry to campus, giving Georgia Tech faculty and students direct access to experts from the field.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBefore building a fusion reactor, designing a new aircraft, or forecasting tsunamis, scientists and engineers test their ideas using computer simulations. The people who create and use the software that powers these simulations are meeting in Atlanta this fall to share best practices and improve their tools.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech is hosting the 2026 MFEM (Modular Finite Element Methods) Community Workshop, Sept. 22-25. MFEM supports research in computational physics, earth systems modeling, engineering, energy, and other fields.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe four-day\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/mfem.org\/workshop\/\u0022\u003Eworkshop\u003C\/a\u003E is being held at the\u0026nbsp;Georgia Tech Global Learning Center and will focus on improving software for scientific computing and discovery. Participants can also attend online. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/e\/1FAIpQLSc95PhC-tyb2V63iEtp7Dto6P8odbePLJl7Ok26cffsGegNtg\/viewform\u0022\u003ERegistration\u003C\/a\u003E for the workshop is open through Sept. 11.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech is hosting the 2026 MFEM (Modular Finite Element Methods) Community Workshop, Sept. 22-25. MFEM supports research in computational physics, earth systems modeling, engineering, energy, and other fields. "}],"uid":"36319","created_gmt":"2026-08-26 13:00:40","changed_gmt":"2026-09-02 19:07:14","author":"Bryant Wine","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-08-26T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-08-26T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680984":{"id":"680984","type":"image","title":"Story-Head-Image.jpg","body":null,"created":"1787749313","gmt_created":"2026-08-26 13:01:53","changed":"1787749313","gmt_changed":"2026-08-26 13:01:53","alt":"MFEM Workshop at Georgia Tech","file":{"fid":"265328","name":"Story-Head-Image.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/26\/Story-Head-Image.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/26\/Story-Head-Image.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":241530,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/26\/Story-Head-Image.jpg?itok=cz6fGC8C"}},"680985":{"id":"680985","type":"image","title":"mfem-workshop-2025-comp-news-01-alt.png","body":null,"created":"1787749441","gmt_created":"2026-08-26 13:04:01","changed":"1787749441","gmt_changed":"2026-08-26 13:04:01","alt":"2025 MFEM Workshop Portland State University","file":{"fid":"265329","name":"mfem-workshop-2025-comp-news-01-alt.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/26\/mfem-workshop-2025-comp-news-01-alt.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/26\/mfem-workshop-2025-comp-news-01-alt.png","mime":"image\/png","size":222605,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/26\/mfem-workshop-2025-comp-news-01-alt.png?itok=oLizx4_t"}},"680989":{"id":"680989","type":"image","title":"vis-contest-2026.png","body":null,"created":"1787767921","gmt_created":"2026-08-26 18:12:01","changed":"1787767921","gmt_changed":"2026-08-26 18:12:01","alt":"MFEM Workshop at Georgia 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Tech","file":{"fid":"265335","name":"DSC00310-small.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/26\/DSC00310-small.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/26\/DSC00310-small.png","mime":"image\/png","size":1726005,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/26\/DSC00310-small.png?itok=TvNOuMK-"}}},"media_ids":["680984","680985","680989","680990"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"364801","name":"School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (EAS)"},{"id":"1279","name":"School of Mathematics"},{"id":"126011","name":"School of Physics"}],"categories":[{"id":"136","name":"Aerospace"},{"id":"194606","name":"Artificial Intelligence"},{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"150","name":"Physics and Physical Sciences"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"133","name":"Special Events and Guest Speakers"}],"keywords":[{"id":"654","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"166983","name":"School of Computational Science and Engineering"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"9153","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"10199","name":"Daily Digest"},{"id":"181991","name":"Georgia Tech News Center"},{"id":"170447","name":"Institute for Data Engineering and Science"},{"id":"9167","name":"machine learning"},{"id":"187812","name":"artificial intelligence (AI)"},{"id":"192863","name":"go-ai"},{"id":"194384","name":"Tech AI"},{"id":"192249","name":"cos-community"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193655","name":"Artificial Intelligence at Georgia Tech"},{"id":"39431","name":"Data Engineering and Science"},{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"},{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"},{"id":"39541","name":"Systems"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBryant Wine, Communications Officer\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:bryant.wine@cc.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebryant.wine@cc.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691677":{"#nid":"691677","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Ribbon-Cutting Opens Bud and Val Peterson Residence Hall ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn time for the fall semester, the ribbon has been cut, and students will soon move into Georgia Tech\u2019s newest traditional residence hall \u2014 the Bud and Val Peterson Residence Hall.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELocated along Northside Drive between Eighth and Ninth streets, the 191,000-square-foot facility offers approximately 862 beds in double-occupancy rooms. The first traditional residence hall constructed on campus since 1969, Bud and Val Peterson Residence Hall features collaborative learning areas, an esports lounge, a fitness room, community lounges, a kitchen on the first floor of each wing, and a 24\/7 cashierless market.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe opening of the new residence hall allows Tech to keep pace with enrollment as the Institute continues to grow. This fall, over \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/admission.gatech.edu\/images\/pdf\/2026\/undergraduate-admission-year-in-review-2026.pdf\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E4,100 first-year students will enroll at the Institute\u003C\/a\u003E, along with 1,400 transfer students in the fall and spring. With growth comes the need for new infrastructure, as Georgia Tech President \u00c1ngel Cabrera said during Thursday\u2019s ribbon-cutting ceremony.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt turns out that more unbelievable students from every county in Georgia, from every corner of our country and countries around the world, want to have the learning experience here. It\u2019s our duty to figure out creative solutions, not just to house them, but to provide them with a transformative experience,\u201d he said. \u201cThe transformation of our students happens right here. It happens in the residence halls. It happens in the friendships that you make, the study groups, the activities, and when you\u2019re learning to be independent and to grow up. This is not just a dorm where you come to sleep.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe residence hall is named in honor of Georgia Tech\u2019s 11th president and first lady. During Peterson\u2019s tenure from 2009 to 2019, Tech enhanced student programs and grew enrollment; increased collaboration and built strategic partnerships in Atlanta and Georgia; expanded its global reach, with a focus on innovation; executed Campaign Georgia Tech, which raised $1.8 billion for the Institute; and more than doubled new research awards, exceeding $1 billion for the first time in 2019. As president, Peterson launched the Online Master of Science in Computer Science program, which has since become a global model for accessible education.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe has remained involved with the Institute as president emeritus, a \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/faculty\/peterson\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ERegents\u2019 Professor\u003C\/a\u003E in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, and a member of the steering committee for \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/transformingtomorrow.gatech.edu\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003ETransforming Tomorrow: The Campaign for Georgia Tech\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn his remarks, Peterson recounted his first time visiting Tech, the feeling he got when he was on campus, and his path to eventually becoming Tech\u2019s next president, succeeding President Emeritus G. Wayne Clough, who was in attendance at the ceremony.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBecoming a candidate for the job of president was \u201cone of the most important decisions I\u2019ve made in my professional career,\u201d Peterson said. \u201cThis is a remarkable place with remarkable people doing remarkable things. Val and I are enormously honored to be recognized in this fashion.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs first lady, Val Peterson was a dedicated presence on campus and an ardent supporter of students and faculty. She served as the chief spokesperson for the Tech Ends Suicide Together initiative when it launched in 2016 and mentored students and campus organizations. Val Peterson holds two bachelor\u2019s degrees and a teaching certificate from Kansas State University and a master\u2019s degree from Texas A\u0026amp;M. She has been recognized as an honorary alumna by the Georgia Tech Alumni Association for her devotion to the greater good of the Institute. Nicknamed the \u201cQueen Bee\u201d of Georgia Tech, she found it \u201cquite fitting\u201d that the new hall bears the couple\u2019s names, because they lived together in a dorm room at KSU when they were first married.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThat\u2019s where it all began. Those two towers, like us, together forever,\u201d she said. \u201cMy hope for the students who live in Peterson Hall is that their experience parallels our paths, not only in school but in life.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEach space in the new residence hall is designed to encourage students to interact and develop shared experiences, a mindset that Kasey Helton, associate vice president of Campus Services, says was fostered during Peterson\u2019s tenure.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe weren\u0027t trying to create 860 places to sleep. We were trying to create 860 opportunities to belong. That sense of belonging is exactly what Bud and Val spent a decade here building. They championed living-learning communities, expanded opportunities for students to develop global perspectives, strengthened support for student well-being, and helped make a Georgia Tech education accessible to all students. That same spirit is built into this hall,\u201d Helton said.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe opening of the Bud and Val Peterson Residence Hall brings the Institute\u2019s capacity to more than 9,600 bed spaces across nearly 50 residence halls. Move-in for the fall semester begins Aug. 15, including the first group of students who will call Bud and Val Peterson Residence Hall home.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Named in honor of Georgia Tech\u2019s 11th president and first lady, the residence hall is the first of its kind to be built on campus since 1969. "}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ENamed in honor of Georgia Tech\u2019s 11th president and first lady, the residence hall is the first of its kind to be built on campus since 1969.\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Named in honor of Georgia Tech\u2019s 11th president and first lady, the residence hall is the first of its kind to be built on campus since 1969. "}],"uid":"36418","created_gmt":"2026-08-14 03:25:09","changed_gmt":"2026-09-01 18:37:31","author":"sgagliano3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-08-13T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-08-13T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680870":{"id":"680870","type":"image","title":"Bud and Val Peterson Residence Hall","body":"\u003Cp\u003EPresident Emeritus Bud Peterson and former Georgia Tech First Lady Val Peterson cut the ribbon outside of the Bud and Val Peterson Residence Hall. Photo by Joya Chapman.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1786677988","gmt_created":"2026-08-14 03:26:28","changed":"1786677988","gmt_changed":"2026-08-14 03:26:28","alt":"Bud and Val Peterson Residence Hall","file":{"fid":"265199","name":"Bud-and-Val-Peterson-Residence-Hall-Dedication-10.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/13\/Bud-and-Val-Peterson-Residence-Hall-Dedication-10.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/13\/Bud-and-Val-Peterson-Residence-Hall-Dedication-10.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2615107,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/13\/Bud-and-Val-Peterson-Residence-Hall-Dedication-10.jpg?itok=fZbBa-4x"}},"680871":{"id":"680871","type":"image","title":"Bud-and-Val-Peterson-Residence-Hall-Dedication-01.jpg","body":null,"created":"1786678342","gmt_created":"2026-08-14 03:32:22","changed":"1786678342","gmt_changed":"2026-08-14 03:32:22","alt":"Bud and Val Peterson Residence Hall","file":{"fid":"265201","name":"Bud-and-Val-Peterson-Residence-Hall-Dedication-01.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/13\/Bud-and-Val-Peterson-Residence-Hall-Dedication-01.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/13\/Bud-and-Val-Peterson-Residence-Hall-Dedication-01.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3426047,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/13\/Bud-and-Val-Peterson-Residence-Hall-Dedication-01.jpg?itok=S3ehUxHV"}},"680872":{"id":"680872","type":"image","title":"DSC00985-HDR-Edit.jpg","body":null,"created":"1786678482","gmt_created":"2026-08-14 03:34:42","changed":"1786678482","gmt_changed":"2026-08-14 03:34:42","alt":"Bud and Val Peterson Residence Hall","file":{"fid":"265202","name":"DSC00985-HDR-Edit.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/13\/DSC00985-HDR-Edit.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/13\/DSC00985-HDR-Edit.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":23337785,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/13\/DSC00985-HDR-Edit.jpg?itok=sGHDK77H"}},"680873":{"id":"680873","type":"image","title":"DSC00937-HDR.jpg","body":null,"created":"1786678513","gmt_created":"2026-08-14 03:35:13","changed":"1786678513","gmt_changed":"2026-08-14 03:35:13","alt":"Bud and Val Peterson Residence Hall","file":{"fid":"265203","name":"DSC00937-HDR.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/13\/DSC00937-HDR.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/13\/DSC00937-HDR.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":23663199,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/13\/DSC00937-HDR.jpg?itok=DtC8v8Bb"}},"680874":{"id":"680874","type":"image","title":"DSC00900-Edit.jpg","body":null,"created":"1786678557","gmt_created":"2026-08-14 03:35:57","changed":"1786678557","gmt_changed":"2026-08-14 03:35:57","alt":"Bud and Val Peterson Residence Hall","file":{"fid":"265204","name":"DSC00900-Edit.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/13\/DSC00900-Edit.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/13\/DSC00900-Edit.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":24142587,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/13\/DSC00900-Edit.jpg?itok=zNTXliz3"}}},"media_ids":["680870","680871","680872","680873","680874"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/housing.gatech.edu\/","title":"Housing and Residence Life"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"179355","name":"Building Construction"},{"id":"142","name":"City Planning, Transportation, and Urban Growth"},{"id":"42901","name":"Community"},{"id":"132","name":"Institute Leadership"}],"keywords":[{"id":"10221","name":"Campus Housing"},{"id":"175895","name":"Student Housing"},{"id":"194376","name":"Curran Street Residence Hall"},{"id":"11304","name":"residence hall"},{"id":"291","name":"Bud Peterson"},{"id":"11258","name":"val peterson"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:steven.gagliano@gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESteven Gagliano\u003C\/a\u003E \u2013\u0026nbsp;Institute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691812":{"#nid":"691812","#data":{"type":"news","title":"\u2018X to the Power of Computing\u2019: Celebrating Interdisciplinary Double Majors  ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIn the College of Computing, leaders often talk about a concept that defines the future of the field: \u201cX to the Power of Computing.\u201d It is the idea that computing acts as a force multiplier, exponentially amplifying every discipline it touches.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe future of computing extends far beyond the tech industry alone, and every sector increasingly relies on computational thinking and digital tools,\u201d Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education \u003Cstrong\u003EOlufisayo Omojokun\u003C\/strong\u003E said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cStudents who double major embody that vision by combining technical skills with expertise in another field. That combination prepares them to solve real-world problems in innovative ways.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile the national average for double majoring across all undergraduate disciplines sits at roughly 11%, Tech students are charting their own distinct paths. Among recent computer science graduates, \u003Cstrong\u003E17.5% (596 students)\u003C\/strong\u003E successfully completed at least one minor, and \u003Cstrong\u003E3.8% (131 students)\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003Egraduated with a full double major.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOverall, interdisciplinary interest is high, especially in areas like math, robotics, and economics,\u201d said \u003Cstrong\u003EBethany Mason\u003C\/strong\u003E, director of computing enrollment.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA Snapshot of Interdisciplinary Paths\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile mathematics remains the most common pairing, computing students combine their studies with other fields in a wide range of ways. These combinations reflect individual interests and career goals, shaping how students translate technical skills into different professional contexts.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe top double majors among recent College of Computing graduates are mathematics, applied languages and intercultural studies, and industrial engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOther recent graduates have minored, with Fintech, Mathematics, and Computing and Business being the top choices.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStudents pursue degree combinations for a variety of reasons. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/node\/691808\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EElliot Huang\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E (CS and Psychology, 2026), for example, added psychology after becoming interested in how people think. He now applies both fields in computational cognitive neuroscience research.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/node\/691809\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHunter Richardson\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E (CS and Business Administration, 2026), the connection between computing, accounting, and data systems made business a natural complement to his CS studies. He said the combination also helped him during recruiting and will inform his work in Tech Assurance at KPMG.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/node\/691810\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EOliver Lee\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E (CS and Electrical Engineering, 2025) was drawn to electrical engineering after developing an interest in embedded systems, computer vision, and physical devices. His CS background now gives him a software foundation to apply to hardware and engineering projects.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/node\/691811\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAaron Huang\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E (CS and Biochemistry, Spring 2027), the path to a second major was influenced in part by his parents, both physicians. He has since combined his interests through research in medical labs, where computational methods are increasingly central to the life sciences.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELooking Ahead\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe success of these students highlights a clear mandate for the College of Computing: to support and expand these impactful pathways even further.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur role is to support those pathways with curricula and advising that make it feasible for students to meaningfully integrate rigorous computing preparation with study across other fields, so they graduate prepared for a wide range of careers and graduate programs,\u201d Omojokun said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMoving forward, the College is actively exploring how to broaden and formalize more of these interdisciplinary tracks.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe don\u0027t want students to just manually piece together a double major; we want to build structured frameworks that seamlessly blend disciplines from day one,\u201d Omojokun said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe\u2019ve already proven it can be done. For years, the immense student demand for combining mathematics and computer science led directly to the creation of our formal, joint \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/mathcomputing.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003Emathematics and computing major\u003C\/a\u003E.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELooking to the future, the College will use that successful blueprint to design even more formalized joint degrees, helping the next generation of Yellow Jackets change the world through the exponential power of computing.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECollege of Computing leaders often talk about a concept that defines the field\u2019s future: \u201cX to the Power of Computing.\u201d It is the idea that computing acts as a force multiplier, exponentially amplifying every discipline or industry it touches.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"In the College of Computing, leaders often talk about a concept that defines the future of the field: \u201cX to the Power of Computing.\u201d It is the idea that computing acts as a force multiplier, exponentially amplifying every discipline it touches."}],"uid":"36613","created_gmt":"2026-08-19 16:32:06","changed_gmt":"2026-09-01 15:33:45","author":"Emily Smith","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-09-01T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-09-01T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680926":{"id":"680926","type":"image","title":"gradcap1.jpg","body":null,"created":"1787157319","gmt_created":"2026-08-19 16:35:19","changed":"1787157319","gmt_changed":"2026-08-19 16:35:19","alt":"graduation","file":{"fid":"265259","name":"gradcap1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/19\/gradcap1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/19\/gradcap1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3067193,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/19\/gradcap1.jpg?itok=jwtewVSL"}}},"media_ids":["680926"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"660374","name":"School of Computing Instruction"}],"categories":[{"id":"130","name":"Alumni"},{"id":"42911","name":"Education"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"654","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"193866","name":"school of computing instruction"},{"id":"189662","name":"double major"},{"id":"594","name":"college of engineering"},{"id":"167710","name":"School of Psychology"},{"id":"167089","name":"Scheller College of Business"},{"id":"919","name":"Biochemistry"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":["emily.smith@cc.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"692151":{"#nid":"692151","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Professor Emeritus Named Distinguished Educator by ACM SIGGRAPH","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen Jim Foley attended his 50th ACM SIGGRAPH Conference in 2023, he expected it to be his last one.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESIGGRAPH, however, gave him another reason to return for its 2026 conference in Los Angeles.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFoley accepted the organization\u2019s Distinguished Educator Award, presented annually since 2019.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI guess it wasn\u2019t my last one after all,\u201d Foley said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe award recognizes SIGGRAPH members who have made impactful contributions to computer graphics in educational environments. Foley has a strong pedigree in this area.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe co-authored the 1982 textbook \u003Cem\u003EFundamentals of Interactive Computer Graphics\u003C\/em\u003E, which was renamed in its second edition as \u003Cem\u003EComputer Graphics: Principles and Practice\u003C\/em\u003E. With over 1,100 pages, it is widely regarded as the foundational text of modern computer graphics and animation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cSome people called it \u2018the bible\u2019 of computer graphics, though I think there were some other good graphics textbooks,\u201d Foley said. \u201cWe covered many different aspects of computer graphics, from hardware to algorithms to software systems to user interface and design.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt stands out as an all-encompassing textbook, whereas current books are targeted at specific aspects of computer graphics rather than a broad introduction.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFoley co-authored the first edition with Andries Van Dam, a professor who co-founded Brown University\u2019s Department of Computer Science. Van Dam was the first to receive the Distinguished Educator Award in 2019.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI had people thanking me for the book while I was at the conference and telling me it was the first book they learned computer graphics from,\u201d Foley said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFoley came to Georgia Tech in 1991 and founded the Graphics, Visualization, \u0026amp; Usability (GVU) Center, which merged with Tech\u2019s Institute for People and Technology (IPaT) in 2023. GVU faculty helped establish Georgia Tech\u2019s prestigious reputation in computer graphics, and GVU students became highly sought after by video game and film animation studios, including Disney and Pixar.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFoley and other GVU faculty were also at the forefront of the emerging field of human-computer interaction (HCI).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFoley said he enjoyed teaching in the classroom as much as anything and preferred practical approaches.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI was always big on learning by doing, so I always had projects in my class that made students apply what I was talking about and not just regurgitate stuff on exams,\u201d he said. \u201cI think students enjoy having that hands-on experience.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHowever, teaching was something he had to learn.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI wasn\u2019t good at it at first, but I think writing the book helped with that,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen you write a book, you discover how much you don\u2019t know about something because you\u2019re trying to carefully explain it so other people can understand.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt makes you do more thinking, work through the explanations so that it makes sense to you and the reader.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech established the James D. Foley Endowment in 2007 to honor his achievements. Since then, annual fellowships in his name have been awarded to outstanding graduate students.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe 2026 Foley Scholar Awards will be announced in November.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJim Foley accepted the 2026 ACM SIGGRAPH Distinguished Educator Award, presented annually since 2019. The award recognizes SIGGRAPH members who have made impactful contributions to computer graphics in educational environments.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Jim Foley received the ACM SIGGRAPH 2026 Distinguished Educator Award"}],"uid":"36530","created_gmt":"2026-09-01 13:47:50","changed_gmt":"2026-09-01 13:49:20","author":"Nathan Deen","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-09-01T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-09-01T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"681024":{"id":"681024","type":"image","title":"08C1214-P4-033-copy.jpg","body":null,"created":"1788270478","gmt_created":"2026-09-01 13:47:58","changed":"1788270478","gmt_changed":"2026-09-01 13:47:58","alt":"Jim Foley","file":{"fid":"265372","name":"08C1214-P4-033-copy.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/01\/08C1214-P4-033-copy.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/01\/08C1214-P4-033-copy.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":164066,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/09\/01\/08C1214-P4-033-copy.jpg?itok=EBXVU7bq"}}},"media_ids":["681024"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"50876","name":"School of Interactive Computing"}],"categories":[{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"}],"keywords":[{"id":"181886","name":"computer graphics"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"692070":{"#nid":"692070","#data":{"type":"news","title":"CSE Leadership Transition Comes as School Continues Rapid Growth","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech\u2019s School of Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) has undergone remarkable expansion in recent years, doubling its faculty, broadening its programs and curriculum, and strengthening its reputation as a leading research hub.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENow, as Professor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/faculty.cc.gatech.edu\/~echow\/\u0022\u003EEdmond Chow\u003C\/a\u003E prepares to teach at Georgia Tech-Europe for the 2026-2027 academic year, Professor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/poloclub.github.io\/polochau\/\u0022\u003EPolo Chau\u003C\/a\u003E is stepping into the role of associate chair to help guide the School\u2019s next phase of growth.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETheir leadership transition comes at a time when demand for expertise in artificial intelligence (AI), data science and analytics, and high-performance computing accelerates across industry, government, and academia.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOn behalf of the students, faculty, and staff of CSE, I extend our heartfelt gratitude to Edmond for his years of dedicated service as associate chair,\u201d said School of CSE Regents\u2019 Professor and Chair \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/faculty.cc.gatech.edu\/~hpark\/\u0022\u003EHaesun Park\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cPolo is a respected leader, an accomplished scholar, and a passionate advocate for our community. I am confident he will build on Edmond\u2019s strong foundation to guide the School\u0027s continued success.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe School of CSE associate chair helps lead faculty development, academic planning, and new initiatives. These responsibilities include course scheduling, teaching assignments, and reviewing proposals for new courses.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERapid growth defined Chow\u2019s tenure as associate chair, which started in summer 2021.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs associate chair, Chow led CSE\u2019s faculty recruiting committee. The School hired 15 new professors during his term, doubling the faculty in that span.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EChow\u2019s relationship with new hires didn\u2019t end with recruiting. Each new professor needed support to onboard smoothly, which he helped facilitate by pairing new hires with faculty mentors in the School.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EChow helped new and veteran faculty alike design courses centered on their expertise and the field\u0027s emerging needs. As a result, he broadened and enriched the CSE curriculum at Georgia Tech.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EChow led CSE\u2019s effort to secure space in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cse.gatech.edu\/coda\u0022\u003ECoda Building\u003C\/a\u003E to accommodate so many new faculty and students. With his help, the School added the east wing of the 13th floor and space for four labs on the fifth floor.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile at \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/europe.gatech.edu\/en\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech-Europe\u003C\/a\u003E, Chow will teach \u003Cem\u003ECS 7545: Machine Learning Theory\u003C\/em\u003E and \u003Cem\u003ECS 1371: Computing for Engineers\u003C\/em\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EChow is a fellow of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.siam.org\/\u0022\u003ESIAM\u003C\/a\u003E). Like CSE, the professional society recognized Chow\u2019s leadership and administrative talents, selecting him for several roles.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith his associate chair responsibilities concluded, Chow will focus more on his role as SIAM\u2019s vice president for programs. He also co-chairs the organizing committee for the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.siam.org\/conferences-events\/siam-conferences\/cse27\/\u0022\u003ESIAM Conference on CSE\u003C\/a\u003E, to be held Feb. 22-26, 2027, in Pittsburgh.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPreviously, Chow served as vice chair of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.siam.org\/get-involved\/connect-with-a-community\/activity-groups\/computational-science-and-engineering\/\u0022\u003ESIAM Activity Group on CSE\u003C\/a\u003E from 2025 to 2026. He co-chaired the organizing committee for \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.siam.org\/conferences-events\/past-event-archive\/an22\/\u0022\u003ESIAM\u2019s 2022 annual meeting\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022It has been an honor to serve CSE,\u201d Chow said. \u201cI am also inspired to have worked alongside others, including Haesun, who care so much for the School.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESince joining Georgia Tech in 2012, Chau has distinguished himself as a leading expert in data science and AI.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EChau\u2019s research combines machine learning and visualization to create scalable, interactive tools. His lab has developed applications for studying massive datasets, interpreting complex AI models, and solving real-world problems in cybersecurity, human-centered AI, graph visualization and mining, and social good.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EChau has taught CSE \u003Cem\u003E4242\/6242: Data and Visual Analytics\u003C\/em\u003E since 2013. The course has grown into the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/poloclub.github.io\/#cse6242\u0022\u003Eworld\u0027s largest semester-long university class on the subject\u003C\/a\u003E. More than 19,600 students have taken the course throughout its history.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlongside his research and teaching, Chau has held several leadership roles at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESince 2014, Chau has served as associate director of Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.analytics.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EM.S. Analytics program\u003C\/a\u003E. The program celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2024, when he received the Innovator Award for his leadership and pioneering approaches to analytics education.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn 2019, Chau accepted roles as director of industry relations for the Institute for Data Engineering and Science (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ideas.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EIDEaS\u003C\/a\u003E) and as associate director of corporate relations for the Machine Learning Center (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ml.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EML@GT\u003C\/a\u003E). Chau recently stepped down from his leadership positions with IDEaS and ML@GT to accommodate his responsibilities as CSE\u2019s associate chair.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI enjoy building deep connections with people, and this role provides a lot of opportunities to do that,\u201d Chau said. \u201cFaculty development helps my colleagues build the careers that they want, and collectively shape CSE\u2019s future. That\u2019s what I look forward to the most.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech\u2019s School of Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) has undergone remarkable expansion in recent years, doubling its faculty, broadening its programs and curriculum, and strengthening its reputation as a leading research hub.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENow, as Professor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/faculty.cc.gatech.edu\/~echow\/\u0022\u003EEdmond Chow\u003C\/a\u003E prepares to teach at Georgia Tech-Europe for the 2026-2027 academic year, Professor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/poloclub.github.io\/polochau\/\u0022\u003EPolo Chau\u003C\/a\u003E is stepping into the role of associate chair to help guide the School\u2019s next phase of growth.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETheir leadership transition comes at a time when demand for expertise in artificial intelligence (AI), data science and analytics, and high-performance computing accelerates across industry, government, and academia.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"School of CSE Professor Polo Chau is stepping into the role of associate chair of the School as Professor Edmond Chow departs to teach at Georgia Tech-Europe for the 2026-2027 academic year."}],"uid":"36319","created_gmt":"2026-08-27 17:13:47","changed_gmt":"2026-09-01 12:33:31","author":"Bryant Wine","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-08-27T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-08-27T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680999":{"id":"680999","type":"image","title":"Associate-Chair.png","body":null,"created":"1787850839","gmt_created":"2026-08-27 17:13:59","changed":"1787850839","gmt_changed":"2026-08-27 17:13:59","alt":"CSE Associate Chair","file":{"fid":"265343","name":"Associate-Chair.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/27\/Associate-Chair.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/27\/Associate-Chair.png","mime":"image\/png","size":424426,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/27\/Associate-Chair.png?itok=LEOwFiEC"}}},"media_ids":["680999"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"50877","name":"School of Computational Science and Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"194606","name":"Artificial Intelligence"},{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"}],"keywords":[{"id":"654","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"166983","name":"School of Computational Science and Engineering"},{"id":"10199","name":"Daily Digest"},{"id":"181991","name":"Georgia Tech News Center"},{"id":"181689","name":"Institute for Data Science and Engineering"},{"id":"7251","name":"analytics"},{"id":"176858","name":"machine learning center"},{"id":"173894","name":"ML@GT"},{"id":"192863","name":"go-ai"},{"id":"194384","name":"Tech AI"},{"id":"187812","name":"artificial intelligence (AI)"},{"id":"3427","name":"High performance computing"},{"id":"9153","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193655","name":"Artificial Intelligence at Georgia Tech"},{"id":"39431","name":"Data Engineering and Science"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBryant Wine, Communications Officer\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:bryant.wine@cc.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebryant.wine@cc.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"692138":{"#nid":"692138","#data":{"type":"news","title":"What Meta\u0027s Settlement Means, and What It Doesn\u2019t, According to Georgia Tech Experts ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMeta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, will pay $17.1 billion and implement new protections to reduce the harmful effects of social media on young people, settling a lawsuit alleging that the social media giant violated consumer protection laws and targeted teenagers through its addictive features.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe resolution to the 2023 lawsuit imposes daily time limits on platform use for users under 18, silences notifications during school hours, restricts image filters, and adds safety measures, including removing users under 13 and stricter enforcement of teenager-specific settings for users under 18, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/oag.ca.gov\/news\/press-releases\/attorney-general-bonta-secures-transformative-17-billion-settlement-meta\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Eamong other measures\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMore Work To Be Done\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe settlement has been celebrated by the 47 \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/law.georgia.gov\/press-releases\/2026-08-26\/carr-announces-largest-big-tech-settlement-history\u0022\u003Eattorneys general\u003C\/a\u003E of the represented states as a transformative moment in the oversight of social media. While she believes it is a step in the right direction, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/expert\/munmun-de-choudhury-social-and-computer-science-expert\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EMunmun De Choudhury\u003C\/a\u003E, a professor in Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Interactive Computing, says the work cannot stop with the changes proposed in the settlement.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDe Choudhury\u2019s research has pioneered the computational use of social media data for mental health. In 2023, she co-authored a consensus report for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine on the connection between \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nationalacademies.org\/read\/27396\/chapter\/1\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Esocial media and adolescent health\u003C\/a\u003E. Several of the recommendations in the report are reflected in the Meta settlement, but De Choudhury sees areas that still need to be addressed at the root of social media\u2019s effects on mental health.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI think it\u0027s a reasonable start. It was necessary, but if you look at the research literature, whether restricting screen time actually improves mental health is not a settled question,\u201d she said. \u201cWe need to look at the context, which means not just how much time they\u0027re spending on these platforms but also how they\u0027re spending that time.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe $17 billion will be distributed among the states and territories involved in the lawsuit, and, according to De Choudhury, the funds will be a critical part of the settlement achieving its intended outcomes.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe grassroots portion of this is asking: How do we empower young people and their families with information so that they can make the right decisions for themselves? This money can be used to provide social media literacy efforts and to train parents and teachers to better guide kids. We often hear that adults want to help, but parents and teachers didn\u2019t grow up in the social media era, and given how fast it changes, they don\u2019t always have the right answers,\u201d she said.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGetting Others on Board\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECertain portions of the settlement, such as financial penalties and exact time restrictions, are contingent upon Meta\u2019s competitors, TikTok and YouTube, adopting similar measures. De Choudhury says research shows that when one platform becomes more restrictive, users will migrate to another.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe kids who want to access social media between midnight and 6 a.m., when these platforms won\u0027t be available, will go to TikTok or they\u0027ll go somewhere else,\u201d she said. \u201cThis means that what we end up doing is not mitigating the harm but shifting it elsewhere. And that doesn\u0027t help anyone. So, this is welcome if it means the scope of this implementation can be broadened, and it would go a long way.\u201d \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESocial Media in the AI Age\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDe Choudhury implores regulators to consider additional measures to protect children in the future, particularly those that safeguard their data in the age of artificial intelligence.\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAll of our data is getting used to train these AI models. This is especially true for a company like Meta, which has its own AI models. We are talking about minors. They can\u0027t meaningfully consent to the use of their data to build AI models. So we need to expand the scope of harm here, which is not just the mental health harm that can happen but the impacts of these companies storing and using children\u2019s data,\u201d she said.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA federal \u201cright to be forgotten\u201d that allows individuals to request deletion of their data from social media sites and other online profiles is a step De Choudhury recommends, mirroring the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/gdpr.eu\/right-to-be-forgotten\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EEuropean Union\u2019s policy\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EProtecting the Vulnerable\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAdults aren\u2019t immune to the dangers of social media, De Choudhury explained, but teenagers are more susceptible to triggers based on their stage of brain development. She hopes the recent settlement sets a precedent for active oversight.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe have seen lawsuits in the past where specific school systems sued a social media company. We have seen some individual states taking action as well, but the scale of this settlement is something we haven\u0027t seen before,\u201d she said.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe changes to the platforms will take effect over the next 12 months, but should Meta fail to do so, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.scheller.gatech.edu\/directory\/faculty\/liu_j\/index.html\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EJerry Liu\u003C\/a\u003E, lecturer in the Scheller College of Business and teacher of legal and ethical aspects of business, says states would not need to relitigate the case, in which Meta did not admit wrongdoing. Rather, they could ask the court to seek enforcement with contempt remedies, like additional financial penalties or sanctions.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Meta case has drawn comparisons to lawsuits against big tobacco in the 1990s. Liu says both cases invoke similar questions surrounding legality and ethics in business.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThere is a broader, ethical issue with this case, which is drawing the line between making an engaging product versus deliberately designing the product around human vulnerabilities to make a product addictive, particularly for children, and concealing harmful consequences,\u201d he said.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWith big tobacco, the problem wasn\u0027t simply that cigarettes were addictive. It was the allegation that the industry knew about the addictive nature of cigarettes, manipulated nicotine levels, and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.factualamerica.com\/behind-the-screenplay\/blowing-the-whistle-the-true-story-behind-the-insider\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Econcealed or minimized that knowledge\u003C\/a\u003E. Similarly, as with Meta and social media, the question is whether the social media companies know that particular design features or algorithmic tools can create unhealthy or compulsive behavior, particularly in children, and whether they have an ethical obligation to disclose that knowledge and redesign the product accordingly.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice retain federal enforcement authority in this case, but Liu said that individuals (including class-action suits) can potentially pursue separate state-law or other claims against Meta.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"The social media giant will make changes to its platforms to address allegations of consumer protection law violations and the targeting of teenagers through addictive features.\u00a0 "}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe social media giant will make changes to its platforms to address allegations of consumer protection law violations and the targeting of teenagers through addictive features.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The social media giant will make changes to its platforms to address allegations of consumer protection law violations and the targeting of teenagers through addictive features.\u00a0 "}],"uid":"36418","created_gmt":"2026-09-01 01:02:42","changed_gmt":"2026-09-01 01:31:29","author":"sgagliano3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-09-01T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-09-01T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"681023":{"id":"681023","type":"image","title":"Meta","body":null,"created":"1788226037","gmt_created":"2026-09-01 01:27:17","changed":"1788226037","gmt_changed":"2026-09-01 01:27:17","alt":"Meta","file":{"fid":"265371","name":"AdobeStock_479759140_Editorial_Use_Only.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/31\/AdobeStock_479759140_Editorial_Use_Only.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/31\/AdobeStock_479759140_Editorial_Use_Only.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":4211015,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/31\/AdobeStock_479759140_Editorial_Use_Only.jpeg?itok=O7dBUsbM"}}},"media_ids":["681023"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"151","name":"Policy, Social Sciences, and Liberal Arts"}],"keywords":[{"id":"167543","name":"social media"},{"id":"10343","name":"mental health"},{"id":"10835","name":"Facebook"},{"id":"37031","name":"Instagram"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71901","name":"Society and Culture"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:Steven.gagliano@gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESteven Gagliano\u003C\/a\u003E \u2013\u0026nbsp;Institute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"692137":{"#nid":"692137","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Incoming Professor Envisions World of Humans and Robots Working Together","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen Siddharth Karamcheti watches robot demonstration videos, he pays attention to how close humans are to the robot.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKaramcheti said there are times when he doesn\u2019t see any humans at all. Those instances reinforce the perception that robots are replacing humans rather than assisting them.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cYou have humanoid robots doing things like folding laundry, and you see videos of it on social media,\u201d Karamcheti said. \u201cIt bothers me that in all these videos, I see the robot doing these tasks alone without a single person around them. True human-robot collaboration is missing.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs he joins the Georgia Tech School of Interactive Computing as an assistant professor, Karamcheti seeks to improve human-robot collaboration and maximize output through his research.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKaramcheti comes to Tech after earning his Ph.D. in computer science (CS) from Stanford University. He also holds bachelor\u2019s degrees in CS and literary arts from Brown University.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to human-robot interaction, he has conducted research on fine-tuning vision-language-action (VLA) models.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EVLAs are artificial intelligence (AI) systems typically built by fine-tuning vision-language models (VLMs) or large language models (LLMs). They use visual perception, natural language, and physical action to perform tasks.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI have a high-level vision of what I think robotics should be, but there are many winding paths I like to take along the way as I try to understand why something works the way it does,\u201d Karamcheti said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKaramcheti said his vision was inspired by the movie \u003Cem\u003EIron Man\u003C\/em\u003E and by how the main character, Tony Stark, interacts with robots in his lab.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI don\u2019t want a robot that replaces all the work I\u2019m doing in my life,\u201d he said. \u201cI want a robot that\u2019s embedded in my life like my laptop or smartphone.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThey\u2019re making it possible for me to do more things. I also want to make it so that robots start doing more and learning more when I leave the room.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKaramcheti said the School of IC is a \u201cdream\u201d job for him because of its renowned faculty in human-robot interaction. It\u2019s the ideal place to keep humans at the center of his research.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe must design models around interaction and the idea that there\u2019s going to be a person in the room. Robots don\u2019t need to be perfect at any one thing. They just need to be able to ask for help when it\u2019s needed and learn from those teaching interactions.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKaramecheti said many robotics researchers are pursuing robots that are as close to perfect as possible so they can operate without human oversight. However, the amount\u0026nbsp;of money and data needed to get there is substantial.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI think you see diminishing returns with scale. If a robot performs tasks correctly 90% of the time, the data required to go from 90% to 95% is much less than that required to go from 95% to 99%. Many robotics companies and labs are investing to reach a 99% success rate,\u201d he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKaramcheti added that the pursuit of perfection shouldn\u2019t prevent a robot from being deployed. They could be deployed at 95% and increase their success rate by working with and learning from humans.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOnce I have a robot that\u2019s 95% capable, I understand that 5% of failures will occur for a specific task. If I know a human is always going to be near the robot, I can design a system that sequences tasks and anticipates human intervention.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKaramcheti is recruiting students to join his lab who bring new perspectives to robotics.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI\u2019m looking for students who aren\u2019t afraid to challenge common assumptions and who enjoy hacking and building,\u201d he said. \u201cI want to work with students who have strong opinions about how robotics should look.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAs he joins the Georgia Tech School of Interactive Computing as an assistant professor, Karamcheti seeks to improve human-robot collaboration and maximize output through his research.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKaramcheti comes to Tech after earning his Ph.D. in computer science (CS) from Stanford University. He also holds bachelor\u2019s degrees in CS and literary arts from Brown University.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to human-robot interaction, he has conducted research on fine-tuning vision-language-action (VLA) models.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"As he joins the Georgia Tech School of Interactive Computing as an assistant professor, Siddharth Karamcheti seeks to improve human-robot collaboration and maximize output through his research. "}],"uid":"36530","created_gmt":"2026-08-31 22:06:47","changed_gmt":"2026-08-31 22:09:07","author":"Nathan Deen","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-08-31T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-08-31T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"681022":{"id":"681022","type":"image","title":"Siddarth-Karamcheti_86A6595.jpg","body":null,"created":"1788214030","gmt_created":"2026-08-31 22:07:10","changed":"1788214030","gmt_changed":"2026-08-31 22:07:10","alt":"Siddharth Karamcheti","file":{"fid":"265370","name":"Siddarth-Karamcheti_86A6595.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/31\/Siddarth-Karamcheti_86A6595.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/31\/Siddarth-Karamcheti_86A6595.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":135773,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/31\/Siddarth-Karamcheti_86A6595.jpg?itok=hMwXvcuz"}}},"media_ids":["681022"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"50876","name":"School of Interactive Computing"}],"categories":[{"id":"194606","name":"Artificial Intelligence"},{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"152","name":"Robotics"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193655","name":"Artificial Intelligence at Georgia Tech"},{"id":"39521","name":"Robotics"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"692127":{"#nid":"692127","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Tiny Motors, Big Structures: Kolvin Awarded NSF CAREER Grant for Soft Materials Research","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EOur bodies build remarkably complex structures from tiny protein fibers, forming tissues, tendons, muscles, and organs. Scientists can recreate many of these biological building blocks in the lab, but controlling how they organize themselves into larger assemblies remains one of the most fundamental challenges in soft materials research.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech\u2019s\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/people\/itamar-kolvin\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EItamar Kolvin\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E is aiming to solve that problem using molecular motors powered by tiny chemical reactions, giving researchers a new way to guide how fibers assemble into larger structures in the lab. The work could open the door to advances in wound healing, artificial tissues, and organ repair.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003ENow, Kolvin, an assistant professor in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/physics.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Physics\u003C\/a\u003E, has been\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nsf.gov\/awardsearch\/show-award?AWD_ID=2541531\u0022\u003Eawarded a $747,000 CAREER grant\u003C\/a\u003E from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support this research.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThe NSF Faculty Early Career Development Program is a five-year grant designed to help promising researchers establish a foundation for a lifetime of leadership in their field. Known as CAREER awards, the grants are NSF\u2019s most prestigious funding for early-career faculty.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cThe CAREER award is a crucial opportunity to push this research forward,\u201d says Kolvin. \u201cNSF plays a critical role in advancing science, and we wouldn\u2019t be able to do our work without their support.\u0026nbsp;I\u2019m incredibly grateful for their commitment to advancing science.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMicroscopic Motorboats\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EWhile the body naturally assembles these fibers, their small size makes protein filaments difficult to control in a lab setting. Without guidance, the materials grow randomly, creating weak and disorganized structures. But Kolvin has found that exposing the filaments to controlled fluid flows can help them grow in predictable ways.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThat\u2019s where Kolvin\u2019s molecular motors come in. He attaches the motors to rod-shaped particles called microtubules, transforming the otherwise inert particles into microscopic motorboats. Powered by chemical reactions, the microtubules move through the fluid and generate tiny currents. Those currents guide the suspended protein filaments, directing how they align and assemble.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003ELike sticks in a stream, the current helps the protein filaments align with the flow around them. When millions of filaments interact in this way, they can form bundles, clusters, and large-scale networks.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cHow do these rods align, when do they tangle, and when do they form networks?\u201d Kolvin asks. \u201cI\u2019m interested in learning how we may be able to predict and ultimately control that behavior in order to direct the ways these structures can grow.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFlexible Filaments\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EKolvin\u2019s earlier work has already shown success with actin, the filaments responsible for building muscles. When suspended in fluid, the molecular motors helped actin fibers bundle together and form a membrane-like structure.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EWhile that work demonstrated that molecular motors could influence assembly, Kolvin now aims to create a more dynamic, tunable system. Actin is limited, he explains, because of its simple rod-like shape, lack of rigidity, and because its bonds become permanent once the fibers bundle together.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EHe believes the more rigid, helix-shaped flagella in this new work will offer a wider range of opportunities. \u201cThe shape and rigidity of flagella expand the variety of patterns they can form,\u201d he explains. \u201cThese new structures could have different applications.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EToward Tunable Materials\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThrough molecular engineering, the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sites.gatech.edu\/ikolvinlab\/\u0022\u003EKolvin Lab\u003C\/a\u003E creates flagella that are temperature-sensitive, meaning that they can make and unmake bonds at different temperatures. This property might be key in creating a system that could be assembled and disassembled on demand.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cThis could make it possible to tune materials in real-time by warming or cooling the system,\u0022 Kolvin explains.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EBy combining molecular motors with temperature-sensitive protein fibers, Kolvin aims to create systems that can be predictably shaped, assembled, and disassembled on demand, opening the door to new possibilities for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThe work could also help answer long-standing problems in physics about active matter and collective behavior, revealing how flow and shape influence the way millions of microscopic building blocks align, pack, and assemble into complex materials.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cThis CAREER award provides an exciting opportunity to pursue new ideas and tackle difficult, far-reaching questions,\u201d Kolvin says. \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to seeing where this research leads in the years ahead.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003EThe grant will support Kolvin\u2019s research using molecular motors powered by chemical reactions to direct how protein fibers assemble into larger structures in the lab. The work could open the door to advances in wound healing, artificial tissues, and organ repair.\u003C\/div\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The work could open the door to advances in wound healing, artificial tissues, and organ repair."}],"uid":"35599","created_gmt":"2026-08-31 16:26:21","changed_gmt":"2026-08-31 19:06:53","author":"sperrin6","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-08-31T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-08-31T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"679224":{"id":"679224","type":"image","title":"Itamar Kolvin","body":"\u003Cp\u003EItamar Kolvin\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1770657296","gmt_created":"2026-02-09 17:14:56","changed":"1770657296","gmt_changed":"2026-02-09 17:14:56","alt":"Itamar Kolvin","file":{"fid":"263357","name":"Itamar-Kolvin.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/02\/09\/Itamar-Kolvin_0.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/02\/09\/Itamar-Kolvin_0.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":154592,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/02\/09\/Itamar-Kolvin_0.jpeg?itok=e0T6C0ih"}}},"media_ids":["679224"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"126011","name":"School of Physics"}],"categories":[{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"150","name":"Physics and Physical Sciences"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"192249","name":"cos-community"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"193653","name":"Georgia Tech Research Institute"},{"id":"39471","name":"Materials"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:sperrin6@gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESelena Langner\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003EWriter \/ Editor\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003EGeorgia Tech College of Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"692052":{"#nid":"692052","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Speare Earns Highly Competitive NIH MIRA Grant","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E Assistant Professor\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/people\/lauren%20speare\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;Lauren Speare\u003C\/a\u003E has received a Maximizing Investigators\u2019 Research Award (MIRA) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). According to the\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nigms.nih.gov\/Research\/mechanisms\/MIRA\/Pages\/default\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;MIRA website\u003C\/a\u003E, the awards provide investigators with long-term, flexible funding to pursue ambitious research programs and explore promising new directions as discoveries emerge.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003ESpeare plans to use the funding to build on her lab\u2019s previous finding that\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/news\/tiny-predatory-bacteria-help-protect-endangered-caribbean-corals?utm_source=newsletter\u0026amp;utm_medium=email\u0026amp;utm_content=Tiny%20Predatory%20Bacteria%20Help%20Protect%20Endangered%20Corals\u0026amp;utm_campaign=Daily%20Digest%20-%20Aug.%206%2C%202026\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;naturally occurring predatory bacteria can reduce disease severity in threatened staghorn corals by defending them against harmful bacteria.\u003C\/a\u003E Her new research will move beyond direct predator-prey interactions to better understand how bacterial predators influence the broader microbial communities living on corals.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cWe know bacterial predators can alter disease outcomes in corals,\u201d explains Speare. \u201cWhat we don\u2019t yet comprehend is what predation actually does to a complex microbiome inside a living animal. Does a predator simply remove particular bacteria, or can those interactions ripple through the entire microbiome and ultimately affect the host?\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EUnderstanding those changes could reveal why some corals are better able to resist disease and recover from environmental stress than others.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENext Steps\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003ESpeare and researchers from the\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.spearelab.com\/\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;Speare Marine Microbial Ecology Lab\u003C\/a\u003E will investigate microbial predation outside the laboratory in a whole-community context.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cMost of what we know about microbial interactions comes from studying one or two populations in a test tube,\u201d says Speare. \u201cBut microbes can behave very differently in a living host. We want to understand those interactions where they are actually happening.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EHer research will use staghorn corals as a model for observing these interactions over time. Because corals are made up of colonies of genetically identical animal polyps, scientists can repeatedly sample the same colony and track how its microbial communities change. This approach offers a unique window into how microbiomes evolve within an animal host, something that is much more difficult to study\u0026nbsp; in many other animals used in research\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u0022One of the really powerful things about corals as a model is that we can repeatedly observe what is happening within the same host,\u0022 says Speare. \u0022Instead of taking a single snapshot of a microbiome, we can follow how interactions unfold through time and explore how those changes ultimately affect the animal.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003ESpeare hopes the research will uncover how bacteria interact within coral microbiomes and whether those interactions can help corals stay healthy and resist disease.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s unusual to have a model system where fundamental questions about microbial ecology can have such immediate relevance to conservation,\u201d says Speare. \u201cIf we learn something that can improve coral health or restoration efforts, we can communicate those findings directly to the practitioners who are actively working to restore these populations.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESeed Grant Support\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003ESpeare credits two prior grants for providing preliminary data for the MIRA award. A NOAA Ruth D. Gates Coral Restoration Innovation Grant helped her develop disease models and investigate the potential health applications of predatory bacteria in corals. A Georgia Tech\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sustainablesystems.gatech.edu\/research\/seed-grants\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;Sustainability Next Seed Grant\u003C\/a\u003E filled a critical knowledge gap in the research by testing how these bacterial predators interact with healthy corals.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cBefore we could ask what microbial predation does within a complex microbiome, we needed to establish that these predators could persist within corals without negatively affecting the host,\u201d says Speare. \u201cThat work gave us the foundation to start asking much bigger ecological questions.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThe Sustainability Next Seed Grant, administered by the\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sustainablesystems.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems\u003C\/a\u003E, also supported workshops and collaboration-building efforts that strengthened partnerships with the University of Miami\u2019s Lirman Lab and Rescue a Reef which provide corals and expertise for ongoing restoration-focused research.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELooking Ahead\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cThe flexibility that comes with this funding is incredibly exciting,\u201d says Speare. \u201cWe have five years to follow the biology wherever it leads us. If we discover an unexpected interaction or mechanism, we have the freedom to pursue it rather than being constrained by a single predefined project. That gives us the opportunity to build a much broader understanding of how microbial predation influences coral health.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESupport Acknowledgement\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EResearch reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number 1R35GM165598.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe award will support funding aimed at uncovering new insights that could support future coral restoration and disease management efforts.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The award will support funding aimed at uncovering new insights that could support future coral restoration and disease management efforts."}],"uid":"36607","created_gmt":"2026-08-26 18:29:49","changed_gmt":"2026-08-27 13:56:33","author":"ls67","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-08-26T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-08-26T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680992":{"id":"680992","type":"image","title":"Lauren Speare","body":"\u003Cp\u003EHeadshot\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1787769048","gmt_created":"2026-08-26 18:30:48","changed":"1787769048","gmt_changed":"2026-08-26 18:30:48","alt":"Headshot of a woman","file":{"fid":"265336","name":"55472992335_5e2145b021_k--1-.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/26\/55472992335_5e2145b021_k--1-.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/26\/55472992335_5e2145b021_k--1-.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":963283,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/26\/55472992335_5e2145b021_k--1-.jpg?itok=Dim63k4S"}}},"media_ids":["680992"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/news\/tiny-predatory-bacteria-help-protect-endangered-caribbean-corals?utm_source=newsletter\u0026utm_medium=email\u0026utm_content=Tiny%20Predatory%20Bacteria%20Help%20Protect%20Endangered%20Corals\u0026utm_campaign=Daily%20Digest%20-%20Aug.%206%2C%202026","title":"Tiny Predatory Bacteria Help Protect Endangered Caribbean Corals"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"180325","name":"coral conservation"},{"id":"192254","name":"cos-climate"},{"id":"192249","name":"cos-community"},{"id":"8057","name":"faculty research"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELaura S. Smith, writer\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["laura.smith@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691898":{"#nid":"691898","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Launches Statewide Hub to Build Aerospace Technical Talent","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech is leading a new NASA-supported workforce development initiative designed to expand aerospace education and strengthen Georgia\u0027s pipeline of skilled technical talent needed for future space missions.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThrough a \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/news-release\/nasa-establishes-state-hubs-to-grow-technical-aerospace-workforce\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENext Gen STEM (NGS) NASA Aerospace Skilled Technical Workforce Hubs (NAS_Hub) grant award\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, Georgia Tech will play a central role in addressing a critical labor shortage in the booming aerospace industry and enhance the state\u2019s role as an aerospace industry leader in the global space economy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBeginning this fall, the three-year, $1.5 million award will establish the Southeast Space Technology \u0026amp; Aerospace Readiness Skills (SE-STARS) Hub. The hub will expand opportunities for training and workforce readiness in high-demand technical careers in aerospace.\u003Cbr\u003EThe SE-STARS Hub includes the Georgia Space Grant Consortium (GSGC), Georgia Tech\u2019s Space Research Institute (SRI), the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute (GTMI), the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG), Georgia Southern University, Georgia College and Career Academies, Georgia Aerospace \u0026amp; Defense Alliance (GADA), and select Georgia aerospace employers to support the growing aerospace industry and NASA missions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAerospace products are Georgia\u2019s No. 1 export and the state has more than 800 companies supporting aviation, manufacturing, research, maintenance, repair, and operations.\u0026nbsp; Many aerospace and engineering positions rely on skilled technical workers whose training pathways do not require a four-year, or advanced degree. There are significant gaps in technical roles such as machinists, electronics technicians, test operators, and systems integrators. These shortages are driven by an aging workforce and a projected national shortfall of at least one million skilled technical workers by 2030. (National Academics of Sciences, Engineering, Medicine, 2025). The gap also stems from the rapid pace of technological advancement, where even current skills can quickly become obsolete if not constantly renewed.\u0026nbsp; All this combines to create an urgent need for training to support new and sustainable aerospace career pathways.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EStephen Ruffin\u003C\/strong\u003E, interim chair of the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering and GSGC director will serve as the principal investigator (PI).\u0026nbsp; \u003Cstrong\u003EJud Ready\u003C\/strong\u003E, executive director of SRI; \u003Cstrong\u003ELori Skillings\u003C\/strong\u003E, GSGC; \u003Cstrong\u003EHossein Taheri\u003C\/strong\u003E, Georgia Southern University; and \u003Cstrong\u003ESteven Ferguson\u003C\/strong\u003E, GTMI, will serve as co-PIs.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003EJeffrey McNabb\u003C\/strong\u003E, a research engineer in Georgia Tech\u2019s Aerospace Systems Design Lab (ASDL), will serve as the program manager, leading day-to-day operations and coordinating the project team.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022This initiative strengthens Georgia\u0027s position as a leader in aerospace innovation and manufacturing while providing new opportunities for students and industries across the state,\u0022 said\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003ERuffin.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECoordination between public education systems, industry, and workforce agencies can sometimes be limited. SE-STARS will act as a \u0022hub\u0022 to bridge these gaps, connecting Georgia Tech and its specialized research institutes with TCSG\u2019s 22 colleges and 88 campuses to provide statewide access to training.\u003Cbr\u003E\u201cAnother advantage of the program is the stronger network it creates,\u201d said Ruffin. \u201cEach organization in the SE-STARS team has unique capabilities but together we will strengthen the technical workforce pipeline across Georgia and the broader Southeast.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe SE-STARS team will collaborate with industry partners to develop curriculum aligned with workforce needs. \u201cThe easily ported curricula we develop will be tailored for other institutions to adopt directly, creating a consistent foundation of skills and competencies that employers can universally expect from program graduates across Georgia,\u201d Ready said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStudents will access training through a statewide network of technical colleges serving as regional instructional nodes, which offer flexible online options and hands-on paid apprenticeships to ensure broad geographic reach.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe program also reaches K-12 and adult learners through career academies and specialized STEM labs, creating a structured, sustainable transition from early education to high-demand aerospace credentials.\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003EGTMI will support this work through its Advanced Manufacturing Pathways Program, which connects industry-informed training with pathways into high-demand advanced manufacturing careers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cGeorgia\u0027s expanding aerospace and space sectors are creating high-paying jobs and driving economic growth,\u201d said Ruffin. \u201cThis program will help develop the skilled workforce needed to support that growth and Georgia\u2019s competitiveness in the space economy.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003EFollowing NASA\u0027s announcement, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/atlanta\/news\/nasa-taps-georgia-tech-for-10-5-million-push-to-build-the-space-workforce\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECBS News Atlanta featured Georgia Tech.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cem\u003EVideo courtesy of CBS News Atlanta.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"A $1.5 million NASA award will support aerospace education, workforce development, and entrepreneurship programs across Georgia."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003EGeorgia Tech is leading a new statewide workforce development initiative funded by a three-year, $1.5 million NASA award to strengthen aerospace education and address critical shortages of skilled technical workers across Georgia. The Southeast Space Technology \u0026amp; Aerospace Readiness Skills (SE-STARS) Hub will bring together Georgia Tech, the Technical College System of Georgia, universities, industry partners, and workforce organizations to create training programs, apprenticeships, and career pathways in high-demand aerospace fields. By connecting K-12 students, adult learners, technical colleges, and employers, the initiative aims to build a sustainable talent pipeline that supports Georgia\u2019s growing aerospace sector and future NASA mission\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech is leading a new NASA-supported workforce development initiative designed to expand aerospace education and strengthen Georgia\u0027s pipeline of skilled technical talent needed for future space missions. "}],"uid":"36345","created_gmt":"2026-08-24 15:43:56","changed_gmt":"2026-08-26 13:55:29","author":"gwaddell3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-08-24T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-08-24T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680962":{"id":"680962","type":"image","title":"machine-shop-for-article.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EAE Machine Shop with students.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1787586344","gmt_created":"2026-08-24 15:45:44","changed":"1787586344","gmt_changed":"2026-08-24 15:45:44","alt":"Machine shop with students","file":{"fid":"265302","name":"machine-shop-for-article.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/24\/machine-shop-for-article.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/24\/machine-shop-for-article.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1749821,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/24\/machine-shop-for-article.jpg?itok=YAPuk9Hn"}}},"media_ids":["680962"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/ae.gatech.edu\/news\/2026\/08\/how-georgia-techs-step-camp-expanding-engineering-opportunities-across-georgia","title":"How Georgia Tech\u0027s STEP Camp Is Expanding Engineering Opportunities Across Georgia"}],"groups":[{"id":"155831","name":"Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute (GTMI)"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"136","name":"Aerospace"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1325","name":"aerospace"},{"id":"59541","name":"workforce development"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39461","name":"Manufacturing, Trade, and Logistics"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMonique Waddell\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["monique.waddell@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691311":{"#nid":"691311","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Hope Among the Pines: A Field Tour in Southeast Georgia Presents Carbon Exchange as Solution","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe people of Georgia depend on forests for clean air, water quality, wildlife abundance, and a multitude of products consumed in our everyday lives. Our forests are also a sustainable and natural resource that can deliver climate benefits,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.scheller.gatech.edu\/directory\/faculty\/clay\/index.html\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ELucas Clay\u003C\/a\u003E, extension professional at the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.scheller.gatech.edu\/centers-and-initiatives\/ray-c-anderson-center-for-sustainable-business\/index.html\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ERay C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business\u003C\/a\u003E at the Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business. This message was a main takeaway from a field tour held January 29-30, 2026, across working forests in Southeast Georgia.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOrganized by the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/gffgrow.org\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Forestry Foundation\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;(GFF) in partnership with the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.scheller.gatech.edu\/centers-and-initiatives\/ray-c-anderson-center-for-sustainable-business\/index.html\u0022\u003ERay\u0026nbsp;C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;at the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.scheller.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech Scheller College of Business\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.clemson.edu\/\u0022\u003EClemson University\u003C\/a\u003E, and the University of Georgia (UGA) \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/warnell.uga.edu\/\u0022\u003EWarnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources\u003C\/a\u003E, the trip brought together university researchers, foresters, potential carbon credit buyers, and family landowners.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia is the number one forestry state in the country, with more than 22\u0026nbsp;million\u0026nbsp;of its\u0026nbsp;roughly 24\u0026nbsp;million forested acres held in private hands. According to the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/southernforests.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/SGSF_Fact-Sheet-1.pdf\u0022\u003ESouthern Group of State Foresters\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0026nbsp;forests and the forest products industry in the Southern U.S. provide for more than 18% of the world\u2019s pulpwood for paper and paper-related products and 7% of the world\u2019s industrial roundwood.\u0026nbsp;The timber industry also supports thousands of rural livelihoods and\u0026nbsp;sequesters\u0026nbsp;enormous amounts of carbon. Yet today, Georgia forests are under pressure due to natural disasters and market changes.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe field tour promoted a Georgia-specific carbon exchange that has the potential to save forests, help companies\u0026nbsp;purchase\u0026nbsp;high quality\u0026nbsp;carbon credits, and provide co-benefits for the entire state.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003EPressure Points: Helene\u2019s Wake and Market Headwinds\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAcross pine-forested Southeast Georgia, the devastation left by Hurricane Helene\u0026nbsp;remains\u0026nbsp;impossible to miss. A year and a half later, the cleanup \u2013 which is slow, expensive, and disheartening \u2013 is still ongoing across thousands of acres. Downed timber, too old to be sold for profit, lies in heaps. Throughout the field tour, landowners and foresters shared personal narratives that made it easy to feel the weight of what has been lost.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHelene only worsened troubles that were already underway. The markets for timber and pulpwood have been weakening. Demand for paper products has fallen sharply, taking pulpwood prices with it. In the last year alone, three mills have closed in Georgia.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDo I bother to replant?\u0026nbsp;If I plant, will someone actually buy my timber in 20 years?\u0026nbsp;These are the questions landowners across Georgia are wrestling with. Landowners\u2019 decisions today can lead to a future with fewer forested acres, less healthy forests, and forests converted to development \u2013 a loss that is permanent.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe pressing question throughout the field tour was:\u0026nbsp;What happens next?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003EStorytelling Matters: The Power of the Personal\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne of the benefits of a field tour is the chance to hear\u0026nbsp;firsthand,\u0026nbsp;personal accounts from the people whose livelihoods depend on forests.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe tour began in Emanuel County at the Willie Hodges Family Farm Estate. Herbert Hodges welcomed the group to the 600-acre property his family has stewarded for four generations. Hodges shows his respect for the land through thoughtful stewardship \u2013 for which he was honored when he was named\u0026nbsp;2025 \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/blog.nwf.org\/2025\/09\/celebrating-landowner-mentor-herbert-hodges-2025-conservationist-of-the-year\/\u0022\u003EConservationist of the Year\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;by the Georgia Association of Conservation Districts. However, Hodges worries whether the fifth generation will keep the land, and he wants to\u0026nbsp;demonstrate\u0026nbsp;to his heirs that the land is worth holding onto. He remembers his father telling him, \u201cNever get rid of the land.\u0026nbsp;As long as\u0026nbsp;you keep it, you have somewhere to live, somewhere to go.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jmhestad\/\u0022\u003EMatt Hestad\u003C\/a\u003E, senior vice president of GFF, said, \u201cMr. Hodges has to identify new opportunities for his property not only to keep his family engaged but also to prove the land is economically valuable, both today and into the future.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe carbon exchange, if built well, could be exactly that kind of new opportunity.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003EBuilding a Georgia Carbon Exchange\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe initiative to develop a Georgia Carbon Exchange,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.scheller.gatech.edu\/news\/ray-c-anderson-center-for-sustainable-business\/georgia-tech-and-partners-to-establish-state-specific-forest-carbon-exchange.html\u0022\u003Elaunched in 2025\u003C\/a\u003E, is being led collaboratively by the organizers of the field tour.\u0026nbsp;It\u2019s\u0026nbsp;designed to create a voluntary carbon credit marketplace specifically tailored to Georgia\u2019s forest landscape, Georgia\u2019s landowners, and companies that are interested in\u0026nbsp;purchasing\u0026nbsp;high quality\u0026nbsp;carbon credits.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.scheller.gatech.edu\/directory\/staff\/eady\/index.html\u0022\u003EDavid Eady\u003C\/a\u003E, director of industry engagement at the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business, described the vision: \u201cWe\u0027re looking at creating a marketplace for companies doing business in Georgia or headquartered in Georgia, so they can\u0026nbsp;acquire\u0026nbsp;credits that specifically\u0026nbsp;benefit\u0026nbsp;local communities and ecosystems. We want to make sure that we can continue to manage our valuable forest resources that make up well over half of the land in Georgia.\u201d \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cCompanies are concerned about sustainability because their customers are \u2013 and one of the things that that\u0027s manifested is a market for carbon credits,\u201d said\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/warnell.uga.edu\/directory\/people\/leslie-boby\u0022\u003ELeslie Boby\u003C\/a\u003E, director of the UGA Southern Regional Extension Forestry. \u201cBeing in forestry, we have the original carbon sequestration system: trees. And we have a lot of trees in Georgia.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe foundation for the Georgia Carbon Exchange already exists, waiting to be built on.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003EAll the Players at the Table\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe January tour was a pilot that can be replicated for other groups of potential carbon buyers, policymakers, and stakeholders who need to understand what is at stake in Georgia\u2019s forests before they can meaningfully invest in their future.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHestad described what made this first tour valuable: \u201cWe need all the players at the table: academics, buyers, and landowners. I feel like\u0026nbsp;we\u2019ve\u0026nbsp;learned from a variety of people about forest management \u2013 from a private family landowner about intergenerational challenges, from a recreation-focused landowner about wildlife management, and from landowners who have been\u0026nbsp;impacted\u0026nbsp;by Hurricane Helene.\u0026nbsp;We\u2019ve\u0026nbsp;been provided with context for how a carbon exchange could serve those different sectors of landowners.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor industry representatives on the tour, the experience was eye-opening. They joined the tour to learn more about recovery efforts, community support, and the mechanics of a carbon exchange. At the end of the tour, they said they had a clearer sense of both\u0026nbsp;the urgency\u0026nbsp;and the opportunity.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EClay said, \u201cLandowners are focused on the economics of forestry, and buyers are looking for quality credits. I think there\u0027s a lot of opportunity for both of these things to happen.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA successful carbon exchange requires trust, understanding, and shared\u0026nbsp;purpose\u0026nbsp;to be cultivated deliberately. Tours like this one are part of that cultivation.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003EA Common Goal in Focus\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia has everything it needs to make a carbon exchange work: the forests, the science, the institutions, and the will. What it needs now is exactly what the field tour was designed to build: awareness, connection, and shared commitment among the people and organizations whose decisions will shape the future of the state\u2019s forests.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/zach-johnson-19096918\/\u0022\u003EZach Johnson\u003C\/a\u003E, procurement\u0026nbsp;manager\u0026nbsp;at Beasley Timber Management, LLC, told the group: \u201cWith every one green ton of tree growth, you sequester approximately one metric ton of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.\u0026nbsp;Let\u2019s\u0026nbsp;find a way to certify this wonderful resource we have and prop up these jobs in Georgia \u2013 before\u0026nbsp;it\u2019s\u0026nbsp;too late.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMaintaining\u0026nbsp;Georgia\u2019s forests is not only about carbon. Well-managed forests filter water, support native wildlife, improve air quality, protect public health, and provide opportunities for outdoor recreation. These are co-benefits that a carbon credit does not fully capture but that are very much part of the value proposition for\u0026nbsp;maintaining\u0026nbsp;Georgia\u2019s private forests. As stated by \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/warnell.uga.edu\/directory\/people\/dr-yanshu-li\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EYanshu Li\u003C\/a\u003E, associate professor of forest economics at UGA: \u201cIf we take care of our forests, our forests will take care of us.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAmong the pines of Southeast Georgia, a common goal came into focus. The forests are worth saving. And the right people are coming together with the right plan to make it happen.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBusiness and forestry experts from Georgia Tech, Clemson University, University of Georgia, and the Georgia Forestry Foundation led a field tour in Southeast Georgia that illuminated current challenges facing landowners and the forestry industry. Organizers shared how a Georgia Carbon Exchange can provide economic incentives to help landowners keep and manage their forests for carbon sequestration, with benefits to impact the entire state.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The Georgia Carbon Exchange can provide economic incentives to help landowners keep and manage their forests for carbon sequestration, with benefits to impact the entire state."}],"uid":"36808","created_gmt":"2026-07-28 15:41:23","changed_gmt":"2026-08-25 14:08:18","author":"bmcdonald64","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-07-28T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-07-28T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680696":{"id":"680696","type":"image","title":"Hope-Among-the-Pines-1.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EField tour attendees in Soperton, Georgia.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1785255206","gmt_created":"2026-07-28 16:13:26","changed":"1785255206","gmt_changed":"2026-07-28 16:13:26","alt":"Field tour attendees in Soperton, Georgia. ","file":{"fid":"264998","name":"Hope-Among-the-Pines-1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/28\/Hope-Among-the-Pines-1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/28\/Hope-Among-the-Pines-1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2323053,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/28\/Hope-Among-the-Pines-1.jpg?itok=TTP9Db5g"}},"680697":{"id":"680697","type":"image","title":"Hope-Among-the-Pines-5.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EForest in Soperton, Georgia\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1785255206","gmt_created":"2026-07-28 16:13:26","changed":"1785255206","gmt_changed":"2026-07-28 16:13:26","alt":"Forest in Soperton, Georgia","file":{"fid":"264999","name":"Hope-Among-the-Pines-5.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/28\/Hope-Among-the-Pines-5.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/28\/Hope-Among-the-Pines-5.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2639195,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/28\/Hope-Among-the-Pines-5.jpg?itok=aGzumHGQ"}},"680698":{"id":"680698","type":"image","title":"Hope-Among-the-Pines-4.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003ETouring a recreational working forest in Metter, Georgia.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1785255206","gmt_created":"2026-07-28 16:13:26","changed":"1785255206","gmt_changed":"2026-07-28 16:13:26","alt":"Touring a recreational working forest in Metter, Georgia. ","file":{"fid":"265000","name":"Hope-Among-the-Pines-4.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/28\/Hope-Among-the-Pines-4.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/28\/Hope-Among-the-Pines-4.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2048200,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/28\/Hope-Among-the-Pines-4.jpg?itok=Lk2rGbaN"}},"680699":{"id":"680699","type":"image","title":"Hope-Among-the-Pines-3.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EHerbert Hodges displays photos: one of his father, Willie Hodges, and the other of his father, brother, and mother (photo credit: Sandra S. Hodges). Hodges leads a tour of the Willie Hodges Family Farm Estate.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1785255206","gmt_created":"2026-07-28 16:13:26","changed":"1785255206","gmt_changed":"2026-07-28 16:13:26","alt":"Collaboration image of Herbert Hodges showing his farm estate. ","file":{"fid":"265001","name":"Hope-Among-the-Pines-3.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/28\/Hope-Among-the-Pines-3.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/28\/Hope-Among-the-Pines-3.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2472549,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/28\/Hope-Among-the-Pines-3.jpg?itok=-vSvhoGE"}},"680700":{"id":"680700","type":"image","title":"Hope-Among-the-Pines-2.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EClockwise from top left: Viewing habitat for gopher turtles. Hurricane Helene damage in Soperton, Georgia, on land owned by Gillis Ag and Timber. Attendees learn about the Georgia Carbon Exchange. Foresters share how Hurricane Helene and market changes have impacted their industry and community.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1785255206","gmt_created":"2026-07-28 16:13:26","changed":"1785255206","gmt_changed":"2026-07-28 16:13:26","alt":"Collaboration image of the field tour in south Georgia","file":{"fid":"265002","name":"Hope-Among-the-Pines-2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/28\/Hope-Among-the-Pines-2.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/28\/Hope-Among-the-Pines-2.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2521516,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/28\/Hope-Among-the-Pines-2.jpg?itok=zkyZRVxD"}}},"media_ids":["680696","680697","680698","680699","680700"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"660398","name":"Sustainability Hub"}],"categories":[{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"194611","name":"State Impact"},{"id":"194836","name":"Sustainability"}],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"186858","name":"go-sei"},{"id":"84331","name":"and sustainability"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"},{"id":"194566","name":"Sustainable Systems"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETo learn more about the Georgia Carbon Exchange and upcoming field tours, contact\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.scheller.gatech.edu\/directory\/faculty\/clay\/index.html\u0022\u003ELucas Clay\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWritten by\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.scheller.gatech.edu\/directory\/staff\/lux\/index.html\u0022\u003EJennifer Holley Lux\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPhotography (unless otherwise noted) by\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/mike-gregory-22629a200\/\u0022\u003EMike Gregory\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;(Georgia Forestry Association \u0026amp; Foundation)\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["lucas.clay@gatech.edu","jennifer.lux@scheller.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691930":{"#nid":"691930","#data":{"type":"news","title":"A Neuroscientist Went Looking for Prediction. She Found Time Instead.","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFew neuroscientists would dispute that the brain relies on prediction. From houseflies evading swatters to humans catching baseballs, living things are constantly anticipating what comes next. Understanding how the brain generates those predictions could help explain one of neuroscience\u0027s most enduring questions: how the brain builds internal models of the world that allow us to learn, adapt, and anticipate what comes next.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWithout actively predicting the world, we cannot survive,\u201d says \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/people.research.gatech.edu\/farzaneh-najafi\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EFarzaneh Najafi\u003C\/a\u003E, an assistant professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E and a faculty affiliate of Georgia Tech\u0027s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/neuro.gatech.edu\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EInstitute for Neuroscience, Neurotechnology, and Society\u003C\/a\u003E. \u201cThere is quite some sensory-motor delay in the processing. We can\u2019t just sit there, wait for the brain to process our environment, and then react.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPart of the puzzle may lie in signals known as neural ramps. Almost like a drumroll leading up to a big reveal, neurons in some areas of the brain have shown gradual increases in activity immediately before a stimulus appears. For decades, researchers have interpreted this ramping activity as a neural signature of prediction, reflecting anticipation of an upcoming event.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERecently published in \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/10.1126\/sciadv.aed6417\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EScience Advances\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, a new study from Najafi\u2019s lab reveals these signals may not be \u201cpredictions\u201d at all, but instead a way neurons track elapsed time.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cSurprisingly,\u201d says Najafi, \u201cthe very first study from my lab called the Predictive Processing Lab showed that no, these are not prediction signals.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe finding challenges a long-standing interpretation of one of neuroscience\u0027s most studied signals and reveals that the search for predictive neurons may lead to different circuits \u2014 or require different experiments to uncover.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe Problem with Prediction\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThere is a challenge in separating simple time tracking from active prediction. Just because numbers on a stopwatch are increasing doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s counting up to a specific event.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo tease the problem apart, the team designed a series of experiments that progressively stripped prediction out of the equation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWorking with mice, the researchers presented audio and visual cues at carefully controlled intervals. Some appeared at regular, hence predictable, times, while others arrived unpredictably. If neurons are making predictions, their activity should look different when events are predictable versus when they are not.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut that\u2019s not what they found. Even when the researchers introduced errors into those predictable patterns, activity remained largely the same.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt was in the first year of collecting data in my newly established lab that my student, Yicong Huang, started showing me the data and I was shocked: how come we are not seeing a difference between the expected case and the unexpected case?\u201d Najafi recalls. \u201cBecause the entire theory is that there is a difference.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team found even more definitive evidence by monitoring \u201cnaive\u201d mice that had never seen the stimuli before. The brain must learn a pattern before it can anticipate it, yet they found that these neural ramps were present even in the first few trials.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDrumroll, Please\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIf these signals aren\u2019t predictions, then what\u2019s happening?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhat we are seeing are pure sensory signals,\u201d she says. \u201cThey are not about predicting the timing of the upcoming stimulus. They\u0027re about encoding the time that is elapsed.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENajafi thinks that what neuroscientists have long interpreted as an anticipatory \u201cbuildup\u201d to a future event is actually a \u201crelaxation\u201d from the past. Rather than a drummer rolling up to a specific event, imagine one who is always rolling. Each stimulus briefly interrupts the performance before the rhythm gradually returns.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut they found that not every neuron behaves like a drummer. While \u201cdrummers\u201d recover their interrupted rhythm after a stimulus, other neurons operate more like a reverberating gong, firing strongly after a stimulus before gradually quieting down.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe beautiful part of this story is that neurons don\u0027t all do the same thing,\u201d Najafi says. \u201cOne neuron ramps up quickly, another more slowly, another with a completely different time course. When you put that heterogeneous population together, you get a very robust readout of time.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe finding may also have implications for how neuroscientists think the brain represents time itself.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur findings support the theory that time representation in the brain is an intrinsic property of neurons,\u201d says Najafi. Because the signals appeared even in na\u00efve mice and in sensory brain regions, the results suggest that timing may emerge from the properties of neurons themselves, rather than from a specialized timing system elsewhere in the brain.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor Najafi, the study doesn\u0027t close the case on predictive processing. Time, after all, is an important variable to track if you want to make predictions. Instead, it opens more questions about when and where those signals emerge.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMaybe we didn\u0027t find them because this was a passive perception task, meaning mice just passively received stimuli without being instructed to attend to them. Maybe we need active perception or an active movement task, and that\u0027s when we can extract these predictive signals from the brain. Alternatively, we may need to search other brain areas to find neural signatures of temporal predictions.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cDo I believe now that the brain is not doing predictive processing? Absolutely not,\u201d Najafi says. \u201cBut before we say we\u0027ve found evidence for a theory, we really need to do multiple carefully designed experiments. We need to attack this from many different angles.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EFunding: This research was supported by the Whitehall Foundation, the Research Corporation for Science Advancement, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and the Georgia Institute of Technology.\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDOI: 10.1126\/sciadv.aed6417\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA Georgia Tech study challenges a decades-old explanation for one of neuroscience\u0027s most famous signals, revealing an intrinsic neural code for tracking time.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A Georgia Tech study challenges a decades-old explanation for one of neuroscience\u0027s most famous signals, revealing an intrinsic neural code for tracking time."}],"uid":"35575","created_gmt":"2026-08-24 19:39:14","changed_gmt":"2026-08-24 19:50:13","author":"adavidson38","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-08-24T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-08-24T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680972":{"id":"680972","type":"image","title":"Najafi-SciAdv.jpeg","body":"\u003Cdiv\u003EGeorgia Tech neuroscientist Farzaneh Najafi studies how the brain predicts future events. A new study from her lab challenges a long-standing interpretation of one of neuroscience\u0027s most famous \u0022prediction signals,\u0022 suggesting it may instead help the brain track elapsed time. Photo via Georgia Tech College of Sciences.\u003C\/div\u003E","created":"1787600538","gmt_created":"2026-08-24 19:42:18","changed":"1787600957","gmt_changed":"2026-08-24 19:49:17","alt":"Farzaneh Najafi standing outside smiling with her arms crossed. Green foliage is visible in the background.","file":{"fid":"265314","name":"Najafi-SciAdv.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/24\/Najafi-SciAdv.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/24\/Najafi-SciAdv.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":7788922,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/24\/Najafi-SciAdv.jpeg?itok=DPVq2zuE"}}},"media_ids":["680972"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/neuro.gatech.edu\/molecules-mind-farzaneh-najafi-receives-multiple-awards-cognitive-research","title":"From Molecules to Mind: Farzaneh Najafi Receives Multiple Awards for Cognitive Research"},{"url":"https:\/\/neuro.gatech.edu\/nathan-mcdonald-and-farzaneh-najafi-awarded-curci-foundation-grants","title":"Nathan McDonald and Farzaneh Najafi Awarded Curci Foundation Grants"},{"url":"https:\/\/neuro.gatech.edu\/georgia-tech-researchers-make-waves-worlds-largest-neuroscience-conference","title":"Georgia Tech Researchers Make Waves at the World\u2019s Largest Neuroscience Conference"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"66220","name":"Neuro"},{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"172970","name":"go-neuro"},{"id":"192253","name":"cos-neuro"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"193656","name":"Neuro Next Initiative"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWriter and Media Contact:\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:audra.davidson@research.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAudra Davidson\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003ECommunications Manager\u003Cbr\u003EInstitute for Neuroscience, Neurotechnology, and Society (INNS)\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["audra.davidson@research.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691838":{"#nid":"691838","#data":{"type":"news","title":"How Virtual Reality is Preparing Kia Workers for the Factory Floor Before Day One","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe car you drove to work this morning is made up of thousands of individual parts that had to be assembled in the right order and in the right way.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EBut for the workers behind every vehicle you pass on the road, the job demands speed, precision and repetition, with little room for error or on-the-job learning. A new hire may need to learn dozens of assembly steps and complete them in sync with a fast-moving production line from the first day on the job. The demanding pace can make it difficult for new employees to adjust and gain confidence before entering the production environment.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003ETo help prepare workers for the realities of automotive manufacturing, researchers at \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.isye.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech\u2019s H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE)\u003C\/a\u003E partnered with \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.kiageorgia.com\/\u0022\u003EKia Georgia\u003C\/a\u003E to develop a gamified virtual reality (VR) training platform that allows workers to learn, practice and make mistakes before stepping onto the production floor.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u201cThe need for this technology is clear,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.isye.gatech.edu\/users\/mohsen-moghaddam\u0022\u003EMohsen Moghaddam\u003C\/a\u003E, the Gary C. Butler Family Associate Professor in ISyE and the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EGeorge W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E, who leads the research team behind this project. \u201cNew hires are placed in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment, where there is little room for error or on-the-line learning. For many workers, that transition can feel overwhelming.\u201d\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EThe project began in 2025 through a collaboration involving Kia Georgia in West Point, Georgia; \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/georgiaaim.org\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing (Georgia AIM)\u003C\/a\u003E, a statewide effort advancing AI and manufacturing education across Georgia\u0027s industrial ecosystem; \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.georgiaquickstart.org\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Quick Start\u003C\/a\u003E, the state\u2019s workforce training program operated through the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.tcsg.edu\/\u0022\u003ETechnical College System of Georgia (TCSG)\u003C\/a\u003E; and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.spelman.edu\/\u0022\u003ESpelman College\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u0022What makes Georgia one of the top states for business is that we collaborate and work together to solve some of the biggest challenges manufacturers face,\u0022 said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/manufacturing.gatech.edu\/people\/steven-ferguson\u0022\u003ESteven Ferguson\u003C\/a\u003E, managing director of Georgia AIM and deputy director of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/gtmi.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech Manufacturing Institute (GTMI)\u003C\/a\u003E. \u201cThis project brought together collaborators across industry, workforce development, and higher education to build a solution that would have been difficult to achieve alone.\u201d\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EISyE researchers were tasked with developing a VR training solution for Kia\u2019s door assembly line, one of the many stations workers must master before beginning work in the plant.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EWhile Kia already provides hands-on training through Georgia Quick Start, certain aspects of the production environment are difficult to replicate outside the factory floor. Researchers saw an opportunity to better prepare workers for the pace and pressure of assembly line work before their first day on the factory floor. \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EThrough site visits, demonstrations and conversations with workers and trainers, the research team gained a deeper understanding of the challenges new employees face on the production floor and a greater appreciation for the demands of the work.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u201cI didn\u2019t have any idea how hard or how fast-paced this type of work was before starting this project,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.isye.gatech.edu\/users\/pantea-habibi\u0022\u003EPantea Habibi\u003C\/a\u003E, a postdoctoral researcher within ISyE and member of the project team. \u201cIt\u2019s mentally and physically challenging for workers, and I like that our VR system can reduce a little bit of their struggle so that they learn faster and better.\u201d \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EThe team\u2019s gamified VR platform guides users through a series of progressively challenging learning stages. Trainees first observe a task being performed and then mirror an expert\u2019s actions before practicing independently with increasing levels of responsibility.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EThe training platform follows an apprenticeship-inspired progression. Trainees first watch an expert perform each task through the platform\u2019s \u201cghost hands,\u201d then practice with guidance from audio prompts and other on-screen cues. As they gain confidence and proficiency, that support gradually fades, allowing them to perform tasks independently.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EOne of the platform\u2019s key advantages is its ability to simulate the movement and pace of an active assembly line \u2013 conditions that would be difficult and costly to recreate in a traditional training environment.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u0022In the virtual world, there\u0027s no material fatigue,\u201d Ferguson added. \u201cBeing able to create an experience where trainees can practice over and over without worrying about wear and tear or damaging components creates a lot of value.\u201d \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EThe team recently delivered a beta version of the platform and demonstrated it to Kia leadership, including the president and CEO of Kia Georgia.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u0022This project demonstrates what\u0027s possible when industry, higher education, and workforce development partners work together toward a common goal,\u201d said Stuart Countess, Kia Georgia\u2019s President and CEO. \u201cWe appreciate the collaboration of Georgia Tech and Georgia Quick Start in helping prepare the next generation of Kia Georgia team members for success and generating excitement about careers in advanced manufacturing.\u0022\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EWhile the current version focuses on a single door assembly station, discussions are already underway to expand the technology to additional stations within the plant.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EFor Moghaddam, the project represents ISyE\u2019s human-centered approach to engineering by designing technologies that help people succeed.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u201cThrough this project and many others, the main question we seek to solve is how can we develop assistive technologies at the intersection of AI, robotics and extended reality (XR) that augment human capabilities rather than replace them,\u201d he said.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE) at Georgia Tech has developed a virtual reality training platform that prepares Kia assembly workers for the pace of the production line.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE) at Georgia Tech has developed a virtual reality training platform that prepares Kia assembly workers for the pace of the production line. "}],"uid":"35874","created_gmt":"2026-08-20 12:47:27","changed_gmt":"2026-08-21 14:12:24","author":"Anna Akins","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-08-20T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-08-20T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680938":{"id":"680938","type":"image","title":"The VR training platform allows Kia Georgia employees to gain hands-on experience with assembly tasks before working on the factory floor.","body":null,"created":"1787230190","gmt_created":"2026-08-20 12:49:50","changed":"1787230190","gmt_changed":"2026-08-20 12:49:50","alt":"The VR training platform allows Kia Georgia employees to gain hands-on experience with assembly tasks before working on the factory floor.","file":{"fid":"265272","name":"skillAugmentation.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/20\/skillAugmentation.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/20\/skillAugmentation.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":605273,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/20\/skillAugmentation.jpeg?itok=dAeoDkQD"}},"680935":{"id":"680935","type":"image","title":"Georgia Quick Start\u0027s Training Center in West Point, Georgia, where it prepares Kia employees for manufacturing careers (Photo Credit: Georgia Quick Start).","body":null,"created":"1787230190","gmt_created":"2026-08-20 12:49:50","changed":"1787230190","gmt_changed":"2026-08-20 12:49:50","alt":"Georgia Quick Start\u0027s Training Center in West Point, Georgia, where it prepares Kia employees for manufacturing careers (Photo Credit: Georgia Quick Start).","file":{"fid":"265269","name":"KGTC-lead-photo.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/20\/KGTC-lead-photo.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/20\/KGTC-lead-photo.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":629184,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/20\/KGTC-lead-photo.jpg?itok=FqhFrIsn"}},"680936":{"id":"680936","type":"image","title":"Mohsen Moghaddam, ISyE\u0027s Gary C. Butler Family Associate Professor and project lead. ","body":null,"created":"1787230190","gmt_created":"2026-08-20 12:49:50","changed":"1787230190","gmt_changed":"2026-08-20 12:49:50","alt":"Mohsen Moghaddam, ISyE\u0027s Gary C. Butler Family Associate Professor and project lead. ","file":{"fid":"265270","name":"Mohsen-Moghaddam-headshot.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/20\/Mohsen-Moghaddam-headshot.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/20\/Mohsen-Moghaddam-headshot.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":100914,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/20\/Mohsen-Moghaddam-headshot.jpg?itok=1sr2b8__"}},"680934":{"id":"680934","type":"image","title":"Kia Georgia\u0027s manufacturing plant in West Point, Georgia (Photo Credit: Kia Georgia). ","body":null,"created":"1787230190","gmt_created":"2026-08-20 12:49:50","changed":"1787230190","gmt_changed":"2026-08-20 12:49:50","alt":"Kia Georgia\u0027s manufacturing plant in West Point, Georgia (Photo Credit: Kia Georgia). ","file":{"fid":"265268","name":"DJI_20260807132204_0002_D.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/20\/DJI_20260807132204_0002_D.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/20\/DJI_20260807132204_0002_D.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":8413184,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/20\/DJI_20260807132204_0002_D.JPG?itok=XfZXiCm7"}},"680937":{"id":"680937","type":"image","title":"Pantea Habibi, a postdoctoral fellow in ISyE and project team member. ","body":null,"created":"1787230190","gmt_created":"2026-08-20 12:49:50","changed":"1787230190","gmt_changed":"2026-08-20 12:49:50","alt":"Pantea Habibi, a postdoctoral fellow in ISyE and project team member. ","file":{"fid":"265271","name":"Pantea-Habibi-headshot.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/20\/Pantea-Habibi-headshot.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/20\/Pantea-Habibi-headshot.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":153636,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/20\/Pantea-Habibi-headshot.jpg?itok=DSbmtjGB"}}},"media_ids":["680938","680935","680936","680934","680937"],"groups":[{"id":"1237","name":"College of Engineering"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"}],"categories":[{"id":"194606","name":"Artificial Intelligence"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"194609","name":"Industry"},{"id":"194685","name":"Manufacturing"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"194611","name":"State Impact"},{"id":"194612","name":"Workforce Development"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193655","name":"Artificial Intelligence at Georgia Tech"},{"id":"39461","name":"Manufacturing, Trade, and Logistics"},{"id":"39541","name":"Systems"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:anna.akins@isye.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAnna Akins\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECommunications Manager I\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691805":{"#nid":"691805","#data":{"type":"news","title":"New Faculty Shows Where Cryptography Meets the Computer System","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETaking a \u003Cem\u003EWhere\u2019s Waldo?\u003C\/em\u003E book from his shelf, Assistant Professor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/faculty.cc.gatech.edu\/~aozdemir\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAlex Ozdemir\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E posed a simple question: Is it possible to prove Waldo is somewhere on the page without showing anyone where he is?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe answer is yes. Ozdemir demonstrated the technique by taking a piece of paper with a small Waldo-shaped hole cut out and placing it over the page. The demonstration confirms that Waldo is on the page without revealing his location or other details and is a simple example of a concept called a zero-knowledge proof.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn computer science, zero-knowledge proofs allow one person to prove that something is true without revealing the information that makes it true.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThese types of problems sit at the center of Ozdemir\u2019s work. As a computer scientist and cryptographer, he studies ways to use mathematics and computer programs to protect information. But his work goes beyond creating new methods for keeping data secret. He is interested in connecting those methods to the computer systems that use them.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI get excited about what no one else is working on,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat I\u2019m excited about now is how you relate the security of a computer system to a crypto scheme.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETwo recent papers published at \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.usenix.org\/conference\/usenixsecurity26\u0022\u003EUSENIX Security\u003C\/a\u003E show how Ozdemir is applying this approach to real-world privacy and security problems.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne of these problems is how to handle sensitive information without revealing it.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EImagine two organizations want to combine or analyze information, but neither wants to share its private data with the other. Cryptography can make this possible, but some of these privacy protections can be slow and difficult to use with large amounts of information.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOzdemir and his collaborators developed a new system called \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/eprint.iacr.org\/2026\/672\u0022\u003EFLOSS\u003C\/a\u003E (Fast Linear Online Secret-Shared Shuffling) to make one of these tasks much faster.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFLOSS allows two parties to mix a set of private information without either party seeing the original data or learning the final order. This process, known as shuffling, is useful in privacy-preserving applications such as data analysis, anonymous messaging, and private advertising.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn tests, FLOSS shuffled more than one million items in less than half a second, making it more than 800 times faster than previous leading methods.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFLOSS achieves much of this speed by doing some of the hard mathematical work in advance, before the actual data is available. When the data arrives, the system can complete the shuffle quickly, with very little communication between the two computers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe system is designed to protect against cheating. If one of the parties tries to manipulate the process or access information it shouldn\u2019t, FLOSS can detect the problem and stop the computation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers also used FLOSS to create a faster way to sort private information. Sorting is a basic computer task but doing it while keeping the information secret can be expensive. Making that process faster could allow privacy-preserving tools to handle much larger amounts of data.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOzdemir tackled another problem through a project called \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/eprint.iacr.org\/2026\/213\u0022\u003EOrbit\u003C\/a\u003E: How can computers perform useful work on information that remains encrypted?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFully homomorphic encryption, or FHE, is a form of encryption that allows computers to perform calculations on protected data without first decrypting it. For example, a hospital could send encrypted medical information to a cloud service for analysis without the service seeing the patients\u0027 records.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe challenge is that this type of computing can be extremely slow.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOrbit is a computing tool called a compiler that helps make these encrypted calculations more efficient. A compiler takes computer code and turns it into instructions that a computer can run. Orbit examines an entire computation and identifies more efficient ways to handle some of the most expensive steps in fully homomorphic encryption.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERather than treating those steps separately, Orbit looks at how they work together and identifies opportunities to reduce the amount of work the computer must do.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn tests, Orbit was between 1.19 and 1.73 times faster than previous leading systems on the workloads studied, including complex tasks such as running artificial intelligence models. The calculations also remained within 0.3% of the accuracy of those performed on unencrypted data.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor Ozdemir, projects like FLOSS and Orbit are part of a broader goal: making advanced cryptography practical enough to use with the computer systems people use every day.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENow at Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/scp.cc.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Cybersecurity and Privacy\u003C\/a\u003E (SCP), Ozdemir is recruiting Ph.D. students from across the computing stack to work with him. He was drawn to Georgia Tech in part for its multidisciplinary approach to security.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI also just love being around universities,\u201d he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt SCP, Ozdemir plans to continue exploring programmable cryptography across the computing stack, integrating cryptography, compilers, and automated reasoning to address security problems from multiple angles. He received his Ph.D. at Stanford University and bachelor\u0027s degree from Harvey Mudd College.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAssistant Professor Alex Ozdemir is bringing an interdisciplinary approach to cryptography at Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Cybersecurity and Privacy. His research combines cryptography, compilers and automated reasoning to make advanced security tools faster and more practical. Using a simple \u003Cem\u003EWhere\u2019s Waldo?\u003C\/em\u003E example, Ozdemir explains how zero-knowledge proofs can allow someone to prove something is true without revealing the information behind the proof.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHis recent research includes FLOSS, a system that allows private data to be securely shuffled while dramatically reducing the time needed to process large datasets, and Orbit, a compiler designed to make fully homomorphic encryption more efficient. Together, the projects reflect Ozdemir\u2019s broader goal of connecting the security guarantees of cryptography with the computer systems that use them. At Georgia Tech, he plans to continue this work while recruiting students to explore programmable cryptography across the computing stack.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Assistant Professor Alex Ozdemir is bringing an interdisciplinary approach to cryptography at Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Cybersecurity and Privacy. His research combines cryptography, compilers and automated reasoning to make advanced security tools faster "}],"uid":"36253","created_gmt":"2026-08-19 15:27:07","changed_gmt":"2026-08-20 19:50:43","author":"John Popham","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-08-19T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-08-19T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680916":{"id":"680916","type":"image","title":"Alex-Ozdemir.jpg","body":null,"created":"1787153247","gmt_created":"2026-08-19 15:27:27","changed":"1787153247","gmt_changed":"2026-08-19 15:27:27","alt":"A man standing in front of a wooden wall. He is smiling and tilting his head. ","file":{"fid":"265249","name":"Alex-Ozdemir.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/19\/Alex-Ozdemir.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/19\/Alex-Ozdemir.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1750068,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/19\/Alex-Ozdemir.jpg?itok=eRUu8UbK"}}},"media_ids":["680916"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"660406","name":"School of Cybersecurity \u0026 Privacy"},{"id":"660367","name":"School of Cybersecurity and Privacy"}],"categories":[{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"145171","name":"Cybersecurity"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Popham\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECommunications Officer II at the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jpopham3@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691844":{"#nid":"691844","#data":{"type":"news","title":"New Faculty Member Examines How AI Shapes Our Most Personal Relationships","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFrom workplace interactions to romantic relationships, artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly part of many personal aspects of people\u0027s lives.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor Georgia Tech Assistant Professor \u003Cstrong\u003EVeronica Rivera\u003C\/strong\u003E, the growing role of AI in daily life raises important questions about what happens when technology designed to help people puts their privacy and safety at risk.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERivera studied AI at the University of California, Santa Cruz, but her research has increasingly focused on how people interact with technology and the risks that can emerge from these interactions. Her work examines technology-facilitated risks and abuse. She uses research and innovative design approaches to understand digital safety risks and develop tools that better protect people.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne area she is exploring through her recent \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/news.research.gatech.edu\/2026\/07\/27\/incoming-scp-faculty-member-selected-cra-trustworthy-ai-research-fellowship\u0022\u003EComputing Research Association Trustworthy AI Research Fellowship for Early Career Scholars\u003C\/a\u003E is the design of safe AI tools for labor unions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cUnions are developing AI tools to sort through complaints,\u201d she said. \u201cMany of these are built with proprietary AI models, which leads us to ask what the risks are of sharing personal information through these tools.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERivera wants to give unions more control over how workers\u2019 data is collected and used. One way she plans to explore this is through a workshop at the upcoming ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, where union leaders and technical experts collaborate to develop a secure reporting tool.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis research will build on Rivera\u2019s recent work focusing on platform-based gig workers. A \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/vrivera2017.github.io\/docs\/SOUPS26_DWN.pdf\u0022\u003Epaper\u003C\/a\u003E she published this year at the Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security examined how freelance workers often use secretive \u0022digital whisper networks,\u0022 informal online communities where people warn one another about workplace abuse.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERivera and her team found that these workers often avoided formal reporting channels when they experienced wage theft, discrimination, health and safety violations, or sexual misconduct. The study highlighted the need for secure channels that allow workers to report abuse and organize without further endangering themselves.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThere needs to be a way to report this abuse,\u201d Rivera said. \u201cBut how you do that in a safe and secure way is something we don\u2019t yet have answers for.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERivera is also expanding her research beyond the workplace to examine technology-based threats and abuse in romantic relationships. As a new assistant professor at Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/scp.cc.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESchool of Cybersecurity and Privacy\u003C\/a\u003E, she plans to study how AI can blur the line between technology and intimacy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EConsider a person who creates an AI chatbot that imitates someone they know, turning that person\u2019s likeness, personality, or private information into a virtual romantic partner without their consent. If that happens, Rivera asks, what protections does the person have? How can the chatbot be reported and removed?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EExisting policies and reporting systems may not adequately address situations like these. In fact, they can pose new challenges for people whose identities or personal information are used without their permission.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnother project Rivera would like to explore is how platforms handle abuse involving romantic chatbots. Rivera has reviewed Reddit discussions in which users expressed concerns about reporting abusive behavior and about what happens to the intimate information they share with their chatbots.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThere is a lot of confusion on what these platforms know about their users\u2019 intimate details based on their chats,\u201d she said. \u201cThere is also a lot that isn\u2019t known on the back-end of abuse reporting.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERivera has identified a need to design safer reporting features so people feel comfortable reporting abuse while also knowing their personal information will remain private.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe plans to cover these topics and more this fall in her new course that explores sociotechnical security. Rivera says working within SCP\u2019s interdisciplinary structure gives her the opportunity to explore these research problems from multiple angles.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt is hard to find a place for the work I do in security and privacy,\u201d Rivera said. \u201cOur goal is to protect users from bad things, and SCP approaches it from several different angles.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor Rivera, this means studying not only how technology can be secured, but how it can be designed to protect the people who rely on it.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFrom workplace interactions to romantic relationships, artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly part of many personal aspects of people\u0027s lives.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor Georgia Tech Assistant Professor Veronica Rivera, the growing role of AI in daily life raises important questions about what happens when technology designed to help people puts their privacy and safety at risk.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"For Georgia Tech Assistant Professor Veronica Rivera, the growing role of AI in daily life raises important questions about what happens when technology designed to help people puts their privacy and safety at risk."}],"uid":"36253","created_gmt":"2026-08-20 19:45:06","changed_gmt":"2026-08-20 19:48:55","author":"John Popham","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-08-20T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-08-20T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680947":{"id":"680947","type":"image","title":"Veronica-Rivera.jpg","body":null,"created":"1787255228","gmt_created":"2026-08-20 19:47:08","changed":"1787255228","gmt_changed":"2026-08-20 19:47:08","alt":"A smiling woman standing in front of a wall. The wall has a unique pattern and wood frames.","file":{"fid":"265283","name":"Veronica-Rivera.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/20\/Veronica-Rivera.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/20\/Veronica-Rivera.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":781560,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/20\/Veronica-Rivera.jpg?itok=3OcFcxlq"}}},"media_ids":["680947"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"660406","name":"School of Cybersecurity \u0026 Privacy"},{"id":"660367","name":"School of Cybersecurity and Privacy"}],"categories":[{"id":"194606","name":"Artificial Intelligence"},{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193655","name":"Artificial Intelligence at Georgia Tech"},{"id":"145171","name":"Cybersecurity"},{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Popham\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECommunications Officer at the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jpopham3@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691834":{"#nid":"691834","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Students Claim Victory at DEF CON\u2019s Elite Hacking Competition","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EYear after year, some of the world\u2019s best hackers gather at DEF CON in Las Vegas to put their skills to the test. None is more prominent than the annual Capture the Flag (CTF) competition, where elite cybersecurity teams compete to find vulnerabilities, exploit systems, and defend their own infrastructure.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis year, Team Blue Water \u2013 which features nine Georgia Tech participants \u2013came out on top after three days of intense competition.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI\u0027ve competed in DEF CON CTFs for four years now,\u201d said Ph.D. student \u003Cstrong\u003EKevin Stevens\u003C\/strong\u003E. \u201cAfter winning second place three years in a row, it\u0027s so rewarding to finally achieve first place with such a great team.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBlue Water finished with 578,103 points, well ahead of second-place team 0x4b52, which scored 454,797 points. SuperDiceCodeLovers took third place with 425,686 points.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe results highlighted Georgia Tech\u2019s strength in the competition. The first-, second-, and third-place teams all included Georgia Tech students or alumni.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech participants on Blue Water included:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022e3ef6f543b2df3dd0c7a7b0dafec7fcde\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJalen Chuang\u003C\/strong\u003E, Ph.D. student\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022e1fcabc4eb13dc2c4cb2baddf9cf6b096\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJiho Kim\u003C\/strong\u003E, Ph.D. student\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022e7667fcbac959bcf377625349042de794\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAndrew Chin\u003C\/strong\u003E, Ph.D. student\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022ed8b06407a3d8f2e450314ce2f7310926\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EYoungjoon Kim\u003C\/strong\u003E, postdoctoral researcher\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022ec981f8ddb4a6646ecec69b29b0b6b05f\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EKevin Stevens\u003C\/strong\u003E, Ph.D. student\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022e044abb47507a980780f3b0f8c685d794\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EYong Hwi Jin\u003C\/strong\u003E, Ph.D. student\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022e29bbeb464e4c1ae2b2fcd755c17ed6ab\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESunghyeon Jo\u003C\/strong\u003E, Ph.D. student\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022e8bc335225b47fe322beabe2c022e7e50\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EYu-Fu Fu\u003C\/strong\u003E, Ph.D. student\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022e2c8ff612c34f25791fb36722de95e26c\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGye Jin Lee\u003C\/strong\u003E, Ph.D. student\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBlue Water consisted of members from Perfect Blue, Water Paddler, r00timentary, RedBud, BunkyoWesterns, and undef1ned. Combining multiple teams into a single roster is common at DEF CON CTF.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe competition unfolded over three days, with teams competing for about seven hours on each of the first two days and an additional two and a half hours on the final day. However, the work continued beyond the competition\u0027s official hours. The teams were allowed to continue working through the evenings and nights to find vulnerabilities, protect their systems, and gain points.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe challenges were designed by the Benevolent Bureau of Birds, the group that had won the competition for the past four years under the team name Maple Mallard Magistrates. The group is a collaboration between Plaid Parliament of Pwning from Carnegie Mellon University, The Duck from Theori Inc., and Maple Bacon from the University of British Columbia.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis year\u2019s bird-themed competition featured a wide range of technical challenges, including escaping game softlocks, programming in a custom bird emoji language, working with a custom computer architecture and using Game of Life patterns for data exfiltration. Other challenges included a bot battleground, protecting the 1994 Netscape Navigator browser, and exploring a reimagined version of the internet built around \u201cbird HTTP\u201d and \u201cbird CSS.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor Stevens, one of his contributions to the winning effort focused on a new competition mechanic introduced this year, the \u201crebate mechanic.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETeams could earn partial points back for flags stolen from them if they recovered those flags from recorded network traffic. Stevens created and maintained a service to manage the new mechanic, adding another layer of strategy to an already complex competition.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe victory adds another accomplishment to Georgia Tech\u2019s growing record in elite cybersecurity competitions, where students regularly apply classroom knowledge and research skills into practice against some of the strongest teams in the field.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cSCP students and their collaborators continue to excel, winning elite cybersecurity competitions, including this year\u2019s CTF at DEF CON,\u201d said \u003Cstrong\u003EMustaque Ahamad\u003C\/strong\u003E, interim chair of Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/scp.cc.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Cybersecurity and Privacy\u003C\/a\u003E (SCP).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis is because of the excellence of our students and the SCP research projects and courses that prepare them with the advanced knowledge and skills needed to discover and mitigate the most challenging security vulnerabilities in systems on which we all rely.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EYear after year, some of the world\u2019s best hackers gather at DEF CON in Las Vegas to put their skills to the test. None is more prominent than the annual Capture the Flag (CTF) competition, where elite cybersecurity teams compete to find vulnerabilities, exploit systems, and defend their own infrastructure.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis year, Team Blue Water \u2013 which features nine Georgia Tech participants \u2013came out on top after three days of intense competition.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Year after year, some of the world\u2019s best hackers gather at DEF CON in Las Vegas to put their skills to the test. None is more prominent than the annual Capture the Flag (CTF) competition, where elite cybersecurity teams compete to find vulnerabilities, e"}],"uid":"36253","created_gmt":"2026-08-19 18:55:49","changed_gmt":"2026-08-19 19:03:31","author":"John Popham","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-08-19T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-08-19T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680929":{"id":"680929","type":"image","title":"Blue-Water-Group-Shot.jpg","body":null,"created":"1787165758","gmt_created":"2026-08-19 18:55:58","changed":"1787165758","gmt_changed":"2026-08-19 18:55:58","alt":"A group of people standing outside holding a banner. 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","file":{"fid":"265263","name":"619.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/19\/619.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/19\/619.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":992380,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/19\/619.jpg?itok=PPnReTf-"}},"680931":{"id":"680931","type":"image","title":"Blue Water Team Photo at Def Con.jpg","body":null,"created":"1787166000","gmt_created":"2026-08-19 19:00:00","changed":"1787166000","gmt_changed":"2026-08-19 19:00:00","alt":"A group of people standing inside of a convention hall. Their banner has their team name, Blue Water","file":{"fid":"265264","name":"621.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/19\/621.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/19\/621.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1684270,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/19\/621.jpg?itok=p8bTvXtK"}},"680932":{"id":"680932","type":"image","title":"Georgia Tech Students at Def Con.jpg","body":null,"created":"1787166000","gmt_created":"2026-08-19 19:00:00","changed":"1787166000","gmt_changed":"2026-08-19 19:00:00","alt":"A group of four people stand outside holding up a banner. The banner has their team name, Blue Water","file":{"fid":"265265","name":"623.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/19\/623.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/19\/623.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1648037,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/19\/623.jpg?itok=PEOdyYG8"}}},"media_ids":["680929","680930","680931","680932"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"660406","name":"School of Cybersecurity \u0026 Privacy"},{"id":"660367","name":"School of Cybersecurity and Privacy"}],"categories":[{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"193158","name":"Student Competition Winners (academic, innovation, and research)"},{"id":"193157","name":"Student Honors and Achievements"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"145171","name":"Cybersecurity"},{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Popham\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECommunications Officer II at the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jpopham3@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691736":{"#nid":"691736","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Ramblin\u2019 Wreck Road Trip: New Faculty Drive Cross Country to Georgia Tech","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETwo of Georgia Tech\u2019s newest assistant professors spent most of the summer taking the scenic route to their new home in Atlanta. \u003Cstrong\u003EVeronica Rivera\u003C\/strong\u003E and \u003Cstrong\u003EAlex Ozdemir\u003C\/strong\u003E drove nearly 4,000 miles from California to Georgia for their new jobs at the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/scp.cc.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Cybersecurity and Privacy\u003C\/a\u003E (SCP) starting this fall.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERather than rushing the drive, the couple\u2019s cross-country road trip included several stops to visit family and friends, explore new parts of the country, experience changing landscapes, and enjoy the adventure of the open road.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe journey began in Claremont, California, where they met as students at Harvey Mudd College. After packing their belongings into Pods, they headed north to Sacramento to spend the Fourth of July with family. From there, they drove to Eugene, Oregon, to visit more family and friends.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThen they turned east and began the long drive to Georgia.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERivera and Ozdemir stayed two nights and a full day at nearly every stop. The plan was to have enough time to experience each place they visited while still making it to Atlanta in time to watch the World Cup Final at their new place.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe trip went well overall, but summer weather presented challenges along the way.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAt every stop, we experienced a different kind of heat,\u201d Ozdemir said. \u201cBoise\u2019s dry heat was the worst, and Nashville came in second for its humidity.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cBoise\u2019s heat made it feel like our skin was going to melt off our bones,\u201d Rivera said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBoth said the trip was unlike anything they had done before. They had traveled outside California, but neither had taken a road trip of this scale. The journey gave the couple a chance to see much more of the country.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor Rivera, one highlight was the ecological diversity.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOregon was lush in parts, and very dry and flat, like California,\u201d she said. \u201cWe just got back from Germany, and in Europe you have to travel between countries to see the diversity we saw in the U.S.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe drive took them through the Rockies, the Great Plains, and ultimately the lush mountains of Northwest Georgia.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI didn\u2019t want to fall asleep in the car because I didn\u2019t want to miss the scenery,\u201d Rivera said. \u201cI really liked the mountains in Oregon and western Colorado.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOzdemir also enjoyed the changing landscapes, but he said his favorite part of the trip was the people they met along the way. He enjoyed seeing family and friends they do not regularly get to visit.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe couple found different ways to pass the time in the car. As they drove through each state, Ozdemir would look up facts about it and read them aloud. They also filled the miles with music and audiobooks, listening to two books from Freida McFadden\u2019s The Housemaid series.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt kept us guessing until the end,\u201d Rivera said of the audiobooks.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe playlist ranged from Noah Kahan to the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Southern rock classics. When Rivera was driving, Taylor Swift was a regular in the mix.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe stop in Nashville added another memorable soundtrack to their road trip. They were struck by the abundance of live music throughout the city. From the farmers market to restaurants, \u201cit felt like everyone was trying to make it as a musician,\u201d Rivera said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo keep them company during their journey, Rivera and Ozdemir shared their road trip with an unexpected travel companion: Buzz the Bee.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen Ozdemir interviewed at Georgia Tech, he received the plushie as a gift. The plushie accompanied them on the cross-country trip, appearing in photographs at Utah\u2019s Arches National Park and beside several state welcome signs along their route.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter their weeks long long odyssey, they arrived in Atlanta in mid-July, just in time for the World Cup final. Or so they thought. Atlanta traffic and spotty internet nearly derailed their plans.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut after arriving at their Midtown apartment, the couple managed to stream about half the game over a mobile hotspot before their wireless provider limited their service.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe watched the second half of the game with varying levels of video quality,\u201d Ozdemir said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith the journey from where they met to their new home in Atlanta behind them, Rivera and Ozdemir are preparing for the new academic year. Ozdemir is a security researcher specializing in programmable cryptography, while Rivera focuses on human-centered security and privacy.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETwo of Georgia Tech\u2019s newest assistant professors spent most of the summer taking the scenic route to their new home in Atlanta. 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background.","file":{"fid":"265236","name":"Buzz-entering-Oregon-web-copy.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/18\/Buzz-entering-Oregon-web-copy.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/18\/Buzz-entering-Oregon-web-copy.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1160460,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/18\/Buzz-entering-Oregon-web-copy.jpg?itok=WGV2EdKF"}},"680904":{"id":"680904","type":"image","title":"Buzz-entering-Utah-web-copy.jpg","body":null,"created":"1787058556","gmt_created":"2026-08-18 13:09:16","changed":"1787058556","gmt_changed":"2026-08-18 13:09:16","alt":"A plush bee in a car window with a Welcome to Utah sign in the background.","file":{"fid":"265237","name":"Buzz-entering-Utah-web-copy.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/18\/Buzz-entering-Utah-web-copy.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/18\/Buzz-entering-Utah-web-copy.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1079470,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/18\/Buzz-entering-Utah-web-copy.jpg?itok=OhVCYXx-"}}},"media_ids":["680894","680897","680898","680899","680900","680901","680902","680903","680904"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"660406","name":"School of Cybersecurity \u0026 Privacy"},{"id":"660367","name":"School of Cybersecurity and Privacy"}],"categories":[{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"145171","name":"Cybersecurity"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Popham\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECommunications Officer II at the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jpopham3@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691830":{"#nid":"691830","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Silicon Meets Asphalt: Cybersecurity Project Uses AI to Protect Highways","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe highways Georgia citizens use each day are built on more than concrete, steel, and asphalt. Getting to and from school, work, or shopping now depends on networked systems using optical fiber, sensors, video cameras, and electronic devices known as programmable logic controllers (PLCs) that help process information.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EAs part of the existing Georgia Traffic Management Center (TMC), those systems notify drivers of changing highway conditions, operate traffic management devices, and help the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) identify and respond to traffic issues requiring immediate attention.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn December 2025, Georgia Tech cybersecurity researchers began working with GDOT to ensure the security of those networked systems and devices. As part of this advanced cybersecurity project, they are applying machine learning (ML), a type of artificial intelligence (AI), to safeguard existing systems and set the stage for future automation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/gtri.gatech.edu\/newsroom\/silicon-meets-asphalt-cybersecurity-project-uses-ai-protect-highways\u0022\u003ERead the full article\u003C\/a\u003E on the Georgia Tech Research Institute news page\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech cybersecurity researchers are working with the Georgia Department of Transportation to ensure the security of networked systems and devices essential to the state\u0027s transportation network. They are applying machine learning, a type of artificial intelligence, to safeguard existing systems and set the stage for future automation.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech cybersecurity researchers are working to ensure the security of networked highway systems."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2026-08-19 17:29:15","changed_gmt":"2026-08-19 17:40:38","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-08-19T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-08-19T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680928":{"id":"680928","type":"image","title":"A gate controls access to a reversible lane on an Interstate highway in Atlanta","body":"\u003Cp\u003EA gate controls access to a reversible lane that is part of an express lane on a Georgia interstate highway.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1787159934","gmt_created":"2026-08-19 17:18:54","changed":"1787160174","gmt_changed":"2026-08-19 17:22:54","alt":"Gate blocking reversible lane","file":{"fid":"265261","name":"closed-ramp-cropped.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/19\/closed-ramp-cropped.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/19\/closed-ramp-cropped.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1637198,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/19\/closed-ramp-cropped.jpg?itok=gCYGSmVu"}}},"media_ids":["680928"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"142","name":"City Planning, Transportation, and Urban Growth"}],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193653","name":"Georgia Tech Research Institute"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691791":{"#nid":"691791","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Researchers Discover New Mechanism Behind Soft-Material Adhesion","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAnyone who has peeled off a bandage knows that speed matters. Conventional wisdom, and decades of adhesion research, suggest that pulling faster makes adhesive forces stronger. But researchers at Georgia Tech have discovered that soft materials can behave in a far more surprising way.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInstead of becoming steadily stickier as they are pulled apart, soft hydrogels first become less adhesive and then more adhesive as the pulling speed increases, revealing a previously unknown \u0022sweet spot\u0022 where detachment is easier. The discovery challenges a long-held assumption in adhesion mechanics and reveals a new physical mechanism that governs how soft materials attach and detach.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We expected the adhesion to increase continuously with pulling speed, as predicted by classical theories,\u0022 said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/me.gatech.edu\/faculty\/hu-2\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EYuhang Hu\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, associate professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/me.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorge W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E and the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.chbe.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESchool of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E. \u0022Instead, we found the exact opposite over a broad range of speeds. That told us there had to be a completely different physical process at work.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/news\/georgia-tech-researchers-discover-new-mechanism-behind-soft-material-adhesion?utm_source=newsletter\u0026amp;utm_medium=email\u0026amp;utm_content=Discovering%20a%20New%20Mechanism%20Behind%20Soft-Material%20Adhesion\u0026amp;utm_campaign=Daily%20Digest%20-%20Aug.%2019%2C%202026\u0022\u003ERead the full story.\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAnyone who has peeled off a bandage knows that speed matters. Conventional wisdom, and decades of adhesion research, suggest that pulling faster makes adhesive forces stronger. But researchers at Georgia Tech have discovered that soft materials can behave in a far more surprising way.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The discovery challenges a long-held assumption in adhesion mechanics and reveals a new physical mechanism that governs how soft materials attach and detach."}],"uid":"36479","created_gmt":"2026-08-19 14:08:10","changed_gmt":"2026-08-19 14:12:35","author":"abowman41","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-08-19T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-08-19T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680912":{"id":"680912","type":"image","title":"_0000_YuhangLabforweb.jpg","body":null,"created":"1787148495","gmt_created":"2026-08-19 14:08:15","changed":"1787148495","gmt_changed":"2026-08-19 14:08:15","alt":"Associate Professor Yuhang Hu and three male students from her lab gather around and look at a soft adhesive hydrogel they are studying.","file":{"fid":"265245","name":"_0000_YuhangLabforweb.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/19\/_0000_YuhangLabforweb.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/19\/_0000_YuhangLabforweb.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":125818,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/19\/_0000_YuhangLabforweb.jpg?itok=iOuqfOd0"}}},"media_ids":["680912"],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"194685","name":"Manufacturing"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"188776","name":"go-research"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"193652","name":"Matter and Systems"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETracie Troha | Communications Officer\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorge W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691762":{"#nid":"691762","#data":{"type":"news","title":"EPIcenter Summer Research Program Helps Doctoral Students Advance Energy Research ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFour Georgia Tech doctoral students spent the summer working on their dissertation research through the Energy Policy and Innovation Center\u0027s (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/epicenter.energy.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EEPIcenter\u003C\/a\u003E) Summer Research Program. The competitive program provides a full summer-semester stipend, along with mentorship and professional development opportunities, to support emerging energy scholars.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022One of the goals of the program is to give students the time and support needed to make meaningful progress on their dissertation research while helping them understand the broader policy, economic, and societal implications of their work,\u0022 said\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/energy.gatech.edu\/people\/laura-taylor\u0022\u003ELaura Taylor\u003C\/a\u003E, director of EPIcenter.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe stipends enable participants to focus exclusively on clearly defined research goals. The program also supports peer discussions, communication training, and interdisciplinary learning opportunities designed to strengthen both their research and professional development.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis year\u0027s cohort explored topics ranging from electricity markets and air pollution to critical mineral supply chains and grid modernization, highlighting the breadth of energy-related research taking place across Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EExploring Complex Energy Challenges\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/anamazmishvili\/\u0022\u003EAna Mazmishvili\u003C\/a\u003E, who studies environmental and energy economics, used the summer to examine how climate policies affect communities across state lines.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022My research measures who is actually exposed to pollution from power plants when some states adopt climate regulations to cut emissions while neighboring regions do not,\u0022 Mazmishvili said. \u0022Because air doesn\u0027t stop at state borders, the key question is what happens once the pollution is emitted, and who ends up breathing it.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHer work focuses on the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a cap-and-trade program in the Northeast, and investigates whether the benefits and burdens of emissions reductions are distributed equitably between regulated and neighboring states.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMazmishvili said the program provided valuable time to focus on her job-market paper, a central component of her dissertation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The regular meetings with the program director and other fellows create useful accountability checkpoints and let me hear perspectives from people in very different fields,\u0022 she said. \u0022We\u0027re also learning how to make academic research understandable to a general audience, a skill I expect to use well past this summer.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIndustrial and systems engineering doctoral student\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/faezeh-fahimy-8ba9a81b9\/\u0022\u003EFaeze Fahimi Aghda\u003C\/a\u003E spent the summer developing an optimization model for the U.S. gallium supply chain, a critical component of many advanced technologies.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHer research uses mathematical modeling to examine where and when domestic gallium processing facilities should be established under the threat of supply disruptions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Working on my research through EPIcenter has taught me to look at my problem from a policy point of view rather than focusing only on the math,\u0022 Fahimi Aghda said. \u0022The feedback within the meetings helped me improve my model.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/ryan-anthony-17239b13b\/\u0022\u003ERyan Anthony\u003C\/a\u003E, in the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School of Public Policy, explored how one of the largest oil shocks in U.S. history affected electricity customers and whether utility ownership influenced the impact on consumers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022So far, my research suggests that it mattered a lot,\u201d Anthony said. \u201cMunicipal utilities held rates down and absorbed many of the costs, while private, investor-owned utilities passed more costs through to their customers.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnthony said the program provided critical support for the archival research required for the project.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022My project depends on data that only exists in old government reports, and that kind of archival work is difficult to fund,\u0022 he said. \u0022EPIcenter gave me the time and space to do it properly.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EConnecting Research to Real-World Impact\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor Samin Alipour, the summer provided an opportunity to explore how electric grids can adapt to growing numbers of distributed energy resources.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Most electric distribution systems were built like one-way roads, carrying power from a substation to homes and businesses,\u0022 Alipour said. \u0022Rooftop solar, batteries, and electric vehicles are turning those roads into two-way systems.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHer research examines how these emerging technologies can be coordinated to increase grid flexibility and clean energy adoption while maintaining safety and reliability and ensuring that costs and benefits are distributed fairly.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith support from EPIcenter, Alipour focused on the economic and policy dimensions of those challenges. \u0022I did not want my research to remain only a technical model,\u0022 she said. \u0022The program has helped me connect the technical results of my dissertation to economic value, reliability, equity and compensation policy.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne study developed during the summer was accepted for presentation at a specialized power systems conference, an achievement Alipour credits in part to the opportunity to focus on the broader implications of her work.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBuilding the Next Generation of Energy Scholars\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBeyond advancing individual research projects, the Summer Research Program encourages students to engage with colleagues from different disciplines and develop skills for communicating complex ideas to broader audiences.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThrough regular cohort meetings, participants build a community of accountability, discuss research challenges, explore interdisciplinary energy topics, and develop communication skills,\u201d said\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/energy.gatech.edu\/people\/gilbert-x-gonzalez\u0022\u003EGil Gonzalez\u003C\/a\u003E, program support coordinator for EPIcenter. \u201cStudents also write a research-focused blog post for EPIcenter and present their work at the program\u0027s fall workshop, which allows them to share their research with the broader Georgia Tech energy community.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs EPIcenter continues to support interdisciplinary energy scholarship at Georgia Tech, the Summer Research Program equips future leaders with the tools to address complex energy challenges through technological innovation, informed policy, and economic analysis.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFour Georgia Tech doctoral students spent the summer working on their dissertation research through the Energy Policy and Innovation Center\u0027s (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/epicenter.energy.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EEPIcenter\u003C\/a\u003E) Summer Research Program. The competitive program provides a full summer-semester stipend, along with mentorship and professional development opportunities, to support emerging energy scholars.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022One of the goals of the program is to give students the time and support needed to make meaningful progress on their dissertation research while helping them understand the broader policy, economic, and societal implications of their work,\u0022 said\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/energy.gatech.edu\/people\/laura-taylor\u0022\u003ELaura Taylor\u003C\/a\u003E, director of EPIcenter.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe stipends enable participants to focus exclusively on clearly defined research goals. The program also supports peer discussions, communication training, and interdisciplinary learning opportunities designed to strengthen both their research and professional development.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis year\u0027s cohort explored topics ranging from electricity markets and air pollution to critical mineral supply chains and grid modernization, highlighting the breadth of energy-related research taking place across Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Four Georgia Tech doctoral students spent the summer working on their dissertation research through the Energy Policy and Innovation Center\u0027s (EPIcenter) Summer Research Program. "}],"uid":"36413","created_gmt":"2026-08-18 17:15:39","changed_gmt":"2026-08-18 17:21:43","author":"pdevarajan3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-08-18T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-08-18T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680906":{"id":"680906","type":"image","title":"Students-PhotoCollage.png","body":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EFrom Top Left (Clockwise): \u003C\/em\u003EAna Mazmishvili, Ryan Anthony, Samin Alipour, Faeze Fahimi Aghda\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1787073357","gmt_created":"2026-08-18 17:15:57","changed":"1787073357","gmt_changed":"2026-08-18 17:15:57","alt":"From Top Left (clockwise): Ana Mazmishvili, Ryan Anthony, Samin Alipour, Faeze Fahimi Aghda","file":{"fid":"265239","name":"Students-PhotoCollage.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/18\/Students-PhotoCollage.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/18\/Students-PhotoCollage.png","mime":"image\/png","size":1664395,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/18\/Students-PhotoCollage.png?itok=F9-gHuBL"}}},"media_ids":["680906"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"367481","name":"SEI Energy"},{"id":"1280","name":"Strategic Energy Institute"}],"categories":[{"id":"131","name":"Economic Development and Policy"},{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"},{"id":"194612","name":"Workforce Development"}],"keywords":[{"id":"186858","name":"go-sei"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"188776","name":"go-research"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"},{"id":"39511","name":"Public Service, Leadership, and Policy"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:priya.devarajan@research.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EPriya Devarajan\u003C\/a\u003E | SEI Communications Manager\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["priya.devarajan@research.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691740":{"#nid":"691740","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Melkote Named Interim Associate Vice President of Corporate Engagement at Georgia Tech ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShreyes N. Melkote, Morris M. Bryan Jr. Professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and executive director of the Novelis Innovation Hub at Georgia Tech, has been named interim associate vice president of Corporate Engagement, effective Sept. 1. He will report to Executive Vice President for Research Tim Lieuwen and will lead the Office of Corporate Engagement (OCE) during a national search for the position\u2019s permanent successor.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMelkote succeeds J. Mark Nolan, who announced he will step down from the role effective Aug. 31 after helping establish and grow Georgia Tech\u2019s integrated approach to corporate engagement and industry partnerships.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI am grateful to Shreyes for stepping into this important leadership role during this transition,\u201d said Lieuwen. \u201cThroughout his career, he has demonstrated an exceptional ability to build meaningful partnerships between academia and industry. His deep understanding of research, innovation, and corporate collaboration makes him uniquely qualified to lead our corporate engagement efforts as we continue advancing Georgia Tech\u2019s mission and strengthening relationships with industry partners around the world.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMelkote brings extensive experience building industry partnerships and collaborative research programs. He serves as executive director of the Novelis Innovation Hub at Georgia Tech and has led the Institute\u2019s strategic engagement with The Boeing Company since 2012 through its University Innovation Program. An internationally recognized manufacturing researcher, Melkote has authored more than 300 publications and is a fellow of ASME, SME, and CIRP.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI am honored to serve in this role and build upon the strong foundation established by Mark Nolan and the Office of Corporate Engagement team,\u201d said Melkote.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA national search is underway for the permanent associate vice president of Corporate Engagement. The search is being led by Chris Jones, John F. Brock III School Chair and Professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, with support from executive search firm WittKieffer. \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/wittkieffer.com\/positions\/a1wun000001z05lmaa\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ELearn more about the position and search process.\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Shreyes Melkote will begin his new interim role on Sept. 1. "}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMelkote Named Interim Associate Vice President of Corporate Engagement at Georgia Tech\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Melkote Named Interim Associate Vice President of Corporate Engagement at Georgia Tech "}],"uid":"27561","created_gmt":"2026-08-18 11:41:29","changed_gmt":"2026-08-18 11:46:04","author":"Angela Ayers","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-08-18T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-08-18T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680896":{"id":"680896","type":"image","title":"ShreyesMelkote.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EShreyes N. Melkote\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1787053314","gmt_created":"2026-08-18 11:41:54","changed":"1787053314","gmt_changed":"2026-08-18 11:41:54","alt":"Headshot of Shreyes Melkote","file":{"fid":"265229","name":"ShreyesMelkote.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/18\/ShreyesMelkote.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/18\/ShreyesMelkote.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":47554,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/18\/ShreyesMelkote.jpg?itok=kEtgptKV"}}},"media_ids":["680896"],"groups":[{"id":"658116","name":"Corporate Engagement"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691668":{"#nid":"691668","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Engineered at Tech: Pinpointing River Pollution","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EKatherine Graham is 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. Her research focuses on what happens when pathogens get into water, where they go, and how it affects public policy decisions related to health. This includes looking at bacteria and conditions in Atlanta\u2019s Chattahoochee River.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJoin Georgia Tech undergraduate Harrison Burnside on this latest episode of Engineered at Tech as he tours Katherine Graham\u0027s lab and discovers how to track pathogens in the Chattahoochee River. The goal is to help local agencies pinpoint sources of pollution in rivers and reservoirs to protect public health.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/coe.gatech.edu\/news\/2026\/07\/engineered-tech-pinpointing-river-pollution\u0022\u003EWatch the video on the COE News page\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EKatherine Graham is 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. Her research focuses on what happens when pathogens get into water, where they go, and how it affects public policy decisions related to health. This includes looking at bacteria and conditions in Atlanta\u2019s Chattahoochee River.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJoin Georgia Tech undergraduate Harrison Burnside on this latest episode of Engineered at Tech as he tours Katherine Graham\u0027s lab and discovers how to track pathogens in the Chattahoochee River. The goal is to help local agencies pinpoint sources of pollution in rivers and reservoirs to protect public health.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Environmental engineer Katherine Graham is developing new methods to pinpoint pathogens in water to help local agencies make rivers and reservoirs cleaner. "}],"uid":"36413","created_gmt":"2026-08-13 20:32:24","changed_gmt":"2026-08-17 15:51:03","author":"pdevarajan3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-07-15T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-07-15T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680868":{"id":"680868","type":"image","title":"Engineered-at-Tech-Pinpointing-River-Pollution.jpg","body":null,"created":"1786653263","gmt_created":"2026-08-13 20:34:23","changed":"1786653263","gmt_changed":"2026-08-13 20:34:23","alt":"YouTube Thumbnail of Engineered at Tech Episode with GT Researcher Katerine Graham and Undergrad student Harrison Burnside","file":{"fid":"265197","name":"Engineered-at-Tech-Pinpointing-River-Pollution.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/13\/Engineered-at-Tech-Pinpointing-River-Pollution.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/13\/Engineered-at-Tech-Pinpointing-River-Pollution.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":190657,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/13\/Engineered-at-Tech-Pinpointing-River-Pollution.jpg?itok=yUH1CNRW"}}},"media_ids":["680868"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/coe.gatech.edu\/news\/2026\/07\/engineered-tech-pinpointing-river-pollution","title":"Full Story on the COE News Page"}],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"367481","name":"SEI Energy"},{"id":"1280","name":"Strategic Energy Institute"}],"categories":[{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"194611","name":"State Impact"}],"keywords":[{"id":"186858","name":"go-sei"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ECandler Hobbs, College of Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691698":{"#nid":"691698","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Institute for Neuroscience, Neurotechnology, and Society Names Simon Sponberg Associate Director for Interdisciplinary Research","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Georgia Institute of Technology\u0027s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/neuro.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EInstitute for Neuroscience, Neurotechnology, and Society\u003C\/a\u003E (INNS) has appointed \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/physics.gatech.edu\/user\/simon-sponberg\u0022\u003ESimon Sponberg\u003C\/a\u003E as associate director for Interdisciplinary Research, where he will help foster collaborations, support emerging research initiatives, and advance interdisciplinary neuroscience research across campus.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELaunched in 2025, INNS serves as a hub for neuroscience and neurotechnology research, connecting researchers across disciplines to advance discovery, innovation, and societal impact.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cA core part of INNS\u0027s mission is helping people find one another, connect around shared interests, and build something bigger than they could accomplish alone,\u201d says Executive Director \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/people.research.gatech.edu\/christopher-rozell\u0022\u003EChristopher Rozell\u003C\/a\u003E. \u201cSimon has spent his career bringing together people, perspectives, and disciplines to tackle complex challenges. I can\u0027t think of a better person to help lead our interdisciplinary research efforts and support the next generation of collaborative neuroscience research.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA longtime leader in Georgia Tech\u0027s neuroscience community, Sponberg helped shape the institute\u0027s early foundations through the Neuro Next Initiative, which evolved into INNS. As associate director, he will help guide research strategy, foster new collaborations, and support interdisciplinary work across the neuroscience ecosystem.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cNeuro-related research touches so many fields that we inevitably have a problem of finding all the potential right people and opportunities to tap into,\u201d he said. \u201cA core responsibility of this role is helping catalyze the ideas of new teams of talented researchers, educators, and trainees from inception to realization.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESponberg is the Glen Robinson Professor in Complex Systems with appointments in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/physics.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Physics\u003C\/a\u003E and the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E, where he directs the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sponberg.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EAgile Systems Lab\u003C\/a\u003E. His work also connects him to the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/bioresearch.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EInstitute for Bioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/a\u003E (IBB) and the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/robotics.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EInstitute for Robotics and Intelligent Machines\u003C\/a\u003E (IRIM), underscoring the cross-disciplinary approach that defines both his research and leadership.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESince joining Georgia Tech in 2014, he has built a highly collaborative research program spanning neuroscience, biology, physics, engineering, and robotics while helping foster interdisciplinary connections across campus. He currently leads a \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/news.gatech.edu\/news\/2022\/04\/18\/mathematics-physics-use-moths-and-origami-structures-innovative-defense-research\u0022\u003EMultidisciplinary University Research Initiative\u003C\/a\u003E (MURI) that brings together neuroscientists and engineers from five universities to understand how brains achieve fast, flexible perception and decision-making in complex sensory environments. He also co-leads the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/neuro.gatech.edu\/georgia-tech-partners-15m-nsf-grant-explore-muscle-dynamics\u0022\u003EIntegrative Movement Sciences Institute\u003C\/a\u003E, an NSF Biological Integration Institute focused on understanding movement and muscle function across scales.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHis contributions have been recognized through numerous honors, including a Young Investigator Award from the International Society for Neuroethology, a Klingenstein-Simons Fellowship in the Neurosciences, and the Leddy Family Dean\u2019s Faculty Excellence Award.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs associate director, Sponberg will focus on helping researchers identify new opportunities for connection and collaboration. In addition to overseeing seed funding programs, he hopes to create pathways for researchers to build teams, access support resources, pursue ambitious interdisciplinary research ideas, and team with Georgia Tech\u2019s undergraduate and graduate neuroscience degree programs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI look forward to being a resource for our community when people are looking for help in building teams or finding opportunities to support their ideas,\u201d he said. \u201cBring your best ideas and please reach out if you want to talk about ideas in the interdisciplinary neuro space that you want to see realized.\u201d\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Georgia Tech researcher and longtime neuroscience community leader will help catalyze new collaborations and research opportunities across the Institute for Neuroscience, Neurotechnology, and Society (INNS).\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The Georgia Tech researcher and longtime neuroscience community leader will help catalyze new collaborations and research opportunities across the Institute for Neuroscience, Neurotechnology, and Society (INNS)."}],"uid":"35575","created_gmt":"2026-08-14 20:32:01","changed_gmt":"2026-08-14 20:50:42","author":"adavidson38","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-08-14T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-08-14T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680883":{"id":"680883","type":"image","title":"Simon-Headshot.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to his new leadership role at INNS, Simon Sponberg leads a multidisciplinary research program spanning neuroscience, biology, physics, engineering, and robotics.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1786739533","gmt_created":"2026-08-14 20:32:13","changed":"1786739533","gmt_changed":"2026-08-14 20:32:13","alt":"Simon Sponberg smiling in front of a whiteboard.","file":{"fid":"265215","name":"Simon-Headshot.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/14\/Simon-Headshot.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/14\/Simon-Headshot.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2798844,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/14\/Simon-Headshot.jpg?itok=7P3QbQBX"}}},"media_ids":["680883"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/neuro.gatech.edu\/lab-life-inside-institute-neuroscience-neurotechnology-and-society","title":"From Lab to Life: Inside the Institute for Neuroscience, Neurotechnology, and Society"},{"url":"https:\/\/news.gatech.edu\/news\/2022\/04\/18\/mathematics-physics-use-moths-and-origami-structures-innovative-defense-research","title":"Mathematics, Physics Use Moths and Origami Structures for Innovative Defense Research"},{"url":"https:\/\/neuro.gatech.edu\/georgia-tech-partners-15m-nsf-grant-explore-muscle-dynamics","title":"Georgia Tech Partners on $15M NSF Grant to Explore Muscle Dynamics"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"66220","name":"Neuro"},{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"},{"id":"126011","name":"School of Physics"}],"categories":[{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"150","name":"Physics and Physical Sciences"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"172970","name":"go-neuro"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"193656","name":"Neuro Next Initiative"},{"id":"39521","name":"Robotics"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:audra.davidson@research.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAudra Davidson\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003ECommunications Manager\u003Cbr\u003EInstitute for Neuroscience, Neurotechnology, and Society\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["audra.davidson@research.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691631":{"#nid":"691631","#data":{"type":"news","title":"How Does Wildfire Smoke Affect the Economy?","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWildfires in the United States are getting bigger and the season is getting longer, fueled by hotter and drier weather from climate change. Even when fires are hundreds of miles away, the wildfire smoke can still harm people\u0027s health and create economic costs through air pollution, said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.caseyjwichman.com\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022(opens in a new window)\u0022\u003ECasey Wichman,\u003C\/a\u003E an associate professor in Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Economics.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Air Quality Index (AQI) measures how clean or polluted the air is. A healthy AQI is between zero and 50, but when wildfire smoke blows in and settles over cities, the AQI can reach levels of 500 or more. Poor air quality changes where and how people spend their time and money, reduces productivity (even for those working indoors), and increases healthcare costs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cEnvironmental regulations like the Clean Air Act dramatically improved our air quality over the past 40 years, but as wildfire season becomes the new normal, wildfire smoke is eroding those gains,\u201d Wichman said. According to \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41586-023-06522-6\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022(opens in a new window)\u0022\u003Erecent research,\u003C\/a\u003E wildfire smoke has erased about a quarter of the progress made over previous decades, and more than half in many western states.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/iac.gatech.edu\/featured-news\/2026\/08\/wildfire-smoke-affect-economy\u0022\u003ERead Full Story on the IAC News Page\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWildfires in the United States are getting bigger and the season is getting longer, fueled by hotter and drier weather from climate change. Even when fires are hundreds of miles away, the wildfire smoke can still harm people\u0027s health and create economic costs through air pollution, said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.caseyjwichman.com\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022(opens in a new window)\u0022\u003ECasey Wichman,\u003C\/a\u003E an associate professor in Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Economics.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Air Quality Index (AQI) measures how clean or polluted the air is. A healthy AQI is between zero and 50, but when wildfire smoke blows in and settles over cities, the AQI can reach levels of 500 or more. Poor air quality changes where and how people spend their time and money, reduces productivity (even for those working indoors), and increases healthcare costs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cEnvironmental regulations like the Clean Air Act dramatically improved our air quality over the past 40 years, but as wildfire season becomes the new normal, wildfire smoke is eroding those gains,\u201d Wichman said. According to \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41586-023-06522-6\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022(opens in a new window)\u0022\u003Erecent research,\u003C\/a\u003E wildfire smoke has erased about a quarter of the progress made over previous decades, and more than half in many western states.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech economist Casey Wichman explains how increased wildfire smoke from climate change affects spending, productivity, and healthcare costs."}],"uid":"36413","created_gmt":"2026-08-12 19:02:31","changed_gmt":"2026-08-12 19:06:07","author":"pdevarajan3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-08-12T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-08-12T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680847":{"id":"680847","type":"image","title":"CaseyWichmanSQUARE--40-.png","body":"\u003Cp\u003ECasey Wichman, Associate Professor, Georgia Tech School of Economics.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1786561359","gmt_created":"2026-08-12 19:02:39","changed":"1786561359","gmt_changed":"2026-08-12 19:02:39","alt":"Casey Wichman, Associate Professor in Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Economics.","file":{"fid":"265174","name":"CaseyWichmanSQUARE--40-.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/12\/CaseyWichmanSQUARE--40-.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/12\/CaseyWichmanSQUARE--40-.png","mime":"image\/png","size":448644,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/12\/CaseyWichmanSQUARE--40-.png?itok=GxjiNJf0"}}},"media_ids":["680847"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/iac.gatech.edu\/featured-news\/2026\/08\/wildfire-smoke-affect-economy","title":"Read Full Story on IAC News Page"}],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"367481","name":"SEI Energy"},{"id":"1280","name":"Strategic Energy Institute"}],"categories":[{"id":"42901","name":"Community"},{"id":"131","name":"Economic Development and Policy"},{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"151","name":"Policy, Social Sciences, and Liberal Arts"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"186858","name":"go-sei"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691627":{"#nid":"691627","#data":{"type":"news","title":"New Model Teaches Workplace AI to Read More Like Humans","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EModern artificial intelligence (AI) platforms can summarize reports, analyze documents, and answer questions in seconds. But when information is spread across dozens of slides, charts, and tables, even advanced models can miss important details.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs many organizations and businesses are turning to AI to improve workplace efficiency, risk remains high. Between overlooked footnotes and misread graphics, small mistakes can have expensive consequences.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo address this challenge, researchers from Georgia Tech and J.P. Morgan developed SlideAgent. The new framework helps large language models (LLMs) better understand complex visual documents like presentation slide decks, brochures, and reports.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/arxiv.org\/abs\/2510.26615\u0022\u003ESlideAgent\u003C\/a\u003E works by breaking documents into multiple levels, allowing the model to analyze both the big picture and the fine details. This human-inspired approach leads to more accurate and reliable interpretation than existing systems.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBeyond improving workplace tools, SlideAgent also points to a broader shift in AI. Instead of building only larger and more powerful models, the work shows how smarter design and more efficient reasoning can improve performance.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMultimodal LLMs such as GPT, Gemini, and Claude, can save people time and reduce the mental effort required to understand these documents, but they remain imperfect,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ahren09.github.io\/\u0022\u003EYiqiao (Ahren) Jin\u003C\/a\u003E, a Ph.D. candidate in Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cse.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Computational Science and Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E (CSE).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIn high-stakes fields such as finance, for example, misreading a number, overlooking a footnote, or making an incorrect comparison across pages could affect reporting, risk assessment, or strategic decisions.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers tested SlideAgent on a wide range of real-world documents, including financial presentations, technical slides, and visual question-answering datasets.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe system consistently outperformed leading commercial models and open-source tools throughout the evaluation. In some cases, it improved accuracy by up to 10%. The gains were especially strong on more complex tasks, such as comparing information across slides or understanding how visuals relate to each other on a page.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe found the results very encouraging. SlideAgent reaches an improvement of 7.9% over its proprietary base model and 9.8% over the evaluated open-source base models,\u201d said Jin, the project\u2019s lead researcher.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThese are meaningful gains given the strength of the underlying multimodal models and the difficulty of the tasks.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECurrent multimodal AI systems often process entire pages at once. This approach can lead to mistakes, such as miscounting items in a chart or overlooking important details in dense visuals.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESlideAgent addresses this by mimicking how people read documents. Instead of treating each page as a single unit, the system looks at information at three levels: the full document, individual pages, and specific elements like charts, tables, and text blocks.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA network of agents, each specialized for a specific level, divides and coordinates analysis. Then, SlideAgent combines outputs to build a structured understanding of the overall document. This allows it to answer questions more accurately and reason across multiple pages.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe central inspiration was how people naturally read a long presentation,\u201d Jin said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe first develop an understanding of the overall narrative, then identify the relevant pages or sections, and finally zoom in on individual charts, tables, or text blocks when precise evidence is needed.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe work highlights a growing challenge with AI. As systems become more popular and more powerful, users increasingly discover the technology\u2019s limitations. This is especially true for real-world tasks that require structured reasoning and contextual understanding.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESlideAgent shows that better performance does not always come from building bigger models. Instead, it points to smarter ways of organizing how AI processes information that can lead to improvement.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Association for Computational Linguistics (ACL) accepted SlideAgent for presentation at its annual meeting. The 64th \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/2026.aclweb.org\/\u0022\u003EACL 2026 meeting\u003C\/a\u003E took place July 2-7 in San Diego.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EACL is a scientific and professional organization for researchers in natural language processing (NLP). Its namesake conference is one of the world\u2019s leading venues for presenting NLP research.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EACL 2026 followed a year after Jin completed an internship at J.P. Morgan AI Research, where he worked on SlideAgent. He interned under \u003Cstrong\u003ERachneet Kaur\u003C\/strong\u003E, \u003Cstrong\u003EZhen Zeng\u003C\/strong\u003E, and \u003Cstrong\u003ESumitra Ganesh\u003C\/strong\u003E, all co-authors of the paper. School of CSE Associate Professor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/faculty.cc.gatech.edu\/~srijan\/\u0022\u003ESrijan Kumar\u003C\/a\u003E advises Jin at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlong with SlideAgent, Jin authored two other papers accepted at ACL 2026.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cConferences such as ACL are valuable not only for sharing results, but also for refining future project ideas with the broader community. Discussions across institutions and research areas can reveal limitations, suggest new evaluations, and spark collaborations that are difficult to develop in isolation,\u201d Jin said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cFor SlideAgent, I was particularly interested in feedback on how we can make the framework more computationally efficient without sacrificing accuracy or interpretability.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EModern artificial intelligence (AI) platforms can summarize reports, analyze documents, and answer questions in seconds. But when information is spread across dozens of slides, charts, and tables, even advanced models can miss important details.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs many organizations and businesses are turning to AI to improve workplace efficiency, risk remains high. Between overlooked footnotes and misread graphics, small mistakes can have expensive consequences.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo address this challenge, researchers from Georgia Tech and J.P. Morgan developed SlideAgent. The new framework helps large language models (LLMs) better understand complex visual documents like presentation slide decks, brochures, and reports.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESlideAgent works by breaking documents into multiple levels, allowing the model to analyze both the big picture and the fine details. This human-inspired approach leads to more accurate and reliable interpretation than existing systems.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBeyond improving workplace tools, SlideAgent also points to a broader shift in AI. Instead of building only larger and more powerful models, the work shows how smarter design and more efficient reasoning can improve performance.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The new AI framework called SlideAgent helps large language models (LLMs) better understand complex visual documents used in the workplace like presentation slide decks, brochures, and reports. "}],"uid":"36319","created_gmt":"2026-08-12 12:01:25","changed_gmt":"2026-08-12 12:09:10","author":"Bryant Wine","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-08-12T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-08-12T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680843":{"id":"680843","type":"image","title":"SlideAgent-Head-Image.jpg","body":null,"created":"1786536102","gmt_created":"2026-08-12 12:01:42","changed":"1786536102","gmt_changed":"2026-08-12 12:01:42","alt":"Yiqiao (Ahren) Jin ACL 2026","file":{"fid":"265169","name":"SlideAgent-Head-Image.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/12\/SlideAgent-Head-Image.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/12\/SlideAgent-Head-Image.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":96345,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/12\/SlideAgent-Head-Image.jpg?itok=MXXpRJcQ"}},"680844":{"id":"680844","type":"image","title":"YJ_ACL2026.jpg","body":null,"created":"1786536492","gmt_created":"2026-08-12 12:08:12","changed":"1786536492","gmt_changed":"2026-08-12 12:08:12","alt":"Yiqiao (Ahren) Jin ACL 2026","file":{"fid":"265170","name":"YJ_ACL2026.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/12\/YJ_ACL2026.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/12\/YJ_ACL2026.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":48282,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/12\/YJ_ACL2026.jpg?itok=Vns4uEGI"}},"680845":{"id":"680845","type":"image","title":"YJ_ACL2026.jpeg","body":null,"created":"1786536520","gmt_created":"2026-08-12 12:08:40","changed":"1786536520","gmt_changed":"2026-08-12 12:08:40","alt":"Yiqiao (Ahren) Jin ACL 2026","file":{"fid":"265171","name":"YJ_ACL2026.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/12\/YJ_ACL2026.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/12\/YJ_ACL2026.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":219002,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/12\/YJ_ACL2026.jpeg?itok=inGoNwsP"}}},"media_ids":["680843","680844","680845"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"50877","name":"School of Computational Science and Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"194606","name":"Artificial Intelligence"},{"id":"139","name":"Business"},{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"194609","name":"Industry"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"654","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"166983","name":"School of Computational Science and Engineering"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"9153","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"10199","name":"Daily Digest"},{"id":"181991","name":"Georgia Tech News Center"},{"id":"170447","name":"Institute for Data Engineering and Science"},{"id":"176858","name":"machine learning center"},{"id":"9167","name":"machine learning"},{"id":"187812","name":"artificial intelligence (AI)"},{"id":"14646","name":"human-computer interaction"},{"id":"192863","name":"go-ai"},{"id":"194384","name":"Tech AI"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193655","name":"Artificial Intelligence at Georgia Tech"},{"id":"39431","name":"Data Engineering and Science"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBryant Wine, Communications Officer\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:bryant.wine@cc.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebryant.wine@cc.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691623":{"#nid":"691623","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Researchers Discover New Mechanism Behind Soft-Material Adhesion","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EAnyone who has peeled off a bandage knows that speed matters. Conventional wisdom, and decades of adhesion research, suggest that pulling faster makes adhesive forces stronger. But researchers at Georgia Tech have discovered that soft materials can behave in a far more surprising way.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInstead of becoming steadily stickier as they are pulled apart, soft hydrogels first become less adhesive and then more adhesive as the pulling speed increases, revealing a previously unknown \u0022sweet spot\u0022 where detachment is easier. The discovery challenges a long-held assumption in adhesion mechanics and reveals a new physical mechanism that governs how soft materials attach and detach.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We expected the adhesion to increase continuously with pulling speed, as predicted by classical theories,\u0022 said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/me.gatech.edu\/faculty\/hu-2\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EYuhang Hu\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, associate professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/me.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorge W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E and the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.chbe.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESchool of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E. \u0022Instead, we found the exact opposite over a broad range of speeds. That told us there had to be a completely different physical process at work.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/news\/georgia-tech-researchers-discover-new-mechanism-behind-soft-material-adhesion\u0022\u003ERead the full story on the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering website.\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAnyone who has peeled off a bandage knows that speed matters. Conventional wisdom, and decades of adhesion research, suggest that pulling faster makes adhesive forces stronger. But researchers at Georgia Tech have discovered that soft materials can behave in a far more surprising way.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInstead of becoming steadily stickier as they are pulled apart, soft hydrogels first become less adhesive and then more adhesive as the pulling speed increases, revealing a previously unknown \u0022sweet spot\u0022 where detachment is easier. The discovery challenges a long-held assumption in adhesion mechanics and reveals a new physical mechanism that governs how soft materials attach and detach.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We expected the adhesion to increase continuously with pulling speed, as predicted by classical theories,\u0022 said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/me.gatech.edu\/faculty\/hu-2\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EYuhang Hu\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, associate professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/me.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorge W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E and the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.chbe.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESchool of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E. \u0022Instead, we found the exact opposite over a broad range of speeds. That told us there had to be a completely different physical process at work.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech researchers have uncovered a new mechanism governing how soft materials adhere, revealing that adhesion can weaken and then strengthen as pulling speed increases \u2014 a finding that could enable new approaches to biomedical devices, soft robotic"}],"uid":"36881","created_gmt":"2026-08-11 21:11:11","changed_gmt":"2026-08-11 21:28:30","author":"ttroha3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-08-11T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-08-11T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680841":{"id":"680841","type":"image","title":"Yuhang-Hu_Article_Picture1.png","body":null,"created":"1786482709","gmt_created":"2026-08-11 21:11:49","changed":"1786482709","gmt_changed":"2026-08-11 21:11:49","alt":"Three-panel figure showing soft-material adhesion experiments: a microscope image of a probe contacting a surface, fluorescence images of the contact area, and a graph showing pull-off force versus retraction speed, with stress relaxation and dynamic bond effects labeled.","file":{"fid":"265167","name":"Yuhang-Hu_Article_Picture1.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/11\/Yuhang-Hu_Article_Picture1.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/11\/Yuhang-Hu_Article_Picture1.png","mime":"image\/png","size":118400,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/11\/Yuhang-Hu_Article_Picture1.png?itok=2T-fAHFm"}}},"media_ids":["680841"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"108731","name":"School of Mechanical Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"194701","name":"go-resarchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETracie Troha\u003Cbr\u003EGeorge W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691522":{"#nid":"691522","#data":{"type":"news","title":"As Water Systems Face Cyberattacks, Georgia Tech Research Points to Solutions","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.wsbtv.com\/news\/local\/water-supply-under-attack-by-cybercriminals-metro-atlanta-system-may-have-been-targeted\/XA46MWYNZRAZ5EYUN3RSJZG5SM\/\u0022\u003ERecent\u003C\/a\u003E cyberattacks on municipal water systems across the United States have renewed concerns about the cybersecurity of the operational technology that supports critical infrastructure.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor researchers in Georgia Tech\u0027s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sites.gatech.edu\/capcpsec\/\u0022\u003ECyber-Physical Security\u003C\/a\u003E (CPSec) Lab, however, the vulnerabilities behind many of these incidents are far from new.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAssociate Professor \u003Cstrong\u003ESaman Zonouz\u003C\/strong\u003E leads the CPSec Lab and has studied programmable logic controllers (PLCs) for years. These devices automate critical infrastructure, including water treatment facilities, power grids, manufacturing plants, and transportation systems. The lab\u2019s work has revealed widespread internet exposure and software vulnerabilities that leave many industrial control systems vulnerable to cyberattacks.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Out of the 16 critical infrastructure sectors defined by the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cisa.gov\/topics\/critical-infrastructure-security-and-resilience\/critical-infrastructure-sectors\u0022\u003ECybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency\u003C\/a\u003E, four are considered lifelines,\u0022 Zonouz said. \u0022Of those four, communications, energy, transportation, and water, the water sector is the most vulnerable, which is why it is so often targeted.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPLCs serve as the brains of industrial operations, monitoring sensors and controlling equipment that keep essential services operational.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Imagine you have a thermostat that controls the temperature of your house. That is a type of controller,\u0022 Zonouz explained. \u0022The professional version does the same thing in industry.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen these controllers are directly accessible from the internet, attackers can exploit them to disrupt operations, manipulate industrial processes, or interfere with the systems that deliver essential services. Controllers may be intentionally exposed to allow operators to monitor equipment remotely. They can also be unintentionally accessible online because of configuration errors.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHowever, internet exposure is only part of the problem.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe CPSec Lab maintains a collection of PLCs that researchers reverse engineer to better understand their firmware, communication protocols, and security weaknesses. Their research has found that many controllers contain vulnerabilities that attackers can exploit once they gain access.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Not only can the attackers see the house they want to rob, but the doors are also left unlocked,\u0022 Zonouz said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn 2024, Zonouz and his collaborators presented \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/dl.acm.org\/doi\/pdf\/10.1145\/3658644.3690195\u0022\u003EPLCHound\u003C\/a\u003E at the ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security (CCS), introducing an automated system that identifies internet-connected PLCs hidden within massive internet-scale datasets collected by services such as Shodan and Censys. The work was led by Ph.D. student \u003Cstrong\u003ERyan Pickren\u003C\/strong\u003E. Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs \u003Cstrong\u003ERaheem Beyah\u003C\/strong\u003E, Assistant Professor \u003Cstrong\u003EFrank Li\u003C\/strong\u003E, and Research Scientist \u003Cstrong\u003EAnimesh Chhotaray\u003C\/strong\u003E are co-authors of the study.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERather than relying on traditional scanning techniques, PLCHound identifies subtle network signatures that reveal industrial devices that prior methods often missed. Using the system, the researchers conducted one of the largest studies of publicly reachable PLCs from major manufacturers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETheir findings showed that previous estimates undercounted the number of internet-accessible industrial controllers by as much as 37 times. Even more concerning, nearly 96% of the identified devices exposed protocols linked to recently disclosed critical vulnerabilities.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers did more than document the problem. After identifying exposed devices, the team launched a large-scale notification campaign, contacting more than 7,000 industrial operators to alert them that their systems appeared vulnerable. The effort enabled many organizations to investigate and address security issues before they could be exploited.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe recent attacks on municipal water systems reinforce concerns researchers have raised for years: many critical infrastructure operators continue to rely on operational technology designed primarily for reliability and performance rather than for cybersecurity.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EImproving those defenses, Zonouz said, will require more than simply patching individual vulnerabilities.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers cite the energy sector as a model. Compared with other critical infrastructure sectors, electric utilities generally operate under more mature cybersecurity requirements and undergo routine compliance audits, providing organizations with greater visibility into the devices connected to their networks and the risks they pose.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EImplementing those improvements will not be easy. Many municipal water utilities operate with limited budgets and aging infrastructure, leaving little funding available for cybersecurity investments. As attacks on critical infrastructure become more frequent, the researchers argue that gaining visibility into operational technology assets and strengthening oversight are essential first steps to protect the systems communities rely on every day.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe CPSec Lab is a collaborative laboratory within the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/scp.cc.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Cybersecurity and Privacy\u003C\/a\u003E as well as the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ece.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Electrical and Computer Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERecent cyberattacks on municipal water systems across the United States have renewed concerns about the cybersecurity of the operational technology that supports critical infrastructure.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor researchers in Georgia Tech\u0027s Cyber-Physical Security (CPSec) Lab, however, the vulnerabilities behind many of these incidents are far from new.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Recent cyberattacks on municipal water systems across the United States have renewed concerns about the cybersecurity of the operational technology that supports critical infrastructure. "}],"uid":"36253","created_gmt":"2026-08-06 16:59:42","changed_gmt":"2026-08-11 16:28:52","author":"John Popham","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-08-06T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-08-06T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"673306":{"id":"673306","type":"image","title":"Saman Zonouz is a Georgia Tech associate professor and lead researcher for the DerGuard project. ","body":null,"created":"1709660104","gmt_created":"2024-03-05 17:35:04","changed":"1709660054","gmt_changed":"2024-03-05 17:34:14","alt":"Saman Zonouz is a Georgia Tech associate professor and lead researcher for the DerGuard project. ","file":{"fid":"256679","name":"Saman-Zonouz.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/03\/05\/Saman-Zonouz.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/03\/05\/Saman-Zonouz.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":56998,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/03\/05\/Saman-Zonouz.jpg?itok=qOSZDIrt"}}},"media_ids":["673306"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"367481","name":"SEI Energy"},{"id":"1280","name":"Strategic Energy Institute"}],"categories":[{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"151","name":"Policy, Social Sciences, and Liberal Arts"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"186858","name":"go-sei"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"145171","name":"Cybersecurity"},{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"},{"id":"39481","name":"National Security"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Popham\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECommunications Officer II at the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jpopham3@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691608":{"#nid":"691608","#data":{"type":"news","title":"AI Can Help Make Complex IPO Filings Easier to Analyze","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFor investors trying to make sense of a company going public, one of the most important documents is often the most difficult to understand.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInitial public offering (IPO) filings are dense disclosures submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. They can stretch hundreds of pages and combine legal language, financial data, and visuals like charts and infographics. Even experienced analysts struggle to read them end to end, leaving many everyday investors relying on headlines or summaries.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENew research from \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/fintech.gatech.edu\/#\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech\u2019s Financial Services Innovation Lab\u003C\/a\u003E reveals how artificial intelligence can make these critical documents more accessible and reveals where AI still has room for improvement.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIPO-Mine: A Toolkit and Dataset for Section-Structured Analysis of Long, Multimodal IPO Documents\u201d authors include Michael Galarnyk, Siddharth Lohani, Vidhyakshaya Kannan, Sagnik Nandi, Aman Patel, Liqin Ye, Arnav Hiray, Rutwik Routu, Prasun Banerjee, Siddhartha Somani, and Sudheer Chava.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMaking the Complex Understandable\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe authors developed \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/arxiv.org\/pdf\/2605.28714\u0022\u003EIPO-Mine\u003C\/a\u003E, an open-source toolkit and dataset designed to break IPO filings into manageable pieces. Instead of treating filings as a single document, IPO-Mine separates them into structured sections and extracts visuals like charts for analysis.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIPO filings are important public documents, but they are very difficult to work with at scale,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/siddharthlohani\/\u0022\u003ESiddharth Lohani\u003C\/a\u003E, a Georgia Tech computer science major \u201926, software engineer at Bloomberg, and co-first author of the study. \u201cWe wanted to make these filings easier to analyze systematically.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhy IPO Filings Matter\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIPO filings offer investors a detailed look at how a company operates before it goes public.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIPO filings give investors a clearer look at how a company makes money, what risks it faces, and how it positions itself before entering the public market,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/arnav-hiray\/\u0022\u003EArnav Hiray\u003C\/a\u003E, a Georgia Tech machine learning doctoral student in the Financial Services Innovation Lab, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/vip.gatech.edu\/teams\/entry\/1279\/\u0022\u003EAI for Financial Markets VIP instructor\u003C\/a\u003E, \u0026nbsp;and co-author. \u201cEven if everyday investors don\u2019t read the full filing, these documents can help them better understand a company\u2019s prospects.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor retail investors, that insight can help cut through marketing hype and offer a clearer sense of a company\u2019s underlying strengths and risks.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAI\u2019s Strengths\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch shows that large language models and multimodal AI models can use their speed, scale, and pattern-recognition capabilities to offer significant advantages when analyzing IPO filings, including:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022e80105b07d5b0d11faf071ba4a653dbdf\u0022\u003EProcessing massive documents: IPO filings can exceed hundreds of thousands of words, making manual review difficult. IPO-Mine structures the filings into sections and extracts visuals for analysis.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022ea54b334a7c419b3f02b3b99341559ff8\u0022\u003EStructuring unorganized data: IPO-Mine standardizes inconsistent sections across filings, making comparisons easier across companies and industries.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022e081b77f8c34f03026ea81d13df00e0de\u0022\u003EAnalyzing text and visuals together: By extracting charts and images, AI can evaluate not just what companies say, but how they present information visually.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022eee168697d8050bf1cac161d049fa1ff2\u0022\u003EIdentifying trends at scale: Researchers can analyze patterns in disclosure practices across decades, industries, and thousands of companies.\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETogether, these capabilities could help democratize financial analysis, giving more investors access to insights that were once limited to professionals.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA Key Finding\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne of the study\u2019s most striking findings is that IPO filings are evolving in two different directions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhat stood out was that the text and visuals appear to be moving in different directions,\u201d Lohani said. \u201cInvestors and researchers need to pay attention to both.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research shows that written sections are becoming more standardized, while visual elements such as charts and infographics are becoming more complex and varied.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAs text becomes more standardized, more of a company\u2019s distinctive story shifts into its visuals,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/vidhyakshayakannan\/\u0022\u003EVidhyakshaya Kannan\u003C\/a\u003E, a Georgia Tech Financial Services Innovation Lab intern and co-author. \u201cBecause boilerplate language often looks the same across filings, charts and infographics are increasingly where companies differentiate themselves and make their case to investors.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor investors, that means understanding a company requires studying the visuals as carefully as the text; figures can\u2019t simply be skimmed or skipped over.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhere AI Struggles\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDespite its promise, AI is not yet a perfect solution.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022e16599de6b5ed90a37957219cfb129f7a\u0022\u003EIPO filings are long: longer documents can reduce model performance, making it difficult for AI to maintain accuracy across an entire filing.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022eafdf1a735bfeac1eef2b40a946cd2d14\u0022\u003EIPO filings are visual: AI tools struggle to interpret visual data correctly.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022e939c27f235f13b396533231783d65cd6\u0022\u003EIPO filings are multimodal: filings combine text, tables, and visuals in inconsistent formats. This makes them difficult for AI models to process reliably.\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur results show that even strong multimodal models can disagree with expert human judgments on financial charts, especially when they are misleading,\u201d Kannan said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe Future of Financial Transparency\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAI can accelerate analysis and uncover patterns, but human judgment remains essential for interpreting the visuals companies increasingly use to tell their story. Even with these limitations, researchers believe tools like IPO-Mine could play an important role in shaping the future of financial transparency.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIPO-Mine can help researchers, regulators, and investors analyze IPO disclosures more systematically, revealing patterns in how companies communicate risk, performance, and strategy before entering public markets,\u201d said Hiray.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy making complex financial disclosures more accessible and actionable, AI-powered tools have the potential to broaden access to critical market information and support more informed investment decisions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Qs17Ta40JEY\u0022\u003EWatch the researchers explain IPO-Mine and its impact\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/arxiv.org\/pdf\/2605.28714\u0022\u003ERead More: IPO-Mine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.scheller.gatech.edu\/centers-and-initiatives\/center-for-finance-and-technology\/about.html\u0022\u003ELearn More: Center for Finance and Technology\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech researchers developed IPO-Mine, an AI-powered toolkit that helps investors, researchers, and regulators analyze complex IPO filings more efficiently while highlighting the continued importance of human judgment when interpreting the visuals companies use to tell their story.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech researchers developed IPO-Mine, an AI-powered toolkit that helps investors, researchers, and regulators analyze complex IPO filings more efficiently."}],"uid":"36730","created_gmt":"2026-08-11 15:55:12","changed_gmt":"2026-08-11 16:07:06","author":"klowe36","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-08-11T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-08-11T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680836":{"id":"680836","type":"image","title":"IPO-Mine Researchers","body":"\u003Cp\u003EArnav Hiray, machine learning doctoral student; Vidhyakshaya Kannan, a Georgia Tech Financial Services intern; and Siddharth Lohani, a computer science major \u201926 and software engineer at Bloomberg.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1786463495","gmt_created":"2026-08-11 15:51:35","changed":"1786463629","gmt_changed":"2026-08-11 15:53:49","alt":"Three photos of Georgia Tech researchers Arnav Hiray, machine learning doctoral student; Vidhyakshaya Kannan, a Georgia Tech Financial Services intern; and Siddharth Lohani, a computer science major \u201926 and software engineer at Bloomberg.","file":{"fid":"265160","name":"ipo-mine.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/11\/ipo-mine.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/11\/ipo-mine.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":210135,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/11\/ipo-mine.jpg?itok=Vx2WY_Je"}}},"media_ids":["680836"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.scheller.gatech.edu\/news\/2026\/ai-can-help-investors-decode-ipo-filings.html","title":"Read More"}],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"194606","name":"Artificial Intelligence"},{"id":"139","name":"Business"}],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"187812","name":"artificial intelligence (AI)"},{"id":"4175","name":"finance"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193655","name":"Artificial Intelligence at Georgia Tech"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":["kristin.lowe@scheller.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691494":{"#nid":"691494","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Where Breakthrough Meets Business: Georgia Tech Grad Makes Impact Through Research, Entrepreneurship","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering and as a former trainee in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/bioresearch.gatech.edu\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/a\u003E (IBB), it\u2019s no surprise that Georgia Tech alumnus and serial entrepreneur Chris Lee loves numbers. One in four. Eighty percent. Five times.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut for him, these numbers are more than just data \u2014 they\u2019re people. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/31300334\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EOne in four\u003C\/a\u003E adults have sleep apnea. Up to \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/31300334\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Eeighty percent\u003C\/a\u003E go undiagnosed. And those who are untreated are \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC2542952\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Efive times\u003C\/a\u003E more likely to die of heart disease. Lee\u2019s latest company, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.huxleymed.com\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EHuxley Medical\u003C\/a\u003E, aims to change those numbers with one simple patch.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhen you look at sleep apnea, it\u0027s probably the highest diagnostic opportunity there is in healthcare that can lead to the most impactful outcome in terms of reducing heart disease,\u201d Lee said.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe company\u2019s point-of-care device, called SANSA, measures nine physiological channels, enabling it to help doctors diagnose sleep apnea and related cardiovascular disease simultaneously. The device can be shipped directly to the patient\u2019s home, adheres to the chest like a Band-aid, and uploads data to a cloud-based system automatically.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe\u2019re able to detect diseases faster in a very consumer-friendly manner,\u201d Lee said. \u201cMore or less, you just wear it and you\u2019re done.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESANSA has already been tested by more than 30,000 patients, with plans to expand exponentially by the end of the year. For Lee, that growing number is the most important of all.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI can\u2019t think of a higher calling than coming up with innovations that can improve the health or extend the life of people around the world,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u0027s why it\u0027s important to understand how to bring what you\u0027re working on in the lab to the masses because, at least for me personally, there\u0027s no higher calling in life than to be able to do that.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch3\u003ETurning Ideas into Innovation\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETaking his research to market was always the goal for Lee, and something he learned how to do through the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.scheller.gatech.edu\/centers-and-initiatives\/tiger\/index.html\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ETI:GER program\u003C\/a\u003E during his time at Georgia Tech. TI:GER, which stands for Technology Innovation: Generating Economic Results, is housed in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.scheller.gatech.edu\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EScheller College of Business\u003C\/a\u003E. It connects Ph.D. students from the colleges of Engineering, Computing, and Sciences with MBA students to form teams that turn entrepreneurial ideas into technological innovation.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELee, who joined the program in 2010 while still a trainee in IBB, was drawn to TI:GER because of the safe space it provided to develop his skills.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI would say TI:GER was a big part of why I chose this career path. I really enjoyed research, but the aspect I always liked was the potential for translation of that research,\u201d Lee said. \u201cTI:GER gives you direct insight, resources, mentorship, and a network to be able to do that.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe network that Lee developed through the program has been a constant throughout his career. After earning his Ph.D., he joined his program mentor, Kurt Jacobus, working at \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/enovis.com\/medshape\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EMedshape\u003C\/a\u003E, a startup that Jacobus founded. After that company was acquired, the two co-founded another medtech business together, Vertera, which was also later \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.globusmedical.com\/healthcare-professionals\/advanced-materials-science\/cohere\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Eacquired\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENow, Jacobus sits on the board of Huxley Medical, and the connections don\u2019t stop there. The company\u2019s two co-founders \u2014 Brett Klosterhoff, Chief Business Officer; and Brennan Torstrick, Chief Scientific Officer \u2014 are also alumni of the TI:GER program and worked as trainees at IBB. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI think it\u0027s the network that\u0027s probably the most surprising,\u201d Lee said. \u201cSomeone that I met at TI:GER when I completed that program 16 years ago, he\u0027s still someone that I work with on a regular basis and he\u0027s still an advisor as we continue to scale our businesses together. I would say that is probably the most valuable thing for me about the program.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor the business-minded researcher, all the data, numbers, and statistics boil down to the human connection. More important than technology and innovation are the problems that they solve for patients, and Lee encourages young researchers to meet those problems with creativity.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThere\u0027s never one set path to figuring out how to translate research or starting a business or making an impact toward healthcare,\u201d he said. \u201cBut Georgia Tech can give you the tools that you can use to build your own path.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFor Chris Lee, numbers are more than just data \u2014 they\u2019re people. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/31300334\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EOne in four\u003C\/a\u003E adults have sleep apnea. Up to \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/31300334\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Eeighty percent\u003C\/a\u003E go undiagnosed. And those who are untreated are \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC2542952\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Efive times\u003C\/a\u003E more likely to die of heart disease. Lee\u2019s latest company, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.huxleymed.com\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EHuxley Medical\u003C\/a\u003E, aims to change those numbers with one simple patch.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Alumnus and serial entrepreneur Chris Lee is using research from his latest company, Huxley Medical, to improve the diagnosis of sleep apnea and related cardiovascular disease with a simple wearable device."}],"uid":"36479","created_gmt":"2026-08-05 19:08:38","changed_gmt":"2026-08-06 17:15:14","author":"abowman41","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-08-05T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-08-05T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680798":{"id":"680798","type":"image","title":"_0000_SANSA-2111.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EFrom left, Brett Klosterhoff (cofounder and chief business officer), Brennan Torstrick (cofounder and chief scientific officer), and Chris Lee (cofounder and CEO) of Huxley Medical. All three men are graduates of Georgia Tech and worked as trainees in the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1785956927","gmt_created":"2026-08-05 19:08:47","changed":"1785956927","gmt_changed":"2026-08-05 19:08:47","alt":"Three men who co-founded and lead Huxley Medical stand together on the field of a baseball stadium, smiling at the camera. They are wearing SANSA-branded hats, with a large video board behind them displaying the SANSA logo and the stadium seating in the background.","file":{"fid":"265118","name":"_0000_SANSA-2111.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/05\/_0000_SANSA-2111.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/05\/_0000_SANSA-2111.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":179568,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/05\/_0000_SANSA-2111.jpg?itok=AybbTMkD"}}},"media_ids":["680798"],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAshlie Bowman | Communications Manager\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691121":{"#nid":"691121","#data":{"type":"news","title":"She Lost Her Mother. She Found Her Purpose.","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMeghna Iyer came to Georgia Tech determined to understand the disease that was slowly taking her mother\u0027s life. Working with researchers in the Georgia Tech Laboratory for Pathology Dynamics, she helped use AI to analyze 36 million biomedical research papers, uncovering biological connections among ALS, Alzheimer\u0027s disease, and frontotemporal dementia. After losing her mother, Meghna returned to the lab with an even stronger resolve to continue the work, earning first-author publication on the study and helping create a tool that could accelerate future research for families facing these devastating diseases.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/news.research.gatech.edu\/feature\/neurodegenerative-diseases\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ERead more \u00bb\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Meghna Iyer came to Georgia Tech trying to understand her mother\u2019s illness. What she discovered is changing how scientists connect three neurodegenerative diseases."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMeghna Iyer came to Georgia Tech determined to understand the disease that was slowly taking her mother\u0027s life. Working with researchers in the Georgia Tech Laboratory for Pathology Dynamics, she helped use AI to analyze 36 million biomedical research papers, uncovering biological connections among ALS, Alzheimer\u0027s disease, and frontotemporal dementia. After losing her mother, Meghna returned to the lab with an even stronger resolve to continue the work, earning first-author publication on the study and helping create a tool that could accelerate future research for families facing these devastating diseases.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A Georgia Tech student transformed her search to understand her mother\u0027s ALS into AI-driven research that could reshape how scientists study neurodegenerative diseases. "}],"uid":"27255","created_gmt":"2026-07-14 16:53:19","changed_gmt":"2026-08-06 14:39:21","author":"Josie Giles","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-07-16T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-07-16T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680604":{"id":"680604","type":"image","title":"als-thumb.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EA Georgia Tech student, Meghna Iyer, transformed her search to understand her mother\u0027s ALS into AI-driven research that could reshape how scientists study neurodegenerative diseases.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1784048017","gmt_created":"2026-07-14 16:53:37","changed":"1784048017","gmt_changed":"2026-07-14 16:53:37","alt":"Two smiling researchers wearing jackets sit on rocks at a sunny beach with shoreline homes and the ocean in the background.","file":{"fid":"264887","name":"als-thumb.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/14\/als-thumb.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/14\/als-thumb.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2526212,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/14\/als-thumb.jpg?itok=glNqw-cB"}}},"media_ids":["680604"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/news.research.gatech.edu\/feature\/neurodegenerative-diseases","title":"Read the Full Feature"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"194606","name":"Artificial Intelligence"},{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"195203","name":"go-noshow"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193655","name":"Artificial Intelligence at Georgia Tech"},{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39431","name":"Data Engineering and Science"},{"id":"193656","name":"Neuro Next Initiative"},{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691436":{"#nid":"691436","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Your Immune Cells Are Tired. Georgia Tech Researchers Found a Way to Wake Them Up.","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe immune system naturally weakens with age, leaving older adults more vulnerable to infections, cancer, and poor vaccine responses. Georgia Tech biomedical engineer Ankur Singh and his team have developed a technique that restores aging immune cells by delivering new genetic instructions directly into exhausted T cells using microscopic silicon nanowires. The treatment rejuvenated immune cells from healthy older adults, cancer survivors, and patients with cancer, helping them behave more like younger cells without damaging them. Although the research is still in its early stages, it opens the door to therapies that could strengthen aging immune systems and improve the body\u0027s ability to fight disease.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/news.research.gatech.edu\/feature\/immune-aging\u0022\u003ERead more \u00bb\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"It\u2019s like a shot of espresso for \u201cexhausted\u201d immune systems \u2014 a discovery that could restore the body\u2019s defenses against cancer and infection."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe immune system naturally weakens with age, leaving older adults more vulnerable to infections, cancer, and poor vaccine responses. Georgia Tech biomedical engineer Ankur Singh and his team have developed a technique that restores aging immune cells by delivering new genetic instructions directly into exhausted T cells using microscopic silicon nanowires. The treatment rejuvenated immune cells from healthy older adults, cancer survivors, and patients with cancer, helping them behave more like younger cells without damaging them. Although the research is still in its early stages, it opens the door to therapies that could strengthen aging immune systems and improve the body\u0027s ability to fight disease.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech researchers developed a way to rejuvenate aging immune cells, potentially restoring the body\u2019s ability to better fight cancer, infection, and other diseases. "}],"uid":"27255","created_gmt":"2026-08-04 18:19:51","changed_gmt":"2026-08-05 18:04:27","author":"Josie Giles","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-08-05T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-08-05T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680796":{"id":"680796","type":"image","title":"ankur-thumb-image.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech researchers developed a way to rejuvenate aging immune cells, potentially restoring the body\u0027s ability to better fight cancer, infection, and other diseases.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1785941556","gmt_created":"2026-08-05 14:52:36","changed":"1785941556","gmt_changed":"2026-08-05 14:52:36","alt":"Two researchers in a laboratory examine a blue-green silicon wafer. One, wearing a lab coat, safety goggles, and a blue glove, holds the wafer up for inspection while the other stands beside them. Laboratory equipment is visible in the background.","file":{"fid":"265116","name":"ankur-thumb-image.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/05\/ankur-thumb-image.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/05\/ankur-thumb-image.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1446982,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/05\/ankur-thumb-image.jpg?itok=6Cg-eg8h"}}},"media_ids":["680796"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"195203","name":"go-noshow"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691214":{"#nid":"691214","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Rapid Testing Offers Path to More Sustainable Material Choices","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003E-Written by Seungho Lee\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERecycled materials promise a cleaner future, but recycled content alone does not necessarily make a product sustainable. At Georgia Tech\u2019s Daedalus Lab, assistant professor, National Science Foundation CAREER Award recipient, and Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems Faculty Fellow Christos Athanasiou and postdoctoral researcher Danqi Sun are working to provide greater certainty to designers and engineers by rethinking how materials are tested for their fracture characteristics. Their article in \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/10.1126\/sciadv.aeh0456\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EScience Advances\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E details a new testing protocol that reduces cost, increases speed, and simulates real-world conditions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMaterials shape nearly every part of modern life, from packaging and consumer products to bridges and medical devices. Choosing the right material involves balancing durability, cost, manufacturability, and environmental impact. Yet those decisions are not always guided by a clear understanding of how materials age and fail under real-world conditions, especially for recycled materials like plastics.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne way that materials frequently fail is by cracking. A small crack can begin almost invisibly. Over time, it can spread from regular wear and tear and exposure to common environmental factors like moisture, temperature fluctuations, or even dirt. Eventually, the crack expands, and the part fails. Engineers have studied fracture for more than a century, but connecting the science of cracking to practical decisions about sustainability remains a major challenge.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe characteristics of recycled plastics often vary from those of the same material in unrecycled, or virgin, form. Products made from recycled plastics may be sold with sustainability claims under the assumption that they will perform as if they were made with virgin material. However, premature failure requiring repair or replacement can quickly change the sustainability equation as well as the acceptance of recycled materials by manufacturers and consumers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBeyond Conventional Fracture Testing\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMaterials rarely fail due to a single factor. They may be exposed to several factors simultaneously, such as mechanical loading, chemical environments, temperature changes, moisture, and time. Traditional fracture protocols test one specimen at a time under carefully controlled laboratory conditions, which bear little resemblance to the real world. To move beyond this limitation, Sun developed an in-situ, high-throughput platform capable of studying how materials degrade and fail under more realistic conditions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe platform changes conventional fracture testing in three important ways. First, it can test multiple specimens simultaneously rather than one at a time. By monitoring samples in parallel, testing time can be reduced by more than 60%. Second, it allows materials to be tested in realistic environments. In this study, researchers examined virgin and recycled plastics in alkaline environments that resemble conditions encountered in applications like landfill liner membranes and geotextiles. Third, the platform incorporates an imaging technique known as photoelasticity, which reveals the formation of stress fields that form around the origin of a newly developing crack. This allows researchers to see cracks develop earlier than before, giving them a clearer picture of the forces that drive crack growth.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers have made the technology available for licensing through Georgia Tech\u2019s Office of Technology Licensing. \u201cOur goal was to make fracture testing not only faster but also more informative,\u201d Sun said. \u201cBy combining high-throughput testing, realistic environments, and full-field stress imaging, we can better understand how materials fail under conditions closer to real-world applications.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAn Honest View of Sustainability\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERecycled plastics are often viewed as a greener choice. But according to the study, it\u2019s not always so straightforward. If a recycled product fails prematurely and needs to be replaced frequently, its environmental and economic costs can increase despite its recycled content. As Athanasiou puts it, \u201cFailing materials don\u2019t just break products. They can break sustainability promises.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor example, comparing virgin polyethylene terephthalate (PET) with recycled PET (rPET) in applications such as landfill geotextiles, the researchers discovered that rPET showed lower resistance to environmental stressors, particularly in alkaline conditions over a pH of 9. In this application, specifying rPET over virgin PET would likely eliminate all of the presumed economic and environmental advantages of using a recycled material.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cRecycling is essential, but recycled content alone does not tell the full story. If a material fails too soon, the environmental benefits can disappear,\u201d Athanasiou said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFrom Cracks to Circularity\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor the researchers, the significance of the work extends beyond recycled plastics. The broader goal is to provide a fast, affordable, and realistic platform for evaluating the sustainability of any material choice. Because current testing protocols are costly, not widely available, and limited in the information they yield, engineers, manufacturers, and policymakers often have little choice but to continue to specify non-recycled materials because they will perform as expected. Having cheap and accurate data on recycled materials will help to accelerate their adoption because matching the engineering properties of recycled materials to their most appropriate applications will become more obvious.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers also hope to expand the platform to simulate even more complex environments and apply it to a wider range of materials. Because the system generates large amounts of detailed data, it may enable opportunities to use computational modeling or artificial intelligence to digitally simulate mechanical testing, driving down costs and expanding availability even more.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe larger vision is a future in which sustainability is judged not by labels or assumptions, but by evidence for how a material performs, how long it lasts, how it fails, and what it costs society and the environment over its full lifetime.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPlease visit the Daedalus Lab YouTube channel to see an explainer video about this new testing protocol: \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=zmRhiRIiAkQ\u0022\u003Ehttps:\/\/youtube.com\/watch?v=zmRhiRIiAkQ\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERead the paper here: \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/10.1126\/sciadv.aeh0456\u0022\u003Ehttps:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/10.1126\/sciadv.aeh0456\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis research was supported by the National Science Foundation CAREER Award No. 2338508.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EChoosing the right materials for manufacturing products involves balancing durability, cost, manufacturability, and environmental impact. Yet those decisions are not always guided by a clear understanding of how materials age and fail under real-world conditions, especially for recycled materials like plastics.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"At Georgia Tech\u2019s Daedalus Lab, Christos Athanasiou and postdoctoral researcher Danqi Sun are working to provide greater certainty to designers and engineers by rethinking how materials are tested for their fracture characteristics. "}],"uid":"27338","created_gmt":"2026-07-22 20:31:53","changed_gmt":"2026-08-05 18:02:44","author":"Brent Verrill","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-07-24T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-07-24T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680664":{"id":"680664","type":"image","title":"Athanasiou_rPET_Fracture_Testing_Screencap.jpg","body":null,"created":"1784836559","gmt_created":"2026-07-23 19:55:59","changed":"1784836559","gmt_changed":"2026-07-23 19:55:59","alt":"Side-by-side scientific visualization comparing in-situ photoelasticity and modeled stress field evolution during fracture testing of a transparent material. The left panel shows a rectangular specimen with rainbow-colored stress patterns radiating from a crack tip near the center-right edge, while the right panel shows a corresponding color-coded stress map with blue, green, yellow, and red regions indicating increasing stress concentration around the crack tip. Labels at the top identify the two methods.","file":{"fid":"264955","name":"Athanasiou_rPET_Fracture_Testing_Screencap.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/23\/Athanasiou_rPET_Fracture_Testing_Screencap.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/23\/Athanasiou_rPET_Fracture_Testing_Screencap.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":75075,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/23\/Athanasiou_rPET_Fracture_Testing_Screencap.jpg?itok=35tzJwYR"}}},"media_ids":["680664"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"367481","name":"SEI Energy"},{"id":"1280","name":"Strategic Energy Institute"},{"id":"660398","name":"Sustainability Hub"}],"categories":[{"id":"136","name":"Aerospace"},{"id":"194606","name":"Artificial Intelligence"},{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"179356","name":"Industrial Design"},{"id":"194685","name":"Manufacturing"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"194836","name":"Sustainability"}],"keywords":[{"id":"192170","name":"Christos Athanasiou"},{"id":"178818","name":"circular economy"},{"id":"188360","name":"go-bbiss"},{"id":"194823","name":"plastic recycling"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"},{"id":"194566","name":"Sustainable Systems"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brent.verrill@research.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EBrent Verrill\u003C\/a\u003E, Research Communication Manager, BBISS\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["brent.verrill@research.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691463":{"#nid":"691463","#data":{"type":"news","title":"ChatBot is Good News for People with Not-So-Green Thumbs","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EStarting and maintaining a new garden can be daunting. But a new multi-agent conversational system developed at Georgia Tech is taking much of the guesswork out of gardening for beginners.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECultivAgents is a three-agent system that fields gardening questions and creates tailored plans based on a user\u2019s gardening skill level, climate and environment, and cultural background.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe experience agent, environmental agent, and ethnobotanical agent inform one another and work together to guide users through the gardening process.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMulti-agent systems provide multi-faceted support,\u201d said Diana Wang, a Ph.D. student in Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Interactive Computing who created CultivAgents. \u201cMy interest was in how we could provide more personalized and aligned support to individuals trying to grow food themselves while facing unique environmental or cultural factors.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGardening is a hobby that many people start but give up because of the time and effort it requires to be successful. Ryan Pemberton, a horticulturist at Georgia Tech\u2019s community garden, said the two biggest mistakes he sees novice gardeners make are starting too big and overwatering.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIf you\u2019ve never gardened before, trying to manage a large plot could be overwhelming,\u201d Pemberton said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cYou can start small. You don\u2019t have to have a big garden right away. You can start with one tomato plant and grow from there. See how well you can keep that one plant alive and then expand as you feel comfortable.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAside from the built-in health benefits of growing fresh food and working outdoors, Pemberton said gardening can lower your grocery bill and reduce carbon emissions by minimizing food transportation.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt can also be a great way for international students at Tech to grow foods native to their homelands. He said a tool like CultivAgents could be useful for determining whether Atlanta\u2019s climate is suitable.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cPeople might want to grow a lot of different vegetables in their garden, but if you go too far south of here, it gets a little too hot to grow things like broccoli and strawberries,\u201d he said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cA little north of here, it gets a little too cold to grow some species of peppers. Having something tell you what grows well in your region means you\u2019re not having to pick and choose or guess.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat\u2019s one of the reasons Wang designed CultivAgents to feature multiple agents that consider unique environmental and cultural contexts.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMultiple agents help distribute specific types of support as opposed to the generic support you often get from a single chatbot,\u201d Wang said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAnother advantage is that they tend to build on each other. The environmental agent builds on the experience agent\u2019s detailed steps. This allows the system to tell you how to grow bush beans, for example, within a specific local community.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWang said she surveyed and interviewed new and experienced gardeners who use Tech\u2019s community garden to learn what they would want from a conversational agent. She found that many wanted step-by-step instructions and guidance on what to plant, how to plant it, and a schedule for upkeep.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAll of our users told us they view gardening as something that\u2019s long term, so they wanted this platform to be able to facilitate that kind of relationship,\u201d she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe community garden is a shared space with nine garden beds. Pemberton said it\u2019s a great place for new gardeners to learn to grow food before starting their own gardens. Much of the food grown there is donated to Klemis Kitchen, Georgia Tech\u2019s on-campus food bank.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor more information about the community garden and how to get involved, visit\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sustainability.campusservices.gatech.edu\/community-garden\/\u0022\u003Ehttps:\/\/sustainability.campusservices.gatech.edu\/community-garden\/\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo see a live demo of CultivAgents, visit\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cultivagents.onrender.com\/\u0022\u003Ehttps:\/\/cultivagents.onrender.com\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ECultivAgents is a three-agent system that fields gardening questions and creates tailored plans based on a user\u2019s gardening skill level, climate and environment, and cultural background.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A new multi-agent conversational system is helping people start and maintain gardens."}],"uid":"36530","created_gmt":"2026-08-05 14:45:34","changed_gmt":"2026-08-05 15:15:00","author":"Nathan Deen","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-08-05T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-08-05T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680797":{"id":"680797","type":"image","title":"26-R10410-P12-001-copy.jpeg","body":null,"created":"1785942231","gmt_created":"2026-08-05 15:03:51","changed":"1785942231","gmt_changed":"2026-08-05 15:03:51","alt":"Community Garden","file":{"fid":"265117","name":"26-R10410-P12-001-copy.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/05\/26-R10410-P12-001-copy.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/05\/26-R10410-P12-001-copy.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":194413,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/05\/26-R10410-P12-001-copy.jpeg?itok=O9WBm4sw"}}},"media_ids":["680797"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"50876","name":"School of Interactive Computing"}],"categories":[{"id":"194606","name":"Artificial Intelligence"},{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"194836","name":"Sustainability"}],"keywords":[{"id":"192863","name":"go-ai"},{"id":"48501","name":"gardening"},{"id":"47791","name":"community garden"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193655","name":"Artificial Intelligence at Georgia Tech"},{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691421":{"#nid":"691421","#data":{"type":"news","title":"SRNL, Georgia Tech Announce Facundo M. Fern\u00e1ndez\u0027s Joint Faculty Appointment","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis press release is \u003C\/em\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.srnl.gov\/news-releases\/srnl-georgia-tech-announce-joint-appointment\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003Eshared jointly\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cem\u003E with the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) newsroom. Georgia Tech faculty \u003C\/em\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.chbe.gatech.edu\/directory\/person\/martha-grover\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EMartha Grover\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cem\u003E and \u003C\/em\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/inta.gatech.edu\/people\/person\/margaret-e-kosal\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EMaggie Kosal\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cem\u003E also serve as SRNL Joint Appointees.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Georgia Institute of Technology and the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.srnl.gov\u0022\u003ESavannah River National Laboratory\u003C\/a\u003E announced the joint appointment of \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/chemistry.gatech.edu\/people\/facundo-m-fernandez\u0022\u003EFacundo M. Fern\u00e1ndez\u003C\/a\u003E to collaborate in research around mass spectrometry, an analytical technique used to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions for research.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur partnership with Facundo will deepen SRNL\u2019s innovative research in mass spectrometry and its groundbreaking applications,\u201d said Tammy Taylor, SRNL\u2019s deputy director of Science and Technology. \u201cHis expertise and collaboration will undoubtedly accelerate our lab\u2019s drive for scientific excellence and impactful discoveries.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFern\u00e1ndez is renowned internationally for his work in bioanalytical chemistry. His research focuses on developing tools to analyze small-volume samples, tissues and single cells, with applications in understanding diseases such as cancer, cystic fibrosis and inflammatory bowel disease. He has published 234 peer-reviewed papers, given over 230 invited lectures, and supervised 35 doctoral and master\u2019s degree students.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe also directs the Systems Mass Spectrometry Core (SyMS-C) at Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/bioresearch.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/a\u003E, managing more than 15 mass spectrometers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cBeing appointed as a joint faculty member with SRNL opens many new opportunities for collaborative research at the intersection of biology, chemistry and engineering,\u201d said Fern\u00e1ndez. \u201cThis type of collaborative research is what Georgia Tech is renowned for. We aim to address societal questions with global impact. I have been incredibly impressed with the quality of science at SRNL, and I look forward to many joint discoveries in the future.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFern\u00e1ndez is a Regents\u2019 Professor and the Vasser-Woolley Chair in Bioanalytical Chemistry at Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/chemistry.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESchool of Chemistry and Biochemistry\u003C\/a\u003E. He earned his bachelor\u2019s and master\u2019s degrees (Licenciatura) in chemistry from the Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, in 1995, and his doctorate in analytical chemistry from the same university in 1999. From 2000 to 2001, he was a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University\u2019s Department of Chemistry. He served as a senior postdoctoral researcher and later as a research scientist between 2002 and 2003 with a research group at the University of Arizona.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cProfessor Fern\u00e1ndez is a renowned expert in the field of mass spectrometry, and it has been a privilege to already have him as a collaborator involved in our Laboratory Directed Research and Development program,\u201d said SRNL\u2019s Christopher Orton, division director for Nuclear Nonproliferation. \u201cThis joint appointment will strengthen the relationship between SRNL and Georgia Tech as we continue to work together to improve our understanding of the environmental fate of chemical contaminants in complex matrices.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESRNL\u2019s Joint Appointment Program provides university faculty opportunities to engage in research and development addressing the nation\u2019s energy related challenges.\u0026nbsp;SRNL staff and joint appointees help ensure America\u2019s security and prosperity through transformative science and technology solutions, and joint appointees serve as a bridge between their university and SRNL researchers to deliver the future workforce for the Department of Energy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESavannah River National Laboratory is a multi-program federally funded research and development center managed and\u202foperated\u202fby Battelle Savannah River Alliance for the U.S. Department of Energy\u2019s Office of Environmental Management.\u0026nbsp;EM transforms the nation\u2019s environmental liabilities into opportunities for innovation, job creation, and economic growth, while ensuring safe,\u0026nbsp;secure\u0026nbsp;and prosperous communities across America. For more information, visit\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.energy.gov\/em\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Eenergy.gov\/em\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERegents\u0027 Professor Facundo M. Fern\u00e1ndez will collaborate on research in mass spectrometry, an analytical technique used to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions for research.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Regents\u0027 Professor Facundo M. Fern\u00e1ndez will collaborate on research in mass spectrometry, an analytical technique used to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions for research."}],"uid":"36583","created_gmt":"2026-08-03 19:30:39","changed_gmt":"2026-08-05 15:05:11","author":"lvidal7","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-08-03T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-08-03T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680767":{"id":"680767","type":"image","title":"Facundo M. Fern\u00e1ndez","body":null,"created":"1785785680","gmt_created":"2026-08-03 19:34:40","changed":"1785785680","gmt_changed":"2026-08-03 19:34:40","alt":"Headshot of Facundo M. Fern\u00e1ndez","file":{"fid":"265079","name":"Facundo-M.-Fernandez.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/03\/Facundo-M.-Fernandez.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/03\/Facundo-M.-Fernandez.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3793710,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/03\/Facundo-M.-Fernandez.jpeg?itok=RytQSfyY"}}},"media_ids":["680767"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/fernandezmslab.com","title":"The Fern\u00e1ndez Lab"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"85951","name":"School of Chemistry and Biochemistry"}],"categories":[{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"192249","name":"cos-community"},{"id":"166928","name":"School of Chemistry and Biochemistry"},{"id":"186513","name":"SRNL"},{"id":"186512","name":"Savannah River National Laboratory"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"690903":{"#nid":"690903","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Mining New Possibilities for Critical Minerals: Mapping a Stronger U.S. Supply Chain","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA new Department of Energy award will help Georgia Tech lead a regional effort to identify, recover, and reuse materials essential to energy, manufacturing, and national security.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003ECritical minerals power the technologies that define modern life, from batteries and semiconductors to advanced manufacturing systems and defense applications. They are also essential to the nation\u2019s energy future, manufacturing competitiveness, and national security.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThrough a\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.energy.gov\/cmei\/articles\/does-office-critical-minerals-and-energy-innovation-launches-regional-consortia\u0022\u003Emajor investment\u003C\/a\u003E from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Georgia Tech is helping accelerate the development of domestic critical minerals from unconventional and secondary resources. The $7.5 million award positions the Institute to advance supply chain solutions that span resource discovery, processing, recycling, and circular materials management.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESelected by DOE\u2019s Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation, Georgia Tech will lead the Critical Minerals in the Atlantic Seaboard Plain (CM-MAP) project. The regional effort builds on DOE\u2019s Carbon Ore, Rare Earth, and Critical Minerals (CORE-CM) initiative and will examine potential resources across the Atlantic coastal plain.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe CM-MAP project will focus on sedimentary deposits, including kaolin, bauxite, heavy mineral sands, and phosphates, as well as legacy mining residues, coal combustion byproducts, and other unconventional and secondary resources that could support future recycling and circular economy opportunities.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDrawing on existing infrastructure, regional assets, industry bases, and scientific expertise, CM-MAP will establish a regional innovation ecosystem that supports domestic critical mineral production, recycling, and advanced manufacturing, while fostering new economic opportunities throughout the Southeast.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis is a powerful example of how Georgia Tech brings together leading research capabilities and partnerships from industry, government, nonprofits, and national labs to address complex national challenges,\u201d said\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/leadership\u0022\u003ETim Lieuwen\u003C\/a\u003E, executive vice president for Research. \u201cBy identifying and domestically sourcing critical minerals, we are helping secure essential supply chains, while enabling the next generation of energy and materials technologies.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe DOE award builds on a growing network of research, industry, regional, and international partnerships led by Georgia Tech to translate scientific discovery into real-world supply chain solutions, including:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022ea149f3a1369a08e50ecd550f254e4fc6\u0022\u003EResearch leadership \u2014 Founded in 2024, Georgia Tech\u2019s\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/minerals.research.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ECenter for Critical Mineral Solutions\u003C\/a\u003E serves as a hub for interdisciplinary research and technology development across the Institute.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022e3525757baf2e98febb34b5a40cf084bc\u0022\u003ERegional partnerships \u2014Through the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/gems.research.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Partnership for Essential Materials\u003C\/a\u003E, a flagship regional collaboration platform, Georgia Tech, the University of Georgia, Georgia State University, and the Georgia Mining Association convene stakeholders from across the critical minerals sector. The partnership brings together industry, nonprofit organizations, regional economic development agencies, national labs, universities, and technical colleges to connect, collaborate, and stay engaged in the latest developments.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022ebccf1688cc8ca7d30f05f3e54fb5b005\u0022\u003EInternational engagement \u2014 A\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/news.research.gatech.edu\/2026\/04\/13\/georgia-universities-and-uk-partners-strengthen-collaboration-critical-minerals-gems-4\u0022\u003EU.K.-U.S. working group\u003C\/a\u003E extends partnerships across the Southeastern United States and Southwest United Kingdom, connecting researchers, industry leaders, and government agencies working to strengthen global supply chains.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022e1647f02ab83f892d6c95813afcbe8a2e\u0022\u003EGeorgia Critical Mineral Supply Chain Manufacturing Demonstration Center \u2014 Supported through\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/buddycarter.house.gov\/news\/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=16085\u0022\u003Econgressional funding\u003C\/a\u003E, the center is developing capabilities and regional supply chain demonstrations that connect resource development, materials processing, recycling, and advanced manufacturing.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs part of CM-MAP, researchers will analyze materials collected from natural deposits and industrial sites throughout the Southeast to identify their critical mineral content. The resulting large datasets will be combined with artificial intelligence and machine learning approaches to better understand and predict where resources exist, optimize extraction pathways, and inform future recovery and recycling strategies.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis project brings together a highly collaborative team from Georgia Tech, national labs, industry partners, and research institutions across the region,\u201d said\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/energy.gatech.edu\/people\/yuanzhi-tang\u0022\u003EYuanzhi Tang\u003C\/a\u003E, the principal investigator and Georgia Power Professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, with a courtesy appointment in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETang is also the founding director of the Center for Critical Mineral Solutions and executive director of the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/energy.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EStrategic Energy Institute\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThrough this award, we are working to build secure and resilient critical materials supply chains, from resource discovery and characterization to processing, recovery, recycling, and advanced manufacturing, while also developing the skilled workforce needed to support these emerging industries,\u201d Tang said. \u201cOur vision is to create a regional innovation ecosystem that embraces both unconventional resources and circular economy approaches to maximize the value of materials already in use.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELearn more about critical materials research and workforce development efforts at Georgia Tech by visiting the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/minerals.research.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ECenter for Critical Mineral Solutions\u003C\/a\u003E webpage.\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESelected by DOE\u2019s Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation, Georgia Tech will lead the Critical Minerals in the Atlantic Seaboard Plain (CM-MAP) project. The regional effort builds on DOE\u2019s Carbon Ore, Rare Earth, and Critical Minerals (CORE-CM) initiative and will examine potential resources across the Atlantic coastal plain.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A new Department of Energy award will help Georgia Tech lead a regional effort to identify, recover, and reuse materials essential to energy, manufacturing, and national security."}],"uid":"36413","created_gmt":"2026-06-24 17:37:05","changed_gmt":"2026-08-04 16:17:04","author":"pdevarajan3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-06-24T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-06-24T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680536":{"id":"680536","type":"image","title":"Picture-for-announcement-Final.png","body":"\u003Cp\u003EUnited States map showing the eight regions of the CORE-CM Initiative. Courtesy: \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/netl-exchange.energy.gov\/FileContent.aspx?FileID=fe48ff94-6a59-4df7-b490-54b66c8a22ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDepartment of Energy Core-CM Initiative\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1782837023","gmt_created":"2026-06-30 16:30:23","changed":"1782837023","gmt_changed":"2026-06-30 16:30:23","alt":"United States map showing the eight regions of the CORE-CM Initiative. Courtesy: Department of Energy Core-CM Initiative","file":{"fid":"264810","name":"Picture-for-announcement-Final.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/30\/Picture-for-announcement-Final.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/30\/Picture-for-announcement-Final.png","mime":"image\/png","size":709702,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/06\/30\/Picture-for-announcement-Final.png?itok=7Qcc14JW"}}},"media_ids":["680536"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"364801","name":"School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (EAS)"}],"categories":[{"id":"131","name":"Economic Development and Policy"},{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"194611","name":"State Impact"},{"id":"194612","name":"Workforce Development"}],"keywords":[{"id":"186858","name":"go-sei"},{"id":"194701","name":"go-resarchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMedia Contact: \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:shelley.wunder-smith@research.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EShelley Wunder-Smith\u003C\/a\u003E, Research Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["priya.devarajan@research.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691265":{"#nid":"691265","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Yuanzhi Tang Named Fellow of the American Chemical Society","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EYuanzhi Tang, executive director of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/energy.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EStrategic Energy Institute\u003C\/a\u003E (SEI) and Georgia Power Professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/eas.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E, has been named an \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.acs.org\/\u0022\u003EAmerican Chemical Society\u003C\/a\u003E (ACS) Fellow.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe ACS is one of the world\u2019s largest scientific societies, and its Fellows Program recognizes outstanding achievements in scientific research, education, leadership, and service to the chemical profession and honors a select group of members each year.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Election as an ACS Fellow is a significant honor that recognizes not only scientific excellence but also leadership and service to the profession,\u0022 said Julia Kubanek, Georgia Tech\u0027s vice president for Interdisciplinary Research. \u0022Yuanzhi\u0027s pioneering research, her leadership within ACS and the Strategic Energy Institute, and her commitment to advancing interdisciplinary collaboration have strengthened Georgia Tech\u0027s impact in chemistry, energy, and environmental research. We are proud to celebrate this well-deserved recognition.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETang was recognized for her contributions to environmental chemistry, biogeochemistry, and energy-related research, as well as for her leadership and service to the chemical sciences.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Given her exceptionally energetic research program, which spans topics ranging from the basic understanding of chemical cycling on Earth to creative solutions to recover rare elements from wastes, this honor is richly deserved and completely unsurprising,\u0022 said Jean Lynch-Stieglitz, chair of the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. \u0022We are lucky to have Yuanzhi as part of EAS.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs SEI executive director, Tang leads Institute-wide efforts to strengthen Georgia Tech\u0027s energy research enterprise by connecting expertise across disciplines and fostering partnerships with industry, government, and national laboratories. She also maintains an internationally recognized research program focused on understanding the chemical and biological processes that shape natural and engineered environments.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEstablished in 2008, the ACS Fellows Program honors a distinguished group of scientists who have made exceptional contributions to chemistry and related fields while also demonstrating dedicated service to the society. With this election, Tang joins 17 Georgia Tech ACS Fellows.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I\u2019m deeply honored,\u0022 Tang said. \u0022This recognition reflects the contributions of many outstanding students, postdoctoral researchers, colleagues, collaborators, and mentors throughout my career. I am grateful for the opportunity to work alongside such talented people to advance scientific discovery and build interdisciplinary partnerships that address critical energy and environmental challenges.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFounded in 1876, the American Chemical Society represents more than 170,000 members worldwide and is a leading source of scientific information through its journals, conferences, and educational programs.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EYuanzhi Tang, executive director of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/energy.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EStrategic Energy Institute\u003C\/a\u003E (SEI) and Georgia Power Professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/eas.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E, has been named an \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.acs.org\/\u0022\u003EAmerican Chemical Society\u003C\/a\u003E (ACS) Fellow.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe ACS is one of the world\u2019s largest scientific societies, and its Fellows Program recognizes outstanding achievements in scientific research, education, leadership, and service to the chemical profession and honors a select group of members each year.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Election as an ACS Fellow is a significant honor that recognizes not only scientific excellence but also leadership and service to the profession,\u0022 said Julia Kubanek, Georgia Tech\u0027s vice president for Interdisciplinary Research. \u0022Yuanzhi\u0027s pioneering research, her leadership within ACS and the Strategic Energy Institute, and her commitment to advancing interdisciplinary collaboration have strengthened Georgia Tech\u0027s impact in chemistry, energy, and environmental research. We are proud to celebrate this well-deserved recognition.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Yuanzhi Tang, executive director of the Strategic Energy Institute (SEI) and Georgia Power Professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, has been named an American Chemical Society (ACS) Fellow. "}],"uid":"36413","created_gmt":"2026-07-27 18:57:07","changed_gmt":"2026-08-04 15:53:09","author":"pdevarajan3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-07-27T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-07-27T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680685":{"id":"680685","type":"image","title":"Yuanzhi-Tang-pic5-cropped.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EYuanzhi Tang\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1785178716","gmt_created":"2026-07-27 18:58:36","changed":"1785178716","gmt_changed":"2026-07-27 18:58:36","alt":"Yuanzhi Tang","file":{"fid":"264986","name":"Yuanzhi-Tang-pic5-cropped.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/27\/Yuanzhi-Tang-pic5-cropped_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/27\/Yuanzhi-Tang-pic5-cropped_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":933435,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/27\/Yuanzhi-Tang-pic5-cropped_0.jpg?itok=--SwhGU3"}}},"media_ids":["680685"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"364801","name":"School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (EAS)"}],"categories":[{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"186858","name":"go-sei"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"},{"id":"39491","name":"Renewable Bioproducts"},{"id":"194566","name":"Sustainable Systems"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:priya.devarajan@research.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EPriya Devarajan\u003C\/a\u003E || SEI Communications Program Manager\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["priya.devarajan@research.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691342":{"#nid":"691342","#data":{"type":"news","title":"A New Era of Black Hole Detection","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThe LIGO\u2013Virgo\u2013KAGRA (LVK) detector network comprises three centers across the globe. The United States hosts twin Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) detectors, one located at Hanford Observatory in Washington State and a second at Livingston Observatory in Louisiana. The Virgo detector is hosted by the European Gravitational Observatory in Italy, and the Kamioka Gravitational Wave (KAGRA) detector is hosted in Japan by the Institute for Cosmic Ray Research (ICRR) of the University of Tokyo.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EResearchers at Georgia Tech play a key role in the international collaboration. The\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sites.gatech.edu\/ligo\/people\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech-LIGO research group\u003C\/a\u003E includes\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/physics.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Physics\u003C\/a\u003E Professor\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/physics.gatech.edu\/user\/laura-cadonati\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELaura Cadonati\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, Assistant Professor\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/physics.gatech.edu\/user\/surabhi-sachdev\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESurabhi Sachdev\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, Research Scientist\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/physics.gatech.edu\/user\/margaret-millhouse\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMargaret Millhouse\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0026nbsp;Postdoctoral Scholar\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003EPrathamesh Joshi\u003C\/strong\u003E, eight graduate students, and multiple undergraduates.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThe LVK network detects gravitational waves when a massive cosmic event \u2014 like the collision of two black holes \u2014 creates invisible ripples in the fabric of space-time. Waves ripple out at the speed of light, and millions of years after the events that first created them, they reach the LVK detectors.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EBut detecting gravitational waves does not simply mean capturing a signal \u2014 clues first need to be untangled from background noise.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cIdentifying gravitational-wave signals requires carefully separating real astrophysical events from random fluctuations in the data,\u201d says School of Physics graduate student\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/physics.gatech.edu\/user\/urja-shah\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EUrja Shah\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, whose work to quickly identify phenomena supports rapid follow-up by the broader astronomical community.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003ETo support the identification of phenomena, School of Physics graduate student\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/physics.gatech.edu\/user\/megan-arogeti\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMegan Arogeti\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E conducts consistency tests between waveforms, checking results to find unexpected or unusual features. \u201cTests like this give us confidence in our models as we continue to observe gravitational waves with increasing sensitivity,\u201d she explains. \u201cThey support new observations and help identify exciting new physics.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cThese efforts help ensure that gravitational-wave signals are robustly identified and accurately characterized, turning each detection into a precise measurement,\u201d adds Shah. \u201cIn turn, these measurements deepen our understanding of some of the most massive and dense objects in the universe and the fundamental laws governing the cosmos.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EAstrocalibration Autotune\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EWhen a sensor detects a gravitational wave, it produces a distinctive response, says School of Physics graduate student\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/physics.gatech.edu\/user\/shobhit-ranjan\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EShobhit Ranjan\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E. \u201cThose signals encode a wealth of information we can analyze to learn about their sources \u2014 their masses, spins, distance, and location.\u201d But in order to detect these chirps, the detectors must be carefully calibrated, and if calibration is not optimal, the signals can be compromised.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003ENow,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ligo.org\/gravitational-wave-detectors-can-now-autotune-their-signals\/\u0022\u003Ea new tool\u003C\/a\u003E is helping the LVK collaboration recalibrate less optimal signals.\u0026nbsp;The technique is already showing promise: In\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/journals.aps.org\/prl\/accepted\/10.1103\/gzrj-mwv3\u0022\u003Ean article recently accepted in\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003EPhysical Review Letters\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, LVK researchers successfully applied it to two interesting signals. The first signal served as a testing opportunity for the method. The team used astrocalibration to recover the data and check it against secondary independent calibration data that was available. They then put the technique to use, recovering information from a second event where no secondary calibration data were available.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cLike autotune in the music industry, the new research shows that theoretical models can be used as guides, similar to how sheet music can help a studio shift off-key music to its correct tone,\u201d Ranjan explains. \u201cThese theoretical models suggest the shape of the signal, and together with data from other detectors, we can adjust the data and read it correctly.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cThe fact that these detectors can now not only sense cosmic events, but leverage them to improve the data being collected marks a new era in gravitational wave science,\u201d he adds.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EA Record-Setting Dataset\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThe LVK Collaboration also\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ligo.caltech.edu\/news\/ligo20260526\u0022\u003Epublished their fifth catalog of gravitational wave events\u003C\/a\u003E this spring. The findings include an updated estimate of how fast the universe is expanding, evidence for the existence of second-generation black holes, the most precise sky localization ever achieved for a gravitational wave source, and the first measurement of three vibrational modes of a black hole.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cOur group helped enable 140 detections out of the 161 reported in this catalog,\u201d says Joshi, who contributed to one of the flagship searches and designed a specialized search focused on detecting especially heavy black hole mergers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EJoshi also worked on determining precise locations of where the gravitational waves originated from in the universe \u2014 research that he says will allow astronomers around the world to perform long-term follow-up observations of interesting events.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EOne record-setting detection showed two black holes that had violently collided more than 3 billion light-years from Earth. Researchers were able to pinpoint its location in the sky more precisely than any other gravitational wave event observed before.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EImprovements in the LVK network\u2019s ability to localize events along with the large number of detections allowed for a better estimate of the Hubble constant, which measures the rate at which the universe is expanding. The new measurement is over 25% more precise than previous estimates.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThe new catalog also includes the \u201cclearest\u201d gravitational wave signal ever detected. The clarity of the signal led to the most accurate test of general relativity ever performed and confirmation of Stephen Hawking\u2019s black hole area theorem.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cThis catalog provides not just the largest number of black hole detections, it marks a new era of rapid progress,\u201d Sachdev says. \u201cThis is just the beginning of what these observations will allow us to uncover.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EFrom new calibration tools to a record-breaking catalog of detections, the LIGO\u2013Virgo\u2013KAGRA (LVK) detector network is leading the way in gravitational wave science.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"From new calibration tools to a record-breaking catalog of detections, the LIGO\u2013Virgo\u2013KAGRA (LVK) detector network is leading the way in gravitational wave science."}],"uid":"35599","created_gmt":"2026-07-29 18:01:53","changed_gmt":"2026-07-31 14:45:16","author":"sperrin6","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-07-29T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-07-29T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680716":{"id":"680716","type":"image","title":"An artist\u0027s concept showing a black hole. (Credit: NASA\/JPL)","body":"\u003Cp\u003EAn artist\u0027s concept showing a black hole. (Credit: NASA\/JPL)\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1785348119","gmt_created":"2026-07-29 18:01:59","changed":"1785348119","gmt_changed":"2026-07-29 18:01:59","alt":"An artist\u0027s concept showing a black hole. (Credit: NASA\/JPL)","file":{"fid":"265021","name":"black-hole.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/29\/black-hole.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/29\/black-hole.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":222604,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/29\/black-hole.jpg?itok=kXTyscxE"}}},"media_ids":["680716"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/ligo.org\/science-summaries\/gw240925-gw250207-astro-calibration\/","title":"Tuning our detectors using cosmic collisions"},{"url":"https:\/\/ligo.org\/gwtc-5-0-updated-ligo-virgo-kagra-catalog-sets-new-records-in-precision-gravitational-wave-astronomy\/","title":"GWTC-5.0: Updated LIGO\u2013Virgo\u2013KAGRA Catalog sets new records in precision gravitational wave astronomy"},{"url":"https:\/\/ligo.org\/gravitational-wave-detectors-can-now-autotune-their-signals\/","title":"Gravitational wave detectors can now \u2018autotune\u2019 their signals"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"126011","name":"School of Physics"}],"categories":[{"id":"150","name":"Physics and Physical Sciences"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"192252","name":"cos-planetary"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193657","name":"Space Research Initiative"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:sperrin6@gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESelena Langner\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003ETechnical Research Writer \/ Editor\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003EGeorgia Tech College of Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691341":{"#nid":"691341","#data":{"type":"news","title":"From Diagnosis to Wellness, AI\u0027s Healthcare Revolution","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EArtificial intelligence (AI) is changing far more than hospital paperwork. Researchers say it\u0027s beginning to help doctors make clinical decisions, identify mental health risks earlier, expand care through smartphones and wearable devices, and extend healthcare to people who might otherwise go without it.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile adoption varies across healthcare systems, Georgia Tech researchers say AI is becoming increasingly integrated into medicine. At the same time, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.who.int\/publications\/i\/item\/9789240037403\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Equestions about privacy, trust, equity, and human oversight\u003C\/a\u003E remain central to how the technology will be used in the years ahead.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMedicine has clearly embraced the human-AI fusion approach,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/people\/jon-duke\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EJon Duke\u003C\/a\u003E, director of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.gtri.gatech.edu\/about\/research-facilities\/center-health-analytics-informatics-chai\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ECenter for Health Analytics \u0026amp; Informatics\u003C\/a\u003E at the Georgia Tech Research Institute. \u201cThe use of AI is encouraged, but reliance on AI is not.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFrom Clinical Workflows to Decision Support\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMany of healthcare\u0027s earliest AI applications focused on reducing administrative burdens. Today, researchers say the technology is increasingly helping clinicians access and interpret information.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDuke points to the growing use of clinical AI tools such as \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.openevidence.com\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EOpenEvidence,\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\/strong\u003Ewhich provide healthcare professionals with AI-generated, source-backed answers to medical questions.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAI is moving beyond administrative tasks and beginning to play a meaningful role in clinical decision support,\u201d Duke said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWithin electronic health records, AI is being used to generate clinical notes from patient-provider conversations and summarize complex patient charts. While healthcare systems have moved most quickly on efficiency-focused applications, Duke said AI is steadily becoming part of everyday clinical practice.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStill, he believes human oversight will remain essential.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOne of the biggest long-term questions is whether physicians trained alongside AI will develop the same level of independent clinical judgment as previous generations,\u201d he said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EExpanding Access Beyond the Doctor\u0027s Office\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers also see AI creating new opportunities outside hospitals and clinics.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/people\/munmun-de-choudhury\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EMunmun De Choudhury\u003C\/a\u003E, professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ic.gatech.edu\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ESchool of Interactive Computin\u003C\/a\u003Eg, said AI is helping public health systems \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/pcd\/issues\/2024\/24_0245.htm\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Eidentify emerging mental health concerns\u003C\/a\u003E by analyzing digital and clinical data.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAI is enabling public health systems to move from reactive to more proactive approaches by identifying emerging mental health concerns from diverse digital and clinical data sources,\u201d De Choudhury said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThose insights may create opportunities for earlier intervention.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAI has the potential to identify subtle behavioral changes that precede worsening mental health, creating opportunities for earlier support before someone reaches a crisis,\u201d she said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/people\/alexander-t-adams\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EAlexander Adams\u003C\/a\u003E, assistant professor in the School of Interactive Computing, studies wearable sensing systems, remote patient monitoring technologies, and point-of-care health tools. He said advances in AI are accelerating innovation in areas such as pharmaceuticals, medical imaging, simulation, and biomarker discovery.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe biggest changes I am seeing are the increased productivity in pharmaceuticals, medical imaging, simulation, and biomarker discovery,\u201d Adams said. \u201cThat has a downstream impact on what we can measure at the point of care.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to Adams, smartphones and wearable devices have become increasingly important healthcare tools because of the amount of data they collect.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cNo stand-alone medical devices generate nearly as much data as smartphones and smartwatches, making them a natural place for modern AI,\u201d he said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe also sees significant potential for AI-enabled technologies to improve access in rural and underserved communities.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThese technologies are especially important for underserved and rural populations that often have less access to care and face higher risks of complications,\u201d Adams said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBalancing Innovation and Human Connection\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDespite growing interest in AI, researchers caution that adoption is not without challenges.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe real opportunity lies not in building more autonomous AI, but in designing systems that strengthen human judgment, clinical expertise, and community care,\u201d De Choudhury said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlthough AI has advanced rapidly, its impact on chronic disease management has remained limited, said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/people\/rosa-arriaga\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ERosa Arriaga\u003C\/a\u003E, professor in the School of Interactive Computing.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAI holds a lot of promise but hasn\u0027t delivered much in the way of real-world applications,\u201d Arriaga said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe also raised concerns about how increased reliance on data-driven tools could affect interactions between clinicians and patients.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe fear is that clinicians become \u2018data checkers\u2019 and have even less interaction with patients,\u201d she said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt the same time, Arriaga said AI is having its greatest impact in the mental wellness space.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThere are now randomized controlled trials showing that some people are willing to receive \u2018therapy\u2019 from an AI agent and that this intervention is beneficial,\u201d she said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHowever, she cautioned that those developments should be considered alongside potential risks.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cGreater interactions with AI may lead to greater isolation, and parasocial relationships with AI may erode the social fabric,\u201d Arriaga said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EShaping the Next Era of Healthcare\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDespite differing views on the opportunities and challenges, the researchers see AI becoming a lasting part of healthcare.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAI is accelerating everything,\u201d Adams said. \u201cEven through rapid iteration and simulation alone, it will accelerate medical devices and point-of-care technologies.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs healthcare organizations continue to explore where AI can improve care, researchers say the future of medicine will depend not only on technological advances but also on how effectively those tools support the people who deliver and receive care.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003EFrom AI-powered clinical support tools and digital mental health applications to wearable devices and remote monitoring, artificial intelligence is influencing how healthcare is delivered. Researchers say the technology offers significant opportunities to improve care and access while raising important questions about human judgment, patient relationships, privacy, and equity.\u003C\/div\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"As artificial intelligence becomes more integrated into healthcare, researchers are exploring its potential to support clinical decision-making, improve mental health interventions, expand access to care, and accelerate medical innovation."}],"uid":"35797","created_gmt":"2026-07-29 17:13:59","changed_gmt":"2026-07-30 23:07:13","author":"Siobhan Rodriguez","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-07-29T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-07-29T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680734":{"id":"680734","type":"image","title":"From Diagnosis to Wellness, AI\u0027s Healthcare Revolution","body":null,"created":"1785452734","gmt_created":"2026-07-30 23:05:34","changed":"1785452800","gmt_changed":"2026-07-30 23:06:40","alt":"Image of watch vitals and machine vitals ","file":{"fid":"265041","name":"AdobeStock_894983554.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/30\/AdobeStock_894983554.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/30\/AdobeStock_894983554.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1424541,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/30\/AdobeStock_894983554.jpeg?itok=jRTD2kHz"}}},"media_ids":["680734"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/neuro.gatech.edu\/new-mobile-app-turns-phones-home-fetal-heart-monitors","title":"New Mobile App Turns Phones into At-Home Fetal Heart Monitors"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"194606","name":"Artificial Intelligence"},{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"},{"id":"140","name":"Cancer Research"},{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"}],"keywords":[{"id":"195214","name":"Copilot said: AI in healthcare"},{"id":"2556","name":"artificial intelligence"},{"id":"187570","name":"healthcare innovation"},{"id":"110201","name":"electronic health records"},{"id":"195216","name":"AI ethics"},{"id":"195217","name":"human oversight"},{"id":"10343","name":"mental health"},{"id":"195218","name":"mental health interventions"},{"id":"755","name":"public health"},{"id":"77691","name":"wearable technology"},{"id":"172067","name":"wearable devices"},{"id":"195219","name":"remote patient monitoring"},{"id":"168927","name":"smartphones"},{"id":"195220","name":"healthcare access"},{"id":"195221","name":"rural healthcare"},{"id":"188889","name":"underserved communities"},{"id":"195222","name":"patient care"},{"id":"195223","name":"clinical workflows"},{"id":"29071","name":"medical innovation"},{"id":"2776","name":"medical imaging"},{"id":"170604","name":"Health Analytics"},{"id":"10679","name":"personalized medicine"},{"id":"195226","name":"preventive care"},{"id":"14788","name":"healthcare technology"},{"id":"108111","name":"health equity"},{"id":"114791","name":"Data Privacy"},{"id":"88161","name":"Healthcare transformation"},{"id":"184464","name":"medical research"},{"id":"195233","name":"AI in medicine"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"109","name":"Georgia Tech"},{"id":"43321","name":"Georgia Institue of Technology"},{"id":"195234","name":"prenatal health"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"},{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESiobhan Rodriguez\u003Cbr\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["sar30@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691259":{"#nid":"691259","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Tiny Predatory Bacteria Help Protect Endangered Caribbean Corals","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EA microscopic predator may offer a new way to protect some of the Caribbean\u2019s most endangered corals. Georgia Tech researchers found that tiny predatory bacteria can halt the spread of a destructive coral disease by hunting and consuming pathogens responsible for the infection.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003ECaused by the\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003EVibrio coralliilyticus\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003Epathogen, the infection is one of the most notorious causes of tissue loss and death in stony corals. In the study, all untreated corals bleached within 48 hours. But corals exposed to the predatory bacteria fared much better: more than half showed no signs of bleaching beyond the infection site \u2014 and disease progression was effectively halted.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cDisease is a major driver of death for these corals, and with sea surface temperatures continuing to rise globally, we anticipate that rates of disease will only increase. It\u2019s part of a deadly synergy profoundly threatening Caribbean coral reefs,\u201d says lead author\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/people\/lauren%20speare\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELauren Speare\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, assistant professor in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u201cPredatory bacteria function like a living probiotic, fighting coral disease without harsh side effects. This could be a targeted way to protect and treat our most vulnerable coral reefs.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThe study, \u201c\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/ismej\/article\/19\/1\/wraf270\/8376498\u0022\u003EHalobacteriovorax Halts Disease Progression in Endangered Caribbean Corals\u003C\/a\u003E,\u201d was published in The\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003EISME Journal\u003C\/em\u003E. In addition to Speare, the research team included Georgia Tech master\u0027s student\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003EChloe Manley\u003C\/strong\u003E and postdoctoral scholar\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003EMacey Coppinger\u003C\/strong\u003E; University of California, Santa Barbara graduate students\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003ESunni Patton\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003Eand\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003EEddie Fuques\u003C\/strong\u003E, and Professor\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.eemb.ucsb.edu\/people\/faculty\/vega-thurber\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ERebecca Vega Thurber\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, director of the UCSB Marine Science Institute.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2 dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENatural Defenders\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003ESpeare became interested in the research while completing her postdoctoral training with Thurber. \u201cDr. Thurber discovered that predatory bacteria are present in many coral microbiomes,\u201d Speare recalls. \u201cWe theorized that they might be contributing to what keeps the ecosystem healthy, balancing it through predation.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EAt the time, the theory was hard to test. Marine predatory bacteria are difficult to preserve long-term, making experiments challenging. The bacteria are also extremely scarce, with populations increasing during a coral infection and rapidly declining after. Catching them while their populations are high is a matter of timing, Speare says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u0022It\u0027s a bit like trying to catch a mountain lion in the act of hunting a deer. If we aren\u2019t looking at the right time, we might miss it entirely,\u201d Speare says. \u201cI knew that if I wanted to study these bacteria in more detail, I would need to carefully design my experiments and timing.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2 dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETesting the Treatment\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003ETo test their theory, the team spent six weeks conducting experiments at the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/mote.org\/location\/summerland-key-lab\/\u0022\u003EMote\u2019s Elizabeth Moore International Center for Coral Reef Research and Restoration (IC2R3)\u003C\/a\u003E in Summerland Key, Florida, a facility that maintains lab-grown living corals in seawater aquariums.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cFirst, we had to make our corals sick,\u201d Speare says. \u201cBut there wasn\u2019t an established way to reliably create these infections in this species in a laboratory setting.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EAfter weeks of experimenting, Speare developed a \u201cpathogen-sticker,\u201d a small agar patch containing the disease-causing pathogens. When placed at the coral\u2019s base, it mimics how infections spread in the wild.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThen,\u0026nbsp;at the first sign of infection, the team treated the coral with the \u003Cem\u003EHalobacteriovorax \u003C\/em\u003Epredatory bacteria\u003Cem\u003E. \u003C\/em\u003E\u201cSurprisingly, the most effective method was to pour the bacteria directly into the sick coral\u2019s tank,\u201d Speare says. \u201cThe bacteria are tiny, so we were able to create a concentrated liquid of them by using a filter small enough that only they can pass through.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EHalobacteriovorax\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003Eare among the fastest-known predatory bacteria, and quickly navigate to their food source \u2013 presumably the pathogen causing the infection.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2 dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFrom Aquariums to Oceans\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EBecause of the straightforward delivery method, Speare believes the team\u2019s methods could be readily adapted for coral restoration efforts, offering a simple way to deliver treatment on natural reefs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cThere are several approaches to treating corals and mitigating stress, but these techniques don\u2019t work for all situations and all species,\u201d she explains. \u201cCorals are complex, and there is no single cure-all, so we need as many tools as possible to help corals survive.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EFor Speare, the next step will be to move from lab-based work to reef environments.\u0026nbsp; She\u2019s particularly curious as to why the predatory bacteria aren\u2019t already moderating illness on natural reefs. \u201cIf this is such an effective way to control pathogens, why isn\u2019t this system preventing disease outbreaks on reefs already?\u0022 she says. \u0022We need to understand what\u0027s limiting this natural defense system \u2013 and that\u2019s what we\u2019re digging into next.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EFunding:\u0026nbsp;Lauren Speare was supported as a Simons Foundation Awardee of the Life Sciences Research Foundation. The Vega Thurber Lab was funded by the National Science Foundation.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EDOI:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/ismejo\/wraf270\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003Ehttps:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/ismejo\/wraf270\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech researchers found that predatory bacteria can halt the spread of a destructive coral disease by hunting and consuming pathogens responsible for the infection.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech researchers found that predatory bacteria can halt the spread of a destructive coral disease by hunting and consuming pathogens responsible for the infection."}],"uid":"35599","created_gmt":"2026-07-27 16:39:09","changed_gmt":"2026-07-29 01:42:03","author":"sperrin6","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-07-27T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-07-27T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680709":{"id":"680709","type":"image","title":"Staghorn coral samples used in Lauren Speare\u0027s research.","body":"\u003Cdiv\u003EStaghorn coral samples used in Lauren Speare\u0027s research.\u003C\/div\u003E","created":"1785289113","gmt_created":"2026-07-29 01:38:33","changed":"1785289113","gmt_changed":"2026-07-29 01:38:33","alt":"Staghorn coral samples used in Lauren Speare\u0027s research.","file":{"fid":"265012","name":"coral-3.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/28\/coral-3.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/28\/coral-3.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3474517,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/28\/coral-3.jpg?itok=YDfZY4SX"}},"680710":{"id":"680710","type":"image","title":"Lauren Speare sampling corals in the lab. ","body":"\u003Cp\u003ELauren Speare sampling corals in the lab.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1785289113","gmt_created":"2026-07-29 01:38:33","changed":"1785289113","gmt_changed":"2026-07-29 01:38:33","alt":"Lauren Speare sampling corals in the lab. ","file":{"fid":"265013","name":"sampling-1.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/28\/sampling-1.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/28\/sampling-1.png","mime":"image\/png","size":2816600,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/28\/sampling-1.png?itok=7gsS4R-m"}}},"media_ids":["680709","680710"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"},{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"192250","name":"cos-microbial"},{"id":"192254","name":"cos-climate"},{"id":"187423","name":"go-bio"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"193653","name":"Georgia Tech Research Institute"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:sperrin6@gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESelena Langner\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003ETechnical Research Writer \/ Editor\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003EGeorgia Tech College of Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691264":{"#nid":"691264","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Jain Awarded Whitehall Foundation Grant","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/people\/saumya-jain\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESaumya Jain\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, assistant professor in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E, has received a $300,000 grant from the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.whitehall.org\/#introduction\u0022\u003EWhitehall Foundation\u003C\/a\u003E to support research examining how genes influence the brain\u2019s wiring and how these neural connections shape behavior.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EAs the brain develops, billions of neurons form precise networks that enable perception, movement, and cognition. Disruptions in this process can contribute to neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism and schizophrenia. To better understand how such disorders arise, Jain\u2019s lab will use molecular and genetic tools to trace the pathway from gene expression to neural connectivity to behavior.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cI am honored and excited to receive support from the Whitehall Foundation,\u201d Jain says. \u201cIt will help us pursue research questions at a stage when our findings can still shape our lab\u2019s long-term direction.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EJain joined Georgia Tech in 2024. He earned a Ph.D. in molecular and cellular biology from the University of Arizona and completed postdoctoral work at the University of California, Los Angeles.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAssistant Professor Saumya Jain received a grant to support research on how genes shape neural connectivity and behavior.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Assistant Professor Saumya Jain received a grant to support research on how genes shape neural connectivity and behavior."}],"uid":"36583","created_gmt":"2026-07-27 18:44:24","changed_gmt":"2026-07-28 19:09:21","author":"lvidal7","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-07-28T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-07-28T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680155":{"id":"680155","type":"image","title":"Saumya Jain","body":null,"created":"1777915309","gmt_created":"2026-05-04 17:21:49","changed":"1777915309","gmt_changed":"2026-05-04 17:21:49","alt":"Saumya Jain stands in front of plants","file":{"fid":"264397","name":"Saumya-Jain.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/05\/04\/Saumya-Jain.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/05\/04\/Saumya-Jain.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":577179,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/05\/04\/Saumya-Jain.jpg?itok=3UIiedV8"}}},"media_ids":["680155"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/sciences.gatech.edu\/news\/biology-faculty-named-searle-scholar","title":"Saumya Jain Named Searle Scholar "},{"url":"https:\/\/www.thejainlab.com\/","title":"The Jain Lab "}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"166882","name":"School of Biological Sciences"},{"id":"192253","name":"cos-neuro"},{"id":"172970","name":"go-neuro"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWriter: Lindsay C. Vidal\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691245":{"#nid":"691245","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Incoming SCP Faculty Member Selected for CRA Trustworthy AI Research Fellowship","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAs artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more integrated into everyday life, researchers are working to better understand and reduce the new digital safety risks it creates.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EVeronica Rivera\u003C\/strong\u003E, an incoming assistant professor in Georgia Tech\u0027s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/scp.cc.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Cybersecurity and Privacy\u003C\/a\u003E (SCP), studies human-computer interaction, security, and privacy to create safer digital experiences. Her research earned her selection to the second cohort of the Computing Research Association (CRA) \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cra.org\/cra-trustworthy-ai-research-fellowship\/#2026-2027-fellows\u0022\u003ETrustworthy AI Research Fellowship for Early Career Scholars\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I am excited and honored to be part of this year\u0027s CRA Trustworthy AI Research Fellowship cohort,\u0022 said Rivera.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022This program reflects the importance of cross-disciplinary research and collaboration in building AI systems that benefit and support society. I look forward to spending the next year building collaborations that support me and my students\u0027 research into protecting the digital safety of the diverse communities who use AI tools.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERivera\u0027s research examines how technology shapes interpersonal relationships. Using empirical and design-based methods, she partners with communities affected by technology-facilitated abuse to understand digital safety risks and develop technologies that better protect users.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThrough the fellowship, Rivera will study how AI is reshaping technology-facilitated abuse and develop data collection methods that enable researchers to assess these evolving risks over time.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Trustworthy AI is a key research area in the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy and the College of Computing,\u0022 said SCP Interim Chair \u003Cstrong\u003EMustaque Ahamad\u003C\/strong\u003E. \u0022The CRA Trustworthy AI Research Fellowship recognizes Veronica\u0027s innovative research and will help her build a research program that advances an area of strategic importance to our school and the broader AI community.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESupported by Microsoft, the CRA Trustworthy AI Research Fellowship recognizes early-career computing researchers who combine technical expertise with interdisciplinary approaches to address the ethical, societal, and human-centered challenges of artificial intelligence. The fellowship provides interdisciplinary training, mentorship, and collaboration opportunities that help researchers integrate ethical, societal, and human-centered perspectives into AI research and development.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOver the next year, Rivera and the other fellows will participate in a series of professional development activities, including a four-day Field School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The program also includes quarterly virtual meetings, mentoring opportunities, and collaboration with scholars participating in related AI and data ethics programs.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EVeronica Rivera, an incoming assistant professor in Georgia Tech\u0027s School of Cybersecurity and Privacy (SCP), studies human-computer interaction, security, and privacy to create safer digital experiences. Her research earned her selection to the second cohort of the Computing Research Association (CRA) Trustworthy AI Research Fellowship for Early Career Scholars.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Veronica Rivera, an incoming assistant professor in Georgia Tech\u0027s School of Cybersecurity and Privacy (SCP) has been selected for the second cohort of the Computing Research Association (CRA) Trustworthy AI Research Fellowship for Early Career Scholars."}],"uid":"36253","created_gmt":"2026-07-27 13:30:51","changed_gmt":"2026-07-27 13:49:21","author":"John Popham","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-07-27T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-07-27T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680674":{"id":"680674","type":"image","title":"464379_CRA-Fellowship_Victoria-Rivera_Graphic.jpg","body":null,"created":"1785159063","gmt_created":"2026-07-27 13:31:03","changed":"1785159063","gmt_changed":"2026-07-27 13:31:03","alt":"A graphic for Vernoica Rivera, CRA Trusterworthy AI Research Fellowship","file":{"fid":"264965","name":"464379_CRA-Fellowship_Victoria-Rivera_Graphic.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/27\/464379_CRA-Fellowship_Victoria-Rivera_Graphic.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/27\/464379_CRA-Fellowship_Victoria-Rivera_Graphic.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1958097,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/27\/464379_CRA-Fellowship_Victoria-Rivera_Graphic.jpg?itok=L9W5Yq44"}}},"media_ids":["680674"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"660406","name":"School of Cybersecurity \u0026 Privacy"},{"id":"660367","name":"School of Cybersecurity and Privacy"}],"categories":[{"id":"194606","name":"Artificial Intelligence"},{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"}],"keywords":[{"id":"192863","name":"go-ai"},{"id":"2835","name":"ai"},{"id":"194393","name":"AI and Cybersecurity"},{"id":"181818","name":"cybersceurity"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193655","name":"Artificial Intelligence at Georgia Tech"},{"id":"145171","name":"Cybersecurity"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Popham\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECommunications Officer II at the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jpopham3@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691122":{"#nid":"691122","#data":{"type":"news","title":"DeMillo Recognized for Lasting Contributions to Software Engineering","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERichard DeMillo, professor, founding chair of Georgia Tech\u0027s School of Cybersecurity and Privacy (SCP), and Charlotte B. and Roger C. Warren Chair of Computing, has been named to the inaugural class of the ACM SIGSOFT Software Engineering Academy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDeMillo was among 80 computer scientists worldwide selected for the Academy\u0027s founding class and was the only Georgia Tech faculty member recognized.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I am honored to be included in the inaugural class of the ACM SIGSOFT Software Engineering Academy,\u0022 said DeMillo. \u0022This recognition reflects the work of outstanding students, collaborators, and colleagues over many years. Software engineering research has transformed the way society builds and depends upon software, and I hope our community will continue to advance the scientific foundations needed to make software more reliable, secure, and worthy of the trust people place in it.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEstablished by ACM SIGSOFT, the Software Engineering Academy is a standing body of honor that recognizes members of the software engineering community whose lasting technical contributions, leadership, and service have shaped the field. The Academy celebrates researchers whose cumulative work and influence have advanced software engineering as both a scientific discipline and professional practice.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Rich\u0027s research in software testing is recognized among the most influential contributions to the field of software engineering,\u0022 said SCP Interim Chair Mustaque Ahamad. \u0022His inclusion in the inaugural ACM SIGSOFT Software Engineering Academy demonstrates the lasting impact of his research on building more reliable software systems.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe inaugural class was selected from leaders whose contributions have already been widely recognized across the software engineering community, including ACM Fellows and recipients of ACM SIGSOFT\u0027s Outstanding Research Award. Beginning next year, new Academy members will be elected annually through a community nomination process.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDeMillo served as the founding chair of Georgia Tech\u0027s School of Cybersecurity and Privacy, the first school of its kind at a top research university. He previously served as the John P. Imlay Dean of the College of Computing and directed the Georgia Tech Information Security Center.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThroughout his career, DeMillo has held leadership positions across academia, industry, and government. He served as Hewlett-Packard\u0027s first chief technology officer, led computing research at Bell Communications Research, directed the Computer Research Division at the National Science Foundation, and led the Software Test and Evaluation Project in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHis research spans software engineering, cybersecurity, election security, and the societal impacts of digital technology. His 1979 paper, Social Processes and Proofs of Theorems and Programs, is widely regarded as a foundational work in software engineering and has been recognized as one of the 50 most influential papers in computer science.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to his research, DeMillo has helped shape higher education through the creation of Georgia Tech\u0027s Center for 21st Century Universities. He is a fellow of both the Association for Computing Machinery and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERichard DeMillo, professor, founding chair of Georgia Tech\u0027s School of Cybersecurity and Privacy (SCP), and Charlotte B. and Roger C. Warren Chair of Computing, has been named to the inaugural class of the ACM SIGSOFT Software Engineering Academy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDeMillo was among 80 computer scientists worldwide selected for the Academy\u0027s founding class and was the only Georgia Tech faculty member recognized.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Richard DeMillo has been named to the inaugural class of the ACM SIGSOFT Software Engineering Academy."}],"uid":"36253","created_gmt":"2026-07-14 19:00:53","changed_gmt":"2026-07-24 19:28:31","author":"John Popham","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-07-14T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-07-14T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"673662":{"id":"673662","type":"image","title":"Georgia Tech Cybersecurity and Privacy Professor Rich DeMillo","body":null,"created":"1712679629","gmt_created":"2024-04-09 16:20:29","changed":"1712679629","gmt_changed":"2024-04-09 16:20:29","alt":"Georgia Tech Cybersecurity and Privacy Professor Rich DeMillo","file":{"fid":"257084","name":"Rich_DeMillo_08.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/04\/09\/Rich_DeMillo_08.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/04\/09\/Rich_DeMillo_08.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":50395,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/04\/09\/Rich_DeMillo_08.jpg?itok=qBhdaP00"}}},"media_ids":["673662"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"660406","name":"School of Cybersecurity \u0026 Privacy"},{"id":"660367","name":"School of Cybersecurity and Privacy"}],"categories":[{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"145171","name":"Cybersecurity"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jpopham3@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJohn Popham\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003ECommunications Officer\u003Cbr\u003ESchool of Cybersecurity and Privacy\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691241":{"#nid":"691241","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Researchers Advance Nanoscale 3D Printing With Faster, Higher Fidelity Method ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EResearchers at the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/me.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorge W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E have developed a new approach to nanoscale 3D printing that improves both speed and fidelity, overcoming a challenge that has limited the technology\u0027s broader use in manufacturing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETheir work, led by \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/me.gatech.edu\/faculty\/saha\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESourabh Saha\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, associate professor and Woodruff Faculty Fellow, and Harnjoo Kim, who conducted the research during his doctoral studies and later as a postdoctoral fellow in Saha\u0027s lab, was recently published in the journal \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41467-026-73782-x\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENature Communications\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENanoscale 3D printing allows researchers to create structures thousands of times smaller than the width of a human hair. These structures have potential applications in fields ranging from advanced computing and optics to biomedical devices and clean energy technologies. However, increasing printing speed often comes at the expense of quality.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/news\/researchers-advance-nanoscale-3d-printing-faster-higher-fidelity-method\u0022\u003ERead the full story on the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering website\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EResearchers at the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/me.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorge W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E have developed a new approach to nanoscale 3D printing that improves both speed and fidelity, overcoming a challenge that has limited the technology\u0027s broader use in manufacturing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETheir work, led by \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/me.gatech.edu\/faculty\/saha\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESourabh Saha\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, associate professor and Woodruff Faculty Fellow, and Harnjoo Kim, who conducted the research during his doctoral studies and later as a postdoctoral fellow in Saha\u0027s lab, was recently published in the journal \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41467-026-73782-x\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENature Communications\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENanoscale 3D printing allows researchers to create structures thousands of times smaller than the width of a human hair. These structures have potential applications in fields ranging from advanced computing and optics to biomedical devices and clean energy technologies. However, increasing printing speed often comes at the expense of quality.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A Georgia Tech research team has developed a nanoscale 3D printing technique that overcomes the traditional tradeoff between speed and accuracy, enabling faster fabrication with higher fidelity."}],"uid":"36881","created_gmt":"2026-07-24 17:46:32","changed_gmt":"2026-07-24 17:56:59","author":"ttroha3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-07-24T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-07-24T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680671":{"id":"680671","type":"image","title":"fig1.jpg","body":null,"created":"1784915737","gmt_created":"2026-07-24 17:55:37","changed":"1784915737","gmt_changed":"2026-07-24 17:55:37","alt":"Diagram illustrating a nanoscale 3D printing process using a femtosecond near-infrared laser, mirrors, lenses, and a digital micromirror device to project patterned light into a photoresist on a glass slide.","file":{"fid":"264962","name":"fig1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/24\/fig1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/24\/fig1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":326251,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/24\/fig1.jpg?itok=K0nzR-sv"}},"680670":{"id":"680670","type":"image","title":"fig5_no_letters.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EComparison of nanoscale 3D-printed structures produced without grayscale patterning (top row) and with grayscale projection two-photon lithography (GP-TPL) (bottom row). The top row shows scanning electron microscope images with defects such as bulging struts, uneven surfaces, collapsed internal features, and distorted curved structures, highlighted by red arrows. The bottom row shows the same structures fabricated with GP-TPL, exhibiting smoother surfaces, more uniform lattice geometry, well-defined curved features, and significantly thinner, higher-fidelity bridges as narrow as 53 nanometers. Insets provide magnified views of the improved lattice quality. Scale bars range from 50 micrometers to 53 nanometers.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1784915214","gmt_created":"2026-07-24 17:46:54","changed":"1784915214","gmt_changed":"2026-07-24 17:46:54","alt":"Diagram illustrating a nanoscale 3D printing process using a femtosecond near-infrared laser, mirrors, lenses, and a digital micromirror device (DMD) to project patterned light into a photoresist on a glass slide.","file":{"fid":"264961","name":"fig5_no_letters.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/24\/fig5_no_letters.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/24\/fig5_no_letters.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":455545,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/24\/fig5_no_letters.jpg?itok=Q7k0R419"}}},"media_ids":["680671","680670"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"108731","name":"School of Mechanical Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETracie Troha\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorge W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["ttroha3@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691208":{"#nid":"691208","#data":{"type":"news","title":"SCI Faculty Brings Human-Centered AI Expertise to International Fulbright Summit","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA School of Computing Instruction (SCI) faculty member recently shared his expertise in computing education with to an international audience.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESCI Instructor \u003Cstrong\u003EPedro Guillermo Feij\u00f3o-Garc\u00eda\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003Ewas selected by Fulbright Colombia to moderate the closing panel of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/fulbright.edu.co\/en\/fulbright-reimagined-summit\/\u0022\u003EFulbright Reimagined Summit 2026: AI Horizons: Learning Pathways for Tomorrow.\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHeld last month at Universidad del Norte in Barranquilla, Colombia, the summit convened scholars, educators, policymakers, and industry leaders to examine how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming education, work, governance, and society.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFulbright Colombia invited Feij\u00f3o-Garc\u00eda to moderate the closing discussion, \u003Cem\u003EFrom Adopters to Architects: Professions of Tomorrow\u003C\/em\u003E, in recognition of \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sites.gatech.edu\/research\/sigcse-2026\/\u0022\u003Ehis research on human-AI interaction\u003C\/a\u003E and the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/news\/sci-lecturer-presents-research-exploring-impostor-phenomenon-cs\u0022\u003Ehidden curriculum\u003C\/a\u003E in engineering and computer science education.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022As a Fulbright alumnus, being invited to contribute to such an important event was an honor and a privilege,\u0022 Feij\u00f3o-Garc\u00eda said. \u0022Beyond the personal recognition, I viewed this opportunity as a meaningful platform to facilitate conversations around the future of education, technology, and workforce development.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFrom Computing Education to AI Futures\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt Georgia Tech, Feij\u00f3o-Garc\u00eda directs \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/news\/undergrads-earn-national-recognition-computing-research\u0022\u003Ethe People-Agents Research for Computing Education (PARCE) Laboratory\u003C\/a\u003E. His research examines the intersection of computing education, STEM learning, and AI, focusing on student preparedness, professional development, and the hidden curriculum- which he explains as the implicit skills and expectations that shape students\u0027 academic and career success.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFeij\u00f3o-Garc\u00eda says his perspective is shaped by years of work in computing education. During his master\u0027s studies in systems and computing engineering at Universidad de los Andes in Colombia, he explored ways to expand access to computing education through interactive programming environments. He went on to earn his Ph.D. in human-centered computing from the University of Florida, where he focused his research on computing education and human-centered AI.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022AI is transforming how we learn, work, communicate, make decisions, and interact with one another,\u0022 Feij\u00f3o-Garc\u00eda said. \u0022As educators, we need to prepare students not only with technical competencies, but also with critical thinking, ethical reasoning, collaboration, and the ability to adapt.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPreparing Students for the Professions of Tomorrow\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERather than viewing AI as a challenge for higher education, Feij\u00f3o-Garc\u00eda sees it as an opportunity for universities to rethink how they prepare students for an evolving workforce. He believes educators should help students develop the judgment to know when AI can enhance their work and when independent reasoning and human expertise are essential.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The conversation should not revolve around whether AI belongs in education, but rather how we integrate it responsibly and intentionally,\u0022 Feij\u00f3o-Garc\u00eda said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe also hopes students begin to think of AI not only as artificial intelligence, but as augmented intelligence. \u0022The goal should not be to replace human thinking, but to enhance it,\u0022 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFeij\u00f3o-Garc\u00eda emphasized that AI should augment human capabilities rather than replace human judgment. Preparing students for an AI-driven workforce requires helping them understand when AI can support their work and when human reasoning, creativity, and expertise are essential.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EStrengthening U.S.\u2013Colombia Collaboration\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe summit reinforced the value of collaboration among scholars, educators, policymakers, and industry leaders in advancing research and education. Earlier this year, Feij\u00f3o-Garc\u00eda participated in another Fulbright Colombia event focused on strengthening scientific collaboration between Colombia and the United States.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/fulbrightspecialist.worldlearning.org\/the-fulbright-program\u0022\u003EFulbright Program\u003C\/a\u003E, which operates in more than 160 countries worldwide, is the United States government\u2019s flagship international academic exchange program to support peaceful relations between the people of the U.S. and the people of other countries. Fulbright Colombia, the binational commission for educational exchange between the U.S. and Colombia, has supported academic and scientific collaboration between the two countries since 1957.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFeij\u00f3o-Garc\u00eda\u2019s academic journey reflects the impact of these collaborations. The Fulbright Program supported his doctoral studies in the United States, and he continues to build connections between Colombia and the U.S. through his work at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Scientific diplomacy is built on people,\u0022 Feij\u00f3o-Garc\u00eda said. \u0022Events like the Fulbright Reimagined Summit provide the environment where trust is established, ideas are exchanged, and collaborations begin.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA School of Computing Instruction (SCI) faculty member recently shared his expertise in computing education with a distinguished to an international audience.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A School of Computing Instruction (SCI) faculty member recently shared his expertise in computing education with a distinguished to an international audience."}],"uid":"36613","created_gmt":"2026-07-22 13:28:12","changed_gmt":"2026-07-24 12:06:56","author":"Emily Smith","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-07-24T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-07-24T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680649":{"id":"680649","type":"image","title":"pedroheadshot1.jpg","body":null,"created":"1784726988","gmt_created":"2026-07-22 13:29:48","changed":"1784726988","gmt_changed":"2026-07-22 13:29:48","alt":"SCI faculty member Pedro Guillermo Feij\u00f3o-Garc\u00eda","file":{"fid":"264939","name":"pedroheadshot1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/22\/pedroheadshot1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/22\/pedroheadshot1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1996917,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/22\/pedroheadshot1.jpg?itok=SexFD3bo"}},"680650":{"id":"680650","type":"image","title":"PedroFulbright1-copy.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003ESCI faculty member Pedro Guillermo Feij\u00f3o-Garc\u00eda was selected by Fulbright Colombia to moderate the closing panel of the Fulbright Reimagined Summit on AI.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1784727329","gmt_created":"2026-07-22 13:35:29","changed":"1784727329","gmt_changed":"2026-07-22 13:35:29","alt":"SCI faculty member Pedro Guillermo Feij\u00f3o-Garc\u00eda was selected by Fulbright Colombia to moderate the closing panel of the Fulbright Reimagined Summit on AI. ","file":{"fid":"264940","name":"PedroFulbright1-copy.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/22\/PedroFulbright1-copy.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/22\/PedroFulbright1-copy.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":81319,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/22\/PedroFulbright1-copy.jpg?itok=APEaoFfa"}},"680645":{"id":"680645","type":"image","title":"PedroFulbrightCopy2.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003ESCI faculty member Pedro Guillermo Feij\u00f3o-Garc\u00eda was selected by Fulbright Colombia to moderate the closing panel of the Fulbright Reimagined Summit on AI.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1784726988","gmt_created":"2026-07-22 13:29:48","changed":"1784726988","gmt_changed":"2026-07-22 13:29:48","alt":"SCI faculty member Pedro Guillermo Feij\u00f3o-Garc\u00eda was selected by Fulbright Colombia to moderate the closing panel of the Fulbright Reimagined Summit on AI. ","file":{"fid":"264935","name":"PedroFulbrightCopy2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/22\/PedroFulbrightCopy2.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/22\/PedroFulbrightCopy2.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":89090,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/22\/PedroFulbrightCopy2.jpg?itok=KqWv8Ci8"}},"680646":{"id":"680646","type":"image","title":"PedroFulbrightCopy3.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003ESCI faculty member Pedro Guillermo Feij\u00f3o-Garc\u00eda was selected by Fulbright Colombia to moderate the closing panel of the Fulbright Reimagined Summit on AI.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1784726988","gmt_created":"2026-07-22 13:29:48","changed":"1784726988","gmt_changed":"2026-07-22 13:29:48","alt":"SCI faculty member Pedro Guillermo Feij\u00f3o-Garc\u00eda was selected by Fulbright Colombia to moderate the closing panel of the Fulbright Reimagined Summit on AI. ","file":{"fid":"264936","name":"PedroFulbrightCopy3.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/22\/PedroFulbrightCopy3.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/22\/PedroFulbrightCopy3.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":50615,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/22\/PedroFulbrightCopy3.jpg?itok=NY71vEJn"}},"680647":{"id":"680647","type":"image","title":"PedroFulbrightCopy4.jpg","body":null,"created":"1784726988","gmt_created":"2026-07-22 13:29:48","changed":"1784726988","gmt_changed":"2026-07-22 13:29:48","alt":"SCI faculty member Pedro Guillermo Feij\u00f3o-Garc\u00eda was selected by Fulbright Colombia to moderate the closing panel of the Fulbright Reimagined Summit on AI. ","file":{"fid":"264937","name":"PedroFulbrightCopy4.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/22\/PedroFulbrightCopy4.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/22\/PedroFulbrightCopy4.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":43596,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/22\/PedroFulbrightCopy4.jpg?itok=VKP3DilG"}},"680648":{"id":"680648","type":"image","title":"PedroFulbrightCopy5.jpg","body":null,"created":"1784726988","gmt_created":"2026-07-22 13:29:48","changed":"1784726988","gmt_changed":"2026-07-22 13:29:48","alt":"SCI faculty member Pedro Guillermo Feij\u00f3o-Garc\u00eda was selected by Fulbright Colombia to moderate the closing panel of the Fulbright Reimagined Summit on AI. ","file":{"fid":"264938","name":"PedroFulbrightCopy5.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/22\/PedroFulbrightCopy5.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/22\/PedroFulbrightCopy5.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":195416,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/22\/PedroFulbrightCopy5.jpg?itok=-btovN4l"}}},"media_ids":["680649","680650","680645","680646","680647","680648"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"660374","name":"School of Computing Instruction"}],"categories":[{"id":"194606","name":"Artificial Intelligence"},{"id":"42901","name":"Community"},{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"42911","name":"Education"},{"id":"133","name":"Special Events and Guest Speakers"}],"keywords":[{"id":"654","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"193866","name":"school of computing instruction"},{"id":"187812","name":"artificial intelligence (AI)"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193655","name":"Artificial Intelligence at Georgia Tech"},{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":["emily.smith@cc.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691200":{"#nid":"691200","#data":{"type":"news","title":"College\u0027s Expanded GTSI Offering Showcases Creativity, Challenges Computing Myths","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFor more than 100 rising 11th-grade students attending this year\u2019s Georgia Tech Summer Institute (GTSI), computing wasn\u0027t presented as a single career path or a fixed set of programming languages. Instead, students were able to explore the creative side of computing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGTSI brings talented students from across the state to campus for a weeklong taste of college life.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlong with learning about academic programs and scholarship opportunities, GTSI offers participating students \u2013 many from rural and under-resourced communities \u2013 hands-on STEM experiences.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003EDiscovering a Different Side of Computing\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn its second year of participating in \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/expandedlearning.ceismc.gatech.edu\/summer-institute\u0022\u003EGTSI\u003C\/a\u003E, the College of Computing broadened its partnership with the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ceismc.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ECenter for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing (CEISMC)\u003C\/a\u003E this summer, offering two full-day, interactive experiences that integrated creativity and computational thinking.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The College of Computing first participated in 2025 and is excited to build on that partnership,\u0022 said\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003EAneesah\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003EAllen\u003C\/strong\u003E, senior education outreach manager, who coordinated the College\u0027s involvement with CEISMC.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Our goal is to create a memorable experience that helps students see themselves in computing while learning new skills in a fun, engaging way.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003EHands-On Learning, Real-World Connections\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo achieve this goal, the GT Computing-led sessions gave GTSI students the opportunity to experiment with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, explore physical computing, and discover how technology intersects with:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022e111dd3c363a827cbd867e31bcb120568\u0022\u003EArts \u0026amp; entertainment\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022e313fce5b8181446acaeffa8ec7e98ea2\u0022\u003ESports\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022e26d1950e0579e4244d1bb53ea9b5c0d5\u0022\u003EInteractive media\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022e09e4bef4a3cc1ba358cf2485d92edc7c\u0022\u003EAnd more\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESababu\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cstrong\u003EBarashango\u003C\/strong\u003E and \u003Cstrong\u003ETerry\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003EFoster\u003C\/strong\u003E, CS instructional specialists and research associates at the College\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/constellations.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EConstellation Center for Education in Computing\u003C\/a\u003E, along with \u003Cstrong\u003ECedric\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003EStallworth\u003C\/strong\u003E, GT Computing assistant dean for outreach, led the College\u2019s participation in this year\u2019s GTSI.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor Barashango, the interactive sessions \u2013 focused on \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/degree-programs\/bachelor-science-computer-science\u0022\u003Ecomputer science (CS)\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/degree-programs\/bachelor-science-computational-media\u0022\u003Ecomputational media (CM)\u003C\/a\u003E \u2013 were designed to broaden students\u0027 understanding of what computing can be.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The College of Computing and its Constellations Center for Education in Computing are partnering with CEISMC to help high school students understand the many possibilities computer science and computational media offer,\u0022 said Barashango. \u0022The students were deeply engaged in the interactive sessions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The content ranged from an introductory icebreaker using Google Maps and pixel art to block coding and physical computing, and finally to AI and machine learning.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlong with presenting computing\u2019s creative side and emphasizing hands-on participation, the GT Computing-led sessions were designed to challenge long-held assumptions about who belongs in computing and what skills the field requires.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The experiences in our sessions directly challenge the myth that you can\u0027t be both creative and logical,\u0022 Barashango said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003EExpanding Students\u0027 View of Computing\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFoster believes that introducing students to all aspects of computing before they make decisions about college can help them see opportunities well beyond what they might have considered.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Learning about CS and CM pathways broadens their view of computing and allows them to apply computing in fields they care about,\u0022 Foster said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe pointed to computational media as an especially powerful gateway because it integrates technical and creative thinking.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022When speaking specifically about CM, which is an excellent entry point into computing, students can be both creative and technical, not just one or the other,\u0022 Foster said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe GT Computing-led sessions also encouraged students to think beyond traditional technology careers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022One of the key messages we shared with students was that earning a computer science degree does not mean they have to become software engineers,\u0022 Foster said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We emphasized the wide range of computing careers available, including fields such as sports technology, film production, and interactive media, in which CS and CM skills are highly valued.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003EBuilding Tomorrow\u0027s Computing Workforce\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDespite the success of the College\u2019s GTSI session, Barashango recognizes that the goal of helping students see themselves in computing extends beyond a single summer program.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIntroducing students to computational thinking early can help prepare them for whatever path they choose,\u201d he said. \u0022Regardless of their career choices, their lives will continue to be affected by and integrated with computer science.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022If they do not develop computational thinking and skills, they will be left behind in the technology and wealth gap.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIn its second year participating in GTSI, the College of Computing broadened its partnership with the Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing (CEISMC) this summer by offering two full-day, interactive experiences that integrated creativity and computational thinking. The goal of the expanded offering is to create a memorable experience that helps GT Summer Institute students see themselves in computing while learning new skills in a fun, engaging way.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"GT Computing is combining creativity and computational thinking to help Georgia high school students reconsider what computing is all about."}],"uid":"32045","created_gmt":"2026-07-21 18:18:22","changed_gmt":"2026-07-22 01:29:41","author":"Ben Snedeker","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-07-22T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-07-22T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680639":{"id":"680639","type":"image","title":"GT Computing\u0027s Sababu Barashango (top) monitors a student\u0027s progress during an interactive session that\u0027s part of the 2026 Georgia Tech Summer Institute.","body":"\u003Cp\u003EPhoto by Terence Rushin\/GT Computing: GT Computing\u0027s Sababu Barashango (top) monitors a student\u0027s progress during an interactive session that\u0027s part of the 2026 Georgia Tech Summer Institute.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1784659267","gmt_created":"2026-07-21 18:41:07","changed":"1784659267","gmt_changed":"2026-07-21 18:41:07","alt":"GT Computing\u0027s Sababu Barashango (top) monitors a student\u0027s progress during an interactive session that\u0027s part of the 2026 Georgia Tech Summer Institute.","file":{"fid":"264928","name":"GTComputing-2026-GTSI-session-1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/21\/GTComputing-2026-GTSI-session-1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/21\/GTComputing-2026-GTSI-session-1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":167818,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/21\/GTComputing-2026-GTSI-session-1.jpg?itok=7rWdoPLf"}},"680640":{"id":"680640","type":"image","title":"GT Computing Assistant Dean for Outreach Cedric Stallworth (right) is a longstanding advocate of sharing the creative side of computing with high school students.","body":"\u003Cp\u003EPhoto by Terence Rushin\/GT Computing: College of Computing Assistant Dean for Outreach Cedric Stallworth is a longstanding advocate of sharing the creative side of computing with high school students.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1784659547","gmt_created":"2026-07-21 18:45:47","changed":"1784659547","gmt_changed":"2026-07-21 18:45:47","alt":"GT Computing Assistant Dean for Outreach Cedric Stallworth (right) is a longstanding advocate of sharing the creative side of computing with high school students.","file":{"fid":"264929","name":"GTComputing-2026-GTSI-Session-2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/21\/GTComputing-2026-GTSI-Session-2.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/21\/GTComputing-2026-GTSI-Session-2.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":146757,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/21\/GTComputing-2026-GTSI-Session-2.jpg?itok=pQjpWlgo"}},"680641":{"id":"680641","type":"image","title":"GT Computing\u0027s Terry Foster (right) helped to develop the College\u0027s expanded offering for the 2026 Georgia Tech Summer Institute.","body":"\u003Cp\u003EPhoto by Terence Rushin\/GT Computing: GT Computing\u0027s Terry Foster (right) helped to develop the College\u0027s expanded offering for the 2026 Georgia Tech Summer Institute.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1784659778","gmt_created":"2026-07-21 18:49:38","changed":"1784659778","gmt_changed":"2026-07-21 18:49:38","alt":"GT Computing\u0027s Terry Foster (right) helped to develop the College\u0027s expanded offering for the 2026 Georgia Tech Summer Institute.","file":{"fid":"264930","name":"GTComputing-2026-GTSI-Session-3.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/21\/GTComputing-2026-GTSI-Session-3.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/21\/GTComputing-2026-GTSI-Session-3.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":107567,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/21\/GTComputing-2026-GTSI-Session-3.jpg?itok=1NmxO938"}}},"media_ids":["680639","680640","680641"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"606703","name":"Constellations Center"}],"categories":[{"id":"194606","name":"Artificial Intelligence"},{"id":"42901","name":"Community"},{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"194611","name":"State Impact"},{"id":"194612","name":"Workforce Development"}],"keywords":[{"id":"10199","name":"Daily Digest"},{"id":"181991","name":"Georgia Tech News Center"},{"id":"194637","name":"Georgia Tech Summer Institute"},{"id":"187812","name":"artificial intelligence (AI)"},{"id":"411","name":"CEISMC"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBen Snedeker\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESr. Communications Manager\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech College of Computing\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003Ealbert.snedeker@cc.gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691203":{"#nid":"691203","#data":{"type":"news","title":"AI Is Rewriting Cybersecurity\u0027s Rules","body":[{"value":"\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETop 3 Takeaways\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli class=\u0022ck-list-marker-bold\u0022 data-list-item-id=\u0022eeb89add9349ec415091fe31ebaa1343a\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAI is accelerating cyberattacks.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli class=\u0022ck-list-marker-bold\u0022 data-list-item-id=\u0022edd916d25ee1c6dac5bbbe6ebba43c535\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe same technology can strengthen defenses.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli class=\u0022ck-list-marker-bold\u0022 data-list-item-id=\u0022ec76b0f5b2756d385f2e78000e51dc367\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe biggest risk is falling behind.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003EArtificial intelligence is changing cybersecurity on both sides of the battlefield. The technology helping organizations improve efficiency also enables cybercriminals to identify vulnerabilities, develop exploits, and launch attacks at unprecedented speed.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers in the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy (SCP) say the greatest concern is not that AI is creating entirely new forms of cyberattacks. Instead, it is accelerating activities that attackers already perform, making existing threats quicker, cheaper, and harder to stop.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022AI is dramatically speeding up cyberattacks,\u0022 said\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/saltaformaggio.ece.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EBrendan Saltaformaggio\u003C\/a\u003E, associate professor in the SCP and the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE). \u0022AI can identify vulnerabilities far faster than humans and often in places humans wouldn\u0027t think to look.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHackers Are Moving Faster\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMost cyberattacks include several stages: finding vulnerabilities, developing ways to exploit them, gaining access to systems, and pursuing a goal such as stealing information or disrupting operations. According to\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/people\/frank-li\u0022\u003EFrank Li\u003C\/a\u003E, associate professor in the SCP and ECE, AI is having its biggest impact on the early phases of that process.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022AI can help attackers explore potential decisions and implement attacks faster than in the past, whether it\u0027s identifying software bugs or constructing social engineering hooks,\u0022 Li said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe pace of attacks has already changed dramatically.\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.scheller.gatech.edu\/directory\/faculty\/swire\/index.html\u0022\u003EPeter Swire\u003C\/a\u003E, J.Z. Liang Chair in the SCP and professor of law and ethics in the Scheller College of Business, says attackers are moving from vulnerability discovery to exploitation much faster than in the past.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The average time until an exploit is detected even a couple of years ago was measured in months,\u0022 Swire said. \u0022Now it is measured in hours.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat compressed timeline is forcing organizations to rethink how quickly they identify, prioritize, and patch vulnerabilities.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe Risk Reaches Everyone\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHealthcare systems, critical infrastructure providers, government agencies, and small businesses remain attractive targets because they often manage sensitive information or essential services while relying on legacy technology. But experts emphasize that no organization is immune.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Unfortunately, everyone is at risk,\u0022 Saltaformaggio said. \u0022AI is not creating new victims; AI is making attackers faster and more effective at targeting the same organizations they have always pursued.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOrganizations with outdated systems or limited cybersecurity resources face particular challenges because AI allows attackers to identify weaknesses in less time and at lower cost than ever before.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFighting AI With AI\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECybersecurity defenders also have access to the same technology.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EExperts say AI can strengthen defenses before, during, and after a cyberattack. Defenders can use AI to identify and patch vulnerabilities more quickly, reducing opportunities for attackers to gain access. AI can also detect subtle signs of intrusion by correlating activity across networks and recognizing patterns that would be difficult for humans to spot in real time.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOnce an attack occurs, AI can support rapid investigation and response by analyzing how the compromise happened, identifying root causes, and helping deploy targeted protections.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022AI can help defenders in every step of stopping a cyberattack,\u0022 Saltaformaggio said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers at Georgia Tech are already demonstrating AI\u0027s defensive potential. Saltaformaggio pointed to Georgia Tech\u0027s recent success in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency\u2019s (DARPA)\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/news\/2025\/08\/11\/georgia-tech-makes-history-wins-darpa-challenge\u0022\u003EArtificial Intelligence Cyber Challenge\u003C\/a\u003E, which highlighted how AI systems can autonomously discover and reason about software vulnerabilities at large scale. Swire also noted that a Georgia Tech team led by Professor Taesoo Kim won a $4 million DARPA prize for developing advanced AI-based cybersecurity defenses.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESpeed Is the New Defense\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDespite the promise of AI-powered security, significant challenges remain. Security teams need AI tools they can trust, ones that explain how they reached conclusions and provide evidence that analysts can verify. Attackers may also attempt to manipulate AI systems, creating new risks for organizations that rely heavily on automated tools.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELi says organizations cannot rely on traditional, human-paced security processes to keep up.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022AI\u0027s primary impact on cyberattacks is enhancing speed and scale,\u0022 Li said. \u0022Organizations need to adapt to more agile defenses and processes that account for this, in many cases relying on AI as well to help speed up defensive actions.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOrganizations also need to rethink how they respond to vulnerabilities. Swire argues that traditional patch management is no longer fast enough in a world where exploits can emerge within hours.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The entire process for patching systems will have to be re-engineered,\u0022 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe cybersecurity landscape has always been an arms race between attackers and defenders. AI hasn\u0027t changed that reality. It has simply accelerated it. The organizations that will be best positioned are those that adopt AI as quickly as the adversaries they are trying to stop.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EArtificial intelligence is reshaping cybersecurity by accelerating how quickly cybercriminals can identify vulnerabilities, develop exploits, and launch attacks. Georgia Tech cybersecurity experts warn that AI is not creating entirely new threats but making existing cyberattacks faster, cheaper, and more difficult to stop. At the same time, AI-powered cybersecurity tools can help organizations detect vulnerabilities, strengthen defenses, and respond to incidents in real time. As AI-driven cyber threats continue to evolve, organizations that adopt AI-based security strategies will be better positioned to protect critical systems, data, and infrastructure.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"AI is giving cybercriminals new speed and scale, but researchers say the technology could also become one of cybersecurity\u2019s strongest defenses."}],"uid":"35798","created_gmt":"2026-07-21 18:44:13","changed_gmt":"2026-07-21 19:04:11","author":"Ayana Isles","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-07-21T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-07-21T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680638":{"id":"680638","type":"image","title":"Cybersecurity and AI","body":null,"created":"1784659059","gmt_created":"2026-07-21 18:37:39","changed":"1784659173","gmt_changed":"2026-07-21 18:39:33","alt":"man sitting at computer doing programming. ","file":{"fid":"264927","name":"AdobeStock_480884598.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/21\/AdobeStock_480884598.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/21\/AdobeStock_480884598.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":925220,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/21\/AdobeStock_480884598.jpeg?itok=U06hGV0R"}}},"media_ids":["680638"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"}],"keywords":[{"id":"2835","name":"ai"},{"id":"9641","name":"Cyber Threats"},{"id":"194393","name":"AI and Cybersecurity"},{"id":"1404","name":"Cybersecurity"},{"id":"194701","name":"go-resarchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193655","name":"Artificial Intelligence at Georgia Tech"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:aisles3@gatech.edu\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAyana Isles\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003ESenior Media Relations Representative\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691185":{"#nid":"691185","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Richard Simmons Named Interim Director of Student Competition Center ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/me.gatech.edu\/user\/1187\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ERichard Simmons\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, principal research engineer in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorge W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, has been named interim director of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/scc.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EStudent Competition Center (SCC)\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, where he will lead efforts to strengthen experiential learning and support the Institute\u2019s student competition teams.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe SCC is home to seven student engineering competition teams and provides workspace, tools, and resources to help students apply classroom learning to real-world engineering challenges.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn his new role, Simmons will provide strategic leadership and operational oversight for student competition teams, facilities, staff, budgets, sponsorships, and safety programs. He also will teach and mentor students through engineering design and experiential learning courses, helping connect classroom instruction with project-based experiences.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cRichard brings a unique combination of industry experience, research leadership, and deep commitment to student success,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/user\/1078\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECarolyn Seepersad\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, Eugene C. Gwaltney, Jr. School Chair. \u201cAs an accomplished engineer and a Georgia Tech alumnus, he understands the value of experiential learning and is well-positioned to lead the Student Competition Center.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESimmons, ME 1993, joined Georgia Tech in 2016 after spending the first 20 years of his career leading research, technology, and business development initiatives in the automotive industry, energy sector, and federal government. After graduating from Tech, he earned his master\u2019s and doctoral degrees from Purdue University and later became a licensed professional engineer.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOver the past decade, Simmons has held several leadership and research positions within Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/energy.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EStrategic Energy Institute\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, including founding director of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/epicenter.energy.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEnergy Policy and Innovation Center\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E and, most recently, director of Research and Studies. He has also taught a variety of courses at the Woodruff School, including \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/2110.me.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EME 2110\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/capstone-design\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECapstone Design\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, Energy Systems, and Renewable Energy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/news\/richard-simmons-named-interim-director-student-competition-center\u0022\u003ERead Full Story on the ME News Page\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/me.gatech.edu\/user\/1187\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ERichard Simmons\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, principal research engineer in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorge W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, has been named interim director of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/scc.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EStudent Competition Center (SCC)\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, where he will lead efforts to strengthen experiential learning and support the Institute\u2019s student competition teams.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe SCC is home to seven student engineering competition teams and provides workspace, tools, and resources to help students apply classroom learning to real-world engineering challenges.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn his new role, Simmons will provide strategic leadership and operational oversight for student competition teams, facilities, staff, budgets, sponsorships, and safety programs. He also will teach and mentor students through engineering design and experiential learning courses, helping connect classroom instruction with project-based experiences.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Richard Simmons, principal research engineer in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, has been named interim director of the Student Competition Center (SCC)."}],"uid":"36413","created_gmt":"2026-07-21 01:23:10","changed_gmt":"2026-07-21 01:28:44","author":"pdevarajan3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-07-20T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-07-20T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680632":{"id":"680632","type":"image","title":"GTMS-RSimmons_26_Sat-617_0.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003ERich Simmons on a F1-style race car designed by the GT-Motorsports team at the Michigan International Speedway\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1784597001","gmt_created":"2026-07-21 01:23:21","changed":"1784597001","gmt_changed":"2026-07-21 01:23:21","alt":"Rich Simmons on a car designed by the GT-Motorsports team at the Michigan International Speedway","file":{"fid":"264921","name":"GTMS-RSimmons_26_Sat-617_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/20\/GTMS-RSimmons_26_Sat-617_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/20\/GTMS-RSimmons_26_Sat-617_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1156844,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/20\/GTMS-RSimmons_26_Sat-617_0.jpg?itok=yGJWQXKq"}}},"media_ids":["680632"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/news\/richard-simmons-named-interim-director-student-competition-center","title":"Read Full Story on ME News Page"}],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"367481","name":"SEI Energy"},{"id":"1280","name":"Strategic Energy Institute"}],"categories":[{"id":"42911","name":"Education"},{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"193158","name":"Student Competition Winners (academic, innovation, and research)"}],"keywords":[{"id":"186858","name":"go-sei"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:tracie.troha@me.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ETraci Troha,\u003C\/a\u003E ME Communications.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["tracie.troha@me.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691168":{"#nid":"691168","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Building the Energy Workforce of Tomorrow Through Energy Unplugged at Georgia Tech","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EEach summer, Georgia Tech\u2019s campus becomes a destination for eager high school students interested in exploring the future of energy. This year, the highly sought-after Energy Unplugged camp, a collaboration between the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/energy.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EStrategic Energy Institute\u003C\/a\u003E (SEI), the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/epicenter.energy.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EEnergy Policy and Innovation Center\u003C\/a\u003E, and\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ceismc.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ECEISMC\u003C\/a\u003E, attracted students from across the country, including California and Texas, for an immersive, hands-on experience in real-world energy systems.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBlending engineering challenges, field experiences, and team-based design projects, the weeklong program in June gave students a dynamic introduction to energy, sustainability, and engineering innovation and a rare opportunity to engage directly with the technologies, infrastructure, people, and ideas that help power the world.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur goal is to get outside of the classroom, have fun, and demonstrate how a STEM education can literally help turn on lightbulbs,\u201d said SEI\u2019s director of Research and Studies,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/energy.gatech.edu\/people\/richard-simmons\u0022\u003ERich Simmons\u003C\/a\u003E, who also directs Energy Unplugged. \u201cThrough hands-on learning, field trips, and real-world experiences, these creative students are learning that everyone can play a role in our energy future. Along the way, they are gaining a deeper understanding of the tradeoffs and challenges engineers face and learning from experts about pathways to an energy career.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMousetrap-Powered Cars\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EPutting those ideas into practice from day one,\u0026nbsp;the camp began with an engineering challenge in which students designed and constructed mousetrap-powered cars. Using the stored potential energy of a mousetrap spring to propel their vehicles, participants explored how energy is converted from one form to another and identified sources of friction and inefficiency that affect the distance traveled. The activity encouraged students to think like engineers, iteratively testing and refining their designs to improve results.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEngineering Optimization and Tradeoffs\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr\u003ESimilar problem-solving skills were put to the test during an RC car optimization challenge. Equipped with a battery-powered vehicle and energy-monitoring systems, students were tasked with completing a driving course while maximizing their score by balancing speed, energy consumption, safety, and cargo capacity. Participants had the option to add weights and tennis balls to increase potential points, but doing so increased the risk of penalties from dropped cargo, missed obstacles, or vehicle rollovers. The exercise highlighted the tradeoffs engineers routinely face when optimizing systems under competing constraints.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe overall interest in green energy among youth is increasing, so having demonstrations and experiments as well as some high-level lectures on the actual science was a great way to engage the students,\u201d said student assistant\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/wnudd\u0022\u003EWilliam Nudd\u003C\/a\u003E, a senior in mechanical engineering who assisted with the camp. \u201cWhen I was in their shoes, I had never attended a physics class, so the camp was definitely getting them a step ahead and did a great job introducing and showcasing key concepts related to energy: How does my home get electricity? Where does energy come from? How do power plants operate?\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETrivia, Demos, and Scavenger Hunts\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EAdditional activities throughout the week included energy-themed trivia competitions, a steam engine demonstration, a solar microgrid exercise, and a campus scavenger hunt. Together, they reinforced classroom concepts through interactive learning and encouraged students to connect technical principles with practical applications.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EField Trips to Power Plants\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EWhile these activities taught foundational concepts,\u0026nbsp;a highlight of the camp was a series of field trips that allowed students to observe large-scale energy infrastructure in operation. Participants toured the Georgia Power McDonough-Atkinson Plant, where they learned how combined-cycle power plants generate electricity using both gas and steam turbines to improve efficiency. Students also visited the Morgan Falls hydroelectric facility, getting an up-close view of the massive generators and equipment used to convert the energy of flowing water into electricity.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECampus Tours\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EIn addition to exploring regional energy infrastructure, students were introduced to Georgia Tech\u2019s innovation ecosystem through visits to campus makerspaces and research facilities, including the Flowers Invention Studio and The Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design. Students explored one of the nation\u2019s most advanced examples of sustainable building design during a guided tour of The Kendeda Building, which generates 200% of the energy it consumes. Here they learned how energy efficiency, renewable generation, and resource conservation can be integrated into the built environment.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFinal Projects\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr\u003ETo bring together the concepts explored throughout the week, students worked in teams on a final design challenge centered around a solar-powered disaster relief trailer on loan from the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.footprintproject.org\/\u0022\u003EFootprint Project\u003C\/a\u003E. Equipped with photovoltaic panels and battery storage, the trailer was originally designed to provide off-grid power during emergencies. Students were challenged to identify additional uses for the system during periods when disaster response was not required. Many teams proposed sustainable food truck businesses powered by the trailer\u2019s solar energy system.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETeams also evaluated cooking technologies such as pressure cookers and slow cookers, comparing energy consumption, power requirements, efficiency, and operating costs. Students examined how energy demand aligned with available solar generation and battery storage while conducting economic analyses to determine business viability and profitability. The project integrated engineering, economics, and sustainability principles while encouraging creative thinking and collaborative problem-solving.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cEnergy Unplugged is an inspiring demonstration of how hands-on engineering experiences can spark curiosity and passion in the next generation of STEM leaders,\u201d said student assistant\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/alvarohucker\/?isSelfProfile=false\u0022\u003EAlvaro Hucker\u003C\/a\u003E, a senior mechanical engineering student. \u201cWorking with this group and seeing the fun they were having brought back fond memories of my own childhood. It was an amazing experience.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EStudent Contributors: Alvaro Hucker, Senior, Mechanical Engineering and William Nudd, Senior, Mechanical Engineering.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EEach summer, Georgia Tech\u2019s campus becomes a destination for eager high school students interested in exploring the future of energy. This year, the highly sought-after Energy Unplugged camp, a collaboration between the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/energy.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EStrategic Energy Institute\u003C\/a\u003E (SEI), the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/epicenter.energy.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EEnergy Policy and Innovation Center\u003C\/a\u003E, and\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ceismc.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ECEISMC\u003C\/a\u003E, attracted students from across the country, including California and Texas, for an immersive, hands-on experience in real-world energy systems.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Energy Unplugged camp, a collaboration between the\u00a0Strategic Energy Institute (SEI), the\u00a0Energy Policy and Innovation Center, and\u00a0CEISMC, attracted students from across the country for an immersive, hands-on experience in real-world energy systems. "}],"uid":"36413","created_gmt":"2026-07-20 15:50:28","changed_gmt":"2026-07-20 17:06:11","author":"pdevarajan3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-07-20T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-07-20T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680626":{"id":"680626","type":"image","title":"IMG_1862.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003ERich Simmons, SEI\u0027s Director of Research and Studies, teaches at the Energy Unplugged camp\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1784562762","gmt_created":"2026-07-20 15:52:42","changed":"1784597458","gmt_changed":"2026-07-21 01:30:58","alt":"SEI\u0027s Director of Research and Studies Rich Simmons teaching at the Energy Unplugged Camp","file":{"fid":"264914","name":"IMG_1862.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/20\/IMG_1862.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/20\/IMG_1862.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3624927,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/20\/IMG_1862.jpg?itok=-7R0Exb2"}},"680627":{"id":"680627","type":"image","title":"IMG_1906.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003ERich Simmons, teaches energy production and consumption with The Footprint Project\u0027s solar trailor\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1784562893","gmt_created":"2026-07-20 15:54:53","changed":"1784597502","gmt_changed":"2026-07-21 01:31:42","alt":"Rich Simmons, teaches energy production and consumption using Footprint Project\u0027s Solar Trailor ","file":{"fid":"264915","name":"IMG_1906.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/20\/IMG_1906.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/20\/IMG_1906.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3510767,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/20\/IMG_1906.jpg?itok=GamNCFu_"}},"680628":{"id":"680628","type":"image","title":"IMG_1918-copy.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EGroup picture of the 2026 Energy Unplugged camp participants with Rich Simmons, camp director and student assistants William Nudd and Alvaro Hucker\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1784566485","gmt_created":"2026-07-20 16:54:45","changed":"1784597592","gmt_changed":"2026-07-21 01:33:12","alt":"Group Picture of the 2026 Energy Unplugged Camp Participants along with Rich Simmons, and Student Assistants William Nudd and Alvaro Hucker","file":{"fid":"264916","name":"IMG_1918-copy.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/20\/IMG_1918-copy.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/20\/IMG_1918-copy.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2602791,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/20\/IMG_1918-copy.jpg?itok=_A0EJ3y9"}},"680629":{"id":"680629","type":"image","title":"IMG_1978.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EEnergy Unplugged camp participants presenting their group project\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1784566760","gmt_created":"2026-07-20 16:59:20","changed":"1784597618","gmt_changed":"2026-07-21 01:33:38","alt":"Energy Unplugged camp participants presenting their group project","file":{"fid":"264918","name":"IMG_1978.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/20\/IMG_1978.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/20\/IMG_1978.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3017113,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/20\/IMG_1978.jpg?itok=EKTNvzdb"}},"680630":{"id":"680630","type":"image","title":"IMG_2046-cropped.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EA group project presented at the Energy Unplugged camp\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1784566885","gmt_created":"2026-07-20 17:01:25","changed":"1784597533","gmt_changed":"2026-07-21 01:32:13","alt":"A group project from the Energy Unplugged Camp","file":{"fid":"264919","name":"IMG_2046-cropped.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/20\/IMG_2046-cropped.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/20\/IMG_2046-cropped.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1176069,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/20\/IMG_2046-cropped.jpg?itok=g9_3G5_I"}}},"media_ids":["680626","680627","680628","680629","680630"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"367481","name":"SEI Energy"},{"id":"1280","name":"Strategic Energy Institute"}],"categories":[{"id":"42911","name":"Education"},{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"194611","name":"State Impact"}],"keywords":[{"id":"186858","name":"go-sei"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:priya.devarajan@research.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EPriya Devarajan\u003C\/a\u003E | SEI Communicatios Program Manager\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EStudent Contributors: \u003C\/em\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/alvarohucker\/?isSelfProfile=false\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EAlvaro Hucker\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cem\u003E, Senior, Mechanical Engineering and \u003C\/em\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/wnudd\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EWilliam Nudd,\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cem\u003E Senior, Mechanical Engineering.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["priya.devarajan@research.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691153":{"#nid":"691153","#data":{"type":"news","title":"A Daughter\u2019s Determination: How Hope Drove Discovery","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMeghna Iyer\u003C\/strong\u003E (Biology 2026) came to Georgia Tech determined to understand the disease that was slowly taking her mother\u0027s life. Working with researchers in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sites.gatech.edu\/cassie-mitchell-lab\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech Laboratory for Pathology Dynamics\u003C\/a\u003E, she helped use AI to analyze 36 million biomedical research papers, uncovering biological connections among ALS, Alzheimer\u0027s disease, and frontotemporal dementia. After losing her mother, Meghna returned to the lab with an even stronger resolve to continue the work, earning first-author publication on the study and helping create a tool that could accelerate future research for families facing these devastating diseases.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/news.research.gatech.edu\/feature\/neurodegenerative-diseases\u0022\u003ERead the full story. \u0026gt;\u0026gt;\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMeghna Iyer (Biology 2026) came to Georgia Tech trying to understand her mother\u2019s illness. What she discovered is changing how scientists connect three neurodegenerative diseases.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Meghna Iyer (Biology 2026) came to Georgia Tech trying to understand her mother\u2019s illness. What she discovered is changing how scientists connect three neurodegenerative diseases."}],"uid":"36583","created_gmt":"2026-07-17 14:49:22","changed_gmt":"2026-07-17 14:58:12","author":"lvidal7","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-07-17T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-07-17T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680604":{"id":"680604","type":"image","title":"als-thumb.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EA Georgia Tech student, Meghna Iyer, transformed her search to understand her mother\u0027s ALS into AI-driven research that could reshape how scientists study neurodegenerative diseases.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1784048017","gmt_created":"2026-07-14 16:53:37","changed":"1784048017","gmt_changed":"2026-07-14 16:53:37","alt":"Two smiling researchers wearing jackets sit on rocks at a sunny beach with shoreline homes and the ocean in the background.","file":{"fid":"264887","name":"als-thumb.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/14\/als-thumb.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/14\/als-thumb.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2526212,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/14\/als-thumb.jpg?itok=glNqw-cB"}}},"media_ids":["680604"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"166882","name":"School of Biological Sciences"},{"id":"192249","name":"cos-community"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"690809":{"#nid":"690809","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Research Gets to the Core of AI Drone Crashes","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA drone powered by artificial intelligence crashes in a remote field, destroying its onboard computer and leaving investigators without the data needed to determine whether a cyberattack caused the failure.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers at Georgia Tech say they have developed a system to help answer that question.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKnown as FIRA, the tool analyzes drone crashes to determine whether they were caused by tampered machine-learning (ML) models. The team will present its findings at the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.usenix.org\/conference\/usenixsecurity26\u0022\u003E35th USENIX Security Symposium\u003C\/a\u003E in August.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research addresses a growing safety challenge as drones are increasingly used for deliveries, infrastructure inspections, and agriculture.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs drones rely more on machine learning to navigate and make decisions, they also become vulnerable to model poisoning attacks. In these attacks, adversaries manipulate an AI system during its learning phase, embedding hidden triggers that can cause failures under specific conditions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMachine learning drones are making more decisions in flight, which makes ML a safety-critical component of these systems,\u201d said\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003EYizhi Huang\u003C\/strong\u003E, Ph.D. student and lead researcher on the project.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhen something goes wrong, investigators need a way to ask whether the model was responsible, but the model is the part of the system that no one can examine after a crash.\u0026nbsp;FIRA\u0026nbsp;gives investigators a way to investigate these cases by reconstructing what the model was doing during the crash. As more drones run with ML, this kind of forensic capability can help drones be used more effectively and safely.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen a drone crashes, investigators must determine whether the cause was malicious interference, weather, or mechanical failure. Without reliable forensic tools, accountability is difficult to establish, and safety standards are harder to enforce.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFIRA identifies how drone components interact with machine learning models and monitors those interactions in real time, even with limited bandwidth.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe system functions like a flight recorder, capturing key system activity and reconstructing a timeline after a crash. It then analyzes the model\u2019s behavior to determine whether a malicious trigger was introduced via poisoned ML training data.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn tests across multiple drone platforms and crash scenarios, FIRA identified failure causes and distinguished cyberattacks from environmental or mechanical issues.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe system does not require access to a drone\u2019s source code, making it practical for real-world investigations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAs commercial drone use expands, tools like FIRA could help improve accountability and trust in AI-powered systems operating in public airspace,\u201d said\u0026nbsp;Huang.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.usenix.org\/system\/files\/conference\/usenixsecurity26\/sec26_prepub_huang-yizhi.pdf\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EFIRA: Enabling Automatic Forensic Investigation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E was led by Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cyfi.ece.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ECyber Forensics Innovation Lab\u003C\/a\u003E in cooperation with the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sites.gatech.edu\/capcpsec\/\u0022\u003ECyber-Physical Security Lab\u003C\/a\u003E. These labs reside in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/scp.cc.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Cybersecurity and Privacy\u003C\/a\u003E and the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ece.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Electrical and Computing Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA drone powered by artificial intelligence crashes in a remote field, destroying its onboard computer and leaving investigators without the data needed to determine whether a cyberattack caused the failure.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers at Georgia Tech say they have developed a system to help answer that question.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Researchers at Georgia Tech say they have developed a system to determine whether a cyberattack caused drone crashes."}],"uid":"36253","created_gmt":"2026-06-18 17:56:23","changed_gmt":"2026-07-16 18:35:19","author":"John Popham","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-06-18T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-06-18T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"660599":{"id":"660599","type":"image","title":"CyFI Lab Sign","body":null,"created":"1661532564","gmt_created":"2022-08-26 16:49:24","changed":"1661532564","gmt_changed":"2022-08-26 16:49:24","alt":"Sign reading Cyber Forensics Innovation Laboratory The CyFI Lab","file":{"fid":"250302","name":"SCP August 2022-66.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/SCP%20August%202022-66.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/SCP%20August%202022-66.png","mime":"image\/png","size":9087261,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/SCP%20August%202022-66.png?itok=7KS9Gbz_"}}},"media_ids":["660599"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"660406","name":"School of Cybersecurity \u0026 Privacy"},{"id":"660367","name":"School of Cybersecurity and Privacy"}],"categories":[{"id":"194606","name":"Artificial Intelligence"},{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193655","name":"Artificial Intelligence at Georgia Tech"},{"id":"145171","name":"Cybersecurity"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jpopham3@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJohn Popham\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003ECommunications Officer\u003Cbr\u003ESchool of Cybersecurity and Privacy\u003Cbr\u003EGeorgia Tech\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"690918":{"#nid":"690918","#data":{"type":"news","title":"World Cup Demand Highlights Georgia Tech Startup\u2019s Ticketing Solution ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs fans around the world search for tickets to FIFA World Cup 2026 matches, a team of Georgia Tech students is working to make buying tickets to major events less stressful and more transparent.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDoorTix, a startup ticket-buying concierge founded by computer science major \u003Cstrong\u003EArayna Saxena\u003C\/strong\u003E, industrial engineering major \u003Cstrong\u003EShinhai Chen\u003C\/strong\u003E, and mechanical engineering major \u003Cstrong\u003EDhruv Narang\u003C\/strong\u003E, helps users navigate the increasingly complex world of event ticketing. Earlier this year, the startup earned \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/news\/teams-cs-students-capture-2026-georgia-tech-inventure-prize-win-laurels-peoples-choice-award\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Ethe People\u2019s Choice Award at Georgia Tech\u2019s InVenture Prize competition\u003C\/a\u003E for its approach to combating dynamic pricing and improving access to live events.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe Problem\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhether fans are trying to attend a sporting event or a concert, the team says that securing tickets often means navigating fluctuating prices, limited inventory, hidden fees, and the risk of scams.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cBuying tickets today can feel like entering a maze with a timer running,\u201d Saxena said.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cPrices change, listings disappear, fees show up late, and fans often feel like they need to be experts just to get into the event they care about.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow DoorTix Works\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDoorTix was built from that frustration. Instead of requiring users to constantly monitor multiple ticket marketplaces, the platform tracks listings across sites and automatically purchases tickets when they meet a user\u2019s target price.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe system is designed to respond to dynamic pricing and automated purchasing bots that can cause ticket costs to shift rapidly across platforms.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThat gives fans fair and predictable access without the guesswork,\u201d Saxena said.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe wanted to build something that brings the human side back into ticketing, something that feels less like fighting an algorithm and more like having someone in your corner.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe World Cup: A Global Test Case\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe World Cup tournament is a high-profile example of the problem DoorTix is designed to solve. With global demand and limited availability, the tournament reflects the same challenges seen across major live events.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhen fans are trying to attend something as massive as the World Cup, the stakes are higher. The excitement is higher. The confusion is also higher,\u201d Saxena said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThat is exactly where DoorTix can be useful. The World Cup gives us a real, high-pressure use case for what we are building.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFrom Idea to Startup\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe idea for DoorTix began with a simple observation: buying tickets often creates more stress than excitement.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs a computer science student, Saxena has helped translate that idea into a working product, balancing technical development with user experience design.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u201cA lot of the work is not just \u2018write code and ship it.\u2019 It\u2019s asking what the user needs, where they\u2019re confused, and how we can make a complex process feel simple.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThrough \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/create-x.gatech.edu\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech\u2019s CREATE-X Startup Launch program\u003C\/a\u003E, the team has tested assumptions, gathered customer feedback, and refined its business model as it develops the product.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThey\u2019ve already seen real customer demand, and now the focus is on improving the experience and making it more scalable. Long-term, the founders envision DoorTix continuing to be a trusted ticket-buying concierge for high-demand events.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe\u2019re not just helping someone buy a seat. We\u2019re helping them get to a once-in-a-lifetime memory.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs fans around the world search for tickets to FIFA World Cup 2026 matches, a team of Georgia Tech students is working to make buying tickets to major events less stressful and more transparent.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"As fans around the world search for tickets to FIFA World Cup 2026 matches, a team of Georgia Tech students is working to make buying tickets to major events less stressful and more transparent. "}],"uid":"36613","created_gmt":"2026-06-25 18:20:42","changed_gmt":"2026-07-16 18:34:53","author":"Emily Smith","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-06-25T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-06-25T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680519":{"id":"680519","type":"image","title":"doortix2.jpeg","body":null,"created":"1782487995","gmt_created":"2026-06-26 15:33:15","changed":"1782488019","gmt_changed":"2026-06-26 15:33:39","alt":"DoorTix","file":{"fid":"264792","name":"doortix2.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/26\/doortix2.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/26\/doortix2.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":373967,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/06\/26\/doortix2.jpeg?itok=nrgX04gV"}},"680514":{"id":"680514","type":"image","title":"DoorTix-2026-InVenture-Prize-People-s-Choice.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EThe founders of DoorTix won the People\u0027s Choice Award at the Inventure Prize Competition for their approach to combating dynamic pricing and improving access to live events.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1782411656","gmt_created":"2026-06-25 18:20:56","changed":"1782411656","gmt_changed":"2026-06-25 18:20:56","alt":"DoorTix","file":{"fid":"264787","name":"DoorTix-2026-InVenture-Prize-People-s-Choice.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/25\/DoorTix-2026-InVenture-Prize-People-s-Choice.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/25\/DoorTix-2026-InVenture-Prize-People-s-Choice.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":89696,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/06\/25\/DoorTix-2026-InVenture-Prize-People-s-Choice.jpg?itok=5T_boJ3j"}},"680515":{"id":"680515","type":"image","title":"Image-6-24-26-at-3.55-PM.jpeg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EDoorTix founders attended the World Cup.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1782412104","gmt_created":"2026-06-25 18:28:24","changed":"1782412104","gmt_changed":"2026-06-25 18:28:24","alt":"DoorTix founders attended the World Cup.","file":{"fid":"264788","name":"Image-6-24-26-at-3.55-PM.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/25\/Image-6-24-26-at-3.55-PM.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/25\/Image-6-24-26-at-3.55-PM.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":607566,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/06\/25\/Image-6-24-26-at-3.55-PM.jpeg?itok=jrzRm356"}},"680516":{"id":"680516","type":"image","title":"IMG_2335.jpeg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EDoorTix founders attended the World Cup.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1782412104","gmt_created":"2026-06-25 18:28:24","changed":"1782412104","gmt_changed":"2026-06-25 18:28:24","alt":"DoorTix founders attended the World Cup.","file":{"fid":"264789","name":"IMG_2335.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/25\/IMG_2335.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/25\/IMG_2335.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":187431,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/06\/25\/IMG_2335.jpeg?itok=FxyXoQhp"}}},"media_ids":["680519","680514","680515","680516"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"660374","name":"School of Computing Instruction"}],"categories":[{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"193158","name":"Student Competition Winners (academic, innovation, and research)"},{"id":"193157","name":"Student Honors and Achievements"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"195155","name":"World Cup 2026"},{"id":"195177","name":"World Cup Atlanta"},{"id":"654","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"58331","name":"College of Engineering; school of mechanical engineering; engineering"},{"id":"1191","name":"industrial engineering"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:emily.smith@cc.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EEmily Smith\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EGeorgia Tech College of Computing\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691079":{"#nid":"691079","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Professor Receives Third Test of Time Honor in Three Years","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EProfessor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/moin.cc.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EMoinuddin Qureshi\u003C\/a\u003E received the ACM SIGARCH\/IEEE-CS TCCA Influential ISCA Paper Award at the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/iscaconf.org\/isca2026\/\u0022\u003EInternational Symposium on Computer Architecture\u003C\/a\u003E (ISCA 2026) on June 30.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPresented annually, the ISCA Influential Paper Award recognizes a standout paper from the ISCA Conference 18-22 years prior. Winning papers are those which have demonstrated \u201cthe most impact on the field (in terms of research, development, products or ideas) during the intervening years.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe awarded paper, \u003Cem\u003EAdaptive Insertion Policies for High-Performance Caching\u003C\/em\u003E, has been highly influential in cache replacement research. As a Ph.D. student at the University of Texas at Austin, Qureshi co-authored the paper with his advisor Yale Patt and collaborators from Intel, including Aamer Jaleel, Simon Steely, and Joel Emer.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI\u2019ve been working on memory systems for 20 years and if I had to pick one favorite paper, it would be this one,\u201d Qureshi said. \u201cBoth because of the simplicity of the solution and for the impact it had.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen the paper was published at ISCA 2007, on-chip cache sizes were growing but still managed almost exclusively by the\u0026nbsp;Least Recently Used (LRU) replacement policy.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe paper showed that more than half of the lines in cache were discarded before they could be used under LRU policy and that this happened because the workloads being run were larger than the cache size. The team came up with a simple solution of modifying the \u201cInsertion Policy\u201d, such that the incoming lines were inserted at the LRU position instead of the MRU position, thus protecting the cache from thrashing patterns. The problem was that some workloads benefited from this policy while others were hurt by it.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInstead of applying one policy across the whole cache, their solution dynamically tested two small segments against each other, each running a different policy. Whichever policy had fewer cache misses was applied to the entire cache. They named this technique Set Dueling.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EQureshi clearly remembers the moment he knew this paper would be important. He was up late working on the project when he ran the final simulation with the solution.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI was so excited that I just didn\u2019t sleep that night. I knew that the solution would get incorporated and it would change how people think about caching. I could not wait to share the results with my collaborators\u201d he said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESet Dueling has since become a common technique for choosing between two competing policies when neither wins on all workloads. With close to 1,000 citations, the paper has greatly influenced research on cache optimization.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis recognition is Qureshi\u2019s third test-of-time honor. In 2024, he received one at the IEEE\/ACM International Symposium on Microarchitecture, for his work on Multi-core Cache Partitioning and in 2025, at the IEEE\/IFIP International Conference on Dependable Systems and Networks, for his work on DRAM Reliability.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EQureshi said that his goal in working in computer architecture is to have an industry impact.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s very gratifying to see that the ideas that we developed a decade or two decades ago are having an impact and being incorporated,\u201d Qureshi said. \u201cAs a researcher, these are the best awards you can have because it serves as a validation that the work you\u2019ve done is valuable to both industry and follow-up research.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EProfessor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/moin.cc.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EMoinuddin Qureshi\u003C\/a\u003E received the ACM SIGARCH\/IEEE-CS TCCA Influential ISCA Paper Award at the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/iscaconf.org\/isca2026\/\u0022\u003EInternational Symposium on Computer Architecture\u003C\/a\u003E (ISCA 2026) on June 30. The awarded paper, \u003Cem\u003EAdaptive Insertion Policies for High-Performance Caching\u003C\/em\u003E, has been highly influential in cache replacement research.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Professor Moinuddin Qureshi received the ACM SIGARCH\/IEEE-CS TCCA Influential ISCA Paper Award at the International Symposium on Computer Architecture (ISCA 2026) on June 30. "}],"uid":"36532","created_gmt":"2026-07-10 14:44:32","changed_gmt":"2026-07-16 18:33:44","author":"Morgan Usry","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-07-10T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-07-10T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680590":{"id":"680590","type":"image","title":"moin_isca.jpg","body":null,"created":"1783701216","gmt_created":"2026-07-10 16:33:36","changed":"1783701216","gmt_changed":"2026-07-10 16:33:36","alt":"moin","file":{"fid":"264869","name":"moin_isca.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/10\/moin_isca.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/10\/moin_isca.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":163890,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/10\/moin_isca.jpg?itok=hFw3xbfW"}}},"media_ids":["680590"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"}],"categories":[{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"182764","name":"microarchitecture"},{"id":"175184","name":"computer architecture"},{"id":"170453","name":"Test of Time Award"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:morgan.usry@cc.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EMorgan Usry\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003ECommunications Officer\u003Cbr\u003EGeorgia Tech College of Computing\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691044":{"#nid":"691044","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Researchers Use GeoGuessr Champion to Test Geolocation Accuracy in VLMs","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe house in the distance, with a red, hip-shaped roof and white walls, tells Radu Casapu that this place is probably somewhere in Spain or Portugal.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe surrounding trees resemble those of a eucalyptus forest, which could indicate northern Portugal or the Spanish region of Galicia.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s the signposts on the road that give it away. They are flat and wide, which is common in Spain but not in Portugal.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECasapu, a master\u2019s student in Georgia Tech\u2019s School of City and Regional Planning, correctly reasons that the picture of a road he\u2019s looking at is in Galicia.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGive Casapu a photo, and he will likely be able to tell you where it was taken.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI start with infrastructure clues that are specific to a country, region, state or province,\u201d Casapu said. \u201cThey include roads or electricity poles, which often remain consistent throughout a country. Once you narrow down the country, you can use more specific factors like vegetation, specific landscapes, or architecture, because these are very nuanced. It\u2019s a top-down approach.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis is why Casapu is the reigning\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/news.gatech.edu\/news\/2025\/09\/23\/georgia-tech-graduate-student-wins-geoguessr-world-championship\u0022\u003EGeoGussr World Champion\u003C\/a\u003E \u2014 and the ideal expert to test vision-language models (VLMs) on how good they are at geolocation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeoGuessr is a geography browser game launched in 2013 that invites players to guess the location of random Google Street View images. Casapu was already known as one of the top players in the world before he won the third annual GeoGussr World Championship in September.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt the beginning of the spring 2025 semester, School of Interactive Computing professor James Hays reached out to Casapu and invited him to collaborate on a new project. Hays was looking to create a dataset to evaluate VLMs\u0027 geolocation ability and reasoning.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cVLMs are surprisingly good at geolocation right out of the box, even when they\u2019re not trained to be good at it,\u201d Hays said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHays and his colleagues, associate professors Alan Ritter and Wei Xu, took issue with many AI companies claiming that the VLMs they were releasing were not good at geolocation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhen Open AI released GPT 4 Vision, there were privacy concerns about the model\u2019s ability to geolocate someone based on photos they\u2019ve shared on the internet,\u201d Ritter said. \u201cOpen AI said this wasn\u2019t a concern and claimed the model wasn\u2019t good at geolocation beyond being able to recognize a city or famous monument. We found that wasn\u2019t the case. These VLMs are state-of-the-art at image geolocation tasks.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EShow Your Work\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHays and Ritter enlisted a team of some of the world\u2019s top geolocators. It consisted of Casapu, Joshua Diao, a master\u2019s student in computer science, and Tejas Santanam, a Ph.D. student in industrial engineering. They each received 500 images to geolocate.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETeam members recorded their reasons for each of their answers. The result was GeoRC, the first benchmark for VLM geolocation performance, consisting of 800 \u201cground truth\u201d reasoning chains.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHays and Ritter gave the same images to GPT 5, Gemini, Llama, and Qwen. The highest-performing model geolocated with 90% accuracy \u2014 not far off from the team\u2019s 96% score.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHowever, a major distinction showed up in the reasoning chains. While Casapu and Diao provided clear explanations for how they deduce each location, the VLMs either couldn\u2019t provide reasoning for their guesses or were vague in their answers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe research community has been demanding explanations from these models,\u201d Hays said. \u201cFor example, how do they know the location is in Italy?\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHays has been researching this subject for almost 20 years. As a Ph.D. student at Carnegie Mellon University in 2008, he was the first researcher to take a machine learning approach to geolocation. He introduced a new algorithm that could estimate a geographic location from a single image.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhen experts have audited these reasoning chains, we\u2019ve noted many suspicious or hallucinated attributes,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen they hallucinate a geographic property, why is it so often consistent with the correct guess?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI believe they\u2019re not revealing the true reasoning pathway that they used to determine the image was Italy. They\u2019re just implicitly recognizing that it was Italy for many reasons, then hunting for evidence to support that. Some of the things they say are true and supported by the image, and some are fabrications.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPractice Partner\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECasapu said there may be only a handful of GeoGuessr players who can currently outperform some top-tier VLMs in geolocation, and it may not be long before no one can.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI think it could be more difficult playing against these models than playing against another human because a human has the possibility of making mistakes at the top level,\u201d Casapu said. \u201cIf a well-trained model has that level of consistency, that is far beyond a normal person, and it would be much more difficult to beat.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe added that working with Hays and competing against a machine improved his skill level and provided valuable practice ahead of the world championship.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt helps to take a step back and see why you\u2019re making the guesses that you are,\u201d he said. \u201cSince then, I\u2019ve taken a more methodical approach to how I practice. Writing these things down is a great way to see what you know and see why you make the guesses that you do. It\u2019s been a great training tool.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECasapu will defend his title at the 2026 GeoGussr World Championship in September.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHays, Ritter, Xu, Casapu, Diao, and Santanm are all co-authors of a paper on GeoRC along with lead author Mohit Talrej and Ph.D. students Ethan Mendes and Jim Thannikary. The paper will be presented next week at the 64th Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics (ACL) in San Diego.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech researchers James Hays, Alan Ritter, and Wei Xu partnered with reigning GeoGuessr World Champion Radu Casapu and other top players to build GeoRC, the first benchmark evaluating how well vision-language models (VLMs) can geolocate images. They found LLMS are almost as good at geolocation as the world\u0027s best players, but they struggle to explain their reasoning.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Researchers have developed what they believe is the strongest benchmark dataset on measuring the geolocation accuracy of LLMs."}],"uid":"36530","created_gmt":"2026-07-06 17:43:39","changed_gmt":"2026-07-16 18:30:54","author":"Nathan Deen","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-07-06T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-07-06T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680557":{"id":"680557","type":"image","title":"_DSC7175.JPG","body":null,"created":"1783359838","gmt_created":"2026-07-06 17:43:58","changed":"1783359838","gmt_changed":"2026-07-06 17:43:58","alt":"Radu Casapu","file":{"fid":"264834","name":"_DSC7175.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/06\/_DSC7175.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/06\/_DSC7175.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":122620,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/06\/_DSC7175.JPG?itok=vNYr-PmK"}}},"media_ids":["680557"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"50876","name":"School of Interactive Computing"}],"categories":[{"id":"194606","name":"Artificial Intelligence"},{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"193158","name":"Student Competition Winners (academic, innovation, and research)"}],"keywords":[{"id":"192863","name":"go-ai"},{"id":"187812","name":"artificial intelligence (AI)"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"9153","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"193556","name":"large language models"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193655","name":"Artificial Intelligence at Georgia Tech"},{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:ndeen6@gatech.edu\u0022\u003ENathan Deen\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003ECollege of Computing\u003Cbr\u003EGeorgia Tech\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691128":{"#nid":"691128","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Receives Commitment to Launch New AI-Driven Health Innovation Center\u00a0 ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Georgia Institute of Technology today announced the creation of the Parker H. Petit Center for AI-Driven Health Innovation, a new research center that will use artificial intelligence (AI) to help predict, treat, and prevent disease.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Petit Center is made possible by a transformational commitment from technology entrepreneur, philanthropist, and Georgia Tech alumnus Parker H. \u0022Pete\u0022 Petit.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESince 1980, Petit has provided significant philanthropic support across campus, including the naming of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.petitinstitute.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)\u003C\/a\u003E, one of Georgia Tech\u2019s 11 Interdisciplinary Research Institutes. IBB is an interdisciplinary hub for transforming biological discovery into real-world health impact, bringing together engineers, scientists, and clinicians to accelerate innovations in diagnostics, therapeutics, medical devices, and biomanufacturing. With more than 300 interdisciplinary faculty researchers, 13 research centers, and 1,300 trainees making unprecedented discoveries and generating innovative technologies, IBB is a catalyst for innovative bioengineering and bioscience research.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe success of IBB led Petit to make his latest investment, which will build on Georgia Tech\u2019s broader commitment to medical innovation: applying engineering, computing, AI, biosciences, and systems thinking to health challenges that require more than any one field can solve. The Petit Center\u2019s work will strengthen the tools, partnerships, and research pathways needed to help more discoveries move from the lab toward real-world patient care.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA key goal of the Petit Center will be to use AI to build more precise models of how disease works in the body. Its first research initiative will focus on creating virtual models of human cells. Led by \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/people.research.gatech.edu\/jeff-skolnick\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EJeffrey Skolnick\u003C\/a\u003E, Regents\u2019 Professor and Mary and\u0026nbsp;Maisie Gibson Chair\u0026nbsp;and GRA Eminent Scholar in Computational Systems Biology\u0026nbsp;in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E, researchers will use those models to study how diseases progress and to identify treatments that may work best for individual patients.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy modeling disease at the cellular level, researchers can test ideas faster, uncover links among different diseases, and focus on therapies most likely to help patients based on their unique biology. The work could expedite the discovery of new therapies for some of the hardest-to-treat diseases, including pancreatic cancer and glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMedical innovation is one of the fastest-growing areas in Georgia Tech\u2019s research, and Pete Petit\u2019s commitment will help us further shape the future of medicine,\u0022 said \u00c1ngel Cabrera, president of Georgia Tech. \u201cThis new research center will find new ways to harness the power of AI to accelerate critical medical discoveries and move them into clinical settings so patients can get the care they need. We\u2019re deeply grateful for Pete\u0027s support, and we\u2019re excited to get started.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Parker H. Petit Center for AI-Driven Health Innovation will operate under the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/data\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EInstitute for Data Engineering and Science\u003C\/a\u003E (IDEaS) and bring together researchers from across Georgia Tech to advance AI-driven approaches to human health. Researchers affiliated with the Petit Center will work across fields and with clinical and healthcare organizations to help close the gap between discovery and practical use. Over time and with additional investments, the Petit Center\u2019s work will expand into areas such as cancer biomarker discovery, healthy aging, advanced cellular therapies, and AI-supported healthcare systems.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Georgia Tech has the expertise to redefine what is possible in healthcare through AI,\u0022 said Skolnick. \u0022By combining advanced computational methods with biological and medical insights, we can create powerful new approaches to predicting disease, identifying treatments, and improving patient outcomes.\u0022\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPetit\u2019s commitment will support advanced computing infrastructure, graduate and postdoctoral fellowships, seed research grants, and annual programs that will bring together leading researchers from around the world working at the intersection of AI and health.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPetit hopes this investment will inspire others to support interdisciplinary research at the Institute. \u0022Georgia Tech has long demonstrated its ability to solve complex challenges,\u0022 said Petit. \u0022I believe artificial intelligence will fundamentally reshape healthcare, and I am excited to support a center that can help accelerate discoveries to improve and save lives.\u0022\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis transformative commitment is included in \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/transformingtomorrow.gatech.edu\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003ETransforming Tomorrow: The Campaign for Georgia Tech\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E and is propelling the comprehensive campaign\u2019s success.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch5\u003EAbout Georgia Tech\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h5\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Georgia Institute of Technology is one of the nation\u2019s leading public research universities, developing leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition. Through education, research, and innovation, Georgia Tech creates solutions that improve lives and drive economic opportunity in Georgia and around the world.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EParker H. Petit\u2019s commitment will launch a research hub focused on using artificial intelligence to model diseases, identify treatment paths, and move discoveries closer to patient care.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Parker H. Petit\u2019s commitment will launch a research hub focused on using artificial intelligence to model diseases, identify treatment paths, and move discoveries closer to patient care. "}],"uid":"27469","created_gmt":"2026-07-16 16:52:47","changed_gmt":"2026-07-16 17:19:18","author":"Kristen Bailey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-07-16T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-07-16T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680618":{"id":"680618","type":"image","title":"Jeffrey Skolnick","body":"\u003Cp\u003EJeffrey Skolnick will lead the first research initiative in the new Parker H. Petit Center for AI-Driven Health Innovation.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1784163552","gmt_created":"2026-07-16 00:59:12","changed":"1784163635","gmt_changed":"2026-07-16 01:00:35","alt":"Jeffrey Skolnick","file":{"fid":"264904","name":"skolnick-data_portrait_002.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/15\/skolnick-data_portrait_002.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/15\/skolnick-data_portrait_002.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":386791,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/15\/skolnick-data_portrait_002.jpg?itok=AL8IuxCW"}}},"media_ids":["680618"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"194606","name":"Artificial Intelligence"},{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"351","name":"development"},{"id":"2096","name":"philanthropy"},{"id":"172458","name":"biological sciences"},{"id":"4449","name":"ideas"},{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"365","name":"Research"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"497","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39431","name":"Data Engineering and Science"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:anne.stanford@dev.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAnne Stanford\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EDirector of Communications\u003Cbr\u003EOffice of Development\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch5\u003EMedia Contact:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h5\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:media@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emedia@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691056":{"#nid":"691056","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Startup Develops Defense Technology to Counter Emerging Drone Threats ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen Robbie van Zyl first started working with drones, it was not for defense. It started with curiosity.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs a high school student, van Zyl spent summers in a Georgia Tech aerospace lab, where he was introduced to rotorcraft and autonomous systems. By the time he enrolled at Georgia Tech, that early exposure had grown into a deeper interest. He became a competitive drone racer, gaining hands-on experience with the technology.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut even then, he recognized a growing risk.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI was using this technology to have fun,\u201d said van Zyl, founder and CEO of Askari. \u201cBut I also recognized it could equally be used to do very malicious things.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat realization became the foundation for Askari, a counter-drone defense company developing systems designed to detect, track, and stop hostile drones.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch5\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA Real-World Problem Comes Into Focus\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h5\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EVan Zyl first pitched the idea for Askari as a first-year student through Georgia Tech\u2019s CREATE-X Startup Launch, an accelerator that empowers students to launch successful startups. \u0026nbsp;At the time, the concept of counter-drone defense was not widely seen as urgent. However, that perspective shifted as global conflicts began to demonstrate the impact of low-cost, unmanned systems.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe widespread use of drones in Ukraine revealed how inexpensive and accessible technologies could reshape modern warfare. Unmanned systems now account for a significant share of battlefield activity, exposing new vulnerabilities across defense and infrastructure.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThat was the first moment I could point to and say this is real,\u201d van Zyl said. \u201cThis is not theoretical anymore.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch5\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFrom Student Idea to Scalable Solution\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h5\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAskari is building autonomous systems that can identify and neutralize drone threats in real time. The company\u2019s technology is designed to distinguish among objects such as drones, people, and the surrounding environment, allowing it to respond with precision.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe are building systems that can understand what they are looking at,\u201d van Zyl said. \u201cThey can tell the difference between a drone, a person, or a tree, and act accordingly.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUnlike traditional defense systems that rely on expensive infrastructure, Askari is focused on developing solutions that are scalable and accessible to a wider range of users, including frontline operators and security teams. The goal is to provide a faster, more adaptable approach to this challenge.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe company has raised approximately $1.7 million in early funding and is already working with U.S. Department of Defense customers, with growing demand for counter-drone solutions. The team has expanded to 10 people and is scaling to meet that demand.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch5\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe Role of CREATE-X and Georgia Tech\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h5\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech\u2019s commercialization ecosystem played a critical role in Askari\u2019s development.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThrough CREATE-X, van Zyl was able to test and refine his idea while gaining exposure to the fundamentals of building a company. He also gained access to a community of founders, mentors, defense leaders, and builders who helped him navigate early-stage challenges. The experience provided an environment to pressure-test the concept and receive feedback, helping him better understand how it could function in real-world scenarios. At the time, the idea was still taking shape, but it helped clarify how it could evolve into a viable solution.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter gaining experience in the robotics and defense sectors, van Zyl reengaged with Georgia Tech, where the Institute\u2019s network of mentors, resources, and programs helped accelerate the company\u2019s growth.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cGeorgia Tech has been instrumental,\u201d van Zyl said. \u201cWe would not be where we are today without it.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EToday, Askari operates out of The Biltmore, home to CREATE-X and part of Georgia Tech\u2019s innovation ecosystem in Tech Square, placing the company back within the same environment where the idea first began.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAskari is a strong example of what we aim to do,\u201d said Rahul Saxena, CREATE-X director. \u201cStudents building companies that address real, emerging challenges. It reflects the kind of thinking we want to encourage early on, paired with the ability to continue developing an idea as the need becomes clearer. That progression is a critical part of how students move from concept to company.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch5\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EReturning to Atlanta to Build\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h5\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter graduating, van Zyl gained experience working in robotics and autonomous systems, including in Silicon Valley. He also spent time building the company outside of Atlanta before ultimately returning.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe decision to come back was both strategic and mission-driven.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMany of Askari\u2019s customers, including Department of Defense organizations, are based in the Southeast. Being in Atlanta allows the company to remain close to those partners while continuing to build within Georgia Tech\u2019s ecosystem. The company\u2019s return also reflects its deep ties to Georgia Tech\u2019s talent pipeline. van Zyl\u2019s co-founders include his younger brother, Marc van Zyl, a Georgia Tech computer science student, and Benjamin Airdo, a close friend and mechanical engineering graduate. Eight of the company\u2019s 10 team members are connected to the Institute as current students, graduates, or researchers.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch5\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA Broader Vision for Security\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h5\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile Askari\u2019s current focus is counter-drone technology, van Zyl sees the startup\u2019s mission as part of a larger shift in how modern warfare is evolving.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor the first time, autonomous systems powered by artificial intelligence are moving beyond the digital world into physical environments. That transition introduces new risks that extend beyond traditional defense scenarios.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis is not just a drone problem,\u201d van Zyl said. \u201cIt is the broader proliferation of robotics in real-world environments.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch5\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFrom Campus to Impact\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h5\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAskari\u2019s trajectory reflects how Georgia Tech\u2019s commercialization ecosystem supports founders as they move from early ideas to companies.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFrom its start in CREATE-X to its return to The Biltmore, the company remains closely tied to the Institute while building technology focused on real-world deployment and impact.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe want to build systems that help protect people,\u201d van Zyl said.\u0026nbsp; As Askari continues to grow, that focus remains central to its mission.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAskari\u0027s journey from a first-year student idea to a growing defense technology company demonstrates how Georgia Tech\u0027s commercialization ecosystem helps founders transform emerging technologies into real-world solutions. Supported by CREATE-X and the Institute\u0027s innovation ecosystem, the company is developing autonomous counter-drone systems to address one of today\u0027s fastest-growing national security challenges.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"From a student startup idea to a growing defense technology company, Askari demonstrates how Georgia Tech\u0027s commercialization ecosystem helps founders transform emerging technologies into solutions addressing real-world challenges."}],"uid":"36434","created_gmt":"2026-07-06 20:31:08","changed_gmt":"2026-07-15 20:54:56","author":"lcameron30","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-07-06T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-07-06T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680562":{"id":"680562","type":"image","title":"Askari-056.JPG","body":null,"created":"1783369879","gmt_created":"2026-07-06 20:31:19","changed":"1783369879","gmt_changed":"2026-07-06 20:31:19","alt":"Askari Team","file":{"fid":"264840","name":"Askari-056.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/06\/Askari-056.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/06\/Askari-056.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2747369,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/06\/Askari-056.JPG?itok=jcTZ7qHA"}},"680563":{"id":"680563","type":"image","title":"Askari-030.JPG","body":null,"created":"1783369913","gmt_created":"2026-07-06 20:31:53","changed":"1783369913","gmt_changed":"2026-07-06 20:31:53","alt":"Askari  Founders","file":{"fid":"264841","name":"Askari-030.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/06\/Askari-030.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/06\/Askari-030.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2447871,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/06\/Askari-030.JPG?itok=EALr52LH"}}},"media_ids":["680562","680563"],"groups":[{"id":"655285","name":"GT Commercialization"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"192255","name":"go-commercializationnews"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193658","name":"Commercialization"},{"id":"39521","name":"Robotics"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELacey Cameron Lcameron30@gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"690883":{"#nid":"690883","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Alumni Making a Difference: Tara Stoinski","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EAs a scientific advisor for the Netflix documentary\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003E\u201cA Gorilla Story: Told by David Attenborough,\u201d\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003ETara Stoinski\u003C\/strong\u003E (Ph.D. Psychology 2000) helped translate decades of fieldwork into a poignant story of the historic Pablo gorilla family.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EIt\u2019s a role she knows well.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EFor more than 11 years, Stoinski has served as president, CEO, and chief scientific officer of the\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/gorillafund.org\/\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund\u003C\/a\u003E, leading efforts to help the world better understand and protect Rwanda\u2019s mountain gorillas \u2014 a species with only about 1,000 left in the wild.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EAlthough she now oversees a multimillion-dollar budget and 400 employees worldwide, she never planned to be a CEO.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cI\u2019m a scientist at my core,\u201d says Stoinski. \u201cDay to day, I function more as a leader and executive, but I still think of myself as a scientist first.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EHer job covers a wide range of responsibilities, including fundraising, public speaking, budgeting, and strategy.\u0026nbsp;One week, she might find herself observing gorilla behavior in Rwanda; the next, she\u2019s back in the U.S., discussing conservation on\u0026nbsp;the popular\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003EArmchair Expert\u003C\/em\u003E podcast.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cI love my job,\u201d she says. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t feel like work; it\u2019s a passion.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA Helluva Scientist\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EOne of the reasons Stoinski chose Georgia Tech for her Ph.D. was its connection to Zoo Atlanta.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EHer doctoral advisor, the late Terry Maple, emeritus professor in the\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/psychology.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;School of Psychological and Brain Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E, served as director of Zoo Atlanta, giving students rare access to conservation-focused research.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cThe zoo was our lab. I studied elephants, lemurs, gorillas, and golden lion tamarins, both in the zoo and in the wild in Brazil and Africa,\u201d says Stoinski.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EShe appreciates how Georgia Tech prepared her for the challenges of her career.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cThe rigor of a Georgia Tech education is something you need as a scientist,\u201d she says. \u201cI also had the opportunity to do a lot of public speaking and teaching, which are huge parts of my job now.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELeading Global Conservation Efforts\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EAfter earning her Ph.D., Stoinski spent 14 years with Zoo Atlanta while also working with the Atlanta-based Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. She became CEO in 2014 and now oversees conservation and research programs in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EUnder her leadership, the Fossey Fund has expanded its footprint, including opening its Ellen DeGeneres Campus in 2022, a 12-acre research and education center in Rwanda.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThe site includes labs, classrooms, and a restored landscape, where roughly 250,000 plants from 110 species have been planted to reestablish native ecosystems.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cWe host hundreds of students \u2014 including groups from Georgia Tech, and support dozens of graduate and postdoctoral researchers, from countries all over the world including many from Africa,\u201d she explains. \u201cSeeing their excitement and commitment gives me lots of hope for the future.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EScientific Storytelling\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EA Gorilla Story\u003C\/em\u003E follows the Pablo family of mountain gorillas living on the slopes of Volcanoes National Park in northwestern Rwanda.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cThe Pablo group goes back to Dian Fossey\u2019s time,\u201d explains Stoinski. \u201cIt\u2019s the largest group of gorillas ever recorded, at one point reaching 65 individuals. An average gorilla family is about 10.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EDue to Rwandan regulations, filming could take place for just one hour each day. Filmmakers and scientists would often have to hike for five to six hours to reach the gorillas.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EBecause Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund researchers have followed these gorilla families for decades, they were already familiar with the individual gorillas, including six generations of family history, which \u201cmakes the story incredibly rich,\u201d says Stoinski.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cYou see grief, relationships, alliances \u2014 all of it,\u201d she says. \u201cUltimately, I hope that connection leads people to care and to take action.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECollaborative Conservation\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EStoinski\u2019s career is all about taking action \u2014 and inspiring others to do the same.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cWe need people on the ground doing this work, but we also need people outside of our field to support and be aware of what\u2019s happening to gorillas and the planet\u2019s biodiversity,\u201d she says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EShe encourages Tech students to stay informed:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u201cEven if you\u2019re not going into conservation, take a class, listen, learn,\u201d she says. \u201cUnfortunately, there are real challenges facing the next generation.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EShe frequently points out that by helping gorillas, we\u2019re saving ourselves, sharing that gorillas live in the Congo Basin, one of the most important ecosystems on Earth. By dispersing seeds and maintaining forest structure, they help sustain environments critical for climate stability and planetary health.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cProtecting gorillas means\u0026nbsp;protecting\u0026nbsp;those ecosystems, which ultimately support human survival.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA Lasting Georgia Tech Connection\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EStoinski maintains strong ties to Georgia Tech through research collaborations and student engagement. Projects over the years have included helping to establish the Center for Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing at the University of Rwanda, geospatial mapping, and architectural design and planning.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EShe invites alumni and students to engage with the work firsthand.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cI encourage more Georgia Tech alumni and students to work with us or come see us. And if you want to meet with a Georgia Tech grad, I lead tours: we can put on our Tech gear and take a photo with the gorillas!\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWith a career rooted in science, alumna Tara Stoinski is shaping the future of wildlife conservation and gorilla preservation.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"With a career rooted in science, alumna Tara Stoinski is shaping the future of wildlife conservation and gorilla preservation. "}],"uid":"36607","created_gmt":"2026-06-24 13:55:41","changed_gmt":"2026-07-15 13:33:12","author":"ls67","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-06-24T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-06-24T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680497":{"id":"680497","type":"image","title":"Tara Stoinksi","body":"\u003Cp\u003ETara Stoinksi\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1782309768","gmt_created":"2026-06-24 14:02:48","changed":"1782309863","gmt_changed":"2026-06-24 14:04:23","alt":"Headshot of a woman wearing a Dian Fossey gorilla fund ball cap","file":{"fid":"264770","name":"webheadshotTara-Stoinksi-copy.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/24\/webheadshotTara-Stoinksi-copy.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/24\/webheadshotTara-Stoinksi-copy.png","mime":"image\/png","size":3359387,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/06\/24\/webheadshotTara-Stoinksi-copy.png?itok=pIBTHOOG"}},"680498":{"id":"680498","type":"image","title":"Stoinski has studied gorillas for more than three decades and is the author of over 200 scientific publications and books.","body":"\u003Cp\u003EStoinski has studied gorillas for more than three decades and is the author of over 200 scientific publications and books.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1782310646","gmt_created":"2026-06-24 14:17:26","changed":"1782311350","gmt_changed":"2026-06-24 14:29:10","alt":"A woman wearing a mask stands near a gorilla.","file":{"fid":"264771","name":"Tara-Hiwra-group-2024.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/24\/Tara-Hiwra-group-2024.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/24\/Tara-Hiwra-group-2024.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":561592,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/06\/24\/Tara-Hiwra-group-2024.jpg?itok=vngR6B6J"}},"680499":{"id":"680499","type":"image","title":"As president, CEO, and chief scientific officer of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, Stoinski splits her time between the Atlanta headquarters and Rwanda.","body":"\u003Cp\u003EAs president, CEO, and chief scientific officer of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, Stoinski splits her time between the Atlanta headquarters and Rwanda.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1782310961","gmt_created":"2026-06-24 14:22:41","changed":"1782312006","gmt_changed":"2026-06-24 14:40:06","alt":"A woman stands in the muddy jungle.","file":{"fid":"264772","name":"Tara-mud.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/24\/Tara-mud.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/24\/Tara-mud.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":5853839,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/06\/24\/Tara-mud.jpg?itok=q3MOOx6R"}}},"media_ids":["680497","680498","680499"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.gtalumni.org\/news\/2022\/gorilla-power.html","title":"Gorilla Power"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"},{"id":"443951","name":"School of Psychology"}],"categories":[{"id":"130","name":"Alumni"},{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"151","name":"Policy, Social Sciences, and Liberal Arts"}],"keywords":[{"id":"192249","name":"cos-community"},{"id":"783","name":"conservation"},{"id":"506","name":"alumni"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELaura Segraves Smith, writer\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["laura.smith@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691073":{"#nid":"691073","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Data Centers Are Booming. Who Benefits?","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EArtificial intelligence is reshaping how businesses operate and driving a historic surge in data center construction across the United States. These sprawling facilities, sometimes spanning more than 1,000 acres, represent one of the largest waves of capital investment in American history.\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor communities across the country, this growth hits close to home, and not without controversy. What do data centers actually deliver for the local economies that host them?\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/papers.ssrn.com\/sol3\/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6497238\u0022\u003ENew research\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;from\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.scheller.gatech.edu\/directory\/faculty\/yue\/index.html?_gl=1*22ff1a*_up*MQ..*_ga*NjU1MDU4NDM5LjE3ODM2MTc4Nzg.*_ga_8XJDVR2ZKP*czE3ODM2MTc4NzckbzEkZzEkdDE3ODM2MTc4ODEkajU2JGwwJGgxNzkwMjU1NjAy\u0022\u003EDaniel Yue\u003C\/a\u003E, assistant professor of Information Technology Management at Georgia Tech\u2019s Scheller College of Business, and his co-author,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.scheller.gatech.edu\/directory\/faculty\/zeng\/index.html?_gl=1*1771i5w*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTM1MDIxNjE3NC4xNzgzNjE4MTk5*_ga_8XJDVR2ZKP*czE3ODM2MTgxOTkkbzEkZzAkdDE3ODM2MTgxOTkkajYwJGwwJGgxMTY0MTA2MjA4\u0022\u003EYiyang Zeng\u003C\/a\u003E, examines how data center openings affect local jobs, wages, business activity, and electricity prices. Their findings suggest that geography plays a decisive role in whether communities see meaningful economic gains.\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cEnormous amounts of capital are flowing into specific communities, much of it tied to new construction, while rigorous evidence on the local benefits of these facilities has been thin,\u201d said Yue. \u201cCommunity pushback has organized rapidly across the country. Our paper begins to fill that gap by providing new evidence using detailed, facility-level data paired with county-level economic indicators.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA Historic Investment Wave\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThere are more than 2,500 data centers, either active or under construction, across the United States. Individual hyperscale facilities often cost more than $1 billion to construct and can consume as much electricity as a small city. Is it all worth it?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOn average, Yue and Zeng found that when a data center opens, the host county sees a measurable lift: Employment rises by about 3.5%, wages by 5%, business establishments by nearly 5%, and household income by about 2%. Building permits also increase sharply, reflecting construction activity tied to new facilities.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThese are real, economically meaningful gains. But Yue and Zeng discovered that these gains are much smaller than what might be expected from a large investment. And they\u2019re not evenly distributed.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhy Metro Areas Benefit More\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers\u2019 clearest finding is that metropolitan areas capture most of the economic benefits from data centers, while rural areas see far fewer spillover effects. While metro counties saw increases in employment and new business growth, non-metro counties saw no measurable gains.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe reason comes down to what economists call \u201cagglomeration,\u201d or economic density.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EData centers don\u2019t operate in isolation. They rely on construction contractors, engineers, equipment suppliers, professional services, and a skilled workforce. Those connections are far easier to build in places that already have deep labor markets and established business networks.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMetropolitan areas are well-positioned to absorb the indirect spending that data centers generate. High-wage technical employees support restaurants, retail, and local services. Suppliers and contractors can scale up quickly. These spillover effects amplify the impact of the initial investment.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn rural areas, that amplification is much harder to achieve. Facilities tend to employ relatively few permanent workers \u2014 often fewer than 100 \u2014 and many specialized services are imported from outside the county. As a result, the broader economic ripple never materializes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat doesn\u2019t mean rural communities see no benefit at all. The research finds a small but real drop in unemployment rates in non-metro counties, and local governments may still gain tax revenue or infrastructure investments. But the sweeping job and wage growth often promised during local recruitment efforts will not likely arrive on its own.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cLocation, not facility size, determines whether the local benefits show up,\u201d Yue said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe Hidden Cost: Electricity Prices\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYue and Zeng\u2019s research also uncovers an important trade-off. Data centers use a lot of electricity. A single large facility can use as much power as roughly 80,000 homes. In areas where the researchers can cleanly measure price effects, electricity prices rise by about 5% after a data center enters.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhen the benefits to communities are small, even downsides like higher electricity prices that strain infrastructure will be felt by locals,\u201d Yue shared.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWho pays for the increased cost of electricity isn\u2019t straightforward. Yue and Zeng\u2019s research suggests communities should ask specific questions about who pays for new infrastructure and how those costs will be distributed. Local utility companies divide costs differently among homeowners, businesses, and large industrial users, including data centers. Because cost-sharing systems vary by state, each data center development is unique.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat Communities Should Consider\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs states and cities work to attract or push back against data center construction, Yue and Zeng hope their research will encourage more evidence-based decision-making.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor metro areas with strong labor markets and dense business ecosystems, data centers can deliver meaningful, though not transformative, economic gains. For rural communities, the positive impact is more complicated.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIn 10 years, communities will likely wish they had pressed harder on the quality of the decision itself, including whether the debate was evidence-based, whether their local economy was equipped to capture the gains, and whether the fine print aligned with residents\u0027 long-term interests,\u201d Yue said. \u201cIt\u2019s vital that communities look past flashy, headline incentive packages and focus on the details: tax abatement structures, electricity tariff arrangements, and who ultimately pays for infrastructure upgrades.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs data centers continue to dot the American landscape, understanding where they create shared value \u2014 and where they don\u2019t \u2014 will be critical for community leaders and policymakers alike.\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/papers.ssrn.com\/sol3\/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6497238\u0022\u003ERead More: The Local Economic Effects of Data Center Entry\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAs data centers expand across the U.S., new research by Daniel Yue, assistant professor of IT management, and his co-author, Yiyang Zeng, reveals that their economic benefits are real but uneven, shaped largely by local economic conditions and geography.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Data centers continue to expand across the U.S. Do the communities nearby really benefit?"}],"uid":"36730","created_gmt":"2026-07-09 17:25:59","changed_gmt":"2026-07-15 13:27:47","author":"klowe36","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-07-09T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-07-09T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680584":{"id":"680584","type":"image","title":"The economic impact of data centers","body":"\u003Cp\u003ELead story image for Scheller News story \u0022Data Centers Are Booming. Who Benefits?\u0022 A hazy photo of an electronic board, possibly an internal image of a data center.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1783617674","gmt_created":"2026-07-09 17:21:14","changed":"1783617834","gmt_changed":"2026-07-09 17:23:54","alt":"A hazy photo of an electronic board, possibly an internal image of a data center.","file":{"fid":"264862","name":"data-center.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/09\/data-center.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/09\/data-center.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":117567,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/09\/data-center.jpg?itok=hj8qj4-z"}}},"media_ids":["680584"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.scheller.gatech.edu\/news\/2026\/data-centers-are-booming-who-benefits.html?_gl=1*3nsm4t*_up*MQ..*_ga*NjU1MDU4NDM5LjE3ODM2MTc4Nzg.*_ga_8XJDVR2ZKP*czE3ODM2MTc4NzckbzEkZzEkdDE3ODM2MTc4ODAkajU3JGwwJGgxNzkwMjU1NjAy","title":"Read More"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"194606","name":"Artificial Intelligence"},{"id":"139","name":"Business"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"168537","name":"Data Center"},{"id":"110561","name":"data centers"},{"id":"336","name":"information technology"},{"id":"602","name":"economics"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"106361","name":"Business and Economic Development"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":["kristin.lowe@scheller.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691105":{"#nid":"691105","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Lightning Mapping Array Helps Protect World Cup Visitors","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAs soccer enthusiasts from around the globe made their way to World Cup matches and visited outdoor FIFA Fan Festival events in Atlanta, a lightning tracking system operated by the Severe Storms Research Center (SSRC) at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) was providing weather forecasters information that could help protect the fans.\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe North Georgia Lightning Mapping Array (NGLMA) uses specialized detection equipment to generate detailed maps of the lightning that occurs in the metropolitan Atlanta area. Through a collaboration between GTRI and the National Weather Service (NWS), the array provided continuous lightning information to agencies responsible for visitor safety.\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe North Georgia Lightning Mapping Array is providing decision-support information to agencies responsible for protecting events in Atlanta related to the World Cup,\u201d said Michael Peterson, director of the GTRI Severe Storms Research Center (SSRC). \u201cThe system has been up and running and gave us excellent measurements of the thunderstorms that occurred in mid-June. It complements the other sources of weather information that the agencies have available.\u201d\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.gtri.gatech.edu\/newsroom\/georgia-tech-lightning-mapping-array-helps-protect-world-cup-visitors\u0022\u003ERead the full article\u003C\/a\u003E on the Georgia Tech Research Institute news page\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"The Severe Storms Research Center provides early warning of approaching storms"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAs soccer enthusiasts from around the globe made their way to World Cup matches and events in Atlanta, a lightning tracking system operated by the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) was providing weather forecasters information that could help protect the fans.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A Georgia Tech lightning mapping array is helping authorities protect World Cup visitors from severe weather."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2026-07-13 18:31:56","changed_gmt":"2026-07-13 18:35:10","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-07-13T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-07-13T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680601":{"id":"680601","type":"image","title":"Setting up a lightning mapping array unit near Atlanta","body":"\u003Cp\u003EGTRI researchers set up a lightning mapping array unit at a location near Atlanta.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1783966872","gmt_created":"2026-07-13 18:21:12","changed":"1783967144","gmt_changed":"2026-07-13 18:25:44","alt":"Researchers set up a lightning mapping array unit at a location near Atlanta","file":{"fid":"264884","name":"weather-monitoring-lg.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/13\/weather-monitoring-lg.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/13\/weather-monitoring-lg.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":5455243,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/13\/weather-monitoring-lg.jpg?itok=kZf_h_cy"}}},"media_ids":["680601"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"154","name":"Environment"}],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193653","name":"Georgia Tech Research Institute"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71911","name":"Earth and Environment"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":["john.toon@gtri.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691066":{"#nid":"691066","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Creating Synthetic Life in a Lab? SpudCell Falls Short of the Goal, But Raises Even More Useful Questions","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ENature is beautiful, powerful and essential. But nature is not always gentle. The same biological world that gives rise to forests, coral reefs and human life also produces infections, cancer, genetic disease, crop blights and toxins. Natural processes can heal, sustain and inspire, but they can also destroy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat dichotomy is part of what drives the field of \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/theconversation.com\/synthetic-biology-promised-to-rewrite-life-with-the-death-of-its-pioneer-j-craig-venter-how-close-are-scientists-281963\u0022\u003Esynthetic biology\u003C\/a\u003E: where scientists apply engineering principles to learn from and carefully adapt nature\u2019s biological systems to address human problems. By understanding biological systems, scientists can carefully redirect them when natural processes cause harm.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis principle has shaped my work \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/scholar.google.com\/citations?user=Xe78w-wAAAAJ\u0026amp;hl=en\u0022\u003Eas a biomedical engineer\u003C\/a\u003E for over two decades. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sites.gatech.edu\/deanslab\/\u0022\u003EMy lab\u003C\/a\u003E studies how to program cells in order to better understand their behavior and ultimately use them as medicine. The goal is not to discard or replace nature, but to learn from biological principles and use that knowledge to responsibly help society.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers announced on July 2, 2026, that they had created the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/doi.org\/10.64898\/2026.07.01.735724\u0022\u003Efirst synthetic cell\u003C\/a\u003E built from purified, nonliving components.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe lab\u2019s cell-like system, dubbed SpudCell, raises key questions: What does it take to build a cell from scratch? If scientists assemble something that feeds, grows, copies genetic material and divides, have they created life?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow to Create Cells From Scratch\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENatural cells are \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/theconversation.com\/cells-have-more-mini-organs-than-researchers-thought-unbound-by-membranes-these-rogue-organelles-challenge-biologys-fundamentals-239558\u0022\u003Eastonishingly complicated\u003C\/a\u003E. Researchers want to use synthetic cells to learn more about how life works, and they are doing this by rebuilding some of life\u2019s basic features in a simpler, more understandable form.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEarlier designs of \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41586-023-06288-x\u0022\u003Eminimal cells\u003C\/a\u003E, used to test which components are necessary for lifelike behavior, began with existing living cells and reduced the size of their genomes. A minimal cell is useful because it is simple, but that simplicity comes at a cost. It may reveal which parts are needed for lifelike behavior, but it usually lacks the autonomy, resilience, metabolism and evolutionary capacity of natural cells.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInstead, synthetic cells are built through a \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1126\/science.1211701\u0022\u003Ebottom-up engineering\u003C\/a\u003E approach. Scientists start with a simplified compartment \u2013 a kind of biological \u201cbox\u201d \u2013 and ask what must be added for it to behave more like a living cell. A membrane separates the inside from the outside. Genetic material stores instructions. Molecular machinery reads those instructions to make molecules. Energy sources power reactions. Other components can allow growth, division and adaptation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/746476\/original\/file-20260707-57-jrf0t9.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0\u0026amp;q=45\u0026amp;auto=format\u0026amp;w=1000\u0026amp;fit=clip\u0022\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/746476\/original\/file-20260707-57-jrf0t9.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0\u0026amp;q=45\u0026amp;auto=format\u0026amp;w=754\u0026amp;fit=clip\u0022 alt=\u0022Diagram showing a few membrane-bound components of an animal cell and a eurakyotic cell\u0022\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA useful way to think about synthetic cells is to compare them with technologies society already depends on. The radio wasn\u2019t invented all at once. Engineers learned how to combine an antenna, tuner, amplifier, power source and speaker to convert invisible electromagnetic waves into sound. A car is not just a metal shell; it becomes transportation only when a frame is connected to wheels, brakes, steering, an engine, and transmission and control systems. A computer began with switches and strings of ones and zeros that could be assembled into circuits capable of storing and processing information.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESimilarly, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/doi.org\/10.64898\/2026.07.01.735724\u0022\u003ESpudCell was assembled\u003C\/a\u003E from the bottom up with purified, nonliving parts. Researchers used lipid molecules to create a cell-like membrane, DNA molecules to store genetic instructions, purified enzymes to copy and read those instructions, and other molecular machinery to help build proteins and other molecules from small chemical building blocks, such as amino acids and nucleotides.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESpudCell is exciting scientists because it appears to bring several features of life together in one system. The researchers describe it as capable of feeding, growth, genome replication, genetically encoded division and something close to evolution. These features resemble a \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/books\/NBK26869\/\u0022\u003Ebiological cell cycle\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EClose to Life, But Not Quite\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile SpudCell is an important milestone in the field, it \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1126\/science.zwa8dvz\u0022\u003Estops short\u003C\/a\u003E of being a fully synthetic living cell. A membrane-bound compartment containing DNA is not automatically a living cell, just as a pile of car parts is not a car.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESpudCell can carry out several life-like processes, but it is not independent. It still relies on carefully controlled laboratory conditions and on researchers to supply its molecular machinery. It doesn\u2019t reliably pass on its genetic material or spontaneously evolve the way natural cells do.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo approach life, a synthetic cell must coordinate many processes at once. NASA describes life as a \u201c\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/astrobiology.nasa.gov\/research\/life-detection\/about\/\u0022\u003Eself-sustaining chemical system\u003C\/a\u003E capable of Darwinian evolution,\u201d meaning it must independently use energy, copy information, grow, divide, respond to its surroundings and persist over time. Natural cells do this with extraordinary reliability because they are the products of \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/theconversation.com\/rain-may-have-helped-form-the-first-cells-kick-starting-life-as-we-know-it-238291\u0022\u003Ebillions of years of evolution\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/746474\/original\/file-20260707-57-an09wq.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0\u0026amp;q=45\u0026amp;auto=format\u0026amp;w=1000\u0026amp;fit=clip\u0022\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/746474\/original\/file-20260707-57-an09wq.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0\u0026amp;q=45\u0026amp;auto=format\u0026amp;w=754\u0026amp;fit=clip\u0022 alt=\u0022Microscopy image of a green sphere dividing into two\u0022\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESpudCell still \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1126\/science.zwa8dvz\u0022\u003Efalls short of that standard\u003C\/a\u003E. It depends on researchers to continuously supply it with the molecular machinery to function and to physically help it divide. It also cannot reproduce indefinitely outside a carefully controlled laboratory environment. In other words, SpudCell may have been built rather than born, but it is not yet autonomous life.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat limitation does not make the achievement unimportant. In fact, it is scientifically valuable precisely because it exposes what is still missing to create life. Which parts are essential? Which processes must be coordinated? How much complexity is necessary before chemistry begins to look like biology?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhy Create Synthetic Cells?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThose questions have practical importance. Answering them can help scientists and engineers design safer biological systems for a wide range of industries.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESynthetic cells allow scientists to more cleanly test how the surrounding membrane separates the inside of a cell from its environment, how genetic instructions are read, how energy is used, and how growth and division are coordinated. These cell-like systems could eventually become \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nist.gov\/blogs\/taking-measure\/promise-synthetic-cells-revolutionary-new-drugs-outer-space-explorers-and\u0022\u003Esimplified test beds\u003C\/a\u003E for studying biological circuits, disease mechanisms and the origins of life.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThey could also help scientists \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nationalacademies.org\/projects\/DELS-BLS-22-12\u0022\u003Ebuild safer systems\u003C\/a\u003E for making medicines, fuels or materials, detecting environmental toxins, or delivering therapies without relying on fully living organisms.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMore broadly, synthetic biology connects medicine and biotechnology: Viruses can be redesigned \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/theconversation.com\/how-the-puzzle-of-viral-vector-vaccines-was-solved-leading-to-todays-covid-19-shots-167341\u0022\u003Einto vaccines\u003C\/a\u003E or \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/theconversation.com\/gene-therapy-restores-hearing-in-toddlers-and-teenagers-born-with-congenital-deafness-new-research-258112\u0022\u003Egene therapy\u003C\/a\u003E, immune cells can be reprogrammed to \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/theconversation.com\/anti-cancer-car-t-therapy-reengineers-t-cells-to-kill-tumors-and-researchers-are-expanding-the-limited-types-of-cancer-it-can-target-196471\u0022\u003Erecognize cancer\u003C\/a\u003E, and microbes can be engineered to make useful molecules, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/theconversation.com\/insulin-injections-could-one-day-be-replaced-with-rock-music-new-research-in-mice-216787\u0022\u003Esuch as insulin\u003C\/a\u003E, or \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/theconversation.com\/genetically-engineered-bacteria-make-living-materials-for-self-repairing-walls-and-cleaning-up-pollution-191411\u0022\u003Edetect pollutants\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESimilarly, researchers could use synthetic cells to \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/theconversation.com\/biobots-arise-from-the-cells-of-dead-organisms-pushing-the-boundaries-of-life-death-and-medicine-238176\u0022\u003Edeliver a drug\u003C\/a\u003E only to diseased tissue, or create microbial systems that \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1186\/s13036-023-00379-z\u0022\u003Edetect toxins or pathogens\u003C\/a\u003E in water. They can also act as simplified biological factories that can \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/theconversation.com\/helping-cells-become-better-protein-factories-could-improve-gene-therapies-and-other-treatments-a-new-technique-shows-how-187515\u0022\u003Emake medicines\u003C\/a\u003E without requiring a fully living organism, or as \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0016292\u0022\u003Ebiosensors providing early warning\u003C\/a\u003E of dangerous threats, such as bioweapons.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECreating Life Responsibly\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe philosophical question \u201cIs SpudCell alive?\u201d may not have a simple yes or no answer.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDepending on whether your definition of life emphasizes metabolism, reproduction, evolution, autonomy or cellular organization, the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/theconversation.com\/biobots-arise-from-the-cells-of-dead-organisms-pushing-the-boundaries-of-life-death-and-medicine-238176\u0022\u003Eboundary between living and nonliving\u003C\/a\u003E can look very different.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELife is not defined by one property alone. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/theconversation.com\/how-viruses-blur-the-boundaries-of-life-230802\u0022\u003EViruses\u003C\/a\u003E contain genetic information but depend on host cells to reproduce. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/theconversation.com\/mitochondria-can-sense-bacteria-and-trigger-your-immune-system-to-trap-them-revealing-new-ways-to-treat-infections-and-autoimmunity-255939\u0022\u003EMitochondria\u003C\/a\u003E perform essential metabolism but cannot live independently outside of cells. A \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/theconversation.com\/svalbard-global-seed-vault-evokes-epic-imagery-and-controversy-because-of-the-symbolic-value-of-seeds-240086\u0022\u003Eseed can remain dormant\u003C\/a\u003E for years before resuming growth.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen synthetic biology is guided by a \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1021\/acssynbio.1c00129\u0022\u003Estrong sense of responsibility\u003C\/a\u003E, scientists can learn how to redirect harmful processes, build safer tools and help society. This requires not only asking whether biological systems can be built, but also whether their creation should be controlled, where they should function and what safeguards are needed.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOver the past two decades, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/nchembio.1979\u0022\u003Escientists have built\u003C\/a\u003E \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.cell.2007.05.045\u0022\u003Emany kinds of\u003C\/a\u003E \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41564-024-01913-5\u0022\u003Ebiological kill switches\u003C\/a\u003E \u2013 that is, genetic circuits that can shut down engineered cells under specific conditions. Some researchers have made cells dependent on a specific nutrient. Others have created cells that can survive only in a particular environment or activate self-destructive pathways when conditions change.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKill switches are not magic off buttons and do not replace careful regulation, physical containment or public oversight. But they are an important example of synthetic biology\u2019s moral compass: to not only build useful biological tools, but to build them with safety, accountability and humility in mind.\u003C!-- Below is The Conversation\u0027s page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/286762\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\u0022 alt=\u0022The Conversation\u0022 width=\u00221\u0022 height=\u00221\u0022\u003E\u003C!-- End of code. If you don\u0027t see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https:\/\/theconversation.com\/republishing-guidelines --\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis article is republished from \u003C\/em\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/theconversation.com\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe Conversation\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cem\u003E under a Creative Commons license. Read the \u003C\/em\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/theconversation.com\/creating-synthetic-life-in-a-lab-spudcell-falls-short-of-the-goal-but-raises-even-more-useful-questions-286762\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003Eoriginal article\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cem\u003E.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EResearchers announced on July 2, 2026, that they had created the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/doi.org\/10.64898\/2026.07.01.735724\u0022\u003Efirst synthetic cell\u003C\/a\u003E built from purified, nonliving components. The lab\u2019s cell-like system, dubbed SpudCell, raises key questions: What does it take to build a cell from scratch? If scientists assemble something that feeds, grows, copies genetic material and divides, have they created life?\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"While SpudCell is an important milestone in the field, it stops short of being a fully synthetic living cell."}],"uid":"36479","created_gmt":"2026-07-08 19:42:53","changed_gmt":"2026-07-13 16:12:48","author":"abowman41","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-07-08T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-07-08T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680580":{"id":"680580","type":"image","title":"spudcell.jpeg","body":null,"created":"1783539781","gmt_created":"2026-07-08 19:43:01","changed":"1783539781","gmt_changed":"2026-07-08 19:43:01","alt":"A rendering of transparent cells on a blue background","file":{"fid":"264858","name":"spudcell.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/08\/spudcell.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/08\/spudcell.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":4473489,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/08\/spudcell.jpeg?itok=ybyDU2tc"}}},"media_ids":["680580"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/creating-synthetic-life-in-a-lab-spudcell-falls-short-of-the-goal-but-raises-even-more-useful-questions-286762","title":"Read This Article on The Conversation"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"188776","name":"go-research"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Ch5\u003EAuthor:\u003C\/h5\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETara Deans, associate professor, Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch5\u003EMedia Contact:\u003C\/h5\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShelley Wunder-Smith\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:shelley.wunder-smith@research.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Eshelley.wunder-smith@research.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691040":{"#nid":"691040","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Researchers Develop a Safer, More Reliable Material for Growing Small-Scale Models of the Human Gut ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor years, scientists studying the human gut have relied on a material that most people would never expect: a jelly made from mouse tumors. Called Matrigel, it is used to grow tiny, patient\u2011derived versions of the intestine that help researchers understand disease, test new drugs, and explore future therapies. However, since this material comes from animal tissue, it\u2019s unpredictable, difficult to control, and limits medical applications.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA new study conducted by \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/gatech.edu\/node\/1\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech\u003C\/a\u003E researchers and partners from the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.chop.edu\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EChildren\u2019s Hospital of Philadelphia\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.upenn.edu\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EUniversity of Pennsylvania\u003C\/a\u003E offers a promising alternative.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe work includes contributions from \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/people\/andres-j-garcia\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EAndr\u00e9s Garc\u00eda\u003C\/a\u003E, Regents\u2019 Professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EGeorge W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E and Executive Director of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/bioresearch.gatech.edu\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/a\u003E, whose research focuses on how engineered materials can guide cell behavior. Instead of relying on a biological mixture with hundreds of variable components, the team created a fully synthetic gel designed to give intestinal stem cells exactly what they need to grow and organize into healthy tissue.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo build it, the researchers analyzed the genetic signals of human intestinal cells to understand what kind of environment they naturally prefer. They found that these cells latch onto collagen\u2011like structures and reshape their surroundings as they expand. Using that information, the team engineered a customizable gel that mimics those cues, without using any animal\u2011derived ingredients.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe results were striking. Human intestinal cells grown in the synthetic gel formed realistic, well\u2011organized small-scale digestive tract models that closely match those grown in the traditional animal\u2011derived material. They maintained the same cell types, developed the same structures, and preserved patient\u2011specific features.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe implications reach far beyond the lab bench.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA fully synthetic, precisely defined gel means researchers can grow small-scale organs more consistently and ethically, reducing reliance on animal tissue and improving reproducibility. It also opens the door to future medical applications, from personalized drug testing to regenerative therapies, where animal\u2011based materials simply can\u2019t be used.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp lang=\u0022EN-US\u0022\u003E\u0022Reproducible, well-defined culture conditions are essential to generating reliable data from patient-derived organoids in human disease research, and we were glad to contribute to work that brings the field a real synthetic alternative to Matrigel,\u201d said Kathryn Hamilton, a co-author of the study. Hamilton is an associate professor at the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.upenn.edu\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EUniversity of Pennsylvania\u003C\/a\u003E and a primary investigator at \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.chop.edu\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EChildren\u2019s Hospital of Philadelphia\u003C\/a\u003E. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy replacing one of the biggest barriers in organoid science, this work moves the field closer to a future where patient\u2011specific tissues can be grown safely, reliably, and at scale.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp lang=\u0022EN-US\u0022\u003E\u201cWe are excited about engineering this synthetic matrix as an alternative to natural materials and expect that it will accelerate human organoid research and clinical applications,\u201d Garc\u00eda said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA new study conducted by Georgia Tech researchers and partners offers a promising alternative to gel derived from animal tissue that is currently used to grow organ models. A fully synthetic, precisely defined gel means researchers can grow small-scale organs more consistently and ethically, reducing reliance on animal tissue and improving reproducibility.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Researchers have developed a synthetic gel that could open new possibilities for drug testing and disease treatment."}],"uid":"36479","created_gmt":"2026-07-06 14:57:35","changed_gmt":"2026-07-08 12:52:44","author":"abowman41","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-07-06T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-07-06T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680577":{"id":"680577","type":"image","title":"_0000_organoids.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EScientists are able to use patient-derived tissue samples to grow miniature versions of human organs, allowing them to test new medications and disease treatments for personalized care.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1783515079","gmt_created":"2026-07-08 12:51:19","changed":"1783515079","gmt_changed":"2026-07-08 12:51:19","alt":"Microscopic image of pink tissue cells","file":{"fid":"264855","name":"_0000_organoids.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/08\/_0000_organoids.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/08\/_0000_organoids.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":355456,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/08\/_0000_organoids.jpg?itok=b2NxWXSv"}}},"media_ids":["680577"],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAshlie Bowman | Communications Manager\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691061":{"#nid":"691061","#data":{"type":"news","title":"In Memoriam: Sam Shelton, Founding Director of the Strategic Energy Institute","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/people\/sam-shelton\u0022\u003ESam Shelton\u003C\/a\u003E, founding director of the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/energy.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EStrategic Energy Institute\u003C\/a\u003E (SEI), longtime professor in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/me.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EGeorge W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E, and designer of the torch for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, passed away on June 20, 2026.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EColleagues and friends remember Shelton as a dedicated mentor, collaborator, and educator, whose curiosity, generosity, and sense of humor left a lasting impression on students and peers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cSam exemplified the very best of Georgia Tech, and his legacy will continue to inspire generations of engineers and educators,\u201d said Tim Lieuwen, executive vice president for Research at Georgia Tech. \u201cI am deeply grateful for his friendship, mentorship, and leadership. My heartfelt condolences go to his family, and to the many students, colleagues, and friends whose lives he touched.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA nationally recognized leader in energy systems, Shelton founded SEI as an interdisciplinary organization that brought together engineers, researchers, policy experts, and industry leaders to advance high-impact energy solutions. That vision remains central to SEI\u2019s mission and continues to guide its work today.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cSam was the quintessential engineer and innovator, whose vision was always accompanied by the development and demonstration of actual products instead of leaving them as promising concepts,\u201d said\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/faculty\/garimella\u0022\u003ESrinivas Garimella\u003C\/a\u003E, Hightower Chair in the College of Engineering and professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering.\u0026nbsp;\u201cHe had the rare ability to see through nebulous ideas and claims and get to the fundamental engineering truths. I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to seek his advice, which he freely gave. I will miss his friendship and counsel very much.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDuring a career of more than 35 years, Shelton made lasting contributions to sustainable energy and engineering innovation. His work spanned combustion research, solar energy technologies, and offshore wind systems. He secured more than $30 million in research funding, held eight patents, founded two energy-focused companies, and helped translate research into real-world energy solutions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to his research, Shelton was deeply committed to education. During his academic career, he developed undergraduate and graduate courses in energy technology, teaching both in person and online. His\u0026nbsp;Energy 101 course reached tens of thousands of learners through a massive open online course platform, covering topics such as energy supply, independence, economics, and society\u2019s energy demands.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhen I first started at SEI in 2016, Sam and I would meet for lunch to discuss the latest research, consider how far we\u0027ve come since the Carter administration, and grapple over the world\u2019s energy problems,\u201d said\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/energy.gatech.edu\/people\/richard-simmons\u0022\u003ERich Simmons\u003C\/a\u003E, SEI\u2019s director of Research and Studies.\u0026nbsp;\u201cSam was genuine and objective, not working backward from a preconceived notion, but working forward with an open mind to understand, appreciate, and apply the first and second law. He was also colorful and witty! We are all privileged to pay these lessons forward to future energy students.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBeyond academia, Shelton\u2019s engineering expertise reached a global stage as the designer of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/news.gatech.edu\/features\/2016\/07\/20th-anniversary-atlanta-games\u0022\u003EOlympic torch for the 1996 Atlanta Games\u003C\/a\u003E, an enduring symbol of innovation recognized worldwide. \u201cThe Olympics represented world peace, mankind coming together, and overcoming adversity. It was an amazing event to think about, to witness, to live through, and be a part of helping to create it,\u201d Shelton said in a \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=WyuWSPeGTXk\u0022\u003E2016 interview\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShelton is survived by his\u0026nbsp;daughters, Suzie and Stacy, three granddaughters,\u0026nbsp;and a wide network of students, colleagues, and collaborators. His legacy continues through the programs he built, partnerships he fostered, and the people he helped.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EA\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.legacy.com\/us\/obituaries\/atlanta\/name\/samuel-shelton-obituary?id=61831858\u0022\u003Ememorial service\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cem\u003E celebrating Shelton\u2019s life will be held Aug. 1 at 1 p.m. at The 57th Fighter Group Restaurant in Atlanta. The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, memorial gifts be directed to Roll Call, Georgia Tech\u2019s Fund for Excellence.\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026nbsp;Donations may be made at \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/giving.gatech.edu\/campaigns\/63028\/donations\/new?\u0026amp;utm_source=ALMR26Q40NY1BU02KUD\u0022\u003Egtalumni.org\/SamShelton\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/people\/sam-shelton\u0022\u003ESam Shelton\u003C\/a\u003E, founding director of the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/energy.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EStrategic Energy Institute\u003C\/a\u003E (SEI), longtime professor in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/me.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EGeorge W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E, and designer of the torch for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, passed away on June 20, 2026.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EColleagues and friends remember Shelton as a dedicated mentor, collaborator, and educator, whose curiosity, generosity, and sense of humor left a lasting impression on students and peers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cSam exemplified the very best of Georgia Tech, and his legacy will continue to inspire generations of engineers and educators,\u201d said Tim Lieuwen, executive vice president for Research at Georgia Tech. \u201cI am deeply grateful for his friendship, mentorship, and leadership. My heartfelt condolences go to his family, and to the many students, colleagues, and friends whose lives he touched.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Sam Shelton, founding director of the Strategic Energy Institute (SEI), longtime professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, and designer of the torch for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, passed away on June 20, 2026. "}],"uid":"36413","created_gmt":"2026-07-07 21:11:19","changed_gmt":"2026-07-08 02:35:40","author":"pdevarajan3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-07-07T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-07-07T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680575":{"id":"680575","type":"image","title":"SamShelton.jpg","body":null,"created":"1783458862","gmt_created":"2026-07-07 21:14:22","changed":"1783458862","gmt_changed":"2026-07-07 21:14:22","alt":"Sam Shelton, Founding Director of the Strategic Energy Institute (Photo Credit: Georgia Tech Institute Communications)","file":{"fid":"264853","name":"SamShelton.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/07\/SamShelton.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/07\/SamShelton.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":485843,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/07\/SamShelton.jpg?itok=LXffzX8m"}},"680574":{"id":"680574","type":"image","title":"c46785ba-dee7-4ec5-a3fb-b6ad53283937.jpeg","body":null,"created":"1783458708","gmt_created":"2026-07-07 21:11:48","changed":"1783458708","gmt_changed":"2026-07-07 21:11:48","alt":"Sam Shelton, Founding Director of the Strategic Energy Institute","file":{"fid":"264852","name":"c46785ba-dee7-4ec5-a3fb-b6ad53283937.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/07\/c46785ba-dee7-4ec5-a3fb-b6ad53283937.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/07\/c46785ba-dee7-4ec5-a3fb-b6ad53283937.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":33796,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/07\/c46785ba-dee7-4ec5-a3fb-b6ad53283937.jpeg?itok=LUMuoM7e"}}},"media_ids":["680575","680574"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"367481","name":"SEI Energy"},{"id":"1280","name":"Strategic Energy Institute"}],"categories":[{"id":"144","name":"Energy"}],"keywords":[{"id":"186858","name":"go-sei"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:priya.devarajan@research.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EPriya Devarajan\u003C\/a\u003E || SEI Communications Program Manager\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["priya.devarajan@research.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691060":{"#nid":"691060","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Staffer Prioritizes Building School Culture","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAround a table at \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/studentcenter.gatech.edu\/paper-clay\u0022\u003EPaper and Clay\u003C\/a\u003E, Georgia Tech\u2019s on-campus pottery studio, the staff of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/scp.cc.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Cybersecurity and Privacy\u003C\/a\u003E (SCP) gathered for one of its regular team-building exercises.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe outing, organized by Director of Research Operations \u003Cstrong\u003EMary Helen Hayes\u003C\/strong\u003E, is one of a series of activities designed to bring the school\u2019s staff together to foster close relationships between peers. Developing staff culture has been a priority for Hayes since she started at SCP in \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/scp.cc.gatech.edu\/external-news\/not-built-day-cybersecurity-and-privacy-school-increases-staff-five-fold\u0022\u003EJanuary 2024\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThese types of events build trust and remove perceptions,\u201d she said. \u201cIt brings together leadership and employees to show that we are all rowing the boat together.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESoon after she was hired, Hayes attended a meeting to help shape SCP\u0027s culture. The fledgling school and its new staff had yet to develop a culture of their own, and Hayes saw an opportunity to draw on her experience planning staff outings to bring people together early on.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt started with a staff retreat over lunch in 2024. Hayes built a playlist based on the staff\u2019s favorite songs, and the group played icebreakers. From that point forward, SCP staff outings included ceramic pumpkin painting contests, holiday ornament decoration, and more.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe school also sponsors a welcome breakfast each fall for SCP students and, more recently, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/news\/scp-food-drive\u0022\u003Ehosted a food drive\u003C\/a\u003E. Both organized by Hayes.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMary Helen has the rare talent to bring process improvements to life while bringing people together, creating lasting improvements that benefit SCP, the College of Computing, and the Institute,\u201d said School Administrative Officer \u003Cstrong\u003EJan Morian\u003C\/strong\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile staff culture has become one of Hayes\u0027 most visible contributions, it is only part of her impact on SCP. In her two and a half years at the school, she has launched training on research proposals, travel, and expenses. She has also established regular meetings among faculty, administrative, and finance staff and created methods to expedite undergraduate hiring and research proposal intake.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI have been at Georgia Tech for about 15 years now, and I looked back on my experience when coming up with new processes for the school,\u201d she said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBefore joining SCP, Hayes was a financial manager and administrator at several Georgia Tech departments. In 2024 she was hired by SCP as the assistant director for financial operations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENow as director of research operations, Hayes supports 26 school faculty and oversees a team of four research administrators. She oversees all financial operations for the school including proposal development, sponsor compliance, post-award administration, financial reporting, and award closeout activities.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHayes runs a tight ship, a fact she will freely admit to. Her department is organized down to the filing system to keep everyone on the same page. Her team of four staff each bring their own strengths to the school\u2019s finances, and Hayes has made sure they are cross trained so there is coverage if someone is out.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI want to make sure my team can rely on each other,\u201d she said. \u201cI want them to be able to ask questions and admit if they don\u2019t know something.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJust as dedicated to the culture of her own team as she is with the overall, Hayes encourages her colleagues to engage in career development conferences and courses. She also was vocal\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003Ein the job families effort to ensure her staff receive job titles that reflect their day-to-day responsibilities.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo develop her own career further, Hayes is currently enrolled in the MBA program at Georgia Southern University through the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/benefits.usg.edu\/work-life\/tuition-assistance-program\u0022\u003ETuition Assistance Program\u003C\/a\u003E (TAP) offered to full-time employees by the University System of Georgia. She also received the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/news\/cybersecurity-school-takes-home-multiple-awards\u0022\u003EOutstanding Staff Leadership Award\u003C\/a\u003E from the College of Computing.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERather than waiting for challenges to arise, Hayes looks for opportunities to improve workflows before they become obstacles. She regularly gathers feedback from colleagues, refines procedures, and documents best practices to ensure knowledge is shared across the school instead of remaining with a single person.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESince joining the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy in 2024, Mary Helen Hayes has helped shape the school\u0027s culture while strengthening its research operations. She has organized regular team-building events, student welcome activities, and service projects to foster collaboration and trust among staff. Beyond building community, Hayes has streamlined administrative processes by launching training programs, improving proposal and hiring workflows, and establishing regular coordination between faculty and staff. As director of research operations, she oversees the school\u0027s financial and research administration, leads a cross-trained team, and emphasizes continuous improvement, professional development, and knowledge sharing to support SCP\u0027s long-term success.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"One staff member at the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy works overtime to ensure the culture at the school remains strong."}],"uid":"36253","created_gmt":"2026-07-07 17:25:55","changed_gmt":"2026-07-07 17:31:37","author":"John Popham","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-07-07T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-07-07T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680571":{"id":"680571","type":"image","title":"Mary-Helen-Hayes-2-web-copy.jpg","body":null,"created":"1783445192","gmt_created":"2026-07-07 17:26:32","changed":"1783445192","gmt_changed":"2026-07-07 17:26:32","alt":"A woman standing against a table with her arms folded on the table top. ","file":{"fid":"264849","name":"Mary-Helen-Hayes-2-web-copy.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/07\/Mary-Helen-Hayes-2-web-copy.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/07\/Mary-Helen-Hayes-2-web-copy.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1709579,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/07\/Mary-Helen-Hayes-2-web-copy.jpg?itok=M6dwBn4y"}},"680570":{"id":"680570","type":"image","title":"CoC-Awards-Spring-2026_86A0049.jpg","body":null,"created":"1783445192","gmt_created":"2026-07-07 17:26:32","changed":"1783445192","gmt_changed":"2026-07-07 17:26:32","alt":"A man shakes hands with a woman who is holding a certificate","file":{"fid":"264848","name":"CoC-Awards-Spring-2026_86A0049.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/07\/CoC-Awards-Spring-2026_86A0049.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/07\/CoC-Awards-Spring-2026_86A0049.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":19616005,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/07\/CoC-Awards-Spring-2026_86A0049.jpg?itok=P_gtmU2i"}}},"media_ids":["680571","680570"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"660406","name":"School of Cybersecurity \u0026 Privacy"},{"id":"660367","name":"School of Cybersecurity and Privacy"}],"categories":[{"id":"42901","name":"Community"},{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"145171","name":"Cybersecurity"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Popham\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECommunications Officer II at the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jpopham3@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691058":{"#nid":"691058","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Zhu Receives NSF CAREER Award","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sites.google.com\/view\/weizhumath\/home\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWei Zhu\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, assistant professor in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/math.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Mathematics\u003C\/a\u003E, has been awarded a five-year,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nsf.gov\/awardsearch\/show-award?AWD_ID=2540370\u0022\u003E$500,000 CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation\u003C\/a\u003E (NSF). The CAREER Award, NSF\u2019s most prestigious honor for early-career faculty, helps promising researchers establish a foundation for a lifetime of leadership in their fields. Zhu\u2019s award will support research and education initiatives focused on artificial intelligence (AI).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cI am very honored and excited to receive the NSF CAREER Award,\u201d says Zhu. \u201cThis award will support research by my fantastic team of students and post-doctoral researchers and give me the opportunity to carry out education and outreach programs that expand our impact.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAdvancing AI Applications\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003ESince joining Georgia Tech in 2024, Zhu\u2019s research has focused on the mathematical foundations of machine learning and their applications in science and engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EWith support from the CAREER Award, Zhu and his team will explore the two-way relationship between data and structure in machine learning. They aim to understand how known structures in scientific and engineering problems (e.g., symmetries or physical constraints) can help machine learning models learn more accurately and efficiently from limited data. They will also study how machine learning can uncover hidden structures directly from data, revealing patterns or principles that may not be known in advance.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThe project focuses on settings where large amounts of high-quality data are difficult or expensive to obtain, as is often the case in science and engineering. Using mathematical analysis, Zhu and his team will examine how much data is required to accurately learn a model, how structural information can reduce this data requirement, and how much data is needed to reliably identify a model\u2019s underlying structure.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EAccording to Zhu, this approach could reduce the amount of data and time needed to build and test accurate models, leading to more reliable, interpretable, and efficient AI for scientific discovery.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cSuch advances align with national AI priorities and help strengthen the mathematical foundations needed for future scientific and engineering applications of AI,\u201d he says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EExpanding AI Literacy\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EZhu believes it is important to help students understand AI, noting that they must learn how to interpret and evaluate its outputs rather than accept them\u0026nbsp;uncritically.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cAI has increasingly become incorporated into many fields of study,\u201d he says. \u201cInstitutions must determine how to best integrate it into education while also teaching students how it works. The AI education and outreach components of my project aim to help prepare students for careers at the intersection of mathematics, computing, and science.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EZhu\u2019s CAREER Award will support educational initiatives at multiple levels, including new graduate and undergraduate courses on machine learning. It will also support a machine learning boot camp for high school students, organized by the School of Mathematics in collaboration with Emory University\u2019s Department of Mathematics. The boot camp seeks to introduce students to foundational ideas in AI and machine learning, with an emphasis on the mathematical principles needed to understand and responsibly use these tools.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMathematics Assistant Professor Wei Zhu has been awarded a five-year,\u0026nbsp;$500,000 CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation. The award will support Zhu\u0027s research and education initiatives focused on artificial intelligence.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Mathematics Assistant Professor Wei Zhu has been awarded a five-year,\u00a0$500,000 CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation."}],"uid":"36583","created_gmt":"2026-07-07 16:18:34","changed_gmt":"2026-07-07 16:41:26","author":"lvidal7","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-07-07T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-07-07T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680568":{"id":"680568","type":"image","title":"Wei Zhu of the School of Mathematics","body":null,"created":"1783441160","gmt_created":"2026-07-07 16:19:20","changed":"1783441160","gmt_changed":"2026-07-07 16:19:20","alt":"Headshot of Wei Zhu","file":{"fid":"264846","name":"wei_zhu_mathematics.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/07\/wei_zhu_mathematics.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/07\/wei_zhu_mathematics.png","mime":"image\/png","size":2399324,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/07\/wei_zhu_mathematics.png?itok=abwEK1tx"}}},"media_ids":["680568"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1279","name":"School of Mathematics"}],"categories":[{"id":"194606","name":"Artificial Intelligence"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"168854","name":"School of Mathematics"},{"id":"193356","name":"cos-math"},{"id":"192258","name":"cos-data"},{"id":"192863","name":"go-ai"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193655","name":"Artificial Intelligence at Georgia Tech"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWriter: Lindsay C. Vidal\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["lvidal@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691059":{"#nid":"691059","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Meet the Expert: Brian An","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EEnergy resilience broadens the scope of urban policy\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHousing and transportation are top priorities for many city mayors, policymakers and public policy researchers\u2014including \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/spp.gatech.edu\/people\/person\/c9f0cadc-5bb4-5b6f-9eca-bd38a9233993\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBrian An\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, an assistant professor at Georgia Tech\u2019s Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School of Public Policy. But in February 2021, soon after Winter Storm Uri wreaked havoc in Texas, an eight-hour power outage at his Atlanta home became an epiphany.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhile housing stability had long been on my mind, losing power drove home the importance of another piece of urban infrastructure: reliable access to electricity,\u201d says An, an \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/epicenter.energy.gatech.edu\/people-faculty-affiliates\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEPIcenter faculty affiliate\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E and co-director of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/urbanresearch.iac.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECenter for Urban Research\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E. \u201cIt sparked my interest in studying the intersection of energy and urban policy to help make cities and communities not only socially equitable but also resilient to extreme weather.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/epicenter.energy.gatech.edu\/2026\/06\/30\/meet-the-expert-brian-an\/\u0022\u003ERead Full Story on the EPIcenter News Page\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EEnergy resilience broadens the scope of urban policy\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHousing and transportation are top priorities for many city mayors, policymakers and public policy researchers\u2014including \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/spp.gatech.edu\/people\/person\/c9f0cadc-5bb4-5b6f-9eca-bd38a9233993\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBrian An\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, an assistant professor at Georgia Tech\u2019s Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School of Public Policy. But in February 2021, soon after Winter Storm Uri wreaked havoc in Texas, an eight-hour power outage at his Atlanta home became an epiphany.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhile housing stability had long been on my mind, losing power drove home the importance of another piece of urban infrastructure: reliable access to electricity,\u201d says An, an \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/epicenter.energy.gatech.edu\/people-faculty-affiliates\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEPIcenter faculty affiliate\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E and co-director of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/urbanresearch.iac.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECenter for Urban Research\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E. \u201cIt sparked my interest in studying the intersection of energy and urban policy to help make cities and communities not only socially equitable but also resilient to extreme weather.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"In this EPIcenter Expert series, meet Brian An, EPIcenter Affiliate, studying the intersection of energy resilience and urban policy to improve grid equity during extreme weather."}],"uid":"36413","created_gmt":"2026-07-07 16:26:49","changed_gmt":"2026-07-07 16:31:03","author":"pdevarajan3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-06-30T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-06-30T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680569":{"id":"680569","type":"image","title":"Brian-An_IAC-faculty-profile-732x1024.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EBrian An, EPIcenter Faculty Affiliate and Assistant Professor in Georgia Tech\u2019s Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School of Public Policy\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1783441679","gmt_created":"2026-07-07 16:27:59","changed":"1783441679","gmt_changed":"2026-07-07 16:27:59","alt":"Brian An, EPIcenter Faculty Affiliate and Assistant Professor in Georgia Tech\u2019s Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School of Public Policy ","file":{"fid":"264847","name":"Brian-An_IAC-faculty-profile-732x1024.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/07\/Brian-An_IAC-faculty-profile-732x1024.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/07\/Brian-An_IAC-faculty-profile-732x1024.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":69638,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/07\/Brian-An_IAC-faculty-profile-732x1024.jpg?itok=wcUA_U3y"}}},"media_ids":["680569"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"367481","name":"SEI Energy"},{"id":"1280","name":"Strategic Energy Institute"}],"categories":[{"id":"142","name":"City Planning, Transportation, and Urban Growth"},{"id":"131","name":"Economic Development and Policy"},{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"151","name":"Policy, Social Sciences, and Liberal Arts"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"194611","name":"State Impact"}],"keywords":[{"id":"186858","name":"go-sei"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"},{"id":"194566","name":"Sustainable Systems"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EStory Written by: Silke Schmidt\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENews Contact: \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:priya.devarajan@research.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EPriya Devarajan\u003C\/a\u003E, Research Communications Program Manager\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["priya.devarajan@research.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"690894":{"#nid":"690894","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Researchers Discover Membrane-Based Approach to More Sustainable Oil Refining","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERefining crude oil into gasoline, jet fuel, and other everyday products requires enormous amounts of energy. The atmospheric and vacuum distillation processes used in refineries worldwide consume more than 1,100 terawatt-hours of energy annually \u2014 roughly enough to power 100 million U.S. homes for a year \u2014 while generating millions of tons of carbon dioxide emissions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESix years after demonstrating that membranes could separate crude oil at the molecular level, Georgia Tech researcher Ryan Lively is part of an international team that has taken the concept a significant step further.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team, including investigators at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), discovered that a membrane material widely believed to be non-selective for molecules as small as those found in crude can in fact selectively separate crude oil into lighter and heavier fractions in a way researchers did not expect.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPublished in \u003Cem\u003ENature\u003C\/em\u003E, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41586-026-10677-3\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Etheir findings\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E suggest that using membranes to separate crude oil before distillation could significantly reduce the energy, water, and carbon footprint of petroleum refining.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/lively.chbe.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELively\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, the Thomas C. DeLoach Jr. Endowed Professor in Georgia Tech\u0027s School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, served as an advisor and corresponding author on the study. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/pure.kaist.ac.kr\/en\/persons\/dong-yeun-koh\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDong-Yeun Koh\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, an associate professor at KAIST and a former postdoc in the Lively Lab at Georgia Tech, led the study.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBuilding on Earlier Research\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the 2020 \u003Cem\u003EScience\u003C\/em\u003E paper, Lively and collaborators demonstrated that specially designed membranes could separate crude oil into valuable fractions without relying solely on traditional heat-driven distillation. The work helped establish membrane-based crude oil fractionation as a promising alternative for reducing energy use in refining.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022This work grew directly out of the challenges we identified in our original findings in the 2020 article,\u0022 Lively said. \u0022One of the key challenges that the KAIST team set out to tackle was the very low oil productivities of the membrane units, which has limited the ability of this concept to leave the lab. Along the way, we not only increased the productivities, but we also uncovered a surprising new mechanism that could make membrane-based crude oil separations even more practical.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe new study built on that foundation. The researchers investigated polyacrylonitrile (PAN) membranes, a material commonly used as a non-selective support layer in filtration systems. Because the material is porous, the team generally did not expect it to perform precise molecular separations on its own.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut what they found surprised them, Lively said. As crude oil flowed through the membrane, heavier hydrocarbon molecules accumulated within the membrane\u0027s pores. Instead of clogging the membrane, the buildup created a stable internal layer that gradually narrowed the pathways through which molecules could travel. Surprisingly, the molecules that caused the buildup in the first place were eventually excluded from entering the membrane, resulting in a steady production of higher quality oil through the narrow pathways that remained.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn effect, the membrane created its own molecular-scale filter. The result was a process that allowed lighter hydrocarbons to pass through while holding back heavier components.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe membrane enriched lighter fractions such as naphtha and kerosene while achieving crude oil flow rates more than 23 times higher those reported in the 2020 paper for whole crude oils\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhen Buildup Becomes an Asset\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn most filtration systems, buildup inside a membrane (or fouling) is considered a problem because it reduces performance.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut according to the researchers, this study demonstrates that something different can happen under the right conditions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUsing a range of analytical techniques, the researchers found that long-chain hydrocarbon molecules accumulated inside the membrane and became an essential part of the separation process. The deposits effectively transformed larger pores into stable transport pathways measuring less than two nanometers across, they deduced based on available experimental evidence.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe membrane maintained consistent separation performance during four weeks of continuous operation, suggesting the filtration pathways remained stable over time.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe findings challenge traditional assumptions about membrane fouling and may offer new opportunities for designing industrial separation systems that take advantage of similar behavior,\u201d Lively said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPotential Impact on Refining\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EToday\u0027s refineries heat entire streams of crude oil to separate them into useful products. By using membranes to remove a substantial portion of the lighter hydrocarbons before distillation, refineries could reduce the amount of material that must undergo energy-intensive heating. Alternatively, the refinery can use the membranes to incrementally increase refinery capacity, which is currently not possible using large-scale distillation equipment.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo evaluate the potential impacts of the membrane system, the researchers modeled a refinery process that incorporated a membrane separation step before conventional distillation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis study reveals a new scientific principle in which a membrane interacts with a complex mixture and spontaneously forms its own separation channels,\u0022 Koh said. \u0022Working with real crude oil supplied by HD Hyundai Oilbank allowed us to validate the technology under conditions relevant to industrial operation.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team\u0027s technoeconomic analysis showed that incorporating the membrane process could reduce distillation energy use by 30%, carbon dioxide emissions by 35%, and water consumption by 20%.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EApplied across U.S. atmospheric crude distillation capacity \u2014 about 18 million barrels per day \u2014 those savings would be equivalent to powering roughly 2.2 million homes, removing about 3 million passenger vehicles from the road, and supplying enough water for approximately 660,000 people each year.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Turning crude oil into useful products has relied on essentially the same basic approach for more than a century,\u0022 Lively said. \u0022Membranes offer a path toward achieving those separations with dramatically lower energy requirements and emissions.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe study\u0027s findings also suggest that the phenomenon may not be limited to a single membrane chemistry. Researchers observed similar behavior in a second membrane material, raising the possibility that the approach could be extended to other membrane systems.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022This is a terrific piece of research that rewards curiosity,\u0022 said Andrew LIvington, vice president of research and innovation and professor at Queen Mary University of London, who was not involved with the study. \u0022This work adds significantly to the field of membrane separations of crude oil streams as it tackles the first, hard to achieve separation of heavy hydrocarbons \u2013 most work to date has focused on lighter oils\u0026nbsp;\u2013 and it uses a simple and readily available membrane.\u0022\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJihoon Choi, Hyeokjun Seo, Minyong Lee, Woong-Chul Shin, Jaemin Choi, Keonwoo Choi, Min-Jun Jang, Sung Gap Im, Jae W. Lee, Ryan P. Lively, and Dong-Yeun Koh, \u0022\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41586-026-10677-3\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECrude oil fractionation by means of mesoporous polyacrylonitrile membranes\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0022 \u003Cem\u003ENature\u003C\/em\u003E, 2026.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EPublished in \u003Cem\u003ENature\u003C\/em\u003E, the researchers\u0027 findings suggest that using membranes to separate crude oil before distillation could significantly reduce the energy, water, and carbon footprint of petroleum refining.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Published in Nature, the researchers\u0027 findings suggest that using membranes to separate crude oil before distillation could significantly reduce the energy, water, and carbon footprint of petroleum refining."}],"uid":"27271","created_gmt":"2026-06-24 15:45:46","changed_gmt":"2026-07-06 17:19:42","author":"Brad Dixon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-06-24T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-06-24T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680502":{"id":"680502","type":"image","title":"RyanDong-Yeun.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EProfessors Ryan Lively (Georgia Tech) and Dong-Yeun Koh (KAIST). Koh used to be postdoctoral researcher in the Lively Lab.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1782316293","gmt_created":"2026-06-24 15:51:33","changed":"1782316293","gmt_changed":"2026-06-24 15:51:33","alt":"Professors Ryan Lively (Georgia Tech) and Dong-Yeun Koh (KAIST). Koh used to be postdoctoral researcher in the Lively Lab.","file":{"fid":"264775","name":"RyanDong-Yeun.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/24\/RyanDong-Yeun.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/24\/RyanDong-Yeun.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":190547,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/06\/24\/RyanDong-Yeun.jpg?itok=-eLTFUXj"}},"680503":{"id":"680503","type":"image","title":"PAN-Crude---Manuscript---R1---V6.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003ESchematic illustration of the membrane-based pre-fractionation process, showing the selective separation of light hydrocarbon fractions from crude oil feedstock to reduce energy requirements for subsequent atmospheric distillation.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1782316323","gmt_created":"2026-06-24 15:52:03","changed":"1782316323","gmt_changed":"2026-06-24 15:52:03","alt":"Schematic illustration of the membrane-based pre-fractionation process, showing the selective separation of light hydrocarbon fractions from crude oil feedstock to reduce energy requirements for subsequent atmospheric distillation.","file":{"fid":"264776","name":"PAN-Crude---Manuscript---R1---V6.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/24\/PAN-Crude---Manuscript---R1---V6.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/24\/PAN-Crude---Manuscript---R1---V6.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":84713,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/06\/24\/PAN-Crude---Manuscript---R1---V6.jpg?itok=6Y4qawLU"}},"680504":{"id":"680504","type":"image","title":"PAN-Crude.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EPhotographs illustrating the distinct color change upon fractionation of crude oils via PAN membrane.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1782316357","gmt_created":"2026-06-24 15:52:37","changed":"1782316357","gmt_changed":"2026-06-24 15:52:37","alt":"Photographs illustrating the distinct color change upon fractionation of crude oils via PAN membrane.","file":{"fid":"264777","name":"PAN-Crude.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/24\/PAN-Crude.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/24\/PAN-Crude.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":141397,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/06\/24\/PAN-Crude.jpg?itok=9_uTRAtb"}}},"media_ids":["680502","680503","680504"],"groups":[{"id":"372221","name":"Renewable Bioproducts Institute (RBI)"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"}],"keywords":[{"id":"11764","name":"filtration"},{"id":"2177","name":"membranes"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"188020","name":"go-rbi"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBrad Dixon, \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:braddixon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebraddixon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["braddixon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"690966":{"#nid":"690966","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Dingjing Shi Earns Rising Star Distinction","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EAssistant Professor\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/psychology.gatech.edu\/people\/dingjing-shi\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;Dingjing Shi\u003C\/a\u003E in the\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/psychology.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;School of Psychological and Brain Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E has been named an\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.psychologicalscience.org\/members\/awards-and-honors\/aps-rising-stars\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;Association for Psychological Science Rising Star.\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;The honor recognizes exceptional early-career researchers whose innovative work has already advanced the field and signals great potential for continued contributions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cDingjing\u2019s selection for this honor is a remarkable recognition of the originality, impact, and promise of her scholarship,\u201d says School of Psychological and Brain Sciences Chair\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/psychology.gatech.edu\/people\/tansu-celikel\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003ETansu Celikel\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E. \u201cThis achievement is especially significant for Georgia Tech as she is the first person from the Institute to receive this distinction and only the third recipient from the state of Georgia.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EShi obtained her Ph.D. in Quantitative Psychology from the University of Virginia in 2020. After working as an assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma, she joined Georgia Tech in 2025.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cReceiving this award is an honor and a responsibility,\u201d says Shi. \u201cThis international recognition of my early work encourages me to keep pushing the scientific boundaries of my field and to continue pursuing research that creates meaningful and lasting real-world impacts.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFoundational Methodology Development\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EAs a quantitative methodologist, Shi develops statistical and computational models that focus on reducing dimensionality (the number of attributes, features, or independent directions needed to describe an object, dataset, or mathematical space); improving classification; and enabling technology-based, real-time adaptive assessment in psychological, brain, biomedical, and health-related research. Specifically, her research transforms complex brain imaging outputs (such as MRIs and EEGs), real-time ecological assessments, and multi-sensor wearable streams into compact, information-rich representations, and she designs personalized, adaptive intervention systems to deliver context-aware and dynamically updated support for individuals.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EShi\u2019s work has been funded by federal agencies such as the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the Department of Homeland Security. She was a recipient of the SAS Institute Advanced Statistical Fellowship as well as the Citation Abstract Award from the Society of Behavioral Medicine.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cI\u2019m excited to work at Georgia Tech in the School of Psychological and Brain Sciences because its strong focus on technology and psychological brain sciences aligns perfectly with my research program,\u201d says Shi. \u201cBeing part of such a stimulating academic environment, with outstanding colleagues and talented students, makes it an ideal place to contribute, collaborate, and grow as a researcher and educator.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ECongratulations to Dingjing Shi, for being recognized as an APS Rising Star. The designation is presented to outstanding APS members in the earliest stages of their research career post-PhD.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Congratulations to Dingjing Shi, for being recognized as an APS Rising Star. "}],"uid":"36607","created_gmt":"2026-06-29 18:26:15","changed_gmt":"2026-07-06 15:49:59","author":"ls67","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-06-29T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-06-29T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680527":{"id":"680527","type":"image","title":"Dingjing Shi","body":"\u003Cp\u003EDingjing Shi\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1782757602","gmt_created":"2026-06-29 18:26:42","changed":"1783352948","gmt_changed":"2026-07-06 15:49:08","alt":"Headshot of Dingjing Shi","file":{"fid":"264831","name":"dingjingshi0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/06\/dingjingshi0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/06\/dingjingshi0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":128958,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/06\/dingjingshi0.jpg?itok=YcESWvpl"}}},"media_ids":["680527"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"443951","name":"School of Psychology"}],"categories":[{"id":"151","name":"Policy, Social Sciences, and Liberal Arts"}],"keywords":[{"id":"192249","name":"cos-community"},{"id":"26011","name":"faculty honors"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELaura S. Smith, writer\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["laura.smith@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691032":{"#nid":"691032","#data":{"type":"news","title":"EPIcenter Experts in the News: AI, Prices, and the War","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEPIcenter Faculty Affiliates\u003C\/strong\u003E have recently contributed to more than a dozen news broadcasts, public radio interviews, and national media conversations on energy price trends, the war in Iran, and what these mean for everyday Americans.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECommunities across Georgia and the nation are navigating a range of economic and energy-related pressures. Gas prices, inflation, and the rapid growth of data centers are shaping the cost of goods and services, influencing everyday household financial decisions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt the same time, ongoing geopolitical tensions are driving fluctuations in global oil markets and fuel prices. The expansion of AI data centers is also increasing demand for land, power, and water resources. And conflicts involving energy infrastructure in parts of the Middle East and Europe have affected supply stability.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResponding to these challenges requires careful analysis of emerging trends, supported by strong research in policy and economics. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/epicenter.energy.gatech.edu\/people-faculty-affiliates\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFaculty Affiliates\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E of Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/epicenter.energy.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEnergy Policy and Innovation Center\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E study these complex, interconnected issues affecting energy systems, costs, and access. They analyze emerging trends, evaluate policy options, and identify practical pathways forward.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/epicenter.energy.gatech.edu\/2026\/07\/01\/epicenter-affiliated-experts-inform-public-understanding-of-energy-systems-and-their-economic-impacts\/\u0022\u003ERead Full Story on the EPIcenter News Page\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEPIcenter Faculty Affiliates\u003C\/strong\u003E have recently contributed to more than a dozen news broadcasts, public radio interviews, and national media conversations on energy price trends, the war in Iran, and what these mean for everyday Americans.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECommunities across Georgia and the nation are navigating a range of economic and energy-related pressures. Gas prices, inflation, and the rapid growth of data centers are shaping the cost of goods and services, influencing everyday household financial decisions.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"EPIcenter Faculty Affiliates have recently contributed to more than a dozen news broadcasts, public radio interviews, and national media conversations on energy price trends, the war in Iran, and what these mean for everyday Americans."}],"uid":"36413","created_gmt":"2026-07-02 19:36:58","changed_gmt":"2026-07-02 19:40:46","author":"pdevarajan3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-07-01T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-07-01T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680549":{"id":"680549","type":"image","title":"Adobe-Stock-Image-Collage-600x400.png","body":null,"created":"1783021099","gmt_created":"2026-07-02 19:38:19","changed":"1783021099","gmt_changed":"2026-07-02 19:38:19","alt":"4 panel image: clockwise from upper left - solar panels in field, data center and cooling complex, Hormuz Island, gas pump in a car\u0027s fuel port","file":{"fid":"264825","name":"Adobe-Stock-Image-Collage-600x400.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/02\/Adobe-Stock-Image-Collage-600x400.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/02\/Adobe-Stock-Image-Collage-600x400.png","mime":"image\/png","size":103965,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/02\/Adobe-Stock-Image-Collage-600x400.png?itok=GVkV7SSC"}}},"media_ids":["680549"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"367481","name":"SEI Energy"},{"id":"1280","name":"Strategic Energy Institute"}],"categories":[{"id":"131","name":"Economic Development and Policy"},{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"151","name":"Policy, Social Sciences, and Liberal Arts"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"186858","name":"go-sei"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"},{"id":"39511","name":"Public Service, Leadership, and Policy"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:priya.devarajan@research.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EPriya Devarajan\u003C\/a\u003E | SEI Communications Program Manager\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["priya.devarajan@research.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"690967":{"#nid":"690967","#data":{"type":"news","title":"The Myth of the \u2018Lizard Brain\u2019 and the Real Trade-Off Inside Your Mind","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESo many of life\u2019s most pivotal decisions come down to one question: Should you listen to your logic or your emotions? Popular culture often frames this tension as a struggle between two minds \u2014 a \u201cmore evolved\u201d rational layer built atop an ancient \u201clizard brain\u201d driven by primal instincts.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis battle of the brains has also been playing out over the course of evolution, but not as a simple clash between old and new.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThere was a theory proposed in the \u201850s that the brain evolved in layers starting with basic bodily functions, to emotions in the reptilian brain, leading up to sophisticated reasoning in humans,\u201d explains \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/people.research.gatech.edu\/nabil-imam\u0022\u003ENabil Imam\u003C\/a\u003E, an assistant professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cse.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Computational Science and Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E and a faculty member with Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/neuro.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EInstitute for Neuroscience, Neurotechnology, and Society\u003C\/a\u003E (INNS). \u201cThis is not how an evolutionary biologist would think about the problem.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInstead of a \u201cnew\u201d brain layered over an \u201cancient\u201d one \u2014 or even a logical brain versus an emotional one \u2014 research published in \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/full\/10.1126\/sciadv.aec6112\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EScience Advances\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E reveals that brain evolution may come down to wiring.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy studying the architecture of both biological and artificial brains, Imam\u2019s team found that brain evolution is a strategic allocation of limited real estate. They propose a computational tug-of-war between two fundamentally different types of internal wiring \u2014 ones established even before birth.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis new understanding not only helps resolve a longstanding mystery in brain evolution but could also help us design more efficient AI systems.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe Problem With the \u201cLizard Brain\u201d\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen we refer to our \u201clogical\u201d or \u201clizard\u201d brains, we\u2019re really talking about different groups of brain regions. The logical brain is known as the neocortex, the brain\u2019s outer layer responsible for vision, perception, reasoning, and other higher-level functions. For the lizard brain, the story gets a bit complicated.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe limbic system, sometimes called the \u2018reptilian brain,\u2019 controls emotion broadly speaking \u2014 but it also has other components with distinct functions,\u201d explains Imam. The system has separate regions for memory, smell, and navigation in addition to emotional regulation. \u201cWhy do people group all these different regions into one big system? There hasn\u2019t been a good theory for what is common between these different circuits.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo investigate, Imam\u2019s team looked beyond individual regions to examine how these systems scale across species. Instead of comparing single areas based on function, the team analyzed how the limbic system and the neocortex change together across evolutionary history.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe result was remarkably consistent. When one component of the limbic system was larger, the others were also larger, while the neocortex was consistently smaller. These regions don\u2019t vary independently. \u201cRather,\u201d says Imam, \u201cit\u2019s a coordinated expansion of these regions across species.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis reveals something new: The limbic system behaves not as a loose collection of functions, but as a unified network that expands and contracts as a group across evolution.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut what is driving this coordinated push and pull?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMaps Versus Barcodes\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003EImam argues that it comes down to how these different parts of the brain are wired before birth.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the neocortex, neural circuits are organized as spatial maps. Areas that process touch in nearby parts of your body, like your index finger and thumb, are physically close to each other in the brain. The same is true for sight and sound.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWires in the limbic system, however, are not spatially organized. They function more like a bar code, firing in unique, distributed patterns to represent specific scents or complex memories.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo test whether this was an innate trait or acquired through experience, the team developed AI models for different senses. They found that when they pre-wired an AI with localized, spatial connectivity, the network was naturally very good at processing vision, sound, and touch information. Conversely, distributed, \u201cbarcode-style\u201d networks were essential for the AI to excel at scent recognition and memory.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe Evolutionary Tug-of-War\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe final piece of the puzzle explains how the size of brain components changes predictably across species. Because resources like space and energy are limited, natural selection chooses which system to prioritize.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team simulated evolution by creating a multimodal network where the spatial and distributed domains competed for \u201creal estate.\u201d When the environment rewarded smell, all areas of the distributed system expanded and the neocortex shrank. When vision was rewarded, the opposite occurred.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis explains why the nine-banded armadillo, which relies on scent, has a massive limbic system, while the highly visual squirrel monkey is dominated by its neocortex. Across the 182 species studied, the research shows that brain evolution is not about adding new layers of \u0022logic,\u0022 but about strategically reallocating space between different wiring systems to support survival.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy translating this biological architecture to AI systems, engineers could create machines that learn as efficiently as the human brain, requiring far less data and energy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cToday\u0027s artificial neural networks are trained by vast amounts data \u2014 it\u2019s about nurture,\u201d says Imam. \u201cBut the brain is not a blank slate that gets trained by experience. It is a mix of nature and nurture, and the nature is that pre-wired architecture.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe could translate that architecture to AI systems to make it more brain-like, or make it learn or function as efficiently as the brain.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis work was a collaboration with Cornell University and was supported by the National Science Foundation.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EDOI:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1126\/sciadv.aec6112\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003Edoi.org\/10.1126\/sciadv.aec6112\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA new study from Georgia Tech examines how different brain systems scale together across species, offering a new perspective on brain organization \u2014 and its potential applications in artificial intelligence.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A new study from Georgia Tech examines how different brain systems scale together across species, offering a new perspective on brain organization \u2014 and its potential applications in artificial intelligence."}],"uid":"35575","created_gmt":"2026-06-29 18:27:57","changed_gmt":"2026-07-02 14:56:41","author":"adavidson38","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-06-29T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-06-29T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680528":{"id":"680528","type":"image","title":"brain-halves.jpeg","body":"\u003Cdiv\u003EResearchers found that coordinated changes across brain systems may be explained by two distinct wiring strategies \u2014 spatially organized circuits and distributed networks \u2014 that expand and contract together over evolution.\u003C\/div\u003E","created":"1782757701","gmt_created":"2026-06-29 18:28:21","changed":"1782757701","gmt_changed":"2026-06-29 18:28:21","alt":"Digital illustration of a brain surrounded by two distinct visual patterns. One side is composed of structured blue connections resembling an organized network map, while the other features colorful, dispersed light patterns, representing distributed neural activity. The image symbolizes competing brain architectures explored in the study.","file":{"fid":"264802","name":"brain-halves.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/29\/brain-halves.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/29\/brain-halves.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":5350147,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/06\/29\/brain-halves.jpeg?itok=7doQLT23"}},"680530":{"id":"680530","type":"image","title":"Fig2.png","body":"\u003Cdiv\u003EA conceptual illustration of the two wiring strategies identified in the study. Spatially organized circuits in the neocortex (left) preserve map-like relationships, while distributed networks in the limbic system (right) connect information across locations, creating a tradeoff that may shape brain evolution.\u003C\/div\u003E","created":"1782758455","gmt_created":"2026-06-29 18:40:55","changed":"1782758455","gmt_changed":"2026-06-29 18:40:55","alt":"A balance scale holds two diagrams representing different brain wiring strategies. The left side shows an ordered rainbow-colored map labeled \u0022Neocortex,\u0022 illustrating localized connections that preserve spatial organization. The right side shows a web of interconnected colored nodes labeled \u0022Limbic System,\u0022 representing distributed connections that integrate information across space. The image symbolizes the tradeoff between these competing neural architectures proposed by the study.","file":{"fid":"264804","name":"Fig2.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/29\/Fig2.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/29\/Fig2.png","mime":"image\/png","size":866124,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/06\/29\/Fig2.png?itok=7rXvH4XZ"}},"680531":{"id":"680531","type":"image","title":"Fig1-Imam.png","body":"\u003Cp\u003ECross-sections of a squirrel monkey brain (left) and a nine-banded armadillo brain (right) illustrate how different neural systems expand or shrink together across species. The highly visual squirrel monkey has a larger neocortex (blue), while the scent-reliant armadillo has a larger olfactory complex (purple) and memory center (green).\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1782758808","gmt_created":"2026-06-29 18:46:48","changed":"1782758808","gmt_changed":"2026-06-29 18:46:48","alt":"Comparative brain images showing a squirrel monkey on the left and a nine-banded armadillo on the right. Colored overlays highlight major brain systems: extensive blue neocortical regions in the monkey and enlarged purple olfactory regions in the armadillo, illustrating how different species allocate brain space according to their sensory needs.","file":{"fid":"264805","name":"Fig1-Imam.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/29\/Fig1-Imam.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/29\/Fig1-Imam.png","mime":"image\/png","size":158938,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/06\/29\/Fig1-Imam.png?itok=dbPFTe7d"}}},"media_ids":["680528","680530","680531"],"groups":[{"id":"66220","name":"Neuro"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"194606","name":"Artificial Intelligence"},{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"172970","name":"go-neuro"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39431","name":"Data Engineering and Science"},{"id":"193656","name":"Neuro Next Initiative"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EAudra Davidson\u003Cbr\u003EInstitute for Neuroscience, Neurotechnology, and Society\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Contact\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:bwine3@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EBryant Wine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003ECollege of Computing\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["bwine3@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"690920":{"#nid":"690920","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Earns Top-10 Rankings in Innovation Commercialization","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech continues to strengthen its position as one of the nation\u2019s leaders in research commercialization, earning top-10 rankings among U.S. higher education institutions in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/autm.net\/surveys-and-tools\/surveys\/licensing-survey\/2025-licensing-survey\u0022\u003E2025 AUTM Licensing Activity Survey.\u003C\/a\u003E In two key measures of innovation performance, Georgia Tech came in at No. six for invention disclosures with 454 total disclosures, as well as No. 8 in new patent applications with 230 filings. Additionally, Georgia Tech came in No. 12 in the number of issued U.S. patents with 124 granted. The annual AUTM survey is widely regarded as the leading benchmark for academic technology transfer and commercialization activity in the U.S.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe latest rankings build on a record year for Georgia Tech commercialization. In 2025, the Institute \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/georgia-tech-advances-500-technologies-toward-market-real-world-impact\u0022\u003Ereported\u003C\/a\u003E advancing hundreds of technologies toward the marketplace, while achieving record levels of invention disclosures, issued patents, and licensed technologies. Those milestones underscore Georgia Tech\u2019s expanding role in transforming research discoveries into products, companies, and partnerships that create economic and societal value.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe strong performance reflects a commercialization strategy focused not only on protecting IP, but also on helping researchers translate discoveries into practical applications,\u201d said Raghupathy \u201cSiva\u201d Sivakumar, chief commercialization officer at Georgia Tech. \u201cWhether through licensing technologies, launching startups, or partnering with industry, we are building pathways that help researchers transform discoveries into real-world solutions.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFrom advanced health technologies to environmental monitoring tools and next-generation aerospace ventures, Georgia Tech innovations are reaching users and markets in increasingly diverse ways. One example is \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/news.research.gatech.edu\/2026\/05\/11\/kinemo-turning-small-movements-new-possibilities\u0022\u003EKinemo\u003C\/a\u003E, a startup developed through Georgia Tech research that is helping people with limited mobility regain independence through wearable assistive technology. Founded by researchers from the College of Engineering, Kinemo uses physiological sensing and small intentional movements to enable users to control digital devices. The company works closely with clinicians and patients at Shepherd Center to refine the technology and expand accessibility for individuals living with spinal cord injuries and mobility limitations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnother example is \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/news.research.gatech.edu\/2026\/02\/02\/georgia-tech-researchers-commercialize-new-technology-faster-water-and-environmental\u0022\u003ESkopii\u003C\/a\u003E, a startup launched from research in the lab of environmental engineering professor Ameet Pinto. The company is commercializing portable imaging and artificial intelligence technology that enables users to rapidly analyze microorganisms in water and environmental systems, eliminating the need for lengthy laboratory testing. The technology has the potential to improve decision-making for water utilities, food production systems, and environmental monitoring efforts.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs research institutions face increasing pressure to demonstrate impact beyond publications and laboratory discoveries, Georgia Tech continues to show how world-class research can translate into technologies, startups, jobs, and solutions that improve lives. The latest AUTM rankings provide another measure of that success, highlighting an innovation ecosystem that consistently moves ideas from the lab to the marketplace.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStartups such as Kinemo and Skopii illustrate the broader commercialization approach reflected in Georgia Tech\u0027s AUTM rankings.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech earns top-10 rankings among U.S. higher education institutions in two key measures of innovation performance in the 2025 AUTM Licensing Activity Survey.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech continues to strengthen its position as one of the nation\u2019s leaders in research commercialization"}],"uid":"34602","created_gmt":"2026-06-24 17:24:53","changed_gmt":"2026-07-01 19:44:19","author":"Georgia Parmelee","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-06-25T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-06-25T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680518":{"id":"680518","type":"image","title":"Kinemo co-founders Nordine Sebkhi and Arpan Bhavsar work with Wendell Odom during an assistive technology session using the Kinemo device to support independent computer and device control.","body":null,"created":"1782417464","gmt_created":"2026-06-25 19:57:44","changed":"1782417464","gmt_changed":"2026-06-25 19:57:44","alt":"Two researchers and a patient using the Kinemo technology. ","file":{"fid":"264791","name":"Kinemo-020.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/25\/Kinemo-020.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/25\/Kinemo-020.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2571708,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/06\/25\/Kinemo-020.JPG?itok=oJVLRVqN"}}},"media_ids":["680518"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"193593","name":"gt-commercialization"},{"id":"192930","name":"gt-commercializationnews"},{"id":"181991","name":"Georgia Tech News Center"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193658","name":"Commercialization"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Parmelee\u003Cbr\u003EDirector of Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["georgia.parmelee@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"691018":{"#nid":"691018","#data":{"type":"news","title":"New Research Seeks to Help Transplanted Cells Thrive in Type 1 Diabetes Treatment","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/bme.gatech.edu\/bio\/alexander-e-vlahos\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAlexander Vlahos\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, assistant professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, has been awarded a five-year, research grant from \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.breakthrought1d.org\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener nofollow noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022(opens in a new window)\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBreakthrough T1D\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, the leading global type 1 diabetes (T1D) research and advocacy organization, to support pioneering work aimed at improving therapies for T1D. The award will support Vlahos\u2019 project, \u003Cem\u003E\u201cRewiring Cellular Microenvironments with Synthetic Circuits for Subcutaneous Islet Transplantation,\u201d\u003C\/em\u003E through the Georgia Tech Research Corporation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ET1D is caused by the autoimmune destruction of insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells, requiring individuals to manage their blood glucose levels through lifelong insulin therapy. Transplanting pancreatic islets has long been investigated as a potential curative treatment, but long-lasting success in extrahepatic sites has been limited\u2014particularly when islets are transplanted beneath the skin\u2014due to poor blood vessel formation, immune rejection, and cellular stress following transplantation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EVlahos\u2019 research addresses these limitations by combining synthetic biology\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\/strong\u003Eand tissue engineering\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\/strong\u003Ein a new way: engineering cells to actively reshape their local environment after transplantation to make it more hospitable for the graft. Rather than relying solely on biomaterials or porous structures to support transplanted cells, the project focuses on programming the cells themselves to sense stress and respond dynamically.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/bme.gatech.edu\/news\/new-research-seeks-help-transplanted-cells-thrive-type-1-diabetes-treatment\u0022\u003ERead the full story.\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe award will support Vlahos\u2019 project, \u003Cem\u003E\u201cRewiring Cellular Microenvironments with Synthetic Circuits for Subcutaneous Islet Transplantation,\u201d\u003C\/em\u003E through the Georgia Tech Research Corporation. Transplanting pancreatic islets has long been investigated as a potential curative treatment, but long-lasting success in extrahepatic sites has been limited. Vlahos\u2019 research addresses existing limitations by combining synthetic biology\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\/strong\u003Eand tissue engineering\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\/strong\u003Ein a new way: engineering cells to actively reshape their local environment after transplantation to make it more hospitable for the graft.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Alexander Vlahos has been awarded a five-year, research grant to support pioneering work aimed at improving therapies for T1D."}],"uid":"36479","created_gmt":"2026-07-01 17:34:15","changed_gmt":"2026-07-01 17:39:38","author":"abowman41","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-07-01T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-07-01T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680543":{"id":"680543","type":"image","title":"_0000_Vlahos-Blood-Glucose.jpg","body":null,"created":"1782927261","gmt_created":"2026-07-01 17:34:21","changed":"1782927261","gmt_changed":"2026-07-01 17:34:21","alt":"A medical worker wearing latex gloves uses a device to test a patient\u0027s blood sugar.","file":{"fid":"264817","name":"_0000_Vlahos-Blood-Glucose.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/01\/_0000_Vlahos-Blood-Glucose.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/01\/_0000_Vlahos-Blood-Glucose.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":76893,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/01\/_0000_Vlahos-Blood-Glucose.jpg?itok=MSzUqn6I"}}},"media_ids":["680543"],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"171033","name":"Synthetic Biology"},{"id":"178211","name":"islet"},{"id":"49591","name":"Diabetes"},{"id":"195186","name":"cell engineering"},{"id":"1039","name":"pancreas"},{"id":"3344","name":"insulin"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EKelly Petty | Communications Manager\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"690961":{"#nid":"690961","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Advances in Wave Mathematics: Gong Chen Awarded CAREER Grant for Soliton Research","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EWaves play a central role in systems ranging from fluids to fiber optics, yet their long-term behavior can be difficult to predict.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/math.gatech.edu\/people\/gong-chen\u0022\u003EGong Chen\u003C\/a\u003E, assistant professor in the\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/math.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;School of Mathematics\u003C\/a\u003E, has received a\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nsf.gov\/awardsearch\/show-award\/?AWD_ID=2540992\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;$450,000 National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award\u003C\/a\u003E to study the long-term behavior of solitons \u2014\u0026nbsp;coherent, particle-like waves observed across physics and mathematics.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EWhile most waves spread out as they disperse (for example, ripples on water), a soliton is different: it can keep a coherent shape while moving, and in some cases, it can interact with other waves and still emerge recognizable afterward.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cSolitons are important because they appear across many areas of science, including fluid dynamics, optics, plasma physics, field theory, and models from mathematical physics,\u201d says Chen. \u201cFrom a mathematical point of view, they are a beautiful testing ground for understanding nonlinear behavior.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPredicting Waves\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EAccording to Chen, a guiding idea in the field is that complex nonlinear waves may eventually resolve into a collection of stable solitons alongside dispersive radiation \u2014 the more diffuse portion of the wave that spreads out and weakens. Chen\u2019s research focuses on how these waves behave over long periods of time, especially when multiple solitons interact.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cIf we start with a complicated nonlinear wave, can we predict what it will look like far in the future?\u201d asks Chen. \u201cI want to understand not just whether a wave is stable, but how it evolves: how stability can fail, how energy is exchanged, and how complicated wave motion eventually organizes itself.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EHis work examines multi-soliton systems and more complex wave structures, including topological solitons, where long-range interactions and internal fluctuations make the mathematics more challenging.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EChen is developing new mathematical frameworks tailored to these moving and interacting waves, including tools from spectral theory and nonlinear scattering. These approaches allow researchers to analyze wave behavior with new precision in settings where existing methods are limited.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EA key part of this work involves nonlinear dispersive equations, which capture the competing effects that shape wave systems.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cA complicated wave may contain several solitons, some radiation that spreads away, and small oscillations trapped near the solitons,\u201d explains Chen. \u201cNonlinear dispersive equations allow us to ask precise questions: Which part of the wave persists? Which part disperses? How much energy is released during a collision? Does the system eventually simplify into solitons plus radiation?\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EAlthough the work is theoretical, it strengthens the foundation for models used widely in science and engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cA better theoretical understanding of solitons and dispersive waves improves the reliability of these models,\u201d Chen says. \u201cIt helps us know when coherent structures should persist, when they should radiate energy, and when instability or collision effects may change the outcome.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBeyond Research: Teaching and Impact\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EChen plans to use the CAREER Award to integrate research and education. He is organizing a summer school focused on dispersive waves and developing new courses, including a second-level course in partial differential equations that emphasizes connections to physical phenomena.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cThe CAREER Award provides the stability and long-term support needed to pursue a coherent research program rather than isolated projects,\u201d says Chen. \u201cFor me, the award is especially meaningful because the research and education components are closely connected.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EChen aims to help students connect mathematical theory with real-world phenomena.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EFor Chen, that connection is what makes the field compelling.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cOne point I would emphasize is that soliton dynamics is a place where abstract mathematics meets very intuitive physical pictures,\u201d says Chen. \u201cUnderstanding when that particle-like behavior persists, when it breaks down, and what remains afterward is both mathematically deep and scientifically natural.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThe NSF Faculty Early Career Development Program is a five-year grant designed to help promising researchers establish a foundation for a lifetime of leadership in their field. Known as CAREER awards, the grants are NSF\u2019s most prestigious funding for early-career faculty.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWith support from\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003Ean NSF CAREER Award, Gong Chen is advancing new mathematical frameworks to predict how complex wave systems evolve\u0026nbsp;\u2014\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;unlocking deeper insights into solitons, the rare waves that hold their shape while traveling at a constant speed.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"With support from an NSF CAREER Award, Gong Chen is advancing new mathematical frameworks to predict how complex wave systems evolve \u2014  unlocking deeper insights into solitons, the rare waves that hold their shape while traveling at a constant speed."}],"uid":"36607","created_gmt":"2026-06-29 14:51:53","changed_gmt":"2026-06-29 17:23:30","author":"ls67","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-06-29T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-06-29T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"678904":{"id":"678904","type":"image","title":"Gong Chen","body":"\u003Cp\u003EGong Chen\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1767127050","gmt_created":"2025-12-30 20:37:30","changed":"1767127050","gmt_changed":"2025-12-30 20:37:30","alt":"Man sitting in wall in front of brick building.","file":{"fid":"263000","name":"IMG_7035-2.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/12\/30\/IMG_7035-2.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/12\/30\/IMG_7035-2.png","mime":"image\/png","size":4852545,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/12\/30\/IMG_7035-2.png?itok=OJKdlm_g"}}},"media_ids":["678904"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/math.gatech.edu\/news\/chen-named-bergman-fellow","title":"Chen Named Bergman Fellow"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1279","name":"School of Mathematics"}],"categories":[{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"192249","name":"cos-community"},{"id":"7842","name":"NSF CAREER Award"},{"id":"193356","name":"cos-math"},{"id":"173647","name":"_for_math_site_"},{"id":"193733","name":"_for_math_site_manual_feed_"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELaura S. Smith, writer\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["laura.smith@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"690910":{"#nid":"690910","#data":{"type":"news","title":"What It Takes to Deliver a Tech\u2011Heavy World Cup","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWith an estimated 500,000 visitors coming to the eight games in Atlanta over the next two months, the 2026 World Cup will be one of the biggest sporting events to come to the city since the 1996 Summer Olympic Games.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFIFA President Gianni Infantino likened the scale of each game to that of a Super Bowl. The success of a tournament that large will rely heavily on technology, affecting everything from the players on the pitch, all the way to viewers at home.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOn top of the state-of-the-art technology used at many large events, this World Cup will also see the debut of new technology. At the center of much of it will be electrical and computer engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EExperts from the Georgia Tech School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) weigh in on how the field is enabling the technology behind the world\u2019s largest sporting event.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ece.gatech.edu\/news\/2026\/06\/what-it-takes-deliver-tech-heavy-world-cup\u0022\u003ERead Full Story on the ECE News Page\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EWith hundreds of thousands of people attending the 104 World Cup games over the next 39 days and billions more watching at home, an immense amount of technology will be needed to ensure a seamless, safe, and enjoyable experience. Experts from ECE explain how electrical and computer engineering are facilitating some of the tournament\u0027s newest and most crucial technology.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"With hundreds of thousands of people attending the 104 World Cup games, Georgia Tech experts explain  how electrical and computer engineering are facilitating some of the tournament\u0027s newest and most crucial technology."}],"uid":"36413","created_gmt":"2026-06-24 21:24:12","changed_gmt":"2026-06-24 21:28:36","author":"pdevarajan3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-06-24T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-06-24T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680512":{"id":"680512","type":"image","title":"What-It-Takes-to-Deliver-a-Tech-Heavy-World-Cup.jpeg","body":null,"created":"1782336352","gmt_created":"2026-06-24 21:25:52","changed":"1782336420","gmt_changed":"2026-06-24 21:27:00","alt":"Stock image that shows a soccer stadium as the center of an AI chip design","file":{"fid":"264785","name":"What-It-Takes-to-Deliver-a-Tech-Heavy-World-Cup.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/24\/What-It-Takes-to-Deliver-a-Tech-Heavy-World-Cup.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/24\/What-It-Takes-to-Deliver-a-Tech-Heavy-World-Cup.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":272785,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/06\/24\/What-It-Takes-to-Deliver-a-Tech-Heavy-World-Cup.jpeg?itok=EGonBxq9"}}},"media_ids":["680512"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/ece.gatech.edu\/news\/2026\/06\/what-it-takes-deliver-tech-heavy-world-cup","title":"Read Full Story on ECE News Page"}],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"367481","name":"SEI Energy"},{"id":"1280","name":"Strategic Energy Institute"}],"categories":[{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"151","name":"Policy, Social Sciences, and Liberal Arts"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"186858","name":"go-sei"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"145171","name":"Cybersecurity"},{"id":"39451","name":"Electronics and Nanotechnology"},{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"},{"id":"39511","name":"Public Service, Leadership, and Policy"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003EZachary Winiecki\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003EDan Watson, Georgia Tech ECE\u003C\/div\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"690808":{"#nid":"690808","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Research Gets to the Core of AI Drone Crashes","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA drone powered by artificial intelligence crashes in a remote field, destroying its onboard computer and leaving investigators without the data needed to determine whether a cyberattack caused the failure.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers at Georgia Tech say they have developed a system to help answer that question.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKnown as FIRA, the tool analyzes drone crashes to determine whether they were caused by poisoned machine-learning (ML) models. The team will present its findings at the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.usenix.org\/conference\/usenixsecurity26\u0022\u003E35th USENIX Security Symposium\u003C\/a\u003E in August.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research addresses a growing safety challenge as drones are increasingly used for deliveries, infrastructure inspections, and agriculture.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs drones rely more on machine learning to navigate and make decisions, they also become vulnerable to model poisoning attacks. In these attacks, adversaries manipulate an AI system during its learning phase, embedding hidden triggers that can cause failures under specific conditions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMachine learning drones are making more decisions in flight, which makes ML a safety-critical component of these systems,\u201d said\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003EYizhi Huang\u003C\/strong\u003E, Ph.D. student and lead researcher on the project.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhen something goes wrong, investigators need a way to ask whether the model was responsible, but the model is the part of the system that no one can examine after a crash.\u0026nbsp;FIRA\u0026nbsp;gives investigators a way to investigate these cases by reconstructing what the model was doing during the crash. As more drones run with ML, this kind of forensic capability can help drones be used more effectively and safely.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen a drone crashes, investigators must determine whether the cause was malicious interference, weather, or mechanical failure. Without reliable forensic tools, accountability is difficult to establish, and safety standards are harder to enforce.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFIRA identifies how drone components interact with machine learning models and monitors those interactions in real time, even with limited bandwidth.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe system functions like a flight recorder, capturing key system activity and reconstructing a timeline after a crash. It then analyzes the model\u2019s behavior to determine whether a malicious trigger was introduced via poisoned ML training data.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn tests across multiple drone platforms and crash scenarios, FIRA identified failure causes and distinguished cyberattacks from environmental or mechanical issues.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe system does not require access to a drone\u2019s source code, making it practical for real-world investigations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAs commercial drone use expands, tools like FIRA could help improve accountability and trust in AI-powered systems operating in public airspace,\u201d said\u0026nbsp;Huang.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.usenix.org\/system\/files\/conference\/usenixsecurity26\/sec26_prepub_huang-yizhi.pdf\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EFIRA: Enabling Automatic Forensic Investigation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E was led by Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cyfi.ece.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ECyber Forensics Innovation Lab\u003C\/a\u003E in cooperation with the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sites.gatech.edu\/capcpsec\/\u0022\u003ECyber-Physical Security Lab\u003C\/a\u003E. These labs reside in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/scp.cc.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Cybersecurity and Privacy\u003C\/a\u003E and the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ece.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Electrical and Computing Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA drone powered by artificial intelligence crashes in a remote field, destroying its onboard computer and leaving investigators without the data needed to determine whether a cyberattack caused the failure.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers at Georgia Tech say they have developed a system to help answer that question.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Researchers at Georgia Tech say they have developed a system to determine whether a cyberattack caused drone crashes."}],"uid":"36253","created_gmt":"2026-06-18 17:32:32","changed_gmt":"2026-06-24 20:39:30","author":"John Popham","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-06-18T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-06-18T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"660599":{"id":"660599","type":"image","title":"CyFI Lab Sign","body":null,"created":"1661532564","gmt_created":"2022-08-26 16:49:24","changed":"1661532564","gmt_changed":"2022-08-26 16:49:24","alt":"Sign reading Cyber Forensics Innovation Laboratory The CyFI Lab","file":{"fid":"250302","name":"SCP August 2022-66.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/SCP%20August%202022-66.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/SCP%20August%202022-66.png","mime":"image\/png","size":9087261,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/SCP%20August%202022-66.png?itok=7KS9Gbz_"}}},"media_ids":["660599"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"194606","name":"Artificial Intelligence"},{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"145171","name":"Cybersecurity"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Popham\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECommunications Officer II at the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jpopham3@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"690884":{"#nid":"690884","#data":{"type":"news","title":"ICSFlux: Using Physics to Uncover Cyberthreats ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe factories, water utilities, and power systems that keep daily life running rest on the assumption that as long as no one breaks into the computers that run the equipment, the equipment stays safe.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELogically this makes sense and has been backed up by past security research. However, researchers at Georgia Tech have found hidden paths in cyber-physical systems that attackers can use to disrupt or even destroy them.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo find these hidden paths before an attacker does, the researchers built a testing tool called ICSFlux. This new tool leans on the physics used by the industrial process and maps out the system to find new threats that were once thought impossible.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EICSFlux was deployed across 11 different programmable logic controllers in six industrial sectors, including chemical manufacturing, water treatment, power grids, aircraft, desalination, and waste processing. The process uncovered twenty genuine safety violations.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn one case drawn from a chemical-plant simulation, an attack path uncovered by the tool drove a reactor past its safe pressure limit and into a simulated explosion. By using nothing but valid operator commands, the team took the reactor from a completely normal and stable state to critical territory.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBecause the method relies only on the physics of a process and not on the details of any one controller, the same tool worked across all six sectors without being rebuilt, and it reduced the search space by roughly 50%.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sahinburak.github.io\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBurak Sahin\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, a Ph.D. student at Georgia Tech and the study\u0027s lead author, found that by sending a series of perfectly normal, fully authorized commands, intruders can slowly nudge a physical process toward a dangerous state.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThese systems are usually judged safe as long as nobody hacks into them,\u0027\u0027 Sahin said. \u201cWhat we found is that an attacker who can send everyday commands, the same ones a normal operator sends, can patiently steer the process toward a failure. No single command looks wrong, which is exactly why the usual defenses miss it.\u0027\u0027\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMost existing tools assume an attacker can rewire the controller or change the software inside it. In the real world, those controllers are locked down and cannot be touched. ICSFlux takes the opposite and more realistic view. It treats the controller as a sealed box that cannot be opened and works only with the commands an operator is normally allowed to send.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERather than measuring how much of a controller\u0027s software it has exercised, the usual yardstick for this kind of testing, ICSFlux measures how close the physical system is getting to an unsafe limit and steers its testing in that direction.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cTwo different sensor readings can run through the exact same code and still send a reactor in completely different directions,\u0027\u0027 Sahin said. \u201cLooking only at the software tells you nothing about whether the physical system is safe. We had to follow the physics, not the code.\u0027\u0027\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne of the study\u0027s most important takeaways emerged when the researchers tightened the safety margins to see whether caution alone would help. Even when every command stayed within approved limits, the way the controller reacted to a steady stream of small adjustments could still cause pressure to overshoot and the reactor to fail. In other words, staying inside the rules was not always enough.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAll of the team\u0027s experiments were carried out on secured, controlled test beds. The work was conducted with Georgia Tech\u0027s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sites.gatech.edu\/capcpsec\/\u0022\u003ECyber-Physical Systems Security Lab\u003C\/a\u003E, whose research spans the security of cyber-physical systems from industrial programmable logic controllers to marine, automotive, and drone platforms. Georgia Tech\u0027s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cyfi.ece.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ECyber Forensics Innovation Laboratory\u003C\/a\u003E, a team of researchers who work together to further the investigation of advanced cyber crimes and the analysis and prevention of next-generation malware attacks, also contributed to the paper.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe labs are a collaboration between the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/scp.cc.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Cybersecurity and Privacy\u003C\/a\u003E and the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ece.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Electrical and Computer Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EFuzzing the Physical Space: Physics-Aware Testing of Black-Box Industrial Control Systems\u003C\/em\u003E\u0027 was accepted to the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sp2026.ieee-security.org\/\u0022\u003E2026 IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy\u003C\/a\u003E. In addition to Sahin, the team includes Ph.D. students \u003Cstrong\u003EDavid Oygenblik\u003C\/strong\u003E, \u003Cstrong\u003EMingxuan Yao\u003C\/strong\u003E, and \u003Cstrong\u003EYizhi Huang \u003C\/strong\u003Eas well as Associate Professors \u003Cstrong\u003EBrendan Saltaformaggio\u003C\/strong\u003E, and \u003Cstrong\u003ESaman Zonouz\u003C\/strong\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe factories, water utilities, and power systems that keep daily life running rest on the assumption that as long as no one breaks into the computers that run the equipment, the equipment stays safe.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELogically this makes sense and has been backed up by past security research. However, researchers at Georgia Tech have found hidden paths in cyber-physical systems that attackers can use to disrupt or even destroy them.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo find these hidden paths before an attacker does, the researchers built a testing tool called ICSFlux. This new tool leans on the physics used by the industrial process and maps out the system to find new threats that were once thought impossible.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"To find hidden vulnerabilites before an attacker does, researchers built a testing tool called ICSFlux that leans on the physics used by the industrial process and maps out the system to find new threats once thought impossible. "}],"uid":"36253","created_gmt":"2026-06-24 14:57:00","changed_gmt":"2026-06-24 15:10:58","author":"John Popham","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-06-24T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-06-24T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680500":{"id":"680500","type":"image","title":"utilities.jpg","body":null,"created":"1782313123","gmt_created":"2026-06-24 14:58:43","changed":"1782313123","gmt_changed":"2026-06-24 14:58:43","alt":"A collection of utilities like power plants, geothermal stations, solar farms, etc.","file":{"fid":"264773","name":"utilities.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/24\/utilities.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/24\/utilities.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3540206,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/06\/24\/utilities.jpg?itok=RC1Hy0vy"}},"680501":{"id":"680501","type":"image","title":"Burak-Sahin.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBurak Sahin\u003C\/strong\u003E, a Ph.D. Candidate in Computer Science at the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/a\u003E, advised by \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sites.google.com\/site\/samanzonouz4n6\/saman-zonouz\u0022\u003ESaman Zonouz\u003C\/a\u003E (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sites.gatech.edu\/capcpsec\/\u0022\u003ECPSec Lab\u003C\/a\u003E) and co-advised by \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/saltaformaggio.ece.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EBrendan Saltaformaggio\u003C\/a\u003E (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cyfi.ece.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ECyFI Lab\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1782313398","gmt_created":"2026-06-24 15:03:18","changed":"1782313398","gmt_changed":"2026-06-24 15:03:18","alt":"A side profile of a man\u0027s face. He has long hair and a beard","file":{"fid":"264774","name":"Burak-Sahin.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/24\/Burak-Sahin.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/24\/Burak-Sahin.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":75559,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/06\/24\/Burak-Sahin.jpg?itok=3mVGJ9eI"}}},"media_ids":["680500","680501"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"660406","name":"School of Cybersecurity \u0026 Privacy"},{"id":"660367","name":"School of Cybersecurity and Privacy"}],"categories":[{"id":"42901","name":"Community"},{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"150","name":"Physics and Physical Sciences"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"145171","name":"Cybersecurity"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Popham\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECommunications Officer II at the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jpopham3@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"690843":{"#nid":"690843","#data":{"type":"news","title":"From Classroom to Manufacturing Floor: Teachers Build Real-World Manufacturing Skills at Georgia Tech","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFor three days in June, a dozen middle and high school teachers from rural Georgia traded their classrooms for Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/montgomery-machining-mall\u0022\u003EMontgomery Machining Mall\u003C\/a\u003E, a machine shop where students and researchers design and build custom parts. Instead of grading papers, they cut metal on bandsaws, lathes, and milling machines while learning skills they\u2019ll take back to their students this fall.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe workshop is part of Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/feature\/advanced-manufacturing-program\u0022\u003EAdvanced Manufacturing Pathways (AMP) program\u003C\/a\u003E, a collaboration between the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/gtmi.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech Manufacturing Institute\u003C\/a\u003E (GTMI) and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/gtri.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech Research Institute\u003C\/a\u003E (GTRI), which connects rural educators with hands-on manufacturing training. This particular training was delivered through a partnership between GTMI, STEM@GTRI \u2014 GTRI\u2019s K-12 outreach program \u2014 and the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, leveraging the facilities and expertise of the Montgomery Machining Mall to provide teachers with direct experience in modern manufacturing. Building on GTRI\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ceismc.gatech.edu\/rural-cs-initiative\u0022\u003ERural Computer Science Initiative\u003C\/a\u003E, the program expands access to high-skill, high-wage career pathways across rural communities. The initiative is supported through state funding.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe workshop comes at a time when demand for skilled manufacturing workers continues to grow nationwide, particularly in roles requiring precision, technical expertise, and problem-solving.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EInside the Machine Shop\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe training took place June 3 \u2013 5 in the Montgomery Machining Mall, where staff provided access to facilities, equipment, and technical expertise that made the immersive learning experience possible.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETeachers designed and manufactured a metal meat tenderizer and a metal coaster etched with both the Georgia Tech logo and their name. For many, this was their first exposure to advanced manufacturing tools and processes, and a glimpse into high-skill, high-wage careers within reach for their students.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMany of these teachers have never been exposed to any advanced manufacturing,\u201d said Sean Mulvanity, a program manager for STEM@GTRI and project lead for this workshop. \u201cBy the time they walk out of here, they\u2019ve actually created and manufactured physical items they can take back to their students.\u201d Unlike traditional professional development, the workshop places teachers directly in the machine shop, working on heavy equipment.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor AMP program leaders, this pilot was a way to build momentum for school districts that may add advanced manufacturing courses and to make the machine shop feel less intimidating in the process.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOne of the biggest misconceptions about modern manufacturing is that it is inaccessible or limited to specialized factory environments,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/gtmi.gatech.edu\/people\/steven-ferguson\u0022\u003EGTMI Deputy Director Steven Ferguson\u003C\/a\u003E. \u201cToday\u2019s manufacturing combines hands-on skills, digital technologies, AI, and problem-solving in ways that are relevant to students across many career pathways. By giving teachers direct experience in the machine shop, we help them bring that excitement back to their classrooms and show students that they can design, build, and innovate in their own communities.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EFrom the Shop Floor to the Classroom\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne of the workshop participants is James Beveridge, who teaches computer science for grades 6-12 in the Chattahoochee County School District, a small, rural district south of Columbus. He has participated in multiple Georgia Tech-led training programs, and he runs a full computer science pathway for 450 middle and high school students. This fall will mark his third year in the Rural Computer Science Initiative and teaching computer science after two decades in industry.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBeveridge had some informal experience with tools growing up \u2014 his father taught him basic carpentry and welding \u2014 but he had never done formal machining work before the AMP workshop.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWorking with metal is different than working with wood, obviously, but it\u2019s been really interesting to see the precision involved,\u201d he said. \u201cWith wood, you can be off by a sixteenth of an inch, and nobody cares. When you\u2019re machining metal parts, it has to be very, very precise. Learning to use the precision measuring tools has been eye-opening.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor Beveridge, one of the biggest benefits of his ongoing work with Georgia Tech through the Rural Computer Science Initiative and related programs is that he never leaves empty-handed.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cEvery time I come up here to learn something new, they send me home with the equipment to teach it with,\u201d he said. \u201cThe first time, I left with a classroom set of robots so my students could learn to program. Another time, it was a more advanced humanoid robot with artificial intelligence. Now, I\u2019m going back with new skills in machining and a physical project I can show my students.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnother participant, Juone Brown, teaches high school computer science and AI to students at Dooly County High School in Vienna, Georgia. This is her second year in the rural computer science partnership and her fourth year teaching at Dooly. Previously, Brown was a professor for 25 years at Fort Valley State University.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELike Beveridge, Brown has no formal machining background but said the way workshop instructors broke down each step \u2014 especially the math behind the cuts \u2014 made the work feel approachable.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt has been fantastic and really well-paced,\u201d she said. \u201cWe all come from different backgrounds, but the way they present the information makes it click. We know the math, but when you\u2019re on the machine, and they show you easier ways to get the cut you need, it\u2019s very encouraging.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe\u2019s already thinking about how to translate that feeling for her students, many of whom prefer building things to writing code. \u201cI\u2019m always telling them that skills pay the bills,\u201d Brown said. \u201cA lot of my students are hands-on. Now I can connect what we\u2019re doing in class to real parts and jobs.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EBringing Advanced Manufacturing to More Georgia Classrooms\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter the workshop, teachers are expected to integrate machining concepts into existing courses or help build new manufacturing pathways at their schools. \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EAMP program leaders intentionally kept this pilot cohort small. The team plans to repeat the workshop several times over the coming year, expanding to more schools and districts across Georgia, building local champions who can help launch advanced manufacturing programs in their communities.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbout the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute (GTMI)\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute (GTMI) convenes industry leaders, government partners, and top researchers to collaborate on the grand challenges facing manufacturing today: accelerating technology development and deployment; creating, maintaining, and filling quality jobs; ensuring global competitiveness; and advancing economic and environmental stability.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003EOur vision is to ensure rapid innovation that secures U.S. dominance in advanced manufacturing. Through the design and development of artificial intelligence systems, secure digital manufacturing, additive and subtractive processes, and large-scale production enterprises, GTMI stands at the forefront of manufacturing innovation \u2014 leveraging state-of-the-art facilities, including the Advanced Manufacturing Pilot Facility, to turn research breakthroughs into market-ready solutions.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbout the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI)\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) is the nonprofit, applied research division of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech).\u202fFounded in 1934 as the Engineering Experiment Station, GTRI has grown to more than 3,000 employees, supporting eight laboratories across more than 20 locations nationwide and performing more than $919 million in problem-solving research annually for government and industry.\u202fGTRI\u0027s renowned researchers combine science, engineering, economics, policy, and technical expertise to solve complex problems for the U.S. federal government, state, and industry.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERural Georgia teachers gain practical machine shop training at Georgia Tech, bringing advanced manufacturing skills back to their classrooms.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Rural Georgia teachers gain practical machine shop training at Georgia Tech, bringing advanced manufacturing skills back to their classrooms."}],"uid":"35874","created_gmt":"2026-06-22 13:56:29","changed_gmt":"2026-06-22 14:28:20","author":"Anna Akins","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-06-22T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-06-22T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680485":{"id":"680485","type":"image","title":"2026_0603_image_STEM-GTRI_machine-bootcamp_07.JPG","body":"\u003Cp\u003EJuone Brown (left), a teacher at Dooly County High School in Vienna, Georgia, called the bootcamp well-paced and plans to bring what she learned back to her students this fall, many of whom prefer hands-on learning.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1782132769","gmt_created":"2026-06-22 12:52:49","changed":"1782132769","gmt_changed":"2026-06-22 12:52:49","alt":"A participant at a Georgia Tech manufacturing workshop cuts metal on industrial equipment. ","file":{"fid":"264755","name":"2026_0603_image_STEM-GTRI_machine-bootcamp_07.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/22\/2026_0603_image_STEM-GTRI_machine-bootcamp_07.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/22\/2026_0603_image_STEM-GTRI_machine-bootcamp_07.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":15053651,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/06\/22\/2026_0603_image_STEM-GTRI_machine-bootcamp_07.JPG?itok=DogDs26z"}},"680488":{"id":"680488","type":"image","title":"2026_0603_image_STEM-GTRI_machine-bootcamp_28.JPG","body":"\u003Cp\u003ERural Georgia teachers pose with the metal meat tenderizers they made during a machining workshop hosted by the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute (GTMI) and Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) at the Montgomery Machining Mall.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1782132769","gmt_created":"2026-06-22 12:52:49","changed":"1782132769","gmt_changed":"2026-06-22 12:52:49","alt":"Participants in a Georgia Tech machining workshop pose for a group photo. ","file":{"fid":"264758","name":"2026_0603_image_STEM-GTRI_machine-bootcamp_28.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/22\/2026_0603_image_STEM-GTRI_machine-bootcamp_28.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/22\/2026_0603_image_STEM-GTRI_machine-bootcamp_28.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":19978833,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/06\/22\/2026_0603_image_STEM-GTRI_machine-bootcamp_28.JPG?itok=6CoXkoFp"}},"680487":{"id":"680487","type":"image","title":"2026_0603_image_STEM-GTRI_machine-bootcamp_23.JPG","body":"\u003Cp\u003EJames Beveridge, a computer science teacher in the Chattahoochee County School District, said he is excited to take back new machining skills and physical items back to share with his students.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1782132769","gmt_created":"2026-06-22 12:52:49","changed":"1782132769","gmt_changed":"2026-06-22 12:52:49","alt":"A participant at a Georgia Tech manufacturing workshop cuts metal on industrial equipment. ","file":{"fid":"264757","name":"2026_0603_image_STEM-GTRI_machine-bootcamp_23.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/22\/2026_0603_image_STEM-GTRI_machine-bootcamp_23.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/22\/2026_0603_image_STEM-GTRI_machine-bootcamp_23.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":17227017,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/06\/22\/2026_0603_image_STEM-GTRI_machine-bootcamp_23.JPG?itok=G0dCSa97"}},"680486":{"id":"680486","type":"image","title":"2026_0603_image_STEM-GTRI_machine-bootcamp_16.JPG","body":"\u003Cp\u003EA metal meat tenderizer created by participants during the workshop.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1782132769","gmt_created":"2026-06-22 12:52:49","changed":"1782132769","gmt_changed":"2026-06-22 12:52:49","alt":"A metal meat tenderizer with a textured striking surface created by participants at a Georgia Tech workshop. ","file":{"fid":"264756","name":"2026_0603_image_STEM-GTRI_machine-bootcamp_16.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/22\/2026_0603_image_STEM-GTRI_machine-bootcamp_16.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/22\/2026_0603_image_STEM-GTRI_machine-bootcamp_16.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":20854471,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/06\/22\/2026_0603_image_STEM-GTRI_machine-bootcamp_16.JPG?itok=hDoa2ebX"}}},"media_ids":["680485","680488","680487","680486"],"groups":[{"id":"1276","name":"Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI)"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"42901","name":"Community"},{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"42911","name":"Education"},{"id":"194685","name":"Manufacturing"},{"id":"194611","name":"State Impact"},{"id":"194612","name":"Workforce Development"}],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"94431","name":"Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute (GTMI)"},{"id":"415","name":"Georgia Tech Research Institute"},{"id":"170709","name":"STEM@GTRI"},{"id":"185675","name":"Montgomery Machining Mall"},{"id":"1690","name":"rural economic development"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193653","name":"Georgia Tech Research Institute"},{"id":"39461","name":"Manufacturing, Trade, and Logistics"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter:\u003C\/strong\u003E Anna Akins\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Contact:\u003C\/strong\u003E Jennifer Martin | jennifer.martin@research.gatech.edu\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPhotos: \u003C\/strong\u003ESean McNeil\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECopyediting:\u003C\/strong\u003E Stacy Braukman\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"690757":{"#nid":"690757","#data":{"type":"news","title":"From Fossils to Function: Armita Manafzadeh Honored by Scientific American","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EScientific American\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E has named\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/qbios.gatech.edu\/user\/275\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EArmita Manafzadeh\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E to the inaugural class of\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/report\/young-american-scientists-2026\/\u0022\u003EYoung American Scientists\u003C\/a\u003E, recognizing a new generation of leaders and innovators in science, technology, and medicine. The 2026 cohort includes 28 early-career scientists based in the United States who are changing the world with their work.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s a tremendous honor to be recognized alongside such an inspiring group of scientists,\u201d Manafzadeh says. \u201cI\u2019ve always been motivated by big, fundamental questions, and it\u2019s exciting to see that kind of curiosity-driven research celebrated.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EManafzadeh will join Georgia Tech in August 2026 as an assistant professor in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E. Her research investigates how joints function and how they evolved, using advanced technology to create animations of moving skeletons with sub-millimeter precision.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cMy research is aimed at understanding how joints work and where they come from,\u201d she explains. \u201cPhysicians can repair ACL injuries and perform hip replacements, but we still don\u2019t fully understand joint mechanics at a fundamental level.\u201d Because joints are a shared feature of virtually all vertebrates, she adds, nearly all movement \u2014 from slithering to sprinting to soaring \u2014 depends on them.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EManafzadeh first applied these methods to pterodactyls, \u201creanimating\u201d the extinct animals to study how they flew. Now, her research could also open doors to personalized surgical treatments for people and new designs for bio-inspired robots.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe 2026 cohort includes 28 early-career scientists based in the United States who are changing the world with their work.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The 2026 cohort includes 28 early-career scientists based in the United States who are changing the world with their work. "}],"uid":"35599","created_gmt":"2026-06-16 15:23:38","changed_gmt":"2026-06-16 20:38:32","author":"sperrin6","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680460":{"id":"680460","type":"image","title":"Armita Manafzadeh (Credit: Scientific American)","body":"\u003Cdiv\u003EArmita Manafzadeh (Credit: \u003Cem\u003EScientific American\u003C\/em\u003E)\u003C\/div\u003E","created":"1781530791","gmt_created":"2026-06-15 13:39:51","changed":"1781530994","gmt_changed":"2026-06-15 13:43:14","alt":"Armita Manafzadeh (Credit: Scientific American)","file":{"fid":"264725","name":"saw070826YAS-21-Armita-Manafzadeh.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/15\/saw070826YAS-21-Armita-Manafzadeh.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/15\/saw070826YAS-21-Armita-Manafzadeh.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":499752,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/06\/15\/saw070826YAS-21-Armita-Manafzadeh.jpg?itok=8DV0mp8m"}}},"media_ids":["680460"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/report\/young-american-scientists-2026\/","title":"The Young American Scientists (Scientific American)"},{"url":"https:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article\/armita-manafzadeh\/","title":"Armita Manafzadeh Profile in Scientific American"},{"url":"https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/news\/joints-motion-armita-manafzadeh-receives-carl-gans-young-investigator-award","title":"Joints in Motion: Armita Manafzadeh Receives Carl Gans Young Investigator Award"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"192249","name":"cos-community"},{"id":"187423","name":"go-bio"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"193653","name":"Georgia Tech Research Institute"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:sperrin6@gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESelena Langner\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETechnical Research Writer \/ Editor\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech College of Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"690754":{"#nid":"690754","#data":{"type":"news","title":"New Wearable Reroutes Lost Sensation, Restores Stability","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMisjudge a curb or miss a step on the stairs, and there is a split second of panic as your foot doesn\u2019t land when you expect it to. That brief loss of pressure can be enough to throw off your balance entirely.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor most, that heart-pounding uncertainty ends the moment the foot finds solid ground. But for many individuals living with conditions like stroke or spinal cord injury (SCI), that sense of disconnect is a permanent reality.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThese conditions of course have a huge effect on our ability to move around and be independent \u2014 but the other side of it is the sensory feedback that we lose,\u201d says \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/people.research.gatech.edu\/matthew-t-flavin\u0022\u003EMatthew Flavin\u003C\/a\u003E, an assistant professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ece.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Electrical and Computer Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E. Most rehabilitation treatments primarily focus on restoring movement, but \u201ceven if you have motor control, if you can\u2019t feel when your foot\u0027s touching the ground it can be really hard for you to move around safely.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn a new study published in \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.pnas.org\/doi\/10.1073\/pnas.2536577123\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, Flavin and an interdisciplinary team of researchers introduce a way to bridge this gap: a wearable \u201csensory substitution\u201d system that translates foot pressure into high-tech patterns of heat and vibration they can feel elsewhere.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe system uses high-resolution pressure-sensing insoles designed by the team, which are placed inside a user\u0027s shoes to record how their weight shifts in real-time. This data is streamed via Bluetooth to a flexible, skin-conformable array of haptic receivers worn on the forearms, a part of the body that often retains sensation in SCI. The receivers give quick pressure feedback through vibration, while also alerting the user to longer-term pressure \u201chotspots\u201d through heat.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOne of the limitations of a lot of approaches in haptics is that you\u0027re having to map a missing sense onto a completely different sense,\u201d says Flavin. \u201cWe\u2019re keeping the type of information that we\u0027re missing, which is the distribution of pressure, and we\u0027re just basically putting it on a different part of their body.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERerouting the lost sensation was key to making the device intuitive to learn. Participants were able to correctly identify the \u201cfeel\u201d of the ground through their arms with high accuracy within a mere two-hour session. When tested with a small group of participants with stroke or SCI, the wearable significantly improved standing balance and led to steadier walking.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhat\u2019s encouraging about these early results is that participants appeared to use the feedback in ways that supported balance and walking,\u201d says \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.mccormick.northwestern.edu\/research-faculty\/directory\/profiles\/rogers-john.html\u0022\u003EJohn Rogers\u003C\/a\u003E, a materials science and engineering professor at Northwestern University who collaborated on this study. \u201cOur study suggests that providing pressure information through another part of the body could be a practical path for helping people compensate for lost sensation.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile vibration provides immediate feedback for walking and balance, the team views the thermal feedback as a tool for long-term health. Heat is a slower, low-frequency signal that could alert patients to pressure hotspots, potentially preventing diabetic foot ulcers or pressure injuries for those who are bedridden or use wheelchairs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe small, lightweight system is completely untethered, making it suitable for use during daily activities in and outside the clinic. It\u2019s also highly adaptable to different injury types, which is ideal for conditions as variable as stroke, SCI, and diabetic neuropathy. Placement of the haptic receivers can be adjusted based on where a patient has the most sensation, and the sensitivity of the insoles can be tailored to each patient.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs a member of several of Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/interdisciplinary-research-institutes\u0022\u003EInterdisciplinary Research Institutes\u003C\/a\u003E \u2014 the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/neuro.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EInstitute for Neuroscience, Neurotechnology, and Society\u003C\/a\u003E, the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/robotics\u0022\u003EInstitute for Robotics and Intelligent Machines\u003C\/a\u003E, and the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/bioresearch.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences\u003C\/a\u003E \u2014 Flavin credits the project\u2019s success to an interdisciplinary effort and deep engagement with clinicians and patients.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis reinforces the importance of really engaging with your stakeholders very early on,\u201d says Flavin. \u201cIf you\u0027re not continually refining that concept with those stakeholders, you quickly find that they might be looking for something that your device isn\u0027t delivering.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith new funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the team is now working to make the technology even smaller and more reconfigurable, moving closer to a standard wearable for daily clinical use.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EDOI: \u003C\/em\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.2536577123\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003Ehttps:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.2536577123\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EResearchers have developed a wireless wearable that translates foot pressure into heat and vibration, helping individuals with sensory impairments regain balance and mobility.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Researchers have developed a wireless wearable that translates foot pressure into heat and vibration, helping individuals with sensory impairments regain balance and mobility."}],"uid":"35575","created_gmt":"2026-06-15 20:56:13","changed_gmt":"2026-06-16 12:16:33","author":"adavidson38","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-06-15T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-06-15T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680466":{"id":"680466","type":"image","title":"Flavin-Device-Under-Microscope.png","body":"\u003Cdiv\u003EThe system converts pressure underfoot into vibration and heat felt elsewhere on the body, helping people with sensory loss regain awareness of their footing and improve balance.\u003C\/div\u003E","created":"1781557523","gmt_created":"2026-06-15 21:05:23","changed":"1781557523","gmt_changed":"2026-06-15 21:05:23","alt":"Close-up of hands positioning a flexible haptic device with embedded electronics under a microscope, highlighting the small components and patterned array used to deliver sensory feedback.","file":{"fid":"264732","name":"Flavin-Device-Under-Microscope.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/15\/Flavin-Device-Under-Microscope.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/15\/Flavin-Device-Under-Microscope.png","mime":"image\/png","size":10816942,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/06\/15\/Flavin-Device-Under-Microscope.png?itok=7OCs2RGM"}},"680467":{"id":"680467","type":"image","title":"Flavin-Device-Portrait.png","body":"\u003Cdiv\u003EMatthew Flavin, assistant professor in electrical engineering and lead author of the study, holds the flexible haptic device.\u003C\/div\u003E","created":"1781557731","gmt_created":"2026-06-15 21:08:51","changed":"1781557731","gmt_changed":"2026-06-15 21:08:51","alt":"A researcher stands in a laboratory holding a flexible, transparent wearable device embedded with small electronic nodes, with microscopes and lab equipment visible in the background.","file":{"fid":"264733","name":"Flavin-Device-Portrait.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/15\/Flavin-Device-Portrait.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/15\/Flavin-Device-Portrait.png","mime":"image\/png","size":12093054,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/06\/15\/Flavin-Device-Portrait.png?itok=7qCineau"}},"680468":{"id":"680468","type":"image","title":"Flavin-Device-Schematic.png","body":"\u003Cdiv\u003EPressure-sensing insoles in the shoes transmit real-time data to flexible haptic arrays worn on the forearms, where patterns of vibration and heat recreate a sense of foot-ground contact through sensory substitution.\u003C\/div\u003E","created":"1781571167","gmt_created":"2026-06-16 00:52:47","changed":"1781571167","gmt_changed":"2026-06-16 00:52:47","alt":"Schematic diagram of a wearable sensory substitution system showing pressure-sensing insoles placed inside shoes, flexible haptic arrays worn on both forearms, and a smartphone interface. Close-up views highlight the insole sensor layout and a dense grid of small actuators on the forearm device that deliver vibration and heat.","file":{"fid":"264734","name":"Flavin-Device-Schematic.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/15\/Flavin-Device-Schematic.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/15\/Flavin-Device-Schematic.png","mime":"image\/png","size":2450907,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/06\/15\/Flavin-Device-Schematic.png?itok=U8hkGUYv"}}},"media_ids":["680466","680467","680468"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/neuro.gatech.edu\/new-wearable-device-monitors-skin-health-real-time","title":"New Wearable Device Monitors Skin Health in Real Time"},{"url":"https:\/\/neuro.gatech.edu\/confronting-roadblocks-medical-technology-innovation","title":"Confronting the Roadblocks in Medical Technology Innovation"},{"url":"https:\/\/neuro.gatech.edu\/head-toe-georgia-tech-researchers-treat-entire-human-body-through-neuroscience-research","title":"Head to Toe: Georgia Tech Researchers Treat the Entire Human Body Through Neuroscience Research"}],"groups":[{"id":"66220","name":"Neuro"},{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"152","name":"Robotics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"172970","name":"go-neuro"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"193656","name":"Neuro Next Initiative"},{"id":"39521","name":"Robotics"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter and Media Contact:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:audra.davidson@research.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAudra Davidson\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EResearch Communications Program Manager\u003Cbr\u003EInstitute for Neuroscience, Neurotechnology, and Society (INNS)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPhotos:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EMaxwell Guberman\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["audra.davidson@research.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}