{"681492":{"#nid":"681492","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Beril Toktay to Lead Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFollowing a nationwide search, Julia Kubanek, vice president for Interdisciplinary Research at Georgia Tech, has named \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/people\/beril-toktay\u0022\u003EBeril Toktay\u003C\/a\u003E as the executive director of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sustainable.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EBrook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems\u003C\/a\u003E (BBISS). Toktay has served as BBISS interim executive director since September 2022.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAs interim executive director, Beril has built the BBISS community, broadened its scope, and developed new programming to grow cross-disciplinary collaboration, community-engaged research, and entrepreneurship,\u201d Kubanek said. \u201cFaculty and students from the liberal arts, social sciences, design, business, computing, and fundamental science are engaging with BBISS in greater numbers, complementing our engineering community\u2019s involvement. These are areas of strength at Georgia Tech that will help amplify the impact of BBISS.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EToktay is professor of operations management, the Brady Family Chair, and Regents\u0027 Professor at the Scheller College of Business. She is an internationally recognized sustainable operations management scholar whose work has been recognized with multiple best paper awards. She is a Distinguished Fellow of the INFORMS Manufacturing \u0026amp; Service Operations Management (MSOM)Society. Through initiatives such as the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.drawdownga.org\/initiative\/drawdown-georgia-business-compact\/\u0022\u003EDrawdown Georgia Business Compact\u003C\/a\u003E, she has helped translate research insights into actionable business initiatives while fostering regional economic development.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHer academic leadership includes serving as department co-editor for \u201cHealth, Environment, and Society\u201d for \u003Cem\u003EMSOM\u003C\/em\u003E, area editor for \u201cEnvironment, Energy, and Sustainability\u201d at \u003Cem\u003EOperations Research\u003C\/em\u003E, and special issue co-editor on \u201cBusiness and Climate Change\u201d for \u003Cem\u003EManagement Science,\u003C\/em\u003E as well as\u003Cem\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003E\u201cEnvironment\u201d for \u003Cem\u003EMSOM.\u003C\/em\u003E She serves on the board of the Alliance for Research on Corporate Sustainability and the board of directors of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/nyclimateexchange.org\/\u0022\u003ENew York Climate Exchange\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EToktay has been instrumental in advancing sustainability at Georgia Tech, serving as founding faculty director of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.scheller.gatech.edu\/centers-and-initiatives\/ray-c-anderson-center-for-sustainable-business\/index.html\u0022\u003ERay C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business\u003C\/a\u003E, co-architect of the Serve-Learn-Sustain initiative, and co-chair of the Sustainability Next Institute Strategic Plan Implementation Task Force. Her commitment to Ph.D. student success earned her the 2018 Georgia Tech Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Advisor Award. She also co-developed the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.carbonreductionchallenge.org\/\u0022\u003ECarbon Reduction Challenge\u003C\/a\u003E, an award-winning interdisciplinary, co-curricular program that engages undergraduate students in climate intrapreneurship.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EToktay holds a Ph.D. in operations research from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an M.S. in industrial engineering from Purdue University, and a B.S. in industrial engineering and mathematics from Bo\u011fazi\u00e7i University. She joined Georgia Tech in 2005 after serving as faculty at INSEAD business school in Fontainebleau, France.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESince assuming the interim role, Toktay has significantly strengthened BBISS by expanding the faculty leadership team, securing additional funding, establishing seed grant programs that have benefited over 100 researchers across all Colleges, and transforming the Center for Serve-Learn-Sustain into the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/scre.research.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ECenter for Sustainable Communities Research and Education\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Energy and sustainability continue to be top Georgia Tech research priorities, for which we will need new funding strategies,\u0022 said Tim Lieuwen, executive vice president for Research. \u0022Philanthropy and business partnerships will grow in importance in the coming years. Beril has considerable experience and vision for maximizing these partnerships, which will serve BBISS and the Institute well into the future.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems is one of Georgia Tech\u2019s interdisciplinary research institutes. The vision of BBISS is to grow and mobilize Georgia Tech\u2019s knowledge assets \u2014 people and research \u2014 to create a sustainable future for all. BBISS is a key partner in the implementation of Georgia Tech\u2019s\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sustain.gatech.edu\/sustainabilitynext-plan#:~:text=Connecting%20Georgia%20Tech\u0026amp;apos;s%20education%2C%20research,United%20Nations%20Sustainable%20Development%20Goals.%E2%80%9D\u0022\u003ESustainability Next 2023-2030 Strategic Plan\u003C\/a\u003E, a consensus road map to advance Georgia Tech\u2019s vision to address the biggest local, national, and global challenges of our time. BBISS relentlessly serves the public good, catalyzes high-impact research, develops exceptional leaders, and cultivates partnerships that translate knowledge into practice.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I\u0027m honored to lead BBISS and build on the momentum we\u0027ve created to date,\u201d Toktay said. \u201cOur vision is to maximize the collective impact of Georgia Tech\u0027s remarkable sustainability research community across all colleges and disciplines. By catalyzing collaborative research and connecting our faculty with key external partners and communities, we are positioning Georgia Tech to be a global thought leader in sustainability and to drive meaningful solutions to some of our most pressing environmental and social challenges.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe campus community is invited to a reception celebrating Toktay\u0027s appointment on Thursday, May 1, 2025, at 4:30 p.m. at the Collective Food Hall in the Coda building. Contact \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:susan.ryan@sustain.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESusan Ryan\u003C\/a\u003E for details.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFollowing a nationwide search, Julia Kubanek, vice president for Interdisciplinary Research at Georgia Tech, has named \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/people\/beril-toktay\u0022\u003EBeril Toktay\u003C\/a\u003E as the executive director of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sustainable.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EBrook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems\u003C\/a\u003E (BBISS). Toktay has served as BBISS interim executive director since September 2022.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The interdisciplinary research institute is poised for growth and innovation with Beril Toktay as executive director."}],"uid":"27338","created_gmt":"2025-04-01 14:56:54","changed_gmt":"2025-12-02 05:09:52","author":"Brent Verrill","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-04-01T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2025-04-01T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"675104":{"id":"675104","type":"image","title":"Beril Toktay video","body":"\u003Cp\u003EBeril Toktay\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1727280819","gmt_created":"2024-09-25 16:13:39","changed":"1727280998","gmt_changed":"2024-09-25 16:16:38","alt":"Beril Toktay","file":{"fid":"258697","name":"beril-toktay-sbi2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/09\/25\/beril-toktay-sbi2.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/09\/25\/beril-toktay-sbi2.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":110803,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/09\/25\/beril-toktay-sbi2.jpg?itok=FcMSVQF4"}}},"media_ids":["675104"],"groups":[{"id":"244191","name":"Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"87921","name":"Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems"},{"id":"188360","name":"go-bbiss"},{"id":"2813","name":"Beril Toktay"},{"id":"193980","name":"Executive Director Search"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"188020","name":"go-rbi"}],"core_research_areas":[{"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:brent.verrill@research.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EBrent Verrill\u003C\/a\u003E, Research Communications Program Manager, BBISS\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["brent.verrill@research.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}