Progress and Service

The ethos behind our motto of Progress and Service manifests in all our undertakings — both within the Institute and beyond.


President Cabrera makes his onstage entrance aboard the Ramblin' Wreck.

President Cabrera makes his investiture entrance onstage aboard the Ramblin' Wreck.

Presidential Inauguration Celebrates Ángel Cabrera as Institute’s 12th President

Steve Wrigley, chancellor of the University System of Georgia officially conferred the rank of president on Ángel Cabrera on Oct. 28, 2019.

Cabrera’s Georgia Tech investiture ceremony was a melding of formality and fun. Speakers, including representatives from other universities, student representatives, faculty, staff, and government officials offered words of advice to the Institute's 12th president, and Georgia Tech students featured as performers.

With Cabrera being only the 12th president since Tech opened its doors in 1888, “if you do the math, it says our presidents are lasting 10 or more years on average. That’s pretty unusual,” said Joseph L.A. Hughes, professor in Tech's School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, who served as a member of the investiture planning committee. He added that the average tenure of a president at a top U.S. university is around five years.

“For us, an investiture is a pretty rare event. We will have students who have spent their entire time at Georgia Tech with one president. In that sense, it’s a celebration of who we are as an Institute,” said Hughes, who joined the faculty in 1986 and attended the 1995 investiture of President Emeritus G. Wayne Clough. He also served on the investiture planning committee for President Emeritus G.P. "Bud" Peterson in 2009.

The ceremony can be viewed in its entirety online.


Research Enterprise Tackles Larger, More Complex Projects

Georgia Tech is taking on complex and significant research challenges involving multiple disciplines and collaborating with organizations that bring together teams of researchers with a broad range of specialized expertise, noted Chaouki Abdallah, Georgia Tech’s executive vice present for research.

“Tackling society’s most pressing challenges requires multidisciplinary teams of scientists, engineers, business experts, policymakers, and humanists; crosses multiple areas of specialization; and often necessitates involvement from more than one research organization,” Abdallah said. “We are proud to participate in and lead more complex, more important, and more impactful research projects. We are grateful to our research collaborators and to the state of Georgia for the confidence they have placed in us.”

Among the collaborative projects funded recently is a $21.9 million award from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to develop new techniques for battling a potential flu pandemic. The project involves five universities, a company, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in developing new ways to help the body resist infection, fight the virus, and boost the effects of vaccines. The project has now pivoted to tackle Covid-19.

In another example, Georgia Tech is leading a consortium of 12 universities and 10 national laboratories in a $25 million project with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration to develop new technologies and educational programs to support the agency’s nuclear science, security, and nonproliferation goals.

Beyond defense and national security, Georgia Tech received a $13.5 million award from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help bring together research teams working on a global grand challenge: reinventing the toilet. The project could improve sanitation for 2.5 billion people worldwide without requiring costly new sewer lines or wastewater treatment facilities.

Augur Test

Georgia Tech Research Institute researchers evaluate different techniques for moving and processing waste as part of the “Reinventing the Toilet” project.

Georges and Schellers

Above: William “Bill” and Penny George. Below: Roberta and Ernest Scheller Jr.

Schellers and Georges Invest in Tech Square

In August 2019, Roberta and Ernest Scheller Jr. made a generous philanthropic commitment to support the next phase of Georgia Tech’s Technology Square, Midtown’s 10-block innovation ecosystem that’s home to a wealth of big name corporations and thriving startups. Scheller Tower has been earmarked for the MBA and Executive Education programs.

Then in February 2020, the University System of Georgia approved the naming of George Tower in recognition of philanthropists William “Bill” and Penny George. Once complete, George Tower will be home to the nation’s No. 1-ranked H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, as well other programs.

Tech Square Phase III will be a 400,000-square-foot multibuilding complex located on the northwest corner of West Peachtree and Fifth streets.

Georgia Tech opened Tech Square in 2003, with one of the guiding principles being to foster a better connection between the Institute and the business community.

Tech Square Phase 3

An artist's rendering of Tech Square Phase III.

The Kendeda Building

The Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design

Remaking the On-Campus Experience Through The Kendeda Building and New Campus Center

Two projects on campus are reshaping the student experience for Yellow Jackets — and how Georgia Tech builds its facilities with the future in mind.

Opened in October 2019, The Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design is the most advanced green building of its kind in the Southeast, while the new Campus Center complex, now under construction, will transform the nerve center of student life on campus.

A Regenerative Building

The Kendeda Building, which produces more electricity and collects more water on-site than it consumes — and also diverted more waste from landfills than it sent to them during construction — has been designed to be regenerative, not just sustainable.

The project is a partnership between Tech and The Kendeda Fund, which committed $25 million to design and build an educational and research facility to meet the rigorous standards of the Living Building Challenge. The challenge includes everything from conserving water, energy, and materials to optimizing well-being, supporting a just and equitable world, restoring a healthy interrelationship with nature, and uplifting the human spirit.

John DuCongé, Tech’s project manager on the building, said it has set a new bar for campus design and construction.

“The Kendeda Building is raising awareness of sustainable design principles, providing tangible and measurable benefits, and providing numerous research opportunities in a field that is just starting to gain momentum,” DuCongé said.

Campus Center rendering

A rendering shows the new pathway connecting the Campus Center complex to the Campus Recreation Center, with three of the four new buildings constructed as part of the project. The pavilions on the left will include the Paper & Clay art studio; on the right is the new Rising Roll Café, which opened in Fall 2020. (Image courtesy Cooper Carry Architects.)

 

When you combine our new Campus Center with Clough Commons and the renovated Library, what you get is a completely re-imagined student experience on campus."

—Lindsay Bryant, senior director of the Student Center

A Re-imagined Student Experience

DuCongé also manages the Campus Center project in the heart of campus, where the design team has incorporated some of the concepts and design standards realized in The Kendeda Building.

The Campus Center project includes extensive renovations to the 1970s-era Student Center building, as well as construction of three new pavilions and an Exhibition Hall.

“We needed significantly more space for our community, and we found this kind of distributed model with multiple buildings achieves that goal while also allowing us to build a new, inviting pathway all the way from Clough Commons to the Campus Recreation Center,” said Lindsay Bryant, senior director of the Student Center. “Like The Kendeda Building, we integrate indoors and outdoors, creating a unified experience. We also make extensive use of salvaged and healthy construction materials.”

All told, the complex will double the amount of gathering, meeting, and community space for students, including adding new spaces for graduate students, quiet reflection, and activities specifically designed to celebrate and explore the many cultures on campus.

“When you combine our new Campus Center with Clough Commons and the renovated Library, what you get is a completely re-imagined student experience on campus,” said Bryant.

The fully renovated and reconstructed Student Center reopens in Fall 2022.


portrait of Sachin Shailendra

Sachin Shailendra

Tech Alumnus to Serve as USG Board of Regents Chair

At its November 2019 meeting, the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia (USG) elected Sachin Shailendra, a civil engineering alumnus from Georgia Tech, to serve as its chair for 2020.

“An outstanding Georgia Tech alumnus, with strong family ties to Georgia Tech, Regent Shailendra has a unique appreciation of how public higher education can transform lives and strengthen our community,” said Georgia Tech President Ángel Cabrera. “I look forward to working with him in his new leadership role as chair of the Board of Regents to advance our public colleges and universities throughout the state.”

With members appointed by the governor, the Board of Regents serves as the governing and management authority for 26 public higher education institutions: four research universities, four comprehensive universities, nine state universities, and nine state colleges.

“I’m honored to have this opportunity to serve the citizens of Georgia, my fellow regents, and the 333,000 students who are working to improve their lives and the world by studying at institutions in the University System of Georgia,” Shailendra said. “I was fortunate to earn my degree from Georgia Tech, a USG institution, and, throughout my term on the Board of Regents, I have kept my focus on our students and what they need to be successful. I look forward to continuing this work on behalf of students and families.”

In September 2020, Shailendra was elected for a second term, so he will serve for 2021 as well.


Provost Rafael Bras speaks at Commencement.

Provost Rafael Bras speaks at Commencement.

Provost Bras to Step Down

This fall marks the end of Rafael L. Bras’ 10-year tenure as Georgia Tech’s provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs, a decade of service defined by some of the largest and boldest innovations in the Institute’s history. Under his leadership, Tech increased enrollment by 74% and now Georgia Tech has as many graduate students as undergraduates; created new degree programs; expanded cocurricular and extracurricular programs; launched Georgia Tech Arts; transformed the campus; increased international collaborations and started a new campus in Shenzhen, China; and devised new, accessible pathways to graduate education and alternate educational options for learners around the world.

With access and affordability at the core of his beliefs, Bras shepherded a new institutional philosophy, driving the Institute to always seek excellence and answers to questions about future learner and employer needs. This philosophy provided the impetus for him and other Tech leaders to bring new programs and pedagogies to life.

Since 2011, Georgia Tech has reached more than 4 million learners across six continents through massive open online courses (MOOCs). In 2013, Tech pioneered a new path to graduate education with the Online Master of Science in Computer Science (OMSCS) program, and followed it with online master's programs in analytics and cybersecurity, enrolling thousands of learners. In 2015, Bras launched the visionary Commission on Creating the Next in Education, an Institute-wide effort that envisions and provides the pathway to the university of the future.

Bras’ time at Tech also saw the transformation of the Georgia Tech Library. The Library Next initiative is a technology-focused reimagining of the intellectual center of campus, fostering collaborative learning and research — and, ultimately, designed to create an entirely new scholarly environment at Tech for the communion of faculty, researchers, students, and staff.

He also passionately promoted the power of the arts to teach, challenge, and embolden the Yellow Jacket community. Because of the arts initiative, Georgia Tech is now home to a public sculpture collection that includes tributes to civil rights activist Rosa Parks, and physicist and humanitarian Albert Einstein. And in 2019, Bras worked closely with the sculptor and generous donors to design and bring to life sculptures of the first African American matriculants and first African American graduate of the Institute.

Bras served with a fervent belief in leadership development, mentoring, and the power of excellent teaching. He created the Emerging Leaders Program and the Mid-Level Administrators Leadership Program and developed a new faculty promotion and tenure process.

The results of his tireless efforts, expansive vision, and highest aspirations will be felt at Georgia Tech for years to come. Even more than that, his legacy of caring deeply about people — about our history and our future, and about our shared humanity — will never be forgotten.

On Sept. 15, 2020, Georgia Tech's Dean of the College of Engineering Steven McLaughlin was announced as Provost Bras' successor. McLaughlin begins in the new role Oct. 1, 2020.


Embracing All Voices

Our commitment to empowering more people, backgrounds, and perspectives in the process of learning, discovery, and creation continues to be among our chief priorities.


unveiling of the Georgia Tech trailblazers statues

The Georgia Tech trailblazers unveil their sculptures in Harrison Square.

Tech Celebrates Trailblazers

Ronald L. Yancey

The statue of Ronald L. Yancey, EE 1965, sits in Clough Commons.

On September 4, 2019, Georgia Tech dedicated a sculpture series commemorating the Institute’s African American trailblazers.

The dedication followed the 11th Annual Diversity Symposium entitled “Georgia Tech’s Racial Diversity Journey: Recognizing our Past, Acknowledging our Present, and Charting our Future,” meant to explore Georgia Tech’s racial diversity journey.

A symposium panel facilitated by Jacqueline Royster, professor and former dean in the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, featured the African American honorees — Georgia Tech’s first three African American students: Ford C. Greene (since deceased), Ralph A. Long Jr., and Lawrence Williams, and Tech’s first African American graduate: Ronald L. Yancey, EE 1965.

"The journey of these four men is part of our history that must not be forgotten," said Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Rafael L. Bras.

After the men shared their integration stories, they made their way to Harrison Square for the unveiling of the sculptures paying tribute to them.

Vice President for Institute Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Archie Ervin said, “We are honored that all of these sculptures are dedicated today in Harrison Square, as they will be constant reminders of the trailblazers' courage in the face of adversity.”

President Ángel Cabrera thanked his predecessors G.P. “Bud” Peterson and G. Wayne Clough, for their support of the Trailblazers sculptures and the arts in general. He then thanked the honorees for sharing their stories.

“Those four stories are of unassuming but incredibly effective leadership. Stories of courage. Stories of people who really knew the moment,” Cabrera said. “It is thanks to their work and their courage that this place is a global example of inclusion, and the place where more African American engineers graduate. You own that story, and we thank you for it.”

trailblazers statue
trailblazers college days photo

Ralph A. Long Jr., Lawrence M. Williams, and Ford C. Greene were among the first African American students to enroll at Tech when the Institute became the first university in the Deep South to integrate without a court order.

Expanding Mental Health Resources

As we chart the path ahead for the Institute, a core theme of our new strategic plan is to Cultivate Well-Being — to strengthen our culture of well-being and create an environment of holistic learning where all members of our community can grow and learn to lead healthy, purposeful, and impactful lives.

The mental health of our students has and will continue to be a priority for the Institute. We have implemented a number of new initiatives and programs centered on the overall well-being of our community and will continue to bolster support in this important area.

New Mental Health Intake Center Opens

Mental Health Curriculum Incorporated Into College Transition Courses

Tech Launches Campus JED Assessment Mental Health Initiative

Tech Holds Inaugural Suicide Prevention Week

SGA and Student Life Collaborate to Publish Mental Health Resource Folder

Georgia Tech Expands Mental Health Services with Satellite Locations

USG Mental Health Task Force Includes International Affairs Major

Poster Series in Skiles Highlights Mental Health Awareness

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Academies

Seven Georgia Tech faculty members were elected to the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences during Spring 2020.

“Georgia Tech is regarded as one of the leading research universities in the nation because of the outstanding work of our faculty,” said President Ángel Cabrera. “We are tremendously proud that seven of them were recently named to the most prestigious national honorary and leadership organizations in the nation, a fitting recognition for their respective accomplishments and a reflection of the caliber of the Georgia Tech faculty.”

Only 2,309 people in the U.S. can call themselves members of the National Academy of Engineering, just 2,403 have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences boasts 13,838 members inducted over two and a half centuries.

National Academy of Sciences

The induction of three Georgia Tech scholars into the National Academy of Sciences marked the first time three members of Tech joined the Academy in the same year — and they represent three different colleges.

Marilyn Brown (who also joined the National Academy of Engineering and was part of a 2007 Nobel Peace Prize-winning team) studies climate and energy policy in the School of Public Policy, Randall Engle studies attention and memory in the School of Psychology, and Arkadi Nemirovski studies optimization in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering.

Until now, just one current faculty member was among the Academy’s membership.

National Academy of Engineering

Georgia Tech researchers make up more than 10% of the National Academy of Engineering’s membership, a number that grew by four this spring.

That includes Marilyn Brown. While Brown is not strictly an engineer, the Academy cited her for bridging engineering, policy, and social and behavioral studies to achieve cleaner energy. The other new members are Thomas Kurfess, who has helped guide the digital transformation of manufacturing in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering; Susan Margulies, a brain and lung injury scholar and chair of the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering; and Alexander Shapiro in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, who studies optimization modeling that involves uncertainty.

American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Singer/songwriter Joan Baez, filmmaker Richard Linklater, and former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder are some of the newest members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. So, too, is Susan Lozier, dean and Betsy Middleton and John Clark Sutherland Chair in Georgia Tech’s College of Sciences. Lozier studies the ocean and large-scale circulation, particularly the seas’ role in climate variability and climate change. She joins six other Georgia Tech faculty members in the Academy, which was founded in 1780 by John Adams, John Hancock, and others to advance learning in service to the public good.

National Academy Honorees

Clockwise from top left: Marilyn Brown, Randall Engle, Thomas Kurfess, Alexander Shapiro, Susan Lozier, Susan Margulies, Arkadi Nemirovski.


portrait of Tegra Myanna

Tegra Myanna, director of the LGBTQIA Resource Center, joined Georgia Tech on May 11, 2020.

New Era for LGBTQIA Resource Center

“I’m excited to join a campus that is about building community and building safer, more inclusive places on campus.” With those words, Tegra Myanna (they/them/theirs) ushered in a new era for Georgia Tech’s LGBTQIA Resource Center.

Following a national search, Myanna became the Center’s new director in May 2020 and made an appearance at the 2020 virtual Lavender Graduation and Awards, held April 22. They came to Tech from the Lealtad-Suzuki Center, which provides multicultural training, programming, and education at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. Before that, Myanna served as the assistant director of the Gender and Sexuality Center at Carleton College and as an area director for the Office of Residential Life, also at Carleton.

During the spring and summer, as a result of the coronavirus, the Center successfully transitioned to online programming and never lost sight of its mission — or of the added importance of maintaining connections in the midst of pandemic-driven isolation. These included virtual student community gatherings, Netflix watch parties, workshops, and town halls. In addition, Myanna and Coordinator Camilla Brewer remained connected to the far-flung community through social media channels, emails, and virtual office hours four days a week.

As they look to the future, they have staked out clear aspirations for the Center as a source of collaboration and strength for the LGBTQIA community at Tech: creating spaces for queer and trans Black, Indigenous, and people of color in which they feel equally a part of the community and equally celebrated as their white counterparts; building stronger relationships with graduate students and alumni; and developing mentorship programs related to career exploration and navigating professional workplaces.


Strong Local Roots, Broad Global Reach

Recognizing that in order to advance locally, we must expand globally, our resolve to remain a major player in the state’s development is complemented by a forward-thinking international outlook.


Georgia Tech Lorraine

Georgia Tech-Lorraine Recognized for Boosting Economic Development

In October 2019, Georgia Tech-Lorraine, the Institute’s first international campus, received the French-American Chamber of Commerce’s annual Crystal Peach Award.

The distinction recognizes outstanding corporate honorees for their “commitment to economic growth, innovation, and the expansion of commercial relations between France and the southeast United States.”

In the Economic Development in France category, Georgia Tech-Lorraine was honored for bringing the Southeast to France. The campus was established in 1990 in Metz and hosts more than 700 students each year, from undergraduates in all disciplines to postdoctoral students in engineering.

With a focus on academics, research, and innovation, the campus houses a joint international research laboratory between Georgia Tech and the French National Center for Scientific Research, with a presence on both the Metz and Atlanta campuses. Adjoining the Metz campus is the Lafayette Institute, a newly established platform for innovation and technology transfer in optoelectronics working in tandem with Georgia Tech’s Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology and the Enterprise Innovation Institute.

“It’s a great honor to receive this award as we enter our 30th year. Georgia Tech-Lorraine is an extension of Georgia Tech’s innovation ecosystem, and students return from the campus as engaged global citizens,” said Yves Berthelot, president of Georgia Tech-Lorraine and vice provost for International Initiatives.

The award is given annually by the Atlanta Chapter of the French-American Chamber of Commerce, and was presented on Oct. 17, during France-Atlanta 2019, an annual series of events centered on innovation and designed to foster French-American cooperation in the fields of culture, science, humanitarian affairs, and business.

 

New Partnership with Georgia State Looks for Computing Solutions to Social Challenges

A new six-figure grant is connecting Georgia Tech computer scientists with Georgia State University social scientists in a unique collaboration to address historic social inequities.

The $180,000 grant from the Public Interest Technology Universities Network (PITUN) will fund a two-semester fellowship program for 16 faculty members. PITUN is supported by the Ford Foundation, New America, and the Hewlett Foundation. The grant is the first of its kind awarded by PITUN.

These 16 will split into eight pairs — each with a Georgia Tech computer scientist and a Georgia State social scientist. Each pair will then work to develop interdisciplinary projects addressing historic and continuing inequity challenges in the southeastern United States.

“This collaboration is a unique opportunity to showcase the power of computer science to drive meaningful social progress, as well as the impact that interdisciplinary research can have on real-world issues,” said Ellen Zegura, Georgia Tech computer science professor and co-lead on the fellowship program.

The grant is one of 27 awarded as part of PITUN’s inaugural “Network Challenge,” which supports the development of new public interest technology initiatives, especially those that bring together multiple partner schools.

At the end of the two-semester program, the eight teams will present their collaborative projects during a public showcase. “Of course, we can’t solve historic issues of inequity in two semesters,” Zegura said. “But we can highlight current public interest challenges in the region, identify potential solutions, and create resources for those at colleges and universities across the Southeast that are interested in picking up the torch on these important issues.”

Harrison Family Supports Poultry Technology at Georgia Tech Research Institute

Thanks to a new commitment from the R. Harold and Patsy Harrison Foundation, Georgia Tech Research Institute’s Agricultural Technology Research Program (ATRP) will be able to expand its programming to more students and further support faculty research in poultry technology. ATRP blends the use of technology and innovation to fuel advancements in agriculture. The program occupies the frontier of technology solutions, including advanced sensing, robotics, automation, and environmental and food safety systems. The funds will be used to support students in the Abit Massey Student Internship Program and to create the R. Harold and Patsy Harrison Research Faculty Fellowship Endowment to support early-career research faculty.

“This commitment from the R. Harold and Patsy Harrison Foundation launches our first-ever endowment program in support of ATRP and the students and faculty who work on behalf of the poultry industry,” said Doug Britton, ATRP manager.

ATRP’s focus on Georgia agriculture, and the state’s multibillion-dollar poultry industry specifically, allows researchers to focus on opportunities that directly benefit farmers, consumers, employers, and employees — both on a local and national level. Georgia’s continued role as the nation’s largest producer of poultry requires increasing improvements in manufacturing and production methods, food safety, environmental sustainability, and the well-being of animals and humans.

The Harrison commitment provides seed funding to kick off a fundraising effort to further support the Abit Massey Student Internship Program and other research programs within ATRP. This multiyear commitment provides funding for both current operations as well as a permanent endowment.

The Harrison family has been in the poultry business since 1948, with the establishment of Harrison Poultry in Barrow County. Their contribution to ATRP continues the family’s legacy in the poultry business and creates an opportunity for students to discover new knowledge and develop innovative technologies to improve the poultry industry.

ATRP technology at work in a poultry plant.

The Agricultural Technology Research Program (ATRP) exists at the crossroads of technology, innovation, and agriculture.


Creating a Better Future

At Georgia Tech, we generate novel ideas and devise solutions with real human impact — all in the name of changing our world for the better.


DNA Storage

GTRI researchers Brooke Beckert, Nicholas Guise, Alexa Harter, and Adam Meier stand outside the cleanroom of Georgia Tech's Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology.

$25 Million Project to Advance DNA-Based Archival Data Storage

The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity’s Molecular Information Storage program has awarded a multiphase contract worth up to $25 million to develop scalable DNA-based molecular storage techniques. The goal of the project, led by the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), is to use DNA as the basis for deployable storage technologies that can eventually scale into the exabyte regime and beyond with reduced physical footprint, power, and cost requirements relative to conventional storage technologies.

“The goal is to significantly reduce the size, weight, and power required for archival data storage,” said Alexa Harter, director of GTRI’s Cybersecurity, Information Protection, and Hardware Evaluation Research (CIPHER) Laboratory. “What would take acres in a data farm today could be kept in a device the size of the tabletop. We want to significantly improve all kinds of metrics for long-term data storage.”


Tech Partners with Universities, UN on Sustainable Development Goals

Three faculty from the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts are among the representatives from leading world universities — including Georgia Tech — who convened September 23, 2019 at Rutgers University, Newark to participate in the University Global Compact (UGC)’s 17 Rooms-U, hosted in partnership with the United Nations in pursuit of its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The event brought together more than 150 faculty champions, thought leaders, students, and stakeholders to discuss solutions and plan actions to help achieve the SDGs. The Ivan Allen College faculty are among nine Georgia Tech participants who attended with President Ángel Cabrera, a founder of the UGC.

“Universities around the world are essential in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals,” Cabrera said. “They conduct research that can lead to new solutions, they educate professionals and leaders who are prepared to enact those solutions, and they are trusted conveners of other stakeholders. It is exciting to see higher education getting organized to better collaborate in support of the goals.”

On Sept. 10, 2020, Tech held a virtual event to introduce the SDGs to the Tech community and discuss their relevance to the Institute.

Clough Green Rooftop

Georgia Tech's Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons is outfitted with 360 solar panels.

The UGC is a platform of universities and other higher education organizations committed to working together, in partnership with the United Nations, and with other relevant organizations in support of the UN’s 17 SDGs:
  • No poverty
  • Zero hunger
  • Good health and well-being
  • Quality education
  • Gender equality
  • Clean water and sanitation
  • Affordable and clean energy
  • Decent work and economic growth
  • Industry, innovation, and infrastructure
  • Reduced inequalities
  • Sustainable cities and communities
  • Responsible consumption and production
  • Climate action
  • Life below water
  • Life on land
  • Peace, justice, and strong institutions
  • Partnerships to implement the goals

Summer Carbon Reduction Challenge

Georgia Tech student Nic Fite presents his poster to judges Michael Oxman, Akhil Chavan, and Ruthie Yow.

College of Sciences Team Wins Carbon Reduction Challenge

In August 2019, for the third year, student interns used their ingenuity to identify opportunities for scalable carbon reduction projects at a wide variety of partnering organizations, as part of Tech’s Carbon Reduction Challenge.

The Georgia Tech College of Sciences team, comprised of Rebecca Guth-Metzler, Brooke Mancinelli-Rothschild, and Priyam Raut, won the top prize of $5,000 for implementing a number of energy-saving initiatives in the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience Building. Working with Georgia Tech Facilities, they replaced fluorescent lightbulbs with LED bulbs and created a system for bundling energy-intensive autoclave loads. When fully implemented, their proposed changes will result in over 250,000 pounds of CO2 reductions per year.

Since its beginning three years ago, the Challenge has resulted in a total of over 30 million pounds of avoided CO2 emissions while delivering hundreds of thousands of dollars in avoided energy costs to partner organizations.

In this latest Challenge, 45 students from Georgia Tech, Agnes Scott College, Clemson University, Emory University, Georgia State University, and the University of Georgia competed for prizes provided by the Sheth Foundation. Partnering organizations included Agnes Scott College, AT&T, Boeing, Emory University, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Jacobs Engineering, Michaud Cooley Erickson, and SunTrust Banks.


Aerospace Engineering CubeSat Launches

On March 26, 2020, a virtual cheering section from Georgia Tech got online to watch the U.S. Space Force launch its first satellites aboard a ULA Atlas V rocket. More than just space enthusiasts, they were focused on one part of the payload: OrCa, a 12U small sat designed, built, and tested in a little over six weeks by Aerospace Engineering Professor Brian Gunter, his students from the Space Systems Design Lab, and a team from GTRI led by co-principal investigator Chris Valenta. Normally, developing a space-qualified small satellite takes years, but time was a luxury not afforded to Gunter’s team.

Sponsored by the Air Force Research Lab's Space Vehicles Directorate, the Orbital Calibration (OrCa) mission will provide optical calibration capabilities that will allow Gunter and other researchers the opportunity to improve the tracking and identification of resident space objects (RSOs) – orbiting objects that include natural and artificial objects (e.g. satellites, orbital debris).

OrCa’s highly reflective design will make it visible to both ground- and space-based sensors. The imagery, light curves, and spectral data collected of OrCa will enable a number of valuable experiments related to RSO identification, orbit prediction, and low-light object detection algorithms.

“The mission will help us to improve our tracking and prediction methodologies. This, in turn, will improve our ability to track and predict the location of other RSOs,” said Gunter. “And the accelerated delivery schedule? A perfect example of how our students can deliver great results under tight deadlines, and is an experience that will certainly benefit them later in their careers.”

OrCa testing phase in the Space Systems Design Lab

OrCa's final testing takes place in the Space Systems Design Lab before its January delivery.