ON THE FIELD
YELLOW JACKETS
DOLLARS & SENSE
GIVE BACK
A L U M N I
KING OF
FE AT URE
SHAPING THE
THE ZOO SKYLINE
M A G A Z I N E
FE AT URE
MOVERS & SHAKERS IN
GOVERNMENT
VOLUME
91 NO.4 WINTER
2015
REVITALIZING ATLANTA On the BeltLine and beyond, alumni play a vital role in breathing new life into Tech’s nearby communities.
“Georgia Tech changed my life in so many ways.” — Brenda S. and H. Francis Brantley, TEXT 1964 H. Francis “Fran” Brantley, TEXT 1964, was born in the small mill town of Mooresville, North Carolina. Burlington Industries sponsored him as its first Co-op student, making it financially possible for him to attend Georgia Tech. As a student, he was involved in the Student Government Association, Ramblin’ Reck Club, Interfraternity Council, and Phi Psi. He was president of Lambda Chi Alpha and a member of the ANAK Society. After graduating, Fran began a successful career with DuPont, where he received company awards for creating protective fabrics for the U.S. military in Vietnam. He retired from the carpet industry after 35 years of executive management for Shaw Industries, West-Point Pepperell, Brantley Carpets, and J & J Industries. Fran and his wife, Brenda, a graduate of Lenoir-Rhyne University, married in 1964 and plan to move to Charlotte, North Carolina, to be near their son, D. Allen Brantley, PTFE 1992, and his family. In retirement, Fran and Brenda enjoy spending time with family, volunteering, traveling, and restoring and touring antique vehicles. For years, Brantley has been active in his church and in volunteer work in the Dalton, Georgia, community and at Tech.
Brantley serves on the external advisory board of the School of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) and has supported Roll Call for 50 consecutive years. In 2006, he endowed a scholarship to support students from the Dalton area. Fran served on the Class of 1964’s 50th Reunion Committee and, in honor of his 50th Reunion, he made a commitment to endow a Georgia Tech Promise Scholarship. He also named the Georgia Tech Foundation as a beneficiary of his retirement plan account. Brantley’s estate gifts are directed to need-based scholarships and to endow graduate fellowships in MSE. He was inducted into Georgia Tech’s Engineering Hall of Fame in 2011. “Georgia Tech changed my life in so many ways,” said Brantley. “Before entering Tech, I knew about hard work, but I was not prepared for such academic challenges and balancing my studies with extracurricular activities. Thankfully, I learned and benefited greatly.” Fran Brantley plans to continue to expand his philanthropic commitment to Georgia Tech — and he encourages his fellow alumni to join him in helping future generations gain what he calls the “Tech advantage.”
Founders’ Council is the honorary society recognizing donors who have made estate or life-income gifts of $25,000 or more for the support of Georgia Tech. For more information, please contact: 404.894.4678 • founderscouncil@dev.gatech.edu • www.development.gatech.edu
PLAN A
Helluva
MEETING !
Georgia Tech Global Learning Center is the official meeting facility of the Georgia Tech Alumni Association. Next time you’re planning a meeting or conference, think the Georgia Tech Global Learning Center. We’ve got meeting spaces, conference facilities, and connected classrooms— perfect for your company’s needs, with the Georgia Tech excellence you expect. Schedule your personal tour today.
Where Meeting and Learning Converge www.gatechcenter.com/alumni
CONTENTS
CO
features VOLUME 91 NO.4 WINTER 2015
REVITALIZING ATLANTA
GOVERNMENT MOVERS & SHAKERS
SHAPING THE SKYLINE
Find out how Tech alumni are helping to breathe new life into Atlanta’s intown communities.
These Yellow Jackets hold key roles in shaping policy and guiding change throughout Georgia.
Take a unique look at some of Atlanta’s most iconic structures built and designed by Tech graduates.
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P 50
P 59
Richard Cawood
departments p 10
p 20
AROUND CAMPUS
010
p 22
p 38
RAMBLIN’ ROLL
082
012 Talk of Tech
084 Weddings
014 Infographic Tech’s Economic Impact
088 Births
020 10 Questions A Q&A with Diane Lee of Georgia Tech-Savannah
090 In Memoriam
022 Student News
TECH HISTORY
ON THE FIELD
024
024 Student-Athletes To Teacher-Coaches Former Tech stars are inspiring the next generation of Atlanta students.
IN THE WORLD
028
104
104 Helluva Engineer Tech’s oldest living alumnus finally gets a ride in the Ramblin’ Wreck. 105 Time Machine
BACK PAGE
106
George P. Burdell takes the capitol.
028 Dollars & Sense Zoo Atlanta CEO Raymond King is leading the zoo through exciting changes. 036 Innovate 038 A Mission On Wheels Ryan Akin builds skateboards and changes young lives.
ALUMNI HOUSE
068
070 A Homecoming for the Ages 071 Upcoming Events 072 Honoring Extraordinary Meet the 2016 Gold & White Honors award recipients. 074 Tech Travel 7 reasons why you should try a river cruise.
Cover photo by Richard Cawood (richardcawood.com)
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P U B L I S H E R ’S LETTER
PL
Making an Impact Where it Matters Most
Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine Vol. 91, No. 4 PUBLISHER Joseph P. Irwin, IM 80 VP MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS Dawn Churi EDITOR Roger Slavens ASSISTANT EDITOR Melissa Fralick
When you think about the
expectations we have of our research universities, educating our young people comes to mind first. And indeed that is their primary purpose— the transfer of knowledge to a new generation of leaders and doers. But given the increasingly complex roles that universities play today in shaping society, the expectations are actually much broader. We expect new knowledge to be created through research. We expect that knowledge to advance entire fields, from healthcare to transportation, from manufacturing to computer science, from architecture to public policy, and much more. Perhaps even more importantly, we expect that knowledge to generate economic development and job creation, especially in the communities these institutions directly serve. As you can imagine, Georgia Tech— its people, its research and knowledge, its outreach—continues to make a remarkable impact on Atlanta and the state of Georgia. A quick glance at the annual report of the University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents reveals the true flagship university in the state (page 14). This issue is dedicated to demonstrating Tech’s immense local impact. We’ll look at how Tech alumni, faculty, staff and students are helping to revitalize Atlanta through development projects such as the BeltLine (see page 40). They’re also playing an instrumental role in governing and managing our communities and resources (page 50). This list goes on and on: engineering ways that doctors and hospitals can deliver better care, creating mission-driven businesses, leading civic treasures, sharing manufac 0 0 6
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DESIGNER Joshua Baker | joshbkr.com COPY EDITOR Rebecca Bowen STUDENT ASSISTANTS Christine St. Jean and Lauren Dognazzi EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Benton J. Mathis Jr., IM 81, Chair Robert N. Stargel Jr., EE 83, Past Chair Andrea L. Laliberte, IE 82, MS IE 84, Chair-Elect/Vice Chair of Roll Call David Bottoms, Mgt 00, Vice Chair of Finance Elizabeth Bulat Turner, IAML 04, Member at Large Paul S. Goggin, Phys 91, Member at Large James L. Mitchell, CE 05, Member at Large Elizabeth H. Wallace, Arch 96, Member at Large Joseph P. Irwin, IM 80, President & CEO BOARD OF TRUSTEES Stanley E. Anderson, IM 75; J. Paul Austin, Mgt 99; Dorothy B. Autin, ChE 80; Jeni S. Bogdan, Mgt 89 MS MoT 96; Julian A. Brown III, Mgt 97; Frank T. Campos, EE 80, MS MoT 97; C. Richard Crutchfield, IM 69; Richard DeAugustinis, IE 92; W. Keith Edwards, ICS 89, MS ICS 91, PhD ICS 96; D. Shawn Fowler, Mgt 88; Jeanene Fowler, IE 84; Rick L. Garcia, CE 73; Jeffrey V. Giglio, EE 77; Timothy A. Heilig, IE 75; Lara O’Connor
turing expertise, and continuing to shape Atlanta’s skyline. At the Alumni Association, we make an impact, too, as our 2015 fiscal year annual report (see page 77) demonstrates. This past year’s Chairman Bob Stargel, EE 83, shares just how remarkable a year we had—thanks to our alumni, staff and the Institute. Speaking of which, let me take this opportunity to formally thank you for supporting Roll Call, hiring Tech alumni, mentoring students, advocating on the Institute’s behalf, helping us lead the university and—most of all—for showing your passion for the Georgia Tech of the future and the past.
Hodgson, AE 93; Justin C. Honaman Jr., IE 96; Julie Sumerford Johnson, Mgt 84; MG Ronald L. Johnson, MS OR 85; Garrett S. Langley, EE 09; Judy W. Liaw, ME 98; Mark E. Ligler, ME 76; Wonya Y. Lucas, IE 83; Errika N. Mallett, IE 96; Robert D. Martin, IE 69; Thomas J. O’Brien, IE 81; Whitney S. Owen, IA 03; Shantan R. Pesaru CmpE 05; Vicky S. Polashock, ChE 90, Phd ChE 95; Michael John Rafferty Jr., EE 02; William J. Ready, MatE 94 , MS MetE 97, PhD MSE 00; John L. Reese III, BC 80; Valerie Montgomery Rice, Chem 83; Kary E. Saleeby, NE 77, MS ME 78; Ricardo Salgado, IE 98; Jocelyn M. Stargel, IE 82, MS IE 86; Mayson A. Thornton, Mgt 05 ADVERTISING Holly Green (404) 894-0765 holly.green@alumni.gatech.edu GEORGIA TECH ALUMNI MAGAZINE (ISSN: 1061-9747) is published quarterly by the Georgia Tech Alumni Association, 190 North Ave. N.W., Atlanta, GA 30313. Periodical postage paid in Atlanta and additional mailing offices. © 2015 Georgia Tech Alumni Association POSTMASTER Send address changes to: Georgia Tech Alumni
JOSEPH P. IRWIN, IM 80
Magazine, 190 North Ave. N.W., Atlanta, GA 30313.
PRESIDENT & CEO
TELEPHONE
GEORGIA TECH ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
Georgia Tech Alumni Association (404) 894-2391 Josh Meister
“ FEEDBACK
FB
“Improv taught me many of the soft skills that I use in my job every day: how to think on my feet; how to roll with the punches; how to present and speak to large groups of people; and, most importantly, how to laugh at myself.” Matt Magnasco, CE 98, MS CE 99, Charlotte, N.C.
Improv taught me many of the soft skills that I use in my job every day: how to think on my feet; how to roll with the punches; how to present and speak to large groups of people; and, most importantly, how to laugh at myself. It was the creative release I needed to balance six years of engineering school, and it was the people interaction that this introvert needed. I stopped doing improv upon graduation, but going back to DramaTech this spring for Alumni Weekend reminded me why I loved doing it. Good luck to Sethu, and I hope to join him on stage at a future DramaTech Alumni Weekend improv show.
Elon Musk Owes a Debt
I was glad to see that the work on the Tubexpress transport system by Professor [Marion Robert] Carstens (“Before the Hyperloop,” Fall 2015 issue) was not forgotten. In the CE-320 class I took back then, we worked on calculating the coefficient of friction for various vehicle configurations. I knew that a full-scale prototype had been in the works, but I lost track of the project. It always seemed like an excellent form of transportation, and it would be nice if Elon Musk and his developers would give some credit to Professor Carstens.
Matt Magnasco, CE 98, MS CE 99
Charlton S. Lewis, CE 71
Charlotte, N.C.
Cleveland, Tenn.
Sci-Fi Issue Soars
Last week, the Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine (Fall 2015, Vol. 91, No. 3) arrived in my mailbox. (Apparently, the previous resident of my apartment was a Tech grad whose mail forwarding has yet to kick in.) I sat down, read it and thought that this science fiction-themed issue was the best single issue of any alumni publication I’ve ever read. I also especially enjoyed the piece on how student Sethu Chidambaram was encouraged by his alumni mentor to get over his fear of public speaking by trying out improv comedy. It’s amazing the things that are coming out of Georgia Tech! Accept my compliments on the wonderful issue. When the previous tenant’s mail forwarding kicks in, I’ll be sad to see it go! Peter Relic Atlanta
But is the Whiskey Clear? I wanted to pass along a follow up to the story you wrote about some of Georgia Tech’s alumni designers (“Tech by Design, Fall 2014, Vol. 90, No. 3), featuring me and the custom ping-pong table I built for a client. One Tech alumnus saw this and contacted me to create another custom piece of furniture—a liquor cabinet with a subtle Tech theme that used a hexagonbeehive pattern. Just wanted to say thank you and show to other readers that the Alumni Magazine does a great job at connecting alumni. Alan Harp, ID 88, MS Arch 01
Improv Connection
The article about Sethu Chidambaram (“Success Through Improv,” Fall 2015 issue) enjoying doing improv comedy with DramaTech hit home for me. I, too, did improv with DramaTech. 0 0 8
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Atlanta
Want to get in touch? Send letters to: Editor, Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine, 190 North Ave. N.W., Atlanta, GA 30313, or editor@alumni.gatech.edu. Comment at gtalumnimag.com or at facebook.com/georgiatechalumni. View our letters to the editor policy at gtalumnimag.com/letters-policy.
SHAPING THE FUTURE Innovation and Technology > Entrepreneurship
Analytical Skills Sustainability
The ecosystem of entrepreneurship and leadership The Institute for Leadership and Entrepreneurship is Georgia Tech's center for education and scholarship in values-based business leadership and socially responsible entrepreneurship.
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THE BLOCK
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THE RETURN
THE CELEBRATION GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 91 NO.4 2015
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TALK of TECH
A glimpse at the biggest—and, sometimes, the strangest—news from campus.
Smart Medicine
Roger Slavens
Tech’s partnership with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta yields success and surprises.
Hospital bedside monitors register critical data such as heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen saturation levels that give doctors and nurses a near-constant status of a patient’s health. However, believe it or not, most of this data is thrown away after just 48 hours. What’s actually charted in a patient’s record is an averaging—or smoothing—of these measures taken at longer intervals. But if vital signs are recorded at even a minute-by-minute instead of a secondby-second basis, this smoothed data can present an inaccurate picture and inform
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poor medical decision-making, says May Dongmei Wang, MS EE 91, MS AM 93, MS CS 95, PhD ECE 00, now an associate professor of biomedical engineering and director of the Bio-Medical Informatics and Bio-Imaging Laboratory at Georgia Tech. “The smoothed data recorded in EMB does not exactly represent the data measured by the instrument at the bedside monitors,” Wang says. “When one of my students at Tech analyzed what nurses recorded intermittently and what the sensors recorded constantly, everyone was surprised at the wide differences, especially the team we partner with at Children’s Health Care of Atlanta.” Kevin Maher, director of the cardiac intensive care unit at Children’s and co-director of the Center for Pediatric Innovation at Children’s and Georgia Tech, is using the analytical research from Wang and her students to provide better results for his patients. “Clinicians are confronted with massive amounts of data while caring for patients on a daily basis,” Maher says. “This is especially true in the ICU environment. The projects we have with the Wang lab are allowing us to understand the millions of data points available and recognize subtle changes in patients that can only be appreciated when sophisticated analytics are applied. The goal is to improve the
outcomes for critically ill children.” The “Big Data” collaboration between Maher and Wang’s teams is just one facet of a much bigger partnership between Tech and Children’s. In 2012, the two institutions announced their $20 million joint investment in pediatric research. The original seed investment of $3.2 million has since grown six-fold to provide $18.6 million to fund projects ranging from the development of kid-sized medical devices—these tools are often designed for adults—and therapeutic mobile apps to improve processes and doctor-family communications. “The partnership brings practicing doctors together with academic scientists and engineers to solve some of today’s most important problems in pediatric medicine,” says Sherry Farrugia, Tech’s managing director of Health Research Partnerships. “We have 83 faculty working on 83 projects right now, including some that are long-term and some that we call Quick Wins.” Quick Wins are efforts to find solutions to pediatric problems in a short time with an investment of only about $75,000-$100,000, Farrugia says. One example is Raschbaum’s Grasper, developed by Tech engineers in just 18 months after Children’s pediatric surgeon Dr. George Raschbaum expressed his desire for a better tool to reverse pyloric stenosis in infants. “He needed a device that could quickly grab the pylorus— which is very smooth and slippery—and stabilize it,” Farrugia says. “Our researchers took his idea and moved from concept
the BASELINE
time it takes to diagnose a concussion, thanks to the tradition of freshman 15 minutes The new technology developed at Georgia Tech and Emory 100 years ago When students wearing RAT Caps began GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 91 NO.4 2015
∏ Associate Professor May Dongmei Wang (center) and the multidisciplinary students in her lab use Big Data to improve patient outcomes.
to prototype much faster than others would have in traditional, slow-moving R&D environments.” While Farrugia manages the business and strategy side of the partnership, it’s led clinically by the Georgia TechChildren’s Healthcare of Atlanta Faculty Council, co-chaired by Gang Bao of the Wallace H. Coulter Department of
Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University, Robert Guldberg of the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, and Beth Mynatt, executive director of Tech’s Institute for People and Technology. Though new medical procedures and devices seem like it would have the biggest direct impact on pediatric outcomes,
biomedical Big Data analytics is one of the hottest and most important fields in health care today. “There’s so much data collected in hospitals every day that it’s difficult to fathom,” Wang says. “But if we can get that data and clean it, we can find patterns that no one ever knew existed and ultimately save a lot of lives.” Wang’s students are working on projects ranging from closely analyzing vital signs to assess the nutritional intake of infants in neonatal ICU to looking at blood samples to identify reasons why some pediatric patients require longer stays in the ICU than others. “It’s very fulfilling to be able to make a real-world difference in neonatal care,” says Ryan Hoffman, a PhD student in Wang’s bio-informatics lab and a Computational and Predictive Health Training Fellow. “Working closely with local hospitals and being able to see the tiny patients that my Big Data represents really drives home the importance of my work.”
OF COURSE: THE INTERSECTION OF HEALTHCARE AND COMPUTING CS 6440: Introduction to Health Informatics
Instructor: Mark Braunstein, professor of the practice for interactive computing, and associate director of the Health Systems Institute Objective: “This is a survey course designed to provide a broad, forwardfacing overview of contemporary health informatics, a specialized field of computing that seeks to improve the quality and efficiency of healthcare delivery.” Prerequisites: None, but knowledge of web programming is helpful Problem Question: “How can
given to Tech and Emory for joint biomedical $8.9 million Grant research by the National Institutes of Health
informatics help us develop a safer, more patient-centered and cost-effective health care system?” Course Project: Student teams propose a solution to a health care question and collaborate with end-users such as physicians, patients or other stakeholders in the health care system. They do this using a unique, health care-specific app developed at Tech that provides access to simulated patient records using the latest standards. Unique Opportunity for Alumni: This course is available for free online at https://www.coursera.org/learn/fhir.
52%
Percentage of undergraduate students who gain international experience while at Tech
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TALK of TECH
A glimpse at the biggest—and, sometimes, the strangest—news from campus.
Sizing Up Tech’s Economic Impact These numbers prove the Institute ranks second to none in the state. It may not surprise proud Yellow Jackets, but Georgia Tech stands first among 31 state universities in every major measurement of regional impact, according to the latest study by the Board of Regents.
#1 IN SPENDING IMPACT $1.605 billion
(initial outlays of money made by the Institute on resources and operating expenses, and by students on their tuition, fees and expenses)
#1 IN OUTPUT IMPACT $2.618 billion
(equivalent to business revenues or sales) This is $450 million more than the No. 2-ranked state university. (Take a guess who.)
#1 IN VALUEADDED IMPACT $1.882 billion •
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#1 IN EMPLOYMENT IMPACT 22,496 jobs This includes 8,078 jobs on campus, plus 14,418 jobs off-campus that exist due to institution-related spending.
#1 IN LABORINCOME IMPACT $1.397 billion Source: “The Economic Impact of University System of Georgia Institutions on their Regional Economies in Fiscal Year 2014,” study commissioned by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia and published in 2015
the BASELINE
Tech’s ranking among public #7 Georgia universities by US News & World Report GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 91 NO.4 2015
of Georgia communities that have been directly impacted by the College of 41 Number Architecture’s “Blueprints for Successful Communities” program
CREATING THE NEXT Georgia Tech also leads when it comes to fostering new ideas and new companies, through the Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI2) and other entrepreneurial programs on campus. EI2’s Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) serves as Georgia’s premier statewide startup incubator, and has graduated more than 160 successful businesses that have collectively raised more than $2.8 billion in capital while generating more than $1.6 billion in revenue so far. In addition, ATDC works with more than 800 companies and entrepreneurs throughout the state annually. EI2’s government procurement program helped Georgia companies secure $592 million in government contracts and create or save an estimated 11,850 jobs. In fiscal year 2015, EI 2’s manufacturing outreach program directly helped 1,075 companies throughout the state increase sales by $281.4 million, cut costs by $108.2 million
and create or save 2,348 jobs. VentureLab, Tech’s commercialization program geared for faculty, staff and students, has helped them launch more than 300 startups and attracted more than $1.3 billion in capital. For
VentureLab, Tech’s commercialization program geared for faculty, staff and students, has helped them launch more than 300 startups and attracted more than $1.3 billion in capital. 89%
Percentage of students who said they would choose Tech again, based on an Institute engagement survey
these reasons and more, VentureLab was named the No. 10 universitybased incubator in the United States.
7 CORPORATIONS WITH GT INNOVATION CENTERS
This entrepreneurial and inventiondriven environment has drawn interest from companies across the globe. Over the past two years, seven major corporations have set up innovation centers near or at Georgia Tech to take advantage of the Institute’s rich talent pool and tap into student and faculty research. In addition, more than 100 startups and innovation companies reside at Tech Square, a mixed-use expanse of more than 1.4 million square feet (and growing) of office, research, retail and hotel space near the intersection of Spring and Fifth streets. Source: The Enterprise Innovation Institute salary reported by spring 2015 graduates $65,000 Median who’ve found employment GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 91 NO.4 2015
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TALK of TECH
A glimpse at the biggest—and, sometimes, the strangest— news from campus.
Tech Researchers Lead Discovery of Water on Mars A much-publicized study led by scientists at Georgia Tech shows strong evidence that there is water flowing on Mars. Using instruments on board NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, researchers measured the spectral signatures of hydrated minerals that left streaks along slopes of the planet’s surface. Lujendra Ojha, the Georgia Tech PhD candidate who oversaw the study, first noticed the mysterious streaks as an undergraduate at the University of Arizona in 2010. Researchers later noticed that these markings were only sometimes visible in the same locations. “Something is hydrating these salts, and it appears to be these streaks that come and go with the seasons,” said Ojha. “This means the water on Mars is briny, rather than pure. It makes sense because salts lower the freezing point of water. Even if [the streaks] are slightly underground, where it’s even colder than
the surface temperature, the salts would keep the water in a liquid form and allow it to creep down Martian slopes.” Tech researchers believe the streaks are caused by hydrated minerals called perchlorates. Some perchlorates have been shown to keep liquids from
freezing in temperatures as low as minus 70 degrees Celsius. Perchlorates have previously been discovered on Mars. The Phoenix lander and Curiosity both found them in the planet’s soil, however, this the first time perchlorates have been identified from orbit.
NEW DEGREES OFFERED IN HEALTHCARE ROBOTICS Georgia Tech is partnering with Emory University to offer the first ever degree programs in healthcare robotics. A five-year, $2.9 million grant from the National Science Foundation National Research Traineeship Program will enable a faculty team to create new bachelors, masters, and doctoral degree programs and concentrations in healthcare robotics—the first degree programs
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of their kind in the United States. The initiative, led by Tech’s Ayanna M. Howard, the Linda J. and Mark C. Smith Chair Professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, will combine Emory’s medical and clinical expertise with Tech’s renowned engineering and robotics programs to train students in robotics, physiology, neuroscience, rehabilitation and psychology.
the BASELINE
long it’s been since the Georgia Legislature passed 130 years How a bill appropriating $65,000 to found Georgia Tech GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 91 NO.4 2015
of Georgia Tech student and faculty creative 5 Number projects featured in Art on the BeltLine
INSTITUTE RECEIVES $30 MILLION GRANT FOR ‘GREEN’ BUILDING
The Kendeda Fund has committed to give Georgia Tech $30 million to construct what is planned to be the most environmentally advanced education and research building ever constructed in the Southeast. Tech and the Kendeda Fund hope to beat the challenges of building a net zero energy building in the South—including heat, humidity and inconsistent rain levels—to create a facility that will serve as a model for the region. The building will be designed to meet the criteria of the Living Building Challenge, a program that defines the most advanced and stringent building and sustainability standards possible in the current built environment. The new building will be part of Tech’s Eco-Commons, a series of campus green spaces designed for conservation, education and recreation. Pending final approval by the University System of Georgia Board of Regents and reaching defined milestones, the goal is to begin construction in 2017 with building certification planned for 2020. The impressive gift is the Kendeda Fund’s largest single grant and is among the largest capital gifts ever received by Georgia Tech.
ACADEMIC SUCCESS HITS NEW MILESTONES Georgia Tech has set new records in student achievement with alltime highs in retention and graduation rates. The first-year retention rate— which measures the percentage of first-time freshmen who return to Tech the following year—has reached 97 percent, strengthening the Institute’s position among the nation’s most elite universities. The national retention rate average for four-year public universities is 80 percent. “It takes an entire campus community to achieve these high retention and graduation rates,” says Steven Girardot, associate vice provost for undergraduate education. “I’m proud of the efforts of our faculty and administrators, who work very hard to support student success from the first day a student arrives on campus until the day they graduate.”
Tech also set new records in graduation rates. The Institute’s five-year graduate rate rose to 80 percent, while the six-year figure climbed to 85 percent. That compares to national averages of 55 percent and 59 percent, respectively, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Degree completion is an institutional priority, and many of Georgia Tech’s success programs have been in place for years, says Debbie Pearson, the Institute’s retention and graduation coordinator. “It’s important for every student we admit to have the resources to be successful,” says Pearson, who works closely with retention initiatives across campus and helps coordinate the Institute’s Complete College Georgia plan.
PROFESSOR Z.L. WANG SELECTED AS CITATION LAUREATE Zhong Lin Wang, Regent’s Professor of material science at Georgia Tech, was named a 2015 Citation Laureate by Thomson Reuters, placing him in an elite group of scientists likely to win a Nobel Prize. He was also chosen from the Citation Laureates as the People’s Choice Nobel Poll Winner in the physics category. Each year in honor of the Nobel Prizes, Thomson Reuters selects a group of Citation Laureates—researchers whose work is frequently read and footnoted, or “cited,” by other scientists. A high citation rate is a clear mark of significance and influence, indicative of scientists who are “of Nobel class” and likely to win the prestigious prize at some point. Since 2002, 37 Citation Laureates have gone on to win a Nobel Prize. Wang is a pioneer in the field of nanogenerators. His research focuses on what’s known as piezoelectricity and triboelectricity, which harness the mechanical energy produced by movement into electricity.
money received from the Susan G. Komen $450,000 Grant Foundation to fund breast cancer research
allocated to be spent on Tech Tower $7.5 million Money renovations, which began in October GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 91 NO.4 2015
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TALK of TECH
A glimpse at the biggest—and, sometimes, the strangest— news from campus.
‘EINSTEIN’ NOW A PERMANENT TECH RESIDENT
A 3,000-pound sculpture of renowned physicist and Nobel laureate Albert Einstein has been officially unveiled on Georgia Tech’s campus. It sits at one of the busiest corridors: the northwest corner of Tech Green near the
Bunger-Henry Building. American artist Robert Berks made the sculpture. It was his third and final likeness of the scientist. One is housed at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. The second found a home at the Israel Academy of Science and Humanities. Despite getting several requests to house the final Einstein piece, Berks’ widow, Dorothy “Tod” Berks, felt none were quite the right fit. When the opportunity came to put the statue on Georgia Tech’s Atlanta campus, she felt it would be a home that properly honored her husband’s legacy. “I think this is an iconic piece that is going to represent Georgia Tech’s commitment to improving the human condition,” says Provost Rafael L. Bras. “Einstein captures it all.”
CHRIS JONES, AE 86, NAMED BLACK ENGINEER OF THE YEAR Christopher Jones has been named as the 2016 Black Engineer of the Year by Black Engineer magazine. Jones is the corporate vice president and president of Northrop Grumman’s technical services sector. This spring, the former GT ROTC student was inducted into the GT College of Engineering Academy of Distinguished Engineering Alumni and named 0 1 8
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an Associate Fellow of the AIAA. Jones will formally receive his latest award at the 30th Black Engineer of the Year Award (BEYA) ceremony, a part of the three-day BEYA Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Conference, to be held in February 2016. Reflecting on the honor, Jones generously acknowledged his alma mater. “My experience at Georgia Tech, where I obtained my degree in aerospace engineering, was critical to my personal development,” Jones says.
FORMER CEOS JOIN SCHELLER COLLEGE OF BUSINESS Georgia Tech has added two prestigious names to its faculty: former chairman and CEO of The Home Depot, Frank Blake, and former president and CEO of WalMart Stores Inc., Mike Duke. The two business leaders will serve as distinguished executives in residence at the Scheller College of Business. The high-profile executives will wo r k w i t h D e a n Maryam Alavi on the college’s stra∏ Frank Blake tegic initiatives as well as strengthening partnerships with local and national businesses. Duke, IE 71, Hon PhD 11, joined Walmart in 1995 and over his 19 years with the company led the logistics, distribution and administration divisions as well as Walmart U.S. In 2005, he was appointed vice chairman with responsibility for Walmart International. Duke served as president and CEO from 2009 to 2014. He continues to serve on the Board of Directors for Walmart. Blake served as chairman and CEO of The Home De∏ Mike Duke pot from 2007 to 2014, and then as chairman through January 2015. He joined The Home Depot in 2002 as executive vice president, business development and corporate operations.
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10 QUESTIONS
A chat with someone who makes Tech tick.
Leading Tech’s Campus on the Coast
Osayi Endolyn
A Q&A with Diane Lee on how the Institute serves Savannah and Southeast Georgia. Diane Lee oversees the day-to-day operations of Georgia Tech’s Savannah campus, which was originally launched in 1999 as an engineering hub with multiple degree offerings. The campus underwent a strategic shift in 2011, sunsetting its undergraduate programs and concentrating its efforts instead on providing the coastal region with professional education programs. That shift allowed campus leaders to leverage their strong ties to the local industry and focus on executive leadership training, military transition programs, supply chain and logistics coursework, and STEM outreach for K-12 students. Lee has spent the past three years managing a staff of 20 full-timers, and is helping spearhead the campus toward a bright future. What prompted the need for a Savannah campus?
This campus has been here for 14 years. At the time, the industry wanted a local engineering school. It started as a pilot, grew to an office complex, and before long it was a full-fledged campus that offered degree programs in mechanical, electrical, civil and computer engineering. Today, four years after our shift, the Savannah community remains committed to Georgia Tech as we continue to address the workforce development needs of the region.
“The unique courses we offer draw attendees from not only Southeast Georgia, but also from all over the world,” Lee says. “We are an incubator for ideas, proud to bring the world to Savannah.” traditional education degrees, the campus was charged with shaping the future vision for the coastal region and helping companies meet their strategic and professional talent needs. The campus soon became part of Georgia Tech Professional Education (GTPE). Who are some of your key industry partners?
We partner with Gulfstream Aerospace, Georgia Ports Authority, JCB, Mitsubishi, Georgia Power, area military bases, local chambers of commerce (Savannah and Hilton Head), area Rotary clubs and the Savannah Economic Development Authority.
How did Tech frame the new mission?
More than four years ago, President (G.P. “Bud”) Peterson announced a direction change for the Savannah campus, based upon task force recommendations from the Provost’s Office. Instead of offering 0 2 0
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What happens during your workday?
I work with my team to stay on top of program development, making sure we help foster the GT brand. I talk to community partners and listen to
understand what their needs are. I work closely with Institute and GTPE leaders to support our annual strategic goals. How did the military program begin?
It became clear early on in our transition that addressing the needs of the transitioning military was critical. We knew that for service members, moving from the military to the civilian workforce could be chaotic and challenging, and that the unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans was significantly higher than for non-military. We started the Veterans Education Training and Transition (VET2) program almost three years ago, and launched the nation’s first military internship-to-employment program. How are veterans matched up to jobs?
As part of the curriculum, they have a three-week internship and must
be selected by an industry partner to participate. We’ve had more than 70 veterans go through the program with 100 percent placement. Who’s the target audience of the Leading Well leadership-training program?
New managers. We hear from our corporate partners that leadership-training programs are important, but they don’t want them out of the office for long periods of time. So we’ve developed twoday workshops that provide a detailed overview of the foundational skills and knowledge necessary to be an effective leader, as well as facilitate an environment of continuous improvement.
Are companies generally supportive of their employees who seek out additional knowledge?
range from mid-managers up to director-level professionals.
We’re here because the community and our industry partners want us here. Companies in the coastal region understand that to meet their strategic objectives they must invest in their employees. They also understand how important it is to groom their next generation of leaders.
What are your goals for the Savannah campus?
How many alumni does Georgia Tech Savannah have and what are their professional roles?
We have more than 2,000 alumni in the GT Savannah club. They are senior engineers, project managers, and usually
The Institute solves problems around the globe, and we’re a part of that process. Because I’m at Tech, I can call upon top experts in numerous fields and have them meet with our industry partners. Out of those collaborations come research, student projects and new curricula. In 2015, we have more than 1,000 enrollments in 40 subjects. The unique courses we offer draw attendees from not only Southeast Georgia, but also from all over the world. We are an incubator for ideas, proud to bring the world to Savannah. GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 91 NO.4 2015
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STUDENT NEWS
Accomplishments, both stunning and silly, by the alumni of tomorrow.
Taking Important Issues to Task
Jon Ross
Tech students help the CDC and other clients solve problems in the public interest. Every year, the Centers for Disease Con-
trol and Prevention (CDC) publishes landmark reports on a wide variety of topics crucial to public health. But recently, CDC administrators started to wonder how these reports were being received and how they could improve the way they disseminate them. So when Congress this year mandated the CDC to produce a study on traumatic brain injuries in children, the organization turned to a group of undergraduate students in Georgia Tech’s School of Public Policy to look at how the report is disseminated and received. “The CDC wants their work to have more impact and reach a wider audience,” says Kimberley Isett, associate professor of public policy.
public policy undergraduates can concentrate in areas such as research and innovation policy, energy and environmental policy, economic development, and information and communications technology policy, but lately the Task Force teams have been fully occupied with CDC projects. This year there are two teams. The CDC charged one with creating an effective framework for report distribution and considering the impact metrics to measure how the reports are being used. Meanwhile, the CDC asked the second team to explore how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has had an impact on sexual violence prevention. Isett and Hicks select the capstone
“Knowing that I am working on a real-world issue with implications beyond Georgia Tech helps me put the workload into perspective,” Renaud says. Isett, along with Professor Diana Hicks, coaches the yearlong capstone course, dubbed the Public Policy Task Force, for graduating seniors. The intensive class gives students the chance to work with clients in the government and nonprofit sectors, and contribute meaningful work that could have a real-life impact on public policy matters. Tech’s 0 2 2
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projects each summer and act as mentors during the school year, but make it clear to clients that the students are the ones doing all the work. Clients aren’t getting the expertise of the professors; they’re getting the fresh insights of the next generation of public policy experts. Isett says it’s also important for Task Force clients to present work to the students that is
meaningful and important. “We want to take projects of salience to the organization,” she says, adding that clients have been thrilled with the quality of the projects over the years. Student Lauren Renaud, PP 16, is working on the ACA project exploring sexual violence prevention efforts. After identifying and analyzing the specific provisions of the healthcare act that impact sexual violence prevention, her group’s report aims to give the CDC insight about how the law has changed practice. The entire Task Force class meets for three hours on Friday mornings, and Renaud said her group puts in up to 20 hours of work outside of class each week in order to meet the project’s goals. Renaud says she enjoys the capstone and appreciates the change in class format that’s helping develop her teamwork, writing and presentation skills. “The class is very demanding, but I enjoy drawing on all the skills I have learned in my other public policy classes to complete this one project,” she says. “Knowing that I am working on a realworld issue with implications beyond Georgia Tech helps me put the workload into perspective.” Richard Barke, director of undergraduate studies at the School for Public Policy, helped create the capstone project in 2009 after a school-wide curriculum revision. “We recognized that such a project can be found in some, but not all, master’s degree programs, but we knew of none at the bachelor’s level,” Barke says. “But we understood that Tech’s public policy students are passionate about serving the
public interest and welcome the challenge of finding usable solutions to real problems.” Due partly to the Task Force capstone experience, active recruitment of graduates into top consulting firms has risen during the past five years, he says. Students are being actively recruited by the likes of McKinsey, Deloitte, Accenture and Capgemini. “These companies have said that the agile, multidisciplinary, team-based capstone projects have been major factors in their selection of our graduates,” Barke says. “And several of these students were hired to work on projects directly related to their Task Force experiences.” Mike Donohue, PP 12, spent his Task Force year working for Living Room Inc., an Atlanta-based nonprofit that provides housing solutions for Atlantans living with HIV/AIDS. By analyzing the organization’s internal data along with demographic projections, Donohue and other students tracked how housing needs would change over time. “In the Task Force course, we had real clients depending on us,” Donohue says. “We had to deliver excellence in every assignment because our own reputations and credibility were on the line.” After his public policy capstone experience, Donohue took a job with McKinsey before moving to video and advertising analytics work at the New York Times. “The Task Force project helped me take on a client-service mindset, understand what it’s like to work with a team to define and solve a broad problem, and bring together experts and data to discover new insights,” he says. “That’s the core of consulting work, and the capstone course prepared me well for my role.” This year marks the third year public policy students have collaborated with the CDC. In 2013, students worked with CDC officials on analytical projects around the rise of e-cigarettes and recreational marijuana. The following school year, students analyzed how improvements to housing codes could impact health issues, as well as how to decrease Josh Meister
∏ The capstone Public Policy Task Force course, led by Associate Professor Kimberley Isett and Professor Diana Hicks, lets students tackle real-world problems posed by real-world clients.
salmonella contamination of poultry. The housing presentation was so well received that it will soon be published in a professional journal, Hicks says. For now, the school’s association with the CDC will continue to grow, she says. “The CDC brings great projects—just the
right level and always ahead of the news cycle,” Hicks says. “The students appreciate projects that address issues relevant to the current national conversation. We are hoping to bring other clients, both public and private sector, into the fold to expand our horizons going forward.” GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 91 NO.4 2015
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On the
FIELD
The latest buzz from Tech’s teams and alumni.
From Student-Athletes to Teacher-Coaches David Williams, CmpE 00
Regina Tate-Leslie, ME 02, and Avery Roberson, Mgt 08, are giving back to Atlanta’s next generation. Georgia Tech has always prided itself on being an institution
that values performance in the classroom, and in turn holds its students to high academic standards. Student-athletes are treated no differently. In fact, that’s exactly why many make Tech their college of choice. Some student-athletes take this spirit of learning a step further. After “getting out,” they’ve gone on to become teachers themselves. And two of the best examples—former Tech women’s basketball standout Regina Tate-Leslie, ME 02, and Yellow Jacket football star Avery Roberson, Mgt 08—are making an impact right here in the Atlanta metro area. Tate-Leslie, who ranks as one of Tech’s best all-around athletes and rebounders, now teaches honors and college prep chemistry and coaches girls’ basketball at Shiloh High School, located in Snellville, Ga. She started her teaching and coaching career at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School in 2003, and also coached and taught at Pace Academy from 2008-2014. A former high school valedictorian, Tate-Leslie says she chose her career so she could serve as a role model for the next generation of student-athletes. Her mission has been rewarding, but also challenging. As a Title I school, Shiloh High serves a high percentage of students from low-income families. “My goal is to raise the bar, through rigor and nurturing, so that my students meet or exceed national standards,” Tate-Leslie says. “I teach them how to analyze and solve problems—skills that transfer across subjects that will last them a lifetime.” In turn, she also works with parents, connecting them with college prep resources that many have never been exposed to. “I have been able to connect parents with scholarship programs, enrichment programs, and other resources that prepare students for their future,” Tate-Leslie says. •
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222-0 win over Cumberland in 1916 was ranked the fifth #5 Tech’s worst blowout in sports history by ESPN
“A lot of people helped me get to where I am, and I am trying to do the same thing for my students,” Roberson says. As a coach, Tate-Leslie’s career highlight is being named the 2011 State of Georgia Girls Class A Coach of the Year after leading Pace Academy to the state finals, where her team finished as a runner-up. Tate was also able to help two players from that team earn NCAA basketball scholarships. “I’m particularly proud of that accomplishment,” she says.
Roberson followed a similar path as his fellow Yellow Jacket, earning certification in Algebra I, statistics and Common Core Curriculum math, which he teaches at Carver High School. A former football standout at Atlanta’s Washington High School, he brings his years spent navigating the challenges of being a young man balancing school and sports to his students, in addition to his Tech experiences and
of Tech student athletes named to the 173 Number ACC Honor Roll
know-how. “Like the kids I teach, I grew up in Atlanta,” Roberson says. “I experienced the same situations they are experiencing and I try to set an example for them in how to get through them successfully.” Roberson notes that he didn’t traverse the difficult landscape of high school by himself. “A lot of people helped me get to where I am, and I am trying to do the same thing for my students,” he says. “Things such as exposing them to college earlier and encouraging them to make it a real goal in their lives.” As part of his efforts, Roberson has partnered with Tech’s College of Computing for the past four years to bring Carver students to Georgia Tech to introduce them to computer programming and give them a taste of college life. He also worked with Cedric Stallworth, assistant dean of outreach, enrollment and community, to connect students with 2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry winner Dan Shectman. “I wanted to be able to expose my students to such experiences and high aspirations for themselves,” Roberson says. He also works with Georgia Tech Horizons, a program that fosters academic and life development for low-income Atlanta area students. Roberson loves to bring his students to Tech’s campus, where they can learn academic, cultural and recreational skills. On the field with the Carver High football team, Roberson is a defensive backs coach, the position he played in college. “We ‘ve been fortunate to make the playoffs every year I’ve coached here,” Roberson says. But what he’s most proud of is his students and athletes succeeding in high school. “It’s great to see them go from their freshman year to graduating and going off to college,” he says. “And to know that I’ve been there to be a role model for them and inspire them to succeed.”
of former Tech football players who are currently 15 Number starting in the NFL GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 91 NO.4 2015
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On the
FIELD
The latest buzz from Tech’s teams and alumni.
Tech’s StudentAthletes Set New Record for Graduation Success
Georgia Tech student-athletes recorded a schoolrecord Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 84 percent, according to the latest data released Nov. 4 by the NCAA. Georgia Tech’s GSR has risen 2-3 percent each year for the last three years. The most recent Division I Graduation Success Rates are based on the four entering classes from 2005-06 through 2008-09. Eleven of Tech’s combined 13 GSR sports saw their GSR increase or remain the same: baseball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, men’s and women’s track & field/ cross country, football, golf, softball, men’s and women’s tennis and volleyball. Golf, women’s tennis and volleyball received perfect 100 percent GSR (four-year average) scores, graduating all their student-athletes from five consecutive classes. Baseball provided the largest jump in GSR, improving 12 points 0 2 6
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from 83 percent to 95 percent. “We have high standards for our student-athletes as they strive to achieve academic and athletic excellence,” says Georgia Tech Athletic Director Mike Bobinski. “We are very pleased with the continued positive trend highlighted in our most recent GSR results. I am proud of the effort, commitment and persistence demonstrated each day by our student-athletes and the dedication of our coaches, staff and academic support team to help them succeed in the classroom.”
AQUATIC CENTER NAMED FOR COACH HERB MCAULEY
Georgia Tech’s Aquatic Center has a new name. The facility will now be known as the McAuley Aquatic Center, named in honor of James Herbert “Herb” McAuley, EE 47, a champion swimmer and longtime coach at Tech. McAuley, who died in November 2014, was brought on as an assistant swim coach following his 1947 graduation from the Institute. He went on to become McAuley Tech’s head swim coach, devoting 40 years to swimming at Georgia Tech. McAuley influenced many students during his tenure, including competitive swimmers and average students taking the once-mandatory “drownproofing” course. The name change was made possible by a gift from alumnus Richard L. Bergmark, IM 75. Bergmark donated two new high-tech scoreboards and an endowment supporting facility maintenance, improvements and swimming programs. Bergmark said McAuley was a coach and mentor who helped him secure a scholarship. “It was his focus on the ‘student’ part of ‘student-athlete’ that I will forever be grateful for, because that is what enabled me to graduate from Tech,” Bergmark says.
In the
WORLD
Ramblin’ Wrecks generating buzz beyond the Atlanta campus.
Dollars & Sense: Raymond King, Mgt 87, CEO of Zoo Atlanta Melissa Fralick
A banker and fundraiser by training and trade—with no experience whatsoever in managing animals—King was hired in 2010 to lead the nonprofit zoo back into sound financial shape. Since then, zoo attendance has grown 30 percent and its physical footprint 20 percent thanks to King’s shrewd guidance. It’s no wonder King has been named Atlanta’s Most Admired Nonprofit CEO two years in a row. The Alumni Magazine caught up with this proud Yellow Jacket to discuss the secret to Zoo Atlanta’s success—and his changing feelings about reptiles. Tell us about your background. What did you do before Zoo Atlanta?
I was born and raised in Atlanta and went to St. Pius X Catholic High School. I spent one year outside of Atlanta at Erskine College, where I played on the college tennis team before transferring to Georgia Tech to study management. I’m the son of a banker, so I kind of knew I wanted to go into banking. I grew up in a neighborhood of bankers, many of whom were SunTrust executives. I joined the SunTrust management-training program straight out of Tech. I then spent the next 15 years in a variety of corporate banking and middlemarket leadership capacities. How on earth did you move from banking to running a zoo?
It’s a long story. The bridge was that after being a corporate banker all those years, I had gotten more and more involved in the community and really enjoyed it. I didn’t think SunTrust was doing all they could in terms of service, so I raised my hand to lead our community affairs effort and was given that responsibility. For the next seven years, I was deeply involved in the non-profit world and served as the face of the bank for anything they needed. I got 0 2 8
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“I got a note back from Brad that said, “So do you want to run the zoo?” I really thought he was kidding. But he wasn’t.” to know a lot of community leaders and forged important relationships. But then something happened to you that refocused your priorities.
In 2009, I was diagnosed with cancer and that makes you think about what’s important to you. With that as a backdrop, the head of Zoo Atlanta at the time, Dennis Kelly, ME 76, resigned to head the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. I happened to know Dennis and I happened to know the chair of the board at the time, Brad Benton. I just sent an innocent email to both of them at the same time saying congratulations to Dennis, and condolences to Brad, because he was going to have to find a new person to lead the zoo. I had absolutely no intention behind that
email whatsoever. But I got a note back from Brad that said, “So do you want to run the zoo?” I really thought he was kidding. But he wasn’t. Wasn’t this a huge change?
I had been a lifetime banker, had been at the bank 22 years and obviously was not one for a lot of change. But fortunately I had a wife who could see a change like this would do me well and pushed me out on a limb. “What do you have to lose?” she said. “Put your name in the hat.” Lo and behold, it all worked out. Did you have any previous interest or experience with wildlife?
I had no background whatsoever with animals—beyond having a dog. That was Josh Meister
Timothy Goodman and Chloe Seroussi
@ INISSUE THE WORLD
Wrecks generating buzz Tech think?” AnsweringRamblin’ the question, “What does Georgia beyond the Atlanta campus.
Star Wars vs. Star Trek: The Ultimate Showdown
the extent of it. But I truly believed that it to summarize it, it comes down to colcomplex — you’re talking $80 million in didn’t matter. We have a great team here lectively building buzz about the zoo. the course of eight years. The zoo is on that knows everything about taking care You do that a lot of different ways. The the move. of animals, animal management, conmost obvious and easiest, but most exFew educational institutions love their science fiction like Georgia Tech, and that How has Scaly Slimy Spectacular been servation and veterinary care. That is pensive, is increasing advertising. We includes faculty and staff alike.very Soactive we asked well-known received Trekkie by visitors?and a wouldnot what thestudents, board needed. The board also became on social a media. Scaly Slimy Spectacular was Sith looking for someone that had a balWe partnered with the settling Georgia Pubbe Lord to weigh in on the matter, hopefully the debate once and formay all.not havedriven attendance initially, but people who ance of skills in business, leadership and lic Library Service to offer a statewide come to the zoo have been blown away by a network in Atlanta. I had that balance program where essentially any resident the complex. Even visitors who don’t like of skills. of the state can go to their local library reptiles have enjoyed it. I was the parent and check out a pass for a family of four What challenges did Zoo Atlanta face who used to sit on the bench outside the to come to the zoo for free once a year. when you took the job five years ago? old reptile house while my daughter went It gives us exposure in all those library The No. 1 challenge was that the zoo had in. I wouldn’t even go in—I was too scared branches—all those communities—and lost money eight out of the previous 10 of the snakes and lizards. I knew we had people are certainly using it. Roughyears. So that’s not what you would call reached success with Scaly Slimy Spectacly 75,000 people have taken advantage a sustainable organization. It had treular when I found myself wanting to go of it in the course of a year. They’re commendous deferred maintenance and in that building each day. That’s why we’re ing for free, but they’re spending money there had been very little reinvestment here: to get people to appreciate the aniwhile they’re here and they’re telling their in the facility. There was a huge capital mals and be comfortable with them. friends about it. investment that needed to happen. The only way a nonprofit can raise money like that is philanthropically. And you’re not going to raise money philanthropically if you’re losing money. So game plan No. 1 was to stabilize operations and quit losing money. Fortunately, a lot of the hard work had been done in terms of cost cutting. But we could not costcut our way to success. What did you see as the path to success?
We had to grow our way to success. We had plateaued for quite a while at about 675,000 visitors per year. Today, in 2015, we’re at a little over 900,000. That growth has a huge impact on the bottom line. We’ve now gone from losing $1 million a year to making $1 million a year, and that allows us to reinvest in the zoo the way it needs to be reinvested in. More importantly, it allows us to raise money in the philanthropic community where we previously could not. That enables me to use my No. 1 skill set, which is raising money. How did you manage to grow the zoo’s attendance by 30 percent?
There’s no magic bullet answer. It’s a lot of little things that add up. If you had 0 3 0
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“Our mission is to make sure the people who come through our gates value wildlife and take steps to ensure the future of these animals.” Zoo Atlanta has been undergoing some major changes recently. You’ve built the new Scaly Slimy Spectacular facility for amphibians and reptiles. And you’ll add a new event space when the Cyclorama Civil War painting moves to the Atlanta History Center. What can you tell us about these projects?
Between the Cyclorama project and the amphibian and reptile project, we will grow the public footprint of the zoo by 20 percent. The Cyclorama project is truly an historic opportunity for the Zoo and for Grant Park. Between the private philanthropy we’ll raise and the public investment the city will put into parking— added to the amphibian and reptile
Did you expect to get the land and building where the Cyclorama was housed?
The Cyclorama was frankly not in our plans. I had not planned on another capital fundraising campaign this soon. But you have to seize opportunities when they come up. If we had not stabilized our finances, we wouldn’t have been able to take advantage of this. There would have been a big ripple effect: The Cyclorama painting would have had to stay in place and it would have continued to decline. Also, the Atlanta History Center would not have received the painting and been able to benefit from its relocation. That also means Oakland Cemetery would not
Turner Field is going to get redeveloped, and I think you’ll see a lot of development between Turner Field and the zoo, which will be nice. More and more people want to live in town. It’s all positive. How has your tenure as CEO been different than you imagined?
It’s been more exciting than I expected. I don’t think I envisioned that we would have already embarked on such an ambitious second project as we have, so that’s good. I didn’t anticipate we’d make as much progress as we have in terms of growth, so that’s good. At the same time, I’m energized that ∏ Zoo Atlanta’s New Scaly Slimy Spectacular Amphibian and Reptile Experience is an $18 million project housing I see tremendous opportunity, around 100 individual animals representing more than 70 species from around the world. particularly now that we’re in a have gotten the green house they’re getelephants. Long term, we’ll have more and better financial situation. That just allows ting from the History Center. The domino become a breeding program for elephants. you to do things that you couldn’t othereffect of us reforming our finances is sort A lot of zoos have had to let go of their elwise do. of like an “It’s a Wonderful Life” movie— ephant programs because new industry Is Zoo Atlanta involved in any wildlife it makes you feel pretty good about what standards require zoos to have more space conservation efforts? you’ve accomplished. I have to say that’s and more elephants; you can’t have just That’s why we exist. Too often people think one of the most exciting fundraising projtwo. It’s for the welfare of the elephants, of us as just an attraction. That’s part of ects I’ve been involved in. they’re highly social animals, but it’s costly. who we are, but the attraction funds our More than 20 zoos have had to stop hosting What will the new event space be like? mission. Our mission is to make sure the elephants and we were close to having to do It will house 1,000 people. Right now, people who come through our gates valthat, too—had this opportunity not come if you’re holding a 1,000-person event, ue wildlife and take steps to ensure the up. I did not consider it acceptable for Atthe only places you can really go are the future of these animals. One of the things lanta not to have elephants, and fortunately Georgia Aquarium or a hotel ballroom. we do is make our own direct conservathe mayor did not either. He agreed to not Subsequently, Atlantans wind up going tion investments. Collectively last year, U.S. only give us the Cyclorama building but five to a ton of events at the Georgia Aquarizoos invested $160 million in conservation acres around it. um - which is beautiful - but this will be programs. Our biggest conservation inWe wanted to make a statement bea completely different experience. Here, vestment by far is pandas. We’ve invested cause elephants are very vulnerable right you will overlook a huge African savanna more than $10 million into their conservanow. To increase our commitment to elewith elephants and giraffes, which will be tion and it’s a huge success story. If you look phants was very important. breathtaking. at the numbers on most of the high-profile The area around Zoo Atlanta is experispecies, whether it’s rhinos or tigers or eleencing a lot of growth and development. The new event space also provides an phants, they’re all in decline and in serious What does that mean for the zoo? opportunity to build a new area for the threat of extinction. Pandas are fortunately elephants and giraffes. Was this part of Memorial Drive is seeing an unpreceon the rise, both in captivity and in the wild, Zoo Atlanta’s plan? dented amount of development. The and that’s largely because of the huge inWe’ll more than triple the space allocatwhole corridor is getting redeveloped. vestment we and other zoos have made to ed to elephants. Today, we only have two The Grant Park area is really on the rise. conservation. GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 91 NO.3 NO.4 2015
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@ INISSUE THE WORLD
Wrecks generating buzz Tech think?” AnsweringRamblin’ the question, “What does Georgia beyond the Atlanta campus.
A Helping Hand for Georgia Manufacturers
Roger Slavens
Tech shares its expertise with companies statewide to give them a competitive edge. Clinton Beeland, ChE 90, needed marketing and plant layout help for his young Valdosta, Ga.-based chemical manufacturing and packaging business, and it was only logical where to turn. Although his alma mater and its business and technical expertise seemed far away—some 240 miles or so—Beeland found that Georgia Tech had a presence much more widespread and closer than he thought. “Tech turned out to have an office close by and was a huge resource for us down here in the southernmost part of the state,” says Beeland, who founded CJB Industries in 1997 and serves as its president-CEO. “It became a crucial partner for finding technically competent people in a wide range of areas relevant to our business.” With assistance from the Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership (GaMEP)—part of Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI2)—CJB Industries has since grown considerably. What started out as a 6,000-square-foot facility with 10 workers has expanded to a multisite manufacturing and warehousing operation totaling 310,000 sq. ft. and employing 96. “We’ve worked with Tech on a number of projects, but the biggest areas of impact have been in streamlining our processes, employing lean manufacturing techniques and maximizing our facility space and workflow,” Beeland says. “The partnership is invaluable in evaluating our operations and showing us what’s possible—what new technologies or new ways of thinking can help our business. What’s even better, they bring these ideas to us.” GaMEP has been helping Georgia manufacturers grow competitively since 0 3 2
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∏ Georgia Tech faculty have helped Valdosta-based CJB Industries streamline its processes, employ lean manufacturing techniques and maximize its facility space and workflow. 1960 by working with them to find ways to improve their profit margins, streamline their processes and ramp up product development. It is a member of the National MEP network and supported by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. “We operate somewhat like a consulting company, with 10 regional offices and 28 dedicated faculty members located throughout the state,” says GaMEP Director Karen Fite. “But there are some big differences,” she says. “For one, we’re outcome-driven rather than project-driven, and we strive to create long-term relationships.” The approach is also one that focuses on coaching, training and education, says Katie Takacs, GaMEP marketing manager. “We even have CEO roundtables and a regional lean consortium that companies can join so they can share best practices and learn from each
other, too,” Takacs says. “And because we’re federally and state-funded, we offer a cost-effective alternative to traditional consulting services.” This past fiscal year, GaMEP directly helped 1,075 companies throughout the state increase sales by $281.4 million, cut costs by $108.2 million and create or save 2,348 jobs. “That’s a considerable impact,” Fite says, “and it’s not our accounting— these are self-reported numbers by our clients to a third-party survey company.” CJB Industries continues to utilize GaMEP resources and advice today. “Right now, for instance, we’re interested in how our customers may use unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for agricultural use—specifically to spray our chemicals, pesticides or nutrients on crops remotely,” says Beeland, who sits on GaMEP’s advisory board. “We think there’s an opportunity here and, with Tech’s help, we hope to explore how it may impact our business.”
Recent works penned by members of the Georgia Tech community.
JACKET COPY
Resisting Sherman: A Confederate Surgeon’s Journal and the Civil War in the Carolinas, 1865. Thomas Heard Robertson Jr., CE 73
Surgeon Francis Robertson fled Charleston with the Confederate garrison in 1865 in an effort to stay ahead of General William T. Sherman’s Federal army as it marched north from Savannah. Robertson kept a daily journal for the final three months of the Civil War; editor and descendant Thomas Robertson followed in his ancestor’s footsteps, conducting exhaustive research to identify the people, route and places mentioned in the journal.
NONFICTION
ADVICE/ MEMOIR
It’s Not Rocket Science Mary Spio, MS ECE 99
Rocket scientist, Internet entrepreneur and popular speaker Mary Spio started life as a barefoot girl in Ghana before finding her way to Georgia Tech and launching an engineering career at Boeing. Drawing on her unique life experiences, the author presents practical advice for beating the odds, breaking the mold and charting your own path to achieve true success.
BUSINESS
Discover Your True North
Bill George, IE 64, Hon 08 A former CEO and professor at Harvard Business School, Bill George published an updated version of his 2007 book Discover Your True North, which offers a path to becoming an authentic leader. The original version included first-person interviews with 125 leaders. The new edition includes 48 new profiles of diverse, global and contemporary leaders such as Jack Ma, Indra Nooyi and Mark Zuckerberg.
ADVICE
MEMOIR
Two for the Road Cecil Welch, IM 58
Find an Old Gorilla
When the lead trumpeter falls ill during a Henry Mancini performance with the Atlanta Symphony, Cecil Welch is asked to step in and play. Following this serendipitous opportunity, Welch was asked to join Mancini’s team of touring musicians. In Two for the Road, Welch shares tales from 18 years he spent touring with the renowned film and television composer.
Subtitled Pathways Through the Jungle of Business and Life, this tight tome shares pearls of wisdom that the former vice chairman of Waffle House picked up during his 40-plus years of experience as a leader for the legendary restaurant chain. The book is filled with thoughtful lessons geared for high achievers looking to tackle their next challenges.
Bert Thornton, IM 68
Are you an author? Send details about your book and a book cover image to Editor, Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine, 190 North Ave. NW., Atlanta, GA 30313 or publications@gtalumni.org.
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The Leadership Circle is the cornerstone of Roll Call, Georgia Tech’s annual fund. By becoming a member of the Leadership Circle, you help ensure Tech’s prominence and adaptability in an ever-changing world. Join one of our leadership giving clubs and enjoy benefits such as a limited edition tie or scarf and an invitation to the annual President’s Dinner, Celebrating Roll Call. A tradition of leadership has evolved at the Georgia Institute of Technology over many generations … we hope you’ll join us.
THE CORNERSTONE OF ROLL CALL IS
LEADERSHIP
“We believe Georgia Tech is a great place to capture a high return. Roll Call giving at the Leadership Circle level enables your gift to grow exponentially as it benefits so many on campus.” – ANGELA G. MITCHELL PTCH ’04 AND JAMES L. MITCHELL CE ’05 (GEORGIA TECH ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD OF TRUSTEES) 15 CONSECUTIVE YEARS OF ROLL CALL GIVING AND LEADERSHIP CIRCLE SINCE 2006
THE GIVING CLUBS OF THE LEADERSHIP CIRCLE BURDELL SOCIETY a gift of $25,000 in support of Roll Call PHOENIX CLUB gifts between $10,000 and $24,999 TRADITIONS CLUB gifts between $5,000 and $9,999 TOWER CLUB gifts between $2,500 and $4,999 CORNERSTONE CLUB gifts between $1,000 and $2,499
Please send your gift or pledge to: Roll Call, Georgia Tech Alumni Association 190 North Ave., Atlanta, GA, 30313-9806 Donate online at www.gtalumni.org/giving or call (800) GT –ALUMS
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INNOVATE
A few of the most exciting recent breakthroughs from faculty, students and alumni.
ADVENTURE TIME: MAGIC MAN’S HEAD GAMES What is it? A new video game that mashes the popular Cartoon Network animated TV series Adventure Time with virtual reality. In the game, the main characters Finn and Jake befriend the VR player, who has been turned into a giant balloon by Magic Man. They set off on a quest together to track him down and remove the curse. Who made it? Holden Link, CM 11, and Nic Vasconcellos, CM 11, the co-founders of indie game studio Turbo Button. What inspired it? Link and Vasconcellos, along with artist/animator Ralph Bull, love the cartoon adventures of Finn and Jake as well as the possibilities of virtual reality. The game is designed specifically for a VR headset, which completely covers
your field of vision for an immersive experience. “We were inspired by games where the fourth wall is broken to drive the story forward, and we did our best to figure out what that meant for virtual reality,” Link says. The result is that you become an active part of the story as
characters look at, talk and react to you every step of the way.” Why is it game changing? Adventure Time: Magic Man’s Head Games is the first VR video game to be attached to a major entertainment franchise, and stands to push VR gaming into the mainstream.
COMMUTE WARRIOR What is it? Have you ever been stuck in traffic wishing you could do something about it? There’s no magical fix for gridlock, but this Android app tracks daily commutes in Atlanta, collects the data, and eventually will give users suggestions for improving the efficiency of their daily trips. Who made it? Georgia Tech Civil Engineering Professor Randall Guensler. What inspired it? Guensler is working on a $3 million project in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy to help travelers save time and money by improving their commutes and helping them decide between different modes of transportation, such as driving, taking public transit, biking or walking. The data will help researchers with a variety of projects, beginning with a study 0 3 6
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of commuters in the Interstate 85 corridor sponsored by the National Center For Transportation Systems Productivity and Management. The study specifically focuses on the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority’s Xpress buses, which take commuters from suburbs like Gwinnett and Cobb counties to employment centers in the city of Atlanta. Why is it game changing? Anything that could improve the daily commute in and around Atlanta is game changing—believe us. “What we really want, ultimately, is to have as many users as we can in Atlanta using the app so we can demonstrate how rich the dataset is and all the different research activities it can be used for,” Guensler says. “It’s astounding what you can do with the data when you have it.”
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BALANCING ACT
Tipping our cap to alumni who know how to multitask.
A Mission on Wheels
Roger Slavens
Ryan Akin, MS ME 13, doesn’t just want to make skateboards—he wants to change lives. Lightboards, a newly launched skateboard company founded by Tech alumnus Ryan Akin, represents an intersection of several of Akin’s primary interests in life: to own and operate his own company; to create functional art with his mind and hands; to empower youth to set big goals and follow them; and to shine the light of his Christian faith in his community.
Akin says he entered graduate school at Georgia Tech having never thought about starting a company, but the overall culture of innovation, as well as encouragement from fellow students, helped stoke his desire to become an entrepreneur. “I began dreaming of ways to make it happen and left Tech praying for opportunities to implement what I had learned,” he says. After graduation, Akin took a corporate job as an IT analyst, but continued to dream up and map out startup business ideas. During this time, he heard about Salemtown Board Co. in Nashville, Tenn., which two young entrepreneurs started with just $300 in their pockets and—more importantly—a mission of making a real difference in their city. “I realized there might be a strong market for handmade skateboards in Atlanta, and specifically where I live in the Old Fourth Ward,” Akin says. “The rise of the BeltLine and the Historic Fourth Ward 0 3 8
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Skatepark has stimulated and cultivated increased interest in art, manual transportation and diversity.” Akin had never built a skateboard in his life, but with his engineering background and years spent skating, he figured he could learn quickly. He purchased used tools on Craiglist and built his first decks right in his own living room. “It’s surprising how much you can learn from YouTube videos and Google,” Akin says. But from the outset he wanted this venture to be something more: an opportunity to mentor local youth, to give them paying jobs, teach them about hard work and spark a tranformation in them— bringing the light of Jesus into their lives. The name Lightboards directly reflects his company’s faith-driven mission. “ The idea to mentor young men through making and riding skateboards is not my own, and it is nothing new,” Akin says. “In the 1970s, in California, a group of teenage boys from broken homes were assembled to form the Zephyr Skateboard Team—the Z-Boys—that helped popularize modern-day skateboarding.” Akin hired 16-year-old TJ as his first employee in August after a “divine” encounter. “TJ needed help fixing his bike, and I was willing to help,” he says. “After we bumped into each a few more times in the neighborhood, he asked me if I had any work he could do so he could go to the movies with friends. It was an answer to my prayers.” TJ assists Akin with virtually every aspect of the skateboard-building process. “I help with the shaping, sanding, painting, assembling and testing,” he says. “I really enjoy doing this work with Ryan.” Akin says that TJ is also instrumental in helping him to make decisions about company operations. “He’s really a remarkable young man and brings a fresh perspective filled with creativity,” Akin says.
The duo work on the boards parttime on weeknights and weekends. “The focus during our time together is on building a strong relationship, imparting valuable life-lessons and skills, and hopefully making the most beautiful and quality skateboards our customers have ever seen,” Akin says. Handmade out of wood from forest-free trees that came down in the Atlanta area, the Lightboards are offered in a number of styles—from mini-cruisers to longboards, with some in solid oak and others made out of laminated woods. Each deck takes about 8-10 man-hours to make, not including the time it takes for drying, set-up, teardown, component ordering, marketing and other tasks. The boards are designed for riding in the urban environment, many equipped with big wheels for handling city streets and sidewalks. Ranging in price from $200-$300, they’ll soon be available for sale online at Lightboards.com. Balancing this work with his fulltime job and his family is difficult for Akin. “I would love to spend more time with my beautiful wife and amazing family and friends,” he says. “Starting a business has involved significant sacrifice and opportunity cost. This has challenged my wrestle for balance in life. I want to live my life to the fullest for the glory of God. It is amazing how the pursuit of that can bring so much adventure and joy. It is also amazing how much can be accomplished when life is lived intentionally rather than just choosing to ‘go with the flow’.”
SERVICE - LIGHTBOARDS
Revitalizing Atlanta:
THE BELTLINE It’s an exciting time to be in Atlanta. There’s a renewed energy and optimism surrounding the city’s intown communities, and Georgia Tech’s alumni, faculty and students are leading the charge. 0 4 0
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BY MELISSA FRALICK | PHOTOS BY RICHARD CAWOOD (AND OTHERS AS NOTED)
&BEYOND Over the past few years, many of Atlanta’s neighborhoods have changed dramatically thanks to new destinations for shopping and dining, investments in infrastructure, and businesses relocating to the city— many attracted by Tech’s research and deep talent pool. And it’s almost impossible to look at the many changes happening around the city without finding the signature of a Georgia Tech architect, engineer, entrepreneur, city planner, builder, professor or student. The Atlanta Regional Commission estimates that roughly 3 million people will move into the metro Atlanta area over the next 30 years. The region is the seventh fastest-growing metro area, with the 10th largest regional economy in the nation. Richard Cawood
One of the biggest factors driving Atlanta’s revitalization is the BeltLine, a system of pedestrian paths and future transit connecting dozens of intown neighborhoods, which began as a master’s thesis by a Tech graduate student. The BeltLine is fostering an unprecedented level of connectivity and economic development in the neighborhoods it touches, but it’s not the only game in town. Exciting things are happening all over the city— from small improvements like public art or new bike lanes, all the way up to major projects like the new Atlanta Falcons stadium. No matter where you look in Atlanta, chances are you will find the fingerprints of a Yellow Jacket. GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 91 NO.4 2015
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THE BELTLINE Above: Runners race along the Eastside Trail. Left (top): Ryan Gravel, Arch 95, M Arch and M CRP 99, stands near one of the BeltLine’s brightly painted underpasses. Left (bottom): This sculpture is among several that can be seen along the BeltLine’s Eastside Trail.
On the Eastside Trail of the Atlanta BeltLine, joggers, dog-walkers and bicycle commuters pound a wide concrete path with purpose. They are on the move, all going different places for different reasons, with the shared motive of getting there without a car. This trail, flanked by wildflowers, brightly muraled underpasses and a rotating display of public art, is the most visible piece of what will one day be a 22-mile loop around the city, known as the Atlanta BeltLine. Set to roll out in phases until 2030, the BeltLine is planned to eventually include parks, transit and trails throughout the loop. The BeltLine project was originally envisioned by Ryan Gravel, Arch 95, M Arch and M CRP 99, for his thesis as he pursued dual masters degrees in architecture and city and regional planning at Tech. Gravel always held a fascination with trains and transit systems, and he became even more fixated on infrastructure after studying abroad in Paris. He marveled at the way public transit, sidewalks, parks and other factors allowed people in that city to live more active, social lives without relying on automobiles. Upon returning to Atlanta, he set his sights on the old train tracks he enjoyed exploring on the west side of Tech’s campus, and came up with a proposal to convert the abandoned tracks into a new kind of infrastructure to connect Atlanta neighborhoods. 0 4 2
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Christopher T. Martin
Set to roll out in phases until 2030, the BeltLine is planned to include parks, transit and trails throughout its 22-mile loop.
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People quickly appreciated the way they could travel safely on foot between intown neighborhoods like Midtown, Old Fourth Ward and Inman Park. In 2014 alone, more than 1 million people used the 2-mile trail.
Many such academic proposals die on the vine, too abstract or expensive to implement in the real world. But Gravel found that colleagues and community officials were intrigued by his idea and helped work to make it a reality. The concept was clear and free of the ulterior motives people would have suspected had it come from politicians or developers. “I think the academic origin of the project really played a role in it becoming real,” Gravel says. “Because it was a student idea, it allowed people to trust it and evaluate whether it was a good idea or not.” Atlanta can be a tough place to sell a transportation project. But Gravel says he was met by willing audiences among local officials and the communities surrounding the BeltLine. People were able to embrace it because it’s not just a greenway or a list of transit projects. “It’s a community revitalization project, it’s an economic development project, it’s a public health project,” he says. “It does all of those things, so it brings in a lot of people wanting the same thing. It brings a lot of constituencies together.” Open since 2012, the Eastside Trail is the first section of the BeltLine project to be completed in the old rail corridor. It’s become extremely popular and serves as a showcase for what many hope the remaining miles can become one day, too. Before it was even paved, the trail was in use. People quickly appreciated the way they could travel safely on foot between 0 4 4
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intown neighborhoods like Midtown, Old Fourth Ward and Inman Park. In 2014 alone, more than 1 million people used the 2-mile trail. Development followed quickly with new apartments and townhomes under construction along the sides of the Eastside Trail. New businesses opened up, and existing shops and restaurants reoriented themselves so that back doors once facing nothing but weeds and train tracks could welcome the new crowds of people coming by on the BeltLine. “It’s remarkable how it has changed perspectives and created opportunities,” says John Bencich, Arch 89, M Arch 92. “It’s phenomenal.” After the BeltLine was completed, Bencich helped restaurateur-chef Kevin Rathbun design an outdoor seating area on the back of his steak restaurant so the building would have a welcoming patio along the trail. Much of the buzz that brings people to the BeltLine is centered on food. Two major developments in readapted buildings along the Eastside Trail—Krog Street Market and Ponce City Market— both feature food halls packed with foodie-favored restaurants offering everything from cheeseburgers to falafel and Szechuan dumplings. Bencich and his wife, Vivian, M Arch 92, designed several of the restaurant spaces in Ponce City Market and Krog Street Market. There’s no doubt Atlanta is a food town. And more developers are working to bring chef-driven restaurants to their projects.
Above left: The BeltLine’s Eastside Trail offers many options for transportation and recreation along its two-mile stretch. Above right (top): People gather for a nighttime walk with brightly lit creations during the annual BeltLine Lantern Parade. Above right (bottom): Parks along the trail provide space for festivals like the Beltline Boil.
“Dining has become a keystone for pretty much any development,” Bencich says. In its short life, the Eastside Trail has even inspired two new festivals: The Beltline Boil, an event in which people are encouraged to bike or walk to the new Old Fourth Ward Park for beer and seafood from local restaurateurs; and the BeltLine Lantern Parade, in which people create paper lanterns in all shapes and sizes to light up a nighttime pilgrimage from one end of the trail to the other. Despite the BeltLine’s many successes, Gravel remains concerned about the unintended consequences that often accompany change. He hopes the people who helped champion the BeltLine will still be able to afford to live in adjacent neighborhoods as property taxes and rent prices go up in response to the many new amenities. “I think the issues around economic displacement and equity around the project are vital,” Gravel says. “As land becomes more valuable, it’s important that we protect affordability in the city.” Aside from the Eastside Trail, some portions of the BeltLine are already open or under construction, while other portions are a few years down the road. The BeltLine’s Northside Trail, open since 2010, bridges two existing pedestrian trails. The mile-long leg, located near Bobby Lantern Parade image by Christopher T. Martin. Beltline Boil image by Jon Whittaker.
Jones Golf Course (named for the Georgia Tech golf legend) runs through Tanyard Creek Park, connecting Ardmore Park to Atlanta Memorial Park. The Westside Trail, which began construction in late 2014, will be a 3-mile trail connecting southwest Atlanta neighborhoods from University Avenue in Adair Park to Lena Avenue at Washington Park. This section of the trail, which will be funded by $43 million in public and private funds, is a huge investment in an often-neglected corridor of the city. And work is expected to begin soon on an extension of the Eastside Trail, which will take it southeast to Memorial Drive, a corridor experiencing a huge spurt of activity and redevelopment that will no doubt be buoyed by the BeltLine’s arrival. The BeltLine is far from complete, and more funding and property needs to be acquired before remaining portions of the trail, along with planned parks and transit, can be finished. The goal is for light rail around the BeltLine to connect to the new streetcar route in downtown Atlanta. The real strength of the BeltLine is that while the project itself doesn’t touch every part of the city, it serves as a catalyst for bigger changes. “It’s changing the way we think about Atlanta and what kind of city it is,” Gravel says. GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 91 NO.4 2015
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...AND BEYOND Atlanta’s revitalization involves much more than just the BeltLine project. From major mixed-use projects and a new
sports stadium to thoughtful plans that will alter the development of communities on the city’s east and west sides, Georgia Tech alumni are helping to shape the city’s future.
Mercedez Benz Stadium The flashy new home of the Atlanta Falcons is under construction just south of the Georgia Dome. The $1.4 billion facility—built by joint venture Holder, Hunt, Russell, Moody and led by Holder Construction under chairman and CEO Tommy Holder, IM 79 —will have a capacity of 71,000 and is expected to be complete in 2017. A novel circular, retractable roof in the center of the stadium will feature triangular panels that open and shut like a camera aperture. The building’s facade will be made of glass and other high-tech transparent building materials to allow natural light into the stadium. “The Falcons made it clear from the outset that they wanted their stadium to be an iconic symbol for city of Atlanta,” says Benjamin Flowers, an associate professor of architecture at Georgia Tech whose research focuses on stadiums.
Known as Mercedez Benz Stadium, the facility will also be home to Atlanta United FC, a new Major League Soccer team set to begin its first season in 2017. Flowers says projects of this scale are complicated and divisive. Stadiums often promise to bring economic development and opportunities in the neighborhoods where they are built, but can often fail to deliver. How the stadium will impact the surrounding community has yet to be seen. However, the stadium is seeking the highest level of LEED certification, meaning it will be built to be environmentally friendly and energy efficient. If the new stadium achieves this challenging level of sustainability, it would be the first facility of its kind in the country. “That would put Atlanta on the forefront of that movement,” Flowers says.
Ponce City Market From a department store to government offices and now
as an ambitious mixed-use complex, the big brick building on Ponce de Leon Avenue has taken on a new life as Ponce City Market. Gay Construction Co., led by president Tom Gay, IM 66, handled the impressive restructuring of the largest brick structure in the Southeast. Ponce City Market held its official opening party in October, with more merchants and restaurants continuing to open throughout the remainder of the year. The Central Food Hall at Ponce City Market is like an upscale food court, home to a variety of casual restaurants from James Beard Award-winning chefs like Anne Quatrano, Linton Hopkins and Sean Brock. There are also large retailers like J. Crew and WilliamsSonoma, as well as offices and apartments. Ponce City Market cleverly repurposes an existing building in a way that encourages alternative modes of transportation. It’s accessible to pedestrians right off the Atlanta BeltLine and provides a “bike valet” in addition to a traditional In 2017, Mercedez Benz Stadium is scheduled to open as the home of the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United FC, a new Major League Soccer team. parking deck.
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Sweet Auburn Historic District Auburn Avenue, the main thoroughfare of the historic district known as “Sweet Auburn,” is one of Atlanta’s most storied streets. During segregation, it was a bastion of prosperity and culture for the city’s black community, and it’s also the birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr. But over the years, the street fell into a state of disrepair, landing it on the National Trust’s list of Most Endangered Historic Places in 1992 and again in 2012. Recently, Auburn Avenue has gained momentum with renewed investment in the form of a new streetcar route and historic building renovations—with the help of Tech alumni. The Atlanta Daily World Building, home of the oldest continuously-operated African-American daily newspaper in the country, seemed destined for demolition until Gene Kansas, a real estate developer and Georgia Tech Digital Media grad student, purchased the two-story building in 2014. In March, a renovated Daily World building opened with two apartments and two commercial spaces, home to Arden’s Garden and Condesa Coffee, both owned by Tech alumni. The city of Atlanta has awarded nearly $1 million in façade improvement grants for 12 businesses along Auburn and Edgewood avenues. In late 2014, the city began operating a new streetcar, which runs a 2.7-mile loop from the King Historic District down Auburn Avenue to other tourist sites including Centennial Olympic Park and the Georgia Aquarium.
Technology Enterprise Park Georgia Tech is collaborating with Invest Atlanta, the Atlanta Housing Authority and other community partners to create a bioscience and technology district on the west side of the city. The Institute has received more than $500,000 in grant funding to study the feasibility of expanding Technology Enterprise Park. Officials are looking at growing the existing bioscience park on the west side of campus from its current 16 acres to more than 60 acres of mixed-use development. “We’re using this study as an opportunity to look at potential ways to create a collaborative research neighborhood instead of an insular research park with a fence around it,” says Chris Downing, associate vice president for Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI2). The new research district could one day include facilities like bioscience labs, light manufacturing, Opposite Page: Rob Dunalewicz
educational facilities, housing and retail. Downing says the Institute hopes to replicate the type of public-private partnership that has been so successful at Technology Square in Midtown, which has become a hub for startup businesses and corporate innovation centers. Twelve acres included in the study area are owned by the Atlanta Housing Authority, and would be used to develop mixed-income housing. Downing says the potential expansion could also bring new jobs and amenities such as shops and restaurants to the west Atlanta community.
Memorial Drive Corridor Each year, Mike Dobbins, professor of the practice in the School of City and Regional Planning, teaches a studio class in which grad students study real issues surrounding transportation, infrastructure and development in a real community. Last year, the stakes for the course were a little bit different. Atlanta City Councilwoman Natalyn Archibong a p p r o a c h e d Te c h and asked for help: Development in her district was heating up, thanks in part to a rebounding real estate market and an extension of the Atlanta BeltLine to Memorial Drive, and she wanted a plan for smart growth. Greg Giuffrida, M CRP 15, one of the students involved in the project, says the group spent a semester meeting exhaustively with various community organizations and stakeholders to learn about the issues facing the corridor. They traveled up and down Memorial—a state highway that runs from downtown Atlanta to Stone Mountain—taking note of things like cross walks, intersection design and visibility to create a report with recommendations for improvements. The final report was delivered to Archibong in December 2014, and it’s now being considered for a program that provides federal funding for things like bike lanes, sidewalks and streetscapes. Following graduation, Giuffrida was hired for the new position of Memorial Drive corridor executive at Central Atlanta Progress, where he is dedicated to coordinating the various aspects of the plan—promoting walkable development, improving safety for drivers and pedestrians, and promoting the area’s history and culture. While much is still up in the air, Giuffrida says there’s no doubt change is coming to Memorial Drive. “A lot of properties are going to look very different in two years,” he says. “It’s changing quickly, and as long as it’s happening in a way that responds to all of the strong work the neighborhoods have done expressing what they want to see through their own planning process and the BeltLine planning process, I think that’s great.” GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 91 NO.4 2015
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Tech alumni—and students— play a critical role in government and public service in Atlanta and across the state of Georgia. BY TONY REHAGEN AND AUSTIN L. RAY
Georgia Tech might be best known for training world-class scientists, researchers and engineers, but the Institute’s driving mission to make the world a better place also includes educating future generations of public servants and politicians. Though it’s a magnet for students from all reaches of the globe, Tech’s direct impact on the government of its hometown and native state might be easily overlooked. Today, in fact, there are Yellow Jackets doing impressive work in almost every branch and form in Georgia, from the campus Student Government Association to the Atlanta City Council to the U.S. Senate. They’re helping to shape policy and guide change throughout the metro area and Georgia and using their positions to bolster one of the state’s most important institutions. “Georgia Tech’s success is due in large part to our alumni, a number of whom are serving in public office carrying out the Institute’s motto of ‘Progress and Service’ in their daily lives,” says Dene Sheheane, Tech’s vice president of government and community relations. “These leaders work hard to make a difference in their communities and to further the impact Georgia Tech has on our state and nation. Their support has allowed all of us in government relations to better assist President [G.P. “Bud”] Peterson in achieving the goals of the Institute.” Tech provides direct connections to the world of government and state politics through the Georgia Legislative Internship Program, which introduces students to life under the Gold Dome, as well as the strong Capitol Jackets advocacy network through which alumni cultivate relationships with lawmakers. Yellow Jackets in office, like Georgia U.S. Sen. David Perdue, IE 72, MS OR 76, and Atlanta City Councilman Alex Wan, IE 88, say they have been greatly influenced by the the informal political education they received during their years on campus. These lessons stem from the Institute’s focus on innovation, collaboration, analytical thinking and problem-solving; exposure to a diverse student body from around the world with differing perspectives on issues facing society; and a fundamental commitment to hard work and results. “Georgia Tech alumni are known for their ability to develop innovative solutions on the job, as well as in the communities where they work and live,” says President Peterson. “We are very proud of Georgia Tech alumni who are working to make a difference in Atlanta, the state of Georgia, throughout the U.S. and around the world.”
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The U.S. Senator DAVID PERDUE, IE 72, MS OR 76 Unlike many of his colleagues in the U.S. Senate, David Per-
due did not attend college with the intent of going into public service. He didn’t even want to major in political science or pre-law. Raised in Middle Georgia by two schoolteachers, Perdue primarily wanted a technical education to prepare him for a career in business. He worked his way through Georgia Tech by taking on construction and warehouse jobs. However, after using a Tech bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and a master’s in operations research to build a 40-year corporate resume that includes stints as CEO of the Reebok brand and Dollar General, Perdue’s concern over what
he saw as the government’s mounting debt crisis spurred him to run for U.S. Senate in 2014. Today, Sen. Perdue says that his years as a Tech engineering student prepared him just as well for his legislative role on Capitol Hill as if it had been a three-pronged doctoral study in governing. First, he says there was a focus on results. “In every class at Tech, you had to master the material,” Perdue says. “You had to get results.” For Perdue, that often meant persevering through subjects in which he was not naturally gifted. “I suffered through two years of calculus,” he says. “But you have to do the work.” Second, as competitive as the curriculum was at Tech, Perdue also remembers an atmosphere of collaboration in problem solving. At this institution, that meant working with some of the most brilliant young thinkers of the day—who eventually became today’s leaders. “At Tech you develop relationships with so many driven students,” he says. “I was at Tech with great leaders like Alan Lacy [IM 75, Sears], David Dorman, [IM 75, AT&T], and Mike Duke [IE 71, Hon Phd 11, Walmart]. Those are relationships you have for a lifetime.” Lastly, as an engineer, Perdue was well-drilled in the scientific method of problem solving. Tech taught him how to analyze a complex issue and break it down into more manageable components. “Sometimes there was no right or wrong answer,” Perdue says. “It was about how far you could take the issue. It often required a creative approach.” As a current member of the Senate Budget Committee, Perdue says those same three Tech tools have helped him tackle the debt— as well as other key issues. He can scientifically analyze the roots of the problems; he knows how to collaborate with his fellow lawmakers and his Tech connections in the corporate world to gather ideas; and, if he wants to keep his job, he knows he and his fellow legislators have to buckle down and get results. “There are not many in the Senate who have an engineering background,” he says. “I’m using that experience to help us focus on the problems we’re faced with and to work through to find solutions.” — TONY REHAGEN
Yellow Jackets Helping Shape the Future of Georgia’s Higher Education System Three Georgia Tech alumni, appointed by the governor to serve a seven-year term, currently sit on the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. This appointment is a voluntary one without pay, and they donate their time and expertise to help govern the state’s 31 public colleges and universities.
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C. Dean Alford, EE 66, is presidentCEO of Allied Energy Services and is a former chair of the Georgia Tech Alumni Association Board of Trustees. He has served several statewide education appointments and was a five-term member of the Georgia House of Representatives.
Sachin Shailendra, CE 01, is president of SG Contracting Inc., an Atlanta-based general construction company and contractor, and is chair of the University System of Georgia Foundation. He is also a board member of the Georgia REACH Foundation and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s Sports Network.
Benjamin “Ben” J. Tarbutton III, Mat 94, is president of the Sandersville Railroad Company, where he oversees daily operations. He is a past chairman of Leadership Georgia and serves on the board for Oconee Fall Line Technical College and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce.
The Mayor HARDIE DAVIS JR., EE 92 Hardie Davis admits that when he arrived at Tech in the late 1980s, he had a
fairly limited perspective of the world. The teen had spent his entire life in the smaller Georgia cities of Macon and Augusta, and had come to Atlanta with the singular goal of becoming an engineer. But once Davis set foot on campus, he soon realized that his viewpoint was just one of many in a truly international community. “We had students from all over the world,” Davis says. “Different languages. Different experiences. Different problems and different ways of approaching them. We were all part of that melting pot. It shaped my perspective about my fellow man.” Sharing dorms, commons and classrooms with students from Europe, Africa, Asia and other parts of the United States, not only awoke Davis to the harsh realities of the world—such as poverty and crumbling infrastructure—but it also instilled in him the importance of political activism as a means to tackle those concerns. Though he was too focused on his studies to run for student office, Davis says that his years at Tech were the first in which he educated himself on contemporary issues. In 1992, his fourth year, Davis voted in his first national presidential election, casting a ballot for Bill Clinton—a sign that the previously conservative Georgian’s political views were evolving. Still, Davis had no personal political ambition. He graduated with a bachelor’s degreen in electrical engineering in 1992 and promptly embarked on a career in engineering, first for the U.S. Department of Energy in South Carolina and then in automation for Monsanto back in his hometown of Augusta. It wasn’t until March of 2006—14 years after leaving Tech—that the school again nudged Davis in the direction of public
service, albeit in an indirect way. Davis was attending Leadership Georgia, a training program for prominent young business and community forerunners, when he saw Tech professor Catherine Ross, a renowned expert on urban planning growth, speak at the Governor’s Mansion. “She spoke about volunteering and working in our communities,” Davis says. “I began to think about my role in the city of Augusta. That’s when I made my decision to run for state representative.” That November, Davis won his home district’s seat in the Georgia House of Representatives, which he held for three years before being elected to the state Senate in 2009. There, he was named Policy Maker of the Year by the Georgia Association for Career and Technical Education. After serving in the Senate for five years, he resigned his seat to run for mayor of Augusta, a role in which he has served since May 2014. Throughout this second career as a public servant, Davis has drawn from his time at Tech—both his degree and his informal education as a world citizen. “I cannot emphasize how important it was to be at an international school,” he says. “It shaped my broader worldview, showed me how we all intersect. And when I was thrust into that world, it better prepared me for everything I’ve done in my life.”
Tech’s Growing Gold Dome Influence In 2010, of the 236 members of the Georgia General Assembly, only three were Georgia Tech alumni. In 2015, that number has grown to 12. Here are the current officeholders representing their districts, their state, and, of course, their alma mater.
Sen. Mike Crane,
Rep. Geoff
IM 87
Duncan, Cls 00
Sen. P.K. Martin,
Rep. Dan Gasaway,
IA 00
Arch 88
Rep. Taylor
Rep. Eddie
Bennett, IA 08
Lumsden, Cls 74
Rep. Buzz
Rep. Ronnie
Brockway,
Mabra, Mgt 00
MgtSci 90
Rep. Wes Cantrell,
Rep. Clay Pirkle,
IM 82
Econ 89
Rep. Mike
Rep. Bert Reeves,
Dudgeon, EE 89,
Mgt 00
MS EE 90
— TONY REHAGEN GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 91 NO.4 2015
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Capitol Jackets ALUMNI NETWORK HELPS KEEP LEGISLATORS UP TO DATE WITH TECH PRIORITIES.
Back in the early 1980s, former Alumni Association Chair Don Chapman and other trustees introduced something known as the “buddy system”—pairing up Tech alumni with local legislators. Soon it gained a more formal title: the Legislative Network. Eventually it arrived at its modernday moniker, the Georgia Tech Capitol Jackets Advocacy Network. In its earliest incarnation, this alumni-driven network was formed to educate state legislators about the Institute’s priorities, strengths and major ongoing projects. As this group of interested alumni joined forces to work for the best of Tech’s needs, it strived to increase the Institute’s visibility and impact in the eyes of legislators and policy makers. Patrise Perkins-Hooker, vice president and general counsel of Atlanta BeltLine Inc., was one of the original members of the group. She’s worked with fellow alumni over the years to leverage their professional relationships and Tech insight with senators, representatives and other government leaders to help position their alma mater in the best light. “We’ve worked diligently to keep legislators informed about what’s happening at the Institute,” she says. Network members—today they number more than 700 alumni, students, faculty and staff—routinely participate in annual legislative events and briefings, community happenings and alumni gatherings to engage with local politicians and citizens. “Events like these are the perfect opportunity for Capitol Jackets to invite their local delegations and elected officials to connect with the Tech community in their area,” says Casey Aultman, the Institute’s legislative advocacy manager. “The network has a
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Stephanie Kindregan, Bio 05, has been an active member of the Capitol Jackets Alumni Network for many years.
tremendous and lasting impact when they reach out to discuss Georgia Tech priorities with officials.” From weighing in on budgetary actions to strategic governing priorities, the efforts of the Capitol Jackets are as vast, varied and important as the people who graduate from Tech themselves. For alumni, such advocacy is a convenient and effective mix of high impact and low time-commitment, Aultman says. Her office works to make sure network members are apprised of high-level happenings that affect where Tech is heading and that help ensure the Institute remains one of the best universities in the country. “Advocacy can take place in many different ways, and our alumni can make an impact simply by being informed and sharing information about Tech in their communities,” Aultman says. “If just one external official or influencer learns something impactful about Georgia Tech that they didn’t know before, that’s effective advocacy for us.” More formally, about 20 steering committee members meet four to five times a year to guide Capitol Jackets initiatives and decide which ones will take priority in the future. “Our job is to keep the group informed of issues and policy decisions that will impact
Tech, and to suggest ways to engage in the political process to influence outcomes,” says Stephanie Kindregan, Bio 05, immediate past Capitol Jackets chair and director of public affairs for energy infrastructure giant Kinder Morgan. However, the network is about more than just legislative change, Kindregan says. “It taught me how important it is to actually thank the people that help and support your cause—not assume you are owed it,” she says. “Being thankful and gracious is a trait that is often forgotten these days in the business world, but it is still relevant and will always help set you apart from others.” As someone who has been part of Capitol Jackets since its early days, Perkins-Hooker has a unique perspective on its evolution. She’s proud of what the network has done and what it will continue to do in the future. “Capitol Jackets has grown and refined its method of operations to have fewer but more targeted and effective liaisons,” Perkins-Hooker says. “Many of us have been assigned to the same legislator for decades, and this has established credibility and trust. I think that our program is a model for legislative outreach programs.” — AUSTIN L. RAY
on a whim and winning. In that role, she helped bring in speakers, put on workshops and even organized a small carnival. She presided over weekly meetings, dealt with budgets and worked alongside a small group to see to the needs of a diverse constituency with differing perspectives. “It was much harder than I thought it would be,” she says. “I learned a lot about leadership and how to account for a group of residents from different backgrounds.” Undeterred, Abrams decided to stick with Residence Life and became a resident adviser, serving as a counselor for younger dorm mates. “You learn to think on your feet,” she says. “You’re trained to handle anything—suicide threat, sexual violence, underage drinking.” Fortunately, Abrams never had to deal with the first two, but she did have to call the police on some students she found drinking in the dorms. That’s when she realized that as a leader, you sometimes have to do things that make you unpopular with some. “I want to get along, but I couldn’t ignore those students,” she says. “They were four of 72 under my charge.” After her second year, Abrams was asked to join the cabinet of the Student Government Association. Then, last April, she was elected president. Now in charge of much more than a dorm, she oversees public policy for all of student life. “It helped me understand how you implement change and policy,” she says. “You can’t always make both sides happy. You try to best benefit the most people without costing those who’ll benefit the least.” That’s a maxim Abrams saw applied by legislators and staff members during her internships with the Georgia Secretary of State and state Chair of Higher Education. In those roles, she helped run meetings, reviewed invoices and worked first-hand with constituents, answering phone calls and emails and connecting them with the right departments. In the case of the fight song, that has meant putting the question to public opinion to better inform a decision and shrugging off the extremist vitriol. “You can’t take things so personally,” Abrams says. “People are always going to have opinions. All you can do is say ‘thank you’ and move on to the other things you want to do.” For Abrams, that includes finishing out her term as president this April and then graduating with her bachelor’s degree in public policy—then grad school. She says she wants to work in government, possibly with the CDC or the Carter Center, but adds that she’ll take a break from public office. As she can learn from other Yellow Jackets who were latecomers to elected posts, the opportunity will be there if she changes her mind. — TONY REHAGEN
The Student Body President JENNIFER ABRAMS, PP 17 Barely six months into her term as president of the Student
Government Association, Jennifer Abrams faced an issue that tested everything she had learned at Tech about being a leader—and about herself. In October, a professor approached Abrams about the possibility of changing the lyrics to the 107-year-old school fight song, “Ramblin’ Wreck,” to make them more inclusive of females. As president, Abrams heard the professor out and said she would take it under advisement. But rumor of the proposed break with tradition leaked to the students, igniting an overnight uproar and making Abrams the unwitting target of hateful emails and online commentary. “They were really beating me up,” she says. “It was like they forgot I was human.” Fortunately, Abrams’s experience of service during her four years at Tech had prepared her for this predicament. When she arrived in 2012, Abrams started at home in her freshman dorm, Field and Hopkins, throwing her name in the hat for residence hall president
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The City Councilman ALEX WAN, IE 88 Alex Wan will never forget the most important lesson he
learned in his four years at Tech—and it wasn’t found in any of his chemistry books or math labs. The year was 1987, the beginning of his fourth at Tech, and Wan had decided to run for president of the interfraternity council. He had been extremely active throughout his time as
Capitol Interns TECH STUDENTS LEARN FIRSTHAND HOW STATE GOVERNMENT WORKS.
For Atlanta attorney Kaitlyn Whiteside, HTS 11, working in the office Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers, Mgt 91, while still a student at Tech—through the Georgia Legislative Internship Program (GLIP)—was a bona fide life-changing experience. She not only learned about the legislative 0 5 6
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a Yellow Jacket, had been a member of the Ramblin’ Reck Club and Omicron Delta Kappa leadership honor society, an orientation leader and president of his own fraternity, Kappa Sigma. He had big ideas for the council and felt he was more than qualified. And yet he lost to Andy McHenry, ME 89—whose name Wan will never forget because McHenry was better able to get that name into the minds of voters. “I thought I was the best candidate,” Wan says. “But I should’ve worked harder to meet people. They may have gotten my flier, but when it’s people casting votes, they’re not looking at a piece of paper. The better way to influence them is through direct contact.” Wan quickly put the loss behind him, but he put the lesson in his pocket along with his bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and went to work in finance, first on Wall Street and then back in Atlanta. At the same time, Wan kept his hand in volunteering with various organizations to help the less fortunate, and in 2003, he founded For the Kid In All of Us, a nonprofit that holds toy and school-supply drives for disadvantaged children. It was then that Wan realized he wanted to get back into public service full time. In 2004, Wan threw his hat into the race for Georgia State Representative from District 57 in Atlanta. Remembering his failure from the Tech IFC race, Wan got out among his prospective constituents and, along with his campaign team, knocked on some 10,000 doors, trying to connect with voters one on one. He still lost. But his outreach helped him garner 38 percent of the vote against an entrenched incumbent, eventually emboldening Wan to seek a seat on the Atlanta City Council in 2010. This time he won, and he has been serving as the District 6 councilman ever since. He is the first Asian-American and first openly gay man to serve on the council. Wan says that his Tech engineering degree now makes him the man to go to with numbers, metrics and quantitative data among his fellow council members. And that analytical way of approaching problems does come in handy. But he says it’s the interpersonal lesson he learned at the unwitting hands of Andy McHenry that has best prepared him for public life. “Meeting the people is the only way to know what they’re thinking,” he says. “You might think you have the right idea or the right solution to a problem, but until you’re out there among the people testing that hypothesis, you don’t know.” — TONY REHAGEN
process and cemented her own political beliefs, but also developed interpersonal skills that she now uses every day in the real world. “I think the first and most important lesson was the power of relationships,” Whiteside says. “Legislation can be created or destroyed on the basis of loyalties. They’re a powerful thing. I also learned so much about politics generally and started to really form my own political identity.” GLIP is a statewide program administered by the Georgia General Assembly that has engaged Peach State students for more than 40 years. Getting young
people involved in state government is important to the General Assembly, and GLIP gives these students an opportunity to see how the legislative process works up close. Since 2000, about 170 Tech students have interned with state politicians. Interns can then go on to positions in the General Assembly working as budget analysts, legislative staffers and policy analysts. “I would say that my internship with Gov. Zell Miller was a turning point in my life,” says Stacy Peery, director of Senate Staffing at the state capitol. “I met so many smart, passionate people and
The Commissioner AMY PHUONG, IA 05, MBA 14
Amy Phuong never imagined she’d become the City of Atlan-
ta’s parks and recreation commissioner. Growing up in Gwinnett County, Phuong balanced dreams of becoming a basketball star or a master chef with a growing interest in community service. But then again, she also loved chemistry and thought that perhaps she’d work for a nonprofit one day. Her wild variety of passions eventually brought her to Tech and what she calls its “fantastic campus in the heart of the city” that proved so alluring to a suburban teenager. And it’s on that campus that her dreams and interests began to crystallize in a more focused direction. While studying international affairs, economics and public policy, Phuong got more and more involved in public service. She was elected student body president and won an internship at Leadership Atlanta. “Because Tech is in the heart of Atlanta, I could balance being a student leader while also being involved civically,” she says. “Then-mayor Shirley Franklin was trying to get students in metro Atlanta to increase their voter residency, so I was involved with her administration to get that moving.” When Phuong “got out” of Tech, she first found work in the private sector. But before long, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed recruited her. “He gave me a position that was created to bridge his administration with the civic good of the city—anything related to philanthropy, nonprofits, etcetera,” Phuong says. “I got to develop relationships and key initiatives the mayor was most interested in to help impact the social wealth of the city.” That work would eventually lead him to appointing Phuong as interim parks and recreation commissioner in late 2014, a job she would officially take over just four months later. Now, she leads an organization with more than 330 fulltime employees and 200 seasonal employees. Her team is
gained real-world experience. And I learned that this was the career I wanted to follow.” Peery says that she and the House Intern Coordinator interview all intern candidates, then figure out how to place them based on personalities, interests and legislative need. Because Georgia’s legislature is parttime (running January through April), there isn’t a huge full-time staff, which makes the interns—and the work they do—even more valuable. This work and the one-on-one connections interns make lead to great opportunities after the session ends. “One of the best parts is the networking
responsible for the maintenance of more than 360 park spaces around Atlanta. She humbly says that her biggest accomplishment so far is getting her team “on the track of producing a higher rate of service,” and cites the rebuilding of the Martin Luther King Jr. Natatorium as one of her biggest upcoming projects. “If you’re a resident of Atlanta, you might at some point have swam in the current natatorium that was closed due to some major structural issues back in 2012,” she says. “We’re going to be leading the final design phase in the new year and breaking ground to rebuild the natatorium while deconstructing the current location and turning it into a green space.” As she looks forward to this massive undertaking in 2016, she also fondly looks back, remembering how she learned to lead in college. Oh, and how to get hash browns when you really need them. “I got to be involved with the student input on Fifth Street, trying to understand what the students really wanted, including restaurants,” Phuong remembers. “I was excited when Waffle House finally came to campus. At the time, we really fought hard to give our input on that. I didn’t get it done when I was a student at Tech, but it’s exciting to see other students have their voices heard. Being a student leader at Tech allowed me to hone in on those skills early.” — AUSTIN L. RAY
opportunities,” Peery says. “The interns have the opportunity to meet state agency directors, political leaders and lobbyists from all over the state. We have former interns working nearly everywhere: the Senate, the House, state agencies, universities and lobby firms to name a few.” More than just jobs and connections, GLIP fosters pride in Tech alumni and furthers the interests of the university. Whiteside sees it as an essential tool to getting Tech students involved in local government and changing the future. “I also think the program is instrumental in creating a sense of identity with the State of Georgia,” Whiteside says. “Georgia
Tech is so underrepresented at the Capitol, and GLIP is a great way to foster and encourage Tech students to get—and stay—involved at the state level. I love seeing qualified, smart Georgia Tech alumni, like Taylor Bennett, IA 08, running and winning races. We need more of that.” — AUSTIN L. RAY GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 91 NO.4 2015
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The Power Couple PATRISE PERKINS-HOOKER, IM 80, AND DOUG HOOKER, ME 78, MS TSP 85 Perhaps it’s no surprise that Atlanta power couple Doug Hooker and Patrise Perkins-Hooker met at Tech. “I was a freshman and he was a junior,” Patrise recalls of the moment that set the stage for decades to come. “We’ve been married for 36 years.” Those years have been filled with a lot of love and a lot of professional accomplishments. Patrise is vice president and general counsel of Atlanta BeltLine Inc., and, in 2014 was named the first AfricanAmerican and third woman president of the State Bar of Georgia. Meanwhile, Doug serves as the executive director of the Atlanta Regional Commission, co-founded the Civic League of Atlanta, and has served on myriad boards, including the Council for Quality Growth and the Atlanta Symphony. They’re the kind of people for whom you could spend all day listing qualifications and achievements. And if you ask either of them how they became the successful, civic-minded citizens they are today, they point to Tech. “The professors were tough,” Doug remembers fondly. “No matter what, they were going to push you to do well and excel. I found that I was much better prepared for the workplace than a lot of my colleagues of a similar age. The thing about Tech is that it makes you feel confident that you can solve problems and overcome obstacles. Just getting through that tough curriculum itself makes it feel like you’re capable of doing a lot of things.” The couple found common ground in their studies at Tech, despite their differences. Patrise is a native Atlantan, while Doug grew up in Cincinnati. And while she was focused on business management, he held a long-term artistic streak, performing with orchestras since age 8. They met through a mutual friend, Patrise says. “We ended up working together to plan the convention for the National Society of Black Engineers,” she says. “Through that group, we developed a very strong friendship, and that became the basis for our relationship.” Doug says the dynamism of Atlanta was one of the reasons he ended up at Tech, and one of the reasons why he loves the city so much to this day. Patrise, similarly, realized this was a place where she could help minority business leaders, particularly in the business and legal realms. The city and these motivations are what led
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Doug to create a leadership legacy in the Atlanta Department of Public Works and what led Patrise to lend her talents to the merger of Clark-Atlanta University. If you look around Georgia’s capital city, you’ll see Doug and Patrise’s imprint all over it. They hope to continue in that tradition for as long as possible. “I just want to use my life in a way that benefits people,” Patrise says. “I don’t know how that will manifest itself in the future, but I know that, whatever I do, it will benefit people. My job at the Atlanta BeltLine is benefitting my community by transforming large sections of the community that were previously blighted into areas that are not. It’s those types of projects I like to get involved with. I like to make a difference. We both do.” — AUSTIN L. RAY
Tech alumni have designed, developed and built some of Atlanta’s most iconic— and beautiful—structures. Here’s an unusual look at the simple lines of the buildings many of us see every day. ILLUSTRATIONS BY PRESTON ATTEBERY
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1
1. Peachtree Center Towers* Location: Downtown Address: 225 / 229 / 230 / 233 / 235 / 245 / 285 Peachtree Street NE Stories: 31 (tallest tower) Opened: 1965-1989 *Specifically the 230 Peachtree Building (formerly Peachtree Center Tower), Peachtree Center North, South and International, the Harris Tower, and Marquis One and Two.
3 2. SunTrust Plaza Location: Downtown Address: 303 Peachtree Street NE Stories: 60 Opened: 1992 3. Westin Peachtree Place Location: Downtown Address: 210 Peachtree Street NW Stories: 73 Opened: 1976
Tech Architect: John Portman, Arch 50 These structures represent just a small sample of the impact of Portman’s design in Atlanta; his other buildings include the AmericasMart, Hyatt Regency, Atlanta Marriott Marquis and American Cancer Society Center.
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2 1. Atlantic Station Location: West Midtown/ Atlantic Station Address: 17th Street Footprint: 15 million square feet of retail, commercial and residential space Opened: 2005 Tech Developer: Charles Brown, BC 62, chairman-CEO of CRB Realty Associations Inc. and former president-vice chairman of Atlantic Station.
2. Wells Fargo Tower Location: West Midtown/ Atlantic Station Address: 171 17th Street Stories: 22 Opened: 2004 Tech Architects: Gil Garrison, Arch 79, and Joe Trammell, Arch 68, with Smallwood Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart
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1 2. Terminus 100 Location: Buckhead Address: 3280 Peachtree Road NE Stories: 27 Opened: 2007 Tech Builder: Allen Hardin, IM 53, former chairman of Hardin Construction Co.
3
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1. Atlanta Financial Center Location: Buckhead Address: 3333 / 3343 / 3353 Peachtree Road NE Stories: 19 (tallest tower) Opened: 1982-1989 Tech Architects: Phillip Smallwood, Arch 62, Bill Reynolds, BC 61, and Gil Garrison, Arch 79, with Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart (Note: Stevens & Wilkinson, founded by Tech alumnus Preston Stevens Sr., Arch 19, also helped design the buildings.)
2
4 4. Promenade II Location: Midtown Address: 1230 Peachtree Street NE Stories: 38 Opened: 1989 Tech Architect: Tom Ventulette, Arch 58, principal of Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback and Associates (TVS)
About the illustrator: Preston Attebery is a 20-year-old Atlanta-based designer. You can view more of his simple illustrations, as well as purchase his prints and more at prestonattebery.com.
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3. Centennial Tower Location: Downtown Address: 101 Marietta Street Stories: 36 Opened: 1975 Tech Architect: Jerry Cooper, Arch 55, founder of Cooper Carry
PROVIDED BY GEORGIA TECH'S OFFICE OF DEVELOPMENT
Campaign Georgia Tech hits $1.5 billion, many goals remain
THE
IMPACT
OF
PHILANTHROPY
AT
GEORGIA
TECH
Six more units surpass goals As Campaign Georgia Tech approaches the final quarter of its 11-year run, we are delighted to announce that six more units surpassed their Campaign goals during the most recently completed quarter. Students and faculty of the following units will be the primary beneficiaries of these successful campaigns: Ernest Scheller Jr. College of Business, College of Engineering, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace
Engineering, School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. While the Institute celebrates these momentous achievements, all Georgia Tech colleges and schools will continue to seek philanthropic support through the December 2015 end of the Campaign and beyond. n
John and Mary Brock endow school chair in ChBE
Evans estate gift to support business students
Under any circumstances, endowing a school chair is an extraordinary investment in the Institute’s future. But there are moments when it is much more.
“I hold a degree from a top 10 public university, but I never attended one.” It is a comment that Joseph W. Evans, IM 1971, has made often over the years. As he explains it, “Georgia Tech has been
Mary Rockett Brock, Honorary Alumna, and
ascending in rankings and reputation on a very
John F. Brock III, ChE 1970, MS ChE 1971, John F. Brock III
have established an endowed school chair
Joseph W. Evans
Engineering (ChBE), the final remaining School within the College of
steady upward trajectory since I was there in the ’60s. I am the beneficiary of that ascending
in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular
reputation, and I am motivated to see that it continues.”
Engineering to have an endowed school chair. The commitment also
For Evans and his wife, Raena, that motivation has led to decades
pushed the School as well as the College past their Campaign goals
of philanthropic support for the Institute and for the Ernest Scheller
— $45 million and $480 million, respectively.
Jr. College of Business. The couple recently made a significant estate
“This is a special opportunity that means so much to me,” said
provision that adds to that legacy of support; it will one day establish
Brock. “To be able to make this commitment to the School that
endowments bearing their names and providing undergraduate schol-
nurtured my love of engineering, equipped me with the tools I needed
arships and graduate fellowships within Scheller College. Theirs was
to succeed, and provided opportunities I never would have dreamed
also the commitment that enabled the College to surpass its $175
of — it truly is an honor.” n
million Campaign goal. n
Chaddick estate gift to benefit ECE Steve W. Chaddick, EE 1974, MS EE 1982, is no stranger to philanthropy. For years, he has made gifts and commitments in many different areas across the Institute. But his most recent, an estate gift, has pushed the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) past its $165 million goal. “It was gratifying to be able to help punch through that goal,” said Chaddick. “ECE made me who I am, in large measure,” he said. “I wouldn’t have had the opportunities, the skills, and the knowledge to do the things I’ve done in my career had I not been in that place — as an undergraduate and a graduate student.” Steve W. Chaddick
Income from the permanent endowment fund, which will bear his name, will provide unrestricted support to the School, ensuring greater resources for future advancements on important initiatives that may otherwise be out of reach. n
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PROVIDED BY GEORGIA TECH'S OFFICE OF DEVELOPMENT
Krone commitment in Aerospace Engineering “We are pleased that this helped push AE over the top. I am not sure we deserve any special recognition, as each dollar in the Campaign is important.” Yet, with their recent estate provision directed Roger A. Krone
counting! d n a 95 Endowed Chairs and Professorships
The target for faculty support in Campaign Georgia Tech has been set at $150 million, the majority of which will be committed to various levels of endowed faculty positions, with a goal of funding 100. The following endowed faculty positions received funding commitments during the quarter ending June 30, 2015.
to the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace
The establishment of each faculty position — and the faculty
Engineering, Helen and Roger A. Krone, AE
appointments themselves — are subject to approval by the Board
1978, have enabled the School to exceed its
of Regents of the University System of Georgia.
$25 million Campaign goal. More than that, their philanthropy will one day provide crucial support for attracting and retaining the very best faculty in the field — for generations. The Helen B. and Roger A. Krone Faculty Endowment Fund will give the school chair the flexibility to deploy the distributions to meet needs as they arise. This includes but is not limited
New
Tellespsen invests in the future of CEE For the past nine years, Howard T. Tellepsen Jr., CE 1966, has thoroughly enjoyed being a member of the Campaign Georgia Tech Steering Committee. A highlight of this service is the committee’s
This endowed chair, dedicated to the incumbent school chair within
to director’s chairs, faculty chairs, professorships, and early career professorships. n
School/Center/ Unit Chairs a specified school or academic leader of a center or institute, en-
John F. Brock III School Chair (School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering)
hances the ability to attract leading educators in this position of academic administration. Named endowments from $2.5 million.
Professorships Early and mid-career endowed professorships provide ongoing as well as term-of-years appointments to attract and retain promising teacher-scholars, and professors of the practice. Named endowments range from $500,000 to $1 million.
New
joint meeting with the Georgia Tech FoundaHoward T. Tellepsen Jr.
New
tion board of trustees at Sea Island each June — an invaluable opportunity to learn about the Campaign’s progress and to share philan-
thropic strategies and perspectives with fellow members. This year’s meeting, however, held a surprise for Tellepsen. “When I learned that the School of Civil and Environmental Engi-
Helen B. and Roger A. Krone Professorship (Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering)
Linda B. and John E. Nobles Professorship (School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering)
neering was the only School in the College of Engineering that hadn’t reached its Campaign goal, I wasn’t very happy,” he recalled. “I had already planned on making a new commitment for my upcoming 50th class reunion, so it occurred to me that I could go ahead with those
Einstein Monument to be installed
plans now and push the School past its goal. It turned out to be a
This fall, to coincide with
great opportunity for me to help the School that has meant so much
Homecoming and Reunion
to me over the years.”
Weekend, October 22-24, the
The seven-figure estate commitment that Tellepsen was inspired to
Institute will unveil a rare, larg-
make while at the meeting will one day provide significant unrestricted
er-than-life sculpture created by
support for the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Income
one of America’s most celebrated
from the permanent endowment can be used by the School’s chair
sculptors, Robert Berks (1922-
to take advantage of emerging opportunities or to further long-term
2011). The Albert Einstein Monu-
strategic priorities. n
ment is one of three such pieces in the world (the other two are located at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C., and the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Jerusalem). The sculpture will be located in the northwest corner of Tech Green. n
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PROVIDED BY GEORGIA TECH'S OFFICE OF DEVELOPMENT
ting!
Gift honors former Yellow Jacket coach, supports Aquatic Center Almost 20 years after Atlanta hosted the Centennial Olympic Games, one of the most magnificent sites constructed for the 1996 event still reigns among the nation’s premier swimming and diving facilities. Indeed, for two decades, the Aquatic Center has been a signature feature within the Campus Recreation Center as well as a focal point for campus tours. And now, because of the vision of one alumnus, it will bear the name of a beloved Tech
Additional support for EBB
swimming coach.
Naming opportunity still available for signature facility
was named to honor James Herbert “Herb” McAuley, EE 1947, the former
A prominent Atlanta foundation recently made two grants totaling $1.5 million, one grant in support of the recently completed first phase of EBB and the other in support of the project’s planned second phase. This support further strengthens Georgia Tech researchers’ work aimed at improving human health on a global scale. This new support follows three significant commitments received since summer 2014, which played a pivotal role in helping EBB reach its private funds goal of $34 million this spring. One of those commitments came from Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Georgia Tech’s research and innovation partner in pediatrics. n To inquire about making a gift in support of the Engineered Biosystems Building, contact any development officer or Vice President for Development Barrett H. Carson at 404.894.1868 or barrett.carson@dev.gatech.edu.
The facility, which will soon be known as the McAuley Aquatic Center, swimming champion who devoted four decades to coaching swimmers at Tech — both competitive swimmers and undergraduates taking the compulsory and infamous “drown-proofing” class. Richard L. Bergmark, IMGT 1975, is the man who made it possible, through a significant multifaceted commitment creating an endowment in support of facility maintenance, improvements, and swimming programs. It also includes an irrevocable estate provision that will one day ensure that the endowment is fully funded. “This is a fantastic way to give recognition to Coach McAuley,” Bergmark explained. “He was a great coach, a mentor, a generous person, and a Tech alumnus himself. He developed so many swimmers — many of whom I had the great fortune of meeting, competing with, and developing wonderful associations with while at Tech.” McAuley did something else that Bergmark has never forgotten, by helping him secure an out-of-state scholarship. “It was his focus on the ‘student’ part of ‘student-athlete’ that I will forever be grateful for, because that is what enabled me to graduate from Tech,” he said. n
Burdell Society Update July 2014 - June 2015 The Burdell Society is Georgia Tech’s highest leadership annual giving society that recognizes those alumni and friends whose generous gifts to the Institute reach $25,000 per fiscal year for unrestricted current operations. Burdell Society members for July 2014 - June 2015 appear below. Laurie D. Bagley, IMGT 1984 Richard L. Bergmark, IMGT 1975 Barbara A. and Steve W. Chaddick, EE 1974, MS EE 1982 Susan and Michael T. Duke, IE 1971, HON Ph.D. 2011 William W. George, IE 1964, HON Ph.D. 2008 Bonnie P. and Jeffrey V. Giglio, EE 1977 Cynthia A. and Matthew P. Gresham, ChE 1994 Crissy and Christopher W. Klaus, Class of 1996 Brenda E. and Lawton M. Nease III, IM 1965 James L. Oliver II, ID 1965, ME 1967 Sue E. Payne, PHYS 1976 Theo and *C.J. “Pete” Silas, ChE 1953, HON Ph.D. 2006 Alfred P. West, AE 1964, HON Ph.D. 2010 * Deceased
Names shown in gold are permanently endowed at $500,000 or more. For more information about the Burdell Society and Roll Call endowments in general, contact any development officer or Melanie J. King at 404.894.2391 or melanie.king@alumni.gatech.edu.
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PROVIDED BY GEORGIA TECH'S OFFICE OF DEVELOPMENT
Campaign Georgia Tech Update
Georgia Update • July 1, 2004 through June 30, 2015 July Campaign 1, 2004 through JuneTech 30, 2015 Funds by Source
Funds Raised v. Required
228.5%
224.7%
220% 200%
1,700 1,600
180%
1,500
160%
1,300
$1,616.4
1,200 1,100 1,000 900 800
Millions
700
Average Required Funds Raised
600 500 400
Progress Toward Goal
1,400
120%
80%
125.3%
Time Elapsed — 95.7%
100%
119.8%
103.4%
113.4%
95.3%
60% 40%
300
20%
200
$714.4
$413.7
$261.1
$112.8
$13.5
$59.9
$13.6
$27.4
Alumni
Corporations
Foundations
Other Organizations
Faculty/ Staff
Friends
Parents
Surviving Spouses
$400M
$180M
$90M
$6M
$50M
$12M
$12M
0% $1,019.0
$1,115.2
Jun-09
Jun-10
Jun-11
Jun-12
$1,248.3 $1,421.8
Jun-15
$862.8
Dec-15
$713.1
Jun-14
$615.2
Jun-13
$428.2
Jun-08
$255.1
Jun-06
Jun-04
0
Jun-05
$124.1
Jun-07
100
Goal: $750M
Summary of Objectives by Program
Funds by Use
120%
120%
121.8%
110%
110% 100%
106.4%
103.6%
Time Elapsed — 95.7%
Progress Toward Goal
70%
70.7%
60% 50% 40% 30% 20%
$233.1
$638.6
$123.7
102.1%
105.0%
80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10%
$608.9
0%
0%
Endowment
Goal:
103.2%
90%
80%
10%
121.3%
Time Elapsed — 95.7%
100%
90%
Progress Toward Goal
145.0%
140%
Facilities
$600M
$225M
Equipment
Current Operations
$175M
$500M
Goal:
$877.4
$364.0
$102.1
$262.5
Colleges and Schools
Institute-Wide Restricted
Institute-Wide Unrestricted
Athletics
$850M
$300M
$100M
$250M
Campaign GeorgiaTech Tech Steering Steering Committee Campaign Georgia Committee
David M. McKenney, PHYS 1960, AT-LARGE MEMBERS IE 1964 ■ Gary T. Jones, ■ John S. Markwalter Jr., IMGT 1981 Mary R. & John F. Brock III,GMGT ChE 1971 H. Inman Allen Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta, Georgia 1970, MS 1971Atlanta, Georgia Chicago, Illinois ■ Warren L. Batts, EE 1961 RobertPHYS A. Milton, IM1964 1983 Atlanta, Georgia ■ Frances G. Rogers, ECON 1993 ■ David M. McKenney, 1960, IE G. Niles Bolton, ARCH 1968 Shawn & Brook Chicago, Illinois Byers, EE 1968, Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta, Georgia Godalming, Surrey, England Atlanta, Georgia HON Ph.D. 2010 ■ Shawn & Brook Byers, EE 1968, HON Ph.D. 2010 VICE CHAIRS■ Joseph W. Rogers Jr., IM 1968 ■ Robert A. Milton, IM 1983 Charles D. Moseley, IE 1965 Menlo MenloPark, Park,California California Charles W. Brady, IM 1957 Atlanta, Godalming, Surrey, England Atlanta, Georgia Rodney C. Adkins, EEGeorgia 1981, HON Atlanta, Georgia Roberta & Steven A. Denning, ■ Roberta & Steven A. Denning, IM 1970 Ph.D. 2013 ■ William J. Todd, IM 1971 ■ Charles D. Moseley, IE 1965 Deborah A. Nash, IE 1978 IMGreenwich, 1970 Connecticut A. Russell Chandler III, IE 1967 Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta, Georgia Somers, New York Medina, Washington Greenwich, Connecticut Atlanta, Georgia ■ Susan & Michael T. Duke, IE 1971, Kenneth G.■Byers Jr., EE 1966,Jr., IM 1969 Stephen P. Zelnak ■ Deborah A. Nash, IE 1978 Michael A. Neal, IM 1975 HON & Ph.D. 2011 T. Duke, IE Susan Michael William R. Collins Jr., ME 1957, Raleigh, North Carolina Medina, Washington MS 1968 Bentonville, Arkansas Stamford, Connecticut 1971,HON Ph.D. 2011 MS IM 1963 Atlanta, Georgia ■ Michael A. Neal, IM 1975 Arkansas ■Bentonville, Anita P. & Julian D. Saul, IM 1962 Lawton M. Nease III, IM 1965 AT-LARGE MEMBERS Atlanta, Georgia Stamford, Connecticut Dalton, Georgia David W. Dorman, IM 1975 Atlanta, Georgia Anita P. & Julian D. Saul, IM 1962 Joseph W. Evans, IM 1971 ■ H. Inman Allen ■ Lawton M. Nease III, IM 1965 Georgia ■Dalton, Roberta & Ernest Scheller Jr., IM 1952, Hillsborough, California Parker H. Petit, ME 1962, MS Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta, Georgia HON Ph.D. 2013 Francis S. “Bo” Godbold, IE 1965 EM 1964 Roberta & Ernest Scheller Jr., Thomas A. Fanning, IM 1979, Villanova, Pennsylvania ■ Florida G. Niles Bolton, ARCH 1968 ■ Parker H. Petit, ME 1962, MS EM 1964 Tierra Verde, Marietta, Georgia IM 1952,HON Ph.D. 2013 IMGT 1980, HON Ph.D. 2013 Atlanta, Georgia Marietta, Georgia ■Villanova, Penny & Pennsylvania E. Roe Stamps IV, IE 1967, MS 1972, Gary T. Jones, GMGT 1971 Beverly J. Seay Atlanta, Georgia HON Ph.D. 2014 ■ Charles W. Brady, IM 1957 ■ Beverly J. Seay Atlanta, Georgia Orlando, Florida Penny &Florida E. Roe Stamps IV, IE Miami, Atlanta, Georgia David D. Flanagan, IE 1976Orlando, Florida Frances G. Rogers, ECON 1993 1967, MS 1972, HON Ph.D. 2014 C. Meade Sutterfield, EE 1972 McLean, Virginia ■ Carolyn & H. Milton Stewart, IE 1961 ■ A. Russell Chandler III, IE 1967 ■ C. Meade Sutterfield, EE 1972 Atlanta, Georgia Miami, Florida Atlanta, Georgia Vero Beach, Florida Atlanta, Georgia Hubert L. Harris, IM 1965 Atlanta, Georgia Joseph W. Rogers Jr., IM 1968 Carolyn & H. Milton Stewart, Howard T. Tellepsen Jr., CE 1966 Atlanta, Georgia ■ Suzanne & Michael E. Tennenbaum, IE 1958 ■ William R. Collins Jr., ME 1957, MS IM 1963 ■ Howard T. Tellepsen Jr., CE 1966 Atlanta, Georgia IEMalibu, 1961 California Houston, Texas Atlanta, Georgia Houston, Texas Lawrence P. Huang, IMGT 1973 Vero Beach, Florida William J. Todd, IM 1971 ■ Alfred P. West Jr., AE 1964, HON Ph.D. 2010 ■ Joseph W. Evans, IM 1971 Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida EX OFFICIO Atlanta, Georgia Suzanne & Michael E. Oaks, Pennsylvania Atlanta, Georgia John R. Huff, CE 1968 EX OFFICIO Tennenbaum, IE 1958 MichaelIEK.1979 Anderson, IE 1979 Stephen P. Zelnak Jr., A. IMFanning, 1969 IM 1979, ■ Thomas IMGT 1980, Houston, Texas ■ Michael K. Anderson, Malibu, California CO-CHAIRS Atlanta, Georgia Raleigh, North HON Carolina Ph.D. 2013 Atlanta, Georgia Andrea L. Laliberte, IE 1982, MS Atlanta, Georgia Jr., 1964, HON1970, MS 1971 ■Alfred Mary P. R.West & John F. AE Brock III, ChE Benton J. Mathis Jr., IMGT 1981 IE 1984 ■ Benton J. Mathis Jr., IMGT 1981 Atlanta, Georgia Ph.D. 2010 ■ David D. Flanagan, IE 1976 Jacksonville, Florida Marietta, Georgia Marietta, Georgia Oaks, Pennsylvania McLean, Virginia John S. Markwalter Jr., IMGT 1981 VICE CHAIRS ■ Hubert L. Harris, IM 1965 Atlanta, Georgia ■ Rodney C. Adkins, EE 1981, HON Ph.D. 2013 HONORARY CHAIRS
CO-CHAIRS
Warren L. Batts, EE 1961 HONORARY CHAIRS
Somers, New York ■ Kenneth G. Byers Jr., EE 1966, MS 1968 Atlanta, Georgia
■ David W. Dorman, IM 1975 GTALUMNIMAG.COM California 0 6 6Hillsborough,
VOLUME 91 NO.4 2015
■ Francis S. “Bo” Godbold, IE 1965 Tierra Verde, Florida
Atlanta, Georgia
■ Lawrence P. Huang, IMGT 1973 Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
www.development.gatech.edu ■ John R. Huff, CE 1968 Houston, Texas ■ Andrea L. Laliberte, IE 1982, MS IE 1984 Jacksonville, Florida
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GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 91 NO.4 2015
MEET MR. & MS. GEORGIA TECH Mr. and Ms. Georgia Tech 2015, Henderson Johnson II and Missy Pittard, smile for the crowd after being crowned at halftime during the Homecoming game vs. Florida State. Both Yellow Jackets are members of the Student Alumni Association, the GT Student
Drew Humphrey
Foundation and Student Ambassadors. Johnson is an aerospace engineering major who interned twice with Boeing and Pittard is a chemical and biomolecular engineering major who helped launch a nonprofit that promotes financial literacy to high school students.
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A Homecoming for the Ages Roger Slavens
Amazing game caps off a festive weekend highlighted by the Class of 1965’s record gift.
Georgia Tech’s dramatic, improbable,
unforgettable victory over Florida State gave the faithful something to hold on to while capping off a Homecoming and Reunion Weekend for the ages. More than 1,000 alumni, family and friends returned to campus Oct. 22-24 to see old classmates and renew friendships, reconnect with the Institute and enjoy festivities filled with tradition and pride. The classes of 1965, 1975 and 1990 celebrated milestone reunions. Yellow Jackets who returned to campus to mark their 50th anniversary of “getting out” shattered a reunion fundraising record and reveled in their accomplishment with dinner and dancing at a lively 0 7 0
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cocktail party held at the Capital City Club downtown. Class of 1965 Reunion Chair and Homecoming Keynote Speaker Bo Godbold, IE 65, inspired his fellow classmates to set a lofty goal and give an all-time high of $41,000,000 to Tech— Godbold himself topping the total off to a nice, round number—with a whopping 49-percent class participation. That topped the previous record by $9 million. The 40th Reunion Class of 1975, chaired by Mike Neal, IM 75, surpassed its goal with more than $13 million raised and 30-percent participation, and celebrated with a party at the Georgia Tech Hotel & Conference Center. Meanwhile, the 25th Reunion Class of
1990, chaired by Lou Fouts, IE 90, gifted more than $4 million at a 25-percent rate. The class gathered at a pre-game reunion tailgate in the Basil Garden next to the Alumni house. The considerable donations of all three classes will provide life-changing support for students, enrich academic programs and enhance facilities across campus. Homecoming Weekend also showc a s e d t h e G e o r g i a Te c h S t u d e n t Foundation’s Philanthropy at Tech Campaign. The GTSF set up signs across campus at the beginning of October to educate returning alumni and current students about the philanthropy that helped fund facilities across campus,
SAVE THE DATE! Make sure to put these upcoming Alumni Association events on your calendar.
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as well as scholarships, endowed chairs and more. Foundation members had the pleasure of welcoming the family of J. Erskine Love, ME 49—the alumnus who made the original endowment of $100,000 to start the GTSF back in 1986—to campus to give them an update on the Foundation and to show off the Philanthropy at Tech signage.
Georgia Tech + Running + Pi + Spring = Best 5K Road Race Ever. It’s a simple equation, really. Join Buzz and fellow alumni for this 3.141592… mile tradition. Mark your calendar, lace up your sneakers and get ready to run the 44th Annual Pi Mile Road Race.
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And, of course, the miraculous outcome of the big game cemented the memories made over the weekend for those who came home to Tech.
Alumni Career Fair It’s time to dust off the old resumé— or perhaps create your first one. The Alumni Career Fair is a recruiting event featuring dozens of top employers looking specifically—and for this event, exclusively—for Tech alumni. Whether you are looking for a job, want to change careers, or just want to see what opportunities are out there in the job market, this opportunity is not to be missed.
Other notable highlights of Homecoming and Reunion Weekend:
• Henderson Johnson II and Missy Pittard were crowned Mr. and Ms. Georgia Tech 2015. • The Class of 1965 was inducted into the prestigious Old Gold Society. • Marilyn Somers, director of Living History, shared stories of Georgia Tech 100 years ago, as recorded by the letters of alumnus Robert Bannerman, CE 15. • A statue of physicist Albert Einstein was unveiled at the northwest corner of Tech Green. (See page 18 for more details.) • The Alumni Association’s Ramblin’ Wreck Rally Tailgate didn’t disappoint with special entertainment from the Georgia Tech Marching Band, live music from The Mustangs and pregame activities for the entire family.
44th Annual Pi Mile Road Race
JUNE 25
President’s Dinner Celebrating Roll Call
When you donate to Roll Call, it feels good to know you’re helping Georgia Tech. But you know what else feels good? Getting invited to a really fun and swanky celebration. Each Year, the Alumni Association thanks donors who give $1,000 or more to Roll Call with an invitation to the President’s Dinner, which will be held at McCamish Pavilion. Make your donation now to get on the VIP list.
GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 91 NO.4 2015
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Visit the recently redesigned Alumni website at gtalumni.org and register to see what's new.
2016 Gold & White Honors Gala Honors Eight Extraordinary Leaders At the Gold & White Honors Gala, to be held on Feb. 18, 2016, the Alumni Association will recognize eight of the Georgia Tech community’s most outstanding members. These Gold & White award-winners have contributed immensely to the Institute and their communities, and they serve as an inspiration to the next generation of Georgia Tech alumni and friends.
William “Bill” W. George, IE 64, Hon PhD 08, is the former chairman-CEO of Medtronic, a professor of management practice at Harvard Business School, and co-founder and vice chair of the George Family Foundation. Early in his career, George served in the U.S. Department of Defense All proceeds from the gala will support the Alumni Association’s exceptional student as assistant to the assistant secretary programs—the Student Alumni Association, the Student Ambassadors and the Georof defense and as special civilian assisgia Tech Student Foundation. Last year, the event raised more than $434,000 for student tant to the secretary of the Navy. He later development. For more information about the event and how to become a sponsor, visit joined Litton Industries and, after holdgtalumni.org/goldandwhite. Below, read more about this year’s incredible honorees and ing several executive positions with the awards they will receive. Litton Microwave Cooking Products, he was named president of the division in 1973. He then joined the joseph mayo pettit alumni distinguished service Honeywell Inc. where he was promoted to president of space award is the highest award conferred by the alumni assoand aviation systems in 1988. George was named presidentciation, honoring alumni who have provided outstanding CEO of Medtronic Inc. in 1991 and later chairman and CEO. After support of the institute and alumni association throughretiring from Medtronic, he became a professor of manageout a lifetime, and who have provided leadership in their ment practice at Harvard Business School in 2004. George has chosen professions and local communities. written six books and numerous articles. He and his wife established the George Family Foundation in Minneapolis in 1992. Kenneth “Ken” G. Byers Jr., EE 66, MS EE 68, is the founder and chairman of Byers Engineering Company, a 1,000-employee firm Francis “Bo” S. Godbold, IE 65, is vice chairman and director that provides technical services and software products to the of Raymond James Financial Inc. Godbold joined the company utilities industry. Byers is also the chairman of in 1969, was elected to the Board in 1977, and served as preseQuorum, founded in 1996, which designs and ident from 1986 until March 2002. Godbold sells software products for wide-format docuis a member of the Campaign Georgia Tech ment management. He is an active supporter Steering Committee and served as chair of his of the Carter Center, where he served as chair50th Reunion Committee. Under his leaderman of the Board of Councilors in 2010 and was ship, the class of 1965 set an all-time record in named a life member in 2011. He was inducted into the Georgia class giving with a gift of $41 million to Tech. Technology Hall of Fame in 2010, and is a past chairman of the Godbold is an emeritus member of the Georgia Tech FoundaSciTrek Museum, a now-closed museum of science and technoltion Board of Trustees and the ISyE Advisory Board. He is also ogy in Atlanta. Byers is a member of the Campaign Georgia Tech a former member of the Alumni Association Board of Trustees. Steering Committee, served as chair of his 50th class reunion Godbold was named to the College of Engineering’s Academy of committee and serves as an emeritus member of the Georgia Tech Distinguished Engineering Alumni in 1997. Foundation Board. Byers is a past member of the Georgia Tech Advisory Board, the Alumni Association Board of Trustees, the AlAlbert “Bert” S. Thornton Jr., IM 68, is the vice chairman emerexander-Tharpe Board, the Engineering Advisory Board and the itus of Waffle House. Thornton was one of several Georgia Tech Electrical and Computer Engineering Advisory Board. 0 7 2
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alumni and friends recruited by Joe Rogers Jr., IM 68, to join the management team at the Norcross-based restaurant chain. He began his management initiation with the company in 1971, starting as a dishwasher and moving his way up to waiter, grill manager and eventually vice president of the company within six years. Thornton left a lasting mark on Waffle House when he created Bert’s Chili, a menu mainstay. During his 40 years at Waffle House, Thornton held several positions, including executive vice president of franchise operations and president-COO. Thornton is a member of the Georgia Tech Foundation Board of Trustees, and past chair of the Alumni Association Board of Trustees.
a division of C.R. Bard, as a research and design engineer. In 2011, Parvatiyar became a project engineer and design researcher on the concept development team for Bard Medical, working on design strategy, user research and product development for projects across their portfolio. While at Georgia Tech, Parvatiyar was a student ambassador and served as president of the Student Government Association. She is also a former member of the Georgia Tech Alumni Association Board of Trustees. Parvatiyar was named to Georgia Tech’s Council of Outstanding Young Engineers in 2011, and in 2015, she was named the Georgia Bio Emerging Leader of the Year.
the dean griffin community service award recognizes
georgia tech.
the honorary alumnus award honors any non–alumnus who has devoted him- or herself to the greater good of
alumni who have performed exemplary community service in the following ways: service in a long-term volunteer capacity, impact on the quality of life of others, leadership and creativity in dealing with societal problems, and ability to serve as a source of inspiration for others.
Michael Anderson, IE 79, is senior vice president of charitable giving at Georgia Power Company and president-CEO of the Georgia Power Foundation Inc. and Southern Company Corporate Foundation. Anderson previously served as vice president of corporate services at the energy company. He also served as presidentCEO of Georgia Power Childcare LLC. During his long tenure at Georgia Power, Anderson has held numerous leadership positions. Before joining Georgia Power, Anderson worked for Texas Instruments, where he was responsible for quality control component testing of nuclear warhead guidance systems. As a student at Tech, Anderson lettered in track and field and set three school records. Anderson is a member of the Georgia Tech Advisory Board, the Alexander-Tharpe Board, the Georgia Tech Athletic Association Board of Trustees and the Georgia Tech Black Alumni Organization Affinity Group. He is also an ex-officio member of the Georgia Tech Foundation Board of Trustees and an emeritus member of the ISyE Advisory Board. Anderson received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the College of Engineering in 2006 and the Athletic Association’s Total Person Alumnus Award in 2010. the outstanding young alumnus award honors alum-
ni younger than 40 who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and service to georgia tech, the alumni association, the general welfare of their community and their profession.
Anu Parvatiyar, BME 08, is a program manager at eHealth Systems Africa, where she splits her time between San Francisco and various African countries. eHealth Systems Africa is a not-for-profit organization focused on improving healthcare by creating effective ways to implement reliable health information management systems. Previously, Parvatiyar served as a research and design engineer at TransCardiac Therapeutics. In 2009, she joined Bard Medical,
Bobby Cremins is a legendary coach who brought Georgia Tech’s basketball program to national prominence. Before retiring in 2000, Cremins guided Georgia Tech’s men’s basketball team to 14 winning seasons in his 19 years as head coach. During his tenure, the Yellow Jackets won three ACC tournament titles and made an appearance in the Final Four. When he accepted the job of head coach in 1981, Tech’s struggling basketball team had just completed a 4-23 season. Few believed the program could be competitive in the Atlantic Coast Conference. But in just a few years, Cremins led Georgia Tech to become a nationally recognized collegiate program. Tech's 1989-90 team solidified Cremins' reputation as one of America's best coaches as the Jackets compiled a 28-7 record, the most wins in school history, on the way to their first NCAA Final Four. For his efforts that season, Cremins was named as the national Coach of the Year by the Naismith Awards program. He was also named the ACC Coach of the Year three times during his career. He remains an ardent supporter and ambassador of the Georgia Tech Athletic Association, and periodically attends games and events on campus. Penny Stamps is a longtime supporter of Georgia Tech, along with her husband E. Roe Stamps IV, IE 67 MS IE 72. Penny is a graduate of the University of Michigan where she earned a bachelor’s degree from the School of Art and Design and a teaching certificate in elementary education. She previously served as the principal designer of Penny W. Stamps Interiors. Now retired, Stamps is committed to advancing the arts and art-and-design education. She established a lecture series at the University of Michigan featuring thought leaders in disciplines ranging from architecture, engineering, music, fashion design and environmentalism. In 2012, Roe and Penny Stamps donated $32.5 million to Michigan’s School of Art & Design to name the school. The Stamps’ generosity can be felt on Georgia Tech’s campus through the Penny and Roe Stamps Student Center Commons and the Stamps Scholarship program. The Stamps Foundation in 2000 provided the initial grant to start the Stamps Presidents Scholarship Program at Georgia Tech. She currently is a member of Georgia Tech’s Campaign Steering Committee. GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 91 NO.4 2015
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travel
The Alumni Travel Program takes Tech alumni to exciting locales around the globe.
7 Reasons Why You Should Try a River Cruise Roger Slavens
A luxury tour down the Danube or other waterways might just float your boat. Every day you wake up somewhere new—many times even in a completely
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different country. You don’t have to pack and unpack your bags. You don’t have to get accustomed to a different bed. You don’t have to brave traffic and motion sickness and insanely narrow roads. You don’t even usually have to go through customs. That’s because you’re cruising on a five-star “hotel” on water—a luxury river boat—across a broad swath of Europe. This fall, I had the opportunity to host a dozen Tech alumni on a Danube river cruise from Germany to Bulgaria—with bookend city stays in Prague and Sofia. And I have to say river cruising more than lives up to its hype, especially when you travel with a top tour company like AHI Travel and a cruise line like Austrian-owned Lüftner Cruises with its new, state-of-the-art Amadeus fleet. Now I’ve been fortunate to travel abroad quite a bit, and in many different ways: with family and on my own, with guided tours and for business (mostly press junkets). Here are 7 reasons why river cruising stands out against the rest. 1. The cruise itself. When I got home from my trip, everyone asked me what my favorite part was. And it wasn’t any specific port or destination, but rather the experience of traveling on the Amadeus Silver. Unlike an ocean cruise, there was no pitching and swaying in the water—and no motion sickness. I slept well, and loved to spend swaths of time on deck or in the passenger lounge just watching the beautiful scenery go by, especially when we traveled through the lush Wachau Valley and past the craggy Iron Gates.
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lock we encountered was at nighttime just after dinner, and I can say it was a thrilling, surreal experience to see the boat “sink” nearly 80 feet so it could continue on its way to our next port.
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4. The destinations. These cruises do
take you to some of Europe and Asia’s most well-known cities—including Vienna and Budapest—but the river also winds through some more exotic lands, showing you parts of the world you may not see any other way. For me, Belgrade, Serbia, proved to be a fascinating stop where we could see not only the hundreds of years of culture on display, but also its recent turbulent past as its people emerged from the yoke of Communist rule to be led headlong into civil war.
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5. The excursions. When you have only
a day—sometimes even less—at a port of call, it’s important that you make the most of it. AHI made sure we saw the top historical and cultural highlights of our destinations, led by excellent local guides who also made personalized recommendations on how we could spend our ample free time exploring.
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2. The service. You get mostly the same cruise staff serving you throughout the trip, and as such, Lüftner made sure they hired people who worked hard to build personal relationships with their guests. Everybody in the GT group loved to be waited on by
Vlad in the dining room, even if the Romanian was more comedian than vampire. 3. The river locks. You don’t have to be an
engineer to be fascinated by the way the ship navigates down the Danube. The first
Want to cruise or travel with fellow Ramblin’ Wrecks? Find out about the dozens of alumni tours being offered at gtalumni.org/travel, or call Martin Ludwig, director of Alumni Travel, at (404) 894-0758.
6. The company you keep. Book a trip with a cruise line directly, and you’ll be traveling with strangers. But go on an alumni tour, and not only do you have an immediate connection with a group, but you have a shared mission to make sure your alma mater is having the best time among all those universities represented. It quickly became known on our ship that Tech alumni were by far the most fun and spirited—we even cajoled a Florida State alumnus to wear a GT pin on his Seminoles hat. In fact, he got so into the Ramblin’ Wreck way of things that he spent more time staging travel photos with a cardboard Buzz than any Yellow Jacket did. 7. The food. Most everyone on the trip tried the local cuisine while out on daily excursions—personally I was always on the hunt for signature desserts like Vienna's Sacher Torte—but it was always nice to wake up to a quality breakfast buffet and then wind down after a day of adventurous undertakings with a dinner that was both familiar and fantastic. GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 91 NO.4 2015
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Find an Alumni Network or Group at gtalumni.org/networksandgroups.
KUDOS! Over Homecoming weekend, the Alumni Association brought together leaders of its 100 alumni networks and affinity groups from throughout the country for our annual Leadership Georgia Tech conference. The event provides inspiration and practical strategies for these leaders to engage alumni in an ever-competitive environment for their service time. During the conference, the Association honored several groups and individuals for their achievements and Roll Call participation. Congrats to all! ramblin’ wreck award for outstanding alumnus network leader
Jim Billhimer, ME 85, Columbus, Ga. Network Billhimer has been an important member of the Columbus network for many years, serving in key leadership positions. This past year Jim shined in the role of president-elect, serving as team lead for two network dinners, organizing a successful wine-tasting fundraiser and leading the effort to secure a new game-watching site to accommodate his group of Yellow Jackets—no small task in a town where Georgia, Auburn, and Alabama fans dominate. He did all of this while undergoing successful radiation and chemotherapy treatment, which never diminished his commitment to Tech. friends of georgia tech award
Linda and Lynn Palmer, proud parents of a Yellow Jacket alumnus, Northeast Tennessee Network/Tri Cities Network The Palmers not only endow a local scholarship to Tech, but also open their home for student meet and greets, 0 7 6
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offer their football season tickets to network members and current parents, and continue to promote and participate in alumni events even after their son graduated. tech’s top regional alumni network winners
3. Hampton Roads/ Norfolk Network
roll call challenge
Ramblin Wreck League (less than 500 alumni) 1. San Antonio Network 2. NE Tennessee/Tri Cities Network 3. NE Ohio/Cleveland Network
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winners
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Central Florida/ Orlando Network Columbus, Ga. Network North Metro Network Tallahassee/ Thomasville Network
In-State Georgia White & Gold (2,500+ alumni) 1. North Metro Network 2. Atlanta Intown Network 3. West Lanier/ Alpharetta Network
Statement of Ownership, Management and Circulation (Required by 39 USC 3685) Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine, Publication No. 014-073 Frequency: Quarterly. No. of issues published annually: Four. Annual subscription price: None. Publisher: Joseph P. Irwin Editor: Roger Slavens Owner: Georgia Tech Alumni Association, 190 North Ave. N.W., Atlanta, GA 30313 Known bondholders, mortgagees and other security holders owning or holding 1 percent or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages or other securities: None Tax Status/The purpose, No. of Average function and nonprofit status of this organization and the exempt status copies of No. of for federal income tax purposes: Has not changed during the preceding 12 single issue copies each months. published issue during nearest to preceding filing date 12 months Extent and nature of circulation a. Total No. Copies
Ramblin’ Wreck League (less than 2,500 alumni) 1. Columbus Network 2. Savannah Network 3. Gainesville Network Out-of-State White & Gold League (1,000+ alumni) 1. Chicago Network (above) 2. Central Florida/ Orlando Network 3. Suncoast/Tampa Network Ramblin’ Wreck League (500–999 alumni) 1. San Diego Network 2. Tallahassee/ Thomasville Network
78,362
124,205
b. Paid Circulation (1) Mailed Outside-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on 77,432 PS Form 354 (2) Mailed In-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 3541 None (3) Paid Distribution Outside the Mails Including Sales Through Dealers and None Cariers, Street Vendors, Counter Sales & Other Paid Distribution Outside USPS (4) Paid Distribution by Other Classes of Mail Through the USPS None
123,296
c. Total Paid Distribution
77,432
d. Free or Nominal Rate Distribution (1) Free or Nominal Rate Outside-County None Copies Included on PS Form 3541 (2) Free or Nominal Rate In-County Copies Included on PS Form 3541 None
None None
None 123,296 None
None
(3) Free or Nominal Rate Copies Mailed at Other Classes Through the USPS None
None
(4) Free or Nominal Rate Distribution Outside the Mail
430
509
e. Total Free or Nominal Rate Distribution
430
509
f. Total Distribution
77,862
123,705
g. Copies not Distributed
500
500
h. Total
78,362
124,205
i. Percent Paid
99.3%
99.6%
This statement of ownership has been printed in the Vol. 91, No. 4 issue of this publication. I certify that the statements made by me above are correct and complete.
Joseph P. Irwin, IM 80 President & CEO, Georgia Tech Alumni Association
ANNUAL REPORT 2015 (FISCAL YEAR) Buzzing with record participation in events, programs, giving and more, your Alumni Association completed one of its finest years on record. Find out how together we made a major impact on the Institute’s academic mission while building strong bonds among past and future generations of Yellow Jackets.
Alumni By The Numbers (as of June 30, 2015)
145,696
Tech Alumni in 50 States and 132 Countries
100 active Alumni Networks and Affinity Groups across the U.S. with representatives in 35 countries
34,946
Total donors for a 17% Philanthropic Participation Rate. 8% is the national average. Tech historically ranks as No. 1 or No. 2 in philanthropic participation annually among public research universities in the United States. An All-Time Record of $9.4M given back to Tech for the Alumni Association’s 68th Roll Call.
21,580
Alumni, parents and students participated in 774 network events in FY2015, including new student sendoffs, game-watching parties, scholarship drives and more. GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 91 NO.4 2015
FY 2015 ANNUAL REPORT
LETTER FROM THE CHAIR Hello fellow alumni! The Georgia Tech Alumni Association had a remarkable year in fiscal 2015. I say that from the perspective of one who had a front-row seat to the action all year long. The first line of our mission statement says “to serve and promote Georgia Tech and our alumni” and that’s the litmus test for what your Association does each day. And this may have been our best year ever in accomplishing that mission. You see in many ways, the reputation of Georgia Tech is carried on the shoulders of its alumni. It stands to reason then, that when more alumni support Tech through service, philanthropy, advocacy, mentoring students, hiring our alumni, spreading the good word, recruiting the best students, etc., that the reputation of the Institute will rise. And Georgia Tech’s reputation is indeed rising. Business Insider just ranked Tech as the “smartest public college in the country” for the second year in a row, not to mention the highest ROI of any institution. Tech now confers more engineering degrees than any U.S. university and we’re also tops in graduating female and African-American engineers. More than 145,000 Georgia Tech alumni live all around the world. This was a year of amazing engagement of our alumni and our students. With the launch of our new web site, more than 20,000 of you logged in so we
PROGRAM FUNDRAISING
can learn better ways to deliver the programming and communications that you want from Tech. If you haven’t logged in yet, please do so! Active engagement, which we define as events and electronic interactions with us, skyrocketed to an all-time high of 1,840,697 ac tiv itie s me a sure d. Meanwhile, our supportive engagement, which includes the Alumni Magazine, electronic and social media messaging, also hit a record 16,470,039. Our student programs—the Student Alumni Association (SAA), GT Student Foundation (GTSF) and the Ambassadors—had stellar years as well. SAA finished up the year with more than 5,200 members (and Roll Call donors) and the GTSF with more than 6,100 student donors. Both groups were recognized by the higher education organization CASE ASAP for their terrific programming. In
fact, SAA was chosen as the No. 1 student organization in the country! In addition, we had nearly 1,200 alumni mentors paired with Tech students to help enrich their college experiences. We’re in the business of teaching students how and why they should be loyal alumni while they’re still on campus and it’s working. Our 68th edition of Roll Call turned in a remarkable performance thanks to your generosity. Nearly 35,000 donors joined us and raised $9.4 million to support the academic mission of Tech. And that also helped Georgia Tech and the Foundation meet the campaign goal of $1.5 billion. Whether it’s the Gold & White Honors Gala, Homecoming, the President’s Dinner, Alumni Networks, Affinity Groups or any of the other programs and activities that we execute on behalf of Georgia Tech, your involvement is crucial to our success. We thank you most of all for caring about Georgia Tech and for helping the Association, help the Institute “define the technological research university of the 21st Century.” Yours in White and Gold, BOB STARGEL, EE 83 FISCAL YEAR 2015 CHAIR GEORGIA TECH ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
2015
2014 CHANGE
Roll Call Donors
34,946
33,072
5.7% increase
Roll Call Dollars
$9,401,440
$9,067,798
3.7% increase
ENGAGEMENT
Active Engagement Supportive Engagement 0 7 8
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2015
2014 CHANGE
1,840,697
809,460
127.3% increase
16,470,039
11,644,222
41.4% increase
ASSOCIATION FINANCES REVENUES GT Foundation Georgia Tech Advertising & Sponsorships Career Services Tours Merchandise Sales (Net of Cost of Sales) Royalties Event Registrations Other Sources of Revenue Gold & White Honors Gala/Contributions Total Assets
EXPENDITURES
FISCAL YEAR 2015
BUDGET ACTUAL VARIANCE $4,544,000 629,324 434,000 255,000 115,000 15,000 10,000 118,739 202,852 400,000
$4,544,000 629,324 454,702 266,374 128,500 22,071 8,114 295,288 157,438 441,021
$0 0 20,702 11,374 13,500 7,071 (1,886) 176,549 (45,414) 41,021
$6,723,915
$6,946,832
$222,917
BUDGET ACTUAL VARIANCE
Administration Career Services Communications Alumni Relations & Tours Roll Call & Business Development Campus Relations Event Management Marketing Services
$2,420,762 282,050 671,646 528,900 867,300 463,876 1,059,081 430,300
$2,688,750 287,005 646,589 416,649 802,598 395,932 1,295,719 379,044
$267,988 4,955 (25,057) (112,251) (64,702) (67,944) 236,638 (51,256)
Total Expenditures
$6,723,915
$6,912,286
$188,371
$0
$34,546
$34,546
Excess (Deficiency) of revenue over expenses
ASSETS 2015 2014 Cash and Cash Equivalents Accounts Receivable less Allowance for Doubtful Accounts of $3,000 in 2015 and $3,000 in 2014 Prepaid Expenses Inventory Property, Plant and Equipment, net Antique Ramblin' Wreck Total Assets
$52,966 132,715 26,575 2,651 214,039 12,500
$221,765
65,795 14,034 3,864 131,879 12,500
$441,446
$449,837
LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS 2015 2014 LIABILITIES Accounts Payable Accrued Expenses
167,680 381,249
127,353 396,789
$548,929
$524,142
UNRESTRICTED NET ASSETS Expended for Property, Plant & Equipment Available for Operations
226,539 (334,022)
144,379 (218,684)
Total Liabilities
Total Unrestricted Net Assets
$(107,483)
$(74,305)
Total Liabilities and Net Assets
$441,446
$449,837 GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 91 NO.4 2015
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ANNUAL REPORT 2015 (FISCAL YEAR)
ALL-TIME HIGHS IN ENGAGEMENT AND IMPACT Network and Affinity Scholarships Approximately $380,000 was raised for alumni scholarships by 65 Alumni Networks and Affinity Groups and given to more than 150 students (from 2,400 applicants worldwide). The average scholarship amount was $2,333.
Georgia Tech Student Foundation $100,000 (1986) -> $1.225 million (2015) GTSF endowment growth, with $600,000 given back to student initiatives Chad Sims, BA 15, was named CASE ASAP’s National Student Leader of the Year
Connecting Through Communications 20K alumni registered at gtalumni.org 4 issues of the Alumni Magazine sent to 386,720 alumni Nearly 94K social media followers & more than 6M interactions GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 91 NO.4 2015
Campus Relations All-time record of 5,282 SAA members / donors That's an increase of 25.6% over FY 2015. SAA remains the largest student organization at Tech.
#1
SAA was named the No. 1 Student Organization in the nation by CASE ASAP.
Mentor Jackets
SAA raised an all-time record of more than $36,000 for the Annual Gift to Tech, which went to the Georgia Tech Counseling Center to improve student mental health services on campus. A matching gift of $10,000 was made by alumni Ken Townsend, ME 64, and his son, Tyler, IE 98.
2015 Gold & White Honors Gala
1,122 Mentors paired with 1,361 current Yellow Jackets (904 undergraduates and 457 graduate students) to help them navigate Tech and their burgeoning careers. 66 academic majors from all six colleges were represented.
Career Services 957 career advising sessions 36 programs and webinars More than 111 employers and 800 attendees at 32nd Annual Alumni Career Fair
10 extraordinary alumni and friends were honored.
$440K was raised for award-winning student programs.
Alumni Travel In FY15, 34 tours were hosted for 455 alumni and guest travelers. 55% were repeat travelers with Tech. Top 5 tours with the most Tech travelers: 1. Thanksgiving in New York City 2. Tahitian Jewels Oceania Cruise 3. Holland and Belgium River Cruise 4. Baltic Treasures Oceania Cruise 5. Historic Reflections Oceania Cruise
MORE THAN
30,000
PROUD RAMBLIN’ WRECKS DEMONSTRATED THEIR BELIEF IN
Georgia Tech BY PUTTING THEIR NAMES ON THIS LIST.
Did you? CHECK THE LIST OF DONORS HERE:
gtalumni.org/donors
69
69th
Make your gift to the 69th Roll Call: gtalumni.org/giving ROLL CALL, GEORGIA TECH ALUMNI ASSOCIATION 190 North Avenue | Atlanta, Georgia 30313-9806 o r c a l l ( 8 0 0 ) GT-ALUMS GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 91 NO.4 2015
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1970s A. Peter Hilger, Arch 78, faculty codirector and instructor for the University of Minnesota College of Continuing Education, has been named one of eight recipients of the 2015 Morse-Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award, the University’s most prestigious award for excellence in undergraduate teaching. B.C. Killough, IE 74, has been named
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Have a new job or other news to share? Email details to ramblinroll@gtalumni.org.
to the annual “The Best Lawyers in America” list for the fifth year. Killough is a patent attorney at Barnwell, Whaley, Patterson & Helms LLC. Zoubir Ouhib, MS NE 78, has been inducted as a Fellow in the American College of Radiology, one of the highest honors the ACR can bestow. Ouhib is the chief medical physicist at Lynn Cancer Institute of Boca Raton Regional Hospital, as well as an adjunct research and associate professor at Florida Atlantic University.
Former professor honored by city of Atlanta Dorothy Cowser Yancy was honored by the Atlanta City Council for her leadership and excellence in higher education. Yancy has been breaking new ground for African-Americans in academia since 1972. Yancy was the first African-American to receive tenure as a full professor at Georgia Tech. Yancy was a member of Tech’s faculty from 1972-94, serving as a history professor and associate director of the School of Social Sciences. During her career, she was named the outstanding teacher of the year and the undergraduate faculty member of the year by the Student Government Association. She was also named an honorary member of ANAK. In 2011, she was bestowed the title of honorary alumna at the Gold & White Honors Gala. After leaving the Institute, Yancy became the first female president of Johnson C. Smith University and 0 8 2
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Shaw University. As president of Johnson C. Smith University from 1994 to 2008, Yancy raised more than $145 million for the university. During her tenure, the university endowment more than tripled from $14 million to $53 million. In 1996, the university was awarded the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant, becoming the only Historically Black College and University to receive the genius grant. When she took the helm at Shaw University in 2009, she stabilized the financial state of the university, which was listed in the toxic asset group of BankAmerica. She restructured and refinanced the university’s debt and balanced the budget. Yancy serves as a member of the National Association of HBCU Title lll Administrators Inc., President’s Advisory Board, the Board of Trustees of Morehouse College, the board of NAFEO and the board of the United Negro College Fund, and is an adviser to several college presidents.
1980s Roberto Arrocha, EE 83, is the CIO for DAVACO Inc. in Dallas. He is also the CIO for ClearThread Technologies. Arrocha and his family live in Colleyville, Texas. Dan Carey, AP 85, joined the firm Semantic Arts in Fort Collins, Colo., as an ontologist implementing semantic technology solutions for commercial and government clients. Peter Chassman, EE 89, has been named a partner at Reed Smith LLP in the IP, Information & Innovation Group. Tom Foltz, EE 84, was hired by Constellis as vice president of strategic, business and acquisition planning. Constellis is headquartered in Reston, Va., and is a global provider of security, training and mission support services. David Foster, MgtSci 82, MS OR 84, has been promoted to vice president of operations for INFORM Software Corp. Amir Ghannad, ME 82, MS ME 85, published his first book, “The Transformative Leader.” Ghannad is president of The Ghannad Group. Fred Robinson, ME 86, was accepted into an executive-style three-year cohort program to get a doctorate in information systems & communications at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, Pa. Robinson is currently a principal information systems engineer at MITRE Corporation.
Out & About
JIM BORDERS AWARDED FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO ATLANTA Jim Borders, ME 83, is the 2015 recipient of the Frank Carter Community Achievement Award from the Urban Land Institute Atlanta. Borders is the president and CEO of Novare Group, a real estate development firm. The Frank Carter Community Achievement Award is given annually to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the metro Atlanta area. Borders was recognized for his contribution of thousands of multifamily residences in urban cores across the country, including Atlanta’s Midtown, which has grown into a vibrant and walkable neighborhood. Borders has been called a pioneer of Midtown’s residential renaissance. Over the years, Borders has created opportunities for people to live and work in the city through successful projects such as the Biltmore Hotel. The building had fallen on hard times when Borders purchased it and renovated it into apartments and event spaces. Another of Borders’ major projects in Midtown is the luxury condominium building Metropolis. In addition to Borders’ Frank Carter Community Achievement Award, Novare Group has also received several other awards from the Urban Land Institute, including two ULI Project of the Year Awards and three Projects of Excellence.
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1. John Lyons, IM 69, Steven Kosmala, IM 77, Joni Adams Roberts, CHE 85 and husband David L. Roberts, Bio 82, enjoy the sights of the Ring of Kerry, Ireland, while on a church tour celebrating their pastor’s 25th anniversary to the priesthood. They're thinking about coming back next year for the 2016 football season-opening game when the Yellow Jackets play Boston College in Dublin. 2. C. David Trivino, Mgt 95, MS Mgt 97, poses with musician Tito Puente Jr. backstage after a fall concert at the Ferst Center. 3. Justin Rowland, BME 12, displays his Yellow Jacket pride on top of Montagne Sainte-Victoire near Aix-en-Provence in France. Rowland is currently a Tech graduate student spending the fall semester in Aix. 4. The Georgia Tech men’s gymnastics team held its first annual reunion in Lawrenceville this fall celebrating the 17-year reign of coach Bill Beavers, who retired in 2000 and was the 1975 Southern Conference coach of the year. Thanks to the assistance of the Alumni Association, the organizers were able to contact the vast majority of their former teammates with more than 30 gymnasts returning along with their spouses. Of those that were able to attend, six were members of the Georgia Tech Athletic Hall of Fame and three were NCAA finalists. 5. Tech alumni Katie Butterfield, ME 03, Becky Crum, Mgt 08, Dan Ketterer, Bio 03, Sarah Hibbs, Bio 03, EnvE 10, and Chris Rankine, CmpE 05, MS IS 08, participated in the 2015 Red Bull Soap Box race held on North Avenue in Atlanta on Homecoming day. The team built a scaled-down version of the Ramblin’ Wreck, with the frame built mostly of a broken go-kart and used bed frames, the fenders and running board made of plastic, and the body composed of thin plywood and a layer of bondo. It was then painted, the seats upholstered and the removable convertible top covered in canvas. The soap box creation also sported a wren hood ornament, working lights, “ooowuga” horn, Tech pennants, disc brakes and a spare wheel.
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WEDDINGS
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1. Jessica Coomer, AE 11, and Aaron Coomer on Aug. 5 in Riveria Maya, Mexico. Jessica is a design engineer for GE Aviation. They live in Hamilton, Ohio. 2. Suzanne Fulcher Fowler, Mgt 03, and Chad McKinley Oldweiler on Aug. 27 in Atlanta. Suzanne is the sales manager for Graphisoft North America. 3. Cara Frost, CE 14, and Parker Frost,
Marcus H. Sachs, CE 81, joined the North American Electric Reliability Corporation as senior vice president and chief security officer. He will be responsible for oversight of electricity sector information sharing and analysis center operations, directing security risk assessment and mitigation initiatives to protect critical electricity infrastructure across North America. William Shaheen, CE 86, was named to the Piedmont Healthcare 0 8 4
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MSE 14, on Sept. 12 in Roswell, Ga. Cara works as a preconstruction engineer for Juneau Construction, and Parker works for Meggitt Polymers and Composites. They live in Smyrna, Ga. 4. Bryan Lee Maxwell Jr., ChBE 13, and Diana Ivelisse Figueroa on Oct. 18, 2014. Bryan is a production and quality engineer at Solvay Specialty Polymers. They live in Evans, Ga.
5. Hunter Mitchell, IE 14, and Helen Sanderson on June 13 in Acworth, Ga. Hunter works as a procurement analyst at the Coca-Cola Co. They live in Atlanta. 6. Patty Reilman, ME 12, and Matthew Beaver, Mgt 11, on June 20. Patty is a sales engineer at Schneider Electric, and Matthew is an IT consultant at Teradata. They live in Greenville, S.C.
Foundation’s Board of Directors. Shaheen was previously the president and board chairman of the Atlanta Humane Society, where he increased capacity at the shelters and increased annual adoptions in the metro area. He is a member of the Atlanta chapter of Young Presidents’ Organization and has held board memberships with the Georgia Center for Nonprofits, Holy Innocents Episcopal School and the Georgia Special Olympics. Shaheen is the president of Shaheen
& Co., a family-owned industrial real estate company.
1990s Mark Anthony, Psy 90, recently received The Minuteman Award from the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution at its annual Congress in Louisville, Ky. The
Minuteman Award was established to recognize members who have made distinguished and exceptional contributions of service to the NSSAR, and is the most prestigious award that can be received. Jacquelyn Sovey Brennan, IE 92, is now teaching physics at North Cobb High School. Brennan received a scholarship to complete her master’s in teaching from Kennesaw State through the I-IMPACT program in partnership with Georgia Tech. Betty Jean Jordan, CE 93, MS CE 94, completed the Race Across America, in June as part of the four-person, allwomen Sorella RAAM Cycling Team. The team raced 3,004 miles from California to Maryland in seven days, seven hours and 21 minutes, placing second in their category. Gregory McRae, TE 93, was advanced to the rank of Navy Captain. He serves as deputy commander of Submarine Squadron SIX in Norfolk, Va. Charles Rymer, Mgt 91, received his PGA membership card at the PGA Championship. Rymer is an analyst for the Golf Channel. Peter J. Stewart, CE 97, has been named president of Americas of Cyvis, a global technology company. Stewart was previously senior vice president of strategic alliances at PGi, where he was the lead inventor of the collaboration software product iMeet. He recently moved to Alpharetta, Ga., with his wife, Jessica (Fogel) Stewart, Bio 98, and their two children. Jim Vaughn, MS OR 91, released a new book, “Stop Racing in a Blindfold! Big Data + Pricing Science Drive Bigger Profits.” Min Zou, MS ME 96, PhD ME 99, was named director of a $20 million grant from the National Science Foundation, which will fund the Center for Advanced Surface Engineering. Zou holds the endowed Twenty-First
Century Professorship in mechanical engineering at the University of Arkansas.
2000s Shane Bailey, IE 02, is now the quality assurance manager for The Home Depot Private Brand Product Development. Walker Inman, ME 04, was named to the Piedmont Healthcare Foundation’s Board of Directors. Inman is the co-founder of Ceryx Biosystems Inc. and commercialized the LiverChip technology for modeling liver disease. He is the president and founder of Lucid Scientific Inc., where he has successfully launched two sensor products. Uksun Kim, PhD CE 03, was promoted to professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at California State University at Fullerton. Kim joined CSUF in 2005 as an
assistant professor. Kim has been the department chair since 2012. Krista Pallay, MS ChE 06, has joined Hydrotex as a sales support engineer. Frank “Charlie” Pollard, IE 02, has been named a partner at McManamy McLeod Heller LLC, an Atlanta professional title and closing firm. Catherine “Katie” Sinotte, STC 03, was recently named as executive director of the Nuclear Medicine Technology Certification Board Inc.
2010s Jeremy Briggs, EE 11, was hired as a patent agent at Cantor Colburn LLP, one of the largest intellectual property law firms in the country. Lindsay Resnick, HTS 13, is now the Savannah Jewish Archives project archivist at the William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum in Atlanta.
Margaret Venable named president of Dalton State Margaret Venable, MS Chem 90, has been named president of Dalton State College by the University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents. Venable had served the college as interim president since January. Venable was serving as provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at Gordon State College when she was asked to assume interim-presidential responsibilities at Dalton State upon the retirement of former president John Schwenn. Venable’s experience within the University System of Georgia also includes the University of North Georgia’s Oconee Campus, where she served as vice president and chief executive officer. Prior to that, Venable held a range of roles at Georgia Perimeter College, including: assistant vice president of early colleges and academic initiatives, interim dean of sciences and physical education, interim dean of academic services, and department chair of science and physical education. In 2008, Venable was selected as an American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow hosted by Southern Polytechnic State University. Venable received a Bachelor of Arts in chemistry from Agnes Scott College, a Master of Science degree in inorganic chemistry from Georgia Institute of Technology and a Doctorate of Science Education degree from Georgia State University. GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 91 NO.4 2015
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Jan Lorenc honored for Delta Flight Museum design Jan Lorenc, MS Arch 94, principal of Lorenc+Yoo Design, received the Graphis Design 2016 Gold Award for work on the Delta Flight Museum. Lorenc+Yoo Design was recognized for its exhibit master plan and concept design for the Delta Flight Museum, located in Atlanta. In collaboration with Stevens & Wilkinson, Lorenc+Yoo Design completed the master plan and conceptual design for the Delta Flight Museum, which opened in 2014 at Delta’s headquarters adjacent to Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Gary Lee Super & Associates was the exhibit designer. Situated inside two vintage airplane hangars, the
exhibit chronicles Delta’s history from its beginning as an aerial crop dusting operation to an international commercial carrier. The space is populated with historic Delta aircraft, including the Delta Crop Duster, Delta’s DC-3 Ship 41 and the Spirit of Delta, a full-sized Boeing 767-200 purchased by Delta employees in 1982. The exhibit takes visitors from the Prop Era to the Jet Age with interactive exhibits and electronic media. Lorenc+Yoo Design also received the Graphis Design Annual 2014 Platinum Award for Opalus, and Graphis Design Annual 2015 Gold Award for Hyatt Regency New Orleans.
Yellow Jackets on the Move Another benefit from the Georgia Tech Alumni Association Preferential YELLOW JACKET treatment * * * * * * *
Minimum of a 55% discount on all interstate relocations. Free Full-Value Coverage up to $50,000. 15% discount on all Georgia and Florida intrastate moves. Guaranteed on time pick-up and delivery. Personalized attention from start to finish. Top rated drivers will be assigned to all Yellow Jacket shipments. Sanitized air-ride vans.
Contact Tom Larkins (The Ramblin’ Relocator) for details on this program
1-800-899-2527 or e-mail him at tom.larkins@atlanticrelocation.com
Atlantic Relocation Systems/ Interstate Agent for
ATLAS VAN LINES 1909 Forge Street Tucker, GA 30084
* A portion of the proceeds collected from the transportation costs will be paid to the Georgia Tech Alumni Association
Georgia Tech Engineered Biosystems Building (EBB). Designed in collaboration with Lake|Flato Architects.
Like art, architecture should lift the spirit while beautifying its surroundings; it’s all about connecting people to place. At Cooper Carry, it permeates everything we do. Connecive Architecture is our philosophy – and our process – for connecting ideas and people to the places where they work, learn, live and relax.
ATLANTA
NEW YORK
WASHINGTON
coopercarry.com
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BIRTHS
Welcomed a future Yellow Jacket into your family? Send a photo and note to ramblinroll@gtalumni.org.
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1. Shane Bailey, IE 02, welcomed son Easton Grant Bailey on Aug. 2. Easton’s middle name is inspired by Grant Field. Jason Brownlie, IE 98, and wife Jennifer welcomed son Connor Grant Brownlie on June 23. Connor joins big sister Alexa, 5, and big brother Jack, 3. 2. Michael Cole, CE 12, and wife Jennifer welcomed son Gavin Michael on July 1. The family lives in Dallas, Ga.
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3. Blake DeBartola, Cls 19, and wife Faith welcomed daughter Lane Taylor DeBartola on May 17. Blake is a graduate assistant for the Tech football team and is pursuing a master’s degree in building construction. 4. Tina Herington, ME 96, and husband Marshall Herington, CE 94, MS CE 95, welcomed son Andrew Paul Herington on Jan. 23. The family lives in Duluth, Ga. Sherry Goldstein Hodor, Mgt 93, and husband Andrew Hodor
welcomed daughter Abigail Claire Hodor on June 16. Abby joins siblings Alex and Cara. 5. Andrew Farid Kokabi, Bio 00, and wife Stephanie welcomed son William Robert on July 19. He joins big brother Benjamin, 4. The family lives in Brookhaven, Ga., where Andrew is a dentist. 6. Sean Kokko, Arch 94, MBA 07, and wife Cory welcomed son Anders Pentti Kokko on Aug. 6. The family lives in Kansas City, Mo.
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7. Greg Mitchell, Bio 05, and wife Katherine welcomed son Thomas Wallis Mitchell on Oct. 30, 2014. Thomas joins big sister Helen. Greg is a resident in urology at Tulane. 8. Barry Moore Jr., Arch 12, and wife Jennifer welcomed daughter Alexis Grace on June 30. The family lives in Savannah, Ga. 9. Carolyn Ragsdale, Chem 05, and Adam Ragsdale, HTS 04, welcomed daughter Kylie on Sept. 19. Kylie joins big brother Carter.
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10. Bert Reeves, Mgt 00, and wife Amy welcomed son Albert Thomas Reeves III on July 16. Albert joins older brother Charlie. Bert is an attorney and was elected in 2014 as a state representative for District 34 in the Georgia General Assembly. The family lives in Marietta, Ga. 11. Dan Souther, CE 07, and wife Torrie welcomed son Asa Jefferson Souther on April 27. Dan is the owner of Round Here Renovations. Asa attended his
first Tech football game in September against Tulane. 12. Courtney Swafford, IE 07, and husband Joey welcomed son Andrew Joseph on March 26. The family lives in Atlanta with their dog, Bailey. 13. Randall Williford, CE 13, and wife Andrea welcomed son Jerry Orion Story Williford on June 16. Randall is an application engineer at Advantage Industrial Automation in Duluth, Ga.
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memoriam 1940s Edward Bruce Armstrong, ME 48, of Athens, Ga., on Sept. 11. Teacher. Engineer, Athens Regional Medical Center. Son-in-law: Russell Beard, ME 86. Victor Benatar, ChE 45, of Atlanta, on July 1. Alpha Epsilon Pi. Georgia Tech cheerleader. Navy. Chief engineer, Palm Chemical. Project manager, Lockheed Aircraft. Owner, Advance Engineering. Brother: Leo Benatar, IE 51. James Wilford Butler, ChE 45, of Dublin, Ga., on Sept. 17. Physics professor, Michigan State University. Naval Research Laboratory. Naval Reserves (Lt. Cmdr.). Clarence Edward “Ed” Carter, IM 48, of Hilton Head Island, S.C., on Aug. 24. Executive vice president of worldwide manufacturing, International Harvester. Georgia Tech track and field. Georgia Tech basketball. Ernest Holden Cox, ChE 44, of Marco Island, Fla., on June 2. Navy. WWII. Tenneco Inc. Rutherford Lipscomb Ellis Jr., EE 49, of Atlanta, on Aug. 8. Army. Chi Phi. Robert I. “Bobby” Gibbs Jr., ChE 41, of Decatur, Ga., on Sept. 20. Naval ROTC. U.S. Naval Reserve (Cmdr.). DuPont. WWII. Georgia Baptist Hospital. Emory University Hospital. Chief of the Department of Medicine, chief of staff, Dekalb Medical Center. President, Dekalb Medical Society. Hart County Hospital Board of Directors. President, local chapter of the American Heart Association. Chi Phi. 0 9 0
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Richard Gibian, IM 41, of Selma, Ala., on Sept. 4. Army Air Corps (Maj.). Distinguished Flying Cross. French Legion Medal of Honor. American Candy Manufacturing Company. Zeta Beta Tau. Robert M. Gill, IE 49, of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., on Aug. 22. Army Air Corp. Georgia Tech swimming. Kappa Alpha. Vice president, executive committee of the board of directors, Hormel Foods Inc. Grady Chapman Goodroe, IM 49, of Nashville, Tenn., on June 16. Army (1st Lt.). WWII. Insurance Company of North America. Corson & Armistead. Armistead, Miller, Wallace. Martin Hayes. Corroon & Black Insurance Companies. Lawrence A. “Larry” Kahn, IM 46, of Redmond, Wash., on April 6. Navy. Engineer, Boeing. Zeta Beta Tau. James Marion Keelin, Arch 49, of Atlanta, on Aug. 17. Navy. WWII. Korean War. Kappa Alpha. Daughters: Kristi K. Joyce, ME 93. Kim K. Sak, IM 78. Grandson: Michael L. Sak, IAML 12. Norris F. King, EE 43, of Anderson Township, Ohio, on June 2. Army. WWII. National Guard (Lt. Col.). Electrical engineer, Westinghouse. Founder, Crown Electric. Sigma Alpha Epsilon. Harry W. Little, EE 46, of Bradenton, Fla., on Sept. 11. Navy. Production manager, Coca-Cola Bottling Plant. Engineer, General Telephone of Florida. Chief of Telecommunications, Marshall Spaceflight Center. Senior staff engineer, Tropicana Products. Alpha Phi Omega.
Henry W. Little Sr., ME 43, of Ooltewah, Tenn., on Jan. 11. Georgia Tech Band. Army (2nd Lt.). Vice president of manufacturing, RockTenn Mill Division. Son: H. Wade Little Jr., IM 70. William Earl “Bill” Magbee, IM 49, of Alpharetta, Ga., on Aug. 15. Navy. WWII. Insurance salesman. Magbee Lumber Company. Ralph G. Malone Jr., IM 43, of Henrico, Va., on May 31, 2014. Army Signal Intelligence Service. WWII. Insurance agent. Sigma Phi Epsilon. James Louis Paulk, CE 46, of Hernando, Miss., on Aug. 17. Navy. WWII. Chief engineer, Mississippi Public Service Commission. Henry Frederick Rainey Sr., Cls 43, of Duluth, Ga., on April 4. Naval Civil Engineering Corps. Navy (Lt.). WWII. Executive and civil engineer, Shell Oil Company. National Society of Professional Engineers. Clyde Austin Reaves Jr., ChE 48, of Columbus, Ga., on Sept. 14. Navy. Chemical engineer, Gulf States Pulp and Paper Corporation. Mead Coated Board. Teacher, Muskogee County Adult Education. Norman Ernest Runyon Jr., CE 43, of Mayo, Fla., on Aug. 13. Sigma Phi Epsilon. Deck and engineering officer, Navy (Lt. j.g.). WWII. Bethlehem Steel. David Owen Savini, Arch 43, of Atlanta, on Aug. 21. Campus architect emeritus, Georgia Tech. Son: Leonard Savini, Mgt 85. Silas "Owen" Sheetz, ME 47, of Aiken, S.C., on June 2. Air Force (Maj.). WWII. Engineer, E. I. DuPont.
Savannah River Plant. Co-author, “St. Thaddeus of Aiken, a Church and Its City.” Co-creator, Aiken Railroad Depot. Son: Steve Sheetz, ME 82, Granddaughter: Bryson Sheetz, EnvE 15. Rembert Mays Sims Jr., IM 43, of Asheville, N.C., on Sept. 1. Sigma Alpha Epsilon. Navy (Lt.). American Security Insurance Company. E.W. Blanch Reinsurance Company.
Lt.). Bronze Star and Purple Heart recipient. Entrepreneur. David Powers Whiteside Sr., CE 42, of Melbourne, Fla., on Sept. 4. President, Triangle Distributors. President, Steel City Lumber. Air Force (Col.). Air National Guard. Pi Kappa Alpha. Tyrone Thomas Williams Jr., ME
Gleason “Snooky” Stambaugh Jr., Cls 48, of West Palm Beach, Fla., on April 6. President, Florida Music Co. Founder, Stambaugh Realty. President, Palm Beach County Georgia Tech Alumni Association. Sigma Alpha Epsilon.
48, of Vancouver, Wash., on June 16. Army. Air Force civilian, aircraft stress analysis, environmental aircraft testing, solid propellant processing and rocket engine test support. James Gray Winnette, EE 46, of Atlanta, on Aug. 24. Navy. Allis Chalmers. Co-owner, President, TriState Utility Products Inc.
E. Jo Baker-Henry BELOVED TECH ADMINISTRATOR
Richard Wilson Stevens, EE 45, of Reston, Va., on Sept. 1. Hunter Williamson Stewart, IM 41, of Carmel, Calif., on May 6. Ensign in NROTC. Navy (Cmdr.). Atlantic and Pacific theaters. WWII. Vietnam. General Contractor. Georgia Tech football player. Chi Phi. Grover Carlyle Taylor, EE 42, of Rocky Mount, N.C., on Sept. 19. ROTC. Army Reserve. Professor, Wilson Technical Institute. Robert Baldwin Tippett, Arch 48, of Atlanta, on Sept. 19. Artillery instructor, Korean War. Robert and Company. Tippett & Associates Architects. Kappa Alpha. Son-in-law: Harold Jarrett, EE 76, MS EE 77. Grandson: Hal Jarrett, Cls 2019. Oscar "Buddy" Waldkirch, EE 45, of Wilmington, N.C., on June 21. Navy. DuPont. Wilmington Planning Commission. Electrical contractor, Habitat for Humanity. Georgia Tech basketball player. Phi Delta Theta. Son: Richard Waldkirch, CE 72.
E. JO BAKER-HENRY, OF ATLANTA, ON SEPT. 23.
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aker left a lasting legacy to Georgia Tech through the establishment of the President’s Scholarship Program. Baker received her law degree from Atlanta Law School in 1948 before deciding to change directions and pursue a career in psychology. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia, a master’s degree in general psychology from Emory University and a doctoral degree in experimental psychology from Emory in 1962. She then taught psychology at Georgia Tech for the next 16 years. In 1978, she was given a one-year appointment as assistant to the vice president for academic affairs at Georgia Tech. She later accepted the position of associate vice president for academic affairs, a title she held until her retirement in 1993. In this role, Baker established Tech’s first-ever merit scholarship, the President’s Scholarship Program. The program was established to attract and reward students who combine high academic achievement with strong leadership, and proved to be a powerful tool for recruiting high-achieving students. Today, the President’s Scholarship is offered annually to the top 2 percent of high school seniors from across the United States who enroll at Georgia Tech. Forty students are ultimately selected for the program. Baker’s memory also remains through the Dr. E. Jo Baker Outstanding President's Scholar Award, which is given annually to the senior President's Scholar who best demonstrates significance in each of the four pillars of the program: scholarship, leadership, service and progress. Baker helped to change the lives of hundreds of students who have gone on to become national and international leaders in their fields.
Charles G. White Sr., IM 47, of Hartwell, Ga., on May 8. WWII. Army (1st GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 91 NO.4 2015
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Hugh Emmett Wright, Chem 41, of Atlanta, on Aug. 10. Chi Phi. Omicron Delta Kappa. ANAK Society.
Engineering officer, Navy (Lt. Cmdr.). WWII. Silver and Bronze Stars. Moise, Post and Gardner.
1950s James V. Adams, Arch 57, of Middlesboro, Ky., on Sept. 9. Navy (Lt.). Pi Kappa Alpha.
Ronald Mack Bell NAVAL OFFICER AND RESEARCH CONSULTANT RONALD MACK BELL, IM 59, OF ST. SIMONS ISLAND, GA., ON JUNE 12.
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ell had an impressive military career before returning to his alma mater as a leader in the Georgia Tech Research Corporation. Bell graduated from Tech with a degree in industrial management in 1959. Later, Bell continued his education by earning an MBA from the University of Michigan and graduating from the Cornell University Executive Development Program. After receiving his commission through Tech’s NROTC program, Bell graduated from the Navy Supply Corps School and was assigned duty as supply officer on the USS Westchester County. His naval career led him to many impressive stations around the world, including the Navy Purchasing Office in London and the Navy Supply Systems Command Headquarters in Washington, D.C. He also served as a commanding officer of the Fleet Polaris Material Office in Charleston, S.C., and as a commanding officer at the Navy Supply Corps School in Athens, Ga. Bell received many awards during his military career, including the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal, the National Defense Medal and the Navy Pistol Marksmanship Ribbon (Sharpshooter). He was also a submarine qualified supply corps officer, with the rare honor of being awarded his Dolphins as a senior officer, in recognition of his extensive service during his career in support of the U.S. Submarine Forces. After retiring from the Navy in 1985, Bell joined the research faculty at Georgia Tech, first as associate director for the Office of Contract Administration and later as vice president and general manager of the Georgia Tech Research Corporation. Bell retired from Georgia Tech after 13 years and began his third career as a consultant to university-connected research foundations. As founder of Coastal Consultants Inc. and UCRF Support Associates, he worked with more than 40 research universities.
Charles W. Almand, BC 59, of Deland, Fla., on Aug. 12. Navy. Korean War. United States Gymsum Corporation. Georgia Tech football. Georgia Tech track and field. J. Noble Arnold, IM 52, of Jupiter, Fla., on Sept. 15. Army (1st Lt.). Korean War. Westinghouse Electric. J. Noble Arnold Company. Arnold-Bryant Inc. Arnold-Bryant Sales Inc. Waco Day Manufacturing Inc. Georgia Tech golf. Daniel Ernest “Dan” Baker, ChE 51, of Tyler, Texas, on Aug. 20. Phillips Petroleum. Air Force. WWII. WWII Victory Medal. Roger Taylor Becker, ME 54, of Kalamazoo, Mich., on Sept. 2. Sigma Chi. Army (1st Lt.).Engineer and president, Aero-Motive Manufacturing Company. Founder and chairman, Kalamazoo Conveyer Company. Founder and chairman, Monlan Corporation. Earl Franklin Daniell, ME 59, of Marietta, Ga., on June 4. Engineer. Son: Fred M. Daniell, ME 83. Brother: Harold E. Daniell, ME 48. Baden Clarence Duggins, MS EE 58, of Oak Ridge, Tenn., on Aug. 20. Instrumentation and Controls Division, Oak Ridge National Lab. Engineering officer, Navy. Georgia Tech Engineering Experimentation Station. Robert C. Gillespie, IM 53, of Evans, Ga., on June 3. Reverend, North Georgia Conference of United
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Methodist Church. St. Mark UMC in Augusta, Ga. Wesley UMC in Evans, Ga. Army. Phi Kappa Tau. James “David” Goodson Sr., Cls 53, of Bluffton, S.C., on Aug. 24. Army. Korean War. Executive vice president, Industrial Construction Machinery Division, Massey Ferguson. Owner, RSVP Special Events. Ivan Gordon, MS Text 57, of Reading, Pa., on June 19. Talbot (Ladd) Knitting Mills. Owner, operator, Gloray Knitting Mills. Fernando Guerrero, IE 56, of Kennett Square, Pa., on April 30. Engineer. Union Carbide. Allied Chemical. Carlon. Monsanto. Air Products & Chemicals, Zenith Products. Entrepreneur. James Harvey Hammons, ChE 58, of St. Helena, S.C., on Aug. 17. Navy. Union Carbide. John Brown Engineering. Delta Upsilon. Roger Merriman Henry Sr., ME 51, of Smyrna, Ga., on June 24. Navy. Georgia Tech track and cross country. Flight Test Division, Lockheed Corp. Sigma Chi. Albert Spencer “Bert” Jacobs, ME 54, of Macon, Ga., on June 10. Air Force (2nd Lt.). Korean War. Plant engineer, International Paper Co. Engineer, Robins Air Force Base. Max Kuniansky Jr., ChE 52, of Miami, on Sept. 11. Exxon. Habitat for Humanity. Lambda Chi Alpha. James Edward May, AE 56, of Chamblee, Ga., on Sept. 7. Navy. Georgia Air National Guard. Lockheed Corporation. Ronald Lewis Miller, IE 58, of Atlanta, on Sept. 19. Army. Texas Instruments. Federated Department Stores. Founder, Pine Haven Wild Bird Seed. Son: Ronald Miller Jr., MS Mgt 93.
Leslie Stewart “Les” Ovenden, Arch 55, of Atlanta, on March 13. Phi Kappa Sigma. Army. WWII. Lockwood-Greene Architects and Engineers.
Roy Anthony Pickren Jr., ChE 57, of Baton Rouge, La., on Sept. 8. Freeport McMoRan. Commissioner, Greater Baton Rouge Port Authority. Grandson: Ryan Pickran, Cls 16.
W. Mansfield Jennings TELECOM EXECUTIVE AND COMMUNITY LEADER W. MANSFIELD JENNINGS JR., IM 56 OF HAWKINSVILLE, GA., ON JUNE 23.
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ennings was a native of Hawkinsville who became a leader dedicated to his hometown. After earning a bachelor’s degree at Georgia Tech, he earned an MBA from Emory University and studied at Georgia State University and London School of Business. A veteran of the Navy, Jennings served as an officer both on active duty and in the reserves. After leaving active duty, he returned to Hawkinsville to work with his father at Hawkinsville Telephone Company. Jennings purchased the company in 1980 and transformed it from a small telephone company to a diversified telecommunications company called ComSouth. This transition led to his involvement in other telecommunication ventures such as cellular and cable television. Today, his legacy provides state of the art telecommunications services to a broad swath of middle Georgia. Active in advancing the telecommunications industry at both the state and national level, Jennings served as president of the Georgia Telephone Association and later as a director. He participated in several national associations, including The Organization for the Protection of Small Telecommunications Companies and US Telecom Association. Jennings also was honored by Georgia Tech when he was inducted into the School of Management’s prestigious Hall of Fame. Mansfield was also very involved in the banking industry with SunMark Community Bank, where he served as chairman of the board. Other civic organizations that benefitted from his leadership include the Hawkinsville-Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce, the Hawkinsville Rotary Club, Medical College of Georgia Health Inc. and the University System of Georgia, where he served as a member of the Board of Regents for 10 years. Jennings was recognized for his community service by being selected as Citizen of the Year two times. More recently, Jennings served on the Mercer University Board of Trustees with special support of the McDuffie Center for Strings, where he endowed the Genelle and Mansfield Jennings Chair, held by violinist Robert McDuffie. His support of the arts and his love of his hometown led to his gift of a grand piano to the Old Opera House, where he enjoyed many concerts and wanted generations to come to appreciate great music and performances.
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Joseph Franklin Prescott Sr., EE 50, of Lumber City, Ga., on June 5. Mayor, Lumber City, Ga. Federal Aviation Administration. Martin Marietta. Owner, manager, Prescott Timbers. Lambda Chi Alpha. William Hughes Savell, IM 57, of Atlanta, on Sept. 9. Sigma Chi. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. Schofield Interior Contractors. Leo Benedict Schemmel Jr., IE 57, of Owensboro, Ky., on Aug. 23. General Electric Co. W. Steve Shepard Sr., ME 53, MS ME 59, PhD ME 66, of Sky Valley, Ga., on Sept. 8. Professor and research director, Mississippi State University. Georgia Tech Academy of Distinguished Engineering Alumni. Son: Steve Shepard Jr., ME 89, MS ME 93, PhD ME 97. Spencer Windham Smith Sr., IM 54, of Atlanta, on Aug. 21. Sigma Alpha Epsilon. Marines (Col.). Hass & Dodd Realty. Northside Realty. Coldwell Banker. Director of Atlanta, DeKalb and Gwinnett Board of Realtors. Director, Georgia Association of Realtors. Director, American Red Cross. Chairman of Atlanta-Fulton County Board of American Cancer Society. James Wayne “JW” Southard Sr., IE 50, of Alpharetta, Ga., on July 2. Chi Phi. Georgia Tech football. Georgia Tech Football Hall of Fame. Army. S.B.S. Associates Inc. Cecil "Tommy" Swinson Jr., IE 52, of Marietta, Ga., on June 30. Army. WWII. Industrial engineer, Lockheed Georgia Corp. George Henry Taft, MS IE 54, of Seattle, on June 3. Army Air Corps (Lt.). WWII. Boeing. Engineer, Gladding-McBean. Engineer, U.S. Postal Service. Senior engineer, Army 0 9 4
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Corps of Engineers. Owner, Taft and Associates. Inventor, designer and patent holder for Ty Intermodal Handling System.
Stephen Brookshire, EE 64, MS EE 66, of Stockbridge, Ga., on June 9. Senior research engineer, GTRI. Georgia Tech track and field.
William “Tommy” Towles, Arch 50, of Atlanta, on Sept. 12. Phi Delta Theta. Navy ROTC. Georgia Tech SEC Champion swim team. Georgia Tech track and field. Navy. Korean War. Redwood Cooling Towers. Georgia Tech Athletic Hall of Fame. Total Person – Former Scholar Athlete award.
George Brown, AE 62, MS AE 64, of Gilbert, Ariz., on June 13. Department of Transportation. Honeywell Corp. Gannett Corp. Senior program manager, Center of Transportation at SAIC. Senior software architect, GDE Systems Inc. Senior program manager, Innovation and IT Research Group at Intel Corp. Chairman of Supply Chain Council, Intel Corp.
George Phillips “Phil” White, IM 58, of Big Canoe, Ga., on July 6. Air Force (Capt.). Korean War. Founder and owner of Sign Maintenance Co. and G.P. White Construction Co.
1960s Charles Wilson Bagnal Sr., MS AE 66, of Columbia, S.C., on June 30. Army (Lt. Gen.). Vietnam. Distinguished Service Medal. Distinguished Flying Cross. Bronze Star Medal. 31 Air Medals. Presidential Unit Citation. Master Army Aviator Badge. Air Assault Badge. Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation. Vietnam Civil Actions Medal. Board of directors, chairman of the board, West Point Society of Columbia. Ratchford Law Firm. Son: Charles Bagnal Jr., NRE 80. John J. Banchetti, AE 60, of Dallas, on March 27. Systems engineering manager, Lockheed-Martin. Phi Sigma Kappa. James Waverly Brittain Jr., EE 61, of Gray, Ga., on Aug. 21. Gemini Program, Kennedy Space Center. Deputy director, F-15 System Program Office, Robins Air Force Base. Son: Waverly Brittain, EE 89, MS EE 91.
George Lee Cain, MS Math 62, PhD Math 65, of Marietta, Ga., on June 21. Army. Lockheed Corp. Professor of mathematics, Georgia Tech. Textbook author. George “Tom” Eatman, Arch 63, of Bradenton, Fla., on Sept. 12. Navy (Capt.). Vietnam War. Beta Theta Pi. Milton L. Johnson, IM 62, of DeFuniak Springs, Fla., on June 11. Federal Aviation Administration. Professor, Clayton State College. James Paul Kemp Sr., IE 61, of Savannah, Ga., on June 22. Marine Corps. Korean War. Georgia Tech football player. General Telephone and Electronics. Western Electric. U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. Wife: Linda Carswell Kemp, Cls 61. Peter John Linn, IM 63, Westerville, Ohio, on June 21. Executive vice president, chief financial officer, Liqui-Box Corp. Son: Tom Linn ME 86. James “Stuart” McKenzie Jr., BC 60, of Bainbridge, Ga., on Sept. 21. Phi Delta Theta. Construction Contractor. Philip McLaughlin Jr., IE 65, of Atlanta, on Aug. 24. Georgia Power. Alpha Tau Omega. Daughters: Laurie
McLaughlin, MgtSci 92. Jennifer Robertson, Chem 95. William Thomas "Tom" McMullan, IM 64, of Athens, Ga., on June 1. Computer networker, Board of Regents. Brother: Jim McMullan, IM 69. Robert E. Oswandel, MS ME 69, of Little Silver, N.J., on June 20. Army (Lt. Col.). Bronze Star and Air Medal for service in Vietnam. Instructor, assistant football coach, United States Military Academy at West Point. Program manager, ITT Corp. Bowman Program. Philip Murray Skidmore, IM 64, of Stamford, Conn., on June 13. Lehman Brothers. Kuhn, Loeb & Co. Advest. Chairman, Belpointe Asset Management. Kappa Alpha. Henry Franklin South, Cls 62, of Jacksonville Beach, Fla., on Sept. 11. Civil Engineer. John C. Walkush, MS PSE 67, PhD PSE 68, of Longview, Wash., on July 23. Kimberly-Clark. Scott Paper Co. Weyerhaeuser. North Pacific Paper Co. David Warren Wakefield, IM 67, of Houston, on Sept. 16. Naval aviator. Pi Kappa Alpha.
1970s Richard Wellons Betts, MS ICS 76, of Melbourne, Fla., on April 3. Harris Corp. Telecommunications systems designer, Alcatel and Ericsson. Telefonica. Jeffery Edward Davis, MS IM 70, of Greensboro, N.C., on Aug. 27. Union Carbide. Morflex. Dave M. Durrenberger, Psy 71, of Tallahassee, Fla., on Sept. 18. Analyst, Florida Attorney General. Licensed pilot.
James Blake “Jim” Jones, Phys 79, of Seattle, on July 28, 2012. Psychiatrist. Psi Upsilon. David Martin Stephens, Arch 78, of Atlanta, on June 17. Architect.
Photographer. John William Weathers Jr., TextChem 74, of Cornelia, Ga., on Aug. 18. Chi Phi. Owner and Operator, Weathers Sales Company.
Carroll Julian Whitfield ENGINEER AND FARM EQUIPMENT DESIGNER CARROLL JULIAN "WHIT" WHITFIELD, ME 55, OF TIFTON, GA., ON APRIL 23.
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hitfield was an engineer whose designs helped farmers to improve their efficiency and crop yield. At Georgia Tech he was a co-op student and worked at Sonoco Products in Hartsville, S.C. He was inducted into Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society and in 1955 he graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in mechanical engineering. He served in the Army and continued working with Sonoco Products Co. after graduation. While there, he was given the opportunity to design an automatic nailing machine. He later took a job with Lilliston Implement Co. in Albany, Ga., where he designed farm machinery for 10 years. He was a senior project engineer whose main responsibility was designing peanut harvesting equipment, specifically peanut combines and digger shakers. In 1967, Whitfield became a founding partner of Kelley Manufacturing Company. One of his best-known designs is the KMC Peanut Inverter. Prior to this time, peanuts dug from the ground were left on the soil. The Peanut Inverter, still widely used today, flips the peanut plants over so that the foliage touches the ground, protecting the peanuts and resulting in a greater yield. This machine dramatically changed peanut farming in the South, and as a result, provided a rich source of protein around the world. After thirteen years with KMC, Whitfield started his own company, First Products. He continued to design farm equipment and added turf machinery. Whitfield’s name appears on many patents for the farm and turf industry, and First Products continues to be a successful company. Whitfield served on the Georgia Tech Scholarship Committee and enjoyed awarding scholarships to deserving young people in Tifton.
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1980s
2000s
George Randolph Cooper III, ME 80, of Knoxville, Tenn., on June 14. Marimont Exhaust Products. Yates & Cooper Inc. Phi Kappa Theta.
Wesley DeBusk, BS AE 08, MS AE 09, of Fresno, Calif., on April 12. Department of Defense, Edwards Air Force Base. Flight controls engineer, Zee Aero.
David Evan Drutz, MS Psy 83, of Richmond, Va., on April 20. Technical instructor, IBM, CSC, British Aerospace, Northrop Grumman. Michelle Nicholson Harben, EE 88, of Lawrenceville, Ga., on June 1. Georgia Power. Billie Ann Perrin Rice, MS ICS 83, of Big Canoe, Ga., on June 7, 2014. Instructor, Georgia Perimeter College, Georgia State University, Georgia Tech. Founder, Computer Systems Resources Inc. Mark George Wolfe, ME 87, of Austin, Texas, on April 7. Engineer. President, San Francisco Bay Area Georgia Tech Alumni Association. Sigma Phi Epsilon.
1990s Christopher “Chris” Burke, AE 93, of Vidalia, Ga., on Aug. 14. Project manager, Plant Hatch. James T. Freaney, PTCh 92, of Marietta, Ga., on June 20. Attorney. Frederick J. Hanna and Associates. Psi Upsilon.
2010s Emily Ann Boone, Econ 13, of Pell City, Ala., on Aug. 18. Zeta Tau Alpha. Southern Company.
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Naomi Beaton Gibeling, of Atlanta, on Aug. 18. Naomi and Bob Gibeling Athletic Scholarship Fund. Son: Bob Gibeling, BM 72. Don Stutler Harmer, of Atlanta, on Aug. 31. Navy. WWII. Professor of physics and nuclear engineering, Georgia Tech. Professor emeritus. Sons: Jonathan Harmer, Mgt 00. Scott Sewell, TE 96. Andrew Wiggers, IM 86, CE 90. Daughters: Nancy Wiggers, HPhys 86. Muffin Sewell, MS HPhys 92.
Benjamin David Poff, Mgt 12, of Fayetteville, Ga., on Sept. 6. Sigma Chi.
Mayes G. Howard, of Valrico, Fla., on June 2. Navy. Korean War. Meat broker, Swift Company. Peninsula Meat Company.
Klee Solomon Orion Simmons, PTFE 11, of Falls Church, Va., on Aug. 9. Patent examiner, Patent and Trade Office.
Douglas Alan Kohser, of Marietta, Ga., on June 21.
Friends Martin J. Burke Jr., of Huntsville, Ala., on Aug. 19. Army (Col.). WWII. Professor of military science, Georgia Tech. Bronze Star. Meritorious Service Medal. Legion of Merit. Son: Marty Burke III, Mgt 72. Elwyn Junior Cheek, of Stone Mountain, Ga., on June 2. Air Force. Owner, Briarlake Pharmacy. Consulting pharmacist, NDC. Vice president of sales and marketing, Rx30 Pharmacy Systems. Son: Marshall Cheek, IE 80. June Rowland Flood, of Cumming, Ga.,
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on Sept. 21. Husband: Paul Flood, IE 58, MS IE 62. Nephew: Bob Voyles, Mgt 81.
David Petersen Laskey, of Marietta, Ga., on June 22. Navy (Capt.). F4 fighter pilot. Eastern Airlines. United Airlines. Son: Philip Laskey, Cls 17. Catherine Pittman, of Alpharetta, Ga., on April 22. Father: Samuel Pittman, Mgt 86. Barbara N. Tucker, of Atlanta, on Aug. 22. Daughter: Patrise Perkins-Hooker, Mgt 80. Willard Monroe Snyder, of Athens, Ga., on June 22. Army Air Corps (Maj.). WWII. Flood forecaster, Department of Forest and Waters Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Tennessee Valley Authority. Civil engineering Professor, Georgia Tech. Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture.
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SERVING METRO ATLANTA FAMILIES At Bespoke Tutoring, we know the importance of finding child’s personality, interests, and learning preferences into consideration before matching him with a tutor. Call today to discuss your student’s academic and test prep needs.
770-671-0300 www.baldwinscheduling.com techinfo@baldwinscheduling.com
Let AKA Tree Removal help you with dangerous tree
quality, temporary RNs to fill vacancies in your
the right person to work with your student. We take your
A Service DiSAbleD veterAn OwneD buSineSS
low impact tree removal
assignments. Whether you are looking to take
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buzz does! Reach out to Betsy Rogers and sign up today! 404-894-0751 betsy.rogers@alumni.gatech.edu
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Tech
marketplace
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Want to join the Tech Marketplace? Contact Betsy Rogers at (404) 894-0751 or betsy.rogers@alumni.gatech.edu.
Marijane E. Cauthorn
PRIVIA DIGITAL PIANOS Casio’s new Privia pianos represent a significant step in the continuing evolution of the Privia digital piano line. 973-361-5400 x-1273 | mamentt@casio.com casiomusicgear.com
MANAGING ATTORNEY Cauthorn Nohr & Owen was established more than 20 years ago and believes that clients’ success determines our own. We are a small litigation firm representing individuals and businesses in the metro area. 770-528-0150 | cauthornnohr.com
Your Want ny Compa red Featu ? HERE?
buzz does! Reach out to Betsy Rogers and sign up today! 404-894-0751 betsy.rogers@alumni.gatech.edu
AUTOMATION … ENGINEERED INFORMATICS | TECHNOLOGY | SERVICES Official GT Vendor, CiDrep, is an informatics services and solutions firm, providing laptop computers, desktops, printers, hardware and software products to business, education, healthcare and government organizations. 1.770-212-2260 | commerce@cidrep.com http://cidrep.com/gatechalumni/
ConneCting Your World... through ours! services within a SSAE 16 certified facility.
• Over 60 years in the Process Industries • Community Service Partner • Valves, Instruments, Control Systems, Predictive Maintenance, Project Engineering, Repair Services • Diverse employment opportunities • One of the fastest growing GA companies
404-272-3338 | www.coloatl.com tim.kiser@coloatl.com
770-495-3100 | www.controlsouthern.com info@controlsouthern.com
Colo Atl, a JT Communications Company, provides colocation, data center & interconnection
CRISP Manufacturing Company Inc.
BETTER SERVING YOU SINCE 1963 Crisp Manufacturing is a leading producer of replacement parts for machinery used in various areas such as the coal industry. Products include Assemblies, Bushings, Couplings, Gears, Housings, Hubs, Pins, Seals, Sections, Shafts, Sprockets, Units & more. 276-686-4131 | crispmanufacturing.com info@crispmanufacturing.com
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GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 91 NO.4 2015
TECHNOLOGY THAT DRIVES BUSINESS
LOCAL CONTRACT ELECTRONIC ASSEMBLY
You need a technology partner you can trust. Since 1989, Emerald Data Networks has served as that trusted technology partner to businesses throughout the Southeast.
Advanced microelectronics assembly Next generation manufacturing robotics PCBA: printed circuit board assembly Electronics failure analysis & reliability Electronics box build assembly services Electronics materials & applications Quick turn prototype manufacturing
678-302-3000 | www.EmeraldData.net
678-990-3320 | engentaat.com sales@engentaat.com
STEPS AWAY @ 537 10TH ST NW For the best subs in town come down to your alumni owned Firehouse Subs. We serve them piping hot and piled high. Consider us for your next lunch, dinner, or catering opportunity.
EXPANDING YOUR CAPABILITIES & GLOBAL OFFERING Providing integrated development, manufacturing, on-site sterilization and support services to the healthcare and industrial markets. GRI offers class 100K cleanroom services. GRI is ISO and EN certified, and FDA registered.
404-347-9912 | firehousesubs.com grohletter@firehousesubs.com
678-866-0566 | gri-usa.com sales@gri-usa.com
timeless ... always new
The heavy MeTal RockeR
Quality Gentlemen’s Clothing. Official Georgia Tech Alumni Association Partner.
A work of art and a legacy that will be used and enjoyed by generations to come.
BUILDING A LEGACY Seeking Construction Project Manager/Estimator: Project estimating, scheduling, purchasing and subcontracting for growing general contractor located in Memphis, TN. 901-767-2400 | www.grindertaber.com jgrinder@grindertaber.com
Software for better hiring Improve hiring efficiency and effectiveness with HireIQ’s multi-media digital interviewing and job fit solutions. Nearly half of HireIQ’s employees are GT alumni. Go Jackets!
Est. 1963 Midtown | Lenox | Park Place | Cobb 404-249-7002 | www.hstockton.com
404-245-9676 | heavymetalrocker.com
A FOUNDATION FOR BEAUTIFUL THINKING
HAVE A NON-HEALING WOUND? We prescribe 100 percent oxygen under pressure in Georgia’s largest hyperbaric chambers to accelerate healing in wounds resulting from infection, disease or injury including breast and prostate wounds from radiation. NW Atlanta: 678-303-3200 | Gwinnett: 678-672-1640 hyox.com
Interface is the world’s largest manufacturer of modular carpet for commercial interiors. Our manufacturing locations are West Point and LaGrange, GA and our corporate office is in Atlanta, GA.
678-279-2830 | hireiqinc.com info@hireiqinc.com
Your Want ny Compa red Featu ? HERE?
buzz does!
An Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer of Females, Minorities, Veterans and Disabled.
Reach out to Betsy Rogers and sign up today!
For career information please visit: www.interfaceglobalcareers.com
404-894-0751 betsy.rogers@alumni.gatech.edu
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Tech
marketplace
>>
Want to join the Tech Marketplace? Contact Betsy Rogers at (404) 894-0751 or betsy.rogers@alumni.gatech.edu.
TAKE YOUR BUSINESS TO THE NEXT LEVEL!
GEORGIA TECH LOAFERS JP Crickets are officially licensed men’s and women’s Italian Suede Georgia Tech Loafers that are perfect for gameday, reunions, alumni events, weddings, tailgates and more! 404-606-3435 | susan@jpcrickets.com jpcrickets.com
LEADER IN GLOBAL WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY KORE is the world’s leading provider of machine-to-machine (M2M) network services, offering truly global connectivity over GSM, CDMA & Satellite technologies. Our network services are managed through a highly scalable unified interface platform. 678-389-3146 | koretelematics.com sales@koretelematics.com
EXTRAORDINARY COOKIES
Award winning Residential REALTOR® specializing in Cobb & Fulton Counties. Ten
Kent’s County Cookies’ mission is helping people
in the following areas:
enhance relationships through sharing our
• Development Management & Staffing
extraordinary all-natural gourmet cookies. Share
• Quality Assurance Management & Staffing
some of our cookies today with your family,
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friends, customers, clients or employees.
•Information Technology Services
888-884-5368 | kentscountrycookies.com kent@kentscountrycookies.com
404-273-5256 | klrhconsulting.com info@klrhconsulting.com
Helping leaders build effective organizations since 1986 Pre-employment assessment; surveys; coaching; team development. Hodges L. Golson, Ph.D. (BSIM) William J. Flanagan, Ph.D. (Psy) Michele I. Mobley, Ph.D. (Psy) 404-237-6808 | managementpsychology.com
Gregory F. Puckett Realtor BSIM - 1979 Land Sales 770-605-9987
April D. Seger Realtor 15 Years Experience Home/ Land Sales 404-431-6947
years of Atlanta Real Estate Experience,
Your Want ny Compa red Featu ? HERE?
buzz does! Reach out to Betsy Rogers and sign up today! 404-894-0751 betsy.rogers@alumni.gatech.edu
TRANSFORM ENGINEERS & PROFESSIONALS INTO BUSINESS LEADERS Performex® is a full service provider of talent management and talent development services. For 35+ years, we’ve provided immediate, tangible results to address the professional development needs of industries and companies, ensuring
Graduates, Faculty and Friends.
Serving Dawson, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall, and Jackson Counties.
technical specialists and professionals successfully
404-394-4519 | marybethlake.com marybeth.lake@harrynorman.com
gregoryfpuckett@hotmail.com april@millardbowenrealtygroup.com
404-444-2981 | performex.com jbruce@performex.com
working by referral with fellow Ga Tech
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Organizational Effectiveness Assessment Domestic and International Management
REAL ESTATE
MARY BETH LAKE, REALTOR®
Software Development Life Cycle Management
GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 91 NO.4 2015
make the leap to accomplished leaders.
PHUNWARE Phunware is the pioneer of Multiscreen as a Service™ (MaaS) – the only fully integrated services platform that enables brands to engage, manage and monetize their anytime anywhere users. 512-693-4199 | phunware.com sales@phunware.com
REAL ESTATE The Sign You Want. The Agent You Need. Find your local RE/MAX Expert today!
remax-georgia.com
Intellectual Property Law Georgia Tech Class of 1994
Major Converters of flexible & speCialty rigid paCkaging Printpack is a global leader in flexible and
INTRODUCING RECALL PORTAL
Printpack for all of their packaging needs.
Recall Portal is a web-based tool that provides a single view and access to all physical and digital holdings providing unprecedented visibility, accessibility and control.
800-451-9985 | printpack.com
770-776-1239 | Recall.com Joe.Gross@recall.com
specialty rigid packaging. They create the most innovative packages on the market today. The most trusted brands trust
WHEN EXPERIENCE COUNTS!
AtlAntA’s trusted Intown BuIlder Round Here Renovations, LLC is a licensed and insured
More than 25 years of experience in the
residential construction and renovation business
Atlanta real estate market, specializing in North
servicing the vibrant and historic neighborhoods of
Atlanta. Top 1% of all agents Nationwide! Call a
Atlanta, Georgia. From custom kitchens & baths to entire
true professional, and wife of a Georgia Tech
homes, RHR would love to partner with you for your
Alumnus, for all your real estate needs.
next major home improvement project.
Maria Licata, Associate Broker RE/MAX Around Atlanta | 770-861-1009 marialicata@remax.net | marialicata.com
404-500-9102 | roundhererenovations.com info@roundhererenovations.com
Your Want ny Compa red Featu ? HERE?
SEAN P. O’HANLON, ESQ., PLLC buzz does!
Sean P. O’Hanlon, Esq., PLLC specializes in the practice of intellectual property law. Located in Alexandria, Virginia minutes from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Reach out to Betsy Rogers and sign up today!
703-829-7099 | seanpohanlon.com info@seanpohanlon.com
404-894-0751 betsy.rogers@alumni.gatech.edu
Dave Segars, PE, LEED-AP, BCE’85
Let Segars Engineering tackle your next industrial expansion and score one for your team
540-943-1138 | segarsengineering.com
GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 91 NO.4 2015
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Tech
marketplace
FEDEX & UPS IN ONE SYSTEM
>>
Want to join the Tech Marketplace? Contact Betsy Rogers at (404) 894-0751 or betsy.rogers@alumni.gatech.edu.
MORE THAN JUST A CAMERA STORE Serving Atlanta for nearly 40 years, Showcase
ShipTropolis is a business productivity tool that helps companies save time and reduce shipping cost, utilizing existing FedEx and UPS accounts and discounts.
is the go-to source for your photography and
50 YEARS OF CONTRACT ELECTRONIC ASSEMBLY
Georgia Tech Alumni.
Our focus on your individual needs and our unique approach support your products from Design for Manufacturing to Custom Inventory Management.
714-907-1762 | ShipTropolis.com bob.herman@tropolisgroup.com
404-325-7676 | showcaseinc.com sales@showcaseinc.com
618-539-3000 | siemensmfg.com sales@siemensmfg.com
I&C ENGINEERING EXPERTS
now building in forsyth, fulton, dekalb, gwinnett, e. cobb and oconee
Helping clients achieve technical excellence with their instrumentation and control projects.
videography needs. Come in and experience new product demonstrations, professional services and educational opportunities. Founded by
“At SR Homes, our goal is to focus on building you a home that meets your needs both today and tomorrow. We’ll think through the details so you don’t have to.” --Alex Tetterton, President of SR Homes
southern-engineering.net bgeddes@southern-engineering.net
OFFERING MORE TO GEORGIA TECH & THE ATLANTA COMMUNITY Windham Brannon is proud to have provided tax, audit and advisory services to businesses and
678-252-2525 | SRHomes.com info@srhomes.com
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buzz does!
and Ga Tech grads are redefining the CPA industry.
Reach out to Betsy Rogers and sign up today!
404-898-2011 | windhambrannon.com info@windhambrannon.com
404-894-0751 betsy.rogers@alumni.gatech.edu
executives in Atlanta and the southeast since 1957. WB
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GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 91 NO.4 2015
ReseaRch InnovatIon centeR ThyssenKrupp Elevator Americas has partnered with Georgia Tech to leverage the talents of our organizations, capture ideas, and put our shared knowledge to work for future success. 404-885-5260 | ThyssenKruppElevator.com RICAtlanta@thyssenkrupp.com
Hiring
marketplace
Build Your Future with Gtri The Georgia Tech Research Institute is the applied research and development arm of Georgia Tech. GTRI’s 1,600+ scientists, engineers and other professionals solve the most difficult problems
>>
Looking for a new job or a career change? Take a look at our Hiring Marketplace partners!
Putting technology talent to work! Atlanta’s Premier Technology Recruiting Firm. Founded by Georgia Tech Alumni Supporting the Georgia Tech Community. As Always, Go Jackets!
everyday made easier We run the everyday transactions that make your life easier.
facing government and industry around the world.
employment@gtri.gatech.edu gtri.gatech.edu/careers/opportunities
Twitter: @htrjobs | htrjobs.com clint@htrjobs.com
ncr.com | ncr.com/about-ncr/careers
DENOTES
IT STAFFING FOR YELLOW JACKETS Hil ipitas moluptatur, comnima nihille sequam voles aturis erferro vit odit odi tem. Ut proria nonescitat. Ebitiam excest es eatur, seribus, cum fuga. Igni dolende dolupis et qui officiet est, ommoloreris.
A GTAA CAREER SERVICES PREMIER PARTNER. FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT GTALUMNI.ORG/EMPLOYERS.
GREAT CAREERS IN TECHNOLOGY! Looking for a great career in technology? UPS leverages technology to empower customers with personalized solutions that simplify global trade and optimize supply chains. Come be a part of it! Copyright © 2014, United Parcel Service of America, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
404-736-1471 | spartanresources.net matt@spartanresources.net
678-746-4085 | UPS.com palomapena@ups.com
ZPAPER INTERNSHIPS We are looking for highly motivated Georgia Tech students to fill internships at our growing company. We will give you valuable real world experience in a salesforce.com & SaaS based technology company. If you know of any aspiring students who want to learn in the real world, send them our way.
770-643-9297 | www.zpaper.com interns@zpaper.com
GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 91 NO.4 2015
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Tech
history
Marilyn Somers and Roger Slavens
in the >> Ramblin' Wreck: A Birthday Wish Come True
At 103 years old, Sam Ledbetter, ME 34, ranks as Georgia Tech’s oldest living alumnus. In more than a century on this planet, Ledbetter has seen and done a lot, so his most recent birthday wish may surprise you: to finally get a ride in the Institute’s legendary Ramblin’ Wreck. When the Alumni Association told him that this could be arranged, his response was that of a true child of the Great Depression: It would be too expensive. We assured Ledbetter that in honor of his 103rd birthday, granting him this opportunity would be our honor and privilege. On a sun-filled afternoon in October, Ledbetter got his dream ride around Tech Campus — chauffeured by student Wreck driver Hillary Degenkolb. Along the way, he also met President G.P. “Bud” Peterson and was treated to a rousing rendition of his favorite song —the “Ramblin’ Wreck," of course—by the Glee Club. When the ride was over, Ledbetter was asked what he thought of the Wreck, and he candidly responded: “It needs shocks!” Old automobiles are rough rides for old bones, after all, but seeing Ledbetter ride around in style in that gold and white vehicle brought smiles to all lucky enough to witness it.
Sam Ledbetter, ME 34, long knew he wanted to go to Georgia Tech. His father died in the flu epidemic of 1918, leaving Ledbetter’s mother to raise five children by herself. He also learned to be frugal from an early age. Lawn care jobs and
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GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 91 NO.4 2015
newspaper routes, along with a Navy ROTC stipend, eventually enabled Ledbetter to attend Tech. After “getting out,” Ledbetter served in the military from 1940 through 1945, with WWII duty in Sicily, North Africa, France and
Frankfurt. His professional career spanned 46 years—33 with Jervis B. Webb in commercial sales of automotive equipment and 13 with Imperial Oil & Grease. Later in life, Ledbetter took up horology and learned to build and repair clocks.
Time Machine 5 years ago, in 2010, Georgia Tech holds a formal groundbreaking ceremony for the G. Wayne Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons. • 10 years ago, in 2005, Danny Hall becomes the all-time winningest baseball coach in Georgia Tech history. • 25 years ago, in 1990, Georgia Tech-Lorraine opens in Metz, France, becoming Tech’s first international campus. • 50 years ago, in 1965, The Comprehensive Campus Development Plan is introduced to expand the campus from 153 acres to almost 400 acres into what would become West Campus. • 100 years ago, in 1915, The first concrete stands are built at Grant Field, forming the foundation of a football stadium. •
Have a Tech memory to share? Send mail to Editor, Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine, 190 North Ave. N.W., Atlanta, GA 30313, or contact us by email at
125 years ago, in 1890, The class of 1892 selects three colors—white, gold and blue—as its class colors.
publications@gtalumni.org. GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 91 NO.3 NO.4 2015
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page
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"Whereas" Tech's top alumnus and student finally gets some recognition.
WHEREAS, George Burdell patriotically served with the United States flight crew of a B-17 bomber, completed twelve missions over Europe with the Eighth Air Force in England during World War II, and served in Korea, Vietnam, and every military event since then; and WHEREAS, George Burdell has received numerous awards and honors, including the top runner-up for Time magazine's 2001 Person of the Year and induction into the Atlanta Realtors Million Dollar Club in 2005, as well as induction into many Georgia Tech secret and honor societies; and
George P. Burdell Takes the Capitol Senators Charlie Bethel of the 54th, P.K. Martin of the 9th and Rick Jeffares of the 17th
This year, the Georgia State Senate passed a formal resolution commending George P. Burdell for his unparalled contributions to Georgia Tech, Atlanta, the state of Georgia and all of mankind. Georgia State Senate Resolution 401
A RESOLUTION Commending Georgia Tech legend, George P. Burdell, on being an upstanding citizen and distinguished alumni and faculty member of the Georgia Institute of Technology; and for other purposes. WHEREAS, George P. Burdell has received a total of eight degrees from the 1 0 6
GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 91 NO.4 2015
Georgia Institute of Technology and has taken every class offered at the institution; and WHEREAS, George Burdell, while attending Georgia Tech during the first semester using computer registration and being an ambitious and scholarly student, was known to apply for 3,000 credit hours in one quarter; and
WHEREAS, George Burdell has experience in many different areas of innovation; he served on the Board of Directors at MAD Magazine from 1969-1981, participated in NASA's 2003 Deep Impact Mission which looked at the inside of a comet, and served as a production assistant for a popular TV show; and WHEREAS, George Burdell has been employed in the Mechanical Engineering department at the Georgia Institute of Technology since 2005. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that the members of this body commend George P. Burdell for his exceptional accomplishments and achievements in the Georgia Institute of Technology community, nationwide, and around the world. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is authorized and directed to make an appropriate copy of this resolution available for distribution to George P. Burdell. Joe Ciardiello
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We want to hear from you. Visit the Georgia Tech Alumni Association website to update your information and stay connected with your fellow graduates and Georgia Tech. At GTALUMNI.ORG you can… ● ● ● ●
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