Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine, Vol. 96 No. 4, Winter 2021

“We’d like to help other Scheller students finance their education and go on to achieve great things in their personal and professional lives.”

—Thomas A. Avery, IM 75, and Deborah R. Avery Thomas A. Avery, IM 75, credits a Georgia Tech professor

successful career in investment banking and venture capital,

with the direction his post-graduation life took. “One day in

Avery has also served on the boards of The Lovett School,

1974, my finance professor, James Caldwell, pulled me aside

KIPP Metro Atlanta, Charles River Associates, Southeast Pet

after class and asked what my plans were after Georgia

Distributors, and ArborGen Inc.

Tech,” Avery said. “I mentioned, only half kidding, that I

Now, Avery and Debbie, his wife of 47 years, have “three

hoped to get a job,” referencing the economic recession

grown and thankfully self-supporting children,” and have

happening at the time. “He asked if I had considered

turned their attention to estate planning, establishing an

pursuing an MBA and said he thought I could get into one

estate provision to support the Dr. James A. Caldwell

of the better schools.” The next year, with Caldwell’s advice

Dean’s Scholarship Endowment in the Ernest Scheller Jr.

and letter of recommendation, Avery was accepted by the

College of Business. “I learned, through Phil Adler, another

Harvard Business School. He earned his MBA in 1977 and

fabulous professor that I had at Tech, that James Caldwell

credits Caldwell’s encouragement and assistance for the

had passed away,” Avery said. “I had never taken the time to

opportunities his education has afforded since then.

thank him for all he did for me, so it seemed opportune to do

Armed with degrees from both Georgia Tech and Harvard,

this while his wife and their son, David, are here to witness

Avery went on to attain high-level positions at The Robinson-

it. I hope other Tech graduates will be inspired to remember

Humphrey Company, Summit Partners, Noro-Moseley

and honor those professors who made an equally huge

Partners, Interstate/Johnson-Lane, and Raymond James &

impact on their careers.”

Associates, from which he retired in 2014. In addition to his

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 • giftplanning@dev.gatech.edu • plannedgiving.gatech.edu

GEORGIA TECH SCHELLER MBA:

REMOVING BARRIERS At the Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business, we’re in the business of developing principled, forward-thinking leaders who know how to leverage technology to create change.

Motivated by our desire to remove systemic barriers of entry to graduate business education, the Full-time MBA program is piloting a GMAT/ GRE test optional policy for Fall 2021 admissions. This policy allows candidates to apply without a standardized exam score. We are confident this change will attract our most diverse, qualified, and successful MBA cohort yet.

LEARN MORE AT GATECHSCHELLER.COM

PUBLISHER’S LETTER

A SPIRIT OF COLL ABORATION

D

DURING A TIME when we have all struggled with not being able to be physically together, I think about the reasons why being a Jacket is truly special.

Some would attest it is our bond, our close connection with one another after having persevered and earned that prized Georgia Tech degree.

Recently, we conducted an alumni survey and it pointed us toward a few interesting observations about who we are as Yellow Jackets. A finding that was not so surprising is that we are problem solvers.

Problem solving is what we do. While students at Tech, we pushed each other to excel. Here at the Alumni Association, we wanted to explore how we, as alumni, push each other to excel even after our time on The Flats.

How many of you remember the student in your class who had that knack for setting the curve with relative ease? For me, it was a well-liked classmate named Mike from Lilburn, Ga. I admired how he grasped concepts, asked the right

GEORGIA TECH ALUMNI MAGAZINE VOL. 96 | NO. 4 PRESIDENT & PUBLISHER Dene Sheheane, Mgt 91

VP STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS

questions, and pushed the rest of us to get better. Tech folks continue to do that long after they leave campus. In this issue, we’ll introduce you to some of those inspiring alumni, students, and faculty who display what we call “fierce collaboration.” The results are innovative new ways to think about problems around us.

When people with different strengths come together, a more impactful outcome is almost always the result. Think about the partnership between our Institute and Emory University that created our highly ranked biomedical engineering program. Or look at the cutting-edge pediatric research coming from an outstanding partnership with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. One of the factors that leads to innovation is an interdisciplinary approach that brings together researchers from a variety of backgrounds. If you look around campus, you’ll discover countless examples of fierce collaboration where skills are leveraged, and problems are solved.

So, think back to that student, professor, administrator, or maybe family member who sparked your drive for excellence. You likely inspired them as well, and a cycle of excellence was set in motion. As Yellow Jackets, we all benefit from a spirit of fierce collaboration, no matter where life has taken us.

Go Jackets!

DENE SHEHEANE, MG T 91 PRESIDENT GEORGIA TEC H ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

Lindsay Vaughn

EDITOR Jennifer Herseim

ART DIRECTOR Karen Matthes

COPY EDITOR Barbara McIntosh Webb

STUDENT ASSISTANT Manushi Sheth

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Chair Jocelyn Stargel, IE 82, MS IE 86 Past Chair/Finance Brent Zelnak, Mgt 94 Chair Elect, Chair of Gold & White, Vice Chair/Roll Call Shan Pesaru, CmpE 05 Vice Chair/Engagement Magd Riad, IE 01 Member at Large Rita Breen, Psy 90, MS IE 92 Member at Large Garrett Langley, EE 09 Member at Large Cathy Hill, EE 84 Member at Large James Stovall, CS 01

BOARD OF TRUSTEES Clint Bailey, TE 97; Archel Bernard, STC 11; Amrit Bhavinani, CM 09; Jeff Bogdan, Mgt 88, MS MoT 98; Jason Byars, ME 96; Alina Capanyola, IE 10; Duane Carver, CmpE 10; Aurelien Cottet, MS AE 03; Andre Dickens, ChE 98; Lizzie Donnelly, IA 08; Jamie Hamilton, Mgt 93; John Hanson, IE 11; Joy Jordan, ChE 92; Jeanne Kerney, CE 84; Mary Beth Lake, ID 04; Juan Michelena, TE 85; Jerald C. Mitchell, MBA 11; Anu Parvatiyar, BME 08; Antai Peng, PhD EE 96; Anna Pinder, ME 03; Debra Porter, ME 86; George Ray, Mgt 09, PP 09; Amy Rich, MBA 12; Jean Marie Richardson, Mgt 02; Jim Sanders, IE 88; Stacey Sapp, IM 80; Paul Shailendra, CE 01; David Sotto, BME 09, PhD BioE 15; Betty Tong, ME 93, MS ME 95; Kate Tyler, MS CE 09; Jef Wallace, Mgt 94; Kristin Watkins, Mgt 13; Sam Westbrook, IE 99; Stephenie Whitfield, Bio 93; Bruce Wilson, EE 78, MS EE 80; Sheetal Wrzesien, CS 94

ADVERTISING Justin Estes (404) 683-9599 justin.estes@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. © 2021 Georgia Tech Alumni Association

POSTMASTER Send address changes to: Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine, 190 North Ave. N.W., Atlanta, GA 30313 or editor@alumni.gatech.edu.

TELEPHONE

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WINTER 2021 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

Georgia Tech Alumni Association (404) 894-2391

VOLUME 96 ISSUE 4

FEATURES

A FULL-TIME JOB After retiring from Georgia Tech in 1996, William “Denney” Freeston, a former administrator and a faculty member in the textile engineering school, has stayed busy building one-of-a-kind boats, kayaks, cars, and other creations.

COVER ILLUSTRATION

MUTI - FOLIO ART

PHOTOGRAPH

PETER TAYLOR

38

46

54

FIERCE COLLABORATION

THE YELLOW JACKET-AT-LAW

DR. FREESTON’S FANTASTIC BOATS

In the Georgia Tech

From climate change to

community, “creative friction”

privacy to pandemics, the

person on Earth than a retired

between collaborators leads

intersection of technology,

engineer. But at age 84,

to better solutions.

science, public policy, and

William “Denney” Freeston

law has major implications.

sets the bar high.

There might not be a busier

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | WINTER 2021

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VOLUME 96

DEPARTMENTS

ISSUE 4

PHOTOGRAPH

PRAJWAL MAVINKERE REVANNA

CONTENTS

10

AROUND CAMPUS Meet Georgia Tech’s Provost 12 Talk of Tech 14 Enhancements Coming to Tyler Brown Pi Mile Course 17 Tech Research 18

MAGNIFICENT MA TECH Near or far, Tech Tower is a striking presence on campus. This aerial shot was captured using a DJI Mavic Air 2 drone by Prajwal M. Revanna, a second-year graduate student in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

22

ON THE FIELD Analyze This 24 Building Leaders On & Off the Court 28

30

IN THE WORLD Atlanta’s Fastest Startup 32 Jacket Copy 36

60

ALUMNI HOUSE 2021 Gold & White Honors 62 Association Annual Report 72 Growing New Traditions 76 Ramblin’ Roll 78 In Memoriam 84

92

TECH HISTORY Living History Director Marilyn Somers Retires After 31 Years 92 Back Page 98

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | WINTER 2021

7

FEEDBACK A MENTOR FOR US ALL THERE COULD NOT BE a more fitting introduction to the section on mentoring in the recent Alumni Magazine [Vol.

for all of us: “Double-knot your shoe-

96, No. 3, Fall 2020] than a picture

laces” and “You have won if you have

of Dean Griffin’s statue. He was my

beaten yourself.”

cross-country coach and taught me two

REV. DR. JIM “JOE” WATKINS, IM 65,

things that are not only for runners but

OF PAWLEYS ISLAND, S.C.

ACCESSIBILITY ON CAMPUS

A WHEELCHAIR THAT DOES IT ALL

WE RECEIVED SEVERAL LET TERS about

Wash., enjoyed the story, writing

the story Friends and Psychological

to say that it was “very inspiring in

Backbone [Vol. 96, No. 3, Fall 2020],

these dark times.” On Twitter, Lisa B.

which recounted the grit and determina-

(@gtmbagirl) posted: “It gave me a

tion of Tim Andrews, Arch 74, and the

new perspective, especially about

compassion of his four Tech classmates,

the landscape of campus & making

who he credits for helping him gradu-

education #accessible (in more ways

ate. NIKHIL TULI, MS CS 09, of Seattle,

than one).”

FRIENDS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL BACKB O N E addressed researc h being conducted by students and faculty to improve the design of wheelchairs. In the story, Professor and Director of the REARLab Stephen Sprigle discusses the challenge of designing wheelchairs that climb stairs.

EDWARD C. PUTNAM, IM 74, OF MARIETTA, GA., writes: “I would like to

address the statement that stair-climbing wheelchairs are not good for anything else. My brother-in-law was injured in Vietnam in 1968, my sophomore year

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: Dene Sheheane Editor: Jennifer Herseim Owner: Georgia Tech Alumni Association, 190 North Ave. N.W., Atlanta, GA 30313 Known bondholders, mortgagees and other security No. of Average holders owning or holding 1 percent or more of total amount of bonds, copies of No. of mortgages or other securities: None Tax Status/The purpose, function and single issue copies each nonprofit status of this organization and the exempt status for federal published issue during income tax purposes: Has not changed in the preceding 12 months. preceding

nearest to

12 months

filing date

a. Total No. Copies

85,269

147,206

b. Paid Circulation (1) Mailed Outside-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 354

(2) Mailed In-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 3541

(3) Paid Distribution Outside the Mails Including Sales Through Dealers and Carriers, Street Vendors, Counter Sales & Other Paid Distribution Outside USPS

(4) Paid Distribution by Other Classes of Mail Through the USPS

84,723

146,670

None

None

None

None

None

None

Extent and nature of circulation

at Tech. He lost both legs and his left

c. Total Paid Distribution

84,723

146,670

hand. In the ‘90s he obtained an iBOT

None

None

wheelchair through the V.A. This wheel-

d. Free or Nominal Rate Distribution (1) Free or Nominal Rate Outside-County Copies Included on PS Form 3541

(2) Free or Nominal Rate In-County Copies Included on PS Form 3541

None

None

chair could climb stairs and elevate

(3) Free or Nominal Rate Copies Mailed at Other Classes Through the USPS

None

None

the occupant to the eve level of those

(4) Free or Nominal Rate Distribution Outside the Mail

308

386

around him, as well as performing as

e. Total Free or Nominal Rate Distribution

308

386

a powered chair. Of course, it was ex-

f. Total Distribution

85,031

147,056

tremely heavy, but still an amazing

g. Copies not Distributed

238

150

product. It went out of production, prob-

h. Total

85,269

147,206

ably due to the extreme cost, so he had

i. Percent Paid

99.6%

99.7%

to return to a standard chair. The developer also came up with the Segway PT that is more widely known.”

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WINTER 2021 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

This statement of ownership has been printed in the Vol. 96, No. 4 issue of this publication. I certify that the statements made by me above are correct and complete.

Dene Sheheane, Mgt 91 President, Georgia Tech Alumni Association

We’re proud to partner with Georgia Tech Alumni Association. To learn more about Liberty Mutual auto and home insurance, please call us at 1-888-618-2146, or visit libertymutual.com/gtalumni.

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VOLUME 96

AROUND CAMPUS

ISSUE 4

OUTDOOR CLASSROOM Jenna Jordan, associate professor and director of Graduate Studies in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, teaches students on Tech Walkway this fall.

PHOTOGRAPH

CHRISTOPHER MOORE

12

MEET THE PROVOST

14

TALK OF TECH

17

PI MILE COURSE

18

TECH RESEARCH

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | WINTER 2021

11

Q & A

MEET GEORGIA TECH’S PROVOST ON OCT. 1, Steven McLaughlin assumed the role of provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs. Previously, he served as dean of the College of Engineering and the Southern Company Chair. During his 25-year career at Tech, he has served in many roles, including vice provost for international initiatives, deputy director of Georgia Tech–Lorraine, and chair of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He received his bachelor’s in electrical engineering

Q: WHAT CHALLENGES CAUSED BY THE PANDEMIC AND WHAT OPPORTUNITIES ARE YOU FINDING IN YOUR NEW POSITION? The problems we’re working on solving, we’ve never had to face before.

We don’t know where the pandemic is going and we don’t know what the reactions of parents, students, and faculty will be. I’m an engineer, so I see all those as variables. The reassuring thing is we’re doing all that problem-solving in teams.

In terms of opportunities, I look at what we’ve done as an institution in the last nine months. We took 8,000 courses and moved them online. We built surveillance testing and created a rapid response program that resulted in more than 2 million face shields deployed. It really feels like we can accomplish anything we put our minds to. From a budget standpoint, you hear about big layoffs and challenges that other schools are facing. We’re in a difficult budget situation, but we are stable. We had the highest enrollment we’ve ever had. We’re going to come out of this really strong.

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WINTER 2021 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

BY JENNIFER HERSEIM

from Northwestern University, his master’s from Princeton University, and his PhD from the University of Michigan.

“When I talk to alumni, they have this love for Georgia Tech, but it’s true of faculty, too,” McLaughlin says. “Georgia Tech has done for me what it does for students, and what it’s done for alums. It’s provided this incredible experience.”

Below, the Alumni Magazine spoke with McLaughlin about his plans as provost.

Q: WHAT SOLUTIONS DO YOU EXPECT WILL STICK AROUND AFTER THE PANDEMIC? One is the rapid response system that we developed to build face shields, respirators, and intubation boxes. That’s not traditional research nor education, but there’s this space where we have tons of wherewithal and do-withall. We’re talking about what it would look like in the future to have this type

of rapid response available to meet community needs. The other aspect is online learning. I think we will be seeing more hybrid models of online and in-person in the future.

Q: THIS PAST YEAR, WE’VE SEEN RENEWED CONVERSATIONS AROUND SOCIAL INJUSTICE AND RACIAL INEQUALITIES. WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS TO EXPAND DIVERSITY, INCLUSION, AND EQUITY?

“WE’RE IN A DIFFICULT BUDGET SITUATION, BUT WE ARE STABLE. WE HAD THE HIGHEST ENROLLMENT WE’VE EVER HAD. WE’RE GOING TO COME OUT OF THIS REALLY STRONG,” SAYS M C LAUGHLIN.

Embracing experiential and problembased learning will be key in Tech’s academics, says McLaughlin.

I was privileged to co-lead the steering committee for the new strategic plan.

One of our six themes is around expanding access, and a component to that is having our student population look more like the community that we serve. Certainly, there will be priorities around continuing to grow our population of minority students and being able to fully support any student who can succeed at Tech.

PHOTOGRAPH

CHRISTOPHER MOORE

Q: WHERE DO YOU SEE GEORGIA TECH’S APPROACH TO ACADEMICS HEADING? Driven by our strategic planning and aligned with Creating The Next in Education, an effort started by my predecessor Dr. Rafael L. Bras, we’re certainly going to talk about experiential education. In disciplines like engineering and computing, that’s already embedded in what we do with hands-on projects, internships, coops, and makerspaces. A goal will be to make all academic programs incorporate experiential components. The other thing is around evidenced-based methods for education. Some of that will be problem-based learning and having much more engaging problembased methods for educating.

Q: DURING YOUR TIME AT TECH, YOU LAUNCHED THE CREATE-X PROGRAM. WHAT DOES THE NEXT EVOLUTION OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP LOOK LIKE AT GEORGIA TECH? What we’re doing at CREATE-X touches on the experiential education that we want. Daniel Pink talks about the three elements students need to feel motivated: They need to feel like they have a superpower or expertise, they need to feel purpose-driven,

and they need independence. When you have those three, magic happens.

That’s really the heart and soul of why so many students gravitate toward the CREATE-X program.

When people talk about CREATE-X, they tend to shine a light on the startups, but it’s really about problem-finders. We have these amazing students who will do fantastic things in their careers. As long as they work on the right problems, we know we’ll give them the tools to solve them. It’s finding the right problems to solve that’s the piece we need to work on. CREATE-X is helping students do that.

We have plans to touch every

Georgia Tech student in some kind of entrepreneurial program like this.

Q: WHAT EXAMPLES OF FIERCE COLLABORATION HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED AT TECH? People tend to think professors have elbow patches and sit at their desks thinking great thoughts. No way. It’s super competitive. You are making mistakes. You are making advancements. For students, it’s our programs such as InVenture Prize, CREATE-X, our senior design capstone experiences—that’s the collaboration and competition that is so embedded in our curriculum and that produces these amazing ideas from students.

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | WINTER 2021

13

TALK OF TECH

MARGULIES ELECTED TO NATIONAL ACADEMY OF MEDICINE COULTER DEPARTMENT CHAIR EARNS ONE OF THE HIGHEST HONORS IN HEALTH AND MEDICINE.

T H E N AT I O N A L A C A D E M Y O F M E D I C I N E (NAM) has elected Professor Susan Margulies to its prestigious 2020 class.

Election to NAM is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service. She is only the second person from Georgia Tech to receive the honor. The late Bob Nerem, founding director of the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, is the other.

Margulies is the Wallace H. Coulter Professor and Chair in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) at Georgia Tech and Emory University.

She is also a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Injury Biomechanics. Her research interests center around traumatic brain injury in children and ventilator-induced lung injury, with a focus in these areas on prevention, intervention, and treatments. “This well-deserved distinction is a testament to her as an exemplary

BY JERRY GRILLO

scholar, leader, and collaborator,” says Steven W. McLaughlin, provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs at Georgia Tech.

S E V E N FA C U LT Y M E M B E R S E L E C T E D T O N A T I O N A L A C A D E M I E S I N 2 0 2 0 T H E S P R I N G O F 2 0 2 0 was a remark-

who studies energy in the School of

who has helped guide the digital

able one for seven Georgia Tech

Public Policy; Randall Engle, who

transformation of manufacturing; Mar-

faculty members from all kinds of disci-

studies attention and memory in the

gulies (above); and Alexander

plines who were elected to the National

School of Psychology; and Arkadi

Shapiro, who studies optimization

Academy of Sciences or the National

Nemirovski, who studies optimiza-

modeling. Susan Lozier, Dean and

Academy of Engineering. Joining the

tion in the H. Milton Stewart School

Betsy Middleton and John Clark Suther-

National Academy of Sciences: Mar-

of Industrial and Systems Engineering.

land Chair in the College of Sciences,

ilyn Brown (who also joined the

Joining the National Academy of Engi-

joined the American Academy of Arts

National Academy of Engineering),

neering: Brown; Thomas Kurfess,

and Sciences.—JOSHUA STEWART

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WINTER 2021 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

I VA N A L L E N C O L L E G E O F LIBERAL ARTS AND COLLEGE OF COMPUTING LAUNCH NEW ETHICS CENTER BUILDING ON YEARS OF EXPERIENCE

Raheem Beyah, Georgia Tech’s

in research and education in eth-

vice president for interdisci-

ics and technology, the College of

plinary research. “ETHICx will

Computing and the Ivan Allen Col-

provide the necessary environ-

lege of Liberal Arts have launched

ment to support this work and

the Ethics, Technology, and Human In-

Georgia Tech’s mission to advance

Ethics Initiative for Machine Learning

teraction Center (ETHICx). The new

technology and improve the human

@ GATECH.

Center—pronounced “ethics”—will ad-

condition.”

“ETHICx will be a place for robust,

vance ethics-in-technology-centered

The two colleges already have

multidisciplinary research and a

research, education, and engagement

in-depth research and education

place to engage in systematic ethical

at Tech in collaboration with commu-

experience addressing technology-

analyses,” says Kaye Husbands Feal-

nities, government, non-governmental

related ethics questions. For instance,

ing, dean of the Ivan Allen College of

organizations, and industry. The office

the School of Public Policy founded the

Liberal Arts and co-director of the new

of the Executive Vice President for Re-

Center for Ethics and Technology to

Center with Ayanna Howard, chair in

search provided significant funds over

foster a critical inquiry culture and de-

the School of Interactive Computing.

a three-year period to seed the Center.

liberation about technology-related

Deven Desai, associate professor and

“We must foster Georgia Tech’s

ethical issues. The College of Comput-

area coordinator for Law and Ethics at

strengths in ethics, responsible research,

ing also has created initiatives, such

Scheller College of Business, also will

and the development of emerging tech-

as the Ethical AI professional develop-

assume a leadership role.—MICHAEL

nologies in collaborative ways,” says

ment course and the Law, Policy, and

PEARSON AND DAVID MITCHELL

TALK OF TECH

N U B E TA D E D I C A T E S ARTWORK TO HONOR BLACK WOMEN IN STEM I N 1 9 7 9 , the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Nu Beta Chapter was chartered at Georgia Tech and became the first Black sorority recognized by the Georgia Tech Pan Hellenic Council. In honor of the organization’s 40th anniversary, Maria Bailey Benson, IE 92, MS IE 94, led the commission of

Christina Rachelle Burgess, president of Nu Beta Georgia Tech, with Her Mind Is Open (left) and Sisters, two new mixed-media artworks that will be permanently displayed at Crosland Tower.

two pieces of artwork to recognize the contributions of Nu Beta Chapter and alumnae to the Tech community over

unveiling and dedication hosted by Nu

project, is a prominent Atlanta-based

the past four decades and as a tribute to

Beta and Georgia Tech Arts. “Fast-

artist and curator who describes her

Black women in Science, Technology,

forward to 2020, the number of wom-

work as “a celebration of the beauty

Engineering, and Math.

en in STEM fields has more than tripled;

and grace that I see in all women of

“When Nu Beta was chartered, less

however, we still have a long way to

color.”

than 7% of STEM professionals were

go to achieve parity when it comes to

women, much less Black women, so for

Black women in STEM.”

In addition to the two pieces of artwork, Nu Beta announced a new

those 20 visionary women who char-

The two mixed-media pieces, Sis-

campaign supporting the Nu Beta

tered the Nu Beta Chapter, we say

ters and Her Mind Is Open, will be

Endowment Scholarship previously es-

thank you for not only forging the way,

displayed on the sixth floor of Cros-

tablished by AKA alumnae, as well as

but for making a way for all of us,”

land Tower, Georgia Tech’s library.

annual contributions to Roll Call to sup-

Benson said during an Oct. 16 virtual

Tracy Murrell, the artist selected for the

port undergraduates.

FACULT Y

N EWS

President Ángel Cabrera, MS Psy 93, PhD Psy 95, has expanded his cabinet to include K I M D . H A R R I N G T O N , associate vice president of Human Resources, and D A R E N H U B B A R D , vice president of Information Technology.

R Y A N L I V E L Y , ChBE 06, MS ChE 10, PhD ChE 11, associate professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, received the 2020 Allan P. Colburn Award.

J O D I G E A R Y is Georgia Tech’s new chief audit executive. She joined the Institute after 16 years with KPMG, an audit, tax, and advisory firm.

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WINTER 2021 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

ENHANCEMENTS COMING TO TYLER BROWN PI MILE COURSE

A RE-ENVISIONED COURSE MAP AND NEW ROUTE MARKERS BRING VISIBILITY TO TECH’S 3.14-MILE COURSE.

BY JENNIFER HERSEIM I T S TA R T S W I T H A C U R V E along Ferst Drive past the CRC. Next up is the turn after Couch Park, then a long stretch through north campus and down to the Greek houses dotting Techwood Drive. Finally, with Tech Tower in sight, runners along the Tyler Brown Pi Mile Course know that the finish line is within reach. For the mathematically inclined, and anyone else, running the 3.14-mile Tyler Brown Pi Mile through Georgia Tech’s campus is a Tech tradition.

In 2005, the course was dedicated to 1st Lt. Tyler Brown, Mgt 01, who was killed in combat in Iraq in 2004. While a student at Tech, Brown was in the ROTC, president of the student body, and an avid runner. Each year, Georgia Tech’s ROTC places American flags in honor of those who lost their lives on 9/11 and they place a special remembrance for Brown.

Two years ago, ROTC members initiated plans to enhance the Tyler Brown Pi Mile Course by increasing its visibility and prominence on campus.

“The original design of the course was pretty subtle, with small bronze medallions marking ¼-mile points along the route,” says Jason Gregory, Georgia Tech’s landscape architect in the Capital Planning and Space Management office. “These enhancements

will bring greater visibility to the course for campus visitors and runners.”

The project, which begins this spring, will include the addition of six new signposts featuring a commemorative plaque and a course map in areas where pedestrians might enter campus. Three vertical 1-mile markers and 27 inlay marble medallions will be placed along the route at key points in the course.

The route will also be adjusted to reduce the number of street crossings and will accommodate future construction plans by shifting the trail from Ferst Drive to Tech Parkway.

1 Existing GT Sign Family SCALE: 3/4” = 1’-0”

M A P/C O M M E M O R AT I V E PL AQUE WITH TRAIL MARKER

On the north end of the course, the route will go through green space in the recently completed EcoCommons area between Hemphill Ave. and State Street. The EcoCommons includes new thoughtfully designed green spaces to encourage reflection, engagement, and learning. The space also includes a contemplation grove where three longleaf pine trees honor three African American theology students who were barred from entering a segregated restaurant that previousG T S I G N F A M I LY ly existed in the space.

The Tyler Brown Pi Mile enhancement project is expected to be completed in late spring.

B A S E MA R K E R WI T H 1 / 4 - M I L E NO T A T I O N

M A P/C O M M E M O R AT I V E P L A Q U E WI T H TR A I L MA R K E R & 1/ 4 - M I L E NO T A T I O N ( L O C AT I O N A . 4 /C . 4 )

1 - M I L E MA R K E R W I T H 1/ 4 - N O T A T I O N

BASE MARKER

2 Pi Mile - Commemorative Plaque/Map & .25 Mile Markers SCALE: 3/4” = 1’-0”

GEORGIA TECH

PI MILE SIGNAGE UPDATES

PROJECT #11426.06

08.07.20

| WINTER 2021 GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE PRESENTATION 5

17

2.6

TECH RESEARCH

MEDICINE

“PROGRAMMABLE MEDICINE” BIO-CIRCUITRY RESEARCH AIMS TO MAKE PROGRAMMABLE DRUGS THAT COULD COMMUNICATE DIRECTLY WITH HUMAN BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS.

BY JERRY GRILLO IN THE WORLD OF SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY, the development of foundational components like logic gates and genetic clocks has enabled the design of circuits with increasing complexity, including the ability to solve math problems, build autonomous robots, and play interactive games. A team of Georgia Tech researchers is now using what they’ve learned about bio-circuits to lay the groundwork for the future of programmable medicine.

Looking like any other small vial of clear liquid, these programmable drugs would communicate directly with our biological systems, dynamically responding to the information flowing through our bodies to automatically deliver proper doses where and when they are needed. These future medicines might even live inside us throughout our lives, fighting infection, detecting cancer and other diseases, essentially becoming a therapeutic biological extension of ourselves.

We are years away from that, but the insights gained from research in

the

BASELINE 18

Gabe Kwong’s lab are moving us closer, with the development of “enzyme computers”—engineered bio-circuits designed with biological components, with the capacity to expand and augment living functions.

“The long-term vision is this concept of programmable immunity,” says Kwong, associate professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University, who partnered with fellow researcher Brandon Holt on the paper, “Protease circuits for processing biological information,” published Oct. 6 in the journal Nature Communications. The research was

20

WINTER 2021 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

sponsored by the National Institutes of Health.

The story of this paper begins two years ago, Holt says. “Our lab has a rich history of developing enzyme-based diagnostics; eventually we started thinking about these systems as computers, which led us to design simple logic gates, such as AND gates and OR gates. This project grew organically, and we realized that there were other devices we could build, like comparators and analog-digital converters.

Eventually this led to the idea of taking an analog-to-digital converter and using that to digitize bacterial activity.”

Ultimately, they assembled cell-free

The Georgia Tech research team used biological materials to make its analog-to-digital converter.

SOLUTIONS TO CUT GEORGIA’S CARBON FOOTPRINT ROLLED OUT BY DRAWDOWN GEORGIA, AN EFFORT POWERED BY RESEARCH FROM TECH AND OTHER UNIVERSITIES.

7

FACULTY MEMBERS FROM GEORGIA TECH ELECTED TO THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES IN 2020.

RESEARCH

bio-circuits that can combine with bacteria-infected blood, “with the basic idea that it would quantify the bacterial infection—the number of bacteria—then calculate and release a selective drug dose, essentially in real time,” says Holt, a PhD student in Kwong’s Laboratory for Synthetic Immunity and lead author of the paper.

The researchers sought to construct bio-circuits that use protease activity to process biological information under a digital or analog framework (proteases are enzymes that break down proteins into smaller polypeptides and amino acids). The team built its analog-to-digital converter with a tiny device, made only of biological materials, that changed signals from bacteria into ones and zeroes.

Then, the circuit used these numbers to choose the proper dosage of drugs needed to kill the bacteria without overdosing.

That’s the traditional approach— bio-circuits digitizing molecular signals, allowing operations to be carried out by Boolean logic. The second part of the team’s new paper takes a more nuanced approach, with a focus on analog circuits as opposed to digital. That multi-valued approach led to yet another idea, and ultimately to the bigger picture of analog bio-circuits.

The ability to process information from the biomolecular environment with an analog framework is critical, according to Kwong.

50%

G E O R G I A T E C H , PA C I F I C N O R T H W E S T N A T I O N A L L A B O R A T O RY S I G N RESEARCH COLL ABORATION MOU G E O R G I A T E C H and the U.S. Depart-

five-year agreement leverages existing

ment of Energy’s Pacific Northwest

relationships and takes advantage of

National Laboratory have entered

synergies. The agreement lays out sev-

into a formal memorandum of under-

eral potential topics of mutual interest

standing to bolster the interactions,

in many areas of science and technol-

collaborations, and joint scientific out-

ogy, including data science and visual

put of both institutions. “This MOU

analytics, electrical grid technologies,

provides a basis for both parties to

cybersecurity, and processing for fuels,

engage in research collaborations,

chemicals, and materials. “Through this

and the joint creation and administra-

MOU, we look forward to expanding

tion of intellectual property,” says Tim

our collaborations in these important

Lieuwen, executive director of Tech’s

research areas,”says Chaouki T. Ab-

Strategic Energy Institute. Leaders of

dallah, Tech’s executive vice president

both institutions emphasized that the

for research. —JOHN TOON

C O V I D - 19

R E S E A R C H E R S S T U DY HOW VULNERABLE POPULATIONS SEEK PA N D E M I C I N F O GEORGIA TECH will receive $155,000

School of Interactive Computing and

from Google’s Covid-19 AI for So-

member of the Institute for People

cial Good program to investigate

and Technology.

patterns and impact of pandemic

“Within a public health crisis, the

information-seeking among vulner-

information that people are exposed

able populations, such as older

to has huge implications for how at-

adults, low-income households, and

titudes around the pandemic are

Black and Hispanic adults. These

shaped, how people respond, and

populations have experienced

thus the course of the pandemic,”

disproportionately high rates of

Parker says.

Covid-19-related death, severe sickness, and life disruptions.

The project is led by Andrea Grimes Parker, an associate professor in the

PROJECTED DECREASE IN COVID-19 INFECTIONS WHEN VOLUNTARY SHELTER-IN-PLACE, QUARANTINES, AND OTHER INTERVENTIONS ARE TAKEN, ACCORDING TO TECH RESEARCHERS.

Findings will help to shape recommendations for crisis information

$5M

communication, particularly online, in the future. —DAVID MITCHELL

ALLOCATED BY THE NSF TO COMPETENCY CATALYST, AN INITIATIVE LED IN PART BY GEORGIA TECH, TO CREATE DIGITAL RESOURCES TO SUPPORT RESKILLING.

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | WINTER 2021

19

TECH RESEARCH

MEDICINE

U LT R A - L O W - C O S T H E A R I N G A I D C O U L D A D D R E S S AGE-REL ATED HEARING LOSS WORLDWIDE USING A DEVICE that could be built with a dollar’s worth of open-source

players instead of traditional behind-

adults tend to lose hearing at high-

the-ear hearing aids.

er frequencies. Focusing on a large

parts and a 3D-printed case, re-

“The challenge we set for ourselves

group with similar hearing losses sim-

searchers want to help the millions

was to build a minimalist hearing aid,

plified the design by narrowing the

of older people worldwide who can’t

determine how good it would be,

range of sound frequency amplifica-

afford existing hearing aids to ad-

and ask how useful it would be to

tion needed.

dress their age-related hearing loss.

the millions of people who could use

“I was born with hearing loss and

The ultra-low-cost, proof-of-con-

it,” says Saad Bhamla, an assistant

didn’t get hearing aids until I was in

cept device known as LoCHAid is

professor in the School of Chemi-

high school,” says Soham Sinha, the

designed to be easily manufactured

cal and Biomolecular Engineering

paper’s first author, who was born

and repaired in locations where con-

at Georgia Tech. “The need is obvi-

in semirural India and is a long-term

ventional hearing aids are priced

ous because conventional hearing

user of hearing aid technology. Sinha

beyond the reach of most citizens.

aids cost a lot and only a fraction of

worked on the project while a Geor-

The minimalist device is expected to

those who need them have access.”

gia Tech undergraduate and is now

meet most of the World Health Or-

Part of the reason for the high cost

a PhD student at Stanford University.

ganization’s targets for hearing aids

of conventional hearing aids is that

“This project represented for me an

aimed at mild to moderate age-re-

effective hearing aids provide far

opportunity to learn what I could do

lated hearing loss. The prototypes

more than just sound amplification.

to help others who may be in the

built so far look like wearable music

Hearing loss tends to occur unevenly

same situation as me but not have the

at different frequenGeorgia Tech professor Saad Bhamla and his team created a hearing aid that only costs a dollar to produce.

the

BASELINE 20

cies, so boosting all

The inexpensive hearing aid de-

sound can actually

veloped by Bhamla’s team cannot

make speech compre-

do everything that the more expen-

hension more difficult.

sive devices can do, an issue Vinaya

The device must also

Manchaiah, professor of speech and

avoid distorting the

hearing sciences at Lamar University

sound or adding

and another member of the research

noise that could ham-

team, compares to “purchasing a ba-

per the user’s ability

sic car versus a luxury car. If you ask

to understand.

most users, a basic car is all you need

Bhamla and his

to be able to get from point A to point

team chose to focus

B. But in the hearing aid world, not

on age-related hear-

many companies make basic cars.”

ing loss because older

—JOHN TOON

14,189

WINTER 2021 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

resources to obtain hearing aids.”

FOSSIL POLLEN SAMPLES COLLECTED BY TECH RESEARCHERS WHO FOUND LOW RESILIENCE OF PLANT BIOMES IN NORTH AMERICA, WHICH COULD INDICATE THE START OF A KIND OF MASS EXTINCTION NOT SEEN FOR 13,000 YEARS.

C O V I D - 19

MEET TRUE MERRILL: TECH ALUM AND SENIOR RESEARCH SCIENTIST W H E N I N T E R V I E W E D about his ef-

immediately.”

forts with Georgia Tech’s Covid-19

Merrill earned a PhD in physical

surveillance testing program, True

chemistry from Georgia Tech in 2013.

Merrill, PhD Chem 13, repeatedly

In his “regular” job as a senior research

said how proud he is to be part of the

scientist at GTRI, Merrill’s group works

campuswide team working on it.

primarily on defense problems related

“I’ve never had the opportunity in my career to work on a problem where

to Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) defense.

I could help so many people in my own

Merrill is a senior scientist on the

community and see those results in real

team that developed and implemented

in the pandemic the supply chain for

time,” Merrill says. “Throughout my

Georgia Tech’s Covid-19 surveillance

testing supplies was stressed, with criti-

PhD work and career at the Georgia

testing program. His research group

cal reagents sometimes back-ordered

Tech Research Institute (GTRI), we’re

has been tracking the coronavirus since

for months. To lower costs and reduce

frequently thinking about either far

last January.

supply risk, the GTRI team developed

out future technologies or rare or dif-

Last April, the State of Georgia

a saliva-based PCR test, which uses lo-

ficult problems that might occur in the

asked GTRI to come up with ways to

cal and Georgia-based suppliers. GTRI

distant future. Now one of those prob-

use the University System of Georgia’s

clinically validated the saliva test at

lems is real, and it’s here now. It is

(USG) resources to expand corona-

specimen point of collection sites op-

really gratifying to feel like we’re able

virus testing to support the Georgia

erated by the Georgia Department of

to have an impact today and you see it

Department of Public Health. Early

Public Health.—VICTOR ROGERS

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TECH CAREERS AT

VOLUME 96

ON THE FIELD

ISSUE 4

RECORD RETURN Georgia Tech’s Jordan Mason fends off Notre Dame Oct. 31 at home. Although the Fighting Irish ultimately prevailed, the Yellow Jackets returned a 93-yard fumble for a touchdown in the second quarter. It was the longest fumble return for a touchdown in Tech’s history.

PHOTOGRAPH

DANNY KARNIK

24

ANALYZE THIS

28

BUILDING LEADERS ON & OFF THE COURT

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ON THE FIELD

ANALYZE THIS

TECH’S NEW PLAYER TRAINING FACILITY WILL PUSH COLLEGE BASEBALL ANALYTICS INTO BIG-LEAGUE TERRITORY.

BY TONY REHAGEN

Spin Axis

FIP: Fielding Independent Pitching = ((13 x HR) + (3 x (BB+HBP)) – (2 x K)) / IP + FIP constant

HR =

Home runs

BB =

Walks allowed

HBP =

Sabermetrics: The empirical analysis of baseball

Spin Rate:

Measured in revolutions per minute

Hits by pitch

K =

Strikeouts

H =

Hits

WHIP: Walks Plus Hits Per Inning Pitched = BB + H IP

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WINTER 2021 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

IN AUGUST OF 2019, Danny Borrell arrived at Georgia Tech from the future.

T

The newly minted Yellow Jacket pitching coach had just spent the previous 18 years with the New York Yankees, first as a southpaw pitcher and then as a pitching coach and pitching coordinator for its farm system. Borrell had witnessed first-hand as analytics—the use of advanced metrics and statistics—first gripped Major League Baseball in the early 2000s and then trickled down to the minor leagues during his time as a coach. Now, he was joining Georgia Tech. Under Head Coach Danny Hall’s leadership, Borrell would be a major asset in making Tech one of the first teams at the college level to invest heavily in datadriven player development.

It was no coincidence that Borrell was joining the Yellow Jackets while Georgia Tech Athletics was moving on Phase II of renovations at Russ Chandler Stadium, home of Georgia Tech baseball. The $9-million project replaces the one-story building on the third-base side of the stadium with a new 25,000-squarefoot, two-story structure that includes a concourse-level atrium; new premium suite, club, and general seating; new restrooms and concession stands; and, most importantly for Borrell’s intentions, an expanded indoor training facility. “When I left the Yankees, we were building an entire pitching lab,” says Borrell. “Knowing what they were putting in theirs, I wanted to make sure we had the same stuff at Tech. But

we went above and beyond.”

The training center will feature 20-foot-wide batting cages, two 10-foot-wide pitching tunnels, and a video analysis room, along with an arsenal of state-of-the-tech analytics equipment. A tunnel with a raised mound containing sensors will detect and measure where pitchers are placing their feet and how much force their bodies are applying to drive their throwing motions. There will also be high-speed motion-capture technology—complete with the “pingpong-ball” sensors you see behind the scenes of movies and video games— that can digitally map a pitcher’s windup or a batter’s swing. And unlike other training centers, Tech will have the ability to monitor the biomechanics of both pitchers and hitters as they face off live in the tunnel. “That’s not even being done at the major-league level,” says Tech hitting coach James

Ramsey. “This is going to be at the top flight of all worldwide baseball player development centers. The technologies we have, a lot of schools recruit off of [having] them. But they don’t program with them—they just gather dust after a couple years. We didn’t want to just have a lab. [These technologies] don’t mean much if you’re not actually producing an innovative product.”

CRACKING THE CODE ON PITCHING Analytics has been used in hitting a little longer than in pitching, and Ramsey brought that approach to the Tech batter’s box in 2018. Like Borrell, Ramsey was among the first players to rise up through the ranks just as baseball’s data revolution was starting to spread.

In college at Florida State, he used the advanced statistics—like WAR (wins above replacement), OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage), and BABIP (batting average on balls in play)—but

Danny Borrell joined Georgia Tech Baseball in 2019 after 18 years with the New York Yankees, first as a left-handed pitcher, and then as a pitching coach and pitching coordinator.

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | WINTER 2021

25

ON THE FIELD

it wasn’t until he was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals and spent 7-plus years in Indians, Dodgers, Mariners, and Twins organizations that he started using devices to measure things like launch angle and exit velocity on balls coming off the bat. He saw how, when armed with this information, players could tweak their approach, improve their performance, and bolster their confidence when the results on the field weren’t exactly matching the data.

And it could sometimes be the key to unlocking the latent potential inside a younger player and enabling them to reach the next level.

While analytics was initially used mostly for batters, it was only natural that the hurlers would eventually crack the code to keep up. While he was a pitcher at Wake Forest in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Borrell’s coaches were still using the vague oldschool assessments like saying someone’s curve ball “has bite,” or soand-so’s fastball “has life.” By the time Yankees brought him on as a coach in 2015, not only had they adopted advanced stats, like WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched) and FIP (fielding independent pitching), but teams were also tracking spin rates and spin axis on pitches. “As a player, I wish that I’d had that,” says Borrell. “As a coach, you either embrace it or you don’t. But I figured if I don’t, I’ll be passed up by someone who does. Besides, I had a thirst for the knowledge. I wanted to be on the forefront.”

BUILDING A MOUND OF DATA Of course, being out front on any trend 26

WINTER 2021 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

Coach Danny Hall has a vision for Tech that mixes old-school knowledge with new-school analytics.

presents challenges, and bringing high-level analytics to college baseball is no different. Even at the highest levels of the game, coaches and players worry about getting buried in all the data and losing sight of the fundamental physical and instinctive aspects of the sport. But Borrell isn’t worried about so-called “paralysis by analysis.”

He says it’s all part of coaching. “The information is out there,” he says. “My job is to give it to the kid and help him understand how he can use it. Some kids need to stay away from too much data; they have an innate ability to feel their body in space.

But 99% of them just drink it in. They can take it and run with it—especially the engineers and other students at Georgia Tech.”

Borrell’s and Ramsey’s forwardthinking use of analytics on each side of the game is balanced by skipper Hall and the trove of traditional baseball knowledge he has accrued over 33 years as a head coach, 27 at the helm here at Tech.

Not only is Tech’s investment in analytics key to the baseball team’s success and the development of its players, but it also gives the Yellow Jackets an advantage in recruiting. Today’s young hitters and pitchers have grown up

awash in advanced metrics that go way beyond the old stats on the backs of bubblegum cards. The best of these players know that if they want to progress through the ranks, they’ll have to understand these complex systems and know how to interpret and incorporate complex data into their preparation and performance. And the promise of the Phase II training facility might already be paying dividends even before it officially opens ahead of the 2021 NCAA baseball season: The Yellow Jackets’ last two recruiting classes were each ranked among the Top 10 in the nation.

“For years, we’ve prided ourselves on player development,” says Coach Hall. “The next wave is being able to take each player and train them, coach them, from an analytical, data-driven model. We felt that if we’re going to preach player development, we have to really be on board with all the science and data that is out there.”

And if the athletic department needs more proof that the investment is already causing ripples through the baseball world, they need only ask Borrell.

“I’ve gotten a dozen phone calls from Major League teams saying that when this thing is done, they want to bring their guys down,” says Borrell.

“It’ll be a game changer.”

ATHLETIC SCHOLARSHIP FUND Dear Yellow Jacket Nation, I hope that this finds you and your families staying safe and healthy as we continue to navigate these unprecedented times together.

As you know, Support The Swarm was developed to give our great fans an opportunity to help Georgia Tech athletics navigate the financial challenges presented by Covid-19.

Due to limited seating capacity for home football and basketball games, as well as the substantial expenses associated with keeping our student-athletes, staff and fans safe, we have made significant cuts to our budgets across the board.

In a normal year, our revenue from ticket sales and associated TECH Fund donations is $25 million. This year, we must raise $10 million in ticket sales, associated TECH Fund donations plus Support The Swarm donations just to avoid having to make even more significant cuts to our already reduced budget. However, our goal is $15 million, which we believe would allow us to roll back some of our cuts – particularly in the recruiting area – and limit the current financial challenges to 12-18 months, rather than 3-5 years.

Our success is defined through all three facets of our Everyday Champions formula:

Donors to the Support the Swarm Fund of $100 or more will receive 2 exclusive masks per household.

Make your gift today at:

atfund.org/swarm

The only way that we can get to the $15 million goal is through donations to the Support The Swarm Fund.

How can you help Support The Swarm? There are several ways: • If you are someone who normally attends football and/or basketball games and aren’t able to do so for any reason this year, please consider converting your investment in tickets into a donation to Support The Swarm.

• Make a straight donation to the Support The Swarm Fund.

Thank you again for your continued support. Go Jackets!

Learn more at

Together We Swarm, Todd Stansbury, Director of Athletics

At Georgia Tech, our athletics brand is our Everyday Champions the young people who compete at the highest level of collegiate athletics, excel in a rigorous academic institution, and pursue Dr. Homer Rice’s model of excellence and personal well-being in all aspects of life.

RamblinWreck.com/supporttheswarm

Winning + The Institute + The Total Person Program By providing scholarship support to our studentathletes through the Athletic Scholarship Fund, you not only provide a Georgia Tech education to a deserving Everyday Champion, but you will help ensure that we do not need to divert funds from operations to scholarship support during these turbulent times. Please consider a gift to the Athletic Scholarship Fund and help us reach this year’s goal of $2.25 million in the 2021 giving year.

GIFTS TO BOTH FUNDS EARN 3 POINTS PER $100 THROUGH 6/30/2021 BYERS, BERGMARK ENDOW HEAD COACHING POSITIONS Naming a coaching or leadership position creates a lasting family legacy and an endowment that provides annual income for program support. The Byers and Bergmark families have endowed the positions GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE for Tennis and for Swimming and Diving. Learn more at atfund.org.

| WINTER 2021

27

ON THE FIELD

BUILDING LEADERS ON & OFF THE COURT

TWO VOTING INITIATIVES STARTED BY GEORGIA TECH STUDENTS LED TO HISTORIC CHANGES ON A LOCAL AND NATIONAL SCALE.

T

T H I S E L E C T I O N S E AS O N , two students who had never voted for president led voting efforts at Georgia Tech that influenced thousands of people in Atlanta and across the country.

One had an idea that inspired the NCAA to designate Nov. 3 as an off day for all student-athletes.

The other served as a poll manager at one of the first election locations run entirely by college students.

As with many things in 2020, it all started with a Zoom call.

Following a team video conference during the summer, Georgia Tech men’s basketball guard Malachi Rice says he was feeling the burden of a pressing issue: voting. “When you look at people our age, I was wondering why so many young people aren’t voting—including me. I wasn’t informed, I hadn’t been thinking about it,” Rice says.

In a presidential election year, it was something that weighed heavily on him. “ ‘Your voice matters. Your vote matters.’ —We need to embrace that.”

He shared his thoughts with his team. Assistant Coach Eric Reveno was all ears. Together, they started developing ways for the team to be more 28

WINTER 2021 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

BY STEVEN NORRIS

engaged and involved in the electoral process.

“You meet students like Malachi Rice and you just want to help them and empower them,” Reveno says.

Coach Reveno researched U.S. census data for voting among adults age 24 and under and found that it has been in steady decline since 1966, the year he was born. Then, he looked for ways to help student-athletes find

“WE PRIDE OURSELVES ON OUR TEAM AND GEORGIA TECH ON DOING THE RIGHT THING,” SAYS RICE.

nonpartisan information about voting procedures and how to cast a ballot in their respective states. That led to the men’s basketball team deciding to take

Election Day off so players could vote and be part of the process.

Within just a couple of days, Georgia Tech’s entire athletic program had moved to cancel practices and shift schedules so that all athletes could have the same opportunity. Reveno says he knew it was a big deal when Coach Geoff Collins was willing to give the football team a Tuesday off during a game week. It makes him a little emotional.

“I was so proud. Proud to work in a place that understood its mission,” Reveno says, tears welling up in his eyes.

“That’s where the idea for #AllVoteNoPlay came from,” Rice explains.

“We started with Georgia Tech but we wanted to push for more. Let’s use this momentum.”

Reveno started tweeting about the idea of more colleges taking the day off. He made calls to other universities.

Rice talked with other student-athletes, including his twin brother, who plays basketball at Vanderbilt.

Other universities started joining in. Gonzaga. Butler. Boston College.

Then, inspired by the announcement from Georgia Tech, the NCAA decided on Sept. 16 to prohibit practice and competition on the first Tuesday after Nov. 1 so that 460,000 student-athletes across the country could take part in

Election Day. “The amount of change in college athletics and voting has been historic,” Reveno says. “I think all we did was listen to our student-athletes.”

“I’m so proud to see this happening,” Rice says with a smile. “We pride ourselves on our team and Georgia Tech on doing the right thing.”

Simultaneously, another Tech student was working hard on an initiative of his own—and it involved the home arena of the basketball team.

When Georgia Tech’s Student Center began undergoing extensive renovation, international relations major Samuel Ellis wondered where students on campus would vote. His proposal: turn McCamish Pavilion into a polling precinct and staff it completely with Georgia Tech students. Ellis had been volunteering as a poll worker himself and had experienced the challenges of ensuring a smooth voting process. He connected with Georgia Tech’s Institute Relations team, who helped him pitch the idea to Fulton County election officials.

McCamish Pavilion was one of the only polling precincts in the country staffed completely by college students.

Assistant Coach Eric Reveno (left) helped student-athletes lobby the NCAA to designate Election Day an off day.

“We were making sure we were getting the right people at the table,” says Morgan McCombs, associate director of State Relations for Georgia Tech.

Those election officials toured the site and heard Ellis’ plans to staff the location with trained Georgia Tech students. They decided to give it a go.

When Ellis put out a call for 12 poll volunteers, he received more than 250 replies.

“To have a polling location entirely staffed by students is remarkable,” McCombs says. “It springs from a servant-leadership mindset of how we can put to work the investment the state has made in Georgia Tech

and return that to our state and our community.”

Across Georgia Tech, staff and students, coaches and consultants have all pulled together to make these changes a reality. Coach Reveno helped with the logistics of securing McCamish Pavilion as a voting location.

“Be a good teammate. That’s what this is about,” Reveno says. “Everyone’s focused on doing their part.”

“I feel like we’ve been part of something special,” Ellis adds. “Now when other schools across the country want to set up a polling location for their community, they can see how we did it at Georgia Tech.”

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | WINTER 2021

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VOLUME 96

IN THE WORLD

ISSUE 4 HYPERSONIC SPEEDS This Mach 5 engine prototype, developed

by Atlanta-based Hermeus, could make super-fast air travel a reality within a decade, says A.J. Piplica, AE 10, MS AE 12, the company’s co-founder and CEO.

PHOTOGRAPH

COURTESY OF HERMEUS

32

ATLANTA’S FASTEST STARTUP

36

JACKET COPY

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | WINTER 2021

31

IN THE WORLD

ATL ANTA’S FASTEST STARTUP

AEROSPACE STARTUP HERMEUS IS DEVELOPING A PRESIDENTIAL JET THAT CAN TRAVEL AT MACH 5, OR FIVE TIMES THE SPEED OF SOUND.

L

LIKE MOST KIDS WHO GROW UP TO BE ENGINEERS, A.J. Piplica, AE 10, MS AE 12, spent much of his childhood building things with his Erector sets and Legos. But it was a middle school trip to an air show at Tampa’s MacDill Air Force Base, when he witnessed the flying of a massive C-5 Galaxy aircraft, that cemented his interest in the aerospace field.

Years later, Piplica is still building things—and is still obsessed with things that fly. He is now the co-founder and CEO of Atlanta-based Hermeus, an aerospace startup that wants to transform the

BY KELLEY FREUND

global transportation network. The company, named for the Greek god of trade and travel, has a mission of designing and building an aircraft capable of flying at Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound). Such a plane could get passengers from New York to Paris in just 90 minutes.

Since its founding in 2018, Hermeus has moved rapidly toward that goal (Piplica jokes that speed is everything at Hermeus, from the speed of an aircraft, to how quickly the team works to develop it), and 2020 has been a big year for milestones. The company’s initial round of funding, led by Khosla Ventures, allowed for the development of a small prototype engine, which was successfully tested last February. In August, Hermeus won a contract from the United States Air Force and the Presidential and Executive Airlift Directorate to develop a hypersonic aircraft for the presidential fleet. The Hermeus aircraft will compliment the fleet used for executive travel.

“Having that buy-in from such a well-respected organization like the Air Force is huge because it demonstrates the value of being able to move around the world quickly,” Piplica says. “This gives a lot of validation, not just to our team, but also to the commercial market, which we will eventually focus on.”

In October, the company closed a $16 million Series A funding round led by Canaan Partners. With the capital, Hermeus plans to develop and test a full-scale engine as a follow-up to the engine prototype. The full-scale engine will power the company’s first Mach 5 aircraft, which Piplica

Hermeus co-founder and CEO A.J. Piplica, AE 10, MS AE 12, is moving fast with plans to speed up hiring in the next few months.

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A rendering of a hypersonic Air Force One jet that could travel at Mach 5. Such a jet could take passengers from New York to Paris in just 90 minutes.

An aerospace startup tackling such a feat on the East Coast is unique. But with Lockheed Martin, the world’s busiest airport, and the headquarters of Delta and UPS in town, transportation is a big deal in the Atlanta area.

“We have a chance to make Atlanta our city,” Piplica says.

“Seattle is Boeing’s town and Los Angeles has every aerospace company there is to have. But Atlanta can really be ours, and we can do a lot of good for the region.”

Piplica sums up his role with Hermeus as setting the company’s vision, building a team to execute that vision, securing resources, and then getting out of the way. The thing

“WE HAVE A CHANCE TO MAKE ATLANTA OUR CITY,” PIPLICA SAYS. “SEATTLE IS

BOEING’S TOWN AND LOS ANGELES HAS EVERY AEROSPACE COMPANY THERE IS

TO HAVE. BUT ATLANTA CAN REALLY BE

OURS, AND WE CAN DO A LOT OF GOOD FOR THE REGION.” expects to be released within the next few years, with a passenger aircraft to be built by the end of the decade.

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | WINTER 2021

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IN THE WORLD After testing a Mach 5 engine prototype last February, Hermeus plans to develop and ground-test a full-scale engine and release the company’s first Mach 5 aircraft within the next few years.

that keeps him up at night? Hiring.

“Most of the people who work on hypersonics are either in academia, government, or big aerospace industry,” Piplica says. “All those places have very different cultures than highgrowth startups. So marrying the technical expertise that’s necessary to develop these kinds of systems with the culture of moving fast is difficult.”

In response, Hermeus has had to breed their own type of engineer. The company hires based on a person’s ability to adapt to the culture over specific experience, since much of that can be taught if the applicant’s engineering fundamentals are strong. They recruit from companies in the NewSpace sector (like SpaceX), but Hermeus also has a strong internship program from which to pull new hires.

(The company currently employs 14 people, with plans to add another five in the coming months.)

That “NewSpace mentality” will be important over the next few years. Piplica expects to see more growth in the field as people realize just how tangible hypersonic travel is.

According to Hermeus’ website, the specific engine components needed have been flying since the 1950s, flight controls have been proven beyond Mach 5, and the materials needed 34

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are commercially available. “This is much more engineering than it is science,” Piplica says.

Hypersonic air travel could have drastic implications.

Piplica points out that the world has moved at Mach .8 for a long time—there hasn’t been an increase in the speed of transportation at the global level in over 50 years. But whether it’s the building of trade roads in Rome, a switch from sails to steam power in marine shipping, or the development of a high-speed rail in China, history shows that such transportation innovations translate to social and economic growth.

Piplica and his team estimate Mach 5 aircraft have the potential to add $4 trillion of global economic growth per year.

“This will be a big deal if we’re successful,” Piplica says. “If I look where my skill sets and interests lie, this could be the single most important thing I can do to affect the world in a positive way.”

HEAR MORE ABOUT A .J. PIPLIC A’S BUSINESS & STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS AT A VIRTUAL EVENT ON A P R I L 14 A T 1 P M E S T. F O R M O R E I N F O R M A T I O N A N D T O R E G I S T E R , V I S I T www.gtalumni.org/startup

Kyle J. Smith PP 2022

I am grateful for Roll Call donors whose support helps provide experiences like my summer internship in the United States Senate through Tech’s Federal Jackets Program. As a public policy major, I had the opportunity to evaluate federal programs and policies, hone my legislative relations expertise, and support the needs of constituents. Unique experiences like these would not be possible without the continued investment of generous alumni and friends.

gtalumni.org/givetoday

JACKET COPY

FROM THE BOOKSHELVES POETRY

A DA Y O F H U M A N I T Y

BY B R A DY B O V E , B I O M E D I C A L E N G I N E E R I N G S T U D E N T A DAY OF HUMANITY is a heartwarming collection of poems intended to highlight the similarities that we all share as human beings. After witnessing the pain of loneliness and isolation, author and Georgia Tech student Brady Bove set out to explore the intricacies of the human experience and community. She gathered stories of anxiety, love, childhood pains, friendship, and more from a wide variety of people, including some Tech students and faculty. She now shares these experiences in a selection of 56 stylistically unique poems. Readers will live through three chronological sections—morning, day, and night—as they learn to appreciate the tumultuous journey of life and are reminded that, no matter where they are, they are never really alone.

PHILOSOPHY & SPORTS

M I N D F U L N E S S F O R T H E U LT I M A T E A T H L E T E

BY P R I N C E DA N I E L S J R . , M G T 13 , F O R E W O R D BY C A LV I N “ M E G A T R O N ” J O H N S O N J R . , C L S 0 8

IN THIS BOOK, former NFL running back Prince Daniels Jr. shares the path to unlocking true potential through the practice of mindfulness and meditation. By applying these practices, athletes can overcome all the noise and prior programming that keeps them from attaining their highest goals. Using Daniels’ techniques, athletes can reach “the zone” by bringing in line the mind, body, and spirit.

BUSINESS

HOW TEAMS TRIUMPH: M A N A G I N G BY C O M M I T M E N T

BY C L I N T O N M . PA D G E T T, E E 9 5

F I L L E D W I T H W I S D O M and insights from the author’s 25+ years of reshaping project success for Fortune 100, Fortune 500, and Fortune 1000 companies, How Teams Triumph adds clarity to project planning and execution with an adaptable project framework that demands accountability from team members. Frequent conversation keeps all stakeholders updated on progress, reveals pain points, and ultimately shifts the worry curve that so often pushes projects into panic mode.

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CHILDREN’S BOOK

SCOUT’S SUPERHERO SEARCH – THE BIRDIEMAN OF RIO DE JANEIRO

BY G E O R G E P. B U R D E L L A N D S T U D E N T S I N G L O B A L S O C I A L E N T R E P R E N E U R S H I P V E R T I C A L LY I N T E G R A T E D PROJECT AT GEORGIA TECH SCOUT IS A LIVELY KID from Atlanta with a unique power to see real-life superheroes when others can’t. Scout’s mom is a pilot, and on family trips Scout searches far and wide for local superheroes across the globe. In The Birdieman, George P. Burdell and his friends at Georgia Tech tell the story of real-life hero Sebastião Dias de Oliveira, who combines dance and badminton in Brazil to put smiles on children’s faces and help them accomplish their dreams. For every book sold, this student group distributes two books for free in favelas of Rio de Janeiro to celebrate and support local role models and enhance literacy.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

B I B L I O G R A P H I A DYS T O P I A : VO L U M E 1 : JOHN STEINBECK’S THE MOON IS DOWN

BY A N T H O N Y A M E L I O , I M 87

THE FIRST IN A SERIES of literary bibliographies about classic dystopian literature, Volume 1: John Steinbeck’s The Moon Is Down explores various editions and behind-the-scenes points about John Steinbeck’s classic war novel. The series tells the story of the publication as well as the worldwide impact of the book.

HIS T ORY

THE CHUBBS: A FREE BLACK FA M I LY ’ S J O U R N E Y F R O M T H E A N T E B E L L U M E R A T O T H E M I D - 19 0 0 s

BY C L E M M I E B . W H A T L E Y, M S A M 7 3

THIS HISTORICAL JOURNEY follows the Chubb family, who, after relocating from North Carolina, eventually settled in Chubbtown, forming a self-sufficient Black community in northwest Georgia in the 1860s. Author and family historian Dr. Clemmie B. Whatley went searching for the truth about the Chubb family and, along the way, found historical documents that told the story of this pioneering family who defied the social and political climate of the era.

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | WINTER 2021

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FIERCE COLLABORATION In the Georgia Tech community, “creative friction” between collaborators leads to better solutions.

BY ERIN PETERSON & ILLUSTRATIONS BY CHARLIE LAYTON

We live in a country that reveres the myth of the lone genius: tinkerers who work tirelessly in labs or launch tiny startups from their garages, waiting for their eureka moment. The only problem? It’s exactly that: a myth. A peek behind the curtain shows that true progress typically happens through collaboration. It’s rarely seamless and it can get prickly, but those who find the right collaborators—people who push one another to think bigger and to find solutions beyond the status quo—are pushing the world further, faster.

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T

THEY THOUGHT THEY’D BUILT A WINNER.

Jhillika Kumar and Conner address the urgent need that companies like MicReinhardt had spent countrosoft had hiring people now. What companies in less hours amid hectic senior the space actually needed was closer to something year schedules—and a good like LinkedIn for neurodiverse job seekers. portion of their personal It wasn’t what the pair had been hoping for. savings—to build Mentra, a Their company needed to make a major pivot. But mentorship app designed to support job seekers could they find a path forward? with autism.

Reinhardt, for his part, was thinking about the They had backgrounds that seemed to all but big picture. “We had to ask ourselves: Was this guarantee success: Kumar, CM 19, was an insomething we wanted to shift to in terms of our sightful and tenacious disability advocate. She business model? And if so, how could we leverage had delivered a knockout TEDx talk at Georour understanding of neurodiverse individuals to gia Tech in the spring of build an inclusive platform 2019 that called for a more that would truly underscore inclusive approach to techtheir value? We were enter“Right when you nology to support people ing a completely different with disabilities. She wantmarket than we set out to think you want to ed to build a company that address, and by no means start developing could bring life to her big were we experts.” a solution, hit ideas—and one day creKumar, meanwhile, was ate an inclusive world for zeroing in on the users ‘pause’ and go spend her autistic brother and that the platform aimed to some more time to the more than 80% of peoserve. “One thing humanple with autism living in the centered design principles better understand U.S. who are unemployed. always emphasize is how your customers,” Reinhardt, IE 19, a meimportant it is to underthodical industrial engineer stand your users,” she says.

SAYS KUMAR who’d honed his skills in “Right when you think you a supply-chain role at want to start developing a Tesla, resonated deeply with her vision and joined solution, hit ‘pause’ and go spend some more time her with an eye to building game-changing techto better understand your customers.” nology that could make measurable improvements It was in their divergent approaches—Kumar’s for the neurodiverse community. vision and unwavering commitment to buildTogether, they’d completed entrepreneurial ing an inclusive workforce, Reinhardt’s clear-eyed development programs, including one at Tech’s analysis of the next concrete steps they could take startup incubator, the Advanced Technology Deto create economic value—that they were able to velopment Center. They’d built a prototype of the make a meaningful shift. “We came to the concluapp, which matched members of the autism comsion together that we were going to build a digital munity with mentors who could help walk them ecosystem that disrupts the traditional hiring prothrough the steps of a job-hunting process. cesses that systematically exclude individuals with They hoped a meeting with the leader of Microcognitive disabilities,” says Kumar. soft’s autism hiring program would lead to more One year later, they’re ready to launch just that. opportunities for their fledgling startup.

Their new app, still called Mentra, helps connect Instead, they received a decidedly lukewarm neurodiverse individuals with employers who can response: The idea, while good in theory, didn’t make the most of their talents.

JHILLIKA KUMAR CM 19

CONNER REINHARDT IE 19

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G

Greg Gibson, a professor in Georgia Tech’s department of biological sciences, isn’t afraid of pessimism. “I’m not exactly known as warm and fuzzy,” he says, with just a hint of self-deprecation.

It’s a personality trait that one might not choose as a strategy for making friends and influencing people.

But in the fight against Covid-19— particularly in the early days, when politicians and others offered unrealistically rosy projections of the virus’s trajectory—Gibson envisioned the worst-case-scenario. His mindset turned out to be undeniably valuable.

Gibson was aware of the potentially catastrophic consequences of the virus as early as last February. He and Joshua Weitz, also a professor in the department of biological sciences, sometimes crossed paths in a local coffee shop and speculated about what might be ahead.

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Within weeks, both were working on important but separate Covid projects. Weitz was working on models to understand the potential spread of Covid, among a handful of projects. Gibson was working with a team to solve challenges closer to home: deciding on the right testing approach for Georgia Tech, and overcoming legal and logistical hurdles to do it

effectively. Early in the summer, Weitz joined Gibson on the team that was developing Tech’s campus response to the pandemic.

Gibson had long advocated for simple saliva tests. “The science is dead-easy,” he says, and the cost felt within reach. Still, the scale that he had been advocating for—about 200 tests a day for Georgia Tech’s community of about 15,000—seemed daunting.

When Weitz joined the team, he immediately saw the potential in Gibson’s insistence on pursuing a saliva-based test. “It’s a lot more pleasant than having a Q-tip in your brain,” Weitz jokes.

But Weitz worried that the scale that seemed formidable to Gibson was not ambitious enough. While Gibson’s expertise as a geneticist helped him see the best option for testing, Weitz’s knowledge of quantitative bioscience modeling gave him insight on the levels of testing that would be essential to fight the growth in cases. “I had developed models that showed the potential value of using much-larger-scale tests as an intervention,” he says. “Greg and I started talking about whether it was possible to scale up from hundreds of

“The science is dead-easy,” he says, and the cost felt within reach. Still, the scale that he had been advocating for—about 200 tests a day for Georgia Tech’s community of about 15,000—seemed daunting.

GIBSON SAYS

tests per day to thousands.”

The self-proclaimed “Mr. Skeptic” had his doubts about the necessity of this type of scale. But then he sat down and did the math. “When I did the calculations myself, I was like, ‘Yeah, he’s right,’ ” Gibson says.

Weitz says that their unique perspectives helped push the project

JOSHUA WEITZ GEORGIA TECH PROFESSOR, BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

GREG GIBSON GEORGIA TECH PROFESSOR, BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

community, with far lower positivity rates amongst staff and faculty, a success story by almost any measure.

Even Gibson admits being pleasantly surprised. “Everything that has been put together has far exceeded my expectations,” he says.

Weitz couldn’t help but be pleased by his colleague’s growing hopefulness.

This past fall, he sent Gibson a T-shirt to acknowledge their work together. It was emblazoned with a single word: “Optimist.”

forward successfully. “We weren’t trying to make conceptual points,” he says. “We were trying to intervene to improve the health of our community.”

It took a heroic effort of many— late nights, sustained ingenuity, and a heaping helping of luck—but Georgia Tech was able to dramatically scale up its testing just as returning students began arriving back at campus.

As of press time, positivity rates, after an initial spike, have hovered around 1 percent within Georgia Tech’s student

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C

C ollaboration and competition might seem like the opposite ends of a spectrum.

But the reality is that for almost any successful project, there is a mix of both. Competition fuels a desire to succeed, while collaboration can open up new avenues to achieve big goals.

Two people who know this well are McKenzie Tuttle, BME 22, and her older sister, Allie, a master’s student at Emory University. They had spent a lifetime litigating the standard sibling arguments. Who got to decide what TV show to watch? Was it appropriate for one to “borrow” the other’s clothes without permission? They both admit that they’re headstrong and opinionated, and each had a full Rolodex of past gripes that they could access. It might not seem like a promising history for a successful collaboration.

But when they independently

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“She’s always been a baby in my mind, so seeing the confidence and skills with which she took charge in some of our presentations and group meetings was really remarkable,” ALLIE SAYS

learned about a Covid-19 virtual hackathon sponsored by Emory and Georgia Tech, they immediately thought of the other as a possible teammate.

McKenzie, a third-year biomedical engineering student at Georgia Tech, was eager to focus her skills on an urgent public health issue. Allie, pursuing a master’s in public health in epidemiology at Emory, saw a clear line between her expertise and her ability to make a difference during a global pandemic.

They teamed up with four others at Emory and Georgia Tech to create CAPACIT, an app designed to help businesses keep track of Covid-related regulations and help consumers practice social distancing by alerting them to a store’s customer traffic.

If the pair’s collaboration occasionally had its downsides (“Our team

“To [do well at the hackathon,] you need to pitch your idea in a way that’s desirable to businesses so they want to support it and pay for it,” she says. “[Allie] was great at that,” McKENZIE SAYS

McKENZIE TUTTLE BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING

ALLIE TUTTLE MASTER’S STUDENT AT EMORY

members probably learned way more about us and our family this summer than they wanted or needed to,” Allie jokes), it also led them to appreciate one another’s strengths in ways that they hadn’t when they were growing up.

Allie, for her part, says she was delighted to see her little sister in a new way. “She’s always been a baby in my mind, so seeing the confidence and skills with which she took charge in some of our presentations and group meetings was really remarkable,” she says.

McKenzie, meanwhile, appreciated her sister’s persuasiveness. “To [do well at the hackathon,] you need to pitch your idea in a way that’s desirable to businesses so they want to support it and pay for it,” she says. “[Allie] was great at that.”

Whether the two would ever divulge their admiration for the other, though, was an entirely different question. “Have I mentioned [those strengths] to her? I don’t know that I have,” McKenzie muses. “Maybe I should.”

Still, for whatever sibling rivalry might remain, the two helped steer the project to success. The team was one of three to win a $10,000 prize and enrollment in the 2020 CREATE-X Startup Launch.

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TAMARA BOGDANOVIĆ GEORGIA TECH PROFESSOR, PHYSICS

I

If there is a lesson to be learned in these stories of collaboration, it might just be that collaborators benefit not when they share identical worldviews, but when they are able to articulate—and eventually find commonalities in—distinctly different ones. Collaborators should agree on the big vision, but they should be particularly flexible when it comes to the path they use to get there.

For example, Georgia Tech physics professors Tamara Bogdanović and Laura Cadonati serve as the new leaders of the Institute’s Center for Relativistic Astrophysics. The pair both started in August (Cadonati as director, Bogdanović as associate director), and they work together closely to

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LAURA CADONATI GEORGIA TECH PROFESSOR, PHYSICS

tackle wide-ranging goals to support initiatives linked to research, recruiting, and outreach.

Bogdanović’s primary training is in astronomy and Cadonati’s is in

physics. Because of the duo’s distinct interests and expertise, they know they will come at problems from different perspectives and won’t make obvious errors as a result. “It’s always good to have a sanity check on your own thoughts and ideas,” says Bogdanović.

In fact, says Cadonati, the worst type of collaboration is when there is perfect alignment. “Diversity in training, opinion, and style is never a problem,” she says. “What complicates things is when people are too similar—they end up competing for the same resources and the same recognition.”

“Diversity in training, opinion, and style is never a problem,” she says.

“What complicates things is when people are too similar—they end up competing for the same resources and the same recognition,” CADONATI SAYS

W

When Kumar and Reinhardt made the difficult decision to overhaul the Mentra app, they couldn’t have predicted what would happen next. But they did know that they had worked hard to carefully evaluate all of their options, lean on one another’s strengths, and move forward in a way that they could both (eventually) agree on.

The good news? It’s worked. Since they made their pivot, they’ve landed a grant from the Administration for Community Living, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. They’ve partnered with a Fortune 500 company for a smallscale pilot. And soon, they—and their growing team—will be ready to scale up. By 2025, they hope to get 100,000 more individuals with autism into the workforce.

Perhaps it makes sense: After all, Kumar and Reinhardt have spent years advocating for leveling the playing

field for underserved communities.

“When you bring different kinds of people together—maybe one is on the [autism] spectrum, maybe one’s not—they’ll approach situations in completely different ways,” says Reinhardt. “And when you work together, you can create something that’s truly novel.”

Indeed, he says, one of the greatest benefits of collaborating with people who bring different perspectives and expertise to a situation is that it’s easier to realize how many more possibilities exist. “When I took steps to go outside of the industrial engineering group, it was really useful to open my mind to the range and scope of problems out there,” he says. “If you don’t work with people who are in different areas, you can miss what really needs to be solved in the world.”

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IN ITS 21ST YEAR, GEORGIA TECH’S LAW, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM GUIDES STUDENTS—AND ALUMNI—ON A PATH TO LEGAL CAREERS.

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YELLOW

THE

JACKET-AT-LAW NO MATTER WHAT CAREER GEORGIA TECH GRADUATES PURSUE, UNDERSTANDING HOW THE LAW INTERSECTS WITH TECHNOLOGY IS AN INCREASINGLY ESSENTIAL SKILL.

MICHAEL PEARSON P R O F I L E S B Y K R I S T I N BA I R D R AT T I N I

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E

EMMA MENARDI KNEW SHE WANTED TO GO TO LAW SCHOOL LONG BEFORE THE FIRST DAY SHE SET FOOT ON GEORGIA TECH’S CAMPUS. “The Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts is really focused on interdisciplinarity, and I’m interested in the ways social sciences and historical perspectives influence the law,” says Menardi, a second-year double major in public policy and history, technology, and science. “My big interest is civil rights law, so being in Atlanta made perfect sense.”

For students like Menardi, who is from Johns Creek, Ga., the Law, Science, and Technology (LST) program in the School of Public Policy is a crucial link to the world of law at an institution better known for producing engineers than future lawyers.

She and others recognize that Tech is uniquely positioned to mold the type of future lawyer who can combine technical know-how, problem-solving skills, and an analytical mindset to succeed in the legal field where others might not. It’s that unique combination of traits that makes Yellow Jackets suited to tackling issues at the intersection of law, science, technology, and policy.

Just ask Duke Hatcher, a fifth-year computer science student from Orlando, Fla., who is currently working as an intern at Alston & Bird, an Atlanta law firm that counts the late golfing legend and Georgia Tech alumnus Bobby Jones, ME 1922, among its founding partners. Hatcher hopes to attend law school and then practice privacy law.

“Technology is involved in every industry, and we as the human race are generating data at unprecedented levels. This means that every day there are new challenges, unexplored legal issues, and new cases to be heard. It isn’t often that you

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can truly help create and shape the law, but privacy is such a field,” Hatcher says.

FROM TECH TO ATTORNEY LST Director Chad Slieper, PP 02, is in the second year of an effort to expand and revitalize the 21-year-old program.

He worked to bring pre-law advising back to the School of Public Policy and has expanded course offerings, internship opportunities, and alumni engagement. Students have revived the dormant chapter of the pre-law fraternity Phi Alpha Delta. The program also supervises the nationally recognized Georgia Tech Mock Trial Team.

Slieper also is working on making the program a campus hub for discussing issues at the intersection of law, science, and technology.

“From climate change to pandemics, law both affects, and is affected by, how we approach novel issues in science and technology,” Slieper says. “The LST program encourages students and faculty to explore the intersection of these topics.”

He knows from experience how such issues play out in the legal field. He graduated from Tech with a bachelor’s in public policy and then went on to Emory University School of Law and pursued a career in professional ethics in the healthcare and legal industries. He returned to the Institute in 2019 to lead the LST program. He teaches courses, advises students, and helps program events, including routine opportunities for students to hear from attorneys and talk to law-school admissions counselors.

Marilyn Brown, acting chair in the School of Public Policy, says LST’s work is a vital part of the school’s mission to help find policy solutions to public issues related to science and technological innovation.

“The LST program is part of what makes this school unique, and I’m thrilled to see how it has expanded to serve more students, including graduate students, and that it has branched out to cover important new topics such as environmental law and bioethics,” Brown says. “Public policy and law naturally go hand-in-hand, and LST helps Georgia Tech students get the kind of working understanding of the legal process that will serve them well in any career they pursue, whether that career is in law or not.”

A SMOOTH PATH TO LAW SCHOOL Georgia Tech’s pre-law program helps current students get to law school, but it’s played a role in helping alumni

get there, too.

Watson Griffith, BA 15, who attends UCLA School of Law on a full scholarship, credits his acceptance at a top law school to Slieper’s assistance. Griffith had already graduated and spent time in the Peace Corps before deciding to attend law school. He had no idea what help his alma mater might be able to provide when he called Slieper.

“He and a friend in law school were the only two people I talked to about my application. The assistance I got from Georgia Tech was so instrumental,” Griffith says.

Slieper also sends out a regular newsletter containing crucial information about internship opportunities in the legal field that give students experience and help fortify lawschool applications.

Shekinah Hall, PP 19, had five internships during her undergraduate study at Georgia Tech. She learned of three of them through LST—including one that led to her current job at the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.

“It was incredible to get different perspectives to round out what I was learning in classes,” says Hall, who is working on her law school application. “So, between that and my participation in Georgia Tech’s Mock Trial Team, I got such a well-rounded experience coming out of undergrad.”

FROM TECH TO THE COURTROOM AND BACK AGAIN The involvement of alumni who have gone on to practice law has always been a crucial part of Georgia Tech’s program, says Roberta Berry, associate professor in the School of Public Policy and director of the Georgia Tech Honors Program.

Berry took over the nascent pre-law program after the sudden death of its founder, William Read, who also created a certificate in pre-law. Berry recruited a handful of alumni lawyers to come back to campus to teach classes and work with students.

“There was great enthusiasm then for giving back, especially with the sense at the time that law was an unusual thing to be pursuing at Tech,” Berry says.

One alumna who has stayed with the program is Katie Tinsley, BC 08, an attorney with J.E. Dunn Construction.

She returned to Georgia Tech to teach a course on judicial process with another Atlanta attorney. They are two of more than a dozen part-time lecturers in the LST program. Many are Georgia Tech alumni.

Tinsley said the LST program and the classes that students

AMERICA’S LAWYER // M I C H E L L E B E N N E T T, S T C 0 0 MICHELLE BENNETT REPRESENTS ONE OF THE LARGEST, MOST PROMINENT CLIENTS A LAWYER CAN HAVE: THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT.

As assistant director of the Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Division, Federal Programs Branch, Bennett defends the United States and its federal agencies in litigation challenging the

constitutionality of federal statutes and the legality of government programs and policy decisions. She has represented the gamut from the State Department and Department of Defense to the Education Department and Health and Human Services.

She joined the DOJ in 2008 through its highly competitive honors program, after clerking for two federal judges. She quickly found that her science, technology, and culture degree from Tech served her well in her work. “The ability to take in and analyze complicated information and turn it

around in a way that’s clear, concise, and compelling either in writing or orally is something that I learned at Tech and that is incredibly important,” she says. “For example, I’ve worked on a lot of litigation involving the Medicare statute, which is incredibly complex. The ability to understand it and make compelling arguments to judges who aren’t familiar with it and the related issues is very helpful.”

In addition, her HHS c a s e l o a d h a s i n c lu d e d high-profile lawsuits involving the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate and coverage for contraceptives for women.

Among her favorite cases was a suit involving the Education Department’s gainful employment regulations, which assess whether certain higher-ed programs prepared their students for employment that would allow them to repay loans. “It was super interesting work that had real-world consequences for students and colleges,” she says. “That’s not something you often get to do in private practice.”

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take as part of the minor help many of them cement their desire for a law career.

“But we also always have students who will acknowledge that they no longer want to go to law school and we’re almost equally excited by that response as we are by those who want to continue,” she says. “What a waste it is for someone to go to law school for three years and practice law for a couple of years and then realize they’re not happy. That’s not good for anybody.”

This personal, hands-on support is important, says Berry, who continued to lead the program until 2005 and worked with Slieper, then a student, to develop what is now known as the minor in Law, Science, and Technology.

“Unless you have a lawyer in the family or have some other connection, you have no idea what the possibilities are,” Berry says.

NEXT UP ON THE DOCKET

Slieper hopes to continue expanding the LST program’s course offerings, which includes options for students interested in an area of law who don’t necessarily plan to go to law school.

“Historically, many of our courses focus on topics of interest to future litigators,” Slieper says. “Offerings we develop in the future will seek to round that out with a focus on topics of interest to students who may not want to be litigators.

This might include ethics and compliance, transactions, and negotiations.”

Slieper sees a bright future for the LST program and what it can accomplish.

“Georgia Tech is uniquely positioned to prepare students for legal careers in a world where technology is an everincreasing force in law,” he said. “We have a real opportunity to make an impact.”

KEEPING TESLA ROLLING // M. YUSUF MOHAMED, MGT 93 A TESLA DOES NOT RUN ON ITS VAUNTED ELECTRIC POWERTRAIN ALONE. The vehicle is the sum of its parts, all working in precise synchronization to move its passengers successfully down the road. As deputy general counsel at Tesla, M. Yusuf Mohamed collaborates and coordinates with multiple teams and departments, synchronizing their efforts to advance the Silicon Valley giant and create consistent policies and messaging for its stakeholders and more than 50,000 employees.

Mohamed’s talent for teamwork was first forged while earning his management degree at Tech. “My classes were very focused on teamwork and team projects,” he says. “That kind of collaboration is vital for the work that I and my legal team do every single day.”

He refined that skill during his nearly nine years as associate counsel, and then, associate general counsel at Wayne

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Farms, the country’s fifth-largest poultry producer. As one of only two in-house attorneys for the $2 billion company,

“

“MY CLASSES WERE VERY FOCUSED ON TEAMWORK AND TEAM PROJECTS,” MOHAMED SAYS. “THAT KIND OF COLLABORATION IS VITAL FOR THE WORK THAT I AND MY LEGAL TEAM DO EVERY SINGLE DAY,” MOHAMED SAYS

AN INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAM IS CRUCIAL FOR SOLVING A PROBLEM WITHOUT CREATING

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JOHN DISNEY/ALM

NEW ONES IN OTHER AREAS.

he was tapped on issues ranging from commercial contracts to employment law (a specialty from his seven years at the Department of Labor) to environmental regulations to interviewing job candidates. He particularly prized his participation on a cross-functionality team that partnered him with marketing, finance, and logistics leaders to turn around a flagging business unit.

“That experience was formative for me and relevant when I went to Tesla,” he says. “Tesla was still a young company when I joined in 2014. I saw a lot of working groups that didn’t know how to talk to each other. I realized this is how I could contribute, by being able to pull from different disciplines so we could solve a problem in one area without creating a problem for another area.”

As Tesla’s staff has increased five-fold during his six years with the company, Mohamed has incubated and expanded the immigration, employment relations, and employee engagement teams. He assembled the most diverse team in the legal department. He has handled workplace investigations and participated in due diligence reviews on acquisitions.

And he has shared his institutional knowledge with new hires from the C Suite on down.

“One of the benefits of having been with the company for so long is I am able to connect people to the right resources to get their problems solved,” he says.

That was crucial when the pandemic struck. Mohamed helped guide the company as it closed down, then ramped back up not only its manufacturing sites but Tesla stores in compliance with widely varying local Covid ordinances around the world. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” he says.

“It has been a defining point in my 23-year career.”

His collaborations have always been a two-way street, gaining him new knowledge while sharing his. It’s the same approach he takes as a volunteer instructor at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. A competitive driver in the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) circuit, Mohamed accompanies novice drivers as they fulfill their need for speed through the SCCA’s Performance Driving Experience.

“It’s sort of a sneaky way for me to get on the track,” he confesses. “But I get to see the track from a different perspective.

I am sitting in the passenger seat, watching rookies make mistakes that I’m probably unconsciously making, too. I might be helping them, but it gives me the opportunity to learn from them, too.”

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HOLDING COURT // TIMOTHY BATTEN, IM 81 DURING HIS 22 YEARS AS A TRIAL LAWYER IN ATLANTA, TIMOTHY BATTEN WOULD OFTEN LOOK AT THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BENCH AND IMAGINE WHAT HE MIGHT DO IF HE WERE A JUDGE. “The idea of being a judge was always appealing to me,” he says.

He no longer has to imagine. In 2006, the U.S. Senate confirmed Batten’s appointment by President George W. Bush as a U.S. District Court Judge for the Northern District of Georgia. The district, one of 94 in the country, serves nearly seven million people in the greater Atlanta area.

At any given time, Batten has a pending docket of around 300 cases, the majority of them civil cases, with some criminal cases in the mix as well. “One of the biggest changes (in transitioning from lawyer to judge) is that you have to redefine winning,” he says. “As a lawyer, winning meant getting a favorable verdict from a jury. As a judge, winning means getting to the bottom of a case and correctly determining who’s right and who’s not right.”

Among his varied and numerous decisions, he has signed off on a $14 million settlement among estranged members of the country band Sugarland, heard a clemency request for a death row inmate, decided an internet privacy case involving a Facebook photo of a bikini-clad high school student, and ruled on litigation to delay Georgia’s primary election during the pandemic. “There’s no shortage of drama in the courtroom,” he says. “I think that real litigation can be as interesting or dramatic as any depicted in a play or movie or book. The real deal can be riveting.”

Contrary to TV depictions of judges, Batten spends far less time on the bench than in his chambers, researching cases, editing orders for his law clerks, and writing opinions. He credits his Tech industrial management degree for not only his comfort with numbers in nine-figure settlements and empirical approach to managing staff but his writing chops

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“

“I THINK THAT REAL LITIGATION CAN BE AS INTERESTING OR DRAMATIC AS ANY DEPICTED IN A PLAY OR MOVIE OR BOOK. THE REAL DEAL CAN BE RIVETING,” SAYS BATTEN

as well. “English professor Robert Reno did more toward helping me become a good writer than any other professor I ever had in college or law school,” he says. “Writing is what we judges do for a living, in my opinion.”

He shares his opinions and expertise as an instructorin-residence teaching “Introduction to the American Legal System” at his legal alma mater, the University of Georgia Law School. “I try to make my lectures interesting, amusing, and informative with the real-world material I have from being a judge and lawyer for 36 years,” he says. “It’s not that difficult to do.”

HAVING THE EAR OF THE GOVERNOR // CANDICE BROCE, MGT 11 WHEN CANDICE BROCE JOINED THE OFFICE OF GEORGIA SECRETARY OF STATE BRIAN KEMP IN 2015 FOR HER FIRST FULL-TIME JOB AFTER LAW SCHOOL, SHE WAS DRAWN BY THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK ON MULTIPLE ISSUES AT ONCE. “If people know about the Secretary of State office, it usually has to do with elections,” she says. “They don’t realize all that the office actually covers, from corporate registrations to professional licensing to charity registration. As a staff attorney, I got to dabble in basically everything.”

Kemp’s election as governor in 2018 has brought Broce an even greater wealth of new opportunities as she has served on his executive staff. As communications director, she managed the governor’s communications staff and coordinated their efforts with peers across state agencies. She was the face of the administration in answering questions from both the media and citizens, especially during the pandemic.

“The best approach is to make sure you’re giving a personalized response,” she says. “It doesn’t have to be the answer they

“

“I WAS ABLE TO BRING THOSE THINGS TO THE TABLE AS A LAWYER FOR THE GOVERNOR BECAUSE OF THE COMMONSENSE APPROACH I GOT FROM TECH,” SAYS BROCE

hoped for; you just need to give them a response so that they are not left hanging in the balance.”

As chief deputy executive counsel, she worked behind the scenes to advise Kemp on policies, particularly the executive orders detailing how businesses could operate during Covid-19. “My business background from Tech was incredibly helpful in writing those,” she says. “You can’t shut down a business overnight; there’s tens of thousands of dollars in inventory to consider. I was able to bring those things to the table as a lawyer for the governor because of the commonsense approach I got from Tech.”

On Nov. 1, Kemp announced Broce’s promotion to chief operating officer. She’ll be directly responsible for overseeing around 35 state agencies, ranging from the Department of Natural Resources to the Department of Driver Services.

She’ll coordinate with all of them on such issues as budgeting, employee training, and consistent communication—the same wide range of opportunities that first enticed her to join the Kemp administration. “One of my Tech professors always emphasized the value of human capital, in making sure to keep employee morale up and that people know what they can do to succeed,” she says. “That has already been really important, but will especially be so now in my new role.”

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s

Dr

n’

.

e e s r to F

FAntastic Boats

&

Other

c reati o ns There might not be a busier person on Earth than a retired engineer, but at 84 years old, retired faculty William “Denney” Freeston sets the bar high.

By Jennifer Herseim P h o t o g r a p h s b y P e t e r Ta y l o r

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S

Some might place the start of William “Denney” Freeston’s one-of-a-kind creations at the helm of his first boat: a 16-foot Snipe class that he named Vega.

The idea of building a sailboat bobbed around Freeston’s mind for years, but it wasn’t until a perfect gust of retirement, nostalgia, and grandkids combined that he set out on his first journey into boatbuilding.

Freeston remembers learning to sail on a Snipe class sailboat on Lake Champlain in Vermont. “It was beautiful. The breeze. The freedom. We were just a couple of kids, with no life vests back then of course, sailing the waves.” Years later, he thought, wouldn’t it be neat to build one?

So, in his garage, Freeston set out to build his boat. The first problem he encountered was figuring out how to move it. Working alone with 16-foot-long planks of wood, he needed a little “high school physics” to devise a system of chains, packing blankets (these are crucial, he says), and holes drilled into the garage’s exposed rafters to lift the boat.

There were mistakes. There were re-dos. There were evenings spent in a chair on the porch with a beer in hand puzzling over one of the project’s unexpected hang-ups. But in the end, Freeston prevailed and a year later, he took his son and grandson sailing.

You could look even further back than the Vega to see the creative tinkerer who would continue to challenge himself with projects his entire life, even today, at 84.

As a teenager growing up in New Jersey, Freeston would

“You always need to keep moving, so every day I do something for the project,” Freeston says. try to see how much of his family’s garden tractor he could take apart and put back together before his father returned home.

His education and career helped him hone his skills, and after earning his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees in mechanical engineering from Princeton University, he worked on projects for NASA at the Air Force’s materials lab.

He developed a flexible metal material that could withstand more than 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The material, woven 56

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into space suits, protected astronauts from the flames of jet propulsion packs.

Then, in 1970, he received an award from the Fiber Society that came with the stipulation that he complete a series of seminars around the country. It was at one of these seminars that he was first exposed to Georgia Tech. He was offered a job and he accepted it a year later in 1971. Freeston spent the next 25 years at the Institute as a professor and administrator, helping the Institute secure millions of dollars in research funding. He retired in 1996 and then things got really busy.

Just the Beginning His first post-retirement project was a playhouse for his granddaughter in the backyard of his daughter’s house. He also helped his son, who was into autoracing, with his car.

After Vega, he moved on to a reproduction of a 1930s teardrop camper. As the size of the projects grew, so too did the challenge of working by himself. When he restored a 1950 Chris-Craft speedboat that weighed roughly 2,000 lb., he rebuilt the engine, moving it carefully in and out of the boat with his system of chains and pulleys. He learned how to sew upholstery and replace the hull planks, which involved steam-bending mahogany.

Freeston, like all good engineers, has crafted a set of rules for his projects. “Never give an estimated completion date.

Don’t keep track of expenditures. Do something every day.”

There are days when he leaves the tools in his garage, recalls the day’s playbook to Paula, his wife of 67 years, and admits two steps forward and one step backward.

Although he might have slowed down a bit, Freeston has no plans to stop building.

“You always need to keep moving, so every day I do something for the project,” he says. “That could be as simple as ordering online the leather pieces for an oar, but it’s something.”

He never seems to run out of projects, either. “Before I finish one thing, there’s always another project that comes up,” he says. But he has decided on a name for his current project, a skin-on-frame rowboat. “I plan to call it Fini.”

No. 1

No. 2

Hand-crafted oars (No. 1) Freeston works with a local lumber yard to p r o c u r e o ko u m e m a h o g a ny, c l e a r s p r u c e, a n d other woods for his boats and kayaks.

Skin-on-frame rowboat (No. 2) Freeston’s current project, a modified rowboat, will carry family and friends from the dock to his moored sailboats.

The best-laid plans (No. 3) Maneuvering boats that can weigh thousands of pounds is part of Freeston’s planning. “ E n g i n e e r s . We f i g u r e i t o u t ,” h e j o k e s .

No. 3

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No. 4

No. 5

No. 6

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No. 8

Chris-Craft speedboat (No. 4) The restoration of this 19 50 speedboat involved s t e a m - b e n d i n g m a h o g a ny, r e b u i l d i n g t h e e n g i n e, a n d s ew i n g u p h o l s t e r y.

Do-it-yourself steam-bending (No. 5) Freeston uses a multi-gallon turkey pot heated over a propane grill with an insulated pipe to steambend wood. It takes an hour for each inch of wood t h i c k n e s s . “ Yo u o n l y h a v e s e v e r a l m i n u t e s o n c e t h e w o o d i s o u t t o b e n d i t , s o y o u h a v e t o m o v e f a s t ,” he says.

log Tobacco barn (No. 6) Freeston’s daughter Leigh Ann, HS 81, convinced him to buy a tobacco barn from a neighboring c o u n t y. H e d e c o n s t r u c t e d i t l o g fo r l o g , t a g g e d each piece, transported it home, and then reconstructed it in his backyard exactly how it had been.

No. 7

Vida Boa river cruiser (No. 7) Freeston’s latest project (pictured here with his s o n ’ s f a m i l y) w a s a 1 9 . 5 - f o o t r i v e r c r u i s e r n a m e d Vi d a B o a , m e a n i n g “ g o o d l i f e ” i n P o r t u g u e s e . I t sleeps two and includes a composting toilet.

1922 Willys-Knight (No. 8) In addition to boat- and kayak-building, Freeston has restored cars including a 1922 Wi l l y s - K n i g h t a u t o m o b i l e .

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VOLUME 96

ALUMNI HOUSE

ISSUE 4

TECH’D OUT YELLOW JACKET There are proud fans, and then there’s Heather and Joe Belcher, Cls 91, who won the 2020 Homecoming “Most Tech’d Out Yellow Jacket” competition. Their collection includes 25 game-worn helmets, 85 game-worn jerseys, and more than 400 programs. “Our goal is to find and buy something of GT every day,” says Heather. “It does not always happen, but we like to try!”

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COURTESY OF HEATHER BELCHER

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2021 GOLD & WHITE HONORS

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ASSOCIATION ANNUAL REPORT

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RAMBLIN’ ROLL

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TECH HISTORY

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PICTURE OF EXCELLENCE

MEET THE 2021 GOLD & WHITE HONORS RECIPIENTS WHO MAKE GEORGIA TECH PROUD. PROFILES BY JENNIFER HERSEIM THE GOLD & WHITE HONORS are the Georgia Tech Alumni Association’s most prestigious awards, recognizing individuals who embody the Institute’s mission and who demonstrate excellence in all that they do.

For more than 86 years, the Alumni Association has honored individuals who represent the best of Georgia Tech.

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These eight honorees who we are celebrating this year have truly made the world a better place through their exceptional service to their communities, to the Institute, and to humankind. While we will wait to honor them in person in Atlanta this summer, we hope their stories are an inspiration to Yellow Jackets everywhere.

DON PIRKLE, IE 58 FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF GLOBAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS, THE DOW CHEMICAL COMPANY

DON PIRKLE IS IN AWE OF Georgia Tech’s evolution as a technical institution. He has witnessed its growth, its involvement in the progress of Atlanta, and its partnerships across the state that have led to innovative interdisciplinary programs.

If Pirkle is in awe of Tech, it could just as easily be said that Tech is in awe of Don Pirkle. A man of deep integrity, intelligence, and service, Pirkle embodies the Institute’s mission of progress and service. He has served with multiple nonprofits in North Georgia as well as several Georgia Tech organizations.

When Pirkle learned that his church didn’t have a Habitat for Humanity house—nor the funds to build one nor a project leader to take charge—he met with his church’s top fundraisers to spearhead a campaign that ultimately raised more than $40,000 for their first Habitat home. Since then, Pirkle has helped build 75 homes with Habitat for Humanity and participated in Jimmy Carter’s blitz builds, building homes across the country in communities of need.

Throughout the years, Pirkle has supported numerous causes. He served on the board of directors for the Good News Clinic, a nonprofit that provides free medical and dental care to uninsured patients. He has served on the Georgia Tech Advisory Board, the ISyE Advisory Board, and his 40th and 50th Reunion committees. In 2000, he was inducted into the ISyE Academy of Distinguished Alumni.

In a successful 34-year career with The Dow Chemical Company, Pirkle held various positions within the company before retiring in 1995 as vice president of Global Information Systems.

DEAN GRIFFIN COMMUNIT Y SERVICE AWARD Recognizes 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.

A Yellow Jacket for life, he is actively involved in growing future student leaders, serving on numerous boards including the Georgia Tech Foundation Board as well as having endowed scholarships.

One of Pirkle’s favorite activities is meeting and interviewing candidates for the President’s Scholar Program. “I find great comfort in knowing these President’s Scholars will become leaders on campus and beyond,” he says.

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B R I A N T YS O N , E E 10 MANAGER, CLEAN ENERGY PL ANNING & IMPLEMENTATION, PUGET SOUND ENERGY

BRIAN TYSON DIDN’T LET “getting out” end his bond to Georgia Tech. While a student, Tyson dove into student life, joining the fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha, being inducted into the ANAK Society, and joining the Ramblin’ Reck Club—where, he says, he found his passion and love for all things Georgia Tech.

It’s not uncommon for alumni to disengage from their alma mater the first few years after graduation, but Tyson doubled down on the connections and memories that he had made in school. He not only stayed connected to the Institute himself, but he set out to keep other young alumni engaged as well.

“My goal has always been to help new alumni realize that there’s a community here with resources for you, just like there was a community for you while you were in school,” Tyson says.

After earning his degree, he became a mentor in the Mentor Jackets program and served as president of the Young Alumni Council from 2014 to 2016. As a trustee of the Georgia Tech Alumni Association from 2017 to 2020, Tyson focused on meeting the needs of new alumni and, in turn, helping them recognize the value of giving back. He served on the committee for Tech’s inaugural 40 Under 40 program, which serves to highlight outstanding young alumni.

In addition to his service to Tech, Tyson proves that his degree—and the skill set that comes with it— is highly useful in the professional world. He spent seven years at the Georgia Transmission Corporation as a substation test engineer and then a bulk transmission planner, before moving to Seattle to become a senior engineer with Puget Sound Energy.

His current position is manager of Clean Energy Planning and Implementation.

Tyson received the news of his award from a ing told by someone I look up to and admire made it even more special,” he says. “I think about the outstanding alumni who received this award before me group is very humbling,” Tyson says.

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MOLLY MOORMEIER

whom I look up to and admire. To be part of that

Given to a Georgia Tech alum under 40 who has demonstrated outstanding leadership and service to Georgia Tech and the Georgia Tech Alumni Association, the community, and his/her profession.

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friend and mentor, Anu Parvatiyar, BME 08. “Be-

OUT S TANDIN G YOUN G AL UMNI

MIKE ANDERSON, IE 79 PRESIDENT & CEO, GEORGIA POWER FOUNDATION, THE SOUTHERN COMPANY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION

M I K E A N D E R S O N ’ S I N T E R E S T I N E N G I N E E R I N G first sparked in the pages of Scientific American magazine. His father, a letter carrier with the postal service, would bring home leftover copies that customers on his route had given him for his son. Even though Anderson didn’t understand the scientific concepts on the page yet, his curiosity for learning and ambition to become an engineer were ignited. For as long as he could remember, Anderson and his father were Yellow Jacket fans, so in high school, his decision to become a “helluva engineer” was set.

As a four-year letterwinner in track and field, Anderson set three school records while at Georgia Tech. Now, as president and CEO of Georgia Power Foundation and the Southern Company Charitable Foundation, Anderson’s focus is on removing hurdles for others.

He has led countless projects throughout his career, including his involvement in the founding investment of the nation’s first museum of African American history in Washington, D.C., revitalization projects in East Atlanta, and a recent pledge from the foundations of $1.5 million to Covid-19 relief efforts.

He credits his deep belief in service to his faith.

“We were in church every Sunday and we were brought up to always think about others before ourselves,” Anderson says. His advice to students is: “Be bold, dream big, and start thinking now about how you’re going to give back.”

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KAYLINN GILSTRAP

JOSEPH MAYO PETTIT DIS TIN GUISHED SERVICE AWARD The highest award conferred by the Alumni Association, honoring alumni who have provided outstanding support for the Institute and Alumni Association throughout a lifetime and who have provided leadership in their chosen professions and local communities.

Anderson’s personal giving to Tech includes the endowment of two scholarships. He serves on the Alexander-Tharpe Board and the Georgia Tech Foundation Board. He has also served on the Athletic Association Board, the Georgia Tech Advisory Board, and the ISyE Advisory Board.

Among many recognitions, he has received the Dean Griffin Community Service Award, the College of Engineering’s Distinguished Alumni Award, the Atlanta Area Council of Boy Scouts of America Silver Beaver and Whitney M. Young Award, and Tech’s Total Person Alumni Award.

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RICHARD L. BERGMARK, IM 75 FORMER EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, AND TREASURER OF CORE L ABORATORIES NV

D I C K B E R G M A R K made a promise to himself after college to become a CFO of a publicly traded company with an international presence. It was an ambitious goal for a twenty-something at the time.

But using the analytical mindset that he gained at the Institute, Bergmark set out over the course of the next 30 years to grow his skills, and in turn, grow Core Laboratories from a small business into a 5,000person company with locations in 50 countries. In 1994, Bergmark participated in a management-led buyout of the company and as its CFO in 1995 led the company’s IPO, reaching his goal.

“If it wasn’t for Tech, I wouldn’t have had the tools and opportunity to be as successful as I was,” Bergmark says.

Living internationally for work gave Bergmark a global perspective that he wants all Yellow Jackets to have the opportunity to experience. “Think outside your borders,” Bergmark advises students. Toward that goal, he and his wife, Toni, have supported international scholarship opportunities. The Bergmarks have maintained close ties with these scholarship recipients, staying in touch over the years and traveling together as a group to New York City and Ireland.

“We all went to Dublin to explore the city and the best part, watch Tech beat Boston College!” Bergmark says. “It’s been truly rewarding to see those students think about a professional career and then take the steps to accomplish it.”

Bergmark’s many contributions to Tech include a commitment to the Peterson Scholarship Endowment and support of the Scheller College of Business with a Dean’s fellowship, six Dean’s scholarships, and a bequest for an endowed chair. A swimming letterwinner from 1972 to 1975, today he is an avid supporter of Tech Swimming and Diving, endowing four athletic scholarships, committing to endow the ter after his former coach, Herb McAuley. Bergmark serves on the Alexander-Tharpe, Georgia Tech Foundation, and Scheller College advisory boards.

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TODD SPOTH

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JOSEPH MAYO PETTIT DIS TIN GUISHED SERVICE AWARD

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head coach position, and naming the aquatic cen-

RUSSELL CHANDLER III, I E 67 FOUNDER AND FORMER CHAIRMAN, W H I T E H A L L G R O U P, L T D .

I N 1 9 8 7 , Russ Chandler went to lunch with then Georgia Tech President John “Pat” Crecine and left with an Olympic-sized mission that would change the face of the Institute.

“He told me about the Summer Olympics coming to Atlanta and thought we might be able to get more dorms from it,” Chandler recalls.

Chandler went away from that meeting expecting a two-year volunteer commitment. That eventually turned into eight years and an instrumental role in bringing the Olympic Village to Georgia Tech’s campus as well as serving as mayor of the Village during the 1996 Games. In the end, Chandler’s planning and operation of the Atlanta Olympic Village not only made a lasting mark on Georgia Tech’s campus but also earned the Institute and the city of Atlanta international recognition.

Running the Atlanta Olympic Village—which housed more than 14,000 athletes in buildings that spanned 270 acres across Tech campus—was no easy task. The lessons Chandler learned at Tech served him many times over.

“Tech was like marine boot camp. It created this desire in you to push things through to completion,” Chandler says.

Over the course of his career, Chandler has co-founded and led several companies including Qualicare, a hospital management company, and Whitehall Group, a private investment firm.

In addition to a busy and successful career in the professional world, Chandler has been an active supporter of Georgia Tech, serving on the Georgia Tech Foundation Board and his 40th and 50th Reunion committees, the Alexander-Tharpe Board, the Geor-

JOSEPH MAYO PETTIT DIS TIN GUISHED SERVICE AWARD

gia Tech Advisory Board, and the ISyE Advisory Board. In 1983, Tech’s baseball stadium was named in his honor. In 1995, the College of Engineering inducted him into its Academy of Distinguished Alumni.

Most recently, he made a $1 million gift for the reconstruction of the Edge Center and ensured that a new chapel is built within to support students.

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R I C H A R D T R U LY, AE 59, HON PHD 09 FORMER ASTRONAUT, NASA ADMINISTRATOR, GTRI DIRECTOR

ASTRONAUT. NASA administrator. Test pilot. Director of the Georgia Tech Research Institute and National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The list of Richard Truly’s accomplishments goes on and on.

But even in a life filled with remarkable moments, Georgia Tech has always remained close to Truly’s heart.

“I remember at graduation in the Fox Theatre thinking to myself, ‘If I can do this, I can do anything,’” Truly says.

Receiving the Joseph Mayo Pettit Distinguished Service Award is particularly special to Truly, who met Pettit.

In 1981, Truly brought two Tech football jerseys on his first space flight. “After, I got to hand the jersey to Pettit on the floor of a basketball game during halftime,” he says.

Truly enrolled at Tech on an NROTC scholarship. After graduating, he soon became one of the Navy’s top test pilots. “I had never flown in an airplane before I went to Tech,” Truly says. “Flying seemed like a great adventure.”

In 1965, he became one of the first military astronauts selected to the U.S. Air Force’s Manned Orbiting Laboratory. Truly, who was still a student in test pilot school at the time, was surprised to be one of only two Navy pilots selected. “Our commander decided to include the student class in the selection, so I didn’t even know it and had never applied,” he says.

In 1969, he transferred to NASA just a month after the Apollo moon landing. In 1981, he took his first space flight on his birthday, Nov. 12. “Looking out the window, which was up at the stars or down to Earth, was incredible,” Truly says. “I still remember sights that I saw: Italy, Greece, the colors of the earth and the sea. It was just amazing.”

He became the first commander of the Navy Space Command. Three weeks after the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986, Truly returned to NASA to lead the investigation and return the Space Shuttle program to space. He became administrator of NASA in 1989, serving until 1992, when he became director of the Georgia Tech Research Institute. In 1997, he became director of ing in 2005. Truly remains active as one of the many Tech engineers volunteering with the National Academy of Engineering.

WINTER 2021 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

TIM GILLIES

68

JOSEPH MAYO PETTIT DIS TIN GUISHED SERVICE AWARD

PHOTOGRAPH

the National Renewable Energy Laboratory until retir-

BILLIEE P E N D L E T O N - PA R K E R FORMER ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, PRESIDENT’S SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

T H E R E ’ S B U Z Z A N D T H E R A M B L I N ’ W R E C K , but the Institute’s third mascot could easily be the compassionate and caring Billiee Pendleton-Parker. Fondly known as BP-P to her Techies, she has left a lasting mark on students, faculty, and staff over the course of her 30 years of service to Georgia Tech.

Pendleton-Parker joined Tech in 1985 as a teacher trainer at the Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning. Later, she became the assistant director of the President’s Scholarship Program. Students knew they could always come to her office and be greeted with an open door, a bowl full of candy (“the good stuff”), and an open mind and open ears. She offered a safe environment where students could voice their cares and concerns. She would listen deeply and then often deliver one of her famous “BP-Pism,” which her students adored, such as: Strive for significance, not success and Commit spontaneous, not random, acts of kindness.

“I never gave advice,” she says. “These are brilliant people who can think on their own.” What she offered instead was gentle guidance and the space for students to make their own choices.

The number of Georgia Tech programs and awards named after Pendleton-Parker is a testament to her impact. Since the 1980s, she has worked behind the scenes to build a more inclusive and welcoming campus. When she noticed there wasn’t a space for women to gather on campus, she became an advocate for the Women’s Resource Center,

HON ORARY AL UMNI AWARD Honors non-alumni who have devoted themselves to the greater good of Georgia Tech.

which opened in 1998. For her support to LGTBQIA Yellow Jackets, the Billiee Pendleton-Parker Award for Outstanding Allyship was named in her honor. Housing’s Freshman Experience Award is also named in her honor. A lifelong volunteer, she was

PHOTOGRAPH

RANDY McDOW

recognized in 2016 by Hands On Atlanta with the Volunteer of the Year Award.

When Pendleton-Parker learned she would become an honorary alumna, she was speechless, she says. But to the students, faculty, and staff of Tech, she has always been part of the Yellow Jacket family.

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | WINTER 2021

69

G . P. “ B U D ” P E T E R S O N PRESIDENT EMERITUS, REGENTS P R O F E S S O R , 11 T H G E O R G I A T E C H PRESIDENT

WITH A FIRST NAME LIKE GEORGE P., “Bud” Peterson may have been destined to become a Yellow Jacket. Surely, after two of his children “got out” of Tech, and his wife, Val, was named an honorary alumna last year, Peterson is more than ready to join his Yellow Jacket family and fulfill that destiny. “Georgia Tech has a special place in my heart, Val’s heart, and with our whole family,” he says.

Peterson served as the Institute’s 11th president from 2009 to 2019. Under his leadership, Tech became one of the top five public universities in the country. He oversaw the development of a 25-year strategic plan, which was instrumental in the growth of innovation and entrepreneurship across the Institute. When he became president, Tech had just made the leap into Midtown Atlanta. Over the next decade, Tech’s presence evolved the area into one of the fastest-growing entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystems in the Southeastern United States.

“One of the reasons there’s been such dramatic growth in Midtown is because of all the technology and talent that exists at Georgia Tech,” Peterson says. During his presidency, Tech also reached $1 billion in research funding and became a member of the Association of American Universities.

After stepping down as president in 2019, Peterson has remained active at Tech. He was named President Emeritus and Regents Professor of Mechanical Engineering. His current research focuses on phase change heat transfer, which includes projects looking at the storage and transport of cellular materials and one focused on stopping epileptic seizures in children.

Peterson’s passion for science and technology is also evident in the community. He is past chair of the NCAA Board of Governors and he served on the Geoff Duncan to co-chair a Georgia task force that led to the creation of the Partnership for Inclusive Innostate of Georgia, private industry, and the Institute.

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WINTER 2021 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

KAYLINN GILSTRAP

vation, a public-private partnership that includes the

HON ORARY AL UMNI AWARD

PHOTOGRAPH

National Science Board. He was chosen by Lt. Gov.

CONNECT WITH YOUR COMMUNITY Introducing Georgia Tech Connect, an all-inclusive online platform connecting you with Georgia Tech alumni.

Find your old roommate with the Alumni Directory.

Connect and then chat with fellow alumni in your industry.

Discover your next opportunity with professional development webinars.

Develop a mutually beneficial mentor opportunity.

Register today at connect.gtalumni.org

GEORGIA TEC H ALUMNI ASSOCIATION’S

ANNUAL REPORT 2 0 2 0

F I S C A L Y E A R

172,769

A L U M N I B Y S TAT E , T O P 5

#1

GEORGIA

#2

FLORIDA

T O TA L T E C H A L U M N I A R O U N D T H E W O R L D

ALUMNI BY COLLEGE 59%

ENGINEERING 1 01 , 9 3 8

14 %

BUSINESS 2 4 , 2 7 3

10 %

COMPUTING 17, 0 5 8

#3

3%

LIBERAL ARTS 5 , 5 3 4 UNDESIGNATED 6 0 8 0 %

#5

A L U M N I B Y G R A D U AT I O N D E C A D E 2020s 3,754

2%

19 7 0 s

9%

2 01 0 s 31% 54,170

2 0 0 0 s 21% 36,047

19 9 0 s 16% 26,814

19 8 0 s 13% 22,293

19 6 0 s

19 5 0 s

19 4 0 s

19 3 0 s

N. CAROLINA

TEXAS

15,673

54%

OF GEORGIA TECH A L U M N I H AV E G R A D U AT E D SINCE 2000 NOTE: NUMBERS AS OF JUNE 30, 2020.

SOME TOTALS MAY NOT ADD UP TO 100%

72

6%

DESIGN 9 , 7 3 6

CALIFORNIA

#4

8%

SCIENCE 13 , 6 2 2

WINTER 2021 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

9,193

5%

4,166

2%

658

0%

1

A L U M N I B Y C O U N T R Y, T O P 5 ( O U T S I D E U . S . )

#1

#3

CHINA

#4

S. KOREA

FRANCE

#2

INDIA

#5 GERMANY

0%

LETTER FROM THE CHAIR

D

D E A R F E L L O W A L U M N I , in spite of the challenges of Covid-19, it is an incredible time to be a Yellow Jacket.

Georgia Tech is proving its resiliency daily by turning challenges into opportunities, demonstrating our commitment to progress and service. While excelling in rankings, we have been recognized nationally for our work assisting the community and our nation during the pandemic. It is an honor and privilege to serve as your chair of the Georgia Tech Alumni Association Board of Trustees for fiscal year 2021.

Tech has had a profound influence on my life in many ways. The engineering curriculum and a small scholarship brought me here from

Jocelyn Stargel, Board Chair

Maryland. I met my husband of 38 years at Tech as a freshman. Through my involvement as a student on campus and in my sorority, Delta Sigma Theta, I made lifelong friends who still get together to celebrate and support one another.

Post-graduation, it was an interview at an Alumni Association Career Fair that has led to a fulfilling career at Southern Company until retirement. I am immensely grateful for the community and opportunities afforded me by Georgia Tech.

It was through participating in a women’s alumnae group as a young alumna that I gained my first introduction to the Alumni Association. I was fortunate to meet and work with Shirley Mewborn, one of Tech’s first female graduates and the first female chair of the Alumni Association.

Shirley’s passion for everything Tech and especially the success of women at Georgia Tech was contagious and has stuck with me to

this day.

Throughout the years, I found myself interacting with the Alumni Association community in many different ways. As an employer, looking for critical-thinking leaders at an Alumni Association Career Fair, as a mentor to students or host of Dinner Jacket events sharing advice and experiences with future alumni, and as an affinity group leader looking to build connections with alumni.

Let’s face it, there is nothing normal about this past year. In these abnormal times, community is so very important. The alumni community’s support of Roll Call during fiscal year 2020 allowed Tech to provide more than $1 million to students faced with housing, travel, and financial challenges because of the pandemic. It’s a clear example of how the generosity of our alumni has had an impact on our future leaders. Thank you for your loyalty and support of Georgia Tech.

Go Jackets!

JOCELYN STARGEL, IE 82, MS IE 86 ALUMNI ASSOCIATION CHAIR FY2021

G E O R G I A T E C H A L U M N I A S S O C I AT I O N OUR MISSION & VISION

MISSION

VISION

TO CHAMPION AND SERVE ITS ALUMNI AND THE INSTITUTE THROUGH PROGRAMMING AND ENGAGEMENT THAT FOSTERS LIFELONG RELATIONSHIPS AND PHILANTHROPIC SUPPORT.

TO BUILD AN ENDURING COMMUNITY WITH ALL ALUMNI STANDING IN PROUD SUPPORT OF GEORGIA TECH AND EACH OTHER.

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | WINTER 2021

73

A S S O C I AT I O N F I N A N C E S REVENUES GT Foundation

FISC AL YEAR 2020

BUDGET ACTUAL VARIANCE $5,057,000

$5,057,000

$0

Georgia Tech

600,000

617,460

17,460

Advertising & Sponsorships

390,000

205,320

(184,680)

Career Services

135,000

6,260

(128,740)

Tours

120,000

120,071

71

Merchandise Sales (Net of Cost of Sales)

7,000

5,608

(1,392)

Royalties

8,250

14,620

6,370

Event Registrations

189,939

104,490

(85,449)

Other Sources of Revenue

173,739

173,896

157

Gold & White Honors Gala/Contributions

450,000

469,979

19,979

$7,130,928

$6,774,704

($356,224)

Total Revenues

EXPENDITURES Administration

BUDGET ACTUAL VARIANCE $1,832,420

$1,892,050

HR & Career Services

294,700

306,566

11,866

Business Development

109,500

92,272

(17,228)

1,184,846

849,416

(335,430)

Alumni Engagement

413,700

382,585

(31,115)

Student Engagement

512,285

291,951

(220,334)

Annual Giving (Roll Call)

641,800

596,905

(44,895)

Gift Processing/Data Management

785,477

510,370

(275,107)

$59,630

CHIEF OF STAFF

Event Management ENGAGEMENT

ANNUAL GIVING

STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS Publications

712,350

666,155

(46,195)

Marketing Services

643,850

558,347

(85,503)

$7,130,928

$6,146,617

(984,311)

$0

$628,087

$628,087

Total Expenditures Excess (Deficiency) of revenue over expenses

A S S E T S 2020 2019 Cash and Cash Equivalents

$1,397,896

$583,334

Accounts Receivable less Allowance for Doubtful Accounts of $3,000 in 2020 and $3,000 in 2019 77,711 Prepaid Expenses

24,760

86,079 29,408

Inventory 14,742 6,836 Investments 296,272 290,674 Property, Plant and Equipment, net 300,063 Antique Ramblin’ Wreck

Total Assets

L I A B I L I T I E S A N D N E T A S S E T S

296,730

12,500 $2,123,944

12,500

2020

$1,305,561

2019

LIABILITIES Accounts Payable $864,180

$509,926

Accrued Expenses 306,228

274,353

Total Liabilities

$1,170,408

$784,279

$953,536

$521,282

$2,123,944

$1,305,561

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES Net Assets Without Donor Restrictions Total Liabilities and Net Assets

IMPACT & ENGAGEMENT “GEORGIA TECH’S SUPPORT

“I LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINU-

DURING THIS PANDEMIC GIVES

ING TO MAKE MY ALUMNI

ME A LOT OF HOPE THAT WE’LL

ASSOCIATION PROUD AND TO

OVERCOME THIS. I’M REALLY

LIVING UP TO THE LEGACY OF

THANKFUL TO BE AWARDED

$1.4M

– VA L E R I E M O N T G O M E R Y R I C E , M . D . ,

UNPRECEDENTED TIME.”

CHEM 83, DEAN GRIFFIN COMMUNIT Y

– M O N I C A S I E R R A A PA R I C I O , M S B C

S E R V I C E A WA R D R E C I P I E N T

20, RECIPIENT OF THE STUDENT

FOR STUDENT RELIEF

A YELLOW JACKET.”

THIS ASSISTANCE DURING THIS

EMERGENCY FUND GRANT

ROLL CALL – STUDENT EMERGENCY FUND

A JOINT EFFORT TO PROVIDE IMMEDIATE FINANCIAL AID TO STUDENT S AFFECTED BY THE PANDEMIC.

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION EVENTS THIS YEAR MORE THAN EVER, THE YELLOW JACKET COMMUNIT Y CAME TOGETHER TO SUPPORT ONE ANOTHER.

The 2020 Gold & White Honors Gala,

At the Alumni Association, we knew that Georgia Tech

the premiere event to honor our most dis-

alumni would swarm together to support students in need

tinguished alumni and friends, raised

9,932

ALUMNI PARTICIPATED IN 639 NETWORK AND GROUP EVENTS

during the pandemic. Even so, we were astounded by the

$434,967 for student programs. 110 students received

outpouring of support that led to more than 1,700 donors

$380,000 through network or group scholarship

contributing to support students. In addition, Roll Call do-

awards. With 639 network events and 24 travel trips held

nors raised more than $6.2 million in unrestricted giving

prior to the pandemic, the Alumni Association engaged

for Tech’s Fund for Excellence.

and connected thousands of alumni worldwide.

“OF THE 20-PLUS YEARS OF

800+

ALUMNI-STUDENT CONNECTIONS

“I’VE LEARNED SO MUCH

SELF-ASSESSMENT CLASSES AND

ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF

EVALUATIONS, THIS PROGRAM

GIVING BACK AND HAVE LOVED

WAS AT THE TOP FOR REFLEC-

BEING ABLE TO HAVE SO MANY

TION AND LEARNING. IT RE-

ALUMNI TO LOOK UP TO. THAT

SULTED IN A NEW JOB OFFER

U L T I M A T E L Y F U E L E D M Y D E C I �-

WHICH MATCHES MY SKILLS

SION TO JOIN AMBASSADORS.”

AND BACKGROUND WITH THE

–L AURA ZHANG, VICE PRESIDENT OF ALUMNI CONNECTIONS–SAA , DONOR TO GT SF, AMBASSADOR

COMPANY’S NEED.” – T O D D R E D M O N , P T C H 9 7, PA R T I C I PA N T

254

VIRTUAL ATTENDEES

STUDENT PROGRAMS

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SERIES

AWARD-WINNING PROGRAMS STRENGTHEN

EXPERT-LED WEBINARS HELP JACKETS GROW THEIR

TIES BETWEEN STUDENTS AND ALUMNI.

PROFESSIONAL SKILLS AT ANY STAGE OF THEIR C AREERS.

Named National Organization of the Year, the Student

Through a series of 13 expert-led virtual programs, Yellow

Alumni Association had 4,947 donors, with 502 members

Jackets gained crucial advice for navigating the job market.

connected to alumni mentors. From SAA member donations,

From sessions on leveraging LinkedIn to the effective methods

$66,123 was raised for the Georgia Tech Student

managers can use to advance their careers, alumni across a

Foundation. Finally, 62 Student Ambassadors helped facili-

range of industries learned how to grow their skills and capi-

tate the investiture of President Cabrera.

talize on their Georgia Tech network.

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | WINTER 2021

75

HOMECOMING

GROWING NEW TRADITIONS

NEW TRADITIONS AND RE-ENVISIONED ONES BROUGHT YELLOW JACKETS TOGETHER THIS HOMECOMING.

M A N Y O F T H E W A Y S in which we normally gather to celebrate Homecoming were not possible this year because of the pandemic. But where in-person activities were limited, new ways of celebrating the Yellow Jacket spirit sprouted in their place.

This year, instead of delivering flowers to campus partners and staff, the Alumni Association donated $1,000 to the STAR program in their honor to say thank you.

The STAR program, which stands for Students’ Temporary Assistance and Resources, is an organization that provides stability for students. STAR

brings together campus organizations such as Klemis Kitchen, Campus Closet, Housing, and the Dean Griffin Hip Pocket Fund, to coordinate support for students.

Building on the past success of the STAR Program’s bamboo plant giveaway, Alumni Association President Dene Sheheane, Chair Jocelyn Stargel, Vice Chair Shan Pesaru, and their spouses helped Steve Fazenbaker, the director of the STAR Program, and the STAR student leadership team assemble bamboo plants that were given away at the Community Market during Homecoming Week.

A WINNIN’ RAMBLIN’ WRECK

MINI 500

The Alumni Association’s Wreck claimed the top prize in the Classic Car category at the Ramblin’ Wreck Parade. Delta Sigma Phi’s “Horse and Chariot” won first place in the Fixed Body category. Changes to the parade this year included no category for contraptions and a longer route that allowed spectators to socially distance.

The Mini 500, one of Tech’s most unusual Homecoming traditions, took place at Stamps Recreation Fields this year instead of Peters Parking Deck. The tricycle race was turned into a timed trial so that a limited number of teams were on the track at any one time. The time slots were spaced-out over Homecoming weekend.

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WINTER 2021 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

Now Offering High Quality Virtual Event Services & Support.

Safe and Clean Meeting Space for In-Person Experiences.

Now Virtual.

That’s So Tech!

MEETINGS. CONFERENCES. TRAINING.

Virtual or Safely On Site. pe.gatech.edu/virtual-meetings 404-385-6203 meetings@pe.gatech.edu

EVERYTHING’S FINE This fall, best-selling author and comedian SARAH COOPER, MS DM 01, premiered her comedy special Sarah Cooper: Everything’s Fine on Netflix. In 2018, the Alumni Magazine published a profile of Cooper’s leap from the corporate world to comedy. Read about it at http:// gtalumni.org/funny.

PHOTOGRAPH LACEY TERRELL

RAMBLIN’ ROLL 78

WINTER 2021 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

CL ASS NOTES & ALUMNI UPDATES

ALUMNAE ELECTED TO PROMINENT POSITIONS IN HISTORICAL SOCIETY R E I S H A R A N E Y , M E 9 6 , was elected first Black officer of the Maryland State Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and Maureen (Dougherty) Tipton, MgtSci 73, was elected the leader for the state. The pair are in their second year of their three-year term.

Maureen (Dougherty) Tipton, MgtSci 73 (center), and Reisha Raney, ME 96 (seated right), with members of the Maryland State Society Daughters of the American Revolution.

disseminate results from research she

the telephone industry. She has received

Raney also serves on the national

is conducting, documenting the narra-

the Executive Hall of Fame Award, the

level as the membership committee di-

tives of Black members of the DAR as

Leaders for the Millennium, and the Ser-

vision vice chair, overseeing chapters

a Harvard University non-resident fel-

vice of Excellence Award. In addition

in the eastern United States and units

low under the direction of Henry Louis

to the DAR, Tipton is the State President

overseas. On July 1, Raney launched

Gates, Jr. She is the president and found-

Dames of the Court of Honor, Honor-

the Daughter Dialogues podcast, which

er of Encyde Corporation.

ary Maryland Senior State President of

gives a platform to Black women whose

Under Tipton’s leadership, the state

the Children of the American Revolution,

ancestors helped the U.S. earn its inde-

organization has served its communi-

and Past National Chairman of the Chil-

pendence to talk about patriotism and

ty by promoting patriotism, education,

dren of the American Revolution. She

their stake in the founding of the nation.

and historic preservation—the mission of

received the Sons of the American Revo-

Ra n ey i s u s i n g t h e p o d c a s t t o

the DAR. Tipton has a 45-year career in

lution (SAR) Daughters of Liberty medal.

W W I I F I G H T E R P I L O T, C O D E - N A M E D ‘ R A M B L I N ’ W R E C K , ’ C E L E B R A T E S 10 0 T H B I R T H DA Y played gigs every Friday and Saturday

Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Air

evening and at Sunday afternoon tea

Medal. He later became a licensed elec-

dances. Blair graduated in 1942 and

trical engineer. The Army recalled him to

joined the Army, becoming a P-47 pilot.

serve two years during the Korean War.

At the time, only one out of 100 cadets

He went on to have a career as an advi-

FLOYD FRANKLIN BL AIR, EE 42, turned

became a P-47 pilot. In 1944, 1st Lt. Blair

sor and consultant, retiring at 95.

100 on Nov. 15. A WWII veteran, Blair

was part of the 404th Fighter Group and

lives in Ocala, Fla., with his wife, Sha-

a participant in “Operation Overlord,”

ron, and hopes to return to Normandy

flying his P-47 over the landing of Nor-

in 2024 to celebrate the 80th anniversa-

mandy. Every pilot had a code name,

ry of the landing.

and Blair’s was “Ramblin’ Wreck.”

Blair came to Georgia Tech in 1938

Blair received the Distinguished Unit

and joined “The Technicians,” a band

Citation, French Croix de Guerre with

composed of other students. They

Palm, Belgian Fourragère with Palm, the

In 2016, he was awarded the French Legion of Honor Medal.

WANT TO SHARE YOUR NEWS? Send your Ramblin’ Roll submissions to: Editor, Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine, 190 North Ave. N.W., Atlanta, GA 30313, or editor@alumni.gatech.edu. You can also submit your personal news, birth and wedding announcements (with photos!), out-and-about snapshots, and in memoriam notices online at gtalumni.org/magazine.

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | WINTER 2021

79

RAMBLIN� ROLL L E M OY N E I N D U C T E D INTO GEORGIA M I L I TA RY V E T E R A N S H A L L O F FA M E

CLASS NOTES

REAR ADM. IRVE CHARLES LE MOYNE, IM 61, a 35-year Navy SEAL and first

among the 16 inductees in the Hall of

to achieve flag rank, has posthumous-

of him will be displayed on the Heroes

ly been inducted into the Georgia

Wall of the Floyd Building in the State

Military Veterans Hall of Fame. One

Capitol complex in Atlanta.

Fame Class of 2020, a framed photo

BERNARD OPENS STOREFRONT AT PONCE CITY MARKET the owner of The Bombchel Factory in Monrovia, Liberia, which employs Liberian women to hand-make West African clothing and accessories. Purchases from her storefront at Ponce City Market will continue to support women in Liberia. In 2020, Bernard was honored with the Outstanding Young Alumni Award at the 2020

A R C H E L B E R N A R D , S T C 1 1 , recent-

Gold & White Honors Gala. She

ly opened her first U.S. boutique at

also serves as a trustee member on

Ponce City Market for her Liberian

the Georgia Tech Alumni Associa-

clothing line, Bombchel. Bernard is

tion board.

BUOL AMWINI NAMED EMERGING EXPLORER

BY N A T I O N A L G E O G R A P H I C S O C I E T Y JOY BUOL AMWINI, CS 12, founder of the Algorithmic Justice League and a member of the 2020 class of Georgia Tech’s 40 Under 40 program, was recently chosen as an Emerging Explorer by the National Geographic Society.

Buolamwini, who joins seven other global changemakers chosen this year by the society, was recognized for her groundbreaking work focused on the social implications of artificial intelligence.

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WINTER 2021 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

DANIEL ALHADEFF, ARC H 07, M ARC H 14, MS CP 14, has been promoted to architect in Quinn Evans’s Washington, D.C., office.

CLINT BAILEY, TE 97, trustee member of the Georgia Tech Alumni Association board, was awarded the 2020 Build Her Up Award by Women In Technology. The award is presented to a Georgia-based man who champions women in their networks, workplaces, and communities.

WILLIAM BALL III, IM 69, will chair the Georgia Joint Defense Commission. He is the director of the Governor’s Defense Initiative.

MERRY HUNTER CAUDLE, PP 13, received a Rising Star Award from the Association of University Research Parks. Caudle is associate director of economic development at Georgia Tech.

BARRY FLINK, BM 73, has been named to the Advisory Board of GTSI Investor Forum Atlanta. Flink is CEO of La Grange Hospitality LLC and executive vice president of Flex HR Inc. DANIEL R. KAROLYI, C HEM 96, MS ME 02, PHD BIOE 02, was named chair of the Department of Radiology at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine. He will be responsible for growing and developing the clinical services and medical education for radiological and imaging services.

DEREK MARTIN , CE 97, was named president and CEO of American Constructors, Inc. DEANNA MATHIS, IE 09, has been named to Georgia Trend magazine’s 40 Under 40 in 2020. Mathis is Director of Community Outreach and Corporate Giving for Shaw Industries.

CLASS NOTES

OUT & ABOUT

EDMUND L. PRATER, MS EE 88, MS IE 96, PHD MGT 99, was named a Jefferson Science Fellow by the National Academies of Science Engineering and Medicine. He teaches Global Supply Chain Management at the University of Texas at Arlington.

W. JUD READY, ME 94, MS METE 97, PHD MSE 00, was recently elected to the 2021–2024 The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS) presidential cycle. He is the deputy director of Innovation Initiatives for the Georgia Tech Institute for Materials, an adjunct professor in MSE at Tech, and a principal research engineer for GTRI. BERT REEVES, MGT 00, was appointed to Georgia’s Sexual Offender Registration Review Board.

GREGORY W. SMITH, IE 74, signed a grant that will fund a technological study to be executed by his company, Global Energy Solutions, Inc., for the development of a 26-megawatt waste-to-energy facility near Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

Georgia Tech President Emeritus G. WAYNE CLOUGH, CE 64, MS CE 65, HON PHD 15 (standing), met several Yellow Jackets in October at Lenbrook, a senior living community in Buckhead. Clough discussed his latest book, Things New and Things Strange: A Southerner’s Journey Through the Smithsonian Collection.

In a family with 12 Tech degrees, Thomas Hilton Wesley Giglio (THWG) was more than ready to cheer on the Jackets this fall. Parents Danny Giglio, EE 09, MBA 17, and Laura Giglio, EE 10, MS ECE 11, couldn’t be prouder.

ALENKA ZAJIC, PHD ECE 08, was appointed as a Ken Byers Professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech.

Out for a Roll in Tech White & Gold Georgia Tech President ÁNGEL CABRERA, MS PSY 93, PHD PSY 95, driving the Alumni Association’s Ramblin’ Wreck.

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | WINTER 2021

81

RAMBLIN� ROLL

BIRTHS 1.

CANDICE BROCE, MGT 11, and husband, Jason, welcomed their second son, Jack, on Sept. 30. The family lives in Atlanta.

2.

CHRIS CALLURA, BC 08, MBA 19, and LUISA CALLURA, CE 08, welcomed their second son, Ryder Joseph Callura, on June 26. The family lives in Atlanta.

3. JULIE CHU CARTER, IE 00, and

RYAN CHRISTOPHER CARTER, MGT 00, welcomed their son, Ryan “Chase” Charles, on April 14. Chase joins big sisters Abigail, 11, and Allison, 4. The family lives in Roswell, Ga.

1

2

3

4

5

6

4.

SAMUEL FORMBY, BC 09, and TIFFANY ADAMS FORMBY, IE 11, MSHS 12, welcomed son Samuel Adams Formby on Sept. 22. He joins proud sister Carolina. The family lives in North Augusta, S.C.

5.

CHRISTOPHER GOLDEN, CHBE 13, and FITRAH HAMID GOLDEN, CM 12, welcomed baby girl Early James on Aug. 5.

6.

STEPHEN MORRIS, BC 75, and wife, Wanda, welcomed the birth of their granddaughters Amy Rose Steward on Dec. 6, 2019, and Meadow Leigh Morris on May 27.

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7.

MIHIR PATHAK, ME 08, MS ME 10, PHD ME 13, and PRAACHI PATHAK, ME 10, welcomed their baby girl, Savi Pathak, on May 22. The family lives in Downingtown, Pa.

8.

MAGD RIAD, IE 01, and wife, Ashley, welcomed daughter Vivienne on Sept.

13. The family lives in Atlanta.

9.

PHIL TURNER, MGT 87, and wife, Cheryl, welcomed granddaughter Kaylee Jane on July 17. Parents Kyle and Katelyn Turner live in Elgin, S.C.

7

8

9

10

1

2

10.

ED ZAHLER, AE 70, and wife, Lenora, welcome the birth of their first grandson, Joshua Drew, on June 8. Parents are Danny and Whitney Gerwitz.

WEDDINGS 1.

DANIELLE DeBOW, IE 11, and GEORGE LANE, MGT 11, got married in Charleston, S.C., on Aug. 29. Both Danielle and George work for The Home Depot. The couple lives in Atlanta.

2.

OLIVIA WATKINS, IAML 13, and SEKOU LANGEVINE, MGT 05, got married on Sept. 7. Olivia is director of operations for the Office of Institute Relations at Georgia Tech. Sekou is senior consultant for ImagineX Consulting. The couple lives in Tucker, Ga.

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | WINTER 2021

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IN MEMORIAM 84

WINTER 2021 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

WE REMEMBER & HONOR THE FOLLOWING

19 4 0S

THOMAS E. ADAMS, IM 49, of

Columbus, Ga., on Sept 29.

YOUEL G. HILSMAN JR., C HE 45, of Spartanburg, S.C., on Aug. 6.

CLEMENT F. KENT, PHYS 48, MS PHYS 50, of Thunder Bay,

Ontario, on Aug. 17.

WILLIAM R. “ROB” MIXON JR., IE 47, of Huntsville, Ala., on

Sept. 10.

HARLEY L. PENNINGTON JR., CLS 41, of Snellville, Ga., on

WALTER J. “JAC K” BRANTLEY, ARC H 54, ARC H 55, of

Decatur, Ga., on Oct. 15.

JAMES C. “JIM” CARSON III, IM 52, of Gahanna, Ohio, on Oct. 27.

Atlanta, on Aug. 26.

Decatur, Ga., on Oct. 17.

23.

WILL ARD B. M c BURNEY JR., EDDIE J. DEL AY, C HEM 50, of

Peachtree Corners, Ga., on Oct. 19.

GARVIN T. “JIM” DREGER, ARC H 54, ARC H 57, of Asheville,

STANLEY RAWN , ME 46, of At-

EDWARDS, IM 57, of Statesville,

N.C., on March 28.

JOHN SCOTT III, IE 48, of HANSELL P. ENLOE, ARC H 54, ARC H 55, of Atlanta, on Aug. 5.

LESTER A . WATSON

Oct. 16.

PHILLIP E. L ANEY, C HE 57, of

EVERETT L. MARTIN , IM 52, of

THEODORE L. “ TED”

JR., CLS 49, of Pell City, Ala., on

Ga., on Oct. 25.

ME 59, of Punta Gorda, Fla., on Oct.

N.C., on Oct. 12.

Skidaway Island, Ga., on Sept. 11.

JONES, CE 52, of Social Circle,

RALPH T. “ TOM” CL ARK JR.,

Sept. 19.

lanta, on Aug. 1.

C HARLES H. “C HARLIE”

KENNETH C. FARVER, MS EE

ME 52, of Atlanta, on Aug. 3.

HOWARD J. M c HENRY, CLS 52, of Atlanta, on Aug. 30.

BENJAMIN R. M c REE III, EE 51,

of Arroyo Grande, Calif., on July 17.

THOMAS M. “MIKE” MEHAFFY, CE 58, of Little Rock,

Ark., on Aug. 10.

RUEBUSH J. “JIM” MITC HELL JR., IM 52, of Macon, Ga., on Aug.

13.

50, of Hickory, N.C., on Oct. 14.

EDWARD B. WEINSTEIN , IM 48, of Warwick, R.I., on Jan. 31.

DONALD H. MONROE, ME 59, GEORGE E. “BUD” GRIFFITH,

IE 59, of Young Harris, Ga., on Sept.

TEXT 54, of Birmingham, Ala., on

22.

Oct. 4.

19 5 0S

JOHN W. “JAC K” BAC HMAN , CLS 58, of Toledo, Ohio, on

THOMAS C. NAUGHTON , AE WILLIAM C. “BILL” GRIS-

51, of Newport Beach, Calif., on Sept.

WOLD, IM 50, of Chapel Hill,

10.

N.C., on Oct. 13.

HUGH P. NUNNALLY

Aug. 22.

RUSSELL A . HITT, CLS 57, of Falls ROBERT F. “BOB” BARFIELD SR., ME 56, MS ME 58, PHD ME 65, of Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Oct.

Church, Va., on Sept. 14.

ROBERT P. HODGES, ARC H 52,

JR., CLS 56, of Sea Island, Ga., on

Sept. 30.

WILLIAM R. PROBST, CLS 57, of

19.

of Atlanta, on Sept. 13.

MELL K. BELL, CE 58, of Madison,

WILLIAM G. “BILL” HOLLINS,

LOYD N. PUC KETT JR., IE 53, of

ME 56, of Montreat, N.C., on Oct. 13.

Social Circle, Ga., on Aug. 27.

Ga., on Aug. 24.

Stone Mountain, Ga., on Oct. 7.

EDITOR’S NOTE We have changed the format for the In Memoriam section of the Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine. We will include an abbreviated version of each obituary in print, while publishing the full obituaries on our website. To read these full obituaries, please visit gtalumni.org/magazine.

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | WINTER 2021

85

IN MEMORIAM J O H N C . “ J A C K ” P O R T M A N I I I : V I S I O N A RY A R C H I T E C T Architects. Portman took over leader-

ambassador for American architects in

ship following the death of his father in

China.

2017. Portman was passionate about be-

Additionally, Portman served on the

ing an architect, particularly the creation

board of Harvard GSD Dean’s Lead-

of meaningful architecture with a focus

ership Council & Georgia Tech China

on culturally sensitive design. He once

Foundation and was a member of the

said, “The challenge of the architect is

University of North Carolina (UNC)

to do something that seems to belong

Chapel Hill Chancellor’s Global Leader-

where it is situated.” Throughout his

ship Council.

nearly 50-year career with the Portman

Portman is survived by his children,

JOHN C. “JACK” PORTMAN III, ARCH 7 1, O F AT L A N TA , O N A U G . 2 8 . Son of famed

companies, Portman pioneered their in-

Joannah Portman Daley, Alissa Port-

ternational expansion. Most notably,

man Beard, John C. Portman IV, Easan

Atlanta architect John Calvin Portman

Portman was one of the first American

Everly Portman, and Eres Ever Invicta

Jr. and Jan Portman, Portman was born

businessmen to recognize the enormous

Portman. In addition to his five children,

Nov. 3, 1948, in Atlanta. He graduat-

potential of the Pacific Rim markets in the

he is survived by his mother, Joan “Jan”

ed from The Lovett School in Atlanta,

wake of the reestablishment of diplomat-

Portman; his siblings, Michael Portman,

then earned a Bachelor of Architecture

ic relations between the U.S. and China.

Jeff Portman, Jana Portman Simmons,

from Georgia Tech and a Master of Ar-

His efforts led to the design and develop-

and Jarel Portman; five grandchildren,

chitecture from Harvard University’s

ment of Shanghai Centre, the first project

Emerson Daley, Holden and Amelia

Graduate School of Design. He began

in China in decades to be undertaken by

Beard, and John Calvin Portman V and

practicing architecture in 1973 at John

a foreign architect and developer who

Everett Portman. Portman was preced-

Portman & Associates, rising from an

was not ethnically Chinese.

ed in death by his younger brother Jae

Apprentice Architect to become chair-

Over the course of his long career,

man of the firm, now known as Portman

Por tman became something of an

G E O R G E W . I N M A N : B A S E B A L L H A L L - O F - FA M E R GEORGE W. INMAN, IM 60, OF FREDERI C K S B U R G , T E X A S , O N A U G . 9 . A proud

caring for his “herd” of longhorns,

Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket, Inman was

ing golf were favorite pastimes, even

a catcher for the baseball team and in-

taking home the Farmington Golf Club

ducted into the Georgia Tech Athletics

Championship in 1974, in Germantown,

Hall of Fame in 1979. After graduat-

Tenn., he was also dedicated to support-

ing, he joined the U.S. Army Corps of

ing the Fredericksburg community. He

Engineers, achieving the rank of com-

proudly served on the Fredericksburg

manding officer. He served as a captain

ISD School Board and was a consultant

in the Army Reserves until 1969. In

during the building of the Hill Country

1970, Inman joined his brother, Frank,

Memorial Hospital expansion. He is sur-

at Inman Construction in Memphis,

vived by his wife, Gema Thibodeaux,

Tenn. Inman fell in love with the Texas

brother, Frank Inman, three daughters,

Hill Country, and built his dream home

Kim Debner, Karen Inman, and Kristin

in Fredericksburg after retiring from

Prause, as well as six grandchildren and

commercial construction in 1991. While

four great-grandchildren.

86

WINTER 2021 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

working for local wineries, and play-

Portman and his father, John Calvin Portman Jr.

JAC KSON A . RANSOHOFF, MS C HE 51, of Bethesda, Md., on Oct. 24.

HOWARD T. RALEY JR., ME 52,

of Atlanta, on Oct. 5.

DANIEL E. “DAN” REARDON , CERE 58, of Northfield, N.J., on

Sept. 4.

C HARLES T. SHAW JR., CERE 58, of Attalla, Ala., on

Aug. 1.

ROBERT T. STANCIL, AE 53, MS AE 54, of Arlington, Texas, on

Sept. 21.

ROBERT E. “BOB” WERDER, IE 53, of Atlanta, on Aug. 24.

BOBBY G. CL ARY, CE 60, of War-

ner Robins, Ga., on Oct. 24.

WILLIAM F. “BILL” CRUMLEY, TEXT 60, of Simpsonville, S.C., on

Oct 15.

JOHN H. DARNELL, EE 68, of

Vestavia Hills, Ala., on Sept. 1.

JAMES R. D u BOSE III, CE 62, MS CE 6 4, of Marietta, Ga., on Aug.

21.

RIC HARD L. FRANCIS, MS IE 62, of Richmond, Va., on Oct. 4.

EMILY GRIGSBY, MS ARCH 75, OF ATL A N TA , O N S E P T . 1 7 . Grigsby’s zest for

LOWELL S. GREEN , ME 60, of

life and everything lively was appar-

Elon, N.C., on Aug. 26.

WAYNE R. HAMMOND, IM 62,

of Gadsden, Ala., on Oct. 2.

PAUL WILSON JR., ME 57, of

Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., on July 27.

ROBERT D. “DAVE” WOOTEN , ME 53, of Spring Hill, Fla., on Sept. 21.

EMORY S. YOUNG SR., CLS 58,

of Brunswick, Ga., on Aug. 2.

DANIEL E. HARRELL, EE 60, IM

ent to all who knew her. She obtained undergraduate degrees from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., and Mills College in Bristol, Calif., eventually getting her master’s at Georgia Tech

61, of Raleigh, N.C., on Aug. 4.

and her degree of Juris Doctor from At-

JAMES R. “JIM” HELTON , EE

Law. Following that, she arbitrated for

60, of Birmingham, Ala., on Aug. 20.

the New York Stock Exchange, was

lanta’s Woodrow Wilson College of

Fulton County Superior Court MediaWILLIE B. “ WILL” HENDERSON JR., AE 62, of Harrisburg,

19 6 0S

E M I LY G R I G S BY: M U LT I - TA L E N T E D L A W Y E R , A R T I S T, A N D PHIL ANTHROPIST

N.C., on Sept. 3.

ROGER W. ALFORD JR., EE 6 4,

ROSDON “ROZ” HENDRIX, IM

MS IM 71, of Asheville, N.C., on July

62, of Hershey, Pa., on Sept. 27.

31.

EDWARD D. “DENNIS” HUTH-

tor, and mediated for Justice Center of Atlanta. Grigsby also studied interior design while simultaneously taking formal oil-painting lessons. Her artworks have been acquired all over the southeast. Additionally, she earned her pilot’s license. She sang soprano for the San Francisco Opera for three years while

WILLIAM S. ARNETT, CLS 61, of

NANCE, PHYS 6 4, MS AM 66,

Atlanta, on Aug. 12.

PHD AM 69, of Macon, Ga., on

her husband served in the Navy in the

Aug. 19.

Pacific. She learned to belly dance, and

HARAN W. BULL ARD JR., CLS 6 4, of Birmingham, Ala., on Oct. 27.

modeled for Rich’s Department store JAMES G. “JIM” LEE JR., EE 61, of Lawrenceville, Ga., on Sept. 18.

C HARLES J. “C HARLIE” BELL, MS ME 63, PHD ME 65, of Madi-

C HARLES W. LORD, IM 62, of

son, Miss., on Aug. 28.

Stuart, Fla., on Sept. 15.

for 12 years. She and her late husband, Paul, helped numerous philanthropies and maintained close relationships with most of those they supported.

Grigsby is survived by her sister’s granddaughters,and their children and

L AMAR CASH, EE 61, of Macon,

GEORGE H. “HAL” MARTIN , IE

Ga., on Sept. 13.

62, of Asheville, N.C., on April 30.

grandchildren. On her late husband’s

VICTOR J. CITARELL A , IE 6 4,

TERRY D. M c KNIGHT, EE 69, of

nieces. Other survivors include nephews

MS IE 66, of Miami, Fla., on Aug. 12.

Dade City, Fla., on Sept. 29.

and a niece.

side, she is survived by her grand-

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | WINTER 2021

87

IN MEMORIAM DAVID R. EDWARDS, CE 75, of

Atlanta, on Aug. 25.

RALPH B. MILLER JR., EE 60, of

Midland, Texas, on Aug. 17.

EARL P. MORROW, CE 65, of

Grand Rapids, Mich., on Oct. 25.

GEORGE A . “JIM” OGLE, EE 65, of Merritt Island, Fla., on Aug. 15.

REV. JOHN N. PAYNE, IE 65, of

Puyallup, Wash., on Aug. 26.

MORRIS D. “RANDY” PEARCE, IM 65, of Conway, S.C., on Aug. 13.

C HARLES E. PENNINGTON , EE 66, of Clayton, Ga., on Oct. 18.

BILLY H. “BILL” REID, SANE 69, of Fayetteville, Ark., on

Sept. 14.

LEE A . RHOADS JR., EE 61,

of Huntsville, Ala., on Aug. 18.

JOHN P. SANDERS SR., PHD C HEM 63, of Oak Ridge, Tenn., on

Oct. 27.

SAMUEL C. SPRIGGS, IE 69, of

JOHN M. GEHL, MS IS 70, of

Canton, Ga., on Aug. 14.

C HARLES D. GREER, CLS 77, of

Norcross, Ga., on Oct. 4.

C HARLES P. HANNON JR., IE 78, of Ballwin, Mo., on Oct. 11.

DAVID B. KOC H, MGT 74, of

Niceville, Fla., on Sept. 8.

RONNIE J. LEDFORD, IM 72, of

Pinellas Park, Fla., on Sept. 22.

GUERNSEY D. “DENNY” LIVAUDAIS JR., CLS 73, of Ross-

starter. At Tech, he played on the 1965 Gator Bowl team and the 1967 Orange

IM 72, of Bradenton, Fla., on Oct. 5.

RIC HARD A . NYGAARD JR., EE 77, of Colorado Springs, Colo., on

July 26.

C HEM 72, of Gainesville, Fla., on

as permanent team co-captain.

Moorer spent most of his career as VP and Chief Operating Officer of Techsonic Industries in Eufaula. He retired as president and CEO of Akrometrix in Atlanta. He was a leader in both communities, serving as chairman of the board of Eufaula Bank & Trust, a deacon and longtime chair of the finance committee at First Baptist Church of Eufaula, and

L AWRENCE C. TURVILLE, IM

later, an elder at Peachtree Presbyterian

71, of Tampa, Fla., on Oct. 10.

Church in Atlanta. Moorer spent count-

SAMUEL E. T YSON JR., MGT 72, of Augusta, Ga., on Sept. 13.

ardson, Texas, on Aug. 13.

FRANKLYN B. “FRANK” WARD

of Oak Ridge, Tenn., on Aug. 27.

Bobby Dodd and became a three-year

Bowl team. His teammates selected him JAMES P. “JIM” M c CLOY, MS

of Atlanta, on Aug. 14.

JOHN A . AUXIER, PHD NE 73,

the All-State football team. At Georgia

Atlanta, on Oct. 14.

ALBERT A . WARD JR., IE 63, of

19 7 0S

and basketball and was selected to

GRAHAM H. MARTIN , IE 71, of

Aug. 19.

GLEN E. ZOOK, IM 67, of Rich-

High School, where he played football

Tech, he played for legendary Coach

RIC HARD D. SC HWARTZ, PHD

JOHN W. WRIGHT JR., IM 6 4,

WILLIAM D. “BILL” MOORER JR., IM 67, MS IM 68, OF COBB COUNTY, GA., ON AUG. 25. Moorer was a graduate of Eufaula

ville, Tenn., on Sept. 5.

Landenberg, Pa., on Oct. 11.

Ethel, La., on Sept. 24.

W I L L I A M D . “ B I L L” MOORER JR.: FOOTB A L L C A P TA I N A N D BUSINESS LEADER

JR., BM 74, of Columbia, S.C., on

Oct. 20.

19 8 0S

less hours volunteering and serving on the board at the Bobby Dodd Institute, which empowers individuals with disabilities by showing them how to maximize their potential in the workforce.

He is survived by his wife, Marsha; children, Lee Anne and Dan (Rebekka); three grandchildren, all of Cobb County; two sisters, Kappa Robinson (Sam) of Columbus, Ga., and Margaret Rich-

ARDIS H. “ TREY” DURHAM III,

JAMES B. “JAY” BL AC KBURN

ME 74, MS ME 81, of Aledo, Tex-

JR., M CRP 82, of Savannah, Ga.,

ardson (Bill) of Eufaula; and his brother,

as, on Sept. 21.

on Nov. 1.

Mac Moorer (Kristie) of Birmingham.

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W I L S O N “ L E E ” A K R I D G E : A E R O S PA C E E N G I N E E R restoration of an antique Jaguar. Along with a couple of boats over the years, Lee truly loved big toys for land, sea, and air.

Akridge’s brother, Terry, preceded him in death. He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Toby, and his four sons, Mike, David, Andy, and Jay, and his sev-

KEVIN M. RICE, CE 97, of West-

borough, Mass., on Sept. 5.

2000S

DAVID B. COX, ME 05, of Stock-

ton, Ala., on Aug. 11.

ROBERT A . “BJ” SELLERS JR., MGT 05, of Peachtree City, Ga., on

Oct. 3.

en grandchildren, Katy, Melanie, Ryan, Megan, Max, Rachel, and Meredith.

2020S

COREY R. WIESER, CLS 20, of PHILIP S. “PHIL” BUSH, IM 83,

Bowdon, Ga., on Aug. 1.

of Atlanta, on Sept. 13.

WILSON “LEE” AKRIDGE OF CANTON, GA., ON AUG. 8. Akridge graduated from West End High School in Birmingham and was president of his senior class.

He graduated from Georgia Tech with a bachelor’s in Aeronautical Engineering.

While at Tech, Akridge was a mem-

C HAUNCEY W. “C HIP” DEPEW JR., EE 86, of Raleigh, N.C., on Aug.

20.

MIC HAEL D. HAMILTON , C HE 83, of Augusta, Ga., on March 26.

ber of Sigma Chi fraternity, where he

STEPHEN G. HARDY, C HE 84, of

formed lifelong friendships.

Salisbury, Md., on Aug. 24.

After his junior year at Tech, he married his wife, Toby. Following graduation, they moved to Los Angeles, where Akridge worked for Douglas Aircraft, the beginning of his career in the aerospace industry. After four years, they moved to Houston, where Akridge

PATRICIA O. “PAT” HOOVER, MS IM 81, of Clearwater, Fla., on

RIC HARD W. IVY, EE 81, of Fair

for the Apollo space program and, later,

MOORE, EE 86, of Warner Robins,

the space shuttle program. Eventually,

Ga., on Oct. 17.

frequent business travel to Europe and Asia. Akridge retired from TRW in 2005.

His love of airplanes and flying led him to obtain a private pilot’s license while living in California. Flying private planes became a lifelong hobby, culminating in the ownership of a flight school and charter business based in Knoxville, Tenn. Later in life, he took up an interest

L ARRY J. BARFIELD, of Palmetto

Bay, Fla., on Oct. 15.

WILLIAM B. CALDWELL, of Sum-

merville, S.C., on Oct. 3.

JAMES A . “JIM” C HRISTIAN , of

Asheville, N.C., on Sept. 10.

WEBSTER C. “BILL” ENGLISH,

of Gainesville, Ga., on July 18.

Play, S.C., on Aug. 26.

C HRISTOPHER D. “C HRIS”

Florida, Virginia, and Tennessee, with

of Sturgeon Bay, Wis., on Sept. 14.

June 9.

worked for TRW Systems as a contractor

his work also took the Akridge family to

FRIENDS

EDGAR R. “ED” ALLINGHAM,

PATRICIA E. “PAT” FREEDMAN ,

of Atlanta, on Oct. 19.

SUSAN HALEY, of Atlanta, on

Sept. 9.

THOMAS D. WIEDMEIER, CE 84, of Augusta, Ga., on Aug. 12.

JOHN F. “JOHNNY” MAGUIRE III, of Atlanta, on July 30.

19 9 0S

RUSSELL H. EARNEST, MOT 98,

of Smyrna, Ga., on Oct. 16.

C HAD W. FREEMAN , IE 94, of

Summerville, S.C., on Oct. 11.

in auto restoration, including building a

MARY R. “JAC KIE” M c GILL, CS

classic MG from a kit, and beginning the

94, of Dunwoody, Ga., on Sept. 28.

JOHN G. MEADORS, of Atlanta,

on Oct. 5.

ALFRED SC HNEIDER, of Atlanta,

on Aug. 20.

ANNA M. THRASH, of Alpharetta,

Ga., on Oct. 8.

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IN MEMORIAM ARTHUR CHESTER SKINNER JR.: VA L E D I C T O R I A N A N D H A L L - O F - FA M E R ARTHUR CHESTER SKINNER JR., ME 43, O F J A C K S O N V I L L E , F L A . , O N A U G . 7 . Skin-

enlist in the U.S. Army. After completing

ner lived more than 98 years in his

sonville and was employed by Reynolds,

hometown of Jacksonville, Fla., where

Smith and Hills—a local engineering and

he raised his family, operated a dairy

architectural firm—before starting a new

Luke’s Hospital, and the A.C. Skinner

business, served on multiple communi-

venture with his brother, Brightman. To-

Memorial Youth baseball complex—

ty boards, and contributed to the growth

gether they formed Meadowbrook

named in honor of his late father.

and expansion of Jacksonville. Skinner

Farms, a wholesale and retail dairy

He is preceded in death by his par-

was a steward of the land and was most

company serving Northeast Florida. Fol-

ents; his first wife, Katherine Godfrey

at home joining his family at the annual

lowing its sale in 1985, he committed his

Skinner, and his brother, Charles Bright-

Skinner Thanksgiving reunions held on

time to the family-owned businesses of

man Skinner. He is survived by his

the family property.

farming and cattle, timber operations,

second wife, Constance Stone Skinner;

real estate, and investments.

sister, Mary Virginia Skinner Jones; his

He was named valedictorian of his

his military service, he returned to Jack-

class at Georgia Tech in 1943. At Tech,

While family operations kept him

four children, Arthur Chester Skinner

Skinner participated on the football,

busy, Skinner was also deeply civic-

III (Jenifer), Katherine Skinner New-

basketball, track, and wrestling teams.

minded. He was instrumental in the plan-

ton (Rusty), David Godfrey Skinner

In 1999, he was inducted into the Geor-

ning and donation of family lands for

(Kim), and Christopher Forrest Skin-

gia Tech Engineering Hall of Fame.

the University of North Florida campus,

ner (Erin); 15 grandchildren, and 27

J. Turner Butler Blvd., Interstate 295, St.

great-grandchildren.

Skinner graduated a year early to

R E V. H A R W O O D “ W O O DY ” B A R T L E T T : BELOVED TECH CHAPL AIN at the age of 13. A Ramblin’ Wreck from

Bartlett integrated St. Francis racially

Georgia Tech (and a helluva engineer),

and remained there until 1972, when

Bartlett carried on the tradition of his fa-

he moved back to Atlanta to become

ther, a Tech grad, and was ecstatic that

the Rector of St. Bartholomew’s Episco-

one son, a daughter-in-law, a grand-

pal Church. For the next 10 years, he

daughter, and two grandsons chose

more deeply engaged the congregation

Tech. Later as the Episcopal Chaplain

in outreach to the community, includ-

HARWOOD “WOODY” BARTLETT, AM 56, O F AT L A N TA , O N S E P T . 2 1 . Bartlett spent

at Tech, Bartlett started Tech Tutorial,

ing launching the long-running St. Bart’s

a program that still connects Georgia

Olde English Festival, which raised mon-

the majority of his career serving in

Tech students with elementary school

ey for outreach initiatives. One of his

the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta. Hun-

students. Bartlett joined the Air Force in

proudest professional achievements was

dreds of people have lived safely and

1956, and as a lieutenant he worked on

leading the transformation of the Impe-

securely because of his work. People ex-

some of the earliest computer programs.

rial Hotel in downtown Atlanta from a

periencing homelessness found homes,

Later Bartlett applied to the Virginia

dilapidated building to a model for af-

and people suffering from mental illness

Theological Seminary, where he gradu-

fordable, supportive housing.

and addiction found the support they

ated with a Master’s of Divinity in 1962

Bartlett is survived by his wife, Carol;

needed. Even though he was born in

and was ordained in the Episcopal

children, Drew (Lissie), Sarah, Bekah

Brooklyn, Bartlett was a true Atlantan,

priesthood. St. Francis’ Church in Ma-

(Ryan), Amanda, and Tucker (Katy);

having moved to the city with his family

con was Bartlett’s first Parish assignment.

eight grandchildren; and sister, Nancy.

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TECH HISTORY

THE REST IS HISTORY HISTORY LIVING HISTORY DIRECTOR MARILYN SOMERS RETIRES AFTER 31 YEARS OF SERVICE.

BY JENNIFER HERSEIM

After building Georgia Tech’s Living History Program from the ground up, Marilyn Somers retired Dec. 31.

WINTER 2021 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

ROB FELT

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to WWII heroes and every “helluva engineer” in between (She even sat down with George P. Burdell for her 1,000th interview). She has produced more than 200 documentaries for Tech and made more than 700 public presentations on Tech’s history. In recognition of her many contributions to the Institute and the Yellow Jacket community, Somers was named an honorary alumna by the Georgia Tech Alumni Association in 2008.

It would be difficult to overestimate the value of her Living History interviews to the Institute, but for families

PHOTOGRAPH

T

T H E R E A R E F E W P E O P L E who have done more to preserve Georgia Tech’s rich history than Marilyn Somers, who retired Dec. 31 as director of the Living History Program, which she built from the ground up in 1994.

Since creating the Living History Program, which serves to preserve and catalogue the stories of Georgia Tech alumni and friends, Somers has conducted 1,192 video interviews, speaking with hall-of-famers

of alumni, these recordings have become priceless treasures.

“Being able to see my grandfather [Randolph Whitfield, ME 32, MS ME 34] and hear his voice is a most special treat, of inestimable value to my family, and I hope to Georgia Tech as well.

Marilyn’s pioneering work and perseverance over the years to document these memories has been a superhuman effort,” says Randy McDow, IE 95, MS PP 03.

In these video interviews are the many threads of Tech’s history that make up the Institute’s past and present and shape its future.

“Without Marilyn’s dedication to Tech and her commitment to the Living History Program, much of Georgia Tech’s history would have been lost forever,” said John Carter during an introduction for Somers’ Homecoming traditions presentation this past fall.

Carter, who served as executive director of the Alumni Association from 1985 to 1999, hired Somers to serve as the director of communications and public relations in 1989.

“After I was there for awhile, I told him about the Living History idea

In 2010, Somers established the George P. Burdell Endowment Fund as a vehicle for charitable gifts to the program.

“WITHOUT MARILYN’S DEDICATION TO TECH AND HER COMMITMENT TO THE LIVING HISTORY PROGRAM, MUCH OF GEORGIA TECH’S HISTORY WOULD HAVE BEEN LOST FOREVER,” SAYS JOHN CARTER.

and he laughed at first, but then came around to it. The rest is history,” says Somers.

In addition to her contributions to preserving Tech’s history, Somers is admired for her tremendous efforts to stay in touch with each person who she’s interviewed or met through the program. Every year, she sends close to 900 birthday and holiday cards and makes countless phone calls to alumni and friends of Georgia Tech. This past year, she had custom chocolates with Georgia Tech details sent to the home of an alumnus who recently turned 100.

As the de facto historian of Georgia Tech, she is the person whom alumni, family members, and faculty members call to seek information about everything “Georgia Tech.” And she is able to answer many of these questions from memory.

“We have this great collection of history because of her, but she’s able to recall facts better than anyone. There’s no replicating that,” says Scott Dinerman, STC 03, who joined the Living History Program in 2005 as a video producer and editor.

Somers’ passion for cataloguing Tech’s history also made her the collector of rare Tech memorabilia that would have been lost to time if not for her intervention.

She has saved many of these artifacts from dusty closets and used them to teach future generations of Yellow

Somers was recognized as an honorary alumna in 2008 for her many contributions to Georgia Tech.

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | WINTER 2021

93

TECH HISTORY e ver be the sam ogram will ne Pr ry to is H g “The Livin mcorder with a large ca d te ar st e W . yn without Maril sktop computrder. And a de co re pe ta te and a casset bottom floor l room at the al sm a in sk de er at a little House. of the Alumni deo we did was compilation vi st ir f e th r I remembe ch was ting years, whi ua ad gr II r Wa for the World ing terrified I remember be e. m to g in at just fascin Jr., myerry Emerson, Ch w ie rv te in to because I had r the intera conflict afte d ha yn il ar M self since to myself ber thinking em m re I d. le du view was sche es and things hat Marilyn do w do st ju ld that I shou ght. will be all ri

rns whose the many inte of l al e se to ve It is impressi the Living d by working in he uc to en be lives have .” m with Marilyn History Progra

“No one else could know all about Sideways and George

P. Burdell like Marilyn did .

And she could relate all thi s history to any crowd of Tec h alumni without any notes.

… Marilyn has worked many long hours gathering and preserving this wonderful history before it is lost to

the ravages of time. No wor ds from me can adequately

describe how important she has bee n to Georgia Tech.”

– JOHN BURSON , CHE 56, MS MET 63, PHD CHE 64

–1995 , INTERN 1994 HANTZ, HTS 95 – BARBARA SC

Jackets, alumni, and faculty about Tech’s history and traditions. Among the objects families have shared with her include old Rat Caps, T-books, and letter jackets from Tech’s earliest days.

“We accomplished a great deal in the program, but I’m most proud of the relationships that we made and the opportunity to show people our values as an institution,” Somers says.

Each year, Somers taught and led a group of interns who helped transcribe interviews and collect information for Living History projects. Many remember afternoons spent in the Alumni House’s basement archiving interviews and paging through rare editions of Tech’s yearbooks (wearing white gloves to preserve the pages). Through Somers’ guidance, they developed a 94

WINTER 2021 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

“This project was something that I will never, ever forget. I was hired to be a par t of the inaugural team, and we all had so much to learn about Georgia Tech’s history and how to properly conduct these interviews. Marilyn served as our fearless leader in this daunting task. I had nev er felt closer to my alma mater than I did sitting with these alumni and hearing their stories from their times at Georgia Tech.”

– KRISTY (HIXSON) McMANUS , MGT 96, INTERN 1994–1995

deep appreciation for history.

“I found hours to peruse old Blueprints, T-Books, The Yellow Jacket, and books on history of football legends or the tough early years on North Avenue. Learning all this solidified the loyalty I carry today as a proud

Georgia Tech alumnus,” says Jason Kuykendall, ID 11, who was an intern in 2009 and 2010.

“Marilyn Somers herself will be numbered among the legendary Tech people for all she has given to the Institute and to countless thankful Jackets

Former Living History interns from the past two decades still communicate with each other through an annual newsletter that Somers sends.

ople, ons, like pe “Organizati tow their his o n k to d e ne om ey come fr ry, where th ere y got to wh e th w o h d an they are to they are, if y chart a fu successfull been mers has] ture. … [So rian dinary histo r o a tr x e n a has] Tech. [She of Georgia ies and the memor d e v r e s e r p e on which w e g d le w o n the k .” must build RMER L. BRAS, FO – RAFAEL VOST O TEC H PR GEORGIA

“I’ve bee n out 21 yea rs, and Ma rilyn stil in with me l checks . We’ve had lunches to g e ther, and s se nt gifts he whe n my c hildre n w ere born. brates my She celeprofession al accomp l is h I only wor me nts with ked with h me. er for one year, but I a lifetime gained frie nd and supporter .”

– MIC HELLE L. HOLBRO OK HOMIE INTERN 19 R, HTS 99, 98–1999

“At heart, Marilyn is a storyteller. She wasn’t just interviewing an alumnus for their Georgia Tech story, but their life story. As an intern archiving these stories, not only did I see what decisions led that person to Tech or what life was like on campus, but I was able to see how Tech continued to be woven into their life and career afterwards.

Whether by skills, values, friendships or traditions, we heard countless stories of the irreplaceable impact of what it meant to be a

r at rytelle nal sto i g i r o e s are s]is th ntation e s e “Somer r p er le Tech.[H ith litt illed w Georgia f , g n i t ts fascina and fac always rmation o f n i f ow.” res o d to kn treasu e seeme s l e e n o that no R NT FO RESIDE , VICE P IN E T-FRITZ T D S D BRAN – JOHN N A E IF TL IR STUDEN TS C HA STUDEN F O N A DE

Yellow Jacket. Marilyn has been so passionate about collecting and preserving Georgia Tech’s history, and she has truly brought life to our Living History. Not just for the family of the loved one’s she’s interviewed, but for all who have been able to share in it through watching the documentaries at events or on social media outlets.”

– KARA SZCZEPANIEC, ID 01, INTERN 1998–2001

like me,” Kuykendall says.

Somers produced a newsletter each year for her former interns. As the list of student interns-turned-alumni has grown into the hundreds, these Jackets rely on the annual newsletter to

keep in touch with one another and with Somers.

“One of my greatest joys has been working with so many wonderful students,” Somers says.

When the Alumni Association

announced her retirement in the fall, these interns and many others from across the Georgia Tech community sent in letters filled with their appreciation for Somers and her many gifts to Tech.

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | WINTER 2021

95

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BACK PAGE

R.F. Bobbitt Jr. attended Tech in the early 1920s and played tennis for the Yellow Jackets.

GEORGIA TECH STUDENT FINDS 102-YEAR-OLD SLIDE RULE

T

T H E Y U S E D T O B E a musthave for Yellow Jackets, but the current class of Tech students may not know much about slide rules.

The analog tool is the predecessor to the electronic calculator and was used for decades to help engineers, scientists, and students compute math problems more quickly.

In simple terms, any number to be multiplied is represented by a specific length on a moveable ruler. Because these lengths are based on logarithms, the slide rule can be manipulated to express answers for multiplication and division. They can also be used for functions such

Before finding the slide rule, sophomore Chase Harrington thought he was the first in his family to attend Tech.

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as exponents, roots, and trigonometry—often useful for scientists and engineers.

This past fall, as Chase Harrington was set to start his sophomore year at Tech, he uncovered something very special: a slide rule in a leather case reading “R.F. Bobbitt Jr. Georgia Tech 1918.”

It’s a discovery that uncovered something unknown about his family and their connections to the Institute.

The slide rule belonged to Harrington’s great-great grandfather R.F. Bobbitt Jr., who studied industrial management at Georgia Tech through the early 1920s and played tennis for the Yellow Jackets as well. He is a member of the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame and also played at Wimbledon.

Now, 102 years after the date inscribed on the slide rule, Harrington is studying industrial engineering at Georgia Tech, following in his greatgreat grandfather’s footsteps. He says he doesn’t actually know much about how to use the slide rule, but it’s easily one of the coolest discoveries for himself and his family.

“I didn’t know that this person existed, and I came to Tech unaware that

BY STEVEN NORRIS anyone in my family ever went here. I thought that I was the very first,” Harrington says.

As Harrington learned more about Russell Bobbitt, owner of that slide rule, he also learned more about his family’s connections to Tech. Harrington explains that after Bobbitt graduated, he bought a house on Techwood Drive, where he’d have lunch with legendary Georgia Tech football coach Bobby Dodd every Sunday after church.

“It’s also mind-boggling to me that, after watching games in Bobby Dodd Stadium for a year, I had a family member who was so close to Dodd himself,” Harrington says.

Now, history seems so much closer and Harrington and his family are looking for other keepsakes. Harrington says his family may have a copy of the Technique from Georgia Tech’s record-setting 222-0 victory over Cumberland College in 1918.

DID YOU USE A SLIDE RULE A T T E C H ? Tell us about it.

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