Woodruff School 2021-22 Annual Report

Annual Report 2021-2022

From the Chair Hello from the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering. I am excited, humbled, and honored to serve as the Eugene C. Gwaltney, Jr. School Chair as of January 1, 2022.

As you know, the Woodruff School is an inclusive, innovative, and thriving educational and research environment that is making significant contributions to society by producing engineers and technology that will change the world. The depth and breadth of our mechanical engineering and nuclear and radiological engineering programs have led to national rankings that place us in elite company.

Our mechanical engineering undergraduate program is second according to U.S. News & World Report, while we rank fourth in our graduate mechanical engineering program (up one spot from last year) and ninth in nuclear engineering.

During the last fiscal year, we secured over $58M in new sponsored research awards, the highest in Woodruff School history. As you’ll see in this report, the funding is giving our faculty a rich set of research opportunities, such as the chance to enhance U.S. hypersonics capabilities, the chance to reduce the energy consumption and carbon emissions of energy-intensive manufacturing processes, and the chance to develop an AI manufacturing corridor. Our faculty have also made innovative contributions in other fields. Associate Professor Marta Hatzell created a low-cost photocatalytic air breathing system that converts air into liquid ammonia-based fertilizers; Associate Professor and Woodruff Faculty Fellow Woon-Hong Yeo combined wireless soft scalp electronics and virtual reality in a BMI system to allow a user to imagine an action and wirelessly control a wheelchair or robotic arm; and Assistant Professor Emily Sanders designed and prototyped facial implants for reconstructive surgery and stiff, lightweight parts for aircraft, to name a few. In addition, we announced the selection of seven Chair fellows who will receive dedicated funds to support projects in entrepreneurship; education innovation; and diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Members of the Woodruff School community won many notable awards during the 2021-22 academic year. Professor Andrés García was inducted into the National Academy of Medicine; Associate Professor Shannon Yee was recognized as one

of Bill Gate’s Heroes in the Field; Associate Professor Ankur Singh was elected to AIMBE College of Fellows; and Assistant Professors Ellen Mazumdar and Chengzhi Shi were awarded Young Investigator Awards. Our students also continued to shine. An interdisciplinary team led by Nishan Nekoo (ME '22) won first place in the U.S. Department of Energy’s EcoCAR Mobility Challenge. Some of the students, including Nekoo, spent their entire Georgia Tech careers working on the fourcylinder hybrid vehicle. Two mechanical engineering students, Brayden Drury and Wesley Pergament, won the 2022 Georgia Tech InVenture Prize for developing a proprietary model to help homeowners access financial support immediately following the devastation of a tornado. The duo went on to participate in CREATE-X Startup Launch over the summer. Finally, our staff members were recognized for their hard work and dedication. The S.H.O.E Cabinet, consisting of Lula Baker, Melody Foster and Ann Lamb, won the Woodruff School’s Staff of the Year award.

Over the last year, they worked towards creating an inclusive environment in the Woodruff School where staff members feel valued and are enabled to reach their potential.

We are currently in the midst of our capital campaign, Transforming Tomorrow, and I look forward to meeting many of you in the near future to discuss our ambitious goals for the Woodruff School over the next five years. We recently launched a new initiative, Women of Woodruff (WoW), which will be one area of focus during the campaign. The initiative was spearheaded by members of the Woodruff School Advisory Board. WoW's overarching goal is to provide resources and programming that will allow Georgia Tech to attract, support, and retain women students and faculty in mechanical engineering.

All of our success is a true testament to our outstanding students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends. I am immensely proud and grateful for their ongoing contributions and commitment to the Woodruff School, and for making inclusive excellence an important part of our identity. During the next academic year, I look forward to continued collaboration with individuals who believe in our educational and research missions – those who will enable us to strengthen the Woodruff School for generations to come.

Best Regards, Devesh Ranjan Eugene C. Gwaltney, Jr. School Chair and Professor

About the Woodruff School The first degree offered at the Georgia Institute of Technology was the Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. Today, the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering offers:

national ranking of ME undergraduate program (No. 1 public), Fall 2023

ENROLLMENT, FALL 2021

1,778 951

graduate students 526 M.S.

+

425 Ph.D.

408 women 275 international

201 distance learning 219 women 261 international

B.S. Degrees

281

M.S. Degrees

95

full-time, tenure-track faculty

Ph.D. Degrees

+

9

No.

national ranking of NRE graduate program, Spring 2022

15 non-tenure track faculty 16 adjunct appointments 17 research faculty

>25% senior faculty with endowed or distinguished chairs 2 faculty member with new NSF Early CAREER Award 7 NAE members including adjunct or emeritus appointments 81 staff members

FINANCES

75

4

No.

national ranking of ME graduate program, Spring 2022

FACULTY

DEGREES AWARDED, 2021-2022

436

2

No.

2 bachelor of science programs 7 master of science programs 6 doctor of philosophy programs

undergraduate students

RANKINGS, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT

$58.6M

FY22 new sponsored research awards

$98.2M

FY22 total expenditures

FY22 Total Expenditures ($98,227,999)

GT Foundation $3,617,190 Sponsored Research $56,699,996 State $37,761,292

Awards & Promotions FACULTY

Leadership Council of NAM; elected to ASEM Board of Governors

Antonia Antoniou – promoted to Full Professor

Timothy Lieuwen – reappointed Regents’ Professor

Costas Arvanitis – promoted to Associate Professor

David MacNair – promoted to Senior Academic Professional

Nazanin Bassiri-Gharb – named ELATES Fellow

Anirban Mazumdar – Woodruff School Researcher of the Year Award

Seung-Kyum Choi – ASME CIE Leadership Award

Ellen Mazumdar – Air Force Office of Scientific Research's Young Investigator Award

Nico Declercq – promoted to Full Professor; named Professor Honoris Causa at the University of Allahabad

Matthew McDowell – Georgia Tech Outstanding Achievement in Early Career Research Award

Levent Degertekin – named IEEE Fellow

Shreyes Melkote – named executive director of Novelis Innovation Hub

Chaitanya Deo – named Chair Fellow in Excellence in Education and Innovation

G.P. "Bud" Peterson – named chair of Kummer Institute Foundation Board

Shaheen Dewji – elected to ANS Board of Directors Anna Erickson – named Associate Chair for Research; promoted to Full Professor; ANS Radiation Science Technology Award Craig Forest – Zeigler Outstanding Educator Award; named Chair Fellow in Entrepreneurship Andrés J. García – elected to National Academy of Medicine; Class of 1934 Distinguished Professor Award

Alumni Association 40 Under 40

William J. Wepfer – named ABET President

Arkadeep Kumar (M.S. '14, Ph.D. '18) – Georgia Tech Alumni Association 40 Under 40

Shannon Yee – selected as one of Bill Gates’ Heroes in the Field; selected for Georgia Tech Emerging Leaders Program Aaron Young – promoted to Associate Professor W. Hong Yeo – named Woodruff Faculty Fellow; NIH Trailblazer Young Investigator Award; IEEE Atlanta Section Outstanding Engineer Award; Imlay Innovation Award Fan Zhang – DOE-NE Distinguished Early Career Award Ye Zhao – named IEEE Senior Member Ye Zhu – named Woodruff Professor

Bojan Petrovic – named Fulbright Scholar

STAFF

Raghuram Pucha – College of Engineering Faculty Award

Lula Baker – Woodruff School Staff of the Year Award

Devesh Ranjan – named Eugene C. Gwaltney School Chair; named a Governor’s Teaching Fellow

Matthew Carroll – promoted to Research Coordinator I

David Rosen – ASTM International Award of Merit; ASTM International Additive Manufacturing Award of Excellence in Research Sourabh Saha – ASME MSEC BOSS Award

Rudolph L. Gleason – named faculty director of Global Leadership Living Learning Community

Award

Daniel Duff – promoted to Academic & Residential IT Support Engineer Senior Scott Elliott – promoted to Machine Shop Manager Marlena Frank – promoted to Academic & Residential IT Support Engineer Lead

Tequila Harris – named Chair Fellow in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Christopher Saldaña – named Chair Fellow in Excellence in Education and Innovation

Marta Hatzell – named Moore Inventor Fellow

Chengzhi Shi – NSF CAREER Award; ONR YIP Award

Camellia Henry – promoted to Academic Advisor II

Yuhang Hu – James Dally Young Investigator Award; ASME Sia NematNasser Early Career Award; ASME Eshelby Mechanics Award for Young Faculty; SEM Wolfgang Knauss Young Investigator Award

Ankur Singh – elected to AIMBE College of Fellows; Society for Biomaterials Mid-Career Award

Ann Lamb – Woodruff School Staff of the Year Award

Amit Jariwala – CETL Undergraduate Educator Award Tom Kurfess – named executive director of GTMI; SME Albert M. Sargent Progress Award; IAAM Scientist Medal; elected to Board of Governors for Manufacturing

Todd Sulchek – named Chair Fellow in Entrepreneurship

Melody Foster – Woodruff School Staff of the Year Award

Calvin Mackie (B.S. ’90, M.S. ’92, Ph.D. ’96) – College of Engineering Alumni Awards, The Academy of Distinguished Engineering Alumni Carly Queen (B.S. '09) – Georgia Tech Alumni Association 40 Under 40 Seth Radman (B.S. '17) – Georgia Tech Alumni Association 40 Under 40 Roland Toups (B.S. ’60, M.S. ’62) – College of Engineering Alumni Awards, Engineering Hall of Fame Chip Wade (B.S. '06) – College of Engineering Alumni Awards, Council of Outstanding Young Engineering Alumni Mike Weiler (M.S. '12) – Georgia Tech Alumni Association 40 Under 40

STUDENTS Bettina Arkhurst – BBISS GRA Scholar Robert Caraway – NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Jonathon Faulkner – UNLP DOE-NE Graduate Fellowship Joshua Fernandez – NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Caroline Filan – NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Jennifer Leestma – NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

Nathaniel Mauldin – promoted to Instrument Maker III

Susan Thomas – Woodruff School Researcher of the Year Award

Steven Sheffield – promoted to Senior Assistant Director of Research Operations

Mike Tinskey – named Chair Fellow in Entrepreneurship

Monifa Skelton – named Chair Fellow in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

David Torello – promoted to Senior Academic Professional

ALUMNI

Jun Ueda – Nagamori Foundation

Barry Givens (B.S. ’08) – Georgia Tech

Andrew Marsh – NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Daniel Martinez – NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Keaton Scherpereel – NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Lillian Tso – Brooke Owens Fellowship Gwen Wang – NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Bryan Watson – Tillman Scholar Nathan Zavanelli – NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

New Faculty & Staff Secil Demir Dnasia Adams Acad Program Coord I Research Engineer I

Shaheen Dewji Asst Prof

Akanksha Menon Asst Prof

Emily Sanders Asst Prof

Michael Tinskey Prof of the Practice

Fan Zhang Asst Prof

Denn Agustin Instrument Maker II

Jessica Hilaire Mail Clerk I

Yunus Alapan Research Engineer I

Candice Gray Financial Admin II

Eshant Bhatia Research Engineer I

Kyoungnae Lee Laboratory Coord

Zachary Brunson Research Engineer I

Johnieda Merritt HR Coord

John Dean Instrument Maker III

Mary Beth Morris Acad Advisor II

Etienne Patoor Adjunct Instructor Kierra Payne Faculty Support Coord Seth Reed Instrument Maker II Ashley Ritchie Communications Mgr Jun Zhou Adjunct Asst Prof

Research

NEWS

Research Partnership Expands to Address Lymphatic Injury Years after cancer surgery, many patients’ lymphatic systems start to fail. They can experience swelling and fluid retention, a condition known as lymphedema that has no cure. But Professor Brandon Dixon and fellow mechanical engineering investigators Alexander Alexeev and Zhanna Nepiyushchikh are working to understand the lymph system through a partnership with the Global Center for Medical Innovation (GCMI).

To uncover why the lymphatic system fails, the trio is studying the lymph system in sheep. Sheep make ideal candidates as they have limbs that must transport fluid against gravity and these limbs have a consistent architecture of lymphatic vessels. Previously, the researchers had worked with mice and rats, but there are inherent limitations to this.

DoD Funds Georgia Tech to Enhance U.S. Hypersonics Capabilities Vastly different than conventional military weapons and aircraft, hypersonics systems are game-changing for national security, providing unprecedented speed and maneuverability. Operating at more than five times the speed of sound, these systems can alter course after takeoff, making them hard to intercept. Developing vehicles capable of traveling at over a mile per second — speeds that cause vehicle surface temperatures to heat up to 2,200 degrees Celsius — presents daunting engineering challenges for hypersonics materials and systems.

To address these hurdles and enhance U.S. hypersonics capabilities, the University Consortium for Applied Hypersonics (UCAH) has tapped the Georgia Institute of Technology, including Regents' Professor and Rae S. and Frank H. Neely Chair Surya Kalidindi, Assistant Professor Anirban Mazumdar, Assistant Professor Ellen Yi Chen Mazumdar, and Associate Professor Aaron Stebner, for four grants valued at $6 million over the next three years. The awards draw on Georgia Tech and the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) expertise across advanced, high-temperature materials science and aerospace and mechanical engineering research — areas critical for future advances of these vehicles.

Scaffolding Tumor Formation Sets the Stage for Better Immunotherapies The discrepancy between preclinical advances in breast cancer immunotherapy and poor patient outcomes is rooted in the limitations of current breast cancer models. These models often fail to mimic complex interactions between cancer cells and key immune cells present in the tumor microenvironment.

Utilizing a collaborative approach, Associate Professor Susan N. Thomas and former doctoral student Meghan O’Melia have developed a novel way to generate breast tumor models faster, more reliably, and with dramatically less immune variability than existing models. Their innovative research has the potential to revolutionize the development of immunotherapy treatments and can also help elucidate why patients with the same type of breast cancer respond differently to treatment.

Nuclear Energy Projects to Improve Monte Carlo Codes, Develop Microreactor Benchmark The Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded Assistant Professor Dan Kotlyar a total of $1 million through the Nuclear Engineering University Program (NEUP) to perform two nuclear energy research projects in collaboration with universities, national labs, and industry.

The first project will extend the applicability of Coupled Monte Carlo to time-dependent problems. The second project will develop an International Reactor Physics Experiment Evaluation Project (IRPhEP) mulitphysics microreactor benchmark evaluation based on data from the Systems for Nuclear Auxiliary Power (SNAP) program. Utilizing the SNAP program experience is a cost-effective way to advance the technology of future microreactors, such as those being proposed for lunar surface power missions or terrestrial deployment.

Rubber Material Holds Key to Longlasting, Safer EV Batteries For electric vehicles (EVs) to become mainstream, they need costeffective, safer, longer-lasting batteries that won’t explode during use or harm the environment. A research team led by Associate Professor Seung Woo Lee has found a promising alternative to conventional lithium-ion batteries made from a common material: rubber.

Elastomers, or synthetic rubbers, are widely used in consumer products and advanced technologies such as wearable electronics and soft robotics because of their superior mechanical properties.

The researchers found that the material, when formulated into a 3D structure, acted as a superhighway for fast lithium-ion transport with superior mechanical toughness, resulting in longer charging batteries that can go farther.

Building Better Tools for Biomanufacturing A team of researchers led by Associate Chair for Graduate Studies, Professor, and Rae S. and Frank H. Neely Chair Andrei G. Fedorov has developed an analytical tool designed to improve the biomanufacturing process of advanced cell-based therapies.

Their Dynamic Sampling Platform provides a real time analysis of cells as they are modified and grown for treatment in a bioreactor, overcoming what currently is a time-consuming, labor-intensive, and expensive process.

Researchers Discover Predictable Behavior in Promising Material for Computer Memory In the last few years, a class of materials called antiferroelectrics has been increasingly studied for its potential applications in modern computer memory devices. Research has shown that antiferroelectric-based memories might have greater energy efficiency and faster read and write speeds than conventional memories, among other appealing attributes. Further, the same compounds that can exhibit antiferroelectric behavior are already integrated into existing semiconductor chip manufacturing processes.

Now, a team led by Harris Saunders, Jr. Chair and Professor Nazanin BassiriGharb has discovered unexpectedly familiar behavior in the antiferroelectric material known as zirconium dioxide, or zirconia. They show that as the microstructure of the material is reduced in size, it behaves similarly to much better understood materials known as ferroelectrics.

Wearable Brain-Machine Interface Turns Intentions into Actions A new wearable brain-machine interface (BMI) system could improve the quality of life for people with motor dysfunction or paralysis, even those struggling with locked-in syndrome – when a person is fully conscious but unable to move or communicate.

A multi-institutional, international team of researchers led by Associate Professor and Woodruff Faculty Fellow Woon-Hong Yeo has combined wireless soft scalp electronics and virtual reality in a BMI system that allows the user to imagine an action and wirelessly control a wheelchair or robotic arm.

The major advantage of this system to the user, compared to what currently exists, is that it is soft and comfortable to wear, and doesn’t have any wires.

Nature-inspired Strong, Lightweight Material for Planes, Buildings, and Bone Implants Material coming from a Princeton research lab is full of holes — but that's a good thing. Designed to mimic bone, wood, and other natural materials, the porous objects are lighter than traditional products and can be strategically inserted into structures to provide higher stiffness in areas with high demand.

These porous structures, created by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Princeton University, feature spinodal microstructures — networks of specially designed holes that can be tuned to achieve optimized behavior at the macroscale.

In a new study, published in the journal Advanced Materials, the team, including Assistant Professor Emily Sanders, have combined different realizations of these spinodal microstructures to design and prototype facial implants for reconstructive surgery and stiff, lightweight parts for aircraft.

Reducing the Energy Consumption and Carbon Emissions of Energy Intensive Manufacturing Processes Professor Cyrus Aidun and Eugene C. Gwaltney Jr. School Chair Devesh Ranjan have received $3 million dollars in Department of Energy funding for their work on advanced multiphase (MP) forming for enhanced efficiency of drying paper, tissue, board, nonwovens and other fiber composite products.

In addition, Hightower Chair in Engineering and Professor Srinivas Garimella has received a $2.3 million grant from the Department of Energy to work with the largest wallboard manufacturer in the world, Saint-Gobain, to reduce energy, water consumption, and carbon emissions in the manufacture of gypsum board.

Georgia Tech Awarded Grant to Develop AI Manufacturing Economic Corridor Georgia Tech has been awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) as part of its $1 billion Build Back Better Regional Challenge.

Georgia Tech is one of 60 entities to be awarded funding to assist communities nationwide in their efforts to accelerate the rebuilding of their economies in the wake of the pandemic.

As a leader in artificial intelligence, manufacturing research, and innovation-led economic development, Georgia Tech will utilize the grant for technical assistance to plan the Georgia Artificial Intelligence Manufacturing Corridor (GA-AIM). Led by Professor Thomas Kurfess and Associate Professor Aaron Stebner and in collaboration with local partners, GA-AIM will fill existing technology gaps, build a technological opportunity framework that includes underrepresented communities and rural Georgia counties, and better secure the state’s manufacturing infrastructure.

Tracking Real-Time Atomic Movement Between Crystal Grains in Metals Metallic materials used in engineering must be strong and ductile – capable of carrying high mechanical loads while able to withstand deformation without breaking. Whether a material is weak or strong, ductile or brittle, however, is not determined simply by the crystal grains that make up the material, but rather by what happens in the space between them known as the grain boundary. Despite decades of investigation, atomic-level deformation processes at the grain boundary remain elusive, along with the secret to making new and better materials.

Using advanced microscopy coupled with novel computer simulations that track atomic movement, researchers led by Woodruff Professor Ting Zhu have conducted real-time atomic-level observations of grain boundary deformation in poly-grained metallic materials called polycrystalline materials. The team observed previously unrecognized processes that affect material properties, such as atoms that hop from one plane to another across a grain boundary.

Soft Semiconductors that Stretch Like Human Skin Can Detect Ultra-low Light Levels Semiconductors are moving away from rigid substrates, which are cut or formed into thin discs or wafers, to more flexible plastic material and even paper thanks to new material and fabrication discoveries.

The trend toward more flexible substrates has led to fabrication of numerous devices, from light-emitting diodes to solar cells and transistors.

Georgia Tech researchers, including Professor Samuel Graham and Professor Olivier Pierron, have created a material that acts like a second skin layer and is up to 200% more stretchable than its original dimension without significantly losing its electric current. The researchers say the soft flexible photodetectors could enhance the utility of medical wearable sensors and implantable devices, among other applications.

Robotically Enhanced Mental Practice May Improve Post-Stroke Rehab For many stroke victims with upper limb motor function impairment, previously simple tasks like reaching for that pen or grabbing that glass of water feel impossible. But the power of imagination and intention may help: If you can think it, eventually you can grab it.

A team of researchers, including Assistant Professor Frank Hammond and Associate Professor and Woodruff Faculty Fellow Woon-Hong Yeo, is developing “a new paradigm of motor imagery” – integrating proven methods of neuromotor facilitation with robotic prostheses.

The goal is to help stroke survivors turn thoughts and intentions into useful actions.

Marta Hatzell Named a Moore Inventor Fellow The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation has named Associate Professor Marta Hatzell a 2021 Moore Inventor Fellow. Hatzell and four other fellows have received $825,000 to further the development of new tools and technologies that promise to accelerate progress in the foundation’s areas of interest: scientific discovery, environmental conservation, and patient care.

Hatzell’s invention creates fertilizer from nitrogen in the air. It is a low-cost photocatalytic air breathing system that converts air into liquid ammonia-based fertilizers. Her solar fertilizer technology has the potential to become a low-cost and widely dispersed approach for manufacturing ammonia fertilizers in rural settings.

It offers a promising solution to reduce carbon emissions associated with current fertilizer industry practices; reduce nitrogen waste at agricultural sites; and boost agricultural productivity.

The fellowship provides a unique opportunity to pursue high risk-high reward research. The long-term goal is to develop modular solar driven systems, which enable farm-scale fertilizer production.

Prostate Cancer Organoids Open Path to Precision Oncology Androgen receptor pathway inhibitors can prolong survival for patients with advanced prostate cancer. But about 20 percent of patients develop more advanced-stage neuroendocrine prostate cancer in response to this type of hormone therapy, and so far, researchers haven’t had effective ways to study that progression.

Now, a multi-institutional team of investigators led by Associate Professor Ankur Singh has developed research tools that shed new light on a virtually untreatable form of prostate cancer, opening a pathway that may lead to novel therapeutics and a glimmer of hope for patients.

Shi Awarded NSF CAREER Award and ONR YIP for Acoustic Wave Research Assistant Professor Chengzhi Shi has been awarded a prestigious Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation’s division for Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI) as well as an Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Program (YIP) Award.

Shi’s NSF CAREER Award will allow him to expand upon his past research which demonstrated that acoustic angular momentum could induce shear stress on a solid, dramatically enhancing the efficiency of blood clot lysis using ultrasound, with applications for thrombosis treatments, tumor histotripsy and other noninvasive ultrasound-based surgery. Shi’s ONR YIP Award also builds on his acoustic angular momentum, but with an application in the area of high-speed underwater acoustic communications.

Student News Team EPICS wins Student Innovation Competition– Promoting Equity & Access Team EPICS, a group of former teaching assistants focused on providing better accessibility for women in mechanical engineering, has won the College of Engineering’s 2022 Student Innovation Competition – Promoting Equity & Access (SICPEA). Their proposal aimed to diversify makerspaces in the Woodruff School and create greater accessibility and inclusion for women students in ME 2110: Creative Systems and Design. The team – Lila Bernhardt, Jesse Goodwin, Zoe Klesmith, Gregory Kurfess, Jessie Liu, and Anastasia Schauer – worked as TAs in the class, which is an introductory course that includes a hands-on component in the Woodruff School’s IDEA Laboratory.

HyTech Racing Wins at Formula SAE Competition HyTech Racing placed third overall at the Formula SAE Electric Competition, hosted at Michigan International Speedway in June 2022. The student-led electric racing team welcomes students from all majors, and 52 students from the Woodruff School were on the 2021-22 roster.

The competition challenged students from around the world to engineer the best performing electric formula race car.

Georgia Tech Team Chemistry is Key to Success at ASME Hackathon A team from Georgia Tech won the 2021 ASME-CIE Hackathon, a 24-hour competition that took place virtually August 14-15. Mechanical engineering Ph.D. student Nathan DeVol and recent graduates Patrick Jung (MS ME ’21) and Lance Lu (BS ME ’18, MS ME ’20) successfully tackled two problems that explored the power of data and cybersecurity for mechanical engineering. They earned first place in both competitions.

Partnerships Shine at Spring Capstone More than 200 student teams closed the spring 2022 semester with the Capstone Design Expo, showcasing Georgia Tech's interdisciplinary culture.

The Expo is the culmination of Capstone Design, a series of courses offered to undergraduate students from all disciplines. Graduating seniors work in teams throughout the semester to design and test solutions with realworld applications. Many projects are sponsored by companies, including Google, Norfolk Southern, the Mayo Clinic, and Texas Instruments.

Student Team Wins DOE EcoCAR Mobility Challenge A Georgia Tech interdisciplinary team, led by Nishan Nekoo (ME '22), won the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) EcoCAR Mobility Challenge.

The four-year competition tasked 11 universities with transforming a 2019 Chevrolet Blazer by adding advanced propulsion systems and automated vehicle technology. The goal was to improve the car’s energy efficiency while balancing emissions, safety, and consumer acceptability factors.

The EcoCAR team is a $1 million research program housed under the Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) Program. VIP allows undergraduate and graduate students to participate in ambitious, long-term, multidisciplinary project teams that are led by faculty.

Team Sola Wins 2022 Georgia Tech InVenture Prize, Team Foambuster Takes Home Second Team Sola, made up of mechanical engineering students Brayden Drury and Wesley Pergament, won the 2022 Georgia Tech InVenture Prize. The duo developed a proprietary model to help homeowners access financial support immediately following the devastation of a tornado.

Drury and Pergament used seven decades of information provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Weather Service to come up with technology that can calculate the likelihood for future disasters and what payouts may be necessary.

Second place went to Team Foambuster, a team of mechanical engineers that developed a handheld tool to minimize the snow-like debris created by installing external insulation finishing systems.

Mechanical Engineering Student Lillian Tso Receives Brooke Owens Fellowship Lillian M. Tso, a junior in mechanical engineering minoring in aerospace engineering, was awarded a Brooke Owens Fellowship - a nationally acclaimed nonprofit program that recognizes exceptional undergraduate women and other gender minorities and grants them paid space and aviation internships, executive-level mentors, and a lifelong professional network.

Tso was chosen based on her commitment to her community, stand-out creative abilities, record of leadership, incredible talent, and her desire to pursue a career in aerospace.

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Acknowledgements Editor: Ashley Ritchie Contributors: Catherine Barzler, Zoe Elledge, Angel Garcia, Jerry Grillo, Jason Maderer, Tess Malone, Péralte C. Paul, Ashley Ritchie, Anne Wainscott-Sargent, Ben Wright Photography: Allison Carter, Rob Felt, Candler Hobbs, Ashley Ritchie, Ben Wright Design: Ashley Ritchie Copyright © 2022 by The George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering

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