Despite the current worries and stressors facing researchers because of the Covid-19 pandemic, an overview of the grants awarded during the 2020 fiscal year shows the state of the College of Sciences research program remains strong, according to Julia Kubanek, Associate Dean of Research.

“This year, assistant professors among our six schools have been recipients of an Office of Naval Research Young Investigator award, a Cottrell Scholar award, a Sloan Research Fellowship, and four National Science Foundation CAREER awards,” says Kubanek, who is also a professor in the Schools of Biological Sciences, and Chemistry and Biochemistry. “Other early and mid-career faculty have been named Kavli and Scialog Fellows, experiences that will expose these faculty to additional collaborative and funding opportunities through engagement in elite research networks.”

Kubanek says multiple large-scale, broadly conceived proposals for center funding and graduate training grants, led by science faculty, are currently under peer review. “These future projects will grow our leadership and impact in research communities across psychology, biological sciences, chemistry and biochemistry, earth and atmospheric sciences, physics, and mathematics,” she says.

Here are the major grants and awards presented to College of Sciences faculty in FY20 (links lead to previous coverage of the announcements during the Spring 2020 and Fall 2019 semesters):

Collaborative Covid-19 Research Receives National Science Foundation RAPID Grant

Antibody testing research, led by Biological Sciences’ Joshua Weitz and Emory University professor Benjamin Lopman, earns an NSF urgent funding grant to further study Covid-19 ‘shield immunity’.

Rahnev Receives Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award

School of Psychology assistant professor Dobromir Rahnev is one of two Georgia Tech winners of the Office of Naval Research's Young Investigator Program Awards. Rahnev will research how the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps can use technology and science to update and enhance job skills training.

Elisabetta Matsumoto Is 2020 Cottrell Scholar for Research on the Math and Science Behind Knitting

Elisabetta Matsumoto, an assistant professor in the School of Physics, is a 2020 Cotrell Scholar thanks to her research on the mathematics and physics hidden in the knots and weaves of knitting.

Jenny McGuire, Lutz Warnke Receive NSF CAREER Awards

A pair of College of Sciences professors -- Jenny McGuire in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences/School of Biological Sciences, and Lutz Warnke of the School of Mathematics --  are receiving coveted National Science Foundation CAREER Awards, which will fund future research for five years.

Colin Parker, assistant professor in the School of Physics, and Henry (Pete) LaPierre, assistant professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, have also just received FY20 National Science Foundation CAREER Awards.

Georgia Tech Faculty Awarded Research Fellowships by Sloan Foundation

Yao Yao, assistant professor in the School of Mathematics, is among 126 early career researchers selected to receive 2020 Sloan Research Fellowships. 

Scialog: Signatures of Life in the Universe Fellows Named

Four College of Sciences early career scientists – Jen Glass, Chris Reinhard, Gongjie Li, and Amanda Stockton – are named Scialog Fellows for a new research initiative, Signatures of Life in the Universe.

Pamela Peralta-Yahya to Collaborate with Caroline Genzale on NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts Award

Pamela Peralta-Yahya, assistant professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, is part of the collaborative effort to study innovative aerospace concepts.

M.G. Finn to Collaborate with Susan Thomas on $3.2 Million National Cancer Institute Grant for Follicular Lymphoma Research

Susan Thomas, Woodruff Associate Professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, collaborates with Professor and School of Chemistry and Biochemistry Chair M.G. Finn, to try to improve treatment of follicular lymphoma.

Dobromir Rahnev Awarded $2.2 Million by NIH to Study Architecture of Metacognition and a Promising Treatment for Neuropsychiatric Disorders: TMS-fMRI

An assistant professor in the School of Psychology will get more than $2 million in National Institutes of Health grants for two research proposals that focus on the brain's decision-making abilities, and on a promising treatment for neuropsychiatric disorders. 

Physics Researchers Awarded $2.3 Million to Develop NSF Einstein Toolkit for Astrophysics

NSF awards effort led by Pablo Laguna and Deirdre Shoemaker for the development of the Einstein Toolkit Ecosystem: Enabling Fundamental Research in the Era of Multi-Messenger Astrophysics

Georgia Tech Leads Team Effort to Reduce Georgia’s Carbon Footprint

Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology, incuding Kim Cobb with the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, are leading a first-in-the-nation effort to help identify solutions to help reduce Georgia’s carbon footprint in ways that are economically beneficial.

Georgia Tech Researchers Receive EPA South FL Initiative Award

One of the grant recipients is Neha Garg, an assistant professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. The funding will support the protection and restoration of water quality, corals and seagrass in South Florida. 

Fall 2019:

$1.7 M Grant for Robotic Soil Subsurface Explorer

An interdisciplinary research group from Georgia Tech, including School of Physics Professor Daniel Goldman, has received a grant from the National Science Foundation to design an advanced self-propelled robot to explore the soil subsurface and record a range of signals as it advances.

Lachance Gets $1.88 million Award

The National Institutes of Health is supporting Petit Institute/School of Biological Sciences Assistant Professor Joe Lachance’s research strategy, which includes the analysis of ancient and modern genomes, mathematical modeling, and the development of new bioinformatics tools.

A Summer Bounty

When it rains, it pours. That’s how it felt last month when email after email from School of Psychology Acting Chair Mark Wheeler arrived in various inboxes, sharing the joyful news of a new award. The announcement of a $334,000 grant to Dobromir Rahnev in May has been succeeded by seven other research awards to eight faculty members.

Georgia Tech, Institut Pasteur Receive $2.5 M NIH Grant to Study Phage Therapy

Joshua Weitz of the School of Biological Sciences is part of a team of U.S. and French scientists who will research the interaction between bacteriophage, bacteria, and the innate immune response to enable use of phage therapy, even with patients with impaired immune systems. 

School of Mathematics Associate Professor Is Now a Kavli Fellow

A prestigious honor for young scientists is presented to Georgia Tech's Michael Damron, associate professor in the School of Mathematics. The Kavli Frontiers of Science Symposium, part of the National Academy of Sciences, issued its invite to Damron, one of a long list of Georgia Tech researchers to receive the fellowship.

Since the start of the pandemic, it’s been well known that older individuals and health care professionals have been particularly vulnerable to the risk of infection and death due to Covid-19. Two new papers from School of Psychology researchers are providing more insight into how worrying about their own safety causes specific mental health issues for these groups.

The studies, published recently in Frontiers in Psychology and Journals of Gerontology, offer warnings of immediate and potentially long-lasting damage caused by stress and worry over Covid-19. They are the first in a series of forthcoming research papers that will ask respondents questions about the decisions they’re making during the pandemic, including if certain factors – the November election, the current economic situation, social justice movements, and the virus itself – are impacting those choices. 

The Georgia Tech team consists of Ann Pearman, a senior research scientist; graduate student Mackenzie Hughes, and alumna Clara Coblenz, who also now works on campus. They collaborated with two researchers from North Carolina State University, and the entire team is putting the finishing touches on a different study that involves “decision-making in terms of how people choose using protective measures, like wearing masks or avoiding crowds,” Pearman says. 

Another study will involve what Pearman calls “skepticism about the virus. We offhandedly call it our ‘fake news’ variable.” This study will examine how respondents are deciding which media sources to rely on for factual information and creditable updates about the virus. 

The mental health risks for health care professionals 

On August 11, the Kaiser Family Foundation, in partnership with the Guardian, reported that more than 900 U.S. frontline health care workers have died from Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic.

Fears over catching the virus are among the worries in the minds of health care professionals, Pearman says. 

When it comes to workers who may end up caring for those infected with the coronavirus, those surveyed “reported higher levels of depressive symptoms, past and future appraisal of Covid-related stress, concern about their health, tiredness, current general anxiety, and constraint — in addition to lower levels of proactive coping compared to those who were not health care professionals,” according to the abstract of the study.

“They’re just doing a lot worse than the general population, in terms of not getting enough sleep, and feeling depressed,” Pearman says. 

Pearman wants to make clear that this study didn’t start out focusing exclusively on health care workers. “It was part of a cross-sectional study,” she says. “We tried to exclude (health workers), because a lot of precautionary behaviors, they can’t do. They have to go to work, they have to interact with people who are sick.” But the researchers saw the depth of the responses and decided to set up a separate category for health care professionals. 

Pearman’s team ended up with 90 health care respondents, matched with a control group comprised of 90 individuals who work in fields unrelated to health care. All respondents used an online survey tool between March 20 and May 14 to answer questions and provide demographic data. 

While there was no way to determine which of the respondents were actual frontline health workers, “we think that’s an even bigger issue,” she says, because clinical depression could develop for those closest to infected patients. “They’re still coming up as way more anxious and depressed. These people are at real risk for problems, and it’s not going away. Mental health experts talk about prolonged trauma and stress, and how bad it is for you. Our study was completed two months ago. It (the pandemic) is not getting better. It’s getting worse.”

Older Americans: higher risks, more coping strategies

The Pearman team’s other study regarding older individuals and Covid-19 stress shows that even though there are no major differences among age groups regarding general stress over the virus, “anxiety about developing Covid-19 was associated with more Covid-19 stress for older adults relative to younger adults, but proactive coping was associated with less Covid-19 stress for older adults relative to younger adults,” the study’s abstract says.  

In the study, 515 U.S. adults, ages 20 to 79, reported to an online survey tool on their anxiety about developing Covid-19, proactive coping, and other virus-related stress. 

Despite survey findings that center on age differences regarding the virus, Pearman and her team didn’t initially separate its respondents according to different age groupings that follow typical demographic categories, such as 25-54, etc. “We didn’t use a cut-off. We used age as a continuous variable, meaning we did not group people into age groups. So we found that from our entire sample, the older the participants were, the more likely that adaptive coping reduced stress.”

Adaptive, or proactive, coping involves ways of dealing with how the pandemic has challenged daily lives, and coming up with solutions to those challenges. “Planning is the best way to take care of little problems before they become big problems,” she says. “Planning for older adults may mean how they’re going to get their groceries, manage doctor’s appointments. Understanding that ahead of time is really helpful — getting people to figure out how to order groceries online, what kinds of things they need help with, where do you get a mask, etcetera, so that it doesn’t sort of creep up on you.” 

Pearman says that a highlight of the study was developing a “Covid knowledge scale” established by the researchers as a way to help sort out the reliability of the information available about the virus, and then see how different respondents sought out and used that information. “We were looking for factual data on Covid-19, and the older adults did significantly better. There was a high correlation between age and knowledge scores. They certainly were getting the right information.”

In addition to Pearman, the research group includes School of Psychology graduate student MacKenzie L. Hughes, and psychology alumnus Clara Coblenz, now a research coordinator at Georgia Tech.

From North Carolina State University: Shevaun D. Neupert, Ph.D. (Professor of Psychology) and Emily L. Smith, Ph.D. (Postdoctoral research scholar at the NCSU Center for Family and Community Engagement).

Pearman’s group is funded by a Covid-19 research grant from the Georgia Tech Office of the Executive Vice President for Research.

Pearman, A, Hughes, M., Smith, E.L., & Neupert, S. (2020).  Mental health challenges of U.S. healthcare professionals during COVID-19.  Frontiers in Psychology: Psychology for Clinical Settings. doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02065 

Pearman, A, Hughes, M., Smith, E.L., & Neupert, S. (2020).  Age differences in risk and resilience factors in COVID-19-related stress.  Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences.  https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbaa120 

The nominations are in, and the inaugural class of the College of Sciences Staff Advisory Council is preparing for its first virtual meeting later in September.

According to its mission statement, the Council represents and advocates for the diverse collective body of staff within the College and will interact directly with the Dean of the College of Sciences. The Council serves as a liaison between the staff and College leadership, providing an avenue for a significant contribution of staff expertise. The Council aims to use these perspectives to provide recommendations to the Dean of the College, as well as to inform leadership members within each independent school regarding staff matters.

Please join us in welcoming the Council’s 15 members from across the College of Sciences, and in learning more about each member’s background, work, goals, and interests in serving:

Emma Blandford
Assistant Director of Living Learning Communities, Dean’s Office:

Background: I have a unique position to be able to interact with folks from across the college in order to best serve my students. I interact with first-year students on a daily basis, and connect them with the resources that they need on campus to be most successful. The team of amazing staff in the College of Sciences makes this college not only work, but run like their home-away-from-home. I have also been a part of the working group that formed the initial College of Sciences Advisory Council voting process, mission and vision.

Why I’m joining the Council: As a member of the council I would work to learn about the wide variety of positions, responsibilities, and needs of the professionals across our college. I am also interested to serve in a way that allows folks to be more than who they are at work, to introduce holistic wellness opportunities and connections to inclusive programming in order to support the whole-person experience.

Paula Ewers
Faculty Support Coordinator, School of Biological Sciences:

Background: Strong service-oriented skills, educational background, high level of attention to detail and results driven workforce professional with proven success in demonstrating expertise in service management and coordination. Professional in customer service, project management, team management, and budget management.

Why I’m joining the Council: Throughout my years of experience in the College of Sciences I have identified areas of opportunity and areas of success, and I would love to assist in building a stronger culture. I want to give back to this amazing college and provide feedback where I can.

Shantel Floyd
Research Administrative Manager, School of Chemistry and Biochemistry:

Background: I have a strong understanding of processes both on the finance and administration side. I have 5-plus years of experience supporting a center with a focus on broadening participation (development of unique programming). I also have experience partnering with people in the College of Sciences and the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. I am trusted by colleagues and I have the ability to relate to colleagues on all levels. I was chosen as a Chemistry representative on several pilots. I mentor new staff and those starting new programs like those that I've run in the past. I have also partnered with IBB on several projects and events. I have the ability to create great working relationships across the board.

Why I’m joining the Council: Serving on this council will enable me to stay connected with activities that will help my fellow staff members in both education and the working environment, and to help with collaborations and open communication channels throughout all levels of the Institute. I will also have the opportunity to actively participate and contribute to conversations and solutions about the goals of the campus community.

Susan Harris
Financial Administrator, School of Chemistry and Biochemistry:

Background: I have 30-plus years working with sponsored project funding. I have 10-plus years working in academic units with faculty and admin teams. I have a deep respect for the process and want everything to be done within policy.

Why I’m joining the Council: I am hoping this team will be able to help identify and address concerns in their departments, and we can help make Georgia Tech a better place for all.

Chung Kim
Academic Program Coordinator, School of Biological Sciences:

Background: I've been working at Georgia Tech’s School of Biological Sciences for the past three years as an academic program coordinator. My favorite, most fulfilling aspect of this position is interacting with and supporting our graduate students to successfully complete their degrees. I consider myself to be a good listener, team player, and a detail-oriented person.

Why I’m joining the Council: I believe that by being part of the College of Sciences Staff Advisory Council, I would play an important role in building bonds among the staff, faculty, and administration. If given an opportunity, I would be glad to contribute my time and efforts in making a positive difference for the College and its schools.

Gary Longstreet
Academic Program Manager, School of Physics:

Background: First, I'm honored to be nominated. With more than 20 years in higher education, I offer a very diverse background, having worked for both public and private universities. At Georgia State University, I served on the Staff Advisory Council for several years and then represented staff on the University Senate Committee as a senator.

Why I’m joining the Council:  I understand the needs of staff and the valuable role we play at all different levels. With everything happening in the world today, it is vital that staff be heard, supported, appreciated, and understood that we make things happen at the Institute and beyond.

Lea Marzo
Assistant to the Chair, School of Mathematics:

Background: I have been in higher education for over 13 years, six of those years at Georgia Tech. I have also been a graduate student for eight years and I believe that I can offer some insight from both a staff and a student perspective.

Why I’m joining the Council: I would like the opportunity to serve on the College of Sciences Staff Advisory Council because I will put the interests of the workers above my own. I believe that I am a team player and will work to the best of my abilities to ensure that the voices of the staff members are represented.

Erin Nagle
Faculty Affairs Administrative Manager, Dean’s Office:

Background: After three years in the College and at Georgia Tech, I have met many wonderful staff members whose own stories and experiences I have enjoyed hearing about. I believe in a strong sense of community where staff contributions are highlighted and explored. I am a good listener and problem solver, and I genuinely care about staff development and morale. Budgets are tight and that limits what can be spent on development activities, but discussion and community building are free.

Why I’m joining the Council: Outside of our evolving national issues, College staff are facing multiple challenges on a routine basis right here on campus. Processes are frequently changing, and ‘newness’ has been our constant companion. It is difficult to keep up with our changing local environment and also keep on top of important work endeavors. I feel that strengthening our sense of community and support network within the college is our most powerful tool in facing ongoing challenges.

Alison Onstine
Laboratory Manager, School of Biological Sciences:

Background: My position as manager for the Biology teaching labs provides me with both a student-facing role and a window into the challenges facing staff within research labs. It’s my hope that these varied perspectives will help find commonalities in the challenges that staff in both traditional academic and research roles face. I will use all the tools at my disposal to foster the trust needed to become an effective representative for CoS staff.

Why I’m joining the Council: I see the amazing efforts already underway to bring voice to staff within the College and am eager to bring my skills to benefit these initiatives. Staff at Georgia Tech, in my experience, are challenging to unite as a group because of their disparate roles within the Institute. Due to our new social distancing challenges, there is more urgency than ever for staff to come together and build the community necessary to effectively be heard by administration.

Chinneta Pettaway
Research Administrative Manager, School of Mathematics:

Background: I have many years of experience prior to Georgia Tech working directly with chairs and executive management. I was able to form diverse leadership teams, which helped improve morale and retention within the department. My years at Georgia Tech working for the former Dean of the College of Sciences and the other leadership members allowed me the ability to understand the mission and vision of the College. I was able to utilize that knowledge with my transition to the School of Mathematics, to help with the development of the newly formed Southeast Center for Mathematics and Biology.

Why I’m joining the Council: I'm interested in serving on the College of Sciences Staff Advisory Council to help bring awareness and understanding to issues occurring on the school level. I'd like to advocate for the staff in the schools to help improve a safe and healthy work environment for everyone regardless of race, color, or creed. Importantly, we need to add to an effective communication avenue between management and staff. This will allow staff members to feel comfortable speaking about problems without fear of being reprimanded.

Ruth Pierre
Academic Program Coordinator, School of Chemistry and Biochemistry:

Background: I am very passionate and have a strong desire to help others. I interact with staff, students, and faculty at different levels and enjoy getting to know and collaborate with people on projects. As a staff member for over seven years, I have been involved with various offices across campus and listened to concerns, comments, and complaints from various staff. I’m personable, have a willingness to take charge, excellent organization skills, and a strategic thinker are several strong skills set that would be a positive addition to the Staff Advisory Council.

Why I’m joining the Council: I want to be involved with the College of Sciences Staff Advisory Council to help bring about positive change. I want to be a voice of changes that affect policy and procedures for staff. We are in critical times and need people who can represent diverse viewpoints across a broad spectrum of topics. I would like the opportunity to work with other staff to create productive and positive outcomes.

Renay San Miguel
Communications Officer, Dean’s Office:

Background: I spent 25 years in journalism, including 10 years at national broadcast and cable TV news outlets. I currently use my position to tell the stories of the great research going on within the six schools of the College. I also tell the stories of the interesting, talented people behind that research, and the staff and students who make up the Georgia Tech College of Sciences community. My skills include communications in writing, audio podcasting, and video hosting/production/editing.

Why I’m joining the Council: The College of Sciences has been very good to me. As a staff member, I've appreciated the kindnesses extended to me by administrators and other staff members. I want to pay it forward by assisting the Advisory Council as it helps staff deal with day-to-day and long-range goals and challenges.

Kathy Sims-McDaniel
Development Assistant, Dean’s Office: 

Background: I have worked as a teacher, counselor, program coordinator and event planner, just to name a few occupations. In my spare time, I have also volunteered on several different social projects.

Why I’m joining the Council: I believe the combination of my education and experience will make me a highly motivated addition to the Staff Advisory Council. I would like to serve on the Council because I feel I can be an advocate for our colleagues, and can work collectively with fellow Council members as a vehicle for positive change.

John Wallom
Information Technology Professional Manager, Academic and Research Computing Services (ARCS):

Background: I have been in higher education information technology support for 21 years, and in that time I helped create student worker run IT support centers, worked on several institution wide committees, and worked with University System of Georgia security groups to establish best practices for smaller USG institutions. On top of a broad technical knowledge, I have also worked to establish several new teams, from entire institute support teams to new units within a college. I believe that experience will help when forming the first College of Sciences Staff Advisory Council.

Why I’m joining the Council: I have always stepped up to voice my concerns when staff are in need, or are not being taken into consideration. The staff of the College of Sciences needs to have people who will be an advocate for them, and I believe that I am someone who can definitely fill that role.

Casey Whitt
Financial Administrator, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences:

Background: I will bring skills related to the position of Financial Administrator. In a previous position I also served on a college staff advisory council, periodically working on grievance hearings and coordinating a benefits fair. Also, I volunteered on various carnivals, including one that educated employees on proper protocol in case of a fire.

Why I’m joining the Council: I want to serve on the College of Sciences Staff Advisory Council because I believe that I can represent the opinions of the staff in a fair and impartial manner, and assist the Council to relate ideas and solutions that will assist the department to grow as a team with the College administrators.

After a 35-year-long run at Georgia Tech, Keith Oden has decided to retire as the College of Sciences’ Director of Academic Diversity.

"I feel my career at Georgia Tech and the College of Sciences has been very rewarding and impactful," Oden says. "I think it is time to pass the torch to other individuals who can continue the initiatives that not only increase diversity, excellence, and inclusion, but also the overall Georgia Tech experience for all students, staff and faculty."

Oden is the first person to serve as the College’s Director of Academic Diversity. He was named to the position in 2012. Oden collaborates with faculty, student organizations, academic departments, research centers, and undergraduate/graduate admissions offices on recruitment and retention of underrepresented populations, such as ethnic minorities, women, and first-generation college students.

Oden advises the Georgia Tech student chapters of the Minority Association of Pre-Medical Students (MAPS) and the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE).

"Keith has worked tirelessly on a variety of programs to broaden participation in science and mathematics to include more students from groups that have historically been underrepresented in STEM," says David Collard, College of Sciences Associate Dean for Academic Programs. "But more important than any one program are the mentoring relationships that he has established with students over the years."

“From the moment I joined the CoS (College of Sciences) team, Keith welcomed me with open arms,” says Emma Blandford, Assistant Director for Living Learning Communities at Georgia Tech. “He supported my efforts to embed diversity and inclusion initiatives into the foundations of our first-year program, and helped me to connect with undergraduates who are working to make a difference for their peers. Keith’s passion is undeniable and I wish him the absolute best as he moves into the greatest adventure.”

Jennifer Leavey is a principal academic professional in the School of Biological Sciences, Director of Georgia Tech Urban Honeybee Project and Faculty Director for the EXPLORE Living Learning Community. Leavey says she knows Oden best from working with him on the Research Bound program for prospective graduate students.

“With that program, Keith created an experience in which young undergraduate researchers visualized and actualized themselves as professional researchers,” she recalls. “From the poster session to the professional development and networking sessions, the event paralleled the features of a scientific conference. Keith has gift for bringing out the best in young people and it was fascinating to watch the transformative effect the program had on the students who attended it. I know Keith will continue to have a positive impact on all the young people he encounters even in retirement. It's in his nature! I will miss him.”

Oden lists several accomplishments that he is proud of during his time at Georgia Tech, starting with his relationships with students and student organizations. "I feel that I have benefitted from helping these groups accomplish their goals. I have been at Georgia Tech because I enjoy working with students, encouraging them, mentoring them, and sharing opportunities with them. As an administrator, my managers gave me the liberty to be creative in implementing new initiatives and programs that would have a positive impact for the Institute. Some of these initiatives include submitting and successfully having REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) programs funded, and increasing underrepresented minority participation." In addition, Oden has served as a formal Georgia Tech mentor for Institute staff for more than 20 years. 

"Keith's work in partnership with faculty in our schools to establish National Science Foundation-sponsored Research Experience for Undergraduates summer programs has been a real highlight," Collard says. "For example, the creation of a program in physics has established a strong track record of encouraging underrepresented minority students to pursue graduate study, both at Georgia Tech and elsewhere."

Oden first came to Georgia Tech in 1985. He has also served as diversity director for the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and as the director of the Graduate Co-Op and Fellowships Office. Oden received a Ph.D. in Educational Policy Studies-Higher Education from Georgia State University in 2004. His B.S. is from SUNY-Albany, and he received his M.S. from Brockport College. 

Oden plans to spend more time with family and friends, and will also volunteer to work with middle and high schol students, along with part-time teaching and consulting. "I will also continue to travel worldwide, once the pandemic is over. In other words, I still plan to be very active, have fun and enjoy life."

Over the past ten months, colleges and universities across the nation have rapidly transformed and adapted to the shifting landscape of higher education in the midst of a pandemic. One of the more notable changes within the College of Sciences, however, centers on a standardized test that began raising questions on campuses beyond Georgia Tech long before Covid-19 first dominated headlines and the college experience.

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) test was established in 1936 as a way to measure reasoning and critical thinking skills for students entering graduate collegiate programs. 

Georgia Tech College of Sciences is waiving the GRE (subject and general test) and will not require the exam for fall 2021 applications into any of the College’s graduate programs. Information on requirements across campus for fall 2021 applications can be found at the Degree Programs page of the Georgia Tech Graduate Studies section of the Institute’s website.

Several College of Sciences programs have also opted to permanently drop the requirement, joining a movement coined throughout academic circles as “GRExit.” 

The GRE is permanently no longer required for entrance into Georgia Tech’s Schools of Biological Sciences, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, and Chemistry and Biochemistry. The Quantitative Biosciences Ph.D. Program and Ph.D. in Applied Physiology program, as well as the School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE) in the College of Engineering, have also permanently dropped the exam as a graduate admissions requirement.

Boosting diversity and equity in graduate admissions

Jennifer Glass, an associate professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (EAS), who also holds a courtesy appointment in the School of Biological Sciences, has been active in asking programs across the Institute and beyond to take a closer look at whether the GRE makes sense in their individual admissions processes.

“The impetus for our efforts came largely from conversations with graduate students, who told us that removing the GRE requirement was an essential step towards boosting diversity and equity in graduate programs,” Glass says, noting that recent data also represented that the GRE can be “biased against underrepresented groups — and that it is not a good predictor of graduate school success.”

Glass joined fellow EAS professor Kim Cobb, who also serves as an ADVANCE Professor and Georgia Power Chair; EAS graduate student Minda Monteagudo; and faculty from Georgia State University and Boise State University in writing a summer 2020 op-ed about the GRE for Eos Magazine, which is published by the American Geophysical Union. The op-ed, “#GeoGRExit: Why Geosciences Programs Are Dropping the GRE,” refers to the social media hashtags #GRExit and #GeoGRExit that have surfaced as academics and students around the country discuss their personal experiences and research related to how the standardized test can narrow and stymie inclusivity efforts and representation related to science, technology, engineering, and math-based (STEM) professions — with a particular focus on bio- and geosciences.

During a fall presentation on #GRExit to Georgia Tech graduate admissions leaders, Cobb shared that 340 biology/EEB (ecology/evolutionary biology) graduate programs in the U.S. have dropped their GRE requirements, as have 75 geosciences graduate programs. (That biology graduate program number has increased to 370 programs since then, according to that database’s keeper, Joshua Hall, Director of Admissions for the Biological and Biomedical Sciences Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Sarah Ledford, an assistant professor at Georgia State University who co-authored the Eos op-ed, publishes the geosciences database.)

Two years ago, a study published in the journal PLOS ONE examined the efficacy of the GRE in predicting Ph.D. completion related to STEM fields. The study analyzed the academic performance of 1,805 students from four flagship universities. Its lead researcher told Inside Higher Education that although the Educational Testing Service (ETS), which owns and administers the GRE, explicitly discourages the use of cutoff scores on any part of the GRE, "this is a common practice ... our study shows convincingly that the scores [were] not useful for identifying students most likely to finish STEM doctoral programs. In fact, the scores [were] negative predictors of completion rates for men."

The researcher added that “one reason given for using GRE scores to compare students is to ‘level the playing field’ for students coming from undergraduate institutions differing in prestige. It has been suggested that without these scores, admissions committees may show implicit bias that could hurt the chances of admitting students from underrepresented groups who often come from lesser-known institutions. However, for undetermined reasons women and non-Asian minorities continue to score less well than white males and Asian Americans and, therefore, the pool of ‘acceptable’ women and minority candidates is reduced substantially.”

ETS responded, sharing that “The GRE test does not predict graduate or doctoral completion rates ... Rather, the test provides a measure of graduate school readiness by assessing skills that are necessary to handle graduate-level work: verbal and quantitative reasoning, critical thinking and analytical writing.”

Breaking down the barriers

Beyond concerns with cutoff scores and true readiness assessment, students and faculty alike have noted other barriers that the exam can add to the process of applying for grad school. "The issue of cost, for example ($205 to take it and $27 per report) is a major barrier for many students," notes Cobb. "This entire initiative (at Georgia Tech) was really the brainchild of the CoS Graduate Student Diversity Council, on which Minda (Monteagudo) sat."

“It's exciting to see the College of Science remove the GRE requirement in some programs temporarily, and in other cases more permanently,” Monteagudo adds. “I'm grateful to the CoS Graduate Student Diversity Council for their leadership on this issue, as well as the faculty and administrative support that made this change possible. I'm hopeful that removing the GRE requirement is an important first step towards making the graduate admissions process more equitable.”

The following links are for the individual degree program requirements for the College of Sciences graduate programs:

·      Biology

·      Bioinformatics

·      Ocean Science & Engineering

·      Mathematics

·      Quantitative Biosciences

·      Statistics

·      Chemistry and Biochemistry

·      Applied Physiology

·      Psychology

·      Physics

·      Earth and Atmospheric Sciences

More information on testing and graduate admissions at Georgia Tech, including the latest on testing delays due to Covid-19, can be found at this link in the Graduate Studies section.

When Derek Huell first came to Georgia Tech, he was ready for an academic environment to challenge, support, and nurture him in his journey as a neuroscience student on the path to medical school. However, as a 330-pound former football player, Huell noticed that many of his classmates wanted to talk more about his high school sporting career and physique than his hopes to become a physician. 

“More often than not, when I would meet people, especially in my first semester, one of the common questions I was met with was, ‘Do you play football?’” Huell remembers. “People meant no harm. But at the same time, it just kind of appeared like my physical being, my outer presence was saying that I was an athlete — versus in my head, I was here to be a student.” 

As a student majoring in neuroscience — an undergraduate degree program with a majority of female students and a minority of African American students — Huell says that early on, he would often look around a classroom and realize he was the only Black male student there. 

“If they say ‘form groups’ or something, I look around the room to see if there are other minorities in the room,” he explains. “I can join because I know that those people will be more likely to accept me and be willing to work with me.”  

Huell pivoted around two things in those early days at Tech: first, he says he was inspired to focus on health, well-being, and a different kind of fitness — and has since lost 100 pounds. Second, he zeroed in on academics and personal growth — and a mission to mentor and advocate for others also finding their freshman footing at Georgia Tech. 

Journey to Georgia Tech 

Growing up with a father in the military, Huell moved to several different places in the United States before settling in Columbus, Georgia, in fourth grade. At Columbus High School, Huell says, he felt supported and motivated academically by his teachers. 

Through his guidance counselor Christopher Porch, Ph.D., whom Huell shares is “definitely one of the shining stars of Columbus High School,” Huell was connected to the Gamma Psi Boulé mentee program in Columbus, which connects Black male professionals with students during monthly meetings where students have the opportunity to meet mentors and gain personal, professional, and academic advice.  

Meetings would begin with a presentation on various topics. Huell remembers one about how to deal with the police if you are pulled over as a Black male and how to de-escalate the situation. After each presentation, the program’s students and leaders would have casual conversation over dinner about school and their career. During one of these meetings, Huell met Dr. William E. Roundtree. 

“Dr. Roundtree and I — we started talking about medicine and his kind of ‘pursuit’ of it,” says Huell. “And he even shared how it wasn't easy for him, and some of the barriers he faced, with like, racism and stuff.” 

Huell shadowed under Roundtree at his medical practice, and soon began to consider a future working in medicine, cementing his interest in the medical field.  

Mentors through the Gamma Psi Boulé program, including Roundtree, helped Huell think through the college decision process.  

“I think that always, the biggest thing was that I was looking for a school where I wasn’t just going to learn the textbooks,” notes Huell. “I wasn’t just going to learn from lecture. But I really was going to be pushed to keep the motto of ‘progress and service’ and transform the future.” 

Through Tech’s dedication to undergraduate research and thriving startup culture, Huell says he knew that he would have unique opportunities at Georgia Tech that might not have been available elsewhere. 

“Right now, I'm taking a neuro engineering course,” he says. “And at most schools, I wouldn't be able to take their engineering courses because it's not something that is very common. And so, just things like that, I think, were really big and kind of enhanced my experience beyond just like, taking the same classes everywhere.” 

With advice from his mentors and substantial research on a number of colleges, Huell ultimately decided to attend Georgia Tech to study Neuroscience with a minor in Health and Medical Sciences on track to medical school — and earned a Stamps President's Scholarship along the way. 

Making an Impact on Campus 

Within his first semester at Georgia Tech, Huell joined several organizations across campus, which Huell says opened up opportunities to give back to the community, access resources for personal and professional development, and form meaningful friendships.  

Huell also saw leadership roles in various organizations as an opportunity to impart lasting change on organizations that positively influenced him. 

“You can actually kind of shape the path that the club goes down, have a voice and work with the other members to make sure — that the value that I saw in it translates to the next board and just continues a good, long line down the club,” says Huell. “You kind of have the opportunity to help establish a long continuity of successful organization.” 

Now, as a third-year student, he serves as founder of the Precious Angel Project, Vice President of the Minority-Association of Pre-Medical Students, Vice Basileus of the Delta Kappa Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, President of Neuroscience Club, and is also on the undergraduate portion of the College of Sciences Diversity Council. 

Through the Neuroscience Club, Huell represents his relatively new major and forms connections with professors and fellow students. Club events encourage students to meet researchers at Georgia Tech and connect their coursework with real-life research. 

“Neuroscience is good — definitely is one of the newer programs at Tech,” notes Huell. “It's been very open to student feedback and is very versatile.” 

Through the Precious Angel Project, Huell has combined his interest in healthcare with his passion for community service by establishing relationships between Georgia Tech students and Alzheimer’s patients in nursing homes. Though the organization is not currently able to physically visit nursing homes due to Covid-19, a pen pal letter writing program has helped safely maintain connections. 

Huell also gives back to the Atlanta community through service with Omega Psi Phi, where he has become friends with fellow Black men at Georgia Tech who share his vision to help positively impact Atlanta through service and volunteering. 

“We had a ‘luggage for love’ event where we accepted donations of luggage and then donated that to the foster care system for Georgia so that foster kids can have just something to put their stuff in, instead of traveling from place to place with only a trash bag or whatnot.” 

Huell says these activities have highlighted the importance and impact of community service and giving back. He adds that doing these activities with his friends makes them more memorable and enjoyable. 

“It's a good way, especially during college, to kind of create those bonds with other people who are on a similar track, achieving high goals, going great places. It's great having brothers, great having friends. And then on the flip side, you get a lot of career influence, career help — as well as giving back to the community. So, it's kind of the best of both worlds.” 

That combination of service and brotherhood also encouraged Huell’s deep involvement in Omega Psi Phi. The organization’s emphasis on giving back and creating a lasting and tangible impact on the community has shaped the vision he sees for his future. 

“We have kind of illuminated that fact — that an important aspect of my career should not just be what I do in the hospital, but it should also be what I do in the community,” he shares. “And when I think about my career, hopefully as a physician — you think you're helping people just in the operating room. I think it's also important that my fraternity showed me that getting back in the community can be just as valuable — because you could inspire the next Black male physician.” 

Goals to inspire the next future physician are echoed in Huell’s leadership in the Minority-Association of Pre-Medical Students, where intentional emphasis is placed on encouraging minority students to explore and achieve their career goals. 

“Diverse positions are valuable in the workforce, because sometimes when information is communicated by people who maybe reflect you, or may have faced similar difficulties as you, they can relate more and then they kind of give a higher impact level — and you know how they can help you. And so, I think that that's the biggest thing — is just creating an easy sense of community, if you know you face similar barriers or if you know you'll be facing similar barriers moving forward socially.” 

Huell’s goal of increasing resources available to minority students is further emphasized through his involvement with the College of Sciences Diversity Council, which he was invited to after meeting now-retired Director for Academic Diversity, Keith Oden, at a College of Sciences event. 

In the beginning, Huell notes that the Diversity Council did not include undergraduate students — and he was a part of that first cohort of younger student members. He shares that through the Council, he has appreciated the opportunity to concretely impact diversity and inclusion initiatives to help other students like himself. 

“It's been really good, because I think that it allowed me to see how you can play a role in giving back early — while you're still a student — helping the next on campus, as well as sculpting your own experience through your continued involvement and using your voice.” 

Celebrating Black History Month 

While the spectrum of academics and activities that Huell focuses on are a daily practice in inspiring and helping, he notes that Black History Month is a celebratory marker each year that symbolizes “the progress and inherent improvement that Black people have been able to make and contribute to society despite many barriers they may have faced.” 

“If we're looking at different poets or different writers, they may have been undervalued due to their race,” he notes. “But they keep writing. Or if we look at civil rights leaders, they may have been arrested or beaten, but they keep fighting for equality. So, I think a lot of it is about kind of that perseverance of Black people as a whole — as well as kind of commemorating and honoring a lot of the progress that we've made as a race, especially in the United States." 

Huell says that this year, Black History Month is especially relevant to him as he remembers the deaths of Georgia Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and others that sparked powerful social justice protests and movements last summer and fall. 

“I attended multiple protests in my hometown after we finished finals,” he shares. “And it was really powerful to be out there, and be uniting with other people who you may not know.” 

He adds that every Black History Month, he tries to engage with a different book, documentary, poem, or artwork weekly that was written by a Black author or highlights the history of African Americans in the United States. 

“I actually do enjoy poetry, so I'll read significant Black poets, such as Langston Hughes, to relate the words that they're saying, and their symbolic mechanisms to stuff that's going on now because, well, times have changed, but we still do see some similar struggles. And because we are seeing those things, I think that, largely, a lot of their writings and things are still applicable.” 

He specifically recommends reading Hughes’ “I, Too” and “Mother to Son” poems. 

Huell also encourages people to talk to older Black people in their families and communities to learn about their stories and experiences living through segregation and discrimination.  

Huell says he talked to his grandfather, who lived in Miami, Florida, and learned about the discrimination he faced while purchasing a house decades ago. 

Huell shares that talking to older generations is like “uncovering history.” He adds that he recently learned about the national response to Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1968 death in Memphis, Tennessee through conversations with elders and was surprised that he had never heard about that part of history. Through these talks, he also uncovered more details about his grandfather’s background and personal history. 

A drive to honor the legacy and strength of his family members encourages Huell daily through his activities as a student and leader. He reflects on the support of his parents, teachers, advisors, friends, and mentors with gratitude. 

In the future, Huell hopes to create a network of Black mentors to support pre-med students in their educational careers — just as leaders and friends have supported him. 

“My eventual goal is to create a national network of minority physicians looking to uplift the next generation” of pre-med students, says Huell. “Eighty percent of pre-med students don't go to medical school. And so, there's kind of like a big drop off between being pre-med and then becoming a doctor. You lose a lot of people there, just because classes are hard and it's difficult. I think that it would be good to have, kind of like a constant person you can look to and be like, ‘I can ask them if I need anything, or I can call them and they'll give me advice or we can relate based upon, you know, we both have been through this.’” 

When Zachary Hopton began his first semester at Georgia Tech, he quickly realized that his degree program was going to be a bit atypical. He wanted to find a major with a scientific and technical focus to complement his interests in linguistics, but was unsure what that perfect major would be.  

Initially, Hopton considered majoring in mathematics, computer science, and biochemistry, but none of them felt right for his interests and envisioned career path. 

“I just wanted to figure out what perspective sort of worked for me to look at language at,” shares Hopton. “Eventually, I ended taking a psychology class on human language processing, and I realized it was psychology.” 

In the class taught by Daniel Spieler, associate professor in the School of Psychology, Hopton says that he found himself fascinated with “how our brains have produced language as such an intricate thing that sets us apart from so many other species.”  

The course also included neuroscience, biological, behavioral, and experimental components, which Hopton says showed him that the flexible nature of psychology would make it the best degree for his interests. 

With his major officially declared, Hopton decided to explore research pathways to further enhance his education. Though there were no available undergraduate research opportunities directly related to language and cognition at Georgia Tech, Hopton realized that cognitive psychology research would provide valuable insight to increase his understanding of brain processes. 

“One of the things that interested me in psychology so much was the fact that the biological basis for language was crazy to me,” remembers Hopton. “That applies to other areas of cognition as well, like, memory, retention. The way the brain works is similar, regardless of what area of cognition you’re in. So I figured that was good experience for me to have, even if I changed the exact path later.” 

In his sophomore year, Hopton began research in associate professor Audrey Duarte’s Memory and Aging Laboratory, where EEG (electroencephalogram) and fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) studies are used to analyze behavior. Initially, his responsibilities were largely related to recruiting participants for studies, but as he continued to work in the lab, he began to more actively and deeply engage in research. 

Recently, Hopton joined a team of researchers led by his graduate student mentor, Taylor James, and Duarte on analyzing the ways that depression affects a specific type of memory throughout the lifespan. He helped collect data from hundreds of articles for nearly a year. The research studied specific variables, but instead of getting lost in the details, Hopton learned the importance of analyzing each unique variable. 

“In a clinical setting, for example, that can be the difference between a diagnosis for subthreshold depression for a 50-year-old or maybe some sort of dementia or Alzheimer's,” says Hopton. “Both affect memory, so it’s important to understand if there are differences between them or if depression may be a symptom of early onset dementia.” 

Thoughts on the research encouraged Hopton to ask questions on how his discoveries could relate to public policy, technology development, and public health resources.  

“If we know that one sort of memory works better for older people, then we have to make sure that if we’re teaching them something or giving them some sort of information that’s important, we make it accessible to them,” Hopton explains. “It’s important that we understand the memory loss symptoms that come with depression because we need to make therapies that accommodate that treat the memory — the cognition aspects as well as the emotional parts of depression.” 

These questions and considerations tie into public policy, which Hopton studied in-depth on his spring 2020 exchange semester in Paris, France at Sciences Po, which was compressed due to Covid-19. It was Hopton’s second study abroad program after participating in the French Language, Business, and Technology program. 

In fact, after accumulating enough credits in his French courses, Hopton is now undertaking a second major in Applied Language and Intercultural Studies.  

Hopton shares that while in Paris he truly began to recognize the balance between experimental psychology and humanities, and the relationship that the two disciplines have with each other.  

“For example there was a class I took there on the psychoanalysis of politics,” he says. “That was crazy to me — I never thought about in my life, applying things from clinical psychology — to think about how the government works.” 

During his exchange semester in Paris, Hopton immersed himself in Parisian culture and challenged himself to meet new people. Rather than living with the four Georgia Tech students also studying at Sciences Po, he decided to live with roommates from Chile, Spain, Germany, and Ireland.  

“That was so cool to me, because at Tech I lived in the  International House for most of college, so I’m used to this environment of constantly having other people from different cultures around me. Even just the action of sitting down for breakfast with another person, I end up coming away from it with crazy information about a different place that I’ve never heard of before.” 

In his classes in Paris, the majority of which were taught in French, Hopton noticed that he also had flexibility to customize his studies to his specific interests.  

“The professors were there to guide the conversation, but the majority of the classes that I had at that school were student-led and kind of took on their interests,” remembers Hopton.  

On a typical day of classes, students would begin class with a presentation on an assigned topic. “They were given a topic to present about, and then they went in their direction just with that topic, and then when they finished the professor would lecture for 10 or 30 more minutes and sort of fill in the blanks,” remembers Hopton. 

The class structure surprised Hopton – on the first day of classes, he remembers being unprepared when a professor asked each student to decide on a major project that would determine most of their grade. 

“On the first day of class they assigned everyone their work for all of the semester. I didn’t know that was going to happen, I was looking through the syllabi like 'Oh... I don’t know what this work means but I’ll take it, why not.'” 

And although Hopton had to return home halfway through the semester due to the spread of Covid-19, he says he looks back fondly on his exchange semester. When he returned to Tech, he was warmly welcomed back to his research lab, where he is currently working on his undergraduate thesis. 

Hopton was able to complete that research from home throughout last fall semester. 

“It’s fantastic that I already have this relationship with professors and graduate students, and I’ve been working with this study, and now I can just say, 'Okay, well I’m really interested in this aspect of it, and so I’d like to do these different analyses.'” 

Hopton decided to complete a thesis after advice from James, who shared with Hopton that her thesis allowed her to build important connections with professors and other members of a lab, while also being helpful for graduate school applications. 

“There’s always some sort of variable that’s gone unanalyzed, there's always some sort of different analysis you can do,” Hopton says.  

For his thesis, Hopton is analyzing how built-up memory relates to one’s ability to learn and retain new information, and if the memory process is different for various ages. 

For example, Hopton’s research ponders if a phenomenon, such as seeing an abnormal object in a bathroom, would be difficult or easy to remember. “So if you think about it, you are a person who’s been in a bathroom many times, so you have this built-up knowledge in your memory of what you can see in the bathroom. It wouldn’t be surprising to see a toilet there, a sink, soap, shampoo — but if you were to go into a bathroom and see a blender, that would be really weird. It wouldn’t fit your expectation, based off what you already know. So later on, are you going to remember that the blender was there more than some other thing that belongs in a bathroom, or is it going to be harder to remember because you don’t normally see a blender in a bathroom — so why would you remember that it was there?” asks Hopton. 

This idea was first suggested to him by his graduate student advisor, James, who noticed variables during her research that she thought Hopton might be interested in analyzing. She has continued to support Hopton through the process of research and writing. 

Hopton is also advised by Duarte, who he meets with weekly to discuss his thesis, and who he shares has also been instrumental in his research experience. 

“It’s been nice. She knows me — she knew me before I did my thesis as well,” says Hopton. “And then, now that I’m doing my thesis with her, she provides a lot of intellectual support. She’s very good with explaining how concepts apply and making them relevant to you personally.” 

Hopton also took a behavioral pharmacology course with Duarte, where, on the first day of classes, students were welcomed into the lecture hall by a Gregorian chant playing out of the speakers. 

“The Gregorian chant was because she was explaining the history of pharmacology and she wanted to talk about a nun in the 13th century who did all this research on herbal remedies and their psychoactive properties,” he remembers. “She was also a musician, and Dr. Duarte wanted to play her music for us to tie it in. It was clear when she got up to the podium that she was having a good time and enjoying what she was teaching about — so it was a great class.” 

Along with Duarte and James, Hopton has received support and guidance on his thesis from Spieler and Lelia Glass, assistant professor of Linguistics and coordinator of the Linguistics Program. 

The collaborative nature of his thesis project has allowed Hopton to combine important independent study with advice and support from experienced professors and students. He also appreciates the interdisciplinary nature of his thesis, which was his initial impetus for choosing a degree in psychology. 

Hopton notes that “the interdisciplinary nature of the thesis, for me, is the biggest thing. It’s gotten to bring in neurosciences aspects, behavioral aspects — still psychology, linguistics as well — and I’m using computer science data analysis.” 

After graduation, Hopton says he sees his future taking one of two paths. On one route, he sees himself attending graduate school and working in experimental psychology with a language focus. On the other route, he shares that he is interested in working in public health, particularly the growing field of global mental health.  

But before starting on either of those paths, Hopton plans to spend a year abroad teaching English through a fellowship program and experiencing language development first-hand. 

“I’ve looked at language from this really structural point of view in my linguistics classes, along with a biological and psychological point of view, but I’ve never really had the chance to see how these perspectives can be put to use,” says Hopton. “One field of applied linguistics looks at how people learn a second or third language, and how that changes with age. What better way to learn that than in a classroom helping people learn English.” 

And after his fellowship ends, Hopton hopes that his ultimate career path will be clear. 

“If I get there and I’m like dang, I really miss the scanner, or the MRI machine, then maybe neurolinguistics research is the path I’m meant to go on!” 

The recently announced College of Sciences Strategic Plan: 2021-2030 has three ambitious goals at its foundation, each of which are focused on striving for excellence — in the workplace, in training and education, and in research. A trio of themes connect across the plan’s goals to guide this work and strategy: catalyze discovery and solutions, amplify the College’s impact, and build communities of excellence. Explicit in the strategic plan are expectations and goals to enhance inclusivity, equity, and diversity, especially of underrepresented groups in the College.

In January of this year, the College released a call for proposal submissions that reflect these themes and accomplish these goals. At that time, all students, staff, and faculty in the College’s community were encouraged to work in collaborative and interdisciplinary teams to submit proposals for projects.

Collective funding to achieve the proposals is provided through a generous $300,000 investment by the Betsy Middleton and John Clark Sutherland Dean's Chair. “I can think of no better use of the Sutherland Chair funds than to invest in ideas from our community. I expect this investment to pay dividends in the years ahead,” notes Susan Lozier, College of Sciences Dean and Betsy Middleton and John Clark Sutherland Chair.

“We were gratified to receive a large number of proposals from across the College of Sciences community, including proposals led by students, staff, and faculty,” says Julia Kubanek, Associate Dean for Research in the College of Sciences, and a professor in the School of Biological Sciences and the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. “Each of the strategic plan goals are represented among the proposals we received. All proposals were group efforts, and many represented interests from members of different academic programs and schools within our college. Among the proposals received, members of all six of our schools participated.”

“These projects and programs will lay the groundwork for meeting the goals of our strategic plan,” Kubanek adds. The dozen new projects include team-building efforts for collaborative research, staff professional development, recruitment of underrepresented minorities into academic programs and postdoctoral training, and several other initiatives:

Astrobiology Program
PI (Principal Investigator): Jennifer Glass, associate professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Research (Astrobiology); Communities of Excellence

Center for Microbial Dynamics & Infection Postdoctoral Recruitment Program
Co-PIs: Sam Brown, professor in the School of Biological Sciences and Marvin Whiteley, professor in the School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Tech Bennie H. and Nelson D. Abell Chair in Molecular and Cellular Biology, Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar, and Co-Director, Emory-Children’s CF Center (CF@LANTA)
Research (Microbial Dynamics and Infections); Communities of Excellence; Diversity/Inclusion (Historically Underrepresented Groups)

Deliberate Innovation in Undergraduate Biology
PI: Chrissy Spencer, senior academic professional in the School of Biological Sciences
Education/Training; Amplify Impact

Empowering Strengths-Based College of Sciences Team Members
PI: Christie Stewart, academic professional in the School of Biological Sciences
Communities of Excellence

ENTANGLED (Graduate Students in Quantum Sciences)
PI: Martin Mourigal, associate professor in the School of Physics
Research (Quantum systems); Education/Training; Communities of Excellence

Georgia Tech Summer Research Academy (SRA)
PI: Shania Khatri, undergraduate research assistant and Stamps President's Scholar in the School of Biological Sciences
Education/Training; Undergraduate Recruitment; Communities of Excellence; Diversity/Inclusion

Initiative for Living Dynamic Systems
Co-PIs: Simon Sponberg, Dunn Family Associate Professor of Physics and Biological Sciences and Daniel Goldman, Dunn Family Professor of Physics
Research (Physics of Movement); Growing Faculty Leadership; Communities of Excellence

Strategic Development at the Interface of Human and Environmental Health
Co-PIs: Joshua Weitz, Patton Distinguished Professor in the School of Biological Sciences and co-director of the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Quantitative Biosciences and Greg Gibson, Patton Distinguished Professor in the School of Biological Sciences, Director of the Center for Integrative Genomics, and Genome Analysis core of the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience
Research; Growing Faculty Leadership; Communities of Excellence

Nucleating Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Collaborations in the College of Sciences
PI: Roman Grigoriev, professor in the School of Physics
Research (Data Science); Growing Faculty Leadership; Communities of Excellence

Project Potty Parity
PI: Mike Schatz, interim chair and professor in the School of Physics
Communities of Excellence; Diversity/Inclusion

Staff Advisory Council Strategic Plan Proposal
PI: Kathy Sims, development assistant in the College of Sciences, chair of the College of Sciences Staff Advisory Council, and member of the College of Sciences Task Force for Racial Equity
Communities of Excellence

Urban Heat Islands
PI: Kim Cobb, Georgia Power Chair, ADVANCE Professor, and Director of the Global Change Program at Georgia Tech
Research (Climate science); Education/training; Communities of Excellence; Diversity/Inclusion

Learn more about the College of Sciences Strategic Plan: 2021-2030 and coordinating Implementation Guide.

At the end of every semester at Georgia Tech — after weeks of faculty grading the work of students — the tables are flipped, and students get to evaluate their teachers and their class experiences using the Course Instructor Opinion Survey (CIOS). 

Faculty members with exceptional scores and response rates are presented with the Center for Teaching and Learning’s (CTL) Student Recognition of Excellence in Teaching: Class of 1934 CIOS Award. This year, 40 College of Sciences faculty and instructors are receiving awards and honors for their work from spring through fall 2020 semesters.

The challenges of teaching classes during Covid-19 necessitated a new recognition from the CTL: The Honor Roll, which includes 32 College of Sciences faculty on its inaugural list.

“Teaching during the pandemic has required everyone to pivot to new ways of teaching, and faculty appreciate hearing that students value their efforts,” says Joyce Weinsheimer, CTL director. The criteria for Honor Roll selection are the same as for the Class of 1934 Award.

The following are the College of Sciences faculty named to both the Class of 1934 and Honor Roll Awards (groups broken up into small and large classes): 

Class of 1934 Award

Small Classes

Mirjana Milosevec Brockett, senior academic professional, School of Biological Sciences

Lutz Warnke, assistant professor, School of Mathematics

Large Classes

Hector Daniel Cervantes Banos, postdoctoral researcher, School of Mathematics

Dan Margalit, professor, School of Mathematics

Dobromir Rahnev, assistant professor, School of Psychology

Amit Reddi, associate professor, School of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Carrie Shepler, professor, Director of Instructional Activities and Student Experience, School of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Alonzo Whyte, academic professional, School of Biological Sciences (Neuroscience)

Honor Roll

Small Classes 

School of Biological Sciences — Mirjana Brockett, senior academic professional; Colin Harrison, academic professional

School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences — Heather Chilton, lecturer;  Zachary Handlos, academic professional

School of Mathematics — Lutz Warnke, assistant professor

School of Psychology — Richard Catrambone, professor; Michael Hunter, assistant professor; James Roberts, associate professor

Large Classes 

School of Biological Sciences:

Annalise Paaby, assistant professor; William Ratcliff, associate professor; Raphael Rosenzweig, professor; Emily Weigel, academic professional

School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences:

Samantha Wilson, academic professional

School of Chemistry and Biochemistry:

Meghan Benda, graduate student; Amit Reddi, associate professor; Carrie Shepler, professor, Director of Instructional Activities and Student Experience

School of Mathematics:

Alex Blumenthal, assistant professor; Hector Daniel Cervantes Banos, postdoctoral researcher; Klara Grodzinsky, Director of Teaching Assistants; Miriam Kuzbary, assistant professor; Gary Lavigne, professor; Wenjing Liao, assistant professor; Marissa Loving, postdoctoral researcher; Dan Margalit, professor; Gregory Mayer, Director of Online Learning; Stephanie Reikes, lecturer, Tutoring and Academic Support; Victor Vilaca Da Rocha, assistant professor; Zhiyu Wang, postdoctoral researcher

Neuroscience:

Mary Holder, academic professional; Alonzo Whyte, academic professional

School of Psychology:

Dobromir Rahnev, assistant professor