Denning T&M Annual Report (2022 – 2023)

Executive Summary

The Steven A. Denning Technology & Management (T&M) Program helps create cross-functional leaders in technology and business-related fields by building upon Georgia Tech’s outstanding programs and curriculum. Classes emphasize experiential learning and include hands-on elements, allowing Denning T&M students the opportunity to offer interdisciplinary-team solutions to real-world problems faced by the program’s corporate affiliates.

The Denning T&M Program is open to all Georgia Tech undergraduate students, including the Scheller College of Business, the College of Computing, the College of Engineering, the College of Design, the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, and the College of Sciences.

Business and Engineering students who complete the program earn a 22-credit minor in Engineering & Business. Computer Science and IT Management students earn a minor in Computing & Business. Students from all other colleges earn a minor in Technology & Business.

Vision: To develop a generation of collaborative, professionally adept, ethical, and successful business leaders with an openness to seeking and learning from alternative points of view and with the capability to leverage technology to improve the state of the world.

Mission: To be the flagship interdisciplinary program at Georgia Tech, offering minors at the intersections of technology and business, involving rigorous academic and professional training in collaboration with world-class faculty and corporate partners across a breadth of industries.

There are two sides to the program: students and corporate affiliates, and the five-member T&M faculty/staff team, with the support of our exceptional professors, bridge these two sides. Additionally, as the alumni base expands, the team strives to incorporate them into the program whenever possible.

When it comes to supporting our students, we offer rigorous academic challenges paired with events to encourage their growth as individuals and team members. We categorize our events as career development, corporate partnerships, academic, international, alumni-centered, community building, and administrative

When it comes to establishing and nurturing our corporate partnerships, the T&M Program team works closely with each affiliate to meet their specific innovation and hiring needs. From on-site visits by our Administrative Director and Senior Manager, Corporate Relations & Student Counseling to office takeovers, the T&M career fair, and capstone project development, mentoring, and execution, we listen intently and execute process improvement to benefit affiliates and students alike.

This report includes our curriculum and information on our events to create a broad view of the T&M Program’s opportunities. In addition, it will touch on students, alumni, and corporate affiliates to show the unique ecosystem known across Georgia Tech as one of the exceptional offerings available to undergraduate students.

Leadership Update

Dr. Han Zhang has completed the seventh year of his nine-year term as the Faculty Director of the Steven A. Denning Technology & Management Program. He is a Professor in Information Technology Management (ITM) and the Steven A. Denning Professor of Technology & Management.

Dr. Zhang’s research focuses on the economics of information technology, online trust and reputation, online word-of-mouth, and the evolution of electronic markets. His research on the institutional setup to help small businesses grow in the digital economy has been used as the basis for testimony before the Congressional House Committee on Small Business. He currently serves as a senior editor for MIS Quarterly, a toptier journal in the information systems field and the Editor-in-Chief for Information & Management.

“It is commonly believed and repeatedly shown that human employees can express positive emotion to improve customers’ service evaluations,” said Han Zhang, the Steven A. Denning Professor in Technology & Management. “Our findings suggest that the likelihood of AI’s expression of positive emotion to benefit or hurt service evaluations depends on the type of relationship that customers expect from the service agent.”

The researchers presented their findings in the paper, “Bots With Feelings: Should AI Agents Express Positive Emotion in Customer Service?” in Information Systems Research in December 2022.

Dr. Zhang’s research was also featured in print in The Wall Street Journal.

Faculty, Staff, Student Assistants, and MBA Mentors

The T&M Program staff have been working together under the guidance of Faculty Director Han Zhang for seven years and Administrative Director Bob Burgess for nine years. Sheena Brown (Academic Program Manager) handles all events, student recruiting and attrition, scholarships, and finances. Anne Lynch (Communications Manager) and John Stanford (Senior Manager, Industry Engagement & Student Counseling) partner to coach the students for career success. After offering career guidance, John passes the students back to Anne for writing advice. Between the two of them, the students receive the oneon-one attention needed to excel. John also coordinates all corporate engagement to nurture industry partnerships, while Anne maintains alumni engagement.

Jack Terry, senior undergraduate office assistant, led his peers Mackenzie Czerner, Parker French, JC Hansen, Kylee Johnson, and Sarah Shin as undergraduate office assistants during this academic year Undergraduate assistants run T&M events, answer student questions, and support faculty and staff with projects.

In the spring of 2016, we began an initiative to support our undergraduate students with full-time MBA students. This academic year, Imon Ghosh, Dylan Hutcheson, Clayton Ingalls, Erik Makaroff, Kelly Newman, Colton Orr, Hasan Rashid, and Amada Shojaee, served as MBA Mentors. MBA Mentors worked five hours per week and focused on coaching the teams with their writing, presentations, and business cases.

T&M Faculty and Staff: Sheena Brown, Anne Lynch, John Stanford, Han Zhang, and Bob Burgess

MBA Mentor Team

Capstone Projects for the Class of 2023

Amanda Shojaee & Hasan Rashid Caterpillar, Siemens Advanta, and Southwire

Clayton Ingalls & Erik Makaroff Boeing, Equifax, Naval Nuclear Labs (NNL), and Steelcase

Colton Orr & Kelly Newman Atlanta Braves, NCR, and Novelis

Dylan Hutcheson & Imon Ghosh Georgia-Pacific, MarkeTeam, and risk3sixty

Admissions and Program Statistics

Fifty-five students from the T&M Program Class of 2023 completed minors in either Computing & Business, Engineering & Business, or Technology & Business. In Fall 2023, 60 students in the Class of 2024 will begin the Pre-Capstone class, and 68 students in the newly admitted Class of 2025 will begin classes. The Class of 2025 of 68 students has an average GPA of 3.77 and spans 15 Georgia Tech majors.

 Aerospace Engineering (AE)

 Business Administration (BA)

 IT Management

 Finance

 Marketing

 Strategy & Innovation

 Biomedical Engineering (BME)

 Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (CHBE)

 Computer Engineering (CMPE)

 Computational Media (CM)

 Computer Science (CS)

 Economics

 Industrial Design (ID)

 Industrial Engineering (IE)

 International Affairs & Chinese

 Mechanical Engineering (ME)

 Materials Science Engineering (MSE)

 Physics

 Public Policy

Women students represent 51% of this class, Latino students represent 7%., African American students represent 18%, and students identifying as two or more races represent 15%. We continue to reach out to all Diversity & Inclusion offices across campus to recruit a diverse cohort.

Professor Bob Burgess addressing the incoming Class of 2025.

Additionally, beginning in the fall semester of 2015, the T&M Program has offered “Express Admission” to all incoming Scheller College of Business Dean’s Scholars. Forty-eight Dean’s Scholars have accepted the offer to date. Several students have stated that a key factor in their acceptance of the Scheller Dean’s Scholarship was the fact that they received “Express Admission,” which means they can declare their desire to join the program in their first year without formally applying or interviewing. Those accepting the offered “Express Admission” begin the T&M Program in the fall of their sophomore year.

Lekha Gowda (IT management), Meah Konstanzer (IT management), Kate Moore (strategy & innovation), Vinay Sankar (IT management), Kalieann Wetherington (strategy & innovation), and Caleb Yarbrough (finance).

Demographics by Gender from 2016-2025

Class of 2023 Dean’s Scholars

Male 56%

Female 44%

The percentage of majors and concentrations represented in the T&M Program from the College of Engineering and the Scheller College of Business over the years are found in the graphics below:

Breakdown of College of Engineering Majors from 2010 – 2025

Breakdown of Scheller College of Business Majors from 2010 – 2025

There have been 2,956 applications received up through the Class of 2025, with 919 students accepted into the program.

There have been 799 students accepted through the Class of 2023, with 723 earning one of the three T&M minors.

Ashley Smith (biomedical engineering) and John Igieobo (computer engineering) | Row One: Aboubacar Barrie (marketing), Sheena Brown, Lauren Gordon (marketing), Anne Lynch, and Jacob Keenan (finance); Row Two: John Stanford, Dr. Han Zhang, and Bob Burgess

Enrollment Growth by College through Class of 2025

Class of 2024 Academic Updates

Dr. Eric Overby and Dr. Karthik Ramachandran each taught our first-year students as a cohort, with the year culminating in a poster competition on April 24, 2023. Also, Scheller College majors (that are not ITM majors) take coursework with Dr. David Ku or Dr. John Cressler.

During the second year, pre-capstone and capstone courses permitted virtual meetings during class times when students worked on their projects. This option enabled their corporate sponsors, MBA mentors, faculty, and staff to join their virtual meetings. This enhanced flexibility during capstone project meetings was well-received by all stakeholders.

Dr. Eric Overby teaches Analysis of Emerging Technologies, the first T&M Program cohort course each fall. The students learned a structured approach to analyzing an emerging technology. They applied that approach to several emerging technologies, including those related to artificial intelligence, blockchain technology, energy and transportation technologies, and more.

Dr. Eric Overby teaching.

Dr. Karthik Ramachandran teaches Product Development, the second T&M Program cohort course each spring. The students pushed themselves working with nonprofits, startups, and small businesses, and advanced their product ideas for a successful showcase.

An audience of faculty, staff, students, alumni, and parents voted for the most creative projects and the most likely to have an impact Team PopUp Spaces won “Most Creative Project ” Team Walk Local won “Most Likely to Have Impact.”

Reports from the Future

Dr. Eric Overby and Dr. Karthik Ramachandran partnered with each other this year to conduct a “Reports from the Future Symposium.” Dr. Eric Overby created a hands-on approach to introducing United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to first-year Denning Scholars in the spring semester by challenging them to think about how they would approach fulfilling one of the SDGs in his “Analysis of Emerging Technologies” course.

He asked student teams to choose an SDG that pertains to a specific country, and once the students had selected one of the 17 goals, they conducted an analysis and recorded a podcast of their findings. From there, Dr. Overby chose three teams to present their projects to a panel of judges.

John Stanford, senior manager of corporate relations and student counseling, solicited judges from the T&M Program’s corporate partners, including risk3sixty (Jessica Lucas, Zach Fey, Wright Malone, Phillip Lee, and Mary Kathryn Elliott), MarkeTeam (Sorian Enriquez), Siemens (Enrico Cimador), and Novelis (Zaffer Sange). In addition, Dr. Karthik Ramachandran brought his “Managing Product, Service, and Technology Development” class to watch their peers present.

John Rezabek (mechanical engineering) elaborated: “It was a great experience to work with other T&M students from different backgrounds in reference to the UN’s 6th Sustainable Development Goal of ‘Clean Water and Sanitation.’ To make our reports from a future perspective, we researched existing developments, current plans to move forward with desalination in Israel, and technological developments in the water purification process. From there, we forecasted potential developments that

Team Hobbyist pitches to Dr. Karthik Ramachandran.

would create a view of what 2032 could look like and how to strategically move forward to sustainably maintain and grow the freshwater supply not only in Israel but how it could be applied to similar countries to ensure an ample water supply.”

Rezabek’s teammate Amelia Wetherington (IT management) added, “Working on our presentation for the symposium allowed all of us to dive deep into a topic we wouldn't normally be able to. We were able to use our imagination and make predictive judgments while also combining that with real research and analyses, which was a great learning experience that will come in handy in the future! It was a very cool opportunity to get to present to corporate affiliates on something that could actually make an impact on the world.”

The winning team: “Desalinating Water in Israel.”

The “Best Presentation” award was given to Grace Moussouri (computational media), Amelia Wetherington (IT management), Matthew Walter (mechanical engineering), and John Rezabek (industrial engineering), for their “Desalinating Water in Israel” project.

Student peers also voted on the presentations and conferred the “People’s Choice” award to interdisciplinary team members Matthew Geuss (industrial engineering), Trey Tiffin (strategy and innovation), William Wood (computer science), and Zhiyang Xu (industrial design) on their project, “Educating Refugees in Turkey.”

Rett Moore (industrial engineering), Katie Krupczak (computer science), Jose Santiago-Rios (mechanical engineering), and Katie-Rose Slade (earth and atmospheric sciences) rounded out the evening with their presentation on “Providing Internet Access in Nigeria.”

Team PopUp Spaces – “Most Creative Project”

Rett Moore wrote, “The T&M Product Development class enhanced our ability to define a problem, understand its scope, and develop a viable solution. After conducting over 30 interviews with vendors at the GT Community Market and small business owners around the Metro Atlanta area, we noticed a disparity between the supply and demand of storefront locations. Using the strategies we learned in Karthik’s lectures, we hypothesized that it would be beneficial to pair pop-up businesses with brick-andmortar storefronts to create a symbiotic relationship. We then tested this idea by running a prototype where we hosted a student-owned jewelry business in a gelato shop right next to campus. Our findings validated our idea as we found that both businesses generated a surplus of sales from exposure to the other’s customer base. In addition to creating value for these businesses, we also generated revenue as a platform."

Dr. Han Zhang, Rett Moore (industrial engineering), Katie-Rose Slade (earth and atmospheric sciences), Marina von Behren (finance), Adam Rosen (finance), and Jose Santiago-Rios (mechanical engineering)

Rett Moore pitching PopUp Spaces.

Team Walk Local – “Most Likely to Have an Impact”

Grace Moussouri explained, “Walk Local provides users with a strong sense of safety when walking at night by giving them active control over their walking experience. Over the course of the semester in Project Management and Development, our team researched a user group, finding that 73% of women reported feeling unsafe walking in a new area alone compared to only 15% of men, identified the specific needs of a user group by conducting 28 interviews, strategized the user process to streamline our app’s interface, and prototyped an initial design to determine that the app significantly reduced feelings of unsafety.

Based on this research, Walk Local generates the ideal walking path from one destination to another by using an individual's preferences of lighting, population, and time to optimize the user’s route accordingly. We want this app to provide the information that locals already know, so that users can “be their own local” as they walk in new places!”

First row: Dr. Han Zhang, David Rozen (mechanical engineering), Madeleine O'Byrne (strategy & innovation), and Brianna Ladiero (literature, media, and communication)

Second row: Amelia Wetherington (IT management), Caroline Harpole (biomedical engineering), and Abigail Birkmeier (civil engineering)

Not pictured: Grace Moussouri (computational media)

Team Walk Local with their poster.

Dr. David Ku teaches ME 3141, Cutting-Edge Technologies Seminar, to all business students except those studying IT Management. He summarized this year’s teaching experience in a way that shows how T&M’s student body’s academic backgrounds have expanded. “The student groups keep changing in composition, which means the conversation takes interesting turns. But the Cutting Edge class continues to open the students to new technologies and business opportunities that did not know existed.”

Dr. John D. Cressler, a faculty member from the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, teaches CoE 3002, “Introduction to the Microelectronics and Nanotechnology Revolution,” each fall to the same subset of T&M students.

Scheller Student Features

The Scheller College of Business featured T&M Class of 2023 Lauren Gordon (marketing) after she was named one of Poets&Quants 2023 Best & Brightest Business Majors. They also highlighted T&M Class of 2023 Meah Konstanzer (IT management) and T&M Class of 2022 Isabel Evans (supply chain & operations) in their “Countdown to Commencement” series about Spring 2023 graduates.

Lauren Gordon (marketing)

Lauren was named one of Poets&Quants 2023 Best & Brightest Business Majors. She was a member of the Class of 2023 NCR Corporation capstone team and traveled to Europe for T&M's week-long international experience on energy and energy policy in March. Lauren exemplifies professionalism and brings her intelligence, creativity, and positive outlook to the classroom.

Lauren was voted one of two class speakers by her T&M Class of 2023 peers. She spoke at graduation about her two years in the T&M Program and how her cohort transitioned from hybrid to in-person.

Meah Konstanzer (IT management)

While in T&M, Meah traveled to Europe this March for our international experience focused on energy and energy policy, and she was a vital member of the Steelcase capstone team.

Lauren Gordon

Meah Konstanzer

Isabel Evans

What was your favorite course and what was the biggest insight you gained about business from it?

“My favorite course was Emerging Technologies taken with my T&M cohort. Through this course, I learned how to analyze new technologies and consider what factors could help or hinder their adoption. I enjoyed learning about the technologies themselves and engaging in class discussions.”

Isabel Evans (supply chain & operations)

What was your favorite non-core course?

“My favorite non-core course was Emerging Technologies, which I took with my T&M Program cohort. This class taught me a lot about the cutting-edge technologies that are impacting business today, but my favorite aspect of the course was how it made me much more aware of the impact of technology on the world around me, even in the smallest ways.”

Who was your favorite professor and why?

“Dr. David Ku taught one of my smaller Technology & Management courses, and not only was this one of my favorite classes, but Dr. Ku’s enthusiasm for the subject and compassion for his students made this course a highlight of both the T&M Program and my undergraduate experience. I appreciated how Dr. Ku always encouraged us to engage in unconventional thinking and ask bold questions.”

Did you participate in any hands-on/experiential learning opportunities?

“My capstone project for the T&M Program involved myself and an interdisciplinary team of scholars working directly with one of T&M’s corporate affiliates, Ware2Go, a UPS subsidiary. My team and I were tasked with analyzing, streamlining, and making further suggestions regarding Ware2Go’s customer onboarding process. The 3rd Party Logistics company could increase its profits and decrease strain on its onboarding team by bringing clients onto its platform more rapidly and efficiently. Overall, my capstone project was a fantastic way to culminate my T&M experience, and I am so happy that Tech offers the opportunity to work hands-on with a business and encourages us to explore our field outside the classroom.”

Corporate Statistics

The 2022-23 AY marked the official beginning of the T&M Program’s partnership with MarkeTeam, Novelis, and risk3sixty. We also continued our partnerships with the Atlanta Braves, Boeing, Caterpillar, Equifax, Georgia-Pacific, The Home Depot, Navy Nuclear Labs (NNL), NCR, Siemens, Southwire, and Steelcase for a total of 14 corporate affiliates and 14 capstone projects for the Class of 2023.

Corporate Affiliate History

Corporate Affiliate Guest Speakers

Denning T&M Program students benefited greatly by meeting and speaking with the following corporate executives who served as guest speakers in Dr. Overby’s and Dr. Ramachandran’s classes this year.

Paul Burke, Vice President of Product Development

Home Depot

Home Depot

Carly Westcott, Senior Director – Divisional Merchandising Manager – Private Brands

risk3sixty

Christian Hyatt, CEO & Co-Founder

risk3sixty

Jessica Lucas, Director of Talent and Culture

risk3sixty

Sawyer Miller, Director, ISO/SOC Practice Leader

risk3sixty

Mary Kathryn Radivoj, Senior Associate

Southwire Spark

Angela Badheka, Project Manager

Southwire Spark

Alex Bunda, Director of Innovation

Southwire

Eliott Gardy, Venture Analyst

Southwire

Maegan Sherrill, Portfolio Development Manager

Salary Statistics

Across the board, students who graduate from Georgia Tech with one of our three minors realize a financial benefit in their starting salary. The graph below illustrates the differences across the five colleges for alumni starting full-time jobs in the summer of 2022. We used a two-year average median to account for anomalies in salary data. Also, the average hourly rate for T&M students interning during the summer of 2023 was $31/hour.

Lindsey Nicholas (computer science) announcing her full-time position as a Cybersecurity Consultant at one of our newest partners, risk3sixty.

Oliver Whitehead (mechanical engineering) announcing his full-time position as a Structural Analysis Engineer at Boeing.

Katie-Rose Slade (earth and atmospheric sciences) and Sheila Trinh (operations & supply chain) posing with Buzz at an NCR event. They are both NCR interns this summer.

Student Employment with Corporate Affiliates

The Denning T&M Program is pleased to report that four students worked for T&M corporate affiliates during the academic year, and 31 are currently working in a summer internship. In addition, three students started a full-time position with a corporate affiliate in 2023.

BOEING

CATERPILLAR

GEORGIA-PACIFIC

NCR

NCR

RISK3SIXTY

SIEMENS

SOUTHWIRE SPARK

THE HOME DEPOT

T&M Events by Category

As mentioned in the Executive Summary, we categorize our events as career development, corporate partnerships, academic, international, alumni-centered, community building, and administrative. This section will elaborate on these events to allow the reader to see how the Denning T&M Program supports its students and corporate partners across multiple dimensions.

Career Development Events

When it comes to career development, T&M strives to provide as many hands-on workshops and events as possible to allow students to practice their communication skills frequently. The students consistently

Name Major T&M Cohort Type

Margaret Anne Coleman Industrial Engineering 2025 Summer Internship

Diego Garcia (mechanical engineering) interning at Caterpillar in 2022. After a successful internship, Diego was hired by Caterpillar for a full-time role beginning in 2023.

refine their elevator pitches and conversation skills to build confidence for competitive interviews and public speaking opportunities by consistently interacting with our corporate affiliates.

Each student starts off their T&M tenure with an official headshot in business formal to use on their LinkedIn profile. They also participate in a rigorous resume review with Communications Manager Anne Lynch to stand out amongst their peers when it comes to clarity, keyword optimization, formatting, and intrigue. All students, current and on-campus alumni, are eligible to be included in a bound resume book that corporate affiliates await every fall at the Corporate Affiliate Job Fair.

At the Fall 2022 Corporate Affiliate Job Fair, Senior Manager, Corporate Relations & Student Counseling John Stanford welcomed affiliates while setting up their tables in the Kendeda Building. Over the course of the event, 120 students across 24 disciplines met with recruiters to explore internship and full-time positions.

In attendance were the Atlanta Braves, Boeing, Caterpillar Inc., Equifax, Georgia-Pacific LLC, The Home Depot, Naval Nuclear Laboratory (FMP), US Navy, NCR Corporation, risk3sixty, Rockwell Automation, Southwire Company, and Steelcase. Most notable was the strong T&M alumni presence representing corporate affiliates.

Jamison Porter Georgia-Pacific

Michelle Voykovic Georgia-Pacific

Victoria Massaro Equifax

Carly Schmitt Equifax

Ford Coleman NCR

Kate Groce NCR

Clare Thanner NCR

Liz Welsko NCR

Anneliese Leach Rockwell Automation

T&M 2016 industrial engineering

T&M 2020 operations & supply chain

T&M 2020 international affairs and modern languages

T&M 2020 economics and international affairs

T&M 2020 strategy & innovation

T&M 2021 literature, media, and communication

T&M 2020 finance

T&M 2021 history, technology, and society

T&M 2020 biomedical engineering

Vikas Muralidharan’s LinkedIn profile showcasing his T&M headshot

John Stanford and Anne Lynch with alumni corporate partners. | Aboubacar (marketing) and Sheila Trinh (operations and supply chain)

Jared Abrahamian (architecture) speaking to Edward Vander Bilt (Steelcase). | Kareena Kumar (strategy & innovation) and Maddie Poch (IT management)

David Rozen (mechanical engineering) speaking to Ronnie Hudson II (Caterpillar). | Jacob Mazzei and Maegan Sherrill (Southwire Spark) and Haley Gruensfelder (industrial design).

Anthony Bizores (biomedical engineering) speaking with an NCR representative. | Margaret Anne Coleman (industrial engineering), Matthew Walter (mechanical engineering), and Robert McDonald (computer science).

During the job fair, our students pitch themselves to prospective employers and capstone project sponsors. In the more intimate setting of the T&M Suite, John Stanford and Sheena Brown host office takeovers. These events last from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm and allow the companies to pitch themselves to our students. Students enjoy these informal events where they can learn more about the company culture while practicing their business conversation skills.

August 29, 2022 The Home Depot

September 7, 2022 risk3sixty

September 8, 2022 Caterpillar

September 9, 2022 Boeing Breakfast with Rob Stoker

September 15, 2022 Boeing IT

September 16, 2022 Georgia-Pacific

Office Takeover Schedule

Nicholas Harris (computer engineering) and Nick Eliacin (computer science) speaking with a Boeing representative.

Todd Schleicher (T&M 2019, industrial engineering) and T.J Capaldi (T&M 2013, computer science) from The Home Depot talk to students.

Todd Schleicher (T&M 2019, industrial engineering) and T.J Capaldi (T&M 2013, computer science) from The Home Depot talk to students.

risk3sixty Office Takeover Panel

Jessica Lucas, Sawyer Miller (T&M 2013, IT management), Wright Malone, John Stanford, and Mary Katheryn Radivoj (T&M 2017, IT management).

Tony Agusti, Wama Gbetibouo (T&M 2017, mechanical engineering), and Derrek Sack represent Caterpillar at the office takeover. They are talking with Guy Broome (computer science) and Aiden Liu (computer science).

Jamison Porter (T&M 2016, industrial engineering), Carrie Shapiro, and Michelle Voykovic (T&M 2020, operations & supply chain) represent Georgia-Pacific while talking with Julia Neagu (finance).

Additional workshops allow T&M students to stand apart from their contemporaries. This year we hosted two Business Etiquette Dinners, two Dress for Success workshops, two LinkedIn workshops, and multiple resume writing workshops.

In January 2023, Peggy Parks, CEO of Parks Image Group, led two etiquette dinners for the Class of 2024. For the second dinner, we invited alumni guests so that they could add their perspective regarding dining and socializing at work events. That change proved fruitful with increased interaction, so we will continue it next year. Additionally, Anne Lynch assisted Ms. Parks by eating underneath a camera to demonstrate proper dining techniques.

Anne Lynch and Peggy Parks | Anne Lynch with alumni attendees Chris Sewell (T&M 2020, IT management), Stebin Philip (T&M 2014, mechanical engineering), Karli Stites (T&M 2018, computer science), Laura McCray Dunigan (T&M 2017, operations & supply chain), and William Courrèges-Clercq (T&M 2017, operations & supply chain).

Salad course.

Peggy Parks teaching.

Guy Broome (computer science), Sheila Trinh (operations & supply chain), Maddie Poch (IT management), Angelica Fernandez (IT management), and Alice Xu (industrial design).

In April, the T&M Program students who will begin coursework in the upcoming fall semester are provided a Dress for Success Workshop taught by Nicole Guerrero and Lester McCarter. Students chose which workshop to attend but both prepared students to dress professionally for interviews and important corporate events.

Lester’s workshop focused on more masculine styles of dressing and included how to tie a ties and project confidence with body language Nicole taught about more feminine-style clothing and how to stay authentic within the confines of business formal, business casual, and casual in the workplace.

Capstone Events

Before the academic year begins, corporate sponsors solidify their capstone project and start refining it if needed with the T&M team. About one month into the semester, September pre-capstone class sessions are reserved for affiliates to give their capstone project pitches. Most students have already met the speaker at an office takeover, making it easier for them to envision themselves working alongside the project lead for six months. The capstone project pitches also allow affiliates to get feedback in the form of the Q&A session on how our interdisciplinary students would propose tackling

Workshop Leaders Nicole Guerrero and Lester McCarter.

their problem. We revealed the groups at the Georgia Tech ropes course, and teams tackled the challenges together. In many cases, they were joined on the ropes by one of their sponsors.

Rob Stoker delivering the Boeing pitch to the Class of 2023

The Atlanta Braves capstone team | The Boeing capstone team

The Caterpillar capstone team | The Equifax capstone team

The Georgia-Pacific capstone team | The MarkeTeam capstone team

#TonySelfie | The NCR capstone team

Apis Cor is a company pioneering automation machinery manufacturing for construction 3D printing solutions to battle the housing crisis. The team learned more about the company’s past projects, including a project with the Dubai Municipality that earned the Guinness Book World Record for the world’s largest 3D printed building on earth. The team will continue to work with Caterpillar and deliver a final presentation about the additive construction industry and marketplace applications for the relevant stakeholders. Finally, a special thanks to sponsors Tazio Grivetti and Tony Agusti for your continued support.

The Novelis capstone team | The risk3sixty capstone team | The Steelcase capstone team

The Siemens Advanta capstone team | The Southwire capstone team

The Caterpillar Inc. capstone team took a trip to visit Apis Cor in Melbourne, Florida. The team met with Anna Cheniuntai (CEO) to discuss the future of 3D Printable Construction Technology.

The Boeing capstone team visited Boeing South Carolina, the company's second 787 Dreamliner final assembly and delivery factory. While there, they met with their project sponsor Ryan Kerns, a Propulsions Load Analysis Engineer who graduated from the T&M Program in 2014.

The Caterpillar capstone team: Jacob Keenan (finance), Samruddhi Panse (industrial engineering), Elizaveta Egorova (industrial design) and Alexander Barton (finance).

The Boeing capstone team: Joseph Rouse (aerospace engineering), Kasra Sohrab (computer science), Aravind Ganesan (environmental engineering), Adam Poteet (IT management), and their sponsor Ryan Kerns (T&M 2014, mechanical engineering).

The Class of 2023 Capstone “Draft” Board

Class of 2023

Corporate affiliates remain involved throughout the year as they interact with their capstone team and the T&M staff. In April, capstone students presented their findings in-person or over video conferencing platforms One of more T&M staff members attended the 14 final presentations to the corporate sponsors and fellow executives.

Corporate Partnership and Academic Events

Understandably, career development, corporate partnership, and academic events overlap as these categories are interdependent. In fact, that’s what makes the Denning Technology & Management Program so unique. However, there are some events solely for our corporate affiliates to make sure they are getting the most of their sponsorship. In the summer, our Administrative Director Bob Burgess and our Senior Manager, Corporate Relations and Student Counseling John Stanford conduct their Summer Tour, where they connect with as many affiliates as possible. They discuss best practices, potential capstone projects, and meet new employees that may begin working with the T&M Program at these meetings. The Summer Tour is a great way to learn more about the company culture as well.

Commencement

On Monday, April 24, 2023, all Class of 2023 T&M students met at the Academy of Medicine for their Commencement ceremony. The Class of 2023 nominated two Class Speakers, and Bob Burgess announced awards for students of the year and best capstone project as well as best capstone presentation. All other award winners are listed in the “Denning Awards” section.

Dr. Han Zhang with class speakers Lauren Gordon (marketing) and Aboubacar Barrie (marketing).

Aboubacar Barrie and Lauren Gordon addressing their peers.

Faculty Director Dr. Han Zhang speaking to the Class of 2023.

Administrative Director Bob Burgess addressing the Class of 2023.

Class of 2023 graduates

Corporate Advisory Panel Meeting

We held our Corporate Advisory Panel Meeting at Top Golf so that affiliates could meet with each other as well as the T&M faculty and staff. At this end-of-year meeting, affiliates looked back over the year and offered advice on continuing to improve the program. They were also joined by T&M alumnus D’Andre Waller (T&M 2017, mechanical engineering) who got to chat with his capstone sponsor Tony Agusti from CAT.

International Events

After a four-year hiatus, we reinstated our International Experience in March 2023. Our trip was based in Brussels, Belgium, and we traveled with four staff and 38 students to Bruges, Belgium, Paris, France, Amsterdam, The Netherlands to study energy and energy policy. We conducted a similar trip in 2015, so it was eye-opening to learn how the political climate has changed the world’s approach to energy.

The T&M Program has enabled 261 students to have an International Experience while an undergraduate student. Many students have commented that they would have missed out on the opportunity to study abroad if not for the “Spring Break travel structure” and the fact that the T&M Program subsidizes the cost of the trip.

John Stanford, D’Andre Waller, and Tony Agusti Corporate affiliates with T&M faculty and staff.

Hong Kong and Shenzhen, China "A Tale of Two Cities: Hong Kong and Shenzhen, China"

International Experience History

Day One

We kicked off our 2023 International Experience with International Study Programs on Saturday, March 18, with a walking tour of Brussels, Belgium. Over the next week, thirty-eight Denning Scholars learned about energy and energy policy. The trip was based in Brussels, with travel to Bruges, Paris, Antwerp, and Amsterdam.

T&M students in Brussels.

Day Two

Day Two brought us to Bruges, Belgium for a cultural walking tour by Andrée Jacquet.

Day Three

T&M heard from guest speakers Nicolas de la Vega and Anna Spoden from EUREC - The Association of European Renewable Energy Research Centres, who gave our students a comprehensive overview of the EU's strategies for scaling up renewables by 2030 and achieving carbon net zero by 2050. We appreciated your expertise and answers to such a variety of student questions at today's lecture hosted at Press Club Brussels Europe.

Jacob Keenan (finance) and Tyler Smith (civil engineering) | Lekha Gowda (IT management), Shumraze Fawad (industrial engineering), Meah Konstanzer (IT management), and Lauren Gordon (marketing). | Bob Burgess, Anne Lynch, John Stanford, and Sheena Brown.

Nicolas de la Vega and Anna Spoden from EUREC - The Association of European Renewable Energy Research Centres

Day Four

T&M headed to Paris bright and early this morning to learn about the latest trends in nuclear energy from EDF, the world leader in low-carbon energy. Herve Maillart (Head Coordinator of French Nuclear Industry) and Herve de Tremiolles (French Nuclear Supply-Chain Development) were generous with their time and expertise and stayed longer to answer student questions. EDF is “shaping a net-zero future with state-of-the-art generation III+ nuclear technologies and services.” Our students were grateful for this informative visit with industry leaders.

We spent the afternoon and evening of Day Four touring Paris, France. We enjoyed lunch near the Louvre and then walked through the Tuileries Garden. We hopped back on the bus to take pictures

Katie Krupczak (major) | Herve Maillart | Herve de Tremiolles speaking to T&M students.

T&M at EDF.

with the Eiffel Tower, and then saw Napolean’s burial site at Les Invalides. Our final stop was Montmartre where we climbed 222 steps to reach Sacre-Coeur at the top.

Students at various tourist sites.

Students in front of Musée de l'Armée. | Ari Shalom (electrical engineering) and Jared Abrahamian (architecture)

Day Five

“Port of Antwerp-Bruges’s International Development Manager, Wim Dillen disclosed the importance of having sustainable operations and supply chain strategies. The Port of Antwerp-Bruges is the number one exporter in Europe, where its main business is with the chemical industry. Knowing this, Port of Antwerp-Bruges understands that to have a more sustainable future, they must lead by example and start from their own business. The port receives power from the 90+ wind turbines it houses and constantly implements more green areas in the community. Dillen also talked about how emerging technologies such as virtual reality and automation are critical for a successful and efficient operation."

- Sheila Trinh (operations and supply chain management)

While speaking with Dillen, we met in the Port Authority building designed by the world-renowned IraqiBritish architect Zaha Hadid where we had a view of the wind turbines, shipping containers, and port activity.

Students posing in the train station. | T&M at the Eiffel Tower.

Wim Dillen | Port of Antwerp-Bruges | Bob Burgess

Day Six

On Thursday, March 23, 2023, we traveled to Amsterdam to hear from Parsia Tayyebi the global head of digital & CX at E.ON Drive Germany and tour the historical city center.

"Our discussion with Parsia Tayyebi, the global head of digital & CX at E.ON Drive Germany was an incredible experience as we delved deep into the intricacies of the company's cutting-edge digital strategy development and the revolutionary reorganization of its hierarchical structure. The insightful conversation was truly enlightening, and we were amazed by the innovative approaches employed by E.ON Drive to stay ahead in the ever-evolving tech and energy landscape." -

Haley Gruensfelder

(industrial design)

We enjoyed a candle-lit lunch at Restaurant-Café In de Waag, which is located in an old city gate, named the St. Anthonis gate. This monument was built between 1425-1488, and functioned as a city gate and later as a “Waag”(weighing house).

Group tours in Amsterdam are capped at 15, so we split into three groups to learn more about the history, culture, and architecture of Amsterdam. While staying alert to the bicyclists zooming by from all directions, we wound past canals and over bridges. In the evening, we met at Amsterdam-Centraal and took the train back to Brussels.

Students enjoying the view from the Port of Antwerp-Bruges

Students listening to Parsia Tayyebi.

Students in front of one of Amsterdam’s canals.

Day Seven

Thanks to Dean Bruno van Pottelsberghe, Professor Arnaud Devleeschauwer, and the students from the AMISM - SBS Advanced Master in Innovation & Strategic Management, T&M students had a great day at the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management. The Dean welcomed us and then we heard a thorough and lively lecture from Professor Devleeschauwer summarizing our European week regarding energy policy and its complexity.

Next, the students split into eight groups, with representatives from both universities in each group. After three hours of diligence, each team delivered presentations on their assigned energy policy topics.

Denning Scholar John Rezabek (industrial engineering) wrote, “We got to work alongside Masters students from Solvay’s School of Economics and Management in teams to research how the EU and US are implementing sustainable practices and policies. From there, we researched future forecasts of the impacts of these developments and policies and ultimately presented our findings at the end of the day. It was an amazing experience to see the unique perspectives that these international students had, and I enjoyed learning about Belgian academic and social culture from a firsthand perspective.”

It was a memorable day of intercultural “speed learning,” thanks to Dean van Pottelsberghe, Professor Devleeschauwer, Sirine Bassalah, Anne Georges, Robert Burgess, Anne Lynch, MFA, Sheena Brown, Adela Kutalkova, and Zuzana Bayerova.

Dean Bruno van Pottelsberghe | Professor Arnaud Devleeschauwer

AMISM - SBS Advanced Master in Innovation & Strategic Management and T&M Program students

Alumni Events, Involvement, and Accomplishments

Anne Lynch serves as our alumni engagement manager. She met with several alumni for one-on-one meetings, invited them to student workshops, and facilitated two office takeovers. She also hosted an Atlanta reunion on June 21, 2023, at Torched Hop Brewing. John Stanford, Senior Manager, Industry

Rett Moore (industrial engineering) and Shumraze Fawad Moore (industrial engineering) | John Rezabek (industrial engineering) presenting.

Engagement & Student Counseling, also maintained open communication with alumni during the past year and focused his efforts on alumni working for corporate affiliates. Additionally, alumni critiqued midterm presentations for the Class of 2023 capstone teams.

Anne Lynch with Andrew Vaziri (T&M Class of 2012) for his BeReal post. | Anne Lynch with Indra Sofian (T&M Class of 2017).

Anne Lynch, Dorrier Coleman (T&M 2015, computer engineering), John Stanford, and Bob Burgess.

Anne Lynch and Niki Lewis (T&M 2017, industrial engineering) | Anne Lynch and Kelly Albano (T&M 2016, IT management)

Alumni and staff at Summer 2023 Alumni Reunion.

Alumni and guest at Summer 2023 Alumni Reunion including Dr. Eric Overby in the bottom left and Tony Agusti (Caterpillar) in the bottom right.

Alumni at Summer 2023 Alumni Reunion.

This year, all capstone teams created midterm presentation videos. We then solicited alumni to critique a subset of these presentations that were approved for sharing by the corporate affiliates. Fifty-three alumni T&M Program alumni gave a total of 62 detailed critiques on the T&M Class of 2023’s midterm presentations. They also offered to meet with current students to expand on their advice. Our Denning Scholars took their projects and presentations to the next level with their expertise. We are continually impressed by our community’s generosity.

T&M Class of 2011: Hari Gopal and Gennadiy Gurevich

T&M Class of 2012: Michael Tribo

T&M Class of 2013: T.J. Capaldi

T&M Class of 2014: Jimmy Micali and Alexandra Staver

T&M Class of 2015: Alexei Nikonovich-Kahn

T&M Class of 2016: James Mateyk

T&M Class of 2017: Marguerite Bernard, Ari Bleemer, Chelsi Cocking, William Courrèges-Clercq, Megan Emery, Chris Healy, Olivia Jagiella-Lodise, Niki Lewis, and Chris Lung

T&M Class of 2018: Amir Bouhafs, Timothy Donohue, Connie Huang, Richard Huckaby, Kesha Kanakiya, Rishi Patel, Sarah Selim, and James Westbrooks

T&M Class of 2019: Christina Darland and Jeremy DiBattista

T&M Class of 2020: Kiran Gite, Pierce Heintzelman, Tina Lu, Mitch McCurry, Connor Meeds, Venkatesh Muppaneni, Lucas Nativio, Nikita Rajput, and Giancarlo Vargas

T&M Class of 2021: Katie Anderson, Miguel Bethancourt, Valeria Boesch Neira, Ross Cefalu, Emily Salmond, and Ashlyn Sasser

T&M Class of 2022: Matthew DoVale, Carter Hebert, Stephen Hellier, Alex Langan, George Missailidis, Jennifer O'Brien, Grace Pfohl, Derek Prusener, Zach Sewell, Tyler Smith, and Oliver Whitehead

Atlanta Braves Waste reduc�on.

Boeing Design - IT system con�nuity.

Caterpillar Inves�gate 3D prin�ng for construc�on industries, app development.

Georgia-Pacific Railroad logis�cs - Future Visioning for ESG goals.

MarkeTeam Data, Salesforce app for donor predic�ve atributes.

NCR Future vision for restaurant kitchens.

Novelis Gamifica�on app for recycling.

risk3sixty Help quan�fy risks to drive decision making.

Siemens Advanta How can we use the Metaverse to drive Sustainability with our clients?

Southwire Spark How will future energy genera�on meet future energy demand?

Team descriptions for alumni feedback on their midterm capstone presentations.

Fifty-three alumni volunteered to critique midterm presentations.

Our alumni are pursuing higher degrees and we wanted to recognize three alumni who graduated from MIT’s Leaders for Global Operations program together. In June 2023, Max Tanski (T&M 2013, industrial engineering), Allison Smedberg (T&M 2014, mechanical engineering), and Justin Jiang (T&M 2013, electrical engineering) all graduated from MIT. Justin wrote, “LGO is a two-year, dual degree program where we received an MBA from MIT Sloan and a Master of Science in Engineering from MIT. We graduated as part of the Class of 2023, and it was great to have the academic foundation and network of T&M to bring to business school!”

This year, two of our alumni also graduated with their MBA from the Harvard Business School in June. Chris Healy (T&M 2017, mechanical engineering) and Ben Ibach (T&M 2018, materials science engineering) earned their MBAs alongside each other as members of Section D at HBS.

Max Tanski, Allison Smedberg, and Justin Jiang Chris Healy and Ben Ibach

Class of 2022 alumnus Sid Balaga (operations & supply chain) stopped by the Denning House while touring the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He plans to apply and was inspired by our benefactor Mr. Denning’s contribution to both Georgia Tech and Stanford.

The Atlanta Journal of Constitution featured a photo of Alex Grady (T&M 2018, mechanical engineering) adjusting his younger brother Louis Grady’s (T&M 2021, mechanical engineering) Georgia Tech graduation robe. Alongside their more traditional careers, the Grady brothers started a company called Gradyent Brothers LLC where they offer personal and professional branding services.

T&M alumni live worldwide as evidenced through this candid photo of Niki Lewis (T&M 2017, industrial engineering) and Alex Berry (T&M Class of 2018, industrial engineering). The two connected in Tokyo, Japan, while Alex was on a business practicum for University of California, Berkeley HAAS School of Business where he serves as the President of the MBA Association.

Alumni LinkedIn Initiative

In June 2019, we created a Higher Education page on LinkedIn for the Denning Technology & Management Program to post public content about our program, students, corporate affiliates, and alumni. Most importantly, our 723 alumni can add the T&M Program under their LinkedIn Education section to officially list the

Sid Balaga at the Denning House. Alex Grady and his younger brother Louis Grady.

minor they earned at Georgia Tech. Once added, alumni become searchable in a directory based on location, company, career field, major, and skillset. This directory can also be queried by keyword to find alumni with expertise in anything from machine learning to corporate finance to diversity and inclusion. There are currently 667 registered alumni, a 92% participation rate. We also have 1,866 LinkedIn page followers

Students, alumni, corporate affiliates, and headhunters can use the alumni directory to find experts, future colleagues, mentors, speakers, and former classmates. Current students have used the directory to reach out to alumni who worked at their target companies, navigated being an F-1 visa holder, and asked for advice on pursuing an MBA. Alumni have used the directory to reconnect with former classmates and look for a new job. And corporate affiliates can now easily target alumni for recruitment. It has also facilitated city-specific alumni networking.

The T&M Program’s dynamic public presence on LinkedIn enables connectivity and relationships in a way that wasn’t possible before. These relationships have the potential to drive innovation, build community, and impact future income. You can access the page at:

https://www.linkedin.com/school/denning-technology-management-program.

Banner for public LinkedIn group featuring T&M students with Shenzhen University students.

With the T&M LinkedIn page, we can post public content about our program, students, corporate affiliates, and alumni. Additionally, we partner with the Scheller College of Business to amplify their LinkedIn content through our audience.

Community Building Events

The T&M Program understands that a strong community fosters academic success and future alumni engagement. When the opportunity presents itself and the student interest is there, the program has financially backed additional opportunities for our scholars. Over the last year, we sponsored the Ideas to Serve showcase through the Institute for Leadership and Social Impact. Ideas to Serve allows Georgia Tech students to focus on community collaborations and promotes an in-depth understanding of social and environmental issues.

Administrative Events

Lastly, when running the T&M Program, certain administrative events allow us to recruit potential students, welcome the newly admitted students, help students build community, and then celebrate our program’s graduates

The academic year kicked off with the Fall Orientation in August for both the Class of 2023 and the Class of 2024 At this event, our photographer Danny Acres took each new student’s official T&M headshot.

On September 26, 2022, we hosted a Prospective Student Information Session just prior to the beginning of the application period, which begins October 1st and ends at exactly 11:59 pm on October 31 every year. Administrative Director Bob Burgess kicked off the meeting and then turned it over to a student-run panel, all from the Class of 2023 (see table below). Over 200 prospective students attended.

Diego Garcia TOPIC#7-Internships Opportunities

John Igieobo

Mechanical Engineering

TOPIC#1-Corporate Affiliates & Exposure/Networking Computer Engineering

Sabrina Panlaqui TOPIC#12-Why T&M Aerospace Engineering major Ira Sabnis TOPIC#12-Why T&M Business (ITM)

Ashley Smith

Kasra Sohrab

Sarah Yang

TOPIC#9-Learning to think like a Businessperson Biomedical Engineering

TOPIC#9-Learning to think like a Businessperson Computer Science

TOPIC#9-Learning to think like a Businessperson Biomedical engineering

Caleb Yarbrough TOPIC#5-Curriculum (e.g., ME 2110) Finance

On March 6, 2023, after admissions decisions had been made, we hosted an in-person Orientation and Welcome event to introduce the newest students from the Class of 2025 to each other and the corporate affiliates. We gathered in the Tech Square Research Building, and students met with corporate affiliates in 15-minute segments. Before the event concluded, students could mingle freely to talk to affiliates they hadn’t met yet.

Denning Awards

Class of 2023 Capstone Project of the Year 1st Place: Caterpillar won based on the criteria of milestone completion and quality, feedback from corporate sponsors, and teamwork.

Class of 2023 Capstone Project of the Year 2nd Place: Boeing won based on the criteria of milestone completion and quality, feedback from corporate sponsors, and teamwork.

Class of 2023 Capstone Presentation of the Year 1st Place: This year, the Atlanta Braves won for their outstanding work on their capstone presentation.

Class of 2023 Capstone Presentation of the Year 2nd Place: Georgia-Pacific won second place for their outstanding work on their capstone presentation.

Class of 2023 Students of the Year Awards:

This year, we are proud to recognize five students with the “Class of 2023 Student of the Year” award. These students were chosen based on nominations from corporate affiliates, with final decisions based on T&M faculty and staff consensus deliberations.

Dr. Han Zhang,

(computer science, Boeing capstone team), Alexander Barton (finance, Caterpillar Inc. capstone team), Justin Kaplin (industrial engineering, Georgia-Pacific LLC capstone team), Sofia Laskowski (IT management, risk3sixty capstone team), and Malia Yuhl (biomedical engineering, NCR Corporation capstone team).

Kasra Sohrab

Class of 2023 Presenters of the Year Awards:

This year, we are proud to recognize three students with the “Class of 2023 Presenter of the Year” award. These students were chosen based on nominations from corporate affiliates, with final decisions based on T&M faculty and staff consensus deliberations.

Class of 2024 Student of the Year Award:

The Class of 2024 student of the year award was based on nominations from your professors, with final decisions based on consensus deliberations by T&M faculty and staff. Guy Broome (computer science) was selected from an impressive pool of 11other distinguished nominees.

Dr. Han Zhang, Pearson Rackley (civil engineering, Atlanta Braves capstone team), Adam Poteet (IT management, Boeing capstone team), and Annie Weber (leadership & organizational change, Novelis capstone team).

The distinguished nominees were Jared Abrahamian (architecture), William David Gomez (strategy & innovation), Haley Gruensfelder (industrial design), Agha Yusuf Khan (strategy & innovation), Katie Krupczak (computer science), Rett Moore (industrial engineering), Drew Mulcay (mechanical engineering), Julia Neagu (finance), Sheila Trinh (operations & supply chain management), Marina von Behren (finance), and Carolyn Yuan (computer science).

Scholarships

Robert L. Branner, Jr. Scholarship: The Robert L. Branner, Jr. Scholarship Endowment Fund was established in 2011 to be awarded to students who have been selected to participate in the Steven A. Denning Technology & Management Program.

Denning Technology & Management Program Scholarship: The Denning Technology & Management Program Scholarship was established to support Denning T&M Program students who do not qualify for the other more specific scholarships.

Robert Burgess, Guy Broome (computer science), and Dr. Han Zhang. | Dr. Han Zhang and nominees before Guy Broome was announced as the “Class of 2024 Student of the Year.”

Zach Jimenez (strategy & innovation)

Lonnie A. “Aubry” Holland Technology & Management Scholarship and Holland-Roller Scholarship: Aubry Holland was the founder of the Holland-Underwood Foundation, and this scholarship is in his memory. The Holland-Roller Endowment Fund was established by the donor for Denning T&M undergraduate College of Engineering students at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The scholarship is in memory of L. Aubry Holland, ME 1937 (1915-2003).

Brianna (Bri) Ladiero (literature, media, and communication)

Akash Mahesh (computer science)

Wesley O’Hara (computer science)

Akhil Potturi (computer science)

Carolyn Yuan (computer science)

Aboubacar Barrie (marketing)

Margaret Anne Coleman (industrial engineering)

Miguel Daly (mechanical engineering)

Aravind Ganesan (environmental engineering)

Matthew Geuss (industrial engineering)

Ibukunola Jaiyesimi (industrial engineering)

David Rozen (mechanical engineering)

Jayce Schwartz (biomedical engineering)

Ashley Smith (biomedical engineering)

Laughter Scholarship: The Laughter Scholarship Endowment Fund was established by the donor to be awarded to Aerospace Engineering undergraduate students at the Georgia Institute of Technology who have been selected to participate in the Steven A. Denning Technology & Management Program.

McConnell Family Scholarship: The McConnell Family Endowment Fund was established by the donor in memory of his father, Turner Lawson McConnell, COM 1928, and in honor of his wife, Patricia W. McConnell, daughter Kathleen McConnell Korotzer, and son Lawson Jackson McConnell, Jr. MGT 1988. We look forward to awarding McConnell Family Scholarships during the next academic year.

Judy D. and Stephen P. Zelnak Jr. Denning Technology & Management Program Scholarship: The scholarship endowment fund was established by the donor Stephen P. Zelnak, Jr., IM 1969, to be awarded to students who have been selected to participate in the Steven A. Denning Technology & Management Program.

Sheila Trinh (operations & supply chain)

Sabrina Panlaqui (aerospace engineering)

William David Gomez (strategy & innovation)

Shahm Hemani (finance)

Jacob Keenan (finance)

Sheila Trinh (operations & supply chain)

Class of 2023 Capstone Projects

The backbone of the Denning T&M Program is the capstone project. Each year, our second-year students carefully weigh their options and select five projects (ranking them 1 – 5) where they believe they will be able to contribute significantly and learn the most. Then the T&M Program faculty and staff carefully form the teams using a wide array of criteria. This academic year we had 13 projects split between our 55 Class of 2023 cohort members.

After their final on-site presentation in April at Boeing in Charleston: Joseph Rouse (aerospace engineering), Kasra Sohrab (computer science), Aravind Ganesan (environmental engineering), Adam Poteet (IT management), and fulltime Boeing employee and T&M Class of 2014 alum Ryan Kerns.

The Atlanta Braves: Zero Waste at Truist Park Capstone Presentation of the Year – First Place

Corporate Sponsor: Coleman Alford and Justin Watkins

MBA Mentors: Colton Orr and Kelly Newman

Team Summary: “The Atlanta Braves capstone team worked this year to develop an implementation plan to bring Truist Park to zero waste. Zero waste is defined as a 90% diversion of waste from landfills with less than a 10% contamination rate, diverting 3.7 million pounds of waste from the ballpark every year. The team interviewed subject matter experts, toured Mercedes-Benz Stadium’s zero-waste processes, and connected with external sustainability partners. Given this background, the team created an implementation plan for Truist Park to reach zero waste through alternatives in concessions packaging, different fan-facing strategies, and post-game waste sorting. By converting all concessions packaging to compostable/recyclable substitutes and increasing food donations from the ballpark, the Atlanta Braves can achieve simplicity in the waste life cycle in Truist Park and give back to the local community. Next, sustainability can become part of the overall Braves culture through increased accessibility of redesigned receptacles, making the waste disposal process as seamless as possible for fans. Lastly, by sorting all waste produced post-game, the Atlanta Braves can successfully achieve zero waste. The team also performed a financial cost analysis of concessions substitutes, new waste receptacles, the creation of an on-site sorting facility, and estimates of new composting and hauling partners. With this implementation plan, the Atlanta Braves will be able to be the first MLB ballpark in the southeast to reach zero waste.”

Dr. Han Zhang, Rubi Runton (biology), Lindsey Mains (industrial engineering), Sarah Yang (biomedical engineering), Pearson Rackley (civil engineering), Robert Ridgeway (finance), and Coleman Alford.

Boeing: The Boeing Company, Analyzing CAD Models in Code Environments

Capstone Project of the Year – Second Place

Corporate Sponsors: Ryan Kerns (T&M 2014, mechanical engineering), Tyler Kelley, Rob Stoker, and Stacie Sire

MBA Mentors: Clay Ingalls and Erik Makaroff

Team Summary: “The Boeing T&M team set out to find ways to analyze Computer-Aided Design (CAD) models using Python3. We conducted research on existing libraries and cataloged their capabilities for analyzing several types of geometric data. We created a working Python3 script capable of performing several of the various geometric analysis required by Boeing engineers using TEP files. We provided recommendations and a business case relating to the continuation of our project as well as how modelbased systems engineering can be applied to other processes at Boeing.”

Dr. Han Zhang, Kasra Sohrab (computer science), Joseph Rouse (aerospace engineering), Adam Poteet (IT management), and Aravind Ganesan (environmental engineering).

Caterpillar: Caterpillar’s Marketplace for 3D Printable Structures

Capstone Project of the Year – First Place and Best Capstone Presentation Showcase Award

Corporate Sponsors: Tony Agusti and Tazio Grivetti

MBA Mentors: Hasan Rashid and Amanda Shojaee

Team Summary: “The Global 3D Printing Construction Market revolutionizes construction methods, materials, and efficiencies with a projected Global Market CAGR of 101.9% from 2023 to 2030 and market revenue of $5.0 billion in 2030 1. Industry leaders remain challenged to break the barrier with new technologies that require new skillsets within the construction workforce. Caterpillar believes that additive construction promises to raise productivity levels as other industries have. The Caterpillar capstone team created an online Marketplace prototype where users can buy and sell designs for 3Dprinted structures. Industry experts such as architects and freelancers can upload their designs through the Marketplace and earn royalties upon sale. Consumers in the market to build a home or other structures can browse through an extensive library of designs, customize the designs if desired, and download the necessary files that translate code to 3D Printing Construction machines. Contractors who have the technology to build structures that incorporate 3D/additive methods will also be able to offer their services through the Marketplace for a smoother experience. By interviewing potential users in this Marketplace and conducting usability studies, the team gained insight into how the users will navigate through the Marketplace and what kind of features they want it to have. In addition to building the Marketplace prototype, the team created sample files that may be transacted through the platform. The team also performed a financial analysis to show the Marketplace’s viability and highlight why Caterpillar is well-positioned to enhance the 3D Printing Construction consumer experience while providing value to industry stakeholders.”

Dr. Han Zhang, Jacob Keenan (finance), Samruddhi Panse (industrial engineering), Alexander Barton (finance), Elizaveta Egorova (industrial design), and Tony Agusti (Caterpillar).

Equifax: Leveraging Attribute Creation to Predict Consumer Behavior

Corporate Sponsors: Gail Wetzel, Peta Wiggan, Renu Midha, Chun Tian, Fei He, Bo Guo, and Claire Qinyu Yang

MBA Mentors: Clay Ingalls and Erik Makaroff

Team Summary: “The Denning Technology & Management Program team explored a series of solutions to help improve Equifax’s consumer behavior prediction model by creating new attributes using machine learning techniques. The capstone team used logic and intuitive reasoning to combine attributes and created three new attributes with high Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS) scores – Equifax’s main success metric. The work and research done by the capstone team will allow Equifax to create more accurate products. The increased reliability of the products will, in turn, boost consumer satisfaction and improve Equifax’s reputation. Finally, the capstone team’s efforts will directly help Equifax employees through the team’s intensive documentation. The team’s guidance on attribute creation and analysis methods will enable employees to create attributes more efficiently in the future.”

Dr. Han Zhang, Cindy Wei Zhou (IT management), Wesley O'Hara (computer science), Joseph Mathias (computer science), and Nicole Kachouh (industrial engineering).

Georgia-Pacific: Full Steam Ahead: Optimizing Railcar Operations

Capstone Presentation of the Year – Second Place

Supporting Corporate Affiliates: KBX and Genesee & Wyoming Inc.

Corporate Sponsors: Carrie Shapiro, Rebecca Aldridge, Kimberly C. Thompson, and Jamison Porter (T&M 2016, industrial engineering)

MBA Mentors: Imon Ghosh and Dylan Hutcheson

Team Summary: “In partnership with KBX Rail and Genesee & Wyoming Railroad, Georgia-Pacific believes there are opportunities to improve operational efficiencies by decreasing empty freight miles and maximizing the utilization of boxcars to extend their lifespan. Additionally, because the reduction of empty freight miles would increase carbon savings, they sought an improved carbon calculator to see the effects of these new efficiencies on CO2 output. The Denning T&M team approached this problem by first analyzing current rail operations and lanes and then identifying locations with opportunities to reroute a railcar to a new location; by doing so, typical routes could be combined to reduce empty miles. The team also created a carbon calculator to show the environmental impact of the 22 new routes, as well as the impact of converting truck shipments to rail as a result of the maximized railcar fleet usage. Also, the team was able to estimate the financial implications of the modified routes and create a rollout plan as a suggested way to begin the implementation of new routes. Lastly, Power BI dashboards were created to help view historical empty railcar data and improve the sourcing of empty railcars using dynamic data to mitigate any barriers faced during the implementation of the rollout plan. This multifaceted project will allow all three companies involved to improve upon an already mutually beneficial relationship and push forward their goals of improved sustainability through improved operations.”

Dr. Han Zhang, Jacob Castle (IT management), Greer Hardesty (finance), Justin Kaplin (industrial engineering), and Kalieann Wetherington (strategy & innovation).

MarkeTeam

Corporate Sponsors: Allison Williams, Taylor Duncan, Sorian Enriquez, Makieal Woods, and Tyrese Uzzell

MBA Mentors: Imon Ghosh and Dylan Hutcheson

Team Summary: “The Georgia Tech MarkeTeam Capstone project was designed to empower MarkeTeam’s successful marketing efforts and drive client donation revenue. Currently, a cumbersome and resource-heavy process is required to analyze client donor data to determine appropriate future marketing strategies. Our Capstone team’s Salesforce API solution created an efficient pipeline between MarkeTeam and its clients. As a result, both MarkeTeam and its clients will benefit from increased revenue-driving efforts and decreased time requirements. Additionally, the solution significantly improves the security and reliability of the data pipeline. Through an implementation of the Salesforce API solution, MarkeTeam’s data analytics process will gain increased security, revenue, efficiency, and success to empower its future growth.”

Dr. Han Zhang, Isabella Turner (industrial engineering), Ira Sabnis (IT management), Grace Pietkiewicz (literature, media, and communication), and Sanjana Balusu (computer science).

Naval Nuclear Labs (NNL): Standard Navy Advanced Equipment Mount Redesign

Corporate Sponsors: Matt Murphy, Sean Mervosh, Thomas Buckton, Sheelah Aulet, and Vince Pantloni

MBA Mentors: Clay Ingalls and Erik Makaroff

Team Summary: “The Denning Technology & Management Program capstone team redesigned the Advanced Equipment mount to increase mount capabilities to support 2.5 times higher loads from 10,000 lbf to 25,000 lbf. The capstone team explored the benefits of advanced materials and manufacturing methods to improve mount performance and reduce cost and manufacturing span. The information provided to the team was all non-classified, as the mount was designed in 1966 and last updated in 1983. The military specification (Milspec) and part drawings were given to the team to model the current mount design and to highlight the constraints and qualifications the new mount(s) must be designed to, including specific constraints on height and natural frequency of the mounts.”

Dr. Han Zhang, Jayce Schwartz (biomedical engineering), Sabrina Panlaqui (aerospace engineering), Tyler Michael (mechanical engineering), and Diego Garcia (mechanical engineering).

NCR: Innovation Within Restaurant Kitchens

Corporate Sponsors: Brent Zucker, Lindsay Petrovic, Tony Burdett, Divita Chillakuru (T&M 2022, industrial engineering), and George Missailidis (T&M 2022, industrial engineering)

MBA Mentors: Christopher Arms and Dylan Hutcheson

Team Summary: “The Denning Technology & Management Program NCR capstone team was tasked with identifying how NCR can transform the restaurant industry through technological innovation within the restaurant kitchen. NCR has been at the forefront of commerce, retail, and hospitality innovation and technology disruption for over 100 years and looks to continue to disrupt to remain the #1 single vendor service provider for restaurants. Over seven months, the team spent over 50 hours collaborating with the NCR hospitality team, conducted 15 interviews with subject matter experts ranging from line cooks to general managers, and spent over 420 hours conducting market research. As a result, the team identified key problems worth solving by NCR and developed the foundation for Aloha Smart Kitchen, a premium software solution bundle designed to enhance restaurant kitchen operations. Aloha Smart Kitchen will enable restaurants to address critical pain points in the kitchen and further extend NCR’s site count in strategic restaurant segments. The semester concluded with a business case pitch to NCR executives outlining the team’s research, proposed Aloha Smart Kitchen solution, detailed financial projections, and a strategic implementation roadmap for moving forward with the investment.”

Dr. Han Zhang, Malia Yuhl (biomedical engineering), Vinay Sankar (IT management), Will Lang (industrial engineering), and Lauren Gordon (marketing).

Novelis: Increasing UBC Recycling on Georgia Tech’s Campus

Corporate Sponsors: Zaffer Sange, Greg Schlicht, and Ashley Gravlee

MBA Mentors: Colton Orr and Kelly Newman

Team Summary: “Novelis tasked the Georgia Tech Denning Technology & Management Program capstone team with increasing the recycling rate of used beverage cans (UBCs) at Georgia Tech to 80% through gamification. The team underwent a two-phase process to achieve this task. Phase one included thoroughly understanding the problem statement, assessing the current state of recycling on campus, and beginning the solution approach. Phase two included the development of a minimum viable product (MVP) of an app, implementing a recycling pilot program on a game day, and formulating a high-level business plan. The team concluded that a three-pronged approach of infrastructure improvement, a game day recycling program, and a gamified app would increase the recycling rate on Georgia Tech’s campus to 80%. The team believes that these three components weave together to create a cohesive, recycling-focused college campus.”

Dr. Han Zhang, Annie Weber (leadership & organization change), Ashley Smith (biomedical engineering), Kate Moore (strategy & innovation), Amrit Iyer (industrial engineering), and Lekha Gowda (IT management).

risk3sixty: Gauging Risk Tool

Corporate Sponsors: Christian Hyatt, Christian White, Jessica Lucas, Kevin Ketts, Sawyer Miller (T&M 2013, IT management), Phillip Lee, Corey Brown, Tim Palmer, and Cal Supik

MBA Mentors: Imon Ghosh and Dylan Hutcheson

Team Summary: “Our project, “risk3sixty’s Gauging Risk Tool,” is designed to remove the subjectivity currently associated with assigning risk scores. This suggestion model that the team has developed compares a case company’s risk with similar data based on high-likelihood variables, including industry and employee count. Our final deliverable currently scrapes the data, focuses on two inputs, industry and the number of employees in your company, and returns a table of past cybersecurity incident reports along with a respective similarity score. This will help risk3sixty consultants explain to clients the likelihood of risk based on reported summaries and similarity scores outputted by this model. Our goal is to help risk3sixty feel more confident when making a decision on what one’s risk may be. This tool gives them a baseline to compare to and helps clients better understand the likelihood of risk occurring to them.”

Dr. Han Zhang, Akhil Potturi (computer science), Ruhan Ponnada (computer science), Sofia Laskowski (IT management), and John Igieobo (computer engineering).

Siemens: Driving Sustainability Through Digital Twins in the Industrial Metaverse

Corporate Sponsors: Michael Severin (T&M 2013, accounting & finance) and Randeep Singh

MBA Mentors: Hasan Rashid and Amanda Shojaee

Team Summary: “The goal of the Siemens Advanta Capstone project was to explore the potential of using digital twins to drive sustainability in organizations. The team chose the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) as the subject for their use case. Through a partnership with MARTA, the team was able to learn about their sustainability goals, collect data, and get feedback on the final product and sustainability improvement recommendations. The product created for the MARTA was a digital twin built using ArcGIS that displayed the relationship between ridership and energy consumption across the red and blue lines. Visualizing the data allowed the team to highlight hours where ridership was low, yet energy usage was high. Ultimately the MARTA can easily see when energy is being used ineffectively and take appropriate steps to reduce energy consumption. A reduction in energy consumption has the added benefit of increasing sustainability and reducing operating costs. For Siemens Advanta, the team delivered an outline of the steps they should take to build digital twins, as well as risk considerations to avoid potential bottlenecks. Overall, the team believes that digital twins are a promising technology for Siemens Advanta to include in its suite of sustainable digital solutions.”

Dr. Han Zhang, Shair Sekhar (chemical and biomolecular engineering), Maripaz Rodriguez Pacheco (industrial design), Meghana Gongalareddy (finance), and Jennifer Duong (computer engineering). Not pictured: Corinna Alting (environmental engineering).

Southwire: The Future of Energy

Corporate Sponsors: Angela Badheka, Alex Bunda, Jillian White, and Eliott Gardy (T&M 2022, strategy & innovation)

MBA Mentors: Hasan Rashid and Amanda Shojaee

Team Summary: “The Southwire T&M Capstone team investigated the future of the energy landscape, thereby increasing Southwire’s awareness of technological trends and recommending potential actions for Southwire to consider taking in response. The team conducted research pertaining to the rise in global energy demand, renewable energy sources, technologies, and energy policies and regulations. Upon building an understanding of global trends and technologies affecting the transmission and distribution space, the team selected disruptive technologies that presented the most opportunity for Southwire. In conducting a detailed analysis of the markets for each of these technologies, the team recommended a series of actions for Southwire to consider in the form of potential investments, partnerships, and acquisitions.”

Dr. Han Zhang, Caleb Yarbrough (finance), Kristina Lymperis (industrial engineering), Shumraze Fawad (industrial engineering), and Emily Bell (industrial engineering).

Steelcase: Collaborative Robots at Steelcase

Corporate Sponsors: Edward Vander Bilt and Jamie Lu

MBA Mentors: Clay Ingalls and Erik Makaroff

Team Summary: “The Denning Technology & Management (T&M) capstone team was tasked with finding ways Steelcase could implement collaborative robots into its manufacturing operations to address challenges like worker shortages, efficiency, and safety. After traveling to Steelcase’s headquarters in Grand Rapids, Michigan, touring several factories, and talking to stakeholders, the capstone team honed into building a business case and implementation plan around an Autonomous Guided Vehicle (AGV) that Steelcase owns but is going unused. Through this project, the capstone team identified overarching categories of use cases for Steelcase to explore collaborative robots, built a business case and scenarios for Steelcase to consider, and created an analysis tool that Steelcase can leverage to make decisions about future AGV implementation.”

Dr. Han Zhang, Aboubacar Barrie (marketing), James Joh (electrical engineering), Meah Konstanzer (IT management), and Riya Shah (biomedical engineering).

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