Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine Vol. 90, No. 4 2014 by Georgia Tech Alumni Association

TA L K OF T ECH

GETTING IN HARDER THAN

GETTING OUT?

A L U M N I

ON THE JOB

BUILDING A PIPELINE OVERSEAS

FE AT URE

THE LAST NEW COAL PLANT IN AMERICA?

M A G A Z I N E

VOLUME

90 NO.4 2014

Power Surge

Forging the future of energy at Tech

“I hope my endowed chair will help make a difference in the future.” — Harris Saunders Jr., ME 1945 To a young man graduating from college in 1945, the world must have looked like an uncertain place. The war was over, but economic and political challenges persisted around the globe. But Harris Saunders Jr., ME 1945, has never been one to back down from a challenge. A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Saunders knew from an early age that one day he would go to work for the family business – a truck leasing company run by his father and uncle. What he ended up doing with the business was extraordinary. After leaving the Navy, he joined Saunders Systems Inc. and eventually became CEO. Under his leadership, it became the third largest truck leasing company in the United States. In 1986, Saunders Systems was sold to Ryder Systems, and Harris Saunders started a new venture, Saunders Inc., which quickly became a leading supplier of fuel tax licensing and permit services to the trucking industry. He sold that company to Comdata Holdings in 1993.

Now, after a long and successful career, Saunders is giving back to his alma mater through an outright gift and estate plan provisions to benefit the school that has meant so much to him for more than 60 years. His estate gift will one day establish an endowed faculty chair, bearing his name, in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering. “I’ve always felt indebted to Tech because of what it did for me, the education it provided,” Saunders said. “Mechanical engineering has changed a lot since I went to school here. The Woodruff School is moving forward, and I’m happy to see that. I hope my endowed chair will help make a difference in the future.” Saunders likes to stay connected to Tech by attending football games “whenever I can.” In 1997, he was inducted into the Georgia Tech Engineering Hall of Fame, and he is also a member of The Hill Society, the Institute’s most prestigious giving society.

Founders’ Council is the honorary society recognizing donors who have made estate or life-income gifts of $25,000 or more for the support of Georgia Tech. For more information, please contact: 404.894.4678 • founderscouncil@dev.gatech.edu • www.development.gatech.edu

Georgia Tech Global Learning Center is the official meeting facility of the Georgia Tech Alumni Association. Next time you’re planning a meeting or conference – think the Georgia Tech Global Learning Center. We’ve got meeting spaces, conference facilities, and connected classrooms – perfect for your company’s needs, with the Georgia Tech excellence you expect. Schedule your personal tour today.

Where Meeting and Learning Converge www.gatechcenter.com/alumni

CONTENTS

features VOLUME 90 NO.4 2014

ENERGY 101 P 36

Novices learn about the complex—and sometimes surprising—world of energy via a top Tech MOOC.

THE LAST NEW COAL PLANT IN AMERICA? P 38

Dean Alford, EE 76, goes against the grain in his personal quest to build a new coal plant in Georgia.

CHARGING AHEAD P 45

GT researchers play a vital, global role as as they strive to solve the energy problems of today and tomorrow.

POWER PLAYERS P 53

Industry leaders with deep Tech ties debate the state of sustainable energy production and policy.

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Gregory Miller

departments p 10

AROUND CAMPUS

p 14

010

010 Power in Motion Z.L. Wang and a team of researchers harness static electricity. 012 Admission ‘Getting in’ now is harder than ‘getting out’ of Tech.

p 20

p 26

ALUMNI HOUSE

066

068 Honoring Our Best Ten of Tech’s top alumni and friends will be recognized at the 2015 Gold & White Honors Gala. 070 Travel

016 Student News

073 Annual Report

022 Office Space Take a visual tour of the smartest building on campus.

080 Wrecks @ Work Certified career coaches share tips for adapting to change.

ON THE FIELD

RAMBLIN’ ROLL

026

026 Fueling Tech’s Athletes Find out what it takes to keep the Yellow Jackets energized. 028 Athlete Profiles

IN THE WORLD

030

082

083 Out & About 086 Births 088 Weddings 090 In Memoriam

030 On the Job Decie Autin, ChE 80, helped build a gas pipeline in Papua New Guinea.

TECH HISTORY

032 Innovate

104 Artifact The 222-0 football returns to Tech, and the stories roll in.

033 Jacket Copy 034 @ Issue How concerned should we be about climate change?

104

105 Time Machine

BACK PAGE

106

Georgia Tech’s Living History Program celebrates 20 years.

GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 90 NO.4 2014

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Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine Vol. 90, No. 4

P U B L I S H E R ’S LETTER

PUBLISHER Joseph P. Irwin, IM 80 EDITOR Roger Slavens ASSISTANT EDITOR Melissa Weinman

Tech’s Crucial Role in the Future of Energy

DESIGNER Joshua Baker | joshbkr.com COPY EDITOR Rebecca Bowen STUDENT ASSISTANT Kierra Johnson EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

When we first started talking about energy as a theme for this issue of the Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine, the sheer breadth of the topic daunted us. Just consider the stories we could cover: oil and gas production, nuclear, coal, hydropower, wind, solar, geothermal, biofuels, sustainability, batteries, electric cars, clean energy, pipelines, transportation, carbon footprints, LED lighting, energy efficiency, public policy, cap and trade, energy independence, climate impact—the list goes on and on. It would take a thousand pages and we still couldn’t do the justice to the theme. So, instead, we’re going to share some of the highlights of how Georgia Tech faculty, researchers and alumni play a critical role in the global energy industry today. After the 1964 World’s Fair, one of the greatest science-fiction writers and futurists of all time, Isaac Asimov, made some predictions—many of them pertaining to energy—about what the year 2014 would have in store for us. Here’s one of them he shared with The New York Times: The appliances of 2014 will have no electric cords, of course, for they will be powered by long-lived batteries running on radioisotopes. The isotopes will not be expensive for they will be byproducts of the ﬁssion-power plants which by 2014 will be supplying well over half the power needs of humanity. Asimov’s projections were a bit off, as only about 12 percent of the globe’s electricity is provided by nuclear power. And, of course, most appliances are still not wireless (though we’re getting there!), nor are they powered by isotopes. But given that it was a 50-year-old forecast, he still gets an “E” for effort. More recent predictions about energy have also proved to be wrong, demonstrating just how fluid (pardon the pun), the science and technology can be. For instance, you don’t have to think too far back 006

GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 90 NO.4 2014

Robert N. Stargel Jr., EE 83, Chair Steve W. Chaddick, EE 74, MS EE 82, Past Chair Benton J. Mathis Jr., IM 81 Chair-elect/ Vice Chair of Roll Call Andrea L. Laliberte, IE 82, MS IE 84, Vice Chair of Finance Paul S. Goggin, Phys 91, Member at Large Eric Pinckney Sr., ME 86, M CP 93, Member at Large James E. Trimble, Jr., Mgt 91, Member at Large Elizabeth H. Wallace, Arch 96, Member at Large Joseph P. Irwin, IM 80, President & CEO BOARD OF TRUSTEES Stanley E. Anderson, IM 75; J. Paul Austin, Mgt 99; Nathan Bennett, PhD Mgt 89; Jeni S. Bogdan, Mgt 89 MS MoT 96; Arthur O. Brannen, IM 73; Sean L. Corcoran, ChE 95; C. Richard Crutchfield, IM 69; Richard DeAugustinis, IE 92; A. Ray

to recall the hysteria of gasoline shortages of the 1970s and the whole “peak oil” scare, which postulated that oil production would decline precipitously in a bell-curve fashion and we’d inevitably run out of this precious natural resource. Yet here we stand, just a few decades later, with the picture altered dramatically, as innovations have led to hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling and the nation’s largest oil and natural gas reserves on record. What we do know to be true, however, is that there is no one single energy source that will solve all our challenges, no magic bullet. It will take all sources of energy and ingenuity at our disposal to continue to feed the world’s growing energy demand. And Georgia Tech and its alumni and faculty are helping to lead the way and taking on the challenges of developing new technologies—and policies—to make energy production and delivery more efficient, renewable, cost effective and safe.

Douglas Jr., Arch 75; W. Keith Edwards, ICS 89, MS ICS 91, PhD ICS 96; D. Shawn Fowler, Mgt 88; Jeanene Fowler, IE 84; Rick L. Garcia, CE 73; Jeffrey V. Giglio, EE 77; John T. Hammond, ChE 72, MS IE 75; Timothy A. Heilig, IE 75; Justin C. Honaman Jr., IE 96; Julie Sumerford Johnson, Mgt 84; Judy W. Liaw, ME 98; Wonya Y. Lucas, IE 83; Errika N. Mallett, IE 96; Michelle D. Mason, ChE 86; James L. Mitchell, CE 05; Whitney S. Owen, IA 03; Anu Parvatiyar, BME 08; Shantan R. Pesaru CmpE 05; Vicky S. Polashock, ChE 90, Phd ChE 95; Michael John Rafferty Jr., EE 02; John L. Reese III, BC 80; Valerie Montgomery Rice, Chem 83; Michael J. Rooney, Chem 73; Kary E. Saleeby, NE 77, MS ME 78; Ricardo Salgado, IE 98; Leslie R. Sibert, EE 85; Tyler A. Townsend, IE 98; Elizabeth Bulat Turner, IAML 04 ADVERTISING Holly Green (404) 894-0765 holly.green@alumni.gatech.edu GEORGIA TECH ALUMNI MAGAZINE (ISSN: 1061-9747) is published quarterly by the Georgia Tech Alumni Association, 190 North Ave. N.W., Atlanta, GA 30313. Periodical postage paid in Atlanta and additional mailing offices. © 2014 Georgia Tech Alumni Association POSTMASTER Send address changes to: Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine, 190 North Ave. N.W., Atlanta, GA 30313.

JOSEPH P. IRWIN, IM 80 PRESIDENT & CEO GEORGIA TECH ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

TELEPHONE Georgia Tech Alumni Association (404) 894-2391

Take the next step in your career...

Advance your career... Hone your skills... Boost your income...

Georgia Techâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lean Six Sigma

Be the go-to expert to reduce costs, save time, & maximize profits.

Green Belt & Black Belt certification.

Next Step?

visit GTSixSigma.com 1. Register for the next Lean Six Sigma Information Session 2. Review upcoming Lean Six Sigma classes 3. Register online at GTSixSigma.com

Call 404-894-8700

“ FEEDBACK

You should have been in my classroom when students realized that creating video games is a real possibility for a future career, and that it can be taken on somewhere as close as Tech! Tracey Foley, Buford, Ga.

Why 8th Graders Think We’re Cool

Behind Every Successful Referee …

I really enjoyed the “Game On!” article in the latest issue of the Alumni Magazine (Vol. 90, No. 3). I shared it with my eighth-grade students as part of their career studies. They enjoyed the article, and several even asked permission to keep a copy. [Ed. Note: You bet we sent these motivated middleschoolers extra issues!] You should have been in my classroom when students realized that creating video games is a real possibility for a future career, and that it can be taken on somewhere as close as Tech!

Way to go Corey Rockwell! Just have to say the Alumni Magazine article about your professional soccer refereeing passion [“Flagging Down His Soccer Dreams” Vol. 90, No. 3] is remiss in not mentioning your awesome wife, Krista (Dietrich) Rockwell (IE 99), and family supporting you!

Tracey Foley Buford, Ga.

Suzi Hill, CE 98 Las Vegas, Nev.

Indeed, in addition to juggling his job as an engineer with his role as an MLS ref, Corey is also a devoted husband and father to three future Yellow Jackets, including son Sawyer, who was born just a few months ago. Krista no doubt is a saint. – Ed.

The Importance of Design

Congratulations on this quarter’s edition of the Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine (Vol 90, No. 3) on “Design.” In my humble opinion, the theme devoted to design was long overdue. In today’s real and global world of changing economic resources, the broad foundations and learning precepts of design are often overlooked in many educational programs. I’ve seen students from specialist programs graduating with a far too narrow focus and those coming out of broad programs lacking focus completely. Unfortunately, the fundamentals, concepts and enduring lessons growing out of a high quality, in-depth design education like those at Tech cannot provide instant gratification. Design is a life skill that must be developed over time and adapted to changing real-world resources. Unfortunately, many people, including top leaders in business and government, do not really understand the in-depth skills, discipline and intense focused effort required for successful design. Thanks for forwarding the discussion on this important topic, and I hope you continue to showcase examples of excellence in design from Tech alumni and faculty.

Soylent vs. Avner Oatmeal Mix Regarding the article “Creating a New Food from Scratch” (Vol. 90, No. 3), by my account this is not the first time an idea like Soylent has been developed by a Georgia Tech student or alumnus. In the early 1960s there was the “Avner Oatmeal Mix”—developed by student Richard Avner, Psy 61—which was cheap, healthful (maybe), easy to make in the dorms and saved time in preparation, consumption, cleanup, and in the bathroom afterwards, too! As I remember it, the mix consisted of: instant oatmeal, wheat germ, Tang, raisins and a little salt. You took a scoop in a cup, added some vegetable oil and mixed it with some super hot water from the dorm sink until it was a good

consistency. Then it was eat and enjoy, rinse out the cup and get back to the books. Sounds much like Soylent to me. George Board, EE 67 Corpus Christi, Texas

Want to get in touch? Send letters to: Editor, Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine, 190 North Ave. N.W., Atlanta, GA 30313, or editor@alumni.gatech.edu. Comment at

Carl Sherrill, Arch 75, M Arch 78

gtalumnimag.com or at facebook.com/georgiatechalumni. View our letters to

Temecula, Calif.

the editor policy at gtalumnimag.com/letters-policy.

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GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 90 NO.4 2014

The Leadership Circle is the cornerstone of Roll Call, Georgia Tech’s annual fund. By becoming a member of the Leadership Circle, you help ensure Tech’s prominence and adaptability in an ever-changing world. Join one of our leadership giving clubs and enjoy benefits such as a limited edition tie or scarf and an invitation to the annual President’s Dinner, Celebrating Roll Call. A tradition of leadership has evolved at the Georgia Institute of Technology over many generations … we hope you’ll join us.

THE CORNERSTONE OF ROLL CALL IS

LEADERSHIP

“We believe Georgia Tech is a great place to capture a high return. Roll Call giving at the Leadership Circle level enables your gift to grow exponentially as it benefits so many on campus.” – ANGELA G. MITCHELL PTCH ’04 AND JAMES L. MITCHELL CE ’05 (GEORGIA TECH ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD OF TRUSTEES) 15 CONSECUTIVE YEARS OF ROLL CALL GIVING AND LEADERSHIP CIRCLE SINCE 2006

THE GIVING CLUBS OF THE LEADERSHIP CIRCLE BURDELL SOCIETY a gift of $25,000 in support of Roll Call PHOENIX CLUB gifts between $10,000 and $24,999 TRADITIONS CLUB gifts between $5,000 and $9,999 TOWER CLUB gifts between $2,500 and $4,999 CORNERSTONE CLUB gifts between $1,000 and $2,499

Please send your gift or pledge to: Roll Call, Georgia Tech Alumni Association 190 North Ave., Atlanta, GA, 30313-9806 Donate online at www.gtalumni.org/giving or call (800) GT –ALUMS

TALK of TECH

A glimpse at the biggest—and, sometimes, the strangest—news from campus.

Dynamic Possibilities of Static Electricity

Melissa Weinman

Z.L. Wang leads Tech’s pioneering efforts to use everyday motion to generate power.

When Zhong Lin Wang, regents’ pro-

fessor of material science at Tech, thinks about energy solutions, he usually thinks small—very small. Recently, Wang and his team at Georgia Tech partnered with Columbia University researchers to develop the world’s thinnest electric generator. Using a material called molybdenum disulfide, •

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the researchers were able to produce electricity using a layer of material just a few atoms thick. This material could potentially be used in wearable devices or clothing to convert body movement into electricity that could power medical devices or charge a cellphone in your pocket. It’s one of the latest breakthroughs in piezoelectricity, the application of the

energy stored up in materials when they’re put under simple mechanical stress such as stretching and compression. Piezoelectricity isn’t new, but ongoing developments continue to lead to more efficient ways of generating power for small devices. Wang first started looking into piezoelectric energy as a power source because the size of batteries limited how small a portable device could be. He wanted to find an efficient way to harvest energy from the environment, and settled on mechanical energy—because unlike solar or thermal energy, it isn’t reliant on forces he couldn’t control, such as daylight or temperature. Though we are surrounded by mechanical energy, Wang says, historically it hasn’t been very predictable or easy to control. “The challenge is the efficient conversion into usable electric energy,” he says. While researching and developing piezoelectric solutions at Tech, Wang and his team accidentally stumbled upon an even more effective way to convert energy by harnessing triboelectricity. Triboelectricity is a common form of static electricity that works by touching and then

the BASELINE

students participating in a four-year project to redesign 35 Tech a Chevrolet Camaro into a hybrid-electric car GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 90 NO.4 2014

in HackGT, Tech’s first hackathon and 800 Participants the largest held in the South to date Justen Clay

separating two different materials—most famously observed when you rub an air-filled balloon against the hair on your head. When two applicable materials touch, electrons flow from one material to the other. When separated, one piece holds an electrical charge isolated by the gap between them. The same effect can be achieved by rubbing the materials together before they are separated. Wang created the world’s first triboelectric generator in 2012. The beauty of such generators is they can be made using inexpensive and abundant materials such as plastic and paper. One disc-shaped triboelectric generator that Wang developed is especially successful, producing a 55 percent energy conversion. By comparison, only about 20 percent of the sun’s energy is converted through solar power. “The materials used to make these things are so cheap,” Wang says. “And they’re so universal.” Wang believes triboelectric technology could be a game-changer for personal electronics. For example, he’s created a thin sheet of nanogenerators that could be applied to a cellphone. Instead of searching for an outlet to plug in your phone when it runs out of power, you could simply rub the phone with your hand to charge it. This kind of application for small electronics is likely only three to five years away from being

available on the market, Wang estimates. Another area Wang hopes could benefit from the technology is health care. Currently, people with pacemakers have to undergo painful surgeries every few years to change their batteries. But with nanogenerators, pacemakers could be powered by the body’s own movements. Despite his focus on the small, Wang has bigger dreams. He envisions a future where the world could harness the kinetic energy of the ocean to provide all of its electricity. Currently, the entire world consumption of power is 15 terawatts. If you could harness all the energy produced on just the east and west coasts of the United States, you could produce 30 terawatts, Wang says. “If we can do this, we’ll solve the world’s energy needs simply from the constant motion of the oceans’ currents and waves,” he says. Similarly, back on the micro scale, piezoand triboelectricity provide an advantage over other sources of green, renewable energy. While the sun and wind can only be generate power intermittently, motion has no such limitations. “I call this blue energy—it goes beyond green energy,” Wang says. “It’s way under-exploited and has a lot of potential.”

Top: A disc-shaped triboelectric nanogenerator. Bottom: A triboleclectric generator that harvests energy from breathing.

OF COURSE: GETTING RID OF GAS EMISSIONS EAS 3110: Energy, the Environment and Society

Instructor: Kim Cobb

while ensuring continued economic development in America?”

Objective: “To explore America’s current energy infrastructure, its effect on Earth’s climate, and alternative energy technologies and policies for the 21st century.” Prerequisites: None Problem Question: “Is it possible to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

to renovate $7.5 million Budget Tech Tower

Course Project: “The ‘Carbon Reduction Challenge’ pits student teams against each other in a race to reduce carbon dioxide emissions through both smalland large-scale energy efficiency measures. Last year, students averted more than 350,000 pounds of carbon dioxide—the equivalent of removing 30 cars from the road for a year.”

participating in this academic year’s InVenture 19 Schools Prize product design competition GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 90 NO.4 2014

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TALK of TECH

A glimpse at the biggest—and, sometimes, the strangest—news from campus.

‘Getting In’ Now Harder Than ‘Getting Out’?

With the number and quality of applicants steadily increasing, the competition for freshman admission has never been higher at Georgia Tech. In fact, in sheer statistical terms, it’s harder to “get in” than it is to “get out.” With the 2015 college application season now well underway, the Alumni Magazine asked Rick Clark, director of undergraduate admissions, to speak openly about the new realities of getting into Tech and share some tips for parents gearing up to help their kids through the complex admission process. Just six years ago, 62 percent of students who applied to the Institute were accepted. However, in 2014, the acceptance rate stood at only 33 percent—about the same rate as highly

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competitive private schools like Wake Forest and Boston College—and it could keep getting smaller. Last year, Tech moved to the Common Application, which decreased the admit

Roger Slavens

rate approximately 8 percentage points, Clark says. “Applications soared to an all-time high of 25,872, compared to 9,988 in 2008,” he says. “And while Tech is growing, there’s a limit to the number of incoming students we can accommodate and continue to deliver excellent instruction and access to necessary resources.” That said, looking at the makeup of the 2014 freshman class, it’s still no easy task to become a Yellow Jacket. The average SAT score (including the written test) of this year’s enrollees was 1450, the ACT 30, and the GPA a solid “A” average. In addition, 94 percent of Tech’s freshmen this year took at least AP calculus or its equivalent while in high school. “With those scores and grades, it’s clearly a challenge for students to separate themselves from other applicants,” Clark says. “That ‘A’ average, for example, includes an average nine Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or dual-enrollment classes per student.” But, according to Clark, high school academic scores and grades are just one factor in the admissions process, albeit a very important one. “Statistically there’s not much difference between an SAT score of 1350 or 1400 when it comes to predicting how a student will perform in college,” he says. “That’s where extracurricular activities, personal essays and recommendations come into play and help us make decisions about which applicants are the best fit for Tech, and vice versa.”

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thermal panels on the Clough Commons rooftop 30 Solar to provide on-site renewable energy GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 90 NO.4 2014

of international undergraduate students attending 9% Ratio Tech, hailing from more than 100 countries

For high school seniors (and their parents) looking to separate their applications from the pack, Clark offers the following tips: 1. Be “pointy” rather than wellrounded. In the past, admissions

officers searched for well-rounded students who held a great breadth of experiences. Now, however, Clark and his staff—and admissions officers across the country—keep their eyes peeled for “pointy” students who instead have deep interest and skills in a narrower range of pursuits. “Applicants who demonstrate an early passion and have been able to stay focused on it over a number of years really stand out. They’re much more likely to succeed and thrive at places like Tech.” 2. Use the personal essay to make a connection. “Believe it or not, we

read every essay,” Clark says. “But far too many students simply regurgitate what’s already apparent in their application materials. What we want to read is writing that showcases an applicant’s personality, passion and voice.” With the in-person interview no longer a common part of the admissions process nationally, the essay needs to make a strong impression, Clark says. 3. Make parents your partners. The

admissions process can be stressful for students and parents alike. “Instead of putting pressure on their kids, we encourage parents to create a partnership with them,” Clark says. “Parents should be in the crow’s nest, scouting out the process, but ultimately students are captains of the ship. When parents take over, students tend to shut down and tune out—which only makes parents more determined to force the issue.” Clark suggests that parents and students should set up safe times and spaces each week for talking about college and strategies for applying. “An early, honest, open dialogue with clear expectations is critical to everything going well,” he says.

4. Remember it’s about fit. “It’s

far more important that a student makes the right choice than it is for their parents to have a certain college bumper sticker on their car,” Clark says. Besides, when students aren’t really sure they’re applying to the right college, their lack of commitment and excitement typically shows up loud and clear in their application materials. 5. Don’t assume that because you’re a legacy, it’s a lock you’ll get in. This goes for both students and

parents, as there are just too many factors at play to ensure all legacies will get into Tech. “It’s still a factor we consider, to be sure,” Clark says. “Children and siblings and grandchildren of alumni typically demonstrate a great loyalty and passion for Tech, and we value such positive, long-term connections. But in the end our goal is to enroll the best overall freshman class possible.” 6. Apply even if you’re not an engineer. “Tech has changed a lot, es-

pecially over the past 20 years,” Clark says. “We have a number of nationally respected programs from business to design to liberal arts. What makes Tech special is the commitment to a rigorous education that prepares you for a successful career, and that’s supported by the Institute’s ranking as the No. 1 return on investment among U.S. colleges.” Clark says that a class composed of students with a variety of academic majors ensures that Tech will continue to be well respected in all fields.

APPLICATIONS TO TECH SOARING A move to the Common Application in 2013 has sent the number of freshman applications through the roof. Tech received 25,872 applications this year, roughly 8,000 more than in the previous year.

2014: 25,872 25000

20000

15000

10000

2008: 9,988 5000

2008

2009 2010 2011

2012 2013

2014

TECH ADMIT RATE PLUMMETING Just one-third of freshman applicants were accepted to Tech in 2014, compared to nearly two-thirds who were accepted in 2008. The big jump in the number of applications was a major factor, but so was the increasing academic prowess of students.

2008: 62% 60%

7. Celebrate your success. Getting

into college is a major achievement, no matter what college it is, Clark says. “After all the hard work that goes into the process, you need to celebrate each win and get excited about your hard work being recognized,” he says. “Embrace the schools that admit you and the opportunities you have in front of you, and don’t dwell on schools that do not offer you admission.”

50%

40%

2014: 33% 30% 2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

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TALK of TECH

A glimpse at the biggest—and, sometimes, the strangest—news from campus.

Golden Teacher, Golden Anniversary

Melissa Weinman

Economics Professor Bill Schaffer celebrates 50 years of teaching excellence at Tech. When Professor Emeritus of Economics Bill Schaffer, IM 56, lived in Towers dormitory as a student in 1952, the interstate highways had not yet cut their way through Atlanta. The only nearby TVs were at the Varsity. And the student center was just a patch of kudzu. A lot has changed since Schaffer first came to Georgia Tech more than 60 years ago. He’s watched the Institute—and the city of Atlanta—grow tremendously during the decades he’s spent on campus as a student and faculty member. And through it all, Schaffer remains a proud Yellow Jacket, this year celebrating an illustrious 50th anniversary of teaching at Tech. “If I had a motto, it would be to never let an opportunity go by,” Schaffer says. One of those opportunities came when he and some of his high school friends from Monticello, Ga., hitchhiked their way to Macon to take a Navy ROTC entrance exam. Though his friends didn’t make the cut, Schaffer did, and he enrolled at Georgia Tech the following year. After “getting out” with a bachelor’s in industrial management, Schaffer served as a pilot in the U.S. Marine Corps and went on to earn a doctorate in economics from Duke University before returning to Tech to teach in 1964. Schaffer says teaching has been— by far—his favorite part of being a professor. Early in his career at Tech, Schaffer went out of his way to get to know his students, and he interacted with them as much as possible. It’s a tactic that made him a perennial favorite among Tech’s

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student body. In 1988, he was named Faculty of the Year by the Student Government Association. “Bill’s longevity at Tech is a true accomplishment and a testament to his love of teaching,” says David Laband, chairman of Tech’s School of Economics. “He loves the subject of economics and he’s passionate about it. I think it infuses his life with great purpose.” Schaffer also has a soft spot for students with poor grades. He says he’s learned that it’s often his worst students who go on to be the most memorable, and ultimately, successful. “You never judge a guy by what he looks like or acts like, especially in class,” Schaffer says. In 1966, a student with less than stellar test scores came to Schaffer with a unique opportunity. That student introduced Schaffer to the president of the Atlanta Braves, the city’s then-new major league baseball club, who hired him to study the economic impact of the baseball team on the city. “This was the beginning of my career as a consultant,” Schaffer says. After that first study, Schaffer went on to examine the economic impact of sporting and cultural events in Hawaii, Nova Scotia, Conneticut and Montreal. Today, Schaffer is still active in the field, analyzing the impact of the arts in the U.S. and golf in Canada. In addition to being an anchor of the economics department, Schaffer has also volunteered countless hours around campus. He served for 20 years as an adviser for

Beta Theta Pi, the fraternity he belonged to as an undergraduate, back in the days when fraternity dances required chaperones. He still serves as an emeritus adviser and is sometimes invited to teach the young Betas lessons in etiquette. As a member of the Georgia Tech Athletic Association’s Board of Trustees for more than 20 years, Schaffer has made many memories following his beloved Yellow Jackets. Among his favorite are the two times he took his sons to watch the men’s basketball team compete in the NCAA Final Four. And if that weren’t enough engagement, each fall, the Schaffers invite Bill’s students to their home for what’s known as a “Peach Party,” where they are treated to his famous homemade peach ice cream. Laband said he’s amazed by how committed Bill and Lee Schaffer are to Georgia Tech. “I’ve never seen anything like it in my career,” he says. “They are so woven into the fabric of the university.” One of Bill’s strengths as a teacher, according to his wife, is that he understands students are often overloaded with classes and activities. “Sometimes, professors won’t realize students have lives outside their class, but he does,” she says. Laband says when he approached Schaffer about naming a chaired professorship in his honor, Schaffer thought about it but turned it down, asking instead to create an endowed student scholarship. That’s pretty typical of Schaffer: For 50 years, he has always put his students first.

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military veterans enrolled Army Senior Service Fellowships given to study at the 208 U.S. at Tech this semester 2 U.S. Sam Nunn School of International Affairs starting in fall 2015 GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 90 NO.4 2014

donated to the College 200 Servers of Computing by Yahoo! Gregory Miller

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STUDENT NEWS

Accomplishments, both stunning and silly, by the alumni of tomorrow.

The Most Energized Group on Campus

Rebecca Bowen

Motivated students flock to Energy Club to learn from industry experts—and each other.

On a Wednesday evening in early October, as solar panels across campus soaked up the last rays of the setting sun, members of one of Georgia Tech’s fastest-growing student organizations gathered for another electrified conversation. An audience of 50 students from the Energy Club filled the front desks of a classroom in the Love Manufacturing Building, eager to hear a presentation from Greenhouse Accelerator Director Bernie Bergener. Their guest, however, was anything but accelerating in rush hour traffic on Ga. 400. 0 1 6

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But there was no awkward silence. With at least a half hour to kill while waiting for their guest speaker to arrive, patient Energy Club-goers burned through boxes of free pizza and bantered among themselves about news from Lockheed-Martin, which earlier that day had claimed a breakthrough in developing a compact power source based on nuclear fusion. Though areas and levels of expertise differed, the room was a rolling boil of chatter.

As Energy Club Vice President of Operations Theresa Wilks, a PhD student in nuclear engineering, described L o c k h e e d ’s c o n c e p t to club Co-President G o r d o n Wa l l e r, t w o nearby undergraduates contrasted the costs and designs of nuclear- and coal-powered plants. “All of the U.S. nuclear power plants run on liquid water,” Daniel Budenstein, ME 15, explained to Eric Stenberg, ME 16, a former political science student. Wilks, interested in the breakdown, offered Budenstein her legal pad: “Can you draw it for us?” Budenstein, who cooped at Vogtle, began a quick sketch of a condenser, generator and turbines. Soon, he was up at the whiteboard, leading a presentation of his own. It’s hard to believe that such an impassioned, self-motivated group, which boasts a roster of about 600 students, nearly flamed out soon after its inception about five years ago. Relatively new faculty adviser Shannon Yee, an assistant professor in the G.W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, remembers his first conference call with the club back in August 2013.

“There were just six members at the time,” Yee says. “I think it was purely a function of students wanting to get involved but didn’t know how. Now we have the framework and infrastructure that allows them to come together and take advantage of their common interest in energy.” Since then, the Energy Club has restructured its leadership and fine-tuned its mission as a multidisciplinary alliance focused on not just the technical side of energy, but social, economic and political issues as well. “It’s necessary that engineers today be engaged with business, be engaged with policy,” says Yee, a former ARPA-E fellow who helped form the agency in its first year. “And it’s very, very difficult given all the course requirements in engineering.” Club Co-President Kavin Manickaraj, a PhD student in mechanical engineering, says opportunities for such engagement—most notably, the Energy Chats—became more popular as they became more democratic. “We realized that a formal meeting in a formal setting was creating a barrier between students and presenters,” Manickaraj says. “Lectures are great, but we already get lectured to three to four hours a day as it is.” Energy Clubs first began popping up on college campuses nine years ago, starting with MIT and Berkeley, where Yee served as a club officer while obtaining his doctorate. Georgia Tech’s is one of about 100 worldwide, all linked by the Collegiate Energy Association. The Energy Club recently brought Georgia Tech two major, landmark successes. One was helping nurture a small team of students to compete in the ACC clean energy competition in March, ultimately taking home the $100,000 grand prize. Then, in April, the club launched the Institute’s inaugural Energy Expo, a flagship event for the Southeast region. The club also has been increasing its educational outreach, visiting with elementary school students as well helping CEISMC (Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing) with its weekend workshops for kids.

Top: Energy Club members hone their expertise by entering contests on campus and attending conferences across the country. Bottom: One of the perks of being a member is going on field trips to places such as General Electric’s Power Generation Services Headquarters. Opposite Page: Some of the Energy Club’s earliest meetings were held at pizza places .

Last year, Tech’s Strategic Energy Institute was for all intents and purposes the Energy Club’s sole sponsor, Wilks says. “They saw we had a really good vision and they wanted to help us,” she says. “This year they are also our main sponsor, but we’ve been able to branch out and get many from external companies and are working on private foundations right now.” Wilks says the club had already raised $10,000 by this October—more than its entire 2013-14 school-year budget— and is poised to hit $40,000 before the end of the year. By comparison, Berkeley, according to Yee, has a membership

of around 3,000 and an operating budget of more than $150,000. Yee wants to see Georgia Tech at that level, and says the key is something that plagues every energy scholar: sustainability. “In my experience out west, I haven’t seen anything take as drastic as a jump,” Yee says. “It’s usually very much a step change.” But if the enthusiasm of its leadership and Energy Chat regulars is any indication, Georgia Tech’s Energy Club is just building up steam. “I think everyone is committed to making this a better club,” Co-President Manickaraj says. “Something is always getting done.” GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 90 NO.3 2014

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STUDENT NEWS

Accomplishments, both stunning and silly, by the alumni of tomorrow.

Before the Prototype Building Begins

Erin Peterson

While their prototypes wait, Capstone Design students learn real-world lessons about teamwork, identifying client needs and how to define success. In this second of a four-part series on Tech’s multidisciplinary Capstone Design Project course, we examine what students learn before actually designing and building their products and solutions. Many young musicians would love to be great pianists—but the training required to build that skill can seem tedious, especially when distractions like television or video games beckon. A team of students enrolled in the College of Computing’s Capstone Design course believes it can help solve that problem by giving musicians a tool they’ve dubbed “Hanon,” which provides the discipline of a focused practice environment with the joy of a game similar to Guitar Hero. It’s a simple concept—but they’re also learning that moving from idea to reality is

often far more complex than they’ve ever imagined. The Capstone Design course—offered by numerous Tech programs and taken by hundreds of students every year, including all engineering students in their final year—helps guide teams through the process of creating both valuable and marketable products. Current teams have a wide array of projects: One team is working with the Zoo Atlanta to build software applications and games for orangutans; another is perfecting a mobile toilet to help prevent

Amit Jariwala says that learning these lessons upfront is critical, no matter what problem the team is trying to solve. “The real lesson is for students to question their own assumptions early on,” he says. 0 1 8

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the spread of disease in Kenya. By midOctober, more than 10 weeks into the fall course, the student teams have just begun to create physical prototypes and models. At the same time, some of the most important work has already been completed. Through a rigorous process of defining user needs, conducting market research, and working within many constraints, students learn to build not the solution hey have in their head—but the one the world actually needs. To understand subtleties of the problem they’ve selected to solve, students spend weeks researching their project and conducting interviews with potential users. For the Hanon project, for example, the students did in-depth, one-on-one interviews with both musicians and their instructors. While the musicians’ responses were about what the team expected—they procrastinated and wished for more feedback on their playing more often—they were surprised by the requests by music instructors, says team member David Heath, a computer science and mechanical engineering major. “They got really excited about our idea, and came up with new features like building lesson plans for their students and adding annotations to their students’ music,” he says. The team was delighted to see that instructors not only saw potential with the idea, but also

Mechanical engineering student Ryley Jones and industrial design student Rachel Barber team up to fabricate a part of their Capstone Design project using a milling machine in the Invention Studio. Jones operates the machine while Barber sprays coolant to avoid overheating during cutting.

found new ways to expand the scope of their work. Director of Design and Innovation for the School of Mechanical Engineering Amit Jariwala says that learning these lessons upfront is critical, no matter what problem the team is trying to solve. “Many times, students assume that people need ‘X,’ but what they really need is ‘Y,’” he says. “The real lesson is for students to question their own assumptions early on.” To reinforce the importance of this timeconsuming research, Jariwala brings in successful entrepreneurs to class to share how they used customer feedback to transform good ideas into great ones. At the same time, says Olufisayo Omojokun, a lecturer in the College of Computing, students must learn to suss out what’s important even if their clients can’t fully articulate their needs themselves. “In the real world,” says Omojokun, “clients don’t always have a

complete idea of what they want in the very system they desire.” The other challenge that students must tackle early on is meeting the expectations they have for themselves and for their team. To prevent the all-toocommon experience of one or two team members shouldering the load for the rest of the group, Jariwala makes all teams develop and sign a team charter. Though the charters vary by group, they all include a mission statement and the expectations that students have both of themselves and their team. Jariwala says it would be easy for faculty members to draft a universal “work contract,” but it would never be as effective as the ones students develop themselves. “We want students to succeed,” he says. “But they have to define what that means.” While each of these steps can feel time consuming when teams are eager to begin

building the projects they’ve dreamed up, taking the right steps—rather than the fastest ones—is a skill that students will take with them long after their project has wrapped up. In some cases the knowledge they gain through this early research will ultimately propel them to create their own companies to manufacture, distribute, and sell their products. That larger opportunity is why the course includes an entire class period on intellectual property and filing patents—faculty want students to have the strategies and tools that will benefit them no matter how far they want to take their projects. For now, says Heath, his team will carefully limit the scope of the project, but he sees vast potential. “Our shortterm goals remain the same,” he says. “However, if we pursue Hanon beyond the semester-long project, we will be sure to incorporate the new ideas we found through our research.” GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 90 NO.3 2014

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10 QUESTIONS

A chat with someone who makes Tech tick.

The Geopolitics of Oil and Gas Betsy Pisik

Tech’s Adam Stulberg explains why the U.S. can never truly be energy independent, and why the Persian Gulf is going nuclear. Adam N. Stulberg, an expert on energy and international security, joined the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs in 1998. As associate professor and co-director of the Center for International Strategy, Technology and Policy, he teaches courses in Eurasian politics and nuclear non-proliferation, among other subjects. The former RAND consultant now consults for the defense department and policy think tanks. The Alumni Magazine asked him to share his thoughts on how energy influences today’s geopolitics. You’ve said the United States can never achieve energy independence. Why not?

international energy affairs to integrate it into American foreign policy.

No country can divorce itself from the impact of international markets and exchange. The U.S. currently imports 40 percent of its daily consumed oil. By some estimates we will reduce that further, but in oil and gas you can’t completely avoid the global market, you can only become more or less dependent. We have new energy sources in unconventional oil and gas, and with production increases in both we can become more self-reliant. Domestic energy production has changed the thinking on U.S. energy security, but no expert believes we can extract entirely from world developments.

The delivery. Oil is transported around the world by pipeline, ship and truck. In this globally integrated market, price fluctuations quickly reverberate. Gas is moved mostly through large-diameter pipelines erected among regional markets, with prices and volumes locked in via longterm contracts. Unlike oil, gas producers and users are linked geographically, contractually and via rigid infrastructure that can open the door for non-commercial manipulation or disruption.

How is energy shaping relations between the U.S. and the rest of the world?

How will China’s soaring energy demand shape the global market?

Oil has caught a lot of the attention as a driver of U.S. foreign policy, but that’s really been overstated. That said, energy in general has become integral to U.S. foreign policy. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton created a special envoy and coordinator for

China is increasing supply and demand. It is now one of the world’s biggest energy importers. Yet China also brings more oil to the market by seeking equity stakes in energy exploration around the world. China gets most of its oil from the Middle

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What is the strategic difference between oil and natural gas?

East, but Beijing is trying to diversify both oil and gas with deals with Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Russia and Turkmenistan. The country is still reliant on domestic coal and, increasingly, nuclear power. As of late October, Moscow, Brussels and Kiev have avoided a full-blown gas war. Why are all three so keen to keep the Russia’s gas flowing despite its invasion of Ukraine?

There is a complicated relationship—Russia relies on Ukraine to deliver about 60 percent of its revenue generating gas exports to Europe. Ukraine, although dismembered, needs Russian gas for its own energy requirements, and to make money on the transit of Russian deliveries to Europe. Europe is unlikely to impose sanctions because many of its members in Central and Southern Europe currently lack alternatives and its companies have long-established relations with Russian partners.

How is ISIS manipulating oil for its own benefit?

ISIS has captured oil fields, pipelines and refineries in Syria and Iraq. The Islamic militants have shown an ability to export oil on the global black market to bankroll their activities, and it is leveraging informal and illicit supply lines in a sophisticated way. With ISIS we’re seeing a new dynamic between extremist groups and global trading. Why are so many Gulf countries investigating nuclear power?

Many are experiencing growing domestic

demands in conflict with hydrocarbon exports. Historically, energy has been subsidized and the legitimacy of regimes is bound up in cheap oil. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are among those countries looking at nuclear power to meet rising demand at home and to free up oil exports. Do you think Iran’s nuclear program will include weapons as well as energy?

Iran’s extreme and sustained reticence at pursing diplomatic compromise and its commitment to developing sensitive stages of the fuel cycle suggest non-commercial motives. However, I’m not convinced that Gregory Miller

they are determined to develop a deployable weapon. Sowing uncertainty to deter and possibly coerce, especially its Gulf neighbors, may be the risky strategic objective. Are energy sanctions against “rogue” nations eﬀective?

Sanctions have become a tool of first resort, especially for the U.S. They can be very effective under the right conditions, but they’re tricky. Sanctions tend to work better against your friends than your enemies: You need something of value you can cut off. Sanctions need to be sustained and they are inherently perverse. You’re cutting off something of value and increasing the incentive for others to cheat.

How do you share your geopolitical expertise with other Tech departments that are more focused on other energy matters?

I explore the role that developments in different energy streams, networks and fuel cycles play in geopolitics. Accordingly, I work with students and colleagues in nuclear and mechanical engineering—at GT’s Strategic Energy Institute—as well as public policy and economics, to examine systematically how the infrastructure and social relations in different energy sectors motivate and affect the strategic consequences of inter-state conflict and cooperation. GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 90 NO.3 2014

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OFFICE SPACE

A peek inside a fascinating Yellow Jacket workplace.

Smartest Building on Campus Roger Slavens

While the Carbon Neutral Energy Solutions Laboratory provides a home to cuttingedge energy research, it also stands as an experiment in sustainability itself. Opened in 2012, the Carbon Neutral Energy Solutions (CNES) Laboratory hosts the headquarters for Georgia Tech’s Strategic Energy Institute, as well as labs for conducting a wide range of research on renewable and fossil fuels. The 42,000-square-foot facility, located in the North Avenue Research Area complex, is arguably the smartest building on campus. It’s designed to operate with a net-zero—or carbon

neutral—footprint, generating and conserving enough energy to offset what it expends. To achieve this goal, the LEED Platinum-certified CNES Lab employs numerous cutting-edge, sustainable-design technologies, including photovoltaic solar panels, a 20,000-gallon underground rainwater cistern, insulated Kalwall window panels and much more. Let’s take a closer look at this award-winning facility.

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1. Mechanical Engineering Professor Asegun Henry and his team use the CNES mid-bay lab space to develop a high-efficiency concentrating solar receiver and reactor. 2. Large paddle fans in the facility’s high-bay support better air circulation and venting to help conserve energy and maintain temperatures. 3. The gasifier in the high-bay lab offers one of the cleanest and most flexible ways of converting carbon-rich coal or biomass into electricity, chemicals or clean fuels. 4. The solar power inverter room converts low-voltage direct current (DC) generated by the lab’s more than 1,200 solar panels into alternating current (AC) to power the facility. Opposite Page: The 140-kilowatt crystalline photovoltaic rooftop array and other solar panels together generate an estimated 388,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity a year. Opposite page: TKTK Miller Gregory

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OFFICE SPACE

A peek inside a fascinating Yellow Jacket workplace.

1. Sunny Boy power inverter display showing how many pounds of carbon dioxide the lab has saved through one inverter. 2. Controller for the facility’s Magnitude Magnetic Bearing Chiller that is designed to reduce the chiller’s energy consumption and improve overall energy efficiency. 3. Monitoring system for the CNES Lab’s 20,000-gallon underground rainwater cistern. The cistern collects water from the roof of the lab. The surface area of the roof is so large, the lab only needs 1.5 inches of rainfall to fill the cistern.

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4. Visitors to the CNES Lab can learn more about the facility’s energy efficiency and energy-wise features through an interactive display in the facility’s lobby. 5. The CNES computational lab and office space is designed with an underfloor air distribution system to enhance working comfort. Large windows in this area maximize daylight and provide views into the facility’s high-bay lab. 6. The high-bay mechanical platform contains the facility’s HVAC system equipment that serves the mid-bay lab and office spaces. TKTK

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1. The metal siding exterior of the CNES Lab’s enclosed specialty combustion testing labs includes outlets for future exterior exhaust connections. 2. Intake louvers on the north end of the building are part of the high-bay lab’s energy-efficient natural ventilation system. 3. Low-emissivity glass coatings, along with translucent, insulated Kalwall panels, allow sunlight deep into the facility’s high-bay lab with little direct heat gain. 4. The front entrance of the LEED Platinum CNES Lab includes a shaded glazing system that maximizes daylight and views with minimal solar heat gain. It also incorporates crystalline photovoltaic panels to generate electricity for the facility. GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 90 NO.4 2014

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On the

FIELD

The latest buzz from Tech’s athletic teams and alumni.

Fueling Tech’s Student-Athletes

Jonathan Crowl

Sports dietitian Leah Thomas helps keep the Yellow Jackets healthy and energized. Some days Leah Thomas is a delivery driver, loading milk, granola and other snacks into a golf cart and dropping the items off at team gyms and locker rooms across campus. On other days, she dons a chef’s hat and leads students through a cooking demo that teaches them practical skills for healthy living. And every day she performs her primary job as Tech’s sports dietitian—a job she’s held for the past 11 years—planning a menu that not only keeps the Institute’s nearly 400 athletes healthy and well fed, but also ready for top-level performance in a wide variety of sports. “It’s like having to cater a massive special event seven days a week,” Thomas says. “It’s an overwhelming task that takes a great deal of careful consideration and orchestration.” If that wasn’t enough, on a Thursday morning in mid-October, Thomas found herself charged with managing the chaos created by an NCAA rules change that relaxes regulations on how much food schools can provide their athletes. “Managing the entire process, from ordering and distributing food to overseeing departmental budgets, presents a new learning curve,” Thomas says. “And at this point, there’s only one of me, so I’ve had to enlist the help of student-athletes and even coaching staff members to get things where they need to be.” Despite the short-term headaches the rule changes have caused, Thomas is happy to take on the extra workload. She sees the NCAA’s relaxed regulations as an opportunity for her program to give Tech’s athletes better nutrition and support. “Up until now, I could give a kid a Power Bar, but I couldn’t give him a peanut 0 2 6

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butter sandwich,” Thomas says. “I could give a supplement, but not a meal. As a nutritionist, you want to teach them to eat food, not supplements.” While the revised rules make it easier to provide better nutrition to GT athletes, Thomas says Tech’s Total Person

expanded services. The Total Person Program supports Thomas’ personal philosophy of providing student-athletes with a comprehensive set of nutritional tools. “Many students come to college not knowing even the basic pillars of keeping their bodies healthy, such as proper hydration and building balanced meals,” Thomas says. While the short-term goal is to provide those students with the nutrition they need to perform at their highest level, the Total Person Program aims to provide lifelong skills that students will use years after their playing days are over. To accomplish this, Thomas teaches them other life skills for maintaining a healthy diet—sometimes skills as simple as shopping for groceries.

While the short-term goal is to provide those students with the nutrition they need to perform at their highest level, the Total Person Program aims to provide lifelong skills that students will use years after their playing days are over. Program—designed by former athletics director Homer Rice as a comprehensive system for teaching essential life skills to student-athletes—is still figuring out the logistics of offering such

Thomas also employs some high-tech tools for student-athletes to assess their physical fitness in more accurate terms. One such tool is the Bod Pod, a body fat composition-testing tool, which Thomas

can use to adjust diets and give better nutritional guidance. “Everybody likes a number to see their progress,” Thomas says. “We know that, for a student-athlete, a number of the scale is not a good reflection because they’re so much more muscular than they are fat. By having regular or semi-regular body testing, we have a quick and easy method of testing that physical fitness.” Thomas recently received a new gift that should help her in her job—a sports nutrition lounge. It’s hoped that the area will be used as a go-to space for students between classes and workouts. Thomas says the lounge is designed to have a snack bar feel and accommodate healthy Justen Clay

eating, studying and relaxing. The NCAA rules change was a primary motivation for building the new space. But the loosened NCAA regulations have also brought complications. While the relaxed meal standards were approved by the NCAA in April, Thomas had already submitted her 2014-15 budget for approval. Allowing unlimited meals for students comes at a significantly higher cost, and Thomas says her department is on pace to eat up its budget well before the end of the academic year. “I requested more funding and I got more, but at the time there wasn’t any benchmark for how students would take advantage of the additional meals,”

she says. Thomas is working on several strategies to close the budgetary gap—including securing some sponsorships—and she’s sure the extra expenses will eventually be covered. Credit her confidence to the support she receives from the Institute. When some universities are just beginning to integrate sports nutrition into their athletic operations, Tech was one of the first three schools in the country to hire a fulltime athletic nutritionist, Thomas says. “I don’t have to fight for people to listen to me, because sports nutrition has been a part of Georgia Tech Athletics forever,” she says. “It’s simply a part of what we do.” GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 90 NO.4 2014

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On the

FIELD

The latest buzz from all of Tech’s teams.

Floor General Halfway through last season, redshirt sophomore Corey Heyward stepped up to claim the starting point guard slot for the Yellow Jackets, and he hasn’t looked back since.

SHOOTING STAR After setting the freshman single-season scoring record in Tech and ACC history last season, averaging a whopping 18.6 points per game, Kaela Davis has struck fear into opposing teams—knowing that she will only get better. You’re one of just two returning starters to a hoops squad that showed flashes of greatness last year. How do you see your role this coming season? I see myself as one of the leaders of the team. I speak up for the most part, but I do need to be more of a vocal presence during adverse times. I’ve been around the program for three years now, so I know what to expect. On the court, I need to be more aggressive on the offensive end and attack the basket more during the game, be consistent and ready to shoot. Why did you choose Tech? I chose Tech due to its academic caliber, the down-to-earth players, great coaching staff from which I’ll learn, and its location—I’m a Georgia boy!

do you carry his legacy forward as a person and as an athlete? Growing up, my brothers and I went to most of his games. We watched ESPN together and even went to the golf course with him—I loved collecting golf balls on the course. He got me involved in many sports including football, basketball, tennis and even gymnastics. I carry my father’s legacy by just being myself, and try to impact others the same way he did. He was constantly trying to make somebody laugh. I would consider myself a clown just like him, although I do know when to take things seriously and get to work in the classroom and on the court. I am blessed to have a dad like him and he will always be by my side through the thick and thin.

What role did your father [former NFL running back Craig “Ironhead” Heyward, who died from bone cancer in 2006] play in getting you interested and involved with sports? How

What’s your favorite thing to do besides basketball? I like to work out and stay fit. This past summer, I worked hard to put my body into tiptop shape for this upcoming season.

•

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You had an incredible season last year, being named to the All-ACC Freshman Team and All-ACC Second Team. How do you build on that success? I’ve been really focusing on improving my shot selection— especially sharpening up things inside of the 3-point line—as well as my passing.. What’s been your favorite memory as a Yellow Jacket so far? Overall, it’s been being able to play in the ACC with amazing teammates against incredible competition. And our foreign tour last year. What’s the biggest challenge of being a student-athlete at Tech? Excelling in the classroom and on the court has a ton to do with time management. I make sure I get as much of my classwork done ahead of time as possible so I can be 100 percent focused during practice and games. What do you do in your free time? I love to watch movies and build Legos—they’re both really relaxing.

the BASELINE

scheduled for the GT men’s basketball team 30 Games this year, arguably its toughest schedule to date GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 90 NO.4 2014

since Georgia Tech joined the 36 Years Atlantic Coast Conference

teams 583 Intramural at Tech

ON THE JOB

Celebrating the fascinating and offbeat careers of Tech alumni.

Building a Gas Pipeline Halfway Across the World Jonathan Crowl

Decie Autin, ChE 80, helped lead ExxonMobil’s $19 billion project in Papua New Guinea.

At Georgia Tech, Decie Autin stud-

ied and trained to be an engineer, not a community relations expert. But when ExxonMobil selected her in 2008 to be the supervisingprojectexecutivefortheconstruction of a major new liquid natural gas pipeline, Autin knew that to be successful, she’d have to work closely with local families and landowners. It’s one of the many skills Autin has had to learn while moving up from frontline engineering to management. However, this project wasn’t situated in any community close to Autin’s 0 3 0

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home in Houston. The pipeline was to be built halfway around the world in Papua New Guinea.This location presented extraordinary challenges for Autin and her team—and not just due to the distance. For one, the Papua New Guinea Liquid Natural Gas (PNGLNG) pipeline proved to be intimidating simply because of the path it traces. “The line travels 700 kilometers to carry natural gas from the

country’s highlands across terrain that’s very rugged, with lots of mountains and volcanoes, down to the coast near Port Moseby to be processed into LNG,” Autin says. Culturally, the country is also very different than the United States. “Papua New Guinea has more than 800 languages,” Autin says. “And its people are spread out, 85 percent of them living in rural settings, living in little pockets.” To complicate matters even more, most of the country’s roughly 7 million citizens had little-to-no experience seeing a woman in such a leadership position. All of these added up to make the PNGLNG project the most challenging one she’s ever worked on in her 30-plus years with ExxonMobil. The logistical hurdles of building the pipeline from mountaintop to shore were trickier than she could have imagined. “When you face problems, you need to work through the logic to solve them,” Autin says. On the PNGLNG project, we faced so many issues: ‘How do you move this, how do you get these people to agree, how do you work with the government?’”

Know a Ramblin’ Wreck with a fascinating job? Tell us all about their interesting

career at publications@gtalumni.org.

The pipeline’s remote point of origin demonstrated just one of several difficult problems that Autin and her team faced. There was a single 800-kilometer highway into the Hides area where the natural gas was drilled and produced—the last 200 kilometers of which were unpaved. Faced with either building an airport or driving supplies all the way up that road, Autin loaded up in a truck and surveyed the road for herself. What she found was a major infrastructure project: There were not just 200 kilometers of road to pave, but also 98 bridges to cross, many of which required upgrades to use. “We ran the economics, and the airport won out,” Autin says. Building the airport, the pipeline itself and other related work, the PNGLNG project employed up to 22,000 people at its peak. In total, more than 55,000 individuals from across the globe were somehow involved in the pipeline’s construction. After an estimated $19 billion in construction costs, the pipeline today produces 1 billion cubic feet of liquid natural gas each day. And it was Autin who stood in charge of making sure everything went as planned. “My commitment was to deliver on the entire project,” she says. Not only did Autin fulfill her commitment, she did so ahead of expectations. The PNGLNG project shipped its first cargo load of natural gas in May 2014, five months ahead of schedule. The liquid natural gas pipeline will meet rising natural gas demands in Asia—particularly Japan, Hong Kong and China. As happy as Autin is with the PNGLNG’s technical successes, she also found tremendous fulfillment in her role working directly with the people of Papua New Guinea. ExxonMobil sponsored numerous community efforts throughout the duration of the pipeline construction and, during her free time, Autin became very involved in developing programs to help empower and train the country’s women. “One of ExxonMobil’s core efforts across the globe is to help educate women,” Autin says. “Anytime you educate the women in a community, you expand the limits of what they can do.” In the end, Autin left a strong imprint

Above: Decie Autin (top photo, at left; bottom photo, in center) didn’t just help build a pipeline, she also led community projects to help Papua New Guineans. She was especially involved in training and empowering local women. Opposite page: The Papua New Guinea Liquid Natural Gas pipeline snakes through the forests and mountainous regions of the island nation, eventually reaching the coastline.

on the nation—so strong that a Papua New Guinea firm, Hides Gas Development Company (HGDC), now sponsors the Decie Autin Engineering Scholarship for Women. HGDC Chairman Libe Parindali says Autin was chosen as the scholarship’s namesake to honor the pipeline as an impressive feat of engineering, as well as to

tribute her humble and capable leadership. Autin’s reaction fit the chairman’s description. “At first I was embarrassed ... then I was proud,” Autin says. “I’m very fortunate and very blessed. There were plenty of women on our project team. Of all people, I thought it was interesting that they wanted to honor me.” GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 90 NO.4 2014

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INNOVATE

A few of the most exciting recent breakthroughs from faculty, students and alumni.

TITIN: Wear Weight to Lose Weight What is it? Form-fitting exercise shirt with 8-pound

gel inserts to improve strength and endurance during athletic training. Who made it? Patrick Whaley, ME 10 What inspired it? As a kid, Whaley came up with the idea of loading his backpack with books to help him get stronger. He developed the idea further as an engineer at Georgia Tech, creating prototypes of weighted workout gear. In 2009, he was shot during an armed robbery and used his prototype to help him regain his strength more quickly. He launched TITIN after winning the 2010 InVenture Prize at Georgia Tech. TITIN was recently featured on the ABC TV show Shark Tank. Why is it game changing? Correctly wearing weights on your body increases the intensity of your training, leading to better performance. Unlike other weighted exercise gear, TITIN’s gel inserts are evenly distributed over the body’s muscle groups and the tight fit keeps them from moving around during exercise.

SEAT ME What is it? A crowdsourced smartphone

FIXD

What is it? A device that plugs into a car’s diagnostic port and can explain a problem, how serious it is, and provide an estimate for the cost of repair. The device also uses Bluetooth to connect to a smartphone app. Who made it? A team of students, including John Gattuso, a senior majoring in mechanical engineering; Rachel Ford, a senior majoring in biomedical engineering, Rikin Marfatia, a senior in the School of Computer Science; and recent grad Kevin Miron, ME 14. What inspired it? FIXD was one of eight teams formed during “Startup Summer,” a 12week Georgia Tech internship for students who want to launch startup companies to market their inventions. Each team was provided a mentor, workspace and $15,000 to further develop their ideas. Why is it game changing? FIXD offers car owners a sense of control and piece of mind. As soon as there is a problem, FIXD can provide answers and help owners better understand their vehicles. 0 3 2

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app that helps you choose the best seat in class based on visibility, proximity to electric outlets and WiFi signal strength. Who made it? Georgia Tech students Ying Yao, Casey Mann and Peter Sohl What inspired it? Airline websites that allow you to view and select your seat on an airplane when you book a ticket. Why is it game changing? This app will help students avoid getting stuck in a crummy seat all semester. You can look ahead of time to see what other students thought were the best seats in the classroom based on various factors that may be important to you.

JACKET COPY

Recent books penned by members of the Georgia Tech community.

Understanding the Global Energy Crisis Richard A. Simmons, ME 93 (and Eugene D. Coyle)

This book champions engineers and policy makers working together to solve the world’s energy problems. It’s designed to bridge the gap between these two groups, with a particular emphasis on educating the socially conscious engineers and technologists of the future. The editors present an overview of the global energy crisis from historical, political and sociocultural perspectives, as well as collect expert commentary on the technology and policy issues facing the development of conventional and renewable energy sources.

NONFICTION

MEMOIR

NONFICTION

Shooting Stars: My Unexpected Life Photographing Hollywood’s Most Famous

The Georgia Peach, Stumped by the Storyteller

While she was down on her luck in Los Angeles, Jennifer Buhl had an encounter with a paparazzo that led her to pursue a career photographing celebrities. Before long, she was one of the top “paps” in Hollywood and one of just a handful of women in the business. Buhl shares stories of her celebrity encounters, her experience in the often rough paparazzi world and her own story of searching for love.

Ron Cobb’s historical research aims to debunk many of the myths surrounding baseball legend Ty Cobb (no relation to the author), who is often portrayed as a violent and unstable figure. The author contends that Cobb’s bad reputation was largely due to a 1961 biography released after his death, and presents evidence that the wildest stories were fabricated his biographer, Al Stump.

Jennifer Buhl, Mgt 93

William R. “Ron” Cobb, Phys 66, MS NE 67, PhD NE 70

PHOTOGRAPHY

Go Outside and Come Back Better: Benefits From Nature That Everyone Should Know Ron Lizzi, EE 86

Through 160 photographs of public lands across the U.S., including 120 national and state parks in all 50 states, author and shutterbug Ron Lizzi encourages readers to explore and enjoy nature. His photos showcase America’s diverse natural wonders, ranging from coastlines to canyons.

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@ ISSUE

Answering the question, “What does Georgia Tech think?”

How concerned should we be about climate change? Threats such as ISIS, ebola and shaky economies seem much more immediate and tangible than global warming. We asked two of Tech’s top experts in the field to discuss the issue.

Uncertainty Doesn’t Mean We Shouldn’t Take Action Judith Curry At the recent United Nations Climate Summit, U.N. Secretary-

General Ban Ki-moon warned that “without significant cuts in emissions by all countries, and in key sectors, the window of opportunity to stay within less than 2 degrees [of warming] will soon close forever.” The premise of dangerous human-caused climate change is the foundation for President Barack Obama’s plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. So, is there an overwhelming scientific justification for the premise of dangerous human-caused climate change and the urgency for immediate action? I am concerned that the problem and its solution have been vastly oversimplified. The climate has always changed and will continue to change. Humans are adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, and carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases have a warming effect. However, there is enduring uncertainty beyond these basic facts, and the most consequential aspects of climate science are the subject of vigorous scientific debate: whether the warming since 1950 has been dominated by human causes, and how the climate will evolve in the 21st century due to both natural and human causes. There is growing evidence that the climate is less sensitive to adding greenhouse gases than has been predicted by climate models. Solar variability, volcanic eruptions and long-term ocean oscillations will continue to be sources of unpredictable climate surprises. Societal uncertainties further cloud the issues as to whether warming is “dangerous” and whether we can afford to radically reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the near term. Can we make good decisions under conditions of deep uncertainty about climate change? Uncertainty in itself is not a reason for Judith Curry is Professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Georgia Tech, specializing in the dynamics of weather, climate and the atmosphere. 0 3 4

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inaction. Research to develop low-emission energy technologies and energy efficiency measures are examples of “robust” policies that have little downside. It is in America’s long-term political and economic interests to develop a renewable alternative to fossil fuels. However, attempts to modify the climate by reducing carbon dioxide emissions may turn out to be futile. The hiatus in warming since 1998 demonstrates carbon dioxide is not a control knob on climate variability on decadal time scales. Even if carbon dioxide mitigation strategies are successful and projections are correct, any climate impact would not be expected until the latter part of this century. Whether or not human-caused climate change is exacerbating extreme weather events, vulnerability to these events will continue— owing to increasing population and wealth in vulnerable regions. Climate change may be less important than rising populations, land use practices and ecosystem degradation. Regions that find solutions to problems of climate variability and extreme weather, and address relevant challenges of an increasing population, are likely to be well prepared to cope with any additional stresses from climate change.

magnitude of future climate change impacts, but such uncertainties are two-sided. It is equally likely that future impacts will be less than or greater than those projected by climate models. So yes, there is a very small chance that climate change impacts will be relatively benign over the next century, with modest damages. But there is also a very small chance that those impacts will translate into economic “catastrophe”— in the jargon of economists who attempt to quantify climate change risks. In this sense, inaction on climate change is like betting against the house when you know the deck is stacked in its favor. You might be willing to lose a few bucks for a small chance of a huge payout, but you wouldn’t bet your life’s savings. For those who are concerned, it’s often unclear what, if anything, can be done to avert climate change. It is true that whatever steps we take today to limit greenhouse gas emissions, climate change will still accelerate over the next decades—the climate system and energy infrastructure both carry appreciable momentum. But by the same token, the longer we wait to begin curbing emissions in earnest, the tighter we lock future generations into a path of accelerating climate change. For every year we delay, we accept (knowingly or not) that the stabilization level for greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere will be ever higher, and the associated climate risks ever greater. The recent agreement between the United States and China to limit emissions growth over the next decades is an important down payment towards collective climate action, but the most effective action will come when each and every American understands that they have a role to play in reducing emissions. The power of collective action is demonstrated during a class project in my “Energy, the Environment, and Society” course that I teach at Tech each spring. In the Carbon Reduction Challenge, student teams compete to reduce CO2 emissions over the course of two short months. The most successful teams engage with private-sector partners, and the savings they achieve are remarkable. One winning team averted over 180,000 pounds of CO2 emissions by recycling wooden pallets at a large manufacturing plant. That’s equivalent to taking 15 cars off the road for an entire year. If each American began to rethink how they conduct their own “business as usual,” and that of their workplace, we could begin to pay down the climate debt while paving the way for a sustainable energy and climate future for our children and grandchildren. A collective effort to reduce energy use, when combined with the continued development and deployment of affordable, lowcarbon energy technologies, puts such a goal in reach.

We Have to Start Paying Down Our Climate Debt Now Kim Cobb As a climate scientist, I firmly believe that if Americans under-

stood the facts about climate change, they would be concerned enough to support a comprehensive, data-driven plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Nobody with any knowledge on the subject denies that carbon dioxide (CO2) derived from the burning of fossil fuels is measurably warming the planet. Nobody denies that the risks of climate change will accelerate as greenhouse gas emissions accelerate. And nobody denies that, given the long lifetime of CO2 in the atmosphere, the climatic response of our current emissions will play out over the lifetimes of our children and our grandchildren. They will inherit our generation’s climate debt, and its accrued interest, potentially in the form of irreversible impacts. Opponents of climate action cite grave uncertainties about the Gregory Miller

Kim Cobb is Associate Professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Georgia Tech, specializing in paleoclimates, climate change and geochemistry. GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 90 NO.4 2014

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ENERGY 101 Find the energy arena confusing? One of Georgia Tech’s most highly regarded MOOCs helps newbies make some sense of it. BY ROGER SLAVENS

Few topics are as complex and politically charged as energy. That’s why many people prefer to steer clear of even trying to understand how the science and business models behind energy production and distribution work. A few years ago, Tech’s Sam Shelton led the effort to demystify the topic, launching a Massive Open Online Course titled “Energy 101” as a public education resource available for free to anyone across the globe with a computer and Internet access. Unlike Tech’s other MOOCs, the course wasn’t part of a specific curriculum. “Energy 101 was never intended to be offered for credit,” Shelton says. “It was geared for anybody curious enough to commit a little time each week to learn the big picture behind energy and its role in transportation, heating, lighting and manufacturing.” The course also helped reinforce Georgia Tech’s position as a thought leader in energy, he says. Shelton’s module-style approach breaks down energy by first reviewing society’s needs and demands, then discussing all of the current natural resources that generate energy: coal, natural gas, oil, nuclear, solar and wind. It wraps up by investigating the technologies and processes that convert renewable, fossil fuel and nuclear materials into power. When Energy 101 was first offered in January 2012, approximately 30,000 students of all types—from ambitious high schoolers in the U.S. to energy-industry 0 3 6

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professionals overseas—signed up for the seven-week MOOC. More than 6,000, or 20 percent, completed the course, an impressive feat considering the average MOOC has a 6 percent completion rate. Perhaps that’s because of Shelton’s dynamic teaching style. He’s been a professor of mechanical engineering at Tech for nearly 40 years, and he’s both a familiar name and face on campus, as well as within the energy industry. Not only is Shelton a founding director of GT’s Strategic Energy Institute—where today he still works part time as a senior fellow—but he’s a recognized pioneer in developing commercial solar energy technologies. One of his claims to fame is that he led the team that engineered the high-tech torch used for the 1996 Centennial Olympics. Shelton is in the process of redesigning Energy 101 as an on-demand offering that’s scheduled to be available in January 2015 at coursera.org/gatech.

The U.S. is paying more than $216 billion a year for imported oil, money that could be spent domestically to boost the economy. The U.S. imports about 7.5 million barrels of oil per day, adding up to more than approximately 2.7 billion barrels per year, which at $80 per barrel equals $216 billion.

China releases almost double the CO2 into the atmosphere as the U.S.. The world’s most-populated country has continued to ramp up energy production and in 2013 was responsible for 28 percent of global CO2 emissions, compared to 14 percent for the U.S. Last month, both countries pledged to reduce greenhouse emissions.

SIX IMPORTANT (AND PERHAPS SURPRISING) LESSONS YOU’LL LEARN IN ENERGY 101 (READ CLOCKWISE STARTING AT RIGHT)

The carbon footprint of an electric vehicle may actually be higher than a similarly sized gaspowered vehicle depending on where you live in the United States. Why? In spite of the zero emissions plaque on an EV, you still have to add in the carbon emissions at the local power plant that produces the electricity for the vehicle. For example, in regions with the “dirtiest” electric grid, the all-electric Nissan Leaf was equal in global warming emissions to a gas-powered car that earned 34 mpg, according to an analysis by the Union of Concerned Scientists.

The U.S. dependence on oil imports is more than twice as much today as it was during the OPEC oil embargo in 1973.

The U.S. captures five times as much energy from wind as it does from solar. Wind accounts for about 1.6 percent of total U.S. energy utilized, compared to just 0.3 percent for solar. That percentage will surely change as solar continues to become more economical.

In 1973, the U.S. imported 17 percent of its oil use versus about 40 percent in 2013. That said, despite increasing U.S. demand, oil imports are trending downward as domestic shale oil production reaches new heights.

Solar and wind energy have little to do with reducing our oil use, our oil imports or our dependency on foreign oil. Why? Wind and solar are primarily used to produce electricity, and only a negligible amount of oil (.5 percent) is used to produce electricity. Using oil to run a power plant costs four times as much as gas.

Sources: U.S. Energy Information Association, Union of Concerned Scientists, Global Carbon Report

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The Last New Coal Plant in Georgia America?

Dean Alford, EE 76, goes against the grain in his nearly decade-long quest to build a coal plant in Washington County. BY M E L I S S A W E I N M A N | P H O T O S BY G R E G O RY M I L L E R

Dean Alford never expected to become the face of a coal plant. A clean-cut businessman with snow-

white hair and a matching mustache, he looks comfortable in a tailored suit with a pocket-square intricately styled into three points over his chest. Despite his manicured appearance, he has an easy presence and comfortable charm. His big smile and Southern accent that’s equal parts folksy and sophisticated are a testament to his many years in politics. As president and CEO of Allied Energy, Alford, EE 76, has acted as spokesman for a proposed coal plant in Georgia that has gained national attention amid sweeping new regulations on

carbon emissions from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In 2008, Allied, which develops energy projects for clients in North and Central America and the Caribbean, filed a permit to build a new, $2.1 billion, 850-megawatt coal plant on behalf of a corporation called Power 4 Georgians. The coal-fired power plant—known as Plant Washington—is to be built in Washington County, just outside of Sandersville. Despite many road bumps and challenges, the project is still underway. The Georgia Environmental Protection Division recently granted

Coal Still No. 1 Source for Generating Electricity US. Electricity Sources by Percentage Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration Coal 39% Natural Gas 27% Nuclear 19% Hydropower 7% Other Renewable 6% Wind 4.1% Biomass 1.5% Other (incl. Petroleum, Geothermal, Solar, Other Gases < 1.5%

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the Plant Washington team an 18-month extension to of its existing state air quality permits. Alford says the extension gives the team time to determine how the project could be possibly impacted by the U.S. EPA’s proposed new regulations. “Right now we’re full speed ahead,” Alford says. “It very well could be the last coal plant built in this country for a very long time.” Many doubt that Plant Washington will ever become a reality. The project has been held up for years by evolving air pollution regulations, and lengthy court challenges have slowed the project down. “We didn’t believe there’d be quite this much uncertainty, but we knew there’d be some,” Alford says. “It’s been an interesting project.”

In 2013, the United States generated approximately 4,058 billion kilowatt hours of electricity. About 67 percent of the electricity was from fossil fuels. According to the International Energy Agency, coal generates approximately 40 percent of the world’s electricity, making it the single greatest source of electricity in the world. Coal has been the fastest-growing energy source of the 21st century, mostly due to the growth of developing economies, particularly China. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, China is by far the world’s largest producer and consumer of coal. China accounts for 49 percent of the world’s total coal. The next largest consumer of coal is the United States, which accounts for 11 percent. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that if current carbon emission rates aren’t reduced, the world will burn through its “carbon budget” in less than 30 years. The budget refers to a global initiative to keep the earth’s temperature from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius—after which many scientists believe that dangerous consequences of climate change, such as rising sea levels, severe storms and drought will occur.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;I believe this is the right thing to do for this state, and the right thing to do for this country, not to kill one of our energy sources.â&#x20AC;?

But despite the risks, Alford and his team decided to double down. Power 4 Georgians wants the plant to provide power for Georgia’s projected population growth. Alford says the project’s backers have been very patient. And Georgia is a more coal-friendly environment than many other states. Drawing on his comfortable charm, Alford reaches into his mental pocket for a story to explain the circumstances. He said one day while he was fishing as a boy, he asked his father what causes morning dew. His father answered: “When the conditions are right, it just shows up.” In the case of Plant Washington, the conditions were just right. “To take some of these risks with out kn owin g answers has and will pay off,” Alford says. “The folks that have been involved understand the importance of coal in the energy mix.” ∏ Plant Washington is to be built near the city of Sandersville in Washington County, Ga. Building power plants is an Alford says many in the small, central Georgia community support the project extremely expensive and timebecause of the positive economic impact the power plant would bring to the region. consuming process, Alford When it comes to energy, Alford believes in an “all-of-thesays. So it’s easy to understand why many would back out with above” strategy. He supports the expansion of coal at a time when so much uncertainty. the U.S. is looking to wean off of it as the main source of electricity. “Nobody believed we’d ever get the permit,” Alford says He believes that the country needs to come up with a comprewith a smile. “I’ve collected a few lunches on that bet.” hensive strategy that includes everything from solar energy to coal to provide for the energy needs of the future. While things have fallen into place with Plant Washing“There’s no magic bullet,” Alford says. ton, the project hasn’t just been lucky, but almost impossibly Which is why, against the odds, Alford is helping to shepherd lucky. As a plant already in progress, Plant Washington was the development of a new coal plant in central Georgia. As new exempted by name in the EPA’s proposed guidelines for new regulations and a changing energy market cause old, dirty coal power plants. plants around the country to shutter, Alford is working to build The Environmental Protection Agency released the new what could very well be the last new coal plant built in the U.S.— regulations for greenhouse gas emissions in January 2014. at least for a long time. The new rules, which have not yet been finalized, propose “a His work may not be popular with many, but Alford believes separate standard of performance for plants that burn coal, it’s necessary for coal to remain a viable piece of the nation’s fupetroleum coke and other fossil fuels that is based on partial ture energy portfolio. “I believe this is the right thing to do for this implementation of carbon capture and storage as the best sysstate, and the right thing to do for this country, not to kill one of tem of emission reduction.” our energy sources,” Alford says. A relatively new technology known as carbon capture Back when work on Plant Washington was first getting started, and storage, or CCS, would capture carbon emissions from there were 15 other coal projects in the works. Since that time, all coal-fired power plants and bury them in sealed, underhave been canceled because of regulatory changes and economground rock formations, rather than releasing them from a ic concerns. “When people feel the first bit of resistance, they flee,” smokestack into the atmosphere. Though coal may never be Alford says. “Uncertainty causes a lot of people to bail out.” 042

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considered a “clean” energy source, CCS plants would create far less pollution than a typical coal plant by preventing greenhouse gases and other chemicals from billowing out of smoke stacks. Currently, only a handful of these facilities exist in the world. Alford says the biggest problem with carbon capture technology is that because it’s so new, it’s incredibly expensive. Plant Washington will not be built with carbon capture equipment. But it will be constructed with the option of adding the technology in the future. “We designed our stack in a way that we will be able to do carbon capture when the technology is available for us to do that,” Alford says. “The proposed rule for greenhouse gases, the level they are requiring for coal plants is not at this time technologically and economically feasible.”

For an example of why scientists are hoping to curb the use of coal, look no further than Beijing, China, where air pollution is so bad that a thick, gray haze often cloaks the sky and pedestrians regularly wear masks so they don’t get sick from breathing the air. Burning fossil fuels has been shown to increase the temperature of the earth. The United States’ restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions are an effort to curb this climate change, which scientists believe will lead to flooding, food shortages, animal extinction and other catastrophic consequences. However, Alford says that even without carbon capture technology, Plant Washington would be much cleaner than a traditional coal plant. Alford uses cars as an analogy: Comparing plans for Plant Washington to an old coal plant would be like trying to compare the efficiency of a brand new 2015 model to a car made in the 1960s. Alford says there are several things that will help make the Plant Washington create less pollution. It will employ a supercritical broiler, meaning it will burn at a very high temperature to create more energy with less coal, and wet scrubbers will be used to remove pollutants like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide from the facility’s emissions. Alford says about 80 percent of the proposed facility would be dedicated to cleaning the airstream. “The technology to remove pollutants is amazing,” he says. Alford thinks replacing old, coal-burning power plants with newer, more efficient ones could be a way to reduce air pollution without taking away one of the nation’s major energy sources. “This is a strategy that could really work and be a part of the mix.” Alford says. “It’s too important not to look at it.”

Despite Alford’s optimism, Plant Washington has fierce

critics. Some concerns are pragmatic, such as those questioning the logic of building an expensive new coal plant at a time when natural gas is cheaper, cleaner and more abundant. Others have economic concerns. Georgia Watch, a consumer protection organization, commissioned a report in 2011 that concluded Plant Washington would cause electricity rates to go up by as much as 20 percent due to factors including the high cost of construction, increasingly stringent environmental regulations and the volatility of coal prices. And of course, a major concern is that a new coal-fired plant might pollute the surrounding environment. In addition to the waste that would come out of the smoke stacks, the plant would also require a significant amount of water from the already-strapped Oconee River. But Alford has come to terms with the criticism and maintains his belief that the plant would benefit Georgians. “I learned a long time ago if you’re going to do anything of significance, people are going to disagree with you,” Alford says. Alford himself has become the target of much of the opposition over the years, with some accusing him of taking on the project as a way to make money for himself and his politically connected friends. His opponents have not just been quietly writing letters to the editor—though they’ve been doing that too—but staging more public displays against Alford and Plant Washington. Alford says he’s been the center of street protests, with crowds

“It’s important to this community. It’s a $2 billion investment and [means] hundreds of jobs. I’ve had people stop me on the street ... and encourage me to continue.” gathering for hours at a time to picket. He’s seen his face plastered on billboards with less than kind words. He says while his detractors are very vocal, he’s also encouraged by the people who support what he’s doing. “It’s important to this community. It’s a $2 billion investment and [means] hundreds of jobs,” Alford says. “I’ve had people stop me on the street down there in Washington County and encourage me to continue because their kids need jobs.” Alford has a unique perspective on energy because of not only his professional career, but his experience on the policy side of the industry. GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 90 NO.4 2014

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He spent a decade in elected office, during which he got to see first hand how energy can be a heated political issue. At age 28, Alford ran for the Georgia House of Representatives and won a seat representing east DeKalb and Rockdale counties. After that initial victory, Alford went on to win reelection several more times, serving in the House for 10 consecutive years. Alford says he learned many invaluable lessons during his time in the state Legislature. “I’ll always be indebted to the people of my district for giving me that opportunity,” Alford says. The Georgia General Assembly is a tough environment that requires one to develop a thick skin. And it was under that Gold Dome that Alford learned the art of disagreement. In the 1980s and 90s, the state Legislature was a far different place. Back then, the era of Southern Democratic dominance was coming to an end and Republicans were gaining momentum, leading to a state government that was far more purple than today’s deep shade of red. The split made it necessary for legislators with differing viewpoints to work together in order to make the state function. He says his biggest takeaway from the General Assembly was accepting differences of opinion. To be an effective legislator, you had to listen to diverse perspectives—whether they came from your constituents or your colleagues. These days, he worries about the state of political discourse

He’s also been appointed to several state boards, including the original Georgia Technology Board, the Georgia Board of Education, the State Board of the Technical College System of Georgia and the University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents. In fact, Alford is the only Georgian to serve on all three of the state’s education boards. “I’m really honored by that,” he says.

Alford may be somewhat known—for good and bad—for

his vocal support of coal, but he first made a name for himself in the field of energy conservation. After getting out of Tech, Alford spent a few years with Georgia Power before starting his own company in the midst of the energy crisis of the 1970s. His firm helped utilities improve their conservation and efficiency efforts—relatively new interests at the time. Before energy prices soared in the ’70s, power was so cheap that no one gave much thought to efficiency or conservation. But with a need to save costs, those ideas were not just about helping the earth, but making sound business decisions. “Energy efficiency was really not part of the vocabulary,” Alford says. It was a concept Alford says he learned from his electrical engineering professors at Tech. “It was a new phenomenon and it was a culture change for some of my clients,” Alford says. “Today, energy efficiency is very much a part of how they conduct business.” Alford says individuals are also much more cognizant of their own thermostats and light bulbs than they ever were decades ago. “Customers have become more aware that they take control of their own destiny a little,” Alford says. Alford was practically born for a career in the energy field. He was raised by a father who spent 40 years providing for the family as a cable splicer at Georgia Power. While at Georgia Tech, Alford worked as a co-op engineer with Georgia Power while he earned his electrical engineering degree. He followed the path that his father always hoped he would take: “His dream was for his boys to go to Georgia Tech and be engineers,” Alford says. Like his father, Alford has great confidence in Georgia Tech. He believes researchers and engineers from Tech have the ability to create solutions for the world’s growing energy needs. “What’s important for Tech is that it doesn’t put constraints on them for political gain,” Alford says. “Sometimes you’ve got to go against the grain to really make great discoveries.” As Alford’s Plant Washington project moves forward— against the grain—he remains resolute and resourceful enough to finally make it a reality in what he hopes is the very near future.

“Differing opinions are how we discover and broaden our horizons. We really do almost discourage different thought.” and debate that’s often rigid and dogmatic. “Differing opinions are how we discover and broaden our horizons,” Alford says. “We really do almost discourage different thought.” Though the attacks against the coal plant have at times been more personal than he’d prefer, he doesn’t discourage the pushback. “They have that right,” Alford says of his critics. Regardless of how you feel about him, you can’t deny that Alford has spent a lot of time and energy working in his community. His resume includes a long list of involvement in various organizations, from the Rotary Club to the Boy Scouts of America, the Conyers/Rockdale Chamber of Commerce, the Boys and Girls Club and of course, Georgia Tech. Alford has served on several of the Institute’s advisory boards—including the Alumni Association’s Board of Trustees, for which he served as chairman in fiscal year 2013. 044

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CHARGING

Ahead

Georgia Tech researchers play a vital role in solving the energy problems of todayâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and tomorrow. Not only are they developing disruptive technologies to advance the efficiency and viability of renewable and traditional energy sources, but they also are bringing together scientists, policy makers, business leaders and consumers to build a strategy for ensuring a sustainable future. BY MARK ANDERSON

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If big problems demand big responses, then it’s only appropriate that the nation’s biggest engineering school steps up to address perhaps the nation’s biggest engineering challenge: energy. Few sectors hold a greater direct impact

on our economy—and nearly every aspect of modern life. Energy fuels our household comforts and conveniences, our vehicles, manufacturing and communications. And our demand for power to support our way of living and doing business is rising rapidly. The U.S. Energy Information Administration predicts that an increasing global population and growing economies will drive energy demand up more than 50 percent by 2035. Reliably and affordably powering the present and near future—while still maximizing America’s energy independence and minimizing the risks of climate change—makes for an incredibly difficult puzzle to solve. But it’s also a challenge tailor-made for Tech, an institution known as much for its scientific and technological innovation as it is for its leadership on issues of great societal importance. The Georgia Tech Strategic Energy Institute (SEI) brings the breadth and depth of this energy expertise together to define, design and develop a new energy supply and utilization paradigm for the 21st century and beyond. Founded in 2004, SEI engages more than 200 faculty members from diverse disciplines and serves as a conduit for connecting, coordinating and cultivating energy-related resources, expertise and infrastructure across the Institute. And its goal stands as nothing less than to solve the world’s most pressing energy challenges, namely:

∂ Developing clean, sustainable energy sources that are economically viable;

∂ Reducing carbon emissions; ∂ Improving energy consumption through greater efficiency;

∂ Exploring better ways to utilize existing technologies; and

∂ Understanding the economic and policy implications for our energy decisions.

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“Georgia Tech’s energy program aims not just to address the current needs, but to address them in the context of the future—where the needs will be,” says SEI Executive Director Tim Lieuwen, MS ME 97, PhD ME 99. “We want to raise the important questions before they have been asked and shape the discussion and technology development around these complex issues as the energy landscape continues to evolve.” Opportunities and challenges abound in all sectors. According to the International Energy Agency, the U.S. shale oil and gas revolution will next year put America ahead of Russia and Saudi Arabia as the world’s top oil producer. Yet, at the same time, Bloomberg New Energy Finance projects that nearly $700 billion will be invested in renewable energy—especially wind and solar power—over the next two decades, achieving 343 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity and revolutionizing the entire energy industry with it. Of course, whether conventional or renewable, focusing on energy sourcing alone would leave out the equally important distribution problem. The existing electric grid, more than a century old, wasn’t designed to distribute and manage thousands of intermittent renewable energy generating sites and microgrids. To refashion a robust 21st century electric grid out of the emerging new energy infrastructure also requires careful planning and smart solutions. From improving the technologies for conventional and renewable resources like solar, wind and nuclear, to stabilizing the grid to better support future energy needs, Tech researchers and the Strategic Energy Institute are working beyond traditional research boundaries to address our most pressing energy challenges on virtually every front.

Transforming Solar Power Into Global Power

hen he came to Tech

from Westinghouse in 1985, Ajeet Rohatgi became Tech’s first full-time solar energy researcher. Today Rohatgi is the John H. Weitnauer Jr. Chair in the College of Engineering and director of the University Center of Excellence for Photovoltaic Research and Education. And in no small part because of Rohatgi’s leadership in solar photovoltaic (PV) research, Tech has helped shepherd along—and develop the talent to staff—the stillnascent solar industry. “Since 1992, I personally have collaborated with almost 50 companies in the U.S.,” Rohatgi says. “So every company that works in silicon solar cells has interacted with Tech in some form or another.” And since 2009, Rohatgi has also served as CTO of a Tech spinoff company called Suniva which has 250 employees today building solar PV arrays with 170 megawatts of manufacturing capacity in Georgia, with another 200 megawatt plant now slated to be built in Saginaw County, Michigan. From both the academic and industry perspective, solar PV today is on the cusp of a revolutionary threshold. So-called grid parity, in which solar PV costs no more than any other conventional source, is achievable in the U.S., Rohatgi says. “The price of [PV] electricity today is between 11 and 15 cents per kilowatt-hour,” he says. “And if you’re in a more sunny climate it is even cheaper. Now we’re within striking distance from grid parity with fossil fuels.” According to a report issued by Deutsche Bank in October, between 36 and 47 U.S. states (including Georgia) will achieve grid parity by 2016. And just in the six states where solar is already at grid parity—where 90 percent of the U.S.’s solar energy production has been based to date—installed solar capacity is expected to grow sixfold within the next four years. The U.S. Department of Energy has set a PV goal, Rohatgi says, of 6 cents per kilowatt-hour by 2020, which he adds is tough but achievable. By comparison, residential electric rates in Georgia this past summer averaged 12.55 cents per kilowatt-hour. (The cost to produce one kilowatt-hour of electricity is of course lower, ranging between 3.9 and 5.5 cents for coal and gas and 11.1 to 14.5 cents for nuclear.) At competitive rates, of course, the free market does much of the heavy lifting—leading to otherwise unlikely alliances such as when the Georgia Tea Party joined with local environmentalists last year to force Georgia Power to competitively procure more solar power in the state. To help ratchet the cost of PV down, Rohatgi’s lab has pioneered the PV application of a manufacturing technique used

∏ Tech’s solar photovoltaic researchers strive for maximizing efficiencies

and minimizing costs. As solar PV continues to get cheaper as an energy source, it’s closing in on grid parity with fossil fuels, say Tech researchers.

in semiconductor manufacturing for computer chips. Called ion implantation, the process involves depositing charged ions (in this case boron and phosphorous) by accelerating them through an electric field and impacting these fast ions on a silicon substrate. The newly doped silicon wafer will then—if the ion implantation is done right—respond to sunlight striking it with a slightly stronger kick, yielding a slightly more efficient solar cell. Such clever efficiencies are being developed and rolled out in academic and industry research labs all over the world today. And Rohatgi’s teams at Tech, as well as at Suniva, are making the Department of Energy’s 2020 goal closer and closer to reality. “The price will continue to come down,” Rohatgi says. “There is a lot of technology innovation left. This is our expertise at Georgia Tech, We develop disruptive technologies. We develop innovative solar cell design, and we develop novel concepts that simplify the fabrication of advanced solar cells.”

Capturing Concentrated Solar for Thermal Energy On the other hand, says Asegun Henry, assistant professor in Tech’s mechanical engineering school, the sun is either hiding behind clouds or below the horizon at least half the time on any given day. This means for solar energy to be a robust, grid-wide energy source, it also requires solar energy storage. And that’s where his technology comes in.

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Instead, Henry says, solar thermal could provide a powerful and effective new way to make fuels such as hydrogen, which can be stored and used anywhere in a fuel cell. And, of course, electricity is also transportable. In the future, desert-located solar thermal plants could generate an excess of electricity and sell the renewable resource to less-arid neighbors—something that Hydro Quebec actually does today, often generating more hydroelectric power than the Canadian province needs and selling its excess to other utilities in the U.S. and Canada. A fellow assistant professor in mechanical engineering, Peter Loutzenhiser, has also been researching solar technologies that would make fuels such as hydrogen and carbon monoxide. These fuels can be ∏ Solar thermal power plants use arrays of mirrors to concentrate sunlight and generate heat. transformed in hydrocarbons like petro“I work on concentrated solar power,” he says. “It’s different from leum and jet fuel via known chemical processes. solar panels. It’s where you use sunlight as a heat source. You run a Using his lab’s seven 6-kilowatt xenon arc lamps as a source typical thermal power plant, which is how more than 90 percent of of artificial sunlight, Loutzenhiser and his students can simuelectricity is made today—through thermal energy, through heat.” late solar collector facilities that concentrate sunlight to 2,500 The idea behind a concentrated solar thermal power plant, such times its regular strength using mirrors. (As he notes in an inas the 110-megawatt Crescent Dunes plant under construction in troductory video on YouTube, his lab’s arc lamps pack enough northern Nevada, is to use arrays of mirrors that track the sun’s heat that they can burn a hole in a half-inch thick steel plate motion throughout the day. The mirrors all concentrate the sunlight to a single location on a central tower where salt is then heated and stored in large tanks. The tanks are so large, the molten salt stays hot for more than a month without freezing. Henry says these thermal storage tanks retain more than 99 percent of their heat during a typical use cycle. Then when it’s needed, whether at night or during the day, the molten salt is used to boil water to spin steam turbines and generate electricity just like any other coal-fired power station. Although these types of plants are now being deployed around the world, the cost is still too high to compete directly with fossil fuels without subsidies. Henry’s group is helping to develop a new generation of solar therin less than one minute.) His group experiments with using a mal plant that he says will improve on the molten salt plant’s design two-stage process to transform water and CO2 to hydrogen and and efficiency. “Our goal is to reduce the cost even more than what carbon monoxide by harnessing the thermal energy from his soit is now,” Henry says. “We want to operate the plant at higher temlar simulator. peratures, so that it can produce power more efficiently.” Loutzenhiser says he thinks this technology could in the fuIn the target temperature ranges his group studies, 1,350 to ture be competitive with traditional oil and gas for making 1,500 degrees Celsius (2460 to 2730 degrees Fahrenheit), the best gasoline and jet fuels, albeit in this case these are fuels that also thermal storage medium Henry has yet found is liquid metal. It’s have no carbon footprint. nowhere near its boiling point at such temperatures, and it’s oth“This is a mechanism to mitigate CO2 emission,” he says. erwise very stable and unreactive, he says. However, metal pipes “It also acts as a means to decrease reliance on foreign entities and valves no longer work at these temperatures, so Henry says his for our fuels. We have the potential to transform the Southgroup is also developing ceramic pipes and valves for moving and west United States into a fuel processing station where we storing the molten metal. could produce fuels during the day and transport and use them The good news, he says, is that conventional gas turbines also throughout the country without significant changes in existing operate at these temperatures, so the equipment, designs and ininfrastructure. We could essentially use sunlight to drive all our frastructure for generating electricity is already well known and in transportation processes. place. The bad news is solar thermal probably won’t be cost effec“The potential is exciting,” Loutzenhiser says. “The challengtive outside arid climates such as Nevada. es are enormous, but that is why we are doing it.”

Henry says solar thermal could provide a powerful and effective new way to make fuels such as hydrogen, which can be stored and used anywhere in a fuel cell.

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Engineering Fossil Fuels for Efficiency–and a Low-Carbon Future

hile solar technologies appear promising for the future, fossil fuels are, of course, still the world ’s energ y driving force of today. Some Georgia Tech faculty want to optimize fossil technologies to ensure we burn less for the same power output while also perhaps capturing and storing some of the carbon dioxide these fossil fuels produce. David Sholl, the Michael Tennenbaum Family Chair and GRA Eminent Scholar in Energy Sustainability in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, says his it in isolation as a scientific solution. You have to think about it group is investigating a more sensible form of carbon captechnologically scaled, too. It’s almost a slogan, but we really take ture for coal-fired power plants. seriously the idea that we should be trying to change the world. “In a conventional coal power plant, you burn the coal and Our goal is not just to publish a paper, but we really want to imagend up with CO2 and various other gas products,” Sholl says. ine technologies that people will use. We also have very strong “If you want to avoid emitting that CO2, you then have to collaborations with industrial partners. So all these things incapture the CO2. But the alternative is to treat the coal in a volving large-scale energy generation require really enormous pre-combustion way so you get the CO2 in a purer and more resources to make them work in the long run.” condensed form, which greatTech scientists are researching and developing ways to lower the CO2 emissions of coal-fired power plants. ly reduces the economic cost of sequestration or processing.” One technique Sholl’s group has studied involves developing metallic thin-film membranes through which a vapor gas stream from heated coal is passed. The membranes Sholl and his colleagues are investigating let only hydrogen gas through. The rest, including both carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, can be diverted into other streams in which the CO2 might then be processed or sequestered. The gasified coal thus separates out into pure hydrogen, which can be burned in a fuel cell or converted to other fuels. And the CO2 stream can be stored underground or even channeled into shale formations to drive natural gas back up. “That’s a key part of the Georgia Tech approach to this issue,” Sholl says. We can’t just look at

“It’s almost a slogan, but we really take seriously the idea that we should be trying to change the world. Our goal is not just to publish a paper.”

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Harnessing the Power of Wind

he spinning blades of a gas turbine certainly provide one unlikely application of aeronautical engineering expertise. The other is wind turbines. Lieuwen’s colleague Lakshmi Sankar, MS AE 75, PhD AE 77, Regents Professor and Associate Chair of the School of Aerospace Engineering, asserts that next-generation wind turbines can benefit from lessons learned in designing helicopter blades for the military. Wind energy is today probably the closest any renewable power source has yet come to grid parity. One 2013 study by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley Lab pegs well-sited wind power at 2.5 cents per kilowatt-hour, cheaper than the cheapest coal. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, new wind farm production this year has also doubled compared to 2013, seeing 675 megawatts of additional capacity added, especially in California, Nebraska, Michigan and Minnesota. Yet for all the boom times, wind energy’s price tag can soar when wear and tear on wind turbines lead to not only repair bills, but also days or even weeks offline diagnosing the problem and waiting for the repair. “One of the biggest issues currently is fatigue of the blades and the gears,” Sankar says. “And when they fail, wind turbines go out of commission till they can replace it. And it takes a lot of money and a lot of down time.” For the Army and private military contractors, Sankar and his coworkers have explored next-generation helicopter blades that contain tiny pressurized air nozzles along their surface, a little like an air hockey table. His group discovered that carefully choreographed small blasts of compressed air can stabilize the blades and greatly reduce vibrations on the moving parts, especially during high winds and gusty weather. Sankar is now trying to convince commercial wind turbine manufacturers to recognize the wisdom in investing $1 to $1.5 million in a system that can save $20 million turbines from having to be overhauled or replaced entirely. “These things have to last 30 years like a house in order to pay themselves off,” he says. “So our selling point is that you can extend the life of the system—not only the blade. But because the blades are connected to the gears, you can protect the life of the gears. And because the gears are connected to the generator, you can protect the life of the generator.”

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In addition to the aerospace engineering component of wind energy research, Senior Research Associate Mary Hallisey Hunt says earth and atmospheric sciences researchers at Tech are working on wind resource assessment to assist with siting wind farms where wind patterns and weather are most favorable. Structural and civil engineers are working on wind farm foundation design, she says, referring to a SEI-sponsored workshop last year on campus at which the gathered international experts considered how to build the offshore wind turbine foundations most able to withstand the offshore environment’s surf and strains. “There’s a lot of work going on with different technology pieces on campus—and also policy assessment pieces,” Hunt says. “We’re working with the state to help understand permitting issues associated with siting wind energy facilities. This will allow people looking to potentially develop wind energy facilities to have more fact-based information readily available to identify the best locations.” Georgia Tech alumni are also active in the wind energy industry. Tech alumnus Brian O’Hara, ME 97, president of the Southeastern Coastal Wind Coalition, is guiding policy makers toward more informed choices in planning, siting and developing wind energy in the Southeast. For his organization, all eyes are now on Virginia where the utility Dominion Virginia Power in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy is developing offshore test wind turbines in the waters off Camp Pendleton. “There’s an economic development opportunity here,” O’Hara says. “Think about the offshore wind industry. We don’t have anything yet in the U.S. But look at the size of these machines. And we’ve seen where once there’s sufficient demand, manufacturing facilities are going to be located on the coast. Many of these machines are just too large to build inland and transport over land. So there’s a really big manufacturing and supply chain opportunity.”

Whether mainstream or alternative energy, achieving the

right mix of power generation technologies is just the first half of the battle. Delivering that energy to the customer via the country’s electrical grid is equally important. Georgia Tech’s National Electric Energy Testing, Research and Applications Center (NEETRAC) is a crucial clearinghouse for grid-related research, including such important areas as reliability, security and the deployment of new

Bringing on the Nuclear Renaissance

n addition to wind, solar and improved fos-

sil, next-generation nuclear energy is also part of Tech’s and SEI’s broad-spectrum energy research. Farzad Rahnema, Chair of the Nuclear and Radiological Engineering/Medical Physics Programs, says the programs are investigating two promising nuclear reactor technologies that could yield increased safety, improved waste end products and powerful, affordable and compact design. The Integral Inherently Safe Light Water Reactor (I2S-LWR), Rahnema says, is a promising compact Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) concept, one that boasts both inherent safety and enhanced accident tolerance. I2S-LWR combines the large power of current reactors that are economical with a self-contained, “integral” reactor design, reducing the external penetrations into the vessel. And, as a result, the design has fewer possible points of breaks or leakage. And, he says, Georgia Tech leads the multi-university and multi-organization effort alongside a nuclear reactor vendor (Westinghouse) and a national laboratory (INL). “This is a three-year project, and we’re 18 months into it,” Rahnema says. “By the end of three years we’ll be able to show the viability of the concept. And from there it’s just a matter of someone getting interested in that and taking that further.” Georgia Tech is also leading a team of researchers that includes universities, a national lab (Oak Ridge) and a nuclear reactor vendor (AREVA) to advance another new reactor concept built around

technologies designed to keep the grid robust and efficient. Part of NEETRAC’s mandate is to help the electric utility industry better manage and maintain their physical infrastructure, including the power lines, transformers and substations that make up the grid. In the U.S. and Canada, 300,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines deliver power generated from more than 2,100 power plants. Yet most of these transmission lines date from the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s—making our country’s aging electric grid vulnerable,

a solid-fuel with high operating temperatures. It’s called the FHR (Fluoride-salt-cooled, High-temperature Reactor), and the “F” in its name comes from the main component of its coolant. Unlike most conventional water-cooled reactors, FHR is cooled by a salt made of fluoride, lithium and beryllium. And because of the coolant’s high boiling point, the reactor can live up to the “H” in its name, too, with its high temperatures allowing it to run at higher efficiency. “It’s inherently much safer,” Rahnema says. “And it’s also very economical because of the high efficiency. You can use the hightemperature heat for applications other than electricity, such as process heat. So it’d be a dual purpose reactor.” The deployment of FHR technology, he says, promises benefits including passive safety, expansion of nuclear power beyond just electricity generation and what he calls proliferation-resistant nuclear waste—meaning reactor end products that are even more difficult to divert or proliferate compared to waste streams from conventional nuclear reactors. However, challenges also remain before FHRs can be deployed, mostly related to their technology readiness. The Georgia Tech team will help to commercialize FHRs by addressing some of the remaining technology challenges such as removing radioactive hydrogen (tritium) generated in nuclear reactions in FHR’s coolant, removing impurities in the liquid salt coolant that come in during the reactions, reducing the salt’s corrosion on the reactor vessel itself, and selecting and testing the alloys in the reactor to withstand both the radiation and salty, corrosive operating conditions. The FHR project, Rahnema says, will start at the beginning of 2015. A little like Asegun Henry’s high-temperature solar thermal system, FHR could, for instance, make synthetic fuels like hydrogen while also powering conventional steam boilers to generate electricity. “It’s just a matter of nuclear being competitive to other sources of electricity like gas,” he says. “I think we can make things more attractive to the public. Because if they’re even safer than the [present] generation reactors, they would attract proponents in terms of being more receptive to nuclear.”

while at the same time the grid must adjust to accept a broadening mix of alternative energy sources such as wind and solar. “We anticipate that the nature of the grid is going to evolve tremendously over the next 20 or so years, primarily to adapt to the new idea that a lot of the sources of electricity will be widely distributed renewable generation—from solar and wind power primarily and perhaps other sources as well,” says NEETRAC Director Richard Hartlein, ME 76, MS ME82.

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“We’re changing a century-old industry into something dramatically different.” “The grid was never designed to accept small inputs of generation at multiple points along the grid. It was always designed to accept generation from very large sources like nuclear, fossil and hydroelectric plants. And that energy would be transmitted at high voltage to substations and on to the customer via lower voltage distribution lines. This new concept of injecting many smaller energy sources into the grid requires us to rethink how we designed and manage the grid. A lot of new, innovative technologies will be needed for the grid to operate reliably and efficiently under this new paradigm.” NEETRAC’s activities are quite broad. The center has worked with academic faculty to develop computer models that help utilities better integrate distributed energy sources to the grid. The center also runs a high-voltage lab that studies future power line designs for above ground (overhead) and underground high voltage transmission lines. According to Hartlein, the latter is becoming increasingly attractive because right-of-way for above ground lines is harder and harder for utilities to secure. “There’s an increasing need to put some transmission lines underground,” he says. “That means taking a bare conductor energized at 230,000 volts or 345,000 volts, covering it with insulation and installing it underground, which is a non-trivial thing to do. There are companies gearing up to supply the industry with these higher-voltage underground cable systems. Because NEETRAC has a high-voltage laboratory and significant high-voltage testing

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expertise, we have been involved in helping manufacturers and utilities prove out these complex, high-tech cable systems.” On the evolution of the electricity industry, Santiago Grijalva— SEI associate director and Georgia Power Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering—says the electricity industry is undergoing a broad transformation that includes distributed generation sources being integrated into the grid, sensing and communication being overlaid throughout the system, and evolving utility business models. Enabled by sensors and pervasive information, the traditional consumer is becoming more aware of energy utilization and capable of local energy management. Equipped with affordable distributed solar, demand response capability, and sometimes energy storage, the consumer is becoming a “prosumer” who not only intelligently consumes but produces, stores and offers energy and energy-related services to the grid. Energy prosumers are emerging as an intelligent and economically motivated entity in microgrids, buildings, homes and EVs. They want to be in control, want energy on their terms, want value and services, and want to contribute to broader sustainability challenges. While prosumers could disconnect from the grid, being disconnected as a default operating mode is suboptimal and unreliable. They will remain grid-connected and the question is: How can utilities and the emerging prosumers coordinate the flow of energy, exchange of services and decision-making needed to maintain a reliable, profitable and sustainable grid? A Georgia Tech project team, supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Program Agency-Energy (ARPAE), has been working on these very issues for the last three years. This collaborative research effort brings experts from the domains of real-time power system operation, autonomous and networked control, cyber-physical systems, and stochastic distributed decision-making. Because the electricity infrastructure is expensive and very large, Grijalva says it cannot be replaced. Thus, a primary mechanism to increase the flexibility of the grid is to develop advanced control approaches based on a decentralized model. “You don’t have 10,000 devices to monitor and control anymore,” Grijalva says. “You may have a billion smart energy devices. The centralized grid control architecture is not scalable to these massive amounts. So one of the things we’re developing is a decentralized control paradigm.” A redesign of the grid should more closely resemble the Internet’s decentralized structure than a centrally controlled network. In simple terms, he says, grid operators need to think of their customers less as passive nodes and more as prosumers each—whether consciously or via enabling technologies—seeking to maximize their energy use and minimize their costs. “I see the current developments on grid modernization as the tip of the iceberg,” Grijalva continues. “We’re changing a century-old industry into something dramatically different. It’s a very exciting time, but there’s lots of work ahead. I sometimes tell my students to look at our laboratory library. Probably half of the books on power systems will have to be rewritten in the next decade.” “It is not only an engineering problem,” he says. “There is no magic bullet that solves everything. There’s a need of architecture and system-wide understanding. Georgia Tech has the capability to understand these problems in a deep manner, going from the devices to systems, and to policy, market and business models.”

High-ranking and influential Georgia Tech alumni and faculty—as well as the Institute’s good friend Ernest Moniz, the U.S. Secretary of Energy—weigh in on the state of the energy industry and its future in this exclusive Alumni Magazine roundtable.

POWER Dr. Rafael Bras is Georgia Tech’s provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs, a professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering and School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, and a member of the Secretary of Energy’s Advisory Board.

Tom Fanning, IM 79, M IM 80, Hon PhD 13, is the chairman, president and CEO of Southern Company, one of America’s largest electricity producers.

Tim Lieuwen, MS ME 97, PhD ME 99, is the executive director of Georgia Tech’s Strategic Energy Institute and a professor in the School of Aerospace Engineering.

D. Nathan Meehan, Phys 75, is a senior executive adviser at Baker Hughes, one of the world’s largest oilfield services companies, and 2016 president-elect of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.

Brian O’Hara, ME 97, is president of the Southeastern Coastal Wind Coalition, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the coastal and offshore wind industry. GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 90 NO.4 2014

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In your opinion, what is the biggest challenge facing the U.S. energy industry today? Tom Fanning: Amid evolving environmental regulations and calls for specific generating sources, I believe the greatest challenge—and the greatest opportunity—for the U.S. energy industry is continuing to build a generation mix that provides customers clean, safe, reliable and affordable power. A diverse fuel mix helps utilities deliver on this commitment while minimizing the impact of volatile fuel prices. America needs a national energy policy that encourages the development of the full portfolio of energy resources: nuclear, 21st century coal, natural gas, renewables and energy efficiency. Rafael Bras: The orderly transition to a different mix of fuels and energy sources implies fundamental changes to economic models, to infrastructure, to patterns of energy consumption, to technology and ultimately to behavior. The opportunity is the development of new avenues of economic growth and a cleaner and safer world. Tim Lieuwen: The way in which we generate, transmit and utilize energy is undergoing significant transformations, and this creates both significant opportunities and challenges. First, the U.S. has seen dramatic increases in domestic oil and gas production, and with it the significant drop in energy prices. This is creating significant opportunities for domestic manufacturing in energy intensive sectors that we were seeing going offshore. Second, the significant cost reductions in electricity generated from wind and solar photovoltaics is truly amazing. Third, the intersection between information technology and big energy infrastructure is creating new efficiencies and opportunities by enabling us to better understand and operate energy generating assets, as well as the way in which we distribute energy. Brian O’Hara: I think naming the biggest challenge in the energy industry depends on one’s perspective. For incumbent energy providers such as electric utilities, the 0 5 4

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biggest challenge might just be the speed at which the energy landscape is changing. Utilities are sophisticated, well-managed and stable companies, but historically they have not had to deal with the rapid pace of transformational technology changes like we’re seeing now. It will be interesting to see which ones adapt and thrive versus which ones attempt to cling to the security of the past.

What’s one myth or misconception about energy production that should be forever debunked? Lieuwen: Putting in more wind turbines or photovoltaic panels doesn’t reduce our dependence on foreign oil, contrary to popular belief. When talking about energy and the U.S., I think its important to understand that we really have essentially two almost-independent energy systems, and that policy decisions or international events may effect one but not the other. One energy system is transportation and it relies almost exclusively on crude oil, much of which we import. The other is electricity and is derived from coal, natural gas, nuclear, as well as other non-hydrocarbon sources. Imported oil is not used for electricity generation—we are energy independent in this sector. O’Hara: While it’s true that energy sources like wind and solar are variable in nature, it’s a common misconception that adding renewables means you have to add “backup” power. Our grid is designed to match electricity supply and demand on a minute-by-minute basis, which means it already handles significant variability from changing supply and demand (i.e. people and companies cranking up the AC, for example). The changes in supply can also be large and unpredictable, meaning sufficient reserves must always be available for when a large coal or nuclear plant trips offline, for example. In addition, the shift from coal- to natural gas-fired generation means our grid is becoming even more flexible, since natural gas is better able to change output to match demand.

D. Nathan Meehan: There’s concern that hydraulic fracturing is destructive to the environment. However, hydraulic fracturing has been around for more than 60 years and has largely proven safe and effective. With advances in modern technology and continuous innovation in the ways we approach unconventional development, safety and environmental risk are reduced and can be addressed effectively. The one truth that doesn’t get the attention it deserves is the very real, very positive benefits that have arisen from the increased use of natural gas, including economic benefits and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

We’ve been waiting for decades for renewable energy sources—solar, wind, etc.—to become economically viable, efficient and mainstream. Are any of them ready to fulfill that expectation? O’Hara: The wait has been long, but the era of wind and solar as mainstream energy sources has begun and is ramping up quickly. Consider this: From 2009 through 2013, wind, solar, and other renewables made up about 45 percent of all new electricity generation capacity additions in the U.S., rivaled only by natural gas at about 40 percent. Already, nine states get over 10 percent of their electricity from wind and two states get over 25 percent from wind, all while maintaining grid reliability. That is mainstream and efficient. Recent wind energy contract prices are cost-competitive with any new generation, including fossil fuels. Solar rooftop leasing programs in many states are saving customers money starting the day they are installed, and utility-scale solar is quickly approaching “grid parity.” In addition, wind and solar have no fuel cost and no emissions, so they are able to offer long-term fixed pricing that helps stabilize electricity rates and serves as a financial hedge against the volatility of fossil fuel costs. That’s economically viable.

“For incumbent energy providers such as electric utilities, the biggest challenge might just be the speed at which the energy landscape is changing. It will be interesting to see which ones adapt and thrive versus which ones attempt to cling to the security of the past.”—Brian O’Hara Meehan: An American diplomat once said: “In retrospect, all revolutions seem inevitable. Beforehand, they all seem impossible.” I don’t expect a revolutionary advance in any of these energy sources, but rather an evolution that can keep pace with demand growth. Strong energy demand over the next few decades might result in a decrease in the percentage of energy coming from alternate sources because high demand would require increased fossil fuel usage. However, I don’t expect energy demand growth to be that high. Nonetheless, I expect fossil fuels to remain the predominant energy source for decades to come. It is interesting to note that the abundance of North American natural gas resources tends to slow alternative energy development by capping the growth in the cost of electric power. If natural gas prices are high, development activity

will surge and generate additional supply for decades to come. In turn, these power rates will mean that many alternate energy sources will continue to require subsidies to be commercial. Bras: In my opinion, no single renewable energy source will be dominant—a mix will develop that necessarily will respond to regional, political and cultural situations. I believe wind, various types of solar, geothermal, hydro, bio and others are flourishing and are in fact viable in various applications and places. Fanning: Southern Company is bullish on renewables, especially solar, and they are a growing part of our energy mix. Within our service territory, subsidiary Georgia Power is developing the nation’s largest voluntary solar portfolio, adding nearly 900 megawatts of solar generation.

What burgeoning technologies do you think will have the most potential positive impact on energy production in the future? Fanning: Energy storage has the potential to make a big impact on America’s energy mix. Today, electricity has to be used as it is generated. Advancements in energy storage could enable excess electricity generated by renewables and other sources to be used at times of peak demand. As an industry leader in energy innovation, Southern Company is directly involved in the research and development of energy storage technologies. O’Hara: Cost-effective energy storage essentially removes variability and intermittency as an issue for resources like wind and solar, allowing those resources to play GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 90 NO.4 2014

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“Energy storage has the potential to make a big impact on America’s energy mix. Today, electricity has to be used as it is generated. Advancements in energy storage could enable excess electricity generated by renewables and other sources to be used at times of peak demand.”—Tom Fanning a dominant role in electricity generation as their costs continue to decline. To be clear though, we are currently a long way from having enough wind and solar installed that we actually need energy storage. In addition, declining battery costs and improved energy density will eventually bring electric vehicles to a tipping point where they are fully capable and more cost-effective than internal combustion engines. The electrification

of the passenger and light-duty vehicle fleet will not only drastically reduce vehicle emissions, but could also help shift oil away from being a strategic global commodity.

ongoing event in the national global energy equation. This technology has turned upside-down many presumptions and predictions in the energy markets.

Bras: There is no question that the development of hydraulic fracturing technologies to mobilize gas and oil in tight and deep geologic formations (i.e. fracking) is by far the most disruptive

What will it take for the U.S. (government and energy producers) to develop a unified energy strategy?

All of the Above in a Carbon-Constrained World

By Ernest Moniz, U.S. Secretary of Energy

The Obama Administration’s approach to energy technology and policy has three principal objectives: economic growth and job creation; climate change risk mitigation and adaptation; and enhanced security. To accomplish this, we are pursuing an all-of-the-above energy strategy, meaning that investments are made for all fuels—fossil, nuclear, renewable, efficiency—and for the infrastructure needed to enable a resilient clean energy system. This is important since the clean energy mix will be different in different parts of our country and in different countries, as well. Further, we are making technology investments across the entire innovation chain, from basic research to incentivized deployment. America is experiencing a remarkable domestic energy boom. We are now the world’s largest liquid fuels producer and the world’s largest natural gas producer. Our natural gas production is one factor that has helped drive a 10 percent decline in our carbon emissions since 2007. We are seeing similar rapid growth in clean energy and renewable energy technologies. Since 2008, electricity generation from wind has tripled and solar generation has increased more than tenfold. In Georgia and South Carolina, the 0 5 6 0 6 0

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first nuclear reactors in 30 years are under construction. And energy efficiency gains for vehicles and for buildings are limiting demand and associated emissions. These developments have real economic benefits for our country. A quarter of the companies on Fortune Magazine’s recent list of fastest growing corporations are connected to energy, from producing energy, to the supply chain for moving energy, to advanced energy technology. Solar-related industries have created almost 50,000 jobs since 2010, about

a 50 percent increase in four years. And there are an estimated 85,000 Americans currently employed in the wind industry and related fields. The natural gas boom has also contributed to an American manufacturing renaissance. As the president noted in the state of the union address, American businesses plan to invest well over $100 billion or more in new manufacturing capacity using natural gas. In addition, the low U.S. natural gas price compared to that in other industrialized economies offers a competitive edge because of low process heat costs for a range of energyintensive industries. The United States’ increased domestic energy supply brings a sense of comfort, but it is not sufficient to resolve our underlying energy security challenges. The U.S. still imports about 30 percent of the oil that we consume, and we are still connected to global markets and subject to oil price volatility and shocks. Furthermore, the energy insecurity of our friends and allies, as can be seen today in Europe, is a national security issue for the U.S. Energy security is a collective challenge, not one to be managed as a purely national issue. Increased use of renewable energy,

Bras: This is the impossible question. Clearly our leaders need to come together, work across the aisle and agree to some broad goals for the country. Having said that, we must realize that the energy business is a global business. A lot can change because of technologies developed across the globe and actions taken by others. Any national energy strategy has to be flexible and nimble in responding to changes in the global energy equation. The emergence of natural gas as a cheap source of fuel driven by hydraulic fracturing technology is just one example of how things can change very fast. Any policy also has to recognize that energy and power production is very much impacted by regional conditions of resources and demands. This dependence on regional

nuclear power and efficiency are as much a part of energy security as is reduced dependence on fossil fuels. Adapting to the effects of global warming has taken on a sense of urgency since the president issued his Climate Action Plan in June 2013. This year, the administration released the third National Climate Assessment. It documents in painstaking detail the observable impacts on our country—and how these impacts already threaten our way of life. A team of more than 300 experts produced the report, which was exhaustively peer reviewed. From Alaska and Texas to Florida and the Midwest, rising sea levels, rising temperatures, more extreme weather events, public health impacts, and economic losses are already taking a serious toll. Minimizing the economic and societal impacts requires aggressively mitigating climate change risks through clean energy. The Department of Energy (DOE) is hard at work across the clean energy landscape, from our research and development programs that drive the scientific breakthroughs for tomorrow’s clean energy innovations, to our Loan Program Office, which works with the first movers in an industry to support the commercial deployment of an innovative technology, to bringing economic feasibility to the private sector. Just look at the programs and projects that the DOE is supporting right here at

conditions adds complexity to the development of a unified strategy. Lieuwen: I don’t see a unified strategy happening anytime soon. I think a growing trend we’ll see over the next decade is increasing roles of proactive states and cities, with various coalitions between them around substantive energy policy questions.

well within sight now. The challenge to creating a unified strategy is agreeing on the right goal.

Meehan: We have not been able to establish a strategy to date, but I would hope that it won’t take a crisis to bring it about. I don’t think an energy strategy needs to have grandiose ambitions, but rather should be an actionable plan to reach an overall goal. Ten years ago, an energy strategy of energy independence seemed impossible, but this is

Fanning: I believe North America has the potential to be energy secure by 2020. To accomplish this, we must leverage all of the resources at our domestic disposal: nuclear, coal, natural gas, renewables and energy efficiency. America has been called the Saudi Arabia of coal and new technologies such as hydraulic fracturing have made natural gas more economical to obtain. A national energy policy should encourage the development of the full portfolio of energy resources. An energy policy focused on all of these components will enable utilities to deliver clean, safe, reliable and affordable electricity to

Georgia Tech to get an idea of the breadth and depth of our research portfolio. Over the last two years, the DOE has supported more than $63 million of research at Georgia Tech. Just one example of our basic science work at Georgia Tech is the development of the first completely plastic solar cell, where not just the cell itself but also its electrodes are made of plastic. Our ARPA-E program supports highrisk, high-reward research projects that could create the foundation for entirely new industries. One ARPA-E project on campus is developing a supercapacitor using graphene, a two-dimensional sheet of carbon atoms, to store substantially more energy than current batteries. Our applied energy programs work to refine the basic technological breakthroughs through additional R&D and pilot programs. The DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy is supporting research at Georgia Tech that is working to develop a highpower light water reactor with inherent safety features that go beyond the capabilities of today’s most advanced passive systems. Our Loan Program Office is helping deployment of clean energy across the board. A multi-billion dollar commitment to the construction of the Vogtle nuclear power plant in Georgia is helping advance the first generation III+ nuclear technology in the U.S.

The future of our global clean energy economy depends on the technological breakthroughs to help drive down the costs of these emerging technologies. The DOE, through our National Laboratories and in partnership with leading research institutions like Georgia Tech, is hard at work to ensure that all of our energy sources can be competitive in our future low carbon marketplace. Through these efforts, we will ensure that American companies and American workers will continue to lead the global low-carbon energy transformation. GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 90 NO.4 2014

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“Any national energy strategy has to be flexible and nimble in responding to changes in the global energy equation. The emergence of natural gas as a cheap source of fuel driven by hydraulic fracturing technology is just one example of how things can change very fast.”—Rafael Bras customers while helping achieve North American energy security. O’Hara: On the government side it will take patience, innovation and political courage. No wonder this is challenging! The patience is required for decision makers to fully understand the existing landscape of energy subsidies, special tax treatments, liabilities and externalities that result in the true cost of our energy choices. The innovation is required to take that knowledge and design a comprehensive but simple policy that creates an even playing field so that markets can decide our ideal energy mix. The political courage is required to maintain intellectual honesty and do what’s right despite the influence of powerful industries that may feel threatened. None of this will be easy, but it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. 0 5 8

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Production of natural gas and oil, thanks to hydraulic fracturing or “fracking,” is at a near alltime high in the U.S. How is this shaping the country’s energy landscape? Lieuwen: The effects are truly phenomenal. On the natural gas side, we’ve seen a major shift of electric generation to natural gas and significant new chemical and heavy industrial manufacturing investments in the U.S. In addition, a decade ago we were building up infrastructure on the Gulf Coast to import liquefied natural gas. Now these facilities are being reworked to liquefy our own natural gas and export it, and the first shipments are slated for

2017. Also, natural gas prices have dropped to the extent that it is cheaper than oil by a factor of 3. This is prompting lots of serious looks at how to utilize natural gas or its co-products for industries such as transportation or certain commodity chemicals that have historically used oil. The ramp up in oil production is also dramatic over the last five years—U.S. oil production peaked in 1973 and had continually dropped for the 30-plus years to follow. However, its production rate has steeply increased, and we may pass our historical production rate sometime next year. It’s important to realize that the costs for U.S. production are substantially higher than in the Middle East, and so a $10 change in crude oil prices can have a really big impact on profits for U.S. producers. It will be interesting to see how the recent drop in crude-oil prices impacts U.S. production.

Meehan: Energy forecasts from 10 years ago are instructive. They all predicted continued declines in oil production instead of what actually happened—an increase to near record levels. Carbon dioxide emissions have dropped in the U.S. more than anywhere else due directly to hydraulic fracturing and displacement of coal-fired power. Unconventional development would not be economical without the innovation of technologies and approaches such as hydraulic fracturing, and the balance of trade would have suffered dramatically. In spite of the economic and environmental benefits, the industry has had challenges communicating this message. Opponents of fossil fuels and oil and gas production specifically have focused on the supposed pitfalls of fracking—even making the word a pejorative—and have been quite outspoken about it. O’Hara: In electricity generation, lowcost natural gas from fracking has changed the competitive landscape and had a major impact. It has significantly accelerated the transition away from coal-fired electricity and thus resulted in a reduction in the industry’s carbon emissions. In the near term, it has probably slowed the adoption of renewables due to a more competitive market, but in the medium-term it has paved the way for bringing much more variable resources like wind and solar onto the grid, since natural gas is a more flexible generation technology than coal or nuclear. Fanning: The natural gas revolution has been exciting for our business, and our customers have benefited greatly. In six years, we tripled our use of natural gas as a generating fuel and have been able to pass along about $1 billion in fuel savings to our customers. Natural gas is a dominant solution but it is not a panacea. There are a number of issues that make me very cautious about overreliance. One is the lack of infrastructure, and you saw that in play last winter when the trading price for natural gas in the Northeast spiked so high during the “polar vortex,” and again during the following snowstorm, because there was not enough pipeline capacity to meet the high demand. Bras: Hydraulic fracturing has transformed the energy markets. The price

of natural gas per BTU is cheaper than ever; gas is becoming the fuel of choice for generation of electricity. The technology is so effective that natural gas is available from previously unthinkable locations in the U.S., and there is no reason to think that it will not be found and exploited with fracking technology all around the world.

How important a role does physical and information security play in the energy industry in a world where terrorism and cyberwarfare loom as risks? Bras: As we move to an interconnected smart grid, where everything from appliances to cars has access, the cyber risks increase exponentially. Having said that, some of the biggest concerns have been, and remain, with crucial physical elements of the grid. We must identify those weak points, harden them and improve the robustness and resiliency of the system. Lieuwen: Information security is a big deal: Every power plant today has major firewalls, and passing information across their boundaries is complicated because of federal regulations. We simply don’t want to see a situation where a hacker can damage a power plant or our electricity distribution system. In fact, it will be interesting to see how the potential

efficiencies which could be gained from a smarter grid, or smarter ways of managing fleets of power plants, will be realized as we deal with competing concerns around cybersecurity and system optimization. Fanning: One of the keys to protecting our electric system is to continually improve communication and planning between the public and private sectors. I chair the Electricity Sub-Sector Coordinating Council, a group of 30 CEOs that interacts with federal intelligence and energy agencies to protect against, prepare for and respond to threats to the grid. We look at responding to the constantly evolving cyber threats almost like football—someone is running an offense and you have to play defense. Meehan: In the oil and gas industry, “intelligent wells” and other applications of remote control, automation and optimization have played a significant role in improving the safety and environmental record of production operations. This real threat has concerned operators and system designers at multiple levels. Oil and gas and service companies’ digital systems need a heightened level of security since they are under constant threat for an attack. There are a number of cases where cyber terrorists have caused expensive disruptions in activity; however, it is going to be much more difficult to cause physical damage in oil and gas drilling and production operations with the development of new technologies to

“Information security is a big deal: Every power plant today has major firewalls, and passing information across their boundaries is complicated because of federal regulations. We simply don’t want to see a situation where a hacker can damage a power plant or our electricity distribution system.” —Tim Lieuwen GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 90 NO.4 2014

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“More than 1.3 billion people are currently without electricity. Almost every measure of quality of life is directly correlated to energy usage. ... What I hope is most different in the future is more widespread availability of modern fuels in the third world.” —D. Nathan Meehan combat future cyber threats. Yet, downstream refining and petrochemical operations may face a larger threat and have to address those challenges.

How do you see information technology transforming the energy industry in the coming years? Lieuwen: It will be huge. We’re seeing a growing intersection between the information technology and big energy infrastructure. For example, in the power generation industry, the delivery of energy services structured around big data and prognostics will become comparable in business opportunity to historical models associated with simply selling an energy asset. Similarly, electricity distribution and utilization models will be transformed by the opportunity for feedback between suppliers and users. Fanning: Information technology already plays a significant role in helping us find better ways to serve our customers, and that will continue. We are very focused on energy innovation as we work to invent the future. For instance, our experts say that sensing technologies may transform how people use electricity. At some point in the not-too-distant future, any asset in your house will have its own sensor. The air conditioner and everything else will have the ability to manage its performance—hands-off— based on your behavior. That’s exciting to think about. 0 6 0

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O’Hara: IT advancements will make big impacts on both sides of the meter. For energy suppliers, information technology will enhance grid resiliency, improve customer service and expand the ability to implement things such as demand management and real-time pricing. For consumers, information technology will ultimately improve quality of life and save us money. By accessing real-time information on energy pricing and then automating decisions based on that information, appliances can be set to run when electricity is cheap, or your electric car can sell energy back to the grid when prices are highest.

In your opinion, what will the global and domestic energy landscape look like in the next 10 to 20 years? What will be most different? Bras: Decreased reliance on coal, increased use of gas and increased development of renewables seem unavoidable. The smart grid, increasingly interacting with smart appliances and infrastructure, will come to pass. The nexus of energy, environment and water will become increasingly important. Development of nuclear power will continue to be hampered by waste disposal and management. Lieuwen: We’re going to see a lot more renewables and a more distributed

generation system. However, whatever the aspirations of western countries, hydrocarbon-derived fuel will continue to dominate as the developing world is going to increasingly dominate new energy capacity. O’Hara: The cost of wind and solar will continue to decline, and their adoption will accelerate even more. Offshore wind will take off in the U.S., starting on the East Coast. Developing countries will be building “all of the above” to meet growing demand for some time to come. Electric, natural gas and alt-fuel vehicles will start becoming more mainstream, but oil will still dominate the transportation energy sector. Fanning: Technology is driving the changes that we’re likely to see. As the technologies change, so do customers’ expectations. Energy providers get that, and that’s why we’re putting so much into innovation. We’ve got to innovate for the benefit of the customers we are privileged to serve. Families want for their children a better place to live, better food on the table, better medical care, better education—a better future. Access to clean, safe, reliable, affordable energy is a way to help people achieve these. Providing real solutions is what our innovations for the future are all about. Meehan: Possibly, within the next 10 years, fossil fuels will remain the dominant source of energy with only modest changes in the mix. While that may be discouraging to some proponents of alternate energy, it should also be encouraging because technology development across a wide range of competing energy supplies will allow effective options to come to the forefront. More than 1.3 billion people are currently without electricity. Almost every measure of quality of life is directly correlated to energy usage. This year, the World Health Organization cited household air pollution as the number one cause of premature deaths in children 0 to 5 years of age. This pollution comes from the burning of coal, wood, and animal and crop waste for heating and cooking. What I hope is most different in the future is more widespread availability of modern fuels in the third world.

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Campaign approaches $1.5 billion with 15 months to go!

The Impact of Philanthropy at Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech receives $44.4 million grant, launches Renewable Bioproducts Institute In June, Georgia Tech received one of the largest grants in its 129-year history. As a result, a major research institute that for decades has been a leader in paper science has now been relaunched as the Renewable Bioproducts Institute (RBI). The grant, conveyed by the Institute of Paper Chemistry Foundation (IPCF), totaled $44.4 million and comprises more than three dozen endowment funds — most of them providing support for graduate fellowships and academic programs. The IPCF represents the legacy of the Institute of Paper Chemistry, founded in 1929 in Appleton, Wisconsin. Its founding mission was threefold: first, to provide postgraduate training for people who would direct research laboratories in paper and pulp mills across the country; second, to conduct quality research for the benefit of the paper industry; and third, to create and maintain a comprehensive library of paper science and technology. It relocated to Atlanta in 1989 and was renamed the Institute of Paper Science and Technology prior to its merger with Georgia Tech in 2004. Now, in its newest incarnation and with a robust endowment, the Renewable Bioproducts Institute is poised to advance research and education in a broad range of biomaterials, biochemicals, and bioproducts, with a focus on using renewable forest raw materials in biofuels, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage packaging, health and hygiene, and electronics. “We are extremely grateful to the Institute of Paper Chemistry Foundation for entrusting us with this legacy,” said Georgia Tech President G.P. “Bud” Peterson. “Through the Renewable Bioproducts Institute, we will maximize Georgia Tech’s and the state

of Georgia’s strengths in sustainability and innovation to develop real-world applications and educate future generations of leadership in the forest and bioproducts industry.” RBI is one of 10 interdisciplinary research institutes at Tech, bringing together leading faculty who collaborate with industry and government, and fostering economic development and applied technology. “We deeply appreciate the confidence IPCF has placed in us,” said Norman Marsolan, executive director of RBI. “We will help a broader set of companies create economic opportunity through access to Georgia Tech’s world-class experts in materials science, chemistry, and engineering as well as through access to talented engineering graduates familiar with bioproducts technologies.” The endowments that make up the grant originated with the Institute of Paper Chemistry decades ago. They have provided support for more than 1,500 graduate students at Tech. RBI will continue that legacy of support for the most talented and promising students, and for the academic programs and infrastructure that will set the standard for the forest bioproducts industry. “Georgia Tech is demonstrating its commitment to this industry, which is so important to Georgia and the nation,” said George Lanier, IPCF chair. And philanthropy is driving it forward. n

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Carl Ring’s gift honors father’s legacy Pushes Mechanical Engineering past Campaign goal “I wanted to go to Georgia Tech since I was 6 years old,” recalled Carl D. Ring, ME 1978. “My dad encouraged me to do that. After I graduated, he was convinced that I’d received the best engineering education in the family.” Now, acting as trustees of his father’s estate, along with his sister, Teresa Ring, and his father’s close friend, Jim Gilliland, they have established the Robert G. Ring Scholarship Endowment Fund in his father’s memory. The endowment will support President’s Scholarships for undergraduates in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering — with a preference for qualified Robert G. Ring students from Tennessee or the Southeast. The gift propelled the School past its initial Campaign goal of $45 million with 18 months remaining. Hailing from Memphis, Ring was born into a family of engineers — including his father — all of whom attended the University of Tennessee. He described Robert Ring as a self-made man, pointing out that “his parents gave him a bus ticket to Knoxville, and he showed up there with nothing. He worked his way through UT in mechanical engineering.” And he set a lasting example for his son. After graduating from Georgia Tech, Carl Ring worked at DuPont until his father asked him to head up the plastics division at the family business, Ring Can Corporation (today, Ring Container Technologies).

The company, which was founded in 1968 in Oakland, Tennessee, is now one of the largest plastic container manufacturers in North America, and Ring has been at the helm as chairman during this period of explosive growth. He has also followed in his father’s footsteps when it comes to giving back. At Tech, Carl Ring has supported Roll Call for 16 years, and he established the Ring Family Endowment to provide unrestricted support for the Woodruff School. Ring was named a College of Engineering Distinguished Alumnus in 2012, and he serves on the school’s advisory board and more recently the Georgia Tech Advisory Board, an experience he has found illuminating. “I’ve realized how many real, tangible, life-changing things Georgia Tech is doing every day,” he explained. “It’s a good feeling knowing that Tech is still a deeply committed engineering school that is reinventing itself to continually take on new challenges.” It is doing so thanks in no small part to the efforts of people like Carl Ring. “We are deeply grateful for his generous support,” said William J. Wepfer, professor and Eugene C. Gwaltney Jr. Chair of the Woodruff School. “Carl’s emphasis on merit-based scholarships reflects his business and life experiences, and enables us to further build on Georgia Tech’s rich legacy of achievement.” The Woodruff School joins the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering and the College of Computing as the academic units that have surpassed their Campaign goals. With a 18 months remaining in Campaign Georgia Tech, Wepfer is not slowing down. “We will continue to prioritize our people — faculty chairs and professorships, graduate fellowships, and undergraduate scholarships — as well as expanding our facilities.” n

Thomas Fowler’s estate commitment creates need-based scholarship Thomas R. Fowler, IE 1972, considers himself to have been “a pretty average” Georgia Tech student. “I set no academic records, nor was I a student leader of any sort,” recalls Fowler, a retired software engineering specialist with Boeing Defense, Space, and Security in Cocoa Beach, Florida. “Because of the very rigorous academic agenda, I do not remember any Tech classwork that came easily. However, it made me believe that I could tackle any real-world problem with a good chance of success.” With this valuable experience in mind, Fowler has made a significant estate commitment that will establish the Thomas R. Fowler Scholarship Endowment Fund. Scholar- ships will be awarded to undergraduate students with demonstrated financial need.

Fowler credits his co-op experience as “perhaps the most valuable product of my Georgia Tech career.” After his freshman year, he started a co-op job with Martin Marietta (now Lockheed Martin), working at various times in manufacturing, quality control, publications, computer operations, and value engineering, among other groups. The experience gave him exposure to a broad range of the company’s capabilities. “Most of all, the co-op experience taught me how the real business world works, a lesson that could not be taught in the classroom,” he says. “In addition, I had two years’ work experience by the time I finished college.”

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Bill George creates study abroad scholarship fund to increase global engagement William W. “Bill” George, IE 1964, Honorary Ph.D. 2008, missed out on the opportunity to study abroad as an undergraduate. Now he is making sure that today’s Tech students have greater access to those opportunities. George has directed a $1 million gift to be expended over the next five years to support international study abroad scholarships for undergraduates. Expanding Tech’s global footprint and graduating good global citizens is one of the Institute’s five major goals articulated in its 25-year strategic plan, and here, as elsewhere, philanthropy is playing a significant role. Georgia Tech has set a goal of 60 percent of undergraduates having an international experience before graduating. Currently, the number stands at 47 percent, and this gift will move Tech closer to that goal. The George International Study Abroad Scholarships will be available to any qualified undergraduate who wishes to pursue academic coursework or an internship abroad, with first preference for students with demonstrated financial need and

a second preference for underrepresented minority students. “We’re seeing more opportunities for students to travel and study abroad,” George said. “The key issue for them, though, is how can they afford it? So many of them cannot afford to go overseas, so we’re very pleased to support their travels overseas so they can study abroad and have those experiences.” He added, “It’s important that all Georgia Tech graduates become global citizens, and understand how business, commerce, engineering, and science work around the globe.” The Office of International Education will select scholarship recipients, and awards will be made over the next five years, beginning in the fall of 2014. “This generous gift will make study or intern abroad possible for students without the financial means to participate,” said Amy Henry, executive director of international education. “This scholarship will also send all students the message that international experience is a worthwhile and

Now that he has retired from a career that included commuting to Cape Canaveral every day, Fowler says he is happy to have spent 30 “very satisfying years” working in the U.S. space program. “I suppose my greatest accomplishment was earning the trust and respect of my colleagues at NASA and its contractor companies. I don’t think I would trade careers with anyone. The opportunity to be involved in the space program was a privilege.” “Alumni like Tom Fowler truly understand that need-based scholarships are more important now than ever before,” says Marie R. Mons, director of Georgia Tech’s Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid. “With college costs continuing to rise, students from families with moderate to low incomes are finding it more and more difficult to fund a college education. Permanent endowments directed to students with demonstrated financial need such as the Fowler Scholarship will provide us with an extremely valuable tool for helping highly qualified students gain access to a Georgia Tech education, which we see from Tom Fowler’s example is a life-changing experience.” n To inquire about making a gift in support of undergraduate scholarships or graduate fellowships, contact any development officer or Associate Vice President for Development Dorcas G. Wilkinson at 404.894.4540 or dorcas. wilkinson@dev.gatech.edu.

important part of a 21st-century education.” n To inquire about making a gift in support of international initiatives, contact any development officer, or Associate Vice President for (International) Development Marta H. Garcia at 404.894.5505 or marta.garcia@ gatech.edu.

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Campaign Georgia Tech Update

Campaign Georgia Tech Steering Committee

July 1, 2004 through September 30, 2014

HONORARY CHAIRS

Funds Raised v. Required

Warren L. Batts, EE 1961 Chicago, Illinois Shawn & Brook Byers, EE 1968, HON Ph.D. 2010 Menlo Park, California

1,500 1,400 1,300

$1,447.9

1,200

Roberta & Steven A. Denning, IM 1970 Greenwich, Connecticut

1,100 1,000 900 800

Millions

700

Average Required Funds Raised

600 500 400 300 200

$1,019.0

$1,115.2

Jun-08

Jun-09

Jun-10

Jun-11

Jun-12

$1,248.3 $1,421.8

Jun-15

$862.8

Dec-15

$713.1

Jun-14

$615.2

Jun-13

$428.2

Jun-06

Jun-04

$255.1

Jun-05

$124.1

Jun-07

100

220%

211.7%

200%

205.4%

180%

Progress Toward Goal

160% 140% 120% Time Elapsed — 89.1% 100% 80%

125.0%

119.4% 106.2%

95.2%

86.1%

93.9%

40% 20% 0%

$645.6

$380.7

$214.9

$95.5

$12.7

$62.5

$11.3

$24.6

Alumni

Corporations

Foundations

Other Organizations

Faculty/ Staff

Friends

Parents

Surviving Spouses

$400M

$180M

$90M

$6M

$50M

$12M

Goal: $750M

100%

Progress Toward Goal

90%

97.2%

108.7%

Time Elapsed — 89.1%

83.8%

80% 70%

70.1%

60% 50% 40% 30%

Goal:

Roberta & Ernest Scheller Jr., IM 1952, HON Ph.D. 2013 Villanova, Pennsylvania

Hubert L. Harris, IM 1965 Atlanta, Georgia

Penny & E. Roe Stamps IV, IE 1967, MS 1972 Miami, Florida

Suzanne & Michael E. Tennenbaum, IE 1958 Malibu, California

$583.1 Endowment

$600M

$188.5 Facilities

$225M

$122.6

$543.6

Equipment

Current Operations

$175M

$500M

Lawrence P. Huang, IMGT 1973 Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida John R. Huff, CE 1968 Houston, Texas Andrea L. Laliberte, IE 1982, MS IE 1984 Jacksonville, Florida John S. Markwalter Jr., IMGT 1981 Atlanta, Georgia

Alfred P. West Jr., AE 1964, HON Ph.D. 2010 Oaks, Pennsylvania ___________________________________

David M. McKenney, PHYS 1960, IE 1964 Atlanta, Georgia

CO-CHAIRS

Robert A. Milton, IM 1983 Godalming, Surrey, England

VICE CHAIRS Rodney C. Adkins, EE 1981, HON Ph.D. 2013 Somers, New York

Charles D. Moseley, IE 1965 Atlanta, Georgia Deborah A. Nash, IE 1978 Medina, Washington Michael A. Neal, IM 1975 Stamford, Connecticut Lawton M. Nease III, IM 1965 Atlanta, Georgia David A. Perdue, IE 1972, MS OR 1976 Sea Island, Georgia

Francis S. “Bo” Godbold, IE 1965 Tierra Verde, Florida

Parker H. Petit, ME 1962, MS EM 1964 Marietta, Georgia

Gary T. Jones, GMGT 1971 Atlanta, Georgia

Beverly J. Seay Orlando, Florida

Frances G. Rogers, ECON 1993 Atlanta, Georgia

C. Meade Sutterfield, EE 1972 Atlanta, Georgia

Joseph W. Rogers Jr., IM 1968 Atlanta, Georgia

Howard T. Tellepsen Jr., CE 1966 Houston, Texas __________________________________

William J. Todd, IM 1971 Atlanta, Georgia

20% 10%

David D. Flanagan, IE 1976 McLean, Virginia

David W. Dorman, IM 1975 Hillsborough, California

110%

Joseph W. Evans, IM 1971 Atlanta, Georgia

Anita P. & Julian D. Saul, IM 1962 Dalton, Georgia

Kenneth G. Byers Jr., EE 1966, MS 1968 Atlanta, Georgia

Funds by Use

William R. Collins Jr., ME 1957, MS IM 1963 Atlanta, Georgia

Thomas A. Fanning, IM 1979, IMGT 1980, HON Ph.D. 2013 Atlanta, Georgia

Mary R. & John F. Brock III, ChE 1970, MS 1971 Atlanta, Georgia ___________________________________

60%

A. Russell Chandler III, IE 1967 Atlanta, Georgia

Susan & Michael T. Duke, IE 1971, HON Ph.D. 2011 Bentonville, Arkansas

Carolyn & H. Milton Stewart, IE 1961 Vero Beach, Florida

Funds by Source

Charles W. Brady, IM 1957 Atlanta, Georgia

EX OFFICIO

Stephen P. Zelnak Jr., IM 1969 Raleigh, North Carolina ___________________________________

William W. George, IE 1964, HON Ph.D. 2008 Minneapolis, Minnesota

AT-LARGE MEMBERS

James R. Lientz Jr., IM 1965 Atlanta, Georgia

H. Inman Allen Atlanta, Georgia G. Niles Bolton, ARCH 1968 Atlanta, Georgia

Robert N. Stargel Jr., EE 1983 Alpharetta, Georgia

www.development.gatech.edu

Philanthropy at Work “Endowed chairs and professorships make Tech’s highest ideals possible: independent thinking, innovation, and inspiring students.” Maryam Alavi, Ph.D. Dean and Stephen P. Zelnak Jr. Chair in the Ernest Scheller Jr. College of Business Alavi specializes in IT innovations and strategic applications. She is a thought leader on technology-mediated learning and has extensive experience in developing leadership curricula for business students. She joined Georgia Tech after serving as vice dean of Emory University’s Goizueta Business School.

Maryam Alavi considers her contributions to business education and research, and her family, to be her most meaningful accomplishments. In her free time, she enjoys swimming and personal fitness. Hometown: Teheran, Iran Education: Ph.D. Information Systems, The Ohio State University

The goal of creating 100 new endowed chairs and professorships is a top priority for Campaign Georgia Tech, the $1.5 billion effort to enable Georgia Tech to define the technological research university of the 21st century.

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SAA Kickoff Kicks Butt More than 3,300 Tech students—by far a new kickoff record—signed up for membership in the Student Alumni Association on an overcast day in early September. Though many were drawn in by the yummy smells of food provided by Waffle House, Chick-fil-A and other GT partners, most just couldn’t miss out on an opportunity to join one of Tech’s most vital and vibrant organizations. For just a $10 donation—half of which goes directly to Roll Call and half toward an SAA gift to Tech—they gained access to dozens of events and efforts dedicated to helping them build connections with alumni, as well as lifelong loyalty to the Institute. GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 90 NO.4 2014

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Visit the recently redesigned Alumni website at gtalumni.org and register to see what's new.

Gold & White Honors Gala Recognizes 10 of Tech’s Top Alumni and Friends At the Gold & White Honors Gala to be held on Feb. 12, 2015, the Alumni Association will bestow honors to 10 outstanding members of the Georgia Tech community. These honorees are an inspiration to the next generation of alumni leaders, and the proceeds of the event go to support Alumni Association student programs. Last year’s gala raised more than $411,000 for student development. For more information about the event and how you can become sponsor, visit gtalumni.org/gold&white. Below, find out more about the 2015 honorees and the awards they will receive. the joseph mayo pettit distinguished service award is the highest award given by the alumni association. it honorsalumniwhohaveprovidedoutstandingsupport of the institute and alumni association and who have providedleadershipintheirchosenprofessionsandlocal communities. Niles Bolton, Arch 68, is chairman and CEO of Niles Bolton Associates, a multidisciplinary architectural design firm with offices in Atlanta, Virginia and California. He founded the firm in 1975, and later designed the $75 million main dormitory for the 1996 Olympics and the $7.8 million Graduate Learning Center at Tech. He is a member of numerous GT and professional boards, including the College of Architecture Executive Advisory Board, GT Arts Advisory Board, GT Foundation Board of Trustees, GT Campaign Steering Committee, GT Strategic Planning Steering Committee and the Georgia State Board of Architects and Interior Designers. He is a former Alumni Association trustee. Joseph Evans, IM 71, is chairman and CEO of State Bank and Trust Company, which operates 20 branch offices in Atlanta and Georgia and perennially ranks as one of the best performing community banks in the U.S. He is heavily involved at Georgia Tech, serving as a current member and past chairman of the College of Business Advisory Board, a trustee of the 0 6 8

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Georgia Tech Foundation, member of the Campaign Steering Committee and much more. He is also a former chair of the Alumni Association Board. Professionally, he also is the director of the Southern Trust Insurance Company and a general partner in the Howell D. Evans Family Partnership, LP. He was named to Georgia Tech’s College of Business Academy of Distinguished Alumni in 2006.

Meade Sutterfield, EE 72, is an angel investor, president and CEO of SSPCS Corp., former Yellow Jackets varsity football player and former chair of the Alumni Association Board. He also serves as a member of the advisory boards to Council Capital and Antares Capital. Charles co-founded and served as president of PowerFone Inc. from 1992 to 1994, and purchased Johnson Communications Corporation and served as its president from 1986 to 1992. In 2002, he co-founded the Central Eurasian Leadership Academy to provide business training to young leaders from the region, matching them with mentors from the U.S. and Europe. He is a member of numerous GT and professional boards, including the GT Strategic Planning Steering Committee, Georgia Tech Foundation Board of Trustees and College of Engineering Advisory Board. Janice Nease Wittschiebe, Arch 78, M Arch 80, is a principal at architectural firm Stevens & Wilkinson and former co-founder of Richard + Wittschiebe Architects Inc., which merged to become Richard Wittschiebe Hand and then integrated into Stevens & Wilkinson. Early in her career, she worked on the programming and code research for construction for all the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. With Tech, she is a member of the College of Architecture Executive Council, a trustee of the GT Foundation and GT Athletic Association, and a former chair of the Alumni Association Board and GT Advisory Board. She also has served as a design instructor for the College of Architecture. Professionally, she is a past president of the American Institute of

Architects-Georgia Chapter, and a member of the National and Georgia Trusts for Historic Preservation.

Trail—was dedicated in his honor in 2005. His father, Carey Brown, IE 69, will be accepting the award for him.

thedeangriffincommunityservice awardrecognizesalumniwhohaveperformedexemplarycommunityservice.

Shan Pesaru, CmpE 05, is founder and CEO of Sharp Hue, a web design, development and hosting firm based in Fayetteville, Ark., that specializes in helping small businesses and young companies build their websites. He serves as a mentor for The ARK, a tech startup accelerator, and as a director of Students Acquiring Knowledge through Enterprise at the University of Arkansas. He currently is a member of the GT Alumni Association Board and the GT Northwest Arkansas Alumni Club.

Howard Tellepsen Jr. (CE 66), is chairman and CEO of Houston-based construction firm Tellepsen Corporation, a fourth-generation, family-owned and operated company with revenues of more than $400 million and 1,200 employees nationwide. He is a former president of Tech Student Council and a participant in ANAK. As an alumnus, he is an at-large member of the GT Campaign Steering Committee, emeritus trustee for the GT Foundation, emeritus member of the Civil Engineering Advisory Board and a former trustee of the Alumni Association Board. He was awarded the J.M. Petit Distinguished Service Award by the Alumni Association in 2012 and the College of Engineering Distinguished Alumni Award in 1996. Professionally, he is a member of the World President’s Organization, a senior fellow of the American Leadership Forum and a member of the Greater Houston YMCA Board of Directors.

thehonoraryalumnusawardhonors any non-alumnus who has devotedhimselforherselftothegreater good of georgia tech.

theoutstandingyoungalumniaward honors alumni under 40 who have demonstratedoutstandingleadershipandservicetogeorgiatech,the alumniassociation,theircommunity and their profession.

Alan James Dabbiere is senior vice president at AirWatch, a leading enterprise mobility management provider, where he drives the company’s vision, direction and growth. He is also the president of privately held investment company AJD LLC, and founder of Manhattan Associates, where he served as president and CEO from 1990 through 1999. Alan is a member of the Georgia Tech Advisory Board and emeritus member of the GT School of Industrial and Systems Engineering Advisory Board. He also serves on a number of other industry and education boards and councils.

Tyler Brown, MGT 01, HTS 01, was a popular, well-regarded student and leader at Tech, serving as president of the Student Government Association. He was commissioned as a first lieutenant from the Army ROTC in 2001, and was deployed to Iraq in September 2004. Within just two weeks of starting his tour, he was killed by a sniper while leading a 22-man reconnaissance patrol. He was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery. He remains an inspiration to the Tech community, and a 3.14-mile campus running trail—the Tyler Brown Pi Mile

John B. Peatman is professor emeritus of electrical engineering at Georgia Tech, actively teaching students and developing the digital system design curriculum at the Institute from 1964 to 2008. He won numerous teach awards during his tenure, including the Student Government Association’s Dean George C. Griffin Award in 1969, the Georgia Tech Outstanding Teaching Award in 1971 and the Outstanding EE Professor Award in 1984, 1996 and 2001, among others. In addition, he is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

Let the Bidding Begin! In addition to the reception, dinner and award ceremony, the 2015 Gold & White Honors Gala features an exciting silent auction offering a wide variety of special items and experiences donated by Tech alumni and friends. They include: a weeklong stay in an Italian countryside villa, a Waffle House food truck experience, a private party at Atlanta's new Second Self craft brewery and tons of GT themed artwork, signed Yellow Jackets sports memorabilia and more! All proceeds of the event go to support Alumni Association student programs. For those interested in donating unique experiences, merchandise or services to the auction, please contact Jessica Piechota at 404-894-9273.

Judy Zelnak has been an ardent and active supporter of Georgia Tech for decades She is the spouse of Tech alumnus Stephen P. Zelnak, IM 69, who is the chairman of the board at Martin Marietta and former recipient of the Alumni Association’s Joseph Mayo Pettit Distinguished Service Award. She is also a proud past Tech parent and serves as a trustee for The Zelnak Private Foundation, which gives to educational and religious organizations in Georgia and North Carolina. GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 90 NO.4 2014

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travel

The Alumni Travel Program takes Tech grads and friends to exciting locales around the globe.

Forty Shades of Green

Roger Slavens

The grass—and much more—proves to be greener in Ireland.

IRELAND

It took an American—none other than

Ireland TRIP ITINERARY 1 ENNIS City tour, and coach trips to The Burren, Cliffs of Moher, Galway, Aran Islands and the Dingle Peninsula 2 KILLARNEY Coach trip to the Ring of Kerry, tours of the Muckross House and Blarney Castle, lunch at The Longueville House 3 DUBLIN City tour, including St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Trinity College, day of free exploration.

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Johnny Cash—to quantify the greenness of Ireland in song, and I can tell you first hand that he had it right. As the plane broke through the ﬂoor of clouds on its descent into Shannon Airport, I sat simply awestruck at the sight of lush rolling hills and meadows and farms below me, broken up by a patchwork of stone fences. Those Forty Shades of Green spread out beneath my aerie felt at once both wholly alien and comfortingly familiar, as if I were returning to a home I had never known. That feeling never left me during the rest of my 11-day journey. For many Tech alumni in our tour

group, Ireland was a bucket-list trip. And for me, it was much more than that; it was a return home of sorts. Both sides of my family claim deep roots on the Emerald Isle and I’ve always been in love with the country’s history, culture and folklore. In fact, I can trace my heritage back to medieval high bards—and while my last name, strawberry blonde hair and freckles aren’t that common in the U.S., I found they fit right in with the people of Éire. After arriving in Shannon, we traveled to Ennis, a lively town in County Clare that would serve as our home base on the first leg of our journey. We lodged at the Old Ground Hotel, a former manor house that not only oozed old-world charm and luxury, but also featured a great Irish pub. That first Guinness tasted great. We spent the day in Ennis, touring the city streets and stepping in for a brief tour of the ruins of a Franciscan friary. The highlight of the day

was an after-dinner performance by a band of young musicians and dancers who shared rousing, traditional Irish sounds and steps with us. The next day we traveled by bus to Galway, the famed coastal city. Unfortunately, this was the only day the weather didn’t cooperate with us, as we endured a couple downpours on our walking tour. Some of us shopped for traditional Irish Claddagh rings, while others feasted on fresh fish and chips. The following day, excursions took us to The Burren, a region known for its unusual rock formations, and the Cliffs of Moher, a stunning seaside site better known to film fans as the Cliffs of Insanity, from The Princess Bride. Our last day operating from Ennis, we ventured to the Aran Islands, where those iconic woolen fisherman’s sweaters are made. It was so warm that day— in fact, most of our trip went against Irish weather standards—I didn’t feel like buying one for myself, but that didn’t stop others, to be sure. We had a particularly lovely lunch at a small hillside restaurant overlooking Galway Bay, and felt fortified enough to make the trek up a steeper hill to see the ancient ruins of the Dun Aengus ring fort. On our transfer to Killarney, where we’d stay the next two nights, we circled the Dingle Peninsula by bus and visited a museum honoring the remote, once-inhabitable Blasket Islands. We then made a quick stop in the quaint town of Dingle, where I found a pub and found out I very much like Tom Crean’s lager (you can’t drink Guinness all the time), brewed locally. We checked into The Malton, a stately, luxurious hotel, and I hosted a happy hour for my fellow travelers, courtesy of the Alumni Association. Yes, we even sang the Ramblin’ Wreck, much to the amusement of our non-Tech friends. After a good night’s sleep, we added a local tour guide to our entourage and drove the beautiful lengths of The Ring of Kerry, which offered spectacular views of the Irish countryside and coast. On one of our stops, we took in a surprisingly spectacular demonstration of sheep herding that had most of us wanting to take home a sweet, smart border collie for our own. Several photo opportunities later, we wound up our trek by touring the Muckross House, a 19th-century Victorian mansion that reminded us of an Irish Downton Abbey, only better. On the road between Killarney and Dublin, our last base of operations, we pulled in to see Blarney Castle and

If you’re itching to travel the world, who better to globe-hop with than your fellow Yellow Jackets? The Georgia Tech Alumni Association has a host of trips scheduled for 2015. For more information, or to register for an upcoming tour, visit gtalumni.org/travel. Normandy, May 6-14, 2015 Walk through history as you explore WWII D-Day sites, including Omaha Beach, the American Military Cemetery and more. You’ll also travel to Monet’s home and studio in Giverny, indulge in some Calvados brandy and visit the majestic Mont-Saint-Michel. Treasures of Peru, May 18-28 This smallgroup tour takes in many of Peru’s wonders—including Cuzco, Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca—while also giving you a taste of the urban life in Lima. Arriving before the summer crowds, you’ll travel by train, boat and foot to see dozens of stunning sights. Italian Lakes, May 30-June 7 Experience the true essence of life in northern Italy’s fabled Lake District while luxuriating at the charming Hotel Regina Olga. Enjoy a private boat cruise on Lake Como and expert-guided excursions to Bellagio, Villa del Balbianello, the Borromean Islands and Stresa. Baltic Marvels Cruise, Aug. 19-27 Marvel at the storybook settings, deep-rooted history and canal-laced capitals of the Baltic as you sail from Stockholm to Copenhagen aboard the elegant Oceania Cruises Nautica, with unforgettable interludes in Finland, Russia, Estonia and Germany. Greek Isles Cruise, Sept. 26-Oct. 5 Discover incredible ancient wonders and alluring sun-soaked islands on this Aegean adventure aboard the graceful Oceania Cruises Riviera. This odyssey to Turkey and the Greece transports you to several stunning cities and isles. GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 90 NO.4 2014

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travel

Visit gtalumni.org/travel to find out about our upcoming Alumni Trips.

an elaborate series of lush gardens. Yes, I was one of the few who trudged up the narrow stairs of the castle and—with gymnastic, upside-down grace—kissed the Blarney Stone. I even have the $10 picture to prove it, though my wife not-so-secretly wishes that I hadn’t added the fabled “gift of gab” to my repertoire. Another stop took us to The Longueville House, where we enjoyed a refreshing, gourmet lunch and hobnobbed with the owners. By the time we reached Dublin, most of us were pretty done in. Still, we enjoyed a bus and walking tour of the city, which included stops at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Trinity College— where we saw The Book of Kells and a fascinating exhibit on Irish high king Brian Boru’s 1014 battle against the Vikings. We then had the afternoon, evening and most of the next day free to tour cosmopolitan Dublin at our leisure, before tipping our Guinness glasses to each other at a farewell reception and dinner. Now those were 11 days well spent. I must admit I had never been on a small-group tour such as this one offered by the Georgia Tech Alumni Association through AHI Travel, and I was a little concerned that being cooped up on a motor coach with relative strangers— though many of us shared that Tech bond—was going to take away from the experience. My doubts proved to be completely unfounded. Our plucky band of seasoned GT adventurers, as well as fellow travelers from Emory, West Point, Cornell and Wilson College, got along tremendously well and the shared experience of witnessing Ireland’s marvels added greatly to our enjoyment. As one of the few solo tourists in the bunch, I was always invited to join couples and groups for dinIf you don’t see a Georgia Tech Alumni ners and drinks in Trip here that you’re interested in, go to our free time, and gtalumni.org/travel for the full list of I never felt like a more than 30 adventures. third wheel. 0 7 2

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Meanwhile, AHI took the worry out of nearly everything, giving all of us the freedom to simply enjoy ourselves fully rather than have to fret about logistics. The hotels, restaurants, guest speakers, tour guides and excursions that were prearranged and recommended all turned out to be first class. Tour Director Joannie Herbst—though tiny in stature—stood tall whenever a small problem surfaced, using her years of expertise and her careful planning to make the travelers in her care happy. One of the best aspects of this guided, small-group trip may surprise you as much as it did me. Having an exceptional bus driver like Danny Smyth made the long spells on the road between attractions immensely enjoyable. What's more, on a tour such as this, I never expected to be able to get a glimpse of how a native Irishman sees the world. While nimbly navigating traffic, Danny spent hours telling us stories about his country, ranging from history to politics to simple tales of everyday life—and, of course, many, many jokes. If you were too tired to listen closely to him, his warm Irish accent and his words still did their job, lulling you to a happy sleep as those forty shades of green whipped by. Statement of Ownership, Management and Circulation (Required by 39 USC 3685) Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine, Publication No. 014-073 Frequency: Quarterly. No. of issues published annually: Four. Annual subscription price: None. Publisher: Joseph P. Irwin, 190 North Ave. N.W., Atlanta, GA 30313 Editor: Roger Slavens, 190 North Ave. N.W., Atlanta, GA 30313 Owner: Georgia Tech Alumni Association, 190 North Ave. N.W., Atlanta, GA 30313 Known bondholders, mortgagees and other security holders owning or holding 1 percent or more of total amount of bonds, No. of Average mortgages or other securities: None Tax Status-The purpose, function and copies of No. of nonprofit status of this organization and the exempt status for federal income single issue copies each tax purposes: Has not changed during the preceding 12 months. published issue during nearest to preceding filing date 12 months Extent and nature of circulation a. Total No. Copies

75,851

120,646

74,758 b. Paid Circulation (1) Mailed Outside-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 354 (2) Mailed In-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 3541 None (3) Paid Distribution Outside the Mails Including Sales Through Dealers and None Cariers, Street Vendors, Counter Sales & Other Paid Distribution Outside USPS (4) Paid Distribution by Other Classes of Mail Through the USPS None

119,511

c. Total Paid Distribution

119,511

74,758

None None

None

d. Free or Nominal Rate Distribution (1) Free or Nominal Rate Outside-County None Copies Included on PS Form 3541 (2) Free or Nominal Rate In-County Copies Included on PS Form 3541 None

None

(3) Free or Nominal Rate Copies Mailed at Other Classes Through the USPS None

None

(4) Free or Nominal Rate Distribution Outside the Mail

372

484

e. Total Free or Nominal Rate Distribution

372

484

f. Total Distribution

75,130

119,995

g. Copies not Distributed

350

h. Total

75,480

120,345

i. Percent Paid

99.0%

99.6%

This statement of ownership will be printed in the Vol. 90, No. 4 issue of this publication. I certify that the statements made by me above are correct and complete.

None

Joseph P. Irwin, IM 80 President & CEO, Georgia Tech Alumni Association

ANNUAL REPORT FY2014 Buzzing with record participation in events, programs, giving and more, your Alumni Association completed one of its finest years on record. Find out how together we made a major impact on the Instituteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s academic mission while building strong bonds among past and future generations of Yellow Jackets.

18.6%

The Georgia Tech Alumni philanthropic participation rate (18.6%) is nearly twice the national average (9.4%). Tech ranks No. 1 or No. 2 annually among public research universities in the U.S.

9.4%

Philanthropy: Tech Alumni Give Back Big!

$9.07million raised (an all-time high!)

from

33,072 donors

(also an all-time high!)

For the Associationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 67th Roll Call, year-to-year donor retention increased from

88.6% 89.3% to

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ANNUAL REPORT FY2014

LETTER FROM THE CHAIR World Class universities have many things in common: incredible students, outstanding faculty and research, visionary leadership and robust philanthropic support from engaged alumni. As I reflect on my year as chair of your Alumni Association, it is clear to me that these characteristics are abundant at Tech. The Institute is healthy, and on balance may be in the best shape ever. The culture of innovation and student

entrepreneurship may be one of the most transformative waves I’ve seen on campus in the last decade. It’s enabled by leadership from the Hill, driven by students who have a need to make a difference and a passion to create a career—not just take a job—and fostered by faculty who are daring and willing to help. Alumni also play a big role in this: For example, more than 1,130 of you took Tech students under your wing last year through Mentor Jackets, one of the Alumni Association’s outstanding programs that builds strong connections between students both past and present. The organizations we sponsor and support continue to grow and thrive. The Student Alumni Association (SAA) drew in more than 4,500 members last year, making it once again the largest student organization on campus. SAA is vital

PROGRAM FUNDRAISING

in teaching philanthropy and Tech traditions to our young Yellow Jackets, as well as in providing them with a wide range of dynamic programs and events. The Georgia Tech Student Foundation and several SAA programs—including Expert Jackets and Dinner Jackets—regularly garner national and regional awards. Not only do alumni support these programs with your time and talent, through the 2014 Gold & White Honors Gala you contributed more than $400,000 to support the Association’s student programs financially. And at the same time, you honored the lifetime service and contributions of some of our most distinguished alumni. We now number 141,217 alumni around the globe in almost every possible endeavor. You’ve read their stories in the Alumni Magazine. You’ve become engaged with the Association through social

media—in fact, more than 31,000 of you have joined our LinkedIn group. And we recently launched a new website designed to keep you better connected and informed and to make it easier for you to let us know what’s up with you. But perhaps most significantly, Georgia Tech alumni continue to give to Tech through the Association’s Roll Call at rates that are the envy of almost every public university in the country. This year, 33,072 donors gave more than $9 million to support Tech’s academic mission, both all-time records! Thank you for caring about Georgia Tech and its future. Your support is critical in enhancing the student experience and continuing to build our alumni network. So this year, let’s get even better. Join a local network. Mentor a student or two. Attend a New Student Send-Off Reception in your region. Come back to campus, and see what’s going on. You’ll be impressed.

STEVE CHADDICK, EE 74, M EE 82 FISCAL YEAR 2014 CHAIR GEORGIA TECH ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD OF TRUSTEES

2014

2013 CHANGE

Roll Call Donors

33,072

32,225

2.6% increase

Roll Call Dollars

$9,067,798

$8,671,944

4.6% increase

ENGAGEMENT

Active Engagement Supportive Engagement Return for Every $1 Spent 0 7 4

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2014

2013 CHANGE

809,460

733,905

4% increase

11,644,222

7,057,233

31% increase

$1.742

$1.736

1% increase

ASSOCIATION FINANCES REVENUES

FISCAL YEAR 2014

BUDGET ACTUAL VARIANCE

GT Foundation Georgia Tech Advertising & Sponsorships Career Services Tours Merchandise Sales (Net of Cost of Sales) Royalties Event Registrations Other Sources of Revenue Gold & White Honors Gala/Contributions

$4,314,000 610,000 412,000 270,000 110,000 15,000 10,000 124,700 209,118 300,000

$4,314,000 618,240 426,728 253,950 131,212 28,763 6,898 130,351 202,547 460,906

$0 8,240 14,728 (16,050) 21,212 13,763 (3,102) 5,651 (6,571) 160,906

Total Assets

$6,374,818

$6,573,595

$198,777

EXPENDITURES

BUDGET ACTUAL VARIANCE

Administration Career Services Communications Alumni Relations & Tours Roll Call & Business Development Campus Relations Event Management Marketing Services

$2,347,605 295,800 623,896 457,300 839,883 464,950 1,012,834 332,550

$2,543,762 269,618 625,961 490,615 837,533 432,635 1,048,473 252,310

$196,157 (26,182) 2,065 33,315 (2,350) (32,315) 35,639 (80,240)

Total Expenditures

$6,374,818

$6,500,907

$126,089

$72,688

Excess (Deficiency) of revenue over expenses

ASSETS 2014 2013 Cash and Cash Equivalents Accounts Receivable less Allowance for Doubtful Accounts of $3,000 in 2014 and $3,000 in 2013 Prepaid Expenses Inventory Property, Plant and Equipment, net Antique Ramblin' Wreck

$221,765

$48,507

65,795 14,034 3,864 131,879 12,500

57,470 39,830 2,476 122,369 12,500

Total Assets

$449,837

$283,152

LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS 2014 2013 LIABILITIES Accounts Payable Accrued Expenses

127,353 396,789

104,043 275,193

$524,142

$379,236

UNRESTRICTED NET ASSETS Expended for Property, Plant & Equipment Available for Operations

144,379 (218,684)

134,869 (230,953)

Total Unrestricted Net Assets

$(74,305)

$(96,084)

Total Liabilities and Net Assets

$449,837

$283,152

Total Liabilities

GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 90 NO.4 2014

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ANNUAL REPORT FY2014

A RECORD YEAR OF IMPACT & ENGAGEMENT Alumni Events

1K+

More than 1,000 runners raced at 42nd Annual Pi Mile Road Race

Campus Relations

$411,000

7 amazing alumni honored and $411,000 raised for student programs during the 2014 Gold & White Honors Gala

$100,000 (1986) -> $1.2 MILLION (2014)

Georgia Tech Student Foundation endowment growth, with $600,000 given back to student initiatives during this time frame

4,291 Student Alumni Association members raised $31,000 for the annual Gift to Tech awarded to Klemis Kitchen (2,724 SAA members in FY 2013, a 58% increase)

36 Dinner Jackets events hosted by 54 alumni and faculty members serving 313 students

1, 132 Mentor Jackets studentalumni pairs covering 64 academic majors from all six colleges (908 pairs in FY2013, a 24.7% increase)

Alumni Career Services

Alumni Networks & Affinity Groups

Alumni Scholarships

1,229 12

career advising sessions & follow-ups

programs and webinars

More than 800 alumni and 111 employers at 31st Annual Alumni Career Fair 0 7 6

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Morethan than150 150scholarships scholarshipstotaling totaling More $340,000 offered to prospective students,including including77new newendowments endowments dents, fromNetworks Networksand andAffinity AffinityGroups. Groups. from

103 active Networks & Affinity Groups across the U.S. & the world 42,064 alumni participated in 890 events in FY2014, including new student send-offs, sports watching parties, scholarship drives and more.

Alumni Travel 35 tours 494 alumni and guests 46 countries visited (58% repeat travelers with Tech) *All data reflects FY2014 (July 2013-June 2014).

THOUSANDS OF PROUD RAMBLIN’ WRECKS HAVE ALREADY DEMONSTRATED THEIR BELIEF IN

Georgia Tech HAVE YOU? BY PUTTING THEIR NAMES ON THIS LIST.

CHECK THE LIST OF DONORS HERE:

gtalumni.org/donors

Make your gift to the 68th Roll Call: gtalumni.org/giving ROLL CALL, GEORGIA TECH ALUMNI ASSOCIATION 190 North Avenue | Atlanta, Georgia 30313-9806 or c a ll (8 0 0)GT-ALUMS

alumni

house

Check out the Alumni Association's programs and events at gtalumni.org.

It’s (Much More Than) Just Dinner

Roger Slavens

Students may always be starving for good food, but they’re also starving for chances to network and build strong connections with alumni, faculty and staff. There’s a good reason Dinner Jackets is

arguably the most sought after Student Alumni Association program among its members, and it’s not just because they get a free meal out of the deal. Dinner Jackets gives students a special opportunity to network with Tech alumni—and sometimes even their professors—outside the classroom and off campus. For alumni and other volunteers, hosting a dinner is a relatively simple and easy way to give back to Tech and the latest generation of Yellow Jackets. And dinners can range from a fun and relaxing backyard pool party to a hearty home-cooked meal to a nice dinner out at a favorite Atlanta restaurant. There’s no other agenda necessary than to share good food, good conversation and Georgia Tech spirit. Not convinced? Well, here are some of the reviews from past Dinner Jackets hosts and student attendees: A+++

“We're so glad that SAA students were able to join us. It was a delight for us to have you with us and, especially, for us to hear a wide range of views about life, education, research and more at Georgia Tech. This is of course important to us as Tech faculty members; but it's also important to us as parents of a Tech junior and of a high school senior who's about to finalize her own college selection.” —Paul Goldbart, Dean of the College of Sciences

Outstanding!

“My involvement with Dinner Jackets has made me so much more aware of the span and impact of the Tech community beyond 078

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campus. Alumni and faculty that host Dinner Jackets dinners are always so eager to connect with the students that I still keep in touch with many of the alumni I have met over the years!” —Catherine Wallace , BME 16

Loyal Diners

“My wife Tara and I have hosted Dinner Jackets at our home 2 to 3 times now. It’s always great fun. We’ve been impressed with the Tech students that we’ve met through the program—they’re smart, inquisitive, committed leaders looking to

build connections with alumni as they build their future.” —Rich DeAugustinis, IE 92

Four Forks!

“It’s really fun to meet students with lots of motivation and ambition—as a young alumna myself it was easy to relate to them. Overall, Dinner Jackets creates a lot of school spirit because it connects us alumni to the current student body, and it creates excitement for students to hear stories of Tech in years past!” —Melanie K. Cols, Mgt 14

Want to host a Dinner Jackets event or learn more about this SAA program? Email us at dinnerjackets@gtssaa.com.

NETWORK SUPERSTARS KUDOS! The Alumni Association’s Networks and Affinity Groups depend on volunteer leadership to organize gatherings, fundraisers and community service projects. Here are a few leaders who deserve thanks for all of their hard work.

Every year at Leadership Georgia Tech—held during Homecoming Weekend—we single out our top alumni networks from throughout the country based based on the excellence of their volunteer leadership as well as the quality and impact of the events they sponsor. Each winning network earns additional funds that go toward network scholarships for future Tech students from their local communities. The 2013-2014 Top 10 Alumni Networks (in order) were:

1. Suncoast/Tampa 2. Central Florida and Chicago (tied) 4. Hampton Roads/Norfolk 5. Columbus, Ga. 6. Atlanta Intown 7. San Diego 8. North Metro/Atlanta 9. Northern California/San Francisco 10. Charlotte Honors were also bestowed to our top Alumni Corporate Network—Southern Company. Congrats to all those involved!

Affinity Aces Local networks weren’t the only ones to be recognized at Leadership Georgia Tech. The Award of Excellence was given to two Georgia Tech Affinity Groups that displayed outstanding volunteerism and dedication to the Alumni Association over the past year—the Georgia Tech Black A lu m n i O r g a n i z at i o n a n d the Georgia Tech Women Alumnae Network. Both groups have shown tremendous leadership and strategic vision, engaged students and alumni, and organized events and

supported the Institute through their donations to Roll Call. The Outstanding Volunteer Award is presented to Affinity Group members and leaders who go above and beyond to support their affinity groups and the Alumni Association. The recipients of the 2014 Outstanding Volunteer Award are:Justin Rowland, BME 12, of the Georgia Tech Health Professionals Affinity Group, Tim Boone of the Georgia Tech Military Affinity Group, and Katie Olliff, HTS 02, of Georgia Tech Pride Alumni.

Carrie Fariss, Mgt 02, of Georgia Tech Charlotte. Fariss, president of the Charlotte Jackets, has been an active leader in the network since 2008. She’s organized many events and held various roles over the years. Under her leadership, the network has grown larger and more active, leading to its ranking among the top 10. Vicky Polashock, ChE 90, PhD ChE 95, of Georgia Tech North Metro. Under the leadership of Polashock, the active Georgia Tech North Metro Network has grown bigger and better than ever. She’s brought new, young leaders to the group, led improvements to the network’s scholarship activities and created new events while enhancing established ones such as “Pictures with ‘Santa Buzz.’” Jim Billhimer, ME 85, of Georgia Tech Columbus, Ga. Billhimer is a dynamic leader who enthusiastically supports his network’s many events, including game watching parties, college fairs, student sendoffs and meet-and-greets. His dedication has helped alumni and fans south of Atlanta stay connected to Tech. GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 90 NO.4 2014

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@ work

Go to gtalumni.org to find out how you can support Tech and its students.

5 Secrets for Managing Change

Hallie Crawford and Katie Weiser

For both employees and supervisors, adapting to a new way of doing things starts at understanding why the status quo at work no longer works. One of the toughest things about change

in the workplace is there is a lot of resistance to it. Resistance is all about not truly understanding why the change is necessary. Why can't we stay in the status quo? It's helpful if leaders take the time to explain to employees the "why" of change and to paint the picture of how the change is going to increase revenue, improve employee satisfaction or make things run more smoothly. If you are one of those employees who is resisting the change, or a manager responsible for making change happen, below are five tips to help yourself or others move along the spectrum of acceptance. 1. Ask for understanding. Talk with a manager or supervisor to understand the bigger picture. Discuss how the change is going to affect your job. You may find that it does not, which could be a relief. If it does, then ask some probing questions:

talent that plays to your strengths. New work relationships may result if there is restructuring going on. So, reframe a perceived loss by asking, “what am I gaining?”

∂ How specifically will the processes or pro-

3. Be patient with yourself. Learning

cedures you use now be changed? ∂ What is the timeframe for the “new” ways to take effect? ∂ What training will be required? Having this knowledge will help alleviate concerns. Be proactive, don't listen to the gossip going around the company of how “bad” this is going to be. Straight answers from your manager or supervisor are the best.

anything new takes time. You may find yourself working crazy hours because there is a steep learning curve. But in six weeks time, it will become the new normal. Cut yourself some slack! 4. Be an advocate for the change. Those

around you will be struggling with resistance. Misery loves company. Stay out of the complaining and whining that others do. Help colleagues to understand the big

picture. Step out and be a leader yourself in helping making the change happen. 5. Take care of yourself. Change is stress-

ful also and it takes a toll on the body. This is the time to hit the gym, take a walk, meditate, reﬂect and eat healthy. The old saying goes: Change is inevitable, growth is optional. So true. Change can be viewed as an opportunity to reach a higher potential. Growth always includes some kind of change and learning. So take the time to understand, focus on the gain, be patient, be an advocate and take care of yourself. Change is always around the corner—go with the ﬂow!

2. Focus on what you are gaining, not what you are losing. In times of change,

Hallie Crawford is a certified career coach, speaker and author from Atlanta

everyone focuses on what they are losing. Often, change can be a welcome job enhancer by moving out of a comfort zone and into a stretch zone. It could also use

career paths, navigate their career transitions and nurture their careers. Hallie

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whose coaching company, HallieCrawford.com, helps people identify their ideal will be leading a new Define Your Ideal Career seminar series for Georgia Tech alumni in early 2015. For more details on this series , as well as our ongoing Career Conversations webinars, watch gtalumni.org/career.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;My team and I are working smarter and saving money

after earning our project management certificates.

We immediately applied information from the first class and are seeing major changes even to this day. As a business owner, I have the satisfaction of knowing we were trained by the best.â&#x20AC;? Matt Rawlins

President, Rawlins Mechanical 2013 Project Management Certificate

Courses, Certificates and Degree Programs Online, Classroom and Blended Formats

www.gtpe.gatech.edu /gtalum

ramblin’

roll

Have a new job or other news to share? Email details to ramblinroll@gtalumni.org.

Hawkins Named Chief Sustainability Officer for Dow Neil C. Hawkins, HP 84, was named corporate vice president and chief sustainability officer of The Dow Chemical Company. In this role, he will oversee the company’s sustainability performance and help Dow set a high standard for sustainability. In his 26year tenure at Dow, Hawkins has collaborated with several organizations to advance sustainable development. He helped Dow partner with the Nature Conservancy to value ecosystem services, an effort which received the 2013 Harvard University Roy Award for Environmental Partnership. Hawkins was also instrumental in collaborating with the United Nations Environment Program and China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection to improve chemical safety and emergency preparedness. Hawkins is widely recognized as an authority on sustainable business practices and environmental policy, and was honored with the 2012 C.K. Prahalad Award for sustainability leadership.

Greer Donates ‘Noisy and Powerful’ Piece of Past to Tech

1960s Norman Askins, Arch 66, is being recognized by The Institute of Classical Architecture & Art in a publication titled “Inspired By Tradition: The Architecture of Norman Davenport Askins.” James Arthur "Flip" Lyle, IM 67, is the 2014 Age Group Champion of the Southwest Challenge Series, a duathlon and triathlon championship. The Southwest Challenge Series is the largest and oldest duathlon and triathlon series in the world. Lyle has been Age Group Champion of the Southwest Challenge Series 20 times. Lyle also competed in the International Triathlon Union World Duathlon Championship on June 1 in Pontevedra, Spain. Lyle has competed in 104 duathlons and 322 triathlons to date.

1970s D. Albert Brannen, Psy 78, was recognized on the 2015 Best Lawyers list, published annually. Brannen is the managing partner of the Atlanta office of Fisher & Phillips LLP.

∏

This stereo version of the double barrel amp was constructed in 1979 by Tom Greer, EE 87, in his campus dorm room, with guidance from the late Dr. W.M. Leach—and a little help from the electrical engineering machine shop. While Greer followed most of the instructions from his professor, he took the liberty of upgrading the power supply and output transistors. The dual power supply is +/- 130V with 0.8 Farads of capacitance. The true output power has never been tested, but theoretically it should be capable of over 500W continuous per channel with peak power nearing 2KW/ch, according to Greer. He has toted the 35-year-old amp around the country a few times, first acting as a home stereo amp where it got him evicted from a few places and arrested for noise violations, then as an amp for a few bands, and lastly as a house PA amp for a local bar in Kentucky. Greer donated the amp to Tech, and it now is on display at the ECE Van Lear Building, where it serves as a tribute to Dr. Leach and the audio engineering program at Tech.

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William A. "Chip" Hayward Jr., Arch 79, M Arch 81, has been recognized by the Construction Specifications Institute with the Hans William Meier Award. The Hans William Meier Award is presented to a CSI member or group that demonstrates exceptional commitment to CSI’s Certification Programs by advocating, implementing, educating,

developing, utilizing and supporting certification. Mr. Hayward is a senior architect at Michael Baker International's Tampa, Fla. office.

Out & About 1

B. C. Killough, IE 74, was selected as the Charleston, S.C. 2015 Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers in America. Killough is an attorney at Barnwell Whaley Patterson & Helms LLC. Stefan Stein, EE 77, was recognized on the 2015 Best Lawyers list, an annual referral guide. Stein is an attorney at Gray Robinson, P.A.

Bryan T. Thompson, ME 76, was awarded a patent in July. Bryan lives aboard his sailboat with his parakeet, Quoth.

1980s Tim A. Baker, Mgt 89, was appointed senior director of talent management and organizational development for the Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools. This position will oversee the human resources department and the division’s strategic plan. Richard Curtis, CE 83, MS CE 89, joined Professional Service Industries Inc. as senior vice president in their Kennesaw, Ga., office. Richard lives with his wife, Vicky, CE 82, MS CE 84, and their children in Atlanta. Graham Gillen, MS OR 86, is now vice president of marketing at Search Technologies, an information technology services firm specializing in the design and implementation of enterprise search and big data applications. R. Scott Herren, IE 84, is senior vice president and chief financial officer of Autodesk Inc.

1. Married Yellow Jackets Catherine Covington, Mgt 05, (left, with her GT beanie on) and Paul Supawanich, IE 06, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania this past July. 2. Erika Via, Bio 09, (left) and Anne Hewitt, CS 08, MBA 15, traveled to Brazil for the World Cup and attended the 3rd place match between Brazil and The Netherlands. 3. Georgia Tech President G.P. “Bud” Peterson and First Lady Val Peterson, take an underground tour of the Oculus at the new World Trade Center in New York City, led by Paul D. Reitz, IM 78, one of the senior project managers supervising its construction.

Rebecca Lane Oesterle, MgtSci 83, was named the new packaging development manager for Just Born Quality Confections in Bethlehem, Pa., in June. Jim Musser, Phys 80, MS GeoS 82, is now lead geophysicist of data acquisition and processing for Maersk Oil's global geophysical operations. Prior to joining Maersk

Oil, Muss led the geophysical acquisition technology team at Saudi Aramco in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Jim and his wife Leslie live in Copenhagen. William “Jerry” Samples, Phys 86, has joined Coca-Cola as principal software engineer in the freestyle business unit. GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 90 NO.4 2014

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Have a new job or other news to share? Email details to ramblinroll@gtalumni.org.

Bizier Named National President for the Environmental & Water Resources Institute Paul Bizier, MS EnvE 97, is the new national president for the Environmental & Water Resources Institute, a civil engineering specialty institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Its services are designed to complement the American Society of Civil Engineers traditional civil engineering base and to attract new categories of members who seek to enhance their professional and technical development. Bizier is a project delivery manager for Water Services at Barge, Waggoner, Sumner and Cannon Inc.

Davis One of Just 20 to Attain Tableau Zen Master Status Nelson Davis, CE 07, MS CE 08, was named a 2014 Tableau Zen Master for his innovative work using Tableau software. Davis is one of just 20 Tableau users to receive this title. Tableau employees and customers vote for Zen Masters by judging the past year’s most outstanding practitioners of the software. To be designated a Zen Master, Tableau users must meet a number of criteria, which include demonstrating their deep understanding of data visualization, sharing their expertise as teachers and evangelists, and contributing innovative ideas and designs to the larger Viz community. Davis, an information management consultant at Slalom Atlanta, helps lead the Tableau team there and is a very active member of the Atlanta Tableau User’s Group. An author of the Tableau “30 for 30” blog series, Davis’ visualizations have won Viz of the Day awards on multiple occasions. Davis regularly speaks at conferences and events and helping to elevate the art of data visualization and design. 0 8 4

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1990s Angela Oliver Caddell, Mgt 94, was recently appointed associate vice chancellor of communications for Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, the constitutional coordinating board for the state system of higher education. She lives with husband, Cody and their twins, Cooper and Olivia, 3, in Norman, Okla. Brent Cook, CE 91, MS CE 94, was appointed district engineer of Northeast Georgia for the Georgia Department of Transportation. Jason E. Dunn, CE 94, has been promoted to director of project management and principal at BRPH ArchitectsEngineers, which performs full design services for aviation, aerospace, education, industrial, manufacturing and entertainment clients nationwide. Patrick Healy, MS CE 93, has been named vice president of business development for Bulley & Andrews. Healy was formerly business development manager at Turner Construction Company. Healy lives in Chicago. W. Jud Ready, MSE 94, MS MetE 97, PhD MSE 00, was appointed to the Georgia Tech Athletic Association Board of Trustees. Ready is a principal research engineer for the Georgia Tech Research Institute and adjunct professor for Georgia Tech.

2000s Meagan Cox, BC 09, spoke at the 2014 Society of Women Engineers conference in Los Angeles, Calif.

Louis Darrouzet, ChE 05, is vice president of business development at cycleWood Solutions, a startup biodegradable and compostable plastics company. Jonathan “Jon” Harmer, Mgt 00, is now vice president of marketing at Nexidia. Jeff Kahlan, IE 00, is now a territory sales manager for Schlumberger in Dallas, Texas. Schlumberger is the world’s leading supplier of technology, integrated project management and information solutions to customers working in the oil and gas industry worldwide. Joseph Lee Meeler Jr., Mgt 03, was named assistant vice president of claims for GEICO's San Diego regional office. Meeler previously served as the liability director of GEICO's Woodbury, N.Y., regional operations.

Andrew Musser, Phys 07, was awarded a PhD in physics from St. John's College of Cambridge University in the United Kingdom in April. Andrew is currently conducting postdoc research at Cavendish Laboratory. Andrew and his wife, Leila Wilmers, reside north of London.

2010s Cynthia Bartz, ID 11, launched CB.Graphics, a graphic design and marketing firm, this year. She and her husband, John, CS 11, live in Dunwoody, Ga. Caroline Rhoad, IE 11, was promoted to transportation planning manager for the northeast region of Coca-Cola Refreshments.

Nunn Granted Lone Sailor Award by U.S. Navy Memorial Honorable Sam Nunn, Cls 60, PhD 08, received the coveted Lone Sailor Award from the U.S. Navy Memorial. The Lone Sailor Award is given to sea service veterans who have excelled with distinction in their respective civilian careers while exemplifying the Navy core values of honor, courage and commitment. A former U.S. Senator and Coast Guard veteran, Nunn currently serves as the co-chairman and chief executive officer of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a charitable organization working to reduce the global threats from nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. He is, of course, a distinguished professor at the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Tech.

WILLSON ELECTED TO NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING Alan Willson, EE 61, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering, one of the highest professional distinctions that can be awarded to an engineer in the United States. Wi l l s o n wa s recognized by the Academy for “contributions to the theory and applications of digital signal processing.” He is among 67 new members to be inducted to the academy in 2014. Willson has played an important role internationally in the field of circuits and systems. He has conducted research on computer-aided circuit analysis and design; the stability of distributed circuits; properties of nonlinear networks; theory of active circuits; digital signal processing; and integrated circuits for signal processing. Willson has received numerous awards and accolades for his work over the years. As an engineering professor at the University of California Los Angeles, Willson created UCLA’s first courses in digital signal processing in the mid-1970s and established digital signal processing as a research field at UCLA. He also served as associate dean of engineering for UCLA’s Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science from 1987 through 2001. Although he retired from teaching in 2013, he was asked to continue his research and is presently serving a three-year appointment as UCLA’s Charles P. Reames Research Professor. GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 90 NO.4 2014

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BIRTHS

Have a new job or other news to share? Email details to ramblinroll@gtalumni.org.

1. Emily Taylor Bever, IA 05, and Adam Bever, EE 04, welcomed daughter Myka Jayne on August 5. Adam is a senior systems engineer at Sedna Digital Solutions. Emily works on the Health Impact Project at the Pew Charitable Trusts. They live in Oakton, Va. 2. Kelly Bearden, Mgt 08, and Justin Bearden, ME 08, welcomed son Craig Bearden on Aug. 7. They live in Murfreesboro, Tenn. 3. Myungcheol “MC” Doo, MS CS 07, PhD CS 12, and his wife, Misun, welcomed son Ian Doo on

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July 4. Myungcheol is a principal advanced research engineer at ARRIS Solutions Inc. 4. Kristin Echerd, Chem 07, and Lee Echerd, Bio 07, welcomed daughter Madeline Violet on June 11. Lee is a systems engineer for ARES Corporation. Kristin is a research chemist with Celanese. They live in League City, Texas. 5. Mark Ehrhart, Psy 96, and his wife, Karen, welcomed son Owen Everett on Nov. 26. Owen joins brother Evan. Mark is a professor of industrial/organizational

psychology at San Diego State University. 6. Caroline Johnson, IE 09, and Ryan Johnson, IE 05, welcomed daughter Wynne Marie Johnson on June 3. Ryan is a project Manager at GDS Associates. Caroline is a senior quality engineer at Numerex. They live in Atlanta. 7. Sarah Beckenhauer Lightner, IE 01, and her husband, Chris, welcomed son Matthew James, daughter Virginia Grace and son Thomas Andrew on Aug. 12, 2014. They join siblings Caroline, Catherine,

Victoria and Patrick at the family's home in Marietta, Ga. Sarah is a full-time stay-at-home mother.

Aerospace. They live in Thornton, Colo.

8. Clifford Allen Lipscomb, PhD PP 03, and his wife, Amelia, welcomed daughter Araminta Jessenia on July 5. They live in Cartersville, Ga., with their children: Thoreau, Hadassah and Garrison.

10. Amy Sullivan Maynard, Mgt 93, and her husband, Chris, welcomed son Colton "Colt" Michael on March 20. Amy has left her job in telecommunications to be a stay-at-home mom. They live in Arlington, Va.

9. Laura Maretich, PP 08, and Ethan Maretich, AE 08, welcomed son Christopher David Maretich on March 2. Christoper joins big brother, Jake. Ethan is a product compliance manager for Eaton

11. Leslie Millett, Mgt 08, and Christopher Millett, CS 10, welcomed daughter Simone Kendall Millett on Aug. 22. Christopher is a software developer at Pull-APart. Leslie is a program manager

at NCR Corporation. They live in Smyrna, Ga. 12. Suzanne Suddath Reitz, IA 95, MS IDT 98, and her husband Mark, welcomed son Tilman Matthew in June. Suzanne is vice president, group account director at 360i in Atlanta. They live in Avondale Estates, Ga. 13. David Tyler, Mgt 96, and his wife, Heather, welcomed daughter Piper Monroe Tyler on Sept. 20. David is a C-17 instructor pilot in the Air Force Reserve. He is also a pilot for Delta Air Lines. They live in Mount Pleasant, S.C.

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WEDDINGS

Have a new job or other news to share? Email details to ramblinroll@gtalumni.org.

1. Courtney Lane Armstrong, Mgt 12, and John Boren, Mgt 10, on May 31. Courtney is a workday principal consultant for Aon Hewitt. John is a project manager at RaceTrac Petroleum. They live in Smyrna, Ga. 2. Laura Carter, Psy 08, and Andrew Bryant, Mgt 09, on June 1, 2013, in Norcross, Ga. Laura is a professional development coordinator at Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan LLP law firm. Andrew is an accountant at NAPA/Genuine Parts. They live in Brookhaven, Ga.

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3. Allison Fae Cawley, Mgt 09, and Kevin Michael Vayda on Aug. 31 in Mount Pleasant, S.C. Allison is a sales associate at WSB-TV.

performance management for North Highland.

4. Annie Hsu, Bio 06, and Joey Yu, IE 07, on Sept. 20. Annie is a dentist at Kool Smiles and Joey is an analyst at Home Depot. They live in Duluth, Ga.

6. Sarah Wetherington, Bio 11, and Austin Wilson, Mgt 11, on April 5 in Atlanta. Sarah is a fourth-year medical student at Georgia Regents University (Medical College of Georgia). Austin is a manager of strategy and financial planning at PSA Healthcare.

5. Emily Martin Luke, Mgt 10, and Perry Luke on Aug. 23 in Clarkesville, Ga. Emily works in global

7. Shaday Woolcock, Mgt 11, and Jahi Word-Daniels, Mgt 12, on July 12 in Marietta, Ga.

Georgia Tech Alumni Association Presents

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Yellow Jackets on the Move Another benefit from the Georgia Tech Alumni Association Preferential YELLOW JACKET treatment * * * * * * *

Minimum of a 55% discount on all interstate relocations. Free Full-Value Coverage up to $50,000. 15% discount on all Georgia and Florida intrastate moves. Guaranteed on time pick-up and delivery. Personalized attention from start to finish. Top rated drivers will be assigned to all Yellow Jacket shipments. Sanitized air-ride vans.

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ATLAS VAN LINES 1909 Forge Street Tucker, GA 30084

* A portion of the proceeds collected from the transportation costs will be paid to the Georgia Tech Alumni Association

memoriam 1930s

1940s .

James J. Russell Jr. CE 35, of Longmont, Colo., on July 21. Civil engineer. Grandchildren: Ryan J. Russell, ME 07. Kristin Russell, Arch 10.

Hugh Winston Sonny Bedingfield, AE 43, of Augusta, Ga., on Aug. 5. WWII. Tax attorney. CPA, Bedingfield, McCutcheon and Perry. Tree farmer. Sailor.

Frank Halsey Whaley, ME 38, of Palm City, Fla., on Jan. 5.

James Anderson Berg Sr., Arch 48, of Tucker, Ga., on Aug. 15. Army Infantry.

Charles Marion Stancil VETERAN, CIVIL SERVANT AND RESEARCHER

harles Marion Stancil, MS AE 74, of Marietta, Ga., on Aug. 20. Stancil began his military career at the United States Military Academy at West Point before serving in the Vietnam War, where he was an executive officer in command of a battalion in the 101st Airborne Division. He received several awards and commendations for his service, including the Gallantry Cross with Silver Star from the government of South Vietnam, the Army Commendation Medal, the Air Medal, and the Bronze Star Medal. After returning from Vietnam, Stancil attended Georgia Tech, where he earned a masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree in aeronautical engineering in 1974. He later worked for the Defense Intelligence Agency, Development and Readiness Command and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. During this time, he helped to develop the Special Forces Operations Command in Tampa, Fla. and served as the project manager for the development of the Apache Attack Helicopter. He retired from the Army as a lieutenant colonel in 1987, and received the Meritorious Service Medal and the Legion of Merit for his service. Charles continued his research in aviation and engineering in the civilian world at ORI Corporation and the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI). His work at GTRI centered on mortar munitions technology and battery charging techniques. Also at GTRI, Stancil helped to develop helicopter evacuation systems for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. He holds five patents, and his work has produced invaluable innovations in the aviation, defense, and automotive industries.

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WWII. Principal, Hall, Ferguson, and Berg Architects. Sons: James A. Berg Jr., GM 73; William M. Berg, IM 85. Grandsons: Robert L. Berg, Cls 18; William Berg, Cls 16. John Nelson Cartwright, ME 49, of Indianapolis, Ind., on July 10. Army Air Corps. WWII. Detroit Diesel Allison. Founding member, Milestone Car Club. James Richard Clary Jr., IE 48, of Roanoke, Va., on June 30. Navy. WWII. President, sales engineer, Spotswood Associates. Author, Georgia backflow prevention code. National American Backflow Prevention Association Meritorious Award. Thomas Richard Christian, EE 40, of Lawrenceville, Ga., on July 29. Southern regional sales manager, Eaton Corporation. Grant B. Curtis, ME 45, of Cumming. Ga., on July 13. Navy V-12. Engineer, Georgia Tech Physical Plant. Georgia Tech Engineering Experiment Station. Sons: G. Bradley Curtis, IE 70. John T. Dobson, MS IM 49, of Tallahassee, Fla., on July 17. WWII. Army Corps of Engineers (2nd Lt.). Assistant professor, Auburn University. Professor, chairman of Management Department, Florida State University. William E. Ehrensperger, ME 47, of Atlanta, on July 14. Air Force (2nd Lt.). WWII. Georgia Power Company. Brother: Fred E. Ehrensperger, ME 54, MS NE 60. Sons: John P. Ehrensperger, IM 78; Thomas J. Ehrensperger, Phys 82, MS Phys 84. Dr. Robert Luby Jones, AE 46, of Germantown, Tenn., on Aug. 12. Navy (General Surgeon).

Charles H. Milam, IM 49, MS IE 50, of Conyers, Ga., on Aug. 16. Air Force. WWII. Korean war. Cuban Missile Crisis. Distinguished Flying Cross. Lockheed. William Jacob Oakes Jr., AE 46, San Diego, Calif., on July 21. Navy. Northrop Grumman. Charles Otis Patton Jr., IM 40, of Rock Hill, S.C., on Aug. 15. Army. Member, First Field Artillery Observation Battalion. European Theater of Operations. Purchasing agent, J.P. Stevens and Company. Chairman, Marlboro Chamber of Commerce. Chairman, Marlboro County Library Board. Development officer and dean of continuing education, Northeastern Technical College. Member, Senior Advisory Board of Piedmont Medical Center. Roger S. Ribas, ChE 48, of Houston, Texas on Aug. 16. Maynard Judson Sanders, IM 47, of Mobile, Ala., on July 24. Navy (Lt.). WWII. Presidential Commendation. Bronze Star. James B. Donaghey Plumbing, Heating, & Air Conditioning. Co-owner, Donaghey Mechanical Contractors. President, Mobile Mechanical Contractors Association. Management Award, Greater Mobile Port Maritime Council. Brother: Robert Jackson Sanders, IM 42. George T. Sheppard Jr., CE 48, of Cape Coral, Fla., on March 20. Army. WWII. Francis “Frank” M. Stewart III, ME 42, of Huntsville, Ala., on July 29. Army. WWII. Marshall Space Flight Center, NASA. Co-author, “Fishing Reels of Kentucky.” Carl Louis Tillstrom, IE 48, of Shreveport, La. on Sept. 4. Navy. WWII. Engineer, Phillips Petroleum

Company. Manager of Engineering, Lion Oil Company. TOSCO Corporation. James Ambrose Williams, CE 41, of Alpharetta, Ga., on Aug. 5. Army (2nd Lt.). WWII. Civil Aeronautics Association. Daughter-in-law: Linda Podger-Williams, CE 81. Grandson: Clay Williams, ME 14. Sons: James A. Williams Jr., EE 81; Michael T. Williams, EE 81.

1950s Roy Fred Adams, Cls 51, of Dacula, Ga., on Sept. 4. Army. Founder, Cofer-Adams Building Center. Unice Sterling Anderson, IE 50, of Jacksonville, Fla., on Aug. 31. WWII. Golfer, qualified for Senior Amateur PGA Championship.

Benjamin Harrison West ARCHITECTURE PROFESSOR AND CITY PLANNER

enjamin Harrison West, of Atlanta, on July 14. West was a respected Georgia Tech professor who helped to shape the development of the city of Atlanta through his long career at the Atlanta Regional Commission. In 1999, West was honored with the naming of the Harry West Chair of Quality Growth and Regional Development in the Georgia Tech College of Architecture. One of his proudest accomplishments was joining the faculty at Georgia Tech, where he finished his career teaching as a professor of the practice of quality growth and regional development. West worked for 27 years as the executive director of the Atlanta Regional Commission, an organization that coordinates regional planning for the 10 counties in the metro-Atlanta area. In addition to creating programs to educate leaders on regional and urban issues, West is also credited with establishing reviews of development proposals to determine their regional impacts on water supply, roadways, and other infrastructure before construction could begin. The “Developments of Regional Impact” review process was later implemented statewide as part of the Georgia Planning Act of 1989. In 1991, West led what was considered the largest collaborative visioning and planning effort ever conducted in the United States at that time, known as VISION 2020. This community-oriented, decision-making process has been adopted by many other American communities, according to the ARC. “Harry could have chosen to pursue a comfortable retirement, but he instead decided to share his wisdom and experience by coming to work with the Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development as a Professor of Practice,” says College of Architecture Dean Steve French. “He made valuable contributions to our research and teaching missions over the past decade. But above all else, Harry was a kind and gentle soul, who really wanted to make a difference in this world.”

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memoriam Ronald Leo Bannister, ME 57, of Glen Mills, Pa., on July 7. Army. Engineer, Westinghouse Electric. Fellow, Acoustical Society of America. Member, African Violet Society. Little league coach. Charles N. Brannon, IM 54, of Atlanta, Ga., on July 16. Member, Georgia Tech’s 1952 national championship football team. Teacher and coach, Atlanta Public Schools. William Berry Broach Jr., Cls 59, of Ellijay, Ga., on Sept. 2. Army. Construction foreman. Real estate broker. Title abstractor, Doss & Associates. District governor, Lions Club.

>> University of South Carolina School of Medicine. Adjunct instructor, Piedmont Technical College. Founding Member, Dixieland Miniature Horse Society. Autioneer. Ralph Lewis Johnston, Cls 56, of Duluth, Ga., on July 6. Army (Master Sgt.). Charleston Navy Yard. Instructor, Atlanta Boys Club. Sears Roebuck. State Guard of Georgia. Clerk, Veterans Association. Engineer draftsman, Defense

James Watts Clark, Arch 55, of Jackson, Miss., on July 8. Principal, Clemmer & Clark Architects. Ed L. Courtright, CerE 59, of Grandview, Wash., on May 31. Air Force. Union Carbide Corporation. General Electric Corporation. Pacific Northwest Laboratory. George Herman Flake, ME 51, of Winston Salem, N.C., on July 5. Air Force. WWII (Navigator). Engineer, Bendix/ Allied Signal. William E. Florance, IE 53, of Pittsford, N.Y., on March 10. Everett McQuerns Hughes, IM 57, of Newberry, S.C., on July 29. Army Medical Corps. Vietnam War. Radiologist, chairman of Radiology Department, chief of staff, Newberry County Memorial Hospital. Associate professor, 0 9 2

GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 90 NO.4 2014

David R. Jones, IM 59, of Atlanta, Ga., on July 16. Atlanta Gas Light Company. John E. LaRowe, Arch 52, of Gainesville, Ga., on May 3. John LeMasters, EE 59, of Vero Beach, Fla. on Sept. 19.

June Learned Tellepsen FERVENT AND DEDICATED TECH SUPPORTER

John Dudley Cannon, CerE 57, MS CerE 61, of Atlanta, Ga. on Sept. 3. Pilot, Navy. Union Carbide. Lockheed. Financial Planner. Neely B. Coble Jr., MS IM 50, of Nashville, Tenn., on Aug. 18. Army. Temco Corporation. Founder, Neely Coble Company. Founder, Coble Engineering Scholarship.

Department. FHA. DHUD. Planning commissioner, Gwinnett County, Ga. Lucky Breaks.

une Learned Te l l e p s e n , HON 96, of Houston, Texas, on Aug. 30. Tellepsen was a dedicated and generous supporter of Georgia Tech. Despite living in Houston, Texas, Tellepsen regularly made the trip to Atlanta to attend G e o rg i a Te c h events and “never let a little thing like 1,000 miles get in her way,” says Marilyn Somers, a good friend and director of Georgia Tech’s Living History Program. Tellepsen got involved at Georgia Tech through her husband, Howard Tellepsen Sr., who graduated in 1934 with a degree in civil engineering. Somers said Junie—as she was affectionately called—was overjoyed when her son, Howard Tellepsen Jr., CE 66, chose to attend Georgia Tech as well. For more than seven decades, the Tellepsens have been an important part of the Georgia Tech family. In 1996, Junie was named an honorary alumna for her loyalty to the Institute. Howard Tellepsen Sr. received Tech’s Distinguished Service Award in 1952, an award also earned by his son Howard Jr. in 2012. Junie was known as a ray of sunshine whose outgoing personality would light up a room. In addition to her dedication to Georgia Tech, she also gave her time to many other organizations in her community, including the Lamar High School PTA, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, the United Way, St. James and St. Martin's Episcopal Churches, Junior League of Houston and Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority.

Dale B. Lupton, CerE 51, of Seymour, Ind., on Aug. 29. Engineer. David P. McBrayer III, EE 50, of Tualatin, Ore., on Aug. 21. Navy. Electromagnetic countermeasures expert, executive, Boeing. Financial analyst. Founder, Crystal Mountain Ski Resort. Author. Paul Roy Odom, CerE 52, of Macon, Ga., on Aug. 17. Marine Corp. J.L. Huber Corporation. Marine Corps League. Military Order of Devil Dogs. Marine Corps League Distinguished Citizen Award. Richard Hoe Osgood, Jr., IM 52, of Moravian Falls, N.C., on Sept. 4. Army.

John Thomas Wiley Sr., IM 53, of Alpharetta, Ga., on Aug. 1. Senior Account Agent, Allstate Insurance. Fred Leserman Wolf, IM 50, of St. Petersburg, Fla., on July 18. Wolf Brothers clothing stores. President, Merchants Association. Founding member, Tampa Bay Trident Club. Army Air Corps. WWII.

1960s William Lehman Ashe, CE 62, of Salisbury, Md., on Sept. 2. Army. Civil engineer, CRS Sirrine Engineers. Project engineer, Heery International.

Paul Eugene Peniston III, Text 52, of Hartwell, Ga., on Aug. 16. Navy. Korean War. Monsanto. Real estate agent, All Hart Reality. John Olin Pettigrew, ME 57, of Clyde, N.C., on Aug. 25. Navy. Dayco. Western North Carolina Air Pollution Control Agency. Frank Martin Shaver, EE 52, of Montgomery, Ala., on Aug. 29. Navy. Founding partner, Shaver & Zgouvas. Son: Daniel F. Shaver, EE 83. Raymond Louis Sutton, IM 50, of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., on Sept. 1. WWII. Army Air Corp. Ford Motor Company. Vice president of sales, Traverse City Iron Works. Owner, Traverse City Holiday. J.E. Dorn Thomas, EE 58, of Richmond, Va., on July 1. Air Force. D. Thomas Enterprises. President, Manchester High School Band Boosters. Panama Canal Museum. Milton E. Volker, CE 52, of Towson, Md., on April 5. Raymond Clifton Ward, ChE 50, of Hendersonville, N.C., on July 22. Army. Bronze Star. Purple Heart. America Enka Company.

Guy Winthrop Carlisle, EE 64, MS EE 65, of Bedford, Mass., on June 23. Professor, Tennessee State University. MIT Lincoln Laboratory. Son: Andrew G. Carlisle, EE 93. Thomas Erban Clark, IM 63, of Sandy Springs, Ga., on Aug. 20. Owner, Clark Consulting. Management consultant. Home Depot. Alfred Mark Davis, ME 62, MS EM 63, of Birmingham, Ala., on Aug.29. Grandson: Joel Tishler, MSE 14. Robert Randolph Elliott, Sr., IE 61, of Beaufort, S.C., on Sept. 4. Army. Senior systems analyst, IBM. Son: Robert Randolph Elliott, Jr., AE 04.

Douglas C. Allen BELOVED GT PROFESSOR & LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT

ouglas C. Allen, of Atlanta, on Oct. 26. Allen was a beloved professor in the College of Architecture and a visionary landscape architect who left a lasting legacy in his field. Allen held an illustrious 37-year career at Georgia Tech. In addition to teaching architecture, he served five years as the College of Architecture’s associate dean for academic affairs, a year as interim dean and another three years as senior associate dean. After retiring in 2011, he decided to return to the classroom to do what he loved most, and began teaching on a part-time basis. Throughout his career, Allen made seminal contributions to the field of landscape architecture, particularly to the study of cities and the urban landscape. In 2013, he was honored by election to the Council of Fellows of the American Society of Landscape Architects. At Tech, Allen co-founded the Institute’s popular study abroad program in Italy, which he led for more than 20 years. Students and colleagues have honored Allen in many ways over the decades. One of his proudest moments was winning the ANAK Award in 2006, bestowed annually by the Tech secret society to a single professor for contributions to the students body. An endowed lecture series at Tech, the Douglas C. Allen Lecture, invites renowned landscape architects and architects from around the world to lecture at the College of Architecture. In addition to his prolific academic career, Allen practiced landscape architecture for more than 40 years. He designed and planned commercial, residential and institutional projects for clients as close as Smyrna, Ga. and as far away as the West Bank in Israel. Allen was also a loving and devoted family man— a husband, father and grandfather. Though his life was cut short by brain cancer, Glioblastoma multiforme did not conquer his view of a life well lived.

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memoriam Charles James Gowing, IM 62, of Carrollton, Ga., on July 13. Army. Accountant, General Motors. Son: Charles Carlise Gowing, ME 90. Ronald Wilson Johns, IE 68, of Tampa, Fla., on Aug. 4. Computer and electrical engineer. General Electric. Square D. NASA. Westinghouse. John J. Manna, ID 69, of New Brunswick, N.J., on Aug. 30. Air Force (Lt. Col.). Civil Air Patrol. Owner, M.C. Gomez Exporters. Frank Hennington Nix Jr., IM 62, of Gainesville, Ga., on July 11. Football (halfback, punt returner) and track, Georgia Tech. Entrepreneur. James G. Nixon, IM 66, of Whitehouse, Ohio, on July 14. Loan officer, Fulton Federal Savings and Loan. Pastor, Bethany Baptist Church. Pastor, Brailey Union Church. Teacher, president, Toledo’s Center for Biblical Studies. Brother: William R. Nixon, IM 60.

>> Hugh Michael Pattillo Sr., IE 66, of Greenville, S.C., on July 9. Engineer. John Ray Preston, CE 61, of Macon, Ga., on Aug. 18. Army Corps of Engineers (Cpt.) Founder and President, Preston Testing & Engineering. Brothers: David A. Preston, Bio 64, MS Bio 66; James M. Preston, Cls 69. James “Jim” W. Pruett, Text 65, of Waynesboro, Ga., on Aug. 18. Safety director, DuPont. Safety director, Mather’s Construction Company. Member, Waynesboro Choral Society. Dwight Frederick Runge, Text 60, of North Charleston, S.C., on Aug. 22. Army Corps of Engineers. Deering Milliken. Owens Corning Fiberglass. General manager, vice president, Leon Ferenbach Inc. Financial adviser, broker, Merrill Lynch. Robert E. Salter, EE 60, of Seminole, Fla., on Aug. 22. Coast Guard. Army (1st Lt.). Army Commendation Medal. Aerospace engineer. Westinghouse Elevators. Collins Radio. Systems

engineer. Vice president, E-Systems/ ECI. Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity. Howard Schoninger, IM 65, of Bath, Maine, on April 6. John A. Shelnutt, Phys 68, MS Phys 71, PhD Phys 75, of Watkinsville, Ga., on July 12. Bell Laboratories. Sandia National Laboratories. Faculty, University of New Mexico. Adjunct professor, University of Georgia. Stephen P. Strickland, TE 69, of Cairo, Ga., on July 12. Fibervisions. Math instructor, Georgia Piedmont Technical College. William Arthur Wilde, ME 63, of Denver, Colo., on July 26. Army (2nd Lt., Army Ordinance Corps). Project engineer, Regional Transportation District. Carter Burgess. CRSS.

1970s Park A. Dallis III, EE 70, of Anchorage, Alaska., on March 7.

Benedict Zullo HELLUVA ENGINEER AND 60-YEAR TECH DONOR

enedict Zullo, IE 52, of Cheshire, Conn. on June 9. Zullo was a true Ramblin’ Wreck and a Helluva Engineer. Throughout his life, He maintained a strong loyalty to Georgia Tech, which he passed on to his children. In fact, two years ago he attended his 60th class reunion with both his son and grandson. Zullo has also faithfully supported the Institute financially, donating to the annual Georgia Tech Roll Call each year for 60 years. After getting out of Tech, Zullo spent 30 years in the aerospace industry at companies including Pratt & Whitney and Honeywell, where he was in the vanguard of jet engine development. He later earned an MBA and started his own company, ZTech Inc. With ZTech, he traveled the globe working with companies in Europe and Asia on developing and applying sustainable technologies for aerospace and industry. Zullo worked up to his final days, capping off an engineering career that spanned 62-years.

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Barton Douglas DeHaven, IM 71, of Covington, Ga., on June 7. Food service sales, U.S. Foods Inc. Son: Barton DeHaven Jr., Mgt 02. Michael T. Harrelson, IE 70, of Helena, Ga., on Sept. 2. Army Air Defense Artillery (Capt.). Georgia Power Company. Engineering consultant. Gregory O. Langston, IE 70, of Jacksonville, Fla., on Aug. 25. Founder, Langston Electric Company Inc. Electrical contractor. Building contractor. Home and mold inspector. Daughter: Shannon K. Langston, Mgt 08. John Braxton Mountain, Sr., MS ICS 77, of Huntsville, Ala., on Aug. 30. Director of information management, MICOM. Vice president, NCCIM.

Jerry Allen Richards, ChE 71, of Matthews, N.C., on Aug. 10. Meteorologist, Air Force. Celanese/Hoechst Celanese. Brent Alan Scott, IE 72, of Kennesaw, Ga., on Sept. 15. Kappa Sigma Fraternity. Owner, Scott Corrosion Services Inc. Roger V. Sheffield, MS ICS 75, of Islamorada, Fla., on July 20. Army (Col.). Vietnam War. Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal. Nephew: Randolph Kirchain, MSE 93. Joseph Virgil Smarr Jr., EE 73, ChE 77, of Savannah, Ga., on July 5. Engineer, Robins Air Force Base. Ronald E. Walterick, AE 74, of Vienna, Va., on July 30. Aerospace Engineer. Georgia Tech Research Institute. William Wayne Wilbanks, BC 70, of Commerce, Ga., on Aug. 5. Sigma Chi Fraternity. Owner, Wilbanks Construction Consulting LLC.

1980s Jonathan Mark Berg, AE 85, of Alpharetta, Ga. on July 17. Gulf Stream Corporation. Computer software sales support. Tripwire Inc. Wendell J. Newsome, IE 80, of Smyrna, Ga., on July 19. Robert William Patterson, MS Psy 87, PhD Psy 90, of Stone Mountain, Ga., on July 12. Georgia Department of Public Health. Robert Lee Samuell III MS ICS 84, of Lexington, Ky., on Aug. 26. Computer scientist, Bell South. Richard E. Simmons, EE 83, of Monck’s Corner, S.C., on Aug. 27. Founder, Simmons’ Industrial Electronics.

Mark David Strickert, ICS 86, MS ICS 92, of Austin, Texas, on July 20. IBM. Hewlett Packard. Wife: Mary M. Strickert, TSP 91.

Frank H. Huff, of Atlanta, on June 29. Financial officer, Georgia Tech. Treasurer and vice president, Emory University. Son: Scott Montgomery, IE 82.

1990s

Lawrence Robert James, of Atlanta, on Aug. 14. Organizational psychologist, Georgia Tech. American Psychological Association. American Psychological Society. Academy of Management. Pilot Oil Chair of Excellence, University of Tennessee. Member, Society of Organizational Behavior. Distinguished Career Award, Academy of Management. Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award, Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

Thomas Michael Breunig, PhD MetE 92, of Sauk City, Wis., on Aug. 12. Sandia Livermore National Lab. Coating Place Inc. Chef. President, Mendota Rowing Club. Matthew Scott Roberts, Mgt 96, of Denver, Colo., on July 20. Goga Vadachkoria, M Arch 94, of Atlanta, on Aug. 10. Associate, WSP (Smith Carter).

2000s Corey L. Jones, Cls 09, of Duluth on Aug. 24. Information technology specialist, FEMA.

Friends Bennie Hughes Abell, of Monroe, La., on Aug. 14. Lovic Alton Brooks Jr., of Atlanta, on July 14. Navy. WWII. South Carolina legislature. Senior attorney, Atlanta Labor Relations Board. Chairman of the executive committee, Constangy, Brooks & Smith. Member, GA Judicial Invitational Golf Classic. Co-founder, SC Judicial Invitational. Adrienne Jean Harrington, of Atlanta, on July 21. Test Engineering Division, Georgia Tech Research Institute.

Nisbet Stovall Kendrick Jr., of Atlanta, on Aug. 10. Army (Cpt.). Physicist, Sandia Air Force Base. Physics professor and researcher, Georgia Tech. Committee Chairman, Boy Scout Troop 83. District Commissioner, Atlanta Area Counsel. Stanley Dean Lindsey, of Bluffton, S.C., on July 12. Stanley D. Lindsey & Associates. Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Tech. Carol Jean O’Brien, of Alpharetta, Ga., on July 30. Georgia Tech School of Chemistry. Continental Airlines. Ohio University. Life Link of Georgia. Gresham Smith & Partners. Francis “Frank” Small, of Sandy Springs, Ga., on July 11. Navy. Westinghouse Electric Corporation. Member, North Metro Georgia Tech Club. Son: Steven F. Small, IE 80. Marbury Stegall, of Atlanta, on July 6. Registered Nurse. M.N. Clinical Nurse specialist. Grady Memorial Hospital. Son: Eldon G. Stegall, CS 06, DM 06. Georgia Board of Nursing. Kaiser Permanente in The Southeast Permanente Medical Group Inc. White water canoeing and rafting instructor. Richard Ducmarque Zupp III, of East Point, Ga., on Aug. 30. Electrician, D&N Electric Company. GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 90 NO.4 2014

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GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 90 NO.4 2014

Tech

history

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GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 90 NO.4 2014

>> Tech Artifact

ONE FOOTBALL, ONE GAME, MANY MEMORIES Much has been written and said about Tech alumnus Ryan Schneider, ME 90, making the highest bid in auction on what’s believed to be the game ball from the Yellow Jackets’ famed 222-0 football victory over Cumberland University in 1916. National media outlets including The New York Times and ESPN covered the story of Schneider’s selfless effort to snag the ball and a piece of college gridiron history for his alma mater. But it’s what Tech fans and alumni wrote—not the press— that truly pleased Schneider. “I received emails and letters from people all over,” says Schneider, who works as a patent attorney in Atlanta. “It was particularly neat to hear from some who had direct connections to that historic game. I think their stories are much more interesting than mine.” Schneider shared a few of them with the Alumni Magazine: Cumberland's Revenge “My uncle, Bob Glover, was a fullback on that team. I had the privilege of hearing him tell stories of the great teams he played on under John Heisman and in particular the game with Cumberland. I had no idea that Heisman [also] coached the baseball team and of course had never heard about Cumberland pouring it on [in a baseball matchup between the two teams] by a score of 22-0. I think a little revenge was in order.” — Dick Padgham (grandparent of current Tech engineering student Charlie Padgham) Football Legacy Passed Down “It was with extreme pleasure that I read that you are now in possession of the football that was used in the Cumberland vs. Tech game in 1916. My great uncle William E. (Bill) Fincher was on that team. He was an All-American in 1917 at Tech. As a matter of fact, my younger brother was named after him. Our family

has discussed many tales and stories about the game over the past 60 years. Congratulations to you and your family.” — Mike Fincher (Ed.: Bill Fincher was elected to the GT Athletic Hall of Fame in 1956.) The Legend of Everett Strupper My dad's ﬁrst cousin, Everett Strupper, was the starting tailback for Tech. My dad, 10 years old at the time, was a spectator at the 222-0 game. He told us that Everett carried the ball a total of seven times in the game and scored six touchdowns. [As my dad recalls it] on his seventh carry he stopped and put the ball down on the 1-foot line so his friend, Canty Alexander, a guard, could carry it in to score. Since it has been reported that Tech made no ﬁrst downs, he may actually have been returning a punt on that play. When I was about 7 years old, Everett came to dinner carrying a suitcase. My grandmother, his aunt, asked where he was going. He replied that after dinner he was going to a hotel because his wife had thrown him out. My grandmother suggested he didn't need to do that because there was a spare bed in my room. He was my roommate for about 6 months. I loved it. When he came in late at night I could smell the bourbon. He kept a loaded .45 automatic in his bedside table. I never mentioned these things to my parents. At that time he was a top referee for the newly formed Southeastern Conference. He also wrote a column for the Atlanta Journal after he worked a game. Everett was inducted into the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame in 1972, and since he died in 1950, my dad made the acceptance speech for him.” — Charles McGehee At this year’s Homecoming game against Schneider ofHave a Virginia, Tech artifact to share? ficially handed off the ball toTech the Send mail to Editor, Georgia Georgia Athletic Association, AlumniTech Magazine, 190 North and his donation will be Ave. N.generous W., Atlanta, GA 30313, displayed forusgenerations or contact by email atto come atpublications@gtalumni.org. the GTAA museum.

Time Machine 5 years ago, in 2009, The first ever “Whiteout” football game is held against Clemson on Sept. 12. The Yellow Jackets lost but would later defeat the Tigers in the ACC Championship on Dec. 5. 10 years ago, in 2004, Georgia Tech’s Savannah campus opens with three buildings, six classrooms and 25 laboratories. 25 years ago, in 1989, A delegation from the International Olympic Committee visits Georgia Tech to consider Atlanta’s bid to host the 1996 Olympic Games. 50 years ago, in 1964, Dean George C. Griffin retires as dean of students after a long and popular tenure at Georgia Tech. 75 years ago, in 1939, After an undefeated football season, Tech shares the SEC crown with two other teams: Tulane and the University of Tennessee. 100 years ago, in 1914, U.S. Vice President Thomas. R. Marshall visits Georgia Tech. 125 years ago, in 1889, Henry W. Grady, the famous journalist and spokesman for the “New South” who lobbied heavily for the establishment of Georgia Tech in Atlanta, dies.

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Celebrating the Georgia Tech Living History Program's 20th anniversary.

Digging Up and Saving Tech’s Past Marilyn Somers, Hon 08 When I was a child, I dreamed of becoming an archeologist, of digging up and preserving the past. Lo and behold, that’s what I eventually became at Georgia Tech as the founding director of the Living History program, which I can’t believe has been around for 20 years now. The idea of talking to Tech alumni about their lives came up in 1994, when I received a request to furnish a recording of the Ramblin’ Wreck to help celebrate the 100th birthday of an alumnus. I couldn’t help but wonder what Tech must have been like when he attended the Institute all those decades ago. I was sure he and other alumni would have very interesting stories to tell, and I suddently yearned to capture as many of them as I could. I mentioned the idea to my boss, John 1 06

GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 90 NO.4 2014

B. Carter Jr., then executive director of the Alumni Association. Here the fickle finger of fate stepped in, as John left a few days later for a GT Foundation meeting at Sea Island with Duke Mewborn, EE 56, then owner of Baker Audio. John pitched my idea to Duke, who thought it was such a good one that he stepped up to donate the basic equipment for recording alumni stories and volunteered to serve as a mentor. We soon developed a plan: I would get the program organized and Duke would handle the technical stuff. We hired our first

student interns and Duke created a training program for them. I left all the technology to them—a wise move as I didn't even know how to operate a VCR! On July 11, 1994, we started with a mission to collect, preserve and present the history of Georgia Tech. A team of three students and myself set off for a hotel at the Cumberland Mall to record the story of Robert Morris, EE 44, the chair of his 50th class reunion. The very next day, we traveled to a nursing home in Buckhead and captured our second interview, with 100-year old Lewis Hamilton, Text 1915. When he spontaneously sang Ramblin’ Wreck for us, I knew this was going to be a worthwhile adventure. During the past 20 years, the Living History Program has recorded 973 oral histories of alumni, faculty, staff and significant friends. The earliest graduate we got on tape was Lewis Hamilton, but we also captured the story of Tech’s first graduate, H.L. Smith, ME 1890, by interviewing his two daughters from Dalton, Ga., who were 102 and 92 years of age at the time of taping. Our storytellers included many past presidents of Tech and even a certain Georgia-born U.S. president, deans, school chairs and dining hall cooks, and military veterans from WWII through Afghanistan. We even captured some tales that dated back to the U.S. Civil War. All these stories can be found online at livinghistory.gatech.edu. We also go to great lengths to share these stories with alumni groups across the country and by producing documentaries on Tech’s top traditions and most famous figures. Our latest movie on the life of the legendary Athletic Director Bobby Dodd premiered just a couple of months ago. It’s been a privilege for me to be one of the archeologists to dig up GT history and to document the truth of what Ma Tech teaches: how to think, how to solve problems and the way that process unfolded over the past 129 years. What I found along the way has been powerful, amazing, hilarious, touching. Just ask me and I will tell you a story.

Marilyn Somers is the founding director of the Georgia Tech Living History Program, now in its 20th year. Somers holds a graduate degree in communication from Georgia State University and was named an Honorary Alumna of Tech in 2008. She also is a member of the Dodd’s Boys, the 1939 Co-Op Boys and ODK. Be sure to visit livinghistory.gatech.edu and fan the program at facebook.com/gtlivinghistory.

Joe Ciardiello

What if

there was a way for all GT alumni to

stay connected to each other and Georgia Tech? John Brock ChE 70, MS ChE 71

Bob Stargel EE 83

Matt Kuchar MGT 00

Walt Ehmer IE 89

Deborah Nash IE 78

Paul Brown MGT 89

James “Sandy” A Winnefeld Jr AE 78

Joe Irwin IM 80

Franco Cimatti ME 81

Errika Mallett IE 96

Michael Gazarik MS EE 89, PhD EE 97

Mike Neal IMGT 75

Visit gtalumni.org and register to: • Search for classmates • Post a resume and find a job • Register for events in your area • Join groups of alumni who share interests • Update your profile

Connect with your alumni family at

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