Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine, Vol. 96 No. 2, Summer 2020

TECH GRIT ON

THAT THE

CAN’T FRONT

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MOVING STOPPED

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SUMMER 2020 VOL.96 NO.2

HELLUVA ENGINEER

IT TAKES A

SOLVING PROBLEMS C A U S E D BY CO V I D - 19

“Georgia Tech’s challenging education and breadth of student activities gave me the opportunity to develop valuable personal and professional skills.”

—Lisa Gareis Korslund, BChE 1980 Lisa Gareis Korslund grew up in Atlanta and graduated from

have twin daughters completing college this year: one

the Institute before moving to Minnesota to start a job at

majoring in mechanical engineering and the other

Pillsbury. There, she met an Iowa State agricultural engineer

in chemistry.

named Jim Korslund, whom she married in 1986. “We’ve

Both Lisa and Jim are very involved with their church,

successfully managed two careers in multiple locations over

St. Stephen’s Episcopal in Edina, Minnesota, with Twin

the years,” she said. They’ve lived and worked in Minnesota,

Cities Habitat for Humanity, and with Be the Match, a bone

Texas, the Netherlands, England, and Switzerland.

marrow registry. “My team, the MUD Bloods, has raised

Lisa worked in R&D for Pillsbury, Frito-Lay, and General

more than $150,000 over the past nine years and helped add

Mills, as well as some of their joint ventures, such as Snack

more than 700 individuals, including many Tech students,

Ventures Europe and Cereal Partners Worldwide. “When I

to the registry,” she said. Lisa is currently in remission from

retired, I was a senior R&D director leading teams around

leukemia thanks to a stem cell donation from a German

the world in both product and packaging development,”

donor in 2010.

she said. Her husband has worked with Cargill in grain

Lisa and Jim have chosen to continue their charitable

operations, and for Haggar Apparel Engineering and

service through a bequest provision, part of which will

General Mills in engineering project management. “Jim is

support the Lisa Gareis Korslund and James R. Korslund

still at General Mills — 29-plus years there,” she added.

Georgia Tech Marching Band Endowment, with the

Their son, Ryan Korslund, AE 2015, is also a proud Tech

remainder funding the Lisa Gareis Korslund and James R.

graduate currently working for SpaceX. The Korslunds

Korslund ChBE Scholarship Endowment.

2

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

SUMMER 2020 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

GEORGIA TECH

Scheller College

TOP 10 U.S. RANKINGS (public university)

part-time

Evening MBA US News & World Report, 2019

weekend

Executive MBA Financial Times, 2019

Full-time MBA The Economist, 2019

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TECH SAVVY. BUSINESS SMART. As a Georgia Tech alum, you know solving problems means tackling issues from every angle and situation.

Scheller College of Business’ Top Ten public university MBA programs (weekend Executive, part-time Evening, and Full-time MBA) offer specialized graduate curriculum and experiential learning opportunities designed to prepare professionals to thrive in the technology-driven world of business. Uniquely positioned at the intersection of business and technology, Scheller College excels at developing innovative business leaders who are ready for today’s challenges and tomorrow’s opportunities.

We are Tech Savvy. Business Smart.

GaTechScheller.com

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2020

3

PUBLISHER’S LETTER

IMPROVING THE HUMAN CONDITION

I

IN THE MIDST OF CRISES, a community’s heart is suddenly on display.

It will not surprise the Yellow Jacket nation that the Georgia Tech heartbeat is steady and strong as we have rallied around each other during these difficult times.

The tragic death of George Floyd in Minneapolis caused us all to take a hard look at what we still need to learn about racism in our country.

I am grateful that I had the opportunity to join Pres. Cabrera for a conversation with Black alumni leaders to listen and understand how Georgia Tech can do better to be more inclusive.

At the Alumni Association, we stand in solidarity with our Black community and seek to understand how we can challenge racial injustices.

In these unprecedented times, I look to Georgia Tech’s students and alumni with great hope in my heart.

During this pandemic, I have been inspired by how our Yellow Jackets are fulfilling the mission to advance technology and improve the human condition.

GEORGIA TECH ALUMNI MAGAZINE VOL. 96 | NO. 2 PRESIDENT & PUBLISHER Dene Sheheane, Mgt 91

VP STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS Lindsay Vaughn

EDITOR

While our campus is a special place for each of us, our real strength has always been in our people. In this issue, we honor and recognize those who are contributing to the Covid-19 response effort, including heroes on the front lines.

I believe you will be moved by the stories of alumni like Dr. Paul Garcia in New York City. He and his wife, who is also a doctor, have been working to save patients’ lives in one of the hardest-hit cities. Their oldest daughter just completed her first year at Tech, studying neuroscience. This Yellow Jacket family is but one example of our community coming together to help others in a time of great need.

You’ll also take pride in reading about alumni who have devoted their careers to improving the human condition, such as Missy Shields Rahman, who shares insight on the community impact of the virus from her unique vantage point leading a nonprofit that provides emotional and financial support to families of heart transplant patients.

The more we looked, the more we discovered alumni who are engaged in uplifting and motivating acts of service.

It would fill up your heart to see some of the things we’ve seen happen right here on campus since the pandemic started.

More than ever, I say, “Go Jackets!”

Jennifer Herseim

DESIGNER Karen Matthes

COPY EDITOR Barbara McIntosh Webb

STUDENT ASSISTANT Manushi Sheth

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

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

ADVERTISING Justin Estes (404) 683-9599 justin.estes@alumni.gatech.edu

GEORGIA TECH ALUMNI MAGAZINE (ISSN: 1061-9747) is published quarterly by the Georgia Tech Alumni Association, 190 North Ave. N.W., Atlanta, GA 30313.

Periodical postage paid in Atlanta and additional mailing offices. © 2020 Georgia Tech Alumni Association

POSTMASTER

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

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

TELEPHONE Georgia Tech Alumni Association (404) 894-2391

4

SUMMER 2020 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

VOLUME 96 ISSUE 2

Dr. P.J. Lynn, BME 08, treats Covid-19 patients in Rome, Ga. He also volunteers his time as the medical director of The Free Clinic of Rome, which provides medical care to uninsured patients.

COVER PHOTOGRAPH

KEITH BARRACLOUGH

PHOTO COURTESY OF

P.J. LYNN

FEATURES

SWARM STRENGTH

42

54

61

ON THE FRONT LINES

RESPONDING TO COVID-19

CODE GOLD AND WHITE

From healthcare to biomedical

More than 1.8M face shields

The Student Relief Fund has

engineering to supply chain,

that were designed by

provided more than $1 mil-

Yellow Jackets are playing an

Georgia Tech students and

lion to students affected

important role in response

faculty have been sent to

by the Covid-19 crisis and

efforts to the pandemic.

hospitals in need of PPE.

campus closures.

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2020

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VOLUME 96

DEPARTMENTS

ISSUE 2

FLOWER POWER Chrysanthemums have been a Tech Homecoming tradition since the 1940s, when football games were considered “dress up” occasions. Women often wore a large yellow or white chrysanthemum corsage to the game.

PHOTOGRAPH

PATRICK ADDY

CONTENTS

10

AROUND CAMPUS Tech Moving Forward 12 Faculty News 14 Talk of Tech 16 Research 18

22

ON THE FIELD You Can Call It a Comeback 24 The Kind of Grit That Can’t Be Stopped 28

32

IN THE WORLD Heart of the City 34 Dollars & Sense 38 Jacket Copy 40

66

ALUMNI HOUSE Meet Your New GTAA Board 68 Let’s Hear From You 70 Odd Tales From Homecoming 72 Ramblin’ Roll 74 In Memoriam 82

90

TECH HISTORY A Woman of Firsts 90 The Ballad of George P. Burdell 93 A Season Interrupted in 1918 94 Back Page 98

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2020

7

FEEDBACK

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR backs…drownproofing.

From 1940 until 1986, Tech students were required to pass the Drownproofing Course to graduate. This course taught us all kinds of useful skills, like how

A DIVE BACK IN TIME WITH TECH STUDENT LIFE I THOROUGHLY ENJOYED the History section on student life in the Spring issue.

to swim two lengths of the pool underwater on one breath, how to tread water in the 9-foot section with both hands and feet tied up, diving to the bottom of the

unheated pool! Even though many of us

murky pool to read unusual small words

disliked the course and many delayed

written there, without goggles (my dis-

scheduling it, hoping that the require-

Campus today is far different than

covered word was Fruehauf!), jumping

ment would eventually disappear, it

when I went to Tech decades ago. It

off the high board fully clothed and

boosted our confidence that we could

is now a much more “civilized” and

using our clothes to make flotation de-

truly save ourselves in the water if we

student-friendly environment.

vices, and swimming one length of the

got into a bind.

The one thing I remember well from

pool with 30 pounds of weight hanging

my student days was one word that

from our necks. What made it even bet-

would send chills down most students’

ter was taking the course in winter in an

BILL ESCUE, IE 77 STUART, FLA.

I T A L L S TA R T E D W I T H G E O R G I A T E C H as the founder of International Orphan

stan to attend Tech. I remember taking

Care. And, 20 years ago, I nominated

while at Georgia Tech. In 1964, I got

several flights from Afghanistan to New

President Carter for the same award,

York and then finally to Atlanta. It was

which he received in 2000.

during my time at Tech that I met Mary Elizabeth Hawkins, who was study-

HASAN NOURI, CE 67, SAN CLEMENTE, CALIF.

ing nursing at Emory University. Years

8

SUMMER 2020 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

later, in 1973, we wed and were mar-

[Ed. Note: In the Spring 2020 issue, we in-

ried for four years. After graduating

correctly stated that Bill Stanley was the

in 1967, I returned to Afghanistan to

first African American student to graduate

become an engineering professor. To-

from the School of Architecture. Stanley was

day’s president of Afghanistan, Ashraf

the first African American student to gradu-

Ghani, was one of my students. I re-

ate from Tech with an architecture degree.

turned to Atlanta in ‘71, and in ‘96, I

Tarik O. Kenyatta, ID 72, MS Arch 96, who

was awarded the Hoover Medal for hu-

is African American, also graduated from

manitarian contributions as co-founder

the School of Architecture in 1972. We apol-

of the International Medical Corps and

ogize for the error.]

COURTESY OF GEORGIA TECH LIVING HISTORY AND HASAN NOURI

the USAID scholarship from Afghani-

PHOTOGRAPHS

T H E S P R I N G I S S U E on student life refreshed the great memories I made

EVEN BIGGER BUZZ Degrees Certificates Courses Corporate Education Online & On-site

CONTINUE YOUR SUCCESS STORY pe.gatech.edu/alumni

VOLUME 96

AROUND CAMPUS

ISSUE 2

OUR ONE WORLD Earth Day looked different this year to photographer Brice Zimmerman, who captured this 360-degree photo of Tech campus to mark the occasion.

Although the streets outside Tech Tower are less busy these days, the sun still shines brightly on the Institute.

PHOTOGRAPH

BRICE ZIMMERMAN, GEORGIA TECH

TECH MOVING FORWARD

FACULTY NEWS

TALK OF TECH

TECH RESEARCH

12

14

16

18

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2020

11

AROUND CAMPUS

TECH MOVING FORWARD

FACULTY AND STAFF RETURN TO CAMPUS IN PHASED RAMP-UP OF STUDENT SERVICES AND RESEARCH ACTIVITIES.

BY JENNIFER HERSEIM I N M A R C H , all but essential campus activities were moved to remote status, put on hold, or canceled to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Academic instruction was moved to distance learning for the remainder of the spring semester and the summer.

Georgia Tech President Ángel Cabrera appointed a recovery task force in April to oversee planning for the resumption of on-campus Institute operations. And in May, the University System of Georgia approved the task force’s plan, which outlines a phased approach for staff and employees to return to campus in preparation for in-person instruction this fall.

The plan includes measures that promote hygiene, handwashing, and social distancing, while allowing some student services and research activities to resume on campus this summer.

The plan also includes a phased approach for the resumption of limited athletic training activities on campus in preparation for fall competitions.

“Ultimately, we want to return as safely as we possibly can,

INFORMATION RELATED TO THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE. Visit health.gatech.edu/coronavirus for the latest updates for the Georgia Tech community.

12

SUMMER 2020 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

communicating clearly about the risks that still exist with Covid-19 but determined to move forward safely, responsibly, and compassionately,” the task force stated in an announcement of the plan.

PRIORITIZING HEALTH AND SAFETY Beginning in June, researchers and staff who needed access to campus for research purposes or to prepare for in-person instruction began returning to campus. The plan encourages staggering and splitting shifts to limit the number of people on campus and to maintain social distancing.

A new wellness check protocol for

Georgia Tech employees includes a self-administered Covid-19 Daily Self-Checklist that requires employees to check their temperatures and self-monitor for signs of the virus before coming on campus.

As t he numb er of p e ople on campus increases, the cleaning and disinfecting of buildings and labs will also increase. New measures include closing common areas, except for those where social distancing can be maintained, allowing only one person at a time to use elevators and bathrooms, and encouraging proper

hygiene and handwashing. In areas where employees are unable to consistently maintain 6 feet of separation from others, face masks will be required, and strongly encouraged in all other areas on campus.

During the summer, all student services will continue to be offered online, including advising, class preparation, student orientations, FASET, and Welcome Week.

STUDENT-ATHLETES RESUME TRAINING As of June 15, student-athletes began voluntarily using campus training facilities.

A return to athletic training and

team activities will follow guidelines from the NCAA, Atlantic Coast Conference, USG, and federal, state, and local health authorities. Studentathletes will be encouraged to follow a 14-day period of self-isolation prior to returning to campus. They will also be required to complete a medical screening conducted by Tech athletic staff.

Team training activities will resume in a phased approach beginning with football, men’s and women’s basketball in mid to late July, continuing with volleyball in late July and cross country in the fall.

CAMPUS NEWS

MISSION CRITICAL

USG APPROVES TECH’S UPDATED MISSION STATEMENT. THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF GEORG I A B O A R D O F R E G E N T S has approved Georgia Tech’s updated mission statement generated from the work done as part of the strategic planning process launched in Fall 2019 under President Ángel Cabrera, MS PSY 93, PhD PSY 95. The approved mission statement is: The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university established by the state of Georgia in Atlanta in 1885 and committed to developing leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition.

Along with this new mission statement, the strategic planning process has also produced a vision and foundational narrative, values definition, and strategic themes, which are being further refined by active working groups.

The strategic planning process is in its second phase: goal setting. During the first phase: visioning, more than 5,700 students, faculty, staff, alumni, campus partners, and community leaders shared their perspectives, aspirations, and dreams to help shape the future of the Institute.

“Our mission to develop leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition has never been more relevant and necessary,” said Cabrera. “Georgia Tech is

a leading research university devoted to inclusive and impactful innovation, relentlessly committed to serving the public good and breaking new ground in addressing the biggest local, national, and global challenges of our time.

Our many contributions in combating the Covid-19 pandemic offer a clear illustration of what our mission means in practice.”—GEORGIA TECH NEWS CENTER

6 STRATEGIC THEMES AMPLIFY IMPACT CHAMPION INNOVATION CO N N E C T G L O B A L LY EXPAND ACCESS CULTIVATE WELL-BEING LEAD BY EXAMPLE

“DEVELOPING LEADERS WHO ADVANCE TECHNOLOGY AND IMPROVE THE HUMAN CONDITION.”

SELL ME YOUR BUSINESS! Are you a hell of an engineer and a business owner nearing retirement?

I’m a mid-career Yellow Jacket looking to buy and grow a business in the Atlanta area: • Manufacturing / Industrial / Other B2B • $2-5M revenue • Long track record of stable performance

LET’S TALK! Jon King, ME ‘00 470-990-6071 rjonking@gmail.com

FACULT Y NEWS

ILYA KAMINSKY WINS ANISFIELD-WOLF BOOK AWARD FOR ‘DEAF REPUBLIC’

BY MICHAEL PEARSON

contributions to our understanding of racism and human diversity,” according to the organization’s website.

“It feels strange to be celebrating at such a bewildering, sad time,” Kaminsky said. “But I am beyond grateful and am stunned to receive this year’s Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Poetry. I have always so admired the work of the judges, so it is very humbling to know that they have read my book.

The mission and history of Anisfield-Wolf is especially important for me, so it is a huge honor to be associated with it.”

Deaf Republic was inspired by Kaminsky’s youth in the Kaminsky is the MarSoviet Union as a person living with a hearing impairment. garet T. and Henry C. Bourne, Jr. Chair in Poetry in the School of Literature, Media and Communication and is director of the Poetry@Tech program, which engages Georgia Tech students and the public, and presents the South’s premier poetry reading series. He joined

GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY poetry Professor Ilya Kaminsky has won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Poetry for his latest book, Deaf Republic.

“We are exceptionally honored to connect Deaf Republic to our 85-year history, and a canon that includes five writers who went on to win Nobel Prizes…” said Karen R. Long, manager of the award for The Cleveland Foundation.

The Anisfield-Wolf Awards “recognize books that have made important

the

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SUMMER 2020 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

Georgia Tech in 2018, 25 years after coming to the United States with his family as political asylees from Russia.

Deaf Republic was inspired by his experience navigating his youth in the Soviet Union as a person living with a hearing impairment. It follows the lives of ordinary citizens living in an occupied country who go deaf the moment a boy with a hearing impairment is shot and killed by soldiers. It is at once a fairy tale, an exploration of language in a time of crisis, and an intensely political text that questions indifference to oppression and violence.

“Ilya Kaminsky’s Deaf Republic continues to haunt me,” said poet Rita Dove, one of the jurors for the award.

“It’s a parable that comes to life and refuses to die.”

This is not the first award for Deaf Republic. The book received the 2019 National Jewish Book Award and also was a finalist for the Forward Prize, the T.S. Eliot Prize, and the National Book Award in 2019.

INCHES BETWEEN TWO FINELY MANUFACTURED LAYERS OF SILICON ON A LUNG-HEART MICROCHIP DEVELOPED BY RESEARCHERS AT GEORGIA TECH THAT COULD HELP PREVENT HEART FAILURE.

S H A R P N A M E D D E A N O F G E O R G I A T E C H L I B R A RY LESLIE SHARP, associate vice provost

research mission of the Institute.

for Graduate Education and Faculty

“I am proud to have served along-

Development, has been named dean

side the faculty and staff of the library

of the Georgia Tech Library. Sharp had

over the last year and am honored to

served as the interim chief executive of-

be named the next dean of an incredi-

ficer for the library since March 2019.

ble organization,” said Sharp.

In the role of interim CEO, Sharp was

The library is currently undergoing a

responsible for overseeing

multi-year renewal through

all personnel, financial,

the Library Next initia-

and operational decisions.

tive. “The library is the true

She also began to craft

scholarly heart of our com-

a long-term vision for the

munity, and I am excited to

of Technology from Tech. In 2004,

human resources, technol-

steer the vision of library

she earned a PhD in the History and

ogy, space, and culture of the library,

Next and continue my work,” she said.

Society of Technology and Science,

including strengthening the integration

Sharp is a Georgia Tech alumna.

with a doctoral minor in architectural

of the library with the academic and

She received a master’s in the History

history. —SUSIE IVY

LGBTQIA RESOURCE CENTER WELCOMES NEW DIRECTOR “I’m excited to join a campus that is

Taking on this new role at a larger,

about building community and building

technology-centric public university in

safer, more inclusive places on cam-

the South was a welcome challenge

pus,” they said.

for Myanna, who holds a bachelor’s

In May, Myanna arrived at Georgia

in biological sciences and a master’s in

Tech (if not physically, at least technical-

higher education administration from

ly) as the new director of the LGBTQIA

the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In

“IT’S GOING TO BE PRETTY INCREDIBLE.”

Resource Center. Since 2017, they

particular, they’re interested in build-

In late April of this year, Tegra Myan-

have served as assistant director of the

ing relationships with graduate students

na (they/them/theirs) is in their home

Lealtad-Suzuki Center, which provides

and alumni and developing mentorship

office in the Twin Cities juggling a vid-

multicultural training, programming,

programs.

eo interview with the seemingly endless

and education at Macalester College

“Thinking about what this work could

tasks involved in preparing to sell a

in St. Paul, Minn. Before that, Myanna

look like with students who are there

house, move to a new city, and start a

was the assistant director of the Gender

to engage professionally and move

new job. The fact that it’s all happen-

and Sexuality Center at Carleton Col-

forward in their careers is something I

ing in the middle of a pandemic hasn’t

lege and an area director for the Office

look forward to,” they said. —STACY

dampened Myanna’s enthusiasm.

of Residential Life, also at Carleton.

BRAUKMAN

30

CONSISTENT YEARS THAT TECH’S INDUSTRIAL AND SYSTEMS ENGINEERING PROGRAM HAS RANKED NO. 1 IN THE NATION.

$300

THE COST OF A PORTABLE EMERGENCY VENTILATOR DEVELOPED BY TECH RESEARCHERS AND STUDENTS FOR USE IN COUNTRIES STRUGGLING WITH MEDICAL INFRASTRUCTURE FOR COVID-19.

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2020

15

TALK OF TECH

NEW MACHINE LEARNING TOOLS HELP SIFT THROUGH VOLUMES OF COVID-19 RESEARCH

BY TESS MALONE

Kenneth Miller, a student in Georgia Tech’s Online Master of Science in Computer Science (OMSCS), is using these tools to develop algorithms to ensure that the most important Covid-19 research reaches doctors.

His work is part of an ongoing challenge to use ML to empower the medical community to find the best Covid-19 studies.

WITH DOZENS OF RESEARCH PAPERS about Covid-19 being published each week, it can be difficult for doctors and scientists to read the most important studies.

A student at Georgia Tech, however, is using artificial intelligence (AI) techniques like natural language processing and machine learning (ML) to narrow down the most relevant information in this growing data set.

INFORMATION OVERLOAD The challenge started when Kaggle, a Google data science and ML community, partnered with the White House and several leading research groups to create the Covid-19 Open Research Dataset.

To sift through more than 47,000 scholarly articles about Covid-19, Kaggle asked its ML community to use the dataset to answer some of the toughest research questions about Covid-19. As incentive, for every task

Kenneth Miller, an OMSCS student, created several ML models to search Covid-19 research.

the

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completed successfully, participants like Miller receive $1,000 in prize money.

“I am fascinated with everything AI, so when I heard about this, I figured if any of my skills could help anyone, I should try,” said Miller, who is a lawyer outside of his studies.

KEEP IT SIMPLE The first ML model Miller developed finds the most relevant sentences in a study using a simple scoring algorithm that determines how many times keywords appear in a sentence. Then the model measures the ratio of keyword occurrences to sentence length.

Miller also created a search engine for common Covid-19 research questions, such as: What is the average time the disease takes to incubate?

These are just a few of Miller’s models, and he continues to work on new challenges Kaggle offers.

DEGREES (INDUSTRIAL AND SYSTEMS ENGINEERING, PHYSICS, AND MATH) THAT DANIEL GUREVICH, RECIPIENT OF THE LOVE FAMILY FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIP, ACCOMPLISHED IN JUST FOUR YEARS.

SUMMER 2020 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

STUDENT SPREADS ENCOURAGEMENT WITH LETTERS OF LOVE and encouragement to front-line workers.

virtually if needed.

Letters of Love operates under the

“Letters of Love is

mission “spread love, not germs.” On-

based on the idea

ley has seen the embodiment of this

that people do not

idea firsthand in the responses she’s re-

have to leave their

ceived both from her community and

homes to serve their

those on the front lines. Meanwhile,

community,” Onley

Onley cites seeing the look on the

said. “All they have

workers’ faces when they receive their

to do is go online and

letters as one of the most rewarding

type some words of

parts of the project.

encouragement.”

“It’s the look of someone who

CL AUDIA ONLEY, a third-year business

Anyone can write a note for Letters

feels valued and seen,” she said. “I

administration major, remembers learn-

of Love. Writers can also specify if they

hope that Letters of Love can create

ing about significant historical events

want their letter delivered to health-

a way for humans to know that oth-

and wondering what she would have

care workers, grocery store clerks, mail

ers see them, are with them, and are

done if she’d been alive when they hap-

workers, or other essential employees.

for them,” Onley said. “Because, ul-

pened. Earlier this year, as the Covid-19

Onley, her family, and her friends will

timately, we all need to know we are

pandemic unfolded, she created Letters

then either transfer the message to a

loved, especially now,” she said.

of Love, which delivers letters of support

physical letter and deliver it or send it

­—GRACE WYNER

TECH GRADUATE PROGRAMS TOP U.S. RANKINGS Georgia Tech’s graduate programs

and systems engineering program

continue to be among the best in the

ranks No. 1 for the 30th year.

nation, according to new rankings

by U.S. News & World Report.

Tech’s public policy program in the Ivan Allen College of Liberal

Every engineering discipline

Arts is 45th, with Environmental Poli-

ranks in t he top 10, and t he

cy and Management at No. 12 and

Scheller College of Business rose

Public Policy Analysis at No. 24.

two spots to No. 27. The industrial

—­JOSHUA STEWART

21

TEAMS FROM ALL OVER GEORGIA WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE VIRTUAL 2020 IDEAS TO SERVE COMPETITION CONDUCTED

BY THE INSTITUTE FOR LEADERSHIP AND SOCIAL IMPACT.

50 TH

ANNIVERSARY OF THE GEORGIA TECH STUDENT CENTER, WHICH HOSTED AN ONLINE CELEBRATION ON APRIL 27 THAT CONCLUDED WITH A VIRTUAL MIDNIGHT BREAKFAST.

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2020

17

TECH RESEARCH

ROBOTICS

WIGGLING ROVER AVOIDS MISSION-ENDING SAND TRAPS GEORGIA TECH RESEARCHERS HAVE DEVELOPED A PLANETARY EXPLORATION ROVER WITH A REAR ROTATOR PEDAL THAT CAN HELP IT ESCAPE JAMS ON DISTANT PLANETS.

BY JOHN TOON T H E R O L L I N G H I L L S O F M A R S or the moon are a long way from the nearest tow truck. That’s why the next generation of exploration rovers will need to be good at climbing hills covered with loose material and avoiding entrapment on soft, granular surfaces.

Built with wheeled appendages that can be lifted and wheels able to wiggle, a new robot known as the “Mini Rover” has developed and tested complex locomotion techniques robust

enough to help it climb hills covered with such granular material—and avoid the risk of getting ignominiously stuck on some remote planet or moon.

Using a complex move the researchers dubbed “rear rotator pedaling,” the robot can climb a slope by using its unique design to combine paddling, walking, and wheel-spinning motions.

The rover’s behaviors were modeled using a branch of physics known as terradynamics.

SUMMER 2020 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

GOLDMAN LAB, GEORGIA TECH

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PHOTOGRAPH

The Mini Rover moves through a bed of poppy seeds that are designed to model movement through granular surfaces.

“When loose materials flow, that can create problems for robots moving across it,” said Dan Goldman, the Dunn Family Professor in the School of Physics at Georgia Tech. “This rover has enough degrees of freedom that it can get out of jams pretty effectively. By avalanching materials from the front wheels, it creates a localized fluid hill for the back wheels that is not as steep as the real slope. The rover is always self-generating and self-organizing a good hill for itself.”

The research was reported on May 13 as the cover article in the journal Science Robotics. The work was supported by the NASA National

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CHRISTOPHER MOORE, GEORGIA TECH

Built with multifunctional appendages able to spin wheels that can also be “wiggled” and lifted, the Mini Rover was modeled on a novel NASA rover design and used in the laboratory to develop and test complex locomotion techniques.

Robotics Initiative and the Army Research Office.

A robot built by NASA’s Johnson Space Center pioneered the ability to spin its wheels, sweep the surface with those wheels, and lift each of its wheeled appendages where necessary, creating a broad range of potential motions. Using in-house 3D printers, the Georgia Tech researchers collaborated with the Johnson Space Center to recreate those capabilities in a scaled-down vehicle with four wheeled appendages driven by 12 different motors.

“The rover was developed with a modular mechatronic architecture,

“THIS ROVER HAS ENOUGH DEGREES OF FREEDOM THAT IT CAN GET OUT OF JAMS PRETTY EFFECTIVELY,” PROFESSOR GOLDMAN SAYS. commercially available components, and a minimal number of parts,” said Siddharth Shrivastava, an undergraduate student in Georgia Tech’s George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical

Engineering. “This enabled our team to use our robot as a robust laboratory tool and focus our efforts on exploring creative and interesting experiments without worrying about damaging GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2020

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TECH RESEARCH

This close-up image shows one of the Rover’s appendages, which can be raised and lowered and the wheel moved from side to side.

SUMMER 2020 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

shown principles that could lead to improved robustness in planetary exploration—and even in challenging surfaces on our own planet.”

Though the Mini Rover was designed to study lunar and planetary exploration, the lessons learned could also apply to terrestrial locomotion—an area of interest to the Army Research Laboratory, one of the project’s sponsors.

Beyond those already mentioned, the researchers worked with Robert Ambrose and William Bluethmann at NASA, and traveled to NASA JSC to study the full-size NASA RP15 rover.

This work was supported by the Army Research Office (W911NF-18-1-0120) and the NASA National Robotics Initiative (NNX15AR21G). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsoring agencies.

CHRISTOPHER MOORE, GEORGIA TECH

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“In our previous studies of pure legged robots, modeled on animals, we had kind of figured out that the secret was to not make a mess,” said Goldman. “If you end up making too much of a mess with most robots, you end up just paddling and digging into the granular material. If you want fast locomotion, we found that you should try to keep the material as solid as possible by tweaking the parameters of motion.”

But simple motions had proven problematic for Mars rovers, which got stuck in granular materials. Goldman says the gait discovered by Shrivastava, Karsai, and Ozkan-Aydin might be able to help future rovers avoid that fate.

“This combination of lifting and wheeling and paddling, if used properly, provides the ability to maintain some forward progress even if it is slow,” Goldman said. “Through our laboratory experiments, we have

PHOTOGRAPH

the rover, service downtime, or hitting performance limitations.”

The rover’s broad range of movements allowed the research team an opportunity to test many variations that were studied using granular drag force measurements and modified Resistive Force Theory. Shrivastava and School of Physics PhD candidate Andras Karsai began with the gaits explored by the NASA RP15 robot and were able to experiment with locomotion schemes that could not have been tested on a full-size rover.

The researchers also tested their experimental gaits on slopes designed to simulate planetary and lunar hills using a fluidized bed system known as SCATTER (Systematic Creation of Arbitrary Terrain and Testing of Exploratory Robots) that could be tilted to evaluate the role of controlling the granular substrate. Karsai and Shrivastava collaborated with Yasemin Ozkan-Aydin, a postdoctoral research fellow in Goldman’s lab, to study the rover motion in the SCATTER test facility.

“By creating a small robot with capabilities similar to the RP15 rover, we could test the principles of locomoting with various gaits in a controlled laboratory environment,” Karsai said.

The experiments provided a variation on earlier robophysics work in Goldman’s group that involved moving with legs or flippers, which had emphasized disturbing the granular surfaces as little as possible to avoid getting the robot stuck.

VOLUME 96

ON THE FIELD

ISSUE 2

LIGHT IT BLUE In March, Bobby Dodd Stadium was lit blue to show solidarity and support for front-line health workers. Also, every night at 8 p.m., Georgia Tech’s steam whistle blew, joining a chorus of residents in Midtown Atlanta who cheered and applauded from balconies and front doors during the evening shift change for healthcare workers.

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DANNY KARNIK

YOU CAN CALL IT A COMEBACK

THE KIND OF GRIT THAT CAN’T BE STOPPED

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ON THE FIELD

YOU CAN CALL IT A COMEBACK

DARREN WALLER, MGT 14, STRUGGLED WITH ADDICTION, BUT TURNED HIS LIFE AROUND, BECOMING ONE OF THE NFL’S TOP PLAYERS.

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BY BILL CHASTAIN, IM 79

D A R R E N W A L L E R looks at life with clearer eyes.

He’s been clean for two-and-a-half years, and in just that time, has risen to the top of his game— both personally and professionally.

The former Georgia Tech wide receiver is thriving in the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders, claiming recognition as one the top comeback stories in the league. “He’s an inspiring story,” says ESPN.com’s Paul Gutierrez.

When HBO’s Hard Knocks series chronicled the Raiders’ 2019 training camp, Waller opened up during the five-part series, telling a story about his past struggles with addiction that resonated with the show’s viewers.

“People would message me,” Waller says. “They would say, ‘I’m one day clean because of you’ or ‘My son decided to get clean because he saw your piece on Hard Knocks.’ That’s when I started to realize that sharing this story was bigger than me.”

SUMMER 2020 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

MYSELF, I NEVER WOULD HAVE SEEN WHAT I’M MADE OF,” WALLER’S SONG LYRICS SAY.

KAYLINN GILSTRAP

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“IF I DIDN’T GO TO WAR WITH PHOTOGRAPH

GOING TO WAR WITH HIMSELF But for Waller to get to where he is today took crawling out of rock bottom with the support of his league, his personal conviction, and his music. Creating music “absolutely” helped him deal with his post-addiction life, he says. It filled a gap left behind by drugs. Waller has produced two music albums, Better Call Wall (2017) and Wall Street (2019), under the name “D. Wall.” Appropriate since jazz legend

Fats Waller, who died in 1943, is his great-grandfather. Lyrics from “Made Of ” (off the Better Call Wall album) represent a sample of the introspection he’s gained from his journey. “If I didn’t go to war with myself, I never would have seen what I’m made of.”

Indeed, he is battle-tested. Nobody sets out to become an addict. Waller, who was athletic and sensitive as a kid, certainly didn’t appear predestined to such a future. But like many kids, he longed for acceptance and struggled with low self-esteem. “People made fun of me because I spoke properly, or that I was into doing my homework, or getting good grades.” So Waller turned to football. He thought, everybody loves football players, right? Only he didn’t do well at first and it rocked his confidence even more. He was 15 years old and thought nothing was going well for him. “That’s not a good place to be. Then somebody puts drugs in front of you.”

Years of addiction followed. The medicine cabinets of family and friends became avenues to highs. If those came up empty, there were always other places. “I was hiding

Darren Waller opened up about his struggles on HBO’s series Hard Knocks. Now, he’s determined to keep sharing his story to show others there’s a way out of addiction.

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ON THE FIELD

Waller played wide receiver at Georgia Tech, then made a successful switch to tight end in the NFL. The transition was rough at first, he says, but his training paid off and his strength and speed have given him an edge over other players.

everything. Then hiding became a game in its own right—a sick game. And I liked the game.”

Despite battling addiction, Waller graduated from Georgia Tech in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in management.

In Tech’s 2014 Orange Bowl win over Mississippi State, he caught five passes for 114 yards and scored a touchdown.

The Baltimore Ravens saw potential and drafted him in the sixth round of the 2015 NFL draft. But addiction continued to haunt him. The NFL twice suspended Waller for substance abuse. The latter of those suspensions cost him the entire 2017 season. Rock bottom arrived while he sat in a parked car outside a Baltimore grocery store. That day’s concoction of alcohol and pills had delivered an unfamiliar high—one that frightened him enough to say, “That was enough.”

The NFL directed him to an Atlanta-based addiction specialist, who recommended treatment. Waller entered a four-day detox center in Boston, followed by a 30-day stint at Borden Cottage’s rehab center in Maine, an NFL-funded facility. He’s been clean ever since and regularly attends Narcotics Anonymous meetings.

While serving his suspension, he got a job stocking shelves at a Sprouts Farmers Market in Smyrna, Ga. “I tried to make the shelves look the best they could,” he says. “I always smiled and welcomed people who came in. I learned to take pride in whatever I’m doing, wherever I’m at.”

Sprouts’ Assistant Store Manager Diana Coelho remembers Waller’s time at the store as a humbling experience for him. “I’m sure he learned a lot from it. I knew that he had some struggles early on in his career. It was good to see him grow and realize that he didn’t want to screw [up his future].

He wanted to do well, and he did. I am very proud of him.”

MAKING PEACE WITH FOOTBALL Waller didn’t think he would return to football after the two suspensions and after finally getting clean. “I was viewing football as this thing where I always had to prove something or try to impress people. That didn’t work for me. I had to get to a place where I really enjoyed it,” he says.

Sixth months prior to his reinstatement date, he found that place. He began training hard and “fell in love with the work.” That told him he could enjoy football and motivated him to return to the NFL. 26

SUMMER 2020 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

DARREN WALLER DEGREE: Management 2014

HEIGHT: 6’6”

WEIGHT: 255 pounds

WHILE AT GEORGIA TECH: Waller caught 51 passes for 971 yards and nine touchdowns while playing 33 games during the 2012, 2013, and 2014 seasons.

NFL DRAFT PICK: 2015/Round 6/Pick 204/Baltimore Ravens

while at Tech, so he blocked more than the average college wide receiver. Still, playing tight end in the NFL brought different challenges.

“As far as a wide receiver making a transition [to tight end], I probably had more of a foundation to build on than others,” Waller says. “But it was still rough. Get in there [during practice] and try to block guys like [Ravens teammates] Terrell Suggs, and Za’Darius Smith. I was getting my [butt] kicked. The blocking was definitely tough. And I’m still a work in progress, but I’ve come a long way.”

His speed and strength have turned him into a force on the gridiron. “He’s a total mismatch,” says NFL insider Pat Yasinskas. Adds Gutierrez: “He can fly, and he’s a physical specimen. He’s able to block and he’s not afraid to get his nose dirty and throw himself in there. So he fits in perfectly to what [Raiders coach] Jon Gruden’s offense is because it is so reliant on the tight end.”

Waller’s talents have earned him a three-year contract worth $9 million a year.

Waller wants to continue sharing his story: the good, the bad, and the ugly haze of addiction. “The best thing I can do on this earth is impact people in a positive way. I feel like by me continuing on my mission, it helps other people continue on theirs. I don’t take that for granted, and I keep remembering that every day,” he says.

C AREER HISTORY: Baltimore Ravens (2015–2018) Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders (2018–present)

NFL TOTALS: Waller has caught 108 passes for 1,323 yards and five touchdowns in 38 games. During the 2019 season, he caught 90 passes for 1,145 yards and three touchdowns in 16 games.

“I’m still a work in progress, but I’ve come a long way.”

Waller’s story has been called one of the great comeback stories of the 2019 NFL season.

The NFL reinstated him in August of 2018. The Ravens waived him on Sept. 1, 2018, then added him to their practice squad the following day. Two months later, the Raiders signed Waller off the Ravens’ practice squad and he played in four games, setting the tone for his stellar 2019 season.

Waller had to adjust from wide receiver to tight end in the NFL. Yes, he played in Paul Johnson’s triple-option offense GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2020

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ON THE FIELD

THE KIND OF GRIT THAT CAN’T BE STOPPED SHE’S A FOUR-TIME OLYMPIAN AND BREAST CANCER SURVIVOR, NOTHING—NOT EVEN THE PANDEMIC— CAN KEEP CHAUNTE LOWE, ECON 08, FROM SOARING TO REACH HER OLYMPIC DREAMS.

T

T H I S S P R I N G , Chaunte Lowe started a new home improvement project. She went to The Home Depot, bought some plywood, wall brackets, and rubber, and took to the backyard of her Florida house. She wasn’t building the floor of a clubhouse for one of her three children or a crude patio for herself.

Lowe was putting together a makeshift approach for her high-jump gear so she could train while in lockdown. Covid-19 had already shut down most of the gyms and public track facilities in America, and because Lowe is immunocompromised, she had been maintaining a careful social distance. The coronavirus had even postponed the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo that Lowe had been training for. But at age 36, Lowe is determined to become one of fewer than 100 women to qualify for her fifth Olympics. And it’s going to take more than a global pandemic to stop her from trying.

For Lowe, making the U.S. Olympic Team bound for Japan is about much more than fulfilling her own professional ambition. In fact, after tying for 28

SUMMER 2020 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

BY TONY REHAGEN seventh in the 2017 national championships, Lowe says she was all but done with track and field. But then, in August 2018, Lowe found a lump the size of a grain of rice on her breast.

Eventually doctors diagnosed it as an early stage of an aggressive form of cancer. Six rounds of chemotherapy

“THERE WAS SOMETHING ABOUT THE FIGHT I LEARNED AT GEORGIA TECH. YOU DON’T CRUMPLE AND CRY. YOU FIND A WAY TO GET IT DONE. YOU FIND A WAY TO WIN,” LOWE SAYS.

and a double mastectomy left Lowe cancer-free. That’s when the surgeon performing her reconstructive surgery urged her to aim for a fifth Olympiad.

“He told me that people don’t realize how many young, skinny, and fit

people he sees with cancer,” says Lowe.

“He said, ‘If you go to the Olympics, your story is going to save lives.’”

Lowe’s story began at Georgia Tech in 2002. She had come all the way from Riverside, Calif., to not only pursue a

track career but also to challenge herself in the classroom. “Before students even get there, they’ve made the decision to come to Tech knowing the academics are going to be challenging while trying to compete at the NCAA Division I level,” says Alan Drosky, women’s track and field head coach for the Yellow Jackets. “A lot of young people have ambition to be excellent in everything. But Chaunte’s drive to actually reach her goals is not common at all.”

That competitive fire enabled Lowe to keep her grades up while excelling on the track. At the collegiate level,

coach Nat Page, she would become a world champion and American record holder (which she set a mere 10 months after giving

missed the podium, coming in fourth.

Finally, in 2017, the International Olympic Committee announced that, after reviewing samples from drug tests taken prior to the Beijing games, three athletes had tested positive for banned sub st anc e s . T he three were disqualified, lifting Lowe into third place. She flew to Los Angeles with her family and Coach Page to receive her bronze medal that November. Less than a year later, she had cancer.

Lowe doesn’t pretend that the diagnosis didn’t frighten her. But she says she

PHOTOGRAPH

MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ/​AP/​SHUTTERSTOCK

Chaunte Lowe, ECON 08, aims to use a fifth appearance at the Olympics to bring awareness to breast cancer.

that meant helping the team in any way possible. Even on an ACC Championship Team, Lowe would score in the long jump, hurdles, and triple jump. “She even wanted to run the anchor leg of the relay race if we’d let her,” says Drosky. “She wanted to line up in every event we would put her in.”

Meanwhile, on an international level, Lowe focuses her energies on the high jump. And with the guidance of world-renowned high jumper and Georgia Tech jumps

birth to her second child). But Olympic glory was a bit harder to come by. Lowe says she had worked so hard to make her first Olympic team in 2004 that by the time the then-sophomore got to Athens, she was overwhelmed by the actual competition. She finished a disappointing sixth in both 2008 Beijing and 2012 London. Four years later in Rio, she knocked the bar off with the heel of her foot on her last jump and barely

reacted the only way she knew how—the way she had learned in college.

She did her research, made a plan, put together the best team of doctors, and put herself in the best position to overcome the disease. After doing all that, making a fifth Olympics might not seem as impossible as it once had.

“It’s not going to be easy,” says Page, her old coach. “But she knows she can go through it; she’s done it before. And going through breast cancer might have given her a sense of what she’s really capable of. If there’s anybody that can do it, it’s her. I won’t ever doubt her.”

Page even thinks that the yearlong GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2020

29

ON THE FIELD

Chaunte Lowe, ECON 08, built a makeshift approach for her high jump gear in her backyard to continue training for the Olympics while maintaining social distance during the coronavirus pandemic. Although the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo were postponed this summer, Lowe hopes to make it to her fifth Olympiad next year.

delay for the Tokyo games might help Lowe by giving her extra time to prepare herself and get back to full strength—if she can just find a way to train. Because of her chemotherapy, Lowe’s immune system is compromised, making her at a higher risk of 30

SUMMER 2020 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

developing Covid-19.

So she has acquired some weights and workout equipment for home workouts. And, of course, she’s building her own high jump in the backyard. Here, she’ll train, take care of her family, and prepare as best she

can to tackle any and all challenges that might await.

“There was something about the fight I learned at Georgia Tech,” says Lowe. “You don’t crumple and cry. You find a way to get it done. You find a way to win.”

ATHLETICS INITIATIVE 2020

///

6 MONTHS REMAINING

The Edge Center is the heartbeat of our organization and the most critical need in the Athletics Initiative 2020.

» As of June 1, we are currently $3.5 million away from securing the full $10 million match to finish the fundraising for this $70M project.

Thanks in large part to your continued support, our student-athletes have continued to thrive during the COVID-19 pandemic, posting a record GPA of 3.23 for the spring 2020 semester.

Your support of our mission to develop young people who will change the world is as important as ever. We are now asking the A-T Fund community to put us “Above The Line” in reaching this year’s Athletic Scholarship Fund goals.

“Above The Line” Goals: · $2.25 million received · 2,500 donors To help us reach that mark, we’re pleased to add the opportunity for donors to be invited to a series of Above The Line virtual meetings with Georgia Tech head coaches. Visit atfund.org/abovetheline to learn how you can participate.

This new building will not only impact every one of our 400 studentathletes; but it will be the front porch of our athletic department to ensure we are building a better student-athlete, recruiting the special type of student-athlete that can excel both athletically and academically, and most importantly, being true to the great tradition of athletics excellence by competing for ACC and national championships.

SUPPORT AI 2020 No matter the size, your generosity in support of Athletics Initiative 2020 will help us reach our mark. Commitments may be made over time (up to 5 years), and can be completed in installments. To act now, visit atfund.org/commit.

LEARN MORE TODAY AT ATFUND.ORG/2020

VOLUME 96

IN THE WORLD

ISSUE 2

LEADING WITH HEART Alumna Missy Shields Rahman leads a nonprofit in NYC that helps heart patients and their families. The organization, Harboring Hearts, assisted about 250 families last year.

ILLUSTRATION

NEIL JAMIESON

HEART OF THE CITY

DOLLARS & SENSE

JACKET COPY

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IN THE WORLD

HEART OF THE CITY

MISSY SHIELDS RAHMAN, STC 03, HAS POURED HER HEART INTO NEW YORK CITY, LEADING SEVERAL NONPROFITS IN EDUCATION AND HEALTH. NOW, HER HEART HURTS FOR THE CITY SHE’S COME TO LOVE.

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SUMMER 2020 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

A BRIDGE TO BROOKLYN In 2015, looking for less travel with AIESEC and driven by seeing the heart problems of her extended family over the years, Rahman joined Harboring

“WE WANT THEM TO FOCUS ON WHAT’S IMPORTANT AND HELP WITH THEIR WORRIES,” RAHMAN SAYS.

Hearts as their executive director.

“We step in to make situations a little easier,” she says. Harboring Hearts is a nonprofit based in New York City that offers support to those dealing with serious heart conditions.

“For example, if someone needs a heart procedure and the family can’t afford to pay for the hotel to stay at, we could step in and pay directly. We can provide food and more (including transportation). We want them to focus on what’s important and help with their worries,” she says.

When New York City became the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic this spring, Rahman, who was far into a pregnancy, expecting her third child, made the wrenching decision to head south and wait out the pandemic in Georgia.

She watched from afar as much of Harboring Hearts’ work was put on hold due to the coronavirus, leaving her at times feeling helpless to aid those in need in NYC. “We’ve seen with hospitals we work with how much duress they’re under and they’re trying to help people with other conditions, but the coronavirus is hitting so many places. One of our social workers told me she was stepping over body bags. I feel so much sadness,” she says.

Rahman isn’t one to look on the downside. She’s accustomed to offering hope and a helping hand, focusing on getting people through difficult health situations and back on their feet. Last year, she led Harboring Hearts in raising almost $1 million,

NEIL JAMIESON

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motto of “Progress and Service,” and its mission, using her talents to improve the human condition.

ILLUSTRATION

MISSY SHIELDS RAHM A N w a s f a r aw ay from New York City when she was wowing crowds as a standout high school basketball player in Marietta, Ga. She stayed close to home for college, enjoying the many offerings of Georgia Tech. But it was one opportunity through Tech that would lead her to New York and fuel an unexpected passion for “The City That Never Sleeps.”

In 2000, she got the chance to volunteer for AIESEC, a global youth leadership organization, and continued all four years while she was at Tech, joining the Institute’s club. Three years plus change after receiving her degree, AIESEC United States sprang an offer on her: Go to New York City and serve as the nonprofit’s president.

She had long wanted to travel, and there were numerous places on the world map in her mind, but New York City? That wasn’t part of the plan.

Today, it’s all that’s on her mind.

Rahman quickly fell in love with the city, which in turn gained from her work serving students, the elderly, and families in need. Throughout her career, Rahman has embodied Tech’s

BY ERIC BUTTERMAN

IN THE WORLD

roughly doubling what they raised annually.

Her first year the organization assisted 52 families, and this past year it was around 250 families.

NYC STRONG During the pandemic, Rahman also feels the sadness of the students in the city. She remembers being New York Regional Manager for buildOn and partnering with 31 New York City high schools to get students involved in service learning programs. The organization aims to empower youth living in poverty through service.

Through buildOn, Rahman helped build schools in locales from Africa to Central America, living with local families and gaining a deep cultural immersion.

“School is a refuge where students can get food and be safe,” says Rahman, who was with buildOn from 2008 to 2015, eventually rising to vice president of U.S. programs. “They often still don’t love it, but that’s where

Last year, the nonprofit supported 250 families in the New York City area.

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Harboring Hearts is a nonprofit based in New York City that provides financial and emotional assistance to organ transplant patients and their families.

afterschool programs allow them that feeling. Now, with distance learning, you just don’t know if they’ll be able to find that feeling of refuge elsewhere.”

And Rahman is thinking about the families she’s met in the city. So many people only picture Manhattan with its Empire State Building and Central Park, when they think of New York City. But Rahman has always called Brooklyn her home in the city, first at Williamsburg and now at Bed-Stuy, and much of her work with buildOn was in the Bronx, a borough which, she says, so often gets overlooked by those who visit. “And they miss out,” says Rahman. “All the families who invited me for dinner just because I was helping their children. All the different cultures. The amazing food. The meaning of family is strong in the Bronx. I’m thinking of them during this time.”

The meaning of family comes up so much in her work. It’s a father and grandfather, both with heart conditions, who are getting help from Harboring Hearts. But now, both are dealing with the coronavirus, which is complicating their already precarious health situation.

It’s that 19-year-old assisted by

Harboring Hearts who just received a heart transplant and is trying to recover with the help of his mother through the difficulty of a health system that’s been upended by the pandemic. Even when the organization is able to step in, the success of their interventions is now being altered by the virus, Rahman says.

But she has seen miracles before and has been a part of them. Rahman believes in the power of the city that came together when terrorists tried to instill fear almost two decades ago.

Then, New Yorkers walked around trying to fill each other in after the news of the Towers falling. During this lockdown, they were forced inside. It is a city that is used to scurrying elbow-to-elbow through packed streets. A city that was forced into physical isolation.

Still, Rahman believes that although the city she loves may not be elbow-to-elbow, spiritually they are still arm-in-arm.

“We all know what they say, that if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere,” she says. “I can tell you New York City will make it. Like I can say about Georgia, I’m so proud to call it home.”

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DOLLARS & SENSE

SECURING THE FUTURE

TAKING ON THE CEO POSITION FOR THE FIRST TIME, JORDAN RACKIE, MGT 08, HAS A TEAM BEHIND HIM AT KEYFACTOR, WHICH HE BELIEVES CAN MAKE US ALL FEEL A LITTLE MORE SECURE ABOUT CYBERSECURITY.

BY ERIC BUTTERMAN CYBERSECURITY is a problem that has been haunting technology for decades.

Data in areas of health, finance, and more had been thought to be under a tight lock. But technological safecrackers have often proved otherwise. As we stare down the latest challenge to our world, the coronavirus pandemic, even tech offerings like Zoom have

had their share of issues, causing a portion of the public to lose confidence in them.

Jordan Rackie wants to be a part of the overall security solution as CEO of Keyfactor, named to the post at the fairly young age of 33. Working on sensitive data protection for more than 500 of the world’s largest companies

without necessarily staying within the traditional firewall, Keyfactor found confidence of its own in receiving $77 million in funding through Insight Partners in 2019.

Here we talk with the CEO about security, how Georgia Tech helped his career soar, and how Rackie knows rackets.

Q: HOW DO YOU HELP COMPANIES MOVE TO THE DIGITAL AGE FROM THE BRICK-ANDMORTAR SPACE AND OTHER AREAS? A : Our exp er ience centers on asking companies how they move organizationally. You have lots of people

in offices and in-person spaces moving to a very remote reality. How do you achieve that and maintain a certain level of security that your organization requires? That’s where we come into play. We also work with organizations in the medical industry, where we insert our code into things like pacemakers, heart monitors, and different medical devices that would be embedded into the human body. That way, if a software update is needed, for example, you can easily do that without having to remove the device from a patient’s body.

We also work with airplane and train manufacturers, building in security at design to prevent hackers from breaching critical devices, for example, to take over the controls of a plane.

Q : YOU’VE SPENT MOST OF YOUR CAREER IN THE ATL ANTA AREA. IT REALLY SEEMS TO OFFER A STRONG AMOUNT OF OPPORTUNITY. A: Yes, and it also makes me think of the relationships I’ve had with Georgia Tech in the Atlanta area. Kyle Porter (Mgt 04) and I went to college together.

He’s the CEO of SalesLoft. While working for David Cummings, founder of the Atlanta Tech Village, I sold Kyle marketing automation software, which led to a growing relationship between David and Kyle, who would later spin off SalesLoft. Craig Hyde, (CmpE 05), CEO of Rigor, and I have been longtime friends and went to Tech together. And when I was at QASymphony, you had Mark Buffington (Mgt 93) at BIP Capital, a venture capital group, which was one of our early investors. That’s a small list of a large network I continue to stay in touch with from Tech.

A Yellow Jacket to the core, Rackie rode the Ramblin’ Wreck to his wedding in April 2017.

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Share prices for a company fall by as much as 7.27% on average after a cybersecurity breach followed by a trend of underperformance based on a report published by Comparitech.

Founded in 2001 as a services business and pivoting to software in 2014, Keyfactor has 500+ global clients.

Rackie (center), was named CEO in 2019.

Q:

WAS THERE A PARTICUL AR COURSE OR EXPERIENCE AT GEORGIA TECH THAT YOU FOUND ESPECIALLY HELPFUL? A: I took an entrepreneurial class that was critical to my personal direction.

Historically, the Institute does a strong job of getting alumni into large enterprises, but it was the unique courses around entrepreneurship and startups that I was most inspired by.

Q:

YOU WERE IN SALES EARLIER ON IN Y O U R C A R E E R . W H AT M A D E Y O U C H O O S E THAT PATH? A: I’ve always been someone who likes to communicate. Thinking back on stories, when people asked why they should hire me for sales, I used to tell them about being back in school where people had a specific group of friends they gravitated to… I had many groups

of friends and never sat at the same lunch table. I was always spending time with different kinds of people.

Q: AND IT’S NOT JUST BUSINESS WHERE YOU’RE FINDING SUCCESS. YOU ALSO HAVE BEEN FINDING SOME WITH YOUR TENNIS GAME. A : I grew up really competitive and was a three-sport letterman in high school. As I’ve become older, there are types of sports I’ve focused on that limit the risk of injury.

I’ve been concentrating now on tennis and golf and was part of a team that won a 2018 USTA Georgia State Men’s Team championship. Tennis is a good outlet and a good way to continue to stay competitive.

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2020

39

JACKET COPY

FROM THE BOOKSHELF HIS T ORY

WAR FEVER: BOSTON, BASEBALL, AND AMERICA IN THE SHADOW OF THE GREAT WAR JOHNNY SMITH, GEORGIA TECH HISTORIAN AND J . C . “ B U D ” S H A W P R O F E S S O R O F S P O R T S H I S T O RY, A N D R A N DY R O B E R T S

IN 1918, Boston was reeling from the Spanish Flu and WWI. War Fever explores a delirious moment in American history through the stories of three men: Karl Muck, the German conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, accused of being an enemy spy; Charles Whittlesey, a Harvard law graduate who became an unlikely hero in Europe; and the most famous baseball player of all time, Babe Ruth, poised to revolutionize the game he loved. Together, they offer a gripping narrative of America at war and American culture in upheaval.

PHILOSOPHY

WHEN LIFE NEEDS A STICKY NOTE: WORDS OF INSPIRATION DURING CHALLENGING TIMES D R . W A Y N E K E R R , B I O 7 3 , M S B I O 74

S T I C K Y N O T E S are great for posting a quick reminder of some yet-to-be-completed task but can also be used to remind us of what is truly important in our lives, especially during challenging times. In this compilation of inspirational essays, Wayne Kerr offers meaningful words to help you overcome challenges and emerge as a stronger person, better employer or employee, more loving spouse or parent, and more valuable member of your community.

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GUIDE BOOK

I N S TA N T H O M E S C H O O L ERIN LOVEL ACE, ME 06

IN THIS QUICK GUIDE to establishing structure and sanity at home in the midst of a pandemic, former teacher and current homeschool mom Erin Lovelace shares the keys to pivoting to instant homeschooling following school closures. Whether you’re a working parent, a stay-at-home parent, or a homeschool parent, this guide offers ideas to scaffold learning and begin to build habits that you and your family can use for years to come.

ART INVESTMENT

AMERICAN ART: COLLECTING AND CONNOISSEURSHIP

GENERAL EDITOR: STEPHEN M. SESSLER, ME 70 IN THIS INVALUABLE BOOK for both the new and the experienced American art collector and connoisseur, Stephen M. Sessler expertly unveils the inner workings of art collecting, from buying and selling to the valuation and conservation of artwork to the legal issues therein. Twenty-eight writers, established experts in their field, examine every aspect of the subject and contribute illuminating and often thought-provoking examinations of a wide variety of topics.

PERSONAL MEMOIR

I N S E A R C H O F VA L I DA T I O N BENJAMIN HIRSCH, ARCH 58

IN HIS THIRD AND FINAL BOOK, Benjamin “Ben” Hirsch begins his narrative in the mid-1950s upon discharge from U.S. Army service and becoming a Georgia Tech architecture student. Published posthumously, this honest and often humorous memoir chronicles Hirsch’s early apprenticeships and the opening of his first office. Through this narrative, Hirsch, who survived the Holocaust as a child, provides insight into causes he held dear throughout his life, including Holocaust remembrance and growing his synagogue community.

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2020

41

on the

FRONT LINES of a

PANDEMIC FROM HEALTHCARE TO BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING TO SUPPLY CHAIN LOGISTICS,

YELLOW JACKETS ARE PLAYING AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN RESPONSE EFFORTS TO THE CORONAVIRUS.

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WITH THE TECHNICAL EXPERTISE AND KNOW-HOW TO HANDLE CHALLENGES CAUSED

BY THE PANDEMIC, GEORGIA TECH ALUMNI HAVE BECOME AN UNYIELDING FORCE IN THE FIGHT AGAINST THE VIRUS.

PHOTOGRAPH

BY KEITH BARRACLOUGH

ENGINEERS ARE RETOOLING PRODUCTION LINES TO MANUFACTURE MILLIONS OF FACE MASKS. 3D-PRINTING HOBBYISTS ARE BANDING TOGETHER TO PRINT FACE SHIELDS. COMPUTER SCIENTISTS ARE COLLECTING DATA TO HELP RESEARCHERS TRACK THE

PAUL GARCIA, PHD BIOE 04, provided insight for Georgia Tech researchers looking at ways that technology could assist clinicians during the pandemic.

SPREAD OF THE VIRUS. AND GEORGIA TECH ALUMNI ARE EVEN HELPING DISTILLERIES SWITCH FROM MAKING SPIRITS TO HAND SANITIZER FOR EMERGENCY RESPONDERS.

ALL THE WHILE, ALUMNI IN THE MEDICAL FIELD ARE RACING TO SAVE THE LIVES OF COVID-19 PATIENTS.

WITH COMPASSION AND EXPERTISE, YELLOW JACKETS AROUND THE WORLD ARE FINDING WAYS TO OVERCOME THE OBSTACLES PRESENTED BY THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. IN THE NEXT PAGES, WE SHARE SOME OF THEIR STORIES.

FIGHTING TO SAVE LIVES THIS SPRING, DR. PAUL GARCIA, PHD BIOE 04, was at the epicenter of the pandemic, treating patients in New York City, where hundreds of thousands of people have contracted the coronavirus.

Garcia and his family lived in Atlanta for 22 years before he was recruited to lead the neuroanesthesia division of Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) less than two years ago.

When the pandemic began, his hospital converted most of its operating rooms to temporary intensive care units to treat patients infected with the virus. Anesthesiologists like Garcia, who were involved in scheduled surgeries prior to the pandemic, became involved fulltime with the care of Covid-19 patients.

“As anesthesiologists, we’re all trained in critical care, but now we manage patients while they’re critical all day, every day,” Garcia says.

His wife, Meera, is an OBGYN who also works at CUIMC. Their oldest daughter recently finished her first year at Georgia Tech, while their youngest completed high school in New York. Being away from

home for long stretches has been the hardest part about the fact that both he and his wife work as front-line health workers, Garcia says.

“Our youngest daughter doesn’t have her older sister with her, and both her parents are working a lot.

She’s probably feeling pretty isolated. And, she’s missing out on all the fun parts of her senior year,” he says.

The pandemic has taken a toll on front-line responders in both physical and emotional ways.

In Atlanta, Charley Winter, Bio 12, temporarily moved out of the Midtown apartment that he shares with two roommates. As an anesthesiologist assistant with Physicians Specialists in Anesthesia, Winter treats Covid-19 patients in Atlanta.

“It’s not uncommon for people in our situation to have separate living arrangements. That’s something we have to deal with added on to the acuity of the cases at work,” says Winter.

But Winter has been encouraged by the support he’s seen for healthcare workers from the local community, including Atlantans who cheered from their balconies during the evening shift change and Georgia Tech students who designed and distributed protective equipment to local hospitals and healthcare workers like himself.

“That’s been incredible. Tech students helping out Tech alumni,” Winter says. —JENNIFER HERSEIM For more stories of Yellow Jackets on the front lines, visit www.gtalumni.org.

REMOTE PATIENT MONITORING Being able to remotely monitor patients is critical for protecting medical staff during the pandemic.

It’s an area that Georgia Tech faculty and students are interested in developing. This spring, Paul Garcia, PhD BioE 04, and other clinicians provided input for a collaborative team from the Georgia Tech Colleges of Engineering and Computing who are researching ways that computational objects—functional objects that look and feel like physical objects but can harvest their own energy—could improve patient monitoring.

One possibility is using the technology to create a face mask that not only acts as a protective barrier, but can also monitor breathing, temperature, or other vital signs of the person wearing the mask. Using a paper-like

material that can be powered through small vibrations, the mask could harvest its own energy from the small movements caused by breathing.

The team from Georgia Tech is also exploring how wireless transmissions, such as a radio or Wi-Fi signal, could be used to bounce information off an object, such as a mask, over short distances. In one scenario, a doctor could receive information from a patient’s mask while remaining outside the patient’s room.

There are even opportunities to help healthcare workers avoid touching their faces by creating a wearable instrument that makes a sound whenever a person’s hand touches his or her face.

While research is ongoing, speaking with clinicians like Garcia has helped Tech researchers envision how this technology could have immediate impacts.

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2020

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“NO ONE KNEW WHAT T O E X P E C T ” children can be asymptomatic carriers,” she says.

AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC, each day was a new experience for Dr. Cheryl Tolliver, IE 81, a pediatrician in private practice in Valdosta, Ga. “What we saw in the primary care pediatrics field was not what we expected. No one knew what to expect,” she says.

One day, she had several children from the same family come into her office. Some presented with flu-like symptoms, while others were energetic and appeared healthy. They tested negative for the flu, but positive for the coronavirus.

What surprised her was how healthy some of the children appeared who had tested positive.

“It’s all over the map,” Tolliver says. “Some will look so sick and others will be running around playing.

We test them and they’re positive.” Her office has diagnosed seven people with the coronavirus since the pandemic began, but she expects that number to rise as children return to school this fall. (As of press time, Lowndes County, Ga., has 319 confirmed cases.)

“The numbers in Valdosta haven’t compared to the numbers in Albany, which was one of Georgia’s hardest-hit areas, but you can’t take that for granted because

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While research on the coronavirus is growing exponentially, keeping her staff and patients safe has been stressful for everyone, she says.

For several months, Tolliver wasn’t able to obtain adequate PPE from her supplier. Being proactive, she went online to purchase masks, gloves, gowns, and face shields, but still had to wait weeks for supplies to arrive.

Obtaining PPE is still an issue for her.

Everyone also has had to adjust to new social distancing practices—and being patient and flexible with the changes has been paramount. For instance, initially, her office tried to separate families in the waiting room but found it nearly impossible to keep children in one spot. Now, families wait in their cars until it’s their turn to be seen.

As the shelter-in-place orders were lifted, Tolliver and her staff started making calls every day to encourage families to reschedule checkups so that children continue to receive regular immunizations.

“We don’t want children dying from diseases that we have immunizations for, while we’re protecting them from this virus,” she says.

IMPROVING THE HUMAN CONDITION If it seems like Tolliver has the mind of an engineer and the heart of a healer, it’s because she’s both.

In the fifth grade, Tolliver saw photos from the Vietnam War of children who were ill. She decided right then that she wanted to be a pediatrician.

In 1977, she enrolled at Georgia Tech and graduated with an industrial engineering degree.

“At the time, people said, engineering is a great way to get into medicine. It’s true, medical schools like engineers, but it’s not the easiest way to get into medicine,” she says. After graduating, she worked as an engineer for more than a decade before going to medical school.

Despite the circuitous path, now she’s where she always planned to be, helping children grow up strong and healthy.

“My favorite part is watching my babies grow up. I call them my children because that’s what they’re like to me,” she says. —JENNIFER HERSEIM

Safe and Clean Meeting Space for In-Person Events.

High Quality Technology and Support for Virtual Experiences.

That’s So Tech!

Choose the Global Learning Center on the cutting edge of campus.

“OUR STAFF HAS TO DO THE BEST WE CAN, AND THAT MEANS BEING STRONG, CREATIVE AND FLEXIBLE,” Visit us for a site tour. pe.gatech.edu/glc/alumni

MEETINGS. CONFERENCES. TRAINING.

KEEPING HOSPITALS HEALTHY DR. BRONWEN GARNER, IA 03, AND HER TEAM AT PIEDMONT HEALTHCARE ARE CHARGED WITH MAKING SURE EVERYONE WHO STEPS FOOT IN THE DOOR — AT ALL 11 HOSPITALS AND MORE THAN 250 LOCATIONS — IS SAFE. HOSPITALS ARE GRAPPLING with a new set of questions in light of the coronavirus pandemic. Does a health worker need an N95 mask in a patient’s room or will a surgical mask suffice? What about a face shield? Are safety goggles enough?

In search of answers, they turn to infectious disease specialists like Dr. Bronwen Garner, IA 03. Garner is leading Piedmont Healthcare’s Covid-19 testing program and she’s chair of Piedmont’s Infectious Disease Governance Council.

Her job is to make sense of what we know—and what we don’t know—about the novel coronavirus to provide evidence-based feedback for hospital administrators to make policy and practice decisions. She’s finding there’s not so much a right answer, yet.

“That’s the tricky thing. This is a brand-new, scary pathogen that can be transmitted asymptomatically, and we don’t understand everything about it,” Garner says.

BUCKLE UP. HERE WE GO. In February, when the coronavirus first appeared on the radar in the U.S., Garner knew we were in for the

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long haul. Buckle up. Here we go, she thought.

Little was known about the virus except that it could be easily transmitted, even by a person who showed no symptoms. Testing was new and limited. The country was experiencing supply chain issues that made personal protective equipment scarce. “There were a set of challenges from the beginning that made this look bleak,” Garner says.

Even today, we are still learning how the virus impacts the human body and whether exposure provides immunity. And supply chains are still recovering.

With these challenges working against her, Garner and her team are in the position of working to implement CDC guidelines to protect staff and patients in a hospital setting and determine which measures are not required by the CDC and could waste resources.

“The unfortunate thing in this situation that we’re facing across the nation is that when you say ‘yes’ to something early on in this pandemic, you’re saying ‘no’ to something later,” Garner says.

DECIDING WHEN AND WHAT KIND OF PPE IS NECESSARY The virus can be transmitted when an infected person coughs or sneezes, releasing tiny respiratory droplets into the air. When patients and staff wear face masks, they reduce the risk of sending particles into the air. Piedmont’s 11 hospitals require staff who see patients to wear a face mask all day, Garner says. However, the more specialized PPE, such as a tight-fitting N95 mask, are saved for higher-risk procedures, per CDC guidelines. Those procedures require proximity to the airways of a Covid-19 patient.

“Explaining to someone that their procedure is low-risk, and therefore, doesn’t require a fitted N95 mask, is hard,” Garner says. “There’s a very real emotional response from healthcare workers, me included, when you’re talking about personal protection.

But we have to demystify what is scientifically necessary so we don’t use up those supplies when they’re not necessary.”

Garner has three small children at home—a 7-year-old and 2-year-old

“I DON’T THINK METRO ATLANTA REALIZES HOW MUCH GEORGIA TECH HAS BEEN WORKING BEHIND THE SCENES TO PROTECT HEALTHCARE WORKERS.” twins. She and her husband, like many working parents right now, rely on family members for help watching their children while they work. “You make it work and try to protect your family as best you can. Particularly, since the people available to watch the kids—our parents and in-laws—are in high-risk groups,” she says.

Protecting loved ones means disrupting her routine. “It’s how I come home from the hospital, where I sleep, what bathroom I use, how long I need to monitor myself,” Garner says. “It is a new way of life.”

TEST, THEN RETEST Garner also leads Piedmont’s Covid-19 testing program. She helped create a paper-based decision tree that helps doctors determine when to retest a patient who received a negative first test. Piedmont collaborated with Tech researchers who automated the decision tree. Now, an electronic version is embedded into Piedmont’s electronic health record.

“Having all these brilliant minds helping us solve problems has been wonderful,” Garner says.

“I don’t think metro Atlanta realizes how much Georgia Tech has been working behind the scenes to protect healthcare workers and help make out-of-the-box solutions come to fruition. We’re so lucky to be close to Tech.” —JENNIFER HERSEIM

Q&A: HERD

AIMING FOR IMMUNITY

WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO RESUME LIFE AS IT WAS PRE-CORONAVIRUS? Garner: I don’t know what life is going to look like after this. I hope we can make some changes for the better. But the thing that needs to happen for us to get back to life as we knew it pre-corona is we need to be able to understand exposure and immunity. We’ll need to understand the seroprevalence of the disease, how many people have been exposed to the virus, and whether exposure equals immunity. And, we’ll need a vaccine.

Until then, without adequate therapy, with the transmission risk from asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic people, a health system that’s overwhelmed, and not being able to adequately quarantine infectious patients, it’s going to be a tall order to shut down transmission without a vaccine.

WHAT CAN SEROPREVALENCE OF THE CORONAVIRUS TELL US ABOUT TRANSMISSION? Garner: Seroprevalence is an aggregate measure that estimates exposure to a pathogen in a specific population through antibody testing. If these antibodies, called IgG, are positive in a person’s blood, it’s because they were previously exposed to a virus and they have developed some long-lasting immune response to the disease. Testing for these antibodies doesn’t necessarily guarantee immunity on an individual level, but seroprevalence, the level present across the population, can give us an epidemiological evaluation of where we’re at in terms of shutting down transmission of a virus. This is called herd immunity. For example, we would look at whether a certain percentage of the population is making IgG antibodies against the coronavirus. The more infectious the virus is, the higher that number needs to be to shut down transmission.

JULIE CHAMPION, BME 12, leads Piedmont Healthcare’s PPE workstream, coordinating donations and the distribution of supplies.

ENGINEERING FOR GOOD WHEN YOU THINK OF THOSE currently working in healthcare and helping our country overcome Covid-19, you might think of a doctor or nurse. But Julie Champion, BME 12, points out that a lot of engineers work in the field, too, and are also fighting this pandemic. She’s one of them.

Champion is a senior improvement consultant for Piedmont Healthcare, a community health system comprising 11 hospitals in the Atlanta area. In her role, Champion works on improving hospital processes.

Normally, she leads projects focused on the reduction of patient harm, such as healthcare-associated falls or infections. Now, Champion is still leading these types of projects as well as those focused on Covid-19.

After Piedmont Healthcare began receiving offers from community members to make cloth face coverings or donate N95 masks, Champion began leading the organization’s personal protective equipment– related workstream. She put up a channel for the community to reach out, and then came up with processes for reading and routing donation emails, and for receiving the donated masks at all 11 hospitals.

Champion and her colleagues have been moving a

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lot faster these days, making decisions at a quick pace in trying to keep up with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations. Sometimes things are changing daily. It makes Champion feel like there’s so much at stake, and that can occasionally make things stressful.

“But sometimes the most difficult times can be the most rewarding because you accomplish the most those days, or you feel good about working through a tough problem,” she says.

These tough problems are solved with the clinicians and non-clinicians collaborating closely. This is something Champion says was happening before the pandemic, but that it is even more apparent now.

“Because Covid-19 is novel, there’s not a lot of evidence-based practice out there,” she says. “Our staff has to do the best we can, and that means being strong,

“OUR STAFF HAS TO DO THE BEST WE CAN, AND THAT MEANS BEING STRONG, CREATIVE, AND FLEXIBLE.” creative, and flexible. Both the clinicians and non-clinicians each bring our own unique toolbox to the situation and help fill each other’s gaps.”

For Champion, that has been inspiring, as has the outpouring of support from the local community. In addition to mask donations, people have offered to provide food or discounts to healthcare workers.

“Sometimes a stressful situation can bring out the best in people.” —KELLEY FREUND

DESIGNING AN EMERGENCY VENTILATOR IN BRAZIL AFTER GRADUATING, VICTOR MENEZES, ME 19, PLANNED TO TAKE A FEW MONTHS OFF IN HIS HOMETOWN OF CAMPO MOURÃO, BRAZIL, BEFORE RETURNING TO ATLANTA TO START HIS PHD. THEN, THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC HAPPENED. INSTEAD OF A BREAK, Menezes worked from dawn to midnight for three and a half weeks with a team that developed an emergency ventilator for local hospitals in Brazil.

“When this crisis happened, my former boss from Cristófoli Biosafety called me up and asked me to lead the mechanical side of their project,” Menezes says.

The team created an emergency breathing device that automates the mechanical action of pumping

a resuscitation bag. It’s similar to a low-cost ventilator Tech researchers developed in Atlanta.

But, in Brazil, Menezes faced some added challenges with machinery and limited resources.

“The machinery we have is not as precise as what I had at Tech. You have to come up with solutions for that,” Menezes says.

Fortunately, his experience at the Institute gave him the problem-solving skills to work on those issues.

For instance, because pressure valves were in short supply, they used a water column to limit the pressure inside the ventilator. “It’s a basic design, but it gets the job done,” Menezes says.

The device that Menezes and his team designed is not meant to be a long-term fix to a ventilator shortage, he says, but as a short-term, emergency solution, it could save lives. —JENNIFER HERSEIM

United by Uniqueness At Cox, inclusion is much more than a word. It’s at the very core of our values. We thrive on what makes us different, empowering our people, clients and communities to build a better future for the next generation.

No two employees look or think the same. And we prefer it that way!

CareersAtCox.com Team Cox at Atlanta Pride 2019

CAREERS AT

RACING TO PRODUCE MILLIONS OF FACE MASKS IN LATE MARCH, RON SYTZ, ME 83, WAS ON A CALL WITH THE COUNTRY’S TOP FABRIC AND TEXTILE COMPANIES, LISTENING TO A FEDERAL OFFICIAL DESCRIBE THE URGENT NEED FOR FACE MASKS. IN SHORT, THE COUNTRY NEEDED TEXTILE PRODUCERS TO STOP WHAT THEY WERE DOING AND START PRODUCING FACE MASKS. THE REQUEST was extraordinary, but then, so too was Sytz’s response.

As CEO of Beverly Knits, Inc., located in Gastonia, N.C., Sytz volunteered to lead as many U.S. companies as possible to produce millions of medical-grade face masks. They got to work immediately, retooling their production operations.

“We organized a Beverly Knits task force to figure out how to produce up to 2 million masks a week utilizing the help of all our friends in the textile and garment industries,” Sytz says.

Within three weeks of the request,

they had produced more than 450,000 yards of fabric for face masks. By the fifth week, they had shipped more than one million masks and were on their way to producing two million each week.

To pull off such a feat, the company had to quickly adapt.

Knitting machine operators became sewing machine operators. The planning department learned how to schedule, manage, and organize the production of a new product line.

In all, 22 companies in the coalition are now making face masks that are 100% made in the U.S., Sytz says.

The orders also helped avoid layoffs when 55% of Beverly Knits’ normal business was put on hold as a result of the pandemic.

Beverly Knits was founded and is operated by a Georgia Tech alumni father-andson pair. ROBERT “BOB” SYTZ, TEXT 58 (top), and his wife, JoAnn, founded the company.

Today, it’s owned and operated by Bob’s son, RON SYTZ, ME 83 (bottom), and his wife, Janet, who is CFO. “Ga. Tech has played a huge role in both of our careers,” said Sytz of his and his father’s education.

KATHRYN LANIER, PHD CHEM 17, donated handsewn GT-logo face masks to friends and to the Children’s Hospital of Alabama. Lanier, who is the STEM Education Outreach Director for Southern Research, a nonprofit science and engineering organization, says the pandemic underscores the importance of STEM education. “Not everyone will grow up to be a scientist or engineer, but everyone will live through something like this,” Lanier says. “I think it’s important to have a basic understanding of the science so we can all respond intelligently.”

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“This is helping keep businesses and the economy running as much as possible until we can get back to producing the products that we’d much rather be producing,” says LAURA SLATE SHOPE, ID 99.

WHEN A STITCH (IN TIME) REALLY SAVES NINE WHEN LAURA SLATE SHOPE, ID 99, received word from her friend, an ICU nurse working with Covid-19 patients, that health workers needed face masks, she couldn’t stand by and do nothing.

She remembered how nurses and doctors took care of her father, William Slate, IM 65, before he died last fall. “I couldn’t imagine these people, who had helped my father, risking their own lives unprotected,” she says.

Shope makes and sells sustainable textile and leather goods in Atlanta through her business, Very Fine South. She put regular production on hold to sew high-quality face masks with a flexible plastic piece that forms to the user’s nose and elastic to seal the edges around the mask.

“I think being an industrial design Tech grad has made me very obsessed with the effect of my products,” Shope says. “I’m always researching how to make them better, more efficient.” She donates three masks to health workers for every mask sold.

Hobbyists like CAROLINE DUNN, EE 97, MS EE 99, have used personal 3D printers to make face shields for hospitals.

3D-PRINTED

FACE

WITH GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAINS STRAINED, the pandemic resulted in an outpouring of do-it-yourself solutions from maker communities around the country.

In Atlanta, 3D-printing enthusiast Caroline Dunn, EE 97, MS EE 99, got a call from her neighbor, who is also a Georgia Tech alum, asking if she could put her printer to use for the cause.

Dunn teamed up with Atlanta

SHIELDS

Beats Covid, a local community of volunteer makers, engineers, and fabricators who are making personal protective equipment for healthcare providers.

In addition to face shields, she 3D-printed bias tape makers, a sewing tool that’s used to create the ties for face masks. “It’s a small, inexpensive tool, but it’s been in short supply,” she says.

“EVERYTHING YOU LEARN AT TECH CAN BE USED LATER FOR UNEXPECTED REASONS,” DUNN SAYS. GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2020

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CAMPUS RESPONDS

TO

COVID-19 1.8 MILLION FACE SHIELDS DEPLOYED COUNTING FROM ITS FOUNDING IN 1885, Georgia Tech promised to produce students who have the technical skills to change the world.

This spring, a team of students and faculty showed that the century-old promise is alive and well.

In March, as hospitals and health workers faced a shortage of adequate personal protective equipment to treat Covid-19 patients, a team of Georgia Tech students and faculty designed a face shield that could be rapidly manufactured and distributed to local hospitals in need of PPE. The project gained national attention. The result? Such a surge of support that the team created a Rapid Response website to help manage requests.

The team collaborated with clinicians from the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory Hospital to refine their plans. They also worked with the Global Center for Medical Innovation, where GCMI staff,

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AND

Pres. Ă ngel Cabrera with students and faculty members who designed face shields that were donated to local hospitals shortly after the pandemic began.

including Tech alumni, prepared the design for high-volume manufacturing and distribution.

Since the prototype was developed, more than 1.8 million face

shields have been distributed in collaboration with GCMI through direct donations and contracts with hospital systems, the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, the

“SOMETHING I’LL REMEMBER FOR THE OF MY LIFE”

Emory Healthcare clinicians with PPE designed by a Georgia Tech team.

Federal Emergency Management Agency, and others.

Students and faculty also developed protective devices such as a folding intubation box and a portable intubation frame that can be easily set up in a patient’s room to contain aerosolized virus particles.

The devices provide additional protection during high-risk procedures.

A team of students and faculty also developed an emergency ventilator that is a fraction of the cost of a traditional ventilator and can be used in an emergency where a hospital runs out of available breathing devices.

On campus, Georgia Tech officials donated a collection of protective equipment from unused labs to local hospitals.

And, in April, the Institute coordinated with CVS Health as well as local and state officials to turn a campus parking deck into a mass public testing site for Covid-19.

Although the founders couldn’t have predicted this challenge in 1885, they knew Tech’s students and faculty would continue to fulfill the school’s mission, as they have done so throughout the Institute’s history.

SANJANA SINGH, MBID 18, struggles at first to put into words what the last few months have felt like working on projects that are making an impact in the fight against Covid-19.

“It feels so good. For lack of a better word, I feel so satisfied to be a part of this and to know that I’m helping,” she says.

Singh is a biomedical device engineer product manager at the Global Center for Medical Innovation. When Georgia Tech designed a face shield prototype this spring, Singh was there to take their designs to the next level.

Working with students and faculty, the GCMI team helped scale the students’ design to make it ready for manufacturing in a fraction of the time that it would normally take.

And in the rush to get the face shield out the door, Singh and her team also tested to ensure the product is safe and effective. “There’s no point in getting it in a user’s hands if it doesn’t work,” she says.

Singh was hired two years ago by GCMI after interning with the organization through a Tech internship opportunity. She’s been working on the face shield project since March as well as an N95 respirator project led by fellow Tech alum John Tipton, BMED 18.

Getting these devices into the hands of front-line workers has been rewarding work, she says. “This is something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

REST

KAMIL MAKHNEJIA, MBID 15, has been working every connection he has to get medical supplies to where they’re needed most. He is the co-founder and chief operating officer of Tech spin-out Jackson Medical, a patient and staff safety medical device company in Atlanta.

Their flagship product is GloShield, a device to prevent operating room fires.

“Almost anything that touches healthcare right now is experiencing a supply chain issue,” says Makhnejia. “Solving supply chain issues isn’t something we normally do at Jackson Medical, but the same principles apply for how we set up our supply lines for our safety solution GloShield—we’re reaching out to potential suppliers nationwide and seeing who can help.”

Working with a Covid-19 consortium created by the Global Center for Medical Innovation, Makhnejia has supported an N95 respirator development project and helped identify sources for raw materials, components, and contingency suppliers.

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2020

55

FACE BAND

BROW

SHIELD

LINE:

A solid brow line piece for rapid manufacturing

KEY

FEATURES

Side-to-side coverage protects a health worker’s eyes, ears, and face.

The shield fits comfortably over a face respirator.

Holes in the protective sheet that snap onto the frame are spaced at a standard distance for a 3-hole

RIGID HEAD BAND FRAME:

punch.

Made of a rigid, flexible material such as polycarbonate or low-density polyethylene and manufactured with a waterjet, laser cutter, or injection mold machine

FOAM TAPE: Soft foam adheres to the brow line of the frame for comfort

VELCRO STRAPS: PROTECTIVE

Adjustable straps that attach to the ends of the frame to secure the band

SHEET:

PET transparent film sheet with holes spaced to fit a 3-hole punch

TIMELINE 3,000 face shields delivered

200 intubation devices delivered

Ventilator prototypes developed

MARCH

56

10,000 20+ face ventilators shields delivered delivered

RAPID

RESPONSE

Earsaver prototype designed

500 earsavers delivered

APRIL Intubation device prototypes designed

SUMMER 2020 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

100,000 face shields delivered

Swab booth prototype designed

MAY >1.8 million face shields delivered/ordered

CHARLIE LAYTON

Face shield prototype developed

CAMPUS

ILLUSTRATIONS

Campus shifts online

OF

INTUBATION

BOX

2

1 A Georgia Tech team designed this collapsible intubation box to fit around a patient’s head during high-risk procedures that would bring a health worker close to the airways of a Covid-19 patient.

4

3

KEY FEATURES 1

2

PROTECTIVE

PARTITION:

Clear plexiglass sheets connected by plastic joints

The lightweight, folding design makes it easy to deploy and remove the boxes.

HANDLES: Cut from plexiglass box for easy transportation and deployment

The design is compatible with hospital PPE and surgical gowns.

3

4

STRAPS: Snap together to secure the box when folded flat

ARM

HOLES:

Disposable arm sleeves can be secured to rim of the holes with an elastic band

The plastic covering contains aerosolized virus particles during procedures.

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2020

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TECH’S NATIONAL EXPERTS

BY KELLEY FREUND

AS THE CORONAVIRUS HAS SPREAD, FACULTY HAVE CONTRIBUTED THEIR EXPERTISE AND SHAPED THE NATIONAL CONVERSATION AROUND THE PANDEMIC. HERE ARE A FEW EXAMPLES:

For more on Georgia Tech’s coronavirus research: HelpingStories.gatech.edu.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR COVID-19?

PINAR KESKINOCAK AND NICOLETA SERBAN from the School of

Industrial and Systems Engineering (along with their teams, consisting of John Asplund, Arden Baxter, Amin Dehghanian, Buse Eylul Oruc Aglar, Pravara Harati, IE 15, Melody Shellman, and Zhuoting Yu) have created various models to help predict scenarios of the Covid-19 crisis in Georgia and how to allocate

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SUMMER 2020 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

resources.

The group’s simple change-point detection model can identify counties that may be at higher risk of a flare-up in the near future. Their agent-based simulation model can predict the number of infections, hospitalizations, and deaths geographically and over time, and an optimization model helps with decisions on allocating limited testing capacity to different testing sites across the state, over time. They also created a calculator, which takes as input the hospitalization estimates from the simulation and estimates (over time) the need for the number of beds and ventilators.

Keskinocak says the simulation model uses detailed Georgia data at the census tract level and has the ability to incorporate interventions, such as school closures, voluntary quarantine, and shelter in place.

“It is very powerful in enabling what-if analysis of different scenarios, looking ahead,” she says.

TIMELINE FOR A VACCINE M.G. FINN, the head of Geor-

gia Tech’s School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, was featured on an Atlanta-area news website in late March to discuss tracking the earliest cases of Covid-19 in Georgia, implying it would be very challenging to do so because of the ease and speed by which the coronavirus spreads.

“Imagine if you’re looking at a smooth lake and somebody throws a single rock into the lake and you see the waves come out. It is very easy to track those waves back because you will know exactly where the rock landed,” Finn told the site.

“The problem now is that it is raining pebbles.”

Finn later spoke to the site regarding potential vaccines for the coronavirus.

While he’s confident that effective vaccines will emerge, he says the hard part will be testing those—it could take months or even years.

RESEARCHERS RECEIVE NIH FUNDS FOR ADJUVANT RESEARCH TO BOOST CORONAVIRUS VACCINES

BY JOHN TOON

PHOTOGRAPH

ROB FELT, GEORGIA TECH

ADJUVANTS ARE MOLECULES THAT COULD IMPROVE THE LONG-TERM POWER OF A POTENTIAL VACCINE AGAINST THE CORONAVIRUS. GEORGIA TECH RESEARCHERS have received funding from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, to screen and evaluate certain molecules known as adjuvants that may improve the ability of coronavirus vaccines to stimulate the immune system and generate appropriate responses necessary to protect the general population against the virus.

“The adjuvants that we are studying, known as pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), are molecules often found in viruses and bacteria, and can efficiently stimulate our immune system,” explained Krishnendu Roy, a professor and the Robert A. Milton Chair in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. “Most viruses have several of these molecules in them, and we are trying to mimic that multi-adjuvant structure.”

Adjuvants are used with some vaccines to help them create stronger protective immune responses in persons receiving the vaccine. The research team will screen a library of various adjuvant combinations to quickly identify those that may be most useful to enhance the effects of both protein- and RNA-based coronavirus vaccines under development.

“We are trying to understand how adjuvant combinations affect the vaccine response,” Roy said. “We will look at how the immune system shifts and changes with the adjuvant combinations. The ultimate goal is to determine how to generate the most effective, strongest, and most durable immune response against the virus. There are more than a hundred vaccine

Krishnendu Roy and his team will apply their research to a potential vaccine.

candidates being developed for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19, and it is likely that many will generate initial antibody responses. It remains to be seen how long those responses will last and whether they can generate appropriate immunological memory that protects against subsequent virus exposures in the long-term.”

The parent grant to Tech is part of a program called “Molecular Mechanisms of Combination Adjuvants (MMCA).” For the past four years, the agency has been supporting Roy and his research team to study how adjuvants work, and this additional funding will allow them to apply their research to potential coronavirus vaccines. Whether or not a vaccine can be created that will provide long-term immunity against the coronavirus is still an open question, and Roy said the research into adjuvants will help provide new tools to answer it.

This research is supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health under supplemental funding. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2020

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SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES ALAN ERERA is a professor of logis-

tics and a supply chain expert who has been blogging about how panic buying and increased e-commerce are affecting supply chains.

In one post, Erera says that normally, goods like toilet paper and breakfast cereal typically have stationary demand patterns—meaning

demand looks similar week after week. This creates an issue when something like Covid-19 sends shoppers into panic-buying mode.

“Sharp increases in demand due to panic buying create challenges for supply chains that have been designed for balanced workload and high utilization,” he says. “Since there is not much capacity in reserve (which would be wasteful and costly when demand is smooth and predictable), it can take some time for

stores to return to normal inventory levels after panic buying episodes.”

Erera also points out the explosion of e-commerce during the Covid-19 pandemic. “Even in locations where stores are open for business, e-commerce is perceived (correctly) as a safer alternative to in-store shopping,” he says. “What seems easiest and likely to grow most quickly is a pickup-from-store model. But shopping-and-delivery services may also increase.” —KELLEY FREUND

D O E

C GOLD

& WHITE

The Student Emergency Fund has provided more than $1 million in financial aid to Georgia Tech students affected by the Covid-19 crisis and campus closures.

BY KRISTIN BAIRD RATTINI ILLUSTRATIONS BY CHARLIE LAYTON

M O N I C A S I E R R A A PA R I C I O was in the home stretch. As she headed into spring break in March, the graduate student from Colombia was ready to wrap up her thesis and last two courses in building construction and facilities management so that she could graduate and start a project engineering job in June. As a mentor for the Impact Living Learning Community, she also was looking forward to helping first-year students weather the typical academic and personal challenges that often surface during finals.

But then the coronavirus crisis hit, presenting challenges beyond what she had experienced. Aparicio suddenly found her job offer in limbo and herself in need of financial help. “I’m far from home, by myself, and everything had changed so unexpectedly,” she says. Then she spotted a story in a campus news bulletin about a Student Emergency Fund established to help students facing financial hardships related to the Covid-19 crisis and campus closure—students like

her. Aparicio applied for, and received, the maximum grant of $1,000. “I’m really thankful to be awarded this assistance during this unprecedented time,” she says.

Monica Sierra Aparicio is a senior in Building Construction and Facility Management.

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2020

61

vice president for Student Life and Brandt-Fritz Dean of Students Chair. “Applications for emergency assistance continue to come in months after this public health crisis began. These generous donations have allowed us to help over 1,600 students in need, and every donation is deeply felt and appreciated.”

Laney Light, a master’s student in music technology, is among the more than 1,900 donors who responded to the call for contributions. She donated the $379 refund she received on student fees from Tech. “That was money I wasn’t expecting to get back,” she says. “My family has been fortunate that our financial situation hasn’t really been affected, so I wanted to give that money back to students who needed it more than I did.”

Such generosity has made it possible for more than 1,600 Georgia Tech students to receive assistance from the fund since the online application portal opened on March 23. “That is a testament to the sense of community and resilience in the Tech family,” says Kim Bowden, Vice President of Annual Giving, Roll Call.

ON THE MOVE

A TECH COMMUNITY EFFORT The Student Emergency Fund is a joint effort between the Division of Student Life, the Georgia Tech Alumni Association, and the Office of Development. When the scale of the crisis became apparent, each partner quickly evaluated and marshaled its respective resources. Unrestricted gifts to Roll Call and the Parents Fund as well as newly solicited donations quickly added up to more than $1 million for the Student Emergency Fund.

“I can’t thank our alumni enough for their generous support of our Covid-19 Emergency Fund,” says John M. Stein,

As applications rolled in, a decision committee and the Office of Financial Aid reviewed each one to confirm a student’s eligibility and set the grant amount. “We had 104 applications on the first day and 400 in the first week. That shocked us,” says William McKenna, a development associate in Parents Giving & Student Life.

“Initially the requests were largely for one-time moving and travel expenses. When we had to pack up campus so quickly, a lot of students needed to change flights home and pay a

“

We had 104 applications on the first day and 400 in the first week. That shocked us,”

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SUMMER 2020 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

says William McKenna.

Patrick Todd, senior in Business

moving company to pack up or store their belongings.”

That was a key factor in Patrick Todd’s decision to apply for a grant. The senior in business administration-IT management had to hire movers to quickly pack up his belongings in Maudling Apartments and drive them the nearly 250 miles to his family’s home in Rincon, near Savannah, Ga. “That was a major unplanned cost, along with the gas for an extra 500-mile roundtrip between home and campus,” he says. His $750 grant not only covered those costs but enabled him to contribute towards his parents’ expenses while living

Administration-IT Management, used the funds to offset unplanned moving costs.

She connected with Students’ Temporary Assistance and Resources (STAR), a Tech organization that provides assistance with food, finances, clothing, housing, and connections. Staff member Steve Fazenbaker arranged food deliveries for Ellington through STAR’s Klemis Kitchen food pantry and encouraged her to apply for financial help through the Student Emergency Fund. “It was perfect timing when I got approved for the $1,000 says Patrick Todd. grant,” Ellington says. “Stress is a huge at home. “The grant sure took the load off my shoulders at a trigger for my autoimmune disease. The grant relieved a lot vital time when I was focused on finishing up my classes for of the stress I was feeling because I had no idea how I was gograduation,” he says. ing to come up with so much money on such short notice for bills and groceries. Some people may think that $1,000 “DIVINE TIMING” isn’t much. But it’s a perfect amount to help someone who is As the pandemic evolved, applications started sharing a difstruggling. You would be surprised how far it will go to help ferent theme. “We started hearing from students who lost you survive this strange time we’re living in.” their job on campus or elsewhere,” McKenna says. “A lot of the part-time employment that would typically attract stuAN EXTRA “CARE” PACKAGE dents is no longer available. Students no longer had income, The passage of the federal CARES Act by Congress in March but they still had to pay rent every month. We’ve tried to help those students as much as we can.”

The $1,000 grant was “divine timing” for Shayla Ellington, a junior in biomedical engineering. She was no longer able to pick up the extra hours she depended on at her job as a Shayla Ellington, technical specialist at an Apple Store, and her summer injunior in ternship was postponed. Ellington is immune compromised.

Biomedical Several of her family members had already fallen ill with the Engineering, coronavirus, so it wasn’t safe for her to move back home and couldn’t return best for her to venture out as little as possible. The best soluhome because of tion was for her to remain in her apartment at North Avenue West Apartments, but she didn’t know how she would covthe pandemic. er the rent.

“The grant sure took the load off my shoulders at a vital time when I was focused on finishing up my classes for graduation,

”

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2020

63

“Georgia Tech’s support during this pandemic gives me a lot of hope that we’ll overcome this,

”

says Monica Aparicio.

THE STRENGTH

S

OF THE

WARM

This spring, alumni and community members mobilized to provide support for students experiencing financial hardships as a result of the pandemic.

1,958

Georgia Tech alumni and community members who donated through Roll Call.

provided a welcome boost to the relief efforts already underway at Georgia Tech. “It helped us significantly,” McKenna says. “When we received an application, we could look at the student’s eligibility to determine whether to fund that application through CARES or our emergency fund. That let us save the money in our own fund for students who were not eligible for CARES.” Todd was pleasantly surprised to receive an extra $250 grant through the CARES Act. It arrived at a good time. His start date as a cyber risk consultant at Deloitte had just been postponed to January. He was trying to figure out in the interim if he’d be able to pick up hours at his previous campus job with the Institute for People and Technology (IPaT), which is at the forefront of Tech’s Covid-19 research efforts. “I’m really glad that extra grant came through,” he says.

“Now that my start date got pushed back four more months, that added to the financial strain.”

PROGRESS AND SERVICE

$926,180

Funds raised for student assistance through donations to Roll Call.

1,611

Number of students supported through the fund.

Totals as of 6/8.

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SUMMER 2020 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

Aparicio’s work plans changed as well; the company rescinded her job offer. The grant money from the Student Emergency Fund is helping cover her rent and groceries as she scrambles to find new employment before her U.S. work permit expires and figure out what her next chapter will look like. “Georgia Tech’s support during this pandemic gives me a lot of hope that we’ll overcome this,” she says. “It is a wonderful example of Tech’s motto, ‘Progress and Service.’ In times like this, people are rallying together to find ways to help others.”

Sally Carroll CHBE 2020

THANK YOU

“Thank you for supporting student relief efforts through your gift to the 73rd Roll Call.

Since March 20th, all Roll Call gifts have directly supported student relief funding to provide assistance to students experiencing unexpected financial burdens as a result of the pandemic. Thanks to the generosity of our alumni and friends, over 1,600 students received funding to help with things like travel assistance, medical expenses, relocation costs, food insecurity, and so much more. While I am proud to join the Georgia Tech alumni community and begin my career as a process engineer, I know many of my peers will experience the impact of your continued support. Together, you showed the strength of our community and demonstrated we are in this together as one Georgia Tech.�

Continue the traditions and make a difference for outstanding students, world-class programs, top-notch instructors and state-of-the-art facilities.

Support Roll Call, Georgia Tech’s Fund for Excellence gtalumni.org/giving

VOLUME 96

ALUMNI HOUSE

ISSUE 2

RUN, BURDELL, RUN! Who’s that with the No. 1885 runner’s bib? Must be one of the elusive George P. Burdell runners from the first virtual Burdell Run held in place of this year’s Pi Mile Race.

MEET YOUR NEW GTAA BOARD

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU

ODD TALES FROM HOMECOMING

68

70

72

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2020

67

ALUMNI HOUSE

NEW LEADERS TAKE OVER ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BATON

MEET YOUR NEW LEADERS AND NEW INDUCTEES TO THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION’S BOARD OF TRUSTEES.

BY MANUSHI SHETH T H E G E O R G I A T E C H A L U M N I A S S O C I AT I O N extends a warm welcome to the new collective of volunteer leaders to join its Board of Trustees. Twelve new trustees will join the existing governing board, which meets on a quarterly cycle

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEET THE CHAIR

to undertake initiatives that further the Association’s mission. The board’s Executive Committee has also undergone changes in leadership roles for fiscal year 2021. Read on to learn more about the aspirations of the new leaders.

JOCELYN STARGEL, IE 82, MS IE 86,

will

Stargel recognizes the challenges fac-

chair the Alumni Association Executive Com-

ing the Alumni Association during this time,

mittee. She is the first African American

but also sees an opportunity to reimagine

woman to serve as chair of the Association.

the work being done to serve Tech’s alum-

Before taking on the Association’s top

CHAIR ELECT & CHAIR OF GOLD & WHITE, VICE CHAIR/ROLL CALL SHAN PESARU, CMPE 05,

ni network.

leadership role, Stargel served as chair

“There will be challenges, but innova-

of Roll Call and Gold & White. She is the

tion is in our DNA. With the expertise of

founder and managing partner at Stargel

our Board of Trustees and the Alumni Asso-

Consulting in Atlanta. She also serves as

ciation staff, I look forward to continuing to

chair of the Engineering Advisory Board

strengthen our connections to the GT com-

and serves as an emerita member of the

munity in creative and flexible ways in these

ISyE Advisory Board.

unprecedented times.”

VICE CHAIR/ ENGAGEMENT MAGD RIAD, IE 01,

will

serve as chair in FY 2022. He is

PA S T C H A I R / FINANCE will

BRENT ZELNAK, MGT 94,

serve as chair in FY 2023.

will become past chair of

the founder and CEO of Sharp

Riad is the president and

the Alumni Association. Zel-

Hue, past president of the Northwest Arkan-

COO of Marmi Natural Stone in Atlanta.

nak is president of ZP Enterprises, a leading

sas Alumni Network, and an active Mentor

He was a co-op student, a student ambas-

supplier of precision machine parts and

Jacket.

sador, and on the Student Government

specialty coatings. He has been a Men-

Association while at Tech.

tor Jacket, served on the Scheller College

He’s looking forward to the Gold & White Honors Gala and working alongside the Association’s team and volunteers.

He’s devoted to further engaging Yel-

of Business Advisory Board, and served as

low Jackets in the U.S. and abroad. “As we

chair of his 25th class Reunion Committee.

“The Gold & White Honors Gala is al-

emerge from this pandemic, connectivity

“While it soon will be time to step into the

ways inspiring and incredibly meaningful to

and our GT network become paramount for

UU2B (“You used to be!”) role, I am excited

the honorees and the students who are sup-

many of us—and I am excited to help lead

to support our next group of alumni leaders,

ported by the funds raised,” he says.

that effort.”

along with staff, as the mission continues.”

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SUMMER 2020 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS- AT-L ARGE

NEW ASSOCIATION TRUSTEES

R I TA B R E E N , P S Y 9 0 , M S I E 9 2 , will serve the second year

ARCHEL BERNARD, STC 11, is the founder and the Head Bombchel in Charge as the owner of The Bombchel Factory in Monrovia, Liberia. She was honored with the

of her two-year term. Breen is

Outstanding Young Alumni Award at the 2020 Gold & White Honors Gala.

executive director of the Georgia Power Foundation. She was co-chair of the 2017 Gold & White Honors Sponsorship Com-

DUANE CARVER, CMPE 10, is an associate attorney at Dentons in Dallas, Texas.

He was the first Tech Promise Scholar and was in the Honors Program as a student.

mittee. She was a co-op student and part of the ODK Leadership Honor Society, the Alpha Chi

JAMIE HAMILTON, MGT 93 , is the managing director of the Atlanta Seed Company.

Omega sorority, and the Collegiate Panhellen-

He is on the Alexander-Tharpe Board, has served on his 25th Reunion Committee,

ic Council at Tech.

and has participated in the MBA Jackets Affinity Group.

CATHY HILL, EE 84, joins the

JOHN HANSON, IE 11, is the co-chief investment officer and portfolio manager at Riv-

Executive Committee for a two-

erstone Advisors LLC in Atlanta. He is a past president of the DeKalb County Alumni

year term as a member-at-large.

Network and has served on the Young Alumni Council.

Hill is a retired vice president at the Georgia Power Company and is currently

JEANNE KERNEY, CE 84, is a senior project manager at the Gude Management

the president of the Plummer-Hill Group LLC.

Group LLC in Atlanta. She is retired as a lieutenant colonel from the U.S. Air Force

She has served on the Gold & White Sponsor-

and is active in the GT Black Alumni Organization, currently serving as its president.

ship Committee and the GT Savannah Advisory Board. She has also been active in the Black Alumni Organization. She was a member of

ANTAI PENG, PHD EE 96, is managing director at Morgan Stanley in New York City.

She has been involved in the Asian Heritage Alumni Affinity Group.

the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, the Ramblin’ Reck Club, GT Band, and the SGA as a student.

ANNA PINDER, ME 03, is an independent management consultant. She is involved in the GT Women’s Alumnae Network and the Mentor Jackets.

GARRETT LANGLEY, EE 09, will serve the second year of

GEORGE RAY, PP 09, MGT 09, is an attorney at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough

his two-year term. Langley is the

LLP. He is involved in the Capitol Jackets, the President’s Scholar Alumni Society, and

founder and CEO of Flock Safe-

Mentor Jackets.

ty in Atlanta. He is a member of the Athletic Association’s Alexander-Tharpe Board and an active Mentor Jacket. He was a member of the

JIM SANDERS, IE 88, is the vice president, Freestyle at The Coca-Cola Company.

He was a co-op student and has been involved with the Co-op Affinity Group.

Sigma Chi fraternity as a student.

STACEY SAPP, IM 80, is the chief development officer at the Piedmont Park ConserJAMES STOVALL, CS 01, joins the Executive Committee for a

vancy. She is currently involved in the Mentor Jackets and has served on her 25th Reunion Committee.

two-year term as a member-atlarge. Stovall is a senior vice

PAUL SHAILENDRA, CE 01, is president of SG Property Services. He is involved in

president at Randstad Sourceright in Atlan-

the Asian Heritage Alumni Affinity Group and serves on the CE Advisory Board and

ta. He has been involved with the Co-op and

the Alexander-Tharpe Board.

Computing Affinity groups. He was a student ambassador, a member of the ANAK Society,

SHEETAL WRZESIEN, CS 94, is director of Digital Technology at The Home Depot.

member of the Delta Chi fraternity, and a co-op

She has been involved in the Asian Heritage Alumni Group and the College of Com-

student while at Tech.

puting’s Advisory Board, and served on her 25th Reunion Committee.

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2020

69

2020 ALUMNI SURVEY

DEAR GEORGIA TECH ALUM

A

AS A HELLUVA ENGINEER F R O M G E O R G I A T E C H , you are part of a society that lived days by the whistle blow, that still yells “to Hell with Georgia” when given the chance, and who lovingly holds on to your RAT cap to this day.

At the Georgia Tech Alumni Association, we are with you for a lifetime, helping you expand your knowledge, experiences, and connections. We are dedicated to offering the programming, opportunities, and content that are most meaningful to you.

In 2016, we asked about your experiences at Tech and what we could do to improve the services you received through the Alumni Association.

You told us that you were looking for more networking opportunities, that you would like more professional development, and that you wanted to hear more about what was happening on campus. From your responses, we introduced more local and professional development programs and now share more campus happenings as part of the magazine.

You also told us that football games, the value of your degree, and Dr. Philip Adler left a lasting impression on your experience and motivated you to attend Georgia Tech.

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SUMMER 2020 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU

W H A T ’ S M O S T I M P O R TA N T T O YO U ABOUT BEING A GEORGIA TECH ALUM? 2 016 A L U M N I S U R V E Y R E S U L T S

We have highlighted through innovative storytelling the value of a Georgia Tech degree, the accomplishments of alumni, and the history of Tech’s most cherished traditions.

Now is your chance to tell us again—how can we help you in the future?

We are asking that you please take 15 minutes to fill out a survey to help us understand what matters the most to you.

When the Georgia Tech Alumni Association was founded in 1908, it laid the foundation for a longstanding

partnership between “Ma Tech” and her proud alumni.

Much has changed in the world since then and since you were a student at Tech.

Let us know how we can best serve you now and in the coming years.

Go Jackets!

2020 ALUMNI SURVEY Open now until Aug. 6.

The survey is available online at www.gtalumni.org

KNOW TOMORROW Your guide to the future of engineering

SPRING 2020

HYPERSONICS — MACH SPEED AHEAD THE FUTURE OF MATERIALS THE AGE OF SPACE EXPLORATION SPECIAL FEATURE ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS FOR COVID-19

Subscribe to The Uncommon Engineer podcast at podcast.coe.gatech.edu — it’s all about engineers, impact and you.

coe.gatech.edu

Visit coe.gatech.edu/magazine for your digital copy of We Are Engineers, the College’s magazine that tells the stories of engineers.

TRADITIONS

ODD TALES FROM HOMECOMING W I T H A T R I C Y C L E R A C E and a parade of wrecks, Georgia Tech has always done Homecoming a little differently

BY JENNIFER HERSIEM

than other schools. Even stranger than Tech’s Homecoming traditions themselves are the delightfully odd tales that

have spun out of these festivities. We can only imagine the stories from this year’s Homecoming, Oct. 15–17.

ODD STORIES are almost baked into the

longstanding Tech tradition involves

no one would find out. But, when he

freshman cake race, an annual competi-

a clever 16-year-old freshman named

jumped out of the car just before the fin-

tion where winners receive a homemade

James Warren Smith, Cls 1923.

ish line, the other runners were there

J A M E S “ TA X I ” S M I T H

cake made by Tech faculty and students.

Smith was lagging behind other run-

welcoming him with the nickname “Taxi”

The cake race has been part of Home-

ners in the 1922 cake race when he

Smith. The name stuck with him for the

coming traditions since 1935, but it

spotted a taxi-cab. He hailed the taxi

rest of his life, even as mayor of Alba-

started at Tech in 1911.

and asked the driver to take him part

ny, Ga., from 1954 to 1955. He died in

of the way through the course, thinking

January 2000, still known as “Taxi.”

One bizarre tale stemming from this 72

SUMMER 2020 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

MEET CHAI, TECH’S FIRST HOMECOMING DOG TECH HAS MR. AND MS. GEORGIA T E C H , but here’s a tail of Tech’s first Homecoming Dog. In 1971, Chai, the original St. Bernard mascot of fraternity Lambda Chi, won Tech’s first Homecoming dog show.

Chai’s trophy was inscribed with the name of one of Tech’s most famous four-legged friends, Sideways, a white terrier who showed up on campus in 1945. Sideways, who earned his name because of the way he walked after sustaining an injury, quickly became a popular figure on campus, attending classes and even leading Tech’s football team onto the field.

This marble monument to Sideways is northwest of Tech Tower. It is inscribed: “Ever faithful and true companion of Student Body of Ga. Tech.”

HOMECOMING WEEKEND Oct. 15–17, 2020 For registration and event updates, visit www.gtalumni.org.

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2020

73

RAMBLIN’ ROLL

CL ASS NOTES & ALUMNI UPDATES

RETURNING A NAVY GEM TO HER SHINING GLORY The midlife overhaul of the U.S.S. John C. Stennis will prepare the ship for the next 25 years and equip it with the latest technology. Mark Braza, IE 09, has led the planning and contracting of the multibillion-dollar project and is a finalist for the 2020 Service to America Medal.

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SUMMER 2020 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

TWO TECH ALUMNI FINALISTS F O R 2 0 2 0 S E R V I C E T O A M E R I C A M E DA L S THE SAMUEL J. HEYMAN SERVICE TO A M E R I C A M E D A L S , known as “the Os-

these ships transformed and ready to

cars” of government service, honor

support the mission’s needs for another

individuals who demonstrate excellence

25 years,” he says.

“It’s an incredible experience to see

in public service to the American people.

Braza was recognized as a finalist for

This year, two Georgia Tech alum-

the Emerging Leaders Service to Amer-

ni are among 27 finalists nominated for

ica Medal for his work orchestrating

the award by the Partnership for Pub-

more than 30 different government and

lic Service.

industry partners during the overhaul

Mark A. Braza, IE 09, and Chihoon Shin, AE 06, have been nominated in the Emerging Leaders category, which recognizes young federal employees who have made important contributions early in their careers.

Winners in each of the six categories will be announced this fall.

Mark Braza, IE 09

and for his efforts resulting in multimillion-dollar cost savings to the project.

“It’s an extreme honor,” Braza says of his nomination.

He is currently working on the overhaul of the U.S.S. John C. Stennis, a Nimitz-class nuclear aircraft carrier.

He’s using new contract strategies and improving workflow efficiencies to

MARK BRAZA

reduce the cost of the project. Previous-

Overhauling a U.S. aircraft carri-

ly, he worked on the overhaul of the

er is a feat in and of itself. Taking a

U.S.S. George Washington (CVN-73),

25-year-old ship and turning it into a

which resulted in nearly $100 million in

cutting-edge warfighting vessel while

cost savings.

Chihoon Shin, AE 06

also saving a hundred million dollars

“Optimization and being able to think

from the budget—that requires Mark Bra-

about workflow problems in a different

best part of the process.

When complete, the U.S.S. John C.

za’s expertise.

way were part of what I learned in my

Stennis will be capable of holding the air

It takes approximately $5 billion and

curriculum at Georgia Tech. It’s very

wing of the future—the MQ-25 Stingray,

four years of construction to complete

applicable to what I do today,” says Bra-

an unmanned aerial refueling tanker. To

a midlife overhaul of an aircraft carri-

za, who graduated with a bachelor’s in

allow an unmanned aircraft to fly off the

er. The U.S. has 11 such ships, two of

industrial engineering in 2009.

ship, the overhaul will add new sensors

which Braza has worked on as an assis-

During the aircraft carrier overhaul,

and lasers for communication with the

tant program manager for the Program

the living and work areas for nearly

drone and new “ready rooms” where

Management Office for In-Service Air-

5,000 soldiers will be gutted and ren-

operators will remotely monitor and con-

craft Carriers.

ovated, the ship’s two nuclear reactors

trol the aircraft.

“Being part of these projects is re-

will be refueled, and the vessel will be

“This is going to really transform it

warding not only as a matter of personal

outfitted with the latest warship tech-

from what is already a capable warfight-

and professional pride but because this

nology. For Braza, seeing the new

ing ship to the most advanced ship in the

is a national asset,” Braza says.

capabilities of an overhauled ship is the

world,” Braza says.

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

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2020

75

RAMBLIN� ROLL

As an engineer on the investigative team, Shin considers two key questions: How was the helicopter operating before it crashed, and did something break or go wrong that led to the crash?

Some helicopters have a record-

CLASS NOTES CATHY (CASEMAN) BERDAHL, IM 77, was named captain of the Boeing 787 for United Airlines.

Berdahl is the daughter of Professor Emeritus Dr. Austin B. Caseman and the mother of Carly (Berdahl) Abelein, IE 15.

ing device on board that can provide clues to the aircraft’s pre-crash behavior, but many helicopters are not equipped with such devices. “We look at whatever wreckage we have left, and we start examining the dam-

Caldwell Trust Company, whose CEO and president is R.G. “KELLY” CALDWELL, JR., EE 88, has expanded locations with the purchase of the former Cain/Wilson Building in downtown Sarasota, Fla.

age signatures for anything that looks odd. We start ruling out causes system by system,” Shin says.

On the engineering side, he peels back the layers of the crash, looking Chihoon Shin, AE 06, has investigated more than 150 helicopter crashes.

for potential clues. A strong smell of fuel at the crash scene, for instance, could indicate fuel re-

CHIHOON SHIN

serves just before the

When a helicopter goes down and

crash. A fracture tested

the cause of the crash baffles offi-

in a materials lab could

cials, they bring in world-renowned

uncover that the com-

helicopter crash investigator Chihoon

position of a material

Shin. He’s traveled to Africa, South

doesn’t match the re-

America, and across the U.S. to he-

quirements in the blueprint.

licopter crash sites, sifting through

Shin graduated from Georgia Tech

the wreckage for clues as to what

with a bachelor’s in aerospace engi-

caused the disaster. His findings

neering in 2006. He was a helicopter

have bolstered helicopter safety and

engineer with the U.S. Navy before

prevented other tragedies.

joining NTSB.

“The damage on each site varies,

Tech sparked his interest in how en-

the helicopter could be almost com-

gineers look at engineering problems

pletely intact or a pile of rubble,” says

differently.

Shin, who is one of just two aerospace

“Not all helicopters look the same

engineers in the helicopter division of

and not all engineers approach a

the National Transportation Safety

problem the same way. Seeing the

Board (NTSB).

breadth of different designs that en-

Investigating a crash can be a lot

gineers have come up with and

like digging through forensic evidence

how each helicopter works, the

on an episode of CSI—the difference

strengths and weaknesses of each,

is “it usually doesn’t get solved in a

it’s really fascinating,” says Shin.

30-minute episode,” Shin says.

—JENNIFER HERSEIM

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SUMMER 2020 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

DOUGL AS COL, BCE 86, was named vice president and chief financial officer at Saia, a Johns Creek, Ga., based transportation company.

DANIEL R. CROOK, PP 03, was named a Georgia Super Lawyers Rising Star for the fourth consecutive year. Crook works for Savannah law firm HunterMacLean in commercial real estate and corporate law.

ANDRE DIC KENS, C HE 98, Atlanta City Council member, was appointed vice president of development at TechBridge, an Atlanta nonprofit that works to break the cycle of generational poverty using technology to support nonprofits.

GREGORY DUPERON , EE 07, MS ECE 09, was named a Texas Instruments 2019 Hi5 Circle Member. Duperon performed in the top 5% of year-over-year sales growth among Americas Sales & Applications performers.

KELLY C HIC KINI FIERRO, MGT 01, was promoted to vice president of Marketing and Innovation for the Wendy’s Global Account at The Coca-Cola Company. Fierro lives in Atlanta with her husband, Peter, ChE 00, and two daughters.

CLASS NOTES BRETT GILBERT, ME 03, and SAL LIZZIO, ME 10, have been named associate partners for engineering firm Newcomb & Boyd. The firm also announced that Zach Bradley, ME 14, Rob Grant, ME 07, and Matt Holland, ME 08, have been named senior associates. Additionally, the following alumni have been named associates: Mitch Costley, PhD EE 15, Noah Eggleston, ME 18, Bennett Humphries, ME 18, Curtis McPeek, ME 17, Roger Packham, MS ECE 07, Rusty Scott, ME 16, Stephen Snyder, ME 16, Andrew Strack, MS ME 10, and Brandon Westergaard, MS MT 17.

HEATHER HEINDEL, ENVE 99, was promoted to partner at law firm Perkins Coie. Heindel is a member of the Construction and Real Estate Litigation practice.

JOHN HIGHTOWER, MGT 03’S company, Arch + Tower, was acquired by Frazier & Deeter L.L.C., one of the largest public accounting and advisory firms in the United States. Hightower will continue to serve as CEO of Arch + Tower.

C HARLES HODGES, C HE 75, retired after leading Hood Container Corporation since its inception in July 2012. Hodges retired after nearly 45 years in the pulp and paper industry. He will remain with the company in a consulting role during the transition.

KYLE JAC KSON , MGT 10, was named a member at the law firm Weinberg Wheeler Hudgins Gunn & Dial in Atlanta. Jackson’s practice focuses on complex civil litigation and appellate matters, with an emphasis on negligent security and premises liability, wrongful death, catastrophic injury, product liability, professional liability, and commercial litigation.

St. Clair (above right), with family members and mentor Professor Kimberley Isett (center).

S T. C L A I R E A R N S T R I P L E J A C K E T S TA T U S REBEKAH ST. CL AIR, PP 13, MS PP 14, PHD PP 19, was at Georgia Tech for a

graduates have earned degrees at

total of 10 years, from 2009 to 2019,

each level from the Institute, and even

and completed the five-year B.S./

fewer have earned three from within

M.S. program in public policy before

the same department.

going for her doctorate.

Only 1,125 of the roughly 184,900

After graduation, St. Clair became

She earned her PhD in summer

a Health Policy Fellow in the Office

2019 and walked in the fall 2019 com-

of Policy and Strategy at the Centers

mencement ceremony, becoming a

for Disease Control and Prevention in

Triple Jacket.

Atlanta.

REDDING RETIRES AFTER 30 YEARS IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL ROGERS REDDING, CHEM 65, retired in

A longtime football referee in the

January as the NCAA National Coor-

Southeastern Conference, Redding

dinator of Football Officials.

served as the secretary-rules editor for

Redding’s career in college football

NCAA football from 2008 to 2017,

spanned three decades, beginning in

where he saw the introduction of in-

1988 when he began officiating in the

stant replay in Division 1 Football Bowl

Southwest Conference.

Subdivision play, among other chang-

After graduating from Georgia

es to college football officiating.

Tech in 1965, Redding earned his PhD

In 2011, he became the NCAA

in chemistry at Vanderbilt. He was a

National Coordinator of Football Of-

physics professor, dean, and provost

ficials. He was also a frequent on-air

at several universities—North Texas,

rules analyst for ESPN.

Northern Kentucky, and the University of Colorado–Colorado Springs.

In 2019, he was awarded a National Football Foundation Legacy Award.

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2020

77

RAMBLIN� ROLL

CLASS NOTES KATIE LEONARD, BC 02, has been named vice president of Real Estate and Facility Development Services for Wellstar Health System. In this role, Leonard will provide strategic oversight and direction for construction, real estate, security, and overall plant operations and maintenance of Wellstar-owned and -managed properties.

In addition to her degree, Leonard is a LEED AP BD+C accredited professional and 2020 Board Chair for the Associated Builders and Contractors of Georgia.

P E R S A U D E N E R G I Z E D W I T H S H A R K TA N K W I N K R Y S TA L P E R S A U D , I D 1 0 , received

Grouphug creates fashionable so-

$150,000 in funding for her compa-

lar panels that renters can hang from

ny, Grouphug, from Mark Cuban on

windows to charge their electronic

ABC’s Shark Tank. Persaud, a grad-

devices.

uate of Tech’s School of Industrial

The solar panels come with a built-in

Design, pitched her company to the

rechargeable battery and a USB port

show’s investors on March 20.

in a bamboo frame.

HARVEY NAMED AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF CERTIFIED PL ANNERS FELLOW STAN HARVEY, M ARCH 94, M CRP 94,

JOSÉ MARTÍNEZ, ME 96, MS ME 97, was appointed senior vice president and CIO for OneAmerica.

Martínez will lead an IT team of more than 500 associates and contractors.

C HRISTINE NORSTADT, IA 03, was elected shareholder at Chamberlain Hrdlicka. Nordstadt practices commercial real estate law, counseling clients involved in acquisitions and dispositions, financing, leasing, and development matters.

RAVI RAVIC HANDRAN , EE 86, was named vice president and CTO for BAE Systems’ Intelligence & Security sector. Ravichandran drives the development, integration, and transition of next-generation solutions that advance the company’s current programs.

was named a 2020 American Institute of Certified Planners Fellow. This is the AICP’s highest honor and recognizes Harvey’s achievements in urban years of planning experience that be-

projects include the implementation

gan with the 1996 Summer Olympics.

of Blueprint Midtown, Atlanta Public Schools Build Smart, and redevelopment planning for the Atlanta BeltLine.

principal and director of the firm’s

Previously, Harvey received the Jack

Urban Design & Planning practice,

F. Glatting Mentorship Award for his

Harvey founded and grew Urban Col-

efforts to promote and train graduates

lage, an award-winning urban design

of Georgia Tech’s City & Regional

firm in Atlanta. Some of his notable

Planning Program.

78

SUMMER 2020 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

ROBERT RIVERS, HTS 95, was named assistant principal of Cristo Rey Atlanta Jesuit High School in February.

PERSAUD: ABC/ERIC MCCANDLESS

Prior to joining Lord Aeck Sargent, a Katerra Company, and serving as

PHOTOGRAPH

planning. Harvey has more than 25

HARRY RICE, MS CE 81, M CRP 81, was elected vice president of Barge Design Solutions, Inc. Rice has more than 35 years of experience in transportation design, planning, and project management, and will continue in his role as Barge’s director of Traffic Engineering and Transportation Planning.

CLASS NOTES BABAK SHAFEI, PHD EAS 12, founder of AquaNRG, an environmental and energy tech company headquartered in Houston, Texas, received funding from the U.S. Department of Energy and National Science Foundation that has allowed the team to grow by 2020 to seven professionals. AquaNRG offers data-driven and physics-chemistry software platforms and hardware infrastructure for environmental and energy companies to perform computing and engineering simulations.

HEATHER STORTA , C HE 95, was appointed vice president of education on the board of directors for The Knitting Guild Association. Storta is a TKGA Certified Knitting Instructor, a Certified Technical Editor, and the editor of TKGA’s monthly newsletter K2TOG. JENNIFER STOUDT WOODSON , C HE 99, graduated from Mississippi State University with a master’s in Forest Resources in August 2019. Working with Biren Patel, EE 05, and Dr. Sandra Pettit, a Georgia Tech 2014–2016 ChE instructor, her graduate research paper compared the land use (both the financial and CO2 emissions impact) of growing southern pines versus installing solar panels in middle Georgia. Woodson lives in Jones County, Ga., with her husband, Damon, and three kids, Persephone, Nicholas, and Achilles.

OUT & ABOUT

BILL MORRISON, IM 67, drove a tank over a truck spray-painted with the message “Crush Covid.” “Here is another escapade of a Ga. Tech alumnus who crisscrossed the world doing exciting things to honor his Alma Mater!” says Morrison.

L. DAVID WYLY, AM 65, published Genesis 1:1–11:9: A Light to the Bible and a Lamp for Our Lives in April.

Wyly is a minister of the Word and Sacrament and a retired pastor.

ERMIS ZAYAS, M CRP 10, joined the Georgia Justice Project as director of development. Zayas oversees fundraising operations, including individual giving, foundation and corporate support, and special events.

Four GT alumni traveled together to San Juan, Puerto Rico, in February. From left to right: BARRY WHITTON, ME 86, ALLEN STANLEY, IM 85, SANDY STEPHENS, IM 87, and STEVE KENDRICK, IE 88.

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2020

79

RAMBLIN� ROLL

BIRTHS 1.

CHRISTOPHER BRAZELL, CE 01, MS CE 04, and Gillian C. Brazell welcomed the birth of their son Bennett Alan Brazell on Dec. 17, 2019. The family lives in Columbus, Ga.

2.

ALLIE WARD COCHRAN, ARCH 06, and CHRIS COCHRAN, CE 06, welcomed the birth of Grace Anne Cochran on April 18, 2019. She joins older sisters Adeline and Amelia. The family lives in Marietta, Ga.

3. MARIA CURTIS, IE 10, and David

1

2

3

4

5

6

Clark welcomed son Noah Gabriel Clark on Sept. 4, 2019. He joins big brother Eli, age four. The family lives in Woodstock, Ga.

4.

CHRISTINE LAVERY, BME 07, and WILL LAVERY, ME 08, welcomed son William “Liam” Henry Lavery IV on Oct. 28, 2019. William joins big brother Foard in being named after their great-grandfathers.

5.

RYAN PURVIS, CE 07, MS CE 10, and wife, Christy, are excited to announce their adoption of Owen Bradley Purvis.

6.

CHRISTOPHER RIDDELL, ARCH 09, MS BCFM 11, and BRIANA RIDDELL, ARCH 14, M CRP 16, welcomed daughter Emersyn Lee Riddell on Feb. 27.

The family lives in Atlanta.

7.

MELISSA ROST, AM 11, MS STAT 12, and MATHIAS ROST, MGT 12, welcomed daughter Marla Marie Rost on Feb. 3. The family lives in Atlanta.

8.

WILLIAM E. THOMPSON, JR., IE 97, and wife, Amanda, welcomed the birth of their second daughter, Reagan Oliva Thompson, on Feb. 13.

9.

LANCE WHATLEY, BMED 12, and Nicole Whatley welcomed the birth of their son Max John Whatley on May 26.

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SUMMER 2020 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

7

8

9

WEDDINGS 1.

GEORGE RAY, MGT 09, PP 09, and Amanda Cooper got married in Atlanta on Feb. 15. George is an associate with the law firm Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP.

2.

CASEY (AULTMAN) TANNER, IAML 13, and CHRIS TANNER, EIA 13, were married on May 28, 2019, in Savannah, Ga. Casey is the executive director of Government Relations for the University System of Georgia and Chris is an Audit Manager/CPA at Frazier & Deeter, LLC.

1

3. ANNA PETERSON, BME 11, MS

ME 13, and BRADLEY WILSON, IE 12, were married in Cincinnati, Ohio, on March 28, during the Covid-19 pandemic, with the wedding live-streamed to guests. The couple did not know each other at Tech, but their shared GT connection helped them meet on a dating app several years after graduation. Brad works at Procter & Gamble and Anna works at Ethicon Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company.

2

3

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2020

81

IN MEMORIAM 82

SUMMER 2020 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

WE REMEMBER & HONOR THE FOLLOWING

PEPPER RODGERS: GEORGIA TECH FOOTBALL LEGEND PEPPER RODGERS, IM 55, OF RESTON, V A . , O N M AY 1 4 . Rodgers helped lead

in the Jackets’ 24–7

Georgia Tech football to the 1952 na-

in t he 1953 Sugar

tional championship as a student-athlete

Bowl, which clinched

and later served for six seasons as the

Tech’s third nation-

Yellow Jackets’ head coach.

al title (and first in 24

win over Ole Miss

Born Franklin Cullen Rodgers in At-

years). He capped

lanta on Oct. 8, 1931, Rodgers was a

his collegiate career

three-sport high school star at Atlanta’s

by passing for 195

Brown H.S., winning a state champion-

yards and three touch-

ship in football. He stayed in Atlanta to

downs and kicking a

attend Georgia Tech, where he was a

field goal and two ex-

three-year football letterwinner under

tra points on his way

legendary head coach Bobby Dodd

to being named MVP

1951–53 (freshmen were ineligible to

of the Yellow Jack-

compete in varsity athletics at the time).

ets’ 42–19 rout over

A quarterback and place-kicker, Rod-

West Virginia in the 1954 Sugar Bowl.

nine seasons as an assistant at sever-

gers helped lead the Yellow Jackets to

In 2018, he was a member of the inau-

al colleges before landing his first head

the 1952 national championship. He

gural class of the Sugar Bowl Hall of

coaching position at Kansas in 1967. Fol-

threw a touchdown pass and kicked

Fame. Georgia Tech compiled a 32-2-2

lowing four seasons at Kansas, he was

a field goal and three extra points

overall record, claimed two SEC cham-

named head coach at UCLA in 1971.

pionships, and won three major bowl

After leading the Bruins to a No. 9 fi-

games (1952 Orange Bowl, and 1953

nal national ranking in ’73, he returned

and ’54 Sugar Bowls) in Rodgers’ three

to his alma mater as Georgia Tech’s

seasons on the squad.

head coach in 1974. He led the Yel-

Rodgers was selected in t he

low Jackets to four winning seasons in

12th round of the 1954 NFL Draft by

six years, highlighted by a Peach Bowl

the Baltimore Colts, but instead entered

berth in 1978. Among his most notable

the Air Force, where he was a pilot for

wins as the Jackets’ head coach was a

five years. After his stint as an aviator,

24–3 triumph over No. 12 Notre Dame

he joined the coaching ranks as an assis-

in 1976, a game that Tech won without

tant at the Air Force Academy. He spent

throwing a pass.

“He was a Georgia Tech legend,” said Georgia Tech Athletics Director Todd Stansbury, IM 84, in a statement about Rodgers’ death. “On a personal note, he was the coach that recruited me to Georgia Tech, and I am eternally grateful to him for bringing me here.

He has also been a mentor and friend throughout my professional career and I will miss him greatly.”

Rodgers is sur vived by his wife of 45 years, Janet Lake Livingston.

—GEORGIA TECH ATHLETICS

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2020

83

IN MEMORIAM FRANKLIN “DAN” D. BUR-

19 4 0S

BONA ALLEN IV, IM 48, of Ad-

SANFORD “PINKY” B. PINKERTON , C HE 46, of Sylacauga, Ala.,

on March 31.

vance, N.C., on March 21.

IAN W. ROBINSON , IM 49, HOSEA “PEPE” C. BATTEN , IM

of Juno Beach, Fla., on Feb. 3.

48, of Marietta, Ga., on March 31.

WILLIAM C. SL AUGHTER JR., JOSEPH O. BEESON , CLS 49, of

EE 47, of De Berry, Texas, on Jan. 25.

Mullins, S.C., on March 4.

EUGENE “GENE” K. WEEKCARL P. BRENNER JR., EE 49,

of Lilburn, Ga., on Feb. 22.

LEY SR., CLS 48, of Athens, Ga., on

March 13.

JOSEPH R. BURTON , IM 44,

19 5 0S

MS IM 48, of Tampa, Fla., on Feb.

20.

NATHANIEL ALDERMAN JR.,

JAMES E. COLEMAN JR., IM 48, of Dallas, Texas, on Feb. 22.

VIVIAN “FIL” F. COOPER, CLS 48, of Chattanooga, Tenn., on

Feb. 9.

WILLIAM G. DUNN , ME 49, of

CLS 54, of Saint Petersburg, Fla., on

March 9.

ROUGHS, C HEM 56, of

Hatteras, N.C., on March 27.

KENNETH M. CARTER, IM 59,

of Spartanburg, S.C., on March 12.

EDDIE “ED” G. C HANDLER JR., IE 50, of Atlanta, on Jan. 21.

DOYLE “D.W.” W. C HASTEEN JR., IM 50, of Suwanee, Ga., on Jan.

31.

LEWIS B. COLL AT, ME 50,

of Hockessin, Del., on Feb. 24.

RAPP W. CROOK III, EE 50, of

Newark, Del., on March 20.

EDWARD A . CRUDUP JR., IM 57, of Covington, Ga., on April 8.

KEITH R. ALLEN , ME 57, of Hunts-

ville, Ala., on March 5.

JACOB J. DANEMAN , BC 59, of

Germantown, Tenn., on Feb. 5.

JOHN “DIC K” R. AYRES, IE 50,

of Alexandria, La., on Jan. 18

WALTER R. DAY JR., MS EE 57,

WILLIAM A . BENNETT JR., EE

of Menlo Park, Calif., on April 4.

50, of Macon, Ga., on March 8.

WILLIAM P. DUBOSE JR., ME

54, of West Columbia, S.C., on March

WILLIAM P. BL AND JR., IM 59,

21.

of Savannah, Ga., on March 18.

DANIEL E. HERLIHY, CE 47,

of Madison, Miss., on April 11.

JAMES M. BOWER, ME 59, MS

50, of Narberth, Pa., on Feb. 9.

IM 63, of Lakewood, Colo., on April

25.

LEAMON G. GILBERT, C HE 51,

Jacksonville, Fla., on April 16.

HARRY GORDON , CERE 48, of

Atlanta, on Jan. 29.

JOHN F. LOYD, MS EE 49, of San

Antonio, Texas, on April 5.

RIC HARD “DIC K” J. FOX, IM

JAMES “JIM” O. BUC HANAN

of Nevada City, Calif., on March 20.

MANN “ WILLS” W. OGLESBY,

JR., ME 50, of Houston, Texas, on

GEORGE F. GULER, EE 55, of Ta-

IM 48, of Nashville, Tenn., on April 2.

April 5.

vares, Fla., on Jan. 31.

FRANK C. OWENS JR., IM 49,

WILLIAM “BILL” A . BUC KNER,

JAMES “JIM” E. HANNIGAN ,

ME 59, of Florence, S.C., on Jan. 19.

AE 53, of Boerne, Texas, on Jan. 17.

of Atlanta, on April 1.

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

84

SUMMER 2020 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

GEORGE W. HYRNE, IM 50, of

RODERIC K A . SUAREZ, CLS 57,

Savannah, Ga., on April 8.

CL AUDE A . IVEY, ME 56, of Al-

of Griffin, Ga., on Jan. 25.

pharetta, Ga., on April 9.

ME 55, of Panama City, Fla., on April

JOSEPH “JOE” K. TANNEHILL,

19.

LYNWOOD A . JOHNSON , IE 55, MS IE 59, PHD IE 65, of At-

lanta, on Dec. 18, 2019.

RAY L. JOHNSON JR., C HEM 58, of Oak Ridge, Tenn., on March 9.

TUC KER I. JOHNSON JR., C HEM 56, of Naples, Fla., on Feb. 10.

WILLIAM “NEIL” N. TAYLOR

ROBERT “BOB” RICE: PA S T G E O R G I A T E C H ALUMNI ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT

REMINGTON “REM JOHNNY”

BOB RICE, IM 49, OF WELLS, MAINE, ON MARCH 29. Rice was born Dec. 1, 1923,

JOHNSTON , IM 51, of Saint

in Elberton, Ga. After graduating from

Simons Island, Ga., on March 5.

Elbert County High School and North Georgia College, he was drafted by the

III, ME 56, of Collierville, Tenn.,

on Jan. 30.

ROBERT L. TERRELL SR., TEXT 54, MS IM 58, of Batesville, Ark., on

Feb. 4.

GUY R. THOMAS, IM 51, of Talla-

hassee, Fla., on Jan. 23.

WILLIAM D. TORBETT, CLS 53,

U.S. Army and thus began a 25-year

of Marietta, Ga., on Jan. 30

military career. As a member of the 35th

ROBERT M. TORRAS SR., IE 55,

C HARLES R. KING, TEXT 54, of

Infantry Division, he participated in the

IM 60, of Saint Simons Island, Ga., on

Melbourne, Fla., on Feb. 7, 2017.

Allied Invasion, beginning at Omaha Beach, then the liberation of Saint-Lô,

RIC HARD “DIC K” W. LEEC H, EE

France, and as a member of Patton’s

DELMAR D. JONES, AE 51, of

Stockbridge, Ga., on Feb. 21.

56, of Savannah, Ga., on Jan. 25.

NOEL H. MALONE JR., C HE 58,

of Springdale, Ark., on Feb. 8.

JOHN “JAC K” C. MARSC HER JR., IE 53, of Clearwater,

Army, the Battle of the Bulge. Among his many awards for this heroic combat service, he was awarded two Army

In 1945, Rice enrolled at Tech and second lieutenant through ROTC. From Korea, Taiwan, and Thule Air Base in Greenland, as well many U.S. locations.

SC HOOLSKY, CLS 58, of Lake

Charles, La., on March 21.

Augusta, Ga., on April 25.

DAVID I. J. WANG, MS ME 53,

SIDNEY F. WHEELER, TEXT 56,

as executive director.

SAMUEL “SAM” S.

KENNETH G. WALZ, IE 58, of

joined the Georgia Tech Alumni Associ-

53, of Jacksonville, Fla., on March 27.

Sarasota, Fla., on March 26.

Following retirement from the Army, he ation as director of programs, and then,

ROBERT F. RUTH JR., IE 51, of

IM 60, of Asheville, N.C., on Feb. 29.

of Naples, Fla., on Feb 28.

JAMES T. MONAHAN JR., IM

56, of Perry, Ga., on Feb. 20.

SAMUEL W. VAN LEER, CE 56,

1949 to 1968 he served in Okinawa,

CARROLL C. UNDERWOOD, EE

Star, and the French Legion of Honor.

FRANK H. MERL, ME 58, of

Texas, on Feb. 10.

iel Island, S.C., on March 6.

upon graduation was commissioned

JOHN C. MILES, IE 53, of Austin,

ROBERT E. UHLER, EE 59, of Dan-

Commendation Medals, the Bronze

Fla., on Feb. 22.

Atlanta, on Feb. 25.

March 24.

He is survived by his wife, Linda Forrestal Rice, of Wells, Maine; his sons,

of Fernandina Beach, Fla., on Jan. 21.

JOHN L. WORTH, C HE 50, of

Wilmington, Del., on March 20.

Robert H. Rice, Jr. (Nancy), of Cedar-

19 6 0S

town, Ga.; Richard C. Rice (Donna), of Marietta, Ga.; and Vickery C. Rice (Diane), of Woodstock, Ga. He was predeceased by his first wife, Betty Turn-

ROBERT “BOB” O. ALLEN , IM 6 4, of Big Canoe, Ga., on Feb. 16.

LOYD C. SHELTON , AE 59,

er Rice, and sister Sara Maxwell, and

SIDNEY “SID” C. BENNETT III,

of Charlotte Hall, Md., on March 8.

brother Lon Rice, of Athens, Ga.

ME 60, of Rock Hill, S.C., on Jan. 28.

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2020

85

IN MEMORIAM

ALLEN O. JONES, IM 60, of

SHERROD R. CAMPBELL III, IM 61, of Lakeland, Fla., on Jan. 18.

JOHN R. C HAPPELL, ME 60, of

Idaho Falls, Idaho, on Feb. 7.

YAO M. C HENG, MS C HEM 67, PHD C HEM 70, of East Brunswick,

N.J., on Feb. 10.

CARL H. COFER, IM 62, of Atlan-

ta, on April 18.

Atlanta, on Dec. 29, 2019.

RUSSELL A . JONES, PSY 65, of

Lexington, Ky., on April 4.

JOE A . MANN , PHD C HEM 69,

of Williamsburg, Va., on Feb. 21.

RAYMOND D. MASSEY JR., IM 65, of Leslie, Mich., on Feb. 15.

ERNESTO A . MIERES, IE 67, of

WILLIAM EUGENE “ G E N E ” B R OA D W E L L : P I L O T, B U S I N E S S LEADER, AND FRIEND OF GEORGIA TECH GENE BROADWELL, IM 43, OF BRUNSW I C K , G A . , O N M AY 8 . Broadwell was born March 10, 1921, in Atlanta. As a

MAURICE W. COLEY, IM 66,

Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, on Jan. 26.

of Smyrna, Ga., on Feb. 3.

ALEXANDRIA C. “ALEXIS” MONTAGUE-FORTUNE, CLS 6 4,

in the Navy ROTC, was a member of Sig-

BC 60, of Cobbs Creek, Va., on Jan.

of Port Orange, Fla., on March 14.

22.

CLS 66, of Beech Island, S.C., on Jan.

JOSEPH S. CROMWELL JR.,

MALCOLM D. DAVIES, ME 60,

of Macon, Ga., on Feb. 26.

JOHN “JEFF” J. DAVIS, TEXT 66, of Dallas, Texas, on Feb. 1.

WAYNE N. MORGAN JR.,

student at Georgia Tech, he participated ma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, and played on the football team. He was also a certified tutor, a representative for Balfour Corp., and chair of the ring committee

31.

for football.

HUGH O. MORRIS SR., IM 69,

sioned as an officer and selected as part

of Midland, Ga., on Jan. 22.

THOMAS “ TOM” J. MULLEN ,

After graduation, he was commisof the crew of PC 1404, a new patrol craft sweeper used for invasions.

Some of Broadwell’s career highlights

DAVID W. ELLWANGER, IM 65,

EE 61, of Charlotte, N.C., on

of Sarasota, Fla., on Jan. 25.

April 9.

MARVIN E. EWING, IM 60, of

C HARLES “ TED” T. PHILLIPS

Fort Walton Beach, Fla., on April 11.

SR., TEXT 67, of Kennesaw, Ga., on

Leasing Corp., Realty Investment Co., Diets Unlimited, W.E. Broadwell & As-

MAURICE G. FRANKLIN , ME

April 8.

66, of Weaver, Ala., on Jan. 20.

C HARLES “CORKY” B. ROGERS

IV, IM 69, of Jacksonville, Fla., on

Broadwell Motorcars (1986–2002)

DONALD D. GEHRING, IM 60,

Feb. 26.

of Ocean, N.J., on Feb. 11.

ARTHUR M. SIMS, IM 62, of

included Frosty Freezer Co. (1946– 1950), Albany Hotel and Restaurant Supply Co. (1950–1960), Universal

sociates (1960–1972), and Gene among others.

He was a proud Yellow Jacket, founding the SWG (Albany) Georgia Tech

Freeport, Fla., on April 5.

club and the Golden Isles Georgia Tech

WILLIAM “ROSCOE” E.

eral Georgia Tech foundations and

KENNETH J. HENRIC H, C HE 6 4,

SPEAKS, IM 61, of Snellville,

a former trustee of the Georgia Tech

EDWARD “ED” D. GRIFFIN SR., IE 6 4, of Columbus, Ga., on Feb. 26.

of Landing, N.J., on April 19.

Ga., on April 3.

REX W. INGLE, EE 60, of Oak

ROGER W. VAUGHN , ARC H

Ridge, Tenn., on April 22.

62, of Pittsburgh, Pa., on Feb. 3.

ROBERT R. JAC KSON , ME

GARL AND L. WRIGHT, EM 65,

60, MS ME 71, of Clearwater,

of Anderson, S.C., on Feb. 5.

Fla., on Feb. 1.

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SUMMER 2020 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

Club as well as being a member of sev-

Alumni Association.

He is survived by his children, William T. Broadwell, of Bar Harbor, Maine, Betty Veater (Mark) and James H. Broadwell (Phyllis), all of St. Simons Island, Ga.; and Christena B. Raines (Carole A. Swanson), of Pittsboro, N.C.

19 7 0S

STEPHEN C. ADKINSON SR.,

ENOCH WARD JR: FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENT TO INTEGRATE HOUSING, EARN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING DEGREE AT TECH

REV. ENOCH WARD JR., CHE 68, OF MART I N E Z , G A . , O N M A R . 3 1 . Ward was a

MIC HAEL J. COX, MS CS 75, of

pastor, a successful manufacturing man-

BC 74, of Rock Hill, S.C., on Jan. 4.

Sacramento, Calif., on March 2.

BARNWELL “BARNEY” S. DUNL AP III, EE 72, of Richmond, Va., on

Feb. 24.

ager, and the first African American student to integrate housing and earn a degree in chemical engineering from Georgia Tech.

At 16 years old, Ward graduated

IVON R. FORD III, BC 74, of

valedictorian of the 1962 Class of Lucy

McDonough, N.Y., on Jan. 17.

C. Laney High School in Augusta, Ga.

served as pastor of First Metropolitan

He attended Paine College from 1962

Baptist Church in Augusta.

MARK A . FRANKE, C HE 74, of

to 1964, where he maintained honor

Ward had 20 years of experience in

student status. He transferred to Tech,

two major manufacturing companies:

graduating in 1968.

Dow Chemical Company in Plaquemine,

Covington, La., on Feb. 26.

JAGANNATH GIRI, PHD ESM 76, of Grapevine, Texas, on April 5.

He was mentored in the ministry by

La., and Procter & Gamble.

the late Rev. N.T. Young, eminent Pastor

Ward was married to the late Gloria

of The Historic Thankful Baptist Church of

Elaine O’Neal Ward for more than 41

EE 75, MS EE 79, of Lomita,

Augusta, Ga.

years. He is survived by their two chil-

Calif., on Feb. 25.

He studied in the Master of Divinity

dren, Kevin L. Ward, of Martinez, Ga.,

degree program at Erskine Theological

and Kiffiny (Carlos) Carter, of Grove-

Seminary in Due West, S.C., and was

town, Ga.; grandchildren; two brothers;

ordained deacon at Thankful Bap-

five sisters; and a loving and devoted

tist Church at the age of 26. Later, he

church congregation.

DONALD “DON” L. GORDON ,

MELTON W. HOOD, MGT 72,

of Seattle, Wash., on March 12.

EDGAR D. HORTON III, C HEM 70, of Atlanta, on April 18.

19 8 0S

TONY L. MITC HELL, MS CS 75,

of Cary, N.C., on April 1.

JAMES NEIHEISEL, PHD GEOS 73, of Cincinnati,

Ohio, on Feb. 18.

MIC HAEL “MIKE” E. ODOM, ME 74, of Macon, Ga., on Feb. 22.

MIC HAEL B. RANDALL, ARC H 76, of Cleveland, Ga., on April 29.

FRANK B. TATOM, PHD ME 71,

of Huntsville, Ala., on April 15.

JOHN S. WYC KOFF, IM 70, of

Pensacola, Fla., on Feb. 14.

PAMEL A E. BUIE, IE 84, of Atlan-

ta, on Jan. 30.

NATHAN R. CAMP, EE 89, of

Cumming, Ga., on Feb. 8.

ERIC R. DAUGHERT Y, MGT 89,

of Winston-Salem, N.C., on Jan. 20.

DAVID A . FERRARO, IE 86, of

Savannah, Ga., on March 9.

BRETT E. MADISON , MS EE 92,

of Bartlesville, Okla., on Feb. 8.

XIMENA “SANDRA” S. OYOL A , MS IE 91, of Marietta,

Ga., on Feb. 10.

2000S

ERIC A . SCUKANEC, CS 07,

of Atlanta, on Feb. 1.

MIC HAEL T. RYAN , PHD NE 82,

of Lexington, S.C., on Feb. 22.

19 9 0S

2 010 S

LUCAS “LUKE” C. HANNON , CE 17, of Lawrenceville, Ga., on

L AWRENCE “L ARRY” D.

CONSTANTIN ANDRONAC HE,

Jan. 22.

YOUNG, CE 76, MS CE 77, of

MS GEOS 93, PHD GEOS 97, of

TANNER B. KARR, BA 15, of

Atlanta, on Jan. 20.

Somerville, Mass., on Feb. 10.

Dalton, Ga., on Feb. 4.

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2020

87

IN MEMORIAM

2 0 2 0S

WILLIAM A . COLLINS, CLS 23,

of Kathleen, Ga., on Feb. 13.

FRIENDS

ELIZABETH K. ARMSBY, of

Brevard, N.C., on Feb. 26.

BARBARA M. DARBY, of Decatur,

Ga., on April 20.

SHARON A . DONOHUE, of

Atlanta, on March 14.

GAY M. LOVE: P H I L A N T H R O P I S T, FRIEND OF TECH G AY ( M C L AW H O R N ) L O V E , H O N 8 9 , O F AT L A N TA , O N M AY 2 8 . Love was born in Greenville, N.C., on June 16, 1929.

charitable activities.

She earned a bachelor’s in English from

In 2002, she was recognized as

Duke University. While there, she pur-

“Philanthropist of the Year” by the At-

sued her passion for music and theater,

lanta Chapter of the Association of

performing in five productions and sing-

Fundraising Professionals. The annu-

ing in the Duke chapel choir.

al Love Family Foundation Scholarship

In 1954, she married the late J. Er-

is one of the highest annual scholar-

skine Love, Jr., ME 49, who founded

ships given to a Georgia Tech student.

Printpack. Love, known as the “mother

In 2000, Georgia Tech opened the J. Er-

of Printpack,” helped her husband start

skine Love Jr. Manufacturing Building on

PETER E. GAFFNEY , of Atlan-

the company with an initial investment

campus.

ta, on Feb. 7.

that came from a small dowry from her

Summarized by her son, Jimmy Love:

father. After her husband died in 1987,

“Most importantly, our mother, Gay

she assumed the role of chair of the

Love, was an active, engaging, and

board, serving for more than 18 years

loving mother of six, grandmother of

before retiring to become chairman

twenty-one, and great-grandmother of

Ga., on Feb. 1.

emerita in 2005.

seven (and counting), who was fond-

MARGARET P. M c CAMISH, of

gaged in numerous community and

CARLYNE GRIFFIN , of Atlanta, on

Feb. 26.

DIANNE G. HARRIS, of Hoschton,

Love and her husband were en-

ly known to both family and friends as ‘Gayma.’”

Atlanta, on March 29.

CECIL T. MINER, of Atlanta, on

April 6.

he became an advocate and innovator.

In 1963, he founded the firm Associat-

MARY ANNE J. NASH, of Dallas,

ed Space Design, and for more than 25

Texas, on Feb. 8.

years led it to national prominence.

LUCIA F. PULGRAM, of Brookhav-

A lover of classical music, he was a

en, Ga., on Feb. 5.

fixture at Atlanta concerts for 50 years.

He loved sitting on the beach, jumping

GEORGE T. SPELLISSY, of Cum-

ming, Ga., on Feb. 17.

W I L L I A M “ B I L L” L. PULGRAM: I N T E R N A T I O N A L LY KNOWN ARCHITECT

through waves, baking Linzer Torte, cutchildren by his side. His beloved wife, Lu-

ting a rug, and driving his convertible.

cia, had died just 70 days earlier.

More than anything, he loved his family.

Born in Austria, Pulgram fled in 1939

He was preceded in death by his

to escape the Nazi occupation. With the

wife, Lucia Walker Fairlie Pulgram,

help of Quakers, he traveled to England

and his brother, Ernst Puglram. He is

and then the U.S. In the U.S., he enlisted

survived by his children: Lucia Deirdre

in the Army, serving three years. He then

Pulgram-Arthen (husband Andras Cor-

attended Georgia Tech. After graduat-

ban-Arthen), Laurence Fairlie Pulgram

BILL L. PULGRAM, ARCH 49, OF BROOKHAVEN, GA., ON APRIL 16. Pulgram

ing, Pulgram joined Finch, Alexander,

(wife Kathleen Ann Murray), Anthony

Barnes, Rothchild & Pascal, where he

Ernst Pulgram (partner Sunita Mohabir),

was a pioneer in the interior design field.

gravitated toward interior architec-

and Christopher Leopold Pulgram; and

He died peacefully in Atlanta with his

ture, an emerging discipline for which

grandchildren and sisters-in-law.

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SUMMER 2020 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

R O B E R T “ B O B ” N E R E M : R E N O W N E D S C I E N T I S T, F O U N D I N G D I R E C T O R O F T H E P E T I T I N S T I T U T E F O R B I O E N G I N E E R I N G A N D B I O S C I E N C E BOB M. NEREM, HON 14, OF STONE MOUNTAIN, GA., ON MAR. 6.

effects of launch vibrations on astronaut

University to lead the Robert W. Wood-

physiology, “which opened the window

ruff Health Sciences Center, was already

Nerem often said, “Research, like

on a whole new world, that of biology

familiar with Nerem and said he was

life, is a people business,” and he spent

and medicine,” Nerem said at the Na-

the go-to guy when discussions began

most of his 56-year academic career

tional Academy of Engineering.

for a new biomedical engineering de-

proving the point. Nerem would enthu-

Though he continued teaching aero-

siastically strike up a conversation with

space engineering, he started applying

partment that would link public Georgia

the undergrad or the fellow bioengineer

his engineering knowledge to study-

Twenty years later, the Wallace

or the restaurant waiter, asking ques-

ing blood flow and its role in disease

H. Coulter Department of Biomedical

tions, connecting on a personal level.

processes—his entry into the world of in-

Engineering at Georgia Tech and

An internationally renowned pioneer

terdisciplinary research and biomedical

Emor y University is a rare public

in bioengineering and biomedical re-

engineering. Eventually he delved into

education–private education enti-

search and education, Nerem’s most

cell biology, molecular biology, tissue

ty, and is ranked among the top BME

engineering, and stem cell technology.

departments in the nation.

Tech and private Emory.

memorable trait was probably his sincere affability.

“Bob always had time to talk to anyone, always had a kind word, a funny story or witty remark—he positively influenced thousands in our community by showing that he genuinely cared about everyone,” said Andrés García, executive director of the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience at Georgia Tech, remembering Nerem, the founding director of the Petit Institute.

It usually didn’t matter if a new hire was part of the research enterprise or a supporting player—for years, fresh employees at the Petit Institute would receive a copy of Nerem’s “Rules of Life: The Planet Earth School” (often from Nerem himself). These were 15 maxims he’d gathered, some very familiar, some

“Bob was, in many ways, one of the

Nerem’s interest in leveling the field

conjured by Nerem from piecemeal

fathers of tissue engineering,” noted

for everyone resulted in creation of the

sources, or from his own imagination.

Barbara Boyan, dean of the College of

program that he was proudest of lat-

Engineering at Virginia Commonwealth

er in his career—Project ENGAGES,

University.

a high school education program for

Nerem spent the past 33 years at Georgia Tech, including 15 years (1995 to 2009) as the founding director of the

As part of the core group of bioen-

underrepresented minority students.

Petit Institute. He began his career at

gineering/biomedical engineering

Nerem is survived by his wife of more

Ohio State University (where he earned

forerunners at Georgia Tech (along with

than 40 years, Marilyn; his children, Ste-

his PhD in mechanical engineering in

Ajit Yoganathan, Don Giddens, and

ven Nerem and Nancy Nerem Black;

1964), in the Department of Aeronau-

others), Nerem established an interdisci-

Marilyn’s children, Christy Maser and

tical and Astronautical Engineering.

plinary culture at the Petit Institute.

Carol Wilcox; and multiple grandchil-

But before long, he was focusing on the

Mike Johns, who arrived at Emory

dren. —JERRY GRILLO

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2020

89

TECH HISTORY

A WOMAN OF FIRSTS: MARTHA MOSS QUO

THE TEXTILE ENGINEER AND OLDEST LIVING FEMALE GRADUATE DISCUSSES HER TIME AT TECH AND BEING A WOMAN IN STEM.

M

BY MAYA FLORES M A R T H A M O S S Q U O is a woman of many firsts: one of the first five women to graduate from Georgia Tech in 1958 in textile engineering; the first woman to graduate with both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree; and, the first woman to come to Tech on the G.I. Bill.

Now, she is Georgia Tech’s oldest living female graduate at the age of 89.

Born in Hartsville, S.C., in 1931, Quo’s interest in technology was sparked at a young age, and she was always academically ambitious. Her high school had a college preparatory track, which women were not recommended for, but that Quo enrolled in anyway.

“In ninth grade, I took a general science course that I really enjoyed,”

said Quo. “Mostly, though, it was my father who inspired me. He had gone to some college classes and had some background in chemistry. He worked for a textile firm, and he ended up dying fabrics, so that’s one reason I was interested in that. I followed my father’s footsteps.”

FIRST FEMALE STUDENT TO USE THE G.I. BILL After serving in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War, Quo enrolled at Georgia Tech in 1955 and funded her education with the G.I. Bill.

Despite her longtime interest in science, Quo’s journey to Tech was not the traditional path. Out of high school, she attended Guilford College, but couldn’t afford tuition after her first year.

“I had already borrowed $200 from the bank and my father had helped a little, but I couldn’t pay anymore,” said Quo. “So, I went into the Air Force.”

Serving in the Air Force meant that Quo would be eligible for the G.I. Bill, a program that paid veterans’ tuition

After serving in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War, Quo was the first woman to enroll at Tech on the G.I. Bill.

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SUMMER 2020 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

Quo (right), with her friend Ruth Wilson, CE 58, MS CE 62 (left), at graduation. More than 50 years later, the two remain close friends.

and living expenses after their service.

While she was serving, her parents moved from South Carolina to Georgia—a move that put Georgia Tech on Quo’s radar. In 1955, at the age of 23, Martha enrolled at Tech.

“I was in the Air Force and went straight to Tech from there,” said Quo. “I was discharged one day and started the college the next.”

FIRST OF FIVE WOMEN TO GRADUATE Georgia Tech’s first female students to graduate were Diane Michel and Shirley Clements Mewborn in 1956.

Two years later, Quo was one of just three women to graduate in the class of 1958.

Quo originally wanted to major in chemistry, but at the time, that was not an option for women at Tech. After discovering that the Textile School had a chemistry section, she decided to pursue textile engineering. At the time, Quo was one of only 30 women

“THIS WAS IN THE ‘50 s , AND WE WERE ALL WOMEN WHO WEREN’T LOOKING TO GET MARRIED AND RAISE KIDS RIGHT AWAY. WE HAD OTHER INTERESTS AND FOLLOWED OUR DREAMS,” QUO SAYS.

on campus. She was also part of the sorority Alpha Xi Delta and attended interfraternity meetings monthly.

“We had our little community,” she remembers. “Most of the women were members of the Society of Women Engineers, run by the President’s wife, Mrs. Van Leer.”

Being a minority was challenging for some women on campus, but Quo does not remember her gender affecting her studies. “I think it might have been because I was a little bit older, or because I was a veteran, but I never had any problems,” she said.

Not all Quo’s peers had the same GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2020

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TECH HISTORY

experience. “I know that they had some professors who took an issue with the fact that they had to teach girls.”

Graduating in 1958, Quo was able to earn her textile engineering degree in just three years by transferring her credits from Guilford and taking summer classes.

Quo remembers her graduation ceremony in the Fox Theatre.

“I think there were just three of us [girls]. As far as I know, there were two girls that graduated in ‘56, and then we were the next girls to graduate from Tech, making us the third, fourth, and fifth girls to get a degree. This was in the ‘50s, and we were all women who weren’t looking to get married and raise kids right away. We had other interests and followed our dreams.”

Quo (top) has worked in several industries, including in the medical technology field testing blood at GlaxoSmithKline. Quo and her husband, Ed (bottom), at her 50th Class Reunion in 2008.

FIRST WOMAN TO EARN A BACHELOR’S AND A MASTER’S AT TECH After receiving her bachelor’s degree, Martha Quo decided to use the last of her G.I. Bill to fund a master’s in textile engineering.

She completed her thesis in 1960, making her the first woman to get both her master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Georgia Tech.

She completed her thesis off campus while working as an analytical chemist at Joseph Bancroft & Sons Company in Wilmington, Del.

Through the years, Quo put her degrees to use in many different fields.

Following her first job in Delaware, she moved to Southern California for a job as a fiber chemist at Douglas.

Then in 1976 she worked in the crime lab of the Orange County Sheriff ’s Office in California. It was through that job that she found her next position as a toxicologist for Los Angeles County.

Then, she moved on to work for GlaxoSmithKline in the medical

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SUMMER 2020 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

technology field, testing blood.

Martha Moss Quo helped to pave the way for countless women to graduate from Georgia Tech.

More than 60 years after her own graduation, she has some advice for young women who are interested in pursuing STEM: “[Women] should go for what they are interested in and shouldn’t let anyone or anything change their mind about what they want to do,” she said.

The Ballad of George P. Burdell

TECH ICON

LY R I C S B Y E L I E D I A Z , C S 19

There once was a boy held in highest esteem For his manner was kind and his legacy gleamed The Ballad of George P. Burdell Beloved by each Tech student that we would tell.

Back in the twenties when Ed Smith came through He signed up for classes but did it in twos He dreamt up sneaky P. Burdell A fictional student that did his work well So Eddie, he’d en-roll, en-roll, en-roll With laughter he’d en-roll, en-roll, en-roll.

Then one by one others joined in so fast The trolls enrolled him in every Tech class And as dear Georgie finished class He’d get the degrees right under the school’s nose The admin was red-faced with all the new tricks But Georgie, his friends, they were just way too slick Oh, the Ballad of George P. Burdell.

Although he got out, he would not bid farewell Graduated, but not forgotten For Georgie, he would en-roll and en-roll and en-roll And that’s how we got this tradition Every commencement we all gather round And pay our respects to an icon renowned The greatest student of which we tell A jolly old soul we call George P. Burdell.

We’d find him in rosters and not just at Tech World War II, he would save Uncle Sam’s neck And just like dear old Eddie Smith We’d make George P. our greatest myth With polls, awards, Time magazine Oh Georgie, the greatest student at Tech This was the Ballad of George P. Burdell.

Quartet: (left to right), Elie Diaz, CS 19, Samuel Wiley, PHYS 19, Will Scott, CMPE 20, and Samuel Mohr, CS 19, sing at Pitch-a-Piece, a concert hosted by the GT Chamber Choir each semester.

Diaz wrote the Ballad of George P. Burdell during lockdown this spring. Wiley assisted with lyrics and Scott sings bass while Diaz performs tenor, lead, and baritone on a recording of the ballad.

To hear The Ballad of George P. Burdell performed, visit gtalumni.org/magazine.

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2020

93

TECH HISTORY

A SEASON INTERRUPTED

A PHOTO OF FANS LOOKING LIKE “BANDITS OF A MILD SORT” RESONATES MORE THAN 100 YEARS LATER. BUT, IT WAS NOT THE ONLY ANOMALY FROM TECH’S 1918 FOOTBALL SEASON.

T

BY JENNIFER HERSEIM

WITH RESEARCH ASSISTANCE FROM

MARILYN SOMERS, HON 08, AND THOMAS TAYLOR, MG T 72

THIS SPRING, alumnus Andy McNeil, PP 01, shared a photo from 1918 taken by his great-grandfather, Thomas Carter, ME 1923. The image of fans wearing face masks at Grant Field to protect themselves from the influenza pandemic would become widely circulated more than a hundred years later during the coronavirus pandemic.

In an article this May in The Atlanta JournalConstitution, Ken Sugiura connects the photo with an Oct. 12 game between Tech and Furman, which the paper, stating at the time, said, “drew many students, looking, in their influenza masks, like bandits of a mild sort.”

Banditry aside, there was a game scheduled a month after Carter took this photo that caused a stir at Grant Field and left more than 5,000 fans feeling robbed of a game.

THE GAME THAT WASN’T The year was 1918. The Tech elevens, in their gold-hued uniforms, were coming off such a whirlwind of a winning streak that they had earned the sobriquet the “Golden Tornadoes.”

With John Heisman as head coach, they clinched the 1917 championship following an undefeated season. A year before that, they put up the most lopsided win in collegiate football history against Cumberland College (222-0).

With war and a pandemic still hanging over Atlanta, Tech’s football team was offering a needed distraction and fans were eagerly awaiting the season start. In September, the war department ruled that out-ofstate team travel for military schools was restricted, leaving Tech without an opponent for several scheduled games. Camp Gordon, a military

training camp located in Chamblee, Ga., was available to fill in.

Three highly anticipated games were scheduled between Tech and Camp Gordon for Oct. 26, Nov. 16, and Dec. 7.

At this point, Tech was averaging around 90 points per game. But Camp Gordon had hundreds of enlisted men who had previously played collegiate football. The Gordon lineup included “some of the most famous football stars that ever walked on the gridiron,” wrote The Evening News from Harrisburg, Pa., in an Oct. 23 article days before the matchup.

The first game did not disappoint. Instead of a hundredpoint landslide, Tech beat Camp Gordon by only 28-0, in one of its toughest games in years. They played “before the largest crowd that has ever attended a football game in Atlanta,” wrote the Associated Press the following day. The military had even erected additional stands on the east side of Grant Field.

Excitement over the next game, set for Nov. 16, quickly grew. Camp Gordon arranged for trolleys to transport fans from Chamblee. And, a band was set to perform on the field.

Days before the game, things were not looking good for Tech. The AJC reported that there were “small injuries in the heavy scrimmage work,” at practices. Two players, captain Bill Fincher and Frank Ferst, had incurred “badly bruised legs.” Oscar Davis, Tech’s center, was still out with a broken

“ONE OF THE MERRIEST MIX-UPS OF RECENT YEARS,” A NOV. 17, 1918, ARTICLE CALLED IT.

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SUMMER 2020 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

In this photo from 1918, football fans at Grant Field are wearing face masks to protect themselves from the flu. By mid-October, local health officials deemed face masks no longer necessary for outdoor activities. Georgia Tech’s football season, however, continued to be affected by the pandemic.

PHOTOGRAPH

COURTESY OF ANDY MCNEIL, PP 01

leg from a motorcycle accident that happened earlier in the season. Heisman was also not looking forward to facing Everett Strupper, one of Tech’s former stars from 1917, who was now playing on the opposing side for Camp Gordon.

A “MERRY MIX-UP” When the day of the game finally arrived, more than 5,000 military fans and 500 others showed up to Grant Field. But, instead of the rematch they had expected, they found a sign saying the game had been called off.

Despite the sign on the gate, the crowd entered the field and waited in the stands from 1:30 p.m. until 4 p.m., demanding a game.

Why had the game been called off without notice to Camp Gordon?

An article the next day in the AJC recalled a confusing back-and-forth between officials of both teams to find out who had called off the game and for what reason. The article called it “one of the merriest mix-ups of recent years.”

After calling Tech’s new military commander Major R. P. Cook, Tech President Kenneth G. Matheson, and others, Referee Oliphant finally worked out that Tech had called off the game due to heavy rain earlier in the day and based on Medical Officer Captain E. Schultz’s recommendations that morning.

In a statement the next day, Tech gave the following reasons for the cancellation: “the condition of the field and the weather and the possibility of influenza and pneumonia resulting if the boys played.”

Officials said they had tried to phone Camp Gordon the day of the game to deliver the news, but they were unsuccessful at reaching them in time.

With the out-of-state travel ban recently lifted, Tech was also expected to play rival Pitt for the championship title the Saturday following the Tech-Gordon game.

Rumors circulated in the papers about the reasons for the cancellation.

Tech’s Maj. Cook was originally held Was Tech afraid to play Gor- responsible for the decision to cancel. don after such a hard-fought win a month earlier?

Were they saving players for the championship game against Pitt a week later? Or was it the rain earlier in the day, field conditions, and the possibility of the flu that led to the decision?

The reason behind the merry mix-up from 1918 may forever remain a mystery.

GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2020

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BACK PAGE

A RUSHED GOODBYE— BUT HARDLY THE END

D

Dear Class of 2020, This letter could never be enough to explain how much I love and miss you.

The semester getting cut short didn’t just rob us of in-person classes, or activities on campus, or our graduation; it stole months of time that we would have spent making peace with having to eventually say goodbye.

When you become a fourth year (or fifth or sixth), you know that this last year at Tech is going to be unique— you’ll never experience life in quite the same way. Unfortunately, we had to pack all those feelings, experiences, and love into a matter of days, all while rushing to figure out where home was going to be. It wasn’t fair, it wasn’t enough, and it was messy. It hurt to leave, knowing we might never be

Pooja Juvekar (left), SGA president, and Angell (right) with President Ángel Cabrera.

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SUMMER 2020 | GTALUMNI.ORG/MAGAZINE

together in this place again.

I keep imagining sitting in Highland Bakery or meeting in the Student Government Office, where we were constantly being interrupted by friends walking by. I think about what it will be like to not hear the AHOOGA! of the Ramblin’ Wreck cruising down Ferst Drive.

To pull another grueling all-nighter together or to dance and laugh and go on spur-of-the-moment adventures (jumping in the Campanile!).

The first thing I want to Haigh Angell, EIA 20, graduated remotely this spring. He say is thank you. Thank was a student ambassador and SGA vice president. you for your guidance, for influenced the Georgia Tech comyour patience, and for teaching me to munity in unimaginable ways, from be more confident in myself. And for pushing me to always be ready to dealumni to first years. I’m excited to see fend my takes when chats turned into you grow and change and succeed, friendly debates. I want you to know because, of course, you will. You’re a how much you are all appreciated, and Georgia Tech grad! There’s no doubt in how much your life and happiness, my mind that you can do what you set and our friendship, all mean to me. out to do, and I’m always going to be I find comfort knowing that this here to support you in whatever ways isn’t the end. When people change that I can. Go Jackets, forever. your life, your connection to them Yours in White and Gold, doesn’t end just because of a physical separation. I am confident that we will Haigh Angell, EIA 20 find ways to stay close even when we’re Outgoing Vice President not physically together. of Georgia Tech’s Student The class of 2020 is a force, and has Government Association

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