Professional Development & the Effective Team Dynamics Initiative

By Kerry Ann Wallaert

The truth is, I miss in-person conferences and workshops as a means to engage in professional development. I love visiting new cities, meeting with friends and new colleagues, and presenting sessions in person. However, professional development is not only about conferences and workshops. Professional development, at least how I define it, centers on growing my strengths and talents, stretching myself to meet new goals, and engage with colleagues who support my development. It wasn’t until recently when I realized how impactful coaching and the ETD Initiative have been to my growth and I am thrilled to share insight into our ETD outreach.

The Effective Team Dynamics Initiative was developed with the intention of reshaping team experiences in a positive way. Utilizing research driven methods and reflective evaluations, the ETD team has expanded to a campus-wide initiative which includes over 5500 students and 1250 faculty/staff that have been trained during the past four years. The ETD Initiative empowers Gallup-Certified Strengths Coaches to engage our campus community in strengths-based development that is fully integrated in courses, workshops, retreats, and professional development trainings. Within our ETD team, we coach each other and continue to create new programming efforts to meet the ever-changing team dynamic needs of our campus community.

As a team, we create opportunities to reshape team experiences by asking three key questions: Who Am I? How Do I Team? How Do We Team? Interactive workshops focus on the unique characteristics of the individual (Who Am I?), what the individual brings to the table and how they interact with others (How Do I Team?), and how to understand and navigate team dynamics (How Do We Team?). In addition to workshops, we have certified coaches who meet one on one for individual strengths-based coaching sessions. In the coaching sessions, we explore your top five strengths with you as you begin to learn how your natural talents are utilized (or not) within your professional and personal life. These sessions provide an opportunity for you to set goals situated in your talents and strengths.

In these unprecedented times, personal and professional development may take a backseat to the daily tasks and unknown situations that come up in our lives and work. The silver lining is that you work on a campus where the ETD Initiative is thriving, despite the pandemic. We continue on with our mission to bring a strengths-based approach to our students, faculty, and staff. Our ETD Blog, provides insight into the impact of strengths-based team dynamics across campus. I welcome you to reach out directly to me, if you have questions about my coaching experience or personal/professional development plan, which is enhanced by my ETD coaching experiences. If you are interested in learning more about how to become a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach, view the Gallup website here. I encourage you to schedule a workshop or a coaching session, or learn become a coach within the ETD Initiative. I look forward to connecting with you here!

2020 CoE Culture Champion Awards

The Culture Champion award is given to individuals who are striving to build a better culture in their School and College. The nominees are advocates for a positive and productive culture and help inspire others to promote a culture of inclusivity and acceptance.

Vickie Brian – AE Assistant Director for Admin Operations

Vickie has a sense of optimism and determination which is an inspiration to staff and faculty. Her can-do attitude, inclusiveness, and energy have brought a renewed sense that AE is a good place to work and grow.

Brenda Morris – BME Corporate Relations Manager 

Brenda builds a culture of trust and teamwork by acknowledging others, incorporating their thoughts with hers to envision a common goal, and then encouraging others to help execute that goal.

Danielle Ramirez – CEE Academic Program Coordinator

Danielle has organized workshops to drive a strong and positive culture across the School. She is valued for her hard work, expertise, celebrating others and going the extra mile.

Ellen Murkison – ChBE Academic Advising Manager

Ellen’s contributions to fostering student engagement have helped to create a collaborative student culture that is based on comradery more than competition, and this also translates to more positive interactions with staff and faculty.

Teresa Askew – ECE Assistant to the Chair

Teresa enriches her school by advocating for staff and her willingness to put in the hard work through a passionate leadership vision.

Amanda Ford – ISyE Graduate Programs Manager

Amanda is regarded as a trustworthy colleague for students and faculty alike, always acting in the students’ best interests. Amanda is a modest soul who is quick and joyful about complimenting others for their efforts

Scott Elliott – ME Machine Shop Supervisor

Scott has been very successful in developing ways to improve the communication with students and faculty, while also understanding the fabrication needs and design requirements from multiple disciplines on campus.

Kerry Wallaert – MSE Educational Outreach Manager

Kerry is the embodiment of positive engagement and goes above and beyond to participate actively in our department and committees, creating an environment of openness and teamwork.

Pumpkin Recipes

Pumpkin Pancakes

Submitted by Christy Kelley, Administrative Manager, BME

Makes 12 Five-Inch Pancakes

Ingredients

2 cups Bisquick baking mix

1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice*

2 eggs

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1 cup milk

Instructions

In a large bowl, mix together the baking mix, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin puree and milk.

Pour liquid into the flour mixture; stir until just blended. If batter is too thick, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk.

Place a lightly greased griddle or skillet over medium heat. For a 5-inch pancake, pour 1/4 cup batter onto the griddle. Use the back of a large spoon to spread the batter into a circle.  Cook until the surface bubbles and the underside is golden brown, about 2 minutes. Serve warm with your favorite topping. (Whipped cream!)

*DIY Pumpkin Pie Spice Instructions

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

 

Pumpkin Bread/Muffins

Submitted by Vickie Brian, Assistant Director of Administrative Operations, AE

Makes 2 loaves or 24 regular muffins and 48 mini muffins

Ingredients

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ cups sugar

¾ tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp ground cloves

½ tsp ground nutmeg

½ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp baking powder

2 eggs

½ cup vegetable oil

1 ¼ cups mashed cooked pumpkin

½ cup water

½ cup chopped nuts (optional)

½ cup chopped dates (optional)

Instructions

Combine first 8 ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  Add eggs, oil, pumpkin, and water; beat well. Fold in nuts and dates, if desired.

Pour into greased loaf pan or muffin pans.  Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour for loaf or 15 minutes for muffins.

 

Spicy Pumpkin Sweet Potato Chili

Submitted by Dawn Franklin, Director-HR, College of Engineering Office of the Dean

Ingredients

1 Pound lean ground beef or ground chicken

¼ pound pork loin cubed

1 can tomatoes & chilies (e.g. Rotel)

1 can fire roasted tomatoes

1 can tomato paste

1 ½ cups beef broth

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 can kidney beans

1 can black beans

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 green bell pepper chopped

1 medium yellow onion chopped

2 sweet potatoes cubed

3-4 tablespoons chili powder, divided

1-2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon cumin, divided

¼ teaspoon nutmeg, divided

1 teaspoon sea salt, divided

1 teaspoon black pepper

Shredded cheddar cheese for garnish

Instructions

In a large skillet, brown ground beef, season it with salt and chili powder. Drain fat and transfer to crock pot.

Season the pork cubes with ½ teaspoon cumin and a pinch of nutmeg, then sear in the same skillet. Add to crock pot.

Combine remaining ingredients to crock pot, stirring well.

Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 6 hours, stirring occasionally if you are able.

Garnish with shredded cheddar if desired upon serving.

 

Spoiled Dog Cake Recipe

Submitted by Alyssa Barnes, Communications Manager, MSE

Ingredients

Cake

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/8 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup applesauce

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1 egg

Frosting

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

1/4 cup peanut butter

Instructions

Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine flour and baking soda.

In a separate bowl mix together vegetable oil, peanut butter, applesauce and pumpkin puree. Once combined, mix in egg and mix until combined.

Combine wet and dry ingredients and stir until combined.

Pour mixture into an 8″ round pan (a square pan can also be used) that has been greased with oil.

Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the cake springs back when pressed lightly.

Allow to cool on a wire rack prior to removing from pan.

After cooling, add frosting if desired.

Frosting

Mix Greek yogurt and peanut butter until well combined. Spread over cake. If not serving immediately, store in refrigerator.

Tapping into Calm & Consciousness Amidst Chaos & Conflict

<A Gentle Trigger Warning>

Although this article is meant to be informative with positive information, due to the words used, and the social context we live in now along with other factors, reading this could potentially raise the stress level for some.  Please exercise caution and discretion as you move forward.  (Link to Well-Being/EAP for faculty and staff)

<The Pain We are Experiencing in the Year 2020 >

As early as in April, 2020, Dr. Andrew Solomon,  professor of medical clinical psychology at Columbia University Medical Center has shared in the following in NY Times.

“There are roughly four responses to the coronavirus crisis and the contingent social isolation. Some people take it all in stride and rely on a foundation of unshakable psychic stability.
Others constitute the worried well, who need only a bit of psychological first aid.
A third group who have not previously experienced these disorders are being catapulted into them.
Last, many who were already suffering from major depressive disorder have had their condition exacerbated, developing what clinicians call ‘double depression,’ in which a persistent depressive disorder is overlaid with an episode of unbearable pain.”

How one would fall into one category or another depends on several factors, including the inner resilience level one already has, the external support that one can get at the moment, and more. Having experienced some mental imbalance in the past as well as being a “highly sensitive person,” I was aware of my potential risk.  Combined with several factors hitting me and triggering me in March and April, I did indeed sink into a period of “unbearable pain.”   What started out as an Acute Stress Syndrome could have very well be called PTSD, as the symptoms did lasted longer than a month.  These are some of the symptoms I experienced.

  • intense grief
  • terror
  • sense of doom
  • energy loss
  • sleep loss
  • desperation
  • shaking
  • digestive issues, not being able to hold what I have eaten
  • then not being able to eat
  • uncontrollable negative thinking
  • having to be curled up into a ball
  • unable to get up at times
  • major hair loss
  • and more …

However, unlike in the past, I did not spiral down further into prolonged depression. And during the three months of my “COVID-Dip,” part of me was amused at this very unique opportunity to observe the unfolding and unwinding of the symptoms in real time.  The reason I was able to go through the situation with this awareness includes the fact that:

  1. There were some therapists who were supporting me and my family already. They incorporate advanced somatic or brain based modalities in their sessions, such as EMDR, Brainspotting, Somatic Experiencing and more.
  2. The great community of network of trauma aware practitioners around the globe rallied together to support each other (as a good number of us went into shock as well). We were reaching out to support each others as we did for others, and many have been so generous in sharing their time to give me private sessions, which was extremely valuable and helpful.
  3. As an employee at this resourceful institution GT with conscientious leaders and colleagues, I felt quite well supported, therefore financial stress was not as high.
  4. Also, I knew what I was experiencing didn’t have to last, that there would be learning from this experience, and that there was a way out
  5. I actively sought out further self-regulation modalities, including Breathing, QiGong which were helpful in their own ways.

(I am aware that not everyone on the earth has the same level of support as I did.)  Gratefully, I was able to make quite some recovery in a short amount of time.  Not only that, I have also come out with a renewed perspective and passion.  Some might call it a Post Traumatic Growth (PTG).  (Another audio link on on PTG by Dr. Robert Tadeschi)  I certainly do not wish anyone to have to go through the same experience I had to go through (it was excruciating.) But I do wish to share that, if anyone happens experience similar stress symptoms, you/they are certainly not alone.  And also please know too, that there are many modalities and tools available, to help us and the students to powerfully move forward in our lives.  I would like to share a little more about one potent tool “Tapping.”

 

<The Gentle “Tapping” That Worked for Deep Traumas in Africa>

Meet Gunilla Hamne and Ulf Sandström from the Peaceful Heart Network.  Along with trauma expert Dr. Carl Johnson, they have worked with and trained people in Rwanda, Congo, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Chad, Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, India, Canada, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland.  Together they have served some of the most vulnerable, including the orphans and survivors of the genocides, refugees, former child soldiers, and the professionals who support them.  The “Tapping” that Gunilla had synthesized is named “TTT” for “Trauma Tapping Technique.”  Here is one story of Jacques one of the first orphans to experience Trauma Tapping Technique in Rwanda. She now holds a Master in Public Health.

 

“Before I learned the tapping I could not think about those loved ones that I lost during the genocide. It felt like entering a dark fearful forest, not knowing what kind of danger awaited me there. I avoided the forest because it was too painful. But avoiding it also meant that I could not think about my parents and family. This made me feel very bad. Because you know for us Africans it is very important to connect with our ancestors. Therefore I felt like I betrayed them. But after getting to know this Tapping Technique things have changed. The forest has turned into a garden with flowers and different kind of trees. In this garden I can sit down with my family and feel we are all together again. It is a true relief.”
(From “Resolving Yesterday,” p.85)

There are many more real life case studies in their book “Resolving Yesterday” which is available for free on their website. (Also available for purchase on Amazon.) In the videos below, you can see Gunilla and Ulf taking us through the TTT Tapping protocol.  The first video has a calming music, and the second one is more fun and energetic where you can see the youth joyfully Tapping and dancing along to the great music 😊

Calm TTT Tap Along Video
-> https://youtu.be/_jHWq6n6WNM

Energetic TTT Tap Along Video
-> https://youtu.be/Sl0AkZfRGNE

The masterfully combined Tapping, breathing, strokes, moving along beats and music, all have calming effects on the brain and the nervous system.   And while some other Tapping modalities use words to carefully and intentionally trigger some stress (for the purpose of processing the emotions,) TTT Tapping does not use setup phrase or affirmations, therefore can get past language barriers and is also quite safe way to Tap. TTT Tapping have been successfully demonstrated its efficacy with the collective healing out in the field as well as in the following study, and continues to be shared.

A study on TTT: “Evaluating a 3-Week Model for Reducing Symptoms of Stress in Traumatised Youth Using the Trauma Tapping Technique (TTT) for Self-help: A Pilot Trial”

<Research on “Tapping”>

The cousin of TTT Tapping, EFT Tapping is an evidence based modality, with over 120 published peer review journals, including several meta analyses.  EFT Tapping is has proven to be effective for anxiety including test anxiety, depression, phobia, food cravings, also long term weight management.   Listed below are well known sites that collect EFT Tapping related research.

Some of the recent highlights include “Australian Psychologist of the Year 2019” recipient Dr. Peta Stapleton’s research which show changes in the brain pattern based on fMRI studies.  This information has been published in an easy to read book “The Science Behind Tapping;”  In this study EFT group had showed an impressive 43% drop of cortisol in a 1 hour session, compared to the 19% reduction in psychoeducation group.    Dr. Amy Gaesser has published a study that shows EFT Tapping as effective in reducing adolescent anxiety amongst high functioning students as well.  Dr. Liz Boath at Stafforshire University (UK) have also been researching EFT as well as Dr. Dawson Church.

<The Why and How “Tapping” Works>

Based on a Harvard Medical School fMRI study on acupuncture treatments, it appears that stimulating the designated acupuncture spots (which Tapping utilizes) causes a down regulation in the amygdala (fight or flight response.)  It appears these points have better electric conductivity than others.  As we activate the brain with stress, then do the Tapping, the neuro-wiring is shifted to where brain no longer responds to stress in the same way – rather it is now retrained to respond calmer. So, the original stress trigger is, no longer able to trigger stress in the same way it has just moments ago (this is where trauma memory feels distant, or becomes blur.)  It is also considered that as the amygdala calms down, it affects the 10th cranial nerve,  also known as the vagas nerve.  This then now sends down a different message down the nerves, causeing shifts in the hormones produced in various organs (… such as the 40% drop of cortisol that was proven by studies).  All these cascade of neurophysiological shifts can be reinforced with repeated Tapping (such as not getting upset or nervous all the time any more.)

The Polivagal Theory which has been developed by Dr. Stephen Porges is often on the spotlight as we try to better understand the responses to threat at the autonomic nervous system level.  Dr. Porges proposes three major stages of progression, in how we deal with stress and threats.  While acknowledging the risk that this is over simplified, here is my current understanding and how it worked this year.

  1. The first and ideal state is “Ventral Regulation” where despite some stress, we can manage, we can get through, feeling resourceful. If we are challenged in this stage, our natural instinct is to seek, confirm and/or further attempt to build social emotional connections so we can increase our sense of safety.
    –> GT leaders and various communities have demonstrated this beautifully during this crisis.
  2. If the challenge continues and this level one strategy doesn’t work well enough, the next level response is “Sympathetic Immobalization Response.” This is where we go into flight/fight mode, where we are flooded with energy and our bodies are neurologically compelled to take actions (even if it doesn’t really make much sense)
    –> Perhaps all the attacks we witnessed on social media is one example of the “fight” response as the sense of safety was compromised?
  3. If that still doesn’t work, the final level is to go into “Dorsal/Vagal Immobalization Response” This can also be called a collapse, freeze, or flop response – where the overwhelm and loss of control overpowers you and our body gives up in a sense.
    –> I believe this is what I have personally experienced as well (but was able to move back out of, thanks to the various neuro-regulation techniques available.)

<Tapping on College Campuses & Education>

Being an academic researcher and in a university, I asked Dr. Stapleton a few questions:

Q. How do you project the pandemic to impact college age students, current or incoming?

A: Universities are being impacted due to international students not being able to travel, and this will affect incomes. For current students already at college, or school, the pivot to online learning has been steep – technological issues can occur, and just being online has resulted in fatigue like no other! Plus the lack of connection in the classroom, to the teacher/lecturer has really impacted some students emotionally.

Q: Do you think Tapping can be a valuable tool for colleges to incorporate as a service on campuses?

A: Absolutely – the ability to use tapping to self-regulate, just tapping and breathing to cope, is a powerful tool to have. We offer EFT Tapping Wellness Sessions for staff here at Bond University (we always have a waiting list!), and students are given videos of Tapping as part of coping strategies. In the Staff Tapping Wellness Sessions, I pitch it as introductory, and teach clinical EFT, and then we usually apply to a recent stress situation (no deep dive, no trauma handling.) Anyone who needs/wants further sessions can get referrals to practitioners.  I usually briefly flag the evidence, our research and what we are doing, and often get the remark “I didn’t know it had so much research behind it!”  The staff also love the food craving research, so I am going back to do another session on food cravings, and they are all bringing food 🙂

Dr. Stapleton further shared that she is working towards the goal of being able to offer a course on “somatic based therapies for trauma.”  This is to be offered to students in the Masters of Clinical Psychology and Masters of Professional Practice (Psychology) programs at Bond University (Australia).  EFT Tapping will be one segment that will be taught during this course.   In France, a new university degree (D.U.) is now being offered at Lyon University Hospital that includes EFT Tapping in their curriculum as well.  Dr. Liz Boath at University of Staffordshire (UK) also has been conducting research, as well as Dr. Dawson Church in collaboration with other research groups.

Here in the United States, I am aware of Emory University sharing Tapping during one of their stress management classes, and there are several other universities where counselors/director of counseling are experimenting with and/or finding ways to offer Tapping to students. (Connecticut, Massachusetts, North Dakota at least, and probably many more.)

<In Closing>

“Tapping” is quickly gaining recognition for a good reason, and there is also a good amount of evidence to support its efficacy. While we await to know further on how it all works and why, I would also like to remind ourselves of the following.  Over the long human history, there always have been experience based knowledge and wisdom to be nurtured and passed down. Tapping is partly based on the thousands of years Chinese medicine, which have withstood the test of time.  In indigenous cultures, drumming and dancing as a community must have served a very important purposes of not just bringing communities together, but now it is understood that there is the therapeutic effect of bringing our nerves into more calm state as well.  We now have enough base knowledge in neuroscience and experiences that we can, and would want to, start working closely, kindly, and intentionally with our nervous systems.  This would only be supportive in creating positive shifts in our brains and for our overall well-being.  Tapping is one of the many neural-regulation tools, which is quite effective, all natural, wholistic, and free.  It is literally at our fingertips.  In these existential times where we are each needing to be proactive to mitigate the unprecedented and wide-spread impact of the crisis, we might wish to consider unconventional approaches to healing and growth as well.  Speaking of EFT Tapping specifically, research shows that the benefits is not just limited to the individuals.  With the quicker shifts to be generated, if therapists are to be well trained in this modality this means less therapy sessions to achieve the same results (I.e. 8 weeks vs 6 months), saving precious time, energy and costs for the care provider and organizations as well.  At this time, more and more people are starting to feel the Pandemic and Academic Burnout.  It would be a good idea to take proactive steps to change the trajectory.

As our Provost Steve has mentioned, “Tech is a community of a fearless solution seekers.”  I invite anyone who supports GT’s motto of “Progress and Service, and Improving Human Condition” to perhaps at least consider giving Tapping (or any other empowering somatic modalities such as yoga, qigong, Breathing, dancing, etc.) a try.  As we do so, we strengthen ourselves, and we strengthen each other.   Thank you for reading.

To our collectively growth –

————————————————————————————-

<Would you like to experience the emotion balancing effects of Tapping?>
I also love offering “Intro to Tapping” team building workshops.  This can be done anywhere between 10-30 min for any on campus units.  For this fall semester 2020, I am also offering Lunch Time Tapping for a mid-day stress reset.  This is open to all, so please feel free to send your stressed out students as well.  Participants will learn the very basics of Tapping, then the tool is yours/theirs to keep to be used anytime, anywhere 😊

<Acknowledgement>
Thanks goes to Ulf Sandström, Gunnila Hemne, Peta Stapleton, John Freedom, Andy Bryce for your support and exchange in generating this article.

<Some More Clarifications on the Different “Tapping” Names>
TTT (Trauma Tapping Technique): Synthesized by Gunilla Hamne.  No affirmations or setup phrases are used. Tapping is combined with breathing, stroking etc intended to calm the nervous system.  It can be safely applied in most any situation and in groups.

EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques):  Developed by Stanford Engineer Gary Craig, who have generously shared EFT for free adaptation.  EFT uses setup phrases, which is to purposefully trigger the nerves, so you can successfully override and tame the stress response.  This is also increasingly being used in the business communities as reducing stress can lead to boost in confidence, connections, creativity and more.  For research purposes, some follow strict algorithms so that there is consistency, and this can be called Evidence Based Clinical EFT (by Dr. Peta Stapleton), as otherwise there has been somewhat of a confusion as to what EFT actually is (with varying results) since each practitioner tends to develop their own style, some more effective than others.

TFT (Thought Field Therapy): Developed by Dr. Roger Callahan, which is now being taught by his wife Joanne Callahan.  TFT is the forerunner of TTT and EFT where the later two were simplified for ease of use, sharing and/or efficiency.  I do not yet fully understand the mechanisms (other than the overlap with EFT Tapping) but found it to be effective and supportive in my own recovery.

————————————————————————————-

SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER SERVICE ANNIVERSARIES

50 YEARS
Aerospace Engineering Hanagud,Sathyanaraya 9/28/1970 Professor
35 YEARS
Civil & Environmental Engr Zureick,Abdulhamid 9/15/1985 Professor
Mechanical Engineering Ferri,Aldo A 9/22/1985 Assoc Chair-Academic
Mechanical Engineering Lee,Kok Meng 9/22/1985 Professor
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Benkeser,Paul J 9/23/1985 Assoc Chair-Academic
Electrical & Computer Engr Rohatgi,Ajeet 9/23/1985 Regents Professor
Industrial & Systems Engr Nemhauser,George L 9/23/1985 Professor
Materials Science & Engr Jayaraman,Sundaresan 9/23/1985 Professor
30 YEARS
Electrical & Computer Engr Smith,William W 9/13/1990 Senior Academic Professional
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Borodovsky,Mark 9/13/1990 Regents Professor
Civil & Environmental Engr Mayne,Paul W 9/24/1990 Professor
Mechanical Engineering Streator,Jeffrey L 9/24/1990 Associate Professor
Industrial & Systems Engr Dai,Jiangang 9/24/1990 Adjunct Professor
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Zhu,Cheng 9/24/1990 Regents Professor
25 YEARS
Industrial & Systems Engr Ayhan,Hayriye 9/18/1995 Professor
Mechanical Engineering Zhou,Min 9/18/1995 Professor
Industrial & Systems Engr Andradottir,Sigrun 9/18/1995 Professor
Materials Science & Engr Buckner,Latanya S 10/16/1995 Asst Dir-Financial Ops
Mechanical Engineering Hicks,Angela L 10/27/1995 Dir-Business Ops
20 YEARS
Aerospace Engineering O’Neill,Gary S 9/1/2000 Senior Research Engineer
Mechanical Engineering Guillot,Francois 9/12/2000 Senior Research Engineer
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Kelley,Christy Lane 9/15/2000 Admin Mgr I
Mechanical Engineering Johnson,Glenda R. 10/5/2000 Academic Advising Mgr
15 YEARS
Industrial & Systems Engr Blasick,Ann M 9/12/2005 Corporate Relations Mgr
Chemical and Biomolecular Engr Kunicki,Sara T 9/13/2005 Faculty Support Coord
10 YEARS
Electrical & Computer Engr Kathaperumal,Mohanalingam 9/1/2010 Senior Research Scientist
Civil & Environmental Engr Bras,Rafael Luis 9/1/2010 Professor
Mechanical Engineering Henry,Asegun Sekou 9/7/2010 Adjunct Assistant Professor
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Pai,Balakrishna S 9/16/2010 Senior Academic Professional
Mechanical Engineering Rinehart,Clint Allen 9/29/2010 Mechanical Engr I
5 YEARS
Materials Science & Engr Bucknall,David G 8/1/2015 Adjunct Professor
Electrical & Computer Engr VanderLaan,Donald 9/4/2015 Research Engineer I-LT
Electrical & Computer Engr VanderLaan,Donald 9/4/2015 Research Engineer I-LT
Industrial & Systems Engr Wunder-Smith,Shelley 9/11/2015 Writer/Editor Sr
Mechanical Engineering Williams,Darryl 10/1/2015 Building Coord I
Chemical and Biomolecular Engr Medford,Andrew James 10/19/2015 Assistant Professor
Mechanical Engineering Mohan,Soumya 10/20/2015 Research Engineer I
1 YEAR
Industrial & Systems Engr Dalmeijer,Kevin 9/1/2019 Postdoctoral Fellow
Chemical and Biomolecular Engr Marques,Sarah 9/1/2019 Postdoctoral Fellow
Aerospace Systems Design Lab Oh,Sehwan 9/1/2019 Postdoctoral Fellow
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Hughes,Bryant 9/1/2019 HR Coordinator
Materials Science & Engr Lee,Dong-Chan 9/1/2019 Postdoctoral Fellow
Materials Science & Engr Sahu,Harikrishna 9/1/2019 Postdoctoral Fellow
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Zhou,Fangyuan 9/1/2019 Postdoctoral Fellow
Aerospace Systems Design Lab Oh,Sehwan 9/1/2019 Postdoctoral Fellow
Materials Science & Engr Gonzalez Del Rio,Beatriz 9/1/2019 Postdoctoral Fellow
Civil & Environmental Engr Qing,Zhu 9/3/2019 Postdoctoral Fellow
Electrical & Computer Engr Mints,Steven 9/4/2019 IT Support Prof I
Mechanical Engineering Curtis,Mack 9/5/2019 Academic Assistant II
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Taylor Haralson,Roselyn 9/9/2019 Faculty Support Coord
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Dobrowolski,Curtis Noel 9/16/2019 Postdoctoral Fellow
Electrical & Computer Engr Al Abri,Said Salim Hamdan 9/17/2019 Postdoctoral Fellow
Materials Science & Engr Zou,Haiyang 9/20/2019 Postdoctoral Fellow
Chemical and Biomolecular Engr Yu,Zeyang 9/20/2019 Postdoctoral Fellow
Electrical & Computer Engr Agosto,Carlos Javier 9/22/2019 Test Technician I
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Phuengkham,Hathaichanok 9/23/2019 Postdoctoral Fellow
Chemical and Biomolecular Engr Salami,Hossein 9/23/2019 Postdoctoral Fellow
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Trusty,Phillip 9/23/2019 Research Engineer I – NE
Materials Science & Engr Li,Zili 9/23/2019 Postdoctoral Fellow-NE
Electrical & Computer Engr Daruwalla,Anosh Dorab 9/25/2019 Research Engineer I-LT
Electrical & Computer Engr Daruwalla,Anosh Dorab 9/25/2019 Research Engineer I-LT
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Franklin,Tina 10/1/2019 Research Scientist II
Materials Science & Engr Perini,Carlo Andrea Riccardo 10/1/2019 Postdoctoral Fellow
Aerospace Engineering Powell,Deborah 10/2/2019 Admin Professional III
Aerospace Engineering Johnson,Donnel 10/7/2019 Admin Professional III
Mechanical Engineering Niu,Tianye 10/7/2019 Associate Professor
Industrial & Systems Engr Dehghanian,Amin 10/8/2019 Postdoctoral Fellow
Mechanical Engineering Michalaki,Eleftheria 10/14/2019 Postdoctoral Fellow
Aerospace Engineering Lee,Sangyup 10/14/2019 Postdoctoral Fellow
Materials Science & Engr Zhang,Meng 10/14/2019 Postdoctoral Fellow-NE
Electrical & Computer Engr McCormick,Jackson Cameron 10/16/2019 Postdoctoral Fellow
Civil & Environmental Engr Zhao,Yangying 10/17/2019 Postdoctoral Fellow
Electrical & Computer Engr Roy Chowdhury,Vikram 10/21/2019 Postdoctoral Fellow
Mechanical Engineering Morris,Benjamin 10/21/2019 Financial Admin I

July/August 2020 Service Anniversaries

 

Department Name Service Date Job Title
July 2020
25 Years
Chemical and Biomolecular Engr Prausnitz,Mark R 7/1/1995 Regents Professor
Electrical & Computer Engr Warren,Chelcea H 7/20/1995 Academic Program Mgr I
20 Years
Chemical and Biomolecular Engr Meredith,James Carson 7/17/2000 Professor
Industrial & Systems Engr Norback,Judith Shaul 7/17/2000 Senior Academic Professional
15 Years
Industrial & Systems Engr Clarke,John-Paul B 7/1/2005 Professor
10 Years
Materials Science & Engr Choi,Jiill 7/1/2010 Research Technician IV
Aerospace Engineering Moore,Kathleen E 7/6/2010 Communications Mgr II
5 Years
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Pardue,Machelle 7/1/2015 Professor
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Read,Arthur Thomas 7/1/2015 Research Scientist II
Electrical & Computer Engr Emelianov,Stanislav 7/1/2015 Professor
Mechanical Engineering Dorozhkin,Denis Vitalievich 7/6/2015 Lecturer
Aerospace Systems Design Lab Durham,Adrienne 7/8/2015 Academic Program Mgr I
Electrical & Computer Engr Kandula,Rajendra Prasad 7/15/2015 Research Engineer II
Chemical and Biomolecular Engr Paravastu,Anant Krishna 7/15/2015 Associate Professor
1 Year
Electrical & Computer Engr Wu,Yi-Da 7/1/2019 Research Engineer II
Chemical and Biomolecular Engr Turner,Randee R 7/1/2019 Financial Admin II
Mechanical Engineering Sugino,Christopher Edward 7/2/2019 Postdoctoral Fellow
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Mohanty,Pooja 7/9/2019 Research Technician III
Industrial & Systems Engr Mukherjee,Debankur 7/11/2019 Assistant Professor
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Harris,Adrian M 7/15/2019 Research Technician II
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Kauffman,Terry 7/22/2019 Faculty Support Coord
Chemical and Biomolecular Engr Wang,Yuchen 7/26/2019 Postdoctoral Fellow
Mechanical Engineering Young,Katherine 7/30/2019 Faculty Support Coord
August 2020
30 Years
Mechanical Engineering Neitzel,G Paul 8/14/1990 Professor Emeritus
25 Years
Electrical & Computer Engr Keezer,David C 8/21/1995 Professor
20 years
Electrical & Computer Engr Bourgeois,Christina M 8/1/2000 Senior Academic Professional
Electrical & Computer Engr Dixon,Patricia A 8/14/2000 Financial Mgr II
Civil & Environmental Engr Muhanna,Rafi L 8/16/2000 Associate Professor
Electrical & Computer Engr Sivakumar,Raghupathy 8/16/2000 Professor
Chemical and Biomolecular Engr Jones,Christopher W 8/16/2000 Professor
Chemical and Biomolecular Engr Bommarius,Andreas S 8/16/2000 Professor
Electrical & Computer Engr Fekri,Faramarz 8/16/2000 Professor
15 Years
Materials Science & Engr Shofner,Meisha Lei 8/1/2005 Associate Professor
Mechanical Engineering Zhu,Ting 8/1/2005 Professor
Chemical and Biomolecular Engr Federico,Lori S. 8/15/2005 Asst to the Chair II
Mechanical Engineering Gleason Jr.,Rudolph Lawson 8/15/2005 Associate Professor
Industrial & Systems Engr Thomas,Valerie M 8/16/2005 Professor
Electrical & Computer Engr Ougazzaden,Abdallah 8/16/2005 Professor
Industrial & Systems Engr Nemirovski,Arkadi S 8/17/2005 Professor
Industrial & Systems Engr Serban,Nicoleta 8/17/2005 Professor
10 Years
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Maffey,Sandra I 8/2/2010 Admin Professional Sr
Chemical and Biomolecular Engr Jenkins,Mack Joseph 8/10/2010 IT Support Prof Sr
Mechanical Engineering O’Neill,Eric Brian 8/12/2010 Research Technician III
Electrical & Computer Engr Zajic,Alenka 8/15/2010 Associate Professor
5 Years
Aerospace Engineering Di Leo,Claudio Vinicius 8/1/2015 Assistant Professor
Chemical and Biomolecular Engr Kane,Ravi S 8/1/2015 Professor
Electrical & Computer Engr Kulisz,Olivia 8/3/2015 Corporate Relations Mgr
Mechanical Engineering McDowell,Matthew Todd 8/10/2015 Assistant Professor
Mechanical Engineering Hatzell,Marta 8/12/2015 Assistant Professor
Electrical & Computer Engr Graber,Lukas 8/15/2015 Assistant Professor
Mechanical Engineering Wood,Levi Benjamin 8/15/2015 Assistant Professor
Civil & Environmental Engr Dai,Sheng 8/15/2015 Assistant Professor
Industrial & Systems Engr Tokol-Goldsman,Gamze 8/15/2015 Lecturer
Materials Science & Engr Kacher,Joshua P 8/15/2015 Assistant Professor
Electrical & Computer Engr Krishna,Tushar 8/15/2015 Assistant Professor
Electrical & Computer Engr Kubelick,Kelsey Paige 8/17/2015 Research Scientist II
Chemical and Biomolecular Engr Caparco,Adam Alexander 8/17/2015 Research Technician III
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Tsygankov,Denis V. 8/17/2015 Assistant Professor
Electrical & Computer Engr Sharma,Suresh K 8/20/2015 Research Associate II
Aerospace Engineering Lee,Jinwoo 8/31/2015 Academic Program Coord I
1 Year
Mechanical Engineering Saha,Sourabh Kumar 8/1/2019 Assistant Professor
Mechanical Engineering Yoon,Jeongkee 8/1/2019 Postdoctoral Fellow
Chemical and Biomolecular Engr Scott,Joseph K 8/1/2019 Associate Professor
Electrical & Computer Engr Li,Shaolan 8/1/2019 Assistant Professor
Materials Science & Engr Alamgir,Alena 8/1/2019 Lecturer
Mechanical Engineering Beck,Owen N 8/1/2019 Postdoctoral Scholar
Civil & Environmental Engr Sherman,Ryan J 8/1/2019 Assistant Professor
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Coskun,Ahmet 8/1/2019 Assistant Professor
Mechanical Engineering Morton,Daniel 8/1/2019 Research Associate II
Aerospace Engineering Dec,John A 8/1/2019 Professor of the Practice
Mechanical Engineering Tao,Yuguo 8/5/2019 Research Engineer II
Aerospace Engineering Skinner,Katherine 8/12/2019 Postdoctoral Fellow
Engineered Biosystems Cleves,Ana Maria 8/12/2019 Faculty Support Coord II
Aerospace Engineering Ho,Koki 8/15/2019 Assistant Professor
Industrial & Systems Engr Dahan,Mathieu 8/15/2019 Assistant Professor
Materials Science & Engr Jain,Samyak 8/15/2019 Research Technician I
Electrical & Computer Engr Carroll,Brandon Thell 8/15/2019 Postdoctoral Fellow
Chemical and Biomolecular Engr Ball,Madelyn Rose Baltus 8/16/2019 Postdoctoral Fellow
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Goodson,Matthew 8/19/2019 Research Technician IV
Aerospace Engineering Saetti,Umberto 8/19/2019 Postdoctoral Fellow
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Carrion,Carmen Angelica 8/19/2019 Research Scientist I
Engineered Biosystems Sidney,Rondereo 8/19/2019 Grants Administrator
Electrical & Computer Engr Zewdie,Gebreab 8/21/2019 Postdoctoral Fellow
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Demont,Robert Raymond 8/21/2019 Extension Professional I
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Prichard,Ashley 8/22/2019 Postdoctoral Fellow
Civil & Environmental Engr Fralick,Melissa Weinman 8/29/2019 Communications Mgr
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Hobbs,Ryan Alexander 8/29/2019 Research Technician I
Civil & Environmental Engr Malshe,Milind 8/30/2019 Research Engineer I

Working from Home, with Kids, During a Pandemic

An interview with Lori Federico, assistant to Chair and Professor David Sholl in the School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering

Lori Federico is a working mom, gracefully balancing teleworking, while also entertaining and managing her two kids as they return to virtual school this fall. Her daughter Mia is 10 and has just started 5th grade. Henry, her youngest at age four, has just started pre-K. All classes will be remote this fall.

Lori learned a few things when the pandemic started in March, as everyone had to scramble to adjust to the ‘new normal.’ From her home in Kirkwood, she provides a few tips for working parents to help juggle everything that comes with teleworking with school-age children in the house.

Lori’s tips for teaching at home while working

  1. Create a color-coded Google calendar. For Mia’s classes, it includes due dates for assignments and when different class sessions are occurring. Henry’s schedule is a little more fluid, so we add in online music classes or a puppet show he can watch. My husband Brian who works at Warner Media has his schedule on there too. And of course, my schedule. Clearly, there are lots of moving parts, but it helps us stay organized. In a way, it’s like running your household like an office.
  2. For virtual learning, don’t try to stick to a hard and fast schedule – you have to be flexible with the schedule. And have a back-up plan if things get off course.
  3. Have lots of creative activities for the kids to do during down time. You have to create that school environment at home. I’ve had to buy a ton of creative supplies like glitter, glue and construction paper so the kids can do arts and crafts at home. We also do a lot of science experiments, like making slime and erupting volcanos.
  4. Be patient with yourself – don’t give into the mom/dad guilt. We don’t give ourselves enough grace half the time. So, when we have a bad day, I sit down with the kids and just say, ‘Today really stinks. Let’s just take a walk and walk it out.’
  5. Understand your kid’s frustrations too. They miss their friends and teachers. For Mia at age 10, we talk about her feelings. Sometimes if the kids act out, the reason behind it is because they miss their friends. Henry doesn’t always know how to express himself, so he will act out, but it’s just because he’s sad and missing his friends.
  6. Some days are just really hard and I have to take a minute and think what can I drop right now in order to get some control back and stop the chaos.

Lori’s general tips for working from home

  1. For ChBE, I do the calendaring and running of reports, among other things, so I’m able to arrange my schedule in a very flexible way. I recommend working with your supervisor to see if a flexible schedule is ok. The work will get done, it just might be at odd hours.
  2. Work with your partner to manage the kids learning, and pinch hit for each other when you can to accommodate meetings that have to happen at certain times. I have a single parent friend, and she’s all about being organized and keeping her three year old entertained if she has a meeting. And a lot of the time, that means putting on a video or YouTube.
  3. It’s all about organization – if I know I have a meeting from two to four, I plan for that and make sure the kids are occupied with an activity during that time.
  4. Don’t be afraid to ask for flexibility from your boss. You need to have a mutual trust with your supervisor. If you have a good team that trusts each other and works well together, then there’s no problem
  5. And remember, kids are going to be in the background on BlueJeans calls sometimes!

Parking and Transit Details for Fall 2020

Parking Details from Sherry Davidson at PTS

Staff and faculty may cancel/return their permit (for the upcoming year) through August 14, without any charges.  Please use the Permit Return form location on our website.  The link can also be found here.   After August 14, 2020-2021 annual permits may be returned anytime through March 31, 2021 for a prorated refund.  Please note that temporary and SmartPark permits are not refundable.  So, if someone has renewed and has now changed their mind and would like to return their permit, they may do so by using the Permit Return form or they may contact our office by email at info.parking@parking.gatech.edu.  (The form is the preferred method to request a return).

Regarding the assigned area, unfortunately, once a permit is returned, the space assignment is not held for the individual.  This should not be a problem for most locations, but it will impact anyone with an E44 permit, due to the size of its waitlist.  Space in all other locations (including Peters and Burge) typically turn over pretty quickly.  So, if someone adds themselves to a waiting list for a location, they will most likely be awarded a space within the same semester.

I also want to update you on a pilot that we’re trying to launch by August 15.  For employees who are planning to telework and may commute to campus one-to -two times per week, you know we have the SmartPark program, which is currently available at 5 locations across campus (Area 1, E81, W02, W22 and W23).  Well we’re also looking to launch a program which allows faculty, staff and students to purchase temporary permits (online) for a similar cost as the SmartPark daily parking.  The temporary permits will be available at non-SmartPark locations, such as E65, W01, W06, W21, ER51, etc.  We have not yet finalized the guidelines, but hope to have it announced by next week and available beginning August 15.  These permits will be virtual (no physical hangtag) and may be purchased as needed.  This will give campus users the ability to park in more campus locations at a discounted rate.  As soon as we’ve completed the details, I’ll send you an update.

Tech Transit Updates

This fall, campus transit routes and service frequencies will be adjusted to accommodate social distancing impacts on bus capacity.  Primary routes, like the Gold (formerly called Tech Trolley) and Blue Routes, will have increased service frequencies.  Red Route, Midnight Rambler, and the weekend Gold Route services will not operate during the fall semester; those resources will be refocused on increasing service on our primary routes.

The GT/Emory shuttle will resume August 3rd and the Blue, Green, and Tech Square/Clough Routes will resume service by August 17th.  Detailed routes and schedules for fall semester are now posted on our PTS website at http://pts.gatech.edu/campus-bus-routes.

Also, in order to provide social distancing, the nighttime Stingerette service is currently limited to one rider at a time.  Starting August 1, Stingerette service will be available from 9:30 PM to 4:45 AM, daily.  Due to the change in Stingerette hours, we’re making some fixed route changes will be in effect starting August 17th:

  • The Blue Route service will be extended to midnight, Monday-Friday, to help accommodate evening ridership.
  • The Green Route service will be extended to 9:30 PM, Monday-Friday, to help accommodate evening ridership.
  • The Gold Route service will start at 5:00 AM, Monday-Friday, to accommodate early morning MARTA trips.

Regarding our new bus guidelines (to promote social distancing and safe riding), we’re implementing the following:

  • Avoid riding the bus or Stingerette if you are sick.
  • Face masks are required of all riders.  Riders without a mask may request a disposable mask from the driver.
  • Boarding and exiting will take place through the back door whenever possible.
  • Seating guidelines will be in place for social distancing (every other seat will be blocked).
  • Standing will not be allowed on the bus. If no seats are available, passengers will need to wait for the next bus.
  • Riders are encouraged to limit conversations on board buses.

Resources to Support Social Justice

This is not an exhaustive list, and we encourage everyone to decide the best way they can be informed, educated, and take action.

Resources to Support Social Justice

Books

“White Fragility: Why it’s so hard for white people to talk about racism” by Robin DiAngelo

“How to be an Antiracist”  by Ibram X. Kendi

“The Fire this Time: A New Generation speaks about race”  Edited by Jesmyn Ward

Can We Talk about Race?: And Other Conversations in an Era of School Resegregation by Beverly Tatum and Theresa Perry

Stand Your Ground: Black Bodies and the Justice of God by Kelly Brown Douglas

The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action by Audre Lorde

75 Things White People Can Do For Racial Justice by Corinne Shutack

Books to Teach White Children and Teens How to Undo Racism and White Supremacy from Charis Books & More

Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? By Beverly Daniel Tatum Ph.D.

White Rage: The unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide by Carol Anderson, Ph.D.

Black Feminist Thought by Patricia Hill Collins

Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Dr. Brittney Cooper

Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

Invisible No More: Police Violence Against Black Women and Women of Color by Andrea J. Ritchie

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad

Raising Our Hands by Jenna Arnold

Redefining Realness by Janet Mock

Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde

So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
by Michelle Alexander

The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century
by Grace Lee Boggs

The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color by Cherríe Moraga

When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America by Ira Katznelson

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein

Coretta Scott King Book Award Winners: books for children and young adults

31 Children’s books to support conversations on race, racism and resistance

Racism Without Racists by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva

White Out: Understanding White Privilege and Dominance in the Modern Age by C. Collins and A. Jun

Bad Boys: Public Schools in the Making of Black Masculinity by Ann Arnett Ferguson

Learning in a Burning House: Educational inequality, ideology, and (dis)integration by Douglas Horsford

Detroit: An American Autopsy by Charlie LeDuff

The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore

I Can’t Breathe: A Killing on Bay Street by Matt Taibbi

Articles

“America’s Racial Contract Is Killing Us” by Adam Serwer | Atlantic (May 8, 2020)

Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement (Mentoring a New Generation of Activists

”My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant” by Jose Antonio Vargas | NYT Mag (June 22, 2011)

The 1619 Project (all the articles) | The New York Times Magazine

The Combahee River Collective Statement

“The Intersectionality Wars” by Jane Coaston | Vox (May 28, 2019)

Tips for Creating Effective White Caucus Groups developed by Craig Elliott PhD

“Where do I donate? Why is the uprising violent? Should I go protest?”

”White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” by Knapsack Peggy McIntosh

“Who Gets to Be Afraid in America?” by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi | Atlantic (May 12, 2020)

Justice in June

Being Antiracist

Learn more about the Black Lives Matter movement

Police Brutality and Black Health: Setting the Agenda for Public Health Scholars

The Nobel Acceptance Speech delivered by Elie Wiesel

How Moral Leaders Approach Neutrality

Eliminating Barriers to Racial Equity

The Case for Reparations

Extensive Data Shows the Punishing Reach of Racism for Black Boys

Why the policing problem isn’t about “a few bad apples”

7 Anti-Racist Books Recommended by Educators and Activists

The five conversations credible leaders must have in this moment.

The racial politics of STEM education in the USA: interrogations and explorations

How White Parents Can Talk To Their Kids About Race | NPR

Teaching Your Child About Black History Month | PBS

Your Kids Aren’t Too Young to Talk About Race: Resource Roundup from Pretty Good

5 Podcasts to Listen to If You Really Want to Know about Race in America.

A Talk to Teachers

Burning Brown to the Ground

Shenequa Golding: “Maintaining Professionalism In The Age of Black Death Is….A Lot”

Implicit Bias Project

29 Movies, Shows, and Documentaries to Watch to Educate Yourself on Racial Injustice

Police Unions And Police Violence

The Minnesota Paradox

Scholarly Articles

Marianne Bertrand and Sendhil Mullainathan: “Are Emily and Greg More Employable than Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination,” The American Economic Review, Vol. 94, No. 4, Sep., 2004, pgs. 991-1013.

Deva Pager: “The Mark of a Criminal Record,” American Journal of Sociology Vol. 108, No. 5, March 2003, pgs. 937–75.

The Invisible Weight of Whiteness: The Racial Grammar of Everyday Life in America

Just What is Critical Race Theory and What’s It Doing in a Nice Field Like Education?

Videos

What is Race to You?

Systemic Racism

“The Talk”

Allies

One perspective on why Black people are Protesting, Rioting, Looting

Dr. Platt’s BMES talk

Yale Talk

Black Feminism & the Movement for Black Lives: Barbara Smith, Reina Gossett, Charlene Carruthers (50:48)

Dr. Robin DiAngelo discusses ‘White Fragility’ (1:23:30)

“How Studying Privilege Systems Can Strengthen Compassion” | Peggy McIntosh at TEDxTimberlaneSchools (18:26)

Dr. Robin DiAngelo discusses ‘White Fragility’

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, May 29, 2020: George Floyd, Minneapolis Protests, Ahmaud Arbery & Amy Cooper

TV/Movies

13th (Ava DuVernay) — Netflix

American Son (Kenny Leon) — Netflix

Black Power Mixtape: 1967-1975 — Available to rent

Blindspotting (Carlos López Estrada) — Hulu with Cinemax or available to rent

Clemency (Chinonye Chukwu) — Available to rent

Dear White People (Justin Simien) — Netflix

Fruitvale Station (Ryan Coogler) — Available to rent

I Am Not Your Negro (James Baldwin doc) — Available to rent or on Kanopy

If Beale Street Could Talk (Barry Jenkins) — Hulu

Just Mercy (Destin Daniel Cretton) — Available to rent for free in June in the U.S.

King In The Wilderness  — HBO

See You Yesterday (Stefon Bristol) — Netflix

Selma (Ava DuVernay) — Available to rent for free in June in the U.S.

The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution — Available to rent

The Hate U Give (George Tillman Jr.) — Available to rent for free

When They See Us (Ava DuVernay) — Netflix

Xfinity Cable has a Black Voices. Black Stories section which has various movies, series, documentaries, etc.

The Best of Enemies – Showtime

Podcasts

The Diversity Gap Podcast
Parenting Forward podcast episode ‘Five Pandemic Parenting Lessons with Cindy Wang Brandt’

Fare of the Free Child podcast

Integrated Schools podcast episode “Raising White Kids with Jennifer Harvey”

1619 (New York Times)

About Race

Code Switch (NPR)

Intersectionality Matters! hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw

Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast

Pod For The Cause (from The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights)

Pod Save the People (Crooked Media)

Seeing White

Revisionist History “Miss Buchanan’s Period of Adjustment,” Season 2, episode 15

Gladwell: “State v Johnson” (Malcom Gladwell, Revisionist History, S2 E19)

TED Talks

Racism and how to eliminate it.

 “We need to talk about an injustice”

“How to Deconstruct Racism”

“Color blind or color brave?”

Websites

George Floyd: America’s racial inequality in numbers

Mapping Police Violence

The COVID Tracking Project

What Do Coronavirus Racial Disparities Look Like State By State?

Status and trends in the Education of Racial and Ethnic Groups

75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice

Anti-Racism Project

Jenna Arnold’s resources (books and people to follow)

Rachel Ricketts’ anti-racism resources

Resources for White People to Learn and Talk About Race and Racism

Save the Tears: White Woman’s Guide by Tatiana Mac

Showing Up For Racial Justice’s educational toolkits

The [White] Shift on Instagram

“Why is this happening?” — an introduction to police brutality from 100 Year Hoodie

Zinn Education Project’s teaching materials

Organizations to follow on social media

Antiracism Center: Twitter

Audre Lorde Project: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

Black Women’s Blueprint: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

Color Of Change: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

Colorlines: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

The Conscious Kid: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

Equal Justice Initiative (EJI): Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

Families Belong Together: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

Justice League NYC: Twitter | Instagram + Gathering For Justice: Twitter | Instagram

The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

The Movement For Black Lives (M4BL): Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

MPowerChange: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

Muslim Girl: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

NAACP: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

National Domestic Workers Alliance: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

RAICES: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ): Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

SisterSong: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

United We Dream: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

Healing resources for traumatized groups

The road to resilience-American Psychological Association

Nine online therapy programs

Liberate Meditation App for BIPOC

Gratitude journal templates

Mindfulness tips

Campus Resources

African-American Student Union

Black Graduate Student Association

Georgia Tech Society of Black Engineers

Black Student Recruitment Team

CoE Center for Engineering Education and Diversity

OMED: Educational Services

Institute Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Reporting

EthicsPoint

Places to Visit

King Center: The Martin Luther King Center for Nonviolent Social Change

The National Center for Civil and Human Rights

The Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration

Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture

Additional resources and statements

8cantwait.org, a campaign to bring immediate change to police departments, provides specific policy initiatives and changes in standard operating procedures to combat police brutality.

AAAS CEO Statement on #ShutDownSTEM and Black Lives Matter.

Mya Roberson, UNC PhD student, make six specific suggestions for how you can support black students and academics:

The Conscious Kid: follow them on Instagram and consider signing up for their Patreon

STEM Higher Education Researchers of Color – Selected Articles

Alaine Allen (Website)

  • Allen, A., Ball, M., Delale-O’Connor, L., Iriti, J., Legg, A. S., Boone, D., & Gonda, R. (2020). NSF INCLUDES: Leveraging Precollege STEM Programs for Broadening Participation in Undergraduate STEM. https://peer.asee.org/36111.pdf

Lorenzo Baber (Website)

  • Baber, L. D. (2015). Considering the interest-convergence dilemma in STEM education. The Review of Higher Education, 38(2), 251-270. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/563939
  • Baber, L. D. (2012). A qualitative inquiry on the multidimensional racial development among first-year African American college students attending a predominately White institution. The Journal of Negro Education, 81(1), 67-81. https://doi.org/10.7709/jnegroeducation.81.1.0067
  • Baber, L. D., Pifer, M. J., Colbeck, C., & Furman, T. (2010). Increasing diversity in the geosciences: Recruitment programs and student self-efficacy. Journal of Geoscience Education, 58(1), 32-42. https://doi.org/10.5408/1.3544292

Sharon Fries-Britt (Website)

Ericka Bullock (Website)

  • Bullock, E. C., & Meiners, E. R. (2019) Abolition by the numbers: Mathematics as a tool for building and dismantling the carceral state (and building alternatives) Theory into Practice, 58(4), 338-346. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2019.1626614
  • Bullock, E. C. (2019) Mathematics curriculum reform as racial remediation: A historical counterstory: Critical race theory in mathematics education, 75–97. New York, NY: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2019.1626614
  • Bullock, E. C. (2018) Intersectional Analysis in Critical Mathematics Education Research: A Response to Figure Hiding Review of Research in Education, 42(1), 122-145. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X18759039
  • Bullock, E. C. (2017) Only STEM Can Save Us? Examining Race, Place, and STEM Education as Property Educational Studies, 53(6), 628-641. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X18759039

Joy Buolamwini (Website)

  • Raji, I. D., Gebru, T., Mitchell, M., Buolamwini, J., Lee, J., & Denton, E. (2020, February). Saving face: Investigating the ethical concerns of facial recognition auditing. In Proceedings of the AAAI/ACM Conference on AI, Ethics, and Society(pp. 145-151). https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3375627.3375820
  • Raji, I. D., & Buolamwini, J. (2019, January). Actionable auditing: Investigating the impact of publicly naming biased performance results of commercial ai products. In Proceedings of the 2019 AAAI/ACM Conference on AI, Ethics, and Society(pp. 429-435). https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3306618.3314244
  • Buolamwini, J., & Gebru, T. (2018, January). Gender shades: Intersectional accuracy disparities in commercial gender classification. In Conference on fairness, accountability and transparency(pp. 77-91). PMLR. http://proceedings.mlr.press/v81/buolamwini18a/buolamwini18a.pdf

LaVar J. Charleston (Website)

  • Charleston, L. J., George, P. L., Jackson, J. F., Berhanu, J., & Amechi, M. H. (2014). Navigating underrepresented STEM spaces: Experiences of Black women in US computing science higher education programs who actualize success. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 7(3), 166–176. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0036632
  • Charleston, L. J., Adserias, R. P., Lang, N. M., & Jackson, J. F. (2014). Intersectionality and STEM: The role of race and gender in the academic pursuits of African American women in STEM. Journal of Progressive Policy & Practice, 2(3), 273-293. https://caarpweb.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Charleston-Adserias-Lang-Jackson-2014.pdf

Brooke Coley (Website)

Monica Cox (Website)

  • Besterfield‐Sacre, M., Cox, M. F., Borrego, M., Beddoes, K., & Zhu, J. (2014). Changing engineering education: Views of US faculty, chairs, and deans. Journal of Engineering Education, 103(2), 193-219. https://doi.org/10.1002/jee.20043
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Devin Guillory (Website)

Timnit Gebru (Website)

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Shaun Harper (Website)

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James Holly (Website)

Chris Jett (Website)

  • Jett, C. C. (2020). The Qualms and Quarrels with Online Undergraduate Mathematics: The Experiences of African American Male STEM Majors. Investigations in Mathematics Learning, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1080/19477503.2020.1827663
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Robert T Palmer (Website)

Terrance Wooten (Website)

 

 

 

 

Covid-19 Superheroes

Across the College, faculty and staff are making a difference during this unprecedented pandemic. We asked you to nominate those who are involved in efforts to fight Covid-19. These include creating PPE, sewing masks, creating low-cost ventilators, disease modeling and more. Here are the staff, faculty, students and research teams nominated by you.

STAFF NOMINATIONS:

Brian Bennett, Shipping and Receiving Supervisor, ECE

Brian did something really neat in his neighborhood before the distancing requirement came in.  Along with some friends, Brian rode through neighborhoods collecting nonperishables while performing from a flatbed trailer. One of Brian’s friend came up with this idea and started setting up the routes by connecting with HOA’s.   Brian humbly said, “I just played acoustic guitar while a friend of mine sang.” Music is power and caring action is power too!

Lee Whitcher, Lab Manager, AE

Lee used his expertise and connections to form a group called AtlantaBeatsCovid to fulfill requests for PPE.  Below are a few videos and articles highlighting the group, including the link to a feature article by Make magazine.

Video: https://youtu.be/gmmI101-Ue4
Articles:

Joyce Lowe, Administrative Professional III, ME

Joyce Lowe contributed her spare time and talents in helping to save lives during this COVID-19 Pandemic. In line with Joyce’s caring personality, she created a variety of facial masks with matching hats. Among the recipients of Joyce’s designs are front-line health care workers, non-essential workers, and friends caring for loved ones that had fallen ill, all of whom were highly appreciative of Joyce’s selfless efforts.

Lori Federico, Assistant to the Chair II, ChBE

While being stuck at home, Lori joined a social media group of sewers that have been using their fabric stashes to make masks for health workers in our community. These include masks designed as filters to go over the N95 units that many nurses and doctors are having to share on their shifts as well as pleated styles for other healthcare workers. The project has been hugely successful and has been featured in the AJC. As of today, contributors to this sewing endeavor have distributed 40,000 masks to the metro Atlanta area!

Adrienne Durham, Academic Program Manager, AE

Hi, I am nominating Adrienne Durham, the Academic Program Manager at ASDL, part of the School of Aerospace Engineering. I recently graduated with my doctoral degree, and Ms. Durham went above and beyond in supporting me during this challenging part of my degree.

Kelsey Gulledge, Communications Officer, AE

Kelsey has been busy sewing and delivering Masks for Atlanta area hospitals.

Angelica Remolina, Engineering & Scientific App. Portfolio Mngr., Dean’s Office

Angelica has been dedicating time to creating PPE (masks) for keeping COE personnel safe during COVID-19.

GRAD STUDENT NOMINATIONS:

Johnie Sublett, AE

Johnie has been working on a team with https://www.atlantabeatscovid.com/ to produce and distribute face shields to hospitals and first responders throughout Georgia.Even the Cobb County Fire Chief got excited about this work when his crew was offered some of these shields.  Johnie’s contributions are particularly impressive given that they come in the midst of his MS thesis preparation and defense.

Mac Guckenbeger, AE

Mac is a PhD student in Aerospace Engineering that has been instrumental in helping plan activities to support the social well-being of current and future ASDL members, as well as getting the ASDL Social Team/Slack website set up and running.

FACULTY NOMINATIONS:

Pinar Keskinocak, William W. George Chair and Professor; ADVANCE Professor; and Director of the Center for Health and Humanitarian Systems, ISyE

Pinar has volunteered her time to sit on multiple COVID-19 task forces (including the Georgia Tech coronavirus task force led by President Cabrera) to help slow the spread of the virus. She has focused her career on heath and humanitarian systems, including hospital operations management, infectious disease modeling, and evaluating the effectiveness of intervention strategies. Since the initial coronavirus outbreak, she has worked on developing a comprehensive agent-based disease spread model, in collaboration with ISyE Professor Nicoleta Serban and Ph.D. students Buse Eylul Oruc, Arden Baxter, and others. The model estimates the spread of the disease geographically and over time; resource needs such as hospital beds, ICU beds, and ventilators; and enables the team to evaluate the impact of various intervention scenarios to determine the best course of action.

Turgay Ayer, George Family Foundation Early Career Professor and associate professor, ISyE

Turgay’s career has focused largely on health care analytics. He helped create models to slow the spread of various diseases. In January, he partnered with a research team from Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, led by Assistant Professor Jagpreet Chhatwal, as well as a team from Boston Medical Center, led by Associate Professor Benjamin Linas. Together this group created the COVID-19 Simulator (www.covid19sim.org). The simulator, an interactive tool designed to inform COVID-19 intervention policy decisions in the U.S., is also available to the general public. The tool evaluates the impact of different social distancing interventions in reducing the spread of coronavirus in the U.S. on both the national and state level.

Sam Graham (Chair) and Professors Devesh Ranjan, Chris Saldana and Shannon Yee, ME

Faculty members Sam Graham, Devesh Ranjan, Chris Saldana, and Shannon Yee have been using their connections in the medical community and industry to get devices tested and built, often in collaboration with their colleague Susan Margulies from the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering.

RESEARCH GROUP & TEAM NOMINATIONS

Chris Saldana, Associate Professor, ME

Chris and his team are collaborating with physicians at Emory to develop a technology designed to protect providers in the hospital from aerosolized contamination including COVID-19.  The team has rapidly designed and tested multiple versions of this technology, including direct clinical feedback from prototypes, which have also been manufactured in the lab with his graduate students.  Chris’ dedication and selflessness during this project is inspiring.  He and his team members have been working around- the-clock to manufacture and deliver critical protective equipment to front-line providers.

Chris and other team members (Kentez Craig, Max Praniewicz, and Clint Rinehart) also worked tirelessly across several Rapid Response efforts.  Specifically, they helped develop face shields, intubation boxes, and bvm-ventilators.  Much of their work is recorded at https://sites.gatech.edu/rapid-response/.

Ryan Lively, Associate Professor, ME

Ryan Lively and his team worked on developing face masks.  The group helped lead efforts to develop instructions and designs for reusable masks. These efforts are recorded on the Rapid Response Website (https://sites.gatech.edu/rapid-response/).

Shannon Yee, Associate Professor, ME

Shannon Yee and his team helped produce bvm-ventilators.  The group effort entailed producing videos and detailed fabrication and assembly instructions (Bettina Akhurst, Shawn Gregory, and Andrey Gunawan), electrical design (Jordan Kocher and Michael Adams), and creating and managing the Rapid Response website (Daniel Morton) – https://sites.gatech.edu/rapid-response/

Team: Mechanical Engineering in partnership with other Units

Chris Saldana, Saad Bhamla, Jaime Berez (grad student), Elio Challita (grad student), Kentez Craig (grad student), Patrick Jung (grad student), Jeong Hun Lee (undergrad student), Lance Lu (grad student), Jeff Park (undergrad student), Max Praniewicz (grad student)

Face Shield Research: http://me.gatech.edu/do-it-yourself-medical-devices-protective-gear-fuel-battle-against-covid-19

Shannon Yee, Chris Saldana, Dan Morton, Mike Adams (grad student), Bettina Arkhurst (grad student), Kentez Craig (grad student), Shawn Gregory (grad student), Andrey Gunawan (grad student), Jordan Kocher (grad student), Max Praniewicz (grad student)

Low-cost ventilator Research: https://rh.gatech.edu/news/634067/simple-low-cost-ventilator-builds-available-resuscitation-bags

Chris Saldana, David Gamero (grad student), Zoe Klesmith (grad student) Devesh Ranjan Gokul Pathikonda (grad student) Stephen Johnston (grad student)  Dan Fries (grad student) Cameron Ahmad (grad student) Benjamin Musci (grad student) Chang Hyeon Lim (grad student) Prasoon Suchandra (grad student) Kyle Azevedo (GTRI) Prithayan Barua (grad student in CoC) Chris Ballance (research engineer in AE) Richard Bedell (staff, CoS)

Emergency Ventilators: http://me.gatech.edu/emergency-ventilator-provides-monitoring-feedback

Team: Mechanical Engineering

Chris Saldana, Kentez Craig (grad student), Jaime Berez (grad student), Max Praniewicz (grad student)

Incubation Box Research: http://me.gatech.edu/barrier-protection-device-COVID-19-Emory-Georgia-Tech

Chris Saldana, David Gamero (grad student), Zoe Klesmith (grad student)

Swab Booths