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 Education38(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 Education81(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 Education58(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 Education7(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 & Practice2(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 Education103(2), 193-219. https://doi.org/10.1002/jee.20043
  • Ahn, B., Cox, M. F., London, J., Cekic, O., & Zhu, J. (2014). Creating an instrument to measure leadership, change, and synthesis in engineering undergraduates. Journal of Engineering Education103(1), 115-136. https://doi.org/10.1002/jee.20036
  • Smith, K. A., Douglas, T. C., & Cox, M. F. (2009). Supportive teaching and learning strategies in STEM education. New Directions for Teaching and Learning2009(117), 19-32. https://doi.org/10.1002/tl.341
  • Cox, M. F., Hahn, J., McNeill, N., Cekic, O., Zhu, J., & London, J. (2011). Enhancing the quality of engineering graduate teaching assistants through multidimensional feedback. Advances in Engineering Education2(3), n3. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1076070

Kelly Cross (Website)

  • Cross, K. J., Clancy, K. B., Mendenhall, R., Imoukhuede, P., & Amos, J. R. (2017, June). The double bind of race and gender: A look into the experiences of women of color in engineering. In Proceedings–American Society of Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition (ASEE), Columbus, OH. June 24-28, 2017. https://www.asee.org/public/conferences/78/papers/17996/view
  • Cross, K. J., & Cutler, S. (2017). Engineering faculty perceptions of diversity in the classroom. ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings, 2017-June. https://peer.asee.org/28253
  • Lee, W. C., & Cross, K. J. (2013, June), Help Me Help You: Building a Support Network for Minority Engineering Students Paper presented at 2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Atlanta, Georgia. 10.18260/1-2—19670 https://peer.asee.org/28253

Julius Davis (Website)

Lola Eniola-Adefeso (Website)

  • Onyskiw, P. J., & Eniola-Adefeso, O. (2013). Effect of PEGylation on ligand-based targeting of drug carriers to the vascular wall in blood flow. Langmuir29(35), 11127-11134. https://doi.org/10.1021/la402182j
  • Huang, R. B., Gonzalez, A. L., & Eniola‐Adefeso, O. (2013). Laminar shear stress elicit distinct endothelial cell e‐selectin expression pattern via TNFα and IL‐1β activation. Biotechnology and bioengineering110(3), 999-1003. https://doi.org/10.1002/bit.24746
  • Charoenphol, P., Onyskiw, P. J., Carrasco-Teja, M., & Eniola-Adefeso, O. (2012). Particle-cell dynamics in human blood flow: implications for vascular-targeted drug delivery. Journal of biomechanics45(16), 2822-2828. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2012.08.035

Devin Guillory (Website)

Timnit Gebru (Website)

  • Mitchell, M., Wu, S., Zaldivar, A., Barnes, P., Vasserman, L., Hutchinson, B., … & Gebru, T. (2019, January). Model cards for model reporting. In Proceedings of the conference on fairness, accountability, and transparency(pp. 220-229). https://arxiv.org/abs/1810.03993
  • Gebru, T., Morgenstern, J., Vecchione, B., Vaughan, J. W., Wallach, H., Daumé III, H., & Crawford, K. (2018). Datasheets for datasets. arXiv preprint arXiv:1803.09010. https://arxiv.org/abs/1803.09010
  • Gebru, T., Krause, J., Wang, Y., Chen, D., Deng, J., Aiden, E. L., & Fei-Fei, L. (2017). Using deep learning and Google Street View to estimate the demographic makeup of neighborhoods across the United States. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences114(50), 13108-13113. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1700035114

Shaun Harper (Website)

  • Harper, S. R. (2010). An anti‐deficit achievement framework for research on students of color in STEM. New Directions for Institutional Research2010(148), 63-74. https://doi.org/10.1002/ir.362
  • Harper, S. R., Smith, E. J., & Davis III, C. H. (2018). A critical race case analysis of Black undergraduate student success at an urban university. Urban Education, 53(1), 3-25. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0042085916668956
  • Harper, S. R. (2012). Race without racism: How higher education researchers minimize racist institutional norms. Review of Higher Education: Journal of the Association for the Study of Higher Education, 36(Suppl 1), 9–29. https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.2012.0047

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
  • Jett, C. C. (2019). Mathematical persistence among four African American male graduate students: A critical race analysis of their experiences. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education50(3), 311-340. https://doi.org/10.5951/jresematheduc.50.3.0311
  • Jett, C. C. (2013). HBCUs propel African American male mathematics majors. Journal of African American Studies17(2), 189-205. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43525456

Nicole Joseph (Website)

  • Joseph, N. M., Hailu, M., & Boston, D. (2017). Black women’s and girls’ persistence in the P–20 mathematics pipeline: Two decades of children, youth, and adult education research. Review of Research in Education41(1), 203-227. https://doi.org/10.3102%2F0091732X16689045
  • Joseph, N. M., Hailu, M. F., & Matthews, J. S. (2019). Normalizing Black girls’ humanity in mathematics classrooms. Harvard Educational Review89(1), 132-155. https://doi.org/10.17763/1943-5045-89.1.132
  • Thomas, J. O., Joseph, N., Williams, A., & Burge, J. (2018, February). Speaking truth to power: Exploring the intersectional experiences of Black women in computing. In 2018 Research on Equity and Sustained Participation in Engineering, Computing, and Technology (RESPECT)(pp. 1-8). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/RESPECT.2018.8491718

Luis Leyva (Website)

  • Leyva, L. A. (2017). Unpacking the male superiority myth and masculinization of mathematics at the intersections: A review of research on gender in mathematics education. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education48(4), 397-433. https://doi.org/10.5951/jresematheduc.48.4.0397
  • Battey, D., & Leyva, L. A. (2016). A Framework for Understanding Whiteness in Mathematics Education. Journal of Urban Mathematics Education9(2), 49-80. https://doi.org/10.21423/jume-v9i2a294
  • Leyva, L. A. (2016). An Intersectional Analysis of Latin@ College Women’s Counter-Stories in Mathematics. Journal of Urban Mathematics Education9(2), 81-121. https://doi.org/10.21423/jume-v9i2a295

Leroy Long III (Website)

  • Long III, L. L. (2020). Toward an antiracist engineering classroom for 2020 and beyond: A starter kit. Journal of Engineering Education, 109(4), 636-639. https://doi.org/10.1002/jee.20363
  • Long III, L., & Mejia, J. A. (2016). Conversations about diversity: Institutional barriers for underrepresented engineering students. Journal of Engineering105(2), 211. https://doi.org/10.1002/jee.20114
  • Strayhorn, T. L., Long III, L., Kitchen, J. A., Williams, M. S., & Stenz, M. E. (2013). Academic and social barriers to Black and Latino male collegians’ success in engineering and related STEM fields. ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition. https://commons.erau.edu/publication/295/

Joyce Main (Website)

  • Main, J. B., Johnson, B. N., & Wang, Y. (2020). Gatekeepers of Engineering Workforce Diversity? The Academic and Employment Returns to Student Participation in Voluntary Cooperative Education Programs. Research in Higher Education, 1-30. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-020-09596-7
  • Main, J. B., & Schimpf, C. (2017). The underrepresentation of women in computing fields: A synthesis of literature using a life course perspective. IEEE Transactions on Education60(4), 296-304. https://www.learntechlib.org/p/191916/
  • Main, J. B. (2014). Gender homophily, Ph. D. completion, and time to degree in the humanities and humanistic social sciences. The Review of Higher Education37(3), 349-375 https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1032618

Danny Martin (Website)

Monica Miles (Website)

  • Miles, M. L., Buenrostro, P. M., Marshall, S. A., Adams, M., & McGee, E. O. (2019). Cultivating racial solidarity among mathematics education scholars of color to resist white supremacy. The International Journal of Critical Pedagogy10(2). http://libjournal.uncg.edu/ijcp/article/view/1901
  • Ridgeway, M. L., & McGee, E. O. (2018). Black mathematics educators: Researching toward racial emancipation of Black students. The Urban Review50(2), 301-322. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-018-0452-2
  • Ridgeway, M. L., and Randy K. Y. (2018), “Whose banner are we waving? Exploring STEM partnerships for marginalized urban youth.” Cultural Studies of Science Education,13(1), 59-84. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-016-9773-1

Felicia Moore Mensah (Website)

Terrell R. Morton (Website)

  • Morton, T. R. (2020). A phenomenological and ecological perspective on the influence of undergraduate research experiences on Black women’s persistence in STEM at an HBCU. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education.Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/dhe0000183
  • Ortiz, N. A., Morton, T. R., Miles, M. L., & Roby, R. S. (2019). What about us? Exploring the challenges and sources of support influencing black students’ STEM identity development in postsecondary education. The Journal of Negro Education88(3), 311-326. https://doi.org/10.7709/jnegroeducation.88.3.0311
  • Morton, T. R., & Parsons, E. C. (2018). # BlackGirlMagic: The identity conceptualization of Black women in undergraduate STEM education. Science Education102(6), 1363-1393. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.21477

Jomo Mutegi (Website)

  • Mutegi, J. W., Sorge, B., Fore, G. A., & Gibau, G. S. (2019). A tale of two camps: A mixed methods investigation into racially disparate outcomes in a nanotechnology research experience. Science Education103(6), 1456-1477. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.21548
  • Mutegi, J. W. (2013). “Life’s first need is for us to be realistic” and other reasons for examining the sociocultural construction of race in the science performance of African American students. Journal of Research in Science Teaching50(1), 82-103. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21065
  • Mutegi, J. W. (2011). The inadequacies of “Science for All” and the necessity and nature of a socially transformative curriculum approach for African American science education. Journal of Research in Science Teaching48(3), 301-316. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.20410

Brian Nord (Website)

  • LIGO Scientific Collaboration, Virgo Collaboration, 1M2H Collaboration, Dark Energy Camera GW-EM Collaboration, DES Collaboration, DLT40 Collaboration, … & MASTER Collaboration. (2017). A gravitational-wave standard siren measurement of the Hubble constant. Nature551(7678), 85-88. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature24471
  • Albert, A., Anderson, B., Bechtol, K., Drlica-Wagner, A., Meyer, M., Sánchez-Conde, M., … & Wechsler, R. H. (2017). Searching for dark matter annihilation in recently discovered Milky Way satellites with Fermi-LAT. The Astrophysical Journal834(2), 110. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/834/2/110/meta
  • Flaugher, B., Diehl, H. T., Honscheid, K., Abbott, T. M. C., Alvarez, O., Angstadt, R., … & DES Collaboration. (2015). The dark energy camera. The Astronomical Journal150(5), 150. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0004-6256/150/5/150/meta

Maria Ong (Website)

  • Ong, M., Smith, J. M., & Ko, L. T. (2018). Counterspaces for women of color in STEM higher education: Marginal and central spaces for persistence and success. Journal of Research in Science Teaching55(2), 206-245. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21417
  • Ong, M., Wright, C., Espinosa, L., & Orfield, G. (2011). Inside the double bind: A synthesis of empirical research on undergraduate and graduate women of color in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Harvard Educational Review81(2), 172-209. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.81.2.t022245n7x4752v2
  • Ong, M. (2005). Body projects of young women of color in physics: Intersections of gender, race, and science. Social problems, 52(4), 593-617. https://doi.org/10.1525/sp.2005.52.4.593

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

 

May/June Service Anniversaries

Home Department Name Work Department Service Date Job Title
May 2020
15 Years
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Temenoff,Johnna Sue Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory 2005/05/02 Assoc Chair-Academic
10 Years
Mechanical Engineering Wan,Ming Mechanical Engineering 2010/05/17 Asst Dir-Financial Ops
Engineering, College of Ogork,Asu Arrey Engineering, College of 2010/05/24 Systems/IT Architect Lead
Electrical & Computer Engr Lyn,Janine Allison Electrical & Computer Engr 2015/05/08 Faculty Support Coord
Mechanical Engineering MacNair,David Luke Mechanical Engineering 2015/05/11 Academic Professional
Electrical & Computer Engr Bindra,Harmeet Singh Computing, College of 2015/05/26 Instructional Associate
1 Year
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Peck,Hannah Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory 2019/05/01 Research Technician II
Civil & Environmental Engr Beaulieu,Stephan Civil & Environmental Engr 2019/05/06 Financial Admin I
Civil & Environmental Engr Norvell,Victoria R Civil & Environmental Engr 2019/05/06 Lab & Facilities Coord
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Schaff,Carson D GCMI and T3 Labs 2019/05/01 Med Dev Engr Proj Manager
Aerospace Engineering Roy,Satadru Aerospace Engineering 2019/05/15 Research Engineer I
Electrical & Computer Engr Cho,Minkyu Electrical & Computer Engr 2019/05/23 Research Engineer II
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Rotolo,Laura Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory 2019/05/01 Research Scientist I
Electrical & Computer Engr Harper,Christopher Richard Electrical & Computer Engr 2019/05/19 Test Technician I
Electrical & Computer Engr Harper,Christopher Electrical & Computer Engr 2019/05/19 Test Technician I
Electrical & Computer Engr Wilkins,David Electrical & Computer Engr 2019/05/19 Test Technician I
JUNE 2020
35 Years
Industrial & Systems Engr Foley,Robert D Industrial & Systems Engr 1985/06/24 Professor
20 years
Electrical & Computer Engr Adibi,Ali Electrical & Computer Engr 2000/06/01 Professor
Electrical & Computer Engr Danmola,Fanchette R Electrical & Computer Engr 2000/06/05 IT Support Prof Sr
15 Years
Mechanical Engineering Zhang,Dingkang Mechanical Engineering 2005/06/01 Senior Research Engineer
Aerospace Systems Design Lab Lewe,Jung-Ho Aerospace Systems Design Lab 2005/06/24 Research Engineer II
5 Years
Mechanical Engineering Lowe,Virggie Mechanical Engineering 2015/06/04 Academic Assistant II
Engineering, College of Radcliff,Christopher D Engineering, College of 2015/06/08 Acad & Res IT Supp Engr Sr
Mechanical Engineering DeSalvo,Michael Mechanical Engineering 2015/06/15 Postdoctoral Fellow
Electrical & Computer Engr Burke,Amber C.N. Electrical & Computer Engr 2015/06/22 Admin Professional Sr
1 Year
Civil & Environmental Engr Barham,Corliss L Civil & Environmental Engr 2019/06/01 Admin Professional III
IBB Seed Grants Laird,Zachary S Electrical & Computer Engr 2019/06/26 Mechanical Specialist
Aerospace Engineering Ali,Hisham Kamaleldin Aerospace Engineering 2019/06/10 Research Engineer II
Aerospace Engineering Cox,Adam William Aerospace Systems Design Lab 2019/06/10 Research Engineer II
Electrical & Computer Engr Shim,Wonbo Electrical & Computer Engr 2019/06/15 Research Engineer II
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Sridhar,Sreesh Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory 2019/06/27 Research Technician I

New Decade Responses

If you could put one Georgia Tech related item in a time capsule to be opened in 2030, what would it be and why? What do you hope to see on campus in the next 10 years?
Our maker spaces.  So we can see how far we have advanced in 10 years. A central, endowed facility (doesn’t have to be in one place, but needs to have dedicated, endowed, nonconvertible funding and technicians) for laboratory experiments and maker spaces.  This will relieve students and faculty from having to set them up, and to relieve departments from having to run them ad hoc.  We need dedicated technicians to help create experiments and support the maker spaces.  Experiential learning is very important.  We have labs like this in Clough building, but we need something akin to the labs at TAMU.
I would like to put in the lateness innovative technology that is currently being study by undergraduate and graduate students doing research. I hope to see more diversity in the faculty and student population that includes more women, women of color, international students, students with disabilities, and etc.

GT Letter Head stack and a bunch of business cards.

To see how the preference of letters/colors/designs might have changed, and the joy of finding out who was there 10 years ago.

GT is the pioneer in human potential, and has a lovely culture that is a leading example of other colleges and younger education schools.  No suicides, everyone is having clarity that they are in the right place, feeling appropriately challenged, being an example of harmonious living, making real positive impacts, and we are one hub of sending out such message that this is a real possibility – not a fiction 🙂
A small hobby rocket designed and assembled by the AE 1601 class. I think the rocket would be
1) a good visualization of what first-year AE students are capable of making from their first year at Tech.
2) show the students’ creativity and collaboration (they like to have fun and incorporate a bit of their personalities into their designs).
3) represent the maker spaces on campus, notably the Yang Aero Maker Space.
4) a nod to the Artemis mission that is set to launch in 2024.
New, state-of-the-art building(s) for the School of Aerospace Engineering.
If I could put one thing from Georgia Tech related item in a time capsule to be opened in 2030, I would put the statue of the first black students. I would put that because it represents the growth that Georgia Tech has experienced and the direction the school is headed. I hope to see on campus in the next 10 years an opportunity for more collaboration between students and staff on projects. Opportunities for staff to bring ideas to the table for projects and ideas that help grow research projects.
I would put the “T” (off Tech Tower)  in the time capsule so none of the students would be arrested or maybe better yet to hide it and then let it become the phantom “T” and suddenly reappears from its travel in time……. Unity between all the systems
Plastic water bottles and paper cups- many campuses in Europe do not permit either. You must carry own water bottle and coffee mug. GT will hopefully catch up by 2030 A more sustainable and green campus. Vendors on campus working with campus partners for a paper and plastic free Georgia Tech.
I would put in an image of what GT looks like now and then see what it will look like in 10 years with all of the construction going on. I hope to see more spaces to eat across campus. I also hope to see more picnic tables and seating in green spaces across campus. There aren’t enough places to sit outside without having to go all the way to the student center. Having more covered eating spaces, like the solar panel station in front of the LOVE building is so nice.
The BUZZ costume–it seems that wherever you go, if the intent is to promote “team spirit” BUZZ will be there–I wonder if there will be a time when mascots will be considered quaint–so putting the costume in the time capsule would help to point out what was considered a positive symbol now. My hope is that students, faculty and staff will learn how to incorporate health and wellness into their everyday interactions and learn that self-care does not have to diminish–but can actually enhance–performance. I hope the culture of shared misery is replaced with a culture of mutual respect and support.

March & April Service Anniversaries

March and April service anniversaries
2020
Home Department Name Work Department Service Date Job Title
March
35 Years
Mechanical Engineering Green,Itzhak Mechanical Engineering 1985/03/01 Professor
25 Years
Materials Science & Engr Wang,Zhong Lin Materials Science & Engr 1995/03/01 Regents Professor
Materials Science & Engr Jacob,Karl I Materials Science & Engr 1995/03/06 Professor
20 Years
Mechanical Engineering Degertekin,F Levent Mechanical Engineering 2000/03/27 Professor
15 Years
Chemical and Biomolecular Engr Lu,Hang Chemical and Biomolecular Engr 2005/03/07 Professor
Electrical & Computer Engr Connelly,Christopher S Electrical & Computer Engr 2005/03/07 IT Support Prof II
5 Years
Chemical and Biomolecular Engr Kamath,Manjeshwar G Chemical and Biomolecular Engr 2015/03/02 Research Engineer II
1 Year
Aerospace Engineering Yuan,Zhangxian Aerospace Engineering 2019/03/01 Postdoctoral Fellow
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Hatit,Marine Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory 2019/03/01 Postdoctoral Fellow
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Xu,Nan Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory 2019/03/01 Postdoctoral Fellow
Industrial & Systems Engr Mitridati,Lesia Marie-Jeanne Mariane Industrial & Systems Engr 2019/03/01 Research Scientist I
Materials Science & Engr Nam,Gyutae Materials Science & Engr 2019/03/11 Visit Research Engineer I-NE
Mechanical Engineering Kwon,Young Tae Mechanical Engineering 2019/03/11 Postdoctoral Fellow
Mechanical Engineering Andrews,Ashley Clay Mechanical Engineering 2019/03/14 Mechanical Specialist
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Dong,Hai Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory 2019/03/15 Postdoctoral Fellow
Electrical & Computer Engr Hur,Jae Electrical & Computer Engr 2019/03/15 Postdoctoral Fellow
Aerospace Engineering Griendling,Kelly Aerospace Engineering 2019/03/21 Lecturer
Mechanical Engineering Fernandez Yague,Marc Mechanical Engineering 2019/03/25 Postdoctoral Fellow
Mechanical Engineering Lee,Hyun-Jung Mechanical Engineering 2019/03/26 Research Engineer I
Mechanical Engineering Painter,Reid Mechanical Engineering 2019/03/28 Facilities Assistant
APRIL
30 Years
Aerospace Engineering Smith,Marilyn J Aerospace Engineering 1990/04/02 Professor
25 Years
Materials Science & Engr Godard,James A Materials Science & Engr 1995/04/27 Asst Dir-Admin Ops
10 Years
Mechanical Engineering Pickett,Cynthia Evelyn Mechanical Engineering 2010/04/09 Asst Dir-Admin Ops
5 Years
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Waiblinger,Christian Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory 2015/04/01 Postdoctoral Fellow
Chemical and Biomolecular Engr Hillman,Adrienne Rice Chemical and Biomolecular Engr 2015/04/01 Academic Advisor I
Mechanical Engineering Hammond III,Frank L Mechanical Engineering 2015/04/01 Assistant Professor
Industrial & Systems Engr Smith,Julie Nicole Industrial & Systems Engr 2015/04/16 Admin Professional Sr
Aerospace Engineering Brian,Vickie L Aerospace Engineering 2015/04/27 Asst Dir-Admin Ops
1 Year
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Chua,Mallory Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory 2019/04/01 Research Scientist I
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Hollingsworth,Keamonnee Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory 2019/04/01 Financial Admin III
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Olivenca,Daniel Vigario Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory 2019/04/01 Postdoctoral Fellow
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Raad,Maryam Nabil Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory 2019/04/01 Research Technician I
Chemical and Biomolecular Engr Moon,Dong-Kyu Chemical and Biomolecular Engr 2019/04/01 Postdoctoral Fellow
Chemical and Biomolecular Engr Nezam,Iman Chemical and Biomolecular Engr 2019/04/01 Postdoctoral Fellow
Civil & Environmental Engr Liu,Xiaoguang Civil & Environmental Engr 2019/04/01 Postdoctoral Fellow
Electrical & Computer Engr Hosseinnia,Amir Hossein Electrical & Computer Engr 2019/04/01 Research Engineer II
Mechanical Engineering Shetty,Pralav Praveen Mechanical Engineering 2019/04/01 Postdoctoral Fellow
Mechanical Engineering Ritchie,Ashley Mechanical Engineering 2019/04/08 Communications Officer I
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Jarvis,Diana Victoria Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory 2019/04/15 ASL English Interpreter
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory McGill,Rachel Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory 2019/04/15 ASL English Interpreter
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Ni,Huanzhen Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory 2019/04/15 Postdoctoral Fellow
Civil & Environmental Engr Davis,Shamekia M Civil & Environmental Engr 2019/04/15 Financial Admin III
Civil & Environmental Engr Stephens,Jeremy D Civil & Environmental Engr 2019/04/15 Lab & Facilities Coord
Mechanical Engineering Shankles,Peter Golden Mechanical Engineering 2019/04/15 Postdoctoral Fellow
Electrical & Computer Engr Swain,Brandi Elizabeth Electrical & Computer Engr 2019/04/19 Test Technician I
Electrical & Computer Engr Chen,You-Wei Electrical & Computer Engr 2019/04/29 Research Engineer II

An interview with Mitsuko Ito on mindfulness and well-being

Mitsuko Ito, ECE Admin Professional III, gives insight into how mindfulness can relieve stress and create a greater sense of self, especially during the current COVID-19 global pandemic.

Q1 – Can you define what mindfulness is to you and why it is important?

According to Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., a molecular biologist and meditation teacher who brought Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) to the world, “mindfulness” is an “awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, nonjudgmentally.”

For me personally, simply put, it is a quiet exploration and observation of what is going on in my mind, body and beyond.  Initially what led me to this was the desire to overcome depression, anxiety and chronic pain.  Thankfully, with learning and practice, I have been able to change the trajectory of my life, and I am now in a much more empowered state.

Q2 – What advice do you have for people to stay mindful?

There are many benefits to being mindful.

  • More peaceful heart
  • Reduced stress and pain
  • Better relationships
  • Clearer thinking
  • Increased productivity
  • Better immune system
  • Even increasing lung capacity (says David Able, COVID-19 survivor)
  • And so much more!

Getting clear on the goals of the “why” you would want to practice mindfulness can be helpful.
Having an accountability partner, or a group program to support each other, can also be very supportive.

Q3 – How do you manage stress at work and home?

At Home:  Having moved many times over the years, being an ethnic minority immigrant in many places we have lived, having four children, three of which are now teens, and other factors have forced me to seek effective stress management tools.  As of now, my main go-to is something called EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) Tapping.  “Tapping” is one of the newer mind-body tools that has developed in the 90s that has worked very well for me. What research is revealing is that Tapping quickly affects the amygdala (fear response), while also having the effects of vegas nerve stimulation which supports the parasympathetic (calming) response.

At Work:  The WorkDay transition last summer was admittedly very stressful, but then this has led me to share Tapping with my colleagues! (And now with COVID-19, I get to share Tapping again!) Otherwise, my workplace has been a good and safe space for me.  If I did get stressed at work, mostly all I needed to do was to close my eyes and do some slow deep breathing (along with occasional Tapping and yes, some chocolate….).

Q4 – How do you think mindfulness relates to the current pandemic we are in?

Mindfulness is surely going to be beneficial as we navigate this new territory.  COVID-19 has caused quite a bit of shock, and we are still facing so much uncertainty.  It is not difficult to feel fearful at one point or another, or even on an ongoing basis.  I suspect that many of us, if not all, have been running higher on cortisol and adrenaline than pre-COVID-19 times.  This is a normal survival response for the short term, but not helpful in the long term. Accessing, processing, and resolving chaotic emotions continues to be important, however, since we are hindered from going to gyms or getting massages, not even be able to get together with our regular support network, we are forced to take this process upon ourselves.  Mindfulness, meditation and other inner exploration tools are just the perfect tools at this time. (Tapping adds a kinetic component to it.). These exercises will help us move from the smaller/darker circle towards the larger/lighter circle, in the diagram below.  The sooner we can start attending to this, the better for each of us, and for our community.

For those new to mindfulness, perhaps consider this as an opportunity?? … now we get to learn the new skills of going inwards! (…?) If sitting and contemplating quietly is not your cup of tea, Yoga, Taiichi, Qigong, Breathing exercises, EFT Tapping are considered mindfulness/meditation with movements, therefore will still be extremely beneficial (with even more benefits, from my point of view.). All these give us a way in learning to self-engineer our own health and well-being.  Once you get a hang of it, it is really quite empowering.

Q5 – Do you believe mindfulness extends beyond reducing stress?

I absolutely do.  Reduced stress is the primary benefit, which then goes on to have a cascade of positive side effects.  Hormone and neurotransmitter productions will be changed (i.e. lowered cortisol and adrenaline), the way our physiology operates will also be altered (i.e. improved sleep, better digestion).  The ways we think and operate will also change (i.e. more compassion, better decision making and so on).   In short, it could be life changing.  You will often hear this from those who have hit rock bottom in their lives and have decided to pick up this new habit and life style.

Q6 – In high-stress environments such as Georgia Tech, how do you propose students/faculty practice being mindful at a larger scale?

First of all, I know GT has been making many good efforts but we could be promoting Mindfulness, self-awareness, mind-body connections, moreThe Resilience program that Sonia Alvarez-Robinson leads is fabulous program and deserves recognition. Often, meditation and mindfulness is utilized by high performers such as athletes and successful businessmen, but may not be as widely talked about. Interviewing faculty/students who have successfully been practicing mindfulness would serve as a great inspiration.  More students, staff, and faculty would hopefully take advantage the campus offerings.

Secondly, I would love for GT to become a more “trauma informed” institution.  We are a public university, and now with COVID-19, even more so, it is possible that we see higher anxiety rates in the coming years.  We at GT take pride in our research and academics, and service to the world. Our people have to be well, in order to function.  Understanding how adverse experiences affects our learning and performance and ways to overcome it would be valuable.

Thirdly, along that line, it is my belief that traditional therapy, although great and valuable, is no longer sufficient in this day and age, especially when we know there are additional effective interventions. Therefore, I would like for our leadership to get serious about seeking additional ways to support the wellbeing of our campus.  Personally, I believe that EFT Tapping to be just the right tool at this time.  It is quite simple to learn and to start practicing.  Research is showing that cortisol levels reduces at an astonishing 40 percent.  It is my hope that Self-Help Tapping can be offered campus wide to be shared with all students and staff, so they can start taking care of themselves better.  Also potentially have Tapping offered/required to our advising/counseling staff.  (This could help shorten durations and costs of counseling sessions.)

In the end, it goes without saying that I am so honored and proud to be a part of our GT community.  Each of the leaders that I have had the opportunity to interact in one way or another has been heart-centered and solution oriented. This is a unique place where wise, progressive and open-mind thinkers are abundant.  Mindfulness is truly necessary and needs to be further promoted and practiced.  Taking it one more step forward, I would love for the leadership to consider looking into EFT Tapping as one cutting edge mindfulness tool.  The message it can send out to the world will be a powerful one.  We have the opportunity to be truly the leader in the whole person education, and I am excited about this possibility.

<Resources on Mindfulness>

 <Resources on Mind-Body Connection & Trauma Awareness>

<Resources on EFT Tapping>

<Resources on Tapping for COVID-19>

https://www.mindful.org/how-mindfulness-can-help-you-navigate-the-coronavirus-panic/

Q&A with Diego Remolina, IT Director – System Administrator for the School of Aerospace Engineering

This month, we sat down with Diego Remolina, IT Director – System Administrator for the School of Aerospace Engineering

Interview conducted by Tanya Roy

Q. How long have you been working in IT at Georgia Tech? What about before coming to Tech?

A. I’ve been working in IT at Georgia Tech since 2000, first as a student worker in the math department, and then in December 2001, I joined the Georgia Tech staff. I finished my masters at Georgia Tech in Aerospace Engineering in December 2000.

Q. What’s it like working in IT in aerospace engineering?

A. It is challenging because there are always a lot of things to do, and we have limited personnel and more new demands every day. In terms of how it is day-to-day, it can be very different. Every day, we are trying to make progress and keep up with our projects. There is a wide range of things we do from more simple tasks like resetting passwords to trying to do more complex things like setting up GPU servers for our faculty to run simulations.

Q. What technological changes have you seen over the years you have been at Tech? These can be IT specific or just general technology?

A. There have been so many changes over time; for example, email has progressed so much, departments used to run their own mail servers because the OIT provided offering had so little storage (100MB), now we do not even run mail servers on campus anymore. Computing resources used to be very restricted and expensive in the past, now in your phone you have a faster computer than a desktop from the early 2000s. Throughout the years, things have become much more centrally managed, which is good because it allows us to focus more on the needs of our users. More recently, in the past two to five years, I think we have worked towards more collaboration and sharing, not only within the College but within the whole campus. It has sped up the process of automating the installation and maintenance of computers other important tasks.

Q. Is there an area where you would like to see more innovation?

A. In terms of Georgia Tech specifically, some of the places where I think we are a little behind are the conference and presentation rooms; things don’t always work well there, and we could fix that. One more thing is more effective communication and collaboration to understand Georgia Tech policies. We need to work better as a team to understand and implement these policies, in a way that it still allows our users to do what they need to do, being within the guidelines. This is a responsibility that falls on all of us. One of the reasons these policies are in place is to protect us and the Institute. This reflection is a little bit less about the technology and more about the culture.

Q. As we look to the new decade, do you have any predictions for what’s to come in the technology sphere for IT or otherwise?

A. In terms of computers, we are all expectant of what quantum computing is going to do. It has a great potential because of how much faster things can be done instead of the regular computers we have nowadays. Hopefully, within the next ten years, Google, IBM or any of the other startups working on this will be able to make progress on making these machines much simpler and available to us, which will be interesting. Maybe we will have the return of the “PC” from the 1980s in the form of the “QPC” in the 2030s. Another computer related technology which is interesting to see is cars and personal air vehicles. The prospect of having drone-type vehicles and fully autonomous vehicles is amazing. Ten years may be a little too short for that, but imagine in the future, cars being able to coordinate with one another at intersections or one day having flying transportation that can cut down on our driving commutes each way daily. It will revolutionize the way we do things.

 

Jan/Feb Service Anniversaries

January 2020
Home Department Name Work Department Service Date Job Title
40 Years
Electrical & Computer Engr Verriest,Erik I Electrical & Computer Engr 1980/01/01 Professor
30 Years
Aerospace Systems Design Lab Mavris,Dimitri Aerospace Systems Design Lab 1990/01/01 Director Academic
Mechanical Engineering Liang,Steven Y Mechanical Engineering 1990/01/04 Professor
25 Years
Mechanical Engineering Melkote,Shreyes N Mechanical Engineering 1995/01/03 Professor
Mechanical Engineering Neu,Richard W Mechanical Engineering 1995/01/03 Professor
Mechanical Engineering Yoda,Minami Mechanical Engineering 1995/01/03 Professor
Mechanical Engineering Sitaraman,Suresh K Mechanical Engineering 1995/01/03 Regents Professor
Chemical and Biomolecular Engr Jones,Phyllis Chemical and Biomolecular Engr 1995/01/27 Financial Admin III
20 Years
Mechanical Engineering Fedorov,Andrei G Mechanical Engineering 2000/01/01 Assoc Chair-Academic
Mechanical Engineering Hesketh,Peter J Mechanical Engineering 2000/01/01 Professor
Chemical and Biomolecular Engr Dixon,Bradley Edward Chemical and Biomolecular Engr 2000/01/10 Communications Mgr
Engineering, College of Sefton,Rod J Engineering, College of 2000/01/13 Facilities Mgr II
Civil & Environmental Engr Huang,Ching-Hua Civil & Environmental Engr 2000/01/14 Professor
Mechanical Engineering Pucha,Raghuram V Mechanical Engineering 2000/01/19 Senior Lecturer
15 Years
Aerospace Engineering Walker II,Mitchell L.R. Aerospace Engineering 2005/01/01 Assoc Chair-Academic
Electrical & Computer Engr Shen,Shyh-Chiang Electrical & Computer Engr 2005/01/01 Professor
Electrical & Computer Engr Robinson Jr,Robert Allen Electrical & Computer Engr 2005/01/01 Senior Academic Professional
Civil & Environmental Engr Yavari,Arash Civil & Environmental Engr 2005/01/06 Professor
Electrical & Computer Engr Scott,Tammy D Electrical & Computer Engr 2005/01/26 Faculty Support Coord
10 Years
Industrial & Systems Engr Caimano,Jeffrey F Industrial & Systems Engr 2010/01/04 Financial Mgr II
Electrical & Computer Engr Holcomb,Anna Newsome Electrical & Computer Engr 2010/01/04 Lecturer
5 Years
Industrial & Systems Engr Williams,Damon P Industrial & Systems Engr 2015/01/01 Lecturer
International Education McColl,Chance Carue Aerospace Engineering 2015/01/01 Lecturer
Aerospace Engineering Lightsey,Edgar Glenn Aerospace Engineering 2015/01/01 Professor
Civil & Environmental Engr Paulino,Glaucio H Civil & Environmental Engr 2015/01/01 Professor
Industrial & Systems Engr Boland,Natashia Lesley Industrial & Systems Engr 2015/01/01 Professor
Industrial & Systems Engr Montreuil,Benoit Industrial & Systems Engr 2015/01/01 Professor
Industrial & Systems Engr Romeijn,Hilbrand Edwin Industrial & Systems Engr 2015/01/01 School Chair-Academic
Industrial & Systems Engr Strickland,Dawn M Industrial & Systems Engr 2015/01/01 Senior Academic Professional
Industrial & Systems Engr McLemore,Candice Ashmore Industrial & Systems Engr 2015/01/05 Corporate Relations Mgr
Mechanical Engineering Mauldin,Nathaniel Ray Mechanical Engineering 2015/01/05 Mechanical Specialist
Mechanical Engineering Yang,Bo Mechanical Engineering 2015/01/05 Research Scientist II
Civil & Environmental Engr Newman,Jeffrey Paul Civil & Environmental Engr 2015/01/23 Research Engineer II-NE
Materials Science & Engr Tavakoli,David A Materials Science & Engr 2015/01/26 Research Scientist II
1 Year
Chemical and Biomolecular Engr Blazeck,John J Chemical and Biomolecular Engr 2019/01/01 Assistant Professor
Civil & Environmental Engr Grubert,Emily A Civil & Environmental Engr 2019/01/01 Assistant Professor
Materials Science & Engr Correa-Baena,Juan-Pablo Materials Science & Engr 2019/01/01 Assistant Professor
Mechanical Engineering Mazumdar,Yi Chen Mechanical Engineering 2019/01/01 Assistant Professor
Mechanical Engineering Zhao,Ye Mechanical Engineering 2019/01/01 Assistant Professor
Civil & Environmental Engr Bishop,Cliff Douglas Civil & Environmental Engr 2019/01/01 Lecturer
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Quiroga Campano,Ana Luz Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory 2019/01/01 Postdoctoral Fellow
Aerospace Systems Design Lab Puranik,Tejas Girish Aerospace Systems Design Lab 2019/01/02 Research Engineer II
Electrical & Computer Engr Molzahn,Daniel Electrical & Computer Engr 2019/01/04 Assistant Professor
Materials Science & Engr Kim,Minkyu Materials Science & Engr 2019/01/14 Postdoctoral Fellow-NE
Chemical and Biomolecular Engr Pham,Thang Toan Chemical and Biomolecular Engr 2019/01/17 Postdoctoral Fellow
Electrical & Computer Engr Buchanan,Thairun-Nisaa Electrical & Computer Engr 2019/01/25 Admin Professional III
Mechanical Engineering Burns,Craig Mechanical Engineering 2019/01/28 Mail Clerk I
Aerospace Engineering Richards,Kamaria H Aerospace Engineering 2019/01/31 Academic Assistant II
FEBRUARY
20 Years
Civil & Environmental Engr Bennett-Boyd,Shauna Civil & Environmental Engr 2000/02/10 Admin Mgr II
Materials Science & Engr Washington,Renita L Materials Science & Engr 2000/02/28 Academic Advising Mgr
15 Years
Engineering, College of Clarkson,Todd Michael Engineering, College of 2005/02/02 Facilities Mgr II
Chemical and Biomolecular Engr Thio,Yonathan S Chemical and Biomolecular Engr 2005/02/07 Senior Lecturer
Electrical & Computer Engr Fuentes Hernandez,Canek Electrical & Computer Engr 2005/02/10 Principal Research Scientist
Civil & Environmental Engr Gallego,Anthony Civil & Environmental Engr 2005/02/16 Academic Advising Mgr
10 Years
Electrical & Computer Engr Plaskett,Raquel Electrical & Computer Engr 2010/02/15 Faculty Support Coord
5 Years
Mechanical Engineering Rashidi,Hassan Mechanical Engineering 2015/02/11 Lecturer
Industrial & Systems Engr Silver,Lauren E Industrial & Systems Engr 2015/02/16 Academic Advisor II
1 Year
Electrical & Computer Engr Hamelin,Benoit Raymond Jacques Electrical & Computer Engr 2019/02/01 Postdoctoral Fellow
Mechanical Engineering Khosravani,Ali Mechanical Engineering 2019/02/01 Research Engineer I
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Elliott,Drew David Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory 2019/02/04 Research Technician II
Chemical and Biomolecular Engr Irani,Maryam Chemical and Biomolecular Engr 2019/02/06 Postdoctoral Fellow
Mechanical Engineering Boziuk,Thomas R Mechanical Engineering 2019/02/07 Postdoctoral Fellow
Mechanical Engineering Deshpande,Yogesh N Mechanical Engineering 2019/02/11 Research Engineer I
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Zhang,Jinghui Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory 2019/02/12 Research Technician I
Electrical & Computer Engr Saxena,Rahul Electrical & Computer Engr 2019/02/13 Research Associate II
Materials Science & Engr Kuenneth,Christopher Materials Science & Engr 2019/02/18 Postdoctoral Fellow
Electrical & Computer Engr Nafea,Mohamed Saeed Khalifa Electrical & Computer Engr 2019/02/19 Postdoctoral Fellow
Electrical & Computer Engr Abraham,Silja Electrical & Computer Engr 2019/02/23 Postdoctoral Fellow

Nov/Dec Service Anniversaries

College of Engineering
Service Anniversaries
Nov/Dec 2019
November 2019
Home Department Name Work Department Service Date Job Title
30 Years
Electrical & Computer Engr Barnes,Christopher F Electrical & Computer Engr 1989/11/27 Associate Professor
25 Years
Electrical & Computer Engr Balkcom,Debra A Electrical & Computer Engr 1994/11/28 Financial Admin III
20 Years
Electrical & Computer Engr Kenney,James Stevenson Electrical & Computer Engr 1999/11/01 Professor
Materials Science & Engr Moon,Kyoung-Sik Jack Materials Science & Engr 1999/11/19 Research Engineer II
Electrical & Computer Engr Ponder,Rachel Melton Electrical & Computer Engr 1999/11/29 Web Developer Mgr
15 Years
Engineering, College of Lee,Terri Talley Engineering, College of 2004/11/01 Senior Academic Professional
Civil & Environmental Engr Rhodes,Ella Denise Civil & Environmental Engr 2004/11/08 Financial Admin III
Materials Science & Engr Moss,Frank Linder Materials Science & Engr 2004/11/15 Facilities Mgr Sr
Industrial & Systems Engr Ford,Amanda Shae Industrial & Systems Engr 2004/11/29 Graduate Progs Mgr
10 Years
Mechanical Engineering Turano,Stephan Parker Mechanical Engineering 2009/11/01 Senior Research Engineer
Electrical & Computer Engr Dagon,David S Electrical & Computer Engr 2009/11/18 Senior Research Scientist
5 Years
Mechanical Engineering Fu,Katherine Kai-Se Mechanical Engineering 2014/11/03 Assistant Professor
Electrical & Computer Engr Buford,Blake Clifford Electrical & Computer Engr 2014/11/24 Marketing & Event Coord I
1 Year
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Lomsadze,Alexandre Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory 2018/11/01 Sr Research Scientist
Electrical & Computer Engr Alagapan,Sankaraleengam Electrical & Computer Engr 2018/11/01 Research Engineer II
Electrical & Computer Engr Yoon,Jonghyeok Electrical & Computer Engr 2018/11/01 Postdoctoral Fellow
Electrical & Computer Engr Zia,Muneeb Electrical & Computer Engr 2018/11/01 Research Engineer II
Industrial & Systems Engr Fioretto,Ferdinando Industrial & Systems Engr 2018/11/01 Postdoctoral Fellow
Materials Science & Engr Kim,Seongmin Materials Science & Engr 2018/11/01 Postdoctoral Fellow
Aerospace Engineering Tavares,Shari Aerospace Engineering 2018/11/12 Admin Professional III
Electrical & Computer Engr Sangodoyin,Oluwaseun Electrical & Computer Engr 2018/11/12 Postdoctoral Fellow
Mechanical Engineering Leslie,Kadian Natalia Mechanical Engineering 2018/11/12 Grants Administrator
Aerospace Systems Design Lab Cinar,Gokcin Aerospace Systems Design Lab 2018/11/15 Research Engineer II
Mechanical Engineering Erisman,Lucinda Mechanical Engineering 2018/11/15 Program & Ops Mgr
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Zhao,Kun Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory 2018/11/26 Postdoctoral Fellow
Chemical and Biomolecular Engr He,Yubin Chemical and Biomolecular Engr 2018/11/26 Postdoctoral Fellow
Chemical and Biomolecular Engr Innocenti,Giada Chemical and Biomolecular Engr 2018/11/29 Research Scientist I
Mechanical Engineering Shi,Jingjing Mechanical Engineering 2018/11/29 Postdoctoral Fellow
December 2019
55 Years
Materials Science & Engr Cagle,James R Materials Science & Engr 1964/12/14 Research Scientist II
35 Years
Chemical and Biomolecular Engr Whatley-Nwanze,Janice Chemical and Biomolecular Engr 1984/12/17 Academic Advisor II
20 Years
Electrical & Computer Engr Ayazi,Farrokh Electrical & Computer Engr 1999/12/01 Professor
Electrical & Computer Engr Crowder,Marion Electrical & Computer Engr 1999/12/02 Instr’l Media Producer
15 Years
Civil & Environmental Engr Burns,Susan Elizabeth Civil & Environmental Engr 2004/12/01 Assoc Chair-Academic
Electrical & Computer Engr Huynh,Peter L Electrical & Computer Engr 2004/12/13 IT Support Prof Mgr
10 Years
Industrial & Systems Engr Buser,Frances Dillon Industrial & Systems Engr 2009/12/01 Academic Advisor II
5 Years
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Dorsey,Julian Lamar Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory 2014/12/01 Building Coord I
Electrical & Computer Engr Beck,Brian Michael Electrical & Computer Engr 2014/12/15 Academic Professional
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Andino,Rafael Victor Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory 2014/12/17 Lecturer
1 Year
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Loughrey,David A Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory 2018/12/01 Postdoctoral Fellow
Civil & Environmental Engr Neumeister,Amelia B Civil & Environmental Engr 2018/12/01 Communications Officer I
Materials Science & Engr Tran,Huan Doan Materials Science & Engr 2018/12/01 Research Scientist II
Electrical & Computer Engr Ito,Mitsuko Electrical & Computer Engr 2018/12/05 Admin Professional III
Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory Caldeira Botelho,Raquel Biomedical Engr, GT/Emory 2018/12/10 Research Scientist I
Chemical and Biomolecular Engr Liu,Zhongyun Chemical and Biomolecular Engr 2018/12/10 Postdoctoral Fellow
Mechanical Engineering Shipp,Patricia H Mechanical Engineering 2018/12/13 Admin Professional Sr
Aerospace Engineering Harrison,Evan David Aerospace Systems Design Lab 2018/12/17 Research Engineer II
Mechanical Engineering MCCOY,Richard Anthony Mechanical Engineering 2018/12/17 IT Support Prof I
Mechanical Engineering Thomas,Nicole Mechanical Engineering 2018/12/17 Admin Professional Sr

Raheem Beyah on Inclusivity

Motorola Foundation Professor, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering | Executive Director for Online Masters and Cybersecurity Program | Vice President for Interdisciplinary Research

Do you feel the College of Engineering is an inclusive place for faculty and staff? Why or why not.

I think it is a good place…it has made a lot of progress. We’ve had diverse leadership of the College at the dean and associate dean levels, and we’ve done a decent job with diversity inside of the Schools. With that being said, I think we still have a long way to go. We need to make sure we are a place where everybody feels comfortable and welcome. I love the analogy about diversity and inclusion that goes: “It’s like being invited to the party AND being asked to dance.” For me, I have always felt very welcome and included and part of that comes from me going to school [at Georgia Tech]. But I don’t think my experience necessarily reflects every experience of a minority individual. However, overall, there are really good intentions and corresponding actions by the COE’s leadership, and we’ve made a lot of progress.

How are you involved in inclusivity efforts around campus with students and/or faculty?

I do lot of formal and informal mentoring and activities. I think the most impactful part is the weekly piece. I probably meet with under-represented students and faculty members weekly from all over. I also ran the SURE program, Summer Undergraduate Research in Engineering/Sciences, for about seven years, which brought on average 35 to 40 under-represented students to campus per year. I have also, along with two of my colleagues, Baratunde Cola and Samuel Graham, founded an organization for doctoral-level researchers called the Academic and Research Leadership Network (ARLN). It has grown to about 400 individuals across the country, and we have used that to improve diversity and inclusivity across the country and campus.

Where do you think there are opportunities to be more inclusive across our eight schools?

I think we need to make sure that our actions follow our intentions and make sure that our budget follows our ideas. I would love to see a Georgia Tech ‘We Can Do That’ campaign about diversity and inclusion.

Why do you feel diversity and inclusion are important in higher education and beyond?

Data shows the more diverse the group, the better the decision that is made. At a place like Tech, that is very analytical and data-driven, we want to make sure that we are practicing what we preach from the fundamental research areas and also in areas like diversity/inclusion. I was watching a documentary about Warren Buffett, where he said, “We’ve done so well with half of our people: just imagine what we could do when we bring everyone to the table.” In this example, he was talking about the contributions of women finally being recognized. If we could give everybody an equal opportunity to contribute, we could do so much more. Diversity makes Georgia Tech much stronger, the College of Engineering much stronger, and the country much stronger. It makes sure that everyone is at the table contributing and feeling comfortable because when individuals do not feel comfortable, they waste brainpower and energy on fitting in, when that brainpower could go towards curing cancer or cybersecurity.

What do you believe makes Georgia Tech unique in terms of inclusion efforts?

Seventy years ago, we didn’t admit women, and now our freshman class last year was approximately 40% female. Over this seventy-year period, our rankings steadily increased, and we now have some of the best rankings in history. We have made tremendous progress. However, even though the numbers are increasing, we should always aspire to do better in all areas of diversity and to achieve excellence.

Do you have final thoughts on this topic?              

I was overwhelmed by the statues that were just built on campus of the first African American students to be enrolled and the first to graduate. That meant a tremendous amount to me and made me even more proud to be an alum. It’s a huge deal and stands for what we want to be, so I am optimistic and excited. I think this is a really good time for Georgia Tech, and I think we are going to do even better than we have done in the past.