Sponsored Research
"Near Peer Service Learning Program," a project by Kamau Bobb, coordinator of educational partnerships for Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts," was awarded $30,000 by the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta.
"Crew Research Management Issues Surrounding Single Pilot Operations for Transport Aircraft" by Ute Fischer, research scientist in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication, was funded for $74,370 by the National Aeronautic and Space Administration through San Jose University.
"Federal Cyber Service Scholarships" has received supplemental funding of $293,215 from the National Science Foundation. Seymour Goodman and Patrick Traynor direct this program in The Sam Nunn School of International Affairs. The supplement brings total funding for current scholarships to $1,593,567.
"Social Agents and Robots for Open-Ended Domains," has been funded for $159,148 by the National Science Foundation. Principal Investigators are Brian Magerko, associate professor in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication, with Andrea Thomaz and Mark Riedl of the College of Computing.
"Prioritizing and Planning for the Future: A Study of UIUC CEE Faculty, Staff, and Students," a project by Julia Melkers and Diana Hicks, professors in the School of Public Policy, was funded for $10,000 by the University of Illinois, Urbana.
Other Funding
"Past Present: Resonances of Medieval and Early Modern Culture in Atlanta," a project by Richard Utz, professor and chair in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication, has received a GT Fire Mini-Program grant. The
project unites those on our campus interested in medieval and early
modern culture for discussions of the medieval and early modern past in a
city founded during modern times.
Pearce on Atlanta's Gaming Job Market
"The problem is that people come from Zynga,
Blizzard and EA to recruit our students and say 'do you want to move to
San Francisco and make a salary two to three times what an Atlanta
studio will pay you?'" Pearce told Creative Loafing, "Who would say 'no' to that, right?" Celia Pearce is an associate professor in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication. Source: Creative Loafing, August, 29, 2013
Bogost on Electronic Etiquette
"We rarely admit it, but we all want to be important — yet most of us aren’t," wrote Ian Bogost in the Atlanta Journal Constitution,
"Smartphones let us simulate that importance, replacing boardroom
urgency with household triviality." Bogost is a professor in
the School of Literature, Media, and Communication. Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution, August 29, 2013
Kosal on US Investigations in Syria
“The inconsistencies that have been observed point to the need
for verification for real data before any political decisions are made,”
said Margaret Kosal on Fox News. The Sam Nunn School of International Affairs professor discussed the factors U.S. officials are looking for to determine the use of chemical weapons in Syria. Source: Fox News, August 28, 2013
Goodman on Online Privacy
“You don’t provide Facebook with a penny,” Goodman said. “So how
does Facebook make its money? You are their product. "Well, not you, but
everything you post. Pictures. Family names. Where you travel. Pictures
of things you like." Seymour Goodman is a professor with The Sam Nunn School of International Affairs. Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution; August 2, 2013
Ries on Tax Reform
“When you lower income tax rates, you lower rates on production, earned income and investing,” Christine Ries,
an economics professor at Georgia Tech, told a state Senate study
committee July 17. “If you want more of something, don’t tax it.” Source: Atlanta Business Chronicle, July 26, 2013; Rome Tribune, July 22, 2013
Ries on Detroit Bankruptcy
“Those of us
who work more closely on state and local economic and reform issues know
that Detroit is the first of many. Nearly all reform controversies come
down to taxpayers versus unions – especially public sector unions,"
said Christine Ries, professor in the School of Economics.
"In my areas of engagement, educational reform and tax reform, all of
the well-funded opposition to reform comes from various public-sector
employees’ unions." Source: Somewhat Reasonable, July 19, 2013
Bankoff on International Unrest
"Atlanta needs civic leaders to 'get off the couch' and address the
city's problems, or the turbulence in cities such as Istanbul will come
to roost here as well...The global issues that live out over there are
here," said Joseph R. Bankoff, chair and professor of the practice in The Sam Nunn School of International Affairs. Source: Global Atlanta, July 17, 2013
Santesso on the Modern Surveillance State
LMC Associate Professor Aaron Santesso and co-author David Rosen were interviewed regarding the recent publication of The Watchman in Pieces: Surveillance, Literature, and Liberal Personhood , which was published this month by Yale University Press. There was an article discussing the publication as well. Sources: Pen/America and slate.com, July 8, 2013
Head on MOOCs
"The most rewarding aspect of
the course is the weekly “Hangout” session, live-streamed using Google
Air. We invite students to join the discussions and ask questions. " Karen Head, assistant professor in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication, discussed her experiences teaching a MOOC in The Chronicle of Higher Education. Source: Chronicle of Higher Education, June 21, 2013
Pollock on Enbrel and the Autoimmune Era
"It may be tempting to conclude
that Enbrel is just a luxury drug, but it actually does improve quality
of life for many people suffering from severe joint pain. Moreover, it
provides a more general lesson about our contemporary experience of
health and disease in the post-industrial economy," wrote Anne Pollock, an assistant professor in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication, in an article in the The Atlantic. Source: The Atlantic, June 18, 2013
Lux Poem on Garrison Keillor
"To Help the Monkey Cross the River," a poem by Thomas Lux, professor and Bourne Chair in Poetry in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication, was read by Billy Collins on The Writer's Almanac with Garrison Keillor radio show. Source: The Writer's Almanac with Garrison Keillor, June 18, 2013
Ries on Film Industry Taxes in Georgia
"States have
been bidding against each other, giving higher and higher exemptions,
offering better and better deals for the film industry, and you imagine
that at some point, if all states are awarding exemption, we are back
where we started," Christine Ries, professor in the School of Economics, discussing negative possibilities of film industry tax breaks in Georgia. Source: Fox News, June 5, 2013
September 14, 2013
Atlanta, GA
08:00 pm
September 14, 2013
Atlanta, GA
10:00 pm
September 16, 2013
Old C.E. Building, Room 104
04:00 pm
September 16, 2013
Clough Room 102
05:00 pm
September 17, 2013
Klaus Classroom Room 1447
04:30 pm
September 18, 2013
Atlanta, GA
04:30 pm
September 19, 2013
Clough Auditorium 152
11:00 am
September 19, 2013
Technology Square Research Building, Georgia Tech
11:30 am
September 19, 2013
Stephen C. Hall Building 102
03:00 pm
September 20, 2013
Atlanta, GA
02:00 pm
September 23, 2013
Old C.E. Building Room 104
04:00 pm
September 26, 2013 - September 28, 2013
Global Learning Center, 84 5th St. NW Atlanta, GA 30308-1031
04:00 pm
September 27, 2013
Atlanta, GA
02:00 pm
September 30, 2013
Old C.E. Building Room 104
04:00 pm
October 4, 2013
Atlanta, GA
02:00 pm
October 15, 2013
TBA. Atlanta, GA
02:00 pm
October 18, 2013
Atlanta, GA
02:00 pm
October 21, 2013
Old C.E. Building Room 104
04:00 pm
October 25, 2013 - October 27, 2013
Georgia Tech Research Institute, 250 14th St NW Atlanta, GA 30318
08:00 pm
October 28, 2013
Old C.E. Building Room 104
04:00 pm
October 30, 2013
Georgia Tech/Technology Square Research Building, 85 5th Street, NW Atlanta, GA 30308
02:00 pm
November 4, 2013
Old C.E. Building Room 104
04:00 pm
November 6, 2013
Ferst Center for the Arts, 349 Ferst Drive NW, Atlanta Ga 30332
06:00 pm
November 11, 2013
Old C.E. Building Room 104
04:00 pm
November 12, 2013
Rialto Center for the Arts, 80 Forsyth Street, on the corner of Forsyth and Luckie Street
06:00 pm
November 13, 2013 - November 14, 2013
The Balzer Theater at Herren's, 84 Luckie St. NW Atlanta, GA 30303
06:00 pm
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World S&T Policy Scholars Convene at Georgia Tech
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Science and technology policy experts from around the around the
world will convene at Georgia Tech September 26-28 for the 5th biennial
Atlanta Conference on Science and Innovation Policy organized by the
Ivan Allen College School of Public Policy.
The preeminent conference for S&T policy-makers, the Atlanta
Conference will bring together more than 300 researchers from more than
35 countries including both developed and developing nations. The
conference addresses the multidimensional challenges and interrelated
characteristics of science and innovation policy and processes.
Co-chairs this year are Professors Diana Hicks and Julia Melkers, with
Honorary Chair Susan Cozzens.
Sessions will explore focus on research addressing the broad range of
issues central to the structure, function, performance, and outcomes of
the science and innovation enterprises. In addition to plenary
talks and parallel paper presentations the conference features a young
researcher’s poster competition.
For more information, visit the Atlanta Conference on Science and Innovation Policy.
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Africa Atlanta 2014 will raise Atlanta's Profile as a Global Nexus for Innovation
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President Obama’s July trip to Africa signals intent to reanimate
U.S. relations with the continent. In light of this goal, Atlanta’s star
continues to rise as a global vortex in which transportation, business,
technology, logistics, research and development, energy and
environment, health, education, cultural expression, and more form a new
leading edge for innovation and global interaction.
This visit underscores the timeliness of the Africa Atlanta 2014
initiative which is recasting perceptions of relationships among
Africa, Europe and the Americas and making way for the abundant
potential for positive action. In Atlanta, this potential calls for
concerted collaborative action.
Key strategies include:
- Highlighting existing connections among Africa, Europe and Atlanta across the metropolitan Atlanta area.
- Creating a digital “clearinghouse” for understanding who is doing what where and what the linkages among endeavors might be.
- Establishing a think tank for identifying strategies and creating a
springboard for connecting local and global economic opportunities.
- Positioning the robust connections between cultural and economic
imperatives as dimension of the success of Atlanta as a global gateway.
- Raising awareness of colleges and universities as assets in enhancing and sustaining vibrancy in local/global connections.
Moreover, as dean of a college at a university where young people are
not content to stand by and observe, I see yet another enhancement for
this opportunity. I am inspired by the burning desires of our students
to learn, to act and to lead — and to do so with respect for and
consideration of those around them. I believe that this spirit of
engagement is true, or could be, of youth around the globe, and perhaps
especially so in Africa, where we have one of the world’s
fastest-growing global markets. These globally aware, Internet-enriched
youth are shaping a new dynamic and amplifying a potential that is borne
out by President Obama’s current African trip, focused on economic
development, democracy and youth.
Africa Atlanta 2014 is a proving to
be a powerful vehicle for bringing to the fore the city’s capacity to
meet this critical opportunity. It is a year-long series of events
designed to explore the combined potential of economic and cultural
imperatives with the intention of identifying strategic actions.
Business comprises a vital component for success with this effort,
and we look to the Atlanta business community to partner with us in
galvanizing initiatives for cohesive impact. With the support of
Mayor Kasim Reed,
the Consulate Generals of Belgium and France, and more than 25 anchor
partners across the city, we have developed a mechanism for leading the
nation in reimagining our connections with Africa and achieving
ambitious national goals.
Now is the time, and Atlanta is already on its way. We have a
distinctive opportunity to advance the city as the nexus for holistic
action in development and sustainability — economic, cultural, social.
The business community is a key player in this innovative model for
collaboration.
Africa Atlanta 2014 was conceived and is spearheaded by Jacqueline Royster, Dean, Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts. This article is drawn from an op-ed entitled A new catalyst for global Atlanta that appeared in the Atlanta Business Chronicle in June.
Africa Atlanta 2014 kicks off October 15, 2013 ( see article below for more details). A full schedule will be available soon on the website.
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Africa Atlanta 2014 Kicks Off with Reflections on Africa Then and Now
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Africa Atlanta 2014 begins October 15 with a series of fall events that precede next year's formal opening. Reflections on Africa Then and Now brings
to campus international affairs expert Haskell Ward, and former Georgia
Supreme Court Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears.
Ward is a former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state
with special responsibilities for American relations with Africa.
He is currently senior vice president of government relations at
Black Rhino.
Both Ward and Ward Sears are members of the international board of Africa Atlanta 2014. Ms. Ward Sears currently leads the appellate practice of the law firm Schiff Hardin LLC.
"Leah Ward Sears and Haskell Ward
bring to the fore precisely the kind of contemporary trans-Atlantic
cultural and economic perspectives and connections that we are
showcasing through Africa Atlanta 2014," said Dean Jacqueline J.
Royster. " We are very
pleased to present their expertise as part of Africa Atlanta 2014 and to
have them help guide and grow this initiative."
The fall pre-events are being posted to the Africa Atlanta 2014 calendar so watch for details.
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DiGRA Conference Highlights Evolving Games Studies
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Game studies may be a relative newcomer to the academic arena, but
its emergence during the past decade has brought an explosion of
interdisciplinary discussion and cooperation.
As one among the first institutions in the world to initiate game
research and having offered humanities-based game studies courses since
1999, Georgia Tech is at the forefront of that discussion.
“As long as I’ve been here, since 2006, Georgia Tech has been
associated with games,” said Celia Pearce, associate professor in the
School of Literature, Media, and Communication (LCC) specializing
in games research and media arts. “Being situated within the humanities,
we are focused on producing well-rounded, technically savvy, and
culturally-well-informed practitioners. Students are led to understand
cultural history and importance; not just the technical aspects, but
where it fits into the larger trajectory.”
Pearce recently co-chaired the prestigious annual conference for the Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA),
the premiere international association for academics and professionals
who research digital games and associated phenomena. Hosted by Georgia
Tech August 26-29, the conference brought together a diverse
international community of interdisciplinary researchers engaged in
cutting edge research in the field of game studies. 17 presenters at the
conference were Georgia Tech’s very own, including eight faculty
members, three grad students, and six alumni.
The theme of this year’s conference was Defragging Game Studies:
“frag” is video game parlance for the temporary killing of another
player. “Defrag” means reducing file fragmentation on a computer. The
theme highlighted the diverse methods and perspectives of game studies
and questions about whether or not game studies should split into
discipline-centered communities or grows cohesively as an
“interdiscipline” that includes humanities, social sciences, psychology,
computer sciences, design studies, and fine arts.
So what did the conference reveal about the future of game studies?
Game studies scholarship, like digital media design and game design,
is a collective cultural process of inventing shared conventions of
representation. Just as game design is centered indiverse disciplines
including anthropology, sports studies, cognitive science, and
performance studies, game studies draws from multiple disciplines.
Controversies over definitional boundaries reflect the threshold between
old and new cultural forms, but awareness of the liminal nature of
games, game design, and game studies offers a horizon for sharpening
critical focus and expanding understanding.
As Georgia Tech looks toward the future in game studies, “defragging”
and collective invention will define the work of our
humanities-influenced, yet technically savvy students and practitioners,
unifying research under one interdisciplinary umbrella to better
utilize the diversity of methods and perspectives of the game studies
research community.
Learn more at www.dm.gatech.edu and at games@gatech.edu
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Goldberg Book Named Choice Magazine Outstanding Academic Title
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A book by Stuart Goldberg, associate professor in the School of Modern Languages, has been named a 2012 Outstanding Academic Title by Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, the leading U.S. source for reviews of academic books, electronic media, and Internet resources in higher education. Goldberg's Mandelstam, Blok and the Boundaries of Mythopoetic Symbolism (The
Ohio State University Press, 2011,) explores the ongoing role that the
poetry of Russian Symbolism played in Osip Mandelstam’s creative life. Mandelstam (1891–1938)
was an instigator of Russia's "revolution of the word." He was exiled
under Stalin and died in a Gulag. He is considered a luminary of
both Russian poetry of the twentieth century and world
poetry. Goldberg illuminates the poet’s productive play with
distance and immediacy in his assimilation of the Symbolist heritage.
In announcing the selection of Goldberg's book, Choice
noted, "The greatest value of this book lies in Goldberg’s intelligent,
perceptive, and enlightening interpretations of individual poems, not
only as they fit into Mandel’shtam’s oeuvre but also as they relate to
‘early’ symbolists.” |
Jackson Receives 2013 Fulbright Scholarship to IEA Seminar in the UK
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Stephanie Jackson, Assistant Director, Undergraduate Advising & Professional Development in The Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, has received a Fulbright International Education Administrator Award (IEA) to the United Kingdom.
Jackson is among the initial cohort of twenty U.S. international
education and senior-level university administrators that were awarded
the grant.
The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and
is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the
United States and the people of other countries. The IEA program
in the UK is designed to familiarize U.S. higher education
administrators with the United Kingdom’s higher education systems,
society and cultures through campus visits, cultural events, meetings
with government officials and briefings. Interactive sessions of
U.S. and U.K. administrators will be facilitated to share best practice
in both directions across the Atlantic.
At the seminar this summer, Jackson worked to expand the international reputation of both The Sam Nunn School of International Affairs and the
Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts. Her selection for the IEA
award leveraged her role as advisor for Georgia Tech's International
Plan and built on the Institute's Strategic Plan to graduate good global
citizens.
"A significant component of the strategic plan is the globalization
of our education with emphasis on cultural competency. This Fulbright
award allowed me to enhance, influence and inform these strategic plan
implementation steps as The Nunn School and Georgia Tech collaborate to
promote global leadership."
Jackson manages the full range of student support services for
undergraduates, as well as, career development for all graduate students
in The Nunn School and leads career initiatives for the Ivan Allen
College of Liberal Arts. She is a past president of the Georgia Tech
Academic Advising Network (GTAAN) and has been recognized at the
college, Institute, and state level for her exemplary performance.
She has a Master’s of International Affairs degree in International
Development from Ohio University and a Bachelor’s degree in Political
Science from Howard University. She is an active liaison with the
Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs and a
member of the Georgia Association of International Educators and the
National Academic Advising Association.
For more information about the Fulbright International Education Administrators programs, visit their website.
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Tolkien, Not Orwell, Understood Today’s Spying
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What can literary fiction teach us about recent
revelations that the National Security Agency has aggressively been
gathering massive amounts of data on American
citizens? Aaron Santesso's new book offers intriguing
perspectives.
The Watchman in Pieces: Surveillance, Literature, and Liberal Personhood (Yale
University Press, 2013) examines the role literature can play in
understanding surveillance. Santesso, an assistant professor in the
School of Literature, Media, and Communication, and co-author David
Rosen cover nearly 500 years of cultural and social history in examining
how literature and surveillance have developed together - kindred
modern practices. As ideas about personhood—what constitutes a self—have
changed over time, so too have ideas about how to represent, shape, or
invade the self.
The novel one usually turns to, of course, is George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four,
with its terrifying vision of the Thought Police. According to
Santesso and Rosen, Orwell’s book isn’t the most compelling or accurate
literary prediction of modern surveillance. They choose a less obvious
title: J.R.R Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.
Tolkien’s most potent and intimidating image of centralized
surveillance, the Eye of Sauron atop a tower, taking in the whole
world, has resonated with those concerned about government
monitoring. But it’s Sauron’s vulnerability that has the most relevance
for America today. Consider the basic premise of Tolkien’s trilogy: a
small group of dedicated subversives willing to sacrifice their lives
slips in under the surveillance system of a great power, blends in with
an alien population, and delivers a devastating blow to the heart of its
empire, leaving its security forces in disarray and its populace
terrified. Far from being covert, much of this operation is conducted in
plain sight, with the great power aware of its enemies’ existence, if
not their intent. Given its prescience about modern-day terrorism, the
authors contend that Tolkien’s vision offers at least three lessons for
present-day America.
The Watchman in Pieces: Surveillance, Literature, and Liberal Personhood
Santesso and Rosen were interviewed about the book by PEN America. The full interview can be found here.
Learn more
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Alumnus Di Minin Appointed Advisor for Innovation Policy in Italy
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School of Public Policy alumnus, Alberto Di Minin,
has been appointed as Advisor for Innovation Policy to the Italian
Minister of Research, Maria Chiara Carrozza, in the new government of
Italian Prime Minster Enrico Letta. Di Minin received his Master's
of Science in Public Policy from the Georgia Institute of Technology in
May 2002, focusing on regional development and innovation policy, and
his Doctorate in City and Regional Planning at the University of
California, Berkeley, in 2006. He is an assistant professor of strategy
in the Institute of Management Department of Economics and Management at
the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy, and a research fellow with
the Berkeley Roundtable of the International Economy. |
Kosal Discusses Syria's Use of Chemical Weapons on Fox News
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Margaret Kosal, assistant professor in The Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, discussed the factors U.S. officials look for to determine the use of chemical weapons in Syria on Fox News.
See the whole interview.
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Goonan Among Popular Science's "Best Science Fiction Writers Imagining the Future"
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Kathleen Goonan is featured among Popular Science Magazine's "Best Science Fiction Writers Imagining the Future." Goonan, professor of the practice in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication, has been teaching Science Fiction for LMC for the last few years. She was featured in the July 2013 issue of Popular Science Magazine and
online in an article entitled: "Dispatches from the future: The best
minds in science fiction describe how we will live and work--on Earth or
in space--in the decades and centuries to come."
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Brown Credited in Atlanta Business Chronicle's Who's Who Sustainability
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Marilyn Brown, professor in the School of Public Policy,
was credited in the Atlanta Business Chronicle as one of the
Who's Who in Sustainability in June. As explained in the article,
"Brown leads the Climate and Energy Policy Lab at Georgia Tech, and she is a national leader in the analysis and interpretation of energy futures."
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New Faculty for Fall 2013
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School of Economics
Assistant Professor
Matthew E. Oliver received a B.B.A. in Business Economics from the
University of Memphis and his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of
Wyoming. His primary fields of expertise are environmental and natural
resource economics and international trade and development. Oliver’s
research interests focus on energy resources and energy infrastructure,
particularly natural gas markets and interstate pipelines.
School of History, Technology, and Society
Assistant Professor
Daniel Amsterdam holds a B.A. from Yale University, an MAT from Brown
University, and Ph.D. and Graduate Certificate in Urban Studies from
the University of Pennsylvania. He comes to Georgia Tech from Ohio State
University, where he taught modern U.S. History and American Urban
History for four years.
Mary G. McDonald, Ph.D.
Homer Rice Chair in Sports and Society
Mary G. McDonald holds a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. McDonald
was previously a professor of sociology at Miami University in Ohio and
is a past president of the North American Society for the Sociology of
Sport. She has edited special issues of the Sociology of Sport Journal devoted
to (Post) "identity and sport" and "whiteness and sport" and is a
frequent speaker on these and other subjects in professional forums and
other venues. As Homer Rice Chair, she will head the colege's new
initiative in Sports, Society, and Technology.
John Matthew (Jonny) Smith, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
John Matthew (Johnny) Smith holds a Ph.D. from Purdue University. He
came to Georgia Tech in fall 2012 as a postdoctoral fellow and was
recently appointed assistant professor in Sports History. He will
teach modern U.S. history and a variety of foundational courses in the
Sports, Society, and Technology undergraduate program, which he will
coordinate.
The Sam Nunn School of International Affairs
Mariel Borowitz, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Mariel Borowitz holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy from the University of
Maryland, an M.A. in International Science and Technology Policy from
the George Washington University and a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering
from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her research and
teaching specializations include technology policy and space
policy.
School of Literature, Media, and Communication
Nassim JafariNaimi, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Nassim JafariNaimi received her Ph.D. in Design from Carnegie Mellon
University and holds an M.S. in Information Design and Technology from
Georgia Tech. Her research interest is in the ethical and political
implications of emerging technologies. More specifically, she examines
the experiential and participatory dimensions of social media and their
relationship to establishing and supporting democratic forms of social
interaction.
School of Modern Languages
Paul Alonso, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Paul Alonso is a Peruvian journalist and author. He holds a
double master’s in Journalism and Latin American Studies, and a Ph.D. in
Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin. His
academic research focuses on the convergence of journalism,
entertainment, satire, politics and popular culture. Alonso has also
been a staff member of the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas
since 2004.
Yasha (Yakov) Klots, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Yasha (Yakov) Klots received his Ph.D. in Russian literature from
Yale University in 2011 and an M.A. from Boston College in 2005. Before
joining Georgia Tech, he taught at Yale and at Williams College. His
research fields are contemporary Russian poetry, émigré literature and
culture, linguistic anthropology, bilingualism, literary translation,
Gulag narratives, urbanism, the mythology of St. Petersburg, and the
representation of other cities in Russian literature.
School of Public Policy
Matej Drev, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Matej Drev is an applied
economist whose research focuses on economics of technological
innovation and international economics. He joins the college as an
assistant professor in the School of Public Policy. Drev completed his
Ph.D. at Carnegie Mellon University in 2013, where he was affiliated
with the Heinz College and the interdisciplinary Strategy,
Entrepreneurship, and Technological Change research group.
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Project ENGAGE initiative followed on WABE
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Finding paths into the so-called STEM fields – Science,
Technology, Engineering and Mathematics – remains especially
challenging for minorities. But a first-of-its kind program between
Georgia Tech and two single-gender Atlanta high schools is working to
change the trend. Project ENGAGE (Engaging New Generations at Georgia Tech through Engineering), an initiative of the Westside Communities Alliance, is
an internship program which allows local high school students to
actively participate in scientific research under the guidance of
Master's and Ph.D. students and faculty members. Students will complete
the internship over the course of the 2013-2014 school year. The goal of
the program is two-fold: to raise high-school student awareness of the
biotechnology world through hands-on research projects and to improve
the schools’ current science education program through the teacher
training initiative. Listen
as Jim Burress, reporter and host for WABE, follows the progress of
students over the course of their year in Project ENGAGE. |
IAC Students elected to Student Government Association
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Undergraduate students Trevor Lindsay, Jordan Lockwood, Mary Shoemaker, and Kevin Guebert
were elected to the Student Government Association (SGA). These
students are putting their education into practice to serve the Georgia
Tech undergraduate student body.
Trevor Lindsay – Vice President of Finance
The only underclassman in the Cabinet, Trevor Lindsay is a second year Economics
major. Trevor will oversee and advise in the allocation of the Student
Activity Fee, which amounts to over $5 million. Trevor compares
his responsibilities to those of the Secretary of Treasury, and says
“I’m looking forward to putting what I learned about fiscal policy in my
macroeconomics classes to use this year.”
Jordan Lockwood – Vice President of Communications
Jordan Lockwood, a fourth year Public Policy and
Business Administration major. He’ll be working with other cabinet
members to direct the administration’s efforts to some substantial
initiatives from the executive branch including mental health support, a
conference fund to promote undergraduate research, development of LGBT
resources, and an IT services overhaul. Jordan says that the
Public Policy curriculum has given him the background to design and
implement these initiatives in a position like VP Comm that depends on
planning and analysis for success. Jordan is excited to start
working on these projects and says “This is going to be a great year for
SGA and for Georgia Tech students!”
Mary Shoemaker – Director of External Affairs
Mary Shoemaker is a fourth year Public Policy major.
Her office has many facets, including cultural exploration and
community involvement. Mary says she is especially excited about
the political component of this position, working with her committee
chairs to facilitate a dialogue between students and public leaders to
promote active citizenship. Mary says she “looks forward to connecting
GT students with political and cultural opportunities throughout
Atlanta!”
Kevin Guebert – Director of Information Technology
Kevin Guebert is a third year Computational Media
student. His role focuses on maintaining SGA’s technology resources,
including the SGA website, course critique, and
JacketPages. Additionally, Kevin will work with SGA
initiatives to develop new resources for students and other members of
the Georgia Tech Community. Kevin says, “My Computational
Media major has already been helpful, because this job is not just about
the technical side, but also about the design and practice aspect of
these technologies.”
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John Lewis Honored in 100 Most Influential Atlantans of 2013
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Congressman John Lewis, was named by the Atlanta Business Chronicle among
the 100 Most Influential Atlantans of 2013. Lewis was a recipient of
Georgia Tech's Ivan Allen Jr. Prize for Social Change and recognized
during the Allen Prize Symposium and award luncheon hosted by the
college April 4th. Long recognized for his civil and human rights
leadership, Lewis has represented Georgia's 5th district since 1986. |
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