It is valuable and rare to have someone care to invest their time and invest in you early in your career. Breanna Shi, a Ph.D. student in bioinformatics, was lucky to have had many inspiring mentors throughout her college career. Shi’s experience with mentors inspired her to pursue mentorship.  

“Being a mentor is my favorite part of my work,” said Shi. “I have learned so much about student psychology and my own psychology. As scientists, we can neglect the human experience it takes for us all to collaborate. I love thinking of new ways to improve the effectiveness of our communication so we all feel welcomed and valued in our scientific communities.”  

In 2022, Shi started a mentorship group, FishStalkers, which grew from five to 20 members in just one semester. Shi’s mentees have been offered competitive co-ops and internships, awarded prestigious fellowships, presented at research symposiums, and more.  

Shi provides her techniques for cultivating a positive and productive mentor-mentee connection. 

Instill confidence in your mentees. “Student researchers have a lot of helpful ideas,” said Shi. “They attend courses where they learn about the newest software and theories while you are held up in the lab. You need to try and access this information, but it’s not going to happen if you do not instill the confidence in them that their idea is worth your time, and that it’s okay if the idea doesn’t work out because the contribution is valuable.”  

  • Shi’s tips for instilling confidence include:  
    • Refer to mentees as “researcher” or “student researcher” to dissipate internal separations between undergraduates, master’s, and Ph.D. students working in the lab. 
    • Tell your mentees when they have taught you something new and when their work has gone above and beyond. 
    • Support mentees in pursuing their own goals to recognize their personhood. 

Lower the standards you set for yourself. “Most Ph.D. students are perfectionists, and they will put a lot of pressure on themselves in terms of responsibility to a mentee,” said Shi. “You don’t need to be perfect. In fact, if you are perfect around your mentees, you will probably just intimidate them.” 

According to Shi, this pressure can deter Ph.D. students from pursuing mentorship.  

“A lot of people will place barriers on themselves that they do not know enough, or they don’t have enough ‘good work’ for a mentee,” said Shi. “You will make mistakes as a mentor. You and your mentees as people will solve these miscommunications or issues. This is normal and healthy.”  

Humanize yourself. “Mentees often have an idealized perception of what a Ph.D. student is,” said Shi. “I will point out mistakes I have made in my work to students and encourage them to correct me if they have better information. I do not want to feel smart. I want to do good work and that requires criticism from other parties, including my mentees. Our goal is to increase the comfortability of the mentee while maintaining the professional boundary required of your role.”  

Facilitate situations where the mentee is empowered. “The important thing I focus on with my students is cross-training,” said Shi. “If one mentee has studied a software, they now become responsible for training other mentees and me. It helps to be intentional in teaching your mentees that knowledge can come from anyone. I think putting knowledge into a hierarchy is overblown and only serves to preserve the status of people at the top rather than allowing for new ideas.”  

Align mentor and mentee goals. “Goals should not conflict with one another, but this can happen if the mentor does not plan strategically,” said Shi. “The mentor needs to be transparent with what work the mentee needs to complete and the timeline. The mentor should inform the mentee of the amount of time the mentor has to assist the mentee and the appropriate method for contacting you when you need help. It is always best practice to be as specific with what you want rather than assume some ‘should know’ something.” 

Shi has created a mentorship document that outlines her expectations for all new student researchers.  

Communicate expectations. “We should communicate with each other the experience that we want from the relationship and work towards that goal,” said Shi. “You should align your students’ projects such that they are working towards something that advances your work. Sometimes, you will have motivated students who want to go off and do their own idea. That shows initiative in the student, but you should be direct with them that straying off into projects unrelated to your current research goals will mean that they will receive less oversight/feedback from you.” 

Provide positive feedback. “A lot of us analytical types may forget that we should point out tasks that are proceeding well along with the things that are going up in flames,” said Shi. “Recognizing quality mentee work is vital to them reproducing that quality of work again. They need to know when they have met your standards.” 

Provide critical feedback. “You will need to provide critical feedback to the mentee both on work and logistical miscommunications,” said Shi. “Do not shy away from this. If you are uncomfortable with discussing concerns on performance, this is normal, but by ignoring the issue you will deny the mentee from improving in this respect.” 

Shi’s procedure for handling performance issues involves gathering the facts, detangling your emotions, defining the solution, and sending them a message.  

For logistical, non-research issues, Shi recommends keeping records.  

“There is a lot of front-loaded work in creating documentation of expectations, but it really pays off in terms of not dealing with day-to-day logistical questions.” 

Understand the student researcher’s mindset. “Student researchers often feel insecure in navigating the lab equipment,” said Shi. “Sometimes, their perfectionism will cause them to ask you a lot of questions because they really want to impress you and do things correctly.”  

In these situations, Shi advises mentors to protect their own time while reassuring the mentee in their work. Let them know that you appreciate their effort to do things correctly, but part of research is independence, or let them know that you are unavailable to answer their question and provide a timeline for when they can expect to hear from you.  

Take the Tech to Teaching program and try your best! “I highly recommend this [Tech to Teaching] program to any Ph.D. student who has long-term goals of becoming a professor,” said Shi. “I want to emphasize something: you do not need formal training to be a mentor. If you are on the fence, try your best. You will learn the most about being a mentor by being a mentor. Listen to your mentee, balance your commitments, prioritize your time and goals, and you will be fine. There is the perception some people have that you need to mentor in a specific way. I do not agree with this mentality. I believe the scope of mentorship should be negotiated by the mentor and the mentee based on an alignment of goals.”  

Today, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and algorithmic advancements made by research scientists and engineers are driving more targeted medical therapies through the power of prediction. The ability to rapidly analyze large amounts of complex data has clinicians closer to providing individualized treatments for patients, with an aim to create better outcomes through more proactive, personalized medicine and care. 

“In medicine, we need to be able to make predictions,” said John F. McDonald, professor in the School of Biological Sciences and director of the Integrated Cancer Research Center in the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience at the Georgia Institute of Technology. One way is through understanding cause and reflect relationships, like a cancer patient’s response to drugs, he explained. The other way is through correlation. 

“In analyzing complex datasets in cancer biology, we can use machine learning, which is simply a sophisticated way to look for correlations. The advantage is that computers can look for these correlations in extremely large and complex data sets.”

Now, McDonald’s team and the Ovarian Cancer Institute are using ensemble-based machine learning algorithms to predict how patients will respond to cancer-fighting drugs with high accuracy rates. The results of their most recent work have been published in the Journal of Oncology Research .  

For the study, McDonald and his colleagues developed predictive machine learning-based models for 15 distinct cancer types, using data from 499 independent cell lines provided by the National Cancer Institute. Those models were then validated against a clinical dataset containing seven chemotherapeutic drugs, administered either singularly or in combination, to 23 ovarian cancer patients. The researchers found an overall predictive accuracy of 91%.

“While additional validation will need to be carried out using larger numbers of patients with multiple types of cancer,” McDonald noted, “our preliminary finding of 90% accuracy in the prediction of drug responses in ovarian cancer patients is extremely promising and gives me hope that the days of being able to accurately predict optimal cancer drug therapies for individual patients is in sight."

The study was conducted in collaboration with the Ovarian Cancer Institute (OCI) in Atlanta, where McDonald serves as chief research officer. Other authors are Benedict Benigno, MD (OCI founder and chief executive officer, as well as an obstetrician-gynecologist, surgeon, and oncologist); Nick Housley, a postdoctoral researcher in McDonald’s Georgia Tech lab; and the paper’s lead author, Jai Lanka, an intern with OCI. 

The challenges in predicting cancer treatments

The complex nature of cancer makes it a challenging problem when it comes to predicting drug responses, McDonald said. Patients with the same type of cancer will often respond differently to the same therapeutic treatment. 

“Part of the problem is that the cancer cell is a highly integrated network of pathways and patient tumors that display the same characteristics clinically may be quite different on the molecular level,” he explained. 

A major goal of personalized cancer medicine is to accurately predict likely responses to drug treatments based upon genomic profiles of individual patient tumors. 

“In our approach, we utilize an ensemble of machine learning methods to build predictive algorithms — based on correlations between gene expression profiles of cancer cell lines or patient tumors with previously observed responses — to a variety of cancer drugs. The future goal is that gene expression profiles of tumor biopsies can be fed into the algorithms, and likely patient responses to different drug therapies can be predicted with high accuracy,” said McDonald.   

Machine learning is already being applied to the data coming from the genomic profiles of tumor biopsies, but prior to the researchers’ work, these methods have typically involved a single algorithmic approach. 

McDonald and his team decided to combine several algorithm approaches that use multiple ways to analyze complex data; one even uses a three-dimensional approach. They found using this ensemble-based approach significantly boosted predictive accuracy.

The algorithms the team used have names like Support Vector Machines (SVM), Random Forest classifier (RF), K-Nearest Neighbor classifier (KNN), and Logistic Regression classifier (LR). 

“They’re all fairly technical, and they’re all different computational mathematical approaches, and all of them are looking for correlations,” said McDonald. “It’s just a question of which one to use, and for different data sets, we find that one model might work better than another.”

However, more patient datasets that combine genomic profiles with responses to cancer drugs are needed to advance the research.  

“If we want to have a clinical impact, we must validate our models using data from a large number of patients,” said McDonald, who added that many datasets are held by pharmaceutical companies who use them in drug development. That data is typically considered proprietary, private information. And although a significant amount of genomic data of cancer patients is generally available, it’s not typically correlated with patient responses to drugs.

McDonald is currently talking with medical insurance companies about access to relevant datasets, as well. “It costs insurance companies a significant amount of money to pay for drug treatments that don’t work,” he noted. Time, medical fees, and ultimately, many lives could be saved by providing researchers with these types of information. 

“Right now, a percentage of patients will not respond to a drug, but we don’t know that until after six weeks of chemotherapy,” said McDonald. “What we hope is that we will soon have tools that can accurately predict the probability of a patient responding to first line therapies — and if they don’t respond, to be able to make accurate predictions as to the next drug to be tried.”

Citation: Lanka J, Housley SN, Benigno BB, McDonald JF. “ELAFT: An Ensemble-based Machine-learning Algorithm that Predicts Anti-cancer Drug Responses with High Accuracy.” Journal of Oncology Research. ISSN: 2637-6148.

Funding for this research provided by the Ovarian Cancer Institute, Atlanta, Georgia; Northside Hospital (Atlanta); and The Deborah Nash Endowment Fund. John F. McDonald serves as chief research officer of the Ovarian Cancer Institute (OCI) in Atlanta.

About Georgia Tech

The Georgia Institute of Technology, or Georgia Tech, is a top 10 public research university developing leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition. The Institute offers business, computing, design, engineering, liberal arts, and sciences degrees. Its nearly 40,000 students, representing 50 states and 149 countries, study at the main campus in Atlanta, at campuses in France and China, and through distance and online learning. As a leading technological university, Georgia Tech is an engine of economic development for Georgia, the Southeast, and the nation, conducting more than $1 billion in research annually for government, industry, and society.

This story first appeared in Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine.
 
Kristen Marhaver, Bio 04
Associate Scientist | CARMABI Foundation
Georgia Tech 40 Under 40: Class of 2021
 
Kristen Marhaver speaks for the corals. The scuba diver, underwater photographer, and world-renowned expert in coral breeding has racked up more than 2.3 million views of her engaging TED talks, in which she shares her ground-breaking innovations and heartfelt passion for preserving these little-understood and greatly undervalued marine creatures.

“Corals are so distant from us evolutionarily, so foreign and alien, that you really have to be creative in thinking about what their life is like and what they need to survive,” she says.

In her research lab at CARMABI (Caribbean Research and Management of Biodiversity) on the island of Curaçao, Marhaver and her team have made great strides in aiding coral survival by inventing methods for coral breeding, baby coral propagation, and coral gene banking.

“It’s like running an IVF clinic, a neonatal intensive care unit, and a daycare all at once for an endangered species,” she says.

Through hundreds of night dives, she and her colleagues pinpointed the timing for the spawning of numerous Caribbean coral species. Their spawning charts are now used by dozens of research teams to collect and preserve coral sperm and eggs. Marhaver was also the first person in the world to raise baby pillar corals, a nearly extinct Caribbean coral species. Juvenile corals supercharge reefs; they spawn more prolifically and adapt more readily to changing environments.

“Raising young corals today boosts the reproduction on future coral reefs for centuries,” she says.

Her lab’s Genome Resource Bank takes an even longer view. Its 500 billion (and counting) cryopreserved coral sperm can survive indefinitely, serving as the ocean equivalent of a seed bank that endures whatever disease outbreaks or thermal events arise.

She is always eager to speak for the corals: about their critical role in shoreline protection, their value to is land economies, their tremendous potential as a source of future medications and, well, just how cool they are. “There’s lots of reasons to keep corals around, for sure,” she says.

She’s grateful and thrilled to be part of the global community devoted to that very cause. “Collaborators, awesome students, and mentors have been so critical in all the progress we’ve made,” she says. Her father, Carl Marhaver, was her first mentor, who first took her scuba diving at age 15. “He was in charge of all the logistics, and I was in charge of all the small animal encounters,” she says with a laugh.

She credits Tech for providing her with the invaluable combination of lab research skills and field ecology experience that she draws on daily. As a first-year student, she pleaded her way into the lab of Terry Snell. He first let her observe his work on coral stress genomics before promoting her through the ranks as a lab assistant—and helping set her course toward her celebrated career.

In gratitude, Marhaver now sponsors a first-year biology researcher each year at Tech through the FastTrack Research Program. “That’s how it all began for me,” she says. “It means a ton to be able to pay it forward to support someone who is in my shoes 20 years later."

It’s Homecoming week at Georgia Tech, but with Halloween coming this weekend, there are other ways to get into the spirit of the season.

If you’re looking for Halloween fun or just a way to unwind, stop by one of these campus events this week.

 

SCPC Homecoming Carnival

Tuesday, Oct. 26

Noon – 3 p.m.

Tech Green

Enjoy food, activities, and fun, including fall carnival treats like apple cider, caramel apples, fried Oreos, and popcorn! There will be inflatable games and the event is free.

 

HSOC Society Presents: HCON 2021

Tuesday, Oct. 26

5 p.m.

Old Civil Engineering Building Patio

The History and Sociology Society hosts its annual HCON historical costume event. Stop by for fun, costumes, and free food from the Halal Guys. RSVP is requested to account for food: visit gatech.campuslabs.com/engage/event/7513210.

 

Halloween Holla 5K

Oct. 27 – 31

At the Campus Recreation Center and Online

Though advanced registration is sold out, participants can still don a costume and participate virtually all week long. The course will run along the newly-refurbished Tyler Brown Pi Mile trail on campus.

 

Neuroscience Paint and Sip

Wednesday, Oct. 27

6 – 7 p.m.

Room 098, Weber SST III

The Neuroscience Club hosts a brain-themed paint and sip event. Attendees will paint a neuro-themed piece of art and enjoy “brain juice.” RSVP to attend.

 

Kwaidan Film Screening

Wednesday, Oct. 27

6 – 8 p.m.

Room 115, Swann Building

The Japanese program in the School of Modern Languages will celebrate Halloween with a showing of Kwaidan, a horror anthology based on four well-known Japanese ghost stories. Two stories from the anthology (about an hour and a half) will be shown. There will also be a trivia contest on the movie and general Japanese horror trivia following the film. The winner will receive a box of Japanese candy.

 

Crafting With the Women’s Resource Center

Thursday, Oct. 28

11 am. – 3 p.m.

LGBTQIA Resource Center

The Women’s and LGBTQIA Resource Centers host a crafting event and Harry Potter movie marathon all day on Thursday.

 

Wicked Design and Pumpkin Ramble

Thursday, Oct. 28

6 – 8:30 p.m.

West Architecture Courtyard

Design a mask or costume or carve a pumpkin at this event from the School of Industrial Design.

 

SCPC Presents: Scratches, Scars, and Scabs!

Thursday, Oct. 28

7:30 – 11 p.m.

Midtown V, Exhibition Hall

Take a dive into Halloween makeup and special effects. All supplies will be provided, but attendees must register for a ticket at bit.ly/campustickets. Wearing your spooky costume is encouraged.

 

TV Marathon

Friday, Oct. 29

9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

LGBTQIA Resource Center

The LGBTQIA Resource Center will show Stranger Things (or another spooky TV show) all day on Friday. Stop by the center in the Smithgall Student Services (Flag) Building.

 

Trick or Tree Tour

Sunday, Oct 31

1 – 2 p.m.

Einstein Statue at Tech Green

Trailblazers hosts a Halloween-themed walk around campus to learn about the beautiful trees in our own backyard. RSVP on Engage.

 

Night at the Haunted Mansion

Sunday, Oct. 31

7 p.m.

The Historic Academy of Medicine

Join SCPC at the Historic Academy of Medicine for a night of frights. Come in your best Halloween costume and be spooked in the haunted maze and escape rooms, go trick-or-treating, and participate in a costume contest. Tickets are free but required; reserve a ticket at bit.ly/campustickets.

 

Pumpkin Drop

Friday, Nov. 5

3 – 4 p.m.

Howey Physics Building (and streamed online at twitch.tv/gatechsps)

The Society of Physics Students (SPS) hosts its annual Pumpkin Drop, where pumpkins are dunked in liquid nitrogen and dropped off the top of the Howey Physics Building. The event is free and no RSVP is required — drop by the outside of Howey to see frozen and glitter-filled pumpkins explode and learn about the science and physics behind the drops.

You can also purchase a pumpkin to be decorated, carved, and frozen in liquid nitrogen or frozen fruit. All pumpkin sales support SPS programming and activities.

During International Education Week, the College of Sciences celebrates the impact of international perspectives, connection, and contributions in our community. We’ve gathered stories over the years celebrating the work of math, science, and technology within our international community. From international students enrolled at Georgia Tech, to professors with unique cultural perspectives, to partnerships with our global community, this month we shine a special spotlight on the importance of international education and research. 

What is International Education Week? 

International Education Week, celebrated at Tech November 15 to 19 this year, is an opportunity to celebrate the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide. This joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education is part of the efforts to promote programs that prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn, and exchange experiences. 

The worldwide celebration of IEW offers a unique opportunity to reach out to people in every nation, to develop a broader understanding of world cultures and languages, and to reiterate the conviction that enduring friendships and partnerships created through international education and exchange are important for a secure future for all countries.    
 

Faculty and Staff Perspectives 

Hispanic and Latinx Heritage: President Ángel Cabrera 

During National Hispanic Heritage Month, President Ángel Cabrera reflected on his time as a student in the College of Sciences at Georgia Tech, and spoke to recruiting and supporting more Hispanic and Latinx students and faculty in STEM. 

Hispanic and Latinx Heritage: President Ángel Cabrera on Representation, Mentoring, Leadership | College of Sciences | Georgia Institute of Technology | Atlanta, GA (gatech.edu) 

Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month: Faculty Perspectives 

“I want to make sure that other people like me can see themselves…as scientists.” Frances Rivera-Hernández, Facundo Fernández and Carlos Silva Acuña share early school day stories, why they chose science, and their perspectives on representation. 

Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month: Faculty Perspectives on Representation, Mentoring, Leadership in STEM | College of Sciences | Georgia Institute of Technology | Atlanta, GA (gatech.edu) 

Joshua Weitz Named Blaise Pascal International Chair of Excellence 

Joshua Weitz, School of Biological Sciences professor, Tom and Marie Patton Chair, and key member of Georgia Tech’s Covid-19 response team continues his research on viruses through fall of 2021, and is now conducting those studies from Paris, France, thanks to receiving a prestigious award designed to foster more collaboration among international scientists. Weitz is currently based at the Institute of Biology at the École Normale Supérieure (IBENS) in Paris. 

Joshua Weitz Named Blaise Pascal International Chair of Excellence | College of Sciences | Georgia Institute of Technology | Atlanta, GA (gatech.edu) 

Tansu Celikel Appointed School of Psychology Chair 

Newly appointed chair of the School of Psychology Tansu Celikel brings a unique international perspective from Europe to Georgia Tech. Celikel received his Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience at La Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA) in Italy and conducted postdoctoral research the Max-Planck Institute for Medical Research in Germany. He also conceived and led the establishment of the European University of Brain and Technology (NeurotechEU), funded by the European Union. 

Tansu Celikel Appointed School of Psychology Chair | College of Sciences | Georgia Institute of Technology | Atlanta, GA (gatech.edu) 

School of Mathematics Celebrates Two Researchers Receiving “Very High Prestige” Invitations to Lecture at Major Global Math Conference 

Jennifer Hom, Konstantin Tikhomirov will present on topology, discrete probability at the 2022 International Congress of Mathematicians in Russia. “The ICM speaker invitations are a major news item in the mathematics community every four years. The invitations carry very high prestige, selected with extreme diligence to highlight leading breakthroughs across all of mathematics,” explains Rachel Kuske, Professor and Chair of the School of Mathematics.   

School of Mathematics Celebrates Two Researchers Receiving “Very High Prestige” Invitations to Lecture at Major Global Math Conference | College of Sciences | Georgia Institute of Technology | Atlanta, GA (gatech.edu) 

Chung Kim: Inclusivity, Kindness, Celebrating Heritage and Culture 

Academic Program Coordinator Chung Kim speaks on representation and racial justice, her experiences growing up Korean-American, and Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. She also discusses the College of Sciences Staff Advisory Council, of which she is an inaugural member. 

Chung Kim: Inclusivity, Kindness, Celebrating Heritage and Culture | College of Sciences | Georgia Institute of Technology | Atlanta, GA (gatech.edu) 

Bernard F. Schutz Elected as Fellow of the Royal Society 

Bernard Schutz, School of Physics adjunct professor, served as a founding director of the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute - AEI) in Germany, helped spark the creation of the Center for Relativistic Astrophysics (CRA) at Georgia Tech, and laid the analytical foundation in the search for gravitational waves. He is now the recipient of top honors as a Fellow to the Royal Society, the United Kingdom’s national academy of sciences and the world's oldest independent scientific academy. 

Bernard F. Schutz Elected as Fellow of the Royal Society | News Center (gatech.edu) 
 

Global Research & Impact 

New 'Vibrant Pack Energy Harvesters' to Harness Big Bridge Vibrations 

In collaboration with colleagues at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh and Georgia State University, Georgia Tech researchers including School of Mathematics chair Rachel Kuske have intended to capture and recycle vibrations on bridges using principles of physics. They have received funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, part of UK Research and Innovation, and the National Science Foundation. 

New 'Vibrant Pack Energy Harvesters' to Harness Big Bridge Vibrations | College of Sciences | Georgia Institute of Technology | Atlanta, GA (gatech.edu) 

Global Climate Action Symposium 

With swaths of the country engulfed in flames, battered by winds, steeped in floodwaters, or parched by drought – tragic and costly conditions that a recent United Nations report links to global warming – Georgia Tech joined UN leaders in hosting the third annual Global Climate Action Symposium in September of this year. 

And Not a Minute Too Soon | College of Sciences | Georgia Institute of Technology | Atlanta, GA (gatech.edu) 

Finding and Connecting Ocean Ecoregions — to Find and Conserve Marine Species 

study by School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences researchers is charting a new path to help scientists create tools to uncover global marine connectivity through sea surface temperature. The study is led by professor Annalisa Bracco, graduate student Fabrizio Falasca, and one of Bracco’s visiting students, Ljuba Novi from the Institute of Geosciences and Earth Resources (part of the National Research Council in Pisa, Italy). 

Finding and Connecting Ocean Ecoregions — to Find and Conserve Marine Species | College of Sciences | Georgia Institute of Technology | Atlanta, GA (gatech.edu) 

Creative Cutting-Edge Coral Scientist 

In alumna Kristen Marhaver’s research lab at CARMABI (Caribbean Research and Management of Biodiversity) on the island of Curaçao, Marhaver and her team have made great strides in aiding coral survival by inventing methods for coral breeding, baby coral propagation, and coral gene banking. Marhaver now sponsors a first-year biology researcher each year at Tech through the FastTrack Research Program. 

Georgia Tech Alumni Association - Creative Cutting-Edge Coral Scientist (gtalumni.org) 
 

Student Stories 

Where Linguistics, French, and Psychology Intersect: Zach Hopton Discusses Collaborative Time at Tech 

Psychology and Applied Languages and Intercultural Studies student Zachary Hopton discusses the balance between experimental psychology and language, and the relationship that the two disciplines have with each other. He shares his experiences in the French Language, Business, and Technology Program and during an exchange semester at Sciences Po in Paris, France.  

Where Linguistics, French, and Psychology Intersect: Zach Hopton Discusses Collaborative Time at Tech | College of Sciences | Georgia Institute of Technology | Atlanta, GA (gatech.edu) 

Celebrating #GT21 Graduate Stories: Maria Zulfiqar 

“I am the first person in my family’s history to obtain a college degree in the United States, the first woman to ever obtain a college degree at all in my family — and I’m doing it two years early, with highest honors,” shares Maria Zulfiqar. Zulfiqar, who is Pakistani, grew up in Alpharetta, Georgia, and was born in Mississauga, Canada. 

Celebrating #GT21 Graduate Stories: Maria Zulfiqar | College of Sciences | Georgia Institute of Technology | Atlanta, GA (gatech.edu) 

Georgia Tech Language Institute: Meet Taehwan Yang 

After completing a bachelor’s degree in biotechnology and bioscience in South Korea, Taehwan Yang decided to pursue a master’s degree in biology in the United States with support from the Georgia Tech Language Institute. The Language Institute helps international students, professionals and visitors improve their English proficiency through short courses, summer classes, and semester-long programs. 

Meet Taehwan Yang | Language Institute - English as a Second Language (ESL) | Georgia Tech Professional Education | Atlanta, GA (gatech.edu) 
 

International Education Week Events 

2021 IEW Event Schedule 

This year, IEW will take place from November 15-19. If your organization is interested in participating in International Education Week, there's still time to fill out the following form with a proposal for your event: https://gatech.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8CkFDGTubkx5VBk

Monday, November 15:

Georgia Tech-Lorraine Table at IEW Kick-Off! 

Location: Outside of Clough 

Time: 10:30 to 11:30 am 

Description: Stop by the Georgia Tech-Lorraine table at the IEW Kick-Off Event on November 15th from 10:30-11:30am outside of Clough. GTL representatives will be present to answer all your questions and give you details about a semester on Tech's campus in France for undergraduates and graduates! 

French program tabling at IEW Kick-off 

Location: Outside of Clough 

Time: 10:30 to 11:30 am 

Description: Information about French and Francophone Studies at Georgia Tech, including study abroad summer 2021 LBAT Paris and Senegal, and SLS GT Lorraine semester-long immersion program in Metz, fall 2022. 

English Conversation Hour 

Location: Clough 447  

Time: 5 to 6 pm  

Description: Learning English? Come practice your spoken English skills in a friendly, informal setting with the staff of the Naugle Communication Center! 

 

Tuesday, November 16:

How to Afford Study Abroad 

Location: Exhibition Hall: Buckhead Room 

Time: 11 am to 12 pm  

Description: Study abroad doesn't have to break the bank. Come to the "How to Afford Study Abroad" information session to learn more. 

Salud in Spain Summer Program Informational Session 

Location: virtual/bluejeans - https://bluejeans.com/556633472/1660 

Time: 11 am to 12 pm  

Description: If you are interested in participating in the Salud in Spain Program in Summer 2022, please attend this information session. 

ISYE Summer Program in Europe Information Session 

Location: virtual/bluejeans - https://bluejeans.com/616106986/8966 

Time: 11 am to 12 pm  

Description: Learn more about the ISYE Summer Program in Europe! This 10-week summer program offers Georgia Tech ISYE students the opportunity to take standard undergraduate industrial engineering courses in Ireland and Spain during the Summer 2022 semester. 

French and Francophone Studies Research Round Table 

Location: Swann 115 

Time: 11 am to 12 pm  

Description: French and Francophone Studies Round Table and Q&A with Faculty. Moderated by Andrea Jonsson. 

Leadership for Social Good Virtual Info Session 

Location: virtual/bluejeans - https://bluejeans.com/676192608/7312 

Time: 11 to 11:30 am  

Description: Come join this alumni-led information session to hear more about the Leadership for Social Good Study Abroad Program. The Leadership for Social Good Study Abroad Program in Central and Eastern Europe offers interested students the opportunity to gain insight into global civil society, to learn about the challenges of creating and leading effective and sustainable social enterprises, and to make a positive impact by working closely with a non-profit organization in Budapest, Hungary. 

Japan Day 

Location: Swann Building Backyard 

Time: 11 am to 2 pm  

Description: Please join us, "Japan Day"! Learn about the Japanese program at Tech! Meet Furoshiki master and Kendama master and have fun with Anime trivia contest and more! Japanese sweet and bakery will be served. 

Note: If it rains on the 16th, this event will be move to Nov. 18th  

Virtual Info Session on the Study Abroad & Immersion Programs in France and Senegal 

Location: virtual/bluejeans - https://bluejeans.com/441452800/9256 

Time: 12 to 1 pm  

Description: Learn more about the School of Modern Languages' LBAT (Language for Business & Technology) France (Paris) and LBAT Senegal (Dakar) study abroad summer programs, and the SLS (Serve-Learn-Sustain) fall semester program at Georgia Tech Lorraine (Metz,France). 

Georgia Tech-Lorraine Undergraduate Info Session 

Location: virtual/bluejeans - https://primetime.bluejeans.com/a2m/live-event/gjfwagkq 

Time: 1 to 2 pm  

Description: Can't make it to a weekly GTL Info Session held on Thursdays from 11am-12pm? No worries! Tune in to this special IEW GTL Info Session held on Tuesday, November 16th from 1-2pm for details about studying at Tech's campus in France! 

ISYE Summer Program in Asia Information Session 

Location: virtual/bluejeans - https://bluejeans.com/734576054/3476 

Time: 2 to 3 pm  

Description: Learn more about the ISYE Summer Program in Asia! This 12-week summer program offers Georgia Tech ISYE students the opportunity to take standard undergraduate industrial engineering courses while exploring some of the most important locations for logistics and manufacturing in the 21st century: China and Singapore. 

 

Wednesday, November 17:

Passport to GT 

Location: virtual/bluejeans - RSVP at https://gatech.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_7QxiuEsHQtiuqnc 

Time:  9:30 to 11:30 am 

Description: Join OIE ISSS Staff to learn more about the international student experience of coming to Georgia Tech, as well as the various services ISSS offers. Registration is required. Limit of 30 attendees. *This event if for faculty/staff only* 

Graduate Studies at Georgia Tech-Lorraine: Virtual Info Session 

Location: virtual/bluejeans - https://primetime.bluejeans.com/a2m/live-event/uwfqpxtj 

Time:  10:00 to 11:00 am 

Description: Join Georgia Tech-Lorraine's virtual Grad Student info session to learn how easy it is to spend a semester on Tech's European campus in Metz, France at up to half the cost of the Atlanta campus! 

LBAT Ecuador Information Session 

Location: Skiles 170 

Time:  12:30 to 1:30 pm 

Description: Information session about Study Abroad Program in Ecuador (Cuenca and Galapagos Islands) for summer 2022. https://modlangs.gatech.edu/lbat/ecuador-galapagos 

Thursday, November 18 

International Fellowships 

Location: virtual/bluejeans - https://bluejeans.com/2610797883/ 

Time:  11 am to 12 pm  

Description: Attend this informational webinar to learn about Prestigious Fellowships offering International Placements!! 

Photo Contest Reception 

Location: Price Gilbert - G116 Wilby (by Blue Donkey) 

Time:  2 to 3 pm  

Description: Join the Office of International Education as we celebrate the winners of the annual Photo Contest! 

Boren Information Session 

Location: Savant #308 

Time:  3:30 to 4:30 pm

Description: Want to learn more about getting $23,000 to study language abroad? Join us at the Boren Information Session to learn more about this exciting 

Q&A with Sabine Landolt & Agathe Laurent, co-authors of Can We Agree to Disagree 

Location: virtual/bluejeans - https://bluejeans.com/655772209/7771 

Time:  5:00 to 6:00 pm 

Description: Join us for a Q& A with Sabine Landolt, the co-authors of Can We Agree to Disagree, a compelling collection of anecdotes about French and American professionals on their experiences working together. This book reveals the risks of misjudgments. It provides tips and tricks to foster mutual understanding, sparks curiosity, and encourages professionals to adopt the best methods from both cultures, and to better work together. Meeting URL 

Friday, November 19 

Pacific Program Information Session 

Location: virtual/bluejeans -  https://bluejeans.com/655185001/1185  

Time:  11 am to 12 pm 

Description: Are you interested in participating in study abroad program during the Summer? If you are, make sure you mark your calendar and come to one of the Pacific program's information sessions. The Pacific program is GT faculty-led program that usually happens during the Spring semester; however, it has recently been shifted to the Summer semester for 2022 only. The Pacific program travels to New Zealand and Australia for 11 weeks! In this information session you will learn valuable information about the program including what classes the program is offering, specific program dates, program itinerary, and much more. Please note that the program's application is nor open. If you can't attend the session, but you would like more information, reach out to Andrea Henriquez (andrea.henriquez@oie.gatech.edu) to make an online advising appointment. 

Budgeting for International Experiences 

Location: Savant #308 

Time:  4 to 5 pm 

Description: Join us to learn ways to make international experiences more affordable! 

Laternenfest  

Location: Tech Green 

Time:  4:15 to 6:15 pm 

Description: Join the German Program to celebrate Laternenfest by making Lanterns, eating sweet treats, and learning children's songs for the holiday! 

Questions? Need help developing an idea? Email Kelci Reyes-Brannon at Kelci@oie.gatech.edu 

Visit the Georgia Tech International Education Week Website to learn more. 

Some of the instruments in Christy O’Mahony’s Analytical Chemistry Lab are split into two groups: The Avengers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

The stickers that students and O’Mahony, senior academic professional in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, have placed on the equipment are appropriate: ‘Thor, Hulk, Iron Man, and Captain America’ denote equipment that breaks apart and transforms materials into their chemical and molecular components — while the ‘Mutant Turtles’ machines safely look for and analyze possible trace amounts of radioactivity in materials.

Each machine sports a sticker with another popular public figure — Tech’s very own Buzz ringed by a halo saying: “Purchased with Technology Fee Funds.”

Tech Fees “make a huge difference in putting sophisticated instrumentation into our teaching labs,” says David Collard, senior associate dean in the College of Sciences and professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. “This allows us to provide our undergraduates with experiences that are far beyond what is available at other institutions.”

“Most curriculum would have an instrumental analysis class, an analytical chemistry class where students are taught the concepts of this in a chemistry curriculum,” says O’Mahony. “But it’s unusual for them to have the access to actually do the measurements.” 

The lab’s latest Tech Fee-funded purchase, a laser-induced breakdown spectrometer, will provide more accurate measurements of chemical components in materials. An earlier purchase, a capillary electrophoresis instrument, helped O’Mahony and a graduate student publish a research paper detailing a new applied lab exercise on analyzing phenylketonuria (PKU), a birth defect. 

“I think the students being able to put on their curriculum vitae that they have done these techniques, they know these software packages, and [that] these are all the exact same ones that industry has, is a huge help for them,” O’Mahony says. “And I've had quite a few students who I've provided references for who have gone into quality control. ‘They say they're familiar with this equipment. So, what level did they use it?’,” she says companies often ask. “Well, they sat down and ran the whole thing, and fixed a problem.”

Hear from a few of O’Mahony’s students on their experiences with the equipment and instruments:

Dhruti Triveti, third-year biochemistry major 

“I did not expect being able to use equipment like this. I did not know that the technology would be this high — that the equipment that we're able to use is very cutting-edge, I believe — and some of this is used in industry, which I think is really a good stepping stone to what we want to do in the future.”

Jack Winn, fourth-year biochemistry major:

“This has given me a chance to dive into a different field of chemistry, and see, as I'm preparing to graduate, which field I want to go into.

That's actually part of the reason I came to Tech. I knew that we had these available resources and cutting-edge technology that would put me at an advantage, I suppose, to other schools.”

Julianna Mercado, third-year biochemistry major:

“I'm able to be a little bit more comfortable going into different jobs, or research internships or something like that, rather than just be, ‘oh, how do I do this again?’ I feel like it gives me a better advantage with that — and that's a good thing.”

Scot Sutton, graduate biochemistry student and Analytical Chemistry Lab teaching assistant:

“One of our experiments for the first rotation is flow injection analysis, which, in a lot of ways, is if you kind of took out the guts of one of our liquid chromatography instruments. That's actually how I explained it to the students — there's a lot of different tubing, so they get to see how the reaction takes place over time and get to see what the differences are between a batch process that they might do by hand, versus what the instrument itself can do. And they see different ways to approach chemical problems they might run into.”

A list of recently purchased College of Sciences lab and classroom equipment, instruments, and resources powered by Tech Fee funds:

Neuroscience/Biological Sciences — Instruments that use light to measure and manipulate the activity of neurons, and read electrical signals from specialized cells triggered by light/photons to learn about neurological activity. 

Biological Sciences — Equipment for "western blotting" protein identification procedures, allowing Intro to Biology students to visualize the presence of proteins downstream of various molecular biology techniques. Fall 2021 students are using it to explore the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. 

Earth and Atmospheric Sciences — Equipment for Kendeda Building EAS Teaching Labs

Chemistry and Biochemistry — Next-Level Laptops for the Biochemistry Teaching Laboratories

Physics (Neuroscience) — Electrophysiology instruments, allowing students to record the activity from neurons and hearts for Georgia Tech’s new advanced neuroscience curriculum.

Earth and Atmospheric Sciences — Equipment and resources for the EAS 1600 courses, including Introduction to Environmental Science and Habitable Planet.

Biological Sciences — Biological safety cabinets

Neuroscience (Biological Sciences) — Microscopy in Neuroscience Undergraduate Laboratory 

Psychology — Psychology Research Methods, including instruments for  eye tracking and skin galvanic response, which measure how the body responds to various emotional states.

Biological Sciences — Green Lab-Living Building Ecology; more campus wildlife data gathering for conservation studies; proposed building of towers on Tech campus for tracking bird migration. 

One of Georgia Tech’s core values, “We act ethically,” guides our priorities every day. But Ethics Awareness Week puts a spotlight on that value and the ways we engage ethically around campus.

This year’s events, taking place Nov. 8–12, will be a mix of scheduled in-person, virtual, and hybrid events, daily ethics IQ questions, and in-person ethics tables around campus. Experts  from the Veterans Resource Center, the LGBTQIA Resource Center, Ethicx, and the Alumni Association, among others, will join the Office of Ethics and Compliance to showcase ethics in a variety of contexts.

Kara Tucker, lead counsel and director of Ethics and Compliance in the Office of the General Counsel, said partnering with campus departments helped create a diverse schedule of events that provides an opportunity for everyone to engage.

“As an organization whose mission is to develop leaders in  our students, faculty, and staff, we know that leading ethically is a critical component. A leader is anyone who influences others, and we aim to create leaders who not only act ethically, but also influence others to act ethically.”

View a full list of the week’s events and chances to win door prizes at ethicsfirst.gatech.edu/ethicsweek.

A few events to look forward to:

  • Game Time Mashup With Executive Leadership: President Ángel Cabrera and Executive Vice Presidents Steven McLaughlin, Chaouki Abdallah, and Kelly Fox will go head-to-head playing familiar games with an ethical twist. Nov. 8, 10:30 a.m. Register to attend.
  • Sticker Blitz With the Ramblin Wreck: Visit the Ramblin’ Wreck, take photos, collect vinyl stickers, and receive Ethics First giveaways. Nov. 8, 11 a.m., Exhibition Hall. No registration required.
  • A Google Chat With Google's Chief Compliance Officer, Spyro Karetsos: Keynote speaker Spyro Karetsos, chief compliance officer at Google, will offer insight about expectations and best practices at Google. Nov. 9, 10 a.m. Register to attend.
  • Preparing Future Leaders for Ethical Challenges: An interdisciplinary panel of faculty in biological sciences, civil and environmental engineering, business, and public policy discusses teaching ethics and preparing students for ethical dilemmas in their careers. Nov. 10, 11 a.m. Register to attend.
  • Gender Equity From the Perspective of Military Leadership: Examine gender equality and equity in the military through the experiences of two U.S. military members and current Georgia Tech students. They will discuss gender bias and equity, stereotypes, sexism, and how these challenges affect veterans transitioning to civilian life. Nov. 12, 12:30 p.m. Register to attend.

All in-person and hybrid events  will have giveaways and beverages or light refreshments.

This year, Ethics Awareness Week coincides with the annual online compliance training that is required of all employees. The four training modules must be completed by Nov. 19 in the Georgia Tech Learner Dashboard

Learn more about ethics at Georgia Tech at ethicsfirst.gatech.edu.

The Georgia Tech research community is invited to a virtual research town hall hosted by Executive Vice President of Research (EVPR), Chaouki Abdallah. 

Agenda will include a welcome and research update from the EVPR. Research panel with Irfan Essa, Tim Lieuwen, and Helen Anne Curry, and a moderated Q&A session.

Event Details

During the Institute Address, President Ángel Cabrera will highlight recent Institute achievements, convey his vision and goals for the upcoming academic year, and answer audience questions. The campus community is invited to join in person or watch live on president.gatech.edu.

Email your questions in advance to townhall@gatech.edu. Questions should be submitted by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, August 30. 

Event Details

Dean Susan Lozier will host the 2023 College of Sciences Plenary and Reception the afternoon of August 30 in the Petit Institute (IBB) Building.

All College of Sciences faculty, staff, and graduate students are invited to attend.
RSVP by August 21 for details and a calendar invitation. (GT login required.)

Event Details

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