The world would look very different without multicellular organisms – take away the plants, animals, fungi, and seaweed, and Earth starts to look like a wetter, greener version of Mars. But precisely how multicellular organisms evolved from single-celled ancestors remains poorly understood. The transition happened hundreds of millions of years ago, and early multicellular species are largely lost to extinction.

To investigate how multicellular life evolves from scratch, researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology decided to take evolution into their own hands. Led by William Ratcliff, associate professor in the School of Biological Sciences and director of the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Quantitative Biosciences, a team of researchers has initiated the first long-term evolution experiment aimed at evolving new kinds of multicellular organisms from single-celled ancestors in the lab.

Read the rest of the story here.

The world would look very different without multicellular organisms – take away the plants, animals, fungi, and seaweed, and Earth starts to look like a wetter, greener version of Mars. But precisely how multicellular organisms evolved from single-celled ancestors remains poorly understood. The transition happened hundreds of millions of years ago, and early multicellular species are largely lost to extinction.

To investigate how multicellular life evolves from scratch, researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology decided to take evolution into their own hands. Led by William Ratcliff, associate professor in the School of Biological Sciences and director of the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Quantitative Biosciences, a team of researchers has initiated the first long-term evolution experiment aimed at evolving new kinds of multicellular organisms from single-celled ancestors in the lab.

Read the rest of the story here.

Georgia Tech's 264th Commencement, held May 5 and 6 at Bobby Dodd Stadium, celebrated 5,673 graduates. Tap here for a few moments captured during the event.

More images from Spring Commencement are available on Flickr.

Six proposals from the College of Sciences will redesign existing courses and begin new ones to help students contribute to a sustainable world have been approved for Undergraduate Sustainability Education Innovation Grants. The proposals tie into the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).

A total of 21 projects from all six Georgia Tech colleges will reach an estimated 22,500 students. The collaborative effort is focused on a key goal of the Institute’s Sustainability Next Task Force: to produce graduates who are committed to making a positive difference in their communities, their organizations, and the world.

“The overall goal is that all of our students understand the societal context for their work, as well as the scientific, environmental, economic, and social aspects of sustainability,” says Jennifer Leavey, assistant dean for Faculty Mentoring for the College of Sciences and co-chair of Sustainability Next.

Leavey and Rebecca Watts-Hull, assistant director of Faculty Development for Sustainability Education in the Center for Teaching and Learning, served as liaisons for the Undergraduate Sustainability Education Committee, which judged the proposals.

Leavey also coordinates College of Sciences educational programs related to science and sustainability, including the Georgia Tech Urban Honey Bee Project and the Living Building Science Vertically Integrated Project Team. 

Leavey said the UN SDGs — which ask world citizens and their governments to consider ambitious solutions to longstanding problems such as hunger, poverty, climate damage, inequality, and lack of quality healthcare — are clear and compelling. “These are things we want for a better world,” she shared. “Every field has some connection to them. And it's just a very easy framework to get behind and understand. I would love it if all Georgia Tech graduates could leave feeling well versed in that understanding, and how their work connects to it.”

The Sustainable Education Committee chose projects that impacted the greatest number of students, including classes that are required for all Georgia Tech undergraduates. 

Learn more about the College of Sciences’ six selected proposals:

Laboratory-Based Project on the Chemistry of Alternative Energy Sources

• CHEM 1211L, Chemical Principles I, Laboratory
• Deborah Santos, academic professional, School of Chemistry and Biochemistry
• 1000+ students impacted (majority first-year)
• “I hope that the students would have a better understanding of why they hear about these technologies as possible alternatives, and what obstacles there are to actual widespread implementation,” Santos said. “Maybe students will consider how they might play a role in overcoming those obstacles.”

Sustainability Next: Taking a Sustainable Open-Educational Resource And SDG-ing It

• Bios 1107/1207, Biological Principles
• Emily Weigel, senior academic professional, and Marc Weissburg, professor, School of Biological Sciences
• Approximately 650 early career students per year
• “I will take the textbook and each day link it to an SDG, so that when they come into class, we'll talk about the topics in the context of SDGs,” Weigel said. “By being a little bit more explicit about it, it's our goal that when they go from this intro course to later courses in their curriculum, they're primed to think about SDGs, and then they recognize the connections that are there.”

Georgia Climate Project 

• EAS 4813 — This is a new course within the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences’ new interdisciplinary Environmental Science (ENVS) undergraduate degree program with the School of Biological Sciences, and part of a partnership with the Georgia Climate Project, a state-wide consortium of universities, colleges and partners working to improve understanding of climate impacts and solutions in Georgia.
• Zachary Handlos, senior academic professional, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
• 10-20 students impacted per year 
• “This course would provide students an opportunity to participate in hands-on learning within the context of ‘real-world’ sustainability-related projects in partnership with the Georgia Climate Project, complementing topics and coursework covered in Samantha Wilson’s EAS 4803: EAS & Policy course,” Handlos said. “Work includes participation in climate change, sustainability, and climate equity and justice research, as well as the creation and dissemination of tools and resources.”

Urban Atlanta’s Water and Atmospheric Signatures

• EAS 1600: Introduction to Environmental Science (EAS Majors) Laboratory: Urban Atlanta Atmospheric Measurements, combined with another Lab course, Urban Water Quality Measurements and Microbial Ecology Exploration using Proctor Creek Watershed
• Jennifer Glass, associate professor, and Shelby Ellis, lecturer, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences 
• 20-40 students per year, EAS majors only 
• “Through field trips, students will investigate current climate change-induced conditions in urban Atlanta, with students collecting real time weather and watershed data-measurements to learn more about SDGs surrounding urban sustainable cities and clean water,” Ellis said. “In this reconfigured learning environment, we hope to foster student momentum on becoming educational leaders in their local community on climate justice, while gaining an understanding that there are attainable climate actions that can be taken now to combat climate change.” ”

Developing and Enhancing Experiential Learning in a New EAS Course

• EAS 4803: EAS & Policy, offered in new Environmental Science (ENVS), Solid Earth & Planetary Science (SEP), and Atmospheric and Oceanic Science (AOS) undergraduate degree programs in College of Sciences 
• Samantha Wilson, academic professional, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
• 25 students during spring semesters in even-numbered years
• “The course is designed to introduce students to the scientific background of topics such as water, hydrocarbons, air, and earthquakes before discussing related policies and persistent issues,” Wilson said. “Through discussions on each topic that involve science and policy, students can work towards understanding why current policies exist the way they do and how they can be improved.” The course will also involve guest speakers, and is meant to be taken before Handlos’ EAS 4813 course. 

Course Redesign to Implement Project-Based Learning for Social Change

• APPH 1040, Foundations of Health
• Teresa Snow, senior academic professional, School of Biological Sciences
• Approximately 200 students per year
• “It is my hope that working towards solutions to complex societal health issues will create a sense of empowerment for our students that counteracts feelings of helplessness,” Snow said. “A cross-disciplinary approach, which is the focus of this project, will provide a better understanding of the process of large-scale social change, a critical requirement for achieving the third SDG, which is to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all ages. Breaking down the social barriers to good health will benefit everyone.”

On April 27, the Undergraduate Sustainability Education Committee hosted a Jamboree, which featured faculty from each Georgia Tech college that won grants — making brief presentations, and engaging in networking discussions. 

“For the College of Sciences, it's really exciting to see the connection between different disciplines,” Leavey said. “We’ve been doing work on climate and the environment for a long time, but to see the connection with sustainability work at other colleges at Georgia Tech is very gratifying.”

Georgia Tech's 264th Commencement, held May 5 and 6 at Bobby Dodd Stadium, celebrated 5,673 graduates. Tap here for a few moments captured during the event.

More images from Spring Commencement are available on Flickr.

One of the Institute Strategic Plan (ISP) goals is to connect globally and amplify impact by contributing “to global collaborative efforts that advance the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through our education, research, and service.” In response, Sustainability Next developed a plan to expand SDG concept and skill integration across the undergraduate curriculum. In support of the plan, 21 projects representing all six colleges and 15 schools were presented at the Undergraduate Sustainability Education Jamboree, held on April 26 in the Kendeda Building auditorium. With many winning projects featuring high enrollment and core courses, this first round of sustainability education “seed grants” will significantly expand the reach of Georgia Tech’s sustainability-across-the-curriculum initiatives.

“Our Strategic Plan commitment to bring the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into our teaching is part of our vision for transformative teaching and learning more broadly,” explains Larry Jacobs, Senior Vice Provost for Education and Learning. “Helping students identify connections between disciplinary concepts and skills and complex societal challenges enhances learning and supports Georgia Tech’s mission to equip students to improve the human condition.”

The Jamboree featured lightning presentations from the award winners, as well as presentations about related initiatives at Georgia Tech to help instructors, students, and staff better understand the landscape of sustainability education innovation on campus. Instructors engaged in course design or re-design through the awards will have opportunities to collaborate with and learn from their peers through a Community of Practice on Transformative Teaching with the SDGs and a SoTL (Scholarship of Teaching and Learning) research group. Many began identifying potential collaborators at the event, as they heard from other award winners. “The afternoon of lightning presentations by fellow faculty was exhilarating,” Sabir Khan, Associate Professor, Schools of Industrial Design and Architecture, shared. “I came away impressed and excited at the range of projects and have already invited a few instructors to join my class in the fall to discuss their approaches to tackling the UN SDGs."

Presenter Kate Williams, Interim Director, Transformative Teaching and Learning, Faculty Initiatives, shared connections between the Sustainability Innovation Awards and Georgia Tech’s Transformative Teaching and Learning (TTL) strategic initiative. “The success of the first round of Sustainability Education Innovation Grants demonstrates our faculty's commitment to creating innovative experiential learning opportunities for students,” Dr. Williams noted.

For more information about future award opportunities or the communities of practice described above, please contact Jennifer Leavey (Assistant Dean for Faculty Mentoring, College of Sciences) or Rebecca Watts Hull (Assistant Director, Faculty Development for Sustainability Education Initiatives, Center for Teaching and Learning).

Review all 21 awarded Undergraduate Sustainability Education Innovation projects.

The College of Sciences at Georgia Tech continues to advance in the graduate school rankings published by the U.S. News and World Report.

Released on April 25, the 2023-2024 U.S. News Best Graduate School Rankings features all six College of Sciences schools among its best science schools for graduate studies:

• Biological Sciences – No. 37
• Chemistry – No. 20
• Earth Sciences – No. 33
• Mathematics – No. 20
• Physics – No. 21
• Psychology – No. 39

The 2023-2024 rankings of doctoral programs in the sciences are based solely on the results of surveys sent by U.S. News to academic officials in fall 2022 and early 2023 in chemistry, earth science, mathematics, physics, and computer science (which is part of the College of Computing at Georgia Tech, see here). Surveys for biological sciences, statistics and biostatistics were sent to academic officials in fall 2021 and early 2022.

Georgia Tech College of Sciences rankings

Biological Sciences retains its No. 37 rank from 2022, in a nine-way tie with Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Brown University, Carnegie Mellon University, Dartmouth College, Indiana University-Bloomington, Ohio State University, University of Utah, and UT Health MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Chemistry and Biochemistry rises by one spot to No. 20, tied with Johns Hopkins University, Ohio State University, and University of California (UC)-San Diego.

Earth and Atmospheric Sciences ranks No. 33 (ranked No. 28 in 2022, No. 38 in 2019) in a tie with Ohio State University, University of Oregon, University of Southern California, Virginia Tech, and Washington University in St. Louis.

Mathematics advances by one to No. 20, tied with Carnegie Mellon University, Johns Hopkins University, UC-San Diego, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Maryland-College Park, and University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.

Physics rises by seven to No. 21, in a tie with Northwestern University, Pennsylvania State University-University Park, Rice University, Stony Brook University-SUNY, UC-San Diego, and University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Psychology retains its No. 39 rank from 2022 in a tie with Arizona State University, Michigan State University, Stony Brook University-SUNY, University of Florida, University of Iowa, and University of Pittsburgh.

U.S. News previously ranked graduate science programs in their 2022 Best Graduate Schools Edition, published in March 2022. Current rankings for Biological Sciences and Psychology were part of those 2022 rankings.

Among specialty science graduate programs at Georgia Tech, Analytical Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, and Theoretical Chemistry all rank in the top 20. 

In Mathematics specialty graduate programs, Discrete Mathematics and Combinatorics remains the top 5, while Analysis ties for No. 20, and Applied Math ties for No. 16. Uniquely organized across the Colleges of Sciences, Computing, and Engineering, the Institute’s Algorithms, Combinatorics, and Optimization program kept its No. 5 spot from last spring.

Chemistry specialty graduate programs

• Analytical Chemistry – No. 11
• Inorganic Chemistry – No. 20 
• Physical Chemistry — No. 14
• Theoretical Chemistry — No. 18 

 Mathematics specialty graduate programs

• Analysis — No. 20 (tie)
• Applied Math — No. 16 (tie)
• Discrete Mathematics and Combinatorics — No. 5 (tie)

Fellow colleges across Georgia Tech are also on the rise in this year’s U.S. News “Best Graduate Schools” set, with Engineering remaining in the top ten in its overall disciplines — and Business, Computing, and Public Affairs also ranking among top programs in the nation. The full roster of current Georgia Institute of Technology graduate school rankings can be found here, along with U.S. News’ methodology for graduate rankings here.