Company Supports Innovative Research

Dolby has renewed its investment in the College of Computing for a second year, directing $600,000 for cutting-edge research. 

The audiovisual technology company supported seven research projects last year, in areas ranging from computing systems to immersive storytelling to AI modeling. Both Georgia Tech and Dolby have laboratories in the Coda building, which has made collaboration easier. 

“At its core, this is really about developing a relationship between faculty and students and Dolby,” said Humphrey Shi, associate professor in the School of Interactive Computing. The students get experience in solving real-world problems for an international corporation, and Dolby’s researchers expand their knowledge through connecting with Tech faculty. These collaborations have already produced several published papers. 

“This partnership has reinforced the importance of taking an interdisciplinary approach to our research,” said Vivek Sarkar, John P. Imlay Jr. Dean of the College of Computing. “I’d like to see us go even deeper in finding ways to combine faculty from different Schools and different research areas to work with partners."

To fund innovative research in the College of Computing, contact Jason Zwang, senior director of Development, College of Computing, at jason.zwang@cc.gatech.edu.

Opportunity to Double Impact for Civil Engineering Graduate Students

U.S. News & World Report ranked Georgia Tech’s civil engineering graduate program No. 2 in the nation, and environmental engineering is No. 4. One of the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering’s (CEE) key priorities is increasing fellowship support for Ph.D. students. Growing endowed funding in this space will allow CEE to make bold, yet sustainable, fellowship offers to the nation’s brightest graduate students. 

A generous family is assisting CEE with this goal. They have provided a $5 million gift to establish a dollar-for-dollar matching opportunity and inspire others to support this priority. To date, 39 donors have responded and are funding 13 new endowments.

Opportunities remain to double the impact of your own gift to help transform the future of CEE’s graduate student support. Contact David Zaksheske, assistant vice president – Development, College of Engineering, at davez@coe.gatech.edu to learn more.

Design, Football, and Camaraderie Collide at the Blueprint Tailgate

Before the Yellow Jackets took the field against Clemson on Sept. 13, the Architecture East Lawn came alive with design energy at the inaugural Blueprint Tailgate — a joint celebration hosted by Georgia Tech’s College of Design and Clemson’s College of Architecture, Art and Construction. Sponsored by Choate Construction and Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio, the event united alumni, faculty, industry partners, and friends for a morning of connection and philanthropy. 

“The construction and design industry thrives on relationships,” said Sherwin Loudermilk, advisory board member for both programs. “Events like this bridge education, technology, and collaboration.” 

By bringing together professional networks and academic innovation, the Blueprint Tailgate showcased the College’s commitment to cultivating partnerships that expand opportunity, fuel workforce pipelines, and celebrate the generous donors and firms shaping the future of design.

To learn more about sponsorship opportunities in the College of Design, contact Kelly Smith, director of Development, College of Design, at kelly.smith@design.gatech.edu.

Archaeology Comes to Georgia Tech

For the first time at Georgia Tech, the School of History and Sociology will offer archaeology classes beginning Spring 2026. The introductory undergraduate This is Archaeology course will be offered first, with ethics and skills classes to follow. 

The courses will be taught by Allison Mickel, the new H. Bruce McEver Chair in Archaeological Science and Technologies. Mickel, who researches the impact of excavations on local communities, has excavated in Jordan, Turkey, Kenya, and the United States. 

Bruce McEver, IE 1966, established the chair because he sees Georgia Tech as a potential major innovator in archaeological technologies, an area that has seen dramatic change in recent years. 

“Georgia Tech brings to the table a range of technical disciplines that can help accelerate the use and effectiveness of new innovations in archaeology research,” he said. “This program gives Georgia Tech a chance to play an integral role as part of the larger archaeology research community in the United States and beyond.”

To support promising faculty in the School of History and Sociology, contact Lauren Kennedy, director of Development, Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, at lauren.kennedy@dev.gatech.edu.

Inaugural Lifetime Learning Symposium

The College of Lifetime Learning hosted its inaugural Lifetime Learning Symposium Oct. 6 – 8 at Georgia Tech’s Global Learning Center, convening educators, policymakers, and industry leaders to explore how learning can span a lifetime. The event marked an important milestone in establishing lifetime learning as a strategic, interdisciplinary field that connects K–12 education, higher education, and workforce development through shared purpose and vision. In his keynote, Dean Bill Gaudelli challenged participants to move from a “learned society” to a “learning society,” emphasizing the role of technology, access, and collaboration in building a more adaptive educational ecosystem. Sessions and panels highlighted innovations in affordability, credentialing, and research, including Georgia Tech’s Rural Computer Science Initiative, which now reaches more than 10,000 high school students across 45 Georgia school districts. The symposium affirmed Georgia Tech’s leadership in shaping a future where education is continuous, inclusive, and transformative for learners at every age and stage of their lives.

To learn more or to support the College of Lifetime Learning’s programs for learners at every stage, contact Ashley Coogan, assistant vice president for Unit Development, at ashley.coogan@dev.gatech.edu.

Mapping Evolution: James Stroud Named 2025 Packard Fellow

James Stroud, Elizabeth Smithgall Watts Early Career Assistant Professor in the School of Biological Sciences, has been named a 2025 Packard Fellow for Science and Engineering — one of the nation’s most prestigious early-career research honors. Stroud’s work addresses a fundamental challenge in evolutionary biology: understanding how natural selection operates in the wild. On “Lizard Island,” a small tropical ecosystem, he is equipping 1,000 lizards with ultra-lightweight “backpack” sensors and overlaying their movements onto a high-resolution 3D map of the habitat. 

This groundbreaking approach bridges laboratory precision with real-world complexity to reveal evolution’s missing link — the role of behavior. Building on a decade of data, Stroud’s research will produce evolution’s first high-definition map, showing precisely where, when, and on whom natural selection acts. The fellowship empowers Stroud to redefine how evolution is studied in nature, spotlighting Georgia Tech’s leadership in fundamental science and the transformative potential of philanthropic support.

To fund groundbreaking faculty research in the School of Biological Sciences, contact Dan Warren, director of Development, College of Sciences, at dan.warren.cos@gatech.edu.

Empowering the Next Generation of Entrepreneurs

Business Lab (MGT 4803), a new course at the Scheller College of Business, is redefining how entrepreneurship is taught and experienced. Made possible through the generous philanthropic support of Gary Dennis, IMGT 1987, and Scheller College Advisory Board member, the new course enables students to transform classroom concepts into real startups through mentorship, customer discovery, and launch strategy. 

Dunn Family Professor Karthik Ramachandran and Associate Professor Andre Calmon designed the course to reflect how innovation happens in the real world by testing, pivoting, and learning from failure. Their mantra: “We teach that setbacks aren’t failures — they’re just data. We literally clap when teams pivot.” 

Philanthropic support can help expand this experiential model across curricula at Georgia Tech, providing seed funding, prototyping resources, and mentorship opportunities that prepare students to become founders and changemakers. With additional investment, we can ensure that every student who wants to launch a venture has the tools and support to do so.

To support experiential learning opportunities in Scheller College, contact Duante Stanton, senior director of Development, Scheller College of Business, at dstanton30@gatech.edu.

Fanning Center Construction Continues

The Thomas A. Fanning Student-Athlete Performance Center continues to take shape in the northeast corner of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. The Fanning Center, Georgia Tech’s 100,000-square-foot student-athlete hub, remains on schedule to open in Spring 2026. 

The state-of-the-art facility will feature areas dedicated to strength and conditioning, sports medicine (including mental health services), and nutrition, as well as expanded and enhanced meeting and office space exclusive to Georgia Tech football. 

The Fanning Center will also be equipped with the Institute’s first-ever sports science lab, which will use pro-model motion tracking to capture student-athletes’ performance data. This information will feed into an in-house data analytics office for performance tracking and analysis. 

The building is named in honor of Georgia Tech alumnus and Transforming Tomorrow co-chair Thomas A. Fanning, IMGT 1979, M.S. IMGT 1980, HON Ph.D. 2013. A visionary leader in the energy industry, Fanning worked for Southern Company for 43 years, where he served as president and chief executive officer, among other roles.

To learn more or support facilities projects for Athletics, contact Robby Poteat, executive associate athletics director for Development, at rpoteat@athletics.gatech.edu.

Easy Access to All Your Donor Information

The Georgia Tech Foundation Donor Portal offers a transparent, secure, and user-friendly experience for donors to view and manage their contributions in support of the Georgia Institute of Technology. Easily access detailed reports on your general donations, as well as on specific gifts to the Alumni Association through Roll Call, or to Georgia Tech Athletics. See the real impact of your generosity with tools to track your giving history, endowment information, annual gift statements, Athletics gift summary, and more — all in one place. You can also update your contact information directly through the portal. Log in today to experience our award-winning platform.

Upcoming Exhibit to Celebrate the Atlanta Olympics

The Georgia Tech Library is working on a 2026 public exhibit for the 30th anniversary of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and is looking for photos, videos, and stories to help supplement the Institute archives. The items will be displayed at a public event co-hosted with the Georgia Tech Alumni Association to celebrate this milestone on Feb. 28, 2026. 

The Georgia Tech Archives collects and preserves unique historical materials to inspire new creations, advance knowledge, and encourage innovation in service of the public interest.

Click here to submit your personal material and memories for consideration. 

To make a gift to the Georgia Tech archives, contact Heather Howarth, director of Development, Georgia Tech Library, at heather.howarth@library.gatech.edu.

Honoring Tradition, Powering the Future

Nearly 24,000 alumni and friends were part of the 78th Roll Call. Created in the wake of World War II as the Institute faced a dire lack of funding, Roll Call has provided crucial unrestricted funding to support student needs, scholarships, and programs. You can help continue this powerful legacy: Make your gift to the 79th Roll Call today. Click here to make your gift.

Program to Build Talent Pipeline for Manufacturing

Smart manufacturing, data-driven design, and artificial intelligence aren’t just buzzwords — they are fields creating highpaying, high-tech careers across the U.S. In rural Georgia communities, these advanced manufacturing roles are growing, but the talent pipeline isn't keeping pace. Georgia Tech’s Manufacturing Institute launched the Advanced Manufacturing Pathways (AMP) Program to address this gap in Fall 2025 in three school districts — Decatur County, Thomas County, and Thomasville — with plans to expand in Spring 2026. 

The program engages over 200 K-12 students through hands-on labs, virtual instruction, and real-world projects. The flagship course, Design, Build, Race, teaches students to build and race custom cars using 3D printing, engineering, and data science. Originally developed in 2023, the course was adapted for high schools with support from Georgia AI in Manufacturing and Southern Regional Technical College. 

Funded by the Southwest Georgia Regional Commission, AMP combines cutting-edge tools with creative learning to inspire students and build a sustainable talent pipeline for advanced manufacturing careers.

To fund programmatic opportunities that develop future workforces, contact Meagan Burton-Krieger, executive director of Campaign Operations and chief of staff, at meagan.burton-krieger@dev.gatech.edu.

Family's Gift Supports Student Well-Being

A family of Yellow Jackets — Kathy Avery, EE 1991, and sons Ryan Avery, ME 2019, and Will Avery, ME 2022 — has made a generous gift to Georgia Tech in memory of their husband and father, Rob Avery, ME 1989. 

They have provided funding for a new Kilter Board climbing wall in the Campus Recreation Center, offering students opportunities to challenge themselves physically while building teamwork, confidence, and community. In addition, the Avery family has established scholarships for students to participate in Outdoor Recreation at Georgia Tech (ORGT) programs — ensuring that those who might not otherwise have the resources are able to experience the leadership, resilience, and belonging that come from Tech’s distinctive outdoor education experiences. 

The Avery family’s philanthropic support will help expand access to the kinds of transformative experiences that shape Georgia Tech students into leaders who improve the human condition. Their commitment reflects the mission of Student Engagement and Well-Being (SEWB) to create spaces and opportunities for every student to thrive. Support of SEWB’s Fund for Holistic Student Success sustains programs that foster connection and belonging across campus, empowering students to discover their passions, strengthen their wellbeing, and find community through ORGT and similar experiences.

To enhance the student experience at Georgia Tech, contact Emily Wong, senior director of Development, Student Experience, at emily.wong@dev.gatech.edu.